Year: 2013

Integrity is not a Cantaloupe, it’s a Grapefruit?

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Integrity – what is it? Some times we say things like, integrity is being truthful, holy, pure, obedient to God, trustworthy, who you are and who you are supposed to be when no on is looking. But the word Integrity is from the latin “integer” and it means “unity.” What that means is, a person of integrity does not live a divided life. There is no difference between who you are Monday through Friday and what you are on Sunday. There is no difference between who you are on the job and who you are at home. Integrity must invade every part of your life. In most of the circles today, I often hear a lot of people say, “you either have integrity or you don’t.” How true is that assessment? Could that statement be misleading? Is there a better way to explain integrity? According to Fred Smith, the author of Leading with Integrity, integrity can be compared to a Cantaloupe and a grapefruit. You can have it in one area of your life, but it …

Choosing to Live life on purpose

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One of the reasons why I decided to start a blog and actually give it the title “where are you… Where are you going?”, can actually be summarized in a very few words. I want my life to really count. And if I can inspire somebody to think the way I do, and do the things I do to make my life count, than at least in this small portion of my life I have succeeded big time. At the end if my life, I want my wife and kids, my friends and loved ones to say that I was the husband, the father and the man that I was created to be. That I lived my life exceptionally well and left this earth with no regrets. I want to leave a legacy that generations after me will not easily forget. I want to go out with a deep satisfaction that I did my best to serve God and my family. I want to leave this place knowing that I was able to discover God’s …

7 reminders to help take frustration in ministry to level zero

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If you’ve been in the ministry any length of time, I am sure you have come to understand that it is glorious but sometimes very difficult. This is  an across the board experience for both highly successful leaders and not so highly successful leaders. It also doesn’t really matter where you are or how long you’ve been in the ministry, we have all experienced frustration one way or the other. I certainly don’t think this little post is going to stop all the frustration that ministry can bring – fact is, some of that stuff is very good for you. They come highly recommended. But at least, I think this little post  can point out some common mistakes leaders make and shine some light  on how to avoid them. Let’s share with you a few: It is simply dumb to compare yourself with others Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, …

The mission of God is too important to leave to missionaries

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The Mission of God is too important to leave to missionaries . Christopher Wright What is The Mission God? The Mission of God is to seek and save those who are lost, it is to rescue, to heal, to restore through love and compassion and the finished and redemptive work of Christ, all people to a relationship with him. This “missio dei” is the sole purpose of the church and the Modus Operandi of every follower of Jesus Christ. Who are to carry out The Mission of God? The Mission of God is not for a hand full of people to fulfill, it’s a mission to which God has called all of us to fulfill. We acknowledge, celebrate, and support the call of those commissioned by God to foreign and homeland missions. But we are obligated by God to remind us all that the sacred and the secular divide is a hindrance to God’s mission and it prevents Christians from impacting the culture around them. We must reject the idea that there are jobs out there that are more …

Your Grace Finds me

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There in the darkest night of the soul There in the sweetest songs of victory Your grace finds me Matt Redman has released another powerful song about the never ending, always constant and accessible grace of God. The song is geared toward helping us find God’s grace in the every season of life. Grace that is “there in the light of the sunrise, or in a newborn cry – on your wedding day – in the weeping by the graveside. A grace that is the same for the rich and the poor, the same for the saint in the sinner.” The grace of God finds us in the valleys, on the mountain tops and in the mundane. It finds us in times of great celebration and joy, yet in the hustle and bustle of life. Your grace finds me is the title cut from a great album that I think will impact your daily walk with Christ. Check out this album on iTunes Your Grace Finds Me (Live) [Deluxe Edition] Matt Redman Christian & Gospel …

The missing piece

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I am a firm believer that every one of us have a gift. We are all destined to do something in life that no one else could ever do. Even if we did our best to imitate somebody else’s gift we could never quite deliver like they do. Each one of us are uniquely created and strategically gifted and placed to do just one thing and do it like no one else could. I recently read the story about an eighty-six year old man named Jack Harris. It took him more than five-hour a day for eight years to complete a 5 ft jigsaw puzzle of James Tissot’s painting “The Prodigal Son” – only to find out that there was a missing piece. He looked for that piece but it was nowhere to be found. See, the piece was accidentally thrown away and the thought of not completing the puzzle left Jack really sad. Fortunately, the manufacturer heard Jack’s story about the missing piece and graciously custom-made that piece for him to complete building the puzzle. There is a song that only you could write, …

When the most powerful is your father

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I have always been intrigued by this photo of the late president John F. Kennedy. Here in this photo we see the most powerful man of the free world in the Oval Office playing with children. I am sorry if it is too obvious where I want to go with this, but last time I checked we have a powerful Father who longs to spend time with us. One who wants to put aside the urgent business of running the world and just hang with me. Just a moment where he is not necessarily concerned if I read my Bible or been to Church, paid my tithe or kept my vow to pray at least two or three times a day. The only thing on his mind is spending time with me, crowning me with his love, affection and giving me his undivided attention. Yes! He is powerful, my savior, my Lord, my judge – but he is also my friend and I am His child! This does not take away my respect for Him, …

42: Do you have the guts not to fight back?

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42 was his number, Jackie Robinson was his name – the first Black player in Major League Baseball and you can imagine it will be a life altering if not a divine opportunity that will change a young man, the men he called teammates, and challenge a nation to break down the walls of racism, inequality and segregation. A story, I think is told very well in 42 the movie. After his discharge from the Army in 1944, Robinson began to play baseball professionally. At the time, the sport was segregated, and African-Americans and whites played in separate leagues. Robinson began playing in the Negro Leagues, but he was soon chosen by Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to help integrate major league baseball. He joined the all-white Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946. He later moved to Florida to begin spring training with the Royals, and played his first game in Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. I think the story of Jackie Robinson …

Poverty Porn: Media that intentionally exploits people in poor conditions

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Last year I subscribed to Graceway Media for photos for my blog, but my subscription expired a few weeks ago and I didn’t renew it because it was pretty expensive. So I hit the web to shop around for an alternative. Well, I stumbled on an incredibly sweet site call Lightstock.com, a Christ Centered ROYALTY-FREE IMAGE Website. STARTING AS LOW AS $5 you can find images that you can use in your next web design, blog post, sermon slide or video project. I wish they were giving me at least 50 credits for the information I am dropping here. But, who knows, maybe they’ll find my little blog tugged away in this corner of the WWW. Anyways, I got a little excited about Lightstock and started reading how it works. I went to FAQ and there I discovered two words that sparked a little curiosity. Poverty Porn. Quite frankly, I have never heard the term before. But it made sense when I read the definition on their website: The term “Poverty Porn” has been used …

A Looking Glass, Self Examination and The Word of God

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It is a wonderful thing for people to give up the measure of their own appearance for God’s cleansing. David Guzik Exodus 38:8 He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. This was a laver to hold water for the priests to wash in when they went in to minister. This signified the provision that is made in the gospel of Christ for the cleansing of our souls from the moral pollution of sin by the merit and grace of Christ, that we may be fit to serve the holy God in holy duties. These mirrors were used for the making of the laver. Either they were artfully joined together, or else molten down and cast anew but it is probable that the laver was so brightly burnished that the sides of it still served for mirrors, that the priests, when they came to wash, might there see their faces, and so discover the spots, …