It Ain't Over Yet!

Last night after hearing some discouraging news, I opened my bible to the book of Job. When you don't understand what God is doing, this is one of the best books to read in my opinion. So here is the beautiful lesson that I learnt from Job. Job lost everything. In the 30 something years (just a guess) that he had toiled on earth. In just one day it all disappeared. All his material possessions were either stolen or burnt up. Only he and his wife survived, I take it because they are one so when God said, “only don't harm his person,” it included them both. But upon news of this all, the first thing he did was acknowledge God's sovereignty by WORSHIPPING HIM! And as it is written, he did not sin or curse God. As God was confident in Job to be a blameless man, so he proved. His wife, who although wasn't in support was able to recognize him as being a man of integrity. Can God brag on you? My answer right now is no but I'm working on it #grace.

Job's identity did not lie in his wealth or his children or anything he accomplished on earth. If it did, how easy would it have been to curse God? If it did, he probably would've killed himself instead of just lamenting about his life. Instead he recognized that everything he had was from God and was given to him. He was consistent. Like my fave verse (Philippians 4:12-13), he knew what it was to have plenty and he knew what it was to be in need. But in everything he was content because God was his strength. Let me tell you, Job knew the secret. In his tears, he cried out to God. When we submit our lives to God our tears don't fall in vain. He sees and can count every single one.

And as we all know, the story doesn't end that Job lost everything and then died. He was brought into rich fulfillment (Psalm 66:2). The fire came, but did not burn him. The water came, but did not drown him. And in the end we see that he received double what he had lost. “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before" Job 42:10. The Lord blessed his latter great than his former. I know God can do all things. Today is June 1st 2017. We're halfway through the year but it's not over until God says so. Keep the momentum. Stay consistent.

Stay Blessed!!!

Elena Asks.

 

LIFE IS SHORT

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone! Today I’m going to share with you all the story behind my life motto. If you know me, you’ve heard me say this at least once: LIFE IS SHORT. And truly, it is. I was talking to my girl Nini a couple of weeks ago and it was around 11:30pm. She was basically telling me that I should go to bed since I had work the next day. I usually wake up around 5:30/6:00am so it was a justified suggestion. However, I was up because I was working on my to-do list (cheers to productivity). So my reply to her was this, “LIFE IS SHORT.” And to be honest, that is my reply to a lot of people. Why?? Because it is! There’s not much more to it than that. If I could get a tattoo, that’s what it would say.

Two years ago on this day, I lost my cousin who I’d grown up with and his death hit me hard. Loosing Jonathan was really hard for me for many reasons but also because he was YOUNG. I realized that we often take life for granted when we are young. It’s a cliché but it’s true. I didn’t realize when I woke up Friday morning that I would be hit with news of a death in my family. I was simply living my life, going through the daily routine and all of a sudden nothing made sense anymore. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t understand how someone so young could just take their life and be done with it. It really made me think about how I value my life. I realized that there was so much more I could be doing but I wasn’t simply because I felt like I had time. When it comes to God, the author of time, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8). So the excuse of “when I’m older I will (fill in the blank)” doesn’t work.

James 4:14 says, “ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” We really don’t know how much time we have on earth, let alone what tomorrow holds. Our time is short. And that is really all there is to it. When I was in school, I would pull an all-nighter and be so tired. But then, I would finally get to sleep and a couple weeks later, forget how tired I was. Am I still tired from that overnight study session in the café that I pulled in April? No. But I do remember the bomb grades I got because I worked so hard and felt accomplished. With this perspective, I don’t mind staying up and working on my goals because I know that it will work out in the end. With this mentality that Life Is Short, I understand that procrastination is me taking advantage of God’s mercy and sovereignty. Because I’m assuming I have all the time in this world to be obedient and do what I’m called to. I’m not saying don’t ever sleep, but just realize that you only have a short time here. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. So make the most of it. Pull an all-nighter, go the extra mile, and work hard. You can never regret that. Life is short. What I would regret is dying in the promise. Not doing what I said I would do. I would regret my life coming to an end and realizing I never did that thing that I always said I wanted to do. I would regret taking advantage of the short time I’ve been given to live purposely on this Earth. So the next time you’re looking for an excuse, remember – LIFE IS SHORT.

Side note: I’m preaching to myself because I decided to write this blog instead of sleep even though I totally could’ve justified it because I had a long week!

Stay Blessed!!!

Elena Asks.

Leave The Dead

Today’s message comes from Luke 9 which I encourage you to read on your own time. But you can follow along with Luke 9:51 – 62.

One thing that I’ve always found interesting in the bible is how the elders knew when death was upon them. I believe they were so in tune with their bodies and spirit, that they could somehow sense when death was near and would therefore prepare themselves for it. When they announced that their time of death was near, it wasn’t something instant but could even take up to a couple of years for it to happen. For example, Isaac sent his sons out to prepare a feast before death came to his door. Even more so, the children would often relocate years before their parents died in order to be with them or as it was often referred to "bury their dead." Basically, when it was said of a child that they were going to bury their dead, they were actually going to prepare that loved one to die. Then, after they actually died, the mourning period would typically last 110 days.

So in Luke 9:1-4, Jesus gathers His disciples, gives them all the power and authority and sends them out to preach the gospel. Telling them to bring no food, no clothes, no money and not even a carry-on luggage. Basically bring nothing that would be a distraction or a nuisance to their mission. He makes it clear that “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever will save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). He only wants those who will give up everything to follow Him.

In Luke 9 we read that along the way, Jesus ends up in a Samaritan village and meets a man who claims that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. And he tells Him, I don’t have any mansion here on earth, I don’t even have place to lay my head, are you sure about that?

Then he meets our friend to whom He says “follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  Jesus says to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But you go and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:50-60).

From previously gathered information, we know that his response (read: excuse) for Jesus really means, “I’m not ready yet, give me a couple years, let me get my affairs in order and then I can come and follow you. Maybe then, I would’ve had time to really see if you’re legit.” When Jesus says let the dead bury their own dead He is saying this realizing that the man was not trying to give up everything to follow Jesus. He did not realize that the Son of Man came to save the lives of men and not destroy them (Luke 9:56). The dead are those who are dead in Christ and alive to sin. The ones who haven’t caught the revelation of who Christ is. They are the ones who should be spending months mourning and living in sadness when the saviour of the world is alive and present in their midst.

More often than not, following God means giving up everything. But it also means giving up your pain. Letting the dead bury the dead and gaining life from the One who gives it. When Jesus says the dead should bury the dead, He also means it by saying that those who are dead in spirit shouldn’t stop others from getting life. And to those who have life and know God, they shouldn’t distract themselves with the dead and all the burial rituals that would be taking them away from life with Christ. Let’s not get so distracted by all the stuff around us that we forget that everything else can wait. God will use any measure necessary to grow us, even if it may cause temporary pain (See Job, Judges 3, James 1). No matter what is going on in our lives, we must put it aside for Jesus. Leave the dead and follow the one who gives life and life in abundance. Preach the kingdom of God and don’t ever look back! 

Stay Blessed!!! 

Elena Asks. 

My Sisterhood

In high school, I learnt a whole lot about people and the world. I can honestly say that I loved my experiences in my teenage years but I’d be lying if I said it was easy. My life really did turn upside down and I unfortunately experienced betrayal on more than one occasion. Those who I trusted did me wrong and I carried that principality around with me into my twenties. A principality is the root of something – in this case, sin.  It was easy for me to trust people but hard to forgive them once they hurt me. This is because I experienced hurt from the people I trusted most. These negative experiences when it came to building relationships caused me to build up walls of bitterness and resentment towards people who had perfectly good intentions in my life. Then, somewhere, seemingly out of nowhere, I met my sisterhood. Back then I didn’t recognize or even imagine the impact they would have in my life but as I reflected the other day, I realized I have never publicly affirmed their influence in my life and so here I am today.

“Each friendship represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born” -Anaïs Nin. As the saying goes, it takes a village! Mine is made up of four very exceptional women who have inspired growth in me. To love harder, to forgive quicker, and to be a better person. These girls are like the gum on the bottom of your shoe that you just can’t get off. No matter what, they stick around. We tolerate each other and roast each other, but we also pray for each other and carry each other’s burdens and laugh A LOT together.

For my birthday, my sisterhood got me a book by Bobbie Houston which is appropriately titled “The Sisterhood.” This book is Bobbie’s vision for this generation of women in 256 short pages. It details her journey to the women’s ministry and sisterhood she now has today. This book is nothing short of inspiring because it empowers women to rise up and take their place as the bride of Christ. Even in this world where the adversary so wants to put down women and minimize their importance, we as women need to catch on to the vision of God for our lives and walk in the purpose He has for us as daughter troops, as princess warriors, as strong and submissive women and as world-changers. But most importantly, for us as women to weave ourselves together into a strand of unity that would draw forth the blessing of God. Psalm 133 says:

^1-3 How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.

So to my sisters, I give you these words from Bobbie Houston which speak my heart…

True friendship is uncomplicated. It may not be perfect, but if it is pure in spirit it will allow for the ebb and flow of life. It’s generous, encouraging and never competitive. It’s not easily threatened and leaps to the defense or protection of those whom it is loyal. It remains faithful in all seasons, is tested with the passage of time, and always finds grace to forgive when forgiveness is needed. It believes the best of one another and is undaunted when distance or busyness of life creates a widening space between that last coffee or shared giggle and the present.

I say all this to say that true friendship does exist. God desires for us to be in community and relationships with other people. He has said, "where two or more are gathered, I'm there," because He doesn't want us to be exclusive (Matthew 18:20). And truly, everything does work together for our good. God requires us to have a broken and contrite heart if we come before Him and want to be used by Him (Psalm 51:16-17). You can't walk with God if your heart has not been broken (Isaiah 66:3-4). If I hadn't experienced that heart break and healed from it, I wouldn't have of been able to appreciate the good God was doing in my life and the special people He was introducing me to. We shouldn't allow what happened in the past to dictate our future. And understand that beautiful things can come out of our most painful moments. 

Cheers to true friendships, vulnerability and trust.

Elena Asks.

Armour Bearers

This past Monday I had the honour of going to see the Hillsong United Documentary, “Let Hope Rise” in theaters and man was it good! I have always been a big fan of Hillsong Church and the creative content that they are able to put out. This movie was nothing short of that. It was inspiring, entertaining and glorified Jesus. But I’m not here to give a movie review.

This blog however, was inspired by the Hillsong Movie. (SPOILER ALERT) Towards the end of the film, Joel Houston is pressed for time in his attempts to complete a song 77 minutes before their live recording! During this time, Jad Gillies narrates what is happening behind the scenes. Jad tells us how he empathizes with his friend as he tries to complete the song being pressed for time but still wanting to complete it with excellence and to his own personal standards. I loved the way Jad spoke about Joel and how he recognized Joel’s needs at the time. But what I love most was the analogy he gave about his friendship with Joel.

During a very heartfelt moment in the movie, after Jad and Joel had just ministered the song Joel finished 5 minutes before showtime, Jad tells us of the story of the armour bearer. In biblical times, the armour bearer was someone who was in charge of carrying the armour and standing by kings or generals in times of war. They played a protective role or even acted as a covering. Jad sees himself as Joel’s armour bearer and Joel as his own. I was captivated by this beautiful analogy and decided to look further into the life and role of an armour bearer.

In 1 Samuel 14, a brave Jonathan decides he wanted to go over to the Philistine outpost and enter into battle with them. When he shared this with his armour bearer his reply was, “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul” (verse 7). An armour bearer dedicates themselves completely over to the one they are called to protect. This means that no matter how crazy, radical or outrageous your plan sounds, your armour bearer will stand with you completely. Later in the chapter we see that the Lord gave the Philistines over to Jonathan and where did we find his armour bearer? Right behind Jonathan following him and killing behind him (verse 13). That is what an armour bearer does, they stand right behind you and fend off any enemies that may attack you where your eyes can’t see. They intercede for you. When we look at multiple examples in the Bible, we can see that an armour bearer is someone you respect and can be vulnerable with even to the point of death. In Judges 9:54, Abimelech called to his armour bearer to kill him so that it wouldn’t be said that he was killed by a woman. King Saul also called upon his armour bearer to drive a sword into him so that he wouldn’t be captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:4). And David, who you could say had an armour bearer relationship with Jonathan pleaded with him to kill him if he was found guilty so that David would not suffer the shame of being handed over to Saul (1 Samuel 20:8). An armour bearer is definitely not an easy or light role to have. It can sometimes require placing your life in someone else’s hands. But I see it as an important role that is proven to be valuable in God’s word.

As you’re reading this, you may be thinking of someone in your life who does just that for you. I love this position of an armour bearer because in my own life I have been doing a lot of “defining” in my relationships. It’s always very important to me to be intentional so I try to take time look at the people in my life and label my relationships. This way I know exactly what I’m called to do for each individual that enters my life. Some of these labels include: destiny-helpers, assignments, seasonal friendships, sisters and now armour bearers.

Being an armour bearer is not easy but as christians we are called to “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We are commanded to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we may be healed (James 5:16). But most importantly, we are called to love each other selflessly and unconditionally. An armour bearer supports you even when no one else understands. They encourage you to walk in your God given path and they love you with their heart and soul.

Stay Blessed!!! 

Elena Asks. 

Prince of Peace

Hillsong United is in the process of releasing an album titled Dirt and Grace which showcases the songs from Empires in a different light. Taya Smith (my best friend in my head) leads the song Prince of Peace  which is such a beautiful rendition of the original and so timely in the wake of all that is going on around the world. When I first heard it, something about the lyrics and the music video brought tears to my eyes. One thing I love about Hillsong is that they are keen on sharing the unaltered word of God through their music. One of the ways they do this is by sharing “Song Story Videos.” These videos basically breakdown the song and give us a better understanding of the lyrics. During the Song Story Video for Prince of Peace, Joel Houston shares how every time he would hear a terrible story about someone’s circumstance, he would pray that the peace of God would surround them beyond their understanding (Philippians 4:7). He also shared that the thing he loves about God is that “He meets us in equal measure to the need. Every time. His grace is always enough and His peace is always enough for the season.” I love that so much. God always meets us right when and where we need Him to. While listening to these words, I was reminded of one of my favourite stories in the Bible found in 2 Kings 6:8-17. In this scripture, the King of Aram was fighting against Israel. But the Israelites had Elisha who was able to alert the King of Israel where the Arameans would be posted. So every time the Arameans were posted somewhere, they would miss the Israelites. The king of Aram was obviously fed up and even thought that he had a snitch is his camp. Finally, one of his servants told him that Elisha, a prophet of God was the one revealing his evil plans. So that same night he sent horses, chariots and a great army against them in Israel.

15 When a servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went     out, a force surrounded the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant     said to him, “Alas, my master! What will we do?”

16 And he said, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with     them.”

17 Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open his eyes and let him see.” So the     Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the mountain was full     of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

The servant could not see what God was doing and he became fearful. Yes, the King of Aram had sent horses, chariots and a great army. But God had filled the mountain with horses and chariots of FIRE. So much greater that those who were against them. In that moment, God gave them everything they needed to overcome the battle that was against them. Verse 23 tells us that the Aramean raiders did not enter Israel again! Like Elisha prayed for his servant, sometimes we need to pray that God would open our eyes of understanding to see and know that He is fighting for us. That He as the Prince of Peace will meet us at our point of need. Ephesians 1:18 tells us “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.” Pray that our hearts would be open and filled with the knowledge of Christ and who He is in the midst of uncertainty.

 

 

As you pray, always remember that God has promised to supply ALL your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Stay Blessed!!

Elena Asks.

Get Rid of Guilt! Forgive Yourself

I have high expectations for myself. I always have. And frankly, when I fail to meet these expectations, I beat myself up for it. I hold myself to a high standard and it becomes detrimental when I make mistakes because I disappoint myself. To be honest, I'm always going to make mistakes. The sad thing is, I'm striving for a perfection I will never reach. This is because I'm trying on my own to do something that I can never do. In my own strength, I'll never be able to be that perfect woman, perfect daughter, perfect sister and perfect friend. 

This is why I'm so thankful for the hope I have. Because if the story ended here, that would be very sad. But what I'm learning is that I have to forgive myself. Our mistakes do not define who we are. If you tell a lie, you're not a liar. You walk in the light and truth of God (John 8:12). If you have an argument with a friend, you're not a bad friend. You many have done something wrong, but don't let it keep you down (Proverbs 24:16). You're still a reliable friend, a good sister, and a courageous leader. 

This is the first step in getting rid of the guilt that is kept in our hearts after making mistakes. Know the truth! Forgiving yourself is loving yourself. We must first go to God and ask for forgiveness just as it says in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." When we apologize to God, he accepts it every time.  We can't dwell on the negative feelings and thoughts that come to our minds. That's a very dangerous place to be. Instead, we must "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" as it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5. Keep a positive mindset of yourself. Make the decision to let go of your past because God has already forgotten it. So who are you to hold yourself back! 

One thing I've been learning about is letting God define me. If you let God tell you who you are, whatever happens you can rest in that. So, when I want to point out all my flaws, I can be reminded of what God has already said concerning me. He says I am forgiven. I am loved. I am a co-heir with Christ. I have grace. And that it what I need to keep my confidence in.

We are all imperfect but God is able to blot out all our sins and wash us clean. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If you're like me and tend to criticize yourself, the best thing you can do is understand Gods love for you. He loves us because He is love. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more or any less. His love will always be for you. For the person that you are in this very moment. In your sin He died for you. There is no greater love than this! It’s hard for us to understand this love because it’s not human love. There's no one on this earth who can love us the way God does. And that gives me security. Because I know that NO MATTER WHAT, I have Jesus and I have His love. 

Remember this: it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay that you're not perfect. You're a work in progress. You're growing. Forgive yourself. Philippians 1:6 says, to be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Stay Blessed!!

Elena Asks.