.....::::: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE :::::.....

Do you ever feel that your life is too complex for God to understand?

Do you feel that your problems are too hard for God to solve?

Do you feel like God would not comprehend what you are going through?

Jesus goes by many names. One of them being "Immanuel", which means “God with us.” When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was God in the flesh. We can’t see God with our eyes or touch Him with our fingers, but people could see and touch Jesus. And because Jesus was human (while still being God), He completely understood what it was like to be human—to be tired, hungry, thirsty and tempted.

Here is a parable that I was reading and I hope that it may help you better understand.

Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug.

(Humbug is deceptive or false talk or behavior.)

He wasn't a Scrooge. He was a very kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men.

But he didn't believe all that stuff about God becoming man, which churches proclaim at Christmas. Why would God want to do anything like that?

So when his family left to attend midnight services on Christmas Eve, he stayed home. Shortly after the family drove away, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier. Some time later, as he was reading his newspaper by the fire, he was startled by a thudding sound that was quickly followed by another. Then another.

When he went to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through the window. I can't let these poor creatures lie there and freeze, he thought. But how can I help them? Then he remembered the barn. It would provide a warm shelter. He quickly put on his coat and boots and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light.

But the birds didn't come in.

Food will bring them in, he thought. So he hurried back to the house for breadcrumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn.

To his dismay, the birds ignored the breadcrumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction — except into the warm, lighted barn.

They find me a strange and terrifying creature, he said to himself, and I can't seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me.

If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety.

Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a while, listening to the bells pealing out the glad tidings of Christmas.

Then he sank to his knees in the snow. "Now I understand," he whispered. "Now I see why You had to do it."

http://youtu.be/iAT_kv4ZNng

Need I say more? I think it is pretty clear. Have an amazing day and stay blessed!

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: CAN YOUR IMPACT BE FELT? :::::.....

To impact is the means of having a strong effect on someone. It also means to hit something or someone with great force.

So, to have an impact on someone would signify having a strong influence on someone; one so strong that it changes their way of thinking or their life as a whole.

Before Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Rosa Parks, Harriott Tuddman, Oprah, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X just to name a few, there were other influential people before our time, there was Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Joseph, David, Peter, Paul and the greatest of all influential men; Jesus Christ.

What did Jesus do though?

Yeah, He was the Messiah. He was the one for whom the Jews had waited to deliver them from Roman oppression. Yet, tragically, they didn't recognize Him when He came because His kingship was not what they expected. During His time on earth, Jesus Christ healed the sick. He fed multitudes. He gave legs to the crippled. He granted sight to the blind. He opened the ears of the deaf. He showed genuine love for prostitutes, tax collectors and those who society, even today, shuns. He touched the untouchable. He loved the unlovable. He forgave the unforgivable. Even today, just the name of Jesus Christ saves the otherwise unsavable!

Yeah…that’s right! I said it! 2000 plus years later, this guy's name still impacts today's generation, whether some believe it or not and even if some like it or not. Jesus Christ is the most famous person in history.

A friend of mine said this to me once:

"Do not look to be famous ONLY in the church. Because if you are or if that is your goal, then you haven't accomplished anything."

Til this day, that means so much to me. But why? Jesus was famous. That much we can agree on but if you pay attention to everything He did, His ministry, Jesus was famous in the synagogues but He was even more famous on the outside of the four walls of what we call the church in today’s society.

Can YOUR impact be felt?

Ask yourself that question. Can your impact be felt? What are you doing to better those around you? To push them to do good. Are you doing so or are you doing the opposite? Are you a positive example for those who come before and even after you? Are you lazy?

Can YOUR impact be felt?

Do people know you? If not, do not use humility as a means to justify your stagnation. How are you impacting your community and other communities as well?

Does your church have an impact?

Do not take this the wrong way, I am not blasting anyone’s church or their church’s vision. When I mean impact, I mean is your congregation known just amongst other congregations or does your church impact the whole neighborhood? Can its presence be felt? Do people want to come visit and even make your church their place of worship? If not, there is something wrong. It is nice that every Sunday, one or two people come and accept to become a member of your church but does the neighborhood where your church resides, is it being changed because of the very presence of your church?! We have done nothing until our presence is felt.

I have been given the privilege to read my fair share of books in my 23 years of age and one book that truly impacted me was "Jesus: Pure And Simple" by Wayne Cordeiro. For those who know me, I talk about this book a lot and can get really excited. Anyway, the quote that really stood out to me was:

"You can not judge a church by the number of people on the inside, but by the number of people still on the outside."

What that basically means is if your church is impactful, if your church is truly doing and fulfilling its purpose as the house of God (that should reach out and help those in need, as well as be a place of worship), those on the outside should want to come to Jesus. That means the less fortunate, the widows, the orphans, the sexually abused etc. These people should not feel like they have to find a solution in a bar, a strip club or a crack house. Is your churches impact felt?!

This is actually a testimony. Last night, while I was at work, the door bell rang so I went to open it. When I pressed the button that unlocks the door, a friend of mine walks in. We used to attend the same high school together. We knew who the other was, we had a few friends in common and we had a mutual respect for one another. Basically, he walks into the store, greets me and begins to shop in the store. As I waited, I did some of my daily tasks. When he was ready, he came to the cash register so that he can pay for what he decided to buy: jalepeno beef jerky and a relaxant drink. (He ended up buying two but that's another story.) As he took his money out to pay, I asked him what has he been up to and what he does for a living? I am an observant person (sometimes it rubs certain people the wrong way but hey, I can't help it). I would see him in the city bus or subway station in a suit and tie. But I never personally asked him why. Until last night that is. He then began to tell me about how after a few career experiments and job failures, he is now a part of a marketing firm that helps build and train others to become entrepreneurs. I was impressed! I couldn't believe it! But what he said to me next was what really got my attention. He then said that one of the main things that drove him to that point was something that I said to him years back. He also told me that he pays attention and sees all my posts on social media (Facebook to be precise). The positive message from the Bible and just the love in general helps him. God made an impact through me and it helped him.

If I recall, I told him to be positive and that he should chase his dreams but never to let his entourage distance him from that dream; that if his entourage was on the verge of making him do so, it had to go.

Hearing him say that really messed me up. All I could do is smile. Not because I said that to him but because I knew that this was God telling me something. Earlier thay day, I was asking myself if my impact or the impact that I wish to have, can be felt in this generation or at least amongst those in my community. A few hours later, this happened. I was so grateful because God's impact through me, helped impact another. We are all vessels for God's grace. We have to be a blessing for those around us. And it sure did feel good to be. We then proceeded to talk about God, recommended books and then he left. Once he left, I went into the employee bathroom and as I thanked God, I cried. Yeah...

All that to say, you never know who you can impact when you think no one is paying attention. You do not need to be super famous so that God can impact others through you though! Look at Jesus, He was a carpenter, born in a manger, in a not so rich family. He didn't wear a shirt that said I am the Messiah! He was the Word made flesh and came as a normal guy and changed the world in an extraordinary way! God uses normal people for His incredible will!

So my question to you is this: Can your impact be felt? And what are you doing to make it so? How will you make an impact? How will you leave your mark? Forgive me for asking...

(Special thanks to you Ted for inspiring me for this post. I told you that God brought you to the store tonight for a reason. God bless you and much love and abundant blessings to you!)

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME :::::.....

Let's use our brains for a few seconds...

Imagine for a second that you walk into a place and no one recognized you.

How would that make you feel?

Would you feel alone?

Hurt?

Angry?

Now imagine for a second that you were the head of a multi-billion dollar company. So you walk into YOUR COMPANY, and no one recognizes you.

They disrespect you.

They pay no attention to you.

How would you feel?

Third scenario...imagine you come home from work after a long day and your own family didn't recognize you? Not only that but the place you occupied in the household was being occupied by someone else.

What would you do?

All the time invested in building relationships with the house members only to see that you have been replaced. How would you feel?

Regardless of the example, whether you are a celebrity or someone that is mildly known, if we were to walk into a place and not get recognized, it would harm us deep down inside. We would all like to go somewhere where everybody knows our names. It makes us feel wanted and cared about.

Ironically, there is this itinerant preacher by the name of Jesus that felt the same way in terms of wanting those He loves to accept Him. Some of us have heard of Him but not all of us truly recognize Him.

Let’s try and imagine what it was like when Jesus claimed to be Messiah and how the people responded.

"Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)

People waited centuries to see the Messiah but once they heard that it was Jesus, they did not believe nor did they accept this. Why? Was it because they saw him grow up so they never considered Him to be the Messiah? The Jewish leaders, most if not all, laughed at the very suggestion that a low-born, uneducated carpenter from Nazareth, of all places, could be the very Messiah that they were waiting for.

But He was and is.

Just as any human being, you can imagine what the religious leaders were like when confronted with the questions regarding Jesus being the Messiah. They would probably go on and ask why certain prophecies were not fulfilled yet, how come He was not a king on a throne instead of a carpenter and that the Messiah was to abolish war forever. But let me tell you, this is proof that  God has a weird way of functioning til this day. He does not fulfill man’s expectations but He does things His way; whenever and wherever.

The first time Jesus told people that He was the long awaited Messiah, He was in a synagogue in Nazareth, reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read […]"

Pause.

You have to understand that what makes Jesus’ declaration so special is that Luke 4:16 states that “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up […]” That means that He was surrounded by people that knew Him, most likely since He was a child. You would think that the people would be happy since the long awaited Messiah was FINALLY here! You would think that they would throw a party or a banquet of some sort…nope. They actually ran Jesus out of town and wanted to throw Him off a cliff but He escaped.

The people of Nazareth did not even try to consider that maybe what Jesus was saying was true. They did things their way according to what they believed. To them, He did not fulfill the messianic expectations.

Let’s use another example.

In Matthew 16, we find Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi with His disciples. He proceeds to ask them this question:

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

His disciples answered Him like we all would; they said that He was one of the greatest prophets come back to life. But then He asked them who do they think He is.

Jesus asked His disciples the same question but using a different perspective. Everyone has an opinion and a point of view. The sad part if that these people were with Him almost all the time…but they had yet to see it. The amazing thing is that Simon Peter, was the one who answered and his answer was worthy of the Messiah.

“Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Peter confessed that Jesus was divine and that He was the promised and long awaited Messiah.

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)

And our last example…

Near the end of the events at Golgotha, where Jesus hung on the cross, amazing things happened. His death was accompanied by at least four miraculous events (darkness the tearing of the curtain in the temple, an earthquake, and dead people rising from their tombs). Jesus’ death could not have gone unnoticed. Everyone knew something significant had happened! So much that in Mathhew 27:54, it states that a roman centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw these phenomena and recognized Him as the Son of God.

"When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)

The irony in all this is that the ones who were supposed to recognize Him since they were the very ones waiting on His arrival, didn't recognize Him. Instead, they were the ones who sent Him to His death. But strangely enough, God’s plan can never be undone. It was all according to plan. A lot of Christians today believe that they would be able to discern and see Jesus as the Messiah if He came incognito again. Do you fall under this category? Have you yet to recognize Jesus as Messiah? Do you recognize Him as Lord, Savior, Prince of peace, Counselor by excellence, the Lamb of God or the Lion of Judah? Or are you one of the ones who walks past Him and ignores His words, message and messengers? Are you still not sure that Jesus is the Messiah? Do you need some kind of proof to admit that Jesus is indeed the Messiah? Sometimes we want to go where everybody know our names...

(Devotions/ Devotionals)