Thursday, December 31, 2009 Print Article
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Saddle Up
Milan Ford
Well, here we are. Today is Thursday, December 31st.
The very last day of the year 2009. And what a year it was.
It seems like only yesterday that many of us joined up with millions of people across the nation this time last year to gather inside of our respective local churches for some form of New Year's Eve or Watch Night Service. And although there are times when the variations of our church annual themes and proclamations can make God sound a bit schizoid to the ears of the unbeliever, for the most part, many of us heard a message that evening about the significance of the year 2009.
2009. The year of (yep, that's right)...
...New Beginnings.
From areas of relationships to finance, issues of health and areas of leadership, the hope for a New Beginning was indeed high on the hearts and minds of believers both young and old this year.
Now I am not in any way what you call the greatest practitioner of biblical numerology, but last year around this time, I remember doing a little research about the significance of the number nine (9).
What I found was actually very interesting. The number nine (9) literally means: to bring to an end. In fact, in one instance, I found that the number (9) means: to bring a judgment (or conclusion) to. I think I'll repeat that one more time...
To bring to an end.
To bring to a conclusion.
To bring a judgement to.
Those aren't exactly the kind of words people pack out a sanctuary or tear up a few pews in order to hear at the beginning of a new year. New Year phrases like 'the year of divine favor,' or 'the year of a new beginning' tend to have a better ring to them.
About a month or so ago, I heard probably one of the most powerful faith statements I had ever heard in my life. It is one that I pray becomes a staple for every believer reading this devotional today as we prepare for the beginning of a new year.
"God's sovereignty does not excuse our apathy."
While I realize we all are looking forward to a great harvest in 2010, please know that this harvest in many respects will be a result of the seeds we have sown throughout 2009.
2009 (for many of us) should have been a year to put an end to our excuses. A year that you and I should have ceased from blaming any oppressor (spiritual or natural) from hindering us from accomplishing the goals and dreams we set out for earlier this year.
2009 was not a year to be lazy. Or vulnerable. This year (for many of us) should have been a year that many of us for the first time in our lives became (sorry for the dirty word here)... responsible.
On tonight, be careful not to become too consumed with asking God (yet again) to begin some new things in your life, without examining the things He has also told you to bring to an end this year.
You still have a few hours left to cancel some of those credit cards you know you need to stop using. A few hours left to 'unfriend' that person you know God has told you to stop chatting with online. A few hours left to email that proposal you've been sitting on now for weeks to your boss.
In fact, there's even a few hours to call that relative of yours you know God has told you to apologize to and mend the relationship. It may be tough to do, but it is time to get it done.
I realize there are a plethora of scriptures many of us will probably be given on tonight concerning what God may have in store for us next year, but I want to give you one that my wife and I have already taken on as a personal challenge for our family throughout 2010.
It's a dangerous one, so please don't write it down if you're not prepared for it just yet.
"If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5-6
Ladies and gentlemen, whether you and I are ready or not, 2010 is here. For many of us, this will be a year that many of the things we have prayed for throughout this year will come to pass. However, for those of us who are still holding on to things (and people) God has told us to get rid of, and for those of us who have allowed 2009 to be a year where our apathy and discontentment for where our lives are right now get the best of us, then what in the world are we going to do when the 'horses' arrive?
If God decides to bless you in 2010 with that 'new job' you've been asking for, are you prepared for it? If God decides to bless your business or church with incredible growth in 2010, did you position yourself properly this year to receive it? Or perhaps for some of you reading this today who are still waiting for God to send you a spouse, will you be able to identify him or her when they come, or is your focus still on holding on to those 'safe alternatives' from your past?
Family, enough is enough. No more excuses.
To be quite honest...I am tired of making them. And if you're like me, tired of hearing them too.
The horses...are here!! SADDLE UP.
Milan Ford has been a leader (and survivor) of ministry within the local church for most of his life. A lover of Red Vines Licorice and all things pointing North, Milan released his first book, 83 Things I Wish The Black Church Would Stop Doing earlier this month, which was recently ranked #1 on Amazon.com (Religion & Spirituality / African-American). You can find Milan rambling and writing at at ThePewView.com.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER
GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER
SERVICE PROJECT FOR: 12/30/2009
Hello Fellow Frontliners( and all of those visiting the Blog)
I have just come back from communing with the brothers, and participating in the GODS LOVE WE DELIVER service project. From the moment we arrived, I could tell that this was a special place; and they were indeed doing God’s work. We began by watching a very informative video which told us about the inception of the organization, and described the people in need that they serve. After which, Nate Hamilton lead us in prayer; and we were hustled downstairs to the kitchen where the work began.
We were seasoning chicken, chopping up vegetables, labeling food trays, wiping down work areas, and the finale was preparing the meal of the day (assembly line style). There was a great sense of camaraderie amongst all of the brothers, frontliners,volunteers and staff: and the Staff was “rocking” great music while we worked. It was just like being in your own home preparing food for your family.(just multiply it by 5,000)!!
The 8 Brothers who participated were: Ted Hamilton, Wayne Quashie, Rich Jenkins, Rotimi Akinnuoye, Nate Hamilton, Lamont Bullock, Ernest Perry, and Myself.
This was a wonderful experience and I’m sure all who participated were deeply touched, and felt moved to be contributing to the nutrition of the community at large. We intend to go back and serve in the near future so don’t miss out on this blessing!
Remember……….. God is blessing you…..so that YOU may be a blessing to someone else!
To the 8 brothers that came out today:
Thank you For serving on the FRONTLINES….where the fighting is the fiercest.
BE BLESSED!,
BRUCE
Monday, December 28, 2009
Praise Report and Testimony from Frontliner Tim Robinson
Merry Christmas!! I just got a new permanent job with the NYC Health Dept. Praise God, He hears our prayers, we just have to keep walking (trying to reach our goal) in FAITH (feeling certain) regardless of what we see or hear (i.e. in the news), until He moves things in our direction.
I have increased my faith by putting these scriptures on 3 x 5 flash cards and say them out loud to myself every chance I get:
"Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." - Mark 11:24
"We walk by FAITH not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7
"My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" - Philippians 4:19
"Now this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us , whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." - 1 John 5:14-15
"For with God NOTHING shall be impossible." -- Luke 1:37
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13
"I will show you my FAITH by my WORKS" - James 2:18
Remember: "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." - Romans 10:17
Bruce, if you could please forward this praise report and scriptures to the Frontliners for me, I'm sure it will lift up their spirits!
Thank you for everything. See you soon.
Yours In Christ,
Timothy
I have increased my faith by putting these scriptures on 3 x 5 flash cards and say them out loud to myself every chance I get:
"Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." - Mark 11:24
"We walk by FAITH not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7
"My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" - Philippians 4:19
"Now this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us , whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." - 1 John 5:14-15
"For with God NOTHING shall be impossible." -- Luke 1:37
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13
"I will show you my FAITH by my WORKS" - James 2:18
Remember: "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." - Romans 10:17
Bruce, if you could please forward this praise report and scriptures to the Frontliners for me, I'm sure it will lift up their spirits!
Thank you for everything. See you soon.
Yours In Christ,
Timothy
United States Census Jobs
Seasons Greetings To All:
Below you will find information concerning the availability of jobs as advertised by the "United States Census 2010". Please distribute this information throughout your networks:
UNITED STATES CENSUS 2010
Good pay....Flexible hours....Work close to home....Paid training....Temporary & Part-time jobs.
DO NOT WAIT.........APPLY TODAY
To schedule a test, call the toll-free jobs line at: 1.866.861.2010
More information, including a practice test, is available at: www.2010censusjobs.gov
Clerical and Field Positions are available: SALARY RANGE: $13.50 TO $20.25 per hour.
Happy Holidays,
James E. Robinson
CO-Convener
Coalition for the Improvement of
Bedford-Stuyvesant
718.399.8005(voice)
718.622.0541(fax)
tcgcon@aol.com
Below you will find information concerning the availability of jobs as advertised by the "United States Census 2010". Please distribute this information throughout your networks:
UNITED STATES CENSUS 2010
Good pay....Flexible hours....Work close to home....Paid training....Temporary & Part-time jobs.
DO NOT WAIT.........APPLY TODAY
To schedule a test, call the toll-free jobs line at: 1.866.861.2010
More information, including a practice test, is available at: www.2010censusjobs.gov
Clerical and Field Positions are available: SALARY RANGE: $13.50 TO $20.25 per hour.
Happy Holidays,
James E. Robinson
CO-Convener
Coalition for the Improvement of
Bedford-Stuyvesant
718.399.8005(voice)
718.622.0541(fax)
tcgcon@aol.com
His Birth and our New Birth
His Birth and Our New Birth
Oswald Chambers
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'" -- Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History
". . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside.
Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of -- He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate -- God coming into human flesh from outside it.
His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord's birth was an advent -- the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me
"My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . ." (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside.
Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth.
"You must be born again" (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that "Christ is formed" in me.
And once "Christ is formed" in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was converted in his teen years under the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and as a young man, began an itinerant Bible-teaching ministry in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. My Utmost For His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. For more information on Chambers, log onto http://www.oswaldchambers.co.uk
© Oswald Chambers all rights reserved.
Oswald Chambers
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'" -- Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History
". . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside.
Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of -- He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate -- God coming into human flesh from outside it.
His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord's birth was an advent -- the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me
"My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . ." (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside.
Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth.
"You must be born again" (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that "Christ is formed" in me.
And once "Christ is formed" in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was converted in his teen years under the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and as a young man, began an itinerant Bible-teaching ministry in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. My Utmost For His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. For more information on Chambers, log onto http://www.oswaldchambers.co.uk
© Oswald Chambers all rights reserved.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 25, 2009 Print Article
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Merry Christmas from Streaming Faith!
Chance Mason
Like some of you, I did not grow up in the church. I came to faith in Jesus Christ as a young adult, so my memories of Christmas as a child are not about being a shepherd or a wise man at church. No, my memories are all about the presents, toys, food and egg nog!
One vivid memory I have is watching all of the Christmas specials on television. You knew it was Christmas when you saw "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty The Snowman" on TV.
One of my favorites was "A Charlie Brown Christmas." There's a part of that program that I understand much better now than I did when I was a kid. Do you remember the scene where Charlie Brown is upset because everyone -- including his dog Snoopy -- is into the commercialism and materialism of Christmas? Even the Christmas Play is turning into a mess for poor Charlie Brown because everyone wants to be the star. He stands on the stage and yells out, "Can someone PLEASE tell me what Christmas is really all about?"
Linus slowly walks over to Charlie Brown and says, "Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about."
The lights on the stage dim and Linus says, "...And there were in the same country shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown round about them, and they were sore afraid. But the angel said unto them, 'Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A Savior, which is Christ, the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you: You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.'
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men!'"
Linus then turns to Charlie Brown and says, "That, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about."
Sometimes we can get so busy at Christmas that instead of the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" it can become the most hectic and frustrating time of the year! Have you ever felt like just yelling out, "Can someone PLEASE tell me what Christmas is all about?"
The answer is the same for us as it was for Charlie Brown. "I bring you good tidings of great joy... A Savior is born!"
From the Streaming Faith family to your family, we wish you a blessed, joyful Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year!
Chance Mason is President of Streaming Faith
© Streaming Faith all rights reserved.
Leave a Comment
Merry Christmas from Streaming Faith!
Chance Mason
Like some of you, I did not grow up in the church. I came to faith in Jesus Christ as a young adult, so my memories of Christmas as a child are not about being a shepherd or a wise man at church. No, my memories are all about the presents, toys, food and egg nog!
One vivid memory I have is watching all of the Christmas specials on television. You knew it was Christmas when you saw "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty The Snowman" on TV.
One of my favorites was "A Charlie Brown Christmas." There's a part of that program that I understand much better now than I did when I was a kid. Do you remember the scene where Charlie Brown is upset because everyone -- including his dog Snoopy -- is into the commercialism and materialism of Christmas? Even the Christmas Play is turning into a mess for poor Charlie Brown because everyone wants to be the star. He stands on the stage and yells out, "Can someone PLEASE tell me what Christmas is really all about?"
Linus slowly walks over to Charlie Brown and says, "Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about."
The lights on the stage dim and Linus says, "...And there were in the same country shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown round about them, and they were sore afraid. But the angel said unto them, 'Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A Savior, which is Christ, the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you: You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.'
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men!'"
Linus then turns to Charlie Brown and says, "That, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about."
Sometimes we can get so busy at Christmas that instead of the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" it can become the most hectic and frustrating time of the year! Have you ever felt like just yelling out, "Can someone PLEASE tell me what Christmas is all about?"
The answer is the same for us as it was for Charlie Brown. "I bring you good tidings of great joy... A Savior is born!"
From the Streaming Faith family to your family, we wish you a blessed, joyful Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year!
Chance Mason is President of Streaming Faith
© Streaming Faith all rights reserved.
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