Follow the right leader

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Romans 12:1-2 MSG

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Romans 12:2 NLT

Follow the leader is a game that we all have played at least once in our life. It’s a game where you have to do what the person who is leading does. If they jump, you jump. If the skip, you skip. This game orchestrates exactly what it means to give up control. Sad thing is that this is how some of us live our lives. We just follow the leader. Often times it ends up in where we don’t want to be because we were following the wrong leader the whole time. Where is your control? Where is your life? Where is the direction that God has given you?

HERE IT IS…

Your life doesn’t have to be that way. Replace the way that you have been thinking with the way that God has for you. Verse one says that you should take everything you do and place it before God. The message version says that you should take your eating, sleeping, going to work, walking around and place it before God as an offering. Follow the right leader and surrender to his will then you will reap the benefits of a what God has for you. Your walk will be blessed. Your talk will be blessed. Even when you sleep and get up to go to work will be blessed. God has a plan for you and the first step is to surrender control to receive control.

You control You

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

What can I control? What do I have power over? One thing that is sure is that you have the ability to control one thing for sure. Yourself! We all have a switch that if triggered we can go off. Some of our triggers are more sensitive than others. However, the word is true that, God has given us power to control ourselves. I love this verse because it speaks to so many things to all people. He talks about fear. Power. Self control/discipline. You have power to control you and not allow other people to do it for you.

HERE IT IS…

Why allow people to control what you feel and institute fear into your life. It’s your life and was given to you to be fruitful in it. Fear is not something God gave you, rather, it’s something you picked up along the way. You do have power to change your circumstances. You have the power to control your life. You have the power to make decisions. You control you and no one else. When you surrender to God you will be able to see just how powerful you are. Then you will have the control that you need.

Surrender control

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

“We plan the way we want to live, but only GOD makes us able to live it.”

Proverbs 16:9 MSG

All we want to do is be able to control our destiny and the way we live. We want to be able to make it to our destination with minimal assistance and issues. We want to have the control over our life to be able to move the way we want to. We always hear or read the mantras of “make moves in silence” basically not telling everybody what your doing or about to do. Why do we include God in that? We tend to exclude God from the plans that we make and then get upset when he didn’t help us to be successful in it. We follow the self help guides and books but don’t use the book that is able to help guide your self.

HERE IT IS…

God is not looking for your permission to guide your life, but instead he is looking for your surrender and obedience. How can you try and control the way God directs you and follow him? Write the vision says to do just that but you have to allow God to order and direct your steps to make it happen. We see the ending of happily ever after. We don’t see the traps and the snares that we have to go through. God has already seen it and made your plan for escape. The truth is, control doesn’t come from having control over everything. Control comes when you know how to surrender to the one who has control. There is a difference!

It’s a choice

“Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.”

Proverbs 16:32 NLT

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”

Proverbs 16:32 KJV

What is it that takes you over the edge sometimes? That thing that made you angry and ready to go at a moments notice. Was it when they talked about your momma as a kid? Called you Scared? Or was it when they talked about your appearance or was it your clothes? Or is it now as an adult that you go off because of the parent of the child(ren)? Or the fact that your parents won’t help you no more? Or the person at the job because they think they better than everyone? Truth is that anger is coming from somewhere or from something. When it is activated it is hard to come down.

HERE IT IS…

Whatever it is your angry about has control over you. Whatever it is that gets you there fast has that control to get you there. Now I am not saying to let people walk all over you and let them abuse you in any way. I am saying you have to show restraint from getting angry. The verses said that if you can control your anger your better than a person who controls a city. Your in control of you. I told my children that nobody MADE you do anything, you chose to be involved in what they were doing. Nobody can make you do it. It’s a choice!!!

Control

“A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”

Proverbs 25:28 NLT

“A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.”

Proverbs 25:28 MSG

Control! What does it mean?

noun

1.
the power to influence or direct people’s behavior or the course of events. – google dictionary

Now look at that and read it again. You see that it says three words that stick out to me. One, power. Two, direct. Three, behavior. Not all the time do we typically have control over what happens. Which means we have to react to the situation that is presented to us. But what about the people we give the power to? We give them the ability to influence or direct our behavior. We give power.

HERE IT IS…

What control have you given away? What have you willingly or unwillingly given control over to someone or something? I was in the military and at certain periods through the day there are what we call changing of the guards. That means that the post you were on you are now giving the power you have over to someone else who is coming on to do what you do. Sometimes we do that in our life and end up like the scripture says. A house with no windows or doors. We given our protection and power to allow things in or out our life over to the person who took it. Regain control by going to the one who has ALL POWER. The ability to direct you and change your behavior for the better.

Deeper

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Colossians 2:6-7 NLT

I love the parable that Jesus tells about the sower who sowed seeds on rocks and in weeds and on good ground. It tells just how we are at times. We will plant seeds in places that we know we are not too and should not. Then we are spending time trying to help the seeds grow and get mad when they don’t grow. Jesus hows on to say that our roots do not grow deep enough and when the sun comes out they wither and die because our roots are not deep enough. But when you accept Christ you still have to monitor and cultivate and grow your seeds so that your roots continue to grow deep.

HERE IT IS…

Remember the tree I was talking about yesterday and the tree continued to provide a place for another tree to grow? Well that’s just how Jesus is for us. Because a tree was planted and cut down just for Jesus to be laid upon it and placed back where that same tree can provide a place for us to grow. It was like they were replanting the tree that they cut down. Now he has covered us all and created a place for you to grow your roots in the roots that have already been there. Just as the scripture say, then will your roots will grow deeper in him.

Deep love

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”

Ephesians 3:16-18 NLT

Couple of years ago I watched as a tree was cut down because of the damage to the tree. From the outside it looked as if the tree was good, but you could clearly see that the branches leaves were not producing. The branches and limbs of the tree were falling off. There was even bark missing. As they started to cut you could tell were the tree had started to deteriorate. As they got the tree down to the base of the tree you could see that the trees roots were so deep and long. The owner asked how they could remove everything of the tree, even the roots. The man replied l, “in order to remove everything that is connected to this tree we would probably destroy your whole property.

HERE IT IS…

Your roots in God should be so strong that if anyone tried to make you think otherwise it should be so complicated that it would not even be worth it to try. God said that his love will make you strong because your roots are so deep in him. Think about this. That tree that was damaged and was cut down, still had the strength to support the weight of the tree even though it was damaged. The trees roots spread so far and deep in the ground that even though it was hurt. Even though it was damaged. Even thought it was abused. The roots were so strong and deep that it still kept standing. I went back the following year and to my surprise another tree was growing from the stump that was still there. The roots you have in Gods love can even still produce when your gone.

Riverbank roots

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”

Psalms 1:1-3 NLT

In this day and time it’s hard to be able to do the things we used to do. We can’t go outside like we used to. Can’t go eat like we used too. We can’t be around our friends as we used too. It also shows me how important going out is. Being inside can change your mood and attitude. It also has shown me just what things has had an affect in my life whether good or bad. What people were causing me trouble. What things I can do without. All of these things I have realized are not as need as I thought.

HERE IT IS…

Your roots will let you know not only what is good for you, but also what you need to let go of. Often times we plant things in our life and don’t realize how much they actually take from your life. As the scripture says, not Involving yourself with people who do wicked things allows you to have room to grow like a tree planted by the riverbanks. It gives you the opportunity for your life to grow in a way you have never experienced. Your roots grow deeper and your able to learn more than you would if you stayed listening to those who don’t have the same outlook. Stay next to the river because it provides everything you need and more.

Roots

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”

Hebrews 12:14-15 NLT

I have learned a lesson about things in my life that we haven’t learned as children. As a black man I was taught to be tough and not to cry. But that also translated into not dealing with stuff fully. I think a lot of black men struggle with the same thing and it’s hard to open that door because there is a flood of emotions that is waiting to happen. Things that hasn’t been dealt with compacted and only touched just enough to put it behind us. What I have learned is the same thing with roots. You can cut something all day but until you pull it up by the roots nothing will change and it will affect you your whole life.

HERE IT IS…

God tells us here simply and plain that we have to make sure that we don’t allow this stuff to take root in our lives. Once it does it starts to spread and develop into other things and habits and issues and we end up thinking it’s just apart of us. The roots will intertwine with good roots and start to try to take from it. Being angry, crying, building a wall, developing unhealthy habits. These are all results of things not dealt with and have started to make you feel it’s apart of you. Start getting to the root of the issue and pull it up that way so it has no way of growing back. It will hurt and may be hard because it’s attached to so much stuff. But because of who God is those things can and will grow back.

Deep roots

““But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:7-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬
While we were driving to South Carolina one year we were driving in a area that was called a swamp. The funny thing about a swamp is that it is a mixture of shallow water and land. It has enough water for boats to go through. However, when the waters receded you can see the land. What I noticed is that at the time the waters receded the trees had a dry mark of where the water was. These trees and plants were able to stay stable and live submerged in water. The reason that they were able to do that is because their roots ran deeper than normal. The roots can go as far as 10 feet below or more.

HERE IT IS…

In our lives we can stop the growth of our roots because of the things we have been through. Often times we can be just like those trees blasted by the river but our roots have not reached their full potential. We stop our roots because the waters rise in our life. We also stop our roots because the waters recede as well. It’s not the waters flow or receding that cause us to stop growing. Because the water is doing what it is supposed to do. Our issue is trying to control the water instead of growing the way we are supposed to. Stop worrying about what the water is doing and focus on growing deeper in God so that when the waters rise or recede our roots are so strong that we are able to still be standing.