The Awakening | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

All of life is a heart matter.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard my pastor say this, but it's so true.  And the older I get the more my depth of understanding concerning this thought increases.  As I've shared before, sight is a function of the eyes and vision is a function of the heart.  People of vision ALWAYS have the proper perspective on life and the various situations it brings because people of vision see primarily with their hearts as opposed to their eyes.

You may be wondering why it's so important to have the proper perspective on life and what it brings. Simply put, the answer is so you're able to maintain your peace.  It's GOD's desire that we live free of stress, and the only way we can enjoy a stress-free existence is to remain in a state of peace.  Seeing what GOD allows to enter (or exit) our lives from the improper perspective creates stress--or, another term I like to use, dis-ease. That's right! Stress will LITERALLY make you sick, wheras being stress free will give you life.

Therefore, we should not allow our present circumstances to get the best of us.  Even Paul encouraged us to be content in whatever situations we may find ourselves (Philippians 4:11).  I'd like to challenge your understanding of this scripture.  In furthering considering the Greek word translated "content," consider another meaning of this word besides the commonly held understanding that being content refers to one's lot or possession. To be content also means "to be independent of external circumstances."  Living stress free is existing independent of external circumstances.  You can even go further and conclude that this is also descriptive of the walk of faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).  It takes being faithful (or "full of faith") to not allow our present, external circumstances to get the best of us.

Let's consider Lazarus, whose situation went from bad to worse.  How would you have approached this situation?  Well, Jesus chose to approach the situation in a manner that diametrically opposed this world's approach and obtained results that were astoundingly different from everyone else's results.  If you say Lazarus is dead, you'll grieve.  However, if you say he's asleep, you'll awaken him.  If you say your that your life is over because of where you are and that you'll be stuck there forever, then you'll be depressed.  However, if you have a dream that's seen beyond your present state, you can always plan to awaken your dream later so you can handle the present conditions.

It's imperative that we have vision, not just sight.  Vision is a view of your purpose (domain, area of gifting).  It's purpose in pictures.  When you walk by faith and not by sight, you believe the pictures more than the present.  More importantly, you have peace.  A life filled with peace awakens sleeping visions, whereas a life of stress mourns the death of one's present circumstances.  Endeavor, therefore, to be about the awakening--faithfully living independent of external circumstances in peace.

The Process | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

I've got a question for you: What are you doing to facilitate your process?  When believing GOD to manifest something that He's shown you, there's a process that gets you from the promise to the Promised Land.  Yes, it's A-okay to confess that this is your season.  Go ahead and praise GOD now for the coming harvest.  But are you doing what's necessary now to facilitate the process of manifestation?  Better yet, just how are you standing in agreement with GOD's Word concerning GOD's promise for your life?

Every promise has a purpose.  Believe it or not, there's a reason behind every promise GOD makes; and it's up to us to know the purpose for the promise.  Knowing the purpose of GOD's promises and keeping that in the forefront of our minds ensures we remain grounded.  With the understanding of purpose, we can then develop--by the guidance of the Holy Spirit--functional goals to serve as a series of benchmarks to measure our progress in the process.  Each goal MUST line up with purpose, not arrogance, flesh or competition...BUT PURPOSE.

The process is not about getting revenge on those who have been hindrances instead of helpers.  It's not even about proving anything to the critics or getting the approval of the naysayers.  The process is about the fulfillment of purpose.  And as we progress in the process, we need to be bold in our declaration of the Word of GOD.  It's our saying what GOD has already said (ie "homologeo") that unleashes the power of the Almighty.  Our agreement with the Word gives GOD permission to step out of eternity into time to fulfill His purpose for our lives.  GOD desires our partnership in fulfilling His purpose for our lives.  Therefore, let's do all we can to facilitate GOD in bringing us from the no more to the not yet.

Let's pray: Father, we humbly come as Your loving children brimming with gratitude for all You've done for us.  We thank You for each and every promise You've made to us because we know they're sure.  You are faithful to perform that which You've spoken and our trust is in You for the manifestation of Your Word concerning us.  Father, help us to better facilitate the process of Your purpose.  Heighten our sensitivity to the leading of Your Spirit that we might not sin against You.  May our desires be increasingly conformed to Yours for us so we might move in harmony with You.  We desire to partner with You because we are ready to progress.  Father, continue to shield us from the snares of the enemy and deliver us from those who are under the enemy's influence.  To You be all glory, honor, dominion and power.  AMEN!

Thy Will Be Done | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

As I was listening to the song "As It Is In Heaven" being ministered by the Chief Musician at my church during this morning's worship service, I received an increased understanding of the portion of the model prayer that says, "Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven."  My mind has been pondering this quite a bit, especially since I recently produced an audio blog entitled, "Fly Away Syndrome," which was quite the experience in and of itself.  As the Holy Spirit ministered that blog post's content to me in January, it challenged much of what I heard over the years and to some degree even believed.  And hearing that song this morning inspired the following thoughts.

Jesus instructed us in the model prayer to petition the Father for His will, purposes and intentions to be manifested NOW in THIS ENVIRONMENT just as it's ALREADY been manifested in Heaven.  WOW!!!  Christ is expecting us to desire both HERE and NOW everything that Heaven comprises and represents.  We say there's no sickness, sadness, or poverty in Heaven, but our Father is waiting for us to desire this very same atmosphere in Earth simply because it's already existent in Heaven.  As a matter of fact, He wants us to desire it so much that we actually petition Him to manifest it in our midst.  Glory to GOD! (If you all only knew how I felt right now as I'm writing this!)

Familiarity Breeds Contempt (Part 2) | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

You know, as we continue from yesterday's blog post, Christ spoke of a prophet being without honor in his home country (Matthew 13:15).  It's funny how we expect those who have known us the longest to be our biggest cheerleaders. Oddly enough, that's not the case because we've all been disappointed by people who knew us but didn't KNOW us.  One of my favorites quotes from Dr. Munroe is, "Seeing is a function of the eyes, whereas vision is a function of the heart."  It takes vision to see someone's area of gifting: only the heart can look past someone's personality, behavior and appearance to SEE IN THEM something totally different from what your eyes SEE ON THEM.  And unfortunately, many of the people we've known the longest are visionless when it comes to us.  They know our personalities like the back of their hand but never took the time to see beyond that.

I love GOD so much because He sees me through His heart.  It's His heart that reminds Him of what He placed within me, even when my personality, behavior and appearance don't match the gifting.  According to Job 36:5, "God is mighty, yet he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding" (New Living Translation).  Our Father is able to despise no one because His might is inclusive of strength AND HEART.  Therefore, the only way we can see the best (i.e. the gifting) in other people as well as ourselves is by adopting our Father's behavior as our own.  While our eyes may show us what's real (or apparent), we all know that what's seen doesn't always reveal what's true.  It's in our best interest then to become people of vision, seeing with our hearts under the influence of GOD's Holy Spirit.

It is through a vibrant fellowship with the Holy Spirit that we're able to maximize our fellowship with each other.  It's by our yielding to the Spirit that we're able to see beyond each other's exteriors that which GOD has placed in others.  As we're sensitive to GOD's voice, we can hear His instructions concerning our roles in pushing others into their purpose.  Our desire should be to become mighty in power and understanding, just like our Father, so we can despise no one.  People should become attracted to us simply because of our might and how influential we are in propelling others towards their destiny.  So instead of endeavoring to become familiar with people, let's resolve to become mighty in power and understanding.  No more breeding of contempt, friends.  Let's breed the kind of influence that impacts people and the environment for the sake of the Kingdom!

Familiarity Breeds Contempt (Part 1) | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Anyone who knows me knows that I love quotes, phrases and cliches because it's interesting learning the origins behind them.  This week, one in particular came to mind as I was pondering how people who operate in their area of gifting are treated by those who know them well: "Familiarity breeds contempt."  Oddly enough, I immediately realized that the Holy Spirit was trying to communicate something to me because, even though I've heard this phrase used numerous times, I never really used it (mostly because I didn't have a full understanding of its meaning).  In researching "familiarity breeds contempt," I learned that it has its origins in one of Aesop's Fables, entitled "The Fox and the Lion."  (Of an interesting sidenote, since this is Black History Month, you might be surprised to know that the world renown Aesop was actually a black man of Ethiopian origin.)

Now, the thought that was initially communicated to me during the week was this: "Don't become so familiar with someone's personality that you become too familiar with their area of gifting."  It was after hearing this that I heard, "Familiarity breeds contempt."  So, I immediately went to the online dictionary to define "contempt."  (Even though I had an understanding of its meaning, my "love of words" NEVER relies solely upon my own understanding of a word.)  To my surprise, the main definition of "contempt" is the act of despising.  And I say, "to my surprise," because I quickly remembered hearing Dr. Myles Munroe teach a while back that to despise is not just to hate, but rather--in many cases--to ignore.  In keeping with the context of my original thought, I then realized that we can become so familiar with those around us that we ignore what's been placed inside of them.  Therefore, as they pursue purpose, experience success and are elevated, we say silly things like, "I never knew ALL OF THAT was inside of them."  That's because familiarity with someone's personality blinds us to the greatness that was lying within them all the time.

I can't help but to think of myself here, so allow me to become a little transparent.  I grew up EXTREMELY shy and spent my entire childhood plagued with SEVERE stage fright.  My youth was spent dodging ANYTHING that required the use of a microphone or being onstage where all eyes would be on me.  Of course, anyone who has met me within the past 12 years would probably find that hard to believe.  However, those who knew me as a child marvel today when I minister because who they see now is starkly different from who they saw then.  Why?  Because they only knew my personality.  The amazing thing, though, is that my parents knew the musical gifting in me as a child and can even tell stories recounting instances in which they saw small glimpses of the greatness that what was already inside of me.  Their biggest challenge was figuring out how to nurture my gift because they didn't consider themselves to be musically inclined people.  Ironically, it was them consistently keeping me in church that, over all those years, nurtured a love for GOD's presence, which connected with the musical gifting that I came here with at birth.  (Sidenote: Parents, your children will never know who they are outside of GOD's presence.  So don't make excuses for them to not be at church when they should be there.)

CHECK OUT PART 2 FOR THE CONCLUSION...

Stand Firm | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Ever find yourself being targeted for doing the right thing?  My guess is most--if not all--of us have at some point.  A familiar scripture recently begged my attention: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: the righteous are as bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1).  Those who do wrong, according to this scripture, take flight when no one is even running after them.  Of course, my mind began to wonder why wicked men would feel compelled to run when they're not even being chased?  It's so funny that I would even ask that question because the students in the Sunday School class I'm so privileged to teach always hear me say, "What follows the colon explains what's before it."  (Honestly, I've always focused so much on the latter portion of this verse, that I never really paid much attention to the first part.)  But let's examine what follows the colon and get some understanding about the wicked taking flight when not being pursued.

The righteous are "the just," those who have been MADE RIGHT as well as those who DO RIGHT.  Righteous people have been justified (cleared of guilt) and remain guilt-free through a lifestyle that keeps them cleared.  The boldness is literally a place to hide for refuge.  In other words, righteous people are safely hidden, whereas the wicked are exposed.  Therefore, this feeling of being targeted that I alluded to earlier is actually a tactic of the enemy to elicit fear when, in fact, it's the exposed and unprotected wicked who are plagued with the feeling of being targeted.  The wicked flee when no man pursues them because their lack of security creates a sense of paranoia (an overwhelming feeling that everything is working against them).

Fly Away Syndrome (Audio) | This Is FHW

Inspired by Black History Month, this audio post explores commonly and not so commonly held ideas about heaven, earth and our understanding of both.

You Gotta Believe | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Yesterday, I was contemplating on what I would blog about today and was experiencing a bit of difficulty in doing so.  My mind traversed several ideas that I'd already started working on, but I couldn't quite latch on to any of them.  Oddly enough, I ran across a quote that I'd loved and thought about writing something around it.  It was a simple message that really didn't need much explanation; however, I was unsure of going that route.  Then this morning, one of my tweeps (Twitter peeps) said something that inspired me: "I know I make mistakes and I'm still a work in progress but I know I'm destined to be somebody because God told me so."

Desiring Better | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

This past Sunday, my pastor expounded on Jabez as part of his message.  I was truly blessed by the insight he shared on this Bible personality who, although only spoken of in just two consecutive verses, teaches us a very impactful lesson.  So it's my prayer that what follows will be an encouragement to someone who may be going through a tough spot right now.

Let's take a look at the latter portion of 1 Chronicles 4:9, which says that the mother of Jabez so named him because she "bare him with sorrow."  The name Jabez means "to grieve; sorrowful," and that word "sorrow" in the verse means "pain."  Therefore, we can agree that this guy came into the world under less than desirable circumstances, and his identity became associated with those circumstances.  His name was a constant reminder of pain, and he lived carrying the burden of that name daily.  How many people are identified with the undesirable and are seemingly never able to come from underneath the burden of the name they've been given?

Letting Go (AUDIO) | This Is FHW (Feb 2011 Radio Segment)

Listen to today's radio segment of "This is FHW | From the Heart of a Worshipper" on the Resting In His Word Broadcast featuring Evangelist Cheryl Boggs on Amistad Radio Group's KSYB 1300 AM (Shreveport, LA). To read the transcript, visit our Facebook Fan Page and click the "Notes" tab. Questions and/or comments are welcome and can be sent via email. The music featured in today's segment is by new artist Lee Johnson, whose debut project "Royal Love Letters" is schedule for release in May 2011. The project's lead single "Know You More" is available for purchase on iTunes.

Trust Me | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Having been born around the time when the Smallwood Singers were one of the hottest recording groups in gospel music, I literally grew up listening to the music of Richard Smallwood.  I can say without hesitation that he is my favorite gospel songwriter of all time and arguably one of the best songwriters ever because his music has ministered to me throughout my entire life and continues to do so.  Upon hearing his new single "Trust Me" from the forthcoming project "Promises" with his vocal aggregation Vision, I was reminded all over again why I love the gifting and ministry of Richard Smallwood.  (If you have not heard "Trust Me" yet, I encourage you to do yourself a favor and visit his Facebook fan page so you can listen to it.  The Music Player is located near the bottom of the page's lefthand column.)

Our lives are literally marked by situations that have required us to trust GOD.  We've all faced times of calamity, uncertainty and pain that pressed upon so that we could hardly see beyond the present moment. No matter how spiritual we may be, we're all human; and I can remember times in which the fears of my circumstances were so gripping that I felt powerless. And I'm not talking about occurrences from years and years ago.  If you only knew how my faith has been tried within the past year and a half, you would be amazed that I'm still here AND committed to GOD now more than ever before.

Interpreting Crisis | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Have you ever considered that all change is a crisis?  We tend to think of a crisis as being something very dramatic, but that's not necessarily the case.  According to Dr. Myles Munroe (in his teaching "Kingdom Strategy for Changing Times"), a crisis is a change in the environment that warrants a new, unscheduled approach to its response.  And for clarification purposes, there are two types of crises: internal and external.  Internal crisis is self-produced, whereas external crisis results from changes we cannot control.

It's very important how we see crises because how we think is more important than what's happening around us.  While we may not be able to control the crisis, we can control our minds and how we think about crisis.  Therefore, as Kingdom citizens, we must exercise what is called "controlled perception" because how we think determines how we interpret crisis.  The basic idea behind controlled perception is that whatever we call something is actually what it becomes to us.  For example, instead of calling the crisis a problem, call it an opportunity to grow.  Whatever we perceive a thing to be actually controls our response to it.  Interesting, right?  Because when you think about it, the situation wins when our thoughts become the victim of our circumstances.

Not the Seed, The Soil | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

We've all been given seed--a talent, a vision, something to nurture.  And it's funny how we sometimes get disgusted with the seed because it's not yielding what we thought it would.  However, instead of getting upset with what we've been given, consider the soil in which the seed has been placed.  That's right: let's consider ourselves.

Our lives are filled with excuses, fears and other such obstructions to the growth and development of our seed.  We get caught up in the paralysis of anyalysis, and we even become overly concerned about what other people may think of us.  Yet and still, none of this changes the fact that we've been given perfectly good seed that's been purposed to yield fruit.  Therefore, we can't fault the seed for not growing when the soil it's in isn't providing it nourishment.