YOUR YEAR IS LOOKING GREAT!!!

Thank God we made it to 2017. The first month of the year is literally over. What a blessing to have have made it this far. It’s been almost 2 years now but thank God I am here and I have not given up yet

Well, how was 2016?

Was it great? Did you walk in the perfect will of God, your love for God increased or any promotions at work, opportunities to do God’s work?

Was it rough? American Election?  Brexit gone bad? Terrorist attacks? Inflation? Unexpected surprises?

I guess it all doesn’t matter anymore because God sustained us and we made it to 2017. To some of us, New Year means new opportunities, new hope and strength to carry on with the good works. So all hope is not lost at all. God sustained us for a great reason and purpose.  New Year, New me and all the different New Year resolutions flying in the air, but hey it all comes down to one question? Does a new year really make us new? Personally I think it is a decision you have to make because consistency really requires the grace of God.

Well I have a few things to share to encourage us in this new year we're in. I call it the Practical steps to a greater 2017. So regardless of our circumstances we should see these steps as a charge to each and every one of us (including myself) and press on for a greater 2017.

The first step is putting God first in all that do. someone will ask, But what do you mean by Putting God first? Putting God first is mainly acknowledging God in all that we do. It could be a decision concerning a course, choosing a spouse or even choosing what university or college you want to go to. Naturally when we're making such decisions we just go with the flow and what we like more than asking for Gods opinion about such situations. So it's important that we aim to bring God into every step and decisions we make in 2017.

The second step is trusting God completely. Psalms 71:1 says “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion” (KJV). The dictionary defines trust as having a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone (in this case God). It is important that we trust in God completely because trusting in yourself or other men will only lead to confusion and disappointment. This step goes hand in hand with the first one actually. I say this because when we trust someone we will trust their input and seek their opinion in everything we do. So in a way trusting in God does not only save us from confusion as the verse says but it also leads us to seek him more and put him first.

My final point is Striving to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The bible refers to the Holy Spirit as our comforter, our helper and our advocate (John 14:26)
In this New Year my charge to you is strive to have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit because he is our helper and through fellowship with him we'll be pleasing in the sight of the most high God.

Your year is looking great, so Get up with hope, Fix your eyes on Jesus, make a decision to walk closely with him this year, put him first in all your endeavours, Trust in him completely and he shall direct your path.

Well, I guess  it's not too late to say Happy new year. This is your GREATEST year yet!!!

Louisahazel~

LIVE A LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD

Have you ever been in a position where you feel like you’re living to please someone? My answer to this question is YES. I bet you’re wondering whom I was pleasing right. Well keep reading I’ll tell you more. It got to a point in my life where my main aim in life was to please the people around me like my friends. I could go an extra mile just to make a friend happy. I quite remember back in secondary school I could lie about the things I don’t have just to fit in with some type of people I met. I used words to paint my life the colour I wanted it to be for others to see.

But by the grace of God my aim is to live a life that’s pleasing God now. Thank God for salvation. Well, I just want to encourage you to aim to please God in all that you do. I’m going to share with you some ways in which you can please God. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (NLT)

What this verse is saying is that in other to please God you must have faith and believe he exists. What is faith then? Faith simply means having belief and confidence in someone or something based on spiritual conviction rather than proof. So instead of lying and doing certain things to please humans who will disappoint you have faith in God and that will please him.

Another way of pleasing God is by doing his will. This is confirmed in Hebrews 13:20-21 which states that, “Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (NRSV)

A powerful man of God once said that, “The will of God is so mysterious that we will never understand it” Trying to understand a mystery will just take an individual round in circles because we can never understand it. However when you pray, you have to find time and pray for the will of God to be done in your life because praying for the will of God covers our past, present and future.

You can also please God by fearing him. If you fear someone you obey their words and treat them in such a way that they never get angry with you. Psalms 147:11 says that “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” (KJV) The verse above is saying that God will be pleased with you if you  have a reverential awe of him and honour him.

Offering God the sacrifices he deserves is another way of pleasing. In other words God is pleased and he appreciates it when we give him sacrifices of praise as his word says that we should bless him with our soul and everything within us. God is pleased if we appreciate him for whom he is and offer him sacrifices accordingly. Hebrews 13:15-16 says that “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (KJV)

Dear reader if your aim is just to please your friends and the people around you then I’ll suggest you change your style. Aim to live a life that is pleasing to God by having faith in him, doing his will, giving him the sacrifice he deserves and by fearing and obeying him. Let pleasing God become the highest priority in your life/

Stay blessed and remember to share to encourage or bless someone

~ Louisahazel

THINGS THAT FINISHED ON THE CROSS WHEN JESUS DIED

Happy easter everyone,
Hope you're all having  a great Easter. It takes love for God to send his only son to die for our sins. Well today's post was inspired by the messages Preached by Bishop Richarcd Aryee and Rev Steve during my church's  easter convention. It really blessed me thats why i'm sharing it with you guys.

Easter is a fantastic time where great things happened. Through easter we learn about the greater love of God. God sent his son to die for us so that we may have access to him freely.

John 19:30 says that
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (ESV)

There are a lot of things that finished on the cross when Jesus died. I'm going to share 4 of these things with you all.

4 THINGS THAT FINISHED ON THE CROSS WHEN JESUS DIED

1. Bondage and slavery to sin
Bondage and slavery of sin finished on the cross when Jesus said 'it is finished'.
If Jesus didn't die satan would have still rule our lives. Sin puts us in bondage and sin leads to death, but by grace we are saved from the wages and punishment of our sins as Jesus paid our debts on the cross
Romans 6:6 confirms this and it says that,
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." (KJV)

Christ died on the Cross that we will never live in sin. Sin robs us from our destiny in Christ Jesus.
Sin creates a distance between ourselves and God. People tend to run away from God when they sin.
If Christ didn't die on the cross this world would have been worser than it is now.
Hebrews 9:22

2. Diseases and sickness ended with Christ on the cross
God bore our infirmities and diseases that we will never suffer from there anymore.

1 Peter 2:24 says that
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (ESV)

By his stripes you are healed. If you dont believe in this verse it will never work for you.
We have to have faith in order to be able to name, claim  and take what we believe in.

  3. Disgrace ended on the Cross
Disgrace ended on the cross. The devil's intention is to steal our joy and disgrace us.
The bible says we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
God sent his son to die for us so that we may have access to God freely.

     4. Weaknesses finished on the Cross
We are natuarally weak people but Christ died on the cross to that we will be strenghened
in our weaknesess.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says that, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (ESV)

We should remember that Easter is not about the eggs and chickens and hot cross burns but rather it is very significant as it helps to remember the big sacrifice Jesus made for mankind.

Have a blessed Easter and Keep loving God because he loved you before even before we were born.

Remember to share as an Easter present for someone.

~Louisahazel

BE ENCOURAGED! GOD WILL NEVER FORSAKE YOU!!!!!

Happy Saturday dear readers and followers,
Hope you all had a great week. As I was having my quiet time on Thursday I felt in my Spirit to share this message with you guys. I believe it’s timely and it’s something God wants you to know about.

Jeremiah 32:26-27 states that, “Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” (NLT)

There is nothing too hard for the Lord your God. This is great to hear. I've heard this verse so many times but I have never thought about it deeply. The verse is saying God is the Lord of all the people of this world. It's saying he's the God of all Christians, God of all Muslims, Hindus, Budists and what have we. God loves us all equally

Jeremiah 31:3 says that "Long ago the Lord said to Israel “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself." (NLT)

God said he has loved us with an everlasting love, with a love that is eternal and never ending. When our friends and family members tell us that they love us we find it refreshing. How much more God's love? The one who has called us by name and loved us with an eternal love. God's love is very deep that it doesn’t even matter what we do. He doesn’t stop loving us. (Romans 5:8)

This has encouraged me to live a life that is more pleasing to God. He's the only one that has unchanging intentions about my life. He created me for a reason and a good purpose. He created me to win souls for him Yeah he said it in his word and his word is true.


Dear reader be encouraged because the Lord of Lords is with you and he'll will never forsake you.
I've spoken to a lot of people about God and what they always say is "I used go to church all the time but I don't go anymore because of issues I have. Others say they have unanswered questions.

Let me tell you one secret, staying away from church isn’t going solve your problem or it's not going to give you the answers you need, it is only going get worse. On the other hand staying in Church helps you to overcome your issues easily and it will help you to get all the answers you need. You will always have people to talk to and people who are going to be there for you and give you advice.

One more thing you need to know is that whatever you're going through somebody else have the same issues and some even have situations worse than yours. But it takes faith to overlook your problems. Keep believing in God. Your night is going to turn into day soon no matter what.
Why do you limit God to your problems? Instead of thinking about how big your problem is think about how big your God is.

1 Peter 5:7 says “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (NLT)

Dear reader, run to God with all your problems because he cares for you and he'll never leave or forsake you in times of need. You are not a mistake at all. You're in this world because you're meant to be.
.
In Phillipians 4:1-9, Paul talks about the secret of having joy that is greater than life's difficulties and the type of Joy that is beyond human understanding.
If you have this God given Joy you'll look beyond your problems and say to yourself there is hope.

Keep praying about that situation. I’m very sure your answer will arrive shortly. Keep believing God and have a blessed week ahead.

~Louisahazel

FLEE FROM LUST

Hello lovely people
I trust you had a great week so far? My week has been great and blessed and I’m very happy to be alive. The title for this week’s blog is Flee from lust. I'll start by telling you about a true life story of a girl called Anna.

Anna is a very beautiful girl who was brought up in a Christian family. Anna enjoyed going to church and she lived a God fearing life till she went to secondary school.

At secondary school Anna tried to fit in by doing what all her friends did because she was being bullied and called all sort of names.

Anna forgot that she had a God who was bigger than all the situations in her life. She still went to church with her parents every Sunday not because she wanted to be there but because she was told to come along by her parents.

When Anna got to College she met a new friend who introduced her to a guy called Arnold. Anna thought she found a new love when she started dating Arnold and they were both madly in love with each other.

One faithful day Arnold told Anna that if she truly loves him then she had to prove it by having sexual intercourse with him. Anna was a bit hesitant because she didn’t want to be pregnant at her age.
But as time went on she gave in to Arnold's request and lost her virginity to him because he threatened to leave her.

Sex became a normal routine in their relationship. It got to a point when Anna became aware that Arnold was cheating on her but she couldn’t leave him because she thought she had lost her virginity to him so she couldn’t move on. Anna stayed in an abusive relationship with Arnold for about 4 years until she was in second year at university.

Anna’s friend invited her to church and when she went she gave her life to Christ and became born again. At this point she still found it hard to let Arnold go. But she opened up and got a lot of advice from her pastors and gradually she gave up on the ungodly relationship she had with Arnold.

My dear reader and follower,
Can relate to Anna’s story? Then I have a few questions for you

What are your friends introducing you to? Is it drugs, clubbing or ungodly relationships? Then this is the best time to cut them out of your life. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that “be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (KJV). The people you spend more time with can have a great impact on your life. It’s either you leave them now and hang out with people who lead you on the right path or deceive yourself that they will change for the better and stay with them.

Have you defiled yourself in a lusty way or have you missed it along the way? Then I will say this is the best time for a change. God is very ready to help you get out of lustful situations. All you have to do is ask him for help and guidance throughout the way. Just take that bold step towards living a pure life.

The bible states in 1 Corinthians 6:18 that “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” (NIV)
To flee means to run away from a place or situation of danger. The verse above is literally saying don’t waste any time at all. Just run from the danger of sexual immoralities.



So aim to live a pure life by regarding your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and be in a relationship where God will be the centre of the decisions you make. Trust me, if he truly loves you he will wait till you get married. Learn to wait on the Lord and your strength will be renewed.

Have a fruitful week ahead and don’t forget to RUN when you sense any lustful dangers around you.

GIVERS AND TAKERS

Hello lovely followers and readers
Hope you all had a fruitful week. My week has been fruitful by the grace of God
This weekend I’m sharing on the title “Givers and takers”

A giver is someone who gives freely from their heart whiles a taker is someone who enjoys taking from others all the time.

Are you a giver or a taker? This question is actually deeper that you think it is.
Let me ask another question do you have friends who only contact you when they need something from you? Or do you have friends who always want to be on the receiving end and never on the giving end?

It is actually amazing how greedy some people can be. I know a lot of people who always enjoy being on the receiving end but never want to give something back.
Most friendships don't work out because sometimes some givers also give up on their taker friends.

Think about your relationship with God for a second. Do you talk to God because you want an intimate and personal relationship with Him or are you a type of person who always knocks on God's door only when trouble arises?

My dear reader if you find yourself always asking God for favours then I have a few tips for you.
1. Learn to thank God for his mercies upon your life rather than asking for a favour

2. Learn to thank Him for the undeserved favour you receive from him all the time rather than talking about your troubles

3. Learn to Thank God for his everlasting and unconditional love rather than talking about the car you need.

4. Learn to ask God to forgive your sins because the bible says in Romans 3:23 that "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (KJV). You don’t really want to be asking for favours when you have fallen short of God’s glory do you?

5. Spend time to acknowledge God and exalt Him for how great he is because there is no one like Him and there will never be any one like Him.

6. Pray for God's will to be done in your life because if you pray for the will of God, your future and entire life is covered.

7. Pray to God to help you become a giver rather than a taker.

There’s a lot more you could do to draw closer to God but these seven steps could be your starting point.

On the other hand if you find yourself as a giver in any relationship of your life then continue giving and never give up on giving because as you're giving and helping someone, you will also remembered and given to in Jesus name!

Writing on giving also reminds me of giving offerings and tithes to help church growth. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 that “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (NKJV)

There’s a saying that goes like “where your heart is there will your money and treasure also be.” So if you say you love God then you have to be faithful to Him in your finances. I’ve realised that not being faithful to God your finances actually robs you off God’s protection, guidance and blessings. So from now on give cheerfully to God and he’ll bless you with more than you could ever wish for.

Be a happy giver because the Bible says in Acts 20:35 that “It is more blessed to give than to receive”
Have blessed week ahead and give to someone by sharing this post with them.

WHAT IF

Do you ever think about certain things and then ponder on it more to ask yourself a simple question like what if? Well there are lot of questions that comes to our minds day in and day out but the only problem is we never really find answers for them.
Now take time and ask yourself these questions

What if, GOD couldn't take the time to bless us today because we couldn't take the time to thank Him yesterday?

What if GOD decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today?

What if, we never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when GOD sent the Rain?

What if GOD didn't walk with us today because we failed to recognize it as His day?

What if, GOD took away the BIBLE tomorrow because we would not read it today?

What if, GOD took away His message because we failed to listen to the messenger?

What if, the door of the CHURCH was closed because we did not open the door of our heart?

What if, GOD stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others?

What if, GOD would not hear us today because we would not listen to Him?

What if, GOD answered our prayers the way we answer His calls.

What if, GOD met our needs the way we give Him our lives???

What if, we make we become great examples for non-believers to follow????
I’m sure there would be a lot of saved Christians around if we take it upon ourselves to become good examples to our friends, family and the people we live with. As Christians we should aim to be soul winners because the bible says in Luke 15:10 that “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”(NKJV)

Imagine what the atmosphere in heaven would be like if more than one soul repents.

The bible says in Matthew 5:16 that “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”(NKJV)
WE can let our light so shine in this world by standing out and doing the will of God rather than the things the world classifies as normal. For instance when your friends are listening to secular music you can choose to listen to gospel music. When you see people posting a whole lot of unnecessary stuffs on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks you can choose share the word of God or other inspiring materials.

The last question is what if you gave God your all and seek his face always?

Some days our thoughts are a mangled mess and concentration is just impossible. On such days we need A Moment of Inspiration to keep us moving on. A way to figure out what is irritating, depressing and worrying us. Today’s blog serves as broom for my brain and hopefully for you. Since I hope you were inspired and encouraged.
Have a lovely week ahead and remember to let your light so shine.

~Louisahazel

TRUST IN THE LORD

Happy Saturday to all my wonderful readers and followers,
Hope you all had a blessed and fruitful week
Today’s post is about Trusting God.

The bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 that "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths." (NKJV)
This verse is saying that we should genuinely have a firm believe in God with all our hearts and that we have to trust God completely and believe that he has the ability and power over everything in our lives.


What does it mean to lean on your own understanding?
To lean on your own understanding means to believe strongly that your perception and judgement about a certain situation is the best and final. However the verse is saying, ‘Do not lean on your own understanding,’ in other words we have to start leaning on God's understanding. We can do this by submitting to him and also by accepting that he alone is the superior force and highest authority that has ever existed.
Leaning on our own understanding will just lead us on the wrong path. In fact God’s understanding is life and our understanding is death.

The bible says in Proverbs 14:12 that "There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death” So if we continue to lean on our own understanding we will end up on a very wrong path but acknowledging God in all our ways and submitting to him will give us the opportunity to end up on the right path.

I understand that it is very easy to think that trusting in God wouldn’t make some situations better in your life. But it is said in the bible that the Egyptians you see today you’ll see them no more (Exodus 14:13). Just believing in God and trusting him to sort out your issues will attract God’s favour.

My church (Lighthouse Chapel International) recently had a homecoming convention and Bishop Dag Heward-Mills said something that really stood out to me. He said "Sometimes you don't have to understand before you believe, Just believe and trust in God" This s very true because it could take you forever to understand the will of God for your life but just trusting and believing in God will help you to overcome a lot of troubles.

To my dear readers,
Do you always trust your own instincts?
Are you having problems in trusting God?
Do you ever feel that you can do all things without the help of God?

Then I believe this is for you. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you recognise that you’re nothing without God and that trusting in him will make your entire path straight.

One more thing to encourage you is that, it is written in God's word  that there is nothing impossible for God. So whatever situation you might be going through God has an answer for you. Keep believing and trusting God.

Have a blessed week ahead and remember to share with others the love of God.

~Louisahazel

THE GREATER LOVE OF GOD

Happy Valentine's day to all my dedicated readers and followers.
Trust you're all doing great and you all had a fruitful week.
I believe it's a good time to share about the greater love God. The bible states in John 3:16 that  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)  
                                                     

In fact words cannot describe the love of God. Let me ask a quick question will you ever offer your only child because of the love you have for the world? I guess not. Well my answer to that question is a BIG NO, but guess what? God gave up his only son (Jesus Christ) to come to this evil world and die on the cross to save you and I from our sins. Yet after all this we're sinning. Wow we serve a merciful and loving God.

God's love is an everlasting love. The word everlasting means long lasting or eternal love. The greater love of God is till eternity that's why God never gives up on us. This is confirmed in Jeremiah 31:3 which states that  "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."     
                                   
God loves us dearly and unconditionally and it's fair to say that the greater love  of God is deeper, genuine and more affectionate than the love we receive from our family,friends or even our spouses. In other words the love of this world do not compare to the love of God at all.

Sometimes we ask ourselves if God really love us then why are all these bad things happening in this world? But then we forget that the scriptures said that during the end time all these things will happen.

                       

The bible says in 2 Timothy 3:1-3 that "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good." (NIV)

2 Timothy 3 talks about  some of the things that will happen in the end days. So the fact that they 're happening doesn't' mean that God has stopped loving us.       
             
Mostly we see mothers as very loving, caring and passionate. Don't get me wrong mothers are very loving but it'll surprise you if i say the love of God is greater than the love a mother has for her children.This is even confirmed in Isaiah 49:15 which states that "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." (KJV)

It is true that some mothers do forget their children. Indeed the love of a mother is a great thing to behold  but it cannot be compare with the greater love of God at all.

May a day like this filled with love remind us all of the greater love of God always and may we appreciate it as the greatest gift ever given to mankind. Keep loving God and enjoy the  sufficient grace of God.

Have a blessed week ahead. Remember to share and leave comments. Thanks for reading.

~Louisahazel

WHY IT IS A GREAT THING TO SERVE THE LORD

Happy new month lovely people, apologies for posting this weekend's blog late.

Hope your January was fruitful and you enjoyed the first month of the year. God has made it possible for you to see the second month of the year. We serve a Wonderful and an Amazing God. For the past two weeks I have been blogging about “Serving God” and i hope that it has helped you to figure out whom you’re really serving. Well today’s blog is to remind you about your benefits of being a servant for God.

This title was inspired by a message preached by my pastor, Bishop Richard Aryee earlier this year.

Most of us think that when we serve God we’re doing him or our church leaders a favour. I’m sorry if that’s what you think, then I must say you’re very wrong. Serving God will rather benefit you and not your pastor. This is because serving God opens doors for you and helps you to receive favour and blessings from God. The funny thing is if you don’t serve God someone else will but who’ll be losing out here? I guess you figured out the answer for that question.

Well let me share with you three reasons why I believe it is great thing to serve the Lord.

It is indeed a great thing to serve the Lord because

• Serving God helps us to draw nearer to God 

When you serve God it gives you the opportunity to draw closer and nearer to him. Just like the servants on this earth draw close to their masters so will a servant of God be ear him.

The scriptures says in Psalms 73:27-28 that “those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” (NIV)

From the verses above you’ll realise that if you serve God faithfully you get the opportunity to get closer rather than far so that you will not perish.

•  If you’re not a servant of God then you’ll be a servant of ungodliness and sin

The truth of the matter is it’s either you’re for God or against God. In other words it’s either you’re serving God in an acceptable way or you’re just serving ungodliness and sin. The bible says that God is a Jealous God. So you can’t serve anything else alongside him. You have to choose between God and ungodliness. It is a privilege to be God’s servant because if you don’t serve him wholehearted you’ll serving the evil things of this world.

There you have it; Matthew 6:24 says that, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (NIV)

•  He will deliver you in times of trouble and crises 

It is a great thing to serve the lord because when you serve him faithfully he’ll will  protect and deliver you in times of trouble. This can be confirmed in Psalms 121:7 which says that "The Lord will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life." (NIV)

Be rest assured that you’ll never serve the Lord in vain. Thanks for reading and have a fruitful week ahead.

~Louisahazel

JUST GO

Hello my dear readers and followers, I hope you had a great week. How well were you able to serve God throughout the week? Well, guess what you have from today to start serving God if you so wish to. The blog for this week is also related to serving God.

Matthew 28:19 says that “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NIV)

Go because ‘Go’ is the first word of the Great Commission. The great commision is a command so we have to honour God by obeying his words. I know I’ve shared on ‘Making Disciples’ before but I still feel the need to share on this topic again because most of us lack boldness when it comes to going to tell people about God. 

Going out of your way to tell someone about Jesus is a very bold step as sometimes you don’t know what to expect. However, you never know who you might be saving from hell. Using myself as an example. I have been in church all my life but I was still living in sin. When I moved to London for higher education, I had plans to have fun and church wasn’t part of the picture till I met two beautiful ladies called Tracey and Cloudia. They invited me First love Church, London . And here I am blogging about the Word of God and loving God like never before. Glory be to God I'm still in church and it is a great thing to be saved.

The truth is, if they didn’t go out of their way to invite me I don’t know where I would have been by now. But my life has been changed through one church invite.The question is, ‘why keep quiet if we you can talk?’ OR ‘why sit at one place when you can go and win souls for God?’ Trust me when I say we all need to GO because there are a lot of people out there who don’t know who Jesus is. They will only know about Jesus if we're kind enough to share with them that Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world.

I'm sure a lot of people who stay in church stay because they were invited by somebody. It doesn’t take a lot to go on outreach. Let me emphasise on this point again. Going on outreach won’t change your name, your identity, your body parts or even your phone number. I understand that some of us are very shy when it comes to speaking with total strangers about God. That is why we have to pray for Boldness and the guidance of the Holy Spirit anytime we go on outreach.

The Bible says in Matthew 7:19 that “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”(NIV) 

As Christians we are the trees so we have to get nutrients from the soil, use the light from the sun and have enough water in order to bear fruits.

Praying continually, reading and obeying God's word can be the nutrients to help the tree to grow but in order to bear more fruits we have to take on boldness which will be our sunlight as well as sharing the love of God with others which will be the water.I don't know about you but, I really don’t want to be a fruitless tree. In other words, I don’t want to be a useless Christian. So from hence, I’m going to pray for boldness and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help me bear more fruits or win souls for God. 

If Jesus, the Saviour himself preached to others to win souls for his father, How much more us? I'm sorry but we have no more excuses so  JUST GO. 

One thing I’m going to leave you with today is that make it your burden to enhance God's kingdom. The question is, If we don’t go who do we expect to Go? Pray for boldness and know that you'll not labour in vain. God will truly reward you.

Have a great week ahead and don’t forget to GO!

~Louisahazel

SERVING GOD

Hi guys hope you're all loving and obeying God,
The title for this weekend's blog was inspired by the theme for my Church (Lighthouse Chapel International) for  the year 2015 which is 'SERVING GOD'. The question is, ‘How do you serve God whole heartedly?’ Serving God whole heartedly means serving God with all that we have and genuinely from our heart.

It is a great thing to serve the Lord because through that, we help enhance the ministry of God’s Word and we also get blessings from God for being his servants. In what ways can you serve God? It will surprise you the number of things you can do for God. Some of these things include joining a ministry in church and also helping to even invite people to church and caring for others in church. We can also serve God by being faithful in our finances and by honouring the leaders God has chosen to teach us.


In order to serve God wholeheartedly we have to devote our efforts to the Lord. By devoting our efforts, we aim to work for God without looking at what others do. In other words we can devote our efforts to work to enhance God’s kingdom rather than to please our friends.
The bible says in Hebrews 12:28-29 that, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (NIV) 

Well just a quick question, Do you devote all your efforts to God or do you serve God acceptably in reverence and awe?
From verse 28 we see that we have to serve God in a way that is very pleasing to him and in a respectful way. One thing to remember as a servants of God is, we do what we do because of our love for God Not because we want to please our pastor or some people in church. So if you find yourself aiming to please anybody rather than God then I guess you have to re-assess your priorities as a servant of God.

The bible says in John 4:24 that “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in Spirit and in truth.”(NIV)

In the verse above we realise that God wants us to serve and worship him in spirit and in truth. Are you serving the Lord in truth or in pretence? Serving the Lord in truth means to overlook the desires of your natural body and to deny yourself of what you feel is right for your body. In so doing you give God the chance to lead you on the right path and way. Serving God in the spirit also means to practice love, kindness, endurance, goodness, meekness, faithfulness, joy, peace and self-control in your work.  To serve God in spirit means to serve him with much effort and zeal, it means to serve him with a willing and thankful heart.

We need to learn how to serve God in Honesty, Holiness, Sincerity and in Humility. To be able to be a good and faithful servant we have to be as humble as a child. There’s no two ways about it. If you’re a proud servant your service and worship won’t be acceptable. In fact God will resist you.
James 4:6 says that “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble..” (NKJV)

So aim to be a humble servant and God will lift you up and give you more Favour and Grace.
Thank you for your time and take time to think about your service to God whether it is acceptable or not. Aim to be a humble servant and serve God out of love and Sincerity.

Have a great week ahead and remember to share this with  your friends.

~Louisahazel

BEING DOERS OF GOD’S WORD

Hello lovely people,
It’s the weekend again and it is time for God’s Word. How has your week been? The fact that you’re alive is a miracle. Have you ever wondered how sometimes we go off guard and follow bad friends or listen to bad advice but when it comes to doing what the Word of God says we tend to ignore it and think we know best. It is amazing how we take God’s Word for granted but He still chooses to love us unconditional. Wow we serve an AWESOME GOD.The Word for  week is titled “Being doers of God’s Word”.

James 1:22-23 states that, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror (NIV). 

What is your understanding of this scripture?
The scripture above means that we should not be people who just walk in the surface of the earth with no Spiritual life but we should aim to be like Jesus and focus on building our spiritual life more. It also means that we have to take some actions that can change our lives if we hear the Word of God day in and day out.

What does it mean to be a doer? Being a doer simply means to act upon something you’ve heard or experienced. In other words the scripture is saying that we have to take the Word of God seriously and put it in action. As Christians, the Word of God has to be planted in our hearts for it to bear fruit. We have to keep our minds tuned to God’s Word.

Psalms 119:105 states that, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (NIV). 

Basically, not putting God’s Word in action is like walking in darkness with no lights. So you have to make good use of the lamp to guide your ways and path in your everyday life. It is a great thing to walk with the Word of God. So make that decision and you’ll never regret it.  One way you can be a doer of God’s Word is by making a sober decision anytime you hear God’s word and making sure you walk in it.

I’ll encourage you today to make it a part and parcel of you to keep your mind tuned in to God’s word. Aim to be a doer of God’s word rather than just a hearer.
Hope you were blessed by this. Remember to share and leave comments. Have a great week ahead.

LOVING AND OBEYING GOD

Hello Readers and followers,

How are you doing and how are you settling into the New Year? Well I hope 2015 has been good to you so far. Have you met any of your goals for this year yet or have you got any space in your New Year resolutions diary? Then I’ll say today’s blog is for you. The topic for today is ‘ Loving and Obeying God.’

Do you love God? If you answered yes then you have to obey His commandments. This is because being Obedient to God’s commands is the true sign of your love for God, and the only way you can know if you are obeying God is by knowing his Word. Deuteronomy 11:1 says that “Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always” (NIV)

Another question to ask is that, ‘what commandments is Deuteronomy chapter 11 talking about?’ These commandments are the 10 commandment God gave to Moses and the people of Israel.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)

1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.

3 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

5 “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

6 “You shall not murder.

7 “You shall not commit adultery

.

8 “You shall not steal.

9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10. “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.”

I guess the 10 commandments listed above are self-explanatory and easy to understand.

The Bible sates in Exodus 19:5 that “Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.” (Amplified Bible)

In today’s world we attempt to look good in serving God but there is the temptation to perform certain religious duties rather than to truly obey God. Even good activities, such as giving money to charity, attending church services, or praying in public, are not as important to God as obeying His commands.

I pray we all start the New Year by obeying God’s commandment. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:22 that “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (NKJV)
Have a great week ahead and remember to

share this blog with your friends and your social media friends. 

See you next week :) 

TILL THEN KEEP CALM AND OBEY GOD

FELLOWSHIPING WITH BELIEVERS

Happy New Year to my dedicated readers and followers. May you experience the greater love of God this year. May the good Lord order your steps in 2015 and may you walk with him throughout this year. Wow God has been great to us! Not everyone made it to 2015, the fact that you’re alive is enough reason to thank God. Well, hope you all had a blessed Christmas. My Christmas was great and exciting and I enjoyed celebrating the birth of the Saviour and I spent a lot of time praising God for his Son Jesus Christ.

The Word for this weekend is titled “Fellowshipping with Believers” Please read it and be transformed.

Psalms 1-3 says that, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither whatever they do prospers.” (NIV)

From the Bible verses above we can see that a person who takes delight in the Word of God and meditates on it day in and day out will be blessed. A person like this will grow in wisdom and knowledge and will be a fruit bearer. So imagine hanging out with such a person, you will see that the more you spend time with people the more likely you are to follow their steps.

In that same way if you hang out with a sinner or someone who takes delight in sinning, the chances of you sinning is very higher. I’m not saying everyone’s perfect or everyone is free from sin, no not at all. The Bible says in Romans 3:10 that “There is no one righteous, not even one.”(NIV) The point I’m trying to get across is that no one is 100% righteous.

However, in this day of age there are some people who take delight in sinning. They eat sin for breakfast, lunch and supper. So hanging out with such person might even make you a pro. You might not only eat sin for breakfast, lunch and supper you might slide in a few snacks in between meals. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says it all. It says “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (NIV) Well there you have it.

What am I driving at? Why don’t you start making friends with other believers like yourself? Fellowshipping with fellow believers will help you to grow more in your walk with God.

Proverbs 13:20 says “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (KJV)

So aim to walk with wise people and you’ll possess wisdom and knowledge. Make it a point at the beginning of this New Year to walk and fellowship with people who fear the Lord and I’m pretty sure you’ll never regret making this decision. I am a living testimony of this so try it and see how it goes.

Thank you for spending time to read this. God bless you and hope you enjoy the first weekend of the New Year. Have a great week ahead. Feel free to share this blog with friends and family. This could be the best New Year gift you can ever give to anyone.

SPENDING TIME WITH GOD

Hi there, May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. It’s nearly Christmas and we have to bear in mind that Jesus is the only reason for the season. How was your week by the way? Mine was great and fruitful by the Grace of God. Here goes the Word for this week.

The Word for this weekend is titled, 'Spending time with God.' Someone will ask, 'how do you spend time with God?' I’ll simply say you can spend good and quality time with God by doing your Quiet Time. Well this weekend’s blog is inspired by a book I started reading earlier this week. It is called ‘Quiet Time’ by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills. A Quiet Time simply means being deliberate about spending time with God alone. From reading this book I’ve realised that having your Quiet Time is very important and it will help you to develop a closer relationship with God.

Mark 1:35 says that “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (NIV)
From this verse we can see that Jesus spent some time alone with God too so it is necessary to commit to doing our Quiet Time by setting time aside and spending some alone time with God.

The question is 'how do you do your quiet time?' It is very simple all you need is a willing heart, a suitable and quiet place, a bible, music, a note book and pen.
You can do your Quiet Time by praying to God, reading the Bible and meditating on the verses you have read as well listening to some worship songs and making notes of the revelations you get from your Quiet Time. During your Quiet Time, make sure you have a particular time that you just enjoy God’s presence and listen to what He has for you.

Having your Quiet Time daily is important because

• It helps us to draw closer to God and God closer to us.
• It helps to develop an intimate relationship with God.
• It enables us to feed our Spirit man
• It helps us to increase our knowledge of the scriptures                                                              

Matthew 6:6 Says, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (NIV)

Hope you have been blessed. What I’m going to leave you with today is that, make up your mind to start doing your Quiet Time if you’ve not been doing so already and you’ll see the difference it will make in your life. 

Remember to go in your closet and speak to your father in heaven. Enjoy the rest of the week and have a great week ahead. Don’t forget to share this with your loved ones. Stay blessed and have a blessed Christmas.

WHAT DO YOU TREASURE MOST?

Happy Saturday guys, hope you’re doing great and we made God the centre of our decisions throughout the week. The Word for this weekend is titled ‘What do you treasure most?’ and the verse is Matthew 6:21 which says "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (KJV)

So what does treasure mean? The word treasure is a verb that means to keep carefully, to cherish, to hold dear, to place great value on, to set great store by and to value greatly.

So basically this verse means that the things we value greatly or cherish in life is where our heart is. So there will be a different attitude towards what we treasure in our everyday lives because we become very passionate about these things.  In other words we can say that the things we spend more time on or the things we prioritise in life are the things we really treasure.

HOW CAN WE APPLY THIS VERSE IN OUR LIVES?

• We can apply this verse by reassessing and prioritising the things we hold dear to our hearts in our life.  When it comes to our Christian life we can do the following:
• We have to treasure the time we spend with God in our Quiet Time
•  We have to treasure our Prayer life
• We have to treasure the Word of God and the little things like fellowshipping with other Christians.
•  We have to treasure going to church
•  We treasure the upkeep of our various churches by joining a ministry in church to minister the love of God to others.
• We have to be available when it comes to outreaching and evangelism.

  And the list goes on and on….                             

Matthew 6:19-20 says that "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (NIV)

So ask yourself! What do you really treasure? Are you storing treasure for yourself in heaven or on earth? Think about this throughout the week ahead and aim to store treasures in heaven because your treasure in heaven will be untouchable as they cannot be stolen by thieves.

Feel free to leave a comment and share the post with your friends and loved ones.

Have a blessed week ahead and remember that Jesus is the real reason for this festive season. Thank you for reading this post.

MAKING GOD THE CENTRE OF OUR DECISIONS AND PLANS

Hello lovely readers and followers, how was your week? Hope it wasn’t too stressful. My week was good by the Grace of God. Wow!!! I can’t believe its December already. It’s nearly Christmas. Well, we serve a great and mighty God. It is amazing how this year has just flown by but then ask yourself, ‘could you have made it without God?’  My answer to that question is ‘No, Not at all.’ My dear reader, I want you to take a few minutes to thank God for His Grace upon your life. Indeed He deserves the highest praise.

Well, here goes the Word for this week. The Word for this week is taken from Psalms 127:1 and it states that “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards watch in vain.”(NIV)  I used the verse above for my quiet time on Thursday.  After reading the verse I was listening to a song called “This is your house” by Don Moen, then the Holy Spirit whispered to me and asked, ‘what is the point of you singing this song when you don’t even bother to invite God when it comes to making decision of this house?’

From Psalms 127:1 I’ve realised that it is very easy to get carried away and make decision without consulting or informing God about your plans. However the only reasons why the decisions we make work according to plan is because God had already planned for it happen. So just imagine involving God and making him the centre of our decision making. He would guide us and the plan will even work beyond expectations. My lesson from this verse is to make God the centre of my day to day decision making because I cannot do anything without His approval. For it is better to build with God than to build in vain. Proverbs 16:8 gives us an assurance that if you “Commit to the Lord in whatever you do, he will establish your plans.”(NIV)

So next time you want to make a decision about your job, relationship, friendship, university, and other important issues regarding your life, STOP and speak to the father. Ask Him to be the centre of your decision and ask Him to show you the right way and path.

God bless you for spending time to read this and remember that any questions or comments regarding this post are welcome. Just in case you want to listen to Don Moen's "This is your house", please click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3CkDwZ0uv0

BEING BORN AGAIN

Happy Saturday to my dedicated readers and followers. Hope your week was as fruitful as mine. I had a very interesting conversation with my little cousin on Tuesday and I asked if he was born again. The answer he gave was, ‘Yes.’ So I then asked him what it means to be born again. He gave me a very interesting answer which is; ‘being confirmed into a church and going to church every Sunday.’ I just said to my cousin you’re not born again then, because having a confirmation and going to church every Sunday does not guarantee that an individual is born again. So I had to take time to explain to my cousin that being born again is a requirement to go to Heaven. John 3:3 says, ‘Jesus replied, very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again (NIV).

So what does it mean to be born again then? Does it mean that you have to go back into your mother’s womb? No not at all. To become born again means to be produced or created again. Being born again means to know God intimately and draw closer and closer to him. It means that you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and personal Saviour and you invite him to come and live in your heart and take control over your life. Being born again means having the Holy Spirit as your advocate and friend.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (NKJV). From this verse we can see that when someone becomes born again they become a new creature so it doesn't matter what you have done in the past. The past goes with the old man and the new man is the new spirit that has been recreated in us. 

My dear reader, it is never too late to give your life to Christ. Like I said earlier, it doesn't matter what you have done in the past. Jesus Christ is a God of mercies and second chances. Revelation 3:20 says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (NIV). Wow! What a blessing it would be to eat with Jesus. Jesus Christ is standing at door of your heart right now all you need to do is open the door and ask him to come in. 

Please say the prayer below if you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour. God bless you for reading this and don’t forget to share it and be a blessing to someone. Have a great weekend and a fruitful week ahead. Don’t forget to invite Jesus into your heart and don't forget to tell someone about the greater love of God.

                                                             PRAYER 

Heavenly father, I thank you for my life and the life of my loved ones. Father I know that I am a sinner and I am happy you died on the cross of Calvary to save me Oh Lord. I want to invite you into my life as my Lord and personal Saviour. Father please come and stay in my heart and guide my steps. Thank you Jesus for saving me. Amen!!!

REACHING OUT TO OTHERS

Hi there, hope you had a great week. The title for this week is reaching out to others. The main verse for this week is from Matthew 28:19. It says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NIV). Someone will ask why do I have to make disciples of all nations? Well, from the verse above we realise that it is a command from Jesus so we don’t have to take it lightly.

Sometimes we find it hard to outreach to people thinking about the negative what ifs. For instance we sometimes ask ourselves what if they’re not interested? Well, what if they actually listen to you and gain salvation through you? You never know what tomorrow brings so sometimes. It pays to take that big step but it is worth it.

Someone will ask that how can I preach to others?  I am going to share a few things we can to fulfill the great commission.

·         The first thing to do is to pray to God to give you a heart for people and also for the Holy Spirit to lead you.

·         We have live a life that is pleasing to God in order to show what we believe in and for it to serve as a good example to others

·         We can invite others to church.

·         We can pray for unbelievers before we outreach to them.

·         We can also send verses to our friends and explain to them how important it is to read the bible.

Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NIV) From this verse I understand if the Holy Spirit comes onto us we will receive power to be able to reach out easily to our family, friends, neighbours and the new people we meet on a daily basis and tell them about the greater love of God.

What I’m going to leave you with today is that, just telling someone that God loves them can make a big difference in their life. Always pray and ask the Holy Spirit to direct you before, during and after every outreach you go. God bless you and don’t forget to share this with others. Have a blessed week ahead.