GO...REST

There comes a time when you have to stop and rest! The journey has been long and hard and well, it's time to stop and rest for a minute. This is vital on the journey of LYFE because people often get caught up in the hustle and bustle without even thinking of the cost! If you don't get the appropriate amount of rest, you run the risk of weakening your immune system and possibly getting sick or even getting infected with a virus which could lead to being terminal.

It's time re-focus and re-prioritize goals because what WAS important may not be as important as was once thought. As you slow down and rest, you'll see that half the crap that you held "dear and near" didn't amount to much of anything. During the next 30 days allow God to RE-invent you into something that exceeds your wildest expectations. For real, take what you thought was the best and destroy it because during this season of rest, you're going to see even greater than before! My scripture during times like this is from the book of Jeremiah where it reads "if you have run with the footmen and they have tired you, then how will you contend with the horses..."

My question is IF you don't get the rest that you desperately need and deserve then how will you keep up when things get even more hectic?

Just something to ponder for the next 30 days...REAL TALK!

A Moment in Time

As the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." Well, that is how I'm feeling today. I just returned from my favorite city, the city that played a vital and crucial role in my development into the person that I am today, ATLANTA. This past weekend I had a rather cataclysmic experience, to say the least, in that I was able to reflect, once more, on how far I had come on this journey called LYFE. So many people take LYFE for granted and never live to their fullest expectations, but rather, they settle for the status quo. How unfortunate is that when I believe that everyone of us was born to be great!

The city of Atlanta has played a heavy role in my process to manhood in that during my time there I was afforded the opportunity to glean from the likes of great men who will go down in history as pillars and patriots. These were patriots who championed a cause greater than our day, they championed a cause for the underdog in making sure that the less fortunate were brought to the table of justice and given their fair share! The men that I am referring to are Ambassador Andrew Young, Mayor Maynard Jackson, Congressman John Lewis, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Herman Cain, and my college president, Dr. Walter Massey. These men, in their own individual ways, stood tall and proud in the midst of oppression and segregation! They had a determination that they weren't going to let anybody turn them around. This is what comprises the atmosphere of the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

LYFE is based on moments, defining moments that come at certain crossroads. It's the decision that is reached upon coming into contact with the crossroad that determines the altitude that you take as you prepare to take flight! Some ascend and a great many descend because they didn't have the wherewithal to endure the affliction and hardship that played a part in the making of greatness!

Well, this past weekend, I was able to walk the sacred ground that I called home for 4 years and it was during this time that I was reminded of "the call." I was reminded that I was here, on this earth, for a greater reason than to make a name for myself. I was sent here, by God, to address an issue! I was sent here to serve as a standard and to inspire others to rise above the shackles of oppression and to challenge them to reach up to their destiny!

This weekend served, in part, to help me put things in perspective the bigger picture of LYFE! Dr. King said, "everybody can be great because everybody can serve," this is most definitely true. However, the failure in never discovering the essence of servanthood is what is tragic because you produce of lifetime of squandered opportunities. I ended the weekend by attending what many call church, but I call it a "divine encounter" with the Master.

Before I knew it, I was back in Toledo, Ohio and it was as if I hadn't traveled anywhere because of how quickly the time went by. I learned something through this ordeal, TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE. So I'll say this, we all have been sent here to do a "work" that only we can do. What God gave you to do, is not what He gave me, but we are uniquely joined together to help one another. As I stated at the beginning, LYFE is full of moments in time and as you continue to live I pray that you will be enlightened and challenged to live each day to the fullest! Yesterday was a moment in time that I will never get back, but I will forever hold fast to the MOMENT because that is the only means that I will have to determine the TIME!

Now that's real talk...

Be On Your Way

No matter how things look and how bad things may get continue to be on your way! Don't allow yourself to get hindered with the daily distractions that can be overwhelming! Keep your dreams forever before you, chart your course and be on your way! The road will not be easy, but with God, all things are possible! Don't let anyone steal your excitement by planting seeds of doubt. Your best days are still yet ahead of you so I'll tell you again, to be on your way! There are generations whose lives will be forever altered because you didn't stop and give up! Destiny awaits...

See Yourself

As you go through LYFE, you have to see yourself as the finished product before you can walk into destiny! There is no such thing as stumbling into destiny because if you can stumble in and get it that easy, then it's easy to possibly fall short and lose it as well. Some of you have waited your entire life to be experiencing many of the blessings that you are experiencing right now.

See yourself in that office overlooking the downtown skyline! See yourself in your dream home. See yourself in good health on the beach sipping on some soda. See yourself at a place peace and tranquility in a cottage overlooking the mountains. See yourself speaking words of life to kings and queens. See yourself being the person of "chief" influence and being called upon to counsel nations. See yourself completely debt free. See yourself stress free! See yourself as the ruler God ordained you to be. See yourself completely rid of all of your enemies.

In the book of II Samuel, it reads that when David had defeated all of his enemies and was at a place of complete rest, he had more time to devote completely to God so much so that he desired to build God a house to worship Him in. His desire was so pure and heartfelt that God, in turn, honored him and told him that He was going to establish David and build David's house to where his lineage would forever sit on the throne!

Isn't that amazing? Because David reached the place of Destiny, his whole blood line was forever blessed! When you and I can see ourselves in the future sitting at rest from all of our enemies, we too, put ourselves in the place where our entire bloodline, for generations will be blessed. One of the things that I love about God is that He said that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three generations paved the way for Joseph to rule and save his entire family as well in Egypt.

I say this all the time but the things we do today affects the next three to four generations, so please hear me when I say, SEE YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE!!! (On your mark, get set...)

Now that's real talk!

Get On Your Mark...

There are seasons in life where you are preparing for something big! Something that is extraordinary that is getting ready to take place in your life that is mind boggling! This is what you have been preparing for for quite sometime and it's time to get yourself in the starting posture. Feel me? You know when you're watching the track and field events during the olympic games, the runners who have been preparing, spend moments in absolute silence while they are stretching their muscles. They are preparing themselves for an event that they've spent years in the gym training for. So much time and effort have gone into this, if something goes wrong, all is lost!

This is what I mean when I say, "get on your mark!" The gun is about to go off into the air to announce to some and pronounce to others that the race is on. In LYFE, we have all been assigned a lane to run for our own individual race on the road to destiny and we have no time to hesitate because this is what you and I both have been waiting for. As I've said before, the climate is right, track and field events can't be done in certain weather, it has to be in the right climate because if not, you run the risk of damaging key muscles in your legs! So, I'll say it again, get on your mark.

The stadium is filling up with people who have been waiting to see who the winner will be. Will it be you? You see, in this race on the road to destiny, only you can determine whether or not you will win. You, your attitude, your outlook, your perspective, all of this goes into play on the road to destiny because of the lives that are at stake! There are generations waiting in the stands who have yet to be born who are cheering you on just like there are those who trained all of their life but were unable to qualify for the event and are now apart of the cloud of witnesses that the bible refers to. So as the stadium fills up, see yourself reaching your goal and finishing your race! See yourself as victorious! See yourself wearing the gold medal of LYFE.

So it can be said that "you ran your race and finished your course...there is now a reward that awaits you because you didn't give up!" Generations yet to be born are saying "thank you!" Now that you SEE IT, GET ON YOUR MARK...

The Climate

The climate is ripe in this season for the right “exchange” to take place. By exchange I mean, to live in the body, you inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. You trade (or exchange) what is inside of you with the opportunities that lay dormant on the outside of the body. In other words, there are endless possibilities that become available when you step on to new fertile ground, in a new season with endless possibilities (an optimal climate). In so doing, you take great risks to walk into an uncomfortable situation in order to glean in the new possibilities that are ahead.

Breathing does not require you to speak, so in the spiritual realm you don't have to speak to pick up new attributes and characteristics. This can work for you or against you, and it is all dependent upon whom you choose to surround yourself with. So let me ask you are you with positive influences or negative influences? Take a moment, if you will, to reflect on who or what you've allowed to entertain your thoughts and mind for the past 30 days. For me, the past 30 days have been somewhat phenomenal because I made a conscious decision to only put myself around people who could challenge me to achieve greatness. I only wanted to be with those who had a achieved a certain level of success. Putting myself in these "circles of influence" was vital and important for me as I focused more on reaching my personal goals for my LYFE.

The bottom line is that people that we meet should be in one of two categories, assets or liabilities. It would be foolish for me to think that I could hang around JUST anybody but still yet have high aspirations to reach the stars! No, if that's a goal, then I have to put myself around those who think the same. If my only goal is to live, eat, and be merry, then I don't have to do much to find people who think like that. But for people who, like me, know they are destined for greatness, we have to be careful as to who we allow to be in our presence because being with the wrong crowd can have a negative affect on your outlook or outcome.

I tell my young people all the time, "your crowd can make or break you!" You have to be careful during this season of transition to make the right decisions to put yourself in the right company that can accelerate you to a "point of no return." Otherwise, you run the risk of delaying not just your own breakthrough but also those who are connected to you. In science class, when I was a child, I remember that I learned a law which goes like this, "Every action has an equal or opposite reaction!" In life, we tend to think that because we may be grown, we can make our own decisions and do what we want to do and that no one else is affected. But that is not true. The decisions we make affect the next three to four generations that come behind us and if we don't believe it, take a look at the decisions your grandparents and parents made and ask yourself if your plight in life has been altered in any way because of the decisions that were made in years prior.

Just something to think about!

How I Live

I have some habits inside of me that won’t stop me from walking into what God has ordained, no matter what it costs. This is what has hindered me because before such a time, I thought it was because I wasn’t holy enough or maybe I didn’t have enough faith to believe, but now I understand that God will continue to allow thorns to remain in my life in order to keep me humble. He’ll keep them forever before or in front of me to remind me that it’s in Him that I live, I move, and I have my being. My state of being is not determined by what’s going on inside of me, that’s not a matter that I should be overwhelmed by. But rather, I have to keep my sights on things above, or better put, I’ve got to stay focused on the work that God has called me to, which is LIVING to my fullest expectations!

It’s amazing to note that God understands the things that I hate. The things that I am ashamed of that are still hitting me on a consistent basis in my walk, that, prior to today, have made me to believe that I couldn’t inhabit the “fat” of the land. But now I know and understand that the blood covers and the blood gives me access to stand before my Father who has already made provision for me. He has already given me the ability to stand in His righteousness to operate as “Christ” in the earth. So there is no need to fear or fret about the shortcomings, because as ME, I will continue to make mistakes, but when He who lives on the inside of me MANIFESTS Himself, it is not I but it is He who lives on the inside of me that operates and makes a way when there is no way!

This is how I live, this is how I operate, this is how I can walk with my head held high and my chest out because I know in whom I have believed. I know that Christ, my redeemer lives because He’s in me and He’s given me all power and authority to break the “back” of the evil one. This is how I live…and this is what has to be conveyed to the generation coming behind. They need to know and understand that we aren’t perfect but that there is only perfection in Christ.

Now that's real talk...

Back-to-Back

Seasons come and seasons go, true enough, however, there are some seasons in life that come that take your breath away because of how overwhelming things get and how extraordinary God is. This is what's going on NOW. I'm looking for the extraordinary to take place because I've awakened the "giant" on the inside of me. God says in His word that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," meaning since I'm His child, what's His is mine. Why don't we act like this as believers? He also tells us in His word that He will do exceeding and abundant above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. So, being that we don't operate at this capacity, where is the power?

God doesn't lie and He's not the author of confusion, so I'm willing to submit that most of the headaches we encounter on a daily basis, take place because we never walk in the authority that He's already given. We, for some reason, refuse to wake up the Christ that lives on the inside of us. We'd rather operate as slaves and servants when His word tells us that He made us sons and daughters. He further tells us in His word that He's given us all authority to be the Priests and Kings but do we ever operate at our fullest potential? NO

This is exactly why I'm done with the normal and mediocre of life. God, evidently wants us, as His children, to experience more out of life so that's exactly where my faith is taking me NOW! I'm looking for the extraordinary because as the gospel group, Commissioned, said the "ordinary just won't do!" I'm ready to operate at my fullest potential because I realize now that the next generation gleans off of how I operate. You see, I have a crowd looking at me and if I walk around living at only 40% capacity, I can't expect anything more from the youth and young adults that I speak too day-in and day-out. But when I operate at 110% I can now speak and call up young people and challenge them to "come up higher" in their thinking! I can call them from a dead state and challenge them to live to their fullest expectations.

That's where the "Y" in LYFE comes from, Living to Your Fullest Expectations. Most of us refuse to operate at this level of expectancy for one reason or another, but as for me and MY HOUSE, we're going to conquer territories that were ordained for us to conquer. We're going to inherit and walk where our ancestors couldn't. Generational curses end right here right NOW! There is a greater dimension that God wants our young people to operate in and that means that I have to be a first partaker in walking the walk. I can't expect them to do something that I'm not willing to do, can I?

God said that He would rebuke the devourer for our sake and the nations of this earth would call us blessed! Blessed in the city and blessed in the field would be our testimony. We are in a season of back-to-back blessings so prepare for a tsunami to take place if your willing to dare to believe that God can and will and has already given us the victory! The word for the week is Back-to-Back-to-Back!

Now that's real talk!

Conquor the Gutter

Oftentimes in life we tend to run away from problems because of how uncomfortable they make us feel, but if we'd realize and understand that problems are supposed to be running from us, not the other way around. Time and time again it never fails, you'll see people avoiding circumstances as if avoiding them is going to make them go away. I'm not sure what's behind the logic because I've always been the person who confronted issues head on because the "churchy" way of handling situations didn't work, in my eyes.

In the book of II Samuel, the fifth chapter, we find David, at 30 years of age, faced with a huge dilemma. He is already king but there is more territory that he is supposed to conquer, but he's told that he can't prevail against it at any cost. He's basically mocked at and dared to even try to take the "stronghold of Zion." He's told that unless he comes up the gutter he won't prevail, so do you know what David does? I'm glad you asked, he comes through the gutter, he basically does what they said he had to do because he knew that his destiny was to be king.

Personally, I believe that David possibly thought back to the time when he was a teenager and he faced Goliath, the giant. He figured that if God got him through that situation, then He's the same God yesterday, today, and forever more so He's able to do this too, and there you have it, King David prevailed!

Whatever obstacle you're facing in life, know that if God brings you to it, He's already given you everything you need to get you through it. Further on in the chapter after King David conquers the stronghold, he names what he was told he couldn't have after him and calls it the "city of David." In other words, he conquered his problem and then put his name on it. :) Talk about crazy boldness!

The last scripture that I want to lift up to you is the scripture that says, "so David went on and grew great and the Lord of hosts was with him." David couldn't go on and grow great until after he conquered his gutter. So what are you waiting on? The Lord is with you, to fight for you, to save you! What more do you need?

Real talk...

Do Something Crazy

I preached at a church this past weekend for a youth service and I challenged the congregation to do something non-traditional or crazy in order to reach this present generation. The text that I used in the illustration was from the Gospel according to John, chapter 9, where a man was born blind from birth and the disciples wanted to point blame at either the blind man or his parents. Isn't that just like church folk, to find someone to point a finger at? Well, after the disciples asked Jesus who sinned, Jesus responded by saying neither but that this had come to pass so that God could show Himself strong!

In the midst of a concise and precise piece of exegetical text, Jesus does something crazy and unusual. He spits on the ground. This didn't make sense to me when I read it, and still to this day, it sounds rather abstract and against the norm, but this is what it took to reach the masses, doing something unusual! How many of us are willing to do something unorthodox to reach this generation of young people who are hurting and abandoned? How many are uninhibited with their own personal drama to the point where they can handle the burdens of our youth? Most young people that I talk to on a daily basis across the country look at church as irrelevant because most of what goes on inside the four walls has nothing to do with Monday through Saturday living.

From our choice of music to the style of preaching, our youth are hungry, looking and waiting for people to shed the hype and the drama and the fluff and give them real sincere ministry. The type of ministry that they're looking for is that one-on-one relationship that you only get when you're able to be real and transparent and show them the wounds from your own past and tell how God brought you out. I challenged the congregation to NOT hold the youth to what was done "back in the day" but to encourage them to serve and give God praise in their own way.

In the book of I Samuel, we see where Saul (representing the old school) tried to put his armor on David (representing the new school) so that David could fight Goliath. Well, most of us know the story and David was unable to use King Saul's armor because it was too heavy and it didn't fit him. He had to fight Goliath with his sling shot and with 3 rocks. In other words, he had to fight using what he had because that was what was more comfortable for him. What am I saying? Let young people be themselves and begin understanding where they are coming from before placing judgment.

God said that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He's the God of the generations, not just in the good times, but in the bad as well. So, this day I challenge you to do something crazy to reach this present generation. Do something that might have the old establishment question your motives or may even get you kicked out of your church, hell, just the other day, one of my young people performed at a club and yours truly went to support. I didn't necessarily care for the joint but it was important to me that the young person saw that I was willing to go where he was in order to reach him. That's all I'm saying, DO SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO THE OLD SCHOOL because today is a new day and the message doesn't change but the methods have to if we are going to occupy!

Now that's real talk.

Move Up and Out

In this season, don't become discouraged with the way things look. Keep in mind that it (whatever IT is) may look bad before it starts to look good so know and be assured that it's not about what you see. You have to know that your situation is going to get better. And even further than that, you have to know that it's going to get better because you're going to make it so! You can't sit on the sidelines and just WAIT! We've been waiting long enough haven't you? What more do you need to get you from sitting on the sidelines to being an active participant in your offensive strike? I don't' know about you but I've had enough of feeling guilty about my hang ups! NO MORE!

I've got to move forward and be "on the way" to destiny because time isn't waiting for me! Life is continually moving forward whether I sit and lick my wounds or not. Life is going to continue to press me on all sides as the heat is constantly turned up in order to make me who I need to be, so I have to understand as I move forward that the race is not given to the swift or to the strong but the one who endures to the end! Nowhere in the bible does it say that the race is given to the perfect! Nowhere in the bible does it say that the race is given to the rich. NO, it's given to the one who endures, meaning the one who falls and gets back up and continues in the fight of faith!

It's a fixed fight so all you and I have to do is continue to get up everyday and move up and out to reach our destiny! No matter what comes continually be "on your way!" No matter what it looks like and the lies that are said against you, remember, "don't stop get it get it" because we have to remember that the fight is fixed and in the end we win! So, with that said, move up and out because your destiny awaits!

Real talk!

Keep Pushing

There is a song that is out in the atmosphere that goes something like, "Don't stop! Get It Get It!" That's what I need to say for today! If your life is anything like mine then a lot of distractions are manifesting in ways beyond reason, but know that these are schemes and ways that the evil one would cause you to make some poor decisions that could cost you dearly. Do not be deceived by the tricks because that's just what they are! Be encouraged and know that if the heat has been turned up in your life, it's due to your growth and development in preparation for destiny!

When my sister was in the hospital delivering her son, Isaiah, the closer she got to delivery the more pain she would have to endure because her body was enlarging so that the baby could pass through her womb. It was a painful experience for her, but as well for me because as her brother I didn't like seeing her look the way she did. Nothing personal but she didn't look like the gorgeous sister that I was used to seeing. But she had good reason to look the way she did because her body was going through so much torment and travail in giving birth that, to her, it wasn't a time to try to "save face" and look cute. Her main objective was to get what was inside of her OUT!

The doctor was there to only instruct because at that point, she couldn't do anything to alleviate the process. It was what it was, so I say to you today, it is what it is! This is a very uncomfortable place in your life because you have to completely rely on the Holy Spirit and not on your own psyche. The natural mind cannot comprehend the spiritual things so your discernment has got to be activated for where you are going. Keep pushing because you are close! You are very close to giving birth to Destiny!

The joy of the entire process is that once you are done pushing, the joy of holding what was on the inside takes over and the pain that you had to endure seems so minimal! So, I'll say to you one more time...KEEP PUSHING, YOU ARE ALMOST THERE!

The Law of Recognition

This book just fell into my life. Out of nowhere my spiritual father blessed me with this book written by Mike Murdock, titled, The Law of Recognition. Those of you who know me, know that I love reading. Reading keeps me alive especially during rough, desolate times and seasons in my life when I feel like giving up! So, needless to say, I was at a point where I was needing something, what, I couldn't actually put into words but I was hungry for something more. I go through these moments where I need a little more than the ordinary because of the mandate that is on my life to serve this present generation.

In the midst of a rather dry season in my life when I was hungering for the love that only a father could give, I was blessed with this book. I have begun reading it and it has peaked my interest already. It's interesting because the first thing that stuck out to me in this book was the statement that "everything you need in your life is already in your life merely awaiting your recognition of it." It's amazing to think, and I've been hearing it for a while now, that God has been waiting on me to SEE what He has already placed before me and in me instead of the other way around.

So many times I have been waiting on God to do "something" what, I'm not sure but to even read something like this even peaks my interest the more because with all the stuff I've been going through, I have to ask the question, WHY? Why are things like they are because if everything I need is already here, then do the trials and tribulations qualify as well? Are they ordained by God to manifest something inside me that has been lying dormant? Hmmm, I'm not sure but I will continue to read and find out.

The quest begins...

God's Got This!

Sometimes in life you tend to get frustrated by what you see! I know I do but time and time again I'm reminded that it's not about what you see with the natural eye because we live in a natural world but we forget that there is a spiritual world as well. It seems like many of the ones that I'm real close to have just been falling by the wayside and there's nothing that I can do about it.

I received a call today about a friend of mine who's marriage is on the brink of divorce. Another is facing possible eviction from his home. Then I get a call about one of my kids possibly being pregnant (this is the fourth or fifth this year) so you know I'm like going crazy in my own mind. And then, to top matters off one of my kids just flat out lost his mind!

So, today I begin yet another consecration, or for those who may not understand what this is, the month of October is going to be a time where I set myself apart from many of the things that I customarily do on a regular basis. I'm going to be sacrificing my time for the Lord this month because with all that is going on, and I didn't even mention what I might be going through, but just in the superficial, I need to take some time alone with the Lord because in His word, in the book of Romans, the scripture that comes to mind in the eighth chapter is, "for I reckon that the suffering of this present time isn't worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed..."

I still believe the word of God regardless of the way things look and I've got to stay fixated on that which God has already spoken! God's got everything under control and allows these things to take place to make me stronger. God said it in His word, I believe it so that settles all of the drama right here and there!

God's got this under control! I have to keep my eye on the big picture and not on what I see in the here and now! I have to believe that what's coming is greater than what has been and what is right now!

This is real talk!