Wednesday, November 7, 2012

How Does God View Politics? The Answer is Surprising.

This is an Article written by my husband Pastor John Davis. I wholeheartedly agree with the truths shared in this article. I hope you will read and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you.
Eboni




When the Son of Man comes, will He find FAITH on the Earth?



In Luke 18: 8 Jesus asks an alarming question: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find FAITH on the earth?" Many people just believe that Jesus is saying will He find "people believing in Him on the earth" but Faith is not YOUR belief system, Faith is the View and Perspective of God
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What Jesus is saying is that when He comes, will He find ANYONE with His View and His Perspective working in them on the earth. Our world is filled with various opinions and views on a whole lists of different topics, but opinions rule wherever people do not know or comprehend Truth. Opinions matter whenever Self is still the dominating ruling factor in your life.

Last night our great country re-elected its first African American President in the history of our nation. Many are excited, hopeful and over-joyed as rightfully as they should...it is truly a remarkable accomplishment as to how much our country has changed since the days of the "Jim Crow" Laws of the 60s. But with that being said, politics was NEVER God's solution in solving the problems of humanity...HIS solution has always resided in His Son Jesus Christ dying on the Cross for the sin of the world!!

If God was interested in politics or political leaders, then why didn't He send Christ to be "president", "prime minister" or a great political activist? If God wanted a people who would "change" the world then why didn't He empower Israel IN Egypt, instead of delivering them OUT OF Egypt? If God wanted the Body of Christ to look to politics as the solution then why not allow Peter, James and John and the rest of His Disciples to seek public office? No, politics was NEVER God's solution, in fact, politics is something invented BY man who willingly rejects GODS SOLUTION to his condition!

Politics is what we have when we try to "Self-govern" ourselves instead of looking to the Cross of Jesus Christ as the ONLY solution to humanities problems. Politics is what Israel created within themselves called the Pharisees and the Sadducces (a two-party system) because they refused the Salvation offered to them through the Finished Work of the Cross! Ladies and Gentlemen, politics is what WE create and then blindly look to when we simply do not know Christ as our Life, not just our Savior, but absolutely everything that we have come to know and comprehend as Life itself!

The question still remains, "when Christ comes will He find HIS VIEW AND HIS PERSPECTIVE working in you" or will He find personal opinions, political rhetoric, or self governance being the ruling factor in your Life? What happens when the Body of Christ, the Church, spends more time DEFENDING their political leader and says absolutely NOTHING to our friends, family and co-workers as they continue to mock and blaspheme the Name of Jesus Christ? Jude says "we are to earnestly CONTEND FOR THE FAITH THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED", not for our political ideology. (Selah)

Let me leave you guys with something...Jesus said "that a kingdom DIVIDED against itself cannot stand". In light of where we are as a nation, I would say that we are pretty much divided against ourselves, which means that we are DESTINED to FALL, not rise as a nation if we do not unite around GODS SOLUTION to our problem, instead of the voting IN or OUT who WE THINK is the solution. And that solution is the Cross of Jesus Christ and the Life that ONLY resides in Him! Hope I didn't offend anyone, but I just had to share what was on my heart...Love u guys and be Blessed!

Pastor John Davis

Sunday, November 4, 2012

14 Years and Counting: Honest Look Into Marriage and How We Make It Work.


Well it is that time again. This past June my husband and I celebrated 14 years of marriage. Gosh it does not seem like we have been married that long. I guess that is a good thing because it's a sign that I am not dreading our marriage because the years are flying by as opposed to drudging on. :-) I have to say over these 14 years of marriage I have learned a few things and I sit here in a place where I am content. My idea of marriage at 19 (the age I was when I got married) and my idea of marriage now 14 years later are totally different.



I used to think that marriage was this fairy tale relationship that you see on TV and in the movies, but it's not, actually it's better. Many people see my husband and I and they wonder what do we do to have a great marriage, and I have often thought about that as well. After much thought I think this is our secret... God first, then commitment and respect, in that order. My 19 year old self would have answered that by saying LOVE LOVE LOVE, but I now see it differently. My husband and I love each other as most couples who marry do, but it's not the love that will keep you together. There are couples who divorce everyday who love each other. I have noticed that regardless of what we go through we are committed to make this marriage work, and that commitment causes us to WORK through our issues. Commitment causes you to humble yourself and face some tough truths about yourself. It also encourages you to remain open to commit those things to the Lord, and allow him to work out of you. I think it is God working through us that causes us to love each other enough to work through the issues, but it's us who actually do the work. Marriage is not easy, and it has it's peaks and valleys, but if you will stay committed during the valley's you can make it back to the peaks.

You have to learn your spouse, as well as learn yourself. I think I have finally learned my husband and learned myself, and accepted him for who he is. These last few years have been a time of discovery and acceptance. When I got married, I married an idea of a person, but not the actual person. I think I was so enamored with the great things that I loved about my husband that I over looked our differences in hopes that he would change. If I would change one thing about our period of engagement that would be the thing I would change. I entered our marriage hoping he would change and not accepting him JUST AS HE IS. I said this in last years anniversary blog, that my husband and I are complete opposites personality wise and that causes conflict at times. However, even with the differences I have to say he is the perfect person for me. I have learned to appreciate the things that I love most about him and not focus so much on our differences. He is not perfect, I am not perfect, by far, and I am sure that we have many of the same issues that other marriages have, but even through that I would marry him all over again.

Instead of a fairy tale idea of my husband and our marriage, I now 14 years later have reached a place where I accept my husband as he is and am learning to love our differences. Even with us being complete opposites I can say what I appreciate most about my husband it is that he is solid. He is not flaky or a fly by night. I can count on him to be consistent, to be a man of his word, and to be a rock. He is SOLID. He isn't perfect, he makes mistakes, but even in his mistakes I ALWAYS know he loves me, respects me and will ultimately do right by me and our children.

                                  I can say he is my life partner and I will love him for life. 

Family Summer Vacation 2012


This year we went to Pigeon Forge Tennessee for vacation. OMG the way we ended up in Tennessee is a story all in itself. We were originally supposed to go to Washington D.C. and tour the White House, Pentagon, Capital and Bureau of Engraving. However the Saturday before we were scheduled to leave we got news that a long standing member of our church, Mother Matthew had passed and because her funeral was on a day where we would be on vacation we had to change our destination so we could make it back by Saturday for the funeral. (The life of a Pastor...your life is not your own) 




God is the best landscaper!
So we decided last minute to change to Tennessee.  I love going to Tennessee for vacation because the scenery is absolutely gorgeous and whenever we go we always take the scenic route (85 to 985) through the mountains. 

We love to stop at the look out points to capture the beauty of God's hands.

My husband John and our kids.

Me with my daughter and niece.              
We stayed at the resort at Governors Crossing. It has a great pool. My kids are creatures of the sea so whatever hotel we stay at has to have a great pool.
A lot of the hotels in Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg have very small pools, so you have to do your research when booking your hotel.


They have both an indoor and outdoor pool both with great slides.


My son walking the water logs and my daughter climbing up to go next.
My kids about to slide.

 Whenever we go on vacation we love to really partake of the destination. So I try and choose activities that my entire family would enjoy. Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge is a great family destination spot. What I love most about it is that it is beautiful has a plethora of nature activities, and has a bunch of stuff for the kids to do. Our week was packed with fun activities. First up on the docket was Wonder Works Museum.

This destination was OK. We didn't enjoy the museum that much but they have a magic show which we attended that we really enjoyed.  They have this space walk activity where you are suspended from a harness in air and have to do a maze of ropes. It is pretty scary so I chickened out, but my son and niece completed it.


My neice Shekinah on the space rope.

My son Alex doing it. You can't tell from the picture but this is pretty high up,.

wonder works has a couple of activities. I give it about a 4 out of 10 for fun.
This was the best part of wonder works, The Terry Evanswood Magic Show. He is a Christian magician. (don't ask me how lol), but in the middle of the show he stops and gives a 10 minute talk to the audience about how magic isn't real it's all just an illusion and how God has been good to him and how is so thankful for God and who he is in his life.






Next up on the docket was whitewater rafting. This was SUPER fun!!! I can not stress how much fun we had. We got to swim in the river and jump off rocks. The best part was no one fell out of our boat. It was a bit intimidating at first because the guide does this talk that really scares you, he covers what happens if you fall out the boat or if the entire raft flips over. All of us were like uh oh do we really want to do this. But I prayed and asked God to protect us and not let anyone fall out and no one in our group fell out. 
I think our faces tell it all, FUN FUN FUN!


We got soaked which is good for a hot summer day. The water feels totally different than beach water.






Another activity that we love to do while in Gatlinburg is walk the strip. The strip is filled with activities, restaurants, desert parlors, shopping, many things to keep you occupied. Our favorite thing to do is to get a sausage and funnel cake. The cook these grilled sausages with peppers and onion on this outdoor grill delicious...and the funnel cakes are scrumptious. If yo love spinach dip try Blaines, they have really good spinach dip. In Pigeon Forge if you want a great burger go to Five Guys, they have really great burgers.
My husband and daughter always hand in hand, she loves her daddy.
At one of the restaurants on the strip. There are many to choose from. 
I would really recommend Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge to families as a vacation destination. It is affordable and has a lot to offer for activities, dinning, and family fun!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

I Am Troubled By What I See

Hi Everyone,

I had to blog today about something that is very disturbing to me that I am noticing about the hearts of the people today. This spirit of arrogance that is so prevalent in our society. I find it funny that some people think that how THEY think about it, is what matters. As if just because THEY think it, that makes it truth. Listen, that includes ME. I come face to face with truth every day, and have to make a decision of whether I am going to hold on to what I think, or am I going to go with what GOD is saying.  However, not everyone is willing to do that. Some people have this attitude of, "Well, I hear you but I don't think that," or, "I don't see it like that," or, "I don't agree with that." AS IF just because YOU don't see it like that THAT, it's not real.  People this type of attitude only hurts YOU.

I want to talk to you about something that I call "The Thomas Principle". You can actually set your heart to NOT believe. Some people have the attitude of "I will NOT believe it unless I see it". The problem with this type of believe system is some of the things that you have shut your hearts off to believing are for your own good and protection. If you wait to see it to believe, it maybe TO LATE.

God is a faithful God, He will always warn The Body of Christ. John 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. However, we as the people have to heed the warnings. 

There is a story in the book of John about Thomas, a disciple who set his heart to NOT believe. John Chap. 20 tells the story of Jesus' ascension to the father after his crucifixion. Not all of the disciples saw him when he rose from the dead, but He told those who saw him to GO TELL THE OTHERS what had happened. Thomas, one of the disciples who had not seen him, said this when he heard, "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." 

You see we can set our hearts to NOT believe. It isn't that God needs to speak it to us differently, we have to humble ourselves to hear him. The problem is our Pride.  This pride doesn't just exist in people it exists in the whole world. Our society is prideful and instills pride in the people. Before we see the truth,  we first have to recognize our NEED for truth, and secondly humble ourselves and allow HIM to reveal truth to us. 

There is one more scripture that I want to leave with you Luke 16:19-31. It is a story about a man who died, went to hell, and then wanted Abraham to send someone back to warn his family not to come to this place. I want you to listen to what Abraham said to him in response to his request. 

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;... And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

As always I leave you with this. Pray to God and ask him reveal these verses, ask Him to reveal truth to you. Tell him to reveal whether what I am saying in this blog is truth and a word for you, and if you feel him tugging at your heart DO NOT IGNORE that tugging. Time is short guys. Our lives have to be IN CHRIST. He is the only thing solid.
Have a good one,
Eboni