Choose wisely

”Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”“
‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I know, I know there are so many things that I would like to have too. An expensive car. A big house. All kinds of stuff. As I got older I realized that even if I didn’t get those things that I am still good. Who wouldn’t want to have those things we read and hear about. Lavish trips and spending money on things without batting an eye. But what does that tell you about a person who has all those things? They are forever in comparison with someone else who has more. It’s a never ending cycle.

HERE IT IS…

Don’t be greedy. Don’t measure your life by what you own and have in your possession. Trust me the way the world is going there be something new the next week. There is something that I know that I will always have access to and that is God my father. We should not want to be measured by our possessions but by what God says about us. You can be on top of the world on earth and never know who God is truly. Do you want stuff or His spirit? Possessions or His power? Cars or the cross? It’s your choice. Choose wisely!

Get ready and stay ready

”“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!“
‭‭Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One thing that the military taught me is that whenever you are in a battle zone that you should always stay on guard. The moment that you relax is the moment you make a mistake and possibly die. I’m not going to lie when I heard things like that I started to rethink it a little bit. Then I thought about whose I am and all the stuff he brought me through already. For me that was enough. Even now to this day I still use the techniques and things they taught us to always be ready.

HERE IT IS…

Are you ready? Are you using the technique that God has given you to be ready? Are you positioning yourself to be ready when the time comes? Not knowing the day or the hour when it will happen, but just being ready at a moments notice. Will you need to go home and get some stuff? Will you need to go get some people? Will you try to give stuff away? You have to use the word of God and the techniques to always be ready for that day.

What if…

”“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What if God was one of us? How would you feel if God was the person you treated wrong? What if that person you talked about was God in that form? How would you feel to know that you treated God in human form as you do others? Does it sit right with you? Does it make you wonder? I know if I said something about just another person treated you this way the answer would be different and with attitude. But what if it was God?

HERE IT IS…

Now, imagine you meeting God and he reveals that to you and reminds you of that and repays your judgment to others on you! Imagine God not extending grace! Imagine God not extending mercy. Treat others how you would want to be treated. Show others the love you want to be shown. Extend grace and mercy the way you would want to be extended. Your judgement to otherto others could very well be your own.

He speaks

”And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.“
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

What is your response when you hear someone call your name? I know what you’re thinking, “It depends on who it is!” Right? So your response is determined of who it is. You may answer right away. You might take a little bit to answer. You might immediately get annoyed and roll your eyes and suck your teeth. You might even ignore them all together. How do you respond when God calls your name?

HERE IT IS…

Sometimes we ignore Gods voice because of who it comes from! You just might have missed a blessing, a warning, a word that you needed all because you didn’t like the who God was using to get a message to you. You even could have missed an opportunity to give someone a blessing, a warning, a word because you didn’t like who God was sending your way to speak to. Be careful about who you ignore because you don’t like the packaging God sends His voice in. You just might miss something.

Pray and let it go

”Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.“
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

What are you asking God for? What are you requesting of him? What do you need him to do?
Now, what are you worrying about? What are you still trying to figure out? What are you trying to complete?
Are these two separate and different answers the same for both sets of questions? Are you answering all those questions using the same answer? If any of those questions answers are duplicated though separate questions there is a problem we must address.

HERE IT IS…

Verse 6. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known until God.”
How are you able to request it and try to do it for yourself at the same time? How can you ask the architect to draw plans for a house and you come to the table with your own drawings? How can you ask a mechanic to fix your car but you are already taking things apart? How can you ask the one who designed the world to fix your situation while you still working in it. Pray about, let it go and leave it in his hands.

In His will

”And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.“
‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What is the most outlandish thing you asked for as a kid? I know I have asked for some outlandish things. I think one year for Christmas I asked for a dirt bike as a kid, I never got it. I am old enough now to realize that what I was asking for was not in my parents budget. They heard my request but did not purchase it because it would do more harm than good in different ways. So they would get things that they knew I could use and enjoy.

HERE IT IS…

Just like me asking for things from my parents, we do the same thing to God. And just like my parents God knows that it’s not in his will for you to have it right now or for you to have it period. However because we serve a God who is able to do bless us better than what we ask or think, He takes the time to know what is in his will for you and blesses you with something better than what you thought you wanted. Because it was in His will. He hears your request but he also knows what’s best for you and what will work for you in His will.

Lord’s Prayer

”After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Prayer is not an option for mankind, but a necessity!” I believe that in this labeled passage as the Lords Prayer, we should have some relation to this prayer whenever we decide to bow our heads and pray. In some way or another our prayers should model this prayer that has been given to us. Adoration. Confession. Thanks. Supplication.

HERE IT IS…

A. C. T. S. An acronym used to describe a movement of a prayer. In four verses Jesus himself gave us the perfect prayer to pray unto the Lord. Maybe you have a lot to talk about with him. I want to say what I need to say and listen to Him. I don’t want to always be in the prayer closet talking. It took Jesus four verses to describe his Adoration. Confession of our sins. Thanksgiving and his Supplication. It’s not an option nor is it a monologue. It is a two way conversation. Sometimes you have to listen in prayer.

Hard work

”He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When my children were younger we had a song we used to sing that I got off a Gatorade commercial. The commercial was off athletes practicing and working hard and being replenished by Gatorade. In the background was a song that played low. The song cadence was that of a military cadence and said “Hard work, work.” It just kept repeating itself with someone leading the cadence. We would sing that song while cleaning up. We would sing it when we saw someone slacking off. We would sing it when were finished.

HERE IT IS…

Don’t get caught up in how the work seems to be going away. There is still plenty of work to be done in the fields. If you need help ask Godfrey to send help. In the meantime in between time, HARD WORK WORK. Keep pushing and striving. Let God replenish you. Let God fill you. Let him direct your path to where you are needed. He will send who and what you need. All you have to do is keep doing the work. Hard work work but God chose you to do it. The workers are coming, you just keep pressing on.

Plow it up

”I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’“
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

My favorite animated movie of ALL TIME is the Lion King. No questions asked it will always be the Lion King. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Mufasa was showing Simba what was apart of there kingdom. Mufasa said, “Everything the light touches is ours.” Simba was more fascinated with this shadowy area that he was forbidden to go. Simba wanted to go into everyplace since he was going to be King.

HERE IT IS…

Could it be that we want God so bad to leave our shadowy and hard ground areas of our life alone? Yes it says plant good seeds of righteousness and we will harvest a crop of love. But he doesn’t stop there. The prophet goes on to say that we need to plow up the hard ground. Which tells me that we have some shadowy places we don’t want to mess with because it’s ti much. We just figured out how to separate it from the good but we have to plow it up. But when it’s plowed up God will shower his righteousness upon us. Just plow it up.

Sow that’s it

”Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”“
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You reap what you sow! That’s what we are taught and we hear all the time. We even hear different renditions of this in other places like TV and social media. It is true you get out what you put in. Apply to life. Apply to school. Apply to relationships. You reap what you sow. I think where a lot of people get messed up at is realizing that the reap is not immediate. Some things take a while longer to grow than others. Many of us stop sowing because we see no results.

HERE IT IS…

Keep planting seeds. Keep sowing into the ground. The harvest is coming. Keep reading and keep studying. The harvest is coming. Keep praying and keep speaking over it. The harvest is coming. Your job is not to keep track of time, your job is to sow. Your job is not to dig up the dirt to keep checking, your job is to sow. You will never be able to reap if you keep disturbing the soil. Let the soil and the water and the sun do its job. If you keep digging to check then you defeating the purpose of sowing.