WALL OF PROTECTION

I am going to touch on a subject that many of you will not like at all.  Maybe you won’t even read past the second paragraph.  You may even dislike me after it.  I like to be liked by everyone.  But if God asks me to do something, I do it.  I’m not in this world to please anyone.  I’m only here to please God.  Tonight He TOLD me to touch on a subject that I know so much about but know that it is something a lot of people shut themselves out of as well.

That subject is pre-marital sex.  And yes, I’m going there, so here goes:

As far as erroneous humans such as we are concerned, the sins of the flesh are our greatest downfall.  Our passions are such raging fire and if it burns in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong person, we all get burned.

We are all hopeless romantics.  Yes, even the  even-keeled.  The nature of the beast is that we were born to love.  Even as young children, we crave our parents’ love.  As we get older, we seek after the right person to love.  In our twilight years, we still long for our children and grandchildren’s love.  It is small wonder why intimacy is tantamount to our existence.  God himself created us out of love.  He wants love back but we were given free will and God doesn't want forced love.

Here’s the caveat.  When we become intimate with another person sexually, a bond is formed.  That bond is there because it was created by God as  the basic definition of a blessed bond between husband and wife.  Upon intimacy, we are suddenly united with that person.  However, the pain will culminate inside our very core when we give ourselves away repeatedly only to have those bonds broken along with our hearts.  Our hearts can only be broken so many times before the walls go up and we bar anyone else from entering.  Ultimately, it will be difficult to become intimate and trust another person again.  The sad part is, the right person may be trying to get in but because we have become bitter shells of a person looking for love, longing for fulfillment of a truly loving relationship to no avail.  We hide behind that bomb shelter trying to stay safe from the pain that we have come to know so well.  We become relationship junkies, expecting the next person to be the unreasonable perfect person that does not exist.

Nothing will work, because there is only one love that does… a deep relationship with Jesus Christ.  A relationship with Jesus Christ keeps us inside the guardrails he has established for us so that we don’t drive over that proverbial cliff of destruction.  When we love Jesus, experience His love for us, and live faithfully with one person, our spouse, just as Jesus pours out His love for us, then we will find everything our hearts are longing for.  It is only inside that shelter will we find freedom for our passions that is blessed by God.

Until my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

HELLO SUMMER!!

Wanna bite?  Come paint with me on July 16 from 1-3pm at the Napa Michaels Store for Still Life Painting!

THE BEAUTY THAT IS GOD

All throughout time people have run around the world like goldfish in a tank focused primarily on survival.  Survival means conforming to the norm, what's around, amazed at those who progress and gets ahead.  Part of our human nature is competitiveness.  Dog eat dog world, we always want to snuggle up to the one who is lit the brightest.  When it is impossible for us to do so because those whom we know are crabs in the bucket like us, we get pulled down ourselves because if they can't get ahead, why should anyone else?

We are so wrapped up in the flesh-filled world that mixed emotions run so rampant, casting a shadow over our uniqueness, the person, the spirit, the soul, the child that God has created.  We forget our place in the grace of God.  We conform to the world in order to be accepted.  But by whom?  Those who are human just like ourselves.  How sad.   We are all guilty of this, I am guilty of it.  

When I was younger, I felt invincible.  No one can ever convince me that my body would ever grow weary, in pain or my senses get less and less sharp.  Believe me, there were older people who have warned me.  I shrug them off like dust on my shoulder pads.  I felt like well I have all this time to get better, live better, eat better, work out better.  But then day after day after day passes, and time has as well.

How I have wasted so much of my time comfortable in that cast shadow of arrogance against what mattered the most.  In God's time, my heart changed.  I am happy to have known the truth at the ripe age of 40 when I got deep into my relationship with God.  The closer I got to Him, the more He revealed to me, and still revealing to me to this day.  I feel blessed.  It seemed that the latest celebrity means less to me.  I don't live my life being someone famous just to be accepted socially.  Thank God this body will one day pass and my soul transformed into what God created me to be.  I look forward to physical death only because eternal life takes over.

You see, the opposite of belief and faith in Jesus Christ is not atheism.  No, the opposite of faith is idolatry.  Since the beginning of time, power, wealth, beauty, intelligence, sex, etc. have been worshipped.  In our culture we worship ourselves, the latest celebrity.  Mere mortals worshipping other mortals.  The youth walk around dressed and looking like their favorite celeb and become like who they worship.  Whether or not is is pleasing to God's eyes, they don't care because all they care about is pleasing themselves even if it's the wrong thing to do.

But wisdom honors God.  Jesus asked, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36.  Worship of oneself or any other idol is a perverted, pride-filled life destined for hell.

Worshipping God instead of self is pleasing to Him.  He rewards those who do so.  You can say I'm a prude, believe me, I know people do.  But God knows my heart and He knows that as long as He is happy with me, I can damn the world, and I do.  God is the only one I trust.  He is the only one who will never disappoint me.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

BLESS THE LORD, OH MY SOUL!

It happens, and when it does, we call it miraculous.  We even get so animated because it is something so unbelievable that we cannot believe our eyes or ears that someone that was in that kind of an accident could come out of it unscathed.

It happens everyday, more than we will ever know.  God sends His angels all throughout the earth to protect us from all the spiritual enemies that also roam to and fro causing ruckus to the world.

Do you think that the depiction of angels with wings were made up in the artist's minds?  They had to have come from somewhere and the bible writers who have seen them all describe them as such.  Non-believers change their tune when events unexplained happen in their lives and can only be attributed to God's miracles.

But our battle is not against another human.  It is what evil possesses a person who is otherwise weaker and allow their will to be influenced.   We can either will ourselves to be exposed or protected.  Protection with Jesus' blood is what we need to be protected.  But we have to believe it and then receive it.

God has already stamped satan's future.  His future is bleak so he is raging in the world today.  ISIS, pedophiles, dictators, murderers, etc. are all the wards of satan.  They wreak havoc in the world today.  God cannot force us to turn back to Him, we have to will this on our own.  satan wants to get as many souls to join him in his last ditch effort to make Jesus' death futile.  he has already lost but you and I are not.  It is your decision though.  Don't be fooled, turn back to God.  I say this because I love you and if I could save you I would but it's just not how it's played.

So until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER! JESUS is LORD!!

GODLY HUMILITY

There is a common stigma that comes with the word “humble.”  When we think of the word, it is somehow associated with weakness or submission on a negative level.  That is what satan wants you to believe and he injects pride in you to hinder humility.

When I was younger, and my siblings and I were engaged in a dispute, my Mother always said, “be the bigger person.”  I rejected that but I don't begrudge her because her intentions were pure and she tried to find a way to a peaceable home.  So I feel like when the word humble was thrown around, it is rejected naturally because of our prideful nature.

As I grew in my relationship with Christ, the concept of humility began to transform into its new meaning.  Humility is now submission to God’s will, taking a transformation from a faltered human being into a Christ-like existence.  When Jesus said, “turn the other cheek,”  he didn’t mean lose yourself and submit to an oppressor.  He meant do not match evil for evil.  When someone treats you badly, repay it with humility and love, even going as far as blessing them. As humans, it is very difficult to do.  However, it takes a strong bond with God to be able to present a good example for people to tap into their inner good and get in touch with their inner conviction.  God is our ultimate protector and avenger.  He doesn’t avenge on our behalf so that we could be proud and be puffed up.  He does, however, avenge to convict the perpetrator to turn back to Him and at the same time become eventually remorseful about their evil deeds done to you and others.

Furthermore, humility is also professing that Jesus is Lord, giving Him all the glory from all our successes to attract unbelievers to turn back to Him if they like what they see in us and wish the same for themselves.  Not taking credit for the good things we have done but instead giving the credit to God, who is, after all, the creator of all things.

Humility raises us up to a higher level, not the other way around.   Imagine getting a job, or a prestigious award.  If we give God the glory, He will keep pouring out the blessings to us.  However, if we credit our successes to our own abilities, it is as if we are saying that we don’t need God in our lives, and that is a very, very dangerous road to travel on.  Standing alone without God is the worst thing you could possibly do.  God is the creator of everything, including you, the person you glorify.  Would it be right for you to take full credit for that?

Ok, so you are now humble.  What's next?  Paul answers our questions in Philippians 2: 1-11.  He said:

"Is there encouragement from belonging to Christ?  Any comfort from His love?  Any fellowship together in the Spirit?  Are your hearts tender and compassionate?  Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.  

Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee show bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

What is your story?  How are you exercising humility in your life?  Are you honoring God by giving Him the glory for every good thing that happened to you?  I sure hope so.  God is a jealous God.  It was important enough for Him to put it in the 10 Commandments, thou shall not have strange gods before me, nor worship an image of any kind.  Honoring ANYTHING OTHER than God is IDOLATRY!  Think about it, dig deep into your gut and understand it!  I pray that you find God within and become His friend.  Talk with Him daily.  Ask Him to guide you into humility.   Not the kind that makes you feel weak, but the kind that will empower and honor you.  It's like an awesome circle, you honor Him, He will honor you, you honor Him, He will honor you, and on and on and on.  It works!

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!! 

Beautiful Things

The truly beautiful things are free. This pansy grew between the cracks of the concrete, Lord only knows how it got there so I call it my magical flower. It is probably 2 x 2" height and width and I've never seen a pansy flower this small in my entire life.  It is God's gift to me because only He can do this and make it known it is from Him.  The only other time I got flowers from Him was years ago in a newly lined trash bin at a parking structure one dozen long stemmed red roses!

It just goes to show that beauty can grow anywhere.

Here are the babies of my succulent plants that I planted a year now and it has multiplied for me beautifully and bountifully!

Until my next rant... Go seek the beauty around you and LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!