More than a feeling

I just have to thank God for everything that He is doing in my life! Though I can not see most of it and I do not feel at my best, I know that Gods hand is upon my life and there is no area (not even one) that’s out of His reach or control. Sometimes I just get so caught up in that moment of light affliction, but it is truly only for a moment in time and is in no way comparable to the glory Christ will reveal in the time to come. I am thankful to be standing on The Rock. My friends may fail me, my family may fail me, my job may fail me, my pastors may fail me, but my God is the most faithful and consistent one in my life and I know that He will never fail me.

When we are in the storm it’s hard to see, think, or even imagine how we are going to get out, but we must remember our God. There is no storm too big for Him. He is our God of peace, Jehovah Shalom, and we have the fullness of God’s spirit living on the inside of us. The same power that conquered the grave & calmed the storm of the raging seas dwells in the inside of me even when I do not “feel” it.

There have been many times I’ve been at churches and I’ve heard people, even some leaders say that the atmosphere is too “thick”, meaning that there’s opposition & it’s very hard to feel or get into the presence of God. I’ve heard it said many times but only recently did I realize that just because the atmosphere feels “thick” doesn’t necessarily mean that its because of some type of oppression from the enemy.

I was reminded of Moses. When God descended in the form of fire on top of Mount Sinai the entire mountain was filled with so much smoke, like that which you would see coming from a brick kiln. Still Moses pressed through the smoke, endured the heat, and made his way to the top of the mountain. It was in that place, after much endurance that he met with God and received the “Ten Commandments”.

How much more should we press into the presence of God?! It all goes back to going beyond what we feel. So many times I’ve found myself guilty of saying I don’t “feel” God, or His presence, but the truth is God is so much more than a “feeling”. Whether we “feel” Him or not He is still there, He is still God. So many times I have run across people who say if they would just play this one song, of if I attend this church service, or this conference, then I will feel the presence of God.

But we can not continue to run to other things to find our source to God, even those that are “good” things can not replace a true relationship with God and can easily turn into idols. We have the fullness of God dwelling on the inside of us, but if we never take time to commune with God on our own and cultivate an intimate relationship we will never tap into the fullness He has for us.

Eagles have the ability to tap into the slightest amount of wind. Even in the driest of deserts where you can not necessarily “feel” any wind, eagles can tap in and soar to highest of heights. The same should be for with us as Christians as it relates to our relationship with God. The only limits we have in God are the ones we place (or allow others to place) on ourselves. We have to be willing to press in, contend for more, and not cave in/ give up so easily just because the atmosphere is a little “thick”. We are supposed to be atmosphere changers. We bring the kingdom of God where we go, so we can not let an unpleasant atmosphere dictate how we respond in the presence of God.

Matenneh-Rose

Though there are many times I loathe having to come to this job [at the jewelry store], there are days like today that make me so happy and cause me to think twice about it. I get to meet so many people and most from different parts of the world I may never see.

Today I met Matenneh-Rose, a beautiful woman born and raised in Liberia with a Muslim father & a Christian mother. I love the boldness she possessed when speaking about my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. When I was casually talking to her, before I knew anything about her, I knew or suspected that she might be a Christian; he choice of words was very different. So I asked some questions, and the first thing she said to me was, “My name is Matenneh-Rose. I love the Lord, and I am a Christian.” Hearing her say that brought such a smile to my face; it was refreshing because here in America we don’t see that very often. Instead, when introducing ourselves we say things like, “My name is____ and I {insert fancy title at company, or what church you attend, or school here}” I found it very interesting that immediately following her name was her saying how much she loved the Lord and was a Christian.

It was also very interesting to hear just a snippet of what sounds like an awesome testimony. She was born into a family where everyone, with the exception of her and her mother, were Muslim. Normally Christians are persecuted but her father not only allowed her to attend church, but sometimes he would actually be the one to drop her off there. She was never rejected by her other siblings or her father, and now her brother has become a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, & started a church. It’s amazing. It’s encouraging. God is so awesome!!!

I really wish I had more time to sit down and talk with this woman. She seems very interesting, but this was her first time in the states and she was on her way to visit family in Dallas. Perhaps I'll see her again.

He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. Job 5:9

My thoughts on the spirit of immorality

Through out the month of August God had been dealing with me about the spirit of immorality. He really opened my eyes and allowed me to see how much of it was actually in the lives of this generation.

One Friday night in August while in the youth center God gave me a vision, but I had no idea what it meant. What I saw was “Snoop Dogg”, the rapper’s head floating around inside of the youth center. [Just in case you have no idea who that is, “Snoop Dogg” is a West Coast rapper from California. He used to be very popular but besides all of that he’s also known to have given his soul over to Satan in exchange for fame ] Normally I would just submit it to the leaders and let them figure it out but I decided to just be patient and wait on God to tell me what it meant. So I went home but I was still very curious as to why God would show me that, then it became obvious to me. What God was showing me was that this was the spirit of immorality.

So what does the spirit of immorality have to do with the youth at my church or even this upcoming generation? It has a lot to do with both. The spirit of immorality resists and even rebels against those biblical principles that have been instilled in us from the very beginning of our walk with Christ.

I think that God is highlighting this area because (1) He loves us so much and doesn’t want to spend an eternity away from Him in hell, and also (2) because even in the lives of well meaning lovers of God are areas that go unchecked by the Holy Spirit because we just accept it as the norm. The thing is, those unchecked areas can very easily turn into open doors that enemy can come crashing through to attack and torment us.

Though this spirit can appear and operate in many forms, the most common one [and by that, I mean the one most widely discussed] is the area of sexual lust and perversion. Unfortunately, though I hear it discussed so much in church I do not see much fruit from the messages preached. It is as if the church does not have ears, or perhaps some people just do not want to hear the truth because there comfortable and have allowed themselves to grow complacent. Whatever the reason may be, from where I am I have not seen many people warring against this spirit and contending for purity. I’m not just talking about sexual purity, but purity in general as a lifestyle.

We cannot expect there to be any change in the world if we first do not allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and take away the junk, take away the things in our lives that cause God to resist us. We need contend for purity in every aspect of our lives, from the inside out. We need purity in our eyes, our hearts, our speech, our actions, our Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and every other social networking media.

In Matthew 5:27-29 [_{You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell}.] Jesus makes it very clear that if you look at another person with lust in your heart you have already committed adultery and all adulterers will eventually end up in hell. It is inevitable unless you pick up your cross, deny your fleshly carnal desires, and follow God. To pick up your cross means to embrace Galatians 2:20 [_{I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me}] willingly dying to yourself so that Christ would be exalted and glorified in your life.

Though you may stumble, you may fall thousands of times but if you fall you have to get up, repent, and keep pressing towards God. Do not fall and stay there, when you do that you’re in a world of spiritual trouble. When you fall what you decide to do down there will determine who you worship. Will you worship baal, or will you rise up and worship the King of kings & the Lord of lord, Yahweh?

The spirit of immorality has so inundated the church. It is so widely accepted and many times we turn a blind eye to it, and I believe it’s because of fear. Fear that we’re going to be perceived as condemning, fear that we’re going to be offensive, fear that we’ll cause people to run away/leave the church. The truth is God is seeking a church filled with lovesick worshippers who do not care about their reputations; they’re only desire is to be a voice in the wilderness, in the driest and sometimes darkest places, “prepare the way of the Lord.

The word of God is holy. When it comes up against the spirits of this age, the spirits of this world, whether it be idolatry, lawlessness, fornication, or all things immoral it will always be offensive. His standard is all things holy and pure, and His desire is that we His children would adapt those desires.

He is looking for those modern day Nazarites, a people who would choose to live a fasted lifestyle denying themselves of the legitimate pleasures of the world. God is calling a people, a generation who would rather deny themselves in order to engage, encounter, and pursue Him. He is looking for those people who are determined to seek His face no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice. He’s looking for a people whose concern is not the stage of the pulpit; they’re not concerned with what looks right in the eyes of man, their only concern is what is right to the eyes of the almighty God.

Where are the people who will wholeheartedly live a life of consecration to God? To live a life consecrated to God is to live a life completely dedicated to the service and worship of God. It is making a solemn commitment of your time and life to God, biding yourself to His word and living a life that is set apart from the rest of the world.

Finally an update!!! (Sort of...ehehe)

Geez! It has been such a long time since I have updated this blog! My how time flies by, I guess now that I actually have a job it’s a lot harder to carve out time to sit at a computer and type, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have tons to say! Its actually a lot easier for me to sit down and write in my journal, mostly because my journal is almost always with me so whenever I have a random thought or idea I simply jot it down. I suppose if I had an even fancier phone [not just one with internet capabilities & touch screen], I could update it while on the go but then there would probably be tons of grammatical errors! LOL

At any rate starting today I will actually sit down and transfer some of the things I’ve jotted down in my journals over the past few months, To my few loyal followers, thanks for hanging in there! ;)

There should be something coming your way in a few hours!

Today at work it was a slow day. I didn't have many customers but I had tons of tiny issues arise. I was almost tempted to panic and freak out but I didn't. God has given me so much ridiculous favor at this job that even when I completely drop the ball it all works out. As much as it sucks to have so much downtown at work at times, I'm very grateful for it because it allows me to get in more QT & reflection time with God. The product of today's downtime is below. I love writing so it's very rare that I don't have a journal with me. I know I don't write on here as consistently as I had hoped to, but still I love writing. It is quite therapeutic for me.

"I find myself encapsulated by His jealous flames. He pursues me;He pursues me even though sometimes I run away. His love exposes and burns away every idol I've hidden in my heart & engraves His name for all to see. I have been marked by His love; showered with His affection..."

Struggling to be perfect

Today (and even yesterday) I've found myself "caught up", entangled in a web of lies and deceit from the enemy. I feel like somewhere along the way I re-accpeted to worlds view of how a woman should be, appear, act, etc... These aren't my viewpoints or thoughts at all, but somehow being "here" at work these thoughts and viewpoints have penetrated my mind and attempted to etch themselves onto the walls of my heart. Thank God for.....well, thank God for GOD!!! If it were not for my relationship with Him and daily checking myself against His standards [the word of God] I would have easily accepted the worlds standards and found (well actually lost) my identity there instead of acknowledging my true identity which is only found through Christ Jesus.

Despite knowing these truths these last two days I've just felt "off" and it really annoyed me. There wasn't anything really wrong with me but for some reason these was this lingering thought plaguing the back of my mind trying to slowly creep into the crevices of my heart to be "perfect" Perfect hair, perfect shoes, perfect dress....PERFECT! Inwardly there was this battle raging between my flesh and the truth. I had to just stop and tell myself: "It's okay to have an "off" day (or days), you are human. You're not going to always have it all together, you're not always going to feel perfect, BUT in God's eyes you'll always be that way to Him and that's all that matters."

In todays society our identity as women is constantly under attack; no matter where you go there's always a standard (this standard) that people sometimes subconsciously hold us to. It's like you walk into a room and everyone pulls out their invisible ruler of what a woman should be, but how many people actually use biblical truths to define a woman? Now I'm not suggesting that you pull out the bible and use it as a strict list to follow or else you're a "bad" woman. What I am suggesting is that youuse the word of God to examine yourself, ask the Holy Spirit to check your heart daily for things that are displeasing to Him. Allow yourself to live under the grace of God, accepting His standards above all others, so that even when you miss the mark He is there to help you find your way. It's these biblical truths that we need to define ourselves with with and to be forever etched onto the walls of our heart

--
Roneshia N. Shaw


Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

Moving Forward

Today I was flipping through the bible and I decided I would finish reading the book of Joshua. Well actually I guess it's more like I'm still starting to read it since the last time I only made it to chapter 3...LOL Anyhow, today as I was reading about Joshua circumcising all the men of Israel before they prepared to take down Jericho right around verse 6 of chapter 5 God dropped some revelation in my lap.

Joshua 5:6
"for the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD- to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk & honey."

When I read this at first I was like "OOOOOHHH!!!! That's why they were wandering out there in the wilderness for so long! Not just because they were disobedient but because they had to wait for all the men who were old enough to fight in the battle with Egypt died off!
[I know, I know...DUH RONESHIA!!! ehehehe silly me :-) ]

Then I started meditating even more and I came to this conclusion [which isn't really new but it was a much needed reminder]

You can not fully move forward into who God has destined [called] you to be until you completely die to your old man [ your wants, your desires, your will, etc...], just like the Israelites could not move into the promised land until all of the old men died off...literally

I know I still have things I have yet to die to... [DIE FLESH DIE!!!! ahahahaha ] but hopefully it won't take me 40 years! :-)


Just thought I would share this with someone :-)

This is a "Re-Blog" if that's correct word usage....ehehe

My friend Joshua wrote this, but I liked it so much that I decided to re-post it. It's a bit raw, so chew slowly. :-)

//Hoodwinked

Here's a quick back drop for my point.(Read all the way through!)

Before the lord returns, there will be seven years of Tribulation. Despite popular western belief...the church will be on the earth during the tribulation. It's our privilege not our punishment. Any who, long story short the Anti-Christ will bring false peace for 3 and a half years to win the heart of the world, become the world political leader, then turn on everyone and make everyone get a mark in order to buy food. He will declare him self as God, and many will believe him, even the elect in Christ(better get grounded in the knowledge of God) will get swept a wave in deception. Then that's when all the bad judgments are released and then at the 7 year mark, at the 7th trumpet, the King will shout and split the skies with passion in his eyes.

Whew...that was a mouth full.

Paul said that the dead in Christ will rise first to meet him in the sky and get there resurrected body, then those who are still alive will get there's in a twinkling of an eye. Our resurrected bodies will be shinning like the sun(hint we will be like him when we see him :] ). The degree of our brightness will be determined by our faithfulness to God in this age. Jesus' sermon on the mount tells us that it's what's done in secret that matters. Faithfulness is measured by our life in secret, not in public.

Our relationship with God in this age will be put on display for all to see in the age to come. He will openly reward those who were faithful in secret. We're going to be surprised by who actually knew God.

I said ALL of that just to say this. Don't get hoodwinked by peoples external expressions of greatness. It's what done in secret that will transfer into greatness in the age to come. Some of the greatest well known men of God will be just as bright as some of the laymen house mom who know one knew about. The street sweeper is eligible to have a greater reward that the healing evangelist with the world-wide ministry. It's all about the heart. Get wise. Tuck your self into the bosom of his presence and pursue more of HIM and not a bigger whatever. Don't worry your self about who see's you, be determined to be seen by God. Oh, Beloved when you value his opinion over every other set of eyes...freedom is yours. Ok enough bunny trails.

Give your self to the knowledge of God. To know God requires relationship. Relationship demands intimacy. Knowledge is intimacy. You can know as much of Him as you want. He's unsearchable. You cannot exhaust the knowledge of God. Let the pursuit to know God more intimately rule your life(over pursuit for temporary pleasures and greatness). That's holiness. That's your reward. God himself. In all of His Glory. Don't get hoodwinked by what you see ;)

Do you live in a fairy tale?

Earlier last week I was having a conversation with friend and we ended up on the subject of Fantasy. It's perfectly normal for a person to have fantasies ,I would say, but the danger lies when you allow yourself to become consumed in your fantasies.

I didn't think that fantasy was a form of pride at first, but as my friend and I began to converse I saw how she was correct. Fantasy, while seemingly harmless on the surface becomes quite dangerous when you frequently begin to retreat there because most times when one begins to fantasize it is primarily focused on "self", and if you are focused on yourself that means you are not focused on God. When we're constantly focused [or fantasizing] on what we want most times we won't pay attention to what it is that God wants.

I like how Luke Holter describes fantasy. He says "Fantasy can be a good or a pathological defense. Fantasizing involves creating an inner world when the real world becomes too painful, difficult, or stressful." I would say that is fairly accurate. Now of course not all fantasy is bad, in fact it actually is healthy [I think] to have some fantasy, but if you find yourself retreating to your fantasy world when things get too tough in the real world out of fear [or whatever your reason may be] then there is a problem. How can you live out your current [present] life if you're so caught up in how you wish things were?

The bible calls for us to be "sober minded", but how can one possibly be sober minded when we allow ourselves to be consumed in a fantasy world where everything is perfect and there are never any real problems. We have to be willing to contend in the battlefield of our minds because it's there that the war for our destiny is being fought.

Most times people retreat to fantasy because of previous hurts & pains that they don't want to deal with. Truth is, if you ever want to move forward you have to deal with your past [no matter the pain] and trust that God's can heal you. After all He is the worlds greatest physician! ;-)

New Years "Hype"

I've never been one to get caught up into the "hype" of the New Year. I'm not one to make a list of new years resolutions [because I probably wouldn't keep them] and I've never gotten into the "church hype" of it all either. You know how every year it seems like there's some theme…yea, I've never found myself into that stuff. I can say that with the ending of 2010 & beginning of 2011 I've found myself leaving many things behind. I feel like as the year came to a close I closed many doors from my past and now stepping into this New Year I'm able to really move forward. I've just recently returned from my 2^nd church camp "Nha Ca" and I know leaving there that I've let go of a lot and I'm ready to see what God does in this new year. It's hard to explain how at peace I feel about everything, and honestly I don't have a full revelation of just how much God did for me during camp, but I know that there's a lot of "junk" that I got rid of and I don't plan on taking  any of it back. I think I'm still processing everything ....

--
Roneshia N. Shaw


Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.