Boldness is Contagious

Not too long ago, I came across a man by the name of Clayton Jennings. He is a poet, speaker, and evangelist for Christ. He is young, vivacious, energetic, and BOLD. He is not ashamed to shout the name of Jesus wherever he is and with that kind of boldness, it can quickly become contagious, as it should. I started following him on Instagram some time back and I got to wondering how different my life would be if I was as bold as Clayton. I go through his mini videos and read his captions from his still shots and the energy that exudes off of his page starts to rekindle a fire in my heart. How is he so bold, that in all that he does, the name "Jesus" just rolls off of his tongue? Where does that fire come from? How can I get my hands on it?! One thing that he does do, is open his fire starter, the Bible.

In order to be bold, we have to pray bold. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide in your daily decisions. The moment you wake up, make it a point to talk to God first and foremost. If you think you don't have enough time in the morning, try waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual. Discipline yourself to stay in constant communication with God in prayer and in His Word. The more time spent in His Word, the more apt your mind is to remember those scriptures. Why? 1 Peter 3:15 says:

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 

With the world watching us and with us being in constant contact with the lost, it's best to always be prepared to witness to others and it's hard to do that if we don't know what to tell them. If you do hide God's Word in your heart, when the time comes to witness to someone, the Holy Spirit will bring those scriptures to mind so you can relay it to the one you're talking to. 

Not only is praying and reading God's Word essential in building that boldness, but the company of Saints will come as an advantage. If you don't have a group of close individuals to hold you accountable, find at least one person to keep in constant contact with you. Ladies, pick a female friend or relative and gents, find a male counterpart. Make a pact with that partner to help keep one another accountable. Make it a priority to call your accountability partner at least once a week, text regularly, and even meet up for lunch or dinner to discuss how you two are doing when it comes to reaching out to others. If it helps, find literature on witnessing. One guide I have, that I am in love with, is a book written by Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort called The Way of the Master. Years ago, when I was in youth, our former youth pastor had us read this method as a way of helping us "get out there." I highly recommend it. 

I thank God for bold Christians like Clayton who aren't ashamed of the Gospel. God has used him in mighty ways and people who have never heard of Jesus, get to hear it from a man of God who isn't ashamed of the One who saved his soul. Can we say the same?

If you're interested, here's where you can find Clayton to find encouragement:

http://claytonjennings.com/

https://instagram.com/claytonjennings1/

https://www.facebook.com/claytonjenningsdotcom?fref=ts

David's Disobedience Cost More Than One Life

From the title, some of you might be thinking that I am talking about Uriah, right? If Uriah was the only one who popped up in your mind, you haven't read through the whole story just yet. Not only did David's disobedience lead to Uriah's death, it led to the death of David's first child with  Bathsheba, too. This act of God might be seen as harsh, but rest assured, God has that baby boy now. The reasoning behind God's actions can be found in His holiness. We see in II Samuel why God struck the baby ill and decided to take him 7 days later.

"So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” Then Nathan departed to his house." II Samuel 12:13-15

God had spoken to the prophet, Nathan, and told him to go to David to relay His message. After hearing what the Lord had to say, David knew that there would be consequences to his sin. Not only did he sleep with another man's wife and impregnate her, he tried to hide his sin by indirectly having her husband killed. What David forgot, in his moment of lust, was that God knew what was about to happen. In our moments of weakness, are we not guilty of doing the same thing? Forgetting that God knows all and sees all? Those quiet moments of tears and heartache. Moments of anger, frustration, and impatience. How about those moments where we don't give Him our time? When in the flesh, things aren't clear and transparent. Instead, they become very blurred and hard to decipher. David had one of those moments and it cost him dearly. 

It was a very sad 7 days for David and Bathsheba. David spent those days lying on the floor, refusing to eat or drink. He knew his sin was affecting the innocent life of his tiny baby boy so during those days, he soaked in prayer and supplication to the Lord.  After God had taken the child, David got up off the floor and dusted himself off. After God took the child, God's anger had subsided and He wanted to bless David with a son. After David spent time with his wife, she soon became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy and they named him Solomon. 

"Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him." II Samuel 12:24 

This is a great story of God taking a mess and turning it into a blessing. He loves us so much that He wants to protect us from sin, but with free will attached, He allows us to make our own decisions. David was supposed to be minding his own business on his rooftop until his eyes caught hold of a beautiful wife bathing. Where David failed, was when his eyes came back around for a second glance. The longer he stood there, the more entwined he became. It finally got to the point to where he sent one of his messengers after her and commanded her to come to him. 

How many times in our lives have we gone from a spiritual high to a spiritual low all over one weakness? That sin that we have committed has consumed us so much, that we are doing all we can to "hide it" from others not realizing that God knew it was coming. So what is our best option? When you find yourself in a situation, pray immediately. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to walk with you in every situation. It is very important that we do not sin for more than one reason:

1. It affects everyone around you.
2. Snowball effect.
3. It ruins your witness.
4. Most importantly, it hurts God.

My Pastor, Richard Parker, gave us some good advice this morning. He said that if we bathe ourselves in the Word of God and walk in the Spirit, it will keep our focus where it needs to be. Our flesh is corrupt and vile and we require daily guidance from the Holy Spirit. How are you spending your time? Spend some time with God this week and tonight before you go to bed. Soak yourself in His Word and live for Him. Goodnight, beloved.

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

Juggling Time and Priorities

 

I have to brag on a girlfriend of mine. She is a wonderful mother and beautiful on the inside and out. She used to have a Facebook but took it down almost a year ago, if not longer. When I asked her why, she said that she didn't feel like a "hands on" mother with Facebook still tugging behind. She found herself picking up her phone all the time and going through the news feed while the children were in the background. I asked her today if she felt like a better mother/Christian without her FB and her response was, "Without a doubt." Another girlfriend of mine took hers down because it was becoming a distraction to her as well and after taking it down, she felt more at peace in her life.

I have debated taking my FB down for more than one reason.

1. Busy-body temptation. It's easy to pick our phones up and see what everyone else is going through in their lives, whether good or bad. From there, some can become obsessed with other people's lives or even become stalk-like. If it is someone you don't get along with, do what I do, block. Some people block and make fake profiles to spy, but that isn't a sign of a healthy mindset.We must keep to our own lives and not get too worked up over the lives of others.

2. Privacy. With today's tech gurus, it can become very easy for anyone to steal pictures from your profile and use them for their own personal pleasure. Did you know that if a pedophile were stalking you, that all they'd have to do is take a picture or even save your public profile/mobile pictures, with your child/children in them, and print them off and hang them on their wall? People who keep their profiles public have no idea what kind of danger they are putting themselves in. The only reason for anyone to post publicly, is to be seen by strangers and those strangers could be perverts, rapists, stalkers, etc. Even with my profile set to private, you can still take a phone picture of my profile picture and anyone can keep it. Privacy is a big issue.

3. Time consuming. Do we not have anything better to do than to keep our phones in our hands? Why do we feel the urgent need to not allow the phone to leave our hands. Why? Obsession. A very unhealthy obsession. Consider things that could be done instead.
                          -Cleaning
                          -Playing with your children.
                          -Spending time with your spouse.
                          -Reading your Bible.
                          -Praying
                          -Gardening
                          -Spending time with family and friends.
                          -Volunteering
                          -Exercising
                          -Spending time alone.

Those are 3 good reasons to consider if you are considering taking your FB down. I have and am in prayer about the decision and I trust that God will help me make the right decision when He leads. What are we doing with our time? Are we wasting it on our phones and social media? What else can you do to make your life more fulfilling?

^"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:13-14