Passionate and Gifted

"Passion" By Gerald Ivey

Proverbs 18:16 says, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men." I contemplated this scripture and the sermon of a new preacher, Steve Harvey. He explained very simplistically the urgency in practically applying the principles of the word of God more so than being able to quote passages.  Most importantly, he emphasized the fact that God placed a gift or gifts in all of us and gave simple instructions in how to locate them. That thing that we can do without any effort or struggle is a gift.

My gift is writing but it takes more than a pencil and notebook to get my point across. The prerequisite for this gift in particular to operate, my life has to exemplify what I am talking about. In other words, I must tell the truth because God gave me the gift to live out and minister its residue. I am mandated to live and tell the truth. If at any time I begin to move in fallacy, the truth will still come through me but my spirit will become chastened and grieved.  My gift is only strengthened by a consecrated lifestyle. The penalty that I am required to pay on a daily basis is that God get the glory out of what He allows me to see and articulate. I have no desire to write anything outside of my covenant relationship with Christ therefore I must live the oracles otherwise I will be chastened by His words.

Passion, I am learning is different from being gifted. Passion is the drive whereas the gift is the destination.  For instance we can be passionate about things that don't have anything to do with our purpose. Some people are passionate about singing but can't hold a note. They release the note from the pit of their bellies with full intent on making a harmonious sound just for it to sound like crackling glass while hitting the floor. Their passion is not innate but instead is fueled by watching other singers and admiring to the point of covetousness. One should never covet the gifting in another because it says to God that what He created you to do is not good enough.

Back to the example....these wannabe singers mean well but don't possess the gift.  There are some instances where through the crackling glass there is an anointed sound. In this case passion fueled with practice creates a heavenly melody.

In essence, passion is not enough to walk through the door of opportunity. Mere faith without works is dead. Our gifts, once identified and understood will place us in atmospheres where they will begin to speak. God gives us the ability to hear its beckon. How do you identify your God-given purpose in life? Discover the gift by seeking the gift Giver then become passionate through practical application of learning its guidelines. Gifts from God demand a worthy lifestyle.

The Alabaster Box

Alabaster is a smooth cream colored stone used to make containers for perfume and ointment. The alabaster box in the Bible was a flask with a long, thin neck that was broken to release the contents. The Student Bible Dictionary (2000). Pictured is a replica.

The Book of Luke chapter 7:36-39 gives an awesome account of a woman, said to be a sinner, who saw Jesus at the home of a Pharisee sitting and eating dinner. She stood behind Him crying and then began to kneel to wash His feet with her tears while drying them with her hair. She then kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
The fragrant oil was released by breaking the alabaster box at the feet of Jesus. This oil that the woman released was precious and expensive perfume. This was her sacrifice at the feet of the Master.
Oil represents anointing. The anointing of God is very precious and costly. It is precious because it enables us to do the work of the Kingdom of God; we are anointed usually with the pouring of oil which symbolizes that we have been chosen by God to complete a specific and unique task. It is costly because we pay with our lives; becoming separated from the world’s system and separated unto a holy calling—one that requires that we die spiritually to our carnal agenda.
What did it cost this woman to approach the holiness of the Messiah amongst the crowd? To become anointed one must pay a price, remember? How long did it take her to accumulate the contents in the flask? How desperate did she have to become in order to rid herself of the costly fragrance in exchange for worship at the feet of the King of kings?
Everyday we press precious oil into our little treasure box as we deal with the trials of this life. We live with frustrations and disappointments becoming fatigued by the weight of it all when all we have to do is break open the contents of our alabaster box at the feet of Jesus for healing. Pressing through the crowd of naysayers and into the presence of the One who understands the cost of our praise is where new life begins.
Now lift your hands and your heart and give it all to God....

Fasting and Praying/ Just a Thought

The Bible says that some things come out through fasting and prayer. This means that some strongholds, or satanic arguments against God's people will only come out when we "turn our plates over," or sacrifice our carnal desires to get stronger spiritually by reading the word of God, prayer, and denouncing anything unlike God in our atmospheres to drive out those things that have us bound. I am in my final week. I have never struggled so hard in my life to be sustained. I know that God uses food to discipline the flesh nature and that its not about food. But somehow falling into temptation with eating directly reflects the state of being in one's spirit. I recognize the breakdown in my spirit man and have been fighting to stay on course with God tooth and nail. The world is in a state of decay to where if you really don't have a relationship with God it will show. Whatever you are attracted to in this world will come to you and put you in a place where you will have to choose where your loyalties lie. You will choose what is more prevalent in your life....just a thought.....

My Press Toward God: A Journey To The Prophetic Book

This book allows entrance into my journey into the presence of God. I am blessed with the unique gift of being able to capture what it feels like to shed the carnal man and in turn gain access to who it is that God has called me to be. Sin in our lives is used as a smoke screen to cover up our God-given purpose.  This book exposes sin and shows you how to press your way toward God in a confessional, poetic way.
Follow me on this journey and be healed.
Published by Cole Publishing in Marina Del Rey, CA (2005)
ISBN# 096787797-0
$13.95  email: misslead2@yahoo.com; http://tabletsofstonenewsletter.blogspot.com/; nelliemc35@gmail.com
for purchases of product.

New Life/Just a thought...

Many of us just move in our day to day lives simply observing, reasoning, and then casually concluding. We seldom stop to think about why certain situations occur in our atmospheres or even why we were chosen to be a part of it. This has been my experience. For whatever reasons I had begun to look at life in a day by day fashion instead of viewing it as my teacher.

These past few days have caused me to reflect on my purpose again and thrust me into actively pursuing life instead of being a passive bystander. Once you get a chance to witness new life as I have this past week with the active birth of my baby cousin, Carson J'shon Furman, you begin to appreciate life more and praise the Life Giver at a greater fervency.
Just a thought...

"Heaven Sent" by Henry Lee Battle

Are you a passive Christian?

Christianity is not a passive process. The only way that we overcome is by the blood of the Lamb and the words of our testimony. The blood of Jesus sanctifies, or sets us apart from the way the world goes through things. The blood covers us and makes it appear to the world that we are not going through anything or that we think we are perfect. It's simply God's covering. Signs and wonders follow those who believe. When we come out of a trial in victory, it is our testimony that sets the captive free in those who are watching us. Now if we don't tell the truth of how we got over then the unbeliever that God sent our way can't be freed; at least not by us and we have then lost the winning of a soul for Jesus. This is no cake walk because there is constant scrutiny and naysayers with an agenda. Loving God and being saved places us on the front line of this spiritual battle whether we choose to fight or not. Obeying His commands brings brokenness to our carnal man which assures strength to our spirit man and in turn brings abundant blessings both materially and spiritually.

And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.