cup of joe

What messages are you seeing today? I was reading a scripture this morning in Hebrews 1:1 that talks about God speaking in a variety of ways at various times. Then my mind went off to thin about what He might do if He wanted to get through to me. I like praise and worship music, a good early afternoon trip to the theater, a drive around the city and I enjoy stealing a few quiet moments at the local coffee shop. So when God wants to capture my attention He often does it through a song or movie, a billboard or street sign, or a chance meeting with a friend. I would love Him to speak more frequently and much more quickly at times but I am realizing that His timing is absolutely perfect. I imagine Him orchestrating all of my steps each day, the songs I will hear, the route I will drive to and from the office and the people that will come across my path. All of these things will be happening to make my life more fulfilling and to provide me direction. The problem for many people today is

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 COR 4:17 In this world we will have trouble. That trouble can hem us in on every side and cause great confusion. It can be painful. We can even be knocked over because of it. But the good news is that we will never be destroyed! Trouble isn't always a bad thing. The hard times that you are going through right now are small potatoes in comparison to the great things that God is about to pour out upon you. You never know how long trouble will last. What you do know is that trouble will pass. And what can rise up out of it is a new and improved YOU! Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! So you just have to ask yourself, am I ready to look at trouble in a whole new way? Can I let trouble work for me today?

How good are you at handling disappointment? Bad news is never easy to take. But unfortunately, if we are going to live in this world we are promised something...trouble! Jesus said it himself in John 16: "in this world you would have trouble." One translation calls it tribulation. To me that's just a fancy word for trouble that lasts a long, long time! The Greek word for tribulation gives it even more meaning. It's pressure, stress and anguish. It's also described as crushing, squashing, squeezing distress or what I call CSSD . Maybe you have CSSD today. You're not alone! Rest assured that there is a cure. Jesus concluded his statement by telling us to "be of good cheer" because He had already conquered tribulation. He already provided a way through the storm. You can overcome that crushing, squashing, squeezing distress! Beat CSSD today with CHRIST!

We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broke n. 2 Corinthians 4:8,9 MSG I’ve been trying to stay on the highway to God’s favor this month. The more I understand what God says about me, the more confidence I gain to do what He has planned for me to do. It has felt like I am driving down there highway with the top down on a warm sunny day and there is no traffic! Unfortunately, there is always traffic somewhere. Life is filled with disruptions and detours. We will be hard-pressed on every side and even feel moments of despair. The Good News is that we cannot be crushed. We cannot be destroyed. We have within us the power to overcome the things that are trying to come over us! Remember that not every detour is a bad thing. Sometimes God will lead us on to a

Thanksgiving will always lead to thanks-living! An attitude of gratitude is essential if we are to be fully satisfied and truly effective. Thanksgiving as a lifestyle changes the course of events, the atmosphere, even the environment. A person that is thankful can draw out the best in others. They can also overcome challenges and difficulties: anxiety and stress. Look at Philippians 4:6 "
 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God ." One of the easiest ways to alleviate stress is to give thanks. Gratefulness eliminates hatefulness . You cannot be thankful and resentful at the same time. We know that scripture tells us that the “JOY of the Lord is our strength”. We can choose our response. What’s inside of us is going to surface…you can count on it! So when it comes to thankfulness, is it in you today? Giving thanks to the Lord is part of His will for your life. Why not start thanks-living today

Sometimes life can be challenging. People do things that can cause pain on other people. You may have been harmed by actions, words or some circumstances beyond your control. I was thinking about Paul and Silas, one night after they had been stripped and beaten they were thrown into prison. They were under heavy surveillance and bound hand and foot. They had to be in a great deal of pain. But the Bible says that at midnight, the two of them began to sing. Imagine that, singing in the pain ! As their voices were lifted up their chains were falling off. Suddenly a violet earthquake shook the foundations of the prison and ALL of the doors flew open! Today you may feel as if life has just stripped and beaten you. You may even be held captive by emotional distress or a troublesome circumstance. Why not try what Paul and Silas did? You too can start singing in the pain! When you start praising God He starts raising you up out of what has tried to smother you. Get ready for the doors of freed

The bible calls the tongue a world of iniquity, a fire starter, unruly evil, full of deadly poison. The bible says that this little guy has the power to defile the entire body. It has the ability to steer the course and direction of our lives like a rudder on a ship. It’s hard to imagine that something which may seem so significant can be so powerful and meaningful but it is. Our words will shape our lives. Our words can make our day. Someone has said that great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people . We really need to watch our words, don’t we? How would you feel knowing that your words took all the hope out of a person that heard them? What would it do to you to know that your words caused someone to give up and stop fighting? Unfortunately, most of us probably do not think about that enough. Do you remember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” I don’t know who came up with that but it’s just not

I’ve been spending much of my time getting to really know what the Lord says about me. I want to believe that I can do all that He desires me to do and be all that He said I could be. I can almost feel His Spirit growing in me everyday! In Isaiah 61:4 it talks about a rebuilder, a repairer and a reviver. Those of us whom God has chosen are going to have these abilities. It really means that we will rebuild things that others say are ruined. Things, maybe even people, that have been discarded and destroyed will be repaired by us! And we will revive areas that have had no life in them for years. The bottom line, God is in the restoration business and He has recruited YOU! Imagine walking into a situation that everyone else says is too far gone and rebuilding it back stronger than ever. Or being a friend to someone that feels they have lost the only person worth living for and helping them repair a broken heart. Or starting a ministry of life giving outreach in a city that has no outre

Galatians 1:6 " I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ ." It never ceases to amaze me at how easily we are persuaded today. It seems like true commitment is so hard to find as we are often swayed by different influences. We jump from relationship to relationship, from job to job and even from church to church. What are we really after? In this scripture Paul is astonished at how quickly people would abandon their faith. It just did not register in his brain how someone who had experienced the grace of God could walk away from it. Today it seems that times have not changed much. I've watched people have a genuine encounter with Christ, be healed and touched by His power then stop coming to church. I've seen people pray for jobs and guida

Ephesians 1:3 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" Think about this today: God CHOSE YOU! You have been marked for blessing and favor from the Lord. You have been identified as having incredible potential for success. You have been hand-picked by Almighty God! As a kid I remember neighborhood ball games where there would be several of us getting ready to play. There were always a couple of captains and then the picking of teams began. I can recall today just how great it felt to be picked first and how discouraging it was to be picked last. If I wasn't chosen right away I would feel like my talent didn't matter and that I was just taking up space. Yet every time that I was selected first it was like going in the first round of the NFL Draft! The good news for YOU is

The Bible says that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom".It does not take long on life's journey to begin to realize that there are two kinds of wisdom. One is rather earthly, devilishly conniving and unspiritual. In the midst of this type of wisdom you will find disorder, self-centeredness and everything that is evil. It's not healthy nor life-giving. But there is another type of wisdom...one that comes from God and the Message bible says this about it in James 3... "Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor". So do you get along well with others? Are you gentle and reaso

One of the characteristics of a mature believer is endurance. Great endurance and patience will be evident in the life of one that trusts in the Lord. Take a close look at that word: end ur ance...U R right in the middle of it! When I think about endurance I think about sports. If I want to run a long race I haver to build up my endurance. I have to begin running. As I get stronger and can endure more I add more distance to my run. Weight training is the same. I start with weights and increase my repetitions until I am able to handle that weight easily. Then I add weight if I am trying to build muscle. As believers we should be able to endure difficulties. There are many things that you may never get over but you can endure. I think about Jesus and the cross and the bible says that "for the joy set before Him He endured the cross..." I believe He thinks about that situation all the time. It was hurtful and it was difficult. But He focused on sitting beside His father in order

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. Isaiah 61:1 I truly believe that the Lord has some BIG plans for all of us. What thrills me the most is that I see people getting the chance to see “change”; change in their bodies and emotions. People are being healed…testimonies of God’s grace are being spoken, hearts are being mended and people are being saved by the power of God. Why? Because according to Isaiah 61, the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon us and we have been anointed for this! Yes, God has some BIG plans for us! There are some things that God expects us to do with the power that He has placed upon us. One of those things is pass on the story of how He changed us. We do that by sharing His story as well. He has anointed us to preach the good news to the poor. The word for poor is actually meek, which translates as “the quality of being patient in the reception of injuries.” We are empowered to share stories of

Another characteristic of “living the life” is growing in the knowledge of God . Notice that key word, “growing” in the verse. Growing in knowledge…not just any knowledge but rather the knowledge of God. If I want to get to know how a person thinks what do I have to do? How do you get to really know somebody? Since most of my life was spent in the entertainment industry my answer to that question is this: read their bio...spend time with them...ask them questions...and listen to their answers. To get to know the knowledge of God and how He thinks I read His bio, the Bible. I spend time with Him through prayer. I consistently ask Him questions and then listen to how He answers. You know that one of the problems with the church in our country today is that we are undernourished but we are overfed. There is plenty of food being passed around out there but not much of it has substance. We need to be fed properly so that we can stay spiritually healthy and in turn bear fruit. We continue

A worthy life is one filled with integrity, honesty, love, compassion, grace and mercy. Those are some wonderful things to adopt and put into practice if we are going to live the life. Paul teaches this in more depth as we go on in our verse. Read on in Chapter 1:10… “ bearing fruit in every good work ”. Part of every good fruit bearing tree is a season of "pruning". Pruning a tree helps it to grow fruit. Every once in a while, though it looks like everything is fine and it is doing great, it must be pruned back in order for the new growth to come. The same is true of us as believers. We are known by our fruit. We are to be bearing fruit in every good work. And with that growing comes pruning too. If you are not doing good works then you are not bearing good fruit! And since we reap what we sow that means that bad things done will grow bad results. As fully devoted followers of Christ, I guess you could say that we are supposed to be "fruity"! No flakes and nuts,

Colossians 1:10 talks about living a life "worthy" of the Lord. What does that look like? What are the things that God is looking for in you and me that keep Him smiling? One thing I am certain of is that I must have FAITH and learn how to use it. The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. So I must earn how to step out when there is nothing to stand on and trust God for the way. FAITH IS the substance of things that I hope for and the clear image of what is coming that I cannot see right now. Maybe you are feeling a bit restless where you are right now and sense that a change is coming. Taking that first step...the one that requires faith is usually the hardest. But once you step out God can step in! So today, pray about those baby steps in the direction God is moving you. Go confidently towards your dream. God will never let you down! Tomorrow we will look at some more of the characteristics that help us live a life worthy of the Lord.

Today is my 500th blog entry! 500 cups of inspiration, greetings and wishes, humor and real life stories. To all of you that stop by and take a sip, and share with me your comments let me say thank you! I am a big believer in encouragement and inspiration. We need more and more people to tell us something good. It's why I read the Bible because it is the Good News that God has given to us...it gives me inspiration when I need it and brings me hope when I feel hopeless. Sunday morning I was in what I would call an "anointing" service. People were being prayed for and "anointed" with oil at The Landing. It symbolizes a setting apart of that individual for special service or a specific calling that God has placed on their life. You may remember that when Samuel in the Old Testament found David, he "anointed" him to be king. It was then that the Spirit of God came upon David and he was empowered and equipped to do some miraculous things! David was the yo

Only in America do we celebrate Labor Day with a day off of labor! Whatever you do today, do it as unto the Lord and walk in His favor! Be safe and enjoy your labor-less day! P.S. if you had to work today, well, it is labor day! Smile:)

The 17th verse of Colossians 3 which we have been reading for the last 2 days says, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Every thing we do is significant. Every meeting, every lunch appointment, every friendly cup of joe. Why? Because they are all part of the steps of our lives that are being ordered by the Lord. So whatever you do, whether in conversation or in your actions, do it all for God's glory and give Him thanks. Yesterday I had the wonderful experience of doing some taping for a new local television program called "Life in Tulsa" that begins in a couple of weeks. I've met some new friends and have had so many wonderful conversations about what life is really like in this city I call home. I have heard some of their dreams and enjoyed some of their memories. I can see more vividly now how important people are to this "mix" called LIFE and ho

Colossians 3:12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Yesterday we discussed the new nature that we put on as fully devoted followers of Christ. Today we see that God chose us to be holy and part of our responsibility is to live holy. Living holy requires some new clothes. Everybody loves new clothes! Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Call it the Christian's Layered Look! Each layer is important. Each layer plays a part. Some are closer to the

Colossians 3:10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. The older I get the more I am learning that it's important to "dress the part" when living for Christ. There is a NEW NATURE that must be put on every day. When we asked Christ to be Lord of our lives, the bible says that old things passed away and all things became new. My language, my thoughts, my plans, my desires and my nature. The very core of who I am changed on that day I was saved. For most of my school years, and especially in college, I got my clothes from the hand me downs of others. I did not have money to buy clothes so I would wear the throw aways of others. My dorm buddies would be changing their style to stay current and I would take their old stuff. I wasn't in fashion but praise God I wasn't naked! I remember how great it felt when I was able to have something new! At Christmas if I got some new jeans or shirts I was so excited. It was n

It says in 1 Corinthians 13 that "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." Did you hear that? If I could predict the future and was the most influential brainiac in the world; if I could speak to obstacles and they would leave but did not have LOVE, it would all be in vain! That is the power of love. Jimi Hendrix said," When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace. " You go Jimi! Know Him, know peace...no Him, no peace! There is amazing, life changing power in LOVE. Reading from verse 4 and on in this chapter it says "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, alway