Get In Your Element

There is nothing like being in your element because--when in that space--you come across as confident, at peace and fearless. This is why it is important for you to allow your Creator to make clear the gifts He has wired you to express via your existence. Any area of gifting you possess, as shared by Dr. Myles Munroe, is to be understood as territory in which you are meant to dominate. And being armed with this understanding, you can--without apology--focus your time, talent and treasure in maximizing your efficiency through targeted deployment of your unique giftedness.

The abilities you come to understand as GOD-given gifts MUST be nurtured. Doing so refines the rawness of your abilities into a polished presentation of them that sets you apart as one who dominates in your respective area(s) of gifting. But in order to fluently express your gifting at such notable levels, demand MUST be consistently placed on your potential to produce it with excellence. This is the key to surpassing good and becoming exceptional. As you deploy your gift, excellent delivery of it ensures the continued employment of your gift, because people will consequently come looking for you in order to access what you produce when in your element.

So whenever you experience being in your element, thank GOD for each and every opportunity He gives you to function in the capacity for which you have been well-equipped. After all, it is His gift working in and through you to do that which is His will and good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Each opportunity you are afforded testifies of GOD's ability to guide your feet into places which He has already prepared for you to succeed. Therefore, wherever you may find yourself on the journey to greatness, being in your element is always a cause for celebration and thanksgiving. 

The Desire For Fresh Fire | 12.31.12

As I was getting caught up on some work earlier this morning, the phrase "fresh fire" dropped in my spirit.  In times past, I heard this phrase but never really paid any mind to it.  I guess, at the time, it didn't arrest my attention enough for me to ponder its meaning.  However, with all the peculiar things that have been happening in my life lately, it did this time.  Initially, my thoughts were, "How can an element like fire, which has existed as long as air and water, be fresh?"  That REALLY stumped me.  And then the Holy Spirit says, "It's fresh with each igniting."  Hmmm, the fire that is freshly ignited...

Just Be Balanced (AUDIO) | 05.15.12

This week's inspirational podcast stresses the need for balance in the Body of Christ.  It is through our balanced lifestyles that we are able to let our lights shine and attract mankind to GOD's Kingdom as well as His way of doing things.  There's no need to be radical or start a revolution... We just need to be balanced to effectively reach the masses.



Music By: JewelBeat
Transcript of podcast available at facebook.com/thisisfhw.

We've Got To Agree | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

As I listened to a cd of Kingdom teaching featuring one of my favorite worship leaders, Minister Steve Lawrence, there was something he said that inspired me to blog some thoughts:

"True praise requires us touching and agreeing about who He [GOD] is.  And He promised to meet between the faces of two people who can agree about who He is.  So I can't afford not to get along with you because the power of agreement is between us.  And if we're going to see a manifestation of His power, it requires us to agree."

It amazes me how much disagreement there is in the Body of Christ.  We claim to be so desperate for a move of GOD, yet we harbor so much disagreement amongst ourselves.  While I understand that--as humans--we do have differences, our differences should not be magnified to the extent that the manifestation of GOD's power is blocked by our selfishness and narcissism.  There's no point in desiring the miracles, signs and wonders that follow the Word when we can't even come together and agree with each other on what the Word says.

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!

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.

Kingdom Expansion | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Since I spend most of my days at work sitting in front of a computer, I spend much of my time at the office listening to the teaching of GOD's Word as I go about my daily duties. This morning, as I was listening to a message by Dr. Myles Munroe, something he said struck a chord in me: "Kingdoms expand by colonization." Most of us have, at some point in our education, learned about world civilizations (e.g. countries, nations) that sought to expand their global influence by colonizing foreign territories. Part of this colonization process included having a community of citizens from the home country to live in the foreign territory, so they could infiltrate the foreign territory with the culture of the home country.

One could literally write a whole book on this topic, but I just want to quickly leave something with you to consider. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven who are living in the foreign territory of Earth, we are charged with being the community of people responsible for infiltrating the foreign territory's culture with Heaven's culture. If it appears the Kingdom community's influence within a locality is either not growing or diminishing, it's simply because there's a decrease in the manifestation of the culture of Heaven in that geographic area. We can spout all the religious rhetoric, church phrases and Christian cliches we can recall, but the Kingdom influence only increases in dominance as a community of Kingdom citizens manifest the culture of Heaven through a consistent lifestyle that reflects the will, intent and purposes of our King.

What I love about the holiday season is the period of personal reflection I undergo in preparation for the New Year. It's my prayer that we all would reflect on our our lifestyles this season and evaluate how well we reflect the culture of Heaven, our home country. Do our lifestyles attract unbelievers to become Kingdom citizens and adopt Heaven's culture? Or are we living in such a way that unbelievers experience difficulty in distinguishing a difference between our culture and their own? In order to rule, reign and dominate the Earth and its resources (or as Donald Lawrence put it, "get back to Eden"), we must be determined now more than ever to advance Kingdom colonization through cultural expansion. In other words, both what we say and do MUST be consistent with our identity as Kingdom citizens, thereby exhibiting a lifestyle of holiness.