Hello World (and respecting the governing authorities)

Anyone still out there? Good. It took me forever and two million days to remember how to post on here. Anyway, I just got out of a midweek service in which I was reminded anew of the importance of showing proper respect to the elected officials that God has allowed to lead. And to show proper respect for them always. Why? For God's Names' sake. I'm not going to lie, I try to do that but it's been really challenging. Scriptures that we looked at included Daniel 2:1-30 and 1 Peter 2:13-17. 

Daniel's example is such an upward call in so many ways. As is Peter's exhortation to us. Neither of them were living in politically calm times. Nebuchadnezzer was having a moment, to put it lightly. He literally was about to put Daniel and every wise man in his kingdom to death, yet Daniel's calm,wisdom and tact throughout was impeccable. When Peter wrote those words, the emperor was Nero. Emperors of the time were not typically known for their magnanimity. Indeed, Nero would allegedly fiddle while Rome burned...a fire that he was believed to have set himself so as to clear land for a building project. He would then blame the Christians for the fire, and use that as a reason to put many of them to death. He would also kill his mother and his pregnant wife. He would have already begun showing signs of what was to come when Peter wrote the letter that would eventually become 1 Peter, yet still the message:

"Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to the governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God's slaves. Honour everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honour the emperor." (1 Peter 2:13-17, CSB)

Now, while we are called to honour the emperor (or whoever your authority is), we are first called to fear God, which means that if you are called to choose between the governing authority and God, you choose God. Following anyone into sin is never an option. Daniel and his friends themselves opted in God's favour when that choice was forced upon them (see the story of Daniel in the lion's den, and how he ended up in a den in the first place. See the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and how they managed to find themselves on the wrong side of a fiery furnace). But through it all, they carried themselves in a manner that was respectful to the governing authorities whom God had placed - or at the very least allowed - in power. Why? For God's sake. As David said when given the opportunity to harm King Saul, while that very king was hunting him down to kill him:

"Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives...the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed." (1 Samuel 26:9-11, NIV)

Honour everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honour the emperor.

Create in me a new heart, my God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me, I pray. May I fix my eyes on you, and not become distracted, or led astray, by the times.

Welcome Once Again

Hello World!

What a great blessing to see that women in different places and at different stages have been blessed by this little ol' blog.

The year is now 2015, almost 10 years since the blog's inception and it's time for some rejuvenation. We hope to continue to share our lives with you as we write about our individual and collective sojourn with the Lord.

Our hope and prayer is that you will be encouraged and that we can all draw closer to God.

Grateful,
-Aisha

Hmmm

Hello everyone. I don't have a quiet time to post today because quite honestly, I haven't been doing them as I should. It's been a struggle for me ever since I became a disciple to have quiet times every morning. Even more so now in my junior year of college, it's so difficult to put my focus on God everyday when there's fifty billion different things I have on my mind to do. Yes, I realize how important it is to spend time with God. I realize that my spiritual life is supplimented by this, but what's missing is that connection with reality for me.

I think of God and he seems like some distant entity despite that I know he's omnipresent and always near, I don't comprehend it...or more like, my mind and body don't connect it as real. I suppose it'll take a lot of prayer to change that, so I ask that you do pray for me. I've asked God for some understanding before, but I think that I really don't want it because it scares the living daylights out of me.

On top of that, I'm torn on the path my life should take (career wise). I'm in art school, but I've always been more of a performer and now I'm thinking I'd rather do that instead. But I've already invested 2 years in this place. There's also the disapproval of my family too, which weighs pretty heavy on me, although I know I should just do what's best for me regardless.

So, there is much going on with your sister. Any advice or scriptures that you might have for me, please do give them. Thanks.

NEW QT Roster starting 10/23

Thanks again to everyone who has shared their wonderful quiet times with the group. We definitely want to make sure that this web log doesn't die out over time and in an attempt to prevent that, the updated roster is below ;)

Theresa- October 23
Kayonne - October 30
Aisha- November 6
Mary- November 13
Eboni- Novemner 20
Chevonne- November 27
Denise- December 4
Dion- December 11
Olamide- December 18

If you will not be able to post when its your turn, please let me know in advance so someone else can replace you.

Have a great day!!!
-Aisha

Be Content

Let's imagine for a moment. Your life is pretty good. You have a job, a place to live, food to eat, and clothes on your back. Your friends are in the same place in life as you, and you're all feeling good about life. Then one day, some of your friends get promoted to a better position. The next day, some of them find boyfriends. Before you now it, they're all in upper management positions, married, and able to afford just about anything they want. However, you haven't gone anywhere. You still have the same job, same home, same food, and same clothes.

So how do you feel? What's your first response? All too often it's to complain to God.

Numbers 11: 1-15

Here you can see the Israelites weren't content in all the LORD had blessed them with. They weren't grateful that they were no longer slaves, and more than that, God's chosen people to stand apart from all other peoples. No, even though they had manna from heaven coming down everyday to meet their hunger needs, they weren't satisfied. They were free, but they complained about having to live and wander in a desert. God answered their cries for deliverance, but they wanted to just march right back into their enslavement for something as insignificant as the type of food they would eat.

How many times are we the same way? We have all the things we need, our lives are a thousand times better here in America than other peoples in third world countries, we can practice our faith freely without fear of being killed, but we still find things to complain about.

And sisters, it's very possible (as Doug said yesterday) that there won't be a knight in shining armor, or a prince on a white horse to come and sweep you away into a fairytale someday. Will you still be joyful in the LORD and love him all your life if he tells you "no"?

Be SO thankful that Jesus died for us. It's only because he atoned for our sins and much like Moses, speaks on our behalf to God, that we don't feel the wrath and anger of God on us because of our complaining. Thank the LORD for Jesus, the sin filter! (Hahaha, I had to put that in.)

So I challenge you all to just be grateful for every blessing you have. And just to give you a range, the fact that you're breathing right now is a blessing. That you have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth to experience the world God made for you. That you have family and/or friends around you. That the sun still rises everyday and sets every night. That God loves you so much more than you could ever know or imagine.

Therefore, be content.

Growing through Temptation (Part I)

I know this is not my week to post. but if I don't post this now I may never actually do so. Sorry about my tardiness...with God's help I'm working on it.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. - Galatians 5:22-23

You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair - Martin Luther

I've been reading the "Purpose Driven Life" for a while now, and it has really been teaching me and showing me some very good things about God, and what a right relationship with Him means, and what I can do to have that right relationship grow and be more...right. My reading has, admittedly, been going in an on and off fashion primarily because I have some organisation and self control/discipline issues that I have been working on (not beating up on myself, simply stating a fact. a fact that with God's help is becoming less factual daily).

But anyway. Today's reading (Day 26) was called "Growing through Temptation". It was very helpful and I'd like to share it with y'all. I'm not very disciplined when it comes to writing (note my previous QT draft that's been sitting unfinished for weeks now), so I will very likely be posting this in an unorthodox fashion - piece by piece. Every time I sit down to write I'll post what I have even if it's not finished until I eventually do finish. That way at least something will have been posted, because otherwise what I'm learning might never see the light of day. I realise this might be frustrating...I'll try to keep it coherent - please bear with me in my weakness :). Here we go:


The author starts off by noting that:
- Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. I've not necessarily really ever thought about it that way - I usually view temptation as an opportunity to fall. But he's right...with every temptation we are in fact being given the opportunity to mould our characters to becme more like God. However, like physical and emotional maturity, spiritual maturity doesn't come over night - it comes slowly. Fruit doesn't ripen in a matter of minutes or even days. I'm a perfectionist, and oftentimes I can beat up on myself alot when my character doesn't immediately change in the ways that I want it to. When I can't just will myself to automatically have the fruits of the Spirit that the Galatians verses refer to. Impatience with myself won't produce the fruit of patience, I know that for me it only produces feelings of worthlessness. And that makes me want to stop trying. And I believe that that's the exact opposite of what it is that God wants and has planned for us. Because He Himself said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt 11:28-29). I have been approaching this all wrong (breathe in, breathe out, be free). This concept of the attaining of maturity not being an overnight process is one that has been important for me to realise.

- God develops the fruit of the Spirit by allowing us to to be tempted to express the quality that is the exact opposite of that fruit that is to be developed (God never tempts us, see James1:13). We're really given the chance to develop patience not so much on a clear strip of highway, but instead when we're stuck in a traffic jam and we're already late for work.

- We can't really claim to be good if we've never really been tempted to do bad (I learned this when I went to college and realised that I wasn't actually strong in certain areas, it was just that I had never really had to struggle against them before. In fact, my response to temptation showed me that I was actually quite weak in them. But I believe that in allowing me to face those temptations God allowed me to learn about myself. I then had the choice of whether or not to do something about my weaknesses). Every time we defeat a temptation we become more like Jesus, because in standing strong in the face of that temptation, we have allowed a fruit of the Spirit to be developed. Temptation in fact allows us an opportunity to grow! Isn't that so maddeningly counter intuitive?!? I love it!!! God's ways are not like man's ways for sure. This has also given me a whole new appreciation for James 1: 2-4 " Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."


So temptation simply provides us with a choice, and the fortitude that we gain from making the right choice in the face of opposition moulds us to become more like our Saviour. Consider it pure joy....Amazing.



To be continued...

My Martha Syndrome

This past week has been quite stressful for me. In addition to leading the campus ministry, my job (which is usually pretty carefree) was quite tiresome, and there were some family issues that let’s just say I didn’t handle quite well because I just ignored them.

Anyhow, if you know me, then you know I sometimes suffer from Martha-syndrome. I think it is hereditary. The name of the syndrome, as you may or may not know, is coined from this amazing story in Luke 10:38-42.

Luke 10: 38-42
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Jesus tells Martha something so profound in vs 41. He says “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” I think the one thing that Martha needed, Jesus himself, was standing right in front of her, but she let the worries of this world keep her from focusing on him.

I, like Martha, always have to be doing something. I don't think that’s the problem at all. I think we should keep ourselves busy as we strive to make each day count for Christ, because as the saying goes, an idle man is the devil's workshop. The problem, however, is that what has suffered as a result of having that disposition is my relationship with God. Rushed prayers, unfinished books, and unfinished Bible studies begin to surface and in the end I'm left with lackluster quiet times and even more stress. Impatience and just flat ungodliness comes out in my relationship with people and I miss what’s most important- Christ! The question I had to ask myself was- Am I really going after what is needed? Or am I concentrating so much on things that can be taken away like Martha did?

This weekend, a sister shared something with me that really renewed my mind and is the tool I will use to fight my Martha syndrome. It's a basic thing, but something that I take for granted so often- Prayer. Deep, meaningful, soul-searching, honest-to-goodness prayer.

The example she gave was Jesus. Jesus lived a very demanding life. His average day could consist of something like Luke 8: 22-56, where in one day he calms a storm, heals a demon possessed man, raises a girl from the dead and heals a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years. That sounds pretty demanding to me. Yet, he handled that day and many other days peacefully and with such poise. The only time we ever see Jesus in anguish, sweating drops of blood, and overwhelmed is before he went to the cross and that was in his PRAYER.

With my Martha syndrome, I've been stressing over life and not focusing enough on my prayer. Jesus fought in his prayers! He fought in his spirituality- we see it in his early morning getaways to pray, in fasting for 40 days and being tempted. He fought using prayer and the word of God and this enabled him to live a life of peace in the midst of the busy lifestyle that he lived. Sometimes I fight the wrong battle. What I've learned is that in order for me to live a life of peace like Jesus did, I have to fight in my prayers. As I learn to fight Satan in my prayers, I think I'll be cured of my Martha syndrome. And if the Son sets me free, well, I'm free indeed :)( John 8:36).

Additional Scriptures worth noting:

Isaiah 28: 11-13
Very well then with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”- but they would not listen. So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and Do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there- so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured.

- Let's not fall into the trap of “do and do” and miss experiencing that intimacy with our relationship with God

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
- God promises peace to those who trust him, so why worry and add more stress?

Isaiah 32:17
The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
-As we go after seeking God first, the peace will inevitably come.

Can you tell I like Isaiah? Anyways, last but not least

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

-Aisha