Timing Vs. Conditions

I'm back! How is everyone doing? I know it has been awhile since my last post. I've been working on releasing a new album with my hip hop group, planning a wedding for April 26th, and have been working really hard! I'm not making excuses though. My beautiful fiance was telling me that I need to get on the ball with the blogs again...so here I am. I'm already getting used to the powerful influence of a wife :-)

" He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you know not what is the way of the wind, or how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you know not the work of God, Who does all." - Ecclesiastes 11


Raise your hand if you've ever said one of these phrases:

- I plan on doing XXXX when I have more money or time
- I can't do XXXX because of other responsibilities
- I will know it is time to move forward when God does X, Y, and Z

It is our human nature to look for perfect conditions before we take a step forward. We wait for all the stars to align before we decide to launch out. Like the above passage, we wait for the wind to stop blowing, the clouds to move, and we stand in one place until the sun shines. Somehow, we seem to confuse God's timing with perfect conditions. We all want to be in God's timing but we mistake God's perfect timing with perfect conditions. For example, you may feel an urge to switch careers but your hesitant because of the years you've spent in your latest job, the money you may lose, and a host of other reasons. For others, you may be holding off on those wedding vows because YOU think the conditions are not juuussst right. Maybe there is a risk that the Lord wants you to take in order to fulfill a greater purpose but your hesitant because the factors of life don't seem ideal for taking flight.

In God's system, perfect timing does not always equate to perfect conditions. God is beyond the natural situations of life and He can do great things in spite of dangerous winds. Are you carefully watching His timing or the conditions of life? Take a thoughtful and prayerful look at why you are hesitating to sow. What is keeping you from reaping what the Lord has for you? The changes you need to grow may be hindered by your current focus. Turn your eyes to the Lord and listen to the subtle call to "Go" and don't focus so much on current conditions. Till next time...


Pop the Culture,

B.A.P

E-Leader Brand pt. 4 - "E" for Effort

2 Peter 1:5-8

“…giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren (ineffective) nor unfruitful (unproductive) in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Last weekend I had a team retreat with our young adult ministry leaders. It was a powerful weekend where we developed in our friendships, gained a better understanding of each other, gained consensus on the vision, and prayerfully developed a strategy to reach that big picture. To focus our minds for the weekend, I lead the team in a brief discussion on Friday night. One of the key themes of that discussion was the end all objective of being “fruitful” as individuals and as a ministry.

Being “fruitful” is a fundamental pillar of Christianity. Welcome to Jesus 101…He is the True Vine (John 15). When we abide in Him, we bear fruit or in other words works, character, speech, and other demonstrations of Christ’s divine nature and purpose.

Your Christianity is founded on grace and faith but is firmly established through the revelation of fruit in your life. This process of establishing yourself requires the “E” word. Effort.

The passage in 2 Peter referenced above communicates a message of diligence, patient growth, and continuous development. This applies both to our spiritual and our natural activities on earth. When diligent effort is directed towards our relationship with God and the works He has entrusted us to complete, we exude life and fruitfulness.

Evangeleaders do not stop at just faith, but they continue down the path of Godly self development. Show me a successful and fruitful Christian, and I’ll show you a person who has applied a consistent amount of effort. You might be asking, “Well, what kind of effort?” Here are a few examples:

1. Study God’s Word…consistently.

2. Pray and talk with God on a regular basis.

3. Commit to developing in the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5).

4. Diligently pursue knowledge and wisdom in your field of purpose. (School, mentorship, reading, research, etc.)

5. Consistently apply new knowledge.

If we put effort into this journey, we will see some remarkable results…God’s promise.

Pop the Culture,

B.W.P