Mine Eyes Have Seen BY:KB © 4.30.15

I’m sitting here pondering the events of the past day and all if I can say is “that if it weren't for the Lord!”

Keeping it 100 % y’all, I’m not happy…I watched something unfold that left me extremely disappointed. I’m disappointed because I got caught slipping. I extended courtesies and chances to someone that I really should have been feeding from a long-handled spoon; I say this because I watched them be hypercritical and judgmental in responses to other situations rather than seeking to resolve strife. I’m also angry because I am guilty of bystanding and making no attempt to correct. 

Long story short: I just had to unfriend someone that I thought was like-minded (politics social justice) until I read a post where they were talking about Baltimore.....the person used the term "you African Americans" which is synonymous with the bigoted and divisive term "you people" The person then threatened to use the N word in lieu of the word thug which they were getting flack for using to describe the rioters. To add further insult...the person didn't check their racist friends when they started to go in, stating blatantly racists and biased posts. I initially attempted to engage all parties involved in conversation, dialogue and open discourse in order to hopefully educate them about the anger and rage that caused the riots but it quickly became clear that it was a forum and opportunity to voice longstanding repressed racist viewpoints…to which I had to say BYE FELICIA!!!!

I guess I am the latest victim….I was minding my own business when I got stopped and questioned by Facebook only to find myself in a choke-hold….a totally innocuous situation results in a death!

Obedience vs Sacrifice BY: KB © 4.29.15

So today commute was a mind game…..I was toying with the words obedience and sacrifice. I came by it because I flashed on 1 Samuel 15:22 “….To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” when the word obey tickertaped across my brain.

Think about it for a minute….the word obey triggered me because it denotes an authority or an authoritative figure. Now, I don’t know about you but I enjoy my autonomy when I’m not talking to or living with my mother or at work. I’m my own boss! I’m the boss of me! I run this! Right?  Wrong! Dead wrong! As a believer I come under the authority of Christ.

Isaiah 9:6     For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Daniel 7:13     "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.

Matthew 11:27     "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Matthew 26:64     "You have said so," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Luke 1:33     and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end."

I have choice (free will) in what I say, do and my level of commitment…but if I truly love God and seek to represent and serve Him my level of connection and commitment should reflect it. I’m not talking about church busy work, Bible Study, Choir and all that….I’m talking about a life of reflection and introspection; not a perfect life. I’m talking about a life impacted and impacting and yet I still praise!

Now, sacrifice…let’s look at that word for a minute because it says something very real. Sacrifice in Biblical terms means to give an offering unto God; burnt or blood. Sacrifice to us in worldly terms means we temporarily give something up because we’re holding onto a reservation to possibly return to it (marinate on that for a minute) Ask yourself if your sacrifice is Biblical?

How ya’ livin’?!!!!

WAKE UP!!!!!! BY:KB 4.28.15

REAL TALK from KB: Now, please don’t misconstrue what I’m writing….I by no means condone random acts of violence and looting.

I am a child of the 60’s…my parents were “cautiously” militant and revolutionary. I use the word cautiously because they knew they had to keep their jobs but not take oppressive and racist BS policies of oppression. I've seen and heard a lot of transitions as far as race relations. My parents taught us to steel our spines and demand our rights without being disrespectful; learning to be vocal and using “passive resistance” to turn the system against itself ( a house divided cannot stand)….

I understand the anger and the rage of the young people of Baltimore….I, myself, kept asking the questions: How many Black men is enough? How many young Black men have to die and the hands of law enforcement that is taught to stereotype and profile?

Well, we seemed to have reached the finite number “…the chickens are coming home to roost” and yet America is still trying to assign blame rather than do introspection. Our country’s foundation is racism, bigotry, oppression and subjugation….we cannot solve a problem until we address its root cause.

To the young folks raging and out of control…..I understand your anger. I feel the same “burn baby burn” rage about the genocide (don’t be fooled it is a genocidal practice to execute Black men to stifle the perpetuation of a race of people) but we must use our heads…….winning a temporary battle will not win a war!

I've said it before and I’ll keep saying it until other people hear it….we are teaching our kids to live without hope and community. We need to get back to our “villages” to raise our children. We need to embrace church. We need to embrace the barber shops. We need to embrace community organizations. We need to resuscitate the NAACP.

Censorship BY:KB 4.28.15

I was re-reading a few Facebook posts and found myself deleting a few things because I posted them based on a “feeling” or momentary sentiment; you know, those ever so brief moments in time and emotions that often lead to a major lapse in judgment. Which leads me to my point, self-censoring may be one of the hardest things we’ll ever have to learn in this lifetime.

I once heard someone say that they prayed that their first response would be the “right” Christ-like response. I can only hope to attain such a lofty goal; I know I am a work in progress and I am in a state of constant flux – even when at rest I’m a mental whirlwind. I know I can be a hothead. I know I can get people told in such a way they’ll have to think about what I said to them and then get mad later or I can be the exact opposite and say some things that will go for the immediate kill shot…neither of which is beneficial to me, the other party, my faith walk or my honor and respect for the Lord. 

Humility is hard when the world continues to hold it up as a fault, failing or character defect…..here’s how I manage the conflict:

1 Corinthians 13     If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

IF I HAVE NOT LOVE – because I have love I’m not required to respond back…I don’t have to belittle others, I don’t have to brag, I don’t have to keep tabs, I don’t have to hold on to pain….whatever I lose in a translation or transaction I know Jehovah Jireh… (amen)

Romans 12:2     Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What is your line of thinking?  Do you love enough to “walk away”? Please note that walking away is not as much literal as it is figurative…walk away literally not to engage in conflict but you have an obligation to pray for that brother/sister/ situation that took your eyes off the Lord…..call that thing out and bring it under the authority of God.

How ya’ livin’?

Bored BY: KB 4.25.15

REAL TALK from KB: I don’t get bored often. I can be alone, actually I like to be alone with my thoughts, being alone helps to keep the creativity flowing. Today, however, I am utterly and completely bored; my thoughts are fluctuating between action and apathy. I have an undercurrent of anger (don’t know what the heck that is all about) I guess I’m experiencing what the $5 shrinks call an agitated depression. Whatever it’s called it’s annoying as hell because I seem to get caught in a line of thinking that brings me back to square one.

I’m writing about the feeling because I know I’m not the only one to experience such craziness. I woke up full of energy…I had a great night’s sleep. I have plans for later in the day but I still have this specter hanging over me.

I’ll do what I can to get through the day but until then I’ll keep on wishing…” I wish I would let someone steal my joy!” I know feelings are temporary ….love and joy are permanent

Getting to know me BY: KB 4.25.15

I haven’t written anything of substance in a while; I've been taking time out for me, spending time in thought and reflection. I've been toying with the word studies on both grace and humility. I had to look at some recent triumphs as well as some MAJOR setbacks and poor choices based on my imposing self-will over God’s will; more important my ability to confuse and rationalize the two. I then had to ask myself if I had friends or if I was courting minions. All of which are very tough question to ask as well as answer…self examination is NEVER an easy task.

1 Peter 4:3      For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

What have I done with my life and myself since I have come into the knowledge of Christ? What have I done to acknowledge His call and purpose for my life? Am I living in the flesh? Do I continue to be selfish and self-serving? There is no one question…each question leads to another they are all interconnected.

On some levels my answers were less than stellar and celestial minded. I had to confess a lot of faults and missteps and I had to repent. I had to look and myself and the company (counsel)I kept and didn't keep. I had to look at the how’s and why’s of how the situation came to be.

I am by no means a zealot or an extreme fundamentalist. I am someone who loves God and wants to live an upright life of integrity. I am someone who wants to be known for their  love, compassion and empathy. I want to be known and remembered as a person who loved and helped others in/out of season. I want to be known as a person of faith.

I realize I am human and I am going to miss my mark, often! I must learn to forgive myself, brush myself off and move on. Please note.....I did not say forget the lesson 

Ride or Die BY: KB © 4.22.15

I just finished reading  the devotional Crosswalk; I read it and post it every day. Today’s read was really thought provoking. I read and re-read this morning’s entry and it’s still resonating with me. I had to ask myself if I was a “ride or die” person and if I had “ride or die” friends? I had to ask “Does my life reflect Christ enough to draw genuine and honest connections?” Who shows up when I need help – announced or unspoken?

These are very difficult questions that beg to be answered by any believer. I had to look at my current position in life because my answer from past situations would be dramatically different; allow me to clarify, in the past I would have any number of ride or die friends. Many people are willing to align themselves with you when you are willing to compromise your faith and your integrity to accommodate them wherever they find themselves. I can no longer accept such a position for myself so the number of people who would ride or die for me has dwindled considerably…………I am not concerned with the size of my circle. I am focused on the quality and the integrity of the people I have in my life. I want people who are going to challenge me intellectually. I want people who are going to offer words of correction and challenge for my spiritual maturity and growth. I want people who will support me and correct me, not enable me, when I give in to the desires of the flesh.

I have a very select group of people who I know love and support me and who know I am there for them….if I ever gave my word to be in your corner….I’ll be there hell or high water….in season and out of season. The word love does not roll from my lips with ease and it is not taken lightly. 

Eros, Phileo and Agape all come with commitment and responsibility.