"What would YOU do?" For Real?

This is an awesome question. Because here's where were going with this. Every few days, somebody wins a huge jackpot in one of the States many lotteries. I'm talking literally millions of dollars. Why then, do we still have so many people around us that are lacking, poor, destitute, about to lose their homes, cars just gotten taken from them, when all it would have taken was a few hundred dollars to save it or them. People walking around stealing food. Why? Could it be, that in our quest to become rich and famous, or just plain old filthy stinking rich, that we have forgotten the most basic of principals, which is to love our brother and our neighbor as we love ourselves? 1 person who has won one of these mega jackpots could take less than $500 thousand dollars out of the hundreds and millions that they have won, and reach out and help get someone else out of debt. Not only that, but if you pay off their debt, let it be a criteria that they first agree to take a finance class on debt free living, and how to stay debt free. The average american is probably less that $50,000 dollars in debt. You could akee 10 people debt free, and still had more than enough for you and your family to live overly comfortable on for the rest of your entire days, and your childrens days. But many of us have become so selfish and self indulgent, that we have completly forgotten to help someone else along the way. To touch somebodies life as we pass their way. But we are too busy buying 5 cars, of which we can only drive 1 at a time. Or 3 houses around the world, of which we can only live in 1 at a time. or 50,000 toilet seats, or $150,000 vases, and pointless statues. Everything stupid and rediculous that we have ever dreamed of, until we have foolishly exausted our wealth. I watched it on television one day. And it completly sickened me. People that had won millions, were broke again. And it didn't even take that long for it to happen. We only seem to end up right back where we started. Which Nothing. REALLY?

This world is made up of laws. You may know some of them. The law of gravity; "What goes up, must come down." Newtons 3rd. Law; an object that is at rest will stay at rest, unless an unbalanced force acts upon it. The laws of supply and demand. When the demand is high, the supply is low. And of course the law of Resiprosity; or in laymans terms, giving and receiving. You will get back, what you give out. Or, you will reap, what you sow. I have found this to be so true. I used to give out clothes to EVERYONE. Great big giant bags of new or gently used clothing. No sooner than I had given them out, either I would get a call saying, "Hey, I got some clothes for your kids. Some are new, some are gently used." Wow! EVERYTIME. So I stopped giving out clothes, and started trying to give out as much money as I could, in whatever amounts that I could, whenever I could. I would turn around not less than a day, and someone would put some money in my hand, or a card with money in it, or I would get an unexpected check in the mail. It really and truly works. Try it.

Well watch this. We are not gready or selfish people, so once our basic needs have been met, when money like that comes into our hands, after paying off basic nessesities of course, my tithes, my debts, my house, my car, childrens education, mom and dad and grandparents, giving to the church, our spiritual covering. The next thing I would do is reach out and get at least 10-20 more people out of debt, and teach them how to stay out of debt. I would also bless people anonymously. Small and large sums of money. I would contribute to the homeless shelters, making sure that the people who are downtown and around town at least had a good meal to eat. Because many of them have developed fears of coming into the food centers, or being around crowds of people. I would build a real homeless people bath house somewhere in the inner city, where the homeless could come and take a hot shower, get some clean clothes, maybe a hot meal, and be sent on their way. I would hire a loving staff that would have a heart for helping people, who would not ostrisize them or put them down, but would lovingly help them restore a little bit of their dignity and help them to know that they ARE important. Even though they may have momentarily lost their way, they are still loved, they do matter, and we do care.
There are honestly so many things that I would like to do. But enough about me, and this is by no means advocating for or suggesting that anyone go out and play the lottery.  But you never know WHAT God is going to do.  He may have someone win a multi million dollar settlement, and remember you.  It could happen.  If that happens, and it can, what would you do?

Now, tell me what YOU would do,

"WHAT DID GOD SAY?"

God created us to carry out His devine purpose on this earth.  When He did, He blessed us and told us to be fruitful, and multiply, and have dominion over everything.  Dominion is defined as = Sovereign rule, territory or government.  That means, we are the owners, the rulers or the proprietors of this physical earth.  But, how can we have dominion or be the proprietors of this earth, if we cannot have power or dominion of our own souls, our own minds, and our own spirits.
Even our own bodies.  But the issues and problems that we have controling our thoughts, our bodies, or our lives go much deeper than the superficial "Stuff" that we allow the world to see.  We get gridlocked, or stuck on "Stuff."  Not able to move further, because we refuse to let go of  the "Stuff." And because we can't move forward and can't go backward, we can't grow.  Then we can't fulfill our purpose and our prophetic destiny that has been set forth by God. 
We begin to feel deficient.  Lacking of some essential.  Imperfect.  Faulty and with holes or gaps.  Inadequate.  Wow!  It can literally parilyze you.  Then we begin to hear, and listen to the other voices.

But let me let you in on a little secret; How you feel about what is said about you or your situation does not matter.  It's what the word of God says that stands.
You need to get your word and do some reaserch and find out, "What did God Say."
THAT, is the final answer.  And that's how the enemy tricks us, because he can present to you cold hard facts, but he CAN NOT present to you the truth.  So here are the facts;  you WERE a sinner.  But the truth is, you ARE saved by grace, according to Ephesians 2:8.  The fact is you WERE guilty and SHOULD have been convicted.  The truth is that you are ARE NOT condemned,  according to Romans 8:1.  The fact is, your righteousness and all the good you try to do IS as filthy rags.  But the truth says, in Isaiah 1:8 that though your sins be as scarlet, they SHALL BE made white as snow.  The fact is that many of our thoughts are NOT correct, NOT pure and are NOT holy.  But the truth of Gods word according to Jeremiah 29:11 is that He (God) has thoughts of good and not of evil toward US, to bring us to an expected end.  Wow!  He actually sits and thinks about us!  The fact is that we ARE in the fight of our lives, and our flesh is EVER before us.  But the truth according to Galatians 2:20, is that WE ARE crucified with Christ; nevertheless, WE live.  The fight is fixed.  We win!!!

Always remember 3 things.  1.  Never live beneath your priveledges looking at or 
                                                   listening to other people.  WHAT DID GOD SAY?

                                              2.  Your present condition can not CAN NOT or DOES 
                                                   NOT dictate your future potential in  where God is 
                                                    taking you.
                                                   You don't know WHERE you are going, but he WILL
                                                   bring you to an expected end.

And lastly, but by no means least,

                                              3.  It's not whether the devil speaks to you or not, cause
                                                  he will; It's how you ANSWER him.
                                                  SPEAK THE WORD OF GOD!

Now, let us know what YOU think.





                                             

"A Time for Healing"

It's for healing in our lives.  In the book of Exodus the 12th. Chapter, After many plagues being put on him and his people, King Pharoah finally let the children of Isreal go.  And at that point the Egyptians were urgent and in a hurry for them to leave.  And the Egyptians said in the 33rd. verse, "We be all dead men."  They knew that those people had been being held against the will of the sovereign God.  So they were in essence pushing them out.  But when they left and they left their old way of life behind them like God had instructed them.  Their old attitudes.  Their old mindsets.  Their old ways of thinking.  Their old ways of life.  They let all of that go.  They did not go out empty handed, they went out blessed.  It says in the 35th. verse that the children of Israel borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment (clothes.  Beautiful elaborate clothes).  And they lent them everything that they required.  They literally spoiled or ravaged, the Egyptians.  The children of Isreal literally walked out of Egypt with a whole lot more than what they even originally went in with.  They walked out rich, because they obeyed God through the man of God.  God didn't talk to them, He talked to Moses, and he conveyed the words of God to them.  Even with Moses initially making every excuse in the world why HE was not qualified to lead the children of Isreal out of Egypt, (I scared.  I can't speak well.  They won't listen to me.  Who am I?  And on and on),  God still got them WHAT they needed to succeed in the wilderness and got them WHERE it is that He wanted them to go.  They left a land of poverty, hard labor and slavery, only to go to a land of no lack.  To that rich and prosperous place.  A land flowing with milk and honey.  The promised land. 
Its time to leave the past behind us, or as I love it when Pumba on the children's annimated movie, "The Lion King" says, "Leave your behind, in the past."  But the time is short.  The word of God says, the time is at hand, even closer than when we first believed.  The anger; the hurt; the pains; the unforgiveness; the disappointments; the annimosities; EVERYTHING!  It is time to let it go, and move on with our lives.  If the children of Israel had not left Egypt, they would never have seen the promised land.  It's time for us to leave Egypt behind.  It's time for us to allow the slavery of our minds, souls and spirits to be released.  Everthing that is holding us.  Everything that is binding us.  WE must let it go, so that we can see, the Promised Land.  If we are unwilling to move forward, then we will be left behind.  And we will remain enslaved in our hearts and minds.  It's time for healing in our hearts, minds, bodies, souls and spirits.  Literally.

Now, tell us what you think. 

"THROWING STONES"

Why is it that so many people take such pleasure in putting other people down.  It's called "Throwing Stones."  As I listened to Pastor Ed, from ABT this past week, I realized that this is a problem that dates way back, even before Christ.  There is a saying that says, "People who live in glass houses, should not throw stones."  You allow people into your lives; you share your every personal and private selves with them; you befriend them, not allowing yourself to focus in on the large and vast amount of baggage that they themselves carry around with them refusing to let go of, only to have your life and your integrity put under a microscope of evaluation, to have bitter remarks begin to be made from the selfless extension that you have made of our lives and your family. 
God gave us examples of times when we should actually throw stones.  In the bible people threw stones as judgement, to kill a person who had offended or broken the law to various different degress.  Whereas, King David literally hurled a stone at the giant Goliath, knocking him out and killing him with his own sword.  But, Goliath was an enemy or an example of the devil.  We SHOULD throw stones at and ultimately destroy our enemy which is the devil, but not at our friends.  Not at our family.  Not at each other.  And most definitely, not at the ones we say we love or care for.  It is a travesty when we allow ourselves to get to the point where we cannot be trusted to be let into the intimate lives of others.  Where you go in, to scout out and look around or listen, for something to use for amunition later.  And we take what we have seen or heard or have been told in the utmost confidence, and begin to use it for our benefit.  To cover our flaws and inadequacies.  SHAME ON YOU!  God forgive you for the self centered breach of trust that you have allowed to happen.  For you allowing yourself to dare to open your mouth against you beloved brother or sister, because YOU thought that YOU were justified and righteous enough and without SIN enough to do so.  And we use social media's like Facebook, Twitter and Texting to spread our venom, and cover our own selves.  That is not of God.  And if we ARE the ones who are throwing stones; gossiping, talking, backbitting, bring down, demeaning or belittling our brothers and sisters, we need to go back, take another long hard look at ourselves, and wonder very seriously, if we have been truly regenerated by the word and the works of our Lord.  There is no question today.  Only this statement of fact that was pressed upon me by the Lord.  This is my opinion.

Now, let us hear what YOU have to say.

"What Do YOU Want To Be When You Grow Up?"

Hi everyone.  I know I'm a little late doing this post.  Well, more than just a little.  But I wanted to gather as much information as I could about this subject, and of course, that means yes you guessed it, talking to a lot of people.  And from the conversations that have been coming up, it seems that people want to re-think or re-examine their lives.  To, go back, so to speak.  To re-invision their lives, and what routes they could have taken to make things different in their lives.  so, here is the word that was given by a young person on Sunday.  "Imagine That."  I found his definition of Imagine so intriguing, that I wanted to really anaylize this word so I went to Wikepedia dictionary, and this is what I came up with.

Imagine= To form a mental image of something not actually present to the senses;
                 to invision or create something in ones mind.  To think, believe in, or fancy.
                To assume, to suppose or to guess.  To picture, conceive of, or realize. 
                To realize is to make an imagined thing real or concrete to oneself; to grasp
                fully, its implications.  To have the faith in, to believe that it will surely      
                come to pass.

Now, when I was in my teens, and then my early 20's, slightly younger than I'am now,
I imagined many things for my life.  I imagined going to paris and living in Europe for a portion of my life.  I imagined being so wealthy that I could help as many people as I could to get completly out of debt, and teach them how to stay out of debt.  I imagined opening a bath house for the indigent and homeless to be able to have a place to go to bathe or shower, and get a fresh set of clothes and a good hot meal for the night.  They could only do this on a long term basis if they were willing to come off of the streets and be housed in transitional housing to re-introduce them into the woking world.  And I wanted a house for orphans that would get them off of the streets, give them a loving structured environment, and lead them to Christ as well. 
I never wanted to be rich or famous, but I did want to be a world renowned novelist, writing the most awesome and incredible love stories, but that wrote with a ghost writer so no one would really know who I was.  And I would sit back and smile, and know it was really me all the time.  I imagined soooo, many things in my life.  I had a mental image of something not actually present to my senses.  I did NOT imagine that I would be a all the things that I have been, ultimately leading up to where Iam now, an assistant Pastor/Under Shepherd of the church I have attended for the last 18 years.  Wow!  But sometimes God has to grow you up, before he can do what he REALLY wants to do in your life.  The word came on yesterday, "Imagine That."  So, these next years of my journey will be greater than the former years, because, I dare to imagine all that God has in store for me.  A move of God in my life like never before.  Supernatural and Devine health and healing in my body.  Saved and Spirit filled children.  A house completely in order.  My brand new house built from the ground up.  A fully thriving business.  Riches and prosperity and increase in my life.  More than I can ever dream or Imagine. 
And I WILL have my bath house for the homeless and indigent!  I dare to Imagine!

No matter how old we are, we all have some growing up to do, somewhere.  Spiritually, or naturally.  And as we allow God to grow us up, our belief or our faith will grow too.
So, here is the question.

What do you want to be, when you grow up?