the false kings and queens

I am a studious soul. (except for studying things i am actually tested on i.e microbial physiology) Anyway-- I love to read biography's, religious documents, government policies. I even watch the news. And if any of you ever watch the news you will know about the madness that is going on right now--the rise of Islam--the divide in political parties--the terror in the middle east--the slaughtering of the innocent, worldwide-- i could go on for a while...
If you care just a little for your family-- scratch that-- a little for life in general-- all of this should make you start to question things.


What is Humanism?
                                                 {hu.man.ism}
||a system of values and beliefs that is based on the idea that people are basically good
and that problems can be solved using reason|

Modern humanism can actually be traced all the way back to the Renaissance. Incredibly intelligent men such as Leonardo DaVinci and Isaac Newton believed man could use knowledge and technology to enhance human life. Which is accurate. God gave mankind brains-- He wants us to be smart.
However, Isaac Newton and Leonardo DaVinci believed in God--
Which is where modern humanism and secular humanism split off drastically.

Humanism is now masked by 'moral relativism'-- taking a nonjudgmental approach to things such as what people believe--policies--morality--habits-- because 'everything is relative'. The basic foundation to all of this is the ideology that the belief in a god is illogical, there is no such thing as the supernatural-- therefore man is his own god.
{which is strange being that most secular humanists believe in evolution... which is a belief and not a factual occurrence because there is no way to visually prove it}

So what does this have to do with the news? With you? With anything?
There is a significant amount of people who refuse to connect the recent terrorism and war in the middle east with radical Islam. There is a large majority who deny abortion as the destruction of life. There is a rampant up-rise in my generation of atheism. People are threatened to get fired from their jobs if they say anything negative towards homosexuality. {see here that i said homsexuality and NOT homosexuals}
There are Christians succumbing to the idea that silence is love.
We are blinded to the fact that mankind is setting itself up to become their own gods. We are raising children to believe that man can be naturally good and moral. That technology can save us.
That it is no one's right to challenge someones "rights".


2 Peter 3:3-5
Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying "Where is the promise of His coming?" For since the fathers
fell asleep, all things  continue as they were from the beginning of Creation. For this they willingly forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth
standing out of water and in the water.

2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself
above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he sits as god in the temple of God, showing himself that he is god.

CS LEWIS "Mere Christianity"
"Niceness-- wholesome integrated personality-- is an awesome thing...
But we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls...
For mere improvement is not redemption...
God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce 'better men' of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man."

I started thinking about the world and where we are headed and the end times and my generation and my future family and the things we are going to endure together for the cause of Christ. But what I really thought about was my own filth. My own desperate need for the Savior. How it is so easy to think i am my own god and to allow sin to rule over me.
Do not be fooled-- we are awful beings incapable of being righteous without the blood of Jesus.
But this is a hopeful message because we do have a Savior and His children are considered holy and righteous in His sight because of His sacrifice.

The humanistic movement is trying to produce a heaven on earth-- damnation masked as world peace and tolerance. The truth is, and I encourage you to evaluate this in your own lives just as I have had to do lately:
there is only one Heaven and only one pathway there. There is only one God.
We are not gods. We can not achieve a utopia. Tolerance is not gold. Silence is not love.
"If the fate of the ungodly is our continual meditation, concern for their salvation will be our continual motivation."

The real injustice: Why aren't Americans outraged?

There has been an endless amount of commentary and protests on the recent cases involving the death of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Motivation ranging from ‘they were killed because they were black’ and ‘police officers abuse their power’ to ‘black on black crime rate is the source of trouble’ and ‘it happened because they were thugs’.

Everyone seems to have an opinion. Everyone seems so willing to blame someone; whether they say it was Eric Garner’s fault or police brutality. There have been a series of extensive news reports covering the cases: Conservatives arguing with Liberals, blacks arguing with whites—riots tearing down businesses! There have even been professional athletes voicing their opinions on game night by wearing shirts with sayings such as ‘hands up—don’t shoot’ or ‘I can’t breathe.

Maybe you stand on the side that says it is all racism—that black people are singled out and victimized because of their skin color—that even if they do absolutely nothing wrong there is a chance that they will be called out.

OR maybe you say that it has nothing to do with race—it’s about obeying the law, always.

OR maybe you are the one sharing videos on Facebook of Police Officers abusing their power and you spend your time bashing the authorities as if they owe you anything. (sidenote: what are you going do when you need help or someone you care about needs protection? Ungrateful and Entitled, the theme of our American Society)

There is even a chance you are the one to busy pointing out the crime rates in black communities to think about anything else.

So you’re outraged? So you feel like you might somehow lose your rights? You wonder if you will be a victim even when in the moment you are defense-less?

Now let me tell you about the real injustice…

“The United States Supreme Court ruling of January 22, 1973, (Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs Bolton) struck down the laws in all 50 states, allowing abortion – for any reason – up to the moment of live birth. The father of the child, even if he is married to the mother, has no legal right to prevent the abortion.”

Over 1.3 million abortions occur yearly.

You want to be pissed about something? You want to protest for a good cause? You want to be concerned about the rights of human beings? Be pissed about the killing of millions of defenseless, innocent babies. Protest for the lives of children who have NO say and NO chance of survival. Be concerned for the fact that it is legal in all fifty states to abort a baby throughout all nine months of pregnancy.

Are you are concerned about your race? (White or Black or Hispanic or Indian or Purple or Green)

Do you feel like Minorities targeted?

Well guess what… they are targeted.

 By Planned Parenthood.

(http://www.operationrescue.org/about-abortion/abortions-in-america/)

“Planned Parenthood, the largest seller of abortions in the United States, has located 80% of its abortion clinics in minority neighborhoods, disproportionally targeting minorities for abortion.”

Black lives do matter.

                        

Did You Know?:

(https://prolifeacrossamerica.org/baby-developmental-facts/)

-        18 days a Baby’s heart beats

-        8 weeks all organs function

-        9 weeks the baby has individual fingerprints

-        10 weeks a baby can feel pain

-        12 weeks a baby can smile

Why don’t the professional athletes make a stand for this violation? Why doesn't the President of the United States give his condolences for all the dead African American babies? Better yet, all the aborted babies? Don’t be misled, the media and the government are not really concerned for our rights.

It is sad that Eric Garner and Michael Brown lost their lives, especially if they did not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. But they had more of a voice, more rights, and more opportunities to do something with their lives than all the unborn babies EVER will.

A bowl of fruity pebbles:

 I have this funky blood sugar issue. I like to think it's only purpose is to prevent me from eating as many fruit roll-ups for breakfast as I want but here recently I have gained a new insight on this problem. (this is going somewhere, promise)

One morning, actually lots of mornings, I like to think that this particular issue doesn't exist. So I'll grab a giant bowl of fruity pebbles (or two) and indulge as if in an hour I won't feel like death and have to call my best friend to come and save my life with a peanut butter sandwich. You see, what happens when I eat extremely sugary things is I go on this temporary high. I feel good for like forty five minutes but, then unlike normal people, my body cannot adjust my blood sugar levels afterwards and I crash-- experiencing dizziness, cold sweats and extreme fatigue.  

Here recently, God has been showing me a lot of my sin. It seems as if every time I turn around a new shortcoming in myself is exposed. At first, it feels like a beating-- just like when my blood sugar drops-- I feel overwhelmed, anxious and incapable of moving forward. 

My sin is like my bowl of fruity pebbles. (deep, i know) It tastes good. It is colorful and inviting. It makes me feel good (at least for a little bit). Our flesh likes to dress sin up-- make it look like something it is not. That flippin' bowl of fruity pebbles is nothing but a bowl of cavity causing, over processed, sugar death trap. Sin is nothing but a hole creating, over rated, death trap.

Once my blood sugar drops and the fruity pebbles are exploited as the nutritious lie they really are-- that peanut butter sandwich is an absolute necessity. It is filling and long lasting. Contrary, when my sin is exposed or called out-- it shows how incapable i am of being good. It shows me that my flesh is a lie and my sin is death. But what it really does is it shows me how great and merciful the Lord is to my desperate soul. For him to save me, fill me with His spirit and last for an eternity... how great Thou art. 
Instead of relying on fruity pebbles (the world, my flesh and sin) to satisfy my hunger, i trust that the peanut butter sandwich is enough.The Lord is the only one who is enough. 

Now, i am not saying to keep eating your fruity pebbles because you know the peanut butter sandwich will save you if you get into a mess. It is our duty to repent. I must know that i was wrong. I must learn to not eat fruity pebbles// to steer clear of sugary lies. 

However, satan likes to overwhelm us with our sin-- he seeks to make it appear as if we have to conquer it by our own strength, knowledge and wisdom. Rest in the Lord. Rest in His strength. 
Ephesians 2 speaks of God's Grace, sovereignty and great love--
It says "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespassed, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." 

If you don't know Jesus-- I would encourage you to seek His faithful and merciful face-- repent and know He is Lord. 

I am so thankful God doesn't leave us where He finds us.



achy knees bent in awe
conviction so deep-- Grace over Law

Change me O Lord and make me brand new
take what you must
just draw me nearer to You

prideful sin fighting for the throne
Your faithful Spirit refusing to leave me alone

A King bleeding to death on a tree--
and I have the audacity to think this life is about me

I can see the love in Your eyes. Holiness became man,

A world filled with short-term commitment
promises life
as if it can give it

Dear Creator, you are firm and true,
promising life because it can only come from You.

The Joker's defeat.

I sometimes find myself picturing Satan as the Joker from the infamous batman series… This is no laughing matter (see what I did there?). The Joker is a maniacal, devious friendly foe. What do I mean by this? The Joker uses tricks and gimmicks to capture his prey. The Joker has a morbid sense of humor. The Joker will first befriend you then unsparingly bury you alive. Sounds like Satan to me. (No, I am not literally saying the Joker is Satan… I am saying they have similar character traits)

Bewildered is an understatement. It is ONLY by the Grace of God I get anything done. I am so easily distracted. I am so easily stressed. I am so easily led astray. (Now I know why Jesus compares His children to sheep—we are stupid). Sometimes I feel like an obnoxious orange bobber in the middle of the ocean—just floating—no direction--when all of a sudden with just one tiny little bite-- I am 20 feet under. Can anyone relate to this?

I whole heartily believe that many times, if not majority of the time, Satan attacks us with the simplest of things (hence my Joker reference).The more I think about it the more I realize majority of the things that distract, stress and mislead me are not bad things! The punch line: every time I take my eyes off of Jesus (for anything good or bad) not only am I sinning, but I am giving Satan a good ole’ laugh. When I take my eyes off Jesus my heavenly joy is stolen and its place is stress and disobedience.

Nonetheless in those moments I constantly feel a tug at my heart telling me to give it up, “give up your life Bekah”. I've always been the stubborn type but this is different… I truly desire to give it all to Him- but it is like my flesh sinks its claws deeper, making it practically impossible to pull away… in the words of the ever so wise Paul “I do what I don’t want”.

The “pick up your cross” scripture rings with new meaning now. Jesus insisted on picking up the cross daily as protection: to protect us from Satan’s games. It is in the daily battles of ending sins reign in our heart and pursuing holiness -- that Jesus reveals Himself to us. It is a bittersweet deal… it takes hard work and discipline but God keeps His promises… maybe that’s what I was meant to say to someone today: Ye of little faith—God is faithful.

There is hope! And our hope is this…  Jesus is standing fearlessly in the middle of our raging seas—calm and collected—lying to rest every perilous wave.

*Lord, i will keep the faith. i will pursue the cross. i will put away harmful and soul-devouring habits. And i will do this through the repetition of obedience, the power of the will and Your unending mercy and unimaginable strength. Thank you for redemption, grace and the message of the Cross- i am forever unworthy and i will forever praise Your name. You rescued me when i was dead, you rescued me when i thought i didn't need saving, and you will rescue me from the enemy’s futile attempt to steal my heavenly joy.* 

                                                                      Hope


i am alive


heart on fire


unbind.


Tenderness so deep


with eyes wide open


i bleed.


Break my heart for what breaks Yours.


Deliverance for the wretch—


here i am


not drowning in my own


desperate attempts.

Meekness or Weakness?

I don't know about you but I personally do not see many (if any at all) ads encouraging inner beauty... I see ads that scream to woman that they are too fat or too quiet or way to different to be considered beautiful. I see t.v shows and songs that explicitly allude to the idea that a woman isn't worthy of a mans love if she isn't promiscuous or built like beyonce. To all you feminists who have such a problem with a woman being submissive to her husband or staying home to rear her children-- Why don't you have a problem with the constant degrading of woman in practically every source of media? Is that the message you want your daughters to hear? That is is okay for women to be objects of lust (because its their own body and they can do what they want with it, right?) as long as she has the opportunity to pursue the same career as a man. That it is okay for a woman to be used for sex as long as she has the right to get 'rid' of the product... 

I do not know about the rest of the woman population but this literally disgusts me.  

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. 1 Peter 3:3-5

In my seemingly long but relatively short nineteen years of life I have never really been the 'gentle one'. And I am certainly not quiet. However, after doing some studying on Godly woman and their attributes it has come to my attention that the "gentle and quiet spirit" that Peter is talking about in Scriptures is so much more than avoiding sanguine silliness and holding our tongues. The beauty of a woman is placed in her ability to love the unlovable and submit to God's never-accidental plan for her life. I crave these virtues more than ever. 

"They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." 1 Peter 3:6

  

Ever since I was a little, my parents told me "it is far more important to be beautiful on the inside than the outside". This belief has changed me more than any amount of makeup or hair product could ever! The moment I believed that inner beauty was more important than being accepted, all the boys liking me and being super pretty was the moment I truly felt beautiful. It is like a flower (so cliche, I know). A flower can only produce beautiful pedals if everything on the inside (biologically speaking) is working correctly. 

I have seen what a Holy woman can do and let me tell you-- it is far more powerful than any right the feminists have fought for all these years.. I have seen my mother calm storms that I just knew were going to destroy everything in its path. I have seen her hold her tongue when I have about bit mine off (for lack of appropriate words). My mother's beauty radiates through her meekness.

Meekness or Weakness?

I am going to be completely honest. For several years I viewed my mothers temperament as a weakness but now that I am older I realize my mothers temperament is more valuable than gold. This is especially true in a marriage. My mom could tell my father more things in one look than she could in a million words. After seeing examples of true beauty and the blessings God pours over a Holy woman-- I want to be a submissive wife, I want to have a gentle spirit and I want to bridle my tongue. 

Truth of the matter is-- meekness is the exact opposite of weakness-- it is "a heart free from fear". 

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears not is made perfect in love." 1 John 4:16-18

Women: Do not be misled-- society today... DOES NOT care about you. 

*Find your validation, peace and joy through your relationship with Christ. Find your beauty, confidence and appeal through the gentle and quiet spirit Peter talks in the verse above. Find your worth through the Cross.*  

                              Meekness

adjective, meek·er, meek·est.

1.

humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.

2.

overly submissive or compliant.

3.

Obsolete . gentle; kind.

Heart to Heart.

I lost my grandfather on a Sunday several months ago. It was the Sunday before my fall semester of my sophomore year of college started. I was heartbroken.
But this post is not about my heart.. for it has many more lessons to learn, heartbreaks to endure and many more foible and short-coming specks that need to be uprooted by the Savior of my soul.,
 This post is about the rarest kind of heart. 
-- A heart that is not common, required to live or even appreciated in today's society.
-- the heart of my eighty year old grandmother. 

My nanny lost her husband on a Sunday several months ago. It was a couple Sundays after the three and a half year anniversary of her oldest sons premature death. She was heartbroken. 

After reflecting back on the very emotional and saddening passing away of one of the greatest men I have ever known, I came to realize how very distrustful my heart can be unto the Lord. I was angry, I was confused and I was sorrowful. I could not believe He would put this on me before I stepped into the stressful and hectic world of college. I missed the first day of some of my classes. I saw my father cry. I watched my brother be crushed by the callous and unforgiving force of grief.
Death trampled my family's defense and ripped out the heart and soul of our seemingly weak fortress.

After several days of my selfish pity partying and remembering back on the solid hour I balled uncontrollably into nanny's shoulder, it hit me. 
I have the heart of a egocentric wretch.
I just watched my grandmother watch her soul mate die. I witnessed the slow torturing heartbreak that diseases- such as Alzheimer's- do to families. I saw the woman who put everything she had into a beautiful marriage- stand solid while the body of the man she loved every hour of every day for 63 years deteriorated. And I had the audacity to disapprove of God's perfect timing. 
My Nanny has the most beautiful heart I have ever seen-- and I cannot help but feel disgusted at myself for the selfish creature my heart can turn into-- sucking the very life out of my character. 

She has the forgiving heart.
The loving heart.
The heart that even in the most unpleasant circumstances trusts that God is in complete control. 
She has the heart that puts the needs of everyone else before her own- even to a fault, at times. 
Her heart went crawling to its Creator as it suffered life's greatest agony (death) and placed itself humbly before Him -- asking for strength and peace-- while my heart defied its Creator and questioned His complete sovereignty.  
                                              Two different hearts but One Redeemer:
I pray that God eradicates my unfaithful heart and gives me the heart-- the trusting and humble heart-- like the one of my gorgeous Nanny.
It is given and received only by the Grace of Christ. It is rare. I know that it isn't always easy to depend on. The saddest part is that that it isn't even appreciated nor desired by the majority of the world today. But the truth of the matter is--- the faithful heart leads to life, a fulfilling and content life. 

Nanny was diagnosed with Stage I lung cancer. I found out this past Sunday. I am choosing to trust the Lord just as she has.. I believe the most beautiful thing about the God-given, God-trusting and God-filled heart is the effect it has on everyone else. Jesus has shone through Nanny's humble heart more than she or I could ever even comprehend. This kind of heart creates a uneasy hatred for complacency, a convicting guilt for selfishness and a desire to love people in the deepest sense possible.  

                                                                      Scripture:
Psalms 131:1-2 - My heart is not proud, Lord. My eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself. I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. 
Proverbs 20:24- A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?
2nd Peter 2: 1-3- “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I finally picked a ‘title’ :) “it’s just a cup of coffee” is a song my pops sang to me from the time I was just a little baby till I was nineteen years old! It wasn’t until I was much older and he passed away that I realized the almost serious complexity of the song.. A song I thought for so long was just a silly tune that my grandfather practically made up-- about how much he loved coffee...  was so much more than that! That song was about him expressing the importance of enjoying the little things in life-- like a cup of coffee. It was about being happy-no matter the circumstance. It was about knowing when it's the right time to be silly. However, the most important lesson this song and my grandfather taught me was the importance of sharing yourself with those that you love— all with an attitude of humility, a sense of humor, a respect for hard work and a desire to serve the Lord. And that... is exactly what I want to be about.