Wednesday, November 18, 2009

God, You're to blame!!!

All types of circumstance embrace our lives.   Some we can see coming and others spring up to our surprise.   many people in the world have come to a belief that God exists either because they really have seen the evidence, or they were raised to believe.  although, I was raised to believe in God i needed convincing for myself that he was in favor of me and of my life.  Due to lack of knowledge of Gods nature i felt a necessity to blame him as things went wrong in my immediate life.  
my mom passed away in 2000.  maybe a month before that i had gone to visit her and the visit was very negative, she was very negative about how she was treating herself and then accused me of stealing money from her, yikes. I was about 15 at the time and really didn't understand what was going on and why she kept accusing me but, she was deteriorating and things like that tend to happen.  sadly, that was the last real memory that i had of her.    I saw that she was suffering and while i told my grandma that i would not visit her again because, i was so angry i also prayed to God and ask that he let her life end or heal her because she was suffering, then she passed away.  i felt a need to blame God because of the sadness i felt at her passing.  she was never in my life and now the sure hope of that opportunity for her and for myself was gone for ever.   I don't think that i held on to that blame very long but, it was long enough for bitterness and unforgiveness to build up inside of my heart.   I felt so guilty that i had that one last memory so i worked hard not to really think about it yet, when something like that is lodged in your heart it will manifest it self in different ways. "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." The bible instructs us to guard our hearts that is because we love to hold on to things negative and that have hurt us, when we do that situation, or person sometimes gives them power over us when they've moved on from the situation and most likely ignorant of doing anything wrong.


God i the creator of the universe and because he  is our natural understand is that he causes ALL things to occur. Well, there are some things he will cause and other things that he will ALLOW. What he allows is most often what we allow. If your mother or father used and abused drugs for most of their adult life with out repentance disease will settle into their lives, cause & effect.  There are some questions along those lines that i can't even answer although i wish i knew why.   Most of it would include  why this person has said this or that ? Or, why would this person do this or that to me or someone else? In situations like that I believe the most powerful answer you can give is your reaction.  You're reaction should, in all those cases, be humbled and Godly with out  being on the edge of vengeance which would reap  a greater situation then you probably asked for.  


In cases of death, i found that prayer about your feelings toward the situation help definitely in the healing process.  When my dad became ill in 2008, suffering from his second  and most severe stroke I felt a great sense of unfairness because I had one parent who had been gone for almost 10 years, 8 specifically and my only parent left was and still gravely ill. "Wow , Lord, you don't want me to have any type of happiness in life huh?" I thought , that's just a few words ...anger rekindled and I could only say that this was unfair. I never gave a second thought, at that time to how badly my dad started to treat himself with drinking.  After his first stroke he  was prescribed medicines  that he would have to take for the rest of his life and that depressed him. So, rather than dealing with having to take those pills to deal with that reality he increased  his drinking and not long after his 1st stroke he suffered the second one and is still in a comma.


God gave us a clear mind and ability to deal with the life ahead of us.  Without unity with Him we can either simply, grow further apart from His reality  or, use things to replace Him, drugs, alcohol, sex etc...
There's nothing really logical about destroying yourself because you can't deal, but it's more prevalent than ever.

Unity with God means that we have communication with Him, which happens anywhere not just inside the church or the church parking lot. Unity with God is just what it is unity with God which is accomplished through Christ. When the unity is accomplished we are better able to get through the dysfunctions of life with out heading for self destruction.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Materials




America's consumer industry has created many 'devices' in hopes of filling their pockets and alleviating our unhappiness and stresses. time has proven that no matter how much you gain financially, using your finances as away to obtain joy and happiness doesn't have a long term betterment.


The liquor industry is very rich and powerful from marketing it's product as one that would make you happy, help your personality to flourish or life easier to cope with. Many years ago....before I was born, even before my parents were born alcohol was illegal to sell. Prohibition : the period (1920–33) when the Eighteenth Amendment was in force and alcoholic beverages could not legally be manufactured, transported, or sold in the U.S. For 13 years Alcohol was not allowed, in any form, to be produced in the USA. Some where in between that time the Government found that they could make tons of money from it's production and lifted the band. I'm quite sure that the long term affects were some what understood although more in depth 'today.'


When material things were bought and sold to meet the needs of people marketing approaches changed in such a way that would meet the needs of peoples emotions. For example, a cell phone is a necessity because house phones cannot be transported and that industry complimented those that were rich, busy bodies, and could afford it. Now, cell phones are bought and sold through our necessity to have the latest of something and to make ourselves feel better about our social condition.


The Bible (word of God) tells us that abundance is not contained in the things a 'man' owns. Then he said to them, "Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, for a person's life doesn't consist of the amount of possessions he has." (Luke 12:15 ISV)


So as long as we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with these. But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with much pain. (1 Timothy 6:8-10 ISV)


Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, "I will never leave you or abandon you." Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"
(Hebrews 13:5-6 ISV)


God does want us to have peace and joy. But it is through His love for us and vise-versa that it is obtain. Without God all that we have is our hunt for that one material item that will appease our whole lives and I'm sure that a lot of men and women have died trying to find it.
Have faith in the word and work of Christ and the love of God so that our heart and soul will be prioritized.


Blessings.


If interested...here's a video on the development of the consumer industry according Siegmund Freud's theories titled "The Century of the Self"- Happy Machines by Adam Curtis

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Accountability

We have a choice to react in a well or bad way to things said or done to us.  Our responsibility isn't for what someone has to say to us we are responsible for our own reactions no matter what may happen.

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. (Proverbs 15:18 ) The wisdom in Proverbs guides us on how to deal with being angered by a person or a situation.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
  (Proverbs 15:1 ESV)

Remember that old saying "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all?" That's a great statement and is complemented by the above Proverbs.  No matter what's been done the accountability is on us. We are responsible for our selves and I believe personally if we make the decision to not be accountable we reap what's sown from our actions and reactions.


God loves us and wants us to be representatives of Him. How we carry ourselves is a sure example of how we feel about ourselves internally. Even if you don't serve God you still have  an accountability to yourself to respect yourself and own up to things that you say and do, which we all will give an account for at the day of Judgment.

Offspring of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings out evil things. But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.  (Matthew 12:34-37 MKJV)

So, if we aren't holding ourselves accountable and we will not allow others too as well we are not maturing and allowing ourselves to be corrected in love and concern.

Thank you Lord for showing me this for myself I pray that I will learn to react better to those things that I face, for your honor and glory in Jesus name Amen.

Monday, November 9, 2009

The “Us” Factor from “God’s Love Letter” (my project)

Written in 2006

The "Us" Factor



This writing is intended to reveal the true heart of our Daddy God, through life experiences past and present I will attempt to let the reader know and by the power of the Holy Spirit, believe in their hearts that God is absolutely in love with you and also to remind myself of this marvelous reality.

    Through scripture we know that "God commends his love toward us…" He revealed, introduced, show forth His own love toward us. Even though we've done wrong, God demonstrated His love toward us all. Even in our sins, He covered us in his love and rescued us sending His only-begotten son, Jesus our Lord to die on the Cross in our place.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden Genesis records that God covered them Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

What great love that God would forsake His own Son on our behalf. Matthew 27:43 "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, "I am the son of God." NKJV…27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" NKJV also.

At a time where Jesus needed his Father the most He was forsook by His own. I remember when the film "The passion of the Christ" was in theaters a person responded to the crucifixion by saying "If I was there I would have saved Jesus" There are 2 things wrong with that statement:

1) If Jesus did not die for our sins, we would have been doomed to fail in our own strivings.

2) We would have never experienced the abundant life Jesus came to provide.



Though it is believed to be conditional, God's love is in fact unconditional. He is not discriminatory upon who He loves and doesn't although, some may argue. Sometimes we wonder if God, even though we are saved by Jesus Christ our Lord, our insecurity takes us into a realm of un-belief where we are not sure if God really loves us or not or, does His love sway back and forth with what we do against or fail to do for Him out of disobedience? The bible talks about God loving us with an everlasting love and drawing us to Him with His loving kindness and tender mercies. (Jeremiah 31:3)

See also John 3:16-17, 18-19 (Whole Chapter as context)

John 3:16 Says this...For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.



He (God) loved the world "this way" that he delivered, suffered , gave, his only begotten Son (not just son of God but a son of Man also) that whosoever meaning, whomever will, whole etc should believe or entrust, have faith in Jesus, should not , die, but have life forever …!!!



Gods Love letter says that He loves you with an everlasting love and he has drawn you unto Him with loving kindness.



    As God began to heal my heart and really renew my life a lot of my past began to come back to my memory. Things that I had forgotten God allowed again to come to my memories a lot of humiliating moments where I felt abandoned and alone. One time I could remember was when I was in first grade. My mother had come to my elementary school. I was so ashamed because I knew even at a young age that my family was dysfunctional I was afraid that she would make a scene, all I remembered feeling was utter embarrassment; I was afraid she was high or would again just make a scene. I knew a lot of my class mates had both parents living in the home. I hardly had one. The only stable person I felt was in my life was my grandmother and my father, although he had problems of his own. The lack of parenting in my life breed a very shameful personality I was deeply insecure. Food was a comfort for me and that led me to be overweight at a young age I was teased and rejected early on in life as I saw it. I saw myself as disgusting, unwanted unloved, not worth anything. We weren't born into this world asking for these things although we've received them, because of sin we now have a duty to work toward freedom through the Lord Jesus Christ.



John 8:36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.



     "Hurting people hurt people" if you understand this statement, congratulations that door to healing for you has just been unlocked. The reason is you've just admitted or acknowledge that those that have hurt you have also been hurt by others in a vicious wounding cycle. The end result of these acts is un-forgiveness, bitterness, betrayal and, resentment. Without the Father's rescue and love, Satan has access to you through those emotions which are brought by our human *sinful* nature. Now, we have these feelings that bring about habits, habits that feed sinful emotions. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Habits and evil intuition is the water that allows these emotions to grow and become us. James 1:14 NKJV



God's word tells us in John 10:10 that Satan came to kill steal and destroys, but that Jesus came that we might have life in abundance. When Satan comes to kill, what is he killing in our lives? Dreams and goals, endurance and struggle. What does he want to steal? Joy, peace, and knowledge of Gods word. Gifts that God has given to us from His throne. What or who is he trying to destroy? Us. Encouragement comes in knowing God has provided for us ways to escape through His marvelous words of promise.

When we speak and declare the promises of the Lord and what He is saying about us, we capitalize on our Enemy's wiles and are adding victories to our lives through our everyday battles in the spirit.



2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (4) (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strong holds); (5) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; (6) and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be fulfilled.



We are the apple of our Daddy's eye. We are his main focus His choice interest. Daddy God woos us and draws us to Him with his Love and Mercies if, we would only seek Him with our whole hearts. He promises that when we seek Him we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:12-13). But as we seek Him what do we find in Him? When we come into Him and search Him, what do we find? We find us. When you seek the Lord with your whole heart and search Him, you will find yourself. You will find that you inhabit his whole heart.



Zephaniah 3:17 KJV The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.



Deuteronomy 32:10 "He found him in a desert land And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

11As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

12 So the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.

No false god, no evil entity, no lust, pride, envy or jealousy.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

cultivate and plant





For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
(Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

The word of God is alive and well preserved because it's everlasting.  When we hear his word two events occur either we are hardened by His word or it cultivates our hearts for it's planting.  That planting will produce great fruits to be consumed by the body of Christ and those that are out of the way of God but who He's working on.

The Word of God brings life and preservation from mental, physical and emotional destruction.