Monthly Archives: February 2017

02.26.17
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Eat From Your Own Plate

Nicole Headshot in blue shirt

Nicole D. Hayes, Founder, Voices Against the Grain

You know those people or you may be one yourself. You go out to eat with your friends and you order a dish that someone else wants to sample. If you’re kind and generous (which I imagine you are), then you’re fine with sharing a few bites from your plate. Ok, so after they’ve sampled a few bites and find your food yummy to their tummy, they begin making a meal off of your plate like it’s their last supper. The meal you’re paying for is soon becoming their meal—for free.  🙂 Now, what I’ve heard some guys say (ladies we tend to be a bit more giving in this area) when this happens is, “Man, get your own plate.” Or, “Eat from your own plate.”

 

sharing-food

 

I use this analogy to encourage those who are eating from someone else’s plate of faith, joy, peace, relationship in Jesus, etc., to be sustained by eating from their own plate of food. A number of believers and unbelievers may desire the peace, strength, joy, confidence, courage and trust in the Lord they see within you or that another mature Christian embodies. Rather than tasting the Lord for themselves to “see that He is good” and taking refuge in Him (Psalm 34:8)—rather than hungering for the Lord and desiring to spend more time alone in His presence, read His Word, fast or retreat to their prayer closets—they want to feed off of your plate and attempt to sustain their journey through what you have obtained in your personal walk with the Lord. In fact, they may be eating from grandmother’s plate—and grandmother has passed on from this life. Grandmother shared godly wisdom that depicted her walk with the Lord and this person is clinging to that wisdom, reciting grandmother’s words without their own assurance of who God is.

Praise God for those whose life and walk in Christ Jesus is attractive to others! That is one of the goals in this walk: that through Christ living in us and our being transformed into His likeness, that others will see it and desire the same. But there is no shortcut to this walk. The joy, the hope, the faith, the strength, the peace and the trust in God they see in you and others comes with a cost, an investment. They want what you have but aren’t willing to do what it takes to be sustained by their own plate.

They don’t know how many hours, days, nights, months and years you’ve travailed in prayer on various matters. They don’t know how many times you’ve battled in spiritual warfare with the enemy who attacks you asleep and awake to scare or hinder you from moving forward. They don’t know how many times God has taken you to…the…edge…whether in health, resources, loss or trials and you had to truly trust Him and His promises. The battles have shown you God’s faithfulness which has developed your joy, peace, and strength.

Many people want the crown but not the cross.

If you are eating off of someone else’s plate, I encourage you to pursue a relationship with Christ Jesus for yourself so that YOU can know Him. That you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is who He says He is and that He will do what he said He will do. He will make you full. You will be able to eat from your own plate.

This writing is not about one’s measure of faith given to us by God as referenced in Romans 12:3 and Romans 14:1-4. Some will have weak faith. Some will eat vegetables while others eat meat. God accepts the weak and the strong. They are His. This writing is to encourage more people to hunger for their own, deeper relationship with the Lord. Today’s tumultuous times and coming days require it. You will need to know God for yourself and that HE is indeed faithful.

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Lord Jesus, you are our Anchor, our Deliverer, our Strength, our Shield, our Refuge, our Rock and our Salvation, our Peace that surpasses all understanding, our Joy, and our everything. May others be so attracted to seeing You in us that they will pursue You for themselves so they too can be made full. Amen.

Love and blessings,

Nicole

Nicole D. Hayes is the founder of Voices Against the Grain, a bold teaching ministry launched in May 2013. Nicole’s purpose in creating Voices Against the Grain is to be light in darkness, to boldly instruct truth amid confusion so as to bring clarity and restoration.

Learn more about Nicole D. Hayes here.

 

02.07.17
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The Apple Didn’t Fall Too Far

Nicole Headshot in blue shirt

Nicole D. Hayes, Founder, Voices Against the Grain

Are you getting spun up? If you are frustrated by the things happening in our world, you are not the only one. However, you may have forgotten or have not understood the factors driving the “chaos.”

“It revolves around the Genesis story and the central fact of the marring of creation by human sin,” writes David K. Ryden in his evangelical perspectives in public policy book, Is the Good Book Good Enough? (2011, Lexington Books).

“Biblical revelation absolutely demands that evangelicals fully come to grips with the fact of a fallen world and accept the pervasive presence of sin and its consequences for all of creation; all that is in the world bears the consequences of that sinfulness, from the individual to governmental institutions and society at large,” writes Ryden.

adam-and-eve

What Does It Mean That Our World and People Are ‘Fallen’?

“But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous (other versions say “upright”), but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29, New Living Translation)


Maybe you forgot or didn’t know that we live in a fallen world. Many blame Adam and Eve for being gullible and enticed by Satan. The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.  Why would your rebellion against God be any different? Yes, this began our ‘fall’ or in short, my and your rebellion against God. The fall represents estrangement from, separation from God; to be at enmity with God; to pull away from God’s will and design for our lives. It represents spiritual and moral degredation. This is in short, sin, and there are consequences to sin.

All creation is paying the price for the original sin of Adam and Eve, which continues to perpetuate lawlessness, confusion, strife, rebellion, and brokenness in our world. Christ came to restore us to a right relationship with God. Repentance and turning away from sin and turning to God to seek His will and ways through a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ is how we begin that redeeming and restorative process. For a topline overview on the fall, read here.

This fact and in all that we do should draw us to recognize our own sinfulness and that of others and the limitations of justice and peace that can be acquired through human efforts. This is indeed why Christ Jesus came for our redemption. Human pursuits of justice even in our best intentions will always fall short of the measurement of what Christ will do through repentant hearts.

The Pervasiveness of Sin: From Individuals to Institutions

Don’t be fooled. Sin has found its way into every heart, every home, and every institution of society. “Sinfulness does not somehow melt away when we move from one individual to a government bureaucracy or institution,” says Ryden. “If anything, it is likely to be magnified. The corrosive effect of sinfulness amplified by power is as evident in the workings of institutions as it is individually. A healthy appreciation for the consequences of sin should generate a measure of skepticism as to what politics and government can accomplish.”

While government is an institution ordained by God to establish a well-ordered society, it is fallen, as are other institutions. It is operated by and made up of sinful humans. It is in this that Christians should have an appreciation for government while understanding that only the perfection and fullness of justice, morality, and righteousness will be attained through God’s new Kingdom coming.

Many people are seeking a “messiah” in other people or worldly institutions to fix what is happening. Then they become frustrated when the wrongdoings continue to perpetuate.

“The world’s truly inconvenient truth is the Gospel,” says Ryden. “Its narrative of creation, fall and redemption suggests that inconveniently, things are not in our control. Inconveniently, the Gospel requires us to place hope not in ourselves.” We are to place our hope in Christ Jesus, the only Messiah.

coming-kingdom-of-god

What We Can Do 

It’s good to be discontent with the status quo. But don’t get spun up in what is happening, for this world is not our home. All that is happening is fulfilling God’s purposes as we look to our eternal home with Him.

In these times of swift transitions, it is my prayer that Believers remain steady in Christ’s perfect peace (John 14:27, John 16:33) and keep our focus on Christ (Isaiah 26:3). May we continue to be transformed into Christ’s likeness and thereby share His light, love, and truth with others. Pray for rebellious hearts to be repentant and transformed by His Love. Pray for God’s Kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). May we be the answer to that prayer in how He desires to use us to restore justice, morality, and righteousness.

God bless you and stay staunch,

Nicole

Nicole D. Hayes is the founder of Voices Against the Grain, a bold teaching ministry launched in May 2013. Nicole’s purpose in creating Voices Against the Grain is to be light in darkness, to boldly instruct truth amid confusion so as to bring clarity and restoration.

Learn more about Nicole D. Hayes here.