6.4 Assignment: Final Paper

Discussion 1.1 Devotional Reflection-Way of Wisdom

I believe, our decisions on trusting God will give us the wisdom to experience situations like when we are on a straight, secure path where we will not stumble and fall, and when we lay our head down at night, our sleep will be sweet.  It might not last long but for sure we will have that day. We cannot bare the day without the Sun and having only the Moon and vice versa, the same way we should not just hope for the good things to happen in our lives then we will never know the value of good if bad is not present. Some times expecting the worst will give you more strength it achieve better. Sometimes we have areas where it is easier to trust God and also have areas where it is more difficult. I need to come up with an example like if we are experiencing the unexpected bad situations happening no matter how you try to avoid them or took precautions to not to happen, we will lose hope, and it's hard to have a faith in God as much more painful things happening to you and especially your family. Also, It might take time to get healed mentally though the situation got better.

The bible also teaches us how to get wisdom in abundance. In (James 1:5) it’s given “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him”. The Lord offers wisdom freely to whoever ask unto him with whole heart, but many of us doesn’t bother to ask and receive. Many of us doesn’t know the importance of wisdom, thus we never bother to ask unto the Lord.

Discussion 2.1 Devotional Reflection-Integrity

Integrity is also known as possessing strong moral and ethical values and it represents the action of behaving upright even during the time when no one is watching. Ethical and moral principles are the fundamental values that guide a person who has integrity (Engelbrecht et al., 2017). Integrity also extends to professional spheres such as work stations. Integrity should guide how we make our decisions and how we conduct out daily to daily interactions.

As Cristian’s the bible warns us against living a double standard life. John narrates how Jesus is saddened by lukewarm souls that have a problem choosing the kind of lives they want to live (Sabini, 2018). They can’t seem to distinguish between the light and darkness, and between God and sin. And for a person to be considered a person of integrity they should live a seamless life (Revelation 3:9). They should uphold morality even when nobody is watching them. Therefore, as a Christian, it is not possible to lead a double life.

Life in college as a young Christian is one marred with bad decisions and one that usually proves to be full of temptations. My life in college is dotted with situations that led me to make misinformed decisions. Some of which if given a chance I would gladly revisit and consider my Christianity life more. I used to balance church life and clubbing, binge drinking. I became an alcoholic at a time when my closest friends could not comprehend when it started or how it is done. If given a chance now I would take you to turn and serve Christianity devotedly.

Life is full of challenges and it is even better if we could call life challenges rather than life. More often than not, a person usually finds himself in a situation that is confusing and one that requires instant decision-making. At times life pits you between survival and Christianity and as a human, we all have survival instincts which most of the time precede everything Christianity included. Therefore, as a human being who needs to survive my integrity has been tested and at times fail. But God is a forgiving God. If the biblical truth can be applied to my life as it is, my life and integrity with change instantaneously and I would live a quality life full of hope and happiness.

Discussion 3.1 Devotional Reflection-Children of Light-Transparency

I fight the powers of darkness through prayer because sin is a result of temptations and disobedience. I have come to understand that God is the light; therefore, I have to reflect God’s character by living in the ways he has instructed each human being too. I confess my sins to God to be forgiven and cleanse myself from all the darkness.

Yes, I have some parts of my life that I keep hidden from my family and friends for the fear of being judged. The struggles and darkness that I have in my life are presented to God through confession to see for guidance and ensure that I walk in the light of the Lord at all times. Before the eyes of the Lord, I seek his light, and being honest about my sins makes me walk in the truth.

In a world that is filled with darkness, as a Jesus Christ believer, I shine the light through the darkness to lead other people into the arms of Jesus Christ. I embody the same light when I share the love of God with others, the same way Jesus did when he died on the cross for our sins. I try to teach my siblings to be truthful and walk in the ways of the Lord and love each other without hatred. The light in my life is how I embrace the purpose God has established in our lives. I encourage other people during their trials to seek comfort in prayer.

At the workplace, I serve customers and other people with respect and integrity. Jesus’s light upon the world is to illuminate love; I pray with my colleagues when they are struggling with personal issues because I believe that God loves each one of us. I provide honest and kind encouragement to people at my workplace and lead them to walk in the light of God. I believe that God has all the answers we seek in our life. Sharing our life experiences with friends also helps illuminate the love of Jesus to others.

Discussion: 4.1 Devotional Reflection-Honesty

“Recall a situation where you demonstrated/experienced a lack of honesty. Write a brief summary of how you remember it. Did this cause you to distrust someone or cause someone to distrust you? How did you work through this distrust? How has your faith changed your character to make you more honest? Look back to Workshop Two and the devotional on Integrity. What do you see as differences between honesty and integrity? How do these two traits go hand in hand?”

I have experienced a lack of honesty from a friend who came to me because he had a personal emergency and borrowed some money from me and promised to return it within a week. However, he failed to return the money even after I approached him and asked for a refund. This experience has made me be always skeptical while someone tries to borrow money from me as I always imagine the scenario could play out the same as before.

My faith as a Christian has been instrumental in helping work through this distrust process. Whenever faced with a similar situation I always take it as an opportunity to help and trying not to think too much about whether the money will be repaid or not. This has enabled me to help others who turned out to be honest and refunded the money. My faith has enhanced my honesty levels as I try to follow Christ who says he is the way, the truth, and life. Personally, I believe that honesty is a reflection of the charter of an individual which reflects their faith and actions. I try to uphold the principles of being a Christian by being truthful, sincere, open and demonstrating integrity.

According to Mogra, (2017) Honesty entails being truthful always integrity entails the moral principles that guide the behavior of an individual. It is thus possible for an individual to demonstrate honesty while showing no integrity. Honesty only implies being truthful for example if I were to break something and remain quiet about it because nobody asked presents a loophole. However, integrity encompasses honesty and so much more. A person of integrity is concerned with doing the right thing despite the consequences that may arise (Bhatia, 2018).

Discussion 5.1 Devotional Reflection-Diversity

It is seen that different parts of Christ’s church as a representation of diversity. It is observed that people from different affiliations come to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus reconciles them to God the Father and to each other. The Universal Church is seen to have inherent and God-given diversity. On the aspect of divisive Christians at Corinth, Paul wrote a letter, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts…so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Paul experienced a blessed and rich diversity in the church of Syrian Antioch. In this church, the Jewish and Gentiles were seen to worship God together equally (Acts 11:19-26).

The above analysis has helped me recognize diversity not only in terms of race, but also in terms of gender, culture, and disability. It is seen that before, the Jews and Gentiles never saw each other eye to eye and that they never worshiped together. Therefore, in the church of Syrian Antioch, it was the first time that these different cultures actually came together and worshiped God in the same church. This makes me appreciate the aspect of diversity in the church of Christ.

The picture painted from Revelations 7:9-10 is that it is a constant reminder that all people are precious to God and that no race, background, or ethnicity is exempt from His love. I think that this picture can be better created in the sense that God loves regardless of our affiliations. This picture looks great since there is no discrimination whatsoever. This picture would not be an overstretch for me.

Discussion 6.1 Devotional Reflection-A More Christ Life Life

Christianity’s journey is not easy because there are so many temptations that distract one from living a holy life. I have been modeling the traits by practicing them with other people and showing love to them. Love is the foundation of all those values because we can do nothing with God’s love. I have also been practicing them by putting other people first in everything. This has enabled me to be patient, kind, and humble. Forgiveness is also a vital thing, and it enables one to be at peace with everyone. I cannot deny that I have adopted the new characteristics fully. There are various ups and downs that I am facing towards adopting my new Christian life. My main aim is to ensure I do the correct thing and help people in whichever way.

 I have stopped dwelling a lot on earthly things because they are short-lived. My aim is to live a holy life and emulate the teachings provided in the Bible. I pray for forgiveness anytime I feel like I am resuming my old ways of doing wrong to be at peace with God. I think an area that takes my focus off God is hanging out with my friends. My friends are not yet saved and are highly focused on earthly things. Every time I hang out with them, I feel like I am not acting correctly. I believe releasing sin will enable me to be more oriented on spiritual matters and growth. It will help me want to do only the things that benefit others and make me have a better relationship with God. Avoiding sinful scenarios will also leave me ample time to communicate with God, read the Bible, practice Biblical traits, and grow spiritually.