What Season of Life Are You In?

 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. (Ecclesiastes 8:5).

About ten years ago, Jesus presented me with the opportunity to be married, but I unknowingly passed it up because I did not know what season of life I was in – I didn’t know what I know now. At the time, I was in a friendship with a man that I once dated, meaning we still talked on the phone or in passing, and we went to lunch or dinner now and then (It sounds like dating, I know, right. LOL). In hindsight, I believe that God allowed this man to come into my life for a set time because I was going through some things, and I learned a lot from him through our friendship. The keyword in this sentence is a set time. Our friendship was to only last for a specific season, but I allowed our friendship to prolong due to my lack of knowledge and understanding. God sent people to tell me that if you want to be married, you will have to cut off your relationship with this person. Because we never had sex and I was not dating anyone at the time, I did not see our friendship as a threat to a future relationship with someone else. However, God told me that He had a better man for me (At the time, I wasn’t sure if that was God’s voice). He even showed me in a dream where another man tried to get to me, but my friend kept blocking him. I let the opportunity to get married in that season pass me by. However, because of the grace of God, I have been allotted another chance.

So, ladies, I beseech you not to allow culture to dictate your seasons in life. Stop letting the world tell you when your biological clock is ticking or how old you should be to start a business or pursue your career. The world’s time clock does not matter to God, and God works on His time, not ours. According to God, the creator of time, there’s a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11). How many blessings have you left on the table because you did not know what season of life you were in?

As you ponder over your life and the choices you have made, do not grow bitter. Be grateful that God has brought this knowledge to your attention (Proverbs 3:11 and Proverbs 9:8-9). Do not allow satan to cause you to miss the blessings in your current season by focusing on your past mistakes or looking ahead. Rest reassured that blessings behold you in the future because Jesus went ahead and paved the way (Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus wants us to live in the moment with Him. Spend time with Jesus as soon as you can and consult Him about which season of life you’re in so that you can move accordingly (Ephesians 5:15-17).

XOXO,

Jay

Hoodwinked Christians

 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; (Deuteronomy 11:16).

Many Christians are being hoodwinked into following after the spirit of the anti-Christ. I was once one of those Christians before Jesus Christ delivered me from the spirit of religion. In Greek, anti-Christ is defined as an opponent of the Messiah. An anti-Christ is also an ideology that is in contrast, requital, or substitution of the Word of God (2 John 1:7-11). Because satan is subtle, he will use many tactics to deceive Christians into thinking that they are following the Truth. Sometimes, he’ll use other believers to misguide us unknowingly. Below are some tricks of the enemy that he uses to mislead Christians.

• The Holy Spirit has given you a confirmation through the Word of God or instructions about a particular area in your life. After sharing the news with another believer, they mislead you by giving you contrary advice and backing it with Biblical scripture or telling you what the Holy Spirit told them about your matter. If you choose to heed to their instruction versus the Holy Spirit, then you are following the spirit of the anti-Christ. The enemy will use the Word of God against us to get us to disobey God (Genesis 3:1 and 1 Kings 13).
•  If you follow after a pastor or preacher who believes that the Bible is not without fallacy, you are following after the anti-Christ (2 Timothy 3:16 and Psalm 119:160).
•  If you follow after doctrine that uses the scripture to glorify man and not Jesus, you are following after the anti-Christ. E.g., a leader uses verses from the Bible to push their agenda by persuading people to do what they want. Ask yourself, “How will this action or outcome glorify Jesus?

These are just a few ways that the enemy hoodwinks Christians. However, he’ll use whatever tactic is appealing to each of us. So we must be diligent in spending time with Jesus so we do not fall prey to the enemy. Through prayer, reading, and studying the Word of God, comes discernment.

Ladies, let’s watch and pray that we do not enter temptation (Matthew 6:13 and Matthew 26:4). 

XOXO,

Jay