Solomon

If my vote counted, I would say that he is one of the most prolific, yet practical writers in all of Scripture. His writings don’t really tell stories, but rather it’s as if he is having a heart to heart with his readers, well except for his books of songs which is more like him sharing the love letters between him and his lover. Anyhow, reading through the book of Ecclesiastes again, I don’t see as much of a paradox as I used to, but rather I see him coming for my life like no other book has, which is part of the reason I understand his quite large number of lady friends and acquaintances, but back to the matter at hand. I mean he really makes you question like everything about you life, even the people in it.

Really listening the heart of Solomon, we see how vastly different his philosophy of life is compared to the world’s philosophy today of humanism and happiness. Now, not that Solomon discredits that type of thinking, but he warns us about it. If pleasure and happiness and money are all we are after in this life, our life will count for nothing; it’s vain; it’s meaningless. Furthermore, with that type of life, there can never be any satisfaction, and if you look around, he was all the way right. What we see today are people indulging in what they find pleasure, living for self, and though they get a temporary smile, they are still left empty and broken and at some point come face to face with consequences they never imagined and a life ruined, and die and wake up in Hell because they didn’t recognize their need for a savior or make it to Heaven sad that they didn’t do more.

On the flip side, living for God and following His commands as Solomon described, should make up the most satisfying and invigorating life. Following Christ is not boring and mundane, because if you know His character, He is all about the element of surprise and astonishment, causing you to take those giant leaps of faith often times blindly, step out of your comfort zone, bring you into a place to face your fears, constantly molding, shaking, pressing, purging, breaking, and building you to be all He meant for you to be, and above all else develop a personal and ever-growing, ever-changing, deepening relationship with the One who created the universes with His very word and died to spend an eternity with you.

The treasure that the world seeks can in no way ever measure to what a life in the Lord has to offer and Solomon over time came to understand this. I mean after all He was stupid rich, indulged in any pleasure he desired, and literally had the world at his feet, but still found himself miserable, and one of his realizations was that things will come and go, everything has a season, but God is the only thing constant in life. Nevertheless, life should be an adventure with the people put in place by God to venture with and alongside of you as you do whatever it is that brings your soul satisfaction, not just work that provides a paycheck, but rather a passion or calling to the person fearfully and wonderfully formed by the Creator in your mother’s womb that gives you a life that money cannot buy, discovering and using the strengths and gifts divinely given to you.

So, live a life that means something for eternity, and if you have the opportunity to splurge or fulfill nonsense pleasures in the process, go for the gold, if not, Heaven’s glory will welcome you when your number is called. But still, it makes me think of a verse in Psalms and one in Matthew, reminding us to delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, and always to seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. Follow Solomon’s candid approach in sharing what he learned, following the Lord and keeping His commandments, and get ready for the time of your life. Be you for eternity’s purpose.

 

Zero to Hero

hercules

As I was eating Chipotle and admiring the voices of the muses, the story of Hercules is one that isn’t necessarily uncommon, but watching Disney’s rendition I just wanted to reflect upon and prayerfully encourage you in the process.

Although Hercules was born a god, we were made in the image of God purposed for the extraordinary, but the Devil, like Hades, has other plans for our lives and does all he can to destroy us and mess up God’s plans, ultimately trying to gain control. Through the temptation that led to sin, we were stripped of our immortality and we are always at war with the Devil who tries to rule, though he is well aware of what will happen to him in the end, similar to the movie.

Nevertheless, I want to continue with Hercules, as seen in the movie from the beginning, his parents knew something was special about him and as he grew up his strength grew, yet still he was immature and lacked self-control. As a result, others weren’t too fond of him or took well to his gifts and so he was often left out, misunderstood, and put in awkward situations. Sounds like me, and I’m sure sounds like you, even a little bit, which makes me so thankful for those who encourage me, pray for me, and help me to nurture the gifts and strengths I have. Then there are the times when people doubt what you are able to do time after time again in addition to training like Hercules, praying, fasting, and seeking His face. But you have to remain faithful, even when the Lord shows you glimpses of the hero you will become. And yeah, there are times we get anxious, get in way over our head, forget some of the things we learned, but victory is not always perfect and pretty. This takes time and a decision to develop and become all of who God intended you to be, and usually when you are least expecting it to happen, God opens a door and people begin to believe who you are and the power of your gift, whatever it may be, but beware of the Achilles’ heel of pride.

As we see in the movie (I won’t spoil it), the greatest way to demonstrate and or mirror the image of God, is humility. Jesus himself was the humblest and greatest hero in being the ultimate sacrifice for us as wretched as we are, in the same manner we have to die to ourselves daily and put others’ needs ahead of our own.

All in all, I just wanted to encourage you to stay the course and don’t run from your gift or your God-given strengths no matter how misunderstood you are or how little confidence others have in you. Take the story of Hercules and know that your time is coming, but it will take heart and patience to truly be you for a purpose and be what Heaven intended.

Enemies

You can’t live a life of any type of significance without making enemies, or haters, if I may use that word. Now using these terms, I am not talking about people that legitimately just don’t like you or people that just don’t care for you as a person, because not everyone meshes well with everybody, you learned that in pre-school. We each are drawn to different types of people, and the people you hang with may not be my cup of tea. These people are not your enemies. Rather, enemies are those who seem to be on an assignment to destroy your life or disrupt your road to fulfilling God’s purpose for your life, and the scary part is that they don’t always show their true colors right away, and some we don’t recognize before it’s too late, because their maneuvers are very subtle. Of course, the Enemy and all of Hell’s demons become your enemies once you surrender your life over to Christ, but I don’t want to talk about them specifically.

So where is all this coming from? Well I have been reading Max Lucado’s book, “Facing Your Giants,” which goes through the life of David, and he pointed out that during the time David was on the run from Saul, there was an incident when he cut off a part of Saul’s garment without him knowing it, and later felt bad about it. The lesson learned is that even though our enemies are our enemies, they still belong to God, no matter what position they are in, whether they are friends, co-workers, parents, ministers, siblings, or even those people you really can’t fathom how or when they became your enemy. For David, Saul’s pursuit was driven by jealousy and envy, which in my opinion is the common determining factor, meaning that people out of their own misery and insecurities do what they can to bring you down with them or try to get over you.

Nevertheless, recognizing who our enemies may be, it’s easy to begin to talk bad about them, build a false sense of pride, and if you let it, you begin to hate them. The problem here is that hating someone the Bible classifies as murder, God vividly says He hates pride, and slander is always condemned in scripture, so obviously, should we get to these points, we need to reevaluate our heart and motives, because if the Lord truly is trying to elevate us and use us in ways that only He can, we must get rid of all these things. If for no other reason, James reminds us not to tear them down, even though these persons are our enemies and may have truly done or said some terrible things, because they, like us, were made in the image of God.

Furthermore, because of that understanding, as Lucado explained, they are still a part of God’s plan especially in your life, which could be to develop patience, mercy, forgiveness, faith, and or love, yet in the same way, He has a plan for them too, for the simple fact that they are alive. This means that even though they are behaving like anything but a child of God, they are not out of reach to be redeemed by God. So with that being said, in dealing with our enemies we should be bearing fruit, honoring God, especially love since we are commanded to love our enemies. Likewise, it got me thinking some more as it relates to how we pray.

If you haven’t discovered this on your own, there are some scary prayers in the Bible, especially by David, that petition the Lord’s judgement and wrath on our enemies. So as a disclaimer, there is a time to pray those types of prayers, but I doubt your life is as insane as David’s so I can’t imagine you having to pray those prayers on a regular basis, just use wisdom with pure motives. On the other hand, because we acknowledge the fact the even our enemies are made in the image of God who still has the ability to change their hearts, our prayers should be more compassionate, because they may be in a spiritual war that they aren’t even aware they are in or deeply struggling in ways we aren’t privy to knowing. Your prayers can truly save their lives, which would make yours less difficult, allowing the possibility of a friend. To put it another way, if how you pray about and over your enemies they pray for you, would your prayers change? This is important to consider because you have been or still may be an enemy to someone.

Bottom line, your response to your enemies can change lives, just let the Spirit of God lead you in dealing with them in whatever your situation may be. It’s definitely something worth mastering, because being you for a purpose will always draw attention and create a response, both positive and negative.

Bank Roll

So wbank rollithin the church there are several differing doctrines, some of the more prominent deal with money, such as the prosperity doctrine and the poverty doctrine. The prosperity, health and wealth, doctrine assumes that every Christian is supposed to be wealthy and rich and all that comes with it, while the poverty doctrine says that Christians should be poor or live the simple life. The problem is that such absolutes have discrepancies, neither of which is solely supported by scripture, meaning that there are passages for both to some degree or another. Furthermore, without understanding what God’s specific will is for your life (Proverbs 22:2; Matthew 5:45; Romans 9:14-18), it’s easy to get caught up and truly miss what God has for you and begin to lose focus, in the same way it can create tension or anger when things don’t go your way.

Now please don’t get me wrong, having wealth and riches in and of itself is not wrong in God’s eyes, because just looking at Biblical characters we see the truth in that God has no problem blessing His people, Abraham, Solomon, Job, etc. However, over and over scriptures warn us of the consequences of wealth and how hearts can easily turn from God. On the flip side, to say all of God’s people should be poor is just as wrong, because we need people to give to the kingdom to continue and further the cause of Christ around the world. But still, there will always be poor or those with little money, and yes, some of which will be Christians. Just think of those in the scriptures that Jesus ministered to, many weren’t and never became rich, or like that poor man at the gate of the rich man, but it was him who went to Heaven and not the rich man. Not all the Israelites, prophets, or even disciples (whom Jesus actually told to walk away from all they had, whatever it was) lived a life of luxury, but not all were poor, but God gave what He felt necessary for them to live their lives and accomplish the will of God. Even David found himself poor. Likewise, though they were God followers, in both Testaments, many did in fact get sick and some died, those who belonged to the God of he Bible. All in all, it’s safe to say many scriptures have been misused and taken out of context (3 John 2 (it was John speaking, not God, to the people); John 10:10, 14:14; 2 Cor 8:9; Gal 3:14; James 4:2). money

Bottom line, I think the biggest thing is that people are swayed by what culture glorifies and far too many spiritual leaders falsely teach, and fail to seek God for guidance on what He desire for them and to be content whatever He decides for that season, and often end up more miserable and unsatisfied because of a bad attitude or walking outside the will of God. God has people living poor to reach certain people, like missionaries or those living in the lower-class of their communities to be able to serve and connect with the people and are doing awesome work for the kingdom; others God has enabled to make a whole lot of money to help others who are doing great things too. I have met both kinds of people both who understand where God has placed them and operates accordingly and effectively.

God hasn’t called everyone to be poor, nor has He called everyone to be rich. Find out what God wants to do in your life to best fulfill His purpose in your life so that He can get the glory. In the mean time do what you can and make the most you can with what you have and let the Lord do what He desires (1 Samuel 2:7), and He just may surprise you. Let His desires become yours and He will meet your every need (Proverbs 30:8; Philippians 4:19) as He promised. Continually seek His face and not His hand, for being in tune with Christ, the Creator is the greatest wealth there is because He owns the universe (Matthew 6:33); He walks on streets of gold, and precious stones and gems we hold so valuable on earth is what the ground in Heaven is made of. So even if your don’t live the life of luxury here, Heaven is so worth the wait.

It’s funny because this post was supposed to go in a different direction, but sometimes that happens, so I guess the Lord had something different in mind. Nevertheless, it is very clear what Scriptures say about becoming prosperous especially in the book of Proverbs, and many times it’s all about giving, being faithful, and good stewards of what God has given you whether a little or lot (Mark 4:1-20). Can God trust you with the “blessing” or wealth you are asking for? Do you even tithe faithfully? So if you question why you haven’t received, you must then question what have you given with what you have (Mark 12:44; Luke 6:38). It’s a matter of your heart; what is your idol, your focus, your motivation? Because if it is not for the cause of Christ your bank roll is worthless and your life will be empty, rather the abundant life is one saturated in and by God and His word, being as fruitful as possible and being effective in the work of our Lord (read Ecclesiastes), trusting Him to provide for the completion of His mission, remembering that every good thing comes from and belongs to Him (James 1:17). Oh! It’s also a matter of patience, which is not for the weak, waiting on God when asking for things in His name, not your own, and believing Him to see it through when and how He deems fit.

I really hope this all made sense, if not, at least read and study the scriptures listed. The point of which is to get you in touch with the voice and will of God in your life to understand the type of bank roll needed for you to be what He called you to be, for you to be you for a purpose, whether taking a life of poverty, of wealth, or somewhere in between.

200 Feet

So if you havIMG_0350e watched TV anytime recently you may have seen a the Toyota Corolla commercial with the car driving around a winding mountain while dark, and the only light coming from the car. During the dramatic scene the narrator makes this statement, “Wherever it is you want to go, all you need to see is the next 200 feet.” Now I have seen this commercial several times, but that particular line always sticks out to me, because though it is based on the worthiness of the car, it is very relevant to how we live life.

Like the blackness of the mountain, there is the fear and anxiousness of what we can’t see, the unknown, and the uncertainty of the next move, yet all that we really need is that short span of light to take the next stride. Our focus should be on that light so that we can stay focused on what is in front of us at all times and not get distracted by what we can’t see, because yes there are dangers on the road like bad weather, other drivers, and bears as shown, and at times we are privy to actually experience them. Anyway, focusing on those 200 feet also allows us not to dwell on what it behind us. The past is the past, and though it does have its role, there is far less light to give attention to what is behind us. Well that’s nice, huh? I just answered all of life’s hardest questions…hardly.

To be serious, this commercial reminds me of a verse in the book of Psalm, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”    The obvious truth here is that life is full of dark mountains, otherwise there is no need for a light, but draw attention to where the light is, at tlamp 2he feet. As I heard it explained before, it’s like whlampen we use a flashlight walking through the house at night especially when there are stairs involved. We don’t usually shine the light straight ahead of us, but rather down at our feet, just enough so we can see the very next step, maybe two. Even a light on a path is not that bright, just enough light to guide you to the next, like a lantern or street light even.

As the Lord has shown me, we can’t handle the big picture all at once of where the Lord is taking us, because as mentioned before, we get distracted, try to rush, get too excited and try to skip steps that are crucial to reaching our destination in tact, or get discouraged by where we are at the moment, and or what all we will have to go through to reach out destiny. This whole journey is about faith, trusting an unknown future to a God who is all-knowing. It’s a matter of going through the process trusting that the light we have been given to lead and guide us has a fire or bulb that will never burn out.

And yeah, if you are like me, you desire that piece of control that wants the whole map and the lights ogods plann the road to shine as far as the ending destination, but in the Lord’s wisdom, He does things otherwise. Now many times we do have a vision, that is knowing where we anticipate arriving, but I think I can safely say that we never know what is really in between the start and end point. But it’s around those winding roads and mountains we learn to trust God, develop courage, perseverance and patience, wisdom and understanding; we learn to love and care for others on the journey and those that may be in the car with us; we begin to appreciate the beauty of the simplest things we wouldn’t normally give notice; we are kept from veering off in the wrong direction. It’s the dark “in between” we learn to be ourselves for a purpose, ensuring that we are all we need to be once we reach our destiny. So whether you only see 200 feet or 2 feet in front of you, remember that you are being lead by the One who created even the most treacherous of mountains and terrains, and the next step is all you need to see.