The Meaning of Coming Together (On One Accord)

Many of you are familiar with a song entitled Come Together (from the Beatles). The song itself will not be the focus of this blog. However, I will talk about the body of Christ and the need for the body to come together on one accord.

It’s been said that I take issues that I see in the body of Christ as being cynical, I see it more as a call to accountability (yes, I admit that I go overboard at times). Consider this: when I got deep into church in 1996/1997, most of the churches were focusing on this topic Race, Religion & Racism. One thing the pastor said that was critical was that the church is the most racist organization and that somebody has to talk about it and deal with it. The problem is that we have been sitting around not doing anything about it. That's his quote, which I agree. When I left my former church in 2000 due to control issues (the lesson I gained was that a clean-up job needs to be done and more accountability is needed especially to the leader). Another lesson is that in order to minister the world, we have to keep striving for a life that pleases God (I'm not exempt from this either). For a leader to have that much control (saying that if you miss a Thursday/Sunday service, you're taking a vacation from God), can devastate lives. I didn't get upset about leaving, if anything, I gained a lesson which is another one of my passions (which I probably do get carried away with), in order to change the world, we need to be accountable to each other, our lifestyles must be subject to the Bible and leaders are not without reproach. I don't say this out of anger, but out of a heartfelt love for the church. I understand that we're living in the last days, and people will be lovers of self, gathering teachers that say what they want to hear. I don't want you to think that I go around looking for church issues, that's not my personality. I am very open with people, in the hopes that we can be honest with each other and that we can meet each other where we are without damaging a soul. I will confess to you all that I have anger issues (especially when it's a cause that I believe in strongly). Granted, when I came to college (and some of you might remember this), my attitude was simply this: either you will live by this Bible or you will die to it. It's just that simple! That approach was a little too extreme, I'll admit that.

One thing that's a concern is when some people say that the church is perfect and never question a leader. One of the problems within the church is when it's time to speak up, we don't and then we turn around and point fingers when prayers are removed out of the school. I believe that we all can be free and not let the devil have access to our lives, if we come together on one accord (again, this is one of the lessons I learned early in my Christian walk) - the scripture base is the book of Acts. Acts was one of my favorite books when I in college. I was always convicted when I would think of seeing the disciples being beaten and still praising God. I'll admit I've slipped recently from having the attitude like the disciples due to my own sin and fear. I'll openly admit that.

In summary: if we don’t come together, the world is going to die. I hope that we can cease from pointing fingers at the world saying “oh well, they’re going to hell.”

When It's Time To Perform (Will You Be Ready)?

I heard a saying and it goes like this (which provoked my thought for this post): for many of you reading this, your time of public revealing is coming faster than you have time for preparing. This is based out of 1 Samuel 16, which will be the theme for this post.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar, here’s the story in a brief nutshell. King Saul is being rejected as king, and Samuel was offering a sacrifice to the Lord in which Jesse was invited. Jesse called every son but David; however, the Lord said unto Samuel that every son but David was not chosen to be king. So, Samuel asked are there any more children? I’m sure Jesse really didn’t want to say this, but he did: “There’s David, but he’s tending to the sheep.” Samuel insisted that David come (even though David wasn’t dressed for the occasion like his brothers), and the Lord said, anoint him. His public revealing came faster than he had time to prepare for it. Now David didn’t take over as king immediately after he was anointed. He went back to the sheep and was called to play the harp for Saul. And after he defeated Goliath, he wasn’t made king yet (but God knew that David was the only one who could take Goliath out). It would take some time, and eventually he would become king (which actually took place in 2 Samuel). He was ready when it was time to perform as the king over Judah and Israel.

Here are a few points that need to be made. David was going to be king. He had a heart and desire for God – which is very critical. Every one of us has a unique assignment for the kingdom of God that can make a serious impact on those around us. We might think it’s minor and unimportant, but He sees it as critical and it must be done! Also understand the following, patience is a virtue. As mentioned above, David didn’t take over as king right after he was anointed. Ecclesiastes 3 says that everything has a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven. So, we must wait on our appointed time to function in our assignment. You have a voice that when you sing, people are ministered to (or you know someone who has the voice of an angel, and when they sing, people are ministered to); you have a ministry of reconciliation, people will be ministered to when you speak; and the list goes on. There’s one more thing that needs to be mentioned. Don’t get discouraged or complacent while you are waiting – and yes, it will be hard sometimes. Stay close to the Shepherd and prepare patiently and in prayer (worshiping in your secret place, unnoticed by everyone around you) for your public revealing. The enemy will want you to cast away your confidence either because the process is taking to long in YOUR eyes or because YOU aren’t getting the glory.

Your assignment for the kingdom of God is needed (no matter how great or small it is). There are chains binding people that need to be broken. And God knows that your unique purpose can do it. If you’re like me, you’re saying no more! Chains have to be broken in the name of Jesus. Will you be ready to perform when it’s your time? Do you believe that we can change the world? And don’t think for one minute you won’t be challenged when you’re performing. You will be attacked by a Goliath of some sort, just know that I’ve got you covered in prayer and I ask that you cover me in prayer. Don’t back down to that Goliath, if God ordained you to that assignment, He will sustain you!

So in closing, I leave you with this question: when it’s time to perform in your unique assignment for the kingdom of God, will you be ready?

Good Deeds

I watched Good Deeds yesterday, and I know you have an opinion of the movie. One thing that stood out to me during the first half of the movie and Tyler Perry hit the nail when he said what I was thinking halfway into the movie (which is the catalyst for this blog post). Without giving too much away for the benefit of those who haven’t seen the movie, I’ll use us everyday people for this blog post.

Many of us (if not all of us) have talents, goals and visions for our lives. Sometimes, things in life happen that can steer us off course. They can range for multiple things. When we’re off course, the enemy loves to take our minds through the path of loneliness, or perhaps cause some people to turn away from us especially when we need someone to help us get back on track. The areas that I will be focusing on that the enemy loves to use within us are pride and isolation. In most cases, pride and isolation are used when something tragic happens to us (and then we say, we don’t need anybody’s help). It also occurs when a tragedy strikes and we bounce back, then we sing the Frank Sinatra song, I Did It MY WAY without any help! There’s one problem with that, we never do things on our own. We had help in every step of our lives. We didn’t get our jobs (or businesses) on our own, we didn’t bring a baby into this world on our own, and we didn’t get blessed by God on our own. To make it in life and hopefully life eternal, we need to get rid of that prideful spirit that we know everything, and we don’t need anybody to help me. Yes, there are boundaries that need to be set, not everybody in your circle can help you (and some will say they are helping you, when they are actually hurting you and making you feel worse off than you did). But don’t push off everyone just because of one person who hurt you when you needed help (and I need to tell myself that as well). Some people will be sent by God to help you and truly have a genuine spirit. Keep your discerning spirit on at all times.

In summary, what I’m trying to say is this: don’t be afraid to ask for help if you really need help and swallow your pride. The truth of the matter is that we all need help in some capacity. If we all had it together, we wouldn’t be on this earth. It’s my prayer that when we ask for help, that we launch onto what God has purposed in us to do and also you help someone else who needs the help that only your gift/talent can provide (under the love of God of course).

Protect Your Gift

It’s been a little over a week since the death of Whitney Houston. I’m not glorifying her when I mention her name, but the Lord was dealing with me this past Friday about her. I came home on Friday night from sitting a coffee shop working on my novel and ended up watching ABC’s 20/20. It was a special entitled One Moment In Time: The Life of Whitney Houston.

I don’t know who happen to watch it, but I did. In a short summary, it focused on her entire life (the ups and downs of her life). Over the course of this week, I saw numerous posts on Facebook about her. Some were focusing on the funeral ceremony and some were angry that the media was still talking about the downs of her life. Well, as I watched it, God showed me something and I wonder if anybody else caught the lesson (or we missed it altogether). As we live life, people live and die. It was like that in the Bible days. One thing we tend to miss is that there are lessons to learn through somebody’s life (example: we learn that David was a man after God’s on heart, and that adultery can tarnish your character). This is true about Whitney Houston and this will be the focus of this blogpost.

During her years before releasing her first album in 1985, it was evident that God gave her a gift, and of course, it was her voice (she would be known to the world as “The Voice”). As I watched the part where she was singing in the choir as a teenager, her gift was being used to the fullest and was being perfected. Between 1985 and 1992, she was the icon to the world in the realm of female vocalists. I’ll admit there were times when I was tired of hearing some of the songs she sang (and for those who knew me back in the day, I chose her songs that weren’t so popular). But still, she was blessing many people with her voice.

Many people will have opinions, but I will only focus on her gift for this post. Between 1992 and 2012, her gift was a target for the devil. Notice, I didn’t say Bobby Brown was the cause of her downfall. She has to take full responsibility for this, just like we have to take responsibility for the gift God has given us. Sure, people can influence us to do many things, but the responsibility to protect it lies on us. Just because we have a gift doesn’t mean we’ll always have it. This is what happened to Whitney especially at the turn of the millennium. By the time she appeared on Oprah in 2009, her gift was gone.

Yes, it is a tragedy that her life was cut short, but the lesson that we should’ve gained from Whitney Houston’s life is this: everybody has a unique gift. Instead of trying to compete, use the gift that God has given you, and protect it at all costs because the devil knows how much of an impact your gift will make on other people. If anything, what we are to do with our gift especially if we’re a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation to show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), is to use it so that others will know that God is with us and more importantly, in us! The purpose is so that others will give praise to God and not give praise to us. This is where we miss it due to the temptation of self-gratification.

Author Spotlight (Adrienne Thompson)

I know it's been a while, I took a little hiatus from blogging. To start 2012 right, I'd like to put the author spotlight on my sister & fellow author, Adrienne Thompson.

Married at sixteen, a mother twice by seventeen, and thrice a mother and divorced by twenty-four, Adrienne Thompson is no stranger to adversity. Not your typical teenage mother, she went on to complete her college degree and to earn her nursing license. She attributes God’s faithfulness as the catalyst for her success in life. Now, having raised two children as a divorced mother, with a third fast approaching adulthood, she is sharing a long hidden talent and passion with the world. Using the lessons that life has so expertly taught her as a guideline (betrayal, abusive relationships, self-esteem issues, witnessing the deteriorating effects of drug abuse), she has created stories that will both entertain and inspire the reader. Adrienne is the author of two novels, Bluesday and Been So Long. When she's not writing, she works as a Registered Nurse and resides in Arkansas with her daughter.

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.

Author Spotlight (Michael Beckford)

This week’s author spotlight is on my brother & fellow author Michael Beckford.

Michael Beckford’s life began whereas most lives end. His July thirty-first nineteen hundred and eighty-five story began as a cliff note or ode to a young mother whom had to give away her first and only child at the time. She being at the tender age of fourteen, was barely able to tend to herself, let a lone a beautiful baby boy with long hair and a sparkle in his eyes. 

The scenery of sadness and depression filled the air, as Michael Beckford’s mother had to make the tough decision to give him up for fostercare. With a childish innocence, little Michael Beckford had no say in the matter, nor did he understand the complexities of the situation at the time.

During the years of Michael’s foster care, he grew up as a child with a very vivid and inquisitive imagination. He just had a way of bringing the things which were dull and obsolete to life in his imagination.

Like most in life, Michael Beckford witnessed many storms in life, both in a spiritual sense and in the natural such as 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed nearly every home around the neighborhood except his. “Truly God was in the work over my former foster home,” Michael Beckford says.

Just as storms don’t last always, his departure form the foster home, came at the sudden death of one of his caretakers, Edna Lewis. With her untimely death, it brought life to Michael Beckford’s situation, which moved him into adoption by two beautiful, young, and energetic parents.

These two parents fueled Michael’s desire to be greater in life, henceforth the birthing of a Great American Writer was formed. From the everyday life stories and struggles in school, Michael’s new mother guided him into writing journals about his daily life’s like’s and dislikes. This movement into the deeper parts of Michael’s mind and creativity led to the praised and often underserved expressions of poetry.

Michael’s new mother, being an Award Winning English Teacher, signed him up for oratorical, a writing contest, and is responsible for the consummate birthing of his writing success in which he enjoys today. She did not give him a natural birth, but the birth of his writing has been an expression of an effect felt upon the many whom have read his books.

Michael Beckford penned his book in February 2004, which is suitably titled Speak Up Poetry! This is a book which essentially dials into the history of a man, and the spirit of the African-American community as a whole. This book digs deep through the progressions and depressions which have been experienced over time since the time of slavery.

Speak Up Poetry! Is a notable success, with it being Michael Beckford’s first book published, and he was only eighteen years of age at the time. This book reached many corners of the country, as it was available for sale throughout the Barnes&Noble, Borders, and other chain retail outlets.

As Michael Beckford began to Speak Up! So did his parents, whom helped to influence some of his collegiate decisions while he attended FAMU. While attending FAMU for a brief season, Michael Beckford took some time off from the book circuit, and expanded upon his knowledge through college, and continued his craft of writing.

It wasn’t until April of 2009 when Michael Beckford reappeared on the writing scene with his first self-published and successful book, Beautifully Ugly People! A transition in writing he took from poetry, to the Christian fiction genre, he’s mostly known for today. Beautifully Ugly People! has been both a book which touches the hearts of many and begs the question of, ‘why do people have to be so beautiful, and yet so ugly?’

His book Beautifully Ugly People! has broken the barriers of what individuals may feel Christian fiction should portray. This is one of Michael Beckford’s best at digging deep into the heart of the situation, and letting God do the rest.

In between touring, blogging, speaking, and just engaging his readers; Michael was putting the finishing touches on the sequel to Beautifully Ugly People! which is I Am The Secret! And was released in December 2009 to great reviews and pestered the many questions of ‘what is the secret?’

I Am The Secret! Has since been the go to book for teen issues and problems. The 5000 Role Models program in Miami-Dade County took the initiative to purchase a book for each individual graduating senior. I Am The Secret! Is also herald as a must read for young adults going through their own struggles in life.

As Michael Beckford continues to travel the country promoting his books through prison ministry, church events, conferences, and other exhibits; he has learned that in order to fight, one must first beware that there is a fight. With the many successes of his books so far, at such a young age, many seek to wonder what he would be speaking up about twenty-five years from now.

Michael De’Angelo Beckford is truly a renaissance man; a man whom loves Jesus Christ. It is Michael’s vision to bring Jesus Christ in his writing to those whom don’t know him, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if one were to know who Michael Beckford is, it’s a matter of knowing who Jesus is.