Mean & Green!

'As newborn babes,

desire the sincere milk of the word,

that ye may grow thereby:

Wherefore laying aside all malice,

and all guile, and hypocrisies,

and envies, and all evil speakings, '

1 Peter 2:1-2

2/2021
en·vy

ˈenvē/

noun

1. 1.

   a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

That big, green Monster. We've all encountered it.
&&Envy runs in a Pack: Resentment, malice, guile, hypocrisy, speaking evil,
these are just a few of the Monster's sidekicks.
They become scary and even dangerous to have around.
Aristotle called it, "pain at the sight of other's good fortune."

Have you ever resented the good things God has given OTHERS? or envy someone on how
charming and congenial they are? Envy is not any fun having around.
Envy makes you squirm and it rages at the sight of character, status or
a possession that has been given to another.
Resentment is no fun; it is shameful and preferably not talked about.
Nobody wants to admit: "I've been wishing your life was not so great."


"THE JEALOUS ARE TROUBLESOME TO OTHERS,
BUT A TORMENT TO THEMSELVES" ~William Penn

Jesus Loves ME

A familiar verse I read today just welled up in my heart as tears began to fall: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
ALL GOOD things come from God Almighty! He calls us to make a new list: all the good things we do have. Where did all those good things come from? God has given me every single good thing that has blessed my life. He is the source of all good that I have and all the good that's within me. Who God is, does not change when our circumstances change. He is still God and He is still Good! He doesn't go from being a good God to being a bad God, and shouldn't when our trials come. He is Constant, indispensable in my life! He is still the source of all the good in my life; He never changes, He's ever so Faithful!

God graciously, and at times unexpectedly sends me blessings and answers my prayers, even the tiniest, insignificant prayer or desire.     
There is nothing accidental, coincidental or half-hearted about God’s provision for us! Nothing I do will ever earn his blessings, or earn a prayer answered. God simply gives. From the beginning, he's given. Yes, at times his answer may be a "no", but he knows what is best for us.  At times It may not be our timing but he's always just in time...in His timing.
There are times we feel undeserving because of our stinky attitude! And in spite of our attitude, he looks beyond our faults and sees us, sees His Masterpiece! 
In my time here on earth, I've learned that God doesn't always answer the way we want when we pray or precisely how we want. But every now and then, sometimes when we least expect it, God provides a real reassurance of how very much He loves and cares for us by sending a greater blessing that what we asked for. It may have taken a different route to get it, but God made it much more than what I even expected.

 In this verse, referring to God as the Father of lights, or "of heavenly lights." He is the source of the light. The sun can never be in shadow. At times, shadows may fall on us, but He is ever and always light. If we turn away from Him, we go only deeper into shadow. Turning from God to escape hardship is as ridiculous as hiding from the sun to escape the darkness. When faced with troubles and trials, we should seek the one who can make all things new.
Sometimes miracles show up in the middle of the mess, and that, my friend, becomes a message for others.

 Sometimes we question, "Could this really be from God?", my mind rifling through all the reasons, it surely couldn’t be for me?  Only God would bless his children in a way that we can't explain! Yes, of course, it's from God! If it's good, then yes, it's from God. Why would we expect any less? And even when God ALLOWS storms to come into our lives, it is for a lesson he wants us to learn.  It is for the strengthening of our faith. It is for us to come to a place where we completely trust in him and fall into his arms to rest while he is fighting our battle!  
Oh, how He Loves...

STAND

I am learning that we have to focus on GOD. 

Too, many things going on that should not be!
I too have been a hypocrite, a fake.
I have failed,
I have made mistakes and that's when I have to pray the hardest!
It's so easy to fail, to lose grip & fall!
It is so easy to put the blame elsewhere!
If someone wrongs you, it’s also easy to get an attitude against that person that wrongs you and it's easy to let bitterness root in our hearts,
especially when you get caught in the middle of the battle...
been there many times and still trying to heal from past hurts. 

I know that  God is my healer-
That doesn't mean I let go of GOD and what I've been taught!
I gotta keep my head up and continue to walk in this journey that GOD has placed me upon.
And other times he has to reroute our roads.
It's a very hard road to travel... but God places people in our lives to teach us, he lets us see our faults and he also lets us look at other's mistakes so that we can learn from them and not do the same and live the same. 

We are to lift each other up...
but unfortunately & sadly... that is a rarity... that is why the bible says... to ENCOURAGE yourself in the LORD!
I give myself a good talking and sometimes I just have to slap myself😀.
Yes, this life is hard... people will always let me down,
but I thank my God that he is EVER-FAITHFUL and He is my strength! 

I choose to live this life for him and only for him.. and do what I can to stay focused when everyone else crumbles...

even when everyone else bends, and even falls... let me Stand! I will stand upon this ROCK!! Jesus CHRIST!
Sis LUV❤️

 

I WILL RISE!

I can rise above!

In Christ Jesus, I can rise!

I can Stand!

Rise above my mess.

Rise above my mistakes.

Rise above my shame.

Jesus gives me the strength to overcome the pain of yesterday.

He gives me the strength to be free.

This freedom lies ahead of me if I will get up and not look back.  I have to continue to walk forward on the path that Jesus has set before me.

I can rise above the world.

I am in this world, but I do not belong here.

I am just travelin' through.

Though the world may try to bring me down,

I am more than a conqueror in Jesus Christ.

I can rise above the thoughts and opinions the world may have about me.  

I only want to please God Almighty; 

And what he thinks of me is what matters to me. 

I can see the blessings that God has bestowed upon me.

He gives me the joy that I need to dance in the midst of my hurts. 

I will rise!

He gives peace to rest in the middle of my storm.

I will rise above the pain, the hurt, the shame.

I will rise, for his mighty hand carries me when I cannot walk.

Beyond the anguish, beyond the fear, He runs to me and comforts me.

I will rise above it all in Jesus' Name!

I am beautifully broken.

Piece by piece he mends me with his love.

Only by his saving grace will I rise every day!

His mercy endures forever!

I am thankful for the mercy and longsuffering of Jesus.

He strengthens me daily, that I can daily stand. 

Daily I run to him, seek his face.

He continues to lead me, guide me. And some sweet day he will lead me to that glorious future of eternity with him...

the HOPE OF GLORY!

I WILL RISE!

Witnessing....

A Pastor friend shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning:

"Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?"

Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing?

Love... who?

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his

brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath

seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

People say it all the time. I love my husband, I love my wife. I love my mother. I love my sister. But then you see how they treat that person that they love, you wonder if they do, indeed, love them. You see them go to church and get blessed of God, then leave and treat that person that they love so horribly. How can they get so blessed and leave and be the same as they walked in? It all goes back to love. 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. If you want to know how to love, then that is where you need to look.

4 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,"

5 "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;"

6 "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;"

7 "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

If you aren't loving this way, then it isn't love. 1 Cor. 13:1-3 says it doesn't matter if we come to church and get blessed of God, without love, it is like a tinkling cymbal. It doesn't matter if we used in the gift of prophecy, without love, we are nothing. It doesn't matter if we give to the poor, without love, it doesn't do us any good.

For years I couldn't wrap my head around why people are the way they are, but now I see it. There is no love. Love is important. It is even more important than faith. The scripture says that if you have faith to move mountains, without love, we are nothing (1 Cor. 13:2).

Today I pray that God will fill your heart and mine with love for our fellow man, whether it be family, neighbors, or friends. God help me to love like you.

Draw Near to GOD....

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...James 4:8

The daily grind of living in this fallen world has a way of dulling our spiritual senses. Instead of longing for deeper intimacy with Jesus, many find their pleasures and fulfillment in the things of this world. The result is~we move from day to day and week to week, robbed of the joy and peace that only a close relationship can give with the Lord Jesus Christ. But the truth is some Christians are satisfied with having a distant relationship with God. From their perspective, God is afar off... in heaven, and has too many others to deal with to worry about them. A prayer may be offered up once in a while but really have no idea how to reach for God and experience that type of relationship that they once thought possible.  What they don't realize is that GOD desires so much more for them! He desires more for you too!

We must maintain a daily communication line with our Saviour daily... through prayer, the Bible and of course there are those nudges, those convictions that He sends in our spirit.  Sometimes there are those unexpected encounters that God sends our way expectantly... at times they are life-changing experiences initiated by God.. we have to keep our spiritual ears open continually and be receptive, so when God speaks we are ready to listen.

We see in The Word of God accounts where he has made interactions with his people. God never changes, he is the same and so he continues to deal the same way with us today in powerful ways.  These experiences are not only for the ministry, for leadership. God wants to daily communicate intimately with all of his children, but too often, too many times we are just too busy to stop and give God an opportunity to speak or us to stop and listen to him.  If you haven't had any encounters here lately that you can recall, then maybe you've tuned him completely out with the sounds and voices of the world.  How much silence do you experience on a typical day? Is there a set time of the day that you have set apart to sit still and know that He is GOD in prayer? Or, are your days filled with commotion so loud that you don't have time to think, from morning to night? Is he Completely drowned out?

You may feel disconnected and distant from the Lord. You don't have to stay away, he is waiting, for he desires that closeness, but you have to draw near to Him, quiet your spirit and listen to His voice that speaks through His Word. Then he can come with that special message, an open line of communication and intimacy...The time to begin drawing near is now, not we you desperately need to hear from Him.  We need an encounter with God! We have to cultivate an intimate relationship with Him, He loves us you so much and wants you to be aware of His Presence.But we have to make ourselves available.  We need to spend time daily reading the scriptures that he has given unto us. Pray and stay tuned and ready to listen to His voice. Ask him to speak to you, to your heart and wait for him to show himself to you, and He will.