Has God ever asked you to pick up a piece of trash? No, really, like has He ever asked you to pick up a piece of trash, literally, on the ground, remains of something? He does it to me all the time! It’s actually quite annoying. It’s annoying because sometimes I think it’s gross. Other times I feel like I just don’t have the time to do it. He’ll even ask me to do other little things. Like one time at Wal-mart God told me to get all the carts and put them in the cart return thingy. I looked around my proximity and there were like 5 or 6 carts. Instantly I said, “no way God. I don’t have the time for that. It’s simply not in my schedule.” So I left, and forgot about it.
Today as I was ironing I was listening to my fabulous iphone’s shuffling of songs, and a small phrase in Casting Crowns’ song “Glory” spoke loudly to me. It said, “I’ll do anything you ask me to.” And I believed it! I sang it with conviction. When the vocalist said that part of the verse the second time around I said out loud, “Yes, I will Lord!” And then He said back to me, “but, will you really?” He quickly reminded me of the time I didn’t put back all the carts. He reminded me of the time I delayed in picking up the smashed plastic bottle in the parking lot of my church. This saddened me. And I began to question whether or not I was truly willing to be an empty vessel for Him. Am I, Monica, truly willing to put aside my agenda for the purposes of God? And see God, He is sooo good, that He even went as far as to explain to me why these menial things are so important to Him. He did it by reminded me of something my sister said the day before yesterday. She said, “It makes me wonder how many people miss their blessing because of other people’s unwillingness to just do what God asks of them.” She said this referring to something I did this weekend out of obedience to my conscience and ultimately the Lord (Romans 2:15). You see, listening to God this weekend turned out to be a huge blessing for someone else. It wasn’t evident that in making that decision such a blessing would come out of my obedience, but it did. As a matter of fact, I was just as hesitant, if not more, to follow God’s lead as I was the day of the shopping carts. But this time I did it. And I actually got to hear of the blessing it produced!
The truth is I don’t think God is all that concerned with shopping carts or trash. I mean, I know he cares, because it’s all His anyway. However, I do not believe that He is asking in a legalistic way. Therefore, I am not saying that from now on, you should all be concerned with picking up every piece of trash you see. And maybe He DOES want that! I don’t know. All I am saying is that for me, in my walk, it is extremely important to obey even what seems to be ridiculous or unworthy of attention. How do I know that putting up those shopping carts would not have put me in the perfect position to minister to someone very much in need? Or what if I never knew what kind of blessing that action would put into motion, but there was a blessing coming out of it none the less? And so I asked myself, “Whose blessing did I steal that day?”
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Rebuke that thought!
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)
Going through recovery, of any kind, is not an easy task. Add to it, Satan's desire to put anything and everything in your way to deter you, and you got yourself a calamity! To this day, Satan continues to murmur into my ear his cunning lies of victory over the cross. When I was first getting sober, I would hear Satan say, "You can't handle this. You NEED alcohol and drugs to live! You will not be able to handle your circumstances without them." But that was just a lie!!! Casting Crowns' song, "Voice of Truth," gives a clear description of the spiritual warfare that I was going through: "...the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me, reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me, time and time again..., you'll never win! BUT the Voice of Truth tells me a different story."
Satan is a conquered foe my friend! Sentence has already been passed on him (Matthew 25:41). The true battle is in our minds! Since this is so, all we must do now is remind him that he has been defeated. We take those thoughts, or shall I say, lies from Satan, captive by speaking out loud against them, as Jesus did in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), rebuking them in Jesus' name. And then, we replace that evil thought by the truth, which is the Word of God. This too, Jesus did in the wilderness when He began to say back to Satan what the scriptures said. In the end we witness that, "the devil left Him; and angels came and began to minister to Him (vs.11)."
We have the victory through the precious blood of Jesus. We just have to TAKE authority over the lie/thought. For this, my friend, we have to stay, actively, in the Word of God. You can't remind Satan of truth if you don't learn it through reading His mighty living word (Hebrews 4:12)! Praise the Lord!!!
2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)
Going through recovery, of any kind, is not an easy task. Add to it, Satan's desire to put anything and everything in your way to deter you, and you got yourself a calamity! To this day, Satan continues to murmur into my ear his cunning lies of victory over the cross. When I was first getting sober, I would hear Satan say, "You can't handle this. You NEED alcohol and drugs to live! You will not be able to handle your circumstances without them." But that was just a lie!!! Casting Crowns' song, "Voice of Truth," gives a clear description of the spiritual warfare that I was going through: "...the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me, reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me, time and time again..., you'll never win! BUT the Voice of Truth tells me a different story."
Satan is a conquered foe my friend! Sentence has already been passed on him (Matthew 25:41). The true battle is in our minds! Since this is so, all we must do now is remind him that he has been defeated. We take those thoughts, or shall I say, lies from Satan, captive by speaking out loud against them, as Jesus did in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), rebuking them in Jesus' name. And then, we replace that evil thought by the truth, which is the Word of God. This too, Jesus did in the wilderness when He began to say back to Satan what the scriptures said. In the end we witness that, "the devil left Him; and angels came and began to minister to Him (vs.11)."
We have the victory through the precious blood of Jesus. We just have to TAKE authority over the lie/thought. For this, my friend, we have to stay, actively, in the Word of God. You can't remind Satan of truth if you don't learn it through reading His mighty living word (Hebrews 4:12)! Praise the Lord!!!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Get to the Inside
“…First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.”
Matthew 23:26 (NIV)
I have a history of chronic relapse. The first time I tried to quit drinking and using was when I was 18. And since that point, I must have tried to quit 12 to 15 times. And every time I tried to quit, I instantly would become obsessed with losing weight and eating healthy. One of those times my sponsor had suggested that I put my exterior on hold for the purposes of attacking full-force the disease that was killing me most, alcohol and drug addiction. What she said that day still resounds when I notice I am paying more attention to exterior matters than my spiritual welfare. She said that when I take care of my recovery (reading the word of God, taking my inventory and making amends) that everything else would fall into place. Essentially what she was saying was to take care of washing the inside of my cup. For me, my cup is my spirit and my soul (mind, will and emotions).
A few years ago, I set out to order all my pictures chronologically so that I could arrange them in albums by year. As I was going down memory lane I came across a picture of myself at my niece’s birthday party. I remembered that day as it was yesterday! I remembered that I had originally put on a long sleeve, fitted, pistachio-green shirt. I felt so fat in it!! So I changed. Then I changed again, until I came across the shirt in the picture. It was a sleeveless and very loose tank top. The funny thing is that, as I was sitting there looking at the picture, I found myself longing to weigh what I weighed back then. I remember saying to God, “Lord, what I would give to be at that weight now.” And yet, back then, that weight had not been good enough. What’s more…I actually weigh much more now than I did at my niece’s birthday party yet, I feel much thinner than ever! I truly had an epiphany that day! I realized that the way I see myself on the outside is directly related to my spiritual condition.
I notice that when I am actively in the Word, my exterior aligns itself with the truth of the word of God. I am a three part being; spirit, soul and then body. When my spirit and my soul are aligned with the Word of God, my body follows accordingly. My spirit and my soul tell my body how to react. The coolest thing of all this is that physical aesthetics isn’t the only thing that is affected. I also mean my attitude and my behavior, what I say and what I project. And since God is love (1 John 4:16 NIV), and I am recreated in His image, then that means that the more I am in the Word, the more I outwardly express patience, kindness, goodwill, selflessness, forgiveness, trust, hope and perseverance (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV) to others as well as myself!!! I praise God for always completing the good work in me!
Matthew 23:26 (NIV)
I have a history of chronic relapse. The first time I tried to quit drinking and using was when I was 18. And since that point, I must have tried to quit 12 to 15 times. And every time I tried to quit, I instantly would become obsessed with losing weight and eating healthy. One of those times my sponsor had suggested that I put my exterior on hold for the purposes of attacking full-force the disease that was killing me most, alcohol and drug addiction. What she said that day still resounds when I notice I am paying more attention to exterior matters than my spiritual welfare. She said that when I take care of my recovery (reading the word of God, taking my inventory and making amends) that everything else would fall into place. Essentially what she was saying was to take care of washing the inside of my cup. For me, my cup is my spirit and my soul (mind, will and emotions).
A few years ago, I set out to order all my pictures chronologically so that I could arrange them in albums by year. As I was going down memory lane I came across a picture of myself at my niece’s birthday party. I remembered that day as it was yesterday! I remembered that I had originally put on a long sleeve, fitted, pistachio-green shirt. I felt so fat in it!! So I changed. Then I changed again, until I came across the shirt in the picture. It was a sleeveless and very loose tank top. The funny thing is that, as I was sitting there looking at the picture, I found myself longing to weigh what I weighed back then. I remember saying to God, “Lord, what I would give to be at that weight now.” And yet, back then, that weight had not been good enough. What’s more…I actually weigh much more now than I did at my niece’s birthday party yet, I feel much thinner than ever! I truly had an epiphany that day! I realized that the way I see myself on the outside is directly related to my spiritual condition.
I notice that when I am actively in the Word, my exterior aligns itself with the truth of the word of God. I am a three part being; spirit, soul and then body. When my spirit and my soul are aligned with the Word of God, my body follows accordingly. My spirit and my soul tell my body how to react. The coolest thing of all this is that physical aesthetics isn’t the only thing that is affected. I also mean my attitude and my behavior, what I say and what I project. And since God is love (1 John 4:16 NIV), and I am recreated in His image, then that means that the more I am in the Word, the more I outwardly express patience, kindness, goodwill, selflessness, forgiveness, trust, hope and perseverance (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV) to others as well as myself!!! I praise God for always completing the good work in me!
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