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Guard Your Intimate Relationship With God:

Those who really know me know that my intimate relationship with God is the most important thing that I have. I emphasize intimate meaning close. This is important because there are believers in Christ who are far from God, and believers in Christ who are close to God. I want to be one who is close.
 
Closeness with God is a form of worship. Worship is an essential part of our walk with God as believers. Metaphorically, worship can be compared to sex within the union of marriage. Sex releases a hormone called Oxytocin that bond both the man and the woman together. It re-enforces feelings of closeness, warmth, and trust.
 
Similarly, worship and prayer does the same thing with believers. It re-enforces feelings of trust with God. Biblically speaking, there are two factors needed in order to have true worship.
 
But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. – John 4:23

Worshipping in Spirit is God’s established covenant. We know that those who are born of the Spirit of God according to scripture by grace & through faith in Jesus Christ are in covenant with God.

Worshipping in truth means in God’s established truth, not false interpretations, or false doctrine, or man’s opinion, but the pure Word of God.

These two things are what the enemy attempts to attack when he wants to attack out intimacy with God. For example, I was having a conversation with a former church member, who is studying some false doctrine at this time. He is actually starting to believe the false doctrine, and he was sharing it with me.
 
Of course, I immediately wanted to seek the Lord about it and so I did. God brought back to my remembrance a warning prophecy about a spirit of perversion. I was attending a prophetic class at Cornerstone Christian Center maybe a couple of years ago, and a lady prophesied saying there would be a spirit of perversion trying to get in so watch out for that.
 
At the time, I was thinking, “perversion, isn’t that same-sex stuff? Well, I’m as straight as they come. So, that isn’t going to work” However, after speaking with a former member of a church I used to attend, I had a dream that night:
 
In the dream, I was sitting in a chair dazed as if I was sleepy and could hardly move. I was in a stupor. A woman came in the room and began to rub my arm inappropriately as to invite me into perversion. At that point, I rebuked her in the name of Jesus, and the stupor that I was in broke off of me.
 
In short, perversion means to draw away or to remove out of the way. What does it draw away from? It draws us away from the truth. 

​To be drawn away from the truth is to be in perversion.

To be drawn away from the truth is to be in perversion. This is not limited to sexual perversion, but it could also mean to be drawn away from any Biblical truth. Perversion, similar to the dream I had, places one into a stupor where a person becomes stuck. They cannot move forward in life, but they become trapped in deception. That is what God was showing me the enemy wanted to do with me. He wanted to get me stuck in perversion so far from the truth where I could hardly function.

It is no coincidence that back during ancient times much of the idol worship practices were sexually motivated. Because sex is a natural metaphor for the spiritual act of worship. So, it should be no coincidence that God often equates idolatry in the Bible with sexual perversion or harlotry. When we entertain perversion instead of closing the door on it; it can disturb the oneness of our covenant with God causing doubt instead of faith and trust. Similar to how adultery in a marriage disturbs the oneness of a marriage and produces distrust and separation.

This is why it is so important to abide in the Spirit and the truth of God’s word. When we abide in the Spirit and truth of God’s word, we can walk out true worship. In true worship, we are reinforced that Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and the life and that there is no other way but him. In true worship, things are produced by God and we grow and develop—similar to sex—the natural metaphor for worship. The union of husband and wife during sex produces fruit as well.

Our intimate relationship with God makes us become even more useful in God’s hands and we are able to properly intercede for those who may have gone out of the way. Will you purpose to guard your intimate relationship with God through remaining in him, and embracing his word?

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Are You Ready for What God is About to Do?

Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? He was a shepherd boy who cried out warning of the arrival of a wolf at least 3-4 times. His neighbors, each time came out to help him, and he laughed at them each time because there really was no wolf.

However, the 5th time the boy cried out, there really was a wolf. Because the boy had not told the truth the previous times, everyone assumed he was also not telling the truth this time, and his whole flock of sheep was devoured by the wolf.

The above story is a classic example of complacency. The neighbors of the boy had grown complacent with his cry due to the disappointment of his previous cries. They, in essence, learned not to believe him nor take him seriously. This complacency cost them all of their sheep.

This is how many have become in response to what God has said he would do because of the wait and the disappointments along the way. Many have become complacent in response to what God said he would do.

I’ve been reading in Ezra regarding the rebuilding of God’s temple. In short, the children of Israel had been in exile 70 years, and God moved the heart of King Cyrus to fund the rebuilding of the Jewish temple.

The Israelites had faced opposition and disappointment on three occasions. The last occasion a new king became ruler of the province of Persia instead of Cyrus and this new king ordered a decree to stop the building of the temple. After 70 years of exile, it looked like the Jews were going to enter their promised land only to be stopped and disappointed. It would be 16 years after this disappointment that the Jews would begin to rebuild again.

The Jews had gotten comfortable with being in exile. God had to use two prophets to prepare them for what he was about to do. God spoke through the prophet Zechariah saying that he was jealous for Israel, and angry at the nations around Israel because they felt too secure.

​”Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. Zechariah 1:15-16

In short, I believe what God was saying is that he feels for Israel because they have lived in a place of obscurity for so long that the nations around them had begun to take them for granted. Israel used to be that nation where no one could stand before them because their God was backing them up.

However, it appeared that God was no longer with them. Because of Israel’s disobedience, God had to chastise them for 70 years. Thus, other nations looked at them as if they weren’t a threat. They blended in with everyone else. They no longer were set apart as a nation not to be reckoned with. God wanted to change this. God wanted to bring his people back into their promised land starting with worship.

How many of us for whatever reason have gotten into a place of obscurity? How many of us have at some point or another lived in a place of numbness and complacency to the hope of change and the hope of God’s promise coming to pass in our personal lives?

Perhaps this article is an encouragement from God to stir your spirit and to prepare you for what God is about to do in your individual life. I pray that your heart and spirit is stirred as you read to position yourself and your faith-filled expectation to receive whatever it is God has planned for you in 2018.

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Growing Our Intimacy With God Through Fasting and Prayer – Part I (Fear & Reverence)

Approaching God in Fear & Reverence

In this blog, we will look at the relationship of a king, and compare it with the relationship to the King of Kings who is Jesus Christ. In doing so, we will learn more about some of the characteristics of God, and what it takes to draw near to him. Being near or close to God characterizes an intimate relationship with him.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20
Intimacy With God Begins with Fear and Reverence
Be not rash with your mouth and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God: For God is in heaven, and you upon the earth; therefore let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2
The above scripture reminds us of the necessary caution that must be taken with approaching God. There is a requirement of fear, respect, reverence, and humility in approaching God knowing who he is, and that he is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, The Supreme and All Wise Ruler.

In this we know that God has the ability to deal with us according to his favor or wrath, and we should respect him enough not to tempt his wrath. Like God has the ultimate authority; kings, presidents, or rulers on earth have an ultimate power as well. Studying how a king relates to others can easily show us some things in common of how God relates to us as well.

Some key scriptures showing the wrath or fear of a king:

  • A  King’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it. – Proverbs 16:14
  • A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives. – Proverbs 20:2
  • A King’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. – Proverbs 19:12

In the book of Esther, King Ahasuerus had a well known law that anyone who came into his courts without being invited would be killed unless he extended his golden scepter. This law was a clear indicator that his kingship, and presence as the king should be greatly revered, and respected. King’s like God have ultimate power to do good or enact judgment, but they are trusted to rule in righteousness.

We are not to be forgetful that kings or those in authority do not bare the sword in vain (Romans 13:14). There is definitely a time where they must act in judgment and for that they should be feared and revered especially if they are righteous like God.

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As a Single Person, What Do You Do When Your Hormones Get Hot?

This is a real and needed post. Being single and walking in sexual purity is a form of sacrifice because it isn’t like our hormones don’t work. We just simply have no release when the fire sets ablaze. Some participate in ungodly things, while others simply endure through the suffering trusting God to one day deliver.

A few things that have helped me are the below:

Prayer

Have you ever heard the term to encourage yourself in the Lord? Well, sometimes I begin to encourage myself reminding myself that I will not always go through this. God said that he would supply my every need. God will supply my need for sexual release with my husband in the near future. I just have to endure where I currently am.

I begin to tell God, “Lord, you know what I need before I even ask. I thank you that you will supply my need in this area. I ask you to give me the grace to endure right now until the appropriate time comes for release in this area.”

I continue praying, “Lord, I thank you that your strength is made perfect in my weakness. I have a weakness in this area because I do not have an appropriate release. Give me your strength to endure until the appropriate time.”

My prayers are really a realization that I cannot obey God in this area without his help. He gave me this awesome desire to “Get Down”, and thus I am expecting him to bring to pass what he has promised. I will remind the Lord of his word. I will say, “Lord, you said in your word in order to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband. Lord, I want to avoid fornication, thus I am expecting a godly husband. I thank you that you will bring this to pass. Continue to give me the strength to endure while I wait.”

Joking Prayer and simply acknowledging God when things get hot:

Yes, I joke with the Lord often in prayer, and there is nothing wrong with that. It helps me to distract myself from what’s going on plus I bust up laughing. There is an unspoken expectation that in order to approach God we have to always be serious and have a strange protocol to approaching God. I will say that we should always be respectful of God and hold him in high regard, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot be ourselves.

Some of my joking prayers to God about my hormones that actually have helped. “Lord, I’m going to need you to be a fireman right now, put the fire out Jesus!”

“Lord, my hormones are on 10 Jesus.”

“Lord, I want to (insert what you want to do in that moment.)”

“Lord, I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“Lord, I don’t want to be a hoe. Help me, Jesus!”

We have to be real with God if we want his help. The humility of simply coming to him shows dependence on him, and actually empowers us with the grace that we need to continue to walk in purity, and if we fall we need to own our identity in Christ that covers our sin so that we can stand again.

​“A righteous man falls several times, but seven times gets back up again.”- Proverbs 24:16

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

However, when we depend on God’s strength we do not have to fall. We have to come out of the thinking that it is impossible to live holy for God as an unmarried person, and at some point, we will have to fall. That is not true. We do not have to fall into sexual sin.

Distracting Myself

If I am taking a brief nap. I get up sooner than I planned because sometimes lying in the bed brings on those feelings. I may listen to unrelated music that would definitely not have you in the mood. I may do a few squats hoping that will shake the feeling away–just anything to take my mind off of how I feel.

Becoming more guarded with what I watch for entertainment

I am very careful about what I watch on TV when I watch TV. There has been a couple of shows I have stopped watching because they have added just way too much sex. I don’t care if the show identifies with me to some degree as a single woman. My sexual purity is more important. I try not to get caught up in watching any series that will show consistent sex. My hormones just can’t take it. I discussed this in more detail in my book, “The Single Christian Woman’s Guide.” I talked about how the Bible gives us permission to be extreme when something is causing us to sin. It says if your eye offends you, meaning causes you to sin, pluck it out. I do a lot of plucking, and that helps too.

I was visiting my cousin who is not a devout believer in the well-known sense. He was telling me how good some movie was, and I asked the question, “Does it have a lot of sex in it?” He was like you crazy cuz. I said no, I’m serious. I can’t watch stuff with a lot of sex in it.

I did not even watch the Strait outta Compton movie because I heard the movie had a threesome in it. I had already watched a documentary about the group and how their music spoke of the social inequalities of the time. That was all I needed to know.

Let me be clear. I am not perfect and have not always done things right. I used to have a crutch of fantasy lust that I would run to when my hormones would be off the chain, but of course, God delivered me. Now, I run to God for grace.

What are some of the things that you do as a single when your hormones get hot? Please, share. Don’t be shy. We all grown lol!

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Trusting God During The In Between Time:

Everyone in this world has to experience something outside of their control that can leave us feeling in shock, pain, grief, or simply a panic. It could be the loss of a loved one, extended singleness, loss of a job or an unexpected tragedy. Satan often takes advantage of these situations to leave us feeling hopeless. God does not want us to become hopeless in those circumstances.

Often, God will allow such circumstances for his greater purpose. One of the greatest purposes in allowing painful situations is to reveal himself to us in a unique way. This builds our faith as well as the faith of those that are around us. In the below video, I discuss the pain, infirmity, or weakness that we can feel in the in between time. The in between time is when we are waiting for God to respond to a crisis or experience that we are facing.

I use the story of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, to show how Jesus waited until the situation appeared hopeless before he responded because he had a greater purpose that he wanted to reveal. What if God is allowing a situation in your life to reveal a greater purpose to you, his followers, and general on lookers. What if you knew that the end of the trial would work in your favor just in a more massive way or greater scale? Knowing God’s plan and purpose in a hardship allows the endurance to continue to trust God all the way up until the end. This is why we need to seek the Lord to see what his word is for our situation.

It is also comforting to know that there is grace reserved for us that seek God for it to help us in our time of need. Like Christ empathized with Mary, he also empathizes with us understanding as a good father that it isn’t easy for us to go through it, but it can be done when we lean on him.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)
It’s okay to acknowledge that circumstances get hard; just don’t allow the circumstances to make you hard or become stuck in a spiral of self destructive behavior such as leaning on vices for relief instead of Christ. Instead seek the Lord for his grace, and wait with assurance for the breakthrough that God has in mind. It will be better than anything that you can imagine.

Finally, trusting God through it all will lead us to rest. Jesus shared with Mary after raising her brother from the dead saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” To believe is to rest according to Hebrews. We enter into God’s rest through believing (Hebrews 4:3).

We enter into God’s rest through believing in God’s word. What was God’s word to Mary, Martha, and his disciples? It was that this sickness isn’t unto death, but for the glory or revealing of God. If you believe you will see this glory revealed (John11:40.) Indeed, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, the town’s people and the disciples all saw the glory of God. While there was much pain, sorrow, and grief in between waiting; they were not disappointed, and if we can rest in believing the word of God given to us, we will not be disappointed either.

Anytime, we are facing a crisis, a moment unexpected, outside of our control, that causes us to wait on God; Within the in between time when we are tempted to doubt, panic, and become negative, we need to remind ourselves to get a word from the Lord. This requires intentional seeking of the Lord more than the usual. It may also include fasting and praying to quiet our spirits to hear God. That word from God will bring grace, strength, produce faith, that will cause God’s rest until the greater purpose of God becomes manifest in our situation.

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Is it Okay for Christians to Listen to Secular Music?

I’ve had a few people ask me this question this past summer. I even had one brother go as far as to say that he will be bumping Trip Lee on his honeymoon lol! That was too funny! Of course, I discouraged bumping Trip Lee on the honeymoon, but everyone has their preference.

As for me, I believe that the Word of God should be the authority in every area of our lives. While the Word of God doesn’t specifically say listen to “secular music” or not. It does provide general guidelines for our lives such as the below scripture:

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come – Philippians 4:8

The above scripture provides a guideline of how to assess our interaction with things that only pertain to profiting the body, natural man, or the flesh. Secular music is something that primarily appeals to our natural man and there is nothing wrong with that unless the secular music is awakening sin in us and that is a different issue altogether.

There are many things that deal with our natural man that are totally appropriate and beneficial such as the example mentioned earlier that was associated with marriage. On a honeymoon type of experience, I would not play any rap. If I did choose to play music it would definitely be R&B or Jazz. The Bible has no problem with this, it has a benefit. However, it does not have the same benefit of things that awaken or quicken our spiritual man and spiritual appetites.

I believe that we should be aware of what appetites are being awakened inside of us. If a person is single, and listening to a bunch of freaky get down music such as Jodeci Freakin You and the like; that will awaken the appetite to get freaky, and it clearly isn’t time for that yet because the person listening to the song is unmarried.

That is another clue of whether a song would be appropriate or not is what is being aroused in you? Only you can really answer that question. What may arouse one person with a song may mean nothing at all for another. For example, I was counseling a young lady who was coming out of an unhealthy relationship, and I had to pick her up for Bible study. Although, I can listen to my love songs with no big deal, I knew that may arouse memories of the guy she was trying to separate from, and that could cause her to stumble, so I only played my gospel playlist in the car on the way to Bible study.

Because I am a person who desires to have my heart after God, I intentionally limit how much secular music I listen to even though what I am listening to isn’t bad. I do this because I want my affections to be stirred up toward the things of God more. So, I will play a little Babyface, Toni Braxton etc., but also I will listen to more Tripp Lee, Lecrae, Karyn Hawthrowne and such. Why? Because it is more profitable for me in this life, and in the life to come.

I am also choosy with what I listen to. I do not listen to music that I believe is out of line with the Word of God. If the song is promoting adultery, fornication, murder, or anything not in line, I simply don’t entertain it.

God does not necessarily tell us everything to do or not to do, but he gives us wisdom in his word so that we can respond appropriately no matter what questions we are faced with. So, when you decide to listen to a song that is considered a secular song, consider whether it is something that awakens sin in you or something that is simply okay. Consider if it is wise to listen to a particular song in a particular season and if the song is causing you to think contrary to the word of God.

God doesn’t want to load us down with rules that only place us in bondage and prevent us from enjoying this life that God gave us to enjoy, but he does give us wisdom so that our freedom in Christ Jesus does not place us in bondage.

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”–but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. – 1 Corinthians 6:12

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The Story of Marriage – Book Review

The Story of Marriage was written by two of my favorite authors and speakers: John & Lisa Bevere. They are a husband and wife team who have been in ministry for years sharing several nuggets to assist the Body of Christ in coming to maturity.

I loved the book! It started out with the theme of comparing a marriage to a tree. Lisa & John likened a marriage to a tree sharing the below:

“In so many ways, our marriages can be likened to trees of life. Marriages grow at different rates in different seasons and do best when anchored by mature roots. They experience both fruit-bearing and barren years, as well as years of exceptional growth and others when growth is stunted. Each marriage is affected by its native climate, varying seasons, and buffeting storms, yet marriage offers shelter from life’s ever-changing winds.”

The couple makes clear that the idea of marriage is not a trap or something a person should fear getting stuck in. They turn the negative concept of fear into a positive by presenting marriage with the idea of it enlarging us as people. They use the term in the book, “the largeness of marriage.” This is a term that describes the enrichment that will come from marriage including the maturation, safety, humility, patience, and selflessness that is produced.

The book includes worksheets, questions, and guidelines at the end of each chapter that are great for couples to go through together, as well as for singles to look at to become aware of some of the work that marriage takes. Some key points the lesson outlines is a template on how to set a vision for our marriages, so that both the husband and wife will have set expectations and goals that they both have agreed to work toward.

They speak about living with one another as best friends, and not just partners raising kids so that when the kids are gone, the couple will remain strong.

Some quotes that I loved:

​“If we lack joy in God we’ll lack the strength to do marriage well.”

“Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, which means it is received from God and not from circumstances.”

“When we are not continually filled with and stimulated by God’s Spirit, we will look to our spouses to fill needs only God can fill.”

All of the above quotes deal with our personal relationship with God that provides us with the joy, hope, and fulfillment in life that we need. Not only does it fulfill us, but our relationship with God acts as a basis for identifying with every other relationship that we will have in life especially the relationship of marriage.

It’s a worldly mindset that sees preparation for marriage as simply just dating around to use others for selfish purposes such as sex, or almost sex, money, and self-esteem. Because true preparation for marriage is a genuine and submitted relationship to and with God. Our selfish ideas that we practice as singles prepare us for failed marriages because one of the greatest foundations of a marriage is serving the other spouse above ourselves.
The Bevere’s make this point clear when they state that the husband is the lead servant, and the servant shall be the greatest. The husband is the head, thus he has to take on being the lead or example servant, much like Jesus Christ did when he said he came to serve, and he humbled himself washing his disciple’s feet.

The wife is not excluded in serving either. Both spouses must approach the marriage from a non-selfish view of serving one another.

“If you approach marriage from the truly humble position of a servant, you will experience a divine union.”

​“Serving is about both action and attitude. Every time you have occasion to serve your spouse, you can choose one of three responses: to refuse and opt for selfishness, to serve with a begrudging sense of obligation, or to joyfully lay down your life because you delight in supporting your mate.”

They share the below scripture in regarding Jesus’ humility:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God…he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave. – Philippians 2:5-7

The Story of Marriage by John & Lisa Bevere is definitely worth the read. Messenger International, their publishing company, has a holiday sale going on right now of 50% off of products at their website: Click here for Messenger International

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Babygirl, You Ain’t Gotta Do All of That to Get a Man:

I’m noticing some of my younger sisters in Christ walking on dangerous territory in the name of trying to be loved. Some of my younger sisters in Christ are experimenting sexually and trying to learn to become good at sex acts in the name of attracting and keeping a man.

Women who value their worth simply based on what they can offer physically do not love themselves, know themselves, nor trust God enough to provide a man for them who will treat them like they are worth more. A woman who does this shows that she isn’t whole enough to even pursue a relationship.

She has skipped some of the first foundational things that ensure a healthy relationship. Those things are first a healthy relationship with God, ones-self, and with other people. This is foundational. A woman who has these three things will know that she has more to offer a man than what’s in between her legs.

She will then be able to discern properly who is appropriate for her and who is not. She will be saved boatloads of heartache, and have enough energy to pursue her dreams and healthy friendships on top of her foundation. A woman who leads with her body has no foundation and is headed for hard times.

I understand that many women have been rejected or had improper things planted during the upbringing years, but that is no excuse. We all have had hard challenges to deal with, but God is a healer. We have a choice to make. Will we do things according to the standard of the world and make things worse, or will we submit to God and allow him to heal us?

Not only do women place their hearts at risk for brokenness and hardness from allowing themselves to be used for sex, but their very quality of life as women is placed at risk as well. If a woman thinks she has experienced rejection, imagine experiencing the rejection of knowing that you have an STD that makes no one want to be intimate with you again. These are the things that occur at greater risk to anyone who opens themselves up to sexual exploits outside of the safe place of marriage.

You have to recognize your sexual exploits for what they are a coping tool to cover and heal yourself when only God can heal you. If you get an incurable STD, you will lose your coping mechanism and only be left with God to heal you.

Why not choose God’s way now? I know God’s way is not easy nor glamorous, but it is worth it, and you are worth it. You don’t have to try to figure out how to be the best at oral sex, and various positions. When you do that you only diminish your worth, and value plus you only arouse more sin within yourself. Sin’s only payment is death. You cannot get life out of an arrangement of death. There will be death to any healthy view of yourself you had as your worth becomes contingent on a man wanting you physically.

When you do that you only diminish your worth, and value plus you only arouse more sin within yourself.

Sin’s only payment is death. You cannot get life out of an arrangement of death. There will be death to any healthy view of yourself you had as your worth becomes contingent on a man wanting you physically.

There will be death to your dreams as you are forced to shift focus on surviving in the cold world of lust and selfishness that you have opened yourself up to. Some women go on anti-depressants because of the emotional damage alone, not to mention the STD factor or pregnancy factor. Think about what you are doing now while you are young, and have a chance to work toward a better future for yourself.

Get together with some other women who have chosen differently, and learn to walk with them so that you all can encourage one another. If you want a better future, you gotta start preparing for it right now. Don’t leave your future up to chance.

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How Should You Deal With Fear of The Future?

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. – Isaiah 26:3

There is a steadfastness that God desires to get us to. God improves our steadfastness by allowing us to go through trials and tribulations that force us to a place of seeking God that requires us to grow. In that process, we begin to keep our minds steadfast on Jesus through keeping our minds steadfast on his word. I’d like to share some of the scriptures that I like to meditate on when I am faced with things such as worry and fear concerning my future.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way. – Psalms 37:23

Sometimes, I think we go over the scriptures to quickly, and only receive the word as a formality instead of what it is actually saying. In order for our footsteps to be ordered of the Lord, that would have to mean that our footsteps have been set up by the Lord. This means that our future is already set. Our future is already sure, firm, and stable. God has everything already planned out. Because this is the case, Satan seeks to distract us from God’s way for us and to cause us to distrust the Lord, and his plans for us.

“Our future is already sure, firm, and stable.”

The more that we trust the Lord, the surer our future will be to us. We will at that point simply walk into the way that has been set up for us. The second half of the scripture even goes as far as to say that God delights in our way.

God takes delight in the way that we take. God takes delight in setting things up on our behalf and watching us rest into his path for us. His delight is so great toward us that his mercy endures forever on our behalf to gently guide us back into the way of trusting him and his path for us when we get off. Perhaps this is why the follow-up scripture to the above talks about how a righteous man falls yet he will not be utterly cast down.

“Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with his hand. – Psalms 37:24”

Another scripture that encourages me when I feel a little wavering about my future is:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. – Psalms 32:8

We are not alone in this life. Don’t ever believe the lies of the enemy that seek to make us believe that God is too distant or that he is dis-interested in our lives. God watches over us carefully to guide us in the right path. The covering of the Lord is actually the greatest covering to be under. Don’t allow fear, mistrust, and doubt to make you push away, or disregard the covering of the Lord. He is trustworthy and our futures are secure in him. Just take some time to sit back and think meditating on how God has been orchestrating things in your life in the past to work together for your good. He has not stopped constructing things for your good.

Believe him. Believe his word, Trust him, and watch all of his promises, providence, and purposes come to pass in your life.

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How to Respond to Racism and The New Jim Crow – Part III (Finale’)

If you have a burden to work against racism pursue it, but don’t leave Christ out:
God gives everyone a burden and a passion to pursue and address in life. If eradicating racism is your passion then go for it. I personally believe that racism will always exist until Jesus comes back because it is a heart issue, and the hearts of men in every generation will need to be changed as their minds are transformed by the renewing of God’s word. However, men need preachers and teachers on every subject that concerns the hearts of man in order to have their minds renewed, and racism is one of those subjects.

Why is dealing with racism important? It is important because it is an issue of justice and cannot be avoided because it is often forced on people. There are several passages of scripture where God talks about how important justice is to him.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. – Psalms 89:14

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 6:8

Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. – Proverbs 31:9

Afeni Shakur, mother of the slain rapper Tupac Shakur shared  things she has learned during her fight for justice:

First, she centers on what is most important saying:

“I am a product of the redemption of Christ Jesus.” She continued saying, “I believe the Black Panther party we felled because we took God out. I beg you not to do the same thing. If you take God out precious babies you are not going anywhere except to jail, to be killed, and you are going to stay angry.”

She also gave wisdom sharing that she learned that she could not take on and change every problem, but if everyone focuses on one particular problem, we all together will be able to eradicate problems.

Watch video at the end of this article.

Finally our Identity in Christ Insulates us from the insults of Racism:
God made man in his image and likeness and added additional value to our lives by sending his son Jesus to die for us. This will be our value forever, not what is imposed on us by men especially broken men who do not have a clue of what really matters.

A person choosing to stand against racism will have to be secure in his identity in Christ. It’s only then  that the insults hurled at us don’t matter because we know who we are. Just as God’s word doesn’t change or pass away our worth will never diminish or pass away because our worth is sealed in God’s word.

When we walk out our identity in Jesus Christ, It doesn’t matter what we are faced with. We know that we are fully accepted and fully loved as God’s sons and daughters. This view of ourselves will give us the power we need to continue to love all man-kind no matter the color, and even if a person holds a racist view.

Those who hold racist views do not understand their own worth and value to Christ, they do not understand that their future is not defined by an elite class maintaining control, but by God himself.  Racism is an anti-love trap imposed on people to bring them down to the level of perpetrating the bondage of racism. Do not allow it to bring you down to its level. Do not give in to hate those who hate you, or to become bitter, but stand tall and strong knowing your sure value and worth so much so that you can bear insults and become a witness to those who hate you.

Love isn’t love until it is tested.
Can you past the test of racism? Can you forgive those who have allowed the bug of racism to bite them? Can you allow hints of White supremacy to roll off of you while you walk as if you represent the highest supremacy there is, Jesus Christ.

I so absolutely love the new movie, “Marshall.” It’s a movie about the civil rights attorney, Thurgood Marshall. He had so much confidence and assurance in who he was in the film, that when others hurled insults at him because of his race, he made jokes about it and kept on rolling on with the plan at hand. That’s how we have to be—bold, secure, and unmoved.

We, like Thurgood, have to keep the vision at hand of what we are here for and focus on that instead.
Representing Jesus and his love for us is what it is all about. Let’s not be distracted by racism, but overcome it by wisdom, work, forgiveness, and love.

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