This post is going to be a little different. For one, it's probably going to be my shortest post, but it's also not going to be a normal one. This one is My Prayer. I don't know if people are actually going to read this or not, but this is My Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come into you name lifting up the readers,
I don't know if they are young
or if they are old.
I don't know if they are believers
or if they haven't yet professed your name.
But, I know that they are hurting.
I know that they are struggling.
I know that they need help.
I know that they need encouragement....
We all do.
I pray that you continue to use your Spirit.
To continue to dwell in the temple of your New Israel.
I just pray that you don't leave us...
I just pray...
Continue to bless our lives according to your will
Continue to accept us despite our faults...
our mistakes...
our blunders...
our sins...
I want to thank you for your Son.
I want to thank you for giving him up for the ultimate sacrifice.
I want to thank you for sparing your wrath.
Watch over us.
Please... watch over us as we embark on this crazy this crazy thing called life;
We need you...I need you!
I pray that this blog is reaching people in need.
I pray that your Word is being proclaimed eloquently and sufficiently.
Father, Your Grace Is Enough for me.
Ahhh your grace...it's so amazing and soooo undeserved.
I pray that you continue to use me as a vessel...
To use your people as a vessel for your namesake.
Teach us how to love...
how to forgive...
how to bless others as you did us.
When I doubt, be that comforter
When we cry, be the greatest hugger
When I yell, be my shoulder I can lean on
When we pray, hear us...
Bless Your people. Love Your People. Keep Your People
One time, my co-blogger, Moises made a status on his Facebook that said as follows:
"I've been reminded that it's okay to be weak because that's when God works in crazy amazing ways. I'm honored to serve an awesome, mighty God!"
Instantly, when I saw that I began to have a mini-shout in my head especially because of the first part of that statement. It's ok for me to be weak. I don't have to do it all. Thank God for that!
I recall that in my series about relationships (What's Goin On [part 1]) where I interviewed ladies on what annoyed them about me, one of the surprising things that popped up was that they don't like it when men try to fix everything. Sometimes they just like to vent to us. And if I'm going to be honest, that, as a man, as a man that loves to fix problems, shocked me. Actually, it kinda rattled me. But after hearing woman, after woman saying the same thing, I knew that it was a problem.
Now, when I look back on it, I'm thankful that ya'll don't expect us men to be Superman; it's ok to be Clark Kent! To be honest, I'd rather be Clark Kent than Superman. God is similar, but different at the same time. Let me explain what I mean:
There are over 600 Laws in the Old Testament (OT) that God gave the Israelites to follow which were transcribed through Moses. The reason for the amount of laws, is because that would be Israel's way to prove to God that they loved him. If they didn't follow the laws, God's wrath would be placed upon them (which happened PLENTY of times). However, if they did, God would bless them and keep them from harm. The problem is, they went through ebs and flows of doing the right thing, and then turning around doing the wrong thing. They would worship only God for 20 years, and then devote themselves to idols for five years. And that drove GOD crazy! (The book of Exodus articulates this topic a ton)
It not only drove God crazy, but it also broke his heart. He didn't want to see his people keep doing stupid self. It got to the point, that there was soo much blood on their hands, sin had stained their souls that it was basically irreversible. The only way to fix their faults was for a sinless man to be offered up a sacrifice.
Now, there wasn't a sinless man alive until God sent his only begotten son, Jesus into this earth. And let me tell you, Satan tried EVERYTHING in his power to blemish Jesus...butttt...it didn't work. When it all came down to it, Jesus took on the wrath of God, conquered the deepest depths of Sheoul (Hell) to wipe our slates clean and to set us free from the wrath of God.
Because of that, we no longer have to be perfect under the law. I'm hear to tell you that Christianity is not a set of do's and don'ts. It's not about who is the "better" Christian. It's not about legalism. It's about love.
God wants you to have a good time. But we have to keep in mind that every single commandment given to the Israelites also centered around one principle: love. Take a few of the 10 Commandments, Do not love other Gods (because God loves you, so why would you love others), Do not murder (murdering implies anger towards your neighbor, complete opposite of love), Do not commit adultery (cheating on someone is for one a selfish act that act isn't loving others as you love yourself). I can go on...and on.
But here's the thing. Yes, Christianity, following Jesus isn't about legalism. Because if it was....I would've failed a looooooonnnnng time ago and so would you have...don't front! BUT, when you commit yourself to love. When you commit yourself to God. Something changes. The Bible tells us that, "when you are in Christ, you are a NEW Creation, the old ways have become new." So, what does that tell me? It tells me that, when you fully devote yourself to God, there's no way you can possibly do all the stuff you used to do and it feels the same. There's a thing called the Holy Spirit that lives in us and that connects us to God and I don't know about you, but everrry once ina while, when I do something that I KNOW I shouldn't be doin, I get a little inner pull. Now I can choose to ignore that tug and then I have to repent, butttt I've learned that it hurts a heck of alot less to listen and concede to that pull than not.
I have a problem with "religious" people that have placed the myth in peoples heads that God wants to keep you in bondage. That God wants you to be boring. That God wants you to be unattractive to others. Nahhhhhhh! (I'm going to steal a line from Pastor Waller right here):
God doesn't want to keep you in bonds; He wants to keep you from going OUT-OF-BOUNDS.
He wants you to be safe in his arms. He doesn't want you to get hurt. You are his chilren'. Ya hear me?? That tug, that kick, that pull you get from the Spirit isn't anything but God saying, hold on, if you keep going down that road something negative might happen. It might not happen today, or tomorrow, or this year, but it will happen.
Despite all the warnings in the world we get. We still choose to go down the "bad" paths. And the amazing thing is that we aren't going to Hell for it. No one here is able to keep all 600+ rules faithfully to a teed. But, you can easily confess that you are a sinner and that you need to be saved, and instantly, that weight is lifted off your chest. I mean can you imagine trying to lift a 600lb barbell...I sure can't!
I'm so thankful that Jesus called to me when he said: "come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Ahhhh rest. A book I just finished called Disciples of a Godly Young Man sums this point up perfectly:
"God save us from the misery of such a system that sets up spirituality as a series of wooden laws and then says, 'If you do these six, sixteen, or sixty-six things, you will be godly ' Christianity godliness, is far more than a checklist. Being 'In Christ' is a relationship, and like all relationships it deserves disciplined maintenance, but never the 'shrink-wrap' of legalism." - pg. 175
Mistakes are made, we live through them, we learn from them, but we don't go to Hell just because of them. And I thank GOD for that!
So, the election is finally over and we now have a victor. Congratulations President Barack Obama. But also, congratulations to Republican Candidate Mitt Romney for a well fought campaign that literally came down to the wire. It was the prime example of how a great election could be numbers wise.
I now have to write an obligatory "political" blog about the election and how elated and/or disappointed I am in the results (I'll let you choose which one if any). However, I've seen enough hate out of my Facebook friends, Twitter follows and talk within my ear that I don't feel the need to gloat/vent about the turnout of the election because everyone is doing it for me!
There isn't anything wrong with being passionate one way or another. But it is wrong to put down someone else's view, to try to take someone else's joy just because you are upset with the outcome. It is wrong to just be downright disrespectful to the victor or the loser. It's dehumanizing as well as un-Christ like. And that's what's bothering me about the outcome.
I can handle all the mudslinging for the politicians because that's what we've come to in todays life. But when I hear, just like I did in '08 that the world is going to end, that everyone that's against the election is gonna move to Canada, my heart aches. In life, there are winners and losers, in sports there are winners and loser, in politics there are winners and loser. It's just the way things go.
Disagreeing with ones policies is one thing and if people were to say, that they don't think the economy, the deficit, education, etc etc is gonna improve then thats fine with me. It's those extra extremities that is too much. Whatever happened to civil disagreement. That's how We are supposed to act. We, Christians especially, are supposed to love one another despite differences, so why is there hate? I just don't understand. And it reallllly frustrates me as I look through my feeds. Aren't we supposed to do everything ina loving Christian manner as Paul continuously says through his letter? Aren't people supposed to feel the love of Jesus through us? Aren't we supposed to be the Salt and Light of the world??? (Matthew 5:13-16)
Mitt Romney put his heart out on this election. He was sooo into it that he didn't write a concession speech. He didn't even wanna let the idea of losing creep into his head which is the sign of a great competitor But when he lost, he went out with grace, respect, honesty, and love. One of the (if not THE) most disappointed man in the nation, had to get out in front of his peeps, and tell them that its over. I can't imagine all the thoughts that ran through his head...disappointment, anger, fear...But he knew what he had to do and did an absolutely amazing job at it. He stated that we need to pray for this nation and the President. And I get the feeling he wasn't just saying that if you know what I mean. He put it all out on the line, no remorse, just moving forward.
And that's what we all should do. We should respond to the results with love and grace. You can be disappointed, but don't become disrespectful ESPECIALLY in public my friends. Join Mitt and pray for our nation, pray for our President, pray for each other. There are plenty of issues in our daily lives that stress us out, sooo lets not let politics become divisions from friendships, spouses, or even the church! You can disagree, you can be sad, you can be a little upset, but remember, in alll things do it with love. (1 Corinthians 16:1) Let's chill with all this hate ya'll.
I wish I could get closer to God without going backwards.
I wish I....
Ugh. That was even starting to annoy me! And there's a significant problem here. A lot if not all of these things on my "wish" list are things that I offered up to prayer to God. Things that I personally want. Things that I think that I need. And that's...the problem. Too often we view God as a genie. A what-have-you-done/what-can-you-do for me entity.
Why? Why does it have to be this way. God has done soo much for me. Why do I have an unsatiable appetiate. And the fact that it's unsatitable, why do I take it out on God? For all the great things God has done for me which is capped off by the Son.
So, I'm going to take a reality check. I'm going to take a pause. And pardon me while I extol my Lord. Pardon me while I thank Him for what he has done for me. Ima thank Him for loving me. Because when it comes down to it, I didn't come to love God for what I anticipated him doing for me in the future, I'm thanking him for everything he has done for me in the past.
So...
I wanna thank him for giving me a voice to sing with even if it isn't as good as Michael Buble. The fact that I can hold a pitch is good enough for what I wanna do with the rest of my life.
I wanna thank him for giving me a voice to even speak with. He could've allowed me to be mute for the rest of my life. Stuttering is nothing!
I wanna thank him for giving me jobs in the past. For allowing me to be secure enough in my financies that I'm able to still survive even though its not completely ideal.
I wanna thank him for showing me that I love to direct choirs. For opening up the door, for opening up the opportunity for me to even direct a choir.
I wanna thank him for giving me a girlfriend. A girlfriend that supports me, that cares about me, that just wants to see me happy.
I wanna thank him that I have some of the greatest friends in the world. That I was able to meet these great people that have changed my life.
I wanna thank him for loving me, for caring for me, for making the sun when I'm cold, for making the night when I'm sleepy.
I wanna thank him for just being GOD!
Yessss! Sometimes you just need to revamp your perspective. A wise person once told me that there is an infinite amount of good and an infinite amount of bad, it's just about your perspective.
Changing Your Perspective is key to having a positive life. It's key to having a positive outlook.
If you are blessed, which everyone is. You need to act like you are blessed. If you are loved, you need to act like it. If you are a child of god, then you need to act like it.
I'm going to sing like the psalmist David sang:
"I will bless the Lord at ALL times: his Praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Ps. 34:1)
Welp, as you can see, this blog LoveGod.LovePeople. is now co-authored! This guy didn't even give me a chance to introduce him, that he's just so gung-ho to just unleash his capabilities on the bloggersphere! Well just so that there is a legit introduction, je te presente (I'm introducing) my friend, Moises aka "MOreAble."
This man is basically like a brother to me and we sometimes question whether we were separated at birth even though he's latino and I'm african-american. Go figure! We met in college when he was a Freshman (I mean first-year) and I was a Sophomore. At the initial onset, we didn't like each other. In fact I could contend, and I would think he would agree, that we borderline hated each other. But, slowly and surely, all because of God, we grew closer and closer as brothers in Christ, but also legit bros-from-anotha-motha.
As you noted in his first blog, "Your Conviction: Standing Up When Others Come Against You," this man has a mind, has something to say, and can write. Eloquence, is what I saw, and passion is what I felt in his writing. And trust me folks, it's only going to get better.
Now, enough with all the mushy stuff...
I decided to invite his to come blog with me for the simple fact that we are very similar in many ways, but we are very different in others. We have different approaches but we agree that we need to LoveGod.LovePeople.
The story is that, I was just happening to look at the settings of this blog (as you can see it has changed profusely), and it had a section to add other authors. And instantly, as if I was ina cartoon, a lightbulb shone in my noggin and I said to myself, "self, you need to get Moises (or as I call him Caramelito) on board. I had only recently found out that he blogged, and once I found that out, it was a wrappp!
I wanted, I dreamed that this blog would reach a larger audience. Reach more people that need it. Reach more people, Christians and Non-Christians alike, and let them know that Jesus loves them. Tell the Christians that are struggling with various things, that it's gonna be a Brighter Day as I always used to say.
So, this blog is just as much for my enoucuragement, for our encouragement as it is for you, our readers. Be Encouraged my brothers and sister.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." - Romans 8:18
And just because I'm ina sappy mood, I'm going to post a picture of us 2 at my recent college graduation. I'm sureee you can tell which is which!
First, I think it's pretty awesome that I'm getting to share thoughts/blog with Mike. With similiar thoughts but different ways to approach certain topics, I hope that my contributions to this blog will become something that edifies and not destroy.
Second, the main topic:
Just this past weekend I had the pleasure to attend a men's retreat with some of the guys at Messiah College. This year's theme was "men of conviction" via Joshua 1:7-9. It was a bittersweet experience because although I was with a group of three other guys, most city boys would panic from getting lost in the middle of the woods (and I might have for a couple of minutes when we finally declared "we're lost"), I enjoyed being in the stillness of God's creation. There were various lessons that I've learned throughout this retreat, but one was being able to speak out for God when the obstacle says otherwise.
After watching a sermon this morning by Francis Chan from the Passion 2012 conference on youtube, Francis Chan reads from 1 Kings 22 when Jehosphaphat king of Judah and the king of Israel wanted to reclaim land from the king of Aram that they believed belong to them but nothing was done to reclaim the land after years. What's the first thing that king Jehosphaphat does before going to war?
“First seek the counsel of the Lord.” (v.5)
That was the best thing the king of Judah thought of before entering a situation that might get messy. For the most part, all of us have the desire to ask God for some approval. If God approves through a bunch of people, you know that things will turn out well. This comes to the point when we need realize that individually we need to seek God and His truth to distinguish what is the truth from the lies.
We’ve become accustomed to go to Sunday service to listen (hopefully we do
pay attention) to the pastor preach, or an invited preacher and we decide to
let our Bibles collect dust until Sunday comes around.
The verses go on to say that after bringing four hundred prophets to ask "Will I win this war?" (v. 6, paraphrase) all of them replied with "“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”". How much more evidence do you need to proceed with whatever you desire after 400 people have approved? Although the king of Judah might have had selfish motives behind taking the land back and to go to war to reclaim, 400 prophets approved? OKAY!
It reminds me of the times when I used to shoot hoops with my brothers and say "if this shot goes on, it means that God wants me to be with that new girl from church!" If it made it in (which for the most part happens...just kidding!), it would mean I would ask the new girl out. If it missed, I would try so many times to try to make it in so that I can say "yup! God wants me to ask her out!" How unfair is that?
To end, after 400 prophets confirmed that the war will be won by the king of Judah, the king asks if there are any other prophets left. The kind of Israel finally says,
The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me..." (v.8)
Yet when Micah, the last prophet said "you're going to win this war." However the king asked for the truth and Micah finally said "you know what? to be quite honest, you're going to lose this war." (v.17, paraphrase).
When I read this, I thought "how could I ever do something like that?" It's so easy to go with the flow and agree with others when God tells you otherwise. Why? Acceptance. You (by you, I also mean myself) might be seen as "that guy/girl who never agrees", or maybe you're just scared how others will react towards what you say.
Are you able to stand up as women/men of conviction? When God gives you a word and tells you to do it even though others agree with the opposite of what you think, would you still be willing to proclaim what God has put in your heart? If not, we need to start strengthing each other up and start diving into the Word of God and become like a David - men and women after God's own heart! We are called to be unashamed of God and His will in our lives.
Be encouraged and continue to encourage others in the faith!
- Moises -
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16
I went to a bible study today with my pops and I particularly enjoy this bible study because the pastor legitimately does an exegetically (verse-by-verse) rendering the scriptures. Currently they are working their way through Paul's letters and tonight we focused on Phillippians chapter 2 in the entirety. Now, this was my first time reading any part of Phillippians in my known memory but when I read the first part of the chapter I was hit...hit hard.
Phillippians chapter 2 focuses on the church in Phillipi and how they should treat each other (as most of Paul's letters were about). This specific chapter focused on humility It focused on imitating Christ's Humility. Now I know the phrase that the person who says that they are humble usually isn't But, I honestly thought I had the humility part down. I mean, as a man, as a young man,, as a young black man, I have my family, my community telling me to take pride in who I am. As a former choir director, I would have constant people coming up to me telling me how good of a job I have and etc. And anytime something like that would happen, I would always say that it's not me, it's alll the Lord. I would consistently iterate that I am nothing but God's willing vessel. With that mindset, I was golden. I felt good. I felt like I wasn't taking too much or basically any credit.
But then, during the bible study. I was hit...
In Phillippians 2:3, Paul says: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves." Wow...regard othersas better that yourselves.
That got me thinking, how often am I lifting up other people. I find myself too often worrying about getting my own, at times puffing my esteem, my ego up at the expense of others and here the Bible is telling me to view people as being better than me. That's what real humility is. When you look around your house, your church, your workplace, your school and you see the talents and abilities that other people have. Or you see how other people may not have had the same opportunities you had or else they might even be better than you! When you look at life, when you look at your brother when you look at your sister that way. It changes how to treat people, how you value people, how you looove people.
Paul continues with the next verse by saying "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others." We all have our own ambitions. We all have our own aspirations. Which is fine. But we need to look at how our dreams, how our ambitions work with the Kingdom. When it all comes down to it, we need to help each other. Love your neighbor as yourself right! I'm not saying throw away your entire career, but I am asking you why is that your career? If you are doing EVERYTHING to the Glory of God, then when it all comes down it, you are looking into the interests of others.
Am I really doing that? All this focus on me...me...me. How am I really furthering the Kingdom when I'm worried about myself?
And thennn Paul really hit the nail on the coffin when he brought Jesus into this. I mean, look at Jesus, he was/is God. He legitimately humbled himself as a human, felt all the pain and the suffering that we do and then some. And why did he do it? To advance the kingdom. "Not my will but thy will be done." Completely humbling.
If you keep on reading the chapter, Paul talks about Jesus and how he "...emptied himself, taking the form of a slave...and became obedient to the point of death." Whoa. And when I read that, I immediately thought of the song Empty Me. Empty Me was one of the last songs I directed for the United Voices of Praise (Messiah College Gospel Choir). And the chorus goes:
Empty Me;
Empty Me, yea.
Fill, won't You fill me.
With You.
And I desperately want that. I want more. I want more. I want more of you Jesus. Teach me how to put the interests of others before me. Teach me how to look at your creation as better than myself. I need it. I'm making this my prayer.
The final thing I'm going to say is that, there's another song that instantly popped up in my head. It's from my newly-found favorite contemporary artist Matthew West. For anyone that's reading this blog, I want you to consider this song. Listen to it, and try to decipher how it makes you feel. I know how it makes me feel...
