Fresh Bread March 5: This Kind

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 And Jesus replied to His disciples, “This KIND cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:29, Amplified Bible) One of the definitions for the word “KIND” is the word “Type”. The word “Type” is derived from the Greek word “tupos”, which means “impression”. The word “impression” has three definitions: (1) Impact. (2) Influence. (3) Effect. This thing that is having a negative: • Impression on your life • Impact on your life • Influence in your life • Effect over your life “cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” So be encouraged! You are not stuck! God has provided this Scripture as your...
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Barack Obama

By now most people are aware of the presidential primaries taking place within our country. On the Republican side, there’s Senator John McCain who’s virtually locked up his party’s nomination. And on the Democratic side, there are Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are still battling toward a showdown at their convention involving super delegates. This truly has been one of the most extraordinary presidential races in at least the last 40 years. Whoever is elected president, Republican or Democrat, will make history in some manner. However, for right now, Senator Barack Obama’s at the center of the political stage. He is attracting crowds the size of NBA playoff games and rock concerts where tickets are hard to get. Wherever he speaks, arenas are packed as people wait in line for hours to listen to the speeches of this gifted orator. People have even created sneakers with his picture. What are we to make of the phenomenal excitement created by this leader who has a better than average chance of being elected to the most powerful job on our planet? McCain and Clinton have recently, and will more regularly, criticize his speeches as dreams lacking substantive solutions. And yet, it has not stopped arenas from being jammed-packed to hear what Senator Obama has to say. What is even more incredible–a word I think is overused, but not in this case–is the number of young people from ages 18 – 30 years who have actively become engaged in this particular election. They are coming out in droves in order to be involved in the process with an enthusiasm not seen since the protest of hippies back in the 60’s. So many young men and women have turned out in support of Obama that this seems to have turned from an election into a movement. And why is this the case? Maybe the bottom line is: People, particularly young people, really want HOPE. College student Brittany Washington is one of millions of young people who have had enough negative experiences with our country’s health and educational system to be extremely cynical (See Obama Supporter Brittany Washington). Yet she’s an example of one of those young people whom Senator Obama’s message, “The Audacity of Hope”, has moved from spectator to participator. I’m neither going to persuade you as to for whom to vote, nor should you infer from this article for...
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O Well, Nobody’s Perfect!

It’s been six hours now since one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history. The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots by three points, even though they were picked to lose by at least twelve. Up until last evening, the Patriots had yet to lose a game. Thus, with one more win and they would have gone down in history not simply as the 2008 NFL champions, but also as the best team in football history. They’d be the only team ever to win nineteen games in one season without one loss. For one season, they would have been perfect. As the game came to a conclusion, I began to examine the one thing that’s always intrigued me (and sometimes bothered me) about sports athletes and fans: The Character of Winning and Losing. I observed how the coaches and athletes on television reacted to the result, as well as the reaction among the fans both in the media and where I was actually watching the game. I wanted to see if there were any good losers or poor winners. And I was certainly surprised by what I observed. I saw Randy Moss, who would have been the hero had the Patriots won, exhibit the character of a good winner. Here’s a person who everybody labeled a bad character, but ended up having the best career year of anyone in football history who has played his position. Yet what I admired about him was the manner in which he handled the lost. He was not only congratulatory towards the Giants, he was complimentary as well. For me, that interview may have been one of his finest moments, but nobody will remember it because his team lost the game. On the other hand, I’ve observed fans and media in the Boston area to be what I call: Poor Winners. It’s an attitude that says “We’re the best and you stink!” It’s not simply a warped sense of appreciation regarding how good the Patriots are, it also involves a depreciation or verbal put-down of others. On far too many occasions, there was even gloating, especially during the beginning of the season when the Patriots were simply destroying their opponents. This can also happen in life. With our job going great, a wonderful marriage, fantastic grades in school, marvelous children, or a church growing by leaps and bounds there can...
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The Year of New Beginnings

Throughout the month of December, the Lord put it on my heart to look for 2008 to be a year of new beginnings. The number “8” in the Bible represents “new beginnings”. This is seen when God repopulated the earth after the flood by using eight people. This is also seen in the Bible when male Jewish infants were circumcised on the eighth day of their birth. The Proverbs 29:18 states “Where no vision is the people perish… (KJV).” In the December 31st issue of U.S. News & World Report, the featured article was entitled: “50 Ways to Improve Your Life in 2008“. In trying to provide a vision and goals for my own life, I read this article and lifted seven key areas of focus which I thought would improve my life by the end of 2008. 1. The fourth improvement listed was “Turn work into your workout”. Most of us have got to spend more time finding practical ways to exercise such as simply walking more. 2. Number 12 was to “Change your reading habits”. We really should spend more time reading whether they be books, news, literature, and of course the Scriptures. 3. Number 16: “Make a ‘Not-to-do-list’”. This I found interesting but it made sense. If I intend to read more in 2008, then I must decide what I’m not going to do such as watch TV or play video games. 4. Number 22: “Analyze your investment strategy”. As I read Richard Foster’s book Simplicity, I ask myself “When am I going to finally say that I have enough stuff? How am I using my financial resources to advance God’s Kingdom?” 5. Number 32: “Remember the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.”. April 4, 2008 will mark the 40th Anniversary of Dr. King’s death. His life reminds me to ask how I am investing my life toward becoming God’s agent to make the world a better place. 6. Number 33: “Listen better”. This involves increasing my ability to listen to people’s non-verbal communications. 7. And finally, number 40: “Commit ‘random acts of kindness’”. 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us that “love is kind”, and 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is Love”. Thus the kinder we are the more we exhibit who God really is. I’m certainly not saying that you have to use the list I’ve provided. However, I believe this list is a...
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Making Good Decisions

During the months of November and December, I felt the Lord leading me to have our congregation read one chapter a day from the Book of Proverbs. So on Thanksgiving Day, our congregation would have read Proverbs Chapter 22. Why Proverbs? Because a new year is approaching, bringing with it many challenges. Proverbs is the one book in the Bible that’s written specifically to help readers gain wisdom. Proverbs 1:1-2 specifically states that “These are the proverbs of Solomon [the wisest man in the Bible]. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom” (NLT). I agree with what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:7 that “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment” (NLT, 1996). So what is wisdom? One definition of wisdom is simply “good judgment.” Since one of the definitions of judgment is “decision,” wisdom can also be defined as “making good decisions.” In a November 6th, 2007, USA Today article entitled Even Good CEOs can Pick the Wrong Direction, writer Del Jones has some interesting thoughts regarding leadership that are rarely discussed. The article states: “The secret to leadership may not boil down to that ‘vision thing.’ It may not be some exceptional ability to ‘inspire’ others, nor the courage to zig when all signs point to zag. Fresh research by top leadership gurus suggests that if great leaders have something in common, it could be this: A knack for escaping lapses of bad judgment.” Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis have co-authored a new book entitled Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. After the firings of the CEOs of Merrill Lynch and Citigroup for poor decision making, Tichy states, “With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters.” If one were to look up the etymology (the history of a word) of the word “good,” one would discover that it is derived from the word “God.” Thus, the word “good-bye” means “God be with Ye.” A good man is a “God” man, that is, a man who acts like God in his character. So what’s a good decision? A good decision is a God decision. It is a decision that God would make if He were in our shoes. And this is why reading the Book of Proverbs is so essential, not simply for our congregation, but for me personally. I need wisdom. I need...
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