NO MORE GUILT

We enjoy reminding God of our sins.  For some reason we as humans feel that our consciences will turn silent once we apologize for our wrongs and constantly remind God of our mishaps.  The Bible talks about freedom in Christ.  Freedom from guilt and condemnation.  So how do we take up this promise?  What is needed?

The term... "this man has no conscience" is one that is used quite regularly.  It is used on criminals who show little remorse for their actions and is even aimed at a person that has hurt you and failed to apologize.  Clearly we see that little voice convicting us of our wrongs, quite necessary in order to be accepted into the society as we know it.  But is it really our consciences we should be so afraid of when it comes to our mishaps or is it perhaps that we ourselves cause guilt?

I think we will all agree on the fact that as humans we make mistakes, and quite a lot of them.  To be honest... we slip up everyday, all day!  We also make sure to slip up properly every now and then.  There is no human... dead or alive... that can claim they were without mistakes and on that we all agree.  So with that debate out of the way, let's look at the after affects of such actions.

Guilt is a reflex reaction.  We mess up, we feel guilty, and we apologize like no tomorrow.  If you don't apologize... then we tend to sit with this guilt lodged deep in the back our minds.  Now I am not saying don't apologize... but do you think feeling guilty for the rest of your life will really change things?  Will it truly bring joy and freedom?  Or is it just different looking chains for the mistake you made?

In Luke 6:6-11 we read about Jesus healing a man with a withered hand.  Now this man was in the crowd but the hand was behind his back, hidden.  He was ashamed of his deformity and for the culture of those days, he was also considered an out cast because of that deformity.  Jesus knows about this man's hand just like He knows the Pharisees' who are attending's hearts.  So He asks the man to stretch forward his hand and it is written that as the man stretched forward his hand, he WAS healed!

Luke 6:10 "And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored."

His hand didn't only heal when it was already stretched out, it got healed as the man stretched forward his hand.  Meaning that by the time the crowd and Jesus saw his hand, it was already healed!  The same goes for our mistakes.  Jesus is not interested in our sins, He is interested in our lives!  Yes it is needed to admit to God what we have done... He still required the man to stretch forward his flaws.  That is needed so we know what we did wrong and so we can avoid making the same mistake unconsciously.  The point is however, there is no reason for guilt.  We can enjoy the company of God freely, without any disturbances.

1 John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;"

Don't ever let guilt about the past hold you from an amazing relationship with God.  Your sins are already forgiven!  When we mess up, it doesn't make us any less children of the Most High.  Move past your flaws and mishaps and keep your focus on the forgiver of sin.  The God of second, third, forth and millionth chances and just give your all to Him.  He is interested in an intimate relationship with God.  Don't let anything stand in your way.

Who He says you are.

Looking in the mirror we can all point out our own flaws.  We all know our weaknesses as well as our strengths.  In the world we live we meet with a lot of pressure.  Pressure of who people want us to be.  We wrestle with our status in society because we are either seen as a successful role model or we are seen as outsider unable to accomplish much.  The so-called "in crowd" and the "outsiders".  We might think this is just on school level... but it is everywhere.  Businessmen fight to be the most respected in their field.  Titles are thrown around left and right to point out status and your skills, and abilities will label you as a genius ready to overcome anything or an idiot that needs help with any and all things.

We compare ourselves to the world around us.  Our weight, knowledge, possessions, victories, experiences.  This all counts as part of your " social status".

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Despite this well known verse we struggle when we look at those around us.  It is easy to either say: "If only I can achieve what he/she achieved" or you might say: "I am so glad I don't struggle or act like he/she does.  We use the world around us as a measure of what we should be and what we should achieve.

Think of it this way; when you look at sports, every athlete is categorized by a certain aspect... in most cases it is age.  Now when you run against 17 year old athletes, you are being compared to them and according to what you achieve in that area... you can win, break records or loose.  Keep in mind that when a 21 year old, runs against a 16 year old... it is absolutely unfair and a win is almost guaranteed to the older athlete.

In life we run not against this world or the people in it... because we are not categorized with them.  Rather we run against God...  Yes He will always be way ahead of you... but that is the point.  That way we compare ourselves against the category He made us in.  We can never boast on anything because we are always behind from where we should be and that keeps us humble... it also drives us to always grow in faith and never to slow down... but we never have to feel inferior because a race against God is also a race with God and He helps with training and motivation.  The difference is now we are in the league that God made us.

We are kings and queens.  Rulers of what God made and created.  We are the children of the Most High God!  It is time we see ourselves like God does instead of measuring ourselves against the world and feeling inferior to the very creation we were made to rule over.

The question remains this... when you look at the stars and the galaxy.  When you realize the size of the cosmos, is your reaction: "I feel so small!" Or is it: "wow! Look at what God entrusts me with!".

On Offering

We have all been in churches where offering is preached.  This is no news to anyone these days.  Maybe you haven't been in a church where it is preached but you have heard of people being encouraged to sow.

I want to make this clear from the get go that I am not at all against it and that I myself sow and will also encourage you to do so, the fact of the matter is we need to check our attitude.

Countless times I sat in meetings where it has been preached that if I am in need of finances or I want to have my financial breakthrough, I need to sow into the Kingdom.  For what you sow you will reap.  Is this the right doctrine being preached?  The scripture in Galatians 6:7 states clearly:

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."

But it also goes on in verse 8:

"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." 

This is clearly in the context of your actions and where your time is spent.  It did not have anything to do with finances.  Now the important thing however is that giving toward the work of God is still very needed.

Firstly; Sowing is an act of worship!  Your current finances was given to you.  You might say that you worked for it... but then who was responsible for you having a job?  Is it not God?  As Christians we believe in offering up ourselves to God as a living and holy sacrifice as is required of us according to  Romans 12:1.  By trusting God with your finances you are also trusting God with your life... the very source we use to buy food and shelter with.  So offering and sowing financially to a church or ministry is an act of worship and a vital part of what we confess as Christians.  This cannot be ignored!

Secondly: Finances is a part of life.  Where does the finances come from to organize outreaches?  Where is the money sourced from to keep the churches running?  Paying the staff, electrical and water bills?  How is ministry kept up and running?  Through the giving of the church members.  Paul writes to the churches he visits in the Mediterranean area concerning financial support towards the ministers visiting them.  By upholding and supporting the church and thereby the work of God, we have a part of what God is doing.  We can thus be the hands of God on earth.

In conclusion I want to make this clear... sowing financially in order to gain financially is vanity.  We live by grace and not by works.  No one ever had to buy their parents food and sow into their life financially before they got fed themselves.  Same with God.  We are His children, He cares for us no matter what and, it is all by grace... we cannot do anything to gain anything.  However, sowing is needed because not only is it an important act of worship but it is also supporting the work of God and enabling the church to reach out and do it's job.

So let's give with a joyous heart, as an act of worship.  Let's support ministries around us.  And let's trust in God to supply all our needs and more since He is our Heavenly Father.  Matthew 6 sums up this point:

Matthew 6:31-33 "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

The selfishness of judging

We look at people all around us and everyone is doing their own thing.  In our daily lives we face frustration towards those around us.  Whether it's a person skipping the red light, whether work is not handed in on time or even work done incompletely or unneatly.  It might be the way people talk, look, think or do.  The fact of the matter is that we get frustrated and judge people daily based on these principles.

One of the best known movies of our time was Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of the Black Pearl 2003.  Johnny Depp played the role of a very humorist pirate captain.  Close to the end of the movie he and two of his crew members was fighting in a cave against their enemies... the rest of their crew that stayed behind on the ship saw that danger was approaching and decided to leave Jack and the other two crew members behind and sail away.  When they exited the cave victorious, the two crew members were very angry that the rest of the crew left them behind.  Jack however said something that had unmistakable value. "They did what was right by them, you can't expect more".

Now think of the philosophy behind all this.  Why do we judge?  By what measure or standard do we see people to act right or wrong?  The answer is simple but shocking; our own standards.  Yes, we judge people by what we believe to be right or wrong.  A bit selfish don't you think?

Jesus is very clear on this in John 7 where the Pharisees were rebuking Jesus for healing on a Sabbath.  Jesus had an interesting argument.  From verse 21 Jesus hammered them on the fact that they would circumcise people on the Sabbath... according to them it was acceptable because it was not considered work but rather joining someone to the faith and church.  In the same way Jesus saw the man's healing.  That the man's faith was strengthened and his relationship with God restored... so then it can't be wrong to heal on the Sabbath.  Immediately we see that Jesus direct the crowds attention away from the action being performed and rather fixing it on the motive behind the action.  In this instance it was both the restore and build up whats broken.

John 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Imagine a world where we realize that everyone, whether in our eyes it was the right or wrong thing to do, start realizing that people only do what they think is best and that we should rather look at their motives than the actions they perform.  Don't you think our world would have less misunderstandings and a lot more love and patience towards one another.  Honestly, we have no right or reason to judge, because just as you find fault with what others are doing, so others also will find fault in what you are doing since everyone sees and experiences the world differently.

Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;..." 

The command was never to see whether people are acting and living right, it was simply to love those around them.  Let's look at whats going on behind the scenes and the motives behind actions rather than throwing stones on what we think we are seeing.

Never be ignorant of the Preasence

Do you think that when Bill Gates and Steve Jobs met up, they would know and recognize in who's presence they are standing?  Do you think they will respect each other as the successful inventors and entrepreneurs as they both are?  Do you think that one of them or even both will be arrogant towards the other and seeing him as lower than himself?  The reason I ask this question is we are in the presence of our Christian brothers and sister but we seem to look past who we are spending time with.

Ephesians 2:20-21 "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord."

So Ephesians tells us that we are all pert of the temple of God.  Build on Christa as foundation and so we all make part of one body.  A church building with missing bricks is not a pretty sight at all so I am sure we can agree on the fact that every single Christian plays the utmost important role in life.  

Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

Now in that light, also realize that we are the children of God!  In the Mediterranean culture of those days... the son was the image of his father towards the town.  he was an extension of his dad and so the writer tells us in Romans that creation longs for that manifestation of the sons of God; which is us.

Now my question remains... do we really treat the Christians around us as our brothers?  As an extension of God himself?  Because if not we need to change our attitudes very quick!

Let us never be ignorant of the people around us and who they are.  It might be a begger... but he also might be the son of the Most High!

Love is a force but never forced.

Discitions are probably the most prominent hing in the world we live in… everyday each and every one of us make a million or more discitions. 

Galatians 5:16 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

Notice that the world forces but that the spirit prompts!  This means that even after the spirit guides, we are still left with the discition to follow through or not.  Think about this… has God ever held you at gun point and threatening to shoot unless you love and serve Him?

1 John 4:19 "We love because he first loved us."

He loved us first and so gave His Son to die in our stead so that love may be so evident.  If this love does not move us then nothing will.  The fact of the matter is this… love is not something that needs to be protected or defended.  It will never take anything by force but rather persuades by will.

Rapper LeCrae on Faith, Spirituality, and Why Lauryn Hill’s Music Inspires Him

Grammy winning Christian rapper LeCrae released his 7th studio album this week, to much fanfare - it’s currently on course to top the Billboard 200 chart. He spoke with ESSENCE.comabout staying connected to his spiritual source, lessons learned on his journey to success, and why Lauryn Hill is a major inspiration.  

You're on the road a lot, what's the best way that you stay centered and spiritually nourished on the road?
Friends. It's a community around me that is very like-minded and shares my values and will constantly keep me in prayer. We get together for about 20 minutes before each show and take time to do a devotional of sorts. It may just be us wrestling through issues and talking about them; it may be us reading something, watching a DVD or something along those lines, but it's a time to settle our soul and get our mind right.

Do you have a scripture or a proverb that you find yourself always reaching back to?
It changes for me from time to time. Ephesians 2:10, which says, You are God's workmanship created for the things he's pre-planned. It reminds me that his workmanship… the original language that that was written in, the word is poy'-ay-mah and it's saying, you’re God's poem. A poem articulates the heart, mind and character of the writer, so it reminds me that everywhere I go, I'm a representative of God's heart and mind and his character and so I just live that.

What have you learned on this journey, now that you're famous? What have you learned about Lecrae?
I think first, I'd say, I think there's levels to everything. So when you have $20 in your pocket, you see the person with $50 and you think that's having money, and then you get $50 and then you think the person with $100 is the person who has money, and once you get $100 ... And so it's this never-ending deal. In one aspect, it's funny when people say, ‘So now that you're famous’ because I don't feel famous because obviously there's always someone who has way more claim. I will say that I think I learned that the climb to the top of the hill is almost futile because once you get to the top, you think you can rest but everyone at the top is fighting to stay there, so you fight to get there and then you fight to stay there. You start to say, ‘Man, let me fight for something a little more worthwhile than making it to the top of the hill.’

What's some of the best advice you've gotten about being in the industry?
That you don't want to ride the train of success and look back and see everyone you love on get run over on the train tracks. I think you sacrifice people you care about in your pursuit and you look behind and they're all beat up on the tracks. You're like, ‘I'm sorry, I was trying to get here.’ You just don't realize that. I was given that advice early. So that it stays in the back of my mind and that's not to say that I haven't looked back and said, ‘Oh, I'm sorry. Come back.’ It definitely resonates with me.

If you had to choose one song that nourishes you spiritually, what would it be?
Lauryn Hill's “Adam Lives in Theory.” It's amazing. Oh man, there's so many levels and layers to it. Obviously, conceptually, the picture it paints of humanity. I think we need to be reminded of our frailty. Emotionally, it kind of draws you out and reaches inside - and everybody wants to be drawn out. You don't hear a lot of music that you feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, you just pulled my soul out and put it on display.’ I think that's what that song did for me.

It feels like there’s a moment in music right now where people who aren’t necessarily religious are looking for more uplifting content.
Yeah, I think spirituality is always this unexplored thing. It happened in rock and roll; it was unexplored and now everyone was trying to explore it. We left it out... I think we leave God out historically because we think we know a better way until we find out we messed everything up and then we're like, ‘Okay God, where you at?’ I think a sense of spirituality that is not preaching at people, but talking to them and walking with them is completely different. That's what people can connect with. We've seen enough fingers pointed at us, we don't even know if you love us, we don't even know if you go through the things we go through, so we don't connect with you. What we aim to do is to put our arms around people and say, ‘Man, I'm human just like you. Here's where I'm finding hope, here's where I'm finding sustainability.’

By Yolanda Sangweni