Plant seeds…and wait for the fruit

Hello! Hello! Oh my goodness how time flies! I looked back and noted that the last time I posted was in 2018. I am writing today because I was “voluntold” by my new Sister in Christ Jeanette who came across my blog and really enjoyed and related to a post I did back in 2013. She related how my words resonated with her, brought comfort, and she encouraged me to continue to write again. Little did she know it had been on my heart to start up this blog again, but I kept procrastinating. The Spirit used her to speak to me so when she told me I was like “ok Lord, I get it, I hear you!”

To me it was so amazing (nothing but God!) that the words I wrote so long ago were able to reach and touch someone 9 years after they were written. I was thinking to myself “my blog is still up?” LOL!! But seriously, how many times have we started something, only to lose interest because we did not see the results we were looking for, the response we were looking for, or plain just lost interest. Just because we did not see the results in our timing, doesn’t mean that they were not coming, they just took some time.

I love pineapples. It takes a pineapple at least 2 years to bear a fruit after it has been planted. So while I may not have been present the 2 or 3 years prior that the fruit was planted in the orchard, I am so thankful to the person that planted it and that I was able to reap the benefits of their labor.

My dad planted some mango seeds at our old house and he never saw the fruits of his labor. It takes about 7 years for a mango tree to bear fruit and my dad passed before he was able to see or taste the fruit. We benefited from his labor, but it took some time and let me tell you, those mangoes were good!

It seems that ever since my Sister in Christ Jeanette reached out to me via the blog, planting seeds has been a reoccurring theme around me. So many times we may do something or say something that we don’t realize has had some lasting effect. Some may say we have “sown a seed”. Be careful though, not only can you sow good seeds, you can also sow bad ones. There are so many things that I have said in my past I wish I could take back. Whoever said “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt!” is a liar! How many of us remember some words that have been said to us or words that we said to others in a heated argument that we wish we could take back that are still remembered today. The Book of James chapter 3 talks about the tongue and the damage it can make. Verse 8 says “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” We need to be careful what we say.

Many times we look for immediate satisfaction, that immediate response, that immediate result, but we need to be patient. We need to remember that one sows, one waters, one prunes, and one harvests. The key to remember is that we don’t have to do everything. We each have a part in the process and we may never see the final result, or know how our little part effects the big picture.

It’s a process, and we have to learn to trust the process. Sometimes it’s not for us to even to know what the results are – for in God’s infinite wisdom, he knows the appointed time and the desired result. (it could be 9 years later!) We may not know until we get to heaven, who we touched or who was impacted by our labor, or our “seeds”.

Sowing seeds is a ripple effect. Like throwing a rock in the pond, the rings just expand from the point of origin, and we never know how far they will go or where they will reach. God just wants us to make the effort. He will bless our works and multiply them for His Kingdom. So whatever your are thinking to do that you may be procrastinating, whatever is on your heart, get out there and do it! We just have to be willing to be willing! God will do the rest!

I must admit, it feels good to post something on the blog again. I can’t wait to find out who will be touched by these words in the future! To all of you, God Bless and Sow Seeds!

Until the next time, I’m just tryingtobeamanofgod!

With Brotherly Love,

Dwayne

You’re Invited…

 

If you knew there was going to be a big party and EVERYONE was going to be there wouldn’t you want to go? Better yet if you knew there was going to be this huge party and you had VIP tickets and a few extras, what would you do?

You probably would go find your best friends, tell them all about the party, and let them know you have VIP tickets for them so that they could enjoy it with you.  The best of the best.  After all, you would want to be able to hang out with your friends at the party so that they didn’t miss a thing and you wouldn’t have to go back to tell them about what happened and everything they missed.

If I were to win the lottery today, I wouldn’t go out and find some strangers to come celebrate my winnings with.  I would probably go and find all my family and close friends and invite them to the celebration I would have.

It’s only natural to want to be surrounded by the ones you care about the most when it comes to good times.

The story was told of a man who was caught up in the air and went to Heaven.  On his way up in the sky, his friends who were not caught up to go to heaven and still on earth were looking at him and they were calling out to the man.  One cried “Why didn’t you tell me about Jesus? You knew about Him and you didn’t tell me!”  Another said “I worked with you everyday and you never told me about Jesus.”

Friends,  I don’t want to be at that that glorious celebration in Heaven and not see my friends, family, and coworkers.  Those of us who know Jesus need to tell others about Him.  Especially those who we come in contact with everyday.  We may be the only ones who come in their path to give them the Good News.

I want to tell all who read this blog post that Jesus is in Heaven right now preparing the greatest party of all time and you are invited.  All you have to do is accept the invitation of the Savior Jesus Christ and he will prepare you and your heart for the greatest Celebration the world has ever known …for the Bible says in John 14:2,3:

² In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Revelation 3:20 says: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Friends, I know of the greatest party ever…Won’t you be there?  After all you are invited!

Until Later,

I am just tryingtobeamanofgod….

 

 

Expiration Date

 

I can’t believe that this is my first post of 2014.  I have been growing in the Lord while I have been away from you but I feel like there are not enough hours in the day. (can someone relate?)  Nevertheless I miss sharing with you all about God’s goodness and I have had this topic on my mind and I had to get this post out.

In my growth group tonight we talked about how the disciples woke Jesus up in the boat in the midst of the storm and they thought they were going to die and they said to Him: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up , rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet, Be still!” The wind died down and was completely still.  He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” – Luke 4:38-40 

Whatever you are going through has an expiration date. It won’t last forever.  “This too shall pass!” It is so hard to see the outcome of a situation when you are in the midst of it.  There are so many sayings that I can insert here…”There is light at the end of the tunnel”, in Jamaica they say “one day, like one day”, etc. (You get my point.) Anything God brings us to, He sees us through. We need not worry how big the storm is, we will make it through whatever it is.  All we need to have confidence in our God and our faith.

How many storms in your life has God seen you through? 1? 2? 10? more? So why when the storms of finances, broken relationships, lost jobs, foreclosures, etc. come our way do we  get afraid and lose our faith? We panic, we worry, we forget the loving God we have that will see us through the storm if we just be quiet and be still.  Friend, we serve a mighty God and He has the power to command the wind and the waves in our lives to be still (and they will obey!)

It is so nice to know that in the midst of the storm, Jesus is right there with us and that all we have to do is call on Him and He will make it alright. Why stress yourself out and worry over things you cannot control. Call on Him in the storm, and I promise he won’t let you down. I leave you with the words of Ephesians 3:20,21 – Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. 

Until the next time, I’m just tryingtobeamanofgod.

Blessings!

 

The Debt I Can’t Repay

 

The last 24+ hours have been so amazing, more than that I can say in the last few months I have watched the Lord make major moves in my life and I am so thankful.  The apostle Paul stated many times that he would not boast of his works but he would boast of his shortcomings in the Lord.  By doing this, we minimize ourselves so that God can be glorified.

First I must say, The Lord provides! In previous posts I spoke of how God placed me in my apartment when I wasn’t working (and by His grace I’m still in it!) and He provided someone to furnish it for me.  (Amen!)  While I was given a bedroom set, I still needed a bed.  So It’s been a few months and I’ve never gotten around to getting the bed.  I’ll get back to that.

So now I’m working in Orlando so my commute is 85 miles each way. I had to sell my car just before getting laid off so I’ve been driving my dad’s old Jaguar which is nice, but not for commuting (93 Octane – 19MPG hwy if lucky)  so I need my own car. I’ll get back to that. If I’m not driving the Jaguar, I’ll drive my Mom’s car when she doesn’t need it.  I was driving her car today and the car was vibrating in the front and the vibration was getting worse as I was going to work so I was like “Lord just let me get to work and back today”.  (The Jag needs tires so I’m not trying to drive it until payday).  I’ll get back to that.

I’m transparent and some of you who read this know me. So since I’ve been rebuilding my life and finances for some time now and I was $2,000 from being debt free when I was unexpectedly laid off. (does anyone expect to be laid off?)  So it has been my goal to be debt free for some time and once again I’m very close to it. No credit cards, no car payments, no loans, you get the picture. Just a couple bad bills hanging around.

Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” You see friends, God wants us to be lenders not borrowers!  Like I said I’ve been on that for some time now.  I’m still living check to check but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I’m no stranger to final notices, past due, disconnect, etc.  So I dream of what it would be like to be debt free.  Finally in the black! No one asking me for nothing! Calling my own shots!  Bills is getting paid! (I know how I said that!)

Getting back to the story…

So I have not been sleeping on a Sealy but where I am in life right now that is not in the picture, it’s coming, just not in the budget right now but my body has been saying “make it happen!” Saturday after I came from church I started to get the mail from my mailbox but I was like whatever is in there can wait it’s the Sabbath so it’s my day of rest and that’s not important.  Sunday afternoon I go to check the mail and there is a sign in the kiosk saying “Free Queen Size bed and frame”  I call and it’s available so I went and got it!  (1)

So here I am the week of payday or “broke week” as some may say and I’m just trying to make it to Friday. (Insert cat picture hold on Friday’s coming!) I not trying to drive the Jag because I need tires so I drive my mom’s car and the tires are vibrating.  I make it to work and the ride is slow and bumpy going home. I’m like “Lord just let me make it home!” Thankfully I make it home and I’m thinking about tomorrow. I pass by the tire shop and no cars are in the bays! They are about to close and I ask the guys can you put my good tires in the back on the front? He said we’ll look at it.  Turns out the tire is separating so it has to be replaced.  So I say “great I have no money for this!” The manager suggests putting on the spare but I am not driving almost 200 miles roundtrip on a donut tire.  He looks at me and says to his worker “look and see if there’s anything in the back”.  So the worker finds a used tire and the manager says “we’ll put that on for you”.  So I’m still thinking how I’m going to pay for this. After they finish I ask how much will it be. The manager shakes my hand and says “get out of here!” The worker says “Happy Holidays” (2)

So one of the guys from the church that we always talk cars tells me “Dwayne, I just bought a new Honda I got a great deal on it!   I said “nice did you trade in your Civic for it?”  He says “no I got such a good deal on the Accord I didn’t have to.  I thought you might be interested in it! It’s the HX model made for high mileage…40+MPG! (3)

I had some furniture in storage that I had taken to a consignment store a couple months ago. It’s been there so long I almost forgot about it and a week or so ago I prayed the Lord for someone to buy it.  I came home tonight and there is a check in my mailbox for the furniture! (4)

I am so in debt to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior first for dying on the Cross, and for the ways in which He looks out for me… even in the small things! I CAN NEVER REPAY HIM!  He hears me when I pray, He knows what I need before I even ask!  God is awesome!

Since I got this new job I have for the first time in my life been able to consistently pay my tithe and He keeps blessing me over and over and taking care of me. Malachi 3:10 says Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

I don’t say all this to say God is like a genie in a bottle or if you believe in Him he gives you things.  I say this all to give Him the glory for what He has allowed me to do for Him as I have given him charge of my life and that He takes care of those who put Him first.

He died for us so we can live for Him!

God is real and God is Love I say to try Him….You’ll be in debt!

Until later, I’m just tryingtobeamanofgod.

Blessings!

 

God Smiled at Me II

After reading  a post (click post to read) from fellow blogger Prodigal Daughter, I had to relate my experience last night.  I  was fasting last night and as I work nights, I had to take a few breaks and go outside to pray.  Each time I went out the moon was out and your could see the stars.  Around 4:00am I went out and it was overcast.  As I looked to the sky and prayed, there was an opening in the clouds just enough for the moon to be viewed. It looked like an eye was looking at me. The eye of God!  (A little like the picture I took above but a smaller opening).

Another time when I was truly going through some difficult times, I was driving my convertible top down on a beautiful day and playing christian radio.  As I pulled into my parents driveway I noticed a few small clouds on a virtually cloudless day.   As the 3 small clouds passed they came together as Paul Baloche’s Glorious was playing the clouds formed the face of God and was looking directly at me!  The words of the song the sun on my face and the image the clouds made in majestic high definition gave me one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced.  All I could do was let the tears flow and I said to God “i see you!”

Friends seek your Heavenly Father.  God truly sees us and will make His presence known when we seek Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to us.  That can only happen when we are in tune with Him and have that deep relationship with Him. He reveals Himself in His Word which is the Bible and in everything around us if we are open and able to see Him. It is so important to have time for devotion to meditate on Him.  Make time for Him, submit to Him and he WILL smile at you…Try it! He’s waiting…

Thank you Prodigal Daughter for making me appreciate these experiences even more!

Until Later…I’m just tryingtobeamanofgod.

Blessings!

Dwayne