Striving for Perfection

Bible Study: Galatians 5:25

If we live by the Spirit [if the Spirit of God is our source of life, having already given our lives to Him], let us also walk by the Spirit [let the Spirit help us navigate our lives].
 
This essentially means let Him dictate every area of our lives no matter how 'unspiritual' the area may seem e.g. an upcoming performance discussion with your boss at work or a day out with your girlfriends. 
 
Obviously He cannot do this without our co-operation, we need to invite Him to lead. Thus in doing anything, we must already be under the influence - not of alcohol but by His Spirit. This means we are exhibiting His fruits in everything we do.
 
Recall the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) are:
*Love
*Joy

*Peace
*Patience
*Kindness
 *Goodness
*Meekness
*Faithfulness
*Self Control

Being a Nigerian, in a crazy city like Lagos, it is very easy to throw all of these fruits out the window within minutes - either in traffic or at the bank! While I can perhaps 'try' with most of the other fruits on some days, personally I struggle with the 4 highlighted every single day. 

But the scripture admonishes us not to dictate or navigate our lives and then invite the Spirit afterwards. It should be the other way round. So you can indeed commit that performance discussion or girls day out to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead. And if a challenge or trying situation may come in those instances, you will by His grace, live by His fruits.

The scriptures also tell us to be Christ-like [Phil 2:5] . This also means, since Jesus Christ is perfect, then you and I can also be perfect with the help of the Spirit. If we keep our mentality in the "no one is perfect" mindset, we will never strive to live by all those fruits listed above each day. 

That being said, Christianity is not about beating yourself down when you fail or fall, God's grace is abundant and because Jesus Christ died on the cross, our sins are already forgiven, if we come to Him in true repentance, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.

Listen to this awesome song when you get a chance: Background by Lecrae

Reflection: If your life were a stage play with you as the lead actor, however the only person in your audience was God, what would you do differently?

Suzy Peaches' Fruit Basket (The Dozen Issue)

Suzy Peaches has put up her twelfth issue on my blog. Please read and enjoy :o)

The Thing With Christian Guys


Hello my lovely Readers, I trust you are well and in high spirits. Suzy is back in the building with fruity treats for your delectation. Here is my first offering:

The thing with Christian Guys

Have you ever wondered why some Christian guys act like non-Christian guys when it comes to dating? I have lost count with the number of times I have been faced with these questions.

1. Why is it that they don’t seem to want to commit?
2. Why is it they blow hot and then so very cold?
3. Why do they serial date?

I sought explanations from both single and married men and their answer was simply this - Christianity has nothing to do with their preferences.
The truth of the matter is unlike women, the attributes and qualities men look for in a future partner is not dependent on religion. Men are unanimous in their idea of a life partner (don’t bit my head off) they all want a woman who is caring, nurturing and devoted to pleasing them. That more or less encapsulates everything from cooking and cleaning to mothering and motivating.

Men do not find promiscuous women or women with low moral standards attractive. Women on the other hand find bad boys irresistibly attractive, so much so that they begin to subconsciously seek them out. I know this because I used to be one of those women. I once read an article which suggested that it had something to do with bad boys doing what good girls wished they could.
For me it was because I found nice guys a bit too predicable and boring for my liking. I have since seen the light and have decided to stick to certainty and stability, all the excitement and spontaneity of these bad boys have gotten me nowhere.

All the same the nebulous affirmations of these Christian men have become a real course for concern among Church ladies. I know that sometimes it us ladies to blame as we always seem to running ahead of ourselves when it comes to coupling, but as the old saying goes there is no smoke without fire.

So why are these men still as promiscuous even after the renewal of their minds? I asked a Christian friend of mine who was getting to know two girls at the same time. His response was logical yet alarming: “As Christianity does not advocate pre-martial sex and heavy petting there is nothing intimate or exclusive in the activities we engage in”. He then went on to explain that all they do is talk on the phone, talk in person, hang out etc… nothing special. He was even bold enough to say it one of the girls when she found out, she flipped and he couldn’t understand why. As far as he was concerned intimacy is a prerequisite for committed and seeing as that hadn’t happen he was a free bird.

If this is the mentally of Christian boys then God please come now … Your daughters are in trouble.

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