Encouraged by God's Word

Archive for September, 2010

Hello Family,

I was driving in my car one day and I was approaching this garbage truck that was in my lane.  When I got behind him, I got a nose full of funk. It was HORRIBLE and it really made me want to cry. I couldn’t breathe, I felt as if my vision was slowly fading away and I thought I wasn’t going to make it. Now I had been behind garbage trucks before but I have never smelled one this bad in all my life.

I jumped over into the right lane with the intentions of passing this putrid truck but then I got stuck. I got stuck behind a car that wasn’t driving fast enough to pass the garbage truck. I was in trouble. I was trapped in this funky situation by a car and a garbage truck and I had no option but to deal with it.

What made matters worse is about a half mile down the road, we all got caught at the traffic light. Now I had no idea of what I was going to do because the smell of this garbage truck was killing me. After way too much time at the red light, it finally changed and I was able to get away from the stench. And as I was driving away I was hoping and praying that I didn’t smell like this truck that I had been next to for some time. I was hoping that none of the funk got attached to my clothes. I was hoping that when people saw me they didn’t smell that awful smell I had to experience.

I didn’t want the funky odor on me or near me.

Does the company you keep leave you with a funky odor? Are your environments down right putrid and disgusting? Is your lifestyle dirty and miserable? Do you follow behind nasty people?

2 Corinthians 7:1 says Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

God is calling us to remove all impurities from our bodies and spirits. He wants us to be free from contamination from anything that will pollute our bodies as well as our spirits. He wants us to be clean not only on the inside but also on the outside.

We need to rid ourselves of corruption, sinister acts, false allegations, perverted practices, substance abuse, slothfulness, greed and anger just to name a few.

When I was in my car, I didn’t have much of a choice but to sit there and endure the funk until I could get away from the garbage truck but most of us put ourselves in these funky situations and wonder why we stink. We wonder why people aren’t happy with the way we’re living. We wonder why people don’t want to be around us.

We wonder why people avoid us all the time. It’s because everything about us is funky.

Surrender yourself to God and allow Him to remove the filth from your life!

Be Encouraged and Have a Funk-Free Day!

Make sure you retweet this and post on your Facebook profile for others to see.

Hello Family,

On Sunday, August 8, 2010 I started a new workout routine.

I had to do it for a couple of reasons. One was I didn’t like what I saw when I looked in the mirror. And another was I was getting tired of my 15 year old daughter talking about my gut and how bad I looked and how fat I was, and so on and so on.

As far as working out I had an idea of what I wanted to do but I knew I had to be mentally ready for the challenge. After some research I took the plunge and invested in the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program. I know you’ve seen the infomercials. Ordinary people who have transformed their bodies in 90 days doing this extreme fitness program. I knew that this was my time to make a change.

I had a friend of mine who I went to college with who did the program with her husband and she was telling me that because they did it together, they were able to push and motivate each other and complete it. She told me that that was one of the major reasons she was able to do it because it was a hard routine.

After that discussion, I knew I was ready to do it. I was mentally ready, I had my equipment and my meal plan was all set but there was one thing missing. I didn’t have that person there to push and encourage me. So what I did was I went to teambeachbody.com and searched for some support and I was fortunate enough to find a group of people who were starting P90X on the same day as I was.

Now these folks are my virtual workout partners and we have been doing this thing together from the very beginning. I am there to support them and they’re there to support me. We talk about our victories and our challenges and we ALWAYS encourage one another no matter what.

In your everyday life are you there for your brother or sister when they need you? Do you share your challenges and struggles with those close to you so that they can help you through those hard times?

James 5:16 says Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

With my P90X virtual workout partners we’ve made it our priority to be responsible to each other and to be there for one another. We post messages on our message board on a regular basis just to see how everyone is doing. We are accountable to each other. When someone seems to be slacking, it is our job to boast them up. And if they miss a workout for some reason that’s out of their control, we don’t bash them. We lift them up and push them to make up the workout and to continue to press on.

In life we all should be accountable to someone. There should be some checks and balances in our lives to ensure we are functioning at our best. If we don’t have people to check on us to make sure we’re doing what we should be doing, our perception of how we’re living will be skewed. We may not think that our offenses are wrong in our own eyes but someone else may see it another way. We always need that other person there to see things from a different perspective other than our own.

If you don’t have any life workout partners find some now. Make sure they are willing to be honest with you when you need correction and there for you when you need to be lifted up. When you’re struggling the most and want to quit is when you need your accountability partner there to tell you to “keep going” or “you can make it”. You also need them there to pray for you when you need healing.

Be Encouraged and Have a Great Day!

P.S. Please leave me a comment and share your thoughts. Also let your Facebook and Twitter friends know about this post by clicking the Share and retweet buttons at the top.

Hello Family,

I just finished reading a book titled The Dream Giver and it’s essentially a story about pursuing one’s dreams.

The first half of the book is the fable of a person who was a Nobody named Ordinary who was searching for what’s missing in his life.

Ordinary lived in the land of Familiar and one day he decides to embrace his Big Dream and pursue his higher calling.

Everyday Ordinary got up and went to his Usual Job and after work he had the same dinner and watched the box that most Nobodies watched on a regular basis. Sometimes Best Friend would come over and watch the box or Ordinary would go over his Parent’s house and watch it.

One day Ordinary had this sensation that he was missing something out of his life. Not only was he missing something, it was something big. Over time the feeling grew.

As time passed Ordinary realized that in the corner of his heart was his Big Dream and it had been given to him by the Dream Giver. Ordinary’s Big Dream told him that instead of being a Nobody, he was to be a Somebody and destined to achieve Great Things.

Ordinary eventually told his Father of his Big Dream and his Father had recalled a similar story. He told Ordinary that he experienced the same thing but never pursued his Big Dream and that Ordinary didn’t have to stay a Nobody but he could become a Dreamer.

What Big Dreams or Plans do you have that you feel the Dream Giver has given you to pursue? Are you fulfilling your destiny? 

Jeremiah 29:11 (Amplified Bible) says For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

God did not put us on this earth just to be born, live and someday die without living a purpose filled life. In all of God’s awesomeness, He has thoughts and plans for little ole’ you and me. That’s right, each and every one of us!

God thought enough of us to have planned for each and everyone of us individually. He has plans for us that involve safety (welfare) and tranquility (peace) and not of wickedness (evil). He has plans to give us the best life has to offer and that goes to show you how much He loves and cares for us.

And if He could love and care for us that much, we have no choice but to love Him back by doing His will and living out the thoughts and plans He has for us.

If you have your Big Dream in the corner of your heart, nurture it and watch it grow and become a Dreamer and let the Dream Giver support and guide you to greatness.

Be Encouraged and Pursue Your Big Dreams!

Leave me a comment and let me know if this message has helped you.

Hello Family,

When there is an emergency people use the 911 system.

Everyone knows what it is and usually when to use it. If you have a crime to report such as a shooting, a person having a heart attack, a house on fire or a serious car accident, you call 911.

When the operator picks up the phone they say, “911, what’s your emergency?” The reason they ask that is because they need to know what type of assistance you need. If someone’s house is on fire you don’t want them to disperse the police, you need the fire department to be notified first. If there is a crime going on, the police should be the ones to get the first call, not the rescue squad.

911 is a great system for assisting people with emergencies but it is not perfect. Unfortunately there are times when people have called and they can not get through. This usually happens when the volume of calls is high and all of the operators are busy.

A good example of this is when we recently had a major thunderstorm in the area. There were a lot of calls from people whose cars were flooded and they were trapped in the rising waters. Or there were lightening strikes and fires started that needed to be extinguished. These people had legitimate emergencies but because all the calls came at the same time, many of them didn’t get through.

And even if every call got through, there were not enough emergency responders to handle everyone’s needs. People had REAL emergencies and no one to help them out.

Aren’t you glad God can and will respond to ALL of our needs whenever we need Him?

Psalms 55:16 says As for me, I will call upon God, and the LORD shall save me.

Our God is omnipotent and regardless of the circumstances, He can handle it. He is omniscient and can cater to everyone and the same time. It doesn’t matter how big the problem is or how many people are in need, the Lord can save us.

The line of communication to God is His direct line and it is never busy. It’s called prayer. You will never get a voice recorded message that says, “Sorry, all lines are busy. Wait until the next available operator is available.” And you definitely won’t hear, “Sorry, this number has been temporarily disconnected.”

God is available regardless of the time of day or the severity of the event. He is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week/52 weeks a year. That means he’s there ALL THE TIME!

If your life is in an emergency situation and fires and storms are consuming you, remember there is One who is greater than the police, fire fighters, rescue squads, ambulance and SWAT all rolled up in one and His name is Jesus!

If you haven’t made the commitment, allow Jesus to save your soul.

Be Encouraged and Have a Great Day!

P.S. Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of this post.

Hello Family,

On Saturday, August 28, 2010 my church, The First Baptist Church of Glenarden, received The Hoodie Award. Now I have to admit that when I heard we were nominated for it a few months ago I was a little skeptical. I had never heard of The Hoodie Award but it sounded stupid. It sounded like it was something that was ghetto (from the hood) and I wasn’t feeling it.

After I checked it out I discovered that it wasn’t quite what I thought it was. And when I found out why we were nominated I was proud of my church.

The Hoodie Award is an award that is given by entertainer Steve Harvey and it honors schools, local leaders and businesses from all over the nation in a variety of categories to include Best High School Teacher, Best High School, Best Soul Food, Best Community Leader, Best Church and many more.

My church won the category of Best Church because of the work we do in our community and world wide.

This award definitely fits with our mission statement of Developing Dynamic Disciples. We don’t want to be a church where folks come in on Sunday mornings, get their weekly fix and then go about their business and not God’s business. We want to be a church that is living out the great commission to teach people to be great disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).

What about you? Are you doing what God has called you to do? Does the work you do make your community better or are you one who is bitter and complains all the time about what is going on?

If you’re not using your gifts and resources and working to improve someone else’s life, then what is your purpose?

1 John 3:17-19 says But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

Our church is blessed and if we don’t use what we have to bless others, we are not living according to the word. We are in direct violation of the scripture by not showing love for our fellow man.

I tell my kids all the time that I’m not too concerned about what you say you’re going to do. I’m more concerned about what you’re going to do. Your Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

Our members are charged to have a ‘vineyard’ mentality. We are called to work and give back and not sit back and be leeches and take, take, take.

Now our pastor has said on a number of occasions of how proud he is of our members and I’m sure he enjoyed the fact that our church has received this national recognition but if no one ever patted us on the back as a church and told us we were doing a great job, it wouldn’t matter. You know why? Because we don’t do what we do to get approval from man. We do what we do to minister to a hurting people. We do what we do to help the lost. We’re not in this thing to get all puffed up and boast of our good works. NO! We’re commissioned by God to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

What are you doing to make this world a better place? How are you impacting your hood?

If God was giving out awards, would your name be engraved on one for the work you’re doing? It should be. If not then maybe you need to do something about it.

Be Encouraged and Have an Award Winning Day!