Acts Of Kindness

“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.

Pure Heart

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.

Seeing God

Sermon Series Seeing God - Pine Ridge Fellowship

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