Saturday, June 19, 2010
What is inside of me?
Isn't easy sometimes to say its everyone else that is causing all of the problems for me? Or that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing but dang I just got bad luck? Man as a young college student I remember my pledging days....we used to recite a poem or a creed that simply said "Excuses are tools of the weak and incompetent, used to build monuments of nothing. People who specialize in them are seldom capable of achieving anything". When you don't want to be honest with yourself beloved you wont. You become the product of these issues you talked into existence. (that's right I said talked into existence.) No one else is causing you to be unhappy you are just deep down unhappy, which makes it harder for you to want to be happy for others. My pastor has started a series in James 4 that deals with the real root of the problem and it is you. James 4:1 simply says " What is the source of quarrels and (A)conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage (B)war in your members?" Insecurity surely is the leading cause of frustration, unhappiness, doubt, fear, anger, wrath, malice, lust, fornication and so many others. Because I am so unhappy with myself and who I am I become(as my brother would say) "an angry person who is happy sometimes, as opposed to a happy person who is angry sometimes". When I don't like who I am I project all my frustration onto the world, I look for approval, or I often feel a need to be wanted and when I am not than I am mad and no one can calm me down. Others tell me of their good news but I am so self-indulgent I cannot be happy for them (by choice). The world is forever in your debt for you hard work, and no one ever pays enough attention to you. Love can conquer you because you fight it with hate, but you swear you are so loving and kind because you understand the concepts but not the action. Who are you fighting against my friend? No one but yourself? That's why your sleep is messed up, that's why you think how you think, that's why you behave like you behave. You haven't figured yet, that there is nothing wrong with you, as a matter of fact your great the way you are. What happened was that one time in your life someone told you or showed you that you would be nothing and you believed them. It stuck with you all through out your life and is the reason why are the way you are now. The plot is bigger than right here and now, rather if that ol' enemy of ours can keep you in that mindset you will never be loosed and will stay the same. You will run off you family, your friends, your spouse/significant other, and be alone by yourself throwing that pity party for yourself. But being a believer means we have one thing the world does not have...HOPE. Change the way you think: Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, (A)whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Being from the south and from Houston you know the ghetto boys wrote that famous hit " My Minds Playing Tricks on Me". When you force that mind of yours to focus on good the body follows suit. Keep on praying: James 5:16 "The effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much" As long as you keep turning your heart over to God in prayer with much expectancy he will do it. Its a shame to live on earth in misery when you have a God of joy and peace. Those who really love you just want you to be happy and smile and enjoy your life. To be unhappy, and full of anger is torture daily because your constantly hurting others and yourself. You have to make the choice to want to stop, to rid yourself of the envy, the jealousy, the anger, and replace with God's love. It will not happen over night but it will happen. The believer's main job is to lead others to Christ, the effectiveness of your witness can be tainted if your heart is tainted. God wants you to be full of joy, but seeing as though he is not a rapist(in that he will not force himself upon you) he leaves the choice up to you. Whatever you hiding behind the remedy is in 2 Corinthians 6:17 "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." You know your tired of it yourself, you just want to be free, the road to freedom from this bondage is simply saying yes to Christ and no to flesh. When you truly give that heart to God, his love becomes your love, and that bitterness and anger becomes love and good will for others. Then you will be able to laugh and kid around without carrying that chip on your soldier. Living is great but living for Christ is better. It behooves me to tell you to be aware of whats inside of you.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Its not you...It's ME.
Preface:
I wrote this because it has been on my heart for 2 weeks now. It has troubled my sleep, and even knocked me off of focus at work. Speaking this is hard because it can be taken the wrong way. MY goal is to talk about understanding something fundamental Ive been learning at Church. A friend Brian Malone told me "you have to make Christ your personal savior, in that it becomes a personal thing when your walk is affected, your offended personally now" Hell is very real..and if my salvation aint in tact I have no time to worry about yours. If I plan to witness while allowing my walk to be tainted because I am to weak to stand for Christ than my witness is tainted. Remember its not about them its always about HIM(Christ). So do not be offended but see that this is more than me, or you. ITs all God...
To do something that is wrong and not know it well thats not your fault kind of like a child that for the first time does something and their parents says "NO!" Now the child is aware and can no longer use the excuse I didnt know. Paul writes in Romans 1:19 "because (AL)that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them." I cannot say I dont no lying is wrong because I know the 10 commandments and it clearly says "Thou Shalt not lie" To tell that lie simply means I did it anyway knowing it was wrong. Alot of times we do stuff knowing that it was wrong, feeling it was wrong, even almost ashamed while doing it and kept doing. I can be mad at no one else but myself for not saying or doing anything about. I am responsible for me and only me...if I have a cousin who smokes weed and then he pressures me or persuades me to smoke with him I cant get mad at him because I said yes. If weed is my problem then it is my responsibility to not put myself around folks who smoke weed plain and simple. If I am in a situation thats hard for me to get out of then I can simply ask that they not smoke around me or leave(probrably the best choice). God has given you the power to demand control of your surroundings. If porn is your problem then learning to not use the computer so much or view that material should become a discipline(train yourself). Its up to you...if you struggle with learning to say no to people than you have to learn that everytime you dont say no and allow others to get what they want it hinders you not them. They are going to be comfortable because they believe you are comfortable so naturally they will not see a problem until you raise the issue. If a person is constantly asking you for money and your tired of being their personal bank than you have to say no but remember though Love is gentle, so you dont have to be mean about it. Saying no to even a family member, best friend, spouse/significant other can truly be hard too because you Love those people. They mean the most to you and you do not want to disappoint them. However, Love works two ways...if your family that best friend, or that spouse/significant other loves you too they are never going to ask you to do things that compromise who you are. That issue is a very big issue, sometimes we will cause others to stumble because of what we want. If someone eats too much am I going to sit around them and eat excessively to tempt them to want to join in? NO!!! The thing I would do is eat healthy with and without them to encourage them to press on toward that new goal. I cant stress LOVE enough, LOVE is seeing the needs in others and meeting it. I found that alot of us pretend to be more mature than we really are, we love to play the game like we are but we really are not. A life full of experiences wont mature you if you have not taken the RIGHT lesson from them. It simply means you have a life full of things to talk about. I believe the key to our experiences both good and bad is learning. If I worked on a job where I did construction work, Im sure I learned how to be safe, hard work, being prompt, and timely. Those lessons will go with me later on in life, on the bad side if I was a theif I learned what not to do, I learned why its stupid and what it will solve that is nothing. I also learned the pain it caused someone else when I would steal from them. So now I have a level of compassion for people I never knewI could have I know make sure to watch out that Im not hurting others in all aspects of life(shame I had to learn it by stealing).The thing is taking the lesson from that, even if though I stopped stealing what have I learned? The issue of compassion is the big thing, I now know why I need to stay away from it in case I become tempted again. The lessons learned make you remember why you dont do it. (i.e. you remember a good spanking from your parents so you know not to do whatever you did to avoid that beating again). Remember, I am hurting someone else if what I want causes them to stumble even if they appear to want the same things. Remember the passive person will never speak for fear of rejection, confrontation, or just not caring. As the believer its our job to not give them a way to potentially fall, Paul writes in Romans 14:21 " (AL)It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles" Now understand Paul is dealing with this metaphor of the man who chooses to eat meat and the man who chooses not to eat meat. Its a metaphor for the strong in their walk with Christ and the weak and their walk with Christ. IF you being the stronger one can help the weaker one out you cant start by respecting his wishes. i.e. You eat meat you cannot eat meat around him so that he is not tempted. To make it practical, my cousin is now trying to kick the weed habit, then I am not going to do anything to tempt him to want to smoke. After that point its his job to say no to weed. If after I have done my part he still chooses to go do it well he has made his choice. I promise you though when a person gets tired of not saying no to something long enough they will. Its important for me and for you to check your motives though, saying no is not meant to chastise the person its meant to stop them from hindering you and themselves. So if you want to stop drinking then STOP HANGING OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO DO!! Or let them know your situation, if they choose to continue to do it then you found out they are not as friendly as you thought. People say well I can stop doing what I do for you, and the response to that is.."your absolutely right I am just not going to be around that. "If I say I love you and care about weather you are family, friend, or spouse/significant other than I cannot bear the thought of doing something that will hinder you. My goal is to lift you up and bless you. Likewise if you as my family, friend, or spouse/significant other decided to do that any way it is my responsibilty to speak up and say something in my care for you. The prisons are plagued with people who didnt want to speak up. Hospital beds are filled with people who didnt want to speak, Graveyards are filled with people who didnt want to speak up. HELL!! is filled with people who didnt want to speak up. This is my personal conviction right here. I know that Im not truly caring about those who care about me when I dont speak up. Look if I love you truly I will tell you. Christ love the disciples sooo much that he would correct them in their errors, he would not stand there and let them go down in flames. I cant, i wont. If no one else cares about you my friend you should care about you. You cant be afraid these days of losing a friend, signficiant other, or these days even family. If it is a choice between Christ and them the choice is obvious. CHRIST! I cant let my people die and I said nothing and you shouldnt either. WE must be clear that our role is not to kill them with the gospel but its to show God's love in our actions, our words, and our prayers. Because in the end its not really them...its me O' Lord standing in the need of prayer.
I wrote this because it has been on my heart for 2 weeks now. It has troubled my sleep, and even knocked me off of focus at work. Speaking this is hard because it can be taken the wrong way. MY goal is to talk about understanding something fundamental Ive been learning at Church. A friend Brian Malone told me "you have to make Christ your personal savior, in that it becomes a personal thing when your walk is affected, your offended personally now" Hell is very real..and if my salvation aint in tact I have no time to worry about yours. If I plan to witness while allowing my walk to be tainted because I am to weak to stand for Christ than my witness is tainted. Remember its not about them its always about HIM(Christ). So do not be offended but see that this is more than me, or you. ITs all God...
To do something that is wrong and not know it well thats not your fault kind of like a child that for the first time does something and their parents says "NO!" Now the child is aware and can no longer use the excuse I didnt know. Paul writes in Romans 1:19 "because (AL)that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them." I cannot say I dont no lying is wrong because I know the 10 commandments and it clearly says "Thou Shalt not lie" To tell that lie simply means I did it anyway knowing it was wrong. Alot of times we do stuff knowing that it was wrong, feeling it was wrong, even almost ashamed while doing it and kept doing. I can be mad at no one else but myself for not saying or doing anything about. I am responsible for me and only me...if I have a cousin who smokes weed and then he pressures me or persuades me to smoke with him I cant get mad at him because I said yes. If weed is my problem then it is my responsibility to not put myself around folks who smoke weed plain and simple. If I am in a situation thats hard for me to get out of then I can simply ask that they not smoke around me or leave(probrably the best choice). God has given you the power to demand control of your surroundings. If porn is your problem then learning to not use the computer so much or view that material should become a discipline(train yourself). Its up to you...if you struggle with learning to say no to people than you have to learn that everytime you dont say no and allow others to get what they want it hinders you not them. They are going to be comfortable because they believe you are comfortable so naturally they will not see a problem until you raise the issue. If a person is constantly asking you for money and your tired of being their personal bank than you have to say no but remember though Love is gentle, so you dont have to be mean about it. Saying no to even a family member, best friend, spouse/significant other can truly be hard too because you Love those people. They mean the most to you and you do not want to disappoint them. However, Love works two ways...if your family that best friend, or that spouse/significant other loves you too they are never going to ask you to do things that compromise who you are. That issue is a very big issue, sometimes we will cause others to stumble because of what we want. If someone eats too much am I going to sit around them and eat excessively to tempt them to want to join in? NO!!! The thing I would do is eat healthy with and without them to encourage them to press on toward that new goal. I cant stress LOVE enough, LOVE is seeing the needs in others and meeting it. I found that alot of us pretend to be more mature than we really are, we love to play the game like we are but we really are not. A life full of experiences wont mature you if you have not taken the RIGHT lesson from them. It simply means you have a life full of things to talk about. I believe the key to our experiences both good and bad is learning. If I worked on a job where I did construction work, Im sure I learned how to be safe, hard work, being prompt, and timely. Those lessons will go with me later on in life, on the bad side if I was a theif I learned what not to do, I learned why its stupid and what it will solve that is nothing. I also learned the pain it caused someone else when I would steal from them. So now I have a level of compassion for people I never knewI could have I know make sure to watch out that Im not hurting others in all aspects of life(shame I had to learn it by stealing).The thing is taking the lesson from that, even if though I stopped stealing what have I learned? The issue of compassion is the big thing, I now know why I need to stay away from it in case I become tempted again. The lessons learned make you remember why you dont do it. (i.e. you remember a good spanking from your parents so you know not to do whatever you did to avoid that beating again). Remember, I am hurting someone else if what I want causes them to stumble even if they appear to want the same things. Remember the passive person will never speak for fear of rejection, confrontation, or just not caring. As the believer its our job to not give them a way to potentially fall, Paul writes in Romans 14:21 " (AL)It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles" Now understand Paul is dealing with this metaphor of the man who chooses to eat meat and the man who chooses not to eat meat. Its a metaphor for the strong in their walk with Christ and the weak and their walk with Christ. IF you being the stronger one can help the weaker one out you cant start by respecting his wishes. i.e. You eat meat you cannot eat meat around him so that he is not tempted. To make it practical, my cousin is now trying to kick the weed habit, then I am not going to do anything to tempt him to want to smoke. After that point its his job to say no to weed. If after I have done my part he still chooses to go do it well he has made his choice. I promise you though when a person gets tired of not saying no to something long enough they will. Its important for me and for you to check your motives though, saying no is not meant to chastise the person its meant to stop them from hindering you and themselves. So if you want to stop drinking then STOP HANGING OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO DO!! Or let them know your situation, if they choose to continue to do it then you found out they are not as friendly as you thought. People say well I can stop doing what I do for you, and the response to that is.."your absolutely right I am just not going to be around that. "If I say I love you and care about weather you are family, friend, or spouse/significant other than I cannot bear the thought of doing something that will hinder you. My goal is to lift you up and bless you. Likewise if you as my family, friend, or spouse/significant other decided to do that any way it is my responsibilty to speak up and say something in my care for you. The prisons are plagued with people who didnt want to speak up. Hospital beds are filled with people who didnt want to speak, Graveyards are filled with people who didnt want to speak up. HELL!! is filled with people who didnt want to speak up. This is my personal conviction right here. I know that Im not truly caring about those who care about me when I dont speak up. Look if I love you truly I will tell you. Christ love the disciples sooo much that he would correct them in their errors, he would not stand there and let them go down in flames. I cant, i wont. If no one else cares about you my friend you should care about you. You cant be afraid these days of losing a friend, signficiant other, or these days even family. If it is a choice between Christ and them the choice is obvious. CHRIST! I cant let my people die and I said nothing and you shouldnt either. WE must be clear that our role is not to kill them with the gospel but its to show God's love in our actions, our words, and our prayers. Because in the end its not really them...its me O' Lord standing in the need of prayer.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Your Reality vs. Reality.
If in my mind I think its ok (while at work) to walk up to another co-workers desk and take something like a pen or pencil and think its not stealing I mean thats ok, but thats my reality because Im thinking that its just a pen. But really in reality that person doesent like that I took something off of their desk without asking first, and weather you like it or not I STOLE IT!! What we do sometimes is we make up this imaginary world we live in so that we stay comfortable and never have to move out of it and honestly excluding the imaginary parts it is nothing wrong with creating a comfort zone or even viewing things a ceartain way in order to be comfortable. Where the problem lies is when you try to assume that everyone must live by that code. Part of existing in a world that God created so different is understanding that my way is not your way, and your way is not my way. We have different ways of doing things but we NEED (keyword: need) to learn how to find common ground in order to achieve peace and harmony. No one can tell you to stop being the way you are because God made you that way Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." The way you are is definitely on purpose, but the key in that is that you get to be who you are and I get to be who I am. Alot of times the idea is that I can act like I want to act with whoever and people who cant handle it can move on. And I agree there should never be a compromise in who you are, but frankly if your a person with no respect or for lack of a better word a jerk than your mistaken. I believe we all sometimes get this notion that we can use God as an excuse to be that way. In my personal experience I know I can be very intolerant and jump to conclusions and assume things and blow up over nothing, I could easily use the excuse well thats just how I am, but honestly thats fine but you can stay that way be friendless. As Christians it happens all that time that people claim to be REAL and tell it like it is. But I heard it like this "sometimes being REAL can be REAL stupid". Jesus told it like it was in John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." I mean it dont get no real than that right? Did he need to throw a pun in there, or even be cunning about it NO!! There is no reason for all that because that is superfluous. The reality is Jesus was telling Thomas a simple truth. That statement he made alone can knock you off your feet. The truth is the truth by itself. Its not like food, it does not need all this seasoning and extra spice to make it more truthful, but we use God sometimes as an excuse to be blatently rude about something we personally have a problem with. This is why Christians fight so much, its our refusal to yield to God and not our pride. My pastor broke it down like this he said "When we allow our desires to take control there are consequences: pain, death, and SELF-DECEPTION." The most beasty thing I have heard right there. You want to be this mean person, or this selfish person, or this intolerant person, or this concieted person, or whatever sooooo bad that you decieve self and then cover it up with "Well I just keep it real" I keep it real too but I keep it real from a reality perspective. If the world revolved around me than it would be called Terence's world, and it would stop when I was sleep, but the REALITY is that it doesent. Our job is to not make everyone happy honestly its to be loving. You will find that loving someone will not always make them happy because in loving them you choose to not act like they act sometimes to the point where you distance yourself, or be quiet. In reality if you want someone to understand your point of view than you must be willing to understand theirs. Everybody is from different upbringings, different childhoods, different walks of life, but if your going to intergrate or be apart of society you cannot use that as a crutch. (speaking more to me) If hate and cruelty is your only way of living than you have a problem. Bad habits do die hard but they die. Dont get me wrong sterness is needed to keep discipline, as Christians we sometimes lack that which is why we so easily forget God and his statutes. So having yourself be apart of a Church where the pastor is stern but fair like I am (shameless plug for Ebenezer) is good in learning how to be a disciplined Christian who can reason well and not be ashmed of the gospel. (Romans 1:16). We run from discipline, and flee to our learned ways and refuse to change for fear of not being true to self. But if you pay attention closely changing for the better is being true to yourself. Remember if we are saved like we say we are and we Love Christ than we show his love by obeying his commandments right? John 14:15 says " If ye Love me, keep my commandments". Jesus goes on to say in Mark 12:31 "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" If he says there is no commandment greater than this than LOVE is conquering all things. If your going to choose (yes its a choice its not something you have control over, again speaking to Hobdy) to not change than so be it but if your going to act in LOVE remember this 1 Corinthians 13:5 (speaking about love) " does not act unbecomingly;"(NASB) the King James Version says it like this "Doth not behave itself unseemly" and the New International Version says this " It is not rude". Now that was for all you bible scholars. I mean we all make mistakes because were human but its not a license to keep doing it. The point is to get God's reality see how he thinks about a situation then evaluate based on that. Your mindset may not be the same as someone elses and because you refuse to stop and get out of your own way you lose valuable time and information. Sometimes being too sensitive, being too hard, lacking the ablility (by choice) to understand. All of these things we have to be conscious of, Jesus never compromised his character for anyone but he never forced himself on anyone. We all have the ability to be dominant but Minister KD at Ebenezer told us you gotta have A BE-Attitude...one of the beattitudes is Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The New American Standard Bible would say blessed are the gentle. The goal here is Im moving around myself and learning that someonelse else's needs matter. The reality of a kid in the projects is different from the reality of a kid in the suburbs. But neither of that is the other one's fault, it simply means if they cross paths they have to gain an understanding of each . If they choose not to understand the other then they move on. At some point though, Ive got to learn to listen to someone else's view point to gain a real perspective on what is really going on....
Friday, May 21, 2010
He Say, She Say
Marriage is truly the most beautiful thing in the world, its where new life begins, family lineages continue, most importantly it is the snap shot picture of Christ love for the church. The union of Man and Woman is one of God's greatest gifts to mankind. But getting to marriage is the part that no one likes to talk about. LOVE (the way God intended it to be) is the glue that holds it together. How do we know this? Well because of Christ LOVE for the church we gained eternal life, it was the love for the church that caused him to have compassion and lay down his life for the entire world. If marriage is a snap shot picture of that then thats the GLUE that holds it together. LOVING is more than I paid for dinner, or I cooked, or I cleaned, or helped you pay a bill, that is good way of showing love but its also I accept you even though I dont always like your atttitude, or I accept you even though you have some ways about you that get on my last nerve. More importantly when you do things that hurt my feelings I still love you (agape-unconditionally). Love for believers is not based off of looks, nifty little things you can do rather it is soley based on the person. Even though you make me mad sometimes, you always put up with me, you help me when I wont help myself, you encourage me, you talk to me late at night until you fall asleep, you include me in your life, you do what a spouse should do you have my back! If your not married well sex should not even be an issue(just a disclaimer). 1 Corinthians 13:5 "Love does not take into account wrong suffered". Simply means that all the stuff you did that was wrong towards me I cant use that against you. I have to let it go and move on. The road to marriage is a hard one and requires God's hand the whole way. One of the reasons we date is to so that we can make decisions about the person we are with. If this person is someone you just cannot deal with, they are just too much for you, then you walk away, so your not waisting anyone elses time. The key is to know that you can change no one, the negative things in people are part of who they are, its God who makes the change and uses it for his glory. When you try to change that person it creates friction. When God makes change it happens naturally in accordance with his will. So the thing is learning to accept those flaws, that doesent mean it stays the same but you accept it and no longer use it against that perosn. If this is a Godly relationship commited to God's ways and commands, then both parties are equally vested in growing in him. So as your growing in God the old things come off and the new's things take root. Change takes time and patience and TRUST in God. If you believe the person your with is indeed the one he has for you to marry than your trusting in him the whole time for that person and the growth with that person. MEN! We cant be so sensitive all the time, because we know women love talking especially to us about life in general, somethings they say can seem mean or just rude, but 9 times out of 10 they are just talking. Women are going to be honest with us about little things, how we dress, our hair if its not cut, when we picking up weight, sometimes thats just caring and you gotta not be so quick to get mad and go off. 1 Peter 3:7 says this "7(A)You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with (B)someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered." What we struggle the most with men is understanding. Understanding her point of view is crucial, listening to the need she may have, or just understanding that she does not think like you and is not you, so what you get mad about she may not get mad about. The key is to understand that you are two different people coming together to be one. Before you can be one there has to be an understanding of each other's ways and learning to accept them in spite of those ways. When you learn to put your pride aside and accept her for her it will take stress and frustration out of your life. Women!! society makes women seem like they have to be everything the man wants and if she is not then she is no prize..but 1 Peter 3:1-4 says something vastly different. " 1(A)In the same way, you wives, (B)be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be (C)won without a word by the behavior of their wives,
2as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.
3(D)Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
4but let it be (E)the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." The key verses here are 3 and 4. Talking about her inner beauty and outer. The inner is most precious because it is the prize that only a man truly in Love with God first can capture because God will lead him. Beloved women, your beauty is in your wisdom, your nurturing, your insight, your hard work, you ability to stand by yourself without a man. You see God knowing who we are as men gave us a companion that is gentler and softer so that there is a balance. Now more than ever we see women running church's and leaders in church because man wont step up. The beauty in a women is that a gentle soft tongue has more influence than we can imagine. What will calm a man down when he is angry is a woman who has peace, and he will see her and say what am I doing? Sometimes saying nothing as I have seen makes a man have to think and be sensible for himself so he will have to be a man about it. But more importantly the honor in women is pleasing to God, a virtuous women is full of honor and she will not accept anything less than that in a man. You see society created this battle of the sexes between men and women.What we see more commonly these days is that men and women are battling with each other, like its a fight to the death. When men become more understanding and also submitt and women do the same as God intends there is peace and harmony. Where there is peace there is rational thinking so as to eliminate pointless arguments. So before you ask someone to marry you men, weigh your options and see if this is really what you want, before you say yes women do the same but above all if this person does not want Christ or be yoked to someone who has Christ than you have your answer. If you truly LOVE the way God wants it to be, then I heard a friend P.T. Ngwolo say "you sacrifice the best in you, for the worst in another person". At Ebenezer Praise and Worship Church they said it like this " you dont marry the person you love, you love the person you marry" (big difference). Maybe this gave new hope to a relationship on its last wheel, or maybe it gave insight on someone getting ready to make a huge mistake. All in all motives have to be right, and Godly LOVE has to be the glue! Fall in Love with Jesus first, and the rest is done. Just talkin...
2as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.
3(D)Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
4but let it be (E)the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." The key verses here are 3 and 4. Talking about her inner beauty and outer. The inner is most precious because it is the prize that only a man truly in Love with God first can capture because God will lead him. Beloved women, your beauty is in your wisdom, your nurturing, your insight, your hard work, you ability to stand by yourself without a man. You see God knowing who we are as men gave us a companion that is gentler and softer so that there is a balance. Now more than ever we see women running church's and leaders in church because man wont step up. The beauty in a women is that a gentle soft tongue has more influence than we can imagine. What will calm a man down when he is angry is a woman who has peace, and he will see her and say what am I doing? Sometimes saying nothing as I have seen makes a man have to think and be sensible for himself so he will have to be a man about it. But more importantly the honor in women is pleasing to God, a virtuous women is full of honor and she will not accept anything less than that in a man. You see society created this battle of the sexes between men and women.What we see more commonly these days is that men and women are battling with each other, like its a fight to the death. When men become more understanding and also submitt and women do the same as God intends there is peace and harmony. Where there is peace there is rational thinking so as to eliminate pointless arguments. So before you ask someone to marry you men, weigh your options and see if this is really what you want, before you say yes women do the same but above all if this person does not want Christ or be yoked to someone who has Christ than you have your answer. If you truly LOVE the way God wants it to be, then I heard a friend P.T. Ngwolo say "you sacrifice the best in you, for the worst in another person". At Ebenezer Praise and Worship Church they said it like this " you dont marry the person you love, you love the person you marry" (big difference). Maybe this gave new hope to a relationship on its last wheel, or maybe it gave insight on someone getting ready to make a huge mistake. All in all motives have to be right, and Godly LOVE has to be the glue! Fall in Love with Jesus first, and the rest is done. Just talkin...
Friday, April 23, 2010
Its your skin so live in it.
The quest is on to make it, I mean its hard enough to keep/find a job in a society that glorifies riches and power. Then you have to find a career and be succesful at that task, provide for yourself (and hopefully a family). It seems there is pressure on top of pressure. On top of everything else you have to figure out how to be you. The idenity crisis right. Even the most seemingly confident person struggles with comfortability with themselves. Why is it a struggle? Its driven by fear that who I am doesent meet the status quo. Wondering how can I make myself the best person that will appeal to the masses with out compromising too much of my beliefs and values? The answer is that its dang near impossible ( in my opinion) Part of God's innovation in our creation was that he made us so alike but in each of us he added one small thing and its that one thing makes the BIGGEST difference. He tells us explicitly "be ye not conformed to the ways of this world rather be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind"(Romans 12:2). Who you are is not measured by your acceptance rate in the world. Dont get it twisted we all follow trends in order to "keep up with the jones" but the idea is who I am is not compromised at all. The comfort in your own skin is the major issue. Sometimes if your not careful you will be so uncomfortable with yourself that you take that frustration out on everyone else. Confidence is an aquired taste that comes with accepting who you are in Christ. If you got a limp, a twitch, a studder problem, you take longer to process stuff, or whatever it maybe..coming to grips with that and accepting those things gives you the needed confidence to walk in and be around people without worrying about what the other person may think. No one can fix that for you. God gave the remedy in Romans 12:2. That scripture is a prescription for healing from low self esteem, fear, lonliness. when your mind is renewed by Christ transforming power you come into the knowledge of who you are and what you really possess. Voids no longer need to be filled with sex, drugs, or people. Rather its filled with Christ. So if your skinny, big, short, tall its all about being comfortable with how he made you. Its tough actually it literally is denying yourself of those negatives that were placed in front of you all your life or the things you began to embrace. To qualifiy that examine Phillipians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." The beauty in a person who who they were created to be because then God's light shines through and that illuminating power is un-deniable. When your comfortable in your skin you dont have anything to prove, you dont mind dealing with all kinds of people, your uncomfortable level in social places seems to decrease, you begin to notice the good in you and others. The room to begin to live life is made easier, after all its your skin so live in it.
-Ecstatic
-Ecstatic
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Intro to life...
I just finished a beasty devotion session, since lately ive been stuck on trying to find LOVE from Christ perspective. I know for a man with my career choice this is the last thing that I should be talking about right? Everybody's trying to grind, make money, and I mean so am I but in general I have had to take closer look at the bible. I feel I am suffering greatly because of my lack persistance on that manual. There are so many people I am surrounded by that I could potentially help if I got my stuff right too. Why am I on this LOVE tip? Because Christ loved us... cliche? Maybe, but its so real and the more I dwell on it the more I see it takes more than just saying I love you. The act of LOVE means so much more and takes so much more. We say we LOVE but when the time comes to prove it its like it is the hardest thing ever. We all are guilty of taking advantage of the perks of love..we assume it will always be there so there is nothing to fear. Here is the reality..everyone dont love, they like to believe they do but their hart is too hard or to scared to do so they are forever entraped in that state. Love is sooooo patient its not even funny. When you love music you gotta be patient with the process required to make it...I mean it can go from frustrating moment to frustrating moment with no breaks. People no less are the same way...you love your mom, dad, brother, sister etc.. but without patience its impossible to deal with or even understand their point of view. Got a significant other that makes it hard for you to love them because of their being set in their ways..well being patient gives you the oppurtunity to understand not neccesarily excuse but understand so that you don't hold it against them. WIthout LOVE we are incapable of achieving harmony between each other. Humans struggle the most with this because we are selfish in nature...we want it now, and then we want it done our way. The intro to life perspective simply says this I KNOW IT IS HARD JUST TO MAKE IT TILL TONIGHT BUT I MUST STRIVE TO SURVIVE IF FOR NOW OTHER REASON THAN SOMEONE ELSE WILL MAKE IF I MAKE IT. MAN MAY LET ME DOWN AND EVEN PUSH ME DOWN BUT NEVERTHELESS I TAKE IT IN STRIDE AND KEEP GOING. My name is Hobdy and this is my blog...
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