Watch out your feeds!

Watch out your feeds!

                                     Good Morning Holy Spirit - Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, as we all are aware food is vital for our living. The Lord created us with a need to eat in order to physically survive. On the other side, this digital transformation era also became a vital section of our living. Scrolling through our social media feeds is much as part of our daily routine as eating, sleeping and to the more we can confidently say as breathing. Do you agree with me?

Certainly, I am not against the social media. It is a very good platform, which facilitates the sharing of thoughts, ideas, information, helping us to stay in connect with our friends in our own pace & time.

When we open Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, twitter, etc, the feed widget is a great thought imposed by these social media giants using certain machine learning algorithms. The order of photos and videos in our feed will be based on the likelihood of our interest in the content such as fashion, fitness, food, media & entertainment and the relationship with the person posting. 

However, how do we utilize it? Now we have unlimited range of devices and carriers which connects us to the world wide web 24/7, is it hindering our connect with God? There are some category of people who spends most of their available time & gets addicted to watching the news, technology related info, food channels, online windows shopping, fitness pages & videos. It is time to rethink and realign. 

If you are fallen a prey into the below mentioned habits, it is time for getting us back on track with our race set for us. We are accountable for the time, which God has given us. If we meet any of the below criteria s, which indicates our run is not focused

1.  Are you starting & finishing your day with social media feed or are you fed by God’s word?
2.  Is the number of hours which you spent on social media is more than the time that you spend alone with God?
3. Do you want to spend time in social media to vent out your stress?
4. Whose messages are you looking the first thing in the morning? Is it from the word of God or from any other means?

The little we start off, the more it will lead us to bondage. However, we can get rid off this if we have a focused mindset with a constant, conscious effort to overcome.

Some of the practical ways that helped me to overcome/declutter my time on social media :

1. Logout from the social media accounts when not in used
2. Set a designated time to check your social media accounts
3. Turn off the notifications from the apps which is taking away your attention & time
4. If feasible, delete the apps from your mobile and check from your laptop/desktop. Having it in mobile will prone to more time consumption

·        I have read this statement recently in a social media, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It is by the Grace we are saved but it does not mean it is a free pass.  

     Focus on a healthy living and watch out the feeds!! 

     Matthew 4:4 it is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 

     Have a blessed day!

In Christ Alone

Justina Jausline

The Power of His Presence!

The Power of His Presence!

                                               Good Morning Holy Spirit - Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, hoping to find you doing well in the will of God. I am thankful to God for reminding us to realize His presence. Sometimes it may feel like, we are walking alone due to the hassles of the world. It is just a feeling not the truth. Do you remember the moments when you were a child, feeling afraid to enter into another room when there is no light? Do you remember asking your mom or dad to accompany you? I have been there. Sometimes my son asks the same to me. It gives us some sort of peace & we are rest assured when our parents accompany us that we can overcome the dark spots. Is that not true?

Similarly, when we are unable to comprehend the situations, when we feel it is like a dark spot and have absolutely no clue on the path, which we ought to take. Take heart and know who is with you. When Moses was restless, and had to go through the feeling of uncertainty, the Lord assured him that His presence is with him. (“The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33: 14”).

I encourage you to remember that the Lord is with you in your feeling of insecurity & uncertainty, His presence will give you rest in mind. Still we might have to cross the darkest spots of our life, but His presence is with us to cross it over! Stay rest assured and walk in peace in the way He leads you through per His plan! The overcomer is with you!

 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Have a blessed day!

In Christ Alone

Justina Stephen

Distractions!

Distractions

                           Good Morning Holy Spirit – Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, in this technological advancement era we are almost looking for everything to be uninterrupted and aiming for a seamless connection. Be it an electricity, water supply, internet connection, radio signals, phone signals, etc.

We get annoyed so quickly when there is an interruption. When the power didn’t come back or if the backup doesn’t work, when there is no water supply, when there is a signal issue during critical business meeting or could be even during chatting with friend. We look for various mode to do something in order to rectify the issue immediately. Don’t we?

On the other hand, there is always a distraction or an interruption when we sit in God’s presence to pray, study the word of God? Have we got annoyed about this? Did we look for ways to fix the issue? It’s high time to look for options to fix it.

What is Distraction?

According to the definition given, Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information.

It is also given this is caused by the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, attractiveness of something other than the object of attention.

There are two means of distraction – external & internal sources. External may include social media, Whats-App messages, Netflix, your amazon prime, phone calls, people and the internal sources may include worrying, anxiety, stress, weakness, fear, doubts, and sometimes day dreaming.

What are your distractions during your time with God?

Are you feeling tired, sleepy? Are you thinking about what went on the previous day? Suddenly are you switching to the priorities of that day or concerned about your to-do-list? Are your phone’s social media notifications catching your attention? Are you worried even while praying? Are your mind/thoughts wavering and lacks attention during your time with God? Do you feel convicted of your mistakes and due to which you lack focus during your time with God?

It’s not something that happens to you alone, many goes through this. There is a famous quote saying as, "Don’t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord".

When we give room for these things to consume our time, we drift away from God's plan & purposes of our life so easily. Satan seeks us to distract us in all ways possible. Be vigilant. “1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

How to overcome these distractions during your time with God?

Being intentional & proactive can help us to overcome or cut off the distractions.

1.    Give body enough rest (Sleep for at least 6 to 7 hrs) which will help to overcome the tiredness during your meet with God.    

2.    Set up a routine and set apart a place & time for your recurring meeting with God. It takes some effort to create but once we have set them up, it has lots of benefits, you will feel more organized and balanced with your time and this will lower the stress level. Your mind will start to realize it’s a time for God. This will help you to overcome the guilt of not being consistent with God during your prayer time. 

3.    Pay attention to what distractions are particularly hard to avoid, so you can catch them sooner. For example, if your phone notifications are a major hindrance – switch it off when you sit for prayer time

 4.    When you feel a desire to give in to a distraction, take a breath and purposely choose not to react to it. Once you’ve given in and allowed yourself to focus on something else, like reading emails, writing an action item in your to-do-list it’s harder to regroup and bring your attention back. Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. In short, be mindful of your thoughts, instead of allowing yourself to skip between task and distraction.

Have a blessed weekend😇

In Christ Alone

Justina Stephen

Your experiences matters!

 Your experiences matters!

                                          Good Morning Holy Spirit - Daily Devotion

Good Morning friend, as we have embarked into this journey of walk with Christ, our experiences matters the most.

How does our experiences matters? Is it not true that our job experiences matters when we take up a new role, new job? Interviewer would definitely ask you, what was your approach when you faced this challenge, how did you managed to handle this? The more you will be paid for the more no.of experiences, and how you demonstrate your success stories through the challenges with the knowledge gained. Is that not the case?

 

In a similar manner, our experiences  matters the most to God. Not just the experiences alone but how well are we able to demonstrate our victory through the challenges with the knowledge of God (His words). 

What's is that you are going through this week? Don't be worried and don't lose hope. Remember the one whom you trust. We need to use the knowledge of Him to demonstrate our success.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5,6

You have been called for a greater purpose and a greater calling. Your success stories matters to God to take up new role which God is waiting to assign and also a greater reward is awaiting.

God needs you and He is looking for you,  you have work awaiting to build his kingdom. Your experiences matters the most to God!

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few.  Matthew 9 : 37"

Have a blessed day!😇

In Christ alone

Justina Stephen

Know your discipline!

Know your discipline!

                                                 Good Morning Holy Spirit – Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, Now that we know our race, our coach, next we need to follow judiciously the instructions/rules of our coach. As we know that, the life rules for Christian living prescribed in the Bible. Hence, repeatedly the importance of reading the word insisted on us. (Gal. 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith).A quick snippet of the rules for Christian living written by the apostle Paul referred in Romans 12: 9 -21. 

Is winning a game comes effortlessly? Nope. Anyone who competes in a game goes into strict training abiding the rules. (Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. 1 Timothy 4:7)

Is it okay if we just do not follow some of the rules? Sadly no. Athletes can be disqualified if they break even one rule. We, the child of God likewise should follow rules in our everyday life in order to successfully award in heaven. “2 Timothy 2:5: An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules”

We can live our life for lot of other reasons, we can aim for lot of different goals, we can do lot of different things with our time and energy but what is your choice? Have we made a choice that I want to win.  Have we decided that my time, talent and treasure not mine anymore? Have we realized that this race is my life? Everyone else can make lot of other choices. What is our decision? Have we decided to spend becoming one with him?

If we have realized that, we just do not run but we run to win the prize. Do you not know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

 Are you ready for the commitment? 👉

I have to be disciplined, I have to be focused, I have to be excellent, I must have a purpose in everything that I do. I am the boss of my body and I have to make it do what it should do. I have to take captive of my every thought to be obedient to Christ. I have to play by the rules and I do not want to be disqualified. This is not just a practice and I want to win. I will not compliant and argue with haters or listen to critics. I know I am different from everyone, which is going to make me shine. I am going to get out there every single day and do what I need to win. I will get rid of anything that slows me down, weighs me down. My hands and knees may feel weak. It may feel like I’m tired in doing good to others but I keep stronger everyday as my eyes are fixed on Him.

I got something to do that goes to finish the line. Everything that I poured out my life is preparing me for this that I am going to meet Jesus face to face.

Do you want Jesus to say?  That was a great race, well done daughter/ son welcome home!!😍👏

Have a blessed Weekend!😇

In Christ alone

Justina Stephen

Know your coach!

Know your coach!

                                   Good Morning Holy Spirit – Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, Now that we have signed up for the race  🏃, how to be trained to win the race. Before that, wouldn't be a great idea to identify a coach? What would be the role of a coach technically? What do we look from a coach?

Coach aims to get the best performance out of an individual or a team. Coach plays multiple roles instructor, assessor, counselor, helper, demonstrator, motivator, and a clear communicator.

Do you wonder do we have a coach? Yes, We do have! 

We have a lifetime coach, the Holy Spirit on the day we signed up for the race. (Jesus told his disciples “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth... John 14:16, 17”). He lives in us and plays the role of a coach (“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? I Corinthians 3: 16”)

What does He do to us?

 He instructs/teaches us from the word of God to live a life in-order to win the prize (John 14:26 “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”

 He assess us regularly and convicts us when we are not following the instructions that is hindering our victory (“The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God's justice and the judgment. John 16:8”). He convicts us but never condemns us. Conviction lead us to repent whereas condemnation lead us in despair

He counsels us and makes us understand & enable us to overcome the fear of losing the game. God speaks to us by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 8:14-16)

He is a helper and never once will say there is no hope for you to win the race however weak we are and the sufferings which may need to endure to come out as victorious (“the Spirit helps us in our weakness.. Romans 8 : 26”)

 He demonstrated himself to us on how to live a life of victory

Now that we are assured under whom we are getting trained, is that alone enough for us to win the race? Probably not, it requires an effort and a discipline from us. He facilitates us but we need to be disciplined, productive to win the race!

Stay tuned till tomorrow to know the disciplines we need to follow to win✌😇

 Have a blessed day!

 In Christ alone

Justina Stephen

Know your race!

Know your race!

                                       Good Morning Holy Spirit - Daily Devotion

Good Morning, Friend, in this fast-paced world, the roles that we have to play, the demands, which we need to meet, I have always felt I am racing every day. Have you felt the same? If yes, let us get ready for the run! 😄💪👍

Is there anyone who runs without knowing the purpose & destiny? Hope the answer is No. If you have no real purpose for running itself, you may eventually lose motivation to do it. We are rest assured from the word of God to Jeremiah that God knows us before we even formed in the womb that indicates we were in his thoughts and in His plan of redemption. (“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5). Therefore, our Christ centered life has a purpose and a destination to reach.

We also see in the scripture that Paul often used the metaphor of a race for a Christian life. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14”. It is a reminder for us to know that we are running a race to not without a purpose but we have a goal to win which is awaiting. Don’t we wait to hear from our Master, “Well done, my good and faithful daughter/son”?

Let us run with endurance the race which is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!

Are we trained enough to run the race so as to win? Stay tuned till tomorrow! 👋😇

Have a blessed day!

In Christ alone

Justina Stephen

Time for Restoration!

Time for Restoration!

                                 Good Morning Holy Spirit - Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, We all look for the sunshine in the morning and did not prefer to prolong our night, isn’t it? I encourage you to know that the season of restoration is on!. Everything the enemy has stolen from you, God is restoring to you – the faith, the joy, the peace, the purpose, the health, the love.

When there is a power outage, how does a power is restored?

Crews sent to remove damaged power lines.  Post that the substation power is restored.  Sometimes, service to hundreds or several thousand customers can be restored immediately by replacing a fuse on a substation transformer. Next, the major distribution feeders are repaired. These are the lines that come out of a substation that have three wires resting on a cross arm. If energy cannot be distributed over these lines, your home cannot receive power.Tap lines are repaired next. Tap lines carry power to groups of homes from the distribution feeders.  If a tap line is repaired, but there is still damage to your individual line, you may have to wait a while longer for restoration. Finally, individual service lines are repaired. However, the mast on the house (the pipe in which the wires run down to the meter panel) is your responsibility. For example, if a tree damages the mast, an electrician will need to make repairs at your home.

     

You may think or feel the way looking at the surroundings; you are undergoing an outage period. Wavering faith, lost joy, peace turned its own back to you, fading of the purpose or calling, deteriorated health, crazy cycle of love.  The glad news is the restoration is on. As we read, the distribution feeder lines which comes out of a substation has three wires resting on a cross arm. Our lifeline for restoration comes from trinity (God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). It is time for you to check your individual line, if you have been waiting longer for restoration. What is the damage it causing you to receive the restoration? Do you still believe the lies of Satan? Then its time for you to action, pay attention to his voice pattern, which can be predictable easily. Check with God’s words against Satan’s words to your situations.

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’ Jeremiah 30:17

Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. Isaiah 61:7

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Jeremiah 32:27, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

Have a blessed day!
In Christ alone

Justina Stephen

Cast your burden on Him!

Cast your burden on Him!

                                            Good Morning Holy Spirit - Daily Devotion

Good Morning Friend, Thankful to God for sustaining me to meet you through this daily devotion. Hope you had a blessed rest day! (Rest in God’s Presence). 😇 Praise God for He led us through these 10 months of this pandemic season. As we are into this new month, let us continue to confidently leave the matter in God’s hands and consciously find rest in God. Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

 

Few of the practical ways to cast our burden on Him:

1. Are you burdened when you wake up, thinking how your day or the week will go? Cast your burden by putting a stop to the worried thoughts. Our mind is a battlefield and it will always be a battle between worry and peace. Worry comes when you fear and peace comes when you have faith on Him. So take captive of every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
2.  How to take captive? – Replace worry with God’s word. Meditate day and night. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:2,3
3.  Pray about it – Our lifeline is prayer and it is an uninterrupted service. Prayer brings victory. We see David has a lifestyle who prays all 3 times and Daniel prayed 3 times every day. “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55: 17”. Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Daniel 6: 10
4.  Look for a prayer buddy who can pray,  guide and support you to overcome the battle in God’s presence. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Have a blessed day!

In Christ alone

Justina Stephen