Tag: bible

Little Bitty

Ericka Clay1 Comment

There’s an Alan Jackson song that features these lyrics:

“Well, it’s alright to be little bitty
A little hometown or big old city
Might as well share, might as well smile 🎼
Life goes on for a little bitty while”

When I was a kid, I enjoyed the tune but found the lyrics to be atrocious.

I wasn’t going to be small. I was going to break out of Arkansas and become a best selling author who lived somewhere grand, maybe NYC.

God had other plans. Thankfully.

I’m understanding the value of small. Of how little moments measure up to be so much more than a big house, fast car, a little nip here, a little tuck there. Those things aren’t inherently evil. But when we make them idols, they take on a whole new life, or better yet, an entity that’s absolutely devoid of it.

Christ knew the value of small. He worked with only twelve disciples who all had their faults, not a million subscribers patting him on the back. He valued getting close to people, truly knowing them, and allowing them to reveal their hearts.

He worked against the idea of Babel, the insidiousness that infiltrates when people put more stock in themselves than in the absolute sovereignty of God.

Christ knew the value of a mustard seed. Of how the greatest things come from the tiniest of truths.

#sundaywisdom #sundayfunday #fourthofjuly #jesussaves #Godfirst #microblog #potd #gingham #writerslife #writingcommunity #amwriting #writersofinstagram #bloggersofinstagram

 

Choose Jesus, Not Religion

Ericka ClayLeave a comment

I watched a #youtube video the other day about a woman who left the Mormon church and how she was now helping others do the same as a trained therapist.

That didn’t bother me because Mormonism is lost on several biblical truths (as are a ton of so-called Christian religions who place tradition over God’s word).

What bothered me is that she equates Mormonism with following Christ, and therefore, decided to nix the whole thing altogether.

I get she was never a follower in the first place. If she were, she would have kept her bond with Christ, easily removing the shackles of a religion that kept her bound and removed from fully growing in His love.

How many others are there that equate a specific domination as the only door to Christ?

Tons probably. I was one of them.

It’s easy to listen to what the world wants you to believe. And it’s easy to be ingrained with false truth perverted by sinful man.

But what’s even easier, you guys, is keeping your eyes on Jesus.

Period.

Jesus is beyond the little religious boxes we attempt to trap Him in.

He is the King of the universe. We are not.

And unless and until we all acknowledge that, then the Christian Church will forever be splintered and fragmented, a sharp-edged mirror that won’t reflect God’s truth and will cut the hand of anyone trying to get near it.

I understand why so many people don’t want to know Jesus.

It’s because so many people who claim to be His followers don’t know Him in the first place.

#readyourbible #scripturefirst #wednesdaywisdom #jesusnotreligion #savethechurch #mormonism #falsreligion #christiansofinstagram

 

The Art of Listening

Ericka ClayLeave a comment

I love a good meme.

And I also don’t.

I forget how beautifully quiet the world is when I’m not on Facebook. I forget how God made me to be a listener, not a sponge for other people’s thoughts and opinions.

I get back on sometimes because I mistakenly believe I have to be a “normal” person (or a “normie” as I like to call them). I have to scroll and read and like so I can remind myself that I have friends.

But I don’t have to do any of that. I can be a friend by sacrificing my time and offering an ear, one-on-one.

And I don’t have to post it to prove it.

I don’t have to subject myself to the degradation of others. I don’t have to subject myself to the onslaught of noise.

I am in control of what I want to absorb. And if it’s not Christ-like, what good does it to know it? To hold it in my heart?

Because if I’m not on the ready to receive God’s word, I might just blink and miss it.

And no meme in the world is worth something like that.

None, whatsoever.

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 11:15

#facebookhiatus

Distant but Social

Ericka Clay2 Comments

A few weeks ago, I socialized.

Distantly.

It was much needed. A few friends (under 10) and I got together a healthy six feet apart in our church parking lot and talked.

T-A-L-K-E-D.

This post is about how I’m horrible at talking in groups.

Like, HORRIBLE. It’s a tennis match for me, and I feel like I’m constantly dodging tennis balls, trying to find the right moment to speak up.

Because here’s the thing: I don’t even want to say anything. I like listening to my friends. I like making mental checklists of what everyone’s going through so I can pray about everything later.

But it would be really weird if I just showed up, smiled and kept nodding at everyone.

Or maybe not. Can I do that?

No.

Okay, fine.

But the REAL point of this post isn’t about how horrible I am at talking.

The REAL point, no scratch that, POINTS, are these:

1. My friends are some of the most grace-filled people I’ve ever met. And that’s pretty evident considering they keep inviting me to things even though I probably wear a pained a expression most of the time, concentrating on when to say anything halfway coherent.

2. The Holy Spirit is real. God is real. Which is evident by the hope I have in my heart driving me to be social (distantly, in this case) when I’m a natural introvert who loathes the concept of other people. You should have met me when I was an atheist. I was a real charmer.

3. I won’t give up. This a different side of myself from the person I used to be. The old me would have just said “Never mind!” and driven back home before I even got to the parking lot. But I’ve been determined to grow and challenge myself because God doesn’t want me to be stagnant.

I’ll still learning. I’m still putting my foot in my mouth and starting sentences I never finish because I’m not great at using my “outside voice” (the concept of which makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit). But I’m not going to let Satan tell me I’m not good enough to have friends. To be loved. To give and receive mutual respect.

I need to be there for them. And I need them to be there for me.

#blogpost #socialdistancing

Bury Those Forks

Ericka Clay3 Comments

Job’s friends are the worst.

They’re slowly sticking a fork into his side in an attempt to “comfort” him.

Here’s a man who’s lost everything. His children, his home, his health. Even his wife tells him to curse God and die.

I relate to Job. But I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t relate to his friends.

Remember my sin, vanity? (https://www.facebook.com/groups/erickawrites/permalink/501393474138910/)

Well, meet my other sin, envy.

I am not good at not being jealous.

I will say I am A LOT better at it than I used to be. But there are still those dark spots in my heart that try to eat it from the inside out.

God has shown me with my skin issues that I’m not less than when I don’t look like perfection. And he’s showing me now that where I am at this moment in my life doesn’t define who I am either.

It’s not about other people and what they’ve accomplished. Because, like the book of Job points out, sometimes God leaves people to their own devices and lets them succeed at their own hands.

And that thought, my friends, is terrifying.

Think about it: God has left them utterly alone to amass wealth and titles and all sorts of goodies and there they go patting themselves on their backs none the wiser.

They’ve never given God the opportunity to circle their sin and bring their attention to it. They’ve never attempted to redefine who they are in Christ and forget the ways of this world.

What do you think will happen to them when they die?

A brand new Mercedes is nice, man, but it ain’t gonna save your soul.

However, not everyone who is blessed with wealth is walking this path. Think of Joseph of Aramathea. He gave his own tomb to Jesus.

Now there’s a man who truly got it.

So the point is this: the health of your heart (not your bank account) totally correlates to your journey to heaven.

If there’s darkness there, sin that’s eating it away, then there’s no room to grow in Jesus.

This is something I have to be mindful of from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. I am not my circumstances or my accomplishments or the lack thereof.

I am the heart I offer to Christ.

And if it’s dark, if it’s intent on my own success at the expense of everything else, then it’s not the gift I want to offer.

“Though He slay me, yet will I hope in him…” (Job 13:15)

#newblog #bibleverse

I Don’t Do It for the Friendships

Ericka ClayLeave a comment

Sometimes, I don’t want to talk about Jesus.

There.

I said it.

Not just speaking, not just believing but FOLLOWING Jesus means giving every part of myself.

And because my venue has always been writing and blogging (the latter since 2009, what what), I know this is the platform God’s designed for me.

He wants me to share how He’s working in my life with others online, even if I know there’s probably been more than one virtual eye roll my direction because of it.

Sometimes, I just want to be normal.

Not that there’s a real, absolute definition of normal. But you get what I mean.
Sometimes, I wish I could just show up with perfectly colored hair, a new Louis Vuitton on my shoulder, and conversation that doesn’t go too far beyond the color of my brand new Mercedes.

And don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking anyone for their life choices.

I’m knocking me for wanting the very same ones when I already know God didn’t wire me that way.

So what’s a girl to do?

Lay it down.

I have to lay it all down at Jesus’s feet. Because every day I’m realizing more and more that what I had in store for me, isn’t what God has ordained.

He wants me broken and powerless.

“Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?” Job 6:13

No. I can’t help myself. Only God can.

And friendless or no, there’s too much beauty in that to ignore.

#Jesus #purpose #blogpost

My Corona Virus Game Plan

Ericka ClayLeave a comment

Things are different.

And I’m not scared.

I’ve always been good with change. We used to move around a lot and it got to the point that I craved it.

In fact, I sometimes get bored sitting here in one place.

And since five years ago, since those evenings when I was locked tight and couldn’t move in bed, and I could literally see what hell will be like (ask me about my testimony some time. It’s a real trip), I haven’t worried about God’s decisions.

Right now? I’m sitting quietly, softly applauding Him.

Fear is a curious thing. It likes to act like it’s own animal that’s bigger and stronger than you.

When in reality, it’s just a cockroach under your shoe.

Because when it comes down it, the fear of God is the only fear worth harboring.

I had to learn that. I had to train my brain, renew my mind as Paul implores, and realize that I AM EVERYTHING GOD CREATED (Romans 12:2).

I’m not a small part of me. I’m not my fear. I have been equipped to live through this time and any other moment He hands me.

However, for the past two days, I’ve felt lethargic. Tired bordering on depressed. Being the numbskull I am, I had a hard time figuring out why.

Sometimes the enemy’s deception can be a little tricky to figure out.

I realized through prayer, through wrenching my mind and heart out of that particular malaise, that he wants me to crave sleep and complacency.

Because I have time now, my friends, to make a difference in my life and the life of others.

Wouldn’t it be awesome for Satan if he made us feel dull, tired, and afraid?

(Not to mention distracted by a million memes, but I digress).

Here’s what I request:

  • READ YOUR BIBLE. You have the time now. Get to it. Learn what God needs you to know. Here’s the Bible study I’m using: http://www.thebiblerecap.com/start
  • CREATE PRAYER TIME. Prayer is an active endeavor and deserves the respect necessary to take priority in our lives. God DESERVES that respect. Let’s thwart the negativity that can come with a situation like this with hearts crying out to the Almighty.
  • DO SOMETHING GOD IS CALLING YOU TO DO. Ever feel like you were made to do something? That’s how I feel about writing. And by pushing off my talent that God gave me and wants me to use for his purposes is sinning, my friends. Don’t be like I’ve been these past two days. Give God all of you and complete His will.

None of this is easy. I’m not saying that. But God has an incredible way of taking our hands and leading us down the road and somehow, it ends up being far less bumpy than we had ever imagined.

#coronovirus #COVID19