Sunday, December 1, 2013

Omniscient God...Infinite Potential!

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations" 
~Jeremiah 1:5

Hey loves,

Before we get started, I would like for you to take a look at the video embedded below. This video is a major component of today's discussion:



Hopefully you watched the video, before reading on (if not, shame on you! lol!). In the video, Shaheen planned and practiced with one song in particular believing that it was his best. He decided to sing Amy Winehouse's song "Valerie" because everyone he knows loves the way that he sings the song. However, when he stepped on stage and began singing that song, he was quickly stopped by one of the judges, Simon Cowell. Now, if you have watched Simon in the past, you know that he is a stickler for perfection and can be quite annoying if you are a fan of the person that he is criticizing. This situation, however, was a little bit different from his typical criticism. 

Simon recognized very early in the song, that Shaheen was not performing well. Shaheen was focused on singing a popular song, and providing a good stage presence (he started strutting back and forth on stage while singing). Although, the crowd (and the other two judges on the panel) enjoyed the very short performance, Simon was not pleased. He asked Shaheen to choose another song that he likes to sing. Shaheen chose to sing Michael Jackson's song "Who's loving you". What happened next was amazing! Shaheen blew everyone away with his wonderful voice. He was more confident and sang from his soul. After he belted the first couple of notes, Simon smiled (obviously very pleased) and the crowd went wild.

Now I want you to put yourself in the place of Shaheen. He came into the situation believing that he was only capable of performing at a certain level. He did not bring his best to the competition because he didn't know that he was not performing at his best. We are the same exact way. We think that we are only capable of performing at a certain level, when in fact the Lord sees much more potential in us. We are often reluctant to step outside of our comfort zone because we are afraid of failure. We are comfortable doing what we think we are good at, but often times we fail to discover the talents and potential that God sees in us. 

God created each and every one of us. He knows the gifts that he has deposited in us and is saddened when we do not use them. Here are a couple of reasons why we do not use our gifts:
  1. We are afraid 
  2. We are unaware that we have them
 You may be asking this question: how do you learn about the gifts that God had given you? That's kind of a tough question to answer. Everyone for the most part has different gifts, but there is one gift that all believers in Christ have, the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you are struggling to learn more about what God has deposited in you, I encourage to seek guidance from the Spirit. Spend time with the Lord on a regular basis. Two to three hours a week on Sunday is not sufficient enough. You need to take time to GET AWAY and read the Word, and meditate on it (Jesus did it several times in scripture: Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35-36, Mark 6:45-46, Luke 4:42, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12, etc.). Talk to the Lord. Tell Him about your concerns. Have REAL conversations with Him. Don't focus on Christian cliches, or sounding eloquent in speech; talk to Him like you would a best friend. You don't have to change your way of speaking to talk to Him. Be real! If you are struggling with a concept or an idea, tell Him about it. If you are frustrated, let Him hear your frustration.

As you develop a stronger relationship with Christ, He will begin to reveal some things about your character, personality, skill set and faith. God is not only in the blessing business, He is also in the growing business. God wants us to grow in Him. As the growth continues, God will begin to provide you with divine constructive criticism. To learn more about Him and ourselves, we have to embrace that constructive criticism to get to the next level in our relationship with Him. If we embrace that criticism, we will be one step closer to discovering and developing our gifts. 

Going back to the video, recall that while Shaheen was singing the song "Valerie" the crowd went wild. However, once he was stopped by Simon, the crowd was very upset. Likewise, when God begins to reveal to you the gifts that you have, there are going to be some people that will not like what He is doing in your life. Understand right now that the growth process will be difficult (I am currently in it right now--> A New Direction: Now Entering the Spiritual Stretch Zone). There will be some that don't like the decision that you have made to grow closer with Christ. There will be some that will be mad that God has chosen you. However, once God is finished with you, He will be pleased and His name will be glorified through you. Both you and the world will be able to see the potential that God saw in you all along... You will switch from singing "Valerie" to "Who's loving you", just like Shaheen in the video. 

Are you ready to embrace and learn about the gifts that God has deposited in you? What gifts do you think God has deposited in you? Please comment below.


I love y'all for free,
nNb :-)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The SOVEREIGNTY of God

Hey loves!


Before I delve into this message, please open up your bible to two passages. The first is Matthew 27:62-66 and the second is Mark 16:1-4.

As I was studying my bible yesterday morning, I came across these two familiar passages of scripture. Now normally I gloss over these passages while reading my bible so that I can get to the "good" part--the part when the women realize that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. However, yesterday the Lord made me slow down and analyze those two points in scripture. For those of you that don't know, I use a Chronological Life Application Study Bible to study scripture. While it is a bit awkward to use during church services (the books are in chronological order, not canonical), this study bible is PERFECT for analyzing parallel passages of text (you can find it here if you are interested in learning more about it). Not only does this bible help you connect the dots between historical events that took place in scripture, it also provides some context into the situations that are occurring in the text.

Looking at both the scriptures referenced earlier, we find ourselves at a point in time three days after Jesus was crucified. He was taken off the cross and was buried in a tomb by Joseph and Nicodemus, while Mary and some of the others with them watched and grieved. All of Jesus' followers were filled with mixed emotions (sadness, anger, frustration, confusion, etc.). They just witnessed Jesus die on the cross and many were feeling dejected. The disciples did not remember that Jesus told them that He would be resurrected (Matthew 20:17-19), so many of them felt abandoned. In contrast to them were the Pharisees that remembered Jesus' words and were very fearful.

The Pharisees were so fearful that one of Jesus' followers would remove the body, that they took extra precautions to ensure that no one would have access to Him. The religious leaders had Jesus' tomb sealed by a giant stone that was rolled over the entrance. In addition to that, scholars say that they also had it sealed by a stringing cord across the stone that was sealed on each end with clay, preventing the stone from being moved. Last, they had guards placed at the entrance of the tomb so that no one could enter. These precautions that were made were supposed to ensure that none of Jesus' followers could get into the tomb and remove his body to to "claim" that he was resurrected.

Fast forward to three days after the burial of Jesus. Mary and some other women are walking to the tomb with spices to place on Jesus. As they were approaching the tomb, they discussed that they needed someone to unseal the tomb so that they could enter. Here are some key things to remember about this moment:

  • The ladies did not remember Jesus' words about His resurrection
  • They watched as the tomb was sealed with guards protecting it (they knew that they couldn't get in)
  • They did not bring any men with them to help them unseal it
Sounds a little bit fishy, doesn't it?

So one might ask this question: Why were they walking to Jesus' tomb KNOWING that there was a very small chance that they could get it open? I believe that they were walking to the tomb, because God lead them to. Think about it for a moment, there was no guarantee that they could enter to tomb to see Jesus because there were guards posted in front of it AND it was heavily sealed. The women did not remember that Jesus would be resurrected, so the only reason why they were going to the tomb was to hopefully see Jesus. 

I argue that this is a very powerful moment in scripture because God ordered their steps and led them to the tomb so that they would see Jesus arisen from the dead! God placed the thought in their heart to pick up burial spices for Jesus (whom they knew that they could not get access to) so that they would be there to witness Jesus resurrected. The thought came to them like an ordinary thought comes to us.

Now let's think about how this can apply to our own lives. You might be in a situation right now that may seem bleak and almost impossible to overcome, but they text confirms that fact that God is SOVEREIGN! These women were sure that their savior was dead and inaccessible, however, they STILL went to the tomb and were able to see Him! Likewise, God allows us to enter situations that lead to His glory manifested in our lives. God places thoughts in our heads to do or say certain things that can in turn uplift and minister to others. Remember that God is sovereign and that He knows all. What you might think is a normal/rough/weird situation, may lead to a great blessing.

I want to leave you with this thought: Mary did not remember that Jesus said that He would be resurrected in three days. She doubted once she saw Jesus die on the cross. she also didn't expect to see the tomb open when she arrived. However, once she witnessed the Christ resurrected, her faith was restored! God manifested himself greatly for Mary at the moment and He wants to do the same for us. Never discount any moment/event in your life because everything that happens is done to bring us closer to God. 

To God be the glory!

I love y'all for free,
nNb :-)



Saturday, November 9, 2013

What Flavor are You?

Hey everyone!

The Lord has placed an awesome message in me that I am finally (after 3-4 weeks) sharing with you all. Instead of posting it in textual fashion, I decided instead to create a video blog post. Check out the video below:




I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know if it ministers to you!

I love y'all for free,
nNb :-)

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

A new direction: Now entering the SPIRITUAL STRETCH ZONE!

"To live in the Stretch Zone is right where God wants us. It's the place of growth, fruitfulness, faith, and purpose. It's the place where we can feel out our depth, which causes us to become more dependent on the Holy Spirit. But being stretched increases our capacity for what God wants in our lives which effects how we believe, think and live our lives daily" 



Hey loves,

I know it's been a LOOONG while since I have written on this blog/posted YouTube videos. I'll be honest, I've been in a little bit of a funk for a while. I've been going through the motions, and have been debating about closing down this blog for some time now. When I originally created this blog, my intent was to chronicle my natural hair journey. However, as time passed, this blog became an outlet for other topics of discussion (music,vlogs, weight loss, etc.).

As I contemplated closing down this blog, the Lord started to reveal some things to me in his infinite wisdom. God has been placing messages within my spirit to share with the world for a while now, however, my timidness caused me to withdraw and keep some of those words that were intended for others, to myself. Not only did this selfishness/disobedience lead to a weakened relationship between myself and Christ, it also hurt those who God created and crafted those words for. After all, how can you minister to others, if you're too afraid to speak for Christ?
 
The Lord has been doing a LOT of molding and shaping of me over the last 10 months. I've been stretched in ways that I never thought possible, and have grown so much in my relationship with Him. Now I feel the Lord calling me to use this platform that I have to share his messages with others. The time for me to be silent is coming to an end, and He is now breaking that yoke of timidness and fear in me. The Lord has given me words to share with everyone who reads this blog, and I plan to oblige and take this task seriously (no matter how scary it may seem to me).

To be honest, I did not realize the significance of the words that are written on my blog/Facebook/twitter/etc. until someone that I know made a comment about how something that I had posted on my Facebook wall really gave them something to think about. When I posted the picture in question, it didn't occur to me that people could be so influenced by a picture that I just randomly clicked the 'share' button for. What felt random and ordinary to me, triggered deep thought in another. It was at that moment that I realized the power of the social media platform. What is even more prominent and exciting to me is that God is choosing to use this platform to minister to people as well... a lil 'ole blog created in 2009, that was on the verge of being deleted about a week ago. As I sit back and think about it, I realized that I was lead to create the blog in 2009, so that a platform for His words was already in existence and available to be used to minister to people in 2013. Look at how the Lord works! Praise Him!

Lastly, I just want to clarify that this blog will not only be used for ministerial purposes. I am a fun-loving and very silly girl, so the old posts will continue as well. However, I'm looking forward to growing in Christ and developing my voice, and I hope that you all are ready to learn and grow with me!

I love y'all for free,
nNb ♥



Tuesday, January 22, 2013

God wants all of your Baggage...

"'Come now, let's settle this', says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool.'"
~ Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

Hey everyone!

I was surfing Facebook today and came across this picture posted on the left. This was a least my 3rd time viewing it and in the past, having formerly shared it with a caption that read "Amen" under it. However, when I came across the picture again today, I had a slightly different reaction. The caption below the picture simply reads "release those bags" and shows a woman dropping baggage as she walks toward the cross. While at first glimpse, this picture can be uplifting, there is also an underlying message that has permeated our generation  that is represented in it that says that you have to "get right" become you can become a Christian.

There is a misconception that people should hold off on accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior until they get their life "together". This logic states that people should come to Christ in a state of perfection. However, the truth is that God wants us as we are right now! He loves each and everyone of us and wants to be in communion with us. A high rating on the index of raggedyness (yes, I just created that term, lol!) does NOT disqualify you from being able to have a relationship with Him. He wants the broken. He wants to heal you. God's not in the coping business, meaning that He's not about helping you live with your burdens. He's in the healing business! If you accept Him, your life will never be the same!

Now, let me make it clear that accepting Him into your life doesn't mean that everything will suddenly become peaches and cream, but you will be comforted and healed. Your interests, preferences, and tastes will change for the better (most times without you making those choices consciously). It's not about physically stopping sin, but it's about developing a genuine relationship with the Lord. It's not you that makes that change (to be honest, we can't do it ourselves) but Holy Spirit that's deposited in you leads and facilitates that change. You cannot release the baggage yourself, otherwise, you would have already done it. The Lord allows certain things in our lives (both good and bad) to bring us closer to Him. This means that your healing can only be facilitated by Him. Period. Go to Him and bring everything with you. He can heal you, but after you first acknowledge that you have these burdens and lay them down on the altar of the Lord. He can and will heal you, but first you have to come to Him as you are!

Make the decision today to go to Christ with all that you have: guilt, shame, fear, hurt, etc. Don't try to drop any of your baggage before you get to Him. Accept Him into your life right now and give Him ALL of you. I promise you that it will be the best decision that you will ever make!

I love y'all for free,
nNb ♥
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