Loving Him and Loving Others Are Our Greatest Commands, By Chadia M.

Loving Him and Loving Others Are Our Greatest Commands

By Chadia M. 

I am aware that when I’m talking about loving God and loving others, many of us feel like they already do that. However, I’ve been living through times where God calls me to re-examine my love for Him, and especially for others. Ask yourself, what is the first thing/ person you think about when you wake up? Is it yourself? How “you” are going to do in that test, how “you” are going to dress up, where “you” are going to go for shopping with “your” friends,… Or when you find a picture of you and your friends/family, who do you look for first? Isn’t it you? Here I’m not judging anyone. It is normal to act this way, that’s what everyone does, it is in our nature. In everything we want to be first; yes we make sure that the people we” love” are fine and satisfied but even unconsciously, we check on ourselves first. But is this what God prepared for us? Is it conform to his awesome plan for us? I don’t think so. God has always wanted us, from the beginning, to be selfless and to put others before us, at the example of Christ who didn’t spare his life because of his love for us.
Lately, God has been asking me to tell people at my school about Him. I am new at the school and as I am from a French speaking country, my English is not very good. However, I accepted, knowing that He would do the work anyway because it’s not by my might or by my power that anything is done, it is by His Spirit. So I prayed for the mission and I went, selfless, trying to bring to Jesus as many people as I could. But I realized that the zeal I was putting in talking about Jesus is not the zeal that people were using to respond. In fact, people were starting to change their opinion about Christ, but they were not willing to get saved. That’s then that Jesus told what was wrong. I was not loving and praying for them. All that time, I had been praying for myself, for the strength to go to them, but I was not praying to God so that He would change them. I was not loving them as I should have. I was loving myself more than I loved them. That’s how I learned my lesson. From then on, I constantly examine myself, trying to put other people’s interests before mine and you know what, yesterday, one of my atheists friends go saved after such a long time trying to bring her to Christ! Remember, it’s only when we start thinking, loving and loving others that God blesses our work beyond measure. John 12:26 says that the Father will honor those who serve Jesus and this is the truth. (Read John 12:25-26)
I just want to encourage each of you girls, there is more joy in giving to others than in receiving. Christ is all about giving even when we are undeserving. Let your love for the Lord and for others consume you and become less at the same time, as Christ become bigger (John 3:30). Then you will be truly amazed by all God can do through you.
Verses to read:
 James 1:27
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”
1 John 3:11-18
 “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister* is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them.
  We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister* in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”
1 John 2:7
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.

Who you are, By Chadia M.

Who you are

By Chadia M.

Does it really matter to suffer now when you know you’ll have a happy ending?
Does it really matter to struggle to get something that you know you already have?
Or would you worry about something if you already know the results?
No of course! All this has no sense!
And in the same way, you shouldn’t suffer, struggle or worry about anything
Because you already have complete victory over EVERYTHING!
You should always be conscious that when Christ died on the cross for you,
He exchanged His glorious life with your miserable life
He took your sufferings, your struggles and your worries on Him and crucified them
So that they will have no power on you.
So why are you desperate and broken; alone and frightened?
That’s not WHO you are! You are the co-heir of Christ, His Beloved Redeemed!
So get rid of all that and give praise to the one who saved you long ago!
Get up and tell the devil to go away because now, you know who you are
You know your rights!

God’s big project for His children, By Chadia M.

God’s big project for His children

By Chadia M.

I bet everyone knows this verse, Jeremiah 29:11, in which God says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Isn’t all this wonderful? Imagine this; God only wants the best for you. It was not in His original design that we should go through so much trouble.
If we analyze this Jeremiah 29:11, we see that God’s plan for us is to be rich; prosperous and not poor. I wish everybody could get this just the way it is: There must be no lack in your life. When Jesus died on the cross, one of the beautiful exchanges He made was to take your poverty so that you may have abundant life. When I talk about prosperity, it’s not only about money, it’s about everything: grades, jobs, relationships, health… God wants you to prosper in all the domains of your life. That’s what He has already written for you. Some people always ask why they are poor, or why they are always sick even though they believe in God.
Sometimes it is hard to try to understand, but it goes back to the Fall in Genesis – the Earth is not redeemed yet, and so pain and suffering have not yet been done away with. So, that means poverty, diseases, pain… come from the devil. God does not cause or want anyone to suffer; it was not in His original plan. Yet, that doesn’t mean that we should never get ill or be in trouble. No, sometimes God allows that for a good purpose, sometimes to prove to Satan that we have strong faith. Remember the story of Job? God let Satan try to make Job abandon Him (God) through sufferings but he failed because Job refused to betray God, even though he was about to die (Job 1 & 2). Job overcame not because of his might or power but because of God’s Spirit.
Remember the Word of God says in Matthew 11:30 that God’s yoke is easy and His load is light. And in 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul says that “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (NIV) So it’s never hard to recognize when you are put to test; for even there you know you are heading to greater prosperity (whether here or in heaven). At the end of the book of Job, the Bible tells us that God rewarded Job with the twice of what he had before. Isn’t our God just awesome? He is a God of abundance, not a God of poverty.
When you feel limited, just hold onto the promise of this verse. I don’t know whether you remember when I talked about my grades at school being so low. I had faith and I spoke prosperity to my studies, confessing it, adopting a victorious attitude and not a victim’s attitude even though it seemed I was drowning. And do you know what happened? I got more than what I had asked for, and all my classmates still can’t understand what happened to me. Our God is good.
Today my dreams are coming true. I don’t understand the ways God took to achieve them and I can’t even explain them. All I know and all I want to tell you today is that God cares about your dreams. If your dreams are in line with His will, they come from Him. So, let Him fulfill them, because that’s His will. He wants to bless you and He wills to give you more than what you have asked for or thought of (Ephesians 3:20) because He’s a God of abundance! So dare to dream big and be a prisoner of hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Do not give up even when the devil is trying to destroy you. Remain firm and always remember that God’s plan for you is to bring you prosperity and no disaster can get in His way – He is bigger.

Faith+ Hope+ Love for ever.

Chadia

Faith, By Chadia M.

Faith

By Chadia M.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that to have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for and to be certain of the things we cannot see. I can frankly tell you that the first time I read this verse, years ago, I was "full of admiration," not knowing why. All I could say was that this verse was incredible.
That was years ago. Then what about now? Believe me or not but this verse is being, these last days, my bread, my drink, my hiding place, my hope.... More than ever, I know what it means to believe God. These last days, I’ve been in a situation I would have never thought I would get out safe. I was put in front of two choices: to choose to serve God and let Him be my priority or to go on living my way, putting my studies and my desires first. With all my heart, I wished I could choose God, but logic said the contrary in my mind. If you’ve not been in a similar situation, you cannot understand. You can say that you should have easily chosen God, but is it real??? Imagine having to choose between something your life has been built all around and a God you can’t even see or touch. I was in such a situation. My life has always been organized around my studies, my personal schedule has always been planned after my class schedule, and I have always succeeded in class. What that means is that my studies have always been my pride but also my family’s pride. So would you still easily change all that matters for your personal success in order to serve God? That’s the question.
In my case, I accepted to leave it all in God’s hands and to serve Him just the way He requires. I told myself that He would take care of me and that with Him, I will lack nothing. And I was right. But you know what? The devil didn’t wait long to kick back. I was confronted with a decrease of my marks in class like never before. I really tried to work hard but I was always failing. In those times, I was almost depressed. I couldn’t understand why God had left me, why unbelievers were getting the best results and not me,…. That’s when I discovered this verse in Hebrews 11:1. I remembered that God said I will always be the head and never the tail. So after reading this verse, I could feel hope emerging once again in my heart, I could smile and serve God with a JOYFUL and THANKFUL heart even though my darkest night was still staring at me. So I memorized the verse and repeated it whenever I felt fear wrapping my heart.
This story isn’t from long ago. No. Even right now, I still have the same marks but… not the same attitude. I’ve learned to trust God even when I can’t trace Him, as His thoughts are not like mine and my ways are different from His (Isaiah 55:8). I know I am not here to gather all the things men think have value, but to please the One who sent me and to do His will (John 4:34). I know He will never abandon me nor forsake me and I also know He knows what I need before I even do (Joshua 1:9; Matt 6:25-34). If I am not lazy and if I work hard to do all my duty (Romans 12:11), if I do not neglect to serve God and if I believe Him at all times, then I know He will bless the work of my hands.
The reason I’m sharing this story is to testify that God is faithful if we are also faithful enough to trust Him. This is, in other words a testimony. Today for the first time, I got the maximum in the Math test. I know I will go on succeeding. So if you are in the same situation, do not act like what I did (losing faith). Instead, have a positive attitude in whatever you do. Do not lose your faith, keep on smiling even when it seems you’re failing (because you’re not really failing as you’re more than a conqueror, says the Bible. You’re just being put to test). Wait for God, standing firm because he’s coming to rescue you and to wipe away all your tears. He loves you and He cares (1 Peter 5:7). Pray guard and live in The WORD and your heart will be kept safe and sound in all circumstances.

Be blessed y’all

Chadia

Why Do I Feel Far Away From God? By Chadia M.

Why Do I Feel Far Away From God?

 By Chadia M.

When I got saved, 4 years ago, I remember I was told to set a special time in my schedule for God and I, because that is precious in a Christian life. I remember that each evening I entered my room, locked it as it is said in Matthew 6:6 and then, began to pray. That was something new in my life, what means that I really didn’t know how to pray… But then, there’s something my youth leader had told me that I remembered: “When you pray, consider God as your best friend, as somebody you can easily talk to. Talk to Him, share with Him your day; your laughs, you pain, …. Do not see Him as a big man sitting on a throne with a stick, ready to punish you if you don’t spend a long time with him or if you don’t pray right. Remember, all He wants more than anything else is YOUR HEART”. That’s how I began to build my relationship with God. I just sat on my bed, knowing He was there with me, holding me as He has promised. So I would tell Him everything that was in my heart, ask Him for things and cry on Him. You know what? I could spend only 5 minutes in my room praying but I knew that God had heard my prayer just as He did with the one who had prayed for 2 hours. How could I be sure of that? Because I was sincere and because I know God prefers a sincere heart.
Even though those moments were making me grow in faith, the devil wasn’t happy at all. So I began to doubt! I began to ask myself how I can be sure that God is real if I can’t see Him, and when troubles came my way, the devil managed to show me that God has abandoned me. I know we all pass through times like this, girls. Today you can FEEL like God is holding your hand and the day after you FEEL like he has left you. So we come to ask ourselves why that happens, whether we did something wrong or if simply God doesn’t care for us. I spent many years living a life like that but one day, God revealed me that that wasn’t the life I was meant to live and He opened my eyes to see that it wasn’t my fault if I couldn’t keep a sound relationship with Him. That’s what I want to tell you girls. I’m especially talking to you who, like me, have been feeling far away from God.
First of all, it isn’t you who have lost your faith, no! It’s all about the devil who is trying to steal the happiness God gives you every time you’re aware He’s with you. There’s something you must know; the devil works through our feelings. That’s why sometimes, you wake up in a bad mood with no apparent reason or you feel sad when everybody else is happy. But also, you must know that YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR and that YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE DEVIL THROUGH JESUS  as the Bible says. That simply means you can overcome your feelings and believe the Word of God. The devil is a liar. How can the God who loved you enough to crucify His only son go far away from you? Isn’t He the one who promised In Psalm 125:2 that: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people now and forever”. Our God never falls asleep and He’s always walking with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9). Oh what a great God we have! Since I know this truth, my life has changed. When the devil attacks me emotionally, making me feel like God has abandoned me, I just confess that my God would never do that and that He’s always with me because all He says is true. When you respond to the devil like this (saying it with your mouth and believing this), he just flees away, frightened.
Dear sisters in Christ, God LOVES YOU and He wants the best for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you if you have met Him one day. But if you hadn’t met Him yet, you have to, in order to live this amazing relationship with Him by accepting His salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
Love you all,
Chadia 

God's Love Toward Us, By Chadia M.

God's Love Toward Us.

By Chadia M.

Many times we fail and many times we have regrets. As human beings, we cannot be perfect just as we would like to be. The apostle Paul expressed it better when he said that he wanted to do good but evil takes advantage of him. So are we. Personally, there was a time when I felt so unworthy of the love of Christ because of all the bad things I kept on doing. When I looked at my fellow Christians all around me, I fell into despair. They looked sooooo perfect! So I kept on wondering what was wrong with me. Was I meant to be sinful all of my life? Didn’t I believe enough? Or didn’t God hear my prayers? The only thing I knew was that I needed to change…
It was in that mess that the Lord showed me how much He loved me. Dear friends, Jesus doesn’t love you because you are perfect or because everybody else thinks you are nice. No. He JUST LOVES YOU. It doesn’t matter who you are (cute, tall, thin, fat, …), it doesn’t matter who people think you are (boring, not cool, lovely, funny, …) or your qualities and flaws. He loves you whether others do or not, He loves you when you do wrong and when you act good, because He knows your value. You are precious in his eyes. That is proved by the fact that He showed His love for you by spreading His blood on the cross when you were still a sinner. Now, you are made perfect in His eyes and when the devil tries to tell you that you are still a sinner, just confess that you’ve been washed in Jesus’ blood and that you are holy just like The Father.
You must know that your name is BELOVED in God’s heart and that nothing can separate you from His love so perfect (Romans 8:35-39). So do not waste your time in thinking about your failures and mistakes. Instead, believe in the God who loves you more than anyone else. You know what, He knows that you want to change and that’s what He also wants for you. But victory is in prayer and in faith. Pray for yourself and be sure that God’s unending love will provide for you and you will be amazed.
God’s love toward His children is perfect: it never changes. I saw that same love changing my life completely, breaking my chains, giving answers to my hardest questions and taking me out of my troubles. Today, you can see that same love acting in your life if you trust in it. It went nowhere; it is still there by your side. Just open your eyes and you will see.

God is love,
Chadia