TUNNEL LIGHTS

I just finished reading this wonderful work of American political though and history. Like all these old works that helped shape this country and laid the foundation of what it should be, these few pages are far beyond epic. He makes his contempt for the clearly hypocritical institutions of slavery, the Mexican American war and the eventual annexing of Texas, political corruption, taxation, revolution, as well as some political ideology that was and still is staining the fabric American society and culture well known.

“But , to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves non-government men, I ask for not at once no government but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step towards obtaining it.”

This speaks far beyond going out and voting, but actually getting involved in the system that says that it holds your best interests at its core and holding that system accountable to this statute. Letting officials know that the state and government is in place to work for the citizen not the citizen is in place to support the state. This was something that Thoreau foresaw and I believe as we are now, in one of the times in history where the common American thought as well as the common American politician believes their work is far beyond the capacity of the average citizen to understand, and would never acknowledge that the common American citizen is their work.

Early on he recognized and pointed out the corruption that was, and still, in the hearts of some elected officials, and the morality of and in revolution which this country was founded on,

“All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.”

If you’re looking for a book that was foundational in its day and still as revolutionary a hundred and seventy something years later, pick this up and give it a read. If you are a Thoreau reader this is somewhat a divergence away from the birds and the trees but wonderful nonetheless.

 

 

 

I Was watching Tavis Smiley speak with Michelle Rhee and it lead me to thinking about Charter Schools. the hyperlink for charter schools is very general and varies state by state. If you are from California, the bay area specifically, then you yourself or someone you know went to a charter school. You very well could have had an aunt or uncle that went to a charter school that was ran by the panthers back in the day.

 

I’m somewhat split on the idea. The public school system, especially in California, is in drastic need of overhaul. You can spend the twelve or so years in Oakland, San Francisco, or Hayward public school system and get all A’s from K-12 and still NEVER meet the qualifications to get into SF state or U, Cal Berkeley or Hayward (now called Cal east bay) and don’t even think about Stanford located in Palo Alto California. I would love to see the numbers on how many locals are admitted each year. To me that is a shame. It is one of the best schools in the nation and the world, people from all across the globe send their children to Stanford yet the kid that was born and raised in Palo Alto and was educated in the Palo Alto school district would not and does not consider Stanford and a viable option for higher education, even if they were able to afford it they know they would automatically have to spend 2-3 years in a Junior College then maybe another 2-3 in state and then cross their fingers and pray.   We also know that  UC’s not only are more expensive than they have ever been but actively recruit from outside the state so they can charge those students more on admissions and other fees. That is another issue that I wont get into here.

 

On the one hand a students surrounded by like minded and other similarly talented students tend to do better in that area. (I.e. art, dance, music, ect) but then it does rob the public school of the natural talents and experience that those students bring. If all your students that live in that area that are talented or have an interest in art all go to the art charter school then why offer art in the regular school. This is what happens and in part, by not creating a need or interest in those area (art, dance, music ect) public school boards see no need to fund, (if there were funds, again another issue), music, art, dance, ect programs. I remember in 6th grade we had one music class (for one day) with instruments, and you could only take choir. Yes until 7th grade I was in school choir and it was nothing Like glee. My high school did not even have a choir or glee club and the kids that were in band in high school had to bring their own instruments. I thought that was bad, but recently my little cousin told me that school does not even have: art, music, or dance in her school. She has a guy come in once a month or so and they do a group project with her grade level (she is in high school and is showing a natural talent for photography)

 

So yeah talent specific charter schools seem great for the student that expresses a talent from an early age. I would love to see my little cousin shuttled off to some charter school that focused on and helped her build and develop her talent as a photographer. On the opposite coin, If my cousin has this proclivity then im sure there are others that if they were able to take photography (or even art) as an elective, might spark a fire in them. They may not be able to draw in or sing in 5th grade but after their voice changes we could have missed out on the next great tenor because they never had the opportunity to explore and try. Isn't that what are schools supposed to be, places of learning, exploration of self, and education? To prepare them for college and life not babysitters for 5-18 year olds.

 

“This bill, passed late last night in a 93-7 vote, declares the entire USA to be a “battleground” upon which U.S. military forces can operate with impunity, overriding Posse Comitatus and granting the military the unchecked power to arrest, detain, interrogate and even assassinate U.S. citizens with impunity.
It’s being called the most traitorous act ever witnessed in the Senate, and the language of the bill is cleverly designed to make you think it doesn’t apply to Americans, but toward the end of the bill it essentially says it can apply to Americans “if we want it to.”
The passage of this law is nothing less than an outright declaration of WAR against the American People by the military-connected power elite. If this is signed into law, it will shred the remaining tenants of the Bill of Rights and unleash upon America a total military dictatorship, complete with secret arrests, secret prisons, unlawful interrogations, indefinite detainment without ever being charged with a crime, the torture of Americans and even the “legitimate assassination” of U.S. citizens on right here on American soil!
If you have not yet woken up to the reality of the police state we’ve been warning you about, I hope you realize we are fast running out of time. Once this becomes law, you have no rights whatsoever in America — no due process, no First Amendment speech rights, no right to remain silent, nothing.”
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112%3AS.1867:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Authorization_Act

So its done, Chapter one is up on the web if you want to take a read. Let me know what you think, all feedback is welcome: like, hate, tell me why and what could I do to improve. Aslo check out the new vids, poems, and photos.

http://cfbrown.com/index_files/Page35076.htm

 

For Blackberry/Document to go users

Ive been trying to figure this out and there is no "tab" button and if you use the "indent" feature it indents the hole thing, so how do you indent the first line. Dont try and google it because there isnt really anything except for spreadsheets. this is what you do:

1. Go into 'edit mode' then go to the beginning of the first line, of the paragraph you want to indent
2. press the options button and go to format
3. go to paragraph (here you will get a list of for paragraph formatting)
4. scroll down to 'indent special' and there will be an option for 'first line'
5. after selecting 'indent special,first line' "indent special by" will appear
6. 'indent special by is where you tell the value of how far you want to indent. (0.5 is the equivalent of hitting the "tab button" once in word.

You would think as much as they charge you for this program they would just K.I.S and build in a Tab button or feature but now. So yeah this is how you do it

Eman On
I think I over did the canopy but I still am proud of this

Lovers
This one, OMG i could not take a good pic of this one for the life of me but today for some reason this one came. Still not the best pic but its post worthy

The Bridge
I really like this one I have to put it somewhere because I keep wanting to do stuff to it.

As always let me know what you think. Good or bad it all helps. Just be constructive

Dogflower

 

Just some things I did last night.

let me know what you think

(I might delete this because these pics did not come out the way I would have liked)

trees

eclipse of a toxic sun

 

so these are the latest  ones

let me know what you think

i call this one
mountains, clouds & water

sunset

 

For the past two, going on three weeks now I’ve been painting everyday. I just woke up and said to myself,

“I feel like painting.”

and I haven’t stopped.

Of course these are by no means professional. I gladly and proudly proclaim these amateur. ( Wrote a poem about the word amateur will post latter.)

These are all done in oil, and I am still searching for the perfect spot to take a proper picture that will properly translate what I painted. I have a lot more that I will post latter but for now these are the only pictures of the painting that I feel are acceptable.

ALL FEEDBACK IS WELCOME as long as it is constructive. If you think it sucks, tell me why. If you think its great, tell me why.

 

I call this one Chaos Kontrol

 

This  is Man

This is Woman.

 

This is either: Earth, Life, In-between the shades of Grey, or Shot of happiness. Haven’t made up my mind yet. 

 

This is High noon in the home land.

 

This is Monday.  :-)

 

This is Flesh tones or Shades

 

I haven’t titled this one yet.

 

Haven’t titled this one yet.

 

This is either The void is what you see or The Pessimist

 

Doing and Being are action words: verbs, meaning that an action is taking place, something is happening. When we who claim the name Christian Say we are Christians it means a totally separate thing than actively Being a Christian. Reading the word of God verses Doing what the word of God says is again two totally separate things, but equally the same as Saying you are a Christian and Being a Christian.

The Bible says in Matthew 7:24-25

“So everyone who hears these words of mine AND ACTS UPON THEM [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. 25 and when the rain fell, and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against the house it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock.”

The key here is “…AND ACTS UPON THEM.” “Acting upon them” is the catalyst for a spiritual bomb that a lot of Christians miss out on in their lives. You have the word by itself functioning in your life being highly potent and highly active, but without putting the word(s) into action; actively living the word, actively doing what the word says to do you miss out on the great explosion of spiritual: power, fruit, grace, mercy, blessing, ect that God intended and promised. Then we are left with the mere potential of what could and or might happen. This isn’t meant to be confused with the belief that works is what makes a person a Christian and allows entrance into heaven.

Faith and belief in Christ Jesus as the one and only Lord and savior is what allows entrance into heaven. Christian works (or what some people call the Christian thing to do) are supposed to be an identifiers of what a Christian is in this world, but somewhere along the way people came to think and then believe that the works that one does became grater and more important than the faith and name that one does them in. Martin Luther said,

“As works do not make a man a believer, so also they do not make him righteous, but as faith makes a man a believer and righteous, so faith does good works. Since, then, works justify no one; a man must be righteous before he does a good work.”

Martin Luther

Freedom of A Christian

So to be very clear I’m not talking about works in the place of faith but in addition to it.

If you read the scriptures it shows that works done in faith were always meant to be something that went together hand in hand with faith in Jesus Christ (faith in the salvation, life after death eternal, the kingdom of heaven) as the primary thing and the reason. The works done in Christ name were meant to be an outpour of the first going together with the second not the second being greater than the first. If you look at the some of the miracles that Jesus performed (the man with leprosy Matthew 8:2-3, The woman that touched the hem of his robe Matthew 9:20-22, and my favorite the Canaanite woman’s daughter Matthew 15:22-28) the first and foremost thing that they presented to Jesus or Jesus brought into question was their faith AND THEN the miracle (work) was preformed.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by Grace you have be save, through faith and this not from yourself. It is the gift of God. 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”

The Amplified breaks it down to further clarity.

“For it is by free Grace (god unmerited favor) that you are saved. (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s Salvation) through [your] faith. This [salvation] is not of yourself [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving] buy it is the free gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the law’s demands], least any man should boast. [it is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]”

Basically there is NOTHING we could EVER do that would make us worthy enough to enter into heaven EXCEPT admitting that Jesus and Jesus alone is the only one that is truly worthy. Admitting that Jesus and Jesus alone did it all and by sacrificing himself in our place made us all worthy. If there was something that a man or woman could DO (except admitting that Jesus did it all) that could grant them access to heaven that would make Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection void and we would then be back under the law.

So what do I mean by a Doer of the word? Being a Christian rather than Saying you are Christian if nothing that would could do counts towards us getting into heaven?

The bible says in James 2:14-18 amp

“What is the use (profit) my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it] can such faith save his soul? 15 if a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day 16 and one of you says to him Goodbye! Keep yourself warm and well fed without giving him the necessities for the body what good does that do? 17 So also faith if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up) by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead)”

We are Christ representatives on earth. We are emissaries of heaven and what I can only best describe as Christlikeness. As Christians we are to show all those that are not what is it to be a Christian; not just by our words but also with our actions. Our lives are to be the example; the walking, living, breathing example of the kingdom of heaven and what awaits them there. Our lives are to be the example to them; the walking, living, breathing example to them of the love that Jesus has shown and given to us. Not to say that we are Christ, but to show them what THEY CAN BE IN CHRIST and the love he also has for them.

The Bible says in Matthew 22:36-40 amp

“Teacher, which of the commandments is the greatest and most important? 37 And he replied to him. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great (most important, principle) and first commandment 39 AND you shall love your neighbor as you do yourself.”

What does that mean? Jesus says first and foremost, above all things LOVE GOD next LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU WOULD YOURSELF.

Two important things here I think the original Greek helps bring into focus. First: the word for neighbor in Greek is πλησίον plēsion (play-see'-on) which means near, close by, neighbor. Webster’s New world college dictionary defines a neighbor: 1 a person who lives near another, 2 a person, country, or thing situated near another. 3 a fellow human being, 4 any person

What I’m getting at is that God was and is telling us to love our neighbor just as we would love ourselves. (which incidentally is why I believe the world and the devil tries so hard to get people into states of depression, doubt, self loathing, self consciousness, and self hatred because if you don’t love yourself how could you possible love anyone else but this is another topic for another day.) Who then is our neighbor? Yes the person that lives next door or across the street but also the person standing next to us in line, the co-worker that we don’t like (or doesn’t like us), and the homeless person that we walk or drive by. The neighbor that we are to love as we love ourselves is basically anyone and everyone that has breath and lives. We are called to love our neighbors (anyone and everyone) as we love ourselves meaning if we ourselves are cold and we love ourselves we would make ourselves warm so we are to do that for those that we see are cold. If we are hungry and we love ourselves we go eat, we are called to do the same for those we see whom are hungry. The mind blowing part of this is that the same type of love we are to love god first with is the same type of love we are to love ourselves and our neighbors (anyone and everyone) with.

The word in Greek used in the scripture Matthew 22:36-40 for love is ἀγαπάω agapaō

(ag-ap-ah'-o) which in simple terms means love, but the Greeks had and have many different words for love and you could say that this one is the king of them. agapaō is more than just emotional love, more that just love that involves feeling. You could feel like doing something one moment and then not feel like doing it the next. agapaō includes the emotional and feeling love but is not limited to them and goes way beyond them. agapaō includes willful intent. In murder cases willful intent is what separates first degree murder from accidental man slaughter. agapaō includes the feeling you feel when you love Christ and you feel him love you back but it goes past that into the willful intent to love and obey Christ when you don’t feel like doing so. The decision to continue to love Christ when everything thing around you is trying to lead you in a direction that is outside of that love.

It’s sort of like being married for some time and for a whole month straight; every morning and every night you and your partner fight. At the end of that month, that person that you think is kind of hot comes on to you. They let you know that they would not turn you down if you decided to make a move, yet you decided to go home to whatever might await you. The decision to continue to love your partner in spite of whatever else may be is just the door to gate at the outer border of agapaō, and is the love that Christ not only requires, but commands us to love him with but also love ourselves and everyone else with.

As Christians we are not under the law but if there was a law for Christians it would be to learn how to make the decision to really love (agapaō) God and then once we are fully in the middle of agapaō land and know the terrain inside and out we are then to put it in our hearts and show it to the world. Some people might still say what does this have to do with being a Christian and a doer of the word? As Christians we are to reflect the love of Jesus and heaven into the world. What God has given and shown to us we are then to give and show to the world.

I like to think of the function of a Christian as a telescope. When a person is not a Christian and they hear all the things that people say about God, and heaven, and all those things can be like looking up into the night sky. It’s pretty but its vastness and complexity to our eyes and our minds confounds our understanding. This is where the Christian telescope comes in. The way a basic telescope works is by reflection and focus. You point the telescope at something in the sky and the light and image is shone into a tube and at the back of that tube is a mirror. From there the light and image is then reflected, magnified, and focused onto a smaller mirror which in turn is the image we see when we look into the hole. (just a side note that I think is very interesting and says a lot. The larger the first mirror is at the back of the tube the more light it can take in and reflect there by giving a better and more focused, clearer, and detailed image.)

When you do Christian works it is not and should never in anyway be to magnify yourself, but to show the world the love, grace, and mercy that God has shown to you. When you help the homeless it is to show how God helped you. When you give freely (without seeking something in return) it is to show how God freely (without seeking something in return) gave to you. We should think of Christianity as a verb. Being a Christian is not some sedentary thing, being a Christian is supposed to be an active on going process. A doer of the word does not mean that you have to go out and find someway to martyr yourself, nor does it mean that you go out and do something just so that you can say,

“Look at what I did.”

In fact the bible says in Matthew 6:1-4amp

“Take care not to do your good deeds publicly or before men, in order to be seen by then; otherwise you will have no reward with and from your father who is in heaven.2 Thus, whenever you give to the poor do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do, that they be recognized and honored and praised by MEN. Truly I tell you they have their reward in full.3 But when you give to charity do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.4 So that your deeds of Charity my be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you OPENLY”

A doer of the word, being a Christian means actively doing and being for the purpose of reflecting Christ into the world. When you donate do it because it is what Christ has put upon and into your heart to do, NOT because everyone else is doing or because it will show everyone how much of a good Christian you are; like the scripture says you will have already received your reward.

Whatever you do in Jesus’ name do it with Jesus in mind. Do what you do with the fact, always repeating in your mind that the Love Jesus has for you and the love you have for him you are to show and give, with whatever it is that you do and give, with agapaō love. The very same love you share in the loving of Christ you are to also share that with your neighbor: the person, the country, the whatever that is right next to you, the person that you can and can not see or touch. Think how much better the world would be if everyone that SAID they were a Christian actually practiced BEING a Christian. If everyone that read and believed in the words in the Bible were actually DOERS of the words they believed in. I think Christian and Christianity would then stop being a noun, stop being a state of mind or label and become what Jesus always meant it to be a VERB, and it all starts with you and I that claim the name.

©Christopher F. Brown 2010

*I think this one is longer than the first, so, yeah lol God Bless*

 

The last part of getting with and sticking to his (God’s) program  can really be broken down and summed up in one word OBEDIENCE. As a black man living in America that one word still sometimes causes my face to frown and the muscles in the back of my neck tighten. Obedience is something that you expect out of: a pet (mostly more from a dog than a cat), child, prisoner, servant, or slave, not from an intelligent free living, free thinking being. In popular culture it’s been said in so many different ways that a free and truly independent man/woman only has his or her will, passions, and desires as master and is only subject to them. As a Christian man I can not and will not agree.

 

A lot of people I know that are not Christians (and a few that claim to be) believe that in order to be a good Christian you have to: do A and not do B, not say A and always say B, Not even think about A or even care about B. If you do then you are going straight to hell. There are so many scriptures, (i mean really scripture after scripture) that says Jesus died so that we would not be hell bound in doing A, or saying B, or thinking C, but the most famous one that I can think of is 1 Corinthians 10:23

 

“All things are legitimate, permissible and we are free to do anything we please, BUT not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable and and  wholesome) all things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive (to character) and edifying (to spiritual life)”

1Corithians 10:23 amp

I think of it like this; Under the law (the way of the old testament) those that believed in God were surrounded by an electrical fence, and that fence was the law (or the law of God) Trying to go out side of the electrical fence (the law of God) meant death (if not instant). If you have ever been around something that is electrical, and also very powerful; if you get to near to it you can hear the buzz of it and the hair on your arm or wherever might even stand up. This is how powerful the law is and was, just getting near to breaking the law you got that warring. The law/fence was not just a box that believers were stuck in. The law was and is there to protect the believers from what lay on the other side of the fence: Sin, Damnation, Temptation, Hell, and all that is in the world.

 

When Jesus came in he basically grabbed the fence and took in all the power of the fence into himself, died, came back to life and not only made the fence powerless to those that believed in him (he did not destroy the fence because the bible does say that he said,

 

“Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them”

Matthew 5:17 amp

) but became the gate to outside, not so that we could go out and sin but rather that WHEN those that believe got to close to the fence/law or managed to brake the fence/law there would be forgiveness and not just death. He basically said,

 

“So here’s the deal. If you believe in me you can not only get near the fence but you touch it and not get zapped and die. That does not mean party over at Sin’s house. That does however mean Hell is not the only club in town anymore. You no longer have to try and live inside of the fence without accidently touching it and ultimately dying because of that mistake. You can not only touch the fence but you can go outside. You can go out into the world although not be a part of it. What might be temptation for your brother may be noting for you. What might not even be a consideration for your father may be a life long burden for you; the point is you do not have to live in fear of the fence. You only have to have faith in me.”

 

How and what does all that have to do with Obedience and sticking to and with God’s plan?

When you decide to become a Christian, when you make the choice to become a follower of Christ the act of obedience becomes sacrificial, not only that but if becomes the type of sacrifice that God delights in.

 

When God asks A of you and you do A (especially when its something that you don't want to do and in my case something that make no sense at all and i completely DO NOT understand) you place your obedience on a spiritual altar. The sacrifice of your obedience becomes that sweet smelling thing that is pleasing to God because you did not have to obey, but you of your own free will chose to. When you obey God you are spiritually putting to death your pride for him just as Christ Jesus put to death his physical being for you.

 

Why should I OBEY God?

ALOT of people I know have this question in their hearts to it I say,

 

God won’t hurt you.

 

Being Obedient to Men you are subject to whatever whims and desires they may have weather they be good or bad. Obeying god is fantastically and fanatically different. God might ask of you something that you don't understand, or something that makes no logical sense AT ALL no matter how many ways you look at it (trust me I know lol ). God might even place you in a position that is completely outside of your comfort zone, but if you are obedient to God and have faith it will work out in your favor.

 

So what gets in the way of obeying God and ultimately sticking to the program?

Fear and Pride

 

Today I think that pride is one of the major things that gives the fence a little charge every now and then. Like I said in part 1 people not only let things and stuff identify and set their worth but they take pride and boast about it. Who has more to boast about,

 

Person A: Who only wears the newest Gucci, Prada, Betsy Johnson, or whatever and lives on a 40 room mansion on a private island

 

or

 

Person B: Who hung every sun, moon, and planet in the universe after setting the foundation for the universe then put the universe in its place and at one time measured ever drop of water in the sky, ocean, and everywhere in the palm of his hand.

 

Proverbs 16:5 says

 

“Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful (not hated) and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished”

Proverbs 16:5 amp

There are many more scriptures to this, but God DOES NOT like pride or people being prideful.

 

It gets in God’s Way.

 

In order to truly be obedient to God we have to get rid of our pride. Just as Christ put his flesh to death so must we put our own pride to death.

 

To some, pride is that sin outside of the fence, for others its not even worth mentioning. One practical way to become less prideful is to do something for someone else (that is not a family member or a friend or co-worker that you like) that only benefits them and not you in any way, AND NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT. A selfless act that is only seen and known about by you, the person you helped, and God. It may seem like nothing but it opens a door. (And what a wonderful door)

 

The other thing that gets in the way of people obeying God is Fear. (I really will limit and restrict myself here because Fear I could go on and on about but I wont, Here LOL)

 

I know some women whom have told me that they would never obey any man because of the fear that they will be treated just as badly as they had been by a certain man before. I also know some men that run from relationship to relationship (or person to person) because of the fear that if anyone gets to close, gets to deep inside of his heart and past his walls then they would be in a position to hurt him like those others did before, so they out of fear run, or do not even let the word relationship pass their mouths let alone grow into something all out of fear.

 

GOD WON’T HURT YOU!!!

I really cant say anything practical about this except that you have to have faith and trust that in time you will see God not only loves you but is in love with you, so much so that he gave you a choice of doing the same thing instead of making you do so. God is so much in love with you that he laid down his life for you so that when you laid down yours you could live again. God may correct you but he WILL NOT HURT YOU!

 

Martin Luther said in Freedom of A Christian

 

“So when the soul firmly trusts God’s promises, it regards him as truthful and righteous. Nothing more excellent than this can be ascribed to God. The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted. When this is done, the soul consents to his will. Then it hallows his name and allows itself to be treated according to God’s good pleasure for clinging to God’s it does not doubt that he who is true, just , and wise will do, dispose, and provide ALL THINGS WELL.” 

Martin Luther, Freedom of A Christian

If you truly trust someone you have faith in them to do and be a certain way. If you go on vacation and you leave someone to housesit you have trust in and have faith that they above all others will not steal from you. You have so much trust and faith in the belief that this person would not steal from you that you charge them with the task of protecting your home from those that you think might steal. What God asks is for you to let him be in charge of and the protector of your life because he already gave his for you.

 

Even with that said some still walk in fear, even when it means stepping outside of God’s plan and doing your own thing. The thing there is God took the power away from the fence and in its place gave all that trust in and have faith in him, freedom and forgiveness. Even when we know the plan that God has for us and we step out of it and walk or act in fear because of the grace of God we have forgiveness.

 

If we look back at Joseph at one point after Herod had died and the Angel of the lord plainly told Joseph to go back home the bible says that Joseph had fear in his heart because Herod’s son was ruling the land so he went to Nazareth instead. (Matthew 2:22-23)

 

When God showed this to me I was really struck at how through the midst of it all God still is god. To really get the point of how afraid Joseph was the Greek word that was used for the type of fear that Joseph had was phobeo which in this context translates out to exceedingly fearful. Phobeo draws it root from another Greek word Phobos which means (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: - be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror. That root word Phabos is also the root of a modern English word we over use today Phobia.

 

Maybe this is just me but I would think by now after angels coming down from heaven telling me A, B, and the other I would know that God has my back and I would not care who was ruling what but that is me. The point is that even when you know god, and know god for a fact, and still disobey there is forgiveness. Moreover when we decide to follow our own plan and do what we want to do God’s will is still working. God’s ultimate plan is still working and will not fail. In fact (this is something to really consider) your disobedience was known even before the first sun, moon, or planet was placed in the universe and it still does not mess up God’s plans.

 

God Knows.

 

God Forgives

 

When we step off the path and get outside of his light

 

God Knows.

 

God Forgives.

 

Not only does God know HE KNEW.

 

God Knew what you were going to do even before the situation came around for to do what you did. The thing is God gave you the free will, the choice to do the thing that you did, to make the choice that you made. I hope that whomever reads this and they don't get anything that I'm saying or disagree with everything please get this,

 

GOD MADE MAN

 

MAN MADE ROBOTS

 

With all that said we can reason that God knew Joseph would not take Mary and Jesus home but to Nazareth, and not only did God know this but it was part of the plan.

 

Nothing you say or don't say

Nothing you do or don't do

Nothing that has ever happen, is happening, or ever will happen catches God by surprise.

 

Nothing you say or don't say

Nothing you do or don't do

Nothing that has ever happen, is happening, or ever will happen will mess up God’s plans.

 

We might make choices that causes us to step outside of God’s light or choices that go against God’s will, but God’s plan is still in effect. We can take comfort in the factual knowledge that God’s plan, God’s program is always in effect. Even when we  disobey (or don't understand at all lol), even when we walk in fear; God’s plan is still working, still under way.

 

Get with and stick to God’s Program.

 

I think that… I know that for a fact (because I thought it at one time) sometimes some people think that God sees their life and all their troubles and turmoil and says,

 

“Wow, that rough, It must suck to be you, oh well.”

 

or worse is silent.

 

What’s really happening is that God is saying,

 

“I see the things happening in your life. I know what you are going through and I know it hurts because it hurts me just as much if not more than you, but I ask you. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to continue to get into situations and then seek me when you need to get out of them or will you just seek me.”

 

Get out of gods way, get with his program, and stick with and to the program.

 

God bless.

 

 

©Christopher F. Brown 2009

 

 

*I think this one is longer than the first, so, yeah lol God Bless*

 

The last part of getting with and sticking to his (God’s) program  can really be broken down and summed up in one word OBEDIENCE. As a black man living in America that one word still sometimes causes my face to frown and the muscles in the back of my neck tighten. Obedience is something that you expect out of: a pet (mostly more from a dog than a cat), child, prisoner, servant, or slave, not from an intelligent free living, free thinking being. In popular culture it’s been said in so many different ways that a free and truly independent man/woman only has his or her will, passions, and desires as master and is only subject to them. As a Christian man I can not and will not agree.

 

A lot of people I know that are not Christians (and a few that claim to be) believe that in order to be a good Christian you have to: do A and not do B, not say A and always say B, Not even think about A or even care about B. If you do then you are going straight to hell. There are so many scriptures, (i mean really scripture after scripture) that says Jesus died so that we would not be hell bound in doing A, or saying B, or thinking C, but the most famous one that I can think of is 1 Corinthians 10:23

 

“All things are legitimate, permissible and we are free to do anything we please, BUT not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable and and  wholesome) all things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive (to character) and edifying (to spiritual life)”

1Corithians 10:23 amp

I think of it like this; Under the law (the way of the old testament) those that believed in God were surrounded by an electrical fence, and that fence was the law (or the law of God) Trying to go out side of the electrical fence (the law of God) meant death (if not instant). If you have ever been around something that is electrical, and also very powerful; if you get to near to it you can hear the buzz of it and the hair on your arm or wherever might even stand up. This is how powerful the law is and was, just getting near to breaking the law you got that warring. The law/fence was not just a box that believers were stuck in. The law was and is there to protect the believers from what lay on the other side of the fence: Sin, Damnation, Temptation, Hell, and all that is in the world.

 

When Jesus came in he basically grabbed the fence and took in all the power of the fence into himself, died, came back to life and not only made the fence powerless to those that believed in him (he did not destroy the fence because the bible does say that he said,

 

“Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them”

Matthew 5:17 amp

) but became the gate to outside, not so that we could go out and sin but rather that WHEN those that believe got to close to the fence/law or managed to brake the fence/law there would be forgiveness and not just death. He basically said,

 

“So here’s the deal. If you believe in me you can not only get near the fence but you touch it and not get zapped and die. That does not mean party over at Sin’s house. That does however mean Hell is not the only club in town anymore. You no longer have to try and live inside of the fence without accidently touching it and ultimately dying because of that mistake. You can not only touch the fence but you can go outside. You can go out into the world although not be a part of it. What might be temptation for your brother may be noting for you. What might not even be a consideration for your father may be a life long burden for you; the point is you do not have to live in fear of the fence. You only have to have faith in me.”

 

How and what does all that have to do with Obedience and sticking to and with God’s plan?

When you decide to become a Christian, when you make the choice to become a follower of Christ the act of obedience becomes sacrificial, not only that but if becomes the type of sacrifice that God delights in.

 

When God asks A of you and you do A (especially when its something that you don't want to do and in my case something that make no sense at all and i completely DO NOT understand) you place your obedience on a spiritual altar. The sacrifice of your obedience becomes that sweet smelling thing that is pleasing to God because you did not have to obey, but you of your own free will chose to. When you obey God you are spiritually putting to death your pride for him just as Christ Jesus put to death his physical being for you.

 

Why should I OBEY God?

ALOT of people I know have this question in their hearts to it I say,

 

God won’t hurt you.

 

Being Obedient to Men you are subject to whatever whims and desires they may have weather they be good or bad. Obeying god is fantastically and fanatically different. God might ask of you something that you don't understand, or something that makes no logical sense AT ALL no matter how many ways you look at it (trust me I know lol ). God might even place you in a position that is completely outside of your comfort zone, but if you are obedient to God and have faith it will work out in your favor.

 

So what gets in the way of obeying God and ultimately sticking to the program?

Fear and Pride

 

Today I think that pride is one of the major things that gives the fence a little charge every now and then. Like I said in part 1 people not only let things and stuff identify and set their worth but they take pride and boast about it. Who has more to boast about,

 

Person A: Who only wears the newest Gucci, Prada, Betsy Johnson, or whatever and lives on a 40 room mansion on a private island

 

or

 

Person B: Who hung every sun, moon, and planet in the universe after setting the foundation for the universe then put the universe in its place and at one time measured ever drop of water in the sky, ocean, and everywhere in the palm of his hand.

 

Proverbs 16:5 says

 

“Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful (not hated) and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished”

Proverbs 16:5 amp

There are many more scriptures to this, but God DOES NOT like pride or people being prideful.

 

It gets in God’s Way.

 

In order to truly be obedient to God we have to get rid of our pride. Just as Christ put his flesh to death so must we put our own pride to death.

 

To some, pride is that sin outside of the fence, for others its not even worth mentioning. One practical way to become less prideful is to do something for someone else (that is not a family member or a friend or co-worker that you like) that only benefits them and not you in any way, AND NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT. A selfless act that is only seen and known about by you, the person you helped, and God. It may seem like nothing but it opens a door. (And what a wonderful door)

 

The other thing that gets in the way of people obeying God is Fear. (I really will limit and restrict myself here because Fear I could go on and on about but I wont, Here LOL)

 

I know some women whom have told me that they would never obey any man because of the fear that they will be treated just as badly as they had been by a certain man before. I also know some men that run from relationship to relationship (or person to person) because of the fear that if anyone gets to close, gets to deep inside of his heart and past his walls then they would be in a position to hurt him like those others did before, so they out of fear run, or do not even let the word relationship pass their mouths let alone grow into something all out of fear.

 

GOD WON’T HURT YOU!!!

I really cant say anything practical about this except that you have to have faith and trust that in time you will see God not only loves you but is in love with you, so much so that he gave you a choice of doing the same thing instead of making you do so. God is so much in love with you that he laid down his life for you so that when you laid down yours you could live again. God may correct you but he WILL NOT HURT YOU!

 

Martin Luther said in Freedom of A Christian

 

“So when the soul firmly trusts God’s promises, it regards him as truthful and righteous. Nothing more excellent than this can be ascribed to God. The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted. When this is done, the soul consents to his will. Then it hallows his name and allows itself to be treated according to God’s good pleasure for clinging to God’s it does not doubt that he who is true, just , and wise will do, dispose, and provide ALL THINGS WELL.” 

Martin Luther, Freedom of A Christian

If you truly trust someone you have faith in them to do and be a certain way. If you go on vacation and you leave someone to housesit you have trust in and have faith that they above all others will not steal from you. You have so much trust and faith in the belief that this person would not steal from you that you charge them with the task of protecting your home from those that you think might steal. What God asks is for you to let him be in charge of and the protector of your life because he already gave his for you.

 

Even with that said some still walk in fear, even when it means stepping outside of God’s plan and doing your own thing. The thing there is God took the power away from the fence and in its place gave all that trust in and have faith in him, freedom and forgiveness. Even when we know the plan that God has for us and we step out of it and walk or act in fear because of the grace of God we have forgiveness.

 

If we look back at Joseph at one point after Herod had died and the Angel of the lord plainly told Joseph to go back home the bible says that Joseph had fear in his heart because Herod’s son was ruling the land so he went to Nazareth instead. (Matthew 2:22-23)

 

When God showed this to me I was really struck at how through the midst of it all God still is god. To really get the point of how afraid Joseph was the Greek word that was used for the type of fear that Joseph had was phobeo which in this context translates out to exceedingly fearful. Phobeo draws it root from another Greek word Phobos which means (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: - be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror. That root word Phabos is also the root of a modern English word we over use today Phobia.

 

Maybe this is just me but I would think by now after angels coming down from heaven telling me A, B, and the other I would know that God has my back and I would not care who was ruling what but that is me. The point is that even when you know god, and know god for a fact, and still disobey there is forgiveness. Moreover when we decide to follow our own plan and do what we want to do God’s will is still working. God’s ultimate plan is still working and will not fail. In fact (this is something to really consider) your disobedience was known even before the first sun, moon, or planet was placed in the universe and it still does not mess up God’s plans.

 

God Knows.

 

God Forgives

 

When we step off the path and get outside of his light

 

God Knows.

 

God Forgives.

 

Not only does God know HE KNEW.

 

God Knew what you were going to do even before the situation came around for to do what you did. The thing is God gave you the free will, the choice to do the thing that you did, to make the choice that you made. I hope that whomever reads this and they don't get anything that I'm saying or disagree with everything please get this,

 

GOD MADE MAN

 

MAN MADE ROBOTS

 

With all that said we can reason that God knew Joseph would not take Mary and Jesus home but to Nazareth, and not only did God know this but it was part of the plan.

 

Nothing you say or don't say

Nothing you do or don't do

Nothing that has ever happen, is happening, or ever will happen catches God by surprise.

 

Nothing you say or don't say

Nothing you do or don't do

Nothing that has ever happen, is happening, or ever will happen will mess up God’s plans.

 

We might make choices that causes us to step outside of God’s light or choices that go against God’s will, but God’s plan is still in effect. We can take comfort in the factual knowledge that God’s plan, God’s program is always in effect. Even when we  disobey (or don't understand at all lol), even when we walk in fear; God’s plan is still working, still under way.

 

Get with and stick to God’s Program.

 

I think that… I know that for a fact (because I thought it at one time) sometimes some people think that God sees their life and all their troubles and turmoil and says,

 

“Wow, that rough, It must suck to be you, oh well.”

 

or worse is silent.

 

What’s really happening is that God is saying,

 

“I see the things happening in your life. I know what you are going through and I know it hurts because it hurts me just as much if not more than you, but I ask you. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to continue to get into situations and then seek me when you need to get out of them or will you just seek me.”

 

Get out of gods way, get with his program, and stick with and to the program.

 

God bless.

 

 

©Christopher F. Brown 2009