Yaneke Lewis, Author at Cup of Faith

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Yaneke Lewis — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 06:00:13 +0000

When was the last time you read the book of Job? Take a look at the first two chapters again! Job went through a lot! And most of that was all in one day!
Job’s instant losses ranged from death and theft of his livestock to the most heartbreaking of all, the death of his children. Later on, he was not with painful boils from his head to his feet.

(And may I remind you, most of this was in a single day!)

Despite the shocking account of tragedies in Job chapter 1, they pale in comparison to Job’s mind-boggling response. Here’s what the Bible has to say:
“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

What?!
How could one man go through so much in one day and still worship?! Was Job superhuman?!

I can assure you that Job was just like Elijah- a man like any other with like passions (James 5:17-18).
The only thing different about Job was his righteousness. He was not like anyone else because he feared God and avoided evil. That’s why he responded to tragedy with blessing God and not blaming God.

We may not go through what Job did, but we all go through something. Everyday you and I face enough discomfort we could use as a reason to “curse God and die”, according to Job’s wife (Job 2:9). But we must refuse to be reckoned among the foolish women. We must resolve not to charge God foolishly and reject ever sounding like Mrs. Job.
When Job bowed down before God upon hearing horrible news, he was demonstrating God as good and right. Job was saying God had done nothing wrong.

We too can adopt that perspective on life and wisely recognize God’s right to give and to take away. We came here naked and we will leave this world in nakedness too. (It helps to remember that!)

In all that we face ( and we do face trials!), Job shows us it is possible (and desirable) to sin not by accusing God of wrong. We can’t (and we won’t) deny our daily disappointments, trials or pain. But we can, with help of the Holy Spirit, declare in each hardship, “blessed be the name of the Lord”, just like the spiritual example of brother Job.

This reminds me of a song by Matt and Beth Redman, titled “Blessed Be Your Name”.
I’ll leave the lyrics with you:

Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name.
Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name.
Every blessing You pour out, I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Chorus:
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name.
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name.
Every blessing You pour out I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I’ll say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Bridge
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name.
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

Yaneke Lewis

Yaneke Lewis is the owner of Blog for the Christian Damsel. As a wife and mother, she uses her experience to share thoughts, teachings and fun Bible quizzes to help young Christian women grow. When she’s not writing, she’s podcasting or making music!

christiandamsel.blogspot.com/

The post Blessed be the Name of the Lord! appeared first on Cup of Faith.

Am I lazy?

Yaneke Lewis — Mon, 31 May 2021 06:00:22 +0000

What does laziness look like?
It can look like a yawning girl stretching out on the couch with body odour that’s more than a few days old.

Or, it could look like you and me: ordinary women who truly love God, are serving Him, but never really come into our own.

What is stopping you from being successful? One possible answer could be simply laziness. The Bible calls it slothfulness, and it is never put forward as a good thing.

Take, for example, Proverbs 15:19 – The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain. In this Scripture, slothfulness is depicted as the opposite of righteousness. Laziness is a kind of sin!

Consider also Proverbs 18:9 –
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. Some Bible translations use the term “destroyer” for “great waster”. That means, when we are lazy, we make ourselves akin to the one who came to steal, kill and destroy!

A helpful explanation of laziness comes from Proverbs 21:25 – The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. That’s essentially what laziness is – not willing to do the work necessary for a desired outcome!

This is profoundly applicable to business.
Take me, for example. I have a blog, a fledgling online store and I do contract advertising sales. Up to this point, I’m not established and I haven’t made any sales yet.

On the flip side, I am on the email list of a woman who has an established business, and is making money from it. It recently dawned on me how actively she sends out emails and I began to realize the folly I was in.

She is doing so much, but my need is greater and still I don’t do that! I was being lazy with promoting and marketing my business.

The lesson for us is that it takes work on both sides: to build something and to upkeep it.

Being lazy will keep us from ever attaining and fulfilling our God-given dreams and purposes. And it can also cause us to lose what’s already been built. (Ecclesiastes 10:18 – By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.)

Not only does a slothful attitude affect us in business, but even more harmful, is its effect on our spiritual lives.

How can I know I am being spiritually lazy? Well, if you can stay up for three hours watching something entertaining on tv, then find an excuse not to read the Bible, I think we have our diagnosis!

And just like in business, spiritual slothfulness will both hinder and decay our spiritual growth.

If you think you might be guilty of not putting in the labour your business and your soul’s need to grow, here is a simple prayer to pray right now:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that You are the Son off God, I confess any physical and spiritual laziness as sin. I ask your forgiveness and I renounce them. I pray for strength and vision to work as I should. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Yaneke Lewis

christiandamsel.blogspot.com/

The post Am I lazy? appeared first on Cup of Faith.

Do It Lord! The Prayer Of Agreement

Yaneke Lewis — Thu, 27 May 2021 06:00:14 +0000

It all started when I was in attendance at my little fellowship one Saturday morning.

As usual, we got going with prayer — nothing coordinated by a programme; just flowing as the Holy Spirit would help us.

Then, just when everyone else seemed to be done praying, there was one lady who just continued to pray. She continued in sweet prayer that touched our hearts.

When she was through praying, I felt a little nudge to go over to her and simply pray for her. You know, just to give God thanks for using her and pray that her spirit be refreshed. I did so with no fanfare and in quietness.

Then, it happened…

Have you ever been in prayer only to feel the Holy Spirit take over your prayer?

I had that experience while I embraced our dear sister. I was through praying (emphasis on “I”…) when suddenly, out of the blue, I heard myself cry out, “Do it Lord!”

I was shocked, embarrassed and puzzled.

Do what, Lord?

I wasn’t praying about anything so specific to warrant such a prayer now.

I walked away from our sister feeling foolish. But, I continued worshipping with the brethren anyway!

We don’t always know what God is going to do. That is true of our destiny, our daily walk and, in this case, when we come together as brethren. But, as God’s children, our Father expects us to trust Him and agree with Him.

Although I walked away from that lady in embarrassment, I would soon realize what that “it” was.

As the service progressed, so did the worship from the congregants. Before an hour had passed, the same sister who I had been praying with, was baptised in the Holy Spirit!

Now I knew what I had cried out for! God wanted to set the stage for this outpouring, so the Holy Spirit sought agreement for it.

When I yelled out “Do it Lord!” I was ignorant in the moment, but God knew what He was going to do!

That’s just how it is sometimes. We accept being led by the Holy Spirit and trust God’s good intentions for us.

Now I want to ask you a question. What is the will of God for your life? For your next time of fellowship? For your business? The answer is we don’t always know.

But we can still come in agreement with the Lord’s will by faith!

We can and should diligently use prayer to prepare the way for God to work in our lives and fellowships.

So, whatever the “it” is, for your life and mine, let us release this prayer of agreement: “Do it Lord!”

Amen! Hallelujah!

Yaneke Lewis

christiandamsel.blogspot.com/

The post Do It Lord! The Prayer Of Agreement appeared first on Cup of Faith.

The Spirit-filled You!

Yaneke Lewis — Mon, 17 May 2021 06:00:51 +0000

What have we learned from the pandemic? If we have learned anything from the covid-19 pandemic, it could be this: God is not confined to the church walls.

We’ve always said that, but when we had to deal with gathering restrictions and virtual church services, it became strikingly real! Now, if God isn’t confined to the church walls, neither is His anointing. The power of the Holy Spirit is free and available to His children everywhere we are.

His empowerment grants us gifts of the Spirit that we are familiar with, but there is more to that. Let’s look at Exodus 31:1-6; And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, see, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee

It’s easier to accept that God gave these men wisdom, understanding and knowledge. We’re familiar with those terms in Christiandom. But for most of us, we struggle to accept workmanship as something spiritual. How often do you get introduced to an anointed man or woman of God who isn’t a preacher, but an architect?

We seem to have limited our concept of the anointing. Exodus 31:1-6 shows that what we mostly call “secular” was a direct impartation from God’s Spirit to those men who would build His tabernacle. The artisans in the time of Moses were anointed to be goldsmiths, silversmiths, stone cutters, and woodcarvers!

Today, I urge us to view our so-called “secular” jobs, talents, and businesses as received from God. What do you do? Are you an accountant? God desires that you become a Spirit-filled accountant! Are you a medical doctor? God wants you to be a Spirit-filled doctor. Are you a graphic designer? You can be a Spirit-filled graphic designer.

Why is that so important?
First off, when we embrace the anointing for working professionally, we are more likely to cultivate a dependence on the Holy Spirit in our tasks. Now, Who wouldn’t need some extra help with their job? Secondly, when we see that the anointing is with us in our businesses and jobs, we enjoy and benefit from a deeper fellowship with God. Thirdly, the light of Jesus gets to shine to our unsaved colleagues, whom we will be a witness to.

My sisters, receive the anointing to transform your work life in whatever field you are in. Whichever way you work with your hands, become a Spirit-filled YOU!

Yaneke Lewis

christiandamsel.blogspot.com/

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