Resolutions: changing for the better

Hello there!😊


My purpose for this blog is deeply rooted in my previous post (click on the link if you haven't read it: 2016: Reflections & Resolutions), in which I mentioned the importance writing down a resolutions list and reviewing it regularly. I also mentioned a lesson I learned last year, that lasting change begins, continues and ends with the Holy Spirit.

 I have already started working on my resolution list, and it's already pretty long although it's not done..and that's kind of scary BUT the good thing is that most of the points are interconnected, so we'll just call it detailed instead of long 😉.  And these past days, God has been pointing out things to me that need to change...things that I didn't consider when I started writing. God wants me to change for the better and He is initiating that change, and that perfectly aligns with what I wrote about lasting change. The things that He has been pointing out are so deep and definitely something that needs to be worked on before I find myself in worse situations. I see that God is giving me another chance or a grace period and I am so thankful for it. I see them as "God's resolution list" for me and I'll be sharing them in the coming posts.

So this whole, "God's resolution list" kind of shocked me and I was wondering if it's Biblical and it actually is. Let me explain. I was reminded of these verses from Psalm 139.

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; 

Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—then guide me on the road to eternal life.

God knows us our hearts through and through. He knows everything about us. He can examine our lives and point out things that are wrong in our lives and He can lead us on the road to right road. 

So as good as it is to write lists from our view, we have an incomplete view of ourselves. Therefore, I encourage you to ask God to point out areas as you write your list. Some of you may be thinking that it's too far into the new year to write or to be talking about resolutions or even to make them. But let me remind you that we have 340 days left of the year, and January isn't over yet!😁 It's never too late to want to change for the better, and we don't have to wait for a new year to make resolutions. Everyday is an opportunity to do better. And last but not least, let us ask God to guide us so that we can live out the resolutions that we have.

Blessings 💜

2016: Reflections & Resolutions

Helloo there!

I hope you had a lovely celebration and are super duper excited for 2017! I am slowly loading my excitement bar and simultaneously downloading my thankfulness bar 😊.

God was good to me, my family and friends in 2016 in so many ways. He has provided us with family unity and laughter, great friends, good health, finances, jobs... you name it! He did it! And I am grateful for these two highlights:  I GOT ENGAGED! and am FINISHING MY MASTER'S DEGREE (bye bye university! hehehehe) and also for my FRIENDS! Mehn, I love my friends especially my sister! They have taught me so much about life! They have built me up in so many ways and encouraged me when I was low. God has used them to mold and shape me. So much to be grateful for! God is good, all the time!!!

 As good as 2016 was to my family, it wasn't all cherries and roses mainly but not only, because my sweet Mbuya (grandmother) passed away. We didn't see her death coming, it happened so fast but still we are thankful for her life. She was an amazing mother and grandmother who is dearly missed! I thank God that my parents were settled in Zambia when it happened. He moved them from Suriname only two years ago. I thank Him because we got to spend time with her and to enjoy her. She was an inspirational believer, a role model to me and others and I believe she is enjoying herself in heaven right now!

Although we are already in 2017, I encourage and challenge you to still take some time aside to reflect on 2016 month by month if you haven't, both the good and bad events and to be grateful. A friend of my recently told me something very profound, "In the night sky, the stars shine and glisten, radiating like diamonds in the sky. There are treasures in the night. Dark times are not to be feared, they have their treasures too."

With the ending of one year and the beginning of another comes: RESOLUTIONS! We all want to be or do better in some area or other in our lives.  And that's good. It's good to want change for the better. I usually write up a list of things I want to progress in spiritually, physically, emotionally, academically ... and review it now and then. I actually need to work on taking more time to review. Nevertheless, one very important thing I learned last year is that lasting change starts and continues with the Spirit. You can't do it without Him. If you want to grow in some area, or if you are not sure of which areas you need to grow in; ask God and He will show you and help you mature in it. Start, continue and end with Him. When you fail, don't beat yourself down, get up and try again. Never ever give up!

 Goodbye 2016. Hello 2017!

Sharing is Caring

The societies we are a living in, especially in the West, are evolving from ones that are concerned about others to ones that are individualized and closed. And as a result, we are becoming the kind of people that "mind our own business" in other words, people that are concerned only about themselves.

 This change and it's consequences are contrary to what God desires of us. Human beings are created in the image of God. God is a relational being and is greatly concerned about our welfare. So when we become less relational and more selfish, we are acting in an abnormal manner. One of the most important ways to show genuine care for others is by sharing the Gospel in word and in deed, God doesn't want us to live among the lost without caring enough to tell them about His love which was so richly expressed in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection three days later.

In the years that I have been living in Belgium, I have found it hard to be an effective witness of Jesus not only because of the above mentioned reason. For the first two years, I was uncertain of my faith although I still sought God, it's not easy to talk about someone you don't know. After my baptism, it was mainly because I was afraid of what people would think of me if they knew that I believed or  I was not confident enough to start a conversation about the Gospel.

But last month, God had been speaking to me and teaching me about evangelism in so many ways.
- He encouraged me to not only know my faith but also share it and  He reminded me that I am His ambassador through whom many will come to know Him.
- He helped me understand that  it's not my job to convict and cause people to confess that Jesus is Lord but that my part is in planting the seed which He will tend and cause to grow.
- He showed me that each day is a day for salvation and that I should seize every opportunity that comes my way.
-  Although I can witness with my lifestyle, I can also do so with my mouth; after all, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. This to for me, has been the most important lesson because I had always relied more on my lifestyle to witness to people. However, I have also been given a mouth to speak words of life. One method is not better than the other, both a biblical and both should be used.
- Lastly, He made me realize that wherever and with whoever I am, I am there to witness.

 All this has been a lot to take in but the Holy Spirit both teaches and enables us to do good works of which evangelism is one. We can not witness in our own strength. Instead effective witnessing is a result of a rich relationship God which develops from spending time with Him, the knowledge of one's identity in Christ and a correct understanding of the Bible. The more I will know Him, the easier it will be to tell someone about Him. And the more I understand that I have not been given a Spirit of fear, the more I will not be ashamed to tell others about the Lord. Lastly, the more I understand the Bible, the better I will explain the faith.

The sharing of the Gospel to a single person has a ripple effect, like that which is seen when a stone is thrown in a lake with each subsequent wave growing larger, it not only affects the person in which the seed was planted but also his/her lineage and  the lineage of others around him/her.

What greater gift is there to give to someone than the message of eternal life because of God's love displayed in Jesus' death and resurrection?

Now is the time of salvation! Be bold, be silent no more!



How has God been using you to draw people to Himself? What do you find difficult about the sharing the Gospel? Which songs inspire you to evangelize?

Two songs that have greatly inspired me about witnessing are Tell The World by Lecrae ft Mali Music and  Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective. 

Check out these devotionals from Our Daily Bread about evangelizing:
Evie's Decision
A Pleasing Aroma

Head Over Heels

I love shoes and I don't know exactly why but there is just something about shoes that I can't wrap my mind around. Through my love for shoes, God recently taught me a lesson which I will now share with you.

Last week Saturday, I went to Antwerp to buy some things for my family back in Zambia and also to collect some items for my mother from an aunt. So I went to the shopping street but unfortunately, I didn't find anything for the family (I eventually got some things from Leuven) but I found these lovely shoes in Zara. I didn't plan on buying anything for myself and since I didn't want to buy them spontaneously, I took a picture sent it to some friends to get their opinion on them. Sadly since no one was online, I decided to leave them and I got my mum's items and headed back to Leuven.

Hours later, my sister and a good friend replied to my picture, they said the shoes were gorgeous! But I was now in Leuven, so I decided to check for the shoes online...however they didn't have my size online but the shops in Brussels did. Guess what I did? I went to Brussels despite the fact that I had organized a dinner in two hours, the trip to and from Brussels would take the same amount of time. That meant that I would be late. So I postponed my dinner to 8pm and off I went to Brussels. I eventually got the shoes with the help of a friend I met in the shopping street.

Now what is the lesson I learnt? When I was on the train to Brussels, I realized how big a leap of faith I was taking. The website said the shoes were available in Brussels but it was sales and the chances of finding them were slim and on top of that I had changed my schedule for a pair of shoes.

I realized that that's what God wants from us too. Those leaps of faith. The Bible makes a lot of promises but the difference between the website and the Bible is that the promises in the Word of God are true. What He says, we will find sales or no sales. Remember that "it is impossible to please God without faith" (Hebrews 11:6b). Faith "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1) is one of the major necessities of Christian living. It is by grace through faith that we have been saved (Ephesians 2:8) and we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Faith, faith and more faith.

God wants us to make time for Him, and to go to great lengths for Him. I made time to get those shoes, I changed my schedule and I even had to get on a train for 30mins ONE WAY plus the walk to the shop. Faith needs time, it needs to be worked out, it's an investment. For faith without works is dead (James  2:17). This is not a work OR faith issue but a faith AND works.

Yes I am crazy for shoes but I should be even more crazy for God. My prayer for you and I is that we will take those leaps of faith according to His promises and make time for Him and go to greatest length to find Him. I promise, we will not leap to disaster but to a greater reality!

God bless!

It's Too Late, Lord.

"When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.....Jesus said, 'Take the stone away.' Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”
 - John 11:32,39 (GW)

 I learned something from Martha and Mary again! If you haven't read the previous post, click here Eliminating the Unnecessary. 

Sometimes in life we give up and lose hope easily. This loss of hope can also affect the way we view God. Let me illustrate this with Mary and Martha. 

Lazarus, their brother, had been sick and had just died. When he was sick, they had sent a message to Jesus; they knew that if  He came, He would heal him. They knew Jesus was a healer, He had healed many people before. He had healed the royal officer's son, the paralyzed man at the pool and many others. But the issue was that, when Jesus finally came, Lazarus was dead. Mary and Martha had given up. It was too late. Their brother was gone. We can see that that's what they thought because:

1. Although Mary had deep reverence for Jesus ( "she knelt at his feet"); she said to Him, "Lord, IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE..."
2. When Jesus asked for the stone be rolled away, Martha said " There is a STENCH. HE'S BEEN DEAD FOUR DAYS". (Emphasis added).

They had lost hope even in the Lord. But you know what Jesus told Martha? He said “Did I not tell you that IF YOU BELIEVE, you will see the glory of God?” (v.40). Jesus had already told Martha that her brother will rise again but she did not believe and so she limited God (v.23-24). But that didn't stop Jesus; He went on ahead and shouted “Lazarus, come out!” and guess what? Lazarus came out! He came back to life, still wrapped up in his burial clothes (v.43-44).

When I read this, I had been reading Ephesians and the Spirit revealed something to me. I remembered this verse: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins....But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions" (Eph.2:1,4-5).
   
 We all have many loved ones, friends and family, who do not know the Lord. We all have things that we might be giving up on. Lost causes so to say. Things that HAVE BEEN DEAD MANY DAYS, MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS. But you know what? We were all dead once.I was dead for many years, I stunk way more than Lazarus, people might have given up on me but that didn't stop the Lord from calling out to me. And He shouted "Twi, come out!" and I came out of that dark and rotten place and stepped into life and into light.

I want to say to you, don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't let your view of God be changed by your current situations. Maybe your health, finances, relationships, spiritual life or whatever it is, is dead. Despite all this, you must chose to remember that He has victory over death and nothing is impossible for Him (1 Cor.15:55; Luke 1:37).