In a Instance, It Was Gone

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I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up that morning like any other, walked out to my car only to see my seats flipped forward, and my back window busted out. My sound system was gone; stolen; not to be had any more and I was upset to say the least.  Did I mention that I was upset? That is probably putting it mildly.

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Let's rewind back to when I was in high school.  This was my 1987 Ford Escort with 5-Star rims on it and it was rightly named, "Da 'Scort". I worked as a teenager and so I paid for the car, but I was also interested in car sound systems. My interests were triggered by my cousins who had systems as well.

Over time, I managed to build quite the system.  I had two 12" Sub woofers taking up the entire trunk, nice mid-range speakers in the doors, a 12-Disc CD changer, two amplifiers (one under each seat), and a Pioneer radio with a removable face and alarm. Yes, all of that was inside an Escort and on the surface you couldn't even tell. However, when it turned on my parents would say they could hear me coming into the neighborhood.  It would rattle windows if I was close by. It was loud and it was my baby. To top it all off, I did all the installation work myself, so there was much pride in what I had.

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Da 'Scort

That summer I was in summer school at NC State and that night I came home blasting my music like normal and went in the house. Out of all nights, I forgot to take the face off my radio, which if the face wasn't put on the radio in 10 seconds the alarm (horn) would go off.

So, when I walked to the car and saw what happened, my heart dropped. The only thing that they left for me were the speakers in the doors, but that was only because they were behind the factory covers. There was anger, sadness, disbelief, and so many emotions running through my head. I had felt so violated. Something that I had worked so hard to create over years was gone in just an overnight nap. So, for a long time, I drove around in silence with wires hanging out of my dashboard where a radio used to be, which was a constant reminder of what had happened that summer.

So, why the pain? Why the heartache? Why did I feel like I had lost everything? The reasoning was because of how I treated my car and my sound system.  It was my treasure on earth and like a king with riches, it was my vault that held all my valuables.  In Matthew 6:19-21, the Bible says:

(19) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I did exactly what the scripture said not to do. I wasn't saved back then, so these verses didn't register to me, however, even as a non-believer I learned something.  The things you have on this earth can be gone in an instant. The things that you build up that are material can be lost in a matter of minutes. If your heart, soul, and everything are in those things, you will feel defeated and demoralized when they are gone.

Yes, this life changing event is still vivid to me, but what has changed is where I put my value. Yes, I do own things, but my worth isn't wrapped up in them. My walk with Christ and the love of my family tops my list now-a-days and that's what matters most.  Yep, I still have treasures - it's just that now I store them in a different place.

Be Blessed folks.

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Naked You Came. Naked You Shall Return

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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: 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....

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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