Breakfast For Your Soul

Friday, August 21, 2009

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is, He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the booty, He handed it all out in gifts to the people. Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

[Ephesians 4: 4-13 The Message Bible]

“B  U”

Happy Friday!

The “Mona Lisa” is priceless.  I’ve read that prior to its 1962-1963 tour, it was estimated for insurance purposes at $100 million.  According to an official at the Louvre, “it is kept in a special sealed box to protect it from vibrations, heat and humidity. It is protected by thick glass resistant to bullets and any other object hurled at it” (a lady threw a coffee mug at it not too earlier this month).  That is how we treat something of value.  Question.  What is more valuable than a person made in the image and after the likeness of our Almighty Creator?  Each person is unique.  No two people share the same fingerprints.  Two people may look identical, but they are different.  I know a lady who is a twin.  She and her sister look so much alike it is eerie.  They have the same style of dress, same smile, same height, same face, same hair, same facial expressions, same sense of humor.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  People call them the ‘double-mint’ twins. Even though they look alike, they are two different people.  Each one is unique in her own way.  We are not called to be ‘identical twin’ Christians.  Our goal is to be more like Christ, not more like brother/sister so-n-so.  We may admire the attributes, and character traits of an admirable person, but if I’m trying to be them, who is being me.  There will be a void and something will be left undone.  We all learn from one another, but then we take what we have learned and filter it through the gifts, talents and abilities that God has placed in our spirit and run with it.  On December 17, 1903 Orville Wright took flight in “The Flyer”.  It was the first successful, powered, piloted flight in history and it was air-born a grand total of 12-seconds.   Look at how far aviation has come.  What if no one ever tried to improve that first craft?  The Wright Brothers started taking passengers on ’flights’ with them May 14, 1908.  Here we are in the 21st century flying all over the world in a matter of hours without much thought (except how expensive it is becoming).  Know your true worth.  You are priceless.  A limited edition.  There has never been a ‘you’ in the whole history of mankind and there will never be another after you.  That is another reason why the enemy of our souls hates you.  He doesn’t know your purpose.  He doesn’t know the secret weapons that God has invested in your spirit.  Leonardo DiVinci is gone, but Mona is still here.  There were many artists alive during his time, but his work is head and shoulders above theirs.  His style is unique to him.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Billy & Ruth Graham, Katherine Kulman, Thomas Dorsey, Pop Winans, Timothy Wright, Mahalia Jackson, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans… Reginald Lee Hockaday (my father), Elnora Curry McCloud (my grandmother), among countless others have all gone on.  However, each and every one of these precious people left something special behind for us.  It is up to us to take what they left us and build on it for the generation that is following us.  In my case, it is music and words.  My father was a musician and even though I was very little, all of my memories of him were surrounded in music.  My grandmother was the greatest story-teller of all time.  She could spin a tale that would have you believing Bigfoot was not only real, but that he originated in southern Maryland!  Spielberg could have used my Grandma.  She had no formal education because she had to work to help take care of her family, yet words were very important to her and she taught herself to read and write.  Not only that, but she had wisdom and boldness.  In the body of Christ, we need everybody at their posts.  We need preachers, writers, musicians, artists, teachers, speakers, athletes, politicians(), dancers, inventors, scientists.. etc.. etc… etc.  We need folks in every industry, every field of study perfecting their craft and utilizing their skills.  The bible tells us that “every joint supplies”.  When we are doing what we do, we all fit together and much is accomplished.  Every skill set we have been given is for the up-building of the Kingdom of God… God calls them “gifts”.

 

…. Family, that is Good News!

 

U Blessed!

Have A Fabulous Day and a Wonderful Weekend

Regina

 

Thursday, May 26, 2009

After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses My servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

[Joshua 1:1-9]

What Did He Say?

Good Morning Beloved,

God gave Joshua very specific directions didn’t He?  It would be nice if we received direct, step by step instructions from God Himself.  It would be nearly impossible to mess up… right? ()  I love the confirmation Joshua received.  Moses lead a multitude of people out of bondage.  He was their leader for many, many years and they knew that God spoke with him Face to face.  Joshua had assisted Moses for a long time.  He probably didn’t have a clue that God was prepping him to lead these people into the promised land.  He was content to serve Moses and when Moses died… well those were some pretty big shoes to fill.  God had other plans.  He gave Joshua his own ‘shoes’.  I don’t know about you, but I can get really comfortable serving in the ministry of others.  It excites me to see my brothers and sisters in Christ walking in their vision.  I love the theater and when someone asks me to participate I’m there.  However one of my close sisters-in-Christ challenged me one day.  I was telling her about the projects I was working on (three during the same time period), and she quietly said, ‘uh-huh, but what are you doing with the ministry God gave you?’  OUCH! (Thanks Denise) …. That was months ago, but her words grabbed my heart and have not let go.  She was the perfect one to minister to me about this, because she too is a person who loves to push others in ministry. She is always ready to lend a hand wherever she can, but still manages to keep her focus on the vision that God has placed in her care.  She has had her share of Moses-like mentors, and now she is a leader herself in the “Joshua generation”.  She has watched my theater ministry from the very beginning in the ’90′s.  We have spent countless hours talking about what God has placed in our hearts.  How to use what He has given us to uplift the Kingdom.  I believe she feels she has invested too much time and energy in me, to see me put Regal One Productions, Inc. on the shelf, and let it collect dust like a forgotten ‘what-not’.  I am blessed to be encircled by people who are moving forward in what God has placed in their heart.  Am I saying not to work with other ministries?  NOPE.  We all need each other.  I already have projects on my calendar that I can’t wait to dig into.  What I am saying is that we should not use helping others as an excuse not to do what God has told us to do because we’re afraid to do it (long run-on sentence intentional).  What I’m hearing in my spirit, is what God challenged Joshua… ‘Be strong and do it’…. well alrighty then ….

That Fam is Good News!

U Blessed

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina

 ”Anointed”, Eddie Neblett

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKNUXQYGGg

“God Is Here”, performed by K&K Mime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHUwZXnjAtc

“Breakthrough”, Israel & New Breed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVbsab0j3vE

“Nothing To Lose”, The Clark Sisters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4GM–pJr6w

Faith Fuel -Romans 10:17 5 of 123   We need to have faith in God to get us down the highway of life, to the destination that God has planned for us. The Word of God is the fuel that keeps our faith moving along.

Copyright 2009 Michael D. Waters