You are not the product of environment

The world has bought and sown into the lie that because of where they came from or what runs in their genetics, that is who they will ultimately become. The only thing that determines what you will do with your life is you! Some people have an easier road than others because of where they have come from, but that does not mean a thing! One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Samuel. Yes, the great prophet of God who never had a prophecy fall to the ground. Can I tell you something though? Samuel came from a terrible environment, not even by his choice he was placed into it by his mother. Eli one of the worst fathers in the whole bible, so bad God killed his sons and God killed him for being a bad father. The prophet comes earlier and says to him because he wouldn’t restrain his sons God has removed him from being the priest and never again will one of his descendants will ever serve him as a priest again and none of them will live to an old age. I mean Samuels brothers were so bad they stole from the offerings and committed fornication in the doorways of the church! Samuel should have been an adulterous thief according to society and science, but can I tell you what the Bible says. It says Samuel fixed his bed next to the Ark of God. Samuel was hungry for the voice of God, and he made a decision that no matter what went on around him, he was going to draw near to the Lord his God, and he went on to be the greatest prophet to ever live. I’m sorry if you’ve come from a tough home, but do not make that your excuse that because of it your destiny is set and laid out before you. If you would draw near to God his promise is that He will draw near to you and by His grace, He will use you to do great things and cause you to walk in the fullness of your anointing. The only thing that makes you a product of you environment is how you respond to it.

Dance Like No one’s Watching

I was at the chiropractor’s yesterday and as we were talking we got on the subject of being content where you are right now. He read me a poem that he had in his drawer and made me a copy of it because I loved it so much. Here it is, not really sure who it is by some sites say Ronnie Light, some say Crystal Boyd. Whoever wrote it though it’s an awesome poem.

We convince ourselves that life will be better after

we get married, have a baby, then another.

Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough

and we’ll be more content when they are.

After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.

We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our

spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer

car, are able to go on a nice vacation,or when we retire.

The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now.

If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have

and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special,

special enough to spend your time with…and remember that time

waits for no one.

So, stop waiting

–until your car or home is paid off

–until you get a new car or home

–until your kids leave the house

–until you go back to school

–until you lose ten pounds

–until you gain ten pounds

–until you finish school

–until you get a divorce

–until you get married

–until you have kids

–until you retire

–until summer

–until spring

–until winter

–until fall

–until you die

There is no better time than RIGHT NOW to be happy.

Happiness is a JOURNEY, not a destination.

So — work like you don’t need money,

Love like you’ve never been hurt,

And dance like no one’s watching.

Life goes by in a flash, I can’t believe I’ve been out of school for three years already. It seems like yesterday I was graduating, now I’m getting married, it’s crazy. It’s easy to wish away where we are right now, but truth is, God has placed us in that moment for a reason. Don’t be so consumed and think that life will get better when… You’re missing the moment right now where God want’s to use you, shape you and mold you into the man or woman God is creating you to be. Life can throw you curve balls and it can be tough, but the one thing that you have control of is will you let tough decisions steal your joy?

Put your head between your legs and stand!

Something the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me is about the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18. The time was coming where the prophecy that Elijah spoke of the no rain for three years was about to end and God was going to display His power. It started with getting rid of all the false prophets and idol worshipers on the top of Mount Carmel. Afterwards Elijah comes down the mountain with King Ahab and he says in faith standing on the promise of God  “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” And it says in the bible in verse 42 that “Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.” So here is Elijah the Man of God on top of the mountain and he says to his servant “go and look to the sea for rain.” He comes back, theres nothing. So Elijah says go again and this goes on it says in the Bible six times theres NOTHING! No sign not even a glimpse and you can imagine whats going on in Elijah’s head. Not only does his validity of a prophet of God rest on this, but also the validity of his God. He says a seventh time “go and look to the sea for rain.” His servant comes back and says there is a cloud as SMALL as a man hands, thinking whats the big deal thats nothing. But Elijah jumps up and says get going before the rain stops you and go to King Ahab and tell him the rain is here and a heavy rain came over the land that day.

The thing I want you to see and you may be wondering why did he put his head between his legs? It was a sign Elijah was saying that no matter what it looks like in the natural God I know your in charge. I’m not going to look at what I see right in this moment, but I want my focus and eyes to be on what you see God. It’s easy to get discouraged when there is hell going on around you. Just like Elijah though you have to stand on the promises of God come hell or high water and trust that He’s got your back. Weather your believing God for a healing, His promise is that by the stripes Jesus Christ bore on the cross we are healed. It may not come the first time, the second or even the seventh, but put your head between your legs and know the Word of God does not return void and stand on the promise of God, there is healing in Jesus name. God may have spoken to you to go to Bible college but the resources aren’t there. Stand on the promise that God has given you, put your head between your legs and go and know the promise of God is that He will provide all of you needs from his glorious riches which is in Christ Jesus. You may have been praying for family members to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The promise of God and will of God is that none would perish, but all would know Him. Stand on the promise of God and fight and believe that their time is coming. No matter what goes on around you, or what it may seem. The list is endless! Whatever God has promised you don’t be discouraged by what has not yet happened, but put your head between your legs and anticipate the joy of what God is going to do.

“We live by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

Remembering Jesus

As we go into the Easter season I just wanted to take a moment and just reflect on God. It’s easy to get caught up in the candy, the fun, easter egg hunts, your new sunday best, dinner with the family, the easter bunny, etc. Beyond all that though I don’t want to forget why we have a holiday called Easter. It’s to remember all that God has done for us and a specific moment where God did something crazy awesome for us. No, Jesus wasn’t really killed on Good Friday or raised from the grave on Easter. Just like He wasn’t really born on December 25. They are days where we can remember all that He’s done for us. To remember the day our savior was born, to remember the day our savior gave His life for us, and to remember the day of victory where He rose from the grave for us!

Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities” by making “a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

“By his death,” we are told, Jesus was able to “destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).

I want to encourage you in this Easter season to reflect on all God has done for you. One of my favorite scriptures in Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus “saw the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus saw the joy of having eternal life with me, and you, and everyone in the world, that He willingly gave his life as a ransom for many. Though it was the most shameful way to die He did it anyways. Thank you Jesus so much and I love you!

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

-John 3:16

What do you want me to do for you?

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

- Mark 10:46-52

So many times we miss the simplicity of being followers of Jesus. I love this story because Bartimaeus understood. He understood the simplicity of Jesus’ words when he said what do you want me to do you for? He didn’t go off on some tangent or say something broad and meaningless. He said “I want to see!” My friend Josh Moore whenever he leads prayer he always says:

“If God, the creator of the universe was here right now standing in front of you what would you pray? You wouldn’t pray some broad wimpy prayer God please move tonight in Generation Church. You would be on your knees praying for whatever is going on in your life that you need God to move in.”

Can I tell you that Jesus is posing that same question to you that he ask Bartimaeus. What do you want me to do for you? Don’t miss what God wants to do for you today by not answering Him specifically.

Back to Basics: Reading the Bible

Just as I have blogged about over the past couple of weeks its time to get back to the basics. We have talked about getting Back to Basics: Worship and Back to Basics: Prayer which can be read in the following links. Today I want to talk about getting Back to Basics: Reading the Bible or should I just say Loving your Bible.

Reading the Bible

What is the basics to reading? How can you even have basics for reading? I’ll tell you why I read my bible, it’s because I LOVE IT! I had the opportunity of talking about this very subject earlier this week to a kid in my small group. No one forces me to read the bible. I don’t have a gun to my head in the morning. My Pastor didn’t call me and threaten me to read my bible today. I do it because I love God! I do it because I want to grow in my relationship with God. I want to become more conformed to the image of Christ today than the next, and tomorrow it will be the same. In any relationship there has to be communication for it to grow. If I didn’t talk to Laura everyday, I can almost guarantee we would not be getting married. The reason I can say things about her that no one knows is because we talk, everyday, without being forced. Why? Because we love each other and we aren’t forced. Can I just say that I love my Bible. I look forward to getting up and reading my Bible. I don’t ever want to go a day without feasting in the word of God because it is so life-giving. It is a charge to your spirit. It helps you to fight against the sin in your life. It helps you become more like God. How? Because when you spend time with someone you tend to become more like that person. Proven fact look it up. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” - Jim Rohn. I want the top three on that list to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you but I want each day to become more like God because His way is perfect and mine is not. So what is the basics of reading your bible? Love it! The Bible is not boring. It is relevant in every one of our lives.When I got the opportunity to preach in the Dominican Republic about Salvation I entitled my message the greatest love story ever. Above the Notebook, above Dear John, above them all. Why? Because it is about each and everyone of us. We are all the main characters in the love story of Jesus Christ coming from heaven to earth. Dying on a cross for our sin, and giving us eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Love your Bible its as easy as that and you will want to read it.

I leave you with this: For those who think I am full of it; I challenge you, read a Bible for thirty days (STRAIGHT) with a pure and open heart to the word of God and I promise you that you will never be the same. The great C.S. Lewis, took his own challenge to read the Bible and prove it wrong, and he ended up being the greatest christian authors of all time.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
¹¹ It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
¹² You will live in joy and peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song,
and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
¹³ Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name;
they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Isaiah 55:10-13

Back to Basics: Prayer

Starting this new year off I’ve decided to blog about the basics. Why the basics? Because the basics is where it originated. It’s where we learn and see how to go about something. You can read more about getting back to the basics at Back to Basics: Worship.

Prayer

I’ll try to keep this short and simple but I just love talking about pray. It is one of the subject that I can talk for a good long time about because it is so important to me. When people think prayer automatically the thought is that its super complicated or its my magic lamp I rub when I want something to go my way. Can I tell you that prayer is neither of those!

The first thing I want you to know about prayer is that it is not complicated! In fact it says in Matthew 6 “And when you pray, don’t be like those people that don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing. Don’t pray like that. They think that God will hear them because of the many things they say. Don’t be like those people. Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.” It doesn’t matter what you say, how you say it, or how many words you say. Just like I said last week as it says in 1 Samuel “that man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart.”

The second thing I want you to get about prayer is that it’s a two-way street. God is not your magic genie that grants you your wishes when ever you please. I can’t stand when people come and say “I’ve tried that prayer thing and it didn’t work.”  It makes me want to slap them upside the head. Then I tell them try that prayer thing and instead of going on and on about your problem shut up for 5 minutes and listen to God. Can I tell you that God knows your problem, you don’t have to remind Him. Prayer is a two-way street which means you talk to Him and He talks to you. Most of my prayer time I spend just listening to God. I know He knows my problems and my concerns. Instead of telling him about them, I want to know how to fix them, and the only way I can do that is by hearing His voice.

So here is an easy way, guide to help you pray if you are new. Jesus outlines it for us in the book of Luke when he is teaching the disciples how to pray. First; Praise Him. You wouldn’t walk up to President Obama, or any other powerful man and start demanding things. Let the same thing be with God. Honor Him and praise Him and thank Him for all the good things He’s done for you. Secondly; Recognize that you are a sinner and you need the grace of God. Repent of anything that would be hindering you of having a relationship with God. Thirdly; Ask. This is where you can lay it all out. Ask Him for help in every situation you are going through. Fourthly; Yourself and others. Don’t just ask for yourself, pray for others too.

Praise

Recognize

Ask

Yourself and others

Back to Basics: Worship

As I was in prayer the other day and listening to music the song “The Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman came across my iTunes. As I lay there listening to it I just felt the Holy Spirit speak to me that its time to get back to the basics. The basics in worship, in prayer, in evangelism, reading the Word of God, etc. So many times we often over complicate things or even totally miss the mark. Over the next couple blogs I am going to be going over getting back to the basics in different areas of Christianity.

Worship

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

Romans 12:1

Out of all the scriptures I could have chosen to represent what worship is I was drawn to this one. Why? because I believe that this articulates so well what worship truly is and what God truly intended worship to be. Paul says that true worship is presenting yourselves to God as holy. In the OT times they would go to Jerusalem and present animals as a sacrifice to God that were perfect and without defect. Since we have been redeemed and made new in Christ victory on the cross, we are called to offer our bodies (as we are) as a living sacrifice unto God. I’ve learned in the time that I have been a Christ follower that nothing you do on the outside matters. 1 Samuel 16:7 says “…People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Worship is so much more than singing words on a screen, or lifting your hands, it comes from the heart! It is giving yourself to God and realizing in your imperfection, He is perfect. It’s time to return to the heart of worship. Worship is a powerful thing. It says in Psalm that God is enthroned in the praises of his people meaning when we praise Him, He comes down to us! I believe that if we can get back to the heart of worship and begin to seek Gods heart and not his treasures, there can be a change in every area of your life. In the way you feel, the way you talk, the way you act, when you begin to release the power of God over your life with true undefiled worship there becomes a change that is beyond words. It’s time to get back to basics and come back to the heart of God!

A Click For Life!

As always I like to raise the awareness of social justice issues and involve everyone to get on board and make a difference. I recieved this email from ONE which I talked about what ONE is in Help ONE FIght For Clean Water. I encourage you if you don’t know what ONE is check them out at their website one.org. There is a button I added for you guys you can subscribe to get emails from ONE if you feel moved to get involved in this. One click can give a kid in Africa life! Think about that.

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The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is one of the great success stories in the struggle against these deadly, but treatable diseases. Since the US made a founding pledge in 2001, the Global Fund has saved 4.9 million lives in 140 countries. But the Global Fund needs continued strong support in order to keep getting AIDS drugs, anti-malaria bed nets and TB treatment to people who would otherwise go without. That’s why we need you to add one more person to your holiday card list this year: President Barack Obama. Click the link or picture to send the card below to President Obama andask him to give a global gift this holiday season and include strong support for the Global Fund in the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget he’s working on right now: http://www.one.org/us/globalgift/o.pl?id=1342-4125060-7mEXKBx&t=1 When you send President Obama a holiday card you’ll be reminding him that since 2003 the Global Fund has: Helped get lifesaving antiretroviral drugs to more than 2.5 million people and palliative care and prevention services for millions more Placed 6 million people on tuberculosis treatment Provided 104 million bed nets to prevent malaria Despite these significant gains, AIDS, TB and malaria still kill 4.6 million people worldwide every year. That’s why we’re asking President Obama to give a global gift this year, by investing in the Global Fundand making sure America remains a leader and partner in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria: http://www.one.org/us/globalgift/o.pl?id=1342-4125060-7mEXKBx&t=3 Thank you, Sheila Nix US Executive Director, ONE.org

ONE.ORG | BLOG | PRIVACY | SUBSCRIBE | UNSUBSCRIBE | CONTACT US | ABOUT

Power In Prayer

“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ”Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD.”

2 Kings 20:1-5

Things change when you begin to pray. Hezekiah was told by the prophet Isaiah “Hey your going to die, prepare the division of your estates.” Hezekiah, understanding the power there is in prayer got on his knees and began to pray to God.  It says in James chapter 5 that the earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and produces wonderful results.

A pastor friend of mine goes to Africa every year, sometimes twice a year. He was telling me all these awesome stories of how God moved and people were healed and so on but one story in particular stood out to me. He began to tell me a story how one night all the guys decided to go Mamba hunting (stupid right?) For those of you that don’t know what a Mamba is, it’s a snake and very poisonous (you can read more about that here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamba.) So they went out at night and they looked for a good 20 to 30 minutes with no luck. Meanwhile over in their hometown in New York, one of the guys sisters that was Mamaba hunting had a dream. She had a prophetic dream that her brother was about to be bitten by a Black Mamaba and was going to die in Africa. She woke up out of a sound sleep and began to unleash the power of prayer. She began to intercede on behalf of her brother. She began to pray like Moses did in Numbers 14 where the Israelites rebelled and wanted to go back to Egypt and God was going to kill them all. Moses prayed and unleashed the power that comes with prayer and pleaded on their behalf and God heard his prayer and spared their life. As she began to pray they all met back up after not finding any Mamba’s. My pastor friend then asked “Has anyone thought of what we are actually going to do when we see one?” Realizing how stupid they were being they went inside the hotel to sleep. When they got back from Africa, the guys sister told him about her dream and how real it was and how she prayed and intercede for him. They looked back and realized that it was at the same time when they decided to go back inside.

Just as James said and as we see with Hezekiah and with my pastor friend, there is power in prayer. It has the power to literally shape the making of history. Where Hezekiah was going to die, God heard his prayer and gave him life for fifteen more years it goes on to say and God gave him and Judah favor over the Assyrian king so they would not be exiled. Where the life of that young man was once counted dead, prayer rescued him, and I believe God is going to use him mightily to shape the course of history in many peoples lives him. History belongs to the intercessors.