UPDATE!!!!!!!

Just a heads up that oasis4thesoul has been updated with the following new words of inspiration:

1. PODCAST: When God is Silent NEW

That's right!!! The podcast is back in full effect. Want to know what you get when you put a Georgia boy on the 45th floor of a high rise building during an earthquake? Check out the new podcast on oasis4thesoul.com

2. This Week's Devotional: "Get the Door," Hearing the Voice of God Part 2 NEW My brothers and sisters used to get on my nerves growing up. Find out how as we continue our series on Hearing the Voice of God.

3. Weekly YouTube: "(You) Can't Let Go" NEW Sometimes giving up seems like the best option. But hear the word of God from a "non-Gospel" tune/source.

What are you waiting on? Check out all three at www.oasis4thesoul.com

Feel free to leave comments and please share the Word of God with others by sharing the site with them.

Blessings,


John C. Richards, Jr.

OASIS 4 THE SOUL UPDATE...

Hello all,

I wanted to remind you to check out the update on Oasis 4 the Soul:

Includes the following new words of inspiration:

1. Special Post-Father's Day Devotional: "Validation Please!"

A special message for men motivated by a negative experience in my own life.

2. Weekly YouTube for Men: "Real Strength"

Think you're a strong man? Challenge yourself with the words found in this week's YouTube video and words of inspiration.

What are you waiting on? Check it out at www.oasis4thesoul.com

Also, be on the lookout for a new podcast soon. If anyone has any topics they want addressed in the podcast, please email me at oasis4thesoul@gmail.com and we'll make it happen.

Blessings,

John C. Richards, Jr.

P.S. Women, it's not just for the brothers. Yall can check it out too. :)

MY NEW WEBSITE!!!!!!

What's up yall,

I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that I will not be using blogspot to post my devotionals. The good news is that you can find them at my new website. I'm very excited about this endeavor and how God has opened this door for me. Here's a preview of my new website.

Contains the following new features:

• Weekly YouTube Video (complete with words of inspiration) UPDATED EVERY WEEK!
• Monthly Audio Podcasts (which you can subscribe to through iTunes) UPDATED MONTHLY!
• Weekly Devotionals (living water to start your week of right) UPDATED EVERY WEEK!
• Verse of the Week (a verse to help you get through your week) UPDATED EVERY WEEK!

Again this is just a preview and we are still working out some kinks. There is much more coming soon, so check it out:

http://www.oasis4thesoul.com/

HANDLING THE HATERS...

Handling the Haters

I write this particular blog to address an epidemic in our society. Haterdom. I might have made that word up, but it describes how I feel right now. You ever wonder why folks be hating on you for no reason at all? You aint done nothing to them at all. In fact, you are trying to do your thing and be a good contributor to society. But, here they come...Haters. What yall know about haters? Ever heard/felt this from another person: "Well, who does he/she think he/she is? He/she aint no better than me." And I'm thinking...Aint nobody say they was better than you. Where did that come from? I think the worst haters of all are those you think to be your friends, but then find out they take the first opportunity to criticize you to others. Like that homeboy in high school who wanted to get with the same girl, but never let you know and secretly wooed her. Like that girlfriend who gossips to the beautician about you in the shop, but turns around and hits you with a, "Hey girl!!!!!" Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, "to find out a girl's faults, praise her in front of her girlfriends." Once the hater spirit gets on them, those girlfriends can tell you all kinds of stuff. Yall aint hearing me right now. You can tell when haterdom is coming too, because the statements starts like this: "Well you know..." Well you know she was abused by her last boyfriend. Well you know that she has three kids from three different men. Haterdom have taken over this nation!!!!! If you don't believe me, ask Obama. Well you know...his pastor said... Be careful around those "well you know" folks. There is a Spanish proverb that says, "Anyone who is willing to gossip TO you will gossip ABOUT you." Think about that the next time you are getting some "juicy" gossip.

This is particularly important to me as a Christian. How do I handle the haters without succumbing to the urge to curse them out? I gotta keep my witness and hold it together. Gotta consider WWJD rather than WWjohnD. I'm trying to stay saved, but if this joker spreads one more rumor about me I'm gonna have to show him/her I aint no punk. We gotta begin with a definition of hater to understand how to handle them. A hater is one who feels extreme enmity toward another. In other words, this person views another person as their enemy. Haters view you as their enemy, either explicitly or on some subliminal level. You are a threat to them. How should you respond? I'm glad you asked. I don't want you to think of your haters as enemies in the way we understand it today. Rather, let's look at God's idea of haterdom. Let me give you three things you need to know about haters in your life and how you can handle them in the meantime:

1. Haters reveal God's purpose.

Psalm 21:7 Is it any wonder the king loves God? that he's sticking with the Best? 8 With a fistful of enemies in one hand and a fistful of haters in the other, 9 [Lord] You radiate with such brilliance that they cringe as before a furnace. (The Message)

The Psalmist declares "no wonder the king loves God." Why? Because God has both a fistful of enemies and a fistful of haters in the king's life. That sounds strange. Happy about the haters? What does the king know that we don't know? He knows that haters help reveal God's purpose. Specifically, they help you grow into your destiny. At 6'4'' 180 lbs., I aint much of the weight lifting type. What attracts folks to lifting weights? Results. Growth. The same thing should "attract" you to haters. Weight lifting involves resistance training. Resistance training is a form of strength training in which each effort is performed against a specific opposing force generated by resistance. This is often done so by being pushed, squeezed, and bent. Yall gotta hear me on this one. There is no growth without resistance. Have folks ever bent you outta shape? Good. Ever been in a tight squeeze because of a hater? Good. No pain, no gain! God is your personal trainer. Sometimes the gym of life is overwhelming. Membership does not come with many privileges, but you have an advantage that others don't have. A personal trainer with a fistful of haters to help you grow.

2. It's already fixed.

Psalm 18:39-40 You armed me well for this fight, you smashed the upstarts. 40 You made my enemies turn tail, and I wiped out the haters. (The Message)

Honestly, knowing that God brings haters into our lives can be a bit disconcerting. Dang Jesus, why not just let me grow naturally? I was doing fine until that person came into my life. Now I'm over here in a battle/fight. You ever feel like you were in a constant fight with some folk? They just know right where to hit you. But God knows something we should always keep in mind. The fight is fixed!!!!! Do yall remember going to Mike Tyson fight parties back in the day? They lasted all of five minutes!!! When Mike walked in that ring and stared down his opponent, you could tell the fight was over before it started. Ding Ding...*Mike's opponent hits floor*...Ding Ding...find something to occupy the rest of the night after wasting $50 on Pay-Per-View. Please understand that your "struggle" w/ haters plays out the same way. What pay-per-view "costs" are you paying to get your own "view"/perspective of your haters/opponents? Sweet Lord. Did yall just read that?

We worry too much about haters from our perspective. Keep in mind, God finishes a thing before he starts it. Sounds strange don't it. How do you finish something before you start it. Easy. The Bible declares Him to be the "Author and Finisher of our faith."-Hebrews 12:2 Any good author knows how a story ends before he/she puts pen to paper. The Bible declares that Jesus was "slain before the foundations of the world."-Revelation 13:8. Before God said, "Let there be light" He wrote history (His-Story). As part of His-Story, our mouths now just have to be "pens of a ready writer."-Psalm 45:1. This leads me to my final exhortation.

3. It being fixed depends on your response.

Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!

First response: rejoice/joy. But I don't want you to miss something important in this verse. It says, "for the Son of Man's sake" (i.e. Jesus' sake). I aint talking about being hated on for your sake. Rather, this haterdom stems from the relationship you have with Christ. Joy proceeds from relationship. Are you not experiencing joy in the midst of hate? Look at your relationship with Christ. One can only truly rejoice in the midst of being hated on when he/she realizes it is because of their relationship with Christ. People begin to grasp for straws when they notice your life is characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit (peace, longsuffering, joy...). It's tough for them to find something to accuse you on. There are no scandals, no newsworthy clandestine activities...just relationship. It is then that they begin to question others you associate yourself with (i.e. Barack Obama).

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Proverbs 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.

Second response: serve. Yep, sounds counter intuitive. The last thing you want to do is serve somebody who gets on your last nerves. But this should be the reasonable response for one who realizes the fight is already fixed. The message of Christ is quite subversive and counter cultural. He flips the whole script on what we understand to be natural. He takes us into the supernatural and gives us a different perspective. How do you handle haters? Bless 'em. Invite out to lunch. Serve them. Love them in spite of your feelings. I know, I know...easier said than done. But with God all things are possible.-Matthew 19:26. Several weeks ago many of us had the chance to "re-experience" the greatest haterdom of all time. On Easter Sunday, many believers in their best dressed garbs packed church houses to hear sermons about it. Jesus ate with haters. He served them. More than anything else, he loved them in spite of how he might have felt about them hating on him. As a matter of fact, they gave him some "hater-ade" on the cross in a sponge!!!!!-John 19:29. Despite all this, he realized that they ultimately propelled him to fulfill his ultimate purpose on the Earth. I encourage you all to do the same. Handle the haters with the same passion, conviction, and perspective as Christ.

Handling my haters,

John C. Richards, Jr.

Today's Word

Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth...And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham...And Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found a well of running water there.


- Genesis 26:15, 18-19

My grandmama and dem live in Westminister, South Carolina. I know yall think I'm country, but folk from Westminister are next level country. I'm talkin' about one stop light, one grocery sto' (yeah I said sto', we don't have stores in the country), and dirt roads are the norm. I used to sit and listen to my mom recount stories of her and her siblings in Westminister. She told me about harvesting crops and playing in barnyards. Among these stories were her well stories. She told stories of how they had to go outside to get water from a well located on my grandmother's land. This was hard for me to wrap my mind around. Shoot, I just go to the water faucet and turn a knob and bam there it is, water. No way I will walk outside to "fetch" no pail of water. Who I look like, Jack and Jill? :) After looking at this text, God sent me to His well. God spoke to me and told me that He wanted me to uncover the wells in the lives of His people. So here goes.

In this text, Isaac discovered wells that his father's servants had dug. These wells had been covered with earth by the Philistines. You must understand that the Philistines are arch enemies of the Israelites. In the scriptures they are portrayed as adversaries of the Israelites. They are like the Republicans to the Israelites' Democrats. They are like Debo from Friday (when they came around everybody put away their valuables). So these same Philistines stopped up this water source. What's that mean for us Brother John? I'm glad you asked. Often times we let the enemy cover the wells in our personal lives with earth (dirt). In a three part work, I want to uncover three wells in our lives.

The Tainted Wells

"Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?-James 3:11

The first wells I want to uncover are tainted wells. One reason the Philistines covered the wells with dirt was to cause any residual water left in the well to be tainted. Please get that. Jesus reminds us that believers are to be sources of "rivers of living water."-John 7:38. In other words, we are literally well sources for those around us. In addressing the impossibility of taming the tongue, James 3 compares those who bless God and curse others to wells that bring forth both fresh and bitter water from the same opening (James 3:11). Yall ever seen that Orbitz commercial? "Got a dirty mouth? Clean it up with Orbitz." Now I am not going into a rant about using curse words. Instead I want to say that a dirty mouth consists of anything that interrupts the rivers of life flowing in your life. Husbands cleaning up your mouth may mean not getting frustrated with your wife and refusing to talk to her. Women cleaning up your mouth may mean that the "it's that time of the month" excuse no longer gives you a license to cop attitudes with everyone who lies in your path. I know I'm talkin' right yall.

Would you drink dirty water? Why not allow God's own Brita system (i.e. His Spirit) help clean up our mouths? Our enemies of anger, strife bitterness, and discontent continually attempt to shovel dirt into our systems. Sometimes this is subtle. You ever felt like not being bothered and getting company unexpectedly? Then you sit there the whole time thinking of the hundred other things you could be doing nodding your head like you are listening. But that moment of inconvenience can mean the world to someone else. Many of the conversations I have don't seem to happen by chance. They become God-ordained opportunities to minister words of life to others. God plants us strategically to become beacons of lights to others. Please understand, your location determines your level of visitation. Ask the woman at the well or Paul on the road to Damascus. Both left their encounters with Jesus to minister to others. I truly believe had they been out of place in those moments, they would have missed Jesus.

You don't believe me? Check this out. In Mark's Gospel, he records the story of Jesus walking on the sea. His disciples were rowing against the winds and waves and the text says that Jesus came to them walking on the sea. But it doesn't stop there. It says that He "would have passed them by."-Mark 6:48. It was not until they cried out that he stopped to "visit" them. Please don't miss that. The disciples didn't even recognize Him. In fact, they thought he was a ghost. Yet, they still cried out to Him. Often we can miss our greatest opportunities to minister to others because of the issues in our own lives. Despite the winds, waves and straining to row the disciples called out to Him. For all they knew, He was a stranger. We, too have winds, waves and strains (work) in our lives, but there are "strangers" we need to reach out to. The writer of Hebrews declares that in showing hospitality to others some have "entertained angels without knowing it."-Hebrews 13:2. How many angels have passed you by? How many times have the waves in your life caused you to miss Jesus on some things?

Take Away

Isaac dug the wells that the Philistines had covered with dirt. In a sense, he took out impurities contained in the well. God's Spirit desires today to purify us. He desires to have untainted wells that others can come to draw from. How can fresh water and bitter water from the same mouth? Start changing your language. Start changing how you view inconveniences in your life. Can you pinpoint times in your life last week when anger or bitterness might have tried to cover your well? How about times where you "missed Jesus" and were not in the right location (both physically and spiritually) to minister to others? Think about these things and work to "uncover the wells" the enemy have stopped up in your life.


I look forward to you joining me for Part 2 of my Covered Wells series as I explore "Pastoral Wells" that have been covered by the enemy.

Blessings,

John Richards
jc for JC

I'm Back...

Man, I just realized that I haven't posted anything on here in three months. Several reasons for this hiatus. First, I'm working full-time and going to school full-time. Second, I have a devotional newsletter that I send out now that has taken the place of my blogs. So now I'm going to use this page to give brief thoughts on some contemporary topics.

Today's topic: Obama

I'm a little nervous. March 4 is here. The time is nigh. This is the day that both Texas and Ohio hold their respective Democratic primaries. I've had an interesting spiritual journey as far as politics is concerned. I've moved from a unyielding conservative place to a moderate political place. Instead of making a decision based on abortion and gay marriage, I've transformed my thinking to consider issues of social justice and poverty. Now as I consider each candidate's platform I look at more issues than I have in times past.

Both Barack's and Hillary's policies on gay marriage are far from what I would have considered in the past. Civil union or not, they both address other issues that are important to me as a follower of Christ. Do I overlook these issues because of their position on marriage and abortion? What would Jesus do? All I know is that I'm very excited at the prospect of a change in our federal structure. In light of a recession and "stimulus" packages, there needs to be a changing of the guard. As I work through my thelogical issues, both democratic candidates are working toward March 4. I even saw Hillary on SNL on Saturday. It's been a great political season and it seems like Tuesday will be the moment of truth in the Democratic race. This is truly the real "Super" Tuesday. We shall see how things turn out. See you Tuesday!!!!!

John C. Richards, Jr.

Real Men, Get Naked: Part 2...

Real Men, Get Naked: Part 1

YOU CAN'T MISS THIS...

Hey everybody,

So if you haven't been hip to my new podcast, I have to tell you this new one that was just published has by far been my favorite.

You ever wonder why doors open and close in your life?

You ever wonder why doors need to be closed (and sometimes locked) in a failed relationships?

Well this Word is for you.

Check out my new audio podcast entitled, "Doors""

http://web.mac.com/benspro/iWeb/Site/Podcast/EA049951-F1AB-4C2C-90E3-27F4079C60C8.html

BROTHER JOHN'S NEW PODCAST!!!!

Hello all,

John Richards here. Brother John to some of you. I wanted to give you all some exciting news. I launched a new audio podcast this weekend!!!! That's right. I will now start doing my devotional messages in audio format. They will be available to listen at the web page I will give you later in this email. Initially, I plan on generating two devotional podcasts a week. You can also click the "Subscribe" button on that page to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes and receive updates when new messages are posted.

The podcast is produced by a close friend of mine and includes a remixed Gospel sound that I'm sure everyone will enjoy. Please feel free to share the link with friends and family. I pray that this new method of delivering God's Word blesses many and I thank God for the means to do so. As always, tell me what yall think.

The audiocast can be viewed at the following link:

http://web.mac.com/benspro/iWeb/Site/Podcast/Podcast.html

I don't usually do mass mailings to so many people, so excuse me for doing so. If you are interested though, check out the above link and if you have iTunes don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to receive updates weekly.

Amazed by His Grace,

John C. Richards, Jr.

Mr. Turkey Neck...

Mr. Turkey Neck
Devotional Reading: Week of October 21, 2007
Brother John

“A great name is to be chosen rather than riches, and favor is better than silver and gold.”-Proverbs 22:1

Mr. Turkey Neck

So yeah, I am sitting here studying for some midterms this upcoming week. I have two classes where I have to remember all of these names, both biblical and in church history. I don’t even want to start with some of the names. They’d make your head spin. But as I sat here going through them all, God said, “Mr. Turkey Neck.” Huh??? Mr. Turkey Neck? I didn’t think I was hungry yet. I had just eaten a little something something. Now God wanted me to fire up some green beans and put some turkey neck in ‘em? Again, I almost missed it until I recalled the following ad:



Fedex wanted to get the point across that just because it says ground, doesn’t mean it’s not fast. So the female executive states: “You can’t judge things by their name.” She goes on to ask, “Don’t you agree Harry…Eileen…Joy…Bob?” Harry has a full beard and looks like a Neanderthal, Eileen is getting her lean wit it, rock wit it on, Joy laughs uncontrollably, and Bob doesn’t speak only nods his head up and down. Then another double chinned exec explains that ground service can still be fast, to which the female exec retorts: “Well said Mr. Turkey Neck.”


You see, these people’s identities were tied to their names. As I go over all these names in the Old Testament, I realized the same thing. Old Testament figures were often named surrounding the situations in which they were birth. For them, you could judge things by their names. So their parents took time and selected a name that would propel them into their future. Moses was placed in a river to escape infantcide that was going on, so he was named Moses, or “drawn out from the water.” Isaac’s name means “he laughed” because his parents laughed at the fact that they could have children at the tender age of 100 and 90. Don’t front, some of yall are named for the songs yall were conceived on. I know we got a few Luthers out there and a few Marvins in this world.

We’ve seem to lost that sense of a name’s meaning though. Do you know what your name means? If not, I encourage you to look at its origins. In earlier times, one’s name often predicted their destiny. John means “Jehovah is a gracious giver or Jehovah is gracious.” Grace has characterized my life. When I missed a traffic accident by seconds, GRACE!!!! When I was able to avoid sickness and disease in my promiscuity before coming to Christ nearly a decade ago, GRACE!!! You see, yall might not wanna talk about grace, but I can’t help to, my very identity is connected with God’s grace. Some folks might not know the true meaning of God’s grace, but I truly know the meaning of the scripture that says “(His) grace is sufficient…”-1 Corinthians 12:9. It is when I am able to experience that grace that I can extend it to others. Also, the Greek word for grace (charis) is also translated favor. Mary “found favor in the sight of God.”-Luke 1:30. So, I can also praise God for His favor (i.e. the ability to experience His blessings and protection in spite of me).

Thank Him for the “Ha”

Well Brother John, what if I don’t know what my name means? What if my name means something derogatory? I encourage you to thank Him for the “Ha.” Let me explain:

“No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham….As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.”-Genesis 17:5a, 15a

You can’t miss that. God often times changes our destiny. Maybe your parents named you after a bad experience. Maybe you were reminded that you were “just like your father” (in a negative sense) who you were named for. Maybe you just don’t know or can’t find the origins of your name. Don’t worry. Something happens when you encounter God. Abram went from Abram to AbraHAm. Sarai went from Sarai to SarAH. Take a minute right now and say HA. That HA right there represents the breath of God. God has a way of breathing on you (in the Old Testament the breath *Hebrew word ruach* also represented the spirit of God). Take this time to remember when God breathed on you and changed your destiny. In fact, throw a HA somewhere in your name and write it down somewhere as a reminder. Personally, I praise God for His grace and His Spirit. I bless Him that I can call myself: Jo “HA”hn. Regardless of the intended meaning of your name, take time today and this week to thank him for the Ha!

Blessings,

Brother John

WHY DID I GET MARRIED....

Why DID I Get Married?
Devotional: October 15, 2007
Brother John

“In My Father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”-John 14:2

Tyler Perry, Bootlegging, and John 14

Why DID I get married? That’s the question that Tyler Perry’s adaptation of his screenplay asked at movie theatres this weekend. Droves of people turned out this weekend to see the film, making it number one at the box office. I aint gonna lie, I went to see Michael Clayton instead. Yall know the attorney has to go see the attorney drama first. Come on, now. To be honest, I had no intentions on seeing Perry’s movie until a few people called and told me that it was pretty good. Sorry. I’m just not a big Tyler Perry movie/play fan. I definitely love the messages in the movies, they just aren’t the first to get my $10 at the theatre. I’d usually wait till they come out on bootleg (oops, I mean DVD…DVD…that’s what I mean…LOL…*disclaimer (for legal purposes): the statement prior was said in jest. Bootlegging is illegal and I am not in any way endorsing said practice*). I thought about the question from the movie tonight though. I sometimes ask myself the same question: Why did I get married? Calm down, Brother John aint married yet. Of course, I’m speaking of marriage in another sense. I believe that many people in ministry ask the same question. A verse in John 14 really blew my mind this weekend and I wanted to share this revelation with you all. So here goes….

I read the above verse from John 14 two weeks ago at my grandfather’s home going service. It was comforting for those in attendance to know that my grandfather was in his mansion/dwelling place with Christ. I read a book recently that explained this verse so clearly. In first century Jewish tradition, a prospective groom would ask a father for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If the father gives him the go ahead, then there would be an engagement celebration. At this celebration, the prospective groom would present the bride to be with a glass of wine to drink. She could accept or reject the wine. Contrary to contemporary opinion about “those days,” the decision was still up to the woman. If she said yes, an interesting thing would happen. The groom would return home and start building an addition onto his father’s family home. This would be the place he and his bride would reside. He would continue to build until it’s ready. But the decision of it being ready is not up to him. It’s up to his father. I hope yall can see where this is going.

So when Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place…” the first century reader immediately gets the wedding story in their mind. Christ is speaking to them in terms they understand. They are getting ready to be married to Christ and it’s ultimately the Father’s decision when that place is ready for Christ’s bride (the Church). So in a sense, we are all married to Christ. It’s a beautiful thing and is also perfect image for our individual relationship with Him. But, how many of yall know that marriage is work? If you don’t know personally, you might have seen it in your parents and grandparents. Either way, most of you know that marriage is work.

To be honest, I ask that question more often than I’d like to: Why Did I Get Married? Okay, so I see the super saved folks gasping because they always live in the heavenlies and never are transparent and real. But I’m gonna be honest. Before I left the legal world, I was comfortable. Nice job, nice income, and nice life. I was saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost. I went to church every week and was an exemplar of Christ-like character in the community. Then Jesus gonna wanna go and interrupt all that. Why He wanna go and do that? He called me to become married to Him in ministry as a minister of His Gospel. But Jesus, can’t I do great works in the corporate/legal world? Surely you need people there. He simply said, “Yes, but not you!!!!” Apparently, He had other plans than I had. Has God ever interrupted your plans?

I am often confronted with the realization that being married to Christ (whether as a believer or in ministry) is holy ground. You can’t tell somebody off like you want to. You suddenly become accountable for your actions. Marriage is work!!! Not only is it work, it is performed on holy ground. Let’s look at an example right quick.

Collegiate Carpeting

“Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”-Exodus 3:5

When I was at Morehouse, I moved into a brand spanking new apartment at the beginning of my senior year. It even had that new apartment smell to it. When we moved in, my roommates and I made a pact. Anytime we walked in the apartment, we would take our shoes off to help preserve the new apartment look. Well, as time progressed we became slack concerning our pact and soon enough the carpet began to deteriorate as the year went on. Many of your apartments/homes probably have gone through the same transition. Any of you ever started out doing the same thing only to give up, throw your hands up and say “forget it”? As believers, we often make the same pact with Christ. We understand that taking our shoes off is symbolic of allowing Him to transform our walk. Like the stains on my collegiate apartment carpet, many times the stains of life cause us to forget the fact that God wants us to remember our pact. I write this to let you know that Christ has His own Rug Doctor Carpet Cleaner that can make your heart new. Sure your life has blemishes, but the one who makes our sins “white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18) wants to restore your heart to mint condition.

Why is removing our shoes important spiritually? I think I know a brother that can help us with that.

Dry Place

“And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”-Exodus 3:1

The above passage is about Moses. Moses was a great man of faith. He is seen as the Old Testament lawgiver. In this particular passage, he has an encounter with God that will change his life forever. First, he saw a burning bush that was burning, but it wasn’t burning. Stay with me.

Before Moses saw the burning bush (which represented the presence of God), the author of Exodus is sure to note that he was in Herob, at the mountain of God. The writer also notes that Moses was at the back of desert. The mountain of God was a dry place. You can’t miss that. We often ask God for mountaintop experiences, but we never realize what that means. Horeb comes from the Hebrew root that means dryness, desolation, solitude or drought. Not only was he there, but he was in the very back of the desert. In other words, it was the driest of dry places. Please understand that God wants us thirsty. The Bible declares, “As a deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.”-Psalm 42:1. How thirsty are you for His Word and for His presence? You can’t desire the mountaintop experience without desiring the accompanying thirst. You ever been thirsty? I’m talking about lips chap, dry mouth thirsty. That first taste of water feels so smooth and therapeutic going down. How does your study of the Word go? Is your spiritual bladder so full that you can’t receive fresh water from His Word? Which leads me to my next point.

Left No Choice

“Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”-Exodus 3:5

God told Moses to take his shoes for he was standing on holy ground. Look at that!!! He didn’t tell Moses to count the costs before he took another step. He didn’t say, “I want you to test the ground.” No, he was already standing on holy ground. He was already in a place of holiness. If he turned to run, he would have died. If he took another step without removing his sandals, he would have died. Being in seminary, I realize how Moses felt. Theology is holy ground. It’s not a place for you to test the waters. In fact, as Christians we all are on holy ground. How we approach the scripture should change. We should take off our sandals (i.e. our preconceived notions of who God is) and allow the scripture to speak to us in new ways each time we read them. Can we really say that we do this?

We often speak about marriage as being a holy institute, but it is also holy ground. This is the case in the natural and in the spirit. You share things with your spouse that no one else knows about you. Think about it. Are you having surface conversations with Christ? Is He revealing things about His nature that can only be revealed in intimate conversation? So, why did I get married? I got married to bring myself to a place of intimacy with God. I want to learn Christ’s secrets. I want him to whisper in my ear the secrets of the Kingdom of God. I want Him to be my provider (i.e. the one who prepares my place before me). I want to enjoy all legal rights and privileges that come with being connected to the one dubbed King of kings and the Prince of Peace. What about you?



Questions to Ponder:

1. Why did YOU get married (in the natural or spiritually)?

2. Are you in a dry place? Remember, your thirst determines your quenching level.

3. Are you still wearing your sandals on holy ground? Can you give up your preconceived notions of the nature of God for new revelation?

4. Are you having surface conversations with Christ?

God's Tears: A Personal Account of Loss and Hope

God’s Tears: A Personal Account of Loss and Hope
Brother John's Devotional: 9/25/2007
“Jesus wept.”-John 11:35

Tony, Toni, Tone
A rare thing happened a few days ago in sunny Southern California. It rained. Contrary to Tony, Toni, Tone’s assessment that it never rains in southern California, it began to rain cats and dogs on Friday evening and continued into Saturday morning. For the first time in several months, it rained like it was nobody’s business. Little did I know that this rain would serve to be prophetic for a spiritual storm in my own life. My maternal grandfather passed away on Saturday morning September 22, 2007. He had been hospitalized a week prior and we knew his condition was getting worse, so we were prepared for the loss. It hurts though. My mom is hurt. This was her father. I am hurting more for her because I know that she cared for her daddy deeply.

Look Mama
I am not really the typical “black” movie genre fan. You know the typical black movies. The Wood, The Best Man, Brown Sugar, etc... I mean, how many times can Taye Diggs get married in a movie? Really. But one movie in the genre that I can really enjoy is “Waiting to Exhale.” And I’m not just talking about the soundtrack (which is off the chain). I’m talking about the intricacies of the relationships shared in the plot of the movie itself. One of the most pivotal moments in the film for me was when Bernie (played by Angela Basset) was sitting at home with her daughter. In this moment her daughter points to the glass ceiling and says "look mama, God has stopped crying" as the rain stops. This reminds me of myself growing up. There were many tales and legends about the reason it rains. When I was little, we used to think that thunder was God bowling in heaven and rain was him crying. If it was pouring down, then he must have been really sad. Imagining rain as God’s tears has helped me to understand that he really does understand our losses.

Jesus Wept
Jesus wept. This verse is the shortest verse in the English version of the Bible. As a matter of fact, in Sunday School every time we had to say a Bible verse every Sunday we used to jockey for position to be the first in line to do so. Jesus wept was like prime real estate. It was easy to remember and hard to mess up. Little did I know the power behind this one verse until I got older. Jesus didn’t just weep to be weeping. He wept because he lost someone that he loved dearly, Lazarus. Jesus cried? But isn’t Jesus God? Why would he cry? The author of Hebrews explains it clearly for us.

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are…”-Hebrew 4:15.

Often times we make a mistake in presuming that God is a being out there who cannot sympathize with what we’ve gone through. Jesus himself experienced a great loss in his life. A few verses later the people asked the same questions we often asked surrounding our losses: “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man (person) from dying?”-John 11:37. I know I’ve asked this question before. It’s essentially the following question: Why? I know you can do all things God, so why not save my loved one? And then folks who try to help get all spiritual and start to talk about “everything happens for a reason.” First of all, show me that in the Bible. Where did we get that phrase? Not that I don’t agree, but folks who are grieving don’t really want to hear that in their moment of loss. Many of them already know this. More than anything, they want a listening ear, a helping hand, or an available shoulder. So that’s what I plan on doing for my mother when I go home this weekend. I aint gonna go through no sermonette. I’m going to do what I should do. I’m going to be there for her to lend a hand, shoulder, or ear.

So some of you may say, “well Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, so his pain was temporary.” That is very true. I believe Jesus did this to demonstrate that our own pain is temporary. Days prior, Jesus had been told that Lazarus was sick, but he didn’t come see him them. Why not? It’s certainly easier to heal a disease than to raise someone from the dead. I believe that Jesus wanted to be able to experience the place of loss that we all experience at some point in our lives. You ever just not want to talk to somebody because you just felt like they couldn’t relate. That person really doesn’t “feel you.” Jesus didn’t want us to have that excuse. When we lose a loved one, he wants to be able to say, “I feel you, (your name here).” He can truly sympathize with us in our time of loss.

Maybe that rain Friday/Saturday was a subtle reminder from Jesus that he does feel my family’s pain. I want to remind everyone that He can relate to every pain that we go through. As much as it may hurt, as much as it may feel horrible, I bless God for knowing that I can look up, point up and say “look mama, God has stopped crying.”


Blessings,

John C. Richards, Jr.

Questions to Ponder:

1. Have you had any storms in your life lately?
2. How do you feel God relates to your tribulations/trials?
3. Are you cliché driven in your consolation of others or do you offer your ear, shoulders, and hands?

DOORS: DEVOTIONAL BY BROTHER JOHN

Doors
Devotional Reading: 9/11/07
John C. Richards, Jr.

“And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."-Genesis 4:7

Doors. They open. They close. They revolve. They slide. They lock. They latch. In fact, you've probably walked through several doors today as you went about your daily business. I thought about this very simple invention the other day while at work. I work as a contract attorney in the Los Angeles area. Many of the projects I work on are at large firms (i.e. Fortune 500 companies). Now I don't say that to boast, since I know that it's only by God's grace that I have such wonderful opportunities. I am just amazed by one thing that is uniform at each of these firms. Doors. Yep, just doors. Most of these firms take up about three floors of the building they are located in. I've never seen so many doors in my life. Doors to get into the reception area, doors to get back to attorney's offices, doors to get into conference rooms, doors to get in the case file room, and doors to get to doors in people's offices. It's pretty easy to get lost around these places. The thing that made me really think is the fact that I had to have an access card to get in any and all of the doors. Even the men's bathroom door required an access card yall!!!!! The bathroom?!?!?!?! Come on now. Why you gotta have an access card for the bathroom? They trippin'. Doors are important though. They serve a very practical function in our every day lives. I want you all to realize the spiritual function of doors in your life today.

Ever heard the cliché about opportunity knocking at your door. The door idea is used in this way to explain opportunities opening and closing in our lives. I recently had a door close in my life. The firm I was working at had no more work for Brother John to do. They had the nerve to tell me I was working too fast. Ummm, can a brother be efficient at what he does? At first, I was a little put off. I worked here for about a week and a half and initially they told me that the job would be at least a month. Not only did the door close, but it felt like it slammed. I was bitter. You ever had a door (employment or otherwise) close in your face? If you are honest with yourself, it can make you bitter and upset. God showed me a purpose in this experience that I want to share with you all. Let's talk about doors.

1. Doors control your atmosphere.

Physically, doors are used to to control the physical atmosphere within a space by enclosing it, excluding air drafts, so that the interior can be more effectively heated or cooled. Sweet Jesus!!!! Yall can't miss that one right there. My momma used to get onto me all the time. We had an air conditioning unit in our house. At times, I would walk out of the door to go outside and would leave it wide open. Don't trip, yall know yall used to get in trouble for the same thing!!!! She would say, "Boy, I aint trying to cool the whole neighborhood!!! Close that door!!!" You see, she was concerned about how taxing an air conditioning bill would be were she to try to cool those outside of her environment. Wow.

Some Christians are amazing to me. We never like to look at ourselves. Self examination is a foreign concept. Sure we like to talk about other folks "problems," but never "sweep around our own front door." Rather than have our own interiors more effectively heated or cooled, we attempt to regulate the environment of others. Socrates wrote, "an unexamined life is not worth living." Paul stated that we should "examine ourselves" to see whether we are "in the faith."-2 Corinthians 13:5. Many are tempted in light of the recent news regarding some in the Christian community to examine those peoples' lives, but God is say right now, "Close that door!!!! Stop trying to regulate other folk's environment." We all need to take a step back and examine our own lives and stop trying to cool/heat our spiritual neighborhoods. The cost is too high. Which leads to the question: What does your bill look like?

Although doors are meant to control the external evironment, they cannot control air drafts. Spiritually, air drafts constitute the Spirit of God. Often times in the Bible the Holy Spirit is referred to as the wind of God, a mighty rushing wind. Even though God wants you to control your internal environment, He never wants you to become desensitized to His Spirit's "air drafts." I will admit, at times I attempt to make my door air tight. Although it is unintentional, I do not allow the air drafts into my environment. Sometimes they are cold (i.e. they convict me) and give me chills (i.e. they remind me that I am not perfect) and sometimes they are hot (i.e. they make my spiritually uncomfortable and make me take off all the layers I have put on that hinder my walk), but they are necessary for my walk with God. Have you felt a spiritual draft lately? Instead of trying to make things air tight, allow the draft to work on you and reveal some things to you.

2. The purpose of door closure is to give occupants of a space privacy and security by regulating access.

Imagine life without doors, especially in today's society. Shoot, you might come home one day and all yo' stuff be gone. House just be stripped of everything. Doors regulate access. That's how things were at the firm I worked at. Only those with keys to the doors were allowed access to a space. I want to say this to everybody (including myself):

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU GIVE YOUR KEY TO!!!!

My God!!!!! How many folks have your key on their key rings? When my momma got a new door on our house, she took us all to Wal-Mart and had keys to the door made. Each of us had an all-access pass to the house. We each had access to everything on the inside. Let me bring this one home. Who have you given an all-access key to you? Look at your present condition in relationships. How many people can say they have your key? I want to talk to my single folks. Please, please, please, carry yourself in such a way that there aint no duplicate keys out there. Often times when businesses have something to guard they make one key that states: "Do Not Duplicate." It lets others know that there is only one key and that it cannot be remanufactured. I want you to get the "do not duplicate" spirit. This will let that man or woman know that your key is valuable and cannot be taken for granted. It will help to guard your heart and save heartache in the long run. The Bible declares that "sin lies at the door."-Genesis 4:7. The only reason that sin lies at the door is because it does not have access unless you give it access!!!! Rejoice in the fact that sin does not have a key, but also recognize that you have the ability to distribute that access.

I've learned to look at door closure as a good thing. That means that another door is getting ready to open. As I type this, I am in the process of being interviewed for a six month project with another law firm in Los Angeles. God is so good. Many federal buildings have multiple sets of automatic doors in their lobbies. One characterisitc of the doors (for safety purposes) is that the second set will not open until the first set has closed. You see, in my own experience it was not until the previous door closed that I was able to walk through a new one being opened. Have doors closed in your life? Don't worry my brother and sister, that other set is getting ready to open.

I aint done with doors, but I want you to think on some things:

1. Are you operating in a controlled atmosphere?
2. How much self-examination do your really take part in?
3. How do you react to spiritual air drafts?
4. How many keys have you given to others?
5. How has door closure benefitted you?

I'VE GOT SOME REAL DIRT...

I've Got Some Real Dirt...

I've been bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Ran game on. Swindled, if you will. I was watching the news the other day and I found out that my favorite bottled water provider has been tricking me. The report stated that Aquafina really isn't as "fina" as I thought it was. Specifically it stated that "the label on Aquafina water bottles will soon be changed to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water." Tap water!?!?!? Tap water? You mean I could have been drinking my water from what the old folks call the spicket? Remember when you used to play outside and take turns drinkin' water from the water hose? Nowadays it seems like we all have to have bottled water. Aquafina aint right yall. Yeah, I know bottled water providers have purified it several times over, but the fact remains that the source is the same. Then I realized how spoiled I am. I'm doing a paper now on the woman at the well in John 4. These folks used to have to travel miles and miles just to draw water from a well. Walk for some water? Knowing me, I would be one dehydrated joker because I don't walk anywhere. Yall pray for me because I drive across the street just to go to the store. I'm working on it though.

But I've been looking at some well and water passages in the Bible and God gave me this word, so I'm going to be obedient on this one. As you read this, I want you to get out an imaginary shovel because I got some real dirt. Now I aint talkin' about Entertainment Tonight or Us Weekly dirt. No I'm talkin' about some spiritual dirt that we need to unearth. Let's hop right in.

"Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham; for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham."-Genesis 26:18

Isaac's story is unique. His father, Abraham, took him to prayer meeting that he didn't expect him to return from because he was gonna sacrifice him (See Genesis 21). He had an older brother who he never got a chance to play with (See Genesis 22). On the other hand, Isaac did something when he was fully mature that we can't miss. He dug wells up from his father's day that had been stopped up by Philistines. The Philistines were enemies of Israel. In fact, they were their most formidable opponents because many of them were giants. Isaac realized that they were interrupting the water flow from his father's well and set out to free himself from that interruption. How did they interrupt this flow? Often times wells were filled with dirt to make them inoperable.

You can't miss that right there!!!! Have giants in your life interrupted your water flow? Our giants may look different. I'll be transparent and tell you my giant: pride!!! I'd like to tell you that I'm like little David with his slingshot, but many times I'm like all of Israel when it comes to my giant. I turn, tuck tail, and run. Pride rises up and makes me say stuff that I later regret. Think about that for a minute. What's your giant? Let me continue and show you what these giants do in our lives.

You ever felt surrounded by dirt? This is what the Philistines did the make the wells inoperable. One of the ploys of the enemy is to make you feel like you are worthless. He will pile it on to. You leave one storm and go right into another. Several unsuccessful relationships follow one another. You pass nine tests, but the tenth test gets you and he makes you feel like you failed them all. I'm here to tell you that the Devil is a Lie!!!!! Don't let him take your minor victories by piling dirt on you that has been washed away by Christ Jesus. The Bible declares that "though your sins be scarlet (full of dirt) you will be made like snow"-Isaiah 1:18. Often times, the enemy has attempted to interrupt our water flow by continually bringing up dirt in our lives. Well sisters and brothers, grab ya shovels because I want to give you this revelation right quick.

1. You are a well!!!!

Did you know you were a water source? My God. You can't miss that because it will give you a new perspective on what people draw out of you. What is being drawn out of you? Ohhhh weeee. Now that should have made you think. Jesus said it best: "and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water."-John 7:38. As believers we are called to have rivers of living water flowing from us. Don't be discouraged if you aren't literally leaking water. No, this is a spiritual principle. There is no expectation for you to spew water literally. The principle here is that life is to flow from your heart and mouth. Proverbs records that "the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." –Proverbs 10:11.

Think about your daily interactions with others. There is a world that is thirsty for God's Word. What do they get when they come to draw from you? Is it rivers of living water? Can they consider your words to them a fountain of life? On the other hand, are your words "concealing violence" (filled with negativity)? This brings me to my next point.

2. God don't do Aquafina!

I got a new term for some folks. I call them Aquafina saints. These are those who attempt to purify themselves over and over again, but their water comes from the same tap water source. Please don't miss that people. James said it best: "but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God."-James 3:8-11. Aquafina folks praise God, but curse those who are made in His wonderful image. They believe that they can purify their actions by continually blessing God. Jesus addressed this when he talked about bringing a gift to the altar (see Matthew 5). He reminded us that we can't be bringing praise/gifts to God and have something against a brother and sister. In fact, for that gift to be effective one must go to that brother or sister and be reconciled. Elsewhere, the Bible declares that we shouldn't let "the sun go down on our wrath."-Ephesians 4:26. In other words, don't sleep on it. Voice your concerns and be reconciled with that friend or loved one.

Now I ask you to think about this: do you have tap water praise? Tap water praise is that which comes from a tainted source. Is your praise tainted by anger against a brother or sister? If so, I encourage you to reconcile that relationship. Because God don't do Aquafina!

Questions to Ponder

1. What is your giant? Have giants in your life interrupted your water flow?
2. Have you ever felt surrounded by dirt?
3. What do people get when they come to draw from you?
4. Are you an Aquafina saint? Do you need to reconcile any relationships?

More dirt next week saints…

DEAR MOMMA...

DEAR MOMMA

Before you start reading this, I'll admit...I'm being a little selfish with this blog. I'm taking a break from my current series to honor a very important person in my life. This blog is personal, yet contains spiritual principles that may touch others in some way. So if you feel so led, feel free to read (and comment if my mom (i.e. Mrs. Carolyn) has blessed you in any way). Otherwise, I'll get back to my series later this week.

"I thank God…when I call to remembrance the faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am also persuaded is in you."-2 Timothy 1:3, 5

Tupac rapped it ("Laaaaady, don't cha know we love you sweet laaadddy") and Boyz II Men sang it ("Mama I just want you to know...lovin' you is like food for my soul"). Biblically, Timothy lived it. The above verse comes from a letter from Paul to his pupil Timothy. Timothy was a young man who had entered ministry. The purpose of this letter was to instruct him in that ministry. Paul pens this letter to Timothy to give him specific instructions. However, he begins this letter in a peculiar manner. What's peculiar you ask? Well, Paul thanks God for the source of Timothy's faith. Where did this faith come from? A five point sermon? Paul himself? What about a gospel tract? Nope. The source of his faith came from his dear mother and grandmother. Timothy is not much unlike me. He was a young man who loved and served the Lord. As I read this, I imagined Paul speaking to me personally. I felt like I could just substitute my name (and the name of my mother and grandmother) in this verse. It would read something like this:

...the faith which "first dwelt in your grandmother Velma and your mother Carolyn…"

You see, my beautiful mother turns 60 years old today. I want to dedicate this blog to her because I realize, as Timothy surely did, that she has imparted something in me has had a lasting impact on my life. You talk about a woman of faith. Six kids, 80 hour work weeks at the hospital, pregnant through nursing school, cooking for an entire family, and wearing countless other hats. You name it, she did it. In addition to having six kids, she was sort of the neighborhood mom. Many of the kids from around the neighborhood (or city for that matter) used to come over to our house and she always treated them as her own. Fed 'em, clothed them, and treated them to events with her own kids. Shoot, one of my friends spent an entire summer at my house and he lived across the street!!!!!!! Stories abound regarding the impact my mother has had on my life and the lives of others around me.

Can you imagine? 30 plus years of nursing. Cleaning up people's "accidents" in beds, working on a mental health unit, comforting families in the ER, and praying with people in the Intensive Care Unit. The Southeast Georgia Regional Medical Center was my mother's domain. Even with all that, she would come home from 12 hour shifts and still find time to take us to the beach for a picnic. I'm not sure how she did it, but she always made time and showed that she cared.

I never saw her mad, never saw her upset (except when she handed out those "this is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you" whippins to us), never heard her cuss, and never went to the store with her without SOMEBODY stopping her to talk to her. Now the last thing (i.e. talkin' in the store) used to make me mad sometimes, especially when I had somewhere to go. I used to want to make her go in stores with a hoodie on just so we can get in and out. But that's just the kind of person she is. Always a smile, always encouraging, and most of all always full of faith.

The first time I heard any discouragement come from my mother was when she experienced a house fire a little over a year ago. It was at this time that I realized that the transfer Paul mentioned had occurred. You see, I was able to impart the same faith that she had imparted in my from my youth back to her. I had a very encouraging conversation with her about God's purpose in trials. Finally, we were both able to proclaim that He would give her "beauty for her ashes."-Isaiah 61:3. That's the nature of faith transfer. There comes a point in time when the transferee (the one who receives) becomes the transferor (the one who imparts/reminds). You see, like my mom during this trial, sometimes we have everything we need inside us…we just need reminders every now and again. In fact, the word re-member etymologically (which is a big word for word origin) means just that: to re-member or to put back together. I was able to help her put some stuff back together in a trying period in her life. Lord knows that she has done the same thing for me countless times over.

King Lemuel knows exactly what I'm talkin' about. In Proverbs it is recorded:

"The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him."-Proverbs 31:1

You see, Lemuel remembered the "utterance(s)" his mother taught him. There was so much wisdom contained in these utterances that they became a part of the book of Wisdom (i.e. Proverbs). I now look back on all the lessons my mother taught me and can reflect on times when she told me I wouldn't understand what she was saying until I got older. You know what? She was right. I used to complain about her advice as a child. I didn't understand it. But now, being a fully mature adult I see the life lessons that she taught in those moments. Reminds me of this verse: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, understood as a child and thought as a child, but when I became a man I put away the childish things."-I Corinthians 13:11. I bless God for such a wonderful mother and I wanted to take this time out to honor her on her day. May her faith always be reflected in me and may God's blessings rest on her for all her days. I love you dearly mother.

Your lil' Faith Replica,

John C. Richards, Jr.

I'M A BREAST MAN...

I'M A BREAST MAN, Pt. 1

If you are reading this, you are one of two people. Some are thinking, "Brother John, the saved, seminarian done lost his everlasting mind talkin' bout he's a breast man." On the other hand, there are folks who know that I have a spiritual principle to reveal in making this statement. I'll start by telling you what I'm not talking about. I'm not talking about the unnecessary objectification of woman. That's not my stello. That aint how I roll. And I aint talking about a three piece dinner at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle. Nope, I'm talking about something I clearly heard in my spirit one day while traveling to work. God simply said, "Are you a breast man?" At this point, I was like ummmmmmmm, Lord help me out on this one. That's when He recalled this verse to me:

"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved."-John 13:23

It was at this point that I realized that God was inquiring about my intimacy with Him. Yall didn't catch that one. You see, the above verse is written of the disciple Jesus loved. Many believe this to be John the disciple. He often referred to himself as the "disciple whom Jesus loved." What John wanted to do in this verse was to reveal a secret that we all should become aware of. What is that secret? I'm glad you asked. Here it is:

A breast person enjoys levels of intimacy with God that other disciples cannot experience.

When we speak of the breast or the bosom it demonstrates particular spiritual principles. When referring to bosom, it is defined as a state of enclosing intimacy or a warm closeness. It was in the moment of leaning on Jesus' bosom that John shared a state of enclosing intimacy with the Lord of lords. What I want to do now is to give you three things about the bosom of God revealed in His word that will help you realize the importance of intimacy with Him.

1. The bosom contains the blessing.

Have yall ever been hurtin' financially. I mean, really hurtin'. That makes me recall my college days. I used to eat Ramen noodles, peanut butter and jelly, and leftovers from the cafeteria. You name it, I did it to get over. Shoot, what yall know about eating pancakes for dinner? I used to have the Aunt Jemima "just add water" joints. Touch your neighbor and say, "Just add water." Oh, that'll preach right there. LOL. Some of yall might be too good to remember those days. I sure aint. Sometimes it's good to look back, so you realize how blessed you are now.

Something I remember though are those times I was blessed from a surprising, unexpected source. My dear great-grandmother. Now let me tell yall about older women. They don't like going to the bank. Banks don't really do them justice. Nope. Whenever my great-grandmother wanted to bless me, she would reach in her bra and pull out a wad of money and hand me some cash. She gave me a "just because" blessing. My God!!!!! Yall aint catch that one. Let me make it plain. You see, God often times reaches into His own bosom to "pour you out a blessing" when you share a relationship with him that includes that same familiarity-Malachi 3:10. Please note that I shared a blood relationship with my great-grandmother that allowed her to sow into my life in the most unexpected time in my life. God expects us to share the same "blood" relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. That means communicating with Him when things are going right and not just when they go wrong. You don't just communicate with Him in the "Ramen noodle" moments of your life. Instead, there is an ongoing fellowship that allows Him to bless you "just because."

2. The bosom contains revelation.

John the disciple is also known to be the same John who wrote the book of Revelation. Part of the reason he was able to do so was because he laid in the bosom of Christ. Going back to John 13, there was something important that transpired in the passage. Verse 24 says that Peter asked John to ask Jesus something. He saw John leaning on Jesus' bosom and wanted him to ask Jesus a question. My question for Peter: Why? Why Peter aint just ask him himself? I woulda been like, "he right here, you ask him!" But you see, I think John put this in here to show us the difference between intimacy with God and the lack of intimacy. Peter represents the "give me a good word" saints. You know the ones. "If I can just get a good word from the pastor, I'll be alright." John represents another clan. I call them the "encourage yourself" clan. These folks have the ability to go to the Word of God themselves. Notice in the story, John is able to go straight to the Word (i.e. Jesus), while Peter gets to him through John (i.e. a pastor). I messed somebody up right there. You can't miss that. Revelation is directly connected to intimacy and relationship. Let me tell you right now, revelation aint cheap.

Revelation only comes through consecration!

In fact, revelation will cost you your life! It was believed that this same John penned the Book of Revelation on the Isle of Patmos. The name Patmos literally means "place of my killing." Many believe that John was banished to this island after being persecuted severely. The Book of Revelation was penned at the place where he would eventually die. Did you catch that? God has some things that he wants to reveal to you in your own life. However, he can't do so because you have not come to your own Patmos. What does Patmos represent for you? What must die in your life before God reveals His purposes in your life? I'm gonna stop right here and let this one marinate for a while.

Questions to Ponder:

1. Am I a breast man/woman?

2. What does my attitude toward the Word of God show about my intimacy with God?

3. Do I need a go-between person to get God's revelation or do I seek Him myself?

4. What is my Patmos?

5. What am I holding on to that might limit God's revelation in my life?

6. Do I need to come to a "death place" in any area of my life?

Ready for the third principle? Stay tuned next week as we finish this blog…To be continued…

MAKIN' PAPER...

Makin' Paper...

I graduated high school ten years ago. It seems like yesterday that I was walking the hallowed hallways of my high school as a senior getting ready to embark on the rest of my life. One of the highlights of my senior year was Senior Night in Orlando, Florida. High school seniors from all over the nation descended on Walt Disney World for a night of music, laughter, fun, and memories. One of the most memorable moments of the trip was Aaliyah's performance. Not only was she a fellow member of the class of 1997, but she performed songs from her album, "One in a Million." She even did one of my jams, "Four Page Letter." As I headed in to work earlier this week, I was thinking about a letter: God's Letter. You gotta go deeper with me on this one. I'm not talking about the Bible as God's Love Letter to us. Many of us know about that analogy. The Bible is certainly a wonderful testament of God's love for us. In a sense, the Bible, as Aaliyah's lyrics state, is God's "Four-Page Letter" enclosed with a Divine "kiss" and always "on time." When I thought about God's Letter, I didn't think about that first. Instead, I thought about me and you (yo' mamma and yo' cousin too *only some of yall caught that, but it's okay*)!!!! You see, this blog is about process. If you are in process, have ever been through process, or anticipate being processed (spiritually and emotionally) read on and let me explain:

"2You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."-2 Corinthians 2:2-3.

Did you see that? You are an epistle!!! An epistle is essentially a formal letter written to another individual. Paul's letters contained in the Bible are often coined with the term epistle. He wrote epistles (or formal letters) to Christians throughout the known world at the time. So what is Paul saying here when he says, "you are an epistle of Christ?" There is great revelation in that statement that I want to show you. You see, evidence suggests that Paul's early letters were written on what were called papyri and/or parchments. Besides their names being weird, one of the most interesting things about these items is the work that goes into their process and preparation. Did you know that work has gone into your own process and preparation? Ut oh, this is where it gets tight (but, its right). Stay with me now. I'm going somewhere. Let me start with the parchment's process:

1. Parchments were made of the skin of a sheep or goat.

Brother John, what does skin of sheep and goats have to do with me and my process? You have to understand the spiritual principle shown here. That principle is that you cannot have skin without something (or someone) being sacrificed. The starting point in understanding God's process is with the "lamb of God" (Christ Jesus)-John 1:39 who was "slain from the foundation of the world"-Revelation 13:8. We are so churched at times that we seldom reflect on the suffering nature of Christ. Often times we got so comfortable that we forget about the "fellowship of His suffering"-Philippians 3:10. If you are a true parchment (letter), then you carry around that reminder daily in your own skin. Paul put it this way: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."-Galatians 6:17. Of course he was speaking about the beatings and persecution that he suffered at the hand of governments and religious group, but that also applies to us. What reminds you of Christ's importance in your life? True parchments (letters) recognize, honor, and proclaim the sacrificial nature of the Christ's work.

2. Parchment skins are stretched and treated with lemon.

Wow. Do I need to even say anything for that one? Alright, since you asked, I will. You ever felt stretched? Finances, stretched. In life, stretched. By family, stretched. God is stretching you for a reason. You ever tried to write on a balled up sheet of paper? Think about your own skin. How much easier is it for you to write on you arm when there are no wrinkles in it? Think about that. What things are God wrinkling out of your life right now? How is he stretching you? Remember, the stretching is for Him to write. Like us, God doesn't like to write on wrinkled paper. Relax. He is ironing some things out in your life right now as you read this. He is getting ready to write the rest of your story. You are special and chosen by God to be "known and read by all men."-2 Corinthians 2:2.

Not only were the parchments stretched, but they were treated with lemon. Wow. I'm not even gonna hit you with the "life gives you lemons" cliché right now. Nope. I want to tell you about the acidic nature of lemons. Stay with me on this one. In the Gospels, Jesus tells the disciples that he will make them "fishers of men." So, the harvest of the Gospel message is often compared to catching fish. I eat fish at times (although I think fish tacos are the weirdest idea, even if Californians love them). Often times, restaurants serve lemons with fish. Why? Lemon juice is known to neutralize the odor of fish. Did yall see that? We often do some stinky stuff in our lives. We offend others, we fall short of God's glory, and we do things that we regret. But God (I love "But God" statements). Like the lemon on parchment, he often treats us. And at times, it can taste bitter. The Bible says, "whom the Lord corrects he loves."-Hebrews 12:6. Remember when mamma used to say, "this is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you." Well this is God's "this is gonna hurt me" statement. That lemon treatment allows Him to treat us as His parchments (i.e. letters). So, in my opinion, "When life gives yo