Hunger Pangs

There is no easy way to ease into what I believe God has given me to write about, because I know it could possibly offend some people. That is never my intention, because I desire wholeheartedly for people to be free in every area of their lives. So I have to speak on what I believe is a problem area in many of our lives. One thing about me, I have never been timid in my words, verbally or written, so I pray that what I am about to expound on will be received in love.   But if it is not... be offended, be honest, and then be free. :-)

Our (social media infused) society is such a conceited, arrogant, Godless society, mainly because we are so full of ourselves. I look at my timeline on various social media sites every day and just say wow sometimes. It is hard to believe, but people (even some of whom I know personally) are really full of themselves. This narcissistic spiritual force is a very powerful, toxic character trait that will take over your mind. It is also very disgusting, unattractive and seriously bad for our spiritual and physical lives. We have allowed this new wave of media convince us that promoting self ALL THE TIME is our only true way to exhibit happiness, worth or value.

We have been manipulated into believing that if we don't post a "selfie" every hour or uploading every single picture we take when we are out enjoying ourselves with friends and family, then we truly are not and cannot be happy in our lives or having a good time in that moment. We have become obsessively obsessed with "showing off". Showing off our lives, not to share ourselves and our moments with the ones we love, but to either make others feel inadequate and/or make sure our followers and friends believe that we are happy. We are not living, we probably aren't even slightly happy....we are putting on a show, performing, portraying and starring in a reoccurring role and series as a pompous, holier than thou caricature that alludes and exaggerates prominence....and the scripted character in which we are playing name is Idolatry.  And unfortunately, we believe this role we have taken on is perfectly fine.

It is so sad how bad we have fallen for this lie from the pits of hell. Oh but there is some truth to what it is though, it is the epitome of being prideful. And remember, pride always comes before the fall.  We are walking and living in the most self serving, self worshiping, egotistical and maliciously snobbish days right now.  These traits will take up so much space in your hearts and minds that a true hunger for God cannot exist. If you don't have a true hunger for God minus yourself, you are creating a breeding ground for selfishness and cannot possibly be growing in a more purposeful relationship with God the father, or in faith.  And without faith, it is impossible to please Him. 

Do not be fooled, there is no standing still or stagnation in your relationship with Him. You can't hit the pause button and be only about yourself for a while. Either you are growing and moving selflessly forward in your relationship with God or growing and moving selfishly backwards in yourself, which will always be away from God. Be so hungry for God that He is at the forefront of your thoughts versus yourself.  Be hungry for His righteousness and to be seen in it, rather than being self-righteous only to be seen in your own self-righteousness. There is a fine line between the two and it is important that we know what side of the line we are on.  Are you living for God's righteousness or are you living for self-righteousness? Are you doing it for the true and living God, or are you doing it for the Gram? 

Whatever your answers are to those questions are between you and the Father. But the good thing about Him is He is forgiving and will reveal what is sincerely in your heart. The first step in this discovery is to examine your intentions. If it is revealed that your intentions have been impure, there is still hope. The next step is to ask for forgiveness, receive your forgiveness, and deliverance will follow.  And once you have been delivered, I promise, God's grace will make your heart so full of His love, the only love that can truly fill what we unknowingly crave from others, that the desire to put on the show for self-adoration will finally be put to rest.

~CDL 
xoxo

You Don't Know The Cost

I was sitting listening to various songs and I ran across a very powerful song by Cece Winans...Alabaster Box. Now I've heard this song over and over, and have always loved it, but today it just struck me in a different way. Just read some of the lyrics and really see if you can personify them with yourself:

I can't forget
The way life used to be
I was a prisoner
To the sins that had me bound
I spent my days
Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box
I thought I had found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul
With the wonders of His love
So now I'm giving back to Him
All the praise He's worthy of
I've been forgiven
And that's why
I love Him so much

Those lyrics really exemplify to me personally of where God has brought me from because those lyrics were "me" in so many ways. If I tried to describe "me" in any other way in hopes to sincerely describe where Jesus has brought me from, I couldn't measure up to how the lyrics have broken "me" down. I was a prisoner to the sins that had me bound, I spent my days pouring my life without measure into a little treasure box I "thought" I had found: UNTIL....hmph!!!!

And I'm sure many people can relate and testify, however I can only really comment on myself. So I say so strongly to everyone, don't be ashamed of where God has brought you from, don't be afraid to give thanks and praise the way you really feel you are being moved to praise. I'm a water-head, and trust me, I will cry at the drop of a hat, I can't tell yall how many times I've had to get myself together in the parking lot of my job because my praise has taken me to a level that I wasn't expecting during a morning commute.

Don't be bashful about expressing to the world how merciful God has been to you and how much you love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is so good, and the even better part is He is not halfway finished with blessing us. I hate to sound cliche', though this statement is so very true when it comes to what God has for us, but THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!! Yall aint feeling me! Sometimes I feel as though if I praised Him a million times a minute, I still couldn't praise Him enough. Don't let people water down your praise, and if they try to, you have lyrics to assist you on how to handle those people.

Simply tell them, "Don't be angry if I wash His feet with my tears, And dry them with my hair, You weren't there the night He found me, You did not feel what I felt
When He wrapped His loving arms around me, And you don't know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box."

That is the best way to handle that, because truly when it comes to me, you and them...none of us know what people are going through, what people have overcome and been delivered from, we are literally at war fighting for our physical and spiritual lives so no one honestly can judge anyone else's situation and circumstance. I will be quick to admit to everyone that they don't know what I've gone through... I'll tell anyone, you weren't there the night Jesus found Crystal, you did not feel what I felt when Jesus wrapped His loving arms around me...you don't know the cost of the oil, you don't know the cost of my praise, you don't know the cost of the oil...in MY alabaster box.

And you should be confident and so grateful for the love that Christ has so unselfishly poured on, in, and around you to do the same.

"Such a fierce war cannot be won by the Cosmetic Christian who only puts on the appearance of holiness and godliness. We only have power over the enemy and authority over territories if we are in agreement with God...inside and out. Being saved with a worldly mindset just won't cut it."

Scripture reference - Ephesians 6:10-12.