Things aren’t ever the way they seem, as I learned today. The response to a situation (in thought) may be one way, but in reality it is quite something else. And that something else realism may be one of a gifted surprise.

Take today for example. I was not aware my manager was meeting with someone whose case was mine. Without going into a lot of detail, this person was not happy with the way things were going, and the way he responded, um, let’s just say was not positive. When I got to work the manager’s door was closed, and I later found out from my coworkers who was in the meeting. At that moment, I started to pray that whatever the outcome I wanted to keep my cool and I asked for peace. Inwardly was another story. I knew what I asked for, but afterwards I started thinking about what was being said, what the manager was going to say to me, and I surmised (with no indication it would turn out this way) that it would be confrontational, she would not be happy with the case, and on and on I thought. Then, upper management (who was already involved) would write me up, I’d lose my job, and then what would I do? It got to the point that I had to mentally stop the madness of pointless thoughts that were not solving anything, that had no basis of fact, but  continued to keep me mentally in an atmosphere of conflicted unrealism. Then something hit me. Could it be that that is what I like, being in a state of conflict? For a few moments as I sat at my desk as that thought had me at a standstill. Though I just asked for help, at the same time do I want the mental madness to be my reality so I would have a reason to manplain, starting the downward spiral of being in a world of “things as usual aren’t going well for me” mentality? There’s nothing positive with all of this.

Still at my desk, I decided that was no longer where I wanted to be, nor was it the place where I wanted to mentally reside.  I went back into prayer and asked for deliverance from this mental trap that has kept me in bondage, keeping me harnessed in a negative cyclical medium of not going forward to new ways of thought processes and implementing new responses. In other words, I asked for His power to change.

In order to move forward, one has to acknowledge there is room for improvement that will open the door to change and invite the paradigm shift to the new. While at my desk, it was kind of refreshing to acknowledge to no one but myself that something had to give here, the negativity of thought has to pack up their bags of discouragement and move elsewhere. I have been in this battlefield of the mind far too long, and the madness has to end, and the response to it has to be one that has to connect to a new way of not only thinking but doing.

Later this afternoon, I noticed my manager’s door had opened. As I walked past the door the eyes of the persons who were meeting with my manager and mine met. My smile was genuine as I greeted them, and we exchanged some pleasantries. To you, that may not seem much, but to me it spoke volumes. I did not experience any animosity toward them, and as I left the office I noticed there was no inner conflict. At that moment I realized I had started down the path of change.

Does any of this resonate with you? Take a hard look at how you react to situations. What do you do to yourself that causes you to stress out, particularly when there is no indication that something horrible is about to happen? Then give it over to God who can, in an instant, open the door that leads to the possibility of thinking and acting in His realm of being new.

Be strengthenized…

 

 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.           Psalm 37:7

How many times have we seen people who seem to get what they want by doing it in the wrong way? When have you seen someone who will do and say anything to get what they strive for, while at the same time you try to move forward but in the right way and it doesn’t seem to work for you?  Do you feel like someone has told you to go sit in a  corner as you watch those who are undeserving continue to progress while you remain in a static state, not going backwards per se, but definitely not going forward? In the fifteen verses of Psalm 37, David offers some suggestions on what to do during this time:

• verse 1: don’t be irritated or envious of the unrighteous
  • (verse 2) here’s why: for they will soon be cut off, clipped
• verse 3: instead trust in the Lord, and while you’re trusting, do good, and you will be fed in the process
• verse 4: while you’re trusting and doing good, delight (or be happy) in the Lord; when you do you’ll be rewarded by receiving your heart’s desires.
• verse 5: so commit what you do (and how you do it) to the Lord, trust in him (I guess we have to be reminded of that verb again), and he will bring the “it” you’ve been asking for to pass.
• verse 6: God will acknowledge your uprightness and how you live.
• verse 7: So rest in God, wait patiently, don’t be irritated by those who prosper through wicked devices. And verse 8 adds not to be angry nor do something to get the evil one; the rest of the this psalm describes what God will do and how he will handle them.

What can we do that will help us while waiting on God? Here are some suggestions:

• Know what God’s Word says about waiting – find verses on wait and what those of the bible did when they waited for something to happen
• Pray without ceasing; review I Thessalonians 5 that includes this command.
• And here’s another verse to consider as you are waiting: Psalm 52:9 that includes some commands:
  • Praise God forever, because he has done it. We have to believe that it is already done…

God yet abides faithful, for faithful is he that calleth you , who also will do it.                           I Thessalonians 5:24

Be strengthenized while patiently waiting…

 

 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. Psalm 62:1

Waiting is a process that does not include shortcuts, and if you are like me, I would love to have a shortcut, as it would take less time and effort. I don’t like the process of waiting.   Ordering a shirt online and waiting for it to be delivered in three weeks is one thing. You order the size, the color, punch in the needed shipping information, pay for it and the process is done, being told the order will be shipped in three weeks. Waiting for an extended time for something is quite another (months or maybe even years). The type of waiting I’m talking about here I wish only took three weeks or less, but that is usually not the case. So what do you do when you have prayed, anticipated, prayed some more, and not much is happening? The following is not all inclusive, but consider the following:

In order to wait in weightless mode (see last blog entry) there has to be a mental shift. That shift is a de-emphasis from what you are waiting for and more toward an emphasis to the One whom you have placed your expectation in. In other words, stop thinking so much on what you have prayed for (and its solution) and instead think on God and his promises. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee (Isaiah 26:3). The time you are waiting for God’s wisdom and direction is also a time for you to learn as much as possible about what God has already done for you, what his plans are for you, and who he is and forever will be…regarding you. How many times have we stressed out on the issue and  its solution when all we need to do is cast our care upon him and leave it to him for the detailed direction on what we should do? The problem is we tend to make  misguided attempts to create solutions (what if that could happen or what if that doesn’t happen) with no evidence that God never told us to make such creations. Instead he commands us to give it over, which means our hands (and minds) have to let it go.

• Let go of the concern and place it in the hands of God, the faith author and finisher
• Trust God will handle us and the request
•  Read God’s Word, allowing what we read to come alive and give us the power to continue in the process of waiting while God does what is needed in front of  and behind the scenes.

Could it be that while we wait there is actually something we could learn from the experience? That’s next time, but in the meantime be strengthenized, till we “read again”…

 

 

Weight definition: downward force of a body; heaviness; pressure, care; burden.

Weightless definition: having no weight as a result of a lack of gravitational pull, as in space.

Wait definition: remain; expecting something

I am so happy that grad school is over and the piece of paper that I studied three years for is soon to arrive in my mail box. It was preparation for the greater work. My question is what many have been curiously asking: So now what can you do with the degree? Clumsily I answer I could do this or I could do that, but my main response is I am being obedient to God by getting the degree, and I’m waiting on Him for the next move.  Unfortunately, I feel very weighted, and not in a good way.

If allowed, the weight of waiting can be heavy. I remember starting class, and feeling initially intimidated by my classmates who were already doing the work, as they were already in ministry, from being a deacon for years or being a minister since they were a teenager, all knowing their calling. As for me, my thought was that I was here to prepare myself for the next work. And so I continued with the study, trusting God to get finished with the program while trying not to think about what would happen after graduation day. That day was May 21, 2016, being thankful I had finished and being sad about not having the weekly meetings with my classmates anymore. While I was excited about the future, at the same time I did not know what to do next. This week it hit me rather hard I was experiencing the weight of waiting, and frankly I wasn’t too thrilled with the encounter.

I thought of persons I admire who went down the same road I am presently on and how they got through it: I thought of John Gray, first seeing him as a comedian that opened for Israel Houghton & New Breed, and how he stepped out and is now associate pastor of Lakewood Church. What if he stayed being a comedian and never moved forward? I believe he prepared for the greater, trusting God in the process, and now hosts the television program John Gray World.

Singer Jason Crabb, who stepped out on his own after singing years with his family, now a published author. He too waited, but moved when God’s time was right.

Steven Furtick knowing he was to start a church, moved to Charlotte with seven other families begin the greater work, writing a book called Greater that speaks of  what he went through, and now has one of the fastest growing churches in the country.

Author and speaker John Bevere, who was told by a teacher he was one of the worst writers he had ever read. That could have crushed him and possibly weighted him down, but  years later he is a best-selling author with many books written.

I noticed a common thread of these people:

• they prepared.
• they persevered.
• they did not allow the weight of waiting to permanently bring them down.
• when the time was right, they moved into the greater.

So what does that mean for me and you?

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. Psalm 62:5

Be strengthenized, as I continue this thought in future writings…

 

Imagine a piece of lined paper: it has a large space at the top, followed by lines, with spaces in between. The paper I was looking at was in one section crimpled, the result of having soda that had spilled on the paper. The lines are used for the arrangement of words that may formulate thoughts. This paper had some thoughts on it of what I was to write about, though they were incomplete. The one that seemed to jump off the page was  the phrase ‘in the fight’, as that was the way I felt.

Have you ever felt that you are so close to a breakthrough while at the same time so far from it? That describes the type of tug of war I have been experiencing lately: feeling down and fighting that feeling, coupled with trying to be patient about some things, wanting to wait for God’s answer, but at the same time wanting to make a decision to get it over with. At the same knowing that is not the answer which brings me back to being in wait mode, and on and on it goes. This is what I define as fighting the in-between.

The in-between is full of incompleteness, a holding pattern that awaits answers. Will I be happy with the finality of the answer when it comes, or will it have me in the space where frustration is alive and well, waiting to attach itself to my mind? there are many in the bible who experienced this:

• Relational in-between. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, wrongly accused by the wife of his boss, interpreted dreams of others who said they would not forget him regarding getting him out of jail, but forgot anyway.  But the bible says that the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39) and prospered him in all that he did. Regardless whatever in-between spaces Joseph found himself in, he always sought the Lord, who rewarded him with success and prosperity where ever he went, which included him reconciling with his brothers.
• Emotional in-between: David knows about being in-between, as while he wrote praises in this book, he also many a time wrote thoughts of asking where God was, and why was he allowing the enemy to win and prosper. But towards the end of a particular Psalm (like Psalm 13, for example), David speaks of trust in God’s mercy, which causes his heart to rejoice.
• Physical in-between: Paul  asks God to take away the thorn in his flesh (asked three times) to no avail. Instead, God responds by saying that His grace is sufficient for thee. Paul then writes whatever infirmity he has to glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

So how would you describe your in-between? May I suggest the following:

Psalm 31:24: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

because

II Chronicles 20: 17a: Ye shall not need to fight in this battle, set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you,…

and

Isaiah 26:3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.

As the in-between invites us to be in the fight,  all we have to do is ask God to do the fighting…

Be strengthenized my friend…

I was awakened this morning, and when I looked at the clock it was 3:12am. I keep sermons on my computer of Bishop Dale Bronner, listening to them nightly that helps me go to sleep. This particular message was entitled Navigating the Challenges of Life and at and I was awake enough to hear the following:

• “Don’t make your age a problem.” Artist Grandma Moses (who did not sell her first painting until she was 90), Benjamin Franklin was 78 when he invented bifocals, Winston Churchill was 78 when he wrote his first book that won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature, Nelson Mandela was 75 years old when he was inaugurated president of South Africa after being incarcerated for 27 years. Michelangelo did not start his work on the Basilica until he was 72 years old. At age 95 Nola Oaks graduated from college with a degree in history. “Don’t limit God by your age…your best days are ahead!”
• “Quiet your ego, soften your heart, and open your mind.” Change your trajectory by following the guide of the Holy Ghost (God Positioning System), who will guide you unto all truth.
• Examples of events are losing a job or experiencing  the death of a loved one. Transition is the processing of the event, and involves the emotional, psychological, intellectual, relational and financial processing of change. Oftentimes it is not the event so much as it is the transition of the event, which fosters change.
• Why would God confine you to one little corner? He has so much more, which includes   potential, possibilities and opportunities.
  • What is potential?  It is the ability to do something.  Can you imagine yourself doing something you thought was impossible? The more you see yourself doing that, and the more frequent you envision it, the more clearer it becomes……It very well may be that imagination (root word is image) is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world in all there ever will be or understand (Einstein). Dream in vivid color as much as you can!
  • Opportunity it is all around us. It means simply the chance to do something.  Why do many not take advantage of opportunities? Be prepared to seize the portal of opportunity!
  • Possibilities…Inventions have one thing in common: they all started with an idea, and their inventors saw the idea as a possibility. Impossible is I’m possible. Be a possibility thinker, as Robert Schuler used to say.

In the next few hours I will be walking down the aisle of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church to receive my Masters degree in Theological Studies from Palmer Theological Seminary. A journey I thought was impossible is becoming possible today. To my Professor I say thanks for your teaching. To my classmates I say thank you for your friendship and comradery. To God I say thanks for honoring your Word that with you all things are possible.

What an amazing day this is for me.

“…he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”  Mark 3:5

I am such a fan of the elevationchurch.org website, to the point I arrange my Saturday schedule to make sure I am home to view the worship service live at 5pm. Love to listen to Pastor Steve Furtick. His latest series is on functional faith, and  yesterday was the first installment. What stuck to me the most like words leaping off a page (in this context off the tv screen) was this (paraphrasing here):

What is the opposite of faith?  I heard fear, doubt…but the opposite of faith is certainty.

Faith has to take a stand…your faith will work when it’s stretched out.

I thought about exercising (what he used in his message), and how that enables one to function better, including those muscles in your body that aren’t functioning well until they are exercised. Spiritually speaking, what are parts of your life that aren’t functioning well, like the man’s withered hand? Are you willing by faith to stretch that out to God, expose it, show it to him in faith believing?

Here’s another stunner: do you have faith that is based or dependent on the outcome of a situation? If you do, then faith will be lost. Faith should instead be an outlook:

I don’t know how this will turn out, but I will praise you anyhow.

When this happens, faith is building and is shifted to a different focus: not the outcome, not the problem, but honoring God throughout the process, and trusting him as you stretch out into the unknown. That is functional faith.

I started thinking about myself. Many ideas I have, and I think about them a lot. At times that can be a good thing, but when you continue to think, and not implement, something’s wrong, or better yet, something is not functioning, but is withered, as it is not happening. It’s as if (to use Pastor Steve’s illustration) the idea becomes like fine china that is seldom used, but kept on a shelf, only coming out on special occasions. Implementation of the idea (in my context of writing is just putting ink to paper, translating the idea from mental abstraction to concrete reality) is challenging for me, to the point of thinking perhaps the idea is not a good one.

But I have stretched out, not only thinking of starting a blog but actually doing it. One blog turned into two: lucidity2015.wordpress.com was the first one. And it all started one Saturday morning, I stretched out. There was no certainty of whether or not it would be a success.  But I can tell you with certainty that when I look at a blank screen and make the attempt to create, it formulates into concreteness. I begin to come alive with watching words form on a screen, and what amazes me is I can do it at a fast pace.

All because faith was allowed to be stretched:

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things[we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith    perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].  Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Version)

God is waiting for us to move toward him, in faith believing the “it” can happen. Faith involves not knowing the outcome, but trusting God for it, praising him regardless of what the outcome turns out to be. That is faith in its functional form. Honoring God in this manner is everyday worship, as your faith takes a stand through stretching.

Be strengthenized in God…

 

 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6

  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.          Romans 7: 15-17

I say to myself I must lose weight. I tell myself I need to exercise more. I say to myself eating healthy is the way to go.

Good news: lost a few pounds and started to exercise. Not so good news: healthy eating is not in full gear, and I need to exercise everyday.

I need to stop.

The need to stop is evident in all of us if we admit it. The will, the desire to do better is there, the difficult challenge is to not only think about implementing it, but have the stick-to-it element that will enable us to achieve it, reach the goal. Why is it we want it but can’t fully obtain it? Paul had a similar thought.

In the 7th chapter of Romans, Paul spoke of what should be done isn’t, and what should not be done is. He goes on to surmise that because of the sin nature we all have, we can’t do what we know is the right thing to do. We need help that will aid us to stop doing the wrong thing.

Further Paul presents another thought: Once Christ is received, the right can happen, as it is no longer him but the Christ that lives in him that enables him to do. Perhaps that is the true issue. Why is it that those who profess to be Christians have a daily struggle with stopping the wrong actions? You missed it. I just gave you the answer.

We struggle because we live life in our own strength, living life devoid of the ample assistance that is at our disposal if we only ask for it. If we stop stepping in, trying to resolve the problem with our limited reasoning and allow instead the Help to come, then the newness of life in Christ can begin.

There are songs being sung lately that speak of a profound thing. The power that raised Christ from the grave is the same power that lives in us, in those who profess and possess Christ.  It is in Him that we live and move and have our being, which includes the ability to stop. It is also where the start can begin.

  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

Dying is not an easy thing to do, especially when you’re still alive! Paul was in prison, but yet he allowed himself to stop, allowing Christ to have center stage in all that he did, whether it was writing letters of encouragement, preaching, or being bound in prison, he stopped so Christ could begin, which allowed Paul to start anew. Dying to self to become alive. What a lovely concept! Challenging, but lovely nevertheless.

And so whatever your struggle is, allow yourself to admit that you may not have all the solutions, and that you may not be as powerful as you think. But also acknowledge there is Someone who can not only jumpstart you down the lane of complete wholeness, but is also completing the work he has already started in you…if you just stop.

Tomorrow I will exercise, purchase the healthy stuff, and eat right for four days, stopping in the process while allowing the Help, the Power, to start.

Be strengthenized…

The past week, including this weekend I have not gotten much sleep. I toss and turn, and on a good night I may get four hours straight hours of sleep before awakening and praying I can get back to sleep. Nevertheless, when morning came I was determined to get to the Sunday morning service in hopes of getting a word of encouragement. As always, the praise and worship music was great, and I believe the liveliness of it is what kept me awake. But when the sermon began, the quietness of the atmosphere lulled me to find the sleep I could not find the night before, only awakening and being frustrated in the process. As I prepared to leave that service to go to another I noticed the friend I was sitting next to (as prayer was going on) was crying. As what usually  happens when I notice this, I put my encouragement cloak on, so to speak, put my arm around her and attempted to speak words God was giving me. They were words of casting our care upon the Lord for he cares for you, what appears to be impossible is possible with God, ask God to help with our unbelief in faith areas where faith does not exist, having strength, and on and on it went, kind of  surprising myself of what I was saying,  but knowing it was God’s words speaking to her and not mine. We hugged each other and I left, looking forward to going to my favorite pizza shop for a lovely slice of hot sausage pizza with melting cheese, that would act as a sleeping pill so I could catch a couple of cat naps before going to the next service; it worked.

While at this church I sang songs with the choir. Here are some of the lyrics to three songs:

Victory Is Mine, Victory is Mine Victory today is Mine,  I told Satan to get thee behind,                Victory today is Mine!

                                                              Be and be not afraid, to reach for heaven

              He taught me how to watch, fight and pray,  and live rejoicing everyday…everyday!

Sunday night before turning out the lights I prayed for a full night of sleep and rest, that whatever was causing this restlessness would stop, if just for one night. I must say, the evening started off good, and then midnight came…

I must have been really getting into the sleep I needed because when the phone rang, I didn’t react quickly. By the time I got to the phone it stopped, but I noticed it was my son’s number. I thought he just wanted to say hi, as his shift at the hospital where he works as a registered nurse was during the night. What struck me though was the time: it was about midnight, and I thought something was amiss, particularly since I know he is aware of my sleep issues. I called him back but he did not answer. What seemed to be an hour of waiting for the return call (of course I was wide awake by then) was really only five minutes when he called me again.

While racing his motorcycle (which he did not have to do as he had a great day of racing) he decided to go one last time: it was one time too many, as he crashed, injuring ligaments in his shoulder and breaking his left leg in two places. Being in the emergency room for a few hours, the medical staff getting the swelling down which lessened the amount of pain he was experiencing, the doctors told him he would need surgery the next morning. The call ended with me asking he keep me informed as to what was going on, which he agreed he would do.

Please God, get me back to sleep…

Can’t tell you when, but I did eventually sleep; actually I overslept, which had me getting out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom and beginning the process of quickly getting ready. Ready to leave, I got on the highway, feeling the evidence of lack of sound sleep, thinking to myself to make sure I had my phone, and realizing I did not have it. This prompted me to get off the highway, go back home to get the phone, and start the travel again, this time the traffic, once on the highway, had tripled in size due to an accident farther down the road. While behind the wheel I asked God for help, but in the asking my head was overrun with thoughts of how to get to my son, being concerned if he was alright, needing to talk to my supervisor, wondering if my scheduled appointment would happen, etc., but then the prayer shifted to just saying to God who he was, what he has done, and trusting him with all this, and this is what happened:

• the rain stopped
• the  skies opened, just long enough for
• the sun to shine on me, and
• I remembered what I told my friend with
• the music and the lyrics of the songs listed above were loud in my head

and then I knew I’d be alright, and so would my son.

Now my ‘what about this and that’ no longer caused inner turmoil.  Peace entered in.

Was I still tired? Yes.  Was there still work to be done at the office? Definitely. But through it all, there was peace.

• My son texted me about the surgery; it was supposed to happen in the morning, but was pushed back to the afternoon. As of this writing, I am still waiting on an update.
• I discovered God has surrounded him with a great network of friends who came to his aid, while others offered prayers and words of encouragement via Facebook.
• yet others were changing their schedules to be with him at the hospital.

God is good, and I’m so grateful, which keeps my mind stayed on him, like the lyrics of Tye Tribett’s song Stayed on You suggests:

Ok, when troubl’ it comes my way, I’m not gonna fret, ’cause I know night becomes day. All things work together for the good, so I will trust and obey. ’cause even still, life could be worse, You’ve been so good, I give you all my worship, the storms of life will always go, But you give me perfect peace!                               I GOT MY MIND STAYED ON YOU!

And that is what the Stayed Mind concept is all about…stay strengthenized.

 

Today is Good Friday.

Usually this is a day of reflection of what Jesus did on our behalf. For many it is a solemn time. My pastor stated it should be just the opposite, a joyful reflection. Jesus was willing to step in and take our place of punishment for being born in and committing sin. We should have received the punishment we rightfully deserved. But because of what took place on Calvary we have victory, mercy and the gift of grace. But there’s more, so much more.

Many think that once salvation is receive that’s it. But Jesus, when he left the planet sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us in every need and situation. As we live, there is God, who is forever available to answer the call of situations that need resolution, sicknesses that need healing, relationships that need mending, and the provision of peace we can’t explain for inner quietness, available for all who believe God is the One who provides.

All this and so much more Jesus provided while on Calvary; I suppose that is why this particular Friday is described as Good. Thank you Jesus as you continue to strengthenize us…