What on Earth are We Seeking?

I visited a fellowship yesterday and went to the adult Bible class. 

          

I dread them.
           

But I really liked this one.

We talked about scripture. We talked about the Enemy creeping in.

We talked about the One who Sees Everything.

It was refreshing. 

We talked about  (drumroll)  Prosperity Gospel!

                                                 

Now, I loooove to talk about Prosperity Gospel.

Not to be confused with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It gives me the chance to share what God is saying to us, today. And what He said yesterday.

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
Matthew 6:9-13

 "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."    Matthew 6:31-34

I know we know these verses, but what do we think they are saying?

I read an article woman who has cancer wrote about PG. She made the point that if bad things happen to you and you follow the belief that only good things happen to the faithful, where does that leave you?

I agree. Believing that bad things will never shadow your life is pretty ignorant.

Jesus never told us to pursue money, or fame, or a career, or an education, or even a ministry. 

He told us to pursue HIM.

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers,Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.         Matthew 4:18-22

                     "Seek..."

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”         Psalm 27:8

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.    Psalm 105:4

                                     

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.   Isaiah 26:9

For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.    Luke 11:10

                                               

And then, there's this one;

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?     John 5:44.

Are you seeking how to grow  a bigger church?

How to involve more people in teaching classes?

How to get, and keep, kids in church?

Are you seeking how to be blessed with health, money, ministry?

Why?

Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added.

Things.  He'll add the things.

Joke* Osteen is big on God's favor. So is Andy Stanley. Seeking God for the purpose of getting what He has for you.

What's wrong with that, you ask?

Let's say Prosperity 'ministry' of God's Favor is cheesecake. With fresh strawberries. And freshly whipped heavy cream.

I want it, and I want it bad! Sooooooo good!

Gimme-gimme-gimme-gimme!

Oooooh! My friend has cheesecake too. Wonderful. Why is her cheesescake bigger than mine? 

What did she do to get more? Did I do something wrong?

"No, of course not! You just need to ask harder for a better and bigger serving!"

Is there anything to go with this cheesescake?

"I'm sorry, but you only need cheesescake. Go get it!"

I could use some bread. And maybe a glass of milk?

"Why look for trouble! Here, I prayed you a new piece. Get a fork."

I don't feel very much like *urp* eating more cheesecake.

We need to stop seeking the "things" God already has for us, and seek Jesus.

God has planned a balanced life for each of us. It's full of bread, wine and cheesecake. 

It has friends, family, education and teaching. It has laughter, tears, sickness and health.

It is packed with bad weather and perfect days.

It carries betrayal, loss, and inbridled joy.

How are you going to get what's coming to you?

                                        By SEEKING Jesus.

                                      There is no other way.

                                                        

Shalom!

* He's not funny, and it isn't a typo.

"We're Doing It Wrong...Again". Or "Unteaching Your Unteaching"

In my last post, I said something that got me thinking; always a dangerous pasttime.

And I quote: "An unclean spirit (a DEMON! Okay!?!) needs your permission to exist in your life. And you can send it away. But if you leave it a room, it will come back with reinforcements."

We have used that piece of  Luke 11/Matthew 14 for years to formulate the idea we shouldn't cast demons out of unsaved people.  For real.

I was trained in my last formal ministry that we only cast the demonic from Christians because we would be causing terible damage to the unsaved.

Who makes this stuff up?

In the New Testament, we see Jesus and the disciples casting out demons everywhere. Healing people, challenging their understanding, forgiving, teaching, everything! 

And they are all "unsaved" folk.

That crazy guy in tombs that could break chains wasn't a Christian.

That girl who used divination wasn't a Christian.

The man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit wasn't a Christian, either.

So why do we teach not to help the ones who really need it?

Because we do not read correctly and investigate what we read.

Anytime scripture seems a little bit "off", it's usually because it's being taken out of context, or it doesn't make sense in light of the whole body of scripture.

You need to find out WHY or you're probably going to make up some new rules!

Matthew 12:43-45 has been used to teach this, and it never sat right with me. 

While I was in approved ministry, I was obedient to not "bruise the Bride" and never delivered anyone that didn't profess Christ from the hell tormenting them. Sigh.

We are doing it wrong.

Nowhere in scripture are we told to minister to only the Church. 

We are told  in Luke 14:18-19,

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Who are the captives? Who are the blind? 

Anyone.

So quit making a formula for who needs Jesus' help. Look for them.

Look for the evil and subdue it. 

Don't think you have a choice. Only the Holy Spirit maked those decisions.

Stop fearing the power of the Enemy and start embracing the Power of the Most High God .

Matthew 12

43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds itunoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

A 'Christian' who cleans up their life, looks good, smells good, acts good, but never allows God to fill him with the Holy Spirit and transform; this is his future.

You know what a believer who runs from God is like. They are the biggest sin producers you know. They just seem determined to destroy their whole world.

You can help them too, it's just harder!

Once you begin to see who Matt 14 is talking about, it makes a lot more sense. 

And your ability to promote the Kingdom opens up.

Happy casting! Hope the 'fishing' is great!

I'm not a Mommy Blogger

I have five children, four living, nine grandchildren, and our first great-grandchild.  We had several other boys living with us over the years, so I have a lot of Mommy experience to share.

Kimberly

                                                                         
                                                                            Avilah
                     


The deal is; No one ever asks for me to share it.

That doesn't hurt my feelings. I was the recipient of unrequested advice quite often when I was a young mother.

I still am.

I asked for advice too. Why?  Because I knew there were a lot of women who had been where I was, and some of them had really good adult children.

Some of them had really crappy adult children because the kids refused to be obedient to wise parents.

I'm saying all that to say this; I completely understand why moms do not want advice from older moms. They think older moms live in the stoneage don't know anything about parenting. It's true and you know it!

My thought is, why are you marrying our kids if we raised them wrong? Just sayin'.

ANYWAY, the real reason for this post is, as the title says, I am not a Mommy Blogger. I am not full of parenting tips, picky eater ideas, and all that.

I LOVE mommy bloggers! In a lot of ways, it helps other moms realize they are not alone in a career that seems determined to put you in the booby-hatch.

But my blog is not about that. I KNOW I'm supposed to be doing this blog. And I am a crappy kid! Because I am walking outside of obedience.

Let's get real about what kind of blogger I am.

I am not like my friends Linny Saunders and Peg Forrest.

They are two of the sweetest and tenderest women I know and present the Word of God in their lives so adeptly. (Sometimes I wish I were called to be like them! *covet-covet*!)

I am not like Matt Walsh, or John Branyan. I wish I was some days!

But, I am me and that's all I am.

I've been called to stir it up. Make you think. Shake the rattle and rock the boat.

I will continue to do so. Even though it means I'm not your favorite blogger; or person; or friend.

 Ex-friend. bleah.

So, if you would like some advice about parenting surviving raising children, you can always ask. I can't tell you what to do with YOUR kids, but I can tell you what I did with mine.

                                                                 
                                                                          I Wish!!


If you want to be challenged to walk closer with Jesus, and grow a deeper relationship, or just need a laugh or two, I'm here.

So, pray for me to walk  in obedience with this blog, Make comments if you like.

I'm not always gentle, but I hope I'm compassionate.

www.peg-justathought.blogspot.com    www.linnysaunders.com    https://branyancomedy.wordpress.com     www.themattwalshblog.com

The Dangers of Being Unequally Yoked

Unequally yoked. 

That phrase has been bandied around in the church forever. I have heard sermons on it about pertaining to marriage, combining cultures, race, inter-church relationships, and I'm sure stuff I've forgotten.

Here's the deal. It's not about marriage. It's not race. It's not about cultural beliefs.

But it is all of those.

As I'm always touting, "Ya gotta read the whooooole thing."

We are warned by Scripture that connecting yourself with unbelievers is a major mistake.

"Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has an believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God;..."
II Corinthians 6:15,16

Yeah, so what, you say?

Here's so what.

There a spirits everywhere. You can't see them, or smell them, or hear them. Well. Most of the time.
But, they're there. And here. Thet're here and there.

There are what we call unclean spirits (or demons, for short) and there is the Holy Spirit.
 End of story.

A follower of Christ is free of demons. They are indwelled (christianese alert! means someone lives inside of me.) by The Holy Spirit of God. There is no room for anyone else.

An unbeliever is not safe from demons. In fact, demons will have their way with you if you're not a Follower.

Demons, or unclean spirits if it makes you feel better, drag around stuff to add to your life.

Fear, anxiety, mental illness, arguing, violence, lying, misery, cheating, overbearingness, lack of compassion, too much compassion, wavering, paranoia, murder, greed......and this list is just starting.

The Holy Spirit adds stuff too.

Trust, compassion, love, joy, anticipation, freedom, restful nights, humor, and you get the idea.

I can hear it already!

"I know puh-lenty of Christians who lie and cheat and steal and........."

Yes. Yes you do.

When a follower JOINS their self with a non-follower, the demons don't disappear.

They begin insinuating themselves into the believer's life. They create a Union of Compromise. 

"We agreed I could go to church as long as I didn't ask him/her/them to go, or talk about it."

"We agreed to expose the children to both out beliefs and let them make their own choices about religion."

"I just KNOW I'll win them to the Lord after we're married!'

"I think inviting  people with other beliefs to work with out youth group will be great for everyone. We'll win them over."

"Of course it's okay if you mix your superstitions in with Christianity. It's EASIER to get them to join your Church that way."

                                                         "We've agreed to disagree."

Are you hearing this?

Once you agree with the unclean that they are 'clean enough', you're in a mess.

An unclean spirit (a DEMON! Okay!?!) needs your permission to exist in your life. And you can send it away. But if you leave it a room, it will come back with reinforcements.
                                         


                                                      

That's scriptural, by the way.

As long as you are yoked/joined/connected/united with an unbeliever-unfollower, you are subject to demon oppression. (christianese alert! That means the demonic has an opening to make your life hell if it can.)

Many years ago, a girl who wanted to marry one of my sons asked me to sit down and talk with her. She said "I don't think you want me to date him."

I said "yes. I don't want the two of you to even have coffee together, to be honest."

Here's what I told her, and my son.

"He is a Christian, albeit, a backslidden one. But the fact is, he has Jesus Christ living inside of him. It doesn't matter how fast he runs, or how far he goes, he will never outrun the love of his Father. He is indwelled with the Holy Spirit of the Most High God. You on the other hand, are open to unclean spirits. I have seen your life and know you are perfectly content with the ruler of this world in your life. You carry an unclean spirit. The world is really about the things we cannot see. If you and he marry, you will never, ever be happy. You will begin to fight against your union. The Spirit in him, and the spirits in you, cannot co-exist. You will be at war. Unless you confess Christ, and follow Him, this can only end in tragedy."

I wish I could say she did. But she didn't. And it was a tragedy.

But he survived, took a look at his life and started a new one with a believing girl.

                                                   One of our blessed daughters-in-love

Just one example.

The chances of you marrying, or creating any partnership with an unbeliever, and having it go well is not happening.

You can stay strong and have the joy of the Lord every day, but eventually, there will be such a rift between your spirits, it can't survive. Even then, the Believer is admonished to stay. If the unbeliever wants to leave, they can.

How happy were your unbeliever friends when you shared your salvation experience? Did they join your enthusiasm?

Nope.

You became a drag on the fun.

SO! All of this to say this....

Don't join yourself with an unsaved person. It is NOT your calling. It is NOT something you can work out later. It IS a way to weaken your walk. It IS a recipe for lost dreams.

(I'm going to get references to Hosea for that statement! But, you get the big picture!)

Okay. Enough heavy hitting.

Shalom!

Here kitty-kitty-kitty!

Oh, I KNOW I'm gonna step on toes...




 I don't like the way people treat their pets. It really, really, REALLY bothers me.

You are all on board, aren't you? Because everyone loves the little poochie-poos and kitty-pies.

I do too. For true, I love animals.

BUT.  And it's a big ol' but.

I am not my cat's Mommy.




He is not my "sweet baby boy". He is a cat. A big, wild, tom cat.

He roams the countryside at night, and sometimes disappears for days.

I feed him and hug him and sneeze all over him. He sleeps on my bed and I hate it.

He doesn't have a blankie, or a dish with him's name on it. No litterbox.

He adores me, kisses me, bites me, and snuggles. I will cry when he dies.

But he is NOT a child.

(If I hear the term "Pet Parents" one more time.....!)

You deserve to be alone.






In our town, there used to be Angel Trees for the Humane Society. You know, take a card off the tree and supply whatever it said.

Yonks ago I was encouraged by a local store owner to take a card or three. I declined. She was forceful. It was my duty.




I tried to cut a deal. I would buy dog food and deliver it to the Humane Society, and she would donate to the crisis pregnancy center.




                 BABIES!!!!!!

She invited me out of her store.


(Real Angel Tree)


Now, she was an unbeliever and I give her some slack. But I do not apply that slack to Christians.

In the book of Genesis, we are instructed to subdue the earth, till it, care for it and all that lives in it.

There are a few references of animal care in the scriptures. A few. Some.





There are 66* books of reference to the care of God's special creation: Man.




The reason I didn't donate to the animal shelter was this; if I have 'extra' dough in my pocket that I want to donate, it needs to be for something really important. Like a women's shelter. An adoption case. A family going through medical crisis. A veteran in rehab. New parents with little income.

If I have the time, energy and money to throw out on a dog, I should consider fostering a lonely child.
It's okay to have pets, in moderation. It's okay to enjoy them.


         I said in moderation.



         I said in...oh, forget it.




Are you making them something they are not? Are they just a tiny idol?





Oh, by the way! You BUY a cat. You ADOPT a child.

Howz yer toes?



What REAL adoption looks like. And this is not the whole family.


For information on what you can do, contact

International Voice of the Orphan, 
3655 W. Anthem Way 
Suite A-109, #305 
Phoenix, AZ 85086

or go to their website at 

www.ivo.global

or read this Mom's blog at  

www.linnysaunders.com

(Place Called Simplicity)

* okay, okay! PLUS the Apocrypha!