Protecting the irrelevant.

For all our spiritual vices, God has the key to our freedom.

I was watching the movie called Mad Money, with Queen Latifa and Ted Danson. It’s the one about three women stealing money from a bank vault that was supposed to be like a fortress.

It got me to thinking about how much effort and energy man has placed behind protecting something that he can never truly end the end, own. He develops technology, implements various forms of securities and even instructs other men in the art of using deadly tactics to thwart another persons ability to take a dollar from his safes, vaults or any other money housing institutions. many have been killed and/or imprisoned for the rest of their lives because of ‘money madness‘, and as we see in the news everyday, the financial insanity is on the steady increase.

I have heard people say that ‘money‘ is the root of all evil, but money is not what causes the evil; it is our love, desire and ultimate dependence upon it. The book of 1st Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10 tells us that ‘The love of money is the root of all evil; while some covet (or chase) after, there is an error in their faith by which many sorrows follow’.

The physical currency has no power, yet what it represents is what controls us. We are all subject to this error; as long as we CHOOSE to live in what is deemed a ‘civilized nation‘. We pass this insanity to our children and the cycle continues, as we further dig the hole deeper. It is, to me, another resource of the Enemy to ensure our destruction, and we just help it all along.

The desire for money has been the driving force behind man’s history long before the Master, Jesus and continues to bind us in all that we do. Can we come from under the weight of our voluntary confinement? Only with God.

The problem solving processes. Tried them both!

Through Christ we succeed.

I thought that I would visit the process of solving a problem WITH and WITHOUT God. I will be using my own experience as a control for both. Feel free to add or take away for your own steps.

Solving a problem WITHOUT God…

1. Encounter the problem.
2. Act like it doesn’t exist, at first…
3. Let the problem increase in size and/or severity.
4. Finally face the problem; at this point it may or may not be out of control.
5. Worry about it…
6. Worry about it…
7. Worry about it…
8. Worry about it!!! Problem increasing…
9. Start thinking of how to resolve it. Problem still increasing…
10. Try a solution… working, maybe.
11. Find that problem has mutated and out of your control (usually is at this point). Repeat steps five through ten. (Unsolved loop created).

Like I said, maybe you implemented more steps above. Don’t feel bad… I have too, just didn’t want to make a book out of this one.

Solving a problem WITH God…

1. Encounter the problem.
2. Take it God in prayer. IMPORTANT!
3. Trust God’s time and method in solving the problem. IMPORTANT!
4. Problem solved.
5. Repeat steps one through four for next problem.

It’s not rocket science. (Proverbs ch.3:v.5-6)

Life is NOT on your computer- Inspiration for the day

Through Christ we succeed.

All of you, my beloved readers are either seeing this on your computer or tablet or smartphone. What is amazing about this is how companies who sell products and services that focus on antivirus software and backing up to the ‘cloud’ have made statements to the affect that they help protect the LIFE that is supposedly stored on your computer; photos, music, documents, etc…  LIFE?
Now don’t get me wrong in thinking that I am saying that those items do not hold a sense of importance to us; forgive my ignorance, but Jesus declared that He came so that we could have LIFE more abundantly… Just saying that I don’t think the latest iTunes song, cloud backup, Instagram concoction, nor spreadsheet saved was or is ever to this day considered a part of that promise.

(John ch.10:v.10)

Expanding our spiritual vocabulary- trepidation

The word is trepidation. Pronounced /ˌtrepiˈdāSHən/. It is a noun. It defines as

A feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen.

Used in a sentence: The Lord God promised us that when darkness falls upon our lives, He will be the light that chases away our trepidation and replace it with salvation.
(Psalms ch.27:v:1)

Expanding our spiritual vocabulary- recant

The word is recant. Pronounced \ri-KANT\. It is a verb. It is defined as

to withdraw or disavow (a statement, opinion, etc.), especially formally; retract.

Used in a sentence: When trouble falls upon a person’s life, many tend to recant their belief in God, especially when the Enemy exploits the human weakness or their comfort in life has been compromised.

(Psalms ch.119)

Expanding our spiritual vocabulary- obnubilate

The word is obnubilate. Pronounced \ob-NOO-buh-leyt\. This is a verb. It is defined as

To cloud over, or obscure.

Used in a sentence: In each of our lives, we are constantly bombarded with different levels of distractions that are designed by the Enemy to obnubilate our faith in God, which if not counteracted by prayer, can lead to doubt and confusion.

(1st Thessalonians ch.5: v.16-24)

Post Valentines Day Inspiration

True love does not fail.

I watched as people have scrambled to buy gifts for spouses and loved ones. One guy I saw on Wednesday reminded me how so many people still feel obligated to get someone something for the 14th of February because they have fallen prey to commercialism; they do it just to get it out of the way. They take no real positive thought into what they get for the person, yet they expect it to be enough and appreciated; and many do, never looking beyond the cost or extravagance.

Sometimes you have to dig deeper than your purse or wallet.

(1st John ch.3: v.18)

Expanding our spiritual vocabulary- kibitzer

The word is kibitzer, pronounced \KIB-it-ser\. It is a noun. It is defined as

A giver of uninvited or unwanted advice.

Used in a sentence: The Enemy can influence many a kibitzer in our daily lives to off-track us from trusting in God, yet we must continue to increase our faith in Christ, especially in the midst of negative influences.

Proverbs ch.3: v.5-6

The goodness of God dwells in the darkness

Many people, especially on the social networks, are greatly inspired to express how good God in the times of ‘the feast’ in their lives. And while this is great to do and can be inspirational to others, I wanted to take a moment to list moments when God is good when the flame in our life has blown out and darkness has suddenly fallen.

God is still good, even when,

• We are financially destitute.
• Our health is failing.
• Our friends have betrayed and forsaken us.
• Our spouse has oppressed our home.
• We have experienced sudden and painful loss of a deeply loved individual.
• We are in jeopardy of losing our home.
• We are in jeopardy of losing our job.
• We have lost our home.
• We have lost our job.
• Hatred has turned our family against us.
• We feel we have failed.
• We feel we have prayed in circles.
• Our faith is exceedingly challenged.
• We face incarceration.
• We sit alone in our horrors.
• Our doubts are many and our trusts are few.
• The Enemy does everything to prove that God has forgotten about us.
• It seems like there is nothing left to pray for.

There is always God, even after everything and everyone else has passed away. ‘Jesus; yesterday, today and forever.’ Hebrews ch.13:v.8

Expanding our spiritual vocabulary- precipitancy

The word is precipitancy. Pronounced \pri-SIP-i-tuhn-see\. It is a noun. It is defined as

The state of being headlong, hasty or rash in acts or action.

Used in a sentence: We seek out money, fame, and fortune with great precipitancy, and it is at these unfortunate times when God becomes an afterthought in the pursuits of our lives.

(Matthew ch.6:v.33-34)