Are you an Unprofitable Servant.

Matthew 25:24-25

 ²⁴Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
 ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

I used to feel sorry for the one who had the misfortune of only having one talent.  It is the same sorrow that I felt for people who make minimum wage or people with a lot of debt.  I had a "poor man's " pity.  When I read the parable of the talents I thought God was rather cruel to the one with one talent.  Years later, I went back and took another look at what the unprofitable servant said.  He said, in essence, "Because you were a hard man forcing me to give you something you did not work for, I hid the talent and give you it back."  It was the most ungrateful thing to do.  He decided to do nothing focusing on the owner rather than the seed the owner gave him.  We so often focus on many things except the seed given us.  We become the experts on what the president should do, but not ourselves.  When it comes to us, there are a million and one reasons why we don't profit.  We have expectations of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and Bill Gates, but we aren't good stewards over what we have.  I remember reading a story about Flip Wilson.  His family members wanted money from him.  He agreed to pay for college educations.  He refused to just give them money because they asked.  He agreed to give them a seed.  It was up to them to make it profitable.

Remember that they are children

1 Corinthians 13:11

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

     Every year the same controversy pops up in Christendom.  Do I allow my child to participate in Halloween or do I forbid it?  As a child, my mother did not allow me to participate in Halloween.  I understood that being sanctified meant a huge list of do's and don'ts.  Because I was a child, the grand interpretation of the satanic origin of Halloween meant nothing.  I could barely read the words in the Bible let alone interpret them.  My thinking was that of a child.  All the other children seemed to be having so much fun and I was stuck doing nothing.  When I got older, I understood as an adult.  I did not celebrate Halloween, but I did not make my children in my classrooms suffer.  I decided to celebrate Fall Festival.  I made caramel apples, I roasted pumpkin seeds, I made pumpkin pies and I created themes for them to dress in non violent costumes.  One year, It was the wild west and we all were cowboys.  One year it was the 1950's and we all were teenagers.  In time, they will come to know what Halloween is and make the decision for themselves.  One day, they will be adults and they may not ever need Fall Festival again.  As a child, I would have understood a fun alternative.  I could not understand nothing.  Nothing meant that you just did not care.  That is the only conclusion I could come to as a child. 
     We have to remember how adult decisions appear in the eyes of a child.  For those who partake, I ask that you use caution.  For those who abstain, I ask you to provide an alternative.  We must always remember that children don't understand theology.  They truly do think like children.

Great people are not always found in great places.

     One day, I was in church doing my "church" thing.  I had become down because I was trying to move out of my current position to one in a public sector.  It was a pivotal point seeing that after that, a move would not be wise.  Reluctantly, I even considered a job in the corporate world.  I turned to find a man standing in front of me with words he had to give me.  He said," Great people are not always found in great places".  That word hit me like a fast ball.  I always feared that people would not be able to see the real me if I wasn't in a big place.  I thought people would judge me if I did not do something to make my greatness known.  Who wants to be great in the wilderness.  Over the years, I have come to realize that some of the greatest pastors don't pastor mega churches, some of the greatest singers haven't won a Grammy and some of the prettiest people never graced a runway.  They are the everyday greats whose stage was a spotlight in my life.  Their greatest contribution was that they provided me comfort and guidance along the way.  My supervisor at the job I stayed at, told me something that I shall never forget.  She said, "When these children leave us the remember the bright spots.  We are the bright spots."  Now, that is greatness.

For the Sake of Peace

2 Samuel 21

 ¹Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

     There are times, in our lives, when we experience a delayed consequence.  It didn't start with you.  It had nothing to do with you, but your the one that will pay for it.  David had nothing to do with what Saul did with the Gibeonites, but because there was a covenant broken, the issue had to be fixed, someday.  David did what needed to be done for the peace of Israel.  He took seven of the sons of Rizpah and offered them to be killed for the broken covenant.  Rizpah beat away the buzzards and cried.  It was one of the most unfair stories in the Bible, but in the end, God opened up the skies and it rained.
     What has been left in your hands to repair that was not your fault in the first place?  What price are you paying for some distant relatives mistake?  What are you having to do for the sake of peace?  Are you bitter about what it is costing you?
     Some years ago, I was left to raise children that I did not ask for.  I ran up debt that I am still repaying.  I suffered from years of bitterness and brokenness that many got tired of hearing.  It was not their burden.  Both children lived full lives and died in God and my job was done.

     This weekend I visited their graves in my hometown.  The leaves were just turning from the trees and it was a warm southern day.  The sun had come from behind the clouds and I had not a worry to my name.  I peered at the headstone of one, and the memorial of the other and a sense of pure peace filled my heart.  I am finally at rest with the price.  I finally found peace.

Departing is Such Sweet Sorrow

1 Corinthians 7:15
But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such [cases]: but God hath called us to peace.


     The ending of a relationship can be painful.  It can be especially painful when one party is trying to make it work and someone just wants to walk away.  It's not just man/woman relationships that end this way.  It could be siblings, parents, coworkers or friends.  It puts you in a quandary when your affections are for the relationship to continue, but the reality is the relationship is going to end.  In the above scripture, there is a believing spouse and an unbelieving spouse.  The scripture says to allow the unbelieving spouse to depart.  That can also be interpreted for any union where two people cannot seem to walk in agreement anymore.  God simply says that he calls us to peace.  You can have more peace by letting something go, than by holding on to it.  You are not in bondage when someone doesn't want you anymore.  You can bring more damage trying to force something that no longer fits. 
     There can be a real sense of wholeness and serenity when the nights get quieter, and your sleep gets sweeter.  You may even find that you can find a place for cordiality when you are not forced to occupy the same space.  There are times in my life when I knew my chapter was coming to an end.  It always worked better when I accepted it and not worked against it.  Not only can life leave you with endings, but it can also leave you glad to see the end coming.

I pray that you remember, God has called you to peace regardless to the price that the peace will cost you.


Walk On By
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzchQ_ydowk

Whom the Lord Loveth..............

Psalm 51:9-11 

 ⁹Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
 ¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
 ¹¹Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Chastening is like a good bath when you are filthy from the world.   No one likes to be told that you stink, your hair is gritty, your toes are jammy and your underwear is cheesy.  It takes a pretty sick mind to enjoy being dirty.  Cleansing makes you feel good and it makes you feel better.  I went through a period in my life where God was doing some chastening.  It wasn't just me, but the system that created me.  It was a long twenty year period and I often blamed God for abandoning me.  When it was over, and it is over, I understood that things just could not go on that way.  God had to do something or the next generation was done and I was that next generation.  God fixed me.

 I pray that as each one goes through a correction that it be just as sweet.  Even his chastening feels good.  I am smiling.

 Fix Me by the Alvin Ailey Dance Company

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CXk1mQVCgI

Have you considered...............

Job 1:8  Have you considered my servant Job

There seems to be a theological teaching that says God's goodness can be measured by the amount of cars in your driveway, or the amount of people at your church, or the house that you live in.  Popular prosperity teaching denotes that God is only on your side if you have some sort of sign.  Even in churches, laity tramples themselves to hear a message by a popular preacher and then skip their regular service on Sunday morning.  It is such a great deception.  One day, I was walking along a trail and God showed me what was his.  He said that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, but he did not make the road I walked on.  Man made that road.  Man put his system right on top of God's perfect world so that when you travel, you have to use the system to get there.  That is the same way it is with Satan.  He has a way for you to be blessed because he holds the worlds systems.  You can be rich and not even be saved because there is a system in place that allows you to do that.  Success should not be seen by things because the enemy can give you things.  What he cannot do, is bless you outside of the system.  What he gives will not last and there always is a catch.  The same God that diminished Job is the the same God that snatched sudden wealth out of nothing greater than what he had before.  Now, that is God.  You can't predict him, and he follows no set plan.  He can bless in a recession where this world is failing.  He can bless in a time when everyone else is loosing their homes.  God is not limited to the worlds system.  Who wouldn't want to serve a God like that.

Apples and Onions

I talk to single people all the time who name the name of Christ and participate in risky dating practices.  They say they love God, but are found with people who don't love God.  I used to think that it was rebellion, but then I discovered that it was desperation.  When you allow yourself to get too lonely, or too bored, or too hungry, you begin to see things that aren't all that good for you as good.  When a person has not eaten for a while, they get to a state in hunger that foods they would not ordinarily eat become appetizing.  Onions begin to taste like apples.  Once your hunger is fulfilled, they begin to despise the onion because they finally realize that it is an onion.  That is how dating becomes toxic.  If you date someone that you know you aren't going to marry, you end up being more hurt than if you would have left them alone in the first place.  For the most part, it is the unbeliever who is played like a fiddle by a believer, who will satisfy their hunger for love only to pester the poor person into coming to a church they don't like or serving a God they don't understand.  It is the believer who gets the heart entangled and then say to the unbeliever, if you love me then you would get saved.  No one should come to Christ that way.  Christ should not be dangled like a carrot on a stick for you to lure a potential mate.  God did not create anything greater than himself.  Your body should not leave you hurting people like that.  Your longing for companionship should not imprison someone from making an independent decision.  Wisdom says that one day, the person you lured will see you for who you are.  They will understand that Christ was not your total Lord and you will be just as manipulative as unsaved partners are.  Once that happens, then you will be the one chasing the carrot on the stick.  Who wants to live like that.

Matthew 10:38
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

    As you know, my home is filled with crosses.  I have old rugged crosses and crystal crosses.  I wear them around my neck and hang them from my Christmas tree.  They adorn every nook and cranny.  It is a symbol of the soul reason why I am able to live this wonderful life.  I found this song five years ago and it is my favorite song.  I am ever mindful that the essence of my salvation is not things, but a thing, the cross.  We are not even worthy of him, if we deny the taking of a cross.  When I have bad days or difficult days, I remind myself that it is in the list of crosses that I must bear and that Jesus had his too.  A song from my youth says, Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free. There is a cross for everyone and there is a cross for me.  I hope you like this song,  It always takes me in.

My prayer is ecumenical.  I have a concern that the world is preaching self help, or entitlement or prosperity and the message of the cross is denied.  Life has it's troubles and there are times when you just have to bear it.   All else pales to the cross, Nothing compares to the cross my grossest issue becomes a whisper when I survey........ 
When I survey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-mKnY2HMXg

Diamonds and Pearls

Diamonds are the precious things that you learned from the life that you lived.  Pearls are the tidbits of wisdom that you would not trade for the world.  This blog is based on Christianity because it is the only religion that ever worked for me.  Over the past year, I developed a way of encouraging myself with the word of God through scripture, songs (Not all Christian), and daily devotions.  I talked to the Lord in the morning and preached to myself at night.  Sometimes, the only person I had to talk to was God.  This blog is about what I have learned from the Lord and how he has greatly influenced my life.  I hope to hear from you soon.

Until then, be blessed my brothers and sisters.