Fresh Bread March 10: Are You A God Wrestler?
Monday, March 10, 2008 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and an Angel WRESTLED with him until daybreak. When the Angel saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled … The Angel said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.” Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.” The Angel said, “What’s your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” The Angel said, “…No longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through (you’ve won).” (Genesis 32:24-28, Message Bible) One of the definitions for the word “WRESTLE” is the word “Struggle”. There are three definitions for this word which left an impression on me: (1) To make a strenuous effort. (2) To progress with difficulty. (3) To contend for in the area of one’s faith (Jude verse 3). Jacob, your name is now Israel because you: • Made a strenuous effort with regards to your relationship with God. • Progressed but with difficulties in your relationship with God. • Contended and competed for a greater faith in God. And you’ve...
read moreFresh Bread March 7: A Heart that Seeks Him
Friday, March 7, 2008 “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice…and answer me. When You said, ” SEEK My face (presence),” My heart (Attitude) said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will SEEK.” (and when I decide to seek You in obedience during this consecration, please) Do not hide Your face from me…” (Psalm 27:7-9, KJV) The Hebrew definition for “SEEK” is “To search out by any method, specifically in worship or prayer.” The word “SEARCH” means “investigate, probe, inspect, quest, hunt, study, explore, pursue, track.” Lord, during this consecration I will search for Your Presence by any method. I’ll use sermons, books, prayer, reading the Bible, worship, listening to CD’s, etc. And, with a right attitude I will investigate, probe, inspect, go on a quest, hunt, study, explore, pursue, and track You down until I find You. But after obeying the directive to search for You, please don’t hide Your Presence from...
read moreFresh Bread March 6: Not My Will
Thursday, March 6, 2008 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your WILL to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39, New Living Translation) The Greek definitions for this word “WILL” are as follows: Choice, Purpose, Pleasure, Desire, Preference, Inclination, Wish, Intention, and Determination. Jesus prays, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet, I want Your Choice, Purpose, Pleasure, Desire, Preference, Inclination, Wish, Intention, and what You’ve Determined to be done in my life, not mine.” May we too go a little farther in our walk with God by making this same prayer the focus of our consecration to...
read moreFresh 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...
read moreBarack 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 whom I am voting. What is clear is that Senator Obama is proving every week that in our country hope continues to be a staple that’s in very short supply. One Biblical author writes: “So these three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love…” (1 Corinthians 13:13; NCV). Of course, he assumed that hope would be found in heaven not in politics. Then again, I certainly invite your...
read moreO 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 be an attitude that not only says, “God’s been good to me!” but also says, “And obviously you’re doing something wrong!” It’s at these times when a painful loss in any of these areas tends to bring us back to what we really are: imperfect. Losing something that really matters can be extremely painful but also beneficially humbling. Jesus sent His Spirit to work humility (meekness) into our lives (Galatians 5:22) because it was the one characteristic that He explicitly ascribes to Himself (Matthew 11:29). And after all, our goal in life is to be like Him. It’s my hope that if the Patriots win the Super Bowl next year, our fans will express a little more humility during the season, especially after experiencing the pain of having lost the game last night. Nah, I doubt it! But then again, I invite your...
read moreThe 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 good place to start. It’s good to declare next year to be the year of new beginnings, but what will we do differently to make it one? I invite your...
read moreMaking 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 good judgment. I need to make “God” decisions regarding the college my daughter will attend next year, how to lead our congregation, as well as how to be a good parent and a good (God) husband. And I’m not alone! We all will face decisions in the upcoming year that could permanently alter our lives positively or negatively. What job should we take? Who should we marry? Where should we live? What church should we join? With all these decisions and so many, many choices, you can now see why Solomon told us that “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do.” I invite your...
read moreDisposable Friendships
“Wow! Class of 2008, we came, we saw, we conquered! All of us have truly been through so much. But, we survived. As we enter into the next chapter of our lives, we must always remember that life will still be tough. We can handle it though. In fact, I say, “Bring it… I’m ready!” To all my friends, I love you very much. I thank God for all the years He let me spend with you. I will never forget you.” I woke up in the middle of the night to find these words left on our computer screen. They’re the words of my daughter who is graduating next year. The words “I will never forget you” really struck a chord with me. Growing up as a “Baby Boomer”, if the television, VCR, air conditioner, or any other household item stopped working, we would bring that item to a place for repair. Now those very items are so inexpensive that it’s much easier to simply dispose of them. Disposal may be ok when it comes to items, but far too often it seems to occur when it comes to the people in our lives, and particularly very close friends. Sure stuff happens, people grow apart, etc., etc. However, too many times our friendships seem to have become disposable. We no longer play on the same team, go to the same school, live in the same area, work at the same job, or have children in the same place. Stuff happens! Yet I believe that there are some God-given friendships that really were meant to be BFF (Best Friends Forever) that we simply dispose of because they are far more costly to repair or maintain (like an automobile) than to simply go and get a new one. And yes, at times it will take a lot of work to maintain such friendships, but the rewards will be well worth it. A month ago I received an e-mail from my college friend’s 25-year-old son whose lifelong dream is to become an actor. In the e-mail he attached a picture of himself at the premiere of the movie “American Gangster”, which starred Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. It was a “red carpet” affair and he was invited to participate though he had a very small role. He affectionately calls me “Uncle B” and I could not have been more proud of him for achieving his dream if he were my own child. Furthermore, I was able to share in his accomplishment because his dad and I worked hard to maintain our friendship. This allowed me to be a positive influence his son’s life though we live hundreds of miles apart. Proverbs 18:24 states “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (New King James Version) As the holiday season approaches, I challenge you to look at your life and see if there are any friendships—good friendships—that may have been disposed of. Then find that person’s phone number or e-mail address. Give them a call or send them a message. For there are some people in your life of whom it should be said “I will never forget you”. I invite your...
read moreOctogenarians
Octogenarians. “Octo” who? Ok’-te-je-nar’-ee-ens! An octogenarian is defined as a person between 80 and 90 years of age. In the Bible, I discovered at least three octogenarians. Instead of God retiring them, it seems like He waited until they reached their eighties to bring them into the most fruitful period of their lives. Moses was in his eighties when God decided to use him to rescue the people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. Caleb (Joshua 14:10) started destroying giants and taking the territory God had promised him once he entered his eighties. Anna (Luke 2:37) was allowed to see the birth of Christ, which was the fruit of her sixty years of prayer and fasting, when she reached her eighties. This week we celebrate Pentecostal Tabernacle’s 80th year of existence. We’ve become an octogenarian and have entered a new season where we will begin to produce our greatest results! Hebrews 11:39-40 states, “All of them (the heroes of the Old Testament) pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. This was because God had something better in store for us. And He did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us.” (New Century Version) My dad always told me that when he was younger, the old Christians used to pray, “Lord remember the generations that are to follow us!” Hebrews 11:39-40 reminds us that we all stand on the shoulders and efforts of generations prior to us. Bishop Allen C. Miller, one of our founding pastors, had a vision to purchase our building. The next pastor, Reverend Herman L. Greene, had a vision to remodel our facility and financially organize our ministry by securing our 501C3 (tax exempt status). By God’s grace, I’ve been called to grow the ministry into what prior generations prayed for regularly but knew they would never live to see. We who are alive to celebrate 80 years of Pentecostal Tabernacle’s existence must recognize that with every goal and dream accomplished by our ministry, there are many people alive and deceased who have a right to be a part of our celebration. I’ve had the honor of knowing and serving under these two former pastors, which is pretty amazing to me. Along with them, there are many who have invested in me and Pentecostal Tabernacle to whom I will be forever grateful. So as we enter our new decade of harvest let us remember the rich history and heritage that brought us to this point. In the next twenty years we will be celebrating our 100th year of existence. During that time my desire is to accomplish the kind of feats for God that will cause the next generation to look back at our generation with the same admiration and appreciation that I have when look back at generations that have preceded ours. Pentecostal Tabernacle, we’re 80 years old and THE BEST IS YET TO...
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