Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

As we approached this holiday season where everyone is feeling love, and giving freely as their wallet will allow, their groceries will stretch, and the heart will extend. It is all because of love, beginning around Thanksgiving and concludes right after the New Year. Yet the other 330 days, give or take, we are not so much with the love thing. We give during this time, a love unfettered by expectations, color, race, sexual orientation, or ability; we just give and do so without the guile belaboring us during the other days of the year. During this time love is displayed unconditional, raw and real, it melts our hearts, beckoning tears to form in our eyes, and inclines our arms to outstretch to those we would, otherwise be invisible or we give an aristocratic snub.  

We celebrate the birth, with a holiday, but shout, praise, lift our hands, and falling out at resurrection. The irony is this, when Christ chose to slip out of his celestial robe of time without end, and into limited space and time. When he offered up himself to live outside of the holy realm of perfection incarnate, and live imperfection personified. When he released himself from the majestic form of I AM Trinity to be the baby delivered in stable, and laid in a manger so that He could know us in our infirmities and blotted present, so He could deliver us. It was done! For what we see as linear time, God sees in entirety. Jesus knew he came to endure the madness, beating, and death, we didn’t. However, it was realized we needed to see how much we were loved. We need to see, feel, and hear, we are loved no matter what we are, what state or condition we are in, despite of the societal dictates limiting you, and ostracizing of mankind says. God wanted us to know, we can come as we are, and the Savior will reconcile each of us, unto Himself. He never asked us any of us to take on the position of prophet, priest or king for anyone else dictating to what was, or is right. He was serious when He told Peter in john 21:20-22 - Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” For John 3:16-17- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Is for all, the good, the bad, the whatever because he will reconcile us until himself.

See that happened not at the cross but at the conception of Jesus, not just at the death but at birth. For Jesus was borne to die, so Christ could be seen, known, and accepted by all who will come. Merry Christmas, it is done, you are love…

Thanksgiving

A thanksgiving prayer

On this day we remember the gift of giving thanks,

On this day we remember a day when differences do not matter, when the eyes of the heart are used,

On this day we remember, we are all connected, we all have importance, and it is real,

On this day we remember and are humble by the vastness of what it represents

God’s grace toward us, and we have a 'holy moment’ as we say thank you! Amen

So, as each of you eat your turkey, varied dressings, green bean casserole, candied yams, rolls, mashed potatoes, carrots, and libation or tea, or whatever your meal consist of for the day, remember the spirit that surround this day is one we choose to have for today. The holiday mindset we personify during this time of year, to help, to give, to show kindness, to put aside differences, etc is a choice, we choose to have. A choice we can make each day, as we choose to forgive more, to live more honestly, and to not let man’s perceptions of God loves, mercy, grace, and forgiveness inhibit us. To let the our understanding of His unconditional love envelopes us, become an indwelling in us, and our constant companion with us. So, that the ignorant words of man does not stop us from answering God with our truth, with hearts, and with our spirits. Then we shall see, and breathe these verse with a newness and exuberance  - Psalm 100:4-5  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise Give thanks to Him and praise His name For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations. (HCSB).  B

The Brokenness in the Church

It is nothing wrong with the brokenness being in the church. Because the scriptures states while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So, the issue is not us being broken in the church; it is a given. The problems is we refuse to acknowledge the truth about ourselves, move out of our comfort our confront zone, even if it is a place of negativity that has insinuated itself in our lives so that we can move beyond the brokenness. We want to stay in it, either in whole or in part because it is the familiar we ‘know’. We bring it to the committees, on the boards, in the pulpit, where were serve. Therefore, we have all this brokenness at the table, and it is no wonder we struggle.  We know the truth, but we are afraid to own it, so instead it owns us, controls us. All because we are not convinced of this truth in the bible, we repeat more often than I count, or like to hear because it seem rhetorical rather revelational and relevant for us.- John 8:32 -Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NIV)…and let fear reside within us. We do not believe the holy scripts when it states in 2 Tim 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (21^stNKJV). But for some reason, we live fearful which manifests itself in myriad ways in our personal lives, professional lives, and in our interpersonal communication.

The brokenness in church, we deny, is dictating controlling more than God. Who we like to say is in control. You might ask, where is it seen specifically, I need concrete examples, not some abstract about it is everywhere.  Well in is seen in how we allow ourselves to be guided by God, or obey God. When we are provided directions by God, we act as our children do when they are told to do something. Which means we do in the following ways- we follow exactly, we do it according to our way, or we do partially thinking ‘at least I tried’.  When we let someone else, tell us God told me you should do this, or that; others only affirm, confirm or make plain what you already knew and/or  ignored. When we are more love with the rituals, traditions, and our religious protocol over…Commercial Break - now do not get me wrong, things should be done decently and in order, but we were never to become the Pharissees and the Sadduccees of our day… God never tells anyone about you without, you knowing first people.  For God does not ask us to follow Him without providing, or equipping  us with what we need. Our brokenness stops us from this - Phil. 1:6 - being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (NIV).  It is our freewill, our choice, and it is important how we choose.  God forbid the people of God continue to allow the brokenness to reign in the church…

The trust fall

The trust fall we are most familiar with; we either played it as a child, participated in at a summer camp, or team-building exercise. The trust fall is in which a person deliberately allows themselves to fall, relying on the other members of the group to catch them.^. Some time you are standing on something with your arms folded on your chest and truly fall back, or you just lean back while you are standing. The truth is this a ‘trust fall’ happen any time we decides to put trust in another, and we really do not have reason do so, except for faith. For instance, Paul had a trust fall with Philemon not knowing he would abide in his plea or petition on behalf of Onesimus. Who, Philemon, did not have to give grace and mercy but his just due for any other runaway slave. See trust fall, is more than just believing in someone, it is trust in what you have no evidence to prove it will happen. You just do and let go. You put out with your heart…with faith. 

Anyone who leading a group has a built in, symbolic ‘trust fall’ for them because people only follow who they trust. This is the reason it is difficult to lead because where no trust exist, there is no true followers; Christ set the example. Anyone who says they are Christians, must submit to the trust fall with the Father nothing is earned, we cannot work to show ourselves worthy, or become obedient enough to get into heaven to sit a the feet of the Almighty. We must trust in the Father words with our heart knowing whatever happens, I am going to be alright; I will be caught, and all will work out. It is your choice, choose well,  and fall into the arms of the Father knowing He will catch you.

The Art of Balance

Ecc. 2:10-11 -  I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;   I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (NIV)

 

The art of balance is knowing you cannot get all you want, and keep all you have. Something has to be given up.  A going out of business sale for certain practices, habits, traditions, and/or people.   This does not mean you think, you are better than anyone or you become ‘too cool for school’. It is about knowing what is truly meant by this verse - 1 Cor. 13:11- When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me (NIV). See we evolve, and evolution requires for some things to grow while others are to become extinct; some things to be put a stop to, and other things to begin.  We too quickly forget this in our maturation process in life, and our pursuit for leadership and success. Although, we are very much aware of this concept, the art of balance, we fail to understand how pertinent and germane it is to our life. 

The art of balance is understanding without a shadow of doubt, God is either in control or He isn’t, no in between. If He is in control, then we understand the Father does not seek to destroy us, or for us to destroy ourselves with the gift of freewill, but rather it there to develop us.   We choose, it has always been our choice to make…For chasing after all and desiring or fighting to keep all, leaves us with nothing of value gained by us in life, and our pursuit of our passion and purpose in life is for naught...