STARTING OVER

 

This new year, instead of making resolutions, which most of us aren’t that great at keeping anyways, maybe we should think more about new beginnings. Starting over is not the same as trying to redo a past failure, but it does assist you by keeping you from spinning your wheels on regret and frees you up to having  a new starting point. Wrong decisions and regret can become your roommates, if you let them. But, if you do, remember this about them. They can lord over, control your self-worth and can send downpours of self-condemnation on you if allowed to rest in the form of depression and regret. They seem to reach through time and space and in doing so, there seems to always be negative consequences that follow them. When a person ignores the signals or warnings in their own heart and makes a bad decision or wrong choice, it will always generate a certain amount of consequence that consist of some type of misery or disappointment and that is guaranteed. It is simply only a matter of when it comes, and how much. The effects of bad or wrong decisions may consists of an individual compromise of themselves, they are not getting what they want, they have to learn lessons the hard way, they feel that they have already blown it and it’s too late to turn back now, or they may have to go back and cleanup a past mess. But the most insidious and damaging effect is the feeling of having wasted a part of their life. At that point a person can feel hopeless and defeated as if there is no turning back. But friend may I tell you that there is hope.

 

This new year not only brings a new year on the calendar, but it also provides you with an opportunity to a new life if you approach it the right way. Your future is not governed by your past. By that I mean that no matter what your past has been, through forgiveness and repentance from those wrong choices you can change your situation by changing your way of looking at them. Once you honestly commit to changing, you have already begun the process. We humans are so prone to failure, yet in God’s eyes failure need never be final. God’s Word is full of examples of men and women making wrong choices, failing themselves as well as God. Yet most every time it was right slab in the middle of the “learning from those mistakes” process, that they found God and for those that knew Him already they knew Him deeper after they had walked through the lessons that they were forced to learn, from those mistakes. Once we let go and let God be and do in our lives as He pleases, we need not try and fix something, but simply by our letting go of it and trusting God for the outcome, our situation changes and our future becomes brighter, outwardly and internally. Make it a point this new year, to start over!

 

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4

Loving on you today!

Bren

THE PAIN OF REGRET

A good definition for regret would be a personal dislike for a past behavior, act or choice that we may have made without seeking wisdom or possibly an unguided and willful decision made in haste or simply spite to another. It can be very painful to look back on those choices through the lens of our regrets and feel the weight of those wrong choices. It is then that we spin our wheels parked on the pavement of regret and haunted by what seems to be the backlash of torment in our minds of “what if”, “if only” and “I should’ves”. In my life I am still learning that short term pain oftentimes produce long term gain, if I will discipline myself in a matter to wait. The scripture says this about waiting, “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.” Isaiah 40:31. You see our present choices will determine our future rewards. There is no escaping that fact.

 

The Bible warns that sin is crouching at our door in Genesis 4:7. The pull of sin is not picky, it cares not what wrong choice we make only that we choose to do the wrong thing. It is an invader that marches through our lives searching for an open door to enter. Those open doors can even be small cracks that we have started to open up by contemplating wrong choices. If we are not careful like the scripture says it will come in, take hold of us and even rule over us.  I John 5:17 says that all wrongdoing is sin. Through my years of counseling and from my own experience, I can assure you of this; while you may not die over a certain sin, the repercussions from that sin can cause such aguish in your heart and mind, that one may even wish for death. Yet death is not the answer for our pain or regrets.

 

For you see Christ is the answer. For he bore all our sin and takes away our regrets and sadness if we will truly seek Him on His terms, not ours! If it were possible for me to beg you to turn to Christ for I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which you commit to Him, I would. But, I know that all the begging in the world cannot persuade folks to come to Christ and be committed to Him. Yet in my love for you, knowing that there is power to help you overcome your situation, I will continue to make the effort to reach out and help folks in the only way that I know that truly works. In Christ we do not have to hold on to regret, and it matters not what others may think of us, for the peace that He gives us surpasses any logic that man offers and any judgment that man may make towards us. The only thing that does matter is that we learn from our mistakes and move forward with hope, making great effort to live a life that shows others the way to God. God Bless your upcoming New Year! May you find Him in the midst of all your struggles.

Loving on you today,

Bren

THE CHRISTMAS GIFT

 

Well over two thousand years ago, a baby was born in a tiny stable in the city of Bethlehem. We have come to think upon that birth as the Nativity. The story of the Nativity was and still remains a simple story. For it is the story of love, grace, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and restoration all wrapped up in a swaddling blanket; God’s gift to the world. A world that needed the very essences of what lay in that manger. The Nativity was not the beginning of God’s gift, the beginning was the very moment that God made a promise to His people that He would provide and make a way, even when they could not see a way to escape or overcome their circumstances of being burdened with trying to appease a Holy God by being Holy themselves. For they would struggle many years and bear many rules and regulations in trying to make emends for their wrongdoing through animal sacrifices to atone for their sin.

 

Yet, there in the manger, lay God’s answer to His promise that one day His children would not have to offer sacrifice or payment any longer for their sin. The birth of Jesus was not the payment for sin, but the opportunity to one day receive the free gift that His death would provide the world, should they respond to His offer. For it was not the baby Jesus that sacrificed Himself for us, but the fully grown man. While His birth provided the world with the opportunity, His death on the cross purchased us the right to become children of God. But there is still more to the story of what the life of Christ affords us than simply His birth, and His death. There is a middle part as well. The part about His growing up in a world of sin yet he lived His life, overcoming His surroundings and circumstances that came daily across His path. He lived in a world of sin yet, He overcame the world to show those that would one day be His that they too could overcome. The middle part of His life is the part that teaches us about the abundant life, which many will never know because they refuse to seek it. Instead they will give in and succumb to life’s trials and circumstances.

While He lived a life that set the example for us, it was another part about Jesus that is equally as important as any other and that was His resurrection and because of that, man now has the power that Jesus had to walk according to what God calls them to do and will one day stand without excuse as to what they did with the power offered them through the risen Savior.  That very word rose means grand things to us. It means that we can rise up as He did! Not only from our physical graves, but from our daily spiritual graves that we are faced with every morning as we rise to meet a new day. The most precious gift that you will ever have offered to you is a breath away, to receive it though, you must accept it! For no gift is really yours until it is received.  The gift is the gift of eternal life. Many people celebrate Christmas in their own way. However, for those that have been redeemed and know the power that lives within them, Jesus alone is the reason for their season.

Loving on you today!
Bren

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL

You may know her. She may even be your friend or sister, possibly your daughter or even yourself. She could even be someone that you dislike because of the personal choices that she has made. Some look at her and judge her mistakes as though they have none of their own. It’s easy to do when you are comparing your good to someone else’s wrongs. But you see when we look at our own sin in the same mirror that the woman at the well looked through to see hers, all of a sudden we no longer see our sin in comparison to someone else’s, but we see them in comparison to the One who was without sin all together and then we are shamed by our self-righteous, indignant, pompous flesh, which the scripture refers to as filthy rags.

I will never forget the time my pastor made the comment, “If you have been married 7 times, then maybe it’s you!” How true that is. The woman at the well was like that. You see she had made so many wrong choices when it came to her personal life that she was shocked that Jesus would even speak to her let alone love, forgive and accept her. Maybe you have felt that way before. Maybe you have felt like you have failed so many times in your life that there remains no hope and you have given up in even trying. When you look at the woman at the well through the eyes of the Lord, you will see her in a very different light. Because you will understand the reasons that she made the choices that she made and not simply that she was full of wrongdoing. You see she did have a problem, and her problem was that she was seeking happiness in the wrong place. She had a soul’s desire but was trying to fill it with the wrong things. Who of us has not been guilty of that? Where we may be seeking our happiness in temporal things such as jobs, big cars and homes, fine clothes, friendships with people who are drawing us away from God….is there a difference? I think not, especially when we see them through the pages of the scripture and in light of what god has to say about them.

As I was reading through John chapter 4 this morning, I realized for the first time that the woman at the well had not lost hope. As a matter of fact, she was even expecting hope. In His encounter with her, Jesus broke three very important Jewish customs (notice they were customs). First, He spoke to a woman, second, she was a Samaritan woman, a group the Jews traditionally despised and third, He asked her to get him a drink of water, which would have made Him ceremonially unclean from using her cup or jar according to Jewish law and by doing so, He shocked the woman right off the bat. Then Jesus told the woman that He could give her "living water" so that she would never thirst again. Jesus used the words living water to refer to eternal life, the gift that would satisfy her soul's desire only available through him. At first, the Samaritan woman did not fully understand Jesus' meaning.

Although they had never met before, Jesus revealed that He knew she had had five husbands and was now living with a man who was not her husband. At that point Jesus had her attention! As they talked with each other the woman voiced her faith that the Messiah was coming. Jesus answered her by saying that He was Him who she spoke of. As the woman began to grasp the reality of her encounter with Jesus, the disciples returned. They were equally shocked to find him speaking to a woman. Leaving behind her water jar, the woman returned to town, inviting the people to come, see the man who told her all that she had ever done. Excited by what the woman told them, the Samaritans came from Sychar and begged Jesus to stay with them. So Jesus stayed two days, teaching the Samaritan people about the Kingdom of God. When He left, the people told the woman, that they had heard for themselves and they knew that Jesus was indeed the Savior of the world. While others may not have wanted to give her the time of day in passing, she shared with them the most precious gift that she had ever received and was not ashamed to had done so.

You see the woman at the well came to draw water at the hottest part of the day, instead of the usual morning or evening times, because she was shunned and rejected by the other women of the area for her immorality. While she may have not been befriended by the world, Jesus knew her history but still accepted her and ministered to her becoming her friend. In turn she took Jesus to those very women who shunned her, because she knew even greater than they, that they too needed Jesus. Ironically, those that we judge the most may very well shake the dust of our self-righteousness off and beat us to the doorway of heaven. For while the High Priest, Sanhedrin and religious Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, the outcast Samaritans recognized Him and accepted Him for who He truly was - the Savior of the world.

 

Loving on you today sweet friend,

Bren

WHAT GIFTS DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER?

What gifts do you have to offer this Christmas and the coming new year?  Everything that we have already belongs to the One who gave it! But what will you offer back to Him? How can those gifts be used that He provides through His Holy Spirit to those that belong to Him? Take some time and read through the scriptures below as well as refer to the Spiritual Gifts page provided on my blog to find out what each gift is and how to use it properly. Not only did God provide the greatest Gift the world would ever have the opportunity to know through the birth of His Only Son, but He also provides other gifts that are only avialable to His children. Understanding why you are the way you are and making the most of it is one of the best pay-offs, in the way of persoanl fullfillment that there is. So make sure that you are making the most of what God has given you!

Romans 12:6-8	1 Corinthians 12:8-10	1 Corinthians 12:28	Ephesians 4:11	1 Peter 4:11
Prophecy Serving Teaching Exhortation Giving Leadership Mercy	Word of wisdom Word of knowledge Faith Gifts of healings Miracles Prophecy Distinguishing between spirits Tongues Interpretation of tongues	Apostle Prophet Teacher Miracles Kinds of healings Helps Administration Tongues	Apostle Prophet Evangelist Pastor-teacher	Whoever speaks Whoever renders service

Merry Christmas and Lord Bless your upcoming Holiday Season! Loving on you today my friend!
Bren

WHY SHOULD WE CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING?

As Americans, we continue to celebrate that first Thanksgiving for our continued freedom and the bounty that we continue to strive for and enjoy. But long before the Pilgrims came to the Americas, there had been another Thanksgiving celebrated on another shore and country. That Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated by the Israelites as they moved into their promised land. A land that promised freedom from bondage and a land that would provide for them a refuge and safe haven to worship their God in the way that He was requiring them to. A land that was abundant in its rich resources. Unlike the manna that they had been eating for forty years as they wondered in a complete circle waiting for what God was promising them.

Manna was a substance that God gave them miraculously to keep them alive and while it was abundant, God restricted their use of it by not allowing them to store it. They were only allowed to eat what they needed to survive. At first they did not even know what it was! The very word manna means “What is it?” the Manna sustained them and they received nourishment from it, but it was not a permanent substance.

God’s manna was never intended to satisfy the Children of Israel, but was intended to keep them alive until they reached the place where the good stuff was! While the manna was sweet and wonderful at first…they eventually murmured and complained about it, saying, “our soul loathes this light bread”. You see while it kept them alive, it never satisfied them. They found no lasting joy in it. God used the Land of Canaan or the Promise Land as a place where His promises of spiritual blessings and joy could be experienced and enjoyed, when the time was right.

God had told them in Deuteronomy 26 as they stepped over into the promised land that it would flow with milk and honey, and to show their gratitude, they were to take the first fruits of the ground, place them in a basket and take it to the priest to give honor to God as a thanksgiving offering for their bounty and blessings.

Like the Israelites before them, the Pilgrims also wanted to show their gratitude for the bounty that they had received and from their deliverance from hunger that they would have continued to experience had God not intervened on their behalf and taught them how to survive in the new land. For the Israelites, their thanksgiving was understood and seen as an act of God as He delivered them from their bondage in Egypt as He brought them into their new land that flowed with milk and honey symbolizing the good things that God was offering His people if they would follow Him (for many died in the dessert and were not allowed to enter the promise land because of their complaining).

The Pilgrims gave thanks for a similar deliverance which came to them during those first years on the North American shore. They too were delivered from religious bondage that kept them from worshipping in the way that they felt God was leading them to and from hunger by a good summer’s crop, from war through peacefully living with the Indians, and protection from the cold by building strong sturdy homes. Those deliverance's brought thanksgiving into all their hearts.

I am reminded today that whenever God delivers me from my land of bondage, He delivers me into another land that always flows with milk and honey. A land of deliverance and promise if I will dare to be set apart and be His people. “But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that flows with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which has separated you from other people.” Leviticus 20:24

Earlier this past week, I had made a list of the things that I am most grateful for. But today my thoughts are pondering on being thankful for those things I have been delivered from and even those things that I will not have to experience; because He has or will spare me from them. I too am a blessed Pilgrim, as I think about the land that I myself have traveled from and the new land that I have entered!

Praise Him for it all!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Everyone!
Love you so much,
Bren

THANKSGIVING IS GOOD, BUT BEING THANKFUL IS BETTER!

Most every day the small blind boy sat on and old wood crate in the city park. Beside his feet was an old bucket that had a sign taped to it that read, “I am blind, please help.” One day a kind man came walking by and noticed the boy. As he looked inside the boys bucket, he noticed only a few dimes and pennies. The man reached in his pockets and pulled out all the money that he had and placed it inside the boys bucket. He then took the sign, turned it around and wrote some other words on the back of the sign and placed it back on the bucket so that everyone who walked by would take more notice. Before long, the bucket was overflowing with money.  For the first time, more people had taken notice of the boy than ever before. That afternoon the man who had changed the words on the sign came to see how things had gone. The boy recognizing the footsteps from earlier that morning  asked, “Are you the one who changed my sign this morning and if so would you tell me what you wrote?” The man said, “Yes son, it was me and I did change your words, but I only said what you said, just in a different way.” I wrote, “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”

You see friend, that man did for that little boy that which the little boy knew not to do for himself. While both signs told people that the little boy was blind, the boy’s sign simply said that he was blind. The man’s sign  reminded  people to be thankful that they were not blind.

 

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for us all to pause and consider our blessings and be thankful for what we have and for a while, not to focus on the things that we do not have. Many times God is doing for us things that we cannot do for ourselves and yes, we yet we may even be unaware of them. While we may not see them as blessings at the moment, we can know that He is always working things out for our best and when life circumstances give us reasons to be sad, our response should be to focus on what we have and not what we don’t have.  While “Thanks Giving” is a great Holiday, it can only really be celebrated as it is embraced by a heart that is very thankful!

…All things work together for the good to those who love God…Romans 8:28

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bren

WHERE DO YOU PLACE YOUR TRUST?

 

There are a lot of disheartened folks today and not all of them were Christian voters. Had Obama lost last night, there still would have been a lot of disheartened folks today, because it was inevitable that there would be a looser in the race for the presidency. We vote for the candidate that we feel can do the best job and because we have the freedom to; and that is what makes this country so great. I was up early this morning pondering over the entire election and what could have been done and what was done to bring the voters to make the decisions that they made. Honestly, I was surprised and could not believe that there were so many folks willing to put someone back into office with a record like what I feel, the current president has. Yet, what I do know is that nothing surprises God. As I shared with a friend earlier this morning, I think that for our party and those of us that believe that God is about to do something in this country unlike anything He has allowed before, we can only accept it as the will of God and move on to do our best as US citizens. I noticed a post on Facebook this morning made by one of my young great nephews that really says best as to how we should all feel…he said, “ It don’t matter who’s the president, I’m still gonna work hard and put my hand over my heart when I pledge” his words described how he feels and I say Amen to them! In the last election I was down and out for a few days after Obama won!

But this time, I feel like King David did when he lost his child because of his personal sin. Upon hearing that his child was sick and going to die, He fasted, mourned, cried and he begged God to forgive his sins and to spare the life of his young child. Yet, God did not and when the child died, David got up wiped his face, ate and continued on. Many people did not understand how he could act the way he did and not be so destroyed over the death of his child, yet David had an innate understanding that God had spoken through his choice of what God had allowed and the only thing that he could do was accept it and move on. That is exactly how I feel about the outcome of the election today. I know that I had invested prayer and research in this election and done all that I could do to achieve what I felt was the only answer for our country given the choices that was there. I have a peace this morning that I can credit only to the fact that I am okay with God dealing with us as the body of Christ even though I know that the whipping is going to hurt. I know in the end, I will spiritually feel better for it regardless to the world's condition. It never was nor will it ever be about anything but getting the house of God in order, it's not about Obama, he is only a tool in the hand of God to work His good will and purpose in correcting the Church and her/our/my sin and how I am reflecting Him before others.

 So, I accept and am satisfied with the conclusion only because I know that God may not have willed it, but He has allowed it and I cannot do anything but make the best out of it and like my great nephew says, continue to work hard at the job that God has given me, and love and support my country placing my hand over my heart to honor her as I pledge my allegiance to the country that still is, the greatest country on earth and recall two verses from the Word of God that reminds me that, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14… and Isaiah 31:1… "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! I am choosing not to trust in what has happened but what God can do as we look and turn back to Him!

Where is your trust today sweet friend?

Hold Fast -Bren

IS YOUR PAIN WORTH THE LESSON?

One summer day when I was a young girl, I had been playing in a nearby neighbor’s yard as I heard my mother call out for me to come home. With it being summertime I was of course barefooted. As I walked back home, I stepped on a board that had been piled up on a small mound of debris. As I stepped over one of the boards and as my foot came down onto another one, I felt something like a thorn going into the arch of my foot. As I looked down I saw not a thorn but a 2 inch nail. As my mind registered what had happened the pain began to rise from my foot and quickly went up my leg. I grabbed the top of my leg to try and stop the searing pain from moving farther and began to cry out for help. As the pain became intolerable throughout my entire body, I knew that I had to pull the nail that was attached to a board out of my foot in order to at least wobble and get myself home, because it had appeared that no one was coming to my rescue. As I looked down and saw that the nail was old, bent and kind of orange in color, I could only assume that the nail was rusty and that I was going to die an excruciating death. Once I got home and my mother treated me with medicine and compassion, within 24 hours I no longer had any pain or side effects. But I did however learn a very powerful lesson. Like most parents I had been told by my mother to never play on old piles of wood or debris, because of the possibility of rusty nails. Yet that morning in a hurry, I disregarded what I knew to be right. I ignored what she had repeatedly taught me. I had been both lazy and preoccupied and I paid a horrific price for it that day.

 

Disregarding what we know to be right, whether through laziness, preoccupation with other things or simply rebellion, always brings undesirable and spiritual damage and consequences. That pile of debris was a stumbling block to me, yet I was unwise to see it as such, because deep inside me was an irritation to do what I wanted to do and not what I had been warned not to do. No, the rusty nail did not end my young life, but it did threaten it and in the end brought a huge amount of discomfort caused from the extreme pain and distress to both me and my mother. Anytime we choose another path from the one we know to be right, as taught by our parents or the Word of God, it is like stepping onto a dirty old pile of nails and debris, barefooted. You never know what you may step on because often times you will not be able to see what is underneath your next step. When we act or seek to justify our lazy or rebellious choices for whatever reason we choose to make them, we will always end up hurting ourselves and effecting other as well. When we lie to ourselves by thinking that we are not really doing anything wrong, that it doesn’t really matter or perhaps even try and  console ourselves with the thought that everyone else is doing it, or something even worse, we believe the lie that we will not be negatively affected by it. We somehow convince ourselves that we are the exception to the rule and therefore immune to the consequences of breaking it. Obedience must become our priority! Those who walk in obedience finds peace and rest. Those that rebel and walk in the flesh after having been warned, have only an eventual world wind to look forward to. But when obedience becomes our goal, it is no longer an irritation. Instead of a stumbling block, it becomes a building block that leads to true freedom. The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated. So come, no run to the One who offers you a peace that the world knows not, and there you will find what you are looking for! Sometimes the truth can hurt. But if we learn from it, the pain is worth the lesson!

Do not be wise in your own eyes: Fear the Lord and turn from evil. Proverbs 3:7

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

ACCOUNTABILITY

 

PART l - ACCOUNTABILITY

I read a story this morning of an event that happened long ago in New York City. It concerned the public’s outrage and how their anger had been aroused against a brakeman that worked for the New York Central railroad. Because he failed to give the danger signal to the St. Louis express, twelve people lost their lives. The brakeman had been told to take a red lantern and wave down an approaching train, but instead of doing what he was told to do, he went inside the train depot and sat down by a fire to warm himself. As he heard the train pass by he asked someone what the noise was and was told that it was the passing train that he was supposed to have flagged down. Upon hearing that, the brakeman disappeared and was never found. The dashing train ran into the train that was sitting on the track and killed twelve people. The people of New York felt that he had neglected his responsibilities and charged him with a criminal act. As I read that story it reminded me of some verses in the book of Ezekiel chapter 3, especially verse 18 that says, “When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” Earlier on God had told Ezekiel to confront Israel about their sin and for him not to be fearful of what they may think or what they might say, but to simply tell them that they had better turn from their sin or they would surly die. He concluded in verse 18 by telling Ezekiel that if he did not tell them, then God would hold him personally accountable for their blood. Sometimes, it is very hard to tell folks you love let alone folks that you may not even know the truth about sin and the consequences of it. We often times will have a fear of sorts that rises up in us that keeps us from doing so. That fear may be, what others may think of us or of being rejected. It may be a fear that people may think we personally are judging them or possibly some other kind of fear. However, we are commanded to speak the truth in love, no matter the cost to us. If we have an eternal perspective toward the life of someone else how can we not be concerned for their eternal security? For God desires that no one perish but that all would come to salvation. Like the brakeman in the story I believe that many times over, we put the spiritual safety of others aside for our own personal comfort. The brakeman had a responsibility to warn that train and when he failed to do so it cost others their lives and he ended up paying a price that he did not want to pay.

Loving on you today,

Bren

PART ll - ACCOUNTABILITY

Continued from last week concerning being accountable the scriptures tells us that we are not only accountable for ourselves but for the well-being of others as well! One of the things that breaks my heart today is the testimony of those that claim to belong to God yet, their very words and behavior reflects that of what the Bible says is their father the devil. May I tell you in love that if you have a Facebook page and post sweet stories and pictures about God and verses from His Word and in the next breath curse someone and talk smack on your Facebook page, that your day of reckoning will come! Because God will hold us all accountable for our actions, not just those that belong to Him! We have a moral as well as a spiritual responsibility in how we act and treat others. It is not just a choice that we have, but an obligation to a direct command from God. He is not absent just because you may not hear or see Him. He is watching, listening and waiting and He is sending people into your life every day to help you see the Truth; and it is at each of those times and points that your free will to choose in how you will respond will matter! Sometimes when our burdens for others bear down on us, we are driven to warn and remind each other of how our society is rapidly changing and folks just do not seem to care! God told Ezekiel in chapter 3 verse 18, “When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” May I not stand before God with the blood stain from the fear of what people may have thought of me. But may my love to obey the God of my heart and life be far stronger than any fear of what man may say or think about me when I do speak up! We must be responsible to one another, for one day we will be held accountable if we were silent and we should have spoken up! While we will not be held accountable for the personal decision that every person must make about Christ, we will be held accountable for sharing the truth with them in love as God directs our heart to do! The brakeman in last week’s story was not responsible for the fact that the train was surly coming, he was however responsible for not warning them to stop!

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY?

There will be times that many of us will encounter other people at work, in college, at school or at play who will make it their mission in life to demonstrate or try and discredit the Bible. They will do their best to put forth some sort of opinion on how the Bible is only a book of fairy tales or simply good stories. Some will even go as far as to picking out what they like and want to believe of it and leave the rest as possible myths and history. Have you ever encountered one of these? Are you ready for such encounters if you should? I Peter 3:15 instructs the child of God to be ready at all times to defend their faith and the hope that is in them, in gentleness and reverence. Those things are the core of every believer and they are what provides them with the authenticity and validation of their faith to others. We will all leave a legacy of our life and what we accomplished and how we impacted others by our choices and the way we lived. Those people around us every day are eyewitnesses of our faith and what motivated us to live the life we did and be the person we were. When thinking about these things I am reminded about I Peter 3:15-16, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

It is not the believer’s responsibility to prove someone wrong that may disagree with them, but solely to claim that which they know for themselves to be truth and leave it up to the Spirit of God to convict, reveal and draw people to Himself as He wins over their hearts. This safeguards the witnessing believer and takes the pressure off of them to be right or win the disagreement. It’s never about winning the battle, but it is always about winning the soul. Sometimes the greatest statement that we can make to others is how we endure the ridicule or slander that we may be subjected to. If you recall, Jesus Himself never retaliated. So sometimes, it is our very suffering that becomes our greatest witness to others. And when the time comes that I leave this world, the legacy I hope to leave behind me, will be that of love, compassion and that I had done what I could do to reach others with what I personally found to be the answer for the hope that I believed in, embraced and entrusted.

 

Loving on you,

Bren

ARE YOU WATCHING? ARE YOU READY?

The Body of Christ today is looking with an eager hope and expectation for a new era in soul winning. While the methods may be changing, we must work hard to insure that the gospel remain intact and allow nothing but truth to prevail.  There have been times when folks met under tents or on street corners to hear the gospel preached. They met in homes and buildings of all kinds simply to keep fellowship with other believes and be taught the Word of God. Today, the Church had better gear up and be ready for the influx of the widespread indifference to the claims of religion in this country. We had better know Who and what it is that we believe and be ready to defend it. It seems as though the Churched today are without compass, rudder or sail, accepting anything and rejecting nothing. We are in greater need than ever for a Spiritual awakening to take place. The lack of personal evangelism is at a great low.  Evangelism has and always will take more than those that surrender to the foreign field, pastor a church or even attend a Church’s Monday Night Visitation program. It takes a group effort to spread the gospel to the lost. Nothing will serve to promote an interest in evangelism more than to be reminded that as God’s children we have a task to spread the good news of Him who is our Redeemer and Lord to those that are searching. While we may not be able to reproduce the methods of the great soul winners before us, we share the same Spirit that convicts our own principles which underlie all true evangelism. Iron sharpens iron the Bible says, and nothing does me better, than to hear testimony of those that share the gospel; they are called Soul Winners and the Bible teaches that every child of God shares in that responsibility.

Sadly, the problem lies in a lack of concern for souls and the urgency and importance to soul win one on one. We need revival to restore in us what we seem to have lost. Recall with me in the scripture the story of Jesus being left behind in the temple, “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."  "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. Luke 2. You see Mary did not understand it at the time, but as she began to ponder it, it became treasure to her. As children of God we may not always understand the things of God, but we must obey them as He ask us to. Jesus however did, even as a twelve year old boy. He understood and felt the urgency to do what He was called to do, no matter what. He understood because He was open to do the will of Him Who sent Him…..and that is what our task is as a child of God, to do that which we are called to do. Never, ever allow yourself to be comfortable or use to seeing men, women, boys and girls die without Christ! Are you doing your part? Are you making a difference for the Kingdom of God? Because it is coming… John 18:36. Jesus did not come primarily to establish the Church, but to purchase it. He told Peter that he and the disciples would do that. His main mission was to promote and manifest the Kingdom of God. He entered our world to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is close at hand in Mark 1:15, and called us to repentance and conversion in Luke 10:13-15; Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 13:1-5, 19:41-44, and to urge us to be watchful and ready for the Kingdom Luke 12:35-40; Matthew 25:1-13. Are you watching and are you ready?

Loving on you today!
Bren          

WHAT'S INSIDE YOU?

If people could look inside you, what would they see? Just skin and bone or someone with purpose? In the science world, the underlying premise of the human body is that; how you begin your life determines how you will end up; meaning that there is a common pattern within a person’s early childhood that will affect their health later in life. That can be the case of a child who is malnourished early in life and as a direct result have health issues later on and can even die from them. But what about a person’s behavior and the decisions that they make throughout their life? Is there no escape for the child who is raised around parents that live a life of drugs and crime. Are they bound by the decisions of their parents and their peers? What determines that? Well, I am no expert and personally, I don’t’ believe that there are any real experts on the subject. I base that opinion on the material that I have read, written by educated doctors, psychologist, counselors and many folk with well intentions yet, I have not been impressed with their conclusions. The reason that I feel this way is because of my own life’s experiences and the outcome of many people that I know personally who overcame the odds that the world’s intellects tell us, is the inevitable for the poor and afflicted ones. It breaks my heart that our society has no hope! Their excuse is that our jails are filled with men, women, boys and girls that are direct results of their upbringing and environment.

While environment does play a role, to say to our younger generation that you are hopeless because of where you come from is only giving them a free pass to turn out the exact way that they are expected to. While there is no doubt that our surroundings effect our attitudes and behaviors, we also have a free will to choose as to how we want to live. Sadly, the world looks at the ones who choose to do wrong and miss seeing the ones who have become overcomers having lived with those same obstacles. They are the ones who in their early years, lived in and through difficult and unbelievable circumstances, yet rose above them to live meaningful lives that contribute back to society in positive ways. They used their God given right called, their free will, wisely. It is that free will and no matter what anyone may have to say about it or the excuses that are used to cover it up, the bottom line is that we are all responsible for our actions and attitudes. Have you ever been on a job interview and was ask the question, “What do you believe your strengths and weakness are?” The world’s view is to never expose our weaknesses but instead simply disguise them as strengths. For instance we learn to say things like, “I am a perfectionist” or maybe something like “I have this stubborn drive” or even, “I struggle with my work and personal life to keep a balance, because I tend to work too much”, wondering all the time if we have impressed the one who is doing our interview with our worldly integrity.

Our jails are full of people who are making excuses and feel that they have been given a raw deal. Mankind may overlook our wrong doings and sin and make excuses for them. But God on the other hand does not! He does one of two things with them, He either forgives or punishes. But, we have to engage our free will by asking Him and choosing to come to Him on His terms or face the consequences. The good thing is that He longs for us to choose forgiveness and in doing so, we reap a life that is successful, productive, having hope that no matter what our background or circumstance has been, our future is sure. If we would spend more time today filling our body with the right stuff and getting back to the basics of the morality of the Bible, we would see a decline in crime, poverty and heartache and when people looked inside us, they would see, not us, but Christ the very living Word of God living in us. To the child of God, this is not an option!

 

Hold Fast,

Bren

WILL YOU BE CONQUERED TODAY?

 

Despite all your efforts, you just can’t seem to make the breakthrough. Your circumstances are mounting and you pray for some sunshine and God seems to only send your life, clouds full of incredible downpours of problems, one right after another. Your financial situation has gone from bad to worse. The news from your doctor is worse than you expected. The quarreling at home has become so constant that you or your mate are looking for a way out. It is at those moments when all the odds are against you and you think there is no way out. May I encourage you today my friend that, it is your very “thinking”, that has you captured by an emotional world wind and from your own thinking, you feel trapped with no escape in site! But the good news is, you can escape it. There is a way out. But first you must realize that your thinking at that moment is your worst enemy, especially when you’re thinking is not based on a trusting faith like that of King David, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me …” Psalm 138:7. His word teaches that Lord is concerned about everything that touches your life. You just have to get a new perspective and know that He is behind the scenes working things out even if you momentarily cannot see it.  

 

You see, God has not yet conquered something in you that may need to be conquered. There is a reason for what you are going through. It may be self-inflicted; brought on by personal wrong choices. God will work on your behalf, if you are striving to learn from your trial. If your pain is coming in the form of a teachable moment, then learn it quick and move through your situation. If your pain is coming because of the many wrong choices that you are making, then stop and turn around and start doing things God’s way. If your pain is brought on because of a righteous faithfulness for doing something you know is right, then bear it dear friend and remember that though He slay you, you must continue to serve Him. God is either calling you to Himself to be saved or He is using life’s trials and tribulations to teach you and draw you into a closer relationship with Him.

 

Your job is simple. You must determine which it is. Are you walking with God today, do you know Him personally or do you simply know about God. Guess what satan knows about God. Satan knows all about Jesus, yet he despises the Son of God. You must decide what you will do with the Son of God personally and once you decide, you must make every effort to allow Him to clean you up and rid your life of things that can and will lead you away from Him. His word tells us in Hebrews 12:6 and Proverbs 3:12 that if He has to use force and take you to the woodshed and dish out to you the disciplines of obedience, then He will, and if that discipline is in the form of or through daily problems remember this; it is for your good that He is trying to work out in you what the devil is trying to use, to make you angry at the One who loves you the most! The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. Psalm 34:17. Will you be conquered today?

 

Loving on you today,

Bren