Knowing Our Place In This World

I've neglected my blog for a while now. I partially blame this on Facebook, because I can make instant "posts" to what is affecting me in this world at any particular time. That one thing has severely hindered my will to write blog posts for a couple of years now. It's not that I don't have anything to say, I just say it multiple times a day, through a different outlet.

Saying that - some things require a different outlet, as a small comment window on Facebook, filled with blog post worthy ramblings will often go by unread, even if the content is spot on. People are just too lazy to read. But, that doesn't mean that God will not draw the attention and focus from those who He would have read the post, even if it is only one or two people.

I made such a rambling just now and knew that I had to put it in blog form, as my Facebook feed will go largely unseen. So here is my post, copied and pasted for the whole World Wide Web to possibly see, instead of my current 563 friends on Facebook alone. This is my heart right now, in light of the recent things happening in my world, in our world.

Sinners are going to sin. Period. It's not our "job" to call them out on it, it's our "job" to continue loving them. Period. This is the same as Christ's example of dining with tax collectors and prostitutes, because it was so radical in His day to do so.

I have friends who are sinners. I enjoy their company. I enjoy talking to them and building friendships with them. I may not have the bond with them as I do with a brother or sister in Christ, but there are bonds there.They do not agree with me on everything, and they still love me (like, some may call it because the term "love" is strong for some folks). I do not agree with them on everything and I still love them.

The world is our mission field. Our command is to "go, make disciples", not "go, tell people that they are sinners", although that topic will come up from time to time. God has placed each Christian within their very own, personal mission field no one else has your scope of influence, no one knows everyone in your circle, do not take it for granted.

The recent events in Kentucky have given me new perspectives. I am firm on my definition of marriage, because I know from God's Word what marriage is to Him- It is the earthly picture of Christ's love for His Bride, the Church and anything contrary to husband and wife is a distortion of that picture. But, the world is going to be the world. Those who do not know God are not going to follow God. That does not mean we cave or bend to the world, it means that we continue to stand on God's Word and show the world Christ's example. We do not say "yes, you're correct and we need to re-examine our stance in this time and understanding place in time" - We continue to say "This is what God says and even though I disagree with you I still love you, I still call you my friend, my brother, my sister, my mother, my co-worker, my son, my daughter, my boss, my server at the restaurant, my check out person at the grocery store, my tax collector, my banker, my ........".

We are salt and light to this world. We are to show how God has made us different. I have seen this example in others and have learned (discipled, if you will) into a better understanding of what Christ meant when He said those words. This doesn't mean that I condone any sinful lifestyle, this means I love my friends regardless, even when everyone else turns their back on them. This means that I extend my hand any time they fall and not say "I told you so". It doesn't matter the particular application, we are to simply be Christ to this world. Period. How that looks to each member of the Body will vary, but all will have the same goal - To glorify the Father through Christ.

I always stand on God's Word as authority, even in these dark days, with major issues in opposition to God here in the USA; especially in these days. I will not bend, I will not waver, but I will continue to love my neighbor just as Christ did.

I could go into the implications of standing firm for God, being called a "hater" a "bigot" ,etc. but nothing could be further from the truth. The reaction from the world should not deter or make us waver. Continue to love. Continue to extend your hand. Continue to be Christ, even to death if that is the final outcome, with the words of Jesus ringing true from your mouth, in hopes that some will be saved "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they do".

Supporting Ministries - Christian Bands

Those 2 words - "Christian Band" seem to spark different mental images for different people. For me it is a refreshing sound to my ears, that Christians would form a band with the sole purpose of making music that glorifies God.

There are some other reactions as well, and I am also guilty of having mixed feelings when I hear those 2 words used together. I guess you could label me as bi-polar when it comes to Christian Bands, but more broadly Contemporary Christian Music as a whole. If you have read any of my other posts then you probably know that music is a topic that I discuss frequently. I've realized why lately as I have made posts on Facebook with the heading "Be careful what you consume" for the posts.

The mentality behind being careful what we consume sprung forth over 5 years ago as I wrote about it in this posting - The Purity Of What We Consume. Over the past 5 years God has matured this thought path in me and usually my examples show up frequently when I have conversations with other people. The path started at my conversion, which is when God took all of the secular music from me, quite miraculously. I loved the music of the world, I always had, especially after being introduced to my particularly favorite flavor/ style at church camp, of all places. The genre had bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Dio, Def Leppard, Motley Crue and a whole plethora of other bands ranging from hair bands to grunge to the predecessors of death metal. I also delved into the early hardcore rap with NWA, Ice T and others. I also saw nothing wrong with this music, even though I professed to be a Christian since I was 8 years old and made excuses that I "just listened to the music" and that "the lyrics have no affect on me". Wrong on both accounts.

When I was first truly converted God replaced my love for the world's music with a desire for God centered music. I started gobbling up anything that had the label of "Christian" on it. Not too long afterwards God began working on me once again. He started opening up the "Christian bands" music and I saw that most had the same lyrics, the same focus as the world's music. So, once again I began to shed artists that were not truly glorifying God. I will not list the bands and artists in this post, but feel free to search through my blog as I'm sure you will run across several posts that address the topic.

Music affects us and we usually don't even realize it. Just take a day and listen to the soundtrack of that day. Pay attention to the places you go and the music that is being played. Listen carefully to the soundtrack in the TV programs and movies that you watch. Music is used everywhere to illicit emotions from cheerful in a grocery store to a pounding score in an action movie that quickens your pulse rate. Music does affect you more than you probably realize. Likewise a hymn or contemporary Christian song can increase focus on God too. Music is a great gift from God to us and He really desires us to glorify Him through it. We are even commanded to sing praise TO THE LORD (Psalm 30:4). As a matter of fact - What are psalms? They are songs.

God has developed a desire in me that the music I listen to praise and honor Him. I still like the crunching, distortion laden guitars and pounding bass drums, but I also love the smooth sounds of Southern Gospel. I have a varied taste in music, but the one constant is that "It must glorify God". But it goes beyond the veneer, because the bands have an agenda too and some in CCM have an agenda contrary to pointing to God, even though they may mention His Name every now and then. I heavily suggest checking out the theology behind the artists you listen to. As we have learned recently with the Gungor flap, which I wrote about yeaterday, not everyone believes the orthodox view of Scripture or of Christ, for that matter (ie Philips, Craig and Dean). So be very careful and be very diligent to test your music choices to the Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

I have said all of this to point you, whoever God brings to this post and who is still reading, to point you to one of the most Biblical and God honoring bands that I know of - Attalus. I was first introduced to Attalus by a simple post from Matt Papa , another Godly focused Christian artist. Papa just linked to Attalus' video for "Broken Cisterns" and I was instantly hooked and quickly snatched up all of the musical offerings that I could find from this band. Attalus grew to be my favorite band very quickly. I played their songs constantly and I sang praises to the Lord using the soundtrack that God had graced me with.

I have prayed for these brothers, I have supported these brothers in anyway that I have been able to. The brothers that make up this band seek to glorify God through their music, which is how it should be, but sadly not how it always is. I ask that you, also, lend your support to this God honoring band as they are still in the production process of releasing a new CD, "Into The Sea".

You can become a partner with them in their ministry by taking advantage of the several "perks" at Indiegogo ranging from digital downloads to custom built guitar pedals to participating in "gang vocals" for the new CD. If the genre or style of their music doesn't suit your personal tastes you can still simply make a donation as well. Most of all pray for these brothers through this process. Making a CD and having shows is very labor intensive. They need God to sustain them and keep them focused on Christ and His glory.

So please partner with Attalus from this point forward. Listen to their music. Sing praises t God while listening to their music. Contact them and let them know that you are praying for them. Choose a perk at Indiegogo and get the remainder of the process funded for the CD. Be the Body and support the Body, in whatever way God leads you.

Of Gungor And Scripture And Discernment And...

I am perplexed. Baffled. Puzzled. Bewildered. Confounded. Utterly confused. I can’t seem to figure something out that is taking place in perceived Christianity.

I have been a champion for always being wary of what you are consuming, especially when it comes to the entertainment that you allow to enter your mind and affect you to the core. (See Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and here. I have been aware of the namesake for the band Gungor’s recent remarks about his views against Biblical accuracy. I did not, however, look into exactly what his remarks were until today.

I first starting reading an article about Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, which he was addressing Gungor’s stance against Biblical accounts of creation and publicly calling Gungor to repent. I stopped reading shortly into the article because I wanted to read Michael Gungor’s actual words first, without having an opinion formed about what Gungor said, without reading what Gungor said. (Here is a post directly from Ken Ham)

Having never listened to Gungor, the only opinion I had formed about Gungor was based on people expressing how “great” the music was that the band had been producing. I have never heard a Gungor song, I have never heard Gungor talk even. I had a fresh slate, no kind of preconceived notions of what this man believes. As I read Michael Gungor’s words I began getting the feeling that the term “fundamentalist” was being used derogatorily and that Mr. Gungor harbored some animosity for those that might actually believe what the Bible says.

Gungor’s arguments seemed to match up with the world outside of perceived Christianity. From belittling those that believe the Biblical accounts of creation and Adam and Eve to be factual to likening the Bible’s account of Noah and the ark to an episode of Star Trek I was seeing that Gungor has been heavily influenced by this world’s lack of understanding of Scripture. (Original Gungor post - Followup post)

I will stop short of calling Michael Gungor a non-Christian, but I think that may be a real likely thing. Why is that? Can’t someone believe science trumps scripture and still be a Christian? Sure they can. How is that? Because there are a lot of Baby Christians out there who do not have the proper understanding of scripture and do not understand the Bible’s true nature. It is The Word of God. Period. The Bible is not simply a narrative of events, a collection of nifty stories or an outdated list of rules as Gungor and others would try to persuade. It is a reflection of the Nature of God. And with that statement I end up firmly on Gungor’s naughty list of Biblical Fundies.

I am praying that the Gungors take Ken Ham up on his invitation to visit the Creation Museum and to learn what the Biblical narrative really is. The scientists at the Creation Museum have volunteered to meet with the Gungors and show them how a ship could fit all of the animals that scripture says it did. They will be able to see where the water came from, the paths that it carved as it receded, the fossil beds that its aftermath left. If Michael Gungor visits the museum and is a Christian he certainly must change his understanding of what the Bible says and change his perceptions of Scripture as true and stop ridiculing those that actually believe what the Bible says.

Saying all of this I come to the real point of this post, the reason I am confused. Many a true believer have held the wrong understanding of the Biblical accounts as Michael Gungor holds. I would even venture to say that there are probably other mainstream CCM musicians that hold the same beliefs. What I find perplexing is the castigation of Gungor in light of this, the night and day perception of Gungor without actually trying to have a straight forward and heart to heart discussion with and to Michael Gungor. Michael Gungor has been accursed by a lot of people for his views and his words (rightfully so?). So why is that perplexing to me? Because other musical groups that blatantly and obviously believe and teach heretical doctrine are openly welcomed in Christian circles.

It is a sad state that a wrong view of the Bible, maybe caused by a lack of study or discipleship, sets someone outside the camp with folks washing their hands clean of Gungor while groups like Philips, Craig and Dean are defended, praised and lifted up as “brothers” when their view of God is blatantly heretical. PC&D not only believe heresy they also teach the heresy of Modalism with a kicker of a Prosperity gospel in the “churches” that they “pastor”.

Discernment is a rare commodity these days. False teachers/ prophets abound in our world today, smiling and telling you that your best life is now, that you can speak things into existence. False religions are being held as acceptable simply because the popular adherents hold the same political views as most Conservative Christians do (Glenn Beck, Mitt Romney). The ones that must be named get a free pass, while Gungor gets tied to the stake in mainstream circles. Rather ironic, I must say.

So, what to do? My suggestion is to see how Michael Gungor reacts to Ken Ham’s invitation. No preconceived narratives from me on what “might” happen or what Mr. Gungor “might” say or do with the invitation. I am fairly confident though, that if Michael Gungor accepts the invitation, sees the Christian view of Creation, with the scientific backing of Christian scientists, with PHDs, that he will change his view of Scripture and become a radical fundie, just like me.

What this boils down to, in my view, is that people are too heavily influenced by the musicians they like. Entertainment, music, musicians, movies, etc. are all chosen with what the flesh seems to enjoy. That is an alright thing, but that definitely doesn't trump Biblical accuracy and doing a little research into a band that catches your ear. We are to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and I am really certain that music, which impacts your mind and spirit, must be investigated before "liking" it and adding it to your MP3 player. Christians must be diligent to always look beyond what their foot taps to and see what theology has laid the foundation for what you are consuming. If you know a band or singer has some questionable theology then you would be wise to avoid them at all costs. If the TV preacher teaches contrary to scripture then you must mark them as anathema and avoid them, not "chew up the meat and spit out the bones". 

Discernment is lacking greatly in all areas of Christianity. How is that remedied? By knowing what the Bible says, by studying scripture, by taking God at His Word and applying it to your life and letting it shape you (Romans 12:2, Philippians 2:5). Simply follow Christ and God's Word. Let God be your guide and not what is popular in the world or within Christian circles.

What Is Discernment?

Discernment. That word, these days, causes much strife and grief, especially among church folk. The question is then: "Should it?" As I begin this series I have my own opinion, but I am going to practice a little discernment off the bat and not interject my opinion at this point.

This series will reflect the biblical definition(s) of discernment, when we should practice it, when we shouldn't, how to practice it and other aspects. My plan is to have this be an ongoing lesson, hopefully with input from anyone who may happen onto this series. I have become increasingly frustrated with a call to not practice discernment, to just accept everything that adds the name "Jesus" or "Christian" to it as being orthodox. So many these days get upset, angry, that someone or something is pointed out as being in opposition to God's Word. That just shouldn't be. Why? We shall find out together.

I have no definite timetable or definite path that this series will run, only to be as biblically focused as possible. I cannot say that my personal viewpoints will not be seen and I actually think that they will be seen in detail. I have some very stern views, at this point, on discernment, but with the exploration within the series I am praying that I will be led of God to accurately divide what His Word says and apply it to myself and learn.

You are cordially invited to come along on this journey with me. To a destination of understanding and a pursuit of what God says about this topic.

Who better to start the series off with than Charles Spurgeon:

Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right.

Always Right?

I've had a thought today. Actually this thought has been playing a big part in my life lately. I've even developed a quote around it:

"Just because you may always be right doesn't mean that you must always be right."

Let that sink in for a moment.


What does this, somewhat, cryptic quote mean? Let me equate it to a Person, not just any person, but The Person, Jesus Christ. Here is the only person that lived who was always right..... about everything. But did He always try to win an argument? Did He always exert His knowledge and reasoning to prove Himself right? No. Just look at the story of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-27). Here a young ruler in the temple came to Christ, knowing that he did not have what it took to be saved and asked Jesus what he needed to do. Jesus took him through a whole laundry list of sins and the young ruler said that he had not committed any of them. Really? I would think that he had told a lie, or even thought of telling a lie even just once, but Jesus does not address that issue. Jesus doesn't try to prove anything to him regarding those sins and the one he just committed by lying to Christ Himself in the flesh.

Jesus could have said to this fellow," Whoa there man. You remember that time when your mother asked if you broke the water bowl and you told her that your brother knocked it in the floor?" Which would have shown that he was a liar and didn't respect his mother and had hate in your heart for blaming it on your brother. No, Jesus doesn't try to prove this man wrong, but points to a place that He knows the young ruler will be pierced straight through. Money.

Or maybe a story that we can all relate to in one way or another, that of Peter's denial of Jesus. Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Him before the rooster crowed. Peter was adamant that he would never deny Jesus, but we all know what happened. Peter did just as Jesus had said, but yet Jesus never brought that up to Peter, unless you count the 3 times that Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him (John 21:15-17), which some say was Jesus giving Peter the opportunity to "un-deny" Him.

Of course, the ultimate way Jesus did not try to prove He was right was on the Cross at Calvary. Jesus, the Lamb of God who had never even had the thought of sin cross His mind, willingly said "I'm wrong", even though He was ALWAYS right. He bore the sins of the world, taking the wrath of the Father upon His own body, so that we could be reconciled to Him. He was always right, but yet He didn't feel the need to be outwardly.

Knowing these stories (and others) in the Word of God, we take them all in the fullness of scripture and see verses like:

Mark 8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

Now, is this "laying your life down" the actual, physical stepping in front of a bullet or pushing your buddy out in from the path of a semi-truck and getting hit yourself? Probably not, but it could be. What the point of "laying your life down" is that you put other's needs, feelings, emotions and well being above your own. You may actually be right in a disagreement, but that doesn't mean that you keep arguing your point to the brink of losing your relationship over it. You can just realize that the "greater  good" is peace and love, in the Name of Christ. As He willfully laid His life for you, even though He was right, you do the same thing in this less weightier matter.

It's a matter of love, a matter of the heart, as all things are. Where is your heart in this particular situation? Is it so bent on proving you are right, that you have 5 points and 3 websites that prove you're right, really more important than causing greater strife? Is the feeling of, "Yes, I put you in your place!" showing the love of Christ, when Jesus was put in your place? Can we not just treat the other person as though they are right and just pray that God reveal it to them in some other fashion? Why must we prove ourselves "right" every time? We don't have to. All in the name of love and unity and to the Glory of Christ.

(This if course is not the case for heretical doctrine. We must always stand on the Word of God when His Word is attacked. Be careful here,, too, as how you say something can be just as important as what you say. Always speak the truth in love and let God do with it as He wills Ephesians 4:15)

The Gifts To The Messiah

Over the past 3 weeks I did a short study with my Sunday School class on the 3 gifts listed that were brought by the Magi (Wise Men) to Jesus in Bethlehem. Admittedly I had thought, "Gold? Yes, I can see that. Frankincense? Uhm....... whatever. Myrrh? What is myrrh anyway?

In our culture we lose what these last two gifts actually are. To the audience that the Gospels were originally written there would have been no denying what these other two, seemingly lesser to us, gifts actually were.

I just wanted to briefly highlight the significance of each of these gifts. This is in no way exhaustive, but I would encourage you to do a deeper study to open the deeper meanings within these three "gifts".

Gold, as we know in our culture, is very valuable. I have seen, in my lifetime, gold increase in value from $39/ ounce to nearly $2,000/ ounce in 2011. That is a large range, but it shows how much value we place on material things. Of course, even in the days of Christ gold had great value, probably more than today as it was much harder to come by. Today we have heavy excavating equipment removing tons of dirt to filter out mere ounces of gold. There are even reality shows, such as Gold Rush, that chronicle the elusive search for the riches contained in the Earth. Just watch an episode or two of this series and you will see just how difficult it is to mine gold. It is not easy. So, I look at how valuable and scarce gold must have been 2,000 years ago and understand that you couldn't walk to your corner Zales and purchase a gold ring or necklace.


Gold in the days of Christ was, for the most part, owned by the elite, wealthy and royalty. So, the gift of gold was to signify that Jesus was royalty, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16). 

Frankincense is one that we lose out on, because it has no perceived "value" in our society. We think, "Oh great, they brought Jesus incense." But when you realize what frankincense was to the audience of Matthew 2:11 it begins to open up a bit and reveal much more.
Frankincense was used in temple ceremonies as part of the worship to God. This was prevalent in the Old Testament, but was also mentioned in the New Testament, Jesus' time, as well. Our understanding of O.T. worship ceremonies is not really good, but the N.T. also uses this same type of worship ceremony (Matthew 2:11). We also know that the name frankincense in the Hebrew language meant "white", which we can also assume stood for purity. Putting all that together allows us to see that the gift of frankincense was an act of worship to Jesus the Messiah.

The last gift on the list was myrrh. This one was always a mystery to me. Even the name sounds odd and the spelling is quite odd in our English spelling. Myrrh is mentioned 16 times in the KJV version of the bible and as many as 19 in other versions (ESV). We know the myrrh was a spice and that it's most common use was as a perfume. Also, it was used during the burial rituals after the bodies were wrapped, the myrrh was applied. This was more than likely done to help mask the odors that would emanate from the body as it decomposed in the tombs. We also know that it was a very valuable commodity in the days the bible was being written.
If you read Matthew 26:6-13 you see the story of a lady that did something that some of the disciples got a little upset about. This lady, in the house of Simon the leper, came to Jesus and poured, what is believed to be, myrrh on the head of Jesus. They began to rebuke this lady for "wasting" the oil that she had poured upon Jesus' head and that it should have instead been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus stopped their rebuke and said; "“Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

We can then start to see that the gift of myrrh was to signify that Jesus would die, that He would be our Sacrifice. The myrrh was somewhat of a prophetic gift to the babe in Bethlehem. The obscure view that we have in the 21st Century would have meant very much to the readers of Matthew 2:11. Our view in this, as a side note to the gifts, means we must always look at the context of whom the bible was written. We cannot try to force into scripture our 21st Century lifestyles and instead should first look at the original audience and their understanding.
So, we now see a whole different and wonderful meaning to the gifts of the Magi. Instead of just simply being gold and a couple other expensive things we can see that each gift pointed to something wonderful about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He was royalty, He was being worshiped and He was our sacrifice. No longer will I look upon the gifts as I have my entire life, I will see their beauty in proclaiming to the world that "God is with us!"

(As a side note: nowhere in scripture are there "3 wise men" listed. This is an assumption made because there were 3 gifts listed. The gifts would also be used by Mary and Joseph as they fled to Egypt to finance their journey and life in Egypt.)

Allowing The Body To Be The Body

Do you put a blindfold over your eyes when driving down the road? Do you tie your hands behind your back when having dinner? Do you bind your feet when going swimming? I didn't think so. Then why can't we allow the Body of Christ to work as God designed it to?

So many times we (and by "we" I mean "me") want to handicap the Body. I make excuses and have false reasonings  but what it comes down to is sin. God has been gracious to us, His children, to place us into the universal Body of Christ, but it actually goes further than that. He has placed us within local bodies, that must be given the opportunity to function.

I am learning this through a trial that is in my life at this moment. I have no control over anything, which is scary for me. I am a "fixer", I like to know what's going on and I try to figure out all the tangents that my puny mind can think of. Know what? Most of the time I am wrong and things work out differently, so my worries have been for naught. Of course scripture has a lot to say about this and I "know" these things, but only on the occasions that things are out of my control do I learn the lesson all over again. Why can't I seem to remember this in my daily life? Why can't Matthew 6:20-34 sink in without a trial?

Why can't I share my burdens with the rest of the body so they can come along side me in prayer? Why do I feel the need to deprive the plan of God to allow His body to function in the way that He designed? The short answer is, of course, sin. The long answer includes pride, our stubbornness or maybe even just not wanting to burden someone else with what we see as "our issues". I think it is the latter for me as I hear others who are striving and asking for prayer I "feel" that it wouldn't be "fair" to encumber them any more than they already are. Know what I'm finding out? That the saying "Misery loves company" should actually be "Needs need company".
This is wonderfully summed up in Galatians 5:13-14:

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Then Paul goes on to tell us in Galatians 6:2:

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

It really doesn't get much plainer than that. We are to actually take the burdens of others as our own and "bear" them along side. No prerequisite that we are to not have any burdens when someone else does, nothing about not wanting to impose on anyone else, just the admonition to "bear one another's burdens". What does that look like? I can speak from experience that it looks just like it sounds. We all have our "problems" and we all come along side one another and pray, seek God, comfort, hold up, lend a shoulder, cry together, whatever it takes to "bear one another's".

God has been so good to His children. Even in what looks to be a challenging time He has shown His grace and mercies. He is teaching me some things through a current trial, actually re-teaching my stubborn self. I will be sharing in the near future the trials that are before me and my family and ask for you, others in the Body of Christ, to bear our burdens and to function as He designed. He works through His people and He loves to lavish Himself on us. What may seem daunting is nothing for the One who created the Universe. Even if we can't see the end, you can believe that is a sure sign that you should immediately turn it over to Him.

Still learning and still asking for prayer.


Matthew 6:34:

Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.