I'm a mess (the truth about DaWiseOne)

Think on this...Believe it or not I am a mess. A pure mess! I love to say that I love God, but do I really? (Before you think, I am just another preacher losing his nerve and quitting, read on.) Jesus said, "If you love me obey my commands." John14:21 I don't always obey. I like to think that I do, but to be honest I don't all the time. At times I find other things more pleasing, more alluring, and in my mind just better. Or (this is the kicker) I come up with excuses for why I can’t obey him and try to act like I am mature enough to “test the waters”. Basically, that means I love things more than God (in that moment at least). Like I said, I am a mess.

Is this too much reality for a communicator of God's word to reveal? Maybe it is, or maybe we are human and have to find God's forgiveness and grace like everyone else. We have struggles and things we have to overcome. Not that we should not be held to a high standard (we should), but why do we set such high standards for ministers, we all have the bible as our standard. Yes, positioned leaders should meet certain qualifications, and I do.

My point is, I have to fight for a pure heart. God gave me a clean heart at salvation but I can allow habits, history, and hazardous living to get it dirty again. I have to make sure that I regularly keep Jesus as my source to ensure that I am not following my base nature. That is my challenge, and I present that to you…Just a thought

Exposed

Think on this…Ever been naked? Not as in, I was in the shower this morning and I didn't have clothes on. Really exposed, like before someone with whom you don’t want to see you naked? It's a humbling experience. No matter how nice you think you look underneath your clothes it's humbling! The bottom line is we are taught to keep our privates' private. We generally don't want people to see what we have been spending most of our lives hiding. Then we start to ask them, "So what did you see", the answer, "everything". Then the insecurity and healthy shame steps in. It's just a rough situation.

The truth of the matter is many of us are exposed and we don't even know it. Not by some peeping tom, but by almighty God. He sees all perfectly. Everything is exposed before him. The crazy thing is we will often be afraid to do before others what we do before God. I think its because we either forget that He is watching, or He seems so far away that we rarely feel exposed. God is always looking beneath the surface to our very core. He knows what you and I did last summer. The Bible says, "Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me" Psalm 139:1. The crazy thing is, he sees us and still loves us in spite of the ugly. I am so grateful for that…Just a thought.

Self-Destruction

Think on this…do you remember that song? The biggest names in hip-hop coming together (circa 1989) to, "stop the violence and kick the science." This was back before women were throwing themselves at Flava Flav on reality shows. The whole goal was to stop people from killing themselves. It's so relevant to our lives because, often we are the masters of our own demise. We keep very unhealthy habits that add to our own destruction. We keep going around the same mountains and expecting that things will change because we occasionally see new scenery.

The bible says, "As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness." (Proverbs 26:11) Can you imagine eating you own…? I will go on. But it's nasty and gets you nowhere. We have to admit our negative cycles, and realize that we can get out if we ask for help. If you could have gotten yourself out you would have by now. That's the hardest part for many of us, admitting that we need help. The good news is, God wants us to live free. All you have to do is ask for it. "Or else it's, self destruction, you're headed for self destruction…Just a thought.

Gravity- Inspired by John Mayer

Think on this…to be honest I am not a John Mayer fan. I am not an anti-Mayer, I am just not an avid listener, but this song grabs me. "Gravity is working against me…I'll never know what makes this man, with all the love that his heart can stand, dream of ways to throw it all away”. This rings true for me and I imagine for you as well. It's all about our struggle with depravity. It doesn’t help anyone to pretend that we don’t have self-destructive tendencies. We all have those feelings, deal with it.

The bible says, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out…Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Romans 7:18-20. I am ever mindful of my weakness and desire to abandon everything that I hold dear. Is it because I am just a bad Christian? I don't think so. I have learn to be ever mindful of my challenges so that I know what enemies I am facing. If I am blind to my own temptations how do I overcome them?

So what do we do? John Mayer had the right solution. “Keep me where the light is.” That is what we need, to be where God’s light is. I am not perfect, but I know who is, and I want to stay in His light as to not embrace my own darkness…Just a thought.

Sick and Shut-in

Think on this…when I was a child in church I heard a common phrase, Sick and Shut-in. The church used these terms to speak of those who were infirmed and needed either prayer or comfort. I lived with my sister’s grandmother for years and she was on the Sick and Shut-in list. We regularly watched as deacons from the large local church visited. It was amazing really, the loved they showed for this elderly woman. I think about the fact that she had us there and didn’t go without a constant touch from someone. There were so many others who never saw another face, or felt the warmth from another person’s affection.

I understand the concept more fully as I have been wrestling with the flu this week. I have been in quarantine in my bed for days now and I am getting a little stir crazy. I get the need for my exile, but I miss human contact. I feel Sick and Shut-in. It’s the flu so I will get over it, but there are others who never get that connection. This year I started delivering food to the elderly and those with HIV and AIDS, and now I really see why they need that service. That simple act shows love in ways that I am only now discovering.

Jesus taught, “When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Show love this weekend…Just a thought.

Imagery

Think on this… I like television. I know, once again the ultra spiritual will think that I am being sacrilegious. I grew up on the television, and it was an important part of my upbringing. It was a way we learned about the world. There are some terrible things on TV, make no mistake about it. But, the awe and wonder, of Transformers, GI Joe, and thunder, Thunder, THUNDER CATS HOOO! Yes! As a child it was the greatest thing ever. Conversely, It was also the instrument through which I discovered naked women, way too early. Wow, that was an eye opener. But, once again, wonder! (But let’s move on J)

I think the TV is just a tool, for good or bad it’s a tool. I am an ex television network employee. I get it. Television can give you a glimpse of what is possible, and even show you the impossible. It’s amazing imagery, things that were once only in our minds eye is before us. For this reason, I realize more and more that I have to be careful with what I allow to hit my eyes because it affects my heart. Those early years were good, but when the naked women came in it messed me up. It determined how I saw women in general, which was not healthy. The bible says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Psalms 4:23 Your heart is where your affections and your desires are, it the place from where you live and emote. We can't allow HBO, Cinemax, and MTV to determine our desires. You can guard your heart, by guarding what you watch on television…Just a thought.

Goodness Gracious

Think on this…I am a part of a unique people. The African American people are special in one major way. Hardship? No, people all over the world experience that. Oppression? No, the Native Americans were robbed of their land and almost wiped out, and blacks in South Africa experienced apartheid. We are special in that we have been bred, yes bred like horses or dogs. We have been bred to work. When master wasn’t chasing the slave women around to create little mixed race babies he was matching up slaves for their best genes. My ancestors had it rough. Please don’t tune out because I mentioned slavery, it happened, deal with it. The point is we were bred for work. I believe that is why we see so many black Americans thriving at athletics where being bigger, stronger, and faster is at a premium. Good breeding.

This is a particular problem when it comes to embracing God’s grace. Grace is a church term that means, God decided to rescue us from the penalty that our sins (faults) demanded. You can’t earn grace. Many people look at God as a mean personality, but I see love perfected. Why? Because he could have let us try to repay a debt that could never have been paid, but instead he paid it, himself. That is what the cross is about. God is trying to give us what we need, ultimately. He loves us. As an African American who was bred to work, I have a hard time with grace because I have an internal tendency to try and work my way to heaven. “Let me do more, and I just need to”, are common phrases for me. I’m a worker bee. But, grace says, just take the gift.

This truth is wrecking my “worker” mentality. I can’t, but God did. I am learning to rest and embrace the grace of God. It’s weird, but so liberating. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men and women.” Titus 2:11 We don’t have to work to earn anything from God, all we have to do is receive it. That’s so awesome!...Just a thought.