“Don’t Be a Crab!”

Scripture: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” –Romans 14:13, NIV

Within society today, there’s a big thing that occurs that is truly a disservice to our brother/sister. This disservice is known as the “Crab Syndrome”. “Crab Syndrome” is defined as one trying to impede another’s progress when it comes to climbing the ladder within life (Corporate America, the church, family, etc.). It’s really sad because some of the most talented people get caught from this syndrome. Some of the most caring people get caught from this syndrome. Some of the most anointed people (for a season) get caught by this syndrome. Today, God challenges each of us to not be a crab! He challenges each of us to step up and propel our brother/sister into their next dimension/level. God challenges us to not be crabs through the words of the Apostle Paul. Let’s further examine the text.

As the case with yesterday’s message, today’s main scripture is found in the Pauline Epistle to the church at Rome. In recapping Chapter 14, Paul deals with two types of Christians, as one is indicated in verse 1 and the other is implied: weak and strong. One thing I encourage those of you that are “strong” in the faith, is to continue to be kind and love those who are “weak” in the faith, pray their strength that they might grow and eventually bring other saints into the fold. As Paul continued his message about the weak and strong, he passed along some critical information to them, as well as us, in why we should not be crabs within our world/society on today.

The first part of the text, Paul tells us this: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another”. If truth were told, in one form or another, we do this pretty regularly. In order not to be a crab, God is challenging us not to pass judgment on each other! If you see a sister wearing a short skirt and stiletto pumps, do not pass judgment on her thinking she’s trying to be a hoochie! That skirt and pumps may be the only thing she possesses in her wardrobe to suit whatever purpose! Remember what Jesus told us in Matthew 7, which was mentioned in yesterday’s message, to be careful how you judge because if you judge a certain way, you will be judged by the same certain way you judged the individual! Crabs judge! Crabs condemn people without knowing a person’s circumstances! If you do this, then God again, is asking you to stop passing judgment on your brother and your sister!

Here’s a piece of advice Paul gave the Roman church and relays to us today: “Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister”. In other words, as Ludacris use to sing, make a conscious decision to “move, get out the way!” Oftentimes, our biggest stumbling blocks, outside of ourselves, to getting the blessings in lives, is the fact that we have people who want to be obstacles! It’s the fact that we stay in the way of family members who want to go to college, but we don’t want them to leave! It’s the fact that some of our brothers/sisters have been called to ministry and yet, we’re afraid that we’ll get lost! It’s the fact that some of our brothers/sisters have been called to pastor, and yet there are people who put their mouth on them saying he/she cannot! Well, God says to you on today, and us as a people, don’t be a crab! He is telling us to do what we can NOT to be a stumbling block or an obstacle! Anyone who is reading today’s message who desires God to take them to the next level, my prayer for you is that God does it for you! When we “declaw” the crabs, we do it by praying for our brothers! We do it by encouraging our brothers! We do it by forgiving our brothers! Make up in your mind today to live for God and not have the crab tendencies of holding people back!

In closing, God loves us SO much! He loves us so much that He gives us new mercies every day and opportunities to make things right with our fellow man! My encouragement to you, again, is that you do everything you can not to be a crab! Paul tells us how within the text: Do not pass judgment on your brother/sister and to make up your mind not to be a stumbling block/obstacle. If you do that, then God will remove the stumbling blocks that are in your way that you may reach the next level in glory!

“Deuces!”

Scripture: “ … But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” –Philippians 3:13, NIV

As I was driving on yesterday, I started to take listen to a song that’s been out for a while. It’s a song done by Chris Brown, with a remix that features a slew of today’s hottest hip-hop artists: Drake, Rick Ross, and Kanye West to name a few. The name of this song that I’m referencing is today’s title: “Deuces”. Within this song, Brown is letting the listeners know that he can do better with the lady/things he has chosen. Within the chorus of his song, you hear Brown say, “I am moving on to something better, no more trying to make it work, Deuces!, Makes me want to say bye bye, say bye bye, say bye bye to her, Deuces!” If we were to hit the switch on this from a spiritual standpoint, each of us have some things we can say “Deuces” or bye bye to! There are things that are slowing us up to better things. Let today’s main scripture provide you encouragement to give the “Deuces”, Peace, See You Later, sign to within your life.

Philippians serves as today’s backdrop for our message. A prison-bound Paul is writing to the church at Philippi, a church that’s very close to his heart. Scholars reveal that the target audience of this letter was the bishops and deacons in Philippi (refer to Philippians 1:1). Within this epistle/letter/book, Paul addresses two areas: there’s no confidence in the flesh (verses 1 – 14) and encouraging the Philippian church to follow his example (verses 15 – 21). Within Paul’s discussion of not having confidence in the flesh is where we’re launched into our scripture for today.

Paul writes within the first piece of our scripture for today this: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind”. In other words, Paul gave “Deuces” to his past! Paul gave “Deuces” to what he use to be as a persecutor of Christians! My encouragement to you on today is to forget what is behind you. Give your past “Deuces”! Give your past financial issues “Deuces”! Give your past marital issues “Deuces”! Give your past work hang-ups “Deuces”! Give your past eating habits “Deuces”! Whatever that is holding you back from getting the things God has for you, give it “Deuces”!

When you forget those things that are behind you and give it “Deuces”, then do what Paul says in the latter part of the text: “Straining toward what is ahead”. In other words, it’s time to forge ahead and move into a greater anointing! It’s time to move ahead and forge into a greater “wealthy” place! It’s time to move ahead and forge into giving yourself a better marriage with your spouse! It’s time to move ahead and forge into giving yourself a better life as a single person! It’s time to move ahead and forge into giving you and your family a better life and provide “Deuces” to past heartache and pain! Many of us cannot escape the past, but if you cannot do it, then you cannot strain toward to what’s ahead! Ahead of you are blessings! Ahead of you is peace! Ahead of you is life and life more abundantly! Ahead of you is greatness within yourself, greatness within your workplace, greatness in every aspect of your life! In order to get ahead, you have to plow ahead and make an effort to get there, there being ahead!

In closing, “Deuces”, Peace, See You Later, is something we tell our friends when we’re leaving them to do other things. Tell your demonic enemies/spirits/enemies inside of you that I am giving you the “Deuces” and it’s time for me to get bigger and better things! Are you ready for those things? If so, tell the past “Deuces” and say Hello to your future!

“When the Lord is With You, No One Can Kill You”

Scripture: “ … Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul.” -1 Samuel 18:10-12, NIV

As I write today’s message, my mind goes back to one of the classic movies of the early 1990’s. This particular movie placed a superstar singer, Whitney Houston, on the map as a solid actress. Her co-star was one Kevin Costner, one of the great actors of the past two generations. The movie they starred in was “The Bodyguard” where Houston played a superstar singer, Rachel Marron and Costner played her bodyguard, Frank Farmer. Though there were deaf threats and scares, Farmer’s intent was to let Marron know that when I am with you, no one would harm you or no one would kill you. When I think about this thing from a spiritual standpoint, I think about our Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father, who protects us in the same way that Farmer protected Marron. He allows us to know when He is with us, no one or nothing can kill us! Just in case you haven’t experienced that for yourself, here’s an awesome text to back this thought up.

1 Samuel serves as today’s backdrop. Within this particular episode, we find that David, the anointed next king of Israel, had just defeated Goliath in Chapter 17. Not only that, we have the maidens of the day going around the kingdom singing that Saul has killed thousands and that David has killed tens of thousands. When the word came back to Saul about this singing, he became furious and jealous. The Bible reveals that Saul kept a “jealous eye out on David”. Brothers and sisters, as you make friends and associates in this world, be VERY careful and leery of them because some of them may be looking at you with a jealous eye. At the end of the day, even if they are, if you have God on your side, they cannot harm you or kill you! In addition to this jealous rage of Saul’s, he also had an evil spirit invade him, coming from God Himself. As this spirit hit Saul, David played the harp to soothe this evil spirit. As David played the harp in today’s scripture, something happened. Let’s take a look.

The text reveals to us that King Saul had a spear in his hand. King James Version refers to this spear as a javelin. If you ever watched the Olympics and the track and field events, you know what a javelin is and the sharp point it has on its ends. The text continues on to say this: “and he hurled it, saying to himself, I’ll pin David to the wall”. Brothers and sisters on today, there’s an enemy with a spear/javelin of hate trying to pin you to the wall. There’s a javelin/spear of depression trying to pin you to the wall. There’s a javelin/spear of anger trying to pin you to the wall. There’s a javelin/spear of financial difficulties trying to pin you to the wall. Whatever you do, be leery and aware of the javelins/spears that are coming your way!

Read what David did here: “But David eluded him twice”. Hallelujah! Today, God wants someone to know that though the javelins are thrown at you, He has given you the ability to elude them! He has given you the ability to dodge them! He has given you the “head movement” to get away from them. He has given you the “body movement” to get away from them. Though the javelin/spear of financial difficulties were thrown at you, God gave you a way of escape and it missed you! Though the spear/javelin or hate was thrown at you, God gave you head movement to dodge the hate and still live life like it’s golden! He has given you the ability to dodge the javelin and stick your tongue out at the devil because he missed! Wherever you are, I dare you to give God the praise, the glory, and the honor, for the times the devil missed with his spears/javelins!

When the enemy realizes that you are dodging these javelins/spears, fear kicks in. This is proven in the final piece of the text when the writer wrote: “Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul”. When the Lord is with you, no one can kill you! When the Lord is with you, nothing can kill you! When the Lord is with you, it’s more than the whole world against you! I am happy to know the Lord on today because He has provided me a fence of protection, the ability to move, the wisdom to listen, the wisdom to adhere to His voice and warnings.

In closing, when you are a child of God, He has given you these same things and has given you the ability to withstand the pains in your body, withstand the javelins/spears that are thrown at you, and other things that may try and kill you! Today, thank God for being with you and with Him being there, no one or nothing can do any harm to you!

“It Wasn’t Made Just for You!”

Scripture: ”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” -2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV

Have you ever been shopping for a particular suit, shoe, purse, or something and you smiled the moment you seen it? The reason you smiled was because you said to yourself, “This looks like me” or as today’s title would imply, “This was made just for me”. Oftentimes, you will purchase that suit, pair of shoes, purse, shirt, or something and see a few days later, a few weeks later, maybe months later, that you and someone had the same taste because they are wearing the same thing as you! With this being said, you realize that though you believed the outfit or whatever was made just for you, in all actuality, it was NOT made just for you! It had others in mind! Within the realm of the Spirit, there are things God have created that are NOT just for you. Today’s main scripture provides us further clarity on this statement.

2 Corinthians is where our main scripture for today is found. Scholars reveal that Paul’s apostleship was assaulted and questioned by those in the church at Corinth. The intent of this letter was to provide vindication of the apostleship granted to Paul by the Almighty God. Within this introductory chapter, Paul discusses God being the God of all comfort (verses 1 – 11) and his change of plans (verses 12 – 24). As we look at our main scripture today, it is found within the first theme, the God of all comfort, and from there, we’ll explore more what “it” was and why “it” just wasn’t made for you.

Paul addresses the church at Corinth with this message: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort”. Paul teaches us a fundamental lesson here. No matter what you are embarking upon, whether it’s prayer, the beginning of your workday, the beginning of your off day, the beginning of service at church, or anything for that matter, we ought to start off with a praise unto our God! We ought to give Him praise for waking us up in the morning! We ought to give Him praise because He provided for you and your family! We ought to praise Him for the good things, as well as the bad things! We ought to give Him praise because He has blessed us in big things, as well as little things. We ought to give Him praise because He’s good ALL the time and ALL the time, God is good! The text also shows us that God is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. When you don’t have anyone to hold you in their arms, God is right there ready to hold you in His arms! When you need your tears wiped off your face from crying, God is right there with His “heavenly Kleenex” to wipe off your face! When you feel like you don’t deserve to be forgiven, God is right there to have compassion upon you and forgive you! If you glad to know that God has compassion and that He is the God of all comfort, you ought to give Him praise wherever you are!

The text continues by saying that He is “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God”. In other words, God did not make “it”, comfort, just for you! He made comfort for us during our troubles, but He made comfort so that we can comfort others when they are in trouble! Think about it, the comfort God gives us is like the blessings He has given us, because when you receive His blessings, those blessings do NOT end at you and with you! Those blessings are meant to be spreaded to those who need it! I think about this ministry, Special Delivery from Heaven, and how God has taken His hands, placed them on me, where I can come before you on a daily basis during the work week to give you encouragement! Once upon a time, I was very spiritually obese, ate so much Word, but was not able to give it, but through this Ministry, He is allowing me to shed the spiritual weight and give it to you that you may be encouraged! Ladies and gentlemen, each and every one of you have some kind of comforting bones in your body! If you see that your brother/sister needs comfort, step up and provide them comfort because God comforted you when you were in trouble!

In closing, no particular shirt, skirt, suit, or any piece of clothing was made just for you. It was made for others including you. Just like clothing was not made just for you, neither is God’s comfort. He provides comfort to you, but it is made where you provide comfort to others in their time of trouble. Are you sitting there with your comfort arms closed or are you opening them up and blessing others with comfort in their time of need?

“How Great Is Our God!”

Scripture: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” –Micah 7:18-19, NIV

One of the great praise and worship songs of the modern-day church serves as our topic for today. The name of the song being “How Great Is Our God!” Some of the lyrics say, “He is the name above all names, and He is worthy of my praise, and my heart will sing, How Great is Our God!” If you sat back for a quick second, you can reminisce about the greatness of God in your life! If it wasn’t for the greatness of God, you would not be living on this morning! If it wasn’t for the greatness of God, you wouldn’t have the job you possess or the energy you possess on this morning! If it wasn’t for the greatness of God, you and I would be dead and not living in this world. Aren’t you thankful for the greatness of God that resides in your life and consistently shows up in your life daily? Well, just in case you are having a hard time accepting the greatness of our God and the blessings He has given you, let today’s main scripture minister to you on His greatness!

Micah serves as today’s feature book. This Old Testament book is one of the 12 Minor Prophet books. Micah was written between 735 and 700 B.C. Scholars conclude that the practical application of this book is that God gives us warnings so that we will not have to suffer His wrath. It’s important to pay attention to God and the signs He leave you! Within this particular chapter, Chapter 7, Micah deals with three critical elements: 1) Israel’s misery (verses 1 – 7), 2) Israel will rise (verses 8 – 13), and 3) Prayer and Praise (verses 14 – 20). Within Micah’s prayer and praise is where we find today’s main scripture and some more evidence about the greatness of our God.

Micah begins today’s text by saying, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance?” The greatness of our God shown here is that He is a forgiving God. Not only that He is a forgiving God, but He is a forgiving God of remnants! Remnants are those who have remained after a period of time; a group that has survived hard times. In other words, if you take a hard look at yourself, you are a remnant! You are a survivor! You are one that remained after your family done you wrong! You are one that remained after the job has kicked your tail! You are one that stands after things have gone crazy in your life! Because you are a remnant, God’s greatness is there to forgive our transgressions (sins)! As God has forgiven our sins and shown compassion, it’s on us to show people like us, compassion, love, understanding, and forgive them of their sins! As we stated in a message a while back, compassion and God’s comfort is not just for you! It’s for everyone!

The greatness of our God continues through the text when Micah says, “You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” In other words, the greatness of God shown here is that He is a merciful God. Aren’t you glad that grace and His twin brother, mercy, pleaded your case on more than one occasion? I often think about us, as men and women, and depending on the individual, may hold unnecessary grudges and end up messing up some great friendships and bonds. Aren’t you blessed by the Father in knowing that His anger is not forever with you and He LOVES or delights to show mercy? If you are happy about the greatness of God that shows mercy, then you ought to give Him praise wherever you are!

Listen to this last portion of today’s scripture: “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea”. The greatness of our God shown here is two-fold: He is a compassionate God and He is a God that cleans the slate! I bless God for being a compassionate God! I bless God because when I was in sin (sin from day-to-day), that He is able to stomp on those sins and throw my iniquities into the depths of the sea where NO man can find them! David tells us that He removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west! In other words, whatever sin you have committed, God is a compassionate God where He forgives you and that He’ll wipe your slate clean! He presents you new mercies each and every day! (Lamentations 3:23) He presents us these new mercies because He wants us to strive and live a life pleasing and acceptable in His eyesight! Because of God’s greatness, He is worthy of the praise, the glory, and the honor!

In closing, I want you to reflect on the greatness of God within your life. Reflect on where you were and where you are right now. Reflect on the fact that God is a forgiving God. Reflect on the fact that God is a merciful God. Reflect on the fact that God is a compassionate God and provides you and me a clean slate every day. When you reflect on these things hard, you’ll truly understand God’s greatness and will have NO shame in giving our Heavenly Father praise!

“It’s What He Wants!”

Scripture: “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” –Proverbs 19:21, NIV

As I begin today’s message, I am reminded of one of the greatest institutions in life: relationships. Within this particular realm, we find discussions, arguments, “heated fellowship”, and other things. These things usually occur because two parties are trying to get what he/she wants out of the deal. If the man needs a suit, but his woman/wife wants some perfume, eight times out of ten, that man will get that woman the perfume she desires. Why? Because he realizes that it isn’t about him, but it’s about what the woman wants. If you are a father/mother and you needed some work clothes, but your child needed some shoes for his/her sports activity, you would get the shoes for your child. Why? Because you realize that it isn’t about you, but it’s about what the child wants/needs! Well, ladies and gentlemen, in the same light, God wants you to understand that it’s not about what you want, but it’s about what He wants from you! Today’s main scripture will provide clarity on such a profound statement.

Today’s book of focus is the book of Proverbs, written by King Solomon. Within this book of sayings, wisdom, and clichés, we find Solomon’s understanding of what we mean in today’s title. He begins the text with this thought: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart”. If truth be told, we all have plans right now! We have plans to spend Thanksgiving with our family! We have plans to eat dinner with our spouses and/or children! We have plans to move throughout today and attend meetings and classes! We have plans to serve God in the ways that are pleasing to US! We have plans to go to church when WE want to go! The question I ask you at this juncture of the message, “Are your plans God’s plans?” Are the things you plan what God wants you to do?

Just in case they are not, let the remainder of today’s scripture minister to you. Solomon tells us in the latter portion of the text this: “but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” In other words, it’s what God wants! Though you are fine sitting on your butt listening to God’s Word, it might be God’s purpose for you to preach/teach His Word! Though you may be fine singing in the congregation at church, it might be God’s purpose for you to sing in God’s choirs! I recall some six-plus years ago that I had my agenda of serving God as a church clerk, a trustee, the President of the Usher’s Ministry, and as a Sunday School teacher. One Sunday morning, God dropped the scales from my eyes, took His “Q-Tip” and cleaned my ears, and allowed me to understand that His purpose for me was for me to preach His Word and continue to be an encouragement to the body of Christ! On March 12, 2006, I began walking in the purpose God had for me! Others of you can reflect on a moment as such, but at the end of the day, whether you bring your running to a screeching halt or continuously run, God’s purpose will prevail in your life! Here’s a promise I can guarantee: When you accept God’s purpose for your life and walk in it, there are SO MANY BLESSINGS readily available for you! You’ll see favor follow you in a manner where you would say, “Why didn’t I follow His purpose for me earlier?”

In closing, it’s important to recognize the needs and wants of your mate, your spouse, or your family. Though you may want something, your immediate family (mother, father, daughter, son, wife, husband, etc.) may need it or want it worse than you! In this same light, God wants you to know that it is not about what you want, but it’s about what He wants! When you understand that His purpose for you will prevail, then you have taken the lid off of captivity and you begin to walk in the purpose of power and anointing! Are you ready to get what God has for you? If so, just follow His purpose and will for your life!

"Make Good Use of Your Time"

Scripture: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
–Ecclesiastes 9:10, NIV

Over the past several years, I have learned to incorporate a vital aspect into my life. This aspect is something that we all deal with in one form or another. This aspect I am making reference to is time management. As a married man, a family man, a minister of the Gospel, and just a man in general, I have had to learn to juggle quality time with Mrs. Lindsay, juggle giving God His proper time, juggle a 80-hour set of work weeks, juggle time to check on family members, and other things. I bless God that He has allowed me to do that, thus making good use of my time. As men and women who live in this world, you endure these same battles of managing your time with children, work, church, and other things. God wants to encourage you on today to make good use of your time! One of the oldest clichés I have heard within life is that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” and if truth were told, many of the things/feelings we build up is because we are not doing anything practical. With the help of Ecclesiastes and its potent author, Solomon, God wants to again show you the importance of making good use of your time.

As fore stated in the previous paragraph, Ecclesiastes will serve as focal book. Its author is that in the person of King Solomon. Solomon was able to deliver such potent words within this book, Proverbs, and Songs of Solomon because of his life’s experiences and most importantly, the great gift of wisdom he obtained from God in 1 Kings 3. Within these twelve chapters of Ecclesiastes, we find that some of the subjects Solomon talked about included wisdom, the value of a promise to God, oppression, and how everything he obtained in the material world was vanity. In Chapter 9, today’s main chapter, Solomon deals with how wisdom is better than folly) (verses 13 – 18) and the common destiny for everyone, death (verses 1 – 12). Within the discussion of the common destiny for everyone is where we are launched into our main scripture and thought.

Solomon gives us this word of advice: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”. Today, you, my brothers and sisters, possess gift(s) from the Almighty God. Some of you possess the gift of administration. Some of you possess the gift of teaching. Some of you possess the gift of counseling. Some of you possess the gift of intercession. Some of you possess the gift of pastorship. Some of you possess the gift of leadership. Some of you possess the gift of designing things on the computer. Some of you possess the gift of being an elite writer. Today, God charges you to either continuously work in your gift(s) or begin to use them! Oftentimes, we twiddle our thumbs in boredom, when God has already spoke what you can do and what you should be doing! He drives us through Solomon to exercise our gifts with all our might! If you are a gifted writer, exercise it with all of your might! If you are a gifted teacher, exercise it with all of your might! If you are a gifted financial advisor, exercise your gift with all of your might!

There’s a reason why God wants us to make good use of your time. Solomon completes the text by saying, “for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom”. In other words, when God turns out the lights on your life, you cannot exercise the gifts and work with what He gave you! One of the big things that gets to my nerves (and I believe some of you all would agree as well) is that people say “I should’ve done this”, “I should’ve done that”, “I could’ve done this” or “I could’ve done that”. Well, God wants you to know that you can do this, you can do that! It’s within your power, it’s within your hands to make things happen! It’s within your hands to get things done on another level! It’s on you to give you and your family the best life possible without regret. It’s on you to make the best of your time while you’re here on Earth! Don’t be the “could’ve” crowd or the “should’ve” crowd, be a part of the “do it” crowd while you have time to do so! You have a God that told you that He would never leave you nor forsake you (Matthew 28:20) and that you have no reason to be afraid because He’s there with you (Psalms 27:1, Psalms 118:6). Isn’t that a blessing to know that you have a God that’s like that? Isn’t it a blessing to know that all God wants you to do is to exercise your gifts and make good use of the time He has given you?

In closing, though I have become solid in time management, there’s definitely room for improvement! There are gifts that God has placed in my hands that I need to improve upon and use while He has given me the time. Just like me, others of you have the same testimony. Let’s work towards making good use of our time and being proud of our life’s accomplishments before we die! Make the best of your days and work your gifts with all of your might and God will reward you handsomely!

"Umma Do Me"

Scripture: “I said, I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." –Psalms 39:1, NIV

In this world we live in in the year 2010, many phrases have been captured within various songs. One of those phrases is today’s title “Umma Do Me”. This song was done by an artist named Rocko (famously known to be Monica’s ex-fiancé) back in December of 2007. The single topped out at #7 on the Billboard U.S. Rap Charts and #12 on Billboard’s U.S. R&B Charts. The emphasis of this song is that you handle your business and I’ll handle mine. As I looked at today’s text, I felt David’s sentiment of “Umma Do Me” here. Oftentimes, as believers, we are geared towards helping others and getting them through their crises. Today, the intent is for you and do you that will lead you to be a greater help to someone else! Let’s examine the text.

Psalms 39 is the focal chapter of today. This psalm was written by King David. As I fore stated in the introduction, the introductory verse of Psalms 39 provides the train of thought that David was going to do him. How can I make such a statement? Well, the text begins this way, “I said, I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin”. Didn’t he just say a mouthful there? In other words, David is saying that he is going to watch HIS ways and keep HIS tongue from sinning! In other words, David is doing David! Oftentimes, we get in people’s business when it isn’t warranted and because of that, sin flies out of mouth and sin comes from us. It’s important to check yourself on a daily basis. It’s important to really look in the mirror and say, “What do I like about me?” “What do I dislike about me?” “Am I a good husband?” “Am I a good wife?” “Am I a good friend?” “Did I speak to my friend in a good tone?” “Did I handle that situation in a manner pleasing unto God?” These are real questions we should ask ourselves regularly as we strive to do ourselves! If we are truthful to ourselves and most importantly to God, then He will free you (John 8:32) from your sins and forgive you (1 John 1:9)!

David completes his “Umma Do Me” thought process within the text by saying this lastly, “I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence”. As I read this portion of scripture, I am reminded of the old cliché that if you give someone an inch, they will take a mile. Oftentimes, the wicked look for the “inch” in our lives in order for them to take a mile. The enemy looks to kill, still, and destroy and he can start that trend when you give him a morsel to eat off of when it comes to you. David, being the smart man that he was, stated that in his doing him, that he would muzzle his mouth as long as the wicked was in his presence. Ladies and gentlemen, there will be times and seasons where it won’t be necessary for you to run your mouth in a situation! There will come times and seasons where all you have to do is be still and know that He is God (Psalms 46:10)! There will be times where God wants you to shut up and allow Him to do the work! In your “Doing You” mentality, learn to keep your mouth close appropriately when enemies are around because the enemy is always looking for something to hang God’s people on.

In closing, I often tell my wife and Mama that if they focus their energy on God and stay out of people’s business, then they’ll be fine and God would be pleased. Today’s main scripture in Psalms provides further clarity of this thought. It’s on you, my brother, and you, my sister to do you! Do you in the sense of watching your ways, keeping your tongue from sin, and muzzling your mouth when enemies are around. When you work on you, then you can be a better and more effective part of the body of Christ!

“He Can Kill Your Butterflies!”

Scripture: “When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul.” –Psalms 94:19, NIV

Within this lifetime, you will have to get in front of a crowd of people and do something. Whether you are up there to welcome someone to your church, read scripture at your church, preach a sermon at your church or elsewhere, give a motivational talk about a given subject, and the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, when you are about to approach the pulpit or podium wherever you will be, you will have “butterflies in your stomach” as a sign of nervousness. What does one do in order to reduce these butterflies? According to eHow.com, here are some of their suggestions: 1) Remember to breathe, 2) Look your best, 3) Give up the belief that you have to be perfect, and 4) Focus on friendly faces. I have another remedy not mentioned in eHow.com or any other website, depend on God and allow Him to flow! Today’s text provides further clarity why this statement can be made.

Psalms serves as our focal book for today’s message. Scholars record that Psalms was written to deal with such subjects as our Heavenly Father and His creation, war, wisdom, worship, sin, evil, judgment, justice, and the coming of the Messiah. Fifty of the 150 psalms written within this book, like today’s psalm, has no recorded author. These psalms were written by a host of men including King David, Solomon, Moses, and the priests/Levites who provided music for sanctuary worship during David’s reign as king of Israel. Psalms 94 deals with two themes: the danger and foolishness of persecutors (verses 1 – 11) and comfort and peace to the persecuted (verses 12 – 23). Within the second theme of comfort and peace to the persecuted is where we find why one can say that He can kill your butterflies.

The text is written like this: “When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul”. In other words, when you call upon the name of the Lord in your times of being nervous, He will be the breath you need to take! He will be the soothing air you need! He will be the drink of water you need! He will be the answer that is trapped between your brain and your mouth! He will be the consolation that will bring joy to your soul! Oftentimes, I think about how some of us are afraid to deal with bill collectors. Well, God can kill those butterflies as well and give you the proper words to give to them that they may understand you and your situation! There are times and seasons where you have to talk with your landlord and/or bank about your mortgage and there are times where your words are choked. Then, there’s the one who kills butterflies, our Heavenly Father, that will step in, bring you the words to say, bring compassion upon the landlord and/or bank and will provide you the time and re-adjustment necessary to take care of your mortgage! God does not want His people to be in a mode of panic, He wants us to be in a mode of get it done! He wants us to be in a mode of relax, relate, and release! He wants you and me to be at our very best! He does not want you afraid! Psalms 118:6 tells us that “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid, what can man do unto me?” Psalms 27 tells us that the Lord is my life and my salvation, whom shall I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid! No matter how tense you may get before singing, tense before preaching, tense before speaking, tense before talking to someone about a situation, know that God can kill your butterflies, take away your anxiety, and bring consolation to your soul!

In closing, I find myself a blessed man to know a God like ours! He does some great things and in turn, He does great things that are small things! One of those things is give us consolation during the time of our anxiety. Brothers and sisters, for those of you who are concerned about how the bills are going to get paid in the future, know that God has the answer and He wants to bring your anxiety down and relax you! If you are concerned about how things will go as far as landing the job He has for you, just relax, continue to seek His face, and know that there’s consolation from Him that will bring joy to your soul! Are you ready for God’s consolation to bring you joy? If so, try your best to stop worrying about life and its circumstances!

“There's Value in Telling the Truth”

Scripture: “Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die." -2 Samuel 12:13, NIV

One of the greatest lessons a child can learn is to do his/her best NOT to lie to one's parents. I could recall an instance as a second grader, I would get my graded papers from my second grade teacher. Most of them were good and some of them were bad. Bad in the sense of getting Fs. As I would make my way home, I would throw away the bad papers and allow my Mama to see the good ones. However, my trashing my papers caught up to me. My teacher, Ms. Dobson, called my Mama to tell her about some bad grades I made. When I came home, Mama asked me if I had some bad grades and I had the unmitigated gall to lie and say that I didn't. Let's just say that my butt paid the price for lying, but I am still alive to tell about it! Since that day, I strive not to lie to people about stuff and learned that there's value in telling the truth. There are times, as men and women of God, think that we are exempt from telling the truth and in all actuality, we ought to be the ones telling it more than anyone! Not only that, we ought to tell others to tell the truth and tell others about THE TRUTH (Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ)! Today, God has provided us an awesome text in letting us know that there's value in telling the truth.

Our focus today has shifted to the book of 2 Samuel. This book focuses its energy on the reign of King David as king of Judah and eventually, Israel. During this particular text, we find David had made one of his gravest errors as king and more importantly, as a man of God. In Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel, we find that David fell in lust (not love) with Bathsheba. Through his lust, David and Bathsheba laid together. Eventually, this led to Bathesheba becoming pregnant with David's child. However, David found out that she was married to a Hittite named Uriah. Once David found this out, he had Uriah to go to the front of the battle on his country's behalf, figuring that Uriah would die in battle. Sure enough, the text reveals to us that Uriah died in battle. Bathesheba did mourn the death of Uriah; however, she joined David in the royal palace, married him, and had him a son. Something interesting was mentioned at the end of Chapter 11. It says, "But the thing David had done has displeased the Lord". Brothers and sisters, there will come times, whether if it's today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year, where you will do some things that will displease the Lord. Even with that being said, it's on us to obtain forgiveness from the Father and continue to live the best we can!

The scene has now shifted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 12 where Nathan, David's prophet sent by God, visits the king and tells him a story (read verses 1 -6 for more details). Through being told this story, David became angry at the individual that committed the wrong. However, what Nathan wanted him to see was the fact that David was like the individual that committed the wrong. Nathan stated that for the wrong David did in the dark, it would be exposed out in the light! Be careful of the things you do in the dark because if you are not careful, God may expose you in the light! Nathan allowed David to understand that he was so wrong in fact that God would punish him by having his wives sleep with men in public! Throughout this pain, blues, and agony, David realized that there's value in telling the truth. Let's examine his words and the actions that occurred afterwards.

The author revealed to us this, "Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD". Wow! What a profound and yet simple statement! David owned up to his mistake. Can you imagine what life would be like if we owned up to the mistakes we made against our spouses and told them that I have wronged you? Can you imagine what life would be like if we owned up to the mistakes we made against our children and tell them that I have wronged you? Can you imagine what life would be like if we owned up to the mistakes we have made in talking to our fellow man and apologizing to them? I tell you what the world would be like, it would be wonderful! Due to our flesh, it oftentimes makes us think that we do not lie about things. It makes us think that what we said was correct and did not carry harm. David's son, Solomon, warns us that life and death is in the power of the tongue! Be careful of the things you say to people and about people! Be careful about the things you have done or will do to people!

The last part of this text should reinforce the love you have for your God. Nathan tells David, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die". Though you may have cheated on your spouse, God will take away your sin if you tell the truth! Though you may have came off wrong on your brother and sister talking, God will take away your sin if you tell the truth! Though you may have hurt someone knowingly or unknowingly, God will take away your sin if you tell the truth! Jesus allows us to understand the value in telling the truth. He tells us that "The truth shall set you free". When you know who the truth is, when you know the truth is Jesus Christ, you should have no problems telling others the truth when you have done wrong! You have no problems telling the truth when you said something wrong! You should have no problems in telling others about the TRUTH that's Jesus Christ! You should have no problems sharing with them that the wages of sin, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! If you are born again, saved, fire baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost, you know the potency of the truth and you know that there's value in telling the truth!

In closing, I never told my Mama a lie for a long time after that incident. My butt was like, don't do it again! Oftentimes, God wants you to know that there's no shame in telling the truth! Because if you tell the truth, He will forgive your sin and you will not die from it! David did lose his son, but God preserved him and allowed David to tell us greater stories through his reign and provide powerful thoughts through his Psalms. Aren't you glad that God wants you to be truthful with Him and know that you'll be alright?

“The Facts on Spanking”

Scripture: “The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.” -Proverbs 29:15, NIV

As a young man growing up, I recall many of the stories my Mama told me about her childhood. One of those stories was when she was a little girl and was hanging around my grandma. Within this story, Mama was being disrespectful to my Grandma and because of her disrespect, she earned a crucial spanking or beating from my Grandma. After receiving that beating, my Mama learned not to be disrespectful to my Grandma. That lesson was carried on through yours truly; hence, why I do what I can to listen to my elders and not disrespect them. Many of you can say that you all have received spankings or beatings because of something wrong you did at school, because you did not complete a chore at home, or other things. Upon receiving that spanking, it forced you to get it right and correction entered the scene. As a child of God, we ought to be able to receive spankings from our Heavenly Father. We ought to be able to receive the correction that's comes with the beating! We ought to know the facts on spanking and today's main scripture will provide you and me, these facts.

Solomon serves as today's writer and today's book is the great book of Proverbs. Proverbs has some of the greatest nuggets any of us can receive as it comes with our walk with God. These nuggets include wisdom and getting it, trusting God and God alone, the power of words from your mouth, and today, the importance of being spanked (receiving correction). Let's take a moment and digest these facts that King Solomon presents to us when it comes to spanking.

Solomon begins the text with this thought, “The rod of correction imparts wisdom". Oftentimes, we receive chastisement on big things, as well as little things. If this chastisement is of God, it's because He loves you! Not only that, the chastisement brings a lesson for you to take into the next portion of your life. You may get chastised on your ways of spending, so God may reduce your income to teach you a lesson on how to spend your money wisely. You may get chastised about how you talk to people, but at the end of the day, it brings about a change in the way you talk to people and in the way you handle your business! You may get chastised about writing things a certain way, but the chastisement may be necessary in order to get you to write more polished products and papers that your colleagues can understand. One of the greatest chastisements I received was my ability or lack of ability to make eye contact with individuals. Over time, I have managed to improve that aspect in me and others are appreciative of that. Ladies and gentlemen, whatever chastisement you are receiving that's legitimate chastisement, receive it in love, take your "spiritual spanking" like a man/woman, and allow it to place wisdom in you!

Solomon now presents to us the flip side of not receiving the spanking. He tells us "but a child left to himself disgraces his mother". There are some of you who have children and it seems like the children run you and not them. You want to know why? It's because you did not spank their behind or took time to give them proper correction! Because of that, you will be out in public and they will do something that would disgrace you! Oftentimes, our pastors look at us and they shake their respective heads because they have tried to deal with you on something and in turn, you may not have received their correction! God gets tired of us taking His chastisement/spankings for granted. He is doing it because He does not want you to disgrace Him! He does it so you can teach others on how to get things done! He does it so you can be better as your life continues on!

In closing, it's on you, my brother and my sister, and it's on me, to allow God's correction through our supervisor, our spouses, our pastors, and others to help us grow and gain wisdom, instead of making God look bad! Oftentimes, I have watched the "fire" of people not paying attention to God burn them and those around them. My closing thought would be this: Are you going to go up in smokes because of your non-receiving of God's spanking or are you going to blaze a trail where others want to learn from you?

“Who Has Your Heart?”

Scripture: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” -1 Kings 11:4, NIV

Since 2004, outside of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there’s one individual who has captured my heart, lock, stock, and barrel. This individual is the one that God gave me the green light to marry on September 25, 2004. She has brought so much joy to my life, she has brought a sense of maturation to my life, she has brought deepness to my life, she has brought completeness to my life, and other things. This individual who has my heart is in the person of my beautiful wife, Mrs. Pamela Yvette Lindsay. In order for her to have obtain possession of my heart, it took some time to get to know one another, grow on one another, love one another, trust one another, understand one another and other things. Through life’s rain, storms, and other crucial situations we have faced, it has kept us together, made our bond that much stronger, and allowed us to have a firmer grip on one another’s heart. In the realm of the Spirit, you ought to feel that way about your God possessing your heart. He ought to be the number one holder of your heart! He ought to be the one you eat, sleep, and think about daily! Your actions should portray that of one that loves God and will not “cheat” on Him. If truth were told, can we own up to the fact that we are loving our Father just right and that He possesses the keys to our heart? Well, today’s main scripture helps us see an example of someone whose heart drifted away from God because of life’s circumstances.

1 Kings serves as today’s backdrop for our message. Within this eleventh chapter, we find a great man of God, the wisest king and man of all-time in God’s eyesight, by the name of Solomon. In the previous chapter, Chapter 10, the author discussed Solomon’s wealth and how the people of that day reverenced the wisdom of God that was inside of Solomon. Ladies and gentlemen, there will come seasons in your life where there’s a talent or a gift you have that people will desire and reverence because of the God inside of you. As Solomon was celebrated by those who came near and far to receive his wisdom, he also had an issue of the heart. The issue came about from his love and devotion to his many of wives. Then, to make matters worse, his wives were foreigners (Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, etc.), and God had told him not to intermarry with foreigners. With this being said, it brings us to our main scripture.

The text begins with this statement, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods”. In looking at this text, we find that due to Solomon’s age and his “foreign” wives, his heart was turned to other gods. No matter how old or young you are, do not allow “foreigners” to turn your heart away from God. Do not allow the foreigner of the love of money turn your heart away from God! Do not allow the foreigner of wealth and fame turn your heart away from God! Do not allow the foreigner of past hurts turn your heart away from God! Moses tells us in the 10 Commandments that “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”. Be aware of the foreigners and little “g” gods and whatever foreigner tries to invade your “country” (YOU), do not allow them residence in you and keep them away from your heart!

Because of Solomon’s wives turning his heart to other gods, then this statement held water: “and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been”. One thing you often hear and was true in God’s eyesight was that David was a man after God’s own heart. Oftentimes, because of David’s devotion, God rewarded him handsomely and promised that the Temple would be built by his son and as long as his children followed God, God would take care of them. However, because of the foreigners in Solomon’s life, he could not fully devote his heart to God. If you take a moment to read the remainder of Chapter 11, you find that God became angry with Solomon and because of the relationship David had with God, the kingdom would be split during Solomon’s son reign as King of Israel. During his son’s reign, the son would only retain Judah, the two southern tribes of the 12 tribes of Israel. My encouragement to you on today is that you do not allow anyone or anything to snatch your heart away from Almighty God. We ought to do the best we can with the greatest commandment when it says, “You ought to love your God, with all of your HEART, soul, and mind”. Yes, you are going to slip and not do everything right, but love God to the point where your heart is not possessed by foreigners!

In closing, I am blessed that God has given me a great wife. I am blessed that though storms have came, we’ve managed to make it work, love one another, and she maintain possession of my heart and vice versa. Yes, you are going to go through your struggles in this Christian journey. Again I say, do not allow anyone or anything to stop you from allowing God to possess your heart! When He has that in His possession, it’s protected and it’ll never get broke!

“God Said He Would Be With Me!”

Scripture: “…lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” –Matthew 28:20

On the 4^th Sundays at The Sanctuary at Kingdom Square, we have a choir named after the pastor before our current pastor that sings. This choir is known as the Colston Memorial Voices. One thing you know about these saints of the Almighty God is that when they sing, the Holy Ghost falls on the church like clockwork! One of the songs that ushers in the presence of the Lord is one sung by an anointed brother by the name of Victor Butler. Victor sings the song, “God Said He Would Be with Me!” As I hear this song, I am often reminded of God’s love and greatness towards me. The song goes on to say that through the storm, through the rain, through sickness and pain, that God would be with me! I feel that there’s someone who’s reading this needs to know that God will be with you! He will be with you through the storms! He will be with you through the rain! He will be with you through sickness! He will be with you through pain! Just in case you do not want to believe the testimony of myself and this song, it’s backed up by Jesus Himself.

Today’s message comes from Matthew’s account of the Gospel. This scripture is special in the sense that Jesus has defeated the enemy by rising up three days after dying on Calvary’s cross. As He was about to return to Heaven, Jesus provided the disciples, along with you and I, some instructions. These instructions are known as the Great Commission. This scripture is found in Matthew 28:19-20. To provide a synopsis of the Great Commission, He tells us to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to have these converts observe (obey/respect) the things He taught them as disciples. The Great Commission is simple in nature in reference to the things it has stated, but for us in this world, it seems hard in execution. Why does it seem so hard? Because of our “busy schedules”. Because of lack of dedication to our Father and His work. Because we have a willing spirit, but a tired body! Because we’re afraid to do true ministry and talk to people. Let’s be real for one second: Suppose that Jesus never came on this Earth, where would you be and where would I be? As we continue to deal with life’s struggles and executing the Great Commission, He leaves us with some comforting words to close out the Commission, as well as Matthew’s account of the Gospel.

He says the following statement: “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” That ought to make you clap your hands, give Him a shout, or something! In other words, God through His Son Jesus Christ, just told me that He would be with me! He just told me that He would be with me even when I run the other way! The text tells me that He would be with me when friends act right foolish in my life! The text tells me that He would be with me when family does not understand my pain! The text tells me that He would be with me even when money is funny and change is strange! He said that He would be with me through the deaths of loved ones! He said that He would be with me through divorces and break-ups! He said that He would be with ME! Wherever you are sitting at on this morning, you ought to tell the Lord THANK YOU for being with dirty, old, sinful me! We don’t deserve these new mercies everyday mentioned in Lamentations, but He is with us and He grants those to us! We are not worthy of the blessings He has in store for us, but nevertheless, He says that we are and that He would be with us! He tells us that He is with us until the end of the world. Until then, know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, is there with you! If you appreciate that good news, give God a praise wherever you are!

In closing, I love to hear this song because it reminds me of my life and the things I have endured. More importantly, it reassures me of the fact that God is with me! With that reassurance, I can do as the elderly saints use to say and “run on and see what the end is going to be”. I hope this message and this scripture will infuse within each of you to continue to execute the Great Commission, and more importantly, live life knowing that God will be with you!

“The Potency of Baptism in Jesus Christ”

Scripture: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." -Romans 6:4, NIV

Recently, I had the opportunity to facilitate a class to the deacons-in-training at my church and oddly enough, the subject I was given to facilitate or discuss was baptism. Through my preparation of this lesson, God ministered to me several scriptures and today's main scripture was one of them. In this world we live in today, many things have a power of their own. Money carries power as far as being considered important in the realm of the world. Titles carry power in the sense that people revere a person that's a doctor, minister, reverend, pastor, bishop, president, vice president, and other titles. Believe it or not, we carry power as well! We carry the power of the Holy Spirit that was given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it guides us, it comforts us, it teaches us, it convicts us, and more importantly, it helps us to fend off the wiles and trials of the enemy. In order to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, you had to give your hand and your heart to God and in turn, repent of your ways. Then, you had to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again that you would be saved. After all of that, you then display to the world an inward change through baptism. Within our main scripture, it ministers to us about the potency/power of this ordinance of the church.

The Apostle Paul conveys today's message to the church at Rome. According to John Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament, he iterated that Paul had the task of being the minister to the Gentile nations as Peter was the minister to the Jews. What a tremendous task! Romans is the first book/epistle listed in the New Testament that was written by the Apostle Paul. Within this particular chapter of Romans, Chapter 6, we find Paul dealing with two major subjects: 1) Dead to sin, Alive in Christ (verses 1 - 14) and 2) Slaves to Righteousness (verses 15 - 23). Within subject #1, Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ, is where we obtain understanding the power/potency of baptism.

The text begins with Paul ministering this thought, "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death". In other words, from a spiritual symbolism, as you are/were submerged into the water for baptism, you showed the world that you were dying a "spiritual death". This "spiritual death" you are dying connects you with the burial and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Everyday, my brothers and sisters, we ought to be real with ourselves and appreciate Christ for the death He experienced on Calvary's cross for you and for me. We also, ought to be appreciative of the baptism we did whenever we did it and now understand, more than ever, that it depicts the symbolism of one living in sin, dying in sin, and ready to kill the sin!

Here's the ultimate thing that displays the power/potency of baptism in Jesus Christ. Paul tells us this, "just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Wow! That ought to make you shout wherever you are on this morning! Baptism represents the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through our outward example of being baptized, we are telling/showing the world that we are burying the old me. We're burying the me that cussed everyone out! We're burying the me that hurt everyone's feelings at the drop of a dime! We're burying the me that complained about rough times when it came to money being funny and change being strange! We're burying the me that does not want to be a good husband! We're burying the me that does not want to be a good wife! Through this "burial" in baptism, it connects us with Jesus! Through this connection with Jesus, we learned that He rose again on the third day morning, with all power in His hands! Through His rising, the completeness of baptism denotes that we buried our old man, washed ourselves of the old man, and now is clean in Christ! Through this baptism experience, if you were real about it, then you have picked up a new life! A new life to get the blessings God has in store for you! A new life to treat your spouses right! A new life to minister to others the goodness of Jesus! A new life to give God praise! A new life to give God honor! A new life to give God worship! Wherever you are, if you are appreciative of the new life that Christ has given you through baptism, you ought to tell Him Thank You and give Him a little praise!

In closing, baptism is something that all of us, as God-fearing people, ought to do and need to do. Through baptism, you are displaying that though done outwardly, there's a change in you inwardly! With this change, you have died of your old ways and now are focused on living the life God has intended you to live! Family, appreciate your baptism experience! Reflect on it and appreciate the power/potency of the moment!

"Our Heavenly Pastor"

Scripture: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them". -Hebrews 7:25, NIV

Over the past several years, I have learned so much as a minister of the Gospel. Most of the lessons I have learned have been lessons taught and viewed through the eyes of my pastors, Pastor Daryl R. Napper, Sr. and my current pastor, Pastor Anthony G. Maclin. Some of the lessons my pastors taught me included being ready to visit the sick, being ready to perform baptism at the drop of a dime, allow the Holy Spirit to be the leader and guider of things, keep your focus on God even when man disappoints you, balance between being the pastor of a church and being the pastor of your home, and other things. Through these lessons, I have gained a greater appreciation for the pastors I have sat under and you, my brothers and sisters, ought to appreciate the coverings that God has placed over you in the forms of your pastors. Just as you have a pastor here on Earth, we also have a Pastor who resides in Heaven, but He did dwell among men, lived 33 years, died on Calvary's cross, and was resurrected with all power in His hands. This Pastor I am making reference to is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today's main scripture provides clarity on why we can say that Christ is our Heavenly Pastor.

Hebrews serves as our launch pad for today's message. Scholars stated that this book was written around 65 A.D. and was thought of to be written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews. The main message delivered in this particular book is an exhortation for those persecuted believers to continue in the grace of Jesus Christ. Within this particular chapter, Chapter 7, the writer providing discussion on two areas: 1) Melchidezek the priest and 2) Jesus being like Melchidezek. To provide a little background for you gain to a greater appreciation of Melchidezek, he was a priest of the most High God during the day of Abram (Genesis 14). This priest was revered so much that he made it through to Hebrews. As our main scripture falls in the second discussion, we're learn how Christ was like this great priest Melchidezek, and how we can call Him our Heavenly Pastor.

The writer begins to pen this text in this manner: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him". Most of our modern-day pastors preach an uncompromising Word that tugs at the spiritual side of them, which eventually leads them to become saved, repent of their sins, and want to be baptized. The blessing is through this text is that Jesus, Himself, can save you, and save me COMPLETELY IF you come to God! When you think about your past sins, you are saved from them COMPLETELY when you come to God! When you think about your present sins, you are saved from them COMPLETELY when you come to God! When you think about how you messed up your financial obligations, He saved you from them COMPLETELY when you come to God! Whatever things you have done, when you come to Him, He will save you COMPLETELY and wipe your slate clean! Aren't you glad that you have a Pastor in Christ that wipes your slate clean every day and in turn, gives you the ability to tell others He can do the same for them?

Not only does our Heavenly Pastor saves those completely who come to His Father, but He does this according to the Hebrew writer: "because He always lives to intercede for them". What a powerful statement there! One thing I often hear people say and again know for myself, is that pastors intercede and pray for their flock regularly. They look over your souls and pray to God for your success. In turn, many of you receive your blessings and your breakthroughs due to the intercession of your pastors. Another critical thing I have learned about pastors in the modern-day church is that, like humans altogether, they do get tired. Because of this, they often implore their flock to have a one-on-one relationship with God so they can pray for themselves when pastor/minister/deacon/trustee is nowhere around. Aren't you glad to know that you have a Savior that lives to intercede for you? Aren't you glad to know that when you mess up, Jesus is already talking to God on your behalf? Aren't you glad to know that you don't have to kill anymore animals for forgiveness of sin because of Christ's shedding of blood? Christ lives that He may be the intercessor, the mediator, between you and God! Aren't you thankful for the Intercessor, the Mediator, your Heavenly Pastor in Jesus Christ? If so, you ought to give Him a little praise wherever you are!

In closing, pastoring God's people is not an easy task. This is a lesson I have learned from two great pastors in their own right. Ultimately, I am glad and thankful for a Pastor who always live to intercede for me and one who can save me completely from sin when I come to my Father. I am thankful for Jesus and all He has done for me! Aren't you thankful? Aren't you appreciative of our Heavenly Pastor? If you are, then you live your life in a way where He would be pleased and compel others to be a part of His flock!

"Having the Right Teacher"

Scripture: “Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.” –Psalms 86:11, NIV

Throughout my college days, many of my classmates and friends struggled because of how a professor/teacher explained something to them. If truth were told, the professor/teacher had taught that way for a long time and probably felt that there was nothing wrong with it. However, thanks to the Almighty God for giving me clarity and understanding in matters, because it led me to have study groups with my classmates and friends. Through those study sessions, it provided me opportunity to teach them the way of handling the respective problems within a respective class. Through those study sessions, my classmates and friends were able to pass their respective classes, make decent grades, and eventually, graduate with their Bachelor’s degrees. If we switch this thing spiritually, it’s imperative to have the right teacher, leading you and guiding you in spiritual maturity. It’s important to be a part of a church family where you can grow and in turn, people can grow from your experiences. It’s important to have a pastor who can minister to your needs every Sunday and growth is the name of the game. It’s important to learn more about the Teacher above all teachers, the Right Teacher, our Heavenly Father! When you have the right teacher, you learn valuable lessons! Today’s message conveys the blessings and lessons one can learn if they have the right teacher in God.

Today’s message is found in the 86^th division of Psalms. This particular psalm was written by David. Scholars reveal this particular psalm was written while David was in trouble and was under attack. There will come times and seasons where attack will have your name on it! There are times and seasons where struggle will have your name on it! There are times and seasons where loneliness will have your name on it! If you remember what Jesus told the disciples in the Great Commission, He told them that I will be with you, even unto the end of the world. Through your seasons of pains, blues, and agony, God will be there with you! Because David had right relationship with the Father, he could pen this psalm and further give us understanding of the blessings and lessons he desired from the Lord.

The first part of the text says this: “Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth”. Oftentimes within this world, we are quick to want to do things the way others have done it. Their way may be find and good, but I know someone whose ways are right ALL the time! Grandma may have lived a great life and done things a great way, but they may have not necessarily been the right way! Oftentimes, when the troubles of this world has beat us down and taken the steam out of our sails, we throw in the towel and say, “Lord, Teach me Your Way!” Having the right teacher in God will not only teach you the right way, but you will walk in His truth! You can often tell when someone has been taught something well in the school house. You can tell because nine times out of ten, when that skill is needed in a critical situation, they manage to put it to work and excel like it was the first time they had done it. When you learn the truth of God, you learn what to hear and what not to hear, what to trust and what not to trust, what to do and what not to do! When you receive these teachings from the Father through God Himself, your pastor, a minister, or whomever, the ball now goes into your court to execute and follow God’s ways!

David concludes this awesome text by saying the following: “Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name”. When you are taught by the right teacher, you have NO doubts which way is correct and which way is incorrect. When you are taught by the right teacher, you can make the correct decision and your heart will be fine. David wanted God to give him the kind of heart that was complete and not split! This is a powerful statement because David’s son and our Savior, Jesus, tells us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks! David’s natural son, Solomon, tells us in Proverbs that the reflection of a man is seen in his heart. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are following God and learning from His ways, your heart should not be divided. Your heart should be strong, your heart should be wise, your heart should be the things God has placed in it. When that heart is inside of you, then you can really fear (reverence, respect) the name of God. When you were ready to blow out your co-worker for getting on your nerves, it was God’s teaching that kept your heart whole and thus, you feared His name! When you were ready to give up on your spouse, it was God’s teaching that kept your heart whole and let you know to give them another chance! When you wanted to “borrow from Peter to pay Paul”, it was God’s teaching that taught us that when you give Him his 10%, His tithes and offerings, He will open up the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that you would not have any room to receive it! You cannot get these things unless you are receiving the right teachings from the Right Teacher!

In closing, I was blessed to teach and tutor my classmates. It gave me an opportunity to learn them, them learn me, and ultimately, teach them the right way of getting things done on test day and their respective homework assignments. God Himself, wants you to have the right teaching as well! He wants to teach you His way that you may walk in truth. He wants to help you develop an undivided heart that you may fear His name. If you are reading today’s message and have not found “the right teaching/teacher”, I encourage you to seek God that He may teach you 1^st and then, send you to the place where you can grow in Him! For those of you who know that you have the Right Teacher in God and through your pastor, then make God proud by following His ways and loving His people!

"Out of Respect for God"

Scripture: “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” -2 Corinthians 7:1, NIV

As a young man reared in the South, there are some things I learned you DO NOT do out of respect for adults. When I was a child, it was out of the cards for a child to jump into grown people’s conversation. It was also out of the cards for a child to talk back to his parent or any adult for that matter. One other no no was the fact that you were not to waste the food that was placed on your plate. One final thing you didn’t do was use profane language when talking to your parents. This list can be very exhaustive, but nevertheless, we as grown-ups today practice these things because we respect our parents and love them dearly. If we can do things out of respect for our earthly parents, can’t we do the same for our Heavenly Father? Can’t we step up and be the men and women of God He desires in these last and evil days? As President Barack Obama said during his campaign, YES WE CAN! Today’s main scripture from the Apostle Paul provides us how we should do certain things out of respect for God.

2 Corinthians is the back drop of today’s message. Within this chapter, Chapter 7, Paul does the following: 1) Started with an exhortation for holiness and that the church in its entirety should bear affection to Paul (verses 1-4), 2) Discussed how he rejoiced in the church’s sorrowing to repentance (verses 5 – 11), and 3) Discussed the comfort that the Corinthian church had with Titus (verses 12 – 16). Today’s thought falls within the first piece of what Paul wrote in Chapter 7. Within his exhortation for holiness, he talks about things that we should do out of respect for God.

Before Paul begins to state what we should do out of respect for God, he gives us a reason why. He does this by saying, “Since we have these promises, dear friends”. I often think about when I was a child, it profited me to act right much more than act up knowing if there was a surprise, a toy, some money, or something with my name on it. We oftentimes work hard at our jobs with the promise of knowing or receiving an award, a promotion, or recognition. Just like that, we ought to respect God because of the promises He has for us! In the beginning of 2 Corinthians, Paul mentions that God’s promises are Yea and Amen. In other words, His promises are Yes and So Be It. We ought not to praise God and respect God for the things He has done, we ought to respect Him and praise Him for the things He is going to do! You ought to praise God and respect God for the promise of a good job coming to fruition and though you do not have it! You ought to respect God and praise God for the spouse that He has made for you, though you are alone! You ought to praise God and respect God for the healing He will place on you or your family member’s body, though it hasn’t manifested! You ought to just respect and praise God for the promises He has over your life!

Now, Paul begins the ways/things we can do out of respect for God. He tells us firstly this: “let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit”. Didn’t he just say a mouthful there? This portion of scripture coincides with a similar message Paul wrote to the church at Rome when he told them that you ought to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. If truth were told, we love/loved the drink of backbiting, but isn’t that contaminating the body and spirit? We love/loved the drink of gossiping, but isn’t that contaminating the body and spirit? We love/loved the drink of having significant wealth, but isn’t that contaminating the body and spirit? We love/loved to eat things that aren’t good for us, but isn’t that contaminating the body? Whatever we love/loved, it’s on us to get it right! If we love God like we say we do and we respect Him like we say we do, then we ought to purify ourselves from the junk that resides in our life!

Lastly, Paul mentions this thing we can do out of respect for God: “Perfecting holiness out of reverence of God”. God told us back in Leviticus that we ought to be holy because He is holy. I love what Paul says here when he says perfecting. In other words, he knew that he was a wretched man and that the people of Corinth were wretched, but he asked them to perfect holiness. Strive towards holiness! Make fewer mistakes and get more grounded when it comes to holiness! As men and women of God, are we going to cross every t? Of course not! Are we going to dot every I? Of course not! What we can do is strive towards being the holy people God wants us to be! You can be holy and have a good time! Just do not let the good time make you unholy! We all know the things we need to strip from our lives in order to strive towards perfecting holiness. The more you strive towards perfecting holiness, the more you are showing respect for God!

In closing, it was a blessing to be raised the way I was raised. I learned and gleaned a lot from my elders. Through my upbringing, I strive to be careful of the things I do out of respect for my parents. We all do things to this day out of respect for our parents and the things they taught us. With that same zeal and love, let’s focus our energy on doing the things Paul mentioned out of respect for the most high God. Isn’t He worthy of your respect today?

"God's Stamp of Approval"

Scripture: “What you say about yourself means nothing in God's work. It's what God says about you that makes the difference.” -2 Corinthians 10:18, The Message

One of the funniest and yet real aspects of life is when someone gives you their “stamp of approval”. Oftentimes, we look for someone’s stamp of approval for our spouses before we get married. We also look for someone’s stamp of approval of selecting a particular car, house, ring, or any other inanimate object. We even look for our boss’s stamp of approval on the workplace when it comes to doing a good job on a case or just work in general. As a human, yes, these stamps of approval are important, but they are not the stamps of approval you or I really need! God wants to encourage you today and let you know that it is His stamp of approval that matters most! Just in case you don’t believe that, let’s examine some text to clarify this point.

Today, our message is located in the 2^nd letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. Scholars state that within today’s chapter of focus, Chapter 10, Paul’s intent was to defend the ministry that God had gave him to do. Ladies and gentlemen, there will come seasons in your life where you have to go on the offensive and let the enemy know that you treasure the ministry God has placed in you! You are going to have to go on the offensive to show the naysayers how good God really is and how righteous people get what they deserve through endurance, hurt, pain, longsuffering, faith, and the other Fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. Nevertheless, as Paul was defending his ministry to the church at Corinth, he allows them to understand and us to understand the importance of God’s approval.

The Message Bible begins today’s scripture with this awesome statement: “What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work.” In other words, there’s no need to boast about yourself. The previous verse makes mention that if you are going to boast, boast about God who did it! Don’t boast about the fact that you are a GS-15, boast about the fact that God made you a GS-15! Don’t boast about the fact that you have a beautiful home, boast about the fact that God has granted you to have a beautiful home! Don’t boast about the fact that you have a brilliant mind, boast about the fact that God has given you a brilliant mind! Whatever things you want to say about yourself, make sure you are giving the right man the credit because as you boast/say things about yourself, Paul lets us know that it means nothing in doing the work of our Father!

The last part of this scripture should bless you wherever you are sitting. Peterson converts Paul’s latter portion of today’s scripture this way, “It’s what God says about you that makes the difference.” Though your boss says that you are not much of a worker, but God knows you are, it’s God’s stamp of approval that matters! Though your husband/wife may not necessarily appreciate your efforts, but God sees all and hears all, then it’s God’s stamp of approval that matters! Though you have no business working at a particular place because you didn’t meet the “requirements”, but you met God’s requirements, then know that’s God’s stamp of approval that matters! Though you have no business in a beautiful home and yet your credit is bad, but you are humble in the eyesight of God, know that it was God’s stamp of approval that matters! If we think about the life that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lived, many did not want to give Him their stamp of approval, but God in Heaven, gave Him THE STAMP of APPROVAL! No matter what you are dealing with or no matter what are you going through, I want to encourage your heart today that God’s stamp of approval matters!

In closing, I thank God for not getting hung up in being validated by people. I am must hung up on being validated by God! Today, I encourage you to allow God to validate you and place His stamp of approval over you and your life! There are great things in store for you, but do not allow people and life’s negativity to derail you from the things He has for you!