Does God Have Real Feelings FOR YOU?

Jesus looked at him and loved him.  Mark 10:21a


I hated it when preachers would tell me to take John 3:16 and insert my name.  Jesus didn't say, "For God so loved Olatunde...."  Jesus wasn't talking to me.  He was talking to Nicodemus more than 2000 years ago.  But there was a young man who asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told the man he knew the commandments, and the young man said he'd kept them from the time he was a boy.  Something about how the young man said this made Jesus look at him...and love him. 


It was like Jesus felt a kind of tenderness towards what he saw in this young man.  But it was for this young man. Jesus looked at him.  Not me.  Not you.  Why am I harping on this?


Because God still looks at each of us, and we shouldn't have to insert our names in Bible verses any more than this young man did.  We don't do this in our relationships with our friends and the people we deeply love.  I don't do this with my children.  Sometimes my youngest daughter just tells me out of the blue, "Daddy, I think I love you."  Why does she do this?  I never know.  But I look at her and I love her.  Or it may not be anything as sentimental or touching as her spontaneously cute "I THINK I love you."  Sometimes I look at her playing to herself, talking to herself, or reading to herself.  I look at Andromeda and I love her. 


We don't feel God's look of love because we make God and the Bible the same thing.  We think God is the Bible and the Bible is God.  We think having a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" means reading about Jesus looking at a young man and loving him, and then substituting our names with that young man.  But we tell people that the story about this young man, whom Jesus looked at and loved, is a REAL story that REALLY happened in history.  Not to you or me.  To him.  Between him and Jesus.


And we tell people Jesus is alive.  He still has eyes.  He still looks and loves. 


I have felt the gaze of God on me.  I have known the listening ear who lets me tell Him my deepest longings, and He tells me His in return.  Yes.  God talks to me and I listen.  Conversation.  Is He not a person, the Person, in this "personal relationship with Jesus Christ?"


When I read the scriptures, the Spirit reads them to me and with me, being the Author and all.  There is nothing better than the Author reading His work to you and explaining how He felt when He was writing it. 


And when I'm not reading scriptures with the Spirit of Christ, and we're just talking, I feel like the only thing in this world worth having is His voice.  Conversation with Jesus. 


I know that God has real feelings for me.  That He looks at me and loves me.  I'm not inserting my name in the Bible when I say that.  Nor am I saying it because the Bible says "God is love."  I'm saying that Jesus is alive in me by His Spirit, and that He talks and listens to me just like He did with that young man that He looked at and loved.


This is normal.  It's normal for a Father to talk to His little children, daily and constantly.  It's normal for a Husband to talk intimately with his wife.  It's normal for a Guide to stay close to the one He is guiding. And it's normal for our Heavenly Father and Brother and Comforter to look at us, and love us.


Does God have real feelings for you?
You knew the answer from the beginning, because you've felt Him look at you, and love you.


(Tell me a time when you felt Jesus look at you and love you.  I want to you to share this with me because this is what the Christian life is all about.   Share this in the Comments, through Blogger or Google plus.)

How to Use The Power of Your Free Mind

"I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one."
Fredrick Douglas


Do you realize that your power to think whatever you choose is one of the most God like traits you have?  I treasure hearing my own thoughts so much that I can almost not bear needless noise or confusion or chaos.  I've got to deal with it of course, but I now know that I have the power to deal with it.  I can choose or refuse my mental focus.  So can you.


You're reading my words by choice and for a reason.  Why are you reading?  Is someone forcing you to read this blog?  Of course not. And no one is forcing me to write you.  I'm writing you  because I'm sharing with you my honor of my hero Fredrick Douglas on the last day of Black History Month. I want to inspire you as he is inspiring me to be as free as God wants us to be.


We're both freely thinking, as freely as God Himself thinks.  This is the power of your free mind, the power to be like God.


Can anyone make God think what He refuses to think about?  Or does anyone deceive God?  What would that mean?  It would mean someone could make God think that He is something that He is not.  But God says boldly, "I am who I am."


And you are who you are, if you accept that God is who He is.  This starts in the power of your free mind. 


So how do you experience this power today, right now, in whatever you are getting ready to do?


Focus on one thing:  A spiritual mindset.


Choose a "fixed mental focus that predetermines your interpretations and responses to situations." 


That's the definition of "mindset" I found in dictionary.com.  It's the best definition of mindset I've ever read. 


The Apostle Paul says this about mindsets, "Those who live in accordance with the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires." 


So let the desires of the Spirit predetermine your interpretation and responses to every situation.  Define life by what the Spirit wants, and respond to everything based on whether it fulfills His desires. You interpret life by what the Spirit desires, and you respond accordingly.


Your friend calls you in deep depression because he may lose his job.  What does the Spirit want you to say to your friend who is in need today?  Your spiritual mindset makes you interpret your friend's need by the Spirit's desire to meet that need, and you respond to your friend based on what the Spirit desires for him.  The Spirit is showing you how to comfort your friend, and you follow the Spirit's desires.  This was "predetermined."  This was your spiritual mindset.


How does The Spirit desire you to respond to an insult from a coworker?  Your spiritual mindset, which is the source of the power of your God given free mind, will predetermine your interpretation and responses to the insult. You know that the Bible says, "Bless those who curse you, bless and curse not," for example.  So your spiritual mindset has predetermined that when someone insults you, you will not insult them back. 


Your interpretation and responses are predetermined by YOU.  This is the power of your free mind. Nothing will force you to act or react.  It all starts with the power of your free mind. 


You're already using it while you're reading my words.  You are already experiencing the power of Fredrick Douglas' discovery of overcoming slavery. 


I'm convinced that this freedom of your mind and my mind is the real issue of Black History Month and all I've been reflecting on.  Slavery in this country and every country is the enslavement of minds to shackle the will.  If you stop thinking about who God is, who you are, and who our real enemy is--the devil himself, you will be a slave to Satan, sin, and Satan's system, and things will be worse than the worse days of African Americans in this country, or of those who are still oppressed in this world. Your plantation will be your own darkened mind.  What could be worse than being a slave in your own body?


Use the power of your free mind to choose a spiritual mindset.  Have a fixed mental disposition that predetermines your interpretations and responses to every situation.  Choose this fixed mental disposition, or ask yourself this question in every situation: 


"What does the Spirit of God desire me to say or do?"

Now What? (The Destiny of the Free)

"I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but I will not be mastered by anything.  1 Corinthians 6:12


Black President.
Black businesses.
Black movies and talk shows.


Do we even need Black History Month?


Or the word "Black?"
African-American?


Now that we're free, now that we've overcome, now what?
Did we need a common "enemy" to have unity and destiny?


Only if we see slavery in this country as something merely historical and not spiritual.


I'm convinced the cruelness of white slave masters was literally demonic.  That this country had a cloud of demonic mindlessness ruling it for a time.  Demons ruled America.  Sin is slavery.  Satan the first sinner. 


So sin is really the issue of slavery.  Being mastered by anything or anyone other than God is the reality of the slavery of sin.  This means the civil war is not over.  The ultimate war is over, because Jesus died for all sin and for every sin.  He is our emancipator. 


The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only true Emancipation Proclamation. 


Unlike Lincoln's emancipation, The Gospel of Christ is enforced by the Spirit of Christ.


Satan, his system, and sin, are destroyed in the life of those who are born again.


In Christ we are "more than overcomers."  More than conquerors. 

These are the Words of God:

This is our Emancipation Proclamation of Salvation:

Whoever sins is a slave of sin.

The soul that sins shall die.

But God commended His love for us that while we were sinners, Jesus died for our sins.

Our old self was crucified with Christ, our bodies of sin destroyed, we are no longer slaves of sin.

We have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God.

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slave, whom you obey?

If you abide in my words, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Now what?  What is the destiny of the African-American Christian?


To realize that slavery was and is sin, and that sin has not come to an end. 


Resist sin or be slaves again.  Do not use your freedom to indulge your bodies or self centered minds.  The chains, shackles, and lynch mobs are gone.  But not the devil and demons who were behind them.  Slavery was demonic.  Read the autobiography of Fredrick Douglas, or just think about the evils done to the Africans who came here.  There is a stench of hell behind the history that is monstrous.  It's still here.  Satan seeks slaves even today.


Though "all things are now lawful," all things are not beneficial.  Though you have no earthly slave master, refuse to be mastered in mind, emotion, or will.  Remember the African American National Anthem, especially these words:


Lest our feet, stray from the places our God where we met thee. 
Lest our hearts, DRUNK WITH THE WINE OF THE WORLD WE FORGETH THEE!


Many of us are drunk with the wine of this world.
We have forgotten who delivered us. 
We have forgotten our ancestors.
We submit to sin as our masters.


Right now, resolve to be free from sin.  Choose to the Spirit of God as your Master.  Refuse any and every other master. Resist every mastery except the leading of God's Spirit.  This is the destiny of those who are free.

The Only Hope For the Black Community (What I learned At Morehouse College: Part 3)

At Morehouse I used to think Black people had to "stick together."  Establish our own businesses.  Never marry outside of our race.  Build up the black family.  I hesitated to marry my Lucy because she is white. I told her this from the beginning.  But she wasn't the beginning of what changed how I saw Black community, because she wasn't the first white woman I considered being with.




The first white woman I considered being with made me think about what I wanted to be as a black man.  I liked her because she had everything I liked in a woman.  But the woman I had imagined was black.  That was a given.  I never considered being with a white woman.  Especially after Morehouse.  So I thought it through:




What is my issue with being with a white woman?


1. What would "The Brothers" think?  Here I am, having changed my name to Olatunde, and marrying white woman. Would they consider me a "sell out/uncle tom step and fetch it?"  I didn't care if they did, really.  I knew I wasn't a "sell out." 




2. What would my mother and aunt think? They had gone through so much during the 60's, and black women were regarded as inferior in beauty to white women.  Would they resent me?  I wanted to honor them, but I knew being with a white woman didn't dishonor anyone, in my community or any other community.




3.  What did I THINK?  Really?  She had everything I LIKED.  I'm the one that's going to be with her, not my Morehouse Brothers, not "the Black community," not my mother or aunt.  Me. I thought about it and decided that I didn't have an issue with interracial dating, but I chose to focus on being with a black woman.  I chose this because it seemed best for my mission at the time, to restore honor to my people.  "My People."  Who were my people?  Or were they really "My People?"  Then the final question, the life changing question, came to me. 




4.  WHAT DID GOD THINK? 


It is written, "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27




In these verses, "nations" has to do with ethnicities.  God established their histories and geographies.  Why?  So that they all may seek and find the God who is near all of them, everyone of them, as they are.  This is what God thinks, but it wasn't what I was thinking.  My people are really God's people, and I have to think about us as He does.  So how does He think of us?




Is God against a black man marrying a white woman?  Against mixed children?  And what does all of that mean any way?  Bible genealogies don't focus on phenotypes from what I can see.  Black and white are not the dividing lines of people groups in this world by any stretch of the imagination.  God sees us as coming from one man, or one blood, from whom he made all of the nations. Who is the one man we all came from?  Noah.  And from Noah's three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, all of the ethnicities exist.  They were brothers.  Relatives. Yes, they separated into their different lands and cultures.  But they were together, from the same father.  Do you think Noah's family was white, or black, or yellow, or whatever?  I don't think so.  In fact, we probably wouldn't be able to classify them at all by the racial standards we use today.  (click HERE for part 4)

The Only Hope for the Black Community (What I learned at Morehouse College) Part 2

The Morehouse freshmen were simply outside talking.  Yet what they discussed were deep things I'd thought my whole time in elementary school and high school.  Depths of thought about spirit, soul, body, the universe, life, blackness, truth.  I had never met any people in all of my schooling as genuinely intelligent as these young black men, from all over the united states of America. And we, at Morehouse, we a majority.  We were not in "D Group." In fact, I realized what D Group was for the first time in my life. 


I realized that black students were being defined by their willingness to conform or assimilate.  Not that the one black girl in A Group was a sell out, any more than I was a sell out in B Group.  But I noticed the "D Group" black people simply didn't care about what the school wanted them to be.  They resisted acting like they were "supposed to act." And how was that?  Docile.  Controllable.  But they were also defined as less intelligent because of this. Yet they didn't care!  If they had gone to Morehouse, they would have been the leaders of student government.  Morehouse would have shown them who they really were, like it showed me.




Before Morehouse, life was white, and white was normal.  After Morehouse, I saw blackness as it is:  One of the many reflections of God, who alone is the standard for normality.  I saw myself, a black man, standing before the true and living God, dark skin and all, music and drums and deep intelligent black thoughts.  I saw my people as a group so large and diverse and profound that to call us a minority is crazy.  I met the most talented and intelligent black men in the Morehouse Glee Club.  To this day, I've never met any group of people more intelligent than my Glee Club brothers. Intelligence.  I keep using that word because I remember taking cross over classes in Georgia State, and I remember a white woman looking at me and saying, "You're very intelligent." 


Read those words. 


They are a compliment right?  At face value, of course.  But her tone, her look, her vibe made me feel she was kind of shocked, or that my "intelligence" was rare.  I knew now that she was the ignorant one, and I felt sorry for her.  She had been missing all of her life what I had missed:  God's reflection in Africans.




But what is this reflection really, especially when it relates to the hope of the Black community?
(click HERE for part 3)

The Only Hope For The Black Community (What I Learned At Morehouse College: Part 1)

"I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12


We're free.
We have overcome.
God was on our side.
What now?


I asked myself these questions as a student of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.  Being there was the very best experience of my entire life because it exposed the lie of my elementary and highschool education.


I was always a "minority" in my classes.  There was A Group, B group, C Group, and D Group. A Group were the smartest kids. D the dumbest kids.  B the smart.  C the average.  There was one black girl in A Group.  I was in B Group with maybe two other blacks.  C was a mix, and D was almost all black. Throughout my life I had an unquestioned assumption that white students were smarter than blacks.  Looking back, there wasn't any proof of this at all, other than the groupings, and the assumption of "majority/minority," or normal/abnormal. But one day I had a revelation about this that began my journey to reality.


I was making up comic book heroes from my head and it hit me:  Even when I made up comic book characters, they were all white.  Do you see the craziness in this?  White people were in my head as make believe characters.  I had NEVER imagined, from my own head, a black character of any kind in my entire life.  I was in the 6th grade when I realized this.  Or when God showed it to me, because there was no reason it came to me right then.  But why wouldn't this be the case?  All the shows I watched at that time had only white people on them.  My favorite book was Peter Pan.  My imagination was white. 


Then I thought, "I can see that white people are beautiful, but can they see that black people are beautiful?" You have to remember, this was in the 80's.  A time when blacks with lighter complexions were seen as more attractive than darker blacks--and this was by black people themselves.  There was "good hair," meaning like white people's hair, and "nappy hair," meaning the kinky hair of some Africans.  All of these assumptions were mine from elementary school until Morehouse College. 


I found out about Morehouse from my highschool science teacher.  He took me to see the Morehouse College Glee Club, and I knew where I was supposed to be.  The discipline and masculine African power was everything I was looking for.  I knew it. I was going to be a Morehouse Man.


I sat in King's Chapel in darkness and silence.  Then "The Brothers" walked on the stage like Princes. Serious.  Focused.  Surrounding the freshmen class on all four sides were upper classmen, all in suits, serious and focused.  One of the brothers on the stage took the podium and the microphone:

Speaker: "You have arrived."

Wall of Brothers: "Welcome to the House."

Speaker:  "Many are called but few are chosen."

Wall of Brothers: "Welcome to the House."

Speaker:  "You are not here to play, to dream, or to drift."

Wall of Brothers: "Welcome to the House."

Speaker:  "You have hard work to do, and heavy loads to lift."

Wall of Brothers:  "Welcome to the House."



It was the most impressive thing I had ever seen in my life. Ever.  I wanted to be like them.  But the real revelation came much later, the one that destroyed everything I'd experienced in my life so far as a Black man. (click HERE for part 2)

The Only Hope For the Black Community (What I learned at Morehouse Colledge: Part 4)

What does all of this have to do with the only hope for the Black community? 


For me, years after Morehouse, though I'm again a "minority" in many situations, I no longer see myself as a minority at all.  The world is not a white world where all of the imaginary people in my head are white. I see my people as God's reflections all over America and the world.  But I also see them as God's people, who reflect Him in so many ways that it can only be expressed in the Kingdom of God.


THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS TO TAKE IT'S PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 


In God's kingdom we will all be who we are ethnically.  We won't become hazy spirits with no history or physical distinction.  I will be just as African in heaven.  Jesus is just as Jewish there as He was here.  I no longer focus on "the black community" in the way I used to at Morehouse.  Because in heaven there will still be nations, ethnicities, and cultures.  But they will all be made one, in union with the Son, under the rule of His kingdom.  Heaven will not be segregated. But it won't be America either. It won't be a "melting pot" where there is no room for "hyphenated heavenly citizens."  In fact, I believe we'll be even MORE ethnically distinct in God's Kingdom  than we are right now on earth. 




Until then, let God's kingdom come.  Let God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, for my people the Africans, God's people, for whom Christ died.

The Truest Calling of African-American Christians

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the mountain top of his dream and saw me, my white wife, my seven children, together.  He saw me without fear, ready to kill any  Ku Klux Klan member in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Spirit who comes near me to kill me for loving Lucy.  Dr. King saw an African-American president.  Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, the day President Obama became president changed my entire view of this country. I felt like I was in a different world.  Or I saw a glimpse of one.  A glimpse of King's mountain top.  A glimpse of my people's destiny.

Why did we come here?  What was the purpose of the tragedy of our lost history, identity, ethnicity?



All of my life I've wanted to know what Paul knew in the scriptures.  He knew He was a descendent of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin.  I know I am a descendent of Ham, but I don't know my tribe, my clan, my homeland, my culture or language.  And even if I found out, I'm still a leaf fallen from a tree.  I wouldn't even know which tree.  All would be lost for me and my identity if Christ Jesus, My Lord, didn't save me.

He gave me a new identity which encompasses my lost identity.  If it ever was really lost.  I decree that it wasn't.  I am a son of Ham.  It's obvious.  Perhaps the biggest deception of Satan is that slaves lost themselves to white masters and their redefinitions.  But who made Ham?  Who made the West Africans who came to this country?  Can Satan take away what God formed for His glory?

A prophet told me at the beginning of my journey: 

"The struggle is not to be black, but to be like Christ, and in being like Christ, your blackness will come naturally."


Natural blackness.  God likeness in my blackness.  Without even trying.

What is the truest calling of African-American Christians?

It is to show America the truest freedom: 

The struggle is not to be Americans, but to be like Christ, and in being like Christ, America will be what it should have been.  Not a place that destroyed those who were here before, nor a place that enslaved those who came after.  Not a "New Jerusalem."  Not the richest country in the world.  But a beacon of liberation that only comes through Christ's salvation.

African-American Christians, you bear witness. 

Remember the God of our weary years.

Making Slaves. Breaking Slave Masters. (Quotes From My Teacher Fredrick Douglas)

"I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday."


To become a slave, deprive yourself of your origin. Believe in no beginning.  Ridicule those who know and remember their ancestors, even if they do so on the shortest month of the year.


To break a slave master, remember your Savior and Deliverer, through whom you were born again.


"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."


To become a slave, hate manhood and womanhood, and all of the glory of God's reflection in their distinctions.  You can not be free without God's glory and the glory of God's glory:  Masculinity.  Femininity. 


To break a slave master, remember your Creator, who said, "In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."


"I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me.  From this time I was never again what might be called fairly whipped, though I remained a slave four years afterwards. I had several fights, but was never whipped." 


To become a slave, believe the lie that when Jesus said, "Turn the other cheek," He meant to let yourself be beaten, spirit, soul, or body.  We both know what Jesus meant.  We know He meant patiently seeking reconciliation, as God seeks, when He "turns the other cheek." But we also know that God retaliates in justice.  We are His image and likeness. 


To break a slave master, resist, fight, be unconquerable.  As it is written, "Your body is the temple of God. Whoever destroys God's temple will be destroyed."


"Their object seems to be, to disgust their slaves with freedom, by plunging them into the lowest depths of dissipation. For instance, the slaveholders not only like to see the slave drink of his own accord, but will adopt various plans to make him drunk. The most of us used to drink it down, and the result was just what might be supposed; many of us were led to think that there was little to choose between liberty and slavery. We felt, and very properly too, that we had almost as well be slaves to man as to rum.  So, when the holidays ended, we staggered up from the filth of our wallowing, took a long breath, and marched to the field,--feeling, upon the whole, rather glad to go, from what our master had deceived us into a belief was freedom, back to the arms of slavery."


To become a slave, sin.  Jesus said it. Those who sin are slaves of sin.  Sin, and let people sin against you.  Let them tell you that you will be a slave to your body or their body. To your selfish will or to their selfish will.  Never God's will.  Yours or theirs.


To break a slave master, choose your True Master: Jesus The Savior. God the Creator.  The Holy Spirit, to whom you belong if you believe in Jesus.  Don't be under the influence of alcohol, anything else, or anyone else, but instead be under the total influence of the Holy Spirit. 

Know the definition of true freedom: 

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Only those set free by Jesus are free indeed.

Your Number One Goal Today

You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.  1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT

Try this today, just for one day:
REFUSE TO CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED.

Focus on the first one.
We love to say, "Nobody will control me." 
But are we as adamant about giving others liberty?

I don't believe we are.  We insist and persist and demand and command.

Of course some of you are in positions of authority. 
Supervisors. Teachers.

I understand this. But it still applies.  What can you do in your position in terms of people's actions?

You can command and enforce your commands with consequences that those who follow you choose.

That's it.
It's quite liberating really.

If you only focus on what YOU'RE going to do or not do in response to people, you won't become a slave to anything or anyone, NOR WILL YOU ENSLAVE ANYTHING OR ANYONE.

If a teacher says these words to a girl misbehaving in her class, "You have these options Sheila.  If you choose to stop talking to Debbie while I'm teaching, I'll finish my lesson and when you leave class in 10 minutes, you and Debbie can finish what you're saying. But if you refuse to stop talking to Debbie, even for 10 minutes, I will call your mother at work after class and tell her how you've disrupted my class today.  The choice is yours Sheila."

You are not forcing Sheila to talk or stop talking.  You are not controlling her, but your response to her. 

You refuse to attempt to control Sheila; you refuse to be controlled by Sheila.

Try it today.  Try it as your number one goal. 
Why number one?

Because every relationship there is, between God and you, between you and everyone else, must begin with freedom. 

Why God Delivered African-Americans From Slavery

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Leviticus 26:12-13


Why are the descendents of African slaves in this country?  Notice I didn't say "African-Americans."  After all, some believe there are no hyphenated Americans. Just Americans.  Only British history worth remembering.  All other history and ethnicity must blend.  Simply American.


Yet the erasing of name, history, and identity is the first step to slavery.  Believing the lie of originlessness.  So I resist the devil that he may flee from my ancestry.


I ask again.


Why are the descendents of African slaves in this country?


It depends.




If these descendents of African slaves remember and walk with the God who set them free to be what He made them to be, then we are here as a testimony, and all should bear witness thetrue  God who walks among us just as He walked among the Israelites. The true God is the God of the Africans in this country, and we too are His people.


The God of Ham and of Abraham delivers from oppressors. The Almigty freed Israel so they were no longer slaves to the Egyptians.  And The Most High freed my people so that we are no longer slaves of the British who considered themselves superior. The Most Holy broke the bars of our yoke and enabled Africans in this country to walk with heads held high, just as He did for Israel.  God shows no favoritism.


So to my people who believe in the Lord, the descendents of African slaves, those who have been set free by Christ and Christ alone, we were delivered to be witnesses of true liberty.  And this is true liberty:  God walking among us as our God, and we who trust in His Son walk with Him as His people.

Two Ways To Know The Spirit in Your Life

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6

What were you thinking about before you started reading my words?  Right before.  The beauty about that question is that you know, or should know.  It's easy to know.  You have complete control over what you choose or refuse to think about. 

Was it your plans for today?  A conversation you just had or anticipate having?

Whatever you were thinking about was governed by one of two sources:
1. The flesh.
2. The Spirit

Of course, if you believe in the Lord, you want your mind governed by the Spirit of God.  You know your mind is governed, or led, or influenced, by the Spirit in two ways:

• Life
• Peace.

THE MIND GOVERNED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE.
What is life?  It is more than mere existence and breathing.  It is the energy of intimacy between God, you, and me, as Jesus said, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent."  When you focus your mind on following the desires of the Spirit, you will feel the energy of God's intimacy. God listening and responding to you.

THE MIND GOVERNED BY THE SPIRIT IS PEACE
God is not your enemy, nor does He consider you His enemy.  Jesus removed all hostility between us and God, so our relationship with Him by His Spirit feels like a harmonious union of two friends with one purpose. 

Yet if you feel disconnected and conflicted, look at what you are thinking about.  It will be obvious.  The Spirit's desires will be the farthest thing from our mind, and you will be conflicted within yourself because you have contradictory and self centered desires, none involving Christ, none involving His Spirit's leading. This is what it means for your mind to be governed by the flesh--by self centeredness instead of God centeredness.

But You do have a choice.

Whatever you were thinking about before you read these words, from this moment on you can let the Spirit govern your mind, and experience the life and peace that Jesus died and rose to give you by His Spirit.

To Lucy With Love

For God created (your) inmost being; He knit (you) together in (your) mother’s womb.
From Psalms 139:13


To really know you is sacred, to see you created.
Joining in a plan that began before all of creation,
Your salvation
Your dedication
To the One
Who knows you
In ways beyond
Anyone.


In awe,
I get glimpses.
Secret sights.


Of all the visions
In our union,
The ones that bring me
Into the Holy
Are when we begin,
Just us two,
Waiting for one,
Inside of you,
From inside me,
Brought to me by God.


At those times, though
I've been there,
There is always a moment
When It's God and You alone.


Then I stand in awe,
Honored to watch Him and
You make it through the pain
Of one who must now leave the warmth
Of your womb and enter the cold light of this world.


Though I wasn't there when you left warmth and entered cold,
I'm here now, seeing you, God's daughter. 
Thank you God for letting me see Lucy.
Thank you Lucy, for letting me see you.

Where are YOU in YOUR LIFE Right Now? (Part 1)

God's Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.

Your feet are below you, and at some point you will take a step in one direction or another.  But why are you where you are, and what determines the very next step you will take?  God asked this question to an Egyptian woman named Hagar.  He demanded an account of Hagar's life, and He demands the same of your life and mine. 

God reveals where you are in your life in three ways:
1. God finds you.
2. God calls you by your name.
3. God gives you the next step in your life.

GOD FINDS YOU
The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.  Genesis 16:7

How did God "find" Hagar?  Does the All Present All knowing God actually find anyone or anything?  According to the scriptures, He does.  God called for Adam when the first man hid from The LORD in Eden.  God also asked Cain where his brother Abel was.  So to find Hagar meant God was actively paying attention to her life.  This is what God is doing for you before He reveals where you are in your life.  God tells us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us.  The LORD cares where you are right now in your life, and He cares about who you are.

GOD CALLS YOU BY YOUR NAME
And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” Genesis 16:8

When God found Hagar, He addressed her according to her name and her title. This is what He called her:  Hagar, servant of Sarai. This is who Hagar was at that time, and when God finds and calls you, it will be based on who you are right now.  So the question is, who are you?  Where have you come from and where are you going?  How do I know God is asking you this?  Because you're reading this blog.  God found you here; He's calling you by your name and title, according to who you really are at this moment...., and He's demanding an account of your life right now. 
(click here for part 2)

Where are YOU in YOUR LIFE Right Now? (Part 2)

GOD REVEALS YOUR NEXT STEP
"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered. Genesis 16:8b

Hagar had to accept who she was in God's eyes:  The Servant of Sarai.  Hagar then had to tell God the truth about where she had come from and where she was going: that she was running away from Sarai. 

God's word, which is the truth, is "a lamp to your feet and a light to your path."  It tells you who you are, where you are coming from, and where you are going. 

Again, God's word is truth. To know where you are in your life right now, simply start from the truth about yourself and what you are doing. 

• Who are you? 
• Where are you right now? 
• Where are you trying to go? 

When you honestly answer these questions, God's word will be a lamp to your feet.  He'll show you where He wants you right now.  You may be exactly where He wants you to be. Or He may tell you to stop running away from where you are.

God told Hagar to go back to Sarai.  He gave Hagar the hope of a blessed future; God gave her the next step in her life.  But again, before all of this could happen, God found Hagar, told her the truth of who she was, and demanded that Hagar tell the truth of where she came from and where she was going.

In the same way, once you are honest about who you are, where you are coming from, and where you trying to go, the Spirit will tell you what you are to do right now, and He'll give you the very next step of your life.

When You See a Believer Worship

The Lord said to Moses,  “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord."  Lev.22:1-2


Imagine the moment a groom and bride look into each other's eyes.  Their vows are about to pour from their hearts, when suddenly, obnoxious laughter fills the back of the sanctuary.  Angry, the minister looks to the back and commands the giggling 15 year old girls to leave the sanctuary.


The girls leave, but the sacred offering of dedicated hearts have been dishonored. God and all present are displeased.


When you see a believer worship, know that you are watching what God considers a "sacred offering."  A son of God is giving his body to His Creator.  A daughter of God is presenting her body to her Lord.  God receives these offerings of their bodies with great love and reverence.  When you see a believer worship, so should you. 


And when you bow your head before God, you need no approval from me or anybody.  Your body is a living sacrifice offered to God, consecrated to Your Maker.  When a believer sees you worshiping, he should respect your offering to God; she should do everything in her power to leave you to Christ.


Sharing this offering together should create no self-consciousness, as if we judge each other's offerings of our bodies.  We seek to please God alone. 


When we see a believer worship, we should honor their offering to God.

Why Remembering African-American History Isn't Racist

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deuteronomy 5:6


It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1




In high school a white friend of mine said these words to me, “You know I saw a black boy kissing a white girl and it was disgusting.”
I said one word in reply, “Why?”


Do you know what he said?


“You’re trying to make me a racist.”
And my friend didn’t talk to me for about a week.


Interestingly enough, I didn’t really think anything about what my friend said. I didn’t think he was or was not a racist. That’s not what was going on in my mind. I should know. It’s my mind. The scriptures agree when it says, “no one knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man who is in him; in the same way, non one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
When I asked, “Why?” I actually wanted to know what he found disgusting about a black boy kissing a white girl. But he said I was tyring to make him a racist.


Now how could I do that? He was the one who said he thought it was disgusting for a black boy to kiss a white girl.  But I, who only asked "why," was “making him a racist.” This was in highschool, where I was voted home coming king; later that year I and a black girl were voted prom king and queen.


I remember a controversy about the prom, something to the extent of a “white court” being put in place...but this is not the real issue.


Racisim is the issue.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, racism is “actions, practices or beliefs, or social or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities.”


Racism is a sin against God the Creator and against His creatures made in his image and likeness and glory. Every person, boy and girl, man and woman, culture and ethnicity, reflect God in some way. For one creature to assume superiority over the other is to assume equality with God, who alone knows how each of His creatures each reflect Him. Yet even all of this is not my issue.


Here it is.


I’ve never thought of African Americans as “victims” of “the white man.” I’ve never thought of “the white man” as “the devil.” In fact, my whole focus has been my own history, which of course involves slavery. My ancestors in this country were slaves. I remember and honor them. I also remember and honor the ones who never came to this country as slaves, my original people and culture and land. Some assume my home land is inferior, third world, backwards, etc. Yet I can honestly say I have never cared what racist or non-racist thought about me, my ancestry of slavery, or my home land.


What I do care about is a satanic lie: That simply to remember my history means “I’m trying to make some white person racist.” Again, in remembering my history, I’m not thinking about “the man.” I’m thinking about the God of the weary years of my ancestors. I’m thinking about my grand parents, my mother and father, my heroes who made the way for me to be with a white woman without being lynched, and for people to see that my children are not ‘disgusting” because they come from a black man kissing a white woman.


Some feel like the mention of black history month, race, Africa, etc, has to be said in a whisper. They feel like African-Amercians are hyper sensitive race card players. Again, these people don’t bother me. I have the same question for them that I had for my friend in highschool: Why?


And I really want to know the answer. Not to prove anyone a racist or not. But because I have a mind, and when I hear something I don’t understand, I ask why. That’s it. I’m free to think.


Contrary to what we’d like to think in America, we do still have a long way to go. We think we have to be “the same” to be together. We don’t embrace differences, God given differences, as a blessing to each other. We think these differences in history and ethnicity equals racism. In the mind of many Americans, differences must mean superior and inferior. Only sameness is equality.


When someone says, “When I see you, I don’t see color. I just see a man,” they don’t realize that I want them to see my melonin, my thicker lips, my style of hair. God made these. They need not be ignored. Yet again, I’m not concerned with whether this person sees me or not. God sees and loves how He made me.  So does Jesus and His Spirit.


And in heaven, where every ethnicity will be seen, it will be clear that heaven is not America, or Africa, or Asia alone. Every ethnicity will be there, and our Jewish Savior will be there, still a Jew, not a democrat or republican American. We may be suprised at how non-American or African or Asian Jesus is.


Why is remembering African-American History not racist? 
Because it is African-American History. 


Did you catch that?


Some people can't even think of Black History Month without thinking about White Racists.  But it's not "White Racist History Month."  My history is not focused on the whips and lynching, but on the God who gave my ancestors the power to resist slavery.  My focus is on the God of my people, just as Israel remembered the one who freed them. 


When ignorant people speak of "white history month," or simply see no need for a Black History Month, I wonder if they will ever see 09/11/01 as irrelevant. 


I wonder if they expect the Hebrews to change their minds and forget the holocaust. 


God wanted Israel to remember the deliverance of His people from slavery.
I too will remember the God who delivered and empowered my people. 
If you find this racist, ask yourself:  Why?

Why You Should Be Different As A Christian

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;  for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."  1 Peter 1:14-16


If you are a Christian, you sin when you are the same as everyone else.  It is the ultimate contradiction and hypocrisy, and Jesus had absolutely no tolerance for fakeness.  We who believe are to be holy, set apart, distinct--different.  We are different in two ways: 


We don't conform to our old ignorant desires, but we are obedient children of God.


CHRISTIANS DO NOT CONFORM TO EVIL DESIRES.
We used to be ignorant of the truth and of goodness, according to the Apostle Peter. Those in his day worshiped idols, and we today used to do the same.  We used to think of ourselves as central, the starting point from which we measure good and evil.  But when Jesus showed us who we really, creatures who belong to our Creator, we changed our minds.  We believed and became the children of God, and no longer made our desires center.


CHRISTIAN ARE OBEDIENT CHILDREN OF GOD.
We live to obey the Spirit of our Father in us.  This distinguishes us.  This makes us different.  We have given our bodies as living sacrifices. We honor our bodies as the temples of the Holy Spirit.  We present each body part to God as instruments and weapons of righteousness.  Unlike those who consider their bodies their own to do whatever they please, we dare not defile God's Holy Temple.  We set our bodies apart, using them only for God's glory.


You should be different as a Christian because you are different as a Christian.  You should be holy because God is holy.  There is only One God, and you belong to Him alone. 


Be different. 
Belong to God.

TWO THINGS GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.  Psalms 127:3


There is something you and I and everyone shares in common:
We were born. Whether planned or a surprise, from adultery or even rape, God says this about you: 


You are a heritage from the LORD; you a reward from him.


YOU ARE A HERITAGE FROM THE LORD.
When your father and mother leave this world, what they will leave behind is you.  You will be the reason your parents ever existed.  Their memory.  Their legacy.  Their eternity.


YOU ARE A REWARD FROM THE LORD.
I mentioned adultery and rape earlier.  How can children of these be considered a heritage or reward?  In these situations children are children.  They've committed no evil and are in no way evil.  They are the redeemers of evil fathers and mothers, if the father and mother will accept them as their redemption.  If a child comes from adultery or rape, the child can shame the sinful adults into repentance, and be the salvation of their parents. 


No matter the circumstances of your birth, God sees you as a gift and legacy, to your parents and the world.  It's good that you're here.  Be what God says you are.

The Beauty of Our Forgiveness

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. Psalms 32:1-2




Imagine your worst sin.  Imagine what you are most ashamed of.
Now imagine that this has not only been forgotten on earth and in heaven, but that it's so forgotten that it's like it never happened.  Like you are not that person.
That is our salvation, yours and mine.  God made it so by punishing Jesus for your worst sins, and for sins you don't think are so bad.  He made it so that we never have to worry about our past being brought up in heaven, or even by Satan on earth.  This is the beauty of our forgiveness.


Imagine the worst sin committed against you.  Imagine the person who most shamed you.
Can you imagine forgiving him and forgetting his sin as if it never happened?
Can you imagine forgiving her and treating her like she is a new creation?
This is their salvation, because Jesus died for their worst sins against you just as He died for your worst sins against Him.  Who is more innocent than Jesus?  Who has been more wronged than He? 


This is the beauty of your forgiveness.  You can give to others what Jesus gave to you:  A very new beginning. 

You are the Devil's Enemy

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.  1 John 3:8


Everything you do should build God's work and destroy the devil's work simultaneously.  To submit to God is to resist the devil, and cause him to flee from you, not you to flee from him.  You are his enemy, undoing whatever he does.  You join the Son of God in His reason for appearing:  To destroy the devil's work.  Sin is the work of Satan.  When you appear, you do so to destroy sin.


A man is the image and glory of God.  Sin is to fall short of God's glory. So real men, Christ like men, destroy the work of the devil.  The devil's work is to dishonor God's image.  Real men bring honor to God's image.


A woman is the glory of God's glory.  She destroys the devil's work by reflecting the glory of God in man, her husband, her brother, her father.


The devil is a liar, the father of lies, speaking lies effortlessly. When we speak the truth only, we honor God who is truth, and dishonor the devil, who is the liar.


God hates divorce, therefore the devil loves separating couples.  Husbands and wives who are faithful are destroying the works of the devil.


God considers children a reward, which means Satan considers them a punishment, and seeks their death.  Bearing children destroys the works of the devil, who is a murderer, the first murderer.  Loving children dishonors Satan and glorifies Jesus, who loved little children.


The list goes on, and you have a part in the list, individually and specifically.  There is a specific work of God you alone can build, and a specific work of Satan you were saved to destroy. What is it?


It's who you are right now and whatever you are doing right now. Remember, Jesus appeared to do this.  He wasn't passive, but came to break down whatever Satan does.


Don't be afraid, if you are.  Jesus in you is greater than Satan outside of you.  Jesus Himself, by His Spirit, protects you from the evil one.  In Jesus name, undo whatever Satan is doing around you.  This is what you were born again to do.

How to Be Holy (Part 2)

In part one, the key word is SEPARATION.
You separate yourself from all of creation to belong to the Creator.
He in response makes you holy, His very own exclusively.


As the young man separated a plate and a cup from all of his other dishes,
And as a young woman separated herself from every other man in the world,
When a young man separated himself from his girlfriend to have his Lord,
So it is with being holy; consecrated, separated.


Israel as a nation was holy, consecrated, separated to God alone.
There were higher degrees of separation, as C.S. Lewis said,
"When good grows it becomes not just more distinct from evil, but also from other good."


With Israel you see these higher degrees of separation:
1. The High Priests
2. The Priests
3.  The Levites
4.  The Israelites


This isn't a superiority secret society based on pride and achievement.  In this we see a most crucial principle:


The closer one is to God, the higher the level of separation. 


But we are all now priests in God's sight.  Not only this, we are His children who may enter his throne room whenever we want, because the Highest Priest, the Lord Jesus, has opened up to us the secret place of God Most High.


But take heed.  Though we no longer need the animal sacrifices because of the one sacrifice of Christ, we are still commanded to be holy and separate.  Consecrated.  In Leviticus God told Israel to distinguish between the clean and unclean.  God requires the same today by faith in the blood of Jesus.  Click HERE to see how...

How To Be Holy (Part 1)

Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.  Leviticus 20:7


You bought a clear, tall, and beautiful glass and placed it on a clear small plate.  You washed it thoroughly and put it in a high cabinet, separating it from every other dish.  You only use this cup and plate to honor the Lord's death until He comes.  Communion.  Exclusively.


Whether you both are rich or poor, healthy or sick, happy or sad, you looked into his eyes and forsook all others for him.  He is now your lawfully wedded husband, and you are now his lawfully wedded wife.


One night, at the end of what he thought was the essence and meaning of his life, Joe realized that he had nothing and no one left.  He lay on the floor, utterly alone.  Miserably lonely.  Only the Presence is with him, the God who made him, the Lord who is saving him from suicidal dreams.  The Spirit lets him know that Joe had come to Him only as a last resort...but that He welcomed Joe none the less... Jesus loved Joe.


Joe sat up and raised his hands in total heart felt surrender.


"Jesus, I give myself to you from now on; I belong to You alone.  I do this because You are my Creator; You rightly own me and define me and should determine my actions.  I present myself to You as Your slave to obey You. From now on, I'm Your slave.  I will obey you.  Lord Jesus, command me by Your Spirit, so that I can obey my first command as Your slave."


"Call  Tanya and break up with her.  Tell her you now belong to God, and that you can't be her boyfriend  because she rejects Me"


"Tanya, it's me."
"Hey.  Why are you calling so early?"
"I'm calling to break up with you Tanya."
"What!?  Why?"
"I just gave myself once and for all to the Lord.  You don't believe He exists, so we can't be together."
"So you're giving me an ultimatum?"
"Not at all, Tanya. I love you deeply; this is the hardest thing I've ever have to do..."
"Whatever Joe.  Have a nice life, and thanks for nothing."


Tanya hangs up.


Joe you gave yourself to Me, and now you are Mine.  I am the One who is without beginning or end, Your Creator.  The Creator.  Now that you have willingly given yourself to Me,  I also willingly give Myself to you.  I am yours.  You are Mine.  We are one.  You are my son and I am Your Father. I'm very happy with you.


click here for part 2

How to Be Holy (Part 3)

THE FIVE CONSECRATIONS

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

1. SEPARATE RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM WICKEDNESS.

To belong to God means we make a distinction between God's approval and disapproval.  We seek His approval and avoid His disapproval.  We make it clear that God only approves one thing:  Faith in Jesus Christ.  We accept no approval accept from the Gospel.  This separates us from everyone in the world.

2. SEPARATE LIGHT FROM DARKNESS
God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness.  No. No darkness. At all.  We are separate as Christians because we believe in the unconditional confession of our sin.  We come out of the darkness of self justification and accept our inexcusable sin.  What separates us from the whole world is that we make no attempt to make things right with God.  Only Christ rescues us from the darkness of our selfishness. Christ forgives us of all sin and sets us free from sinning.

3. SEPARATE CHRIST FROM BELIAL
Belial is Satan, the evil one, the murderer, the father of lies.  We submit to God's will unconditionally, and resist the devil's will unconditionally.  We undo whatever Satan does in the name of Jesus.  We separate ourselves from all that is vile and evil and that glorifies evil.  We never compromise with Satan.  With evil, we are unashamedly intolerant.


4. SEPARATE BELIEVERS FROM UNBELIEVERS
First let's look at what Paul doesn't mean by this separation.  Paul is not telling Christians to stay away from unbelievers.  This is impossible, unloving, and antichrist.  Jesus loved me  and saved me, even when I hated Him.  The separation between believers and unbelievers is one of our allegiances and our values.  Believers live only for eternity and God's glory.  Unbelievers live only for now and for themselves.  In this way, we are absolutely separate.  Our assumptions about life have nothing in common.

5. SEPARATE THE TEMPLE OF GOD FROM THE TEMPLES OF IDOLS.

If you remember nothing else, remember this separation.  It is the summation of every consecration of all who are Christians.

Christ was, is, and forever will be THE sacrifice for all of our sins.  He gave his body for us and to us.  He made us holy.  We in response consecrate our bodies.  We do not view our bodies as our own to do what we see fit.  This is the supreme distinction of God' children and Satan's children, as it is written,

• Do you not know that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own, you were bought with a price.  Therefore honor the Lord with your body.
• Present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.
• Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and the present the members of your bodies to Him as instruments and weapons of righteousness.

--The giving of your body to God is the ultimate act of faith in Christ, the only thing God approves of.
--The giving of your body to God is coming out of the darkness; it is no longer hiding what you do with your body, but giving your body to God, freely and openly for all to see.
--The giving of your body to God is to take it once and for all from Satan and demon possession.  Only the Spirit of God dwells in your body, His temple. Satan cannot dwell in God's temple, nor can God's Spirit dwell in a body dedicated to Satan and sin.


To be holy is to give yourself to God alone, and for God Himself to receive you, and give Himself back to you. 


You are God's, and He is yours.
This is how to be holy.


The Worst Christian Sin (Part 3)

THINK LIKE CHRIST WHEN YOU SERVE GOD.
We should come to God to please Him, without an agenda of what He should and should not like.  He tells us in His word that His "ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are His ways above our ways and His thoughts above our thoughts."  Paul said that just as no one knows your thoughts except your spirit in you, no one knows God's thoughts except God's Spirit.  How do I know what makes you happy and what makes you angry unless you tell me?  If I'm your waiter, how do I know your order unless you tell me?  In the same way, God is not subject to our church programs and agenda.  We should seek the Spirit's desires, at church and in our lives, just like waiters seek to know what pleases their customers. 




THINK LIKE CHRIST WHEN YOU SERVE PEOPLE.
Imagine this:


I see you at church and you look sad.  I gently approach you.


"Excuse me, I'm Olatunde.  Would you mind if I sat with you? "


In this scenario you don't know me, so I'm not expecting a yes or no.  I'm waiting to see what you want. I'm doing my best to create an atmosphere where you feel free to say yes or no without any pressure.


"No thank you, I'm ok."
"Alright," I say.  God bless you.


"Wait," he says.  "Could you pray for me?"


"Yes, I'd be glad to.  What do you want me to pray?"
"Right now I feel like dying.  Please ask God to help me."
"Alright, I'll pray that God helps you.  Do you mind if I ask the Spirit to lead me as I pray for you?"
"No, not at all."


So I first pray only what this man asks me to.  No more. No less.  Then I wait for the Spirit to lead me, if the Spirit wants me to say anything else. I'm serving the sad man.  And I'm serving the Spirit by praying only what the Spirit leads.


I don't give the man unsolicited advice that I very badly want him to take.  I don't try to force more information out of him. I am his servant.  I'm there to meet whatever spiritual need he has, as he tells me, or as the Spirit tells me.  I have no agenda of my own.


If you get nothing else from these 3 blogs, or the blogs on healing, or the blogs on spiritual gifts, get this:

WE ARE GOD'S SERVANTS WHO HAVE NO AGENDA OF OUR OWN.

We have "emptied ourselves," just as Jesus emptied Himself.  When we come to God we come with the words of Jesus, "Not my will, but yours be done."  When we come to each other, we come with the words of Jesus, "Not my will but yours be done."

Imagine two or three believers meeting at a home to pray.  They don't come with any preset prayer plans or talks or anything.  Each come completely submitted to the will of the Holy Spirit.  Yes, each come with burdens or needs.  But they have put their needs aside to focus on God's will and on each other.  Each of the three come in this very mindset.  Three servants of God, together.

So, they all enter the home and greet each other.  They sit in silence, waiting for the Spirit's leading.  Each of them.  Sean, Fredrick, and Louis.  The Spirit leads Louis to speak first.  Sean and Fredrick felt led to stay quite.

"The Spirit is leading me to open us up in prayer.  Do you both agree to this? They do, affirming Louis that he is hearing from the Spirit.  So Louis prays as the Spirit leads him.  Then Fredrick sees a picture of Sean at his job, alone, reading his bible during a lunch break.  Fredrick asks the Spirit what this means and if he should tell Fredrick. The Spirit tells Fredrick that Sean needs to know how much of an impact he's making just by reading his bible on his lunch break. So Fredrick tells Sean what the Spirit says, and Sean is overwhelmingly encouraged!  Sean never told either of his friends about his bible reading at work.

Each came to serve God and each other, not force God to follow their house prayer program, and not force each other to worship God, pray a certain way, or recite certain scriptures by faith.  They all come with the mind of Christ, having emptied themselves, and avoided the worst Christian sin:

Seeking to be served instead of seeking to serve.

The Worst Christian Sin (Part 2)

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  Philippians 2:5-7


To never commit the worst Christian sin, we must assume the mind of Christ.  We must think and act like servants of God, and servants of each other.  True ministers. We must think like servants of God; we must think like servants of people.  But before we can think like servants, we must know once and for all what a true servant is.


TRUE SERVANTS ARE LIKE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
How do true servants think?  What is the essential quality of the truest servants?  There is no one who ever served with the perfection of humility displayed gloriously by our Lord Jesus Christ.  He shows us the way to true servant hood in these words from the Apostle Paul:


He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant...


The essential quality of Christ, the perfect picture of a servant, is that He it totally focused on the one He is serving, and not on himself at all. 


Yet there are Christians who come with a very strong agenda when they serve God or people.  They want God or people to do something very badly, and they won't let up until you do it.  They pray with a manipulativeness that is not focused on God's happiness. They want you to do something, pray something, sing some song, read some bible verses repeatedly.  They aren't asking you if they can pray for you or not, accepting a yes or no from you.  No, they insist they pray for you. They insist you read certain verses or pray certain prayers that they give you. 


How is this serving, when the server is trying to make you take their service?  If a waiter insisted you eat a certain food on the menu, and wouldn't let up until you ate what she wanted you to eat, wouldn't you get another waiter?  Is this really what servant does?


Yet we see people try to bully God into answering their prayers. They think their faith is so impressive, and that their knowledge of scriptures so vast, that they can force God to give them their requests. They think they can force God to obey them. 


And we see people so self centered that they refuse to simply ask suffering believers how, OR IF, they can help them.  Yes, they ASSUME they can help them, and the try to force their help on brothers and sisters who are already weary and worn out. 


For example, we see healthy Christians telling sick Christians to raise their hands, pray certain prayers, and have enough faith, or they won't get healed. These healthy believers aren't compassionate servants of their sick brothers and sisters.  Instead they inspire the sick with more fear if the sick don't do what the "healer"says.  Antichrist!  The servant nature of Christ should be the nature of every Christian.  How did we come to this place of self centeredness? (click here for part 3)

The Worst Christian Sin (Part 1)

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:25-28


Christians are antichrist when they seek to be served instead of to serve each other.  When a Christian exerts lordship, spiritual lordship, over his brothers or sisters, He is the diametrically opposed to everything Jesus is, was, and forever will be. I see this happen in two ways in church services, or among us who believe.


I. WE FORCE MINISTRY TO GOD.
To minister means to  worship and serve God.  Yet the servant of God is never coerced in worshiping the Lord.  He genuinely loves God with all of his heart.  She sincerely serves Jesus with all of her soul and strength.  God.  Not the preacher, teacher, or praise worship leader.  No man or woman should evaluate your praise, your hands raised, your silence, your singing, or anything you are doing before the Lord.  Unless it is obvious you are not doing it before the Lord, but have become a distractor from the Lord.  Otherwise, as it is written,


Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.  Romans 14:4


II. WE FORCE MINISTRY TO GOD'S PEOPLE
When you go to a restaurant, the server comes to you and asks you if you're ready to order.  If he is a good server, you don't feel pressured or rushed.  She makes you feel like you've got all the time in the world.  She's not a brooding annoying presence.  He's not hovering or invasive.  After all, she's there for you, to meet your needs and desires.


But bad waiters make it all about themselves.  The same is true with servants of the Lord who don't focus on your spiritual needs, and more importantly, don't focus on where the Spirit is leading you.  They forget that the word of God says we have one mediator between God and us:  Jesus Christ. They attempt to force thoughtless prayers, or thoughtless receiving of their so called "Words from God."  They don't want you to think before you pray the prayer they give you.  And they don't want you to go to God for yourself about whatever He is supposedly telling them. This is not the way of a servant.  This not Christ, but antichrist. (click HERE for part 2)

How to Heal People Like Jesus Did (Part 2)

There are a variety of ways for you to heal people if you believe in Jesus.  Remember, Jesus called healing one of the signs that follow those who believe. If you believe in Jesus, this is one of the signs that may follow you.  Now by "follow you," it means that as you bear witness to who Jesus is, or as you do things in His name and for His honor, some of the signs of following Jesus are demons coming out of people, speaking by the power of the Spirit (tongues,) or supernatural deliverance from satanic attacks.

 

If you believe in Christ, there will be some sign that shows you are a witness of the Lord Jesus. 

 

As far as whether Mark 16:15-18 is "reliable," I'll paraphrase something a man named Watchman Knee said, "I tried it and it worked."  Know that as a believer in the Lord, you have authority to pray and act in Jesus' name as a sign of your belief. Let's apply this to healing people like Jesus did.

 

Jesus of course is our example, The Healer. 
The word of God says these things about Him:

 

1.  Surely He took our infirmities and carried our sicknesses.  Yet we considered Him smitten by God, stricken by Him and afflicted.  He was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.  And by His wounds we are healed.  From the Prophet Isaiah
2.  Jesus appeared for this purpose:  To destroy the works of the devil.  From John's 1st Epistle
3.  Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. 
The Apostle Peter

 

When Jesus healed, his motivation was compassion.  He used His power to love. 

 

This is the very first way to heal people like Jesus did:
Selfless Love. 

 

When I'm sick I want to be healed, which  means I want to feel good and not feel bad.  So I treat sick people like I want to be treated:  I pray that God will take away their pain just as I want my pain taken away when I'm sick.




I remember how Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law from a fever.  We all have gotten fevers.  It touched me deeply to think that Jesus would heal something as "small" as a fever when He used to heal "big things" like blindness.  But then I remembered that Jesus knows the number of hairs on our heads.  Nothing and no one is too big or small for Him to care about. He cares about a mother-in-law's fever, and he cares about little sick children.

 

Once when my son was sick, I wanted him healed because I couldn't stand his pain. Caring for him, and trusting Jesus as his healer, I imagined all the ways I see Jesus and the apostles heal the sick. 

I saw that Jesus and His followers didn't heal people exactly the same way:

1.  First and foremost, they were always motivated by selfless love.
2.  Sometimes they commanded sickness to leave by "rebuking it," personifying the sickness.
3.  Sometimes they commanded a demon to leave, showing the demon as the source of sickness.
4.  Sometimes they "layed hands" on the sick, and the sick recovered.
5.  Sometimes Jesus didn't have to be in the area at all, like with the centurion soldier.
6.  Sometimes those who are sick went to the elders of the church and were anointed with oil.
7.  And sometimes members of the congregation confessed sin to one another and "the prayer of faith," brought forgiveness and healing.






Now all of this may not seem to give a "step by step healing technique."  But it does...if you start with selfless love. When we love people, we don't think of them as numbers on a healing assembly line.  We deal with people individually, like Jesus did.  We let the Spirit lead us in loving and healing each individual one by one.






Many times love is the last motivation experienced when healing is sought.  Those who try to heal are not compassionate at all.  In fact, they can put very real pressure on people to quote verses, sing songs, have faith, etc.  This is not loving.  Jesus never puts pressure on people when he heals them.  He will make it clear that it only takes the faith of a mustard seed to move a mountain of sickness.  But He doesn't require anything from a sick person than to simply come to him.  That little bit faith is enough. 






So what "technique" does God give you so that healing can be a "sign of your belief?"




The most basic technique for all of us, whether we have the gift of healing or not, is the loving prayer of faith.  Those with gifts of healings most likely already know their "unique technique" because the Spirit who gave them their gift already showed it to them.  But for you and I, who may not have the gift of healing, I believe we can see this sign in our lives to some extent through what we all know how to do: pray.






Don't we do this anyway?  When our loved ones are sick, we naturally pray for God to heal them.  Now we may throw in the whole, "Lord, touch the doctor's hand and remove the virus from my son's stomach."  We may add all of our so called medical knowledge to the prayer as to inform God of what is exactly needed.  We may think this is faith at work, and it may be. Either way, we pray naturally for healing as believers.  We do this in Jesus name, as a sign of our belief in Him.






I believe I can say confidently that even though I don't have the gift of healing, I've seen at least twice in my life someone healed as a result of me praying.  The least I would see was the person feeling better, or recovering.  The difference between my prayer of faith in Jesus' name and a woman with a real gift of healing is the frequency and power of healing that takes place with her gift.  She can almost heal "at will," like a teacher can naturally teach. 


I believe every believer can bring some kind of comfort or relief through their prayer of faith, even if not complete healing.  They can bless the sick person with the compassion and love of Christ, which is healing in and of itself.  I also believe each believer has a unique kind of healing comfort he or she can bring. 






For example, I'm not a doctor, but I can administer first aid until a doctor arrives.  I can clean cuts with hydrogen peroxide, put first aid ointment on the cut, and cover it with a band aid. 




But there is also something "supernatural" I can do.  I can massage!  Not just a normal shoulder massage. I have an ability given by God to intuitively find areas on a person's body where the exact muscle or nerve needed release.  It feels intuitive when I do it.  This is how I "heal."  The person usually thanks me so much and asks if I'm a chiropractor.  I tell him no, and that the Spirit enables me.  He thanks me, and I praise God.






The way that you can heal like Jesus did, or in Jesus name, is to first and foremost love the sick person out of compassion.  Remember, this was Jesus' motivation.  And this motivation is, in and of itself, healing and comforting. 






If you are not compassionate, you cannot heal like Jesus did.  You will be an obnoxious discouraging stench in the nostrils of a person already struggling to breathe. 


Love never fails.  If you selflessly love a sick person, your love will heal them, one way or another.  But if you don't have selfless love for the sick, or for anyone you are serving in the Lord, you commit the worse Christian sin....which you'll find out tomorrow.... God willing. 
Until then, heal like Jesus did.