What Is True Life of Abundance?

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  John 10:10


Hello readers.  Welcome to my heart.  Let's begin.  

Now, John 10:10.  Popular verse.  Its one of those verses that a lot of people know and is spat around the common religious people when they want encouraging about their situation.  And I understand--- it is a very comforting verse.  But, its even better if it was being translated correctly.

Now, being a child raised in church, I've heard the prosperity message.  And to be honest, its why I came to Christ.  Yep, sign me up for this blog punching in gut, because it was me first.  I signed up to follow Jesus just so I can get a prosperous life on Earth, because I was told that if I delight myself in the Lord I will blessed with the desires of my heart.  I was told if I lived right then God would bless me.  I was told that if I did ______, God would bless me with ______.  So God is this McDonalds worker.  "Since you've committed to us today for increasing your already bad health, anything you ask for I'll give, because you've delighted in the golden arches today."  I've heard a lot of people claiming financial blessings and claiming blessings after blessings after blessings and we're still missing the entire point of salvation.  We're missing God's greatest desire for us, and its just to be with Him.  Let's take a walk, I promise you this will make you feel better.   

Just listen to this story from Genesis, I'm sure you've heard of it.  "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

So, Adam had everything he needed.  He had food, place to stay, and God.  So sin actually came into the world because of our natural stupidity to desire stuff that's off limits, but also because they were looking for MORE.  Here's a few humans actually really 21st Century-ish and desiring other things because we think they'll make us happier  And my friend's pastor Jason Brinker said it best, "financial wealth can never make up for spiritual poverty"

Wanna know why?  Because God IS abundance. GOD IS EVERYTHING WE NEED.  Let me say that again, GOD IS ABUNDANCE.  GOD IS EVERYTHING WE NEED.  So He doesn't have to re-promise something He's already promised.

Let's get to the point.

So, what is God's greatest desire for us? Like, humans, what is God's greatest desire for our lives?  The answer can be seen in John 3:16.  " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."  

Saved from what Claude?  Saved from a poor life?  Saved from living paycheck to paycheck?  Saved from living in poverty?  Credit card bills? Food stamps?

So? If you're needing help, the answer to me looks like God's greatest desire for us is to have relationship with Him.  Let me explain.  See when Adam and Eve sinned, it put a wedge between us and God.  So, God wanted His children back so bad that He sent Jesus to save the world from sin so we could be with God again.  (I love how simple the gospel is).  So, considering Jesus didn't come to ensure us a prosperous Earthly visit, then why are we in the pulpits talking so much about money?  Because our minds can be so out of whack that we actually build our entire lives around RIGHT NOW, EARTH.  (Ouch, conviction is hitting me already.)  We focus so much on Earth, thinking why don't I have this? Why don't I have that? And we use verses like this to once again take advantage of one of God's characteristics.  Now the Man wants to bless us, don't get me wrong.  I just want us to realize that God was blessing abundantly BEFORE Jesus even came, He was blessing abundantly when He created the Earth.  You think He only made just enough for North America?

God cares about you, and how well you're living.  Don't miss that point.  But He cares more about having you in relationship with Him.  Yes, He can bless abundantly, but He sent His son to die for you to be with relationship with Him so you can have LIFE, AND AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF IT.  And all the perks that come right along with that.

I remember the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-22 walks up to Jesus and asks what should he do to inherit eternal life?  Hahaha. I seriously wonder what he was expecting to hear from Jesus, because obviously Jesus didn't give him the answer he wanted.  Jesus tells him to "Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”  Now, according to this generation and their prosperity messages, Jesus should have answered like this, "You got everything you need. BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED!  Just be sure you're tithing that." But see here Jesus is telling this young ruler that I'm better than your riches, sell it all and watch me prove it.  So therefore, God cannot be extremely focused on how prosperous we are here on Earth.  I might even go as far as to say he doesn't want you even being concerned about it too much, because he did say you cannot serve two masters, you either love one or hate the other. And right after that he says you cannot love both God and mammon(wealth).  And its probably why He put the tithing condition in because He wants us to NOT be so concerned with it. He wants us to develop a "giving away" attitude towards our money and learning how to trust in Him with it, which will create this attitude of no matter what happens God, I trust you.  AND THEN POW!!!  HE GOT YOU WHERE HE WANTS YOU!

God wants us to reach this place with Him, where we trust Him.  Trust is a great part of a relationship.  The more our trust grows, the higher our faith grows, and the more we love Him because we're getting so much face time with Him through these moments.

So, what does this mean?  Can we stop preaching prosperity in the pulpits?  Jesus did not die for that.  Please start preaching life, the whole reason why there is a cross and a message to talk about.  Can we start conditioning people to be kingdom minded, and not just "living the good life" minded.  That's flesh stuff.  God is so much bigger than Him blessing us with stuff on this Earth.  And no doubt He can do it, but He really just wants you.  And I'm sure He'd rather you focus on that too.

Intimate Father

Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" John 20:17

Hello readers. Welcome to my heart. Let's begin.

This is the final installment of the "Intimate" Series. In Part 1, I spoke about the Intimate God and His desiring to have true relationship with us. And now, I'm going to talk about the Intimate Father.  Of course, still talking about the same person, God.

I love being transparent.  I've found that it empowers people.  It makes whatever I'm saying more relatable when they can connect their weaknesses with mine. So, here goes. 

I didn't know I was longing for a father until I met the Father.  I'm starting to think that ALL children long for their parents.  I mean, think about it.  The two people that IS your DNA is in you, your tendencies and ways of thinking and identity were created from these two people. So, me being raised in a single parent home, I longed for my dad----but, didn't really know it. I'm not saying like it was a craving, like I really wished he was there.  But there was a longing, a disconnect, a void, hidden deep within my heart.  Because when I looked in the mirror I could see my mom, but I also saw someone else that I couldn't identify with.  I have family members telling me I look just like my dad, but, do I?  What else? Do I act like him? What else?

I remember having to do a lot of things on my own.  I think a lot of kids in this situation deal with it differently.  I seemed to quickly become content with the situation. Hey, can't cry over spilt milk, he's not there, move on. But what it did was cause me to isolate myself in my heart.  I learned how to manage on my own.  I remember learning how to play sports, alone.  I remember having to deal with my "first love", alone. I remember having to deal with my first heartbreak, alone. I remember contemplating whether to take my relationship further physically with my "second love", alone.  I remember having questions, and having to answer them, alone.  My mom always told me that I could go to the brothers and the pastor in my church, but I didn't know how.  I wished they knew that.  I didn't know how to GO to a "father figure", I mean, where would I learn that from? 

So, after hearing this from a pastor, "Our view of our natural father effects our view of God", it rocked my world.  Because, I had been having a hard time going to God, and I finally knew why.  I wasn't used to having a father.  So, the void remained. And early in my Christian walk, God the Father was treated just like my father.  I knew nothing on how to relate to this Father God thing, so I fell victim of just listening to whatever my pastor said in church.  I was an obedient child, hey, I did what I was told, for the most part.  And I carried that into my Christian walk.  Pastor says this, pastor says that--- a spoon fed walk--- carrying only on the teet of God.

"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:11-14

That was me.  Because since I had no idea I could relationally be with the Father, I was just this obedient little boy.  Did everything I was told. Just working on getting enough "good boy" praises and doggy treats all the way until I made it to heaven.  And then God rocked my world one day---- because that stopped working.  I couldn't find my joy from being obedient.  I was losing. It didn't feel like it was worth it anymore.  I mean, I'm doing everything I freaking can God to make you happy and you allow this to happen!!!!  But that only made me hurt more.  I couldn't see I was missing something. So after condemning myself for being angry with God, I just knew it was something I had done, so then I found myself squiring around, crying out, "God help me find out whats wrong.  What am I doing wrong. I'm not partying, am I lusting to much? What's wrong, maybe I'm not praying hard enough. Maybe, oh, I can start reading my bible more. Oh yeah, I was late for church, ok, I'll be early next time.  And, I'll quit lusting, sorry. You're right, it's........"

STOP IT SON!!!!  

I stopped.  I stopped focusing on DOING and focused on EXPERIENCING my Father.  I just, looked at Him.  I literally, just started to seek His face.  FORGOT about what I knew I was supposed to do, and just experienced my Father.  And..can I say something? 

MY DAD IS SO FREAKING COOL!!!

I finally gave God the opportunity to be real in my life.  Not based off what ANYBODY else had told me.  But, for me.  I learned He's patient with me. Because, He just waits until I work up enough nerves to stop trying to handle it on my own and come to Him. And He just sits there, probably laughing at me.  "Son, if you'd just lay down your life for me, I'll bless that."

I remember the first day my Dad said He was proud of me.

Say what now?  I'm sorry?  Can you say that again?

"I'm proud of you son."

Can I say I melted?  Like, literally.  The Creator of the world said He was proud of me.  My life changed that night.  I became a Daddy's Little Boy.  I seriously feel like I'm trying to hold my Dads hand everywhere, just wanting to go wherever He goes.  And even better, I get to go to where my Dad works.  See, He's really working for the lost, and He wants my help. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Matthew 9:37. Oh? Daddy? You want me to help you with the harvest! Ok?  I met my calling here.  The reason why God breathed life into me, I met it.  The reason why God had me raised up under an amazing pastor, and continues to line me up with other amazing pastors, because He wants me to learn from the best.  Now, just being a part of the job is an honor, but the fact that He wants me near really shows me He loves me. 

So I've been resting in His restoration of my innocence.  That little boy that was robbed of having this experience is 23 years old now, and I get excited when I get to talk about my Dad.  BRING YOUR FATHER TO SCHOOL DAY! 

Today! I have brought with me my Father.  He created the whole universe.  He created the Heavens and the Earth.  And, He even created YOU!  He told the oceans where to stop, He marked off the land, taught the water how to rustle and move. He was the first superman.  He parted the Red Sea, held the son still, spoke through burning bushes, heals the blind, the sick, and the weak, able to be EVERYWHERE at one time.  He even knows all of you! He loves unconditionally, merciful and just.  He's patient and kind, still waiting for all of us to return to Him. And guess what? He has a plan for every last one of you.  I know? Crazy right?  I didn't believe it either, but He does.  And He doesn't lie.  He can't.  He's God.  Everything He says becomes truth. If He says He's going to be there for you, He will.  If He says He'll protect you, He will.  If He says you can trust in Him, You can.  He can't lie.  

If I brought my Dad to school on that day foreal, I'd have the coolest Dad in the room.  Every year, every time.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  –1 John 3:1

Oh yeah, I can take Him to school with me. ;-)

Show Them My Son

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 

Hello readers.  Welcome to my heart. Let's begin.


I've had a certain prayer for awhile now. I've been asking God to help me with the proper way to minister.  An effective way.  I figure hey, since we're living in our last days then effective ministry is better than just any kind of ministry.  Screaming HELL from the street corners VS _________ <--God help me insert something there. I know its urgent times, but, what can I do?  And the answer I continue to get back from God is, "Just show them my Son."

Easy right?

If you think that, actually, you're reading it wrong.  You did what I did.  You're thinking He meant open up the Bible and literally "show them" the text about Jesus. Or, speak on the text about Jesus. So, talk about Christ, talk about the cross, etc.  "God, I know that.  But how can I effectively minister THAT to people?" I beckoned. So with God's simple answer going WAY over my head, as you can see, I continued to ask what's the best way to minister? And, our patient God, continued to say, "Show them my Son."

And it finally hit me.  I had my EUREKA MOMENT! The light bulb illuminated my entire brain up to this new theology.  What? JUST SHOW THEM YOUR SON?

YES! JUST SHOW THEM MY SON! (Bet you didn't know God spoke in bold huh?)

A rush of wisdom overflowed my brain and funneled to my heart. God was telling me to reflect His son. Be the mirror for the world to see His son. Now, we all know how mirrors work.  Its hard to reflect something if something is not present, same thing with Christ.  Its hard to reflect or show Christ when we're standing in front of Him, He has to be present for Him to reflect, hidden in Him, us out the way.  So after an extensive bugging of God, this is what I gathered from that simple saying.

Since Christ lives in us, we should be showing people Him, and not ourselves.  This is when verses like the one I opened up with and this one: I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live but its Christ who lives in me, Gal.2:20, really comes to life.  Gods answer to my prayer of the most effective way to minister is to SHOW CHRIST, through ME. So when people experience YOU, they experience CHRIST.  Again, when people experience YOU, they experience Christ. Whatsoever does that mean Mr. Claude?  Oh, thank you for asking.  This mean YOU must know Christ very well, so that you can imitate Him.  Or, just die to yourself and get it over with.  But getting to know Him will help you understand how to share in His joys.  I think we forget that once we accept Christ into our lives, we inherit the kingdom. What an honor!? Right? 

Or, what a task?

Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. 



Oh man. What have I signed up for? Sufferings?  No Jesus, life is supposed to be easy now.  Smooth sailing.  So God spoke to me through this verse.  Yes, we can love on people, be heart warming and cuddly and inviting and kind and gentle and compassionate and SHOW THEM JESUS through this way, but what about in our sufferings?  My Savior.......He was falsely accused and didn't plead His case.  He was beaten and didn't ask for a break.  He was nailed and didn't complain---All for God.  Now, I pray none of our sufferings 100% match up with His, but us sharing in His sufferings means going through something.  But, look at how admired we got after I listed what Jesus did for us?  SHOW THEM MY SON means YOU doing that too.  When life starts to toss you curve balls and knuckle balls in the same week, will you be able to react like Christ?  Will you be able to SHOW THEM JESUS THEN.  Hey, that idiot shouldn't pulled in front of me.  Or that waiter is being extra slow today.  Or that jerk was talking bad about me. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SHOW JESUS THEN? 

Hmm...I know. Tough pill to swallow.  This is what I prayed for though, and can't say I've 100% mastered it. But being able to show people Christ when people are looking at you like, "Claude, how are you doing that!?"  And all you can say is God is holding me up. God is my strength. I trust in my Father. It's all for His glory to be seen so I do not care what happens to me.  Pierce my side even after already being nailed! Come on? Show this world Christ and lets see what happens.  There's power in this. It may change your world.....

And somebody else's.

And to see a life changed because you decided to just show Christ, to show love, even when it wasn't deserving---we can share in His glory.  I mean, look at us.  Christ suffered and loved us when we didn't deserve it, and they both are sharing in that glory of having us back.

Hmmm..wow, that just made me smile.
 

Intimate God

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love." John 15:9
Hello readers. Welcome to my heart. Let's begin.

This is transparency hour.  I'll be writing a two part "Intimate" series, each with a different perspective on seriously the greatest things that has ever happened to me.  I'm in love with cliches, to the point to where I dislike them. I hope that makes sense.  I'm aware of the preacher talk and the things Christians are supposed to say, but right now, for a moment, I would LOVE it---if you wouldn't consider it that way.  I would LOVE it if you would block out what you've heard and just read. Don't let your mind try to dull this moment because its becoming repetitive in your life.  I'm afraid this Bible Belt area I live in fall victim to this.  Hey, here's some fresh air.  I want you to breathe fresh air again. No minds are welcomed right now, only hearts.  Wireless connection to each other hearts. Ready? Lets go. 

So, my Christian walk has been flooded with normal responses. I was raised in the church, I knew about God, and I knew what was expected of me. So, when I decided to accept Jesus into my life, I knew what was expected of me----but not of what I should be expecting from Him.

Uh oh? Please don't miss that.  I knew what was expected of me, but not of what I should have been expecting from Him.  

And, to a certain degree, we Christians, have ruined the message of Jesus Christ with our do's and don'ts.  I struggled with not experiencing God because I was trying to get my actions to measure up to God.  So, with my apparent lust problem, here I am, saved, and FIGHTING to continue to stay pure.  Oh,and I didn't know what that looked like.  Because to me, purity was NO SEX. Hey, that was on my list of don'ts. But they didn't say DO NOT DO EVERYTHING ELSE that could eventually lead up to having sex. So I looped holed and tried to get away with as much as I could and still hold the title "Christian".  Not very fruitful is it?  Not very worth living? Who would desire this life?  And see, I wouldn't dare turn away from God, my mom would be so hurt. My pastor would be so hurt. Ugh!

And then, a sweet precious friend told me to start seeking a more intimate relationship with God.

Um? Excuse me? Intimate?

Now, to this day I love my friend so much for this, because she planted this beautiful seed in me, not knowing it'd blossom into this giant tree of life I'm eating from today. But this right here, changed my perspective of God.  It changed to me focusing on what God was expecting from me, to what I should be expecting from Him.  Because, intimacy involves two parties. The definition of intimate is: marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity, or marked by a warm friendship developing through long association. Oh wow, I can have that with God? This implies that I can actually exchange something with the ALL MIGHTY GOD! The creator? The....the...GOD! 

I was in this horrible place of my life.  I had been girl crazy and chasing my lust for like, 6 years, very comfortable in that lifestyle, and now God is asking me to not have a girlfriend.  

Um, excuse me Sir. That's not an option. 

But see that right there showed me that my desire for love from a woman was higher than my desire for God.  Oh, I didn't explain that.  Eventually, God showed me that I was looking for love through lust.  Trying to build something from ashes.  Trying to find life through death. So He literally broke me down, emptied out my mental capacity of love and restored it with Him. I remember the night I chose to seek intimacy from Him instead of from a woman.  I had been around some very happy couples and they were all cuddly and wuddly and doing clean couple stuff, and I left their house in an envious state of mind.  I'm looking up at God, asking Him why would You deny me that!? Why have You asked me to do something but not them? Why are You punishing me? I WANT THAT! I WANT TO BE LOVED RIGHT NOW!  But guess what happened?  God actually responds to these kinds of questions, not always by speaking, but by showing. So after my long rant, too exhausted to find someone to flirt with and tease this desire, I turned on some worship music and just rested.  And Jimmy Needham Dearly Loved came on my iPod. And I sat there. Listening to the lyrics. Focusing my attention on I AM DEARLY LOVED.  Jimmy kept asking me DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE DEARLY LOVED? Claude? Do you know you are loved? Do you?  And God moved on me.  He answered my questions by simply loving me. And while I'm being completely filled He whispers to me, "Son, I want you to experience TRUE LOVE, and that's from Me." 

Intimate God.  

His desire to be with us is remarkably the craziest thing in the world.  With the dumb stuff we do on the daily, He just sits and waits for us to finally just drop all of our frustrations and just say, HAVE YOUR WAY.  That's all I really did that night.  Instead of going with my flesh of desiring intimacy from a woman, I let God have His way and I saw what happened.  My life was changed that day. I FINALLY understood why He was telling me I didn't need a girlfriend, because He was wanting to show me what love was, because I didn't understand it.  

Intimate God.   


If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

  

Is It Really Worth It?

Hello readers.  Welcome to my heart.  Let's begin.

If any of you are human just like me, I know this question has crossed your mind before.  Christian or not, believer or not, I'm sure this has crossed your mind.  Is it really worth it?  Is living for God really worth it?

Now, having typed that, I can tell by my natural response that this question is a little controversial.  When I asked myself that question before typing this, my skin cringed.  My heart seemed to skip a beat.  I found myself holding my breath, waiting to hear my hearts answer. I know my answer, but I want you to know yours.  Let's walk through it.

I think this question is controversial because of many reasons.  It challenges us in ways that are outside of our comfort zones.  The first thing that comes to mind is, well, who is God to you?  Who or what is this God to you?  I'm learning that a lot of people see our Creator in many different ways, here's a few. : The higher power, that thing in the sky, distant, mean, angry, uncaring, doesn't exist, good.  Do you see the inconsistency here?  There's so many different views on God.  Um, lets go at it this way.  If there was a movie that just came out. And while you were at work, you walk by the water cooler and hear 8 people talking about this movie.  And all are saying something different.  Some say they like it, some say they didn't. Some say the plot was terrible, some say the characters didn't mesh well.  Some say the ending was predictable, some cried, some laughed, some were bored, some couldn't sit still.  Which do you choose to believe in?  I would hope with this confusion and the inconsistency that is obviously present while this move is being talked about, I'm pretty sure you would decide to go and see the movie yourself to get your own view on it. You'd go just to experience the movie yourself so you can form your own opinion on it. So, why not with God?

Don't answer yet, keep reading.

Is it really worth it?  My skin cringed again. Another reason I think this is controversial is because of the reality kicking in.  First of all, its more comfortable to not think about death. I mean, I don't think about dying every day, not even every week, not even every month.  But, to ask yourself is it really worth it, would make you think about where you're going to spend eternity.  Of course we all want to go to heaven.  I rarely hear people say that Hell is where they'd like to end up after death. But, again, this isn't a college that you're deciding on.  We can choose our colleges by just applying, but Heaven and Hell have a little bit more requirements than merely a piece of paper and an acceptance letter. 

So come on? Is it really worth it?  What do you think?  I'm attending college right now.  And, I have found that there is a very very high expectation on how college students should live.  I hear it even while I'm in college, but I heard it before I got here too.  "College is the best times of your life. Go and have fun, make friends, have a good time. Have your fun now, because the real word is something serious."  Stuff like this. And I still get asked, "You down there partying or studying?"  So there's this living standard amongst college students, and you'd be considered lame, disconnected, if you're not doing.  And don't let me get started on a traditional school like the one I'm at, where people take GREAT GREAT pride in these traditions created by men.  So the ideal is to come to college and submerge yourself in fun, while still managing to make good grades.  And, what I've also seen, is that Satan loves this.  This is the perfect opportunity for him to lay out traps.  Because we're so hyped up on "having fun" and "school traditions" that whatever our bodies at the moment considers fun, we'll do.  So, asking college kids this question, is it really worth it?  Many will say no.  Because a lot of college fun isn't necessarily pleasing to God.  So its ineffective when you're preaching at people the Christian lifestyle is better than the World's lifestyle. Fun is a fleshly desire, yes, to be compared to any other that we have.  My fun used to be trying to find a foolish enough girl to fool around with, and NO! I will not offer any kind of commitment.  Yeah, I'm disgusting right?  But I'm just trying to have fun.

Are you getting my point?

This fun factor CAN BE dangerous.  I'm not saying don't try to have fun, yes there is clean fun, I shouldn't even have to say that. But what I am saying is that living our lives only by what we consider is fun can be dangerous, because it can lead us further into sin.  I repeat it this way.  Living by our flesh is dangerous, because it can lead us further into sin.  And the more we indulged into sin, the more distant we get from God.  Its not that He pushes us away, but we choose to walk away from Him.  Following our flesh usually is a clear picture of you being your own God. I want to do it because I feel like doing it. I don't see anything wrong with it. Here's the funny thing about that, Eve said in the Garden before she ate from the tree.  Is it really worth it? Was it really worth it to Eve? Desiring her flesh OVER being obedient to God cost them greatly. So, again, is it really worth it?

I could TRY to explain this answer for you, but I can't.  I know its been worth it for me, only because I experienced Him myself.  I didn't just take the pastors word for it.  I tried that reason alone, that didn't keep me from wanting to have my fun.  That didn't keep me from sweet talking women, or hoping to find a secluded place for us to do whatever.  But when I experienced my God----when I tasted from the bread of Life, had a heart to heart with Him, when He hugged me when I cried, when I was fighting and scratching and desperately desiring intimacy, when I needed someone to say I'm proud of you, when I needed patient love, when I need grace, when I messed up, when I failed a test, when I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, when I didn't have any purpose, lost a loved one, lost a friend, felt lonely, didn't have a Father to call on, He was there. He loved on me, He kept me, He stayed with me, He hugged me, whatever I needed, HE BECAME IT! 

So, is it really worth it?  For me. Yes, very much so.  But, those are my reasons.  You have to learn that for yourself.  Don't just take my word for it. And here's a thought, when you ask yourself this question, whatever pops up in your mind that kind scares you, stuff that make you ask this question, "What if God ask me to give _______up? Man.. that is Satan's way of reminding you of what you're giving up and without knowing it, its become an idol of yours. Because when you were in great need, this person or thing or place or event or activity settled it for you. So you worship it by doing it every time you get that feeling again, and you praise it when you talk about it. For me, I found my intimacy, which was my distorted view of love, from women. So they were my idols. And every time I felt lonely or wanted to be loved, I'd hook up again. So whats yours? Whats your idol? What's scaring you of giving it all to God because HE MIGHT ASK YOU TO GIVE IT UP?  Just remember this.  God GAVE UP His most precious possession, HIS SON, and got back way more in return, US.

So, is it really worth it?

The Heart in Temptation

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."  1 Corinthians 10:13(NIV).

Hello readers. Welcome to my heart.  Let's begin. 

As with the rest of the blogs, this new revelation has been laid on my heart.  I've been praying a prayer to God, asking Him how can I effectively minister to people.  How can I effectively write blogs to touch people, or effectively talk to people to maybe lead them to Him, really cashing in on the Wonderful Counselor nickname He has.  So, the answer that continues to come to me is, "Focus on the heart."  Not in a deep Morgan Freeman voice, but I will say, that would be cool.  Anyways, lets check out a few moments in the Bible that I've never thought to compare, the temptation of Jesus, and the temptation of Eve.

Now the scenario of the temptations, I can believe is actually how many of our temptations are brought to us.  Maybe not so much in a "snake form", like it was with Eve, but more so in a subconscious way, or the mouth of a friends, or triggers that reminds us of pleasures, whatever the case may be, THE ENEMY APPROACHES US TO TEMPT US. (that's the point I'm trying to make.)  Now, we are looking at two people who were tempted, Eve and Jesus.  Now, please don't go Holier than thou and say that well, it was Jesus.  I know..I understand that.  But ignore that He was the Son of God for a quick second and accept that He was a man.  Yes, He was man, which means we're asked to imitate Him because He came to prove it was do-able. Lol...ok fingers. Stay focused.
 
So, Eve and Jesus were tempted in similar ways.  The enemy approaching them in times of "vulnerability."  Jesus was hungry, and Eve, well, she was a 21st Century Bible Belt woman. (Stay with me.)  Eve knew the "word of God", but she didn't really believe in them.  She knew God said, "Don't eat from the tree", but she didn't believe in them deep enough to stand on them and submit to them.  Now, Jesus, the same.  He knew the word of God, and spoke them back to the enemy.  Well, Eve did too.  She said what God had told them, but she still was deceived.  So...what happened? 

Thanks for asking. 

The real question is "WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?"  I'm starting to love this question.  WHY? Why do we fall? Why do we give into temptation?  Why do we conform to the world?  Why?  WHY? Here are two people.  One failed in their temptations, like many of us.  And one succeeded in their temptations, like maybe many of us too.So, what is the difference here?  Enough questions, lets get into this.

So, let's look at Jesus first.  Jesus knew the word of God.  So did Eve.  But the difference is that jesus had to have been firm in His belief when He said it.  There's power in the word of God, but none in us.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Mark 14:38.  The spirit of God in Christ was willing to obey God during His fast, so He spoke the word of God to help Him.  But something else took over.  He didn't have heart issues with the word of God.  Jesus wasn't only listen to God because was the son of God, or because He was raised in the church, or because He was born in a manger, but He had a relationship with God.  It's assumed that Jesus was tapping into His purpose when He was 12 when He was talking back to His mom at the Feast of the Passover. (Luke 2:39-50).  But see, Jesus knew that He could bank and trust in the word of God.  He knew whatever the enemy had to offer was not close in comparison to what His Father in heaven could offer.  Oh, wait, He actually says this. "Away from me, Satan!  For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.
Now poor Eve.  She didn't.  She hadn't gotten close enough to God for Him to show her WHY He doesn't want them to eat from the tree. Eve didn't take seriously the part of "You will most certainly die".  She didn't stand on His worth.  She didn't see that it was worth giving up her taste for it because God said so, but also because He loves her and is trying to protect her.  She didn't see that.  So, what am I saying here? 

Knowledge is good.  Knowledge of the word of God and knowing right from wrong is good, but honestly, that alone isn't keeping people.  That alone isn't keeping this generation. I think you can always tell the ones who have the knowledge, because they the ones yelling "Only God can judge me." But, there has to be a heart change.  The Bible says that EVERYTHING flows through our heart (Proverbs 4:23)  This means both good or bad, EVERYTHING flows through our hearts.  According to this word, EVERYTHING we do has a heart condition attached to it. So I believe with all my heart that reading more books won't heal us.  Reading more blogs like this won't heal us.  Going to church every Sunday won't heal us.  Just these actions and disciplines alone do not have the power to save us.  God does.  His gentle touch on our hearts can flip the script. It can turn a story of getting expelled from the Garden into a redemptive story of you returning home, returning to your warm place in His arms.  I think Jesus knew that.  He knew that it wasn't just what you know, its who you know. Jesus knew that first we must love God with all of our hearts and minds and souls and the body will follow.  Not lets LEARN about God and try to line up our lives in order to love Him.  Hey, rank them in the right way.  LOVE GOD FIRST, WITH ALL HEART,MIND, & SOUL. God knows there's enough power in His love to change you, if you come to Him in that way. I'm not even worried about preaching that, and that alone.

So, to finish up this blog, I'm going back to the theme scripture.  The escape, I think, is simple.  I don't think it was the tree exploding in the Garden, or all the fruit disappearing, but the escape is perhaps our hearts choosing to stand on our Father's love.  He's faithful. And just like with Jesus, the devil left him alone.  Defeated!!

(Feel free to do any dance of your preference here, I honestly, chose to dougie.) I'll say it again so you're ready.

The devil is DEFEATED!!!! (do your dance.) 

The Pursuit of Happiness

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"--- Declaration of Independence.  

Hello readers.  Welcome to my heart. Lets begin.

Now, our forefathers has exposed a secret desire in all of us.  The pursuit of happiness.  And, I love the word choice because its so flawed. :D No disrespect to them, but, you'll understand after I'm done. 

So, dictionary.com defines pursuit as:the act of pursuing. An effort to secure or attain; quest.
As you can see, terrible word choice.  Because as many of us have discovered if you've lived any measurable time on this beautiful corrupted Earth, HAPPINESS cannot be securely attained.  We can be happy on Monday and miserable on Friday.  OH, even better, we can be happy Monday morning and miserable Monday night! I'm a monster with analogies so lets get into some.  

The pursuit of happiness is like chasing a kid that cannot sit still.  Or even cuter, a very hyper puppy.  We can catch it, but whenever its ready to move again it just darts out of our grip.  Even threatening it doesn't work all the times.  I remember my beautiful and wonderful friend Tisha once quoted something she heard, "Happiness depends on happenings, joy depends on God."  And as you can imagine, it rocked my world.  Because it does.  A lot of miserable people are miserable because of things that happened to them. And a lot of people are happy because happy things have happened to them. Natural response, I mean? Come on. You find $100 every two weeks, that's a reason to be happy.  You finally find a boyfriend that treats you right, that's a reason to be happy.  You are finally accepted by some friends, that's a reason to be happy right?  Like how I'm tossing this ball up in the air? Now let's crack that bat on it.  

What happens when your car breaks down and you HAVE to get it fixed, no money?  What happens when you lose ALL of your money?  What happens when that boyfriend dumps you? Cheats on you? What happens when those friends betray you? Stab you in your back? Sale you over for 30 pieces of silver? 
Hey, news flash to the newbies who doesn't know this, but LIFE HAPPENS!  Stuff happens. And if we're living off this happiness kick, then we're in for a rollercoaster way of life, a bumpy road in an old car, a jog through rough terrain.  

So, what's the other half of that quote?  But joy depends on God.  Now I can't leave you without introducing you to a beautiful part of my Father.  Joy.  I could end it right there, but I'll continue.  

Joy is obtainable.  Psalm 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. Joy can be securely attained because God can be securely attained in our hearts.  He is the giver of that joy.  And it can be so internalized that NOTHING can touch it.  Paul wrote a lot of his letters when he was in prison.  And he was just this old chipper church planter in prison writing to all his friends about talking about Jesus and how thankful he was.  Paul was in touch with this thing called joy. He knew he lived for a higher purpose.  He had tasted a sweetness that the world can't offer us, that our happenings can't offer us.  He tasted God in a heavenly realm to where he was separated from this world enough so that his happenings couldn't effect what was securely attained in His heart.  HALLELUJAH!!!!! 

(I literally screamed that).

So with the security of joy, its becomes instead of a roller-coaster, but like Aladdin's magic carpet.  It becomes the Mercedes Benz with the great shock system, so those bumps on the road doesn't rattle you.  Or those $200 running shoes that you can't feel every rock that you step on.  Because there will be rocks, and there will be bumps, but what you're riding in determines the ride.  So, let's try the Pursuit of Happiness JOY.