Dear 2023,

The number ‘3’ means a lot to someone whose entire life is centred around a man who conquered death on day number '3'. For me, '3' symbolises resurrection. Whatever died in the past now has the opportunity to relive and possibly alter the route it once treaded upon.

As many know, I have decided to live wholeheartedly for the Lord Jesus Christ. To do the will of my Father and submit to His ways is all my heart truly desires. In the midst of this and trying to navigate this so called experience we refer to as life, I’ve missed an important trait our Lord adores, consistency.

Therefore, without beating around the bush, in 2023, I vow to be consistent. Not just with ktl-lge, but with everything I begin. Just as Christ desires to complete His good work in us (Philippians 1:6), we too must make an effort to complete the tasks and assignments given to us. Talent may birth results but talent plus consistency and discipline birth results that produce a legacy. We must be ‘legacy-leavers’ and not ‘once in a while result makers’. But this can only be achieved when we befriend consistency.

Another thing I want to do in 2023 is 'do what I want to do'. A lot of the time our decisions are influenced by external commentators and their unending criticism on our lifestyle and choices. We don’t do what we want to do because Mr. X said this and madam Y said that. If Christ focused on the comments of others, He would have lost sight of His purpose on earth. All I am trying to say is, this year, let us endeavour to leave our comfort zones and do that thing we’ve desired to do. Take it to prayer and if you get the go-ahead, do it. There is no harm in trying and if it does not end up the way you imagined it to be, at least you can say I did it.

With that being said, here’s to a new year where we vow to be faithful to whatever we start.

Yours sincerely,

Ama

Pursuing holiness

1 Peter 1:16 “Be Holy for I am Holy”.

Desiring to be holy is imperative for every Christian. Being born again serves as the first step on this highway of holiness. Lately, the Lord has been pushing me to be more intentional in being pursuing holiness.

Why is it so important to be holy, first of all?

The obvious reason is the Lord has commanded us to be holy because He is holy. God’s commands are not to be questioned but obeyed. Therefore, this alone is a solid reason to desire holiness.

Nevertheless, as with many commandments in the Bible, there is a deeper reasoning behind this command to be holy.

---

In John 14:16, Jesus promises a Helper and He is the ‘Holy' Spirit. The Holy Spirit desires to dwell and make holy vessels His home. So essentially, for this Helper to help you, you need to be holy or at least have the desire so that He may work in and through you. In Leviticus 11:44, the Lord admonishes the Israelites to be holy for He is holy. The Hebrew word for holy used here is ‘Kadosh’. This word can be translated as Holy One or Saint. In 1 Peter 1:16, Peter references Leviticus 11:44. Essentially, the Lord asks us to be ‘Kadosh’. Kadosh literally means to be consecrated, made sacred, dedicated or separated. Holiness means to be set apart for the purposes of God.

The main reason we must be holy is to allow the Holy Spirit to move in us freely. When we ‘cripple’ or prevent the Holy Spirit from actively moving in us, we grieve Him and it is commanded that thou shall not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

The Holy Spirit has been pushing me to actively pursue holiness because I feel like sometimes as Christians we neglect this, despite it being a fundamental pillar in our relationship with God.

Actively pursuing holiness means spending more time with the Holy God. It means intentionally cutting off certain tv shows, songs and lifestyles. It means asking the Lord to reveal your nasty habits and asking Him to perform a 'spiritual surgery' on you.

So desire to be holy🫶🏾

a laid down life

Luke 9:23
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

---

Christianity is not about conveniences, it is about sacrifice. Our love is only tested to be true when we lose something and still remain.

Sometimes, the sacrifices may seem “a lot” but this is the bare minimum we can do for someone who gave His all for us. I would rather go all out for someone who is madly in love with me than go all out for someone who pretends to love me and just waits to destroy me at the end.

If we think about it, those in the world are also going all out for Satan. They party hard, drink in abundance and do what they do to extreme levels. They go all out.

Why can’t we do the same for Christ, the very lover of our souls?

I believe we can’t do so because it is not the flesh that leads men to die for the sake of Christ or lay down their lives for His sake. The flesh would never want that. It is by the Spirit of God living in us that we are able to accomplish such.

Unfortunately, Christians are not feeding their inner man and not making the Holy Spirit comfortable. We are not going the extra mile to satisfy the Spirit but we are going the extra mile for the flesh. In the verse above, Jesus makes it clear that to follow Him, your life must be laid down and in order to do this, the inner man must be fed. Feeding the inner man consists of, but is not limited to, prayer, fellowship with the Holy Spirit and studying and meditating on the Word of God.

Dear Lord,
I want to be completely consumed by Your Spirit so that I will live the laid down life You have called me to live.

🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌