Beauty is Dangerous 🌹

Heeeey good people and the rest of y'all 😆. Let me stop. Heyyyy others. How y'all doing? I hope you're doing fabulous 💅🏿. Me, I'm chilling, doing and feeling stupendous. (Had to give y'all a different word since it seems like y'all enjoyed “amazing” 😁.) Anywho, what's goodie? I wanted to come and talk about beauty today.

Not vanity. Just beauty. Simply looking good.

In the Bible when you read about the people God favors they are typically described as being beautiful. Attractive. Appealing to the eye. Yet, in Proverbs 16 the word also talks about how God hates those who are conceited. The most interesting stories about beauty that I find in the Bible deal with the wives of the prophets. The story of Abram and Sarai or Isaac and Rebekah.

In both relationships the men were faced with situations where they had to brace themselves when entering into new territory to be possibly killed because of how the Kings would view or desire their wife. In Genesis 12:12-13 & 26:6, both men feared for their life because of how beautiful they were. They both went into new territory portraying themselves as the brother instead of the husband of their wife. All of this was to avoid death behind the beauty of a woman.

Talk about being a prize 🏆.

Beauty is dangerous. There are many different stories in history where beautiful women were the catalyst for some type of destruction. The Bible also reiterating this. There are consequences that follow when you touch those that God favors. Destruction of some sort is usually the cost a person pays. In the story of Abram and Sarai the Egyptians were struck with horrible diseases because of Sarai (Gen 12:17). In the story of Isaac and Rebekah, when Abimelech discovered who Rebekah truly was to Isaac, he warned everyone not to touch either of them or face death. Abimelech knew the consequences he could've suffered had anyone slept with Rebekah (Gen 26:8-11).

There are many different variations of beauty in the world. Yet, there are some people you can't touch because of who they are connected to. Had Sarai and Rebekah been the wives of any other person outside of the prophets that God was using the consequences would've still been there just on a different level. God seems to appreciate beauty in his creations. He just doesn't want us to become conceited in our ways.

Both examples of beauty in the Bible also remind us that covenant is everything.

Shielded in Faithfulness

What uppppp good people and others?! It's been a little minute since I've written a blog but here we are ready to share some love with one another. How have you been? How are you maintaining in these interesting times in the world? Hopefully you're standing strong despite the hardships currently taking place.

I'm not sure about you, but I read the word in relationship. Sounds strange I know. However, in my gaining of understanding, I see the Bible as a love story. 💕 A history of God's love and desires for his people. His love and forgiveness concerning his bride. A father's love and hope that his children would come back home. A God with an open heart for those who are not of his tribe but welcomes them to pasture as well. That's relationship.

In Psalms 91:4, there is a piece of scripture in the ESV Bible that says “His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.”

In the context of relationship…..how often has infidelity made space for the ruin of your union? Infidelity (Adultery) is also the one thing God permits as a reason for divorce in marriage, in covenant (Mat 5:32). Yet, his faithfulness is a shield 🛡️, a protection, for the relationship we have with Christ.

God had me speak on the book of Nehemiah a little while ago. In my studies of Nehemiah being charged to build the wall 🧱 I discovered that a “broken wall” is a reproach to a city (Nehemiah 1:3). Is it not the same for our physical relationships?! 👀 When infidelity enters the chat (😆) or enters the relationship there is an instant “reproach” in that union. The relationship wall has been breached or broken & now it is up to the individuals to decide whether they are going to part ways or spend time repairing or rebuilding the wall that faithfulness once provided them.

Isn't that something?! 🤯

In God's call for us to “Build the wall” he is calling for us to reestablish faithfulness to him. 😆 Yet, in one of the most powerful Psalms we are reminded just how powerful faithfulness is! The full verse for Psalms 91:4 states “He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure. His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.”

How often are people in search of security?! Whether it is in regards to their finances, relationship, career, or community groups?! Everyone wants security. Yet, some of us struggle with the key that will provide it ; faithfulness. How many times can you look back (reflect) on your life and see that God has secured you in some form or fashion even in the midst of your unfaithfulness?!

Yet, God's covering “his wings” has faithfully secured us in the midst of our mess. In the midst of our infidelity. Love conquers so many things! Yet, love without faithfulness leaves holes in our shields. Leaves holes in the walls that faithfulness has established around our city.

We can look throughout the Earth and see what hate has done. Hate brings destruction, jealousy and envy. All which bring about murder. Yet, love with faithfulness, brings about a strong fortress. A strong wall.

When unfaithfulness ruins a thing, it takes time to rebuild the wall. Doesn't always mean it's not worth rebuilding just means that it's going to take time, patience and a solid defense to rebuild it. There are people in this world who don't always desire to see a good thing reestablished. But when the love is strong enough it's worth fighting for to rebuild. Just like the example in the book of Nehemiah.

God's love for us is faithful and despite our infidelity with him, he has shown us countless times that we are worth fighting for. How much more can we show him the same thing?! God desires for us to come home. Will you come?! Will you help rebuild the wall? Will you fight to reestablish a “good thing”?

Y'all be easy. Love ya. Later.

Stay vigilant. Stay prayed up.

-Shya

We take his Love for granted 😞

Kinda bittersweet acknowledgement. So no typical greeting today. Just somber truths and hard pills to swallow. I do hope you're well but let's get into this message.

We take God's love for granted ❤️‍🩹.

We want to be loved without loving God in his love language. We want him to accept us as we are, in our mess, but don't want to change to strengthen the relationship. We change ourselves daily for worldly acceptance, jobs, and community. Yet, we fight with God when it comes to changing our nature.

We want his love without giving love in return 🫠. Then we turn around and wonder why the relationship keeps failing. Why the person we truly love won't love us back. We want to love him how we want to without taking heed to how he desires to be loved.

Of course it won't work like that. We have to be open to change. To sacrifice. To grow deeper in connection. To be vulnerable with our scars. To fight to make things last. To maintain fresh oil in the relationship.

But a lot of people today STILL just want the image of something good without actually being good. His requirements for relationship with us are simple. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) And the simplest way to keep them is by loving your neighbor. Yet, we feed and fan drama instead of exalting examples of love.

Thankfully, the solution is simple….turn back to God he's been calling us home.

God wants us faithful like anybody would in a relationship. The book of Nehemiah 1:8-9 states it this way “Remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshipped.”

Have you stepped out on your relationship with God?! Thankfully, he's a loving and forgiving partner. He just wants you to come home. You can work out all the kinks when you get there. His grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)!

Return back to the Father. Repent of your sins. Let him love you. Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).

Love ya. Later.

Shya

The Wrong Vine brings Death…

What up, what up good people and others?! How has your week been progressing? Hopefully smoothly 👀. Mine has been interesting but not in a bad way. Just a few stretching exercises taking place. ALL for my good though 😆.

I wanted to come share some juice I received from the word. Grab your Bibles and turn to 2 Ki 4:38-41.

In this chunk of scripture we see how eating from the wrong vine brings death 💀. Elisha had returned to Gilgal while there was a famine in the region. He decided that he would feed the prophets who had met up with him. So he sends out a servant to fetch some ingredients to cook. Little did Elisha know that his servant picked items from a “wild vine”. Verse 39 states “One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of it's gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.”

When we read further into verse 40 we see the men crying out because there was death in the pot. 🤯 Interesting, even death has a taste and can feed you. Thank God the prophets had there senses fine tuned and were able to perceive the taste. They had no knowledge of what the servant had gathered , nor where the servant had gathered from, yet they knew it didn't give life. They knew it was not the proper thing to eat.

After they cried out Elisha quickly resolves the situation with “meal” or “flour” and they were able to eat with no issue from the very same pot.

What I took away from this is that when we are properly connected to the true vine, as John 15:1 mentions being Christ, we know when we are eating something that brings life vs death. Both vines are able to produce a meal for you but only one will bring you nourishment.

Good people and others y'all have an amazing day. I'll chat ya some other time.

Love ya. Later.

Shya