Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Firts To Thy Own Self Be True
Most of us are living a charade. We spend 90% of our time convincing others what we are - that which we are not.
To keep it all from falling apart or the truth from being revealed, we compound the pretense daily. Those who do this become so proficient at it until they themselves are lost in their own lies. They loose who they really are and they are unable to find themselves through the many weaves of deception.
Why do we feel the need to pretend; to put on the proverbial mask before those who are lost as well? We are afraid to allow who we really are to be seen or heard. This world is like a crowded room and we are conversing constantly with others but we are still alone.
When we are called upon to demonstrate that which we claim to be, we fall short, drastically short. Those who look upon us and see us as leaders or examples then are left wondering what and who is truly real.
Rest assure that all will be revealed in time. There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. If we allow God to use us as he will, we will become as an open book before men so that they will know that the power is of God and not of us. Lets not be afraid of who or what we are. We are what we are for a reason. God can and will use you just as you are if you submit yourself to him.
To keep it all from falling apart or the truth from being revealed, we compound the pretense daily. Those who do this become so proficient at it until they themselves are lost in their own lies. They loose who they really are and they are unable to find themselves through the many weaves of deception.
Why do we feel the need to pretend; to put on the proverbial mask before those who are lost as well? We are afraid to allow who we really are to be seen or heard. This world is like a crowded room and we are conversing constantly with others but we are still alone.
When we are called upon to demonstrate that which we claim to be, we fall short, drastically short. Those who look upon us and see us as leaders or examples then are left wondering what and who is truly real.
Rest assure that all will be revealed in time. There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. If we allow God to use us as he will, we will become as an open book before men so that they will know that the power is of God and not of us. Lets not be afraid of who or what we are. We are what we are for a reason. God can and will use you just as you are if you submit yourself to him.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Is There A Chip On Your Shoulder
When ministering in the kingdom of God, doing God’s work (spreading the gospel), it is important to do it with a single heart and mind, Acts 2:46; remain focus on the task-the gospel. Are we preaching from hurt to convince the people of God or are we preach from faith and conviction and allowing the word of God to do its work?
Things happened to all of us throughout our lives and we all will make mistakes because we are imperfect beings. We have not reach perfection in Jesus but we do strive daily. As Paul states, Phil. 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. As Paul states, we must let go of our hurts and disappointments and let God take care of them and do his will despite how we feel. Being that living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) is enduring that which we have went through or suffered rather it was for the kingdom of God or if it was for something that we have done on our own. This is what Jesus meant when he stated in his teaching, Mark 8:34 “…let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Whatever issues we had and still dealing with, we must pick those things up and follow hard after God. He will not remove everything out of our lives so we can be trouble free. When Paul inquire of God many times about the thorn in his flesh, he wanted God to remove it so - he believe – to become a better servant for Christ, 2 Cor. 12:7-10. Jesus response to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness”. Through our struggles in life and with all our inconsistencies, God is able to use us in his will and show himself mighty. Why? “Because we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us 2 Cor 4:7. When God uses us, the glory will go to him because we know and other know that we ourselves are not capable of doing the miracles of God ourselves in the state that we are in (sinful).
It takes a lot to do what is not in our nature to do which is to do selfless service despite how we feel and what we are going through. It takes daily practice. This is the will of God for man to show love and kindness towards others- John 13:34&35 . This is how others will know that God is love because we are able to show love to one another.
Many of us are going around doing “the will of God” with ‘a chip on our shoulder’. We carry our hurt and disappointments into the ministry and preach from that hurt or disappointment instead of from the will of God. What should come out of our mouths for edification for the saints, (Eph. 4:11&12) is causing separation and destruction among the churches and followers of Christ. Just because we were done wrong does not mean we need to persuade others to adopt the same attitude towards God or towards others as we do. Through it all, we must preach love, salvation, grace… We must demonstrate the fruits of the spirit at all time, (Gal. 5:21&22) in our walk in the gospel of Jesus the Christ.
Yes it is hard and no one never said it would be easy, but if Jesus who came down as a man and did it as an example unto us all, so can we with the power of his spirit living in us, The comforter. The Holy Ghost, (John 14:26).
Things happened to all of us throughout our lives and we all will make mistakes because we are imperfect beings. We have not reach perfection in Jesus but we do strive daily. As Paul states, Phil. 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. As Paul states, we must let go of our hurts and disappointments and let God take care of them and do his will despite how we feel. Being that living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) is enduring that which we have went through or suffered rather it was for the kingdom of God or if it was for something that we have done on our own. This is what Jesus meant when he stated in his teaching, Mark 8:34 “…let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Whatever issues we had and still dealing with, we must pick those things up and follow hard after God. He will not remove everything out of our lives so we can be trouble free. When Paul inquire of God many times about the thorn in his flesh, he wanted God to remove it so - he believe – to become a better servant for Christ, 2 Cor. 12:7-10. Jesus response to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness”. Through our struggles in life and with all our inconsistencies, God is able to use us in his will and show himself mighty. Why? “Because we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us 2 Cor 4:7. When God uses us, the glory will go to him because we know and other know that we ourselves are not capable of doing the miracles of God ourselves in the state that we are in (sinful).
It takes a lot to do what is not in our nature to do which is to do selfless service despite how we feel and what we are going through. It takes daily practice. This is the will of God for man to show love and kindness towards others- John 13:34&35 . This is how others will know that God is love because we are able to show love to one another.
Many of us are going around doing “the will of God” with ‘a chip on our shoulder’. We carry our hurt and disappointments into the ministry and preach from that hurt or disappointment instead of from the will of God. What should come out of our mouths for edification for the saints, (Eph. 4:11&12) is causing separation and destruction among the churches and followers of Christ. Just because we were done wrong does not mean we need to persuade others to adopt the same attitude towards God or towards others as we do. Through it all, we must preach love, salvation, grace… We must demonstrate the fruits of the spirit at all time, (Gal. 5:21&22) in our walk in the gospel of Jesus the Christ.
Yes it is hard and no one never said it would be easy, but if Jesus who came down as a man and did it as an example unto us all, so can we with the power of his spirit living in us, The comforter. The Holy Ghost, (John 14:26).
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
THE CAPACITY TO FORGIVE
Grace
Having the ability to forgive or the willingness to forgive requires sacrifice of one’s self. For us to forgive those who wrong us even when we think we are right requires us to sacrifice our egos and our own righteousness in order to have peace and go on. If we insist on holding on to our own rightness, we will find ourselves standing alone-cast away. Having the capacity or physical/mental ability to forgive takes more than what we all are born with.
Lets look at the grace of God towards men. In Rom. 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is a God that still loved us even when we did not love him or his son. His own creation does not want to acknowledge him, (taking prayer out of schools and the ten commandments out of court houses, and wanting to remove ” In God We Trust” from our currency). We don’t want to remind ourselves of what we are and what we are not. His own creation does not accept him. His own creation rejects him. How you say? In our day to day walk in this life that he gave us, we don’t give him thanks for it; 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. We don’t accept what he has done for us on the cross through his son Jesus - if we did, we would not go around walking in condemnation (not forgiving ourselves for what we have done); Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after flesh, but after the spirit. This means that we walk after Christ, accept his sacrifice on the cross as payment for all that we have done and will do. That is the spiritual walk. Walking after the flesh is not accepting the payment for your sins and thinking in our own minds that we cannot be forgiven. 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. When we accept Jesus as our savior, the one who paid the price on the cross for our sins, we are like a new creation born all over again. A new start if you will.
We reject the idea of a higher power and attribute our success to our own strength and knowledge. With this in mind, God could easily destroy what he have created and have no more dealings with man. But, he didn’t. He continues to strive with his creation and continue to have patients and grace. Why? Why does a God that is so powerful continue to strive with creatures that became so fallible because of our own disobedience?
To answer this question, we must understand who we are and why we were made. God made man simply for his pleasure; to have a being to commune with. (The bible talks about how God walk in the garden with Adam daily just to talk with him.) He made man to have a being that would appreciate who he is and what he is able to do; to “show off” his powers; Someone to know their place in divine order and give reverence where it is due willingly; Someone that wants to love him for who he is – for what he is capable of doing. He wants someone to show his love to. That is me and you. This is the God I serve.
Looking at what men have done and continue to do towards God, to his Son and to one another, and him not destroying us all at the wink of an eye or with just the blow of his breath – shows us his infinite and confounding grace and mercy.
See this grace and mercy by him giving his son to pay for what we have done and will continue to do is a humbling and mind blowing thing. So why can’t we forgive those around us who do us wrong? Why can’t we forgive those who “step on our toes” or “stab us in the back”. We are so petty with our ways. The reason why we cannot forgive or will not forgive is because we believe that we have our own righteousness. We think what we do is right. There is only one way and that is Gods way. There is no limit to forgiveness. Peter questioned God about how many times should he forgive his brother that sin against him or did him wrong; shall he forgive seven times. Jesus replies not till seven times but seventy times seven (Mat. 18:21&22). Jesus was simply saying that there is no limit to forgiveness if you have the heart of God and walking in his ways. Just as he forgave us continually, so shall we forgive others. Jesus spoke a parable in Luke 16:1-8 about an unjust Steward how he own a dept to his master that he could not pay so he went out to collect from those who were under him. He asks them what they owe and told them to write down less of what they owed and then pay him. By him doing this, his master forgave his depts.
Having the ability to forgive is a rare jewel and one worth finding. It will give you the freedom to live life without limits. Also the ability to accept forgiveness is jewel as well. Start today right now and release those that have done you wrong and accept the forgiveness of others. Accept the forgiveness of Jesus when he died on the cross for us all. When you do, you will be able to live a life without boundaries.
Having the ability to forgive or the willingness to forgive requires sacrifice of one’s self. For us to forgive those who wrong us even when we think we are right requires us to sacrifice our egos and our own righteousness in order to have peace and go on. If we insist on holding on to our own rightness, we will find ourselves standing alone-cast away. Having the capacity or physical/mental ability to forgive takes more than what we all are born with.
Lets look at the grace of God towards men. In Rom. 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is a God that still loved us even when we did not love him or his son. His own creation does not want to acknowledge him, (taking prayer out of schools and the ten commandments out of court houses, and wanting to remove ” In God We Trust” from our currency). We don’t want to remind ourselves of what we are and what we are not. His own creation does not accept him. His own creation rejects him. How you say? In our day to day walk in this life that he gave us, we don’t give him thanks for it; 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. We don’t accept what he has done for us on the cross through his son Jesus - if we did, we would not go around walking in condemnation (not forgiving ourselves for what we have done); Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after flesh, but after the spirit. This means that we walk after Christ, accept his sacrifice on the cross as payment for all that we have done and will do. That is the spiritual walk. Walking after the flesh is not accepting the payment for your sins and thinking in our own minds that we cannot be forgiven. 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. When we accept Jesus as our savior, the one who paid the price on the cross for our sins, we are like a new creation born all over again. A new start if you will.
We reject the idea of a higher power and attribute our success to our own strength and knowledge. With this in mind, God could easily destroy what he have created and have no more dealings with man. But, he didn’t. He continues to strive with his creation and continue to have patients and grace. Why? Why does a God that is so powerful continue to strive with creatures that became so fallible because of our own disobedience?
To answer this question, we must understand who we are and why we were made. God made man simply for his pleasure; to have a being to commune with. (The bible talks about how God walk in the garden with Adam daily just to talk with him.) He made man to have a being that would appreciate who he is and what he is able to do; to “show off” his powers; Someone to know their place in divine order and give reverence where it is due willingly; Someone that wants to love him for who he is – for what he is capable of doing. He wants someone to show his love to. That is me and you. This is the God I serve.
Looking at what men have done and continue to do towards God, to his Son and to one another, and him not destroying us all at the wink of an eye or with just the blow of his breath – shows us his infinite and confounding grace and mercy.
See this grace and mercy by him giving his son to pay for what we have done and will continue to do is a humbling and mind blowing thing. So why can’t we forgive those around us who do us wrong? Why can’t we forgive those who “step on our toes” or “stab us in the back”. We are so petty with our ways. The reason why we cannot forgive or will not forgive is because we believe that we have our own righteousness. We think what we do is right. There is only one way and that is Gods way. There is no limit to forgiveness. Peter questioned God about how many times should he forgive his brother that sin against him or did him wrong; shall he forgive seven times. Jesus replies not till seven times but seventy times seven (Mat. 18:21&22). Jesus was simply saying that there is no limit to forgiveness if you have the heart of God and walking in his ways. Just as he forgave us continually, so shall we forgive others. Jesus spoke a parable in Luke 16:1-8 about an unjust Steward how he own a dept to his master that he could not pay so he went out to collect from those who were under him. He asks them what they owe and told them to write down less of what they owed and then pay him. By him doing this, his master forgave his depts.
Having the ability to forgive is a rare jewel and one worth finding. It will give you the freedom to live life without limits. Also the ability to accept forgiveness is jewel as well. Start today right now and release those that have done you wrong and accept the forgiveness of others. Accept the forgiveness of Jesus when he died on the cross for us all. When you do, you will be able to live a life without boundaries.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Co-dependence:
* A "codependent" can be loosely defined as someone who exhibits too much, and often inappropriate, caring for persons who depend on him or her. A "codependent" is one side of a relationship between mutually needy people.
* The dependent, (members of the church) or obviously needy party(s) may have emotional, physical, financial difficulties, or addictions they seemingly are unable to surmount.
* The "codependent" party, (leader) exhibits behavior which controls, makes excuses for, pities, and takes other actions to perpetuate the obviously needy party's condition, because of their desire to be needed and fear of doing anything that would change the relationship.
* A common usage of the term is that codependency occurs when enabling addiction, taking care of another person in a way that is not healthy in the long run to either that person or themselves, or both. (wikipedia.org)
("Are you encased in a world of codependency, where you have to be needed by someone who needs you to be constantly under his thumb? Does your perpetrator know how to push your buttons to get you to do what he wants? Have you ever felt like a victim simply because you do not know how to stand on your own two feet?") (wikipedia.org)
Have the churches, (leaders in the church) gotten to the point of codependency? Have we, the dependent ones given up our own freedom that God has given to us through Jesus Christ? Have we failed to keep our eyes on Christ when we are going through?
These questions and more could be asked to ascertain the condition of the churches of today.
Leaders/preachers have fostered this type of behavior by feeding of the emotion or action of its members. They feel the need to fix things that are not working like it should or like they think it should. So instead of guiding the focus of the people to God for their help, they are inadvertently causing their members to seek them for answers for their problems from Sunday to Sunday or from sermon to sermon.
The job of a minister of any type of leader in a “church” is to enlighten (edify, Eph. 4:11&12) the people through the word of God so that they themselves can see the path to Jesus and seek him for their help. In his word he states that “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” John 14:6.
The people must be lead to God and not man. This is discipleship. This is what Christ called us to do. Some of us are standing in-between people and God and God will not stand for it any longer. Humble yourselves and allow the people to see God and not you. Spare your own life in the process and those that follow you.
* The dependent, (members of the church) or obviously needy party(s) may have emotional, physical, financial difficulties, or addictions they seemingly are unable to surmount.
* The "codependent" party, (leader) exhibits behavior which controls, makes excuses for, pities, and takes other actions to perpetuate the obviously needy party's condition, because of their desire to be needed and fear of doing anything that would change the relationship.
* A common usage of the term is that codependency occurs when enabling addiction, taking care of another person in a way that is not healthy in the long run to either that person or themselves, or both. (wikipedia.org)
("Are you encased in a world of codependency, where you have to be needed by someone who needs you to be constantly under his thumb? Does your perpetrator know how to push your buttons to get you to do what he wants? Have you ever felt like a victim simply because you do not know how to stand on your own two feet?") (wikipedia.org)
Have the churches, (leaders in the church) gotten to the point of codependency? Have we, the dependent ones given up our own freedom that God has given to us through Jesus Christ? Have we failed to keep our eyes on Christ when we are going through?
These questions and more could be asked to ascertain the condition of the churches of today.
Leaders/preachers have fostered this type of behavior by feeding of the emotion or action of its members. They feel the need to fix things that are not working like it should or like they think it should. So instead of guiding the focus of the people to God for their help, they are inadvertently causing their members to seek them for answers for their problems from Sunday to Sunday or from sermon to sermon.
The job of a minister of any type of leader in a “church” is to enlighten (edify, Eph. 4:11&12) the people through the word of God so that they themselves can see the path to Jesus and seek him for their help. In his word he states that “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” John 14:6.
The people must be lead to God and not man. This is discipleship. This is what Christ called us to do. Some of us are standing in-between people and God and God will not stand for it any longer. Humble yourselves and allow the people to see God and not you. Spare your own life in the process and those that follow you.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
PROPHECY
Prophecy - Having the ability given by God to speak a future event; To have a vision of future events.
· Prophecy that is given by God when it is dealing with a blessing is a mental picture of what is to come. That picture is a seed of hope planted in us by the words spoken by a prophet or any child of God being used at that time.
· Yes it shall come to pass because it was foretold. In between speaking and having the mental picture to the physical manifestation of that prophecy, there will be obstacles and trials that will and must come to try and destroy that seed that was planted. Some trials come to help usher in the prophecy of God.
· We have a job to do when a prophecy is spoken over or into our lives.
- To further explain prophecy as a seed… -
· Before planting a watermelon seed, when we first buy the packet of seeds, there is a picture of what the outcome or final product will be. It does not state in details what difficulties that will occur in the process of the development
of that fruit. It does tell you how to plant that seed correctly in the right type of soil. It also tells you how much water, fertilize and sun it needs for it to grow. It also tells you that it needs to be cross pollinated in order for it to produce a fruit; (The word of God talks about the engrafted word of God and he states that if his word abide in you and we in him, we shall ask what we will and he will give it to us). Cross pollination is essential because it gives one flower something it was lacking in order for it to produce that fruit (prophecy).
· Prophecy is the picture of that watermelon on the seed packet. Once you see that picture, it places a mental picture in you and you hope towards that end results. That is the seed with in you, (hope/faith). Many trials and tribulation will come to make us think the seed will not prosper or develop. Disease might come, drought, storm and pestilent will come. But if we constantly tend to the seed/plant as it grows in us by applying the correct medicine; by applying prayer (sun), fasting (water), and reading the word of God (fertilizer), The seed or plant will eventually produce its intended fruit. Prophecy will come true.
· We can sterilize our own seed or kill our own plant or prophecy by allowing doubt (seed or weed) to over run the seed of hope (faith); tribulation (storm) to drown out our fertile ground; famine or lack of finances (drought) to cause our seed to wither away.
· These things must come and try our seed (faith), to see if it can weather the storms of life.
· These trials, if we stand, will make for an even better harvest when it is time to reap.
Hold on to your prophecy that God has given you. You shall reap if you faint not.
· Prophecy that is given by God when it is dealing with a blessing is a mental picture of what is to come. That picture is a seed of hope planted in us by the words spoken by a prophet or any child of God being used at that time.
· Yes it shall come to pass because it was foretold. In between speaking and having the mental picture to the physical manifestation of that prophecy, there will be obstacles and trials that will and must come to try and destroy that seed that was planted. Some trials come to help usher in the prophecy of God.
· We have a job to do when a prophecy is spoken over or into our lives.
- To further explain prophecy as a seed… -
· Before planting a watermelon seed, when we first buy the packet of seeds, there is a picture of what the outcome or final product will be. It does not state in details what difficulties that will occur in the process of the development
of that fruit. It does tell you how to plant that seed correctly in the right type of soil. It also tells you how much water, fertilize and sun it needs for it to grow. It also tells you that it needs to be cross pollinated in order for it to produce a fruit; (The word of God talks about the engrafted word of God and he states that if his word abide in you and we in him, we shall ask what we will and he will give it to us). Cross pollination is essential because it gives one flower something it was lacking in order for it to produce that fruit (prophecy).· Prophecy is the picture of that watermelon on the seed packet. Once you see that picture, it places a mental picture in you and you hope towards that end results. That is the seed with in you, (hope/faith). Many trials and tribulation will come to make us think the seed will not prosper or develop. Disease might come, drought, storm and pestilent will come. But if we constantly tend to the seed/plant as it grows in us by applying the correct medicine; by applying prayer (sun), fasting (water), and reading the word of God (fertilizer), The seed or plant will eventually produce its intended fruit. Prophecy will come true.
· We can sterilize our own seed or kill our own plant or prophecy by allowing doubt (seed or weed) to over run the seed of hope (faith); tribulation (storm) to drown out our fertile ground; famine or lack of finances (drought) to cause our seed to wither away.
· These things must come and try our seed (faith), to see if it can weather the storms of life.
· These trials, if we stand, will make for an even better harvest when it is time to reap.
Hold on to your prophecy that God has given you. You shall reap if you faint not.
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