Transparent Feet

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns.” Isaiah 52:7

This past Sunday marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one in this adventure we call life. I have been at Bridge Church for a little over 3 years in all. I had an invitation before to come and help out with the youth earlier that year, 2009 but did not act on that invitation. It wasn't until a thuggish looking black man who was always smiling talked to me during a SLT fair at my Bible college, Grace University. We seemed to hit it off and I immediately looked at him as a younger brother and we began this sibling relationship as I began to volunteer at this Bridge Church. I watched him grow, make mistakes, learn from some and make some of them again. I watched him grow in the Lord and even make some changes he thought might make him even better. We have a the best of laughs and even clashed so much I thought the old Fefe was gonna break free and beat him down, except the fact he is bigger than me. But through all of that, through the many prayers, outcries, rants, disagreements, blessings and even anointing that God had me and a friend do over him, he is a man of God who desires to see every single young person say “I once was lost and now I’m found.” He loves God with his whole heart and loves people with the same fervor. He has had his bullying moments and speaking the Good News about Christ and he has had his moments of rejection but he keeps going.

What he didn't know was that last summer, that I and the same friend who anointed my brother in Christ with me, prayed for him and I spoke the words during prayer with her, “Myron is leaving.” Don’t know how I knew, didn't know what it was gonna look like, but I knew his time to step up was coming. Myron Pierce is now being led to plant a church in Colorado Springs, CO called Passion City and I await the fire that will come out of him being obedient with this seed in his and his wife’s life.

While listening to him yesterday, what God spoke to me is this verse in Isaiah isn't just for those who are pastors, mega church leaders or Bible scholars. It’s for us, those of us who are in Christ, seeking God’s face even while in the face of trials. This is what Myron desires. Not to be the biggest, baddest preacher here on Earth (although he acts like it sometimes =]), his desire is to be a fire starter. To run with the torch God has given him while in this race and start fires, ignite torches, use that fire to show the passion God has given each of us already. He is crazy, he has ADHD, and he struggles with inadequacies, but he is a black man with a mission and will not hesitate to jump out of a car to tell someone about Jesus! THAT is what we should be doing! THAT is what makes our feet beautiful on the rough, steep, rock filled mountains called life. Our words, our torches, our fire, our walks are never going to look the same. But what should be mimicked is the path of Christ. Our feet are all different sizes and so that will change how we walk. Some will have smaller steps, some are pigeon toed, and some will have crutches and wheel chairs. It doesn't matter how we walk the path of Christ as long as we stay on His and not try to change it to fit ourselves or someone else OR try to make our own. My message I am charged to give you today, as well as Myron is, stay the path. Stay on the path made for you by God, not by man or self. He can see the end because He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, after all. Be steadfast and unmovable. Don’t even flinch when something comes your way. You may not feel ready for it, but God is and He has well prepared you for this journey and EVERY trial that comes with it. STAY…. THE…. PATH!!!

Father God, thank you for the people like Myron who are contagious, who stumble yet get up, who fail yet keep going, who almost give up but then give it to You. They show me how much You really love me and how to really love them. As we deliver Your Good News to those in need, help us to walk a path that will lead them to You long after we are gone. Help us to remember that You, our God, reign! And Lord, bless Myron, Kristin and their two children in this new journey. I don’t ask that they will not be in need, but I ask that they will remember even in need, even in excess that they can do all things through Christ who gives them strength.  In Jesus name. Amen!

Would you who read this, put the Pierce’s on your prayer list and lift them up as they will be leaving in January? God bless you!

Transparent Floodwater

When you go through deep waters,

I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

You will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2

This week we are on our knees interceding for the East Coast again for the second hurricane, Sandy. There are those fasting and praying for people they don’t even know because of the lost state the nation is in and how we have begun to think foolishly. People are staying in their homes when they should be evacuating, they are not taking proper precautions when they should be prepared. But when the storm is over, they are throwing up their fists at God because of the destruction and/ or seeking answers to the question, “If God really loves us, why does He keep punishing us?” or “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” and finally coming to the conclusion because of lost loved ones or materials, “There must not be a god. He wouldn’t allow any of this to happen. He would save us if he existed.” So I want to take a moment or two to be transparent about things going on now and how that last statement is NEVER true.

About a week and a half ago, there was about 7-9 murders in our city of Omaha. All were somehow gang-related or innocent people in the way of mindless shooters. Two of those affected me personally because I knew one, he was a classmate of my youngest child and I visited him in DCYC, and the other though I had never met him personally, I know the mother of one of his children and one of his daughters very well. I felt hurt and anger on the same day because I had heard about both on the same day. I can remember driving to my daughter’s football game where she is a cheerleader with many different thoughts, about as many as the tears that flowed for these lost souls who will never be seen again on earth. Asking God why, feeling bad for being thankful that my children are alive, getting angry with those who killed them, being angry that God allowed it even. And then peace came over me. Psalm 91:7 came to mind and how these senseless violent acts will happen. This verse in Isaiah says it perfectly. Did you notice it or did you just scroll over the one word that makes this verse so powerful like I did so many times? Read it again, I’ll wait…. See it this time? There are 3 sentences in this one verse. All three sentences have different things that are described as happening, assuredly, guaranteed. How do I know? Because all three sentences begin with the word “when”, not “if”. See the difference? This is assured to happen just like when you breathe in you are assured to have oxygen enter your body. Guaranteed just like if you slap a wild tiger in the face when they are asleep, they are guaranteed to wake up and tear into you if you are silly enough to stand there and wait.

With these and plenty other local deaths, along with the death of Michael Jackson a few years ago, Whitney Houston earlier this year and other well known famous people I grew up with, I am becoming well aware that death is real. Not that I wasn’t before. I had to face it when I was a teenager and my grandmother, my favorite person, died of ovarian cancer. My heart shattered more than I, my parents, or anyone else knew. It was my first close experience with death because at that very moment when I saw her in her casket, I knew she wasn’t ever coming back. I couldn’t even go to the burial, well get out of the limo. It did more to me than I actually knew. I know now looking at pictures of that day I don’t even remember being in.

            That’s life. Growth, hurts, sickness, disease, brokenness, sadness, death are all part of this cycle we call life. What separates some of us from the rest is a four letter word. H-O-P-E. Those who are IN Christ, not that post on Facebook about Him or go to church to sit through a teaching about his life or casually say we love God, we have hope. We know that this world will at some point end and with it our hurts, trials and heartaches. But even we forget from time to time. It’s like a big wave coming at you on a beach and you stand tall to feel the force of it, but when it comes, it still knocks you down and you may still inhale a little water from it. We all have trials, tests, and things we don’t want to go through but to be able to go through stuff knowing God has promised to never leave or forsake us makes it so much easier! It’s like doing a Beth Moore Bible study with Beth Moore. No one can teach her courses like she can. No one can get you through the rough patches like God can or nothing for that matter! The question is will you go through your hardships of life that WILL happen with or without the Author or Finisher of your life? I mean, would you travel without a map or GPS? Would you take a class online without ever speaking to the instructor? Would you fix or build something you never had before without the manual? If you have done any of the above before, how did it turn out for you? John 16:33 assures us that “in this life we will have tribulation.” But the second part is a promise that we need to cling to. “But take heart (have courage); I have overcome the world (I already won the war!). How many wars have you heard a president say that for? And wouldn’t you go through it more confidently if they were able to make that promise? God had a Son named Jesus that He sent here to earth to do just that. Through His death on the Cross, despite the sins already committed, we are committing right now and what has yet to be committed, He died a horrible death to save us. His blood was shed so that we can live life to the fullest, through Him, even with the many disappointments, heartaches, trials and tribulations He PROMISED we would have. Take full advantage of it dear ones, don’t let His death be in vain as many dying nowadays have been, are and will be.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for sending Your only Son to die the death we deserve for us! There are so many who ask the question, “what kind of father would let his son die for those he doesn’t know?” Thank You for being that kind of Father that loves us enough and thinks of us enough to give such a sacrifice we could never even repay. Today I say again that I will live my life indebted to You Jesus for Your sacrifice on the Cross. You could have come down but You stayed. When I think of the many sins I have committed, am committing still and will commit I know without You I am not worthy and would not make it through these times. I pray that after reading this, others will come to that same conclusion and surrender what they thought they could control, their lives, over to you. Be with those who have lost, who feel no hope and Lord, those who have turned away. Be also a Refuge for those in the midst of this storm, any storm whether physical or spiritual. In Jesus name. Amen!

Transparent Voice

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

Isaiah 42:1-10 (ESV)

Have you ever been so excited to go somewhere new that you got cold feet? Like, you started inventing new things to worry about and even starting praying for God to close the door to that opportunity? I know you can’t see but I am raising my hand right now! That happened to me twice this summer! The first time was when I went to enroll and take my entrance test for college. Now mind you, I am no “fresh out the egg” chicken and I have been to college before… several different times. Each time it was for something different and I just KNEW this was what I wanted to do ranging from psychology to youth ministry to early childhood development. But each time, I was missing something, God’s order.

          This last time, I asked God what it was He wanted me to do instead of praying for what I wanted to do. He answered just as quickly as if to say to me, “Well I’m glad you asked Felicia!” The answer was to get my teaching certificate. Something I had been hearing for years and took no time in running from that statement. This time, I not only stayed but made it a point to quickly enroll. The result? I am for the first time on the honor roll!

          The next time this summer was for a leadership summit in Chicago with my church. Now let me am really… transparent. I really only wanted to go because I had never been to Chicago! When the invitation was given me, I did not hesitate to say yes, no praying and getting back to them, no seeking God, nothing but yes! Then the time got closer… and closer… and closer. I started to have new inventions of things to worry about. What if someone broke into my house while my adult kids were home? What if my oldest daughter, who is working, missed the bus and my mom was at work and could not take her? What if my son, who was on summer break, just sat in the house all day on his computer or watching TV? What if my youngest, who is a sophomore in high school, needed me or needed to get to practices during the day? Did I really think they couldn’t get along without me? So I started to panic and ask God to close the very door I had recently asked Him to give me revelation as to whether I was to go. I no longer wanted to go somewhere that was 8 hours away from my kids who I raised to the best of my ability and handed over to God was I surrendered my life.

          A crazy thing happened a couple of days after praying with a friend and leader of the church who I shared this with. God opened another entrance to this very same door! My youngest two were able to go with me. I asked my oldest because I set it in my heart that if she couldn’t go or wasn’t invited, I wasn’t going either! But she declined and that left me standing at the door with no more excuses but to walk in. I will now be referring to her as the Infidel!!

          That week was awesome! First because I didn’t have to pay a red cent on this trip unless I wanted something to take back, and second because I had never been in Chicago (I don’t count the inside airport) and I was in awe with the nostalgic scent in the air, and lastly but most definitely not least the conference. The confirmation, the encouragement, the wisdom, and the ideas I received from that place! I was speechless! I think I took so many notes that I could write an informational booklet from them alone! Shout out time: Thank you Bridge Church, Willow Creek Church (Bill Hybel) and city of Chicago for such a great end of summer vacation this year and thank You Lord for being consistent and persistent in me going and learning from You!

          Okay, now for the parable lesson. There was one speaker that was very short in stature, I’m guessing no more than 5’0 tall and her voice was like that of a frail mouse. But she captured that room plus the other nations that watched by satellite with the power God had given her in her voice. It reminded me of the small still voice that we are to listen for when the chaos of this world seems to be distracting and luring us away with its loudness. We couldn’t help but listen. And then she read the very verse God has given me as my ministry… Isaiah 42:1-9. I was blown away! I wanted to get up and run away screaming but the Holy Spirit speaking through her dared me to stay and listen.

What she simply said was no matter how small the world and even the church sometimes thinks you are, you matter to God and His purpose. You are counted in as a warrior for His Kingdom and there is no more time to sit on the sidelines because someone else has told you that you don’t matter or you don’t have a speaking voice, or you aren’t the right model for a leader or have simply not noticed what you do because you are not in the limelight. Pranitha’s ministry is in the darkness rescuing modern day slaves who have given up on anyone ever saving them. Yet she goes where she can get shot at, kidnapped, arrested for being on private property and I would even guess that as I write this 3 weeks later that she is in the thick of going after men, women and children who are enslaved putting herself in the forefront of danger for the sake of the Kingdom. I had to ask myself, what have you done? I have to ask you, the reader, what have you done?

          Has someone lied and told you or tried to make you believe you and what your vision is didn’t matter and wouldn’t make it? People have told me for years I matter but only to the degree in which they wanted to use me. For 3 years I have been surrendered to Christ but living as a free slave of the world because I counted what leaders told me as true about me. That I needed a specific speaking style, that I needed some more training, that God wasn’t ready to release me yet and that what I had to offer wasn’t what they needed in their church. Pranitha opened, not unlocked, that door of bondage and I am walking out!

This week and into next I will be meditating on Psalm 139:23-24 and asking God do something difficult, asking Him to search my heart. He is already opening doors; I have just been too afraid and riddled with guilt and lies to walk in. I refuse to have the “rocks cry out on my behalf.” How about you?

Father God, I ask forgiveness for the bondage Your Son’s blood freed me from yet I went back to the comfort ability of it. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me to the life everlasting. Help me to step up and keep walking to step out! In Jesus name. Amen!

Transparent Bag Lady

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden (burdened), and I will give you rest. Matt 11:28 (ESV)

My mom is frequently called the “Bag Lady” at her jobs. Whenever I pick her up it takes a good couple of minutes for her to get situated and in the car because she has so many bags. I often wonder, and I think have even asked a few times what she needs all the bags for. I don’t remember the answer she has given but I gather that the reason could be so she doesn’t forget anything, she brings everything. And yet she still forgets the simple things like her lunch or tags or even keys for work once. But what I noticed the other day is that she reaches out to my kids to help her or if I am in the house for me to grab a bag or two. I do so, sometimes begrudgingly, but only because I can see ways she can condense her need for these bags.

Isn’t that just the opposite of Jesus? He says to us, “Come to me, ALL who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” All we have to do is come! I love that He is not just calling some of us, or the church folk who are always decked out, or the leaders of the church, or even the crazy radical people who get out of their comfort zone quickly to meet someone at the door of God. No, He is calling for everyone. I quickly say that I believe it’s because those of us who know Him intimately can be ministered too and those who don’t know Him can get to know Him while He cares for them. Those who don’t know anything of Him can be introduced and leave with a new friend that sticks closer than any brother! I love that He cares for us just that much… but doesn’t stop there! He also gives us much needed rest when we enter His presence. How many friends or family can you say from the very minute you walked into their presence you felt lighter and much needed rest until you left? Only God can do that for us!

I started talking about my mom and her many bags she carries for a reason. When I have my kids with me to pick her up, they automatically go to her door or into her office to help her with her bags. She sometimes calls for them to help but they are usually already on the way in. There are even sometimes I go in and grab bags I know she is going to take with her, and this takes her by surprise because I don’t say anything, just grab them. What’s my point? God will do the same. We don’t have to ask Him to come and grab bags from us all the time. There are times that He will relieve us even before we cry out for help. And in the times that it’s necessary that we ask Him, it’s usually to help cultivate our communication skills with Him. He also doesn’t want us to just assume, “Oh God’s got it!” in times when we should be crying out. How great is our God!

My questions are what are the bags you need to release and which do you tend to hold on to? Are you going into His presence or just standing at the door waiting for some doorman to come grab the bags for you? And do you recognize when He does take some baggage from you whether you ask or not? Let’s spend a week in His presence, not His doorway, so that we can experience this bag free living He has in store for us! Come to Him!!

Lord, thank You for being an on time God who gives rest to the weary. Just as we say or form our lips to say I can’t take it, You step in and give us much needed rest from our burdens. Lord, I ask that for each person who reads this, You would give them that much needed rest. Whether it is from stress, unemployment, worry, doubt, bills, unproductive relationships, broken hearts, sickness, or whatever their burdens are, that You would give them rest. Allow them to taste and see that You are good. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!

Transparent Provision

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:13-14

There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:24-25

Three years ago, God gave me a promise that He would give me a vehicle. He, of course, didn’t say how or what kind, just that at the end of three years He would supply. It’s one of the craziest things I have held onto and I view this as my Abraham experience. I have had, since that time, a car that was bought for me by my mom, the use of her car and even funds to rent a vehicle for about a year. (Yes, I know the money scholars are doing the math on that one, the money spent to rent could have been saved up to buy. S/N It’s funny how people who already have are quick to give advice to those who don’t have yet not help to attain that which they need. If I already HAD a car, then yes renting one would be silly, but as I had none and the bus was not an option due to my hours, renting was my best bet. And God provided faithfully during that time! Okay, S/N out and off of my pedestal.) I’m not sure of the exact month, but I know that 3 years is nearly up and I am wondering, was that God? Did I hear Him right? Should I just go and buy a car? Do I not have the faith I need to receive my blessing? And that led me to pray to Him this morning and ask, “God did I hear You right? How do I place my faith in action when I pray constantly and thank You in advance for my vehicle?” The answer He gave was to tell people. Tell my story so in its unfinished version so that He can turn it into a testimony when it is time!

I have personally witnessed God’s goodness in my life more times than I can count! His healing, financial, physical and spiritual faithfulness still blows my mind every time He moves on my behalf! When I found the verses to write this post, He had just blown my mind again! I was down to $6 and some change in my account with bills due and one morning after praying, I looked in my account and where there should have been a payment from Unemployment for just over $200, there sat in my account a payment of a little over $1000!!!! Let me type that out!! A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND!! My patience and endurance while struggling with just child support (yes I am being so transparent) was rewarded and they back paid me!!!! Wow GOD!!! I had enough to bless others and pay bills!!! He is now showing me that He is my provision, He is the Signer of my “paycheck.” And as hard as it has been, I know that to be true. He has provided for my daughter’s tuition at Omaha Christian Academy and I believe He will continue by paying her tuition for this year in full!!

Psalm 27 says that we WILL SEE the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That means now!!! Yes it will be according to our measure of faith, where He has us, but if we stop complaining and look, I believe we will indeed see this goodness! I love that promise! How many times do you go through something, He brings you through and the next issue or trial you have, you find yourself in the doubt pool crying and telling God about your problems again? I am learning that the saying, “Stop telling God about your problems and tell your problems about your God,” is so true! God knows what we go through! His Word says He has ordained our days so how would He not? Jesus warns us, kind of like a ride operator warns us about the ride we are about to experience, that we WILL have hardships and trials in this life but to “take heart”, that means to have confidence, do not be afraid, be strong; He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) Do you believe that? To waver in whether you believe that or not is to waver in your faith in Christ at all. I mean think about it, He was sent here for us to overcome so that we could overcome. How could we believe that He came and not the reason? That’s like believing that there is a cure for cancer but when you are diagnosed, you don’t take it. Now that’s crazy!! HE IS THE CURE!! Won’t you take your Medicine today?

Let’s pray. Oh God, that we would so believe in what You promise us. That we would walk in victory during the storm and not just after it. That the storms of this life would not drench us to the point that our affect is changed and we wallow in disbelief until the storm is actually over. NO! That we would sit in the confidence You have for us (Job 1:8) and when the storms, attacks and persecution comes we would stand firmly on the Rock by which Your Church is built. Lord speak to each of us today and replenish the confidence that has been taken or given. Thank You that You are Jehovah Jireh; You are my Provider and my Provision. I trust You Lord. In Jesus name. Amen!

Just a Transparent Thought

Here recently there has been a big stir, a funk if you will, surrounding our president’s latest decision regarding same sex marriage. This post, which has nothing to do with the content, is just my transparent thoughts on paper…. Well blog. I may have a few standing with me and few more that will attack me. I am now okay with that.

The very first time I heard the word “homosexual” was with the actor, Rock Hudson, dying from AIDs, this new disease to which a frenzy was created. I can remember parents running to schools and snatching their kids out because of children who contracted this scary disease by way of blood transfusion. It seemed that even the smallest baby had done something to catch this “gay disease.”  People became instant doctors and judges when it came to who had and why they had AIDs. It was a sad time for this country.

What I also saw was an enormous amount picketing, screaming, judgmental, holier than thou Bible beaters that hid behind the name Christians. Funny that I always said to myself, “Self, remind me to never be one of them.” I had tolerance for those who were sick; those who America had assumed had started this epidemic, the homosexual community. I wasn’t that old (nice try) but I knew I did not want to be part of a people who only had hatred dripping from their lips. It was “homo this” and “gay that.” Let’s not mention the multitude of abortion clinics blown up or at least the women who were pushed into having abortions because they would rather be in the clinic than with the poison spewing folks outside the doors calling them baby killers and announcing that they and the clinic workers inside were ALL going to Hell. I began to think that maybe people with money and high positions in the church could change not only your departure time from this earth but also your destination, thank God they can’t!

I said all that to say, here is my standing ground on this subject. I DO believe that most are born “that way”, but not the “way” they are thinking. I believe there is a spirit that is assigned to some of us to make us completely miserable with life and relationships until we come to the conclusion that we are a certain way, accept it and then live what I call the death style. It’s not enough to accept that you are attracted to the same sex as you, it’s not enough speak it out loud; this spirit is not doing its job unless we are walking this out. I call this a death style for one reason, God is against it. If my Father is against the lifestyle, then so am I.

Please notice that I did not say I am against the people who live this style of life, and neither is He. He loves them regardless. He is not pleased, He does not like what they have chosen, and because of that He has given them over to their sin, much like a parent does a wayward child, BUT GOD does NOT hate the person!! There is a saying that goes, Hate the SIN, love the SINNER. So many in the Church, including my pre-saved and newly saved self, have gotten the two mixed up and even put their own spin on things. They have begun to hate other SINNERS while loving their own SIN.

This is what I feel the Church needs to begin to cry out for forgiveness. We have turned a generation of people against us, not because of the things we do like Jesus, which He has said would get us persecuted, but because we have poured more hate on these lost souls more than the world has. And now the world has begun to embrace them in an effort to keep them bound! What are we doing about it? Sitting on the sidelines drawing in the sand, when we have no idea what it was Jesus was even drawing, and it’s in the wrong context! We need begin loving each other first, because if we can’t love each other, how will we love anyone else? Once we get that, we need to be reaching out into the very places we have frowned upon and judged to snatch our brother and sisters out of there. And for those that decide to stay or run back, we need to show them love as well.

Listen, I have friends and family members who are homosexual. There is NO way I will turn my back on them! I support them to the fullest! What I do NOT support is their way of life, for no other reason than when they die, that’s it! I will never see them again! I can’t stand to think of that. I do not support what God does not support, but the people living that way or doing that thing, I will continue to love based on the fact that while I was yet a sinner, in the deep thick blackness of my sin, Christ died for me. Not because he was told to, not because he knew he had to, not because it was the only way to save me, but because he loved me!

Know this; my love will not stop flowing with those living this style of life on my page and in my life. I will not turn my back on them and there is NO way I will abandon them! That does NOT make me tolerant or accepting, it makes me obedient to His command for us all. To love my neighbors. Will you do the same?

Now here is a couple of housekeeping items, as they are often called. I do not accept profanity from anyone. If you disagree with this post, message me. Know that I operate with discernment and Proverbs 26:4-5 guides when it comes to answering or not. Also know if you are living this lifestyle and choose to copy and paste this blog to spew out poison against me, I, like my Lord and Savior, will NOT be moved! And I STILL love you! This is not to force or scare you into a relationship with Christ, it’s not to condemn you or to point fingers. It is merely to say I love you as Christ loves you and I am so sorry for what the imposter pew dwellers and surface Christians have done and said! Jesus is NOT like that! He loves you just as you are; He also loves you enough to want more for you!!  

Transparent Requirement

Transparent Requirement!

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:6-8 (ESV)

I am a very hard headed person. I don’t like a lot of requirements and rules placed on me. The world would call me a “free spirit” if I let them! I can remember a time when I was in 6^th or 7^th grade right after Christmas break (that’s what it was called before Mr. Political Correctness and Ms. Offense had a baby called Tolerance, but that’s for another time) and my mom said I could not take my new fangled toys to school. Well this was a time when I was trying to fit in and even though I had friends, I wanted to be in the “in” crowd. And what was in was my new Rubik’s Cube. Hold on, did I just give my age away? Anyhow, I was determined to sneak that thing to school at all costs! So on the morning of leaving for school, I secured a place for it in my blue crochet purse and put stuff on top, even though the purse was very thin. I just knew I was in the clear! Then it happened…. My mom had the nerve to ask me what was in my purse! Remember that I said at all cost, okay? So in my however old I was voice I boldly grabbed my purse tighter and said, “Nothing Mommy.” Yeah, I lied. What happened next is somewhat unclear except for the whooping I incurred by the hands of my father! I can say that I went to school without my awesome Rubik’s Cube, not that I needed to really say that for all the 80’s kids, right? But the rule was so simple yet so complex at the same time. Don’t take ANYTHING to school. Period. But for a child hungry for status at school, that is so hard…. We forgot that didn’t we parents?

God is the same. His commands are so simple. Do not cheat, obey your parents, Do not put other things in the place of God, love your neighbor, etc. Yet we fail at them all the time. Why is that? Why can we figure out what an atom is, write a constitution and laws, CEO corporations but simple commands from the One that gave us the ability to do these complex things, we can’t follow? I will tell you why. It’s because we are human. That’s not an excuse or permission; it’s just how we are. But that also is not a go ahead to stay that way.  We are created in His image and that alone calls us to greater. My brother in Christ, JCrum, has a song that goes “We are called for greater, we are called for more.” We need to remember that when we fall at following His commands for our life. Where are you falling with His directions?

Lord, thank you for Your awesome provision and direction You have for my life. You know so much more about me than I do and You can see so much more than I can. Teach me to trust Your ways, Lord and follow Your instructions from day to day! In Jesus name. Amen!