Andre Zizi, Economy Analyst, revealed that the self-help industry generated around $19 billion dollars in sales in 2008, with projected sales to increase in the following years. The self-help industry success is due to the overwhelming needs of individuals that want to live a more productive life. People are searching for a sense of fulfillment or their place in this world. They often times reflect on their life and ask themselves what have I done with myself, how come I am not further along like my peers? These reflective moments invoke an overwhelming sense of despair and un-fulfillment enters in. A natural reaction to this feeling is to immerse oneself into doing busy work, without thought or care. Our only objective is to feel levels of success, nothing more and nothing less. Many times at the end of these activities we still feel unfulfilled and that empty feeling within still exists. So we continue to work random activities or projects to get the next high, never thinking that we are designed for a greater work. Busy work is not productivity!
Productivity is a very difficult and personal topic to deal with, because it has a direct link to who you are as an individual. What do you mean? As we look at this topic of productivity from a biblical perspective, you will see that productivity has a direct correlation to your God given purpose. This truth is established in John 15:1 & 2 and it states: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that bearth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring more fruit”. The Lord is telling us that our ability to produce or to be productive is tied up in Him. We the branch, can only be productive in Him and His will for our life. Side Note; God provides us with all the resources needed to be productive or fruitful (gifts, talents, money, wisdom, revelation, instructions…). The more we operate in our purpose, the greater our ability to say NO to those things that are unfruitful. The ability to say NO becomes a way that God purgeth us, so that we can become more fruitful.
How do I become productive according to my purpose? There are no easy answers, but our purpose is revealed to us over time. Here are some markers and reflective questions that will help us along this journey:
*What am I passionate about? Your purpose is connected to your passion.
*What are my gifts and talents? (What are some things that I am good at?)
*What are some things that make me mad and/or angry?
Consider these questions as you begin your journey in true productivity. It is my desire that God will reveal His plans for your life and as He does, we must become more purposeful in the activities or projects we choose. Think About It!
Arnulfo A. Peat, Jr. is currently the Executive Pastor of Urban Empowerment and Founder of Think About It Ministries. Peat serves in the ministry with his wife Nicole Peat with their three children Elisha, Nathaniel, and Valerie. For more information go to www.ThinkAboutIt.name
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Spiritual Warfare--Continued--The spirit of haughtiness
Spiritual warfare means that we have to know who we are, which means we must know our purpose and we must realize that God is for us and therefore no one can stand against us. Paul knew who he was. He recognized the authority that had been placed in him and the purpose that he lived to complete so when others challenged his actions he was able to rely on the Word and recall that the weapons of our warfare are not physical. But our weapons are so strong that we can wage war against the Devil and pull down strongholds that hinder others from being reconciled to Christ.
Remember that sometimes we allow little gods to ruin us and run us. Those little gods are strongholds and anything that exalts itself over God. Over time these little things become a stumbling block to us because they cause us to lose our will to fight. We give up hope. But remember the story of David and Goliath. Goliath towered over everyone in Israel. But David had to fight! David remembered all that God had done. David knew something that we need to learn. God fights for us when we take a stand against the enemy. Goliath sized David up and counted him out before the fight began, but David already knew that no matter how large Goliath was, he was no match for our mighty God.
God wants us to realize that we can bring all of the giants in our lives down when we stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. When we feel that we can't make it and when we feel defeated just know that is because we are trying to fight the battle with unqualified weapons. We try to fight with tradition or with our past experiences or with other people's stuff, but like David we have to throw that stuff off and recognize that all we need is what God says we need. We can take the stones and the sling because God will get in the stone and the sling and do something that we couldn't have done on our own so that He can be glorified and the Devil horrified.
Remember to tell yourself and let others know, "I am spiritually bigger that I look on the outside so don't count me out!"
We are to attack the imaginations of the world because the world has a deceptive and fleshly way of looking at things. When people come at you with negativity then we loose the truth of the gospel. The world may be in a recession, but my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory! We are in the world, but not of the world.
People and their attitudes can be our worst source of spiritual warfare. That includes the problem of self. Self doubt, low self esteem, self loathing, and selfishness keep us preoccupied with condemnation and therefore becomes a giant to us. But God came to release us from condemnation.
There are three giants that we must deal with:
Philosophical giants: These are people who seem to understand life so much better than everyone else. No one can give them a word because they already know. Interestingly though these individuals never speak life into others. They can't see themselves to realize that a change needs to be made because from their perspective they are good and the Word doesn't apply to them; it's coming to correct everyone else.
Material giants: these are people who have more so they believe that they have more to say. People listen to them because of the status that they have gained through having material things. Sometimes they can lord their possessions over others.
Intellectual giants: these are the people who know it all and have to prove it. They have all kinds of knowledge, but lack common sense. They work in their own knowledge and not in the spiritual authority of the Lord. As a result their word has a tinge of truth, but they have no power. No power to get a prayer through. No power to help bring down your strongholds. No power because they simply refuse to let God in to reign over their thoughts. Because they portray themselves to be experts others are afraid to challenge them. This person refuses to give God His rightful place.
The solution?
Know the Word of God!
Prayer!
God's people!
Elder Robinson told us we are unique and we all have purpose. In being developed in our calling and in our purpose we need to watch out for a spirit of haughtiness because we can hurt others along the way. We need to know the difference between being assertive and aggressive. It's okay to be assertive, but we are at times too aggressive with others and we mishandle them as a result.
Haughtiness makes people expect to be given something they didn't earn. It is the sense of entitlement. Proverbs 16:17-20 warns that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Elder Robinson let us know that we as church leaders have to get it together! The word comes to admonish, to encourage an to warn and the warning has been given!
We have to Recognize who God is and give Him the first position in our lives. We must submit.
We have to Reconcile past relationships. It is our job to make for peace and to provide a soft response. We need to resolve conflicts quickly and with the person that you are having the conflict with. Don't go telling everyone else in the world and keep holding a grudge against the person you are upset with. This is the coward's way and the Word states that we have forgive in order to receive forgiveness. Elder Robinson shared that we have to give grace to receive grace.
We must eliminate the excuses! We are out of time to keep offering up excuses. The harvest is ripe. We need every hand on deck because it is harvesting time and souls need to be saved!
Remember that sometimes we allow little gods to ruin us and run us. Those little gods are strongholds and anything that exalts itself over God. Over time these little things become a stumbling block to us because they cause us to lose our will to fight. We give up hope. But remember the story of David and Goliath. Goliath towered over everyone in Israel. But David had to fight! David remembered all that God had done. David knew something that we need to learn. God fights for us when we take a stand against the enemy. Goliath sized David up and counted him out before the fight began, but David already knew that no matter how large Goliath was, he was no match for our mighty God.
God wants us to realize that we can bring all of the giants in our lives down when we stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. When we feel that we can't make it and when we feel defeated just know that is because we are trying to fight the battle with unqualified weapons. We try to fight with tradition or with our past experiences or with other people's stuff, but like David we have to throw that stuff off and recognize that all we need is what God says we need. We can take the stones and the sling because God will get in the stone and the sling and do something that we couldn't have done on our own so that He can be glorified and the Devil horrified.
Remember to tell yourself and let others know, "I am spiritually bigger that I look on the outside so don't count me out!"
We are to attack the imaginations of the world because the world has a deceptive and fleshly way of looking at things. When people come at you with negativity then we loose the truth of the gospel. The world may be in a recession, but my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory! We are in the world, but not of the world.
People and their attitudes can be our worst source of spiritual warfare. That includes the problem of self. Self doubt, low self esteem, self loathing, and selfishness keep us preoccupied with condemnation and therefore becomes a giant to us. But God came to release us from condemnation.
There are three giants that we must deal with:
Philosophical giants: These are people who seem to understand life so much better than everyone else. No one can give them a word because they already know. Interestingly though these individuals never speak life into others. They can't see themselves to realize that a change needs to be made because from their perspective they are good and the Word doesn't apply to them; it's coming to correct everyone else.
Material giants: these are people who have more so they believe that they have more to say. People listen to them because of the status that they have gained through having material things. Sometimes they can lord their possessions over others.
Intellectual giants: these are the people who know it all and have to prove it. They have all kinds of knowledge, but lack common sense. They work in their own knowledge and not in the spiritual authority of the Lord. As a result their word has a tinge of truth, but they have no power. No power to get a prayer through. No power to help bring down your strongholds. No power because they simply refuse to let God in to reign over their thoughts. Because they portray themselves to be experts others are afraid to challenge them. This person refuses to give God His rightful place.
The solution?
Know the Word of God!
Prayer!
God's people!
Elder Robinson told us we are unique and we all have purpose. In being developed in our calling and in our purpose we need to watch out for a spirit of haughtiness because we can hurt others along the way. We need to know the difference between being assertive and aggressive. It's okay to be assertive, but we are at times too aggressive with others and we mishandle them as a result.
Haughtiness makes people expect to be given something they didn't earn. It is the sense of entitlement. Proverbs 16:17-20 warns that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Elder Robinson let us know that we as church leaders have to get it together! The word comes to admonish, to encourage an to warn and the warning has been given!
We have to Recognize who God is and give Him the first position in our lives. We must submit.
We have to Reconcile past relationships. It is our job to make for peace and to provide a soft response. We need to resolve conflicts quickly and with the person that you are having the conflict with. Don't go telling everyone else in the world and keep holding a grudge against the person you are upset with. This is the coward's way and the Word states that we have forgive in order to receive forgiveness. Elder Robinson shared that we have to give grace to receive grace.
We must eliminate the excuses! We are out of time to keep offering up excuses. The harvest is ripe. We need every hand on deck because it is harvesting time and souls need to be saved!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Perspective
This morning I opened my daily devotional and it was talking about perspective. I have enclosed a paragraph from it below:
"Perspective is understanding something because you see it from a larger frame of reference. It is the ability to perceive how things are interrelated and then judge their comparative importance. And, for believers, it means seeing life from God's point of view. In the Bible, the words "understanding", "wisdom", and "discernment" all have to do with perspective. The opposite of perspective is "hardness of heart", "blinded" and "dullness.""
We have been discussing Spiritual Warfare during our Bible studies. Part of being able to fight is being able to see and understand. Being able to see and understand means that we have to be open to another point of view outside of our own. In our case that point of view comes from putting on the mind of Christ.
I am often puzzled at how Christians can have so much strife with each other. I do not recall Jesus having ill feelings or strife toward people. I don't recall him laying traps for people or waiting for others to fail or fall. As a matter of fact the Bible says that He came so that none would perish but so that all could have everlasting life.
The main reason that Jesus was able to stay away from this type of behavior was because He had the right perspective. He was here to complete His Father's business so misunderstanding didn't matter. Hurt feelings was not at the forefront. Only accomplishing the will of the Father mattered so as a result Jesus was able love people in spite of being hurt by them. He was able to sacrifice and even ask God to forgive people who had misunderstood Him. He was able to carry out the Father's will.
If you find that there is too much misunderstanding and negativity going on in your thoughts put on the mind of Christ and change your perspective from earthly things to things in Heaven. When you focus on God's will everything around you begins to look different. People who once seemed to annoy you or disgust you now look like souls that need reconciliation to the Father. Situations that once depressed you and distracted you now appear to only be opportunities to give God glory through worship and praise. What was once the Devil trying to kill, steal or destroy you becomes God's opportunity to get the glory from your life because what the Devil meant for bad, God turns around and uses to prosper us.
Ask God daily to help you put on the mind of Christ so that life looks like a chance to do the will of the Father.
"Perspective is understanding something because you see it from a larger frame of reference. It is the ability to perceive how things are interrelated and then judge their comparative importance. And, for believers, it means seeing life from God's point of view. In the Bible, the words "understanding", "wisdom", and "discernment" all have to do with perspective. The opposite of perspective is "hardness of heart", "blinded" and "dullness.""
We have been discussing Spiritual Warfare during our Bible studies. Part of being able to fight is being able to see and understand. Being able to see and understand means that we have to be open to another point of view outside of our own. In our case that point of view comes from putting on the mind of Christ.
I am often puzzled at how Christians can have so much strife with each other. I do not recall Jesus having ill feelings or strife toward people. I don't recall him laying traps for people or waiting for others to fail or fall. As a matter of fact the Bible says that He came so that none would perish but so that all could have everlasting life.
The main reason that Jesus was able to stay away from this type of behavior was because He had the right perspective. He was here to complete His Father's business so misunderstanding didn't matter. Hurt feelings was not at the forefront. Only accomplishing the will of the Father mattered so as a result Jesus was able love people in spite of being hurt by them. He was able to sacrifice and even ask God to forgive people who had misunderstood Him. He was able to carry out the Father's will.
If you find that there is too much misunderstanding and negativity going on in your thoughts put on the mind of Christ and change your perspective from earthly things to things in Heaven. When you focus on God's will everything around you begins to look different. People who once seemed to annoy you or disgust you now look like souls that need reconciliation to the Father. Situations that once depressed you and distracted you now appear to only be opportunities to give God glory through worship and praise. What was once the Devil trying to kill, steal or destroy you becomes God's opportunity to get the glory from your life because what the Devil meant for bad, God turns around and uses to prosper us.
Ask God daily to help you put on the mind of Christ so that life looks like a chance to do the will of the Father.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spiritual Warfare--Continued--The spirit of jealousy
Elder Nunnelly shared with us how to recognize and how to combat the spirit of jealousy in our Spiritual battle.
She let us know that there are three things that we must do:
Assume the position,
Stay in position, and
Remain humble and submit in your position
We assume the position by surrendering our will and taking up God's will.
We stay in position by not allowing anything or anyone to move us or to sway us and by recognizing that the enemy is not each other, but is the Devil. It is a waste of time and energy to look at your bother or sister and wonder what his or her motives are. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.
Elder Nunnelly shared with us the story of Cain and Abel. God honored Abel's sacrifice and did not honor Cain's. Instead of Cain looking at himself and his own behavior he turned his emotions outward and became enraged and jealous of his brother. The fact is that Cain could have experienced the same honor from God as Abel. The task was to provide the first and the best to the Lord. Cain did not provide his best or his first. He had a problem, but it had nothing to do with Abel. Unfortunately, just like Cain many of us turn on our bothers and our sisters trying to make up for a feeling of rejection or inadequacy. God has no respect of persons. He will bless those that are obedient to His commandments. Our enemy is not each other.
We remain humble and submissive in our position when we listen to and act in accordance with the will of God. When we act in the will of God we are always in order. When we act in the will of God we are open to hear His Word, open to His move, and open to reproof and correction. Submitting to God becomes our desire and as a result then we produce the fruit of the Spirit, which includes love.
Elder Nunnelly shared with us that love is the way to combat jealousy. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love is patient and is kind and it is not puffed up. Love just is and doesn't have to jockey for position or attention. Love understands that when all else fails it will remain. Love keeps us in position while God works His perfect work in our lives as well as in the lives of those around us. How do you know when you have over come the spirit of jealousy? You will know when it becomes easy to love. There is no spite, no feeling of tolerating someone, no feeling that someone is getting on your nerves or is bothering you. As a matter of fact you become happy for others when you see them prosper. You celebrate their triumphs and comfort them in their losses. The world is supposed to know the church because of the love that we have for each other.
Are you recognizable?
She let us know that there are three things that we must do:
Assume the position,
Stay in position, and
Remain humble and submit in your position
We assume the position by surrendering our will and taking up God's will.
We stay in position by not allowing anything or anyone to move us or to sway us and by recognizing that the enemy is not each other, but is the Devil. It is a waste of time and energy to look at your bother or sister and wonder what his or her motives are. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.
Elder Nunnelly shared with us the story of Cain and Abel. God honored Abel's sacrifice and did not honor Cain's. Instead of Cain looking at himself and his own behavior he turned his emotions outward and became enraged and jealous of his brother. The fact is that Cain could have experienced the same honor from God as Abel. The task was to provide the first and the best to the Lord. Cain did not provide his best or his first. He had a problem, but it had nothing to do with Abel. Unfortunately, just like Cain many of us turn on our bothers and our sisters trying to make up for a feeling of rejection or inadequacy. God has no respect of persons. He will bless those that are obedient to His commandments. Our enemy is not each other.
We remain humble and submissive in our position when we listen to and act in accordance with the will of God. When we act in the will of God we are always in order. When we act in the will of God we are open to hear His Word, open to His move, and open to reproof and correction. Submitting to God becomes our desire and as a result then we produce the fruit of the Spirit, which includes love.
Elder Nunnelly shared with us that love is the way to combat jealousy. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love is patient and is kind and it is not puffed up. Love just is and doesn't have to jockey for position or attention. Love understands that when all else fails it will remain. Love keeps us in position while God works His perfect work in our lives as well as in the lives of those around us. How do you know when you have over come the spirit of jealousy? You will know when it becomes easy to love. There is no spite, no feeling of tolerating someone, no feeling that someone is getting on your nerves or is bothering you. As a matter of fact you become happy for others when you see them prosper. You celebrate their triumphs and comfort them in their losses. The world is supposed to know the church because of the love that we have for each other.
Are you recognizable?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Spiritual Warfare--Introduction--Recap
Spiritual warfare has become sensationalized. People are desensitized to the physical manifestations of a spiritual battle. In other words we see wrong and think nothing of it. Ephesians 6:11 ~
Remember that the only power that Satan has is that of permission. He cannot harm you. Satan's job description is to kill, steal and to destroy. He is a liar and the father of lies. Do not succumb to the temptation of believing the smoke and mirror lies.
It is important to exercise your faith. When your faith is strong you are less likely to give in to the temptation to believe Satan's lies. Look at the story of Job. Job's faith and trust in the Lord allowed him to stay focused in the darkest time of his life. As a result Satan's attacks could not take Job out.
It is wrong to say, "The Devil made me do it!" Satan cannot make you do anything. You have the power. Power represents your choices. You wrestle between doing right and your own choices as well as other people's influences.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The power of Satan goes as far as his ability to influence you to act outside of God's will. Satan attacks us through circumstances and emotions. When your emotions are out of control and out of sync Satan can use that as an opportunity to plant a thought or to lay a trap. Don't fall for it. Trust God for everything until your last breath. Trust that when man says no God says yes because He specializes in making worlds out of nothing.
In this passage rulers refers to what you allow to rule over you. Do you allow your own unbelief, lack of faith, agenda, desires or anything else to rule over you?
Darkness means ignorance that leads to a disrespect and disregard for divine revelation.
Spiritual wickedness in high places are those things that conflict with your calling and purpose.
Satan tries to attack us through others. Don't fall for it! Be an example and pray. Don't take on an unnecessary warfare. It is all unnecessary because God said the battle was already won. We are already victorious. We gear up to STAND not to fight. We need the gear to withstand the wiles of the Devil. Don't worry about haters. People want you to feel bad about what you have and the blessings you have because they wish they could have them. They are jealous.
Elder Lowe told us last night that the mind is the place where we hear the message intended for our spirit. I believe that where many of us struggle is that we hear the Word of God, but the battle in our minds does not allow the positive and life changing message to be correctly translated to our spirit. that's why we have to put on the mind of Christ. We have to surrender our thoughts and pick up His.
Elder Lowe also taught us that when we fail to mature in the Spirit we disregard the power of God. According to Elder Lowe we have three weapons of mass destruction! Faith, prayer, and praise.
Remember that the only power that Satan has is that of permission. He cannot harm you. Satan's job description is to kill, steal and to destroy. He is a liar and the father of lies. Do not succumb to the temptation of believing the smoke and mirror lies.
It is important to exercise your faith. When your faith is strong you are less likely to give in to the temptation to believe Satan's lies. Look at the story of Job. Job's faith and trust in the Lord allowed him to stay focused in the darkest time of his life. As a result Satan's attacks could not take Job out.
It is wrong to say, "The Devil made me do it!" Satan cannot make you do anything. You have the power. Power represents your choices. You wrestle between doing right and your own choices as well as other people's influences.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The power of Satan goes as far as his ability to influence you to act outside of God's will. Satan attacks us through circumstances and emotions. When your emotions are out of control and out of sync Satan can use that as an opportunity to plant a thought or to lay a trap. Don't fall for it. Trust God for everything until your last breath. Trust that when man says no God says yes because He specializes in making worlds out of nothing.
In this passage rulers refers to what you allow to rule over you. Do you allow your own unbelief, lack of faith, agenda, desires or anything else to rule over you?
Darkness means ignorance that leads to a disrespect and disregard for divine revelation.
Spiritual wickedness in high places are those things that conflict with your calling and purpose.
Satan tries to attack us through others. Don't fall for it! Be an example and pray. Don't take on an unnecessary warfare. It is all unnecessary because God said the battle was already won. We are already victorious. We gear up to STAND not to fight. We need the gear to withstand the wiles of the Devil. Don't worry about haters. People want you to feel bad about what you have and the blessings you have because they wish they could have them. They are jealous.
Elder Lowe told us last night that the mind is the place where we hear the message intended for our spirit. I believe that where many of us struggle is that we hear the Word of God, but the battle in our minds does not allow the positive and life changing message to be correctly translated to our spirit. that's why we have to put on the mind of Christ. We have to surrender our thoughts and pick up His.
Elder Lowe also taught us that when we fail to mature in the Spirit we disregard the power of God. According to Elder Lowe we have three weapons of mass destruction! Faith, prayer, and praise.
Monday, March 1, 2010
God's going to give you to babies so don't stay in trouble too long
If you missed it you missed an awesome time in the Lord at Urban Empowerment's 4th year Anniversary service.
The first message was titled God's Going to Give You Two Babies and it was brought by the highly esteemed Pastor Maurice Williams from KC, MO. Pastor Williams is the spiritual father of our own Pastor Christine Woods and it was easy to see where her powerful preaching came from. Pastor Williams admonished us from the story of Joseph. The line to remember most from his delivery? God will always send you a butler to introduce you. Be patient and wait on the Lord. Boast in the Lord and not in yourself. In due season God will give you two babies--the first to make you forget all of your toil and the second to make you fruitful in the land of your affliction.
Then, Bishop Woods' father in ministry, the honorable Bishop Russel L. Freeman brought a mighty Word from the Lord that said Don't Stay in Trouble Too Long. The text was based in Deuteronomy and came from the story of the children of Israel wondering 40 years in the wilderness. The Word was meant to get each of us to take note of the things that we bring to uE that are not in line with the vision of the house. This Word was meant to make us reflect on ourselves and learn to kill anything in us that is not Christ like and that would not promote our Bishop and Pastor's vision for uE. Bishop Freeman released our Bishop and Pastor to Take the Journey. This Word released our ministry into another level.
We will be back on Thursday for a recap of Bible Study and stay tuned for a special guest soon.
The first message was titled God's Going to Give You Two Babies and it was brought by the highly esteemed Pastor Maurice Williams from KC, MO. Pastor Williams is the spiritual father of our own Pastor Christine Woods and it was easy to see where her powerful preaching came from. Pastor Williams admonished us from the story of Joseph. The line to remember most from his delivery? God will always send you a butler to introduce you. Be patient and wait on the Lord. Boast in the Lord and not in yourself. In due season God will give you two babies--the first to make you forget all of your toil and the second to make you fruitful in the land of your affliction.
Then, Bishop Woods' father in ministry, the honorable Bishop Russel L. Freeman brought a mighty Word from the Lord that said Don't Stay in Trouble Too Long. The text was based in Deuteronomy and came from the story of the children of Israel wondering 40 years in the wilderness. The Word was meant to get each of us to take note of the things that we bring to uE that are not in line with the vision of the house. This Word was meant to make us reflect on ourselves and learn to kill anything in us that is not Christ like and that would not promote our Bishop and Pastor's vision for uE. Bishop Freeman released our Bishop and Pastor to Take the Journey. This Word released our ministry into another level.
We will be back on Thursday for a recap of Bible Study and stay tuned for a special guest soon.
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