Category: Bible Lessons

Trophies

January 10th, 2023

Photo by Nikita Grishin on Pexels.com

Trophies are symbols of victory. They look different for different individuals. The designations people put after their names are types of trophies signifying their triumph in the examination and coursework required. I like trophies and have a few myself. Literal trophies and figurative ones.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended;
but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus
Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)

I recently read a story in the Bible that got me thinking about trophies and what kinds of trophies one should hope to acquire and hold on to. The story can be found in the book of 1 Samuel from chapter 4 to chapter 6 verse 8. It is a lengthy read, but I encourage you to do so for proper context. In summary, the Philistines attacked and defeated the Israelite army and took the ark of God. The ark was a symbol of the presence of God for the Israelites, but a symbol of victory for the Philistines.

The Philistines held on to this ark for 7 months as the story says and they had so much pain while doing so. From tumors to the destruction of their idols to death. During these months, they passed it around from city to city (chapter 5) until they sat down and asked themselves what to do about it (1 Samuel 6:2).

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this,
that the spirits are subject to you,
but rather rejoice because your names
are written in heaven
Luke 10:20 (NKJV)

A rational listener or reader of this story would ask themselves why they held on for so long. Did they not know it was causing them all the pain they were experiencing? I think they did because as they passed it along from city to city, they saw patterns which caused them to continue passing it along. My guess is that they held on to it because it was a symbol of their victory against the Israelite army and letting go would mean they may have ‘won the battle, but they lost the war’ as the saying goes.

Over to you now, what are you holding on to that you need to let go of? Did you give someone a piece of your mind and put them in their place and are now left with a severed relationship as your ‘trophy’? Or have you built a standard for yourself that is preventing you from interacting with certain individuals? I mentioned earlier that I have accumulated some ‘trophies’ in my life so far and I learnt that while job searching, especially when changing career paths, certain trophies need to be excluded as they are irrelevant to the role.

Final Thoughts

Celebrate your wins. Remember this though: As great as trophies are, one needs to know when to lay it down or one risks experiencing hurt.

What are some trophies you’ve acquired over the years?
Proactive Love

December 31st, 2022
According to Merriam Webster, to be proactive means to act in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes. For any relationship to flourish, work is required. These days, I see that many people take the reactive approach in their relationships. They wait for the other person to make a move so they can reciprocate.

What if you make the first move? I admit that it may be a vulnerable position to place yourself in, but you will be in good company because you know who else makes the first move? God! Time and time again, God reaches out to humanity in love before humans even realize their need for Him.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and with power.
He went about doing good and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him
Acts 10:38 (ESV)

I believe God also expects us to be proactive in our love for others. He tells us to love our enemies (people that do not like us) and to pray for them. Someone doing this is not waiting for the enemy to have a change of heart, but is being good to them before they have a change of heart. In addition, He has shown us what true love looks like and His behaviour should be emulated.

I have stored up Your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against You
Psalm 119:11 (ESV)

Benefits of being proactive with love
- You can set the tone of the relationship
- Potential for reduced stress because needs are usually prepared for
- Potentially makes you more observant
- Your creative skills get sharpened
- You can set boundaries
How are you going to proactively love henceforth? What are some other benefits of being proactive with love?
Love runs deep

December 14th, 2022

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Pexels.com

I read this article by John Piper which discusses the depth of God’s love for us. I encourage you to read it.

Our ultimate example of love shows a depth that is yet to be exhausted so why should our love end? I think any love that has no depth is not worth it. Love requires a lot from an individual; time, resources, energy and so on, to really make an impact on another individual. Without depth, love runs out quickly.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge
Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)

If you feel like you’re running out of love, draw from Christ. When some people hear my name (Lovelyn), they respond by saying that I must be so full of love and I laugh. I do love people, but I still struggle with it. There is room for growth in love. I once heard a mother say that she didn’t know if she was capable of loving a second child until she laid her eyes on the child and suddenly realized that her capacity for love had increased.

An article by Powell, A., in Harvard Gazette actually speaks of some positive health benefits in married couples who share deep (eros) love. For example, they have increased immune function, tend to live longer and have higher survival rates from major surgeries.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

Final Thoughts

The kind of love that runs deep takes time to build. The key though is for you to stay rooted in Christ’s love and that love is reproduced in one towards others.

What does deep love look like to you? Do you think that love needs to run deep? If so, why? If not, why?
Bible Study and Prayer

December 11th, 2022

I don’t want to assume that everyone prays before they read the Bible, but I do believe it is important to do so. For me, it’s similar to listening to an author’s thoughts and process regarding their book prior to reading or re-reading it. It changes the way you read said book because you would most likely now be reading from the lens of the author. It will take extra effort to read it otherwise. It also helps you to possibly understand the angle the author was coming from.

The Bible is inspired by God so He would be the best person to walk you through His book (Romans 11:33). I believe ‘praying the Bible’ is a great way to pray especially if you don’t know where to start praying. It can also be useful if you have been praying for a while because God is able to give new insight on the same verses. Below are some verses you can pray before diving into God’s word:

Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions
Psalm 119:18 (NLT)

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel
Ezra 7:10 (NKJV)

They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from His path
Psalm 37:31 (NLT)

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it
Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled
Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)

And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening”
1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)

Final Thoughts

There are many other verses you can use as a guide to pray or just pray the words directly. These are just the ones I have compiled over the years. You can also pray from the heart. These are to help prepare your heart before studying the Bible.

Which verses not listed do you pray before you study the Bible? How often do you study the Bible?
Available?

December 4th, 2022

Availability is important, especially in one’s relationship with God. God qualifies those He calls. I believe God is pleased to use ordinary people and ordinary things. In his book, Side by Side, Edward T. Welch writes this: “If you feel quite weak and ordinary–if you feel like a mess, but have the Spirit of God–you have the right credentials.”

In the Bible, we see numerous examples of individuals who accomplished great feats. One commonality with all of them is that they made themselves available to be used by God first of all. Many had doubts and fears and God worked with them through all of those till they got to the point of success. Being used by God is such an honour because He does such amazing work. Can you imagine what would come out of a partnership with God? Also, His words give life and hope and I know I need that on a daily basis.

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me”
Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)

On another note, the world is full of people and one can’t ignore them. It is important to be available to other people. Life is busy for many people, but love makes time. Recently, I was reading through posts about grief and things people remember most in their early stages of grief. Some things mentioned were kind gestures like meals, sentimental gifts, and so on. One thing I noticed was mentioned more than others was the presence of someone. Someone who was there to simply listen or cry along with them or help out with household chores or even just be there because they didn’t want to be alone in that period.

At the end of the day,
people won’t remember what you said or did,
they will remember how you made them feel.
MAya Angelou

Final Thoughts

Priorities need to be in place. In making oneself available to others, one must be careful not to lose oneself in the process such that one starts to experience burnout. One needs to make oneself available to God first who gives wisdom and strength to be available to others around us.

Who are you going to make time for this week?
According to His riches…

November 26th, 2022

I once heard a preacher say that one can either give from one’s riches or according to one’s riches. In its simplest form, it’s person A giving 100 pens from the 1 million in their reservoir and person B giving the same 100 pens from the 1 thousand in their reservoir. Another way of stating this is giving in proportion to what one has.

“Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?

Everything under heaven is Mine”
Job 41:11 (NKJV)

The Bible teaches that God created and owns all things so He is extremely rich in all things. One thing that encourages me about that is the fact that God has chosen to love us and bless us… according to His riches. For a God who has everything we can and cannot see at His disposal, giving according to His riches I believe will be in mega proportions.

He provides

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
Philippians 4:19

He strengthens

That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man
Ephesians 3:16

Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy
Colossians 1:11

He redeems

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Ephesians 1:7

See what great love the Father has lavished on us,

that we should be called children of God

1 John 3:1

Final Thoughts

Finally, God is love and He is rich in love. He shows us this over and over again. Let us show love greatly because we have been shown great love. Let us also do things according to our resources. Don’t be stingy. If you have been blessed with time, bless others with it.
Love is patient

November 21st, 2022

To be honest, patience is something I still struggle with. It’s so easy to lose your patience when dealing with other people and things too sometimes. I also think our society doesn’t help with promoting this virtue. The messaging we see around us is faster, more efficient, instant, time saving, etc and when you are constantly bombarded with these, you could forget that many things need time to grow and mature and are worth waiting for. The Bible teaches us to love God with all of our being, and love others as we love ourselves. Patience is a way of showing love.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes
Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

Be patient WITH God

God doesn’t run with our timing. If He did everything we wanted, when we wanted them, that would mean He wasn’t God, we were. The fact that He runs on His own time based on His knowledge of all things must be respected. God is patient with us so we must be patient and trust His timing. Read God’s word and be reassured of His promises and His love for you.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise,
as some understand slowness.
Instead He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance
2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

Be patient with yourself

Loving one’s self means loving every part of one’s self. Darling, you may not be where you want to be, but are you working towards it? Yes? Then, be patient. Look at the progress you’ve made so far, keep your goal in front of you and keep going.

And patience produces character,
and character produces hope
Romans 5:4 (NCV)

Be patient with others

Being patient with others means giving others room for growth and error. When you find yourself being impatient with others, maybe try to put yourself in their shoes. Think about this: Does your impatience produce the result you desire? If not, why do you continue in it?

Patience can persuade a prince,
and soft speech can break bones
Proverbs 25:15 (NIV)

Final Thoughts

Patience is not sluggishness or waiting and complaining. It is a virtue. It is something to be desired. However, it is not something that we can do on our own; we need God’s help to be patient.

How are you going to show patience this week? Do you have any story of a time your patience paid off?
Love is humble

November 16th, 2022

What is humility?

It was Rick Warren that said, “Humility is not thinking less of oneself, but thinking of one’s self less”. I agree with him. In simpler terms, humility means coming to the point of realization that the world does not revolve around you. We all need to have an accurate view of ourselves in relation to God and others to truly enjoy life.

When pride comes, then comes shame;
but with the humble is wisdom
Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV)

Humility and Love

In a different post, I mentioned that I believe that love should be our motivation in life. Love is expressed in different ways and humility is one of them. Few ways I think love is expressed through humility:

Listening: To truly listen to what someone has to say means you value what they have to say. It also means that you care about that person enough to appreciate the time they’re giving you and also to give them your time as well. It’s a sign of respect.

Correction: Receiving correction is tough for me. It’s hard to admit one’s mistakes especially to others. I actually thought about it before starting this blog. I thought about saying the wrong things and getting criticism for it. So what if I say the wrong thing and get corrected? I don’t know everything and I’m not claiming to do so. Growth occurs when one lets go of wrong mindsets and changes for the better. Also, don’t shy away from giving correction, just do it with gentleness.

If your brother or sister sins,
go and point out their fault,
just between the two of you.
If they listen to you,
you have won them over
Matthew 18:15 (NIV)

Service: Without stressing this too much, I think we can all agree that service to others is a display of humility. This may be tricky for some though as we’ve most likely encountered those who perform “acts of service” for selfish reasons. While I understand that, it still doesn’t take away from the innocence of a true act of service and the benefits attached.

Interaction: No one is meant to live life alone. We are social creatures and will be harming ourselves if we isolate ourselves. I came across a proverb that I believe captures this point succinctly. “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. Accepting one’s need for others will help one learn and grow.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up
James 4:10 (NKJV)

Gratitude: Humility is expressed in gratitude. Gratitude towards God and others. Here is an example: I am so grateful for those who have taught me in the past so I want to teach others because I don’t want to see them struggle. I think simply pointing out and appreciating the work of God and others in our lives changes our perspective.

Salvation: This is the ultimate show of humility as it’s tough to come to a point where you realize that life is impossible for you to take on successfully in your strength and wisdom. Humility then drives one to pray in faith to the One who can solve one’s problems. It’s also humility that causes one to realize that we are all sinful by nature and cannot consistently do good without help from a Saviour (Jesus).

Final Thoughts

I hope the relationship between love and humility is clear at this point. Humility causes one to show love and love drives one to a place of humility. They really go hand in hand. With humble love, everyone wins.
Non-physical gift ideas

November 13th, 2022

Gifts are a part of our lives. You must have given or received a gift at some point in your life. Some you appreciate a lot and others, not as much. I enjoy giving and receiving gifts. Receiving more than giving, but I have learnt that the more one gives, the more one gets. On that note, I decided to compile a list of non-physical gifts to save some of you the trip to the store, queuing, and gift wrapping.

Freely you have received; freely give.
Matthew 10:8b (NIV)

E-cards

You can design your own cards or posters and email/text it to people in place of physical cards. I like this because it is customizable so you can use a different template for different individuals and you can write your own messages. There are many websites or apps that you can use for this. I use Canva for such projects.

Digital gift cards

These are great alternatives to physical cards. Many organisations now provide digital versions of their store gift cards. This is also a safe play as the person can choose exactly what they want from there.

Donation

You can make a donation to a charitable organisation on their behalf especially if you know they have one dear to their heart. This is good for people that say they have everything they need at the moment.

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows
JAmes 1:17 (NIV)

Personalized gifts

If you are artistically inclined and know your recipient well, you can write them a poem, or a story, or create digital art, make DIY coupons, or create a special recipe for them. Otherwise, you can commission someone to do it for you. I recently found out about custom songs which make for pretty cool surprise gifts.

Experiences

You can give the gift of an experience like an online course, spa day, weekend away, photo shoot, event ticket. The list is endless. It could be personal or group.

Time

Yes, you can give the gift of your time. Sometimes what people really want from you is just to spend time with you. You can take the day off and just do what that person enjoys. Let the person plan out the whole day. This is great for children, partners, and anyone really.

Final thoughts

On a final note, I believe the greatest gift of all is the gift of eternal life given by God through Jesus Christ. It cannot be quantified, but it is so precious and far outweighs any other gift I have or could ever receive.

Which other non-physical gifts have you given or know about? What is the most memorable gift you have received?
Love is kind

November 11th, 2022
You may have witnessed or benefited from a kind act. Do you remember how that made you feel in that moment? The warmth that flooded your heart or the smile that formed on your face? If you were to ask me what kindness is in one word, I’d say warmth.

The world is often referred to as a cold, dark place so this is why I say kindness is warmth in the midst of this cold, dark place. It is my understanding that light and heat are almost always associated so I think it’s safe to say that since kindness warms, it illuminates as well.

Love takes on different forms at different times and kindness is one of the outward expressions of love. A fact in life is that you will encounter another person at some point and to fully enjoy the benefit of having that person around you, you have to be kind to them.

For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
and the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117:2 (NKJV)

How can you show kindness?
1. Hug someone
2. Share what you have
3. Pray for someone else
4. Say positive things to and about someone
5. Appreciate the kind acts of others
Two reasons I struggle with showing kindness to others sometimes are (1) that I need to be shown kindness because I deserve it and (2) that person doesn’t deserve it. I mentioned earlier about kindness being warm and illuminating. An illustration of this is when a fire is kindled on a cold, dark day, it benefits both the one lighting the fire and the one for whom the fire is lit. Research has shown that when one performs an act of kindness, it boosts one’s morale and the recipient usually wants to pay it forward in some way. In addition, if a person has to earn kindness, that’s not kindness. It’s payment or a reward. I also remember the kindness I have received from God.

Do you struggle to show kindness to others? Why do you think it’s easy/hard for you to show kindness to others?

#Love #Kindness

Category: Bible Lessons

Final Thoughts

Benefits of being proactive with love

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

He provides

He strengthens

He redeems

Final Thoughts

Be patient WITH God

Be patient with yourself

Be patient with others

Final Thoughts

What is humility?

Humility and Love

Final Thoughts

E-cards

Digital gift cards

Donation

Personalized gifts

Experiences

Time

Final thoughts

How can you show kindness?