KNOW YOUR PURPOSE AND KNOW YOUR SOURCE!!

"I must also see Rome". Acts 19:21. Here we have the first mention of Paul's dream to go to Rome. But it was at this point that Satan attacked him not as the deceiver but as a destroyer. In Paul's days dreaming about going to far away distance like Rome was considered a mere fantasy. My friend, do you have a God given dream or vision? Unfortunately , people create all sorts of barriers- or "glass ceilings"- that keep them from discovering and fulfilling God's purpose in their lives. Because the ceilings are made of glass, they often aren't even aware of the barriers and cannot understand why they matter. As a result they drift along in life as if they have no purpose or value. Bro: You are custom made by God with intricate features and capabilities. Unless you realize your God given potential, you will live a mediocre life adhering to the philosophy "Eat and be merry, tomorrow you die"! When a manufacturer design a new product, he first clarifies the purpose of that product. A car manufacturer will first decide whether that vehicle is to be a Race Car, Family Car, Mini Van, Delivery Van, or a Semi Trailer Truck. Once the vehicle purpose has been established, the engineer will incorporate all the features to meet that need. Bible says, " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou comest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee.." Jeremiah 1:5. You see, in accordance with God's plan He gave you special abilities and aptitude to enable you to accomplish everything that He intended. Knowing and living within God's purpose is the difference between using and abusing the gifts and capabilities God built in you. STOP SAYING "I can't, I have no calling, I have no education, I came from dis-functional family etc. Hey hey, Know your purpose and KNOW YOUR SOURCE!! Y'ALL HEAR ME!! YEAH..GOOD!!

TRY TEARS!

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy". Psalms 126:5. The context of this Psalm is when Israelites were besieged by the enemy and life sustaining supplies were denied to them. The enemy had not attacked them yet but was terrified by the eminent attack of the enemy. My friend, have you ever been there in your life? But they had two options, either cook the seed and eat or plant the seed in the dry land and water them with tears. I am not talking about literal seed and planting now. Hey, greatness has a tremendous thirst. This thirst is quenched in the tear-stained struggle toward destiny. No fellowship or friendship can lower the price of personal sacrifice. People can hold your hand, still you have to shed tears. Others can cry with you, but they can't cry for you. Tada! But there is a reaping time coming. Don't get stuck in a state of lamentation at the time of reaping and joy. Tears were needed during the time of sowing, but when you have come to the harvest time don't let the devil keep you from the Joyful celebration. Now, you have paid your dues and shed your tears- now it's your turn to joyfully reap your benefits. How about kingdom of God? One denomination reported over 11000 of their churches baptized zero last year! Another 18000 baptized five or less. Churches are dead..dying.. or have plateaued. William Booth once said: "Some men's ambition is art, some men's ambition is fame, some men's ambition is gold, My ambition is the souls of men". He once told his converts who complained "We tried everything. We've tried preaching on street corners, beating drums, passing tracts and nothing works." Booth sent them a telegram that simply said "Try Tears". What is your ambition? Personal or ministry wise? Try tears...HE WILL ANSWER!!

LIVE IN HARMONY!

"..ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge.." 1 Peter 3:7. My friend, unless you noticed "God created men and women different". How come you forgot what I preached at your wedding? 1 Peter 3:7 says "dwell with her with knowledge or understanding". You remember "Left Brain and right Brain" connection? This understanding brings happiness to your life. Your brain functions compartmentally. You move from family to work to recreation to hobbies, etc.., each compartment walled off from the other. When in one you forget the other. Hey, her compartments are connected, spilling over to each other. That's why she is capable of multitasking like "she is working, thinking about kids, plan to stop by grocery store, planning dinner, what to wear for exercise etc..simultaneously! No walls! Interconnected! That's why the little thing happened in the morning before you went to work, YOU FORGOT BUT SHE DIDN'T! TADA. Bro: She is not unreasonable or unforgiving, SHE IS WHAT GOD MADE HER! Hey girl, give him time to get back to the "family compartment" before raising the issue. He needs to come back to that file ad open it. But for her, she needs closure and for her there is no place to hide. Boys and girls, that's the way God created male and female "For a purpose". Stop playing "DOG AND CAT". Drop the case, case is rested. LIVE IN HARMONY. Conduct your married life with the knowledge of how God created you. Did you hear ? Hear??

CALM YOUR SEA!!

"Then they said unto him, what shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?" Jonah 1:11. My friend, How few of us realize that our own SEAS are not calm because we have not dealt fairly with our fellows. And indeed , how little peace of mind is possible to one who mistreats another, for whatever reason. Personality differences, physical deformity, lack of mental aptitude, racial origins, are all of little consequence in man's attitude towards his brother, for the human family is interrelated by creation. Yes, there are some "These are spots in your feast of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds, trees whose fruits withereth, without fruit, twice dead..".Jude 12. Their sharp words, hasty judgments, snide criticism, all spring from a spirit that is foreign to Christ not realizing what they do affects others. When I was growing up in India, I threw a rock at our neighbor's dog, intending to drive him away. Unintentionally, hurt the dog's leg. But instead of running away, the dog came limping up to me and licked the hand that threw the rock. THAT DOG PREACHED THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT AS FEW OF US EVER PRACTICED IT. I took the dog and carried him back to my house, gave him necessary treatment and fed him for weeks. HE BECAME MORE OF A FRIEND THAN OUR OWN DOG. Bro: see, the sailors were reluctant to deal harshly with him, realizing that how they treated him would affect their own peace. ARE YOU IN PEACE? YOUR UNTHOUGHTFUL BEHAVIOR AFFECTING OTHERS? Just asking? Just asking?

THIS TOO SHAL PASS!!

"For our light, momentary afflictions (this light distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]. 2 Corinthians 4:17. My friend this too shall pass! As Christians, we must live a day at a time, no matter how wealthy or gifted we cannot live two days at a time. Somethings in our life are not meant to change but to survive, can't alter it but out-live it. Like a tree in the frosty arms of winter, silently we have to refurbish our strength to produce fruits in our next seasons of our life. Temporary setbacks create an opportunity for renewal and fresh commitments. Bro: learn to be patient. Yes, God needs men and women who are decisive, but prayer is the seasoning of judgments. Without prayer, our decisions will not be palatable. This is the season for "prayer and waiting" for you. Hey, hey, you have a God who hears you, the power of His love behind you, and the Holy Spirit within you. If you have Jesus, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, and an anchor for every storms. Buddy, THIS TOO SHALL PASS!! TRUST HIM. Don't throw in the towel now, OKAY.. Did you hear me?

STICK YOUR NECK OUT!!

"By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place..to receive an inheritance..went out".. Hebrews 11:8. My friend, the fear of failure prevents lot of people in stepping out towards their God's destined purpose in this world. Stop telling the excuse that those around you did not encourage you, nurture you, support you, wasn't there for you and didn't treat you right. Don't you understand that over time you've become cynical and negative, subtly and internally angry, looking for target to blame- your parents, your lack of opportunities, your church, and even your family. Recently I had a lunch appointment with an young executive and I saw an interesting plaque hanging on his office wall which read "Behold the turtle, He only makes progress when he sticks out his neck"! Bro: Life is a series of challenges which require that we "Stick our neck out" in order to make any visible progress. This is where faith comes in. It is the substance that enables us to move forward, to become all that God wants us to be, and to accomplish all that He wants us to accomplish. Faith has every expectations that our Goals will be achieved. It knows no limits. No matter how small the progress, there is no failure when you stick out your neck and move forward in faith. The only failure is in refusing to come out of your shell. Hey, hey, You can easily determine the caliber of a person who you are by the amount of opposition you take to discourage you. Did you hear it partner ? Yeah, yeah. Good!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

"If a Mommy wants her children's attention she should: a) Sit down and read. 2) Go to potty. 3) Pick up the phone. 4) Check emails. 5) All the above. Children: Mommy, you spend the first two years of your life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut-up. Mommy: when you are a mom showering is like an Olympic sports: you leap over things to get in, you have fans calling your name and you're pressured to finish in record time. And Mommy, Bedtime: the perfect time for kids to ask questions, request food, require additional bathroom breaks, and need a new nightlight. Mommy, WE appreciate your unconditional love and sacrifice on this mother's day! GOD BLESS YOU!! (collection from FB postings)

CONSTRUCTION ZONE!

"..this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before" Philippians 3:13. My friend, God wants to make your life anew, and He can do it today if you'll allow Him. Do you think God has given up on you? Are you wondering "Is it too late to make something of my life?" Have you made bad decisions and you're trying to overcome a series of mistakes, sins, failures, and disappointments? Do you wish you could have another chance or start all over again? Is that the way you feel, I have good news for you. Even though we call our past the PAST, but the very truth is it's very much PRESENT in our life. Bro: the final whistle hasn't blown yet or the curtain of your life hasn't fallen yet. God still has a plan for you and it's a GOOD plan filled with a future and hope. Have you seen a construction site? Bricks, steel, dirt, plastic, wood and construction equipment every where. Even you can hear carpenter's hammer nailing, hissing noise of circular saw cutting through the boards and studs. It's a mess, right? The picture is not pretty. But the construction engineers know how the building is going to look like, right? YOU ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION BUDDY! Your God knows how you are going to look like when He finishes with you. Paul says "develop the discipline to FORGET. WE MUST FORGET OUR FAILURES AS WELL AS SUCCESS. During my college years I read a speech made by Sir Winston Churchill during World War II. He said "If the past quarrels with the past, there can be no future. We must learn to accept the past as unalterable and move on". You are "UNDER CONSTRUCTION". Did you get the message Bro: Good!!

Download and install JAVA!!

"A word spoken in due season, how good is it". Proverbs 15:23. But the trouble with the person who talks too fast is that he or she often says something he or she hasn't thought of yet. My friend, sometimes they come by gallon while thoughts come by spoonful. Hey, if your mouth should misfire, be careful about reloading! Did you hear? Listen man listen. Recently one young couple came home after work and she was cooking dinner while he was checking his emails. The wife came in the room and said "Honey I can't open this Jar. In response he said " Down load and install Java". Tada! Did you get the message this Sunday morning buddy? Good!!

HIS EVERLASTING PRESENCE!!

"And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight". Luke 24:31. My friend, Our Lord who has promised us "I am with you always even unto the end of the world" is with us. Sometimes unrecognized! He was on the way to Emmaus, until they realized how their hearts have been warmed, their love stirred, and the promises in the Bible seemingly speaking to them with heavenly reality of His awesome presence- when they were lonely and scared. Loneliness can affect the rich and poor, the king and the peasant- but your God is there to listen to you. Occasions arise that sadden the most buoyant and dampen the hope of the most hopeful. In the days of danger, opposition, threat and persecution or or in the days of monotony, boredom, and grinding circumstances, the Lord's presence should give your ordinary living a new appeal. Bro: The sea of life is not always smooth, neither the wind is not always favorable and you are getting tired of rowing: But as He promised, He will calm the sea and proclaim Peace to you. My friend,Let us realize and know this fact that He is with us, and "His presence" all unseen but REAL is ready when we need Him the most! HE IS SHAMMAH!! YES HE IS!!