Our world is such a persuasive place. Everywhere we turn, something or someone is
trying to convince us, sell us something, change our opinion, or get us to join
them. It can be overwhelming to think
for yourself and shut all the battling opinions out. It is even more difficult to seek silence and
listen to the Holy Spirit speak truth to power.
It is so easy to let the noise overcome us and be brainwashed by the
screaming voice of the world.
We must remember to guard our hearts and minds against
the ungodly influences of the world. We
must live in the world, but not be of the world. We must participate in community, be guiding
lights in the world, be advocates, protectors, protesters, empathizers, and defenders; but
God should always be our guideline, our moral compass, and our biggest
influence.
It is not God’s desire for us to be hermits who are
oblivious to what is going on. Knowledge
is power. Yeshua (Jesus) told us in
Matthew 10:16, “"I am
sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and
as innocent as doves.” We are
know the street, but not be in the street! We are to be social activist,
spiritual leaders, economic powers, and simply extraordinary people to be around. People should be drawn to the light within us
and we should always walk among all people, regardless of their cultural or socioeconomic
lot in life, so that light can be seen.
Romans 12:2 which tell us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Conformity to the world deteriorates the soul. Death is its only reward. Our minds must be locked on God so that we
can discern the will of God in our lives.
This will prevent confusion and feeling hopelessly lost. For our purpose on this earth is to live an
abundant life that is obedient to the will of God.
The human body is such a fragile thing. It doesn’t seem like it when everything works as it should or until you are faced with
the idea of your life being changed forever. It can be taken for granted that we will always see or walk or dance or be able to take care of ourselves. Youth
makes us feel invincible. Middle age makes us feel confident and
comfortable. Then there is the winter of life when deep reflection takes
place.Where do the years go?
My mother injured herself this week and it dawned on me
that she is elderly now. She’s a
beautiful woman whose face looks a decade and a half younger than she her
seventy four years. I call her vampire because she looks exactly the same in
all of her pictures. There is a family
picture circa 1978-1980 where her looks are indistinguishable from today! My mom truly proves that black don’t
crack.
She is always out and about doing activities
from art to exercise, from church to babysitting. She loves shopping, and is always involved in family business. Because she is always so busy, I never
stopped to realize that she is getting up in age. When I saw her unable to help herself, I
wondered, how did mom get old that quickly?
When the paramedics rushed her to the hospital, the worst possible scenarios
entered my mind. My heart almost
stopped. I don’t know what I would do if
my mother was no longer a part of this world.
She is the rock of my family. She
is love personified. Not only does she
depend on us, we all depend on her. I
can’t even conceive of a world existing without her. I praise God that she was released from the
hospital. Now, we have to keep watch
over her and make sure that she does not injure herself again, and that we keep
her in our prayers and support her as she faces impending surgeries.
Times like this I have to take a deep breath and trust
that God knows what is best for us all and that everything will work according
to God’s purpose. That is the only peace
that I can stomach at the moment. I pray
that God will heal my mother completely and grant her many healthy happy years
to come. I look to Jeremiah 17:14 which says, “Heal me, LORD, and I will be
healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” I ask that God heal her and save her in every
possible way a person can be saved. I also look to Psalms 30:2 which says, “O Lord my
God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.” Lord I cry to you for help at this moment and
I ask that you hear me and heal my mother. For your son
Yeshua said to the ailing woman, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in
peace.” (Luke 8:48). I ask that the Lord
extend the same proclamation to my mother. We all have faith that there is nothing impossible with God. Now is the time to utilize this faith and keep our outlook completelypositive. I do not know what the future may hold, but I know that God will get us
through it. Faith, hope, love, I’m
depending on all three of these to help God’s spirit to move. Keep us in prayer and remember to love hard and live free!
We look around the world and see all
the suffering, pain, joblessness, broken hearts, violence, abuse, neglect,
injustice, racism, sexism, perversion, and frustration. We ask, why God? Why do you allow so much ugliness to exist? Why does a good God allow so much evil to
prevail? Why don’t you intervene and
help us? Why do you leave us to our own
understandings, misguided plans, and flawed thinking? Why God? Why?
The apostle Paul answered this
question perfectly in Romans 1. Paul explains
how we have abandoned God so God has given us over to ourselves. Paul explains how we traded creation for
creator, how we put our perversions over what is natural, how we not only revel
in dysfunction, we teach others to be dysfunctional as well. Romans 1:28-31 says, “And
since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased
mind and to things that should not be done.They
were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips,slanderers, God-haters, insolent,
haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents,foolish, faithless, heartless,
ruthless.”
The sad truth is, it is us who have corrupted
the world and it is us who have the ability to set things right by turning back
to God. God has given us all choices and
unfortunately our choices can affect the lives of others. We all are a part of the circle of life. We can do good or evil. We can help or
hurt. We can uplift of tear down. Everything we do affects those around us. EVERYTHING!
Evil can pour over into a good life and
leave destruction in its wake. Good can
bring light into a life of darkness and change the path of the hopeless to the
hopeful. Our actions matter. Our words matter. Our thoughts matter. If we want our world to be a better place, we
have to become better people. We’re in
this together. The unity of humanity is
our saving grace. God commissioned us to
love one another. It is impossible to
love God if we can’t love each other. 1 John 20-21 says, “If someone
says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one
who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not
seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God
should love his brother also.” It is impossible to please God if we live
destructive, unproductive, maladjusted lives.
It is not God’s desire for us to suffer.
Contrary to false religion that teaches that there is nothing good about
this life, God wants us to be happy while we’re still on this earth! Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and
have it abundantly.” God sent Jesus to
teach us that God wants us to have an abundant life, a happy life, a good
life. We must take responsibility
for ourselves and live in a way that is pleasing to God.
God is not hard to please.
We make it hard. It takes less
energy to be happy than it does to be sad.
It takes less effort to be kind than it does to be hateful. It’s easier to forgive than to hold a
grudge. God did not make us to torture
us. Every temptation, struggle, or
weakness we have can be overcome. We are
not deficient creatures. We are
beautifully and wonderfully made; mini-gods created in the image of God! Psalms 82: 6 says, “I said, "You are
gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” We are intelligent spiritual beings blessed
with freewill. We are the masters of our
own fates.
We must remember that God is not some tyrant that makes us
compete to get to heaven or live in fear of hell every moment of every
day. To please God means to love God
truly and to love people. It means to
wake up each day in gratitude for life.
It means to forgive, nurture, and grow in God’s divine goodness each
day. It means that the fruit of our
faith should be nourishment to all around us.
We are imperfect, but we should always strive for perfection. Be holy because God is holy. Be forgiving because God is forgiving. Love each other like God loves us. Leave the judging to God and only give
meaningful correction. When we are weak,
we must lean on the one who is able to keep us from falling. We are never ever alone!
This is our world to heal!
Let’s love God, love hard, and live free! Be a blessing!
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we fail
ourselves. We give into our base natures
and temptations. We fall into the wanton
arms of the forbidden and many times take deep pleasure in its embrace. We find ourselves like Paul who says in Romans
7:15, “I do not understand
my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” With each
kiss, sniff, swallow, spoonful, or violent outburst, our sins wrap more and
more chains around our bodies. Our eyes
become dimmer to the light and we begin to relish the darkness. We seek the very things that are eating us
from the inside out like a copious cancer.
At times, our sins are looming over us screaming like
banshees making our heads thunder with every thought of our indiscretions. Guilt suffocates us until we are aching and
begging not to draw breath. Our
weaknesses can sometimes overthrow us.
Our addictions to food, drugs, sex, drama, or whatever vice that we secretly
savor cripple us from walking in our divine purpose. At these times, it is important to humble ourselves
before God and ask for our hearts to be made right. Jesus tells us in Mark 14:38 and Matt. 26:41
that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak so we must plead for
forgiveness and be truthful about our short comings.
God does not desire for us to walk around being bruised and beaten by guilt nor does God want us to give into things that will eventually destroy us. God is a God of second, third, and fiftieth chances! God wants us to grow stronger and to be better people. We were created to be more than conquerors. True repentance and transformation is the way to conquer the things that make us weak. When we are able to face the mirror and look
at ourselves in our true imperfect glory, this is when God gives us the ability
to do better. This is the first step to
transformation. It is the first step to conquering the sins that enthrall us. If we come to God and ask for a clean heart
and a right spirit, God will not deny our request. We will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit so
that we will be able to walk away from the negative things that call to our vulnerable
flesh.
When I am overcome by my weaknesses, I find strength in
Psalm 51. It is a prayer of pure humility
and an earnest pleading for forgiveness and redemption. There is no greater prayer that a repentant
heart can utter. Psalm 51 helps me to
center myself and to really prostrate my heart before God. I realize that during praying this prayer
that I am loved unconditionally and that no sin is too great to not be forgiven. I also realize that I have power over sin,
that I am the master of my own fate, and that I have to want God to help change
my heart. I hope this prayer will help you find peace for your souls. Remember to love hard and live free!
Psalm
51 1 Have
mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash
me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For
I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against
you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgement. 5 Indeed,
I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6 You
desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let
me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide
your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create
in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right* spirit
within me. 11 Do
not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore
to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing* spirit. 13 Then
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver
me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 15 O Lord,
open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For
you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt-offering, you would not be pleased. 17 The
sacrifice acceptable to God* is
a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not
despise. 18 Do
good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 19 then
you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt-offerings and whole burnt-offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar. (NRSV) http://bible.oremus.org/
Sometimes in life we are backed into a corner. Every bill is due. Creditors are snapping at
our heels. The repo man is circling our
block. The bank is threatening to take
our home. Maybe our problems aren’t financial. We are emotionally or physically overwhelmed
or have a spiritual deficit. Happiness is always out of reach. Whatever it
is, it seems that we do not have enough to keep the stresses of life at
bay. When these moments come, we must
learn to use what we have, and have faith that God will make ends meet.
When we read about a widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7 who goes to
the prophet Elisha in desperation because a creditor is threatening to enslave
her children because of her late husband’s debt, we see a woman who knows the
power of God. Instead of hustling on the
street; instead of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul; instead of selling her
sons, instead of stealing or killing, she took her problem to God and consulted
the prophet Elisha. Elisha asked her
what she had of value in her home. She
had nothing to her name but a jar of oil. The prophet tells her to go ask her neighbors
for empty jars and go lock herself and her boys into her house. Without protest, questions, doubt, or
hesitation, the lady did as she is told and the jar of oil multiplied until it
filled up every borrowed jar. She sold the oil and paid her debt. Faith and
obedience brought her from ducking and dodging to debt free!
When life has us teetering on the edge of a cliff, we
must know that we serve a God who is able to set our feet upon stable
ground. We have to learn to use what
little we have and trust God that it will be enough. Jesus told us not to worry because if God
takes care of birds and flowers God will certainly take care of us. If we seek God first, all things will be
provided for. It doesn’t matter if we
can’t see it or feel it at the time. All
we have to do is believe that God can and will fill our jars, increase our oil,
multiply our possessions so we will always make due. Keep the faith and continue to be fruitful and productive.
Strive perpetually. Have a healthy happy blessed new year!
There are times when God seems completely silent. We feel abandoned. Our prayers go
unanswered. Confusion and indecision encompasses
us. Doubt and despair fills us. We
scream, “Speak Lord!” and there is still silence. We feel so far from God that our very faith
seems foolish.
We must learn to accept silence at times. In a word of noise, that is difficult to do,
but sometimes God works in silence.
Sometimes silence is God’s verdict, and we refuse to accept that the
answer is simply no.
When Jesus trembled with fear in the garden of Gethsemane,
he knew that his life was coming to the end.
He was depressed and frightened. The
realization that he was going to be tortured and killed filled him with
dread. Jesus asked God to change his
fate. God was silent. Jesus asked again
to be delivered from mortal torment. Face to the ground, prostrate before the
throne of God, eyes filled with tears, sweat drenching his body, Jesus asked
that his bitter cup be taken away. God
again did not answer. Jesus prayed
thrice and thrice the result was the same.
God did not answer because God’s decision was final. Jesus was to be the great sacrifice. Crucifixion was a certainty. There was no way
around this. Jesus did not curse the
Father, but Jesus accepted his fate and said he would obey God’s will not his
own. (See Matt. 26:36-46)
When God does not answer, it does not mean that God does
not hear. Sometimes God’s will is not
our own. When this occurs, we must accept
the will of God and let the cards fall where they may. This is hard to swallow for many, but life is
not all about what we want. We have to
realize that the will of God, the greater good, consequences for our actions,
and life choices can outweigh what we think we may deserve. Therefore, we must
remember to keep the faith when we can clearly hear the voice of God and also keep
the faith when we think our prayers are falling on deaf ears.
God is always with us and always will be. Learn to let
God’s will be done because “we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
May the peace of the Christ, the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, and the grace of God always rest upon you. Be blessed and remember to
love hard and live free!
Don’t allow people to dictate your life. As long as you are living according to the
Word of God, you are just fine.
Sometimes people like to criticize your personal beliefs, the way you
worship, or your worldview. If the light
of God shines through you and it is evident by the way you live your life, the
opinions of others are irrelevant. If
you love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love others as yourself,
you are doing the will of God. Yeshua (Jesus) said all of the commandments are built upon these two things.
The world will always find something to criticize. Keep in mind that Yeshua (Jesus) was accused
of having a demon (Matt. 12:24, John 7:20, John 8:48-19),
being crazy (Mark 3:20, John 10:19-20), andbeing a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). The religious leaders of the day called him
blasphemous (John 10:33). Yeshua (Jesus) didn’t
worry about the doctrines of the day or what was popular. A matter of fact, I would steer away from
what the masses think is popular because Yeshua (Jesus) warned that broad is the entrance
and wide path that leads to damnation (Matthew 7:13).
So walk proudly in communion with God. You are unique and so is your relationship
with God. God created you as you are. As
long as you are living in harmony with the Holy Spirit, love hard and live
free!
