Seasons of Life: The Good and The Not So Good

Some folk have a crisis of faith because they're constantly fed "do this and God will do that for you" and "give to get" sermons but things happen differently.

This is what I mean...
* Give and it'll come back to you in a larger measure--house, car, canceled debt, lots of cash, etc. Instead, you struggle to make ends meet.

* Sacrificial offerings will be returned double fold. Yet, your lights were still turned off and your bills are past due.

* Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Yet, it's been years and the expected answer to your prayers hasn't come.

Note: When we delight ourselves on the Lord, His desires for us become the desires of our heart. The desires of our heart will line up with His will for us. It doesn't mean it's Christmas and our birthday and we get the things on our wish list.

* Just believe...all things are possible if you only believe. Yet, your body is still screaming with pain.

None of those things are wrong because God is able to do above and beyond anything we can ever imagine.

But, but, but God is not a genie nor is He Santa Claus. He is not obligated to move according to OUR wishes. He sees the bigger picture.

We need to know and understand that we move through seasons and all things work together for our good. 

What am I saying? There are prosperous seasons, seasons of not enough, crying seasons, hallelujah! seasons, seasons of health, seasons of illness, and "Lord, come and see about me!" seasons. Through every season, it all works together for our good.

It's great to preach about good things comin', being more than conquerors, being blessed and highly favored, being blessed in the city, being blessed in the fields, etc.

What about those "making" seasons? That season where we're sitting on the potter's wheel and it just keeps on spinning. How about the season when we're walking through the valley of the shadow of death and can't see a way out anywhere?

Yes, God is still there during those seasons, not to bring us out but to take us through.

Through these seasons, He's making us, shaping us, developing us, drawing us closer to Him, breaking us down to rebuild us, stripping our self-confidence and replacing it with reliance on Him, cutting away things...people who are weights holding us back from entering into our next level, etc.

Those are not feel good seasons and sometimes, we won't truly see what God was doing until we've moved out of it, look back, and think things over. One thing we will know for sure is that it all worked together for our good for we have been changed.

Just keepin' it real...

The Soul is More Important Than Dirt

Our soul is where our personality, intellect, will, and emotions reside. It's who we are.

When somebody says, "You know how they are," the statement is referring to characteristics of our soul. 

This is the part of us that dies daily to become more like Christ. This is the part of us the living Word operates on to remove everything that doesn't reflect the image of Christ.

Our body can be seen as the shell or house for our soul. 

Our soul controls the actions of our body. What am I saying?  Sinful actions begin in the mind and are then acted out by the body.

When we die, the body/shell/house turns to dust.  Our current body is not glorified. It's not eternal. It's...dirt.

At the rapture, we will get new, glorified, and eternal bodies.

The Great Commission of the Church--what we are supposed to be about--is to win SOULS for Christ.

Instead of carrying out the Commission, the Church seems to have gotten things twisted and is more focused on saving the body--dirt/dust--and trampling all over, rejecting, and crucifying folk souls. 

Listen, you can NOT win a soul that you have wounded, belittled, rejected, or crucified. 

God help us! 🙏🏽

Just keepin' it real...

It was there all the time...

The ugliness was there hidden behind the "Praise the Lord, Sister!", "Blessed and highly favored!", "I love you!", "Amen, Brother!", smiling face, and Sunday morning handshake.

It was there when they danced💃🏾 in church doing something that looked like a combination of the Wah Toosie and Twist...or some hip-hop move I've watched my son do around the house. 👀

It was there when they prayed for or even laid hands on you. It traveled and entwined with the words they spoke to you when they prophesied or preached to you. 👀

Was church ever a hospital for them where the living Word performed operations to expose the inner workings of and fix their heart issues? 🤔

Was church just a club where they met up with friends, sang, danced...went to see and be seen? 🤔

A lot of folk attend church religiously, making sure they physically assemble in the church building ⛪, but they are not Bible believing, born-again Christians.

Their relationship with Christ doesn't extend beyond the doors🚪of the church building ⛪.

Well, Toni, how do you know? The fruit...

And I'll say this: If the MAGA movement has done nothing else, it's stripped away the facade and revealed the true ugly heart condition of many professing Christians.

See, the movement didn't give birth to the ugliness, it revealed it, nurtured it, and gave it permission to live for...it was there all the time.

Just keepin' it real...

  

It's not About the Date...It's the Day.

Easter Sunday is the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs after the Spring equinox. 

That means Easter Sunday can be anytime between March 22 and April 25 on the calendar.

Listen, the date of Easter Sunday is not what's important to Christians for that date is a moving target on the calendar. What occurred on Easter Sunday means EVERYTHING to us.

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday WHENEVER that date is on the calendar. This year, it's celebrated on March 31st. Next year, we'll celebrate it on April 20th.

Why are some Christians in an uproar about events that are occurring on March 31st when the date itself is not important to Christians? 

We can't allow political wrangling to distract us from what's REALLY important: Celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Hallelujah! He is risen! 🙌🏾🙌🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Just keepin' it real...

A Mirror That Reflects the Hidden

My bluntness may seem harsh to some folk. I hope they also understand that my heart is soft.

Having said that, I'm absolutely fed up with the blatant hypocrisy that's going on in the Church (the body). 

I used to have no problem whatsoever with recognizing hypocrisy and keepin' it movin'. My attitude was, "It's not me, not my problem...oh well." Now, it's like a switch flipped and the dissatisfaction and indignation burns deep; especially, when folk TRY to cloak it under the cover of "The Lord told me or the Lord said".

If I feel this way about hypocrisy, can you imagine how the Lord feels about it?

If I can see it, don't you know those who don't know Christ can see it as well? If you don’t know it, they do and jeer about it.

It's like folk have become numb, anything goes, and everything gets a pass. Things the Church use to call out and rebuke are now being reasoned and excused away. We no longer call a spade a spade.

Self-proclaimed prophets are prophesying lies to the people for financial gain and personal/political agendas, and their targets--lacking discernment--trail after them hungrily consuming their lies, waiting for more.

Some preachers no longer preach holiness, but instead preach feel good sermons to keep the pews filled and the dollars rolling in. Some live raggedy lives like holiness is optional and not a command.

A cheerleader's cheer can’t serve as a mirror for some folk, they'll just soak up the "feel good" atmosphere, not really getting what's being said--the message.

I am not a cheerleader. 

There's no mistaking the mirror of someone who "cries loud and spares not". It definitely doesn't give you the warm and fuzzies. It jars out of complacency, invades comfort zones, and drives away the numbness. It will anger you because it reflects those "hidden" places so stuff can be dealt with.

We know what we should do and where we should be because we talk like we're doing it and have arrived. But oh, if we would just walk the talk, the hypocrisy would cease...

Just keepin' it real...

God help us! 🙏🏽

No Way!

There's no way you could have made me believe folk would be fighting tooth and nail to make a criminal, corrupt, and bigoted individual the leader of this Nation.

I would have thought you were under demonic influence and in error if you had told me Christians would also vigorously support this person. In addition, that they would worship him--or any man for that matter. NO WAY! Just no...

This is why I felt like I'd been blindsided during the 2020 election. I felt like I'd woken up from a deep sleep and my world had shifted into something unfamiliar, strange, and...dark.

Family ties and friendships were being severed, anger and hate hovered over this Nation like a cloud, folk (Christians, too) were committing murder with their tongues, Christians were calling their brothers/sisters-in-Christ demons and condemning them to Hell for daring to have different views and not falling in step, and nastiness had become the norm. How in the world did we get there? How did the Church become mired in such ugliness? When and how did cult mentality creep into the Church and become normalized? 

Now, I consume news. I watch electronic records of what's being said and by whom. I pay attention to what Christian friends and leaders are supporting and approving, and keep an eye on what's happening to the laws of this land.

It's troubling and most times, I wish I just DIDN'T know. BUT I refuse to fall asleep and wake up to an even worse situation, clueless (again) about how we got there. 

Sometimes, I get angry, disgusted, saddened, and frustrated by what I see and hear. But you know what? I have an assurance that whatever happens in this Nation, Toni's little space in it is going to be alright. 

Just keepin' it real...

Life Does not End at Birth

Genesis 2:7 KJV

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Isn't it something how so many folk who call themselves Pro-life actually stop caring about people after they take their first breath?

That living soul that was "fearfully and wonderfully made" then becomes...

* Someone they hate and fear just because... 

* Someone they wish didn't exist.

* Someone they look down upon.

* Someone they find unacceptable because they are not like them.

* A N-word and other derogatory names for different races.

* "You people".

* "Blood poison".

* Someone to keep under their foot.

Sounds ugly? It should...because it is.

These folk are NOT Pro-life. They are Pro-birth for they couldn't care less about that baby after it leaves the birth canal and takes its first breath...

It is for that very reason Pro-lifers are viewed with contempt, disgust, and labeled hypocrites.

Life does NOT end at birth. 

If you say you're Pro-life, BE Pro-life or pin a different label on yourself...else, it will be done for you.

Just keepin' it real...

It's Happened...It's History...It Matters

I just want to drop a little forgotten (ignored may be a better word) history nugget. 

The Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key, a slave owner, in 1814 during the War of 1812. He owned human beings when he wrote the song and still owned them when he died. 

When he wrote the line that's sung with gusto and pride, "O’er the land of the free...", it did NOT include every person--human being--in America. Certainly not the enslaved folk he held in bondage.

His song was adopted as the anthem of the United States of America in 1931.

When your lips tremble to rebuke and low-rate folk who object to the song being considered their anthem, please remember this little nugget of history...because they do.

All I'm sayin' is exactly what I said.

Just keepin' it real...

Marching to the Wrong Beat

✔ Filthy communication...acceptable. 

✔ Lying? That's ok too.

✔ Adultery...It's in the past so no problem.

✔ Stealing? It's ok...they meant well.

✔ Cheating?  Nobody was hurt...it's ok.

✔ Grifting? Nobody made them give so it's ok.

✔ Bribery? Where's the problem...it's ok.

✔ Nudity/porn? Classy and beautiful.

✔ Unrepentantly living in a sinful state...Well, we have all sinned...it's ok.

✔ This one truly baffles me: Rape is now ok, too...

When we choose to turn a blind eye and endorse someone--who has unrepentantly done or is doing these kinds of things--with excuses and justifications, we are putting a stamp of approval on every action. 

You know what? We can excuse and justify sin all we want to but the Word of God does not, can not, and will NEVER back us up. That's just us marching to the beat of our flesh...

Just keepin' it real...

Offensive Word Salad

"We're not a racist country...We've never been a racist country."

                    - Nikki Haley

                      Republican Presidential Candidate

So...slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, the KKK, the Civil War, police brutality against non-whites, discrimination (in the work place, education, and housing)...all of that must have happened in an alternate universe and not America. 😮

You know...this lady just keeps on saying offensive stuff. Does she really believe what she's saying or is she just trying to win the vote of the racist bigots of this country?

One thing for sure is she needs to start thinking before she speaks for these highly offensive statements dismiss, disregard, and discount the real life experience a whole sector of this Nation has endured for generations.

Just keepin' it real...

It's Okay...Love YOU

When you accept yourself, it eliminates the hunger to have people--those sometimes loving, supportive, loyal, giving, hypocritical, tiresome, venomous, toxic, jealous creatures--accept you. 

Love everybody but make sure your constant and loyal companion--yourself--is at the top of the list for people will come and go in your life but YOU will always be there. 

For my deep brothers and sisters, the Bible teaches self-denial (saying no to what we want when it conflicts with what God wants) and humility (not arrogant, not prideful, not boastful, acknowledging a need for God and submitting to Him) NOT self-hate. 

It took me a minute but when I got it...I got it. 

Just keepin' it real... 

He's not Down There

Unbelievable! 

A "Christian" said Trump exemplifies what Jesus would do. 

For that statement to be true, Jesus would have be a rapist, liar, con artist, thief, bigot, nasty to people, an insurrectionist, etc. 

Jesus was, did and would do NONE of those things! 

My question is JUST WHO DOES THIS "CHRISTIAN" THINK JESUS IS? 

Oh, it gets much worse: Trump's indictments for his wrong doings are like Christ's crucifixion. 

Christ was innocent of all the charges leveled against Him!  No sin was found in Him. 

We've witnessed Trump's actions in real-time, we've read the released documents related to his indictments and court cases, we've heard the bile and filth that pours out of his mouth. Trump being held accountable for his actions is like Christ's crucifixion? You've got to be kidding me!

Again...JUST WHO DOES THIS "CHRISTIAN" THINK JESUS IS? 

How dare these folk try to bring Christ down to Donald Trump's level to justify their support of Trump and all he represents, including his criminal baggage!

Look, if folk want to support a rapist, liar, con artist, bigot...just do it, OWN it and STOP trying to reduce Jesus Christ down to Trump's level to justify doing so. 

I admit this kind of stuff is a definite trigger for me. If folk would just OWN their stuff and STOP trying to use the Bible and the Lord as a cover! 

Christ is NOT down there on Trump's level. Never has been and never will be.

How dare they...breathe, girl...breathe!

Just keepin' it real...

Holiness is not Optional

Why is it that so many of the sermons preached today don't include a call for holiness? 

Holiness is not about makeup, jewelry, ankle length dresses, or the straightness of your hair. Don't get me wrong, inward holiness WILL BE reflected outwardly. 

Holiness is about being separated from sin, hating what God hates, loving what He loves, and living by and measuring everything by the standard of His Word.

Many scriptures call for holiness. Some folk live like they consider holiness to be optional...it is not.

1 Peter 1:16 KJV

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

The focus on give-to-get and feel good sermons--to keep the pews filled and dollars flowing--and less focus on the requirement of holiness has resulted in a Church where anything and everything goes. Some boldly and willfully live raggedy and sinful lives, declaring they're covered by grace. 

The Word says...

Hebrews 12:14 KJV

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

I don't care how deep or enlightened you think you are man made doctrines and declarations do NOT trump the Word of God. Period.

I was raised spiritually in the "Sanctified" church in my community. Holiness was not considered optional. It was taught as a biblical command. The more I see happening (and accepted) in the Church today, the more grateful I am for the sound biblical teaching I received as a babe in Christ.