Quote & Question of the day

"Love is friendship that has caught fire."

Ann Landers

Why is it important to incorporate friendship with romance?

We grow and learn allot from each other. What can you share concerning today's topic on love and friendship?

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Another U.S. Tragedy

There are many eyes that are filled with tears once again in our country. Hate that was released through violent expression has too many families locked up by sorrow. Daily violence along with these high profile intense outbursts are tearing us apart. This has to be a time for all of us to take a look at the kind of land we have become. There appears to be no tolerance for anything, or anyone that's different. Can't we find common ground around anything any more? I believe one thing that all of us have in common is the sting and pain we feel when death and destruction hit us. Let's not forget the families that are struggling with that right now. We spend so much time evaluating situations and explaining our various positions on issues that we are forgetting how to be human beings. I don't even want to think about "the right to bear arms" verses "gun control" right now. I don't even want to examine Muslim extremism compared to Christian extremism in this moment. My heart just goes out to all of the broken lives that are left to deal with the consequences of another senseless act. May the God of all comfort begin to heal their broken hearts now by His grace and power.
In closing, let me leave a verse to my fellow Christians. Before we jump up on any kind of judgmental high horse please remember we were won by God's goodness, not our own. We have no right to posture ourselves with moral superiority because the perpetrator connected with ISIS. Anyone, including us, that thinks their God calls them to kill and destroy has terribly misunderstood His nature. His loving kindness drew us to Himself. It's His loving kindness that will draw others as well. Selah!
Romans 2:4 (NLT) Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

Theology Must Become Life

I absolutely believe in the power of God to bring about healing. I have seen and been a part of too many miracles not to believe that God can and does heal miraculously. I also believe it to be a tremendous blessing to live in a land that has the technological advances that we have medically in this country. On top of that there are a bunch of things that are under our control and that we must take personal responsibility for. The balancing act for us human beings is to apply our core beliefs to the real, present tense situations that occur in our day to day lives.

If we need to have a bad tooth extracted, as I had to have done lately, then prayer and faith declarations may not get the results we need. If blood pressure is elevated and staying there, as I have seen in recent weeks, poor diet and neglecting to exercise must be owned and corrected. Faith can overcome fatigue, but overcoming weariness is not the same as health. Sometimes the answer is rest not a pill or an elixir. When the doctors come in scratching their heads and saying we cannot diagnose the problem, we had better know something about prayer and faith then.

I suppose the real test is knowing what to apply to the thing that is in our faces. It's a bit hypocritical to pray for healing and continue to abuse ourselves by eating what we know we shouldn't and never getting off the couch to move around. It's not logical for us to take pill after pill when we know what we really need is to find some relief from the stress we are continuously exposed to. When a spiritual attack is levied at us we can empty the pharmacy and we won't see results until we pray with authority and move the evil spiritual influence out of our lives.

God is good and God works through a variety of resources. We are meant to experience abundant life. Physical, mental, emotional, financial and relational health are all a part of that blessing. Let's trust God for divine blessing. Let's thank Him for the gift of medical care that's available when we need it. Let's make good lifestyle decisions. Let's be good to those we are in relationship with. Let's enjoy our material blessings within the range of our own means. Let's not ignore our need for mental and emotional restoration. We can overcome a bunch of things by faith, but living in a way that is healthy and whole is better. WORK IT OUT!

Violence Again

Our society is swallowing itself up with violent behavior. Whether or not we restrict access to guns it is clear that something needs to be done. Can we catch up with the out of control environment that we are in by trying to help people deal with their issues one by one? Do we even have a firm grasp on what it is that has so many people so angry?  I don't know the answers to these questions but if we don't do something we will certainly self destruct. America seems to be at a boiling point. I believe this explosive atmosphere we have created is fueled by selfishness. We don't see ourselves as one entity in a symbiotic relationship to everyone else. We only care about the things that impact ourselves and our own little groups. I feel heartbroken for the families of the reporter and camera man that were senselessly killed in Virginia. I feel sick that we continue to bury our heads in the sand while unborn babies are aborted. I feel grieved that everyday young black men are killing each other. I am deeply troubled that police violence against black citizens involved with the most minor crimes are brutalized like animals. It's just as bad when officers are trying to perform basic functions in line with their duty and are killed without cause. Military men slaughtered on American soil. School shootings, movie shootings and our words are even violent when we disagree about the slightest things. We are sick. We are sin sick. What's worse is so many are hardened and stone cold to the will and ways of God. He has the answers and we treat Him like He is too old fashioned to fix our modern lives. It's like having a dreaded disease and refusing the only Dr. that has the antidote to cure us. I love the Lord Jesus Christ so it's easy for me to say salvation is the answer for the mess we are in. We need a soul saving revival to sweep across this land from coast to coast and from Canada to Mexico. We know things are bad but I believe we are in far more trouble than we realize. We can change if we are willing to repent and receive the only solution that changes human hearts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" If our hearts are made new we will see the evil trends in our land begin to reverse themselves. If our hearts are not made new, symptoms temporarily get repressed for a time only to get squeezed out again when the right pressure hits. Jesus Christ changes lives and we desperately need change.   

The Other Side of #Blacklivesmatter

While we are protesting, marching and declaring #blacklivesmatter we are still seeing self destrruction in every major city in this country. It is tragic that lives have been lost to over agressive policing, but it is inexcusable the way we continue to exterminate ourselves with gun violence. How can we believe anybody else should be outraged by loss of life in our community when we prove on a regular basis we don't rightly value our own lives? In a sleepy little town like Summerville, South Carolina we are experiencing death by gun slayings much too often. It was personally heart breaking to sit in the home of another mother that has lost her son to gun violence. This boy attended the church I serve from the time he was a baby and he is now dead. His mother tried so hard to rescue her son but she was not successful. He sat in our Sunday school, children's church and regularly attended our youth SHARE service. I know we can't save them all, but how did we miss it so badly? What didn't we do that we should have done? Why couldn't I get through to this young man? How is it that with so many churches in so many of our black neighborhoods our boys are choosing gangs over Christian fellowship? We have to find a way to change these hard realities. We have got to errect a plan that gets our youth to see their value and the opportunities they have to be great. Our great God has put greatness in every life and we must teach our kids how to tap into it. Our kids have got to know what it is to dream big again. There is obviously too much despair overtaking them. Too many of them don't believe they can make it without getting involved with crime. Crime leads to death. The strange quality of being young is the thought that death will always and only touch somebody else. They don't seem to believe that death can catch up to them. Well it is and way too often. Why is it so difficult for them to see life as a positive possibility? Apparently we are not representing life well when so many are by defalt choosing death. As frustrating and overwhelming as it may be something has to be done. We have got to have a step by step, long range, systematic strategy to address this crisis.  Instead of getting lost in the problem we have to start thinking from the middle of the solution. There is an answer. The answer is love. Jesus is love and we have to lift Him up in ways that they can truly see Him. After all, "love never fails."This is our challenge. We have to rise and fix this in His name. Let's work it out!

A Few Personal Thoughts on Our Community

I’m sure this is not going to be a popular entry. I’m not the leader of anything but a small church. I don’t hold a PHD in anything. What I’m saying doesn’t represent anyone, but me. This is strictly my point of view.  I believe that we do have a serious issue in our country concerning justice with minorities. The most public and recent examples are only visible signs of things that have been happening in minority communities for a very long time. The response to this crisis has been strong and outside of a few exceptions peaceful. The cry for change has picked up considerable momentum all across the country and that’s a wonderful thing. We should continue to push for equality in our justice system.

I believe we also need to take a long look at our community and strategically plan where we are going to go from here. This is where some corrective action needs to take place among ourselves and probably where some will begin to tune me out. I don’t know why we fight so hard against constructive criticism. Everyone needs to hear hard truth once in a while.  I think there are three things we can do to see positive change and increased health in our community.

One thing we need to do is solve our identity crisis. Do we really want to keep promoting the image of gangsters and half naked women as role models for success?  Do we want to continue to be portrayed as a people that are almost always angry? Why do we continue to allow these negative stereotypes to be blasted all over television? Why do we promote fights, cursing contests and lewd dancing all over our timelines via social media? Are we really happy that the world sees us like that? Is that the way we really see ourselves? Do we really believe that a group of our women can’t go to a restaurant without fussing at each other in full volume? Do we think there are no couples amongst us that can be faithful to their wedding vowels? Why is it that a family with class and dignity, like the 1^st Family of our nation, are viewed as sell outs by so many of us? Is our idea of success so twisted that a suit, an education, monogamy and functional behavior means being ethnically untrue?  One of the things we need to boycott is this genre of filthy shows that perpetuate such a negative image of who we are. Then we need to challenge each other on social media to clean up negative, stereotypical image entries on our timelines. It’s not cute. It’s not funny. It’s damaging us more than we realize.

The next thing we need to do is obey the law. Law and order does not just apply when our civil rights are being violated. The laws of the land are in place so that we can live in peace. I’m aware that allot of things that happen to us are a result of laws being disproportionately applied. I know that other people groups commit crimes and get away with it at a higher rate than us, but we place ourselves in bad positions when we engage in criminal behavior. We should stand up and protest for due process and fair and equal treatment. We should also be law abiding citizens. We should also teach our children to do the right things in and out of our presence. The violence that we have allowed to spiral out of control in many of our neighborhoods is unacceptable. Turning blind eyes to continuous criminal behavior and refusing to report those that commit crimes right in front of us because of some upside down honor code is not helping us fix our problems at all. We have to clean up our own act. Nobody else can do that for us.

Lastly and most importantly we need a restored spiritual dependence on Almighty God. We talk a great spiritual talk but we are lacking the living evidence of a true connection with God. Our churches have very little influence. Our preachers and I am a preacher, have become essentially ineffective. Our view of God is "He’s only for emergencies" while we live however we choose. These things are a formula for long term disaster in any community. Deserting God can never bring good results. When we decide we will firm up our relationship with God in a way that is real and serious we will see change. Individuals must repent and return to God through Christ. Preachers must forsake personal agendas and live and lead as The Lord directs. Churches must reconnect with communities in meaningful ways so these complex issues can begin to be reversed. Any meaningful progress must begin with God. He is Lord and therefore He must be first.

I realize I have just poured out my personal feelings here. I’m not even sure I have an audience that can do much about what I’m trying to say. I do declare that I’m willing to be part of the solution. I’m willing to join in with those that want to do more than just make some noise. If you feel that way, talk to me.

#FERGUSON

I am disappointed with the grand jury decision but not surprised. The anger that is being destructively released in some cases is not a surprise either. I suppose there are a couple of questions we need to ask and answer. How do we respond to this situation in a way that is constructive? What can we do that will bring change to these types of injustices? It seems that the only language people in power understand is money. Pressure is what brings social change. Civil rights laws were passed due to unified pressure. A great deal of that pressure came through economic boycotts. Even the recent emphasis of domestic violence and child abuse issues via the NFL is driven by money. If we really want to see these situations begin to turn we have to use our collective economic influence. Stevie Wonder and others had it right when they talked about boycotting Florida after the horrible verdict in the Trayvon Martin case. We just didn't have the collective will to follow through. We have a trememndous opportunity to make a national statement this Friday. We need to hold every "Black Dollar" on this "Black Friday." One day of discipline refusing to spend money anywhere for any reason will have an impact. This has been suggested by others and in my view it is the best place to start. We can only do something about this together. How long are we going to be willing to go backwards before we use our collective strength?

#BLACKFRIDAYBOYCOTT

Goals

Setting goals and reaching them can be significant to our life improvement program. According to those with much more experience than myself, our goals need to be specific, measurable, agreeable, realistic, and timed. We should know exactly what we want to accomplish, how we will know it has been accomplished and when our deadline for the achievement is. What we want to accomplish should be in line with our core values. Once we have all those things in place, the only ingredient that remains is discipline. The best made plans mean very little until hard work kicks in. The whole idea of this blog, no matter the topic, is nothing worthwhile comes to us without hard work. We are responsible to do consistently what needs to be done to move forward. Magic formulas for success and lucky breaks to stardom are rare. The overwhelming majority of us must draw a target and then work hard to hit it. Work it out!

Faith That Looks Beyond

Hebrews 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.


On our faith journey we will develop an attitude of detachment as we grow. In our baby stages we feel as though the only signs of active faith are matrial blessings sent our way. As we mature we begin to understand that everything that is here on earth will be consumed by firey judgement. What we stack up down here means very little. Every material status symbol is going to burn and melt. It is only what we do to rescue and impact souls that will matter beyond the earth. We may not like to think about it but there is coming a day when time will be no more. The real key to effecive living is doing things that will endure forever. Work it out!

Faith and God's Timing

Hebrews 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

The miracle power of God is real. The promises that God makes are true. The difficulty of application for us is discerning God's timing. When we are believing God for something we tend to place an urgency on it that makes us impatient. God is not in a hurry. God is not going to be hurried by us. He knows what He wants to do. He knows when He wants to do it. He is faithful and will fulfill His promises, but He is not impressed by our tantrums. Sara considered God faithful and yet she still had to wait. The Lord kept the promise that was made but there was a twentyfive year gap between promise and realization. We will enjoy what God has promised, but we need to learn whatever lessons He is teaching in the meantime. There is no need to be miserable while we wait. There is no need to compound the situation we may be in further by moving ahead of God. We will wait as long as it takes anyway. We might as well grow in grace while we are waiting. Work it out!

Faith and God's Promise

Hebrews 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Abraham moved all around in the land of promise like he was a stranger in a foreign country. He dwelt in tents which demonstrated his nomadic existence. We can be in possession of a promise from God, enjoying the promise of God and it can still seem strange to us. We can hold blessings in our lives and not even be aware of what we hold. The promises of God are so far above and beyond the flow of this natural world order that we must be spiritually senstive to understand what we have. The other thing that strikes me in this verse is the tent dwelling life. We don't like change and movement very much which is why it's so hard for most of us to live by faith. We can get so comfortable with what was, that we can totally miss what can be. Faith and movement go hand in hand. We must be careful not to get stuck in somethimng that's over. When we can fold up our tents and move to whatever is next we are following the example of Abraham, our faith father. Work it out!   

Following by Faith

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went.

Abraham went out not knowing where he went. He did that by faith. We have already seen how faith must have some type of direction from God. Abraham heard the call. When direction has been received something must be done. Abraham got up from where he was. He followed God even though he didn't know where he was going. Not knowing is an element that is very basic to faith. Nevertheless, it is still the element that challenges us the most. We like to know, or at least have a pretty good idea, of what the outcome will be. We want to predict the consequences of our obedience before we even take a step. Well, God wants us to learn how to trust Him with the consequences. When He directs we can move even when we don't know how things will work. He wants us to have such a firm believe in His character that we can move out when we don't understand His plan. This is not easy, but we miss a great deal of God's glory when we are determined to be safe all the time. The faith adventure was not just for Abraham. We are being summoned to walk with God by faith without having all the details too. Work it out! 

Faith that Hears

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went.

The first thing this text tells us is that Abraham heard the call of God. Faith is looking for direction from God. Faith hears when God speaks that direction into our lives. The call of God is for every man, woman, boy and girl to be saved from sin. It takes faith in the work of Christ on the cross to see that call fulfilled. The call of God is for us to follow Christ as faithful disciples. We are not here on earth to see how much stuff we can gather. We are here to do the will of God. Our faith when accurately applied prioritizes obedience to the word of God and the Spirit of Christ. When we stop learning from Christ and following the leadership of Christ we have also stopped walking in true faith. The danger in allot of these modern faith notions is they push what we want over and above what God wants. We are called by God for a purpose that He has chosen. Our faith walk is designed to have His purpose realized through us. Any other brands of faith no matter how pragmatic or attractive are outside of proper, Biblical boundaries. Hear God's call and walk by faith. Work it out!

Faith and Action

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Today let's focus on the phrase Noah "prepared an ark to the saving of his house;" After receiving God's message and adopting an attitude of reverence, Noah did something that many people don't do. He acted on the message. He obeyed the word he received. He verified his faith as genuine with the works that followed. How can we ever know that God will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings if we don't bring Him the tenth? How can we depend on seeing God's guaranteed provision of food and clothing if we do not seek first the kingdom of God? How can we know eternal life is real if we don't embrace Christ The Son? The message that comes from God is not given to inform and entertain us. The message requires an obedient response. Noah received a word to build a ship. He built it and his household was saved. We receive results from God when we act on the word of God. Work it out!   

Faith and Reverence

Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;"

Noah followed the direction of God by his faith. Noah also acted upon the direction of God with an attitude of reverence. He moved with fear. He operated in holy fear. He did his work with a sense of awe. He knew the God directing him is altogether awesome. Reverence seems to be greatly lacking in our times. We hear so much about what faith can do that we end up hearing very little about what faith should do. Our faith, when properly adjusted to who God is, should be saturated with reverence. The ways of our Lord are still high enough to blow our minds and we should never forget it. The person and work of Christ are more significant than any individual and their accomplishments could ever be. God's power is not just to be appreciated and valued for what it can do for us, we reverence Him and what He has done and can do all around us. May we never forget that the One we are in relationship with is greater than all. He is an awesome God. He is not ust to be adored. He is to be reverently feared. Work it out!  

Warned by Faith

Hebrews 11:7  "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear..."   Noah was an amazing individual that provides for us an interesting twist on faith. By faith Noah was blessed with the benefits of God's warning. With hindsight, we know what Noah and his family were preserved from. In the days of the warning he knew none of the things from the story that we know. He didn't know what a boat was but he built a great boat. He didn't klnow what a flood was but he was saved from a severe flood. He didn't know what rain was but he built shelter from the rain. He did all of that because by faith he received the message that God spoke to him. The warning that God gave Noah was in response to all the wickedness that was in the earth. Do we know how to receive a warning from God by faith? Are we so comfort and blessing oriented that we are dull concerning the warnings that can help us just as much? Do we recognize that God is still angry at sin everyday? Words of warning from God are just as essential to our well being as words of comfort. In these dangerous times of ever increasing wickedness we had better open our spiritual ears. God does still warn those that have the faith to hear Him. Work it out!

God Still Does It

(Hebrews 11:3 AMP) By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible. 

All of the things we now view around us came from a place that is immaterial. Not only that, the ages are programmed to unfold according to God's intented purpose. This great God of ours has commanded something to come out of nothing. We enjoy what He has called into existence everyday. He has also set things in orderly patterns so that what happens fits into His purpose. It is way beyond us to understand how evil, free will, and unbelief can be calculated into the purpose of God. In ways that only He completely understands He makes it all work together. Although He doesn't cause everything He is big enough and great enough to use everything that happens for His glory and our good. Even better news for us is our faith in God can still cause visible help to come from invisible places. Our faith in God can still introduce order into chaotic environments. We cannot sit around and continually watch things that need to be changed as if we are impotent. We are citizens of the kingdom of God. We must believe that his kingdom is to come and His will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The things we do not see are the things we need to believe God for. The chaotic scene that threatens our peace is the very setting we must by faith introduce order into. God still does what nees to be done. The question is can we believe He is able to do it in our everyday situations. Work it out!  

Pleasing God by Faith

(Hebrews 11:5-6 MSG) By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. They looked all over and couldn't find him. We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken he pleased God. It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. 

Some of the faith topics I have been explaining are not nearly as glamorous as much of what we hear about faith in our times. These topics may not be as flashy but they are basic and essential to mature spiritual living. Our self centered nature has thrown us off course in many ways. We have forgotten that the primary reason we exist is to glorify God. So much faith is exercised in order for our lives to be more pleasing to us. We need to take a serious look at how much emphasis we actually place on pleasing the only one that really matters. The Lord of heaven and earth is the one who is to be pleased. Every word of our speech should be pleasing to the Master. The literal steps of our daily walk should be taken with pleasing God in mind. The things we allow to enter our bodies should be ingested with the pleasure of our heavenly Father as the goal. It is not the spectacular event but the ordinary everyday expressions of life that defines our faith. Utilizing faith with the focal point of pleasing God in all we do will keep us on target. Work it out!

Our Best by Faith

God is going to be generous to us anyway; Isn't it time for us to refocus our attention on bringing Him the best we have to offer. We have been given an example in Hebrews 11:4 MSG. "By an act of faith Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain…" Abel went to the best group of lambs and then took from them the best lamb of the bunch. He gave God the very best he could offer Him. Instead of us whining to God about all the things we want, we should concentrate on giving Him the best of ourselves. We know Him to be wiser, greater, more generous than anyone we could ever come in contact with. It doesn't take faith in our faith to get something from Him. We don't have to get all the faith formulas down just right to impress God. Good and giving is just who He is. Our focus needs to be more about giving God what He wants. He is worthy of the best of our time, the best of our talent, the best of our resources, the best of our energy. It is improper for us in light of the absolute supremacy of God to always be thinking about ourselves. We worship Him. We commune with Him. We have already been blessed beyond measure just to be in relationship with Him. Let's start today with a change of focus from us to Him. We will find that He is big enough, strong enough, and loving enough to give us all we need. Work it out!

Faith as Substance and Evidence

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

We have come to know that faith is a substantial thing. This knowledge is not academic in nature. There is a subjective, mysterious side to faith that is more than the things we study. The description of faith as substance and evidence is important. Faith is tangible enough that there is a real influence inside of us that occurs. Faith has an essence that helps us to discern when it is there and strong, or when it is not there and weak. God’s grace is always flowing with favor and supply to meet our every need. We tap into that supply by our faith. We never force God to do anything. He wouldn’t be much of a God if we could. What we do is put ourselves in position to receive what He already wants to give by using our faith. When faith is as it should be, it becomes the evidence of the answer. Faith assures us that what we believe God for is sure even though we don’t see any physical signs of where or how the answer will come. We must be encouraged enough to know that God will supply what we need. We just silence the voices of doubt, discouragement, and fear by actively spending time in God’s word and in His presence. It is useless for us to try to trick God or others by what we claim to believe. Faith is a real thing not an imaginary deceptive tool. When we really believe God for something we know it. Work it out!