I set my hopper to pre-record a sermon by Steven Furtick this past Sunday and I’m so glad I did, because I honestly feel some of it was meant for me to pass on to my father (okay, maybe not the entire sermon, but a very important part of it) and some was meant for my son to know, more importantly, hear for himself. How amazing is it that my son was here the day I watched it?
Why, you might be wondering? I’ll tell you why in a minute. I’m sure you’ll get your own image of him after your finished reading this.
Steven Furtick is by far the best preacher I’ve gave my attention to in a long, long time. He actually caught me with his first sermon I ever saw. God knew I needed to hear it too. The topic was exactly what I was going through at the time so needless to say it hit home inside my soul. It also made me feel better because I’d been battling with a few mental health things. After listening, and paying close attention to the message, I felt renewed. Almost as though I could conquer whatever came my way. My positivity was restored an my will was stronger than ever. The sermon was titled, “I caught a Thought’. I even wrote about it and made it a blog post.
With this sermon the message I caught was that nobody is better than the someone else just because they’ve read their Bible more, or have attended church longer. I didn’t catch the title of this specific sermon, but about 10 minutes into his speaking he said, “Do you think because you read your Bible more than everybody you know that it makes you a better Christian?” The next question was, “Do you think because you’ve memorized ALL those scriptures, it makes you a better Christian?” Then the last one he said was, “Do you think because you can quote scripture on demand that it makes you a better Christian?”
Sorry! Not sorry! Especially if you actually thought that was true.
We are ALL equal in God’s eyes. When the Lord looks at us, He doesn’t see us as one individual being better than the next. We are ALL His equal creation! Doesn’t matter if this person is a junky and that person is in the chior at church every Sunday. No one is any better than the next person. Even though that’s the very truth of the matter it still doesn’t make us feel any better when we are judged by someone who thinks they are better than us.
When you are witnessing to people the last thing they want to hear is you preaching fire and brimstone. That their souls are bound for hell if they don’t change their ways. You’ll accomplish nothing but scaring them away from the message behind what you’re trying to get them to understand. They’ll feel as if your shoving it down their throats and then they’re not going to want to hear no more. Honestly, they’ll probably walk away without you getting to finish your ‘religious tirade’. If anything, instead, they’re gonna turn their attention from the words your saying. Causing them to miss out on experiencing everything the Lord has to offer them. What He gives people everyday.
You have to approach people you want to witness to, and care about cautiously and with great care. Like handling valuable historical information. That’s how you have to act, and treat a lot of the people you talk to. As if they’re fragile, one of a kind, or even as though they’re the most important person in your life at that specific moment.
Being raised around my father, well, let’s just say I’ve learned what not to do in those situations. He’ll talk religion 24/7, 365. Who wants to be around that ALL the time? Even though I was little and didn’t have a choice, I didn’t want to hear it so much. I know he scared me saying things a child at 7-years of age couldn’t comprehend because I couldn’t understand. I never thought I was going to grow-up to be an adult. Muchless a mom or even a grandma now. I thought Jesus was coming back everyday I woke up. At anytime in any given moment, at the blink of an eye.
Instead tell ALL the wonderful things about the Lord, and all the things He has in store for each and everyone of us. The wonderfully great things that can & will happen in their lives if they choose to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts.
You’re not going to win people over to the Lord by being an overbearing nuisance. or pushy about the subject. As a matter of fact you’re going to scare them away, making them not want to hear anything more you have to say. You can’t and won’t win people to the Lords side by being overbearing and pressuring them.
You’ll attract more bee’s with honey than vinegar.
Another thing. My dad is guilty of this beyond all measures. When your visiting someone (in thier own home) or you have company, don’t preach every second of time that you’re there, or every where you go. Talk about regular stuff to your family or friends. People don’t want to hear preaching or someone quoting scripture all the time. Especially when the company your with already has a relatioship with the Lord, and the knowledge that comes witht that relationship.
God will set you free from the burden of someone else’s fruit.
My father has a habit of witnessing to people, and asks them if their saved. Only to proceed in preaching fire and brimstone to whoever he’s talking to. He keeps on until he gets to the point of scaring them away or pissing them off. Numerous people in our family and several of his ‘friends’ throughout the years have tried telling him, in very polite ways I might add, how not everyone wants to hear religious talk all the time. It goes in one ear and out the other because let me tell you he is set in his own ways that’s for damned sure. He might have eased up on how much he emphasizes that the evil in your spirit is hell bound? But I doubt it.
I don’t like it when he preaches at me. I have to stop him in his tracks because it’ll just piss me off! At least I’m being honest. It’s as though I have to tell him repeatedly, I have my own relationdhip with God and I believe that Jesus died for us. I don’t need nor do I want to hear about the Bible every single time I visit my parents. It makes me not want to go sometimes, but I do anyways. Because of my momma. (And he is my dad. Jkjk I love him). Lol!
I know he drives the family crazy, especially my momma. She’s gotta live with his ass. I rescue her though by bringing her here to visit instead. Switch it up a little. She can’t get out of the house much anymore because of her leg. The rauma to her knee caused her leg to morph into a much larger version of the other. She shattered her knee cap about 10-years ago now, and only recently within the last 2-3 years received her knee transplant.
Is that even a thing, a knee transplant? Lol!! Bahaha. . .
Alrighty then you guys I gotta get off here. This piece is finally finished so I’m gonna post it now. I hope it gets lot of likes.
I'd rather read a good book, VS watching the movie made from it on TV. Most thoughts on that are 'why'. Well, my answer for that is that there aren't any limitations to your imagination. Therefore, when I'm reading an action packed thriller that I can't put down or stop turning the pages of is because the details are written by the author describing the scene/situation with such clarity, that I think it's far better than what anyone can visibly see on TV. That being my opinion only, I'm sure millions and billions of avid readers out there agree with me 100% on that reason alone. I've always had an active imagination growing up. I'd use the almost empty cans of shaving cream my dad would give me, as the whipped cream on top of the mud pies I made.Of course dad got the first one. After all, he did give me the topping. I was very versatile also. I was the biggest tom boy of a little girl you'd ever see one day. To dividing Barbie clothes between me and my older sister (when I was lucky enough to get her to play with me). I had to play by her rules though. Perks of being the older sibling I guess. I loved playing with the Hot Wheel's cars in the dirt. Making race tracks and underground tunnels I'd dig out for them. Sometimes my dad would be outside with me showing me all kinds of different things I could pretend to do when playing cars. I have one day in particular that stands out among the rest. It was when I learned to do the underground tunnels for the cars to go through. He showed me by taking a simple stick off the ground and using it like a tool to push the dirt out from one side to the other. It wasn't a tunnel without keeping the top part intact. I acted like there was a cave-in, and then accidents, crashing the cars together. No one ever got hurt in my imagination though, just the cars got hurt. Growing up with a sister 6-years older than me taught me lots of things, both good and bad. If I kept her secrets, she kept mine. And the only reason I even had any secrets was because she allowed me to. I got to sneak and smoke in her bedroom at night after our parents went to bed. I had to be very quiet because I got caught most of the time. But I was always caught by our momma. And then all she made me do was get back in bed. I came from a poor family so anything name brand wasn't known to me for a long time. I was bullied and made fun of all throughout my school years. It doesn't matter which year you pick. From the 1st grade, all the way through high school. I know that's terrible to have to admit, but I think it'd be even worse having to admit to being the bully. I swore to myself I'd never treat anyone the way those kids treated me and made me feel. It bothered me so bad I'd dream about standing up for, and actually fighting over other kids getting bullied. I woke up all of a sudden one morning after punching the lights out of a bully in my dream. When I really punched the headboard and made my knuckles bleed. Come on! When a child is taking on the burden of other bullied kids, you know that's a heavy burden to bear. It was also very hard on me. I never talked about it to my parents though. Yeah, they knew. But back then no one really knew what to do about that problem like they do now. Or, well, think they do. I've been in counseling since starting school. I can't remember a day going by without me seeing the school guidance counselor. Shout out to Mrs. Reeves though, at Lone Oak High School. She made the biggest impression on me as far as wanting to help other kids like me. The bullies were actually the kids who came from well-to-do families. Kids who never knew what it was like to experience the disappointment of being told 'No'. Or that there wasn't enough money to buy what they wanted. Kids that figured there wasn't anything better to do except make fun of the less fortunate to get them through their day or to have a conversation piece. The anger and hatred that built up inside of me was, and still is undescribable. The thoughts they caused me to have. Picturing the tables being turned and the bad things said back to them, bad things being done back to them. It only made me feel better on the inside. I've been asked by numerous doctors in my life if I'm suicidal. I've answered no, being completely honest each time. But never have they asked if I've felt homicidal! I know, scary right? The outcome of such thoughts is what triggered the start of mass school shootings. Coming into adulthood was strange territory for me as well, and actually caused me a lot of uncomfortable times, knowing things I knew I could now do but never felt comfortable ever talking about. Even with my sister, the person I was closest to, I couldn't open up and freely talk about anything of the sexual nature. I guess because bad things have happened to me on more than one occasion when I was still very much an innocent child. With me hiding such horrid things from my parents, along with everyone else, I felt I couldn't talk about the good kind of sex either. Man did that ever set me back, keeping me immature of certain things I should've known already but didn't. Because in my mind I was still that child who was hurt in a bad way. They were called 'Red Touches' back then. What we were taught to call them in school anyways. Then just when I was becoming independent and living on my own, learning to stand up for myself in a way that would make my sister proud of me, I lost her. That caused me to go into a deep depression I didn't come out of for many years afterwards. March 29, 2003 changed my life forever. I lost my 2-year old nephew that night to a raging house fire. My sister passed 17 days later in the burn unit in Vanderbilt, Tennessee. However, if you've read 'My Story', a post on my blog. Then you'll know that in order for me to know what I now know, and to be the person that I now am, all of the bad shit had to happen first or else I wouldn't have caught and held onto the message so vital for me to have acquired in my life. Helping the less fortunate. Being someone's somebody they can depend on being there when they need them the most. After receiving confirmation that my nephew didn't suffer, not for one second in that house fire... Was I able to let that burden go, only to let in that oxygen, that life support I desperately needed to save myself from a lifetime of misery. Even though I know my sister, Jennifer, isn't physically here to cheer and root me on. I know without a shadow of a doubt, her and Lil Jesse (my nephew) are both doing so from Heaven today, and everyday that follows. If you're suffering from addiction of any kind and you want or need someone to talk to I'm a damn good listener! My contact information is listed on my contact page. Please call, reach out for support. You're not alone no matter what negative thoughts are telling you that you are. God is always there for you as well. If you'd like to learn more about Jesus and how He died to save us, don't hesitate to ask. I'll share what I know is all good, and positive about God. Whom I choose to call my higher power. If you don't believe in God, then the subject will not be pushed. EVER! If you're battling mental health issues and feel alone like no one knows what you feel like. Then I'm here to tell you there's billions of people out there that will share with you that they too, feel just like you do. Hit me up on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. All of my accounts should be connected to my website. If you're waiting on me to respond and it's been a while since you tried getting in touch with me, then by all means be more persistent and bug the shit out of me. Make me see your messages. I will eventually and I'll always reply when I can. This is the best I think I've written in this 'about me' section. It's the most I've opened up publicly I know that. I'm open minded, I keep it 100 all of the time, even if it's something I don't like myself, or for others, I still have to keep it 100 with myself in order for me to keep it that way with everyone else. I hope this told everyone a little bit about me, maybe more than I originally intended. But it's all accurate and up to date with where I'm at in my life right now. Thank you all and God Bless
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