PERFECTION

PERFECTION:

Imagine the perfect mate; the perfect income; the perfect health; the perfect home; the perfect food; the perfect world; the perfect everything! Now imagine what God is trying to tell us here: 

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9

How To Suffer

How To Suffer

It never ceases to amaze me on how many sermons and Christian messages speak about positive confession, name it and claim it, prosperity, health, wealth, victory and blessing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for much of those and would love to see more, but what about ‘suffering’? Seems no one is too eager to speak about suffering and if they do, it’s usually in the context that God doesn’t want us to suffer and that everything should be the above mentioned ‘wish list’.

When I read my Bible, I see a much different picture. Again, don’t misunderstand me; God does not ‘enjoy’ when we suffer and ‘does’ want us to be over comers and victorious, BUT,,,that’s not all we have been called to be as Christians.

As a Christian, you are called to be ‘LIKE’ Christ, in ‘EVERYTHING’! Christ suffered and so we too, have been called to suffer as well.

I know this is not a pleasant thing because suffering is so..so..painful!

Although God did not produce suffering (sin did), God allows and uses suffering to accomplish His purposes and one of those purposes is make you ‘like’ Christ.

Suffering goes way back to Adam and Eve when, because of their sin and rebellion, mankind reaped what it had sown. Suffering is to be human! Teaching out of suffering is God.

“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.”

Deuteronomy 8:2-4

“To humble, to test, to know” These are some of the lessons God taught the Israelites through suffering in the wilderness.

In a Christian context, the Earth is the Wilderness. Just as our forefathers, we too are roaming through a vast wilderness on our journey to our Promised Land; Heaven!

Our suffering accomplishes the same things it did then. We are being humbled and tested and discovering what is in our hearts in regard to ourselves and love and obedience towards God.

Jesus did not come to remove suffering, for it was He who said:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

The Apostle Paul, who was no stranger to suffering wrote in Philippians that we are to ‘suffer for His sake’. He points out that Jesus became a servant and humbled Himself obediently, even to the point of death and we are to do likewise.

We are told to do all things without complaining and put no confidence in ourselves so that we may be lights to a crooked generation.

Remember when Jesus said “what good is it to return good for good? Even the sinners do that”? Likewise, when we suffer without complaint and trust God regardless of what we are going through, the world around us sits up and takes notice!

Paul goes on to say that we should ‘forget those things which are behind us and reach forward to the things which lie ahead.’ We are not to be like those who are lost and blinded and only have their minds on earthly things.

“Therefore let us, as many are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, ‘God will reveal even this to you’.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Knowing; ‘you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.’

Philippians 3:15, 4:6,7, 13

I know you don’t want to hear that it is your destiny to suffer, if we keep this in mind, we may bear it more effectively. We will also learn to not hold on so tightly to the things of this world and put God and things above all.

It’s not just about “Waiting For Your Boaz’, it’s about growing up in Christ. God loves you and wants the Best for you; as do I. Knowledge is power and there is power in God, so learn Him well.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Peter 4:12-19 & James 1:2-4

God Bless

As Yourself

As You Love Yourself

When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment in the Law, He responded with this:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

First, we must start with God Himself. God ‘IS’ Love. He Loves you and created you. He became a human to die for you; to save you. He watches over you, blesses you, disciplines you, listens to you, answers you, provides for you and more…ALL out of LOVE! Discover how God loves you and what love looks like, then discover how to return it as commanded.

The commands seem simple enough on the surface. Of course we should love God and our neighbor. Beneath the surface lies a wealth of truth that we should look at.

The heart is the emotional seat of our being. To Lord the Lord with all our heart is to fall in love with God. Not half our heart, not 95% of our heart, but ‘ALL’ our heart!

God wants ALL your love. 100% sold out love for Him. Why? Because He loves you 100%! Any perfect relationship can only exist when both parties are 100% into each other.

I’ve heard many a person say relationships are supposed to be 50/50. I believe this is a tragic error, because it leaves 50% of selfishness, bad behavior, laziness, unfaithfulness and whatever else you sqeeze into that 50% space.

To have a mate who is for you 100%; 100% of the time, is something heavenly! If you look out for your mate; his heart, his needs, his fears, his dreams; 100% of everything…’AND’….he is doing the same for you, you have paradise on earth! You have his back and seek to please him and uplift him and he seeks to please and uplift you!

Incidentally, this is the relationship which exist in the Trinity. The Father exalts the Son and the Spirit. Jesus exalts the Father and Spirit. The Holy Spirit exalts the Father and Son. Each in a sense, submits to the other in love. PERFECTION!

To love God with all your soul is to yield your spiritual self to God. This is where your faith, obedience and faithfulness to God is maintained. Jesus said “If you love Me, you would obey My commands.” It is the giving of yourself; your soul to God.

Next we have loving God with all your mind. Your mind; your intellect is where your decision process is made. To love God with your mind is to mentally submit to God. To acknowledge that ‘He Is’. In ‘real’ acknowledgement, your every action will show or disprove how well you actually ‘believe, submit and acknowledge’ your God.

Lastly, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’.

Loving your neighbor sounds easy, but some of you can’t even bring yourself to full love yourself! For whatever reason, you still believe what others have said about you; not pretty enough, too fat or skinny, not smart enough, too many mistakes, shamed by the past, etc. Some of you have been beat down by life until you believe the circumstances more than you God, hence don’t love yourself.

I think that is why the commands are stated in that ‘VERY’ order: ‘Love God, Love Yourself, Love Your Neighbor. I know to some of you it looks like the ‘neighbor’ is second, but it actually says; ‘Love your neighbor AS yourself’, placing love for yourself FIRST so that you can properly love your neighbor and placing Loving God above you so you can learn HOW to love yourself.

This is God’s design!

1. Discover God’s Love for you and the way He Loves.
2. After you learn and realize this love, return it to God.
3. Because you now love God and knows He loves you, you can properly gain a healthy and ‘right’ love for yourself.
4. With God’s Love and you loving God and yourself, you can now ‘properly’ love others.
5. Seek out those who have also learned from God how to love so that they can love You ‘Properly’; ESPECIALLY Your Boaz!

See the outline? If you get any of these out of order, the ‘love’ you are looking for, feeling and giving, is distorted.

Some of you can’t find love because you don’t know what love looks or feels like. Some are scared because they were taught something ‘else’ from someone who told them or showed them a false ‘love’. Many don’t know how to love because they don’t fully love themselves because they haven’t learned from God.

Get to know God’s Love and proceed in the correct order! Until you get this right, your love won’t be heavenly with your Boaz or anyone else for that matter. You can’t love others as yourself until you learn how to love. Discover Love and How to Love from God, Who ‘IS’ Love!

God Bless

WAITING

WAITING!

I got a call today. It was one of those calls you don’t look forward to getting. It started with, “Ive got bad news..” and then proceeded to inform me that my cousin had passed away.

It wasn’t not too long ago that my uncle had passed around the same time as my niece’s father. Seems death is making its rounds and keeping a precise schedule.

I don’t fear death, for we all must die. I mourn for those who have passed also along with their families. I guess what I mourn the most is the thought that they may have never gotten the time to become all they could have been and my fear is the same fate for myself.

This web page is about your Wait For Your Boaz. Waiting is good. Waiting is what God calls us to patiently until He acts. I have no issue with waiting, but LIVE while you wait!

The same God who says “Wait upon the Lord”, is the same God who says, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

So LIVE!

Don’t just sit around waiting, but live in the moment of who you are and have been called to be “WHILE” you wait! God has blessed you with talents and gifts, both physical and spiritual. Use the abilities He has given you and make your time on earth worthwhile.

All too often we can get caught up in life, never noticing that we are but “EXISTING” and not Living. We go day to day, month to month and year to year just getting by from one day to the next.

I know we all must survive and often that includes the mundane and humdrum. We all must make sacrifices and do what is necessary to care for ourselves and loved ones. Make sure you don’t get lost in the process.

Get to know God and let Him lead you on one adventure after another! Take in the beauty of the world that He has created. Reach out to your fellow life travelers and share in their life’s story. Make a difference wherever and whenever you can.

It doesn’t take much. A gentle word of encouragement or truth. A smile or a good deed. Stopping to admire blooming flowers and stars twinkling in the night sky. Traveling to another land and taking in the culture and sights. Falling in love with God in prayer.

Don’t let the precious hours and days o your short life be wasted; make it count!

Many spend their time complaining about what they lack instead of being thankful for what they “DO” have. Misery and Bitterness only takes away from the good in your life. Let it go! Don’t hold anger inside to eat away at your joy. Don’t let disappointment stifle your faith. Don’t pull back from living instead of moving always forward.

Life here is fleeting. It’s not a matter of how long you will live, but what will you fill that time with?

Everyday God gives us a check to cash; some big, some smaller. We decide to accept it and if we will cash it. Some simply throw it away, not believing its value. Others put it in on a shelf and it’s forgotten. Still others accept it but are too afraid to cash it in. Then there are those who take  it and cash it in.

What are you doing with the checks God is sending you?

Waiting for your Boaz to show up is a good thing. But LIVING for the God who HAS SHOWN UP is better! God has blessed you with life; use it! Jesus died so that you may have life; use it!

“I am come so that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”

John 10:10

God Bless.

Happy Father's Day God!

Happy Fathers Day > FATHER GOD!

Lord, Happy Father's Day! No Father can compare to your Goodness, Mercy and Faithfulness. It was You Father, who first loved us and showed us how to love and what it looked like. You ARE Love! You, Lord are the Forgiver if sin and Grantor of Eternal Life! Thank You for Grace and Salvation! 

With You, NOTHING is impossible! For You are the All Powerful, All Knowing, All Present and Unchanging Living God! Before You NO God was formed and after You NO god exist! You Alone are the Most High God!

I bring Worship, Praise and Honor to Your Holy Name! Thank You for Your Son Jesus and His sacrifice. Thank You for Your Instruction and Example. You ARE Life itself!

Though we are but flesh and blood, you love us. We Love YOU! Everyday is Father's Day to You. You are the Father of the Fatherless and Adopter of the sinful. Thank Daddy God! We Adore You!

Happy Father's Day!