YOU Must SEIZE Happiness for Yourself!

Thus far we have been reminded through the Scriptures that True Happiness is Eternal Life in Christ. But did you know that you can have this Happiness NOW on Earth? True Happiness is a feeling of Peace, Joy and Confidence that only comes when you have established an honest relationship with God. Once this relationship is formed, God will begin to reveal his wisdom to YOU supernaturally and you will begin to see the world with "rose colored glasses." You will be in the world but not of the world. You will be able to Laugh when the World is Crumbling around You! Not because of anything you did, but because of God's divine grace.

Establishing an awesome relationship like this with GOD takes effort. We must 1) Get an Alarm Clock; 2) Take Out the Trash; 3) Do the Dishes; 4) Write it Down; and 5) Help Others. (Visit the BFLY entries on Getting Directions for a bit of clarity on these)But there is something else that YOU must do. The BIBLE says that "the kindom of heaven suffereth violence and it is the violent who take it by force." Matthew 11:12 WHAT?!

In order to gain access to the HAPPINESS we seek, we must work hard and sometimes we must seize Happiness violently. Just think of the violence associated with the death of JESUS. His sacrifice for us was wrenching, brutal and violent. Since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, God has always demanded a violent atonement for sin. In the Old Testament God demanded that the best "innocent" livestock be violently sacrificed.

Today, thanks to JESUS' selfless act of dying for us, GOD no longer demands that innocent blood be shed to atone for our sins.

But, we are not completely off the hook. This life on earth is fraught with tribulation. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness. Today, we wrestle with emotions that are painful, with experiences that trouble us deeply. We endure this spiritual tug of war daily.

Remember Jacob who wrestled all night with the preincarnate Christ? He wrestled all night because he had a real dilemma. He was terrified of his brother, Esau whom he had wrongfully disinherited.

Jacob stole Esau's birthright through trickery and fled to avoid a confrontation with Esau. For years, Jacob lived in exile with Laban. After Jacob had accumulated a large family 12 children, 2 wives (Leah and Rachel), livestock and cattle, God tells him to leave his father in law (Laban) and travel back to his homeland.

Jacob obeyed but he was sick with worry that Esau would murder him. He did not want to go back home. So, he prayed. And he commenced to do battle with the preincarnate Christ all night. The battle Jacob engaged in was spiritual and physical. He likely wrestled with flashbacks of his terrible deed to Esau or maybe even flash forwards of Esau killing him upon his arrival. I think he wrestled with doubt. He probably asked himself, "Why would God tell me to go back to my homeland? Does God want me to die?" He certainly doubted God's plan for him. But he also probably tried to comfort himself by remembering all that God had done for him in the past. He vacillated back in forth over trusting God or succumbing to fear and disobedience. He wrestled...and wrestled...all night long.

How many times are we faced with a dilemma that keeps us up all night wrestling with ourselves and our thoughts? We are worried about a project at work...will we succeed at it? We are worried about money...will we be able to pay our mortgage on time? We are worried about how we are going to manage in a recession? We are fearful about the future...our health...our prospects of marriage...our parents...addiction...the war... Because we are Christians we try to allay our fears through our faith in GOD. We tell ourselves GOD WILL WORK IT OUT or THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S.

This tug of war that occurs in our minds is a real BATTLE. And we must constantly fight against any feelings of depression or fear or doubt of God's PLAN. Remember, we have asked GOD to lead us. So, we must let HIM lead us even through real problems that seem to have no solution.

God, in his infinite wisdom and grace, never leaves us to do battle alone. Instead he arms us with HIS PRESENCE. All we need to do is tap into this presence. This can be accomplished through SIMPLE TRUST in God! God promised that if we seek HIM he will manifest HIMSELF and he will protect us.

Simple TRUST is all that is required. Jacob had simple trust. He traveled back home and met Esau face to face. He fought through his fear and Esau greeted him with a kiss not a sword.

THE LESSON for us is when you feel a tug of fear, doubt, confusion, depression- STOP and start telling yourself...Jesus Saves....Jesus Conquers. All is Well!

Trust God and watch HIM WORK IT OUT! I am a witness. Simple trust in God, darling! That is how you seize Happiness for yourself.

What is HAPPINESS Anyway?

Darling, in my readings within the last month I have had an epiphany! ...a real AH HA moment! I finally figured out what true HAPPINESS is...

HAPPINESS comes only when you have a close personal relationship with GOD. How many times have you heard that as a Christian? What does it even mean?

Here's how I see it.

Wouldn't it be terrific if you could have PEACE, JOY, LOVE, WISDOM, DISCERNMENT everyday? If you could look at any situation up or down and know with certainty that everything would be fine..that everything will work out? Imagine that you could lose your home, your family, your life and still have a smile on your face. How does one reach this level of HAPPINESS?

There is only one way to have this kind of HAPPINESS that passes all earthly understanding. You can only reach this level of nirvana if you have a relationship with God. And, I am not talking about a casual relationship. I mean an intimate, special and personal relationship so fabulous that you will feel comfortable calling on HIM whenever, wherever, in any circumstance!

Can you imagine having a relationship with GOD like David or Jacob or Moses or Adam? Can you envision walking with HIM and actually being able to discern HIS will for you? Wouldn't it be great if you could commune with HIM forever. This is true HAPPINESS - to be in eternal communion with GOD - to be in a place where you know that no matter what happens, HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AND HE WILL GIVE YOU A MINDSET WHERE YOU CAN SMILE WHEN THE WORLD IS CRUMBLING AROUND YOU.

This HAPPINESS is a supernatural HAPPINESS. It is ETERNAL LIFE and it is a gift to us from GOD that we received when JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS!

But, we have to work hard to really obtain the fullness of LIFE guaranteed to us at JESUS' DEATH and RESURRECTION.

This is the REAL SECRET! This BLOG is dedicated to achieving this level of communion with GOD. FAB-U-LOUS!

Getting Directions (Continued)

In order to claim the really big things on earth, HAPPINESS, JOY, PEACE, HEALTH you must pursue God daily. In order to gain wisdom to understand what the big things on earth are and how to obtain them, you must pursue God daily. You must have such a great relationship with God that you find yourself praying persistently for everything and through everything. This includes your victories and your defeats.

We have already learned that pursuing God requires daily meditation, prayer, and Bible reading (See the March 13, 2008 entry). But this alone is not enough. Check out Chip, my favorite on-line minister (Living on the Edge ministries) who makes this point crystal clear. Chip advises us (in addition to meeting with God everyday) to:

Step 2: Take out the Trash
Do not clutter your mind up with things of the world that desensitize you to the things of GOD. So, if those violent movies desensitize you to the sanctity of life or begin to erode the message communicated by the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill"...stop watching the movies. If reading Vogue everyday turns you green with envy...put down the magazine!

Step 3: Do the Dishes
Be sure to leave your world, your environment, your home, and your work better than you found it.

Step 4: Write it Down
When you commune with God it is essential to record what you are learning, your thought processes, your victories, your (seemingly) defeats. Again, we are mere mortals with limited powers of recollection. A record will help you see the miracles God performs in your life. It is easier to gain more faith and hope for the future when you have evidence of past successes.

Step 5: Give with a Smile
You must tithe...give GOD your tenth off the top. Before you even think about purchasing those Christian Louboutin pumps for $650. Before you pay your mortgage. Before you call PratimaLuke 6:38 You will get it back.

for a facial. God is first...POINT BLANK. And ladies, give with joy, pressed down and running over.

Step 6: Help Somebody TODAY
Jesus commands us to help others. You don't get any brownie points for feeling sorry for another person's situation. DO SOMETHING TO MAKE IT BETTER!

If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one on you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? James 2: 14-16

GOD asks that if we want real HAPPINESS we must diligently seek HIM. But we are not alone in this quest! God has made special provisions for us! He sent JESUS the CHRIST to teach us how to access GOD. He sent the HOLY SPIRIT to comfort us and reveal the truths of this world and the next to us!

Stay with me as we explore how to gain access to GOD's immeasurable gifts.

When Seeking Happiness, Ask for Directions!

The pursuit of HAPPINESS on earth is not an easy journey. The pursuit of a Gucci handbag under $300 is not an easy journey either. But, it's doable especially if you are a Bag Borrow and Steal member and can rent any designer handbag like a Netflix movie. Our help for this spiritual journey comes from the Lord. God promises us that if we diligently seek after HIM, He will guide us through this life and into the next. WOW! ACTIVELY SEEKING GUIDANCE is crucial. Remember, we are born again. We are now living a new life in God. We can not help ourselves. Our friends who are non believers can not help us. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says For now we see through a glass, darkly.

This earthly world is crystal clear. We see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, touch it. This heavenly world on earth is veiled. Our five senses are not sufficient. We can't understand God's world using this world's reasoning and rationalizations. An easy way for me to visualize this is to think of "rose colored glasses." When I don these cheaters, I am able to see life here on earth through a Godly prism.

How can you see the world through rose colored glasses? You must actively seek guidance from GOD!

Chip, a minister with Living on the Edge Ministries explains in detail how to pursue GOD in our new Lives.

Step 1: Get an Alarm Clock

Get up every day and commune with GOD. Every day! (Whew...this is hard and will require you to change your behaviors the night before...to enable you to perfect it! But, remember, we are not alone...ask God to help you make this commitment and it will be done.)

This is so important. Even Jesus the Christ sought direction from God every day! Jesus-rose up a great while before the day- went out and departed into a solitary place to pray. Mark 1:35

What was he praying about? He had to make a very important decision. He was at a crossroads with His ministry. He was at the end of his first year of preaching and it had borne little results even though His miracles were drawing huge crowds. The question he wrestled with, "Should He continue to put the emphasis of His ministry on the preaching of the gospel or performing miracles?" Our answer without divine wisdom and guidance might be to continue performing miracles. Everyone wants and needs a physical healing. God, the Father directed Jesus to put His emphasis on PREACHING and TEACHING. The lesson here is, we can not make good Godly decisions without God! It simply is not possible.

We must first be disciplined enough to seek GOD daily. We will be rewarded with wisdom that supercedes the ways of this world on earth. God's wisdom will enable us to glide through this world with a JOYFUL and HAPPY heart.

How to B-FLY Despite It All!

Becoming a Christian is only the beginning. How do you stay within the confines of God's word in today's society? Most of my girls strive to be ever fabulous paradigms of coiffed perfection. In an effort to capture the illusive swagger a la Kimora, Diana R., Paris, Rihanna, Naomi, Beyonce, et al. we begin to take on the affectations of the world. Over time, we become impatient, demanding divas shrouded in designer shades. When we look down it is with disdain from dizzying stiletto heights. Can you truly B-FLY, fashionable, fabulous and faithful in Christ?

Short answer? Yes and NO. Let's recap what it means to be in Christ, first. Setting aside the 10 commandments etc, for a moment. Let's start with the basics.

YOU must be born again!?

What does that even mean? Nicodemus, the very educated church leader (Pharisee) had no idea and neither did I until today. John 3:1-7. Being born again is a two part procedure. First, there is a physical (second) birth after the earthly birthing process. Second, there is a spiritual birth, an awakening into a new life in Christ.

The whole point is that when you are "born again" you begin a new life, a life set apart. This new life is a "heaven life on earth." What?! It is heaven on earth. Really! That is the promise to us given by Jesus. He promised us that he would give us eternal life. But that life starts at the point when you are born again it does not just start when you physically die. Eternal life really is HAPPINESS, JOY, PEACE, ASSURANCE, CONFIDENCE, FEARLESSNESS here on earth. Just image...being happy and joyful, confident and at peace no matter what is going on around you...no matter what your situation...with or without a marvelous job...with or without cool friends...with or without a fly whip (car)...with or without a boyfriend...

So how do you obtain this sense of JOY now? How do you go through life with rose colored shades? How do you look upon disappointment and see a perfect plan for you? How do you look upon a calamity and see an opportunity for a miracle? Stay with me...we'll discover these answers together.