Religious Versus Jesus

Religious Versus Jesus

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

It's funny how "Christians" call you super religious

 Just because your life is so focused on Jesus.

 You see, I lost everything that I thought was important to me,

Yet I gained so much more walking into that mysterious door.

 It made me realize that this life ain't truly worth living

 If I'm sitting around thinking 

About my selfish reasons for sinning...

And it ain't truly freedom if I'm still not changed,

 Yet I'm allowing myself to be chained..to sin.

 Really seriously now, ponder what I'm saying.

 What's the point of life if I ain't livin?

 You see, I'm actually glad that I lost everything because now there's nothing in between...

Him and me. 

Nothing holding me back. 

Nothing getting me off track. 

So if this is the definitive for religious and legalistic..

Then your superlatives are wrong,

 Cuz homie, your definitions should be strong.

 I promote being logical, lyrical, and original.

 I don't promote being...

 Heretical

 And a foundation ain't conditioned if it's shaky

And honey, if that's your definition then your definitions are definitely gettin quaky.

Throwback

Throwback

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

#Throwback to a time when

Wrinkles and lines belonged in your clothes

 And when the only thing that you would have blown..is your nose..and dandelions,

 When starting over meant beginning with...A-B-C...

When watch out for that weed meant it was in the middle of grass,

 Not something that you'd see in your boyfriend's hands,

 Pressuring you...

When recess meant you got to go and play your little heart away,

Not when it meant a period of time when activity in a court of law...

Stops. 

Slow down.

 There once was a time when we wished to be older,

But now that the world spun...

And it's gotten colder

Do we wish that we could have taken a nap on mother's shoulders...
Instead we take the world upon our own shoulders...

 And this is why our Heavenly Father...

Tells us to receive the kingdom of God like a little child

Full of life discovering new wonders,

 Innocent, and pure.

(The First Grade)

Destructive Vs. Constructive Criticism

    Have you ever had somebody point out your flaws constantly whether it be your parent, sibling, friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, or husband/wife? That relationship got burdensome and you no longer enjoyed hanging around them; did you? You might be on the receiving end, or maybe you're on the giving end; but I bet that if you think you're the one on the receiving end then you've been on the giving end at least once. Have you ever had someone give you advice that you were so glad that you listened to it? Their words were refreshing to your ears and made you want to be around them more because you knew they cared about you and your well-being as a Christian. You see, there are two types of critics: destructive and constructive. I see so much confusion about this, especially in the Christian "world" in which we should be seeing less of it. Therefore, I would like to shed light on what it looks like to give both.

    Destructive criticism comes off as controlling. The receiving end will feel condemned and as if they can't do anything right. I'm not going to point out anyone in particular here except for myself. My first "serious" relationship in my teenage years I would constantly point out things he was or wasn't doing (whether they were sinful or just because I didn't like whatever it was that he did). I would start arguments unintentionally because I was frustrated and didn't know how to express how I was feeling. This was a result of unrighteously judging what he was doing and what other girls around him were doing, even if I was doing the same thing. It was as if spending so many years internalizing things made it all explode at once causing an even bigger mess than it would have if I had dealt with it right away, in the correct manner, no matter how painful it was. (Matthew 7:1-5 - "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.")

    Constructive criticism comes off as caring. The receiving end will feel convicted and encouraged to do what's right. This past Christmas I was in a situation where I just wanted to help a certain person. I had asked my daddy if I could invite them over for dinner, but then he asked me some questions about the circumstances and the person. After gaining an understanding, he told me gently that I can't trust everybody and though I just want to help people, some will try to take advantage of that. I knew that he cared for me and that he genuinely didn't want to see me get hurt so I listened. A month later I found out that his words rang true. I had made extremely careless decisions back then and I was grateful for that accountability. (Matthew 18:15-17 - "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained a brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be like to you a heathen and a tax collector.")

    Though I didn't sin against my daddy, he still gave me constructive criticism based on my background. He is somebody who knows my heart, know my personality, and somebody who knows me. It's like our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He already knows us from the inside out, and we know as Christians, that God protects us and is for us. We know we truly have a relationship with God and trust Him when is commands look more like love than like rules to us. When we address Him by bringing our problems and flaws to Him we can always count on righteous judgement and on the right advice. It can be another story when it comes to people. We should always discern the intentions behind conversations and questions. Authentication? Bombination? Condemnation? Conviction? Pretension? Reconciliation? We need to keep in mind that the important thing is not that we are more willing to defend "men and women of God", including ourselves, because we're not perfect. The important thing is that we defend God (Jesus) at all costs, even though He doesn't need defending, but who we stick of for first is ultimately a reflection of who we're really trusting in to change us - ourselves, others, or the One true living God?

We Live

We Live

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

We live in a land where consequences for your actions 

Is "persecution",

Telling the truth is 

"Accusation",

And who you are is 

"Speculation" from people who merely read what you write.

We live in a land where "love" is infatuation,

Where a woman's "not" pregnant at conception

Despite its definition,

Where saying sorry is meaningless defiant

"Reparation".

We live in a land where if something's not perfect,

It results in abolition,

Where big boobs, a big butt, and a tiny waist

Is viewed as "perfection",

And where caring about somebody's heart

Is nothing but a preconceived notion.

We live in a land where the world wide web

Is a huge, ugly, steel door for pornographic imaginations,

Where "love" is only a quick and fleeting sensation,

And where relationships have no healthy expectations.

We live in a land where we don't even follow our own constitution,

Where our freedom of speech is conditioned,

Especially if you're a Christian.

We live in a land where the church has become the epitome

Of selfish devotion,

Where helping the needy has really become "stagnation",

And where the church doesn't even know the meaning of Jesus's resurrection. 

We live in a land where very few things see consummation,

Where there's few that actually know the meaning of consecration,

And where so many people quit this walk 

Because of condemnation.

We live in a land where condemnation is confused with conviction,

Where we don't have to work out our salvation,

And where people don't have the encouragement to change

Because of excommunication.

We live in a land where -

Well you get the point.

What is the point of this life..

That we live if not for a greater purpose..

To rise above the status quo..

And put a stop to this.

What is the point if not to reject what we've learned

And accept more of what our Creator knows?

His promise.

The Idolatry Of Ignorance

    God is a God of order. (1 Corinthians 14:33 - "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace..") Therefore, He is also a God of logic. How many of us can say we have a logical rebuttal for the questions we face everyday? I can confidently tell you this from experience; I have found that when my reply is logical I stay at peace. I have found that when I don't know the answer that humility is better than ignorant malarkey. Taking a moment to search out the answer thoroughly is better than assuming and speaking figuratively. So how many of you can say you have studied God's Word? I know I can and I don't say that in a manner of pride and you know why? Because no matter how much you have studied God's Word in your lifetime there will always be more to learn from Him, and often those things will be from the same things you have studied previously.

    I wonder if you're one of the few who do because I am baffled at people's lack of response to this one question that I see many Christians often receive, including me: "If God was a loving God then why does He send people to hell?" I want to clarify the answers for those who would appreciate a better understanding of this by posing some questions myself. Why would a loving God force you to go to heaven when you have chosen the opposite (the one true living God, not falsified images posing as God or idols that take on the form of television, music, books, friends, family, your boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, your phone, work, food, bacon, etc.)? We all are on this earth right now either learning hell's language or heaven's and whatever language we choose to learn and to live will take us to its destination by the path we individually have chosen to walk on. So would God be a God of love if He forced us on that path of faith when we didn't want to be? Simply put, you choose it and you choose the consequence of it. This isn't just for the unbelievers. It's for the believers alike. I am not exempt from this because I often find me writing to myself in my blog posts. Thanks to God, I am no stranger to the things I need to work on.

    Are we truly on the path of faith or are we cruising the freeway doing what we want whenever we want? Can an active follower of Jesus hold anything higher than the Name above all names? No. What we believe is not what we say; it's what we do and what we do and what we live out is a reflection of our thoughts. Whatever consumes most of our time, whatever we think and dream most about is an idol. So I want to encourage you all today to take captive your thoughts for they exceedingly are the root of what's lost. Hide His Word in your heart because everything you do flows from it, everything you think flows from it, and know that you can win by focusing upon the cross. I know some of you may be struggling with unforgiveness, lust, insecurity, fear, self-hatred, hate, bitterness, you name it; we've all been there. Also, we can all overcome by the blood of the Lamb. I encourage you to declare your freedom today by taking captive your thoughts. Use the authority God has given you as a child of the Most High by not letting the devil have control over you anymore and meditate this week on these verses: 2 Corinthians 10:5 - "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," and Philippians 4:8 - "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things." It's going to take training your thoughts, but I promise you that in the end it is so very worth it.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

If you be preachin'

And you be teachin'

And you ain't livin'

You best be leavin'

'Cause they don't need hypocrisy.

This is not a democracy

'Cause right and wrong are declared by the word of my God.

His discipline is more severe than the rod.

Yeah.

He knows your heart,

But continuing in your sin is gonna tear you apart.

Repent

And He'll give you a new start,

But if you keep on seducin'

You'll keep on producin'

Rotten fruit.

Shoot.

Send you further than Beirut.

Truth.

Turn from your trash.

'Cause the day you die your idols ain't gonna last.

Fact.

Your life is screamin' Gucci, Louis, Fendi, Prada..

Whateva.

But your mouth is singin' I got nada.

And then what your speakin' is the truth,

But your life ain't livin' proof.

You know Satan's plan is to deceive ya and lead ya to the gates of hell.

So watch out for these hypocrites for real..

'Cause there's no cutting deals 

When it's all said and done.

And whatcha gonna say?

I was just livin' for fun.

Dead To Sin

Dead To Sin

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

Here's my story;

A heart so filled with worry.

Riding dirty every day 

Whether sunny or dreary,

Flickin' that middle finger up in a hurry.

Learning gas pedal to the metal

Never earned us a gold medal.

I was running backwards

Trippin' on my vico,

Doing psycho.

I never got caught by the po po.

Yet I felt so low

Only focusing on my dough 

And why those guys wanted to hurt me.

Little did I know;
God could make me worthy.

No, I ain't talkin' for them.

The man I'm talkin' about was Him.

But with Jesus faith is a must.

Faith like a mustard seed says the Bible I read,

Freed,
'Cause before I was in the wrong race.

Back it up before I pop you.

Give me my space.

Clenchin' fists,

Throwin' hits till someone,
 Make me walk away.

After all these years
I got to the right place.

Finally in the running of a true race.

Watchin' for the boss and

When He's coming back.

Believin' He give me everythin'
I need and lack.

Havin' one foot in
Will just keep me stumblin' back.

Then He'd rather have me just step back.

Not 'cause He doesn't want me.

You see it's if I want Him.

He wants me getting brighter, not growin' dim.

Advancin' the kingdom by sharin' Him.
But I ain't here to try to persuade you

Or to try and sway you away with whim.

No, this is serious.

God brought me joy,

Delirious
'Cause I found His

Love so intoxicatin'

And now you find me lovin' the ones who hurt me,

Yeah, the ones who are hatin'.

I'm just statin',

I ain't baitin'.

But nothing's gonna shut me up from speakin' the truth.

'Cause I used to be datin' sin.

Now I'm waitin' like Ruth.

I'm gonna show Him

I'm a Proverbs 31 woman 

And I ain't foolin' with this sin.

That's 'cause Christ died on the cross for all of them.

I'll continue livin' right,

Walkin' by faith and not by sight
Till I die.

Why?

Like I said it was for my sins that He died.

Now He lives again and I glorify.

I ain't livin' high on those pills

All 'cause after Christ I found what was real.

Crucify My Flesh

Crucify My Flesh

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

MmMm, I don't play games.

I live for Christ unashamed.

He blessed me with discernment.

There's no foolin 'round with this chick.

All or nothing?

My all is the call.

So why would I trade Him in for the world,

trade a pearl in for a meal?

And what's the deal with all these people

Going around calling themselves Christians

Only 'cause they hide under a steeple?

That will just make them weaker,

Living in pride.

That's why I stick with learning to be meeker,

Suicide.

Crucify my flesh.

Going hard for Christ and no less.

Modest in my dress and representing purity.

After all wasn't that who Christ was supposed to be?

Well I'll tell you He always was, will, and will be.

But the lukewarm who call themselves Christians make it look like hypocrisy.

In fact they're not Christians at all.

They playing a game, baseball.

Their relationships are creepin from first base all the way to home plate.

When the Word says home plate is to be sanctified.

Saved for marriage,

But we've got girls calling themselves Christians.

They spillin over their cleavage

Instead of spilling out the Holy Spirit.

But that's why I'm in it

Now,

I've never been gratified from the lies of the enemy.

That's why I keep choosing to look to Christ for who I'm supposed to be.

I don't do the stuff I did before, look at pornography.

'Cause I'm no longer bonded in my sin.

I've been set free.

And my passion is to help these young ones along,

To teach them what God's word says is right and what's wrong.

I'm not in it for the glory

And if you've heard the story,

My God is greater than your idols.
They just inventory.

Made To Be Courageous!

Made To Be Courageous

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

I chose to lose selfish and do selfless

Because that's the only way I'm livin like #Jesus.

I've been strivin to be righteous though I know I fall short.

Being courageous is contagious and He's my escort.

'Cause without Him I'd be a victim of my own sin.

Yet He changed me and now I speak of what He did.

I told them without Him I'd be living dead.

They crinkled their noses and just shook their heads.

But listen up as I explain my sustainer,

He heals our pain and bleaches the stain of us sinners.

He's had my back, the only one who can cover black with red

All because He rose from the dead to make us white and pure.

He told me to fight the good fight, taught me to endure.

He said if I persevere I would produce character.

Preached against unforgiveness that had only made me bitter.

He taught me how to love right,

 To shine His light so bright.

He gave me hope when I thought all hope was lost

And all because He, blameless, paid the cost.

I tell you it should have been me on that cross.

But what a failure I would have been.

Yet He still came to a sinful earth in the form of a man

To save all humanity.

You may be thinking what I'm preaching is insanity.

But I tell you right now what would you do if you were in my shoes,

Changed and made completely new?

Well let me tell you to me it doesn't matter.

Because it's not men whom I've come to flatter.

I've come to you tell the truth,

Show you that I am living proof

Of a life that has been completely changed,

Rearranged to glorify Him.

I've come to breathe a warning

That sin leads to death, no breath.

Crowds in an uproar to crucify,

Little did they know it was for them that He would die.

It was in Him that they'd be free.

And little did they know that Pilate's decree

Would end up bringing Him glory.

So why should I stay silent when you're all mocking me and saying God is a tyrant,

When you don't even know Him?

You think your "dim" is right because that's all you've ever known.

You think staying right where you are is alright because you've never grown.

Let me tell you I've been on both ends

And there is no way I'm ever living without Him again.

So mock me if you must

That's alright because I'm living free from disgust

of my former lustful life.

Living pure and holy and solely for my savior, Christ.

New Creation

New Creation

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

They'd call me little miss goody two shoes.

Little did they know I was wearing two shoes

Pulling me in separate directions,

One, the way of correction, protection

The other a way of defection.

When did the ways of the fool ever become cool?
When did this get to me, a duet consisting of sin and me?
I ignored the debt that was paid for me.
I let them push me, peer pressured and they used me.
Those ways never pleased me, appeased me, freed me.

Those were the ways of the men that chained me up.
They always gave me an empty cup,
Never fulfilled my thirst.
I was cursed.
Yet in His grace I had been immersed.
Through Him I have found freedom
By what I have become in Him.

I am saved by grace,
The old has been replaced
Through faith.
I am a new creation.
He has lifted my burden.
He has ended this famine.
He has given me joy to spread to all nations.
Through only Him I am a new creation.

Covered By The Blood

Covered By The Blood

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

Pitter patter of the rain on my window

Reminding me of the weight lifted off of my shoulders,

He is the holder of my heart.

How Great Thou Art.

The sound of the rain

Reminding me of the heart He made whole,

That very hole in this heart once void,

That very heart that was once destroyed,

toyed, and messed with.

He was the one who did best with it.

As I sit here under this window pane

Reminding me of the pain I felt and

dealt with I'm overjoyed with knowing

I've been covered by the Blood of the Lamb.

No longer damned to the outside world

or that very corner I had once sat,

 Curled up.

He forgave my mess ups.
I will worship that

I've been covered by the Blood of the Lamb.

Amen.