Ask Fabian

Do you ever find yourself struggling with the same thing over and over? The question isn’t if, but what. Now just to start off, I have not ever had to deal with drug addiction or anything of that magnitude, but I hope that what God had revealed to me can help any who may happen across this page.
It has come again to my attention that when you pray and pray for deliverance from something, and sincerely believe in your heart that not only God hears you, but have faith for healing and freedom, that something is still holding you hostage. The bondage very well might be you. The chain you have could be from a seemingly unrelated stronghold in your physical or spiritual walk.
When it comes to denying ourselves of natural pleasures, especially those that aren’t harmful in and of themselves, it can be tough. Take fasting for example. Your body needs food, but the right stuff in the right amounts. Too much can result in obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and similar diseases, and too little can result in vitamin deficiencies, lethargy, and sickness. Every person’s balance is different, and often times to correct yourself you might need to take a time of consecration to the Lord. By turning down your plate, your body WILL fight you, and rightfully so. But by turning yourself over to God fully in that area, you’re telling yourself and your flesh that you will obey God, and not just your natural desires.
This is also true for those choosing to be chaste or celibate. Whether you were unsaved and simply following along with fleshy desire, or saved (like I was) and just not being obedient, you were engaging in extramarital sex. Just to be clear, I have not ever been married, but to God it’s all much the same. When it came to a point where God was calling me out of my sin into His better way, my body vehemently resisted, and the Devil did what he could to encourage it’s rebellion. I found myself overwhelmed with opportunity to do what I knew not to do. It took me 6 years of a nasty rollercoaster ride to determine to get, and stay, off and to remain sexually pure. It wasn’t until I stopped being afraid of what I might be missing out on, afraid of losing all desires, afraid of being alone that I was and am able to remain chaste. I have to maintain my focus of Christ who has removed all fear and replaced it with Himself, that has strengthened me to be strong in a way I couldn’t ever do on my own. I also needed people around me to support me in my decision and hold me accountable for me actions, even now.
But the battle is not over. Lust is a powerful adversary, and will not go quietly into the night. To remain physically pure, also had to become mentally pure as well. I have continued to fight these last two years in the battlefield of my mind, because you can be your own worse enemy when it comes to the will of God. Now I can proclaim that the battle is and remains of the Lord, since in my weakness God has continued to show Himself strong. What broke me threw was giving up myself to truly worship, even to the point of public embarassment, which anyone who knows me can attest to, I despise more than almost anything else. Being free to honor God allowed me to be free from my chains. It also keeps me free.
So whatever in your life that has been keeping you bound, give it all to God, not just in that area, but in all things. It may not seem relevant to you, but for your own freedom, Christ truly needs to be your Lord and Savior. With each step towards the Kingdom, there’s another chain broken off of you.
Some scriptures to mediatate on are:
Matthew 11:29-30
Psalm 55:22
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I hope and pray I will not go on a other longer hiatus from you, my reader. Pray for me and if there are any questions or topics you’d like for me to attempt to address, email, tweet, or message me and I will make try my best to get to it.

After an entirely too long of a hiatus, I felt compelled to share this email with everyone, do feel free to respond.
The article I received is posted here: http://christianresponseupdates.net/view.php/627662/13518227 was sent by: info@christianresponseupdates.net
The contents of my response are below:
How dare you have the audacity to email me with such blatant propaganda straight for the shores of conservative politics. If only I knew who initiated such an atrocious violation in the name of bias I would make public in due haste to have you reprimanded immediately. This type of traditionally Republican fear mongering is a blasphemy to do in the name of a Christian. In case you have no idea of God’s character, Christ would most like have been considered a Socialist in our current era, because He encouraged us incessantly to take care of, and love, one another, not only spiritually and emotionally, but financially too. God says to LOVE one another, not incite fear and panic. Your email also shows that you don’t have spiritual discernment to know the future of this nation. Regardless of your race, ethnicity, or any other designation, as a “bishop” you should be focusing this kind of energy on FIXING the health care bill as opposed to stopping it, because reform is absolutely needed. This is how you’ve shown your heart. Maybe there’s no person on the other end of this email being surely force feed to the ignorant, fearful, and apathetic. The expenditure of the resources and time of this and not on something even more important like fighting homelessness, unemployment, domestic violence, promoting education, or any number of issues that could improve quality of life, is appalling. Do you want to appeal to my racial pride, then fight against the imprisonment of men, like me, for everything under the sun, while my white counterparts are given a slap on the wrist or lighter sentences. Fight against drop outs from school at all levels, especially secondary and post secondary education. Fight against fatherlessness, which leaves us bewildered, uneducated, and undisciplined. Fight against the media, that despite the election on an intelligent, articulate, and even tempered man, who happens to be black, they insist on only shopping us drug dealers, rappers, athletes, and entertainers who have vices as plain as the eye can see, emphasizing our perceived inability to do anything philosophical, scholarly, or wise. So no, I don’t want to be on your mailing list, and no, I won’t badger my representatives in Congress to be persuaded into blocking this legislation. I may not have all the information, but by your own account, neither do you. I will pray for you, since you need wisdom, and direction, rebuke, and love.

God bless

Why in a country that touts it’s innocent until proven guilty legal system, that being arrested is also a presumption of guilt? People seem to quickly forget that often times police do not apprehend suspects in the commission of a crime, and that there could be other possible suspects as well. There is even a possibility that no crime was committed at all. Many men of God, chiefly Paul comes to mind, had actually been arrested on multiple occasions and had served time, simply because he was following Christ and preaching the gospel. He told various churches to not be ashamed of imprisonment, but to even more so use that as reason to go forth and preach the word.
Such a contrast to what we tend to do. The people did it then, and we still do it now. We treat people who’ve been arrested and served time as lepers, to be outcast from amongst us. What if your sins were so easily seen, punishable by imprisonment? Would you still be so firm in your convictions of others? I don’t say this in hopes of abolishing prisons, since that would be impractical and dangerous. This is to shake people free from their patterns of thinking, to set them free from limiting God’s plans for the kingdom. I have many family members who’ve done time, and my parents made it a point to keep me from their company, as to not corrupt the good character in me they were fostering, but in the process they alienated those who also needed help, needed support to turn from their ways back to the light. Church is supposed to be a place of forgiveness, repentance, and love. God says to hate the sin, and love the sinner. But we often cannot seem to separate the two. This also extends to prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, and all forms of people lost in the world, they are all just that, lost. They are in need to be found, and delivered from the darkness in which they were born. We are all sinners, each and every one of us, and should have more compassion for one another.
Christ Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That’s why He saved the woman who was going to be stoned for adultery. Not that she didn’t deserve the consequence, but that He had mercy on her. We’re quick to seek that mercy, but not so to give it. Incredible idea it seems to us, to show forgiveness when we’re hurt or disappointed by others. Forgo the double standard, and strive for the God standard. That doesn’t mean you have to be a door mat or punching bag, but to not harbor unforgiveness and anger. Pray for, and with, those who do you harm. I’m not excluded from these things, I’m in process for growing and maturing in this area still. Pray for those that despitefully use you, showing kindness and consideration. That has more benefit for all, because it turns away wrath.
Pray and seek to have the heart of God, so that we will truly be Christians, those who are modeled after, and follow, the way of Christ Jesus. Forgiveness is a decision, not of guilt or ignorance, but love. To show love for one another, since that is the greatest command after all

Why is it so easy for us to seek grace and mercy than to give it? It’s although we consider our own motives and reasons for having messed up but don’t show that leniency to others. It’s evidenced throughout the Bible, in parables and even Jewish history. When Christ came, He died for everyone, but the Jews had a hard time reconciling that because the Gentiles were not given the law, no were they required to live by it. You would think since the Jews couldn’t even follow it, they’d understand why Christ said that the Gentiles wouldn’t need to abide by it either. But instead they took that to be blasphemy, because they had convinced themselves that they were better and more deserving. In fact the opposite was in fact true, that because they had the law, they were under stronger penalty because they knew better and still acted worse than the Gentiles who sinned out of their ignorance.
But it’s not just them. We all do it, everyday. When we’re running late, it’s because of traffic, a difficult child, or not feeling well. But let someone be late when we’re on time, and it’s because they don’t have respect for our time, they’re lazy, or irresponsible. There are plenty of examples of this, too numerous even to list. Well thank God we’re not the final judge. Jesus said he who is without sin, cast the first stone. He said that not because the woman didn’t indeed do wrong, but that if everyone was treated according to their misdeeds, then all should be dead, which is true. We deserve the penalty for our sins, but God! Christ paid that debt for ALL of us, because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Since He paid that price, He expects us to show that same mercy towards one another.
That doesn’t mean to not be discerning in your relationships with others. God certainly gives us guidelines to live by and that we’re responsible for one another to make due diligence in helping to live right. It means to show grace and mercy before showing anger and condemnation. Show love.

Anyone else a fan of Smallville? I mean granted I personally just like that I find Superman more personable with him being younger, still feeling himself out, learning who he is and what he can do, and also what he can’t do. He makes mistake and no matter how strong, nor fast, nor anything else, he can’t save everyone. He often hides from himself, as well as keep his power hidden from all but a very select few. He thinks it’s best if people don’t know, so that they won’t get hurt, and nor will he. However, Jesus didn’t hide who He was, but He often kept a low profile. He didn’t deny who He served nor what He could do. The number of miracles He perform are more numerous than there was space to record, ranging from healing to walking on water. If you remember, He is God, and often you’ll see the word Lord in the Old Testament, that’s Jesus too. He is the Living Word, a wholly connected and integral part of God. Yet He came in the form of us so that He could redeem us from the curse of sin, from ourselves. So instead of wanting to be Superman, I want to be like Christ Jesus.

Well one important thing about Christ is that He was not ashamed of the gospel, for He was the Word.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV): ¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,^[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

That takes me to the heart of my point. With confidence we’re to approach the throne. How often do we plead and beg of God for help? Is He not our Father, who exhorted us:

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV): ¹⁴This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

There it is again, confidence. He has made us joint heirs, because of the resurrection of Christ. That shed, sinless blood, for our redemption. So why do we treat Him like we once did earthly kings, with our face downcast, bowing and scared. He has shown us so much mercy and grace, and more importantly, love. Do children plead with their parents that way? Usually not, because they know their parents love them and want to give them good things, so even more so does God, who is Love, will most certainly do right by us, because He said so:

Matthew 7:11-12 (NIV): ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

God is not looking for our groveling, our fear, our downcast faces. He wants to come to Him in confidence, like the loving children He created us to be. I know I’ve struggled with that, even without realizing. It’s amazing how God speaks to me in my time of need. He eagerly awaits for me to come to Him, because He loves to talk to me, to all of us. Yet because of our bad experiences with one another, we treat God like that. He hasn’t ever done us wrong, yet we act like He has. Then he cower in fear at His awesome magnificence, and while He should revere Him, we shouldn’t be afraid. My spirit leaped when my pastor spoke those words. Boldly approach. Yes! Like a lion who roars, and commands dominion over the plains, be bold. Like small children seeking love, food, or attention, be bold. Who do we help by being afraid? To what good end does that bring us? No one, none. Instead we are to:

Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV): ¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Don’t try to hide your light. We’re like lanterns, carrying the light of God within out into the world. So like a lantern, there are things that can hinder that. We often hide the light, afraid of what others may say, how they may feel, what they may think or do. We may not hide it, but the light may be dim, because instead of staying connected to the source, we rather attempt to go days between being renewed and refilled. So instead of shining brightly, we turn down the flame to stretch the fuel between fillings, or shine brightly for a day, only to go dark when it runs out. Even still, we may not do those things, but instead our glass is impure, and is cloudy and blocks the light from shining forth. Instead of allowing God to cleans us from ourselves, we hold fast by not letting go of certain things. So while the light may be bright, it cannot be seen fully.

Therefore, I beseech you to walk with me as I walk with Christ. Sometimes, you may feel like there’s no one else, but God is always with you. A person in darkness can see a light bearer approaching long before the light bearer can see them. Some may approach the light, seeking answers and thereby enlightenment. Others may cower away in the shadows, staying out of range of the bearer. Others still may be following the light, following the path you’re blazing, and you may not even know they’re there. So don’t be afraid, don’t hinder the work our Father is doing in you. If you hide your light, you’ll stumble in the darkness too. So go forth boldly to the throne of our Father, and seek His face. Then continue to march forth, pushing through the darkness with the light shining through, you don’t ever know who else is waiting on you.

The devil is a human hacker. He can’t read our minds but he’s been around long enough to know how we think inasmuch as any psychologist has ever known.
He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. When he’s hacking, he’s looking for code vulnerabilities. That code is your thought processes. He bases his attacks on multiple levels. He can do a DDOS, a distributed denial of service attack, like what happened to Job. He lost his children, wife, property, health, and friends. But he also had the best malware recovery tool, his faith. Because he believed in his Programmer, He was able to be restored better than new because God was able to update his firmware in the restoration.
He can use a trojan or backdoor in another program, like he did to Samson. He’ll use other people who are already close to you to expose your gaps. Delilah was a pawn in the downfall because Samson didn’t follow the instructions to not open attachments from unknown senders. He married a woman not of his faith, so he became unequally yoked. He lost his strength and his life because of it, because the brute force tactics didn’t work since he was the ultimate strong man.
He can use a worm, like with Jesus. Judas Iscariot was planted among the disciples, and at the appointed time he turned and created an entrance where none existed. Christ was nailed onto that cross after having endured beatings that tortured him in ways we wouldn’t want to imagine.
But because of that sacrifice, we have the victory over death and the enemy. We don’t have to spend our lives being a victim, but being survivors. The word is the manual, the Holy Spirit is the teacher and help, the Father is the master programmer and maintenance tech, and Christ the example of how to live and the malware prevention and reduction specialist.
In keep with this information, remember that there is no temptation that cannot be beat, nor trial that cannot be bared. Renew your mind daily, so that your protection is always up to date and system corrected before you’re bogged down by the weight of the load on your system. Stay optimized!

(note: the author is not the main blogger)

Today is the second day of the New Year and God has been putting some things on my heart. 2008 was an especially trying year with its fair share of highs and lows but the one event that had the greatest impact on me was the ending of my 1 year relationship. I just couldn’t understand why something so good would need to end. I asked questions like, “Did I do something wrong?”, and “God why are you doing this to me?”. I hadn’t realized then that the reason why I couldn’t understand what was happening was because I had no faith. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. I was so uncertain of what I couldn’t see, I just didn’t get it.

Over the past few days God has worked many things out for me, and one was understanding why. I realize now that I was relying too much on my ex for happiness and his faith. He is such a faithful God fearing man and I got used to just surviving off of his faith but 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 warns against idleness. I had become idle with my faith. Thess 3:8 says “nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked day and night, laboring and tolling so that we would not be a burden to any of you”. Verse 9 states, “We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow”, verse 10 concludes, “… If a man will not work, he shall not eat”.

God let me know that if I was not willing to do the work and earnestly seek him, then I couldn’t reap the benefits of being a faithful servant so he stripped me of the one thing that meant the most to me. This has been a hard lesson learned but definitely the wake up call that I needed. Being out of that relationship is not easy, its been one of the hardest things I’ve had to do but has been one of the best things that God has ever done for me.

I am now working on strengthening MY faith, putting in my own work and really being a servant to God. He has restored my joy and I can smile like I’ve never smiled before! Last year I could only smile when good things happened, but now I smile through the good and the bad because I know who I am. I am a child of God with the best role model there is as an older brother. My daddy will never leave me and I no longer have to worry about tomorrow. I smile because I am free from the cares of the world, and my sight is now on God. I look forward to waking up everyday to see just what God has in store for me.

To all those that read this, I encourage you against idleness. Even if you surround yourself with faithful believers, you can’t continue to eat off their plates, you can’t make it into heaven on the good works of others. Their invitation does not say them plus one. Each person will be judges on their own. So become active in your faith, its as simple as redeclaring Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life and praising God for being so merciful. Turn your sights away from the world and those around you and earnestly seek my Fathers face!

God bless.