Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ~Philippians 2:3 The purpose of this 21 Day consecration is to focus on becoming more like Christ. The purpose of this blog is to share my journey as I try to do that and live the way he would have me to. I also hope that the readers join in by either leaving comments and/or sending in submissions of their own. With that said, I have already shared that although it is my hearts desire to be more like Christ, it is just easier said then done. Philippians 2:3 is a perfect example why. “Selfish Ambition” has been what my life has been all about. Although I have attempted to disguise it as passionate for success, I can no longer hide from the fact that I desire more than I should of this world. However, beyond the selfish ambition is dealing with the “lowliness of mind” and “esteem others better than” myself parts that are difficult for me. As a young African Ameri...

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. ~Philippians 2:13 Life is not without purpose. I know that I have always thought there was a greater purpose for my life and have worked to accomplish great things. I have missed one big aspect though- I never thought of or worried about God's purpose for my life. Isn't God's purpose the best guidance we can have? Our life should not be about what we want and how we are going to get it. Believe me that is what most of my life has been about; however, I realize now that it should be about more than me. Shocker! Remember, if you are interested in figuring out your purpose according to God's plan, please join me for Lent when we will read The Purpose Driven Life .

You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel. ~2 Samuel 12-13 This passage is from Nathan who is taking David to task for the whole drama with Bathsheba. David basically had her husband killed so he could have her for himself. Obviously, God had a little problem with this. David thought he was so slick and secretive that he did not even realize that he had sinned against God. He was so caught up in satisfying his own needs and personal agenda that the thought did not even occur to him. David had everything and God would have happily given him more but sin is never satisfied. He was selfish and greedy and wanted what he wanted. He got it but not with out consequences. We go against God to act on our own so that we can make ourselves happy and when things start to go south, we wonder why. David was utterly clueless to what he had done until Nathan came and let him know that all your business will be put out in the street. There are somethings that ...

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 of what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. ~Romans 12:2 If we allow God, he can come into our lives and do amazing things. If we acknowledge and believe in Him completely. When we accept Him into our lives, we should be different. We should want to walk as Jesus walked. Yes, there are things, worldly things, that we have to leave behind. There is no great mystery about this because God first tells us all that we need to do in the Bible, but I also believe that if we listen to Him and pay attention in prayer and meditation that he will reveal to us directly what He wants from us and what direction He would like our life to head in. From personal experience, I know that when I am caught up in worldly things, I do not have time to listen to God. I do not make Him a priority; therefore, I am not reading His word, praying, o...

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. ~1Corinthians 15:58 Recently, I had to take a close look at myself and the goals I had set out for my life. This was after I finally decided to give in to God’s plan and stop dictating my own. It was as though I was looking at my life through a different set of lenses. I have always been an extremely ambitious person. I believe I have an entrepreneurial spirit. Even though none of my ventures into the business realm have been overly successful, I still have an overwhelming urge to create something that generates income and longterm success. When I discovered my love for the written word, I thought I struck gold. Years later, I realize it was fools gold. My goals and my hopes for the future came from a totally selfish place. Sure, I said I wanted to do certain things to secure a future for my family and my chil...

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ~2 Corinthians 12:9 To be completely honest, I was not feeling this particular consecration message. In order for me to get a better understanding, I decided to go and read the message in context and it bugged me even more. Here is Paul, a great servant of God, going on an on about all the bad things that have happened to him while on his mission. ... I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once, I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ~2 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NIV) He goes on and on for the whole chapter like this, and he is proud of it. It i...

Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord ~Lamentations 3:40 I have no illusions about myself. Over the years, I believe I have taken time to get to know myself, flaws and all. I love those people who say, "I am a good person. I live a good life. I don't hurt anyone ... blah blah blah" and think that's enough. I guess I used to be one of them. Of course, compared to the world and everything going on in it, I just might be a saint. The reality is, being a decent person is not enough. You can be a selfish decent person or a vengeful decent person or an angry decent person or a materialistic decent person or an unforgiving decent person. These things slip into life so easily that we barely notice them. You can harbor hate in your heart for someone you should have forgiven long ago and still be a decent person. Unfortunately, that does not make us good enough to get into heaven. We need Jesus for that but before we can even get to that point, we ...

... The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. ~James 5:16 (KJV) I know all about how great praying is. Really, I do. That does not explain why I do not do it more often. That does not explain why I keep my problems to myself and not share them with God. That also does not explain why I try to hide things from Him by purposely not praying about them. It also does not explain why I try to make major decisions without even thinking about praying about them first. The whole thing just does not make a whole lot of sense. I remember thinking to myself that I don't know how to pray because I can't pray like those other people. I would think that those "good" Christians can pray because the words would flow off their tongues like water and they seemed to remember everything and everyone. Their eyes were closed, sometimes they cried, and they were so passionate. Believe me, I don't ever remember praying like that. Naturally, I assumed that was the rig...

First off, if you are a person who takes notice of details, then it is apparent that I am considerably behind in my 21 Days of Consecration. It is life, man. It just keeps getting me caught up in stuff. This, of course, challenged my level of commitment to this program. I am committed but suck and prioritizing. Sleep, although it is for my health and well-being, sometimes feels like the enemy. Regardless of all the reasons why, I am two days behind. None of the clever excuses that I can come up with matter because the bottom line is that, at some point in the last two days, I decided to put God and my commitment to Him on the back burner. Ouch! That is pretty harsh. Fine! I will not dwell on it. I will move on and take action. I vow to get caught up today. It is a must because if I don't then, I will find myself on the 21st day needing to catch up on 17 days and missing the whole point. God commits everything to me, I can commit 21 minutes of 1,4400. Therefore, since we are surroun...

Browsing YouTube, I came across the Soweto Gospel Choir. "The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed to celebrate the unique and inspirational power of African Gospel music ... The choir is dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world." Currently touring in Europe, it would be nice if they are able to make it to the states in the next couple of years. Visit their site at http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/ .