What lessons can we learn from the wilderness?

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

As usual, you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the message blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your study!

Over our Nehemiah study, where we’ve chatted about overcoming people approval, the importance of gates , what do do when attacked,  when you are weary on the wall, getting back to work on the wall, the enemy within and how to confront him. Nehemiah also walked us through how he led/governed (with the help of the Lord) the people, versus bossing/managing the people, which motivated them finish the work triumphantly!

While this project is complete, there are some other very important learning points (like gatekeeping from our chapter 7 lesson and preparing to apply God’s word from our chapter 8 lesson) in the remainder of the chapters in Nehemiah. Let’s take a look at Nehemiah 9 as the people continue to reflect on the Word and what God has done.

Scene: (Nehemiah 9:1-5) This was a time of reading the law, confessing sins, worship and reflection as the Isrealites recall the time they were in Egypt and God’s protection, mercy and provision while wandering in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:43).

In verses 6-15, the people of God lay out who God is and what all He had done:

How God is God alone and how He made heaven, stars, the earth and preserves ALL!

How God brought Abram from Ur, changed His name (to Abraham) and promised to give Abraham land, and well as multiply his seed for his faithfulness and righteousness.

God saw the affliction on the Israelites in Egypt and answered their cry.

The Israelites saw many signs and wonders while being delivered from Pharaoh and their oppressors. God parted the Red Sea for them to walk across and took care of their enemies with that same sea–right before their eyes!
God led them by day as a cloudy pillar and a pillar of by night so they knew where to go.
He gave them right judgements, true laws and good statutes and commandments
God provided food, water and gave the Israelites water and promised land possession.

This is WONDERFUL, right? Look at all the BLESSINGS poured our on God’s people!  As we pause here, can we name the times God saw is on our oppression, sickness, depression, joblessness, family situations–whatever it was—Think about how God and GOD alone delivered us from those situations! How He took care of the enemy for us! And even in the midst of the trial, the hard time, the grief, the pain, He provided us both spritual food (a Word to refresh, correct, redirect and encourages us), and natural food to strengthen our bodies. God is GREAT and greatly to be praised!

BUT….

We see a turn of events with verse 16.

Nehemiah’s people read the their ancestors “dealt proudly, ” “hardened their necks” and “hearkened not” to God’s commandments. Let’s stop here and talk about hard necks. That means stubborn and not “leadable”.

In those days, typically two oxen did the plowing and the plow master had an “ox-goad” to help steer the animal to where he wanted it to go. An ox-goad was a light pole with a spike on it, used to prick the animal on his neck to speed him up or to go in a straight line. If the oxen didn’t obey, he was labeled stiff or hard-necked–what we usually call “hard-headed”.

So after being in bondage, captivity and free again—looking at ALL those blessings, God is now dealing with a prideful, stiff-necked group of people who refused to obey. The nerve of them, we say? Not so fast, BCU Family!

Now before we judge the Israelites too harshly, let’s put ourselves in their place. Two paragraphs ago, we were rejoicing about how God blessed us through our turbulent, crying, stressful times. How quickly after God heard our cry did we walk in disobedience?

Did we deal with God in our pride–maybe refusing to give Him glory for something He did? Touting our denominational pride, rather than humbling thanking God for saving you and lovingly witnessing to others? Not asking God for any help–trying to do things on our own?

Did we not harken to his commandments regarding handling the situation at work or home His way? Did He command us to “hold our peace” (keep quiet), but instead we said what we wanted because it had to be said?

How stiff were our necks when it God reminded us that we are to love our neighbors (co-workers, cashier, strangers) as ourselves?  Did we heed the urge to help them or to say a kind word? Did our necks stiffen when we were prodded to stop and pray? Did we tell God, “but, I’ll be late!” “Just let me answer this call.”,  “I’ll read the Word later”.

These are just a few of the ways we mimic the Israelites–whether intentional or not. Once we recognize areas that we have not surrendered to God completely, that’s our opportunity to do just that—we DO NOT have to continue walking contrary to God’s Word–that’s why Jesus came! He took all of our sins and nailed them to the cross, making an open show of them triumphantly! (Colossians 2:14-15). And when we have the Holy Ghost down on the inside (see Acts 2:38), we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us yield who God wants us to be–more like Him! Amen? Amen!

God gives us time, space and opportunity to be transformed to His likeness–because He is merciful. In an upcoming podcast, we’ll take a look at how the people of God realized how far off they were, the magnitude of God’s mercy and the result of willful disobedience. I’m looking forward to that post and hope you are as well!

In the meantime, we’d love hear what YOU took away from what we talked about today, so please leave a comment in the designated section below.

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and now YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Series: The called according to His purpose (part 1)

 

Hey there BCU Family!

Please enjoy the audio version of the study (by clicking on the icon) or read through the written version. Either way, we pray you’ll be blessed!

Before we get into our study, let’s get some foundational principals down. Romans 8:28 is a familiar passage of Scripture that reminds us “…that all things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose”. When this is said in a church setting, while the Spirit of God is high, it usually evokes an heavy agreeance, sometimes emotional response and we leave feeling invincible!

In the days coming after that, the enemy will bring a temptation, trial, or situation where we forget the Word we were told and start going to God seeking asylum from the situation, fussing, murmuring or doubting He even cares.

It happens to the best of us, myself included, and in praying to God about that, we need to reinforce our foundation. In Luke 6:47-49, Jesus says that whoever comes to Him, hears His words and does them, he is like the man who build a house and DIGGED DEEP, AND laid the foundation on a rock. So when the flood came and the stream beat vehemently on the house it could not be shaken, because it was founded on a rock. Conversely, those that hear and do not follow the word, is like a man that built a house without a foundation—just on the soil or earth. Who the stream beat vehemently (the flood did not even get a chance to come) the house immediately fell and the run was great. Family, we have to DIG DEEP and make sure our foundation is on solid ROCK. That starts with Jesus on the inside—Acts 2:38-39 is the foundation to build on—all other ground is sinking sand!!!!

So with the Holy Ghost on the inside, in addition to attending a good Bible-believing, Spirit-filled house of prayer, we need a steady diet of prayer, the Word and application of the Word. The application is important–remember in Luke 6, Jesus said whoever… hears and does His word (James 1:22-23 says the same), that Word helps us to stand in the storms of life. This is why we need to know who God says we are and believe it. If you are ill-prepared or get caught out in a storm, the enemy presents situations where you doubt who God says you are— victorious, more than a conqueror—and are likely to make decisions based on emotions and immediate, temporary need, versus hearing what the Word of God says. If we are not careful, we get taken full advantage of! Think about how many decisions we regret because of not heeding the Word of God—not trusting on who He is, or in who He says we are?

This is where we need to dig deep—and get GROUNDED and ROOTED in who God says we are. Grounded is a builders term..meaning ATTACHED to the foundation—not propped up, securely attached forever. Rooted refers to stability—the deeper the roots the stronger the plant. This was we know who we are in the happy AND the trying times! Amen? Amen!

We really need to take the entire book of Romans into account, but for time’s sake, we’ll reference as much as we can here, and you all can read throughout the week.

Paul wrote this letter to the Christian Romans who started this church made up of a mix of Jews and Gentiles. This is important because many of the Jews still went by the law and in some of the New Testament, expected the Gentiles to do the same (eating certain foods, circumcision things like that). Chapters 1-3 speak on the facts of the gospel, chapters 3-5 on how we are justified in Christ, chapter 6 about how we are free from the power of sin. Chapter 7 speaks of being free from the law, and in chapter 8, reminds us of the love of Christ, how He frees us from sin and who we are in Him. Rather than just say we are the called, we have to see why and what else goes along with that calling. Let’s begin!

1) We are NO longer condemned

Verse 1 reminds us those who are in Christ Jesus, filled with His Spirit and walk in it– we are no longer condemned or penalized.

Let’s talk about walk—the Greek word is peri/peteo meaning conduct my life, to live, to be occupied with. Keep that in mind.

So Spirit-filled people, our penalty has been paid and we are not to feel guilty or ashamed, nor do we let people make us feel badly about who we used to be! A couple of years ago, I was reunited with old friends and one said “do you know what I remember about you? The Lord already dropped in my heart she would recall some unsavory detail about my B.C. (before Christ) days. Immediately I said something like, “oh, girl that was before I knew the Lord!” The crowd laughed and she never did tell me what it was. As far is the east is from the west, is how far my transgressions are removed from me (Psalm 103:12).

2) We walkers in the Spirit

Verses 2-4 reminds us if we are following after the Spirit, we are not practicing or sinning intentionally and over and over again. While we stumble or make mistakes, we do not use that as an excuse to continue willfully sinning. When we choose to continue to sin or walk in the flesh (lying, adultery, fornication, drunkeness, envy, idolatry, witchcraft, wrath, jealousy, lewdness Galatians 5:19-21), condemnation or punishment awaits. The condemnation is that you will NOT inherit or enter into the kingdom of God.

We are free from the law of sin, and the death it brings because of Jesus dying for us on the cross—He paid that penalty. So our mission with God’s help is to continue to walk in the Spirit so that we don’t walk in the flesh—acting out carnally rather than what Jesus would have us to do. For if we live after the flesh we will die (be eternally separated from God) but if through the Spirit we do mortify (make dead) the deeds of the body, we will live (eternally in Heaven with God).

2a) Our business is minding things after the Spirit—verse 5 is clear, there are only two sides, you either mind things of the flesh or of the Spirit. If you are Holy Ghost filled, we mind the things of the Spirit—what God says.

2b) And as a result we have life and peace (v6) rather than death. Think about the peace that comes with having Jesus on the inside and walking with Him. Mark 4:35-31 tells the story of Jesus being asleep in the back of the ship when a great storm of wind and waves beat on the ship full of disciples. After they panicked and woke Him, He just said Peace, be still. And the calm came about. That’s the God we serve—the one who wants us to lay down and sleeping peacefully, even in the midst of the storm. So while this doesn’t speak to who He says we are, because we have Him, we get these benefits. But wait, there’s more!

2c)We have power through the Spirit. In verses 7-13, Paul emphasizes that while walking/conducting your life in the flesh you cannot please God, do not have the Spirit and you are none of His. We that have the Spirit inside, so He gives us life through the Spirit and power over being dictated by the flesh. Paul repeats this several times, apparently as a warning to ensure we do not continue in sin—otherwise we die. Stay in the Spirit and live.

3) We are the sons of God

Verse 14 says we are the sons or children of God (those led by the Spirit).

We are not in bondage to fear—we’ve been grafted into the family—adopted by Christ. In the Roman culture, anyone adopted now identified with the new family, took on their ways, and had all rights, privileges, and shared in the inheritance. Similarly, we are no longer a part of the adversary’s family, and no longer practice His ways. We gave up the trick inheritance and shaky, temporary, deadly promises he offered, for the TRUE inheritance, promises, and privileges God promises. We can now say Abba Father! (translated meaning Daddy—what young children call their father). It marks a close intimate relationship where there is complete trust. As young children, we trusted our parents. That’s the way we should trust God. Also, the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. This is significant, BCU Family!

People claim to be children of God quite a bit, but you just cannot walk in any ol’ way and label yourself as a child of God. No siree, Bob! This is a privilege reserved for those who have Jesus down on the inside. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD! Let the redeemed say SO!!!!!! We KNOW who OUR FATHER is!!!!

Lift up your heads, O ye gates! We know who the King of Glory is!!!! Rejoice everyone!

4) We heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ

4a) While that is wonderful, that “heir-ship” comes with a cost. Still in the royal family, looking at verses 17 and 18–we can’t expect “royal” treatment in this present world—as joint-heirs in Christ, suffering is a part of our walk, but what we go through now, pales in comparison to the glory in us!  Don’t let that situation steal your joy—what’s coming is what’s better than what’s been, verse 18 says so!

Verses 19-23 talk about how we want to be with Jesus, we just have to wait and in the meantime, The Spirit makes intercession, according to the will of God for us during the suffering times. Paul through Christ is preparing us for the fact that trials will come. All the things we’ve learned before —no condemnation, walking in the Spirit, the power we have, being part of the royal family we’ve been adopted into and the heir-ship, NONE of that goes away when tough times come. Jesus is His Word and it is true no matter what season we are in!

That brings is to our 5th point–we are THE CALLED according to His purpose!

For we know that all things work together for the good—to them that LOVE God (we love Him, and we are a doer of that by walking in the Spirit, thereby keeping His commandments), and are the called—according to His purpose.

The word called comes from the Greek word, klesis meaning invited. Purpose means deliberate, intended result. So our God called/summoned/appointed YOU out to and chose this life, situation, issue, blessing, family, friends, job, neighborhood, church, co-workers, skin tone, personality, gifts, talents, everything for a deliberate result that pleases Him! For it is God what works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). So it’s in our best interest to embrace what God has for us with His grace. It is all for a deliberate result—sometimes we see and understand it right away, other times later on, and sometimes not on this side of Heaven. Our duty….is to trust our Abba Father!

Well Family, we’ve come to the end of our study for today! I know it was getting good to you–I know it was for me! The next time we’re together, let’s plan on finishing up Romans chapter 8.

Thank you all so much for the encouragement, love, likes, thumbs up, shares and comments–that truly blesses us here at BlenCouragesU.com and the Word is blessing  and encouraging others–that’s what it’s all about!

May God bless, make His face to shine upon you and until the next time we’re together, #StayOnTheWall!

 

Love,

 

BCU

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Do you act like a Christian?

 

Hey there Family,

Recently, my mom was telling me about someone who was trying to erroneously “get her way” by telling my mom she was not acting like a Christian. Mom quipped, “I’m not supposed to ACT like a Christian, I’m supposed to BE one!” We laughed, but she makes a good point.

Let’s define the meaning of a Christian from the Word of God. People were called Christians or followers of Christ in Antioch after Saul and other assembled together for a year and taught many people (Acts 11:26). Besides the necessity of water baptism in Jesus name and the gift of the Holy Ghost for salvation (Acts 2:38-39), and other important areas, the disciples also lived what Christ taught them–among other things, having a prayer life, using gifts/talents to God’s glory, and how to love and treat others. Notice they LIVED what Christ taught them, rather than ACTING what Christ taught them.

When you act like something or someone, it’s a role. You are the character for a certain amount of time, in certain circumstances, at a convenient time or place, when people are watching or listening. When we act like a Christian, we do things out of fear of the lack of/reaction we will receive. Thus, we risk being an enabler (like always giving money to that able-bodied, non-motivated to work relative or worse—-boy/girlfriend), or you interfere with the law of sowing and reaping. So if Junie keeps getting speeding tickets and you pay them, when will he learn to drive carefully? He needs to learn there is a consequence to bad behavior. HE pays the tickets.

Conversely, when you are/being something, it’s part of who you naturally. So in the case of Jesus living down on the inside via the Holy Ghost, He shows up on the outside consistently. Sure, we will have our days where we are not perfect, but in our desire to please Christ and live more like Him, we will not practice willful sin.

Moreover, while Jesus taught us how to love and treat others, this does not give the general population carte blanche to get whatever-they-want-when-they-want-no-matter-what-and-you-better-like-it-because-that-is-what-Jesus-would-have-you-to do. Seriously? Not so, Family!

In Matthew 4:1-11, the enemy temped Jesus three times, did our Awesome God do what the devil told Him? NO. Jesus did not answer the Pharisees regarding the authority He had, because they demanded it of Him (Matthew 21:23-27). Need an “earthly” example?  What about Simon who offered the apostles money in exchange for the being able to lay hands on people for them to be filled with the Holy Ghost? (Acts 8:12-21). Rather than give in to Simon, Peter rebuked him so sharply that Simon requested prayer for protection! (verses 22-24). See what I mean now?

Bottom line: With the help of the Lord, we cannot allow any and everyone to take advantage of our Christ-like nature to “keep the peace” or be “humble”. Now when the Lord tells you to do something, you of course follow His command. But be sure it’s the Lord talking and not guilt or fear–this is where prayer and being in tune with God’s voice will come in—remember HE wants us to make the right choices. This is where we start to BE more like Him.

Thanks for reading and God bless you MUCHO!

BCU

Spiritual PSA: What is in you comes out of you, any act has a limited shelf life,  will eventually who you are will surface. It is better to get Jesus down on the inside and let His spirit direct your paths.

BlenCouragesU2 Comments

Think it not strange…

Hey Family,

Yes, yes, yes, I know it’s been a LONG time since I stopped by. Reasons: partially time management, brain exhaustion, wanting to veg and fiery trials. Lots of trials.

You know, as a child, young adult, saved older young adult :-), you have a certain “expectation” of how things will go in your life. While our awesome God does bless us to have our hearts desires according to His will, He also brings us trials that can throw you for a LOOP. Sickness, job changes, loss of loved ones, relational changes, financial challenges, taking care of loved ones—the list goes on. At some point,  we may experience one or more of these areas and cry out to God wondering why He has forsaken us.

I Peter 4:12-13 reminds us not to think it strange when the fiery trial comes to prove/test or try you, rather to rejoice in that we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings and when His glory is revealed, we will be glad and with EXCEEDING joy. Now, I will be FIRST to admit that when these “fires” come (and I have had many over the last few months), I do not exactly embrace them! In one instance, I distinctly recall crying, snotting, calling on the Lord, and telling anyone who would listen what I was going through—hopeful someone would have a way to “remove the bitter cup” from me. At one point, Jesus FINALLY got my attention and let me know I had to rely on HIM and that He anointed me for the task.  My job was to pour out my heart before Him and trust that He knew what He was doing. Additionally, The Lord let me know that trusting means not stressing internally either.

We sometimes hide our stress behind big smiles and praise the Lord, when inwardly our minds are going over the situation constantly and to a point where you can be consumed and in extreme cases, stress symptoms can manifest themselves physically.  Paul has an answer for that, though–whatever is true, just, honest, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy–those are the things we think or meditate on (Philippians 4:8).  Not one Scripture commands us to worry or stress, so obviously that comes from the enemy and needs immediate rebuking. It is not easy, but is a huge part of the trial process and the getting and maintaining your praise and the victory during your test.

My life lesson: God knows and sees all–yes, I know you know that, but think of it this way: because God knew us before we were born and has our lives in His control, He is aware of what is happening to us,  He does care and if the fire was not needful, He would not allow us to go through it. The proving or tests are a reminder to continue praising, praying, fasting and trusting God from day one of the trial till you pass. Just like any test or challenge we take in our natural lives, we know it may be difficult, but we endure to the end for the reward/satisfaction of accomplishment. Yes…it’s the same thing spiritually as well. You don’t have to take my word for it–take The Word of God! Ruth and Naomi are EXCELLENT examples of holding on in the difficult times and receiving a blessing in the end.

Trial are HARD!!!! NO one likes to suffer, myself included, but it is part of life and especially for those who walk with Christ. So while there is no way to avoid challenges, with the help and grace of our God, continue praying, standing on God’s word and wait it out till the end.

They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings as eagles

They shall run and not be weary

They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31).

Hold on, Family…whatever God is teaching or blessing you with… is worth the wait.

God bless you and thank you for reading!

BlenCouragesU

Think it not strange...
Think it not strange…

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Rats, Turkeys and Fruit…

 

Hey family!

Be Jive Turkey free!

Summer is fast approaching and in all the sunshine and excitement of the season, we still need to be prayerful and on high turkey alert! I learned a little more about turkeys from rats. Let me  “‘splain.”

I was flipping channels awhile back and caught a show called Rat Wars. It was a show about a New York City exterminator, who was ridding the Big Apple of these pesky rodents, who in some cases had overtaken the homes and businesses of some of his clients.  The guy mentioned that rats were smart creatures, and I thought “yeah, right”. But he was right!

Yep, I am smart~Trust!

What happened was, the exterminator set traps and noticed just a few of the rats were caught. Reason? He said some of the rats watched the others go to the traps and get caught/killed. The rats who stood by were astute enough to know to avoid the trap! If a creature that God made who hasn’t attended a day of school, nor have the Holy Ghost as a guide, knows to watch and avoid entrapment, how much better can we do? I’m just saying……Ok, keep that in mind and read on.

In my travels a few years ago, I met up with a dude in whom we had mutual acquaintances. We got to talking about the folks we knew and life in general, so I mentioned about being my saved, etc. Bozo did inform me that church girls were “easy to get with”–something about desperation and some other monkeyshine not worth repeating.  I don’t know how he thought his statements were attractive, but I was as hot as a freshly lit firecracker!  The truth is either he had that experience or was conducting a test. Either way, I know I wasn’t about to become a case study for Dr. Strangelove!!  If you really want to get to know someone, let them talk–God will let you know what’s up! What’s in the heart comes out of the mouth (Matthew 15:18).

Next is the saved-looking fruit. I notice, is that once we ID the fruit we like, we immediately hook up. “Oh well, there’s a saved-looking pear, that’s the one for me!”  Don’t misunderstand me, if one person is saved, the other NEEDS the Holy Ghost, no doubt. Salvation does not equal compatibility or God’s will.  Experience has taught me there is value in taking your time and developing a friendship based on mutual interests, experiences, goals and values. It’s also important to see where you differ and how negotiable those areas are. This way, if it is not God’s will for you to be together, you hear and see with a clear heart, rather than with a heart that has developed feelings and rationalization. I also believe that in the end, you will remain friends with no hard feelings or unforgiveness.

A former post I wrote about women not being the “low-lying fruit”,  got a little attention from a couple of guys I’m cool with on Facebook.  One young man who had his share of the easy fruit, said that eating fruit off the ground  “can make you sick”.  I didn’t think about that at the time I wrote it, but its true. Many times the fruit that’s just laying on the ground,  although convenient, is overripe, worm-ridden, bug-filled, spotty and rotten.  Sometimes women even go and pick the fruit, (rather than waiting to be picked). How did that work out for you?

Whether you are the low-branch fruit or pick it up, it may fill you up for now, but give you a bellyache, long-term illness or even death! As we mature, it’s important to recognize foolish behavior and correct it immediately. Do not pick off the tree! Didn’t we learn from Eve? LOLOLOL! Seriously, it’s better to wait and be picked properly. Proverbs says 9:6 Forsake the foolish and live; and go in the way of understanding. Why willingly die of from an avoidable case of “foolish”?

The bottom line:  I know there are some fantastic, stand-up guys out there—I am friends with quite a few and look forward to meeting more as my life progresses. In the spirit of watchfulness, the Bible says to watch and pray…(Matt 26:41) AND that you will know folks by their fruit (Matt 7). If it looks like a grape, yet talks thorns, then something is amiss. No matter how many grapes you thought you saw or have continuously look for, it’s a thorn bush. Pray for God’s divine (not permissive) will to be done and clarity in your thoughts and decision making so the decks are clear for your real blessing!

Thanks for reading and be blessed!

Love,

~Blen

Jive Turkey pic: http://www.newsrealblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/jiveTurkey.png

Rats pic: http://www.show31.com/2012/04/20-amazing-facts-about-rats.html

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