JUST PRAY, STOP PICKING AND CHOOSING

John 3:16-18 MSG “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."

This has been on my heart for the past how long to pray for celebrities. I think we as everyday people forget that the people behind the celebrity are just people like us who go through things like we do. 

Matthew 7:3-5 KJV "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Lately before I put my mouth on what's going on in someone else's house I tell my self, "Get your house in order." I go back to this quote my Dad would use often, "Don't throw rocks from a glass house." The same grace we thank God for everyday, don't they deserve the same grace? I've learned that who ever God puts on my mind to pray for, I stop what I'm doing and pray. Sometimes yes, it is celebrities. As I scroll through my timeline, I see people as for prayer all the time. I also see celebs ask for prayer. So I shouldn't pray for them because they do entertainment? Their bad choices get publicized while some of ours that we don't post about stay private. God sees them all anyway. The sin is already judged right? Jesus didn't come to condemn so what gives me the right? What gives you the right? 

I've been talking about mental health for the past year and a half. I read a story about a guy that checked himself into rehab for a addiction and now he and his wife are divorcing. As a guy that's working through my mental health on a daily, it makes sense for me to send up a prayer for that celeb during this time of trouble. A lot of us have dealt with a lot of death in the last couple of years. I know personally it's gotten closer to home. The same way those losses hurt us, is it safe to say it hurts the celebs as well? I'm not saying condone what some of them do, but ask yourself would God condone all you do? First cast the beam out of your eye.

We're so quick to look at someone and say, "they're too far gone." To who? Were you too far gone? Why is it that when we get delivered, we choose to look down on those who still need it? Remember when you would come to church and people looked at you the same way? Some of the Jesus loving people looked down on you because of your bad choices. Remember how that felt? So why pass that to others? The saying goes, "You can draw more flies with honey than with vinegar." The same honey that drew you will draw others if you use it. 

Remember May is Mental Health Awareness month. Keep praying for those who are working through it on a daily. I'm currently working on something. Not going to say what it is, but keep praying for me, ok? That's all I got for this piece. I thank you for reading. If you feel led, can you please share, retweet, and all that?

Stay saved,

Daniel Richerson

Grace and Mercy

Romans 3:24 (CEV) says, "But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins." I don't know about you, but as I like to say, that'll preach right there. Grace and mercy. Grace is favor or good will. Mercy is compassion. Grace and mercy is the reason we wake up in the morning after we've sinned the night/morning before. James 1:15 (CEV) says, "Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead." We also know that it is written in the Bible that, "The wages of sin is death." Everyone who is reading this should've been dead, but because of God's grace and mercy, He allows us to wake up every morning. And like I said in an earlier post, Lamentations 3:39-40 (CEV) say, "We're still alive! We shouldn't complain when we are being punished for our sins. Instead, we should think about the way we are living, and turn back to the Lord." Most of us have heard the song Amazing Grace. Think about the words. "Amazing grace/how sweet the sound/the saved a wretch/like me." A wretch is a miserable, unfortunate, or unhappy person. All of us have been there, and those of us who have accepted Jesus in our lives, know that it was by His grace. There's an old song that says, "Your grace and mercy brought me through. I'm living this moment because of You. I want to thank You, and praise You too. For Your grace and mercy brought me through." Another song says, "Where would I be, if not for Your grace carrying me through every season?" This is personal to me. I know I've done stuff not that long ago, and I mean that, and when I wake up the next morning it's like, "Somebody is praying for me. Thank you God for grace and mercy." So don't take the fact that you're still living after your sins for granted. The reason you're still living, is because God is giving you another chance to turn back to Him. He your savior wants to be, be saved today!!

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson