JOY!

When you imagine life for yourself, your family, your significant other, you never imagine pain. You imagine the happy moments filled with smiles, playing Just Dance, or Karaoke with friends. You never imagine ripping your heart out to avoid the heartaches that people that "suppose" to love you bring, nor do you imagine a life filled with loneliness to remain detached from people to avoid getting hurt.

When people mention joy, they don't mention that its not always filled with smiles and laughs but often filled with hurt, pain, and suffering. But, one may ask, how is this joy. Joy is Jesus over yourself. We suffer with Christ so that we might reign with him. Suffering with Christ, shows God that we can bare the fruit of long-suffering, temperance, and meekness. I often learn through my own suffering that when Jesus suffered for me, he chose me over himself. So how can I be joyful in a world that is full of hurt, harm, and disappointment? By putting Jesus over myself. This way, I know that my suffering is not in vain.

My suffering is not for the enemy's pleasure but for my Lord and Savior to get the glory in the end. We have joy through Jesus. In this world, you will experience pain, but putting Jesus over yourself will get you through it and to a more joyful state because you are living for Jesus, suffering for Jesus as he has done for you.

Love one another

Growing up, unity was not something pushed in the school systems. Therefore, it was every man for himself. How many grew up feeling alone, feeling as thought it was yourself against the world? I was not exposed to the ideology of loving one another until I sought Jesus. When Jesus revealed himself through the word he said love thy neighbor as thyself. Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Treat others as yourself!

Embrace Freedom

Sometimes we forget just how good Jesus have been to us. Jesus freed us through letting his blood shed on the cross from his head bearing thrones! This is not a fairy tale, this is a miracle! This is the key to the cuffs being removed, the map the the lost, comfort to the weary. Fear no more, we are freed and no longer have to worry.  

Standfast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. -Galatians 5:1. We cannot allow ourselves to go back in bondage but flourish in freedom. 

Flourishing in freedom will keep us bond in Jesus' Love which is all we need. Taking the liberty to pray an hour a day, praise Jesus with hymns. My favorite is Love You Forever by Tasha Cobbs. One of her lines states: 

You wont ever give up on me
And all that I have will never be 
Enough to 
Show you 
How much I 
Love you
But I'm gonna Try!

We have to take liberty in loving Jesus with everything we have and more. Standfast means to refuse to abandon one's own belief. 

How many believe we are free today? How many know we are free today? I am here to tell you to walk, run, leap into Jesus' liberty and do not look back!

Stepping into God's Light

Have darkness ever been a tribulation faced? Darkness steals our love, peace, and joy. When in darkness, it's impossible to vision the promises of God. Wondering if we will ever see light again, wondering if we would adapt to darkness; you learn to do one thing: step into God's light.

To step into God's light is to have constancy and perseverance in the Lord. Your walk with God will require you to suffer for Christ. II Timothy 2:11 states, "It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:"

The light is God! II Samuel 22:29 states, "For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness." With God, there is a fountain of life through Gods light will shall see light. We have to come  to the fountain thirsty. If we are not thirsty, how can we drink? We have to feel the need for God's light to shine down on us. He said to call on him in our trouble and he will deliver from our distresses. Personally speaking, I remember wondering being lost in the wilderness, I couldn't see what was ahead. It took crying out to the Lord from the depths of my soul for his light to shine down on me.

After his light, I was restored... He given me his love, peace, and joy to me. The most of these three is love. We have to have love to endure to the end. With love, we will see God's vision. Once we see his vision, we have to step into it. He has a vision for us and that is to be in God's light: be in God.

Perfect Love

            Who wants perfect love? Many individuals are looking for perfect love through many things whether it’s through scholastic, athletic, or occupational achievement; many are highly motivated to reach self-actualization to feel perfect love.

           

Many individuals try to find perfect love through defining or finding their purpose in life, to have a sense of belonging, or being apart of something great. “Leave your legacy” is what people suggest.

            For others, finding perfect love is finding their soul mate no matter what it takes. Everyone wants perfect love. It’s portrayed through the media everyday. Match.com is swamped with over 1,000,000 members trying to find their soul mate.

            Scholastic, athletic, or occupational achievements are often met, people find their forte, and the big one: their significant other to spend their life with.  Celebrities are a big example of this. They are successful according to society’s standards. Cars, clothes, mansions, and huge bank accounts have become a given to them. Some even partake and charity and philanthropy work to help others.

            Yet, many are lost. Them and their children are depressed, they feel a void, and are often unhappy and can’t appreciate life because they’ve come to the realization that they are not truly living. If a person is attractive and financially successful with family and friends, how can they possibly not have perfect love? This is the million-dollar question.

            Every type of ideology is pushed except for the one that transforms; the love of God.  God’s love is selfless as he created heaven and earth for us. (Genesis 1:1) His love is selfless and sacrificial as he manifested himself onto earth to save us.

(1John 4:9-11)  Many say that God is not real, that there is no proof of his existence, but the Bible states, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1Timothy3:16) God is real through justification in the Spirit. We have to have his Holy Spirit to know he exist because that’s the only way you will be able to experience him.

            How does one receive the God’s Holy Spirit? The simplest way to say it is through having faith.  Faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews11:1)  If we are able to have faith in the philosophy of man, why can’t we try having faith in God? Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James1:12) Through God, we are able to find our purpose in life. Fining our purpose in life through God is perfect love because our purpose to love God because he first loved us. Through loving God, our insecurities are taken way, our dependence on others for love, recognition, and happiness are taken away. God is perfect love. 

TobyMac - Me Without You (Official Lyric Video)

A new leaf

Leaves constantly change with the season. We are as leaves; each time we grow in Christ, we change a color, leave the tree branch we were once attached to. We are able to grow stronger on a different branch. Our old leaf decompose in the ground, just as our old ways. When we chose to leave our old ways behind, we are choosing to grow in God and are casting our past down to the pits of hell where it belong. We are strong and mighty through the Lord because he said his strength is made perfect in weakness. He also said that he will renew our strength if we wait upon him. 

Let our past decompose. Your season is changing for the better.

Lord You're Mighty!!

Jesus' Love

Jesus' Love. It's all we truly need in life. This is my first day of giving myself wholeheartedly to him and with this, I will keep a journal of each day of what occurs as dedicate myself to God.

Today was a blessing. I went to church at 9:30am expecting to pray, praise God, and go home. This what not the case. As God would have it, I found myself breaking to touch God. I realized how desperate I was to be sanctified.

To be sanctified is to be pure and holy. I desire to be sanctified because it would mean I have reached my full potential in God for God. I love him dearly and my heart breaks to please him in all I do.

Writing is a form of worship for me because God speaks through me, which in turn allows me to share his goodness with others. God has given me this gift so I would like to use it to my full potential.

After church, 4hrs ago, my fiancee had to pack to go on a spiritual retreat in the 'woods'. It's always sad to depart from her because God has knitted our hearts, but God always keep us.

Now I am at my God Mom's house getting ready to eat a wonderfully cooked dinner. It will also be a time of fellowship as God has united two sisters of mine (Shati and Tania) and two of my brothers (Ly'Jerrick and Jeffton). As I go to fellowship with you, I ask you to try to be sanctified in your hearts because your will feel Jesus' Love every time.