The halfbaked Bard

Test yourselves to see, if you are in faith, examine yourselves. 2 Cor:13:5 This is something which we need to do repeatedly in our lives. To test our faith; to test the genuineness of our faith. Not about the saving faith we had once. That is not something that you might lose. For it says that, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and behold the new has come. It also says that; now there is no condemnation for those who are in the Lord Jesus  It says about the earnestness of your faith. Have you grown in your trust in Jesus? Has your love grown cold? Is spending time in His presence a burden and a sense of responsibility rather than an excitement and an emotion? Where is your first love? You cannot lose faith. But you can freeze it and make it dead. Beware. How do you test? Keep checking. Keep reassesing. Take regular introspections, to see whether you are growing or stunted? Prune things which are unnecessary. Unwanted commitments. Unwarrante...

Thorn in the flesh. To keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me - to keep me from exalting myself. 2 Cor:12:7 Is there something which is a constant pain for you? Something which has not sorted out yet? Something for which you have fasted and prayed but hasn't worked out still?  The pain is still there for a purpose dear one. To keep you from exalting yourself. To keep yourself humble. Know that your Abba is in control. He is Sovereign. He is good. And He will not allow anything beyond what you can endure. He has allowed this with a purpose. So when prayers are still unanswered, rejoice. For God is in control. He has this for a purpose. You might not get the big picture now. But God knows.  Trust the process.

2 Cor:11:3 But i fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted. Where you are expected to have an undivided devotion to Christ, an undistracted devotion to Him, is it by any means corrupted and gone wavering? Have you been distracted by the  pressures and pleasures around you? Are targets and expectations eating up your relationship with Jesus? How often do you open your Bible vs switch on your phone? Are you too busy with other things that you forsake reading the Word of God? Are you too tired in the dusk to pray? What feeds do you have in your search history? What motivates you? What is the most exciting thing that you want to do? You used to do it before! Where is your first love now? And once you realize that you are in the wrong track what do you do about it? 

God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor:9:7 When we give for the ministry, for the church, for the saints, to help the poor; God repays from His purse. From the liberality of your heart, cheerfully, bountifully, as purposed in your heart, if you give, it is an act of gratitude and thanksgiving for what all God has done for you.  Mal:3:10.  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house and test me now, thus says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. But why do you give, what you give? Is it out of responsibility? Is it out of fear? Is it out of an attitude of receiving more from the treasures of heaven? As an investment with no market risks? Is it out of a cheerful heart? Oh! It's my privilege to give, because I have received. About time? How much and how well you spend time in God's presence, shows your heart's attitude. Is it only for ministry sake tha...

2 Cor:7:10-11 Godly sorrow produces repentance. Godly sorrow produces no regret. Godly sorrow leads to salvation. Godly sorrow produces earnestness. Godly sorrow produces vindication of yourselves. Godly sorrow produces indignation. Godly sorrow produces fear. Godly sorrow produces longing. Godly sorrow produces zeal. Godly sorrow produces avenging of wrong. Any sorrow that does not result in these are not from God. Our sorrows lead to yearning for sympathy, not earnestness to correct. Our sorrows lead to covering up of sins, not indignation. Our sorrows lead to going back to the same rugged roads, not longing to stay pure. Our sorrows lead to experimenting to new territories, not fear of God. Are we in the right track of sorrow that is according to God's will or to nurture our comforts? Our sorrows are a part of self pity. It is pride personified. It is attention seeking. It is superfluous. It is frivolous. Unless it brings a change in my inner man, then what use of al...

2 Cor:7:1 Let us cleanse ourselves from the defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. In response to absolute holiness of God; in response to His presence and dwelling in us, let us cleanse ourselves; let us keep ourselves up with the standards of God. Let holiness be our focus. Let us hate sin as much as He does. Let us make room for nothing which He abhors. Let us not entertain sin. Let us not be entertained by sin. Let us not do things which abase our standards, nor things which abashes our Lord. More than that; what love do we proclaim to have for him, if we continue to do things which He hates; if we love things which He detests. Let us perfect holiness in fear of God; because we love God; in response to His love to us. Image courtesy: https://otisskincare.com/blogs/news/men-best-way-to-wash-your-face?srsltid=AfmBOopcg_4j8DKnOCM8NelSb2jqfAYmebG8vj-SlBgwI6iTtNvrO2Nl