Singles chalkboard: Recognizing “The set-up!”

Hey BCU Family!

As usual, the written transcript has a little more detail in it than the podcast does, but nothing drastic! Please enjoy both formats!

This post is especially for the singles..but the Scripture lesson can apply in a few situations for ANYONE! Please stay with me, BCU Fam! Let’s dig in!

There is something about the holidays–and the new year in particular, that seems to bring out the nostalgia, audacity and duplicity in folks. Over the past few weeks, a few very shady menfolk, cleverly disguised as a “good things”, tried to run their best game, but the Word says “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7b). I thank God for heeding to His voice and not falling for the old set-up/okie-doke. It seems a few of my sisters have also had some menfolk trying them as well, and glory to God, they recognized the set-up and came out victoriously!

Luke 4:1-13 tells the story of the enemy tempting Jesus after His fast (of course, Jesus used the Word to counteract Satan’s attack). Verse 13 says.  “and when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from [Jesus] for a season. In other words, the enemy will be back and likely to tempt you in this same/similar area, singles. In that case, let’s prepare!

 

Your best line of defense: Prayer. I know you know this, but we can NEVER underestimate the POWER of prayer and seeking God for answers. I’ve told this story in some form or another before, but it’s always worth a revisit! Awhile back, a former acquaintance telephoned me, and as we were catching up, I thought to myself, “hmm.. sounds like “Bob” grew up a lot–I think there is some serious maturity here.” Eventually Bob mentioned meeting up for lunch at the end of the week and I agreed without even thinking about it. That quick agreement has happened to “seasoned” people of God before—it’s a set-up and it gets you into trouble! Let’s look at Joshua.

Joshua, chosen by God to secede Moses, was a mighty in faith and in battle, so much so that the people of Gibeon, in chapter 9 were concerned about Joshua coming for them next. So the Gibonites went to work on a plot to trick Joshua into to making peace with them.  Though Gibeon was about eight miles from Israel, the Gibonites pretended to be ambassadors from a far away place, seeking a covenant with Joshua so he would not harm them.  They even came outfitted in old clothes, shoes, torn wineskins, and even had dry, moldy bread to authenticate their story. After a short round of questions,  Joshua and his people ate with these tricksters and eventually covenanted peace with them–only to find out they were tricked into the agreement, but it was too late to do anything about it. Joshua was set-up!!! And why did the scheme work? Verse 14  in that same chapter says “[the Israelites] asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” If JOSHUA could trip up and miss praying to see if this situation was okay by God, the very same thing can happen to us, if we do not consult God first.

Notice that the Gibonites “looked” the part of ambassadors and “said” they came in the name of the Lord, but their heart was all about how they would benefit from this ill-gotten agreement. How many of these old flames that show up look good–dressed nicely, well represented OR even playing the part of the  Gibonite, “woe as me, I’m dressed this way because I lost my job” my car, my place, I have no where to go.” “I just need $40, or “may I borrow your car to go on this job interview?” Or  “My new place will be ready tomorrow, if I can stay….” OR “You’re supposed to be a Christian and help people, right?”  This is a set-up!!!! And they sound like they know God–“Yes, I am SO blessed”, “I know God, too”, “I thank God for..”. or “I need to give my life to God, can you tell me how?” Do you see the set-up here?!  What is going on in that HEART?! Jeremiah 17:9 says, “the heart is deceitful above ALL things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” We may not, but God sure does and will reveal it to us IF we ask and heed to what He says.

Now, I’m not saying that every old flame or person that approaches you isn’t sincere about being saved or that should we skip sharing God’s plan of salvation according to Acts 2:38-NO!  We really need to be prayerful about how best to witness to this person without compromising your witness. Be in public, with another believer, or better yet, invite the person to church. That move tells a lot about the heart– either they come and start really yielding to the voice of Christ who wants to save them, or they will flee with a quickness!! Just remember to pray for the individual as we do want them to be saved. As we’re praying, one other are to be on hight alert in is “preventive care”.

Unless God reveals otherwise, stay out of places (in this case, people) that God delivered you from. Proverbs 26:11 says “as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his own folly.” While dogs are very popular these days–that was not the case in biblical times. In fact, most of the time a dog is mentioned, they represent wicked men, (Psalm 22:16), noise (Psalm 59:14), along with laziness, being dumb and greedy (Isaiah 56:10-11). YIKES!!! All these horrible traits on TOP of the fact that a dog has a habit of vomiting up what did not agree with him —and then going back to eat it. I don’t know one person who likes to see or smell something they upchucked. UGH!!! To what restaurant would you go visit to order, pay for and EAT VOMIT?! Who DOES that?! Only a dog–and he’ll do that for free. UGH!!!!

Family, if God blessed you to escape a relationship (be it romantic or platonic) with this individual, it’s because they do not “agree with you”–who YOU are in Christ.  It doesn’t matter that the relationship didn’t make you “sick” in the beginning or it only made you ill sometimes. When God says leave it alone, that is His way of protecting us from coming in contact with a potential situation that can wreak havoc on your system–your heart, soul and mind. And the recovery process and chastening that follows can set you back days, weeks, months and possibly years and in some cases, never.

Recall in Genesis 19, when God extended His mercy to Lot, his wife and two daughters as they escaped from the wicked city of Sodom, which was being destroyed by fire and brimstone. Among other requirements, God commanded them not to look back, or they would be consumed (verse 17). As the city burned, apparently, Lot’s wife could not resist looking back “at the vomit”and in doing so immediately became a pillar of salt.  With God’s grace, let’s avoid vomit all together and trust that at the appointed time, He will send whoever (friend or otherwise) we are supposed to have in our lives. Amen?! Amen.

Before we end the podcast, I should tell you the ending of my story.  While I agreed to lunch, the Lord was gracious enough to use Joshua 9 and Proverbs 26:11 to get my attention over a two-day time period (yep, it did not sink in right away). Once it did, though, I cancelled lunch and invited Bob to church. Strangest thing, though–he never did show up…

Well this concludes our time together! I pray this blesses and challenges you. If this post been a blessing to you, please give us a thumbs up, comment and share. God bless you always and until next time, #StayOnTheWall.

 

 

Love,

BCU

 

 

 

BlenCouragesU4 Comments

God’s lessons from 2015 (Part 2 of 2).

Hey there BCU family!

What you will be reading is the”enhanced” transcript from the podcast, meaning,  you get a little more information in the written account than the audio file. 🙂  Enjoy either format and thanks for stopping by!

We are back with the second and final part of The five (5) BIG lessons the Lord taught me in 2015. Last time, we covered “Promises, promises” and “Appearances can be deceiving,” you can catch up here.  As a side note, I was tested on the the “promises” post.

I agreed to do a project for someone awhile back, and I followed up on it, but the person was a little slow in getting back to me, so I sort of dismissed it.  Of course, at the 11th hour they now want the project which will likely take me many hours to prepare. I started to fuss, but the Lord gently reminded me of what He said through the last post, so with His help, I will take care of it with a cheerful heart. See, I told ya’ll–when I post these things, I am talking to me first–I’ve got to be the first partaker of the fruit! (see 2 Timothy 2:6 for that reference).

So let’s see if we can get to the last three:
3. Happy Holidays?
4. Think outside the circle.
5. Say what?

Click the logo to start the podcast (audio file).

Happy Holidays?

I realize the official Christmas holiday season is over, but some situations occurred that will now have me looking at things in a more compassionate and through the eyes of Christ type way.

A friend of mine working on my computer remarked, “I’ll be glad when the holidays are over. This is a tough time for some people.” Later that same week, another good friend remarked, “the holidays are not happy for everybody.” In the both cases, my friends  had lost an immediate family member and understandably, the holidays brought some sadness. While I wanted say something to make it better, I was led to listen and quietly pray.

Lest you think that grief is unbiblical, take a look at Ruth 1:19-21. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law was making her way back home to Bethlehem after the death of her husband and sons. As the townspeople were asking after her, she said:

“Call me Mara, [meaning bitter] not Naomi, [pleasant] for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord brought me home empty, so why call me Naomi seeing that the Lord testified against me and afflicted me.”

The woman was clearly grieving and said so! Notice the Word does not record anyone responding with familiar platitudes to quiet her down or ease her pain.

Proverbs 25:20 says “as he that takes away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart.” Nitre was and still is a cleansing agent found in the lakes of Egypt–it is similar to what we know as baking soda. Nitre effervesced or bubbled when coming in contact with something acidic, like vinegar. So think about it–as these folks are mourning their loss, our well intentioned selves can say acidic things like “don’t cry, she would not want you to be sad”, “he’s not suffering anymore”,  “you’ll see her again,” ” she is in a better place”, “God needed her”, “He knows what He’s doing, it was best.” Now with the exception of “God needed her” (for what? God has plenty of resources and once we leave Earth, our work ceases), these sayings may well be true–was that what needed to be said at the time? Are those words really going to comfort someone? As a matter of fact, some of those remarks were said to a revered and  wonderful woman of God who lost her husband. She said, “I know all that, but I don’t want to hear that right now!”

For some reason, we want to hush and rush individuals through the grieving process, and even once the person is otherwise doing fine and gets sad, we want to shoo the sadness away. We are human and losing someone  in the flesh just HURTS and we will miss their presence, especially at certain times of the year.  Don’t get me wrong, it is hard to watch someone grieve–and it is natural and CORRECT to want to comfort the person. God knows what you should say (if anything), and will lead you accordingly if you ask. Proverbs 25:11 says, “a word spoken fitly is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” When you think of what a stunning vision that is, how awesome would it be to speak that way? Yes! Ask God how. And know sometimes, just a listening ear, a quiet shoulder, or just your silent presence can speak volumes.

Think outside the circle

This moment came from a lunch with my one of my best friends, Billie. We were talking about the gifts God has given us and how difficult it can be to operate them among people who know you. Sound familiar? In Matthew 13,  Jesus had just finished powerfully teaching many great parables (the sower, wheat and tare, what the kingdom of heaven was like) to multitudes by the shore. The Word does not record the reaction to the Jesus’ teachings, but I’m thinking the crowds were blessed by it, based on what happens around verse 54. Jesus came home to teach in the synagogue and folk  who knew Him started questioning His wisdom, mighty works they had ALREADY seen Him perform and His family tree.

And they were offended in Him, but Jesus said unto them, “a prophet is not without honor [is honored everywhere] except in his own country and in his own house.” And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:57-58).

Notice, who questioned Jesus–it certainly was not the people outside His “circle”, rather the ones IN the circle. The ones who should be encouraging, believing, praying and standing with you can sometimes be the toughest crowd. I can remember speaking at a function and  looking out on the cold faces of the circle of folks I had known for years, versus the encouraging smiles of the ones who were newer to the circle.

I do not mind saying that did sting quite a bit and it would neutralize me if I let it. This is why  Proverbs 3:5  says we cannot lean to our own understanding (if I did lean on my own, I would have stopped publicly speaking right after that. Thank God for healing me). Rather we are to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10). If you are Holy Ghost filled, we have the power of the resurrected Christ in us to change the atmosphere no matter how combative it may be. We also need to accept the fact  that in some cases, we may not be well received at all among certain people, and unless God steps in, it will not change. But with the grace of God, we will NOT let that change us or the way we use the gifts God has given us.  Let the account we give have to give God one day have Him respond, “well done, thou good and faithful servant…. enter into the joy of the Lord” (Matthew 25:21).

Say what?

This is more of an observation and gentle PSA. I am a little old school when it comes to sharing certain aspects of what I deem to be private, but it looks like I may be in the minority in comparison to the rest of the world.

With the onslaught of fake “reality” TV,  raunchy tell-all talk shows, dash cams, smart phones and social media, folk seem to think that it is allright to tell, post, video and snap pics of your every waking thought in exchange for 15-minute fame, free therapy, someone to co-sign your wrongness, spreading gossip, likes, sympathy, followers and to be the trending topic of the week whether intentional or not.

I recall a story where a day care provider posted something about not liking to be around lots of kids. YIKES!!! Of course, the post was seen and she lost her job.  Proverbs 29:11 says “a fool utters all his mind, but a wise man keeps it all in till afterwards.” Since we have seen the results of foolishness,  let’s look at wisdom in action.

Mary, mother of Jesus is a prime example. In Luke 2, angels had visited shepherds to tell them about the birth of Jesus and in turn, the shepherds went to see Joseph, Mary and Jesus to verify what the angels said. Once the shepherds saw Jesus for themselves, they “made it known abroad” what the angels said.  Even in all this excitement, the new mom “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (verses 17 & 19).  If the mother of our Savior, King and Redeemer could keep quiet about such an important visitation, how much more should we? We should use discretion on all of our communication, except when Jesus is the subject and good news!

Granted, there are times when we need to talk something out or share information (that is yours to share), and that is where God’s wisdom comes in to lead you to the right person(s),  the medium to use, or to go directly to Him. Proverbs 3:6 reminds us to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways and He will direct our paths. Amen? Amen!

Well family, that concludes our series! It was my pleasure to bring you His Word and I am excited for how the Lord will bless us to apply what He says.

May God continue to bless you richly. If this post has blessed you, please let us know by giving a thumbs-up, commenting and sharing with a friend. Thank you for reading/listening and until next post #StayOnTheWall.

 

Love,

BCU

 

 

 

BlenCouragesU1 Comment