Tag: Character Development

Triumph [Victory] from Trials, Tribulations, and Temptations

Since the age of five, I have believed in Jesus. My mother was a woman of God who lived by the Word of God. She gave a simplistic explanation that Jesus loved and died for me, was resurrected, went to heaven, and was preparing a home in heaven where we would live forever. Attending church reinforced my belief that God is love, prompting me to love Jesus throughout my childhood.

But reality surfaced as I matured and left home. I noticed that my life was no longer manageable. One problem after the other bombarded my life, and eventually, I decided that serving God had no benefits. Truthfully, I did not study the Bible, nor did I have a consistent prayer life. It is “Human effort plus Divine Intervention that equals Victory.” I held God responsible for the failure of a thriving spiritual relationship with Him. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [they do not know me]. Hosea 4:6

Many years later, in 2006, I met an elderly woman while shopping who witnessed to me about returning to my first love, Jesus Christ. I started attending revival services, made the commitment to follow Jesus, and was baptized [Human Effort]. Even so, God had plans to produce a different outcome [Divine Intervention]; the church had a New Believers program. I was assigned a spiritual mentor that helped me through the roughest times: The transition of renouncing–giving up worldly pleasures to serve Jesus.

And it is during those turbulent times, many believers fail to understand the purpose of hardships and how they are related to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

    1. Your life becomes tougher: Serving God means giving up all of the ungodly people, places, and things you love and are familiar with. Yes, you may be living a clean and sober life and free from your past habits [Praise God!], but now that you are a member of the “body of believers,” which requires you to give up everything that prevents spiritual growth and inhibits your relationship with God. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13. The Holy Spirit helps us to develop a new lifestyle that reflects our commitment to God. Everything changes when we become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. 2 Corinthians 6:17
    2. Learning to study the Bible and praying: Building the spiritual foundation with God requires diligently studying the Bible and praying every day. Here’s some unspoken guidance about prayer, if you can count the times you have prayed today, then you are not praying enough. Staying connected to the Vine-Jesus requires faith, trust, obedience, courage, strength, discipline, and self-control. [Read John 15:5]
    3. Forming new relationships: I must admit that this is one of the most challenging parts of serving God. Jesus must become your best friend. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6. You made the commitment to follow Jesus, so you must build your relationship with Christ first. God will reveal the friends that we need in our Spiritual-Social Circle. The Holy Spirit amazingly gives us the gift of discernment to know when the person or activity does not glorify God. 
    4. Forming new relationships, part 2: It is not easy making new friends at any stage in life. Even so, pray and ask God for guidance. Ask the Pastor to assign you a spiritual mentor if the church has not provided one. If you accepted Jesus without church intervention, then you may have to accept isolation for a little while. Do not despair! Remain obedient to God. He will reveal the path [the plans] that He desires for you to follow, including a Bible-based church. Pray and wait on the Lord. Do not follow an emotional response to cope with being alone. Put God first! Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:22
    5. Our life becomes full of peace, joy, and happiness: No, this is not a contradiction. “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!” John 16:33. Pray and ask for help! “God, I’m having a tough time. I need your help. Amen.” Enter the spiritual team of God, the Father, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, and Comforter, along with messenger/guardian heavenly angels who we have on our side. What worries should we have? “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14 
    6. Know, understand, and embrace the trials, tribulations, and temptations: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and difficulties, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5 

Our characters must align with God’s requirements. Every trial, tribulation, and temptation is to produce the Fruit of the Spirit within us: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Trust in God: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Need Encouragement? Jesus says, “I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18. Saints of the Most-High God, never forget: Victory belongs to Jesus! Amen and Amen!

Our Goal: Eternal life 

Bible Reading: Romans 5: 1-11

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. [Psalm 19:14]. Amen. © 2021 Sonya Johnson

“I Will Listen”

In those days, when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:12-13

I have participated for 22 days in the SHOUT the Cry of Victory 30 days of Prayer. It has taken three weeks to establish constant communication with God and to build my faith and trust in Him. How did I accomplish this seemingly impossible task? I have been talking to God through praise and prayer throughout the day and night. Many whispers of prayer have passed through my lips to do my part in seeking God. Yet, my journey continues.

I have not reached spiritual self-actualization in which I have achieved my fullest potential. We strive daily because Sanctification is a life-long process. Jesus prayed, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” We cannot live off of yesterday’s prayers or Bible study. Yes, our relationship with God is high maintenance [no disrespect intended]. Several times a day, we must seek God and commune with Him through prayer, study, and praise. It is our faith and trust in God that reveals the depth of our relationship with Him.

The effort that we put into building a rock-solid relationship with God makes the difference between having unwavering faith, trust, peace, and inner joy or being distraught filled with hopelessness, anxieties, and worries. God loves us! At the end of the day, we may reflect and realize that we did not offer one prayer of thankfulness. Even so, do not fixate on what you failed to do. Instead, take a deep breath and begin to worship your Heavenly Father with praise. 

We build our faith through diligent study of the Bible. Knowing God’s character and His promises gives us hope when our trials and sorrows appear overwhelming. God promises to hear our prayers, “I will listen.” God is only a prayer away. Pray an honest prayer. God already knows that we are feeling down and out. He knows that our faith is weak. Still, our sins and challenges are never too big to seek God’s forgiveness and divine intervention.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51, verses 1 and 10.

Are you aware that Psalm 51 is King David’s prayer of forgiveness for committing adultery with Bathsheba? His actions were heinous. David abused his power by ordering her husband to be placed at the frontline of the battle, so he could be killed. Yet, God, with His unconditional love, mercies, and grace, gave the man who was once a shepherd boy that killed Goliath complete forgiveness. David confessed and repented. Did God forgive him? Yes, the second child born to David and Bathsheba was Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived.

God views sin as sin. Through human eyes we see sin in various categories considering one sin to be worse than another sin. Praise God that He is our Judge: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

We can change our perception of God by taking action to go above and beyond our human natures of only offering mediocre worship. Seek God as if your life depends on it [because it does]. Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

Bible study: Psalm 51

Prayer: God, we ask forgiveness for not seeking you wholeheartedly. Please hear our prayer. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness and fill us with your Holy Spirit. We ask this prayer in the Worthy name of Jesus. Amen. © 2021 Sonya Johnson 

Love to Debate?

SHOUT THE CRY OF VICTORY 30 Days of Prayer DAY 3

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

Verbal sparring, debating, arguing, spats, and having the mindset, “I am going to say what’s on my mind, or always insisting on having the last word,” is strife. Strife is sin. But there is another category of believers who remain silent, but their thoughts are terrible. Before a word is on my tongue, you, LORD, know it completely. Psalm 139:4. Because God hears our thoughts, unspoken thoughts carry the same weight as spoken words.  

Have you noticed throughout the Bible that God provides instruction on the development of a Christ-like character? Yes, we must do our part [human effort] to achieve daily spiritual growth and transformation [Sanctification]. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us of the traits we possess when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual journey is based on Righteousness by Faith.

Most of us have been involved in a conflict; conflict resolution is utilized in most professional environments. But our conflict resolution differs because we answer to God, and He has specific biblical instructions on how to resolve or prevent controversy.

It is easy to become involved in verbal sparring. Some people love to argue, and it only takes one word to push their “Round One” button. Even so, having an argumentative spirit is not from God. Even worse, may God show us mercy if we are arguing over the Holy scriptures. Link for Bible verses on arguing: https://www.openbible.info/topics/arguing

When you are approached by an angry person (family, friend, coworker), simply walk away. We deserve respect even when we are wrong. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you calm down and pray for the individual. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2. If you are the subject of the argument, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your faults. It is a possibility that the other person is telling the truth. 

Anger is a powerful emotion that eliminates all rational thought processes.

  1. An angry person is too upset to listen or receive your apology. It is not the time to talk. When the situation allows, ask if the two of you can sit down and talk–do not wait until the next day! It takes a lot of negative energy to stay angry. Hopefully, they will calm down. Begin your conversation with, “You are right. I am sorry for ____________, apologize and ask for forgiveness, then ask God for forgiveness.
  2. If you are approached by someone who is not angry, make sure it is the right time and place to discuss the issue.
  3. What about false accusations? Lies are from the bitter fruits of jealousy and resentment, and anger. “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Exodus 14:14

God’s Instruction on asking Him for forgiveness first:

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” Matthew 5:23-24

We cannot approach God first and ask for forgiveness before asking the other individual to forgive us. What happens when the person is unwilling to speak to you? We can use our cell phones to text, use FB messenger, or leave a voicemail. If you are on a blocked status, then accept that they have ended the relationship. Reconciling with an individual who desires to hold a grudge and remain angry is beyond our control. Still, we must pray for forgiveness and move forward.

Please keep this in mind: Our tone of voice may have conveyed our emotional state of being stressed. Every day we make intentional or unintentional mistakes, praise God for His mercy. Rid yourself of PRIDE! Give an apology even if the other person was wrong. Showing kindness and remaining humble produces the character that is pleasing to God. After all, we did commit to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

For clarification, I believe in zero tolerance for verbal abuse. If you are in an unhealthy and abusive relationship, “get out!” God did not create us in His image to become victims of abuse. What is unhealthy? Put-downs, profanity, sarcasm, being yelled at, and all disrespectful or condescending remarks that attack your self-worth.

Bible study: 2 Timothy 2

Prayer: God, we are often unaware of our displeasing character traits. We ask you to forgive us for having an argumentative spirit and for engaging in or provoking controversy. Please search our hearts and reveal our sins. We pray for the strength to leave situations of abuse. Teach us what true humility is according to your godly standards. We desire to live a peaceful and joyful life and to receive our reward of eternal life. We ask this prayer in the Worthy Name of Jesus. Amen.  

Spiritual Self-Evaluation

Last night, I prayed a prayer that left me feeling uncertain about my relationship with God. I asked God to reveal “all of my character flaws.” I desire to change and to live my life clothed with Christ’s righteousness. The reward of eternal life that Jesus has promised those who faithfully serve Him;  yes, I desperately want the reward of living with God in a perfect world.

Presently there is the curse of sin upon this world. Even so, God is preparing a New Heaven and New Earth for the righteous to live in forever with Him. 

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. Revelation 22:3.

The reward for the faithful: Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:12-13

Now is the time for us to self-evaluate. I promise you that God will readily answer the prayer of anyone who desires to get rid of ungodly character traits. Never lose hope. We are nearing home!

Bible Readings: Galatians 5:22-23, Hebrews 12:14

God, please reveal the flaws of our characters and our sins that we may confess and repent. We pray to be cleansed from all unrighteousness and to fill us with your Holy Spirit. We ask this prayer in the Worthy Name of Jesus. Amen.