Writers 
First this write-up captures my personal experiences and lessons I have learnt through those seasons.
So I remember this particular season in my life when I was battling with lust, pornography and the likes.
So I decided to go for a confession and counselling session with my Papa (my spiritual father) before that spirit of lust finished my entire soul.😅
After I reached out to him and successfully scheduled a meeting, we concluded that I would come to his office the following day.
So with joy in my heart, it was the D-Day, and here I was seated at Papa's office confessing all my sins to him, especially how I had wasted 20 thousand naira data on porn sites.
The interesting part of everything began when Papa began to speak to me. Meanwhile, I had imagined how Papa would first begin by shouting at me, and probably open a scripture that talks about condemnation and hellfire if I don't sincerely repent.
I believe many of us can clearly relate to what I am saying and that is why we have a lot of people that are secretly sinking in their sinful lives. We imagine how people might judge, condemn and address our situation when we open up, even before we do so. But then it gets crazier when we prefer to keep quiet rather than opening up to the right source.
You, yes you that is feeling you can fight this battle of lust in silence, continue.😅
Meanwhile how Papa began to counsel me started outside scriptures. At some point I felt I had underrated my Papa because I could not believe he was this vast in knowledge.
Papa presented the mythologies of life in its light, from there we dissected into the biology of life. Papa presented the elements of the realities that are encompassed in our flesh. He showed me the frailty and fallacy that kisses our infirmities when we journey to fight in our own strength.
Meanwhile the nature of love, wisdom and understanding he brought to my hearing made me so bold and comfortable to open up. I entrusted myself to him more because of how he was addressing my case with so much simplicity, detail, and wisdom, and I could literally feel the love in his heart while he spoke to me.
That very day was the day I got to understand that love is one of the key and first points through which if a man expresses it, he can capture and restore every other soul that has faltered from God.
When we succeed in throwing tantrums, judgement, and condemnation to people that are very reluctant, ignorant and lost, we most times succeed in pushing people away from walking up to us with their deepest secrets.
There are people that judge themselves already. They begin to go far from God whenever they sin because they feel guilty and unworthy of Him. So imagine what someone does to themselves whenever they sin, how much harm do you think it will cause when they are now being judged by others?
Love is key because it captures the heart, and when the heart is captured it becomes easy for someone to be convicted by the Word of God, regardless of how painful the truth is being presented to them. When the heart is captured, repentance is not just possible, it starts becoming visible. The change first begins from the inside, then it reflects on the outside.
So when you position yourself to be an exception to loving all men genuinely, regardless of their reputable behaviour, you will make so much harvest when it comes to soul winning.
Sometimes it takes the inspiration of the Almighty to be able to build the right mannerism of how to present truth to someone in the dark. A friend of mine once said to me, "Every spiritual person must know how to effectively communicate." So also note that the random discussions you have with your friends, like how best you present solutions and address matters, determines who they will run to in the days when wisdom seems to be lacking.
As Papa kept talking to me, he said one word that rested so well in my heart.
Papa said, the reason why a lot of people choose to distance themselves from God and prefer to live in isolation whenever they fall short is because a good number of them want to feel so perfect before they can approach a perfect God who sees their imperfections. They never realize that as they go far from God, they continue to get drowned in their life of sin.
When you allow your emotions to become the driving factor that judges how you should live your spiritual life, you will end up being a victim of continuously falling short.
In the Gospels, the Bible shows us where Jesus spoke and said, "I did not come for the righteous, but I came for the sinners," those willing to accept repentance and the forgiveness of their sins. And we could clearly see how Jesus handled the cases of sinners that were reluctant, ignorant and completely lost to the world, like the case of the Samaritan woman, the case of Zacchaeus, the case of the adulterous woman, the case of the sinful woman that anointed Jesus' feet, the case of the thief on the cross, and so on.
Having a form of righteousness that is hauled up with religiosity is not what presents you worthy. Having a form of righteousness is not tested by our works but by our faith in God. Obedience to His instructions is what places you above the nature of the flesh and grants you the right standing to be called sons of God.
You cannot overcome this world when you have not been formed in His Word.
The difference between David and Saul was their heart posture. David was able to bring men that were battered, weak and indebted, to the cave of Adullam. David was not just able to fix them, he was able to forge them into becoming strong and valiant men. While Saul was focused on becoming the heart of the people and retaining the throne, David was focused on his devotion and was ready to build a generation of armies that will bring glory to God.
David was not a perfect man, but his perfection was built on God's Word. The posture of his heart, devotion and communion to God was genuine. He was indeed a righteous man.
You can be as righteous as anything, but deep down, you might be doing it to prove a point, not because you are truly after the souls and the salvation of men.
As I tie up this discourse, remember that you are not the one to tell yourself how God should love you. Yours is to follow Him faithfully in obedience and watch what becomes of your life in the end.
The Samaritan woman went into the city and testified, winning more souls to the Kingdom. Zacchaeus repented and gave back double of what he had taken from men. The adulterous woman was saved, forgiven and broken in heart. The sinful woman was forgiven, restored, and her act of brokenness helped Jesus to communicate a strong message to the teachers of the law, the religious men that knew better than others. The thief on the cross, despite being a sinner all his life, his act of repentance and faith in Jesus brought him to eternity.
So how far have you gone that you think God cannot fix you.
Jesus LOVES you beyond what you see or think of yourself.
@emd
