Summer in the Kairos Time Zone

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • We are BACK after being on holiday for the month of July!
  • Some of you all have heard me talk about chronos and karios time.
  • In short, we need chronos (clock) time to function on Earth, and God operates in the kairos (His perfect) time zone.
  • The Lord used His timing to bless and refresh me, as I blessed and refreshed others.

KJV Scripture references

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

John 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Mark 6:31

And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while….

Romans 15:32

That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

Proverbs 16:3

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

BCUFam, July is LONG gone, but the refreshing feels like it happened yesterday! Spending quality time with my friends and family over breakfast, lunches, dinners, in fellowship and in prayer and moving slow is necessary!

I know we have our schedules and to-do lists—–and some of our tasks are non-negotiable. If we take our task list to Jesus first, and do what He tells us to do, when and in the order He tells us to do it, everything needful will get done. And what is done will be perfect, because what He tells us us perfect. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray about it!

Father, in the name of Jesus, as always, we thank YOU for Your Word that has been spoken to our hearts. We also thank You for the work You give us to do, AND for every opportunity You give us to rest in our bodies and minds. We ask, Jesus, that You help us to hear Your voice, so we know when to stop, go, and wait, and that we follow Your directions explicitly, according to Your will and way. With Your help, we do not want to be tied to our schedules and doing all of the “extras”, rather doing what You have instructed us to do, and moving in the kairos time zone.

Jesus, we ask that You please bless each and every person listening today in all abundance, and we thank and praise You Lord for answering our prayers according to Your perfect timing. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen!

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, X, and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, YouTube podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, and many others podcast platforms!

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

BlenCouragesU1 Comment

Kairos Time, The Dress & Miss Kim

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • I LOVE to talk about time. It is often measured in two ways.
  • Chronos or chronological time is used to tell us when something starts/ends–aka “clock time”.
  • The word kairos comes from a Greek term translated as the “right time” or “opportune moment”.
  • While we need chronos time to function on Earth, God operates in the kairos time zone.
  • The Lord used His timing, a dress and function to get me to meet a wonderful sister in Christ.

KJV Scripture references

Ecclesiastes 3:1

24 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Matthew 7:14

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

BCUFam, as an update, Sister Kim and I have been in contact pretty regularly, as we pray about concerns, speak encouraging words, and talk about the goodness of God! God NEVER ceases to amaze me with how He speaks to our minds, directs our plans, and re-arranges our schedules so we follow His perfect “kairos time-zoned” will for our lives. So, with the help of the Lord, let’s be sure to acknowledge the Lord in all of our ways, so He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6). Those paths will not only lead us to successfully manage our time in the chronos time zone, but to also be aware, alert and ready for whatever assignments God has for us in the kairos time zone. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray

Father, in the name of Jesus, as always, we bless and praise Your Holy and Precious Name! We thank Your for Your awesomeness, greatness, goodness, and for the Word You deposited into us today! We thank You for reminding us that ultimately, we run in the kairos time zone. Please helps us to remember that as we go about our tasks and assignments, that we are mindful of the people around us, and that we are ready to give an answer to them about the Hope that lies within us, which is You, Jesus.

We thank You, Jesus for the current and future Body of Christ, which consists of believers EVERYWHERE, regardless of organization, country, language or background. We ask the You continue to strengthen and keep Your people, Jesus! Please bless us to operate as a unit as You intended, Lord, to do Your perfect will here on Earth. and so we can hear “well done” when we see You in Heaven! In Jesus name, we pray, Amen!

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, X, and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, YouTube podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, and many others podcast platforms!

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

BlenCouragesU1 Comment

Back to business as usual?

Hey there BCU Family! 

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • After a LONG HIATUS we are FINALLY back, thank God!
  • Since our last time together,  our whole world changed with the onset of COVID-19.
  • Even with our churches being shut-down, we’ve learned viable, alternative ways to worship and praise God together as well as separately, devoted more time to study, deepened our relationships with God— and the church (The Body of Christ–that’s us) has not just survived, but thank God, we have thrived. 
  • As we are starting to reopen the country (that’s a whole other discussion) and ESPECIALLY our churches, should The Body of Christ really be going back to “business as usual”?

Scripture references:

Luke 18:1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Acts 5:29

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Colossians 2:8 

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

BCU Fam, Hebrews 10:25 tells us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. We NEED to get together on a regular basis. My question is, as we assemble, what is the motive? Is the purpose to glorify God? Ensure souls are saved? Is there an alter call? Tarry service?

In theory, there is nothing wrong, or any sin in anniversary celebrations, revivals, meetings, or chicken dinners, but what is the purpose of the assembly? To net an offering?  If so, did God “authorize” the service? Are we having certain services because we “always” do? Are we allowing enough time for the congregation to be a witness to others besides other saints at church? Do we “have time” to witness, rest, be with our families? Or are we too caught up in services that are more of a roll call?

God is always looking at the purpose and motive of what we are doing. Can we comfortably (myself included) stand before God to answer for the motives and intent of what we were involved in? These are serious questions we need to pray and act on with God’s help going forward. In fact, as we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6).  If we find He is directing us away from something, with His help, we need to be obedient to Him, rather than man (Acts 5:29), or tradition (Colossians 2:8).

This is a TOUGH ONE for me BCU Fam, but something God laid on my heart to consider. How about you? Was any this content a surprise to you? Let’s talk about it in the comments section below!

If you have not already 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! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

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

Love,

BCU

BlenCouragesULeave a comment

What kind of worker are YOU?! Spotlight on Nehemiah’s work crew!

Hey there BCU Fam!

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 podcast blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your study!

Welcome back to our Nehemiah study featuring chapter 3! We’ve covered  chapter 1 and chapter 2 in weeks prior and to be honest, initially I started to glaze over this chapter, thinking it was like the genealogies in the Bible, you know the ones you skip over sometimes? In looking closer, though with God’s prodding there is some good info to be gleaned! Let’s dig right in! Continue reading “What kind of worker are YOU?! Spotlight on Nehemiah’s work crew!” →

BlenCouragesU2 Comments

Seasoned saints–The importance of salt in your life–Part 3

Happy New Year Family!!!🎊

I trust your holidays were blessed and you are enjoying the gift of a new year. A couple of posts back, I started a “salt series”. This entry will round off that series by exploring why we need (more) salt in our lives. While, I am not into resolutions, I think this may be a good area for all saved folks to gain more knowledge and strength in, myself included. Let’s dig in!

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13 NKJV).

Salt gets a bad rap because of its link to high blood pressure, fluid retention, etc. While anything in excess can be harmful, iodized salt is not the best for the body. Common “table” salt is void of vital nutrients except iodine, which is added back after processing.

20130110-222427.jpgSea salt contains nutirents that are needful for the body like sulphate, magnesium, calcium, potassium, bicarbonate, bromide, borate, strontium, and fluoride. In addition, sodium regulates the passage of nutrients into the cells. Without it, nutrients cannot enter your cells and you will have malnutrition and exhaustion, no matter how good your diet. Some other salt functions are:

Muscle cramps prevention
Regulator of:
–blood pressure
–blood sugar
–sleep
Eliminates dry coughs (just a bit on your tongue)
Soothes a sore throat (warm water& salt gargle)
Draws out infections
Helps with muscle soreness

And that’s just the a small fraction of what salt does! Just as its needed in your body, it’s needed in the Body Of Christ as well.

Salt regulates the “Body” by keeping “infections” out such as: idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and things like this. Willful engagement of these behaviors will prohibit us from entering into the kingdom of God, according to Galatians 5:20-21. Having salt on the regular will keeps us functioning and keep the “good” in. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22, 23 NLT). Salt “preserves” us from practicing sin.

We also need salt for our conversations with family, friends, co-workers and the not-so-nice store clerk. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every one (Colossians 4:6 NKJV). Another example comes from Proverbs 15:1–a soft answer turns away wrath, but grevious words stir up anger. Salt helps temper your responses.

Few things are as bad as a flavorless, or what I call a peppered Christian—acting bitter and nasty due to hurt, cares of the world, practicing sin or bad habits. In fact, let’s go back to the verse that started the series–Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You see, in the Bible days, when harvesting the salt, if any of it was contaminated with dirt or marsh, it was put on the dirt roads to keep the dust down, hence the reference to being trampled underfoot by men. A contaminated Christian NOT the testimony we want. We have to stay seasoned in order to draw the world AND love folks. Jesus said,“have salt in yourselves and peace with one another” (Mark 9:50). If there is no salt in you, you will not have peace with others. Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

Bottom line: Salt is a necessary nutrient needed in our natural and spiritual lives. Adequate salt intake comes from prayer, fasting, regular bible study and attending church. Also, just like when we season our food, we want to use the correct amount of salt in our speech and actions. Too little salt is not effective—too much salt and is not palatable. Rather than trying to keep impossible resolutions this year, let us covenant with the Lord that with His help, we will always use/the right amount of salt in ALL our interactions. Amen? Amen!

God’s best blessings to you!

Blen

Pic courtesy of: http://www.thekitchn.com/come-along-on-a-159478

BlenCouragesU2 Comments