Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.... #Faith Follow me on Periscope @JustTristaDRA

Putting on the Full Armor of YAHWEH ‪#‎FAITH‬ Follow me on Persicope: JustTristaDRA

The choice that requires the most faith.....

We can't go around cutting people off yet claiming we walk in love....#faith

I am seeing a growing number of people in the church boast about deleting, blocking and cutting people off who don't serve them any purpose or enhance their lives. It is true  YHWH will ask us to remove ourselves from individuals who threaten our spiritual walk or if we're in a situation that causes physical harm. These days we're cutting people off over frivolous disagreements, to prove petty points or just because we're  in our feelings about something that person did or didn't do.

I was a huge proponent of doing this until YHWH allowed someone I considered a dear friend (who I admired as a strong woman of God) to do it to me without warning or explanation even when reached out to understand the issue.  Being on the receiving side of a cutoff allowed me to understand how such behavior distorted the image of Christ I claimed. I recognized the wrong in this and repented.

Cutting people off who are not physically/mentally and/or spiritually damaging you or your life is a way to get back and inflict pain on said individual without actually getting your hands dirty. It is not acting in love. It is actually a passive aggressive way of trying to tell someone "You are no longer valid or important to my life and I no longer need you." It also says "You were never valuable to my life" because the "cutting" symbolizes how disposable the person being cast aside is. Let's be real, we block, delete and cut people off to let people know "you don't matter".

Study the Word in this area and ask God for truth. Look to the examples of Jesus who often interacted with those who hated Him. Judas betrayed Jesus to death and Jesus knew he'd do this....yet, Jesus didn't block, delete,cut off and cast away....Christ looked His betrayer in the face and broke bread with him without a single change in His treatment of Judas.

He knew His "rock", Peter, would deny Him three times as He entered into suffering, yet He continued to show Peter love right up to the very end. Then there's that "love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you" command...ijs.

The very people He came to save requested freedom for a known murderer to ensure Christ would die. They mocked, spit, taunted and consistently shunned Him, His Truth and His ways....but did He say forget it, I'm not dying for you ungrateful people....No, He continued to be about His Father's business of LOVE and sharing the Truth of The Way regardless of the behavior of others. Regardless how they treated Him.

Those who claim His name and follow The Way should do the same.

Let's start calling out incorrect teaching of His Word. Followers of The Way [of Christ] are to love as He loves, even when...no ESPECIALLY when, it's inconvenient. Loving those who love you back or make you "feel" good....well even non-believers do that. We are called to greater. Selah.

"...others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a greater resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskin and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them...." Hebrew 11:35-38.

Don't Settle.

Most of us dread Mondays. Even if Monday is a holiday, it's only preparation for the drag back to work or back into the routine of children, homework, laundry piles and exhaustion. As women, we’re often groomed to focus our energies on getting married, having babies and taking care of our families. If we do have a career or dreams, they are to be put on the backburner for our spouses and our children. We watched our mothers and grandmothers sacrifice their dreams for the family and we are expected do the same.

But....I want something different. 

I applaud my mother for her hard work...she taught me the work ethic I that got me where I am today but, I am also sad.  In spite of my mother's hard work and sacrifice, she retired only to return to work shortly afterward because she simply could not afford to live on her retirement. At 73 years old my mother is still working and she’s never had a single day of vacation in her life. Is this all life offers?  

It's heartbreaking and the cycle must stop. But, how?

REFUSING TO SETTLE. 

I'm a "tough" woman according to most. There's no question regarding the strength God instilled in me and I am grateful. Unfortunately, many misconstrue my strength and think I've never known what it feels like to want to give up. 

LIES! LIES FROM THE PIT OF SHEOL!

The reality is even the strongest get tired and want to give in. Living with bipolar disorder, there are days I do not want to get out of bed or open the curtains. There are days when I think of my job and I sigh in agony because of the stress it brings. I think of days when my responsibilities were less and I long for them as a young girl for her childhood crush. 

After over a year of sulking and complaining, I realized the dissatisfaction I felt was not there to frustrate or stress me; in fact, it was the complete opposite. Dissatisfaction came as a result of my complacency and its purpose was to help me recognize I was on a path to settling. I had two choices: 

A.  I could continue my current path because I am miserably "comfortable" where I am or, 

B.   I can trust Spirit Who leads and allow this to propel me into the greater Will and experience joy.

I think I like option B. 

Most High has given us the choice of life or death and encourages us to choose life. Unfortunately, we can get so wrapped up in the things of this world that we choose what's most comfortable, even if it isn't the most "life producing" option.

It is important for us to review our choices to ensure we're choosing life over death in all areas of our lives - relationships, careers, health, diet, social and spiritual lives, etc. 

Are we choosing life when we choose to work that extra shift but we KNOW we need to rest?

Are we choosing life when we put foods in our bodies that we KNOW work against it?

Are we choosing life when we constantly put ourselves last under the guise we're "serving others" but internally we're complaining about the reality that no one thinks of us (how can they if you never think of yourself?). 

We MUST choose life. And choosing life isn't always comfortable. 

Death is the absence of progress. It is when things cease to move forward. There is no hope or opportunity for greater. Death is hopelessness. The grave is comfortable.

Life is the birth of progress. It is when things move forward and they do not cease until death. Life offers hope and opportunity for greater. Life is uncomfortable.

And how does life begin? With the discomfort of labor. Labor that includes intense pain, exhaustion, hard work and endurance.

Life is labor: A labor of love. A labor of service. A labor of endurance. Labor must be endured to produce life.

Settling is a sacrifice of hope. Settling says to the Universe this is the best You can do. Settling says to self, this is the best I deserve. 

Don't settle. 

What the Church failed to tell me when I accepted Christ. #FAITH #STRENGTH #ENDURANCE #TRUSTGOD

What are your words creating (power of your words) #Faith #SpeakwithPurpose Follow me on Periscope: JustTristaDRA