Monday's Manna from Castro's Corner @ Chicklit Power

Happy Monday Manna!

I pray each and every one of you had an awesome weekend. Last week was an interesting one for me. We had a company meeting in Las Vegas and I drove up separately, since my sister-in law Amanda is still hanging onto her baby at 39 weeks! I reassured my wife that if Amanda did go into labor, I would have the ability to ditch out early but of course this wasn’t the case and she WILL BE induced this Tuesday so all prayers are welcomed! I had the honor to share rooms with a believer and brother over those three days and we had some awesome fellowship.
As I was driving to Vegas I began to think of my wife Kay and I just thanked God for her and all of the support she provides to me. There have been countless instances of doubting my own abilities to lead the awesome team God has given to me, but Kay always reassures me that I can do it. She’s so strong, and I often feel like I’ve failed when I lose faith or when the race becomes too overwhelming. Her words of encouragement always lift me up and I can’t begin to thank God enough for this woman that has literally rocked my world. The enemy sees my weaknesses as opportunities, but Kay always reminds me that my weaknesses are made perfect through God’s ability [2nd Corinthians 12:9]. Marriage is God’s institution, not man’s.
Maybe I think too much while I’m on the road. I’m the driver that forgets how he got from point “A” to point “B,” even if the drive was over 100 miles. Driving serves as private time for me to just thank God for all he has done in my life and although sometimes it’s distracting as I’m trying to pray over my little Toyota’s roaring motor as it tries to keep up with traffic on the I-10, I still make private time with my Creator.
As I approached the towering buildings, the scandalous billboard advertisements, and the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip, I felt like I was too far away from home. I parked and checked in at the resort and found out I was rooming with Mike, one of the strongest believers and brothers in my life. We woke up the next morning and prayed together, got in the Word, and even had conversations about what we though heaven would be like. Fellowship does happen in Las Vegas!
We attended the company meeting later that day and the Vice President awarded our owner with an award that we all pitched in for. Our owner is a prolific speaker (Just like Evinda) and when he walks into a room, his presence is known and people just look and listen attentively. He has a huge heart and as he began to speak about our mission as a company, he reminded us that our primary goal is to serve our members with humble hearts. As he continued to speak, he began to get choked up and so did the rest of the audience. I am so thankful that God has given me the ability to be part of a team whose mission is to change lives.
Have an awesome week!

The Adulterous Woman From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me today for a little break at Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power. I know it’s not always easy turning distractions off, but let’s do just that for a few. Grab your coffee and come on in so we can try and put the pieces of “deceived” together in the context of the Pharisees. Something tells me we may wind up recognizing a little bit of ourselves in these accusers.

So the Pharisees accused the officers of being deceived and backed their accusation up by saying no Pharisee has ever believed in Him, and also accusing the crowd – who was full of people beginning to change their hearts and minds about The Christ – saying they were accursed for they did not know the law. Now, these definitions all talk about a straying from something, such as the law, the religious beliefs, et cetera.

So what if we give these knuckleheads the benefit of the doubt by asking ourselves, “Were they just holding to what they believed?” And let’s not get into semantics about how much they lived by the law, or didn’t, themselves. By asking that question, would that give us a different and deeper understanding into the depths of their deception? It stands to reason that because they believed certain things about whom The Christ should/would be and would not be, they expected their peers to believe the same way, and when these officers made the statement, “No man ever spoke like this Man,” that released the accusations.

I can’t help but think about all the clues they had received, and the ones they missed completely. For example, when they jumped to conclusions and insisted He couldn’t be The Christ because He was from Nazareth without doing the research to find out He was born in Bethlehem. Or questioning His birth line and not doing the geneology study to trace His birth line all the way back to David. Why weren’t they able to see that they, not the officers, were the ones that were deceived?

What about in our lives, friends who get enticed away from the church? I see it happen all the time with women who are looking for love and become deceived by love. And what about within the church, those who claim to be in Him, all about Him, and do things that are contrary to Him and/or what He would do? Some even justify with out-of-context scripture bashing. What about the atheist who declares there is no god, let alone God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Or the New-Agers who claim there are hundreds of ways to heaven and that the god is mother earth and angels are the primary savior and answer to their problems? Or the homosexual who believes homosexuality was something God detested only in the Old Testament? I can go on and on and on with examples of people who we deem to be deceived but are they deceived just because I say so? Don’t these people in these examples believe that we, the Christian, are also deceived?

What is the common denominator here, Father? Why, oh why, are so many deceived, determined to be fixed on their false foundations, pointing the finger at others, either literally or figuratively? Does deception happen simply by and through standing for what you truly believe or does it involve something else?

I can hear something echoing ever so faintly in my heart . . .

Join me tomorrow for the answer.

Evinda