Author: mossgjo

“Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God” (Matthew 5:8). Acts of kindness is one way we can see God every day. With our open hearts, child-like faith, and pure hearts to see God. We can allow God to use us in acts of kindness towards our fellow man or we may witness acts of kindness done to others or ourselves. Either way, acts of kindness is a Fruit of the Spirit that God wants us to work out in our lives. It doesn’t take much or have to cost you anything. A smile or a kind word is all that it takes. It can be done to a stranger or someone you love. It is designed to lift someone’s spirit to say I care about you. Given the state of our world right now, I would say we all could use acts of kindness. Of course, it is also good to be the giver of acts of kindness, too. Because we are made in the image of God and possess His spirit inside of us, it does our heart, mind, and soul well when we can help and assist our fellow man. It is said the true meaning of JOY is when we put Jesus first in our lives, Others second, and YOU or OURSELVES third. When we take our minds off of ourselves and not be selfish and concentrate and focus on what Jesus would have us to do or what can I do to help others, it brings a sense of peace and contentment. Now, with all things in life we have to exercise balance in this notion, but when we focus on ourselves all the times we become miserable human beings. It truly does us good to think on others and Jesus. We live this way because we know and trust God will take care of us. He promised it in His word, “And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Luke 12:22-31, KJV. And of course we live this out with balance in our lives and God will help us to balance it as well, but when you live a life of giving to others and show random acts of kindness it is full of blessings for everyone around. It could be the reason the Lord commands us to be kind to each other. He knows the overall benefits this would have on humanity.

So, as we live our daily lives, it is awesome to know, I can see God every day! You can see Him as He uses you in some capacity to get His work done, because we are God’s hands, mouth, and feet in this world. Or, sometimes it is good to be the observer. Slow down your pace and see the kindness of God working itself out in someone else’s life. It could be a kindness that is done to you or random acts of kindness we have seen done to others. In the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God, I talk about there is nothing that God does for us that is insignificant. He gives each of us every breath we take each day. It is those “small” acts of kindness and recognizing what God is doing and how He works in our lives that are significant because they are stepping stones to build our faith and open our eyes to the everyday occurrences and acts of kindnesses we see. So when you hold the door open for someone, that is God using you to show kindness to someone else or when you witness this or any other act of kindness it is God moving and working in our lives. It is HUGE and it is significant. It is God reminding us each and every day I am here and at work on the earth. Thank you for joining me. Next week we will delve more into seeing God by sharing my journal entries of God’s kindness and just showing up, what I call, our everyday occurrences, situations, and circumstances. I’ll see you next week. Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings.

In order to see God in your everyday circumstances, your heart must be pure. When your heart is open and pure, it makes it easy for you to choose to see God. If your heart is hard and closed it makes it difficult to see God because you have not cultivated an intimate relationship with Him. That is what God wants most from us is an intimate relationship with Him. He is our Maker. He already knows us through and through, inside out. Once you cultivate and build your intimate relationship with God it makes it easier to develop your child-like faith we talked about in an earlier blog. It is the child-like faith and the pure heart working together to enable you to see God.

Obedience to God helps to cultivate this intimate relationship, too. Through obedience you learn to trust God. God did not promise us a life of ease. He did not promise a life free from problems. That would be asking for a fairy tale life. No, because we live in a fallen sinful world we all will have hurts, heartaches, and pains in this life. What God has promised to do is not leave us or forsake us in the midst of our hurts, heartaches, and pains. Sometimes He may remove a bad problem or situation we may be in; however, most of the time he will walk with us through it. He helps us to make the right choices in those difficult situations. We don’t always want to do it because our flesh begs to have its way and get some satisfaction for what is being done to us. God’s way is to strengthen us so we may represent Jesus in those situations instead of resulting in tactics that Satan will use to create more havoc and chaos in our lives. Once you realize the transformation of choosing to be loving, choosing to be peaceful, choosing the Fruit of the Spirit to bear out in your life, you realize God has your heart and He is here to help you to be more like Jesus, which is a beautiful place to be!

We are not of this world! Once our hearts belong to God the realization of this world is not our eternal home sets in. When we start to look at things from a worldly perspective we start to sink because things of this world are not pure. We become discontent. We start to take on the characteristics of Satan. That impure heart becomes far, far, away from God. In Philippians 4:8 we read those things we should think on constantly,  “ Finally,  brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” We are charged to think on things that are good, pure, lovely… good things! This helps to keep our heart pure as well; God has given each of us an assignment here on earth. It does not look like anyone else’s assignment, because the plans He has for me is different from the plans He has for someone else. Think about that. God has a specific plan just for YOU! So run your race with the child-like faith and pure heart God wants you to have. These are the things you will find most fulfilling in your life when you run the race God has anointed on your life. These things God anoints on your life you will find you do them with ease. It feels natural to you! Why? It is because God has blessed you with it. So keep your eyes on God and you will see Him, with your child-like faith and pure heart. Thank you for joining me this week. Join me next week for the next chapter in the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God, Acts of Kindness. Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings.

We have ALL asked the question one time or another in our lives, “Where is God?” Usually it is after a great disappointment or tragedy in our lives. We wonder how God could let such a thing happen. It affects our Faith. Then some start to wonder if there is really a God. If there is anyone who is good at his job, it is Satan. His job is to kill, steal, and destroy our Faith. He is relentless and persistent in his mission. As mentioned in last week’s blog he is defeated and he wants to take as many with him as he can. We have to recognize Satan’s schemes and shenanigans in our lives and know what he is trying to do. This is the importance of having an intimate relationship with God. Like any other intimate relationships you have in your lives, you get to know that person fairly well. God wants us to distinguish when He is speaking to us and when Satan is lying to us. As I share in the book, Where is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God, we have to choose to see God in our lives. When you discover WHO He is you start to recognize Him in your life.

As you start to cultivate your relationship with God, you start to see and recognize ways and patterns He operates or shows up in your life. I like to call them “Hallmarks” because in your inner being in your spirit you know it is God showing up or helping you in your life. This is seeing God! For example, in my journey I noticed God was constantly showing up when I would lose a piece of jewelry. Some people when they lose their jewelry they never see it again. Here I was on numerous, countless occasions losing my jewelry and being able to find it. It started to become a little embarrassing for me because I was constantly asking people if they have seen the piece of jewelry I have lost. I was wondering if they were thinking why I couldn’t hold on to my jewelry. However, I later came to the realization God was using me to let people know God can help you with every little thing that goes on in your life, even losing a piece of jewelry and finding it! The message for me and people I would share this with was God is not too small or too busy. He is Almighty and He can do ANTHING!  It was awesome to experience! It was happening so frequently that I knew it was God showing up in my life.

I also believe God was using these situations to first have me to recognize Him and second to cultivate a deeper relationship with Him. Those experiences helped me to expand my sensitivity in SEEING God. I started noticing Him giving me favor when I went to a crowded parking area and all of a sudden I would find a parking space very close to the door of the place I was visiting or I would see someone pulling out of a parking space as I started my search. In each of these instances with finding my jewelry and parking space, I thanked God. I blessed God. If the opportunity presented itself, I would share with others my experience. I have stories on top of stories I will share in an upcoming book on how God showed up in my life. I started realizing if God resides in my heart, He is truly ALL around me every day. I don’t have to wait for some big encounter to see God. The mere fact I woke up from a restful night of sleep was God showing up in my life. He could have easily ushered me into heaven with Him, but because He did not do that let me know it was not my time yet. God still has other things here on earth He needs me to do to help build His kingdom and bring others to Him. In the midst of this journey with God, I realized we take so many of our blessings for granted, such as breathing and waking up from sleep. I realized we take God for granted. God is a patient and merciful God. His is loving and kind. A question to ask during this COVID pandemic and the world’s protest against racial injustice we have seen is, Is God Speaking? I believe He is speaking to the world and to us individually. Do not miss the beautiful moments and encounters to see God in your life. Open your heart to Christ. Harden not your heart of the things of God. Thank you for joining me this week. Next week we will discuss the next chapter in the book, Pure Heart. I’ll see you next week! Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings

Once again I have decided to change my narrative this week. Last week at the end of my post, I was going to talk about Seeing God, the next chapter in the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God. Instead, this week I am going to continue to talk about Transformation. Not only continue in the light of how we are transformed into likeness of Christ, but also in the light of Racism and Police Brutality in the death of George Floyd, the black man we saw murdered by police on national television. It has touched the hearts of millions of people just as this COVID-19 has affected millions across the world. In the light of our world events, I believe Transformation deserves more light and attention as we ALL look for a change in our society on many levels. Truly, we are seeking Justice For ALL.

As we move forward with the COVID-19 pandemic and the courageous dialogue needed about racism and police brutality in our world and in continuing my blog on Transformation, racism is nothing new in our world. It was here before Jesus walked the earth. The Israelites were in bondage for over 400 years before they were set free by the forceful hand of God.  God often uses people to get his work done. In the instance with the Israelites He used Moses. It is interesting that the death of George Floyd, the black man who the world witnessed his murder at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers, unveiled the racism and police brutality across the world in other countries and nations. The cruelty and mistreatment of mankind needs to stop across the board. Because we are human beings and we are not perfect, unfortunately racism will be with us until God comes for His people. This world that we know will be no more. I do believe racism can be improved upon tremendously if we have courageous dialogue and effective polices and laws put into place. To say it will be eradicated is to say we live in a utopia and we do not. This is a matter of legislating our heart. Again, this is why God is asking us to give our hearts to him. Only He can change a person.

Racism is an attitude. It is a mistreatment of another race because they are different and built on misconceptions. It is a bad spirit in one’s psyche. It is a demonic spirit to take another human being down. It is Satan using his daggers to kill, steal, and destroy the human race! Satan knows he is defeated. It is why He is so miserable. His aim is to take as many people with Him as he can. This is a good description of the phrase, “Misery loves company.” Satan does not want to be alone in hell by himself. Simply put… He wants company. He does not play fair and he does   not fight fair because he wants as much company as he can get. So how do we defeat him? By the renewing of our hearts and minds here on earth, it is part of the transformation we need to have to live a victorious Christian life.

This transformation of our hearts and minds is deeper than what we think. It is more to it that meets the natural eye. It is the molding, shaping, and pruning of our hearts and minds. It is looking to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who is our supreme example of how we should be and walk this Christian life. It is not easy. It hurts sometimes. When you talk about molding, shaping and pruning, the process is not pretty, but the end results give us the fruit of the spirit in our lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is what we are aiming for. When we can think like Jesus and do like Jesus our world becomes a better place. It is something we should strive for each and every day. That is the transformative spirit we all should seek…Amen.  It will not remove the problem of racism, police brutality, and the multitude of other sins we deal with in this world, but hopefully with reformation of laws, policies, and attitudes, All people will feel like, Justice Is For All. Next week we will delve deeper in the next chapter, Seeing God. Thank you for joining me this week. I’ll see you next week. Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings!  

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8) How can we see God? God shows himself to us Every Day! It is up to us to see Him, if we are paying attention. Seeing God every day is a process. As a matter of fact, our whole journey with God is a process and we move from glory to glory, step by step to higher and higher levels with Him! He gives us our DAILY BREAD every day, if we choose to eat it. So, we must FEED OUR FAITH daily. When we feed our faith daily we become transformed. Butterflies are beautiful transformative creatures. God transforms is from glory to glory as we mature in Him. Part of the transformation is the renewing of our hearts, minds, soul, and spirit. We are transformed more and more each day like JESUS. It is IMPOSSIBLE to live the Christian life in our own strength. We just CANNOT do it. The things that God has asked us to do we cannot do on our own. It is why he sent his son, Jesus, to help us. However, we MUST first accept Jesus before he can help us on a daily basis. Because of God’s GOODNESS, MERCY, and GRACE, He helps us ALL. Yes, those who believe and those who do not believe. However, our ETERNAL life is at stake. That is the importance of accepting JESUS.

Knowing that God shows His kindness to us daily, let’s explore this truth a little deeper. If you are reading this blog, it is an act of kindness of God toward you. Why? YOU ARE BREATHING! There are so many things God does for us that we have taken it for granted. GOD GIVES US EACH AND EVERY BREATH WE TAKE. That is kindness. We know people who struggle to take their next breathe every day. One of the symptoms of COVID-19, people have a difficult time breathing. I find that interesting that something many people do every day without really thinking twice about it because it is something we do naturally, that God can put a stop to it at any time. When He decides to do it permanently means we will eternally be with Him for those who have accepted His son, Jesus Christ. This brings me to the second HUGE act of kindness God showed mankind, He GAVE His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we may spend eternal life with him. Just these two acts of kindness shown to us by God should be enough to make us thankful and grateful each day! And so no act of kindness is too small. As a matter of fact if we can show thankfulness and gratefulness for those small acts of kindness, as in Chapter 5, I refer to them as stepping stones to build our child-like faith. In essence it is part of the transformation. They all work together to get us where we need to be in Christ.

In the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God in Chapter 5, we discuss more what it looks like to See God and more specifically in acts of kindness. Kindness is one attribute of God; therefore, Jesus modeled it while He walked the earth. We are to bless people with kindness. It should show up in our words and actions towards each other. It is an attitude of the heart. Additionally, our kindness should not be based on how people treat us; the Jesus in us will HELP usto be the ambassadors of Christ God wants us to be. So, when we talk about SEEING God every day, look for the kindnesses you witness, you see in others, what is shown to you and what you show to others as well. That is God moving and working in you. As we discussed in previous blogs, we are God’s hands, mouth, and feet in this world.

The transformation includes a changing of the mind with a NEW mindset. Again, we are putting down the old man and taking on the new man in Christ. This is where the transformation begins, in the mind. We renew our minds every day in Christ Jesus. So we decide to choose kindness in our walk with the Lord and we KNOW, with the Lord’s help we can do this because God’s spirit already dwells within us. We just have to decide to tap into it every day. The transformation is taking place and it becomes a part of our nature to be kind. Then when we stop to think about it in retrospect, we realize, “Oh, God, this is you working in me!” It is quite a humbling experience to know that God’s spirit is working in you and that he is using you… you just made yourself available for him to use you for His glory. What an AWESOME experience!

So seeing God could look like many good things that you see. For example, in Chapter 5, I talk about someone holding a door open for you is an act of kindness from God. Knowing God does not have to do ANYTHING for us, we should be so appreciative when kindness is shown to us. If God sees you are appreciative over the little acts of kindness that is shown to you, then you will start experiencing more and larger acts of kindnesses that are shown to you. We sometimes refer to them as FAVOR or BLESSINGS! All the while this transformation of your heart is taking place it is becoming pure so that you can see God in ALL things.

We serve a GOOD God. He wants to be good to His children. However, because God knows that Satan is on the prowl and tries to steal, kill, and destroy our faith, God knows He has to help us get where we need to be and it is in the process of transformation. We have to develop a child –like faith. We have to develop a pure heart so we can see God every day and in ALL circumstances, the good and bad. Next week we will delve deeper in the next chapter, Seeing God. Thank you for joining me this week. I’ll see you next week. Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings!  

There are many mysteries to God we will NEVER understand. If we tried to figure EVERYTHING out that happens to us or that happens in our world, at best, we will become frustrated. God is ever molding, shaping, pruning, breaking, bending, etc., us to become more Christ-like. Jesus is our example. He is our God-man who came on the earth to experience life as we know it. Because He is God, He did it without sin! We are still in our humanity. However, with Jesus being our example, he left us a comforter, the Holy Spirit, to help lead us and guide us in the right direction in life and to help us make good decisions. It is up to us if we want to access these things for an abundant life as discussed in the previous blog!

No one’s life is perfect. We all have challenges, struggles and weaknesses. This is why we have to die daily to self and renew our hearts, mind, soul, and spirit and pick up our cross and decide to follow Jesus EVERY DAY! The first step one must take is to have a relationship with HIM. The relationship is important because it is not humanly possible to live the Christian life on our own. WE CANNOT DO IT! The beauty of the relationship with God is the more you learn about Him, Jesus, His son, and the Holy spirit, the comforter, you become transformed. You start to realize in your life that the Trinity is helping you to do things that in your humanity you would not be able to do, which is AWESOME! As we open ourselves up to God we start to develop a child-like faith. One of the ways we open up to God is knowing His word, which is the Bible. It is the main way God speaks to us!

This relationship with God is worthy! As the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God alludes to, God is so awesome and amazing that He knows how many strings of hair we have on our head! That is pretty intimate! It is an indication of how well He knows us. When you grasp onto that realization, you cannot deny HE IS GOD! On page 15 in the book, it points to Matthew 18:3, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”; hence, this child-like faith. We are to come to God as little children leaning and depending on Him for our EVERYTHING! When you think of God giving you every breath you breathe you REALIZE how much you need Him. Interestingly, this COVID-19 crisis and pandemic affects our respiratory system; the way we breath!

The graciousness of God does not allow Him to be a task master. He is quite the gentleman. He gives us free will and does not wish to control us as robots. He wants us to come to Him lovingly and freely. We are the ones who will decide if we perish or not and be separated from God in the eternal life each of us are destined to. Your child-like faith enables your heart to become pure before God. Again, the process of renewing your heart, mind, and spirit is daily. We have to give our will over to God so he may use us to be His hands, mouth, and feet in this world. It is a beautiful thing! Thanks for joining me again this week. Next week we will explore our next chapter on Kindness… I’ll see you then! Stay safe from COVID-19. Love and Blessings!

Once we develop our child-like faith, the fruit of the Spirit should start to inhabit our being. Some fruit will be more dominate than others. The fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The more we take on the characteristics of Jesus, the more we will manifest these fruit. God shows each of these fruit to us constantly. Jesus demonstrated how these fruit looked when he walked the earth. So these fruit should be a part of our journey and of our life. The key is to realize we cannot display these fruit in our own strength. It is not humanly possible to display them on a consistent basis, but through the help of Jesus and through God’s supernatural strength we can show the fruit of the Spirit to the world consistently. The beauty is you realize it is God working his spirit within your spirit to get his work done… How AWESOME is that!?

Kindness is a fruit that is easily recognizable in people. Although sometimes mistaken as weakness and naivety, kindness takes courage and strength. It usually shows up in a person’s disposition with a smile. It may present as someone being considerate and holding a door open for you as stated in the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God. It is showing concern for our fellow man and helping them out when we can. It celebrates with others’ accomplishments and achievements in life. The world’s way of thinking is survival of the fittest. In other words, it is focused on self and likes to get tangled into competition and comparisons. Sadly, when you do not engage in these things, the world looks at you as strange. Well, God said we are a peculiar people (Deuteronomy 14:2).  It is nothing like God’s word bearing true in our lives, right? It’s not always pleasant, but it rings true.  However, usually one’s kindness leaves an indelible mark on people. People usually remember the kindnesses that have been shown them. Often you will hear them say, “I will never forget this” or “I will never forget what you did for me.” Kindness also usually leave people with an unforgettable feeling of someone really caring about them. It’s the same as we feel when God has shown us kindness. Sometimes God will “wink’ at us with his kindness of the favor and blessings He does in our lives. Some of them are truly unforgettable.

Satan tries to twist and corrupt the kindness that is shown in our lives. He first does this when God shows His kindness to us. Sometimes we don’t even recognize God is “winking” at us, showing himself to us. It is the beautiful FAVOR we see in our lives. When we have the child-like faith and pure heart, we can see God’s kindness to us. However, if our hearts are hard and not sensitive to God and His ways we will not see it. Satan will also plant seeds of suspension in people when kindness is shown to them. They cannot accept it and think the person wants something from them so it makes them uncomfortable. It is hard for them to accept that kindness is a characteristic of God and He uses people to manifest it.

So God is showing us kindness constantly. If you are breathing and reading this blog (smile), God is showing you his kindness. One of the blessings of COVID-19 is that is has slowed down our pace and schedules of living our every day lives. I can imagine God saying, “There are no excuses for you to give me some of your time, now.” Think about it. This pandemic is happening across the world! So we are all experiencing similar situations and circumstances. I believe the equalizer is the pandemic. So why not give God some of your time now? Ponder on his kindness towards you. Having the basics in life of food, clothing, and shelter, God is showing his kindness to you. Ponder on all of the other kindnesses God has shown you through out your life. The kindness that God bestows upon us should compel us to want to show kindness to others. Thanks again for joining me this week. Next week, we will talk about Chapter 5 in the book titled, Transformation. I’ll see you then. Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings!