Tuesday, September 29, 2009

“The Cliché’s Gotta Stop”


The definition of a Cliché is “A trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse”. Anyone who knows me knows that I can not stand to hear a sermon full of clichés. Please understand that the Bible states in Proverbs 30:5 that “Every Word of God is flawless”. The Word of God doesn’t need anything added to it. Most preachers fall subject to preaching clichés because clichés tend to be crowd pleasers. When you mature in God you will come to realize that these clichés are a bit much. It’s a shame that some church people don’t read Gods Word so they think that most of the clichés they hear are actually scripture. I have listed a few clichés below, but please understand this is a SHORT list compared to how many clichés are out there. Most of these clichés are VERY POWERFUL AND VERY TRUE. I just have a problem when a preacher uses them to make the crowd jump. The problem with replacing the Word of God with these clichés is once I'm done jumping from your hot sermon I leave empty. Men and Women of God it has to stop. I think I will make a tee-shirt that says NO MORE CLICHES

WARNING: None of the Clichés below are Scripture


Cliché List

While you're trying to figure it out, the Lord has already worked it out!

The Lord helps those that help themselves!

Prayer is the key, Faith unlocks the door!

God doesn't put no more on us than we can bear!

My praise is my weapon!

We will understand it better by and by!

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there!

If you take one step, God will take two!

Clothed and in my right mind!

When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He's done,My soul cries out Hallelujah!

Blessed & highly favored!

God don’t bless no mess!

Praise yo way through it!

It’s not over til God says it’s over!

Turn it over to Jesus, He will work it out!

God ain't through with me yet!

The devil is a liar & the truth ain't in him!

The Lord told me to tell you!

The more you give, the more is given to you!

That ain't nothin' but the Devil!

I must decrease, so he can increase!

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!

He is a miracle working God!

So heavenly minded and no earthly good!

Slap your neighbor and tell them “You will get double for your trouble”!

IF YOU HAVE MORE LEAVE A COMMENT AND I WILL POST IT

Monday, September 28, 2009

“You Aint That Cute”




In today’s blog I want to talk about having the spirit of humility. If you’re offended by the title you may be one of the ones that think your hot stuff. Having beauty or talent is not a bad thing in and of itself, it’s the bad attitude that turns people off. No one likes a person that is full of themselves. There are many talented people in the world but never let your gift make you think to highly of yourself. Have you ever met a person that was talented, skilled, or beautiful but they had an all about them attitude and you were turned off. It almost made you focus on how haughty their spirit was rather then their gifts or beauty. I think that it’s extremely important that no matter how talented or beautiful you are, you consistently remind yourself “I aint that cute”. Please know that there is always someone who is stronger, faster and more beautiful then you. The Bible speaks about being humble, Matthew 23:12 says “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” I don’t know about you but I would rather be exulted because I'm humble then be humbled because I exalt myself. Trust me its not a great feeling for God to humble you, because 9 times out of 10 you will be humbled openly. I think that as Christian we have to be extremely careful that we don’t have the “I’m better then you attitude”. It will be kind of hard to promote Christ’s Agenda and yours at the same time. If you’re trying to win souls to Christ being full of yourself is NOT the way to do it. We have to remember our gifts is not about us, Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory”. Recently I was reading some of Paul’s writing to the early churches. It dawned on me that Paul wrote most of the New Testament yet not one book was names after him. Paul was so anointed that even the devil decided to use Paul name in the same sentence with Jesus. Acts 19:15 The evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Now in NO WAY am I comparing Paul’s anointing to Jesus Christ, there is absolutely no comparison between God and man. I’m simple trying to point out how anointed Paul was yet he doesn’t even have a book named after him. Many of you do the work for Christ but never get recognized for it. Please know that even if man never calls your name God see’s all. It’s important for you to just stay humble because staying humble leave’s room for you to depend on Christ. Right before Jesus was crucified he taught a very powerful message at the Passover Feast, when he washed his disciples feet. The message behind the washing of the feet was all about humility. Jesus which was fully God and fully man yet he was humble enough to wash his followers feet. Jesus then said “No servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him”. I say to you if you claim the name of Jesus you should be as humble as he was. I think it’s important to note that Jesus washed Judas feet, although he later betrayed him. . Sometimes being humble requires you to serve people who you know did you wrong. I just believe if you stay humble God will exalt you in due season. Your gifts, talent and beauty all was given to you by God. Don’t ever think your that cute that your attitude changes. I know its not proper English but say it with me “I AINT THAT CUTE”. I leave you with a famous scripture from Job 1: 21 “Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD”.
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

"LOST"


The definition of Lost means “Unable to find one's way”. I want to spend some time talking about being spiritual lost. Before there were GPS systems I was one of those guys who always got lost. Being lost can be very frustrating especially when you’re late and running out of time. Being lost spiritually is much more frustrating. I travel a lot and I honestly can say life is so much easier with a GSP system. Even when I get lost my GPS says “Recalculating Route”. I’m so grateful that as Christian we have Christ which is our spiritual GPS and when you get lost he will direct you back on track. No matter how many wrong turns you make God will always say “Recalculating Route”. Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”. If you put your trust in God he will always direct your path. One of the biggest misconception of the church is when people think they can’t be lost because they go to Church. You can be a faithful member of a church, be on every board and committee and still be lost. The spirit of being lost does not care whether you belong to a church or not. Let’s take a look at the Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin Luke 15:1-10. For teaching purposes let me explain what a parable is. A parable is a short story designed to convey a concept to be understood and/or a principle to be put into practice. The word “parable” in Greek literally means, “to set beside” as in the English word “comparison” or “similitude.” In the Jewish culture, things were explained not in terms of statistics or definitions as they are in English speaking cultures. In the Jewish culture of Biblical times, things were explained in “word pictures”. Jesus taught some of his greatest lessons by parables. Let us begin with the parable of the Lost Sheep.
Parable of the Lost Sheep
Luke 15:4-7 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Jesus taught this story to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. As the church of the living God we must be willing to go outside of the 4 walls of the church and find the lost. The last chapter’s of Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus ends with the same message. Go into all nations. As the church we can not lose focus of what the Lord has commanded us to do which is GO OUT . It’s funny how Jesus said this particular shepherd had 100 sheep and lost one. So many pastors think that because they have big numbers in there church that God is pleased. Jesus makes it clear he is more concerned about the one lost sheep then he is about the 99 that were in place. Let’s not get so comfortable in church until we forget that we are called to be disciples and to proclaim the good news that Jesus died and rose again on the 3rd day. Let’s move on to the Lost Coin.
Parable of the Lost Coin
Luke 15:8-10 "Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Let us understand something the woman has lost a coin but she did not lose it outside. The scripture clearly states that the woman lost the coin IN THE HOUSE. This proves that you can be in the house of God and still be lost. The bible shows that the woman lights a lamp and sweeps the house looking for the lost coin. That is what our pastor’s should be doing when one is lost in our places of worship. They should be lighting the lamp and sweeping the house. The major difference with the coin and the sheep is that the sheep is able to make noise to let the flock and the shepherd know they have gone astray. The coin or should I say the person in the house usually gets lost without telling anyone (Coins don’t have a voice). People of God I strongly believe that we have an obligation to minister to people that have gone astray. James 5:20 says “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” As I am closing today’s blog I pray that we all take a good look at the place we are in life. I ask you could you be lost and not realize it? After all the first question God ever asked man was “WHERE ART THOU”.


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Thursday, September 10, 2009

House Hunting


House hunting is a process everyone should experience at some point in there life. My wife and I are in the middle of searching for a house right now. House hunting is a time that you will be consumed with mixed emotion some good some and bad. In today’s Blog I want to compare “House Hunting” with “Friends”. It’s important that you understand the power of the people you call friends. Friends have access to your life and can give a great deal of influence, whether you want them too or not. Webster’s dictionary describes a Friend as “One attached to another by affection or esteem”. The important word is “attached” that’s what friends do they attach themselves to you. Almost like Ruth did to Naomi in the book of Ruth. Ruth 1:14 “They cried again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth held on to her”. As you are moving into a new season of your life you must be very careful of the people you allow into your life. Here is a few ways to see if the person you call friend should really be rewarded with that title. If they always speak negative and never have positive things to say you must question how they speak about you. If your conversations are never about God a flag should go up. The Word says in 2 Timothy 2: “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” The Bible teaches that we should avoid conversation that are not speaking of God. For some people that would be 98% of there conversation for the day. When you speak of things that are not of God the scripture says you become more and more ungodly. In this next season you can’t afford to lose what you have because of conversation. You also want to make sure you’re not the smartest in your group. I know that sounds kind of wired but it’s true. If you’re the one in your group always feeding people with knowledge, then who is feeding you? You want to make sure you surround yourself with people that will inspire you to be stronger, go faster, and be wiser. Most people that have searched for a home will tell you the most important part of looking for the house is LOCATION. The location will determine the value of the house. You can have a million dollar home but if there is a dump site on one side and a train station on the other your million dollar home will lose value quickly. Some of you are worth millions but unfortunately the company your keeping is making you depreciate. When looking for friends you must pray for the kind that will be there when you need them most. Luke 5:17-20 records the story of when Jesus was teaching in a house and the crowd was so big that no one else could get in. There was a group of men carrying a paralyzed man trying to get him in the house so that Jesus could heal him. Due to the crowd the men where unable to get in, so they climb onto the roof and lowered the man down to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the men he said to the paralyzed man your sins are forgiven. Those are the type of people you should attach to, people that are willing to bring you to Christ when your in need. Proverbs 17:17 says “A friend loves at all times”. I am a firm believer that you need a small list of “Friends” and a big list of “People I Know”. Proverbs 18:24 says “A man of many companions may come to ruin”. To make this simple Less is Best. Think to your self am I learning with the group of people im with. Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” You need people that will be honest and transparent with you. People that praise you to much are not good for you. Proverbs 27:6 “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses”. I pray that today’s blog will cause you to evaluate who you have in your life. Don’t ignore the signs if you’re reading this wondering do I have people in my life like that, you should seek God for the answer. God is opening major doors and you can’t allow everyone to come through with you.


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Sunday, September 6, 2009

Gifted People

In today’s blog I want to speak to the gifted people that may not realize how vital your gift is for your future. I have met some of the most gifted people in my lifetime, im talking about gifts so extraordinary that they could be making millions. I want to give you biblical principles on how and when to use your gifts, so that your gift is being used to create success. I don’t know what your area of expertise is; it may be Arts & Crafts, Singing, Writing, Sports, Web Designing, Ect. What ever your gift is USE IT and watch God open major doors. Proverbs 18:16 says “A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men”. I think the first thing we must do is groom our gift. School, training our bodies, taking online courses is necessary. If you’re serious about your gift you will go the extra mile to make sure you gain as must knowledge as you can. As Proverbs 18 verse 16 says "your gift will bring you before great men”, the verse before that says “The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.” You gain knowledge by investing time in your gift, my mother use to say practice makes perfect. I want to look at the life of Joseph. His story can be found in Genesis Chapters 37-50. Due to lack of time I will sum his life up into a few sentences. Many of us can relate to Joseph’s life, He faced just about every trial imaginable and his only crime was being a gifted man with great integrity. While in prison Joseph interprets two men’s dream “The king’s personal servant” and his “chief cook”. After the two men where release the news of Joseph gift reached the ears of Pharaoh, and that fast Joseph became second in command only answering to Pharaoh. Joseph had the ability to interpret dreams, which took him from a pit to a palace. Joseph finds himself in a place of power because of HIS GIFT. He prepares for the upcoming famine and lives to see his family, whom he forgives and embraces. Joseph was in prison, bound by his circumstances but he overcame it all by using his gift. It is easy for us to become engrossed in our circumstances and lose sight of the limitless power that lies within. Like Joseph it’s vitally important that we all recognize how tremendously gifted we are. It’s only through understands the power of your gift that you can escape the prison of despair. Can you only imagine if Joseph stopped using his gift because he was in incarcerated. He would have never been release and never been launched into a life of greatness. Do you find yourself in a situation that could improve by using more of the resources that you have at your disposal? I dare you to start using the gift God has given you to pull yourself out of your current situation. You can do it, you don’t need the lotto to gain wealth, Deuteronomy 8:18 “For it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” Gifted people I leave you with this verse 2 timothy 1:6 “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” Stir it up




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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Don’t Go To The Store Hungry




Today’s blog goes out to all the single ladies looking for a man. After a Tweet I sent regarding single ladies choosing a man I received such a good response I decided to write a little blog about it. I have seen far too many woman fall suspect to letting there loneliness make decision for them. If its one thing I have learned down through the years it’s, never give the one thing God values (The Heart) to just anyone. 1 Samuel 16:7 talks about how “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” When you leave church and the “Hammond B3 Organ” stops playing the heart is the one “Organ” that will keep playing, and you can’t give that up easily. Loneliness is a natural feeling that we all have felt at some point in our life. But you have to make sure that you don’t let your hunger for a man drive you to pick up just any man. I can remember going to the store with my mother, and trying to put all kinds of junk food in the cart. She would say “Brandon don’t ever go to the store hungry because you will get a bunch of junk that you don’t need”. So I say the same thing to all single ladies that are hungry for a man. Don’t go man shopping while you are hungry because you will most likely get junk. You need to make sure that the empty places in your life are filled with Christ before you look for a man. Ephesians 3:19 says “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Please don’t get me wrong I completely believe in the union of marriage, the Bible teaches that marriage is honorable. Where most people get stuck is in dating. The Bible doesn’t speak about “dating” so most people learn from watching others. I wish there was a school called “Learning How To Date University” Unfortunately the only school there is, is life, and the people teaching haven’t mastered it them selves. So you have to stay prayerful that God would give you wisdom in dating and in choosing a mate. If your going to be hungry for something let your hunger be to please God. Matthew 5:6 says “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” I pray that in your search for a mate you continue to seek God for fulfillment, because a man will never be able to satisfy your hunger only God can. Below I have placed the entire 31st chapter of Proverbs here as a guide for a Godly woman.


Proverbs 31 : 1-31

1The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle his mother taught him: 2 "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,3 do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. 4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel— not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, 5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. 6 Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; 7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. 8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character 10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.





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