"The Will of the Lord be done!"

Acts 21: 10-14 "As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.' " 12 When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, "The will of the Lord be done!"

In this passage of Scripture, Paul hears a prophecy that he will be bound and instead of relenting, he stated that he was even willing to die. The people then responded "The will of the Lord be done." If only this were the response of Christians today. Instead of praying that the Lord's will be done, there is a teaching today that encourages Christians to say, "I won't receive that." Many Christians believe that all they have to do is say "I don't receive that nothing bad will happen to me." This troubles me because I wonder if we truly understand what this means. Are we saying to God that we have the power to dictate what He wills for our lives? Are we really saying to the God of the Universe that we do not accept the path that He has chosen for our lives? Do we feel that sickness, poverty, or any other suffering is okay for others, but not for us? God forbid. But, that is indeed what we are saying,when we say "I won't receive that." In addition to Paul, we have biblical examples such as David, Job, & Esther and many others who understood that God was indeed in control of their situation. As a matter of fact, the entire Bible is replete with examples of how we are to govern ourselves as Christians. We are to pray for God's will to be done.

Prov. 3:5-6 states, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." This Scripture affirms that we are to acknowledge God in everything and perhaps we really do not know,what is best for us. As an example, let me share a personal testimony. Two years ago, my husband and I put our house up for sale and were going to build a new home. After six months we took the house off the market. We were not disappointed in this process, because we had prayed for God's will to be done. We do nothing without acknowledging God's guidance through the Holy Spirit. As you all may know, the housing market has crashed and that same house that we were going to build would have depreciated by $75,000. Further, the interest rate has dropped from 7.5% to 5.1%. I thank God that there is nothing that I desire more than Him. I fully understand that each and every time that He has allowed me to go through something, that it was for a purpose. Sometimes we cause our suffering because of bad decisions, and sometimes God allows our suffering for a specific purpose.

Paul went so far in His commitment to God that he stated that he was not afraid to be bound or even die in the name of the Lord Jesus. I pray that each of us can be confident enough in our faith that we too can say "the will of the Lord be done."

Be blessed.

What a Great Day!

Hello All:

I had a great day today and I pray that you did as well. I had a conversation with someone that I had not spoken to in over 25 years. He is now a Pastor and lives right here in Georgia and was equally as excited to hear that I was also a Minister. It is always wonderful to hear how God has called so many to proclaim the Gospel. This however does not absolve all Christians from sharing the Gospel of Christ. Just remind others of why He died, for whom He died, that He is risen, and that He is coming back again.

Be Blessed

Breathe

On each day and everyday that God gives us, we must allow ourselves time to breathe. Sounds easy enough, yet many of us are so busy "doing," that there is hardly time to breathe. Is it possible for us to realize that whatever we don't complete today will be there to do tomorrow? I am thankful to God that I have lived long enough to realize that I cannot be so busy that I forget to breathe. It is necessary for us to take time to breathe. This may come in the form of doing something as simple as taking a bubble bath.....yeah, remember when we wouldn't think twice of buying a house without a soaking tub? The purpose of the tub was to take actual tub baths...... What about a picnic in the park, or sitting on the porch or deck and read a book ?? I am being practical regarding the need to breathe. God needs us to be engaged in life, but not so engaged that we don't take time to refresh. To be effective, rest is necessary!!!

Be encouraged today and breathe!!!

Reflection on Michael Jackson- "This is it" Movie

Today I had the opportunity to be at the first viewing of the Michael Jackson movie and I would like to share my reflections.

I attended the movie with my 22 year old daughter who really didn't want to see the movie. She works at the theater, so naturally she was my ticket in. (She was forced--LOL) Anyway, she remarked after the movie that she was glad that she had seen it.

What I found most remarkable about the film is the fact that Michael Jackson is dead. What I was watching, was indeed the last recorded film of his life. It finally hit home that all that talent was forever silenced. A very long time ago Michael was a star to me that could never be measured against any other. He was more that a singer, he was an entertainer with talent. He did more with his life in 50 years than most people do in 75 years of life. He definitely had many issues to face in his life, but did he really ask to be any one person's Hero or did he ever ask anyone to idolize him? I would think not. He did appreciate the love that was shown towards him, but I don't believe that he ever wanted the "worship" that he received throughout his lifetime. For those of you who don't agree that it was "worship," you have not seen too many his concerts. Regardless of how Michael lived his life, I can truly say today that his death is a loss to the world because of his talent. I also reflect on the possibility that now perhaps the world would never put anyone on a pedestal as they did Michael. Although it is quite possible to love celebrities and appreciate their talent, we must never place them is such high regard that it causes us to "worship" them in anyway. So my final reflection on the movie is to say that I totally enjoyed seeing Michael perform because I appreciated and loved seeing how talented he was. But, I also reflect on the fact that he believed in God, and as such, had to have recognized that God is a jealous God. I pray that all of us would consider that God alone deserves Worship. Moreover, HE wants us to Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. You must know Him to Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Be Blessed.

Strong black woman

This blog is in response to a terrible video that is being circulated on Youtube about the "death of blacks." I have copied my response to my FB friend who posted it on his page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AugKnRQx48&feature=player_embedded

Hi My Friend John: As I define myself as a strong black woman, I hold my head up high knowing that I never bought the lie. I have to say that most of what was depicted by the "white" speaker in this video is not true. The strong black women like myself are never seen or interviewed. As an educated black woman, I recognized quickly that if you ... Read Moremess up by picking the wrong "black man", you should take corrective action and leave him. Strong means that a woman should know that she does not have to depend on any man for her self-worth. Strong means that it is okay to love your man and expect him to do the same. Strong means that you recognize that if any job stresses you to death then you need to find another one. Don't stay and complain--that's weak. Strong means that you train up your children correctly and not wait for a judge to do it for you. Strong means that you don't let other people, black or white tell you what is important to you. No Oprah or Dr. Phil knows what is best for you. Strong is staying in the game especially when things get tough. The best tea comes from hot water. I love to share with young women, that the strong woman they see now comes from many years of development. Many want to play women without first being young ladies. A word to the black man, stay true to your purpose--so many think more of themselves than they ought to. The speaker in the video may need to expand his horizons to meet the 90% of black women who have not bought the lie!!!!

I pray that God allows all women black or white to be strong and courageous in HIM!!!!

TRADITION OF MEN

A Word on Tradition

Sometimes, these blogs will be light and easy to read. Today, I address a serious "issue." Be blessed as you read.


Matthew 15:1-9

1 Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God; 6 he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.

This dialogue found in the book of Matthew between Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes point to a modern day problem in the church. There are many who have put traditions on a higher authority than Scripture. After being questioned as to why His disciples were not following tradition, Jesus responded to the Pharisees with an example of how they had broken the commandment of God regarding honoring a persons mother and father. He called them hypocrites!!!

It is very hypocritical for the Body of Christ (the church) to continue to practice traditions and actually hold them as "sacred." Two examples are Easter egg-hunts and Halloween/Harvest Festivals. Dare I say that I do not participate in either and I immediately am labeled "holier than though." First, let us examine the tradition of Easter egg-hunts and its origin.
Easter was originally a pagan holiday to celebrate spring. The council of Nicea in 325 adopted it as their own celebration and changed the time of the celebration to coincide with the Resurrection of Christ. Eggs meant the beginning of new life and In Christ there is indeed new life. While we can see how the early church tied a pagan holiday to the resurrection of Christ that does not make Easter or the celebration of bunnies and eggs correct. The Resurrection of Christ is a fundamental in the Christian faith. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then our faith is dead. I Cor. 15 13-14: "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain."
How could something so important be overshadowed by Easter egg hunts and bunny rabbits? How can I say that it is right to have these events at a time when we should be celebrating the Redemption of mankind that came through Christ dying on the cross. The world will always want us to lessen the seriousness of the Cross. It is worse when the "church" continues traditions when we should know better.


The second holiday celebrated in the church is Harvest Festivals/Halloween. Some churches actually have this celebration on the same date as Halloween to give children an alternative. Again, do we realize that no matter what we call it, in the child's mind, we "are" celebrating Halloween. Let's discuss origin again. It is an ancient Celtic holiday that marked the time crops were dying and the Celts believed that it was a time when the "worlds between living and the dead was blurred"(Source- History of). They believed that Spirits returned to earth. To appease these Spirits, they built Bonfires and offered sacrifices of crop and animals. They wore costumes made of animal skins and heads. They then took some of the ashes from the fire to relight their homes which they believed offered them protection and good luck for the coming crop season. By A.D. 30 the Romans who conquered the Celtics began to celebrate it as a day to remember the DEAD. Sometime after, Pope Boniface IV chose to celebrate November 1, the day after October 31st, to honor saints and martyrs and called it ALL Saints day. In A.D. 1000 the church added November 2, as a holiday and called it ALL souls day--a day to honor the dead. They started a service called Hallomas... How can we take holidays that have nothing to do with Christ or the Bible and bring it into the church and call it sacred? It is what it is, TRADITIONS of MEN, NOT GOD. Ungodly, Tradition, celebrated without regard to biblical truth.

Let's discuss CHRISTmas. It is indeed the most celebrated holiday in which the world and the world has chosen to celebrate it with the "church" for many reasons. The amount of money that exchanges hands in the retail industry in the name of CHRISTmas is utterly ridiculous. The sale of CHRISTmas items now begin as early as August. Never mind that many politically correct folks have started trying to ban the word CHRISTmas in exchange for calling the whole season "THE HOLIDAYS." While most of us know what the TRUE meaning of the celebration is, we don't want to ruin it for others. We say, "it's okay if they believe in Santa Claus," or "what's wrong with children having an imagination?" To these statements, I refer back to the Word of God for a defense. Matt 15:6: "You have made the word of God void with your traditions." CHRISTmas should be celebrated everyday, because without His birth and Resurrection there would be no CHRISTIANITY, but the way in which it is celebrated today is very far from being a celebration about CHRIST!!!!

Finally, as you consider what it would be like to continue to Hold Fast to traditions, know that the Word of God says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." Col. 2:8

Be Blessed.

Hello

Isn't it marvelous to just say hello to a brother or sister? Yes it is. It is necessary to remember that life is too short to forget to just say hello to others. Modern technology has now made it possible for us to use many avenues of communication, so it is important to use them to just say hello. I have struggled for years to understand why so many people use the excuse of being "busy" as a reason why they don't call others. I use the word struggle because, these same people find money and time at a moments notice to attend the funeral of a loved one or friend. It would make so much more sense to show love while a person is alive, than waiting until they can never hear your voice again. So I say "hello" to you today and I hope that this inspires you to call someone today.....

Be encouraged!!