TOO BLESSED FOR THIS MESS!

"Stress" seems to be a common household name in these times we're living in. Webster's Dictionary defines it as strain, pressure, mental tension. How many of us are strained, under pressure or experiencing mental tension? I'm sure we all can relate in various ways. There's a cliche' that circulated the church at large back in the early 90's that said, "I'm Too Blessed To Be Stressed." People were wearing the t-shirts, rocking the bumper stickers, and using it as a daily part of dialog when confronted with stressful situations. This statement became a big sensation. I thought about that and modified the statement for this decade: "I'M TOO BLESSED FOR THIS MESS!" Maybe I should invest into some t-shirts and bumper stickers. LOL!

How many of us are facing messy situations in our lives that tend to weary us? Most of us can raise our hands on that. But we must always keep in mind that God, the Creator, is with us. The Word of God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. How awesome! Thank you Jesus! We just have to continue to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not to our own understanding. Why stress it when God has already planned a way of escape? He's already made a way out for you. When was the last time stress fixed the situation? So why waste valuable mental and physical energy on worrying about things you can't change? This is my theory...don't worry about things you can't change, worrying won't change them, and the things you can change, go ahead and change, no need to worry about them. The Bible tells us to cast our cares upon the Lord for He cares for us. God is doing the caring so why do I need to care?

Think about this, these temples (bodies) of ours were not created to house stress. This is why stress sends people's blood pressure way up or way down, causes strokes, heart attacks, seizures, migraines, ulcers, eating disorders...the list goes on and on. This is why it's even more important for us to not care about things, for our health's sake. Even our mental faculties get challenged due to stress. Why put yourself through that? Stress will have you looking straight up crazy. That's not a picture of "blessed".

I encourage everyone to take "De-stressing" breaks as often as necessary. What is that? A time of not caring and relaxation from mental and physical stress. A time when the things that matter, don't matter. A time when you just laugh instead of crying or being frustrated. A time of pure lethargy! Yes! Lethargy!

More importantly, take time to rest in the Presence of God. You can't go wrong there. In His Presence is FULLNESS! So the best place you can "De-stress" is in His Presence. Stop allowing cares of life to damper your enjoyment of life. God wants you to live in peace and joy. He wants you to live life to the full until it overflows. Within those confounds there is no room for stress.

So kick back and enjoy this journey of life. You are the BLESSED of the Lord. In that blessing there is no stress. The Word of God says that the blessings of the Lord makes us rich and adds no sorrow. So make a bold confession and declare adamantly, "I'M TOO BLESSED FOR THIS MESS!" Now move forward.

Pastor Renee

"HONESTY"

Webster's dictionary defines honesty as "fairness and straightforwardness of conduct; sincerity". And it defines honest as "free from fraud or deception; truthful". Ephesians 4:25 (KJV) reads, "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another."

I've been thinking about this in depth. And I'm beginning to realize that we as a body have a high responsibility to be honest with each other. Lying to each other is the same as lying to ourselves because according to the Word of God, we are ONE body.

I'm considered to be a very straightforward or blunt person. Some appreciate it, some don't. Regardless of the reception, I must remain true not only to myself, but to my sisters and brothers in Christ. I owe it to you all as a part of my love for you. I'm referring to the body of Christ, but we still have a moral obligation to be honest to anyone at all times!

I believe that when we are honest with one another, it keeps the peace, kills the drama, and promotes love and unity. It's when we try to compromise truth with one another that foolishness, heartaches, and headaches come into play. We should love one another enough to be totally honest even when the truth hurts. Proverbs 27:6 reads, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." A true friend will be honest at all costs. Other wise, they are no greater than your enemy.

I've experienced such heartache from individuals that I thought truly loved me, but they were dishonest. They thought that by not telling me, they were protecting me. NEGATIVE! Not telling me nearly destroyed me when the truth came out. We must remember that the truth will ALWAYS prevail. It will ALWAYS out live a lie. Sooner or later, the truth will manifest, so it's best to just be honest ALWAYS. Never fall into that trap of trying to preserve someone with a lie or deception. Lies and deception are not preserving agents! A lie says, I just won't tell everything; I will make something up. Deception says, I won't say anything at all; I will just act like I don't know, didn't see, or didn't hear. That's neglecting our responsibility one to another. We must PROTECT each other by speaking the truth in love at all times.

Maybe that's the key..."in love". If we remain honest in love, everyone will benefit and everyone will come out whole. Remember, the Word of God says that perfect love casts out fear. That means that if I'm operating in love, I have no fear of being honest with my sister/brother. If I'm operating in love, I understand that my sister/brother deserves the truth.

I'm sure we've all experienced both sides of this thing. We've been deceived and we've been deceptive. And I don't believe that either side was enjoyable or comfortable. So let's start being honest with one another. This is what helps me stay true and honest...I always think, would I want to be kept in the dark? Would I want something important being withheld from me? Would I want to find this out later?

Let's start now practicing honesty. You do realize that the more honesty is on the scene, the more people trust you? No one trusts a dishonest person. When you're honest, people don't have to look behind their backs to make sure you're not harming them. When you're honest, people will trust you with their lives. How many people can you say trust you with their life? Good question to end on.

Come on body of Christ, let's be honest one to another...even if you are part of the truth.

Pastor Renee

I'M BACK!

After a long, mental vacation, I'M BACK! I pray that the previous blog postings have been a tremendous blessing to you all. Sometimes it's good to just go back and reread them. It's like spaghetti on the second day! Give it time to soak in and become rhema to you. And if I'm constantly posting something new, it's hard, by nature, to value the old. But I'm back for season 2! (LOL!)

I truly enjoy ministering to God's people. And I am so looking forward to what God would have for me to share with you all in this new season. I count it a priviledge.

I want to encourage you to send your comments and questions if you have any. I love the feedback!

Let's get ready to RUMBLE....

-Pastor Renee