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How do we determine what we should be doing? What are we doing? What should we be doing? It all begins and ends with Jesus, the Word of God, and prayer. In this season of our lives we need to stay close to the cross and keep working on building our arch in conjunction with others.
I know it, it sounds completely ridiculous, but it's true. I have been to enough revivals and all night prayer meetings to last a lifetime. But they work. In this season of our lives with so much unrest we need to stay connected with our Heavenly Father and with each other daily. That means caring about others actively in big and small ways.
Some of us go through so much pain and what we don't need to hear is another well meaningful, l'll pray for you." Prayer must come with action. When we pray Our Heavenly Father gives us direct instructions on what we need to do. He gives us ideas and solutions to real problems. That is why prayer is an important part of our Christian walk with God. God makes leaders.
Prior to discovering this I thought when I prayed I had to keep my mind clear, but instead for me I am learning that is when God is showing me the steps I need to follow in order to do His will. But this can't be done in isolation of one another, the church, or the body of Christ. It's hard to deny what is in front of you. And when you pray God illuminates the way for you to walk and He gives you what you need to determine His will.
The realities is that a lot of our brothers and sisters won't step inside of the church doors and the other half won't step outside of it. So, where are they? They are at the mall, at the beach, at home, online, everywhere, and anywhere. Praying and gathering together is so vital to our faith walk and meeting people where they are at is important, so I support online gathering places. However, we have to be willing to cross the huge digital divide and that may mean we have to leave our homes and return to gathering together in public spaces.
In college it was taught to me this way. If A loves B and B is troubled by something, shouldn't A be troubled too. What does that mean in real life? That means if B has an illness, emergency, or drug concern wouldn't this effect us too? Of course, having healthy boundaries is important. However, the trouble that I am seeing is that people are having a plethora of erect and unshakeable at all cost boundaries. The walls are so high that nothing is getting through in or out, so when loved ones are asking us to participate or for help we ignore them, turn, or run away.
What meaningful questions should we ask ourselves?
Does their pain move you? Why or Why not? Have we gone to the Father today to ask how He wants us to help them, this particular time? How do you know if someone really needs your help? By stopping and praying about it. By listening and talking to them and taking the time to connect with them past asking superficial questions. By not shaming them but connecting with them in a way that they can interpret as love. Most of the time people will tell you or show you how to love them. Sometimes people may not need actual help aside from knowing they are not alone, they are loved and wanted. However, some people may actually need you to come across the big divide and spend time with them and show them the way, not just tell. That's why it's important to pray, listen, ask, and do and stay connect to our Heavenly Father.
How can you Help?
God sends shockwaves through our world and it causes major earthquakes and certain people are highly sensitive to the trembles of the Holy Spirit, so if they are in pain whether emotionally, spiritually, or physically it's important that you touch basis with them to find out more about it. We are living in an age where many people want to blame the victim or ignore the problem, but ignoring the problem won't make it go away. It just comes to your door step and the vibrations just get stronger and stronger and stronger.
How to Monitor your Behavior?
When you look at the news is it a call to action for you? Are you moved by the plights of others? Are you moved to help your neighbors whether they are next door, on your phone, in an urban city, or across seas? Yes, there are many ways to help and we should explore all of our options. And yes we get tired of helping. That's why dwelling with God continually is vital through prayer, meditation of the scriptures, fasting, and worship through music and song.
In full honesty I am tired of helping too. I have spent my entire life in public school sector not because I am a hero but because I believe that every child desires to have a good and equal education and I want to keep them safe. I invested my entire life in the educational system and in my family. I was quite surprised to realized after having my children how much capacity I had to love. My love for others grew. Lots of people have told me, wow you are a hero for being a school teacher. I don't want to be a hero. I want to do my job with excellence and then I want to come home to my family and I want the same for all career folks. But, I get it. Love grows when you spend time with God. I know first hand the importance of teaching children how to pray and how to take care of themselves because difficult situations arise out of nowhere. We are called to love our children not to spoil them but to teach them how to actively move mountains for themselves and others through the power of prayer and reading and praying the scriptures.
We live in a time where that are no guaranteed. There is no guaranteed that when you leave your house for the day that you or your family will return. Let that sink in. In reality we all need help, we need extra doses of the Holy Spirit everyday. I am not talking about acts of God, but rather of man. Our schools are not safe, our places of worship are not safe, our stores are not safe and yet we are asking certain people to go in there day after day without any support from the community, the government, and etc. We keep sending the same people back into the danger zone day after day with minimum incentives. Prayer and Faith education is the only thing that can change the tide for our country. It is said that people are dying from their lack of knowledge.
In the honest words of my momma, "We must do better!"
We must do better collectively. How can that happen if teachers are leaving the workforce? How can that happen if we don't protect and teach our children how to pray and how to be God's voice, hands, and feet? I spent a lifetime building my arch in education, in the church realm, and at home. And quite frankly I am greatly disappointed, and my spirit is grieved every day. Despite spending over 22 years building my arch on the Rock my arches are still flimsy. None of them are there in a way that is needed to be able to make this world better not just for me but for all children. Our children deserve better across the board. They deserve to have a well maintained school buildings with air conditioning and heat, healthy foods, transportation to and from if needed, ability to access and receive services. They shouldn't have to deal with discrimination, prejudices, unfair treatment, crime infested neighborhoods, oppression, bullying, or the lack of their educators to be able to discipline and teach effectively due to poor student behavior. I call it constant mess and confusion.
Why does one county in the same state have more than enough and the other county doesn't? Why are the disparencies so vast in this country? It's time to get to work. Every child in America and around the world deserves to have an equal education regardless of their socioeconomic background. Every child should be given the same educational opportunities and quality and accessibility of educational services whether they are being homeschooled, private, or public schooled. I am not okay with laying down and taking it any longer or turning away. The Bible shows us that we are in a battle and must put on the full armor of God and that the battle is ultimately the Lords. Does that mean we do nothing day after day after day, but pray? I believe that means we get into the throne room and do some praying and some listening so that when we leave we have a better idea of what we should be focused on in this season. And we keep working for excellence Because God is a god of Goodness.
I love the show Undercover Boss I always have. I love that the boss blends in with his workers and he works right along side of them to find out the true working conditions of His people. Have our leaders done that? Have they spent a week or a month undercover to see what significant and real changes need to be made in our educational system, in our economy, in our medical fields, and yes even in Hollywood? If they are not then we need to start asking some more questions?
Am I running for office? No, there are already good people running and elected what we need to do is do our research and support them and help them fight against injustice. It is time to take our head out of the sand look around and use our platforms for good.
If you want to be an influencer it begins with looking around to discover and support who is doing good things, following them, and getting your hands dirty. We can't expect our leaders to do everything. I know about this because I was once a leader during my entire educational career and I'm tired very very tired. Despite being real tired, I want to give my children the same quality of education that I gave to other people's children. I want my children to have highly quality and experienced teachers and how can that happen when teachers are leaving and no one is finding out why, they are leaving and not returning. I also want my children to have a drug free crime free neighborhood because I have spent my entire career fighting and striving for it and now it's time for other people across the age continuum to join in and get to dancing to greatness. We can use our mighty phones and our influence to light up the world with the goodness of Jesus Christ.
My challenge to you this week is to get connected and make sure everyday you are deeply connected and entrenched with the Body of Christ and the Creator of the Universe. We can do that by praying, listening, and responding accordingly seven days a week. When we are obedient and we love one another we allow the love and the power of the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and minds to change the world for the better.
IJN Amen. Amen. Amen.
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