Peace to Your House no. 7

But no one can tame the human tongue; it is a restless evil [undisciplined, unstable], full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. These things, my brothers, should not be this way [for we have a moral obligation to speak in a manner that reflects our fear of God and profound respect for His precepts].

James 3:8-10 AMP

A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].”

Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”

[The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Most certainly [all] the people are [like] grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been told to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

[It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil

And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing,

Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless).

Scarcely have they been planted,

Scarcely have they been sown,

Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,

But He merely blows on them, and they wither,

And a strong wind carries them away like stubble.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth

Does not become tired or grow weary;

There is no searching of His understanding.

He gives strength to the weary,

And to him who has no might He increases power.

Even youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]

Will gain new strength and renew their power;

They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];

They will run and not become weary,

They will walk and not grow tired.

Isaiah 40:6-8, 21-24, 28-31 AMP

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear and the terror of you shall be [instinctive] in every animal of the land and in every bird of the air; and together with everything that moves on the ground, and with all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; I give you everything, as I gave you the green plants and vegetables. But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will most certainly require an accounting; from every animal [that kills a person] I will require it. And from man, from every man’s brother [that is, anyone who murders] I will require the life of man.

“Whoever sheds man’s blood [unlawfully],

By man (judicial government) shall his blood be shed,

For in the image of God

He made man.

“As for you, be fruitful and multiply;

Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

Genesis 9:1-7 AMP

A lot of folks have their own idea of what being a Christian and following God entails. I mean look at all the variations and divisions and varieties and flavors of Christianity around us. And then factor in all the other religious ideas out there . . . it’s staggering. All these answers and solutions just sitting out there that all seem equally valid at first glance. I don’t spend my time at one church listening to one person tell me what to believe. I am lucky enough to have three churches within walking distance of my home and a few more within biking distance and several more within driving distance and several more within cyber distance. And that gives me the opportunity to hear a lot of different folks teaching a lot of different things about the Word of God and it gives me plenty of things to go home and read on my own.

Do I agree with everything I hear people say about what they read in The Bible? Nope. I have watched too many folks go down the wrong rabbit holes and get turned aside to focus on too many bad ideas and to behave poorly within and without a church structure to support them. Relying on other folks for your salvation is just like relying on someone else to free you. That is never going to happen.

BUT the great thing about God is that it doesn’t matter how right or wrong the person is teaching or preaching, God always finds a way to use that person to further understanding. And sometimes that understanding is that you need to figure some of this stuff out on your own. And there isn’t a lot you really need to understand.

I like Bible study. BUT I am a nerd for language and reading and metaphor and symbol and archetype and discovery. That doesn’t mean you need to do that in order to be a good Christian. I have yet to see a commandment about becoming a bookworm for God. As far as I can tell, you have to love God and your neighbor. And if you love God, then you are going to do things to show that like reading about God and talking to God and living a life that God would want you to live. And that leaves a lot of difference in walks.

Is my walk your walk? Nope. BUT you do need a walk if you’re going to say you are a Christian. We can disagree on being vegan, kosher, vegetarian, paleo, and any other sort of eating guidelines BUT we can’t disagree on the basic understandings that God puts forward throughout The Bible. We are to love and have a relationship with God. It is kind of difficult to have a relationship with folks you ignore. It is rough to establish a relationship if you meet twice a year. It is rough to maintain a relationship with someone you see once a week. BUT only you know your walk like only I know my walk.

So, I am involved in a lot of teaching. I am involved in a lot of reading. I am involved in a lot of praying. And that is where my walk continues. Will the end of summer slow some of that down? Of course. Will the end of summer change my relationship? Nope. So, how is your relationship?

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

Peace to Your House no. 6

He told them many things in [a]parables, saying, “Listen carefully: a sower went out to sow [seed in his field]; 4 and as he sowed, some seed fell beside the road [between the fields], and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil; and at once they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out. 8 Other seed fell on good soil and yielded grain, some a hundred times as much [as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty. 9 He who has ears [to hear], let him hear and heed My words.”

Matthew 13:3-9 AMP

“Listen, you lovers of God! Hate evil,

for God can keep you from wrong

and protect you from the power of wickedness.

For he sows seeds of light within his devoted lovers,

and seeds of joy burst forth for the lovers of God!

So be glad and continue to give him thanks,

for God’s holiness is seen in everything he does.”

Psalms 97:10-12 TPT “What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways!

He won’t walk in step with the wicked,

nor share the sinner’s way,

nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat.

His passion is to remain true to the Word of “I AM,”

meditating day and night on the true revelation of light.

He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree

planted by God’s design,

deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,

bearing fruit in every season of life.

He is never dry, never fainting,

ever blessed, ever prosperous.”

Psalms 1:1-3 TPT

I have a lot for which to give thanks. When the lockdowns happened, I started to make changes rather than sitting around in fear. I began to take ownership of my life and my journey which led to a process of getting healthy. I worked on what I brought into my body and how I worked my body which led to a better diet, a healthier weight, and a better physical form. When I started eating better, I started thinking better about the world around me and my role within that world. I began looking at solutions to problems rather than complaints and rescue. And as my body and mind get healthier, there remained the final part of getting a healthier soul. And that took the longest time. There were so many misunderstandings I had to unlearn. Just like government education, I found that a lot of church education was not deeply rooted enough in the Word. And that I had really never read the entirety of The Bible in context. I had a story here and there and some parables and this and that and warnings BUT no real understanding of the book from cover to cover. I have an immensely better understanding of God from my studies of the past fourteen days than I ever did in fourteen years of attending Sunday School. And I feel like I am not alone in that journey. There is so much I left for others to explain. So much I left for others to do. So much that I should have been doing by myself.

There was so much potential in me to be something more and I wasted that potential for years in getting by in the world of humanity. Looking too deeply always leads to some frightening truths and some scary revelations about yourself. So, I was rather shallow and cursory in my journey. I was like the seed on the rocks. Seed has all the potential to become something wonderful. A seed can become a plant that bears fruits and vegetables that can help feed folks and animals. A seed can become a great tree that provides shade and shelter. A seed is the potential to be a plant just like a fetus is the potential to be the image of God. And I had that potential to be an image bearer of the Almighty and I had wasted that potential for a time BUT I rediscovered that greatness, abundance, and joy. And that potential is not something that I will easily give away again. I am ready to burst forth and produce grain as the metaphors in today’s readings give as illustrations of what I can achieve when I embrace that potential. The body cannot live without the soul and the soul cannot live without God.

Do you feel like your seed is on the rocks? Is your life in the thorns? Or are you in good soil? Are you embracing your potential?

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin