It's Time to Turn Back

Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

The devil is trying to stop you. He doesn’t like you because he sees your potential in God to bless so many people. There is something you have been commissioned to do and the devil’s only job is to discourage you before it can happen.

Jesus warned Peter that satan wanted to sift him like wheat. He wanted to separate all of the disciples from Jesus. When trials and tribulations come they can either bring us closer to Jesus or drive us away. Hard times can bring out the best in us or expose the worst in us. When you are going through trials and tests, you must learn how to turn back to God after you’ve been sifted. If we were to tell the truth about it, we’ve all been sifted. Something has attempted to separate us from Jesus, but a separation doesn’t have to lead to a divorce. Nothing can separate us from the Love of Jesus!
Peter had every intention in staying with Jesus but the trial of Jesus being arrested temporarily separated him from Jesus; but Jesus’ prayer turned him back to his Savior. If you’ve found yourself separated from Jesus this is how you need to get back to Jesus:

1. Strengthen your faith. During these trying times our faith can be tested. There’s a lot that can pull on us emotionally, spiritually, and physically but we cannot allow it to deplete our faith. It’s times like this that we must use our faith and not lose our faith. We must starve our fear and feed our faith.
2. Turn Back. Once we realize how far we have drifted from Jesus we have to make up our minds to turn back to him. When Jesus came and found Peter back at his old fishing job after denying him three times, he reinstated Peter. He sent Peter back to being an Apostle. It’s time for you to get back to what God anointed you to do before you got discouraged.
3. Strengthen your brothers. There are other people that got discouraged during this season of turmoil. Once you get your faith strengthened, and you turn back, it’s important that you go to others that have lost their faith so you can get them back to God as well.

Dear God,

I’m turning back to my assignment. The devil tried to make me think that my ministry was over but the devil is a liar. The devil distracted me but I’m back on it now! Help me now with renewed faith to strengthen those who’ve been impacted by these trials. God there is more for us to do and I will not stop until it is finished. Today, I’m turning back to you!

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Where Are the People I Helped?

Luke 17:17
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

One of the first things that was ingrained in me as a child was to say, “thank you” after somebody did something good for you. I was taught never to bite the hand that feeds you. It amazes me how today, when you help people, many times they don’t even come back to say “thank you”. Of course you don’t help people just so they are obligated to you for the rest of your life but when you do something good for somebody, bless their life, make them better, help them be healed it would be nice if they would just come back to acknowledge that what you did for them actually helped.

Over the last 11 years, over 13,000 people have walked across the stage at New Direction Christian Church to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As a Pastor, sometimes it is discouraging to look out and see those faces missing. It makes Jesus’ question so painfully poignant, “Where are the other nine? Where are the people I helped?” Maybe you’re not a pastor but you can identify with the fact that you have helped a lot of people in your lifetime and when you look around you there are not very many of those people left in your life. It hits you every now and then where is that person I loaned that money to? Where is that relative that I kept their kids while they worked? Where is the person I let drive my car when they didn’t have one? Where are the people I helped?

On one occasion Jesus was met by ten lepers who asked him, “Lord have pity on us!” In other words, they asked, Can you help us? Can you do something? Can you give me some emergency assistance? Will you heal us? Can you give us some hope?

Jesus replied by saying, “Go show yourself to the priests.” This took some faith on their part because he was sending them back to the people who put them out because of their condition. Lepers could not go to the temple or stay in the proximity of people. Jesus sends them back sick but on their way back they were healed. Some people you blessed left you and did better after they were out of your view but never came back.
One Leper realized that he had been healed stopped in his tracks and begin praising God in a loud voice. He was a Samaritan. He wasn’t a Jewish believer but he starting worshipping God and came back to fall on his knees in front of Jesus to tell him “Thank you.” Jesus asked, “17 Jesus asked, “Were there not ten men who were healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Is this stranger from another country the only one who turned back to give thanks to God?”

I have nine theories for why some people don’t come back after being helped:

1. They didn’t realize Jesus had anything to do with it since it happened on the way back. Some people are blessed by your ministry but don’t realize Jesus did it through you until they get back to Temple.
2. They ran back to men but away from Jesus. The sad part about people being blessed or helped in church and not coming back is not that they leave the pastor but they walk away from Jesus. It’s disheartening when people leave a Jesus experience to run back to tradition.
3. They didn’t want a relationship they just wanted what they needed. It’s sad but true, some people just want your resources not a relationship.
4. They didn’t give credit to God for their miracle. Sometimes, when people get back on their feet they discount God’s involvement.
5. They thought Jesus was obligated to bless them. We expect Jesus to keep handing out blessings without coming back to love on him.
6. They took his Grace for granted. Grace is unmerited favor but the cost for it is our appreciation.
7. They were too busy trying to get back to what they left. Sometimes, the vortex of what we used to do sucks us back to old ways before we can acknowledge the new thing that Jesus has done for us.
8. They didn’t think worship was necessary. After God gives us what we need Sunday morning becomes an option instead of a lifestyle.
9. Life was too good to come back to worship. They were no longer outcasts; they were able to integrate back to normal life. Life was so good now they didn’t feel a need to come back to Jesus.

Dear God,

I can’t forget to thank you every day for all you’ve done for me. Don’t let me forget to come back to say thank you for all you’ve done for me. Every chance I get, I want to come to worship just to thank you for blessing me. Today, I will search out someone today, a pastor, a teacher, a parent, a relative, a friend that helped me when I needed help just to say thank you. Most of all I just want to say, Thank you Jesus!

Amen

What Did You Do with your Good Things?

Luke 16:25
"But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good tings, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.”

God has blessed us with so much and it’s important that we use what he gives us to bless others not just ourselves. I saw that 60% of retired NBA players are broke and 78% of NFL players go broke after leaving the league according to ESPN’s 30/30. What happens to their Money?! They spend it on material things, houses, cars, jewelry; they indulge in drinking, drugs, gambling. When it’s all over, after making millions of dollars they have nothing to show for it and live in agony.

It’s not just the very rich that waste their “good things” but we too can look back on seasons in our lives when we wasted what God gave us instead of blessing others with what God gave us. We are blessed to be a blessing and to be wise stewards over that which God gives us. The bible says, “a righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.” And Jesus also reminds us to take care of the least of these.

Jesus told a story about a rich man that lived in a mansion with a poor man named Lazarus living right outside. Lazarus had sores all over his body and longed for the scraps from the rich man’s table but he didn’t give him any “good things.” The poor man died and the angels took him straight to heaven. The rich man died and was buried then went to hell where he burned in agony.

Even in hell the rich man had a sense of entitlement and asked Abraham to send Lazarus to give him some water. In hell, he still saw Lazarus as his servant, somebody less than him in status. In hell, your thirst intensifies but is never satisfied and you are unable to see your need for God because what you lusted for has replaced God.

Abraham said, “I can’t help you…you had your “good things” while Lazarus received his “bad things” and now he is being comforted here and you are in agony. Let me ask you a question: What did you do with your good things?

1. We should share our “good things” it’s more blessed to give than it is to receive.
2. Give a tenth to God. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house…when there is meat in God’s house; he is able to give good things through his church to those who need them.
3. Don’t live in excess. Luke 12: 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
4. Give your best not what’s left over. Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow”—when you now have it with you. NIV

Dear God,

Thank you for blessing me, now help me to look for the less fortunate instead of just thinking about myself. Help me to share my good things.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Are You a Hater or a Celebrator?

Luke 15:32
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

Sometimes, I wonder if we like seeing people fail more than we like seeing them succeed. What sells more papers and magazines, good news or bad news? What’s the top TV show, Scandal or Give Me My Life Back on OWN? Deep down I think we all appreciate a story of redemption or a good “come back” story unless their success comes at an expense to our ego.

It’s hard for us to celebrate certain people when we think we have been more faithful or in the “game’ longer than they have. Think of someone who was celebrated recently and you found it hard to be happy for them. What causes us to be “haters” when we should be “celebrators?”

In this familiar story of the prodigal son returning home, the older brother is a “hater” because his younger brother is being celebrated by the Father. At first, the sermonic spotlight is on the youngest son who realizes the errors of his ways and repents to his father, but really the spotlight should be on the older brother whose response to the return of his brother is shocking but it’s real. You can empathize with the older brother’s feelings when you look at the facts.

His younger brother dissed their father by asking for the inheritance early which was typically set aside for the oldest to get first after the daddy was deceased. The youngest dipped into his Daddy’s 401K and then blew it on partying. The younger son wasted his daddy’s money while the oldest stayed home to help the Father make money. The younger son comes home to get a party with barbecued calf, but the oldest son never got a party or even a young goat to barbecue with his friends.
Why would God expect us to celebrate somebody like that?

1. You are already blessed! The Father told the oldest son. “You are always with me and everything I have you have access to.” The oldest son represents those of us who are already saved and the youngest are those who haven’t been saved long but they decided to come back home. If God decides to bless them we don’t have to be jealous because I’ve been blessed the whole time.
2. He’s your brother. This person is not your enemy, they are connected to you in the Spirit. If they have come back to God or they are working for God, they are not your competition they are your brother. You have to be able to celebrate what God is doing in your brothers’ life even if they didn’t look out for your best interest at one time or the other.
3. He was dead now he’s alive. There are times in all of our lives where we were spiritually dead and they person that I was then doesn’t match the person I am now. We cannot hold resentment for who people used to be when God brings them back to life.
4. He was lost, now he’s found. When some people fall off and you keep going, it’s your God given responsibility that God bring them back. God says that he wishes that no one would perish but that all would be saved. That’s why he gives us time to get back to where we are supposed to be. When somebody gets back to their place in God that is a time to celebrate not hate.

Dear God,

Help me to celebrate those that have made their way back to you. Help me to celebrate my brothers and my sisters who are celebrated even when I am not. I have too much to be thankful for! I’m already blessed. If I never see my name in lights or in a magazine, I’m already blessed. I just thank you for letting me be in your house and I’m grateful that you helped my brother and my sister to get back on their feet again. I celebrate what you’ve done for me and for my brothers and sisters.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Don't Lose Your Flavor!

Luke 14:34

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

There is something about you that stands out from everybody else. What’s amazing is that the very thing that makes us different is what we often try to cover up to conform to what everybody else approves of. Instead of standing out, we want to blend in.

There is a great article in this month’s issue of Essence magazine with women sharing what makes them distinctive. In the article, they share how they have learned to appreciate their beauty from their own perspective instead of others. One woman talks about how she used to fill in the gap in her teeth until the “fill in” became discolored and she decided to show her gap. She said, “I decided that it “sets me apart” from everybody else.

How much time have we wasted trying to fit in with everybody else? God created us to add flavor to the world. That’s why the Apostle Paul told us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

If we are going to make a difference in the world we have to be different. We must be Salt. There are three things that Salt does:

1. It preserves. Salt preserves what it is added to or put on. We should preserve the goodness in the World because we are ambassadors for Christ. We should bring out the good in people.
2. It Transforms. We should be change agents. Transformational Discipleship only occurs when people engage with Christ. Jesus told us to go and make disciples. People are transformed into Disciples when we introduce them to Christ.
3. It adds flavor. Salt makes bland food taste better. We should change the environment when we get involved.

Dear God,

Thank you for your Favor that gives me Flavor. You made me different for a reason. I celebrate my flavor and I will go out in the world to make a difference by being different.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

They Stole my iPad, Lessons Learned

Find my iPad!

For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes will joyfully look on the tin tablet in Zerubbabel's hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord , which constantly range across the whole earth.) -Zechariah 4:10
The first day of my vacation in the Dominican Republic, someone steals my iPad out of my back pack in baggage claim. This little tin tablet is my life line to my work and the world. I was deeply incensed that one of the workers would go in my bag to take my iPad. After being frustrated with the efforts of the airport officials with Delta, I left with a half-hearted assurance that they would search the surveillance cameras for the culprit who took my iPad.

Once I arrived at the Hotel I logged onto "Find my iPad" to erase the content and send a signal that it was lost. The Apple representative said that the signal and the fact that it was in lock mode might have frustrated the criminal because it is still in pending mode for the information to be erased.

I'm sitting out on the deck, looking at the ocean, having devotion on the third day of my vacation and God speaks to me about my "tin tablet." He says:

1. I have seven eyes that go through the dark corners of the earth. verse 10, in other words, what they think they got away with I have seen. God has eyes on everything that is going on in the world.

2. There's a curse on the thief. And he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. (Zechariah 5:3 NIV)

3. The power is not in the Pad but the Person. So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6 NIV) God gives Power to the Person not the Pad.

4. Appreciate the little things. He tells Zechariah "despise not small beginnings." I had to stop and look at the poverty of the people who worked here and reaize the things that I take for granted are considered a luxury to them. It made me stop to take inventory of my blessings and forget about the "tin pad"

5. This is a test to see how I measure up. The other word for "tin pad" is plumb line. It was an instrument used to measure a bulding, in this case, the Holy Temple. This was my test to see how I measured up. My sister in law called me on my birthday and reminded me of the words I had shared with her after being broken into 6 times! She said, "Brother, God will restore what was stolen. There are greater things to come." What I lost didn't measure up to what she had lost. I came back to my self.

6. It's no good if it's not in your hands. That thief can't enjoy my iPad because it's locked and erased. But it also taught me to guard my gift and don't just lay it down anywhere.

7. It's time for an upgrade anyway! I had the iPad 2 but now I"ve got to get the iPad 3. When the enemy takes one thing God replaces it with something better. On the first day, they took Jesus' life, but on the 3rd day, God gave it back, but this time they could never take it back, because he got up with all power in his hands!

Dear God,

Thank you for the gift of your word that you have put in my hands. My power is not in my pad but in You. You will restore what I've lost, for your eyes are on everything. I may have lost my iPad but I am still an I-Witness that I Am Blessed!

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Did God Sign Off on This?

Psalm 127:1

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

It's been said that, "Man plans, God laughs." Oftentimes, we set out to accomplish something on our own without including God in our plans. Much of our activity is futile if God is not the architect. God has the blueprint for our lives and we must make sure we follow what he has laid out because if he's not in it we are wasting our time.

There is nothing wrong with having goals in life. We must write our goals in concrete and our plans in sand. Even without goals, we must seek God's will for our lives so that we will not frustrate ourselves moving in a direction he is not telling us to go. We are currently getting ready to remodel a department store in Holly Springs, MS for our fourth worship location. It's exciting work! We can't wait to reach more lost souls for Jesus Christ but even in that excitement we have to submit our drawings to the code enforcement before we are able to begin the work.  They must approve the drawings before we can even start.

It should be the same way with our lives. We can't really start living until we submitt our lives to God's will. Lean not to your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him. This is how we get God's approval:

1. Pray and ask God for direction for your life.
2. Write down the vision you have for your life. Habakkuk 2:2
3. Start building but expect delays. a delay is not a denial.
4. Measure twice and cut once. Make sure you think about every detail of what you are getting ready to do. Examine every scenario so that when you cut you want have to waste any time or resources.
5. Count the costs so that you can make sure you finish what you started. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? Luke 14:28
6. Use only the best material. The workmanship of each person will become evident, for the day of judgment will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. 1 Corinthians 3:13
7. God will put on the finishing touches. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work unitl it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6

Dear God,

Help me to finish the work you have called me to do. No matter how other's want to stop the work, if you called me to do it, there is nothing they can do to stop it. I just want to make sure that I hear you clearly and do everything you tell me to do. Give me your plans and I will be faithful to do everything you tell me to do.

In Jesus Name,

Amen