Detours by Tony Evans

I use the YouVersion Bible App on my phone and tablet, they have daily Bible plans which covers a wide variety of subjects. This one on Detours by Tony Evans is well worth reading, and explains why some of the things which happen in our life happens for a reason.

YouVersion plan ‘Detours’. Check it out here: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/12127

So many times God has put me on a detour… it can be so frustrating, but saying that, it is with getting older and a little wiser, that God has showed me these detours are necessary. So if I’m doing something and I feel the Holy Spirt guide me down a different way, I allow Him to lead, so many times I have ended up better off because of it.

It reminds me of a picture I once saw of Jesus knelt down in front of a little girl, in the girls hands was a small teddy bear, which she was holding tight to and Jesus was asking for it with one hand stretched out, the other hand was behind His back with a huge version of that little bear. The little girl saying “But I love it, God” as in I don’t want to hand it over, and Jesus saying “Just Trust Me”. We sometimes hold on to things thinking we know best and God has something so much better waiting for us and is what He wants to give us, yet we stop Him from Blessing us. I’ve had to learn that detours are a good thing, they’ve also given me patience which as we know, is a virtue.

I remember a minister or it may have been a Sunday School Teacher, quoting Woody Allen once saying in Sunday School, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans”. And what they mean by that is this, you may have a plan for your life, you may have a plan for when you will get married, what job you’ll be in, what sort of house you’ll have, car you’ll drive, when you’ll be having kids, what school they will go to etc etc etc, but God has a “Perfect” plan for your life and yes, it will have detours in it. God showed me once this to go with the saying above. I had drawn out my life plan and filled it out on a sheet of A4 paper…. I handed it to God and He laughed, and said, “That is your plan, let me show you mine”… at which point He pulled out an old styled scroll which was rolled up and He let it open. It rolled down to His feet, bounced down the many steps from His thrown and kept rolling along the floor of the great hall. “This” he said, “Is what I have planned for you”.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

¹¹ “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

There are times we have in life where we think “What the heck is going on”, things happen and we wonder why? “Why me Lord?”, I believe everything happens for a reason. Somethings are to strengthen us, some to make us wiser, some to help others on their journeys. These “Detours” are important and if we see them as God wants us to learn, then we are Blessed by them, if we don’t, we end up going around and around in circles and never moving forward. To the point where we will have missed an opportunity to learn, be closer to God, to help others and most importantly become the men or women of God, He wants us to be.

Prayer: “Lord, Thank you for detours, we may not see what they are at the time, however we know you make them for us to grow in Spiritual Maturity and to grow closer to you. We ask for more detours in life, and that you will Bless us with Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge to see them for what they are. A way to be closer to you and to do your will, Amen”

TonyEvans.org

https://go.tonyevans.org/purpose-of-detours

Black Lives Matter Vs All Lives Matter

I’m not one for bashing anyone, however I’m quite angry, this lady said she was in a lift full of people (she may have said black people here) and she saw a “white” woman walking towards her wanting to get in, so she pressed the button and the doors shut. And then proceeded to say how proud she was.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a screen capture of what she said, however I want to say this… THIS IS RACISM. Racism isn’t just against Africans/Jamaicans, Racism comes from anyone who belongs to ANY Colour, Religion, Sex etc to diminish another group of people.

I’m sick of hearing Black Lives Matter. Yes they do, but so does every other life on the planet. There is slavery still in the world today, Asian girls and women are sold into the sex trade year after year, yet we don’t have protests about it. We have seen Islamic men, women and children beat on, and condemned because of their faith (and yes, a majority of all Muslims are not terrorists), we need to stop this immaturity and grow up. As Martin Luther King Jr said, I have a dream, a dream where “I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

How many of us can say we have good character and are selfless when it comes to others. Like Martin Luther King Jr, I want UNITY, not Devision in this world. We have gone through a crisis where over 40,000 people who have died from COVID-19 with still approximately 200 to 400 people a day dying in the U.K. we have shown the greed we have in our hearts by storing toilets rolls, by taking as much food as we can and buying sanitiser and reselling it for extortionate amounts, people going around to elderly people’s homes and ripping them off, taking their money (what little they have) saying they would get them food and things. And even in Spain, a carehome staff left the carehome and let the elderly and infirm to defend for themselves, where the ones who was able to move or had any compos mentis tried to take care of those who didn’t…. just imagine that. You are in your nineties, you are infirm and you are trying to take care of 30 to 60 of your friends and while doing so, you have to walk by rooms, where several to half have passed away, with the stench of decaying bodies, of urine and faeces as the body when they die, release themselves. Lack of food due to not being able to open the doors to get out to get help, or into the office to call for help. The physiological damage that would do to those elderly trying to hanging on.

As a species we don’t deserve to be alive. We are cruel, self-centred, hurtful, sadistic, horrible creatures. How can we help others if we are always about us, ourselves. When you put yourself first, everyone else looses out.

So the final thing to say:

Stop thinking about you, start thinking about others #AllLivesMatter

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s&autoplay=1

http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/mlk.htm

Proverbs Ch7 – Temptation and How To Avoid Sin

I’d like you to start by reading Proverbs Chapter 7, which says:

Proverbs 7

“Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family. Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman. While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense. He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house. It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell. The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home. She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner. She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said, “I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen. I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses, for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ” So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life. So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭7:1-27‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/pro.7.1-27.nlt

I think temptation comes in many forms, and every person on this planet, past, present and future people to live, did, does or will have temptations. Hence the reason we need Jesus Christ in our lives.

My Thoughts:

I want to look at what is said here in Proverbs Chapter 7. And look at sexual desire and even to the point of wanting a husband and wife. People persue these when they really need to focus on God. I remember in my younger years talking to a friend and then saying “If you look you’ll never find a wife”, and it’s true, the harder you look for a husband and wife, you tend to not find anyone suitable. From my experience the most amazing ladies I’ve met is when I haven’t been looking.

I feel The Holy Spirit reminding me as I read Proverbs 7, that we all get tempted, but the temptation is the door way, and we have to walk through the doorway to sin, however we haven’t sinned until we have walked through, so we need to be vigilant and when we feel tempted by anything, which would draw us away from God, we need to ask Jesus to step in, close the door of temptation and we need to walk away from the closed door.

In James Chapter 4 verse 7 says “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/jas.4.7.nlt

How amazing is that, if you resist the temptation, the satan and his little hoard of fallen angels, will flee. Will run away.

So when you are tempted, be like Jesus, walk away from it, what ever your temptation is. Ask Jesus to step in, to lessen the temptation and close the door. Do this each and every time and walk away when the door is closed, and satan doesn’t stand a chance. After all, who’s greater than God, and he’s fighting in your corner.

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, thank you for being our God. Thank you for constantly watching over us and never leaving our side. You know us better than we know ourselves and you know the daily struggles we battle with, with temptation and sin. We ask you to lessen the temptation we have and help us to call on you each and every time, close the doorway to that sin and help us to have the strength to walk away and not reopen the door. In your mighty name we ask this, Amen”

Psalm 39: verse 1-7 “Hope”

“I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” But as I stood there in silence— not even speaking of good things— the turmoil within me grew worse. The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words: “ Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭39:1-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/psa.39.1-7.nlt

How many times have we been around people we struggle to be near because of their attitudes and actions, I know their are people in my life and even some family members who grate against my personality. People who prejudge a situation without having all the facts. Many times I’ve bit my tongue, kept my mouth shut and felt the tension rise up inside, especially when I have heard certain wordings. To the point, I’ve got so upset and angry I’ve had to say something. Now God doesn’t mind us getting upset, even with Him, however, God doesn’t make mistakes and when we get angry with God, it’s usually because we haven’t got what we want, and once we have calmed down, we know we have to apologise to God for loosing it with Him as He’s not at fault. Like wise, God teaches us to bit our tongue at times, He teaches us to not sin my words or deeds and to give everything over to Him.

So where should you put your hope?

In Jesus. Why? I’ll explain, and I want you to really listen here and take this in. God LOVES You, you may hear this all the time but take that in, (check out CS Lewis – The Four Loves), that love is “Unconditional” – that means there are no conditions to that love, you can’t say or do anything to make God love you more or less than He already does. Once you realise that, the world looks completely different and you can start having a true relationship with YOUR Heavenly Father.

Now that you know this, the next thing to realise, and to take on board, is God is everywhere, in and around everything. That’s why when God introduced Himself to Moses, He said “I Am” (check out day two of this reading plan by Pastor Steven Furtick on the Bible App by YouVersion).

check out day two of this reading plan

That means, He is “ALWAYS” with you, every moment of every day, of every hour, of every minute, of every second, of every nano- second. Now this can be a bit scary as we all know we do things we shouldn’t, however, I want you to think of this, if God Loves is Unconditionally and is Always with us, and we already know He will do anything to protect His children, and yes you are one of His children, then how can we be scare of what man or even the devil can do to us.

So after knowing this, where should we (YOU) put our (YOUR) hope?

Psalm 39 verse 7 NLT (New Living Translation) says it best “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.39.7.NLT