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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Re-Framing Failure

Don't look at failure as failure, but look at it as you crossed the wrong finish line.

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The Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it; 14 but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

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Watch What You Say

Ephesians 4:29

Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them.

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A Good Definition of Evil

“...when good that should be there is missing from something, that is evil....Evil is, in reality, a parasite that cannot exist except as a hole in something that should be solid.  In some cases, though, evil is more easily explained as a case of bad relationships” 

Geisler, Norman and Brooks, Ron.  When Skeptics Ask.  Copyright 1990.  p. 61

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You Only Live Once

"You only live once, but you can die twice."

- KB, from the song Anomaly

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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)

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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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Be Open to Godly Advice

(2) To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; (3) To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; (4) To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. (5) A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: (6) To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. (7) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. - Proverbs 1:2-7

In a nation where individualism and independence is pushed, it is sometimes difficult to see outside of our own thoughts and seek the advice of others.  A lot of the times, we think we know everything, so it's difficult to realize when we are wrong.  Thinking like this can be foolish and not wise at all.

I have the great honor of being married to a woman who is my best friend, and know that she is grounded in the Lord and open to the move of the Holy Spirit.  It is great because there are times when I can get set on a path and formulate my own scenarios and get lost in my own outcomes as opposed to the will of the Lord.  I am pretty sure I am not the only one who does this.  In those times, God will use those to get your attention when He cannot.  He will use those to relay messages, wisdom, understanding, reassurances, reminders, etc.  It is this that I cherish and it is those moments we realize that we may need to change our way of thinking and be more open to His will.

Now, I am not saying go and take the advice of every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the street.  That is not what I am saying.  The world is not lacking in an abundance of people with an opinion.  For example, you can find an abundance of books, studies, articles, etc. written by people on how to best raise children.  The problem with this is when you have an author who has no kids of their own.  Unless you have stayed up late nights, changed the many diapers, and have or actively raise a child on a daily basis, their opinion is nothing more than an observation.  It is not based on any of their person experience as fact.

It is those opinions who you know share the same values, experiences and relationships that you value the most. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, it says to "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?".  However, it doesn't stop there.  Just because everyone claims to know Jesus Christ and is a Christian does not mean they are still equally yoked as you.  You must be keen on testing them by the fruit they produce.  Jesus tells us to "(15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." (Matthew 7:15-17).

Don't get me wrong, God can use anyone at any time to achieve His purpose, ie, some random homeless person on the street.  While you may know them, they still can be used.  More than likely, it is the people who are closest to you and who we surround ourselves with that we tend to listen to the most.  The catch is making sure you separate fact from fiction and can identify from where their motive comes.  For that, we have to know Christ's Word for ourselves so that we can test the spirit from which counsel comes.

Be Blessed Folks.

Antoine E. Hall

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Can't Is Not An Option

In my household, our daughter knows that the words "can't" or "cannot" are not options for use.  Now, we are teaching our younger son the same concept. It dawned on me that my wife and I are in such the habit of correcting it, that we do not realize when we do it.  This is actually a good thing!

This morning while on the way to dropping the kids off at school, I told my son that he should to learn how to whistle, so we all can whistle together.  His next statement was, "I can't."  Immediately, I found myself correcting him.  I am a stickler about this subject because many people will quickly say that they "cannot".  Unless there is some sort of disability affecting that person, most people can do just about anything if they put forth the effort.  It may take them a little longer to learn due to the individual, but they can get there.

So, adults, I encourage you as well to stop saying that you cannot do certain things.  Instead change your statement to "I do not know how" to do _________.  By saying this, you give yourself room to learn and and grow.

Be Blessed.

Antoine E. Hall

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