Baby Faith

Children--babies especially--can really teach you alot about faith.  In the womb, towards the end of pregnancy, most babies position themselves upside down in the uterus, to make for an easy delivery for mom and a safe delivery for baby.  They turn their backs to the world, turn upside down, and expect for SOMEONE to catch them when they make their debut into the world.  What if we had that type of faith when it came to our lives? What if we ignored everything stacked against us, turned our backs to the world, and came out of our previous situation unharmed and safe? If we knew that someone would be there to catch us, would we be more inclined to have stronger faith?

My son has some of the best focus that I have seen in a long time.  No matter where he is or what he is doing, if there is something he wants, he goes for it at all costs.  He doesn't care if there's five feet of space between an object and the solid bed he may be sitting on, he doesn't care if you move an object a million times to keep it from him--he's going to find a way to get what he wants and needs.

Wanna know about focus?  This kid sat like that for ten minutes because his pacifier fell through the leg of his walker.  It was attached to his shirt by a string, so he knew it was there, he just couldn't see it.  How often do we know what's at the end of our journey and we still lose focus?

                                

When do we become so jaded by the world that we lose our focus, our will, our faith?  When does constant rejection, disappointment and failure change our focus or make us lose it all together? When does the negativity in our lives give way to faithlessness?

At birth, we start off with an 'A' or 100% for faith, much like a demerit system might work in school.  Our faith is full, because we have not yet experienced the world, and as babies, we come to expect being saved from a fall.  With a demerit system, every time we misbehave or do something that warrants discipline, our 'A'--or points--decrease based on the behavior.  Unfortunately for most, this seems to be how our faith works as well.  As we grow and get older,  failures and disappointment occur, and doubt sets in, leading to less and less faith.

I sure wish I had the focus of my son.  I'd probably be working on a second or third (or fourth) graduate degree now.  I wouldn't be taking so long to lose weight.  The trunk of our car would probably be clean.  But I can't do the could've, should've, would've game.  I can only take this moment recognize my flaws, and move on from here.

How much further would you be if you had a little more faith, focus, and will?

Sidenote: I wrote this on Friday, July 8th. The funny thing is, my pastor touch on this on Sunday, July 10th. Funny, huh? God will definitely kick you in the butt to make sure you're paying attention, won't he?

Regrets

There's a song by Letoya Luckett on the radio right now called Regret. It's definitely in high rotation, because every time I'm in the car I hear it at least twice (I'm not in the car but 20-30 minutes to and from work). The song is basically about a woman scorned who is somewhat taunting a former significant other. That significant other has done the woman wrong, had other women in her car, cheated on her, blah blah blah. The woman reminds her former lover that he wasn't much of anything before her, and that she made him the cool dude that he is today. The chorus goes a little something like this:

You must regret the day that you left me
You must regret the day that you left me
Still tryna get back, get back
Still tryna get back, back with me, oh
Still tryna get back, get back
Still tryna get back, back with me oh


Although Letoya is singing from a woman's perspective, this could definitely be a song from a man's perspective.

Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure that we all have regrets. We regret that person that we let get away. We regret that comment we made that cost us our friend, job, relationship, etc. We regret that decision we made that cost us everything. We regret that food we ate that got our stomach a-bubblin'. There's just so many regrets, and I in no way can quantify whether a regret is big or small. They all affect us in some way.

Some of my regrets: Letting my relationship with God fall to the side as a teen; Not telling my mom everything that was going on at school with teachers; Not telling my mom about certain things my dad did to make me dislike him even more; Shit, no telling my mom alot of things; Waiting so long to realize that I was incorrectly communicating with the opposite sex; Waiting so long to realize just exactly how dope I really am; Not being closer friends with my husband when we were in college.

The list goes on and on, but I'm sure you get my drift. We all have regrets, we all have things that we wish we could change. We all have things that we wish we would have never done or said.

Right now: What are you going to do now to make sure that you never make those mistakes again? Are you holding on to past regrets, or have you let them be a learning experience and moved on? I can honestly say that for the most part, I have definitely moved on. I still have issues with confidence, I still doubt myself sometimes. But I also catch myself having that lack of confidence and that doubt, and I do whatever is positive and in my ability to do in order to get out of that negative way of thinking. I cannot let past regrets and mistakes dictate what my future will look like. I can only accept that I messed up, and work on making my present and future better.

What are you doing? Are you holding on to past regrets? Or have you let your mistakes become your learning tools?

Something for all of us...

So here's the scripture that T and I have been focusing on, Psalms 37. This is the version from the Message Bible, enjoy!!

Psalm 37 (The Message Bible)
Psalm 37
A David Psalm
1-2 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings, and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God, get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;he'll do whatever needs to be done:He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don't bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes—it only makes things worse. Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;God-investors will soon own the store.
10-11 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;you'll stare at his once famous place and—nothing! Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,relishing a huge bonanza.
12-13 Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in. But God isn't losing any sleep; to him they're a joke with no punch line.
14-15 Bullies brandish their swords, pull back on their bows with a flourish. They're out to beat up on the harmless, or mug that nice man out walking his dog. A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—slapstick figures in a moral circus.
16-17 Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,
For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God-strong.
18-19 God keeps track of the decent folk;what they do won't soon be forgotten. In hard times, they'll hold their heads high;when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.
20 God-despisers have had it;God's enemies are finished—Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time,vanished like smoke in thin air.
21-22 Wicked borrows and never returns;Righteous gives and gives. Generous gets it all in the end;Stingy is cut off at the pass.
23-24 Stalwart walks in step with God;his path blazed by God, he's happy. If he stumbles, he's not down for long;God has a grip on his hand.
25-26 I once was young, now I'm a graybeard—not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets. Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud.
27-28 Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit. God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends.
28-29 Live this way and you've got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out. The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
30-31 Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;his feet are as sure as a cat's.
32-33 Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he's out for the kill. God, alert, is also on watch--Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.
34 Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.
35-36 I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense. The next time I looked there was nothing— a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.
37-38 Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life;There's a future in strenuous wholeness. But the willful will soon be discarded;insolent souls are on a dead-end street.
39-40 The spacious, free life is from God, it's also protected and safe. God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil—when we run to him, he saves us.

To tithe or not to tithe, that is the question...

I've noticed that there are people that continually question the church,its leaders, and their intentions but don't seem to have done their homework before opening their mouth. I am in no way an expert on the bible, but when I don't know something, I do my research.

Many people have questioned the need for tithing in the church. I have heard arguments ranging from "nowhere in the bible does God speak about tithing" to "the preacher just wants the tithes so that he can pay for his new Benz" to "if they believe God will provide, why do they have to ask for money?" Anyone who has not thoroughly studied the bible or at least made an attempt to uncover some answers to their own questions through the bible could pose any of the sample questions I provided above.

Dictionary.com defines tithe as follows:

–noun

1.	Sometimes, tithes. the tenth part of agricultural produce or personal income set apart as an offering to God or for works of mercy, or the same amount regarded as an obligation or tax for the support of the church, priesthood, or the like.

2.	any tax, levy, or the like, esp. of one-tenth.

3.	a tenth part or any indefinitely small part of anything.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to give or pay a tithe or tenth of (produce, money, etc.).

5.	to give or pay tithes on (crops, income, etc.).

6.	to exact a tithe from (a person, community, parish, etc.).

7.	to levy a tithe on (crops, income, etc

–verb (used without object)

8.	to give or pay a tithe.

There are in fact, 18 total times in which tithing is discussed in the Bible. There are a couple of scriptures that deal with those example questions I posed in the previous paragraph.

Leviticus 27:30 (NIV)
30 A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

The word tithe comes from an old English word meaning tenth. Tithing, then, is giving back to God a tenth of one's increase. Crops and agriculture were and still are considered a form of currency. Other forms of currency include various forms of cash from different places around the world. Some of those currencies include pesos, yen, pounds, dollars, to name a few. Others would say that tithing is not always monetarily valuable. Some venture to say that the giving of time, talent, and resources is part of tithing. What God has blessed you with, he wants to see a return on that gift. He wants NO talents to go wasted or untapped. Whatever the main currency was then and now, God is due the first tenth, and expects us to live off of the other ninety percent. Tithing is basically giving to God a percentage of your increase, or your profit. It's the return God gets for investing in you.

Malachi 3:10-11 (NIV)
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit, says the LORD Almighty.

Let's get this clear now. I believe that the church is the people that gather in God's name, not the building. I believe that people can gather anywhere and still be the church. But the building that houses the church folks--wherever it is--cannot run on prayer alone. Like any other building, bills need to be paid, lights need to be kept on, and staff need their paychecks.

God's initial investment in you has yielded a profit, and God wants to see a return on his investment. That return comes in the form of taking care of his storehouse. The food that He speaks of in Malachi 3:10 is both figuratively and literally. By bringing in the tenth/tithe of your profit and giving it to God, you are also providing something that may not have been otherwise available. Without church (people) providing tithes in all its forms, the building in which they gather would sustain damage, decay, and eventual collapse.

Tithes are important in taking care of the church (people). Part of God's storehouse are the people that come to His storehouse. That is why there are both tithes and offerings. Tithes are what is demanded of us, what God deserves as a return in his investment. Offering is what we are willing to give above and beyond what God requires of us. It essentially a contribution, or donation to the storehouse, in addition to our tithes.

Matthew 23:23 (NIV)
23 Woe, to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites? You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Luke 11:42 (NIV)
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practice the latter without leaving the former undone.

Both of these verses touch on the same matter. Yes, it is important to tithe, but we have to make sure we are tithing as well as upholding other laws God has set before us. We cannot forget the "more important matters of the law" (Matthew 23:23). We cannot uphold God's laws half-heartedly, nor can we pick and choose what we abide by and what we ignore. I know, this is SO hard to follow, I must admit that I've rationalized being disobedient on past occasions. But now that I'm older, I have recognized that those things I chose to ignore have definitely made an impact on my life and the way things have gone for me when I have been and am disobedient.

If God has blessed us with resources, be them time, talent, money, etc., He expects us to use them. That is tithing. Too many people get tied up in the concept of giving a church/pastor money and not thinking about all the things that need to be taken care of in the church house. Yes, God will provide and we shouldn't worry, but He provides through other's resources, money, time, talent, or otherwise.

There is so much I want to say. This conversation to be continued...

Study Hall Session

2 Timothy 2:15-16 (New American Standard Bible)

15Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
16But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness



(King James Version)

5Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.



I like to think of myself as an ever-growing, ever-evolving Christian. In the past, I've been the typical Sunday morning Christian, and on Monday I was right back to my foolishness, having listened to the word but not absorbing it and applying it to my everyday life. Now, I question things that preachers say, and am slowly working on my "Study to show thyself approved."



Too many times, people take the Bible out of context. As one intelligent person calls it, the bible is Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I definitely agree with that. If we do what we are supposed to--STUDY--then we develop our own relationship with God. We learn what the words of the bible truly mean, and others that try to impose their interpretation of the bible upon you fail. We are to beware of "false prophets" (Matthew 7:15) that use the bible and the words of God and his people to cause confusion. It is only when we develop a true, lasting, and ever-growing relationship with God that we can discern for ourselves what we need to do.



I hear people question God all the time. Nothing is wrong with questioning God when you have a relationship with him. God has an open door policy. What God DOESN'T want you to do is lose your faith. People that have lost their faith and are questioning God don't have the correct platform with which to reach him. But when we have a developing relationship with God and STUDY (there goes that word again), then we will know exactly what to do in any situation.



Those that constantly question God and His word, claim to have a relationship with Him, yet have not done God His due diligence by picking up a bible confuse me. How can anyone say that they know ANYTHING without observing, taking notes, learning all they can about a subject? When we don't do our part, things get misconstrued, false judgements are made, and we possibly miss a relationship that could have been great. It's the same way with God. We HAVE to STUDY!!!!



Someone can be intelligent and great at absorption. They can sit in a classroom, not take notes, and absorb all the information that the teacher is giving. When the test comes, it's easy to spew out all the information that was given. But if the test is a test in which answers are not enough, what happens? A student has given the teacher exactly what the teacher has given him, but what about application? What about all of the scenarios in which these answers can be applied? The same goes for a relationship with God. So many people can sit in the church and listen to everything the pastor gives them, be moved by the sermon and the "Christianese" even, but if that churchgoer does not cultivate a relationship outside of just what is given to him, how can he apply? I must admit, I have been guilty of just going to church, taking in what was said, and leaving, not even remembering sometimes what the sermon was. I've hit the parking lot and been ready to go wherever and do whatever, not even thinking about the consequences of my actions or the application of the word to my life.



This is why a personal relationship with God is so necessary. We need to be able to walk through our week knowing that we are prepared for anything that is thrown at us. We don't study, we don't apply, and therefore we don't "rightly divide the word of truth." We end up relying on our own truths and getting into some mess we shouldn't be in, or disproportionatley handling a situation that could have been resolved peacefully, decently, and in order.