A man who as a physical being is always turned toward the outside, thinking that his happiness lies outside him, finally turns inward and discovers that the source is within him. -Soren Kierkegaard

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24: 6-11

I remember being a little boy and it was snowing in April and my mother quoted that the bible said when the end was near we would not know the difference between the seasons. Now I am far from suggesting that the world is about to end tomorrow but I was drawn to this verse last night via a Common song called Heaven Somewhere. Maybe I have to much free time on my hands but I surf the internet an awful lot and the news gets more disturbing by the day. Wars and rumors of war; are we not in Iraq and some folks are trying to push us into Iran while we watch beautiful young men and women die for unjust causes. Are people in Haiti not creating a revolution because they have no access to food and bare necessities for survival. Today I read that 50 students have been found in the wreckage of a high school in China after a powerful earthquake, and over 7600 are feared dead throughout the country. The economy is spiraling downwards, people are losing their jobs with no new work in sight or means to provide food for their families.

All of this despair would make me think we would get closer to God and pray for a true blessing. Yet the word says you will be hated, and that many will turn astray. While watching Forrest Gump, the handicapped sergeant summed it up. Where is Jesus now, why would he let me live this way. This is the way people look at you who choose to believe in such tough times. And then others in such despair turn to those who claim to profess the word of God. Millions of viewers turn into youtube fanatic preachers, who spew venom and ask for money preying on people’s fears and using the word to sound as an authority. Don’t ask me why I brought this message to you today, I just wanted to share my thoughts and think objectively about the times we are living in. Be careful during these times of trials and tribulation to not fall victim to false hope. Keep your faith in God for he predicted that rough times would come. Remember that if you ask you shall be given (sometimes you gotta keep asking, I know I do lol). Peace and Grace be unto you.

Being my bloodline is one with the divine, in time brother you will discover the light.

I spoke about drug abuse in a former post titled “Our Forgotten Family”, and this video reminds me of that piece. I’m worried about Lil Wayne, his actions as of late have been spiraling downward and I am worried about where this lifestyle will lead him. He says “not to worry” about him, but how can one not when his interviews are filled with incoherent sentences as we watch him sip from his cup of death. An artist with this much reaching capability can not be ignored and left to die from his own vices. We have watched too many greats pass because as a community of listeners we just sat by idly watching someone’s demise. I think it’s time that his fans start to reach out to him and let the young man know that people care about him enough to not watch him throw his life away.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87hllT_d4hQ&hl=en]

March 13, 2008

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Phillipians 3: 13-15

The way the Lord allows the word to resonate in my life is so amazing at times that I really have to sit back and be thankful. The theme of this verse is “pressing toward the goal”, preparing yourself to reach your own greatest good. In this scripture it says to me that I may not know all the answers, I may not fully comprehend my goal or my gift from God but I am moving towards it. In order to move towards it, I must leave what is behind me behind me, I won’t lose the lesson but I can not dwell on past situations so much that they cause a hinderance in my future. We have all gotten ourselves involved in situations that weren’t beneficial to us, the problem is we then entertain ourselves about why we should have seen this coming, and why this and why that. None of that is helping us attain our goal, take the lesson and keep it pushing!

Just like the scripture says, “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called”. The goal that he has for you is multi-faceted, the Creator wants you to use all of your talents, all of the talents that he has given you. And he grants us with little victories along the way, we must remember to be thankful for the little victories as well. I have an older sister who is studying for her nursing boards, it is in the Lord’s will that she will become an RN, he has other goals for her and us as well. But he blesses us by letting us graduate from schools, by allowing us to get the jobs that we want, the homes that we want, the soul mate that we need. All of these are small victories and if we continue to live in his way we will continue to live the good life, and achieve such victories. Lastly, it says all mature minds should take such view, and if we are thinking differently God comes into our life like right now and reminds us that no matter what strife we see he has a plan and he will continue to help us press towards our goals. Just by putting him first and having the courage to believe that we can achieve places us on the path to accomplishing our many endeavors. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow!

February 14, 2008

Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shall make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psalm 51:13

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

This passage comes out of the Book of Psalm and just to give you some background, it is David’s prayer to the Lord to forgive him of the sins, which he had committed with respect to the story of Bathsheba. Over the summer my Pastor preached this scripture and I remember the title being something like, “in order to fix it you must face it”. For months after that I actually recited this whole chapter during my prayer just trying to ask the Lord to show me the way. The words are powerful, for we must ask for forgiveness but while asking for forgiveness we need to come forth with a sincere heart and be genuine. It talks about letting your inner most truth be confessed to the Lord so that he can provide you with wisdom to make better decisions, to move further in life. Its give and take though, while we are asking for forgiveness, strength, and knowledge we must also be willing to work. The work may just be sharing some word, getting more involved in your church or simply being that rock for someone else through their hard times. The sacrifice as I see it is that we have to give ourselves, we have to depend on faith rather than sight. In a world where we need everything at our fingertips that’s a tough concept, but largely the things we see are not what they are anyway so it might be wiser for us in 2008 to put a little more faith in the Lord and less faith in what we may see, and think is good for us. Peace and Grace be unto you!