To Be Built Up | 06.15.13

Have you ever asked GOD to increase your faith?  I have asked Him in times past to do so because of my own perceived inability to accomplish various things.  Over the years, I've learned that the faith we've been given is all the faith we need (Romans 12:3); but it profits us nothing when we fail to exercise it.  All of us are guilty of having faith without corresponding works.  We have believed, at some point or another, and then failed to follow through on what we accepted as real and true for our lives.  Whether it was to move forward in launching a business idea, pursuing continued education, or even going forth in a call to ministry, among many other things, the measure of faith we've all been given was--for whatever reason--not deployed to manifest what we envisioned.

Banishing The Hurt | 03.06.13

I recently attended a Sunday Night FLOW worship service that featured some phenomenal ministry in song from Kevin Levar, David and Nicole Binion, and Myron Williams.  It was indeed a powerful time of worship, as the presence of GOD there was evident.  Even after the service ended, the Holy Spirit continued to minister to me.  I posted the following status update on Facebook shortly after awaking the next morning.

Elton Taylor believes unforgiveness will stall a breakthrough worse than a broken timing belt does a car. Yes, the battery has power; but what good is having power when you can't move forward? With that being said, I encourage you to replace that broken belt with one of wholeness so GOD can redeem the time during which you've been empowered but motionless. Now is the time to forgive and let go of the hurtful feelings you've been experiencing for far too long. Now is the time to evict from your mind each painful memory and break free from every mentally tortuous reminder of what happened. Now is the time to dissolve any desire for revenge and to sever from yourself all planned attempts for recompense once the truth surfaces. Your breakthrough depends on the forgiveness YOU extend, so let the healing begin that you might live.
#GodBlessMyEnemies_KevinLevar
#HealingIsHereAndIReceiveIt_DavidAndNicoleBinion
#SunNiteFLOW_MyronWilliams
#HearingTheHolySpiritForMyself_PRICELESS

Lessons In Stewardship | 02.12.13

Early into a recent teaching ("I Want More" | 02.02.13) shared by my pastor, he said something very interesting: "An indication that you're ready for more is you being a good steward of what GOD has already given you."  Although it certainly was not my first time hearing anything of this nature, this time it resonated with me differently.  In this season of my life, I have more on my plate than ever and the Holy Spirit is still saying, "I've got more for you."  Of course, my mind is thinking, "Where else can more be fit? I'm swamped!"  Have you ever been there before, where it seems you've already bitten off more than you can chew and GOD is yet saying, "I've got more to give you"?

Getting Things Right - Part 3 | 02.02.13

When an unbeliever comes face-to-face with the Good News and finds themselves at a crossroads, it may appear to be difficult for them to cast unbelief aside and choose to believe.  But since every man has been given the measure of faith (Romans 12:3), it's not impossible to believe.  With that measure of GOD-given faith comes the responsibility of mixing it with the Word heard: it enables us to respond to what we hear by willfully engaging in the corresponding action that gets the desired results.  In the case of reconciliation, when faith is mixed with belief in the Gospel of the Good News of the Kingdom, it yields the GOD-results of imputed (or credited) righteousness.

That Changing Power | 01.23.13

Last night, I was blessed with the opportunity to encourage a friend and brother who is seeking to move past some things in his life that have been holding him back.  I can relate to his struggle because we all have certain behavioral patterns that have emerged in our lives as a result of our exposure to ungodly spiritual influences.  Whether our exposure to these influences emanate from choices we willingly made or situations we were forced to experience, we find ourselves daily grappling with demonically influenced behaviors that have taken up residence in our souls.  And because they have made themselves at home in our minds, will and emotions, they hinder the Holy Spirit from doing His job.  I'm not talking about Him giving us goose bumps and sending us into fits of praise.  This is about the Holy Ghost conforming us into the image of Christ by helping us achieve balance, teaching us about the culture of Heaven, and empowering us to transact Kingdom business here in the Earth realm.

Just Like Me | 01.22.13

As I watched televised coverage of the inauguration of U.S. President Barack H. Obama, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with gratitude.  There were a number of reasons for which I was grateful; but one stood out in particular, oddly enough.   While listening to the commentators on CNN, a quote by George Washington caught my attention and went something like (and I paraphrase), "It is the peaceful transfer of power that will set this nation apart from others."  Even though this was a second term inauguration ceremony, I felt so privileged to be an American at that moment because, despite party differences and varying views on the role government should (or should not) have in the lives of its citizens, there are so many countries throughout the world where there is no peaceful transfer of power.  In some places, people fear for their lives as well as the overall stability of the government and economy when leaders come into the top political offices of their countries.

Getting Things Right - Part 2 | 01.16.13

As it was stated in the last installment of this blog series, the sin of unbelief is what WE MUST be delivered from.  And because the sin of unbelief looks GOD square in the face and calls Him a liar, it establishes a paradigm of thinking in an individual's mind to have absolutely no regard for GOD.  This is why it becomes imperative that our unbelief "gets right" FIRST.  The sin of unbelief is an internal condition of the heart characterized by the nonexistence of trust in GOD.  That inward condition of the soul then manifests itself outwardly through our bodies in the form of naturally rebellious behavior against GOD's standards for living.  This is why we must bypass the symptoms and diligently attend to uprooting the underlying cause for our rebellious nature.

Getting Things Right | 01.14.13

Last week, I read a Facebook status that interestingly enough said, "You do not have to get things right before you can come to God."  I couldn't agree more with this statement because, as I understand it, we come to GOD BECAUSE we've accepted the fact that He's already made things right.  That which is wrong between GOD and man has already been made right by Him, so the only role we play in this scenario is that of accepting GOD's offer to now be right with Him forevermore.  Our wrongful condition was something mankind inherited from Adam that separated us from GOD at conception.  (Yes, we were sinners BEFORE we could even do anything sinful.)  However, the offer to be in right standing with GOD is now available through Christ Jesus alone; and we choose to either accept or refuse what GOD the Father has already put in place for us to "get things right" with Him.  There's no more work to be done for us to be right because GOD Himself completed that.  We only need to receive by faith GOD's gift of salvation unto eternal life as the finished work of righteousness.

Getting To GOD's Garden - Part 2 | 01.09.13

Early yesterday morning, shortly after the day's blog post hit the web, I received the following question:
Based on your blog ["Getting To GOD's Garden | 01.08.13"], one could say we hinder our harvest or delay our reaping because we are not perpetually in His presence resting in His already finished work?  After providing an answer, albeit a brief one, I began to hear more.  And before I knew it, I was writing the second installment on this topic.  So the below answer, although based upon the short response originally given to the question, takes a much broader approach than what was originally intended.  Thank You, Holy Spirit...

Getting To GOD's Garden | 01.08.13

As I thought about seasons on yesterday, what came to me was the notion that seasons are periods of time in which external conditions affect the manifestation of internal abilities.  My pastor, Erick D. Matthews, Sr. (WORD Worship Center | Plano, TX), referred to something (based upon Revelation 22:2) during the teaching shared on last week that really caught my attention: How is it that the trees in GOD's gardens produce fruit all the time?  To be honest, I don't even recall what he said after that because this question captured my attention and sent my ink pen into a frenzy.  I immediately recalled something Bishop T.D. Jakes once said about the need for winter seasons and rest because even trees would die if they produced fruit all year long.  As cold and bitter as the season may be, winter benefits fruit-bearing trees by providing them external conditions that are not ideal for the manifestation of their internal ability to produce fruit.  Therefore, they are able to obtain rest from the fatigue their systems experience as part of the fruit-bearing process.

The Desire For Fresh Fire - Part 2 | 01.05.13

While conversing with my mom on yesterday, she said something that left me super inspired to write this (unplanned) second installment.  After reading the original blog, her spirit and mind connected the dots that, "This must be what it means to fight fire with fire."  I immediately became intrigued because I never before considered this.  By posturing ourselves as holy fire starters here in the Earth, we are creating a thoroughfare for the glory of GOD to be manifested in such a way that it fights the fiery darts of the enemy on our behalf.  Man, that right there encourages me to the very core of my soul!

My Joy Is Not Available | 01.03.13

While in prayer on last night, I heard myself say, "Our joy is not available to be taken when we're in Your presence, GOD."  Clearly, the Holy Spirit inspired these words because I had never before thought or spoken them.  My mind was actually on Psalms 16:11, the latter portion of which I quoted just before uttering those words.  This year, my heart is fiercely determined to spend more time in GOD's presence than ever before.  It's my desire to experience GOD more and for His presence to literally be manifested in EVERY area of my life.  Therefore, STAYING in GOD's presence has become my number one priority.