Hey! I’m back. I just started my second semester of my junior year at my respected college on January 14, 2008. Prior to returning to campus I began to have concerns with my time management and walk (relationship) with God. So the whole time before coming I prayed that God would strengthen me to stay on task, that he would send people my way to help replenish me, and that He would basically sustain me while being in an environment where people aren’t as concerned about their relationship with God as me. Now that I look back on that prayer I realize all that was out of fear. It’s crazy huh? If you don’t get it now think about it a little bit. Now you get it huh? Yes, I was worried about slipping.
My first day of class which was the 14th I was doing my devotion, as I do every morning, and in my prayer I began to state the same things I mentioned earlier, about him keeping me. I mean I was PRAYING! I was really passionate in it because I was so scared that I would let God down, and I didn’t want him to stop speaking to me as He did while at home. Do you ever feel like that? Like God is going to take something away from you for any reason? Well, as I ended my prayer I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Just walk.” MAN! When I heard this I almost starting running (you know kind of like how the COGIC church does?). It was so potent to me because what I translated that to mean was, “don’t worry about slipping or disappointing me. Because if you’re focusing all your time, and energy on the problem then how much time and energy is being spent on other things i.e. the will of my kingdom, the solution, the word, etc.?” and I said, “are you SERIOUS God? You mean I’m worrying for nothing?” and the Holy Spirit said, “yes.”
So in essence, the lesson I learned was to be focused on things that really count. Because If I spend most of my time thinking about a problem I have, I’m basically giving myself over to it and ultimately saying God I don’t believe you can handle it. So God is saying to all of us “Just walk.” Paul the Apostle confirms then when he said in the book of Romans, “for if we walk in the spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” But what gets us is when we allow whatever to warrant our attention when it doesn’t deserve it. So again “just walk” live your life as you are and as you meditate on God’s word he will then impart things that “sustain” you without you getting worried if he will or not.
Peace.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Understanding why I do what I do - and how I can do better
OH MY GOSH! I just had another electrifying experience. I was at bible study, at the church my dad currently pastors. He was teaching out of the book of Hebrews chapter 8 where it gives reference to Jesus as the High Priest. During the teaching, some way or another, everything turned to a conversation about sin. An elder gentleman, who is now in training to be a deacon, made the statement, “as long as we live in this world and this body we will sin.” What did he say that for? Then sprung up this debate about sin and how we have overcome sin, and all that good stuff. From the outside looking in, it seemed as if everyone was attacking him about his statement, or the lack of “their biblical knowledge” (we’ll talk about that later). So at his defense and my eagerness to jump into the conversation I raised my hand. What I said after being acknowledged can only be accredited to ALMIGHTY God.
I said, “In this gentleman’s defense I understand why he feels we cannot live apart from sin. From his stand point he believes that even though we have Christ in our lives we will still fall short to sin because that’s just who we are. Now let me clarify some things. In Psalms chapter 51 verse 5 David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me (NKJV).”So from a child until now I’ve been doing things that have been deemed as “sin” but I didn’t know they were because at the time I was not aware that they were wrong. Would you agree that if while you were driving, didn’t see a speed limit, and a cop pulled you over he technically could not hold you accountable to breaking a law because there were no limits to govern how fast you could go? The same way it is with life. If I don’t have any laws to govern how I live, technically I’m not wrong. Well, when we accept Christ into our life we are then citizens of the Kingdom Of God and there are things/laws/commandments/mandates that govern how we are to live, as Christians, while on this earth. Now the fight comes in when all these years I have trained my soul (i.e. my mind, intellect, will, and emotions)/body to adhere to another standard of living that is contrary to the Kingdom Of God’s. So daily we find ourselves at war with our bodies trying to put it in check because the Bible says I can no longer do those things like: be promiscuous, hate, lie, steal, cheat, and covet; because those ways are not how people/citizens are to carry themselves in the Kingdom Of God. And if we’ll be honest with ourselves we would admit that it’s hard!
But I have a solution to our problem. The Apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans in chapters 5 through 8 on how if we do not walk in the flesh (secular mindset) but in the spirit (God’s way of doing things) we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. For the wages of sin is death (separation from God). Everyday, Evening, and Night we have to make a conscious decision to do what’s right no matter what we have taught ourselves. If it doesn’t align itself with the Word Of God (Bible) then I can’t follow it; because I’m a citizen of that wonderful Kingdom now and to show my appreciation to God (because I can’t reach heaven through works only faith) I do as He has asked me to do. And in that obedience there is so much. God then showers favor, goodness, and blessings like no other all because we’ve decided to do it His way and not ours. And one day you’ll look up and that habit you used to have a problem with, will no longer be a problem because you have now trained your body to live according to the word of God, keep in step with His will for your life and that’s all you’ll know to do. Again, walk by the word of God and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.”
Stay tuned…
I said, “In this gentleman’s defense I understand why he feels we cannot live apart from sin. From his stand point he believes that even though we have Christ in our lives we will still fall short to sin because that’s just who we are. Now let me clarify some things. In Psalms chapter 51 verse 5 David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me (NKJV).”So from a child until now I’ve been doing things that have been deemed as “sin” but I didn’t know they were because at the time I was not aware that they were wrong. Would you agree that if while you were driving, didn’t see a speed limit, and a cop pulled you over he technically could not hold you accountable to breaking a law because there were no limits to govern how fast you could go? The same way it is with life. If I don’t have any laws to govern how I live, technically I’m not wrong. Well, when we accept Christ into our life we are then citizens of the Kingdom Of God and there are things/laws/commandments/mandates that govern how we are to live, as Christians, while on this earth. Now the fight comes in when all these years I have trained my soul (i.e. my mind, intellect, will, and emotions)/body to adhere to another standard of living that is contrary to the Kingdom Of God’s. So daily we find ourselves at war with our bodies trying to put it in check because the Bible says I can no longer do those things like: be promiscuous, hate, lie, steal, cheat, and covet; because those ways are not how people/citizens are to carry themselves in the Kingdom Of God. And if we’ll be honest with ourselves we would admit that it’s hard!
But I have a solution to our problem. The Apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans in chapters 5 through 8 on how if we do not walk in the flesh (secular mindset) but in the spirit (God’s way of doing things) we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. For the wages of sin is death (separation from God). Everyday, Evening, and Night we have to make a conscious decision to do what’s right no matter what we have taught ourselves. If it doesn’t align itself with the Word Of God (Bible) then I can’t follow it; because I’m a citizen of that wonderful Kingdom now and to show my appreciation to God (because I can’t reach heaven through works only faith) I do as He has asked me to do. And in that obedience there is so much. God then showers favor, goodness, and blessings like no other all because we’ve decided to do it His way and not ours. And one day you’ll look up and that habit you used to have a problem with, will no longer be a problem because you have now trained your body to live according to the word of God, keep in step with His will for your life and that’s all you’ll know to do. Again, walk by the word of God and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.”
Stay tuned…
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
We Too Can Talk To God – Intimacy on another level: Part 1
9:30 a.m.
Today I was making some coffee and as I was boiling the water I put salt in it to lower the boiling point so that it [the water] would boil faster. Yep I was using some chemistry! Any way, I put quite a bit of salt in my water because I was in such a rush to drink my coffee. I could just see myself drinking a good cup of Joe while reading my bible [devotion] and talking to God. As I prepared my coffee I made a concoction with honey, cinnamon, sugar, coffee, and milk. Then I poured my now hot-water, took a sip, and got this awful salty taste. I thought it was from the amount of cinnamon I had used. I poured out that cup and poured me another cup with fewer ingredients, and to my chagrin I got the same taste. Then it hit me! Ah ha! It was all that salt I had put in the water because I wanted to rush the boiling process. Immediately, my [pneuma] spirit spoke and said, “See that’s what happens when you rush.” You would say it was just common sense, I say it was the spirit because of the word that followed. My [pneuma] spirit went on to say, “In life when you rush things like relationships, because of the eager longing of a sweet/savoring feeling of love or any gooshy feeling for that matter, you end up with the product all bitter; only because you would not be patient enough to wait for the product to get fully developed.”
The bible bears witness to this in the book of James stating, “Let patience have her perfect work so that you may be complete, and lacking nothing.” Can you recount how many times you weren’t patient enough and then saw because of your impatience you lost the thing/person you rushed? I believe truly in my [pneuma] spirit that God in these tribal days that we are to start being more patient with Him, His word, and His doings. So many times we expect God to pop-up when it’s convenient for us but I found He doesn’t operate like that. So today lets make a vow to be more patient and see the Lord bring His promises through, whether they be in relation to a mate, job, schooling etc. Its funny because many times we miss the turn God wanted us to turn on and then when we end up lost, or disappointed we think God did us wrong or gave bad directions, but it was only because we wouldn’t be still long enough to listen or wait for the coffee water to boil. Well I’m now starting over with a new/cleaned pot of water (which in some ways can translate to forgiveness, but we’ll talk about that later). This time I plan to wait. What do you think?
Today I was making some coffee and as I was boiling the water I put salt in it to lower the boiling point so that it [the water] would boil faster. Yep I was using some chemistry! Any way, I put quite a bit of salt in my water because I was in such a rush to drink my coffee. I could just see myself drinking a good cup of Joe while reading my bible [devotion] and talking to God. As I prepared my coffee I made a concoction with honey, cinnamon, sugar, coffee, and milk. Then I poured my now hot-water, took a sip, and got this awful salty taste. I thought it was from the amount of cinnamon I had used. I poured out that cup and poured me another cup with fewer ingredients, and to my chagrin I got the same taste. Then it hit me! Ah ha! It was all that salt I had put in the water because I wanted to rush the boiling process. Immediately, my [pneuma] spirit spoke and said, “See that’s what happens when you rush.” You would say it was just common sense, I say it was the spirit because of the word that followed. My [pneuma] spirit went on to say, “In life when you rush things like relationships, because of the eager longing of a sweet/savoring feeling of love or any gooshy feeling for that matter, you end up with the product all bitter; only because you would not be patient enough to wait for the product to get fully developed.”
The bible bears witness to this in the book of James stating, “Let patience have her perfect work so that you may be complete, and lacking nothing.” Can you recount how many times you weren’t patient enough and then saw because of your impatience you lost the thing/person you rushed? I believe truly in my [pneuma] spirit that God in these tribal days that we are to start being more patient with Him, His word, and His doings. So many times we expect God to pop-up when it’s convenient for us but I found He doesn’t operate like that. So today lets make a vow to be more patient and see the Lord bring His promises through, whether they be in relation to a mate, job, schooling etc. Its funny because many times we miss the turn God wanted us to turn on and then when we end up lost, or disappointed we think God did us wrong or gave bad directions, but it was only because we wouldn’t be still long enough to listen or wait for the coffee water to boil. Well I’m now starting over with a new/cleaned pot of water (which in some ways can translate to forgiveness, but we’ll talk about that later). This time I plan to wait. What do you think?
Monday, January 7, 2008
Going Deeper Into The Word Of God: For if we uncover we then unlock
Our journey begins at Genesis and a passage quoted by the apostle Paul when he was writing to the church in Galatia stating, “Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit. (NIV)” What I really want to cover is: what’s really behind the word when it says “spirit” and how does this common but uncommon word relate to us in our everyday lives?
Let’s take a look at Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 when Moses the author writes, “Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” Now I could stop right here and tell you who God was talking to since it was only suppose to be Him in the beginning, but I’m not. I plan to save that for a later date. I want you to grasp something else. After doing a little homework, to show my self approved, I found the Greek/Hebrew translations of some words that will allow us to see the scriptures in a whole new light. Are you ready? Well, “image” in the Hebrew means SELEM which means image. That’s funny huh? You thought it was going to be something deep. The next word, “likeness” in the Hebrew is demut, which means “manner, or similitude.”
One thing I would like for us to establish is that God is spirit or “pneuma.” I will later go into greater dept of what that’s all about, but for now let’s rest on the fact that God is a spirit being. Now the bible records that God was sitting around looking at earth and said “Let us make man…” We understand that God is a spirit being and He wants to make man in, which will be made of dust/flesh, the likeness of Himself. The revelation I received after reading this was, spiritually God wanted man to resemble Him in the purest form. So then it [the bible] says God breathe into his [man] nostrils the breathe-of-life. That word breathe in the Hebrew is SAMA, which means “life.” So God literally blew His life into man. God blew His likeness into man. God basically blew his make-up into man/us.
Wait! We too can claim a share of God’s breathe-stock by reference of Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5. It states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (NIV)” That word “Knew” in the Hebrew means “to be acquainted with or intimacy.” So before God formed us in our mother’s womb He was intimate with us. At this point I started asking questions, like how? How did God know us intimately before He formed us? I know He’s God but I need understanding. I hope now you’re beginning to understand that we are ultimately pneuma or spirit beings housed in fleshly temples. Secondly, when we revert back to the beginning when God breathe into Adam we remember He basically blew Himself into him. Well, I strongly believe for ourselves when God says He knew us. He is saying, “You came from ME.” Just like it was in the beginning of man, by breathing, God does the same thing to us. That’s why we are eternal beings. Amen! God says, “You don’t remember ME but I knew you when…”
Can you grasp that? We are pieces of our creator.
To Be Continued…
Let’s take a look at Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 when Moses the author writes, “Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” Now I could stop right here and tell you who God was talking to since it was only suppose to be Him in the beginning, but I’m not. I plan to save that for a later date. I want you to grasp something else. After doing a little homework, to show my self approved, I found the Greek/Hebrew translations of some words that will allow us to see the scriptures in a whole new light. Are you ready? Well, “image” in the Hebrew means SELEM which means image. That’s funny huh? You thought it was going to be something deep. The next word, “likeness” in the Hebrew is demut, which means “manner, or similitude.”
One thing I would like for us to establish is that God is spirit or “pneuma.” I will later go into greater dept of what that’s all about, but for now let’s rest on the fact that God is a spirit being. Now the bible records that God was sitting around looking at earth and said “Let us make man…” We understand that God is a spirit being and He wants to make man in, which will be made of dust/flesh, the likeness of Himself. The revelation I received after reading this was, spiritually God wanted man to resemble Him in the purest form. So then it [the bible] says God breathe into his [man] nostrils the breathe-of-life. That word breathe in the Hebrew is SAMA, which means “life.” So God literally blew His life into man. God blew His likeness into man. God basically blew his make-up into man/us.
Wait! We too can claim a share of God’s breathe-stock by reference of Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5. It states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (NIV)” That word “Knew” in the Hebrew means “to be acquainted with or intimacy.” So before God formed us in our mother’s womb He was intimate with us. At this point I started asking questions, like how? How did God know us intimately before He formed us? I know He’s God but I need understanding. I hope now you’re beginning to understand that we are ultimately pneuma or spirit beings housed in fleshly temples. Secondly, when we revert back to the beginning when God breathe into Adam we remember He basically blew Himself into him. Well, I strongly believe for ourselves when God says He knew us. He is saying, “You came from ME.” Just like it was in the beginning of man, by breathing, God does the same thing to us. That’s why we are eternal beings. Amen! God says, “You don’t remember ME but I knew you when…”
Can you grasp that? We are pieces of our creator.
To Be Continued…
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