ARE YOU EVER DISTURBED? —

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.” — John 14:27

Sometimes we have peace simply because we do not yet understand what is happening. But when trouble comes and we see the reality of life, we discover that true peace can only come from Jesus.

Jesus does not merely talk about peace—He gives peace. His peace is not dependent on circumstances; it comes from trusting Him.

Are you disturbed right now? Are you overwhelmed by problems, uncertainty, disappointment, or sorrow? Perhaps you have prayed but still cannot find peace. Look to Jesus.

Jesus Himself was not controlled by the storms around Him. When we look to Him, His calmness begins to influence our hearts.

One sign that we are right with God is that we can still turn our attention toward Him even in difficult circumstances. But when we are not walking closely with Him, we become consumed with ourselves, our problems, and our fears.

Ask yourself:

Am I looking at my problem more than I am looking at Jesus?

When we try to solve everything through worry, we lose sight of Christ. But when we bring the matter before Him, our perplexity begins to disappear because Jesus is never confused or overwhelmed.

Whatever you are facing today—difficulty, loss, disappointment, uncertainty, or sorrow—bring it to Jesus.

“Let not your heart be troubled.”

Your circumstances may not change immediately, but Jesus can give you His peace in the middle of them.

GOD is good
#God

THE FRUITFULNESS OF FRIENDSHIP

“I have called you friends.” — John 15:15

We do not truly understand the joy of giving ourselves to God until we completely surrender to Him.

Many times, our surrender sounds like:

“I will do it if…”
“Well, I suppose I have to give my life to God.”

There is no real joy in surrender when we are still holding back.

But when we truly surrender ourselves to Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins to show us the joy that Jesus had in doing the Father's will.

Jesus is our example. He said:

> “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” — Psalm 40:8



Jesus did not obey God with constant complaints. He willingly gave Himself because He loved the Father.

Is Jesus truly first in my life?

Self-sacrifice has no real value if Jesus is not at the centre of it.

We may sacrifice our time, money, comfort, or relationships, but the most important question is:

Am I doing it because I love Jesus?

When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, surrender becomes an expression of love rather than a burden.

Love like Jesus

We must also be careful not to allow our personal preferences to control who we love.

Sometimes we naturally feel closer to certain people because we have similar interests, personalities, or backgrounds. But as Christians, Jesus should be our greatest connection.

Christian love is not simply about loving people we naturally like.

It means learning to love people the way God loves them.

Jesus said:

> “I have called you friends.”



This friendship with Jesus is based on the new life He gives us, not our old nature.


True friendship with Jesus produces a life of surrender, love, and obedience.

When we truly love Jesus:
We willingly surrender to Him.
We find joy in doing His will.
We stop living only for ourselves.
We learn to love people beyond our natural preferences.
Our lives become more like His.

The more we love Jesus, the more we will desire to give our lives to Him.

THE SPIRITUAL INDEX

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?” — Matthew 7:9

Jesus uses the example of a good father and his child to teach us about prayer.

Sometimes we pray and wonder why we are not receiving answers. Instead of immediately thinking, “Maybe it is not God's will,” we should also examine our relationship with God and with other people.

Check your spiritual life.

Ask yourself:

Am I treating my husband or wife properly?

Am I treating my children well?

Am I kind to my friends and fellow Christians?

Is there someone I have refused to forgive?

Do I owe someone something that I have refused to pay?

Am I asking God to bless me while I am hurting someone else?

Am I asking God for freedom while I am refusing to give freedom to others?


Sometimes the problem is not that God cannot answer our prayer. The problem may be something in our own lives that needs to be corrected.

We can easily mistake stubbornness for devotion and arguing with God for strong faith.

But God wants us to examine ourselves.

If you have been rude, unforgiving, dishonest, angry, or unfair, don't ignore it while asking God for greater spiritual blessings.

Go back and make things right.

Being a child of God is not only about saying that we are Christians. It also means walking in God's light and allowing Him to change how we live.

Prayer should not just be emotional words. Our daily lives should agree with our prayers.

Before asking God for more, check your relationship with Him and with people.

Sometimes the answer to your prayer begins with repentance, forgiveness, obedience, or making something right.

When we walk rightly with God, we can come to Him with confidence, knowing that:

> “Everyone that asketh receiveth.” — Matthew 7:8

Check the index. Look at your life. What is God asking you to correct?

What are you hiding?

Let me ask you a difficult question:

What are you hiding?

Not from your friends.

Not from your pastor.

Not from your family.

From everyone.

Maybe you still attend church.

Maybe you still lift your hands during worship.

Maybe people still call you “Brother” or “Sister.”

But there is a part of your life you desperately hope nobody discovers.

Saints with Stain is not written to shame people.

It is written to expose the danger of pretending that everything is fine when it isn't.

Because healing cannot begin where honesty is forbidden.

Sometimes freedom begins with admitting, “This is where I am.”

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Can God use someone who is broken?

Yes.

But Saints with Stain asks a deeper question:

What happens when we become so focused on being used by God that we stop allowing God to deal with us?

A person can preach to thousands and still avoid their own heart.

A person can inspire people and still be struggling privately.

A person can have a gift without having the character to carry that gift safely.

The book reminds us of something uncomfortable:

Gifts can attract attention. Character sustains destiny.

Saints with Stain
Get your copy: nestuge.com/saintswithstain1

What do you think matters more in ministry: gift or character?

“I INDEED… BUT HE”

“I indeed baptize you with water... but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.” — Matthew 3:11

There comes a point in our Christian life when we must be able to say:

“I indeed… but HE.”

In other words:

“I have reached the end of myself, but Jesus begins where I end.”

There are things we cannot change or accomplish by our own strength. We may try harder, make promises, or depend on our own goodness, but eventually we must recognize:

“I cannot do this by myself. I need Jesus.”

That is where Jesus begins to work.

Am I truly ready for Jesus?

Jesus cannot fully work in us while we are hiding things from Him.

When He comes into our lives, He brings things into the light. He may show us attitudes, habits, pride, wrong desires, unforgiveness, or things we thought were acceptable.

Where we know something is wrong, Jesus wants to deal with it.

But sometimes we think we are already good enough. We defend ourselves and say:

“I'm not that bad.”
“At least I'm better than others.”
“God understands me.”

That attitude can prevent us from experiencing God's deeper work in our lives.

True repentance

Repentance is more than simply saying, “I have sinned.”

It is recognizing:

“Lord, I cannot save myself. I cannot make myself holy. I desperately need You.”

It means giving up our excuses and our attempts to defend ourselves.

We come before God with humility and say:

“Jesus, I need You completely.”

“He shall baptize you”

John the Baptist said:

> “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.”



The focus is not on what we can accomplish. The focus is on what Jesus does.

I indeed—but HE.

I am weak—but He is strong.
I cannot change myself—but He can change me.
I cannot make myself holy—but He sanctifies me.
I cannot do it—but He can.

Stop trying to do God's work through your own strength.

Come to the point where you can honestly say:

> “I indeed am at the end of myself—but He begins there.”

Get to the place where Jesus does everything.

COMPLETENESS

“And I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

Whenever something begins to disturb your relationship with Jesus, turn to Him immediately and ask Him to give you His rest.

Don't allow anything that is destroying your peace to remain in your heart.

When you become troubled, overly focused on yourself, or worried about what people think about you, bring it to Jesus.

Self-consciousness can slowly lead to self-pity:

“Nobody understands me.”

“They should apologize to me.”

“I need to explain myself.”

“People should recognize what I have done.”


Instead of focusing on yourself and what people are doing, turn your attention back to Christ.

Ask God to make you more conscious of Christ than you are of yourself.

What does completeness mean?

A complete Christian life is like the life of a child—simple, trusting, and restful.

A child does not constantly analyze everything. A child trusts.

When we are constantly asking, “Am I doing God's will? Is God pleased with me? Is God answering my prayer?” it can show that we have lost our sense of rest in God.

A child of God learns to trust that God is present, God is working, and God hears prayer.

When we move away from God's will, we begin to feel the need to ask, “Lord, what is Your will?” But as we remain close to Him, our lives naturally begin to follow His will.

Jesus does not want us to live constantly focused on ourselves.

He says:

> “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28


The more we focus on Jesus, the less we become controlled by ourselves.

Don't spend your life thinking about how people see you, whether they appreciate you, or whether they understand you.

Look to Jesus.

Where Jesus is truly in control, He brings rest, peace, stability, and completeness.

Very important for our kids

GOD take away what needs to be taken away as I behold you.

Let me ask you something I want you to sit with honestly.

Do you know why you are alive?

Not the biological answer. Not — because my parents had me. I mean the specific answer. The personal answer. The one that is true about you specifically, and not about the person sitting next to you.

Most people have never seriously asked this question. And it is the most important question of your life. Because when you genuinely answer it — when you discover what God specifically designed you for — everything else begins to organise around that answer.

The Bible calls it a mandate. A specific, God-issued, God-designed, God-empowered assignment — placed in you before you were born.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart.” — Jeremiah 1:5

The mandate came before you did.

There are three things you must do with your divine mandate:

DISCOVER IT—It is already in you. Pay attention to what breaks your heart. Notice what you do naturally that others find difficult. Pray specifically: Lord, what did You design me for?

DEVELOP IT — Joseph had the dream at seventeen. But it took thirteen years of pit and prison before the throne. God gave the gift. The difficulty developed the character the gift would need. Daniel studied for three years and came out ten times better than everyone else. Divine gift + human diligence = excellence that neither produces alone.

DEPLOY IT — David “served the purpose of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36) and then rested. Find your mandate. Develop it. Deploy it in service to your generation. Not waiting for a bigger platform. Start where you are, with what you have.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” — Ephesians 2:10

You are a masterpiece with a mandate. Discover it. Develop it. Deploy it. 🏾

#DivineMandate #Purpose #BornForAReason #YoungPeople #ChristianFaith

You can look holy and still be hurting.

What if the person everyone thinks is spiritually strong is secretly struggling with something nobody knows about?

What if they still pray?
Still worship?
Still preach?
Still serve?
Still say, “God is good”?

What if they genuinely love God… but are carrying a hidden stain?

Saints with Stain is a story about people who look like they have everything together spiritually, while beneath the surface, they are wrestling with things they don't know how to confront.

Because sometimes the greatest danger isn't falling publicly.

It's learning how to hide privately.

This book will make you look beyond appearances—and perhaps look honestly at yourself.

Saints with Stain
Get your copy:
nestuge.com/saintswithstain1

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Who do you think needs to read this book?