Believers Should Strongly Consider Family Television Viewing Habits

A 2007 study on children's television viewing concluded that more than two hours of television viewing can be detrimental to both the physical, mental and emotional health of a child. This secular study has been cited a lot recently and if this is the conclusion drawn by secular experts, how much more should Believers monitor and limit their children's access to television viewing of all kinds. As Believers, I cannot stress enough how important it is for US to groom, disciple, and minister to our children. In fact, as Believers our first ministry is to our immediate families which includes spouses and children before anyone else. This is primarily the case because when we minister and disciple the people closest to us and to whom we have the greatest influence, it holds us to a higher level of accountability and transparency. As parents we must keep in mind that we will be held accountable for how we raise the children that God has given us on loan. We are simply stewards, we are not our children's owners. That's an important factor to keep in the forefront of our minds because if we are allowing media, pop culture and other influences to mold, shape and influence our children away from Yeshua, then we are going to answer to God for failing to allow His Word to be the prominent influence in our lives and in the lives of our children.  It's not "just television", "just a movie", "just a song" when it's subversive to the Biblical values that you claim to have submitted yourself to when you gave your life to Messiah. Many of today's movies, music, and television shows (even books!) are thick with occult and esoteric symbolism and themes. The intent is to indoctrinate your children with ideologies that are counterproductive to the lifestyle of a Believer. I have covered this same subject matter in several previous posts and I don't feel as if I can reiterate it enough because your children are going to try you, they're going to challenge you, they're going to rebel a little but when you allow this filthy, ungodly culture to subvert the Holy Spirit's authority in your home then you are in jeopardy of losing your precious children to this world. You are setting up your children to be deceived by the pending government and religion of the Anti-christ and you will have to answer for all of those things! Believers should not allow Disney, Nickolodeon, PBS, BET, MTV, VH1 or any other media entity to babysit your children. In the coming months, I will be posting tips on how Believers should disciple and minister to their children. It forces you to be a REAL parent and not a parent on auto-pilot who leaves the difficult aspects of your children's rearing to someone or something else. But be encouraged, as a Believer you are not alone, you have the Holy Spirit to grant you vision and knowledge on behalf of your children so that you can "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Below is a video that reveals the media's agenda to subvert Biblical principles and replace them with wicked occult and satanic influences. I strongly suggest that you view the entire series and then do your own research regarding PBS, Disney, Viacom media (Nick, MTV, BET, VH1 networks) and the occult. Be abundantly blessed!

Remember, mediocrity hates greatness...so be great and let the haters hate!
Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Why The Grace of God Is Not Permission To Sin

People often depict the grace of God or the fact that we are currently living under grace and truth as a carte blanche invitation to sin. As if Messiah's suffering, death, burial and resurrection means that the law is therefore now void and antiquated and unnecessary. First let me say, that every kingdom has laws and the kingdom of God is no different. Without law there is only anarchy and anarchy is not of God but of Satan. The suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Messiah was never intended to render the laws of God's kingdom obsolete. Instead the grace of Elohim exists before we even sin and provides for us the opportunity not to sin in the first place but if we we're to sin, we still have the avenue of repentance once we realize and confess our accountability for the sin that we commit. Grace exists so that we are empowered through the habitation or indwelling of the Holy Spirit not to sin in the first place. The grace of God gives us the ability to obey the laws of God rather than providing for us an opportunity to explain just how "human" we are by submitting to this flesh and sinning. The law was considered bondage because there was no way for us in our human frailty to fulfill the law but it is through God's grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are able to abide by God's laws not to be idolatrous, liars, cheaters, murderers, fornicators, adulterers, etc. We cannot afford to take for granted that just because the grace of God exists that we then have the freedom to sin without repercussions. When we sin, even after we repent, that is a seed sown and a harvest that will be reaped. The grace of God helps us to refrain from sowing seeds that we are not willing to reap through sin. We will always reap what we have sown but repentance and the grace of God determines to what extent we will reap what we have sown. Although some people think that we cannot "out sin" God's grace as it is infinite, God's grace is abundant and infinite in that it will keep us from sinning in the first place as we submit to the Holy Spirit and conform to the image of Messiah. We cannot keep gossipping, backbiting, lying, cheating, etc. after the Holy Spirit convicts us, override the conviction, make excuses and justifications for our sin and then expect that the grace of God will keep us saved. When we disobey God, we put ourselves in the precarious position of removing His covering (His grace) from ourselves when we willfully and overtly sin. Yeshua came to fulfill the law not make it obsolete! So Believers need to stop the erroneous teaching of grace and truth as the coverall for sin. When you fulfill a task, you have completed it not made the task obsolete. When a man fulfills his wife, he has completed her not done away with her. MESSIAH FULFILLED THE LAW SO THAT WE WOULD BE FREE FROM COMMITTING SIN IN THE FIRST PLACE NOT SO THAT WE CAN WILLFULLY SIN, OVERRIDE HIS CONVICTION AND MAKE LAME EXCUSES FOR OUR SIN AND THEN EXPECT THAT GOD WILL ALLOW THE SACRIFICE OF HIS SON TO BE REPEATEDLY VIOLATED AND TROUNCED UPON. HABITUAL SIN IS REFUSING GOD'S GRACE. WE DON'T HAVE TO SIN! THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!
THE GRACE OF GOD EMPOWERS US TO OVERRIDE OUR SIN NATURE SO THAT WE ARE NOT A SLAVE TO IT! 

Using grace as if it will cover willful, habitual sin is to live without reverential fear of God and without reverential fear of God, we rebel against Him and disobey His laws consistently and jeopardize our souls. We enslave ourselves to our flesh and sentence ourselves to a life of mediocrity not to mention living as a carnal Christian who never matures spiritually and actually puts themselves in jeopardy of becoming a spiritual reprobate. Grace is not permission to sin! Grace is submission to the process of sanctification so that we are holy. Grace is the power, that only God can give us through the Blood of Jesus and the indwelling of His spirit not to sin! We are to die daily and submit to the Holy Spirit so that we can conform to the image of Messiah not continue sinning as if we have no help or hope!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

A Word of Thanks

I have for most of my life been the outcast, the misfit, the odd one out and as a child and a young person I use to feel as if somehow that I was cursed or that something was wrong with me because I never quite fit in. But as I get older I am more aware than ever that I am not my own, I own nothing of my own.  I am humbled that The Creator of the Universe loves me! Cares for me! Me! (Psalm 8:4) I am a worthless waste of time, breath and space without Jesus! I am useless and I am a total mess but He defines me and there is absolutely NOTHING in this life worth doing without Him. Knowing Jesus gives me purpose and meaning that is not just for this life but it is eternal. I love Him and all that He has done for me. People may look on me and think that I am nothing much, and that's really okay but hopefully when they look at me they see Messiah shining through me! He is everything worth having! I am in love with my God, HaShem! I am in awe of Him! I am in love with my Messiah and my whole world revolves around Him!

Oh! I might not have the finest car but I'm blessed! I might not have the greatest home but I'm blessed! I might not have a husband who loves and values me right now but I serve a mighty and incredible God who out of all the people in the world, loves me! I am truly a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save ANYBODY! He is the ALMIGHTY indeed! And I have officially opted-out of this world's definition of who I should be as a Christian, a mother, a woman, an African-American woman or anything else that this world tries to attach to me as a definition. Messiah defines me, I am His! This culture, this world have no say in how I live my life and raise the gorgeous children that God gave me to raise and disciple. 

There is no "time" to worship, my whole life I yield as worship for if I don't do all that I do, as a committed act of worship to Him then it is meaningless. I gladly commit to Him as worship all that I am. (Proverbs 16:3).
 It is a pleasure to yield all that I am: eyes, ears, hands, feet, heart, soul, and mind to Him. It is only then that I can be certain that I am doing those things that bring Him glory and that are things of eternal significance and not acts of futility and idle works of this flesh. Abiding in Him is the greatest love I have ever known and the only way that I can truly love. I can't imagine trying to love someone, in a healthy manner without knowing Yeshua's love for me!

Thank You, Abba for all that You are in my life! I just want to publicly take this time to tell the world just how good You are to me! Thank you for loving me!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Sexiness vs. Holiness Part II

When you apply a certain image, attitude and persona to yourself that is something other than the image of God then you are also taking on the very spirit of that image, attitude and persona. Believe it or not, many Hollywood starlets, singers, supermodels and dare I say, porn stars don't worship the same God that you do. This is the very reason why so many so-called female Believers are jeopardizing their very souls by competing with, emulating and imitating celebrities of any kind. Many so-called Believers even think that to behave like a diva is somehow "cute" and acceptable and to dress like a whorish woman is okay because after all, "Beyonce says that she is a Christian and she was raised in the church so it must be okay!" or the other lame excuses such as "People shouldn't judge me based on what I wear. To do so is being a legalistic, Pharisee." or "People who judge me based on what I wear, aren't true Christians anyway!" If your identity is not in Messiah then it is self-destructive and based on a lie and the woman who identifies herself as a Believer and yet makes it her goal to be sexy instead of being holy, she is a woman in for a very rude awakening as such an image will cause more problems than what it is worth by the negative attention that it will attract from both men and women. Let me also add there is no hybrid for this concept of being sexy vs. being holy. We live in an age where people try to go out of their way to find loopholes and exceptions for what God has already deemed as ironclad. Reprobate and lascivious behavior is offensive to God and He made no exceptions when He said "Be holy because I am holy." (I Peter 1:16)

I'm not saying that you should be judged and condemned to hell by people who don't have it within their power to even send you to either place for eternity but what should be understood is that what you wear is often an outward reflection of who you are on the inside. Neither am I insinuating that female Believers should dress like Puritans but you should allow the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and discernment regarding everything, including your wardrobe! Failure to surrender to the process of sanctification is what will earn you a spot in hell, not what people say. Don't make the mistake of confusing God's judgment with man's judgment. God has called us to holiness and a resistance to holiness is a resistance to the very presence of God Almighty. Some people have made the error of equating holiness to a strict dress code and some other contrived, man-made parameter of what is holy and godly in terms of our image but what I am saying is that God as Father God desires for us to give Him access to every part of our lives including what we wear. Once we accept Messiah as Savior then we have to submit to the process of sanctification through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the Teacher and He will teach us the ways of godliness and holiness through the Word of God and through wisdom and discernment that only He can give us. God is love and he is kind, gracious, merciful, and so much more but He is also Holy!

As Believers, we have given up the right to have "our way" and represent ourselves. We are called upon per scripture to die daily to this flesh and it's carnal desires. (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5, Romans 8:6, Romans 6:23, Galatians 6:8). We are also told in scripture that the desires of this flesh put us in opposition to God. (James 4:4,  Romans 8:7, I John 2:15) When people see us, they should see Jesus. They should hear Him in our voice both in terms of the words and tone of voice that we use. When we act and behave like the world and refuse to allow the process of sanctification to take hold and still dare call ourselves Believers and Christians, we are misrepresenting the kingdom and defaming The Only True and Living God! There is a dear price to pay for such misrepresentation and it should be something that NO ONE would want to reap.

We have to lose ourselves in Messiah and conform to His image. You will always be unique and as you conform to the image of Messiah that uniqueness through holiness will be accentuated and more clearly defined as it brings Him glory. Don't think that God doesn't want you to be attractive or look nice but there is always a distinct difference in what is holy and what is not. As you submit to the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Ghost, He will reveal what is best for you and it will always be congruent with modesty and humility.

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Sexiness vs. Holiness Part I

Lately I've been very skiddish about what I watch and what I allow my children to watch on television. I am a child of the '70's so I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie every Monday night. When I watch reruns of that show now and get a glimpse of what women were like from that time period and read my Bible and get a glimpse of what women were like during biblical times, I see that women were able to define what a godly and virtuous woman was from a carnal or more (ummm hmmm...) shall I say, worldly woman. These days with the onslaught of lingerie commercials, fragrance commercials with scantily clad celebrities in enticing and suggestive positions, to television shows and motion pictures that show parts of a woman's body that only her husband should see, not to mention the epidemic of porn addiction (print, video, and internet), some female Believers have been deceived into thinking that they have to compete somehow or join in with these images while male Believers are having their masculinity and sexuality challenged if they are not attracted to these unrealistic and fallacious standards of beauty. So the question is, what is more important for Believers? Being sexy or being holy?

Loose women have always been apart of every culture and every society and every socio-economic level. Prostitution has not been deemed "the world's oldest profession" for nothing! But with the current climate of pseudo-Christian, "carnal" Christian, celebrity worship, etc. Christian women are defining themselves by the sexual standards, both in terms of image and conduct, of movie starlets, songstresses (particularly secular), supermodels and even porn stars. Women who identify themselves as Believers, especially single female Believers, are allowing the carnal influence of celebrities, etc. to define who they are, how they should look and how they behave. What exactly are you saying when you sing, "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it..." A ring on what? Are we perpetuating the fallacy of fornication to get a husband? This entire climate of people thinking that to be virtuous, holy and practical is to be "so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good" has created a fallacious environment based on worldly illusions that will ultimately end with a lot of female Believers going to hell because they feel the need to compete with or emulate and even imitate the likes of Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, or some random Victoria's Secret model or random porn star! Would you believe women, supposedly, Believers are busting up in the church revealing just a little too much leg and thigh, too much cleavage, made-up in the image of Nicki Minaj or some porn starlet, wearing thongs and then wearing clothes that tell the world that they are wearing a thong! It's chuckle-worthy on one hand but on the other it's ever so sad! Funny and yet so sad, because it's obvious that these women are trying too hard, so hard in fact that they have allowed society or the warped perception of pseudo-Christian men who seem attracted to such garbage, to influence them away from modesty, holiness (that's right, I said it!) and humility. Don't get me wrong, I, too like to get glammed up from time to time but (please understand that this is what makes the difference between a true Christian and a pseudo-Christian is that...) the Holy Spirit convicts me and shows me when my dress and skirt are too short, pants are too tight or when my top is just a little too low or when my make up and hair has the potential to give an incorrect general representation of who I am and who God has called me to be. Please trust me when I tell you that I dare not defy the conviction of the Holy Spirit as I have been there and done that with regard to other matters and it did not bode well for me to say the least! Women who pander and who clamor to emulate these contrived and artificial, Hollywood-produced images are attracting the wrong kind of man and they are doing so at the expense of their own souls. And silly men, who call themselves Believers put themselves in the precarious and horrible position of being ensnared by the wrong woman just because she had a certain look. (More on this in the another entry.)

I attended and was the member of a very large, mega-church and there were quite a few women there who were humble and modest in their dress and then there were others who looked as if they were leaving the church to shoot porn! Bloated lips, tight clothes, too much make-up, talon nails, "the works"! I attended another church and saw young females revealing thongs under low cut jeans. I've attended many church functions where women's bosoms were "spilling" out of their blouses and they couldn't cross their legs or bend over without flashing the person standing behind them in the offering line or sitting beside them in the pew. Now, in defense of some of these women, especially those whose weight fluctuates or who were just recently saved, perhaps they didn't have anything more modest to wear when they attended the services where I saw them dressed provocatively but some of these faux pas' are easily remedied with a safety pin or sweater.  

Before you allow yourself to be taken in by the diabolical influence of Hollywood, please do your research and understand that the far reaching influence of celebrities and society's climate of celebrity worship are subversive to our identity and reality in Christ. Women who aren't Believers shouldn't allow themselves to be influenced by such nonsense, how much more should Believers refrain from allowing the film, television, fashion and music industries to influence and control how we perceive ourselves and how we live and behave and what the standard of beauty should be. Christ is to be the filter for every true Believer's perception and perspective. As believers we are called to be holy not sexy! If in your private moments with your spouse, he finds you sexy then that's fine but the goal of a godly woman is holiness, as she is most beautiful in holiness and when she reflects the image of God.


To be continued...


Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

If God Doesn't Send Him Then I'll Be Single!

This is a follow up to my last entry that dealt with the topic of so-called, Christian dating. I've just recently determined that because I need to work my faith in Messiah and trust Him to be El Shaddai, there will be no more online dating sites or other such nonsense in my future. I have always believed and felt strongly that dating for believers was out of order but because my family believed different I conceded and often compromised my belief that dating for Believers was inappropriate. But after much prayer, fasting and reading scripture, The Pentateuch which deals with the law of God but it also shows how the Children of Israel refused to trust God to meet their needs and do for them what He said He would. Every time the Children of Israel failed to trust God especially after He performed miracles right before their very eyes and preserved them from the hand of their enemies, they always ended up sabotaging themselves because of their insolent disobedience and unbelief. I now have renewed confidence in trusting God to provide for me everything that He promised that He would. I love the fact that the Holy Spirit just a few days ago made it plain to me and sealed it just after I completed the last entry, "If God doesn't send my husband to me then I won't have a husband." I am so comfortable with this and I am certain that within my God-given purpose lies a life of joy and fulfillment and if God's plans for me include marriage then it'll happen because I've trusted Him and not because I've brazenly tried to have my own way. I'm not choosing to be single and I'm not choosing to be married, I'm choosing God's will for my life, whatever that happens to be and as I continue to follow and trust Him to meet my needs, He'll continue to reveal Himself and His plan and purpose for my life to me! It's times like these that I am truly grateful to know God! I would love to be married but I love God more and my children need to see and know that more than anything else! Until next time! 

Sabali means patience! Patiently wait on God, He will not fail and He will not disappoint you!
Mediocrity hates greatness...be great and let the haters hate!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

The Oxymoron...The "Dilemma" of Christian Dating (and Other Carnal Fallacies) Revisited

Recently I went to a local church's Singles meeting and first let me say that I primarily loathe these kinds of meetings because they tend to run the gamut from pure singles misery ministry to "I-coulda-had-a-V-8" boring to shameless pick up, swingin' singles, meat markets. So usually when I hear the announcement of a singles church event, I run in the opposite direction. But to keep from becoming an absolute recluse, I decided to attend this gathering in the hopes that it would perhaps be different than what I have experienced before but we'll come back to my verdict regarding this meeting later. The facilitator asked why Christian dating is still such a controversial issue. To be frank, I would like to know why as well! My mother and I have had this conversation on several occasions and the majority of this meeting's attendees were in agreement with my mother regarding this aberration of so-called "Christian dating".

Let's get something very clear, plain and precise...there is no such thing as "Christian dating"! It is a fallacy built on carnal principles that have crept into the modern church to validate and justify traditions and practices that are not biblical. There is no biblical precedent for dating because "dating" is not an activity that Christian believers should engage in. The church has become a pandering bastion of carnal acceptance. I've had many Christians tell me that it's okay if dating is not a biblical practice because our modern times require us to participate in the aimless ritual of dating and not to date is well, naive and even silly. The young minister who facilitated the singles meeting that I attended gave his definition of dating as spending time with someone of the opposite sex, so if you meet with someone of the same sex w/the intent of homosexual or lesbian relationship, or someone under age, or someone who is married that is not a "date" in his estimation. This minister was very much into these definitions that were relative and subjective to what he felt and believed despite the lack of biblical basis for such a definition. This is happening to me a lot lately where I have been talking to people who say that they are Christians regarding everything from the paganism involved in holidays such as Christmas and Easter to this subject of dating. And much to my dismay there are far too many "gray area" Christians who justify their counter-biblical beliefs by telling people that just because society defines something one way, they can then take that corrupt and carnal thing and somehow make it valid and acceptable. 

If there is no biblical basis for practicing something it's probably because it wasn't something that Believers should incorporate in their lives and then provide a subjective explanation for practicing the activity in lieu of a biblical foundation and basis. If there is no biblical precedent for doing something then it probably shouldn't be apart of the life of a Believer. It's just that simple! There is no biblical precedent for Believers participating in pagan and occult celebrations neither is there a biblical precedent for believers participating in the carnal ritual of dating. If you are involved in a courtship with a person of age and of the opposite sex then it must be because your ultimate intent is to marry that individual, not just "kick it" until I meet someone else. The church has bought into the lie that you have to date several people before you can know whether or not the person that you are dating is "the one". That's a joke! If that were true then divorce wouldn't be so rampant in the church among believers. Dating leaves God out of the equation of a life that exists for the sole purpose of bringing Him glory. Dating says, "God, I don't know if I trust you to choose my spouse for me so I need to get out and see what's out there for myself, then I'll decide who You have intended for me to spend the rest of my life." Since when did God cease to be El Shaddai? He is the all sufficient God! People lived, courted, and married for centuries just fine prior to this last century where dating became an accepted societal practice and there is no iron clad process to a successful marriage but to put God first and yield the whole of your life as worship. Divorce existed in biblical times but divorce is always the result of a marriage that God either never ordained in the first place and it became a total disaster (i.e., cases of abuse of any kind) or a marriage where the man and woman involved have refused to die to self in order that Messiah would be glorified through their lives and marriage. Need I remind you that as a Believer, you are not your own and that you were bought with a price? I Corinthians 6:20 says, "For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." These standards do not exist to kill your fun or to keep you from enjoying life, they exist so that you can avoid a life of unnecessary hardship and emotional trauma that results from poor choices and bad decisions that were brought about by an acceptance of carnal concepts and beliefs but have absolutely no basis in The Word of God. Dating might be just fine for unbelievers who don't believe or trust God or even have a relationship with Him but Believers should be wary of anything that does not result in us yielding all that we are to biblical principles that have been substantiated time and again. Any marriage, anything that does not have it's foundation in Messiah will fail!

The Believer must consult God in prayer and in His Word prior to doing anything that could effect our life and service to Him. Seek God and His will for your life and in your seeking God and not a  person to meet your needs, your spouse will not have to bear the burden of being to you what only God can be to you, your everything!

By the way, I'm certain that I won't be attending another singles event at that church. Pray for me, I don't have it all figured out but I'm certain that God knows me and what I need far better than I or anyone else ever could.
I hope that you enjoy the video below. The sister is very talented and effectively articulates why dating is not something that Believers who are truly seeking the heart of Yahweh don't date!

  Koretta L. Allen aka LadyfromZion is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. You can follow her on Twitter @LadyfromZion and friend her on Facebook at Facebook.com/abundantlyblessed. Mediocrity hates greatness! Be great and let the haters, hate!