Don’t Spoil Me...You little Foxes

So, I have observed that when people referred to sins among unmarried people and married people, they automatically state: ‘fornication’ and ‘adultery’. Are those the two sins that Christians must not commit?  CERTAINLY NOT!!!! 

There are some false doctrines out there that are misleading people. Some people have stated that, if you commit other sins apart from fornication and adultery, God would forgive you of your sins easily while the sins of fornication and adultery are not easily forgiven by God. This is certainly not true; my Lord Jesus Christ forgives all sins (apart from sins against the Holy Spirit Matthew 12:31 - That’s another topic of its own). 

The unpardonable sin is defined as continually attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan in full knowledge that the work is of God. All sin can and will be forgiven when there is genuine repentance.  Even blasphemy, or profaning God’s name in some way, can be forgiven when God’s forgiveness is sought.  However, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit ascribes to Satan what is done by God, and that cannot be forgiven.

 My Lord Jesus also does not categorise sins as none is better.  It is quite unfortunate that we believers have categorised sins, we easily condemn some sins than others.  I am also guilty of this. Lafunky covers her face in shame.

Let me categorically state that, I disagree with doctrines that state that, only fornication and adultery are sins that must not be found among believers. 

The Bible tells me that the little Foxes spoil the vines (Songs of Solomon 2:15). What does this mean? This suggests that, any sin that we commit, regardless of the gravity, it could impede our relationships with Christ.

The Bible says that, if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John 15:10). There is no way we can effectively walk with God if we continue to allow the little Foxes (sins) to be prevalent in our lives.

These little Foxes (sins) are subtle and can ruin our relationship with Jesus Christ; some of which are: lying, consulting other gods, continuous anger problems, condemning others, pride, being conceited, jealousy, hatred, envy, cheating others, betraying others, our not so nice attitudes, gossiping, etc.

Laziness can also spoil the vine. The Bible says in Proverbs 6:10-11 that, “You sleep a little; you take a nap. You fold your hands and lie down to rest. So you will be as poor as if you had been robbed; you will have as little as if you had been held up”.  This suggests that, a little laziness can grow bigger and bigger, and therefore, makes the individual to become lazier, and ultimately the individual becomes poor due to laziness. Our not so nice attitudes can spoil our reputation. Just one word can ruin our relationship with others; one mistake could ruin one’s career, etc.

How are you guarding your vine so that the Foxes would not spoil your vine?

One of my goals for this year is to stop gossiping and I must say that I am doing very well (I'm grateful to God).   However, I am still failing in some aspects. Since I have determined to stop gossiping and I committed it to God’s Hands, He is helping me and I must continue to accept His help. The scripture that continues to help: “I can guarantee that on judgement day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say” (Matthew 12:36-God’s Word Translation).

So, how is God helping me to stop the little Fox that wants to spoil my vine? God has told me to reduce the amount of time that I spend conversing with people on the phone, God continues to remind me to be slow to speak, think before speaking, reduce the numbers of phone calls that I make during the day, to ensure that I am mindful of my conversations; all these things are helping me to remove the Foxes in my vine.

How are you removing the Foxes in your life?  What are the little Foxes that are trying to spoil your vine?

Do you know that while the little Foxes spoil the vines, the 'little' actions that you take daily can also improve your vine? 

Please ensure that you take actions that would develop your vine on a daily basis.

 - Myss Lafunky

Would You Attend The Wedding Ceremony?

Hi readers and followers, 

How was your weekend, how is it going?

My weekend was marvellous. I attended a friend’s wedding.The wedding ceremony was conducted on Friday and Saturday; Friday was for the Nigerian traditional wedding including the Registry while Saturday was for the English (Church) wedding. Both days were marvellous.  I had a great time, I met a lot of my old friends, we danced, we laughed, and we reminisced on...You want to know what we reminisced on?..feel free to ask me.  I recognised 70% of the guests at the wedding as we all previously lived in the same town.

I was looking forward to my friend’s wedding; I counted down till Friday. The countdown seemed forever given that I started counting down since the beginning of the year i.e.. I can remember that I sent whatsapp (I enjoy whats-apping by the way) messages to the bridesmaids in relation to the countdown (38 days to go...)

On the wedding day..including the traditional wedding...

My friend and her husband looked gorgeous. My friend looked beyond stunning, not only did her dress looked beautiful, the warm glow of love and smile that radiated from her face including her husband’s face were superb.

While they were proceeding with the church wedding ceremony, I pondered on the day that we are going to receive a wedding invitation for THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB.  At the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, only the people that have been invited can be present at the wedding.  I personally want to be invited for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The same way that I met and recognised almost all the guests at my friend’s wedding, I would love to see you at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb’s wedding. 

 Would you want to be invited for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?

Are you wondering where this wedding is going to take place?  

The wedding is going to take place in heaven.

When would the wedding take place? 

The date has not been disclosed to us yet. However, when you read the book of Revelation in the Holy Bible, we were told that, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will take place after the rapture, during the Tribulation and immediately after the judgement of rewards have been presented to believers.

At this wedding, Jesus is the Bridegroom.  Who is the Bride?  We are the Brides (Ephesians 5:27) states that the Bride will be presented to Jesus Christ (the Bridegroom), as pure and without any kind of stain,- holy and without faults (Paraphrased-Good News Translation).  Therefore, in order to be invited for the wedding and to be presented as the Bride, we must consciously (with the Help of the Holy Spirit) live a life that is pleasing to God at all times (It is the only way that we would ensure that we are without faults). 

A holy life is a MUST! (The Bible says that without holiness, no one can see the Lord-Hebrews 12:14b).

I can assure you that living a life of holiness is not cumbersome when you allow God to help you and also when you look beyond the way (some) things are done on earth.

Imagine, if my friend’s wedding dress was stained. She would have panicked, everyone would also have panicked. I'm certain that the dress would have been taken to an emergency dry cleaner or a wedding dress stain removal would have been purchased.

God wants you to be present at the wedding, He wants to invite you for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  However, the Devil does not want majority of people to be present, and thus, he is doing everything within his power to ensure that you engage in things that displease God. 

The Devil wants you to burn in Hell, he requires companion to stay in an unending fire with him, and he wants to take a lot of people with him.  No wonder the Bible says that the road that leads to destruction is WIDE and many people enter through it while the road that leads to God’s Kingdom (unending fun, peace, etc) is NARROW (Matthew 7:13).

In order to be part of the wedding ceremony, these are the criteria that you must have met and you must continue to meet:

      A)  You must examine your ways (Examine yourself, whether ye be in faith -2 Corinthians 13:5).

     B)  Humble yourself before God (The Bible says that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to those who recognise that they are spiritually helpless-- Matthew 5:3 God's Word Translation).  One of my favourite scriptures/ my favourite Bible version.

      C)   Confess your sins to God.

      D)   Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour.

      E)   Start living a life that is pleasing to God, in line with the Word of God.

Further reading and studying

The Book of Revelation in the Holy Bible, the Holy Bible is available online for free and you can also purchase it in book stores. 

Online Bible links:

http://www.biblegateway.com/

http://biblehub.com/

Versions of the Holy Bible to read (according to my preference): Good News Translation, God’s Word Translation, New Century Version, New International Version, New King James Version and King James Version.

 -   Myss Lafunky

Who is your Friend?

Many people in the world have found Google to be a trustworthy friend, from searching for the latest movies to translating from one language to another. Some people now speak  write other languages thanks to Google.

Do you have any friends or relatives that do not know Christ? How close are you to them? Is it ‘unchristian’ or a sin to have friends that do not believe in Jesus Christ?  Some people argue that Jesus Christ had unbelievers as friends when He was on earth. However, He was not extremely close to them. 

Jesus, however, said in 2 Corinthians 6:14b that can light have anything in common with darkness?

While the Bible says that, bad company ruins good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33), it could be argued that some Christians can be bad company, not just unbelievers.

Some people ask: “how can we evangelise to our unbelievers’ friends if we are not close to them?” The question that I would ask is: what if your siblings do not know the Lord?

I'm quite sad writing this post because, in spite of the fact that I'm a Born again Christian, I still have friends that are not saved yet and it displeases me a great deal. I have friends that still engage in excessive drinking of alcohol,  friends that engage in pre-marital sex, gossiping,  friends that ‘womanise’, friends that spread rumours, etc.  It saddens me.  I feel like I have not influenced them at all *crying crying*. 

What is my role?  How can Born again Christians witness to their non-Christian friends/relatives?

What role can we take when it comes to witnessing?

Can we still be close friends with people that are not genuinely saved? 

- Myss Lafunky

Don't Pretend to God, tell Him as it is!

Hi followers & readers,

My apologies for not posting last weekend, the last two weeks have been immensely hectic for me. Many thanks to those that supported me with all I've had to do and I thank God for a blessed week.

In the last two weeks, I've learnt that we can trigger our uncommon blessings from God by undertaking uncommon actions. 

I've also been dwelling on simplicity in praying and ways to tell God about my burdens.  Hence, I'm currently putting these into practice.  To illustrate: let’s say that, I'm in need of financial help, I do not need to be ambiguous with my prayers by stating that God should bless my finances, rather, I would confidently say: “Lord, I need you to provide money to undertake ...” 

Also, if you believe the issue within your marriage is lack of respect, there is a place to go to God and ask Him specific request, such as: “Lord Jesus, I have been called to respect my husband, Lord, teach me how to fulfil this in my marriage.” “In my role as a wife, as a mother, teach me to respect... 

An example of a specific prayer point in  relation to eliminating jealousy from one's life. Rather than stating that, God, please help me not to be jealous in my marriage. Feel free to tell God how exactly you have been feeling. To illustrate: 

"Dear Lord,

Please help me. I get jealous of my own husband. I get jealous of the time that he has, the things he gets to do or doesn’t do, I get jealous of the opportunities he receives, and it hurts. The jealousy fuels bitterness in my heart and then it comes out in the way I respond to my husband. I know jealousy is not from you. I believe you would not want me to be jealous, but rather be thankful for what I have or don’t have, get or don’t get…whether its time or an opportunity. I need to appreciate what you have given specifically to me, embracing it and responding to it all with joy. Help me to take my eyes off of my husband and help me to focus them on you Lord. I pray that you would take this jealousy out of my heart and heal me in Jesus name AMEN (Unveiled wife.com)".

God wants us to take our requests to Him and for us to ask Him specific questions in line with the Word of God (Bible).  Don't pretend to God, tell Him as it is. 

- Myss Lafunky

What on Earth am I Doing Here?

Hi readers and followers, happy new month to you all. I can’t believe its July; this year has gone pretty quick. I remember January like yesterday. How was your weekend?

My weekend was great. British weather did not disappoint. Unfortunately, I was indoors, I did not enjoy the sun. I cooked on Saturday, and I had a few friends over on Saturday night. When you have ladies socialising for over 4 hours, I can assure you that, the discussion tends to centre around: RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS and RELATIONSHIPS. Should I tell you what we discussed? Hmm...anyway, let me not bombard you with another relationship post.

I would like to discuss ‘Our purpose here on earth’.  This could be purpose for our courtship, purpose for our marriage, purpose for being on earth, purpose for our children, etc.

Do you know that, everything on earth has a purpose?  God created every single thing on earth for a purpose and He wants all the things that He has created to fulfil their purpose.  Ask someone that drives a car to work every day and the car breaks down, how do you think the person would feel?  I bet the owner would conclude that, the car was not fulfilling its purpose when it failed to work.

God's desire is that everyone would know his or her purpose of being created, and once we know it, we are to FULFIL it.  The Bible says in Proverbs 19:21 that, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  This suggests that, we as individuals can make any plans that we want for ourselves, however if we do not make our plans whilst seeking God’s advice, the plans will be worthless.

Myles Munroe stated in his book, titled (Understanding the purpose and Power) that we have only ONE LIFE, therefore, we have to make that life count in the things that God wants us to do. 

Do you know why God has called you on earth?  Do you realise that it would be awful to be busy doing the wrong things that may seem right to you throughout your entire life, but those things may not be right in the sight of God?

I'm certainly sure that you wouldn't want to live a wrong life. There are many people pursuing careers, relationships, businesses that are not what God has planned for them.

Did you know that Jesus knew the purpose He was created for at a very young age?  When He went to Jerusalem with His parents, He stayed back at the temple and His parents could not find Him. Eventually, they were able to locate Him and when he was asked where he had been; guess what Jesus said?  He told His parents that He was doing His Father’s business (Luke 2:49).  Jesus was only twelve at the time He knew why He was created. I'm guessing he would have known why he was created before he was twelve years old.

Jesus' purpose was also revealed to His parents before He was born.  In Matthew 1:21, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told Joseph that his fiancée (Mary) would give birth to a son and they are to name him Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins.  God revealed the purpose of Jesus to Mary and Joseph even before He was born.  Do you know the purpose of why your children have been created? Do your children's names reveal the purpose of why they are on earth?

God wants you to know why you have been created. He will reveal it to you. He is the revealer of all things (Daniel 2:47).  He can see your tomorrow, your future, He can see all things. He knows the end from the beginning.  Isaiah 46:10 states that:

“I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, “My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.”

Why not ask Him to let you know why you have been created on earth so that you won’t take the wrong steps and you won’t be sidetracked easily.

Are you a parent?  Ask Jesus about the purpose your children have been created so that, you can start guiding them accordingly.

The only way we can know our purpose is if we continually communicate with God on a daily basis, and obey His Words. Once we communicate with Him on a daily basis and we follow all the instructions that He told us to obey in the Bible, when we then ask Him about the plans for our lives, He will reveal it to us. After He reveals His plans and purpose for our lives, our continuous communication with Him would aid us to know how we are to implement those purpose and the steps that we are to take.

The questions that I am asking myself now are: "Do I know the purpose I have been created for?" "In this stage of my life, am I fulfilling what God wants me to do?"  I have a vague idea about my purpose here on earth. However, God has not fully revealed it all to me. I guess I need to continue to communicate with Him by reading his Word daily and  praying to Him continually.

I need to continue to seek the manufacturer and the designer of my life: God. After all, God doesn’t make mistakes, He doesn’t play guess games, He doesn’t lie, He is organised, He knows exactly what and how He wants each one of us to be.  His plan and purpose for me stand forever. 

The book of Isaiah 14:24 states that:

“The Lord Almighty has sworn,

‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen."

And the book of Psalm 33:11 states that:

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm for ever,
    the purposes of his heart through all generations.”

Say this short Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for creating me.  I pray that you will reveal why you have created me here on earth. I do not want to take the wrong steps, Father Jesus, guide me at all times. I know that, I can only understand the purpose that I have been created through you my maker. I trust in you to help me.
Help me to continually follow you so that you can direct my steps.  It is written in your Word that you order the steps of your children. Father Jesus, order me to fulfil my purpose here on earth.

Do you know your purpose here on earth already?

Say this short prayer
I've discovered my purpose.  Lord Jesus, I need you to help me fulfil it. I will not be sidetracked in Jesus name.

Recommended books
Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men and the women who love them or Understanding the Purpose and Power of Women and the men who love them by Myles Munroe.

-  Myss Lafunky