What's your connection?

Have you ever listened to the group called Shekinah Glory? I hadn’t until recently, I mean as recently as a week and a half ago; they have been around for years (covers face) smh

Now for those of you who know me, you know that when I find something I like, I wear it out! I listen to it non-stop that you would wonder what I used to do before my discovery. Then once I have had a fill of it, which could be weeks or even months, I can finally move on to something else or at least listen to it less often. So a friend loaned me one of Shekinah Glory’s CDs and though I will not include the song title (I feel like that would take away from the randomness of this post since I would have to look it up) I will however share one part of it with you. I learned it very quickly because the words went straight to my heart and are the words that inspired this post:

“like the desert needs the rain

I need you

like the ocean needs the stream

I need you

like the morning needs the sun

I need you,

Lord You are my only one”

I almost retyped it because I was literally singing it out as I documented it. Did you look at the analogies used? Each of those things (the desert & the rain or the morning and the sun for example) has an actual hunger or dependency upon the other to exist as it does. I have an overwhelming excitement thinking about the depth of the relationship. 

Now come with me a step further and imagine having this kind of dependency on and connection with God. Well, Liz isn’t that how it should be? Sure, but is that how it is? Just imagine how much we are missing out on simply because we do not do our part to nurture an insatiable desire for God and the things of God. Now this was not the first time that I had been introduced to this kind of longing. As a child we mastered Nystrom's, 'As the Deer' which was based on the words of David, “As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God..." (Psalm 42:1-2 NIV). To be in relationship with God we must desire to become and to remain entangled; body, mind and Spirit with our Creator and Savior who transcends our understanding and our limitations. 
Stay with me I just have a bit further to go with this :)
                                   

                                        Photo by New Haven Bulletin

This same yearning and knowledge of the profound relationship between the Believer and God ran through the Old Testament into the New, where we see devout Christians, who inspired by God and their understanding of their relationship with Him, believe "that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39 NIV) What an assurance, such a wonderful communion! By the way, we believe this too right? How awesome it is that the apostles lives reflected, despite their imperfection, an unyielding passion and unwavering faith in God. 

Reflection:
1) Let us consider our relationship with God. Is what we say we have with God reflected in our every day lives?

2) Have we put conditions on our relationship with God? How connected are we to Him? Could we do anything differently to improve the connection?

3) Looking at the picture of our relationship with God versus that of the Believers in Biblical times, is what we see consistent or is ours somewhat diluted in our drive, desire and committment? If so, then why?  

4) We have a responsibility to do our part. What have we been doing?
Can we truly sing, "I need you, Lord You are my only one"? 
 

5) How has your relationship with God changed you? What level is God calling you to that you have been running away from.

To take these questions seriously is to perform a spiritual audit which can only prove profitable if we answer honestly.

Talk soon.
EJ 

Will He speak to Me?

What has He said to you lately?

"My sheep hear My voice, I know them and they follow Me" John 10:27 NKJV

I wasn’t sure how best to introduce the topic of my blog this week so I decided to jump right in! 

We study the Bible so that we might hear God speaking through scripture but also because God’s word is a necessary weapon to possess in any and every situation, challenging or not, in which we might be engaged.

Though, over time I had acquainted myself with the Bible I still had not understood that the promises within scripture were for me to claim and to have confidence in. For some reason I believed that to claim those promises I needed to have had a special message from God prompting me to speak those assurances over my life almost as though all the things God had said were not all for me and I needed permission from God regarding the ones available for my life before I could be bold enough to claim them.  (Please don't leave me all by myself) I know there must at least be one other person who has felt or is feeling this way. 

With that said I am happy to note that my perspective was wrong! 

So of late I have not been afraid to speak scripture into my life in ways I never really did before like “My God shall supply all your (my) needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19 or "I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread” Psalm 37:25 when I was getting ready to tread uncertain territory as I was making difficult financial decisions. 

This action didn't just remind God of His promises (Isaiah 43:26) to me but also strengthened my faith that no matter the circumstances and whether I can see it or not, God is at work in my life causing all things to result in my favor if I only just trust in Him!

It is important for us as Christians to recognize that the Bible is the word of God to us; the promises of God concerning us; the instructions to living the God-led God-centered life.

When seeking an encounter or message from God know that when God directs you to His word where He challenges or reveals truth to you, it is God speaking; it is an encounter with God. We often look for God to speak with a trumpeting voice from the sky or to speak through a prophet at some Christian convention but often overlook God speaking through His word in scripture. As I sat thinking about hearing God’s voice in my current situation I suddenly realized that I could stand firm on the promises of God in the Bible because He did not just make them (and I mean all of them) to the people of biblical times but to you and I who would come to depend on Him through faith in His Son centuries later!

The words of the Bible, with its promises, plans, rules and regulations represent God in constant dialogue with us so once truth is revealed we must acknowledge that God has spoken and be ready to respond as He would have us. Like the sheep who hear their Shepherd's voice and because they recognize the voice as that of their leader they FOLLOW Him by doing what He says. Please take the time to acknowledge that to understand scripture is to have an encounter with God for these are secret things of God which we can only relate to or understand through God the Holy Spirit. We constantly ask God to speak to us and to reveal Himself to us and if we are serious then one way to get into God's presence or to hear from God  is to spend time reading the word of God.

 Of course we will not always be comfortable with what God might be saying to us or challenging us to do but our duty to our Creator, Savior, Master, Teacher, Sustainer, Friend and so much more is to align our will and behavior with His! 

What has God been talking to you about lately? What have you been running away from that God has been calling you to? What does His word say about your current situation? How will you respond?

Until next time,

EJ

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RealTalk Thursdays: Homosexuality

REALTALK THURSDAYS
Question: What is your take on homosexuality? Do you believe that the church is handling this issue well; how do you believe people should respond? This issue has caused much controversy in elections in the US and the Caribbean. Do you expect the leader you select to also share your ideas on the matter?

Have you ever considered a world of just women? Is there anything that it would lack? How about one of only men? What might it lack? Both worlds would not survive very long since there would be no possibility of procreation. I suppose God could not retire from making man from dust and I suppose He would have had to alter His manufacturing process since in a world of females there would not have been man in the first place. However, when God created human beings, he made man and woman and empowered us to do what only He can do which is to procreate; an undeniably divine activity. Many people like to argue that a relationship between a man and woman is simply a societal construct, an idea to which I beg to differ by simply looking at the implications. We were created man and woman alike for a special purpose which we could not accomplish had we all embraced homosexual relationships (Read the book of Genesis). So much more could be said here but let us move on.

To offer a Christian perspective I suppose one must clearly understand what sin is. I am going to define sin as any behavior, belief or any thought process which deviates from what God intends or His rules and regulations. I think now is a good time to throw in that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 (NIV). With that said I must speak on society’s influence on our perception of our sinful actions and attitudes; an influence which proves a conscious attempt to separate according to significance and severity sin and wrong. Can we blame society for that? When we think of punishment of wrong many of us have been conditioned to believe that the punishment should match the crime. Right? After all we can concede to the fact that these persuasions and protocols which have been put in place are in the interest of ‘justice’ however the truth is when we consider God’s perspective He does not separate sin into categories but rather perceives all sin as sin. The same measure of grace shown by God to the murderer is the same given to the adulterer therefore the same penalty is imposed on them both in God’s eyes; “the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23 (NIV). Now of course we are not talking about how the consequences of sinful actions might differ in or even impact our lives (that’s a whole other story). Notice in Romans 6:23 there are no other specifics or gray areas to factor in outside of what was expressly stated, all sin carry the same penalty and result.

Yes, many in homosexual relationships often allude to never being attracted to someone of the opposite sex or even acknowledge that no other kind of relationship feels right. Is that idea hard to identify with or is it that you do not acknowledge your deviations from what God wants as sin? If you do, then you know that we often feel justified in our sins, whether we are convinced we love the person, that it feels good, that it is what the person deserved or that it gives us relief that we need and we almost get mad at God for not understanding. So before you are quick to turn your nose down at someone who loves someone of the same sex take a look at your own situation, challenges and sinful actions and attitudes. My Jamaican kinsmen may not be too happy with this idea because we were raised in a kind of no tolerance for homosexuality environment. Needless to say that many Jamaicans and even just in general people in the western world (men and women alike) seem to be more even-tempered when it comes on to female and female relationships and even fantasize about being with two women but are repulsed by the idea of two men; DOUBLE STANDARD! Let me move on.

As the church we seem to have polarized approaches to confronting homosexuality. Either we ostracize them or we almost encourage it for fear of being branded with some negative labels for rejecting the sin (and yes I am aware that these same practices exist in the church…that discussion is for another post). Of course both tactics are incorrect and we need to find middle ground somehow. That starts with first acknowledging that their sin is no worse than ours and conceding to God’s perception of sin. Then we ought to look at Jesus’ response to sinners – “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8 (NIV). Jesus’ response to us is one of love and forgiveness through undeserved mercy. However He requires us to live according to His rules as He admonishes us to, “be holy because I am holy” 1 Peter 1:16 (NIV) at the same time cautioning us, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8 NIV).

Our job as Christians is to love each person irrespective of their religious beliefs and moral persuasion, in addition we are expected to live a life that teaches others about God’s love and forgiveness (the same attributes that saved us and that we rely on to live out our Christian lives). Our job is to show God through our actions and attitude but also share God through the word and through prayer. So then the same God who convicts us and delivers us from the stronghold of our own sinful nature and sinful actions is the same God who will do it for any other sinner or sin. It leads me to the familiar scripture verse, “Judge not, that you be not judged Matthew 7:1 (ESV) Many of us need to spend some time getting this concept deep into our spirit since we have a propensity to judge others especially when we want to feel a little better about ourselves. Before you cast that first stone, remember those sins in your closet that are not as open and consider how passionately you are concealing them for fear of being judged by others. Let us reserve judgment for God; He is the only one in a position to judge because He IS the standard.

As it relates to our leaders, whether a Prime Minister or a Presidential candidate, I have a very basic approach. A democracy is rule by the people, for the people, while theocracy on the other hand is governance based on religious beliefs. The existence of democracy which governs the country’s overall socio-economic and political behavior calls for a representation and attempt to fulfill the longings and ideas of the masses and not just my individual persuasion. As a result I have already settled in my mind the fact that certain policies may not be in-keeping with my own religious beliefs and behaviors.

For those who will be quick to say I have an affinity toward homosexuals. Please know I am only Pro God and Pro God’s Forgiveness. For those who think I am too hard I am Pro God and Pro God’s Salvation and these ideas have informed my response to this week’s REALTALK Thursdays question.

SUMMARY

If you have read through this and you are still unclear about this perspective see the summary below:

1. I believe homosexuality is a deviation from God’s plan and purpose and therefore a sin (there are more than enough scripture passages to support this)
2. I believe no sin is greater than another in God’s eyes just as His word says, as such I believe it is wrong to look down on someone practicing homosexuality while you are a liar, cheater etc
3. I believe that my duty is to be God’s light in the world so that people may be convinced of their sin and be brought to salvation through faith in Jesus. As such it is important for us to daily strive after the things of God and to deny our flesh and follow after the things of God through the help of the Holy Spirit.
4. No one is perfect and as a child of God it is my duty to love and to teach the word of God and allow God to do the rest. Jesus while on earth never once condoned sin but he certainly did not hate the sinner; He used every opportunity He had to teach them what was right…that is our calling.

 

I know this post is a lot to swallow and maybe has several areas of agreement or even contention for you. I would love to hear your opinion so comment below and continue the conversation.

Talk soon.

EJ

Justified – "Just as if I’d never sinned" Pastor Andy

Hey There!!! 

Last night I was at Bible study and Pastor Andy speaking on forgiveness and peace with God referred to the fact that it is justification through faith that causes us to be in relationship with God. That justification through faith by the grace of God closes the great divide between God and man. Pastor Andy spoke of the fact that we find this concept (that God justifies us) difficult to accept because we find it difficult to (justify/forgive) others. There was not one person in the room who could not concede to the difficulty in forgiving someone not to mention to go further to forget what that same person had done to result in the broken relationship.

Of course I am not going to spend this post recounting what was said last night. I want to talk not about why as humans we find it difficult to accept God’s forgiveness but about this awesome God that we serve who when we repent not just FORGIVES us but FORGETS – remembers my sin no more!!!!! My mantra has always been that to not feel the same pain or anger when I think of the dirt that was done to me is a telltale sign for me that I have truly forgiven. To be honest, it is clear that that still falls short of what God does for us; God forgives us then keeps no record of our sin so there is no ‘mistake’ on which He will spend time to reminisce.

As I wrote that last sentence I felt a broad smile come over my face because to me knowing that is more than enough reason for me to break into praise. 

I expect it is the same for you, I mean, unless you are perfect and have never sinned (looking at you sideways)! To understand His love for us is to understand His actions toward us. Now I know why when we used to sing this song in church it used to give me the ‘fuzzies’ in my tummy because we were singing something so powerful. Check it out (pretend I am using my opera voice wink wink):

                      “I love you with the love of the Lord Yes I love you with the love of the Lord

I can see in you, the glory of the Lord and

I love you with the love of the Lord”

God forgives me and forgets my sin giving me a clean slate; a chance to start afresh. Pastor Andy says it is "just as if I had never sinned"! Wow!!!  He does not let me begin from a place of disadvantage but gives me a head start at pleasing Him by making me righteous that I might fellowship with Him!

Lord help me to act right and to be right and when I sin help me not to be prideful but to understand my sin in relation to who You are as a holy, pure, righteous, sovereign God. I always make reference to David, who God referred to as a man after his own heart. When he admitted his sin, he said "it is against You, You only have I sinned...” (Psalm 51:4). He never felt like he was not benefiting from his actions. He killed Bathsheba’s husband to get her completely to himself (David and Bathsheba had been having an affair)…he scored the girl, he was happy but he had to come to the place where he realized that his actions were displeasing and evil in the eyes of God. When you have the chance read 2 Samuel 11. 

Sometimes we do things and we don’t really believe we are wrong because we feel justified in the actions we do but we are being called to come to a place where we recognize and repent for our sins even if only based on the fact that it is displeasing to the God who loves us like no one else ever could.

Now the fact that God forgives us and gives us a new slate is not reason to become complacent in our sin or to be presumptuous in our sinning! The mercy and grace of God ought to make us want to run away from actions and thoughts that are sinful because we owe it to the God who justifies us because of His love for us but more importantly we should come to a place where we run away from our sinful ways and become uncomfortable with sin in our lives because of our love for God. Can we truly say we love God if we do not care whether we displease Him with our sinful thoughts and actions? What say you?

So then here is the conclusion of the whole matter (hehe) we can do nothing to earn or buy the love and forgiveness of this wonderful God who is everything to us and everything we need. Our justification is based on who God is and the unchanging love He has for us. When you wrestle with sin in your life remember the higher level that God has called you to and more than anything else has equipped you to reach. When you wrestle with the guilt of sin remember the mercy of God that justifies you regardless of what you have done or could ever do just ask Him to forgive you, have confidence in Him that He will do what He says He will and turn away from your sin.

Here are a few scriptures to consider:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7 NIV)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV)

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1: 18 NIV)

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions (sins) from us” (Psalm103:12)

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Until next time:)

EJ