Confused?

This is the beginning of 2016. Like many people, this also commemorates when resolutions are being declared like a promise to never be unfaithful to God. Good intentions but without knowing what all there is out there and God at the helm - futile. You and I both know at the end of 2 weeks all of those promises made to self rarely sees December of the same year. If you have read this blog for any length of time you already know what I think of resolutions.

Wouldn't it be nice if we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, could keep fast to principles we learned way back in Sunday School (Hebrews 5:12-13 AMP)? For instance, we know that we have power in the words we choose to speak on others and ourselves (Psalm 19:14 AMP). We know that not only should we think good things but speak those good things as well (Philippians 4:8 AMP). The world has been taught from back in the day, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." What happened to that age old lesson? The thing is, I have been hearing in the last 365 days a saying that doesn't seem to perk anyone else's ears. A saying that certainly must have Jesus wincing and God cringing. I have no idea why the righteousness in God through Christ Jesus would allow such words to escape from their mouths. It truly makes my stomach queasy.

Are you confused right now? About what? You don't know what I am referring? Would that make you actually confused? Really? So you don't know up from down, right from wrong, good from bad - right now, as you read this? Because that would be confused and destined for hell. No? That doesn't describe you? Then why, why, why, have you ever said it....ever?!! WHY?

Let's break it down for the newbies in Christ. I use newbie affectionately and not to be offensive. I would think babe or novice would be insulting especially if you think otherwise...as I did, even though I was still wet behind the ears (1 Peter 2:2 AMP).

Confused (sigh), its the new fad saying that started in 2014 (or that's when I first heard it). As Christians we know God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV). So that would make our enemy the author of confusion. By saying you are confused means you now identify with something you have no relationship with. Picture it. When Adam went against God by disobeying Him, God returned to walk with Adam and asked, "Adam, where are you?" Unrecognizable? Adam was the only man on earth. Adam was the only one He created when God said, "let US make man." This only 3 part being was now unrecognizable to God? Its a scary thought.

No? How about the verse, "depart from Me, I know you not." If you are confused, then you can relate closer to something then what God has for you. He said, the Holy Spirit will lead you into ALL truth and shew you things to come (John 16:13 KJV). He said, "...in ALL of your getting get understanding (Proverbs 4:7 KJV)." He said, My sheep know My voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow (John 10:27 KJV). So...are you still confused? Does it sound scary now?

Its not a play thing. I have heard ministries take the Word and flip it to make it convenient. The sayings the world has is used in sermons to make it relate able. But God doesn't need for the world to be infiltrated in His word. He asked for pastors to do 1 thing. Feed My sheep. Its the only thing that is needed. The Lord already prepared the table. Why, why, why is it necessary to doctor up what the Lord has prepared? You do not know better then GOD!!! The Word is plain and easy to understand. There is nothing confusing in it....unless you aren't HIS. Understand?

Its Not What I Expected!

This friend that was telling me what financial strain she was in. She said the Lord told her that she was supposed to be receiving some money from a certain couple that happened to be ministers. She waited patiently thinking that any day now it was supposed to happen. It never did and I never inquired about her thoughts on the matter. Personally, I figured she got her signals crossed and didn't do the test to see what voice was she listening to (1 John 4:1-3 AMP). After all, a person can be so desperate inviting insomnia to have place (Ephesians 4:27 KJV). Once there is an invitation, all sorts of voices could be heard and if it sounds good, he/she will claim its God hoping for this spectacular outcome. Not to say that God wouldn't work through our mess - just make that test an accurate one.

I prayed for this person, as we are all supposed to do when hearing a fellow believer in dire straits (James 5:16 KJV). Another thing to do, if you can, anonymously pay the bill. This way the believer doesn't think you are the source and can praise God for his/her prayers being answered. Is that giving the person a false sense of faith? Well, doesn't He live big on the inside of you (1 John 4:4 KJV)? Do you know what the Word says about giving a stone when your neighbor asks for a crust of bread (Matthew 7:8-11 AMP)? Then God used you as the servant to fill that request. The thing was, at the time, I was unemployed, and prayer was the extent of what I could do.

So now thinking of the matter on a larger scale, I was wondering, what do all of these pastors, preachers, and teachers that receive these huge offerings do with them? The congregants give because it is what they are called to do, but what happened to the giving of the ministry? I see ministers that have this calling to preach and the anointing is on them so strong and at the end of the message you can tell that they have fulfilled their assignment. Fast forward a few years later when the money has rolled in and their living conditions change. I am sure they rejoiced for the blessing of the Lord has made them rich...but would the blessing of the Lord make them wealthy? There is a difference and would a minister know what that difference is?

You see, I recall before everything went digital, I was studying the Word and read a passage in Proverbs where it says to obtain the Word but sell it not (Proverbs 23:23 KJV). How can that happen? One must purchase a bible. How can this be done without someone selling it? What about those in the ministry that have become authors? The millions of books explaining various verses for the student to understand. Those products have been bought and sold. Were we wrong for doing this? Tapes, CD's, DVD's over the years of different messages where the pastor has encouraged those sales to pay for the utilities and other means within the building. Was that all wrong? When the networks went digital, I recall some of the Christian stations sending out a service announcement that the viewers should send a letter to congress for them to allow the Christian stations to remain local so the viewers shouldn't have to pay to see it. When things went digital, I didn't hear anymore service announcements. I didn't hear about how many letters were received. I didn't hear about anyone fighting for the Christian stations to stay local. It took a little time for all of the Christian channels to become digital, but it did happen. The cable company has them and the viewers have to pay to hear the Word? What is the matter with this picture?

The pastors of well known ministries are well known because of the people of God gave. The life style of those pastors have changed because of the people of God gave. So while all of those ministers have set aside all of those monies, why haven't they pooled those funds together and bought a network that can be localized for the people of God? Why do ministers think that money is for them to live better then the people of God that gave the money? Those tithes and offerings are for the betterment of the saints and not for the increase of the individual minister! How dare you tell any of the congregants that we all should be living in mansions and driving luxury vehicles when our assignments isn't for the up lifting of self (Matthew 18:4, Matthew 23:12, James 4:10, 1 Peter5:6 AMP)! Don't you remember Solomon? Its why people have not come to church as they should because the messages have been laced with self preservation rather then love, give, and doing the work. Oh, I have heard the messages but haven't seen the one preaching the message do what has been preached.

That friend waiting for that couple to do what she thought they were supposed to be doing for her, I personally believed she was losing it. But then I see what other ministers do and what they won't do. They don't testify about their struggles until they have been humbled to be delivered from them. Why haven't they figured out why they went through them in the first place? Why do ministers tell the congregants to sow a seed to meet every need but the ministers don't. Do they sow among themselves instead of the people of God that gave for the ministry to be what it is? Its kind of convoluted, isn't it? Who would be the author of that (1 Corinthians 14:33 AMP)?

Got Trouble (part 2)?

In my training of being a "good Christian" I was told to hold the ministers in high esteem. How can you do this and not believe one word that he/she is saying? I kept that training (and even today) thinking that true believers think good things and would not wish any hurt, harm or danger on others because we all serve the same God - He is the entire definition of Love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 KJV). Even writing that, I sound like the one that jumped off the turnip truck all wet behind the ears. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that God is love and that we are to walk in the Spirit to not fulfill the lust of the flesh; its just that people are not always going to do as you hope. They will not always stay fast to what the Word says even in times of trouble. We all have our days and go through tests. Whether we pass those tests or not is sometimes determined by what the day brings.

Plenty of people are angry because the day didn't bring what they hoped for and instead of assessing what they did, its easier to blame God or whoever is closest to the problem. Trouble is not stirred up from nothing. There has to be an action for the reaction. If you don't weed your garden, you cannot expect a healthy harvest (Proverbs 24:30-34 KJV). If you don't raise your children in the admonition of the Lord, you cannot be surprised when they don't honor their parents (Proverbs 22:6 KJV). If sweets and candy are the foundation of your diet, you cannot expect for God to miraculously rid you of obesity and diabetes (Psalm 141:3-4 KJV). The effort taken to resolve a problem has to be with as much fervor as was taken for the problem to arise.

I have written before about when I was raising my children. I made sure they were dressed well. They ate a hot meal before going to school and had vitamins daily. They attended church regularly and knew to respect their elders. If they ever got a cold, I never coddled them with it. I acted as if there was an intruder looking to steal, kill and destroy. My children stayed healthy. You see the action and my reaction.

In the offering portion of church services, the minister in charge of receiving the offering began with having the congregation to pray for an amount to give beyond the usual giving. He stated, "if you hear two amounts, give the largest one." The congregants laughed knowing the comedic personality of the minister. Though I understand now he knew that there were those who listened and adhered to that instruction simply because of him being a man of God. He doesn't know what other people have to do with that money and giving beyond what they normally give could put them in further problems then they already had. Yet, the general statement used when there is concern, "if you take care of God's house, He will take care of yours." Or there is another statement, "if what you received isn't more then enough, sow it into the church, and watch God do what He does." What does that mean? Where is the scripture for that (2 Corinthians 8:11-14 MSG)?

I listened to one of those sermons and to give what was coined as the "destiny seed". It was all I had in my purse to have gas for the next 3 days until my next paycheck. The instruction was to give this seed to the person the Holy Spirit is leading you to give the seed to. There was a woman right behind me that was searching through her purse. I thought she might be looking to get her "destiny seed" and couldn't find anything. I just knew she was the perfect person for me to give her my last $10.00. Now, there I was watching thousands of people giving to everyone else and I was waiting. God knew what was in my gas tank and what wasn't in my wallet. I just allowed faith to do what it does and as it started to calm down and people returned back to their seats, I refused to get discouraged. They must have not seen me sitting way over here. So I waited for church to dismiss and I sat still hoping that God would direct whomever He needed to over towards me. I went to the door to make it easier. It just didn't happen. I stayed so long the parking lot attendants were coming in. There was no one left! No one! Instead of getting angry, I decided to believe it was a seed that needs time to produce.

The following Sunday, the pastor preached about sowing seed into good ground. In it he surmised that sometimes the seed we sow is for the next generation and other times while we are waiting for a tiny bush, God will have us sow seed for a redwood tree. He explained that redwood trees take a while to grow but when they do, they last for hundreds of years. It wasn't one of those sermons that had people excited. They were more then likely thinking the same thing I was, "why didn't you say all of this last week with the destiny seed sermon?" It was sort of rhetorical knowing that if the two sermons were put together, there wouldn't have been the response that there was. That previous week was a tough one and I learned a valuable lesson. During the many services I attended and there was always going to be an offering portion, I already prayed before I got to church. I had my tithes all ready and what my offering would be for the entire week. There wasn't one thing any of those men or women of God could say that would move me from what was already established before I got there. Just as I prayed for the speaker to make sure all that listened would hear the message intended individually, I also prayed for myself and what God would have me to do. I may have been one of the few that didn't run around the church when the prosperity sermons would come up or the prophetic word came about for the New Year, what I did have is the peace that I use to struggle to find in the Word for practical application.

 The 23rd Psalm is one of the first passages that most of us learned in Sunday School. For some of us, it didn't mean anything but a means to make some adults proud that we could memorize and retain so much at our age. Nevertheless, once grown and meditating over each verse, there was one part that caused my brow to furrow. "The Lord prepared a table before me in the presence of mine enemies..." The table preparation is understandable. Its provision. Its giving what is needed for us in times such as these. Its the spiritual food we receive when we attend church services and hear the word that is applicable to enrich our lives even more. Some of it tastes better then other parts but its all nourishing - because it is the Lord that gave it. Him being for our good. Now the other part is the quandary. In the presence of mine enemies? Why are they there? Why would I dine in the presence of enemies? Should I be getting them out of there? Wouldn't the Lord have already done that for me? The Word says what communion hath light with darkness, so why are my enemies at the table (2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV)? Who invited them?

In the ministry I was involved in, there was a 24 hour prayer line where I volunteered 1-2 days out of the week. One of those days there was a supervisor that gave me certain tips in shopping for things. We conversed and seemed to be getting along well. During the Christmas season many congregants get together and donate a basket of homemade products for the volunteers. I didn't know this and neither did the supervisor. A few minutes before shift ending the supervisor went to use the facilities. It was a pretty quiet afternoon with very few calls coming in. I was noticing all of the decorations around the room when the supervisor's replacement came in. He announced that the basket behind the desk was for us. In the basket was all of the goodies that were prepared especially for the holiday season. he said to take as much as we liked. As many of the different things that were on display, I choose a nicely wrapped cellophane bag of spiced pecans. Just then my supervisor who had used the facilities came back. She saw all of the volunteers with the goodies that were placed behind her the entire time she was working. She asked what was going on. Her replacement explained that they were gifts for us. My supervisor sucked her teeth in disgust and looked around at what we all had getting first choice, "I didn't know that. You mean I could have got something. All I wanted was the pecans. Who got the pecans?" She looked around and saw me about to open the bag. "Aww, I wanted them." I suppose I could have given them to her, but the whining was irritating me. Instead I asked, "would you like some?" I held the bag to her and she looked at me with a strange expression, "sure," she replied. She didn't take the bag from me nor did she motion for me to pour the contents in her hand, instead she took her hand and dived into the bag making sure I saw her touch each and every pecan before she retrieve a small handful. She smirked slightly putting one the nuts into her mouth and keeping her eyes fixed on me. I know she was either waiting for me to go off on her or reconcile to give her the entire bag. She just came from the bathroom. The other volunteers saw what she did too. They looked at me for a response. I smiled and gathered my belongings seeing that my shift was over. When she didn't see me respond the way she expected, she looked shocked.

In answering the question, who invited the enemies at the prepared table: they were already there. It is written in the last days, there will be many false prophets (1 John 4:1 KJV). The Word doesn't say that there will be many liars. Liars could very well be sinners and what would we care knowing that where that trait comes from (John 8:44 AMP). What we don't expect that the very people that is receiving the same training that we are, have also embraced or not released those old habits that should have passed away a long time ago.

I wrote about a man interested in me before. We had a wonderful first conversation and the second time we were on the phone, he asked what is my favorite sexual position. We attended the same church! His goal was to be a minister! His career was working with children!!! What sort of question was that to ask a Christian woman? I didn't call him or coerce him to call me. He asked me for my number and asked when was the best time to call. My pause spoke volumes and I wouldn't receive another call from him. Can you see what would have happened if I did? Can you see a desperate woman answering that question with him and the trouble happening afterward?

I suppose what I am writing isn't something that is said in any church that I have ever been in. What I am writing to you is for you to trust in God (Isaiah 26:3 KJV). There are many people going through all sorts of things. Just because they have the assignment to be at a pulpit doesn't mean they are always going to give wise instruction. It is why you must read the scriptures for yourself. A single woman, the head of the music department not only leading the choir but also a devotional leader, got pregnant. The congregants struggled on how to treat the matter. I watched them and saw the reaction of the devotional leader. We knew not to be judgmental and also to be kind. There was no need  in ousting her from the assembly by which we stand for love. In time, all seemed to be well again. Now what about all of those other girls that watched this devotional leader and have been influenced by her? What about the young men that wished for a wife just like her? Who encourages them? What trouble will they get into?

There are spots. There are wrinkles. There are stains. There is God, prayer, worship, praise, and love. God is looking for a church without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27 AMP). Stains come about when old habits are embraced and it isn't recognized. The stain remover has not been applied. Trouble comes when the Word isn't used. Trouble resides when it is not recognized as being what it is. Life has many decisions to be made. God told us that what we have before us is life and death and for us to choose life. Seeing that we have, the decision pressed before us has the same two choices - for anything and everything. Which ever one we decide will keep us on the path of life rather then lack, trouble, anguish, hardship, despair, irritability, aggravation, frustration and the like? We must maintain peace and joy in righteousness to have the abundant life that was promised - not trouble. Choose life for all decisions and be well.