Wednesday

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

Monday

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!