Unconditional love

There have been plenty of times throughout my walk as a lover of God where I have let shame get the best of me. In fact, I can say that shame has been one of the biggest things holding me back from what God has planned for me. Geez... shame.... why is it even present? To think that God's love is conditional is probably the biggest lie that I have ever fed into. The more I go on the more I realize that God does not even see my wrongs. I know that God is all seeing and I know that all of you have probably heard that one a time or two but seriously... God does not see our wrongs.

When the bible tells us that "God so loved the world", how does that get twisted into "God so loved the ones who follow his commands?" Reality is God gave his son for a people that were covered in sin. God's love never changes and his forgiveness will be forever extended to anyone that is willing to get over themselves and receive it. Debts are paid, sins are washed away, faults are unseen to those who are willing to accept it. I refuse to believe the lie that tells me God's love can be cut short.

God loves those of you who can only be counted on to fail.
God loves those of you that hate yourselves.
God loves those of you that just cannot meet the mark.
God's love is extended through EVERYTHING.

Romans 8:37-39 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank you father.

Word of God

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sting is the sin that results in death, and the law gives sin in its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. --1 Corinthians 15:55-58

Stay strong, stay steady, stay ready, pursue the Father when you do not want to.

Word of Encouragement

Hello to all.
I just wanted to come and encourage anyone who is willing to read this.

Sometimes things can seem really discouraging when we see things from our flesh. So I encourage you all to look past the things that your flesh sees and look from the spirit. Often times things happen and you find yourself almost asking how can God do this? Let me tell you that no matter how bad it may look you must see everything from the hand of God. All things are good. All things are for good.

Romans 11:33-36, Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!
"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?"
"Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?"
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.

Seeking God through the laziness, disbelief, pride, or sheer lack of reverence is more important now than ever. In fact it is VITAL to us getting to the next level. There is a wall here, where other times God would have taken some pounds off and nudged you over the wall, this time the test is to see who will have enough desire to take themselves over that wall.

So if you are feeling lazy now or in the near future I encourage you to press in.
If you are struggling with disbelief I encourage you to seek God and find Him in the midst of your disbelief.
If things are not going the way you plan in your family, friends, or your own life, I encourage you to seek God and find out why things look the way they do.
If you do not think it's as important as I have said I encourage you to take my word for it as a friend.

Isaiah 55:6- Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Psalm 119:2- Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart.

So be it...

The truth about our lies.

Why do you think we so often tell someone we will do something, and in the end, not do it?

Like with the small things.
Like me telling Lisa I would go to the market with her last Sunday...
Or me telling Lisa I would take her recycling to the center...
Or me telling Robyn that I would go to S.P.C. Seminole campus last Monday...
Or me telling Robyn that I would take the antique bible out of my trunk...

I just don't really understand why we have made it so easy to put our word out there, only to end up falling short of our stated course of action.

Why even tell someone you are going to do something? Have we gotten to the point that we spread ourselves thin until we habitually lie so we can try to please everyone around us? When in reality its not even about pleasing that person. Its about getting the best of everyone in an attempt to lift ourselves up in a false place of honor.

I think I would rather be a man of credibility than be someone that dumps hopes (even if in small cases) of the ones he loves. I guess it comes down to slowing down again though... And speaking only what we know is truth, regardless of peoples feelings about us.

Is it not much more honorable to keep our word even in these small cases anyways? The effect of choosing our words carefully is a real place of honor and respect. To have people know in their hearts that they can count on you to carry out the things you tell them you will.

Every time I see an old friend from my past I talk to them about life, how things are going, and family. Afterwards I exchange numbers with them and tell them I will give them a call. In my heart I know that I will never call them... I don't know what you guys get from this example but it tells me that I try to satisfy them. The truth held back by the fear of being exposed... Do I really care that much about what this world thinks? In my heart, have I given this world more value than truth?.....

Father, we need you. I need you. They need you.
Father I ask that you will fill our every word with truth.
God teach us to slow down. To not put value on pleasing the ones around us. Teach us to honor each other, through truth, and to hold our tongue when it means we may utter a lie.
Father most of all I ask that you will reveal to us the value of truth, even when it exposes us to the core...

Amen.

So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other. ~Ephesians 4:25

Our deepest fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marrianne Williamson.

1WHAT

Real freedom!

So I have just been spending some time looking at human behaviors lately. I noticed that often times our view of freedom is very off.

As children we desire the "freedoms" of a teenager. As teens we desire the "freedoms" of an adult. All of our life we look forward to a "freedom" of the future, as if our physical maturity or ability to indulge in the pleasures of this world, defines our freedom.

We all have the "freedom" to choose our career path, but most people end up feeling enslaved to their jobs, the clock, or debt. It is pretty ironic that the things we see as our freedoms are also the things that enslave us. Look at sin, one of the odd characteristics of sin is that it is a free act that enslaves you. Sin creates the illusion of freedom, in reality it makes you the cruel tyrant that holds yourself captive. Our self-imposed slavery goes deeper than just the pits we have trapped ourselves in. The tragedy of our imprisonment reaches into the deepest parts of out hearts. Our desire to be free both ignites and betrays us, and more often than not leads us to be completely consumed.

The cravings to sin in our lives have become symbols of our freedom, when at the same time gODs commandments have become symbols of religious oppression. And so as "free" people we can now live beyond what we think are religious restraints?? In reality the commandments of gOD were designed by Him to truly set us free. So to truly be free we must lose all of our "freedoms" for the sake of Christ. Jesus says this in Matthew 10:39- "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it". We can be sure that this is true freedom because this is also something the word tells us in Galations 5:1- "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free", and in John 8:36- "So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed".

Whatever Jesus came to do, one thing is clear- He came to set you free. It is important that we do not miss this point. gOD has been so misrepresented. He has been seen as the divine legalist, the eternal killjoy. He has been represented as if He spends His time in eternity designing straight jackets and making shackles just for you. No wonder so many people start running for their lives whenever the name of gOD is mentioned. gOD is not a warden; He is a deliverer. And so eager that He was willing to be taken captive and crucified on your behalf just so you could run free...

"Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love".
-Galations 5:13.