You Know (Poetry)

You know each step I take,
What I desire, even what makes my heart aches
You know every desires in my heart,
My goals and dreams, even when I don't know where to start
You know what I believe,
Where I'm deceived and what I can can achieve
You know what I need,
Over what I want so you can always intercede
Take me the clay and place me on the potter's wheel
Spin the table and shape me into your will
You are my creator and the captain of my soul.
What you created me to be. You know.

Listening And Communicating. A Good Way To Know For Sure

Have you ever been in a situation and realize the person you are trying to do or tell something to is not on the same page with you? It's funny but if we are honest with ourselves we usually don't listen. We just are hearing enough to formulate our own answers. I experienced this when somebody asked me questions I really didn't care to answer. After driving me down a beaten path they tried to "call me out" as if I had issues to which I said a Biblical retort. Pretty much that subject was over. This got me thinking about how to effectively communicate. I found in my studies (very loose study) that on the average we don't listen intently which is not a crime. But instead of trying to shape somebody's mindset you have to first try to understand that mindset on a certain level to communicate. Even to get the lowest level of agreement there has to be understanding. We all don't think the same. We are a product of our choices and experiences. Most of us take that as what we live by. A Christian is supposed to live by the Word of God. The conflict begins with standards. If one person has a standard and the other person just cuts them off like it doesn't matter you have just created separation whether you realize it or not. What you think is going is not necessarily the way it was received. This is where a relationship can fall if this is not corrected early because it WILL come back later and if the person continues to push it aside resentment can begin to come into play. As a person who tries to understand as well as I can it hurts when that is not returned to me at all. You know some people won't be too deep but an effort means the world to somebody. I being honest and open have had to learn to pull back. Another thing is that you may not be able to share everything you want to if the person you are dealing with can't handle it. The bottom line is really listening to a person and making an effort to communicate whit them is a good start. People don't change over night and passions and issues don't just go away. In fact they will be the things that come in between a relationship at any level.

I Want More Than This World Can Offer

Since the age of ten when I had my first major encounter with God I have always wanted more than the status quo. The biggest injustice has been people with their advice trying to get you to live on their level of faith whether less or even more. We can't choose for each other or walk in another person's shoes. Christianease and cliches have slowly and sarcastically sucked the compassion out of the Body of Christ. We have to been reduced to trying to be relevant instead of effective. We try to win souls by intelligence and intellect instead of example and Holy Spirit drawing. A foreign minister came to America and this was his synopsis loosely phrased. "I'm amazed how much the American church can do without God." What I desire to see I always know when I see it. It's more than the world can offer a man. It goes beyond presentation and excellence (though those are important) but it's the presence of God not only in a service but in a life. We don't realize what gets rejected is God and not us. People try to counsel and reason in their mind but the truth is if somebody is rejected Jesus said it because they are rejecting me. The Pharisees had a form of godliness that was impressive enough for the masses but when the Son of God himself came it was exposed. Being a living sacrifice is deemed as a reasonable service. Ronnie Joe Harrison taught me at least one thing. The only thing between you and failure is and altar. That means you are the problem and need to die to yourself. In the me church generation that won't preach. But then you have something the world cannot offer because to them it costs too much. if church time is all we as believers have in common and can't even communicate outside of a building we missed it. You might as well be my co-worker. Since many of my friends I communicate with live no where near me anymore I feel that void in my own life now. I never understand when people can't have a relationship with you outside of services and events. To me it equates to a facade. I miss being in places where we fellowship and hung out beyond church. It really hurts because it really means people want who they want in their lives not the people God sends to challenge their lives. The world can offer that but relationships sent by God only are beneficial because the iron sharpening iron will define you both. We like it easy with our perspective but we are not teachable. Being teachable is the most valuable asset a man can posses. When we're teachable and willing to shed our "box" of religious comfort you will see God beyond religious knowledge you will begin to know the God you thought you served. A sermon or programs can't teach you that. The only thing that can is something the world can't offer a true relationship and fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.

John 17: 3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

God's Word
This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

The Call, The Gift And The Purpose

The older I get the more I realize that purpose, the call and the gift of God is always in your life. But the fallacy is that these things are what are being developed. I beg to differ of course. What gets developed I believe is character, discipline and maturity. Most people have the wrong response when hardship comes against them. At least I'm willing to admit it. A lot of people discredit you if they meet you during a time of hardship. The Bible says it rains on the the just and the unjust but there is this thinking in the some churches that follow the mentality of Job's friends. You could try to pin this on Joseph. Was it a sin to tell a God given dream? Are we not supposed to write the vision and make it plain? God used the very jealousy of his siblings to his purpose. The dreams were the gift, the call was to be second in Egypt, the purpose was to save God's people and preserve the nation Christ would come through. Even in slavery the call was evident. He ruled on whatever level he was. The gift is what got him in the pit and eventually in front of Pharaoh. The purpose wasn't seen until the fulfillment of the dream had come to past.


Gen. 15:19-21 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

This generation has not really been taught to endure anything for Christ sake or the purposes of God. Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison and yet the one who threw him in there had to get wheat from him in the famine. What I am trying to say is that NOTHING can stop what God has for you except quitting or settling. What if Joseph had been pleased with running Potiphar's house and just gave in to his wife and really had lost everything? What if Joseph refuse to reveal the meaning of the dreams to the butler and the baker because he felt the gift god gave him was a curse? What is he utterly destroyed his brothers as a final act of revenge? You know these were very possible options and attitudes he could have had. But Joseph had character, discipline and maturity. He realized that whatever was happening to Him was for the purpose of God. He feared God. He walked in his call along the way and was ready when the moment came upon Him. What are you letting sidetrack you today. Don't let what God has placed in your path to bless you be the thing that stops you.

The Emotional Roller Coaster

I believe God gave us emotions and indicators and not decision makers. Let me explain. Faith pleases God and He rewards us for obedience. He knows how we feel and comforts us but doesn't change what His Word says. Sometimes we have to do things not because they feel right but because they are right. Our emotions many time have us consider things we shouldn't if they are in the driver's seat. Once back in Bible College somebody forced me to make a decision on the spot instead of letting me make it properly. It ended our endeavor together. They asked for what I felt in the moment instead of letting me make the right decision. It upset them but I asked them not to do that as I was handling a few other things I was responsible for that night and my mind was truly elsewhere. When we base our lives on how we feel totally we are not consistent. Everybody s riding the emotional roller coaster daily. When something happens and we are emotional effected it changes our outlook on things. It causes us not to always consider what may have happened, other people's situations, circumstances or that somebody may be having a bad day. It's in that moment we consider ourselves and determine what's real based on how we see it. Making a decision in that mindset may cost you more than you expected. Just as we shouldn't make emotional decision how you feel shouldn't change what God says about something. Following God will cost you things that people will not understand why you are doing something. Being obedient to God doesn't always feel right or seem like the right choice but it's necessary for your life and destiny. The emotional pull of losing what you know for what at the moment is a mystery is huge. It's in those time we learn to exercise our faith and trust God regardless of what we feel. There were things I've had to give up which weren't evil but not what i needed because of where I had to go. Your emotions can stop you from even fulfilling your destiny if not put in the proper place. Love is not an emotion. God is love He is not an emotion He is what love is truly make of. Love casts out all fear. Fear is an emotion. Fear will drive you to the wrong decision and "short circuit" your faith. So what helps us control this. The Word of God.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10: 17

What is faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:1-3

And finally...

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2 Corinthians 5:7

In Hebrews 11 this is how many walked into their destiny not knowing but trusting and making decisions the right way.

Putting Our Focus In The Right Place

James 1:22 Do what God's word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves. 23 If someone listens to God's word but doesn't do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror, 24 studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 However, the person who continues to study God's perfect teachings that make people free and who remains committed to them will be blessed. People like that don't merely listen and forget; they actually do what God's teachings say. (God's Word)


Most of the Christian life I believe is wasted looking at others and critiquing their "level of spirituality" but the real critique should be the man you face in the mirror. Have you ever realized how easy it is for you and a friend to spot somebody's shortcomings. It is very easy if you are honest with yourself. Mot of us are what I call "fruit inspectors". We are eager to judge the spiritual "fruit" of ministries, ministers and other people. One problem man can only see the outer appearance and God knows the heart of a man or woman. God has given us the Word of God as a mirror and a standard to compare ourselves to. (I hope you already know it's not good to compare yourself to other people.) Let's say we awake for our day and go to the mirror and don't fix ourselves up and hit the streets. After a while you'll wonder why all the strange stares because you forgot what you have seen in the mirror and have gone on with your day. The mirror gives us a true view to correct our appearance before we leave and forget what we really look like. The problem is we want to be the mirror or have the authority of the mirror in other people's lives. That authority and place belongs to the Word of God alone and was not given to you for good reason. We have enough on our plate with having to apply God's Word in our own lives. Even with that said Holy Spirit is working that Word within us to do His good pleasure. It's easy to see what others do and ignore or excuse our own short comings because we want to do our thing. You have already forgot what you looked like in the mirror. God help us keep the focus where you placed it, in Your Word.

Who's in Charge of Your Life?

Then Samuel said, "Is the LORD as delighted with burnt offerings and sacrifices as he would be with your obedience? To follow instructions is better than to sacrifice. To obey is better than sacrificing the fat of rams."

In life sometimes we make decisions without even considering what God says. This usually brings us to the place where God deals with us to reconsider what we have done. Many times we press on and endure and try to make things work when we know in our heart of hearts what we should be doing. The obstacle of our pride can be in the way of our obedience to God. King Saul had a similar problem in the book of 1 Samuel. He had let becoming king go to his head and forgot who put him there. He was more concerned with what a king should do rather than obeying the Lord. He may have seemed just and right in people's eyes but his disobedience cost him the throne. The opposite of that was Abraham. He was obedient and put his trust in God and God provided what he needed. Saul wanted to be in the drivers seat of his life while Abraham yielded to the will of God. As we know Abraham's seed lives on today while Saul's was cut off forever. What is it in your life today that you are in the drivers seat of and not letting God have the say but your own mindset, your way of doing things or even fear have control over. Anything you put before God you will lose anyway. (learned this the hard way before) and anything He has not ordained should not be in your life in the first place. We must humble ourselves and obey what God wants because He knows what we need even more than we do. We settle for what we can see. We need to hold on to what God says and obey and see it manifest in our lives. So I ask who's in charge of your life?