Hi everyone!!! God has truly been a blessing to me and allowed my writing to be posted as an editorial writing on StreamingFaith.com. Clearly I read the email wrong, but please go read it if you haven't already, lol and be sure to share it with your friends and family. Hope it blesses you greatly!!
http://www.streamingfaith.com/news/family/story/being-willing-to-hear/
Marquita
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Daily Devotion
Accept the Blessings
"Then what you had in the past will seem small compared with the great prosperity you'll have in the future." Job 8:7 GWT
As I thought about what to write today, I remembered some things. I have to thank God because He has brought me from some bad places, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I used to be a person that found it very difficult to accept compliments from people. And as I grew and came to know more about myself, I learned it was because I had so much hurt inside, that anytime someone said anything nurturing or uplifting to me, I could not receive it. My heart had become like a concrete wall, so all of the compliments and nice things people would say to me could not penetrate. It took me wanting to have a better self outlook to recognize the changes I immediately needed to make, and it was even more evident when another friend pointed out my character flaw.
I chose this scripture above because today, I was "blessed" by a friend at work that told me in so many words the exact same thing. I allowed a thought to fester in my mind for a while that was reminiscent of my past, pessimistic behavior and then I thought, I better receive this blessing. I had so often in my bubble of hurt, allowed only the hurts to penetrate it, keeping me trapped within, and rejected anything that did not line up with the lies I believed. I often look to the book of Job as a source of encouragement because I have many times in my life now felt like Job. I felt like I lost family and friend alike, and most of all my health. But because of who I am, I know that Jesus' blood made me a new person and God's promises are just as valid for me right now in my life as they were for Job and many others in their respective times.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our messes that we allow them to dictate our lives. Our eyes are closed to the blessings that are right in front of us. Whether you suffer from the kind of pride that will not allow you to accept or receive something from someone, or you suffer from the kind of guilt that keeps you prisoner to the past, or you suffer from selfishness that prevents you from being a blessing to someone else, you can ask God to help you. Only God was able to show me today that I can accept the blessing and reap a harvest like Job's, even after all of the things I have been through. It was only after I let my wall down to receive that all of the problems of the past were taken from me by God and now I am in a place where He can restore everything I lost and more.
"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys." Job 42:12 NIV
"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys." Job 42:12 NIV
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 28, 2011
Daily Devotion
Okay so hey again everybody...I felt lead to add more to this devotion so I am re-posting it for you to read and will delete the old one...love you all!
Marquita
What It Truly Means to be Selfish
"He who separates himself seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom." Proverbs 18:1 NASB
I'm in a particularly foul mood...just stemming from a few things...and said to myself, "I wish I knew how to be selfish. I really wish I could just not care about everyone else so much." And I have been thinking avidly about what it truly means to be selfish, and if God allowed for any selfishness in the Bible. I am a person that has always elevated the needs of others above my own happiness, resulting in sometimes stressful and hurtful situations, especially when my kindness is abused or taken for granted. I am one of those people that consider other people's feelings even before I say something to them, taking sometimes weeks and months to say something that has been laid on my heart because I have to find the right words through prayer. I have learned from past experiences about being too hasty, but that is another story. Selfishness is a global problem, affecting the believer and unbeliever alike, but as a Christian it is a principle that we must work to overcome, as it does not truly reflect the spirit of God dwelling within us. I often find myself calling my dog Parker selfish when I play with him, because he only wants to stop playing when he wants to, or he doesn't want you to touch his toys unless he wants you to. So as I pondered this idea all morning, I figured I would do a little research to see what it truly means, because nowadays most people have a 'me-first' mentality or they have a limited scope of what it means to be selfish.
According to the verse above, a loner or selfish, self-centered person is a person that seeks their own desire and argues with sound wisdom. Okay, so I decided to cross-reference that with Webster's definition: being concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure or well-being without regard for others. Well, these are pretty close if not exactly the same. And our Heavenly Father is against this because most importantly, selfishness separates us from Him. A selfish person will not even receive what you have to say, even if it is from God, because it will not line up for them with their plans. In fact, according to Romans 2:8, God will pour out His wrath and anger on them--them being selfish and self-seeking people, among others. Moreover, in Philippians 2:3, Paul invokes us to consider others as better than ourselves and to not be selfish.
I guess for me this is a little hard today, because like I said, I believe I always consider others before myself, often being hurt in the midst of that. But I get a little comfort in the fact that God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves--and of course in loving myself, I do not want to be hurt, so in love I should not simply allow someone to knowingly hurt me. So instead of surrounding myself with others today, I'll spend the day working and talking with God so that He can clean up all confusion in my life and help me see what I am doing wrong. It is okay to love on yourself, but once that 'love' starts to make you mistreat, manipulate and maliciously use others, you have lost the true meaning. Being selfish is not the way to go, so I guess I will just simply overlook my feelings for today and continue to walk in love!
"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' Matthew 22:39 NASB
Marquita
What It Truly Means to be Selfish
"He who separates himself seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom." Proverbs 18:1 NASB
I'm in a particularly foul mood...just stemming from a few things...and said to myself, "I wish I knew how to be selfish. I really wish I could just not care about everyone else so much." And I have been thinking avidly about what it truly means to be selfish, and if God allowed for any selfishness in the Bible. I am a person that has always elevated the needs of others above my own happiness, resulting in sometimes stressful and hurtful situations, especially when my kindness is abused or taken for granted. I am one of those people that consider other people's feelings even before I say something to them, taking sometimes weeks and months to say something that has been laid on my heart because I have to find the right words through prayer. I have learned from past experiences about being too hasty, but that is another story. Selfishness is a global problem, affecting the believer and unbeliever alike, but as a Christian it is a principle that we must work to overcome, as it does not truly reflect the spirit of God dwelling within us. I often find myself calling my dog Parker selfish when I play with him, because he only wants to stop playing when he wants to, or he doesn't want you to touch his toys unless he wants you to. So as I pondered this idea all morning, I figured I would do a little research to see what it truly means, because nowadays most people have a 'me-first' mentality or they have a limited scope of what it means to be selfish.
According to the verse above, a loner or selfish, self-centered person is a person that seeks their own desire and argues with sound wisdom. Okay, so I decided to cross-reference that with Webster's definition: being concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure or well-being without regard for others. Well, these are pretty close if not exactly the same. And our Heavenly Father is against this because most importantly, selfishness separates us from Him. A selfish person will not even receive what you have to say, even if it is from God, because it will not line up for them with their plans. In fact, according to Romans 2:8, God will pour out His wrath and anger on them--them being selfish and self-seeking people, among others. Moreover, in Philippians 2:3, Paul invokes us to consider others as better than ourselves and to not be selfish.
I guess for me this is a little hard today, because like I said, I believe I always consider others before myself, often being hurt in the midst of that. But I get a little comfort in the fact that God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves--and of course in loving myself, I do not want to be hurt, so in love I should not simply allow someone to knowingly hurt me. So instead of surrounding myself with others today, I'll spend the day working and talking with God so that He can clean up all confusion in my life and help me see what I am doing wrong. It is okay to love on yourself, but once that 'love' starts to make you mistreat, manipulate and maliciously use others, you have lost the true meaning. Being selfish is not the way to go, so I guess I will just simply overlook my feelings for today and continue to walk in love!
"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' Matthew 22:39 NASB
Daily Devotion
What It Truly Means to be Selfish
"He who separates himself seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom." Proverbs 18:1 NASB
I'm in a particularly foul mood...just stemming from a few things...and said to myself, "I wish I knew how to be selfish." And I have been thinking avidly about what it truly means to be selfish, and if God allowed for any selfishness in the Bible. I am a person that has always elevated the needs of others above my own happiness, resulting in sometimes stressful and hurtful situations, especially when my kindness is abused or taken for granted. I am one of those people that considers other people's feelings even before I say something to them, taking sometimes weeks and months to say something that has been laid on my heart because I have to find the right words through prayer. I often find myself calling my dog Parker selfish when I play with him, because he only wants to stop playing when he wants to, or he doesn't want you to touch his toys unless he wants you to. So as I pondered this idea all morning, I figured I would do a little research to see what it truly means, because nowadays most people have a me-first mentality or they have a limited scope of what it means to be selfish.
According to the verse above, a loner or selfish, self-centered person is a person that seeks their own desire and argues with sound wisdom. Okay, so I decided to cross-reference that with Websters' definition: being concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure or well-being without regard for others. Well, these are pretty close if not exactly the same. And our Heavenly Father is against this because most importantly, selfishness separates us from Him. A selfish person will not even receive what you have to say, even if it is from God, because it will not line up for them with their plans. In fact, according to Romans 2:8, God will pour out His wrath and anger on them. Moreover, in Philippians 2:3, Paul invokes us to consider others as better than ourselves and to not be selfish.
I guess for me this is a little hard today, because like I said, I believe I always consider others before myself, often being hurt in the midst of that. But I get a little comfort in the fact that God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves--and of course in loving myself, I do not want to be hurt, so in love I should not simply allow someone to knowingly hurt me. So instead of surrounding myself with others today, I'll spend the day working and talking with God so that He can clean up all confusion in my life and help me see what I am doing wrong. Its okay to love on yourself, but once that 'love' starts to make you mistreat, manipulate and maliciously use others, you have lost the true meaning.
"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' Matthew 22:39 NASB
"He who separates himself seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom." Proverbs 18:1 NASB
I'm in a particularly foul mood...just stemming from a few things...and said to myself, "I wish I knew how to be selfish." And I have been thinking avidly about what it truly means to be selfish, and if God allowed for any selfishness in the Bible. I am a person that has always elevated the needs of others above my own happiness, resulting in sometimes stressful and hurtful situations, especially when my kindness is abused or taken for granted. I am one of those people that considers other people's feelings even before I say something to them, taking sometimes weeks and months to say something that has been laid on my heart because I have to find the right words through prayer. I often find myself calling my dog Parker selfish when I play with him, because he only wants to stop playing when he wants to, or he doesn't want you to touch his toys unless he wants you to. So as I pondered this idea all morning, I figured I would do a little research to see what it truly means, because nowadays most people have a me-first mentality or they have a limited scope of what it means to be selfish.
According to the verse above, a loner or selfish, self-centered person is a person that seeks their own desire and argues with sound wisdom. Okay, so I decided to cross-reference that with Websters' definition: being concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure or well-being without regard for others. Well, these are pretty close if not exactly the same. And our Heavenly Father is against this because most importantly, selfishness separates us from Him. A selfish person will not even receive what you have to say, even if it is from God, because it will not line up for them with their plans. In fact, according to Romans 2:8, God will pour out His wrath and anger on them. Moreover, in Philippians 2:3, Paul invokes us to consider others as better than ourselves and to not be selfish.
I guess for me this is a little hard today, because like I said, I believe I always consider others before myself, often being hurt in the midst of that. But I get a little comfort in the fact that God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves--and of course in loving myself, I do not want to be hurt, so in love I should not simply allow someone to knowingly hurt me. So instead of surrounding myself with others today, I'll spend the day working and talking with God so that He can clean up all confusion in my life and help me see what I am doing wrong. Its okay to love on yourself, but once that 'love' starts to make you mistreat, manipulate and maliciously use others, you have lost the true meaning.
"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' Matthew 22:39 NASB
Friday, March 25, 2011
Daily Devotion
So You Think You're In Love
"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8 ESV
I always think back to when I would listen to Lauren Hill's cd. There is a skit on there where the teacher asks his students what it means to be in love. I find it funny now as I am trying to walk in love with everyone, and learn more about God in the process, because the stories the students told were of what they thought was romantic love. I always thought growing up that love was a feeling or something that you can choose to do. But I'm finding out that it is in many ways more complicated than that but at the same time, a simple concept...weird right?
Well last year before my dad passed away, I stood up in front of family and friends and shared with them what God told me to say as I remembered my father. I read from 1 Corinthians 13--effectively known as the Love Chapter of the Bible. It proceeds to share the importance of love, what love is not, and what love does. I now realize that love produces wisdom, as one of the qualities of love is to overlook wrongs--and as I wrote a few days ago, a wise person overlooks wrongs. I realized that I did not have to look to others or someone in a relationship to teach me to love, because all along I had a great example at home in my daddy's love for my mom.
In many families today, these things are not being perpetuated or reinforced, as for some strange reason, we have all developed an every man for himself/herself mentality, even within the family structure. The dysfuntions created by the devil to destroy God's ideal and plan for the family unit have flourished and allow curses and negative behaviors to propigate and multiply over generations, effectively passing down illnesses and diseases for example as part of the family gene, rather than love and brotherhood, respect and trust. I myself do admit on both sides of my family a myriad of dysfunctions, and if it were not for the love within my immediate circle, I could have surely been lost to the wolves.
So, you think you're in love, right--and here I mean knowing God, and loving Him. Do you know God? Do you pray and talk and think about Him--including His word, His Son, and the very act that saved your soul? Do you overlook the wrongs that people have done to you--or if you haven't, have you gotten help from a mature Christian to get you on your way to forgiveness? Have you cried out to God to save you or to teach the things you need to know in order to be IN love--with Him?? Have you taken time to be in a relationship with God?
I have been thinking a lot lately about the things I desire to do with my life, and the things I have already accomplished. I accomplished every goal I had set for myself (or thus replaced that goal with one I have already achieved) when I was a teenager. The only thing I have yet to do is to get married and have children. And I have been wondering why I have not done that yet, as my close friends continue to marry and some even have children now. I will say it is not because I have not met the man yet DISCLAIMER HERE lol--I have my beliefs about who I think it is, but God has the final say, so silence okay lol! Rather because I have not taken heed the example I had at home nor have I fully taken the time to be in a relationship with God. At this point, I do not think I am fully prepared to take on the role women are required in Titus 2:4, and I do not want to microwave my process if I do not have to. I've played around and said, "Okay God, I'm ready. Let's get together and meet with each other regularly. I really want to be in a better relationship with you." Sure enough, after a few days--not even weeks, I will overlook God for something, some obligation, some person, or just actually to be lazy! I have not let God have His way, like He really wants to, in pursuit of my own desires. And this isn't about my calling, rather the calling we all share from God to be in a true, personal, relationship with Him, where we should forsake all others for time in His presence. When that dawned on me, I decided to hell with everybody else, I will give God what He wants, so He can ultimately give me what I want. It isn't easy because like a wise person, walking with/in love, or rather with/in God, I must overlook the wrongs of others to me...as much as I would rather act otherwise. And I must not get jealous, get angry easy, think about myself all the time...and the list goes on. Some of these are easier than others, but to truly be in Love, I must be willing to get to know God and make sacrifices where the furthering of our relationship is concerned.
So think about what love means...and determine if that is really what you think you are in...because if you aren't, you need to be making the same choice I did and let yourself grow deeper in God.
"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." 1 John 4:16 NLT
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Daily Devotion
Turn The Other Cheek
"But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Matthew 5:39 NASB
As I think about what happened yesterday, I am no longer mad about it. It is one of those 'growing pains' you experience when you grow up--literally and in Christ. In both Matthew and Luke, Christ tells His disciples that when someone 'slaps' them on one side, that they should turn the other side to them also.
I can't even formulate any kind of lie that says I would agree to this! I'm not sure you would either, but I know this takes growth in Christ, to learn to have the 'agape' kind of love for others...even when they wrong us. I have never been a turner of the other cheek-er lol. I did not have this behavior at all. I have a little now and I know that it is a painful process to go through. After the last week, and especially yesterday, I learned that some battles are better left lost. For the ultimate lesson here is that we walk in love--agape, unconditional, God-love towards everybody, especially those that offend or hurt you.
For example--I'm not sure how many of you ever watched Dave Chappelle's show, Chappelle's Show. But one of his segments was "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong." The episode in particular had a guy going out with his girlfriend to a local club. Her ex-boyfriend speaks to her--an obvious man offense to her current boyfriend. Now the thing to do here would have been to discuss it with her later and enjoy their night out, right? Of course the guy doesn't ignore it and after being humiliated by both his girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend beating him up, and then being further decimated by having to move with his grandmother and her boyfriend, we see that had he simply overlooked that small incident, he would have been much better off. Of course my description doesn't make it funny haha. But seriously, somethings we are better off leaving alone. By letting our prideful flesh get involved and feeding into our egos, the devil can manipulate that situation and US to his advantage. In what could have been an opportunity for God to work in and through us, we slam the door in His face and let 'self' take over.
Walking in love towards everyone can be extremely hard. Take it from me--EXTREMELY hard. Because if you feel like I do, you may think that not everybody deserves to be loved on...well at least by you. But humbling and submitting the issue before God and letting Him work through you will not only make you feel better in the end, you never know what effect or impact it may have on that person. So turn the other cheek and suck it up, lol, because in due time you will get your 'revenge', oops I mean reward, haha.
Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you. Proverbs 20:22 NIV
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
For example--I'm not sure how many of you ever watched Dave Chappelle's show, Chappelle's Show. But one of his segments was "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong." The episode in particular had a guy going out with his girlfriend to a local club. Her ex-boyfriend speaks to her--an obvious man offense to her current boyfriend. Now the thing to do here would have been to discuss it with her later and enjoy their night out, right? Of course the guy doesn't ignore it and after being humiliated by both his girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend beating him up, and then being further decimated by having to move with his grandmother and her boyfriend, we see that had he simply overlooked that small incident, he would have been much better off. Of course my description doesn't make it funny haha. But seriously, somethings we are better off leaving alone. By letting our prideful flesh get involved and feeding into our egos, the devil can manipulate that situation and US to his advantage. In what could have been an opportunity for God to work in and through us, we slam the door in His face and let 'self' take over.
Walking in love towards everyone can be extremely hard. Take it from me--EXTREMELY hard. Because if you feel like I do, you may think that not everybody deserves to be loved on...well at least by you. But humbling and submitting the issue before God and letting Him work through you will not only make you feel better in the end, you never know what effect or impact it may have on that person. So turn the other cheek and suck it up, lol, because in due time you will get your 'revenge', oops I mean reward, haha.
Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you. Proverbs 20:22 NIV
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Daily Devotion
The Necessary Pain of Biting Your Tongue
"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Proverbs 29:11 NIV
I have learned that sometimes people have great intentions for the things they do and say to us. And of course there are hurtful, vengeful, spiteful people out there that intend to hurt us in whatever ways they can. But in growing in our walks with God, we, or I guess I better say I lol, learn that we must overlook many an insult or hurt. I've learned early, thanks to a great mentor, that you have to get some thick skin and listen more because when your turn comes up, you don't want to be the fool. Many times throughout the book of Proverbs Solomon speaks of having self-restraint and temperance in regards to our words. Proverbs 19:11 NLT says "Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs." Proverbs 14:29 GWT says "A person of great understanding is patient, but a short temper is the height of stupidity." Proverbs 12:16 says "A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted."
So you know I need this right now...I had to pray and pray and look for scriptures about this. Today at work I was so angry. I am a nice person, but I have always in the past kept to myself at work and shied away from making friends at work--primarily because I have the rule that work stays at work and it does not come home with me, including the people. But anyway, today is a beautiful day, and I knew yesterday that it would be fairly warm today. I decided last night to wear a dress and blazer to work. Now I don't claim to be Donatello Versace, but I like how I dress. Its fashionable to me, and of course I have self-respect so it seems appropriate for work. I had a close acquaintance here to say something to me...and the entire time I was saying to myself, "I am at work, I am at work, God help me because I am at work." Lord knows I held my tongue because the things she said seemed to question my very relationship with God!!
I realized this was one of those tempting situations where the devil provokes us to act ugly and backslide...but thank God that I have been thanking God for making me into a different person. Thank God it was not last year when this happened, or else. To question my character, my faith, and my calling are just wrong. The all famous scripture that came to mind was when Jesus spoke of the adulterous woman to the Pharisees in John 8:7 NASB--But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." This helped to remind me of how wrong this situation was. I was livid! But thank God! Because I learned and am still learning to bite my tongue and keep my reactions under control, I kept myself from getting too upset, and well at least from lashing back at her. And according to these scriptures I did the right thing. Now I did go to a few trusted friends not here and told them what happened, which helped me to get the anger out. But I kept my composure and kept it together.
I have since seen the person and she asked me if I was okay, because she felt we had that type of relationship...WRONG! If you feel the need to say something to someone, before you do it, please pray and ask God for the way to say it. Namely because you don't know what type of mood that person may be in or how they will take what you say. Words do hurt and injure a person. It is scientifically proven that hurtful things said to a child do ultimately affect them as an adult. Its like if you tell a child they are stupid over and over again...they grow up to believe that they are stupid. When you submit to God everything--including the things you say, you learn that there are two ways to do everything: the wrong way and its actually a gazillion wrong ways...but also the God way. He will order the words and how you need to deliver them. Seek to be wise, because someone will always have something to say about what you are doing. There will always be a dissenter or someone that does not like how you do things. But by dying to self, and more importantly, consulting God before you react, you can be the wiser person that can overlook the wrongs that have been done to you.
"A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare." Proverbs 15:1 NLT
Monday, March 21, 2011
Daily Devotion
Time to Get Stitched Up
"He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 NASB
This has really become my lunch hour past time. And who needs the words I write more than me! Today is the day(not date) a year ago that my family had to tell my daddy goodbye. He fought down to the last minute, 9:45pm to be exact and he made sure to give my mom one last kiss with all of his energy and strength fleeing his body. I am so hurt again because my mind has relived each day since Thursday because my daddy's final battle spanned four days. He outlived most people with his type of cancer, and I know I am glad that he is no longer suffering.
But my heart hurts, because I guess I'm my daddy's only daughter and his first born. I have had to shoulder a lot this past year and my daddy was the icing to that cake. I am grateful to God that I did have a chance to really get to know him before he left us. And I know now that it is time for me to let God comfort me. I spent so much time right after being angry and "imploding" that I did not really allow myself to grieve. And I've learned that grieving is not an overnight process so its okay.
But as I talked with my mom today, she said the same thing, her heart was broken because he was gone. And I felt it was all the more important to write on getting fixed up.
Okay in the scripture above, the Psalmist tells us that God heals the broken in heart right? But that can only happen after you have turned the problem, and your heart over to God to be fixed. If you are "self-medicating" the situation with destructive behaviors or trying to simply fix yourself, you are not looking through clear eyes. You cannot fix yourself, why you say? Because as imperfect beings inclined to a sinful nature, we will gravitate towards whatever the flesh wants to make itself feel better. From personal experience, after losing my cousin, then a painful relationship, and finally my dad, I could not feel. So I shut down and shut everyone out--including God. I think it was only because I prayed and cried out to God everyday that I knew my method was not working and I was still angry. I spent nearly two months in the dark because I refused to let anyone in my safety zone. And the people I turned to initially thought that getting my mind off my dad would help--wrong! I wanted to embrace the memories I had and share them with somebody. So the only person I could turn to was God. So how do you get stitched up? By letting go. You cannot hold on to all of your hurt and simply put a bandage over them because they will not ever heal. Its like a scrape that you keep peeling the scab off of (I hated scabs as a little girl so I always picked at them smh)...you keep reopening the wound and it never heals. Or even worse, a wound that has not healed properly...you will have to open it back up whether you like it or not and let it heal right.
What you should know is that no thing or person can heal your heart for you. You must surrender whatever it is to God and let Him bring a perfect work in you to pass. I'm speaking from experience. I went to counseling after my dad died, and for a little while I was doing much better, but then I would be worse than when I went. It was not until I got on my knees and cried out to God to fix me that I finally started feeling the ache go away. The hurt I feel now is nothing like it was before. Its bittersweet--sad that he is gone, but glad that he is not suffering anymore. Honored that God chose to have him as my dad, and overjoyed that he is with Jesus now.
"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalm 34:18 NLT
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Daily Devotion
Pain is Temporary
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV
Happy Sunday everyone! I pray that everyone had a truly wonderful day. It was bittersweet for me. I made it back from Savannah in time to make it to church, but my mind was on my daddy...I know you are probably like just get over it already...but I did not anticipate this being this way.
I have been trying to think of ways to decorate my room. I got new furniture so I figured I could spruce up the decorations and accents in the process. I decided against painting because I waited until I got the furniture almost to break down my last bed. Plus I did not want to have to worry about painting it back when I move out. So I have been considering getting some wall stencils or "wallies" done on each wall as a bit of inspiration and a splash of color. I found a website online that can do them custom for you...which turned out to be terribly expensive. So I decided to look at the pre-printed ones to see if I could go with them. As I was looking I came across a statement that I am pretty familiar with, and serves as my mantra during difficult times: Pain is Temporary. I have to thank my sister, friend, and soror Monique for teaching me this because it truly changed my life for the better. But this one was different because it also said Quitting is FOREVER. And it made me think back to how many times I recited this to myself during 2005 and 2006 and since that time. I told myself day after day that Pain was temporary and that I had to endure the pain to get to my healing. I told myself day after day when I returned to class after being hospitalized for two weeks and a life change, pain is temporary, so that I could walk to class. I told myself every time someone asked what was wrong with me and what had happened to me that pain is temporary, and this is too as I believed that God would restore me. Every difficult point I have faced since I told myself that and I still say it today. The beauty of finding this is now I can complete that sentence. I cannot quit on life because this life is temporary. I have an eternity to look forward to spending with both of my daddies (that is, God, and my earthly daddy). I have an eternity to look forward to no more medicines, no more heartaches, no more tears of hurt. I now look past my current circumstances to trust in God's promises.
I felt pressed to write about this since yesterday, and the weird thing about this is, I've been calling out that scripture above for about a week now, thinking it was something else. As I believe I'm done crying now, I realize my "new normal" life without my daddy is not so bad, but I have a lifetime of memories to hold me over until this temporary situation is over. So from now on, in the midst of your pain and trials, tell them that PAIN IS TEMPORARY because QUITTING IS FOREVER. Do you want to spend eternity without God? I know I don't because that will mean that I will not see my daddy again. So keep pressing onward and endure because when Christ comes, we can all share in His glory for a job well done.
Love ya!
"Fight the good fight for the faith. Keep holding on to eternal life, to which you were called and about which you gave a good testimony in front of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 ISV
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV
Happy Sunday everyone! I pray that everyone had a truly wonderful day. It was bittersweet for me. I made it back from Savannah in time to make it to church, but my mind was on my daddy...I know you are probably like just get over it already...but I did not anticipate this being this way.
I have been trying to think of ways to decorate my room. I got new furniture so I figured I could spruce up the decorations and accents in the process. I decided against painting because I waited until I got the furniture almost to break down my last bed. Plus I did not want to have to worry about painting it back when I move out. So I have been considering getting some wall stencils or "wallies" done on each wall as a bit of inspiration and a splash of color. I found a website online that can do them custom for you...which turned out to be terribly expensive. So I decided to look at the pre-printed ones to see if I could go with them. As I was looking I came across a statement that I am pretty familiar with, and serves as my mantra during difficult times: Pain is Temporary. I have to thank my sister, friend, and soror Monique for teaching me this because it truly changed my life for the better. But this one was different because it also said Quitting is FOREVER. And it made me think back to how many times I recited this to myself during 2005 and 2006 and since that time. I told myself day after day that Pain was temporary and that I had to endure the pain to get to my healing. I told myself day after day when I returned to class after being hospitalized for two weeks and a life change, pain is temporary, so that I could walk to class. I told myself every time someone asked what was wrong with me and what had happened to me that pain is temporary, and this is too as I believed that God would restore me. Every difficult point I have faced since I told myself that and I still say it today. The beauty of finding this is now I can complete that sentence. I cannot quit on life because this life is temporary. I have an eternity to look forward to spending with both of my daddies (that is, God, and my earthly daddy). I have an eternity to look forward to no more medicines, no more heartaches, no more tears of hurt. I now look past my current circumstances to trust in God's promises.
I felt pressed to write about this since yesterday, and the weird thing about this is, I've been calling out that scripture above for about a week now, thinking it was something else. As I believe I'm done crying now, I realize my "new normal" life without my daddy is not so bad, but I have a lifetime of memories to hold me over until this temporary situation is over. So from now on, in the midst of your pain and trials, tell them that PAIN IS TEMPORARY because QUITTING IS FOREVER. Do you want to spend eternity without God? I know I don't because that will mean that I will not see my daddy again. So keep pressing onward and endure because when Christ comes, we can all share in His glory for a job well done.
Love ya!
"Fight the good fight for the faith. Keep holding on to eternal life, to which you were called and about which you gave a good testimony in front of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 ISV
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Daily Devotion
Comfort in the Storm
But Jesus was in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. So they woke him up and asked him, "Teacher, don't you care that we're going to die?" Mark 4:38 ISV
Hi everyone! I pray that you all are blessed and green with joy on this St. Patrick's Day today! I have on my green sweater and some green pumps lol so I won't be getting pinched today. I have to be honest, my thoughts have been consumed with missing my dad for a while now. I always think about him, but it seems like every other thought being filtered through my head is about him. I've been thinking of how to spend his death anniversary and his birthday. I don't want to be alone, but I don't want to be sad either. So I have been thinking of what I would do to honor his memory...and came up with gathering other people's good memories of him and sharing them with my mom and brothers...I know remembering some of his antics and the funny things he did will be good for our hearts and give us comfort in the midst of sadness.
So God spoke to my heart today. I've been learning new scriptures as part of my commitment for Lent. One of the scriptures I've been reciting is Luke 8:25--"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Now I've been looking at this scripture in application to my faith, because I have been in many different storms this far in my life. I have asked God why me and take this away...but the storms persisted and He got me through them. The disciples in this storm were terrified and feared their deaths were imminent. In the midst of this storm, Jesus slept. I don't know about you, but for me to fall asleep anywhere, there has to be some minimum threshold of comfort there, a blanket to keep me warm, enough space to curl up or something...but I have to be able to get comfortable. And when it rains and thunderstorms, that's like a perfect prescription for sleep for me. And then the boat was probably rocking on the water...so I know I would have been knocked out too!
I wrote last week about comforting others based on 2 Corinthians 1:4--God first comforts us so that we can extend that same comfort to others (paraphrased). God comforted me after my daddy died, and allowed me to reciprocate that comfort to many of my friends in their times of need so far. Some things I do to comfort myself now like dancing and listening to music, are some of the same things my daddy did--I am very much my father's child, I tell you that! But the relevance of the scripture above is that Jesus knew that everything would be okay, thus allowing Him to get comfortable in the midst of a turbulent storm and go to sleep. The magnitude of that act alone shows that there is no storm too powerful that you cannot seek God's comfort. The "winds" and "waters" will obey God--and you will come out of your storm renewed as long as you go to God. God may not deliver you from your situation. You may have to keep pushing and driving through the storm. It may seem that God doesn't care if you die, or He may be quiet during your trial, leaving you to think that He is not there. But you have to trust that the same promise God gave in Deuteronomy 31:8 is still valid for you today--"It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
How perfect! The song "I Told the Storm" just came on...don't let the devil steal your comfort, peace or joy in any situation.
And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. Mark 4:39 NASB
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Daily Devotion
You Can Be Resuscitated
"You who have shown me many troubles and distresses Will revive me again, And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth." Psalm 71:20 NASB
I do not know personally how it feels to physically die and be revived...but I do know how it feels to want to die, or to feel spiritually dead and to have God restore and revive you through simply a word. Life is full of situations that will come to defeat you. Sometimes all it takes it that one crisis to cripple your faith. Then once you've been crippled, you are less likely to go to God, you are less likely to spend time studying the word. You stop praying and bam! You wind up in a depression, planning to kill yourself, or just allowing life to wither you away.
In the scripture above, David speaks on how God has allowed him to experience many troubles and distresses. The most important thing here is that he believes without a doubt that God will revive him, that God will deliver him from his "hell" situation, the lowest point of his life. If we trust God, we can trust that He will provide us a way of escape from any difficulty (1 Corinthians 10:13). The word in the KJV is quicken--which means shall make us live again--shows that God will bring us back to life, restore the things that we lost much like He did with Job (Job 42:10-17). I think the hard thing for most of us to believe and accept is that both good people and evil people both suffer. God is no respecter of persons, so I do not believe that the wicked are shielded from suffering. The difficulty we as Christians face is looking past our circumstances and trusting in God undoubtedly to hold true to His Word. We will experience things and its during those times that we should draw closer to God. We should cry out to Him for His grace to fall on us. Don't doubt God...because all it takes is a word from Him.
"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me." Psalm 138:7 ESV
Monday, March 14, 2011
Daily Devotion #2
Like a Child
But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 NASB
I just had to write about this! I often think about how to worship and praise God, whether I am doing it right. I have learned that there is no particular right way to praise and worship God, as long as your act of worship is from the heart. With that said, my precious god-daughter definitely showed me that there is no shame in praising God! I go further and generalize this by saying there is no shame in working for God, having a relationship with God, or being obedient to God's call.
She is 20 months old, and learning to talk--a lot. I enjoyed spending the weekend with her and her mom, but the best part of it was when we went to church yesterday morning. She loves music and loves to dance, so when the praise and worship part of service was going on, she was watching the praise dancers and clapping along with everyone else. She stood up and danced a little too. But what helped me refocus--because I got distracted in anger at how some people were dressed (I was raised that you wear appropriate clothes to church, not last night's club wear...but I digress, because if that is all that you have, then go right ahead and come)--was when she raised her hands in worship and waved her little hands. I was already moved by the music and definitely the sermon (God was speaking DIRECTLY to me and I would be foolish to ignore that), but when I saw her, in her innocence, praising God, I had cry. Regardless of your age, God is calling out to you. Young or old, black or white, man or woman, God is calling out to us all. He does not want us to hold back our praise, our worship and especially in our relationship with Him because we do not want to be different or stand out from others. He wants us to come to Him in honesty and truth, innocence like a child, and humbled. I was truly humbled by that because sometimes with tradition, you do not fully understand why some things are done.
I do not really think she understood, but then again I may be wrong. I think that she was doing what she saw others doing, because that is how children learn at that age, by repeating what they see and hear. At any rate, her innocence humbled me and showed me that regardless of my age, I cannot be afraid to yield to the Spirit, or to go to God and do what He wants. I must follow Jesus' example and imitate Him. And the same goes for you; in whatever God is calling you to do, do not be afraid to do whatever God is calling you to do, even if you do not clearly understand. God will honor your willingness to obey and He is faithful to order your steps.
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 NIV
But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 NASB
I just had to write about this! I often think about how to worship and praise God, whether I am doing it right. I have learned that there is no particular right way to praise and worship God, as long as your act of worship is from the heart. With that said, my precious god-daughter definitely showed me that there is no shame in praising God! I go further and generalize this by saying there is no shame in working for God, having a relationship with God, or being obedient to God's call.
She is 20 months old, and learning to talk--a lot. I enjoyed spending the weekend with her and her mom, but the best part of it was when we went to church yesterday morning. She loves music and loves to dance, so when the praise and worship part of service was going on, she was watching the praise dancers and clapping along with everyone else. She stood up and danced a little too. But what helped me refocus--because I got distracted in anger at how some people were dressed (I was raised that you wear appropriate clothes to church, not last night's club wear...but I digress, because if that is all that you have, then go right ahead and come)--was when she raised her hands in worship and waved her little hands. I was already moved by the music and definitely the sermon (God was speaking DIRECTLY to me and I would be foolish to ignore that), but when I saw her, in her innocence, praising God, I had cry. Regardless of your age, God is calling out to you. Young or old, black or white, man or woman, God is calling out to us all. He does not want us to hold back our praise, our worship and especially in our relationship with Him because we do not want to be different or stand out from others. He wants us to come to Him in honesty and truth, innocence like a child, and humbled. I was truly humbled by that because sometimes with tradition, you do not fully understand why some things are done.
I do not really think she understood, but then again I may be wrong. I think that she was doing what she saw others doing, because that is how children learn at that age, by repeating what they see and hear. At any rate, her innocence humbled me and showed me that regardless of my age, I cannot be afraid to yield to the Spirit, or to go to God and do what He wants. I must follow Jesus' example and imitate Him. And the same goes for you; in whatever God is calling you to do, do not be afraid to do whatever God is calling you to do, even if you do not clearly understand. God will honor your willingness to obey and He is faithful to order your steps.
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 NIV
Daily Devotion
Thank God For What He Did Not Allow
He said, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you." Exodus 15:26 NLT
This was another one of those topics that stuck with me. I had to go back through my memory bank Sunday morning in church because I think this is something I myself need to be reminded of. A lot of times when a person is feeling down, the typical form of "encouragement" is to tell that person to count their blessings. I think there is nothing wrong with counting your blessings, but when you are depressed or sad, who really wants to count their blessings? If you are in a foul mood, you don't have the heart half of the time to thank God for what He has done for you primarily because of your mood.
As I sat reading a devotion I think, this stuck in my mind. Where would I be had God allowed some things His angels and He himself interceded on my behalf to prevent? The first and only thing I could think of was--DEAD. I would be dead had the Holy Spirit not urged me to get off the freeway in San Francisco. I would be dead had my plane not stopped sliding on the dry runway. I would be dead had I not gone to the health center my junior year. I would be dead if I had not gotten a kidney before I did. I would be dead if I did not see the 18-wheeler getting over in front of me when I first got my license.
God is a great God...the only God and through His Son's sacrifice, we are now His sons and daughters. If you are a parent, wouldn't you go to great lengths to preserve the life of your child? What would have happened had you not kept their tiny hands from the outlet, the iron, those pain killers??
The scripture above is God telling the children of Israel what He would protect them from if they were obedient to Him. Deuteronomy 28 denotes the blessings and curses that they would fall subject to if they were obedient to God. Because they could not be obedient and were not obedient, God sent His precious Son Jesus to redeem and rescue from that curse. Moreover, God protects us and prevents things far worse from happening to us. So while you complain about that pain in your back, remember that God kept you from paralysis, or while you look at that surgery scar, remember how God blessed you with the doctor that caught whatever it was before it multiplied.
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Galatians 3:13 NLT
As I sat reading a devotion I think, this stuck in my mind. Where would I be had God allowed some things His angels and He himself interceded on my behalf to prevent? The first and only thing I could think of was--DEAD. I would be dead had the Holy Spirit not urged me to get off the freeway in San Francisco. I would be dead had my plane not stopped sliding on the dry runway. I would be dead had I not gone to the health center my junior year. I would be dead if I had not gotten a kidney before I did. I would be dead if I did not see the 18-wheeler getting over in front of me when I first got my license.
God is a great God...the only God and through His Son's sacrifice, we are now His sons and daughters. If you are a parent, wouldn't you go to great lengths to preserve the life of your child? What would have happened had you not kept their tiny hands from the outlet, the iron, those pain killers??
The scripture above is God telling the children of Israel what He would protect them from if they were obedient to Him. Deuteronomy 28 denotes the blessings and curses that they would fall subject to if they were obedient to God. Because they could not be obedient and were not obedient, God sent His precious Son Jesus to redeem and rescue from that curse. Moreover, God protects us and prevents things far worse from happening to us. So while you complain about that pain in your back, remember that God kept you from paralysis, or while you look at that surgery scar, remember how God blessed you with the doctor that caught whatever it was before it multiplied.
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Galatians 3:13 NLT
Friday, March 11, 2011
Daily Devotion
Have You Come Full Circle?
"He restored the chief cupbearer to his position. So the cupbearer put the cup in Pharaoh's hand." Genesis 40:21 NASB
Today is March 11, 2011. I think back last year this time...I would have been working a few more hours to get ready to go home to help my mom and spend time with my dad who was declining from liver cancer. And I'm sorry, I have to cry because things have truly come full circle for me. 11 days later...11 days from today will be a year since God called my daddy home to be with Him, to give him the rest he needed. I think of the time after that, where I endured pain no person should have to experience, but all in the glory of God to draw me to Him for everything.
The scripture above is what happened after Joseph interpreted the chief baker and chief cupbearer's dreams. The chief baker was hung and the chief cupbearer was restored to his position. Sometimes after things happen, we are sometimes worse than we were before they happened. I know I was much worse off after my daddy died. But if it wasn't for my continual cries to God in prayer, and I know it had to be His own love for me, that God restored me to better than I could have ever imagined. Like the cupbearer, God restored me to position as His beloved daughter, flaws and all. He took all that pain and hurt I was holding away and replaced it with His love. Now, no one can replace my daddy, and nor have I tried to occupy that role with any person, but God has filled that void with such wonderful memories that I cannot ask for anything but that right now.
Maybe today you are going through something difficult. But know and trust in the very essence of who God is. Rest in the fact that God is a great and compassionate father, that loves us unconditionally. Maybe like me you experienced some hurtful loss or something that seems unfair, like unexpected illness. In Psalm 34:19, the Psalmist says "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." So everything that you are experiencing, give it to God and see if He doesn't deliver you. See if He doesn't restore that loss, see if He doesn't heal you...trust God because He is not a man that He should lie to us. Have faith enough to believe that God will do what He says. If you are only halfway around that circle, keep pushing because God will restore you if you believe it. Better days do await us all.
"Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up." Psalm 71:20 NIV
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Daily Devotion
Get Rid of the "Lent" in Your Pocket
"So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then." 1 Peter 1:14 NLT
Good evening...rather good early morning! The season of Lent officially began for us Western Christians on Wednesday, with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. Lent is symbolic of the 40 days that Christ fasted in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. Ashes represent mourning and a repentant spirit. Traditionally, the season of Lent is marked by fasting and has evolved that people often give up something, namely meat. I decided that I would give up anything that I feel is coming between me and spending more time with God...and so I would also let go of those things and make a serious effort to give that time to God.
So this Tuesday and earlier today, I got my new bedroom set. When I finally broke down my bed on Monday, I began to clean away things that had been collecting around the room, like lint and dust. Have you ever noticed how annoying dust and lint is? It seems to collect in the most arbitrary of places, like on your clothes, in pockets, corners, anywhere! That made me think...sin is much like that, weaseling its way into our lives and setting up shop there unless we take action. Some things are harder to eliminate than others, i.e. dust bunnies in the corner and that straggling lint that collects on the dryer after you have cleaned the lint filter. But these things must be cleaned away, and the only way to get rid of sin is to repent and ask God to deliver us from it. Likewise, the only way to get rid of lint is to see it and throw it away. But within our own power, we can never truly get rid of all of it, we always have to use a lint remover like tape or something. And I know you know that we cannot eliminate our own sin...but must pray continually to God for deliverance.
The difference is being delivered from something forever and just a temporary fix is in how we live. If we seek to live for God, and do His will, and allow Him to order our steps...then eliminating sin is no big deal--for God that is. It is when we try to keep living like we used to live and do the same things we used to do...then we very soon revert back to our old mind state and behaviors. Romans 12:2 tells us "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." The only way we can eliminate sin is to give it up completely to God, and renew our minds continually. Why the mind part--because we are creatures of habit. Until you break a habit, you will keep doing it without a conscious thought.
So take that step, or at least recognize that you need God's help because the only way that you can get past where you are is to put one foot in front of the other in hopes of moving on. You will never change for the better while you are still clutching the past for dear life.
"Don't lie to each other. You've gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, and you've become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator." Colossians 3:9-10 GWT
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
"So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then." 1 Peter 1:14 NLT
Good evening...rather good early morning! The season of Lent officially began for us Western Christians on Wednesday, with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. Lent is symbolic of the 40 days that Christ fasted in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. Ashes represent mourning and a repentant spirit. Traditionally, the season of Lent is marked by fasting and has evolved that people often give up something, namely meat. I decided that I would give up anything that I feel is coming between me and spending more time with God...and so I would also let go of those things and make a serious effort to give that time to God.
So this Tuesday and earlier today, I got my new bedroom set. When I finally broke down my bed on Monday, I began to clean away things that had been collecting around the room, like lint and dust. Have you ever noticed how annoying dust and lint is? It seems to collect in the most arbitrary of places, like on your clothes, in pockets, corners, anywhere! That made me think...sin is much like that, weaseling its way into our lives and setting up shop there unless we take action. Some things are harder to eliminate than others, i.e. dust bunnies in the corner and that straggling lint that collects on the dryer after you have cleaned the lint filter. But these things must be cleaned away, and the only way to get rid of sin is to repent and ask God to deliver us from it. Likewise, the only way to get rid of lint is to see it and throw it away. But within our own power, we can never truly get rid of all of it, we always have to use a lint remover like tape or something. And I know you know that we cannot eliminate our own sin...but must pray continually to God for deliverance.
The difference is being delivered from something forever and just a temporary fix is in how we live. If we seek to live for God, and do His will, and allow Him to order our steps...then eliminating sin is no big deal--for God that is. It is when we try to keep living like we used to live and do the same things we used to do...then we very soon revert back to our old mind state and behaviors. Romans 12:2 tells us "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." The only way we can eliminate sin is to give it up completely to God, and renew our minds continually. Why the mind part--because we are creatures of habit. Until you break a habit, you will keep doing it without a conscious thought.
So take that step, or at least recognize that you need God's help because the only way that you can get past where you are is to put one foot in front of the other in hopes of moving on. You will never change for the better while you are still clutching the past for dear life.
"Don't lie to each other. You've gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, and you've become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator." Colossians 3:9-10 GWT
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Daily Devotion
Experiencing True Comfort and Peace
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ."
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NASB
Happy Tuesday--or Joyeux Mardi Gras I should say! I'm kinda sad I didn't have enough leave stored up to go this year...but I'll be going next year for sure and to Essence this year.
Anyway, I'm glad I wrote yesterday...because God came thru again with confirmation for me. I think yesterday was one of the saddest days I have had in a while. I was trying to save my brother's new cell phone number yesterday and accidentally selected my daddy's name in my phone. I added the number and deleted the old one...then I saw that it was my daddy's number. I broke down and cried all day mostly. You see, this month marks the year anniversary of his passing, and I have been sort of silently suffering. I'll put a Facebook status up here and there, but I never really cry in front of anybody, and try to grieve alone as not to upset anyone. But when I deleted his number, I was heartbroken all over again...I thought about the things I won't get to have, but I mainly thought about how much I have had to change and grow since he died. Maybe you think I could have simply put the number back in my phone...but I didn't know it by heart like I do my moms number. Cell phones have made me quite lazy at remembering things and then I would always call the house to talk to him. I also think I may be blocking out things too to avoid the hurt...but anyway I had finally gotten to a place where I stopped crying about it and focused on moving my old furniture out of my room for the delivery of my new bedroom set today.
Then I remembered that I had to call one of my best friends back. Now I know its no secret that I have the gift of gab and have always made friends easily. The people that are my closest friends now have been there for me at different points in my life. This friend and I have been friends since 2002, nearly ten years now. Our birthdays are a day apart, me being older :D. I was supposed to be going up to see her this weekend. We talked, and do you know God does what He always has a way of doing, comforted me. You see, I sent a text out to my close friends last week, just letting them know I love them very much and how I had gotten confirmation about some things. And my act of obedience to the Spirit's leading resulted in many of them texting me back that they needed it at that time, and that they love me too. But my friend, my sister, and now my soror (smile love :p), blessed me in the biggest way yesterday. See her mom had a stroke that same day I sent the message as she was on the plane out of the country. I had just gotten a message from her to send my itineraries to her. I read my devotions, and of course, they confirmed things for me; then I felt the urge to send a message to my friends. So she didn't get that message till she landed, along with the knowledge about her mom. But God! God allowed the Spirit to give my friend comfort and peace through those words, in the midst of a tumultuous situation. When she could have been worrying, God instead reminded her about the things I had gone through and how I stood on my faith. As she told me this, I began to cry again, one because of more confirmation, and two--more importantly, that God used my hurt to encourage my friend. He used my dad and cousin's deaths to make me a better person, a better friend, and to weed out characteristics unlike Him. He used my hurt to comfort her, and her hurt to in turn comfort me.
As I sit here typing, I am crying again. God is amazing...and even now as I write, I am listening to a song by Kurt Carr...God is A Healer. Peace awaits us when we go to God with our problems. Comfort waits on us and is ready to ease our pain in the midst of any situation if we are willing to give it to God. And when He comforts us, in the midst of any trouble, it is our responsibility to respond to His call when we must reciprocate that comfort for our family, friends, and loved ones. Sometimes I get bogged down with the worries of the world, simply because I feel the hurt of others. As I now have two close friends with parents in the hospital, it gives me peace that I can say a word of prayer for them or listen to them in their time of need. I simply do for them what I would have liked for people to do for me when I experienced my dad's hospitalization and passing. But because of the nature of who God is, it is His very personality to ease our hurt--now I stand clear to say He will not necessarily take it away all together. We may not know how it will come, but welcome it. I cannot change my losses a year later, but I can thank God for getting me through them and making me into a better person because of them. He allows me to use those experiences and things I face everyday as encouragement to all of you.
The scriptures above...I usually only look at verse 4. But today, I decided to look at the context of the scripture. We will have suffering...that's a no-brainer...but the Word also says we will have comfort. So rest in that...regardless of whatever you may be going through. As always, I'm here for you and accessible if you need prayer. Many blessings today!
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Monday, March 7, 2011
Daily Devotion
The Gift of Confirmation
"May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 GWT
After I shed a few tears today, I wanted to be sure I shared with you what I was supposed to write last week. I have caught myself saying things lately and very shortly thereafter getting confirmation from God on the truths in those things, whether it be through someone else, a devotion I read, or through scripture. God is amazing, and when you look to make changes about yourself or things in your life, God is faithful to provide that needed confirmation.
I believe that God gives us confirmation to assure us that we are headed in the right directions. When you make certain choices and decisions under the guidance of prayer and heavenly consultation, God will reassure you. I now realize that confirmation comes to help reinforce your trust in His voice (the Holy Spirit) that is leading you. I have come to several conclusions about things lately, one primarily that I used to talk too much--in the sense of sharing everything with every body. Its okay to be willing to share my testimony, but I have learned to be guided by God to do that. Everyone does not and will not use that information in a good way. Some people will use it as ammunition to judge your walk or tell you what you are qualified to do. And let me remind you, you do not need anyone to tell you that you can or cannot do something that God has already ordained you to do. But after realizing that, I just began to take note of things. And the conversation that I wrote about last week served as confirmation of that fact, as well as a few other situations that had taken place. God has given me confirmation of many other things, like some people that I had rightly decided to stop associating with and more things. But it is in listening to His voice and the Holy Spirit within you that you can recognize the confirmation. If you need confirmation, He will provide it for you.
And as the scripture above says, God will fill you with joy and peace through your faith in Him. Having faith and knowing that a confirmed notion is from God helps you stay the course. Because trust the devil will be sure to send some thing or person (unknowingly or knowingly) to try and veer you off your course. Now I do not believe everyone gets confirmation--why, because they aren't listening or being observant to get it. Go to God with whatever it is that you need clarity or revelation on. See if He won't give you a word or act to prove it to you.
"For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does." Psalm 33:4 NLT
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Daily Devotion
Come as You Are
"As for those who seemed to be important--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance--those men added nothing to my message." Galatians 2:6 NLT
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 NASB
I know I was meant to write this because I remembered it...sometimes I'll get ideas of devotion topics to write and lose them. Obviously they aren't things God wants me to share on. But this bothered the crap out of me!!! Okay so people!!!! I haven't found this title in the Bible, but I know it to be doctrine--God is no respecter of persons. Black, white, brown, blue, man, woman, child, old people, young people, etc, God does not love you any less or any more than the next person. God does not rank me a better Christian because of my deeds and it applies to you as well. That alone should let you know that He will accept you and every flaw, every piece of luggage you carry with you, and every single thing about you. Jesus healed lepers, the outcasts of society, so I know He can do anything for us if we are willing to let Him do His work.
I was particularly angered at a conversation I had yesterday with a friend. I have noticed many Christians, regardless of age, are very judgmental. And the sad part about this is that so many souls are at stake. So many lives hang in the balance because some so-called Bible Thumping Christian gives them a witness that casts stones at the things they do. I do not believe that one sin outweighs another, but I do believe that God can forgive them all. I'm not saying I agree with things or accept them because I don't agree with a lot of things. But God loves each and every one of us in spite of ourselves, whether we are a two-faced back-stabber, a liar, a cheater, or even a Hypocrite. When Jesus died, His death absolved us of the condemnation to an eternity in hell without Him. It is by believing in Him and accepting Him that we are saved--Jesus' action saved us, not being a "Good Christian!" I mentioned some of my plans to her, and she immediately began to question my behaviors. The Spirit reminds me that it is God who qualifies us for whatever His will is for us...not anyone else! I learned to control my anger yesterday, and let the Spirit speak for me...whether it fell on receptive ears, I don't know.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7
I love reading the story of the Adulterous Woman because it reminds me of the compassion God has for us. He is our defense against any that come to accuse us. We are NOT condemned people--the Spirit will convict you if you listen, and yes we are to turn away from sin. But most people fail to realize that it is God that does the transformation, because in your own power you cannot do any true change. We cannot change unless we allow God to change us, to teach us to walk in love, and to literally tear off the old you. I was glad He made me over, and is still doing so, because that conversation could have went a whole different route. God does not judge you by how you dress, or the music you listen to. He looks at your heart...are you willing to allow Him to use you for His work? Are you willing to allow Him to take the wheel and steer you where He needs you to go? Are you willing to get up and pick your cross back up to follow Him when you get off track? We inherit righteousness from Christ and many other wonderful things...but not a single one of those things gives us the right to judge someone else. If you feel strongly about something, you should pray for that person and watch God work...because He may not fix what you see wrong in that person, but He will definitely change how you see and make major changes in your life. It all boils down to walking in love, agape love that is, that unconditional love a parent is supposed to have for a child, forgiving all wrongs. We can come to God where we are and He will change us into that perfect reflection that He desires us to be.
"You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things." Romans 2:1 NLT
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
--
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
http://lifeinspiredbygod.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)