Cleansing: Let Me Show You Something

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This entry continues a previous series I wrote nearly seven years ago on the topic of Cleansing.  This is the last one for this series.  If you missed the others, you can see them all by clicking on the Cleansing link in the right navigation under the Categories or you can simply click here:  http://toinebo.blogspot.com/search/label/Cleansing.


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Aug 2, 2006

Good afternoon gang,

Sorry for the delay, but I'm here! Let's hop straight into it. I am continuing my topic on Cleansing as God has given it to me. I told you all that I feel like I am going through a cleansing period in my life and...it seems like we are always in "valley moments". Well just when you are in the "valley", God will reach out to show you something.

What I mean by "Let Me Show You Something" is actually not me talking but God saying, "Let Me Show You Something". Last week, we talked about Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not" (KJV). Well, by now I would hope that you have called unto God. But the question is, will you go with Him when He wants to take you somewhere and show you something?

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - (9) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (10) But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (KJV)

It's like a parent to a child when things aren't going right. You reach your hands out to that child to show them something that they don't see or realize. The key is that the child grabs your hand so you can reveal to them the things they did not know. It's the same deal with God. If you hear him calling out to you and wanting to show you something, grab his hands and go without resistance. He will began to show you things that will blow your mind away and you will become a changed man/woman for it.

But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself one day :-) .
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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: 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....

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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

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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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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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