Matthew 7:16-20 ESV You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits. The Christian walk is not an easy one. Today, everyone is a Christian even though there is no growth, no progression into Christlikeness and no desire for spiritual perfection. As professing Christians, we live the way of the world; we dress like the world, respond like the world, and do church-like the world. The only difference between our lives and that of non-believers is that we go to church on Sundays, learn about scripture, and sing worship songs. The hearts change, and the inward work of the Holy Spirit to transform us into Christ is lacking. We celebrate at the door of conversion, singing I am born again, yet we don’t pay the price to put to death our old man who often is still very much in charge, leading and governing our lives. We have lost the reverence and sacredness that comes from pursuing the heart of God. We have made what is sacred common and what is common, sacred. As believers, we must discern whether or not the reverence or awe of God is still intact in our hearts. Do we still wonder at the splendour and magnificence of God, or have we started to take God for granted? When we do this, our walk with God becomes stagnant and dry. We have no new insight or revelation; we lose the sweetness of fellowship and encounter. It is as if we believe we have encountered all we have needed to encounter and read all we have needed to read of scripture. But the truth is that with God, there is no end to the mysteries of His greatness. The problem is we have been created to be captivated, our hearts have been created to wonder and gaze at glory. But unfortunately, today with media, marketing, and the constant bombardment of information, we are often captivated by worthless, meaningless things. These distractions have taken our attention and reverence from God and have also quenched and dampened our zeal for the sacred mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. We have been captivated by gossip, condemnation, films, games, and news that now our hearts are incapable of gazing with awe and wonder on the things of God. Our appetites have been satisfied with the things of this world that often leave us empty and confused. We use our strength for that which produces death in us. We need to seek God earnestly to empty us of all these vain things that consume our hearts and occupy our minds. We must, by the Grace of God, guard our hearts with all diligence, that we may grow in Christlikeness and maintain our focus on the sacred mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. Dear Heavenly Father, we pray for complete deliverance from everything that has captured our hearts and minds. Everything that has caused us to treat you commonly and not with the reverence you deserve. Lord set our hearts free from the bondage of being captivated with useless things that don’t have eternal value. Lord may we never lose our wonder in Jesus mighty name. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach

Luke 11:1-4 ESV Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” Prayer is the essence of the Christian life; it is the source of the spiritual life, in which the power of God is released into the life of the believer to do great and mighty exploits. It is through prayer that the sick are healed and the dead are brought to life. It is through prayer that justice is brought to pass. It is through prayer that yokes are broken and captives are set free, and it is through this same prayer that our heart of stone is exchanged with a heart of flesh so that we can serve God in spirit and truth. Prayer is the highest act of humility as it is simply saying Lord, I seek you earnestly as I know I can do nothing without you. Lord, unless you do this, nothing will change. Spiritually weak and empty people are people of prayer; they persevere in prayer as they have no other hope or solution but to wait on the Lord. As Christians, God has given us a mighty tool that we can use to bring about God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, yet the life of prayer is a work that the believer must fight for to obtain. Prayer is not just merely the opening of one’s mouth in a petition to God. Prayer isn’t a careless act, but it is like a child communes with his father, hands stretched out and hearts lifted. Prayer is a sacred art of communing with God until we are no longer until our countenance is changed by the refining fire of the Holy Spirit. To pray correctly, one has to have everything in one’s life aligned with the action of prayer. We can’t fight, steal and kill in the daytime and expect our time of night prayer to be fruitful. Our prayer has to, first and foremost, change us. Change our hearts, our thinking and our attitudes. With our praying, we must add much watchfulness so that when we collect the harvest of our prayers, we don’t lose them through carelessness and negligence. Lord, we come to you today as your disciples of old, and we ask you to teach us how to pray. Teach us how to seek your face and deliver us from apathy and prayerlessness. Lord, we pray that you will baptise us afresh with the power of the Holy Spirit. That you will give us the spirit of prayer and supplication and that you heavenly father will breathe your breath of life in and through us that we may pray without ceasing and seek you earnestly in Jesus mighty name. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. It was in the midst of the large crowd following Him that Jesus turned and said that to follow me truly has a cost. It’s as if Christ is saying, “Seeing miracles, getting mesmerised and following me around is a pointless activity; it’s not true discipleship”. “To truly follow me, there is a requirement, and there is a price”. It’s as if Christ is setting boundaries, “those who genuinely follow Me are willing to sacrifice their lives.” This would have been a reality call for those who had followed Jesus around and wanted to be His apprentice and disciples, wanting to know how they could follow Christ how they could be part of this movement. Christ’s standard is “Simply hate your life on this earth”. When we hear Christ’s call to give up our lives and the cost associated with it, this is a real sacrifice; it’s Christ’s life for our life. Christ died that we may live, and now He requires that our carnal, self-centred adamic nature dies so that Christ can live in and through us. When we share the finished work of the cross and salvation with unbelievers, often, we speak of all the benefits of our relationship with God. We tell people, “If you come to Christ, He will heal you, He’ll give you hope and a purpose, He’ll provide for all your needs”. We speak merely about the benefits believers have in Christ, but rarely do we speak of the cost of being a faithful Christian. In fact, at times we have even encouraged them coming with all their idols, vanities, lusts and worldly passions. We say come as you are and often forget that true discipleship requires a sacrifice as one grows in maturity. More critically, you have places called churches that attempt and revive this old man that Christ requires dies. The truth is that unless our Christianity renounces all that Christ requires of us, if our Christianity is void of sacrifice, the cross and separation from the world, we cannot be His disciples. It doesn’t matter whether we are a bishop, pastor or mother, it doesn’t matter if we are in church 7 days a week and give much to the poor. God is calling us all to the place of death, a death that brings forth much life. If we are still holding unto our lives, our habits our way, we may have a label as Christian yet through negligence or disobedience we cannot be His disciple. Lord open our spiritual eyes that we may see clearly our spiritual condition. Lord search our hearts and convict us of self-love and self-righteousness, so that we may seek your power to die and renounce all that takes us away from your presence. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach

1 John 2:15-17 ESV Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. The difference between true biblical Christianity and the false message we often come up against is the hatred of the things of this world and everything that pertains to it. Hating the world means to live according to the word of God, following His ways and statues as our standard and to renounce the ways and doctrines of society. These sometimes-unspoken rules that are communicated to the hearts of nations through films, marketing, values, systems and culture are the world and they are opposed to the ways of God. The world promotes rebellion and forgetfulness concerning God and eternity, causing people to live for this life alone, while neglecting the urgently needed care of their souls. In order to truly hate the world we must hate our carnal man, our old man also known as our adamic nature without this utter disdain and hatred living an authentic Christian life is impossible because the natural tendency of our flesh is to pursue and desire things that take us out of the will and purposes of God. Jesus set the standard and was a living example. It is through death alone that we are to gain true life. It is the death, mortification of our members that makes us alive in the spirit. As long as we are alive and kicking in the flesh, we can never be partakers of the authentic things of the spirit. There is also nothing we can give in exchange to the requirement of dying daily, we can’t give good deeds or knowledge. God requires Adam dies so that Christ can live in and through us. This is a constant battle. It is only when we attempt to live this life as true disciples of Christ that we come face to face with the unseen battle of the saints, who wrestled tirelessly until Christ was fully formed in them. Ease, excessive worldly care and lack of this inward struggle is evident that you have yet to begin the race or you have strayed off of the path to salvation. But God is so faithful He is knocking at the door, can you hear Him? He is daily attempting to get your attention above the distractions and busyness of this age. Dear Heavenly Father remove everything in me that is drawn to and is in love with the world. I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit that you cleanse me from the inside out. Wash me, cleanse me and purge me the blood of Jesus and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Lord I surrender my heart, mind, soul, spirit into your hands and I say have your way in me and through me in Jesus mighty name. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” It’s important to have meaningful life-giving fellowship with others; this brings the much-needed warmth in times of difficulty and the safety net of accountability that helps one grow in spiritual maturity. It’s even a blessing to gather in the Lord’s house to worship Him, seek His face, and pursue Him with like-minded believers. Nevertheless, unless we acknowledge that we are the temple of God and fan the flame of His spirit within us, all church attendance will be in vain. We are the temple of the living God, and we have ensured we live lives that allow His spirit not to be grieved so that He can live and remain in us. Carelessness and spiritual apathy harden our hearts and cloud our spiritual discernment and sensitivity. Mingling with worldly people and engaging in worldly activities causes one to backslide, as the spiritual impact on the heart is detrimental. It causes us to quench the zeal for intimacy with God, it makes us earthly-minded, no longer satisfying our yearning and desires with heavenly things, but responding with our carnal natural man seeking solutions and hope in temporal created things and people that don’t deliver, often leaving us even more thirsty and don’t satisfy. Let us not deceive ourselves with such an important and delicate issue; worldly people are not just unbelievers often times the people that have the greatest impact of dampening our initial fervour towards the things of God are doubleminded Christians who have yet to be surrendered to God and now become a stumbling block to those in the way to salvation. So, we may go to a physical church, but we still need to be watchful, we still need to guard our heart. The spirit of this world will limit and restrain the spirit of God working actively within us. So even when we desire, in this state of spiritual coldness and apathy, to connect with God, it is as if our spirit man is imprisoned and immobilised. The desire within us for the things of God is neutralised. Though we know what to do and what is required the strength to bring it about is not in us. We have given room for wild animals to destroy the temple of God through bad choices and carelessness. Self-control and discipline by the power of the Holy Spirit is what is needed and what is essential. It’s necessary so that we are able to guard our hearts. It’s also essential so that we don’t foolishly lose our way. So that in the midst of external demands and pressures we make choices that give us the necessary room and lifestyles to nurture and tend to the temple of God within us. Dear Heavenly Father forgive me for every way I have carelessly not guarded your gift within me. Forgive me for every way I have grieved your spirit. Lord take not your Holy Spirit away from me. I pray for wisdom and discernment that will empower me to make decisions that fan the flame of your presence in my life. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach

Mark 1:35-39 ESV And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” Silence and study purge the soul. It allows God to do what only he can do when we are powerless; he restores our soul. When the waves of the world have come in and infiltrated our souls and taken away our peace until we have lost all hope, we must, like Jesus, retreat into the comforting, loving embrace of the Father’s arms. We can see why the world spends so much time trying to get everyone so busy, distracted, and restless. Because in the chaos and confusion, they are unable to examine their hearts and give God the necessary space and time to do the required heart surgery needed to make us whole. This was very much the same with Jesus in the bible. He would leave the crowd and go to a quiet place to be alone with God. This is the only way to keep one’s heart and soul alive in the things of God; frequently, there’s a need to retreat from people, even the people we love and hold dear. To pause to have a moment of unbroken silence to be brought by the still waters of God’s presence so that He can wash, cleanse and make whole all that has been fragmented along the way. So that he can have the time to mend the broken areas of our spiritual lives that have been wounded by the busyness and the cares of the world. In the quiet, in the stillness, in the weight of God’s presence, there is a sound, the eternal sound of the splendour of God that rests upon us and engulfs us in the cloud of the beauty of our God. Studying in silence allows us to steady our hearts and minds from the world’s distractions that attempt to steal the inner rest that comes from setting our hearts and minds on God. It allows us to just set our focus on the things of God in the sweet, silent fellowship that becomes a source of strength and life in a busy age. The word of God also has cleansing properties and searches our hearts and motives, and like a car satnav allows us to recalculate our direction when we have been blown in the wrong direction by the waves of this world. Sometimes when the storms of life attempt to blow you over, we are tempted to rush and continue doing what we have always done this often causes us much confusion and distress; instead we need to be still and know. Being still allows us to encounter the rest and peace of God that surpasses all understanding. We have to remember that tending our soul requires that at times though there are many voices and many demands, even worthy demands of those in need. Just like Jesus, when everyone is looking for you, you have to find that still quiet untouched space to be still and be alone with God. Lord teach me to me still, to rest in the nothingness of silence so that I can be made whole. Lead me beside still waters and restore my soul. Take a few minutes to pause to be still as you silently reflect and rest in God. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach

1 John 2:15-17 ESV Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. In the busyness of life, when we get tired and weary, it is so easy to give up. We hear all the voices internally and externally telling us that we have messed up and there is simply no way out. We feel the weight of disappointment, which in a short time turns to discouragement, despair and finally despondency. The aim of these waves is to disconnect us from our hope and our source to keep us looking at ourselves and our ability and to make us feel there is no way out. The truth is that within ourselves there is no way out, no hope. But remember, without God we are not alone in our hopelessness. He is always there, even in our darkest hour, when we want to throw in the towel because we have fallen so many times and now we are so very disappointed in ourselves, our failures, our sins and mistakes. God is such a good good father. Yes, He wants us to learn from our falls and many mistakes, but He doesn’t want us to get stuck in yesterday’s analysis until we are immobilised to take steps in the right direction. My sister, my brother, rise up and don’t give up. Remember, God is able to perfect His will concerning everything in your life. Instead of dwelling on the waves of life, set your gaze on God, who is mighty to save. Shake off the dust of your past and step into the hope and strength that He provides. There is so much power in confession, confessing our sins to one another and coming with a repentance heart before God acknowledging your weakness and your inability to do anything apart from God. Much Love in Christ, Your Sister, Ruth  Pursuing Holiness Biblical Counsellor | Spiritual Director | Leadership Coach