HERE WE GO AGAIN!

  2011 Grammy Awards Commercial feat. Eminem

Well I'm back with another music orientated blog that will hopefully continue to shed some light on the evils of this secular music industry that so many have to come to embrace. This post is dedicated to the 2011 Grammy's of which I did not personally see, but saw many tweets and heard comments made about such artist as Lady GaGa, Rhianna, Eminem, Dr. Dre and many others. In addition to comments made about the performances themselves, my attention was drawn to one of the several video commercials that begin airing in late January and the early part of February advertising the upcoming Grammy Awards Show. The above video features Eminem and what appears to be the voice of actor Samuel L. Jackson. Take a minute or so to check out the video as we plan to discuss it in greater detail in this blog.

We note Samuel L. Jackson's narrative over the various images during the commercial. His exacts words were:

"Music is a last chance, 
last hope, the last shot. 
Music is turning demons into demos; 
into multi-platinum monsters. 
Music is battling through the haze, 
the rage and the doubt, 
for yourself, 
for your children, 
for the world. 
Up on it's feet. Hollering!" 

Concluding with Eminem's voice, "I'm not afraid to take a stand"

Here is yet another example of the boldness that our adversary the devil is demonstrating in secular music's latest offering advertising this year Grammy Awards. The lyrics themselves represent a very bold, clear and concise message that is no longer being hidden beneath backward-masked records and other subliminal messages. This latest commercial is telling us very clearly the objectives of the music industry completely and wholeheartedly, "turning demons into demons into multi-platinum monsters." What a very disturbing an alarming message that is being sent not over the back channels of the blogosphere or the Youtube Channels of Christian Activists unmasking the hidden secrets of the industry, but this message was being broadcasts on television networks across the globe. I think it's interesting the commercial's use of the word "demons," especially given how vehemently Hip Hop artists and activists declare that their music is not "demonic." And, that those who criticize the music on this basis are just conspiracy theorist. But, here we have prima facia evidence of its nature being broadcast to billions and billions of people.

"Turning demons into demos," what does that mean? What is a demo? Webster defines a demo as; to show by reasoning, to prove. Demo; short for demonstrate or demonstration, is further defined as the act or process, or means of making evident or proving.  But, what are we proving or making evident? It seems very clear to me that what is being said is that the infiltration of the demonic forces behind music is now moving to the forefront. It is no longer being covered up, but it is now going to become apart of our marketing campaign for the future. And, this is scary, because as we said in earlier blog posts; "Signs of the Times", "Is This What Passes For Music Nowadays" & "A Woman's Worth" that the closer we get to Jesus Christ return the bolder and more public the devil's plan is going to become. And, we are seeing it unfold right before our very eyes. And, Mr. Jackson's narrative continues with suggesting that because of music's new marketing campaign, these "demos" are now "turning into multi-platinum monsters," thusly illustrating the overall mass appeal as well the world's appetite for this brand of music.  The narrative continues to suggests that this brand of music will survive the martyrdom of criticism and controversy, and will eventually overcome for the sake of it's massive following.  It cannot be stopped. Interestingly enough the commercial concludes with the chorus of Eminem's song, "I'm Not Afraid" continuing with the theme of music's uprising. What an interesting way to advertise a music awards show, I wonder who is responsible for such creativity? Well, I bet its got something to do with the demons, but you figure it out for yourself.

Below are two more examples of the boldness that the music industry seems to possess in these last and evil days. During last week's Super Bowl Half Time performance by the "Black Eyed Peas" we noticed several interesting things we wanted to share with you in this blog post. An excerpt of this video is posted below;

    The Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Half Time Performance

One of the first things we noticed during this performance was the arrangement of the stage into a giant "6," with the inside portion of the "6" resembling an "Eye."  Two very key occult symbols used in music videos and other imagery to depict the "Mark of the Beast - 666" as well as the "All Seeing Eye" which we've discussed in some of our earlier blog post as well.  We also notice the futuristic nature of the performance as well. Even though, the Black Eyed Peas have been known for their outlandish and futuristic costumes, this seems to be a continuation of their brand of music. Notice the robotic style of their costumes, this has often been related to the Illuminati agenda of the music industry. The use  of "Auto Tune" and the Robot costumes are apart of a intertwining of Technology and Music, and one that seems to be embraced by a lot of artists in the music industry.  Humans appearing to be more robotic, as well as Robots appearing to be more human. The coupling or pairing of this relationship is done in order to desensitized the masses towards the continued infiltration and eventual control that technology is going to have in the coming years under the Illuminati agenda. Food for thought.

Finally, we wanted to make you aware of yet another example of the musical agenda of the devil in Lady Gaga's newest song and the title track of her newest album; "Born This Way." The lyrics are listed below.

I WAS BORN THIS WAY

-LADY GAGA

It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M

Just put your paws up

'Cause you were Born This Way, baby

My mama told me when I was young

We are all born superstars

She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on 

In the glass of her boudior

There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are'

She said, "Cause he made you perfect babe"

"So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far,

listen to me when I say"

I'm beautiful in my way

'Cause God makes no mistakes

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

Don't hide yourself in regret, 

Just love yourself and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

Ooo, there ain't no other way

Baby, I was Born This Way

Baby, I was Born This Way

Ooo, there ain't other way

Baby, I was Born-

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

Don't be a drag, be a queen

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Don't be!

Give yourself prudence

And love your friends

Subway kid, rejoice your truth

In the religion of the insecure

I must be myself, respect my mouth

A different lover is not a sin

Believe capital H-I-M (Hey, Hey, Hey)

I love my life, I love this record and 

Mi amore vole fe yah ( Love needs faith)

I'm beautiful in my way,

'Cause God makes no mistakes

I was Born This Way

Don't hide yourself in regret

Just love yourself and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

Ooo, there ain't no other way

Baby, I was Born This Way

Baby, I was Born This Way

Baby, I was Born-

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

Don't be a drag, be a queen

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Don't be!

Don't be drag, just be a queen

Whether you're broke or evergreen

You're black, white, beige, chola descent

You're lebanese, you're orient

Left you outcast, bullied or teased

Rejoice and love yourself today

'Cause baby, you were Born This Way

No matter gay, straight or bi

Lesbian, transgendered life

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born to survive

No matter black, white or beige

Chola or orient made

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born to be brave

I'm beautiful in my own way

'Cause God makes no mistakes

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

Don't hide yourself in regret

Just love yourself and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was Born This Way

I was Born This Way, hey!

I was Born This Way, hey1
I'm on the right track, baby

In this song, Lady Gaga is now attempting to incorporate Almighty God into her sess pool of sin, which she so proudly promotes in her growing catalog of songs, which also seems to represent in large part the alternative lifestyles of the lesbian and the homosexual. By saying "I was born this way,"  implicitly and explicitly suggest that God is the one responsible for the person that I am and have become. He is responsible for the sinful lifestyle I have embraced. In this song, she says, "don't be a drag, be a queen." Celebrate your debauchery, embrace of your homosexual identity, after all God made you this way.  She says, "I'm beautiful, in my own way. God makes no mistakes, I'm on the right track. Cuz I was born this way." This song is an obvious retort to the Christian belief that homosexuality and lesbianism are not a result of a scientific chemical imbalance, or a missing chromosome in the human DNA.  And, that these alternative lifestyles are a direct result of the sin that entered in the world in the Garden of Eden by the disobedience of Adam & Eve. The sin that followed their disobedience towards God is solely responsible for the advent of homosexuality in our world. God's inclusion in the song subsequently makes homosexuality and lesbianism alright with Him and if it is alright with God it should then be alright with everybody else. Not so!  However, we must remember that our thoughts and opinions does not and will not ever change God's Word.  God loves the sinner, but He hates the sin.  He is the only one that is able to differentiate the sin from the sinner and love the homosexual and yet hate homosexuality; love the murderer but hate murder; love the fornicator but hate fornication. These were sins that He went to the cross and died for in order to reconcile mankind back to Himself. And, instead of us embracing Jesus Christ reconciliation, many have chosen to falsely indict Him as being an un-loving and intolerant God because He considers homosexuality a sin. What we must understand is that God's love for the sinner; which includes all forms of sin (i.e. homosexual, murder, fornicator, liar, etc), does not change His perspective on sin. For the Bible says in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is enternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." So, God loving the sinner will never change the consequence nor the penalty for sin. However, in order to truly benefit from God's love, it would behove us to truly get to know the God that loved us enough to die for us. And, in finding out why He died we will also discover why we should live for Him.  Living for Him means doing everything you can to please Him. Therein lies the recipe for eternal life.

It is our prayer that the contents of this blog are read with both an open heart as well as an open mind. I, like many Christians across the world have love for all of God's children, and that includes those with differing lifestyles and opinions. But, as it is our objective in this blog as well as our ministry - www.michaelnimmons.com, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we we must continue to speak as an oracle of God and say what thus saith the Lord. I welcome your comments as well as your criticisms. Just know that this blog is not written out of hatred for anyone but the devil; who is the primary adversary of God's people. 

We solicit your prayers as we continue to do God's will!

Be Blessed!

Pastor Nimmons

www.michaelnimmons.com

"Hail to the Chief"

Watching the State of the Union Address is one of my favorite things to do as a student of history and lover of the pomp and circumstance that is as much apart of our government as the address-itself. I enjoy watching the spectacle that is the "State of the Union Address;" the attention to detail, the adherence to protocol and tradition that was established centuries ago. I take special pride in watching our country's first African American President-Barack Obama, ascend to the platform of this historic moment and deliver what has become our nation's most popular annual address. It seems just like yesterday that Pres. Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States just two years ago. And, as we are just days away from "Black History Month," where we collectively celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of some of the best and brightest African Americans our country has ever seen, we take pride in moments like this because it seems like  our greatest dreams and aspirations as a people have become a reality.  Watching Pres. Obama walked down the aisle behind such leaders as Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, I'm reminded of the immense struggles of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the greatest leader of the movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr articulate the merits of his dream.

 But, as much pride and optimism we may have in Pres. Obama, our ultimate faith and our trust cannot reside with him or with any man for that manner. Our faith and our trust must be in God and God alone. He is the only one that deserves our faith and utmost devotion. It is easy for us to get caught up in the loftiness of the position that our leaders hold, and the promises they make. But, at the end of the day their word can only go as far as their own humanity will allow. Many of us our guilty of making gods out of men by putting our faith and confidence in them, only to be let down time and time again. When are we going to learn that the wisest man to ever live was right when he wrote in the book of Proverbs the 3rd chapter and verse 5, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding, but in all of your ways acknowledge him. And, he shall direct your path." As wealthy and powerful as King Solomon was, even he understood at a very early age that wisdom must be the principle thing.

King Solomon's story is probably one of the most inspiring stories in the Bible. Here you have a young man becoming the successor to that of his father King David. He already had the loftiness of the position as King, but he realized that if he did not have the wisdom of God, he would ultimately fail. King Solomon was visited by God one evening, and was asked the question that every single person alive would love to hear from God, "what would you have me do for you?" And, Solomon could have asked for any number of things, fame, wealth, posterity, along with a whole host of other things. But, instead Solomon asked God for wisdom. He asked God for wisdom, "to go in and out amongst your people." And, God was so impressed with Solomon's request that not only did he give him what he asked for, but He also gave Solomon what he didnt' asked for as well. In fact, God told Solomon that he was going to be the richest, and most famous King to ever live, simply because he asked for the wisdom of God to handle the loftiness of this position of being King over Israel.

In these times of distress, these times of despair, these difficult days that Dr. King spoke of over 40yrs ago, we must put our utmost faith and trust in the only one truly qualified to be called the "Commander in Chief." Jesus Christ is the only one duly qualified to be the "Head of our lives." And, He should be the one that we defer to in times of plenty as well as in times of need. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus instructs us to "seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you."  If Jesus Christ is not your "Commander in Chief," if He is not number 1 on your list of priorities, then you must ask yourself who is the leader of your life? Who are you looking to in your times of stress, in your times of despair? Who is leading your life? Is your faith tied to the politicians of this nation that say one thing today and something else tomorrow? If your commitment is tied to someone that has continuously let you down?  Or, maybe you are the one leading your life. "You are the master of your fate, you are the captain of your soul."  If any of this is true, then I can understand why nothing in your life is making any sense. Today, we must elevate our faith to someone that is incapable of failure; to someone that is incapable of error; to someone that is incapable of mistakes; and that someone is our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

We are not saying that Pres. Obama has not sought out the wisdom of God as King Solomon did in the scriptures, we certainly pray that he has. But, the goal of our writing today is to unequivocally proclaim and declare who the real Chief of not just the United States of America is, but the Chief of the entire world is and that is God-Himself. Isaiah said it very clearly and plainly in the 46th chapter of the book that bears his name, "For I am God and there is none else, I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning , and from ancient times those things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure." Our God is the only one that deserves our un-divided attention. Our God is the only one worthy to be proclaimed, "Commander in Chief!" 

God is my Chief, my question to you is simple, is He yours?

Your thoughts?

Be Blessed!

Pastor Nimmons
http://www.michaelnimmons.com/

A TRIBUTE TO DR. KING

Check out our tribute to one of the greatest inspirations in my life; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Enjoy this day! Post your thoughts on our tribute!

Pastor Nimmons

The Cross Over



Cross Over Move In Basketball



 The Cross Over move in basketball is a very powerful and even pivotal move in the game if you know what you doing. In the game of basketball is a move that can literally fool a defender into thinking you're going one way and you cross over and go in an entirely different direction. Some of the games greatest players past & even present have become masters of this move. From Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant from Allen Iverson to Rajan Rondo, these players games are determined many times by the effectiveness of this move. But, this blog post is not about the explosiveness of this move nor is it a tribute to the games greatest players. But, today's blog is a spiritual insight into an otherwise very natural terminology.

On last evening as I was worshipping and fellowshiping at our church's New Year's Eve Service; Greater Grace Temple in Detroit where Bishop Charles H. Ellis III is the pastor, God dropped this thought in my mind as both a message as well as blog idea that I just had to post. (Actually my blogs are usually where some of my sermons are birthed.) But, this was one that I was truly excited to write about, because there are so many great spiritual treasures that God has laid on our heart to share as we have made the transition from 2010 to 2011. And, there are 3 spiritual insights I would like to share with you taken from one of  greatest stories in biblical history The Children of Israel crossing over the Red Sea.



                          Watch the Story of Moses

In Exodus the 14th chpt and vs 13 we find the Children of Israel standing at the banks of the Red Sea, after having just been released by the hard hearted infamous, narcissistic King Pharaoh of Egypt. Those familiar with story know that God had just taken Egypt through 10 plagues that ultimately led to Pharaoh letting the Children of Israel go. And, here they are after just being set free, only a short time into their journey and now confronted with their greatest test; The Red Sea. The Red Sea was not just the first challenge the Israelites faced in their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, but this was a pivotal moment in their spiritual development and growth as a people. Although they were physically free, they were still mentally enslaved and took that slave mentality with them out of the confines of the Egyptian rule into the hot desert of the wilderness.  Which bring us to our 1st Spiritual Insight: YOU CANNOT TAKE THE BAGGAGE OF 2010 INTO 2011. Who you were last year is not who you are going to be in the coming year. In order to be successful in this new year, we have to got to leave the past in the past. Leave the past mistakes, failures, missteps, bad attitudes, etc in 2010, and move forward.

Due to the excess baggage of the Children of Israel mental slavery, they could not see past this massive body of water in front of them. They couldn't even fathom how they were going to be able to cross over to the other side without being utterly destroyed. And, to add to this mind sight, God had hardened the heart of Pharaoh one last time and he and the Egyptian army were now in pursuit of the Children of Israel, dead set on their ultimate annihilation. Our 2nd Spiritual Insight is: GOD DIDN'T BRING YOU THIS FAR TO LEAVE YOU! God didn't allow you to see a new year for you to ultimately be destroyed. You have to believe that if God brought you TO IT, He's going to bring you THROUGH IT! Don't allow the enormity of what's in front you and the pressures of what's behind you to intimidate you and to cause you to loose faith in God. This should be the time where your faith should kick into over drive, and you should believe and have faith in God even the more. And, here's something we'll through in for free, the enemy is never going to stop pursuing you, as long as you are going somewhere you're going to always have the enemy as company. This should not be something there to discourage you, but as an indicator that you are going in the right direction.

Finally, God spoke to Moses in the midst of the Children of Israel's murmuring and complaining and told him to stretch out his rod across this massive body of water and God performed one of the greatest miracles that the world has ever seen. God parted the Red Sea, drying up the ground underneath, and the Israelites were able to walk across on dry land. Which leads us to our 3rd and final Spiritual Insight: GOD HAS GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO CROSS OVER TO THE OTHER-SIDE.  Now is not that time to get intimidated by the situation, but now is the time to step back and watch the miracle is getting ready to wrought in your life. Use the power that God has already given you; use the gifts that God has already blessed you with to make it through this brand new year. You have everything you need within you to make it through this year. Now is the time to have BIG FAITH, which should be in direct line with your expectations for this year 2011. Your faith has got to be BIG enough to match the EXPECTATIONS you have for this coming year. You've crossed over from PAIN to POWER, from POVERTY to PROSPERITY, from DEFEAT to VICTORY, from TRAGEDY to TRIUMPH!

And, as a side note not only did the Israelites crossover to the other side, but God also defeated the Egyptians in the process. They tried to pursue to the Children of Israel and they drowned in the Red Sea. So, our final thought for this post is simply, there is victory on the other side. God has allowed you to CROSS-OVER to this New Year for a reason, and if its not for your DEFEAT then it's got to be for your VICTORY. Embrace this year and let's be glad that God allowed you to CROSS OVER!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

God Bless You!

Pastor Michael S. Nimmons
www.michaelnimmons.com

SPEAK IT!

"See What You Say"

In Proverbs 18:21, King Solomon; the wisest man to ever live, writes "...death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." And, lately I have been meditating and thinking on how powerful are words actually are, and how wasteful we are with our own words.  We seem to give more credence and attention to the negative circumstances and situations in our life by the volume of words that we attribute to them. The time we spend speaking negatively over our own lives far outweighs those moments of optimism and positivity we use to sporadically offset the overwhelming negativity. But, this is a reality for most of us, especially those of us who are walking with God and know that He is guiding and directing our lives.  It would seem a bit oxymoronic for us as Christians to allow our natural propensity for pessimism and negativity to overshadow our faith in God. And, yet this is what typically happens to each and every one us who are striving to "walk by faith and not by sight." But, it is definitely a challenge. We are constantly being challenged by what we see, problems, troubles, tragedy, etc and what we see causes us to loose faith in the God that we don't see. And, sometimes the problems are so debilitating and severe that we find ourselves degenerating into a bout of negativity that causes you to forget who you are. You start thinking negative, and then you start speaking negative and then you begin operating in an atmosphere of negativity that your words have created. The irony behind this is that we have misappropriated the power given to us through our words and instead  of speaking positivity in our lives we have littered our own lives with negativity. This is the equivalent of verbal suicide.

Why is this the case? Why does it seem much easier to speak negatively than it is to speak positively? I believe it all goes back to sin. It is in our nature. And, whatever is in us will eventually come out of us. We; as Christians, even still struggle with our flesh. Paul speaks very candidly about his own flesh and says that there is a war in my members. "The good that I would do, evil is always present." It so much easier; so much more convenient to speak negatively than to speak positively. It seems so much easier to join with the chorus of pessimists and say, "Nobody knows the trouble I see!" The fact of the matter is that we always want to over exaggerate the negatives in our lives, as a way of distinguishing our trouble from everyone else. So, it is not enough that we are experiencing problems in our life, but we must distinguish our trouble from everyone else so that we can garner greater sympathy for what we're going through than everyone else. But, look at the effects of what we are doing; look at the damage that is being done to our mentality as well as our spirituality. And, can you imagine if you took a minute to reverse that campaign for pessimism into a movement for optimism, what kind of effect that would have on your mentality and spirituality.

If we just understood that the power of that scripture resides within us, we would be more victorious in life's trials and tribulations that we usually are. If we actually redirected our negatives energies towards positive pursuits, we would be far more productive and successful than we actually dreamed we could be. The irony behind this scripture is that the power works both ways, and what we typically use this power for is to tear ourselves and others down, and we can see the disastrous effects of this practice. And, seeing this power demonstrated only causes us to use more it, which continues this destructive course.  But, using this same power to speak positivity, and optimism over our lives and others is a far more beneficial and productive way to conduct ourselves. The question becomes, why does it seem so much easier to speak negative than it is to speak positive? The answer is actually quite simple, it is easier to be negative than to be positive, because there is no reward that comes with it.  Negativity is synonymous with emptiness, and emptiness is equivalent to nothing-ness. And, nothing from nothing leaves nothing. But, the reward is much greater when you choose to speak positive instead of spewing negativity. The reward is greater, because success, prosperity, and optimism, are just a few of the residual effects that come with living a life filled with positive vibes.

Kenneth Brown, Life Coach

Kenneth Brown; motivational speaker, life coach and founder of Ken Brown International coined a phrase that I absolutely love "L.I.F.E," "Living In Freedom Everyday." This is a very simple but very powerful affirmation that we should apply to our lives. And, the first way to do it is to begin speaking positive thoughts and words into our spirits. We cannot afford another negative thought. The cost of negativity is to high, because it now becomes an "opportunity cost" which means the cost of doing what you're doing compared to what you could be doing. And, if the reward of being positive is much greater than being negative, the path of negativity then becomes the price you pay for choosing to do the wrong thing.

So, let's start speaking life today. Speak life into the most important person in your life; You!  Speak life into your careers, your hopes and your dreams. Make the investment today to speak life into yourself, believe me it''ll be worth every penny.


Be Blessed!

Pastor Nimmons
www.michaelnimmons.com

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

Pastor Nimmons & Family

During this Thanksgiving season, we have so much to be thankful for. This is not just a time of family gatherings, football and of course food, but it is time to reflect upon all that God has done for us through the year. Sometimes our time is consumed with work, family, and friends that we don't take the time to thank God for all that HE has done for us. And, I truly believe this season of Thanksgiving we should spend sometime reflecting upon the goodness of God in our individual as well as our collective lives.

It's interesting this particular month we have been dealing with this theme of "Thanks" as we've had an opportunity to expound upon this subject at two services this month. The message God had given to us to minister was entitled; "The Paradox of Gratitude, taken from Gen 50:20, and Psalms 34:1-3. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph has revealed his identity to his brothers; the same brothers that wanted to kill him, the same brothers that were extremely jealous of him, the same brothers that eventually sold Joseph into Egyptian slavery. They were now being reunited, by circumstance, with their younger brother Joseph, who is now the 2nd in command of all of Egypt. Knowing and understanding the story of Joseph, he could have very well sought revenge and retribution against his brothers for what they had done to them. After all, it was his being sold into slavery by his brothers that began the series of events in his life that got him to this point. But, Joseph knew and understood that God was the one that orchestrated it all, that's why he was able to say with confidence as well as humility to his own brothers, "What you meant for evil, God meant it for my good that He might save much people alive."  Joseph was ultimately giving thanks to God for the twists and turns that his life took in order to get where God wanted him to be.  What I continue to love about this story the most is, as you read it you would think that the twists and turns of Joseph life happened as a result of him possibly falling off of God's radar. That being sold into slavery, being lied on by Potiphar's wife and thrown into prison, being forgotten about while in prison, were all of result of God not keeping up with Joseph's whereabouts. Not so! But, God was not only thoroughly aware of where Joseph was, but He was strategically involved in every twist and every turn that his life took. And, we found out that it wasn't even about Joseph in the end. It was all about the preservation of God's Chosen people; the Children of Israel. But, Joseph was thankful to God for not just where he was, but he was also thankful to God for the journey.

And, this is what I believe many people miss in understanding their walk with God. That God has a purpose and a plan for our life. He is not just making things up as we go, or with us today and forgetting about us tomorrow. But, God's plan for our life is one that He thought about even before the foundations of the world. And, God's thinking about us, was not a casual occurrence or some off the cuff reality, but we all are very much aware of the power that is contained in God's thoughts. It was His thoughts that created the world that we live in. So, God thinking about us is a very significant component about our walk with God that we must remember. And, the part that we continually miss is that Jesus said in St. John 16:33.."in this life ye shall have tribulation;" we forget that part. That God has sprinkled and colored our lives with tribulation, not in an effort to kill us or to destroy us, but as way to mature us and to make us better. In fact, Jeremiah writes in the 29th chapter vs 11, "For I know that thoughts that I think towards you saith God, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end." So, we are not just to thank God for the good things that happen in our life, but we have to thank God for the bad things as well. Understanding that the Apostle Paul was right when he wrote in Romans 8:28, "And we know that ALL things are working together for the good of them who are the called according to His purpose." And, David echoed similar sentiments in Psalms 34:1-3, "I will bless the Lord at ALL times and His praises shall continually be in my mouth.

Praise is the equivalent of the thanks or thanksgiving. Inasmuch as we praise God for what HE has done, and we worship Him for who He is. Therein lies the difference between praise & worship; two essential parts of a child of God's daily devotion. But, for the context of this week's blog, our praise to God should not just be limited to the good thing that He has done, but we have to praise Him for even the turbulent times in our life we've had to experience or are even experiencing. Once you know the intent behind the tribulation, then you should be better able to endure it knowing that you're going to be better when you come out of it then when you went in. Being thankful for just the good things that God has done, implicitly suggest that God is only worthy during the good times of your life. And, during times of indifference, times of struggle, or the hard times that we face, God is no where to be found and therefore not worthy of the praise. Not so! He knows where we are and has reminded us that he will never leave us nor will he forsake us. So, God is right there in the midst of what you're going through; ready, willing and able to come to our rescue whenever we need Him the most!

In closing, I'm thankful for so many things. A beautiful wife, son, and daughter that God has so graciously blessed me with. I have a wonderful extended family and support system; father, mother, and sister that are the lifeblood of my existence. I'm thankful for a job in this current economic crisis that we're experiencing; I'm thankful for the many doors of opportunity that God has opened and is opening for us in our lives; I'm thankful for the many talents and gifts that God has bestowed upon us. I'm thankful for the many friends and well wishers that God has put in our path on this journey to our destiny. Thank you for your words of encouragement and inspiration. It has kept me humbled as well as focused on being ALL that God would have us to be. I'm also thankful to you our readers, who consistently take a few minutes out of their day to read our blog and to comment and provide feedback that can help us doing things even better. And, I will continually praise God for ALL that He has done, and more importantly worship HIM for who He is. So, my questions today is what are you thankful for? What has God done for you that you just cannot give Him enough praise for? Please share these thoughts with our readers, as I believe many will be spiritually edified by the individual testimonies of our brothers and sisters. So, on this Thanksgiving Eve, what are you thankful for?


Be Blessed!

Pastor Nimmons
www.michaelnimmons.com

The 67th Book

I Corinthians 3:3 "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in table of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

For the past several weeks we have been teaching a bible lesson for the Young Apostolic Students for Christ (YASC) at Wayne State University entitled; "The 67th Book." It was a lesson that God had given to us earlier this year during the Easter season to share with our Greater Grace Temple Christian Education Teen & Young Adult Dept. And, ever since then it has been something that has stuck with us and God wanted us to expand upon the lesson and formally teach it as apart of a bible class series for  YASC @ WSU.  I must say over the past few weeks of teaching this lesson, God has not only blessed the youth that have been apart of the class, but has also opened up a reservoir of revelation to us about His Word and how important it is for us to not just "READ" His Word, but to "LIVE" His Word.

The concept behind the lesson comes from the theme scripture in I Corinthians 3:3, where Paul is writing to the church of Corinth instructing them that they are an "...epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of the stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." Here, the Apostle Paul is putting the church of Corinth on notice that they have a greater responsibility than just church attendance; a great responsibility than just "READING" the word of God, but they are to "LIVE" the word of God. This is what Jesus meant when he declared in Matthew 5:15, that ye are to, "let your light so shine that men might see your good works, and glorify the Father, which is in heaven." There is no way that your light can shine effectively, if you don't have God's Word down on the inside of you. If you are not living God's Word; by applying it to your everyday life, how can you be the "living epistle" that God desires for you to be?

The problem with so many people is that they are great at giving God and everyone else lip service.  They can talk a good game, but when it comes to actually living what they profess, that is something they fail to do. It is said so often "Practice what you Preach," but one day on twitter I read an interesting quote which seem to be the inverse of this early quote. And, it read "Preach what you Practice." And, I believe the latter quote speaks volumes about the effects of our walk with God. The early quote admonishes the preacher to practice what you are constantly preaching. In essence, follow your own instructions, or take your own advice. And, yes this is a true statement as well. Especially, in this day and time where we are seeing preachers, ministers, evangelist and the like being exposed, and the cover being pulled back on private and secret sins that they've intentional covered from others. So, yes it is important to indeed, "Practice what you Preach." But, more importantly, I believe it is also essential to "Preach what you Practice." This again puts the responsibility right back squarely on the preacher that your words should line up with your actions. Both of these statements are emphasizing the importance of accountability not just among those who stand at the pulpits on Sunday Mornings, but even to those who sit in the pews as well. Everyone is held to the same standard of holiness, and no one is exempt because of where they may sit or happen to stand in the Kingdom of God.

Another important element that God showed us as we are teaching this lesson on Mondays, is a scripture that's often quoted and misinterpreted in Romans the 8th chapter vs 28, where Paul says, "And, we know that all things are working together for the good of them who are the called according to HIS purpose." We typically interpret that scripture to mean that every good and bad thing that happens in our life are both working together for our good. And, we extrapolate the "we" out of the scripture to be apart of the disclaimer Paul associates with being "the called according to HIS purpose." Which, again is a true statement, but everybody is not in the "we" crowd.  A key component of this scripture which is often overlooked is that the "We" crowd is directly connected to "HIS" purpose. God has a purpose that requires more from us than many people are willing to give. His purpose requires us to make a sacrifice in order to walk with Him. This scripture not just speaks to the benefits or the perks that comes with walking with God, but also the mindset as well. Because in order for you to properly understand the significance of ALL things working together in my life for the good, you must have first surrendered your life entirely over to the purpose of the Lord. And, if you haven't done that, then there is no way you will ever see "good" coming from the "bad" in your life. Many people come to God with their own agenda, or with their own set of guidelines and they tell God implicitly and even explicitly this is all that I'm willing to do for you.  Nothing more and nothing less, many so called "Christians" have a "Take It or Leave It" kind of attitude towards God. And, God has to fit within the parameters of what they want their relationship with him to be. But, I hear God saying that it is either"ALL or NOTHING." I want ALL of you or don't give me nothing at ALL. This speaks to the value and significance that God has placed on having a relationship with us. And, if you are not willing to do your part, then He's saying keep on doing what you want to do. You will be the loser in the end. He died just so that we could have an intimate and personal relationship with Him, and yet some still choose to give Him the cold shoulder. Go figure!

In my conclusion, my question for you today is this, "Are you the 67th book?" Are you a walking, and talking embodiment of the Word of God? Or, have you decided to make up your own rules of how to live holy? Are you interpreting and digesting God's Word in its totality or are you piece-mealing God's Word and only reading and applying those scriptures to your life that benefit you. I believe the former is actually true, the only way you can truly be the 67th Book, is if you are rightly dividing the Word of God and directly applying it to your walk with God. This is the only you can truly be the 67th book. King David said of himself, "thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." This scripture is a demonstration of the importance King David placed upon the Word of God for his life.

My question to you is simple, is God's Word that important to you?

Your thoughts?

Be Blessed

Pastor Michael S. Nimmons
www.michaelnimmons.com

P.S. Join us next Monday as we continue this lesson entitled; "The 67th Book" at Wayne State University, State Hall Room 116 at 7pm.