Recently, under the weight of insecurities, fears and the inevitable self-evaluation we all perform in the process of transition I came to the place where I was considering to quit writing. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy writing but I honestly felt I have had nothing to say of value. If I were honest, I’d say in many ways I still feel that way. Good thing I refuse to let my emotions keep me down.
I finally got around to listening to an audiobook named “Quitter” a New York Times Best Seller from Jon Acuff. In chapter three, Jon got me good by talking about his two sides “today Jon” and “later Jon.” Today Jon says, “today is a good day to write…I’m gonna hammer out a few ideas.” Then Later Jon interjects, “ya…you could…or you could just do it later…you will have more energy and feeling much more creative…later.” This analogy hit home pretty hard for me. It describes me where I have been.
I can’t, we can’t, allow this mindset to settle in because it is a cancerous thought that will root its way to the place where we want to give in and give up. Regardless of whatever level of success or accomplishment we achieve, we are not immune to its effects. Allowing that conversation in my head almost stopped me from writing…it may be stopping you from your “more” whatever that may be. Whatever it is you feel you should just give up because of this or that I encourage you to join me in taking the risk and invest wholeheartedly into the dream of our hearts. I refuse to be a quitter. What about you?
Lately, much of my attention has been on the state of our country and what is about to come. What I am about to share is about 6 months worth of thoughts, prayers and meditation so this is not just a lightly written post. In fact, because God has been stirring this vision in me that He has kept me in one spot of not writing. After having much of what I’ve been contemplating and praying about confirmed I feel the release to share this. There are certain topics that have been heavy on my heart and I will focus on them. There might not be a clear flow as normal but read with an open heart and grace to hear what God would say to you through this post.
HOMOSEXUALITY
Much as of late has been said of homosexuality, recently due to the first active pro-basketball player come forward and admit to being an active homosexual. The culture of the world says to that, “that’s great be whoever you feel like you are suppose to be” but really its a lie that allows the enemy to come in and influence us his way. Homosexuality is the key to destroying a society because it devalues and robs a persons God-given identity for a lie. It happened in the great Roman Empire….homosexuality became an acceptable practice and within a generation they were defeated and destroyed themselves. If we as a country do not turn from the path that the current President and Liberal Left has been steering us to then we will doom ourselves to see history repeat itself within our lifetime and our nation.
I am not saying that if you are a homosexual (or struggle with it) that you destroying America. No, hear me out, the enemy has pushed homosexuality from a taboo thing to being a pre-dominant force in the culture in the past 25 years. The spirit behind homosexuality…that’s driving it and influencing many (even inside the church), that is the one that is stealing our God given identity and with that our purpose and from there leaving us powerless. Jesus told us that “the enemy (Satan) comes to steal, kill and destroy… (see John 10:10)” anything that has to do with those three originate from the enemy. Homosexuality is one of the biggest way that the enemy is achieving his goals for America.
This is what it has been doing but now let’s look at where it leads. If we as individuals and then collectively on any level fail to walk in our identity as sons and daughters of God (see John 1:12, Romans 8) then we will not live a life of peace and be open for anything the enemy seeks to unleash. In America, we will see incest, polygamy and darker perversion rise in the coming year and will become more common. The homosexual spirit is a perverted spirit that has no limits. This same spirit at work in our nation has made us numb to perversion ever so slightly but now it is coming to the forefront.
The success of the series “50 Shades of Gray” proves that; at what point did we as a culture, say it was perfectly ok to mix violence and sex and call it “romantic.” Like homosexuality, it is a lie to lower the standards of the way things can be…which then leads to accepting as an option for some…which then leads to temptation…and if the enemy has his way it will lead you far away from the heart of God. That is the goal folks. Satan doesn’t want you to know and have a relationship with God so he attacks everything that God calls holy & good i.e. “marriage, sex, etc. and then labels you as a bigot if you choose to stand for what God has said. That, my friends, is a scary slope to be progressing on and yet here we are…sliding our way down evermore. Truth never bends to cultural relevance; if your understanding of truth has then it never was truly truth. “
One final note, with the homosexual spirit rampant in our nation it opens the door for deception to take a stronghold and not relent. The athlete that came out as being gay embodied the biggest lie that comes with homosexuality: that you can be a homosexual and still be a Christian. This will become a major pin of debate both within and outside the church. This lie, seeks to push the effect of homosexuality which has ran free in the culture to now, deceive the elect (the Bride of Christ) if it were possible.” The Left will attack the Church and make every move to force the Church to recognize and endorse homosexuality (as they already have in marriage). The double standard applied to the church in this area has already been made apparent but its about to get worse and far more violent. Persecution is coming and soon at that.
In Great Britain, they are already seeing deception everywhere, to the point that they have made a “Queen James Bible” that is a bible for gays. It apparently “retranslates” the Scriptures that have to used to oppose homosexuality. The problem with that is that Truth (see John 14:6) is unchanging and the Bible is not man’s opinion; it is God’s and He has the final say on everything. America is not far from accepting this lie that it is ok to be homosexual and Christian; and at this point the Body will either rise in the face of persecution from the world, or die in suffocating silence; I’ll give you a hint, it wont be the latter.
There is much more to say on this subject but I will save that for another time. There are more aspects of this vision so keep an eye out for part 2 sometime next week! Leave your comments below or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter!
I don’t know about you but I am a creature of habit and change it not an easy thing. Yet, it seems life is constantly changing around me, good, bad and indifferent change is afoot and at work. In most of the times that I have been confronted with change its always been terrifying. It was scary when I realized my inadequacies to save myself and so I gave my life to Christ; it was scary when I had to get my first job and pay bills; it was scary when I quit one job for another and even worse when I was fired from a job. Fear tags alongside change but what most people miss in times of change is faith because fear chokes out faith.
Thankfully, God is constant (Hebrews 13:8), unchanging and undaunted by the circumstances we face in life. Nothing takes Him off guard. When change comes in fear will try to creep in but when we allow God to invade the spaces of our life…faith will always arise. Faith that our God has a great plan, faith that He is ever faithful, faith that He will finish the work He has started in us! Change is not always bad but the enemy will do everything he can to get your perspective of change off of God and onto the mess. Too easily we forget that God is the expert on taking our mess and turning it into a message. God makes all things new…but only if we can give it to Him. Today I challenge you to do that: embrace the change and the newness that God has and as Jon Acuff says, “PUNCH FEAR IN THE FACE!”
It’s always good to be reminded of things that we so easily forget in day to day life. Today I got my reminder on the power of depression and how to combat it. If you are facing depression I can guarantee you being around “church folk” (religious) does not work. Often the “church folk” will offer a kind scripture and send you on your way. However, you and I can know Scriptures like “the joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10)” but unless we learn and intentionally tap into the truth of them they will remain as empty words.
The past couple of days have been rough for me, as soon as I have come home, I got attacked out of nowhere with a depression funk. It was the oddest thing as I was fine at work and even had some great days at work. Yesterday, I slept the day away thinking it was just being worn out from returning to the routine but then tonight was far more brazen. While I was reading and praying, I noticed my thought suddenly turned deeply negative. It was an onslaught of depression that put me in the dumps for no reason at all.
I had the wisdom to text a good friend who then called me and prayed for me. Before we ended the brief call he told me God put in in his heart to tell me to put on praise music (not worship) and to dance before the Lord. Gotta love a timely word of knowledge to bring life to your situation! No sooner had I made a quick playlist on my iPhone and started dancing a fool the depression was gone and I celebrated in who God is! Depression can not inhabit the same place as praise; it’s like telling a sword and a ballon to share the same space. That ballon will pop as soon as the sword moves in place…depression in praise is much the same way.
It was this no hold crazy praise dancing that invited an awareness of who God is and who He is to be that forced any remnant of depression to flee. Joy is constant because it is not based on circumstances while happiness is flexible depending entirely on our circumstances. Praising, not worshipping, invites nothing but joy, that exists no matter the circumstances of life so next time you feel a bit low turn up some songs that praise Jesus and dance. You will quickly discover that the joy of the Lord truly is your strength.
Do I have a surprise for you today, Pastor Scott Schatzline, Senior Pastor of Daystar Family Church (in Tuscaloosa, AL) has written a powerful life-changing book called “HUBS” It is a on-time message for the Body of Christ that will cause you to see God at work in your life in a whole new way! This is a MUST HAVE textbook for all believers (young & old) in understanding their journey to fulfill their Kingdom assignment!
Please spread the word with your friends and even better pre-order your copy today! As my friend Josh has said, “If you want Jesus to go BOOM, BANG & POW in your life through ink than you should preorder this book now!” You will not want to miss this powerful book go to www.hubsbook.com
Recently, a good friend posted this video on her Facebook page and it messed me up in a good way. Please take 10 minutes out of your day and listen to this snipet from Pastor Judah Smith be reminded of Barabbas.
In part 6 of “Dream Big(ger)” we saw that God is faithful to His us fulfilling the plan that He has prepared for us (see Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 1:3-6)! He is faithful to keep His Word, if you need more proof check out Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Now that we know this having a foundational understanding that God has a plan and that He is faithful to see it through where do we go from here?
I believe that even in knowing this, now we must accept that now we have permission from God to see it through! We have, through God’s promises, permission to dream bigger than our circumstances, bigger than our vision, love God and people bigger than the confines of our humanity! As we do this with intentionality, the Church will become the shining example that we are to be in this world! Matthew 5:13-16, illustrates this but did you notice Jesus’ words? We are commanded to “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Dreaming Bigger is the way to do just that!
It’s all about faith! Having faith in God, in who He is, in His Word, and in ourselves. I pray that this series has been as encouraging for you where you are as much as it has been for me to write. I enjoy hearing from you the readers so keep the feedback coming either through the Facebook Fan Page or Twitter and tell your friends as well.
With the publication of “Harlem Shake / Alma Mater Style” post yesterday it came to my attention that it was my 100th post here on ATW. While I was hoping my 100th would be a great successful and insightful post but it wasn’t. God definitely has a sense of humor; the irony of the fact that my 100th post was that of a viral craze proves just that! When I started ATW, it was all about stewarding my God-given gift, then it was about the numbers, then it became about finding myself…now it’s about expressing God and how I encounter Him in everyday life.
It has been over the past 100 posts that I have grown significantly as an individual. God has used this blog as one of His tools to do just that, to work the garden of my heart. It has shown me what really lies at my core, taking me on the journey to discover the scariest depth of who I really am. I have seen the limitations of my own ability and the exceeding abundance of God’s when I learn to trust in Him. ATW was simply a tool in the Lord’s hands in exposing the roots of my insecurities faith and fears. Ultimately helping me to grow in my trust in Him. Through it all, ATW became a vehicle for God, showing His faithfulness; showing me He is faithful beyond what I can comprehend.
I had a vision when starting this blog but I had no clue what to expect. Sixteen months and a hundred posts later God has blown my mind in what He has done and who He has revealed Himself as! I pray and invite God to continue whatever He is working in us here at ATW. Please continue telling your friends/followers to connect with what God is doing here at ATW. We will continue to seek God first, not only to dream BIG with God but #dreambigger encountering Him in everyday life!
I don’t know about you but I have found that often God will place me around people that “just rub me the wrong way.” It’s not that these people are just that extreme opposite but the fact that they are exactly like me. I have found the very things that have “rubbed me the wrong way” about that person is also in me. In these reflections, God has been showing me who I am.
God has been doing major surgery on me as of lately in the area of offense. I am seeing the offenses I have once held, even against family members, have come from unmet expectations that I had of them. I held them to a standard that they failed to live up to and because we are most easily hurt by the ones we love the most (family and friends) offense takes root. While I am working on my end of things and on resolving this area in my life I am seeing my reflection in others and it surprises me.
Here in those moments I have the realization of “I used to be like that?” and I thank God for the change He is working in me because now I can help others along the same path. Am I perfect at this or any area? No, far from it but I will do the best I can on my end to be the man of God He has called me to be. That starts by seeing my reflection and changing the man in the mirror. Maybe it’s just me but have you ever experienced this? Where have you seen your reflection?
