.....::::: 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)

.....::::: GOOD FRIENDS ARE SAFER THAN BEING ALONE :::::.....

In one of our previous posts, in our early beginnings, we spoke about “friends” and what a good friend should be like. Let’s revisit that again shall we?

A friend is a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond or mutual affection. A person who acts as a supporter of a cause. A person who is not an enemy or who is on the same side.

The words that should stick out in that definition are “supporter” and “who is on the same side”. They may seem one in the same at first and though it is true, it brings us to the essence of this blog post.

I do a lot of reading in my spare time and by God’s grace, I fell on one of my favorite books of all time by Mark Atteberry called “ The Samson Syndrome: What You Can Learn From The Baddest Boy In The Bible”. It is an amazing read! Moving on…

Throughout the book, it sheds light on Samson and his weaknesses even though he was technically the strongest man to ever live. But in chapter seven, something got my attention. The author began talking about when we repeatedly make the same mistakes. So he offers a solution to this problem.

“Once you begin to solve the mystery of why you keep repeating the same mistakes, it’s time to start thinking about how to stop.” - Mark Atteberry

This is why I wanted us to revisit what a friend is. The author suggests that we find a friend who will hold us accountable.

For example, Samson, whom the book is about, throughout his story, we never see him with a friend. That is why he continually made the same mistakes over and over again. Why is that? Here are a few examples of some of the Bible’s dynamic duos or factions.

- Lot had Abraham
- Moses had Aaron
- Caleb had Joshua
- David had Jonathan
- Paul had Barnabas and Silas

But in the end, Samson didn’t have anybody. There is a study that shows that 85% of the violent crime victims in America are alone when they are attacked. Bad guys are successful when their targets are isolated. In the Bible, it says that Satan prowls around looking for some victim to devour.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:8)

I don’t know if you paid attention to that last part but it said “victim” and not “victims” with an “s”. Singular, not plural. That’s how Satan works. Ever notice how 90% of the time, when we fall to temptation, we usually are alone? He loves to pick on someone who is alone.

But what can we do to stop this from happening over and over again? Find a friend. Not just any friend though. Do not be fooled, not everyone is your friend. If they lead you to sin, rather than help you stay away from it, run like Usain Bolt away from this person! Pray for them of course but your spiritual well being is way more important than your friendship with that person!

To conclude, find someone you can trust. Not a “yes man,” but someone who cares enough about you to tell you the truth, even if it hurts. Find someone who will point out your blind spots. Find someone who will get in your face if necessary to keep you from doing something self-destructive. Of course God is your friend and wants what is best for you but find someone like a Jonathan who will be there for you regardless. Not telling you what you want to hear but what you need to hear! Stay blessed and I hope this helps someone. Have a marvelous day and don’t forget to spread for Christ!

"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." - Solomon (Proverbs 27:6 and 17)

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: ARE YOU DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE? :::::.....

Have you ever been dangerously in love? I know it might sound “cliché" but you would be surprised how many of us have actually been there…

What does it mean to be dangerously in love? Have you ever heard the saying, “love is blind”? It means to love someone so much that you don’t see anything or anyone else but that person, even if he or she is not the right person for you. 

Jesus Christ wants a relationship with you. But we find ourselves focusing on finding our soul mates but in reality Jesus already died for our souls…

I won’t say much. I believe that this video will do the trick. I will just share this with you and hopefully you enjoy it! Have a blessed and marvelous day!

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keOhYs8-rs0

(Devotions/ Devotionals)