Slumdog Millionaire
Last Sunday, the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” won a total of 8 Oscars and became the darling of the 2009 Academy Awards Ceremony. It’s the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, India, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. How could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up. He tells of their adventures together on the road and of vicious encounters with local gangs. While watching these beautiful children on stage donned in tuxedos and gowns, I did not realize that some of them were literally plucked out of the slums to fill roles in the movie, in spite of having no prior acting experience. It was so heartbreaking to see the desperate poverty from which they came. And yet, now they have been on one of the grandest stages in the entertainment world. Wow! Out of all the millions of children living in such abject poverty, these few children not only got to see Hollywood and Disney World, but their families will be moved into living quarters far better than they could have ever imagined. And yet, many questions could be asked. What if they had never been chosen? What if upon being chosen, they had declined? What if the film was not nominated? The list of questions can go on and on. While sitting at your computer in a place that has electricity and running water, you may ask, “So, what does this have to do with me?” We ourselves were slumdog millionaires! We were spiritually impoverished, on our way to an eternity in hell, with no hope of our lives ever improving (Romans 7:18-24). Ever! Yet Christ came along and offered us the opportunity of a lifetime (Ephesians 2:1-10). It was the opportunity to become God’s child, and to play the perfect role for which He created us on His grandest of stages: God’s Kingdom. If we simply do what our director (The Holy Spirit) instructs us, we will receive far more than our eternal reward and better living conditions. We will continue to be with Him for eternity. And that certainly has to be beyond our wildest expectations (Luke 23:39-43). I certainly do invite your...
read moreEarlier this month, Facebook.com, the world’s most popular social networking site, which claims 150 million active users, revealed that it was granting itself permanent rights to every user’s photos, wall posts and other information, even after the user closed his or her account (Facebook backs down, reverses on user information policy). The company’s new terms were as follows: “You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time…(H)owever, you acknowledge that the Company may retain achieved copies of your User Content.” Wow! Could you imagine every crazy, idiotic, youthful (See: Alex Rodriguez’s steroid explanation), and ill-advised thing you’ve ever posted on your page being archived (kept) forever, never to be deleted? What effect would that have on your future marriage or your future children or your future employment opportunities? The ramifications could haunt you like a criminal record. Needless to say, there was tremendous protest from Facebook’s users, to the point that CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to temporarily suspend the new policy. What’s amazing, however, is that there is a far more severe version of Facebook, on which every one of us is posting information on a daily basis. This occurs whether or not we have internet access. What kind of Facebook is this? Our daily lives. And on the day we close our account, that information will not be deleted. If that weren’t bad enough, we will also have to give an account (bear the responsibility) for every word and deed we’ve posted. Yikes! Jesus said that we’ll all have to give an “account” for the words that we’ve said (Matthew 12:34-37). The Apostle Paul stated that we’ll have to give an account to God for all of our actions (Romans 14:11-12). What’s amazing is that there is far more concern about the effect of what we’ve been posting on this temporary life than our eternal life. So, what’s the solution to some ill-advised postings you and I have made in this life? Ask God to delete His file by asking for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Then, try not to post things that offend Him and that you will regret in the future. As usual, I invite your...
read moreObama’s Stimulus Package (Back in the G.A.M.E.)
Unless you’ve been extremely busy or uninformed, this past Tuesday the United States Senate passed President Barak Obama’s $838 billion dollar economic stimulus package. The purpose of this economic plan is to stimulate our economy so that our country can avert heading into a depression similar to the catastrophe we experienced back in the 1930’s. Our leaders are already past admitting that we’re in an economic recession. The U.S. has been experiencing losses of approximately 500,000 jobs per month. And those statistics are real people, some even within our own congregation. No matter if consider yourself a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, nobody wants to experience another Great Depression. In order to avoid repeating history, President Obama has been travelling throughout our country. He’s trying to educate the American people so that we can understand why we need such a massive influx of borrowed cash in order to stimulate our economy. We keep hearing the word “stimulus”, but what does it mean? The verb “stimulate” means “to goad (provoke to action), activate, motivate, or energize”. The thought here is that something from the outside has to be added to our economy in order to provoke it into producing more. The goal here is to activate it, motivate (move) it, and energize it, which means to get it working instead of receding. Stimulation is the means by which our country is trying to avoid depression. The same holds true with God’s Spiritual Economy (economy meaning the management of the resources of a community, country, etc., esp. with a view to its productivity). God’s community or country is called The Kingdom. God has added someone to our lives whose job is to – Goad us (1 Samuel 1:6-18), – Activate us (1 Samuel 10:6-9), – Motivate us (Acts 4:29-31), – Energize us for the purpose of averting “depression” so that we can expand His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). That person is the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). His joy stimulates us, getting us back in the game of Kingdom life by helping us to avoid depression (Nehemiah 8:10; Galatians...
read moreAfter 2 weeks, what happened?
So after two weeks of consecration, what happened? Over the last two weeks, we starved ourselves and/or ate food that was high in nutritional value but, as said in an old commercial, it was certainly “less filling”. We began by asking ourselves: Why am I doing this? And the reason we did all this was to consecrate ourselves. That is, we set aside more time in our personal lives to spend with God in order to pray and to read the Scriptures. So now the question is: What did we come out with that we did not have prior to our consecration? Or simply put, What did we get out of this? The answer is found in one word: DIRECTION. This is what God is directing us to do this year: • We must set aside other times for personal consecration. • We must harvest what we’ve planted, so we must plant good (God) seeds. • We must take more risks for Him (Luke 5:4-10). • We must have more of the attributes of David (1 Samuel 13:14). • We must stop seeking quick fixes for our lives. And finally…. • We must understand the attributes of God if our lives are to be successful. Now the question is: How does all of this tie in with what we’ve heard in the past regarding our lives and our church? How do I proceed into the next eleven months with a clear and concise directive that makes sense? Well, hopefully the following will help us. Remember the theme for our congregation in 2009 is: God’s Spirit to Serve. In his book, What the Spirit is Saying to the Churches, Dr. Henry Blackaby states: • “Wherever God indicated He was working (Spirit), we were obedient to follow (Serve)”. p. 45 • “God was letting us know where He was working (Spirit). We were convinced this was His way of inviting us to join Him in this work (Service)”. p. 47 • “As God took the initiative to reveal His activity to us (Spirit), we responded (Serve). And when we did, He accomplished His greater purposes through us (Service)”. P.47 What does the type of service God desires look like? • It must be FIVE STAR. God expects us to give Him our best effort. • It must involve FAITH. God expects us to take risks for Him. • It must bear FRUIT. In this Year of Harvest, plant good (God) seeds. (Galatians 6:9) If we make every effort to follow this map of significance and success, we will definitely end this year in a place called...
read moreRacism in the American Church
One of my pastor friends is white. He voted for John McCain. He did not vote for John McCain because he is white. He voted for John McCain because he believed that John McCain was the candidate who most closely represented his core values. And yet after Barak Obama won the election, my friend did something within his congregation which I believe every leader within the Body of Christ (that is, the church) ought to do as well. He declared that the election is over and it is time to get behind OUR president-elect and pray for his success. This pastor leads a very diverse congregation and many of the black members in his congregation deeply appreciated his leadership on such a passionate and very sensitive subject. Some of my friends who are black pastors voted for Barak Obama. I know them well enough to know that it was more than just because he was black. However, I also believe that Barak Obama clearly does not hold some of their deeply held core values. We’ve had some very deep conversations regarding how we view this election. The one thing we can agree on is that the election of Barak Obama has exposed something very ugly within the Body of Christ: Racism. Racism is defined as “Discrimination (making a distinction) based on race (ethnicity)”. As a black pastor (and no, I am not telling you for whom I voted ), I have told other black folks that when white folks criticize Barak Obama, more often than not, it is due to ideology and not racism. I pointed out to one pastor friend that the religious right would have attacked Senator John Kerry, who is white, when he ran for president four years ago on the very same views Obama supports. We need to be careful not to be so passionate about a black man in the White House that when anybody criticizes him, they’re accused of being racist. But the stuff I hear and read about Barak Obama that is coming from some of our white brethren seems to be both ridiculous and racist. An article in this week’s (11/24) issue of Newsweek magazine sums up the madness: Is Barak Obama the Antichrist? In addition to this, other Christians have compared him to Hitler. Some question whether or not Obama is a Christian, even though Obama clearly stated that he received Jesus Christ as his savior. George W. Bush declared he’s a Christian, and yet these same people do not question his salvation experience. I believe that God is using this election to force us as the churches in America—whether we are white, black, brown, yellow, or whatever other colors you might want to add—to deal with our racist attitudes, which persist but have not been adequately addressed. I really believe we must pray that God would help us to adequately address one of the greatest challenges that hinder real revival and spiritual renewal for our country. Of course, I invite your thoughts. PRAYER: Holy Spirit bring Your Church together and make us one, as You, the Father, and the Son are one (John...
read moreFresh Bread: Hallow Him!
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, HALLOWED be Your name. (Matthew 6:9-10; New King James Version) The word “Hallowed” is a word that we do not often hear used in our culture. In fact, the only time we hear the word used much is when people prepare to celebrate “Halloween”, which means “All Hallows Evening”. The purpose of this day was to celebrate the end of the harvest season. It was believed that on this evening the boundary between the living and the dead was dissolved. The dead would then be in the position to cause problems for the living, which included the destruction of one’s harvest. Thus, this evening was used as a time for protection and placating those spirits. It’s interesting that long before this word was used to celebrate a holiday, Jesus taught his disciples (learners) that they should include “Hallowing” the name of God during their time of prayer. One of the definitions of this Greek word “hallow” means “to venerate”. Our English word “venerate” is derived from a Latin word that means to “worship”. The word “worship” means “to adore”. The word “adore” is derived from two Latin words: “ad”, which means “toward”, and “orno”, which means “to embellish or decorate”. As one can see, our English word “ornaments” is derived from this Latin word. So what does all this mean? When God introduced Himself to Moses, He introduced Himself by the name “Jehovah” or “Yahweh”, which means “The Self-Existent One” (Exodus 3:14). It seemed that whenever God did something to make a name, that is, a REPUTATION, for Himself in an area of a person’s life, God expected them to add to His name a description of what He did for them. So, when Abraham experienced God’s provision of a sacrifice to replace the life of his precious son Isaac, Abraham called Him “Jehovah” but added the description or decorated God’s name with an ornament called “JIREH”, which means “provider”. The following are some of the decorations and ornaments people attached to God’s wonderful name (reputation). He is Jehovah: 1. Jireh = Provider (sees, perceives, looks out, gives attention to) 2. Nissi = Banner (standard, signal, sign) 3. Tsidkenu (Tsid-kay-noo) = Righteousness (justice) 4. Shalom = Peace (completeness, soundness, prosperity, safety, quietness) 5. Shammah = There (present) 6. Roi or Ra’ah = Shepherd (feeder, ruler, teacher, companion) 7. Rophe or Rapha = Healer (makes healthful, physician, restores favor) 8. M’Kaddesh = Sanctifier (consecrates, proclaims, purifies, appoints, prepares) 9. Chanan (Khwa-nan) = Favorer (gracious) 10. Yada = Knows (perceives, finds out, is acquainted with, skilled in, is wise) 11. Kwun (Koon) = Establisher (sets up, prepares, arranges, makes firm/ready) 12. Quwn (Koom) = Raises me up (brings on the scene, proves, makes valid, builds) 13. Riyb (reeb) = Contender (quarrels, conducts a legal case, sues, strives) 14. Nadab (nawdab) = Largesse (willing, incites, volunteers, impels) 15. Nathan (Naw-than) = Giver (bestows, grants, stretches out, issues) 16. Adan (aw-dan) = Who is Pleased (delighted Himself) 17. tsadaq (tsaw-dak) = Who is Right (has a just cause, is justified, vindicates) 18. Ruwm (Room) = Raiser (exalted, lifted, causes to grow, sets on high) 19. Yasha (Yaw-shaw) = Who Saves (delivers, liberates, gives the victory to) 20. Shaphat = Judge (governor, ruler, decider of...
read moreFresh Bread: Overcomers! (A review)
The front page of the October 10th issue of USA Today read “Fear’s a Slippery Slope for Stocks”. Another cover story read, in even bolder letters, “Confidence Cracks”. On July 20, we began a sermon series based on Revelations Chapter 12 entitled “The Overcomers”. Little did we know that almost three months later, our nation would find itself in one of its worst financial crises in decades. God always prepares His people prior to times of crisis. So what has He taught us thus far? 1. “The Great Escape” reminded us that our opponent (Satan) wants to destroy the God-given purpose (the baby) within us. King David is an example of how God will take us through Three Wildernesses to prepare us to accomplish great things for Him (1 Sam. Ch 23 & 24): • Zin = The Place where God refines and perfects us. (1 Kings 17:10) • Maon = The Place where God protects us. (Psalms 91:1) • Engedi = The Place where great leaders are developed. (Jeremiah 50:8) 2. “The Dragon” is Satan. He is the one who gives us his “deadly” glance (perspective). There are three perspectives Satan tries to give us in order to destroy our perception of life. • Passionate (lustful) 1 John 2:15-17. • Pessimistic (negative) Numbers 13:31-33. • Panic (fearful) 1 Samuel 13:11-14. 3. “Who are the Overcomers?” These are individuals who get the “upper-hand” in life. Like Jabez, they get the hand of God involved in their life circumstances (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). 4. “The Blood” of the Lamb. One of the least appreciated reasons that the Blood of Jesus is essential to our lives is its ability to “release” our consciences (minds/thinking) from initiating actions that lead to death (Proverbs 14:12) so that we can serve God in an appropriate manner (Hebrews 9:14). 5. “CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)”. Revelations 12:11 states “They overcame the dragon by… the word of their testimony…”. The word testimony means “evidence”. This sermon taught us that when God’s hand gets involved in our circumstances, He leaves His fingerprints as evidence. Therefore, what God does in our lives becomes a crime (a wonderful act of God that makes no natural sense). The result is the initiation of an investigation by those around us in an attempt to discover how God did such an unexpected deed in our lives. 6. “CSI: Exhibit #1”. The overcomers got God’s Hand involved in their case when the Word (what they said) was based on their testimony (evidence). In Exhibit #1, the word “Evidence” speaks of our FAITH. (Hebrews 11:1 & 1 John 5:4-5; KJV). Elijah illustrates how God’s hand gets involved when what we say is based upon our faith in God (1 Kings 17:13-15). 7. “CSI: Exhibit #2”. The word evidence is derived from two Latin words: “e”, which means “completely”, and “video”, which means “to see”. Therefore “faith is…seeing completely the things that cannot be seen by our natural eyes” (Hebrews 11:1). We call it “Vision”. Habakkuk’s circumstance teaches us how faith works through vision (Habakkuk 2:1-4). As we continue to ride out this financial crisis and prepare for what seems to be a very crucial presidential election, let’s continue to learn how we can cooperate with God. We need His hand to perform deeds through our lives...
read moreI’m Voting for Barack Palin!
That’s right! You heard it here first. After last evening’s debate between the Vice-Presidential candidates, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, I am one of the undecided independents who has made up his mind about for whom I will vote: Barack Palin. I was going to vote for Sarah Obama but the way blogs are these days, I’d be accused of voting for Barack Obama’s fictitious first wife, who is a white witchcraft-proofed Pentecostal, who divorced her Muslim husband in Indonesia, who, after they split up, moved to Alaska while he moved to Chicago, only to be reunited on the grandest of stages 20 years later. Of course, this story is completely made up. So I’m voting for Barack Palin instead, and let me explain why. After watching the debate last evening, I saw a common characteristic that I admired in both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. Both of these individuals recognized a once in a lifetime opportunity, and were not afraid to seize it. It’s been said that the Chinese symbol for the word “crisis” means “eminent danger and incredible opportunity”. Make no mistake, both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin were chosen as candidates. Sarah Palin’s journey to candidacy was fairly straightforward. Regarding Barack Obama, there is a CNN documentary that covers his rise and shows how he was chosen to run for president. After delivering such an electrifying speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention (another seized opportunity), he traveled the country campaigning for other democratic candidates. He was such a draw everywhere he went that one of the democratic heavyweights convinced him that he himself should become a candidate. What I am most impressed by is that these two candidates seized their opportunities, even though the timing seemed wrong. I did not think Barack should have run against Hillary Clinton. I thought he would have been better off waiting until 2012 to have a better opportunity to win. I was wrong! I thought that Sarah Palin was not ready for primetime, especially after her interviews with Katie Couric. My opinion was that she’d have been better served if she had simply “stayed up there” in Alaska. Yet, after last evening’s performance, if John McCain were to lose this election there is no doubt that she is now in the mix for 2012. So, love them or hate them, when the door of opportunity opened, they fearlessly walked into the room and their lives now will never be the same. I pray that during this “Year of New Beginnings”, you and I will fearlessly walk through the doors of opportunity God swings open for us by His Holy Spirit. These doors may not be so recognizable: a lay off, a failure in school, a broken relationship, an unexpected illness, or a myriad of other things that may or may not initially look like a God-given opportunity. Yet, if we ask God to open our eyes, He will show us that He’s been working on the other side of that door waiting to greet us with His plan for our good (Romans 8:28). So I’m voting for, ah heck, I’ll say it: Sarah Obama! Of course, I invite your thoughts on this exciting...
read moreFresh Bread: Leadership! (What We All Need in Difficult Times)
Then the LORD told Moses, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land… Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must LEAD my people Israel out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10, NLT) This year has got to rank as one of the most unsettling years in recent history. People’s anxieties are surely being tested, especially when we consider the political events of both the primary and presidential elections, the destructive impact of the recent hurricanes, and the recent economic crisis which former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, says is the worst he’s seen in his lifetime. It seems like at more than any other time since September 11, 2001, our country is in need of God-given leadership. It always amazes me how independent we as Americans claim to be until crisis hits our lives. It’s then that we realize how important it is to have good leadership. In the Bible, God shows us time and time again the important role that good leadership plays in His plan. In fact good leadership, whether it’s a president, a coach, a pastor, a boss, a spouse, or a parent, is the mechanism by which God blesses (provides preferential treatment) to people. And if this is true, then the absence of good leadership reflects the absence of God’s blessing. There are many sophisticated ways one can try to measure or identify good leadership, but I believe it can be summed up in a phrase Ronald Regan stated almost thirty years ago: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” And that’s really the question. Are you better off now than you were before? If the answer is yes, then praise God for blessing you with good leaders. If the answer is no, then pray that God will send someone into your life whom He will use to lead you out to the place He desires for you. PRAYER: Holy Spirit, during these times of uncertainty provide me with Your direction as to whom God’s chosen to use to lead me into my divine purpose....
read moreFresh Bread: A Bishop’s Needed in Anxious Times!
But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will…encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not know the time of thy VISITATION.” (Luke 19:41-43, NLT; Luke 19:44, KJV) The hurricanes (Gustav, Hannah, and Ike) and the financial collapses (Fannie Mae, Freddi Mac, and Lehman Brothers & Merrill Lynch) that have occurred over the past few weeks have made these extremely anxious times. Some financial experts believe we are heading toward the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. So, what does this all mean for The Church (world-wide) and local churches? God’s people need a true Bishop in these times of spiritual and emotional turbulence. In this Scripture, Jesus grieves over the city of Jerusalem’s missed “opportunity” to avoid catastrophe (see verse 44 in the NLT). Why? It was because these religious people, who should have been aware of the season that was approaching, did not recognize their time of visitation. The word “visitation” is the Greek word “episcopolate”. This is where we get our English word “Episcopal”. Episcopolate means “to see over.” These folks were in danger, and yet, they missed their moment to have an “overseer”, which simply means “bishop”. 1 Samuel 9:9 states that a “seer” is a prophet. He or she has the responsibility NOT to tell the future, but to reveal God’s directions to His people. In fact, 1 Corinthians 14:3 tells us that prophecy is to do three things: edify (build us up), exhort (urge us on), and comfort (give us strength). So, the questions that remain are these: Who is your bishop? What pastor, minister, priest, or rabbi has God placed in your life to speak God’s words of edification, exhortation, and comfort to you during these turbulent times? Times are going to get worse. And the days are coming when people will be able to tell the difference between who is regularly receiving words from a true, God-given bishop and who is not. PRAYER: Holy Spirit, these times are so severe that I pray that You will direct people to the bishop You’ve chosen to speak over their lives. Please do this in Jesus’ Name....
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