Limitless Life by Derwin Gray

Limitless Life is a book to read if you have been guilty of believing the labels placed on you by your past. This most likely includes you because all of us at one time have had negative words spoken over us by others, or placed negative labels on ourselves. In this book, Gray tackles some of the most common labels and shows how God wants to replace those labels with how He sees us.

Like most people, I have had to work to remove my belief in the labels placed on me by others. I have labeled myself based on past mistakes and failures. I found this book a great reminder of how God wants to see us live our lives based on how He created us to be and not how the world has influenced us. The book is full of scriptural references to support the points being made by the author. I enjoyed the mini “Marinate on That” sections in the writing as well. Each chapter ends with a summary of the chapter’s content. The book was easy to follow with solid points communicated clearly. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling to understand their identity in Christ.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Letter to the Men in the Church

To the Men in the Church, 

I first want to preface this writing by saying I love men. I'm not a man hater. I believe God created you to be powerful warriors and fierce protectors. I'm writing this letter based on what I've seen and experienced personally and heard my sisters share. This letter applies to all men, but particularly the men in the church. 

My brothers, please stop viewing women lustfully. We operate day in and day out in a world full of lust and perversion. When a woman enters the house of God she wants a reprieve from what is running rampant in the world. While church is a great place to meet a potential spouse, it is not the place to find your next "hook up." Your sisters need respect from you, not objectification. You may think the object of your lust does not see your glances at her, but there are others who do see them. I realize God made you to admire a woman because she is a beautiful creation. However, there is a great difference in a glance and a stare. Keep your eyes in check. 

My brothers, do NOT go to strip clubs or solicit prostitutes. This would seem a "no brainer" however as I work with women who are coming out of sex trafficking and women who work in strip clubs, the number of men from the church they have encountered is staggering. And the damage being done is great. I was at a baby shower for a woman who worked in the club and a few of her regular customers came. Those of us there from the ministry wanted to pray over her and the baby and one of her customers joined us in the prayer. If you had heard this prayer you might have thought this man was a pastor he prayed so eloquently! This is one of the same men who pay her to take her clothes off! It made me feel ill. Another woman who was trafficked shared how men who purchased her time for sex were often men with families and who attended church. She has shared how she wants to have a Godly marriage and a husband, but how after all she has experienced, she just doesn't know if she will ever trust men again. That leads me to my next point. 

My brothers, take the time to show women respect and honor even if they are not your "type." Coming from a very wounded and abused background myself, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of this principle. My experience, like the woman mentioned above, was that all men want is sex. If they don't want sex, then they don't even acknowledge your presence. When they want sex, they all cheat, they all lie, and they will all use you to get what they want. It is through years of friendship with Godly, honorable men that I have reached a place of being able to trust again. Men, show women that men of God are different from the men in the world. One of my closest friends is male and he believes God placed him in my life, and the lives of my daughters, to show us what it means to be respected. He has taught me that I have value as a woman. He is the primary male role model in my younger daughter's life and it is because of him that she has a healthy view of what it means to be a man. That leads me to address how you interact with women who have children.

My brothers, do not judge a woman who is a single mother. Do not rule her out as being your mate from God. I know some absolutely amazing, strong, anointed women of God who are also single mothers. These women need you more than you can imagine. Oftentimes the fathers of their children are not in their lives or if they are, they are not men of Godly character. While mom can give her children an example of a Godly woman, she can never give them an example of a Godly man. When I was living in a worldly way, the men there did not hesitate to become involved with me based on me having a child. I've found in the church men are far more resistant to pursue a woman with children than the men in the world. I believe this is why so many single moms settle for ungodly men. Scripture says "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." (James 1:27). Our churches are full of modern day widows and orphans. Men of God, where are you in helping to care for them?

My brothers, pray for the women in your church and in your circle of influence! God created you to be a covering to your families and your community. Single women, whether they have children or not, need your prayer covering. I am honored when I get a message from a man saying he has been praying for me. I appreciate those prayers more than he can imagine! 

My brothers, you were created to be the leaders and not the followers. Don't wait for a woman to ask you to pray. Take the lead. Don't wait for a woman to ask you to come to church. Ask her to come with you. The Jezebel spirit is alive and well in too many churches. She has emasculated you and lied to you about your value. You are needed! We cannot do this without you! The women in the world may proclaim they can "do bad all by themselves," but we women truly NEED you. We need covering in our homes. We need men of Godly character shepherding our children. We need to experience respect and honor. We need men to sincerely care for us without having ulterior motives. We need brothers who are unashamed of their walk with God and unashamed to stand up and proclaim God's goodness beside us and not behind us. 

My brothers, I love you. I pray for you to see where the world has a grip on your lives and to break free from whatever holds you in bondage. I pray for your marriages to grow stronger as you grow in Godly character. I pray for my single brothers to press in to becoming the men God created you to be and for you to find your "Ruth" who will labor alongside you in furthering God's kingdom. I pray for those of you who are fathers to have a heart for your children similar to the heart of our heavenly Father. I pray for reconciliation for you with those who have hurt you in the past. 

My brothers, on behalf of all women, I apologize to you for those who have hurt, abused, and betrayed you. I pray for healing from your past and a fresh vision for the future. Mostly, I pray for you to be strengthened in your walk with God. I pray for a fierce moral courage to awaken in you. I pray for you to have courage and boldness in standing up for God's values and for what it means to be a man of God. 

My brothers, we need you.

Trust in the Lord. Not Horses.

I have been reading the book of Isaiah over the last few weeks. If you want to read scripture that will scare you a bit, I definitely recommend starting here. Isaiah didn't hesitate to share what God spoke to him to share. I read the following verses this evening and wanted to share my thoughts. 

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the number of chariots and in the great strength of charioteers. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel and they do not seek the Lord's help." Isaiah 31:1

Sadly, when I read this verse my first thought was of the modern day church. In the battle for souls, we neglect to seek the help of the Lord and instead turn to the methods of the world. Churches spend obscene amounts of money in marketing research and developing media to attract our entertainment based culture. We think that changing the word of God into a gimmick shows how clever we have become. As if scriptures have not stood the test of time based solely on their divine origin. The success of a church is measured by the cost of their sound system, the technicality of their light shows, what clever props are used to illustrate a sermon point, and the jokes of the pastor. Too many leave church talking about everything except encountering Christ. My Facebook feed on Sunday is full of statuses proclaiming how "on fire" their pastor was or how their church is "the best!" To these posts I want to reply and ask why theirs, of all the churches in the world, should be deemed "best" of all. Perhaps I will start asking. Personally I believe at this point in my spiritual journey, the church I attend is the best for me. Should God direct me to leave, I will follow Him as I have in the past when He directed me to leave prior churches. 

Just as in the above verse, we place our trust in the number of chariots (campuses?) and in the strength of charioteers (personality-driven pastors?) I've heard the argument that the best of everything is necessary in order to show people how special they are to God. Perhaps it is just me, but when I was hurting the most, I didn't really care about whether or not the worship team was playing through smoke from a hazer. I needed Jesus. I needed the presence of the Holy Spirit. I needed hope and the infallible word of God. I needed to hear I was created for more than my present circumstance and receive encouragement to become all that God intended. I didn't need a music concert, I needed to be carried into the presence of God when I didn't have the strength to go there by myself. 

If our trust is in one's strength (or worldly beauty), then what about all those who are not as strong or as "beautiful?" The truth of God's word is that He most often uses those who the world rejects. Moses stuttered. David was a child who tended sheep. Rahab was a prostitute. Even Jesus was described as having no worldly beauty and being rejected (Isaiah 53:3). If we place our trust in our programs, our "larger than life" pastors, or any other trappings of the world, then we are refusing to seek the Lord's wisdom because He often places the greatest treasures in fields not easily seen by men. 

What kind of Christianity would we begin to see if we stopped placing our trust in the "horses" and instead began to trust fully on God? Having learned to trust Him in my personal life, I can only imagine the revival that would take place if we did this corporately as believers! This is when people would begin to take notice of our faith and ask where our hope comes from. People would see us no longer looking like the world, but living set apart. I'm not saying there aren't certain things needed to function as a church body and building, but perhaps many are taking it way too far. What if we trimmed the budget to give away more than we spent? What if we saw a need and met the need rather than referring people to government agencies for assistance? If God can provide it once, could He not provide it again if we give it away? 

Where have you placed your trust? Is it in "horses" or "charioteers?" I pray today for God to examine anything in you that is not trusting Him and Him alone. I pray you have the boldness and faith to trust only in Him! 

The Beauty of Broken by Elisa Morgan

Having felt quite broken in my own life, the title of this book immediately grabbed my attention. The subtitle, "My Story, and Likely Yours Too," made me laugh. I doubt anyone's story is quite like mine. However,the author picked the best title possible for this book. In her book, Morgan tells of how even when doing everything "right" our children and our families can still break. After all, we come from a long line of broken humanity going all the way back to Adam and Eve. As the former CEO of MOPS you would expect her family to be perfect, but that myth is quickly dispelled by the end of the introduction.

I found this book encouraging. My children are only 7 and 14, but many of the experiences of the author have been played out in the lives of my family members. There is so much pressure within the church community to have it all together and for our children to be clean and shiny examples of perfection. However, as Morgan reminds us in this work, our children reach an age of accountability where they are solely responsible for their choices. At times we are to help bail them out and other times God directs us to practice "tough love." Through it all, our love never changes towards our children. If anything, Morgan shares how that love grows even deeper through the learning of life's lessons.

The only part of the book I found a little difficult was the order in which her story is told. Early life stories are told in the end of the book rather than in the beginning. Some of the information revealed in the end chapters would have been helpful to know when reading the stories of events happening later in her life. I would not let this stop anyone from reading the book. In fact, I already know several people whom I will be passing along my copy for them to read.

I highly recommend this book for all parents!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Despite the Rain

Last night I attended a Unity Festival held here in Charlotte. The goal was to have a day of worship with great artists, but also to unite churches across Charlotte in worship together. It was beautiful as many races gathered together to celebrate Jesus. Before the main headliners came on stage we watched as dark clouds were in the distance and moving closer. As the storm moved closer and the wind picked up, Acts 2:2 came to mind

"And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting."

As everyone was scrambling to hold down tents and cover equipment, I imagined what it must have felt like for the church in Acts to experience a sound like this inside of their home! 

The emcee of the event prayed the rain would stay away so as not to disrupt the concert. However, the rain still came. Many people headed for cover, but there were some of us who stayed as the worship team on stage continued to play. As they wrapped up their set, we began singing "Holy are you Lord God, Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb, You are Holy!" Those remaining on the grass were singing so loudly the worship team joined back in playing with us. The rain was a downpour at this point. As soon as we finished singing the lightning and thunder began so we had to head under the bleachers for safety reasons. 

Upon nearing the safer area, we hear a sound of people there singing, "Mighty are the works of your hand!" The "choir" proceeded into "How Great is Our God." As the thunder, lightning, and downpour continued, the worship never stopped. Here is a short video I recorded of the singing:

What I saw through this experience is how sometimes we can see a storm approaching, but no matter how hard we pray for the storm to pass without rain, the rain still comes. We are then left with a decision to make. Will we continue to worship even in the midst of the rain? Sometimes God provides some shelter from the storm, but the rains still come through. Will we continue to worship in those times?

As beautiful an experience as I had yesterday, some people saw the storm coming, felt the rains, and ran for their car and headed home. Oftentimes in a Christian's walk, this is what happens in the spiritual realm. A storm is approaching, the rains begin, and we run from God. Perhaps we don't trust He'll provide shelter so we take matters into our own hands. The storms keep us from seeking His presence. Maybe we question why it's raining when we prayed for the rains not to come. We had faith for a certain outcome, but it didn't happen. 

The most beautiful part of yesterday's festival happened because of the storm. We were no longer being led in worship by someone on stage. We were the worship. We were the choir. Black. White. Asian. Hispanic. Multi-tribes and multi-tongues. For a few minutes yesterday, we were allowed a glimpse of the heavenly choir. 

What will you do the next time a storm comes into your life? Will you stand your ground and worship even when the winds blow and the rain pours? Will you persevere to remain in His presence when your flesh tells you to run? Will you trust God has a purpose in the storm and listen for the lesson He wants to teach? I pray the next time a storm approaches, you will soak in Him and worship through it all.