Saturday, November 14, 2015

" Love Letter to Paris"

2 Thessalonians 3:3, "But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one."

We are living in perilous times where the people's hearts towards God has shifted to despair and destruction. When acts of terror and everyday discretion towards humanity takes place, we ponder the question, "What would make a person do such a thing?" The lack of God on the inside shows the manifestation of Satan on the outside. In times such as these, it's quite easy to want to dismiss the destruction as a hopeless situation that we have no power to control or prevent in future occurrences, but let us hold fast to the Word of the Living God. God has and will always be faithful and the beauty in the ugliness of destruction is He will establish us and guard us even in the midst of trouble from the evil one. Although the events that have taken place locally and globally throughout the nations have been tragic and disheartening, there is still some GOD to be found in the BAD. Events such as Paris, gives us insight on how we can refortify our walls from the enemy, how to restrategize security measures and strengthen  high traffic locations of vulnerability throughout the nations. Many lives were sacrificed, but ultimately more lives will be saved from the ashes of this disheartening event. May our hearts be softened towards each other and ultimately towards humanity after the residue of this heartless event has ceased. Apostle Paul said it best, "Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

Thursday, November 5, 2015

THANKS-GIVING

2 Corinthians 10:12, "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

Blessings!! The holiday seasons are approaching us once again and the anxiety and pressure of trying to keep up with our perception of those who are ahead is contaminating our perspectives of what the season is truly all about. I challenge you in your thinking, spending habits and in your personal life to redefine what Thanksgiving means to you and how you display your personal beliefs to the world. In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul challenges us to not class ourselves or compare ourselves with others because the aftermath leads to us not walking in wisdom. The danger in comparing your seed to someone else's harvest is you don't know if what you perceive as a harvest as being an actual harvest or the fruits of someone behind the scene labor. Everyone who appears to be rich are indeed not wealthy. A person who appreciates every blessing is indeed a wealthy individual. As Thanksgiving approaches, let us be mindful to not only be thankful, but to give liberally. A person who has an attitude of thankfulness often have giving at the core of their service. Re-establish tradition this year to ensure you are not only speaking thankfulness. but are living in a spirit of thanksgiving not just seasonally, but daily. As a child, we song a song in the youth choir called "Count your blessings." The lyrics stated, "Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings to see what the Lord has done!" I admonish you to count your blessings on today, you too would be amazed to see what the Lord has done not only in you, but with you. Have a blessed harvest season and remember that God doesn't run low in resources, He has enough supplies available to fulfill each of our needs.