Truth Memoirs

I grew up with the understanding that the purpose of prayer is to inform God about my expectations so he could fulfill them, but  I did not know what to make of it when  my expectations were not fulfilled as I expected. This  led me to ask questions about whether I prayed hard enough or long enough? Or even question the existence of GOD. I never asked these questions out loud but they were there at the back of my mind. So when I saw the headline “ Ace Magashule humbled by prayers ahead of corruption trial” , I paid attention because in South Africa it is common to see a politician or a prominent individual running to church for prayers when they find themselves in trouble. This always bothered me but previously it did not bother me enough to do anything about it.  The fact that churches even complied with these politicians and in some cases they even invited them made me wonder about the purpose of prayer. It seems to me I am not the only person who thought the purp...

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME Doing what makes you happy is a popular motto where I come from this means pursuing happiness should be the ultimate life goal WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS Joy is deep-rooted, inspired happiness This deep rooted inspired happiness endures hardship and trials and connects with meaning and purpose.  God is the source of joy and we experience it when we focus on Him by obeying and trusting Him. It is the secret to contentment and it is  God’s good and perfect gift that is eternal Benefits of pursuing deep rooted inspired happiness : It not only impacts our souls, it also has a positive impact on our health.  It brings us peace that protects our souls It positions us to be always be in God’s presence so not to lose our confidence It reminds us to give our burdens to God through prayer so we do not allow ourselves to be pulled in various directions in times of crisis It helps us focus on the present instead of worrying about the future It allows us to experience...

WHAT THE WORLD TAUGHT ME: The truth is subjective because it is based on a person's perspective, feelings, or opinions. Everything we know is based on our input - our senses, our perception. Thus, everything we know is subjective. WHAT GOD IS TEACHING ME There is a Bible scripture that says when we are in a Spiritual Warfare we should not fight it in our own strength but instead we should put on the Armor of God and in the passage it refers to the TRUTH as the belt in the armor of God. The Bible commands to put on the belt i.e. TRUTH when in Spiritual Warfare. This scripture has been a battle for me as I have been trying to apply it my life, mainly because I kept asking myself which truth because I thought TRUTH was subjective. I then initially thought TRUTH refers to the Word of God but the same passage refers to the Word of God as a sword in the armor of God. Recently while in my morning devotion it hit me. The TRUTH that is being referred to here is the Gospel message which tell...

Recently a friend made the following comment ”having faith in oneself is better than having faith in some imaginary dude from Israel”. In another unrelated incident a friend sent me a video of Sadghuru - a very popular Indian yoga guru and proponent of spirituality - where he questioned why people loved Jesus when he died 2000 years ago. These incidents are making the assumption that Jesus Christ is just another Prophet  and  they are also questioning his validity and relevance today. As a follower of Christ I obviously believe he is more than just a prophet and he is very relevant today as he was 2000 years ago. Here is why. He is our bridge  to God When Adam and Eve disobeyed God that led to us being separated from God but God has been creating a bridge that will enable us to reconcile with him since then .This bridge is Jesus Christ, when we acknowledge him we receive God’s Spirit through which he reveals his purpose for our lives He is our teacher Jesus also came to ...

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME: I have always understood that true wisdom starts with great knowledge and/or experience WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT WISDOM A lot of things in my life were not going according to plan and having realized that I needed divine intervention  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour one day in March 2019 after watching  a preach by Joel Oesten  on TBN. I did not understand why things in my life were not going according to how I had planned. It seemed to me all my efforts to boost my family’s financial situation were under attack. I did not know from whom or from where but  in 2019 I knew that whatever/whoever was against me was more powerful than I am and when I started reading the Bible and listening to the Word of God I started understanding what was happening to me and my family. I also understood that I am not the first person to go through this experience. The Bible is full of examples of people who went through similar circumstances. I also l...

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME God is interested in me being GOOD WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ACTS 13:22 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ Context of the scripture God called David a man of His own heart because David did everything God wants him to do What the scripture teaches me It pleases God when we do everything that He  wants us to do.  CONCLUSION God is more interested in my obedience

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME God wants to be part of MY plans WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS GENESIS 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings[a] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,[b] and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” Context of the scripture After God  created the all the animals he then decided to create human beings to be like Him and reign over all animals and all of other God's creations What the scripture teaches me God created human beings to reflect Him on earth, in other words human beings were created to reflect an invisible God. CONCLUSION God wants me to be part of HIS plans

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME The objective of prayer is to move God so he is in agreement with what I want WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS JAMES 4: 3 And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives,[a] seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires. Context of the scripture James says we dont get what we want because we dont ask for it but even when we ask we dont recieve it because we asking for it to fulfill our selfish motives  What the scripture teaches me God does not answer prayer that is motivated by our own selfish desires, we should therefore use prayer to give our burdens to God and leave Him with the consequences CONCLUSION The objective of prayer is to move me so I am in agreement with what God says

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME You need self confidence to live out the purpose for your life WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS 2 CORINTHIANS 3:5 Reads: Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Context of the scripture Paul tells the Church of Corinth that he does not  need a letter of recommendation  to validate his ministry because their lives are the recommendation enough he is confident of this because of his union with Christ but he does not see himself as achieving this on his own strength but this confidence comes from God.  What the scripture teaches me When we are called to do anything for God we should not rely on our own strength but God's strength CONCLUSION Dont  rely on own strength to live out  purpose for your life

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME Do whatever makes you happy WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ROMANS 8: 6- 8  Reads: 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God Context of the scripture Paul tells his audience that those whose mind is governed by the flesh are bound for destruction because the flesh is hostile to God and thus make it impossible for them to please God. On the other hand  those who live by the Spirit are promised life and peace because the Spirit enables them to submit to God's law.  What the scripture teaches me Without the Holy Spirit  we are unable to please God therefore we cannot  rely on our human impulses to please God CONCLUSION You cant please God by relying on your human impulses