I Am Healed Monday

According to 1st Peter 1:23 the word of God is incorruptible seed. This spring I planted grass in several bald areas of the yard. Some of those spots grew in very well. Some of them didn't grow in at all. The seed is corruptible. There is no guarantee for positive results. God's word is incorruptible seed. It will produce. The word of God will not return void. We have to come to a place in our faith that could be described as a crisis point. We need to decide if we are going to truly believe what God says or not. If the word of God is reliable, and it is, we need to take it over and above what our bodies currently show us. We need to value the report of God's word above the report of doctors. We need to believe God more than the doubters and skeptics that surround us. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." What is more essential to daily life than bread? We are told right there the word of God is more essential than bread. We can stake our lives, our health, our difficulties of every kind on God's word. It is incorruptible seed and when we mix the fertilizer of faith with it, God's word must produce. Have a great day grabbing ahold of a promise from God and clinging to it until the fruit comes!

Unpleasant Realities

We would all prefer to operate in life on a high plane. Skipping from mountain peak to mountain peak would be a wonderful thing. In truth however, we have some unpleasant places we want to avoid where things need to be addressed. Pretending that unpleasant situations are not there will not make them go away. Trying to ignore things that may be temporarily painful only tends to make those matters grow worse. It's sometimes a good practice to put the very things we want to do the least at the top of our to do list. There is always time and energy for whatever is first. If your weight is out of line ignoring it won't bring it in line. Address it! If a relationship is fractured because of an offense you caused, sweeping the offense under the rug won't fix it. Address it! If your spending is out of control trying to maintain an image that these economic times can't support, continuing to spend won't help. Address it! When we stuff enough things in our closets eventually the stuff will spill out. Don't wait until your closet overflows embarrassing you and those around you. Have a great day addressing an issue!

Enlarging Territory

I was watching Bishop Jakes and Oprah on her "Life Class" series the other night. I was somewhat captivated by one particular concept. At one point they were talking about being an inmate to our cubicles. That's just an illustration of course of settling for less than we are capable of producing. There was a phrase made popular by the prayer of Jabez "enlarge my territory." Many of us do have a sense that there is much more inside of us than we are able to currently express. There could be a wide variety of things that hinder us from reaching our highest potential. The question on the floor is what do we need to do in order to become all we were meant by our Creator to be? If we believe we can increase our influence, impact and contribution to this world, we should be compelled to do so. The answer to the how we accomplish that may be different for each of us. I'm not exactly sure how to stretch myself to bust out of some of limitations I've set, but I'm working on it. I do believe that there are things, specific things, you and I can do to grow. May you have a great day thinking about areas where you can stretch yourself!

Broken Promises

Bouncing a check is a rather foolish endeavor. When the check hits the bank and the money is not there, the bill is still there plus fees. Writing a check and cashing it when there are insufficient funds is a broken promise. When you make promises that you fail to keep you are not getting away without penalties. They may not be as easy to trace as bank fees, but the penalties of broken promises exist. The person, or persons you made the promise to will be less likely to believe what you say in the future. The relationship is damaged beyond the realm of just words. When trust is shaken everything about the relationship is more fragile than before. Just like it is better not to write a check when you know the money is not there, it is better not to make a promise when you know you either can't or won't keep it. If you do make promises you have failed to keep restoration of trust begins with saying you're sorry. Just like the bank will not allow your account to proceed as if nothing ever happened when a check bounces; A relationship will not go on in the same way without owning and making right a promise that has been broken. Don't waste relationship currency by failing to repair a broken promise. The damage can be far more severe than a few bank fees. You may feel like you have swept it under the rug, but your spouse, your kids, or your friends know you didn't do what you said you would. That blockade will be there until it is torn down by making it right. Have a great day keeping your promises and making repair for the ones that have been broken!

I Am Healed Monday

I'm sure this phrase from Mark 9:24 states the way we sometimes feel when it comes to our health. "...I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" This came from a father that had a son bound by a chronic, debilitating disease. He knew Christ had healed many other people from their distresses. His words to Jesus however, reveal the doubt he has concerning his own case. The man said, "if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" Jesus responds to him the same way He is responding to us. "All things are possible to him who believes." If that is a true statement, and it comes from the one who is truth so it has to be. We must evaluate continually what we really believe. We must take a firm look at where our unbelief is popping up. The battle between faith and doubt fluctuates. We would like to think we are strong people of faith all the time, but faith is a moving thing. A bad report, a bad day, negative conversation, wobbles in our faithfulness, triggers that set off chronic conditions can all do damage to the strength of our faith. If we are going to enjoy healing the biggest think we need to overcome is doubt. Medical advances are great. The greatest obstacle to being blessed by the touch of the Master's hand though, is unbelief. Have a great day receiving help from God to overcome it!

Get In; But Be Effective!

A line this morning from the late, well known business expert Peter Drucker reads "...attempts to put ordinary college courses online are a mistake." He respects the power of the internet to communicate information, but believes the way that information is communicated must be different than in an ordinary class room. That made me think about the way I tend to communicate the gospel online. I have many times just placed a sermon "as is" on line. That has to be the same mistake as trying to teach a class on the internet like a teacher standing before students in a class room. There are many more creative ways to utilize that same footage and communicate the good news more effectively. I'm sure you know that a godly presence on the web is extremely important, or you wouldn't be reading this. We need to be involved. Our voice needs to be heard. The name of the Lord is to be glorified everywhere including through technology. We just need to be as effective as possible with the audience we know utilizes this forum. I know from that one statement from Drucker that I have work to do and creativity to release. How about you? Have a great day using what you can in the most effective way possible!

Don't Sleep On Justice!

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress." Trayvon Martin was a young man just making a little run to the store and now he's dead. His killer was instructed by the dispatcher to back off. His killer had a documented reputation of being over zealous. His killer used deadly force against an unarmed boy. His killer, based on the laws of common sense, didn't even need to carry arms as a neighborhood watch captain. When our boys can't go to the store to get a bag of Skittles and an Ice tea without their lives being at risk we have a seriously warped society. The fact that the perpetrator of this crime is not sitting in a jail cell speaks volumes about our nation. We declare in our Pledge that we are nation that stands for "liberty and justice for all." Apparently we really don't mean that. If you want an even higher source the Bible says in Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? God is a God of justice just as much as He is love and light. When we operate in justice we operate in harmony with who God is. Where is the justice for Trayvon Martin and his family? Have a great day, but don't forget to lift a prayer and speak a word in your circle of influence to help bring justice to this heart broken family.