The Art of Self-Deception

About 8 years ago, I read a book called, "Why I Am A Christian" by Norman L. Gesler & Paul K. Hoffman.  It was some pretty tough reading as it is a methodical book, but it had some very good information in it.

In it, was a chapter called, Why I am Not an Atheist.  It was about a man who was raised in a Christian home as a child, later became an atheist and was then lead back to Christ.  He explained this topic from his own personal experience. As such, he started talking about how an atheist would deceive themselves into believing what they want even though they have knowledge otherwise. Below is a excerpt from this chapter:

"Self-deception means playing dumb. It means pretending to ourselves that we don't know what we really do; it means playing at being ignorant though we are really in the know. I suggest that we human beings play dumb with God. We lie to ourselves, and one of the things we lie about is our knowledge of his reality. Psalm 14 opens with a remark that is often misunderstood: 'The fool says in his heart There is no God.' The psalmist is not calling the man a fool for thinking there is no God but for telling himself there is no God, though deep in his mind he knows better. Unbelievers do not disbelieve, they reject".

What? OK, so let's get this straight. Humans can play dumb with Yahweh?! Well, in short - yes! Think about it.  Let's go beyond the atheist and look at it in a different perspective.   Every time you know that God says turn right and you "pretend" not to hear Him and you turn left, you are playing dumb. If you know the Holy Spirit told you to stop eating deep fried food when you know you have digestive problems, why do you continue to do it?

One thing about this concept is that the enemy knows if he can get you to question Yahweh's existence and/or will, he has a foothold in the door. If he can kindly assist you into ignoring what you know to be true, then he got you. All you have to do, is turn on a television, listen to the news, are read the internet.  People are bashing Yahweh's existence and believe that man has all the answers.  You are told that man is the superior being of reason, right?  In fact, some will read this and say that I and all those who believe in fairy tales are foolish.  We are not being reasonable for believing such things.  Some will say that we are not living in the real world and need to live in the modern world.  Well, I think Romans 1:19-21 says it best:

"(19) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. (20) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, (21) because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (NKJV)

No one can deny Yahweh's existence.  In the end, if no one else knows, you know in the back of your mind what's right and true.  When you deceive yourself, you reject God and to reject Him is foolish.

Antoine E. Hall

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One Shepherd, Many Sheep

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For today, I want to direct your attention to shepherds and sheep. A shepherd is "[o]ne who herds, guards, and tends sheep” or “[o]ne who cares for and guides a group of people, as a minister or teacher”. The word herd is "[a] group of cattle or other domestic animals of a single kind kept together for a specific purpose" or “[a] large number of people; a crowd”.  As you can see from the definitions, a sheep is to follow the directions of his shepherd and the shepherd is to take care of the sheep making sure that they all stay safely together.

In today's time, many pastor's (or ministers) are called shepherds because they have their "flock" (who is the congregation), but the problem with this is that a lot of the times, we start to follow the man instead of gospel that the man preaches. There is but one shepherd of man and that is God. Psalm 23 starts with "(1) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. (2) He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters..." (NKJV).  So who is our shepherd? The Lord! On his best day, a pastor is but a sheep himself following an awesome God. He just happens to be someone trying to get you to recognize that we are suppose to be following His Word.

When you have sheep following other sheep, then there is a problem. Unless that sheep is following the directions of The Shepherd, he could lead you down a path where the enemy can overtake you.  The Shepherd cares for all of the sheep. "(12) What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? (13) And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. (14)In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." (Matthew 18:10-15).   No one man can do this no matter how charismatic he is.

I am not saying that a pastor is useless.  If they are not poisoning the congregation with their own agenda and they are preaching what the Bible says, then they are a great asset for the God's Kingdom.  The question is do you take more queues from another sheep rather than from the Good Shepherd? If your pastor acts in a manner contrary from the Word of God, are you bold enough to call them on it or do you continue to blindly follow the person behind the pulpit?  Who are you really following today?

Be blessed and have a good one!

Antoine E. Hall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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Don't Get Caught Up

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2 Peter 3:10-11  (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (NKJV)

Interesting right? So, I decided to venture into the entire chapter of 2 Peter 3.  In it, Peter describes the Day of the Lord and what will happen when He returns. You can read the entire chapter in detail for your self and I highly recommend it, however I want to focus on the very last two verses.

2 Peter 3:17-18  (17)  You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; (18) but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

In essence, as a Christian, we cannot get caught up in this worldly place. Many times we have heard that this earth is not our home. We are merely passing through on our way to heaven. Well, if you are not paying attention, you can take the wrong exit and be on a path to hell. Continue to grow in the Word. Read. Pray. Talk to God. Just don't lose sight of Him. It's as simple as that folks. Nothing fancy about it. You know the consequences of getting caught up and the fruits of the reward for walking the straight and narrow.  Now that we know better. We can do better. 

Antoine E. Hall

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Filling Your Voids

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I wish to speak to you about voids and having them filled. It is a pretty simple concept, but I wish to share some simple examples and along with some scripture of course.

In my prayers, I ask the Lord to remove qualities or sinful natures (unlike Him) from my body and life. In their places I ask Him to fill me with gifts and qualities that will contribute to the building of HIS kingdom. That is a pretty simple prayer, right? Of course it is. However, let's look at what happens when you are filled with Godly things.

Overview of Acts 4 (NIV): Peter and John (the apostles) had been speaking, preaching, healing, and resurrecting the dead in the name of Jesus. Because of this, they were arrested and thrown into jail over night, however the greatness was already done. The people had seen and believed in what the apostles were doing and it began to spread across the area. The next morning, they were brought before the Sanhedrin. Now, because I didn't know the definition of Sanhedrin, I looked it up and felt compelled to share it with you. A Sanhedrin is "[a] group of 70 men who were a religious political body for Israel (a Jewish supreme Court) made up [of] 24 chief priests (Sadducees), 24 elders (Pharisees), 22 scribes and one high priest [-] overall (71) religious men who dictated how people were to worship God and practice Judaism" (http://www.calvarychapel.com/redbarn/terms.htm#S, retrieved Wed Nov 2, 2005).

Basically, the lawmakers asked Peter and John who and what gave them the authority to do what they were doing. Here is Peter's response:

Acts 4:8-10 (8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! (9) If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, (10) then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. (NIV)

Noticed that Peter boldly spoke out as he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The law makers could not deny what Peter and John had done because all had saw and believed, but the Sanhedrin wanted to quiet them. They asked the two not to speak about Jesus any more and to leave,"But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God." (Acts 4:19, NIV)

After more threats, they were let go and returned back to their people. They spoke about all that the Sanhedrin had said and the people all broke out into the "Believers' Prayer" (see Acts 4:24-30). After they finished praying the Word says,

Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (NIV)

Again, I would like to point out that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. See, we all have voids in our lives and if you do not fill them with something good, then something bad will fill them.

Modern Day Example: Let's look at a yard as an example. I would like to have a plush green, golf-course type lawn, but in order to do that, it must be filled with all the same type grass (tall fescue in my case) and no bare spots in my yard. If I do not fill the bare spots with seed, guess what? Weeds take over the bare spots and you have a mix of grass and weeds in your yard. (Lawn tip: A weed is anything that grows in your yard that is unwanted, so if I have Bermuda Grass and Tall Fescue Grows in patches, it can be considered a weed). Then you have to fight, buy weed killer, and remove the weeds and believe me, it is hard to undo a weed problem! The point is if I had pro-actively filled the bare spots with good grass I would not have had this fight with weeds and my lawn would be plush.

This is an example of what the devil does in our lives. We all have "bare spots", but if we do not care to fill them with Godly things, "weeds" will grow in those spaces. A good example of a bare spot (or void) is a neglected prayer life. If you do not pray, the devil will wait patiently to fill it with something unholy. 

Keep working at your Christian walk as we will always have voids to fill in our lives. Just make sure they are filled with good things. I don't know about you, but I would like the Holy Spirit to fill my voids any day!

Antoine E. Hall

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A Halfhearted Christian

Today I want to share with you on the subject of Halfhearted Christians. Before we go any further, let's get a working definition of what we are investigating.

Halfhearted: Exhibiting or feeling little interest, enthusiasm, or heart; uninspired (TheFreeDictionary.com)
Christian: following the teachings or manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus Christ

So, given those definitions, you can put it together and say that "A Halfhearted Christian is one who feels little interest, enthusiasm, or heart for following the teachings or manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus Christ". That's pretty simple and to the point right? Well do you see the problem with this though? A halfhearted Christian lives as though they know about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They know Him on Sunday and when it is convenient for them, but become filled with amnesia when their walk is complicated by following Him. They may claim to love Jesus and can even quote scripture, but live in a manor where even the unbeliever takes notice.

Because you do not whole-hearted give your time and attention to Christ, the halfhearted Christian leaves themselves open to backsliding and confusion. James 1:8 say, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (KJV). Guess what, if you do not serve God with all your heart then who do you serve? If your mind is not totally focused on Him, then the devil sees that as a prime opportunity to give you his card and say “Call me”. This can introduce both recognized and unrecognized confusion into your life.
1 Corinthians 14:33 says, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" (KJV). So, if God isn't your source of confusion, then you know that it is not of God. If you took the devil's card when you hit that low point (or high point) you opened yourself to choosing between two masters.

Romans 6:16 - "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (KJV)

Romans 6:16 is saying that whatever you allow to become your master, you will become a slave to it. If you are a slave of sin then it is to the death, but if it is to obedience of God then you will have righteousness and everlasting life.

If you are confused, be confused no more! If you serve the Lord with all your heart, then He will show you what is right and wrong. There is no in-between on this matter. Either you are for God or against.....you're either hot or cold....you're either black or white on the matter......you get the point.

I wish to say that if you feel halfhearted about your walk with Christ pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the error of your ways. If you know someone who is living a halfhearted walk, then speak to that person. There are only two ways – with God and not with God. At the end of the day, you must choose. I may have shared this before but one prayer that I always pray is that the Holy Spirit be with me in all things that I do: the good things and the mistakes, so that in my errors I am shown the right way. If you can't choose, call on the Holy Spirit and He will help to direct your path. In closing I want to leave you all with Romans 8:38-39 and it says,

"(38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (KJV)

Be blessed gang and have a great day!

Antoine E. Hall

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Envy Gives Birth to Greed

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Today, I want to discuss envy and how it can lead to being greedy.  Back in the mid-2000’s I could remember how I would (a) hear of a 63 year old person hitting the lotto for $20 Million; or (b) hear of someone like LeBron James who had only a high school education but had a $90 Million Nike contract before even setting foot on an NBA basketball court; or (c) drive through Northern Raleigh in the Falls Lake area looking at $2 Million dollar homes wondering how they could afford it. Yep, that use to be me and I was convicted by the Holy Spirit about it as well.

Luke 12:15 - And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (KJV)

Guess what, there is nothing wrong with having Holy ambitions and wanting more for you and your family. But, to want to reach a goal because of envy of another person and their possessions is plain being greedy. There is no other way to put it. You see how the envy part can lead to greed? So, in the examples listed above, I want to go deeper into what I would say.

(a) “Someone 63 years old winning all that money? What are they going to do with it? They are retired and they don't know what to do with all that money.”  I may have been right in that they may not have known what to do with all the money, but guess what? You and a lot of other people would not know what to do with it either! If you cannot manage what you currently have what makes you think God will give you more? Do you know that there is an organization out there that is strictly for people who come into "quick money"? Because of the increasing number of lotto winners people's lives go through dramatic changes and money is the driving force...not God & their morals.  With the increase in divorces, alcohol abuse, etc., these people need help (some not all).

(b) "Man, I can't believe, this kid is straight out of high school and has all that money. That is ridiculous." Now, that sounded about like what I would say. What did I see? I saw myself having a four year college degree and in debt. LeBron got his high school diploma and then became a Nike & NBA celebrity making Millions. However, we do not know the everyday pains of this man's life. With money and fame comes new issues and sometimes the lack of better judgment. It would be wrong to judge and say what you would do when you have no idea the atmosphere in which someone with that amount of money operates.

(c) Riding in North Raleigh, you can see some huge & beautiful houses, but then I use to start wondering, “What in the world do these people do? How can so many people afford housing of this nature when I seem like I live from month to month. I need to find out what they’re doing and do that!” Is that you? Have you ever said that before? But, have you ever wondered how their family life is? Are they putting on a front (a facade) to be with the Jones? You probably would not want to be close to what some people do in order to have what they have. Let's look at more scripture:

Proverbs 15:27 - He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. (KJV)

Have you ever thought about the fact that some people are simply blessed for living in God's will and doing what is best for HIS kingdom? You know, this could be a possible answer for what we see others having. I think we get so wrapped up in the material items and what we want, that we lose focus on our spiritual needs and what is best for us spiritually. If we take care of these needs and live according to HIS Word, the Lord will take care of the rest of your needs.

But wait, Antoine you mentioned something about envy. Never fear, I have a scripture here for that too:

Ecclesiastes 4:4 - Then I saw that all painful effort in labor and all skill in work comes from man’s rivalry with his neighbor. This is also vanity, a vain striving after the wind and a feeding on it. (AMP)

If you want for the wrong reasons then you shall have nothing spiritually. You may acquire what you desired, but if the want wasn't spiritually motivated, the end result may be trouble to you, your family, and others around you. A lot of the times we want more and more and more, without thinking about the additional consequences that come bundled with "more".

In order to grow we must recognize our weaknesses (with the aide of the Holy Spirit of course). There I was, all that time being envious and not even recognizing it. I never considered myself as such but it only takes a small amount of envy to be envious. We have to be able to put ourselves under subjection and begin to improve those areas that need improving. I thank God that He revealed this too me and I hope that this has helped someone else too.

Antoine E. Hall

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Servant Leadership

I want to share with you all a concept called "Servant Leadership". If you have never heard of it, I know it can strike you up side the head with confusion. However, never fear, Antoine is here to break all the moves down real slow so you can understand them.

Well what is servant leadership? It seems that the two words are the exact opposite of each other. How can you serve folks and be a leader at the same time?  That is another good question. Let's get a few  working definitions, then we will bring up the rear with some scriptures.

Servant leadership is a term that is circulating among business owners and organization leaders today. It was coined by a man named Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 however, the act of servant leadership has been around since Jesus' times. Today the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership (http://www.greenleaf.org, Retrieved Wed Sep 28, 2005) defines it as:

"Servant-Leadership is a practical philosophy which supports people who choose to serve first, and then lead as a way of expanding service to individuals and institutions. Servant-leaders may or may not hold formal leadership positions. Servant-leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment."

It makes you want to scratch you head right? Well, it shouldn't. The concept was revealed to me through the book "God is my CEO" by Larry Julian. But see, the idea is not just for the corporate world, it is for other non-profit organizations, and more importantly the church. I later realized that I had known of the concept all along through biblical experience and you probably did too. Amazing how the Holy Spirit works!

Think about it, you as the leader have to first be humble because in order to serve someone else you must be humble despite your title. This is a great time to look at someone who is very humble. SCRIPTURE TIME!!!!   First let's go to John 13:4-5,

(4) He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. (5) After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. (KJV)

WHAT? Why would Jesus need to do anything like that? I mean after all, he knew "that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God" (John 13:3, KJV). I mean why would he have to serve the disciples? It is also about knowing who you are, where you are coming from, and where you are going. If you know those three things, then there will no problem with serving those whom you lead.  After Jesus washed the disciples feet he says, in John 13:14-16

(14) If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.  (15) For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. (16) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (KJV)

Let's just remember that as leaders, we don't have to ram things down people throats nor use them as objects or a means to an end. The bottom line should not be your priority. The bottom line can be about the profit driven corporate world or your organizations goal and mission, and/or spreading and preaching the gospel. If you take care of your disciples, employees, and/or volunteers and serve their needs, the bottom line will take care of itself. Not only will they feel good about themselves, but they will feel empowered to do what's best for the organization. Again, the bottom line takes care of itself.

Now, if only we can began to apply this in our spiritual walk. The phrase for today is "Servant Leadership". Are you a position or title hog? Or, are you a humble servant, leading those you serve? Marinate on that a minute.

Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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A Time & Place for Everything

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In the summer of 2005, I read this book called "God is My CEO: Following God's Principles in a Bottom-Line World" by Larry Julian.  While finishing up reading one day, I flipped ahead to the next page to see what the beginning of the next chapter would be about.  There it had the scripture from Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (NIV).

During that time in my life, I can be honest and not afraid to share, that I had been struggling with my purpose here on earth. Meaning, I had been praying that God would reveal to me his purpose as He had designed my life. I was lead to the Jeremiah scripture, but the Holy Spirit said, "Almost there, but not yet. Do some more searching on purpose."  Lord have mercy!  I was led to Ecclesiastes 3:1. There, it says,

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"

Oh man! Did that speak to me. I prayed that the Lord would reveal my purpose as He designed me and look where he led me. The Lord led me to an answer to my question. It may not have been what I wanted to here at the time, but it was an answer. I learned that there is a time and place for every purpose under Heaven and in due time, I would know my purpose. Let's read more in Ecclesiastes 3:

“(2) A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; (3) A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; (4) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (5) A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; (6) A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (7) A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; (8) A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

You mean to tell me it is a time for EVERYTHING?! Well according to God's Word, this is the case. I know I was not the only one going through this "purpose search" and the Holy Spirit had me to share this for more than just myself. I would encourage you to read the rest of Ecclesiastes 3 as there is a lot more to read.

Just when you think it is time for an event to occur, God says, "Not so". It is on HIS time line that things happen. In due time HE reveals what you need to know. Meanwhile, we just have to be faithful to his WORD and know that he has what is best for us. Next time you feel like it is time to do something, check with God first. He will let you know. If he doesn't answer right away, wait on him. After all that very moment may not be the time to do that something.

Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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Searching for Clarity

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In today's time, I think we all get a little muffled in the mind. We all have a vision that we are searching for but it's not always clear. Sometimes we have a vision we think we are suppose to follow and then there are times when God gives us the vision, but we can't see around the bend to reach the rest of it. But never fear, God is still in the business of bring marvelous light so you can see your way out of the dark. It may not be on your own time line, but nonetheless, he will work things out.  As such, I would like to visit the book of Mark.

Mark 8:22-26   “(22) They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. (23) He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything?' (24) He looked up and said, 'I see people; they look like trees walking around.' (25) Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (26) Jesus sent him home, saying, 'Don’t even go into the village.'”

While this speaks about Jesus healing a blind man, I think we can also look at this as Jesus bringing clarity to someone's situation. It's when God is slowly revealing things to us that we get anxious and antsy. Things aren't happening fast enough, BUT, slowly God will show you what he has in store for you and it may be added to the last vision that He gave you. With that, I wish to leave you with a passage from a book called, "God is My CEO" by Larry Julian (Julian, Larry.  God Is My CEO:  Following God's Principles in a Bottom-Line World.  Adams Media.  March 1, 2001.  Pg):

"As a vision is a picture of the future in its ideal state. I believe God has a clear vision of success for each of us -- the problem lies in our inability to see it. Our lives are so immersed in the forest of our circumstances, fears, doubts, and egos; we can never rise above the tree line to see the vision. Instead, we look for signs and miracles from a mountaintop experience to help us see God's plan. In reality, God works the opposite way. As we grow closer to God, He reveals His plan to us, not in its entirety, but in small pieces. It's okay if you're struggling to find a clear vision. Many of us have driven on a desert highway toward a mountain range. At first, the mountains appear fuzzy. The closer we get, the more clearly defined the mountain range becomes. Quiet your soul to hear God's voice and see His clues. Act on those clues, one by one, and the vision will slowly become clearer."

Antoine E. Hall
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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No Power, No Light

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I want to talk about a simple concept. What is the concept? Well, I'm glad you asked. Let's look at a simple power circuit.

In a power circuit, there is a source of power and there is some resistance. The resistance can be a light, TV, radio, etc...I think you get the point. Well, in order for a circuit to work properly, you must have a complete circuit; meaning, all the wires must be connected to the light and the source. However, if you have a break in the circuit, then your appliance will not work and you begin to wonder what's wrong.

Let's look at another example: a home. In your house, as long as you pay the light bills, you will always go under the assumption that if you plug something in the socket, it will work! BUT, if you miss a light bill payment, you will quickly learn the concept of cause and effect. All your plugs are no longer hot (or work).  And that is a terrible thing when you are not connected to your source.  So, are you plugged into your Power Source? You do know that your source of power comes from the Lord, right?

1 Chronicles 29:11-12  “(11) Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. (12) Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.”

David recognized his source through his prayers as well as you should. See the problem isn't whether or not we paid our light bill because our debt has already been paid by the blood of Jesus. That means you have access to "Always On" or "Hot" power. Whenever you plug into the Him, you will always have the power so that your light can shine brightly.

Now that you know you have an "Always On" power source you have no reason not to have power. When you look around and realize that your light is out, find yourself a plug (prayer or the Word) and plug into it. I guarantee your lights will burn again. If it flickers, don't worry because the power is there. However, if your light goes out, it's not the Source's fault. It's your own.


Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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Addictions and Bad Habits

I want to talk to you about addictions and bad habits. I am not just talking about being addicted to alcohol or drugs, because addictions can include the TV, work, sex, gossip, etc. If you are going to be addicted to something shouldn't you be addicted to Christ? I mean that's a good addiction isn't it?

Addictions start out as a something new to try. After a while, it becomes a habit (or something you do not think about but just do). Once you find yourself in this position, you are addicted to what you are doing.  Let's define the word addition.

addiction (noun): “The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.” (Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/addicition, Feb 22, 2006)

There were multiple definitions out there, but I really liked this one. Now let's look to the Word of God for an example of habits and what they can cause.

1 Timothy 5:11-13    "(11)As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. (12)Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.  (13)Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to." (NIV)

In the example above, Paul is speaking on how to deal with young widows. Before verse 11, he states that no woman younger than 60 may be placed on the widows list. Why? Well he explains in verses 11-13. The reason is because they let their "sensual desires" take priority over their "dedication to Christ". In addition to this, the younger widows form a "habit" of being idle and becoming "gossips and busybodies". There is an addiction in that one passage and it is not to Christ. It is an addiction to things that would keep someone from Christ.

Like I said earlier, the TV can be your addiction. If you cannot sit quietly and feel the need for the TV then it's your addiction. Or, if you come home and your first notion is to go for the remote well that may be something that you need to address. Maybe the first thing you do is run to the computer and check Facebook or email. Well, that is something you may want to identify, accept that these are bad habits and change them. If we can work to replace the things that occupy our time away from Christ, we can begin to live a more victorious Christian life. Why? This is because you would begin to spend more time with Christ. If we are looking towards God instead of gossiping, you can begin to break the habit of gossip.

Well how can you break addictions? In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul gives us a starting place:

"(22)You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; (23)to be made new in the attitude of your minds; (24)and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (NIV)

In addition we can look at Chronicles and Psalm as well.

1 Chronicles 16:11   "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."

Psalm 34:1   "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips."

If we can learn to identify our habits we can change them. Remember that acceptance is the first step. If you cannot accept the fact that you have an addiction or bad habit, you will never move forward with changing it. Bad habits do not change over night. It is a gradual process, however, if you slowly begin to replace these activities with more Godly activities, you will see how the habit slowly goes away. Remember that no two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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Naked You Came. Naked You Shall Return

Image Courtesy of Biblewise.com

A couple of nights ago, the family got to sit down and read Job 1 (sounds like Jobe) and I have to tell you, I learned (and re-learned) some things once again.  It isn't that I do not always learn but rather this was a different take on the same scripture that I have read in the past. I am not going to quote the entire chapter one in its entirety but I do want to set the stage for what is the beginning of many trials for a servant of God.

Job, the Man.

For those who do not know of Job, he "was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1).  He had seven sons and three daughters which by most standards today would constitute as a large family for one home.  "He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen and 500 female donkeys, as well as a great number of servants; so that he was the wealthiest man in the east." (Job 1:3).  If you continue reading verses 4 and 5, you will see that each of his sons had feasts on their respective days and invited their sisters to come and feast with them.  And, at the end all of this, Job would offer up burnt offerings to the Lord JUST IN CASE his sons might have sinned against God.  This is the type of man, that he was.

The Challenge.

The interesting thing about Job's trials is that they all started out with a conversation between the Lord and Satan.  In verses 6 through 12, we find that the conversation begins with the Lord asking Satan where he had been.  Satan simply responded that he had been roaming the earth here and there.  At this point is where it gets interesting.  Sounding like the father of a proud son, the Lord asked Satan if he had noticed Job whom as we remember "was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1).  As the discussion carries on Satan responds by saying that the Lord had protected Job and provided all the things he had.  If all of those things were taken away, Job would surely curse God (see Job 11).  So, to prove just how upright Job was God laid down the challenge by stating that Satan could touch everything around Job, but he could not touch Job himself.

Now that you have a back drop, in chapter one alone we see that Satan starts to make events happen that surround Job.  We find that he has his oxen stolen and the servants tending to them were killed, but one to relay the message to Job.  We see that fire fell from the sky to consume the sheep and servants and all were killed, but one to relay the message to Job.  Then, the Chaldeans attacked and stole all the camels and killed the servants, but one to relay the message to Job.  Lastly, is what I would consider as what should have been a dagger.  As Job's sons and daughters feasted in the oldest brother's home, a rouge wind came and collapsed the home on top of them, killing them all but who?  Yep, you guessed it.  It killed all but one servant to relay the message back to Job.

All at once, the once great man of the east had is wealth reduced to nothing.  To the average person in modern time, they might would immediately curse God and/or commit suicide however Job was not the average person.  In an act that seems almost impossible in most eyes, Job drew himself closer to the Lord.  Job tore his cloths off, shaved his head and fell down on the ground and worshiped by saying:

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

Verse 22 ends the chapter with " In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly".  WOW!  I say WOW because that is true Love for the one who first Loved us!  So with that, this is what I took away from Chapter 1.

Be Perfect, Upright, Fear God, & Avoid Evil  - The way that Job became the great man that he was is because of these qualities.  Becoming wealthy isn't in the cards for everyone.  As a matter of fact, owning a lot things is not the plan that God has for you, but we can still be great people of God by keeping the qualities that Job had.  With that being said, God will give you everything you need.

Nothing Happens to You Unless God Allows It - People have a habit of blaming the devil for many things that happen to them.  In a lot of the cases, it is not Satan who causes us problems, but rather what God has allowed to happen.  With Job, Satan had to get permission to cause distress to him, but still it had to be within the parameters that God set.  God will let bad things happen to you to make you grow up, to tear things from your grips that are hindering your spiritual walk, or a host of other things.  In Job's case, the permission came to show how upright Job would be despite his material and emotional loss.

Naked You Came. Naked You Shall Return - Job gave us this lesson and pretty much sums up our lives.  Out of all the things you obtain in this life we cannot take it with us when we die.  When we are born into this world, we had nothing but our naked bodies.  When we die, you may be buried in a suite or dress, but you aren't taking them with you to heaven or hell.  Even when it comes to relatives.  Although we may see them again one day upon Jesus' return, it is alone that we are born and naked that we shall die.

These things are hard to even understand for many of us because our flesh tends to desire the things that we see as opposed to focusing on the things we cannot see.  I hope that this will be a blessing to you as much as it was for me in learning (and re-learning) this application of the Word of God.

Be Blessed folks!

Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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Cleansing: It's Only a Test

Today, we continue with a previous series called "Cleansing".  If you missed it, the previous post can be found here:  http://toinebo.blogspot.com/2013/07/cleansing-time-for-cleansing.html.

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Jul 12, 2006

Happy Wednesday gang....

Image Courtesy of Best Clip Art

Sorry for the delay, but I tell you I am truly happy to be able to share with you guys today. This week has been a trying week for sure. For that matter the entire month of July has been crazy and not by choice. I think in the past couple of weeks we have touched on the subject going cleansing periods. This thing has really been speaking to me and the theme of cleansing keeps reoccurring. Despite all that I'm going through, I keep being reminded that we (my family and I) are going through a cleansing period in our lives right now, each of us at different levels. With that, I want to give you guys a verse from the song, "It's Only A Test" by Bishop Larry Trotter & The Sweet Holy Spirit Choir.

"It's only a test that you're going through, it won't last always. Trials come just to make you strong, without a little bit of rain, it Just won't grow. Be strong, keep the faith, don't give up, and Realize it's only a test you're going through."

Really this is pretty much the whole song. Let's break this down a little. "It's only a test that you're going through, it won't last always..." - I know there are lots of tests in the bible, but I cannot help but to go back to my boy Job. Man, was he tested or what?

Job 2:7-10 - (7) Then the Adversary went out from the presence of Adonai and struck Iyov (Job) down with horrible infected sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. (8) He took a piece of a broken pot to scratch himself and sat down in the pile of ashes. (9) His wife asked him, “Why do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God, and die!” (10) But he answered her, “You’re talking like a low-class woman! Are we to receive the good at God’s hands but reject the bad?” In all this Iyov did not say one sinful word..

If we recall, God allowed Satan to try Job but could not take his life. However, Job remained a humble and faithful servant through rough and easy times. "Trials come just to make you strong, without a little bit of rain, it Just won't grow." - Let's look at our good buddy Jonah and what he caused. When God told him to go to Ninevah and preach against the city what did he do? He ran. Come on bruh. You ran? God is everywhere. So what happened. While on a ship, God brought a great storm against the ship. Now granted the men on the ship had nothing to do with Jonah's running, but by his presence, God brought his wrath against the boat because He wanted Jonah and that's it.

Jonah 1:13-16 - (13) Nevertheless, the men rowed hard, trying to reach the shore. But they couldn’t, because the sea kept growing wilder against them. (14) Finally they cried to Adonai, “Please, Adonai, please! Don’t let us perish for causing the death of this man, and don’t hold us to account for shedding innocent blood; because you, Adonai, have done what you saw fit.” (15) Then they picked up Yonah (Jonah) and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. (16) Seized with great fear of Adonai, they offered a sacrifice to Adonai and made vows.

Now, because they did as Jonah asked and threw him overboard, the seas died down. Now for the other people on the ship, if that isn't a trial I don't know what is. Just by Jonah's presence alone, these other men were caused to fear the Lord. Sometimes it takes a rocking of your ship for you to fear the Lord and recognize that He is the Alpha and the Omega......the beginning and the end. "Be strong, keep the faith, don't give up, and Realize it's only a test you're going through." - No one ever said that being a Christian was going to be a bed of Roses and that it didn't need attending. The reality is that we are in a spiritual war of good versus evil whether you want to admit and/or accept it or not. The faith is the foundation. If we have that then being strong and being able to realize what is happening will make sense to you.

Luke 17:5-6 - (5) The emissaries said to the Lord, “Increase our trust.” (6) The Lord replied, “If you had trust as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this fig tree, ‘Be uprooted and replanted in the sea!’ and it would obey you.

That's all the faith you need. I am not one that is afraid to admit, I still need work in this area, however, I have seen a LOT of progress from BJ (Before Jesus) to AJ (After Jesus). So because things look bad, don't assume God has thrown the towel in on you. He never does that to his children. You just have to be patient while you are going through your test and you will be blessed in the end. Have a great hump day yall!
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Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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Cleansing: A Time for Cleansing

Image Courtesy of  Commons.WikiMedia.org

This entry comes from a small series that I wrote on Cleansing back in 2006.  Also, there is another from this series that I shared a while ago called, "Cleansing: It's OK to Slow Down".  Without out further delay here we go:

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June 28, 2006

You know these past couple of weeks have been tough......one of my dogs had to spend the night in the Vet Hospital this past weekend (he's ok now though), my daughter has been sick....my wife hasn't been feeling well....I have been sick (getting better though)....the checking account has dwindled down to little of nothing, but the bills are still arriving in the mail like clock work.....BUT, we haven't starved or missed a bill yet, so I know that all will be well. I honestly believe, my family is going through a cleansing period right now though. During cleaning time, a little dust may fly while getting it out the way.

With that said, that's what I want to talk about today. Cleansing. Let's get a working definition.

To cleanse is to "clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing; purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins;"

Well, we have that in place, now let's get to some scripture.

II Corinthians 6:14-18 (CJB) - (14) Do not yoke yourselves together in a team with unbelievers. For how can righteousness and lawlessness be partners? What fellowship does light have with darkness? (15) What harmony can there be between the Messiah and B’liya‘al? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? (16) What agreement can there be between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God — as God said, “I will house myself in them, . . .and I will walk among you. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (17) Therefore Adonai says, “‘Go out from their midst; separate yourselves; don’t even touch what is unclean. Then I myself will receive you. (18) In fact, I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters.’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot.”

II Corinthians 7:1 (CJB) -  Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that can defile either body or spirit, and strive to be completely holy, out of reverence for God.

...The thing is that in this world we are surrounded by more unbelievers than believers in our daily lives except on Sundays. Then again, just because someone is in church doesn't guarantee they are a believer. In God's Word, it says that as long as you are not yoked (joined together or form a connection) with an unbeliever, He will receive you and will be a Father unto you and we shall be his sons and daughters. But, before we can do this we must first cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit. In addition we are to work towards perfecting holiness all while in the fear of God.

I said all this to say that do not dwell on what is happening in your life right now on the surface. As bad as it may seem, there is probably a good reason for it all. Look at your life spiritually and you may find that some simple house cleaning needed to be done.
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Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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When Is Enough, Enough

"(11) Not that I am saying this to call attention to any need of mine; since, as far as I am concerned, I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances. (12) I know what it is to be in want, and I know what it is to have more than enough — in everything and in every way I have learned the secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need. (13) I can do all things through him who gives me power."  Philippians 4:11-13 (CJB)

Courtesy of WikiMedia.com

Today, we live in a world where we are inundated by commercials to entice us to purchase the latest and greatest things.  We are prompted to look at our old ______ (fill in the blank) and feel the need to replace it with the latest and greatest version.

The trigger for this topic was due to my commute this morning.  As I drove into work, I went past a car lot which showcased several new BMW's in the front.  In that brief moment, I saw a guy looking at one of the new one's on display, while at the same time he had just stepped out of a fairly new looking BMW of his own.  Now, I don't know what this guy's intentions were.  As far as I know he could have been looking to buy a car for his kid, looking for a friend, or maybe looking to upgrade.  I do not know his motives.

My thoughts started to turn to how we as people tend to get into the habit of just buying stuff.  We buy stuff and we hold on to stuff....wash rinse repeat.  It almost seems that nothing can satisfy people for any length of time any more.  If you cannot keep their attention, then it's on to the next newest and latest and greatest  ______ (fill in the blank).  I am a gadgets guy and as such, gadget geeks have an inclination to get the latest and greatest stuff.  However, I am usually reluctant to drop the cash necessary to "stay current".  I find myself asking myself, "Do I really need this?"  Really, this is a question that we all can ask ourselves but typically we are driven to make purchases based off emotions and the spur of the moment.

When you look at your closet full of shoes, can you feel that you have enough?  When you look at your closet full of cloths, (with stored away seasonal cloths) can you say that you have enough?  Can you look at your small house size and say this is all that I need?   Can you enjoy the moments when you want things that you do not have the means to purchase at the moment?  We need to get to a point where Paul was in Philippians.  We have to learn to know what it feels like to want and know what it feels like to have an abundance.  In both cases, the important part is to learn to be content in both cases under the comfort and strength of Christ.

Be Blessed Folks.

Antoine E. Hall

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Cleansing: It's OK to Slow Down (Replay)

I started to an entry today and as got about a paragraph into it, I realized that the topic sounded familiar.  Given this, I dug into the archives and found exactly what I wanted to say. It is amazing how things go full circle.  Be blessed folks.

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April 9, 2006

Good afternoon gang!

I pray that everyone is have a great hump day so far.  You know in the year 2006 we find ourselves always and forever on the go.  We are running to this meeting and running to that meeting.  We are working 14 and 15 hours a day, trying to have family time, trying to say hello to friends, participating in this organization and that organization.  When you think about it, where does God get his time in the day or week for that matter?  With so much going on, God and his Word tends to get pushed out of our daily lives.

Mark 6:31-32 says, "(31) And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. (32) And they departed into a desert place by ship privately."

In this chapter of Mark, we find that John the Baptist has just been beheaded and his disciples found out and retrieved his body to be placed in a tomb.  After they had done this task they went to Jesus and He told them to go rest as you see from the verses above.  Although, Jesus was a very busy man, he still found time to slow down and smell the roses; slow down to pray.  See the next verse.

Mark 1:25 says, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."

Jesus always managed to slow down and to keep his eye on God.   In our lives we are typically the equivalent of driving down the road in a Ferrari doing 100mph.  When you look to the side everything is a blur and all you know is that you have a destination.  However, going this fast in life, you miss what God has to say to you.  He can catch you but you are always going to fast to notice him trying to talk to you.  But when you are driving your drop top Volkswagen Beetle, you see everything.  God can say hey, "look over there".  Then He can also say, turn here I want to show you something.  When God wants to show you something you probably will want to see it.  But if you are at 100mph in your Ferrari any slight distraction will cause you to wreck.

That's what happens in our lives.  God is out of the midst and minor distraction causes mental, physical, & spiritual crashes for us.  Slowing down, it's alright.  When you do, God will reveal to you those questions you ask.  He will show you your needs versus your wants.  He will show you your faults and how to correct them.  You just have to be willing to drive slow down enough to smell the roses.

Be blessed folks and have a great day!

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