Peace, Chile!

So, when I was watching the movie Freedom Writers with my students yesterday and realized I was the only body in the room wanting to get up and dance when Montel Jordan's "This Is How We Do It" came boomin' through my classroom speakers, I realized how much time has passed between the release of this song and now. The age gap between my students and me materialized once again [as it does with each passing year]. I wondered, "What kind of beats drive their boogie today?" And of course I know the answer to this [because I hear the mess they bump and spout in the building], but it still baffled me as to why Montel's dope beat didn't stir them at all ... they just sat like statues watching the screen. And this, my internal rhythm just couldn't understand.

THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO

From the time a student told me "no", leaving my jaw dropped and on the ground (my first year as a teacher), culture has continued its swift change and has progressively become what it is. This is no surprise, for the Bible warns about how vultures gathering indicates a carcass is near and how the branch buds on a fig tree indicate the nearness of Summer. It goes on to advise that one keep watch for the return of Christ because it is not the business of man to know the day or time of this event; however, it is the business of man to find where his purpose lies (Matt. 24). And once he does this, he is to heed every word of the Purpose Giver. In this, one finds the security that is also promised in the Bible. "Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven” (Matt. 16:18, 19 NIV). The significance of this is when one knows God in relationship through Jesus Christ, one is empowered with the by-laws of heaven and the ability to execute them in the earth.

CALLING CUNNING

INTERCESSORS

So, all is definitely not lost just because times have changed [and kids today don't nod their heads to Montel Jordan's "This Is How We Do It" -- Ha Haaa!]. If you're a part of the Church of Jesus Christ, you're equipped to live excellently through what looks like hell on earth. And from an intercessory conference prayer call, of which I was a part this morning, Pastor Shawn Stephens encouraged that the signs we're seeing are nothing more than news bulletins confirming how those of us who are cunning in prayer and intercession should be engaged in our craft.

GET IN WHERE YOU FIT IN

With this level of knowledge, the peace that accompanies it is to die for, meaning, in order to attain a level of peace such as this, one must die to self, making it a habitual practice in life. I spoke a message at my church a short while back entitled "I Have Abandonment Issues". The crux of the sermon is that there's such a thing as good issues of abandonment when a believer continually and progressively dies to self so he becomes conditioned to not needing things his way in order to attain happiness. He learns to be okay with what the Master (God, His Father) wants and the way he fits into this.

Have you ever met a person who just goes with the flow most times? Whenever asked what he wants, what time he'd like to leave, what he desires to eat, or what movie he'd like to see, he mostly responds that it doesn't really matter. And it's not that this type of individual has no backbone, goals, or drive. It's just that he seems to understand what things are worth communicating preference regarding and what things are truly frivolous in the grand scheme. This type of person is a breath of fresh air, a nice change-up from people who always have an opinion about something they just can't let go of until errrrryyyyyybody else sees it the way they do.

FIRST OF ALL

But this can't be so with those of us who desire to walk as closely with God as He desires us to walk with Him. This is because we cannot fulfill the first and great commandment, which is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength if we're giving Him an earful of what we will and will not do (Deut. 6:5). For, the Bible says that to love Him is to obey Him (John 14:15), and the last time I checked, the one in the relationship who must obey does not call the shots. In order to attain and maintain a high place of peace, one must be fine with pleasing God no matter what. This, my friends, pulls us away from ourselves and encases us in consistent abandonment of our shot-calling tendencies.

This type of posture's making me a cool mom (in my humble opinion). In the times when I want to blow my top at my two testosterone-filled boys (and some days my top does get away from me, chile), abandonment of myself, my temper, my anger, my frustration, my impatience finds me speaking calm, non-sugar-coated truth to them. Today, they were knocking on the car window from inside, as I was pumping gas outside, to tell on each other. First of all, they acted like they couldn't wait until I got back into the car to tell me these weightless things. Secondly, I asked them, "Is this something you wanna' give up your peace for?" Then and there, I realized I've grown, and in my inquiry to them, I spoke a message to myself ... a good evaluative one.

DO NOT DISTURB

So, this is how I'm gonna' do it (Montel). If something that's gonna' make withdrawals from my peace comes along, I'll step aside and let it pass or not allow it into my sha-nah-nah, as Gospel Radio Host Willie Moore Jr. likes to say. This level of peace which I've paid a price for is not to be disturbed. God's got me in His training program, showing me how to keep my seat.

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#Peace #DontDisturb #StaySeated #Bible #Prayer #Intercession