We Are Family

The biggest complaint I hear about church is that the people are hypocritical. Unfortunately, the reason many people feel that way is because they see someone one way on Sunday, and find out that they are a completely different person throughout the week. My question to you is, "wouldn't you like to come to church and just be you?"

Hopefully, your answer to that question is yes! But for too many people is isn't, mainly because they feel like they would be unfairly judged if they came to service 'just as they are'. The sad part about this whole situation is that church is supposed to be the place where we can be who God created us to be. And instead of donning a mask every week, we should feel comfortable enough to open ourselves up among those who are supposed to be our spiritual family.

Families are unique, because no matter how much your sister embarrasses you, or how goofy your dad acts, they are still your family. There is nothing you can do to get rid of them, nor do you want to. We need to realize that fact among our Christian brothers and sisters. We are family! We have to stop being embarrassed to come to each other for help, or too ashamed to seek wise counsel. All of us have fallen short of God's best in our lives, and we all have needed to be comforted by those who had been in the same position.

So the next time we are getting ready for service, let's leave the masks at home and come with a spirit of love and fellowship, not gossip and slander. Let's open up our arms and our hearts and receive each other with acceptance and humility...after all, We Are Family!

"From now on you are not strangers and people who are not citizens. You are citizens together with those who belong to God. You belong in God's family."

~Ephesians 2:19 (NLV)

Where Are You Going?

Do you ever find yourself lying in bed wondering what the next day might hold? Those are the times when I find myself questioning whether the time I spent checking things off of my to do list are really the things that are most important in my life. Many of us have embarked upon a journey to accomplish our dreams, and that is a fantastic road in which to travel. Yet my question to you is, "Where will you be, when you get where you're going?" Are you following the path that will lead you to the destination that God has for you, or will you end up at an unknown destination wondering where you made that wrong turn?

I'm not usually one to stop and ask for directions. Instead, I stumble through finding a new location by going in countless circles refusing to believe that I am lost. More times than not, I end up getting further and further off the path because I am too stubborn to turn around and ask for help. Even though my wife attempts to convince me to stop and seek wise counsel, I neglect taking her advice only to end up wasting valuable time, gas, and resources. This is how most of us live as Christians. We go through our lives wasting valuable time because we refuse to stop and seek God for His plan for our life.

Many of us do not want to believe that we are lost. Mainly because we have come a long way in life and have achieved quite a bit, and it's difficult to admit that we may be on the wrong path. But when you find yourself going in circles and deep down inside you know that there must be another way, you need to stop and ask for directions. I have learned that In order for us to find true fulfillment, we have to get on the path that God has created for us. Let's stop wasting our lives because we don't want to turn around.

So, where are you going? Hopefully it's where God is leading you to go.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

~Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Wake Up!

Prior to my moving to beautiful Burbank, California to start my ministry, I was working for a company in Dallas, Texas dreaming about how God was going to use me in a fantastic way. I recall one day sitting in my cubicle hearing God whisper the words "wake up!" in my spirit. Before I had the opportunity to question the meaning behind these words, I realized what God was telling me. At some point in our Christian journey we need to quit dreaming about what we are to accomplish and wake up to do the work of our calling.

Most of us are waiting for the conditions to be just right in order for us to begin to move on what God has created us to do. When we do that, our enemy will make sure that things are never going our way. What we need to realize is that our mission in life is generally going to be developed through the trials of our journey. In other words, it's not until we face the hardships of our lives that we realize the purpose of our life. We have to wake up from the dream state in order to live out our dream.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. epitomized this concept. He realized very early in his life that the only way change would come was if someone would face the danger it took to provoke change to happen. We now live in the wake of his dream, and may of us do not realize the potential we have inside of us to live in the wake of our own dreams. So my word to you today is the same as that which was uttered to me just a few years back...WAKE UP, because your dream is waiting.

"Do this because we live in an important time. It is now time for you to wake up from your sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."

~Romans 13:11 (NCV)

Dream Big!

This past Sunday, I had a discussion about having an expanded vision for your future. I found out that too many Christians have a limited view of where they believe God wants them to be. Unfortunately, this is a very debilitating problem within the Body of Christ, because God wants us to dream big!

All throughout Scripture we are told, "nothing is impossible with God, greater works you will do, and God can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ask or think." As a matter of fact, the only limitations that God has are the ones we place on Him. He will never go beyond where you allow Him to go in your life. That goes against your free will. But He does want us to move past the limitations we have placed in our own minds.

The problem we have with dreaming big is that we think we have to accomplish everything on our own. We forget that we have Power living within us that gives us access to all the creativity we need. That Power is the Holy Spirit. An example of this is detailed in the life of Joseph. Joseph had a big dream! And although he was placed in some desperate situations, he prospered because "the Lord gave him success in whatever he did."

So the next time you find yourself limiting what you believe can be accomplished in your life, stop, take a step back, tell the mountain to get out of your way, and take hold of your Big Dream!

So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

~Genesis 41:38-40 (NIV)

Happy New Year!

The New Year is here! It's a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. Take this opportunity to revive your relationship with Christ and experience His peace, love, and joy in 2008 and forevermore.

Expect a Prosperous New Year,

Pastor AJ Golden
Chosen Ministries, Inc.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

~2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)