It's Hard Out Here For A P.I.M.P.

LOL. I know what you are thinking. How in the world is this going to be spiritual. That is exactly what I thought when I first heard this concept. Today, I am borrowing this from one of my black preacher friends who is in my opinion the most creative preacher I know. Here goes...

One night he was watching tv when he came across the MTV Music Awards, and 3 6 Mafia was up for an award for a certain song, "It's hard out here for a pimp." First off, let me just say that I hate the word pimp, and don't use it. Neither does this guy, but his mind started to think. "It's hard out here for a pimp." He started to think, life is not hard for a pimp....They seem to have everything that the world has to offer, women, fancy clothes, nice cars, "respect", etc...

But the word "pimp" kept him going. Pimp. Pimp. P.I.M.P. "People in the Master's Palm."

A sermon came to him, haha. "It's hard out here for a P.I.M.P."

John 10:37-30 says "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father are one."

Now, a person in the Master's Palm is secure, and no man can pluck you out of that palm. Except yourself. It is no secret that many people claim to be "saved", but their actions show differently. A tree will be known by it's fruit.

Strong statement: Just because you signed a card at some Christian concert 10 years ago does not mean you are saved. A true Christian's life is denoted by humbleness, repentance, and fruit. If you do not have these things, I challenge you to examine your faith. You might be thinking, "who is he to say this?" And that is cool, I say this because I, at one point in my "walk", was claiming Christianity, but my actions proved otherwise. We all fall short, but point blank, many of us are not reading the Word, not praying, and maybe we go to church, but that does not make us Christians, it makes us church-goers.

For encouragement: Psalm 73 records a man who was seeing all of these wicked sinners around him, and they were prospering. It seemed as if they had everything. And here he was doing his best to live for God, and he was struggling....Ever felt that way? I wanted to do this devotional because I wanted you to know that somebody understands how hard it is to live for God. I know what it is like to leave your friends behind and step out on faith, I know what it is like to be persecuted by people you care for, I know what it is like to have a target on your back. I know what it is like to feel all alone on this spiritual journey. Truth is, you are not alone, He will never leave you, nor forsake you, and now you know at least one person understands that "It's hard out here for a P.I.M.P." Have a great week, Shaun

The Divine Laws of Love

The Divine Laws of Love...According to 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

1. Love is patient
2. Love is kind
3. Love is not envious
4. Love is not boastful or arrogant or rude
5. Love does not insist on its own way
6. Love is not irritable or resentful
7. Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
8. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love is a very strong word. Sometimes it is the easiest thing to say, and at others it is the most difficult. My love for people has been renewed as of late. Truth be told, I have almost been on the verge of tears at several moments of everyday. I feel the need that people have to be loved. People that put up walls and reject the love that God has for them, I feel their need the most. It does not make me want to retreat, but it wants me to pour out love all the more. As you know, love can be seen, felt, heard, and given in the most subtle ways. This week I encourage you to love with all energy. Guard your heart, true, but display the love of God to everybody you come in contact with. They need it, and honestly, you do too.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

14 Things Jesus Did NOT Say

#1 – “They will know you are my disciples by your theology, and the arrogance that accompanies it.” (John 13:35)

#2 – “Dream really small dreams and make sure you never ask for anything big!” (John 14:12-14, Psalm 2:8)

#3 – “If someone doesn’t believe just like you believe…make sure to do all you can to attack, criticize and beat them down as much as possible.” (Mark 9:38-41)

#4 – “Be tolerant of everyone…I am one of the many ways to God.” (John 14:6)

#5 – “Make sure you make the church about you…that you are served well…please, don’t do anything that might cause you any type of inconvenience. My goal is for you to be happy!” (Matthew 20:28, Luke 9:23-24)

#6 – “Please, whatever you do, DO NOT tell people the good news…keep it to yourself! The reason I died on the cross is so that you could get into really small groups of people and talk about ‘deep things’ that aren’t going to help anyone when it comes to eternity.” (Matthew 28:20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:14, Romans 10:17)

#7 – “Don’t EVER try anything new…don’t ever take a risk…don’t ever take a step of faith. Be AVERAGE!” (Isaiah 43:18-19, Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:6)

#8 – “You can follow me and it will not impact your money at all!” (Matthew 6:19-24)

#9 – “Pray a prayer to get out of hell…and then live however you want.” (John 14:15, John 14:21)

#10 – “You can do it without me!” (John 15:5)

#11 – “I don’t expect you OR your church to be fruitful in any way.” (John 15:4)

#12 – “Isolate yourself from the world!” (John 17:15)

#13 – “Make sure there is a time when you question my word because it will one day be no longer relevant.” (Luke 21:33)

#14 – “Stop crying out to me in desperation…can’t you see I’m busy.” (Mark 10:46-52)