Empire State of Mind

Romans 1:28
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done.

In his song Empire State of Mind, “Jay Hova” (self proclaimed god) exclaims: Jesus can’t save you and life begins when the church ends.” As gifted a lyricist as Sean Carter is he is also dangerous to the minds of young believers and even God seekers. It all begins with his moniker “Jay Hova.” Jehovah is the Hebrew name for God. Jehovah is the English transliteration of Hebrew text’s current reading of divine name Yahweh. Hebrew text however, represents scribes efforts to prevent people from pronouncing the divine name by combining consonants of Yahweh and vowels of Hebrew word ‘Adonai (Lord) so readers would pronounce ‘Adonai rather than risk blasphemy by improperly pronouncing the divine name. In other words, God's name was so Holy they made up a name to protect people from saying it with disregard to God’s Holiness and suffer his wrath. Now young people are at huge secular worship events called concerts waving their hands and giving Glory to a man who calls himself “Jay Hova.” They chant “Hova, Hova, Hova or God, God, God.”

Romans 1:24
God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts…because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.

In his song, empire state of mind, Jay Z says, “Jesus can’t save you and that life begins when the church ends.

There are two antichrist sentiments here:

1) Jesus has no power to save you.
2) The church should be destroyed. Life begins when the church ends.

I John 2:22
Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ (Savior). Such a man is the AntiChrist he denies the father and the Son.

When we worship a man and deny Jesus Christ and wish death upon his Bride, the church, we are in danger of having a satanic state of mind. The bible calls it a debased mind. Debased means to lower in character, quality or value. We exchange natural functions of our sexuality for unnatural relations because our state of mind has been corrupted with the exchange of the truth for a lie and put it to a Hip Hop beat. The danger in that is that we are dancing our way to hell oblivious to the fact that we are being entertained away from God.

The devil is the father of lies and in the beginning he was the minister of music in heaven before God kicked him out for wanting to take God’s glory. Now on earth he still uses music to influence humans to worship him. In Revelation, he’s described as the beast whose number is 666. The other day someone described Jay Z as a “Sexy Beast” at a concert in Nashville. The Spirit of seduction is crafty when we are lulled away to worship the creature rather than the creator.

I’ve listened to Jay Z for years but this is the first time I heard him and I don’t like what I’m hearing. Read Romans chapter one in it’s entirety to see what happens when you have Satan’s Empire State of mind. It ain’t good Yo!

Dear God, open our eyes to the truth of your Word and stop the deduction of our youth. I bind up Satan’s empire and I loose a Kingdom mindset to set the captives free, give sight to the blind, preach good news to the poor, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus saves to the utmost. There is still power in the blood of the Lamb. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that God raised him from the dead. I believe that He died for my sins and that He will come back soon for His church. We are the church those who have been saved by grace and the dead in Christ shall be raised first, and those of us who are still alive will be caught up with Him. I believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, no man or woman can come into God’s kingdom unless they come through Him. This I believe in the mighty name of Jesus the Christ, the one who was, who is, and who is to come.
Amen!

You Get It All Back!

Matthew 19:29
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake will receive a hundred fold and will inherit eternal life.

We’ve lost a lot this year with an economy that has tanked. The good news is that we are in recovery mode now. It is only a matter of time before we start seeing evidence of a turn around with people getting back on their feet, becoming employed, and folks getting back the things they had to walk away from. Many have walked away form jobs, homes, and even relatives because they had to go find employment in cities away from home.

Along with this hardship comes what Walter Bruggeman calls a “moral incongruity.” When something goes wrong we want to conclude that we did something wrong for those turn of events to happen, but when you go through “Exile” moments, there does not have to be anything that you’ve done wrong individually just because there is an experience of corporate suffering. There is not just one person responsible for this global recession, it is a global epidemic that affects us all.

Like Peter many of us are asking Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” When we choose to follow Jesus that means we also choose to walk away from certain things. We are taking the road less traveled. Sometimes we choose to do without because doing wrong to get what I need is not an option.

Jesus' promise to those who have followed Him are:
1. We will have heavenly authority when Jesus sits on the throne at the renewal of all things. To the Apostles that meant they would help Jesus judge the nations, to us it means that we walk in Kingdom authority until the renewal of all things.

2. We will inherit a hundred fold return in this life and the life to come including:
a. Homes. God will supply us with homes in this life and with a mansion in the life to come.
b. Land & fields. In Jesus' time, Land ownership was a sign of wealth with the owner being able to raise livestock or produce a harvest. For us today, owning real-estate or business helps us to provide for our families and pass on an inheritance to our children’s children. When God restores all things this time around you will be owning instead of renting.

c. Family. Many times when we follow Jesus that means we lose some family and friends, but when Jesus makes all things new he also gives you new family, the family of faith.

Dear God, I’m waiting on your return so that all have lost will be found in you. Nothing is lost when I exchange it for following you. You have been so good to me so that even in times like this you have provided all that I have needed. I pray for others who have lost jobs, homes, family that you would return a hundred fold upon those who have decided to follow Jesus. Jesus saves to the utmost and I am confident that he will restore all things.

In his Name,
Amen.

Your Friend Is The Devil?!

Matthew 16:23
He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

No one in their right mind would be-friend Satan. There is no way in the world we would knowingly be in fellowship with Satan but unbeknownst to us some of us are friends with the devil. Satan is the father of lies and he tells you half the truth which always leads to a whole lie. If you are not spiritually alert that lying sprit can get on your friends and they can be used of the devil to change your direction. This is his most dangerous method. He will advise you through the people closest to you.

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. When Jesus plainly told His disciples He had to die and be raised on the third day, Peter strongly objected and said, “That ain’t going to happen!” Now, in the natural, that sounds like loving advice from a concerned friend but Jesus strongly rebukes Peter by saying, “Get behind me Satan!” This sounds pretty rough for a friend, but He wasn’t talking to Peter, He was talking to Satan. Peter who was emotionally vulnerable was allowing Satan to try to discourage Jesus for his own selfish reasons. Jesus recognized this and spoke directly to the source of this selfishness, “Satan get thee behind me!”

Whenever you have a friend or close companion whose mind is set on human things over divine things then they could be used by Satan and not even know it until you say something in opposition to their selfish request. As sweet as it may sound, you better recognize who’s really talking. You have a destiny that transcends comfort and convenience. Whenever anybody tries to talk you out of your God given assignment they are being used by Satan and your friend is influenced by the devil.

Now you don’t have to kill the friendship but you do want to kill the spirit of demonic influence by rebuking them right away.

1. Discern God’s voice over Satan’s voice. This can be tricky because the devil knows the Word too. You always have to know the Word yourself so that you can bring it back to remembrance to confirm what God has spoken to you over against what your “friend” is saying.

2. Rebuke Satan’s voice without condemning your friend. Everybody is capable of getting “besides” themselves in a moment of human culpability.

3. Point your friend in the Right direction. Even after Jesus told Peter that he had to die and rebuked Satan’s advice through him, Peter still tried to stop Jesus arrest by cutting off the ear of the guard. Jesus had to point His friend in the right direction as He was getting ready to fulfill His destiny, “put away your sword Peter, those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” This ain’t that type of fight. We fight not against flesh and blood but against dark powers and principalities in high places.

Dear God, help me to hear your voice above all others today. Let me speak truth in love to my friends when they speak the opposite of Your will for my life. Jesus is my friend that sticks closer than any brother. I will trust in the Lord till I die! Thank you Jesus for speaking truth in my life. Speak Lord for your servant is listening to you!

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

He Didn't Expose Me

Matthew 1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

So many great men and women of God have been exposed to an open shame in years past. Even politicians, actors, rappers and the like have not been immune from the shame of exposure to some mistake, indiscretion, or bad decision. The higher up you are or the wider your sphere of influence the greater the risk of exposure.

The world is more forgiving than the church when it comes to exposure. Worldly people are entertained by exposure until it is no longer sensational but religious people use exposure as a death sentence for someone’s calling or career. One of the most embarrassing ways to be exposed when I was growing up was to get pregnant before you got married. It was a young person’s worst nightmare. Especially if you grew up in a small town and went to a small church. In my mother’s generation, the shame was even more intense. Folks had “shot gun” weddings. If you got a girl pregnant her daddy had a shot gun and you were going to marry her to take away the shame.

If you are in Korea in the army you can go to Prison for getting a girl pregnant without marrying her. Maybe we should make that a law in the United States that would help a lot of young men think about abstinence until marriage.

Joseph was engaged to Mary but he found out she was pregnant before the wedding and they hadn’t had sex yet. The law said she should have been stoned to death, but because Joseph loved Mary and was Righteous he was unwilling to put her on blast and expose her to a public disgrace.

Joseph was a lot like God is to us, how many times has God covered your mess and not exposed you even though the law said you should have been exposed?

The only difference between us and Mary is that she was pregnant by God and the mess we were in should not have been conceived in the first place. James 1:14-15 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. But God!

Thank God for not exposing our mess. Some may think I’m taking liberty to say God covers or blesses our mess but if you look at the lineage of Jesus you will see where God covered unholy pregnancies by his grace:

David and Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon. David killed Bathsheba’s husband to marry her because he got her pregnant.

Judah and Tamar gave birth to Perez and Zirah after she dressed up like a prostitute to get pregnant by her Father-in-law.

Salmon and Rahab gave birth to Boaz; she was the prostitute that hid Joshua and Caleb in Jericho.

Don’t forget you and me and the mess we have conceived that should have led to death, but God!

It is because of his mercies that we are not exposed to an open shame but instead God turns our mess into a miracle by declaring that which is in Mary is born of the Holy Spirit. God transforms us through repentance to give birth to Jesus. Matthew 3:8 says bear fruit worthy of Repentance. Now is the time to get yourself together before you are exposed. Warning comes before destruction.

Dear God, thank you for covering my mess and not exposing my foolishness. Help them to give birth to Righteousness and move forward to obedience. Thank you for your grace!

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

If It Had Not Been For The Lord Who Was On My Side

Psalm 124

As we near the end of another year we can look back and say with the old saints, “If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side tell me where would I be, where would I be?” Sometimes it’s easier to see God looking back than it is looking forward. Hindsight is always 20/20. Some people may say it’s not good to look back but the people of Ghana would disagree. They believe that we should be like the Sankofa bird, who looks back to get an egg which represents the future. You must reach back to go forward. In our case, we must reach back for inspiration to go forward.

If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side we would not have made it through the atrocities of slavery, we would not have made it through the grueling poverty of the great depression, we would not have made it through the murderous injustices of Jim Crow laws, we would not have made it through the bloody streets of the civil rights struggle, we would not have made it through the horrific assassinations of our leaders President John F. Kennedy, our prophets Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If God can bring us through all of that and be able to see us through the election of our first African-American President surely He will see us through a trillion dollar deficit and a global Recession.

God is able to do just what He said He would do, don’t give up on God, because He won't give up on you. He’s able!

If God were not on our side then:

1. Our enemies would have swallowed us up. Verse 3. Look back over your life at all the people who were against you and how God blocked the plans of your enemies. In fact, what they meant for evil God worked it out for your good.

2. The storm would have swept us away. Verse 4. God has been a shelter in the time of storm and a bridge over troubled water.

3. The enemy would have caught us in his trap. There was a story of a little boy that had some birds trapped in a cage. He had a sharp stick just poking at the birds. A man passed by and saw the boy and asked him what he was going to do with the birds in the cage. He said I’m going to take them in the woods and kill them. The man asked, “If I give you some money for the birds will you let me have them?” the boys asked, “these old birds? Sure!” He took the money and the man took the birds. The man opened the door of the cage and said, “Go free little birds I paid for you to go free.” That’s what Jesus did for us when the devil had us in his trap. We were on our way to hell to be killed and Jesus paid the price with His blood and He opened the doors of hell to set the captives free.

Verse 7 says we have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers, the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

God, I thank you for I am like one who has escaped with my life still intact. You kept me from dangers seen and unseen. Thank you for seeing me through. Father, give us the strength to make it through our present trials so that we may come forth as pure gold. Thank you for being on our side and for opening doors that no man could have opened.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

God Will Supply All Your Needs For Thanksgiving

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (New International Version)
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

It is encouraging to know that God will supply all our needs. The only thing that gives me comfort through these trying times is knowing that God supplies my see. But, it’s what I do with my seed that determines if it meets my need. My seed is for me to develop my harvest. Paul says he gives me seed for sowing and bread for eating.

There are two things God gives us at once, 1) seed and 2) bread. You don’t eat seed you eat bread. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples to thank God for daily bread, “give us this day our daily bread.” It was nothing extravagant just bread, but they were to ask God for “daily bread.” Isn’t it amazing how God gives us “daily bread?” He didn’t say “daily Red Lobster” or “daily Olive Garden” but “Daily Bread.” In other words God promised that He would sustain us at the least and give us overflow at the most.

When the children of Israel were going through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, God gave them each day, “daily bread.” He sent them manna from heaven which they could only keep enough to get them through the day. If they got greedy and tried to keep it over night it would spoil and get maggots in it. 2 Cor 8:15 the one who had much didn’t have too much, and the one who had little didn’t have too little. They had enough bread for their family that day. We are living in a “Daily Bread” season but we are on our way to the Promised Land. Thank him in advance!

The seed was for sowing. God will supply the seed but He will also multiply the seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your Righteousness. When you sow your seed in helping other people through generosity, you produce Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not a dinner you put together for your family once a year. Thanksgiving is what you do to God after He blesses you with your harvest as a result of your sowing.

Thanksgiving is what happens when poor people who didn’t have any food all of a sudden get food because of your sowing. Thanksgiving is what happens when a single mother’s lights get turned back on because somebody at the church sowed a check to help with emergency assistance. That is thanksgiving! And God is ready for you to produce a Thanksgiving with your seed even as you sit down with your family to break your “daily bread!”

This Thanksgiving while you are sitting at the table with your family breaking bread, get some seed in your hand and:

1. Give your tithes and offering to your local church.
2. If you don’t have a church give to a local charity.
3. If you don’t have any money give your time to help feed the homeless.
4. Share your meal with a family that doesn’t have anything this Thanksgiving.

Dear God, thank You for my seed and my bread. I’m ready to produce multiple Thanksgiving so that other people may know Your goodness and give You Thanks Giving all over my city.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

This is Temporary

2 Corinthians 4:18 We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

It's sometimes frustrating to pull up to your favorite ATM or even Gas station, get ready to retrieve what you need when you are on empty and read “temporarily out of order.” Why today? why me? When are they going to get this fixed? We don’t live in a perfect world. Things break down, and need to be fixed. WE cannot lose heart when things break because what we see is just temporary. Instead, we should focus on what is eternal.

This world we live in is temporarily out of order. The global economy is out of whack; there are wars and rumors of wars, no universal healthcare, and poverty and world hunger. TI’s out of order! On a personal note many people find their own lives “temporarily out of order.” What used to work ain't working no more and it is frustrating especially when you can’t fix it yourself, but the good news is God can fix it!

Verse 17 is the answer: For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of Glory beyond all measure. This ain’t it! Don’t get stuck on what you see! God is preparing you for something you can’t handle right now. Oftentimes, when we hear that, we think of something foreboding that God is preparing us for but actually it’s something good, the “weight of God’s Glory.”

Our afflictions are making us stronger to be able to hold the weight of God’s Glory. Every day we are being transformed into God’s image from one degree of Glory to another for this comes from the Lord the Spirit. (I Cor 3:18). So don’t be dismayed by what you see but be encouraged by what you do not see for your latter shall be greater. This is just temporary!

Dear God, keep me focused on things eternal so that I will hold to your unchanging hand. I will build my hopes on things eternal and quit focusing on the temporary. Thank you for restoring order back to my life.

In Jesus Name,
Amen