Tag Archives: Christianity

God Understands My Heart

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“God understands my heart” is a frequent response of Christians who have done something that would be displeasing to God: gambling so they can tithe; drinking to cope with problem kids; or having sex outside of marriage because they’re lonely. God understands my heart. And, yes, He does. He understands that we do what we don’t want to do (Romans 7:15), that we will fall if we don’t take heed to his word (1 Corinthians 10:12 & Galatians 6:1), that we need the Holy Spirit so we won’t fall prey to our own desires (Galatians 5:16). He understands our heart and does extend grace (Romans 5:20). This grace is for those who struggle with wrong and truly want to do right, and it is even for those who have no qualms about sinning (Matthew 5:45). But be warned: those who don’t fear God will not only cause people to shun Christianity but will also cause God’s wrath to fall upon them who disregard His standards in favor of their own. These are people who willfully sin because “God knows my heart.”

Yes, God knows our hearts and understands whether our actions proceed from a pure one or not: Jeremiah 17:9 says our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked, and then asks “Who can know it?” Verse 10 answers that God knows our hearts. Because God knows our hearts, Isaiah 5:20 warns, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” So while God extends grace to 1) those who know to do right and do; 2) those who know to do right and don’t; and 3) those who don’t know to do right and don’t, there will come a time when the grace runs out. “Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:9). God’s not just going to keep letting you willfully sin—disrespect Him, not fear Him. He extends grace because He wants to give you time to make a change (2 Peter 3:9).

I know I was heavy-handed on the scriptures this time, but I think a lot of times we make statements like “God understands my heart” and we don’t understand God’s word enough to really have a biblical basis for our comments. Sure, the God we may have created in our minds may understand our hearts the way we want him to, but not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the God we must understand. This is the God we must follow. This is the God we must fear. All else is man-made conjuring and has no place in true Christianity.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Understand God Fearing

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“I am not a Christian but I am a follower of Jesus Christ.” “I don’t like organized religion, but I believe in Jesus Christ.” “I don’t go to church because Christians are hypocrites.” “I get more love from my friends in the world than the people in the church.” No doubt you have heard many of these statements; you may have said them yourself. Each of them makes an indictment against those who call themselves Christians. These folks are saying that the title Christian, the spiritual movement of Christianity and the people that call themselves Christians don’t represent a God that they would want to serve. If Christians and Christianity is all about what I see, then I don’t want no part of it, they say. I believe that people who are open to Jesus Christ and not His people or institution are that way because too many Christians don’t fear God.

Remember, to fear God means that you don’t seek to gratify yourself but you seek to please God on His terms. Too many of us satisfy ourselves and mar the title Christian and the Christianity movement where people can’t see lives radically different from non-Christians, especially those who don’t claim any religion at all. The book of Judges, particularly chapters 17 and 21, talks about the Israelites not having a king to rule them. During these times the king was theocratic, representing the rule of God, so when there was no king, there was no representation of God present so “(e)veryone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). This lack of God ruling in their lives caused them to worship idols, disrespect and abuse spouses, become proud, and do other things that you would only expect from those not believing in God. Our not fearing God is akin to not having a king; there is no rule of God represented in our hearts so we do whatever we want to do. Understand when you don’t fear God, others won’t fear God and have no reason to want to make Jesus Christ Savior and Lord of their lives. Why would they want to bother with what they see as a God whose followers are ungodly? They believe they have a better chance at goodness without a God, or at least the Christian one.

This, Christians, is one reason we must fear God. Our Christian testimony is at stake; souls are at stake and we can no longer be the blame for that. We must fear God and represent that Christ Jesus is worthy to be served even as one calling herself a Christian, even as one participating in Christianity and even as one attending a local church assembly. Christian must be synonymous to God fearing and only we can make that happen.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

God Fearing Vision

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You could have called me a maverick, cause that’s what I was, doing my own thing, saying my own things—whatever came to mind, and I dared anyone to challenge me. This is who I was. I would get drunk on the weekend but walk soberly into church on weekdays and Sundays, not missing a service or special event. Said, “God bless you” and “*%#$ you” during the same time in my life. I was a bag of “mixed nuts,” a term my husband uses for those who curse and bless, who straddle the fence that divides sanctification and self-gratification. I’m not talking about those who do these things and struggle with their patterns. I’m talking about people who are settled in their duality, think it’s ok, as long as they’re giving God His. But it’s not okay. These people are irreverent; they don’t fear God. I didn’t fear God and as I sought God more, I gradually realized that I needed to change.

God fearing, The Proactive Vision: showing respect for God; being concerned how your thoughts and actions may displease Him according to his standards, thus living circumspectly.

God fearing, The Reactive Vision: showing respect for God; being concerned how your thoughts and actions may displease Him according to his standards, thus examining yourself after acting and making adjustments where necessary.

So I believe God’s vision for someone who is God fearing is that she knows God’s expectations and seeks to please Him by proactively fulfilling His expectations and reactively fulfilling them by recognizing her mistakes, making apologies to God and others, and repenting. In short, a God fearing woman doesn’t seek to gratify herself but seeks to please God on His terms. Being God fearing is the basis for all the other characteristics for a strong woman. I would love to hear about how you have walked out your proactive and reactive visions. Give me a holla.

New Vision: The List

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Whatever your calling is in life, I believe God expects a Christian woman who is black to exhibit the following *characteristics:

1. God fearing
2. Holy
3. Non-slanderous
4. Sober
5. Teacher of good things
6. Pure
7. Level headed
8. Domesticated
9. Benevolent
10. Trustworthy
11. Hard worker
12. Nurturer
13. Time prudent
14. Generous
15. Resourceful
16. Helpful
17. Caring
18. Well-groomed
19. Astute with business
20. Wise
21. Kind
22. Good reputation
23. Strong
24. Disciplined
25. Unashamed of cultural heritage
26. Lover of her husband
27. Lover of her children
28. Submissive to her husband

You know I want to know what you think. Respond to this list or submit your own. There is a lot to discuss.
*Characteristics primarily based on Proverbs 31:10-31 and Titus 2:3-5

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Vision, Understanding & Practice

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When I was five I used to play secretary. I would clear my nightstand of the unnecessary contents and replace them with stacks of paper, pencils and pens, and a stapler, write some notes, staple some papers and stack and restack piles of papers. I never became a secretary, though I thought this was the career God had for me. I had a vision that He may have given me (one of my top gifts is administration), but I didn’t understand that the vision was not for me to be a secretary but to use my gift of administration with whatever He gave me to do.

Having vision is important. Without vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). So in order to have direction, not flounder and lead life to the fullest that God has for us, we must have a vision. But this vision must come from Him. As you know, God has given me a vision of who He would have recovering strong black women to be, but I recognize that having a vision is not enough. In order to get from re-imagined to reengineered, there needs to be a paradigm shift. So here is the paradigm for the framework “The Strong Black Woman: Re-imagined and Reengineered”:

Vision: You must be able to see where God wants you to be. What does this woman look like? What does this woman do? Who are her friends? What is her attitude? What are her goals? You must have an image in mind of God’s strong black woman (or God’s woman).

Understandings: This is where I provide the biblical basis for the vision. According to Scripture, why does God want you to look a certain way, do certain things, have certain friends, have a certain attitude, and set certain goals?

Practices: In this area I focus on how-to make the vision come to pass.
I hope you journey with me. And as always, I look forward to your feedback.