Hosea - on some other level

from Boaz Ministries

I write about "fierce loving." A lot. My use of the term comes from Biblical examples of what we, today, would consider outrageous and even masochistic displays of patience and devotion. The book of Hosea (highly suggested reading) gives us an incredibly disturbing picture of a husband pursuing a very unfaithful wife.

But the parable describes God's faithfulness to His unfaithful children. Christ's continuous pursuing of His bride. The church. You. Me. Us. There are so many places in the Word of God where He declares that His love for us is everlasting; even though we go astray. He is always there - wooing and pursuing. He is always ready, willing and able to reconcile and restore us. He has already redeemed us.

Our puny idea of love pales in comparison to the sacrifice God has made to bring us back into His bosom. Our limited understanding of who God is and how He can even do what He clearly does (we've seen His work in our lives - yet we have no clue!) - should keep us humble, surrendering our will to Him. Daily. For there is no one like God. His thoughts are higher than ours, as are His ways. He chases after us even though we've done things - things we wouldn't forgive.

Read the book of Hosea. Check out his wife. Her careless, messy attitude, her lack of gratitude. Straight up skank. And see the unfathomable love of God at work throughout the story.

Fierce love!

Repentance - The 180 Degree Turnaround

From Boaz Ministries

I was talking to my father the other day, and he said something that underscored a thought I'd been having - that I wanted to share. First of all, I'm blessed to have both my parents, married 58 years, who still provide me with wisdom and guidance packed in our frequent phone conversations.

He said, "What it takes is a made up mind...", of choices we're often faced with that determine the direction we will go on our path, and who/what we are becoming as we go. I know this, of course. I've known this. But the thought came to me that many times, in our relationships with one another, we simply become content with saying "I'm sorry"...only to repeat the transgression (which is no longer just a 'mistake') over again. When we do this, it's obvious we don't possess a made up mind - to change.

Some things we can do strictly by the power of our human will. Many have gone cold turkey and dropped bad habits, never to pick them up again. But there are some things, deep, character issues, that require Divine intervention. If we're honest, we realize there's something strangely comfortable and even satisfying about these flaws and we're not ready to let them go.

NEWS FLASH! - whatever hinders the nurturing of our marriages and relationships, whatever it is we do that stunts growth, HINDERS US INDIVIDUALLY AND EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED. It's naïve to believe otherwise. And it's foolish to think all will be fine if left alone and nothing is said.

Since we understand that no one can change another person, then we can state with a surety that the individual is the one responsible for working on his/her change. The party affected just needs to pray. Pray that their loved one sees the need for redirection; where "I'm sorry" occurs less and less - because there's been true repentance; and if it is spoken, it's genuine.

Repentance. A stepping stone on the road to FIERCENESS!

The Red Flag Department

From Boaz Ministries

Dating/Marriage Minded

• No interest in having a relationship with the Lord
• You are the one always making contact
• Hesitant in you meeting their friends or relatives
• No interest in meeting your friends or relatives
• “I, I, I, I, Me, Me, Me, Me”
• Lacks ambition; has no personal goals
• Gossiper; negative attitude about others

Marriage/Committed Relationship

• Waning interest in spiritual growth
• Secretive
• Lacks concern regarding what’s important to you
• Argumentative over minor issues
• Decreased sexual desire
• Lack of civility (rudeness, shortness, sarcasm)
• Avoids communication

How do you love?

From Boaz Ministries

Do we base our loving someone on how we feel? Remember, "feelings" are unreliable - subject to change from moment to moment. But what's at the core of the love we profess to have for one another? I pray it's not convenience, or desperation. That's not love at all - and will, in fact, morph into something else with someone else at the first opportunity. It is better to be alone than to inflict one's flighty (needy and shallow) self upon someone else, or to allow someone to do that to us.

Believers have the ultimate example of how to love. And one might say it's easy to love someone with whom we're romantically involved. But how deep do we go? Can we love even when we're not "liking" that person at the moment? "Yes" is the right answer. Love is constant, even if the circumstances are not currently what we'd like them to be. There is no such thing as "part-time love". That's some made up madness that people use to describe a messy lifestyle that glorifies lustful relationships; The enemy's counterfeit alternative for the ignorant.

The Psalmist, David, says this about the Lover of our very souls:

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"
 Psalm 107:1 English Standard Version

When we plug into the Power Source - strong and steadfast loving becomes our way of life. How FIERCE is that?

Suicide: The Godless Option

From Boaz Ministries

Many have thought about it, and far too many have carried it out selfishly and certainly without the Lord’s blessing.

The late comedian Redd Foxx once said, “Negroes, we don’t kill ourselves. We too hip to suffering.” I’ve always believed he was right. But the more I see Black people sinking under the weight of the bad economy and their own inability to cope with personal pressure; I’m starting to wonder.

Back in the mid-60’s when Foxx made his remarks, which were part of his act, Black American families, for the most part, did not enjoy the lifestyle and opportunity we do now. Few enjoyed the fruits of the American dream as so many Black families do today. Personal prosperity, home ownership, college graduates, business ownership, and professional employment are at the highest levels in Black American history; this in spite of the economy. But let us not forget when America catches a cold, Black America catches pneumonia. This current cold called the economy is the biggest cold America has experienced since the depression of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. In great numbers, Black Americans are losing well paying jobs, our dream homes in trendy neighborhoods are in foreclosure, our late model cars are being repossessed, and creditors are relentlessly calling about late or missed payments. We now have so much more to lose than we did when Foxx made his joke.

When we are unable to pay for the lifestyle we have earned and acquired, through no fault of our own, do we take our lives? I say no. I say that is not our call. I say, our children need us to show them how to survive no matter what life has thrown our way. I say live! Live and be strong in the face of adversity; for he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world (1John 4:4). And because of that, we can make it. Life is a great gift. I pray we live it through faith, prayer, persistence and creativity knowing always that because our treasure is not bound up in the things of this world nothing is ever as good as it appears. And through our spiritual discernment and trust in God, nothing is ever as bad as it appears.

Bruce

Luck has nothing to do with it

I was going through some old mail and came across several where well-wishers concluded their notes with, "best of luck". And even the first time I read those messages I smirked to myself because I'm one who doesn't account ANYTHING to happenstance or coincidence.

Having just made a huge move from the west coast to the east coast 6 months ago, I knew I was stepping out on faith. I was confident that the move, as bold as it appeared to some, was exactly what God had ordered.

Of course, I did as much as I could to prepare myself - sending out my resume, applying for jobs - well ahead of my intended departure. I'd even had a few promising phone interviews before I left. Most of all, I kept praying. I didn't want to be doing something that was purely my own desire, and not what the Lord wanted me to do. I didn't want to misread His signals. And I admit I was hoping that we were in synch on the course and path my life was to take. Movement was to take place - that much I knew. Leaving the place where I was raised and had lived for 50 years, was something I had wanted to do for many years. It was no secret to my closest friends. I hoped and prayed that it was now time to leave - until I was very sure (with my former job shutting down due to lack of funding and the sluggish job market in my area).

Fast forward to now. Six months later, to the day, I have employment, a new home, a car (as well as close proximity to every available transit mode!)...and I have loving family and friends, old and new, in my new location. My husband, who is also moving from another state, will join me very soon. We continually pray for our grown children, and they are all doing well. Our every need is supplied and we even have some of the things we want.

That's all God!