Mind Your Own Business

I Thessalonians 4:11-12
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds talk about people.

We would get so much more accomplished in life if we spent more time minding our own business instead of getting involved in everybody else’s business. It reminds me of a shop keeper in a busy mall worried about what other people are doing in other stores when you have people in your store who want to do business with you but you are so busy checking out the competition that you don’t even notice that you have people interested in your product. How much business do we miss worrying about other people’s business?

If we were to use that energy on our own business, we would be more successful and less bitter about other people who are doing better than we are. As a matter of fact, you could be doing far better than the people you envy if you would just settle down and mind your own business.

Paul tells us the secret to living a life that would help us win the respect of outsiders and make us successfully independent:

1. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. Ambition and quiet don’t seem like they go together but in actuality quietness is necessary for ambitious people. If you are a busy body, you never get anything done because you are in everybody’s business but haven’t settled down to give your life the attention it deserves.
2. Mind your own business. Before you sweep around somebody else’s door make sure your house is clean. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I’m quite serious. While preaching “Don’t steal!” Are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. (Romans 2:21 the Message)
3. Work with your hands. Make something happen! It’s time for us to be proactive and make something that will benefit the world, bless other people, and build up our character. 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

Dear God,

Help me to spend time being productive today and doing what is required to make my business successful by being about my Father’s Business.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

You Can't Make Me Doubt Him

Matthew 28:17
When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.

The other night on the Soul Train Awards, Jamie Fox came out to a fever pitched crowd and said, “It feels like Church in here, it feels like church in here? First giving Honor to God, I’d like to give praise and honor to my Lord and Savior…Barack Obama.” Some laughed and others looked stunned not knowing what to do. It was not cool! Barack Obama is our President; Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Jamie Foxx messed up a great moment by acknowledging God but disrespecting Jesus.

That crowd was a lot like church, it was a mixed group of people who authentically worship Jesus and another group who are confused about who their savior really is. That group was like church in the sense that we worship God but we also have some idolatry that causes us to doubt the sovereignty of God. We fail to give Jesus all that is due to him because we have given more praise to men than we have to him.

Jesus' disciples were a little confused as well. Jesus had risen from the dead and met them on the mountain to give them their last assignment which was the great commission. The Eleven disciples saw Jesus after he had been brutally beaten and crucified on that mountain top. When they be held him they worshipped him but some doubted. How in the world could they doubt Jesus when they were looking right at him?

1. They didn’t know if what they were seeing was real or a figment of their imagination. Many times when we are in church the presence of God is so overwhelming while at the same time our flesh fights against our spirit to make us doubt if it is really God we are experiencing. That is why we must worship him in Spirit and in truth.
2. They had not fully recovered from their trauma. It was a only few days since they saw Jesus horrifically murdered on the cross now he’s up talking to him. Sometimes, we are so fresh out of a painful experience that our minds find it hard to validate a God moment.
3. They thought it was too good to be true. When God turns weeping into Joy, you are wondering when the next punch in the stomach is coming. Don’t allow your doubts to rob you of the authentic presence of Jesus.

But the rest of the disciples worshipped and believed that this was the risen savior. Why?

1. They believed his word that he would be crucified but would get up again. Jesus had been teaching this for the last three years and these disciples believed him at his word. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:16
2. They believed he was the Messiah. Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was and Peter said, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus said, “Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”
3. They followed him the whole time. Those that followed him from the beginning to the end of his life knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the Son of God. As the old folk used to say, “I know too much about him for you to make me doubt him.

Dear God,

I will not allow anybody to make me doubt who you are and what you’ve done for me. You are my Lord and Savior and I will worship you only. I know too much about you for anybody to make me doubt you!

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Put Your Sword Away

Matthew 26:52
Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

There is a statement that says, “the pen is mightier than the sword.’ Meaning that what you write or communicate is more deadly than trying to use physical force against your adversary. What we write and communicate can be inspiring or it can be damaging. With the rise of social media the probability of damaging communication has escalated. A fifth of all divorces are now due in part to Facebook or obsessional gambling. Whenever we use Social Media as a tool to retaliate against someone we take a gamble that it will cause a fracture in relationships.

Cyber bullying is another epidemic that has impacted young people in a detrimental way. Cyber bullying is when someone repeatedly harasses, mistreats, or makes fun of another person online or using other electronic devices. What can be a good tool of communication can become a dangerous weapon in the hands of a fool.

Social Media is a way to communicate, inform, and inspire. You will occasionally run into people who are antagonistic but you must choose the high road in communicating with them. You cannot unsheathe your sword every time someone offends you.

Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest disciples, Judas. Judas bought soldiers and religious people with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and the soldiers seized Jesus. Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of one of the servants. When we abuse social media in retaliation for betrayal we lose the ears of people who need to hear Jesus. Jesus put the ear back on the servant and told Peter to put his sword away, because people who live by the sword will die by the sword. We cannot fight against our antagonist with the weapons of this world, but the weapons of our warfare are spiritual not carnal.

Social Media as a sword should not be used for:

1. Attacking people for everybody to see. This is where many young people have gotten into violent altercations over Facebook and Twitter beef. Social Media is not the place to call people out on the wall and attack their character.
2. Spreading Gossip. Mike Murdock said, “Somebody you trust trusts somebody you don’t.” This is gossip. Gossip is betraying confidential information to people who have no business with the information you are sharing.
3. Create a platform for indecency. Whatever you put out there speaks to your character. Whatever picture or post you put out there represents the quality of lack of quality pertaining to your character.
4. Public disclosure of Private matters. Even when Judas betrayed Jesus, the savior never put Judas on blast. Instead, he told Judas to his face, “Friend what you do, do it quickly.” Nobody knew what Judas did to Jesus until he hung himself.

Social Media as a Pen:

1. Answer people intelligently when you are in disagreement. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
2. Ignore them if you can. Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself. Proverbs 26:4-5
3. Enlighten them if they have a teachable spirit. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3
4. Block them if they persist to be negative. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. I Timothy 4:7
5. Always take the high road. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. Colossians 4:6

Dear God,

Today, I choose the high road and I will not draw my sword but instead use the power of my pen to bless those who are yet seeking your face and giving their ear for the voice of Jesus.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

I Am What I Am

1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the Grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them yet not I but the grace of God was with me.

One of the most powerful movies of the year is “Flight” starring Denzel Washington as an alcoholic pilot that heroically saves the passengers on his plane that has malfunctioned. It seems that the pilot is in control of the malfunctioning plane but not his own dysfunctional life. This movie is about this pilot coming to grips with who he really is and experiencing the grace of a second chance at life.

Have you come to grips with who you are? One of the hardest things to do is to look at ourselves soberly after we have covered up for so long. The Apostle Paul had to look at himself after he had an encounter with the risen Jesus on his way to persecute the church in Damascus. After Paul sobered up to the fact that he was not working for God but rather against him, he surrendered his life to serve Jesus. God changed his name from Saul to Paul and gave him a new lease on life. Paul should have died but God gave him grace.

Who are you really?

1. By the Grace of God I am what I am. If it were not for the Grace of God I wouldn’t be where I am in life. God saw some good still in me and you and for that reason we are still alive. We are a mixture of potential and dysfunction that God decided to use for his purposes. God has given us victory over our dysfunction so that we can land the plane of souls that are depending on us to carry out our public trust.
2. Grace has an effect. Because of the Grace God has extended us it changes our heart so that who we used to be no longer has control over us, instead we work harder to please God rather than ourselves.
3. Grace transcends our personality so that we cannot take Glory for what God did. Had it not been for the Lord on our side we would have perished a long time ago.

Dear God,

Thank you for saving me and giving me another chance to live my life for you. By your grace I’m able to serve you and be fully alive to live out my purpose. Today, use me to save souls and land this plane.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Are You Building the Church or Tearing It Down?

I Corinthians 14:12
So it is with you. Since you are eager to have Spiritual Gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the Church.

The Church is a gathering of people who are seeking after God and have come to believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior. When we become a part of God’s Church by surrendering our lives to Jesus, God gives each of us Spiritual Gifts that he grants. Those Gifts are detailed in I Corinthians 12:28:
28 And God has placed in the church (A) first of all apostles, (B) second prophets, (C) third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, (D) of helping, of guidance, (E) and of different kinds of tongues.
The key to knowing if you have a Spiritual Gift is whether or not it builds up the Church. It’s easier to tear up a Church than it is to build up a Church. There are a lot of people who enjoy tearing up the Church by talking about what its doing or not doing. There are even people on the inside that tear it up by being negative or toxic. Bishop Noel Jones said, “Be careful of “Volun(tears).” Those are people who come to church to volunteer but end up tearing up the church.

We can go to any church in America to find something wrong with it. It’s full of imperfect people seeking perfection, so you are going to find something wrong but its your Spiritual Gift that builds that Church up. You can’t change anything from the outside looking in but you can affect change from the inside out. Either you are part of the solution or you are part of the problem.
How can I build up the Church?

1. Follow the Way of Love. The most important ingredient in helping to build up the people in church is that Love must be at the root of what you do. You can be the most gifted person but if you don’t have Love you will be the most ineffective person. I Cor 13: 4 Love is patient, (I) love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (J) 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, (K) it is not easily angered, (L) it keeps no record of wrongs. (M) 6 Love does not delight in evil (N) but rejoices with the truth. (O) 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (P)
2. Desire Spiritual Gifts. If you are not sure what your Spiritual Gift is you can always go to N2NewDirection.org and take the Spiritual Gifts inventory. The way you discover your gift is to grow as you go. Get involved in serving and God will show you what you are to do. I didn’t know that I could work with teen-agers until I started working with Teen-agers.
3. Excel in your Spiritual Gifts. Once God reveals what your gift is you have to nurture it. You have to study to show yourself approved and hone in on what would have you to be the best in what you do. You don’t have to be great in everything just your gift.

Dear God,

Use my Spiritual gift to make your church stronger. Help me to be an active part in a local church so that we can make our community better. I’m ready to build up and stop tearing down your church.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

God Only Cares About One Race of People

I Corinthians 12:25-26

25 so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it.

Red, Yellow, Black, and White they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

There is only one race that God really cares about and that is the human race. He made us in his image. Within each race there are those who are strong and those that are weak, there are those who are leaders and those that are followers; there are those who are givers and those that are takers, but God loves them all and has given each of us a role in his world.

Out of all of those that are part of the human race there are some that belong to the body of Christ. Every race of people around the world has believers who follow Jesus Christ and they are members of the body of Christ, but lately the body has been divided over race, doctrine, and politics.

How can we be a part of the same body and hate each other? How can the body of Christ hate the head of the country just because he's black or doesn't line up doctrinally? Are we really Christian if we hate someone that’s a part of the body just because they are of a different color or disagree on matters of faith? If we are going to be a part of the same body we must learn how to love each other and work together in spite of our differences.

These are the things that hurt the body of Christ:

1. Hatred/racism. Racism is the gangrene in the body of Christ. We cannot go forward until we acknowledge our inherited racism that must be expelled out of the body in order for us to heal. "the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" and the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you! On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable." (ICor 12:21)

2. Division. We have to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable. In order to avoid this physical cliff we are going to have to work together as one body. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

3. Apathy for the least of these. We can no longer ignore those that we think that are less significant to the body. We must show equal concern for each member of the body. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it. (ICor 12:24)

Dear God,

Thank you for loving the human race and for caring for the Body of Christ. During the next four years help the body of Christ to recover. Remove Racism, Dismantle Division, and annihilate Apathy. Restore our hearts, Renew our minds, and Rejuvenate our Souls so that we might be ambassadors for Christ and not citizens of our own private fiefdoms. Please restore unity to your body.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Why Are You Still Mad?

I Corinthians 3:3

You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

This election has a lot of people torn up. It seemed that the “Pink Elephant” in the living room of America was racism as it relates to the outrage over this election. One place where race played a factor is Oxford, Mississippi, where Ole Miss students "exchanged racial epithets and violent, politicized chants" after Obama's re-election was announced, according to the student-run Daily Mississippian. University police had to "forcibly disperse" a crowd from a popular gathering spot on campus, the paper said.

It's all part of the election season's bluster cycle, and while partisan hot air is typical this time of year. This year's squabbling has been "palpably ugly," even if most of it is just talk, said Jerrold Post, director of George Washington University's political psychology program and author of "Political Paranoia: The Psychopolitics of Hatred."

Asked if he thought Obama's race played a part in the vitriolic nature of the polemics around the country, Post said it "seems to be an issue that was played upon, but you can certainly have hatred and delegitimization with two white candidates as well."

Watching the students in Ole Miss revolt with racial epithets took me back to 1962 when James Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi and the citizens started shooting at the National Guard. Why is there so much racial tension after all these years of progress toward equality? Because we are still worldly. We get our information from the world but we are not tuned into God’s heart. Only Love can conquer hate.

When there is a lack of Spiritual connection with God, we cannot understand God’s agenda when the outcome doesn’t fit our cognitive understanding influenced by worldly propaganda and spin.

Paul said it best to the church in Corinth that was split and arguing who was the better Apostle. They were arguing over Paul verses Apollos. Paul had to remind them that they were from the same body but they had a lot of maturing to do in the things of God. Paul said, But people who are unspiritual don’t accept the things from God’s Spirit. They are foolishness to them and can’t be understood, because they can only be comprehended in a spiritual way. (I Cor. 2:14) Until we have the mind of Christ we will be stuck in jealousy, fits of rage, and quarreling. In order for us to move forward together we must:

1. Boast about Jesus not men. I Corinthians 1:31 Neither candidate was Jesus. Jesus Christ was not on the ballot the best we can do is vote our conscience and trust Jesus for the outcome. Neither candidate is the Messiah but God is still in control.
2. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 2:16 if we are going to discern God’s will through all of this and love each other in the process we must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
3. Re-Build this country on the foundation of Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 3:10-11 Partisan politics cannot be our base. Racism and hatred cannot be our base. Jesus Christ must be the foundation in order for us to rebuild and everything we use to build will be tested by the fire.

Dear God,

Help us to rebuild this country together. Please take away the hurt and anger from the hearts of the people who are disappointed. Help those of us who support the President to be loving and patient with those who are not as supportive. We can get more accomplished together than we can apart. Unified we stand and divided we fall. Unite us by your Sprit that we may go Forward.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Don't Grow Weary

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

After the election half the country let out a sigh of relief while the other half just sighed. This has to be one of the most polarizing elections in history. I loved the way both candidates closed the elections in their speeches. There was a sense that it’s time to put our differences aside and go forward. This is not the time to grow weary in well doing. We have got to pull together and finish this race.

The Apostle Paul asked the new Christians in Galatia, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7) he was talking about the progress they were making as new believers before they were literally cut in on by Jewish believers who felt like they needed to be circumcised before they were truly accepted as Christians. Paul reminded them that this attempt to circumcise new Christians was a left over vestige from the old guard; the gospel was about Grace and not about the Law.

It’s a new day for America but we can’t let this election cut in on our progress. We’ve come a long way as a nation. It says a lot about us to re-elect President Obama. This time, we know for sure, it’s not about his color but the content of his Character. It’s sobering to know that he has his work cut out for him but if we do not grow weary I believe we can get this country to where it needs to be.

1. Don’t become weary in doing good. This is a good time for Christians to let their light shine. They will know we are Christians by our Love. There has been enough rhetoric in this election on both sides now it’s time for us to do some good. There has been enough Grid lock for the last four years between republicans and democrats, now it’s time to do some good.

2. At the Proper time…this re-election of President Obama will not transform a split country over night but if we as Christians work together God will see unity and move on our behalf in the Proper time. It’s time to go forward but it’s going to take some time, don’t grow weary.

3. We shall reap a harvest if we do not give up. Jobs are coming, wars are ending, debts will be erased, education reformed, healthcare provided…if we do not give up. It’s time to press Forward.

Dear God,

Thank you for not letting your people lose hope. WE have so much to live for; don’t let us grow weary in well doing. I believe change is coming and I will not give up until we see it together.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Can I See Your Birth Certificate?

At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.
Galatians 4:29

There’s been a lot of talk about President Obama’s birth certificate leading up to this election. People like Donald Trump wanted to prove that the President was born outside the United States. They wanted to prove that he was not worthy or eligible to be POTUS because he was not born in an ordinary way. Pres. Obama had a Kenyan Father and a mother who was born in Kansas; that was no ordinary birth. Raised by a single white female, living in Hawaii, Indonesia, and then back to the United States, Pres. Obama had no ordinary life. Everyone who perceived him as a threat to their American way wanted to see his birth certificate to prove that he wasn’t eligible to lead this country.
There are many people who want to see your birth certificate as well because according to their estimation you have no right to be where you are according to your birth records. Your pedigree should disqualify you from the position you currently hold, but the only problem is that God has pre-ordained for you to be where you are. While you were in your mothers’ womb God had plans for you to prosper and succeed.

Isaac wasn’t born ordinary. He was born to Sarah in her old age but he was persecuted by his older half brother who had an ordinary birth to a single black female who was a slave to Abraham and Sarah. Anytime God’s hand is on your life and you make it through extraordinary circumstances you will be persecuted by people who want what is rightfully yours. God uses people who are born into extra ordinary circumstances.

Other people may want to see your birth certificate:

1. If in the natural it doesn’t look like you are supposed to be where you are. God’s ways are higher than man’s ways. God uses people that other people would have rejected.
2. If you get in the way of their personal agenda. When Isaac was born it threatened the inheritance that Ishmael thought he was entitled to. When the one that is born extra-ordinary intercepts the agenda of those who have a sense of entitlement people will want proof that you are eligible to lead.
3. If you’re getting closer to fulfilling the promise God has over your life. The closer you get to your promise the more persecution you will experience. If you are not experiencing persecution it probably means that you are not doing anything worth stopping.
4. If you have favor from your Father people will want to see your birth certificate to see why you keep getting in places that you should not have.

Every believer has been born extraordinary. When you are born again some people will want to see your birth certificate but the only proof you need to show is a changed life.

Dear God,

Thank you for Life and Favor. Thank you for giving birth to my destiny. No matter how much they persecute us we will not stop until we reach the Promise you have for us. That Promise is a land where we will not be judged by the color of our skin but the content of our character, a land where every person is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Bless the Election process today that every natural and supernaturally born citizen of the United States might have the right to vote for the President that you have selected.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

The Drawbacks of Friendship

The Drawbacks of Friendship

Galatians 2:12
12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

It’s hard to be friends with everybody when we all come with different beliefs, values, and agendas. It’s easier to be friendly than it is to be friends. One of the drawbacks of friendship is that some of your friends will draw back when fear overrides their friendship. A true friend sticks closer than a brother but an associate will draw back when your friendship is no longer convenient for their other alliances or political aspirations. It’s necessary to know where your friends stand with you so that you will not experience draw backs at a crucial time in your life. It’s better to know now where they stand with you.

Paul confronted his associate Peter to his face, because Peter associated with the gentile believers until his Jewish friends came around. Peter would eat with the Gentiles and fellowship but when his Jewish friends started putting pressure on him to compel the Gentiles to be circumcised Peter drew back. Paul reminded Peter that they were preaching a Gospel of Grace, not Law. Paul told Peter that he was being hypocritical. Friendship should never change because new people are in the room.

When your “friends” draw back from you this is what you should do:

1. Confront them to their face. Verse 11 When you see inconsistencies in friends you should have a face to face. Use this as a time to discern whether or not they need to be your friend or just an associate.

2. Believe who they are. Verse 13. Paul said they were two faced. They were one way with him and one way with others. It’s not that you can’t be friends with two faced people but just know who they are and watch what you say in front of them. You trust friends and you communicate with associates.

3. Focus on your mission. Verse 8. Paul knew that his mission was to the Gentiles and Peter’s mission was to the Jews. Once you determine what your mission is you focus all your energy on that mission and on people who have like missions. My associates are not my enemies. We just have different missions which means we won’t be spending a lot of time together. It is what it is.

4. Recognize who you are in Jesus. Verse 20. I have been crucified in Christ, I no longer live but he lives in me which means that my mission overrides my need to be accepted by everybody. I must be about my Father’s business and those who do the will of my Father are my brothers, sisters, and friends.

Dear God,

I’m not afraid to stand alone during this season with a few real friends. I’ve experienced setbacks and drawbacks but I also have experienced some comebacks! Help me to be a consistent friend and love no matter who is in the room. Help me to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother and to stick close in the time of adversity. Thank you Jesus for being that friend to me.

In your name,
Amen

Be Careful of What You Asked For

Mark 10:38

“You don’t know what you are asking.” Jesus said, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

Everything looks easy to do until you have to do it. It’s a dangerous thing to want what somebody has without realizing what he or she had to do to get it. As humans, we have a propensity to want what other people have. That’s why God had to warn us in the ten commandments not to covet or lust for anything our Neighbor has. Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” [1]

We want what our neighbor has but we don’t know what our neighbor went through to get it and if we did we might not want it. You don’t know what you are asking for.

Michael Jackson lived a tortured existence; lamenting his childhood, imprisoned by his own success, every gold record that glittered wasn’t good. With all he accomplished, Michael didn’t seem to get to enjoy it much. He was the King of Pop but he died alone.

Jesus was the King of Kings, and his disciples wanted to share his Glory without knowing his story. James and John wanted to set on his right and left when he came into his Glory. They thought Jesus was going to rule an earthly King and be popular, they didn’t know his throne would be in Heaven and that he would have to go through hell to get there. Jesus asked them, “do you know what you are asking for?!” There are two things you should consider:

1. Can you drink the cup I’m going to drink from? The cup Jesus was talking about was his cup of suffering which included betrayal, suffering, loneliness, persecution, abandonment, and death. Those who are most anointed by God are the ones who experience the most suffering. Suffering with Christ is an honor and we must all suffer with him but he’s the only one that can drink his cup; make sure you drink from your cup not somebody else’s.
2. Can you be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? Jesus would be baptized in the excruciating fire of crucifixion. The pain was unimaginable. We all have our baptism through fire. There are trials that we will experience on our way to our purpose but only Jesus can bear the cross of salvation. Carry your cross but not the one that Jesus alone could bear.

Everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to die.

Dear God,

Help me to live my life with my eyes on the plan you have for my life and not the script for someone else’s. I believe you will not put more on me than I can bear. I receive the plan you have for my life and I am ready to drink from my cup and carry my cross but I thank you for what you’ve already accomplished for me. You get all the Glory because you took my place on the cross and you drank my cup.

I love you Jesus!

Amen


[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 20:17