Most notably known as the other team in LA, the Los Angeles Clippers started the season off red hot, this team young stars and great talent had ended last season with a lot of the pieces in place to do something special this season. The team made headlines with their acquisition of all-star point guard Chris Paul from New Orleans, however the lynch pin that brought all this together undoubtedly for many experts was the signing of NBA veteran point guard Chauncy Billups. Billups has been in the league for more than a decade and during that time he has been a multiple time all-start and even won a championship. Chauncy brought the kind of sage wisdom and winning attitude to the Clipper's franchise that was sorely needed. He would mentor the younger players and provide a valuable defensive presence on the court, plus Chauncy brought something that could not be coached, heart. Billups was never afraid of the big spot, the pivotal moment, when everything is on the line, you want the ball in Billups hands, because whether he makes a crucial pass, take the last shot of the game, the majority of the time he is going to make the right decision.
As you can imagine with the additional Paul and Billups to an already talented roster the Clippers were on a tear the early part of the season, in fact they had beaten the "other" team in LA, the Lakers, once as well as taken down the team with the best record in all of the NBA the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers had one of the best records in the Western Conference and were soaring and then the team suffered a might blow, Chauncy Billups tore his left Achilles tendon, and was lost to the team for the rest of the season leaving many to wonder what will happen to the Clippers now.
One of the reason why I enjoy watching sports is because it is actual reality TV. Sports truly is a microcosm for life. And just like in life sometimes the team suffers an unexpected lose and must find a way to move one. There are times when we are moving along and every thing seems to have fallen into place, your marriage or other relationships are going well, you receive a promotion and are finally getting the respect you deserve on your job, your children are growing mature and healthy and than all of a sudden something is taken and seeming derails your momentum. You think for a moment that is something you cannot overcome, but just like the team is bigger than one player, the body is bigger than anyone member.
The body I am referring here is the body of Christ in the Bible, which is also called the church. Yes the church, according to 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the Body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it." When God looks at His church when it is functioning in proper order He sees the body of his Son Jesus. The Bible goes on to say in Romans 12:4-5 "Each of us has one body with many parts. And the parts do not all have the same purpose. So also we are many person. But in Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts." We are not alone and just as our own body has several parts each with its own purpose, we as individuals make up the body of Christ and in Him we serve a specific purpose.
We are more than Conquerors today because just as the team is bigger than one player, we are part of something larger than ourselves. When you belong to a local church you are not simply attending a service a couple times a week, you are committing yourself to belonging to something bigger than you in which you play an important role. Just as the eye cannot do what the finger does naturally, God has a specific function for you to perform in His church and only you can do it the way that God would have you to do it. If you do not belong to a local church pray that God lead you to the one He has for you and if you are part of a ministry pray that the Lord help you to function in the capacity for which he has called you into that ministry. The Clippers are still near the top of the Western Conference, they miss Chauncy, but they have moved on. When we suffer a set back, just remember you can still make it, you are a part of something bigger.
Some Fights are Beneath You
In the book of Nehemiah we learn of the great leader who organized the people of Israel to return to their homeland and rebuild the wall around the great city of Jerusalem. During the process of rebuilding the wall Nehemiah was confronted by many obstacles and distractions on one occasion the enemies of God's people came to him and tried to distract him from his purpose by calling him down from the wall for meeting. Nehemiah knew that this was a set up and so he sent his servants to tell these men that he would not stoop down to their level and impede his focused on the worked he had purposed to complete.
As people of God we have a position of elevation over the enemy. In Genesis chapter 3 God cursed the serpent and said that humanity would bruise his head and he would bruise their heel - "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14-15) When you know where you are in Christ you will realize that you are in a position of dominance. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have a position of authority over our enemies.
If we think about the universe as a company, God is the President of the company and we are his personal assistants. We may not have the title of COO or CFO but because we work so closely with God we are seated in a place of authority with him and everything is below us because everything else is below God. Don't come down from your purpose the enemy is beneath you and it is not your responsibility to engage your enemy in direct combat. When the Lead Angel in the God's army, Michael, disputed with Lucifer over Moses's body in the book of Jude Michael simply called on the name of the Lord to take authority over the enemy and retrieve Moses's body - "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." (Jude 1:9) All we have to do is turn our fights over to God who has all power and authority and when we are confronted by the enemy we won't lower ourselves to fight, we will call on the name of the Lord.
Pastor Lamar Belcher teaches that God is the only one that can fight in the mud and never get dirty. We are more than Conquerors because God will fight all our battles and God never looses.
As people of God we have a position of elevation over the enemy. In Genesis chapter 3 God cursed the serpent and said that humanity would bruise his head and he would bruise their heel - "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14-15) When you know where you are in Christ you will realize that you are in a position of dominance. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have a position of authority over our enemies.
If we think about the universe as a company, God is the President of the company and we are his personal assistants. We may not have the title of COO or CFO but because we work so closely with God we are seated in a place of authority with him and everything is below us because everything else is below God. Don't come down from your purpose the enemy is beneath you and it is not your responsibility to engage your enemy in direct combat. When the Lead Angel in the God's army, Michael, disputed with Lucifer over Moses's body in the book of Jude Michael simply called on the name of the Lord to take authority over the enemy and retrieve Moses's body - "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." (Jude 1:9) All we have to do is turn our fights over to God who has all power and authority and when we are confronted by the enemy we won't lower ourselves to fight, we will call on the name of the Lord.
Pastor Lamar Belcher teaches that God is the only one that can fight in the mud and never get dirty. We are more than Conquerors because God will fight all our battles and God never looses.
MTC Profile - Mike Mobley
The last time I saw my friend Mike was a week ago last Friday. He was standing in the back of the church when we happened to catch eyes, he gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up as was our custom I returned the smile and gestured a thumbs up of my own. Later in the evening I came across Mike standing in the doorway of the sanctuary; we traded jokes about my wife's pregnancy and Mike laughed a big full body laugh like only Mike can laugh. He loved to laugh, he loved to joke, he loved to play and that was the last time I saw my friend. On Thursday February 16th the Lord chose to bring him home to glory to transform him from mortal to immortality.
Over the past year Mike had undergone a number of surgeries on his back, shoulders and neck. In spite of all his medical procedures Mike was recovering nicely and seem to be back to his usual strong as a bull self. Mike loved to work-out and exercise and like everything else he did it was at 1000 mph. Mike didn't have any gear below 110% and was like that with everything, his family, his friends, his work and most of all his God.
Mike loved God and was not afraid to show it. He was fully committed to worship; he didn't care who was looking or what you might have thought about him, he he was gonna give God praise and he was going to do it his way. Mike was not the type to ever let a physical infirmity keep them from doing what God had assigned him to do. Mike was a father, a son, grandfather, husband, he was all man, strong and brave, a gentleman, kind and chivalrous, he was a devoted member of the Anointed Tabernacle of Jesus Christ, he was a deacon, but above all he is a child of God. Mike committed his life to the worship and work of the Lord. He left a legacy of devotion and service to the kingdom of God that we would do well follow. Michael Mobley is more than a conqueror.
Over the past year Mike had undergone a number of surgeries on his back, shoulders and neck. In spite of all his medical procedures Mike was recovering nicely and seem to be back to his usual strong as a bull self. Mike loved to work-out and exercise and like everything else he did it was at 1000 mph. Mike didn't have any gear below 110% and was like that with everything, his family, his friends, his work and most of all his God.
Mike loved God and was not afraid to show it. He was fully committed to worship; he didn't care who was looking or what you might have thought about him, he he was gonna give God praise and he was going to do it his way. Mike was not the type to ever let a physical infirmity keep them from doing what God had assigned him to do. Mike was a father, a son, grandfather, husband, he was all man, strong and brave, a gentleman, kind and chivalrous, he was a devoted member of the Anointed Tabernacle of Jesus Christ, he was a deacon, but above all he is a child of God. Mike committed his life to the worship and work of the Lord. He left a legacy of devotion and service to the kingdom of God that we would do well follow. Michael Mobley is more than a conqueror.
When the Cheers turn to Jeers
In the book of Matthew the 21st chapter of the Holy Bible, the writer observes that when Christ returned to Jerusalem around the time of the Passover Feast he rode atop the colt of a donkey and was lauded by the crowd - "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." The people of Jerusalem spread their clothes out before him and the mule upon which he rode, they pulled palm branches off the trees and laid them in the Lord’s pathway, this is where Palm Sunday is derived. Jesus was greeted by the raucous crowd as they exclaim “Hosanna” which means; God be praised. Under most circumstances a person greeted with this kind of reception would be overwhelmed by the reception, a sense of pride and accomplishment might set in, but not Jesus, he knew what his disciples didn’t, that in just a couple of days these same people would change their cheers to jeers. The very same crowd that was celebrating Jesus and lifting him up to God would soon call for his execution shouting for his crucifixion and lifting him up on a tree. In the book of Mark the 15th chapter the writer describes the scene at Jesus' trial - "And Pilate answered and said again unto them, what will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, 'Crucify him'."
It is remarkable how quickly cheers can turn into insults, how something or someone who was a source of joy and inspiration can so quickly become the source of resentment and rage. Therefore we learn from the example of the Lord Jesus that the cheers of praise from the crowd can quickly turn into jeers for our demise and downfall. It is imperative that we don’t seek to please mankind, but God instead. Humanity is fickle and the celebration of mankind can quickly turn into scorning and rebuke. On the other hand if we live our lives for the Lord we will have a much different experience. The bible says of God that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The Word of the Lord doesn't change, His principals and precepts are the same and as long as we are living according to the word of God we will always be celebrated by our Lord.
Jesus chose to serve God and endure the jeers of the crowd because of the greater good. We are more than conquerors today because we can endure the tumultuous and often harsh reception from our fellow man because we're living for God and not for man. In a conversation Jesus had with a religious leader named Nicodemus, he reference how Moses lifted up his staff in the wilderness in order that he might lead the nation of Israel out of the wilderness and so in like fashion the son of man must also be lifted up on a tree to lead all of humanity out of the darkness of sin. John 3:14-15 says “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus was foretelling of his own crucifixion. He knew for what purpose he came into this world and when the cheers ceased and the jeers began Jesus remained undeterred in his purpose because he was living for his heavenly father and was focused on his purpose.
Friends please know that God has given you the gift of life for a purpose and that purpose is not to covet the cheers of your fellow man. Do not live this life seeking the approval of mankind, because if you receive it will eventually come to an end. When the cheers turn to jeers, remember only what we do for Christ will matter in eternity.
It Really is all About How You Finish
So Sunday night I along with millions of, football fans, fans of creative commercials and fans of big parties, watched the Giants defeat the Patriots for the second time in five years on the biggest stage in the biggest game of the season and I'm left wondering how the seemingly lesser of the two teams has yet again beat the odds and won the game in dramatic fashion. After a less than impressive regular-season the G-men, very similar to the end of their 2007 season, rolled through the playoffs running over each of their opponents, while conversely the Pats, who in 2007 ended the regular season undefeated, and ended this season with 10 consecutive victories, had less than impressive play-off performances that carried over and eventual lead to their demise. Five years ago many of the experts and analysts considered the Pats the prohibitive favorite in spite of how impressive the Giants were in those play-off games. Many of those same experts cautiously approached analyzing this year's game. They were wise to hearken back to the game in 2007 and noticed some striking similarities. The gambling world held tight to keeping the Patriots as the odds on favorite to win, but this time around many smartly decided to cash their chips in with the Giants and once again they were victorious. The regular-season aside, the Giants seem to be the better team and we are left to conclude only that the regular season, as much as in our lives, doesn't matter nearly as much as what happens in the play-offs.
For many of us our lives to this point have been much like the Giants regular-season. We have had some high points and some thrilling victories, but a lot of low points and some very bad losses to things we would have never expected to beat us. Even if you find yourself identifying more with the Patriots and you are on a real hot streak, things just seem to keep falling into the place, the regular season doesn’t matter as much as the play-offs. It doesn’t matter nearly as much how we start as it does how we finish. The Word of God tells us that every single person has done things to separate ourselves from the love of God. No one remains undefeated and that’s ok.
It is ok to feel uncertain, ashamed, confused, sorrowful, but don’t stay there. More important than what we’ve done is what we do with the time we have left. Jesus Christ has made a way for us to finish well and to live this life victoriously. God knew that we humans would separate ourselves from him; for the first several millennia of our existence humanity was having a very rough regular season, but before we could eliminated from the post season God sent his son Jesus into the world like a wild card game and we were given one more chance to extend the season and make the playoffs. If we accept Jesus into our hearts and believe in our minds we can finish well and get reconnected to God. Don’t focus on your past, forget about whatever you may have done to this point, let Jesus into your life, put your self on the bench, let him be the quarter back and him lead your live to victory. Whatever has happened to this point is over, it really is all about how you finish.
More Than A Conqueror Devotional #19
Acts 2:42 - And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
There is something special that happens around the dinner table, or lunch table or any other table where food is being consumed for that matter. Food has a way of disarming even the hardest of dispositions. There is something about the act of eating that causes us all to lower our gaurd and open up. Food is the great equalizer, it cultivates conversation and inspires openness. Some of the best fellowship happens around food; it is almost as if it is hard wired into our brains that any social gathering of any kind should have a food component. Well as a real lover of food, I must confess that I often look to include eating in my socialization and it appears that I am not alone in my affinity for victuals. The growth of the New Testament church was largely a result three things -
1. Continue the precepts and teachings shared by Christ's apostles
2. Coming together to feast
3. Maintaining specific prayer times
The church was able to grow and spread because the founding fathers understood the importance of ministering to the tripartite of humanity; spirit, soul and body. The apostle's doctrine or teaching was meant to reach the soul or minds of mankind, prayer was meant to reach the spirit and the breaking of bread or feasting of course ministers to the body.
We are more than conquerors today because God has established principles that ensure His people are blessed and that all their needs are met. Because He is Spirit does not mean that He is oblivious to the needs of our flesh. In fact through Jesus, God has experienced everything that we experience in the flesh and so as a result He is not untouched by all our needs. The church should be careful to minister to each component of its members. Meeting the needs of spirit and soul are important and traditionally the church is good at that, but the needs of the flesh are also vitally important. Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970, a world renown psychologist developed a system of prioritizing the needs of humanity in order to live fully functioning lives. Maslow's Hierarchy of Need articulates the concept that there are certain things that we cannot live without. The church can take a lesson from Dr. Maslow, it is very difficult for us to reach some one's heart if their stomach is empty and their children are cold. Socialization over a meal is a great way to get to know others, more importantly meeting the needs of the physical body of our church members is vitally important to the spreading of the gospel message.
There is something special that happens around the dinner table, or lunch table or any other table where food is being consumed for that matter. Food has a way of disarming even the hardest of dispositions. There is something about the act of eating that causes us all to lower our gaurd and open up. Food is the great equalizer, it cultivates conversation and inspires openness. Some of the best fellowship happens around food; it is almost as if it is hard wired into our brains that any social gathering of any kind should have a food component. Well as a real lover of food, I must confess that I often look to include eating in my socialization and it appears that I am not alone in my affinity for victuals. The growth of the New Testament church was largely a result three things -
1. Continue the precepts and teachings shared by Christ's apostles
2. Coming together to feast
3. Maintaining specific prayer times
The church was able to grow and spread because the founding fathers understood the importance of ministering to the tripartite of humanity; spirit, soul and body. The apostle's doctrine or teaching was meant to reach the soul or minds of mankind, prayer was meant to reach the spirit and the breaking of bread or feasting of course ministers to the body.
We are more than conquerors today because God has established principles that ensure His people are blessed and that all their needs are met. Because He is Spirit does not mean that He is oblivious to the needs of our flesh. In fact through Jesus, God has experienced everything that we experience in the flesh and so as a result He is not untouched by all our needs. The church should be careful to minister to each component of its members. Meeting the needs of spirit and soul are important and traditionally the church is good at that, but the needs of the flesh are also vitally important. Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970, a world renown psychologist developed a system of prioritizing the needs of humanity in order to live fully functioning lives. Maslow's Hierarchy of Need articulates the concept that there are certain things that we cannot live without. The church can take a lesson from Dr. Maslow, it is very difficult for us to reach some one's heart if their stomach is empty and their children are cold. Socialization over a meal is a great way to get to know others, more importantly meeting the needs of the physical body of our church members is vitally important to the spreading of the gospel message.
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