OPEN INVITATION: Join the Family of God!

Growing up l heard about a HOLY God who would not always strive with man.  We heard messages about a God who did not dwell in unclean temples and who could not be in the presence of sin.  As an adult, I realize all of that is still true! But we forget that this HOLY  God  made provisions for an UNHOLY people.  Us.  Because of this knowledge, I appreciate this next thought from Old Testament.

I used to like following bible genealogy.  It was just interesting to me to follow how someone's kids turned out,  and whether or not they did right in God's sight.  Most genealogies are found in the Old Testament, but if you read in the New Testament, there is another genealogy listed...Jesus'.  This one caught my interest as well....See if you read through it, you will find a few names that seem out of place.   Most of the time, the listing will be based on the fathers naming their sons, but in this listing it includes five women that are worth looking at... the names of Tamar, Rahab, Uriah's wife, Ruth, and Mary.  

TAMAR

Tamar was a scorned woman who couldn't keep a husband because they kept dying!  After marrying two sons in the same family and both dying, she was being ignored by her father in law, after he promised her a younger son.  So she dressed as a harlot and slept with her father in law to get an heir. She later blackmailed him  when he tried to judge her for being pregnant and unmarried.  

RAHAB

This woman was a for real harlot who worked the men who visited Jericho.  One day some men of God showed up and she helped them in a different way, and saved herself in the process.  By marrying one of the men she met, she also earned a place in Jesus' genealogy.

URIAH'S WIFE

This woman was not named- she is recognized by her husband name, forever connecting her to a murderous plot.  She was the woman that David slept with after seeing her bathing on a rooftop.  She was known by the kings actions after she became pregnant.  As the story goes, David had her husband- Uriah killed and later David married her. Their child died, but she too was listed in the genealogy of Jesus.

RUTH

This woman was found to be faithful because of her heart to help her mother in law.  She was a widow that had no home, but purposed to help no matter what. She said to her mother in law: "Your God is my God, your people, my people and wherever you go, I will go."  Her deeds were not secret and  she became the wife of  a wealthy man who later cared for her and her mother in law.   You would not think a poor widow would make it in Jesus' genealogy, but she did,

MARY

Last of all, a virgin named Mary, she was not even supposed to be a mother, but yet she is the mother of Jesus, thereby in His genealogy.

WHAT'S THE POINT?

You may think this is interesting, but what does it mean to us today. You might say that genealogy is just ... genealogy, you can't help who you are related to; and that would be right.  That person that you think will never make it in to God's kingdom, may be your little brother!  That woman that has habits that embarrass you, may be your sister. 

Well, no matter where you are or what you deal with in life, you are not exempt from being a child of God.  God has made an invitation to all men (and women) and no matter what people think about you, or what you have or don't have, what you have done, or failed to do.... you have an opportunity.  If we wanted to make a lesson of their lives, I would say it like this.

Know your rights, some things have been promised to you!~ Tamar

Don't let who you have been stop you from being who you can be!  Rahab

No matter what you have been involved in, there is still hope! ~Uriah's wife 

Treat people right, and good will follow! ~ Ruth

Allow God to do in you, what only He can explain! ~ Mary 

For many of us who are already in the family of God, we have to remember who we were.  Nothing about us meant we deserved to be included.  And much like these women, there may be more that should keep us out.  So be aware of those around you that you feel should die and go to hell... it should really be all of us.  Know that God has an open invitation for everyone to join the body of Christ!  Will you deliver it?

Adam: Life Lessons of Old!

The last few blogs have had to do with life lessons from the Old Testament.  I know it might not be fun for everyone, but I have always LOVED the Old Testament!  I'm not referring to all the ' begats',  the rules or even the laws, but I have always loved reading about the people.  They had just as much drama as we do and then some!  I love reading about how God loved them, gave them promises, they go wayward and God finds a way to bring them back to His promise.  Does that sound familiar?  It is all about relationships and this is where my next Life Lesson comes from. 

THE FIRST ADAM

The bible talks about a man referred to as the first Adam, which was Eve's husband, the first people recorded as being on earth.  We know the story of Adam and Eve, the creation, the purpose, and the Tree.  Adam was created by God and given a job to do.  After awhile God realized that after naming all the animals, Adam was really alone, so God created Eve from his rib.   God then commanded Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of life or he would die.  That instruction was given to Adam, so when Eve ate of it and gave it to him, it started messages that we have heard for years... "Eve was deceived but Adam was disobedient."  At a glance that may be true, but after hearing a  message recently, I got another angle.

THE LAST ADAM

A friend sent me a video with a message about  Adam, the first and the last. He talked about how Adam  made a choice to eat of the fruit with Eve for better reasons that I could have imagined.  He talked about the covenant of love and that he knew she had disobeyed God and  would be judged and if she was going, he was going with her. The speaker gave a glimpse of Jesus Christ- The second Adam... and how He loves us.  Knowing that we have fallen away from God, knowing that He was had no sin, but He became sin for us and took on our judgment.

How many times have we forgotten that we are the bride of Christ?  We tend to forget that He has made a covenant with us, not just those of us who are walking upright, but even those of us who stand in the midst of a garden of blessing, and take a wrong turn.  No matter where you are in the story line, remember that Jesus won't leave you to go through this alone.  He already took on our sins, He already paid the price, the only thing we have to do is accept Him!

LIFE LESSON: LOVE!

 If you know someone who is struggling or dealing with obvious sin?

Instead of standing in judgment, stand in the gap! God has given us a ministry of reconciliation.  That ministry is not needed because we are walking close to God, it is needed because we are not.  Be willing to stand with someone when they least expect it and walk them back to the feet of Jesus.   The scripture reminds us that LOVE covers a multitude of sin, our and others!

Samuel & Eli: Life Lessons of Old!

This is another Life Lessons from the Old Testament that have learned from over the years.   I believe in being real with God.  I don't pretend that I am perfect, even when I get something right, (especially when I get something right) and I realize that regardless to any title, position, or how long I have been walking with Him, I STILL need Him.  Any bit of success we have,  comes from Him.  I also understand the laws of sowing and reaping.  Some things I have done in my life had consequences, and I adjusted myself when I prayed to God.  I don't pretend that someone is being mean to me, or that someone is not being gracious or spiritual; some things are simply 'I sowed, I reaped'.  That is why this next character taught me a lesson that has been helpful to me. 

ELI AND SONS

We love telling our kids about how God spoke to a child.

BACK STORY:   Hannah was barren and prayed for a son and when God blessed her with Samuel, she told God she would give him to the church and she did, literally.  (Talking about tithe or first fruit! )  Samuel was raised by Eli a priest in the temple, but Eli had some bad parenting issues with his own sons.  According to the bible he allowed them to run wild and they blatantly did things that they knew were wrong and Eli didn't correct them... so God did.  God spoke to Samuel late one night telling him to tell Eli that he was going to be judged for not dealing with his kids. (The full story is great, but you will have to read that part for yourself!(1 Samuel 3:1-10)  Samuel was confused with hearing God call him, he thought it was Eli.  After three times Eli told him it was God and to respond to Him, and he did.   The next morning Eli asked Samuel what God said to him and Samuel was reluctant to tell his mentor, this man of God, that God was going to judge him because of his lack of disciple with his sons.  After Eli got Samuel to fess up, he told him what God said.  Eli's response puzzled me... he basically said:

"He is the Lord, Let Him do what is good in His eyes."  1 Samuel 3:11-17  

As a result in the next chapter not only did Eli's sons die, but he did as well.  

Okay folks, I get it.  I told you that I am really analytical, that I understand consequences and sowing and reaping, I understand that some things I have dealt with are because of my own actions and I can't blame people when judgment comes.  But as much as I know and understand God's wrath, I  also know God's love, His mercy, His grace and His plans are good for me.  I know that He is more gracious than man, more willing to hear our cry and more available to us when we think He should be far away.  God is never wanting us to perish, He prefers repentance!  God has plans for us and even when you realize consequences are coming, you can still call on a God who loves you and has a plan for your life.   Here is an example for those of you who are harder on yourselves than I am....

ANOTHER DEATH SENTENCE

Hezekiah was sick, Isaiah the prophet came and told him to put his house in order because God said he was going to die.  Hezekiah could have said "Be it unto me according to Your word."  But He didn't.  Instead he turned his face to the wall and called on God.  He reminded God of his faithfulness to Him and he wept bitterly.  Before the prophet left the gate, God sent him back with this message.

"Go tell Hezekiah, "This is what the Lord the God of your father David,  says: I have heard your prayer and seen your; tears I will add fifteen years to your life and deliver you and this city..."

Two different situations  but both heard a negative word from God.  You may say that Hezekiah had faithfulness to work with, but as long as you have breath, you can talk to God and ask for His help in building faithfulness anew.  It is worth the try instead of dying a harsh death in disobedience.  

MY LIFE LESSON

So what the story of Eli and his sons taught me, is not to be so analytical that I just accept the reaping for my sowing without asking God to help me uproot the plant.  I would rather have to change my ways and rely on His grace and help to do it, than to accept something less than what God really wants for me just because I feel I  deserve it!  So....

For every negative confession 

"Lord I repent for lying!"  

For every bad seed sown. 

"Lord, forgive me and help me uproot my bad seeds and plant good ones so much that it chokes out the bad.  For  anyone affected by my bad sowing, I pray they reap only good and live a prosperous and peaceful life!" 

For every act of disobedience... 

"Lord, I need Your help to honor You.  I yield my will to Yours and ask You to govern my life. Help me to obey You!"

In Jesus Name, Amen! 

Job's Wife: Life Lessons of Old!

I have always loved the Old Testament.  I love stories about people much like us that had a promise and still had issues walking in it.  I like it because it gives me hope!  See, there is nothing new under the sun, so the things that we read about in the scriptures and wonder "How on earth did they miss God?" .. it still happens today.  We can be so caught up in our life that we miss lessons of old, and also misinterpret their intentions, but celebrate our own.  But God still works in us as He did in them, to will and do His good pleasure.  There have been quite a few people in the Old Testament that I have learned from, a few quite recent. In these next few blogs,  I want to share what I learned from them with you. 

JOB'S WIFE (Job 2:9)

Job was an upright man that the drew the attention of God and thereby also the attention of the enemy.  Satan told God that Job would curse him to His face if he was not so blessed.  God said... (I paraphrase) "Game On!"  In the process Job lost family members, property, cattle,  money and more but he never cursed God.  Then when the enemy said. "If you touch his body, he will curse you.."  God said "Try it, but don't kill him."  In that process Job went through so much, his body was covered with boils, his friends assumed he sinned and tried to get him to repent and his wife (who was also going through with him), when she saw his despair she said "Why don't you just curse God and die?"   Job was shocked and replied "You speak as a foolish woman!  Can we get receive good from God and  not honor Him when things are bad?"  The scripture say in all that he went through, Job never cursed God.  At the end he AND HIS WIFE, had more than they had before. 

BAD ADVICE OR A CHALLENGE?

Job's Wife! For years, we have heard messages about this foolish woman!  We have heard about the bad advice she gave her husband, that lacked faith and trust in God, and how her he rebuked her.  But is that all we get from this?  There has to be more!

Let's look at this story a little differently.   See all of us have someone in our circle that gets on our nerves; some of us are married to them.  These are people who know about what we can handle, they know how we wimp out in the heat of the battle, and they can spot fear or insecurity at a distance.  For those of us who can complain and do nothing, I believe we need someone like Job's wife in our corner.  See, God never said she was foolish, He didn't judge her for her words and based on what we can see in scripture, she was probably the same wife that Job recovered all and was blessed with more kids with.  So maybe her actions were not all bad, what if her words provoked him?

We need people to make us see ourselves when we are going through.  It is kind of like saying "If you are going to whine and be so troubled about it, just curse God and get it over with!"  Some words though they sound foolish will put a fire under you!  It is like having someone complain about their marriage and a friend says "If you are going to complain, just get a divorce and call it a day!"  That to someone who is trying to please God and make their marriage work sounds foolish.  It can make them stop and think... 'I have a lot that is good here and some that is bad.. will I only expect the good and throw away what I have built?'  That in itself is foolish!   

LESSON FOR TODAY

Our takeaway is this... not everything is good advice, not everything is bad advice.  Sometimes we have to look at ourselves and our situations and realize it may be bad, but it is not as bad as it could be.  At least we have our health, or our job, our friends, our family, our LIFE!  Sometimes we find peace in the midst and we can always rely on the fact that God has been good and He has not given up on us!   If you know someone who is going through that needs to hear from words of encouragement, challenge them to look deeper, look at what God has done already. Use your words to provoke to good works and to build up, even if they sound hard.

If you are the person who is struggling, look into your life and find what is good in your situation. Know that God does not allow us to go through beyond what we are able.  You are obviously strong enough for this, you may not think so, but you are.   Find the lesson and learn, know that God is faithful and He will not only bring you out, but He will bring you out with more!  Don't be foolish by complaining, or cursing God and  throwing away His opportunity to bless you!  

"The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the former part....

Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.  After this, Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the forth generation.  And so Job died, and old man -full of years."   Job 42:12,15,16

Sex Robot Brothel?- "An Appetite for Disaster!"

I know... the title of this blog is weird.  Stranger than any topic I thought I would ever write about. I can honestly say that I have NEVER used those words in a sentence together!  But here we are in 2018 and this is something being considered as a business venture in our area.   Many feel it is okay since it does not bother anyone except the persons involved and the sex does not have to be consensual- well... because robots have no will.  (Hmmmm...sounds like the making of a horror movie!)  Some feel it might curve the sexual assault against women  since they can go somewhere else to get that need met.  Some thought the same about legalizing prostitution. 

If you are unaware of what I am referring to, it is sex robots.  These robots are made to look very beautiful, alluring, lifelike and quite young.  If this is allowed in our area, people (men mainly) can visit these brothels and basically have sex with a robot.  You may wonder why I am writing about some thing like this when most of what I do is to bring wisdom to life... well this is why...

APPETITES

If you know me, you have heard me talk about appetites.  Appetites for food can be much like they are for sex, they don't go away, in fact they can grow and pull at your flesh until it is satisfied.  Whenever we as a people allow for any appetite to run rampant, we allow for more problems than we think.  Years ago I watched an interview with a man that had an appetite that got out of control.  As a young man, he loved soft core pornography and the more he looked, the more he wanted.  After awhile photos were not enough, so he moved into videos.  Of course his appetite grew, it craved hard core and then even violent sex images.   Often when those things no longer appease, some turn to prostitution, but Ted Bundy began breaking into college dorms and raping young women to feed that appetite that was now out of control. His appetite didn't stop there, it grew so he also killed them. In 1989 before being put to death, he confessed to 29-36 murders.  Prior to his execution he was interviewed by a well known family advocate and during that interview he exposed the  pornographic trap that fed his deadly appetite.  Remember, if you feed it, it will grow.

THESE TIMES

If you want to read about our times, look at 2 Timothy.  It talks about how this world will get worse and worse.  It also admonishes us to avoid some people and some things, it reminds us to keep steadfast in God's word and His ways.  One thing I realize is that we will never get this world back. We will never change laws to reflect God's laws, even those in politics who claim to be Christians are fighting their own flesh daily.  The laws that are allowed to be placed on the books that go against God's laws are because people want it. If this Sex Robot Brothel ends up in Houston, it will be because someone wants it.  They will see how lucrative it could be, not considering the affect it could have on many people that already have an appetite and are subject to go the Bundy way.   

In this current climate that has missing children, rapes and sexual assault rampant, you would THINK we would get the message that we are simply increasing an already out of control appetite in some people.  I have heard people say:

"Well that is none of my business, just don't bring it in my house!"  

But we all live in a community together, we live in this city, this world together.  Appetites of sex or violence will never stay in one house; it will always grow and go further than it started and many times it can end up in your house. 


I am not writing this to send you boycotting, if that is your thing do it.  But I will say this....as a life lesson.  Don't allow your appetites to get out of control in any area.  When you find a habit that you or your children have that can lead to destruction, do something about it because just as sure as it is fed... it will grow.