Microwaves started it all. Now we have high speed Internet, 4G’s, as well as “Apps” that help us upload and browse within seconds. We have drive thru restaurants, banks, and drug stores. We tap our foot impatiently in the twenty items or less express lane. We now have self checking to make that go faster. We can send and receive money quickly on our phones. Credit cards can now simply be tapped instead of swiped. “I mean who has time to swipe anymore?” Before Christmas is over good, Valentine’s Day items are on display and for sale. Before you know it, it’s New Year’s Eve again. Then we are all saying, “Where did the time go?” There is an old saying “time waits for no man;” seems like to me, man has a problem waiting for time. I recently watched a movie entitled “In Time” starring Justin Timberlake. Without giving away the movie, let me just share the premise. Justin’s character lived in a world without paper money. See, everyone born lived a carefree life until the age of twenty-five. At that moment, on that day, they are given twenty-five more years to live. No one was supposed to live past the age of fifty. The way it was controlled was this, on their twenty-fifth birthdays, twenty-five years appeared as a ticking-down clock on the forearm so that everyone could keep up with just how much “time” they had to live. Once you got a job, you weren’t paid in cash, you were given more time. The kicker was everything you needed from a stick of gum, riding public transportation, buying groceries, or even paying your rent was paid for with your time. So if you worked eight hours, you might get paid twenty-four hours but your car note might cost you a week of your life. It was a very good and interesting movie. It got me to thinking about how valuable our time is and how often we take it for granted with our impatience, especially when it comes to trusting God. My Bishop recently preached a message entitled “Only Believe.” He read Mark 5:21-23; 35-42 which tells the story of a synagogue ruler named Jairus. Jairus came seeking Jesus because his daughter was sick. Mark 5:24 tells us that after Jairus knelt and begged Jesus to come heal his daughter, Jesus started following him to his house to do just as he had requested. Here’s what stuck out to me in the story. On the way to Jairus’ house Mark 5:25-34 tells us how Jesus was, as usual, surrounded by a crowd of people all seeking Him for different things. In the midst of this crowd was a sickly woman with an issue of blood, who was determined, like Jairus, to get a miracle from the Messiah that day. She touched Jesus and was immediately made whole. Jesus felt virtue leave His body and His attention left Jairus and turned to finding out whose faith had stirred Him in such a way. Now most of us know the rest of the woman’s story, but I’m interested in Jairus. Put yourself in his position. You have traveled a long way to seek Jesus so that He can come and heal your child who is on the brink of death, and He has agreed. Then suddenly His attention is drawn elsewhere. What do you do? Well, Jairus couldn’t “google” up a plan “B” or text someone else for help. He had no “plan b” Jesus was “it.” All he could do now was…wait. It was like “this chick just broke in line at a crowded Black Friday sale!” There Jairus was, no doubt, feeling relief having the Almighty following him home to meet his need; and “wham” out of nowhere, he turns around and Jesus is doing something else. But Jairus, unlike many of us, didn’t get mad and say “hey I was here first, wait your turn lady!” He didn’t get upset and storm off saying “forget it then Jesus, I’ll find another way to do what I need.” [Anybody guilty?] NO! Jairus waited. However matters didn’t get better while he waited they got worse. As he stood and watched the lady who broke in line; not only get healed but be made whole, he had a visitor of his own. Mark 5:35 tells us how people who had been at Jairus’ house came to inform him that his daughter, who had been sick when he left, was now dead. Have you ever felt like you have done everything you were supposed to do, but it still wasn’t enough? Have you ever stepped out on faith, sought and found Jesus, worshipped at His feet; yet before your breakthrough came there were people telling you to “let it go.” Has anyone ever come to tell you just to give up because no matter what you had done, it was too late for your miracle to take place? I can’t tell you how many times I have heard those words myself. So what do you do now, all you “Jarius” out there? What do we do when things don’t go as planned, when that desire didn’t manifest when we thought it should have? The Bible doesn’t say that Jairus said one word. In my opinion that’s good and that is exactly what we should do. When dream-busting haters tell us “you’ll never be that,” “you can’t do that,” or “you’ll never have that”, don’t say a word. Keep the faith and “show” them. After all the old saying goes “actions speak louder than words.” Better yet, the Bible tells us in James 2:17 “faith without works is dead.” Here’s the next part of Jairus’ story that I like. Mark 5:36“as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, (by those who came from Jairus’ house) He said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” There Jesus was in a crowd of people, all wanting something from him at the same time. He was healing a lady but He still had his mind on Jairus. Why don’t we realize that sometimes? Just when it seems God is not listening, or when it feels like He’s not going to move, we have to trust that He is. Maybe He’s just being quiet long enough to see what we are going to do. Perhaps He’s stepping back to test us and find out if we’ll “only believe” or if we’ll give up on Him and either try to do it ourselves or find someone else to do what we need. Psalms 27:14 says “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage. And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say on the Lord.” That is what Jairus did. As a result you’ll find in Mark 5:37-43 that Jairus’ patience and faith caused a mighty move of God. Jesus went to his house, put out all the negative folks (take note of that, we need to do that also), and He healed Jairus’ daughter. This shut and opened the mouths of all the naysayers. Can you imagine how shocked those mourning a dead little girl must have been to see her running and playing in the yard the next day? Now imagine the faces of all your haters and those who doubt your calling in Christ when He elevates you to the fullest. So twentieth-century generation of cyber babies, can we take the time to stop texting, updating statuses, and blogging long enough to seek the real “brain” of the World Wide Way? Can we seek Him with a mindset of faith, to patiently “wait on Jesus?” However during trying times the question remains are we waiting on Jesus or is He waiting on us?
Think about it. Published in “On the Rocks Arrest” & Soul Fusion Online Magazine
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Prisoner Like Paul
Recently I spoke with a fellow Christian, who admittedly made a terrible and sinful mistake. As we spoke, the regret, Godly repentance and sorrow was evident in their face as well as their voice. I shared with them how I had made a similar mistake some years ago. Openly I admitted to them that, for me, the hardest part of “getting back right with the Lord” was forgiving myself. This conversation made me think about the life of Christianity. I thought about how often when we make mistakes, we ask God to forgive us and when we ask sincerely He forgives us immediately. However, sometimes we remain in sorrow or wallow in our errors because we have neglected to forgive ourselves. As I began to pray and think on another article for On the Rocks Arrest, I heard the title “Prisoner like Paul.” I started researching God’s word to find out more about Paul. I discovered that there are a lot of things about Paul we can all relate to and learn from. Acts 8:1 reveals how Paul “made havoc” of the church. You may say, “I can’t relate to that!” “I have never caused any trouble at church.” But I say if you speak negatively or contrary to God’s word that is just what you are doing. You may not be causing physical havoc like Paul, but the word havoc is synonymous with destruction. Stop and ask yourself, have you ever been destructive with your words concerning the church? Teenagers, have you ever been destructive at home or school whether physically, mentally or emotionally? Anyone out there ever found yourself having no regard for authority like Paul did in his early days? To me, that makes you a creator of havoc. At this point in his life, Paul was a prisoner to havoc. Acts 9:1 tells us how Paul spoke of threats and murders against people of the Lord. I liken this to the murderous way in which we often use our tongues against one another. I know I have been guilty of this in the past. Paul was a prisoner to his own evil words and deeds. Here’s where things started to change for Paul. As he traveled to Damascus, Paul had nothing except havoc and murder on his mind. On that trip he was unexpectedly visited by Jesus. (You see when they say “Jesus will meet you where you are.” It is not just a cliché.) There was Paul, determined to do evil and suddenly Jesus appears questioning him, letting him know God sees all. Paul of course was taken aback and very frightened. The Bible says he “trembled” in the presence of Jesus. Though he was, what I call “a straight up sinner”; Jesus saw how Paul could be used in God’s Kingdom if he was converted. There are so many people out there who have a “heart to hustle.” You can turn a dime into a dollar in less than five minutes. You believe in your skills and you use them for selfish gain. Did you ever stop to think, that if you used your intelligence legally and for the Lord, how much more you could obtain? Are you a prisoner to your hustle? After speaking with Jesus according to Acts 9:8-9 Paul was stuck blind for three days. During this time he didn’t eat or drink. Now he was a prisoner to pain and suffering. The Bible doesn’t tell us why Paul didn’t eat. I wonder if he was deeply contemplating what he had experienced with Jesus. Or if he was wallowing in the fact that he no longer had his sight? Ever been a prisoner to your sickness or physical situations? Have you ever been blinded by your evil doings? Can you see that Jesus wants to use you even though have not always done what’s right? Can you see that He loves you regardless of your past? Are you aware of the fact that if you live for Him things can and will get better? This next part of the story is my favorite. In Acts 9:10-19 it tells us how Jesus spoke to a disciple named Ananias. He instructed Ananias to find Paul and restore his sight. Ananias quickly responded. (my version) “Hold up, you mean Paul, the same Paul that’s been murdering folks at the church?” “Why in the world do you want me to heal him?” This proves God is not like man. A man (woman) will immediately identify another man (woman) by their past mistakes. God sees the heart. Church folk, how many times have you turned your nose up at a babe who has fallen? How many times have you given up on a fellow Christian because they made a mistake one to many times for YOUR liking? Jesus doesn’t do this, He forgives seventy times seven. (Matt 18:21-22) After receiving his sight Paul is totally converted to Jesus Christ and he never turned back. He preached the gospel all over the land. He even preached to those he had once persecuted. I believed that had to take self forgiveness. It must have been challenging to preach to those you once threatened to kill. Paul had to have been walking in total faith and submission to God. He didn’t have time to worry about what people were thinking about him or his past. He certainly didn’t have time to hold himself back with thoughts of insecurity or self doubt. He was on a “God-mission.” Later Paul was unjustly imprisoned but he didn’t allow this to make him leave the Lord. He spent the majority of his prison time writing letters to different people and churches to be a blessing to them. So although he was a literal prisoner at this time, he was a spiritual prisoner as well. He was captured by God’s undying love and he was handcuffed by his determination to be a help to God’s people. So are you a prisoner like Paul? Or are you just a prisoner to sin and daily self gratification? What is more important to you than God? Think about it. Published in "On the Rocks Arrest"
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
"Comfort in KNOWING"
These are just a few things we do in life for comfort’s sake because we have to know all the doors are locked or that the food will be just right. That’s our natural instinct as humans because there is a comfort in “knowing.” With so much tragedy and chaos going on in the world we long for moments of comfort. Webster’s definition of comfort is: relief, to strengthen, aide.
People are looking everywhere for comfort or so it seems. Some find their solace in food to the point of obesity and gluten. Some search for and feel their peace lies in drugs. They long for their addictions to alter their mind. So much so, that all the lines of reality are blurred. The only thing that remains is a world of extreme highs and unbearable lows, leaving them scared and empty inside. While in between their highs, they are hurting their friends and loved ones. Others may find their relief in their spouse or companion. This dependency can cause problems for the “relief bearer;” it can become difficult to be someone’s source of comfort. Human shoulders can only bare so much.
Some are so tormented with the cares of life that their hearts aren’t comforted by anything. Instead they wallow in self pity and depression. Psalms 94:19 (NKJV) says, “in the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight in my soul.” This is clearly telling us not to allow any amount of trouble to keep us bound. Psalms 119:50 says, “This is my comfort in my afflictions, for your word has given me life.” We don’t have to search for life or comfort. God’s holy word declares He has already given them to us.
Psalms 119:52 says, “I remembered your judgments of old, O Lord and have comforted myself.” Many may know the song that says, “Sometimes you have to encourage yourself!” Reflect back on God’s word and call to remembrance the wonderful days He has allowed you to see. The unexpected blessing He has bestowed upon you and then use those memories to encourage yourself. Use them to fight back against the devil and his demons when they speak to you, telling you that you’ll never amount to anything. Remember Jesus died for our sins. Don’t let the word slip when your flesh and others try to hold your past mistakes against you. Hide God’s word in your heart and know that it is true.
You use your house key to lock your home when you leave; you do so with a “knowing” that your home is secure. Just like cooking your best dish and placing it on the table with pride, you have a “knowing” that the dish will impress. How much more of a knowing should we have in the power of God’s word? How much more of a knowing should we have in God’s undeniable ability to take our messes and turn them into blessings? So next time you feel low, grab a hold of God’s unchanging, unfailing word and take comfort in “knowing.” THINK ABOUT IT.
Published in “On the Rocks Arrest”
Thursday, February 16, 2012
"Divorced in the Church" (interview article)
The first day you met, your first date, the day he proposed, your wedding day and the birth of your first child are all special days. On these days one could never think it would, could or should end, I know I didn’t. However, sometimes or should I say often times, things change. Being a long time Christian, baptized in the faith when I was only thirteen years old, I have diligently worked in the ministry it seems since the day I received salvation. My former husband and I met as young teens and dated until the day we were wed. We were divorced nine years and one child later.
There are so many factors that go into a divorce; it got me to thinking and looking around. When I was growing up, divorce was just something you saw in a television drama. It wasn’t a part of my reality and I certainly never saw it up close and personal in the church, until it happened to me. I began to notice that divorce in the church is becoming it seems, the norm.
I won’t go into the details of my divorce; however I will say that being an active leader and member of my church coupled with having a child, were very important deciding factors in hesitating to get a divorce. And that makes me wonder, do people feel that Christians are immune from divorce, or troubles in their marriages? Not that I’m trying to plug here; but some of these thoughts and my desire to raise awareness that Christian marriages go through things too, prompted my writing the play “What Little Boys Are Made Of” , that became my film “Between Love And A Hard Place”
Some would say, “You are saved, you shouldn’t get a divorce unless someone cheated and you caught them.” Or “as long as there is no physical abuse, you can work anything out.” What would you say to the women who sits in the front row while her husband preaches to the congregation and as they cry out rejoicing she’s crying inside because she knows when she gets home she has no food to feed her children and they are about to be put out of their home? Not because they are being tested by the Lord but because that very same “fireball” preacher, though he is working, has not been paying bills or managing the household properly. What do you say to the minister whose wife never cleans, refuses to submit, won’t work or help out and is a constant nag, and it’s been this way for years, should he wait to see if she’ll commit adultery? What about the lady evangelist whose husband was a well respected minister and is now a backslider, and she’s the only one who knows what he is really doing outside the church? How about the couples who married very young, and are rapidly growing apart, who have nothing in common, except their bills, and their children, who are living like roommates and don’t have an ounce of love left in their relationship.
Do people automatically assume that because you are in the church you should be able to work it out? So I asked some divorced Christians that I know, leaders, ministers, deacons and others who like me made the decision to get a divorce and the rest of the article is based on the anonymous responses I got.
So I asked the questions:
“What do you think is the biggest cause of Christians getting a divorce?”
Some of the reasons are lack of trust, and infidelity. I really think the main reason would be that they don’t really know each other. Sometimes as Christians we get with other Christians (or rather people we think are Christians) because of their faith. We find out that they are not what they profess to be. Sometimes we may think we have something in common with a person and after living with them 24/7 we find out that we don’t. Friendship is a must, if you are not friends with your spouse, I feel, it won’t last. You have to be able to do things with your spouse that you both enjoy. Common interest gives couples things to talk about.
Anonymous Female
Main reason for a lot of people is they simply do not know the person. I think, it’s impossible to know a person until you’ve dwelled (lived) with them, though I’m not trying to tell anyone to “shack”, just take your time and get to know the person as best you can. Sometimes the love that they supposedly have for one another dissipates, unless you work at keeping it alive. I feel, people don’t want to put forth the effort to work on their marriage anymore. Love has to be cultivated, and if not, divorce is what you get.
Anonymous Female
There is no main cause, there are several causes, I believe, that add up and then cause divorce to be the final decision, such as lack of interest, not being able to agree on pertinent issues, the “I can do bad all by myself mentality” for women and the “tuck tail and run” mentality for men.
Anonymous Female
I think people get divorced because they decided not to work together on different issues. Eventually, people fall out of love because they feel like their needs aren't being met and then other areas begin to fester. Ex: lack of attention, infidelity, no affection, etc. Anonymous Male
I believe a lot of them just decide their life will be better off without the other person. My marriage ended due to problems coming from other family members. I was totally against the divorce because I believe divorces are wrong. We even made an attempt to rebuild our marriage, but family members kept interfering with our marriage. Anonymous Male
“What is the hardest part of being a divorced Christian?”The hardest part of being a divorced Christian is remaining celibate. After being married and having a physically intimate relationship with someone for a particular amount of time, it is hard not to think about that. My body tells me one thing but in my mind I know that it is against the will of God to have sex outside of marriage. Anonymous Female
Raising children alone; even when fathers are active in their children’s lives, the daily living and routines can be difficult occasionally. Anonymous Female
Fellow Christians so opinionated about others decision to divorce “a man or woman of God. They feel as if the couple or at least one of them is so out of the Will of God for leaving. Often times what they didn’t know is the “man or woman of God” is nothing at all like they are in front of everyone at the church. Christians can be so quick to pass judgment on what they see and hear, which in most cases, is NOT reality. Anonymous Female
Handling business without emotions getting involved, mostly from the women stand point, but men can be this way too. Who does what, what time, which gets the kids and when and where. Anonymous Male
As bad as a marriage may be, you get use to always having someone to come home to. When you get a divorce it is different coming home and your former spouse is not there. Anonymous Male
From these answers I got to thinking about my situation and I could see myself in most of these cases. When my first husband and I decided to divorce the first thing I heard was people saying “What’s wrong with her, divorcing that good looking man of God!” What we must always remember is there are two sides to every story. There are some things that happened that, I am certainly not proud of but no one knows the entire story except me, him, and God. No one has to live with the decision we made except me and him. I think fellow Christians should opt to pray with and for each other instead of talking about or at each other. Contrary to popular belief, men are not the only ones who cheat, and women are not the only ones who sometimes refuse to submit.
Since God instituted marriage it’s a no "brainer" that the enemy hates it. And if the devil hates marriage in general surely he’s working overtime to destroy Christian marriages. The divorce rate in the church may be no higher than that in the “world” but I believe the stakes are higher when those who are the called, and chosen of God give up and divorce. The consensus around the board when I interviewed was, seek Godly counsel no matter what the situation, make sure you are making your decision based on what God wants for you and your family and not what your flesh has decided it wants to do.
Think about it.
Published in “Wow Magazine” 2010
There are so many factors that go into a divorce; it got me to thinking and looking around. When I was growing up, divorce was just something you saw in a television drama. It wasn’t a part of my reality and I certainly never saw it up close and personal in the church, until it happened to me. I began to notice that divorce in the church is becoming it seems, the norm.
I won’t go into the details of my divorce; however I will say that being an active leader and member of my church coupled with having a child, were very important deciding factors in hesitating to get a divorce. And that makes me wonder, do people feel that Christians are immune from divorce, or troubles in their marriages? Not that I’m trying to plug here; but some of these thoughts and my desire to raise awareness that Christian marriages go through things too, prompted my writing the play “What Little Boys Are Made Of” , that became my film “Between Love And A Hard Place”
Some would say, “You are saved, you shouldn’t get a divorce unless someone cheated and you caught them.” Or “as long as there is no physical abuse, you can work anything out.” What would you say to the women who sits in the front row while her husband preaches to the congregation and as they cry out rejoicing she’s crying inside because she knows when she gets home she has no food to feed her children and they are about to be put out of their home? Not because they are being tested by the Lord but because that very same “fireball” preacher, though he is working, has not been paying bills or managing the household properly. What do you say to the minister whose wife never cleans, refuses to submit, won’t work or help out and is a constant nag, and it’s been this way for years, should he wait to see if she’ll commit adultery? What about the lady evangelist whose husband was a well respected minister and is now a backslider, and she’s the only one who knows what he is really doing outside the church? How about the couples who married very young, and are rapidly growing apart, who have nothing in common, except their bills, and their children, who are living like roommates and don’t have an ounce of love left in their relationship.
Do people automatically assume that because you are in the church you should be able to work it out? So I asked some divorced Christians that I know, leaders, ministers, deacons and others who like me made the decision to get a divorce and the rest of the article is based on the anonymous responses I got.
So I asked the questions:
“What do you think is the biggest cause of Christians getting a divorce?”
Some of the reasons are lack of trust, and infidelity. I really think the main reason would be that they don’t really know each other. Sometimes as Christians we get with other Christians (or rather people we think are Christians) because of their faith. We find out that they are not what they profess to be. Sometimes we may think we have something in common with a person and after living with them 24/7 we find out that we don’t. Friendship is a must, if you are not friends with your spouse, I feel, it won’t last. You have to be able to do things with your spouse that you both enjoy. Common interest gives couples things to talk about.
Anonymous Female
Main reason for a lot of people is they simply do not know the person. I think, it’s impossible to know a person until you’ve dwelled (lived) with them, though I’m not trying to tell anyone to “shack”, just take your time and get to know the person as best you can. Sometimes the love that they supposedly have for one another dissipates, unless you work at keeping it alive. I feel, people don’t want to put forth the effort to work on their marriage anymore. Love has to be cultivated, and if not, divorce is what you get.
Anonymous Female
There is no main cause, there are several causes, I believe, that add up and then cause divorce to be the final decision, such as lack of interest, not being able to agree on pertinent issues, the “I can do bad all by myself mentality” for women and the “tuck tail and run” mentality for men.
Anonymous Female
I think people get divorced because they decided not to work together on different issues. Eventually, people fall out of love because they feel like their needs aren't being met and then other areas begin to fester. Ex: lack of attention, infidelity, no affection, etc. Anonymous Male
I believe a lot of them just decide their life will be better off without the other person. My marriage ended due to problems coming from other family members. I was totally against the divorce because I believe divorces are wrong. We even made an attempt to rebuild our marriage, but family members kept interfering with our marriage. Anonymous Male
“What is the hardest part of being a divorced Christian?”The hardest part of being a divorced Christian is remaining celibate. After being married and having a physically intimate relationship with someone for a particular amount of time, it is hard not to think about that. My body tells me one thing but in my mind I know that it is against the will of God to have sex outside of marriage. Anonymous Female
Raising children alone; even when fathers are active in their children’s lives, the daily living and routines can be difficult occasionally. Anonymous Female
Fellow Christians so opinionated about others decision to divorce “a man or woman of God. They feel as if the couple or at least one of them is so out of the Will of God for leaving. Often times what they didn’t know is the “man or woman of God” is nothing at all like they are in front of everyone at the church. Christians can be so quick to pass judgment on what they see and hear, which in most cases, is NOT reality. Anonymous Female
Handling business without emotions getting involved, mostly from the women stand point, but men can be this way too. Who does what, what time, which gets the kids and when and where. Anonymous Male
As bad as a marriage may be, you get use to always having someone to come home to. When you get a divorce it is different coming home and your former spouse is not there. Anonymous Male
From these answers I got to thinking about my situation and I could see myself in most of these cases. When my first husband and I decided to divorce the first thing I heard was people saying “What’s wrong with her, divorcing that good looking man of God!” What we must always remember is there are two sides to every story. There are some things that happened that, I am certainly not proud of but no one knows the entire story except me, him, and God. No one has to live with the decision we made except me and him. I think fellow Christians should opt to pray with and for each other instead of talking about or at each other. Contrary to popular belief, men are not the only ones who cheat, and women are not the only ones who sometimes refuse to submit.
Since God instituted marriage it’s a no "brainer" that the enemy hates it. And if the devil hates marriage in general surely he’s working overtime to destroy Christian marriages. The divorce rate in the church may be no higher than that in the “world” but I believe the stakes are higher when those who are the called, and chosen of God give up and divorce. The consensus around the board when I interviewed was, seek Godly counsel no matter what the situation, make sure you are making your decision based on what God wants for you and your family and not what your flesh has decided it wants to do.
Think about it.
Published in “Wow Magazine” 2010
"Most Wanted"
Your days and nights are filled with interesting encounters. You have a close connection with a person of great power and you use those connections when you come across someone in trouble or distress.
Soon news of your generosity begins to spread and your encounters are no longer hap hazard or coincidental. People begin coming to you! Men, women, boys and girls of all races, economical and political backgrounds seek you.
They desire to know you and ask you questions. Many believe you are a healer and scholar, while others are skeptics and just come looking for ways to put you down and mock you.
As your popularity grows (popularity, by the way, that you did not ask for) the “powers that be” get wind of your accomplishments. You have never harmed a soul and everything that you have ever done has been to help, heal, bless or enlighten someone.
However as news travels, you’re being perceived as an arrogant person who exalts himself. Soon you are told you are being sought after by the “higher ups” but they defiantly don’t want to learn from you. They want you imprisoned.
They believe you are vying for their positions, and that your continued deeds are overwhelming society. So much so that they fear people will begin to worship you…
You are now far beyond your “15 minutes of fame”. You are now the MOST WANTED man in the country.
Long story short, the YOU here is JESUS.
He was captured while praying, imprisoned in place of a known criminal, accused and crucified. He was mocked, spat on and barely given a decent burial. And He did it all because there was a plan set in motion with the foundation of the world.
Jesus is still the MOST WANTED man on Earth and for many of the same reasons He was back then. Some still desire only to disprove His existence, crucifying Him daily with their denial and disbelief. They still seek Him only to mock His undeniable accomplishments. And I wonder how so many can ignore His presence that is so evident every day.
If He’s not real or never was, explain how a house can catch on fire or randomly collapse yet people escape with their lives. Explain how it can snow in May or be 95 degrees in December. Tell me how flowers and trees know what to do in autumn.
Yes, He’s MOST WANTED and rightfully so. How can you not want a God whose fingertip can pulsate a dead heart, or who can speak breathe into a dying body. Many know Him and want Him daily. They follow His plan and instructions for their lives. Sadly though, many have yet to know Him at all. And some know of Him but feel they are undeserving of His love.
John 3:16-21 reveals to us that God’s love is for everyone who will accept it. And He accepts us as we are, though once we come into true knowledge of Christianity it behooves us to make the necessary life changes and follow Him. After all being a Christian means to be “Christ-like” and it may be a clique but when unsure how to handle life situations simply ask yourself “what would Jesus do?”
So is Jesus the MOST WANTED in your life, because guess what He wants you!
THINK ABOUT IT!
Published in “On the Rocks Arrest” newspaper
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
"Backslidden, in the CHURCH!"
In my last blog I shared with you some of my trials that brought me to the realization that salvation, is not solidified or defined by attire. In that article I mentioned that I always thought you could not miss sin you have never participated in and I said quote “that’s another story…”
Well this time I want to tell you “that other story.”
I dedicated my life to the Lord at the “ripe old age” of thirteen. Some may say that’s too young to call yourself saved anyway, with that I beg to differ. I was mature enough to know when I was in sin; I had been in church partially all my life. My mother had been saved as long as I had known her, from my birth. I was in church back when your skirt had to at least touch your ankle or you were dressing like Jezebel, when red lipstick screamed harlot and going to the movies could wreck your salvation altogether.
So there I was thirteen years old and I was saved, sanctified and filled with the holy ghost contained in a burning fire with a mind to run on and see what the end was gone be! We had youth service, youth church and enough revivals to ensure everybody would be right there at church the moment Jesus cracked the sky.
Church was my life with little room for much else, and I loved it (still do). Several of my teenage peers were right there with me, I had plenty of support, not to mention a long time boyfriend who was also saved. By time I was nineteen I was married. I have been with the same guy from age thirteen, and was still a virgin. I have always been proud of the fact that, at my age when it was becoming normal to see girls thirteen to nineteen pregnant that I wasn’t one of them. So at nineteen my boyfriend and I decided it would be better to marry than to burn. Don’t get me wrong, I did love him very much. I wanted, as well as, felt that I was ready to be married. Looking back now, I know that I wasn’t.
We got married, bought our first home and were both still saved and serving the Lord faithfully in the church, it was around year two that things begin to change. (it’s a long story that I will reserve for another time, maybe) By the time year three rolled around we were both miserable and trying to make things work, by now I was pregnant with our child, hoping having a baby would help mend some of the broken places in our marriage. We loved our baby and things got better for a while but with the combination of financial and emotional difficulties, not to mention compatibility issues we faced, things began to decline again. (Again let me fast forward and spare you some of the details I’ll share one day) By the time I was twenty nine I was still serving the Lord but some of my unhappiness at home started to become more than I wanted to bear, notice I did not say it was more but more than I wanted to bear.
The temptations I was experiencing grew great, and I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. (Ref. James 1:12-16)
Soon I found myself at church, operating in ministry with sinful desires in my heart. I made friends that weren’t even thinking about salvation, being unequally yoked with them opened me up to desires I had never faced before. (Ref. I Corthinans 6:14-17 if you are battling with having friends who are not of the same mind as you when it comes to relationship and walk with Christ.)Often times we call ourselves on a “crusade” to win the lost, and all along they are winning us. I began to long to hang out with them, party and club…now these were things I had never done; remember I had been saved since I was thirteen. I’d be at church on Sunday morning singing after a night of clubbing, visits to the strip club and other things that I knew weren’t right. To make it even worse I became a big influence on some of my saved friends who like me just wanted to have “fun”. (Pause: Don’t’ think church is not or was not fun, but when you open yourself up to the temptations of the world, it will feel just that way.) They made their own choices to join me, but let’s be real, we know how to influence our friends to take our side in our wrong, or to join us in sin. Unless they are strong enough to turn away and pray for us, they may succumb to the same sins we are partaking in, and some of mine did.
I made excuses like “Well I been saved forever, it ain’t gone hurt to do this…as long as I repent tonight and make it to church tomorrow.” Church became a routine for me. It became just a place I went to save face. I thought as long as I continued to go to church and serve in ministry that I was alright. I often said “Singing on the praise team is my weapon; it’s my way of letting satan know that he doesn’t have me…totally”. But he did. Since my Sheppard was and is a real man of God you know the word coming across the pulpit was sharp. I knew it was right and I was wrong, yet I continued to let my desires to “have fun” outweigh what I knew was righteous to do. This is when RELIGION is not enough, and having a RELATIONSHIP is a must.
Here’s that happened that really rattled me. I am a writer; God has placed this gift in me to share with the world, and to witness to the world through it, I have known this since I was sixteen. I was rudely awakened when one day I sat down to write a play for church and nothing would come to me, I couldn’t hear the voice of the Lord and I realized all along He had been calling me, sparing me and I had ignored Him. I realized then that I had stopped serving God, my worship belonged to my “friend”. And when the “friend” I was now serving, looked me in my face as my marriage was coming to an end and told me that they had to leave me, when they were the one I thought would always be there for me, I was really looking crazy. The entire story of my “friend” would be way too much for you to handle in this article, trust me. But I needed deliverance, from that “friend”, from my lustful and fleshly desires, most of all I needed deliverance from myself. I had backslidden, right there in the church.
I sought God one day riding in my car and cried out to Him to give me another chance to serve Him, making sincere promises to Him that I would serve Him and Him ALONE, not just faithfully but truthfully. Because I had been serving Him faithfully all the time I was backslidden in the church, but what good did my faithfulness to ministry do when I was a horrible example, a hypocritical leader and not living the life I was singing and writing about. The bible says “Faith without works is dead” so what if you are working faithfully yet living the life of a sinner simultaneously, does God honor that work? Surely not. My so called “Dedicated” service had turned to pure “Lip Service” because my heart was far from the Lord. Matthew 7:21 says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. SO are you a true servant of the Lord, in every area of your life. Is your walk with Christ built on a relationship with Him, or are you a lip serving backslidden church member? Think about it.
Published in WOW Magazine 2010
Well this time I want to tell you “that other story.”
I dedicated my life to the Lord at the “ripe old age” of thirteen. Some may say that’s too young to call yourself saved anyway, with that I beg to differ. I was mature enough to know when I was in sin; I had been in church partially all my life. My mother had been saved as long as I had known her, from my birth. I was in church back when your skirt had to at least touch your ankle or you were dressing like Jezebel, when red lipstick screamed harlot and going to the movies could wreck your salvation altogether.
So there I was thirteen years old and I was saved, sanctified and filled with the holy ghost contained in a burning fire with a mind to run on and see what the end was gone be! We had youth service, youth church and enough revivals to ensure everybody would be right there at church the moment Jesus cracked the sky.
Church was my life with little room for much else, and I loved it (still do). Several of my teenage peers were right there with me, I had plenty of support, not to mention a long time boyfriend who was also saved. By time I was nineteen I was married. I have been with the same guy from age thirteen, and was still a virgin. I have always been proud of the fact that, at my age when it was becoming normal to see girls thirteen to nineteen pregnant that I wasn’t one of them. So at nineteen my boyfriend and I decided it would be better to marry than to burn. Don’t get me wrong, I did love him very much. I wanted, as well as, felt that I was ready to be married. Looking back now, I know that I wasn’t.
We got married, bought our first home and were both still saved and serving the Lord faithfully in the church, it was around year two that things begin to change. (it’s a long story that I will reserve for another time, maybe) By the time year three rolled around we were both miserable and trying to make things work, by now I was pregnant with our child, hoping having a baby would help mend some of the broken places in our marriage. We loved our baby and things got better for a while but with the combination of financial and emotional difficulties, not to mention compatibility issues we faced, things began to decline again. (Again let me fast forward and spare you some of the details I’ll share one day) By the time I was twenty nine I was still serving the Lord but some of my unhappiness at home started to become more than I wanted to bear, notice I did not say it was more but more than I wanted to bear.
The temptations I was experiencing grew great, and I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. (Ref. James 1:12-16)
Soon I found myself at church, operating in ministry with sinful desires in my heart. I made friends that weren’t even thinking about salvation, being unequally yoked with them opened me up to desires I had never faced before. (Ref. I Corthinans 6:14-17 if you are battling with having friends who are not of the same mind as you when it comes to relationship and walk with Christ.)Often times we call ourselves on a “crusade” to win the lost, and all along they are winning us. I began to long to hang out with them, party and club…now these were things I had never done; remember I had been saved since I was thirteen. I’d be at church on Sunday morning singing after a night of clubbing, visits to the strip club and other things that I knew weren’t right. To make it even worse I became a big influence on some of my saved friends who like me just wanted to have “fun”. (Pause: Don’t’ think church is not or was not fun, but when you open yourself up to the temptations of the world, it will feel just that way.) They made their own choices to join me, but let’s be real, we know how to influence our friends to take our side in our wrong, or to join us in sin. Unless they are strong enough to turn away and pray for us, they may succumb to the same sins we are partaking in, and some of mine did.
I made excuses like “Well I been saved forever, it ain’t gone hurt to do this…as long as I repent tonight and make it to church tomorrow.” Church became a routine for me. It became just a place I went to save face. I thought as long as I continued to go to church and serve in ministry that I was alright. I often said “Singing on the praise team is my weapon; it’s my way of letting satan know that he doesn’t have me…totally”. But he did. Since my Sheppard was and is a real man of God you know the word coming across the pulpit was sharp. I knew it was right and I was wrong, yet I continued to let my desires to “have fun” outweigh what I knew was righteous to do. This is when RELIGION is not enough, and having a RELATIONSHIP is a must.
Here’s that happened that really rattled me. I am a writer; God has placed this gift in me to share with the world, and to witness to the world through it, I have known this since I was sixteen. I was rudely awakened when one day I sat down to write a play for church and nothing would come to me, I couldn’t hear the voice of the Lord and I realized all along He had been calling me, sparing me and I had ignored Him. I realized then that I had stopped serving God, my worship belonged to my “friend”. And when the “friend” I was now serving, looked me in my face as my marriage was coming to an end and told me that they had to leave me, when they were the one I thought would always be there for me, I was really looking crazy. The entire story of my “friend” would be way too much for you to handle in this article, trust me. But I needed deliverance, from that “friend”, from my lustful and fleshly desires, most of all I needed deliverance from myself. I had backslidden, right there in the church.
I sought God one day riding in my car and cried out to Him to give me another chance to serve Him, making sincere promises to Him that I would serve Him and Him ALONE, not just faithfully but truthfully. Because I had been serving Him faithfully all the time I was backslidden in the church, but what good did my faithfulness to ministry do when I was a horrible example, a hypocritical leader and not living the life I was singing and writing about. The bible says “Faith without works is dead” so what if you are working faithfully yet living the life of a sinner simultaneously, does God honor that work? Surely not. My so called “Dedicated” service had turned to pure “Lip Service” because my heart was far from the Lord. Matthew 7:21 says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. SO are you a true servant of the Lord, in every area of your life. Is your walk with Christ built on a relationship with Him, or are you a lip serving backslidden church member? Think about it.
Published in WOW Magazine 2010
Monday, February 13, 2012
"Wearing Salvation"
My freshman year in college someone once asked me “Are you a Muslim or Catholic?” They went on to say, “I know you must be something as long as that skirt is!” And at that time I took those comments as a compliment. You see I believed my long skirt defined my Christianity. I thought the longer my skirt, the more holy I was. No fault of my pastor, my parents or the Lord, this had become my own personal comfort and belief. I especially felt that I was more saved than any women, who wore pants, even if she was a minister and I was not. I once made the statement, “If you ever see me in a pair of pants, then you know I have backslidden!”
Then one day my perfect world was “rocked” by trials and tests. The enemy was allowed to test me to the fullest. I had been a Christian since I was thirteen years old. And around age twenty-nine, temptations that never bothered me before started coming my way. I often said “How can you miss sin, you have never done?” Well I found out (but that is another story.) Now it was me, a person who had vowed that no matter the situation there was nothing that could make me leave the Lord. I had been serving in ministry for several years. I watched those who came to Christ with me in my youth, begin to turn around. I was determined that would not be me.
If you know anything about the enemy you know he is very determined as well. It was time to see what was really behind that long skirt! At the first attack, I shook off all arrows and darts thrown my way. But then the devil pulled out his heaviest artillery. Little by little I began to surrender to his tactics. He found the one thing that would cause a downslide of things, which I soon allowed to overshadow my faith. As I tasted of the fruits he offered I realized I was doing what I said I never would “backslide”.
Slowly but surely the more I tasted of sin the more I enjoyed it! I had never experienced “the world”. The more I dabbed in it, the more appealing it became to me. (A little leaven!) Galatians 5:9. Now I was still devoted to the church “building” (again another story) but the church was leaving my heart. Still hiding behind my skirt I looked down my nose at true sisters who wore pants. Even though I was at church with them in my long dresses, pretending everything was all right, shortly after service I was just a plain old “dressed” up sinner! You name it (just about) I did it!
Finally when it seemed there was nothing left for me to try. I decided to purchase a pair of pants!
As awkward as it may sound, I felt this of all the sins I had committed was the greatest. There I stood in the mirror looking at someone I did not recognize.
Not because of the pants but because I was looking at a hypocrite, a rank sinner, someone I never wanted to become. Disgusted with myself I began to cry as I heard the Spirit say, “It’s time for restoration.” Without anymore delay I headed straight to the church, got with one of our pastors, confessed, repented and was restored to Christ right there on the alter…in a pair of pants!
To my surprise I felt the same amount of love from Christ and as I called on His name I was filled with His Holy Spirit again, just as I had been the very first time I got saved. Now I was really wearing my salvation, in my heart. I’ve said all this not to say that all women who have chosen not to wear pants are wrong. But just to say “a long dress does not a Christian make!” Now modest dress is a must. I believe too short, too tight skirts are just as wrong as too short, too tight pants.
However, salvation is a process that begins and ends in your heart. Because you can wear the longest dress to your deathbed, but if there is hatred in your heart when your soul is required that dress will do you no good. The Christian lifestyle is not just a race, but a test of endurance. When life issues and circumstances will you allow them to stop you in your race to the finish, to gain the eternal prize of life everlasting? Galatians 5:7
Or will you be able to withstand and run to the finish? Ecclesiastes 9:11
So I ask you do you “wear your salvation” in your lifestyle and in your speech?
When others see you, do they see Christ regardless of your attire?
Think about it.
Published in “WOW” Magazine and “ON THE ROCKS ARREST” Newspaper
Then one day my perfect world was “rocked” by trials and tests. The enemy was allowed to test me to the fullest. I had been a Christian since I was thirteen years old. And around age twenty-nine, temptations that never bothered me before started coming my way. I often said “How can you miss sin, you have never done?” Well I found out (but that is another story.) Now it was me, a person who had vowed that no matter the situation there was nothing that could make me leave the Lord. I had been serving in ministry for several years. I watched those who came to Christ with me in my youth, begin to turn around. I was determined that would not be me.
If you know anything about the enemy you know he is very determined as well. It was time to see what was really behind that long skirt! At the first attack, I shook off all arrows and darts thrown my way. But then the devil pulled out his heaviest artillery. Little by little I began to surrender to his tactics. He found the one thing that would cause a downslide of things, which I soon allowed to overshadow my faith. As I tasted of the fruits he offered I realized I was doing what I said I never would “backslide”.
Slowly but surely the more I tasted of sin the more I enjoyed it! I had never experienced “the world”. The more I dabbed in it, the more appealing it became to me. (A little leaven!) Galatians 5:9. Now I was still devoted to the church “building” (again another story) but the church was leaving my heart. Still hiding behind my skirt I looked down my nose at true sisters who wore pants. Even though I was at church with them in my long dresses, pretending everything was all right, shortly after service I was just a plain old “dressed” up sinner! You name it (just about) I did it!
Finally when it seemed there was nothing left for me to try. I decided to purchase a pair of pants!
As awkward as it may sound, I felt this of all the sins I had committed was the greatest. There I stood in the mirror looking at someone I did not recognize.
Not because of the pants but because I was looking at a hypocrite, a rank sinner, someone I never wanted to become. Disgusted with myself I began to cry as I heard the Spirit say, “It’s time for restoration.” Without anymore delay I headed straight to the church, got with one of our pastors, confessed, repented and was restored to Christ right there on the alter…in a pair of pants!
To my surprise I felt the same amount of love from Christ and as I called on His name I was filled with His Holy Spirit again, just as I had been the very first time I got saved. Now I was really wearing my salvation, in my heart. I’ve said all this not to say that all women who have chosen not to wear pants are wrong. But just to say “a long dress does not a Christian make!” Now modest dress is a must. I believe too short, too tight skirts are just as wrong as too short, too tight pants.
However, salvation is a process that begins and ends in your heart. Because you can wear the longest dress to your deathbed, but if there is hatred in your heart when your soul is required that dress will do you no good. The Christian lifestyle is not just a race, but a test of endurance. When life issues and circumstances will you allow them to stop you in your race to the finish, to gain the eternal prize of life everlasting? Galatians 5:7
Or will you be able to withstand and run to the finish? Ecclesiastes 9:11
So I ask you do you “wear your salvation” in your lifestyle and in your speech?
When others see you, do they see Christ regardless of your attire?
Think about it.
Published in “WOW” Magazine and “ON THE ROCKS ARREST” Newspaper
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