It’s a Shame God Just Can’t Seem to Get It Right!

Since Adam and Eve, we have been duped into believing God has missed the mark somehow. It was a lie started by the “Father” of all lies, and he has kept it alive since day one!

The shame is—so many Believers keep falling for this same lie over and over.

The world’s job is to live as hellish and sinful life as it can, dragging with it as many as it can, and it doesn’t seem to be that hard anymore.

I used to be a breastfeeding counselor at a major teaching hospital, and received a lot of training over the years. At one point I was working on the goal to become a Lactation Consultant. I changed my mind after realizing how much the medical field had made something that was so natural—so complicated—just for monies sake. I was quite close, when I found out I would need to purchase, “Malpractice Insurance”. That was the end for me. I’m sure the midwives and wet nurses of old would surely have a good laugh on that one.

But there is one thing I learned in all of it and that is God designed breast milk to have everything it needs as a provision for babies.

A woman’s body knows when she gives birth prematurely, and signals her breast milk to produce more fat, antibodies and nutrients. This did not come about on its own—no—it’s part of God’s perfect design. Even women who live in third world countries who don’t eat as well as some women in other countries, still produce milk that is fortified and nutritious. Again God! And at the time, many in the medical profession did not want to accept the research one doctor had done, which stated women who were HIV positive could breastfeed their babies and the baby would be build up an immunity to the HIV virus. I believed that the first time I heard it at a conference, because I know that God is awesome like that!

Breast milk is best without a doubt, so why is it that American formula companies have been able to convince so many American women and women in third world countries that formula is better when clearly it is not? I’ve seen pictures of babies who should have and could have been breastfed, yet died of starvation and malnutrition! Why? Because the mothers had been duped into thinking their breast milk was not as good for their baby as formula—formula they can’t afford. Yet, they still tried to raise their baby on it, because they believed it to be better.

In many cases the water needed to add to the powder is dirty and unsanitary, and secondly, they really couldn’t afford the formula so they added more water trying to stretch it. The end result—a lengthy and slow death of starvation, sickness or malnutrition.

Well, sisters—many of us seem to be buying into the lie also that the “world” knows better than God!

We are buying into the lies of places like ChristianMingle.com. “You’re waiting for God and He is waiting for you to make the next move!” Horse manure!!! Also I just recently read an article on statics about ChristianMingle and 63% of the folks signed up on it, believe that sex before marriage is okay.

What’s wrong with doing things God’s way? How come we are so easily fooled into believing He doesn’t know what He is doing?

Waiting on God and not having sex outside the confines of marriage is most wonderful. For one, if you are a virgin, then you will miss out on the heartache of being sexually intimate with someone who wanted only one thing and eventually dumped you. Praise God! But also we are protected from unwanted pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Deceases (which are building up resistances to many antibiotics), HIV and Aids! Just like breast milk—God knows what He is doing!

The Bible instructs us not to get in debt, yet many of us are drowning in debt. Why? Because we have listened to and believed the lies of the world. The world says, “You really need to have a college education in order to succeed today.” So, you go to college and rack up thousands in debt, only to find a job you were qualified for before your debt and new degree. I read a post on Facebook last week and a young woman was crying she was $50,000 in debt for 2 years of college and no way was she going to be able to finish and get a degree. She is not alone; many of God’s daughters are in the same predicament.

My sister has been in real estate for over 30 years, and the past few years most of the houses she has helped people buy are short sales. (Selling a house for less than the amount the current owner owes the mortgage company is called a “short sale”.) That’s us, losing houses through short sales. But how did we get in this predicament in the first place? By buying into the lies of the world as far as what we need.

God created Everything! That translates into, “Is anything to hard for God?” If He can design our bodies to respond to the needs of a preterm baby…tell me, “What is it that you think God can’t handle?” No, Really!

Sisters it’s time to stop looking and listening to the world’s point of view, and more to what God has to say about things. We have to stop trying to fix things and make things happen! It will only lead to a lengthy and slow death of starvation, sickness or malnutrition of the best we could be in Christ Jesus. And troubles we need not ever have.

Contrary to popular belief or the world’s point of view—God gets it right every time! Read your Bibles, you will find the truth. 

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie

How Much Oil Do You Have?

Please take a moment to click this link and read The Parable of the Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13.

We could easily do a Bible study on this parable for weeks—but that is not possible today, so I’m just going to focus on a couple of key points.

First, I want to make sure we are all on the same page and know the “Bridegroom” is Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

I hope the fact that only half the virgins were wise and the other half were foolish, got your attention. Why? That’s us sitting in the pews today—foolish and silly women—not prepared for the return of the Bridegroom.

Timothy explains how this is possible. (2 Timothy 3:1-7, KJV) We should take a good look at what he has to say, because some of us are in danger of not making it into the Kingdom. Shocking—but truth!

Sisters, there are too many of us who are not living obedient and holy lives. One of the biggest problems we are having in the Body is sexual immorality. We are having children out of wedlock; we are having adulterous affairs and we are heavily steeped in fornication. Abortions are on the rise and we are also lying with other women. This should not be!

The Apostle John tells us in 1^st John…anyone who is truly born of God, does not continue to sin. Yes, we do sin and all have sinned, but what he is referring too, is that we don’t continue to live a life of sin. When you are truly reborn of God, we begin to change and leave the old self behind, and take on the new, which is that of Jesus Christ.

But it is not only a lifestyle of sexual immorality that can have Jesus tell you, “I don’t know you.” No, there is so much more.

If you are sitting in church each week, but still have the same thought process as you have always had, then something is wrong. If you still lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, cuss people out, are mean spirited, a gossip, the center of drama and confusion, petty, complaining, lazy, thoughtless, self-centered, mistreat your children, are disrespectful to your spouse or those who have authority over you—then one has to question if you are truly a follower of Christ.

Daughters of the King, our Father is very serious about our sinning against Him, and always has been. What He deemed as sin in the Old Testament, is still sin today—no exceptions.

I also don’t want anyone to be fooled into thinking they are okay, just because you do a lot of work in your congregation or in different ministries. No, if your heart is not right and you do not obey God’s commands to live a holy life, then you could be one who finds yourself standing before Christ trying to convince Him of all you did in His name. Matthew 7: 21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heave. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

The Bible tells us that if we want to know what time it is, we are to look at Israel. Well, are you looking? Because it seems to me, the Bridegroom could be closer than many of us are prepared to handle.

Since we don’t know when the Messiah is returning, we should be about the business of dressing our lamps and making sure we have enough oil as we wait. In other words, we should be focused on living a life that is pleasing unto the Lord. God’s will, should be our number one priority in life. Not living to please and satisfy our souls and flesh.

Are any of you willing to take the chance of being caught wrong when the Bridegroom shows up? Can you envision being in the act of sexual intercourse with one who is not your husband or lying with one who is the same sex as you? What about watching porn and masturbating when He cracks the sky? If you are in the middle of having an abortion—would you be left behind like the foolish virgin? I don’t know? Do you? But are you willing to take the chance?

We are instructed to not go to bed angry, but we do. We are to forgive—but we don’t. We are to walk in the love of the Lord toward others—but we won’t. We are to be the light unto a dark world—but we’re not. These are all heart issues and a heart full of hate, unforgiveness and disobedience is one that is void of the love of Christ. Will this equate to an oil less lamp?

Sisters, I have some bad news…too many of us are not ready for the Bridegroom’s return.

But the good news is…all that is needed to succeed in the Kingdom is a made-up mind! A mind made-up to trust and obey God, and getting into the Word to find out what He desires from us and allowing the Holy Spirit to make change.

Single sisters “Stop” wanting a man so badly, you compromise your relationship with Christ! If it is God’s will for you to be married, then it will happen.  But in the mean time agree with Him that being single is wonderful and live a pure and holy single life!

And petty, mean-spirited, religious, self-righteous and jealous sisters—get your act together. And all you “silly” women out there, the ones that Timothy speaks about—stop being silly and grab onto the wisdom of God.

When it’s all said and done we should all want to hear, “Job well done my good and faithful servant,” not, “I don’t know you!” It’s time to asses if your lamp is properly dressed and exactly how much oil you have.

Proverbs 21:21, He [She] who follows righteousness and mercy, Finds life, righteousness and honor.

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie

Learning to Stand and Hold Our Own

Yesterday, my youngest daughter and I went for a walk and fed the ducks in a nearby pond. With the migration of Canadian geese, there are so many more of them then the Mallards anymore. Still, it is something to behold how they swim to you looking for bread whether you have some or not. But with so many geese we begin to wonder, “How are the poor ducks going to get any of this bread?” Well, I am happy to say, “The ducks have learned to stand on their own!”

Here you have about 20 big old geese and maybe 6 or 7 ducks all crushed together vying for the bread pieces being thrown at them, and we quickly realized if you threw it in the direction of the ducks, 8 times out of 10 they were quick enough to get it before the geese could! Yay! So, now we were on a mission to get as much food to the ducks as possible.   

And it didn’t stop there, because a couple of ducks were bold enough to fight through the geese and get up on the bank right under us and ate every piece we dropped to them. Of course we feed the geese too, but our primary focus was feeding the ducks…the ones who owned the pond way before the geese arrived. And right then and there—I had an Ah-ha moment! Sometimes this is the way it is for Believers! It might seem like we are the smaller ducks in a pond overrun by geese. In other words—we are overrun by the world and non-Believers.

Just as we made sure to give the ducks more bread, it is the same with God. He takes care of us, no matter what our surroundings may be! And He also gives us what we need to be able to stand on our own without fear just as the ducks did. Some were bold enough to come to the banks to ensure they were first. Others kept a watchful eye and where quick to grab what was thrown to them before the larger geese could get it! And the ones that were bitten in the side by the geese because they were quicker didn’t leave. No, they stood their ground until our bread was all gone and someone else started feeding them on the other side of the pond and then off they went.

Wow! Sisters, we have to be more like the ducks in this world. We have to be bold, watchful, quick and stand our ground!

And how do we accomplish all of this?

Through obedience and trusting God!

And where do we get what we need to be obedient and trusting?

The Bible!

When we believe God is in control and He’s our provider (not our spouses, our jobs or the government) then we don’t have to look at what others are getting or have. We are focused on the provisions He is making for us. We become like the ducks that were so focused on getting what was coming their way, they didn’t have time to worry about what the geese were doing.

Obedience is a choice. So if we choose to walk in love as instructed, we aren’t so easily thrown off course when one of the big old bad geese bites us in the side. No! We forgive and stand our ground. We don’t run away wounded, hurt and feeling sorry for ourselves.

There were also a few turtles and huge coy fish in the pond. I’m sure they have been placed there on purpose, but they add something beautiful by being there. And because of their size the geese can’t eat them. But isn’t that how God does things? Isn’t He in the business of taking care of His own?

Sisters, it is time to rise up and trust God! “Trust” and “Love” are both action words. You have to act on them. Lip service is not enough—it gets us nowhere.

It is time to standup and stop letting the little things defeat and distract us.

Recently I encountered a Facebook incident with someone I had unfriended sometime ago (for good reasons). All of a sudden they started making comments to me and about me on a mutual friend’s status. She said she talked to her about it and that should be the end of it. Well, it wasn’t.

I stopped communicating on her status only because it allowed the other person to continue to make comments to me. (We must be careful not to be pulled into the drama of others.)  So, my current Facebook friend decided to unfriend me since I no longer made comments. There are times we have to take a stand as to what is right and what is wrong. And it is wrong to allow anyone to harass you or someone else through Facebook or any other means—especially when it is in our control to correct or stop it.   

Glad I was being quiet and praying about the situation and not the author of the messy end. But this is what happens when we don’t apply the Word of God to life situations, (big or small) we end up with a mess. I used this example because we can find ourselves caught up in drama and turmoil with just the click of a mouse. In other words, “It doesn’t take much.”

Like the ducks in the pond of geese, we must strive to stay focused on what we are supposed to be doing and not allow the little hiccups (or bites in the side) of life, distract us to the point we lose sight of our goals. Drama—is a common distraction.

Studying our Bibles, prayer and agreement with God, is the formula for keeping us on the straight and narrow.

Question, “Would you be able to stand your ground and hold your own in a pound overrun by geese?”

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie

Too Many of Us Are Struggling!

Too many in the Body of Christ are struggling! Simple fix—Bible time! We need to spend time studying and reading the Bible for ourselves. Bible studies are wonderful, but…they cannot replace our private time led by the Holy Spirit. We are to meditate on the Word of God, and when we are on a regiment of specific reading, we often don’t do that. That is why it is so important to make time to read and explore on our own.

I remember when I first started attending a Women’s Bible study (when I was a babe in Christ) my teacher (who by the way is still my teacher) would always encourage us to do the assignment, but not stop there. She gave us the tools on how to research and read more than one translation to compare how things were worded and pray about those things that were not clear to us. She was always available to call during the week to discuss any questions we had. They didn’t even have to pertain to our homework for the week—she loved (and still does) to talk about the Bible and all it has to offer.

Often on Facebook I see people posting quotes from their pastor’s sermon or a Bible study. That is all good and well, but what I don’t see from these same people, are their quotes or their own thoughts on the Word of God. Don’t get me wrong, I use the quotes of others too, but I am not a mini them. I have my own quotes and thoughts, inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself, but then again—we all should.

God gave us a brain and intelligence and wants us to use them. All through the Psalms and book of Proverbs it talks about the benefits of meditating on the Word of God! “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.” King David…Psalms 119:99 (NIV)

It is imperative that we read and meditate on the Word of God for ourselves. Why? “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

Though I have learned so much through Bible study classes, my big Ah-ha moments, were always from my private reading and study time. Example: I can’t tell you how many times I had read or heard, “Jesus is the head of the Body,” but on a particular day I read it, and—Bam!! I got it! I mean I really got it and spent days meditating on what that really meant for me as a Christian. Wow!!

One day I decided to read through the book of Proverbs, since I kept hearing about all the great pearls of wisdom it held. But as I started to read, it seemed that everything about pride, being proud or haughty seemed to scream at me. I shared that with my mentor and we talked about God’s feelings about us being proud and puffed up. At first I still didn’t get that the Holy Spirit was illuminating these scriptures for me, and about me. No, that took a few more days, but then I got it—Bam, Bam…Ouch!!

You might be in a wonderful Bible study and are learning a lot, but it can’t replace the one-on-one, Holy Spirit led reading and study. That personal study that can sometimes smack you into reality like only the Word of God can. That one scripture verse that will resonate in your being and mind for weeks on end, until it’s burned in your heart-of-hearts!

This is why so many of us are struggling so hard and so long—we are not spending the time with God that we need. The little morning books we use to start our day, (what we call devotionals for lack of a better word) are often not enough, because for one, we read them and move on. The key to change is the time to meditate and think on what we have read. To dig into the Word to see what it is really saying. I have fallen in love with Biblical History. There are too many of us who don’t even know it exist—but it does.

As followers of Christ, our roots are in the Jewish faith. We so often forget that Jesus was a Jew, because most Pastors don’t teach about Jewish culture, but once we have an understating of the Jewish ways at the time, it opens up the Bible tremendously for us.

The truth for many in the Body is that we need to go back to the basics. We need to go over the truths of God and how they apply to our lives. Not on the assumption that if I do this then God will do this. No! We need to really get a good understating as to what the death of Christ did for us, and what it means to pick up His Cross daily. When we can get past the prosperity (financial) sermons and back to prosperity of the soul and spirit teachings, then we are going to fair much better.

Time to start asking ourselves and God more questions about the Bible. Do you realize that when Jesus walked this earth, Jews were community people? When you read the gospels are you seeing that most of the people in his life were Jews and there were just a handful of gentiles?

Why is it so hard for so many of us to really understand the book of Romans? Do you realize that those who wrote the New Testament were not “aka” Christians? Do you know where the name or terminology Christian came from? How come we don’t do the Sabbath as the Jews do? Do you know why folks started going to church on Sunday?

If you don’t already know the answer to these questions, here’s a good place to explore and learn something new and why you do the things you do…like go to church on Sunday!

When you read about Persia in the Bible did you know it is now Iran? When you read about Babylon are you aware it was renamed Iraq? Do you know when this happened and how the maps of old are different today?

Are you tired of being tired? Then Sisters, it’s time to turn off the TV, get off Facebook and Candy Crush so much and start spending more time reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God. Trust me—it will be a life changer! 

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie