Happy Cleansing!

I did something amazingly amazing - I cleaned my closet. Surely to you, it may not seem like a tough task but for a long period of time, I couldn't enter or exit my closet, neither could I decipher which clothes belonged where. In fact, if I wanted to add some nice things to my wardrobe, I would have to use another room bc surely those items would get lost in the fray. Well, with a little inspiration from the wifey - she started cleaning out hers first (and I know she has more things than I do) - and a timely phone call from a Charity clothes drive, I completed the visually daunting task in about 3 hours. Once I took some steps toward my goal, the task became less and less formidable. I began finding clothes I use to love and I gladly bagged clothes that just didn't fit. I even found new things that I had never worn, a perfect gift to charity.

So for encouragement, now is a good time to finish that project or task you really want done. It's also a good time for spiritual reflection. There are some habits and practices we probably need to stop and some memories of our former selves we shouldn't try to keep around. Who knows, you might uncover some things very useful that you haven't used in a while but most importantly, you find out that you are a lot neater than you think. Happy Cleaning!

Matthew 9:17 - can't put new wine in old wine vessels

Gospel in the Park - August 21st - 6-8p

Gospel in the Park has returned St. Louis!

Click the picture for more info!

This will be a tremendous event, don't miss it!

1-Accord is a Christian-based music ministry that seeks to uplift the name of Jesus through song, deed, and love for the express purpose of witnessing to the lost and encouraging the found. This year's Gospel in the Park will be tremendous! We are focusing on healthy lifestyles, healthy relationships, and healthy mindsets as we praise through the final quarter of the 2011 calendar year!. There will be healthy snacks, health screenings, a variety of prayers, exciting genres of praise, and above all the Mighty Word of God! We would love for your group or ministry to participate. Please email us here: for1accord@yahoo.com

https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=242035932482268

An endless string of Victory (vol.1)

To Compel myself to use my blog more frequently, I am starting a series of encouraging thoughts about Victory. This will be my first entry in which I hope to provide a platform to discuss and share different aspects about God's Holy Word and His will for us to 'be' Victorious.

Who's fighting?

The Battlefield

2 Chronicles 2:17-23; Psalm 144: 1-2

Perhaps one of the most devastating war tactics is a surprise attack. Consider the destruction that occurred at Pearl Harbor. While many were sleeping, they were attacked by air and sea. This sank many American ships and nearly crushed the naval base. The US did not anticipate such an attack. Survivors of the attack recall thinking and saying to each other "This is not a drill. We are actually under attack!" The total loss of life for the Americans was about 2500 that morning.

One may begin to wonder, "Well who would want to attack me/us/my family?" That's a reasonable question but I am reminded that the battlefield can be very close to you and everyone on or near the battlefield is a target. In 2 Chronicles the enemy was planning a surprise attack and was attempting to surround the city and subdue the people of God. The king wasn't prepared to battle in part because he and the city were at ease. They just left a battlefield away from their city but now the enemy is bringing the battle to their city - into their place of comfort - where they found rest. Fortunately they were warned in time for the entire city to work together by praying and fasting.

These two methods of staying in contact with God are actually the best way for us to stay prepared and not get 'too comfy' in this world that we live in because surely by living on a battlefield we will get targetted for war. In Psalm 144, David thanks God for how He continuously prepares us for war by expressing our need to stay in prayer. The relationship is that God prepares us for War because He knows that we will be attacked.

Hence, He writes"Lord you have taught my hands to war and fingers to fight." The relationship of fighting and praying is described thusly: For the children of God/believers in Jesus we must use the gift of prayer frequently as a means for preparing for battle. Yet The Lord in His infinite wisdom, power and might prepares us sufficiently that we may be able to stand (and be hidden) in the time of trouble. So that we can hear the Lord clearly remind us -
Ye shall not [need] to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand ye [still], and see the salvation of the LORD...2Ch 20:17

To be cont....

Wait, I say, On the Lord!

I would just like to share a brief word of encouragement. To all of us who have struggled before or are struggling with something right now and it seems like you fear your requests to God, through Jesus, either haven't been heard or will not be answered, consider this Word found in the first part of 2nd Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning His Promise!!!!...Although the complete explanation of this verse relates to when the Lord Jesus will come back again during the rapture, their is an immediate part that relates to Christians (in particular those who are growing in His Word). For us it means that The Lord will surely give to us what He has promised. If it feels like its taking longer than expected, trust in the Lord that He has an appointed time to personally deliver or make manifest what you really need. That's why the psalmist could declare to us all to Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, Wait, I say, I plead, I insist that you shouldn't give up.

because what seems like a long time, To God it really isn't, so to us it really shouldn't be. He's not slack, slow, or behind in keeping his promises (some of these promises are found in Jeremiah 29:11 ) so Wait, I encourage us all to, On the Lord

You are blessed!

Anniversary Celebration for 1 Accord

Please come out and help us celebrate the name of Jesus during our 3 annual Anniversary Celebration.
Thanking our Lord for His OmniPRESENCE.


Date:November 8th, 2009

Time: 3 p.m.

Location: Mt. Zion MB Church 1444 S. Compton

click image to view flyer

One Accord Christian Ministries 1-Accord Ministries is a Christian-based music ministry that seeks to uplift the name of Jesus through song, deed, and love for the express purpose of witnessing to the lost and encouraging the found. We are comprised of committed disciples from various churches in the St. Louis area who have a desire to sing about God’s goodness both in and out of season – while in the physical Church building, as well as out in the community.

The rescue

I promise not to wait 8 months to post again.

I have been feasting on the word that's in Zechariah 3rd chapter
If you take a glance and see, you will find that Jesus:

• reveals my true nature


• recognizes that I need help


• rebukes the enemy with great determination for me


• rescues me from the destruction planned by the enemy


• removes and replaces my sins with His righteousness


• restores my soul!

I love this for many reasons, one of them being that he rebukes satan's charges not because they were false but rather because He already had rescued me. The all-knowing - omniscient - Father already knew the issues I had been wrestling with and He still chose to rescue me, clean me up, and get me back on the right track!

This is why we should salute all of the brethren with love and respect no matter what we think we know about them bc we don't know what they were saved from, but Christ saved them from the worst of it to bring out the best in us!

Peace

Giving Thanks!

Giving Back!

http://www.jugsii-stl.org/events

One Accord!

Preparing for Worship!

One Accord Presents (Through the storm) -

Nov. 16th @ 3pm - Mt. Zion MB Church - 1444 S. Compton ave

(click image for viewing)

A brief talk

I said "I'm bearing too much"

He said "With Me, you are stronger than you think"

Phillipians 4:13

Patience!

I was on a recent trip across the country (well more like a small portion of the country) with one of my best friends. We calculated our drive to be about 14 hours - a nice task for one day and a piece of cake for 2 days. We chose the two day route. The first day went by relatively fast and we were planning for the second day to be even better. We were making good time, having great debates and so on. However, midway through the second day we ran into a little problem - crawling traffic. We were less than 4 hours from our destination but it felt like our trip had just begun. After quickly rerouting our drive, we turned around and decided that we would bypass all the traffic and still make decent time - not as good as scheduled but it was better than just waiting in the car and moving 2 miles an hour. We make our detour and without trouble successfully enter back onto the main highway miles beyond the traffic. High fives and praises ensue because we assumed that all the trouble was behind us. Full speed ahead!! We move - making up time we believed we lost. But!! ("Church say but") after just 30 minutes we find ourselves in more crawling traffic. (We discovered later that the highway was jammed in two places) It was almost laughable to be in the same situation we thought we had left behind but I think we were both a little disappointed. We made plans to meet with a group of our friends and eat a tasty dinner but those plans would have to certainly be rainchecked. By the time we reached my crib, we were on the road for 13 hours on the 2nd day. This brought our total travel time to 20 hours - 5 or 6 hours longer than what we had anticipated. I usually consider myself a patient person but I became impatient during this trip because I was so close to my destination. We found out later that another one of our friends recently traveled along the same route and his trip was 4 or 5 hours longer for the same reason. I thought about that and I was reminded of this scripture found in James 1:3-4 - I attempted to bypass a process that I must go through in order to get where I needed to go. Patience is a tool that we are given by God's Holy Spirit that allows us to develop into the Christian men and women we are destined to be. If you stray off that path, sooner or later you will be rerouted back where you need to be. The path won't be any shorter but you will have the same driver of your faith - Jesus Christ. That's a reason to be joyful and patient because with Christ we are destined to make it -

The Real Secret

There is so much talk about "The Secret" and The Law of Attraction. People want to know what they need to do to be prosperous. I have not read any of those books because God has already given me clear instructions in Joshua 1:8.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (KJV)

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (NLT)

And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. (The Message)

Obedience to the Word of God is my success and prosperity, because as I grow more like Christ, I get better perspective. I release issues, trials and thoughts of failure that are slowing me down so that I can more fully embrace what God has in store for me.

The Gift of Grace

Well my fellow bloggers, it's been far too long since our last entry so what better day to post than on Christmas? 2007 has been great but in late November we did suffer the loss of our child - Grace - I'm posting a portion of the Eulogy I gave for her memorial experience.

2 Peter 3:18 reads

But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.

While the word Grace occurs over 160 times in the Bible, the clause Find Grace or found Grace – as in Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord or Hebrews 4:14-16 - find grace to help us - occurs nearly 30 times in the Bible. Now we know the word Grace to mean – God’s unmerited favor – A special gift given to us for something we could not earn ourselves. Worth far more than all that we have. On our best days – when we have fed the hungry – healed the sick – ministered to those in need – made all the morally acceptable choices – we still can’t earn Grace – because Grace is given. Well the question then may be - for those instances in the scriptures and during times such as these –
Is or was Grace Lost? Well my brothers and my sisters, I have some Good news for you and I’m not talking about saving on car insurance – the expression finding grace in the scriptures can be translated to experiencing Grace.
You may not always see Grace – But there is Grace. You may not always feel Grace – rest assured fam Grace is There – not in that vault, but right in your hearts and minds. Sometimes I like to think that I’m the one providing consolation and comfort to others but please believe that I’m encouraging myself. For I have come to understand that once you experience Grace, your life cannot remain the same. We all experienced Grace.
Our conversations with friends and family changed and our actions changed too. We joked about names like Lamont (before I knew she was a girl) Thekla (little thekky what they call her) and Maggie. We conversed about back pillows. We changed what we cooked and ate. Our Friday evenings went from leaving work and going out to leaving work and going home to sleep. Grace does just that - Grace changes you.
Hence, it has become more evident to me the power of this scripture in 2 Peter 3:18 – But Grow in grace… How do you grow in something you can’t earn? You learn and you cherish each experience of Grace that you have had. You share that Grace – You keep that Grace with you – and above all, you learn more about Grace Himself – Jesus. Sent by God the father in heaven as Grace to an already perishing world. Jesus, the special gift of Grace that lived as man and died a death that he didn’t earn but in 3 short days rose giving more Grace, changing more lives, healing more spirits. And He’s coming back, and by His Grace we’ll be changed eternally.
Yes, my brothers and sisters while this is a celebration, we are not immune to events that have brought us here. This is not a forum to figure it all out, but after you have ran out of questions to ask yourself – The Lord has an answer for you. Yes this is a place where it’s ok to cry and weep – Christ sent us the comforter for times just like this – just make sure that every once in a while when feel a tear welling up in your eyes, you see Jesus right there ready to wipe it all away.
This moment in time we celebrate Grace, thank you for sharing in this experience with us.

Merry Christmas to all!!

We've got something good!

God has placed a treasure within us! What can we do to preserve it?
2 Corinthians 4:7

Healed

There are two songs that I am feeling right now, both relay an inspiring message about healing.

Broken but I'm healed by Byron Cage

and Healed by Donald Lawrence

Check these words out:

Broken....

1st chorus: God can heal, He can deliver.He can mend your brokenness.He has a miracle to fit your needs, once you trust Him, you will receive.

last chorus: God has healed, He has delivered.He has mended my brokenness.Gave me a miracle to fit my need;praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord.Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, I have received.

I love how the artist shows, through the lyrics, a change in the situation. Because there are many areas of our being that make-up who we are (body, soul, spirit), healing may be necessary on many different levels. Just like when are physical bodies may suffer internal trauma, sometimes we are hurting spiritually and we don't even know the magnitude of our injuries.

Healed:

Vamp: May have some scars...I am healed...Circumstances...I’m still healed...Disappointments...I am healed

It takes a certain level of faith to be able to see beyond our present circumstances and believe that God has already supplied us with the remedy necessary to relieve us from our burdens - from the physical to the spiritual.

What's just as amazing is that both artists relay a message to the believer, with great assurance, that what we are in need of has already been supplied - Isaiah 65:24

You may have thought it was bad...

...but the enemy planned worse

mmm...mmmm....mmmmm...What the preacha said...

I heard an excellent message Sunday. It was more like one of those messages within the main message. While the main message was tasty - 5 C's to live by when you face the giants in your life.

1. Know that you have been Charged - Upon our belief, we received the power of the Holy Spirit. This life giving charge provides us with the spiritual vitality necessary to accomplish all things.


2. When the giant and or problem in our lives come accept the Challenge - The enemy wants to try our faith and test us. But God believes in us!


3. Once you've accepted the challenge, the Lord give us Confidence - not so much in ourselves, but our power through Him that gave us the Charge. That Charge has more power in it than we know ourselves, but God believes in us because He knows what He's given us


4. This leads us to more than Conquerors through


5. Christ for The word interpreted means that our victory is even greater than accomplishing that task or withstanding that attack. But our victory rests solely on the fact that we have endeavored to have a living relationship with Jesus Christ. For in Him we can do all things.

Now those 5 c's were great but the message within the message that really moved me was the analogy of feasting on this message, or any aspect of the Word of God spoken into your life.

My interpretation - "Once you've left this table, wrap it (This Word) up. Place it in foil and put it in the fridge to keep it fresh. Then take it out a little later and eat some more. Then wrap it back up, use some more foil on it. Make it last like a Thanksgiving dinner feast when you just can't eat everything up at once but you know you have a meal ready to be consumed later. And just like that meal, the next time you eat a little more you notice that the seasonings have settled in the meat and the dressing. You taste it and it tastes better the second time than the first. Even more so will God's given/spoken Word be to us"

The last quarter!

A good friend of mine wrote this about a week ago and it was inspiring and motivating to say the least. Please enjoy:

The Fourth Quarter
by
Jason H. Thomas

It is difficult to believe that 2007 is almost gone. Very soon, we will be entering the final quarter of the year. During this final quarter, several things tend to happen. Cooler temperatures begin to replace the summer heat wave. Leaves begin to turn from green to orange, yellow, and red. Diets begin to shift from fruit and salads to soups and comfort food. But the best thing that the year’s final quarter brings is…football. Maybe it’s just me but I can smell the pigskin in the air. But that’s not the focus of this piece. As you approach the tail end of the year, your focus should be on “How can I finish well?”

At the beginning of the year, you had goals. You had dreams. You had unbreakable focus. You had determination. You had will power. And then it happened…life. Your dreams didn’t flow according to plan. Your goals didn’t get accomplished quite like you imagined. Either you had less income or more expenses, but your financial balance sheet is a bit…off balanced. You experienced a few more problems than you initially accounted for. Some relationships went sour and died while others were birthed and flourished. But life happened to you and the end of the year is now upon you.

So what do you do now?

Finish what you started. It’s not about how you start but how you finish. Your aim should be to finish well. People rarely remember how you started something but they certainly remember how you finish.

Implement an effective and efficient strategy. Effectiveness relates to how well you do something whereas efficiency relates to how fast you can do it. I believe that a person of true excellence has the ability to marry the two (effectiveness and efficiency). As a part of implementing a great strategy to end the year well, you must ask yourself:
What do I need to start doing?
What do I need to stop doing?
What do I need to continue doing?

Keep the end result/reward in mind. Many people are motivated when they have a keen understanding of “What’s in it for me?” The primary reason that Jesus could endure the pain of the cross was because of the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). In the same manner, it is the goal/reward that you are working towards that will help you to endure the pain of the process.

Although the year’s end is almost upon us, you still have time to accomplish those things that you initially set out to do. So don’t delay; make it happen TODAY! Remember, it’s important that you start, but it’s more important that you finish…and finish well!

Giving credit where it is due!

If I ever did anything good. If I ever said anything insightful. If I ever provided encouragement. If I ever gave support. If I ever prayed effectually. If I ever received an award. If I ever gave someone in need a hug. If I ever listened to another's concerns. If I ever said something just at the right moment. If I ever performed exceptionally well at my job or within my field of study. If I was ever empathetic. If I ever gave a healing touch. If I ever spoke a Rhema word into your life. If I ever preached an inspiring sermon or preached until the pews went crazy! If I ever taught a lesson that motivated another disciple's spirit. If I ever appeared intelligent. If I ever accomplished anything. If I ever appeared to be a good ambassador for Jesus Christ.

Please believe that I don't boast of myself, for it was nothing and no one but God's awesome presence doing what He always does!! Zechariah 4:6

Perspective shift

Where we see darkness -

1. Ignorance
2. Separation
3. hopelessness
4. sadness
5. loneliness
6. fear
7. chaos
   

God sees opportunity -

1. Wisdom
2. Covenant
3. Hope
4. Joy
5. partnership
6. Victory
7. Peace/Order
   

Genesis 1:2
Psalms 139:11-12

3-way Phone call

I am not the biggest R-Kelly fan, though my wife may be - what can I say, she's big on forgiveness. I will, however, be the first to admit that he does have a gift - an extraordinary spiritual gift - to touch people in song. I would prefer that he were all the way hot for God and only made encouraging songs for God's children but I am also aware of a few basic tenets of American music culture and Christianity:
1. Music - the sounds, chords, beats have a unique history intertwined through many musical genres. Music evolves so we should not assume that a certain sound denotes a certain spiritual level.
2. God is not finished working on anyone yet!

That being said, R-Kelly and Kelly Price's 3-way phone call has received much play on my ipod this week. If you have never heard it, it's on the U saved me album, disc 2 - you can listen to a sample on amazon. It's a unique little piece that makes me re-think the power of a phone call to a close friend.

Have you heard this song before?
Let me know what you think

Peace