Making Changes in 2013

While many will set New Year's resolutions and declarations, you are to be applauded for your willingness to take new actions in your life.  Realistically the difference between 2013 and 2012 is but a few hours.  Change is hard work and it takes dedication and persistence. If the only thing sparking your willingness to change is the excitement in the change of one day on a calendar, most likely you haven't set realistic expectations and goals. Before you resolve to make a change, ask yourself is your idea of change Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and can be accomplished in an acceptable span of Time .  Be safe tonight folks and use your noggin'.

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Hope, Patience, & Prayer

Romans 12-12   "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. " (NIV)

The verse above is a pretty simple concept and it can hit home for all of us. It says that in my hopes I am to be joyful. Even while I am hoping for something to happen or for God to move, I must be joyful in my current state.

In my afflictions, I must exercise patience. Now, I know this can be a hard one. You mean to tell me while I'm going through suffering and distress I must be patient? Well, yes.  That's what the word says doesn't it? See, a lot of the times we have issues with being patient even when we aren't going through something. To say be patience in time of hardship is one that's hard for us to grasp. Well guess what? It's in the Word and the Word doesn't lie. So, be patient in your affliction.

Lastly, you must be faithful in your prayers. Do you have a broken prayer life? Could you do a little more to improve your prayer life? I cannot speak for you, but I find myself wavering on this one. At times, I make sure that I stay prayed up. Then in times of distress, I get lax. Well, the first step is acceptance. I accept the fact that I do this and now the next step is to fix it. What's the solution? Simple! I just need to do what I'm told to do and pray faithfully, night and day; through good times and bad times.

If you can digest this simple but powerful verse I think it can help you in your every day walk as well. As Jesse Jackson would say, "Keep Hope Alive". As the good 'ole saying goes, "Patience is a virtue" and last but not least pray, pray, pray.

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"World View", by FLAME - OUR WORLD FALLEN

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Freedom: A Double Edge Sword

Freedom. You here it so much in the news. You've heard present and past Presidents say that countries need to be democratic and free like the USA. You here about how freedom is better for everyone, but I would like to offer another perspective on freedom.

First let's get a working definition of freedom. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says that freedom is the "liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : INDEPENDENCE". Let's look at some things from a Biblical point of view. First of all, freedom means free to an extent, but you still have to answer to somebody. Look at 1 Corinthians 7:20-22:

"(20) Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. (21) Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. (22) For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave." (NIV)

If you are a Christian, then you are still a slave to Christ. So you must answer to Him!

When the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, what did they want? To be free. But, despite being slaves they stuck together. They took care of one another. Families stayed together. Then, Moses stepped up on behalf of the slaves.  He was called by the Lord to lead his people out of Egypt and it started by Moses approaching Pharaoh.

Exodus 5:1  Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” (NIV)

Then what did Pharaoh do? He told the slave drivers to make the slaves find their own straw, but they still had to fill the same number of brick quota per day. Hey, they upset Pharaoh and that's a price you pay for wanting to be free. We know that the Pharaoh's heart was harden and after a couple of times he finally let the Hebrews go to Moses. However, let's look at the turn of events.

With their freedom, they became unruly. People began to buck against Moses and what God had planned for them. False idols began to become their God's instead of the Lord (see Exodus32:7-14, Numbers 32:1-13). Even during Moses' time, we see how freedom is a good thing and bad thing. It was great to no longer be in bondage to the Pharaoh. However, it was a bad thing because the people felt free to do whatever they wanted; free to go against the Lord and his commands.

As an example, let us fast-forward from Moses' time and look at the US slavery of black people. During that time, black people stuck together. They prayed together. They raised their children together. The Lord was the head of their households. All the while being controlled, morals remained in tact. Men went to work and supported the family. You didn't leave your family when the chips were down. However, as the late 1950's & early 1960's arrived (The Civil Right's Movement) there was the desire for more freedom. Of course blacks deserved to have equal rights just as much as any other US citizen, correct? Schools were later integrated and an entire series of events happened that gave blacks freedom  (or the appearance of being free).

Now, look at the black community from then to now. You will notice how morals and the sense of urgency to protect family values have gone out the window. This freedom that was desired has helped to become the downfall of the black community. More black men are selling drugs and leaving their families. Now, it's the norm to have a single parent home. Women support their husbands while the men sit at home and watch TV or run the streets. I speak from the perspective of a black man living in America, but the statements above don't just represent the black community. Look at the United States as a whole. This whole ideology of being free has actually opened Pandora's box. Look at the definition of marriage. Now it is now longer man and woman. It's man and man or woman and woman.  Is this ok in the site of the Lord? NO! Quick reminder, look at Sodom and Gomorrah!

The whole freedom movement is seems great for a sense of not having to answer someone. But it is bad because we do not have to answer to someone (so at least some think). When you get to the point where the US is as a country, you have television showing cursing, sex, and anything else not good for us? Why? Well, we have freedom of speech of course. We have freedom of privacy. We have freedom of ________ (you fill in the blank). We are becoming more and more desensitized to what's morally right and wrong with all the freedom we have to express ourselves.  Not that it is a bad thing because the Lord made us as beings with free-will.  The drawback is that He gives us the ability to choose to live according to His Word.   Yes, freedom is good but so is the side of the sword being swung away from the swinger.  It is the other side of the doubled side sword that cuts and separates when you are not paying attention.

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Tests From Uncomfortable Places

Have you ever been somewhere and from afar, you see someone approaching you?  In their approach, you have already predetermined several things about this person:

• They are living a pretty rough life;
• They are coming to ask you for some money;
• They probably are going to do something with that money other than the reason in which they asked.

There may be a list of other things that run through your mind, but in that moment this person asks you for a couple of dollars.  What do you do?

I have talked about this before, but as we grow the same life learning lessons can take on new meanings.  With that said, I have had this happen to me on many occasions and I use to be that person that would say, "I know this person is not going to do XYZ with this money and they are going really going to buy alcohol, drugs, etc."  I think bigger these are at question in these situations and one is "Who am I to judge this person?"  In Matthew 7:1-5 (AMP), it says:

(1) Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. 2) For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.  (3) Why do you stare from without at the very small particle that is in your brother’s eye but do not become aware of and consider the beam of timber that is in your own eye?  (4) Or how can you say to your brother, Let me get the tiny particle out of your eye, when there is the beam of timber in your own eye?  (5) You hypocrite, first get the beam of timber out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the tiny particle out of your brother’s eye.

As normal it is always easier to point out other people's problems than it is to acknowledge our own.  It is true that a person may have some type of abuse problem or they may not have a stable home, but does their problem make your sinful acts any better than them.  Does acting un-Christ-like while driving down the highway with road rage make you not as bad because you are a Christian?  Nope, not really.  If anything it is worst to know the teachings of Jesus and not do it, than to not know it at all (see James 1:22).  If you look at your daily life, it is a constant struggle to walk in Christ and we constantly fall short.  

So now, back to this individual who is asking for you money.  Can you look past what you interpret and give any way?  After all, what they do with the money is not of your concern. I know you may say you do not want to aide and abet a person in partaking in some abusive habit, but really can we predict the outcome of our actions?  I believe a bigger issue at hand is that we may be missing the bigger test.  We miss the idea that this individual could be used by God to test our generosity for those we consider poor and maybe in a bad place (remember that God used the most unimaginable people to carry out His will all throughout the bible).  Most importantly, we are doubting that what we do can make a difference in that person's life AND we are doubting the power of God's ability to work a miracle to instantly heal someone!  Now, I am not suggesting that someone else's healing and blessing is predicated on the actions of other humans.  

The test is can you overcome your own judgmental perspectives in order that you can heal and grow.  You should try changing your thought process a little.  Instead of being apprehensive about what you think, try being faithful in what God can do!

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History Is On Your Side

One of the coolest things to know is that history is on your side.  What history does for us is provide a record of what happened prior to the lead-up to where you are right now.  The question is what are you choosing to do with it?  Sometimes, we do not think about it much, but the way we carry ourselves through life has a big dependency on our past.  And, this does not just apply to individuals, but it can apply to groups, organizations, and companies as well.

The bad thing about the past is that some can dwell on it, do nothing in the future because of it, and/or let it control all the negative aspects of their life.  For example, someone who has been abused throughout their childhood may grow up to be abusive to their children or others around them.  Or, an organization could have done great things in the past that brought them to a position of major prominence or prestige.  The issue is that rather than continuing excellence, that group could rest on what was done and never continue to move forward creating new history.  The next thing you know the group is floundering and not as successful because they've rested on their past and what it did for them decades ago.

The great thing is that history can be a good learning moment.  Those same examples above could be spun into positive movements forward. The person who was abused could choose to let their past help positively shape their future in a way that:  1) helps them or others around them to not go through abuse, or 2) help them to recover from abusive relationships.  The organization that could have failed because of resting on their laurels could use their great past and history as a learning platform on how to continue to create positive history to continuously propel their group forward.  It is all a matter of which side you choose.

You can make a choice to allow your past to positively propel you in life or you can let it negatively drag you down. My questions for you are how does your past shape your life or group and which side do you fall on??

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Where Is Your Heart?

As I walked down the side walk on the way into work this morning, something hit me that I should do.  As I thought about this idea, it struck me how much effort and thought I put into it.  It was so easy to plan and conjure more ideas of how to make the previous idea work! It is amazing that the things we are passionate about are so easy to do.  It doesn't take much to put your best foot forward when you are moving forward towards something where your heart is.

In book of Matthew, Jesus speaks to a multitude of people about a range of subjects.  One of those subjects is about storing your treasures in heaven:

Matthew 6:19-21  - "(19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. (20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Man, this is so simple and makes so much sense because Jesus places this exactly where normal people can understand it.  Verse 21 is where I would like to focus, because it has more implications in our every day lives than we care to understand.  Your treasures can be your physical money or possessions.  Your treasure could also be your time and where you spend the most time can also tell where your heart is. 

Everything that you do links back to our values and the things about which we are passionate.  Whether it be for good or for bad, you heart is somewhere.  The question is where is your heart?  What drives or motivates you?  What do you wake up in the morning and think you absolutely need to get done today?  It never hurts to do some objective self-reviewing because as we move through life, we can do so obliviously at times.  Today, take a step back.  Take a little time to re-evaluate where you are placing your treasures.  After all, if you find where are your treasures, there you will also find your heart.

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Try It. You Might Like It.

(Photo courtesy of Mommy B Knows Best)

You should try it.

You might like it! 

Try it. You’ll like it.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Try it. You’re gonna like it. 

I know it’s new, and you’ve never tasted it.

You’ll just have to trust in me.

Just give it a try.

The lyrics above are from the song "Try It, You'll Like It", which comes from the TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba.  For those of you who have kids and watch Nick Jr., the song and the characters in the above photo will be quite familiar to you.  For those who are not familiar, the song is a way to teach kids to try new food in which they have never tasted.  What better way to engage kids in trying something new than with education through music?!

You know how kids, as well as some adults, can be.  We are quick to look at something we've never eaten before and say we don't like it.  It's easy to do, especially if it is not appealing from the outside.  After all, appearance is what gives us our first impressions.   It is this same appearance and feeling that people get when they view followers of Christ.  With so much going on in the world and with the actions from those who supposedly love the Lord, it is no wonder why someone else would not want to believe on Him.  I know because I was one of those people who judged for myself that being a Christian was  not for me because of what I observed of those who claimed to be Christians.  I can admit, for me the appearance was not looking good, but as with everything a couple of bad apples can seemingly spoil it for a bunch.

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" (Psalm 34:8). You have to get past the display to give it a try for yourself.  Until you get to that point, you can never claim to have formulated a decision based off of own experience of "taste".   You have to be curious enough to want to try Him for yourself, despite what you see around you.  "I know it's new, and you've never tasted it", but you will just have to give it a try it.  "You might like it!"

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Natural Visionaries

Have you ever noticed the design of the human body?  Have you ever noticed the placement of the eyes on our faces?  I know this sounds pretty ridiculous because you are probably thinking, "Duh, yes I do know that our eyes are in our head and on our face." That's fine, but what I am more interested in is where on our head our eyes are placed and in which direction they allow us to see.

Our eyes are not on the side, top, or back of our heads.  They are placed on the front of our face almost most at the highest point of our body.  They allow us to see forward. Yes, they allow us to see from side to side as well as up and down, but the main line of vision is still with a forward focus. Without the movement of your neck, you may look up, but the direction is primarily forward and I believe this is for a reason.

We are designed with a forward thinking focus in mind.  We can see in front of us.  We cannot see behind us (without turning around) and that ability helps us to have forward thinking focus!  I am talking about vision, where someone wants to make something happen because of a God given purpose and/or the desire to address a needed changed.  When was the last time you knew of someone to have a vision that focused on going backwards?  The answer is probably and most likely, never. "Vision is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be"¹.  If you are focused on what "could be" and "should be" then you are talking about something that has not happened yet, but you can "see it".  It is looking forward.

Time moves forward. We face forward.  We walk forward.  Even to someone who does not have the physical abilities of sight, their other senses (hearing, touch, smell, & taste) are extra sensitive in assisting them to move forward in and through life.  It is not natural to move backwards or to dwell on the past because no matter where you choose to place your focus, life is still moving forward.  You might as well look to the future with your natural expectancy and envision where you could and should be going.  The question is now, where are you going?


¹Stanley, Andy. "Visioneering: God's Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal Vision". Pg 18. 2005.

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The Dangerous Feeling of Entitlement

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10   (6) In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. (7) For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, (8) nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. (9) We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. (10) For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."

I typically do not lead directly with a scripture, but this feels a little different.  I felt led to reference this scripture before I started to write.   The scripture above is from one of two letters from Paul to the Thessalonians and this passage is a warning against idleness.  I know and realize that the word "entitlement" is a touchy topic these days especially in the political realm, however, it is something that must be addressed.   I say this because the very idleness that Paul speaks of can carry over into a feeling being owed something, especially if you never have to bare a burden to get it.

We know there is a big debate in Washington between politicians on which government programs should be trimmed back, reformed, or cut completely. There is a feeling that people who benefit from these programs feel that they deserve them (or entitled to them).  You have programs like Welfare, Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid to name a few, but rather than focus on the "buzz words" of political infighting I want to focus on us as a people.  Let's leave the politics out of it and talk about on a main street level and from a personal point of view.

See, when I was growing up, I was raised that if I worked hard, I can earn what wanted.  It's practical and makes sense.  If you go to work, you get paid.  Simple, so I thought.  I know that I talked about this before, but I remember when I graduated from college and I felt that the world owed me a job.  After all, I was a Computer Engineer from NC State University.  I had conquered one of the toughest engineering schools in the country, but alas, there was that feel of entitlement.  I had thought that flashing my credentials would punch my ticket to any position that I wanted, because I had did all the work up front and I figured I could rest now.  To make a long story short, I ended up settling for my first job making nearly $10,000 less than what I felt I deserved!  Surprise, surprise!  I've been in my field for nearly 12 years and it has taken dedication, perseverance, and hard work to make it to levels I thought I would be a long time ago.

So, let's go over a couple of lessons learned:

1. Nothing is free.  Everything has a cost.  Notice I didn't say a price because a price is just the monetary value that someone is willing to pay for something .  The cost is what it takes in time, energy, resources, dollars, sacrifice etc. to create something.  Even if you receive something for free, there was a cost involved to someone else to get it to you for free.
   
2. Free things aren't appreciated.  If you think about it, whenever someone has given you something for free, you never really cared about it as much.   The reason for this is because you had no skin in the game.  You did not have to pay for anything.  There was not lost to you from paying the cost. For example, if I gave you a house for free, you would verbally appreciate it, but if something were to happen to it, you would not care as much.  You'd probably say something like, "well it didn't cost me nothing any way".  BUT, if you purpose your own home with your own hard work, sacrifice, and saving, you will take much care of your home.  The difference is you gave up something to get something.

At the end of the day, the last sentence of lesson #2 sums it all up.  If you never give up something to get something, you will never appreciate that something that you got.  If you always receive something for free, you will never feel the pain of having to go work for it and get it.  Even if you do some work, there is no guarantee that you will get what you think you deserve (ask the people dealing with Social Security).  You always have to be willing to go the extra mile and not be complacent or idle in your thinking, because the most dangerous assumption is to believe that you will always get "B" because you did "A".  It may be that way for a while, but things change with time and time continues to infinity.

Be blessed folks.

Antoine

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This Life Was Never Promised to be Easy

Life can be one of the most interesting puzzles out there.  Believe me, I can speak from experience.  However, one thing that we tend to fall victim into believing is that life is suppose to be easy.  Some how, we have come to believe the notion, that life is suppose to always be full of prosperity but I beg to differ.  Last week, I received a devotional from Chuck Swindoll that spoke on this very same topic and I want to share from my perspective as well.

In this world (well at least in America), we enjoy believing that life should have a plan.  Within this plan, there is a overall goal and at the end of that goal it has something to do with living prosperous.  For example, when I was growing up, I was told that if I went to school, studied hard, and went to college I would get a good job.  In addition, I believed that life would go nothing but up without major bumps in the road.  For example, I would marry, have kids, get a nice house with pretty green grass, grow old, retire, and live on a beach somewhere for the remainder of my days.   Well that's all well and good but God never promised such a life to us.

As a matter of fact we see evidence of this with Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:6-9.  In there it says,

(6) Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, (7) or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (8) Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. (9) But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Paul was one of the most influential Apostles for the Kingdom of God, but look what the Lord tells him in verse nine.  He say's that, "My grace is sufficient for you....".  Say what?!  You mean to tell me that after all that Paul had done, this is the response he got from the Lord?  Survey Says:  Yes.  That's all he got.

Where we go wrong is that we fail to understand the ways of the Man upstairs.  We have a plan in our brain but fail to consider that God's plans may be different from our own.  For years, people have suffered pain and heartache and that's what we don't get.  We wonder things like "If He's so omnipotent, why would he allow such evil and not give us the perfect life?"  Well if He did, then just like any other free thing, we wouldn't appreciate it.  After all, we are not in control.  He is in control and until we learn to submit to His will, we will always struggle to understand why the things happen to us that make life difficult.

You cannot see it now, but just know that His "power is made perfect in weakness" and your struggle today is a teaching moment for your future.

Be Blessed

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Keeping Expectations in the Face of Failure

Wile E. Coyote 

Well Happy New Year Folks!!  Over this past Christmas and New Years, I got the unusual chance to take a vacation.  A long and well needed vacation unlike I have never taken before.  As such I got to spend a lot of quality time with my wife and kids, so it's still taking a while to get back into the swing of things this morning.

As a family we all got a chance to sit down and watch the Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck movie (to which our seven year old daughter seems to have memorized every line already).  For me it was fun because I got to watch my kids appreciate the same simple cartoons that we watched while growing up.  We literally laughed for most of the movie and as they say laughter is good for the soul!

In the midst of that laughter, I found myself putting my adult analysis on the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner clashes.  It dawned on me that there was never an episode where the coyote caught the road runner (at least that I could remember).  That means out of years and years of watching the same show, that coyote kept chasing and trying different ways to catch that bird!  He tried and tried and tried, but never could get any of his tactics to work.

Many of us would quit with 100% failure.  I could understand stopping if you attempted to do something the same way every time and got the same results.  That is insanity.  However, Wile E. tried a variety of things with different consequences, but the same results.....no road runner.  The one consistent thing that he did have was determination.  Not matter what happened, he was for certain the next attempt would be the one!

Look at Wile E. Coyote in the picture above.  Despite all the failed attempts, he still prepared to eat.  At least he would have been in the correct position had he caught the Road Runner. Many of us start out things with good intentions, but after failing a few times we lose motivation.  We no longer expect to win, but rather our attempts become a repetitive experience with no expected outcome.

For example,  when I was in college, we had to call into a system called TRACS to register for classes.   When the time frame opened up, the phone lines were flooded and you would just have to hang up and redial to get through.  After several attempts of not getting through, redial just became routine and I would expect to fail instead of getting through.  On occasions I would finally get through then hang up due to routine, only to realize that the phone was actually ringing.  ARRRRRRG!!!  My expectations had changed and I wasn't ready and prepared when the results changed in my favor.

Can you say the same for you and your life?  Have you been running into a brick wall over and over again?  How does it make you feel in the process?  It can be tough, but I would suggest you take a look at Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner for inspiration.  Hold your head up high and keep marching forward.  While catching the Road Runner would surely have marked the end of the cartoon as we know it, but we also know it to be just that....a cartoon.  As for you, failure will happen, but don't let your determination and expectations leave you, "[f]or the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."  So, put your napkin around your neck, get your knife and get your fork ready in expectation for your next attempt!

Be blessed folks and have a good one!

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