But It Sounds So Good

My lucky day. I received a personal email from James B. Comey. Yes, that guy, the Director of the FBI. Yep. Me. Well, supposedly me. The salutation was to Dear Beneficiary. Close enough.

Apparently there is a sum of 10.3 million dollars awaiting my attention to be collected you see, and I quote from Mr. Comey, 

“It is obvious that you have not received your fund which is to the tune of 10.3M) million due to past corrupt Governmental Officials who almost held the fund to themselves for their selfish reason and some individuals who have taken advantage of your fund all in an attempt to swindle your fund which has led to somany losses from your end and unnecessary delay in the receipt of your fund.for more information do get back to us.

The National Central Bureau of Interpol enhanced by the United Nations and Federal Bureau of Investigation have successfully passed a mandate to the government of the states the exercise of clearing all foreign debts owed to you and other individuals and organizations who have been found not to have receive their Contract Sum, Lottery/, Inheritance.

we are happy to inform you that based on our recommendation your outstanding contract inheritance funds of over-due payment in tone of USD 10.3M) has been credited in your favor in Citibank. Having said all this, we will further advise that you go ahead in dealing with the Citibank, IL accordingly as we will be monitoring all their activities with you as well as your correspondence at all levels.”

Further, Mr. Comey graciously warned me that there are many email scams out in the wild wild Interwebs and “We therefore warn our dear citizens to be very careful with any claim email you receive prior to these irregularities so that they do not fall victim to this ugly circumstance anymore.”

However no doubt I should completely trust this email because, you know, who would dare try to scam someone using the name and actual address of the director of the FBI?  Not to mention the return email speaks for itself as nothing but trustworthy.

Right? 

While I can’t say that 10.3 million dollars would not be a very nice bump in my financial status, I am just a tad skeptical. I know, it’s tough being such a cynic all the time. Perhaps it’s the sentence structure and punctuation. Perhaps it’s the overall vagueness, idiocracy or maybe all of it brings to mind that thing with the dying Nigerian Prince but I cannot help but suspect something is amiss here. 

Mr.Comey will no doubt be disappointed but I choose to pass on this opportunity. 

Oh well.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the scams, lies and deceptions in the world would be this easy to detect? Unfortunately, even the most obvious seem to find ready prey, those who simply want to believe what isn’t true, especially those lies that sound so darn good.

For Him,

Meema

The Real War on Women

(Philippians 4:1) Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved.  (4:2) I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord.  (4:3) Yea, I beseech thee also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Those who know me well will testify that I am a strong, independent, resourceful woman. I am not nor ever have been a feminist though. I am not a man nor do I wish to be one or better than.

And here is why.

I’ve been a full-fledged feminine female for almost seventy years with never a moment spent worrying whether or not I had equal rights. I never thought I ought to protest for rights that have already been won for me or insist that I am more valuable than anyone else, male or female. The laws are in place. Individual prejudice can never be eradicated. Is there injustice? Of course. 

Frankly, in my lifetime, women have done me more disservice and looked down on me many more times than men. 

I’m tired of the battle being waged when the purpose is no longer clear. And I am ashamed. 

I am tired of women portrayed as super-warriors in every medium, TV, movies and books, as though there must still be something to prove. That a skinny cop with long blonde hair is capable of wrestling down a tattooed Goliath and cuffing him while calling for back up on her cell is ludicrously stuffed full of agenda. 

I am also tired of men being cowed down and emasculated. The back lash is producing the inevitable - but not what was planned. The rise in abuse and disrespect for women is exponential and directly relatable to the demise of respect for manhood. The pendulum always swings back. It has no where else to go.

The unisex ideology began when I was still a young mother. Women and men being portrayed as, not just equal in human rights, but equal in every other attribute, strength, endurance, mentality, the object being to erase all traces of biological difference. A stepping stone perhaps?

Let me now point out why all of this is absurd. Regardless the inequities this life presents there is a solution. There is an underlying truth. 

Godly women are already free because they are surrendered to Christ. They can do all things through Christ. 

Godly women do not need to protest or strip naked, or use foul language demanding to be seen as capable of being as base as men can be to make themselves respected.

Women and men who are servants of Christ, are the freest humans on earth. 

And not to put too fine a point on it - Godly women do not quote Scripture and then applaude the likes of Madonna to speak for them.

Some will surely disagree but what I see is that this is simply antichrist spirit doing his best to destroy us. Don’t fall for this lie. 

For Him,

Meema

Stand

This year I’ve noticed a quiet movement, especially among those whose opinions I care to consider. It’s defined by the word - Stand. Whatever that means for others, for me it means to be willing to speak rather than be silent just to avoid conflict. 

With that in mind I offer this:

I’ve noticed lately that my prayer life has changed. Even as troubles and tribulations mount and requests for prayer have increased, I am reduced to  - and deliver us from evil. 

Jesus recommended that plea when He responded to the request to tell the disciples how to pray so I lean on that as good authority. Even so, I always finish up my morning prayers (before I get out of bed) with - ‘what would You have me do today, Lord?’

Here’s a confession, I have never really known what God wanted from me, not in almost seven decades, other than to listen, obey and trust and wait for further instructions. To be a willing empty vessel. Other than that my ‘grand purpose’ was never delineated. I’ve come to think of myself as a facilitator. A seed planter. Certainly, I wasn’t endowed with the mandate to preach or teach, as others have. When I know something, because I dared to ask and then I received, I don’t necessarily have doors open up to me allowing me to share with others. This blog and a handful of books is as good as it gets on that plane.

This might sound very strange to most people who are conditioned to believe that we, as Christians, are required to preach the gospel to everyone who crosses our paths. I concede some are some aren’t but the feet can’t do what the ears do. To make it a law is a man-made concept.

I do, and have for many years, reject man-made religion. 

Let me be clear I do not, however, reject Christ or the power of sharing by quiet example, silent prayer and alms given in secret. I am all in on those.

Here’s why.

First of all, Christ did not come to establish a new religion. Those who follow Christ’s teachings were referred to as followers of The Way, back in the day. The label ‘Christian’ came later. Humans do so love to put labels on things. But the problem is, labels come with boxes. Humans also love to keep things defined with specific boundaries, so they can manage everything efficiently, understand, and then postulate with intelligent explanations. 

But God will not live in a box. Nor a building made with hands. Nor a human concept of Who and What He is. When Christ came to shake things up, to fulfill the promise of all the Old Testament prophets for complete change, religion and all the tidy boxes it fit into was already well established and proven to be a dead end both literally and figuratively speaking.

I am an incorrigible maverick, a thinker not a follower, and therefore cannot worship anything manmade, neither idol, man or law that redefines and limits God or requires that He resemble our understanding, so when I came to grips with the truth that Christ changed everything, meaning EVERYTHING, I had to decide to leave it all behind or just the manmade parts. Which left me floating in space without a tether to the mother ship. For a nano second.

Stripped and alone with Christ, emptied of all dogma, religiosity, and the skews high intelligence enforces on simple truth, I did a free fall into a singular, personal relationship with Christ Himself. Now I look upward and outward instead of inward. I don’t need self-esteem, I have Christ-esteem. I don’t need to love myself - I am loved by Christ. I don’t need to measure everything by how I feel, my feelings are protected by the ultimate truth that nothing matters but what is in Christ’s interest. Nothing. Else. Matters. I do not matter except as He chooses to shape me for His own purpose and will. And it’s more than okay if I don’t understand. Or heard by many. If only one finds inspiration in these words, I have stood well enough.

The smartest human on earth still cannot possibly have the answers so while I might listen to or read what others have to say, I cannot follow what does not align with Christ’s teachings. Christ said, “Follow me”. It wasn’t a command, it was an invitation. Choose or don’t. Believe or don’t. 

But here's a friendly warning - just tread lightly when deciding to define Christ by false religion. It’s been around a long time, that fake representation of another Jesus.  But He didn’t create it. 

For Him,

Meema

The Power of Perspective

Many years ago I was struggling with some difficult times, mostly financial. It was during my childrearing days and I did a lot of volunteer work as I was a stay at home mom (long before the term was coined), so I sat in on quite a few meetings for different organizations, like PTA and scouts. One day I was seated next to an older woman thinking more about how I was going to rob Peter to pay Paul that month than what was being presented to the group. We had exchanged the cursory gracious acknowledgement of each other but I could feel her looking at me during the meeting. I finally turned to her and must have had a look on my face “what?” 

She smiled and said, “Your shoulders are carrying something heavy I can tell.”

I was both shocked and slightly panicked. I’m not one to air my personal issues and certainly not with strangers. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so, she continued:

“There was a young woman who was troubled with every right to be. Life had her pushed into a corner and she was losing hope of ever being happy again. One day, she was sitting on a bench in a park weighted down with her many problems when an elderly woman came and sat beside her and whispered something to her and then got up and left. The young woman suddenly stood up with clear purpose and walked quickly home.” 

I waited for a few seconds and then, itching with curiosity for a punch line I asked, “So, what did the old woman whisper?” 

The lady smiled and replied, “If you knew you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do with them?” 

My worldly troubles eventually resolved themselves, as they always do, but I never, ever forgot the flush of changed perspective I felt sitting there, completely exposed and full of every kind of emotion. How many things can you think of that you would do, or would never be able to do, or how many things that seem so important you suddenly realize that just do not matter in the context of not enough time left? 

Not only did I never forget this nugget of truth and how it impacted my perspective, I have felt an obligation to pay it forward as it was once, so long ago, graciously spent on me. 

Figure out what really matters and suddenly everything else becomes irrelevant. The peace beyond all understanding that comes from this is a wellspring.

For Him,

Meema 

Dark Principalities

Rather than making new year resolutions, that I know I’ll abandon before January is done, I prefer to do an annual introspective review - just a personal eval to determine what can be improved on and what needs to go. This sort of internal audit is a waste of time without applying brutal honesty but if done properly can promote genuine growth. 

Depending on life circumstances, some years I can report progress and some years there is simply status quo. I try not to go backwards regardless. I’ve come to understand and accept that it’s a process - being human is something of a handicap although should never be an excuse. It is what it is.

One ongoing condition that often stalls out growth is the constant tug of war we have with the unseen forces that desire to destroy us, or, at least, keep us separated from God. 

Now, to be clear, speaking of demons, evil spirits and dark principalities can be a slippery slope that more often than not can lead to misunderstanding. We are admonished not to dabble in or give attention to spiritualism and soothsaying but that does not mean that the ‘other world’ does not exist. The object is to recognize it for what it is so as to be aware. This is known as discernment. The devil is real and has minions who work overtime questing to undo us. The Scriptures confirm this. 

I love the old saying, ‘if we stand in the light of Christ satan cannot see us’ so I make an effort to stay invisible in the Light as much as possible.

However, in recent years, due to a major learning curve I’ve been thrust into, I have come to understand that being a truth-seeker is like having a target on your chest. Doesn’t matter where you stand. The demons or spirits, whose names are Legion, are first and foremost liars who cannot abide in truth. Truth burns them and so their whole purpose and reason for being is to promote lies to counter and cover up truth. They will seek out to oppose and nullify anyone who stands for truth.  To say they do not like being outed is an understatement.

This year, in my self review, I’ve had to accept, graciously or not, that I am designed for calling out liars and exposing untruth. It’s certainly not a pretty job. I don’t get to speak softly and compose gentle encouraging words that make people feel comfortable. No, I have to say things that blast people out of their comfort zones. The point being - get it or don't! Michael Boldea refers to this as being a Battle Ready Believer.

I confess, I don’t like being the bad guy, the one who has to say the hard stuff that no one wants to hear. The one who has to call out and expose the underlying dark principalities and forces that seek to lead us astray and bind us up with good sounding delusion. Because I step up to the call to be tough, I make Legion roar with rage and so it’s no wonder that Legion hates me or that those who host or are in bondage to this lying demon hate me. 

At the end of my personal evaluation this new year, I concluded that I’d rather be hated by demons than loved by the world. What I will toss out this year is fear of offending. What I will seek to improve on is patience. 

Happy New Year

For Him,

Meema

(Mark 5:8) For he said unto him, Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man.  (5:9) And he asked him, What is thy name? And he saith unto him, My name is Legion; for we are many.