The Next Level…

I know it has been a while since I have written, and I have no excuse. We make time for what we see as priority. I guess you can say my priorities were mixed up.

Anyways, onto the Word and what has been revealed…

This past week, I have been feeling down off and on. I am very stressed, having a lot going on in my personal and professional life. Things have not been going as planned  and it’s a very uncomfortable feeling. I don’t feel like I am in control of anything. This is when God sent me to the book of Job. It was funny how He did it. He started at the end of the book.

^“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before,” (Job 42:10)

I could hear the Lord telling me that He will restore me. I was so happy to hear that. Thank you, God! But the revelation did not stop there…He took me to the beginning of the book,

“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil,” (Job 1:1)

He asked me, “You believe that I can restore you, but you don’t fear me and you don’t shun evil? You are out of order!” For real…I was shocked. I was starting to pick and choose what Words of God I wanted to stand firm on. I wanted God to bless me, but I wouldn’t bless Him. I wouldn’t give the Lord my time. I wasn’t reading His Word, fasting, or praying. But I just knew, despite my disobedience, I would be restored and blessed. And at the same time, God is saying I will not bless you in your current state. It’s time to change.

Don’t get me wrong…I am blessed and the Lord does continue to bless me with good health, a job, a nice home, etc. but we have to understand that God wants to blow our minds with a miracle…a blessing beyond this world…with something that He can only do or provide. That is going to the next level. You only get there with fearing God and shunning evil. You can not go there without obedience.

So I have to get my priorities back in line. I have never stopped loving the Lord. Sometimes we just get sidetracked. It’s time for me to express that love by fearing Him and shunning evil. It’s an ongoing process. I know one thing, I want and long to go to the next level. And it is also my prayer that you go there to. I love you all…

This is my prayer.

I’m just chillin…

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” – Matthew 24:42-44

As I read the above passage of scripture, I thought about the times when I was knowingly participating in sinful acts. I would go out, get drunk…lust after men…dance to music that contradicted who I was in Christ and what I believed in…and the list could go on and on. But I thought…what if Jesus came…in the flesh…and caught me? Would He have any effect on me and my actions? Would I stop dancing? Would I continue to have lustful thoughts running through my head about the guy at the bar? Would I continue to drink my long island ice tea?

I don’t think I would continue. I would first be shocked (of course). And then I would stop…I would be ashamed of my behavior. It would be similar to if my parents would have walked in and I’m all over some guy, making out. That’s not cool. I don’t think anyone would continue poppin’ bottles and grindin’ up on some dude if mama walked in the door. It is the same way with our heavenly Father. I think you would stop whatever you were doing.

The worse feeling for me is getting caught. I feel so ashamed in myself, like I know better. And the fact of the matter is we’ll never know when Christ is coming back so we need to be ready at all times. I want to be ready. I don’t want to be caught getting drunk when Jesus comes back. I know it’s somewhat hard to think about, but just as you would prepare for a relative who is visiting you, it’s the same thing, in a sense. You would make sure your house is clean…you would have good food ready for them to eat….AND you wouldn’t leave the house…you would wait for them to arrive. I feel like we are an unpure generation, with no fruit…not expecting Jesus to show up anytime soon. But we don’t know that for sure.  We need to be pure and have the fruits of the Spirit for Jesus to enjoy.

My prayer is that we get out of the “I’m just chillin…I’m just doing me” mindset. I know when I get relaxed and don’t read my Word daily, I slip back into the mindset. It’s whack and it’s not beneficial. I, a mature believer, no longer wants to feel ashamed about the actions I know I shouldn’t be doing. And I know y’all feel me. So let’s get ready for Christ! It’s a process, but I know we can all do it. This is my prayer….