Jerks & Jesus

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there are jerks on the prowl. Don't judge me, you know you've called people much worse. I guess I have been quite fortunate to not have encountered a genuine jerk in a while but tonight, as my car was run off the road by one, I was reminded that they still live among us. Sometimes they roam in packs seeking unsuspecting prey at the mall and other times they stand as solo sour pusses waiting for the opportunity to share their hostile attitude at work. While there are several things that I, and I'm sure you, would like to say to these jerks as we encounter them in our daily lives there is one thing that we must keep in mind. We are designed to represent Jesus in all that we say and do. As a result we must choose to "opt out" of responses that don't do justice to His Name.

As I sat for a moment on the side of the road and put my car in reverse to continue my commute home my first thoughts were not "Jesus bless them", to be more honest they were more like "Come on Jesus...". However, as I began to think about the best way to respond to the situation as a follower of Christ (even though they were long gone due to his failure to stop, which helped to solidify my hypothesis that I was dealing with a genuine jerk) I considered what the Bible says about how to handle hostile people. The Bible is clear that we must love our enemies and pray for them (Matt. 5:44) so in the midst of my frustration, after a few moments I found myself praying for them. I prayed that they would receive grace. I prayed that God would ignite an unselfishness in their heart (and mine). I prayed that they would develop a deep seeded compassion and love for others. For this jerk I prayed, and that is not an attempt to say that I am more spiritual or righteous than them because the more I prayed the more I remembered that Jessie needs Jesus just as much as that jerk does. So the next time you encounter a jerk show them Jesus, and remember that you freely receive love & grace from Him so they should freely receive the same from you.

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Buyers Remorse

A few months ago I had the urge to turn away from my beloved Blackberry to find comfort in the arms of an HTC Hero. I used to love my Blackberry and cherish the moments where I could sit and play with the various apps or find something new about it's many features but somehow after having it for two years something about it just seemed...old. All of a sudden I was no longer impressed by how it would instantly allow me to receive my emails. It was no longer fascinating that it had a full featured qwerty keyboard that made text messaging a snap. I had lost the desire to enjoy all that it had to offer not because it was bad or because it no longer held value but because I just wanted something new and behold... In walks the shiny new HTC Hero. I'll be the first to say that things with the Hero started out great. I could change the scenes so that the screen was nicer to look at than my "old" Blackberry. I could set up the contacts so that I could see Facebook status updates right from the contacts rather than having to go through Facebook...my Blackberry never did that. Everything was going great until I realized that this Hero sure uses alot of power so I couldn't stay far from a charger for long. Then I also noticed that the touch screen that I had once marveled at had become a nuisance because it made text messaging a chore. All of a sudden what I thought would be a benefit had become a burden and I was experiencing a bad case of buyers remorse.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever just wanted a change? Have you ever just wanted to change jobs, cities, relationships, or spouses simply because what had once been intriguing has now become the norm. Let me suggest to you, before you make the change and possibly run into a steaming pile of buyers remorse, that what you need may not be a change in the sense that you think. What you may need is to simply change the way you see what you're seeking to exchange. Take my experience for instance; Had I looked at my Blackberry through the eyes of thankfulness I would never have given it up. It was never perfect but had I counted the many ways in which it enhanced my productivity and added to my ministry I probably would have hesitated to make the change. Oh well, there's no crying over spilled milk here. Once I realized that I had made a HUGE mistake I had my Blackberry repaired and returned with a new thankfulness for this old thing. I pray that you would do the same BEFORE you make an unnecessary change. Before you make a shift in your marriage, ministry, career, etc. count the cost and consider what you may be giving up in an effort to get ahead. You may discover that what you initially believed would bring relief would eventually have brought remorse.

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Technical Difficulties

The screen goes blank. The program won't start. The video won't upload. What in the world is going on? You, my friend, are experiencing technical difficulties which is always a possibility when working with technology. You may avoid some issues. You may enjoy times where things run smoothly but there will be times where things just don't work. I experienced this over the course of this past weekend. I intended to spend an evening productively editing videos and BANG!!! I ran right into a ditch full of technical difficulties. First, my computer wouldn't read the disc. Second, an "update" took 8 hours only to freeze my computer until I allowed it to revert back to how is was before.Third, I ran into some challenges while attempting to upload this week's motivation at www.youtube.com/jessjenn3 (PLUG! PLUG!). As I reflected on the recent happenings I realized that this is always a possibility when walking through life. Not just my life...life in general because all of us will encounter moments where things just don't seem to be working the way we would like. Seemingly out of nowhere we all can run into a series of technical difficulties and these experiences, while inconvenient and often frustrating, are all a part of this journey called life.
Sure, your difficulties may be different than mine but I'm sure you've encountered some through out your life. Perhaps a relationship ended. That's difficult. Maybe a employer let you go or refused to let you on. That's difficult. Maybe a goal fell through, a loved one passed away, or your car is falling apart. These situations can be difficult to face because many times they happen when you don't expect them to and you're faced with a decision to either get angry and bitter because of the difficulty, or to allow the difficult circumstance to make you better. I have chosen to step back and develop a strategy of how I can overcome the recent difficulties that I have come across and I challenge you to do the same. Whether it is grief, loss, discouragement, disappointment, worry, fear, anger, or doubt that's trying to take root in your heart as a result of your "technical difficulties", develop a biblical plan to address the situation. I say biblical because I want to be sure that it will work for you. Then begin to confess that your present difficulty is not your final destination...as the television stations used to say, "Please stand by, we are experiencing technical difficulties." The reason they say to stand by is because they expect the situation to change so you don't need to change the station, you just need to patiently stand by to see a change in the situation.

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Who do you love most? (PHI NU PI)

Today I had the experience of achieving a goal that I began working toward nearly 10 years ago. This weekend as I was inducted in to my Fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, I saw the accomplishment of a dream that has had it's ups and downs but has remained fixed on my mind and in my heart. The journey to this point has been filled with multitasking and productivity but now I sit and peck away at this computer with the opportunity to pause and reflect on all that has transpired along the way. In the stillness of the night I am faced with an interesting question that I believe may be from God..."Who do you love most?" I can say without question that I love Kappa Alpha Psi, I can say that I have love for those whom I have bonded with and developed strong brotherly connections that will (Lord willing) last a lifetime; however, I would not be so foolish to say that I love these things the most. While I love Kappa Alpha Psi, I must admit that I love Jesus Christ the MOST. I pray that all of those who have crossed over this semester with me feel the same. Tomorrow morning we will go to our respective churches and many will see palm leaves scattered about the worship centers...while these hold no meaning for the fraternity they hold a tremendous meaning for eternity for they represent the beginning of the week 2000 years ago when Christ decided to "cross"-over on our behalf so that we may enjoy the newness of life. As my brothers and I enjoy all that this fraternity life has to offer I pray that each of us would have the spiritual fortitude to give the same answer when asked, "Who do you love most?". Let our answer be JESUS! He is the person that makes Phi Nu Pi possible...let us never forget.
-Jessie J. Jennings III, The Memphis (TN) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi

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Managing Life in a Miserable Marriage

As I serve in ministry trying to help people to live the best life that they possibly can through Christ, one of the challenges that I have found facing many is the question of how to manage life while experiencing a miserable marriage. I'll admit that living in a hostile environment can have a way of sapping the enthusiasm out of you like joining the positive and negative posts of a car battery but I'd like to submit to you that there are ways to rise above any circumstance. When we think of experiencing "New Life" we tend to think that we'll attain a position in life where all of the hang-ups, and frustrations of our lives will be removed and as such our life will be made new but this is not entirely the case. When we experience new life in Christ on some occasions the frustrations that we experienced before will not change at all but we will change how respond to those frustrations because we will be new. We will have a new attitude, a new demeanor, a new way of handling the things that used to destroy our days, months and years.

As you embark on transforming your life let me suggest that you keep the focus where it needs to be...on God.If you're experiencing a particulary difficult marriage you must remember that your actions are not determined by another person so if your spouse is quarlsome that doesn't give you the right to be quarlsome as well; both will have to stand before God and give an account for their actions so be sure that you don't let your anger, frustration or resentment cause you to focus more on your spouse than you do on God. That, my friend, is idolotry (perhaps "spousiolotry?") and it should not have any place in your new life. if you put things into the proper perspective (God=> spouse=> etc) you will find that although you may be living in a miserable marriage you have the peace and grace to fulfil your purpose even in the midst of difficulty because the bible says that God will keep you in perfect peace if you keep your mind on Him. If you are living without peace, chances are you've stopped focusing on how mighty God is and have begun to focus on how miserable your marriage is.

A marriage is a life-time commitment of fidelity and trust so you must discard any thoughts of divorce or infidelity. Instead, choose to put the marriage where it needs to be... beneath the throne of God. Pray about it and practice your faith in it but DO NOT allow it to be the primary focus of your life. This was not God's intention or design for marriage and if you take it out of this context you are expecting marriage to serve a purpose for which it was not designed. You will not be judged by how your spouse treated you, you will not be judges by how happy you kept them in all situations, the only question that is of any consequence is, "Have you kept your oath of commitment?" Have you protected them? Have you honored them? Have you kept yourself only to them? If so, congrats on a job well done. You may be miserable for the moment but if you'll keep God as the priority and practice your faith in the relationship whether or not they reciprocate or are satisfied you have kept your end of the bargain and I believe that the peace of God can cover your heart as nothing else can. This will help you to avoid the pit of depression and help you to soar toward success even when you lack the support of a loving spouse. That way if God changes their heart and things improve you'll accept the blessing with humble gratitude but if this does not occur you will not have forfeited your destiny based on your feelings because you will have learned how to manage life in a miserable marriage focusing on the faithfulness of your maker. Say amen church!-Amen

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