Random thoughts..with a purpose of course..

Ok so, I’m always posting sermon type messages and sometimes I forget to just be real with my audience and myself. This blog is entitled, random thoughts with a purpose..Odd don’t you think? Random thoughts which have a purpose can actually be pretty helpful..and destructive..it just depends on the topic at hand..

For my first thought, have you ever felt like you’re alone even though you’re surrounded by people? Specifically-have you been thrilled to be with your family but everyone else just ticks you off? Sad part is, there’s not apparent reason?? Ughghg.. Isn’t that one of the worst feelings in the world? It’s not like you can pinpoint where the feeling has started or where you obtained it.. It’s just…there.. Then you snap at everyone, your quiet and just plain boring-almost in a depressed state of mind. However, when you look at the overall picture of things, your happy with everything around you.. but then again, it angers you because you can’t figure out what’s wrong.. That’s me.. As of right now, people irritate me, get on my nerves and tick me off! They can’t say too many things which I can agree with or if I do, I’m just agreeing to agree.. It’s like you’re in a dark hole, you see a light but no matter how hard you try-you never get close enough to reach it.. It’s always out of reach and becomes very frustrating.. For me, it’s frustrating because I don’t like being this way and it’s no fair to my family or my friends.. It’s not right so then I become angry because I can’t figure it out and if you know me, it upsets me not to be able to at least pinpoint something.. This attitude and feeling I have, is not giving me ANY understanding or clarity what so ever.. I look around and everyone is in a clique except me; when I try to get in one, there’s little reciprocation.. It’s almost like I don’t even exist in the world around me except with my family but it’s no fair I feel like this. I just want to lock myself away, listen to as much music as I can, scream and relieve the frustration that’s built up inside and move on with my life.. Who knows, I’m on a mission to figure it out so…if you’ve been here before, I’d love some advice..

Thought #2: Teachers are real people too. It’s what we do as a lifestyle, NOT a job. We struggle like everyone else and the difference-most of the time, between us and everyone else, we’re “certified and took some classes.” We’re not super hero’s, we juggle so many hats so many times, we don’t even know our own hat at home when we place it on our head! Yes it’s a profession/lifestyle we chose and we knew the implications-or at least most of them, when we started. Some parents do not understand their children, the work they’re required to do and what we’re required to teach. Of course if the parents would help us stand up for our rights and what we do, education would do a paradigm shift in a positive direction. However, with the lack of…ummm… guts should I say, we’ve allowed the education system to crumble and not have a leg to stand on anymore. There’s little support for our administrators which in turn, hurt the support from our administrators to our teachers. There’s little support from the “higher powers of educaiton-Central Office or the State Education Dept.” to the teachers which in turn, decreases morale and good teachers-no GREAT teachers end up leaving the system. In other words, we don’t work as a cohesive unit anymore and it’s tied our hands behind our backs in a precarious spot. Our teachers are on the front line, get to work early, stay late, PTA meetings, SST, RTI meetings, Lesson Preparation, extracurricular activities, meetings for the meetings we’re going to have etc. etc.. No I’m not griping or grumbling because this is the “profession” I chose but what I’m saying is this: We’ve taken the education out of education. We’re teaching our kids skills instead of educating them in the skills.. Big difference.. Anyone can teach something with the right tools for the job but educating them..they in turn become the teacher and they are now educating others.. We need our teachers back to educating our kids, manners, discipline, what to say-when to say it, the basics of life and a little bit of character education would be tremendous! Our hands are tied in most cases and we lack the support we need because the support needed, isn’t there from the top.

(Not saying all schools, admin etc. are like this, I’m speaking in general terms and in NO WAY am I referring to any particular or specific person, individual, school, school system and any likeness is pure speculation and heresay. The view reflective here is opinionated and have no foundational basis linking to any school or school system!)

Random #3:  Things are what they are because we’ve allowed them to be that way. We’ve sat by and allowed things to come into our homes, lives, marriages, relationships, schools, jobs etc. just so we could be politically correct.. Yet why is it politically correct all of a sudden?? Why have the different cultures never been bothered by Merry Christmas yet now, we can’t say it because it may “offend someone.” Well, this is America, the land of the FREE-home of the BRAVE.. We all have rights and if we’re offended, we just have to deal with it-that’s the American way right?? No, we’re not BORN that way either.. When we use that excuse we’re saying God created us that way and if that’s so, wouldn’t it be against His word to allow a killer to be birthed yet God commands us “Thou shalt not kill?” We all have a CHOICE in our life..Some more than others, some growing up do not I understand and empathize but..don’t use excuses to justify your choices in life.. No one was born a certain way except a sinner, lost from God…That’s the way you were born and through your life, you make choices which shape and define you for who and what you are and become. You have a choice not to live in the past, not to dwell and make excuses..you can move forward in your life it’s just are you willing and able to face the truth?? Are you willing to put it down and allow God to control it?? There’s a lot of people who’ve overcame many things in their life to become successful and peaceful at what they are doing today.. Why are they any different from you? They aren’t, they just put it down..

Random #4:  Have you ever wondered why there is “extra strength” of any thing? I mean, you have Tylenol-gentle, then Tylenol-full strength-finally, Tylenol Extra Strength! If your lucky-they’ll come out with Tylenol-Pure Strength! I know I’m not the only one who thinks about this stuff?? I mean, we have Dr. Pepper, D.Dr. Pepper, D.Caff. Free Dr. Pepper…just call it what it is?? Kinda pepper with a watered down taste with no calories or strength!

Ok, so I really don’t have a random #4 but I figured I had to leave it on a good note..

Walking down memory lane…

Isn’t it good to walk down memory? Ok, so during the good times-isn’t it nice to walk down memory lane? I had a small chance to do just that over the past 2 days. Between a friend finding a friend and they mentioning me in a comment, I was able to locate some old friends. These were friends of mine from 1996-97 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I attended UAB for about a year and 3-4 months; can’t quite remember.. Anywho, my room mate and I-Jeremy F. met that Aug. of 96. We were both insecure about who are room mate was going to be and he had just had a bad experience. I was just moving in and had no clue what to even expect, the rules or even how to do anything? Plus, this was the first time I was moving out of the house to actually have my own responsibility-scary since I had everything done to me to this point. However, Jeremy and I formed a wonderful friendship which even today, is pretty tightly knit. We don’t speak as much as maybe we should but he knows I always have his back-no matter what. Jeremy and I had a unique relationship and we are truly opposite from one another: Example: He was in the ROTC program, I respected it but I wasn’t going to do it. I liked rap music and he can’t stand it, he liked the History Channel and I liked Monday Night Raw!! We compensated for our shortcomings and made up for our shortfalls. We would often race home on certain nights of the week so we could watch what we wanted since we got to the dorm first! We would label our food in the refrigerator, take turns doing the dishes unless it was ours and often times we’d shop for groceries on our own; at first. As time grew on and I brought back my parents cooking, we realized if we’d work together, buy groceries together, prepare meals together etc,. things would be a lot better. We soon realized we could have a friendship which would make things easier, instead of harder so….it began. Jeremy and I became involved in various clubs on campus of UAB and if I was the Pres., he was often the VP and when he was Pres., I was often the VP. If we weren’t flip flopping the duties, we were very close in whatever we were doing. We ignited UAB with several entertainers such as CarrotTop, Etta Mae, Sammy Kershaw, Clay Aiken and many more. We held Springfest for 2 years in a row and had a blast. We met a lot of friends such as Lura Foreman who was our mentor/guide and overseerer. We met friends like Laura Pell who I have just re-connected with over the past 2 days, discussing “what it was like back then” while posting pictures of me with hair! Yes, I said hair! Lol. Natalie Holloway was another friend of ours along with Neil, Andre and Lindsay who were in our dorm complex; we were often times aggravating, visiting or hanging out with one another. The times we shared during the days of UAB are memories I want to hold onto forever. Not just because of the success we had, the things we done, the places we went and much more, but for the friendships we formed. Jeremy and I have remained friends over the past 15 years, I was honored and blessed to sing at his wedding and just recently we had lunch together with his family. It was great hashing over old memories and wonderful to see the new ones we’d both made. Not much has changed between us and now that we are in touch with some of the others, friendships will once again, become stronger.

Memory lane. What memories do you have which are positive? I know we all have negative and harmful memories but what are the memories you have which are positive in your life? What things can you think of that brings a smile to your face, or a memory which sparks a devilish grin from within.. What person can you think of which brings a positive impact in your life or brings a thought of fulfillment, happiness or peace to your life? Better question: Where would you be without them creating that impact in your life? What kinds of friendships would you have made W/O them in your life? Personally, I like…no I love the fact that I have Jeremy, Laura, Andre, Lindsey, Natalie and many others-impact my life. The friends I made there are still here with me today and the memories are kept forever. One day, I hope my children find the Jeremy and Laura’s in their life so they too, can share great memories and have wonderful friendships. Better yet, are you that to someone else?? You know, to have a friend you have to be a friend. I hope and pray that I was and still am, a good friend to the people around me. I want my friends to go with me through this life until my end comes. Friendships are rare, precious and are highly sought after if they’re true. I hope you have someone in your life that you can be a friend too and for you to be a friend of.. If not, you’re truly missing out on the splendors of life and basically, God’s desire for our heart.

Bitterness. The cancer within which can’t be seen.

Bitterness is often referred to as the unseen cancer in our life. It’s something we can’t see but when present, changes lives, alters path, kills dreams and poisons our body and thoughts. Let’s face it, if we “knew” we were going to have a disease-we’d do everything in our power to prevent it. We wouldn’t want anything to do with something this life-altering and we’d call someone crazy if they did. So why do we allow it in our life to begin with? It’s justified right? I mean, I have a right, rhyme or reason to be this way and that’s just how it is. God doesn’t want us to be like this because it eats our walk with God, separates us from His will, love and guidance. Most of all, it shuts off the lifeline between God and you and the communication you would have. “No no Andy, it is fine and I have it at bay. No, I’m good, it only affects me at certain times of the year.” etc etc.. Let’s be honest-are those the ONLY times?? Of course not and you can’t fool yourself any longer, you have to get rid of this “junk” in your life called bitterness. Well, let’s dive in to see what God says and how we can find the cure for this disease.

Hebrews 12:14-15 explains it this way:

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Bitterness causes trouble and defiles those it infects and surrounds. God is very plain in telling us that you will miss the Grace of God if you allow bitterness to infect your life. There are many ways bitterness is addressed in the Bible:

-suffering       -foolish son       -women who can’t have children       -human pride       -degeneracy      -husbands and wives

Look at these examples, this is just a few but you can search for bitterness and find many more. Can we not see ourselves in the above? Can we deny it anymore? Of course not, bitterness is a defile sickness of our very soul it consumes and it’s deadly to our walk with God and our life. What can you do right?

1-Expose your bitter root. Bring what the problem is to the light and expose it. Ephesians 5:11 is quick to tell us to hide not the vanities of our iniquities but rather expose them in the light, bring them out. Why? God is light, in Him is found no darkness so when we’re filled with bitterness, darkness inhabits our life and being.  However, God says bring things to the light to expose them, get rid of them and bring about the truth in your life and with that truth, it will set you free.. Someone said that anger and bitterness is like feeding yourself poison and waiting on the other person to die. Why are you poisoning your life and allowing it to consume your joy? Once you’ve exposed it, then what?

2-Cancel the debt you THINK they owe you. Look at what Matthew says:

‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.   “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

So you think they “owe” you right? Then what do you owe someone else? Wait, so you don’t “owe” someone something but someone else owe’s you? That doesn’t seem right if you can’t think of anyone you don’t owe? One person you DO owe?? Jesus Christ. Good news is, He wiped that out so we don’t owe Him anything. Here’s the point. God took away what you “owe” with His Grace and Mercy yet when we get a chance to extend it, we don’t. We don’t because we say, “They owe me!” Look at that sentence, owe “me”.  I sure would hate for God to tell me that, there’s NO way I could replace or pay back what I owe God.  Look at what Matthew says, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Unless you forgive your brother.. It doesn’t say unless he owes you, or unless you want too or unless you think they don’t need it.. He says “unless you forgive your brother,” how can you expect for God to forgive you?

3-Bless your offender and pray for them. Yep, you heard me, you have to pour blessings out upon those who offend you and then pray for them. Luke 6:27-28 says:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

How many verbs can you spot in that verse? Isn’t it amazing that in all things we do to bring us redemption, salvation, forgiveness and much more with God, is defined by verbs. Love, pray, bless, do good, care and many more verbs are given to us by God in order for His will and guidance to be done. God is clear, “I tell you who hear me…” so in essence, if you do those things, you hear from God and if you don’t, then you don’t hear Him. Pretty bold and strong statement isn’t it but don’t shoot me down, I’m the messenger; I’m explaining what the Bible says-it’s the Word.

“be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you”.

Ephesians 4:32 NLT

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Colossians 3:13 

Enough said. I can’t say any more to help the cause of Christ when dealing with bitterness. The Bible and God are very clear on how to treat others, bear with each other, forgive them, be kind hearted and forgiving as Christ forgave you. Who are we to harbor bitterness in our heart yet all the while, God is showing mercy and grace on our life? Is He not our Father-our Maker-our Redeemer?? Yet we “play” God when it comes to the things we want to justify or handle ourself with other people and then expect God to show us mercy… It’s time to stop the bitterness in our hearts, stop hurting others and begin helping; times we quit discouraging others and begin encouraging each other.. It’s time to live BY the Bible-the whole thing and stop pulling out parts and pieces we want to use to justify our sins..

What’s your choice? When are you going to stop allowing the bitterness, hate and anger to rule your life and walk with God? When are you going to give it to God whole-heartedly and stop taking it back-trying to do it on your own?? It’s up to you, your choice. You can continue walking down the same path of destruction, making excuses and missing the blessings God wants for your life or you can give it to God, purge the bitterness and begin walking a “free” life in Christ. I know what I need to work on-what about you??

Control.. Who doesn’t want it but too much can be bad.

What is control? Isn’t it something we all have to have? Isn’t it something we all need to survive in this life? Of course, there are times we must take control of a situation but when we carry it too far by trying to control everything?? It becomes a negative thing and affects your life and your health even. What about a control freak? Hmmmmm, I know some of you winced in pain there because you know you are:

Control Freak-A PERSON WHO HAS AN OBSESSIVE NEED TO CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE OR SITUATIONS.

Is this you? Are you like David in the Bible and try to control something that wasn’t yours to begin with? In II Samuel David did just a thing and maybe you think what you do isn’t as bad but is it?? Let’s look at what David does..

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

13  At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.

15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

2 Samuel 11:11,13-15

Little did Uriah know, David had seen Bathsheba on the roof and now David had to hide his sin with her. So, the only way he could do it was to get Uriah drunk, pass out and sleep w/o going home to his wife. David had to think of something so he planned-tried to control the outcome-to place Uriah on the front line and then have everyone withdraw causing Uriah to be killed. Wow. Is that not intense and full of control?? Maybe you don’t think you do something that is that bad but do you? Do you withhold something from someone to “harm them” or “teach them a lesson?” Do you not do something in order to teach them a lesson or because you’re upset? In return what kind of damage are you doing to your marriage, finances and/or friendships? What is it doing to your relationship with God? Control can break you in half, ruin your life and your walk with God. What causes this control??  Fear.. Fear is the driving force behind our control.. We’re afraid of loosing control, we’re afraid of not knowing what to do or say, we’re afraid of not having an answer or the right answer, we’re afraid of what people and others may think…Is it making sense yet?? Be honest.. It’s our fear of rejection, failure and the unknown which are the root causes of our fear which in turn, creates control within us.. “Now now, it’s just that I want it done a certain way“-right?? Of course, the fear of something not being done to your standards or the way you want it.. “You don’t understand, I don’t know if where I’d get the money to build a new building, or move to another state or change jobs...” That fear of the unknown, lack of trust and unsure of God’s direction in your life because if He directed you to do it, then there’s no question.. Is it hard-of course, is it always clear-sometimes it seems it isn’t.. Look at Isaiah 41:10:

“So do not fear, for I am with you;… for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 

God is assuring us, He is with us-He is your God, He will strengthen you, help you, uphold you.. This is the God of the universe saying He’s on our side-how awesome is that! How can we do this-what can we do?? How can we take control or can we take control of what’s holding us back?

First thing is to surrender our control and trust in God. We have to let it go and allow God to control us so that we can control the things in our life the proper way.. We have to learn to trust God more in our life and trust us less.. Proverbs 3:5-6 says it like this:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding…and he will direct your paths.”

We must trust in God: 1-when you need Him, 2-when you want too,  3-only when I can’t handle it and I’m down to my last option… NO NO NO!! God says to trust in Him with ALL your heart…He even goes as far as to say do not depend on your own understanding and then He tells us why….He will direct our paths.. The God of the universe, our Heavenly Father wants to direct our path, how cool is that!!

Second, we must surrender our life to Him; no reservations and no holding back.. Psalms 51:1-2 puts it a different way..

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.  Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.”

We have to ask for His mercy to cover our sins, to be the “lawyer” for our case, to hide the blemishes we have and are yet to come. Christ didn’t die for nothing, He died for you and I. We have to surrender our life so that we can lay everything down before Him. See, without surrendering our life, we still have the tendency to hold on to what we want to hold onto, keep the trash hidden behind the door instead of out where it should be, control the parts of our life we want to control.. Let’s face it, if we truly wanted to “take out the trash” in our life, we’d do it. Why do we wait until we “have to” before we actually do it? Why do we wait until we loose control…before we try and take control?? Let me say that again: “Why do we wait until we loose control…before we try and take control?”  We have to give it up, loose control so we can have control but through Christ. 2 Peter 1:6 explains it:

“and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;”

So it’s clear or should be. 1-we must relinquish our control. We have to give it up and allow God to take control.. 2-we must surrender our life to Him. We have to lay everything out, lay all the cards on the table-allow God to do the work.. We must let go so we can gain control through Him.

So what are your thoughts? What are you thinking about your life right now?? Are you all in-giving your life to God and allowing Him to control our life instead of us?? It’s up to you but I will say this: giving up control so you can have control will be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.. Don’t believe me?? Try it and let me know how it goes!

Sickness-Pride

One of the biggest problems or issues we face.. Whether we believe it or not, pride is everywhere and in everything. You know, the “proud” feeling when we do, say or get something..What follows is the puffed out chest, internal feeling of ‘it’s mine’ or even ‘I did it myself’ can even creep up. Pride is so diverse and broad in it’s range, often times we don’t realize when it begins to take over. If we think about it and pay attention to what we’re doing while we do it, we begin to see a few signs. Look at what God says in the following few verses:

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 16:18

“The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 16:5

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5

God speaks very candidly and plain on being “proud or what Pride” does in our life.

The most clear one we struggle with is “I can handle it by myself” pride. You know, the one where we think we can handle an issue w/o God’s help yet we don’t say that but… Or the times we try to handle our marriage, finances or parenting “our” way yet miss the mark on what God desires for us. What about the verbal or physical abuse you still carry around, the spousal abuse you still have on your back, the bad marriage, bad choices or even the things you’ve allowed to build up in your life. You think you can handle them, you want to hang on to it or else you would let it go. That’s pride.. You have to let the past go, quit trying to handle things yourself because that’s pride sinking its teeth into your life. It directs your life, your choices and everything in it if you think about it.

Another one we struggle with is the “I’m better than you.” Some of us struggle with that more than others but even in the smallest degree, it can show up.  You know, the time someone walks by, struggles with something you know about and you think-”I’ve beaten that before, it’s not that hard.. Why are you still struggling with that??” It’s the little things.. The little thought in the back of your mind when you compare your issue/problem/blessing/struggle with someone else’s only to place yourself, a little “higher on the todem pole.” We’ve all done it, we just may minimize it or justify the reasoning. It is however, pride sneaking in and taking a hold of your mind and creating a prideful heart.

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 

Luke 18:11-12

What can I do if I feel these things popping up or sneaking into my heart and life? You must pray and turn as close as you can to God. God is the only one who can help you remove this pride from your life, mind and your heart at that time. You can’t do it on your own-you’ve tried and failed so why are you still trying?? Isn’t it time to try something new?

Know this, the more you have pride in your heart and life, the farther away from God you will fall.. There’s no room for your pride and God in the same realm.. You have to allow God to take over when that “feeling” comes into the moment so that pride can not have a way into your life.

Let’s face it, the closer you are to God, the less pride you have- the more humble you become and the more broken you are.. God loves you but He can’t help you if you not willing to become broken for Him. Don’t wait until you’re broken before you move, move before you become broken.. Let go of those problems and issues in your life-let them go. Stop trying to take on your problems on your own knowing you are not successful. Stop trying to rid yourself of the past when the past is already gone yet you’re the one keeping it around! Stop complaining about the trash overflowing, the smell unbearable when you yourself haven’t taken it out; you’ve only complained about it.. You get it now? Do you like living in the past, do you like allowing the things of the past ruin your life and your paths? Are you not tired of missing the blessings of God because you can’t put down the problems He’s already taken out of your life-only for you to bring them back??

My prayer tonight is for all of us to lay this sickness called pride down at the feet of Jesus. To prevent it from infecting our lives and allow satan a foothold. If we continue to allow pride to be a part of our life, we will struggle with getting closer to God, we will struggle with becoming humble and the less broken you become. Without being broken, it’ll be hard for God to help you with the walk we so desire with Him. We will always feel like something is missing, a void. God is the only one that can fill that void so stop trying to place things in it which won’t work. What’s your choice-what are you going to do? What’s the desire of your heart and do you truly want the right kind of relationship with God? I know I want the right type of relationship but first….I have to get out of the way..

Sickness-Envy

Have you ever thought about a sickness in your life? What does that sickness do to your life, your job, your plans etc? Sometimes the sickness can be fatal while other times it comes and goes. Sickness though consumes our body and our life at times and slows everything down; re-routes your plans temporarily. What if I told you there are some sicknesses we live with we don’t even realize we have? Anger is a sickness we often justify as something we’ve “always had or that’s just the way I am.” Then there’s Envy. Hmmm, I don’t envy anyone or anything? I’m content and happy with what I have and who I am. What about Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Saul and David, satan and God.. These are examples of those who envied but it didn’t start out that way-it never does. At first you have a friend who let’s face it, isn’t what you are or maybe where you are with God or in life. That person finally gets saved after all the talks you’ve had with them, countless nights up crying and sharing. That friend receives a position in church or in Sunday School that you think you should’ve had. All of a sudden, you become angry and bitter, lashing out at the friend and others around saying they “just got saved, you’re going to place them in that position?” Never happy for them and if you are, it’s superficial. There’s other examples but the best example I can think of is between David and Johnathan. Saul’s son Johnathan was in line to become King of the land yet God had other plans. Now, if anyone has reason to be mad, upset, hurt and even envious, it would be Johnathan. However, Johnathan listened to God speak to him and David-therefore no envy or jealously was entered into their relationship. Look at what God says about Envy in James 3:14-16:

“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

Envy doesn’t come from God or the Holy Spirit-it is earthly, unspiritual and even of the devil. There’s disorder in envy because it creates chaos, no organization and causes feelings to arise in you which are of the devil.  You could resent God’s movement in someone else’s life or even ignoring God’s movement in your own life. These types of resentment are prevalent in today’s society and almost welcomed. There’s always a “reason” and it’s ok to feel that way. In actuality, this is not the way we should feel and how we should act.  Look at what Proverbs 14:30 says about envy and boy, it gets down to the core:

“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

See, most of the envy we feel, encounter, bring into our own lives is due to comparing us to others and their lives, profession, success etc. We love to compare ourself to others to (1) make ourself feel better or worse (2) gain empathy and sorrow and (3) get attention; from the other person or situation. Make sense? Of course and you may be thinking right now you don’t do things like that. I think if we’re totally honest with ourself, we’ll realize we do it more than we admit. God tells us in Galations 6:4-

“Each one should test his own actions…without comparing himself to somebody else.”

We need to start celebrating with others especially when it comes to God and His blessings. In Romans 12:15 Christ tells us in the first part of that verse to rejoice with those who rejoice; in other words, be happy for them and celebrate the goodness God has brought into their lives. Quit spending time discouraging the ones who need encouragement the most, each other. What would our world be like if we just encouraged people and those around us, celebrated when things went well, cried when things went wrong and laughed when life brings those moments into our life?

We can’t celebrate with others until we embrace God’s love and celebratory moments first in our own life. We have to celebrate what God does in our own life-no matter how big or small it may be. Just because we don’t get recognition for something we did yet someone else gets lifted up…celebrate! Just because you said the right thing in the meeting but it was perceived in a different light or by someone else?? celebrate. Know inside your heart God is doing a wonderful work of humbleness and graciousness right then. It may not be evident at the time but I promise you if you’ll pray for it, accept it and give it to God, you’ll see. Celebrate in the fact you have a Savior who loves you, given you the family, spouse, children, people, job etc. in your life you need to survive and when a new chapter opens, an old one closes-celebrate! Celebrate in all things-be happy and joyous knowing God has His hand all over it.

I leave you with 2 wonderful verses which I hope, can help turn your paths to clarity and truth. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 encourages us to “Always be joyful” and no matter what happens we should always be thankful-check it out..

Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Titus helps us understand what God did for us, offered His mercy to us yet we don’t give mercy to others? Why -because they don’t deserve it? Who are we that we deserve it? Who are we to not offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me, abused me, neglected me or sexually hurt me? We can’t-but God can.. That’s the point, we must die to Envy and the other things which keep us separated from God-no matter the cost. Sometimes we endure the pain for a time while other times, we endure it from here on out. Maybe we endure it to remind us what we should do, help others who are struggling with the same issue or remind us to stay close to God? It’s between you and God and you have to decide. God already paid the price for your sin, your short-coming-by giving up His one and only Son to die on a cruel cross. Then we don’t offer mercy, grace or forgiveness because someone doesn’t deserve it? We don’t deserve what we have yet Christ gave us His mercy anyway. Look at Titus 3:3-5 and allow it to talk to your heart, clear up some paths which have been fuzzy or undefined in your life-allow peace to overtake your heart.

…”Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us. But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit…”

 

Pain..Believe it or not, it can serve a good purpose..

We’ve all experienced at least one or more of the following events in our life which caused pain:

-death of a loved one (family, friend, spouse etc.)  -divorce     -loss of a job     -loss of money or financial problems

-marriage problems     -job issues     -disappointment     -physical and/or mental trauma     -disease or sickness 

-heartbreak     -loss of a pet     -abuse (physical, mental, neglect)    -words

They hurt. Sometimes more than words can say; sometimes a permanent scar was left never to be shaken or covered. It hurts, very bad to say the least and why? Various reasons.  Have you ever thought that pain can serve a good purpose? Have you ever thought pain can shed light on the things unseen or on the root of a deeper issue? No one likes to go through it true, but we do know it’s coming. We should be ready but as always, it catches us by surprise. We know our loved ones are going to die yet we are still “shocked” when it happens, disbelief. We know our words can hurt others and cause pain yet we continue to spew out negative-discouraging statements/words. We know heartbreak, let downs and failures are coming yet they still cause us great pain. We use various ways to cope with pain from substance abuse, marriage or spouse abuse, physical abuse and more. Yet it’s rare we see pain as a positive rather than a negative. Well, for my blog tonight, let’s focus on both types of pain. There is (1) Physical pain whereas someone has harmed our body. These scars and wounds are often seen and have a story behind; sometimes can be hard to hide. Then there’s the (2) Mental pain, which hurts our spirit and rarely do we see or even know about this type of pain. It’s often unseen, hidden in the deep pockets of our mind and heart, it causes pressure on the inside only to exit in an explosive manner. Both of these are linked together and I feel you can’t have one without the other. If you disagree, explain it to the couple who’s been married 50 years, one passes away and the other eventually becomes sick and passes a month later.

1–Physical Pain:

Pain: noun

1.

physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.

2.

a distressing sensation in a particular part of the body: a back pain.

3.

mental or emotional suffering or torment:

Which one have you experienced lately? What part of the body has produced pain in your life? Did you know pain can be a good thing? Case in Point: I fall and break my leg. There’s great pain with a break however, the pain is showing-in most cases, where the break is located. (2)  I get a bee sting on my arm. The pain locates where the sting is therefore applying medicine is pretty evident.  Have you ever thought about how good it is that the pain pinpoints where it is? Therefore medicine or proper care can be given to the right place at the right time? Let’s take a look at some of the people who felt pain in the Bible.

1.  Paul.  Wow, what can we say about Paul other than wow. This is a disciple who spent about 3/4 of his time in prison, being beat, spit upon, stoned and treated terribly. Yet through all his pain, look at what Paul says.

II Corinthians 11:24-28 says: 

24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

Now, I don’t know about you but that’s some terrible stuff-yet he still found time within the pain, suffering and all that was going on, to praise God. So after all of this, he goes on to say in the verses beyond, he will glorify the infirmities of his life to glorify God. What did the pain do that was good for Peter?

1.  Restoration to God

2. Closer relationship to God

3. Kept his eyes focused on God

4. Reminded him of who he was suffering for and why

5. Reminder of who he was in Christ and how he could handle any and all afflictions through Christ.

2) Peter. Peter’s pain was a huge spiritual downfall as he denied Christ 3 times during His crucifixion. Peter, a man who stood up to the Roman soldier with reckless abandonment, chopping off the ear of the soldier-now denying Christ. Upon the 3 time, Peter knew he had failed Christ and his pain was relentless. Christ gave Peter the chance of restoration and redemption at the Sea of Galilee as Christ asked Peter if he loved Him (Christ) 3 times; each representing the denial.

1. Removed his confidence in himself

2. Removed his strength in himself

3. Removed his self reliance on himself

4. Caused dependency on Christ and Christ alone

5. Created humility within him through Christ

(See a pattern here in the first 3? Himself. We can’t turn pain into a good thing if we ourselves try to handle it; we must turn it over to God and allow Him to help us through it and see the positive.)

3.) Ruth.  Ruth was a woman of great passion and nature. Ruth learned how to serve and was loyal to Naomi and Boaz. She did what she could, living out her convictions knowing the repercussions would be torture and/or death. Yet Ruth withstood the pain of gleaning in the fields, waiting for the time to speak with Boaz about her people and because of her faithfulness to God, she grew in Godliness.

Ruth 1:16-18 describes a pain she had to endure:

16 “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.”

It pained Ruth to have to leave her mother, Naomi. So, she insisted and was “determined” to go with her mother instead of leaving her for another life. Ruth was so loyal to her mother, it was more painful to leave her than it was to stay. How many times in our life have we left only to have been followed by great pain for doing so? Did we ever stop and think it may have been for a reason?

Just with these few examples, can we realize the degree of pain they experienced yet still found God in the midst of it all. They even took it a step further by finding the positive in the middle of all the pain and despair. So my question is this, what do you do with your pain? Do you hold onto it, let it fester in your life, rule your life and everything/everyone in it? Do you find the positive in only what you want to find or do you invest your time and efforts in finding the positive in it all?

I’m not saying pain is easy or sometimes even manageable but what I am saying is God is bigger than any problem or pain you can ever imagine. See, God endured the ultimate pain, sacrifice to save our life-knowing we would turn our back on Him, spit on Him and even deny Him. (Yet we question them so many times or ask the question “how” can someone do that? Don’t we??)

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,t whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Sometimes pain is brought into our lives due to circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes pain is brought about due to our own fault or reason. Yet sometimes pain is brought into our lives to show us a place which needs attention; pride, lust, envy etc. Sometimes pain is brought into our lives to strengthen us and make us stronger so that we can share our story of triumph through Christ with others; our story if you will. Our perception of the pain we experience is very important and vital to how we recover. We must remember that God will protect us and deliver us from it and if we don’t look to God for answers, the pain will be in vain. No matter what you’re going through in your life, try to find the good in it. You have to make the effort and look for it though, it’s not going to “come to you,” God will reveal it if you truly trust and believe in Him. I know this blog is a little longer than my usual but I feel someone who’s going to read this will benefit. I feel I’m writing this not only for them, but for the others out there who are struggling right now with the painful situations in their lives. If that’s you, please give it to God and allow Him to take it from you. Nothing can fill that void in your life but Christ Jesus. Christ tells us in Hebrews what Pain produces; is it producing a harvest and peace in your? Maybe a new perception can help change it all.. Time for a change don’t you think??

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Hebrews 12:11

Anger, it’s ok right?? Kinda..

Let’s face it, to say we know someone who’s never gotten angry, never lost their temper or gotten out of hand at something during some point of their life-would be rare.. I know I’ve lost my temper and became angry alot, especially if you have children and/or spouse.. Lol. maybe a mom-n-law? J/K. You get the point right? We’ve heard so many different stories about whether or not anger is good or anger is bad. If you remember, Christ overturned the tables in the temple as He was very upset and angry. There is a difference-Christ controlled His anger, not allowing the anger to control Him.. Let’s face it, do we control our anger or do our emotions get the best of us?? Most of the time, it’s the latter. Well, first, let’s find out a little about anger and what the Bible says..

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 4:26-27

Christ tells us, do NOT let the sun go down while you’re angry.. Why? Well, the second part explains it: to keep the devil from getting a foothold in your life and heart. The devil is looking for any and I do many ANY crack or crevice to get into your life and ruin it! What happens if he does sneak in and gets a foothold? Let’s take a look at how we control our anger in most cases: 1) Spewer or 2) Stewer.

A Spewer is someone who does just that-spews with no regard of the individual or those around them. They are not aware of the feelings of others nor are they concerned, at the time, with their actions. These people often times have to return to apologize for what they’ve said or never show up again because of what they said. (Sometimes it’s passed over as: “They just speak their mind, that’s the way they are.”) Spewers do a lot of damage to those around them and even hurt the people they love the most.

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
Proverbs 29:11

A quick-tempered man does foolish things.

Proverbs 14:17

Christ knew it would be a problem for us to keep our tempers under control as he said, a “fool give full vent to his anger.” When you allow anger to move into your life, you give it full reign of your life-unbridled.

On the other hand if you’re a Stewer, you suppress your anger. You walk around with the “fake” smile and tell everyone how it doesn’t “bother” you, but inside you’re boiling. Anger is so often related to a pressure cooker that we often over use it. A pressure cooker is created to hold heat until it reaches the boiling point; at which time it opens a valve releasing the heat until the pressure comes down and the valve closes. This process is repeated until the person cooking changes the situation or removes the heat from the cooker. With our anger, our emotion-our problem is we never move the cooker from the heat.. (We never remove what happens to us to make us angry, from our lives; we allow it to fester, to invade, infect our well-being and then we become bitter.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

Psalm 32:3

The older brother became angry and refused to go in…

Luke 15:28

So what do we do, what can we do? Christ tells us to put it out when we can, sometimes we have to let things go.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Proverbs 17:14

… Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

James 1:19-20

God is very clear on how we should control our anger in James 1:19-20. Sometimes our anger and quick temper comes from our inattentiveness. If we’re truly honest with ourself, how many times do we have the problem answered and moved on before the other person or the problem just started. In other words, your spouse is upset at something you did or said-yet you think you’re right. So as you discuss the issue, you become defensive and basically you’ve shut down listening because you have everything solved…regardless of what is being said or going to say. Once you’ve become angry, your mind, body and overall demeanor shuts down and nothing is received. On the flip side, when we listen to what the other person is saying, accept it, think about it and return conversation, we stand a better chance of not speaking out of emotion or anger.

Controlling anger can be related to a map and destination. We all know if we get the right “map or GPS,” have the right know how and directions, we can take a trip. As long as we follow the map or GPS, we can arrive at our destination intact and safe. If we should deviate from the plan, it’ll try to re-route us or, we will end up going the wrong way and not in our prime destination. Anger is the same way. If we don’t listen to God and allow Him to control our anger, the end result can be tragic. If in turn we learn to listen to the “Godly” GPS we have built in, then our anger is controlled and we learn the proper way to handle situations appropriately.

So what are you so angry about? Why have you allowed this issue to come in your life and ruin it for your family and those around you? Maybe you’re upset due to a divorce, angry spouse or kids, what happened in the past or right now-maybe you’re just upset and angry and you can’t place your finger on it.. Let it go.. Please, let it go and allow God to control your anger and your temper. No one else can do it but Him and to think otherwise is foolish. What do you say? Are you ready to lay it down and allow Him to control it or do you still want to hang on to it and be a spewer or stewer? It’s your choice, you have to make the decision and live with it. Trust me, no matter WHAT you’ve been through, going through or think is worse, God can take care of it.

MEN! You are created to be a warrior..

Have you ever thought about that? We “fight” in football, UFC, baseball, football and other sports and in life. Yet, when it comes to Christ, we seem to take a different approach; more subtle if you will. However, did you know that within each of us men, we were created to be a warrior.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword…and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:34; 38

The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.  
Exodus 15:3

Now how did we miss that?? Wow, so does that go against everything you’ve learned or know? It shouldn’t. The Lord has battled through many adversities and overcome many obstacles, and He gives us the strength to do the same. We have to “fight” our way through this life but it’s gonna take being a warrior for Christ. Jesus will give you the strength you need and all the protection you will ever want. We have to remember, that doesn’t mean this life won’t rough us up, beat us down and try to keep us down. That means when things like this happens, we have to take on a persona of a warrior, fight our way back up and continue on to the task at hand. One thing about a warrior is they are aggressive, sometimes even pro-active yet never passive. They will not wait or stand still, they must be engaged. Christ tells us the same thing:

I know… you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm…I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 

Revelation 3:15-16

You can’t be passive one minute and engaged the next men. We have to stand up for our beliefs, morals and most of all, our wives and family. Stop allowing things and people to come into your life and take pieces away. You wouldn’t allow anyone to come into your house, grab something and walk away?! You would stop them especially if it threatened your family and spouse. So why aren’t you stopping the habits that invade your life? Why aren’t you stopping the flirtation between you and the co-worker-because “we’re just friends or just playing around.” Why aren’t you stopping the time you spend away from your family and spouse because you need some “me” time?? All of these things and many more are destroying your marriage and family little by little. Now I’m not saying  “me” time should be done away, but every weekend? When you spend more time with your “friends” or your hobbies than your family?? That’s too much!

So men. Stop being a wimp and become a warrior-not in yourself but in Christ! Step up and protect your wife,  family and yourself from the habits and hang-ups this life can bring. Satan is out to Kill-Steal and destroy everything you have within your life: your marriage, wife, children-everything.. So are you going to stand by men and watch your family, life, marriage and children be attacked or are you going to be a warrior for God? Are you going to be a Godly man or a worldly man? I know which one I want to be-trying to be.. are you??

Fake or real?

How many times do we ask ourselves this question. Is God fake or real? Is that person rich or not? Is religion and church real or fake? Those people are so “fake.”  We’ve been there before right, we all have.. Well, before I embark upon the financial journey I’m going to discuss today, let me clarify one thing. Money is not a bad thing, it’s the love of money according to God’s word. So do not think I’m saying money or having money is a sin or otherwise. Please keep this in context and allow God to work in your life..

One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be
poor, yet has great wealth. Proverbs 13:7

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served
created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised.
Romans 1:25

See, money promises only temporary things. It’s not everlasting because as soon as the money runs out, we’re struggling, unhappy and fall into depression.  It tries to bring us happiness but the happiness is only short-lived, temporary if you will. It offers security. As long as we have enough, then everything will be ok-secure.. Truth be known, there’s no security in a monetary and tangible items. The last thing it tries to offer, is significance. You’re someone if you have enough money, you can have and be all you want. The world however, has taught us this in very subtle and in-subtle ways. Look how we treat famous singers, baseball, football and basketball players, cyclists, religious figures and many more. Just pay attention and notice how they treat people who are famous and have money; there you have it.

**WE TRUST MONEY FOR HAPPINESS..

–WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

**WE TRUST MONEY TO MAKE US SIGNIFICANT..
– WE DON’T KNOW WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST.

**WE BELIEVE MONEY WILL MAKE US SECURE.

–WE TRUST IN MONEY AND NOT IN CHRIST.

However, look at what God says about where you find happiness and peace:

–TRUE HAPPINESS, SIGNIFICANCE AND SECURITY
ARE FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE.

     I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.
Philippians 3:7-8

Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be
somebody and have no food.

Proverbs 12:9

I found these two verses which are interesting. I have lost ALL things. I consider them rubbish so that I may gain Christ-we have to consider all things rubbish. Not saying we give away all things, or neglect the things we do have, but we must get over treating the things of this earth as our “gods.” We must stop worshiping our jobs, money, boats, cars, lifestyle and put all that aside to gain Christ. We can’t place all of these things in the forefront of our life and expect God to squeeze in whenever we “call upon His name” or we “need Him.”

Look at the second verse, isn’t it interesting? It’s better to be a nobody yet have a servant, than pretend to be somebody and have nothing! Wow, some strong statements but God is referencing to the sheer ability to be humble. To be humble means to be in the back and working in the front-yet receive no acknowledgement. Sometime not saying something was yours while someone else is lifted high in that position. That may mean not speaking up at times you think you should and speaking up when times you think you shouldn’t. It’s tough I know, but sometimes the real you must come out-despite what everyone else says. Being a Christ follower is tough, against the flow of “normal” traffic and different than anything you’ve ever done or will do in your life.. The payoffs however, is worth your life.

So what is real or fake in your life? Are you busy pointing out others who are fake that you fail to recognize your own? God says to bring things to the light, be honest and seek Him. Seeking Him is the only way you’ll find peace and joy, nothing else will do or will fit in your life. Jesus my friends, is the REAL thing-do you believe it??