Monday, May 18, 2009

Physically Unattractive

For years I have struggled with poor body image. Now notice I did not say self image I said body image. I think that I am a brilliant woman. I may not be the best cook in the world but I can throw down quite a bit, I can run a business like wow!, I can run a home like oh yeah and many other great things that make me a proverbs 31 woman.

Problem! I am not as physically attractive as I would like to be. I am overweight and I have little moles on my face that make strangers walk up to me and say "Hey, I know a shop in Eastleigh that sells something for those!" Wanna guess my reaction?

Consequently, I have shied away from men and I never really expect them to look at me twice or even ask me out. All these years it has been done to me according to my faith. They don't look and they never ask me out.

Yesterday Bishop J.B. Masinde of Deliverance Umoja was preaching at our church and he said that God treats you the way you see yourself. If you think you are not worthy of a good car then you will drive a ramshackle all your life. If you see yourself as unattractive then you will indeed appear unattractive.

He read to us from the Story of Lazarus and the rich man. The Bible states that Lazarus longed to eat the scraps that came off the rich man's table. And you know what, it was done to him according to his faith. That is all he ever got.

Well, I have asked the Holy Spirit to renew me in the Spirit of my mind. I will no longer conform to the image of beauty in this world but will focus on what God says that beauty is. After all, I am looking to attract a man of God and not a worldly man. I will be writing more on this topic as God and I talk it over. For now, I ask that you read 1 Peter 3:1-6. Please share your thoughts and we will take it from there tomorrow.

God Bless you all and have a blessed week!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Warrior Spirit

I have been reading the book of Judges and I have just begun to see another side of the Holy Ghost that I had never seen before. We have been taught that He is a dove, gentle and sweet. And He is. And we have been taught that He is a gentleman, and He is. But He is also a fighting, Warrior Spirit. Now how about that!

The story of Samson says severally that the Holy Spirit would come upon him giving him the strength to fight. Whether he was ripping a lion apart with his bare hands or killing 1000 philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey he was full of the Spirit of God who came on him POWERFULLY!!.

The Bible says that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Think about that word for a second. Liberty implies that there was bondage at some point and the person had to be freed. To bring the liberty of the Spirit, there must be a war waged against your enemies to free you. So the Holy Spirit comes on you powerfully and gives you the ability to fight your oppressor and find Liberty in God. He fights for you, in you and through you.

Whatever you are struggling with be it unruly thoughts, vulgar language, sexual sin, self esteem issues and any other thing that may have you in bondage, ask the Holy Spirit to come on you powerfully that you may find liberty from these things.

Now here is a twist to the story. Many people think that Samson’s strength was in his hair and that is why when the hair was cut off he had no more strength. Not so! The hair was a symbol and part of the terms of the Nazarite covenant (there is that word again!). In this covenant, a Nazarite, according to Numbers 6:1-21, was not to cut off his hair. This was the sign that he was separated unto the Lord.

Samson was a Nazarite from birth. He was separated to the Lord with the sign of uncut hair all the days of his life. These were the terms of the covenant. As long as the hair was unshaven, he was separated to God for holy use. Therefore the Spirit of the Lord would come on him in power and he could do all sorts of mighty acts.

The day the hair was cut off his head, the terms of the covenant were broken and God could no longer fulfill his part of the covenant. You have to understand that with covenant you must do your part first and prove yourself faithful and then God will do his. The Bible says that after his hair was cut off and Delilah told him the philistines had come for him, he woke up and thought to himself “I will shake myself free like I have done before.” However, he did not realize that the Lord had left him. Why did the Lord leave him? Because he had violated the terms of the covenant.

Later, his hair begins to grow again. Now please understand that the word says that God keeps covenant forever. In fact it says “My covenant I will not break.” So as Samson’s hair begins to grow again, he is once more meeting the requirements of the covenant, and because God cannot break covenant he can once more come upon him in might. And the Word says that Samson asks God to be with him just one more time. God is bound by his covenant to Samson and because his hair is in place the Lord answers him. In the end, he kills more philistines than he did all his life.

The power of covenant cannot be fathomed. There is so much power in it and covenant is what Christianity is built on. That is why the word of God is called the Old Covenant (Testament) and the New Covenant. This word spells out the terms of our Covenant with God. If you will be found faithful in keeping the terms of this covenant, then God will confirm his covenant with you by blessing you, making you fruitful and increasing you in every way. That means spiritually, in your soul and in your body. He will also give you material wealth like we have seen with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon to name a few.

Deut 8:18 says that “you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” Giving you wealth is his way of confirming his covenant with you.

What a mighty God we serve. Be liberated from bondage by the Spirit of the Living God and may he also come on you powerfully to empower you to get wealth. May he confirm his covenant with you. Amen!