Kinite McCrae's Blog, page 3

A Heart to Give

In 2 Samuel 7, King David was in a season of rest from war and battling His enemies (2 Sam 7:1), and he began to think of the goodness of God and consider all that God had done and given him and he desired in his heart to GIVE something back to God, or to do something great for Him. So, he shared with the Prophet Nathan that since he lived in such a luxurious house (made of cedar – the finest building material of its day), it wasn’t fit that the Ark of God dwelt in a tent. Therefore, David decided he would build a fine house for the Ark of God. However, God spoke to the Prophet Nathan and told him to tell David, “Will you build a house for Me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel saying, “Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?” Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: … the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.” (to read in full see 2 Samuel 7:4-11) So, let me sum this up, basically David was feeling grateful, which prompted him to want to give or do something for the Lord. Which brings me to my first points: Our success should always cause us to be HUMBLE not HAUGHTY. Humility gives birth to gratitude. Our success should always cause us to want to do MORE FOR GOD, NOT GET MORE FROM GOD. Now, sometimes in our most sincere efforts to do good, we forget to talk to God about our plans. However, we need to talk to God about everything. Why? Because just because it’s a GOOD IDEA, doesn’t mean it’s a GOD IDEA. And to continue to do what YOU want to do, instead of what GOD wants you to do, is the quickest way to go from HUMBLE to PRIDEFUL!! So, David, shared his intent with the man of God (the Prophet Nathan), and God spoke to the prophet and sent a word and a promise to David. So, then my next points are: Talk to God, even about your good ideas Listen for His response Now, God’s response in summary (and I’m definitely paraphrasing

Book Available Today!

Happy Sunday All, It is a blessing to share with you that my New Book ”I Am A Christian, This Is Why: A Logical Response to the Skeptic” is now available on Amazon and Kindle! Please purchase the book from Amazon if you plan to come to the signing next Sunday, December 30th (At TC Williams HS Minnie Howard Campus 3801 West Braddock Rd Alexandria VA at 11:30AM) https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no... Thank you so much for your support! I Love You All with the Love of Lord! Be blessed this Christmas Season! Kinite #iamachristian #thisiswhy #defendthefaith #authorkinite #knowwhyyoubelieve #truth #urbanapologetics #apologetics #faithandlogic #kinitemccrae

SNEAK PEEK INTO THE BOOK!

I am so excited to share my new book, “I Am A Christian, This is Why: A Logical Response to the Skeptic,” That goes on sale this Sunday, December 23, 2018 on Amazon, Kindle, and my website, that I wanted to share a sneak peek into one of the questions under the Frequently Asked Questions Section in the books Addendum. So, many of you know that I spent some time studying and researching for myself to figure out what I believe. However, I’ve also spent a lot of time (once becoming a Christian) answering controversial questions of other Christians, skeptics, persons who are of other beliefs and/or on the fence about what they believe. So, I tallied up the questions I heard the most and answered them in the book. Here is a short version of one. Enjoy and buy the book for MORE!!! Question: If God directs (or knows) everything, does free will really exist? Answer: First, a person’s will is always a relatively small part of any given circumstance. However, because God is outside of time, He already knows the end from the beginning, but this foreknowledge does not by any means affect the decisions, direction, and destiny of men. Example: Imagine you are the type of sports fan that records the games when you are not home to see them and then watches them later. Well, while on your way home to watch your favorite basketball game, you get a call from your friend who tells you that your favorite team won! Excited but disappointed because you’d rather had seen it for yourself, you still decide to watch the game when you get home. First quarter your team is down by 5, second quarter they are down by 10, by halftime they are down by a whole 20-points. But you are not panicking. Why? Because you already know the outcome and so you continue to watch the game and low and behold they turn it around in the fourth quarter and win by 11-points. Now, did your knowing the outcome affect the players in the game? No. They still made their own decisions and went in their own direction to their ultimate destiny as winners!!! The same is true with God and us! His foreknowledge does not affect or alter our free will. FOR MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND LOGICAL ANSWERS, BUY THE BOOK THIS COMING SUNDAY! ON SALE AT AMAZON, KINDLE AND MY WEBSITE! YOUR TURN! If you enjoyed this blog, please comment and/or share! For more blog topics click here! #iamachristian #thisiswhy #defendthefaith #authorkinite #knowwhyyoubelieve #truth #urbanapologetics #apologetics #faithandlogic #kinitemccrae

Is God Speaking? Or Are These My Own Thoughts… Or Worse, the Devil!

Many people struggle with discerning whether the thoughts in their mind are coming from God, their own ideas or worse the Devil! LIKE HOW DO I FIGURE THIS OUT! If you’ve ever struggled with trying to figure out the dialogue in your head (I know I have

How to Find Your Purpose

SOME YEARS AGO, I asked my former Pastor, "how do I find my purpose?" and he answered me with the question, "What deeply burdens you?" At the time, I didn't understand the difference between a burden and an annoyance. And so, because I had a long list of things that annoyed me, I was really confused and thought to myself, "what does wearing white after Labor Day or biting a fork at the dinner table have to do with my divine purpose?” I mean was this a practical joke? Was my ultimate destiny in life to decipher between white and winter white? Or to be damned to the syncopated and orchestrated chorus of tooth and fork? CERTAINLY NOT! But a wise person said, hind sight is 20/20 vision. And so, when I look back over the years, I see how as I began to seek God's face and will for my life, He began to move me in directions that I would have never moved myself into. He took me out of some comfort zones, because He knew that my burden would never be realized while I was in my place of comfort. And it was in my "uncomfortable place" that I begin to realize the difference between being burdened and being annoyed. A BURDEN is something that you carry in you. You carry it deep inside you like a baby, it has weight and even causes you to have some contractions every now and again. You feel a sense of duty and responsibility for it and so there is this pressing need to deliver. BECAUSE BURDEN GIVES BIRTH TO YOUR PUROSE! If you are seeking your purpose, I encourage you to do the following: 1. Regularly PRAY and SEEK God’s will for your life. (Matt 6:33) 2. Allow God to LEAD you even if it’s into an uncomfortable or unfamiliar place. (In other words, get out of God’s way – Psalm 61:2) 3. Be SENSITIVE to what burdens you, what area carries heavy weight, where do you feel responsible? (Galatians 6:2) 4. Pray for DISCERNMENT, there is the burden of purpose and the burdens of life. The burden of purpose is yours to fulfill The burdens of life are to be cast on Jesus You need to know the difference. (Hint: the burden of purpose is fulfilling, the burdens of life are draining – Ecclesiastes 8:5/Psalm 55:22) 5. WAIT for REVELATION and CONFIRMATION. In between the promises of God and the fulfillment of God’s promise is a four-letter word called T.I.M.E. It is during this period that Satan will send out all his demons and abortionists to discourage you to consume your energy and waste your time to persecute you and lie to you and if he is not successful in these areas, he will attempt to change times and laws and move you ahead of or out of your calling. (Isaiah 40:31/Romans 8:28/Daniel 7:25) 6. Activate your prophetic anointing in the words you speak and superimpose prophetic purpose and divine destiny over your life. We are created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we too have the ability to speak into the invisible and bring forth the visible. (Proverbs 18:21/1 Timothy 1:18/Hebrews 11:3) 7. Know that INFORMATION, REVELATION, CONFIRMATION and ACTIVATION brings forth MANIFESTATION. YOUR TURN! If you enjoyed this blog, please comment and/or share! For more blog topics click here! #iamachristian #thisiswhy #defendthefaith #authorkinite #knowwhyyoubelieve #truth #urbanapologetics #apologetics #faithandlogic #kinitemccrae

You Can't Handle the Truth!

“You can’t handle the truth,” was a famous line from the movie A Few Good Men with actors Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. In the scene, where this line was forcefully blurted out, Jack Nicholson’s character was on the witness stand in a military court and Tom Cruise’s character was the interrogating attorney begging for the truth on a particular matter to which Nicholson finally blurted out, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” So often we put God on the stand and interrogate Him, asking for things that we think will be the ultimate proof of His existence, love, favor, etc. We want a sign, a miracle, an audible voice. “Surely if God spoke to me with an audible voice I would hear and can truly believe and follow Him.” But could we really handle that? Just maybe God in His infinite wisdom has given us just the amount of revelation we could handle of Him in our finite, temporal beings and lives. Any more than that, may overwhelm us. To add greater depth to this and put it in real context, I’d like to share the following quote from Charles Spurgeon, who said, “WE COULD NOT HANDLE ANY GREATER KNOWLEDGE ON THIS SIDE OF ETERNITY…Because If we knew more of our own sinfulness, we might be driven to despair; if we knew more of God’s glory, we might die of terror; if we had more knowledge, unless we had equivalent capacity to understand and employ it, we might be tormented with ambition. BUT UP THERE [when we get to heaven]…We shall have our minds and our systems strengthened to receive more, without the damage that would come to us here from over-leaping the boundaries of order, supremely appointed and divinely regulated.” Enough said! I encourage you today to be thankful for what God has given you, revealed to you, exposed to you, and assigned to you. He knows exactly what you can handle. YOUR TURN: comment and tell me what you think!

Decision Making: What to do When the Bible doesn't Specifically Say YES or NO!

We all have those times when we are faced with circumstances that require us to make a tough choice. Prayerfully we seek God in prayer and His word to guide our decisions and with much confidence know that the word of God is a great source of truth and instruction for everything we go through. But what about the questions that the Bible does not answer specifically? What about the choices you face where there is no scripture that specifically says: YES YOU CAN or NO YOU CANNOT! YES, THIS IS RIGHT or NO, THIS IS WRONG! What do you do? Isn’t the Bible supposed to provide guidance in every area? Didn’t an Omniscient (all-knowing) God know you would be presented with this tough choice and need direction from Him? Well yes, God did and He has provided an answer in His word. But what we have to remember about God is that among the many things He is to us, He is a parent and a teacher. And if we think about it in the natural, aren’t we, as human parents, both parent and teacher? So as a result, there are some things we give our children specific direction on and there are other things that we give them general direction on. And why? Because the good parent knows that you limit the potential of your child’s ability to think critically, grow, develop, and find themselves if you give them all the answers to all their questions. Likewise, God as the perfect parent does not want to cripple our ability to think critically, grow, develop and find ourselves. And so, when we do not have the exact answer, it provokes us to work, to pray, to research, to study God’s word, to seek Him, to think harder, to prayer longer, to consider our course of action and its outcome. All these things build you up and grow you up! One of the things that makes me most proud as a parent is when my children ask me a question for which I don’t give them an exact answer, but some wise suggestions and they take it and put in the work to come to a successful conclusion. Any child can do exactly what you tell them and get it right, which is a good thing. But the child that comes to the right decision on their own is a great thing. Because as parents we know that we cannot always be there and so we want to know that they can make a right choice even in our absence. With all that said, while the Bible doesn’t give us specific answers or instruction on certain matters, it does give us some general principles that we can measure our potential decisions against to come to a right decision that will be pleasing to God and beneficial to us and the circumstances that we face. Many years ago, I begin to measure my own decisions by the following scriptures, when I couldn’t find a specific Bible verse for my situation. My rule of thumb was, if I can answer yes, to all of these scriptures, then I could proceed. However, if the answer is “NO” to just one, then I couldn’t proceed. Now, let me caution you, lest you think I’m some super Christian or something, I said that’s been my general rule. The truth is, I didn’t always follow that rule and I’m so grateful for God’s grace and mercy. Because as I look back over my life, the times that I followed that rule, things worked out for the better and the times that I didn’t… well let’s just say, “If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side, where would I be!!!” Anyway, here are the questions: 1. Will the course considered lead a fellow Christian to sin by your example? (1 Cor. 8:9) · Ok, so many times we want to do something, for example drink an alcoholic beverage, or go to a casino and contrary to what some teach, the Bible does not specifically say you CANNOT do these things. Unfortunately, due to lazy and/or control preaching, many have been made to believe that these things are wrong, sinful, etc. Now I’m not saying this because I’m advocating drinking or gambling since I never struggled with either. But I’m saying this because we have to stop trying to control people by adding to the word of God. The word of God can do its job all by itself. · Ok, so now that my rant is out the way, what does the Bible say about drinking? Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with wine.” and what does the Bible say about gambling? Well honestly, it really doesn’t say anything specific about gambling, but it does warn us to stay clear from the love of money (1 Tim. 6:10, Heb. 13:5) as well as to not try to “get rich quick” (Prov. 13:11, 23:5, Ecc. 5:10). · So how do you employ the scripture? If you’re like me and drinking and gambling is not your thing. GREAT! Have a drink as long as you don’t get drunk, but if you are in the company of another, who is not where you are and have the propensity to not just have one cup, will your example lead them to drunkenness? · I know, I know, “You’re not your brother’s keeper” right? Well yes you are! Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” Matt 22:39 – See when you love the next person as yourself, you don’t do things in front of them that can lead them to sin. I know you can drink and not get drunk, but if you know your brother’s 1 drink will turn into 2, 3, 4, 10 and the next thing you know, they are a drunken mess, Love says I’m not going to let “This liberty of mine be a stumbling block to my brother who is weak” (1 Cor 8:9 “But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.) 2. Will the action provide strength and encouragement to your own life? (1 Cor. 6:12, 10:23) “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful.” Ok so what is the Bible saying right here. Let’s just use our example of drinking or gambling for example. Let’s say your answer above was “Yes.” Yes, I can drink and not get drunk. Yes, I can drink and I’m not being a bad example to someone else that may drink and get drunk. Ok, so then drinking is ok. Right? Well the next thing is this: just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should do it. The Bible says, just because its lawful to me (meaning permitted) doesn’t mean its helpful to me (meaning purposeful). How does drinking help you to fulfill your purpose? How does gambling help fulfill your purpose? Ok, maybe your purpose doesn’t matter. How about this, every drink or lottery ticket you buy, even if it’s in moderation, is money out of your pocket that could be going to support your purpose. Think about it. 3. Will the action ultimately glorify God? (1 Cor. 10:31) Ok, but what if, even after all that, you conclude that, you can drink and gamble responsibly, you are not being a bad influence on anyone else, and you are not drinking and gambling enough to interfere with the purpose and plans for your life. My next question is, ok, but Does it glorify God? 1 Cor. 10:31 says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” See, like I said, before, its easy to put on face in public, but its what you do in privacy that counts. It’s in your private time that you need to ask yourself, “Will this decision lead someone astray? Will this decision be helpful to me? Will this decision glorify God? Oh, please don’t read this blog and make it all about drinking and gambling. I just simply used them as examples. After all the Bible doesn’t say “you can’t eat fried chicken” but we know what too much fried chicken can do! This is a suggested template that can be helpful for any decision that you have to make where the Bible doesn’t specifically say yes or no. Now where the Bible is specific and clear, you don’t need this model. Just do what the Bible says. God knew which areas to tell you outright Yes or NO!!! and which areas to allow you room to GROW! Just like we as parents know with our kids. It’s just some things you say NO! point blank, period and I’m not explaining why! But there are other things you give them freedom and flexibility to take your advice and exercise their own judgement. I pray today that you feel better equipped and encouraged to make wise decisions. #iamachristian #thisiswhy #knowwhy #knowwhyyoubelieve #defendthefaith #authorkinite

A Vision Should...

A Vision is a mental picture of what could be, compelled by a conviction that it should be! Everyone has a vision of what “could be” in regard to their life, ministry, business, relationships, career or education just to name a few. But you’ll never move from just thinking that something “could be” to its actual manifestation until you know that it “should be.” What do I mean by that? “Could be” is only a description of possibility, and as the saying goes, “anything is possible.” However, “should be” is a prescription for expectation. So, my question to you is, did you take your prescription today? Because When You Know that You Should Be… The Head and Not the Tail, you expect to lead and operate like a leader. You know that leading doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the front because real leaders get more accomplished in “Stealth Mode.” Yes, real influence takes place in the background. When You Know that You Should Be… Operating in your Purpose (Jeremiah 29:11), you strap up your boots, plan to work and work your plan. Procrastination is for people who think they “could be,” Determination is for people who know they “should be.” WHICH ARE YOU? When You Know that You Should Be… At the table that the Lord prepared for you (Psalm 23:5), you don’t get rid of the haters, you just make sure they are standing and not sitting. After all, He said that He’ll prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. NO enemies, NO table. However, sitting is reserved for those who help you put the meal on the table and for those God has assigned you to feed. TIP: Know who and what you are assigned to, because if it’s not your assignment, it could be your assassination. When You Know that You Should Be… The Lender and not the Borrower (Deuteronomy 28:12), you sow a seed into fertile ground. I know that seems counterproductive. But let me help you, when you sew a seed, its money invested and there’s a difference between money spent vs. money invested. Money spent is gone…but money invested returns. And every lender knows that there is always a return on the investment! When You Know That You Should Be… Running with the Horses (Jeremiah 12:5), you don’t settle for sitting on the sidelines while everyone is passing you by. You organize your time, gather your resources, employ your gifts, and get in the race with people that’s going to encourage you not enable you. Some people even with good intention can think they ‘re helping you but really they’re hurting you by causing you to be crippled, stuck, or unable to move forward. When King Saul and his son Jonathan was killed, and word went back to the kingdom, the nurse that was caring for Johnathan’s son, Mephibosheth, picked him up and ran to save him, but fell and crippled him. So be careful in this season, as I said before, some people’s help can cripple you and slow you down from doing what you need to do to get ahead because you are dependent on their help, permission, approval, or support. God is saying in this season, He will carry you, you don’t need someone to carry you, rather to run with (encourage) you and you both can reach your destinations. No matter how far away you think or feel you are from what “should be,” you can be confident of this, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.” Because what God originates, He orchestrates. May I suggest that you write the vision, make it plain and run! #iamachristian #thisiswhy #defendthefaith #knowwhyyoubelieve #vision #run #newblog #thisiswhythursday #biblefood #justdoit

Cast Your Burdens

Cast your burdens on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. – Psalm 55:22 To cast is to throw off or away. This requires intent. You have to intentionally throw off or throw away those things that burden you. Mental burdens Emotional burdens Burdens from past hurts, failures and disappointments. If you want the Lord to sustain you, the first move is on YOU! Which means, you have to make a decision, then take action. Key points about your burdens: You can only cast or throw away your burdens. No one can cast your burdens for you. You cannot cast or throw away someone else burdens. You have to cast your burdens on the Lord, NOT on other people. Now, sustained does’t meant that you WON’T go through trials, but it does means that you will be supported, held up, and able to bear whatever you are going through. Thus, you WILL NOT be permitted to be moved. When we realize that every thing that ever takes place in our lives, need God’s permission, we understand the true meaning of Him saying “I won’t permit” “You to be moved.” But here's the key, this promise applies to the “righteous.” The righteous will never be permitted to be moved and our righteousness is in Christ. Remember the Bible says that on our best day, all of our righteousness is but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). So when you are trying to do things in your righteousness apart from His righteousness, you will be moved. Moved out of relationships you entered without Christ Moved out of positions you obtained in your own strength Moved out of opportunities in which you didn't seek His counsel So what does it mean to be righteous? "But to him who does not work (in other words, do things in your own strength, of your own accord) but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly (put your trust in Jesus for all things), his (your) faith is accounted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5). So when we have faith in and believe in Jesus, His righteousness is imputed to us. Just like the child who has faith in and believes (or trust) in his parents, he will seek his parents counsel and generally make better decisions. I always tell my kids, "you're as smart as what you know, but you're as wise as who you trust. If you trust a fool, you'll be a fool...but if you trust wisdom, you'll make wise decisions." On the contrary, the child that wants to be grown, and thinks they can do things on their own, while it may work for a season, eventually they find that all their efforts, to do things their own way and in their own strength are futile and they would have been better off seeking their parents counsel and taking their parents advice. I encourage you today to put your TRUST in Jesus, DO what His word says, and REAP the benefits of His promises. Cast (do) your burdens...and never be moved (promise).

WOULD YOU GIVE THE DEVIL A PLACE TO LIVE?