The Modern Disciple

People Mocking GOD after receiving a Blessing isn't uncommon at all.

JESUS scolded people from the towns where MOST of his miracles were performed, because of their continued unbelief.

GOD doesn't Heal people because we are good, but because HE is Good.

🤔Consider DANIEL and JOB,
when CHOOSING "FRIENDS"
for your SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

🙏🏼Some, you will PRAY "with"
and some, you will PRAY "for".

Some are MORE willing to "fall"
w/YOU, than to "stand" w/ YOU.

But GOD is Full of Mercy, and
when JOB Prayed for his friends,
The Lord Restored JOB's Life.

(Q) Are YOUR Friends more like
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
-or- Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar?

(Q) Are YOU in the Mainstream
with SOCIETY Flowing Downward⬇
-or- with JESUS✝ and "HIS FEW"
Streaming Upward⬆ to GOD?

PRIOR to Becoming a "Christian", a person builds their LIFE by aligning themselves with Narratives Acceptable by peers within their environment - in an effort to excel in the ways that "Society" depicts as a "Happy, Successful Life".

AFTER Becoming a "Christian", a person is led by GOD to Examine, Deconstruct, and Abandon the LIFE and [Life-Style] they once Chose, that satisfied their human desires for Earthly things - to Construct an Eternal LIFE according to the Pattern provided by GOD through CHRIST - satisfying their NEW desire for Heavenly things.

[Warning]

Alternate Life-Styles approved by SOCIETY will draw a person away from GOD, in the same way that the "Christian" Life-Style draws a person away from SOCIETY's Approval.

[Conclusion]

Christians fully "TRANSFORMED" through the Cross✝ of Suffering will NOT be seen living out the rest of their lives chasing human desires, but rather for the will of GOD 🙌... fearing the yoke of Blindness they were once delivered from, that darkens every soul becoming "polluted again" by SOCIETY's Influences.

Notes; from a day in the life of a Disciple

REJOICE, if you're led by HIS ROD, because YOU belong to [JESUS] the GOOD SHEPHERD!

REJOICE, if you're led by HIS STAFF, because YOU are learning to WALK in HIS WAYS!

REJOICE, if you're led by HIS VOICE, because YOU will graze in THE LORD's Pasture FOREVER!

WHAT I CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT RACISM

By Carol Swain

Let me tell you how my story ends: I become a tenured, award-winning professor of political science at an Ivy League university, and then at one of the leading universities in the South.

Now let me tell you how my story begins: I grow up in rural Virginia, literally dirt poor. I drop out of school in the eighth grade and have three children by the time I'm 20.

I consider myself to be a reasonably modest person, but even I have to admit that's quite a journey.

How did I do it?

I worked hard. Not crazy, 24/7 hard—just hard. I made good decisions. Not brilliant, three-dimensional-chess decisions—just good ones. I met people along the way who helped me and sincerely wanted to see me succeed—not because they had something to gain, but because they were decent people. Almost all of these individuals, by the way, were white.

But mostly, I think I was blessed in one crucial way: I was born in America, a true land of opportunity for anyone of any color or background. In this country, where you start your life does not determine where you end up.

That works in both directions, by the way. You can start out with every advantage and waste them all. Or you can start out with nothing and become a success. It all depends on you. Your attitude is far more important than your race, gender, or social class in determining what you will accomplish in life.

When I hear young blacks—or anyone, for that matter—talk about systemic racism, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I want to laugh because it's such nonsense. I want to cry because I know it's pushing untold numbers of young blacks into a dead end of self-pity and despair. Instead of seizing the amazing opportunities America offers them, they seize an excuse to explain why they're not succeeding.

I was born into a world where systemic racism was real—no-fooling, outright-bigotry, back-of-the-bus real. But here's what you need to know: Yes, that racism shaped the black experience—but even then, it did not define it. Change was in the air. Call it systemic reform.

The modern Civil Rights Movement was in its infancy, and the leaders who fought for equal rights for blacks were men and women of all races. They believed in America and were determined to see it live up to its highest ideals—ideals manifest in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

Did I know, growing up, that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? I don't think I ever thought about it. If I did, I'd like to think that I would have had enough common sense to know that we can't judge men who lived 250 years ago by the moral standards of our own day.

But I know that Jefferson wrote the words in the Declaration of Independence that made slavery ultimately impossible: that all men are created equal. And I know that Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Adams and the rest of the Founders risked everything to make my world, my America, possible. How could I not be grateful for that and for the sacrifices so many others have made to preserve it?

The truth is I cannot remember a time when I did not love America and feel pride in the belief that I live in the greatest country in the world. I knew if I diligently pursued my ambitions, I could leave the poverty of my early years, with all its abuse and depression, behind me.

I was fortunate in another way. I was spared the life-sapping, negative messages about America that are crippling a generation of young people. These ideas are poison:

☆ White privilege.
☆ Whiteness as a form of property.
☆ Unconscious racism.
☆ Reparations.
☆ Microaggressions.
☆ Police have it out for blacks.
☆ That the United States was created to protect and promote slavery.

These are the ideas young people are told they must accept. And then they're told to reject the ideas that can save them—the antidote: the success principles that enabled me and millions of other Americans to escape lives of poverty.

These principles aren't complicated: work hard, learn from your mistakes, take personal responsibility for your actions. When I made the decisions to get my high school equivalency, attend a community college, and then earn four additional college and university degrees, I believed that my education would open doors. And it did.

It was only when exposed to academic theories of oppression in graduate school that I was informed that because I was black, poor, and female, I could never do what I had already accomplished.

Thank God, it was too late for these toxic messages to stop me. Don't let them stop you.
______________________________________________
Carol Swain is a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University.

Physically Born People🙂 live among Spiritually Born people😇 like the Caterpillars🐛 who live among Butterflies🦋

GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Spiritual Gifts speak of special abilities that allow us to overcome in the midst of varying circumstances, where our natural abilities would fail to produce Spiritual Fruit. Operating by Love, Spiritual Gifts become manifest for the expressed purpose of carrying out Kingdom Service in accordance with God’s Perfect Will.

BASIC TRUTHS ABOUT GIFTS,
since Spiritual Gifts can be misunderstood.

[1 Corinthians 12:1] “About spiritual gifts...
I do not want you to be ignorant”

There are Christians who are unaware of their spiritual gifts. We, therefore, need to know what God teaches about gifts so they can be Recognized and Understood.

Here are some Guidelines for Understanding Gifts of the Spirit:

[1 Peter 4:10] Every Christian has at least one gift

[1 Corinthians 12:7] Gifts are for the common good

[1Corinthians 12:11] The Holy Spirit decides what gifts I get

[1 Corinthians 12:21-23] Each gift is important in the body

[1 Corinthians 12:28] No one receives all of the gifts

[1 Corinthians 12:29] No single gift is given to everyone

[1 Corinthians 13:1-3] Lack of Love renders my gift ineffective

[1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Corinthians 4:2] We must faithfully use our gifts

[Ephesians 4:16] Using my gift causes personal and church growth

GOD's FACT-CHECKERS
have MORE to Correct
about GOD's Narrative,
than Social Media does
with their Narratives 🕵🏽‍♂️

Here's Just one example:

[Matthew 7:21]
[Romans 2:13]
[Matthew 12:50]
[John 3:3]