WaxNotNeeded - Nom Nom Nom

So is it just me thinking this or does the world as a whole REALLY have zombies on the brain? Arguably the best reference to zombies would be in the musically styling’s of Family Force 5 (video below) and/or the biblical references that could paint believers as zombies – just not of the brain, human flesh eating variant.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

Of course the above verses refers to a spiritual death (death of self), but lets not split hairs (just roll with it, you know you want to). ;)

As the chapter continues on …

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old selfwith its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:5-17 (NIV)

This truth is also written about in Romans 6.

What does it mean? Simply to paraphrase, you are a new creation. With that new creation/new life you are called to be a different person – just as if you were a new baby human from your mother’s womb. Be like Christ, kind – compassionate – faithful - forgiving, able to heal the sick, perform miracles as the Holy Spirit works through you and be completely of/about God.

Dear Heavenly Father, We come to you today thankful for what You have done for us and humble to be Your servants. May we boldly declare as a family YOU ARE GOD and not, by any means, be ashamed to speak the truth of You. Though the world around us is falling into decay, we know that You are still in control, and one day all will have to answer to You. In the name of Yeshua, ><>

SiC <3

*LoveIs* - 6.24.12

35 cans were collected at Rock The Box, plus an unexpected surprise from a co-worker of toothbrushes and toothpastes. 

Thanks to those who donated and help raise awareness for the cause (past, present & future), such as The 7 Venue, Demon Hunter, The Great Commission, A Bullet For Pretty Boy, Your Memorial, Sleeping Giant and Mr Marty. Thanks be to God seeing it through and for putting it on my heart to reach out to the Venue, admittedly I was a bit hesitate when it came upon me to do so.   

It was in need for sure this a.m. due to some last minute happenings/changes, as such please keep Brother Dewey in your prayers.

Just a little note, don't forget to show compassion even in the simplest way. Such was shown to me in recent days just a seemingly simple conversation, by an unknown person - in a place once wouldn't perhaps expect, but as a result of this, well something(s) been forever changed. Ah[God]mazing. :)

May you each go through-out this week showing love to one another, bringing the glory of God down, while you act in His will. 

SiC <3

*LoveIs* - Rock The Box [Canned Food Drive]

*Thanks again to The 7 Venue for making this possible*

*LoveIs* - Give Away [hosted by From The Guest Room]

Thanks to mK at From The Guest Room for hosting this give away!

SiC <3

*LoveIs* - 6.17.12

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there and to the FATHER OF ALL!

I totally understand the LOL factor of posting a week after I made mention of less updates, but any who some things must be noted.

#1 God is awesome, past + present & future. If you let Him, He will truly change your life and allow your life to in turn change that of those around you. He literally will put you in AWE mode. All glory to God.
#2 First talks were had today with people interested in volunteering at possibly an additional location on another day of the weekend (yay expansions)!
#3 Upcoming contest at From The Guest Room blog  for a *LoveIs* t-shirt.
#4 A nice young lady dropped off some fruits today in the square, as such I was given an apple for being “the teacher”, but since I just saw Snow White & The Huntsmen last night I can’t bring myself to eat it. ;) 

SiC <3

A Noteworthy Ramble on Forgiveness v 2

So, who would be your favorite biblical person (aside from Jesus of course)? Mine would have to be Paul, of course if you have read some of the other devotionals or have been reading for a while, you may have picked up on that or even seen me say it before.  Hooray repeating and consistency!

Continuing on, while browsing upon the great social network invention Pinterest I saw a pin which was most disheartening to me. It read “Your God-fearing Facebook updates do not cause me to forget the godless –bleep- you were in high school”.  Ouch. Well someone woke up on the wrong side of life when they wrote that. Thank goodness that God doesn’t hold onto hatred like that or we’d all be doomed eh? Of course, dear person who wrote this, I am going on a limb and say you aren’t a God-fearing person now or you wouldn’t be showing hate like that on someone anyways. So, prays for you and all the people who ripped it along the way. 

So was I personally a “Godless” anything during high school? Nope not really (but I didn't have no halo over my head either), but I mean I can say without a doubt my walk now is stronger than it was back then (and common sense), so with all that one becomes a different person over time (with all the great additional ups and downs of life thrown in). Yet why must we remember things in ourselves and others that God has forgotten and that should be (us) /is (God) forgiven? Insert pseudo psychological evaluation but it is some sadistic means of torture I think, we already know that the evil one can play nasty tricks with our mind (bringing up memories we’d rather keep buried) and when he can’t win (or even when he does) at succeeding to cave into our torment, he extends our gaze to those around us. THIS is why I like Paul, time and time again, if God can love + use for His glory + betterment of ALL mankind a super mega killer of believers than ANYONE can be forgiven of what they have done / may do.  BAM! 

So yes, you may have lied with every movement of your tongue or had an adulterous span or you may have cheated someone out of money or even killed someone (or any of number of things you can think of), but guess what … you haven’t done ANYTHING that is too far out of reach that the GRACE OF GOD cannot find you and FORGIVE you for YOUR SINS if you believe.  And once they are washed away, they are done. You are made WHITE AS SNOW and God does not remember your transgressions. 

That’s truth. So let go and let God; not only of your own transgressions, but others as well. We live in a world that is FILLED with hate, what we need is a whole lot of PURE, TRUE, UNCHANGING LOVE for one another up in this space.

Be You. Be Beautiful. Be Love.

Now check the tunes (please) ->

Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to you tonight and THANK YOU for forgiveness. We deserve not on our accord, but through the death and resurrection of Your son, the Perfect One, Jesus Christ. By whom alone ALL men come to You or they don’t come at all. May You remove the hatred from our hearts, minds and lives Father. Fill us with peace, love and understanding. Have us act towards others, as You act towards us. We thank You for all things. In Jesus name, ><>

SiC <3

*LoveIs* - 6.10.12

I suppose it has been about a month since I have given an official update to the happenings of *LoveIs*, so I am happy to report that people are still getting fed both physically and spiritually.

What’s up with the lack of details you may be asking? Well that is just something I am dealing with in my own thoughts as I never want to relay information and have it come off as flashy, prideful or what-have-you as all things that are accomplished are by God alone (and He knows what all is being done). My want is solely for His love to be shared and to be able to continuously help (and encounter) more people (I seek no personal recognition). However, I will continue to post photos and updates on occasion just not the weekly in-depth recap that was happening as of previous (for now). However, if you are curious on an individual level, feel free to contact me and we can chat about it!

Many thanks to the rather large donation of female clothing that has been handed off to Mercy Community Church, as well as the toys and other items which were given to the Atlanta Union Mission. Should you have anything such as clothing, toys, etc (in the GA area) and don’t know what to do with them, I will happily find a home for them!  

So what else has been in my thoughts as of late concerning the ministry? This quote from Mother Teresa (should the internet prove reliable when it comes to such), “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” What a powerful thought if one puts it into actual practice, not just for those “in need”, but everyone. Would you yell at Jesus? Would you slander Jesus? Would you roll your eyes at Jesus? Well, surely some people would (as there was an entire group that agreed He should be sentenced to death - man, mob mentality super sucks), but yet I would say that vast majority of people would not. So the next time someone is annoying you or you have some unjustified negative thought about someone you see across a room or (especially if) even if you see someone in need, take a second glance, replace their face with the face of the Perfect One and see what takes hold.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  

They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ”

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)

SiC <3 

WaxNotNeeded - An Imperfect Lie

“The battlefield is in the mind”, commonly heard quoted from Charles Stanley and Joyce Meyer.

It has come to my realization that there are only two main categories of people, but then we all get jumbled back together again. What are those two main categories? That would be those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and those who haven’t. Sure when one turns their life over to Christ things about them change (or should), but likewise aren’t there nonbelievers who are kind, compassionate, extremely thoughtful of others and seek to do good? Sure. For as it is noted in Romans “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and though you may try to be perfect in your daily thoughts and actions, at sometime you will fall again. However, the act of imperfection is not that the topic at hand; it is rather the mental trick that is used against us when we fall that is.  

What would that trick be? I am reminded of the phrase that Luna Lovegood spoke to Harry Potter about Voldemort in The Order of The Phoenix , “Well if I were You-Know-Who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else. Because if it's just you alone you're not as much of a threat.”

Simple stated it is that nagging notion that when we think, do or feel something “bad”/imperfect that we are an isolated – weird failure, that no one will understand, and henceforth are alone in this life.

#1 As children of God, once you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior, the Spirit of God (for reals) comes and resides in Your being. Henceforth, right off the bat, you are not alone. You can ALWAYS talk to God (and He understands you more than you understand yourself, trust).

#2 There is an estimated 7 billion people in the world, you mean to tell me that you are the only person who has ever thought this thought, done this action or felt this feeling? Highly not likely (ok let’s just say impossible really), so know that you are not alone on a large human-network scale.

#3 Everyone should (and if you don’t then feel free to reach out to me) have someone they can speak to, in a safe, nonjudgmental fashion. No, not everyone is going to agree, but that is where common respect comes in – sometimes people just need to be heard and not talked to.

So rebuke the lie, YOU ARE NOT ALONE regardless of WHAT you are going through (as this lie doesn’t just extend to behavioral fallings).  

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You for the truths You have given us and the wisdom You allow us to reach, in Your time on Your accord. May we not get caught up in past, current or future failings, but ever remembering that forgiveness is REAL and that we are NEVER alone. May we be not a stumbling-block for others, but lead, guide and uplift them towards/to You, for we wish no one to be forever “lost” and suffer damnation. Strengthen us dear Lord, as trying times are ahead of us all. In the name of Your son, Jesus Christ we pray ><>

SiC <3