‏‏‎ ‎90 Day Bible Challenge

Day 6 of 90: The greatest in the kingdom are helpless, humble and his.

Opening Song: Our God reigns by William Murphy

Closing Song: I belong to you by William McDowell 

Night 5 of 90: Healing By Any Means Necessary

Opening Song: I an healed by Donald Lawrence

Closing Song: Balm in Gilead by Richard Smallwood

Day 5 of 90: Greater is waiting for you.

Opening Song: We give you glory by James Fortune ft. Tasha Cobbs

Closing Song: Water by Anthony Brown

Night 3 of 90: Grace is SCANDALOUS

Opening Song: If not for your graceby Isreal Houghton

Closing Song: Grace of God by Sherri Jones Moffet

 

Our devotional from Night 3 was an excerpt from a sermon by Pastor Dharius Daniels called "The Scandal of Grace." It was an AMAZING SERMON that I highly recommend. Feel free to listen to the playback, but if you want to order the entire series titled GRACE CASE by Dharius Morshun Daniels, visit this link below. The name of his church is KINGDOM CHURCH in Trenton, NJ

http://www.kcnjstore.org/SearchResults.asp?Search=grace+case

Day 3 of 90: Choose ye this day whom you will serve, GOD or Scandal

God or SCANDAL? by Shaun Saunders 
Opening Song: He wants it all by Forever Jones

Closing Song: Free by Kierra Sheard

"Scandal" has become one of the most entertaining shows on television. Its key protagonist, Olivia Pope, is in love with her boss, the President of the United States (President Grant), and, oh, by the way…he’s married with children to an interestingly duplicitous character by the name of Millie. Each week, Shonda Rhimes captivates her growing audience of 8.8 million viewers with a quick-paced, suspense narrative that promises to leave you on the edge of your seat. I know many Christians who take issue with this show because of the, well, scandalous nature of its characters. But I must admit, I am an avid Scandal fan. I, like many others, look forward to Thursday nights because I can enjoy good writing, suspenseful plots, and an overall great cast of actors and actresses.

Now. Let’s fast forward. On April 1, 2014, I was prompted by the Spirit to consecrate my life for 90 days. The rigorous challenge included a 15-20 min devotional at 5am and 10pm, fasting once per week, volunteering at a local shelter, eating healthily and working out 4 times/week, and only saying that which is good, true, and positive. I posted, for accountability purposes, my plan of action; and asked anyone who felt like joining me, to do so. What I didn’t expect was over 200 emails saying, “I want to join this 90 day challenge,” and the journey began!

The first few days were great, until I realized that Thursday night at 10pm was Scandal night. I immediately began to get nervous—not because I was so addicted to Scandal that I couldn't let it go (thank God for DVR) but because I knew some of my friends would have a hard time giving up their 10:00 guilty pleasure for 20 minutes of time with God.

But then it occurred to me: anything that we put before God, no matter how innocent or entertaining, is an idol. As I rose at 5am to prepare our daily devotional that morning, the Spirit asked me this simple question: are you committed to anything more than you are committed to Me? Of course, my natural response was “no, I love God more than anything.” But then he said, "PROVE IT." And the way to prove our commitment is when we choose to give up that which we enjoy, for that which we need.

As I studied the 10 commandments that morning, I realized how idolatry can creep into anything we do, if we allow it to. Read Deuteronomy 5 today, and when you do, you will bump into the Decalogue, or, in simple terms, the 10 commandments. These were the words God inscribed onto tablets while Moses prayed on Mt. Sinai. But further research reveals that there were actually 613 Commandments in total. Did you know that? Did you know that the children of Israel were given 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments?

The purpose of these commandments is quite profound. You see, the 365 negative commandments (thou shalt not’s) were intended to help the Israelites to grow closer to God every day. In a solar year, there are 365 days in a year, so God provided 1 commandment for each day. The 248 positive commandments (thou shalt’s) represented the number of bones and main organs in the human body. God is so BRILLIANT! He orchestrated positive commandments to keep our temple holy, and negative commandments to keep our day holy. 613 commandments in total. And all so that we can stay in covenant with him.

What an amazing God we serve! But before I take a lap around the park, let me break down the first two commandments of the 10! If you keep reading, I know it will bless you. The first one: “you shall have no other gods before me.” Now, if you lived in Egypt, this commandment was almost impossible to follow. Egypt was a polytheistic world. In Egypt, everything was a god! Just like when I went to India, God’s were on top of houses, sitting in the middle of the street. Gods were made into golden images. Gods were animals, statues, and even food! So when God said “you can’t have other gods before me,” he wasn’t saying “I am first, and they can be second.” He was saying “I am the only GOD that is, and no other God can stand next to, behind, or around me!" The first commandment, then, was about the cultural gods of the day that tried to seep into their worship--just like the gods of America that try to seep into ours: success, greed, beauty, fame, fashion, and yea..entertainment.

The second commandment was even deeper: you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven or on earth. Check this out: the first commandment was about having other gods. The second commandment was about MAKING a god out of something that was never meant to be a god. You know, like our 6 figure salary. Or our beautiful new car. Or, that innocent little baby God blessed you with, or your favorite television series…like Scandal. ‪#‎ouch‬

The second commandment, if you ask me, is far more dangerous than the first because anything can be easily turned into a god if you place IT before HIM. This is why, the 90 challenge became real to some of us who watch scandal at 10pm! God told me loud and clear: CHOOSE YE THIS DAY, WHOM YOU WILL SERVE…GOD or SCANDAL.

I know some of you don't watch Scandal, but all of us have something that is distracting us from God. So as you pray about getting closer to God, be honest with yourself. Be aware of the things that can become an idol, and prove to God that it won't win over him. If you sacrifice for it and if you pursue it more than your relationship with Christ, then it could be competing for first place. Prove to God over the next 90 days who is Lord!

SCRIPTURES to REFLECT on:
Deuteronomy 5:6-9 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…

#jointhe90daychallenge
#chooseGod #chooselife
#thiswillchangeyourlife

Night 2 of 90: Forgive, anyway. If you learned from it, it's tuition

FORGIVE ANYWAY by Shaun Saunders

Opening Song: Heart that Forgives by Kevin Levarr

Closing Song: TBA 

 

 

About a year ago, I was watching Dr. Phil on the OWN Network. He was promoting his new book, "Life Code: The New Rules for Winning in the Real World," and I was fascinated by his theory about mistakes that have happened in life. His entire book is about recognizing baiters and unhealthy people, but when Oprah asked, “what do you do when you have wasted so much time and energy on these people?” He replied, “see it as tuition. Life teaches us valuable lessons so that we can grow from the experience. If you learned from it, it’s not a mistake…it’s tuition.” 

As I think about Dr. Phil's philosophy in conjunction with forgiveness, I realize that the same rule applies. Many of us have held unforgiveness in our hearts for so long, but did you know that when you forgive, you free yourself from the prison of resentment. When you forgive, you will benefit far more than the one who offended you. Today, I want to give you a few reasons why forgiveness always works in your favor. 

My daughter, Zinai, is only one-and-a-half years old. She’s a smart little girl for her age, but there are still some things she doesn’t quite understand. So if I were to give her a 100 dollar bill, she will do two things with it. She will either eat it like the prophet Ezekiel ate the scroll in the Old Testament, or she will rip it up. She’s a baby! That’s what babies do because they don’t understand the value of what I have placed in her hand. 

The same is true for the people who have offended you. They might be the same age as you, or even older than you, but perhaps they are too immature to understand the value of your heart. Maybe, just maybe, they didn’t know that their mistake would cause this much pain. If I am good father, it would be preposterous to spank Zinai or punish her for ripping apart the 100 dollar bill. She doesn’t know what she’s doing! This is why Jesus was able to forgive his enemies on the cross while they were still beating him. He practiced two types of forgiveness that are crucial to our growth and enrichment: transaction and unilateral. 

Transactional forgiveness is when the thief asks Christ to forgive him on the cross, and Jesus grants his request. This kind is easier than unilateral forgiveness because two parties agree that an infraction has occurred, and they meet at the table to squash the problem. But unilateral forgiveness is when you have to forgive someone who doesn’t even show up at the table. 

Unilateral forgiveness is the greatest form of forgiveness because it enables you to forgive people who never say “I’m sorry.” Look at Jesus on the cross. He’s being spit on, persecuted, and mocked. But how does he respond? with forgiveness. He asks the Father to forgive them—while they are doing what they are doing! But why? Because like Zinai, "they don’t know what they are doing." I think the same is true for some of those who have hurt you. Yes, they did know their actions were wrong, but maybe they didn’t know or realize the ramifications of their actions. Maybe they didn't realize the emotional taxes they would have to pay after the deed was done. You know how I know it's possible? Because I've been on both ends of the infraction. I've hurt someone that I loved, and I've been hurt by someone I loved. When I hurt them, I really didn't know what I was doing. And if I could do it again...I would have done things differently. So, like Jesus, forgive them and free yourself.

But let’s look at it from the other end of the spectrum (because I can already hear some of your rebuttals). What do you do when the offender KNOWS what he or she is doing? How do you respond when you realize that someone INTENTIONALLY conspired to hurt you, harm you, or break your heart? My answer is: forgive them, anyway. After all, that’s what Joseph did in Genesis 45. His brothers intended to kill him. His brothers wanted Joseph to suffer. But years later, after Joseph endured injustice, a prison sentence, false accusation, and an altogether difficult life…he decided to forgive them. He recognized that unforgiveness is like poison, and the more you allow it to live in your life, the more toxic your life becomes. You become bitter, angry, volatile and mean. So forgive them anyway!

In Genesis 45:4-5 Joseph invites his brothers to come close to him. I’m sure they are nervous and afraid, but he tells them that they are forgiven. Why? Because he realizes that God’s purpose was greater than the pain they caused. How do you know when you have forgiven someone? When God’s purpose is greater than your pain! How do you know when you have forgiven someone? When you can see God above what your “brothers” did to you. 

I know it sounds easier said than done, but you’ve got to begin the process of forgiveness today. If you are smarter because of it, it’s tuition. If you refuse to let go of it, misery is your destiny. Choose to forgive! Your life account is on HOLD until you graduate from this.

KEY SCRIPTURES for REFLECTION:

Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. –Genesis 45:4-5

#jointhe90daychallenge
#forgivethemfreeyou
#email projectencounter1@gmail.com for more info!

Day 2 of 90: God will only complete what he began!

God will only complete what he began!

Opening Song: Power Praise by Kurt Carr

Closing Song: I'll trust You by James Fortune

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

Has God ever rejected your prayers?  Have you ever wanted something that God didn’t let you have? 

I wrote this devotional because of my sister-in-law, First Lady “Freedom” Hamilton. I had to preach for a conference, and she was praying for a full crowd. Her request was harmless. She wanted people to be blessed by the Word. But as she was praying, she said, “I felt in my spirit that God was rejecting my prayer.” She couldn’t describe it but she knew it wasn’t going to happen. Well, sure enough, when I got to the venue, the crowd was small. It didn’t matter to me, though. I preached the Word and went home. But her words, “God rejected my prayer” stayed with me. It prompted me to ask the Lord, “why do you reject prayers?” Immediately, God downloaded 3 reasons why our prayers are sometimes rejected.

Firstly, when what we want is not what God willed, our prayers will be rejected. Exhibit A: Jesus. Scene: Gethsemane. It’s the night before his harsh persecution and execution. He’s praying and sweating blood. His close friends keep falling asleep on him, and he asks the Father one simple, and seemingly innocent question: if you can, let this cup pass from me. Three times, he goes back and forth between the Father and the disciples who have fallen asleep. He finally resolves that this is not God’s will for him, and decides to change his prayer: “nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done.”

Secondly, when unforgiveness lives in our heart, God will reject our prayers.  Exhibit B: Jesus. Subject: The Lord’s Prayer. Jesus leads his disciples in the Lord’s prayer, and one line sticks out: forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. In other words, “the way I forgive them is how you can forgive me.” Or, to put it plainly, “if I don’t forgive them, then you don’t have to forgive me.” For many of us, unforgiveness is the boulder in our lives that is keeping “lazarus” from coming forth out of the tomb. It is the clogged artery that keeps us from living a healthy and holistic life. Unforgiveness is like incarcerating yourself, and giving the one who offended you the key to your jail cell.Mark 11:25 confirms the detriment of unforgiveness: “and when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”           

The third reason God rejects our prayers is because of Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It’s a popular scripture that many of us quote, but pause for a moment and read it again. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  If God began it, then he will complete it. Plain as day. God will complete what he began. But the inverse of that statement is also true: God is not obligated to complete what he never began. So, what if God is rejecting your prayers because his fingerprints were never on it in the first place?

Truth is, all of us have experienced the burden of a rejected prayer. We wanted our loved one to be healed, but she passed away. We wanted to complete a certain goal by a certain time. It hasn’t happened yet. But

what if you are in the state you are in right now—not because God wants to punish you, but because God didn't will it? it's not because God wants to embarrass you, but because God can’t finish what he didn’t start. He is the author and finisher of your faith, not your feelings.  I know you don't want the bitter cup of suffering, but the stuff in the cup is about to bring resurrection in your life. 

Do yourself a favor: look back over your life and consider how things began. Did your relationship begin in love or lust? Did the dream job begin in greed or purpose? On what foundation did you build your home?—on a rock or quicksand. God will only complete what he began. Everything else…will eventually fall to the ground.

Night 1 of 90: As you Serve, Discern

As you serve, discern.

Opening Song: Shifting the Atmoshpere by Jason Nelson

Closing Song: Withholding Nothing by William McDowell

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. Luke 10:33-35

Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money…Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. God. Acts 3:2-8

I love how Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life opens up: It’s not about you. The purpose for which God created us is about Him, not us. If we carry that thought into every day of our lives, every dream we have, every place we frequent, every relationship we enter, would be more about others than it us about us. At the heart of what it means to be Christian is to be a servant. In order to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you must serve until it hurts. Jesus says, “let the greatest one among you be a servant.” He shows what servant leadership looks like at the last supper with his disciples. He bends down and washes his disciples’ feet—the same disciples who would, days later, betray him and deny him; the same disciples who would be found hiding in a room instead of waiting at the tomb. These same disciples…Christ serves, and by doing so, he demonstrates to us the heartbeat of our ministry assignment on earth.

In that same book, Rick Warren argues, “the only really happy people are those who have learned to serve.” And I agree. But when is the last time you served others without expecting them to serve you? When is the last time you intentionally planned to volunteer at a local shelter, hospital or library to help those in need? Did it ever occur to you that you may be placed in the neighborhood you live in, or the job you work at, or the school you attend to serve people who don’t “look like” they need help?  As Christians, the question should never be “am I supposed to serve?” The question is always, “how am I supposed to serve today?”

In the two scriptures above, we see two different models of servant leadership. The first is a story Jesus tells about a Good Samaritan. This traveling outsider takes on the burden of patching up the injured man’s wombs, carrying him to the local inn, and paying for his recovery. The Good Samaritan is “all in.” He gives of himself in ways that will inconvenience him. He’s willing to go the furthest mile to show the kind of love that the Father demonstrated toward us when he gave his only begotten son, so that we could be free from sin.

The other text shows another style of servant leadership. Paul is on his way to prayer. He stops on his way to hear this lame man’s cry for help. Paul pauses long enough to have a conversation with someone. Commercial Break: are you in such a rush that you can’t pause to have a conversation? Paul doesn’t do what the Good Samaritan does, but he does do something! Listen: if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. But such as you have, give it, serve it, do it! A lot of us talk ourselves out of serving others because we don’t have the funds and we don’t think we have the time. But these two servants inconvenienced themselves to respond to a need. They were on their way to another destination, and stopped long enough to help someone out. If you’ve ever been on the side of the road in need of help, you really can’t afford to overlook people who need help.

Think about the manifold gifts God has given you. What can you do to help others, even if you can’t give them money? Don’t let your liabilities get in the way of your assets. Paul didn’t say, “I’m on my way to prayer, I will pray for you.” He used his power. He healed this man. His anointing was in healing. Your anointing may be in something else, but whatever it is, use the gift God gave you to serve someone in need.

Both stories teach us to pause and pay attention to the people “on the side of the road.” One man was injured; another was disabled. But how often do we pass people like this everyday? Not just when we are driving, but when we are working on our big project; or planning our family vacation. Are there injured souls and disabled hearts crossing paths with you, but you’re so focused on purpose that you are overlooking it? These two scriptures teach us that sometimes, we’ve got to serve the “Good Samaritan package.” That means, go all out and do whatever needs to be done. But there are also times when we need to be like Paul and discern what the real need is. Paul wasn’t broke I don’t think. But he knew this man needed to be healed from the crutches of his condition. The man asked for money because he didn’t know he qualified for a miracle. Paul had faith for him, and gave him what he truly needed in order to free himself from the crutches of poverty.

Why did God bless you to go to school? To free someone from the crutches of poverty. Why are you opening up a non-profit? To free someone from the crutches of poverty. Why has your life been so difficult? To free someone from the crutches of poverty. Real servant leaders never ask, “what will I get in return?” Instead, they conclude, “such as I have, I will give it to thee.”

For the rest of this 90 day challenge, make it your business to be the servant leader Christ has empowered you to be. As you serve…discern!

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Day 1 of 90 - Take God At His Word

Day 1 of 90: Take God at His Word.

Opening Song: days of Elijah by Pastor Charles Jenkins

Closing Song: Overcome by Tye Tribbett 

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 

One of my favorite preachers is Priscilla Shirer. I love the way she tells a story. God has anointed her to make parables out of every day life. A few weeks ago, she preached a life-changing sermon. She was talking about the children of Israel crossing over the Red Sea and the importance of standing still, seeing the salvation of God, having no fear, and learning to rest in the power of God. Priscilla’s word became flesh to me when she talked about an intern she used to travel with. On one occasion, her family and this intern departed from an airport that the intern had never been to. It was a large airport with 5 terminals, 25 gates each terminal. On some occasions, there was an A section at one gate and a B section at the same gate. So, they had to depart from terminal D gate 22 A. The intern stood in one line. Priscilla and her family stood in another. For some reason, Priscilla’s line was faster so she texted the intern “we will see you at gate 22A.” Minutes later, no intern. The plane begins to board. No intern. Now it was almost time to leave. The flight attendant calls the intern by name, but Priscilla is confused. The gate was only minutes away from where they checked in. What had happened to the intern?

At the last second, the intern ran into the plane looking flustered and disoriented. The intern explained that she saw the text 22A, but she thought Priscilla meant Terminal A, Gate 22. So she left terminal D, took a train around the entire airport; only to realize that when she got there, she was in the wrong place. So she got back on the train; traveled around the entire airport again, just to arrive back to the place she was in, in the first place. 

Priscilla’s husband looked at the intern and said, “You know, you could’ve saved yourself so much trouble if you had simply believed that what I wrote is what I meant.” Had the intern followed the clear instructions instead of rationalizing herself into a frenzy, she would have avoided so much stress.

How many of us have been that intern? We are too smart for our own good. We think God needs our help to translate what he says. We read His word, but form our own opinion about what it means. God is saying to us today, “Just take Me at My Word.” What God wrote is what God meant. According to Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. God’s words will never fail us or mislead us. He means what he says and He keeps his promises. If God says you are free, believe him! If God says your sins have been forgiven, believe him! If God says, “this choice does not please me,” don’t try to twist God’s arm. Take God at his word! There’s no need to reconfigure, redefine, or recontextualize. Some things are much simpler than we make it. When we finally decide to take God at his word, we will get to the right place, at the right time, without delay.