Who is your confidence in?

I can admit I m a goal oriented person. There was a time where that and opinions were my barometer of how I felt about myself. Then I went to the other extreme and didn't care at all. Over the years I've discovered a very numerous amount of gifts, skills and talents in my life. With the former mindset it gave liberty to put my trust in that instead of my relationship with God. I mean if you lose focus you can not only depend on your gifts and talents you can also try to use them to prove yourself to others. Having confidence in anything other than God makes whatever that thing is an idol. This lifestyle can lead to a diminish of your prayer life. You think you're fine but your confidence is truly not in God. The truth is those things put before God we will lose. There are things that God wanted me to let go of during my life that I refused and lost anyway. Without God relationships can't have proper boundaries. I recently was having a discussion with a friend and I told them what God had told me to do in a situation but they just continued to press their perspective and proceeded to give advice that wasn't asked for. The thing is like Saul if we get a stubborn with our mindset our own ideas can even become idolatry. We don't have the right to tell somebody something other than God has directed them. If our confidence is in ourselves we think we have all the answers but we all find out there is only one God. (Yahweh) So let us examine ourselves daily to see who our confidence is in. When God tells you to do something it's not a good idea it's His will. When I pray for somebody or something daily I need to humble myself and seek God's will in these situations. His will is in His Word. I always find His Word bubbles inside of me concerning things. Whatever God leads you to do always lines up with His Word. We need to put our trust in the Lord as we pray for His kingdom to come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven.


Psalm 71:1 IN THEE, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

Psalms 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

God (A Poem)

You formed me in my mother’s womb
You made me who I am
You placed creativity in me
In my hand you placed this pen
No other one accepts me like you
You love shown in action
The desire to be eternally together
A drawing stronger than physical attraction
How can I deny even knowing you?
Or deny your existence altogether?
Many believe what they want about you
But I’ve never be moved
Since I first met you at the age of ten
I have never been shaken from the truth
I acknowledge your hand guiding me to my destination
I surrender to your plan seeing beyond my situation
I recognize your gift the freedom to choose my path
I choose to follow your will as long as my days will last

-The Poet

Weathered The Storm (A Poem)

The winds blow and the rain falls
Fatigue sets in and defeat calls
But in the midst of it all the heart burns
You press through until the tides turn
With tears in your eyes you march on
Knowing you won't always be in the storm
You grab onto hope because that's all you got
Realizing you've come too far to stop
Determination rises as you dig deep
Realizing it's not time to slumber or sleep
You dreams start to materialize as the past is gone
You have not just survived, you weathered the storm

Are We Going To Invest In Our Future?

The church is at a very critical point. Faith is passed generation to generation. Yet it seems that today's youth even in the church seem misguided in the general sense. Yes there are youth on fire for God but mentoring and discipleship is missing. While everyone points the fingers about what is right and wrong or too much and not enough a generation is being ignored. Jesus displayed how to make a disciple with how he trained the 12 and they went on and did the same. In a general sense we have gotten self consumed and more interested in filling up places and sharing the words we have instead of mentoring and developing gifts. The trap is that everybody has gone back into exclusively building their own thing whether it's a group, youth ministry, etc. and has lost focus for what Christ has for us also as a collective body. Annual events and fellowships are good but it needs to go to a level where development and discipleship on a personal level comes into play. Everywhere I go I am so drawn to the youth. They are zealous and hungry for more and just need direction. All I see is people just pointing out shortcomings instead of seeing potential. No this is not an easy investment. There is a heavy cost and sometimes pain involved. The ministry of utopia has not or never will exist. We can no longer condemn and scrutinize those trying to reach the youth anymore. Instead it's time for us to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty or we will have the blood of this generation on our hands. The first key is to get out of yourself and start to give to somebody else. A big hindrance is what we want. Paul talks about denying ourselves. We preach it, tell others to do it but it's time to make it a reality in our own lives.

Matthew 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Leading By Being Led

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The leading of Holy Spirit is the very thing that separates us from the world. It identifies us as children of God. Sadly legalism and lack of discipline has opened the door to something which I jokingly have labeled Christianease. This is when we try to determine, size up and direct somebody's walk based on what we think. Yes we use God's word and everything to do it. What I mean is making parameters for others and their walk with God based on mindset, beliefs and denominational doctrine. It's really a critical spirit disguised as zeal. There are those who have authority to speak into lives like Pastors, Elder, people who are our accountability, etc. but that's not what I'm talking about at all. It's sheep trying to lead sheep. God created order and authority for this very reason. Many of us believe our mindset and beliefs are totally right and others have to "catch up". Some of us have learned better. The renewing of your mind with the Word and doing what it instructs in daily will help change ungodly mindsets. We need to seek those things that God wants us to do. Being that people have different callings, experiences, ways the gifts of God works through their life, etc. we will not always see eye to eye but that's okay. The problem I am talking about is when somebody steps out to correct without the leading of Holy Spirit. People always want to correct but as a parent knows the way you correct each child is different based on a number of things. Doing something like that can cause damage and put a gap in a relationship because somebody might not be ready to hear something yet. This is what Holy Spirit does best and we may get to assist if we are sensitive and obedient to His voice and leading. We can't see the whole picture or understand what somebody has been or going through. We are not God just His vessels that He uses on the earth. The Lord has had me speak to people things I didn't understand why I was saying them but they were ministered to by it because Holy Spirit knew what they needed and I just obeyed instead of trying in my own understanding minister to the need. We need to get out of the way and let the Spirit of God in us lead and guide us not only in ministry but everyday life. The more you yield to God the more you understand it's not about you but it's about His Kingdom and the lost. It's easy to debate and prove you're right and admonish. But can we be the balm of Gilead to hurting people and get over ourselves?

Do we trust God or our biological clock.

The thing about life is we get these thought that are not our own about goals in life and marriage and everything else. People really try to determine who you are by what you have and have accomplished in their eyes. This my friends is a trap. People try to find fulfillment in spouses, cars, houses, wealth, status and so on. The solution is Jesus and what He has created us for before the foundation of this world. Our very existence will go beyond this world. We buy into the lies and get stuck in misery and turn around and blame God for what he gave us the freedom of choice to do. One day everybody will learn you cannot control another person's choices. We try to control people and people try to control us. The words that are spoken which are not God's word or not God's plan for our lives plant these seeds we hear to cause us to struggle with trusting God. Our heart (spirit) is what God uses to lead us not our deductive reasoning. I've seen things God has promised me come to pass but not the way I thought it would. I realized that my mindset has "interpreted" the outcome of what God was showing me. So I moved the way I thought God was speaking. Wasn't that what Abraham did. Didn't that make Ishmael. What we feed to ourselves can have a result that we have to deal with no matter how painful it is. Many times we take something that God gives us and piggy back our own ideas and things from our mindset to it. When God tells us something it is to prepare us in advance. What He wants from us is obedience and trust. We can make moves and God won't stop us. When we get the check in our spirit we need to follow that and obey what God says we should be doing. Don't think God won't mess up your plans and how you think it will go down. Are you open for what God has for you or do you think you know and want it your way. Only two people know the truth you and God.