I heard an interview on the radio for a program meant to empower young women called, “Goal Diggers.” I thought that was incredibly inventive. I am around young people all the time, and while many of them have career aspirations, I have heard one too many young ladies aspire to be the wife of a very rich man. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be involved with someone who is financially secure. As a matter of fact, I am taking applications (must be over 72 inches tall). In any case, I find it sad when becoming a wife, girlfriend or baby mama of an athlete or entertainer is the only goal young women have in mind. In a day and age where people have become famous for being infamous, it is not difficult to see where these young ladies get the idea that snagging a rich guy is the way to go. You need only turn on the television for five minutes to any reality show about women (except ‘Mary Mary’) to see why young ladies value money and notoriety over anything else. I must admit that at times, I have wished I had thought to do something that went viral when I was younger, so that I could have a famous name. And though in my mid-twenties I was very interested in dating and marrying a football player, I was already an attorney; I had attained a lifelong goal, plus, I just really love football. In any case, I have always been told that the thing that makes your heart cry is where your passion lies. I know that when I ask a young lady what her goal in life is and she replies, “To meet Hugh Hefner and be one of his girlfriends, so I can live in his mansion,” that makes my heart break (that actually happened by the way). So, please help me to encourage young men and young women to become goal diggers. As a matter of fact, they do not even have to be young because I know some people my age and older that still do not know what they want to be when they grow up. Set SMART goals. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable, and Time-Sensitive. Then, do not just stop at setting the goals. Pray and ask for God’s guidance about each step to reaching your goal. When you reach a goal, praise God and take time to celebrate the accomplishment. But, do not rest on your laurels. Once you have reached one goal, seek God’s wisdom about what is next. Trust me there is nothing wrong with wanting a man with a lot of riches. I am already in love with someone who has more riches than anyone can measure. And He loves me so much, that He gave His all just for me. He also loves me so much that He wants me to be everything that I am capable of being for the glory of His Kingdom. There is no earthly love or amount of wealth that could ever outweigh His love. Don’t be a gold-digger; be a goal-digger. Ms. EV Below is a song I wrote that is dedicated to
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Yesterday, I caught glimpses of a special about crack-cocaine and how people felt trapped into selling it, which was followed by the movie, “New Jack City.” I have to thank God that there was never an inkling of an urge in my life to take such a path. I also started thinking about how, especially in difficult economic times, the love of money can affect people’s lives. As Christians, we should not put our trust in money, but in the Master.
I definitely am not a rags-to-riches story. Actually, at one point, I thought I might become a riches-to-rags story. I had just gotten divorced and I had two-income bills on a one-income budget. When I was in law school, my ex-husband always had a job, not the same one, but he was always resourceful at finding work. Sometimes, he even had two or three jobs to help ends meet, so I will give him credit for that. I was unable to work for the first year of law school, but my tuition was paid for, plus a stipend for books and living expenses, so essentially, school was my job. However, when I decided that it was time for a divorce, I had to figure out how to make it on my own. When I was married, I was on my ex’s health insurance. However, after the divorce, I had to find my own coverage. I knew it would not be inexpensive, but it should be reasonable because I was a relatively healthy young lady. I had been diagnosed with endometriosis a few months before I got married, so I knew I needed to be able to see the doctor. There were certain services that I could get on campus, which were covered by my tuition and fees, like physicals. So, the insurance company wanted me to get a physical and send it over, so that I could get coverage. It was all so simple until, during my physical, my doctor found a lump in my right breast. When the insurance company was informed of this, it said it would not insure me until the lump was ruled to be benign. I had to choose whether or not to get surgery or live without health insurance and possibly with cancer. I made an appointment with my doctor back home and she advised that I have the surgery and even recommended a doctor. I had the surgery. I told the nurse as soon as I woke up to give me a prescription and get me the heck out of there. I did not want so much as a Tylenol for pain because that would cost about $1500. The mass was benign and my recovery went well. Then, the bill came. In addition to the bills I already had, I had an outrageous hospital bill. I got the insurance, but it had a rider that precluded payment for anything relating to my endometriosis for a year (and I had no problems with it for over a year--that is God). At this point in my life, I did not have a credit card because I had gone credit card crazy in college and could not be trusted with one. So, I decided that I would take out student loans until I got on my feet. It was a tough choice because I was still working, with my parents’ guidance to fix my finances from college. I already had student loans from college (that were unnecessary), and now, I was compounding the problem just to live. So, of course I learned my lesson, lived within my means and now I am exceedingly rich. In the words of Nene Leakes, “I am VERY rich!” And, since you may have picked up that I am a teacher, those riches are not based upon monetary gain; I am spiritually and emotionally rich now, but I did not learn my lesson at that point. Very soon after my surgery, I decided that life was too short for regrets and I wanted to study abroad and see the world, so I took out another student loan and got a credit card to make that happen. I lived as though I had unlimited funds and I did not ask anyone for help because it had been mortifying to ask my parents for help prior to this. When I graduated, I was in quite the conundrum. I knew I did not want to be an attorney, but the only way I would be able to pay the bills I racked up would be to become an attorney and make some serious money. I took a more difficult road. I moved in with my parents, once again asked for their help to rearrange my finances, opened my own law firm and started substitute teaching. Some months I was making good money and others I was not. My plan was to only be in my parents’ house for one or two years maximum and that turned into almost five years. I tried many ways to increase my income. I published my book and did speaking engagements, but rather than do so for the ministry, I was focused on the money (see Purpose-Driven or Profit Driven). It wasn’t until I became a teacher with a steady income, that I started listening to Biblical wisdom and my father’s wisdom about finances. I did not end up being a riches-to-rags story. I was down, but never out. I always had a roof over my head, a car to drive, and money to pay my bills. It was not always the most ideal circumstances, but my needs were met, which is what God promised. In the past five years, since I have moved into my own place, it seems that every time my pay decreases because of budget cuts, so does my mortgage payment. I have been surprised several with extra funds in the mailbox that I had no idea I would be receiving. But, I have not only been blessed financially, I have been blessed with the wisdom to live within my means. I have been blessed to be able to not feel the urge to “keep up with the Joneses,” when I know I cannot afford it, which is vastly different from how I lived in my twenties. There are some simple things that I will teach my children (and pray that they listen to me sooner that I listened to my dad) about money. Perhaps, they can help you. Pay your tithes. Pay yourself. Live on the rest. It sounds so easy, and truly once you start the habit, it really is not that difficult. The difficult part is getting into a stable place financially while fixing past mistakes. I have almost always been a tither, and God has never broken a promise to me. How much is a tithe? Is it ten percent? Is it being a cheerful giver? In the Old Testament, the tithe was ten percent and that was before God sacrificed His Only Son, so I believe our offering should be at least ten percent. But, you ask, what if the church and the pastor don’t use the money correctly? I would submit that if you cannot trust your church leaders with your tithes that you might need a new church (just saying). Well, you still ponder, do you tithe on the gross or the net? My pastor jokingly responds to this, “Do you want a gross blessing or a net blessing?” But seriously, your net check is just your check after your tax bill; we give the government their cut, and, as Christians saved by grace, we need to give God back a portion of what He has given us. Truthfully, it is all His and He could take it all if He wanted to; I have found Him to be too loving to do so. I do not tithe out of obligation; I tithe out of obedience because of my love for God. After you pay your tithe, pay yourself. This is the part that I found difficult to do. My dad has preached saving ever since we started getting an allowance. Saving was easy before bills and a debit card. For me, if I have access to it, I find it difficult not to spend it, so I have an emergency account that I have access to and I have another account to which I do not have immediate access and from which there is a penalty for withdrawal. The money is automatically deposited into the account and I know that if I need something that is more expensive than what my emergency account holds, then I have the funds. But, God is so faithful that I have never had an emergency for which God did not provide. The last part is to live on the rest. Literally, live on what is left; not on what you wish was left. I know it is difficult and I am still working on it. I grew up wanting for nothing and it was difficult to realize that I could not live at the same standard when I got out on my own. There are simple things you can cut out of your budget that will help you live within your means like lattes, movies, eating at restaurants, expensive cell phones, and maybe even cable, if necessary. Living life more abundantly is not about having more money and possessions; it is about having so much of God that you live obediently, want for nothing and rest in Him. There will be challenges and tests, but, as my uncle, Rev. Paige says, “Put your trust in THE SOURCE and not in your resources,” and it will all work out. Ms. EV As Christians, the Bible is our operating manual for daily living; however, at times, it seems that there are some areas in life that are not covered by the Bible. Some might argue that there are gray areas and that everything is not in black and white. Others might say that everything you need to know is contained within God’s Word. Other than Pray While You’re Prey, the Bible is the only book that I have read from cover to cover more than once. I do not always read it in the same order or in the same manner, but it is chocked full of great wisdom and guidance for living.
The Bible is very clear about some issues. For example, it very clearly states that premarital sex is prohibited (1 Corinthians 6:13; 18). But, what about dating? A few years ago, I got into a pretty heated debate about what the Bible says about dating. My opponent’s position was that Christians should never date casually and that all other socializing with the opposite sex should be done in a group setting. My position, at the time, was, “Show me where it says that in the Bible!” The only courtships that have given me some insight into what a Christian relationship should look like before marriage are Jacob and Rachel, Ruth and Boaz, David and Bathsheba, and Mary and Joseph. I learned from Jacob and Rachel that a man should be willing to labor and wait for me for however long it takes. I learned from Ruth and Boaz that a man should be kind and willing to provide for a woman and that a single woman should not be waiting for a man to take care of her, but willing to work. From David and Bathsheba, I learned the dangers of tempting a man and falling into a lustful relationship. And, from Mary and Joseph, I learned that if you trust in God first, you can face any relationship crisis together. Nevertheless, I still do not see any verses that cover the “Rules of Dating for Christian Singles.” It would be very helpful if it were like the Ten Commandments; a step-by-step list of do’s and don’ts. So, what do we do if there is truly a gray area that is not specifically addressed in the Bible, like going out with a friend of the opposite sex that you have no intention of marrying, or what career to pursue or any other daily life challenge that does not have a black-and-white answer? And, I really mean no specific answer; this is not about poking loopholes in the Word or taking things out of context to fit our own agendas. This is about wanting to live a Godly life and not being disobedient. What I have learned in the time since this argument is that God’s Word is called the Living Word for a reason. If we have a question about how the Bible addresses an issue, the best person to ask is not a pastor or a doctor of divinity, it is God. That is one of the most awesome characteristics of God, we can ask Him questions and He will answer. It is not generally like an answer in the movies, where a thundering voice breaks through the sky. For me, it is usually a still, small voice from within urging me to pursue a particular course or I read the Bible and I see the answer I need in a verse that I have read several times. The words of the verse do not change, but what it means to me at that moment in time does. So, what about dating? Well, based on my own tendency to turn what should just be a friendship into a fantasy relationship, I choose not to casually date (see Dating). Nonetheless, each of us has to ask God for ourselves what His best plan is for us. If everything was clearly listed out in the Bible, we might put more faith in the book than in the Author. Again, I am not saying that the Bible is up for interpretation, some things are very much in black-and-white, but when it comes to our daily living in modern times, we need to seek God’s guidance, which will NEVER contradict His Word. Then, it is just a matter of whether we follow where He leads us or not. Ms. EV It has been an awesome week at Vacation Bible School at New Friendship! It has been exhausting, yet exhilarating! Today is the last day of VBS and the theme is Amazing! God’s Power over My Life! The verse says, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3 MSG). God, by His power has given us everything we need for living a godly life. The minute that we accept His gift of salvation and become heirs to His Kingdom, we are equipped and called to serve God through His glory and excellence. I don’t know about you, but that is a LOT of pressure for me.
Sometimes, I wish that the minute we accepted God, He would make us into robots; God-robots. We would be incapable of wrong. We would be unable to make bad decisions. We would be immovable from God’s path for us. What causes me to think this would be ideal? Every time I think about the ways in which I have disappointed God, I think, “Lord, why don’t You just make me do whatever You want me to do, so I can stop messing things up?” But, the God I serve is too loving and kind for that. Yes, He has power over our lives, the nature that surrounds us, circumstances, sin and death. Yes, He will protect us from dangers seen and unseen and from being tested beyond our limits. He even gives us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide is into all truth. However, God wants us to live an obedient life of our own volition. So, how do we live obediently? God’s two commands through Jesus in the New Testament show us that LOVE is the answer. Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27). And because God is a loving God and not a tyrant or a dictator, He allows us to choose love. Think about this, which we discussed in Sunday school last Sunday, when you love someone, which has a greater impact on you: the person does what you ask because you make them or the person does what you ask because they are compelled by love and respect for you to please you? This is not just about spouses and significant others. This is about family, friends, and fellow church members, too. I would venture to say that most of us want others to voluntarily show us love and not be forced to love us. In the same way, God wants us to freely choose Him. That’s how strong God’s love is for us! He has the power to make us God-robots, but He still lets us have free will to choose Him and His ways. Trust me, making the right choice is not always easy, but it is so worth it to freely choose to show our love to God through obedience. And, that freedom gives us the unique and uninhibited relationship with our God that He desires to have with us. It is a relationship that means more than any other in our lives and that affects every other relationship in our lives. God is not making me love Him; I just do because He loves me. I can show that love by choosing to live the life that He has planned for me forMs. EV I figured that since I have already written about driving for two days, I would continue with that theme today. Today, however, I am not talking about the rules of the literal road, but the rules on the proverbial road of life. What drives us? What is transporting us toward our goals? What is motivating us in our relationships with people? What is getting us to a deeper love and understanding of our Master? Are we purpose-driven or profit-driven? Is it wrong to be both?
I absolutely believe that I was meant to publish Pray While You’re Prey seven years ago. The book is my testimony, and, to this day, people tell me that it is helpful to them as they walk the single, Christian journey. While I am confident in publishing the book, I am pretty sure that the way that I handled publishing the book was not the way God would have chosen. With a manuscript that got rave reviews and just enough legal know-how to be dangerous, I very quickly took God’s plan and ran down my own path with it. I tried to get a publisher for the book. I sent out query letter after query letter and got rejection after rejection, so I felt that it was in my best interest to self-publish. I did all of the research of the costs of printing and publishing, gathered a team that was willing to invest time, talent and treasure and I was off to the races. Even with the help of others, I still needed more funding, so I got a small business credit card that had zero percent interest for the first six or twelve months or something, and then, of course had a huge interest rate if the balance was not paid in that time frame. (I should probably mention that at that point in my life, I was two years into my dad’s credit reconstruction/financial responsibility plan from all of the bad financial mistakes I had made in college and law school.) So, here I was with this fantastic testimony in manuscript form and a credit card, so that I could act immediately on my dream. At the time, I felt that by putting the printing and marketing costs (keep in mind that there was no social media) of the books on credit, I was showing God that I was “all in” on this vision. I was ready and willing to take on any challenge. In hindsight, I realize that I just was not willing to wait on Him to provide a better plan for what I wanted to do. So, I had a book release event, got my book in stores and did book signings. I was even on the radio promoting the book. But, as the time started to wind down to the high interest rate on the credit card, my motivation shifted from conveying a message of hope and encouragement to getting that cash money honey. I did not handle the moderate success that I had with the book very well. I expected people to come out in droves to my book signings and invite me to speak all over the country. And of course, once Oprah got a hold of the book, it would be in her book club, and I would be RICH…hahahahahaha! And, I wonder why God only shares pieces of information with me and not the whole picture! There is nothing wrong with believing that God will prosper you in His purpose for your life, but when you replace His plans with your own, you cannot expect the same results that you would have gotten if you had listened to Him. So, now I am at the halfway point of recording my first CD. People keep asking me what my next step will be and I keep asking God the same question because I never want to veer off onto my own path again. I had to stop and ask myself why I am even recording. The fact is that I have always had a desire to record music. The only other careers I envisioned besides attorney were educator and recording artist/producer. I do not feel like I came to those conclusions on my own because God has blessed me with the talents to match. I know that with music and writing of any kind that I do, the most important aspects are the lyrics and the message. Music is a universal language and I believe it to be one of my gifts for Kingdom-building. I would love for writing and music to be my careers; nevertheless, it is about God’s will and God’s timing. Right now, I am a teacher and I love teaching, but I did not intend to be a high school teacher forever, so is it wrong to want to make a career out of my gifts? Let me give you a hint, that question was rhetorical. I do not believe that it is wrong to pursue the passion that God has placed in you. But, we have to take the time to be brutally honest with ourselves and know whether we are driven by moving on God’s mission or driven by making that good money. When I felt that I was no longer going to make any money from my books, I quit because, at the time, I was profit-driven. All that mattered was the bottom line and that was wrong. Imagine if all that mattered to God was the bottom line. What if all He cared about was your salvation and after that you were on your own? Thankfully, He is a gracious and merciful God that does not just want us to be saved, but also cares about the quality of our lives. When it comes to dreams, goals, relationships, and loving God, we should be driven by purpose first and foremost. It is okay to be profit-driven if the gain is God’s glory revealed or souls snatched from the devil’s grip. God created us to praise and please Him, so that is what we are called to do and it is not about what we can personally gain. If God’s purpose in giving talents is for it to become a career, then that is what it will be. However, even if is it not meant to be a career, we should not going to stop using the talent for His glory. Many times we look at the provision, the people, and the purpose God blesses us with and we only want them for the benefits associated with them. If you throw away a blessing because you don’t feel that you are getting enough out of the deal, then you are strictly profit-driven. And, by profits, I do not mean strictly monetary harvests. So, as you move in the vision that God has for your life, be sure to note whether you are purpose-driven or profit-driven. Ms. EV I have a serious problem. I have been suffering with it for about eighteen years. I should probably consult my doctor and have her order some x-rays because I am sure that my right foot is made of lead. Or, at least that is what I am told. (If you don’t get the joke, keep reading, let it marinate, and it will come to you). For as long as I can remember, I have been driving, “with the flow of traffic.” I have even picked on my dad because he so vigilantly obeys the rules of the road. In fairness, I have only ever driven a Corolla and a Sentra. If you have ever driven those cars, then you know that you only know you are speeding if you are looking at the speedometer because the ride is so smooth.
In college, my friends and I went on a trip and in our haste to get there, the driver (not me) sped through a construction zone and we got pulled over. I felt horrible because the ticket was going to be very expensive. So, I put on the performance of my life with tears, fake illness, the works, and we got out with a warning. After college, I got four speeding tickets over about a yearlong time period. I tried the tears on three of the four occasions, but it didn’t work. I had to go to driver’s school to get the points off of my license. Then, on my bar application, I had to put the details of my traffic violations, and once that was submitted, if I got another ticket, I would have to pay to amend the application. So, I changed my ways. I kept speeding, but I was much more observant about where the police officers were hiding. And, that worked until a few nights ago. I was on my way home from a hallelujah good time at an open mic night, and I drove past a police officer with someone pulled over and continued on my way home, as always, driving with the flow of traffic. Then, I saw a car pull up fairly close behind me and the lights came on with just enough siren to get my attention. I thought, “Surely he is not pulling me over for speeding. Maybe my taillight was not properly fixed or something.” My heart started racing and my palms started sweating. I rolled down the window to find a very stern looking police officer, who probably thought I was much younger than I am because my eyes started tearing as soon as he began to explain to me why he pulled me over, which was speeding and not giving enough space for the officer on the side of the road. He took my license and I started praying because I truly did not know the rule that I broke and I had not paid attention to my speed, so I was not speeding purposely. I got a very firm talking to and a warning, praise God, because who wants a $300-$400 ticket. I was still shaking the entire 2 blocks to my house (yes, I was that close to home). I thought, “Lord, I am thankful that you softened this officer’s heart.” Then, I began to wonder why he let me off with a warning. Maybe it was because he saw my God Belongs In My City t-shirt. Maybe it was the tears. Then, the fleshly side of me voiced the opinion that he didn’t have any proof of exactly how fast I was going because he hadn’t actually clocked me. Nevertheless, when it comes down to it, I didn’t approach the situation with the attitude that he needed to show my evidence of my wrongdoing. Instead, I had a sincerely contrite heart and the officer, and God, showed me mercy. So, what is the point of all of this? This incident taught me a lesson about my attitude towards rules. In this world, we have laws and rules, but more important than that, God gives His children boundaries. Our attitude towards those boundaries can determine how prosperous our lives are. (By the way, if we follow all of God’s commands, there will be no problem keeping man’s laws). Our attitude about rules stems from how we look at rules. I will take the traffic laws, for example, I usually see the speed limit as a flexible guideline. Sure, it says limit, but as long as you are driving safely and not harming anyone else, what is the big deal with breaking the rules. This is the same attitude with which people approach premarital sex, overindulgence in food and drink and many other sins. When God tells us not to engage in these activities, it is for our spiritual, emotional, mental and physical well-being. He is not calling us to adapt His commands to our own lifestyle. Sometimes, I look at the rules of the road as frustrating annoyances. I do not just get in my car to drive around. I have places to go and people to see and anything that slows my pace is annoying. Does this sound familiar at all? Why do I have to yield to other drivers? Or slow down at a yellow light? Or drive ten miles an hour so that other people can rubberneck at an accident? Many times I just wish I had a teleporter to get me from one place to another. At times, we view God’s boundaries as frustrating annoyances, too. It is as if we think God is holding out on us. And that is literally the oldest trick in the book. It is the same philosophy that the serpent used to deceive Eve in the garden. God is not going to keep anything good from us. He already has given and still continues to give us more than we deserve. All He asks for is that we show our love through obedience. God’s boundaries are not flexible guidelines or frustrating annoyances, they are fervent protection. As my uncle, Rev. Paige, said yesterday in his sermon, “God loves us too much to allow us to sin successfully.” If our attitude about rules becomes one of gratitude for protection from dangers seen and unseen, then we will gain a whole new perspective on how much God loves us. I work with children, they beg for boundaries, not literally, of course, but it is very obvious that they thrive on knowing that I will give them guidelines to lead them in the right direction. We need boundaries to show us the right direction for our best lives. And the sooner, we embrace an attitude of thankfulness that God cares enough to lead us in the right direction, the sooner we will fully enjoy our life’s journey. Ms. EV A couple of weeks ago, I realized that it had been four years; four years since I chose man over God and tried to win back the man I thought was the love of my life with the only weapon I felt I had: my body. That encounter launched a much deeper warfare than the one I thought I was fighting. God is very clear that if you are not married, you are not to engage in sexual activity. But, I don’t know if we truly understand the consequences of an act of sexual defiance as a single person. It is not just about not getting pregnant or not contracting a disease, this is about our spiritual well-being.
I will always regret my decision to forego my plans of remaining pure for marriage and begin a physically intimate relationship that I was not emotionally, mentally, or spiritually ready to handle. The chasm that was opened by that one decision led to years of feeling empty and searching for a man to fill a void, using whatever tactics I deemed to be necessary. This led to my marriage to the wrong person at the wrong time and my subsequent divorce. Then, after a brief fit a rebellion after my divorce, I thought I had a handle on the situation. I made a deliberate choice of abstinence. And, I was confident in my decision. I was seeing life more clearly and enjoying my relationship with Christ more fully until I met someone who talked about marriage and children on the first date. After establishing a relationship with him that I thought was bound to last forever, I turned my back on the promises I had made to God and I resumed old habits. Looking back, I think I fought so hard for that relationship because I did not want my defiance to be in vain. It was as if I felt like if we got married, then everything we did before we got married didn’t count anymore. But, we didn’t get married. And, I was crushed once again by the very same weight of guilt and shame that God tries to keep us from experiencing when He says to wait until marriage. Many times we view sex as a “little” sin; it is, according to our rationalizations a victimless crime, so to speak. The last four years of abstinence were not the result of a dry spell. I have not dated anyone or been in a relationship, but that does not mean that I have not had the opportunity to make a poor decision. I mean, no offense, but I am kind of hot and if I wanted it, I could get it. As many times as I have messed up, I feel that I finally understand why God makes this command. He is not trying to hold something beautiful back from us. If you will wait on Him to send you the right person, once you are married, you will get to experience the true beauty of a physically intimate relationship. I am not going to say that it is an easy choice, but it is the right one. And, thank God, when I am struggling, He gives me encouragement through Scripture that helps me stay the course: “There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:16-20 (The Message) Choose to obey God. That is never the wrong choice. Ms. EV The twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy has sixty-eight verses and is divided into two parts. The first part, the first fourteen verses, talks to the Israelites, God’s chosen people, about the benefits of being obedient to God. The Message Bible says it this way, “If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God.” It goes on to list the promises of God that come with obedience, which include being blessed everywhere in everything you do, always being in front and never behind, and being protected from all enemies. Those fourteen verses cover any and every blessing a person could desire. The only requirement is obedience to the voice of God.
The next 54 verses, almost four times as many as the first part, go on to explain God’s promises to Israel if they chose disobedience. This is not a simple, “Do wrong and bad things happen,” kind of explanation. God went to great lengths to elucidate, in specific detail, the potential harm that comes from disobedience. What did the Israelites choose? Well, as my pastor so eloquently put it Sunday, the Israelites were in a “constant cycle of disobedience, discipline, despair and deliverance,” all throughout the Old Testament. Even with over fifty verses of reasons that they should not choose disobedience, they kept finding themselves stuck in these curses. You, like me, are probably saying to yourself, “What were they thinking?” I mean, did they not see that God was serious? How could they not believe the One who delivered them out of Egypt? With all the miracles God had performed, how could they still doubt who He was? Now, before we get all high and mighty, holy-roller, we should take a good look in the mirror before we turn up our noses at the behavior of the Israelites. Those of us who are saved, we are God’s chosen people. Yes, we chose salvation, but before we chose salvation, God loved us enough to choose us to be His children. So, we accepted that invitation and now what? Well, first off, let me say that after having looked through the verses of curses, I am so glad I was born in the age of grace. But, grace does not mean a license to sin. It is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Jesus gave up His life so that we could experience grace, which means that we receive blessings we do not deserve. And, grace’s best friend, mercy, means that we do not get the curses that we do deserve. Yet, many times we, just like the Israelites, live as though God does not exist. We take the blessings for granted. Just because the blessings took up only a quarter of the chapter, it does not mean that they were insignificant. Those blessings covered everything the Israelites would need and God promises His children today that we are already blessed with everything we need. There is no magic formula on how to receive blessings. If you are saved, you already have the blessings you need; just be obedient. But, rather than live in the beauty of those blessings, we focus on what we want and when we want it. It’s not that we cannot have the desires of our hearts, but in order to get them, we need to listen to the voice of God. Sometimes, God leads us in a way that we do not understand, but that does not mean that we should go off on our own and discover our own paths of disobedience. And then, look around all confused and ask God how we ended up in the mess in which we find ourselves. If we choose the curses, we should not be surprised by our circumstances. However, if we choose the blessings, we will never cease to be amazed at how God works in our lives. Ms. EV The school year is winding down, and I am so excited for summer break. That excitement makes it harder and harder to drag myself out of bed in the morning and make it to work. But I do. So, as it is the end of the year, there are massive amounts of tests being taken by our students. My students have a test on Monday and technically, I could not come to work on Monday and no one would even know. It is a very tempting thought, but alas, even though I am sure many people would not think anything of it, I cannot in good conscience skip work or even come in late, even if it would be undetected by my superiors. You see, my real Superior is God. And, no matter what my earthly bosses see or know, He knows everything that I do.
In Colossians 3, we are instructed to everything as unto the Lord. Does this mean that I am punctual for work everyday and always give my best? Not necessarily, but I do try to be the best employee I can be, the best church member I can be, the best daughter I can be and the best friend I can be. Not because of the way people treat me or because of who will know, but because of God's love for me. I may miss the mark at times, but my intention is to try my best to be a good representative for Christ. And, it is easier to be good when all eyes are on you, but, "Character is what you do when no one is looking" (H. Jackson Brown). Of course, as a child of God, we know that there is never a moment when NO ONE is watching because God never sleeps or slumbers and He knows all that we do, say and think (that last one is scary). So, though no one would know if I was missing on Monday, I will be here, I will work, and I will do my duty not only as a teacher, but as a child of the Most High King. Now, I just have to work on my speeding problem... Ms. EV |
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