2 Chaaaaaaaains!!!

Piece & Chain Around My Neck!

Proverbs 6:20-23

    20 My son, keep your father’s command,

      And do not forsake the law of your mother.

       21 Bind them continually upon your heart;

      Tie them around your neck.

       22 When you roam, they[b] will lead you;

      When you sleep, they will keep you;

      And when you awake, they will speak with you.

       23 For the commandment is a lamp,

      And the law a light;

      Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,

In the early 80’s gold chains were very popular. They started out as simple neck accessories and eventually turned into a status symbol. The bigger the better was the belief. Along with the chain there had to be a “piece”. The Piece was some sort of medallion or object that hung from the chain. Television stars, athletes, and musicians wore their “piece and chains” with pride. Then the fad disappeared.

However, with the resurgence of retro style, the “piece and chain” has returned. The chains grew from 26” and 30” to 60” and 70”. The piece, which denotes everything from a cartoon character, a symbol for Jesus, personal initials, the name of a record label, or some popular saying has grown to weighty chest size billboards. I even saw a long chain with a piece that read “Big A** Chain”!

Of all things people wear around their neck to symbolize their beliefs and personal statements, it is debatable whether the weight of the statement they're carrying is pulling them down or lifting them up. The weight, actual or literal, can be more of an anchor than an emblem of encouragement.

People also wear past experiences around their neck like a medallion on a chain. As much they want to progress in life, they are carrying this pendant of failure and disappointment that promotes an uncomfortable past.

That does not have to be your story. God gave you great vision and purpose before you were placed in your mother’s womb. Then, He instilled divine instructions into your upbringing. Even those parents that struggled at being quality parents occasionally provided a great piece of direction. I believe those moments of great direction are divine.

Carry quality instruction as your piece and chain by maintaining moments of correction close to you – these will not only be the light for your eyes to see what is right, but also the lamp that guides your footsteps along the way.

The Cure For Disappointment...

A Big "But"

Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; butGod meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, tosave many people alive.

In 1992 there was a popular hip-hop song by an artist whowas overly enamored with posteriors. The music video had oversized rear-endsand even showed the artist dancing on top of one.

As extreme as the video was, there is something to be saidabout great, tremendous, and outrageous occurrences.

I am talking about the moments that impede progress andforce you to find a different or better way.

I am talking about the big “BUTS”.

Have you ever been at church, a concert, a game, or even amovie - and just when you were ready to enjoy your purpose for being there,someone walked in front of you and blocked EVERYTHING! Maybe you have beentraveling along the road and some oversized vehicle abruptly got in front ofyou without a turn signal or at least a gesture out of their window.

The moment, as annoying as it was, forced you to react andcreate a different or better way of achieving your purpose.

Joseph was the favorite boy and of course that title camewith its fair share of hate. He had several moments that stopped him in histracks. His brothers sold him into slavery. The wife of his employer accusedhim of making advances toward her. Then, the two people he befriended in prisonforgot about him when they got out. Could it get any worse?

My favorite part of the story is our selected passage,Genesis 50:20. Despite everything that he had been through and regardless ofthe negativity - God had a greater plan.

If you look back at some of the hard days and then take amoment to notice the upside, you will undoubtedly see that God brought youthrough every time.

The next time you are halted because of what feels like morehate than you can handle – remember God has a BIG BUT coming and you can danceon it, sing about it, and rejoice knowing that He will turn that test into yourtestimony. Take the problem and trust God! There will be lives changed becauseof your experience.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in risingevery time we fall – Vern McLellan

Keep Persevering! 

Hurry up and Wait!!!!!!

Worth the wait!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

For the past twenty-one months, I have been subjected to a very difficult question. How old is your son? When they are in the womb you have to keep up with how many weeks and then when they are born you have to keep up with how many months they are.

I made a habit of just making up numbers and waiting to see what people’s reactions were. It often confused them when I would say that my six-month-old child was only two-months old. I blamed his size on performance-enhancing vitamins to help him be the king of the daycare sandbox!

Time is a prominent part of everyone’s life. Time conscious people are either standing at the microwave yelling hurry up or taking a test begging slow down.

But if you really look back at the moments where time was not obedient to your demands – what were the results?

I was impatiently eager to meet my son while he was in his mother’s womb. But I knew that if he arrived too early, he would not be fully mature enough to handle the demands of this world.

Have you ever done or received something prematurely? Was the cost of your impatience worth the time you could have waited?

Butterfly Story

There was a young boy sitting on his porch one afternoon. He noticed a quivering butterfly cocoon hanging in the distance. There was an opening that the encapsulated butterfly was trying to emerge though. Not wanting the butterfly inside to struggle, the little boy took a small blade and cut open a slit for the butterfly to escape.

The butterfly pushed through the larger hole and fell to the ground. His body was big but his wings were weak. As much as the little boy wanted to help the animal fly, he actually stunted its growth.

The restricting cocoon and the struggle 
required by the butterfly to get through the opening 
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body 
into the wings so that it would be ready
 for flight once that was achieved.

There is power in patience. I challenge you to acknowledge your struggles with time and realize that if you are being encouraged to wait then there must be something greater coming in time.

Do not allow others expectations of your future to force you to move faster than your Father (God).

God has placed inside of you a desire to know more and incased it in uncertainty because He wants you to seek Him first and follow His lead. After all He knows your end from the beginning – why not just trust Him.

Are you bout this life?!?!

One thing!

Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

Acts 17:27-28 (NKJV)

...so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

One of my son’s favorite activities is to take paper (magazines, newspaper, napkins, etc…) and tear it to shreds. It is like he has an internal homing signal for paper. When he locks in, it is world war 3 and there are only fragments of paper left in the aftermath.

I believe that God has placed inside of every one of us a unique purpose with a homing signal for success.

When we get close or start to execute what we have been innately designed to do, something goes off inside of us that ignites a desire to do more.

What is the one thing that you desire?

When you operate in your God-designed purpose there is a certain peace about what you are doing. Your purpose energizes you beyond normal strength and allows you to work effortlessly.

I heard someone say, “Work at what you love and you will never work a day in your life!” I have been working at what I love for the past eleven years and I haven’t worked a single day yet!

In Psalm 27:4 David pens that his ONE and only desire is to set up permanent residence with Lord and bask in His beauty and intelligence.

Why would David so single-mindedly want to be there? He knew that in the presence of the Lord was total peace!

Many people have become job nomads – moving from occupation to occupation looking for that perfect position.

I contest that your perfect Job will be found when you passionately seek the Lord. It is as Paul writes in Acts, “in Him we live and move and have our being...”

God created you, God created your purpose, and God created the perfect position for your purpose.

I challenge you to find your peace by passionately pursuing Him. God has the answer you are seeking.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG)

Maintain His purpose ahead of your personal plans!

Your answer will be in a supernatural peace that will provide a certain confidence about your decision.

When you get your answer, go after it with pit bull tenacity daring anyone or anything to stop you from achieving success!