The Biblical definition of persecution is being hated or attacked for standing on the Word of God. Whether it was his intention or not, Phil Robertson has become the poster child, and, in reality, this isn't even about Phil Robertson. Now, although I'm sure he never saw it coming, God chose this particular man for this particular moment in time. My belief is it has something to do with the Spiritual strength of Phil and his certainty of who he is in Christ and who Christ is IN HIM! Nevertheless, the war rages.
Recapping: Phil Robertson is the Patriarch of the Robertson family, who have the most successful non-scripted show in the history of EVER! They bring in hundreds of millions of dollars for the A&E Network, to include a $400 million dollar deal with Walmart to A&E's financial benefit. GQ magazine runs him down to do an interview, and the reporter specifically asks Phil what he believes sin is. Now, although I wouldn't use the exact vocabulary he used, Phil proceeds to give an accurate account of what the Bible considers to be sin. Again, I wouldn't have used the same wording in the details, BUT ... when the moment came to back my beliefs scripturally, I would have said the same things he said; because, I read and believe the same Bible.
Now, there is NO WAY on the face of God's green earth that GQ reporter, A&E or any breathing human being who has watched even half an episode of Duck Dynasty, or listened to this man speak for even five minutes, who can honestly say they are surprised or shocked by what he said. It is all he ever says. The man has an agenda, and that agenda is Jesus; and, he doesn't split hairs or make excuses about it. He is one of the most recognizable faces in the country, and Jesus is absolutely the topic of discussion everywhere he goes .... whether it starts out that way or not. Everybody knows this .... or, at least, they should. Well, apparently A&E didn't know, and they promptly rained down a politically correct indefinite suspension!!! Bravo A&E, right? Well, as it turns out .... they are nothing more than a corporate clan of hypocritical socially acceptables. They defended their actions by pronouncing their unconditional support of LGBT and marveled in their support for gay rights equality. Yet, that VERY night .... the scheduled Duck Dynasty episode to air in Northern Virginia was Phil and Miss Kay renewing their wedding vows!!!!! You know? One man, one woman, holy matrimony! Hypocrites!
As a side note .... I read the article .... the entire article, and I have watched the news media madness that has followed. I watched as the gentleman from GLAAD sat on the news the other night, and twisted and turned every sentence from the article into damnation on the LGBT Community. Quite clearly, this young man didn't have the benefit of a Caroline Sabo to teach him that a period after a word, not in an abbreviation, ends a complete thought and the next word beginning with a capital letter starts a new and separate thought. Because what he was accusing Phil of is NOT what he said. The words were the same, but the structure and thought were not.
So lets look at this ..... according to the Bible sexual sin or sexual immorality is ANYTHING sexual outside of the marriage between one man and one woman. You don't have to agree with it. You don't have to like it. You don't have to believe it, BUT, that's what the Bible says. As far as the Bible says, there are no BIG sexual sins and LITTLE sexual sins. Sin is sin is sin. We are the ones who categorize, not God. You can ask a thousand people what they believe is the worst sin, and they would ALL be correct! But, back to Phil ....
And, that takes us to Piers Morgan ....... The GQ article set to release in print next month is released online, A&E slams down the politically correct gavel ..... and Piers Morgan, who, best I can tell has done nothing but slam every freedom we have in this country for as long as he been given a platform, says that Freedom of Speech shouldn't apply to "vile bigots", aka Phil Robertson. That's hate speech. Should Phil be offended? Let me analyze this .... Piers Morgan, a foreign journalist working in America whose citizenship, at last report, is STILL Great Britain versus Phil Robertson, born and bred in Louisiana, raised in Louisiana, citizenship is American. Which one of these two men is really on the short end of who our Constitution and Bill of Rights applies to? Not to mention .... Freedom of Speech was written into our Constitution .... NOT to protect people for things we like to hear, but specifically to protect people for things we DON'T like. I suppose if Piers had been educated in American History, in America, like Phil was, he'd know that!
Here's my thing ..... I, too, have an agenda. Like Phil, my agenda is Jesus. As such, I believe the Bible. I believe EVERY Word of it. I also believe this. Although this is they way God introduced this moment in history, this really has nothing to do with Phil Robertson, Piers Morgan, LGBT or GLAAD, or that sad reporter at GQ, who opened Pandora's Box.
The Bible tells us that in the last days, there will be a great falling away from the church, and that there will be a time of separating true believers from nonbelievers. I believe this is the beginning of that move, and, if church folks are really paying attention, they will see it, too. It is time for the redeemed of the Lord to say so and MEAN it. Either God is who He says, or He's not. Either Jesus is who He says, or He's not. Either we believe Him, or we don't. These are absolutes. It is cut and dry, and it is time to take a stand. The days of feel good Sunday Service Christians are over. It's time to walk our talk! We are either on God's side, or we're not. The time to settle this IS NOW!
If we truly knew the price He paid and the love with which He loves, this would have been settled long ago!
Kalena
Saturday, December 21, 2013
The Passing of Paul
I usually don't involve myself in things like this, but I am quite compelled that there is no denying the heaviness in my heart to do so this time. In truth, I have been avoiding this post for three weeks, and it just will NOT go away.
On November 30th of this year, Actor Paul Walker tragically died in a fiery car crash in California. In true Hollywood irony, he left this earth the exact same way he lived it on the silver screen. I remember immediately thinking "Lord, I pray that young man is saved". (Amazingly, the Lord affirmed through a Christian Talent Agency the following day that, indeed, Paul Walker had received Christ as his Savior.) The media frenzy that ensued was incredible and unbelievable. I read through post after post on my facebook page about how "hot"he was, and how all these women just "loved"him, about how he was the BEST actor ever! And, I thought how strange all of this was, because I know most of these people personally, and they don't know Paul Walker, at all, aside from his role in "The Fast and Furious" movie series. Twitter was blowing up. Facebook was blowing up. All the media outlets were all abuzz over this.
All the while, on the other side of town, Paul Crouch quietly slipped away to be with the Lord. He had been sick for a while, but there was nothing that would lead anyone to believe his sickness was unto death. He was an elderly man, and these things happen as we age, right? Well, though there should have been, there was no "trending"news of Paul Crouch's death. No facebook mania. No anything. I also paused to think how strange this was, as well. Actually, this seemed all the more strange to me.
Paul Walker, by all reports, was a great dad, a great friend ... a great everything. He was a child of God, and was very generous in giving back for all of the blessings the Good Lord had given him. Paul Crouch ..... well, who is Paul Crouch anyway, right? Paul Crouch, also a child of God, was the man who founded and ran Trinity Broadcasting Network. Now, while both of these men entered into heaven on equal standing, because they accepted Christ's finished work on Calvary and NOTHING more ..... on Kingdom terms, Paul Crouch went into ALL the world and spread the gospel ..... literally! and perhaps .... just perhaps .... for a moment those children of God who remain should recognize that we lost TWO brothers in Christ that day.
I had the same feeling earlier this year. The day Margret Thatcher died, Dixie Johnson also died. While entire nation's mourned the passing of Great Britain's "Iron Lady", Dixie Johnson quietly passed on to be with the Lord. Outside of my small family circle I suppose Dixie Johnson is nobody really. Yet, on that day ..... she stood EQUAL before God with a former Prime Minister and one of the most powerful women in the world!!! As she should have!!! Oh yeah, and who was Dixie Johnson? My Granny! The Matriarch Queen of the Johnson family! She was 99 years old!
Our priorities are out of order!
Kalena
On November 30th of this year, Actor Paul Walker tragically died in a fiery car crash in California. In true Hollywood irony, he left this earth the exact same way he lived it on the silver screen. I remember immediately thinking "Lord, I pray that young man is saved". (Amazingly, the Lord affirmed through a Christian Talent Agency the following day that, indeed, Paul Walker had received Christ as his Savior.) The media frenzy that ensued was incredible and unbelievable. I read through post after post on my facebook page about how "hot"he was, and how all these women just "loved"him, about how he was the BEST actor ever! And, I thought how strange all of this was, because I know most of these people personally, and they don't know Paul Walker, at all, aside from his role in "The Fast and Furious" movie series. Twitter was blowing up. Facebook was blowing up. All the media outlets were all abuzz over this.
All the while, on the other side of town, Paul Crouch quietly slipped away to be with the Lord. He had been sick for a while, but there was nothing that would lead anyone to believe his sickness was unto death. He was an elderly man, and these things happen as we age, right? Well, though there should have been, there was no "trending"news of Paul Crouch's death. No facebook mania. No anything. I also paused to think how strange this was, as well. Actually, this seemed all the more strange to me.
Paul Walker, by all reports, was a great dad, a great friend ... a great everything. He was a child of God, and was very generous in giving back for all of the blessings the Good Lord had given him. Paul Crouch ..... well, who is Paul Crouch anyway, right? Paul Crouch, also a child of God, was the man who founded and ran Trinity Broadcasting Network. Now, while both of these men entered into heaven on equal standing, because they accepted Christ's finished work on Calvary and NOTHING more ..... on Kingdom terms, Paul Crouch went into ALL the world and spread the gospel ..... literally! and perhaps .... just perhaps .... for a moment those children of God who remain should recognize that we lost TWO brothers in Christ that day.
I had the same feeling earlier this year. The day Margret Thatcher died, Dixie Johnson also died. While entire nation's mourned the passing of Great Britain's "Iron Lady", Dixie Johnson quietly passed on to be with the Lord. Outside of my small family circle I suppose Dixie Johnson is nobody really. Yet, on that day ..... she stood EQUAL before God with a former Prime Minister and one of the most powerful women in the world!!! As she should have!!! Oh yeah, and who was Dixie Johnson? My Granny! The Matriarch Queen of the Johnson family! She was 99 years old!
Our priorities are out of order!
Kalena
Monday, December 2, 2013
New Normal
Oh, do I have a story .....
A story that has been thirteen long, long years in the making that I am busting at the seams to tell. Alas, the Lord has not yet released me with the gift of sharing.
BUT ..... I can share what I'm learning while I'm waiting.
First ..... I am ..... are the two most powerful words in the English language for a child of God, because whatever comes after those two words is absolutely beyond a doubt going to show up manifested in this life.
Yet ..... is a very close second to that on the list of the most powerful words in the English language for a child of God! Yet begets hope in any situation where we are waiting for the manifestations of the promises of God in our lives. It turns the downtrodden "it hasn't happened" into a hope filled "it hasn't happened YET", which strengthens faith to levels most folks never seek.
I started noticing the magnificence of the differences when someone posted a "new normal"post on facebook that was a big bunch of "it is what it is" events that had nothing joyful or uplifting in it, and I wondered why it seems to be that anytime someone mentions a "new normal"it's always bad news that no one ever wants but is forced to deal with because it has happened.
So ..... I thought about that ..... and I thought, ok ..... here's my definition of the Kalena New Normal ..... I am restored to the health AND weight of my youth ...... all restorations and renovations on our house ARE finished ..... our vehicles are upgraded ..... and we are billionaires.
Essentially what I have decided and set my heart and mind to is the expectation that every promise God has made to me, every promise Jesus died to gift to me, every promise the Holy Spirit has lead me to, IS going to come to me pass in my life in THIS life!!!!! Six thousand years worth of promises manifested on this side of heaven ..... IN MY LIFE!
I don't deserve it .... there's nothing I ever could do or ever can do to deserve ANY of it. All of it came as a gift to me when I received THE GIFT ..... the FREE gift of salvation with Christ's finished work at Calvary. All of these things are in my inheritance package, because of Jesus. ALL Him ..... NONE of me!
Glory Hallelujah!
Kalena Praising
A story that has been thirteen long, long years in the making that I am busting at the seams to tell. Alas, the Lord has not yet released me with the gift of sharing.
BUT ..... I can share what I'm learning while I'm waiting.
First ..... I am ..... are the two most powerful words in the English language for a child of God, because whatever comes after those two words is absolutely beyond a doubt going to show up manifested in this life.
Yet ..... is a very close second to that on the list of the most powerful words in the English language for a child of God! Yet begets hope in any situation where we are waiting for the manifestations of the promises of God in our lives. It turns the downtrodden "it hasn't happened" into a hope filled "it hasn't happened YET", which strengthens faith to levels most folks never seek.
I started noticing the magnificence of the differences when someone posted a "new normal"post on facebook that was a big bunch of "it is what it is" events that had nothing joyful or uplifting in it, and I wondered why it seems to be that anytime someone mentions a "new normal"it's always bad news that no one ever wants but is forced to deal with because it has happened.
So ..... I thought about that ..... and I thought, ok ..... here's my definition of the Kalena New Normal ..... I am restored to the health AND weight of my youth ...... all restorations and renovations on our house ARE finished ..... our vehicles are upgraded ..... and we are billionaires.
Essentially what I have decided and set my heart and mind to is the expectation that every promise God has made to me, every promise Jesus died to gift to me, every promise the Holy Spirit has lead me to, IS going to come to me pass in my life in THIS life!!!!! Six thousand years worth of promises manifested on this side of heaven ..... IN MY LIFE!
I don't deserve it .... there's nothing I ever could do or ever can do to deserve ANY of it. All of it came as a gift to me when I received THE GIFT ..... the FREE gift of salvation with Christ's finished work at Calvary. All of these things are in my inheritance package, because of Jesus. ALL Him ..... NONE of me!
Glory Hallelujah!
Kalena Praising
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Hiatus
I have been gone so long from this lovely space that I nearly forgot my password.
The year has been dedicated to the writing, editing and publishing of my first book .... Image is Everything, about being created in the image of God .... and as a side effect .... a very telling story about the importance of being a Godly father, and how my relationship with my own Dad had an remarkable impact on my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. A revelation I never saw coming.
I am very excited, as we will enter the final editing process on Monday.
I am also actively in the process of working on the next three books, with the beginnings of a fifth starting to trickle in .......
Life is entirely too amazing walking to the Lord to turn back now! In the meantime, I will be devoting much more time to my blog spot here, as there is much going on the world that rattles around as chains of thought in my brain that need to be downloaded!
Peace and Prayers!
Kalena Smiling
The year has been dedicated to the writing, editing and publishing of my first book .... Image is Everything, about being created in the image of God .... and as a side effect .... a very telling story about the importance of being a Godly father, and how my relationship with my own Dad had an remarkable impact on my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. A revelation I never saw coming.
I am very excited, as we will enter the final editing process on Monday.
I am also actively in the process of working on the next three books, with the beginnings of a fifth starting to trickle in .......
Life is entirely too amazing walking to the Lord to turn back now! In the meantime, I will be devoting much more time to my blog spot here, as there is much going on the world that rattles around as chains of thought in my brain that need to be downloaded!
Peace and Prayers!
Kalena Smiling
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Words are Words are Words ..... Right?
In my study time and prayer time and alone time with God, I learned something very interesting. One of those things that most folks would call "too good to be true". I would agree with that except, I'm not most folks; and, I didn't hear this from some folks ..... I heard it from God.
The one thing .... and I mean ONE thing .... that makes man uniquely in the likeness of God, is our ability to speak. Of all God's creation, man is the only thing gifted with the ability to speak. Jesus told us that each of us will have to give an account of every idle word we speak. (Matthew 12:35-37)
And, I thought to myself ...... speak to the mountain and the mountain will move.
hmmmmmmm ..........
Speak to the mountain of weight I desire to lose and it will disappear?
Speak to my family's finances and see the abundance of John 10:10?
Speak to my health and never be sick?
Here's the truly amazingly divine part of the entire equation? God never said I had to "do" anything.
Simply ...... speak!
The rest of my scripture reference actually proves the point. If we speak good things into our lives out of the good treasure in our hearts, we will have good things. We will have life. We will have peace. We will have joy and abundance and every good thing God wants to bless us with, and our own words will justify us. If we speak evil things, sinful things, ungodly things, we will have sickness and lack, stress and unrest, and our very own words will condemn us. And, I also believe that this applies to words spoken over us or about us. We need to receive and embrace the uplifting, truthful heartfelt words spoken, and we need to be quick to rebuke lies and ugly words spoken to or about us.
In addition, we need to be quite mindful of things we say about ourselves and about others, because we are going to have to give an account. Speak the truth in love or don't speak. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, because, right after that, you get into ignorance, half-truths, mistruths and flat out lies.
Think about it .... have you ever heard people say stuff like "my back is killing me" or "these kids are going to be the death of me"? Stuff like that .... Well, those folks might die from a back injury, or they may have a heart attack and die because of their kids ..... but the truth is ..... it was the words that came out of their own mouths that killed them. Job is a perfect example of how pining over the same thing over and over brings it to pass. he prayed for his sons daily to not be doing ungodly things and that is the very circumstance his words put into manifestation. I was actually quite surprised by how many examples the Bible gives on how we speak and what we say. The Bible also says "my people suffer for a lack of knowledge" so, I suppose knowing what the Bible says and actually believing it may be of some importance here. I mean, if we don't know things like this are in His Word, they are of no use to us. Here's what I do know, though .......
God "spoke" the world into existence. He NEVER lifted a finger. He very simply spoke, and, as His blood bought covenant children, He has given us the ability to speak His wisdom, healing, grace, mercy and abundance into existence.
Could it really be so simple? I believe it is.
Talking my walk and Walking my talk,
Kalena Speaking
The one thing .... and I mean ONE thing .... that makes man uniquely in the likeness of God, is our ability to speak. Of all God's creation, man is the only thing gifted with the ability to speak. Jesus told us that each of us will have to give an account of every idle word we speak. (Matthew 12:35-37)
And, I thought to myself ...... speak to the mountain and the mountain will move.
hmmmmmmm ..........
Speak to the mountain of weight I desire to lose and it will disappear?
Speak to my family's finances and see the abundance of John 10:10?
Speak to my health and never be sick?
Here's the truly amazingly divine part of the entire equation? God never said I had to "do" anything.
Simply ...... speak!
The rest of my scripture reference actually proves the point. If we speak good things into our lives out of the good treasure in our hearts, we will have good things. We will have life. We will have peace. We will have joy and abundance and every good thing God wants to bless us with, and our own words will justify us. If we speak evil things, sinful things, ungodly things, we will have sickness and lack, stress and unrest, and our very own words will condemn us. And, I also believe that this applies to words spoken over us or about us. We need to receive and embrace the uplifting, truthful heartfelt words spoken, and we need to be quick to rebuke lies and ugly words spoken to or about us.
In addition, we need to be quite mindful of things we say about ourselves and about others, because we are going to have to give an account. Speak the truth in love or don't speak. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, because, right after that, you get into ignorance, half-truths, mistruths and flat out lies.
Think about it .... have you ever heard people say stuff like "my back is killing me" or "these kids are going to be the death of me"? Stuff like that .... Well, those folks might die from a back injury, or they may have a heart attack and die because of their kids ..... but the truth is ..... it was the words that came out of their own mouths that killed them. Job is a perfect example of how pining over the same thing over and over brings it to pass. he prayed for his sons daily to not be doing ungodly things and that is the very circumstance his words put into manifestation. I was actually quite surprised by how many examples the Bible gives on how we speak and what we say. The Bible also says "my people suffer for a lack of knowledge" so, I suppose knowing what the Bible says and actually believing it may be of some importance here. I mean, if we don't know things like this are in His Word, they are of no use to us. Here's what I do know, though .......
God "spoke" the world into existence. He NEVER lifted a finger. He very simply spoke, and, as His blood bought covenant children, He has given us the ability to speak His wisdom, healing, grace, mercy and abundance into existence.
Could it really be so simple? I believe it is.
Talking my walk and Walking my talk,
Kalena Speaking
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