(The Prequel) Mission in Action: The Jesus Agenda

Gowill be good Day Readers:

 

I am hoping and praying that you will be blessed by this piece.  This is the prequel to the Mission in Action Series.  The first was posted last year, Mission in Action (Time to punch in and go to work) and, the second was Mission in Action (Praying for a miracle in the middle of a mess).  Well if you like movies like I do, some films will add a prequel to see where it all began.  Well, here is my prequel to the Mission in Action Series, The Jesus Agenda.

 

Until next Time…

 

 

(The Prequel)  Mission in Action:  The Jesus Agenda

Matthew 9:35-38

 

 

 

 

As we worship on this first Mission Sunday of 2012, we can come to the conclusion that, while there is

 

time for worship, there is also time for work.  Yes, we can come to God’s house any day of the week and

 

sit in His pews, sings His songs, hear His Word and even pray that He will help us and help each other

 

according to His will.  But there still remains that task at hand that that task is that there is work to be

 

done.  Those of us that have been in the workforce currently, or retired, or even those of us that are

 

matriculating in some sort of post secondary education know that before you can begin to embark on

 

the tasks that have been laid before us, there has to be some sort of agenda outlining what needs to be

 

done in order to accomplish our goal.  If we look at the word “agenda” you will see what we are trying

 

to say here:

 

agenda
1745–55;  < Latin,  plural of agendum  that which is to be done,gerund of agere  to do; the plural orig. carried a collective sensedenoting the various items to be transacted

 

agenda  (əˈdʒɛndə)
— n
1.	( functioning as singular ) Also called: agendum  a schedule or   list of items to be attended to
2.	( functioning as plural ) agendas , Also called: agendums matters to be attended to, as at a meeting of a committee

When we look at these examples of what an agenda really is, we can come to the conclusion that Jesus

 

has an agenda for His church.  The main reason He was born was that we all would have a right to the

 

tree of life but, while He was on earth, he set the ground rules, and the personal example for us to

 

follow.  In other words, before He came, He already had agenda in place.  All we have to do is accept the

 

fact that Jesus had an agenda and the Jesus Agenda is what the Church needs to use in order to save the

 

souls in these last days.

 

 

As we look in chapter 9 of Matthew’s Gospel, we see Jesus coming by ship to His own city of Galilee.  As

 

he left the ship, He healed a man sick with the palsy, a woman with an issue of blood that had lasted

 

twelve years, raised the daughter of Jarius from the dead, two blind men, a man that was possessed by

 

the devil, and still found time to go preaching and teaching to multitudes of people in their own villages

 

and synagogues.  Yet, while this was happening, He was ridiculed by priests and scribes for asking a tax

 

collector to follow Him and even going to his house to eat.  Toward the end of the chapter, Jesus says,

 

after seeing the crowd that was following Him, “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth

 

laborers into the harvest.

 

 

There are three points that we need to remember here.  We have to first remember that the Jesus

 

Agenda has not been nor ever will be popular.  When we go back to verses 2 and 3, we see that Jesus

 

healed a man that was sick with the Palsy.  The one thing that he told the man was to, “bee of good

 

cheer; thy sins are forgiven…”.  This is when the scribes said amongst themselves in verse 3, “this man

 

blasphemeth…”.  We have to realize that Jesus’ agenda is not popular, even among church folk.  How

 

many times have we set out to do the work of the Kingdom only to be laughed at or ridiculed by folks

 

that think you’re trying to showboat or trying to “take over the meeting”?  How many times have you

 

tried to being someone to Christ only to have them look at you funny, or say you’re trying to shove

 

religion down their throats, or even just flat out tell you that God doesn’t even exist?  Well, whether

 

they think that you think that you are better than they are, or whether they look at you and call you a

 

“holy roller”, or whether they believe that there is no God at all, we have to understand that we as

 

Christians are on a mission and that mission is all part of the Jesus Agenda.

 

 

We understand that the Jesus Agenda may not be popular to some folks in the world but that does not

 

mean that it does not go unnoticed.  If you go to verse 23 we will see that Jesus’ agenda had already

preceded Him:

 

“And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and when He saw the minstrels and the people making

 

noise, He said unto them ‘Give place:  for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.  And they laughed at Him

 

in scorn.  But when the people were put forth, He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid

 

arose.  And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land…”

 

 

In other words, when it comes to the Jesus agenda, it may not be popular but, when we see just how

 

mighty His works are, and we can be a witness to the blessings He can bestow upon those that believe,

 

it won’t be long before somebody hears about it because good news travels fast!  I remember when

 

both of my boys were born.  That in itself is the best miracle that God can ever give anyone that desires

 

to be a parent.  But I tell you, it wasn’t even minutes after they had come into the world that I got

 

several phone calls congratulating their mother and me and we hadn’t even gotten to the nursery to

 

spend any time with them.  I’m saying all of that to say this.  Jesus’ Agenda is NOT something that can be

 

related to time and mere circumstance.  His agenda is His alone and whether we like it or not the

 

agenda will go forth even if it takes a miracle for it to happen.

 

 

The last thing we need to realize, when it comes to the Jesus Agenda is that it is not popular, it will not

 

go unnoticed but it will give us a harvest with enough work to go around.  Once word got around that

 

Jesus was traveling from city to city healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the

 

people, He noticed that the word got around and that there were a whole lot of folk coming to see a

 

man that help them with any and every problem.  Yes, He could have healed everybody He came in

 

contact with and them some but, He was giving us instructions for us to use when He went back to

 

glory.  The mission of the Church is not just to sit idly by hoping someone would happen to walk in

 

destitute, fallen on hard times, and in need of a handout.  Yes, we are to come and worship Him and

 

give Him all of the glory, honor and all of the praise but, if you really study this text, you will see that

 

Jesus did more teaching, did more preaching, and did more healing OUTSIDE of the church.  Sometimes

 

we have to get away from the House in order to go fishing.  Back up in verse 9 Jesus was still in Galilee,

 

when He passed Matthew and told him, “follow me”.  Then we find Him eating and drinking with

 

publicans, sinners, and all kinds of folk. In other words, in order to get the agenda out, Jesus hung out

 

with the wrong crowd.  His agenda made it perfectly clear:

 

 

-In order for us to reap the harvest , we must first go out and plant some seeds – That’s the agenda

 

-In order for us to do some good, we to GO and help those who have it bad that have it bad – That’s the agenda.

 

-In order for the world to see Jesus in us, we have to love the devil out of them – That’s the agenda

 

-But in order for us to “Punch in and go to work”, we have to be familiar with the agenda in the first place – THAT’S THE AGENDA!

 

All I’m simply trying to get across to us here is that we can’t do anything for the mission that is already in

 

action without first getting a copy of this agenda so that we, as the church, can believe in he mission,

 

can join the mission, be part of the mission, get involved in the mission, help complete the mission, so

 

when that day comes when we all get to Heaven we tell our Lord and Savior, MISSION

 

ACCOMPLISHED!!! Just like the songwriter said:

 

STILL BLESSED

Each day that I live, He gives more than I need
and I could never describe His goodness to me
if you ask how I make day after day
there is only one thing I can say

(chorus)
its been a long journey but I have been blessed
walking with Jesus, I have no regrets
He is so good to me and I must confess
the way has been long but I’m blessed

All that I need I find at his feet
when I’m hungry he feeds me with manna so sweet
when my soul is weary he sends peace and rest
and all I can say is I’m blessed

Now I’ve had my share of sunshine and rain
days filled with laughter and nights filled with pain
but with every mile as I travel this way
the journey gets sweeter each day

(repeat chorus)

I’M BLESSED
so much more than I ever deserve
I’M BLESSED
he’s been faithfully keeping His word
I’M BLESSED
I’ve been cleansed by the hand of the Lord

I’m blessed, I’m blessed, I’m blessed

(repeat chorus)

the way has been long but I’m blessed

the way has been long but I’m blessed

 

-

Blog Rewind

Happy New Year!!!

Good Day Readers;

I am so happy to be in 2012 and I hope that you are as well.  I was reading over some of my previous posts from the very beginning and I must say that I’ve had a lot on my mind…lol  Well I wanted to re-share one with you that I thought would be fitting for beginning the new year.  I present to you again, The Crows vs The Hawk: 

http://myzenmypiece.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/the-crows-vs-the-hawk/

Until Next Time…

Here We Are Again…

Good Day Readers:

Well, here it is, once again.  The end of one year and the process of embarking on yet another.  If  you are reading this now, I am truly glad that God has brought us this far and am equally happy that you took time to stop by and check out how things are progressing.  Like everyone, this year has been chock full of turmoil, sadness, heartache, dissention, suffering, and loss.  However, it has also been a year chock full of gladness, happiness, faith, renewal, freedom, awareness, prosperity, love, joy, honesty, and reconciliation.  In other words, my friends, this past year had been chock full of LIFE.  I say that because we each have gone through every single experience that I have mentioned.  If you have not, you still have a few more days…lol. 

That being said, I want to take this time to look forward to 2012 with a sense that there will be some adventures ahead.  I won’t say whether they will be good or bad because that isn’t up to me.  I will say that you will definitely encounter some of life’s experiences and I can only hope and pray that you learn from the bad ones and be thankful for the good ones because, either way, they’re coming!  The question is simple.  Are you ready?  I pray that you are. 

If you haven’t already noticed, my theme has changed on the blog site.  I figured that since this year is coming to an end, why not try something different.  I definitely like this new theme and I hope you do as well.  We’re always getting to a point where we are letting go of things that have lost their luster or changing things in order to get a fresh perspective.  Well, this is my turn.  I guess it’s more of a symbol of things that I wish to accomplish. Don’t get me wrong, I have accomplished a great deal in 2011 professionally, spiritually, and in my ministry.  This time however, I plan on continuing to press on toward the mark and always look for that brass ring.  I’m not saying that I won’t be happy or am I saying that I will be ungrateful.  I just know that there are blessings as well as lessons out there that are awaiting my arrival into 2012.  I say, let them come.  Bring it on!  I still have my faith in God and that, in itself has had some issues.  Meaning, it has undulated much like a weak bridge on the verge of collapse but, Thank God that he has not lost His love for me otherwise, well, you know the rest…lol

So here is to 2011.  Thank you for what you have shown me and I appreciate all that you have done, good and bad.  To 2012, I’m coming soon, and I challenge you to challenge me but, keep in mind and, be advised, I have God with me so, well, you know the rest…lol

 

Until Next Year

The Plan, The Order, The Victory

Good Day Readers:

It’s coming close to that time of year again.  The CHRISTmas season.  Yes, purposely place CHRIST in caps because He, after all, the reason for the season.  Yes, that is a very cliche phrase but it really has a lot of meaning to it.  He is the greates gift anyone could ever receive.  I hope you feel the same way I do.  If not, I encourage you to reconsider.  The following is what I will be speaking on this coming Sunday.  Normally, I shoose the day after to post my sermons but, this one I couldn’t wait to share with you.  We all need encouragement and I hope that you are encouraged reading it as I was writing it, and will be even more encouraged preaching it.

Until Next Time…

Joshua 6:1-5

And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

 

When we look in to this passage of scripture, we see that the city of Jericho was on, what we call, “Lockdown” or, what the United Sates Military calls, Defcon 3.  You will recall in recent history beginning with the attacks on September 11, 2001.  This country was, and has been,  in an ever present state of increased readiness.  There are actually 5 levels of DEFCON or Defense Readiness Condition with 5 being the lowest state and 1 implying that nuclear war is imminent.  However, for the sake of today’s thought, we can assume that Jericho was at DEFCON 3 which meant that there was “an increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness.  The reason for this state of readiness was due in part to the Children of Israel.  If we go back to Chapter 5 of this book, we see that Joshua was given orders by God to circumcise all of the males.

²At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

³And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

⁴And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.

⁵Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.

⁶For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

In other words, because the generation that God had brought out of the land of Egypt were not obedient to God’s will, it was now time for a new generation of God’s people to rise up and fall in line to what God had laid out in His plan for His people.  If we study our history, we will see that even though, our parents and grandparents fought and fought HARD, so that we would have the luxuries that were not readily available to us back then, and even though they gathered to “sit in”, marched for miles upon miles, and subjected themselves to various forms of brutality, a lot of those solders are no longer with us today so, now it’s time for a NEW generation to make an impact on the world provided that we are obedient!  We also see here in chapter 5 that the children of Israel had crossed over the River of Jordan and were now camped in front of the city of Jericho which, in fact, was the strongest and most strategic military outpost of the Canaanites.  The reason why they were in this place was simple: They needed to be in a place where they would have to fully trust in God.  Sometimes, as I have stated previously, God will put you in a position in order to get your attention.  Think of the Verizon commercial where the man in constantly asking the question, “Can you hear me now?”  God does not like any other interference when He is speaking so He will get you in a place where His signal is at its best so He can ask you, “Can you hear me now?”

Fast forward to Chapter 6 and we see that Israel is now at the very doorstep of the city of Jericho.  It was at this time that the Lord had spoken to Joshua in verse 2 – 4:

²And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

³And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

There are a few lessons we can learn from these verses.  First we have to realize that God has a battle plan that is drenched in victory for your life.  If you recall in the beginning, I stated that Jericho was on full alert and were ready to defend their city at all costs.  From the human perspective, they were ready, willing and very able to defend their city and, by all accounts, were going to win swiftly because, from Jericho’s perception, Israel was not capable and ill equipped to withstand the brute force or the shock and awe that would come down on them from Jericho’s army.  This is where we have to realize that even though the battle looks like it’s unwinnable, even though it looks like the score is one-sided, even though that test that you are about to take looks like certain doom for your GPA, keep in mind that there is a battle plan that is already in place and, most importantly, said battle plan is not yours to begin with.  We have to rely on God because He and He alone is the Master Strategist, and His strategy is the only strategy that will win against whatever war you are in the midst of.  In Psalm 27, verse 3 and verse 5 say:

³Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

⁵For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

AND WE ALL KNOW WHO THAT ROCK IS!!!

Joshua knew that the battle was the Lords and all he and the children of Israel had to do was to be obedient and wait on God to do what He does best…WIN.  Don’t worry about how it may look on the outside.  Don’t worry about what the score is.  Don’t worry about that GPA.  God has the battle plan that is drenched in victory so if you are obedient, you will win every time.  Remember I said that you have to be obedient so that means:

If being obedient means to study for your test – Be obedient

If you really want to help your team win you need to practice – Be obedient

Ephesians 6:1 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is RIGHT.”

If you want to win the battle you need to be obedient!

 

We have to remember that God has a battle plan that is drenched in victory but, in the process of doing that, we also have to remember to focus on the victory instead of the difficulty.  In Verse 3 the Lord to Joshua to tell the men to march around the city once a day for six days. Now I can assure you that looking at this at face value does NOT make any sense whatsoever.  That’s because we are looking at is at face value  To take something at face value means that we accept something because of the way it first looks or seems, without thinking about what else it could mean.  The children of Israel were told to march around Jericho once a day for six days and I’m almost willing to bet my last dollar that SOMEBODY asked the question, “Joshua, what in the world are we going to accomplish just by marching around the city?  I thought you said God told us we were going to take this city.  I thought God told you that this city is going to be ours.  Now you have us marching around looking all kinds of crazy knowing FULL WELL that these folks in Jericho ain’t playin!!!”  How many times have we found ourselves thinking the very same thing?  How many times have we asked those same questions?  How many times have you asked God, “How am I supposed to do this when I have all of this stuff in front of me?  What am I supposed to do when all this stuff wrong?  You mean to tell me I need to me I have to go up against this?” Well, if you know like I know, and I am truly speaking from experience, most times God doesn’t is not going to tell you right away how to get over this difficulty you’re facing.  He simply wants you to keep stepping.  Don’t worry, child.  I got this.  You just keep stepping.  God didn’t tell Joshua to tell Israel to storm the gates, send a barrage of artillery over the walls of the city.  He simply told Joshua to tell the children of Israel to march around the city once a day for six days.  In other words, God said, “Do what I told you to do and keep stepping. “

When you know you just can’t get over that hurdle – Keep stepping

Just when you think your life is over – Keep stepping

When you feel no one is listening to what you’re going through – Keep stepping

When that hole you’re in just keeps deeper and the rough place keeps getting rougher and that crooked place more corners than you can turn, just do what you were told to do in the first place and KEEP STEPPING!!!

 

God has a battle plan is drenched in victory and all we need to do be obedient when he gives us His plan.  When we have His battle plan, we also have to focus on the victory keep stepping through the difficulty.  When we have done all of this the only thing left to do is to start shouting because the victory is ours.  Joshua gave the order from God in verses 4 and 5:

⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

⁵And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

All that needs to be said here is that when you know that you have the victory, all you need to do is SHOUT.  Yeah, God has given you the plan and surely he told you to keep stepping right through that difficulty but now,  you can see the victory right there in front of you so there is nothing left to do but SHOUT!!  Once again, God has come through for you.  Once again, that way you were in was both mighty and long but now, God has brought you through it so, now it’s SHOUTING TIME!!!  The children of Israel got their orders from God and they were obedient.  Even in the face of certain defeat and even though they faced a Jericho that was not going to let them take their city, the children of Israel kept stepping.  But on that seventh day, they marched around the city seven times and the priests blew the trumpets.  When Israel heard the sound they ALL shouted and Jericho fell!!  They shouted because they knew they had the victory.  That’s all God is trying to tell you and I.  Don’t worry about the battle.  Don’t worry about struggle.  The victory is yours so SHOUT.  Give God all the praise.  He’s given us victory.

The Word said:

 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.   That’s VICTORY!!

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  That’s Victory!!!

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.   ²In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.   That’s VICTORY!!!

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.  That’s VICTORY!!

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  That’s VICTORY!!

See, we don’t have anything to fear because we already have the victory.  All you need to do is believe that you have the victory.  Believe that Jesus died for you and you will have the victory just as the songwriter said:

When we all get to Heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be

When we all see Jesus

We’ll sing and SHOUT THE VICTORY!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New and Improving

New and Improving

II Corinthians 5:17

 ¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

When you look all around you, whether it be on television, on billboards, in newspapers, or whether you hear in on radio, we can all agree that, in this life, there is something that is always “new and improved”.  You can always here the announcer say that there is some product or service that is newer and better than its predecessor.  We hear “this product is now new and improved with 30% more of this or 95% less that” or “now guaranteed to give you better results or your money back”. There are not enough fingers to count the many times we have seen or heard any of these gimmicks.  The common denominator here is that, at one particular point in their existence, they were ALL good but, at another point, there were improvements that had to be made in order to make the consumer’s experience that much better.  There is a question still remains, however.  Did the product really improve your quality of life or did you just fall for yet another case of “let the buyer beware?  These days, its’ not always a product that some company is trying to sell you and I that will taste better, or smell fresher, clean cleaner, or even drive better and handle the curves better at 60 mph and stop on a dime and still give you the best miles per gallon with the lowest emissions, or even has more access to all of your gospel music on your phone/music player.  Now, there are ads to get you to get fit, get tone, grow hair, look younger, nip this and tuck that.  Again, the question remains, did it help you or did the buyer have to beware?  Also, what the ads are telling you and that “our product can make you better than you were yesterday”.  However, these things are only a temporary solution to the permanent problem because, once something is used to its’ potential, there will always be something better than the last.  One thing we can say about all of the ads we see or hear, not once, did any of them say that your life will improve if you give your life to Christ. 

 

Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth talks about our earthly bodies as a tent.  Now when you think of a tent, the first thing that should come to mind is that, while it will provide shelter from elements around you, it is only and forever will be temporary.  During the my days in the Army, I spent many days and as many nights putting up, working in, sleeping in, and tearing down a tent of some sort.  This was only a temporary housing or working area while on maneuvers or during a time of war as opposed to the solid structures of brick and mortar that we called the barracks.  In other words when we were in the tent, we knew that, even though we may have been on a field training exercise, and even though we may have been overseas in the deserts of Saudi Arabia or the mountains of Afghanistan, and even though throughout the history of the US military the tents themselves were new and improved, we knew that, eventually, we had to go HOME!!!  Paul is telling the church that, yes you are here on planet earth living your lives as best as you can and yes you are working day in and day out and that you are raising your children the best way you can but, there is a better place than this place and it is New and Improved. 

 

Paul is also telling the church that this New and Improved place that he is speaking of could NOT be constructed down here.  He said, in verse 1:

   ¹For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

In other words there is no amount of construction, no amount of technology, no amount of engineering genius, financial funding that is better than what is already being prepared for us in heaven.  Jesus said in John’s Gospel, “In my Father’s house, there are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you…”  He said told His disciples that he was going to prepare which meant that He was going to give His life for them, and for you and for me. 

 

Paul also told us verse 17 that, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are passed away; behold all things are become new…”.  What he’s saying here is that when we are in Christ, when we come into the Will of God, when we accept the fact that we are indeed sinners saved by Grace, when we realize that we are but filthy rags in God’s sight, we are a new creature.  What we used to do is what we used to and what we do now is for God and God alone.  In other words, the old me, is dead and gone.  That thing I did when I was younger, dead

That vice I had when I was in college – dead

That drinking problem I had – dead

That monkey that was on my back from years of drug abuse – dead

My attitude that I had towards my wife – dead

Those no good thoughts I had towards my husband – dead

The times I gave mom and dad a serious way to go – dead

The times I showed up raising all kinds of sand in the church – dead

Now that you are in Christ all of that stuff you used to do died with Him when he died on the cross but, since He rose from the dead, ALL THINGS ARE BRAND NEW.  What I am trying to tell you today is that, since you are in Christ, you’re a new creature.  What you used to do is dead and gone and now you are New and Improved.  Don’t worry about this earthly tabernacle that you call a body.  Yes, it will get weak and there will be times when you really don’t really want to drive to church much less get out of bed but, I have the perfect ad campaign for you.  It’s called Salvation.

Tired of only relying on the Ten Commandments?  Are you tired of trying to get into Heaven on just your works alone? Well try New and Improved Salvation.  It’s not only guaranteed to wash away all of your sins, it’s guaranteed to give you eternal life.  No more sacrificing animals or having to rely on how often you come to Sunday School.  New and improved Salvation allows you to have a mansion already prepared for you by Jesus Christ Himself.  Here’s what two people said after receiving the Plan of Salvation:

Thief on the cross said:  “I was a thief and I murdered people and ultimately sentenced to die but when I asked Jesus to remember me when He came into His Kingdom, he said that today I will be with Him in Paradise”.

Paul said:  I was a persecutor of Christians and was on my way to Damascus to that very thing when I was knocked off my beast and was asked by the Lord, “Saul, why are you persecuting me?”  After I asked Him who He was, He said that it is I Jesus that though persecutes.  Then he gave me orders to preach His Gospel all over.

 

These are just a few people who have tried new and improved Salvation.  Now you can try it for free!  All you have to do is accept Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour and He will come into your life.  The things you used to do before Salvation will be of no interest to you.  Now you will have a need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him in the pardon of their sins.  Some side effects include:

Increased amounts of the Fruit of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  Please be aware that said fruits are contagious and can be spread to others

Sudden shouts and praises to God for bringing you from a mighty long way

Sudden urges to study the Word of God

You may have Salvation and operate heavy machinery and can also have it while driving.  People under the age of 18 are still eligible to receive the Plan of Salvation.  If you are ready to receive this Plan, it is recommended that you admit that you are a sinner and ask Christ to come into your life.  Once you have done this consult your local church that teaches The Word of God and contact the Pastor.

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

Psalm 91:1-2

 

   ¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

   ²I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

 

If and when we do a search for the words “hide” and “seek”, you can usually find the following definitions:

hide

hid·ing, noun

verb (used with object)

1.

to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered: Where did she hide her jewels?

2.

to obstruct the view of; cover up: The sun was hidden by the clouds.

3.

to conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret: to hide one’s feelings.

verb (used without object)

4.

to conceal oneself; lie concealed: He hid in the closet.

 

seek

1.	to try to find by searching; look for: to seek a solution
2.	( also intr ) to try to obtain or acquire: to seek happiness
3.	to attempt (to do something); try: I’m only seeking to help
4.	( also intr ) to enquire about or request (something): to seek help
5.	to go or resort to: to seek the garden for peace
6.	an archaic word for explore When I was in my younger days, back before electronic age that our   children are accustomed to, the kids in my neighborhood or at school   would all go outside.  One of the games that we would play, especially if   there was a mixture of boys and girls, was hide and seek.  We would   spend numerous hours at this game as, almost all of the time, everybody   got a chance to be “it”.  We would work ourselves into a frenzy looking   for places to hide so that, whoever was “it”, would have a hard time   finding us before we could get tagged and get to base, where you were   safe.  Appeasing my curiosity, I looked up the rules of the game, and   found that there are several variations of Hide and Seek.  I will give you   just two for today:   Normal variant 1 In the normal variant, “it” counts to a number that was designated before the game started. Once “it” reaches that number he or she yells “Ready or not, here I come!” and then starts searching for the players who have hidden. When “it” finds a player, “it” will generally say something along the lines of, “I see you (player), you are hidden in (hiding place),” so that the player will know he or she has been spotted. The first person “it” finds will become “it” in the next round. But “it” continues searching for other players until all the players are found. The last person found doesn’t get any prize or reward but it is accepted that he or she has the best hiding place. If “it” gives up, he or she can yell “Olly olly oxen free!” and the players will come out of their hiding places, a new round will ensue with the same “it”, and the players may or may not choose the same hiding place. [edit] Normal variant 2 In a more active variant, hide and seek can be combined with the game of tag. Instead of “it” simply spotting players, he or she has to tag them instead to get them out. Hiders can make a dash for Home Base, which is usually a landmark where whoever is “it” counts off. Touching the base area makes a hider safe, and the aim of the game is to touch base without being tagged. The seeker continues to search for hiders and if he/she finds none then he/she is “it” again in the next game. However, if “it” finds and tags someone before they are able to touch base, he/she must call out in a loud and repeated fashion “All ye all ye outs in free”, “all ye, all ye, in come free”, or where the call has been changed and slurred “Olly Olly Oxen free!”, which means a new “it” has been tagged and all the other hiders are safe to return back to base.   When I reflected on the times my friends and I played this game and   when I studied the text we are sharing today, I have come to the   conclusion that, as Christians, we will always be in a situation where the   enemy will have us in a game of Hide and Seek.  It’s already been   established in 1Peter 5:8 when Peter says: 1 Peter 5:8 (Whole Chapter) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: In other words, whether you like it or not; whether you want to or not;   whether you are at work or at home; Satan wants to and will have you   playing his game of Hide and Seek.  The good thing about this is that,   while he wants to seek and devour you, all you have to do is to conceal   from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered, obstruct his view, and   conceal yourself from by hiding in the “secret place of the Most High and   abide under the shadow of the Almighty”!      When the Psalmist wrote this, we can come to the conclusion that he was   definitely in a game of Hide and Seek.  We can also see that, since he   was in this game of Hide and Seek, he knew where to take refuge.  When   you find yourself in the middle of life’s difficulties, when you can feel the   enemy closing in on you, and just when you think “it” is going to get you, you need to immediately go into hiding.    Hide – so that you can see where the enemy is coming from   Hide – because you can, sometimes, see the traps that have been laid out before you   Hide – because, by yourself, the storm that you are in will be too much for you to handle       We have to hide from time to time because, it is in this solitary place   that, you can truly hear what God has to say…If you’re willing to listen.    Psalm 27: says that:    5For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.   There’s something about that tabernacle that will make all the difference when you are definitely in trouble.  There is something about that tabernacle that gives you that inner peace and that feeling of comfort and safety.  There is something about that tabernacle that, when you are in there, you can lock that spiritual door so that no one can come in and disturb you.  There is something about that tabernacle that allows me to search for let God know exactly what I’m feeling and when He speaks I can listen.  That tabernacle isn’t what you may consider as these four walls of Greater Bethel Missionary Baptist Church or any other building with a cross and stained-glass windows, wooden pews, choir stand, pulpit, or communion trays.  That tabernacle can be your kitchen, your bathroom, your bedroom, your carport, or even your cubicle at work.  As long as you are willing to hide God will set you in His pavilion and, in the secret of His tabernacle, He will set you on a rock.  But you just have to be willing to Hide…PERIOD!   When you find yourself in a position to hide it is then where you have to be ready to seek.  If you go down to verse 8 of the same 27th Psalm, God lets you know that, while you are in there hiding, there comes the time that you need to seek and see just what he has to say to you:    8When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.   That’s the whole purpose of hiding in the first place. You’re hiding, and keeping yourself from being visible from the enemy but you are also hiding so that you seek God and can still hear that still small voice.  This is when you are in a position to SEEK GOD.    Then enemy will engage in a game of hide and seek with you.  When you find that you are in a game of hide and seek.  You must do hide in the secret place of the Most High God and from there you will be able to hear that still small voice.  However, when you are in your secret place, when you are concealing yourself from the “fowler and the snare” that has been placed for you, when you are hiding, make sure that there is some seeking involved:  4One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. When you are seeking God, you must be prepared to hear the instruction that He WILL give you.  You may not necessarily be ready to hear what He has to say but, if you are in the will of God, what He has to say is a lot better that going through your storm by yourself.  I’ve said this before, if you could solve all of your problems, you would have solved them by now.  If you knew exactly when and exactly where Satan was going to attack you, what would be the purpose of God’s tabernacle?  What would be the purpose of David asking God to create in him a clean heart if he didn’t think his heart needed to be cleansed?  What was Noah’s purpose of building an ark if he knew ahead of time that it would only rain for 40 days and 40 nights and that he and his family would be spared?  Why would Solomon waste his breath asking God for wisdom if he thought he could do without it and, since we’re talking about us, why would we go hiding if we really didn’t want to seek God in the first place?  When I was a teenager on my way to finishing high school, I had enlisted into the Army under the delayed entry program.  That meant that, even though I was Senior in high school, I was still 17 and, since I was still 17, I could not just go and run into the nearest recruiting office and sign my life away.  I had to make sure that I was doing the right thing and, to be quite honest, I really didn’t have a clue what I was getting myself into.  So, like any teenager who thought he knew all there was to know about absolutely NOTHING, I went to my Dad and talked to him about it.  Granted his time in the Army was many years removed from the time I was going to enlist and there were some obvious differences as far as how and where I was going to go once I got there but, the fact of the matter is that Dad knew the answers to what I needed asked and even though my Recruiter was in the modern Army, my Dad was still my Dad and if I really, REALLY needed a straight answer, whether I wanted to hear it or not, who better to go that to my Dad.  My point is this, if you KNOW where you’re going or what you’re going to do or what you’re going through is not necessarily where you need to go or what you need to do or even where you need to go, you better ask the Father and the way you do that is to get in the secret place and seek His face!

 

 

Confessions of Rev. P.K. Minister: Reflections

Good Day Readers:

 

It’s time to start another week and I pray that yours will be a great one. 

Yesterday, our church celebrated 118 years of service to God and to the community.  I can’t say that all of said years were prosperous or even happy times but, those years are truly behind us and we are steadily looking forward to 118 more, if God sees fit.  I can say that over 30 of those years have seen a great deal of work from our Pastor, Rev. Johnson.  He is truly in the twilight of his years on earth and, as my father’s best friend and now my mentor, I am pleased and blessed to have him in my life since he has known me for all of it.  After service, we were served a very wonderful dinner and had a great time in fellowship with each other as members as well as visitors who were in attendance.  I had the opportunity to sit Pastor Johnson at dinner as I was the only associate in attendance.  When I say that, even now, I am still in awe just sitting with him is an understatement.  You have to understand that I’ve known this man from childhood and the best friend of my own father and never in a million years would I have dreamt that I would be sitting next to him as an adult let alone as one of his staff.  I still get feelings of unworthiness because of my short years of preaching compared to his many decades of the same.  However, as we sat and ate together, there was a calm just being there.  Have you ever admired someone so much that you’re speechless?  This is truly the second time I have felt this way.  The one other time was, as it should be, with my Dad.  They were cut from the same cloth, and rightfully so, seemed to have genuine love for just about anyone.  We would talk about certain things and he would always give me stories about his times he shared with my Dad.  If you could see the smile on his face whenever he would mention them, you could definitely see the genuine love that they had for each other as brothers.  All I could do is just listen and learn about Dad the friend instead of Dad the father (I’m welling up as I type this so forgive me).  He even told me the story of how he introduced my Dad to my Mom.  I smiled so big as I heard that story because, of course, I had heard only the two sides (from Dad and Mom) and now, I got the story of what really happened LOL. 

After dinner, I was able to talk to some of the other members but I still kept going back to those few moments with Pastor Johnson.  That made my entire day and I’m sure this will remain with me as I continue on my journey. 

 

Until Next Time…

He never said it was going to be easy

Good day Readers;

 

I hope you had a great weekend and that you are ready for a new week.

 

I am so sorry that I have not written in a while.  This life that I have is going through changes as we speak.  This leads me to our topic today.  Just how hard is life supposed to be?

 

When I was growing up, I Mom and Dad both concluded that life was never going to be easy.  There will be trials and tribulations and every which way we turn but, when you are a child of God, He will help you get through whatever it is that you are in the middle of.  It just won’t always be easy.  Let’s look at some examples:

 

Jacob had one of the greatest blessings that God could ever give but he had to wrestle all night with Jesus himself

Abram could not get the blessing that he was promise until he had to leave EVERYTHING behind in order to get to the land that was promised to him.

Joseph was second in command in Egypt but, had to be sold into slavery and be falsely accused of sleeping with a married woman, and jailed before all of that could happen.

You and I are going to be blessed so much beyond measure but, right now, we’re catching it from all ends.

 

These are just a few examples of those tough times that tough people go through in order to get to the other side.  There are no really long paragraphs to go with this post today, folks.  There’s no rocket surgery involved.  Life is hard…VERY HARD but, we serve a God that can take what’s hard and make it happen!!!

 

Until Next Time…

42 Years…and More

Well it is now officially one week since turning 42. I am pleased to say that all is well. Today, my oldest son starts 5th grade. His last year in elementary school. He is one of several big fish in a small pond. His mother and I couldn’t be happier. As co-parents, there has to be some sort of feeling of accomplishment aside from our current and separate situations. We’re both doing our best to raise two wonderful boys into fine young men. All we can do is pray for the strength and guidance from God to help us to succeed. That being said, we do have our work cut out for us…lol

As stated in the last post, this year has been chock full of trials and tests. I am still ambivalent about a lot of it but, I can assure you that things will work out. I was able to preach this past Sunday from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. If you get a chance, read this! Paul describes what will happen to those of us who, are already asleep(passed away), as well as, those who will still be alive when Christ comes back. I didn’t actually speak too much on it but I did speak on the reason why we sing when at worship and when we’re in our own private time. When we meet Christ in the air, for those of us who are saved, that will be a truly joyous time. That’s worth singing about. So, I encourage you, SING while you can and Praise while you can.

Until next time….

42 Years: A Day of Firsts…of sorts

Good Day Readers:

 

Well it is almost 11pm on August 16, 2011.  This is a special day in particular because today is my birthday.  I woke up anxious to start my day yet there were feelings of anxiety as the day went on.  See, this is a day of firsts for me.  This is the first birthday that I have been single since 1995, this is the first birthday as a single father, this is the first birthday since finding out I was adopted.  You can see how I had an interesting day.  I got a TON of well wishes from my friends on Facebook and lots of text messages from friends so that part was taken care of.  However there was still the other things that were still on my mind.  These firsts that I spoke of are pretty important to me.  More to come…

 

 

Until Next time…