It's been awhile, but I am here today just to say that I remembered something....
NOTE: All verses used in this blog post are from www.biblegateway.com.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
King James Version (KJV)
11. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Matthew 24:13
King James Version (KJV)
13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
I get frustrated with myself because I don't consistently blog. However, the above reminds me that God is concerned with me doing HIS will, not man's.
We are living in times when the economy is sluggish, and it is said that a large portion of today's money is held in a very small portion of the world population's control. And yet, God is reminding me that HE is in control. I don't know when.... I don't know how.... But I believe HE will strengthen and provide for us, IF....
2 Chronicles 7:14
King James Version (KJV)
14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
God CAN enable us to succeed. God CAN enable us to flourish. God CAN enable us to heal the world. BUT, I believe He won't as long as we choose to pursue our ways of 'lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life'. As long as we choose self and sin over sanctification and God, it will get worse, not better.
Dear Lord,
Help us to open our eyes and see the errors of our ways, and confess them. And then, please forgive us. Lastly, please help us to turn back to you with our whole hearts and allow You to enter back into our lives and lead us in paths of righteousness, for YOUR name's sake.
In Jesus name, amen.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Course Correction
I have been sporadically blogging about values and have been going through a major trial over the last several months, not unlike our country. I am finding it difficult to live within my means, but God continues to provide.
I write this blog today because I see our country floundering in the face of its current challenges.
What do we know: 1. We are in a recession; 2. We as a nation are fast becoming a debtor nation; 3. Possession (in the U.S.) is often perceived as ownership; 4. We can't borrow our way out of debt; 5. God, innovation, freedom, and responsibility are some of the major contributors to our nation's greatness; 6. The adage "insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results", while it may not be an actual quote, is an accurate statement.
We need to once again become a godly nation. We need to once again become a producing, servant nation. We need to once again become an educated nation. We need to once again become a nation that not only calls the name of God, but that respects the name of God. We need to once again do things to glorify God, not to ingratiate ourselves. We need to put first things first.
I pray that we will make decisions not only for the short term, but with eternity in consideration. I don't want anyone to suffer, but I REALLY don't want us to lose our country BECAUSE we did not want anyone to suffer.
"Dear Lord, please bless us to serve You in spirit and in truth, and to serve each other even as Christ served the people of His time. Help us to make decisions out of love, and not out of fear or self-aggrandizement. Bless us, that we may be a blessing, first to You, and then to those we serve. In Jesus name I pray, Amen"
I have been sporadically blogging about values and have been going through a major trial over the last several months, not unlike our country. I am finding it difficult to live within my means, but God continues to provide.
I write this blog today because I see our country floundering in the face of its current challenges.
What do we know: 1. We are in a recession; 2. We as a nation are fast becoming a debtor nation; 3. Possession (in the U.S.) is often perceived as ownership; 4. We can't borrow our way out of debt; 5. God, innovation, freedom, and responsibility are some of the major contributors to our nation's greatness; 6. The adage "insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results", while it may not be an actual quote, is an accurate statement.
We need to once again become a godly nation. We need to once again become a producing, servant nation. We need to once again become an educated nation. We need to once again become a nation that not only calls the name of God, but that respects the name of God. We need to once again do things to glorify God, not to ingratiate ourselves. We need to put first things first.
I pray that we will make decisions not only for the short term, but with eternity in consideration. I don't want anyone to suffer, but I REALLY don't want us to lose our country BECAUSE we did not want anyone to suffer.
"Dear Lord, please bless us to serve You in spirit and in truth, and to serve each other even as Christ served the people of His time. Help us to make decisions out of love, and not out of fear or self-aggrandizement. Bless us, that we may be a blessing, first to You, and then to those we serve. In Jesus name I pray, Amen"
Friday, October 1, 2010
Integrity
Since beginning this blog, I have found myself, my faith, and my values tested. I am determined to maintain my integrity, but I must confess that it is not easy. I do not want to let go of my values. indeed, I feel that, if I let go my values, I let go of me - my very essence, my very purpose for existing. I feel I MUST be true to who I am and who I was raised to be, if I am to become the person I was created to be.
I am challenged in ways I have not been in over 20 years and yes, I am VERY nervous - even scared. However, I believe God has a purpose for what I am going through and, I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I believe He will not only bring me through this situation better off than when I entered into it, but I will also benefit the kingdom in ways that I could not have if I did not go through this.
I hope I do not get discouraged and selfishly keep this journey to myself. Rather, I pray that I will share this journey so that someone else who is going through, or maybe is about to go through this journey, may be comforted.
I am challenged in ways I have not been in over 20 years and yes, I am VERY nervous - even scared. However, I believe God has a purpose for what I am going through and, I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I believe He will not only bring me through this situation better off than when I entered into it, but I will also benefit the kingdom in ways that I could not have if I did not go through this.
I hope I do not get discouraged and selfishly keep this journey to myself. Rather, I pray that I will share this journey so that someone else who is going through, or maybe is about to go through this journey, may be comforted.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tell yourself, and others, the truth….
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 13:7
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.
Simply put, don't tell someone you love them when all you want is to use and/or abuse her or him. Oh, and you can't love her or him, if what you do is outside the will of Love (God). Tell yourself the truth and then you can tell others the truth. What is the truth? God is Truth, the Author of Truth, the Embodiment of Truth, and the Fulfillment of Truth. He and His Word are one. His Word is Truth. So read His Word. Desire His Word. Immerse yourself in and continuously seek His Truth, and His Truth, THE Truth, SHALL make you free.
If you love, suffer. Suffer because of those you love. Suffer in spite of those you love. Suffer, and do not blame those you love because you suffer. And then, believe that all things will work together for good to them that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose; for those for whom you have suffered; and even for you.
Hope. Hope not with human hope, but with the hope of God. Don't 'hope that things will work out okay'. Hope that things HAVE worked out okay; you just can't see it yet. Hope like Abraham hoped. He did not live to fully see all that he hoped for. But he hoped so hard, and he trusted God so much, that his hope is still being fulfilled. Hope like Jesus hoped. He hoped so hard that He gave His life for those for whom He hoped. BUT.... His hope did not stay dead, and neither did He. He hoped so hard, that His hope - God Himself - raised Him from the dead, and is still raising us from the dead in Him. Endure death so that God Himself will raise you from the dead.
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 13:7
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.
Simply put, don't tell someone you love them when all you want is to use and/or abuse her or him. Oh, and you can't love her or him, if what you do is outside the will of Love (God). Tell yourself the truth and then you can tell others the truth. What is the truth? God is Truth, the Author of Truth, the Embodiment of Truth, and the Fulfillment of Truth. He and His Word are one. His Word is Truth. So read His Word. Desire His Word. Immerse yourself in and continuously seek His Truth, and His Truth, THE Truth, SHALL make you free.
If you love, suffer. Suffer because of those you love. Suffer in spite of those you love. Suffer, and do not blame those you love because you suffer. And then, believe that all things will work together for good to them that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose; for those for whom you have suffered; and even for you.
Hope. Hope not with human hope, but with the hope of God. Don't 'hope that things will work out okay'. Hope that things HAVE worked out okay; you just can't see it yet. Hope like Abraham hoped. He did not live to fully see all that he hoped for. But he hoped so hard, and he trusted God so much, that his hope is still being fulfilled. Hope like Jesus hoped. He hoped so hard that He gave His life for those for whom He hoped. BUT.... His hope did not stay dead, and neither did He. He hoped so hard, that His hope - God Himself - raised Him from the dead, and is still raising us from the dead in Him. Endure death so that God Himself will raise you from the dead.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Love – AND Beat, Kill, Distrust, Disrespect, Tear Down, Destroy? Or….
It took me awhile to get back to this theme. Love is an AWESOME value, and a difficult one to live up to. I found myself overwhelmed by my own shortcomings to the point that I became discouraged from writing. But God….
The Bible says that real love “…is not easily provoked, and it thinks no evil…” (1st Corinthians 13: 5b). So…. When a spouse beats a significant other (verbally or physically) and says she or he loves the other, is it true? When one spouse checks the other’s cell phone because the other MUST be seeing someone else, is that truly love? Perhaps some folks think so. Perhaps there are other forces at play. Perhaps the spouse that beats the other spouse WANTS to love. Perhaps the spouse that beats the other BELIEVES she or he loves but, because of any number of reasons, that spouse is incapable of loving anyone else. Perhaps that spouse has never known REAL love, and never loved him- or herself, so she or he does not know how to love anyone else.
Perhaps the spouse that distrusts the other WANTS to believe in her or him. Perhaps the spouse that disrespects wants to honor the other. Perhaps the one who tears down the self esteem and reputation of the other has grown up in an environment that demonstrated such behavior as okay, even loving. Perhaps many people would be happy to be treated in such manners. I personally would not. I would much rather be trusted, respected, esteemed, and built up.
Perhaps it is love to ‘mistreat others’, perhaps it is not. I leave you to answer that. I can say this with confidence…. According to the love that God demonstrated to us, “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…” (Romans 5:8), and enabled our adoption into the family of God (Gal. 4:5-6). Christ did not beat us; He blessed us. Christ did not curse us; He prayed for us. Christ did not turn us away; He gently and lovingly reached out to gather us to Himself. Christ did not allow us to die in our sickness, confusion, and rebellion; by His stripes, He healed us. The further we went from Him, the further He went for us. As we consider our love for others, let us remember God’s (and Christ’s) love for us. Neither God nor Christ is easily provoked, and neither God nor Christ thinks evil of us, in spite of us. Let us follow their examples.
It took me awhile to get back to this theme. Love is an AWESOME value, and a difficult one to live up to. I found myself overwhelmed by my own shortcomings to the point that I became discouraged from writing. But God….
The Bible says that real love “…is not easily provoked, and it thinks no evil…” (1st Corinthians 13: 5b). So…. When a spouse beats a significant other (verbally or physically) and says she or he loves the other, is it true? When one spouse checks the other’s cell phone because the other MUST be seeing someone else, is that truly love? Perhaps some folks think so. Perhaps there are other forces at play. Perhaps the spouse that beats the other spouse WANTS to love. Perhaps the spouse that beats the other BELIEVES she or he loves but, because of any number of reasons, that spouse is incapable of loving anyone else. Perhaps that spouse has never known REAL love, and never loved him- or herself, so she or he does not know how to love anyone else.
Perhaps the spouse that distrusts the other WANTS to believe in her or him. Perhaps the spouse that disrespects wants to honor the other. Perhaps the one who tears down the self esteem and reputation of the other has grown up in an environment that demonstrated such behavior as okay, even loving. Perhaps many people would be happy to be treated in such manners. I personally would not. I would much rather be trusted, respected, esteemed, and built up.
Perhaps it is love to ‘mistreat others’, perhaps it is not. I leave you to answer that. I can say this with confidence…. According to the love that God demonstrated to us, “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…” (Romans 5:8), and enabled our adoption into the family of God (Gal. 4:5-6). Christ did not beat us; He blessed us. Christ did not curse us; He prayed for us. Christ did not turn us away; He gently and lovingly reached out to gather us to Himself. Christ did not allow us to die in our sickness, confusion, and rebellion; by His stripes, He healed us. The further we went from Him, the further He went for us. As we consider our love for others, let us remember God’s (and Christ’s) love for us. Neither God nor Christ is easily provoked, and neither God nor Christ thinks evil of us, in spite of us. Let us follow their examples.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Love Seeketh Not Her Own
We seem to have confused a lot of different ‘stuff’’ as love. Wanting someone or something that is for someone else is not love – it is covetousness. When one desires someone else’s person, place or thing(s), one is breaking a commandment of Love – thou shalt not covet. When one desires sex out of wedlock, from anyone or anything, one is breaking one and maybe two commandments of Love - thou shalt have no other gods before me and thou shalt not commit adultery.
When we impose our desires and/or will over God’s, we place our desires and/or ourselves as gods.
As you consider the above, please consider it thinking of yourself and your alignment with God's will, not someone else. We should read the Bible as if we are looking in the mirror. James says in 1:23 and 24, "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass...he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." We need to know what we are seeking from love and those around us, and examine our motives individually, not the motives of those around us.
We seem to have confused a lot of different ‘stuff’’ as love. Wanting someone or something that is for someone else is not love – it is covetousness. When one desires someone else’s person, place or thing(s), one is breaking a commandment of Love – thou shalt not covet. When one desires sex out of wedlock, from anyone or anything, one is breaking one and maybe two commandments of Love - thou shalt have no other gods before me and thou shalt not commit adultery.
When we impose our desires and/or will over God’s, we place our desires and/or ourselves as gods.
As you consider the above, please consider it thinking of yourself and your alignment with God's will, not someone else. We should read the Bible as if we are looking in the mirror. James says in 1:23 and 24, "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass...he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." We need to know what we are seeking from love and those around us, and examine our motives individually, not the motives of those around us.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
42 Lovers
1Corinthians 13: 4 (a) “Charity suffereth long, and is kind;”
I look at the partial verse above and I think, “We have gone a LONG way from the truth”. Charity (or love) suffereth long…. In today’s society, it seems that suffering is viewed with the same displeasure or hatred that I believe SIN once was. NOW, our society tells us to SIN rather than SUFFER. However, I recently participated in an event and I saw a different application of suffering that gave me hope for today and our future.
42 men and women (35 men and 7 women) took time out of their normal schedules and for about 2 months subjected themselves to dancing. “Subjected themselves to dancing”, you say? How is THAT suffering? Well, if you have never learned to count 1-2-3, 2-2-3, 3-2-3, 4-2-3, and keep in step to that count, and learned to spin, and bow or curtsey, or reverse spin, then trust me, you are subjecting yourself to dancing – more specifically, to the dance of waltzing.
I saw (because of my injury, I suffered the ridicule of NOT being able to participate in the waltz) 42 men and women subject themselves to arduous dance routines that I believe ONLY LOVE inspired them to endure. They did the waltz, not because they had to, but because they wanted to demonstrate their love to their child, their niece, their nephew, or their friend.
The Kansas City chapter of Delta Sigma Theta (DST) Cotillion was the conduit that enabled these 42 lovers to demonstrate their love, but it was the selflessness of the 42 lovers that impressed me that “some of us have the definition of love right”. The 42 lovers (and 42 participants) suffered LONG, with GREAT reward. When the formal presentation event was held on April 3, 2010 in Kansas City, Missouri, the 42 lovers and participants glistened against the applause and admiration of the 600 plus attendees of the 25th annual DST Cotillion Ball.
Being kind seems to have gone the way of dinosaurs – become extinct. Rudeness is the way of the day. You are not cool if you are not rude. And yet, societal controls say, rude leads to crude, which leads to lewd, which often leads to crime – crime, which is glorified in the popular songs of today. We think, "Singing about it [crime] does not popularize it". “Singing about it [crime] does not promote it.” “Demonstrating acts of lewdness on television does not promote illicit sex and our children will understand that it is only an illusion that is being played before them.” And then, a major songstress strips naked in public, with children and adults all around. NOW what do we say? The child asks, "Why did she do that"? I ask, “Why did we think she would NOT do it”?
We are reaping the fruits of our crudeness. If we want different fruit, we need to sow different seeds. Let’s take it upon ourselves individually and collectively to sow kind words, considerate words, thoughtful words, words that build character into those who receive them rather than stripping them of their humanity. Let’s sow kind deeds that demonstrate to others that love is an action verb that bestows kindness, and that love is still alive. We can follow the songstress’s example, or we can follow the example of the 42 lovers. As for me, I plan to follow the example of the 42 lovers.
I look at the partial verse above and I think, “We have gone a LONG way from the truth”. Charity (or love) suffereth long…. In today’s society, it seems that suffering is viewed with the same displeasure or hatred that I believe SIN once was. NOW, our society tells us to SIN rather than SUFFER. However, I recently participated in an event and I saw a different application of suffering that gave me hope for today and our future.
42 men and women (35 men and 7 women) took time out of their normal schedules and for about 2 months subjected themselves to dancing. “Subjected themselves to dancing”, you say? How is THAT suffering? Well, if you have never learned to count 1-2-3, 2-2-3, 3-2-3, 4-2-3, and keep in step to that count, and learned to spin, and bow or curtsey, or reverse spin, then trust me, you are subjecting yourself to dancing – more specifically, to the dance of waltzing.
I saw (because of my injury, I suffered the ridicule of NOT being able to participate in the waltz) 42 men and women subject themselves to arduous dance routines that I believe ONLY LOVE inspired them to endure. They did the waltz, not because they had to, but because they wanted to demonstrate their love to their child, their niece, their nephew, or their friend.
The Kansas City chapter of Delta Sigma Theta (DST) Cotillion was the conduit that enabled these 42 lovers to demonstrate their love, but it was the selflessness of the 42 lovers that impressed me that “some of us have the definition of love right”. The 42 lovers (and 42 participants) suffered LONG, with GREAT reward. When the formal presentation event was held on April 3, 2010 in Kansas City, Missouri, the 42 lovers and participants glistened against the applause and admiration of the 600 plus attendees of the 25th annual DST Cotillion Ball.
Being kind seems to have gone the way of dinosaurs – become extinct. Rudeness is the way of the day. You are not cool if you are not rude. And yet, societal controls say, rude leads to crude, which leads to lewd, which often leads to crime – crime, which is glorified in the popular songs of today. We think, "Singing about it [crime] does not popularize it". “Singing about it [crime] does not promote it.” “Demonstrating acts of lewdness on television does not promote illicit sex and our children will understand that it is only an illusion that is being played before them.” And then, a major songstress strips naked in public, with children and adults all around. NOW what do we say? The child asks, "Why did she do that"? I ask, “Why did we think she would NOT do it”?
We are reaping the fruits of our crudeness. If we want different fruit, we need to sow different seeds. Let’s take it upon ourselves individually and collectively to sow kind words, considerate words, thoughtful words, words that build character into those who receive them rather than stripping them of their humanity. Let’s sow kind deeds that demonstrate to others that love is an action verb that bestows kindness, and that love is still alive. We can follow the songstress’s example, or we can follow the example of the 42 lovers. As for me, I plan to follow the example of the 42 lovers.
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