Month: May 2017

The whole world is a stage, and everybody’s playing a part. This is a title of a song back in the day by Sweet James and the Fantastic Four that’s ringing loud in my thoughts this day.

When we prepare for the day, in actuality we’re getting into character for our daily performance wherever. We put on the character we want the world to see, then act accordingly. This is a big reason why we’re misunderstood so many times as this invalid behavior keeps us unjustly, and too often in situations of clarification when people try to define us built on what they see. The world sees this character and evaluates us of how we play the lead – unknowingly to them it’s a performance, an act we’ve perfected, and many of us start to believe we are this character we’ve created, too, several of us take this make believe personality home, and never get out of character; yet again, they’re some individuals who fall in love with this manufactured demeanor and on and on it goes … but God.

God doesn’t fall for the characters we portray. He goes past that to look at the heart because that’s where He’ll find the true you and that’s what He loves about you and me unconditionally — our true hearts; not a character, — and so will others regardless if our position is the same or different from theirs as long as we’re true and not playing a role. I may not like it, and you may not like it, but it’ll be true; only then can I really know whom I’m dealing, and so with you, eventually things can get accomplished. But if we’re both in character — we’re battling with our heart and with each other and at that point things have a chance to get complicated.

Our true heart is made in God’s image and likeness, but a character gets in the way because of the role which it has to play before the world — ultimately, we all fall victim to it regardless if we’re the winner or the loser.

I’m so thankful I don’t have to clarify myself or something, nor be misunderstood when I’m spending time in the presence of God. He knows where I’m coming from and if I’m bringing a character to our quiet time. He’ll quickly catch that by revealing a passage from the Bible, which is His Word — that’ll put an immediate stop to all that nonsense because He’ll never be in agreement with whom I portray but is always in agreement with who I I’m in Him. It’s not about who I think I am, it’s about what He knows I am and has created in me, and He’s never wrong. (Romans 3:4) reads, Let God be true and every man a liar. God knows what He put in me and where my heart is at any particular moment regardless of any misrepresentation of me I present – so no clarification is needed because He knows me better than me. What a breath of fresh air it is to have a relationship with someone who understands you through and through so when you come to them, it’s with all your cards face up; no explanation, no retracting or trying to bring things up to date because of all the mess I’ve created being phony – a hypocrite in God’s eye, but He’s always hitting that homerun being true and straight to the point with me.

Leave your characters in a bottle somewhere and expose your heart; it’s better than anything you can create because it’s of God and the Holy Spirit works from there. Quit evaluating and analyzing others grounded in what you want them to be because of what you think you see in them; they just might be portraying a character in a scene on this world stage — the character you’ve receive because of the character you’re playing, (Luke 6:42).

Gaidi

I’ve been born again/saved fifteen years now and didn’t know how it happen until about four or five years later. Things began to develop and occur to me that I had no previous familiarity nor had any interest, but I didn’t fight it, I just went with the flow and since then I’ve changed, no I’ve changed a lot, and it wasn’t my doing.

My eyes see differently. My heart I’ve discovered speaks to my mind but not with bundles of emotion, but with revelation from within — peculiar. Daily I recognize I’m in a world I’m no longer part of – kind of alien. Once upon a time yes, I was very much of the world we live, but not anymore — weird stuff so far huh; but it’s in the Bible, (John 17:16).

A new reality is shaping my total being — fascinating. The way I’ve once participated in the world is no more, and I don’t miss it. I do many of the same things, but with different meaning. I enjoy what I’ve always enjoyed — better, but for some reason avoid those things I once thought had value and was part of me by putting them into another perspective; enjoyed the right way, and like I said, I’m not missing a thing.

Everything in this world effecting life has been tainted and is no longer original. Too, let it be known, is a poor replica of what it should have, or was supposed to have been. I see this so clearly now, not seeing with my eyes but through them, and please don’t let me get started on the subject of products. So how does this affect me?

It had little if no effect at all on the old me because I grew with it, but I’ve been born again/saved, a new creature in Christ; a new being, (2^nd Corinthians 5:17). So now I enjoy life God’s way. I do everything I used to do but with adjustments. The battle is with my old ways and thoughts — residue is a good word, that’s still part of this tainted world challenging my adjustments. This is a constant battle and the passages in God’s Word saying keep His Word in front of your eyes day and night takes on a huge role, (Deuteronomy 11:18,19), (Proverbs 4:21,22), challenging me left and right — tempting is a good word. To not be strong in faith, I’ll crash and burn losing the fight that’s raging furious inside of me, wanting me to dip and dab with reminders of how it once was and could be again – lies, but with faith, it ain’t so hard. Still, “There’s a battle going on.”

Gaidi

To have a fulfilled life you can’t be lazy. Inactivity is not fulfilling. Have you noticed that inactive people have the least, want the most, and are the neediest. Young or old opportunity eludes this group. The me first generation of pleasure seekers, the selfish, self-centered, self-interested, egotistical and addicts are also a close cousin to this false hope of flawed reality. Yes, even the addicted are also searching for comfort, pleasure, and escape through their drug of choice and it shows.

Fulfillment stirs up restlessness because it’s active. Our world tells us activity at times is what we need rest from; that activities can be a drain. But people — fulfillment is not stationary, so what kind of activity or the lack of is the drain? You’ve all heard it – the golfer needs a break from golf so they do something else, and we need a break from something else so we golf, get it, see the cycle, and on it goes. You don’t need a break from fulfillment, you run to it.

Scripture tells us it’s a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1), but know this, fulfillment is endless and timeless. To be in a constant search for pleasure, or too remain in your comfort zone, is to stop in a given moment of time, then departing and unloading from the reason we’re here. We see this in people all the time, they can only talk about times up to the period when they stopped or were cut off voluntarily or involuntarily, as a result — checking into a comfort zone; then there’s nothing beyond that point. Listen; slowing the pace a little, yes, but un-boarding, no. A lion that don’t hunt don’t eat.

Some people because of their lack of understanding only have this me generation as a barometer that falsely tells them what they’re doing is fulfilling. For them — they’ve arrived. For them — fulfillment was obtained because society (that’s us who peer into the lives of people defining them rather than the other way around), deemed it so. These souls sit high on their own perch. They don’t have fulfillment — they’ve found a comfort zone that’s paying off. We know of many people who society feels have everything but ended their lives by their own hands because of the absence of fulfillment.

Fulfillment is in God’s will and purpose for your life. If it’s about you — it’s temporary so it’s not fulfillment (Psalm 102:3), if it’s worldly — it’s temporary so it’s not fulfillment (2^nd Corinthians 4:18), and scripture says it’s no good thing in the flesh, (Romans 7:18), so, where’s fulfillment? (Please read the first sentence of this paragraph.) Now don’t be fooled with the confusions the world is selling trying to fuel your heart with its warped views of fulfillment putting value in stuff and you buying into it, it’s not real; fake to use the term of the day.

You can’t find fulfillment because you’re either in it or out of it, but is recognizable when you have it because it’s discerning/revealed, and rewarded; but for certain, a comfort zone will not, can not, and does not invite it.

Gaidi

Word of note: A comfort zone is your safehouse. Fulfillment is found by not playing it safe; but working in your comfort zone is fulfilling if that comfort zone’s value/reward is greater than you; not for you. Only then can you understand fulfillment’s presence and its worth.