Monday Morning Motivations

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” I was watching a video the other day about how much money one should save for retirement to be considered “successful” and I found myself on edge just listening to the numbers. How do we NOT be anxious when anxiety is being normalized? And not just with our wants, but with those things we consider necessary to live. A constant fear of losing a job, or finding a job, or transitioning out of a career path. Feeding & clothing ourselves. Finding love… keeping love. And on top of all of that… I STILL haven’t washed last night’s dishes. 7 days a week. 365 days a year. This is the life we’ve accepted as normal. So how, in the midst of all this, do we NOT be anxious about tomorrow. In today's episode, I want to dive into how we can reject the normalization of the anxieties that the world tries to spoon-feed us. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

“...And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.” If we aren’t careful, we can look at this story and say … That’ll NEVER be me. I’ll never be like the prodigal son… Simply because we incorrectly understood what actually made him “prodigal”. We have heard the story from the angle of the loving father and how he is like God our father. We have also heard it from the perspective of the older brother and how not to be jealous of the celebration of the return of the lost sheep. But we have never taken the time to dive into what made the younger brother "prodigal", we just accept him as such. In today's episode, I want to dive into the "why" of the younger brother and see if we can learn from and avoid his mistakes. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

"... So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.” As I was working out one morning, I was listening to one of my favorite gospel artists, Hezekiah Walker, and I came across a song called “99 and a Half”, and in this song he sings, “Lord I’m running, trying to make 100 because 99 and a half won’t do” and as I listened to this song I begin to think on all the things that hold me back from fully following the vision that God set before me, and I begin to despair. Was it fear of the uncertainty? Lack of trust in God? What was it that kept me from running full force into the purpose and plan that God lay before me? And who the heck was Elisha that he didn’t struggle with this? In today's episode, I want to dive into the character of Elisha and the bold move of burning bridges backwards. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’ “ Complicated Situations. When I said that, almost immediately something came to your mind. For some it’s a job. For others it might be a person… an entanglement or situationship… whatever your word of choice may be. And for others it might be forgiveness, like it was for the disciples in this verse. But whatever it is… one word can usually sum it up. Complicated. In today's episode, I want to dive into why Christ choose a mulberry tree as the epitome =of a complicated situation and why uprooting it is such a big deal. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first...” What are you replacing your bad habits with? … more bad habits? Does accomplishment come in JUST laying down a destructive habit… or have we missed the point entirely? In today's episode, I want to dive into what it means to truly lay impure spirits and destructive behaviors aside and not return to them "unoccupied". ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

"Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked." Resignation. To abandon, quit, surrender, or stand down. Many times we find ourselves at the doorstep of a blessing, but like the man in this story, we find ourselves making excuses instead of making moves to freedom. How did we end up in such a state, resigned to our circumstances and situation. In today's episode, I want to dive into how this man found himself face to face with healing and still made excuses... and how we serve a God who offers us healing INSPITE of our excuses. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

“Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, 'Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.' ” Transitions. Sometimes as we go through seasons, we become better at transitioning, and sometimes it just continues to confuse us and we find ourselves in a stuck state. Why do we find ourselves in this state? How do we transition well? In today's episode I want to dive into what holds us back from transitioning well and find out what the Word says about how to actually do a better job in our season of transition. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

“A man’s gift will make room for him, And bring him before great men.” When reading this verse, what comes to mind? Does this verse excite you because of the opportunity to glorify God with your gift before great men… or do you feel this verse doesn’t apply to you because you feel that either: Many times we fear the gift… fear it because it is unknown to us. And instead of seeking to understand the treasure inside of us, we choose to leave it buried. We sit back and wait on someone else’s gift to make room for us… for another person’s opportunity to open a door for us to walk through. In today's episode I want to reach out to those who are NOT content with fearing or not understanding the gifts and treasures God placed inside you and I want to answer the question, "Where do I begin?" ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

In Psalm 46. the psalmist speaks of the world falling down around him. In verse 2… the mountains fall into the sea… the waters roar and foam so hard that the mountains quake. In verse 6, the nations are in an uproar and kingdoms fall. … and in the midst of all this, the command that God gives in verse 10 is… “Be still and know…” He says this because He knows that when things get hectic… the last thing we want to do is “be still”. We have been taught that being still is equivalent to being unproductive. In today's episode I want to answer the question "What lies in the stillness?" and talk through why He beacons us into stillness with Him in spite of our natural instincts. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

How do I reconcile my faith and my race? One I was born into … the other I was “born again” into. Neither, in my mind, can I live without. Both drive every decision I make … but only one seems to drive every decision made towards me. The world doesn’t see me as a Christian first. They only see me as a black man. And that one filter drives all of their subsequent actions. So how do I reconcile the two? Am I a Black man who is Christian, Or am I a Christian first and black second? Join me in today's episode as I wrestle to reconcile my faith and the reality of my race. ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

Plan B… or our "Backup Plan(s)". We know these very intimately. We are told that we are foolish if we don’t have one when it pertains to every area of our earthly lives. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” “Don’t put all your hopes in a person… People always let you down.” It’s no wonder that we find it hard in our spiritual lives to “put all our eggs in one basket”. In today's episode I want to peel back the layers and examine why our spiritual "Plan B" is so dangerous, and how we recognize when it is idolatry in our lives. How can we tell what household idols have we erected to take the place of God? ... and with that being said, let's dive right in.

What are you focused on? In your battle with whatever sin that may entangle you, what is it that you set your eyes on? Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “The pursuit of purity is not about the suppression of lust, but about the reorientation of one’s life to a larger goal.” Even if your entanglement isn't lust, in today's episode I want to take the time to examine why his sentiments of, "The pursuit of victory over sin is not obtained from simply suppressing the sin, but also in greater part… refocusing our lives on Christ.” still hold true. So with that being said... Let's dive right in.

What place are you operating from? Are you operating from a place of need? I need affirmation. I need validation. I need reassurance Or are you operating from a place of purpose because your needs are already met in Christ? No matter what context we find ourselves in (business, ministry, volunteering, etc), to allow ourselves to operate from our “place of need” can put us at odds with God. In today's episode I want to take time and examine what fills us up, and why that even matters when considering how we operate in purpose. Let's dive right in.

Are you ready for your next steps? Many times we can become so focused on our “next season” and getting out of our current season that we rarely ask ourselves are we even ready for what’s next? What does Ready even look like? How do you know if you’re ready? In today's episode I want to walk through the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan to see what we can learn about “readiness” for the Promises of God from the people of God. Let's dive right in.

During this time of self-distancing, I have seen people struggle with mini-storms inside of the larger storm. Sometimes these mini-storms are a direct result of the larger storm, like depression from the loss of a job and the ability to provide for one's family or anxiety about the health of ourselves or a family member. Other times, those mini-storms are things that have always existed, but “busyness” was an amazing facade that kept us from having to actually deal with it, like anger and pride. Whichever category you fall into, I pray that this moment of meditation will meet you where you are. And with that being said, let's dive right in.

In order to make sense of this season, we often find ourselves trying to understand God. Trying to piece together, as best we can, a reason for it all. And if you aren’t, you’ve probably heard other people inject their “God reason” into the situation... using words like "judgement" or "end times" or a number of other rationalizations that help them cope with the stressful season that has descended on us like the plague. Why does God have us here? What is the purpose of it all? In today's episode we see if the Word can answer the 'Why' and the 'What' of this season. Let's dive right in.

I will walk in freedom BECAUSE I have sought out your rules. Usually when we think about freedom, the LAST thing that comes to our mind is the word “rules”. As a matter of fact, rules and restrictions are seen as the exact opposite of freedom. When we think of freedom, we think of a space without rules or the ability to do whatever we please without consequence. So why does David seem to beg to differ? In today's episode we look at what "freedom" really means and ask ourselves... Have we had it wrong this whole time?

In Acts 13:22 God refers to David as, “a man after my own heart…” The same David that slept with another man’s wife, got her pregnant, then killed her husband to cover up his mess. How could God consider this man someone after His own heart? In today's episode we dive into how David reflected the heart of God even as his life was being sought after for death. How did David remain calm in the midst of peril, and as such, how do we do the same?

When we think of blocked paths, the first thing that probably comes to mind is frustration from not getting what we want. We handle these feelings and circumstances differently depending on how badly we want what’s being blocked. But what about those situations where it was God who placed the blocker there? In today's episode we look at one of the reasons why God may block our path, and how we, in turn, respond when we come across blocked paths versus how we are supposed to respond.

In John 10:27, Jesus describes His followers as sheep by saying “My sheep know my voice…” With this verse many Christians get discouraged because they feel like they don’t hear God speak. Many would even go as far as to say that God does not speak to them at all. But often it’s not that He doesn’t speak, it’s just that we aren’t trained to listen. In today's episode we revisit the Prophet Elijah and see how he "hears" God and why God refers to His children as sheep. Let's dive in and train ourselves to hear God speak.