Culture Shock 5/6/18

Soul Searching 4/29/18

My Will Be Done 4/22/18

Destined for Dysfunction

The Enemy of my Enemy 4/8/18

No Matter What, I Will Not Believe The Lies I Hear 2/4/18

No Matter What It May Cost 1/28/17

No Matter What - I am a Partner with all the Saints 1/21/17

STOP THE WHINING

For months, we have been reading posts on the elections, listening to the whining of people from each side, and seeing people be on each other’s throats. Well, now the elections are finally over, but WHEN DOES THE WHINING STOP?

If people spend half of the time that they use to whine to do good things, the world would not be in the place it is today! There is so much wisdom that can be gained from God’s word. There is so much understanding that can be attained.  Proverbs 6:6-11 says,

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man”. 

What is it within us that puts complaining, arguing, and slandering before all the blessings that are out there?

I will tell you what it is. It is our inability to trust in God. It is our incapability to surrender to His will. It is the power of sin working within us. Followers of Christ are meant to imitate Him and to be representations of His Character. Unfortunately, often many of us, (sometimes without knowing) chose the way of Satan. Did you know the word Devil literally means “slanderer”?

Well, now that the elections are over and you have done everything to see your party win (assuming that is true), and now that you know slandering is Satan’s character, instead of slandering and whining, what if you focus on learning from God’s wisdom and trust Him to fulfill His promise for your life? You see, we can have His power within us to bring transformation to the brokenness of this world. So, let’s use it. Let’s make a difference. You might be upset, you might be confused, but DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU HAVE MORE BLESSINGS AROUND YOU THAN CURSES.

Rundown and Beat

I remember some years back, when I lived in Istanbul, there were so many old buildings around and they were considered historical buildings. The owners of these buildings were given two choices, they would have to either sell their properties (which no body would really want to buy them), or to renovate them. The owners did not like to renovate them because as historical buildings they would have to go through certain codes and regulations that cost lots of money and time and on top of that, the cost of renovating and ancient building was almost as high as building a brand new one. Along with that, these historical buildings were not beneficial to the owners because even if they renovated them, there would only be three or four apartments in them. In a city of over seventeen million population, three or four families worth of rent does not bring a lot of money for the owners. For the same money, they could tear the whole thing down and build a ten or twenty story building and make a lot more money, but the government would not allow them to do that. So to deal with the government, the owners, would abandon their properties, pay taxes for them and not do anything else to them, hoping that over the course of time due to the lack of up keep these buildings would collapse on their own. Some did. I remember one of these buildings that was right next to our building were we lived collapsed one day and scared the life out of us all. Thankfully no one got hurt. Yet, many of these buildings have lasted decades and will continue to stand for many more years.  

If the buildings collapse, then the owners could try to get permission to build something new in place of the old building. Their trick involves taking the risk of waiting for so long to see what happens. It involves carelessness and even messing with the lives of other people.  

As I think about this story, I wonder how often we treat our own spirituality the same way. Instead of thinking of ways of which to take care of our souls, we wait and wait, hoping that one day we can renew our inner self all together. We leave our lives to chance thinking that the cost of fixing our lives at this moment is too high and we do not consider the fact that the more we wait the more we will lose. Yet God calls us to be new creations in Him today. He asks us to come to Him as we are with the promise that He will transform us and build us up. His promise goes beyond renovation and up keep of our spirituality. It is a promise of grace that takes away all the filth and old mess. Imagine yourself as an old run down building that is about to collapse, but God’s grace gives you the promise of renewing you daily and fixing you up. Don’t get me wrong, there are still risks in following God too, but they are not risks of carelessness and selfishness. They are risks that help build you up into a mighty creation. They are risks that help you lift others who are about to collapse.

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5: 17).