Tag Archives: God

Trusting God in the coming storm- From the Faith and Trust Series

Referencing Mark 14:32-38

Many of us, before we leave our homes or businesses take a moment to check the weather, whether it be on television, or on our smart devices. This gives us an opportunity to predict and adapt to the coming changes and some sort of CONTROL on how the weather will affect our daily lives. It helps us to decide on what we wear, when we are to leave, how we get to our destination, how long we stay, etc….

Even in the emotional, mental and spiritual storms we may face, we sometimes have the ability to predict and adapt to the coming issue. We come together in supporting environments, and those of us who labor in God, will pray throughout the circumstance for the way to CONTROL the outcome or we pray for God to change the outcome to our FAVOR for our lives and in the lives of those we love. But what happens when the storm comes, and what you do, say or pray doesn’t change it? When the storm is raging towards you and you have nowhere to run or hide? When you come to God for an answer and the answer is NOT in your favor, and only shows suffering, sorrow and pain ahead? All God says is, can you TRUST Me?

Jesus faced this dilemma throughout His journey. He even warned His disciples on many occasions that a STORM IS COMING, and nothing I do here will stop it. Even though they did not understand, it did nothing to lessen the inevitable. In the passage, Jesus went to a place called Gethsemane, a small garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives to pray. At this point Christ made it clear to the disciples with Him that he was afraid (Note: FEAR is a voracious consumer of trust), because He saw the storm coming towards Him, and it was unlike any storm ever faced by an individual. He cold not change it, hid from it, nor even expect God to change it. In his despair, He prayed for change… His trust thus wavering, He knew that God had the ability to change it, yet God’s WILL to change the situation was where the problem lied.

Many people face this type of storm each day, where money, expertise, fame, notoriety, status nor title makes a difference to the issue at hand… and all we can do is brace for it but that does not stop us from trying to change it to our benefit. Christ asked God for the cup of this suffering in the horizon to be taken from Him.

Like us, He faced God and the question was asked of Him, can you trust Me? You are about to go through something devastating to the point of death… there is no way around it. There is no way to change it. It MUST happen… can you trust God in this? Even though your prayers are being answered and the answer brings more sorrow and NO relief? Can you trust God when you have to face this chaos even though you did NOTHING TO PROVOKE IT? Can you trust God when your back is against the wall and the beast is about to strike your health, your loved ones, finances, career, shelter, freedom, or your very life hangs in the balance… can you trust God? Unlike Christ, however, our answer, based on the LACK of trust due to FEAR AND DOUBT is a resounding, no.

The flesh that was Christ cried out for mercy… the God that was Christ brought that flesh back under subjection with one word… NEVERTHELESS. In spite of what I want, what is coming, how it will hit me, how far into the abyss it will take me, how it will affect my children, mother, father, brothers sisters, friends, church, job, living situation, health, freedom, or even my very life, not MY will God, but YOURS. This is why the quantity of trust that we have in God MUST BE ALL, because as we live and breathe, IT WILL BE CHALLENGED TO ITS LIMITS AND BEYOND. (Proverbs 3:5-6) 

In conclusion, even when we don’t understand, nor feel we deserve the storm, we must trust that God will be with us THROUGH IT. No matrer what it brings, or how long it lasts, keep your eyes on God, period.

 

Motherhood, Earned.

(Referencing- Ruth 1:1-18 Mark 3:31-35)

There are many titles given to people everyday, yet only a select few are EARNED. one to which is the title of ‘mother‘. The term mother as it is referenced in the Word of God means “source of something“; when a person is born into this world, he or she seeks a source of love, care, nurturing, and provision to his or her needs and the mother becomes that source. This is accomplished not just by what is done, but the intentions placed behind each action. When love is the intention behind the action it is then Divinely enhanced, thus establishing a bond that cannot be erased, altered or replaced.

Ruth made a decision to stay with Naomi because of the bond that they established. Even though Ruth had a mother of her own, she was shown something so profound that it made her decide to stay with Naomi until death claimed her. Naomi was her source of love; she earned the title of mother in Ruth’s life.

In the book of Mark, chapter 3, Jesus confirms this truth of earning the title of mother as He states that those who do the Will of The Father are his mother, father, sister, brother, etc… and what is the Will of God? To love one another in deed and truth (1st John 3:18)

To all women, whether you be a birth mother or otherwise who have shown others love through action or sacrifice, know that you are blessed beyond measure; even if your love isn’t acknowledged by the person, know that the Heavenly Father is glorified by it, so continue to be the source of something wonderful And Divinely everlasting in all of our lives.

May the Lord God bless and keep you always.

How soon we forget

(Referencing 2nd Samuel 12:1-10).

Everyone who is still living has a past, yet sometimes our past has a tendency to come back and haunt us… especially when it comes to the actions of our past. May of us are facing dire situations NOW because of the things we have sown before, and even though we have changed our lives and sought to become better people through the help of Our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ, we still have a harvest that must be atoned for.

David had a man killed because of his lust for the mans wife. He was then reminded of his great transgressions by Nathan the prophet and even though it wasn’t necessarily the deed the David forgot about, but the fact that God was there when the deed was done. David, who had be shown GREAT FAVOR by God throughout his life made a choice to sow great treachery for the lust of a woman which, in turn, cause great calamity which spread through the generations.

Many of us ask why things are happening in our lives, why no one seems to care, or we can’t get ahead, or we can win for losing, yet this could be the harvest from those things that we FORGOT that we had sown.

Why don’t anyone love me? Is it because you didn’t love when you had the chance?
Why wont anyone help me? Is it because you didn’t help when you had the chance?

Galatians 6:7-8 is straight forward and without exception. We must harvest that which we sow and no matter how many churches we have joined, and no matter how many good deeds we think we can do to offset our prior deeds, our harvest is inevitable. What I have learned that even in my atonement, God is still with me and will see me through, as God is with all of us, yet now we have the opportunity to sow those things WORTH remembering, instead of things that we would strive hard to forget.

There is no ‘Try’ with God

The saying that ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’, has no place with God.
 
Man is a creature of attempt. We go through life trying new things, trying to make things happen, trying to build wealth, trying to get ahead, trying not to make mistakes, trying to cheat death, trying to move forward in life, etc, etc… In these attempts, and usual re-attempts, we sometimes learn something, yet even in our learning, we still keep trying, and this lifestyle is limited only to us when it comes to our spiritual relationship.
 
Many preachers, and religious teachers are continually guilty of speaking about God in the limited sense, i.e., God is ‘trying‘ to bless a person, or ‘trying‘ to do something in a persons life, but for some reason, is unable to complete the task… usually because the person is powerful enough to hinder God’s work in their lives. This is a GREAT and dangerous fallacy, for it makes God look… human.
 
We tend to dilute God in the expressions that we use, and even though this keeps us, in our mind, unsullied, we are still guilty of falsifying and diminishing God to the people. So, if God is
omnipotent– Infinite in power,
omnipresent– Everywhere at the same time,
omniscience– All knowing
OMNICOMPETENT– Able to deal with ALL matters (even the one’s we CAN’T deal with)
 
Why would God EVER need to ‘try‘ anything? In the scripture, God said a Word, and that Word manifested light, and life… there wasn’t trial and error, an attempt and re-attempt because the Word was not heard or LACKED anything. Even in our lives, God has NEVER TRIED to give us what God wants us to have. God has never had to reevaluate God’s method because of a mistake or misstep. God has never had to wait for us to allow God to work in our lives.
Never forget; when God says, let there be… there it be.
(Genesis ch.1:vs.1-3)

The New Years Choice

Every year, almost everyone makes a choice to do better or get more of something in some way, whether it be more money, better relationship, better health, etc… Unfortunately, the choices made are usually only honored for a short time, and can sometimes benefit us even less. Joshua brought the people of Israel together to give them a summary of the events of their lives and the lives of those before them. He spoke upon the promises made between the ancestors and God, the trial and tribulations they endured, the battles fought, the foolish choices made in the midst of them all, and in the end, God kept them in spite of themselves.

In the end, Joshua requested them to choose whom they would serve; the gods of the world, or the Lord God in entirety. he also made it clear that whatever they choose would be on them and Joshua’s choice was already clear… he and his house would serve the Lord. Why? Because that was the choice that would last. It was the choice that would take him through any and all situations and circumstances; keep him in times of doubt, confusion and sorrow, and guarantee success no matter how the outcome. 
If you are going to make a choice for the new Year, make sure it is the one that will stand the test of time, trial and tribulation… choose God.

Reference Joshua 24:14-15

The Act of Love

The term ‘love is an action word‘ does hold truth, yet what actions should we take? in this season, the focus on love gives way to the desire for ‘things’. We spend great amounts of money on stuff for each other, yet these things rarely last. The things that do are usually ignored, and we further settle for these things as proof of love, yet they are no where near proof of anything other than an instinctual following of the times.

Christ showed the greatest example of love with the sacrificing of his physical life for the salvation of us all. Each day, God shows love for us by going ABOVE AND BEYOND that which we deserve, and asks, can we do the same for each other? Can we go above and beyond the physical gifts, remedial words, and show love to others in a way the LASTS? Yet, how do we achieve this? First, we MUST establish and build our relationship with God, and since GOD IS LOVE, we then build pure love within ourselves, thus allowing us to share this with others. And the best thing about this… IT DOESN’T COST A DIME.

Referencing 1st John 3:16-18.

The perils of rejoicing in the pain of others

Many people in this age delight in violence, especially when it is focused on others; strangers and those involved in their lives are both subject to the watching, mocking and instigation of pain and suffering of those around them. Social media has tagged on to this foolishness in a great way be making it easier and easier to share videos of violent acts from all types of individuals for the sake of a laugh, and ‘like’. What amazes me about this is that those who do this are just as likely to have it done unto them, yet they show no care of this fact… until it happens to them. then they want to yell FOUL, or talk of INJUSTICE. The hypocrisy is steadily growing among the people of God and yet the enemy continues to capitalize off of our ignorance.

I encourage all that read to boycott this because it is nothing but fuel for the enemy’s ultimate goal.

Referencing Obadiah 1:11-15.

Okay God… Convince me!

The marketing industry spends billions of dollars annually on ways to convince you and me that the product or service they are trying to sell is worth buying. This is done through billboards, television, radio and Internet advertisements which are among the most popular. We expect this to occur and in this, push the industry to be more creative and more convincing as time goes by. We are creatures of short attention spans and smaller levels of satisfaction, so this signifies why we would need to be convinced to spend our money, or our time on anything nowadays.

Thomas, in the story, who was shown the power of Christ on many occasions, still did not believe that He was able to overcome the finality of death, so he needed to be convinced. He needed to have his senses satisfies through touch; needing to feel the holes in his hands and the piercing in his side. Then once convinced, he believed, yet Christ made it quite clear that his belief was hollowed because it lacked faith.

How many of us consistently seek proof of God? We have all asked for a sensual convincing, usually in the form of a sign of some sort, or most commonly, a financial issue be resolved in our lives, and even then, we are still skeptical. Our FAITH should be our assurance, yet because of our reliance on our physical senses, we seek an earthly way to validate The Heavenly Father in our limited and insignificant lives, thus placing God on a marketing platform that we continue to push to reinvent and resell.

Only when we are able to lean on our faith that God CAN and thus TRUST that God WILL can we get past the worldly lack of faith and distrust that comes with our inherent need of convincing.

Referencing John 20:18-29

What is given, can be taken

We must never forget where our lives and all the possessions we take for granted in our lives come from. By the grace of God we are provided for, yet sometimes we can forget and slip into the ‘it was my will and my skill’ way of thinking real quickly, especially when our egos are fed by the world.

Many of us have prayed for things to come into our lives, or change in our lives, and once God provides, we, a first, will thank God for blessing us. As time goes on, and what we asked for starts to benefit us, or increase for the better, we can get caught up in the feeling of accomplishment, especially when the results begin to show to others. In time, if not careful, we have convinced ourselves that we are in control of the outcome and even boast of our magnificence, only to ultimately be stripped of all that we believed to be of our making.

Remember, our lives are gifts, not privileges, and never to be confused with being deserved or earned, thus it is imperative that we keep in the FRONT OF OUR MINDS that it was not OUR will, but God’s.

Referencing Deuteronomy 8:11-20