Beauty & The Gospel ISSUE NO 2 VOL 3 by beautyandthegospel

Beauty & The Gospel MADE PERFECT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

Perfectionism Isn't Next to Godliness

Blessings of Brokenness

Brandi McCrae "It's by God’s grace and mercy that I have managed to remain a virgin for 35 years!"

ISSUE NO 2 VOL 3 MARCH 2020

HOW TO Keep the Spiritual Fire Burning

VISION ROMANS 15:20-21 20 Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ’s name was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; 21 but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture], “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand.”

MISSION 1 CORINTHIANS 1:17 17 For Christ did not send me [as an apostle] to baptize, but [commissioned and empowered me] to preach the good news [of salvation]—not with clever and eloquent speech [as an orator], so that the cross of Christ would not be [b]made ineffective [deprived of its saving power].

@beautyandthegospel

What's Inside?

#thatmannafromheaven

The Editor's Note Monthly Devotions Exclusive Christian Blogging Monthly Contributors B&TG News

Dangers of SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS A Glimpse of eternity We become what we watch The Anti Christ ( part 2) Saint or Christian?

editor's note Your majesty WE ARE LIVING IN TH LAST DAYS John 6:26-27 New King James Version (NKJV) 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Beloved, I’ve recently read this certain passage and you know just like the first time I read it, it lingered in my spirit. It led me to introspect my relationship with Master Jesus. What I’m getting to is that, what was my reason for truly accepting the Lord Jesus? Was it based on my need for His gifts or Him? We see in John 6: 26 that the crowd had followed Jesus because of the miracle He did the previous day of FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND. They didn’t follow Him because of Who He was. They even had the audacity to demand more of His miracles and not minor ones but even bigger than the one He performed the previous day, John 6:30. It’s of great concern even today and we need to ask ourselves that are we in relationship with God for what He can give or because of who He is “ABBA FATHER”? THAT'S IT FROM ME :-)

tsakani mhlongo editor-in-chief

IT’s always and honor to work on this magazine for the Body of Christ and glory for my King. Write us your comments and thoughts to our email: beautyandthegospel@gmail.com it might just be printed :-)

Photo by

If you happen to be a new reader, WELCOME ABOARD BELOVED.

@mentalist_photography

That’s it for now till next time, you’re loved by Him and I.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

MINISTER MONICA

EV . ANGUS BUCHAN

KENDRA DUBLIN

I am Christian an influencer who encourages, motivates and equip others through the Word of God.

servant of God, farmer, father, husband , grandfather and author!

i am an energetic free spirit that loves life. In my spare time i love to do puzzles.

PROPHET G

PASTOR THUTO

PASTOR NTSAKO

servant of God, entrepreneur, father and husband. I love making people laugh! and traveling.

Teacher of the WORD, an entrepreneur and I enjoy travelling and trying new things.

married to one wife, tiyiselani. I enjoy cooking and learning new stuff. I'm mostly passionate about serving God!

PASTOR BONGANI

PASTOR TOMMY LILJA

DR ANDRÉ AND JENNY ROEBERT

i am a loving husband and father of two. I love studying the Word of God.

evangelist and pastor . With a burning passion for lost souls in abandoned places.

pastors , parents, lovers of Jesus Christ and His Word. Founders of Faith Tv

CONTRIBUTOR

Page 43

start to YOUNG DJ heal from L.A. WORLD the inside TOUR

BY: PASTOR TOMMY LILJA

Sometimes, even when the circumstances in your life are beneficial to you, like having a good education, stable background and plenty of resources, still life never seems to work out for you. Or let’s say that you have been able to put disappointments behind you, yet still you aren’t feeling well. Or maybe you are one of those people who exercises and eats healthy, yet you always seem to be the one who gets sick. Well then, you have to ask yourself – how do I actually feel on the inside? Could it be the case that what is causing you to lose your footing doesn’t depend on your outward circumstances, but rather on what is weighing you down and eating at you on the inside? You know, you could be the smartest person in the room, yet struggle with suicidal thoughts. You could be the richest person in your neighborhood, yet have your day-to-day life ruined by panic attacks. You might be the most successful person you know, yet you’re awake at night with nightmares telling you that you are worthless. It doesn’t even matter if you are the most attractive in your class if there is a war raging in your head. Lipstick or bulging biceps might be good-looking, but what is the real status of your inner life? How are you really doing? In our world today, where mental unhealth is the biggest reason that we aren’t doing well, the problem is that we don’t stop and ask ourselves the question: Why? If we can identify the cause, then we can also do something about it. What do we do about anxiety, guilt, shame and uneasiness?

"Once the wounds you have on the inside start to heal, then eventually things on the outside will start to work out for you!" What do we do when the unhealth we have on the inside controls our outward behavior? Is there a way that you can help yourself and other people? How do you develop a healthy sense of self-esteem? Have you thought about how important it is to “give your brain time”? Even if the wounds on your inside have gradually led to the loss of your marriage, house, money, job and friends, remember this: If your sense of selfesteem can heal, then over time you will be able to find a new life partner, earn money again, make new friends and buy a new house. In fact, self-esteem leads to the healthy attitude that “it will all work out in the end.”

Devotions by the anointed Dr André and Jenny Roebert

In the Spirit Message taken from Jude 1:20 (AMPC) Jude 1:20 (AMPC): “But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit;”

When you’re faced with a problem you have no idea how to handle and you aren’t even sure how to pray accurately about it - pray in the Holy Ghost! Praying in the Holy Spirit bypasses our human reasoning as the Spirit Himself prays the perfect will of God, through our spirits and spoken words, into the very situation we’re concerned about. This is how we pray in perfect harmony with Him. Since it’s God praying in and through us, the prayer is charged with His power and infuses us with supernatural strength, recharging and refreshing us, building up our faith. Praying in the Holy Ghost is the gateway to visions, dreams and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit. As we co-operate with the Spirit of God, and listen intently for His leading, He will reveal truth and strategy to us as we pray. Sometimes a spontaneous thought will come up in our minds and we’ll have the answer or understanding we’ve been looking for. You’ll recognise the peace and joy it stirs up inside you - and know it’s directly from the Spirit of God. Stir yourself up today as you pray in the Holy Spirit.

FEATURE-

BLESSING IN

BROKENESS

SS E NN ter E K ea O r on R g i s B a s pa us s m e o c in s giv d s n e nn ya e t i k o v br iti s e n e z s gni o rs c e e h r t o to

BY: PATSY (INSTAENCOURAGEMENTS.COM)

I have often thought that if there were any blessings of brokenness, and there are, one of them would be that it gives us a greater sensitivity and compassion to recognize brokenness in others—that’s the first blessing of brokenness. I have certainly found that to be true in my own life. You may have found it to be true in yours as well. I write about my experience with brokenness in The Heart That Heals: Healing Our Brokenness Through the Promises of God. Brokenness can be a blessing. Today, let’s explore eight more blessings of brokenness.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Look at all of these wonderful privileges listed here that we have as Christians: we are justified by faith, we have peace with God, we have access by faith, we stand in grace, and we rejoice in hope.

Brokenness Develops Character Qualities The Israelites were broken people, but they were made stronger because of the burdens put on them by the Egyptians. It says in Exodus 1:12a, “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.” The Egyptians tried to wear the Israelites down. They mistreated them and forced them into slavery. But instead of giving up, the Israelites grew stronger and multiplied. They thrived, and you too friend can thrive under oppression and brokenness!

Paul goes on to say in verses 3-5, “Not only that (not only do we have all of these wonderful privileges as children of God) but we rejoice in our sufferings also.” Not only are we justified by faith, not only do we have peace with God and access by faith, not only do we stand in grace and rejoice in hope, not only all of this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings! Why? Why would anyone rejoice in suffering? Why did Paul rejoice in suffering? The passage goes on to tell us that Paul rejoiced in his suffering because he knew “that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” By this we see that the end result of suffering is hope.

When we are broken or mistreated, we may feel defeated. However, our brokenness can actually make us stronger. Brokenness can also develop character qualities in us that prepare us for what God has planned for our future. This is a blessing of brokenness.

But that’s not all, it gets even better! Paul goes on to explain in verse 5 “and hope (the end result of suffering) does not put us to shame.” Why? Why does hope not put us to shame? Hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Brokenness Floods Our Hearts With God’s Love But there is yet another blessing of brokenness that is found in Romans 5. Verses 1-2 say

Remember that the end result of suffering is hope? Now we see that the result of hope is God’s love being poured into our hearts. The love of God poured into our hearts is the result of hope.

I love the use of the word poured here translated from the Greek. His love isn’t sprinkled on our hearts. It isn’t a splattering of His love. It is a deluge! A deluge of love poured into our hearts. The end result of suffering is hope and the end result of hope is a deluge of God’s love poured into our hearts! Our hearts are flooded with His love and this is a blessing of brokenness. Brokenness Creates a Common Bond Brokenness brings us together. It gives us a closeness like nothing else can do. Those who have experienced brokenness develop a common bond. Many of us were witnesses to the common bond developed among the people of New York City on September 11, 2001. You may have experienced a similar bond with your own family or circle of close friends after a tragedy in your life or theirs. My family developed such a bond. We look at things differently now. The phone ringing late at night sends a chill through me. The words I love you and hugs mean more now. We enjoy life and being with each other more because we know that today could be the last for any of us. Goodbyes are tougher. The laughter is sweeter. Cards and notes are more meaningful and birthdays are more celebrated. A common bond is a special thing whether it is born of tragedy or happy times. We all need this kind of bond with others. It too is a blessing of brokenness. I’m reminded of a quote by C.S. Lewis that says, , “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” Friend, you are not the only one with brokenness. I am not the only one. We’re in this boat together, and God is at the helm! A common bond is a blessing of brokenness. Brokenness Reveals a God Who Upholds Us Another blessing of brokenness is the blessing of a God who upholds us. It says in Psalm 145:14, “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Sometimes our brokenness seems to be far more than we could ever bear. Maybe you are there. Maybe you’re wondering today, “How can I go on bearing this?” Give that brokenness to God!

Chapter 145 of Psalms holds a multitude of evidence as to how and why God is able to uphold the fallen. Just Look at these wonderful promises: · His greatness is unsearchable [vs 3] · He does mighty acts across generations [vs 4] · He is full of glorious splendor and majesty [vs 5] · He does wondrous works [vs 5-6] · He is righteous [vs 7] · He is gracious and merciful and abounding in steadfast love [vs 8] · He is good to all and (again) merciful [vs 9] · His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom [vs 13] · He is the source of all of our daily needs [vs 15-16] · He is righteous in all His ways and kind [vs 17] · He is near to all who call on Him in truth [vs 18] · He hears our cries and saves us [vs 19] · He preserves us [vs 20]

"PERFECT FOR PARTIES AND CELEBRATIONS"

These verses are an encouragement to anyone who is broken. He is just waiting to lift us up. He wants to uphold us! Give Him your brokenness. In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden (all those who are broken), and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” What a comfort and blessing to have a God like that! You will find rest for your soul there, friend! Come to Him and find rest today. This is just another blessing of brokenness—a God who upholds us. Brokenness Makes Us Stronger Maybe you are suffering today for the cause of Christ. Maybe your brokenness is one of persecution because of your faith in Him because you have chosen to be His child. In Acts 5:41 Luke says, “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” Have you ever thought of the brokenness of persecution as being a blessing? It can be. It certainly would push us to be more Christlike.

I have a friend who frequently travels to China to minister to the underground churches and their pastors. I remember a story he told one time of a pastor there whose son was jailed because of his faith in Jesus Christ. My friend tells how the pastor felt honored that his son was found worthy to suffer persecution and dishonor for the name of Christ. When the pastor was asked if we should pray for the religious persecution in China to stop, he replied, “No! The persecution makes the church stronger.” This too is the blessing of brokenness— the church grows stronger. We grow stronger. Brokenness Proves Our Worth In Acts chapter 5, Luke recounts the events of Peter and John being persecuted. They were physically abused for their faith in Jesus Christ. Both of these disciples had firsthand knowledge of how Jesus had suffered and they counted it a privilege to suffer for His sake. It was a privilege for them to be found worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 5:11-12 we read: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The prize of persecution—your reward will be great in heaven. If this is the boat you are in today, friend, you are in good company. You’re in a good boat, “for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We find in Acts 5:42 that the brokenness of persecution was a blessing as it formed the first home Bible study. In Acts 8:1-4, Acts 11:2021, and 1 Peter 1:1, we also see that it was a springboard for the spread of the gospel. In Galatians 5:11, we see that the brokenness of persecution is the proving ground that Paul was preaching the truth. But are we worthy to suffer persecution or dishonor for the name of Christ? What is our proving ground? Are we teaching and spreading the truth? Is our lifestyle a picture of truth? Is there proof of the Gospel in our daily living? The brokenness of persecution could be that proof.

Brokenness Grows Our Trust in God Job lost almost everything he had: his family, his wealth, and even his health. Through all of this, God never revealed to Job the purpose of his suffering. He never revealed to him that Satan himself had challenged Job’s motives for serving God. Job’s friends, even his wife, turned against him after he lost everything. But Job just kept on trusting God!

"PERFECT FOR PARTIES AND CELEBRATIONS" Do we trust God through our brokenness?

What about when everyone turns against us? Can we still trust Him? At the end of the book of Job, Job says. “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). Job, through his many trials and loss, had experienced God in a new way. A blessing of brokenness can be that we see God in a different light, we experience Him in a way we could not have in any other circumstances, and our trust for Him grows.

Brokenness Can Be Used For Good In Genesis 50:19-20, Joseph finally, after years of bearing the burden of being kidnapped, sold to slave traders, being falsely accused, thrown in prison and forgotten, faces his kidnappers—his own brothers. This is what he has to say to them: “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” God meant it for good! We cannot always see this blessing right away. There may be times that we never know how God meant it for good— like Job. It is, however, a blessing to know that everything, even the brokenness that comes into our lives, is a result of a God we can trust. To know that in His infinite plan, He meant it for our good, is a blessing of brokenness. So, the next time you see brokenness in your life, friend, look for the blessing! Rejoice in your suffering. Embrace the common bond and the fact that you are being held. Are you suffering for the cause of Christ? Count yourself worthy. Use this time of brokenness as a time to learn to trust Him more knowing that He means it for your good and His glory! Yes! There are blessings of brokenness.

VOL. 3 | MARCH 2020

B&TG NEWS CHRISTIANS IN THE KNOW!

OVERVIEW: Secret Mission to Baptize 20 Iranians On a recent Thursday afternoon, 20 Iranians took a flight from their country's main international airport in the capital city of Tehran and flew to an undisclosed city. The journey was filled with danger, but each one of them was willing to take the risk for the chance to experience a life-transforming moment. "Most of the people at this gathering are artists, musicians, some are TV producers, they are very educated people, they are specialists from different fields of Iranian society," Pastor Amir told CBN News. After a few days of Bible training, worship and prayer, the 20 Christians headed back home to Iran carrying with them Bibles, Christian literature, and hundreds of micro SD cards containing evangelistic material used to share hope and the love of Jesus Christ during these uncertain times. Source: CBNNEWS.COM

A Nigerian man's hand cut off due to his faith Is Finland About to Make Christianity Illegal? Testimonies from Tennessee revival DISCLAIMER B&TG NEWS is a Christian news segment that shares pre-published articles by writers around the world. Each article is sourced and linked to the origin, and each article is credited with the author’s name. We do not exclusively create our own content. Any views or opinions presented on this segment are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Beauty & The Gospel.

"I am a new man": Testimonies from Tennessee revival

A man named Enoch Yeohanna saw his father's hand cut off when he refused to deny Christ, and then his arm cut off up to the elbow when he refused the terrorists' demands to apostatize a second time.

Source: www.worthynews.com Testimonies of changed lives are leaking out of a revival that has broken out in eastern Tennessee as the result of a 30-day prayer and fasting initiative begun by one pastor in Rogersville. Pastor John Butler of the East Rogersville Baptist Church began "Awaken Tennessee," which will run from Jan. 26 until Feb. 23 and has 1,000 participating churches, out of a desire the see repentance and renewal spread across the nation. "Early Monday morning, around 3 AM, God woke me up in a still small voice. He told me the stuff I was reading on my phone was a sin against him, but also my family. The demon in me was ruining my work, my family and me," one man who attended the revival told CBN News. The revival is expected to have touched 100,000 people by the time services conclude at the end of the week.

"[After] he refused [a second time]...they shot him in the forehead, the neck, and chest," he told CBN News.

A Nigeria mans hand cut off due to BOKO Haram Source: www.cbnnews.com Nigerian Christians living in a refugee camp as a result of Boko Haram attacks recently described the onslaught believers have been enduring by the ISIS-linked terror group, which has left 2.5 million Nigerians in a state of internal displacement.

Another woman, a 29-year-old mother of two boys, expressed optimism that God would soon hear the prayers of Nigerian Christians for relief from a relentless campaign that has seen 6,000 Christians killed since 2015, according to the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). "My faith has helped my prayer life and I believe the prayers of the saints around the world have helped us make it through these tough times," Aisha Walla said. "My hope is that God will bring all those displaced back to their homes so we can worship God together and live in peace."

Is Finland About to Make Christianity Illegal? by: cbnnews.com HELSINKI – Almost 70 percent of Finns are still members of the national Lutheran church. But that doesn't mean they're believers. Less than a third of Finns now say they believe in God. This historically Christian nation has not only left the faith but has begun criminal investigations of Christians. But this is still a nation with a constitution that still tells the national church to "proclaim a Bible-based Christian faith." So, why is Finland investigating a member of parliament for 'proclaiming her Biblebased Christian faith'

Finnish Christian broadcaster, author and theologian Pasi Turunen says this has been a rude awakening for many Christians. Päivi said this all began in prayer when she felt led by the Lord to do something to wake up the national church in Finland on the issue of homosexuality. But she now fears this investigation will make them too afraid to proclaim their faith. Päivi says she's not afraid and believes God has a plan in this for Finland.

Israel Under Fire: Entire Cities Shut Down by Onslaught of Rockets from Gaza, Netanyahu Threatens 'War' Source: www.worthynews.com

Chinese Christians in Wuhan grapple with COVID-19 virus through repentance, exhortation Source: worthynews.com

Christians in Wuhan, China are attempting to grapple with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has forced believers to meet online due to government regulations forbidding physical meetings.

“We ask God to help His people on earth; help us to survive, so with this prayer, I think the children of God in Wuhan got to closely connect with their brothers and sisters all over the world to encourage one another and care for each other.”

“It is our way to cry to God to repent and ask God to stop this plague,” Pastor Lei explained.

New Pakistani social media law could make already infamous 'blasphemy laws' more powerful Source: www.worthynews.com

Pakistan introduced a new law on Jan. 28 requiring social media outlets to remove "unwanted or slanderous" content within 24 hours, and Christians fear it could extend the reach of blasphemy laws that already carry a heavy penalty. “We already warn Christians to be careful of what they are posting," said a contact at Barnabus Fund.

"Christians are in danger of attack or arrest if potentially ‘offensive’ content is found on their Facebook pages, even if it was posted by someone else.’’ The new law carries a penalty of a $3.2 million dollar fine for any company that fails to remove content deemed offensive within the amount of time listed, which could be as few as six hours in "emergency cases."

Source: www.worthynews.com JERUSALEM, Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening a new war with Gaza in response to a barrage of rocket attacks from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in the Gaza Strip Sunday night and Monday morning.

Netanyahu urged Hamas, the terror group governing Gaza, to stop PIJ's rocket attacks. “If you don't shoot them, we will shoot you. I'm talking about a war,” he said. “I only go to war as a last option but we have prepared something you can't even imagine."

FEATURED

BRANDI MCCRAE

Q. Who is the Messiah to you?

Q. You boldly proclaim your

A. My motivation and safe

virginity. Has that always been

place.

easy? A. I was private at first because I

Q. Share with us on how, when and

didn’t think I was supposed to

Brandi McCrae a Born Again Child of God who is adventurous and a little reserved at times and currently residing in South Jersey

why you got Born Again?

share something like that with

A. My father was the first one in

everyone, but eventually I started

our family to surrender his life to

dating and it became pretty

Christ. He then brought his family

obvious that I was not sexually

Soon to be Mrs Chase and tells all about that and the amazing grace that Master Jesus has poured out to her.

to church and we made our

active.

decision to do the same. I was 13 years old and it felt great like, I

Q. 35 years of virginity. That is

belong to something great!

sooooo rare. How have you managed to remain a virgin?

@beautyandthegospel

FEATURED

A. By Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grace and mercy. Also

beliefs and I stood boldly knowing

Q. Misconceptions about virginity

setting my own boundaries and

sometimes holiness is not popular

that are just wrong?

avoiding compromising situations to

but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right!

A. That being a virgin automatically

be tempted.

makes you pure, this is not true. A Q. How important is oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

virgin can be mean, bitter and can

Q. At what age did you make that

association?

make other not feel worthy of

decision that you would be a virgin

A. Very important to be

themselves, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not purity.Â Purity

till marriage and was it based on a

surrounded by good counsel and

is in the heart and the way you think

covenant with Master Jesus and

people with hearts of good

and treat people.

the Word of God?

intentions. We all need

A.Â I was 13 and 24. My mother had

encouragement trying to stay on the

Q Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that recurring comment

the talk with me about why we need

path of righteousness.

youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been hearing or has been said

to wait to have sex. I took that knowledge and held on to it.

to you thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just ridiculous? Q .Â What has being a virgin taught

A. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be too old to have children, no

you about yourself, Jesus and life?

one will want me because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not

Q.Â Â What has been your motivation

A. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitely taught me great

having sex. I have lost to much time

to making it this far?

discipline and that I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just rely on

being a 35-year-old virgin.

A. Â My motivation had been holding

my own strength it is only because of

onto the promises I knew God had

God that it is possible!

for me because of my obedience. I

Q. The Body of Christ seems to not or never do have conversations

wanted to avoid disappointing my

Q. How have you overcome

about keeping oneself pure. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

parents or catch diseases or teen

temptation?

your heart on this?

pregnancies I witnessed all of that in

A. By discovering what my

A.Â Its imperative to speak about

high school. As I got older I learned

boundaries need to be so I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be

purity because this day with the

about soul ties that can be

placed in a tempted situation. Being

generations being mislead by music,

exchanged in sexual activities. I

mindful of how much time is spent

culture and peer pressure. We have

wanted to stay a role model for

alone with a person and not being

to take a stand to protect and

women to encourage them to

too physical.

educate!

Q. Would you say you are

Q. Advice you can give youth

committed, disciplined, devoted in

leaders and parents on how to

Q. Girls often lose their virginity due

every area of your life?

address this topic?

to them feeling like â&#x20AC;&#x153;if they do, they

A. Yes, but more areas then others I

A. Â Let the youth be heard so we can

will be worthy and accepted by their

can do better with folding laundry!

help them in their struggles and

boyfriend and friendsâ&#x20AC;?. Whats your

đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x201E;

temptation. If we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let them feel

cherish their bodies and with Jesus it is possible!

take on this lie?

comfortable in expressing what they

A. Because I knew I was accepted by

Q. Who has inspired you to keep this

are facing in the world, we can help

God therefore I made the choice to

covenant with Jesus?

teach and love and encourage them!

turn it around and accept people

A. People who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Let them be heard!

in myself instead of looking for

possible and people who do know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

approval or acceptance because

possible because they are keeping

Q.Â Â You are currently engaged to

they wanted me to compromise,

their bodies for Christ as well. Young

Jeremiah Chase. How has the

then my real friends respected my -

ladies who are looking up to me

journey been thus far , the highlights

as an example.

and challenges youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve faced from courtship to engagement?

@beautyandthegospel

FEATURED

A. This journey has been absolutely

Q. How did you know that Jeremiah

A. Keep yourself priority you are

AMAZING preparing to be

was the one?

worth more than a moment and

someone’s wife is certainly a

A. Even when Jeremiah was a

should save your body for a marriage

highlight for me and some challenges

friend, he treated me with the

of a lifetime. You are worth waiting

we have faced is our circle of friends

upmost respect not just because I

for!

have changed due to lack of support

was a lady but he viewed me a sister

or jealousy.

in Christ. He reflects God’s heart to

Q Words you’d love to tell Master

me in ways God loves and cherishes

Jesus regarding this journey?

me.

A. Thank you, Jesus, for covering me

Q. Did you have any conversation about things you will do and not do

in your grace and mercy. You have

in your courtship?

Q. Did you ever pray for a partner

A. Yes, we will not be kissing until

who is a virgin?

our wedding day. We waited to hold

A. No, I didn’t really feel it was

Q. When people hear the name

hands after we were engaged.

important at the time but I’m truly

Brandi McCrae, what do you want

We wanted to avoid being so

grateful now that he is.

them to know?

physically attracted so we could

blessed me beyond what I deserve.

A. She is the most down

enjoy each other spiritually and just

Q . We tend to put God in a box and

to earth person that just wants to

as people.

have a list of attributes, looks and

spread love & encouragement in

achievements that our partners

representing Jesus the best she can!

Q. God is not in a hurry neither

should have. You are 8 years older

should we. What do these words

than Jeremiah and that’s not a

mean to you?

problem because you are godly

A. Our chronological timing is

matched. What advice would you

nothing compared to God’s perfect

give those who are waiting and have

timing! So just keep developing our

a list?

faith to trust in God.

A. Do not let your preferences outweigh God’s chosen best for you!

Q. What does purity mean to you?

He truly knows what we need and

A. Purity means a lifestyle. To be

want most of all need.

the best you can to please God in all your ways, with you heart and mind.

Q. God is a rewarder. Would you say

Not just physical.

He has rewarded you beyond your imagination by joining you together

Q. You and Jeremiah are getting

with Jeremiah?

married on the 10/17/2020.

A. ABSOLUTELY YES! My

Congratulations!!! Why this date

preference did not come close to the

and what do you mostly look

amazing man I am blessed with!

forward to? A. I love the fall and we honestly

Q. Advice to the girl/woman out

just randomly decided to pick our

there who is a virgin and is thinking

own date and it happened to be the

about losing it?

same date!

@beautyandthegospel

SEX

CAN WAIT ! @beautyandthegospel

Devotions by the anointed Dr André and Jenny Roebert

Write it Down Message taken from Revelation 1:19 (TPT) Revelation 1:19 (TPT): “Now I want you to write what you have seen, what is, and what will be after the things that I reveal to you.” You were created by God for a specific purpose! His greatest desire is that each of His children discovers that purpose through spending time with Him. In the secret place He gives a vision for your future, a clear idea of what you were born to do. He awakens inside of you the thing you are most passionate about, that gives you purpose and fulfils you. It’s very important for you to mark that purpose in your mind and heart, and to write down exactly what God has revealed to you. This way you can hold fast to the vision, especially when you face adversity or discouragement. In Habakkuk 2:2-3 we’re instructed to write down the vision God has placed inside us, so anyone who comes alongside us can understand it too and run with it to help ensure it comes to fruition. Don’t put off time to seek God’s face; have your pen and paper at hand, and get excited about your life making an eternal mark on this world, as you live on purpose for Him!

ROTUBIRTNOC

GO GET HEALED! Jessica Wilde shares how to overcome writer's block. Story on p. 20

@monicatheophilus founder @amomentwithmonica, minister, prayer warrior , writer and contributor at beauty&thegosoel magazine .

Whenever we are physically sick experiencing infirmities in our bodies, we immediately want to be made whole and healed. We take a trip to the hospital, we grab the necessary over the counter medicine at our local pharmacy, we change our eating habits, we add exercising into our overflowing schedules and pray fervently until God answers our request. We do all of this just to ensure we get our healing. No one wants to ever be physically sick because it’s a burden and hindrance that takes away from the joys of everyday life. However, when it comes to being spiritually sick, we are less determined or as alert to get well. We delay the cleansing process in our spiritual walk because it’s less noticeable on the outside and it’s easier to put on a show and pretend we have it all together.

A person who is spiritually broken will begin to bleed from the inside out. They try to hide it with a smile, but they are barely holding it together. Everything attached to them starts to dwindle as a result of their brokenness, but also their denial to become healed. Things like family, ministry, business, education, career and finances begin to spoil until it rots for good.

@beautyandthegospel

ROTUBIRTNOC

Jesus was adamant when He spoke a parable about the fig tree that did not bear fruit. He said it had to be cut down since it was no good for use. Then He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So, he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil” (Luke 13:6 NIV) This is what Jesus is saying NOW we need to be healed or else we cannot be used for the Kingdom of God. In this season God is unapologetic about delaying blessings to turn our attention to Him for healing. There are past traumas we need to be delivered from and old habits that are blocking opportunities for prosperity. We cannot bear fruit if our spiritual man refuses to be free from old wicked ways. It’s either we repent, or we perish like the fig tree. The Bible makes a clear distinction of those who were radical about their healing and was made whole in contrast to those who disclaimed their healing and was destroyed.

For instance, Saul who was king over Israel, had everything he could ever desire, but he needed to be healed from disobedience, greed, jealousy, envy, murder and comparison. Saul knew something was off with his spirit when he could not feel the presence of God and had the urge to assassinate David, yet he blatantly rejected it. “The next day an evil[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.” (1 Samuel 18:10 NIV). As a result, Saul was annihilated along with his legacy and sons. “So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day (1 Samuel 31:6 NLT). Nevertheless, when we read about the woman with the issue of blood, we grasp the tone of desperation as she scrambles frantically through the big crowd of people just to touch the hem of Jesus’s garment. The Bible says after she touched His hem she was healed IMMEDIATELY! Jesus told her,“ Thy faith hath made the whole: go in peace (Luke 8:48 KJV).

@beautyandthegospel

ROTUBIRTNOC

In need of Inner healing & Deliverance

● Stressed ● Frustrated ● Angry ● Annoyed ● Frantic ● Disconnected from God ● Overwhelmed ● Offended ● Anxiety ● Fear ● Lack ● Bitterness ● Unforgiveness ● Envy ● Jealousy Signs of Healing

● Connected to God ● Peace ● Joy ● Abundance ● Wealth ● Prosperity ● Victory ● Overflow ● Blessings

● Humility ● Consistency ● Gentle ● Kind ● Operates in excellence An article written by Mark DeJesus implies, “The ministry of transformation must be built upon the premise of our hearts being healed by the love and power of God. Yet a broken heart is a condition that leaves us open to further bondage, limited relational growth and can even wear down our health.” ( 8 Signs You Have a Broken Heart). The decision is up to us to walk in freedom. We can make the choice today to accept God’s invitation to turn our brokenness into wholeness for His glory. Thank you so much for reading.

Love Monica, Be Encouraged.

@beautyandthegospel

SAINTS written by: Addison D Bevere BECOMING MORE THAN CHRISTIANS

When most people hear the word "Christian" today, they associate it with someone who believes in God, nominally attends church, votes a certain way, and probably grew up in the suburbs. If you took to the streets and surveyed people, asking them to describe Christians in one word, odds are you would get a number of less-than-favorable descriptors:

Judgmental. Hateful. Hypocritical. Uneducated. And the list goes on. So if you, like me, struggle with wanting to be called a Christian, I don’t blame you. If that’s what Christians are, who would want to be one? If it doesn’t describe Christ, it shouldn’t describe us. Jesus loved sinners so much they wanted to be around -

"SAINTS ARE THE

PEOPLE OF THE

FUTURE. THEY ARE

THOSE WHO REACH

INTO THE

REALITIES OF GOD’S

KINGDOM AND USHER

THEM INTO THE

PRESENT"

"JESUS LOVED

SINNERS SO MUCH

THEY WANTED TO

BE AROUND HIM

EVEN THOUGH HE

CALLED THEM

HIGHER"

Him even though He called them higher. He dignified the marginalized. He lifted up the downtrodden and oppressed. He healed the broken. He invited everyone, from society’s elite to those forgotten on the fringes, into a new way of living and being—one rooted in an other-worldly kingdom, one He said was at hand. And when I look at His followers in the New Testament, I see a group of people who embraced this kingdom and were turning the world upside down. The writers of Scripture have a word for these people, and it’s not Christians, it’s Saints. When’s the last time you thought of yourself as a Saint? It’s not a word we hear much these days. If we do, it’s usually in the context of some spiritual hero of old—someone like Mary or perhaps Augustine. But the writers of the New Testament don’t use this word to describe what the people of God may one day become—a mystical group of halo wearing elites in the clouds. They use it to describe those who follow Jesus here and now.

Saints are the people of the future. They are those who reach into the realities of God’s kingdom and usher them into the present. They bridge the chasms that divide us. They subvert cultural norms. They are those who participate with God in the restoration of the world. And if you follow Jesus, if you are learning to exchange the smallness of who you once believed you were for the largeness of who He has created you to be, then you, my friend, are a Saint. This world needs you to discover what that means.

ROTUBIRTNOC

KEEPING THE SPIRITUAL FIRE

BURNING

Galatians 3:1-3 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

-“opponents”. He starts by defending his apostleship: - He makes Christ his witness in his ministry Galatians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead”

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

@beautyandthegospel 22

An interesting composition by Paul and he plays around with words to make a valid point about faith, us and spirituality.

We now know that faith is the premise of our relationship with God and faith is actually the fuel we need for the race. Spirituality is what gives us a relationship with God and keep us on the good side of God, so it should be a lifestyle an attitude, a rhythm of a Character we possess and this is something we need to work on and manifest daily. Paul writes the letter to the Galatians who were facing quite a number of problems from the teaching they received from his -

Pastor , loving Husband , father and a lover of the Word of GOD!

ROTUBIRTNOC

- He was appointed by Christ himself not man Acts 9: 1-9 ,Paul had an encounter with Christ on his way to Damascus, Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said to him, & quote ;Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. - He recognizes Christ as the one who gave him what he preaches so he does so with authority Galatians 1:11-12 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. He corrects some errors about what his opponents were teaching behind his back They taught that for one to be accepted as a fully-fledged Christian they had to observe the law of Moses, he strongly echoes how wrong this is Galatians 2:16 “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 3:1 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Paul calls people fools, he says they have a void in their understanding, because they were taught the right teaching about Christ and what he has done for them. Who bewitched them -the false teachers with their teachings they have managed to persuade them otherwise? Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

- Daniel Shows character and attitude - When Daniel was captured in Babylon, He would not let foreign methods and ideologies defile him - He stood by what he believed and kept himself out of the pollution of the Babylonians - He was not even afraid to defend his faith and spirituality 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” There is no other gospel/TRUTH than that one that says only Christ can save Galatians 1:6-8 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one, we preached to you, let him be accursed.

@beautyandthegospel

He even says if we are endorsing the law then Christ died for nothing Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose”

They also taught that observing feasts as part of the Christian faith is important Galatians 4:10 “You observe days and months and seasons and years! If Christianity is practiced with all these extra things it becomes another sect under Judaism (this was matter of nationality, it had nothing to do with Christianity) when we add things that was not supposed to be added we created a concoction which was not prescribed

If you were given a different gospel then you are deceived, and you need to really know better because I have taught you the one and true gospel. If you believe what they have taught, note, it is bad for you but it is also bad for them as they are cursed Galatians 1:9 “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be cursed. Apostle Paul is actually holding the Galatians responsible, they have let themselves be misled by all these false teachers. He says with so much proof that Christ has died how can you be misled. Sometimes we just need to open and read the pages of our Bible to see Christ crucified. People sometimes seek for experiences of magnificent display of power before we believe in the power of the gospel. Word of advice John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” Matthew 28:20 “teach them to observe all that I have commanded”

Paul addresses his concern for the spiritual well-being of the Galatians This is understandable because Paul was teaching this in the midst of all the error that was taught by his opposers and this actually meant that people were fed pollution that led them astray. What people are fed on the pulpit, on TV, radio and the media are enough to kill someone spiritually hence James 3:1 says Not many of you should become teachers, because judgement is very strict for them. Scripture warns us of false teachers but who is responsible for the prevention of this contamination, it is us 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth. It is your duty that in the midst of what is spread in social media ,TV, Radio and all the false teachings we have to rightly divide the Word to diagnose the sick situation we are living and to prevent yourself from falling victim to bogus pollution. Paul writes again with the concern on spiritual climate of people in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.

Galatians 3:2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? He then asks a simple and one question that can break open the mindset. How does one receive the spirit? Is it because people observe certain requirement of the law or just by being in Christ? Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. Faith has to do with me believing in all the events that are centred around the gospel of truth. Mark 16:15-16 “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. I know many would say this is some kind of a creed, but this is no creed this Christ speaking what He wants, and he speaks with authority, so this wants obedience. What gives you spirituality, is it that which man tells you do or what God says you must do? In closing We need to constantly and consistently put fuel in our spirituality. What we feed our minds and hearts should be things inspired by the Spirit.

Sometimes we look to things that do not matter to fuel our faith, but we cannot find Spirituality outside Christ. We need to look to Christ, and He will help us through His Word to fuel and keep the spiritual fire burning. We have a personal responsibility to make sure that our faith grows and the fire is constantly burning (we need to adjust how we live by applying a spiritual mindset, an attitude that is directed by the Spirit)

YOURS IN CHRIST PASTOR BONGANI GAMA

keep the spiritual fire burning

2 Timothy 3:16 all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for all things spiritual.

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How do our works prepare us for eternity? We continue from A Glimpse of Eternity – Part 1 as Daniel Kolenda reveals how our obedience prepares us for all Jesus has promised to those who overcome. “You can have something that will turn the devil himself green with envy!" – Daniel Kolenda A Glimpse of Eternity (PART 2) The book of Revelation paints a striking picture of saints who sit on thrones, and receive power from God to judge (Rev. 20:4). This is not symbolic. They sit on actual thrones. They receive real authority to judge.

They rule all of creation with King Jesus.

something that will turn the devil himself green with envy!

Please, give careful consideration to this message. Satan fell because he put his eyes on the throne of God and desired it. That was his ambition. Yes, he tempts people with much lesser things, like material success, cars, clothes, popularity, and political power. But Satan himself had his eyes set on something much greater something carnal humanity knows nothing about. It is a prize much greater than anything ever imagined—the very throne of God. That is what the devil wanted. But he was banished from Heaven for coveting it. The very thing he desired and rebelled to acquire, is the very thing he will never attain. And yet, Jesus said, you can sit on My throne with Me! You can have -

How is this possible? Exactly because of what Jesus taught us: only the meek inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). In other words, those faithful saints whose only ambition was to serve, not their own interests, but the interests of their great King, will inherit the very thing the devil raged to obtain. Likewise, the tycoons and moguls of this world, who spent their whole lives chasing earthly riches, will look up at the ones sitting with Christ. They will weep and say, “I’ve wasted my whole life searching for things that were dust in the wind, and I didn’t even know it!” Notice what Jesus promises to “those who overcome.” They will:

· Eat of the tree of life (Rev. 2:7). · Receive a crown of life (Rev. 2:10). · Eat the hidden manna (Rev. 2:17). · Receive a white stone bearing their new name that only they would know (Rev. 2:17). · Receive authority over the nations (Rev. 2:26). · Receive the morning star (Rev. 2:28). · Wear white garments (Rev. 3:5). · Become pillars in God’s temple and never go out of it again (Rev. 3:12). · Have written on their very persons God’s name, the name of Jerusalem, and the new name of Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:12). · Sit with Christ on His throne (Rev. 3:21). This extraordinary life of the age to come is difficult to picture. Scripture describes it in powerful images, and its practical details are beyond me. But two things I do know: it is unspeakably more glorious than all -

the wealth of this world, and you can choose to live for that age.

looking into the Promised Land,

While most people are chasing new cars, bigger houses, a few pieces of “green paper,” or a better looking body, others have decided they will chase eternal rewards and store up treasures in heaven. The moment you drive a new car off the lot, it depreciates. The first year, it could go down in value by twenty percent. But something tells me those white garments will never lose their value. I’m not sure what the morning star is, but I have a feeling it will never depreciate. Even after a million years, I don’t think that ruling nations will ever get boring! I don’t know about you, but I want Jesus to tattoo His new name on me. I want to sit on a throne with Him. I want to eat from the tree of life. I want to wear a crown on my head.

I want to be one of those “pillars” in

I don’t want to be somewhere on the fringe of the holy city like Moses -

seeing it only from a distance.

the house of God that never has to go out. I want to live close to Him for all of eternity, able to gaze upon the One who sits upon the throne and on the Lamb forever. -------------------------------------------This Bible Study Introduction has been taken from Evangelist Daniel Kolenda’s book, “The Judgment Seat of Christ.” Rediscover the amazing Truths that surround the Judgement Seat of Christ, one of the forgotten treasures of Scripture. It is a theme central to the doctrine of the New Testament authors and especially to Jesus Christ Himself.

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WE BECOME WHAT WE WATCH

What Entertainment Does to Our Minds

written by: Abigail Dodds, extracted from: desiringgod.org Perhaps one of the more obvious discoveries of my life is that the majority of the thinking that I do is passive, not active. When I read my Bible each day, I am often actively holding up specific beliefs against the light of God’s word to see if I believe anything wrongly. Simultaneously, through the mere act of reading well, a hundred other truths are making themselves at home in my mind, even if I’m not wrestling with any one of them in the moment.

Active learning or active thinking is not the type of thinking most of us are doing the majority of our time each day. And yet, we are all thinking about something all day every day. Thinking is something we do when we’re conscious. It’s something we do even when we’re vegging out in front of YouTube or Netflix. J. Gresham Machen says, “When any new fact enters the human mind it must proceed to make itself at home; it must proceed to introduce itself to the -

previous denizens of the house. That process of introduction of new facts is called thinking. And, contrary to what seems to be quite generally supposed, thinking cannot be avoided by the Christian man.”

"Perhaps one of the more obvious discoveries of my life is that the majority of the thinking that I do is passive, not active.''

What Tutors Have You Hired? As we casually scroll social media, or watch the cultclassic sitcoms, or binge on the latest British drama, or entrance ourselves in 24/7 news coverage, we have hired tutors to instruct us. These tutors are continuously presenting facts and knowledge of varying disciplines (sociological, political, theological, scientific, and more). As we listen, we welcome into our minds whatever teaching they have on the docket for the day. And, often, when we’re watching television or listening to podcasts, our mental guard is down, and so the “teaching” can get a stronger and more subtle foothold. These tutors don’t teach for free either. They require payment, either directly through your paid subscription to their service or indirectly through the information they obtain about you. Just as college students pay tuition to sit in a classroom and learn from teachers and professors, so we pay “tuition” every time we enter a movie theater or pay for Hulu or DirecTV.

The only difference is that rather than calling the shows an education, they are called “entertainment.” By thinking of shows as entertainment rather than education, we assume that we are entering a space free of thinking — a space where we can suspend reality in favor of enjoyment. But just as Machen says, whenever new facts enter our mind, we are engaged in a type of thinking — whether we want to be or not. Watching shows is one of the most passive forms of thinking, which makes it one of the most powerful. Because we are not engaged in active thinking, we allow any number of morally suspect thoughts to enter our mind unhindered. These thoughts immediately get comfortable in their new home — they start settling in and hanging drapes. To say this is a cunning move by our adversary is an understatement. Under the guise of entertainment, evil thoughts often move into our minds and entrench themselves unopposed. Passive Thinking’s Vital Role When most of us think of becoming more holy, especially regarding our mind or our thoughts, we probably think of an active battle like the one Paul describes: “We destroy -

arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Taking every thought captive to Christ is how we wage war in the mind. We actively isolate and identify our thoughts so that we can take them hostage. We hold our thoughts up to God’s word. Do we agree with what God says, or are we arguing with him? Do we love what he loves? Do we hate what he hates? Whenever we find ourselves out of step with God’s word, let the killing begin. Destroy that argument; wage war on that opinion; take captive that thought. This is an essential battle tactic for every Christian to learn, but it is not the only battle tactic. Whenever we read the Bible well, far more is happening than we perceive in the moment, just like when we watch our favorite shows. God’s thoughts are entering the human mind — more than we can count, much less isolate — making themselves at home, and introducing themselves to whatever ideas they find. While we may focus on a verse or two while reading a chapter, we are standing under a waterfall of teaching, and absorbing much more than we realize.

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Whether we are reflecting on a fact at any given moment or not, we are always thinking, and that thinking shapes us in profound ways.

Fill your mind with God’s thoughts by acclimating it first and foremost to the stories and laws and letters and poetry of the Bible, rather than the stories being sold to you by the world. Put yourself daily in the stream of his cleansing and purifying waterfall of holiness and grace in Scripture. Reading is often passive, just as watching is often passive. But reading is also a form of thinking, just as watching shows is a form of thinking. Both affect the atmosphere of our minds, either for good or ill — for clean air leading to pure thoughts or polluted air leading to perverse ones.

The Bible isn’t the only place we can go for this kind of sanctification, although it is far and away the very best place. There are also stories and biographies and movies and documentaries and nonfiction and poetry and sermons that all help us to think better. They put thoughts in our mind that we very much want to settle in and put up drapes. They change us and sanctify us in ways we don’t always understand in the moment. What Stories Are Shaping You? When I read Andrew Peterson’s “Wingfeather Saga” with my children, I am putting myself in a stream of good water, allowing it to wash off some dirt that has built up in my mind. Reading of Nia, the strong and gentle mother, strengthens my arms with endurance. The saga reminds me of why God made me. It expands my imagination so that loyalty, honor, sacrifice, and truth are habituated into my mind — righteousness becomes the normal air for my thoughts to breathe. Destroying evil thoughts and lofty opinions really begins with passive thinking. It begins by refusing to put ourselves in the polluted streams of entertainment, and -

acclimating and habituating our minds to righteousness through God’s word and the echoes of his stories we find in other stories. We know when to destroy the strongholds of wrong thinking when we’ve tasted what right thinking tastes like, when we’ve fed on it, when it’s nourished our thoughts and imaginations. We will learn, again and again, that his thoughts are not like our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8, and then experience the absolute joy of surrendering to his superior ones. -------------------------------------AbigailDodds, @abigaildodds is a wife, mother of five, and grad student at Bethlehem College & Seminary. She is author of (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ (2019).

"Watching shows is one of the most passive forms of thinking, which makes it one of the most powerful.''

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Where Righteousness Feels at Home We want our minds to be a hospitable place for righteousness to dwell. How do we do that? We do it in the same way the immoral entertainment industry tries to educate and acclimate our minds to unrighteousness. Our minds become a home for righteous thinking when we regularly and submissively soak ourselves in God’s word — either by reading or listening — and let God himself (through his word) be the tutor that shapes and transforms us most. God’s word is more powerful than a movie. It is more insightful and compelling than social media.

Devotions by the anointed Dr AndrĂŠ and Jenny Roebert

Face to Face Message taken from Matthew 10:7 (KJV) Exodus 33:11a (NLT):Â "Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend." Moses' relationship with God was quite remarkable. When Moses separated himself from the outside demands and business of overseeing the mobile camp of thousands of Israelite; he drew near to God. It's impossible to imagine the constant pressure and stress of his job, leading all those families, who were clearly not happy travellers, through the wilderness - day in and day out for forty years. His constant meetings with God must have been so precious and intimate to sustain, refresh, and equip him for his overwhelming task. Even more remarkable though, is the truth that we are promised an even closer relationship with our God than Moses had. He may have seen God face to face in the tent of meeting, and seen His hand split the Red Sea, rain manna from heaven, pour gushing water from a rock; but we get to have the very Presence of God live inside us. You just don't get more intimate than that! When we turn our attention on him, He reveals His will and loving nature to us. He fills us with His power, freely extends His wisdom, comforts, counsels and guides our every step - all we need do is separate ourselves, draw near and ask.

TE ST IM ON Y

YOU KNOW SO MANY TIMES AS CHRISTIANS, WAIT LET ME SAY AS HUMAN BEINGS WE FACE ENCOUNTERS THAT CAN ONLY BE SOLVED BY JESUS. THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS ONCE SOLVED, MAKE YOU SIT AND BE IN AWE OF HOW A HUMAN COULD HAVE NEVER SURVIVED THAT. IN EVERYDAY LIFE WE GET TO SEE THE HAND OF GOD BY MERELY BEING ALIVE , WE GET TO EXPERIENCE WHAT AN AWESOME GOD WE SERVE . IN EVERY ISSUE WE FEATURE A STORY THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN EVERY WAY. IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT GOD CAN DO , THIS IS ONE TRUE EXAMPLE . THIS STORY IS BY: MPHO SEKANE .YOU CAN ALSO SHARE YOURS WITH US AT: BEAUTYANDTHEGOSPEL@GMAIL.COM.

THE EVIDENCE OF FAITH IN ACTION

When I saw those old two white ladies I said to myself they very old and experienced.

“Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.” - James 2:26.

Those ladies said this woman looks perfectly fine she can

breath on her own no machine or anything. It is strange but

The first person I spoke to was my Spiritual mother Pastor

she looks perfectly fine no we leaving I trust this Juniors

Thuto Ghezani. She simply said don't worry woman of God

will make it. I knew that God was right there in the room.

all will be well. I then became stronger and more faithful because I was not scared but did feel sad. I found myself

Now its 4 o'clock the surgery has to start there's a delay

comforting my family while it should have been them

the theater room is not yet sterilised. It delayed till 6 I'm

comforting me.

watching the clock at the wall with a smile I say now they inter seeding at church. As I'm in theater room injection are

Then the papers came I signed everything gave concerns of

not working they gave me about 4 shots m still looking

all they told me. Operation scheduled for Wednesday 8

nothing is happening.

o'clock fortunately it didn't happen, Thursday came they

scheduled me for 4 o'clock. Come 2 o'clock was taken to

At 18:40 I felt the man of God’s Presence actually I felt him

theatre they prepared me for the operations inserting

walk into that room. I said thank you God then I started to

things on my spine and all those tubes so that 4 o'clock m

fall asleep with the oxygen they gave me to put me to

ready.

sleep as injection's weren't working. 19hoo the surgery started 19:40 all was completed. Baby health and strong.

Heee Look what God does. All the relevant Professors and

Woke up and breathing on my own no machine required.

Senior doctors where called in they said its them only them

The God of Ebenezer Fellowship Center has done it again.

who had to perform that surgery. TO BE CONTINUED.....

U AT

the ANTICHRIST WORDS BY: Britt Gillette EXTRACTED FROM : of End Times Bible Prophecy

We continue from the previous issue about this alarming topic. To see where it begins, do look out for this article in ISSUE NO 1 VOL 3. Subdues 3 of the 10 Kings "Three of the first horns were wrenched out, roots and all, to make room for it." Daniel 7:8 (NLT) Apparently, three of the ten kings will oppose the Antichrist and his brazen grab for power. In the struggle that ensues, he will defeat them, and his control over the new Rome will become absolute. 7 Year Treaty with Israel "He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven" Daniel 9:27 (NLT). The Antichrist will make a treaty with the people of Israel for a period of seven years. The details and nature of this treaty are yet unknown, but many have speculated that in a bid for Middle Eastern peace, Israel will agree to rely on the Antichrist for its national defense. He Will Conquer Many Revelation Chapter 6 describes the Antichrist as a great conqueror riding on a white horse. He goes out to conquer many, and he wields a great sword. In his conquest, he will kill a sizeable portion of the world's population. Will Rule Politically, Religiously, and Economically

He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and those who belong to this world to worship the first beast, whose death-wound had beenhealed." Revelation 13:12 (NLT). The Antichrist will exercise all the authority of the first beast, which is the revived Roman Empire. He will require the world to worship and give allegiance to this empire, which will be resurrected from the dustbin of history. "And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation." Revelation 13:7 (NLT). Not one person will escape the reach of the Antichrist and his governmental dominion. "He required everyone great and small, rich and poor, slave and free - to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name." Revelation 13:16-17 (NLT). The Antichrist will have unprecedented control over the world's financial transactions. He will have so much power that he will be able to determine on a case-by-case basis which individuals will be allowed to buy or sell anything.

Unprecedented Destruction

As a result, it will become state policy of the

In his insatiable quest for personal glory, the

revived Roman Empire to destroy all religion

Antichrist will cause an unprecedented

with the exception of worship of the dragon.

amount of destruction.

"The scarlet beast and his ten horns - which

"He will become very strong, but not by his

represent ten kings who will reign with him -

own power. He will cause a shocking amount

all hate the prostitute. They will strip her

of destruction and succeed in everything he

naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains

does." Daniel 8:24 (NLT).

with fire." Revelation 17:16 (NLT).

Abomination of Desolation

Wages War Against the Saints

Jesus prophesied of a time of great tribulation,

As part of his campaign to create universal

such as the world had never seen, nor ever will

worship of himself, the Antichrist will set out

see again. He said this time period will begin

to destroy those who are faithful to God and

with the desecration of the Jewish Temple:

His Son, Jesus Christ. "And the beast was

"The time will come when you will see what

allowed to wage war against God's holy

Daniel the prophet spoke about: the

people and overcome them.

sacrilegious object that causes desecration

" Revelation 13:7 (NLT).

standing in the Holy Place." Matthew 24:16 (NLT).

"He will destroy powerful leaders and

The Antichrist will fulfill this prophesy by

devastate the holy people. He will be a

standing in the Jewish Temple and

master of deception, defeating many by

proclaiming himself to be God. He will set up

catching them off guard. Without warning

an image in the Holy Place and demand the

he will destroy them. He will even take on the

world worship it.

Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power." Daniel

"He will put an end to the sacrifices and

8:24-25 (NLT).

offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that

Kills Two-Thirds of the Jewish People

causes desecration, until the end that has

In his rage against the Jewish people, the

been decreed is poured out on this defiler.

Antichrist will manage to kill two-thirds of the

" Daniel 9:27 (NLT).

Jewish race. "Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the Lord. But

"He will exalt himself and defy every god there

a third will be left in the land." Zechariah 13:8-

is and tear down every object of adoration and

9 (NLT).

worship. He will position himself in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God." 2

Wages War Against Jesus Christ

Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT).

In his arrogance, the Antichrist will lead a rebellion against Jesus Christ, and gather the

Destroys All Religion But His Own

world's armies to wage battle against the

The Book of Revelation describes the revived

Lord and his heavenly armies. "He will even

Roman Empire as being dominated by a

take on the Prince of princes in battle." Daniel

prostitute. This prostitute symbolizes

8:25 (NLT). "And I saw three evil spirits that

idolatrous religion, and although Satan loves

looked like frogs leap from the mouth of the

idolatry, in the end time he will only tolerate

dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

worship of himself.

These miracle-working demons caused all the rulers of the world to gather for battle -

"He will halt between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents there, but while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him." Daniel 11:45 (NLT) "And they gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place called Armageddon in Hebrew." Revelation 16:16 (NLT). Destroyed Forever Despite his arrogant belief that he can defeat God, the ultimate fate of the Antichrist was determined long ago. He will be completely destroyed in a rout of epic proportions. "But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power will be taken away and completely destroyed. " Daniel 7:26 (NLT). Lake of Fire As a result of his defeat, the Antichrist will against the Lord on that great judgment day

be cast into the lake of fire (traditionally

of God Almighty." Revelation 16:13-14 (NLT).

known as "Hell") where he will be tormented day and night for all of

His Ultimate Destruction

eternity. His kingdom will meet the same

Despite his worldly success, the reign of the

fate, and be replaced by the Lord's

Antichrist will be relatively brief - no more

Millennial Kingdom which will bring

than seven years. Ultimately, he will be held

long-sought peace on earth. "Both the

accountable for his actions, and he will face

beast and his false prophet were thrown

the wrath of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur." Revelation 19:20 (NLT).

Camps at Armageddon While gathering the armies of the world to

Jesus offered the world by Satan...

Jerusalem to wage battle against the Lord,

In studying the prophecies of the

the Antichrist will set up his camp and

Antichrist, we would be wise to refer to

gather his armies in a place called

the Book of Matthew, where Jesus is

Armageddon, the modern day city of

tempted in the desert prior to his

Megiddo, Israel.

ministry. Here, we get a firsthand view of the deal brokered between the Antichrist and Satan:

"Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. 'I will give it all to you,' he said, 'if you will only kneel down and worship me.' 'Get out of here, Satan,' Jesus told him. 'For the scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.' Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus." Matthew 4:8-11 (NLT) Because He is faithful and true, Jesus turned down the Devil's offer to rule the kingdoms of the world. However, at some point in the future, a man will arise who will accept this deal with the Devil. He will sell his soul for a brief and destructive career as the most powerful dictator in human history. He will hold absolute power, and he will be the personification of all evil. But his destruction is certain. He challenges the Prince of Peace, and guess what? Jesus wins. ---------------------------------------------Britt Gillette is the founder of End Times Bible Prophecy and the author of Coming To Jesus and Signs Of The Second Coming. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for FREE when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.

ROTUBIRTNOC

FAITH in who He is

Scriptures: Daniel:3.15-18 “Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.

But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." The Bible says God is not a man to lie, nor son of man to change His mind, this the assurance that He will remain the same yesterday, today and forever. It's high time as children of the most High God to know Him for who He is. We don't move by sight, but by faith. It's by faith that God is revealed to us, it is impossible to please God without faith and anyone who comes to Him must believe that He is God.

The three gentlemen in the above scripture, they had a revelation of who God is, their faith in God. They told king Nebuchadnezzar that their God will save them, they had faith that their God is faithful, will never leave nor forsake them even in the fire. But the interesting part is, their faith was not limited to what God can do for them, it was beyond that. They told the king that we know our God will save us, that was their faith in what God can do for them. And they went further and said, even if He does not save us, still we are not going to bow down to your god. In other words, they were saying that our God is bigger than just saving us, we have faith in who He is than what He can do for us. Child of God believe God that He will do mighty things for you. He can save you in that situation, He can provide for you, He can heal you, He will surely lift you up. Above all that, may you know God for who He is than what He does. Have a strong faith in God… Note this: Everything else shall pass away (including that miracle you are seeking for) but God will remain forever, have faith in Him and you'll forever remain with Him…!

PASTOR NTSAKO BALOYI

a servant of God, husband to Tiyiselani Baloyi and home made chef

fea tu re d

10 DEADLIEST Signs of Self-Righteousness You Don't

KNOW! written by: joshua infantado

Do you know that you can be self-righteous without even knowing it? Thankfully, in this article , you will learn the little-known signs of self-righteousness so you can start overcoming them!

CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE. However, there is one particular type of “righteousness” that can easily prevent us from entering the Kingdom of God. In fact, this kind of righteousness had been heavily condemned by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is also the reason that Job was punished by God. This deceptive type of righteousness is so potent that it can easily spiritually blind a person and not even know that they have it. I am talking about SELFRIGHTEOUSNESS. This problem has been a common sin throughout the history of the Church.

After all, it is so easy to be self-righteous. It is a human and natural inclination that we all need to overcome. It is so difficult to detect self-righteousness in our lives. In fact, it takes other people and the word of God to point it out for us. That’s why in this article I want to share with you ten of the deadliest signs of self-righteousness. Sign no. 1: Selfrighteous people repel others Have you ever been around a person who made you feel uncomfortable, unrighteous and guilty because you can see how he OBVIOUSLY show his righteousness? This person constantly rubs on your face his righteous acts and in the process, unconsciously PUT PEOPLE DOWN. As a result, you don’t like to make friends with this person because he has this aura of making you feel spiritually inferior.

fea tu re d That’s exactly what selfrighteousness does. IT REPELS PEOPLE. On the other hand, genuine righteousness DRAWS people toward you. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of a righteous Being. He draws people toward Him and not fend them off. Sign no. 2: Self-righteous people parade their good works The Pharisees and scribes are the perfect EPITOMAI of selfrighteousness. For that reason, Christ ardently reprimanded them. Read Matthew 23, and you will see how many times Christ said, “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees. Christ stated that we must exceed the righteousness of these people if ever we want to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:20).

So what’s wrong with the Pharisees and Scribes? They love to PUBLICLY display their righteousness to people. They were “wearing their righteousness outwardly.” When they fast, they want to appear to people fasting (Matthew 6:16). When they repent, they don’t produce the fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8). When they give alms, they sound a trumpet (Matthew 6:2). And the list just goes on and on. You get the point. Self-righteousness is more of the outward manifestation rather than an inward conversion of the person. Sign no 3: Self-righteous people are uncompassionate Being self-righteous makes you a person without much compassion. Why? Because you see other people full of sins -

and faults and you don’t understand why they are that way. You have a hard time looking into yourself and REALIZING THAT YOU ALSO HAVE A LOT OF UNCHECKED PROBLEMS. Instead of being compassionate, self-righteous people are very critical of others. Sign no. 4: Self-righteous people hate and condemn sinners Whenever you are in the presence of a thief, adulterer, extortionist, or somebody who have committed a horrible sin, does it make you feel uncomfortable? A self-righteous person hates sinners instead of just hating their sins.

JESUS CHRIST LOVES SINNERS. He even ate with tax collectors and talked to them. He spent more time with the perceived sinful people in His day than the Pharisees who are thought to be “righteous.” The danger with self-righteousness is it makes you believe that you are in the position of God. You CONDEMN people and pass permanent judgment. You determine who will be part of God’s kingdom and who will not. True righteousness loves the sinner but hates the sin.

Sign no. 5: Self-righteous people love the approval and praises of men Among the motivations of a self-righteous person is to gain approval from people. He wants to look righteous, so people hold him in high regards. This is exactly what the Pharisees did. They did their alms in front of many people, disfigured their faces when fasting, loved to sit at the best-

seats in the synagogues, and enjoyed being called with pompous titles, just to name a few. Sadly, they have their rewards. They have not waited for a far GREATER reward that only God can give them. Here’s food for thought: When we do something good, we do it not to show how righteous we are, but instead, WE DO IT TO SHOW HOW AWESOME THE LIVING GOD IS. We do our good deeds so that people “may see [our] good works and glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Sign no. 6: Self-righteous people list their good works Have you ever noticed how hard it is for us to forget the good things we have done to other people? Every time we do something good, we have this little notepad in our brain where we list all our good deeds. Afterward, we add them all up and show ourselves and others how righteous we are!

When we do this, we forget that our righteousness is just like FILTHY RUGS (Isaiah 64:6). Our righteousness pales down to nothing when compared to the righteousness of God. In reality, it is not our job to list our good deeds. It is God’s. “For God is not unrighteous to forget [our] work and labor of love, which [we] have shewed toward his name, in that [we] have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10). Sign no. 7: Self-righteous people reject correction If we remain self-righteous, time will come that it will make us callous. We hold on to our self-righteousness and -

fea tu re d t will harden us. And by the time when we need to be corrected, PRIDE sets in, and we become unteachable. This hardness of heart may spring from the belief that you know almost everything, that you already know what the scripture says, and nothing new can impress you anymore. You think that there’s nothing to learn anymore and you won’t let anybody tell you what to do. We have become too vain in our thinking that we won’t allow anyone to point out where we might have got it wrong. True righteous people possess a child-like attitude. That is entirely different to what selfrighteous people feel about themselves. Jesus Christ was teachable in spite of His wisdom and divine nature. He did everything and anything His Father told Him to do. Sign no. 8: Self-righteous people talk back to God For God to work with selfrighteous people, they need to be humbled first. However, selfrighteousness may persist. Like Job, we may talk back to God and rationalize out thoughts and actions. We may show God how rich, how we have increased in goods, and how we have need of nothing (Revelation 3:17). We may tell God how good we are by following His commandments and that He owes us a pat on the back and praises! However, just like the Laodicean church, we didn’t know that we are actually “wretched, miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (same verse).

Sign no. 9: Self-righteous people think of themselves as important Sometimes, in our zeal and passion in doing God’s work, we fall into the trap of thinking that it’s all about US. We look at the results of our work and say, “Wow! Look how many people came into the church through me!” “Did you just see that? I just inspired the whole congregation with MY SERMON!” “ Look at how much I am doing for the work of the church. I’m sure the church won’t grow without me.” “I pay a lot of tithes. The pastor will surely miss ME if I leave this church.” This type of thinking is focused on the SELF. Selfrighteousness literally means “SELF-RIGHT.” In reality, we must all be “CHRIST-RIGHT.”

Sometimes we think so highly of ourselves that we felt that God needs us so badly. Actually, the reverse is true: It is US who desperately need God! Righteous people DON’T think about the things they lost for following God. But rather, they concentrate on the things God gave them. Sign no. 10: Self-righteous people wallow in self-pity Every time a self-righteous is chastened by God, he sulks in self-pity. Instead of seeing trials and challenges in life as a way to develop godly righteousness, they would instead pity and prevent themselves from developing the ENTHUSIASM to fight back.

James said that we must “count it all joy when [we] fall into various trials.” For a selfrighteous person, he would just endure the trial and not actually rejoice in it.

WE NEED TO SEE CORRECTION AS A WAY TO BRING US BACK TO OUR LOVING FATHER. When God gives us a trial, it is NOT because He wants to prevent us from getting into the Kingdom, but to help us develop the righteousness that enables us to be part of His Family. When we are corrected for our self-righteous arrogance, we must have a positive attitude, learn the lesson, and overcome. That’s the only way we can destroy the shackles of selfrighteousness that restrict our spiritual growth. Final Words Here are the 10 deadly signs of self-righteousness. There’s no doubt; it’s HARD TO SEE THE SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IN US. In fact, every time we do something good, the natural response is to have a certain amount of self-righteousness budding in our hearts.

However, if we truly see what we truly are without God, then we will realize that our righteousness must be from God. After all, it is CHRIST WHO LIVES IN US, and it is Him who helps us produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Instead of building our own righteousness, WE NEED TO BUILD THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. This is a profound and significant subject we all need to think about. Self-righteousness is indeed a fatal sin that we all need to overcome, and by being alert to these 10 signs of self-righteousness, I hope we can be more successful in becoming less like us and be more like God!

rotubirtnoc

PERFECTIONISM

ISN'T NEXT TO

BY; KENDRA DUBLIN

GODLINESS

Are you the type of person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection? Does it take you longer to do task because you are trying to make it “impeccable”? What if I told you that being a “perfectionist” isn’t godly? It isn’t something we should ascribe to as Christians. Jesus was perfect, not a perfectionist. Our perfectionism is usually rooted in our own will, nobody else’s, especially not God’s. There’s a difference between being a high achiever and a perfectionist. Are you striving for excellence in Christ or are you demanding perfection? I’ve heard plenty of people say, “I’m a perfectionist” like they are happy to be it. Perfectionism is rooted in pride, fear, and anxiety. What is there to boast about? Are these godly attributes? Read the list below to see if you are a perfectionist. If you know you are a perfectionist read it anyway and get a few helpful tips.

@godsperspectiveforme

You often spend copious amounts of time to perfect something.

There is no room for mistakes, unrealistic standards. You may have been studying God’s Word and you decided to put what you’ve learned on social media. It takes you days to figure out if people will understand it, if the grammar is right and if what you have to say is valid. STOP replaying the post of the Facebook grammar police or the theologian that knows everything, and press “Share”. After a while you lose your zeal and the post that was supposed to bless someone is just a note in your app. “It’s not ready.” Well what is ready? What is perfect? Instead of taking in the moment you have allowed it to become a strenuous task. Be aware of your motivation. Who are you really trying to please? God or yourself? God or man? In our Christian walk you can easily become scared of God and try to be perfect in your thoughts and actions, but IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” (James 3:2).

Jesus is perfect and was made to be guilty for us. Let God have His cause. Let the Holy Spirit work within. Look at God’s standards and go from there. You will be at peace in the decisions you make. Perfectionism also causes us to have a very specific way in which things should be done. If tasks aren’t done the right way, it’s

done wrong; that’s pride. We must recognize ideals are directions, not absolutes; they aren’t law. You can get to the same result in many ways. Once you realize this, growth can happen.

If you continue to be stuck in your own ways, you will miss out on the options you have that may be better or may take less time. One of the things rooted in perfectionism is narcissism. Narcissist have a godlike complex that looks nothing like God. I have encountered this disorder and anything I did differently than the other person was wrong. They could not see there are many ways to get operations done. We even see this in the Pharisees. They tried to explain God’s laws and ended up trying to perfect God’s law. We are all different and we have many paths to Heaven through Jesus. Allow people to understand what that means so they can grow. Perfectionist constantly spot mistakes when others don’t see any. They have a critical eye in all task.

If you’ve had issues with this, start focusing on the big picture. You can’t focus on the main picture when you scrutinize your work or others or yourself. You won’t work well with others because your way is right, and any criticism towards you isn’t handled properly or taken seriously. This also goes back to doing things your way. Finding mistakes when there aren’t any brings forth an issue with control. Take 10 seconds to think about what’s been said before you react. Try to come to solutions that involve everyone. Start to change how you view others. Ask God to help you to love yourself so you can love others and recognize their beauty. When I was a manager in retail, most of the supervisors would come to me for advice. If they did visuals that weren’t to my liking although it could’ve been company standard, I would change it. Tell them to do it this way (my way) and it’ll look better.

Give yourself grace; the same grace God gave

can be dismissive to their ideas. That’s when I

you. Redirect your eyes and heart on God.

realized I needed to chill and allow other’s

Don’t look within for your answers if you’ve

opinions and ways of seeing things to be just

dealt with perfectionism. Pray for guidance,

as important as mine. It takes a lot of self-

humble yourself, listen, and take actions that

examination, but you can change your habits

will give you peace today, because tomorrow

if you want to.

is too late to be great.

You may have an all-or-nothing approach. You follow God perfectly or you abandon your work. You follow your diet perfectly or you give up. You see the world as black and white; you have an extremist view. There were multiple times when I was in high school, that I would get a zero for not turning my work in although I had 70% of it done. It sounds crazy, but my mindset was messed up. I should have focused on what I had done versus not finishing the assignments. If you are on a diet and you followed most of it, you’re a winner. Failure is only failure when you drop something to better yourself, because your idea of life is distorted. Life is grey, beige, brown and every other color in between. These colors show a balance in thought and action. The next time you fall short of a goal, take your day to mope then get back in the fight. It’s about the result and not the process. Stop and smell the roses. It’s easy to get depressed and have low self-esteem because you are overly critical of yourself. When you don’t hit your goals the way you want it can take a toll on you mentally and after a while you will operate in a way that is destructive.

KENDRA DUBLIN

rotubirtnoc

One of the managers during a meeting said I

Devotions by the anointed Dr André and Jenny Roebert

Faith That Receives Message taken from Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV): "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In Matthew 15:21-28, we read about a Canaanite woman who desperately needed a miracle for her daughter. She knew Jesus had the power to help her. So she persistently cried out for Him to have mercy and deliver her demon possessed child. The Bible says Jesus pretty much ignored her until something remarkable happened. The Bible says, "Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me". There were so many of God's people with desperate needs, yet it took so much to convince them their God was walking among them, with the power to heal and help them. But here was a Canaanite woman who recognised Jesus for Who He was! This arrested His attention and provoked His response to move on her behalf. Her worship was a true act of faith. Even though she wasn't Jewish, and hadn't been taught and trained in the teachings of God's people, she recognised and worshipped Jesus, knowing full well He had the power to deliver her daughter. Our complaining doesn't move the hand of God, our worship does. So recognise Him for being exactly Who His Word says He is, and your faith will cause you to receive exactly what He has promised you.

ROTUBIRTNOC

THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Uncle Angus Buchan . A Born Again, spirit filled servant of the LIVING GOD. An Author, Evangelist, Farmer, Husband, Father and Grandfather.

Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is tell my wife that I love her. You might say that she should know that by now, after more than 40 years of being together, but she still likes to hear it. And when your employee has done a good job, they would appreciate a “thank you”. It doesn’t matter if they are doing what they get paid for, encouragement means so much! Psalm 119:105 says: “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” What keeps me going is the encouragement that I get from the Lord. Encouragement like we see in 1 John 1:9, which says that if we confess our sins, then He will forgive us and cleanse us from all

I’m not saying for a minute that we should tell lies, but we must choose to see the best in everything, especially in our beloved South Africa. We have to be able to say, “The best is yet to come.” We must extend grace to people just like Jesus extended grace – undeserved love and kindness – to us.

unrighteousness.

Thinking back to my early days of farming, I

In other words, there’s always hope if we keep our

money I must have cost my employers, yet they

eyes on the Lord. Jesus never gave up on those who were failures in the sight of the world. In the Bible, there’s Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute, Matthew, a tax collector who was stealing from his own people, and many others. Jesus groomed them, encouraged them and turned them into giants of the faith. And when He called Peter to walk on water, and Peter lost his confidence, Jesus didn’t rebuke him. Instead, He stretched out His hand and helped Peter. The Lord turns us inside

shudder at the mistakes I made, the amount of always gave me another chance. If we have no patience with our workers, they’ll never amount to anything and it will actually be our fault. And if your children make a mistake and sincerely apologies, give them another chance. Why? Because that’s what Jesus said. Never miss an opportunity to be kind and encouraging. You’ll soon see how treating strangers – from shop

out and makes us into successes.

assistants and waitresses to bank tellers and

So, my dear friends, let us encourage one another

compliment will invariably work wonders,

all the time. It costs nothing to say, “Well done! You

government bureaucrats – to a smile and a especially if the person is clearly having a bad day.

did a good job!” Encouragement is worth more than gold. We need to put negativity behind us – especially those harsh words that might have been spoken to us when we were young and have haunted us ever since.

God bless Angus Buchan

SCRIPTURE OF THE MONTH

26 Jesus replied, “Let me make this very clear,[a] you came looking for me because I fed you by a miracle, not because you believe in me. 27 Why would you strive for food that is perishable and not be passionate to seek the food of eternal life, which never spoils?[b] I, the Son of Man, am ready to give you what matters most, for God the Father has destined me for this purpose.”[c]

JOHN 6:26-27 (TPT)

Christian

BLOGGING 101

Who are you personally and professionally and where are you from? My name is Megan, I’m a beauty-obsessed, soccer-loving, picturetaking, faith-inspired, mom of two boys aged 6 and 2 years old. Professionally, I am a digital strategist and Client Relationship Manager at a local digital marketing agency, where I work from home juggling the demands of motherhood while also handling the marketing accounts of more than 60 brands. I enjoy baking fresh treats for my family, exploring our hometown, and looking for new family-friendly places for our kids to enjoy. On the weekends, you’ll find me supporting Tottenham, while pretending to know what I am doing in the Fantasy League. I can be bribed with chocolate and will never admit to having too much makeup – although, I probably do. I'm from Port Elizabeth , South Africa How and when did you become Born Again? My walk with faith started at a very young age. In fact, it started right from the time they placed me in an incubator following my birth. My gran tells me that she prayed over my incubator for the entire night and her and God had some serious chats about the life I’d lead. My gran is a big inspiration to me. While she can rattle off verses until she turns blue in the face, the real beauty of her relationship with God is her love for Him – it’s so pure, raw and contagious that I can’t help but want to know Him more! To me, that’s the true testimony of Faith. Love God so much that others want to get to know Him too. My big God moment was during the birth of my first son. I was exhausted, things weren’t going as planned and well… I had never felt weaker. The doctors wanted to intervene, but I wasn’t having any of that, so I asked to go to the bathroom where I stood and called to God for strength. 30 minutes later, I was holding my newborn son surrounded by 4 doctors who didn’t believe I was ready to give birth. My birth was an experience like no other, and God’s presence could not be ignored. It’s only recently that I’ve realised that my upbringing taught me to parrot-learn The Bible, but the more I explore being a Christian on my own terms, by really digging into The Bible, the more I’m in awe of God and His hand in my life which has encouraged me to seek Him, learn His word and share this journey with you. www.cupoffaith.co.za

How and when did you get into blogging? And why Christian Blogging? I started blogging 8-years ago on my personal blog called By Megan Kelly, which shares beauty reviews, practical parenting tips and lifestyle trends. It was there that I learnt everything I know about digital marketing, which allowed me to branch out, start my own freelancing company and later, be hired by one of the leading digital agencies in South Africa. Inspired by my own faith journey, I dreamt up the idea of Cup of Faith one morning, while sitting out on my deck, reading my Bible and sipping on tea. Realizing the impact that this habit had on my day, I wanted to create a platform where women could come to have their own cups filled. I feel that each of our stories are so unique, so I didn’t want Cup of Faith to just be my voice, but rather the voice of many, so if you have a story that you want to share, you can apply to become a contributor. The idea is that I want ANY woman to be able to click over to Cup of Faith and find at least one other woman that she can connect and relate to – I want our community to find encouragement and inspiration among each other, understanding that we all come from different paths, but that we are united in our faith. What is bloggingg? Blogging is sort of like an online journal – you can use it for loads of different things from sharing your thoughts and opinions of the world, to documenting your life or chatting about a specific topic like beauty, parenting, travel or … your faith. I use blogging in different ways; I have my personal blog where I have done all sorts of things like discuss mental health, documented my parenting journey, shared the joys and challenges of working from home, as well as created branded content where I’ve worked with leading brands to encourage brand awareness among my readers. I also use blogging in my professional capacity, where I blog about the different forms of digital marketing, the benefits, trends and what you can expect – this sort of blog is used to educate our client and attract potential new clients. Blogging has grown so much over the years; it’s both a personal space where you can do what you like, while also being a powerful marketing tool. What inspires your posts and what preparation goes into it? Inspiration for my blog posts can come from anything really. Sometimes, it’ll be something that I heard in a podcast or had seen being discussed online, other times it can be a thought I had, and I’ll use my blog as a way to process my thoughts. It might also be something I learnt in my Bible studies or even in life, and I feel it’s worth sharing. Preparation for a blog post can vary, depending on the topic. If it’s something like a book review, I’ll keep sticky notes nearby, filling the book with notes as I read, so that I know exactly what I want to mention in my review. If it’s something that I have just thought of and feel compelled to share, I’ll sit down, type it up and post it immediately. For all my blog posts, there’s a lot of admin that you don’t necessarily see – I create the content, do grammar and spelling checks, source images or take styled photos of reviewed products, set up the SEO on all posts, click publish, share on our different platforms, let any mentioned brands know that they’ve been featured, create a monthly newsletter, engage with our audiences, keep our contributors up to date, edit any of their articles, record our podcast, edit the podcast, publish, share, share, share… the list goes on. What do you want people to learn from your blogs? I feel like sometimes, we get too much in our own heads of what Christianity should look like that we stop ourselves from being embraced by God – we put up walls and feel unworthy, thinking that we need to have it all together and have it all figured out to be a good Christian. Growing up, I went to church every weekend with my grandparents, and I saw how people felt obligated to hide the challenges they were facing, like they were afraid of being judged or even ridiculed by the church and community. I hope that Cup of Faith shows you that God loves you – all of you; even the messy, barely holding it together parts! Pursuing your relationship with God can be messy; you might feel challenged, called out, maybe you don’t always agree and perhaps sometimes you have questions that you’re too afraid to ask – I want Cup of Faith to be that place where you can bring everything; the good, the bad, the silly and lay it on the table. I want you to be embraced by our community, to feel supported, encouraged and inspired but most of all, I want you to be fearless in your pursuit of God. Other Interests? I have lots of interests outside of blogging; I am a huge fan of the English Premier League; I don’t miss a Spurs game and am very competitive in our Fantasy League. I am plant-crazy and take great pride in my succulent garden. I like comic books especially ones featuring The Titans and The Flash. I watch an embarrassing amount of series, enjoy reading new books, and find peace in Bible Journaling. I am a bit of skincare snob, get excited by makeup and thoroughly enjoy a good tutorial. My guilty pleasure is food channels on YouTube – whether they’re making food, reviewing food or just talking about food, my husband and I love it! I’d love for you to check out my blog: mylampblog.com and follow me on Instagram for more frequent encouragement.

What is the secret to authentic, thought provoking blogging? I have made a lot of mistakes in the last 8-years of blogging; I’ve tried to be someone I am not, attempted to be the person that everyone likes, I even tried to mask my own burdens and challenges with the hope of appearing more fun and likeable – all of these things got me nowhere. The true secret to authentic, thought-provoking blogging is to write about the things on your heart. I often go back and read old posts and can pin-point the posts that were driven by my passion and love for sharing, and which posts were posted because I felt obliged to share. What makes you different from other Christian bloggers? I don’t think that I am different – in fact, I often I feel I am not qualified enough to share or talk about my faith as confidently as other bloggers do. I try very hard not to compare myself to other Christian bloggers, because comparison takes the joy out of blogging. Where would you like to see your blog in the next 2 years? In the next year, I’d like to launch our range of products both aimed at children and adults. In fact, by March or April, our faith-inspired kiddies’ range should be available to order and towards the second half of the year, I hope to be working on the adult’s range of merchandise and stationery. Cup of Faith is only 6-months old, so I’d like the platform to continue to flourish and am excited to see what God has planned for me and this platform. Perhaps, in the next two years, I’d like to launch events and meetups for women across the country where we can gather, praise, connect and learn from each other. Who is King Jesus to you? My relationship with Jesus has evolved so much in the last year. I think His unconditional love for me hit me hardest, when I considered Jesus dying for our sins from a parent’s perspective. I can’t bear the thought of sending my child to pay the price for others, just like I can’t imagine the pain that Mary must’ve experienced, watching her son be tortured. Understanding the depths of that sacrifice has shifted my perspective and while throughout the Christian community, we like to say these words, I think it’s amazing – beautiful – raw – and even emotional, realizing the impact of saying, Jesus is my Saviour. Advice on how to start Christian blogging? Just start. Don’t think too much about it – start, and as you learn and grow in this digital space, you’ll refine your process. Again, don’t compare yourself to other Christian bloggers – it will steal the joy of blogging and make you feel insufficient. As an example, I used to focus a lot on numbers and think that my 500 views per day were nothing in comparison to someone else’s 3,000, but then I realized that those views meant that there were actually REAL people clicking on to read MY content and I thought that if my blog post made an impact on just one other person’s day, well… then I have contributed positively to this world and I am happy with that! Of course, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the technicalities of blogging but remember that there is a lot of free resources and videos available that guide you step by step – and if you don’t care for any of that and you just want to blog, you can always apply to become a contributor at Cup of Faith! Last words to the Beauty&amp;TheGospel reader? A lot of the time, when we’re scrolling through social media and especially when we see Christian bloggers, we hold them up to a higher standard – like, they should know better and do better, just because they have a platform. Social media is and always will be a highlight reel, but behind the screen, there are humans who just wish to connect. At times, I feel super self-conscious about my content, because I get caught up in comparing my faith journey to someone like my gran. I’ll sit second-guessing a post, wondering if this might offend someone, or if what I am studying is right – am I misunderstanding this? Do I actually have the experience to speaking on the topic? As much as I think it’s important to remember the responsibility that comes with the content you share, it’s just as important to remember that the person sharing it – even if they’re a Christian blogger with 4 million subscribers – is flawed and has the ability to make mistakes, learn from them and grow. We’re all just learning as we go, so be kind, show grace and remember that no number of likes, followers or subscribers gains you entrance to heaven. Don’t let the digital world take away from your own relationship with Our Father.

BLOG

THE FRAGRANCE OF KNOWING HIM (PART 2)

2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,…”

There is a strong, undeniable sense of His unconditional love, tenderness, and beautiful humility that lingers on that person.

When we diligently spend time seeking the face of the Lord, as our necessity, in prayer and His Word, the power and We also spoke about how this isn’t presence of the Person of the Holy Spirit something only sensed by those who rises up strong believers. knowing F O L Linside O W our R E spirits B A Oand N I N S T A G R A are M@ R E B AThis M O fragrance T L O G E of LW A overflows into our natural lives. As this God is recognisable and very evident to happens, the Word inside us comes alive those who are not saved, but are open to with His power and begins to do a the Gospel, and those who are closed to it cleansing work in us. I suppose a good way too. When they sense this fragrance of of explaining this, is it opens our eyes to Christ, their hearts respond to it. They are see the things in our lives that are not in either drawn to its life, or they sense a line with God’s ways, and we feel an terrible dread, where they know they urgency to change. It’s as though for the must repent or spend an eternity first time, the dirt has been washed out our separated from God. Did you know the spiritual eyes, and we begin to see the Bible actually calls this a ministry. What’s true condition of our our motives and more, it specifies that we must qualify to actions more clearly. carry the fragrance of the knowledge of God. Then, the Word begins to produce the powerful force of faith and hope inside us, Now, let me remind you, those aren’t my as we surrender everything to the Lord words, they are found in God’s Word. In and fill our hearts and minds with His the Amplified Classic version, the end of perspective. That sets off a flood of peace verse 16 of 2 Corinthians 2 says: “… And who and joy, filling us with life until we feel is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these we’ll burst if we don’t share this truth with things? [Who is able for such a ministry? others. The Bible likens this overflowing We?]” It’s asking the pertinent of life, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost to question: Who actually qualifies to carry the fragrance of knowing God. It’s really the fragrance of Christ? the evidence of Him at work in our lives. In part 1 of The Fragrance of Knowing It clearly implies there is a way we can tell Him we discovered we can instinctively if someone really does know God and has recognise when someone has been in the surrendered to His working in their lives. Presence of the Lord like this.

BLOG In other words, there is a way to tell if someone is just saying the right words, even saying them very well – but without any real power or substance to back those words. What I mean is, we are warned that there will be people who claim to know God and preach His Word, but they do it without a personal relationship with the Word Himself. They are not submitted to the truth of God’s Word where it should be doing a cleansing and transforming work in them, and then empowering them with faith and life and supernatural peace. This would make them imposters – people who are craftily using the Word to deceive others for their own selfish gain and motives. Verse 17 lays it out clear and plain: “For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message];…” The verse goes on to say that we must be people of sincerity and the purest motives, if we are going to carry the fragrance of knowing God: “…but like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and presence of God.” More than anything, I desire to carry the fragrance of the knowledge of God. Every time I deliberately spend time seeking His face as my necessity, in prayer and in His Word, I know I can encounter Him, and trust Him to do a cleansing, healing, and transforming work in me. We can expect to tangibly feel His presence when we come to Him in faith. We hear His instruction, His gentle correction, and His loving encouragement. We literally feel His Word, by His Spirit, go to work inside us, renewing our minds and transforming us to think, see, believe, and act as He does. Of course this is going to have a significant impact on our lives and everyone we deal with throughout our day. God’s lingering Presence in and on us will minister life to others.

But we can’t ignore or brush aside that very sober warning regarding this miraculous ministry. Verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 2 links carrying the fragrance of the knowledge of God with a deep, reverential respect and honour for God’s Word, and the manner in which we receive and present it. This really isn’t surprising because in truth, we can’t separate God from His Word! They are one and the same! 2 Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is Godbreathed! It is inspired by and filled with the life and essence of God Himself. So if we truly carry the evidence of intimately knowing God – we carry the evidence of intimately knowing His Word too. And the way we present His Word to others must be done in absolute integrity and purity of heart – because we are in essence presenting to them the one thing He honours as, and above, His own Name. Psalm 138:2 says God honours His Word above all, and His Name. The Amplified Classic translation says, “I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!” If God regards His Word so highly, who are we to ever dare receive and present it with any less respect – knowing full well it carries His full heart and intent? It also carries His life and His power, so how can we not hold it out with the utmost respect and integrity? Why would we water its truth down, or manipulate it to suit our own desires? Why would we disrespect its principles and disregard them by saying they’re no longer relevant to the times we’re living in, just because they are uncomfortable to our flesh or unpopular in society?

BLOG I found myself checking if there had ever been a time where I presented His Word for any reason other than the purest of motives. Has there ever been a time I didn’t present it as a direct commission from God Himself? Has there every been a moment, public or private, where I have spoken His Word and not been completely aware that I was declaring it in His sight and in His Presence? I do believe there is a call to every child of God, regardless of whether we’re in a position of leadership or not, to stand before Him and ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts. If there has been a time where we have received or presented His Word outside of an absolutely pure motive and intent, knowing we are presenting what is of utmost importance to Him – we must repent. Then choose to never, ever be found wanting in this regard again. We are living in times where we must make a clear choice to either stand wholeheartedly for the truth and integrity of God’s Word, or give over to compromise. If we are prepared to live for the God of the Bible, continuously seek His face as our necessity, and receive and present His Word with the honour and respect it deserves, we will qualify for the ministry of carrying the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go. We will see God go before us and honour His Word, as He leads us in triumph and never ending victory over the enemy, in every area of life. These are the days where we will be a vital part of ushering in His glory for the great awakening and end time harvest – as we each personally and intentionally carry the fragrance of knowing God wherever we go!

JENNY ALL MY LOVE,

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