Priorities

We are about to launch into a New Year. 2020 has been a year of change, tumult, tragedy, division, uncertainty and a lot of other words that describe a dark period.  On the flip side, for me, it's also been a year of clarity. 

In the remaining hours of 2020, please take time to review the year and find the lessons learned. You will need those nuggets as you continue into the future. 

In 2020, folk reached out to others and embraced empty air during their time of need. Need is not always dollars. Sometimes, all they needed was a kind word, an "I love you", a feeling of acceptance, etc. We get so busy doing "us" that we are blind to the hurt we're leaving in our wake.  

Here's something to ponder. Our stuff matters, but people also matter.

Shut it Down!

Get the folk out your ear who agree with you when your actions are dead wrong.

Most of the turmoil, delusion, cultism, and idolatry prevalent right now started from the pulpit and should’ve been shut down a long time ago when it first manifested. There WILL come a time of accountability for God does NOT like His people being messed with/deceived.

If someone around you is encouraging you to believe and support lies for the greater good, shut it down.

If someone is saying sin is okay if it’s done for a good cause, shut it down.

If someone in your circle is praising, overlooking and/or supporting unscriptural and unscrupulous behavior, shut…it…down.

If they’re enabling or winking at hate and wrongdoing, shut it down!

If you’re asked to pray that deceit and unrighteousness are victorious, that’s NOT biblical. Period. Shut it down!

Frankly, I don’t care what title or position that person is wearing, the size of their religious organization, how deep they claim to be, or how rich you’ve made them. Shut…it…down.

Why do we need to shut it down? What we hear and see, impacts our soul. The more we feed off that stuff—allow them access to our ear and eye gates, the more it saturates our soul and we soon become a mini-me and parrot of the person feeding us.

Think about it. Here’s an example: Preachers have been seen in the media spouting obvious lies and hate, then the congregation responds with enthusiastic praise. What…are…they…doing?! Oh, but the day of accountability is coming.

The sad thing is once you’ve reached that state, it’s hard to recognize who you’ve become...

Shut that stuff down!

Heart Condition Matters

Our heart (mind, emotions, will and conscience) condition matters to God.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 NIV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

Psalm 19:14 KJV

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 51:10 KJV

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

Oh, God help us and revive us again!

 

     

    

The Man in the Mirror

People are fickle.  The emotions and the desires of their hearts govern their relationships and motivations.

They love today and hate tomorrow.

They appreciate and support today and dis and discount the next day.

They exclude people today they included yesterday.

They promise and don’t deliver.

They set loose returning boomerangs, but when they come back, their feelings get hurt because they can’t take what they’ve dished out.

This really makes me indignant: They use the Word to justify their bad attitudes and choices to dis others. They spew hate and talk of the love of God all in the same breath.

Yes, I’m talking about church folk.  Folk who by their changed nature should be in a different place.

If you want to have a bad attitude, have it. If you want to separate yourself from people who have never done anything to you that justifies it, do it.  If you want to hold others in low esteem, thinking you are all that and some, go for it. It’s your choice, but please do me a favor:  Leave God out of your mess. You and your emotions made those choices.

I may seem blunt but love for God’s people flows through what I’m saying. We each have gifts and callings. As much as we would like to be, all of us are not cheerleaders. Some of us have to cry loud and spare not. The gifts and callings may differ, but they all work together for the edification of the church.

Christians should not be ruled by their flesh. The Word tells us no good thing dwelleth in our flesh (Romans 7:18).  Our moral compass must be calibrated by the Word if it is to keep us pointed in the right direction.

Keep it real. You might as well because you are not fooling anyone. Let me qualify that: You are not fooling anyone who has discernment.  And the One who really matters, the Lord, knows and sees all.

Well, this is not where I wanted to go today, but here we are…

If this is not you, say Amen and keep it moving. If it is, repent and stop.

I challenge everyone to take an honest look in the mirror. What does the man/woman in the mirror say about you?