People Are Not Easy to Love (no. 1)

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not practice what I tell you? Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock. But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6: 46-49 AMP).

Wisdom is going all in with Jesus. Foolishness is playing around with God. And I am always surprised, although I shouldn’t be, when I find more and more folks that profess Christianity while they are playing around with God. Those folks are often full of judgment for their sinful neighbors without seeing that they are living in a house built without a foundation. A house that is just waiting on its destruction by the obstacles of life.

You need a solid foundation to walk in the Way of the Lord. And the only way to build that foundation is persistent work in building a foundation. I could not have started diving right into ministry when I first started walking with God because I lacked a foundation. I could not be in front of others sharing my testimony when I first started walking with God because I lacked a foundation. BUT too often we try to jump into things without a solid knowledge, a solid faith, a solid practice, a solid foundation in the Lord. We get a little church and we are ready to point out all the splinters out there, “Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5 CSB). We are too often ready to judge the world without an understanding of our own spiritual construction. I have a belief without a foundation that is waiting to crash and fall while I am criticizing the floor plan of others.

I need a foundation in reading scripture and spending time with God in prayer. The Bible is a great place to build a firm understanding of God, however, I need to take those scriptures and apply them to my life. And I get the understanding of how to do just that through a daily and constant relationship with Him. Relationship is the foundation I need to walk with Him. There are going to be people and circumstances and situations that are going to come against our walk with God BUT a relationship with Him built on a routine of trusting in His scripture and trusting in His guidance will provide shelter in all that life has in store. Too often we tell people that God will not give us more than we can handle BUT, in reality, God never allows us more than we can handle through Him. And when life gets tough, we either have a foundation to help strengthen us or not. We have a relationship that is tried and trusted or not. We have trust in Him or not. And I find that, surprisingly, there are a lot of folks that do not trust Him. They want to trust in their own understanding BUT we are warned, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB).

Grace and Shalom to your home

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 205

“But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:7-8 CSB).

I have faced and unlearned many “pointless and silly myths” in the last thirty years. So many “pointless and silly myths” for which I once waved a sky cloth and marched supporting and wrote articles and essays and speeches defending. Nothing has helped me abandon “pointless and silly myths” more than my struggle against fear.

I was struggling with complex problems in a world full of answers. The problem was that none of these answers were complete. The answers were approximations and attempts at recreating what God had already perfected. And I was searching for a group that was without its hypocrites, without its fools, without its condemnation. BUT none of those were ever going to exist. Nothing perfect is created by man and nothing with people is going to be absent of imperfection. What I needed was a relationship more than philosophy or politics. I needed faith. Faith is action. Hope is my confidence. Courage is choosing to change.

And I found what had alluded me my first go around in churches when I sat down and read The Bible for myself. When I got back into nature and started working with the earth. When I sat down, stood still, or layed down and prayed. “Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 CSB).

There are many “pointless and silly myths” out there that hinder us from seeing God as He is. And all of those “pointless and silly myths” distract us from our main intention. Those “pointless and silly myths” remain in the hearts of Christians and sinners alike because they are part of our human culture. Some folks even look at our belief as “pointless and silly” BUT those of us that are living in His Spirit know better. We know that only through Him does life become something that is no longer “pointless and silly”.

You have a testimony to the greatness of what God is doing today. I have a testimony of the greatness of what God is doing today. And rather than hide that testimony, we need to share that through our faith. And faith is an action that we express in our choices, our words, and our actions daily. We need to set aside what is “pointless and silly” and get about, “. . . the work of God — that you believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29 CSB). We need to take the invitation of Jesus when He instructed, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 CSB). And we need to remember His instructions that “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all” (Mark 9:35 CSB).

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH