Are You Dirty, Too? (Part 2)

 Missed part one? Click Here!

News alert! You do not have to reside in the house to receive the promotion; even though Issac is the promised child, Ishmael still receives a blessing. 

God does not choose us based on our lineage, but based solely on the purposes He orchestrates for His glory. God certainly does not choose us based on our posh pedigree, plush possessions, or post-traumatic past but on our future.

Some popular Christian circles argue that in order for God to significantly use someone, they must come from a tainted background: theft, drugs, sex, and the like. This tainted past supposedly gives credence to conversion and spice to the testimony. 

This simply could not be farther from the truth. For example, Nathaniel, one of the original twelve disciples, was used for the kingdom, and according to Christ, Nathaniel’s record was squeaky clean: “In whom there was no guile” (John 1:47).
  

Dirty or Devout,God does not choose us based on the lack of merit nor does He choose us based on merits. God’s choice unequivocally banks on His Person and His worth as the righteous and sovereign God.

Click here for part one (Are you Dirty or Devout?)

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Check out the book trailer for Don’t Fight the Darkness by Thomas McSwain Jr.

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Are You Dirty or Devout?

  
While walking the historic streets of London, one of the things I remember most were the ocean of quaint little bakeries with fresh pastries stacked like Lego blocks in the window. As we pass the windows, the mesmerizing aroma wafts out onto the street as smooth as Michael Jackson’s moon walk. Occasionally, we stop to taste but most times we simply peer through the window at the rainbow of delicious treats. The smell was so wonderful and the color absolutely brilliant that the thought of actually eating the treat seemed farthest from our minds. We were delighted, filled even, by just taking in the smell and sight of the baker’s magnificent edible creation.

Arguably, without stepping a foot into the bakery, we received a quantifiable benefit from the outside by virtue of just being near the treats. Sometimes receiving a blessing has little to do with possessing it and more to do with being in proximity to it. Just as we were blessed by the baker from outside the window, so was Ishmael blessed outside the house.

Ishmael, blessed? What an awe-inspiring thought. God assures Hagar, while on the run in the wilderness, that she will produce a princely son: “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son…and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen” (Gen. 16:11–12, ESV). Again in Chapter 21, God promises to “make [Ishmael] into a great nation” (Gen. 21:18, ESV). Each time God foreshadows Ishmael’s blessings, it occurs outside of the house. The outside child receives his blessing and promotions outside the usual sphere of blessing. 

News alert! You do not have to reside in the house to receive the promotion. . . to be continued.

Wiggle Room Pt 2

  
  Missed part 1? Click Here!

  When following the lead of the Holy Spirit, there are a few wiggle room rules. First, going backwards is never an option. The quickest way to get strangled is to look back. Deep in the bottom of Luke chapter six Jesus pitches this rule: Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 ESV). Take it from me, whether using a till or a tractor, you cannot plow straight rows in a field looking backward, nor can you safely cover significant ground using the rearview mirror.

 You do know there is a reason the windshield is bigger than the review mirror, right? Where you are headed requires your primary attention while where you’ve been only requires an occasional glance. If you drive using the rearview mirror too long, I am no prophet, but I can predict what’s in your future—a wreck! 

Two other principles to consider when following the lead of the Holy Spirit entail not moving too fast or over stepping your boundaries. Some of us hesitate to the point of never actually moving when the Spirit leads; others of us move well before the Spirit ever actually speaks. I have often said that if God spoke as much as most people say that He does, He would undoubtedly develop laryngitis. It is not our job to scuff up the heels of the Spirit, but to manage an even pace between His lead and our lag. 

It is okay to have a little slack in the rope. Enjoy the scenery, enjoy the wiggle room, but be careful that your gait keeps in cadence with His. “Keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). Be sure that you are following the Leader. And, appreciate the wiggle room like the toddler harnessed to his nearby mother. 

Missed part 1? Click Here

To Eat Or Not To Eat?(Wiggle room part 1)

  I remember my freshman year in college and how I wanted so terribly to follow God. I desired everything I pursued or engaged in to glorify God; God centered, God ordained. I vividly recall sitting on our royal blue couch in my small apartment (yes, deep royal blue; it was the 90’s) eating a bowl of cereal between classes. Nearly half way through the bowl of cereal I started to get full. Full? I had only eaten a half bowl of Frosted Flakes and Tony was right, “They were great!” 

I wanted desperately to finish the last bit of the crispy, crunchy, Frosted Flakes and get to the sugary bottom, but I was getting full. I had a dilemma; I was in a moral jam. If I finished the bowl of cereal, stuffed myself and ate too much, I would commit the sin of gluttony. On the other hand, if I poured the half of uneaten cereal down the drain, then I was wasteful which also constituted a sin.

So, was I to continue eating and risk gluttony or was I to discard the cereal down the garbage disposal and risk being wasteful. OMG! What was I to do? All I wanted was to please God, to make Him happy. Yet, here I was in a dilemma between two vices: gluttony and wastefulness. How I wish I could console that confused freshman lost in the deep velvety sea of royal blue upholstery that God had given him some wiggle room.