Change is serious business

I am about to get on a soapbox. Why? It is this word ‘change’. This word has been used as the buzz word, even before Obama. It was the key word used among religious and non-religious leader who have been pontificating about change for awhile. Well, first let us get one thing straight, change is the only thing that is a constant in this world. It is here, there, everywhere, whether we acknowledge it or not. Now, with that being said, let us all be clear about what changing is about. The bible states in Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another (HSCB). Now what do you think this verse is talking about? Well there is going to be some conflict, disagreement, some spark will fly (ever seen iron sharpening iron?), struggle, clash, you all get the picture. Now which of us think of these things when we think about change? I would venture to say, nil to none. You also see nothing in it about being disagreeable, or being resistant or trying to convince another to your way, rather implies this is part of the change, growth and we should accept it. With that being said, how many people you know embrace the idea of change with the welcoming arms of ‘I am ready for this’. Or do you find change is desired but we are not willing to do the work to accomplish it because it is too much time, too hard, and too psychologically or emotionally taxing. All because it hits sensitive spots, someone does not think he/she needs to change, or you have been bitten by that dog before and know holding them accountable does not work. See, no one really wants to do what this verse says, Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (NASB). True change requires for us to lay aside the things encumbering us, entangling us, and confining us, and fest up to the others who are looking at us as example in the flurry of this world (for they are many). WE have to let go of our self-righteous ego secure in the familiar, expectations grounded in our hurt, focus riddled with our unforgiveness, and perspective frame by our fear. We have to live this life with this verse in mind Rom. 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (HSCB), and come out on the other side with grace blessed peace and convergence merciful love.
REM: Bittler people do not get better, only more bitter (Bishop Tutu)

Delayed but not denied...confused but not confined...tested but not defeated...laugh at but loved...sacrficed but blessed...for the Father's mercy endures forever and his love is beyond our imagination...as his ways is above our understanding....

Behold

Acts 16:27-30 - When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out in a loud voice, "Don't harm yourself, because all of us are here!" Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he escorted them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (HSCB)
Behold is not just to see, say, or do, it includes an awestruck all engulfing revelation that echoes through our entire being. It is an expectancy of greatness bore out of the little things. The courage to tell any storm, trial, or problem, how big our God is, not the other way around. It resonates in all as a majestic whisper that send chills. The melodic love touch the channels of mercy temper justice pulsating in our soul. The keen sense of an epochal moment has occurred as a spiritual awareness rest, and warm tears move smoothly upon your face. Our senses have been overwhelmed by the true price of love and sacrifice, it looks beyond the muck and disagreeable to meet the unmet need and unseen hurt releasing celestial peace.
Behold an alerted compassion consciousness of ‘another chance’ while raining blessing to teach. It illustrates our admittance of mistakes made, grants a higher purpose focus because failure is not finality in the Father’s hands. Behold the positive power of change that only the soul speaks, neither tongues men nor angels understand, the scales upon our eyes fall, and ownership of truth is given, not a maybe. Behold, the moment where humanity meets divinity and man sees what the life, death, and resurrection of Christ was all about….

What motivates us?

1 chron 28:9 "As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. (HSCB)
What motivates us impacts all we do and determines the outcome. Many times we forget our motivation, when we examine the results of our actions. Yet, the motivation behind every deed, act, and choice colors and shapes the ultimate outcome. What? Ever heard of kill them with kindness? Well this is the thing, we are not being kind, we are being disingenuous, under the cloak of kindness. We are actually being mean. Then we are angry because the person does seem to appreciate what we have done for them. We forget, we were not being ‘kind’ to be kind but to be mean, covertly get a point across, or demonstrate I am better than you attitude. See God knows your heart, and sees. He does not take part in our less than authentic worship or random acts of kindness, or overwhelming urge to be charitable when we are not honest. Then when we are called out, we get a consequence, and definitely do not understand this - Acts 13:9-11 Then Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer and said, "You son of the Devil, full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won't you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? Now, look! The Lord's hand is against you: you are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time." Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. (HSCB) Now, we do not go blind as this person does literally, but figurative we do. We stop seeing the clear picture of truth, and wear cloudy lens out of our fear, or lack of faith. Then we find ourselves distant, demanding, and defensive all unnecessarily, it has to do with our fear and our lens because our less than genuine motivation has clouded our correction….What motivates us will only be found when we answer this question earnestly with the tear stained heart – Gal. 1:10 - For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. (HSCB)…

God's love

2 Timothy 1:7

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control (AMP)

It is quite amazing to me that we search much of our lives trying to find the one thing that is right in front of us - LOVE. We do not seem to understand true love changes one outlook on life's landscape, tremendously...It is unconditional. It never changes although we do. It reveals itself to us as we grow, open us to the possibility for the illogical and unfathomable, but love changes not while changing us to be more like Christ.
This love never gave up, or let us go, even though we walk away from it; not thinking we are worthy of it, and uncomfortable with the simple complexity of love, the sheer weight of it, the security of it touch, and the all encompassing of its presence...We too many times get caught up in our own made up world of madness devised in our minds, that no one can get us out it, but us; we think. When all we need to do, it submit and let go to let God . Realize where real love resides, and where it does not. The answer 'lies within each of us', as we let go.. too quickly we forget the promises made because we forgot the mercy, the grace, the blessing, and the unexplainable rescues happening in our lives...We are not where we are by accident, nor is it a random occurrence. There are others who have followed your same path with the same attitude, support, perspective, guidance, and never smelled, embraced, lived, realized, or received the level of success in their life or reprieve in situations. You should have been (fill in the blank), but you did anyway, and they did not..but God!!..Yet, we do not want to love with the Christlike affect because it makes us vulnerable; no one want that. There’s no way you can love and not expose yourself in some way or give something up. Love, risk, and need go together. God’s love compelled Him to create and sacrifice in the same breathe because He know what free will would bring. And still, he created, blessed, provided, and kept us, anyhow. By creating us He also created in Himself a place for us, and that need was reflected many times through the life of Christ. Rem- He, Christ, became vulnerable so we could receive grace, what more can we do need to know we are love unconditionally....God's love is our key to brighter future, the compass for a less tumultuous path, and the light to the forgiving heart that gives and receives simultaneously...

Fret or Worry: Why

Phil. 4:6-7 – Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (MSG). If you ask someone about why they worry, they could not tell you. It is a habit, a learned behavior, or ritual handed down as a part of our genealogical legacy. It has becomes strikingly salient to our culture, as well as an inherent part of our personality. We seem to have forgotten everything has a purpose, and experience teaches lessons that pedagogy and professors never could. As we forget, we do not get the labels, whatever it is, before we have had the experience or done the work for it. Yet, we fret and worry, even after we have made our petitions to the Father; as if God will forget or lie. We need to begin to remember if he said it, it will come to pass. We just have to keep believing, not being deceived because the timing does not fit our wants, or address our desired outcome. God does what is best, not what we want, unless it aligned with His will. However, we do have free will; God sent or God used. For time will create what we would have never thought to develop or conceive. As our focused orientation determines our many encounters on our journey to our destination, thus nothing is haphazard or random as we like to think in our life. (We choose what we encounter with acknowledgement, denial, love, fear, faith, security, weakness, submission, etc) Hence, if we acknowledge every effort embodies a wealth of learning, then we would be taught better so we our do better to shape our critical analysis of in life. We are able to create a more positive future, live out our destiny and true passion when we learn to decouple ourselves from certain situations, individuals or problems; we gotta wanna know. But more importantly, we have to learn to let God deal, handle, and address all that he should in our life, as we do our part. The truth is too many times, we do not because it hurts us too much; we are fearful of the pain and would rather just fret and worry.

Worry, fret, or fear colors our life choices and behavior. Yet, we know, no one has ever learned a new thing, changed, or redirected him/herself without a few bumps and bruises as they find their balance. Be free and believe the promises of Christ, it what it is, there is no deviation or lies. All that he brings to you, or allowed to happen to you, He make beautiful in his times. Why? He knows your future; he sees it in the totality of everything and loves you enough to get you there, inspite your best effort to counter it. Let me say this again, He, our Father sees our life in totality, everything, beginning to end, and still gives to us. Now that is some unconditional love…Fret or Worry: Why

What I know for sure

What I know for sure is we do not want to know. I have learned and experienced in my lifetime, we just do not want to know. We say, we desire to get it but we do not. I had to take a long look, and spatter some tears in the process before I realize. Not only can we not change others, we cannot impart a truth that requires self-introspection because fear and hurt. We know there is not gain without pain but when it comes to mental, emotional, and psychological pain, we take a pass. Not realizing we are taking a pass that will create a mountain in time that is seen in a myriad ways from fear, doubt, insecurities, depression, addiction, selfishness, to overachiever, conceit, and domineering.
The truth is hurtful and sends us into a tizzy. It occurs because when have done our best and what we knew to do. We will not allow, we assume is an indictment or reflection of our inadequacy to be spotlighted. Hence, we deny and ignore, and it does not matter how people come to us; in earnest, loving and/or contrive heart, we do not budge. Even though, we have asked others to ‘show me’, ‘tell me’, or ‘I need this’, when the rubber hits the road, we put up defenses and desire the presses to stop. We do not realize it is not a personal attack but helping hand. We no longer desire the help because it brings us face to face with truths we already knew, but it was easier to not deal with them. I can say for myself because I have most definitely been on both sides in my life it has tore at my heart, my mind, and colored the way I live, love, and interacted with others. It was all in fear and a façade; I had to fight for peace and faith, daily. Then I realize, the stress of it all was self-destructive. I had to understand it was not an indictment on my person, character but challenges to create a better me. Every time I denied the truth presented before me, I shirked because it hurt, it pushed me in a place I was not comfortable, and I constantly had to explain. I was questioned – is anything wrong. I wanted to scream – yes, and you know it but you deny it. An epiphany hit, ‘don’t wanna know’ syndrome was in full effect as it colored, shaped, and became the place where love sprung out of. I stopped and took faith over fear, and sought deliverance rather than denial, indwelling of God rather than ignoring, and reflective mirror rather than madness ignited. The escape techniques and denials of our childhood became my madness of adulthood.
What do I mean? When we remove the stinger, the thing, whatever it is – object of our problem. We have not finished, now we must deal with the learned behavior that has been passed down, the communication style, and the coping mechanism to survive. See, we believe, we learn, what we are taught. True as it is, we do not realize what we teaching with our words, but more importantly with our deeds, actions, and behavior. These things become who we are and passed on to others; it is not genetic but just as real. Do not believe me? How many look up and realize I act just like my parents (whether they are both in the home or not), or the person we never wanted to be like both unknowingly and knowingly. Consequently our coping mechanism, which helped get us through, becomes us. We do not do the things he/she did, we have the tendencies he/she had, and we never address the whole problem….After a while, we don’t wanna know. It is easier to just let it go, and we begin a new unproductive coping mechanism to pass on to others in our life….I stopped worrying, and gave it to God. I let go, let God, and he worked me. Tears flowed, anger release, pain subsided, and love sprung with a renew sense of redemptive grace and faith built on nothing less than God faithfulness…see sometime we just do not want to know because it hurts too much. The same reason addicts have difficulty staying somber, is the same reason many of us do not change…it hurts to much to see…we don’t wanna know…this is what I know for sure ….Titus 4:8-9This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. (NASB)