How do you Follow?

Good morning,

This past weekend I was on a flight to visit a friend and during the flight, I was reading a book geared to helping Christians become more spiritually healthy.  As I was reading, one of the sentences made me pose a question to myself, silently (I didn’t want the passenger next to me, hearing me have a conversation with myself).  Anyhoo..the question I asked myself was do I follow God out of compliance or out of love? Do I do certain things because I want to be obedient or do I do them because I love God (trust him) and know that it is the right thing to do.  I am still pondering this question, as I think about some of my past and recent actions. How do you respond when God asks you do something or just when the day(s) require unwanted requests from you? Do you willingly commit to the task (out of love) or out of compliance.  Do you act with an “unselfish loyal and benevolent behavior” or out of a need to “comply with a demand or recommendation.”  Did you notice the difference between the two?

 If not, let me help you

 Have you ever noticed, how sometimes children will do what you ask willingly (minus the attitude) because they love you, the way you love them? Then there is their alter ego, that is just being obedient to your request with a ton of attitude-rude. I don’t know about you, but it frustrates me, when I ask my child to do something and either they sort of complete the task, or the task is completed with comments under their breath and rolled eyes. I wonder how God feels, when we treat Him this way?

Perhaps many of us will not be honest, but sometimes we are just like children; we grumble and roll our eyes when asked to do something, we do it at our own pace (God told us to do it 6 months ago), or we do some of the job with the nerve, to consider a half-done job is better than nothing. A reminder for all of us, you may have been obedient but obedience without love is still a disposition of irreverence (disrespect).  Being obedient when you feel like it (and not when God said move) is irreverence.  Being obedient with complaints or with an attitude that the Lord owes you a “Thank you” is irreverence.  Being obedient, to boast about being obedient instead of because you love God, isn’t true love for God but a form of worshipping yourself.

 So I ask again, do you follow God merely out of obedience as if you are a robot? Or do you follow Him because your heart desires to please, trust, and follow Him (even when it doesn’t make sense, or might take too long, or even when it benefits everyone else but you)?  Obedience is great but LOVE IS GREATER!                                                                                                                                                                      

Luke 22:41-44 (NLT) He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

Source for definitions: Love: Merriam-Webster.com and Obedience Merriam-Webster.com

Thankful for Friendliness

Happy Wednesday!!

I hope your week is off to a great start and you had a nice July 4th with family and friends. My daughter and I went to breakfast, played video games, and then became to lazy to go see the fireworks. It was still an enjoyable long weekend; however, very difficult to come into work on Monday. Did you have the same challenge?

Speaking of work…. the other day I was sending meeting invitations to complete a few deliverables. One of my colleagues, declined the invitation because her daughter has an upcoming doctor’s appt. I responded to her email, by sharing how my daughter injured her knee at Tae Kwon Do a few weeks ago. I also told her, it has been a slow recovery, as she isn’t all the way healed yet. She responded with more detail about her daughter’s injury; in addition, she said “parents hate to see their children, miss being involved in the things they love.” I totally agree.

I share this story to ask you a question. How friendly are you at work, at church, at restaurants, at the airport, or the grocery store? How much information are you willing to share with total strangers? Let me back up for a moment. I just started working with my colleague a few weeks ago, and we have never met, since she resides is in a different state. Nonetheless, I can always sense her “friendliness” every time we have a meeting.

Let’s get back to my question…yes, I know it can be scary to share personal information with people you don’t know. Honestly, it can be difficult to share information with people you’ve known for 20 years. But just think about this for a moment. If you believe Jesus lives in us, and shows his self through us; then perhaps you are missing an opportunity to chat with Jesus, when you choose to be closed off to strangers. 

Now, I am not saying everyone you meet is representing Jesus. Though, I wonder how many of us have missed a little Jesus-Joy-Time because we didn’t want to be polite and have a brief conversation. We didn’t want to let someone know something personal (even though we felt a tug to share). We refuse to do small talk with co-workers or cashiers at the grocery store.

Let me remind you that everyone is not out to get you, nor are their questions always an act of nosiness. Some folks (though strangers) may genuinely care, and want to know a little more about you. You probably don’t believe this, but many of us, have no idea how many people are praying for us (even though we didn’t ask them to). How many people saw you were sad and said a prayer when they walked by you? People who have been “arranged” by God to bump into you, because He knew you needed a stranger-friend.

If you haven’t realized by now, God loves you so much, that He purposely sends people to assist you (even when you don’t think their help is needed).  God loves you so much, that you’re on someone’s prayer list, even though you haven’t shared your challenges. 

All I am saying, that it is okay to be friendly. It is okay to share a little personal information sometimes with people which you’ve only known for 2hrs. You know why? You never know when you’re having a talk with Jesus or people get to experience Jesus by talking to you. I would hate for us, to keep missing out on Jesus-Joy-Time because we’re too private.

Jesus isn’t private. He is EVERYWHERE! HE LIVES! HE LIVES IN US!

Matthew 5:14-16 (The Message) “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

Behaviors outside of Church

Good morning and Happy Wednesday,

So, the other day, I was in the drive-thru line to get a peppermint mocha (decaf).  I get decaf because I think the Lord gave me caffeinated blood cells, so when I drink caffeinated drinks, I tend to bounce off the walls. But anyhoo… I am in this line, excited to get my coffee, when I notice the car in front of me, ends up getting their coffee through a different method. You are probably wondering what method? Well, I couldn’t see what happened, but I think the cashier tripped while trying to hand out the coffee; the next thing I saw, was a large iced coffee flying onto the outside counter and into this woman’s car. I instantly covered my mouth, as if covering my mouth, would send us all back in time to redo the entire situation.

All I could think was, I would have been very upset if that was me…. But what I love about the beauty in humans, is the lady in the car was laughing. She didn’t get angry; she didn’t say disrespectful words to the cashier. She actually was asking the cashier, if she was okay. Of course, the cashier apologized numerous times, as she wiped the coffee off the drive-thru counter. 

The point of today’s message is simple. How do you behave outside the church walls? Would you have been rude (abrupt, blunt, uncivil) to the cashier? Called her names? Wanted to speak to the manager and complained (or even shouted) how awful she was? Or would you remember that God shows grace towards you, and have a change of heart, to show grace towards her?

Honestly, I am not sure I would have been nice, like the lady in front of me; though, I am very glad the Lord reminded me to extend (spread, share, cover) the same grace that I have received to everyone, every day, even on my bad days, even with spilled coffee, even with botched food orders, and even when I am right and the other person is wrong (or so I would like to believe).   

God shows His grace to us on a 24/7 basis (not just occasionally). Why? Because the Lord is the God of grace at all times.  

So, I ask you…. how is your behavior outside of Church? How is your behavior when your children aren't watching? How is your behavior when someone cuts in front of you?

Is your first response to allow the Holy Spirit to respond or your flesh?

Have a Happy July 4th!

Read the entire I Corinthians Chapter 15.

I Corinthians 15:9-10 (The Message)  “I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence. But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste.”

His Record is Sufficient

Good morning Children of the Most High,  

I hope your week is off to a good start, and if you reside in Central Ohio; perhaps you’re enjoying our wonderful spring weather in the summertime.  I made this comment because for some of us, it has been raining almost every day. It has been raining as if it is still Spring, but hopefully summer will arrive in July since June is pretty much over. 

Today’s message is a reminder to keep your focus on Jesus.  I know some of you have been praying about something very specific. You may have even been praying about this particular thing(s) for a long time.  And since, we tend to look at life through our human eyes, and not with our spiritual eyes, our perception of our circumstances can appear hopeless.  

But I want to remind you of two things.   

1. Stop worrying if tomorrow is the day that God will answer your prayer, by giving you the very thing, you have been praying about. I know personally from failed attempts (doubting prayers), that praying for something and then worrying about when God will answer, brings more anxiety; than if you would just pray, trust He heard you, and then walk out each day in assurance that He will respond. The hard part is the 2nd reminder and something most of us know, but struggle to accept.   

2. Yes, you prayed, but He may not answer the way you want. You have asked, and asked, and asked and still you have not received your expected result. At some point, you begin thinking to yourself, “the Lord healed, showed out, eliminated barriers, and blessed me beyond measure in so many other areas of my life,” so why has the Lord not answered this request?  

Let me tell you, I can relate to your feeling of what appears to be “unanswered prayers,” but nonetheless, does this change who He has been to you all these years? Does His answer for this one particular thing, reduce the value of all the other ways He has answered your prayers?  Does His godly-timing (slow moving to us), really impact the end result or do you recognize His timing is always sufficient (even though it feels light-years too long)?    

The Lord’s love for His children is deeper than we will ever know. And, this doesn’t mean, His method for loving us is easy for us to comprehend; but it does mean, we all have enough history with Him, to know what He is able to do for us in the future. 

Have a Healthy week!

This week’s worship Song:  MercyMe “Even If”  

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Today’s Message: Call To Action

Good morning,  

For many weeks, I have been praying for the launch message, but before I start let me give you some background. For about 5+ years, I have been sending messages to a group called “Team Victorious.”  This is a virtual coed group with folks from various cities. Honestly, when I sent the first text, I only planned to send one inspirational message to a few folks; well…we know how God works, and so here I am years later, still sending them. This group is more than a group text. We support each other by sharing stories of our struggles and accomplishments, prayer requests, and sending praises to the Lord.

Fast forward to last year. The Lord laid on my heart to take those messages to a larger audience, and create a website named after my book “Deliberately Me!”

Why?

The purpose is to inspire women (and men) to live out the way God intended. To be more than the ordinary being, you believe you are. We live in a world that in one way or another, is constantly trying to beat all the goodness out of you, so you don’t ever move beyond this current moment in life. Many continue to fall victim, to believing everything that someone says about them, or just the continued nonprogressive cycle of living like the generations before them.   

You were not born into this world to just exist and struggle, but you were birthed into this world, to give life into everything and everywhere you go. To my Queens and Kings, you are so beautiful, yet you lack the belief that you are, and so your behaviors, attitudes, and presence doesn’t represent the way God sees you; instead you allow yourself to act the way the world sees you.  And I am here to tell you that the Lord loves you, PERIOD!  AND HE is expecting more from us, than our current activities which isn’t benefiting the kingdom and if you’re honest, it isn’t benefiting you either. 

He has blessed you with gifts far beyond what you could ever imagine. But it is now up to you, to begin believing that you are more than a conqueror. It is up to you, to believe that regardless of what everyone else is doing around you, that YOU WILL CHOOSE to THRIVE the way God intended. You will choose to change your mindset, and stop entertaining the adversary’s games, which continue to keep you distracted. The Lord says, you have been distracted long enough!!  It is time to start believing in yourself and more importantly, believing in Him, Jesus.

I invite you to visit the DM site ( https://deliberatelymeseries.com/ ) for weekly messages from the Lord. I can’t always guarantee, what the weekly theme will be, but I can guarantee, that it is always a message about the Lord’s love for His children. 

Have a Healthy Monday!

Psalm 139:14 (NIV)  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.