Peace to Your House no. 5

Who is a God like You, who forgives wickedness

And passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He [constantly] delights in mercy and lovingkindness.

He shall again have compassion on us;

He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power].

Yes, You will cast all our sins

Into the depths of the sea.

You shall give truth to Jacob

And lovingkindness and mercy to Abraham,

As You have sworn to our forefathers

From the days of old.

Micah 7:18-20 AMP

Flowers of your faithfulness are blooming on the earth.

Righteousness shines down from the sky.

Yes, the Lord keeps raining down blessing after blessing,

and prosperity will drench the land with a bountiful harvest.

For deliverance goes before him,

preparing a path for his steps.

Psalms 85:11-13 TPT

But [Christ], well aware of their thoughts and purpose, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is doomed to destruction; and a house divided against itself falls . . .When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his belongings are undisturbed and secure. But when someone stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he robs him of all his armor on which he had relied and divides his [goods as] spoil. He who is not with Me [believing in Me as Lord and Savior] is against Me [there is no impartial position]; and he who does not gather with Me [assisting in My ministry], scatters."

Luke 11:17, 21-23 AMP

Embrace the Within.

It is another great day to be alive in Christ. There is always much happening in the world BUT very little happening over here. No complaints today. No arguments or angry rants. Just a little wisdom that I want to pass on about the word liturgy. A liturgy is really just a way of thinking about, speaking about, and acting out something. A liturgy consists of the thoughts, words, and actions we perform around any observance or custom. We have a daily liturgy of thoughts, words, and actions that we make our own. And this daily liturgy is basically our way of interacting and making sense of the world around us. It’s like our way of acting out our daily religion. A religion is nothing more than a set of beliefs and our liturgy are the thoughts, words, and actions of those beliefs.

So what is your liturgy saying about your religion? How are the thoughts, words, and actions we enact daily showing our beliefs? I am all about shining a light of truth on the hypocrisy of talking about your beliefs and what kind of things you support rather than looking at the witness and testimony your life gives to what you are. We like to say we value a lot of things BUT the real values we have are shown by how we think, speak, and act daily.

And there is a daily battle among most folks between these two realities and only one of them is true to their character. You see I can only be what I think, say, and do. I can’t be anything else. I can’t be a, “Do as I say and not as I do” hypocrite and think that I am fooling anyone BUT myself. And even then, inside ourselves and in our heart and mind, we understand that we are full of shit. These folks know that they are phony and know that everyone else they are around are just as phony as them. And why, when someone is not phony, when someone is authentically honest and real, when someone walks in their journey with integrity, the folks that aren’t get uneasy . . . they get nervous . . . they get a little hostile. The integrity of being right shines a light on their wrongdoing. And folks hate being exposed for being wicked and deceitful and wrong.

How are your thoughts, words, and actions working for you? Are they bringing you peace? Are they making your life better? Or is there something you need to change about your liturgy?

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. 4

“This is your last chance, my final warning. Your time is up!

Turn away from all this evil, or the next time you hear from me

will be when I am coming to pass judgment upon you.

I will snatch you away, and no one will be there

to help you escape my judgment.

The life that pleases me is a life lived in the gratitude of grace,

always choosing to walk with me in what is right.

This is the sacrifice I desire from you.

If you do this, more of my salvation will unfold for you.”

Psalms 50: 22-23 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

With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him]

And bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

With yearling calves?

Will the Lord be delighted with thousands of rams,

Or with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I present my firstborn for my acts of rebellion,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),

And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

Micah 6:6-8 AMP

“This is My commandment, that you [c]love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you.”

John 15:12-14 AMP

It is something wonderful to awaken and start your day by doing what is right and true. I didn’t always think this way. Fourteen days ago I was a mess. I was waking up and struggling to get through my day. There was a lot of faking happiness and pretending enthusiasm. I was functioning in the world BUT not really flourishing. It was like wash-rinse-repeat every day with no real path or destination ahead. BUT it looked like I was doing great. I thought I was doing great. I thought I was getting things figured out and then the reality that the amount of control I had over my life was merely an illusion hit with the lockdowns. There was this real fear that I had no idea of what was truly important. I figured that my good enough job and good enough salary was going to make sure I was alright BUT that illusion started to melt away. Those moments in March of 2020 really gave me some clarity about where I was in life and where I wanted to be. And there wasn’t a march or a vote or a post or a letter or a rant that was going to change my life. I was going to have to take ownership of that in a fundamental and revolutionary way.

And after the past fourteen days, I actually awaken with a purpose and a plan. I am not merely surviving anymore. I am thriving all from embracing my core beliefs and making them a plan of action. As I started working on my mind and body, I was struggling to get spiritual clarity. And a lot of getting healthy physically helped feed mental health which then led for me a spiritual discovery. I think that’s kind of a weird way to do things. I think most folks find religion and then change their lives. I had changed my life and, through that process, rediscovered Christianity in a real way. When I was younger, it was fine to go to church and learn the stories and do the right thing. BUT I was never all in. It wasn’t personal and daily. And now it is.

Thankfully, I have this summer to really dig and invest and study and read and get right with a routine. My routine is now all about waking with a purpose to do what is right and just and kind and compassionate and walk humbly with God just as the verses from Micah state. And that means a life rooted in conversation and relationship with God. You cannot have a personal relationship with someone you ignore. You have to have a conversation. You have to get into the Word and have a walk together, working together, and understanding each other. And that is what I have been doing. So, as I work on finding more peace, more abundance, more joy, more direction in my life, I will keep working on the new format of these blog posts which will incorporate what I am reading and studying and what I am seeing in my walk. I hope you find some inspiration and motivation to continue or start your walk as well.

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