I Promise...

This blog is in fulfillment of the Week Five project for IS502. The theme is promise-keeping.

I Promise...

Sometimes it is easier to describe something by defining what it is not.

A broken promise is like a broken contract. 

Most of the promises that I have given or received have been verbal. 

Basically, a promise is a contract of sorts that requires an amount of trust and faith on the part of both parties involved.

I have made many promises and I have broken many promises.

With time and maturity, I have learned to not make promises that I cannot keep.

 I tried to come up with life events where promises are made and often broken. Check out the photos and humorous quotes below and be aware of what comes to mind.

God and his Creation

This is the only one where Father God, who is perfect makes promises to his children. His promises are "yes" and "amen" (NASB, 2 Corinthians 1:20) but how often we break our promises to him. 

Marriage

From a promise ring to a wedding ring for many, the idea of marriage is filled with the promises of a fulfilling future and even the American dream. The happily-ever-after, however, doesn't always happen. Sometimes divorce or separation happens and promises made at the altar are broken.

Parenting

Parenting is such a job from the heart. No one knows how to do every part of it just right. The parents who seek the Lord over everything sometimes struggle. I heard a pastor say one time that most of the time parents can only do their rotten best even when they are trying so hard.

Education

Colleges and universities often cleverly market to eager parents and young bright students. However, the promises are often unfulfilled. It is implied that once you graduate, you will get a good enough job in your field to pay off your bills and even your massive student loan debt.

Jobs

Having a job outside of your field of study can sometimes lead to a false sense of security fueled by empty promises when one pay off student loans. The truth is that many people do not get jobs in their field of expertise because the pay is too low, or the competition is too fierce. So they end up getting jobs that simply pay the bills.

Politics

 It seems that with every election many politicians make grandiose promises, and it seems like few are kept. Taxes are always a hot topic. There is always confusion as to which politician to elect. Many Evangelicals ask "who is the lesser of the two evils?"

What does the Bible say about promise-keeping?

This blog would be miles long if I could go over every promise in the Bible. 

God promised Noah that he would never flood the earth like that again, (NASB, Genesis 9:1-17), and he put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant with him.

In Deuteronomy 28:1-14, God lays out a beautiful promise to his people. He promises blessings and prosperity, fruitfulness and peace and a never ending supply of everything that they need. However, there are conditions for God to keep his end of the promise, the people must honor him and worship him. The rest of the chapter v.15-28 give a detailed layout of what will happen if they do not hold up their end of the promise. In actuality this is a covenant between a community of people and Father God.

Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life", (NASB, John 14:6). 

In my experiences with broken promises, it often feels like lying. When I was promised things and never got them I felt as if I had been lied to and was heartbroken.

Keeping promises requires truth, trust and time for each party involved in the promise.

When the children of Israel were promised their own land, the Promised Land, they had to fight for their promise and it was brutal, (NASB, Joshua 6:1-26).

I took a leap of faith to move to Los Angeles and attend seminary. It was hard, it was scary, but God promised that he would be with me, that he would protect me. This is my personal promised land: to be in the center of God's will. I have learned that sometimes one has to fight for the promised territory, but I've also learned to let God fight my battles as I keep my promised posture of prayer and adoration before him.

Revelations On the Importance of the Flesh of Christ

I pray that you had a good week. This blog is a bit deep.
I am doing video blogs now "vlogs" with short inspirational messages.
Here is a vlog about another paper that I wrote on Tertullian an early church father who was an apologist and lawyer. Tertullian was from North Africa and was very highly educated. He argued for the importance of the flesh of Christ against a heresy that arose in the early Church.
I also share my own personal journey of pain and forgiveness. I also share revelations about the humanity of Jesus being just as important as His divinity. This is a beautiful mystery that must remain just that: a beautiful mystery!

On the Importance of the Flesh Of Christ, (14:48 mins)

The Apostle's Creed

I recently wrote a paper on the Apostle's Creed for a required class that I took at the seminary called "The History of God and Christ in the Church". Legend says that each line was uttered by each of the twelve disciples (Matthias replaced Judas, of course post-resurrection). I got an 'A' on my paper. The creed really moved my heart and I though it might be good to blog about it. First, here's the creed:

Peter: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth."
Andrew: "And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord."
James: "Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary."
John: "Was crucified, dead, and buried."
Thomas: "He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again."
James: "He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father."
Philip: "And will come again to judge the living and the dead."
Bartholomew: "I believe in the Holy Spirit."
Matthew: "The holy catholic church, the communion of saints."
Simon: "The forgiveness of sins."
Thaddeus: "The resurrection of the flesh."
Matthias: "Life everlasting."

Each line is a sermon in itself and very powerful!
The most powerful lines for me personally are the lines uttered by Bartholomew and Thaddeus:

"I believe in the Holy Spirit."

I was given questions to answer for each line of the creed. Here's what I wrote in response to Bartholomew's line:

Q> Many people fear the idea that Jesus will come again. Do you?

Why or why not? In what ways are you conscious of the Holy Spirit as your

advocate?

A> I do not fear the second coming of Jesus at all. I look forward to it with joy and expectation! I think that anyone who fears this is living under a religious spirit of fear that does not come from God. I also think that anyone who fears Jesus in any way probably doesn’t know Him very well. To me He is a dear friend and lover of my soul. The thought of being with Him thrills me. Jesus must return to fulfill the prophecy and further fulfill the will of God in the earth.

The question of my consciousness of the Holy Spirit as my advocate is a very personal one. I have seen the Holy Spirit act as my advocate on countless occasions. In some very dark hours, the Holy Spirit was there to guide me with knowledge beyond my understanding. St. Paul wrote about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, (NASB, 1 Corinthians 12:1-14:39), and I have asked God for those gifts. I believe that the Holy Spirit is a very active person of the God-head and that He has a personality and a vital role. I know that he advocated for me when I was suffering in silence persecutions within the church where I grew up. I know that He taught me how to dream and to imagine myself in a better place.

If I were to describe the Holy Spirit I would say that He is a man of glorious and fiery presence, (NASB, Acts 1:8), and that He only speaks truth from what He hears the Father speak, (NASB, John 1:13).

"The resurrection of the flesh."

Q> Does your belief in "the life everlasting" shape your present attitudes and actions? In what ways?

A>  I have many family members and dear friends who are in heaven including my dear Mother and Grandmother. To not believe in everlasting life would be depressing. To not believe in everlasting life is to ignore the biblical passages and prophecies that tell us that there is eternal life after death. My attitude towards life is always through the lens of the kingdom of God, which is eternal and otherworldly. I think about my every action and how it affects not only myself and the people around me, but the future in light of the kingdom of God.

I believe that the saints in heaven make intercession for us and that they are like cheerleaders who’ve gone on before us as the writer of Hebrews stated, (NASB, Hebrews 12:1). However, that does not give me license to do whatever I want with the world around me. I still believe in being good stewards of the earth, good stewards of what God has placed in our possession until the day we are taken up to be with Him in body and in soul.

So basically, with that last sentence I was clarifying that I am not a universalist like many of my theological colleagues at the seminary. I can prove the flaws in universalism biblically. However, this blog is not about that. I want to focus on the flesh of Christ for a moment.

The divinity of Jesus is just as important as His humanity. If he had not come in the flesh how could He identify with what I've gone through? If He had not be divine, how could He deliver me from sin and shame? You see, He was equally human and divine. Many theologians have tried to explain this and reason it out philosophically. Some have abandoned Christ's divinity, some abandoned His humanity. But some things need to remain a mystery. Jesus Christ was 100% divine and 100% human. To end this blog I want to remind you what the prophet Isaiah wrote:

'He has borne our griefs,

And He has carried our sorrows and pains;

Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken,

Struck down by God and degraded and 

humiliated [by Him].

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our wickedness 

[our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];

The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,

And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.'

-Isaiah 53:4-5 Amplified Bible

Hallelujah and amen!

New Novel in Print!

I just published a novel that is partially based on my life!
You can pick it up on Amazon.com for $19.49! Free shipping for Prime members!
This is a story of redemption and overcoming by the blood of Jesus the mighty Lion of Judah!
Please watch the video below which I posted on Facebook.
10% of the proceeds will go towards ministries that help to bless and empower abused women and to help end sex trafficking.

Many blessings to all who watch the video and buy the book.
Thank you for your support!

My BIG Announcement!

Five Years Ago On July 5th, 2011

Five years ago today, on July 5, 2011, I had a powerful encounter with Father God. I was in deep prayer and fasting. I had been invited to play softball with a few peers from church the day before, but I felt that it was more important for me to spend time with the Father God. I also felt that I needed to spend time with my family that day being that it was the 4^th of July weekend.

I experienced a lot of condemnation from the enemy for not hanging out with the church kids. Today, I look back with eyes of discernment and wisdom. I instead got up early to pray and then went to spend the holiday with my Grandmother and sister. It so turns out that those were very precious moments with my Grandmother and sister because that was the last 4th of July I had with her. I took photos of the three of us. It felt like one of those sacred moments. Last August 2015, my Grandmother passed joyfully into the glory of heaven to meet with Jesus at age 89. I was able to be by her bedside to comfort her and to pray.

On July 5, 2011, Father God had encountered me around 5 a.m. and told me to move more than 400 miles south of my hometown. He had told me to enroll in seminary and gave me very detailed instructions. I did as He instructed and I have never looked back. I met my husband and we have been blessed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

As I continue my studies in seminary, I look back at the last five years.

I was so scared to move away from home, from my family, from my church, from everything I knew, but there was no doubt that I had heard the voce of God speaking to me. I told Father God how scared I was and He told me that I would have deep regrets in not following His kind voice. Faith arose in me. I realized that the fear I had was from the enemy. Father God sent his intercessors and prophets to me to confirm that I was on the right track and doing the right thing. They encouraged me and said the things that I needed to hear at the right moments. My pastor and his wife encouraged me to move. My boss, came to me with great sadness but still encouraged me to move and told me how going to seminary would be a good thing. I realized that I had a small band of cheerleaders in the spirit-realm.

At the time a certain song was playing on the Christian radio. The song ministered to me very deeply and gave me strength to move forward in faith. I felt the Father’s love and His comfort. I’ve blogged about he song before, but someone needs to listen to the song and know that God is speaking to you. He always speaks in peace and love, never in fear, or manipulation, or legalism, and torment. God is pure love.

‘Cause I don’t wanna live like I don’t care

I don’t wanna say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself.

Oh, I could choose not to move, but I refuse.

-Josh Wilson, "I Refuse" chorus

Josh Wilson performing "I Refuse" on Vevo: