Forgive or Not to Forgive, That is the Question...

Forgiveness is by far one of the single hardest things a person can do. That being said, the greatest struggles that we go through are our greatest victories. I once heard a man say that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Grudges will eat you alive from the inside out. It is one of the best weapons the enemy has, and we cannot let him win. Forgiveness is the tool that God gave us to overcome our offended hearts.

Unforgiveness will also hold you back from receiving God's mercy! Mark 11:25-26 (AMP) - And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.

I cannot express how important this principle is because there are so many hurting people out there. They are hurting because they are asking God to do big things and are not seeing any sort of results. They have no results because they have not resolved issues from their past. He cannot do big things through us until we are cleansed of our iniquities. He is unable to forgive us while we are unable to forgive those that trespass against us.

Worry Not About Tomorrow, For God is Already There.

(Mat 6:25-26 AMP)  Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

In such times of uncertainty, it is easy to get distracted from our purpose with worry. We will never know what the future will hold for us, but we do know the promises of God. The promise of the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and our lives. He has good plans for us, and He has had those plans even before He formed us in our mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:5)!

This should set our minds at ease. It is important to understand that life works in seasons (Ecclesiastes 3). Realizing what season we are in will help us see the importance of where we are. No matter what we may be going through, know that we are going through it and it is NOT our destination. The time that we spend in the trenches working tirelessly is for a reason. Even when it seems as though we are getting nowhere, we are in that season to grow. Growth is essential to the plans that God has for us.

God cannot use us where we are currently at, but we must be shaped and molded into the creation He needs us to be for His plans. His plans for our lives are greater than any plans that we could have for our own lives. So many people follow their own desires, making them successful in the eyes of the world but despised by the LORD, and at the end of the day they feel like an empty vessel. They have a God shaped hole in their heart that cannot be filled with anything else.

God has a plan for our lives whether or not we are on that path. The plans that he had for us when we were in the womb are still the same. His plans are good, concise, and of the utmost importance. It is crucial that we give control to Him, that we release all worry we may have about the future, and enjoy the season we are in right now. We need to take each opportunity to grow in Him and look forward to His plans as He reveals them to us one step at a time.

Forget The Hedge, Check Out My Umbrella!

A lot of people talk about a hedge of protection when it comes to God shielding us from the world. Recently in my Epic School of Ministry class, the teacher described another analogy for that protection. He talked about an umbrella, which is generally used to protect us from what is falling down on us due to the earthly laws. The umbrella is the new hedge. While we remain faithful to Him and follow His Word, we are sure to remain under His umbrella. As we step out and start getting away from His Word, we unknowingly step out from under the umbrella, leaving us wide open to get rained on. Sometimes it is just sprinkling and other times it will feel like a hurricane just struck without warning. The length of time we remain outside of His umbrella, however, is completely up to us. The Bible talks about in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." As soon as we repent for any sins we have committed, God instantly and totally forgets our iniquities that we have repented for. As it says in Psalms 103:12, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

The Good News - As soon as we repent, guys, as SOON as we do it, our sins are taken and thrown as far as the East is from the West. The East never touches the West, so they are eternally forgotten by God and never thought of again. But our faith requires action, and that action is our repentance.

When Your Season Ain't Pleasin', He's Got a Reason

Ever feel frustrated with where God has you? Feel like you are running through life as though on a treadmill? It is easy to get angry at our situations, especially when we compare ourselves to that of a peer. The enemy has a way of showing us all of the positives of everyone else around us, doesn't he? Punk.

We have all been there; I was there very recently. I was at a breaking point in my life. My world flipped upside down due to some unforeseen situations that the enemy threw in my face. They beat me down for a while. I was in search of purpose for my life. I felt like I had not achieved anything with my past and wasn't able to anything with my future. The enemy had buried land mines deep inside my subconscious. As I walked the road laid out in front of me, everything just seemed to blow up in my face. I started to chase the success that the world had for me, seeking alternatives to the path that God had for me. I felt His path was either A) taking way too long, or B) was not going to work at all. As I hastily got off His path, He was quick to correct me.

During a time of prayer, He began to ask me what I thought I was doing and where I thought I was headed. I knew immediately that if He was questioning my actions, then I was headed down a dangerous road. He then reminded me that where I am in life, right this instant, is exactly where He needs me to be! The Holy Spirit then recalled Ecclesiastes 3:1-11...

"(1)  TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:  (2)  A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,(3)  A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up,  (4)  A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,  (5)  A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,  (6)  A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,  (7)  A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak,(8)  A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.(9)  What profit remains for the worker from his toil?  (10)  I have seen the painful labor and exertion and miserable business which God has given to the sons of men with which to exercise and busy themselves.  (11)  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."

Life is a series of seasons for us. God has plans for us, but not every season is enjoyable and rewarding while we are in the midst of it. However, it is important to take the time to understand the blessings of each and every season we go through because He has put us there to learn something crucial to the next task He has for us. The more we fight His plan, the longer it will take us to advance. It would be like trying to walk up the down escalator! Quit fighting it dummy and go with the flow!

Once I came to the realization that I was in a season of labor and hardship, everything changed. I am learning very quickly to trust God and take Him at His word. When I finally gave it all up to Him, my world turned around, and now I can see clearly where I am headed. I am so blessed to be in the season I am in because I am discovering so much that I know will benefit me in the future. Furthermore, I know He has put me here to learn and become more dependent on Him and His voice.

I would encourage everyone to look at their life and take it one step at a time. Timing is everything; do not try to put the cart in front of the horse like I did. Ultimately, His plan is the best plan for our lives. It is so crucial that we seize every opportunity to take strides toward our future. Taking the reins in our own hands in an attempt to speed things up will only slow us down.

It is Not About Starting, But it is All About Finishing! Be an Overcomer!

Matthew 10:22 (AMP)  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he who perseveres and endures to the end will be saved [ from spiritual disease and death in the world to come].

So many people start out with a journey hand-in-hand with Christ, but few people have the strength to persevere through the attacks the enemy throws at us during that journey. The biggest reason for that failure is because we, as humans, being in the natural, attempt to rely on our own strength rather than relying on that of the LORD.

1Co 10:13 (AMP) For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

With temptation, guys, He will ALWAYS also provide us a way out. In my life B.C., I struggled with a major addiction to pornography (it had complete hold of me), but God always provides a way out, right? My Pastor pointed out the way to abstain from looking at pornographic images online was that tiny little "x" in the corner of the web browser. Something so simple is a way of Him providing a way out for us to overcome and conquer the obstacles the enemy will throw in our path. Whenever you are in a situation or about to enter into a situation that you know is harmful for you, look for that way out. Pray for God to reveal it to you, because He will NEVER leave you stranded, especially if you are seeking after Him. Being a Christian means we do things differently than the rest of the world. Finish strong guys, that is the most important thing we can do for His kingdom. Overcome that temptation. Conquer that addiction. Take hold of the Power that is available in the name of Jesus.

You Don't Need Cupid, Stupid!

As today carries on people will be shown affection by their spouses, boyfriends, and family. We should not forget that we are only able to love because God first showed us how to love. There is no greater love shown to any man than the love Christ showed us by laying His life down.

He that was pure and perfect was made sin because of our own iniquities. (1 Peter 1:14 NKJ) "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed."

This is a powerful scripture that I hope you meditate on for a bit and break down. He Himself bore our sins in His own body. The sins that we had not even committed yet, He bore. He had us in mind the entire time, even as He was getting beaten and whipped. As they split Him open with a "Cat of Nine Tails." A Cat of Nine Tails is literally a flail with nine straps coming out of it. Each strap is covered in shards of glass or has nails in the ends of it. Most men that suffered from this torment bled to death before they were even pulled off the chopping block. This was not just a weak spanking like dad used to give. This was a literal blood bath. They said that his face was unrecognizable by the time they were done beating Him. He took this beating for us; the fate of the entire world was on His shoulders. He who was perfect and sinless was made sin.

The entire chapter of Isaiah 53 talks about the prophecy of Jesus' Crucifixion. Verse 10 (NASB) says, "But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see  His offspring, He will prolong  His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand."

Love can be defined as a conscious decision to put another's highest good above all else. Jesus literally laid His life down for all of us. This is the Love we need to embrace! It is the greatest love we will experience. Jesus took His beating for us willingly and without a single response to those that beat Him. In fact, His love for man was so great that as His body was held up by the nails piercing His hands and feet, He prayed to the Father to "forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34 KJV)

Jesus first loved us and that is the only reason we are able to show love to others. I challenge us all to meditate on this idea as we express our love to our significant others.

In the "Hour of Power," Our Words areTreated Like Seconds...

(Proverbs 18:21 AMP) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].

The "Hour of Power" is our time spent on this planet. We have limited time on this planet to make a difference that will impact the future. The time that we as individuals have is but a blip on the time line for this planet. Thousands of years have passed, and we get to spend eighty years here. I think it is easy for people to use words in order to cause destruction among peers without even realizing the repercussions of their actions.

I think the power of words is thoroughly misunderstood in today's society. People use them without even thinking. They use terms that will cause the targets to carry a heavy burden. If a nine year old girl gets told by a peer that she is fat or ugly, she will carry those words with her for the rest of her life.

Words can either cause life or death. It is important to be aware of the choices we make as we venture through this life, especially when it comes to our vocabulary. We need to be speaking words of Life into our fellow man. Death is defined as the permanent cessation of all the vital functions! How many times have "harmless" words completely broken a person. I think it is time that we finally get a grip on our lip and speak words of life into the world around us.

Point A to Point B

I am going to start off my blog by giving my personal testimony. This will be the first time most people have heard it, but I think it is the best way to develop a relationship with my future readers. I also don't want my readers to think that I have lived some perfect life stuck in a bubble away from any harm. My goal is to make this blog real, relevant, practical, and applicable; something that people are able to read over, apply it to their lives, and draw them closer to God. Notes For The Journey is just as much for me to read, as it is for my readers. Most of the subjects I will touch on will be issues that have been on my heart or maybe things that I am currently going through. So I welcome you and look forward to our journey together as we walk this out...

My story really starts at age 14, it was January 7th of 2002. I woke up just like any other Monday morning, got on the bus, and headed off to school. Just before my class got released for lunch, I had gotten called down to the office and was asked to bring my things because my mom was there to pick me up. Dumbfounded, I collected my things, packed up and was excited to head home early from school. As soon as I saw my mom and noticed my sister was with her, I knew something was up. It was an uncomfortable silence between us as my mom signed me out. As we began to walk out of the school and headed towards the car I asked my mom what was going on. As innocent as the question was, the answer would change the course of my entire life. She opened her mouth and could barely get the words out. My older and only brother was killed in a car accident that very morning. My whole world slowed down and I lost the feeling in my legs, almost collapsing right there on the pavement. From that point on my life would never be the same, my roommate that I had lived with for 14 years would be gone from my life, forever. Everything I had ever known, he was a part of. Everything I had enjoyed about life was because he had introduced me to it. Needless to say my life took a downward spiral. I fell into a depressive state of being. From ages 14 to roughly 21, approximately a third of my life, I hated myself, my circumstances, and worst of all, God for what (I thought) He had done to me. I had such malice in my heart towards the LORD and the world in general. Over the course of that seven years I sought out who I was by putting my identity into detrimental relationships with women who weren't of Faith. Although I had created a chasm between God and I, throughout those seven years I knew in my Heart of Hearts, that what I was doing was wrong. Other than the false relationships I was seeking, I had also found myself addicted to pirating software, music, movies, you name it. As harmless as this may sound, actions such as these take a toll on the soul. Throughout the years everything seemed to spin out of control. I often contemplated ending my own life. I had all the means and most of the willpower to do so. Luckily, one day when I was in my room alone and thinking about the quickest way to end my state of pain, I heard a voice in my head that I had never heard before. He said, "What are you doing?" As I responded with the facts of my life and how much pain and sorrow, He responded with the Truth saying, "But I have such good plans for you..." It hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew right away exactly who was talking to me. I completely broke. As tears streamed down my face, I knew that my life would be redirected down a brighter path. From that day forth, it was a constant battle for me to stay happy and be joyful. For a long time after that I could still feel the depression behind my smile. I felt like such a fake person, everything that I would show the world was but a mask. Nobody knew what I was dealing with, and it wasn't until I started seeking God the summer of 2009 that I truly started to break the many chains that the enemy had put on me. All my anger towards God for what I thought he had done to me was gone. Once I started learning the truth about Him and what He wanted for my life, all of my sorrows fell by the wayside. I finally got revelation knowledge that it wasn't God that had done this, but the works of the enemy, and that God only wanted good for me. He had been seeking after me ever since I walked away from Him, and He longed to have that relationship with me back. I am so thankful that He never gave up on me, even though I had given up on both of us a long time ago...