Be Blessed!

I love the season of Passover and Resurrection. It’s the most beautiful time of the year to me. It reminds me that not only can G-d allow some things to pass over my life, but those things that need revival, he can certainly resurrect them as well. Now, I was having a conversation with one of my Sisters-In-Law yesterday and she reminded me of some error that needs to be eradicated from the church, especially during this time of the year. I asked her how one of her friends was doing and she said she hadn’t spoken to her since she had called her and given her a word she had received in church. I asked her what she said, and she mentioned that she had heard that we can not be blessed when we are out of the will of G-d. Hmmm…

Sounds like something I would have said a year ago. (I tell her all the time she reminds me so much of myself) So imagine her reaction when I told her that was a lie. Yeah, you heard me. That is a lie. The scripture says that G-d rains on the just and the unjust—I’m paraphrasing but the scripture is Matthew 5:45. For some reason, Christians want to believe that we are in some kind of exclusive club and only we should be or can be blessed. If that were the case, which ones of us could actually qualify? I know I certainly couldn’t. Not only that but when we see someone in a noticeable, more public sin like shacking or drinking we automatically decide that they will be judged and G-d is going get them somehow. It’s almost like we are looking forward to their downfall. Where does that come from cause’ it’s certainly not G-d. If it were, which one of us would still remain? There is a lack of understanding of GRACE in the church.

Do we fail to remember that G-d brought us all out of something? Your something may not have been what I was in but it still should have disqualified me from being saved and even more so from being used by Him. When I reminded her that some of those same people Christians want to turn their nose up to are living a far better existence than those of us who claim to be holy. I know that some of us don’t like to hear that, but it’s true nevertheless. I can’t tell you how I fell into that mindset at one time. Maybe because I was tired of being mocked when I was going through and I knew that I was walking the best way before G-d that I knew how while others seemed to be getting ahead minus all I was having to do. Maybe something in me wanted to believe that I had an edge over those who did not walk the way I was walking. Maybe I just feared that it was somehow unfair and that maybe He would somehow leave me out. It’s not that I didn’t want others to be blessed; I just didn’t want to be left out.

But, one day I was reminded of Luke 6:37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven…I have learned to mind my own business. It’s hard enough for me to keep watch over my own life let alone be worried about someone else’s. G-d sends the Holy Ghost to deal with me and anyone else who is working through things that he desires to work out of us. And he assigns to us all a Pastor to teach us the way to walk. (Jeremiah 3:15) But even that is all in His time. What the rest of us need to do is continue to pray for one another understanding that G-d still loves us regardless of what state we are in. We need to also remember that we will all be working on something all of our lives and our walk. Still He loves us. So much that he was willing to put Himself on the cross for our deliverance knowing what was in us and that even then some of us would still ignore His gift.

In this season I am reminded that He covers me no matter what state I am. He’s not finished with any of us yet. This is a time of unselfish prayer for one another and a time to edify one another. To pray that we are all blessed because it’s not up to us anyhow. And there is certainly enough to go around! Learning to love like G-d is to learn to love one another despite our short comings and even in the midst of disagreement. Always remember, whatever you are hoping for someone else will surely happen to you as well. Good or bad. Might as well hope the best so that you too can receive the best. That one thing is holding a lot of us from advancing. I know it was stunting my growth, but I thank G-d for his patience and His love towards me to illuminate my error. I am so glad that G-d is not like man. He looks past me now, and holds a vision of me later always working with me to press towards that mark. I didn't relay this story to bash my SIL--I love her. And believe me, that love has come along way. I told it because I was her just a few months back.(Some of y'all remember :) I admonished her to call and check on her friend or to simply pray that all will be well in her life.

On this day, I pray for you…
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Be Blessed!
Chosen.

Just a note…

If you read Sundays post, at the end I recommended a book that I recently read. (I have deleted that paragraph from the post) What I failed to mention is that I would not recommend it for everyone. The reason why I say that is because depending on where you are spiritually you will either reject what is written in there as error due to lack of understanding or you will get caught up and go in a whole other direction and that is not my intent at all. So I apologize for even mentioning it.

So, again while I recommended the book as a good read, you need to honestly judge where you are spiritually before considering reading it. If you don’t yet understand that there is a natural view of scripture as well as a spiritual which is usually symbolic—stay away from it. I had a similar thing occur to me some years ago when I was first saved and was all off in my thinking and got lost for a minute.

Can you believe I sat in a church that taught that women were missionaries and not preachers or prophets? Well I did, for quite some time. I got caught up in how beautiful the service was with the orchestra, and how wonderfully the choir sang and even the eloquence of the speaker. G-d never sent me over there, it was a big church and it was the popular thing to say that I attend so-and-so. Needless to say, I didn’t stay long because G-d has a way of moving us when we fail to allow him to teach us and not go by what man has passed down in his tradition. Either the man simply couldn’t validate women preachers from the word or he didn’t want to. Too many people can’t so to me it’s not a serious offense to have others think that I too am deceived somehow. It tells me that they like the Pharisees knew the word, but not the one who gave the word. G-d will teach us many things if we are meek and able to set aside what we have previously been taught by man to seek him to teach us first. Taking classes on the bible do us no good if we believe what man teaches and fail to get an understanding for ourselves.

But that’s for another day….

I hope this cleared up any issues that the book recommendation may or may not have caused.

For further questions feel free to email me.

Be Blessed!
Chosen.

Unspoken Messages…

I am really learning to appreciate being me. That’s a big thing for me. I tend to be really hard on myself, but I am relaxing. I am not striving for perfection, for everyone to like me or to be understood by everyone. I am just me. And it's wonderful. Someone once said that when they read my blog it didn't seem real or personable. Too much bible, etc, etc. What I got was that I didn't spill enough of my business. You know juicy stuff. I figure they just need to stop reading cause' they don't get me anyway. I'm not going to change. I like me. I relate everything to the word because I realize here is an element of me in every story in there. If I was to pick a chapter that I was living right now, It would definitely be EXODUS. Right dab in chapter 3. But I digress...

Now, after making the decision to really do what it’s going to take to accomplish my goals this year, Number one on the list was to get physically fit. I lost some weight when I got here, but I failed to neither maintain it nor even tone it all up. I want the full package-fit, toned, and physically fit. I never considered myself overweight, just not in shape like I once was. Now, with old mindset, I would’ve said that I got too busy taking care of everyone else to take care of me. That’s not it to me though; somewhere along the line I stopped loving me.

I have to accept responsibility for the fact that I put others before me in the grand scheme of things. G-d had to tell me one day that you can tell how much a person loves them self by the care in which they are willing to take of themselves. Hmmm—that hurt-but it was true. So, since getting that little tidbit, I have been faithfully working out to get me in the best shape I can possibly be. The plus side is that I am no longer sending that unspoken message to my children that it’s okay to forget about you. I never said that, but failing to make the healthiest eating choices and by not exercising, that’s essentially what I have been saying silently.

I was once concerned about us not going to church in this season was going to have some kind of negative affect on them. I explained to them when we arived that G-d has given to every man a place, and ours was not here. I wondered if they understood that. They do. I’ve noticed that they know when my broadcast is on and they respect those times during the week. I hadn’t realized how much they noticed things like that I continue to pray everyday and I still read my bible. But I’ve noticed that the boys have theirs in the bed next to them when I go to check on them at night before I go to sleep. They are reading theirs at night too. Though I never said it, they are learning that relationship with G-d is personal and not related to the church at all. That has given me great peace about them. If they get that now, they’ll never be caught up in the church game of obligation later on.

In retrospect I get that my actions as a parent will speak louder and clearer than what I say out of my mouth and those will be the lessons that they remember. Words come a dime a dozen. I remember the first time I realized that my parents were being what is considered to be hypocritical. Telling me not to do things that they themselves were clearly doing. It angered me to the point where I no longer believed anything that they said. Parental trust is the one thing a child should be able to count on. I am always aware that in whatever I do, I am always teaching them something. Spoken or unspoken. I may not always get it right the first time, but I will continue to try until I do.

There are a couple of other things in my life that need major renovations so that the wrong message is not conveyed. This is why I must learn to transfer all areas of trust back to G-d so that I can do whatever I need to do at all time.

The great thing about G-d is that he gave us this power to change and to create. If I don’t like who I am or the direction that I am going, I can simply start over and create a new experience. That power is limitless. And it knows no preference—so I can create good or bad things. I choose to create what I want to see and nothing less than what I actually want. I told you, in this season I am working first on my thinking. There is no need to change my behavior without renovation there first. Until next time...

Be Blessed.

Chosen.