Junk food. Y'all know what I'm talking about. You know, Micky D's, Burger King, Chinese Buffet, Oreos! Mmm...and let's not forget that oh so tasty Breyers ice cream! Oh yes! But y'all know that right after you eat it, you feel sooo guilty. You're guilty because you know that mess just ain't good for your body. After eating the junk you feel soo "luggy" and lazy to the point were all you can do it roll over and SLEEP! (I know, it's that "itis" LOL!) Don't you hate when that happens? Well, if that's the case, why is it that we do it with our spiritual lives? We neglect to allow God's love letters to touch our hearts through genuine study while allowing the garbage of the world inundated us with everything contrary to what God intended us to represent.
Why am I commenting on this? Well that was my experience today. So today all I did was Facebooked, Myspaced, IMed, watched foolish youtube videos, and read online gossip articles. I mean, I'm not gonna lie to you, it felt pretty good. But it's the end of the day now and I feel like crap. (well, felt like crap--until i prayed and read the Word.) Why? Because I neglected to allow God to touch me. I neglected to dedicate myself to His Word and to ommune with Him. I neglected to die to the SELF.
Although I was feeling good, filling my mind with spiritual junk food, I was yearning for communion with God. I was like man, I really need to do this, it'll make me feel better, but for some reason I wont. Ugh! Funny, right? I think the Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 7:17-19, “..As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”--You wanna do good--press forth toward the goal of perfection in Christ, but you don't because of sin.
This goes to show how serious sin is. It clouds our eyes of the Truth. The truth that we were made to glorify and represent God, the creator. Sin is our nature now. It is the core of our fleshly lusts. Is what I'm saying non-sense to you? Well, let's take a look at the human psyche. Sigmund Freud, this crazy Psychoanalyst came up with the these three basic constructs of the human mind: the Id, ego, and superego. The Id represented the basic human nature--the part of you that will do just about anything to "survive", literally. The ego is the side of you that will carry out your fleshly desires, but in a more "normal" and socially acceptable way. Then you have the superego which is your moral side, the side where you put aside your personal desires and agendas for the sake of morality. From a spiritual perspective, the Id can be your sinful nature; do whatever you want, when you want it, and get it how you want it without any regard. The ego can be your same sinful nature plus Christ. Now that you are a new creature in Christ you no longer do things the way you used to do it. Your superego is akin to the "upward calling" that Paul talks about in Philip. 3:11-14--perfect spiritual being--what God originally intended us to be. Isn't it funny how relatively modern science explains what the bible has been explain for eons? I digressed. Please excuse me!
Anyway, all this to simply say that today I identified sin in action.
Sometimes I get discouraged. I feel like man, forget this being like Christ thing, I can't do it! But then I realized that it's the sin in me and not the new me. So do not be discouraged brothers and sisters in Christ! Just continue to die to your fleshly desire and run the good race! Forget the "junk food"--Garbage on TV, Gossip on Facebook and Myspace, contradictory music--and feed on that which is healthy and good--GOD'S LOVE LETTERS TO YOU (the bible)
With that I leave you with this scripture:
Phili. 13:12-15 "12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained."
My prayer
"Lord, help me to die to myself daily. Help me to feed my spirit man with that which is nourishing and uplifting. Help me to understand sin nature. Help me to understand that it was meant to separate me from You. Thank you for making this clear to me."
Amen!
Isn't God good? He reaches out to commune with us, even though we do not deserve it. Hallelujah!
Selah!--Pause and Reflect
~Jay
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hypocracy...
To my wonderful Jesus followers who absolutley love to losely use that ugly little word: "Hypocrite". Think about it before you use the word.
Technically when you look at it, by nature, we are all hypocrites. From top to bottom. Modern day Social Psychology proves it and even the bible proves it.
Romans 7
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Why? Sin. Duh.
~Jay
Technically when you look at it, by nature, we are all hypocrites. From top to bottom. Modern day Social Psychology proves it and even the bible proves it.
Romans 7
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Why? Sin. Duh.
~Jay
Er'body knows you are sexy, no need to show it off boo.. :-)
[Currently Listening to "Know it All" by Yamie's "Anthems For Life"-->http://www.myspace.com/yamieministry <--]
Hey yall! How you doin'? (In that horrifying Windy Williams voice. LMBO!) So, I'm on Facebook, as usual just chillin. I love Fbook, but MAN it can make me become one nosie lil girl, lol! N e who, I saw something interesting pop up in my mini-feed. I opened it. Two words: "LAWD, WHY?"
What did see? I see one of my "church sisters" who actually claims to be a follower of Christ, posed basically nude (arms covering her breast). I mean, granted, she had a bikini top on, but at first glance homegirl looked like something that belonged on the cover of a Playboy Magazine.
Why am I commenting on this? Well #1 She basically naked. If she really respected herself, and embraced her beauty for what God had made it to be she would not be posing for a picture like that. She'd be saving it for her husband (I know I can't wait for the day! lol! Halleluuyyers! [Madea Voice, lol!]) #2 She's a "Christian"--I use this term losely, believe me. If you're a Christian, right? And the bible clearly states that you are NOT to be as "stumbling block" to your brother, why would you (or u allow n e body else) to post half-naked pictures of yourself? Let's be real for a moment do you really thing that your half-naked photo would NOT induce lust in another man??
Ladies, just because we think dressing "sexy" or worse--basically half-naked, would NOT do any harm, does not mean it wont.
1 Corinthians 8
7But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
Romans 14
1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
I think these scripture can very well be carried over to apply to other sins that can be a "stumbling block". Clearly the idea is that just because one thing doesn't cause you to sin, does NOT mean it WONT cause your brother to sin.
So ladies, let's help our brother's in the faith to not fall prey to the lusts of their flesh. Let's dress modestly (does not = purposely looking ugly, lol--G-Ville days! Whoo) and love our brothers. :-)
Now, I'm not saying that your salvation is in what you wear. Neither am I saying that you should walk around like you're a Muslim or something. The point is that the way we dress CAN cause some unseen damage. So again it's not about wearing this or that to be considered "Christian" or "Non-Christian"--although I would think that if you are indeed a new creature in Christ you would actually want to outwardly look different to show you are of Christ. As long as it doesn't become legalistic, (which easily leads to self-righteousness and self-glorification) you all good in the hood. :-)
So remember, the only debt we owe each other, in this case your brothers in the faith, is LOVE. (Romans 13:8). If we love our brothers we would try our very best to conscientiously dress modestly--non-lust-invoking-ly (haha, I just made up a word :-] )
Call me old school, bible thumper, or whatever. I have said what I had to say. Throwin' up them double deuces. Holla. :-)
Love you sisters in Christ!
~~Simply "Jay"
P.S. I am totally NOT exempt from this instruction, lol. --More intelectual peices coming later. :-) Maybe..just maybe. :-)
Hey yall! How you doin'? (In that horrifying Windy Williams voice. LMBO!) So, I'm on Facebook, as usual just chillin. I love Fbook, but MAN it can make me become one nosie lil girl, lol! N e who, I saw something interesting pop up in my mini-feed. I opened it. Two words: "LAWD, WHY?"
What did see? I see one of my "church sisters" who actually claims to be a follower of Christ, posed basically nude (arms covering her breast). I mean, granted, she had a bikini top on, but at first glance homegirl looked like something that belonged on the cover of a Playboy Magazine.
Why am I commenting on this? Well #1 She basically naked. If she really respected herself, and embraced her beauty for what God had made it to be she would not be posing for a picture like that. She'd be saving it for her husband (I know I can't wait for the day! lol! Halleluuyyers! [Madea Voice, lol!]) #2 She's a "Christian"--I use this term losely, believe me. If you're a Christian, right? And the bible clearly states that you are NOT to be as "stumbling block" to your brother, why would you (or u allow n e body else) to post half-naked pictures of yourself? Let's be real for a moment do you really thing that your half-naked photo would NOT induce lust in another man??
Ladies, just because we think dressing "sexy" or worse--basically half-naked, would NOT do any harm, does not mean it wont.
1 Corinthians 8
7But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
Romans 14
1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
I think these scripture can very well be carried over to apply to other sins that can be a "stumbling block". Clearly the idea is that just because one thing doesn't cause you to sin, does NOT mean it WONT cause your brother to sin.
So ladies, let's help our brother's in the faith to not fall prey to the lusts of their flesh. Let's dress modestly (does not = purposely looking ugly, lol--G-Ville days! Whoo) and love our brothers. :-)
Now, I'm not saying that your salvation is in what you wear. Neither am I saying that you should walk around like you're a Muslim or something. The point is that the way we dress CAN cause some unseen damage. So again it's not about wearing this or that to be considered "Christian" or "Non-Christian"--although I would think that if you are indeed a new creature in Christ you would actually want to outwardly look different to show you are of Christ. As long as it doesn't become legalistic, (which easily leads to self-righteousness and self-glorification) you all good in the hood. :-)
So remember, the only debt we owe each other, in this case your brothers in the faith, is LOVE. (Romans 13:8). If we love our brothers we would try our very best to conscientiously dress modestly--non-lust-invoking-ly (haha, I just made up a word :-] )
Call me old school, bible thumper, or whatever. I have said what I had to say. Throwin' up them double deuces. Holla. :-)
Love you sisters in Christ!
~~Simply "Jay"
P.S. I am totally NOT exempt from this instruction, lol. --More intelectual peices coming later. :-) Maybe..just maybe. :-)
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