Getting Down To Kingdom Business

I’m learning as I get older that a real friend is one who will take time out of their busy schedule to pray for you and your concerns (especially if it's Kingdom business and concerns the heart of God - which is a person's eternal soul). If you believe that He's not willing that any should perish, then we should have the same fervor and pray for these lost souls. There's a harvest out there, get from the walls of your church, your "they're cutting into MY blessing," and reach out to them.

It's a tragedy when we don't go out to the world and help somebody else. We ridicule abused victims, those who aren't living large like the leaders. It's all about "self gratification and how many numbers we can get into a church." We forsake their soul in the process. You can call me a cynic, but it's the truth whether you want to admit it or not. Where's the evangelism? I'm willing to believe a friend of mine when he says this: pastors are so introverted into their own church that they never reached out and refused to even try. There is no unity in reaching out to lost souls. How can a pastor walk out of a church when we bring up the idea of reaching out to souls who are hurting, abused, dying and lost? What kind of an example is this? We have the power of God in us; it's time for us to stop keeping it to ourselves. We all need help and encouragement. No one person is immune from attacks, and I don't care how spiritual you are. (I know, it looks like I'm doing my blog now). Anyway, we need leaders who are on fire for the Lord, focused on His will and not trying to hoard talents for the church, sapping resources for that church. We are to share it with everyone. There should be NO lack in the church. Again, the harvest is plentiful. I say no more. If I have to go it alone, then I will. But we're going to have a lot of blood on our hands if we don't change. This spirit of, egocentrism, holier than thou, ignorance, and competition for self-aggrandizement needs to go. We can say we love God, but turn around and say "forget those who need prayer, I'm better than them anyway." This ignorance is sending people to hell first class! One reason (and there are plenty more) why the church isn’t being effective is because we’re too busying quarreling over who the next president is going be versus seeking and saving the lost. Another reason is we’re arguing over petty things. Example: One is considered “anti” if you argue with someone or disagree in the slightest when it comes to church. Think about this: if you are professing to be a church for Christ, why is talking about Jesus in your church so taboo? Why is a man (living or dead) exalted higher than Jesus in your church?

I believe with all of my heart that someone needs a divine revelation of the reality of heaven is AND a divine revelation of the reality of hell is. The world needs us to perform if we are calling ourselves Christians. Someone is coveting our prayers. If you want to be richly blessed, bless someone else.

You Can't Quit Now

We all have a gift bestowed unto us by our Heavenly Father. A small disclaimer: when I say gift, it can be translated as talent, purpose, or calling. God has given it to us, and our responsibility is to use it for His glory to bless other people. Now as we go forth and pursue it, there will come a time where you will either be sidetracked or just feel like giving up (and there are countless reasons). Let’s detour for a second and talk from the Bible to show where people who didn’t quit though they had justifiable excuses to do so if they did.

1. Joseph was given a dream that would rescue his family from famine. After revealing his dream to his brothers, Joseph was sold as a slave and eventually faced hardships after being lied on by Potiphar’s wife. Joseph had an excuse to quit, but he didn’t and as a result, the Lord was with him.
2. Job was under satanic attack and lost a lot in his life. His wife wanted him to curse God and die. Job could’ve quit serving God, but he didn’t and as a result, the Lord double-blessed him.
3. The apostles were beaten for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. They could’ve quit doing that to preserve their lives, but they didn’t and as a result, their ministry made an impact on the world (reference Acts 5:40-42).
4. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying to God. He could’ve quit for fear of his life, but he didn’t. As a result, Daniel made it known that God is a protector to those who love Him.
5. The three Hebrew boys were thrown into the fire that was 7x hotter than normal for refusing to bow their knee to the king. They could’ve quit serving God, but they didn’t. As a result, God walked through the fire with them.

What do we see here? If we’re serving God and bringing true glory to Him, He will always be with us. God is not blind to what trials we face.

Many of you have gifts that only you can do (and it has be expressed through the creative arts, through service, or through other means) that will bring glory to God and bless others tremendously. You must be determined and disciplined to fulfill your gift. If you don’t, you’re robbing yourself, God and others. You can’t quit now. The devil will throw many things at you to get you off course to make you quit. Keep your hands to the plow. We all need your gift just you all need my gift. Think back to when you wanted to quit something, but God gave you the strength to keep going – and it thrust you into your prophetic destiny. And I also want you to think back to when you started something and how you felt when you gave up. I would venture to say that when you kept going, you felt great and God extended your outreach. Trust me when I say that I know everything has a season; the objective is to stay obedient to Him at all times, so you don’t miss out when it’s your season. Even if you do, it will come back around again (provided you don’t remain disobedient).

I’ll even put this out there, there was a time in 2007 where I almost gave up on writing after an editor rejected my first book (Take It from Me). If some people didn’t encourage me to write, I would’ve been writing and making an impact on a few people. God allowed me to cross paths with a few people in 2009 and my first book was released and now it’s 2012, and I’ve written my first novel. I almost gave up writing the novel as well due to some personal issues going on in my life. Many of you didn’t know this, but if you were to read the acknowledgements in my novel, I mentioned when thanking the Lord that there was a point where I not only wanted to give up writing the novel, but living as a whole due to those personal issues. A dark cloud was over me during that time and I am so grateful that God sustained me through it all. If I had ended my life without finishing my novel, how would people’s lives be affected? Sure, God can use others to do something you should be doing, but the beauty of God is that He called us individually for a specific task. I said all of that to say this, if God has ordained you (which He has), He will sustain you through it all. Never let go of Him because He will always have His hand on you. And now that my novel is released, I’m so grateful to see lives rescued from the spirit of suicide.

In short, though I could type a lot more, just know that you can’t quit now because God will never quit on you! I better not forget this, you will face opposition like Joseph, Job, the apostles and many others recorded in Scripture, but you still can’t afford to quit now. Remember, quitters never win!

Complacency & Talents (Round 2)

In fairness to those who didn’t read my blog post Complacency & Talents last year, here’s an excerpt of what I wrote. You can read the entire post filed under the 2011 archives (week of April 18, 2011)

(From April 18, 2011): What talent have you buried? I know a lot of people and many of you have made your talents known to me. And I must ask, what are you doing with them? I beg you not to let them go to waste, because your talent is NOT just for you. Only you can do what you do with the talents that have been bestowed upon you. Now you might think your talent is small, but in God's eyes, it's important! No matter how big or small your talent is it's the ticket to put you where you need to be in your life.

(July 2012)

Matthew 25:14-30 was the focus for that post and it will be the focus for this post. It’s been said that you can learn from people who succeed and from people who fail. Successful people can teach us things; and people who fail can teach us what not to do. I’m going to focus on people who fail for this post. You probably know people who have gone through life “I woulda, shoulda, coulda done this.” They stop there because they don’t want to add this after the phrase, “because I was complacent or I was told to consecrate myself, time and talents and everything which the Lord has blessed me with or which He may bless me to my local church, denomination, or religion.” No legacy is left, no lives were impacted, and the closing chapter of some people’s lives become full of resentment, disappointment, and their attitudes become bitter and mean.

If we are wise, we should learn from them. We know many people around us who have talents or are gifted in a specific area, but they don’t do anything due to fear, negative friends and family, or just downright complacency. I said I was going to reference the scripture in Matthew, let’s go there. A master had servants and gave one servant 5 talents, another 2 and another 1. The first two doubled their talents, and the last one sat on it. Many people stop after verse 26 where the master called the servant who sat on his talent a “wicked and slothful servant!” Verses 28 through 30 are crucial points that we can learn from. The master went on to say this to the slothful servant, take his talent and give it to him who has 10 talents. To everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.

We all have been blessed with a specific talent (some may have more) or a specific ministry that is uniquely different (some of us need to stop trying to be carbon copies of others – that could be a lesson all by itself). Sometimes God will call you to a ministry or to use your talent that may not be lucrative in the natural or appear to minister to people while you're alive; however, that ministry or you using your talent to the fullest while you were alive will leave a legacy after you pass onto life eternal. I beg you my brothers and my sisters to be free from the spirit of complacency.

Is Your Life On Full?

A few days ago, I posted a comment on Facebook that read: I pray that I don’t get to heaven with my life on full. When I say that, I mean that I don’t want to get to heaven with my life that’s full of unrealized visions, dreams, songs, or businesses that could change the world for the glory of God. Now as you’re reading this, I hope that your prayer is that your life isn’t on full (full of the talents that you know you have that could change the world for the glory of God). God has gifted all of us with certain gifts and talents to make a major impact on the world. Our responsibility is to remain open to His spirit, pray that He will give us His heart (which He will), and that He will fill us up with Him (again, which He will) to be sent out to the nations. There’s no need to compete against each other or to copy each other (because we all are uniquely different).

I would hate for any of us to get to heaven with our life on full due to our complacency (refer to my Complacency & Talents blog from April 18^th, 2011) and say to the master I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the earth (Matthew 25:25). I recommend you read Matthew 25:14-30.

I know this is a short post, but this is something for us all to pray about during the course of this week (and hopefully for the remainder of our lives). God bless.

Finding Your Passion

It’s Labor Day and 2/3 of this year is done. Where are you with your dreams and goals for 2011? Well, if you’re like me, you’ve had to endure some struggles this year. I’ve told many people at the beginning of 2011, that this is a year of big moves. I know some people can testify to that, but with it came a lot of struggles and unnecessary strife. From unemployment, threats of losing your job, people on your job (co-workers) threatening to drown you underwater to save their job or just tired of being a gerbil running on wheels (the rat race). There’s more, people are jealous because you decided to pursue your passion (or calling of God), other people are fearful of what the future holds because they have nothing to fall back on (not taking the time to find or pursue their passion) and want to make your life a living hell, your closest friends and family won’t support your passion/talents (see last week’s post entitled “No Love, No Honor, No Support” for more on that), or you are just ready to leave your current job to focus on your passion/talent to impact other people’s lives for the better (because you know that your passion/talent is not just for you, it’s for others around you and those you haven’t met yet).

If this describes what you’re going through, then this post is written for you to encourage you not to cast away your confidence, not to give up on God, and to press forward with your passion. Just know that this post is also for me. I need encouragement as well (considering I’m going through some of the things I mentioned above).

So, I ask you the following questions:

1. Do you know what your passion is? Many people don’t, and they have a hard time finding it. If this is you, it’s OK. To find your passion or mission, you have to dig deep inside, get alone with God and pray for Him to reveal it to you in His time (remember, the steps of a righteous man are ordered by God). It will be revealed to you; meanwhile, just keep your mind stayed on Him and experience His perfect peace. If you know what your passion it, then give God praise and perfect it for the glory of God. If you perfect your passion, and present it in excellence, people will take notice and want more of your passion (granted, some people will actually be inspired to pursue their passion).
2. Are there any activities or thoughts that absorb you so thoroughly you lose track of time?
3. What subjects do you find most exciting to talk about?
4. Do you have any skills or talents that inspire self-confidence? I know some of you have the gift of knitting, singing, writing, speaking life to others (and giving them hope and encourage with the love of Christ) and you know it too.
5. When you have a free afternoon, how do you choose to spend it?
6. If you had all the money you needed to pursue a hobby or a special project, what would it be?
7. If you could develop a “dream” business for yourself, what would it be?

Talk about your passions with people who you know well and trust. Now I need to inject something here. Not everybody can embrace your passion, so you need to discern who you tell it to. Joseph in Genesis 37 is a prime example. He should’ve read his brothers better (they said, we shall see what will become of his dream). As one of my sister friends would say, not everybody is a divine connection to you. You don’t tell your business to someone who has a “what’s in it for me” mentality. Back to my original point, sometimes other people can read our souls when we can’t. Once you become aware of your passion, you can determine your mission and begin to feed it. This in turn will feed the drive that will make your dreams come true.

If you are making statements like the four mentioned below, I strongly consider that you pray and work on pursuing your passion now!

1. I wish I could quit my job.
2. I’m tired of going from job to job.
3. I can’t keep working this hard. I’m getting too old for this.
4. I’m tired of wasting my time, hanging around people without much ambition and who aren’t going anywhere.

Some people don’t want to pursue their passion (this is for those who know what their passion is), because they have selfish motives. They’re being stingy or prideful with it because their church or people around them won’t accept them or their passion/talent. The easy way to rectify that is to give it to God and understand that it’s not about you!  It’s for the glory of God – let Him do the work and give Him all the glory!

With that said, this is the time to make it happen. As Gloria Estefan would say, “Get On Your Feet!”

No Love, No Honor, No Support

Jesus was explaining a parable in Luke 14:15-24. There was a man who made a great supper and invited people to come. One by one, there were excuses as to why they couldn't come. Eventually, the master said to the servant to go out to the streets and lanes of the city, the poor, blind etc., and invite them. When they all came, there was still more room at the supper. The master then said to the servant to go to the highways and hedges so the house will be full. What's the focus here? Well, this parable was an invitation to Israel to accept the invitation to Jesus, but they rejected him (granted, Jesus would say in other gospels that a prophet is not welcomed in his own home town). Jesus got from Israel no love and no honor.

You are called to do something great, and people who are close to you won't accept you and what you can provide. Instead, they will find every excuse in the book not to support you, or they will want you to give something to them at a discount (or better yet, for free, cause we're brothers, sisters, first cousins, whatever). What happens is that you get no love, and no support from your own.

I dedicate this section to my fellow authors (you will understand this). One of my fellow authors wrote a comment on her Facebook page and it provoked my thinking on this topic. To all the authors that have complained to me about how their friends and family don't support them and haven't bought their books, I say," So! There are way more people out here that you don't know than the ones you do know and are related to. Millions! So if your friends and family won't support, reach out to the millions of strangers that WILL!" I still have several "friends" and family members who haven't done a thing to support me.

What she said was the essence of the parable mentioned above. There is no love, and no support from your own (I'm referring to close friends and family - whether immediate or extended). But when you make it big and are a celebrity, that's when people will take notice. By that time, it will be too late.

This post is not to convict anyone, it's just a little thought about the need to support each other's visions, dreams and talents. We don't do that because we're selfish (and some are just jealous because they went for it) and we need to suppress that spirit. There's no need for us not to love, honor and support someone who's trying to make their dream happen. We all have dreams and talents and we need to support each other. But if you want to sit on your dream and talent, you have no one to blame but yourself! Let me repeat that, you have no one to blame but yourself! Trust me, if you support me, I will support you. This is what it means to have love, honor and support! 

Sitting on Talents

This blog post might reflect back to a prior blog I wrote entitled “Complacency & Talents"; however, I want to focus this specifically on those who are sitting on talents because of pressure around you. Sometimes the church you attend, your family, your place of employment can cause you to sit on the talents that have been bestowed upon you.

There will be little minds around you (even in your church, etc.) that will tell you that you’re not gifted in this or that because they’re not doing anything except complaining that they can’t get ahead. The local church can be a hindrance to your true talents due to politics and favoritism. Don’t kick too hard against the local church, and don’t try to change it; however, don’t let the collective talents bury your individual talents. Also keep this in mind, I’m not saying that every church has a selfish motive (and there are some good churches in your respective areas).

I also need to be a bit sensitive when I talk about this: When you deal with churches, sometimes individual talents are sacrificed for the church's agenda (and it comes from leadership). Some leaders will say that your talents are to be used ONLY for the local church and its mission (the question I would raise is: who else other than the church is going to reap the benefits)? When a leader says that, then people will sit on their talents, become complacent, individual talents are buried and the end result is not only does the local church miss out, the body of Christ at large and the world misses out. Local churches should be able to back those who have individual talents (especially when it's part of God's agenda - where it ministers to the local church and to the body of Christ at large). What I see that's very common is that churches back up those who have talents that benefit the leadership of the church or makes the image of the church look good (or they can only glorify the talents of the leadership). Some leaders might be aware and some may not be aware that everyone has gifts and talents for the local church and for the body of Christ at large. This is where people need to know the Lord and the Word for themselves, stay in constant prayer (and fast if necessary). Now here's the other side, some people in the congregation will intentionally sit on their talents for selfish reasons (or they aren't seeing instant gratification). They want all the glory for themselves and want those around, inside and outside the church as a whole, to recognize them.

A little side note: I deal with churches that are selfish a little bit in my third poetry book (on the verge of release). I made up a fictional church where the pastor is controlling, he feels the talents belong to the church, he supports alternative lifestyles, and because the congregation is so naive, they sit and their talents go to a total waste.

I mentioned little minds earlier, let’s deal with them specifically. Some of those little minds can be your family & friends, but because you chose to fulfill your talents, they are now jealous. But they’re rejoicing when you’re not fulfilling your talents because they love the company. Misery loves company. If you fall for that feeling, your sitting on your talents and you’ll give an account for that. Here’s the other side of that: people around you are fulfilling their talents and you’re jealous, griping and complaining. I ask you, why aren’t you fulfilling your talents? There’s a saying that goes (the scripture reference being 1 Corinthians 15:33): you show me your friends and I’ll tell you what you think of yourself and what you’re capable of accomplishing. If you hang with people who are complacent and complain, you’ll be one of those people. If you hang with people who want to change the world and fulfill their talents, you’ll be motivated to do the same (hopefully that's the case, unless the root of complacency is planted deep into your spirit). If you hang with people who sit on their talents because you're allowing other people are controlling them, you will be miserable and complain why others are succeeding and you aren’t. You might need to change your friends (not kick them to curb, or maybe you might have to), but you don’t have to let their actions and especially words deter you from where you’re going - this sentence is mandatory if you really want to fulfill your talents.

Don’t be discouraged, because you have a lot to offer to someone. Here’s the other side of the coin. Sometimes churches and families will thrust you into roles that you know are not your calling. The reason why that sometimes happens is because the church or family is just selfish and looking out for themselves. Example, a single mother has multiple children and thrusts them all into athletics with the belief that at least one of them will go pro and I’ll let them take care of me. I’ll be able to live the rich & famous life.

Now many people are saying, “You’re advocating people should start a business, but not everybody should start a business.” I agree with that, if that’s not your calling, then don’t start one. Don’t let your job overshadow your talent. Some people will use that as a crutch (my job is enslaving me and I’m always tired) as to why they’re not putting their talent to use. I believe God gave you a brain to put to use and to not sit and complain. Several months back, I posted this quote on Facebook, if we spent more time working our talents as we do complaining & blaming, we can make a difference in this world. If you don’t fight for your talent, you’ll lose it (as mentioned in one of my prior blogs). I'll say this again (from "Complacency & Talents"), you're an adult, GROW UP & GO FOR IT!

I want to encourage you to not let others dictate what your talents are (especially if you know what they are and not what they say they are). Remember, you will give an account for your individual talents that you don’t utilize. I’d hate to see you forfeit your talent and stay complacent in your comfort zone. A little reflective of the children of Israel where they didn’t want to go to the Promised Land, instead they wanted the complacent life.

In conclusion: I believe the majority sit on their talents because they either want instant gratification or they didn't realize how much work is involved. Once you count the cost as to how much work is involved and make the decision to go for it and put in the work; you will have adversity and trials, but the Lord will sustain you!

Complacency & Talents

Complacency, it's the thief that steals our true purpose & destiny.  It can happen to the best of us.  Look at your current job, have you become extremely bitter especially if you've been there a long time and have you noticed the people around you extremely bitter (if they've been there a long time)? Let me add to this, how many of you have heard people complain over and over and still remain complacent with their lives? You've probably heard numerous complaints. 

I hope this blogpost will cause you to rise up from your complacency (or should I say your comfort zone) and you can start fulfilling your purpose before you move to the next phase of life.

In Matthew 25:14-30, there's a parable of the talents. One received 5, one received 2 and one received 1. God gave them a specific number of talents based on their hearts (one thing that must be said, God knows the beginning & end. He knows our hearts and what we're going to do with the talents He's blessed us with. Our responsibility is to be faithful with what He's blessed us with). The one who received 5 acquired 10, the one who received 2 acquired 4 and the one who received 1 buried it and acquired 0. When the giver of the talents had them check-in, the giver was pleased with the first two, but for the one who buried the 1 talent, he was angry and told him to give it to one who acquired 10. Now here's a thought-provoking question, why did he have him do that? Also think about this, if you waste your talent, it will be taken from you. And then you'll end up living a life of regrets. A little side note: there will be some people who will love you when you're not using your talents, and will turn around and hate you when you decide to step out and use your talents. Here's another side note: not everybody will want to break free from the complacency syndrome, because they feel the complacency syndrome is convenient (notice I didn't say comfortable, because they're downright miserable inside).

Let's now talk about you, what talent have you buried? I know a lot of people and many of you have made your talents known to me. And I must ask, what are you doing with them? I beg you not to let them go to waste, because your talent is NOT just for you. Only you can do what you do with the talents that have been bestowed upon you. Now you might think your talent is small, but in God's eyes, it's important! No matter how big or small your talent is it's the ticket to put you where you need to be in your life.

If you were to look at the talents from a monetary standpoint and you bury the talents, you're setting yourself up for disappointment and anger against others, God and yourself. I believe your talents are designed by God for you. Some people say "it takes money to make money," that's not true. I agree with my brother Darrell Kelly when he says this, "it takes creativity to make money," considering that your talents are from God and He's the creator of all things. With that said, are you afraid of stepping out in that talent? Are you afraid that you're going to be rejected? Cast your fears aside or else, you'll land in the complacency cycle (where you start complaining and we have to hear comments like this, "the president or government is not taking care of me, my parents are hindering me" and your life withers away). I simply say to that, you're an adult, please GROW UP and GO FOR IT!

God bless.