(This article was originally written over at my Wordpress blog on September 15, 2010. The pain we feel is still evident but we know she's with the Father now....)
Last weekend, F (Lisa) M went home to be with our Lord and Savior. It was so unexpected, unwarranted, unexplainable and misunderstood. How could God take someone away from their husband, children, mother, father, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends so suddenly? Leaving us all in utter shock? Here’s the answer to that question…..it’s not for us to know!
To be painfully frank, God doesn’t have to give justifiable cause or send a sign as to why she died without our being prepared because well, He’s God! God even told us in Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord”. This being the case, what other choice do we have than to completely and unequivocally trust Him? We must do so as He will give us peace when we lack understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 states it best: “TRUST in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding”. Then, Philippians 4:7 says: “And the PEACE of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
Because we have no way of knowing what death “feels” like, we often fear it. None of us know what’s on the other side, thus fear of the unknown is expected. Children of God, we cannot be with Him until we die so therefore, death is necessary. Have you ever heard that "to live is to die and to die is to live"? Well, let that marinate for a minute and realize that there’s innumerable truth in this statement.
Death is only fearful to those who DO NOT TRUST GOD! God already knew that death would not be perceived as pleasant but would seem intolerable and dreaded to those of us left behind. This is why we have His Word (Jesus Christ) to comfort us in these difficult times. Just as King David knew and expressed in his Psalms, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they COMFORT me”, may we also know this trust in and dependence upon our Father!
I’m blogging this today because I’d like to reassure you that death is not the end, but is the beginning (for those of us who are in Christ Jesus) of an everlasting life of happiness. He has prepared a place for us dear ones. But know this, God will not force us to accept His Son as our Savior. Consequently, failure to do so will reap its’ reward, that’s for sure.
Now with that said, it is not my place to say who will make it to heaven and who won’t. Only YOU, through the free will that God has given you, can choose where your final resting place will be. Heaven or hell is YOUR choice to make. I am thoroughly convinced however, that Lisa made the right choice. Family and friends, we will see her again if we too make the unquestionable choice to love and believe in Jesus Christ.
Let us take the oath today to have a relationship with Him and gain the peace He promises to give. It is undeniable that if we’re granted a long life of abundance, we will surely attest to the deaths of more loved ones and friends. But, we can stand steadfast in His grace & mercy with assurance of our salvation and heaven bound destination!
November 08, 2010
The Pride Deception, Part 2
Baba, a friend that I would love to know personally, helped me to see that I’m the dirtiest, filthiest hypocrite and a sorry excuse for someone who claims to be a child of God. No, Baba did not say these words to me, but what he did was reveal (through his own testimony) the importance of making ourselves little so that God can be made great!
You see, pride does this to you: It makes you feel like YOU know it all, YOU’re never wrong, what YOU need matters most, and that it’s YOUr way or no way. I’m guilty loved ones. Guilty as charged. Until we can admit to our own shortcomings, we will never overcome them! How can you blow out a candle if you don’t light it? The truth can not be revealed without a fallacy. In other words, you need a lie before you can have a truth! The truth is that God despises a prideful and haughty heart. Giving in to pride deceives you into believing that you are your own god and the Lord Almighty specifically stated that: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” I’m sure many of you don’t know this but……..you’ve made yourself into a mini-god when you allowed pride to manifest itself within your heart. Also, here’s a revelation for you: pride is the foundation of all sin!
God’s main desire for His people is that we love one another and share the good news. Because we are likened unto Him and created in His image, we must abide by His rules whether we like it or not. If God IS love, why would He expect any less from His creation? Pride instills an “I can do whatever I want” façade within the heart of man which leads to his disobedience and insubordination to God. This in turn separates man from God then, he finds himself left at his own defenses to battle the wiles of Satan without God’s help. This is a place you don’t want to be my friend.
Here’s a recent prayer that I gave unto my Father…..
Lord God,
I want to know your way because my way is the total opposite and this is not of you! Lord, forgive me of my indiscretions lest I be given unto the wiles of satan. Lord, forbid me to question your will and desire for my soul. I’m so inflicted with confusion, resistance and insubordination! Have mercy on me oh Lord! I’m sorry for wanting more from you than you desire to offer. Forgive me for not accepting the terms that you’ve set forth, for you are the Grand Master of my soul. I want to love everything about you dear Jesus, even the things that don't make sense to me right now; to be obedient, no longer thinking as the world thinks. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Feel free to petition the Lord our God (using the prayer above or your own) to enter into your heart and reveal your indiscretions. Once the Spirit has spoken unto you regarding this, seek forgiveness and always ask God to have mercy because we are not perfect.)
I’ve always considered myself to be King David’s long-lost twin sister because we’re almost exactly alike. Though I may not possess the bravery he had, my name does mean “strong” so I suppose I'm not too far-fetched. David was prideful as well, but he earnestly cried unto God and was forgiven. You too have the gift of forgiveness. Please do not let “YOU” get in your way!
King David also knew that he had some serious issues when it came to matters of the heart. He killed a man because he wanted his wife (envy = pride). He committed adultery with this man’s wife (lust = pride). Whenever the Holy Spirit revealed these monstrosities, David immediately went down on his knees to seek the Lord's forgiveness. No wonder he was a man after God’s own heart…HE DIDN’T LET HIS PRIDE STAND IN THE WAY OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!
Pride grows into anger, frustration, self-pity and regret because these are reactions to an injustice done towards you. God already knew that loving unconditionally (requires humbleness) would keep these manifestations out of your heart. Now you tell me, is it better to love or is it better to hurt? You make the call.
You see, pride does this to you: It makes you feel like YOU know it all, YOU’re never wrong, what YOU need matters most, and that it’s YOUr way or no way. I’m guilty loved ones. Guilty as charged. Until we can admit to our own shortcomings, we will never overcome them! How can you blow out a candle if you don’t light it? The truth can not be revealed without a fallacy. In other words, you need a lie before you can have a truth! The truth is that God despises a prideful and haughty heart. Giving in to pride deceives you into believing that you are your own god and the Lord Almighty specifically stated that: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” I’m sure many of you don’t know this but……..you’ve made yourself into a mini-god when you allowed pride to manifest itself within your heart. Also, here’s a revelation for you: pride is the foundation of all sin!
God’s main desire for His people is that we love one another and share the good news. Because we are likened unto Him and created in His image, we must abide by His rules whether we like it or not. If God IS love, why would He expect any less from His creation? Pride instills an “I can do whatever I want” façade within the heart of man which leads to his disobedience and insubordination to God. This in turn separates man from God then, he finds himself left at his own defenses to battle the wiles of Satan without God’s help. This is a place you don’t want to be my friend.
Here’s a recent prayer that I gave unto my Father…..
Lord God,
I want to know your way because my way is the total opposite and this is not of you! Lord, forgive me of my indiscretions lest I be given unto the wiles of satan. Lord, forbid me to question your will and desire for my soul. I’m so inflicted with confusion, resistance and insubordination! Have mercy on me oh Lord! I’m sorry for wanting more from you than you desire to offer. Forgive me for not accepting the terms that you’ve set forth, for you are the Grand Master of my soul. I want to love everything about you dear Jesus, even the things that don't make sense to me right now; to be obedient, no longer thinking as the world thinks. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Feel free to petition the Lord our God (using the prayer above or your own) to enter into your heart and reveal your indiscretions. Once the Spirit has spoken unto you regarding this, seek forgiveness and always ask God to have mercy because we are not perfect.)
I’ve always considered myself to be King David’s long-lost twin sister because we’re almost exactly alike. Though I may not possess the bravery he had, my name does mean “strong” so I suppose I'm not too far-fetched. David was prideful as well, but he earnestly cried unto God and was forgiven. You too have the gift of forgiveness. Please do not let “YOU” get in your way!
King David also knew that he had some serious issues when it came to matters of the heart. He killed a man because he wanted his wife (envy = pride). He committed adultery with this man’s wife (lust = pride). Whenever the Holy Spirit revealed these monstrosities, David immediately went down on his knees to seek the Lord's forgiveness. No wonder he was a man after God’s own heart…HE DIDN’T LET HIS PRIDE STAND IN THE WAY OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!
Pride grows into anger, frustration, self-pity and regret because these are reactions to an injustice done towards you. God already knew that loving unconditionally (requires humbleness) would keep these manifestations out of your heart. Now you tell me, is it better to love or is it better to hurt? You make the call.
The Pride Deception, Part 1
I’m not too particularly thrilled to admit that I’m prideful. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even aware that I was! Not until this past Sunday that is…..
We had a guest pastor at church on Sunday that spoke of our friend and foe, those being “humility” and “pride”, respectively. God forbid that I should quote his sermon verbatim, but I will attempt to translate it my own way. It doesn’t take a bible scholar to know that being humble is God’s way and prideful is satan’s way. However, upon hearing the sermon, I began to realize just how guilty I was of fostering pride within my own heart.
{For this post, I simply want to introduce what pride is and later, I will share with you how pride is destructive.}
You see, when you become bitter, angry, resentful, and disgusted, it is because pride has manifested. Offense is the prerequisite to an ungodly action or reaction. When you’re offended, naturally you say within yourself; “You’ve hurt me so now I’m going to hurt you back!” Pride is evidenced in many variations that are disguised as vindication, and supports the infamous folklore: An eye for an eye. However, unbeknownst to many, God hates pride because it is considered evil and a sin as spoken of by David in Psalm 8:13; “All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech.” David includes pride as being one of those evil things.
Here’s why pride is evil:
It causes us to turn away from God when we’re supposed to turn to Him
It leads to disobedience and rebellion
It causes us to mistreat other people
It defiles us! (Mark 7: 20-23)
Manifestations of pride:
Can’t admit when wrong
Selfishness
Disrespect of and no submission to authority
Criticism and looking down on others
Self-exhortation
Too busy or too lazy to help others
The list goes on and on. Even if you possess only one of the aforementioned characteristics, you are still deemed prideful. Stay tuned because I’m going to share with you how to recognize pride, how it affects your Christian walk, and why God doesn’t think it’s cool.
We had a guest pastor at church on Sunday that spoke of our friend and foe, those being “humility” and “pride”, respectively. God forbid that I should quote his sermon verbatim, but I will attempt to translate it my own way. It doesn’t take a bible scholar to know that being humble is God’s way and prideful is satan’s way. However, upon hearing the sermon, I began to realize just how guilty I was of fostering pride within my own heart.
{For this post, I simply want to introduce what pride is and later, I will share with you how pride is destructive.}
You see, when you become bitter, angry, resentful, and disgusted, it is because pride has manifested. Offense is the prerequisite to an ungodly action or reaction. When you’re offended, naturally you say within yourself; “You’ve hurt me so now I’m going to hurt you back!” Pride is evidenced in many variations that are disguised as vindication, and supports the infamous folklore: An eye for an eye. However, unbeknownst to many, God hates pride because it is considered evil and a sin as spoken of by David in Psalm 8:13; “All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech.” David includes pride as being one of those evil things.
Here’s why pride is evil:
It causes us to turn away from God when we’re supposed to turn to Him
It leads to disobedience and rebellion
It causes us to mistreat other people
It defiles us! (Mark 7: 20-23)
Manifestations of pride:
Can’t admit when wrong
Selfishness
Disrespect of and no submission to authority
Criticism and looking down on others
Self-exhortation
Too busy or too lazy to help others
The list goes on and on. Even if you possess only one of the aforementioned characteristics, you are still deemed prideful. Stay tuned because I’m going to share with you how to recognize pride, how it affects your Christian walk, and why God doesn’t think it’s cool.
I'm Back!
I don't know why I left!..I suppose I'm never satisfied, but I went over to Wordpress because, at the time, I needed a different scenario. I've decided to utilize both blogs (can't go wrong that way huh?). Anyway, I will be posting other articles from Wordpress here.....Thanks for stopping by!!
~Lenci
~Lenci
LVB Research: MK-ULTRA 2.0 - SSRI Drugs and Mass Mind Control
I know I haven't posted here in a while, but I would like everyone that happens upon this blog to PLEASE refer to my friend's blog. He goes by LVB and he's wonderful! Check it out..... ~Lenci
LVB Research: MK-ULTRA 2.0 - SSRI Drugs and Mass Mind Control: "The SSRI Superhighway - A mind numbing road to enslavement The Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) class of drugs has bec..."
LVB Research: MK-ULTRA 2.0 - SSRI Drugs and Mass Mind Control: "The SSRI Superhighway - A mind numbing road to enslavement The Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) class of drugs has bec..."
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