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| Trying to keep my eyes on God, I find that the more the Holy Spirit reveals and helps me to see God through prayer and His Word, the Bible, the more I realize what I am, and what I am not! You can go the Bible, and one of the first things it tells you, in Gen. 1:27, "So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; male and female, created he them." We bear the image of God, and we're called to tell His story through our lives, but a lot of times, in my own life, that calling has been overshadowed, and even replaced by the need to make my own life work, and to just think of God someone who's there just to make my life work the way I think it should, with successes, blessings, etc.
There's nothing wrong with success and blessings from God, but I think that's just a part of what God wants to do in our lives; when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit works in us to make us new creations, not bound by sin and death, and He continually perfects us, making us more pleasing to God, even more like God, as the people we were created to be, which is even better than becoming the people we want to be! Max Lucado says it much better than I do in his daily devotional "Grace for the Moment," excerpting "In the Grip of Grace," which reads, "One of the finest gifts I ever received is a football signed by thirty former professional quarterbacks. There is nothing unique about this ball. For all I know it was bought at a discount sports store. What makes it unique is the signatures." He goes on to say, "The same is true with us...What makes us special is not only our body but the signature of God on our lives. We are his works of art. We are created in his image to do good deeds. We are significant not because of what we do, but because of whose we are."
Maybe something to aid us as we run this race doesn't come in just a pursuit of formulas and techniques for inner healing or mechanically obeying God, but seeking who He really is, and learning to reflect who He really is through our own lives. As I strive to keep my eyes on God, I pray that the character and purposes of God would have its rightful place in my thinking, and that I would reflect Him, over just trying to use God as a means of trying to bolster myself in front of others. I pray that we allow God to define who we are; men and women created in His own image, that actually bear His image through our lives. | | |
| "What do I do?" When my eyes are on God, when I'm running the race, going through the good times and the bad times, I tend to be about trying to figure out what I have to do in order to "make life work." Maybe that's the central passion of this American society I'm in. We tend to make these plans, hoping to feel good about ourselves, our relationships, finding doctors to cure us, experts to tell us what to do, "recipes" to give us these solid, reliable principles on how to succeed in life.
A lot of times, as a man, I get to thinking, "I just wish somebody would show me what to do here!" I'm tempted to think this way when I encounter situations that I'm not trained in handling, which is the majority of life, lol! As a man, it's hard for me to move out of the zone of things that I do well, and into the unpredictable part of life where I don't have the control I want to. As a man, I generally feel the most manly when I'm operating in the vein of things I know how to do! Yet, beyond my feelings, I realize that keeping our eyes on God as we run this race means moving toward God, even when there are no guides or recipes based off of practical earthly wisdom.
In his book "The Silence of Adam," Dr. Larry Crabb makes this statement: "I suggest that a man is most manly when he admits "I don't know what to do in this situation, but I know it's important that I get involved and do something. I will therefore envision what God may want to see happen in this person's life or in this circumstance, and I will move toward that vision with whatever wisdom and power God supplies me." God gave us His Word, the Bible, His revelation of Himself to us, and it's important we read it we know what God has spoken to us. While our culture may want the Bible to be a surefire cookbook/guide for making every part our lives work down to the smallest detail, perhaps God goes beyond our expectations, as He responds to our situations by inviting us to participate in HIS story, a story much greater than our lives, as Dr. Crabb suggests. Dr. Crabb suggests, "The single most important truth about people is the truth most easily ignored: that we bear the image of God. As image-bearers, we are called to tell his story with our lives, not to tell our stories with his resources."
This reminds me of Matthew 6:31-33, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." The tests we face in our race can be a testimony of how God has turned us away from the power of sin and death through Jesus Christ, and toward becoming the people we were created to be, living in the Holy Spirit, as citizens of His kingdom. Maybe it's not so much about the words, as it is about the very nature of our lives, defined by allowing God to be a real part of every part of our lives, as we strive to get closer to Him, even if we don't know what to do, sometimes.
Lord, give us the courage and wisdom to move in places, even when it's not apparent to our earthly eyes what we should do, to glorify and honor you. | | |
| After a year away from writing consistently on Xanga, I'm seeking the Lord on how to continually encourage and edify on this site, for real. Whatever comes, it's definitely about keeping my eyes on God, hopefully in a way that encourages and reminds someone else that they're not alone in their race and pursuit of God in their lives. For real, I've seen a lot of people online and in the real world who feel like they're running alone, and a lot of people are having a hard time just seeing God working in their life! I hope this site brings to remembrance the true, living God who loved us so much, that He sent Jesus Christ to save us and win us back from the power of sin and death, and that we're now NEW creatures in the Holy Spirit! Word up.
I know what it means to be going through it, this life, the good times, this tough times, hard days, great days, etc.! You know though, we say that we're "going through it" for a reason, because we're actually going THROUGH it, and not just getting CAUGHT in it. Life is kind of like rolling into my nearby home city, Pittsburgh, PA; you have to go through a couple tunnels to get to the city. When you're in the tunnel, yeah, it's dark, sometimes you get stuck in some crazy traffic, but you can still see the light at the end, and you don't doubt that you're going to get there! What's even tighter, is that at the end of the tunnel is a bridge that takes you to the city, too! Living with our hope in Jesus Christ is like that; He's the Light at the end of our dark tunnels, He's our assurance that we're going to make it to the glorious City of God, and He's even the Bridge that gives us access to Heaven.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In his daily devotional book, "Grace for the Moment," Max Lucado includes an excerpt from "When God Whispers Your Name," that says:
"Faith is trusting what the eye can't see. Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel's angel. Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow. Eyes see giants. Faith sees Canaan. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees his blood."
So, when you're going through it, maybe we can think about what's next with Christ in our lives! Thank you Lord, for giving us the Light, even the assurance of the Light, and even guidance to the Light at the end of the tunnel! | | |
| So much can change in just one year! And yet, God remains just as good, faithful, and inexhaustible as he always was, always is, and always will be! Many things change in life, but God remains the same, Amen!
Life is like the race that God continually tells us about in the Bible. We have to run the race that's set before us, through the different seasons, the different changes, and even the different obstacles and trials we face; keeping our eyes on God, even though we're tempted to turn away from God and turn back. I know how it feels, when you don't feel like you can't go on, when other people say it's not worth it, when it doesn't seem like the good you try to do has any lasting value, I know it, I've felt it too! But remember Jesus Christ! He was God, manifested in the flesh, and He was dissed, ignored, laughed at, tempted, mocked, lied on, betrayed, beaten, whipped, spat upon, and crucified. If anybody had any right to say "forget this," or "this isn't worth it," it was Christ! To die for His enemies, sinners who rejected Him, the people who did all of those horrible things to Him, a Creation that was fallen and at odds with God; this is Love for real! It always sobers me up when I think of how "hard" the race seems to be for me, when I'm reminded of what Christ has done for us, for real!
We don't run to lose. We run in the faith that Jesus Christ already has the victory over sin and death! Paul encourages us again in Hebrews 12:1-3, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
Christcentric says it well, when they remind us, "The race is not given/to the swift/but by grace we be driven/it's a gift/so saints keep livin'/and when you slip/get up, remain on course/and don't drift."
Lord, thank you for this day, and for your Son, Jesus Christ, who humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Through believing in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven of our sins, and made new creatures, turning away from our old ways of sin and death. Help us to endure to the end, the race we must run. Amen. | | |
| What would do you think people would do if one day, God announced that He’d be appearing somewhere, to talk to us, where we could finally see Him and really hear His voice; an invitation open to each of us, all 6.4 billion of us, directly, and individually, with His authentic Word, in the realest way? For real, I think that we’d all want to get in on that, to hear what God really had to say; we’d do things like get tape recorders, video camera equipment, we’d get down what God said on paper, CNN would be covering this “event” all day, people would leave their jobs, their schools, their homes, to get to the place where they were really convinced that God would really be talking, unveiling the mysteries of who He is, His plan and purpose for us. But you know what one of the tightest things in life is? Hearing God’s voice isn’t something that’s only in our fantasies, or something that we have to belong to a certain group to have access to, or something that comes to us as “this voice in our heads” that we have to question whether it is just our own thinking, or God Himself, or a voice that we have to depend on a certain individual for, or Words that we can only hear after fulfilling certain requirements. In the realest way, in the best way, we can truly, definitively hear from God, as He talks to us, through His Word, the Bible, that He provides for us, that is so easily accessible to us today!
I already know that most people reading that think it’s just a comfy, trendy, cute thing to say about the Bible, and that they’ll think I take Bible reading too seriously, or that it’s still not important for them to read the Bible, compared to the other ways they try to hear from God. Some people will think that my saying the Bible is the way God talks to us is an exaggeration; they think that it’s just a book, they may even know that it’s a book inspired by God, but they still may miss the gravity of what they know; that it is God’s Word, speaking to us, through space and time! The Bible IS God’s Word; it’s like God holding a press conference saying who He is, what He has done, as He explains how to live a life pleasing to Him. The Bible is that experience that we’ve all wanted at some point, where we’ve wanted God to shine down the light from Heaven on us, speaking to us directly with that powerful voice, telling us directly who He is, and what the purpose of our lives are. Ecclesiastes 12:13 helps us out here, when it says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
God provided for us His Word, in 66 books, written over 1500 YEARS, over 40 GENERATIONS, written not just by one or a couple of people, but from over 40 different authors, from different walks of life, from different ages, from the leader that Moses was, to the king that David was, to the fisherman that Matthew was, and even beyond that, through around 31,173 verses and 773,692 words. No other book can compare to the authenticity, sufficiency, and perfection, of the authorship of God’s Word, the REAL God’s Word, the Bible.
I thank God for giving me the time that He did to read through the Bible once again, for each day that I had, to attempt to use my simple ability just to write and type to praise and exalt His name and His Word, the Holy Bible. In this, each day was a blessing from God, in the realest way, in that He didn’t have to extend each day to me, but I’m truly thankful that He did. God, you are truly good, and in the most sincere way, I write that now! These days, I better understand the preciousness of each singular day that God gives to me, and I’m glad that in this span of time, I could use it to write things with the intention of glorifying, reverencing, and exalting my God, the King, while also, hopefully, encouraging and building up others, in their faith in God, our Heavenly Father, believing in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and truly walking in the Holy Spirit, with the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law, just like Galatians 5:22-23 says.
It’s important to keep it straight too, that my writing isn’t meant to substitute for anyone’s Bible reading; as it was NEVER my intention to add or take away from the reading of God’s Word! There’s no authority in my writing; it’s my meditations on what should be the focus, which is the Bible, and reading all of it through, for yourself. As these are my thoughts on the Bible, I did strive to write responsibly, not just writing random things which could possibly lead people astray into wrong thinking, but I did my best to write to encourage and build up the people who might read what I write. I hope and pray that people are more encouraged to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, the Son of God, the God-man, and they believe John 3:16 which tell us “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I hope they’re encouraged in their faith in Christ, and even that they are encouraged to read through the Bible, and to consistently read through God’s Word for the rest of their lives. I pray people really are led more to seek God, rather than to seek me, at this point.
I wrote these words because I believe in God’s Word. I trust in God, I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, even as my Provider, even as my King, and through believing in Him, I’ve received the Holy Spirit into my life. I wrote these words not to substitute or take the place of God’s Word in people’s lives, but to remind them of it, and even encourage them to read, study, and meditate in it for themselves. Reading the entire Bible in a year, more or less, can be done! You CAN understand it, and you can definitely be encouraged and edified in it; ask God for the wisdom, and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide and teach you the things you can’t learn on your own, helping you to see that the Bible is His story, and it all really does point to Jesus Christ!
Again, I thank my friend Princess Jenkins, who, way back in 2002, read through the book of Psalms with me, and whether she realized it or not, helped me to see the value in taking/making time to read the Bible, especially with the encouragement and building up of others.
I also remember and thank my CBF Bible teacher, Charles Pugh, who helped me to realize the necessity of reading, studying, and meditating in the Bible, straight out of 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
A shout out goes to BP and Ced from IMPACT, who may not remember me, but I won’t forget them, and the example of their Christian walk, which I strive to live up to myself, following them as they followed Jesus Christ in the realest of ways.
Joseph, from Nairobi, my bro in the Lord, salute him, for his boldness, his endurance, and his faith in the Lord, and for him not being ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ.
Thanks to Rev. Davis, who is now with the Lord, who taught me even at an early age just by his example and life, that even beyond the things you learn, it’s the Godly kindness, love, care, and attention that you show people that makes the difference. I remember him and his example even now.
Many other people also deserve recognition, but if I listed them all, it’d take days. The important thing isn’t just to list those people here, but to show appreciation to them in real life, where it counts just as well, if not more. God will honor them, regardless of whether I list them here, although, I do appreciate all those that I haven’t listed, for their role in encouraging and edifying me in the faith.
Thanks to my Christian fam on Xanga, all of you who believe in Christ, that wrote to me, encouraged me, kept an eye on my site, people like gee monie, my sis in Christ, who was the first person I met on here, the first person who encouraged me, who still encourages me, even now, as you all do! Hopefully, I have, and will continue to encourage other people on here, as she encourages me. As I get the time, I’ll try to write back to you all, because you guys took the time to write back to me.
I pray that all Christians stay vigilant, focused, and diligently seeking God! I pray that you believe in Jesus Christ as your real Lord and Savior; the REAL Christ, that God Himself testifies about in His own Word, and not a false picture somebody else came up with. Walk in the Holy Spirit always.
Remember those memory verses, especially 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” | | |
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