JUST ENOUGH for The Journey - So Great and So Far!

One of the most difficult things to understand about our relationship with The Lord is forgiveness. I'm not talking about our knowledge, awareness or feelings about it. I'm talking about our acceptance of forgiveness.

First, we need to know that forgiveness is a gift. Unlike most gifts, this one doesn't require you to unwrap it; nor are you required to get cleaned up; made-up or dressed up to receive it. As a matter of fact nobody else can give you this gift accept The Lord, so there's no reason to ask of your worthiness; your probability and your ability to be forgiven, this thing is between The One who gives the gift and the one who is willing to receive the gift.

Secondly, Jesus gave His all, yes even His life. The first words spoken by Jesus as He laid Himself on that old rugged cross was "Father FORGIVE THEM, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:24) The very reason for Jesus to come and die on the cross was so that we may have our debt paid in full so that we may be restored to God. To be forgiven is to truly begin anew, to have our slate wiped clean and to have the balance owed because of our sin zeroed out!!

Lastly, it is not about our intellect, understanding or knowledge of God's forgiveness, but it is all about our accepting the gift of forgiveness that God has for each of us. This great gift is available to everyone who asks. This great gift has no statute of limitations. This great gift has no boundaries that it cannot cross. This great gift never runs out, never ceases and never quits.

The Psalmist pens his praise as best as he can with words that attempts to describe what he feels..."So Great and So Far"!!! I have this image in my mind of bended knees, arms lifted and eyes looking as high and as far as they can see, yet the Psalmist knows that there is so much more beyond what he can begin to measure. So, he simply describes "So Great and So Far".

May you accept His forgiveness and may your praise be glorious!

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, SO GREAT is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, SO FAR has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalms 103:11-12 NKJV)

JUST ENOUGH for The Journey - Walk Worthy

"That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10 NKJV)

It is time that we organize our life in such a way that we may not only survive each day, but that we may truly live each day according to God's Word.  We struggle and stress then stress and struggle only because we have let worldviews and worldly things clutter our minds and preoccupy the works of our hands.

God is speaking to us this morning in the 10th verse of Colossians saying that we need to take a pause, reevaluate our lives and then begin to walk worthy of who we are in Him. Our days should be fruitful, not only for us but also for those around us. Our days should be filled with the knowledge of who has showered us with grace, gifts, love, peace, power, energy, intelligence and the very breath of life that sustains us 84,600 seconds each day without us having to ask!

May we change our walking status and walk and live in such a way that our steps are ordered by The Lord and not by the demand of this world. Doing so is pleasing to The Lord and beneficial to you as well as to others.

I pray that as we walk through our day that we grasp the knowledge of The One who causes us to walk and then calls us to walk worthy of His pleasure and that we don't walk in such a way that we discredit ourselves and bring displeasure to God. Amen.

Kyle's GRADUATION Day

My son is still sleeping, but im up reflecting and being a little nostalgic as I remember him running across the floor in his diapers (or naked as his cousin Alicia recalls it) 😃.

Today is Kyle's GRADUATION and he will walk across a stage to receive His award and then step into adulthood!

He handed me his report card yesterday and simply said, "Done". We're Proud of this Dude!!

Graduation Day

My son is still sleeping, but im up reflecting and being a little nostalgic as I remember him running across the floor in his diapers (or naked as his cousin Alicia recalls it) 😃.

Today is Kyle's GRADUATION and he will walk across a stage to receive His award and then step into adulthood!

He handed me his report card yesterday and simply said, "Done". I'm Proud of this Dude!!

JUST ENOUGH for The Journey - Everlasting Love

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." (Jeremiah 31:3 ESV)

Guess what? You are not the only person that has made a mistake, messed up, fallen down or have shown disrespect or have been disgraced. We have all done it!

I understand that right now it may be difficult to find comfort in the fact that we all have fallen short of the glory of God, as it is oftentimes extremely difficult under present frowns to take comfort from former smiles; yet we must understand that it is the happiness of those who through grace, discover the love of God and know for themselves that God’s love is an everlasting love.

Jeremiah lets us see God’s patience with His people in the Old Testament and reminds us that God has always been and continues to be merciful. It is through the eyes and heart of this Prophet that we understand that God's chosen people routinely ignored the covenant they made with Him (they made mistakes, messed up, fallen down, shown disrespect or had been disgraced). This should give us hope in our own struggles with living well for God. Although we fail Him, He is patient with us, working in us to bring about the best for our lives.

When we hit rock bottom and struggles and difficulties appear, it is good to remember that there have been others before you...YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE.

God assures His people that He will again take them into covenant relation to Himself..."I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

God has promised to continue His faithfulness to you; God's love was not just for yesterday, but for today and and for all of your tomorrows - it is an everlasting love.

Today is a good day to rise up; Today is a good day to stand tall again; and Today is a good day to lift your eyes, your heart and your faith to God. Will you follow Him?

JUST ENOUGH for The Journey - Introduction

Manna appeared on the ground each day as thin flakes like frost. The people gathered it, ground it like grain, and made it into honey-tasting pancakes. For the Israelite the Manna was a gift...it came every day and was just what they needed.

Every now and then we need a little encouragement, a little focus and a little nugget to carry us and to sustain us from day to day. It is my intention to share "JUST ENOUGH" spiritual Manna daily to sustain us while we're on this Journey of Faith together.

Take in as much as you like or as little as you may need for your day. Just accept the gift of God's Word and I promise that whatever you glean from it, it will be "JUST ENOUGH for The Journey"

"But when they measured it out, everyone had JUST ENOUGH. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed. (Exodus 16:18 NLT)

Pentecost

I. Pentecost is the fulfilment of two promises.

One promise is in the Old Testament – Joel 2:28, which says "I will pour out my Spirit on all people", and one in the New, where Jesus says he will send another Counsellor, the Spirit of truth (John 16: 5-15)

II. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church.

It marks the beginning of Christianity as a purposeful movement and a new community. When Peter preached immediately afterwards, around 3,000 people believed and were baptised.

Have a Great Weekend on Purpose!

RIGHT NOW...I'm declaring joy, peace, Thankfulness, golf and BBQs!

I'm refuting issues, drama and disputes this weekend. Who's with me?

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (I Corinthians 10:31 NKJV)

YOU!!!

When I look at YOU, I give thanks to God for His blessing on YOUR life. Yes, I'm speaking to ALL of my brothers and sisters in Christ! Today, I celebrate who YOU are and who YOU are becoming. Keep the faith. Good morning!!

"How well God must like you— you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College. Instead you thrill to God ’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom." (Psalm 1:1-3 MSG)

Amen or Outch?

If We Can't Say AMEN, Say OUTCH!

Perhaps it's time that we take our  attention away from Reality TV, Public Opinion and our relying on Google or Ask.Com to provide us guidance and knowledge and get to our local church and discover The Truth for our lives? Hmmm...

Jesus said, “You’re way off base, and here’s why: One, you don’t know your Bibles; two, you don’t know how God works." (Mark 12:24 MSG)

AMEN!!!

Pink Victory

Happy birthday to my coworker who has stepped into the ring, battled cancer and WON! Her faith in God never wavered and her prayer life grew tremendously.

I celebrate the victory of YOU today...to God be the Glory for His healing, blessing and continued favor in your life!!

YES

- God wants to know will you be His Disciple

- God wants to know will you follow Him

- God wants to know will you be Baptized

Let me emphasize:  we don’t have to be perfect to say “YES” to God…and He doesn’t expect us to be perfect after we say “YES ”.  He loves us as we are.

Each and every one of us has our own unique talents that God asks us to share.  God values all of these.

If today you hear His voice…just say “YES”.

Give God your "YES" and He will do great works in and through you. Amen

Take YOUR Life Back!

Love you Bro & Love you Sis, but I'm here to tell you that, "YOU are SO MUCH MORE than the life that you are choosing to live!"

Don't ever let yourself get in a position to be used for somebody else's pleasure, to provide entertainment at the expense of your own integrity or allow yourself to be a financial service to another.

This happens when you give into drugs (Marijuana, Cocaine, Pills, Heroin or any other mind altering and intelligence purging synthetic chemical substance). Think about it, how much fun are you having? How is your being controlled to the point of you being out of control funny? Do you not know that you are being controlled? Do you not know that you are allowing yourself to be held down, held back and held hostage? Do you not know that you are making wealthy and providing resources to those whose plans are simply to destroy you, your community and all that will ever come from you...your relationships, your children and your business?

How could you be so numb, blind and stupid to allow this to happen? Do you not care about YOU?

If you do care, make up in your mind and in your heart that you will no longer be systemically, socially, racially, sexually, economically or chemically controlled, but that you will take control of your life.

Obey God and watch how He will free you and then how abundantly He will bless you!

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:   You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.   The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.   Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.   You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.   The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.   The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.   The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord , and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.   The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." (Deuteronomy 28:1-14 NIV)

Coffee with The Pastor - Submission

So, let's be real about this, people really hate the word "submit". Continuing to be real, we must also know that we are all, at one point or another, going to submit to something. We are all actively submitting to someTHING, either a system of thinking, and addiction,  a goal, a vision, an authority, or a person.

The truth of grace is that we can choose to submit to God whose goal is to forgive us and to make our lives better. When you find a God like that, submission can actually become a joy and not a burden.

We find forgiveness and freedom by submitting ourselves to a God who shows grace at levels we simply cannot comprehend.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7a NIV)

Put Your Hand In His Hand

People will let you know where you stand in their relationship with you by how they respond to you. No response, no relationship. Little response, little relationship.

Quit depending on people's response and seek and receive God's response. His response was to send Jesus to die for us so that our relationship can be eternally restored.

People will dismiss you. God will bless you!

Coffee and Cake...Oh Yeah!!

We discussed Faith last night during Bible study. We looked at what the dictionary says about faith and compared the same with our Christian Faith.

Well, the dictionary definition of faith was static, dry, lifeless and at times contradictory as it placed the word "or" in its explanation of faith.

Conversely, our Christian Faith is depicted like this:  "Christian faith is ATTITUDE, CONVICTION and CONDUCT based on a right relationship with God. It is not static, but grows in strength and depth as we nourish that relationship with our Creator throughout our lives."

It's ALIVE & IT'S LIVING!!!  What a contrast!

May you and I operate in this LIVING FAITH on today for Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

Oh about the cake...last week at the close of Bible Study, I asked one of the Sisters (who is a Baker) for something sweet as my sweet tooth was acting up. Well, I asked and went on about my business; my life; and my obligations for the rest of the week, which included a trip out of town. It had totally slipped my mind until last night, right before study was to start, that Sis. Brenda Robeson came through the door with a Chocolate Cake with White Frosting...moist, delicious and totally made from scratch!

At that moment it was revealed to me that in Faith, when we come to God with our prayers and supplications, sometimes we ask for a blessing and then life just takes over. However, although we may have gotten busy and forgot our request, God remained Faithful in honoring our request! Again, I forgot, but God didn't...God honored my request.

Now that is Faith...the Faithfulness of God to do far more than we have asked and far greater than what we have even imagined.

I was perhaps thinking a piece of cake, but what was answered and delivered was an entire cake that I was able to share with all of my sisters and brothers in Bible Study!

May you share your cake (Blessings) with your sisters and brothers!

Coffee with The Pastor - Self-centered Desires and Covetousness

Self-centeredness and Covetousness, left unchecked, can cause great destruction. Likewise, with unchecked sinfulness in our lives the results are the same. We must work diligently to extract these from our lives by the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. If we dont, they will destroy us.

You see, some would say, "Well,  just stop stealing, or cheating or killing or drugging or drinking and everything will be alright." It's not that simple. Those things just listed are not the real problems; they are simply the symptoms of the problem. The real trouble is not in our hands, the real trouble is in our hearts.

We enter into arguments and refuse to settle them because of our own evil desires that battle within us. We have affairs and take someone else's spouse because of our own evil desires that battle within us. We cheat on our taxes; We steal from out workplace; We enter into gossip and character assassination against one another because of our own evil desires that battle within us. We enter into physical fights because of our own evil desires that battle within us. We drink and party to the point of destroying our credibility and health because of our own evil desires that battle within us. While we try to blame the marriage, the alcohol, the drug, the boss, the system, the bully, or the parents who raised us...the truth is much simpler...IT'S OUR OWN EVIL DESIRES THAT BATTLE WITHIN US!

So, what must change are the desires that exist within us. We cannot change our hearts by changing our actions. We must change our actions by changing our hearts. When our "want to" changes, our "will do" follows. Simply put, people will do what they want to do. So, if you want to change what you do, you must do the work of changing what you want to do.

Think about it. The alternative is that we destroy our lives and perhaps the lives of others around us because of our own evil desires that battle within us.

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God." (James 4:1-2 NIV)

Coffee with The Pastor - REAL WISDOM

Now, there is wisdom born of this world and there is Wisdom born of Heaven. So, when I titled this Post REAL WISDOM, we must also know that there is fake wisdom, or I could comfortably say empty wisdom that really yields no benefits for the one who possesses it nor does it benefit those around it.

In order to not offend all of you hardworking, responsible and law abiding citizens I will base this discussion of "Worldly Wisdom" on those who have set their minds to gain knowledge on how to make Dope, to be successful Con Artists, Hackers of Accounts, Identity Thieves and so many more lawless and unsociable "professions"...unfortunately, the list is very long. Gaining this kind of wisdom is not beneficial to anyone and it is definitely detrimental to all it touches.

However, Isn't it great to know that what we see everyday, what we read and what we hear about all to often is not all that there is? Listen to what the Apostle James says about Heaven-born Wisdom...Wisdom from God Himself...REAL WISDOM!

"Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. (James 3:17-18 MSG)"

Final thought for all of the law abiding, hardworking and responsible folks mentioned above.  If in your gaining of academic achievements, professional titles and prestigious positions in society...you find that you don't have knowledge of God who provides it all, then your wisdom is also worldly only; therefore, I must tell you that your wisdom is also empty!

Coffee with The Pastor - BE On Guard...Envy and Selfishness

What You Celebrate, You Duplicate!

Wow!!!  I normally skip Posting on weekends, but during my reading this morning, I was floored with the TRUTH of who we are (some of us) as a people, society and a nation.

The Problem: Many have become a people who are only concerned with SELF-image.  We covet, crave or even desire what others have, how they are living their lives or the success that they have achieved.  We celebrate their lifestyles (no matter how illicit, illegal or even ill-advised), we celebrate their defiance to order, law and rule; and we tend to even celebrate destructive behavior.  How you may ask?  You may think that this rant is over the top, but look at what we watch on the television.  Look at the reality shows.  Look at the addictions and exploitation of our celebrities in Sports, on the Big Screen and in the Music Industry.  Again, how are we taking part in this?  We tattoo ourselves with images and words spoken or sung by such persons…”THUG LIFE”, “Hustler”, ”YOLO”, “The World is Mine”, etc.  We purchase their merchandise, albums (CDs) and attend their concerts.  We subscribe to pay television channels which exploits violence, nudity and profanity.  We subscribe to Chat rooms and websites that exploit women and children and fuels the finances of Human Trafficking.  Many of these things that we support doesn't appear to directly damage us or confuse our true identity, but if continued it will consume us and utterly destroy us!

I find it almost laughable, if it weren't so incredibly sad and destructive, that as a culture we celebrate selfishness and then seem confused when there is a lack of self-less-ness in our culture.  Well, what did you expect? If our children’s hero is filled with envy and selfish ambition, then do we really expect that we are encouraging good behavior within our children?  No. Like with everything else, what you celebrate, you duplicate.  So when we celebrate envy and selfish ambition, we duplicate envy and selfish ambition.  Once the entire culture is driven by its own envy and selfish ambition, then the only possible outcome is “disorder and every evil practice”.

What can we do? Let me encourage you to do two things:

1. Be a person of self-less service.
2. Celebrate people of self-less service.

What we celebrate…we can duplicate!

“For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16)