It's a phenomenal day of Inspiration! Nigeria Lockley is here to inspire us to pursue our passions in a Godly fashion. There's no better way to celebrate March Inspirations than this. She has a prayer and words that set my passion on fire anew, reminding me of my purpose. But I don't have to tell you, read on and see what I mean. Need a little more incentive? She's giving away 3 different titles today! Simply leave a comment for your chance to win. About Pursuing Your Passion In A Godly Fashion...Learn how to make God the CEO of all your endeavors and connect with Him on a deeper level with, Pursuing Your Passion in a Godly Fashion. Christians are often taught that God must be involved in all that they do. Yet there is little guidance on how to get God more involved in our business ventures in a meaningful way. In Pursuing Your Passion in a Godly Fashion, author Nigeria Lockley explores areas of struggle that creative Christians and entrepreneurs must overcome in order to excel. Through transparent testimony, biblical guidance, and a prayer strategy pulled from the book of Nehemiah, Lockley provides believers with prayers to take the pursuit of their passion out of this world. Purpose is the buzzword of this millennium. What’s my purpose? is not a new question. However, with the advent of social media, the popularity of life coaches, and the phrase “be a happy quitter” floating around, it seems like everyone is pursuing their purpose. In order to pursue your passion in a Godly fashion, your purpose must be aligned to God’s purpose for your life. Your gifting is not your purpose. Gifts and calling come without repentance. God is not going to use a vessel that is in direct opposition of what He wants to do. Nevertheless, He equips every vessel with what they need to function. I am a writer and I am passionate about writing. I declared at the age of four that I would write a book and I have been writing ever since. But God’s purpose for me is not to just fill pages with words—His purpose for me and for you is more expansive than that and in order to experience full joy on the pathway to pursuing your passion your purpose has to be aligned with God’s. What’s Your Why? What do you believe your purpose is? What is it that you believe must be accomplished through the work that you do? Before you say, It’s not that deep, I just want to write a book or start a knitting class, let me tell you about a boutique owner who was crushing the game with her expensive merchandise and winning souls for Christ—Lydia the seller of purple. The few lines in the Bible that make mention of her offer us a master class in branding, but for right now let’s stick to gifting, passion, and purpose. “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us” (Acts 16:14-15). Lydia sold purple, which was an expensive material at the time. She was basically like the Diane Von Furstenberg of her day. If she sold an expensive product, her customers had to be the government officials, priest, and the affluent of that time. Yet she was a worshipper of God. When the Lord opened her heart, the earnings from her great entrepreneurial business became the means by which she was willing to support Paul and other early Christians by using her home as a place for them to stay. Paul returned to her home after being released from jail. Lydia took her gifting and used it to help and strengthen her fellow brethren. That is the purpose of our gifts as Paul explains in Ephesians, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). You do not have to be a preacher in a pulpit or a Sunday school teacher to operate in your gift and give it away. Jesus preached everywhere He went and taught everywhere He sat. The purpose of your gift is to draw men and women into the body of Christ or strengthen those that are already in the body. If you’re not using your gift to do one or the other, if the pursuit of your passion isn’t helping someone else see God’s majesty and glory—you’re not doing it the Godly way. You’re doing things your own way. Prayer One of the great things about serving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is unlike an earthly king who will sentence you to death when you go against his decree, God gives us another chance. Use this prayer to open up a dialogue between you and Him. Use this prayer to get your purpose aligned with His purpose for your life and life’s work. I bow before You, O Lord, the sovereign God who reigns over this earth and the heavens, whose purpose cannot be thwarted. Please hear my heart’s cry and look upon my misguided estate. I confess that I have boasted in my own works and placed my will, my desire, and purpose for my life far above Yours. There have been times that my own gain and the plans I have prepared took precedence over winning souls for Your kingdom and strengthening my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please remember, O Lord, the plans and thoughts of peace that You have for me. Open up Yourself to me, my Father, because You have said that when I seek You with my whole heart I will find You. I beg You, O God, to be attentive to my prayer. I want Your peace, Lord. I don’t want to be found outside of Your will, having my own righteousness, because I know I will not be able to stand. Don’t allow my passions to lead me away from Your purpose for my life and my gift. Please reconcile the longing and desire in my heart with Your work, Your will, and Your purpose for my life. I want to be a light for You and fully aligned with Your purpose, both now and for evermore. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Use the space below to create your own prayer for Alignment of Purpose. Address God using an attribute of who He is. Confess your sins. What actions have you committed in this area of your life against His word? Remind God of a promise He has made in the word of God concerning His will or purpose. State your petition. What is it that you want God to do with you, to you, or through you to help you get aligned with his purpose? About Nigeria...Nigeria Lockley possesses two Master's degrees, one in English Secondary Education, the other is in Creative Writing. Born at Dawn, Nigeria’s first novel won the 2015 Phillis Wheatley Award for First Fiction. Seasoned with Grace, her second novel received favorable reviews in Publisher's Weekly. After achieving every author's dream - a coveted publishing deal and then losing it, she launched Inheritance Books and transformed into the passion and purpose pusher. Now she works viciously to not only share her faith in her writing, but to ensure that every Christian creative and entrepreneur she comes in contact with is prepared to #getyourInheritance. Sales link: http://gum.co/PYPGF Contact Nigeria: www.nigerialockely.com Instagram: wwww.instagram.com/NewNigeria Fb: www.facebook.com/AuthorNigeriaLockley Thanks for joining us for March Inspirations! Please leave a comment below, Nigeria would love to hear from you, and you will be entered into today's giveaway!
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Inspirational women's fiction author, writing the script to my beautifully inspired life! Be Inspired, Follow Me!Archives
June 2019
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