324 year old words that will change your life.

In the last 5 years the art of conversation has diminished through the used of Social media tools and apps. Many young christians struggle to have a consistent prayer life and thus struggle to truly know who God is. Nevertheless, we are encourage to have constant prayer life. Brother Lawrence writes:

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.”

In order to experience this sweet and delightful life, we need to have a continual conversation with God. Have you spoken to him today?

324 words that can change your life.

James 1 begs us to consider it a pure joy when we encounter painful and unpleasant circumstances. It continues by stating that through the endurance of these circumstances, our faith will grow. Once this perseverance is finished, it will make us mature and complete, not lacking anything. Bother Lawrence puts it this way:

“I did not pray for any relief, but I prayed for strength to suffer with courage, humility and love.”

Let’s pray to have the same resolve – to allow painful and uncomfortable situations to help us grow in faith and to draw us closer to God.

324 year old words that can change your life

324 years ago, on Feb. 12 Brother Lawrence, a former soldier who had a dramatic religious conversion, died. He devoted his life to follow God. After joining a monastery he became Brother Lawrence and spent the rest of his life serving others. During this time he discover a profound truth – God presences can and should be experienced everywhere.

Brother Lawrence never wrote a book, but one was created using some of his letters and discussions with his peers.

For the next 10 days I will be posting one quote a day by Brother Lawrence.

“The King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastising me, embraces me with love, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the key of His treasures; He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. It is thus I consider myself from time to time in His holy presence.

3 Things the Church Can Do to Bring Peace

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. This past Saturday as I was enjoying our Christmas Celebration in church I stumbled upon the news that 2 NYC Police officers were shot to death as they sat inside their patrol car eating lunch. There is never a good time to receive this type of news. What made it more personal is that a close friend of mine (like a brother) who is a member of the church, was there to enjoy the celebration is a police officer. Needless to say, it hit home.

The shooting was the action of Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a Baltimore man who had an extensive criminal record. Before the tragic murder of the officers, he shot and wounded an ex-girlfriend.

Before committing this unspeakable crime, reports and witness confirmed that he bragged about “what I’m going to do” on Instagram and moments before he murder the officers. He also also insinuated that his actions were vengeance for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

During these turbulent times, my thoughts turn back to the role of the church and how we can best response in a Christ-like manner. These are just my thoughts and suggestions.

1. Appreciate

Everyone wants to feel appreciated. I am fairly certain that many of us have felt that need from time to time. Maybe you have a stressful job, or you wear too many hats. Regardless of what your situation is, we all want to be appreciated for the work we do and for the sacrifice it takes to get it done. Police Officers should be no different. I wonder what an impact it would be if a congregation would leave the church (building) on a Sunday morning and walk to the nearest precinct to pray for and over the officers, to encourage them and to show them how much they are appreciated. I think it would be such a powerful massage, one that can help the church fulfill a reconciliatory role.

2.  Teach

There is a lot of misinformation being communicated and our congregants are not immune to it. I believe that the church should be a place where everyone should learn about the Bible and Jesus but also encouraged to find ways in which to integrate these truths in their lives in a practical way. Our youth and young adults should learn how to see life through the lens of the Bible and engage the world around them based on a biblical worldview. I wonder what it would look like if we created on ramps and avenues for our church to engage their neighbors and neighborhood in meaningful and practical ways.

3. Safe Place

In the old testament, when a person killed another person, they would pay with their lives unless they were to make it to a designated city of refuge. This city of refuge was a sanctuary where a person would be able to state his case and be tried by elders of the city. I believe that our churches should be places of refuge for those who feel persecuted, who persecuted, oppressed, victimized,tyrannized. We need to be careful in not polarizing or further antagonizing a situation. Citizens as well as Police Officers should feel at peace, protected or at least not persecuted in church. We should not take sides, rather we should seek the reconciliation of the city, neighborhoods, people, believers.

Let’s appreciate each other for the things we do. Let’s be careful in what we teach, making sure we teach what the text says and not what we think. Lastly, let us be agents of reconciliation, bringing people together and allowing them to feel safe in the house of the Lord.

3 Essential Gifts for Your Children this Christmas

The time is here! The bells are jingling, the  is Everyone is rushing to make sure they have bought every gift in their Christmas list. If you are like me, you are definitely rushing to get all your gifts. Nevertheless, there are some gifts that cannot be purchased, instead we teach these gifts. As a parent I would like to share with you 3 essential gifts for your children this Christmas.

1. The Gift of Giving

In this season of giving gifts many children (and adults) forget the giving spirit of the season and focus on the receiving part. The reason we celebrate Christmas is to recognized the birth of our savior who came to give his life for all of us. He is our model of what a giving spirit should be, – “…he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Let’s remind our kids that we should emulate the very nature of Jesus in that he gave without any strings attached.

2. The Gift of Creativity

A couple of years ago we found ourselves going through the Christmas season with no money. As a family, we decided to make our gifts. We spent three weekends thinking, cutting, painting, drawing and making gifts. This experience helped us to be more mindful of the gifts we give. It also allowed us to spend quality time together as a family and, it helped us to tap into our creative side. This Christmas my daughter is excited to make gifts for the family.

3. The Gift of Love

Paul, in Corinthians 13 speaks of love and ends  with – “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Love is what surpasses all things, is what Jesus embodied and is synonymous with God. If we could summarize the greatest commandment it would be love God and love others. This gift is precious and is one that is essential to our children. With this gift our children can navigate life through all its circumstances, pitfalls, ups and downs.

I pray that this Christmas, you and your family, will have a blessed time and that the Spirit of these holidays will be present throughout this time.

Apple’s Christmas Commercial tugs at the heart.

Apple’s commercial are creative, fun, energetic but seldom do they tug at the heart. Their latest commercial is an exception. This commercial plucks at the heart and creates an emotional song that all of us can relate to.

Enjoy!

Open letter to the church.

In the midst of all the controversy concerning the death of several african american men at the hands of white Police Officers, I have kept silent. First, because I did not have all the facts and I like to talk about what I know rather than to speculate. Secondly, as the days have passed since the latest incident, the amount of voices that have been speaking on this have been overwhelming. Some are hurting, others are angry. Many feel distraught and sad while others are just fed up with the situation. People are feeling a gamut of emotions and rightly so. A life is valuable, precious, worthy of respect. Not to mention those who have lost their lives were fathers, brothers, sons, cousins, mothers, sisters, daughters and belong to a family who is hurting and in mourning. It is a travesty that needs to be confronted and corrected.

This post is not another post to highlight the injustice and oppression that minorities suffer. I believe that many posts have been written on this subject. This post is, however, is a plead to my brothers and sisters who are suffering, to think about their words and actions in the context of The Kingdom of God and it’s implication to us. To take a moment to truly understand their feelings, their anger and frustration and to channel that in the right way. Many, including Lebron James, have said that violence is not the solution. I agree. I will go further to say that the men and women who wear the blue uniform, Police Officers, are not the problem either. It goes deeper than that. This is a systemic problem that goes beyond a rookie cop being unprepared to deal with a situation. This is deeper than a crooked or dishonest official in the court system. Unfortunately, those who are at the front line of receiving our anger, criticism and hate are the same ones who are used by the system to enforce these injustices.

I do have to state that I believe that this systemic injustice is founded upon sin. Robert C. Linthicum in his book City of God City of Satan states that the ills of the city are not rooted in the city itself but “rather, such are manifestations of the underlying sin of the city’s people”. The question is then — Where is God in our lives? What role does He play in our lives? and Where is God in our cities?

As individuals, we need to take responsibility for what is happening. I have to take responsibility for what has happen and is happening in my city. God has called me to be the light and salt of the earth. Therefore if I am salt, I need to have qualities that preserve my faith despite the pulls of the world around me. I am also charge to bring a different flavor, different from the world. If I am light, I have to shine even brighter in this dark world. I do believe that the church is called to do this and it’s pivotal in becoming an agent of change. Linthicum writes “If the church does not deal with the systems and structures of evil in the city, then it will not effectively transform the lives of the city’s individuals”

What would Jesus do? Yes, I know that this might be cliche, but its something that we should ask ourselves. Would he be leading a march? Would he be disrupting traffic? Would he be in Facebook, Twitter or Instagram bashing police officers, officials and those who have taken the side of the cops? Would he see this a purely political struggle?

I don’t have all the answers. All I know is that Jesus, in Luke 19:41, wept over the city of Jerusalem because it chose to reject him. The city chose to reject his redemptive gift and this rejection is corporate. Does this not echo our city? Whether in New York, Ferguson or Detroit, our cities have for the most part refused to accept Jesus and have turn to other gods and thus cities are guilty of idolatry. Regardless, God’s love and patience for the city is boundless. He longs to see every city as a city that fulfills it’s purpose, to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

As Christians, we should then filter our actions through the Bible. As Linthicum writes,“God’s people were called to be an intentionally godly presence in the city; they were to be a sanctifying force which would bless the city with their living personification of God.” I am not here to say whether going out to peacefully protest is right or not. I am here to plead with you on our responses to these situation. As believers we should not wish no one harm to make them understand that law enforcement is needed. As believers we should not slam someone else’s character because of a decision they made that cause someone’s life. I am not saying that we should ignore it, but we should not justify our words or hate based on how we feel. We should not be control by feelings since we know that feelings can and do deceive us. If we, as believers, cannot come to the table and speak without having our feelings get the best of us then I have to question our maturity in Christ.

These are the times in which the church, the body of Christ can raise up and pray, comfort, love and have compassion for ALL who are hurting. These includes the victims and their families as well as the accused and their families. If we want to see change let’s start with recommitting our lives to Christ, to lifting his name in our cities, to live out his redemptive power in our lives and to share it with those in our city. If we want to see change then we need to have a unify church, we need to work, pray, praise and love our city as one church. If we want to see change we need to leave our tendencies of idolatry and proclaim Jesus our our LORD and savior. It we want to see change it has to start with me, with you, as individuals and soon the system will change. If want to see change go out and vote, know the law and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom. Lastly, if we want to see a change we need to live, speak and give love.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, It is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. I always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

One Thing

What is that one thing that you wish you can change? That one thing you wish you can get rid of, or you can be more like? Maybe your one thing is being a little bit taller, or maybe a little bit smarter. Maybe that one thing is wishing you were a little less… you get the point.

Isaiah 43:18 states –“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past”

This word came to the Israelites while they were thinking about their past, their struggles while in Egypt and while crossing the desert in seach for the promise land. God’s message is clear — “Forget the former things…” The one thing that many of us struggle with, that One Thing should be a thing of the past. Verse 19 continues to say – “See, I am doing a new thing!” Once we begin to forget the former things, we are able to see that God is doing a new thing in our lives. I believe that we should live our lives the way we drive a car. The windshield takes up almos the entire width of the car to see what is coming towards us. While the rearview mirror is a fraction of the size of the windshield. In other words we need to look forward to see how God is blessing us. Nevertheless, the rearview mirror is smaller and it should be only be glanced once in a while. This mirror is not used to get our bearing and is not used all the time.

God is doing a new thing!

Burn baby burn…

Proverbs Devotional Day 7

“If you play with fire, you will get burn” is a common quote. It is used to indicate that if you do something dangerous or something that is not appropriate you will eventually get hurt or caught. In Proverbs 7 we find a father giving advice to his son regarding adulterous relationship. Verses 6-27 the father tells a story of a young man with no sense who falls for an adulterous woman. As he is walking by the house of this woman, she comes out to seduce him with the way she dresses, with her words and with food. Verse 18 says “Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love!”  Some might look at this story and think that she is at fault since she is the one that is seducing him. The truth is that the young man, who had no sense, understood what he was doing, and I would dare say, went looking for it. He directed his steps towards her house. The result is, perhaps, what he expected. “With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.” 

There are some occasion in which we are inadvertently misguided and seduced to do something unforeseen, but the truth is that most of the time we are seduced is because we ignore the warnings or we chose to go down that road. Unfortunately there is always a consequence to this. “All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose” 

The father ends the story with a warning. “Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” At the end, the father is saying that she is like fire and all who venture to play with fire will ultimately be burned.

What is your fire? What is that thing that seduces you? Is it money? Power? Is it lust? No matter what your fire is remember that fire burns and leaves permanent scars.

Proverbs Daily Devotional Day 2

One day I found myself speaking with a brother from church, and after a couple of minutes he made a reference to wisdom having something to do with the amount white hair someone might have. I am sure that many of us have heard this before, having white hair means that you are wise. If this was the case, I am on my way to becoming a wise man (not a wise guy) at my young age. Scientifically speaking, this is not the case. The cause of white hair is color-producing cells stop producing pigment. Therefore wisdom does not come from the color of your hair, but from another source. Wisdom comes “from the LORD who gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” We all desire to be wise because wisdom can help us out in times of need.

According to verses twelve and sixteen, “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse… Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words,” These verses speak of being wise when it comes to making sure we don’t fall in the path of the wicked and perverse people. Perverse, according to the dictionary, means someone who shows a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences. It is not hard to see that many are living this way. We watch the news and hear of stories of people who commit crimes and atrocities because they so desired. We might have encounter others in our daily walk which fit the description of a perverse person, someone who is obstinate and acts in an inappropriate way based solely because they feel like it. However, Proverbs says that wisdom comes with great benefits.

Wisdom can be the light in the midst of darkness, the life preserver that keeps us afloat in the ranging sea of wickedness. Wisdom will allow us to “walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.” With the amount of sexually explicit images everywhere, it is almost impossible not to be tempted. Nevertheless, wisdom will save us from adulterous people, from the wayward man or woman and their seductive words. Wisdom will help us to know right from wrong, to keep us holy and pure in a perverse and unholy world. Wisdom comes from God, not from the amount of white hairs we might have. Therefore, ask God for wisdom, listen to His words, read the Bible and allow the Spirit to guide you.