Embrace the Within no. 38

“All God accomplishes is flawless, faithful, and fair,

and his every word proves trustworthy and true.

They are steadfast forever and ever,

formed from truth and righteousness.

His forever-love paid a full ransom for his people

so that now we’re free to come before Yahweh

to worship his holy and awesome name!

Where can wisdom be found? It is born in the fear of God.

Everyone who follows his ways

will never lack his living-understanding.

And the adoration of God will abide throughout eternity!”

• Psalms 111:7-10 TPT

A lot of times I fail God. I am not proud of that fact BUT I think that is a fact that I and others need to admit more often than we do. I acknowledge that I am far from perfection. Despite my routine of waking every day and working my path, I still fall short in thought and action. I don’t say this to discourage anyone from walking with God. I say this to encourage folks that no person this side of eternity is going to get it completely right all the time and every day.

The point is working toward that perfection. The point is working toward that goal. The point is having an ideal to attain. This walk on this side of eternity is practice and failure and trial and error and learning and revising and returning. This life is a process.

So, even though my sight is set on a “flawless, faithful, and fair” YHWH. A God that is “trustworthy and true”. Oftentimes I am none of those things in word or deed or thought.

And that is just the nature of my brokenness. There is nothing I can do or say to redeem myself. There is nothing I can do to make up for the rift between God and me. There is no amount of deeds, no number of words, no multitude of thoughts that can bring me close to God on my own. YHWH paid the price. YHWH created the path. YHWH made the thought a reality.

And that is my consolation in failure because I do fail a lot. I am consoled that I don’t have to do anything because He did it all. I need only accept that I am powerless in this whole situation. I need to accept that there is no plan I can work, no thought I can have, no action I can take to make anything right. And I don’t have to because YHWH has the plan. I just have to work His plan.

That doesn't mean I feel justified in failing. That doesn’t mean I feel good about not meeting the standard. That doesn’t mean I stop trying to reach the goal. It just means that when I do fail that I realize that none of this is about me anymore. I chose to do things His Way and not my way. And we all get to choose YHWH our our way. Am I choosing YHWH or my way?

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin

Embrace the Within no. 37

“He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and

appropriately [with wisdom and love].”

Proverbs 13:24 AMP

We hear this paraphrased all the time to defend folks using violence upon their children and reframing that violence as discipline. Well, rods and staffs were important tools used by Hebrew shepherds BUT they never used the rod to beat their sheep. The rod was a weapon against those that would come after their sheep. The rod was used to nudge and guide the wayward sheep away from danger. The rod was not a danger to the sheep. The rod was protection and guidance.

This is a problem of taking a piece of scripture and lopping off part of the sentence and then applying the prevailing secular wisdom to the scripture. The rest of the verse says that if you love your child you discipline them and also training your children appropriately. That means being involved in teaching them the right way. That means modeling what it means to walk correctly. That means living the wisdom of God and the love of God in your life as a guide for their lives. There is no wisdom in beating either your sheep or your children. And that is why the scripture does not say to beat, hit, or punish your child. It says to discipline your child. It says to guide your child. It says to love your child. If your only way of controlling another is through violence, then join the government. That is the language of the oppressor.

Being a parent is not a job of oppression. Being a parent is a difficult job. Being a parent isn’t for the weak of heart. Being a parent means doing what is best for your child and sacrificing yourself.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin