A Parable of Abundance

By Rev. Stephen M. McCrary

Now from our preschool days to our adulthood, from our Sunday school classes to our worship services, we have heard the story of David and Goliath. This is quite possibly one of the most recognized biblical story to saints and sinners alike. However, for God's children I see something a little different in this story.
I see ABUNDANCE!

And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a script; and his sling [was] in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. - 1 Samuel 17 We must understand in biblical numerics every number is significant. Now God being omniscient must have known it was going to take just one stone to kill this giant. Why did The Holy Spirit move on David to pick up five stones?

I'll tell you. God is an abundant God! God said since David had enough sense to pick up MORE THAN ENOUGH, I'll put my Spirit on just one of those five stones to kill that big joker. Guess what? David had now four left! Just one stone got Him the victory and recognition not only with The King of Kings, but the earthly king Saul!

Could it be that in our lives God only needs one of our stones? We can keep the other four! God says I only need just one stone to get you financially free, one stone to save that marriage, one stone to set your son and daughter on the right path! God says I only need one good stone to bring you lasting deliverance set you in your Divine destiny!

I want to ask what your giant is. What are you facing this holiday season when more people commit suicide and deal with depression than any other time in the year? What is it that thing the enemy is threatening to take into your 2011.

What is that giant that keeps you up and night and does not allow you to get rest? What is that thing that is causing so much frustration that you wish someone could hear you? Maybe you don't even want to say it, but God knows. I have come to tell you it is possible that just one stone out of your arsenal consumed with the power of The Holy Spirit on it, could kill that giant! By the way five is the number of grace.

God says all you need to kill that current giant you are facing is 1/5 of the grace you've already got! Swing that sling and let my Spirit get on the momentum. Slay that giant, cut his head off, and strut off walking and leaping and praising God with the four stones you still have! In the event another giant shows up. Use what you've got left!

God has given you abundant resounding victory! -- St. Louis American
(Link to original article)

Whatchu Gonna Do?

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these.  I’ve had one or two people ask me when I was going to submit another entry.  My goal, originally, was to write once a month.  Obviously, I’m not meeting that goal.  The system that I’ve been running on lately requires only that I write when there is strong inspiration or I feel like something needs to be addressed.  Much work need here.  Bear with me.

Anyhow, one of the things that have been heavy on my heart lately is men who don’t want to be men.  Let me clarify:  when I speak of men who don’t want to be men, I’m not saying that they are resisting the inherent genetic code that makes then males; that’s another discussion altogether.  What I’m speaking of are men who are actively resisting God’s call for us to step up to the plate and be the leaders that he has designed us to be.

I will admit myself that the responsibility that God has laid out for us in his Word is downright intimidating to me and often times I don’t even feel like I measure up to a tenth of it.  It’s daunting, but the reality is, I don’t think that God would ask us to do something that we couldn’t do or that he wouldn’t be willing to help us with.  It seems that the fundamental question here is, “Are we willing to let God lead us so that we can lead our families out of the moral Egypt that surrounds us daily?”

I am tired of hearing about my brothers who are caught up in the booby trap of pornography, pun intended.  I am tired of hearing about fathers who are more concerned with their portfolios, vehicles, and ESPN than with playing with their children.  I am tired of hearing about husbands who are more concerned with questing in Azeroth than with pursuing intimacy with the wives of their youth.  I feel violent towards those who have the audacity to raise their hand to any woman or any child and I have contempt for anyone who feels the need to emotionally harm their woman or children.

I am tired of seeing couples, young and old, living together in a “trial marriage.”  I am tired of seeing women have children outside of marital bonds.  I am sick and tired and tired of being sick and tired over seeing women raise whole families on their own or with very little assistance from the men who donated their gametes.  Not only that, but there are women who are letting these men live up under them and what they wind up with is another child in addition to the ones that they are currently juggling.  It seems to me like something is out of whack.

This is what happens when we try to do things our way.

I’m livid, so I can’t imagine what God must feel.  We could have it so much better if we would stop trying to run his show.  We need to take this for exactly what it is: the Enemy is trying to infiltrate our homes so that he can break us down, family by family.  My first pastor told our congregation that the Enemy will start at the household of faith meaning this:  the Enemy is going to pull all the stops to bring down the Church.  The world is not his concern because as long as they believe that they are fine, he has them already.

I’m going to step up to plate in admitting that I haven’t been doing all that I can to fulfill my responsibility as a man.  I am hoping that others follow suit.  However, this isn’t enough.  In addition to this confession, we must all seek to discover what it is that we could be doing in our marriages, our families, our church homes, our communities, our workplaces, our neighborhoods to step up to the plate and exhibit God’s love through our actions.

So, whatchu gonna do?

Handle With Care

There's a show on VH1 called "Tough Love." When the show originally aired, the premise was about matchmaker Steve Ward whipping naive single ladies into gear in his Tough Love "boot camp." Recently, VH1 has made an edition of Tough Love tailored specifically for couples who are on the brink of separation and need to make a decision to either work out their problems or to call it quits. Within minutes of watching the show, it doesn't take long to see how broken these individuals are and how much you can hurt someone's heart.

On the couples' version of the television show, there was one couple in particular where the guy had been seeing someone else while he and his girlfriend were taking a break. However, he kept this from her and would harp on her for the text messages she would receive on her phone from other men when they got back together. Not only this, but he had a ton of other women's phone numbers and he stayed in contact with some of these women throughout the duration of their time together.

Once Steve Ward got to the bottom of this, the truth came out and he had no choice but to come forward about the girl that he was seeing. You could witness all of the hurt coming out of his girlfriend's face. For eight years, she gave him her life and he chose to thank her by having his cake and eating it, that is until Steve shoved it in his face by forcing the two to take a break. Needless to say, the young woman absolutely agreed with Steve's decision.

There is probably nothing more fragile, and at times, more calloused than the human heart. It takes a lot to give another person access to your heart, especially someone who you are just getting to know. Sometimes that individual mishandles it and then you are reticent towards trusting them or any other person for that matter. They forget to handle with care and instantly an alarm goes off that warns you of ever trusting that person again.

My pastor once put it to me this way: The heart is like a flower. The more you treat it with love and respect, the more it's going to blossom. However, if you bombard that flower with abuse, disapproval, and selfishness, that flower is going to wilt. You have to handle it with care because once you mistreat it, it going to be difficult for that heart to let you back in.

This isn't restricted to dating relationships, however. Sometimes, the original place warzone for the heart is at home, and many have "purple hearts." Although they try to convince you otherwise, parents are not infallible and often times they are still trying to heal from wounds that their parents gave them. Sometimes children receive harsh treatment that's seeded in those dark pasts. It's a generational curse and the only thing that can fix it is the peace and joy that could only result from Godly love. Matters are only made worse when children do not see this type of love exhibited in the home. It makes them feel less secure in themselves and is often the root to why they misbehave.

The point here is that you have to be constantly mindful about the impact that you could be making on someone's soul. In case you didn't know, the heart is where the soul is. It's the center of who you are. It's were emotions originate and cognition takes place. If you lay decay where someone's life-force is, obviously they will wilt. Place termites into a vase of flowers and see that they won't dispose of them. However, if you want to see others thrive, be a light that generates the process of human photosynthesis and watch that person grow.

During the couple's forced break, both had a glimpse of what life would be like without each other. The girlfriend enjoyed the time apart and it put her in a better headspace. The boyfriend was devastated. He felt really bad about what he done and he wanted to make it right. Fortunately for him, she was willing to let him back end after the show stopped filming. Fortunately for him, she did not cement her heart closed. During the end of the season special, he proposed to her, and as of now, they will be getting married.

Have you ever received a package from UPS or FedEx and writings on the box warn you to handle the parcel with care? Although the human heart doesn't come with instructions, you still have to treat it like the tender component that it is. Handle with care.

You Complete Me

Nothing is more puzzling than trying figure out why people do what they do. However, it is my belief and opinion that we do many of the things we do because we seek completion. For whatever reason, we do not know real fulfillment, no matter how many cars we own, no matter how big our houses are, no matter how many people we sleep with, no matter how many substances we introduce into our bloodstream. It still doesn't work.

So we turn to companionship. We start the search for our "soul mate," that very special person who is supposed to come into your life and make you feel whole, that person you are suppose to live your "happily ever after" with. They will bring satisfaction unlike any you have ever had in your life.

We spread our feathers so that we can catch someone's eye. Maybe after a word or two, you two decide to carry on the conversation. The conversation leads to an exchanging of numbers. An exchanging of numbers leads to phone conversations. Phone conversations lead to that counterfeit intimacy known as dating.

I may sound bitter about dating to you, but understand, I don't hate dating. I just think that dating is typically done improperly. Even I'm guilty of that. Dating doesn't give you the type of revelation that marriage does. With dating, you put your best face forward. You don't want the other person to know the real you for the fear that they may not like the real you and they will move onto someone else.

We humans do the strangest things when we become afraid. (Let it marinate.)

One of the main reasons people date is so that they can get a good idea of what's out there. They want to see if there is someone out there that matches the qualifications of their ideal mate. Problem. Often times we want what is going to bring us satisfaction. It's the pleasure principle; we try to avoid pain at all costs. What do we need God for if we are going to tell him who he should pair us with?

It is my belief that God, when he wills to, pairs us with someone who is going to challenge us to love to the point of risking our own satisfaction. Many times, the things we think will make us happier we often don't need. When we date, we feed the notion that people were created to bring us satisfaction. We miss the point of the design.

I think it's evident that humans weren't created to fulfill each other. We are trying to stuff carnal beings into a God-sized hole in our hearts. We put the pressure on individuals to fill God's shoes and to bring us the type of peace and joy that only he can provide. Dating isn't the only place that this happens, but it's one of the biggest and it often times leads to negative outcomes such as physical, emotional, and substance abuse, unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, murder, promiscuity, and the list goes on.

I know some of my brothers and sisters out there are already in relationships or wish to be in relationships with the intent of marriage. I'm not condemning this. However, it's more difficult for believers to date because of society pressuring us to be hedonistic and find pleasure in the things we do. There's also the risk of catching the suspicious looks from believers and non-believers alike for entering into romantic relationships. We get scrutiny from all angles.

At the heart of it, I believe we need to question ourselves when we do things. If we are honest with ourselves, I think that some of the bad decisions we make can be avoided. Use Godly knowledge and wisdom to navigate your walk in the wilderness of human relationships. A heart is a terrible thing to waste, especially when there is a God who wants live in it permanently.

Steppin’ Out

This is going to be purely opinionated, so I am apologizing ahead of time for anything that may offend you.

John F. Kennedy. Bill Clinton. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Tiger Woods?

So, yeah, I guess you could say that politicians have a bad rep for stepping out on their wives, but when an upstanding gentleman such as Tiger Woods gets out of line, you have to wonder, "What is going on?"

I sit at home watching the news on TV and I see all of these powerful and influential men cheating on their wives and tarnishing their reputations. Then I look at my wife and I think to myself, "Is there any way some bimbo could successfully pull me away from her?"

Well, mostly if I let it happen. But see here's the thing, that bimbo's success could be fueled by my wife's failure to make me feel secure in our relationship.

I saw an episode of WifeSwap (I'm still not quite sure how I feel about that show) a while ago. In the episode, a wife, who was also a mother, pulled herself away from her husband and her kids to play a video game on her computer. She would literally spend all day and all night playing this game and ignoring her family.

The husband tried to keep a well of emotions from swelling when he revisited the times when she actually spent time with the family. That was all they really wanted of her.

So what happened? The husband got pulled by a bimbo. You don't have to leave home to cheat on somebody.

I don't know if women realize it, but it's possible to cheat on a man, not necessarily with another man, but with your career, your kids, your friends, your family, your fantasies, pretty much anything that takes you away from your husband mentally, emotionally, and even physically.

I realize that I'm not a marriage counselor, but I would bet any amount of money that Elin pulled away from Tiger in some type of way.

Now, understand, I'm not at all defending Tiger & Co. because they still shouldn't have done what they did. However, I don't think that women should be letting themselves off of the hook.

You don't have to enter someone's body, or let them enter yours to cheat. The moment you seek another source for something your spouse was mandated and has agreed to supply you, you're stepping out.

Maybe it's just me, but there definitely seems like a double standard here because everyone's ready to jump men when they sleep around, but the women who abandon them get off scotch free.

As for the fellas, don't desire unrealistic expectations of the woman you love. Many already feel inferior thanks to the images the media feeds them daily about how they should look and act.

We are supposed to be gentle and understanding with the wives of our youth, not holding auditions in our homes. If our wives wanted to be Penthouse girls, they probably wouldn't have married us. If any of them did, it wouldn't be long for any of us to realize that's not what we want. Do we really want them to stoop to that level?

Now, as a man, I am visual and I don't have an issue with wives seductively displaying themselves to their husbands. But as guys, we have to make the decision to abandon any other picturesque beauty other than our wives. We need to be satisfied with what we have because we're blessed in more ways than one (even though we may seem cursed, sometimes).

Threats to oneness lurk around at every corner. The enemy is waiting for us to crack open doors so that he can try to get a foot in. If he can get a foot in, he'll try to get a leg in. Before you know it, he'll be cleaning out your refrigerator, literally.

Let's make sure he's the one stepping out and not us.

Represent That

I know exactly what you are doing, when people are watching you and when they're not. And although you aren't against me, you're not really for me either. You're in the middle. You're wishy-washy and I can't really tell if you love me. I wish you were on fire for me so that your fervor would become contagious. I would even be OK if you weren't on fire for me. I would at least be able to convince you otherwise. So, because you're neither, I don't really want to have anything to do with you. You have your riches and now you don't think you need me, but you don't even realize how you need me now more than ever. I wish you would let me give you real treasure, and let me cover your shame, and let me show you the truth. I'm only telling you this because I love you. I always call and you never answer. I will keep calling until you answer. If you let me in, we could be together for eternity. But it's totally up to you.

Although that's not a direct quote, that pretty much sums up what Jesus said to the church of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:14-22. What is the church of the Laodiceans? Glad you asked.

Laodicea was an ancient metropolis that resided in the village of Eski Hissar which is in Turkey. During the days of the early church, it was one of the seven seats of Christianity. But as the young people say, they fell off. Way off. This is evident in the reprimand that Jesus gave them in Revelation. He had nothing good to say about them, at all.

If you have read Revelation, you will see that towards the beginning of the book, Jesus addresses the seven churches of Asia Minor, the church of the Laodiceans being one of them. Jesus had at least one good thing to say about each of them, except the Laodicean church.

To some biblical scholars, the seven churches mentioned in Revelation symbolize seven church ages from the beginning of Christianity to the rapture of the Church. We are presently in the church age that some believe was symbolized by the Laodicean church, the church that will see the Rapture.

This would mean that if you considered yourself to be a part of the Church, the Ecclesia, the Body of Christ, Christ's bride, he's not very satisfied with us at the moment. It would break my heart if my wife said to me what Christ said to the Laodicean church. But that's only because I love her. If I didn't love her, I wouldn't care one way or another. So would you say that you love Christ? If you did, wouldn't you try to do better? I know that I would.

If you read the passage from Revelation 3:14, you will see that in a nutshell, Jesus is criticizing us, the Church, for turning away from him. Some of you may be saying that you haven't turned away from him, and glory to be to God if you can honestly say that. But what about your brother or sister in Christ? Have they turned away? Have you corrected them in love? If one of us is falling, we are all falling and coming short of the glory. We are our brother's (and sister's) keeper.

If you consider yourself to be the epitome of everything a Christian should be, that's nice. However, reality holds that it's really not like that for any of us. Because we live with that imperfection working against us, we already have our work cut out as far as trying to reel in non-believers. Why make that worse by not monitoring yourself around those who make be weaker Christians or not Christians at all?

You may not realize this, but as Christians, we are under constant scrutiny from those who wish not to accept the truth that the Lord has given us. We are walking Bibles to those who may not ever pick up one. We are little Gs for those who cannot stand in the presence of the Lord. We are ambassadors to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ask yourself this, "If God was a president, and I was his ambassador to, say, the United States, would he be able to say I represent his nation well?" I'm pretty sure that if Obama needed to send an ambassador to Iran, he wouldn't pick some trash-talking, racist redneck who inhales beer and refers to every person of Middle Eastern decent as A-Rabs. That's real.

John 15:8 NIV says "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." It is important that we rep God to the fullest.

That's the whole point to our existence. Shocking, right? That's the real reason why so many fall into deep depression. They do everything they can to resist the true purpose of their existence. They have sex with whoever they want to. They go through drugs like a Walgreens. They chase Bentleys and diamonds and mansions. Then they curse God to his face when they realize how unhappy and unsatisfying their lives are. But those who seek the will of God find that their lives are very fulfilling.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 NIV

It's simple. We just need make sure that we are representing our King in a way that will make others fall in love with him. God isn't going to seem so appealing if we make our spiritual walks look like hoaxes. Keep it real.

J Dys

DYN-O-MIGHT!!!

This is a difficult one here. I wanna apologize to those who have been following this blog. Quite a bit has been going on in my life. I had to quiet down a bit to let the Lord talk to me and now I wanna share some of what he's been saying…

This may be a bit of a stretch here but be patient with me.

I'm an old person in a young person's body. So there's no surprise that I enjoy watching "Good Times." I especially enjoy singing the "Good Times" theme song Dave Chappelle style. For those familiar with the show, you will know who I'm talking about when I refer to "Kid Dynamite." Those who don't, you may want to Tivo TV Land sometime soon.

So "Kid Dynamite" is J.J.'s alter ego and seems to rise up whenever his head gets bigger, if that's even possible.

You may be asking yourself, "Where exactly is he going with this?" I promise you I'm going somewhere. Follow me.

We have a problem in the body concerning our bodies. I repeat, WE have a PROBLEM in the BODY concerning our BODIES. I may have lost some of you already so pick up your compasses and turn to 1st Corinthians 6:12-20 KJV.

12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. 15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

I got some news for you single folks out there who are saved: You're wedded. When you called on the Lord to be your Savior and you prayed the prayer of a sinner, you were basically accepting Jesus' marriage proposal. I guarantee you, you'll have a happily every after with him.

To be totally frank, we are not behaving the way that a virtuous bride should. OK, well, I'll speak for myself because I can't speak for everyone else.

From a very young age, I showed signs of a healthy heterosexual male. I was very much into girls. I didn't know why, but it just came naturally for me. Then a little thing called puberty turned my world upside down. Hormones were sending my brain signals that my body responded to and I had no idea what was going on. All I knew was that I was going to have to find what business birds had with bees.

Needless to say, I still don't have a clue as to why birds have been tagged alongside bees, but I have a much better grasp on how I function biologically. I'm a male. That pretty much explains the bulk of it.

I mean it seems harmless when it's stated that way, but there is something more serious that lurks under the surface. As Christians we are always told to kill off the natural man because the natural man doesn't want to follow the Lord. The problem is that a lot of us live too comfortably with the natural man and will not kill him dead, as some like to say.

I was under the impression that others, females to be exact, were the blame for the making the natural man come out of me. Then I had to reexamine and realize I was the blame.

As an artist, I am naturally visual. A lot of what I interpret about the world comes from my ocular senses. Factor in my maleness and what you get is someone with a full blown lust problem. I guess it would have been safe to say that I didn't kill the natural man dead.

You can downplay lust as much as you want to, but I am going to say it is an issue, especially in the body of Christ. So even if you are not the one doing it, you are your brother's (and sister's) keeper.

I basically define lust as desiring that which does not belong to you, including people. When you lust after someone, you basically cop feels with your eyes, nearly putting your brand on them as if you can claim them. That one was mainly for the fellas because you all know how it goes (and you do). Not saying that females don't do this as well, but it seems to plague guys more. Hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes and if I am, well, I'm not apologizing.

Essentially what I am saying is that if you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you consider yourself to be the Church aka the Bride of Christ aka the BODY, don't defile your temple, your body, or the temple of your brother or sister in Christ, by committing fornication mentally or physically especially with harlots aka the World aka Satan's kids. And if you want to date your brother or sister in Christ, well, that's another blog, but if you so chose, treat them like they are your brother and sister (and they are).

The bottom line is that you and your spiritual siblings are property of the Lord and the Lord want us to remain pure in his eyes. Don't do anything against your body and the Body. We are supposed to be moving as one unit. (Read 1st Corinthians 12:25-26) How can we move if we are ailed with our carnal desires?

A simple device that I use whenever I feel erotic thoughts begin to erupt about anyone other than the woman I was given is "T.N.T." (Take No Thought). This way, you can blow the enemy right out of your head. This takes practice and you may not always get it right, but the fact that you want to make a change is a big deal. Don't let the enemy discourage you. Use your (in J.J. Walker's voice) DY-NO-MIGHT and blow the enemy to smithereens.