Tag Archives: procrastination

Rigorous Honesty, I Lied

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in faith and Christianity, Integrity, Raising Children, recovery from addictions, Relationships, the Word of God, Think in Today

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I told a lie two years ago. No unintentional, accidental, white-lie. It was a bare-faced lie. The actual story is inconsequential, but the reason for the lie is worse. I see from the ripple effect that lying is a terrible evil. One lie could lead to a second to cover the first, a third to cover the second, and so on.

An individual asked me to take care of something that they could not do. I said, “sure, I’ll handle it.” I fully intended to take care of the situation, but not as a priority, so I forgot. Then I remembered, but couldn’t take care of it that moment, so I forgot again. Two months later when asked if I took care of the situation, I said…gulp, yes, and, “Thar she blows!” It was a fictional story more epic than “Moby Dick.” I then scrambled to do the task…days later. Was I sorry? At the moment, yes. Give it a little time, and as “they” say, time heals all wounds. This was a gaping hole in my personal integrity, unjustifiable.

“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.” Col.3:9 NKJV

“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.” The Big Book of AA (step 10)

The friend knew I was lying, but didn’t call me on it, at that moment. All I really had to say was, “no I did not, I will do it immediately.” They may not have appreciated that statement, but no lie would have been told. The task was not majorly hard, but tedious, and I put it off. The sick thing is to me is that the lie came from my procrastinating, not considering the other who asked feelings, the lie was next, then reproach on Christ, guilt followed, then reproach on my integrity. Quite a progression, rather, descent, don’t you agree? The putting off, was the first is a series of “sins”, or revelations of character defects the “old me” performed without remorse.

Procrastination is self-will run riot. It is self-centeredness at its best. I don’t want to so I won’t. And for recovering addicts and alcoholics, lying is a way of life we keep in our “denial” portfolio. We lie for no apparent reason. Lying always has a ripple effect, sending out waves of related sins in its wake. One of the issues that you have to deal with when working with new comers in recovery, is honesty. If that is grasped, recovery comes to them much smoother. The pain I experienced from the lie I told hurt terribly. Me, the go to guy, a liar.

Did I repent? You bet, and that episode is one I never want to repeat. I know I am human, I can fall so I try not to think highly of myself. My damaged integrity is good today, though scarred. I want to continue my recovery from self-serving, self-seeking, and try to live an exemplar life as I follow Christ and lead others. I also desire that my children, and theirs, be people of their word, so I must determine to lead by example.

Thanks for reading, God bless and keep you all.

A Month of History and Help

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in faith and Christianity, History, Politics, Raising Children, recovery from addictions, Relationships, the Word of God, Think in Today

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I am convinced that people who have never had the grand pleasure of being addicted to drug use, alcohol, gambling, porn, overeating, etc., or have had mental health issues, or have had no family or friends with any of these issues…yet, could care less that February is National Recovery Month. In the same respect, people outside of the African-American community, have little interest in Black History month, unless they are history-buffs. There are many other months that the government recognizes for people of various heritages, Irish, Hispanic, Jewish, Filipino, et al, that I had no idea existed. This is the way we Americans celebrate various cultures in our country, ignoring them. Awareness has become, and is becoming more important to me as I grow in recovery, and in Christ. The reasons for their importance is the three tenses, past, present, and future.
Past
“Study the past if you would define the future.” – Confucius “Those unable to catalog the past are doomed to repeat it.” Lemony Snicket, The End
I love history. There is little of the past that doesn’t intrigue me. Americans have this tendency to be so busy racing to the end of life from the time of their adolescence, until in their late forties, when sensing their mortality, and slamming on the brakes of time, and calculating how fast things happened. Just a few years ago, when the kids were little…we pause in reflection of how good the past was, those warming memories of loved ones passed, prices in grocers and restaurants, old TV shows, and the like. If we can look at the importance of the past to teach us the treasure of living one day at a time, we would never be in the zoom-zoom mode, and see the past for what it truly is…a professor of now, and tomorrow.
Black history is important. As a society, we should never want to see happen to a race of people that happened to them. The history of how slavery of African peoples came to be, must  be viewed as diabolical, the greed and treachery of men, never to repeated at all cost. But my view today is not to remember the how, but the why, and look how this culture has risen out of their low estate, to prominence. The focus today should  be on the history and the admiration of a people’s rise from ashes. The contributions of  African-Americans, both noted and unknown, can help every American see that all people, all cultures are important to society.
One more quote:
“I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.” -Morgan Freeman 
Present
To believe that slavery ended in the nineteenth century is error. I am not referring to the 27 million slaves in the world today, but the millions of Americans addicted to substance abuse, those chained to fears and mental illness, and to love of self, desiring more and more things that have everything but happiness included. Recovery month is obscure to most Americans, mainly because of apathy, some ignorance too. We don’t know, and we don’t care, until directly affected. Get involved, don’t wait for others. Find ways to be a part today, and if nothing else, pray daily for the nation.
The actions I take today has a great effect on my tomorrows. Making decisions early each day to give God the first acknowledgement ahead of what I want to do, has a profound influence on the rest of the day. Each one of us who have been graced with the gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, as well as those of us with the gift of sobriety, should be deeply aware of the danger of ignoring the past, get our spiritual battle gear on, and fight the good fight against slavery to addictions in the realms unseen, the real battlefield. Now, today, the present is the day of salvation. Time is short and even Jesus said we should pray for laborers to enter and work.
“In an acceptable time I have heard you. and in the day of salvation I have helped you,” Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2Cor.6:2 “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into HIS harvest.” Matt.9:37-38
Brighter Future
We all want the future to be an improvement. The Black history month, Irish, Hispanic, Jewish months, are months we reflect on the past of suppressed peoples, living and contributing in our society today. Through prayer, awareness of this new slavery to substance abuse, and the old ploys of the enemy, using fears to drive greed, hatred, racism, and all other forms of evil, these can be shaken, and strongholds he has built up into the minds of individuals, even entire communities can be toppled.
Forgiveness is key, allowing the light of God’s Word to infiltrate those dark areas we have placed bitterness, and allowed it to fester, rejecting other cultures and their contributions, can be banished. We must make the conscience decision to love. It is Christ alone that can bring us as a people, to accept and unite. The government cannot, secular education will not. It is spiritual in nature, only by understanding the plan and purpose of God can we say, “I once was blind but now I see.”
Thanks for reading, God bless and keep us all.

Short book trailer

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in faith and Christianity, History, recovery from addictions, Relationships, Think in Today

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http://http://youtu.be/izFAqU7AGOU

 

I am very grateful for the everyone who has received help and blessings from the book “Under The Influence.” This trailer is designed to play when the book is distributed around the country. If you are working on a book, or have one in print, be prepared to spend as much…actually much more time promoting your work than writing it. Write anyway and don’t get discouraged. The publishing process is very slow with publishers dealing with thousands of books each week. Many people are turning to ebooks for simplicity. I have two short books myself there…with cheesy covers.

Keep this in mind: Write for God’s glory and to help others, put it’s success in His sure hands, and He will see that those who need what you have get it. Many of you are wonderful writers but have been discouraged having not been published by a non-pay-to-play publisher, like Random House or Zondervan, etc. Try kdp.com on Amazon’s site, submit your content and presto! you’re published. Give what God has given you to help others. Who knows, maybe you will be the next…big-shot. (that’s a little shot that kept shooting) Blessings!

Devotional- Start the New Year Right!

22 Saturday Dec 2012

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securedownload backmatter If you do a daily read as a personal devotion, this book can be an excellent tool in helping you grow in Christ daily. It is written with those suffering with addictions they want to stay free of with God’s help. It is helpful with any hurt, habit, and hang-up you or a loved one may struggling with. Some who have purchased the book that don’t have a problem personally have said it is what they use as their daily read as well, and it has helped them, and given them a better understanding of how to help those with addictions and hang-ups.

Many people make resolutions at year’s end they plan to do in the upcoming year for self-improvement, and one of the top goals is to start a daily read and time with God. This is a great book to use along with your Bible and I suggest a personal journal too. I like to read a chapter from Proverbs, a Psalm, along with a daily page, and that is perfect to use for my morning program, as we call it in recovery.

You can find the ebook version at Kindle and Nook, and the paper-back at Amazon.com or you can go to Barnes and Noble (no relation) tatepublishing.com, and nearly any bookstore can get it if they do not have it on the shelf. If you want a signed copy, you can go to www.skeithbarnes.com and I will sign it and mail it to you as fast as possible. The site has paypal, and accepts all major credit cards. If you go to my site, be sure to add $3.00 for shipping, anywhere in the US, and $5.00 outside of the country. The cost is $21.50, plus tax, or $23.00 total, $26.oo to ship. I would like to suggest that if you have a loved one with an addiction, get this book for them, something that points them to real living in Christ, instead of a shirt they may never wear.

Thanks for reading, thanks in advance to those who buy the book, have a wonderful, blessed Christmas, with Jesus the center of attention!

Advent…Who’s on First?

10 Monday Dec 2012

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Batter up!
All of our society seems to be steeped in idolatry of some sort. Let me see if you agree with this. We have professional sports teams in major cities. Within these teams there are some outstanding athletes that are say, on a major league baseball team, and throughout the metropolis you see fans wearing team shirts with these players names and number. If you attend the game, a particular player comes to the plate and smashes a home run, the whole stadium erupts in worship and praise of this players accomplishment. Hands are lifted in honor, dancing and singing, chanting, laughter, and tears are even shed. A baseball game, wow.

Um…let me see, there’s Matthew, M…
Our idolatry isn’t exclusive to the world of sports. The film industry, wall street, politics, and the music business all have their icons as well. They receive glory and praise just as much as the sports world. The Christian world has it idols too. Many have preacher religion. Some follow their favorite evangelist from town to town. The local church often talk about their pastor as though he is Jesus. If you asked the average Christian, “how has the life of Jesus affected their life, they can give you some sort of answer. If you asked them if they knew how many books in the Bible are about Jesus, the answers you hear will amaze you. The answer, by the way is 66, every book is about Jesus…haha, gotcha!

No Condemnation?
All kidding aside, we who follow Christ are often unaware of the idols we erect and honor ahead of God. We are so engrossed in the dictates of our society, the push, push, and rush aspects of day to day living that we do not realize our negligence of  diligence to our relationship with the Father, until we face a major trial, calamity, or through a sermon. How do we know what things are stealing our allegiance in service to Him? Do we really have to ask? Does the children’s sports or activities cause us to miss services regularly? Do we skip fellowship or opportunities to serve others, visit someone in need, or the sick because we don’t feel like it? We all do. These all are evidence that we all do put God second to our personal needs and desires.

“This is the way it is with you. God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life. Whoever stumbles on this stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed.” Matt.21:43-44 MSG the words of Jesus

Selah
Advent has become a time of the arrival of the latest technology, the latest fad, the going to extremes to see that the kids have a good Christmas, meaning, a bunch of stuff that they will forget about in a week or so. Seriously, if you pointed out last years gift to a child and ask who gave them that gift, they would probably not remember. If you asked them who was born on Christmas day, would they say Santa? Do we really need to question if He is first? I do not. As I type this, my mind thinks of all of the areas I move without thought of Him, or live busily and omit time in fellowship with Him.

“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being”…Acts17:28 NKJV

Fools for Christ’s sake
We have a God who gave His best, a Savior that did not hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and won a game. No, He left the splendor of the heavens, and came to rescue mankind from eternal separation from the Father for our utter rejection of Him. He banished our sin, and gave us rights as sons and daughters to enter into the throne room of God Himself with boldness and present our needs to Him…and He shows us mercy. That dance that we do at the ball game, the laughter and tears for our team, chanting, singing, throwing up our hands in victory…all of this man worship belongs to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ the Righteous!

Advent, the real notable, Jesus came for you. And He has come in this moment for you and I to see Him ahead of every task, every chore facing us. Nothing compares to His exceeding great gift of unselfish, unconditional love He displayed by His arrival and gives to us daily.

Thanks for reading, God bless and keep you all!

Get Up Off of Your Sorry Butt

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in faith and Christianity, recovery from addictions, Relationships, the Word of God, Think in Today

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The title of this post does not have anything to do with advent, I needed to change directions today. I’m a little perplexed today so I thought I may  vent a moment, you kn0w, be angry and sin not. Actually, I am not angry, a bit frustrated by all of us recovering addicts, as well as those with hurts, habits, and hang-ups, and are sitting on our hands thinking any moment we may have an epiphany that provides the answer to overcoming our problem. “I’ve been praying hard,” or “I don’t know why I continue to struggle,” are two things I hear so often that really make me want to puke. If you and I hold our hands close to a fire and exclaim how hot the fire is and it is burning our fingers, what in the name of all that is good should we do? Try moving away from the fire!

When I was still in the throes of my addiction to alcohol I knew that this problem would not go away. I knew that God would help me if I asked Him to. So I asked, and drank, and asked and drank, daily, nightly, until I picked up the phone and called the pastor at the local Vineyard. He made several suggestions of things I could possibly do to overcome this addiction. Of course, I had an excuse for why those wouldn’t work for me. He said he would get back to me. I attended church faithfully for several weeks following our conversation and each time he saw me he would say, “I haven’t forgotten you.” Right, this guy couldn’t give a hoot if I live or die…another one of those too busy working for God to reach down and help you types, I thought. There was a method to his madness. He knew, I think, that I would get tired of the way I was living and finally take one of his original suggestions. And that is exactly what happened. I became so miserable that I prayed and then acted, and made my way to AA. If I had not put my faith into action and walked through the doors of AA, I would still be wrapped in the grip of alcohol. God didn’t walk through the door and hand me an addendum to the scripture. He didn’t cause that TV evangelist to look into that camera, describe me to a tee, and pronounce a miracle in my life….ah, sudden and miraculous healing!

No, God prompted me to try AA, and when I sat in recovery for a time, the epiphany came, the miracle happened! I can see how His grace worked marvelously for me. It was not just freedom from alcohol that I needed. I needed to understand my denial, accept and tolerate others with different problems, in short, I needed to get up off of my butt and grow up. That word tolerance is probably the reason for this post. If I were intolerant, I would not be posting this, I would be in someone’s face instead of typing. God is gracious and kind, and I am striving to imitate Him in patience and wisdom.

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love as Christ has loved us and given Himself for us. an offering and a sacrifice to God”…Eph.5:1-2a

There it is. I want to be as much like Abba (daddy) as possible. I can say with righteous indignation, that you MUST do what I had to do to get better. Stop setting on your brains a rise and get healed! Don’t look for God to part the Ohio, and Mississippi rivers as a sign. He knows you would think, “wow, what a coincidence, I just prayed that would happen so I would know what to do, hmm, what about that,” then go on asking for a sign. You cannot lie in bed a wonder why your sick. You cannot look at the family Bible on the coffee table and believe it, nor understand what God wants you to know. Action, Action, and more action. Rise and be healed, body, soul, and spirit.

Thanks for reading, God bless and keep you all!

The Lost Son

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in faith and Christianity, Raising Children, recovery from addictions, Relationships, Think in Today

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    “There once was a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, I want right now what is coming to me.”      “So the father divided the property between them.” Luke 15:11-12 (MSG) This story describes me to a tee. It’s the story of the prodigal son. What is a prodigal? The dictionary defines the word as: wastefully, recklessly, extravagant, yielding profusely;lavish, a spendthrift. The Message paraphrase calls it the story of the lost son. I prefer to call it the lost sons. Let’s look at the two, see if you can compare yourself to either, or both. Also keep in mind as Jesus tells the story, he’s relating it to both the “sinners” and the “saints”, and at the beginning of the chapter, the “saints were complaining how Jesus was eating with the “sinners.”
The first son took his share and hit the road, blew it on debaucherous living. He blew his inheritance on wine, women, and if it were today, drugs. He wound up living in a sty, sharing food with pigs. Then he came to. Headed for home with the intent of working as a servant for his father. When he arrived his father restored everything to him, including his title, son. Then the father throws a big party for him. The second son wouldn’t even come to his brother’s party, angry for the fathers reaction. The father asked the brother what his problem was. He was mad because he didn’t run off into sin, waste his share, but stayed with his dad. He expressed his disappointment in how his dad never offered him a party, and he was the good son, why wouldn’t he get some recognition.
I feel the story is truly showing the father’s heartbreak for the young son’s departure. As the young son was far off, his dear old dad was watching for him, probably every day since he had left because he loved him so. And then his heartbreak for the oldest son’s attitude, despising his younger brother and his own father. I see myself walking away from God to live as I chose, to be free to drink and drug, and whatever felt good to me, like son number one. And I see me as that good godly man who gets angry when I see the attention given to these drunkards and addicts, prostitutes, and felons, coming to God and everyone wanting their testimony. They never ask me to speak. I guess I should have had more bad consequences from my boozin’ and usin’. The steadfast follower of Christ is always there, working, volunteering, seemingly doing their best. The backslider returns and gets all of the attention, they envy, question God, and sometimes they quit all together. Very sad.
Did you see yourself? Jesus wanted more than anything for the “saints” to love the fact that He was doing their work…reaching the lost children of Israel, not condemning them. Eating with the rejects is what they saw. He wanted those “sinners” to see how much the father yearns for their return, come home, we’ll celebrate together, but I’m sure they saw their brothers disdain for them. I got the message, I hope you did too. If you’re the wanderer, come home, the Father needs you. If you’re the other, rejoice for your brother, neighbor, or anyone’s return to the Father’s house. Thanks for reading.

Political Delusion…an old addiction

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in faith and Christianity, History, Politics, Raising Children, recovery from addictions, Relationships, Think in Today

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I cannot ever forget how in my teen years, drugs became an issue that brought terror to the hearts of parents and curiosity to the youth, especially the college age young adults. We were drawn to test any drug we were told was deadly. Everyday we viewed TV ads warning us about LSD, pot smoking, and barbie dolls, (barbiturates), and where using these deadly drugs would lead us. The more I watched these commercials, the more I wanted to be the test monkey…and I was. It took a really bad trip one morning before school before I came out of the ether, so to speak. I could have been worse had my brother not prayed for God to help his poor, ignorant, little brother.

To me, it was the idea that by experimenting with LSD, I would be placed in the select cool crowd at school. Of course that was a delusion. The idea came from watching too much TV, and believing how popular being cool made a person. Yet, the more I heard the message of being cool from TV shows, and ignored the warnings of TV ads, the choice became clear to me…drugs made you really cool. I was self-deceived, and a TV addict that believed every bit of the media’s offerings through shows, and rejected the commercial warnings from anti-drug advocates.

Looking back on my diluted past, I now see the power of the lies from those tender years, and see how the power of the “one-eyed monster”, we call TV, has on our lives today. We are inundated with political ads that we really hate, but are completely addicted to. Our knowledge of political candidates come from what the media shoves down our throats, and we seem to like its flavor. We have no intention of reading up on the candidates, that takes time from,watching our favorite shows. We are compelled to take Oprah’s word, Ellen’s advice, the View’s view, so we don’t have to stop being lazy, and research for reality. So we get more of what we ask for…a drug, a hallucination of reality. The democrat is for the poor, the republican is for the rich, we need more government intervention in our lives, we think. Like heroin, meth, and cocaine, we are addicted to ease and deception, the easy way is the best way, true or not.

“If you tell a lie long enough, and often enough, the people will believe it.” – Adolph Hitler/Vladimir Lenin
“A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength.” Prov. 24:5

Sir Winston Churchill warned the Briton’s of the evil intent that Hitler planned prior to WWII coming to the world, long before bombs were dropped in Europe. The then prime minister of Great Brittain, Neville Chamberlain returned from meetings with Hitler, and with the evil Adolph’s promises of no aggression. “Peace in our time,” was the words of Chamberlain, with the signed agreement in hand, as he returned to England a hero for his efforts. Churchill continued to warn, and within less than a year, Hitler attacked Czechoslovakia, eventually Great Brittain. Warnings were ignored, and I believe the people were deceived by believing the words of two politicians. Hitler was telling his people all along his intent was noble, that Germania was the pure people, that they would become the only people of the world. The people didn’t see that for that to be so, war and ethnic cleansing would have to happen.

The two quotes above are both true statements. One is for the complacent, the other for the diligent. Like when I was a youth, full of mischief and a hunger for attention, and rejecting reality, we can become the same and not regard warnings. We can buy what the candidates are saying and believe they will deliver us an easier, softer way. Or we can do the wise thing and read up on their careers, and their historical past decisions. We cannot afford to believe the words of the political machine any longer. Their record must do the talking. We cannot accept ANYTHING from the media regarding politics, they have an agenda, and they are dishonest about being unbiased already, so believe it, they are dishonest about their agenda. Be diligent, read up. Don’t be lazy. To be lazy is no excuse when your future, and your children’s future at stake.

Thanks for reading. God bless and keep you all

The Privilege of Prayer

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in faith and Christianity, History, Politics, Raising Children, recovery from addictions, Relationships, Think in Today

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The book of Hebrews in the New Testament has a passage that puts into perspective what Christ truly accomplished when He came and gave His life’s blood for all, and then rose from the dead. This may be considered a little extreme to the masses in other beliefs, and this is exclusive to Christianity in that the Creator God, would send a part of Himself, His only begotten to die for His creation, man, so that He could fellowship with man once again. That is how much God loved mankind. He even loves man enough to give Him the choice of serving Him, or rejecting Him.
This passage in Hebrews refers to the completed work of Christ. He came to earth, born of a virgin, so no one could say He was born in sin. He grew up like every man does, and faced every temptation like every man, so no one can say that He does not understand the temptation to sin. And in His perfect purity, without sin, without fault, He willingly paid for all of man’s sins. He took our place entirely, and when He rose, He ascended into the heavens and set down at the right hand of God where He makes intercession for all who follow Him. Here, at last the passage:
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. LET US THEREFORE COME BOLDLY to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb.6: 14-16
Jesus restored us, who follow Him into the fellowship with God that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden before their fall. We can now talk to God everyday, all day, throughout our lives without Him saying, “you cannot come in here,” because we have the rights as sons daughters. We can ask Him for help, or for any need we have, or just hang around and talk to Him. Prayer is an act of faith, prayer changes things, prayer affects nations, prayer keeps people with addictions clean and sober, and we can open and close doors spiritually with prayer.
Many of us have the problem of entering into prayer. What do I say, how can I remember to pray, does God really listen, does He really answer? All of these questions are questions evryone has  in regard to prayer. The place we go find the answers to these type of questions is the Bible. I have put together a new ebook called, “How to Pray Constantly,” that may help a person that has a hard time with prayer. The book springs from my own struggle praying, even though I understand the concept of Biblical praying, there are many unseen attacks from behind enemy lines that interfere with my time with God.  Take a look at www.amazon.com/author/skeithbarnes if you’re struggling, this will help you.
 I am more and more convinced that the times we live in now may well be the last days. So many of our friends and neighbors have addictions, and with constant bad news on the economic front, the job markets being down, the nation is in spiritual denial, and now worship science as God, running off every sign of Jesus from government property telling Him that He is not welcome there. So we watch education of our youth flushed down the drain of humanistic idealism, placing man on the throne as creator. The violence, the immorality, even wars and catastrophic storm systems sound the warnings of the end of days. We must pray! When we do pray, we need to pray with purpose and have faith for answers.
Give thought to this need we have to petition God for our confused nation, and the global problems. If you have children, elderly parents, and you are weighed down financially and spiritually, you need to be a person who prays daily for all of these needs. Thanks for reading, God bless and keep you all.

Blessing For All

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in faith and Christianity, History, Politics, Raising Children, recovery from addictions, Relationships, Think in Today

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If you’re a sports fan, you often hear atheletes say “I’m blessed,” normally after they win. People talk about their children and use the word “blessed.” At the dinner table many call the prayer over their food the “blessing.” There are many uses of the word “bless.” The word is defined: to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on, to guard from evil, to make or pronounce as holy.
There was a time when the head of the family would pronounce blessing upon his children before his death. In Genesis 27, Isaac blesses Jacob before he passes, and his blessing over Jacob was for both he and his descendants. The same goes for Jacob as he passes. Genesis 48-49, Jacob blesses his 12 sons. If you read these blessings placed on the sons, the fathers of Israel’s 12 tribes and know of their history, you will not only see the importance of the patriarch’s blessing, but also see the fulfillment throughout scripture. Jacob, (Israel), blessed his 12 sons, and God stood behind his blessing to their fulfillment. Jacob bestowed divine favor on his children.
There are many examples throughout scriptures of blessings, and knowing this, it is very apparent that by blessing another, we bring divine favor on that person. We can and do bless, or curse our own children. We bless or curse our spouses, our employers, and friends by our words over them. Telling a child they won’t amount to anything if they don’t apply themselves may be true, but wrong in it’s presentation. Comparing one child to another is terribly wrong. Those things you’re saying to them is prophetic whether you believe it or not. Just think of the things your parents said to you, and tell me differently if you can.
We must say words of blessing and encouragement over our children, spouses, friends, co-workers, and really everyone we meet. By blessing our children, placing the favor of God on them, things will begin to change in their lives in dramatic fashion. So how do you bless them? What words do you say to bless others? Let’s look at Numbers 6:22-27
And the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons saying, this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.So they shall put My Name on the children of Israel, and I WILL BLESS THEM.
You may have heard these words at church or at your synagogue quite often, and they may have lost or have no meaning to you. But think on these words in the passage. God said that when this blessing is pronounced over the people, His Name is placed upon the people. The Eternal Self-Existing Creator of everything created, stands behind these words.
His name encompasses everything needed for a person to live a life of blessing.  And the scriptures are full of examples of blessings to others, even to bless God, set Him apart as holy in our lives. My purpose in this blog is that we learn to bless others, not curse them by wishing evil to happen to them. Don’t even think those thoughts of “I hope they get what they deserve.” You may get what you deserve with those thoughts. No, let’s think good toward others, let’s place blessings on others.
Let’s go to our churches and recovery meetings to be a blessing instead of going to get a blessing. And bless each other, our homes, our families, even strangers we meet everyday. God bless and keep you. God grant you the prayers you ask of Him. May God prosper you, and keep you in health.
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