Total honesty? When I started this blog, it was because I was disgruntled. After reading twelve books of the Bible in August, I was genuinely upset to see the lack of actual followers of the teachings in my world, within my community. It’s not that they weren't there, I just wasn’t seeing it. Below are some of the phases I went through as the Bible helped me uncover more about my culture, my experiences, my community, and uncovered more of my own mind than I ever knew existed in my deep state.
Curiosity struck first as I began to read Genesis in June. I love Genesis, I could read it over and over and over.... and over.
Fear. I mean the Bible mentions you should only Fear the Lord so when you hear his voice for the first time… Revelations!! Which then only made the fear surface even more.
Shame as I read Hosea after returning from Scottsdale and letting a middle aged man take a shot from my chest. I guess you could say when in Rome and we had fun so we lived, right? I didn’t even get a chance to unpack before I was directed to read those fourteen chapters. It gave me insight to how I can be a better role model to the young women around me.
Paranoia hit when I started to read Jeremiah and learned more about this blessing or curse stuff. Focusing at the back of the book books kept drawing out those behaviors. Amos, Obadiah, John 1, 2, and 3… let’s just say there were more visits to grandma’s house in duress.
Love instinctively followed. Books like Ruth, Song of Songs, and Psalms just filled the Love cup right up! Grandma always knows the right verse for the right time.
Enlightenment came in bits as I was instructed to read the Gospels. Only read Matthew so far, but I’m bouncing to Mark, Luke, John, and Acts as references as I’m learning the important verses he wants me to see in his timing of my walk. The Spirit of Council is an important one to pray for when you embark on this journey.
Wisdom. I’m very slowly and very carefully taking in Proverbs. Literally every verse has a note to a specific time or lesson or date or warning or armor or corrective action that needs to follow. After reading Ecclesiastes I can counsel that BALANCE is key.
These lessons in turn STRENGTHENED me and encouraged me to up my accountability game in many areas of my Life. It’s October 1st and I've made it through September without one sip of alcohol, without one hit or gummy, without buddies, or urges to party. I’m down a total of 14lbs and I’m attracting people from all over asking me questions about my spiritual growth and offering free services even to help me continue to grow as a person.
What world am I in now? I’m attentive, I’m becoming more self aware, I’m intermittent fasting, I’m listening…. I know! I actually listen and follow through on what I’m going to say or do now… or well, for the most part. It’s a lifetime journey.
See, the Lord was pulling out all of my obstacles from influence I’ve allowed into my head and in my heart by way of our culture, by way of the world. I wanted to take a bat to my TV, I wanted to warn the world of movie theaters, I wanted to cancel religion, cancel retail, cancel social media altogether, cancel science, cancel government, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs at the false gods. Calm down Iago, that’s not the point… the point is accountability for those choices to learn and evolve from them even if I feel I didn’t have a chance based on being over-subjectified as a child.
I guess it’s natural if you’ve read 1 Peter 4:12 - in every time and with every generation there are tests. Endurance, stay positive. I believe the entire point is being able to return back to Yeshua, back to Jesus. I was astray, I came back, it’s a beautiful thing. Man, even listening to what our kids are watching these days I could interject if they were my own children, but for now I have to casually, by chance make a sound remark in hopes they listen so they know when it’s their time to return I can be of some counsel. Right verse, right time. Dear God, please help that one return!
Remember, we don’t save lives, Yeshua saves lives. So to control or intercede when it’s not your place to, I’m realizing, only pushes the stray further away. Let’s talk about Titus, whose name means Title of Honour, the 17th book in the New Testament. Those three chapters, 3, are reminding us of the ‘Seven Approaches’ (Col 3:12) and how to live by example with SOUND teaching and Christian living. Highly recommend taking a look for yourself.
It’s filled with How To’s, Encouragement, and Promises! Even the recap is a reminder. In the final instructions and closing in chapter 3, I looked up the name meanings: Artemas's name means ‘whole, sound’ and Tychicus means again ‘casual, by chance’. So casually and of sound mind live by example. Titus 3:13 mentions to “diligently help Zenas (Gift of Zeus - the gift of Zeus in Greek Mythology was fire) the lawyer and Apollos (in Greek it’s Manly Beauty and in Hebrew it means Destroyer) on their journey so they will lack nothing.”
To HELP, not to megaphone their disdain, their confusion, their lost state of mind. To genuinely offer compassion, kindness, gentleness, respect, patience, forgiveness, and to love. Above all, LOVE. Anything else and we’re being counterproductive for Yeshua. Game changer isn’t it? I was being counterproductive and having been raised up in a corporate world of sales, there's nothing more annoying that someone being counterproductive. My deepest apologies to Everyone!
I will do my best, I encourage accountability in the comments, to follow this guideline as I express my love and gratitude for our Lord on this site and in my life. We are human, so forgiveness is an important one for a reason. He worked it into our existence on purpose, the second contract was in fact strategic from the beginning starting with Abraham. Wow, are we not so loved? SO LOVED THE WORLD, he says. That means you because you’re in it on purpose.
Go, read, pray, cry, panic - only for a moment, forgive yourself, ask for help, allow yourself to receive a hug, work out the pain and suffering because we know there’s more ahead. I love you and I believe in your strength because I believe in his strength and he’s waiting to give it to you until you’re ready. It’s like when Kal-El helped Superman figure his gifts out!
P.S. Fun Fact: Did you know that in the comic world, Kal-El means Star-Child? In Hebrew, “Kal“ means Easy or Light and El being God. Accents at the time pronounce the Hebrew word “Kol” which could mean ”Voice of God”. I’m reminded of Luke 12:48 and then that one Uber driver’s T-shirt…
Don’t overthink it, he’s Easy to find, it’s a Light beating, God so Loves you! Believe it, Know it, Trust it!
Written on 10/01/21
Read Titus on 9/30/21
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Kal-El
https://dccomicsextendeduniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Kal-El
Retrieved on 11/08/21
The Secret Hebrew Meaning Behind Superman’s Real Name
Joshua Isaak
Screen Rant
Published July 31, 2021
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