Ignore the Prophets, Lose the War

What a revelation!

An historical account of the gospels pointed out the political perspective of Israel at the time. For the Jews, salvation didn't mean spiritual freedom, it meant conquering Rome. They were looking for war. Historically, many of the prophets had actually participated in acts of war. Moses didn't fight but sent plagues on the Egyptians and tricked the army into drowning themselves in the Red Sea. Elisha and Elijah stood on battlefields and called to power of God to conquer enemies. The previous King of Kings, David, conquered armies 10 times the size of Israel.

One prevalent and recurring theme in the Bible is, the prophets deliver God's promise and humans get it all the way wrong. Battle after battle was lost following the mob's ignorance of prophets' warnings. And it still happens today. Today we have prophets and those prophets get turned into soundbites.  More immediately, it's more attractive to follow the reactionary/emotional responses. Then, manipulators can turn those sound bites into whatever they want the message to be instead of an unfiltered message.

These manipulators turned Martin Luther King Jr into a Civil Rights crusader. They turned Malcolm X into a mere rabble-rouser. These men were nothing less than prophets. They each took the information provided by their respective religions and saw the messages in between the lines. 50 years after their deaths, we have ignored their pleas. (Prophets tend to plea because they are well aware of our tendency to ignore them.) 

Our tendency is to ignore prophecy because it doesn't fit into our limited worldview. And/or, we believe in something so strongly, we refuse to accept anything that may distract or deter our focus on what we believe. We don't believe in the same thing as the prophet or we don't believe in anything at all. What seems even worse than those two scenarios is when what we believe is only slightly different than the prophet believes. We are so distracted these days by minuscule details we will miss movements and opportunities just because of a minor detail.

And don't let the prophet may have some separate personal issues. We are so judgmental or seeking to avoid responsibility, we will jump all over a prophet with even the smallest personal flaw. And that's just it. The prophet usually calls us to action and responsibility. In this day and age, we are satisfied with passionate Tweets/Instagram messages/Facebook posts. We pat ourselves on the back vote voting every four years (even if/when we miss midterms). Don't let us have donated a few clothes/hours to the less fortunate! We don't have to do shit else. We can afford to ignore any and every other call to action that comes. We've done enough. 

Except that, with each more gruesome incident, it's more and more apparent that we haven't done enough. We are inching closer and closer to the amount of pain which will force massive action. We must be careful to choose the proper action.

"Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." -1 Thessalonians 5:20-22

We have to pay attention to the messages re are receiving. The proper path is out there. The prophets are still speaking. We must use ALL of our discernment to hear the message of the prophets. Prophets always offer solutions. Prophets will not make emotional pleas. (For the slow, they may speak passionately but emotion won't be the focus of their message.) Prophets are not profits. The message is always free. Prophets usually say things that are unpopular.

Be clear. A movement involves change. A revolution involves changes in a drastic way. The unpopular becomes popular. The abnormal becomes normal.

Start paying attention to the prophets and watch the world change for the better.

What I Learned in Church: The Early Edition

Feeling a little inspired today. Thank God for my good friends and their good energy. The company you keep is very important. God has been answering my prayers and revealing some great friends and making room for them in my life.

So I finally decided what I’m doing for Lent this year. This year, I’m staying in-doors. That’s school, work, home (or someone’s house) til Easter. My apologies in advance to the three people who are going to miss hanging out with me.

So let’s get in this book. Deuteronomy 26 breaks down First Fruits and tithes, going into the reasons why we give God the primary glory for all that we are blessed with. Then we repeat, “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” That’s an easy way to remind ourselves that God is ALWAYS there, not just when the sun is shining! In Romans 10, (a VERY important chapter) we break down the basis of salvation. If you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. And then, in Luke 4, Jesus fasts for 40 days and 40 nights. The devil tries him up and he holds on to his faith, conquering the devil.

And you've heard all this before. But have you really thought about it?

On Friday, I listened to a radio show titled “Black Churches: Accountability to the Community”. My first thought was, “What’s the community’s accountability to the church?” Can you imagine Peter, Paul, Simon, or any of the founders of Christianity saying the things that Christians today say. They all got asked to follow Jesus and they ended up leading within a few years. Today, we grow up in the church; we stay in the church for years and are not becoming leaders. We give tithes wondering when we are going to get it back. We keep asking what the church can give us, without ever learning how to give.

Look at the book again. We've already been given the blessing. We already have the power. It’s because of God that we have. So we’re not giving our tithes and waiting for a return. We've already been blessed and are giving God what’s his. Giving without concern; giving full of joy is the blessing in itself. There’s no more to it. Remember, God always being there means he was there BEFORE you got the gifts to give. God has already given us to power to be a blessing to ourselves and others. What are we doing with it?

And what do we really believe in? What’s in our hearts? Sure, many, many of us confess with our mouths and call on the name of the Lord. But what we believe in our hearts will be manifested in our lives. That Jesus gave died and rose again means eternal life for us as well. AS WELL! It means that we have the possibility of being just like Jesus. THAT’s what the founders of Christianity attempted and taught. That we could also fast and resist the Devil. Not the way we do now. What do we do in adversity? Do we stand girded with the armor of God? Or do we run?

Saying you believe in Jesus is just a step. Putting true belief in our hearts is a process. Do it! Fast. Pray. Believe, not just when people ask you but especially when you get tried up! Stand!

Tomorrow, you may not get challenged this way so think on it now. Maybe you should stand tomorrow and help your church. God has already done his job. Have you done yours?

What I Learned in Church 2-10-13

Father Joe is always on time. Spiritually, that is! That man will have you forgetting you’re Catholic…five hour long church trying to play the saxophone and preaching two extra sermons… At least there’s only one collection.

Seriously, we’re still in and out in an hour and a half.  At least he makes people want to go. That’s huge in this day and age. People are ready to give up at the slightest bit of controversy or difficulty. Lord knows the Catholic Church has had some difficulties. (Understatement) We have greed running rampant in other churches, Sex, All kinds of Sex and Even More Sex. How do we respond? The same thing we always do. We run. "I don't want to go to church"

Don't let a few bad apples run all the good people out of church!

Don’t let a few bad apples run us out of anywhere. We abandon everything. We come, we consume, we ask, we take, we get full and when we get asked to do some real spiritual work, we pack up all we’ve taken over the years and run away, leaving only the trash behind. We do it in our schools, we do it in our neighborhoods, and we go all the way with church. We might change churches for a short while but eventually we just leave.

I read this book one time (or three/four). It may or may not be 100% true but it does illustrate the possibility of man. The one thing I believe is that we must never give up and (SPOILER ALERT) we (the good people) win! So why you running? Think you’re not good enough?

God will perfect whatever is defective

(Isaiah 6) “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

I’m not going to front; right after that God told Isaiah not to tell anyone they were saved so they would suffer a little more and repent before he let them off the hook. That happens. You can’t avoid it. Sometimes we try to avoid the temporary discomfort so we stay in the mess we’re in instead of moving forward through to the end. Go one through it! Again, a lot of ups and downs in that book but it ends well.

Isaiah 43:1,2 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

You know there’s a lot of fire and brimstone in the bible. Don’t be afraid. If you choose the right side, you won’t get burned. Just make sure you choose right. No fence straddling.

(1 Corinthians 15)And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

It’s simple. We believe in Jesus, not some magic superhero who flies in and stops us from being assholes. We believe in a man being able to transcend the flesh and distractions of the world to attain true peace. We believe that we can practice and practice and attain a similar peace. (And that may be where we falter…) Too much unattainable magic and not enough practical advice.

So here it is:

•         Repeat after me “My miracle is on the way.”
•          Get ready. That means look at your faith.
•          Stop dwelling in the past.
•          If you don’t know how to pray, learn.
•          After you pray, meditate. (Meditation first step is clearing your mind)

Jesus removed his self from the world often to focus. And when he did, he was listening. He wasn’t doing a whole bunch of jaw-jacking and not waiting for an answer. Shut up sometimes! To be clear, shut up for at least five minutes every day (to start).

·       
             Keep casting your nets! Some of my friends are wonderful salesmen/women not because they know anything about what they are selling. They are great at it not even because they don’t take no for an answer. It’s because they keep going, believing that someone will say yes. Just like Colonel Sanders, it might take 1010 attempts and the majority of your life to get your miracle. Why are you giving up on yourself?

      A lot of yall give up at 23 after two ‘No’s. And still try to claim you believe in something.

Luke 6 - Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” … When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,…

How many of yall would listen to someone who wasn’t an expert in “your field”.  I can hear the majority of you now running back to your egos at the mention of similar advice. “I been doing … for … years! What you trying to tell me?” “If you know so much, why don’t you do it?” The least we can do with any advice is to meditate on it. Find a way to make the best of everything given us.

So, one more thing before I go. Fight!

Believe in what you say you believe in. I’m getting tired of all the woe is me, look at how strong the devil is, illuminati, conspiracy this, conspiracy that talk. Too many of us say we believe in eternity and still deathly afraid of every little fool hollering boo at our God. SMH.

Isaiah 41:10 I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them.

Don't worry I will ALWAYS be with you (not only when the bullies aren't around). AND ALL (A-L-L, every single one) enemies will be ashamed and disgraced; they will be as nothing and perish. Shoot, you won’t even be able to find them if you look for them! And Lord knows yall like to look for enemies!

Gina noticed that the message is always the same and said that’s OK because that’s what the Bible is. Something happens, you maintain your faith, God shows up. That’s it. And it only works that way. Not – something happens, you run like hell or something happens, you have faith for two days, then you give up and do it your way on the third day… That’s the way you do it. It’s called faith because it works especially when it doesn’t look like it will. That’s it.

1300 words later, the simple truth is, if you say you believe in something, prove it. If it’s worthwhile it WILL work! Watch!

What I Learned Outside of Church

What I Learned Outside of Church 9/23/12

I wonder if it’s a thing when ALL of the readings tie together as easily as they do this week. These readings are not picked by a pastor so he could match them to his individual message. They are sometimes seemingly random and difficult for even the most learned bible scholars to connect. Essentially, they provide priests with options for the Sunday sermon. Today, one message was clear. Maybe it’s because of where my life is now.

            This week, we start in the book of Wisdom. The first line of the chapter is the key. “For, not thinking rightly…“ We start out with a little hope and, when it doesn’t work out the way our impatient ego demands, that little bit of hope dies. Hopeless, we choose a life of vanity and ego. We become self serving instead of servants. After we have become self righteous people, we hate to see righteous people. They are reminders that we have given up hope while people still exist who have not given up yet and, likely, never will. It’s a form of envy. This hate says, “How dare you find hope where I could not find any!” It’s all ego. The Bible calls ego self/selfishness/flesh.

            The verse in James covers two chapters. So… You know what that means. Chapter three starts out with the power of the tongue. It points out one of my favorite Ras Kass lines. “I gave man dominion over the Earth, to master the wealth. But most of my children don’t have dominion over thyself.” Just like in Mark 7, it reminds and encourages us to be careful of what comes out of our mouths. “…but no human being can tame the tongue.” is not saying it’s not possible. It’s just saying that it seems that impossible. Of course it is possible. It’s just with so many people not practicing self(ego) control, it can appear that no one is practicing self control. Remember, we hate righteous people so we avoid them. We chose to be hopeless and the law of attraction is surrounding us with other hopeless people. Of course, looking around us, it would seem impossible to control our tongues because who around us does?

            The end of chapter three and beginning of chapter four we are warned of the dangers of ego. Jealousy and selfishness are obviously the fruit of ego and lead to disorder and EVERY bad habit. The ego is the cause of war and division. If you are only serving your self(ego), then the laws of abundance will be abandoned and, instead of cooperation, you will choose manipulation to get what you want. The ultimate form of manipulation is bullying which, on a larger scale, translates to war. Being around a bunch of hopeless people, we tend to distrust and bicker amongst each other. Why? Because we don’t have a common goal/cause. We are each serving our own egos and denying each other. Of course, we are going to hate on that and call each other haters.

            Even the disciples fall victim to ego. In Mark Chapter 9, Jesus catches them arguing over who is greatest. Sound like a dick contest? It was. Jesus took the opportunity to instruct them in humility. “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Even the churches today slip up with this one. They proclaim to the uninformed that Jesus had a favorite. Jesus Loved the world. That is the entire planet, not the ‘world’ as in worldly ways. Then he grabs a random child and reminds us all that giving up our egos is the only way we can achieve Godliness from a child through Jesus. We always use children as symbol of innocence. We should also see children as the last time we were egoless. It’s parents who instill ego into children, either directly or by modeling.

So we come full circle. Through children we can remember being egoless and hopeful. Now is the time to reflect on when we gave up hope and embraced ego. Maybe we haven’t given up hope totally and it’s situational. From time to time we just choose ego. It takes practice. The practice shouldn’t be selfishness but selflessness. The question in situations should be whether it is mandatory to hold on to our selves. It never is if we believe in what we say we believe in. Practice! Ask yourself ALL the time and EVERY time if you can serve God by giving up your self.

What I Learned Outside of Church...

Where is your faith?

I didn’t make it to church but, being a part of such an organized church, the weekly readings are easily found online. So, I’m taking a stab sharing my own understanding of the day’s readings. Usually, the readings are harder to put together into one message. This week, providence came in the form of various issues with family and friends. I thank God for the ability to connect and focus on the solution MOST, if not all, of the time.

So let’s start with the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 50 the church’s focus is not forgetting that God is there all the time to help, encourage and protect us from ALL things. But, sometimes, we forget. And, reading the WHOLE chapter (Because that’s how WE role), we see that Isaiah was REALLY discussing us turning our backs on God. God has never left us. We leave God. We forget that God is with us in the dark as well as in the light. If we want to receive those blessings from verses 5-9, all we have to do is remember and not turn our back on God because God won’t turn his back on us.

Moving on to James Chapter 2, we all know the verses about faith without works being dead. But let’s get into the details of the work. I work with a lot of different charities and community groups. The main hindrances are politics, egos and cliques. So while we all are focused on work, work, work to prove our faith, there is also a warning against the very divisiveness that will kill any good work. Treat Everyone The Same. Don’t have your favorites. Don’t choose political parties. Don’t make allegiances to cliques or classes, because THOSE things will become bigger than the work and turn a positive into a negative.

            My high school alumni are battling that right now. In order to work, some people want to consider class, age, social status, friendships, egos before just getting to work. So much so, a lot of the workers have been turned off despite the overwhelming need and urgency at my high school now.

I remember my faith so I respond with work. I work with everyone. I avoid cliques. I just WORK! I remember that the work is more important than any petty differences among my alumni. My faith in God and the success of my school means that I KNOW my work will not be in vain. I know that the real work will not be stopped. With a strong faith in God and my community, I remember that God in with me no matter how troublesome the problems within my alumni seem. So I work. And, with God, we will win.

And now, the gospel according to Mark… In Chapter 8, after Jesus feeds 4,000, he warns his disciples about eating of the Pharisees and Herod and they misinterpret that to mean real food. It’s the spiritual food he is talking about. They may have begun with good intentions but are now poisoned with rhetoric, politics, egos, and traditions of divisiveness. If only the disciples were able to hold onto that message… Then, after Jesus heals a blind man, he tells them of his coming death and Peter tries to rebuke him. After all Jesus has done to teach and prove his powers, including instilling his disciples with similar powers, Peter and the rest of the disciples still held onto selfish (corporal) beliefs and responded incorrectly. Death is not the end for Christ and true Christians. It’s just a process. But, because we still hold on to so much of this world (almost to the point of turning our backs on God’s world), we are still afraid of death. We still try to avoid losing all the things we can’t take with us.

So often, even in the midst of God, in the middle of doing Godly work, while the sun is the brightest, we bring the shade of worldly ways and lose our focus on God. We see it in politics, we see it in our churches, and we see it at home. We see people choose their own egos and turn their backs on God. We see people dismiss each other when they could be collaborating for the common good. We see people choosing failure over cooperation. And sometimes, we do it ourselves.

            Jesus came and went. Although he will come again, he’s not coming to lead us, but to see how well we have led ourselves. Dr. King, El Shabazz, Gandhi, and Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy are gone. They will Not return! But, like Jesus, they left us with instructions to lead ourselves. The work is not hard anymore. The focus is. Stay focused on God and not all the reasons to quit. We say we believe in victory but get discouraged when the other team shows up.

We must have faith in our work! We must also work our faith. We say we believe in this or that. We say out God is almighty. Prove it!

The Power of The Media

Mark Chapter 7 (Read it ALL) This is just a high light. “14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [[f]If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]”

Everyone who knows this story knows it’s about food. But doesn’t Jesus use parable to go deeper than the surface? So let’s go deeper.

I have a friend whose favorite rap artist is Brotha Lynch Hung. If you don’t know who he is, he is likely the MOST vulgar rap artist out there. He makes Eminem seem like a gospel artist. This friend of mine hardly ever curses, didn’t drink until recently and still only rarely, and is one of the nicest guys in America. Isn’t that an oxymoron of American culture?  How could it be after more than twenty years of listening to vulgarity this man can lead an unvulgar life

            Simply, he is responsible to his actions. So many of us are so irresponsible for our actions.  [] Tradition is why we do it. “I just don’t know why I did it. Must have been all the Basketball Wives and Bad Girls Club.” “My friends…” “My Family…” Or the worst one ever… “These kids…”

            A picture was posted on Facebook and the question attached to it was simply, “Does this offend you”

The answer to a true believer should be ‘NO’. It is possibly offensive to the person who made it. He and he alone will have to deal with the consequences of his actions. That is, unless a person CHOOSES to internalize this picture and allow it to control their response.

            What I see and am commenting on is a tradition of being influenced and/or controlled by the outside factors. The people I read about and am descendent from in the Bible are stronger than that. The power to tread scorpions is ours. “…nothing shall by any means hurt you.” That is, you/we who believe.

            What goes in doesn't defile you. What comes out does! Be aware not of what's being given to you, the media, associates, environment, family; be aware and responsible of your response (what comes out). No matter what, you are responsible for your actions. Why is it that we know better and still give all the power over our actions to outside influences? Maybe we don’t know better. Maybe we don’t believe in what we know. Maybe… we don’t believe in what we think we believe in…

Choosing God - WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN?

Some (A LOT) of my ‘Christian’/Religious brothers and Sisters make me wonder. Often. We all allegedly read the same book. How did they miss the part where God wins and the devil loses?

Listen to them speak and it will make you wonder who they believe in.  All I hear sometimes from people is – “The devil is a lie” “The devil is busy” “The devil is working today!” “The devil keeps poking me on Facebook” “The devil is doing that thing with a piece of grass in my ear to make me think a fly is on me.” The devil. The devil. The devil. And after all that, you might get one “God is good”.

And I go – What do you really believe? Did we read the same book? Through the law of abundance (which is called choosing God/living in the spirit in the Bible) I would believe you love the devil. So guess what the universe is going to give you more of?

Choose GOD!

Philippians 4:8-9 is the work you have to do. Everyone loves 4:6 because left on its own, you can ask God for what you want and don’t have to do any work. But NO! You must always work. THINK! THINK! THINK! Ephesians 6:12 says it is not about anything else but how you think. And the WORK is Ephesians chapter 6. “Put on the whole armor of God” Righteousness, truth, faith, salvation, Spirit and never stop praying! READ whole chapters if not whole books.

In Galatians Chapter 5, the Fruit of Spirit is Love. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through Love. Part of the spirit of Love is truth. A real Preacher (Ecclesiastes) will tell you the whole truth.

In Ephesians 5 – God’s example is Love. Live not as unwise but wise. Live as light and find out what pleases the Lord. It’s all in 1 Peter chapter 2 “So get rid of every kind of evil. Stop telling lies. Don't pretend to be something you are not. Stop wanting what others have. Don't speak against each other.” “People who don't believe might say you are doing wrong. But lead good lives among them. Then they will see your good works. And they will give glory to God on the day he comes to judge.” “By doing good you will put a stop to the talk of foolish people. They don't know what they are saying. God wants you to stop them.” “Live like free people. But don't use your freedom to cover up evil. Live like people who serve God”

It’s that simple. Choose God. Show it ALL the time! 

What I Learned In Church 3/4/12

Today we read: Genesis Chapter 22, Romans 8 and Mark 9. In these chapters we examined Abraham's faith, Paul told us “If God is with you, who can be against you?” and we witnessed The Transfiguration. We should know Abraham’s story. He was impatient so God put him to the ultimate test. He had to wait until he was 100 years old (exaggeration) to have children. Then he was asked to make a sacrifice and he offered up his only son who he waited nearly a century for… Some of yall don’t even like your kids and you wouldn’t give them up like that. Even for God. And that’s how he got his blessing.

            Fast forward a few generations. God gets tired of the endless cycle of messing up, punishment, forgiveness, trials, blessings… God says- let’s skip a few steps. Hey Jesus! Come do me a favor… Now we have an example of perfection to strive for and endless do-overs. And then theirs is the power. “If God is with you, who can be against you?”  No one!

            Lets look back at the example in the flesh. Two of the three men who went straight to heaven come back to chop it up with Jesus. That’s the power that is available to us and Peter wants to put Jesus, Elijah and Moses in boxes. God's power is limitless. Why do we always try to put the limitless inside a box.

            My boy Robert says it this way, If you didn't understand #TheMatrix the first time you watched it, you're a fucking idiot or at the very least you have ADD or ADHD or OCD.

            I’m a little bit nicer but, the sentiment is still the same. When you truly understand what it means to have access to limitless power, the sky is the limit. If you are still limiting yourself and/or God, something is wrong.

            I see a lot of people who “know the bible” but still live within limits. Something is wrong. We have a mental disorder or like Robert says… dee-deedee!

It’s simple. "Listen to God"   Trust what you hear from God. If you are having trouble, now is the perfect time to give up some stuff/distractions so you can hear. I believe in us. We can do it.

What I Learned In Church:2/18/12

We're going to start something new. It's called getting to the point. Today’s readings come from Isaiah 43, Second Corinthians 1 and Mark 2.

God says, I forgave you and will over and over again. Why are you still tripping? Then Paul says, don’t be wishy washy. It's all yes. Be a yes man. God moves forward not backward. And then Jesus healed the paralytic who was lowered through the ceiling.

And the reason why we are still tripping came to me.

            We're still trying to be like the paralytic. That’s wrong. Our mission is to be like Jesus. A lot of “Christians” don’t read/ignore the Old Testament. The irony is that they all still live there.

            In Isaiah’s time, the Hebrews continually got distracted by sin and fell short. God forgave them over and over but they got so down on themselves that all seemed lost. Then Jesus came! Salvation is available to all. And it’s FREE. Not free like a trial and you don’t need a credit card to sign up. And it’s not going to require you to spend hours looking through offers and pop-ups. And it’s not “The Free Version” just to get you to buy the REAL version. It’s ALL THE WAY FREE. All you need to do is be a yes man like Paul says. And the power is already here. Faith (REAL FAITH) is powerful and as readily available as salvation.

            We’re still hollering Jesus, Jesus save me. You’re saved fool! Get up and move on. Pick up your faith and work. Use your faith to heal your fellow man. Move forward not backward.

We all want "Something new in our lives". Well do something new! Don't be paralyzed by sin. Move forward not backward and DON'T STAND STILL!
(This is where I start cussing.) What is keeping you from God's grace? We've been forgiven. We've been charged to take over where Jesus left off. "Pick up your mat and go home" Pick up your bullshit off the floor. Pick up the anchor/baggage/crutches you've been dragging around and go home. Home is Heaven. Go! It's waiting for you now.

            Don't wait until it's too late. Other people's funerals should make us realize the value of living well now. We should consider where we are going, NOW. Not where we are going in the next few minutes or days or even years. We ask each other about five and ten year plans like that means something. What is your eternal plan? And are you working towards that NOW?
You've been given the power of forgiveness, the power to move on past this world into eternity. When will you begin to use it? Get up off your mat! Go home! Now!

What I Learned In Church… February 5, 2012

 Before we begin:

Announcements– I know what you need. I'm not what you need but I can show you where to find it!
(Just something that was on my mind...)

The readings for today are Job 7:1-7, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, and Mark 1:29-39.

So we started with Job suffering for the sake of God. He had no idea he was working towards the glory of God. He won by enduring his trials but he had no idea it was just a bet. He wasn’t happy about it at all but he won because he was always faithful. It's depressing when you don't know it's for God.

            When you know it's for God you have a choice. You can chase the reward or serve out of duty. Paul did both. He chose duty so he could give up his ego. He refrained from the reward and focused on the work. Service! That’s the word people like Tony Robbins use. It’s a word of abundance.  The law of abundance means we serve and are given more opportunities to serve. We want the blessings so we can serve our families. But we get caught up in the blessings only and the blessings turn into just stuff. That's when our ego has run all the way out of control.

In the words of Father ‘Lotto’ (He’s been quoted as wanting to hit the lotto so he can get his freak on.) "Share the wealth Don't share your opinions"

Serve for the Love. Love has no expectation of reward. Jesus had a duty. He carried on without waiting on reward. As soon as people started jocking him, he left town. That’s egoless.  Who do we know that avoids adulation?

Disagreements are opportunities to serve. Give Love not your opinion. Trying to win an argument is not fulfilling. Fulfillment comes from giving Love without expectation of reward. That's serving. Only expect more work and be grateful for the opportunity.

To be specific, let’s focus on differences of opinion.  Some call them disagreements. Others call them arguments. In our daily lives, we get ourselves into these things often. The question is What Would Jesus Do?

Not argue! Not fight so hard to be right. No care so much about being ‘felt’. You feel me? What Jesus would do is serve no matter how hard it hurts. Serving in this instance means putting aside your ego and how you feel about the matter. How you feel about the matter is unimportant. Humble yourself like you’ve lost everything you own and all you have to give is Love. Give it all away because it’s the only thing you will never run out of. Let God take care of the rest.

I am working on killing my ego. That means losing on purpose when I find myself getting into petty arguments.  I let God handle me. I serve the needs of whoever I’m communicating with. God takes care of my true needs and my ego is never one of my needs anyway. Sound to deep for you?

Here’s the simple key to arguments. Practice (That means you won’t be able to perfect this tomorrow but one day) losing arguments. Focus on what the other person is trying to do. If they are purely serving their own ego, abandon the argument entirely. Look deep though! Look beyond ego if possible and serve the deeper. Find a way to Love the person that is fulfilling for the person. That is seeking God in all situations.

Believe me, I love nothing more than a verbal gut punch and dragging people through the mud, but, I Love God more. Now is the time to serve. Give Love. Give Love. Give Love. As He first Loved you. Walk by faith. Try it. Not by sight. Close your eyes literally so you can see the truth of a situation.

In Jesus’ mighty name we pray…

PS-St. Agathas rocks the House!!!

The Tebow Problem

I think it’s all calmed down now. I can speak the truth about a problem that is plaguing America. The problem is “Tebowing”

            It’s not Tim Tebow. In fact, none of this is his fault no matter how much we want it to be. Oh the “church people” have been waiting for Tim Tebow for years and years.

           

I just figured out that Tebowing was praying. So people are so afraid to even say praying, they made up a stupid word. I know speaking directly about God is taboo but this is ridiculous. It’s called praying! Enough is enough.

            Thank God I question everything, even Him. I wasn’t buying Tebow at Florida. Mostly, because I’m an SC fan but also because it seems fake for someone to be so positive, I had my doubts. I was certain he wouldn’t make it in the NFL. He was too small. He wasn’t accurate enough. His arm wasn’t big enough.

But Tim Tebow is serious. He is real. He’s accomplished a lot. That is his faith. That is God. I still don’t like Denver but Tim Tebow is here to stay and so is his faith. HIS FAITH!!!

            Attention band-wagon riders, hipsters, followers, bloggers and twits: Tim Tebow is not taking you to heaven with him. He will not pray over your parlay ticket. Denver is not a safe bet for a Super Bowl any time soon.

            “I need Tim Tebow to pray for the Saints.” SHUT UP!

            God is not a football fan. In fact, if Tim Tebow’s parents did it right, he’s not even praying over the game while on his knees. He’s praying for your souls. Tim Tebow is a living, walking, talking running John3:16 sign.

           

The problem with “Tebowing” is that the couch potatoes will get even lazier, spiritually.

NOOOOOO My brother! You got to get your own Jesus. Riding on Tebow’s jock is not how it works.

Allow Tim Tebow to inspire us to new levels of faith separate from football. Let Tim Tebow inspire you to be a fan of God. Know more than John 3:16. Read the whole chapter. One day read the book of John. Another time read the entire Bible. But do something soon. And do it on your own.

            Don’t use Tim Tebow to test the water. He got his groove. The water is fine (FOR HIM) and soon he’ll be gone without you…

Be careful of being manipulated into complacency.

"Most evangelicals, like most Americans, don’t show up to the voting booth at all. Their political commitments are not nearly as strong as their faith commitments.”

God’squarterbacks: Click to read article

In an election, who does that favor? It IS an election year BTW! Not the time to be manipulated. This year is huge. It’s time to choose.

I’m sure Tim Tebow is praying you don’t choose him. He’s praying you choose God.

What I Learned In Church: New Years Day

 For the New Year I went back to my Catholic roots. The first stop was Holy Name on Arlington and Jefferson. We walked in a little late. It was no one’s fault (Gina). We walked in on the gospel. (My father says if you make the gospel and Communion, you went to church.)

The readings were from Numbers chapter 6, Psalms 67, Galatians chapter 4 and Luke chapter 2. Sometimes you have to turn a picture sideways to get all one-thousand words. We start with God’s promise to bless Israel. Then we practice praying for God’s mercy. THEN we look back on what God gave us in Jesus’ life. We were all unable to live under the law and Jesus presented the key to our salvation. He gave his life to teach us how to Love. AND THEN we go back to His birth. The shepherds, the wise men, the magi, the priests, the scribes, indeed the entire nation of Israel and the world was waiting on something to help them in their lives. So desperate were a few that they looked to and celebrated the questionable birth of Jesus to unwed parents.

How desperate are we to get out of our situations. Would we worship a child? Would we follow a man who threw his inheritance away to travel the world with a bunch of hippies? When we are lost, do we know where to turn? When all seems lost are we willing to follow the lead of a man who couldn’t/wouldn’t stop himself from being crucified?

Looking back on all of this now, we can see the power of God but, what about today? What about right now in our very own lives? Following Jesus’ example sometimes means utter and complete humiliation. Who is willing to give up their swag/pride for a minute/day/year for God’s promise?

When we walked in, the celebrant was going off on a tangent about black Jesus. Standing in front of a huge white Jesus on a cross, the celebrant explained that a black Jesus should be in the manger. “It is racially insensitive to not have a black baby Jesus in the manger” And this was a week after Christmas. It was my first visit to Holy Name so I don’t know when they put the Christmas decorations. I do know that it seemed a little late to be discussing Christmas decorations. I’m just saying

Focus

What a show! Who says Catholic Church is boring?  The celebrant (I don't know if he was a Deacon or a Priest) was colorful. After calling white Jesus racially insensitive, he proceeded to sing with the choir, walking around the sanctuary dancing. He reminded me so much of a wino (Gina said his name is Ned-The Wino) who just wandered in and started talking and singing and dancing. I'm waiting on him to fall down and start crying.

There was a Re-Commitment Ceremony too! Father Joe reminded us that the marriage bed is undefiled and only judgment awaits the unmarried (ahem…) [Hebrews 13:4]. The couple was in their fifties. They had been married for a while. It was wonderful to see the spark still there. They had a youth to them. Most of all there was Love. Thank God they chose to share it with us all in the church.

We ran over into the Spanish mass. Bless their hearts. They just came on in. Nothing can stop God's worship. 

All in all, the message is the same as it always was. God is Love. He Loves us so much, He sent His son to show us how to Love on His level. Jesus’ example was evident in the married couple that day. God promised us the greatest blessings. The greatest blessing is Love. It’s here now all around us. We just have to remember to look for it and most of all give it.

What I Learned In Church: Prison

This is from a bible study in prison. We learned quite a bit that can be used by anyone seeking God. This is just one bit: 

“I Wanna Be Free”

It’s called an emotional heart attack. We get so overwhelmed with “The Drama” of life that we panic. It may not be as severe as a panic attack or an anxiety attack so we ignore the fact that we are acting out.

Samson had one. He was constantly turned against by his own people. It seemed like nothing he did was good enough. He could always turn to God but after a while, he got tired of not having someone human to talk to. So he turned to Delilah. I always thought she was his wife or girlfriend. But she was neither. He had a wife. And they don’t suggest that their relationship was any more than her being a shoulder to lean on. It doesn’t even seem like she set out to set him up. She just had a stronger allegiance to her people than to him. She could have been anyone. She could have been a homeboy from the other side of town. She could have been a coworker having a drink with you after work.

Today, in our lives, pressures build up and our emotions beat us up. We run to the wrong people, bad habits, old sins for help. Sometimes we find ourselves unloading ourselves on the first person who will listen without even considering who we are talking to.

Again, I must reiterate, that I’m not talking about panic attack levels. So many of us have so much baggage AND we are so used to taking the path of least resistance that one bad day at work can lead us to talking to the wrong person, firing up a cigarette after ten years, cussing, sleeping around or even just flirting with ideas you turned your back on long ago.

At the extreme, people claimed to have “Snapped”, they say they “Couldn’t Make It Anymore”. “They let me out of prison and I walked right into another one”. But that’s the extreme. You read that and say to yourself – I would notice if it gets that bad. But what about when you’re just a little bit more uncomfortable than you usually are.

In prison the stakes seem a little higher. Physical freedom is the focus. But whether or not you are in prison, - the real prison is the one inside ourselves. If we don’t get free inside ourselves, we’ll end up right back in prison or locked up on the outside

Prison is a walking cemetery, and so is “life” until we decide to change.

When we put our hope inside God’s hope, we are free. “Walketh not in the counsel of the un-Godly” (Psalms 1:1-3) The counsel of the un-Godly is not just a bunch of hoodlums on the corner. The counsel of the un-Godly is anything you turn to to relieve stress that is not God.

It’s easy if the un-Godly things in your life are people. CUT THEM LOOSE! Forgive them and let them go! …or the other way around if the situation requires.

But when they are things, we tend to let them become Delilah and weasel their way into a prominent position in our lives. It’s not always the hard stuff. It’s TV. It’s playing golf. It’s Facebook. It’s whatever we do to avoid dealing with ourselves and instead of seeking God.

And I’m not saying they are bad. I sure as hell ain’t getting off Facebook. It’s just being careful to not replace God with distractions. In ALL things, we should seek God. It’s sad to allow ourselves to be distracted by anything. And it’s potentially destructive to put anything in a Delilah position in your life. Most times God is available right inside our ordinary lives. We just don’t seek Him. When we look at our average everyday life we don’t see God. We see a rut.

Seeking God is an exercise (and I use that word exercise on purpose) in endurance. It is believing long after we got tired of believing. It’s holding on to our marriages. It’s staying focused on our real brothers and sisters. Staying vigilant lasts a little longer than a staring contest.

Hang in there, even if you get sidetracked. (Ephesians 2:1-5 ) There is a promise. (Genesis 22:16) God wins in the end.

What I Learned Over A Month Ago

I’ve been neglecting myself for quite a while now. For what, I have no idea. All I know is I should have been finished with The Master Key System a looonnng time ago. I have a growing list of books to read. And I keep losing deals. Again…no idea why or for what purpose…

Seriously, I have the time to do all those things. Sad to say, I truly haven’t been living.

So, I go back and start over. Not really over but I try to remember where I was when I fell off track. I go back there not to start off on the same path but a completely new one. I only need to be back on my foundation in order to test the limits all over again.

Getting off track is falling into a rut. This rut right here just may be the biggest and longest one I’ve ever been in. Four Years! Deep down in the bowls of niggardom! And it’s not Atlanta. But part of getting out of this rut requires leaving Atlanta behind. So this is the farewell tour.

So I missed the last Sunday of Father John visiting another church but I got something from him the week before. By reading Genesis 18, Colossians 2 and Luke 11 we learn that ALL that we ask for will be given. ALL. That means be careful what you wish for.’

I still hadn’t written this down. The next week I went to a different church wide open to receive any amount of God that was in the building. There was a lot. And they filled in the rest of this unwritten blog.

The focus of most Christian churches is being a good Christian. The shift has been
not being A Christian but being Christian. (Re Read that once or three times) Those are two very different things. A Christian goes to a Christian church, follows the church rules, is involved in some activities at the church and may or may not be attempting to be more Christian. Someone who is Christian is exactly what it means. That person is (or is actively working on being) Christ like.

At Destiny the focus was on pointing out some key differences between a Christian and a Christ-like person. Being a Christian is a stop along the way of a person’s spiritual journey. Unfortunately, most people stay there. They become “Spiritual Knock-Offs”. Since they can say they are Christians, they’re done growing. It’s hard to realize when you’ve only partially surrendered when your Knock Off looks so good. I mean you’ve done all the baptism and catechism and altar calls and new member’s class and you joined the usher board and you got a solo one time because the whole rest of the choir caught mono (Seriously, ALL of them had it) and you got a Jesus fish on your car and you have ALL the Donnie McClurkin CDs.

And this is the rut you’ve been in for years and years. You are no further along on your spiritual journey than you were seven years ago. You’ve been praying a certain way for years. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And that’s good enough. But it’s SO not.


Almost is good enough in horseshoes. This is our eternal life. And we’re poking around. Dipping our toes in the water. And we get away with it (we think). We can say “I gave in to God a long time ago.”
That just may be the problem.
A long time ago we answered someone’s alter call. It’s been years and years. So long, you can’t even remember what the secular radio stations sound like. But nothing has changed. You know it. But you don’t want to make any more changes. Why not? Jesus was meditating and praying and being tested and growing up until the last minutes of his life.

Release, surrender, and give up control. The worst thing you can do is hold on to something God wants you to give up. Give it up. Let it go (John 12:24, 25)
You know what it is. You know what you need to do but you don’t really feel like doing it. Listen to the words all around you. My church sings a song called “Taste and See” every week.

Just say yes.

Say yes to growth. Say yes to being Christian, to being Christ-like. Say yes to getting out of your rut. Say yes to continuing the journey. Say yes to a new life everyday. Today is the first day of the rest of your life – everyday!

Be good!

The Week In Review

Since I haven't been able to make church these past few weeks (due to sinning[lots and lots of sinning]NOT REALLY but probably), let's see if I can't get some clarity with a little reflection. In my church, after communion, we kneel to pray. This prayer more reflection time. I usually go over my week and thank God for stopping me from slapping the shit out of people I've come into contact with.

So let's pray:
Lord, thank you. Thank you for giving me patience when customers call to see if the car lot they just drove by has any cars for sale. Help me stay strong when everyone around me keeps asking me to lie. (You know - Am I getting on your nerves? Sale this car. Does this car run good? At $700? This 2002? Absolutely!)
Please Lord, look out for my people. Help me find a way to convince my cousin to stop lying on his dick about ugly women. Forgive all the nakeddickers (8/25 Word of the day 2) who just couldn't sit they triflin asses at home on Black Out Friday. Forgive "The Dog", he didn't mean nigger in a bad way. Plus, he doesn't even know Al Sharpton and he never knew we now say "nakeddicker" instead. If anything, forgive his nakeddickedness. Maybe, I'll forgive him for not reading my blogs.
Bless Denzel and his new movie. I know so many people couldn't wait to watch the bootleg. I hope they were as eager to pay $10 (or more) to see it in the theater. Bless T.I. when he goes back to prison. He's a cute little guy. He may need your help. Bless Oprah. She didn't know women could be pedophiles and on the down low too.
As always, bless the children. Just because they come from retardation and nakeddickin' they don't have to be doomed to the same.

(Meditation...)





In Jesus' name.....














SLAP!!!!!!

LMFAO, you are hilarious, I love it!!!!!!!

So I've heard its best to pray "Lord have your will" than to request "specific blessings" because it minimizes our disappointments when our prayers aren't answered in in what we'd consider a timely fashion or according to our liking. And often times, what we pray for may not be in our best interest or the better interest of whom we've asked God to bless. Perhaps God has already blessed Oprah, The Dog, T.I., Denzel (and dare I include the NAKEDDICKERS too) with the very same "issues" you've requested their deliverance from... we're all in need of the occasional reality-checks to keep us real with God!


Thanks for the blog invite... I've enjoyed this mini trip into your would of thoughts... and am looking forward to reading more. Peace out!

What's a Nakeddicker? =)

LMAO!!!