The Barren Christmas Tree

     It's the morning after Christmas, and after all of the gifts have been unwrapped, again my Christmas tree looks barren. 

     

     The decorations on the tree are still intact, but without the gifts beneath, it's just another pretty thing taking up space in my living room.

    

      That is what life is like without Jesus. Without the gift of His grace; without His love, His sacrifice, His shed blood, no matter how decorated our lives may be--no matter what job title, degrees attained, wealth accumulated--they are useless, taking up space with no real purpose other than to look pretty for the moment. 

    The apostle Paul put it this way in his letter to the Philippians, "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all thins, I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ," (Philippians 3:8, NIV) 

     

     Whatever good things we may acquire in this life, they are nothing compared to the gift of knowing Jesus Christ. No matter how expensive the present we may have received on yesterday, it is rubbish compared to the gift that came wrapped in rags and laid in a pig's trough in a manger over 2,000 years ago. 

     

     My prayer today is that my life is more than just a decorated tree. I want my life to matter and to touch others in a way that helps them experience Jesus through me. I want His love to show through me, and I want my life to be like His--a gift to all I encounter. 

Would You Be Well?

 A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to serve as facilitator for a panel of pastors, rabbis and ministry leaders as they discussed the impact of faith on today's culture here in our city and how their ministry/organization was positioned to help be a part of this impact.

One of the panelists, a former restaurant manager who now runs a restaurant style feeding ministry here in the area, made a profound comment. He said, "At some point, we have to teach people to move past crisis mode so that they can be self-sufficient."

I thought about Jesus and the lame man at the pool of Bethsaida in John 5. I love the King James Version of this text as Jesus asks the man in verse 6, "Wouldst thou be made whole?" Songwriter Kirk Franklin states it simply, "Do You Want to Be Happy?" What a powerful question as we sit and grapple with all of the tragedy and hurts that plague us as a society!

Note the lame man's response to Jesus. He doesn't give him a straight answer, but rather launches into a list of excuses as to why he has not received his healing. The cure was less than 100 feet away, and yet for 38 years, he lay lame on its edge waiting for someone else to carry him to it.

It is easy to blame others for our failures and poor choices, but we can only attain wholeness when we take ownership of our destiny and recognize that we were created for more.

We are worth more than minimum wage jobs and government assistance to fill in the gaps of our existence. We are worth more than public housing projects or even Section 8 vouchers that place limits on where we can live and raise our families.

We are worth more than abusive relationships fraught with mental, verbal and even physical violations of the sanctity of our personhood. We are more to God than a one night stand or a temporary high that leaves us exhausted, empty and abandoned.

Our lives matter not because of the color of our skin, not even because of the content of our character. We matter because Christ died that we may live a life of abundance. A life of exceedingly abundantly above. A life of more than enough. A life of wholeness.

Wholeness is a beautiful concept--it indicates a state of completion with no lack; a sense of perfection--not necessarily the absence of flaws, but rather a maturity in knowing who we are and what we are purposed for in life.

You were made for more....

Wholeness is a state that took me over thirty years to reach. For me, it came when I was able to look into the mirror of my own soul and realize that what I was seeking--who I was seeking--was already inside of me. The God of the Universe who created the cosmos and then shaped it from chaos to a curated masterpiece resided on the inside of me. And that same God created me for more than what I was settling for in my life. Would I be made well? Would I allow God to make me whole?

The first step in becoming whole is wanting wholeness. Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to be healed?"

As we work with others who may find themselves in an unfortunate situation or circumstance in life, we are called to help them in their immediate crisis, but then we must coach them to a place of wholeness. That requires relationship. That is a place that for many of us is uncomfortable because it requires hard conversations and tough decisions. And it requires us to walk with them as they take their own journey towards wholeness serving as their cheerleader, critic and confidant along the way. Sometimes, it even requires us to walk away realizing that we cannot want for them that which they don't want for themselves.

It may be a family member or loved one who comes knocking on our door like clockwork every payday asking for a "loan". Or, it may be the relative who refuses to take ownership of their health, but seeks us out to serve as their ambulance and emergency room as we nurse them back from the brink of their own self-destructive habits again and again. Still it may be the friend that calls just as we enter that dreamy stage of sleep to cry about their latest relationship catastrophe that we warned them about at its onset.

Jesus did not pick the lame man up and carry him to the pool. He spoke to the man and awakened something deep within that made him believe that he could be whole. Jesus told him to "Rise up, take your mat, and sin no more..." It's time for us to speak to the recesses of our souls and command it to rise up--from whatever situation life has presented to us, from whatever frustrations, disappointments and delusions that we have allowed ourselves to wallow in. God says, "Rise up". Then we must take up our mat--own our issue and deal with it; really own it and deal with its reality and requirements. And finally, we must sin no more. Whatever led to us being in that situation the first time around, we must take the necessary steps so that we don't find ourselves back laying on the edges of our healing, waiting for someone else to carry us where we were made to walk.

Until the Divas talk again, may you be well, may your soul be whole, and may your style be graced by God's smile.

Sincerely,

Pastor J-
The Divine Diva

Carrying More Than We Need

As I sat in the surgery waiting to hear news of my mother's knee replacement surgery, I thought about the wondrous machine that is our bodies. Of all the parts of our body that amaze me, the knees are the most fascinating. Each carrying 7x its weight, the knees are the structural workhorses of our bodies. Knees allow us to walk, jump, bend, stoop and even sit. Without knees, our legs would have nothing holding the upper and lower leg together making it virtually impossible to move about.

Turns out that we have different sized knee joints. In a knee replacement, there are 8 sizes available, ranging from very large to very small. On a scale from 1-8, my mom is a size 3.

Anyone who has seen my mom, however, would never think her knee is a size "3". She is carrying the weight of someone with a size 6 or 7 knee. Her knees are carrying more than they can handle, and after 60 years of carrying that load, they have given out and must be replaced.

The same is true with us in life. God has designed us to carry a certain sized load, but we take on more than He ever intended and as a result, our spiritual ability to walk and move about becomes difficult at times. We lose our enthusiasm for life and the passion that God has deposited in us to carry out His purpose in the earth. We amble about clumsily from one thing from another without a clear sense of direction or purpose and eventually, we quake, tremble and fall under the weight of it all.

So what do we do with all this extra weight? Well, the Bible gives three examples of how to handle it:

The first is found in Galatians 6:2. Paul exhorts the believers at the church in Galatia to bear one another's burdens. Found in the context of restoring a brother/sister overtaken in sin, Paul tells the church that those who are more spiritually mature to restore him/her in love, being careful not to think more highly of themselves than they ought. In other words, we are to seek the counsel and support of those mature in the faith. We should seek out wise counsel and submit to the reconciliation/restorative process in letting go of the sin that has caused our burden. Whether it is unforgiveness, bitterness, lying, sexual sin or addiction, we should seek help from the church. And the church should be prepared to love us back to wholeness, maintaining a posture of humility realizing that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

As I struggle with my physical weight, I constantly have to enlist the help of family and friends to hold me accountable in my goals. My family checks in with me every week to see have I reached my weekly eating and exercise goals. My husband is my workout partner and helps me to be consistent with my workouts. It takes a community to help us overcome some of our burdens. Share the load.

The second example is found in Hebrews 12:1 in which the author instructs us to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us and run with endurance. Here, we are instructed to evaluate and eradicate. This requires us to take stock of our choices and decision making process. We have to look at the responsibilities we have taken on and evaluate whether or not these activities are helping our hindering our walk with Christ. Every weight is not sin. Sometimes, we take on duties and responsibilities that are noble causes; however, for us it is a weight that God has not designed us to carry, at least not at this season in our lives.

I remember when I was asked to serve on a local board for a public organization. The meetings were monthly, and it seemed like something I could handle and fit into my schedule. However, as time went on, the demands of the organization grew, and what started out as a monthly two hour meeting, quickly became an all consuming daily list of tasks to complete. While I loved the organization and its mission and goals, I realized that this was a weight that was pulling me away from the things that God had assigned for me to do. I had to make a decision to lay it aside and resign from the board. A pastor of mine once said to me, "There are many good things for you to do in life. Your challenge is the find the God-thing for your life and pursue that and that alone." Find your God-thing and lay aside Every.Thing. Else.


Finally, 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to submit ourselves to God and cast all of our cares on Him for He cares for us. When we realize that we have a loving and caring Father in heaven who longs to take on our burdens and concerns, we can go to Him in prayer and lay our worries at His feet. As my husband always says, we have to dismantle ourselves as little "god-players". Recognize that we cannot save anyone--not evey ourselves. That is God's job. Our job is to pray and point others to Jesus. Once we embrace this truth, we can free ourselves of a lot of stress and worry as we cast (throw off, jettison, push away) all of our cares and concerns--for our lives and others--onto Him and allow Him to do what only He can.

I realized sitting in that waiting room that I cannot force my mother to change. This was a battle that she has to fight. As my heart quaked within me and the overwhelming sense of responsibility settled on me, I found myself falling to my knees under the weight of it all. I then heard Jesus say to me, "Finally, you are in the posture I've been trying to get you in all along. That of prayer."

Until the Divas meet again, may your burdens place you in the position of prayer as you allow God to make your heart light.

Sincerely,

Pastor J-
The Divine Diva

Time to Change Clothes

I love clothes. The way they look on the hanger or feel on my skin. The smell of department stores and the beauty of new floor sets that display the latest shipment of dyed fabrics of all shapes and colors waiting for their new owner to take them home and hang them in an already overflowing closet. If there is such as thing as retail therapy, I am a lifelong patient.

I have always defined myself by a certain style--classic beauty with just a splash of Diva to make you take a second look. A statement necklace here; a conversational kerchief there. Just the right pumps to set off the outfit. Classic enough to belong. Diva enough to be seen.

Over the past couple weeks, I've been meditating on Genesis 35 when God commanded Jacob to go to Bethel and build and altar to Him and worship. In this text, the verses that stood out to me the most were 2-4 when Jacob told his household:

"Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” (Gen. 35:2-4)


God was preparing Jacob for not only a name change, but for a shift in his character to position him to walk into his promise. Jacob had been running most of his life--he ran from his brother Esau after stealing his blessing. He ran from his uncle Laban after taking most of his wealth in livestock. Now, he was running from the Canaanites and Perizzites because his sons had avenged their sister, Dinah killing the men of the city and looting their livestock. It was time for Jacob to stop running and start walking into his destiny.

Many times we want God to change our circumstance or situation, but we are not willing to change so that we can be positioned to receive what God has for us. Jacob could sense that God was about to do something big in his life, and he realized that a change was needed before they could go up to worship. He told his wives and all who were with him to put away their foreign gods, purify themselves and change their clothes. 

Note the order of his instructions. 

The first thing they had to do was put away foreign gods. What gods have we established in our lives that we need to put away? Is it jobs or money? Cars or status? Perhaps it is other people's opinions of us that has replaced the role of God in our lives. Anything that competes for our love and loyalty to God is an idol. Some of us have made comfort and convenience our god; we refuse to let go of our comfort zones to pursue the purpose God has for our lives. Whatever foreign gods we are holding on to, we must put them away from us so that we can embrace the one true God in our lives.

Then Jacob told them to purify themselves. Purification was a ritualistic process used to make one ready for worship. It typically included bathing and abstaining from certain acts or foods for a period of time. What God is looking for in us today is an internal purification; the cleansing of ourselves through prayer and meditation on His word. It may include fasting and abstaining from certain things, but to be sure, God is seeking more than just ritualistic practices. He is looking for sanctification--a setting apart of ourselves from the world in order to make ourselves available for His use. When is the last time we asked God to purify us? To sancitfy us and set us apart for His glory? When was the last time we, like King David in the Psalms 53, asked God to purge us with hyssop and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? 

What we wear says a lot about us. Clothes identify us with certain professions, such as a police officer or a firefighter. They also speak to our mood, our self image and our personality. We wear darker colors to mask physical imperfections and some of us even use clothes as status symbols. We wear designer labels to project a sense of wealth, or perhaps to hide the lack thereof. Many of us find our identity in our clothes. The fallacy in this mode of thinking is that our clothes simply reveal on the outside the status of inner selves. Clothes cannot create our identity--they only project the identity which we have chosen. 

Just like Jacob's household, we can only change our spiritual garments after we have put away false gods and purified ourselves. This type of clothing change flows from the inside out. We can wear the fanciest of suits, the most expensive designer labels and the newest of style trends, but if we have not put away false gods and purified ourselves, we are just putting on new grave clothes--clothes used to bury the dead. What God wants is for us to take off the garment of heaviness so that He can give us a garment of praise. He wants our sackloth of mourning so that He can give us a tunic of peace. He wants us to cast off the robe of rejection so that He can cloth us in a robe of many colors. God has a wardrobe for our lives, if we would only put away our foreign Gods and purify ourselves for Him. 
His closet beats mine any day! It is because of Him that we are able to be Classic enough to belong. Diva enough to be seen. 

Until the Divas meet again, I pray that you allow God to dress you from His wardrobe today. 


Sincerely,

Pastor J-
The Divine Diva

A Birthing Prayer

I love Hannah. She is perhaps the most underestimated feminine figure in the Old Testament, but her story is powerful. She is the fourth woman in Scripture identified as being barren. Sara, Rebekah and Rachel were all described in Scripture as being barren; however, each of them had a different reaction to their situation. Sara laughed at God when He made her the promise of a son (Gen. 18:10-15). We never know Rebekah's reaction to her barren womb because her husband pleaded for God to give her children (Gen. 25:21). Rachel's response was one of anger towards her husband, Jacob (Gen. 29:31, 30:1). But Hannah's response to her barren state? Prayer. 

1 Samuel opens by telling us about Elkanah, Hannah's husband. He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. The Bible sums the situation up in just one sentence, "Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children." (1 Sam. 1:2) Oh! If it were only that simple.

Children were a blessing to a family; a woman's very worth was tied to her womb. Hannah not only had to live with the fact that she could not have children, she had to share a home with a woman who could! It is one thing to know I can't have something. It's another thing altogether to have someone who does have what I long for so desperately wave it in my face 24/7. The Bible says that Peninnah provoked Hannah. She taunted her and made her life miserable.

Hannah's response to her situation was one that I could say I made more often--she prayed. She did not try to fix the situation on her own. The Bible does not say she tried to get Elkanah to have sex with her more often to increase the chances of her getting pregnant, or that she tried to take revenge on Peninnah, but rather, Scripture says that she went to God about her problem.

She prayed and wept over her situation before the Lord--so much so, until the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. In verse 14, Eli accuses Hannah of being drunk, an accusation that Hannah denies and shares that it was "out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” (vs.17)  Have you ever been so full of grief that you prayed like a drunk woman? Has your heart every been so heavy that your soul would not allow sound to escape from your lips, only groans of agony and utterances of grief? I have been there.  

Hannah promised God that if He would grant her a son, she would give that son back to Him. The key to Hannah's prayer was her partnership with God's purpose and promise to give back to God whatever He gave through her womb. Hannah understood that whatever God blessed her with belonged to Him. Hers was not a selfish prayer for status or position; hers was a prayer of birthing. She asked God to birth something through her that would be used for His glory.

What are we asking God to birth in us today? More importantly WHY are we asking God for it? What are the motives of our hearts?

My husband and I recently began our own company, and one of the first questions we asked ourselves was, "Why do we want to do this?" Was this just to make a lot of money? Was it to have status or position or have others to look at us? If those were our motives, we could never have began this journey. Our goal has always been to glorify God and serve His people. We want to establish an inheritance for our children and to develop a foundation for our families, but at the end of the day, we want to honor Him in all that we do. So our prayer for Dent Enterprises, Inc. was a birthing prayer. We asked God to bring to bear all of the gifts and talents that He deposited deep within us to help us launch a business that would change our communities and impact our city for His Kingdom.

What is your birthing prayer? Is it to start your own business? Publish a book? Get that promotion?

Whatever your request, make sure that your motives are aligned with God's.

Because Hannah prayed, no one could deny her request but God. She did not worry herself with her enemy, Peninnah. She didn't even nag or bother her husband, Elkanah. She prayed. She partnered with God and the purpose He had for her life. And she made God a promise to give whatever He gave to her back to Him.

After Hannah explains herself to the priest, Eli pronounces a blessing over her request and Hannah goes away. The Bible says that her face was no longer sad and she ate. She was able to move forward with her life because she truly gave her concerns over to the Lord. How many times have we put it all on the altar, only to pack it back up and take it with us when we leave? God requires us to give it over to Him and allow Him to work things out His way, in His time.

Hannah found favor in the sight of God. He opens her womb, and by the time we get to the end of the chapter we find her nursing her promise, preparing to return him to the God who gave him to her. In real life, things don't go that quickly. In reality Hannah's promise did not come that quickly.

The Bible says in verses 19-20 that God remembered her and that in the process of time, she conceived and bore a son.  Know that our requests begins a process in heaven, and that it is the process that brings about the promise. We don't know how long it took God for Hannah's prayer to be answered, but we know that God remembered and that there was a process.

Whatever you're facing today, whatever birthing prayer you are praying, know that God remembers you and that in the process of time, He will bring it to pass.

Until the Divas meet again, may your birthing pains be minimal, but know that birth is a process. Go through the process to receive your promise!

Pastor J-
The Divine Diva

Jezebel: The Woman Who Killed the Word

She glared, the full force of her hate seething through her eyes. Elijah had to die--and not only Elijah, but all of those God-babbling fools who constantly stood in the way of her plans. Ahab was weak. She came to realize just how weak and spineless he was when he couldn't even get a lowly citizen, Naboth, to sell his vineyard to him. He was the King, for crying out loud! Ahab has sulked for almost a week, not eating, barely sleeping over that thing. She had to step in and handle the situation then--just like she was about to do now.

It hadn't rained for 3 and 1/2 years. Drought had ravaged the land at Elijah's word. There had not so much been a clap of thunder in Israel for over three years. Her gods did not have that kind of power. She did not have that kind of power. Ahab certainly did not have that kind of power. But the God of Elijah, now HE had that kind of power. His word stopped up heaven. And then to add insult to injury, this prophet has the audacity to show his face and challenge her prophets on Mt. Carmel--and then slaughter them all! 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Ashera who ate at her table and prophesied before her, dead. Oh how she hated Elijah and his God.

More than anything, she hated God's Word. And she'd made it her life's mission to silence His voice among the people of Israel.

The Making of a Family...

As we enter the holiday season, I find it apropos that the first celebration marking its entrance is Thanksgiving. There are so many blessings in my life that for which I am grateful, but the most notable of these is family.

Reflecting over the past three years of my life, I can attest to the spontaneity and creativity of God. This time in 2013, there was Kennedy, my then 8 year old daughter, me and Carter, our dog living our simply complex little life. I was a single mother, Kennedy an only child. And while it was lonely at times, we were happy and content, just us three.

Fast forward three year: 36 months, 156 weeks, 1,092 days...

I am married to the man of my prayers. Dreams reside in the subconsciousness of our minds; my husband is the answer to the longing of my soul. There were deep things that only God knew that I wanted and needed in a mate, and he put them all in Charles. He is my grace gift from the Lord; I don't deserve it and I could never earn the kind of love God has shown towards me through my husband, and for him, I am eternally grateful.

I watch in awe as my only biological daughter has matured into a beautiful young lady, balanced and poised with a sense of self and confidence that only comes from a strong family. I now have a second daughter, Sharayon, who is my daily dose of myself as a teenager. Together, she and Kennedy have become the yin and yang of sisterhood. I have a son who I could swear has my DNA coursing in his veins. Christopher gives me hope in the men of the next generation as he is a reflection of God's glory here on earth--a combination of looks, personality and brains--like I said, he must have my DNA in there somewhere!!

I even have three amazing young women whom I have the privilege of calling step-daughters--Jessica, Meagan and Chelsea. Strong, smart and pretty. To top it all off, they are the best shopping buddies, EVER!!

Then there's the second four-legged family member we rescued, Lady. My "thug" dog, she is the sweetest and most loving pure bred mutt there is.

The ten of us have bonded in a way that only God can orchestrate. And as I look at our family pictures from earlier this month, I am in complete and utter awe at God and His love for me. He put this big beautiful family for Kennedy and me. I look at how He knew what Personalities to bring to the table to make this family work, and I think of how He orchestrated every aspect of it. He did all of this for me without my help (or foreknowledge). God and God alone could what has been done in my life.

As I meditated on my family, God showed me that my family is a reflection of His family...mixed backgrounds, experiences and DNA. The thing that binds us all together in the family of God is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. 

The City of Grace Mobile is also a reflection of God's family. We open our arms each Sunday to people who come looking for a place to bring the broken pieces of their lives in hopes that someone will put them back together again. Be it family, careers, finances or other issues of faith, we bring a mixed bag with us each week. God takes all of our differences and puts them together in His family. 

If you ever wonder, "Where is God in the midst of my mess?", trust me, He is there in the thick of it all. God will take you from the bottom of the barrel and place you on top of the world. I sit and look at these pictures and I am simply amazed that this is MY family--MY children--My husband.

God can and will do exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that works in us.

Absolutely nothing is too hard for God.

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with love, family and fabulous black Friday sales.

The Divine Diva