Back To School

Wow!  I’m back in school.  This time for a Doctoral Degree.  Why?  Because It is necessary that I continue learning.  I believe in getting a good education; and I want to set a good example for those who follow me.  Now, I can set a good example without a doctoral degree.  However, it is my personal goal to place the bar as high as I can get it in order for those coming behind to know that I did nothing on my own.  All along, my journey has been tailored by God and I’m discovering that the higher I go the more He require of me.

Here are some more reasons for me to go back to school:

• I have two very smart children who are very interested in academics.  I need to be an example for them.
• I have a church family to lead that is educated.  As their pastor I should always be increasing in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.  Therefore, if there is a level of understanding that going back to school will give me then I think I should go get it, for their sakes.
• One day I will retire form pastoring.  Whenever that happens I want to still teach God’s word.  A doctoral degree will afford me the privilege to teach the bible at a college level.
• Now is as good as ever.  This is a good season in my life to attend school.  I have the time and motivation to do it. 

Pray for me.        

Tuesday Night Reflections

Wow! what a night - no really it was a great night. As I watched to expressions of the people, Acts 2:17 came to my mind. There God said he will pour out His spirit on all flesh. The younger generations will proclaim his word and the older generation will dream of Him. In a since, that is what's happening at BridgePointe. I see a spiritual awakening in a young generation of people who is able and willing to take the gospel further than we've ever taken it. I see the uprising of a young generation who refuses to settle for what the enemy have told us for years. This that God is doing is really turning into a movement. Even the children are excited about Jesus. I asked my daughter (Miracle) what she thought about the services and she couldn't stop talking about Jesus and how she can feel him in the room. I was blown away again.

Here are some things I shared with the family on Tuesday Night from Daniel 3:16-18:

When Life Becomes a Disappointment

1. WE MUST PRAY FOR PURPOSE. (V.16)
a. By making sure our prayer are aimed at giving God glory.
b. By making sure our prayers are armed with confidence in God.

If we are going to pray we have no right to doubt. The Hebrew boys had complete confidence in God's ability to do what he promised. They were so sure of God that they wouldn't even consider the kings offer for them to redeem themselves. They knew that there is no such thing as self redemption. Redemption is only through Jesus Christ.

2. WE MUST PARTICIPATE IN GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR LIVES. (V.18)
a. By abandioning the worlds agenda or our own.
b. By appreciating the uniqueness of God’s plan for your life.

The more we participate in the thing God have for us the more we are connected to his purpose for us. Here then lies the problem, we often want the things of God without receiving Him first. when we decide to leave our agenda at the door and appreciate the uniqueness of our God given talents and abilities, we can walk into a fresh relationship with God that will blow our minds. There really is no good thing that God will withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11)

3. WE MUST PRAISE GOD FOR WHO HE IS. (V.17)
a. By applauding the fact that all power is in his hand.
b. By appreciating the fact that he operates in his own time.

We can never praise God enough for who he is. As we are experiencing disappointments we must realize that God is a God of promises. What He said will come to past. It is our job as believers to not get distracted by the work of the enemy and to stay faithful.

Live Your Potential

Live Your Potential
How can we learn to appreciate and use the talents and gifts God has given us?

1 Chronicles 15:1 – 16:3

Have you ever envied someone else’s abilities or thought that others don’t appreciate your skills? Almost everyone falls into one of those two camps. But God gives you specific abilities for a purpose. He wants to use those gifts for his glory and others’ good. This study is designed to help you identify your gifts and look for ways to put them into practice.


When it comes to using the talents and gifts God has given us, we must do two things:



1. You must IDENTIFY the Current Issue.

The issues we face fall within one of two extremes.

You either ENVY the abilities of other people and belittle your own strengths.

Or

You RESENT the fact that nobody gives you credit for your skills and feel underappreciated.

You must understand that what looks to you like the smallest talent may be exactly what God wants to use in a certain situation. God is a God of possibilities, and he can use any gift you have for his glory and others’ good.



2. You must DISCOVER the eternal principles.

A. We must UNDERSTAND how God wants to use us.

David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. (1 Chronicles 15:1-3)


B. We must LEARN how to obey God in the DETAILS of our lives.

“And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites… So the Priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 15:4-15)



C. We must CELEBRATE when God use the gifts he has given us.

So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. (1 Chronicles 15:25, 26)


You will never learn to appreciate the things that God is doing in your life until you learn to celebrate the things he has gifted you to do. Because the joy of what you are doing is predicated upon what you have been assigned to do.

It is for this reason, that many of us do not like what we are doing.

Moving the ark of God was a big deal! A lot of people had a part in the process, contributing what they did well. In contrast to the last time the ark had been moved, this procedure pleased God.


D. We must DELIGHT ourselves in obedience to God.

a. By being IN LOVE with getting it right.

b. By PRAISE God for using us.

Read 1 Chronicles 15:29 – 16: 3. David loved it that he’d gotten it right this time. He was so exuberant that he played music, danced, and fed everybody. Basically, he threw a party.

We must be the same way, when we know we are using the gifts God has given us in the way he wants us to use them, there is nothing like it. We can move forward with confidence and joy.

Things Beyond Our Control

In life, we all face challenges that often appear beyond our control. Jesus said it this way, “in the world you will have trouble” (John16:33). On every hand, there can appear out of control situations that make the average person settle for less than God’s plan for their life.

Below is a list of things that I believe are out of our control. Therefore, it is crazy to worry about them.

• What Happened Yesterday.

Yesterday is gone forever, it will never return. It is a tremendous waste of your time and energy to worry about what happened or didn’t happen in the past. While many people are hindered by their past misfortunes, let me challenge you to never let your past dictate your future. The brightness of your future is largely determined by how well you forget what happened in your past. Let it go!

• What other people think, say, or do.

While I am an advocate for living in harmony with others and having someone to do life with, I understand that there will always be people who disagree with you. It does not matter how close you get to Jesus; in fact, the closer you get to Him the more they will hate on you. There are going to be haters, period!!! Some people cannot handle your success. Their own insecurities will not let them rejoice with you over your successes. It is wise to limit these kinds of people, especially as it relates to their influence in your life. Let me say it this way, you do not have to invite someone to your stage if they are not dancing to your music.

• The future

As much as we would like to say what we would be doing tomorrow, tomorrow is not promised. James 4:15 say, “instead you ought to say, ‘if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” Understand this clearly, I believe strongly in having a life plan. No one should attempt to live in this world without having some idea of what you want out of life. However, what happens in life (the future) is really in God’s hand. I have learned that when we rest in this fact, we can see how to put our faith to action and give ourselves totally to his will. Besides, we still have Jesus’ promise that he will never leave us or forsake us. WOW! It is so awesome to know that your future is bright because of the one who holds the future. Therefore, my challenge to you is just let it go. Whatever you are worrying about today give it to Jesus; he can do more with it in a split second than you can do in your whole lifetime.

My Cup is Running Over

"My Cup is Running Over"
God’s blessings are always a superabundance.

When the “LORD is my shepherd,” “my cup runs over” in superabundance.

We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to experience God’s banquet house. His overflowing grace is something we experience as Christians in this life. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). That is a cup running over with God’s grace. He does not just give us the gift of eternal life when we first believed, but He keeps on giving eternal life. The life He gives us is perisson, meaning, “to have a surplus,” “superabundance,” “till it overflows.”

Jesus gives us Himself (John 14:6). He is this abundant life. It is God’s kind of life. “My cup overflows,” means it is not just full; it is “running over,’ filled to the brim and overflowing.

God’s saving and sustaining grace is always like that. His grace is always in fullness, abundance and all-sufficiency.

The woman of Samaria met Jesus at Jacob’s well on a hot day. Jesus did not have a rope and a bucket to draw the water from the well so He asked the woman for a drink of water to quench His thirst. In the course of the conversation with the woman Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’” (John 4:10).

Jesus was ready to give this woman, who was a slave to sin, running water. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (v. 14).

Jesus is the source of a spring of living water that is always bubbling up, unfailing source, ever fresh. The idea is of water leaping, springing up. It is full of action, not a stagnant pool of water, but water gushing up with energy.

Jesus puts the well within us. The well springs up, and it goes on springing up from within into everlasting life.

Financial Analysis

Most business deals today involve some level of risk. It is a known fact that most successful businesses are those that are unafraid to take risk. In fact, in order to become successful, our culture and economy is designed to revolve around a certain amount of risk. Usually the businesses that are the greatest risk takers are the ones that see the greatest return on their investments. Modern societies around the world have proven that markets gain financial stability quicker when risk is involved. America is no different. Recently, the Government sponsored the Cash for Clunkers program in an effort to help the car industry, which has suffered from the recession. The program offered customers a rebate up to $4,500 toward new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The program has been a huge success for automakers Ford, Toyota, and Honda, but not so successful for Chrysler and General Motors.
Some believe that the government acted too quickly, while others think it was a good idea that could not have come sooner. They believe that this will give a bigger boost to the economy. According to Luke 14:28-30, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of that which the Lord has given us. Our word is our bond, we must be careful not to give a promise without considering the consequences. Wise men and women always count the cost before making major decisions. With that in mind, the argument can be made that the car companies got what they deserved and the government should not have given them any assistance. When we are frivolous with our spending or lazy with managing it, we run the risk of losing that which we have been given.
On the other hand, it can be argued that if the government did not step in and provide some type of assistance to these companies the economy would have gotten worse. We have here a situation similar to the story in Matthew 25:14-30 where a man was going on a trip. Before he left he called his servants and gave each of them money according to what they could handle. When the man left the servant that was given five bags of gold invested his money and got five bags of gold in return. The servants that received two bags of gold did the same thing. However, the servants that received one bag of gold buried his gold. When the man returned he was well pleased with the two servants that invested the gold. The man was very disappointed with the servant who buried his gold and commanded that his gold be taken and given to the one who had five bags of gold. Believing the Bible and this story makes it hard to have a condemning view of the car companies Ford, Toyota, and Honda. They can be compared to the men in the story who invested the bags of gold and was able to give the man a return on his investment when he returned home. General Motors and Chrysler, on the other hand, can be seen as the man who buried his bag of gold. They were very unsuccessful at capitalizing on the Cash for Clunkers sales because they ignored earlier signs of change in the car industry. While Ford, Toyota, and Honda was researching and making fuel-efficient cars before the recession, GM, and Chrysler was still making gas-guzzler. For this reason, the argument is being made that the government should not be in the business of saving companies that refuses to adhere to and adapt to the changes in society.
At the end of this discussion, we hope to conclude that the government used wisdom in making the decision to use taxpayer’s money to bailout businesses. 1 Timothy 6:17-19, deals with the importance of using wealth responsibly, and as citizens of the United States we should be able to trust the government to act responsibly when handling our money. That is not to say that we should have not bailed out these companies, but that the companies have a responsibility to the country to have good business practices. When businesses act responsibly, they should not be held back by a struggling economy.

Having a great day today