Title: No Confusion

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Background:

“And he that believeth on him shall not be confounded”. Confound as defined by the Collin’s English dictionary is a verb meaning to make you feel surprised or confused, often by showing you that your opinions or expectations of something or someone was wrong. Confusion as I see it is a weapon, used often by the adversary to cause turmoil and allow doubt to slip in. Satan vehemently hates for those that believe God to move forward or to be elevated. Confusion is used to get your focus off the prize of salvation and shifted into a space of procrastination.

Key Points

Confusion is used as a weapon. We like to make example of the disciples in the middle of a ravaging storm with Jesus in the midst.(Mark 4:35-41) The storm was a trigger of confusion for the disciples, they knew not what to do during a storm this fierce. So naturally they began to doubt, they believe that they would not make it the the other side of the sea because of the storm in their way. The Bible goes on to say they woke Jesus up and asked him “Master, carest not that we perish”? And we know what happened after that. I say this to say we should pray for all doubt to be taken away from us. As believers doubt has no place in our lives concerning to God. Song writer says “you may not know how, you may not know when but he will do it again”. It isn’t for us to ponder on the logistics of God’s plan, we don’t need the details. We don’t need to know how or when but instead know that he will do it again.

The devil doesn’t like the children of God to grow or move forward. The Bible tells us in the book of Joshua Chapter 6 God told him that he and the Israelites should walk around the gates of Jericho once for the next six days and on the seventh to walk around the wall seven times, then have seven priests blow seven ram horns, and let the people let out a shout. When Joshua told this to the people they did not understand, but they went on and did what they were instructed to. And again we know what happened. This is an example of what God can do if only we trust him to make a way. God told Joshua that the city of Jericho he would commit into his hands and that what God promised that same he did. Satan had an entire wall built long and high to prevent Josh and the Israelites from getting what God promised but in the end it did not stop them. So the question is will the obstacles, doubts, or environment you see around you stop your blessing?

Confusion goes hand-in-hand with words like fear and even procrastination. When you are confused you know not whether you are coming or going, that is why an affliction of the mind is such a serious situation. So therein the adversary know if only he can get into your thoughts and shift your attention to something that will ensare you then he might have a chance. If he shifts your attention maybe he can get you to not to pray, to miss a service or two, and why bother reading a scripture since you read yesterday. And this is Satan’s favorite trick when it’s time for you to do something involving God the phone rings, or you remember you forgot to do something, or an enticing notification from social media pops up and you get tempted. But my Bible tells me of you resist the Devil he must flee. Any contrary spirit will come in one way but flee seven different ways.

Conclusion
Im finish, in conclusion don’t let confusion anywhere near you. In 1 Peter 2:9  it says “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”. And there is no… ABSOLUTELY NO! confusion about that.

Gifts

Background: My exhortation is taken from 1 Corinthians 14 but to understand that chapter I will summarize the previous one chapter 13. In chapter 13 Apostle Paul wrote strongly about charity and the importance of it. Going as far as to say without charity we are nothing [1 Corinthians 13:2]. And in the very next verse said we can sacrifice of ourselves but without charity it will profit us nothing. And to end the chapter Apostle Paul speaks of the virtues of faith, hope, and charity but the greatest of the three being charity [1 Corinthians 13:13]. So what is charity and Why is it important? This then leads us to the next chapter speaking of gifts. The gifts of speaking in tongues and Prophecy are great edifying tools given unto the church to change the trajectory of a person’s life. But which does Apostle Paul say is more important?

Title: Charity and Prophecy

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

Main Points
• You might think I will go to the dictionary to define charity so you can understand what it is but I am not going to do that this time. Charity just like your salvation is a personal thing and can only truly be defined by you. Charity is your and my ministry charged to us by God with the words “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” [Mark 16:15]. Which was God’s way of arming and deploying us similar to soliders of the army. Charity to me is synonymous with the word love and can also with substituted with purity of heart. We are (I believe) carriers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and should follow his example of servitude. With all things we do it should be in purity of heart. So charity is going out into the world armed with the tools whether that be the word of God, food to feed the hungry, clothes to give to those that have not, or even just the song that God put into heart. Which ever tool it is use it to win a soul for the kingdom, because we by inheritance being a child of God take on his mission.

• And why is charity so important? Without purity of heart it will be hard to please God. You can not go through life just doing things without rhyme or reason. You must be intentional with every action and every word. With a heart of charity you will give of yourself without any expectation of return. One day I heard some advice saying a man(or woman) is judged not on doing things for people who can reciprocate but instead for those that don’t have anyway of paying you back. If more people gave without looking forward to receiving we would not face world hunger, war threats from neighboring kingdoms, pandemics going as far as it has, and oppression of your fellow man. Can charity really do all that? It sure can, it is written charity never faileth. [1 Corinthians 13:8]

• Moving on to chapter 14, Apostle Paul continues with practical advice about the use of tongues and Prophecy. Saying that when tongues are spoken it is to God but when prophecy is spoke it is to the edification in of man. [1 Corinthians 14:2-3]. The point he is making isn’t that tongues are not needed (since it is a gift from God) but rather that to impact the life of the people prophecy is needed to speak in plain language. We as christians should develop the gifts given to us from God in order to edify the souls we encounter. If a distressed person in spirit came to a Sunday service and the whole time the church spake in tongues, that person will leave in the same fashion in which they came. No change, no revelation, no deliverance, and no breakthrough that they desperately need. The key verse in the chapter is verses 21 and 22 saying that by prophecy the secrets of the heart are revealed resulting in the conclusion that God alone had manifested the truth in which you speak. And if that person was in need of affirmation and loves truth they will worship God for the revelation they have received. Apostle Paul for the purpose of winning souls rather speak five words in a common tongue than a thousand in an unknown language. [1 Corinthians 14:19].

Conclusion: Charity and Prophecy goes a long way in our mission. Charity to help those that are down on their luck or can not help themselves which shows forth the love of God. Prophecy is a gift to the believers to edify the people that come to God in order for them to get on the right path. It is written those that God loves he chasten. [Hebrews 12:6] So if we say that God loves us why would we not feel some constructive words from time to time. Before we make a fuss about harsh words, instead we should praise the God who reveals all things for the betterment of your heart, mind, body, and soul.

Budget like a Boss

Debt, something we all accumulate just like the endless leaves piling up in the front lawn during the fall season. But what can we do about it? People can not just stop living; we eat, live, and consume until the day we don’t. If we cannot stop debt then let us do the next best thing, slow it down. Take control of your finances by doing this brand new concept. I won’t leave you in suspense long, it is called budgeting. [Head explodes] Mind blown. Joking aside budgeting can bring a monumental change for the good.  Highlighted tips for budgeting include listing every item purchased in a given time and the “pay yourself first” technique.

According to a Consumer Expenditure Survey done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2016, the average annual American household income is $74,664 before taxes. Of that amount, 90 percent is spent on goods and services, the remaining 10 percent loss on interest accrued on loans and credit card. This illustrates that without proper budgeting we as people will spend until we see zero on our ATM balance. To combat this inclination why not get into the habit of listing your daily purchases. Doing this can have a two-fold result: first, it will start you in the habit of tracking where each dollar is going. The second reason is a bit more psychological. With you making a conscious effort of logging your outgoing money, it will cause an unconscious debate of actual need. The thought is that people will begin to resist the temptation to buy when they know it means writing it down for later retrospect.

The “Pay Yourself First” technique is an idea I enjoy speaking about because it involves people becoming more financially fit. Cliche question but have you ever received your paycheck and then by the time you realized it was all spent? We all have so to remedy this just take out a portion of your paycheck, say 10 percent and put it aside for yourself. What an idea! Actually creating profit or wealth after a full term of work. I am not quite sure who came up with this common sense approach to money management but nonetheless thank you for it.

Most books I have read and videos I have watched suggest that there should be a 50/30/20 allocation of your budget. The first 50 will be going to all bills and debt payment. This part should be enough to cover household expenses, car notes, health care, rent, and other bills. If by chance it is not you maybe need to consider downsizing with a few luxuries. The second 30 is supposed to be used on wants which still allows a person to splurge until the spending limit is reached. The remaining 20 percent goes to saving whether that is a high yield savings account, retirement, investing or real estate. The method is simple so not much calculation or overthinking is required, just ration the amount and go.

Breaking the ground on your financial journey tend to be the hardest part but equipping yourself with sound knowledge is one less burden. When it comes to getting your finances in order no one can do it but you. There is nothing to it but to do it.  And no doubt about it you can do it, I believe in you.

The Great Inner Struggle

 

The hip-hop artist JCole has a track on his album “2014 Forest Hill Drive” entitled “Love Yourz” where he promotes self-love and subliminally conveys how we all are self-conscious.  The great inner struggle represents how we all aim to do what is right and virtuous, but through life’s hardships fall short of this goal.

Earlier today I had a conversation with a friend that was speaking about the second mutual friend. The conversation hinged on the bad choices this second friend has been making as of late. While listening my mind wondered about why and how people make such uncharacteristically bad decisions. After contemplating I can only conclude the reason behind it is a lack of self-love. J Cole said poetically ” Love yourself or nobody will”. Undoubtedly this is the case in the real world, people will both misuse and abuse you if there is no self-love on your part.

We being human all need to feel affection and desire attention but putting one’s self in harm’s way to achieve it can go horribly wrong which goes without saying. I never really understood people’s fascination with going clubbing or partying in excess. Every story that I have heard when drugs, alcohol, and sex mix ended in tragedy and/or heartache.

I say this to emphasize again just love yourself and everything will work out for you. No rushing into someone’s arms that only sees you as their temporary pleasure toy. No compromising your morals, life goals, or sensibility for a few minutes of erotic activity. It is not worth it, Love yourself.