Moving Forward: The Ascension

For me, today is the closing of one door and the opening of another. I know today that I am changing and shifting to another place in my life. I know that I'm not the only one going through such changes. Change is good and rocks your entire world. Time,  money, character, the whole nine yards. This is what ascension is all about. It's not a place where pride should dwell (though it can happen if not careful of ourselves) but where humility and opportunities dwell. It's pressing towards a higher mark and leaving behind things are of no use to us. As I've said in past blogs, we're in a time of change and transition. A lot of us are faced with tough decisions, what to take on, what to go after, and what to leave behind. Today, I have no other choice but to leave behind selfishness, envy, jealousy, lust, pornography, anger, bitterness, frustration, doubt, unbelief, temper tantrums, which are the forms of adolescence, not the characteristics of maturity. Maturity is adulthood, not a state of perfection (that is free from making mistakes or having faults) but being complete, thorough, and strong to handle whatever situation we find ourselves in. I remember my dad used to tell me, that we should consider our lives as an airplane. To reach to higher heights in the air, the airplane has to be at a certain weight. If a plane has exceeding weight in its carrier, then that plane can't go to the level of height to reach it's destination. Can you imagine a plane flying low to the ground near a interstate highway because those in charge allowed excess baggage to be carried in its cargo area? A lot of us including myself are carrying too much weight yet we expect to ascend to newer heights in life. Homie, that's not how ascension is designed. It's designed for people who are willing to let go of whatever it is to get to that next level. Ascension is for people who are willing to change whatever it is in their life to move forward. This is why the Bible says that we are to lay aside every weight (distractions whether it is people, places, or things) and every sin (bondage, etc.) that will keep us back from moving forward (Hebrews 12:1). Think about it. Professional athletes can't be the best unless they rid themselves of regimens that will keep them from being champions. The same applies to us, especially to those who profess they have faith in Christ. What I'm sharing is applicable; that's the whole purpose of the Bible. It's not made to control us but to instruct us as well as convict us to be better people pleasing only to God's eyes (I'm saying this to everyone, believing or unbelieving). Today, I truly believe God is doing some miraculous for those who take heed to His word and allows Him to order their steps by His word (Psalms 119:133). He's freeing us from all this mess we've picked up in this journey called life so we can experience the richness of abundant life in Him (John 10:10). This is the purpose Jesus Christ came and died for. It's simple if we would only just believe. So please, take heed to these words from this 31 year old scrawny scruffy faced war-torn yet getting healed day by day dude from Raleigh, North Carolina (go N.C. State Wolfpack). Much luv to everyone.

Til Next Time, dgwo.

References:

Psalms 24:3-5
Psalms 119:132-133
Philippians 3:4-14
Hebrews 12:1-2

Count It All Joy

Usually in the mornings, I have a thought before I write down my blogs. Today's blog, I really didn't want to sound to "churchy" but making Christ's messages relate to everyone. Well, here it is. Count it all joy. This is a phrase James shares with us over a millennium ago about keeping your joy in the midst of various temptations. There are so many things in this life happening to us we don't understand and can't control. I believe there are many of us right now going through situations we never thought we would be experiencing. Foreclosures on our homes, car repossession, kids calling the cops claiming you abused them, family walking out on you, your best friend having an affair with your spouse, or people on job conspired to get your fired from your high-level executive position. These are the issues of life that are pushing many people on the brink of mental breakdowns or even suicide. Speaking of which, the potency for suicide and other erratic mental behaviors are becoming a norm in American society. So, in spite of all, this man from the first few decades of the A.D. era tells us "count it all joy?" Some of us (including myself) see our situations as irreparable and impossible. We don't have joy because all we see is gloom. However, we must understand that God has given us the breath of life; therefore there must be purpose in all this. As Pastor C was preaching her message to the church yesterday, one thought came to my mind. There has to be a purpose within all this hell (torment, not saying this word in a derogatory way) that is raging in my life. Things trying to destroy my marriage with my beautiful wife Dionn. Setbacks in moving forward with my books and career. Seeds of discord trying to destroy my church family. Lies being spoken throughout my surrounding community. Destructive ways destroying my country from the inside out. All of these things are disparaging but God gave me this thought, "count it all joy." What does it mean to count it all joy? That's a good question but I'll try to tackle this. Counting it all joy means to learn to be happy and in love with God despite the temptations going on in our lives. It means keeping a positive attitude in the midst of harsh times and believing God still favors you when the enemies of your life say otherwise. Counting it all joy is still praying and praising God, seeking His perfect will in your life every single day. Counting it all joy is understanding your going through the same things your next door neighbor is going through but you have the answer to your situation. Counting it all joy is making the best of our a prison situation when most people give up, lie down, and die. It means keeping your head up to the God who hasn't forgotten you. It means believing that God hasn't forsaken you although you don't feel, see, hear, or perceive him. It means us learning how to look past the muted tones within a picture and seeing the beauty of other colors trying to shine through. It's keeping the faith in Jesus Christ when everyone calls you a holy rolling idiot. It's keeping the faith and knowing that if things never go right here on earth for us; we have a heavenly home He has promised to those who have trusted and stayed faithful to Him. The joy of God exceeds happiness and this is what we have to pursue in these times we've living in. People like David and Paul had to experience great hardships in their lives. I truly believe they survive their storms because they counted it all joy. They sought and fulfilled their purpose as God had already predestined. They were tried in their faith but thereafter it became as pure gold being tried in the fire. So let's take heed to these words from a man just like you. Problems just like you. Issues just like you. Setbacks, disappointments, failures, regrets, and mistakes, just like you. Let's learn to count it all joy, in all that we go through, He will make it alright (BeBe & CeCe Winans). This is the hope that we have as we continue to make the decision to trust God anyhow.

Til next time, dgwo.

Reference:

Hebrews 11
Hebrews 12:1-3
James 1:1-8

Cutting Ties

I really didn't want to write anything today because I've had a busy couple of days. But today, I just had a thought I wanted to share with you all. It's about cutting ties. Cutting ties is an old verbiage from the old school, maybe from the mafia or from people like Al Capone. Although their "occupations" were illegal, they knew what and who to keep but whatever or whoever to let go. To all my history buffs and street wise men, we've seen many people in the past and present having to cut ties to keep the business going. One thing as human beings we don't like to do is change. Change includes letting go of the past, letting go of habits that are killing us, and letting go of people who aren't any good for us. Change causes a different level of thought process, intellect, and procedures in our actions Change is growing up and realizing things as they are and looking beyond the horizon; you know, the bigger picture. However, most of us are still holding onto things and people that are dragging us down. These ties we're unwilling to cut are draining us of our time, money, potential, and the mental proficiencies to make the right decisions. It's crazy and I see this 7 days a week within myself and those around me. To people who know me, I'm a 31 year-old who still loves to read comic books (that's right I said comic books!-Tyrone Copple {Jamie Foxx Show}voice). There is an old storyline when Spiderman had became one with an alien entity known as a symbiont (either of two organisms that live in symbiosis with one another). These two organisms, Spiderman and the symbiont became one and gave Spiderman a living uniform. It exponentially increased his powers, which became limitless. Everything he did before, it was magnified to the highest level. However, this symbiont era in his life created changes in him that was turning him into an evil character. Usually, he would beat his enemies and leave them to the police. However, he would be at the point where he was going to kill them. He behavior changed and disconnected himself from Mary Jane, his future wife. Then one day, he took a look in the mirror and saw something was wrong with this new suit which the symbiosis provided him. One day, he had enough and took himself to the top of bell tower, rang the bell tower, and the symbiotic entity was "cut loose" from Spiderman. You see, we're living in a day and age when we're connecting ourselves with things and people that are "presumably" opening doors for us. However, there are various strings attached that we don't see until things around us and in us are turning for the worse. We're in relationships with people that are draining us financially and abusing us physically, sexually, mentally, and emotionally. We're holding tight to belief systems and thought processes that are hurting our families, friends, and even our enemies. We're still performing business practices that are aiding and abetting to the economic crisis America is experiencing in our own special way. We're still stuck in addictions and habits that are destroying us from the inside out. I myself within these past 8 months see a lot of people, places, thoughts, and things I need to cut loose from. They aren't any good for me and if I don't get rid of them, it'll be the end of me and my family; everything I've suffered to gain lost in an instant. I can't let that happen. You can't let that happen, either. Cutting ties is good for us because it causes us to grow. In John 15:1-6, Jesus talks about how He is the True Vine and we are the branches. Every branch not connected to Him would wither and die but every branch found in Him would be purged (pruned, cut) so that each branch would bear more fruit. Everyday, God is trying to get our attention, to get us rooted in Him so He through various situations and processes, cut away those ties that will cause us to die and be unprofitable. However, we run from this process because it hurts. But this is the essence of growing up, we must experience growing pains so we can cut off bad ties and grow into new and better ties. It's good for our life's business and calling. But how many of us are willing to grow through this process? How many of us are ready to let go of those things killing us, our destiny, our families, and our future? Are we willing to cut away childish and evil things from our lives? Let it marinate for a minute. Now, these words just ain't for church folks but for the extortionist, for the businessman, for the politician, for the atheist, and for whoever else______. In order to live a life that's pleasing to God and to fulfill our life's purpose, we've got to be willing to cut ties to things and people not good for us. If you're ready to be that one to take it to next level in your life, find some shears, get your sword (the Holy Bible), and get to cutting....

Til next time, dgwo.

Reference:

John 15:1-6
Hebrews 12:9-11