Date Archives February 2022

I am chosen

Christianity

Monday Devotional – February 28, 2022

I AM CHOSEN

‘For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ‘ Deuteronomy 14:2

Read: 

“So this is my command: Love each other deeply, as much as I have loved you. For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends. “You show that you are my intimate friends when you obey all that I command you. I have never called you ‘servants,’ because a master doesn’t confide in his servants, and servants don’t always understand what the master is doing. But I call you my most intimate and cherished friends, for I reveal to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. You didn’t choose me, but I’ve chosen and commissioned you to go into the world to bear fruit. And your fruit will last, because whatever you ask of my Father, for my sake, he will give it to you! So this is my parting command: Love one another deeply!” John 15:12-17

Reflect:

Jesus declared in John 15:16 – I chose you… Sit with that thought for a moment. 

I am by no means athletic. I remember as a child wanting to play sports and was typically last picked or added by default because there was no other choice. It was not a good feeling.

Here Jesus speaks to intentionality. With purpose He chose us to bear fruit that will last. We are not added to the vine by default as though there was no other choice.  In fact, if you go back and read John 15 in its entirety its central theme is God’s love nourishing and caring for us so that we can be an extension of that love to others. 

What comes to mind is that each fruit tree is designed to bear it’s own fruit. Mango trees yield mangos and apple trees yield apples. A “You tree” can only bear “you fruit”. Your tree can’t bear my fruit or his fruit or her fruit. Simply said you are chosen by God to bear the fruit he prepared within your soul’s seed. Watered by His love and intimate friendship you will become all you were meant to be. Why? Don’t miss this part, so that we can love one another. We are His ambassadors of love in the earth. This is why we are chosen. Not for selfish ambition, not for self aggrandizement but to show your world the immeasurable love of God. Chosen one, fill up on His love and produce your own species of love fruit that your world can feast on. 

Song of the Week:

This powerful song carried me through 2021 and even now rings loudly in my spirit. Soak it in. As I read John 15, this section of the song was on autoplay in my mind

I’m already loved
I’m already chosen
I know who I am
I know what You’ve spoken
I’m already loved
More than I could imagine
And that is enough

Jireh
Elevation Worship, Maverick City Music

Journal Prompt:

  1. What will you approach differently in your life, knowing you are chosen?
  2. What fruit am I offering my corner of the world?

Pray: 

Loving Father, I am grateful to be chosen by You. Help me to stay connected to your vine. Thank You for reminding me that Your love is a gift that once I feast on it, I can bear the special fruit you designed in me. Amen

Affirmation:

I am chosen by God. I will fill up on His love and bear fruit. My fruit is unique to me and only I can give the world my fruit.

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Have a great week!

See you next week for another Mocha Monday – a weekly Monday Devotional by Lady Kavan.

To read more from Lady Kavan, check out her blog 

You can find Lady Kavan on Amazon. Follow this link for an overview of her available books

I am Royalty

Christianity

Monday Devotional – February 21, 2022

I AM ROYALTY

'But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. ' 1 Peter 2:9

Read:

‘Then I saw heaven opened, and suddenly a white horse appeared. The name of the one riding it was Faithful and True, and with pure righteousness he judges and rides to battle. On his robe and on his thigh he had inscribed a name: King of kings and Lord of lords.’ Revelation 19:11,16

‘Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father! ‘ Philippians 2:9-11

Reflect: 

In our devotional series so far we have been meditating on our identity using “I am” phrases. If you haven’t read them all you can catch up on Mocha Mondays here. 

This week we meditate on the fact that we are royalty. Our God is the King above all kings. The title does have a lovely ring to it. I am royalty. My Heavenly Father is a King. But what does that really mean? How does that translate to my seemingly non royal life? How does that affect me going to work or washing dishes? Where is God in my mundane?

I want us to meditate on 3 benefits of our identity as children of the King above kings.

  1. Our Father being King of all creation means that there isn’t anything outside of His ability to provide for you, according to His will. Remember though that “God’s ultimate goal for your life on Earth is not comfort but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ.” (Rick Warren)
  2. Royals function differently from the citizens of its monarchy. For instance, the Queen of Britain does not have an ID or a last name. It is not needed because though they live on this earth, the system that they function in and live by is different from the rest of us. We are pilgrims and strangers on this earth. Our citizenship is heavenly though we must live and function on the earth. It means that we operate differently. We forgive our enemies and turn the other cheek. We give cheerfully. I could go on, but you can read Matthew 5 – 7 to see how Jesus messed with the way we perceived things ought to be done. We are meant to be different.
  3. We have authority. “Now you understand that I have imparted to you my authority to trample over his kingdom. You will trample upon every demon before you and overcome every power Satan possesses. Absolutely nothing will harm you as you walk in this authority.” Luke 10:19

When we understand who we are as royalty, there is nothing that can cause us to hang our heads in shame or walk with a defeatist attitude. We understand trials will come but we know they are only temporary. We know our Father who is King has us safe in His arms and nothing else truly matters.

Song of the Week:

This week, I want to share a song our dance team ministered yesterday: Royalty by Tasha Cobbs-Leonards

Royalty – Tasha Cobbs – Leaonard

Journal Prompt:

  1. What will you approach differently in your life, knowing you are royalty?

Pray: 

King of Kings; Creator of all that is; My Father; I honor Your Presence today. How wonderful, that You have taken me from the kingdom of darkness into your marvelous Kingdom of light. I pray Lord, You will help me identify the ways I have allowed darkness to rule in my life. Give me the strength to take authority over those things because sin, darkness and it’s effects have no dominion over me. I am Yours. 

Affirmation:

I am royalty. I will walk with my head high because nothing in this world has the authority to defeat me. All I need I have. All I need is making its way to me. I am a child of the King.

God in your Mundane

Christianity Life Stuff 1 Comment 
mun·dane /ˌmənˈdān/lacking interest or excitement; dull."seeking a way out of his mundane, humdrum existence"of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one. Oxford Dictionary

Reflection

I have been reflecting on the way I saw Christianity being modeled when I was growing up. Generally, God and spiritual things were relegated to the times you were at church or around “church people”. Time with God was the few minutes you spent praying or worshipping at the start of your day and then again at bed time. The altar where His Spirit was readily available for healing and deliverance was mainly at the front of the church sanctuary.

I had a perspective shift a few years ago, ironically, from a friend who converted to Islam. She was talking to me about how as a Muslim her faith carried through as a way of life. So as a Mulsim she sees God in her everyday life whether it is eating or washing the dishes. I thought well isn’t that the way it should be? When did we, as a faith group in general, start compartmentalizing God? It is as if we found a cute little box, put Him in it, and then placed the box on a shelf for access at our convenience.

Over and over, throughout Scripture we see evidence of a God craving intimacy with His created ones. In the Garden of Eden, God was present as Adam named the animals. He was present for the mundane. As Israel traversed through the wilderness and faced many enemies God declares “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” When He manifested as Emmanuel (God with us) in the form of Jesus, He ate, drank and did life with His disciples every day. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd. That for me is the most vivid picture of Gods desire to be with us all day, every day. He longs to guide, nourish, protect and sometimes just relax in the cool of the evening.

I remember feeling very frustrated when the boys were babies, and I had to nurse them during the worship session at church. At the time, I felt like I was robbed of time with God. How different would I have felt, if I understood God as present and available in the mundane. Worship in that season was nursing the blessing He gave me. Since life is Gods gift to us then everything we do in life can and should be worship. Brushing teeth or bathing? Well, you are taking care of the temple He gave you. WORSHIP. Eating food? Working to sustain yourself or your family. All are part of worship.

I leave this thought with you:

Whether you eat or drink, live your life in a way that glorifies and honors God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 TPT

Invite God into your mundane. He is interested. Break open the box you’ve placed Him in and allow Him to walk with you through your day. Life is far more interesting.

Write Fully Yours

Lady Kavan

To read more from Lady Kavan, check out her blog 

You can find Lady Kavan on Amazon. Follow this link for an overview of her available books

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I am more than a conqueror

Christianity

Monday Devotional – February 14, 2022

I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR

‘Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! ‘ Romans 8:37

Read: 

Who could ever divorce us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love, even though it is written: All day long we face death threats for your sake, God. We are considered to be nothing more than sheep to be slaughtered! Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!' Romans 8:31-39

Reflect: 

Happy Love Day! I know the title of today’s devotional does not conjure feelings you would equate to sunshine, rainbows and hearts. But maybe it should. In this passage, Paul writes a riveting exhortation to the Romans in chapter 8 about living by the power of the Holy Spirit,  our position as children of God and the destiny that awaits us. Finally in the last section his encouragement to all of us in Christ is that nothing in this life has the power to overcome us because of God’s indescribable love for us. 

I love that Paul doesn’t paint a picture of a utopia on this side of eternity. He makes it clear, there may be “persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats”. There may be life’s troubles, fallen angels, present or future circumstances that threaten us. But none of that has the power or authority to shut God’s love out of our lives. This is the kind of love that strengthens our inner being. Love like this empowers us to fight and conquer any threat in our lives. 

Do you have an issue that feels insurmountable today? Have you been up all night trying to figure out your next move? Power is already available. You are more than a conqueror. That statement brings an imagery of a fully equipped and trained soldier, a fearless warrior. Well that is you and that is me. We are loved by the Author of the universe and that makes us more than conquerors. 

I pray today that of all the love relationships you experience, the deepest one and the one that makes you smile today, is the one you have with God. His love in us, that is the the one most worthy of celebration. 

Song of the week

This week I wanted to give us a battle cry, a song that would get us pumped to face the week. So I’m pulling on a bit of my Jamaican roots for  this one.

Journal Prompt:

  1. What circumstance in your life do you crave victory over?
  2. Does knowing that in His love you have the power to be more than a conqueror change your perspective?

Pray: 

Heavenly Love, I am so grateful that your love is embedded in me. It is a privilege to be called yours. Help me to come into the full understanding that no matter what comes against me I will be more than okay. I will more than survive. I will thrive because I am more than a conqueror through your love.

Affirmation:

I am more than a conqueror. There is nothing in this life that has the power to permanently defeat me. The love of God in me makes me victorious. 

__________________

Have a great week!

See you next week for another Mocha Monday – a weekly Monday Devotional by Lady Kavan.

To read more from Lady Kavan, check out her blog 

You can find Lady Kavan on Amazon. Follow this link for an overview of her available books

Hope filled Prayers

Christianity

Last week, I had a dream that referenced a lady who I went to church with years ago. It was strange that I had not gone to bed with her in my conscious thought. There wasn’t a Facebook memory reminder or post that triggered thoughts of her. I woke up and prayed because the dream was vivid. After praying, I looked her up on socials to see if there was any clue to something being up with her. There was no evidence. I left it alone until I got this persistent thought to reach out and tell her I had a dream and that I prayed. She called a couple days later and asked what I saw. Best believe that what I saw, was what she was going through. We prayed together with the confidence that truly God sees us and cares. He cares enough to invade the dreams of another so that we can be encouraged.

I wanted to share that story because the buildup to that whole scene is a bible study I facilitate. The study is on practicing the essentials of our faith. The week all of this happened was the same week we were studying prayer. We looked at the “mechanics” of prayer meaning what it is, methods, the effectiveness and the required persistence. Now I don’t know if this happens to you, but often the Holy Spirit will be persistent in reminding me about one thing, from an entire week of study, that He wants me to work on. The one thing for me, was in Luke 18:1. ‘One day Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this illustration:‘

I got stuck on the “never … lose hope” bit. I pray for sure, but hope is something altogether different. In a sermon that same week I heard “prayer on the other side of disappointment is hard and takes faith”. And that for me is the kicker. My hope level changed after my most poignant unanswered prayer. I find that I place things on the table and in essence say “Hey God, I’d like this but ….”  The challenging question is how do we continue to pray with hope after the sting of disappointment? The answer, that I am still trying to grab hold of in my heart, is that I need to hope in the One who I’m praying to, not the thing I am praying for. I want to hope for big things again. The Holy Spirit challenged me this week: “Your prayers are basic, pray bigger.”

I believe He let me in on the dream set up to restore my hope again. Truly, if God could give me a dream that led to an encouraging prayer session with my sister in the faith, then why would I believe He doesn’t hear me or want to answer me?

I want to believe big and pray bold prayers not just with words, but with a heart filled with the expectation. My Heavenly Dad wants to give me good and perfect gifts (James 1: 17). My desire is to get to a place where His “no” does not reduce my hope level and increase my fear of putting my true requests on the table with the expectation that I can have it.  Nothing is impossible for the one who believes (Mark 9: 23).

 As the world taps into this trending concept of “manifesting”, Christians know the deeper truth. We must align our thoughts, emotions and will with God’s word; declare (speak those things that are not as though they were; Rom 4:17) and believe it will come to pass (for nothing is impossible to the one who believes).

I am challenging myself this week to put my boldest requests on the table. Join me.  Let’s walk this one through together. 

Write Fully Yours

Lady Kavan

To read more from Lady Kavan, check out her blog 

You can find Lady Kavan on Amazon. Follow this link for an overview of her available books

Featured Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash

I am adopted

Christianity

Monday Devotional – February 7, 2022

I AM ADOPTED

‘For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One…’ Ephesians 1:5a

Read

Ephesians 1:3 – 10

'For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace —for the same love he has for the Beloved, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure! For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace —for the same love he has for the Beloved, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure! Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts! And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence. Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace. This superabundant grace is already powerfully working in us, releasing all forms of wisdom and practical understanding. And through the revelation of the Anointed One, he unveiled his secret desires to us—the hidden mystery of his long-range plan, which he was delighted to implement from the very beginning of time. And because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.'

Reflect

After reading that beautiful piece of scripture my heart was stunned into reverent silence. I almost want to type.. THE END. 

I will say this though, God has adopted into His family because of love. I cant speak for anyone else but there was a time I felt like God only tolerated me. I believed that He merely took pity on me like someone would pity a stray dirty animal caught in a storm. The situation would only be temporary and it was done because it was the right thing to do. I felt then that I had to be a good little pet to get to stay in the house. Oh how different “it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us” reads. ALWAYS HIS PLAN… what!?

Even better “in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe”. I was loved and chosen BEFORE he laid the foundation of the universe? Yes!!

Listen, you were not accidentally pulled in out of the rain. You don’t need to worry about being sent back to the streets. God saw you and I long before Adam drew his first breath and intentionally planned our adoption into His family. That should give us something to rejoice over. Our adoption grants us all the rights and of a birthed child. We are His. Our names have changed because we are loved by Love Himself. 

Song of the week

Who You say I am by Hillsong

Journal Prompt

  1. What does adoption mean to you?
  2. How does knowing that in His love He made plans to adopt you from before the foundation of the universe was laid?

Pray

Abba, Father, it is a privilege to be called yours. I rejoice in the fact that You planned for my adoption before I was even a thought or a twinkle in my earthly parents eyes. I am blown away by your love. You thought me worthy of adoption even though my actions disqualified me. Hallelujah!

Affirmation

I am adopted by Love Himself. I am a child of God not by accident but His divine plan.

Have a great week!

See you next week for another Mocha Monday – a weekly Monday Devotional by Lady Kavan.

To read more from Lady Kavan, check out her blog 

You can find Lady Kavan on Amazon. Follow this link for an overview of her available books

Forgiving the unforgivable

Christianity Life 
*Trigger Warning* : The following post contains material about sexual abuse and violence that may be triggering or disturbing to some audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

Story Time

I was in a virtual bible study this week with my favourite faith sisters (wink, wink). During the discussion, one person shared a testimony of how God relieved the burden of friend burdened by unforgiveness. He did some sweet supernatural healing her heart. That friend was raped and I understood, deeply, her pain. Her pain was once mine too. Yet, God healed her, much like He healed me.

I took a moment to do a heart check. Have I forgiven my sexual abusers? What about the man who killed the father of my children, my first husband and very best friend at the time? Have I forgiven the people who lambasted my name with baseless accusations?

I think so…. God, Search me! Have I buried this pain or slapped a “blessed and highly favoured” band-aid on it? I come up empty. I see their faces in my mind’s eye, and in the case of the masked man, a silhouette but I feel no anger. I feel… I feel sorrow for the pain they must be in themselves. I pray God heals them and brings them peace.

Heart Questions

How do you forgive the unforgivable? How do you let go of the desire for revenge? How do you meet your enemies with love? How do you confront the one who has seemingly destroyed your life and not be angry? 

Before I say the next thing, I want you to understand that I am in no way trivialising or simplifying the trauma of abuse of any kind. How can I?  I carried trauma for years and unwittingly bled on my most loved ones because I couldn’t stop the haemorrhage.  Abuse wounds beyond physical scars. It creeps into the psyche, the emotions and into identity. It can be debilitating and it often is. So how do you heal? How do you forgive?

Healing is a choice

It starts with a choice. Healing is a choice. Your physical body has mechanisms to begin the healing process. However, your soul’s direction is determined by the choices you make. “At some point, we must take responsibility for our destructive behaviour patterns regardless of whether they originated from a character flaw within us or in response to something external” (Lady Kavan 2020). The abuse was not your fault. But you get to choose whether you remain a prisoner for the rest of your life.

I remember after Chris died, there was a day I could not bring myself to get out of bed. It was just too much. Life was unfair, the bedrock of our family was gone, alcohol was not fixing it and I just wanted out of this life.  As the boys rushed up the stairs after school, excited to see their mom, I was ashamed of the state I was in. I realised then that if I kept on this path my sons would lose two parents, not just one. I decided at that point I needed help. So that’s the first step, a decision: “I want to heal”

Next step… get help. When we get a small cut, we grab ointment and a Band-Aid and allow our bodies to do what it does; heal. But how many of us would stay home and not seek medical attention if we broke a leg or got wounded so badly we were losing pints of blood? No hands? Didn’t think so. Mental health is just as important as physical health. We need to shake all the negative stigma around seeing a mental health professional when we need to. Jesus and therapy saved my life. 

Forgiveness is crucial for healing

I found crucial to my healing was learning to let go of resentment, anger and the need for revenge, in a word forgiveness. “Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.”  This aligns with Mark 11: 25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” 

So going back then to the key question I posed, “how do I forgive the unforgivable?” Choose to. Super hard, I know. You may need to say it a thousand times, you may need to release the anger 10 thousand times, you may need to pray even more than that before your soul aligns with God on this matter. BUT… Your joy depends on it. Eventually your soul will begin to feel what you have declared. I found that, at least for me, when I pray for the people who hurt me, it shifts the atmosphere in my heart and overtime letting go of the offence becomes easier.

A fresh perspective

A friend shared this great conversation from Youtube that is so relevant to this topic. I hope it brings an even fresher perspective. 

Finally, I leave this thought with you:

‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. ‘ Philippians 4:8-9

It is difficult to harbour resentment and anger when we make a conscious effort to think about and meditate on true, honest, just, pure, and lovely things. To forgive what seems to be unforgivable we must choose to!

Write Fully Yours

Lady Kavan

To read more from Lady Kavan, check out her blog 

You can find Lady Kavan on Amazon. Follow this link for an overview of her available books