I Am A No-Lack Person

Lakewood!
Pastor Joel

Psalm 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,but those who seek the lord lack no good thing.

I am a successful person fighting off poverty. Abundance is my normal state!

I am a free person fighting off addiction. Freedom is my normal state!

I am a healthy person fighting off sickness! Healed is my normal state!

David & Goliath
1 Samuel 17:48 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine.
*** David RAN TOWARD the problem and it made him king. Likewise I should run toward my giants.


1 Corinthians 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Phil 4:13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our LIGHT AFFLICTION, which is but for A MOMENT, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Exodus 3:22 Each woman will ask her neighbor and any guests in her house for objects of silver and gold, for jewelry and extra clothes; you'll put them on your sons and daughters. Oh, you'll clean the Egyptians out!" 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
***Those children were the ones who made it to the promised land.

Deut 8:17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
***God gave me the ability to produce wealth!!! I don't have to wait for a blue light special!

-- Follow me on twitter @orinej

Career Outlook for Grads

Standing on the corner of Buffalo Speedway and 59, this young man represents a growing number of graduates desperate for work. Employment rates for new college graduates continue to fall sharply right along with starting salaries for those who can find work. More shockingly, only half of the jobs landed by these new graduates even require a college degree, reviving debates about whether higher education is worth the fuss. Still, adults continue to push children to gain education, "fall back" careers are scarce, and non-college educated individuals continue to thrive.

Growing up, adults urged me to complete school often recanting the phrase, "you don't want to end up flipping burgers at McDonald's". Unfortunately with a 9.1 unemployment rate, class of 2011 graduates may not even have McDonald's in their futures. I challenge current students to come up with a new game plan. After all, the west was not settled by men and women who had taken courses in "How to be a pioneer." 

My husband is one of those "pioneers" Through hard work and dedication he continues to excel in information technology with a leading company in his industry. He is a pioneer because he did not graduate college and then get a great career. Though he encourages young people to get an education, that was not his path. It was not until last year, over 10 years AFTER excelling in his career, that my husband earned his degree. He is not alone. There are many people with successful careers who did not go to college and ended up working in his/her CHOSEN career field.

Even when the job market proved tough, college graduates depended on teaching as a fall back career. Even teaching has become a hard job to catch. Kaisha Fields has worked diligently to secure a job teaching for the entire year; she attended orientation and faithfully volunteered only to receive the run-around from HISD. Even the once "fallback" career, teaching, proves a difficult feat of achievement. She is not alone. Others trodding the teaching path continue to meet the same roadblocks.

So class of 2011, this is the job market you have entered. Though it may seem bleak, remember you will get a job, even if it's flipping burgers, there are no guarantees, and maybe you can use something that you already had to get where you want to go.

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Because You Are Young

1 Timothy 4:12

Unfortunately we have reached an age where adults have decided not to hold young people responsible for their own actions. When a "child" commits a crime, disobeys rules, disrespects, elders, the like "we" have decided not to hold him or her accountable. A friend who teaches in the local school system told me that administrators to her not to admonish students for cursing or talking back. When a child steals or does not show up to school, the parents are punished. This allows children to grow up learning that there is always someone else to blame for his or her actions. What happens when these same children become the adults?

As the lyricist writes, I believe the children are our future. Unfortunately we are not teaching them well. What's even more tragic is that in the future they will have to lead the way because they will be the adults.

In the scripture, Paul instructs Timothy to not allow others to look down on him because he is young AND commands him to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Paul says in a nutshell that a person's physical age is not necessarily an indication of his level of maturity. Further more, physical age SHOULD NOT be a factor in submission to a legitimate authority figure, as Timothy.

Let's stop teaching our young people to pass blame around. Teach them what is right and hold them accountable when they do something different.

The Mis-Education of the Christian

The Problem

Could you imagine enrolling into a class only to attend the sessions and find out that instead of discussing “what the subject matter is”, the teacher discusses “what the subject matter is not”? Patiently and hopefully students attend the class faithfully hoping to learn what you came there to learn. After a week of this mis-education 1 of 3 things will happen: 1) a few enrollees will stop attending the class, 2) other enrollees will diligently participate in the class, 3) the remaining enrollees will sit in the class daydreaming. After days, weeks, or even years of this class a test is administered to the remaining students. Again, the same three things occur: some leave, some bide their time, others guess at the answers. Most of the students fail miserably. A few pass by an apparent divine miracle of God. Confused the teacher reprimands the students: How could you fail after all this time in my class? Were you not paying attention? Why do you not remember what you are taught? The students walk away from the class defeated. Those who daydreamed their days away, don’t care because they had not invested much energy in the class to begin with. Those who were diligent feel ashamed. I know to some this account seems silly. Why would a teacher instruct students on “what the subject matter was not”? Why would anyone sit through such a ridiculous presentation? Why didn’t the teacher take responsibility for his/her lack of instruction? The questions go on and on. Unfortunately, this occurs every day in many churches and Christian organizations. Leaders focus on the wrong issues, correct without teaching, and rebuke without training. I will discuss this “mis-education” and then offer the “cure for the common mis-education”.

The Mis-Education

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that, “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”. Most churches rebuke and correct like champs while failing to teach and train, leaving their children unequipped for most good works. They wonder why their “kids are the way they are”…“We didn’t raise them like this”, they proclaim. Forgetting that in the years that those children, now adults, sat in their congregations the focus was on “what not to do”. I was fortunate to attend a church that did focus on “what to do”. We focused on instruction and application then connected the two. I was shocked to learn that all Christians didn’t get the same exposure. Consider this, in a “Love” symposium the teacher focused mainly on “not having sex”. Upon leaving, everyone probably got the point that “they shouldn’t have sex before marriage”. Unfortunately, the instructor did not equip the participants with ways to love. How much more fruitful could that symposium have been had the leader simply explained the God-breathed scripture of 1 Corinthians 13, which plainly spells out what love is? In the initial example, when that test came the students would have at least been exposed to the information on the exam had the teacher simply introduced the material to the students.

1 Timothy 4:13 says to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” Many people will argue that they are preaching the word and it isn’t right to focus on “only the good parts”. But how can anyone in clear conscience tell someone to stop living the life that they know and then fail to give that person an alternative. Many church leaders vaguely say things like, “follow the Spirit”, “seek God and His righteousness”, or “repent from your sins”; statements that are scripturally based. They are preaching without teaching. Furthermore, Romans 2:4 teaches us that God’s kindness is intended to lead people to repentance. So to focus on “the good parts” is what the Lord intended. To focus on one thing does not mean that you leave out others. The other things are there, just a little out of focus so that you see what is important. From my class example, the things that you will be tested on later are the things that are important. How much more fruitful could preaching be if leaders would focus on a to-do list as opposed to a not-to-do list? In the initial class, the students would have known how to complete the test successfully.

The Cure for the Common Mis-Education

Fear not, there is a cure for the common mis-education. We must all realize that correction is not training and rebuke is not teaching. So I say: 1) Train more and correct less. 2) Teach more and rebuke less. In other words, leaders should take a proactive approach in helping their parishioners discover “what to do” as opposed to “what not to do”. Rather than reacting to behavior instill values AND a list of to-dos. Galatians 5 clearly spells out the right way to educate a Christian. I have summarized it here:

Do not burden your followers by the yoke of slavery. Following rules does not justify anyone; the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. The entire law is fulfilled in loving our neighbors as ourselves. If we attack and overwhelm each other we will soon destroy each other thereby destroying ourselves. If we lead by the Spirit, we do not put people under the law. What not to do is obvious; there is no way that anyone can list all the ways you can mess up in life. But I can tell you that there are no rules against loving God and loving others. (Galatians 5 JRV)

Additionally, In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” In response “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind. ‘This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” All the Law hangs on those two commandments so why waste time trying to cover a list of “do-nots”?

Disclaimer

Poor teaching is not an excuse not to grow. One of the most influential statements I ever heard came from my Jr. High School history teacher: “No one is holding the gait on knowledge. If you really want to learn about something, you can go get the information yourself without waiting for someone to give it to you.” In the initial class scenario, there were those who left the class. I didn’t say what they did when they left. Those people went to class to learn about a particular subject and when they realized that the teacher wasn’t teaching on the topic they left. Hopefully, they took with them that thirst they entered the class with. Don’t forget what you wanted in the first place when you went to church or that Christian organization. If you aren’t getting it from there don’t give up. Take responsibility for your personal growth and decide that you will find a way to get the guidelines so you can practice them in everyday life. This may mean that you leave the organization entirely or that you attempt to shine a light on the shortcomings of the organization by offering teaching suggestions.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:19-20

I want to encourage you to take a hard-look at your “class” and determine whether or not it is discussing the subject matter? If it is not I urge you to take steps to find what you hunger for and/or help that organization fulfill the Great commission. Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teach them to observe all things whatsoever the Lord commands us to do. Notice that it does not say, “go ye therefore and condemn others, pointing out their mistakes, and telling them where they will go if they don’t change”. Sometimes teaching requires that you point out what is wrong and punish others for their mistakes, but don’t make that the focus of your ministry. Make God’s focus, love, your focus.

America's Debt Downgrade

We the people need to take responsibility for the mess WE are making.

The downgrade is a consequence of our actions. America started down a spending spree many years ago, buying things we don’t need while necessities fall by the wayside. Then we expect the government to provide the necessities. The president said it best, “many people don’t like government spending, but they like the things the government buys”. We see it every day; families with all the amenities of the “good life” but can’t buy medicine when the baby gets sick. Don’t worry about that baby, momma will just high-tail it to the hospital with her gold card.

Families work every day to add bills to their ledger without saving a penny, so when the job is gone there is no safety net. Tragedy hits in the form of a natural disaster and millions of people can’t afford to rebuild or relocate then expect the government to foot the bill. Any talk of raising taxes is seen as blasphemy. America we made this mess and maybe we need a limit on the amount of money that we can borrow.

Unfortunately, that limit is coming the hard way. Instead of taking steps to adjust and realize that we are all connected; if one segment of the country fails then the entire country is failing. Nothing beats a failure but a try. We have a golden opportunity to rise to the occasion and clean up our mess. Instead of picking up the cleaning supplies, everyone has retreated to his/her perspective corner to point fingers, but we all know what momma said about pointing fingers: there are 3 pointing back at you.

America’s financial crisis is your fault and it is all my fault. Maybe the government shouldn’t have offered “sub-prime” mortgages, but we the people didn’t have to buy them knowing we didn’t have the money to afford them. Maybe the government shouldn’t have entered into a war, but we the people didn’t have to go. I accepted several Pell Grants for my undergraduate education and over 7 years later I have yet to find a job that will provide enough money for me to replenish the piggy. If we the people still haven’t found a job that provides enough money to pay enough taxes to send to the government that will give the next high school graduate a chance to go to school, where do we expect the money to come from? For years we have all known that an increasing population means that at some point there will be a lot senior citizens; more senior citizens, means more people will need social security at the same time. So while those old people are young they refuse to increase their taxes; they don’t want to put any extra money in the piggy. Where are they expecting this extra money to come from? I could name a few more examples, but I won’t.

Let’s all stop pointing fingers and figure out what we the people can do heal our country’s finances. We can’t expect government to do alone and more importantly, government can’t do it on their own. Let’s stop being selfish and accusatory. Let’s start giving to the country so the country will be better equipped to give to her children.

What's In A Name

What’s In a Name?

Jeanicia Rochelle Elder’s business gained its inception in 1997 when she declared her love for all things media. Since then she has moonlighted for several companies including: Acadiana Open Channel, The Bridge Ministry of Acadiana, and several Houston area churches. Only this year did she did she take the plunge to enter the business world.

ByJRochelle is a multi-media creation company specializing in graphics, video production [for web, television, and mass presentation]. ByJRochelle uses creativity to get your message across while remaining sensitive to the image of your company. You can visit our temporary website to view work samples. Before I introduce you the work, let me answer a question fan, Derix Dugan: Why ByJRochelle?

9 years ago when I met the man who I eventually married you always found me creating something. At the time we met, it was clothes. My grandmother taught me to sew; I eventually acquired a sewing machine with which I would make gifts for friends and family. Gregory randomly suggested that I create my own line of clothing called, yep you guessed it, J Rochelle. When Gregory and I rekindled our friendship, he began to encourage me to harness my talents. Although people continually told me all along that I did excellent work and recommended me to other people, I never thought that I could be a business. Gregory motivated me to not wait for someone to hire me, and hire myself. It reminded me of “J Rochelle”. As our relationship grew I started to seek alternate outlets for my creative talents and created an online portfolio, aptly titled JRochelle Media Productions.

A few months ago, I created a Facebook page to generate fans and create a temporary place to display my work. Once you get so many fans, you have the option of creating an official name. With the help of my husband I started to brainstorm possible ideas. He thought the title of my temporary portfolio , “J. Rochelle Media Productions” and even the title of my photography division, “Captured By J. Rochelle” were too long. I wanted to pick a name that communicated the vastness of my work. Finally, Gregory said, “ByJRochelle”! It was perfect. I like the idea that the name does not limit my business, because when you see “ByJRochelle” you never know exactly what it will be: a video, graphics, pictures, a resume. The possibilities are endless.

I am anxious to begin this leg of my journey and I hope that I get a chance to help you get your message across. Please visit my facebook page and my temporary portfolio. Don’t forget to click like and let me know you stopped by.

...

What’s In a Name?

Jeanicia Rochelle Elder’s business gained its inception in 1997 when she declared herlove for all things media. Since then she has moonlighted for several companies including:Acadiana Open Channel, The Bridge Ministry of Acadiana, and several Houston area churches. Only this year did she did she take the plunge to enter the business world.

ByJRochelle is a multi-media creation company specializingin graphics, video production [for web, television, and mass presentation]. ByJRochelle uses creativity to get your message across while remaining sensitive to the image of your company. You can visit our temporary website to view work samples. Before I introduce you the work, let me answer a question fan, Derix Dugan: Why ByJRochelle?

9 years ago when I met the man who I eventually married you always found me creating something. At the time we met, it was clothes. My grandmother taught me to sew; I eventually acquired a sewing machine with which I would make gifts for friends and family. Gregory randomly suggested that I create my own line of clothing called, yep you guessed it, J Rochelle. When Gregory and I rekindled our friendship, he began to encourage me to harness my talents. Although people continually told me all along that I did excellent work and recommended me to other people, I never thought that I could be a business. Gregory motivated me to not wait for someone to hire me, and hire myself. It reminded me of “J Rochelle”. As our relationship grew I started to seek alternate outlets for my creative talents and created an online portfolio, aptly titled JRochelle Media Productions.

A few months ago, I created aFacebook page to generate fans and create a temporary place to display my work. Once you get so many fans, you have the option of creating an official name. With the help of my husband I started to brainstorm possible ideas. He thought the title of my temporary portfolio , “J. Rochelle Media Productions” and even the title of my photography division, “Captured By J. Rochelle” were too long. I wanted to pick a name that communicated the vastness of my work. Finally, Gregory said, “ByJRochelle”! It was perfect. I like the idea that the name does not limit my business, because when you see “ByJRochelle” you never know exactly what it will be: a video, graphics, pictures, a resume. The possibilities are endless.

I am anxious to begin this leg of my journey and I hope that I get a chance to help you get your message across. Please visit my facebook page and my temporary portfolio. Don’t forget to click like and let me know you stopped by.

I Appreciate My All

For about 11 years of my life, I consistently worshiped, served, and hung out @ Windsor Village United Methodist Church. At the end of each service we ended with a congregational call to action[kinda like a go-team before we exited] We can do, all things, through Christ who stengtheeeeeeeeeeeeeeens us! More importantly, I believe that the church encouraged to look for the “all” that God called us to do. @ Windsor Village I got a change to develop writing, communication, witnessing and a host of other skills. They taught us to minister to the lost, guide other Christians, andbuild God’s kingdom just as we were; they encouraged us to use our gifts to the glory of God. Part of our youth mission statement included “to change the world”. I don’t know how many of my peers took those words seriously, but through the invention of facebook, I get to peak into the lives of that chosen generation that God blessed me to complement; they are definitely world changers. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I have done the same. I know I believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but I don’t feel like I have done all things…I understand that those wonderful people and I do not in the same race so this is not about comparing my achievements to their achievements. At this point in my life I feel like my all should be different that what it is now. So this morning, I want to investigate my all. I will look at my personality profile, the things God continues t open my eyes to, and a biblical example of someone in my “plight”. When I finish I hope to have encouraged us to appreciate our “all”.

Scripture gives us many examples of people who gave their all and seemed slighted for most of their lives: Abraham and Sarah, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Jesus! It seems equally full of people who seemed to reap where they didn’t sow: David, Lot, Paul, etc…The bottom line of this paragraph is simple: [LIFE ISN’T FAIR]. We read in scripture that the kingdom of God resembles an estate manager who goes out to hire workers for his vineyard ^{[Matthew 20:1-16]}. In the first few verses we learn that the estate owner agrees on a wage of a dollar with the hired hands and they begin to work diligently. This tells us that God, the “estate owner” already set up the consequences/rewards: you do ‘this’ then you get ‘that’. On the surface, that sounds so awesome; we know exactly what to do to get the results that we want. But the parable goes on in verses 3-7 to say that later the estate owner saw more unemployed men and sent them to work in the vineyard as well.


This liberal estate owner did the same thing for hours. All the way until an hour before closing time! Some of us feel like we have worked for a long time, I know I do. I did everything I was supposed to do: loved others, worked hard, played fair, served God, finished school on time, etc. It seems like I did everything I was supposed to do from the time the “vineyard” opened. Then we know people who started work late: they didn’t love others, play fair, work hard, or serve God for so long but then they FINALLY came around. So when the day ended the foreman paid everyone the same amount of money! I know it’s wrong but this would have definitely bothered me. I would have felt like my results should have outweighed their results! I gave my all, my entire day, and I get the same pay as someone who gave not even half of their day. In those moments I have to remember this: The LORD is compassionate and gracious ^{[Psalm 103:8]} and that my God will meet all my needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus ^{[Philippians 4:19].} Those who the manager hired first assumed they would get far more but they got the same amount and became angry saying “'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.” God can do what he wants to do but the word tells us that he acts faithfully, justly, graciously, mercifully, and compassionately…so maybe a dollar was all each man needed. Maybe what I have now is all I need now; thank God that life isn’t fair. I know people who started work late and honestly, I don’t want to see them trying to live with what they deserve. More importantly I should be thankful that God continues to bless the work of my hands and provide for me. God continues to bless me with skills, talents, opportunities, and the like to the point that I have become a seasoned veteran.

That’s right, trials and experiences have rendered me competent; this makes me a seasoned veteran: I have experience and education. I have always had the character, integrity, and discipline employers look for but constantly in the job market I am looked over. I know my story isn’t unique: God continues to open my eyes to that fact. Recently, I attended Between Job Ministries, “a free, Christ-centered support ministry of NorthWest Bible Church” which provides “encouragement, information, networking, spiritual guidance, and job search skills training in a Christian setting. The ministry is open to job seekers of all backgrounds and denominations.” When I arrived to the meeting, the cars filled the parking lot almost to capacity: hundreds of well qualified people without jobs, some of whom had been searching for weeks, months, and even years for a job just like me. In all honesty it made me feel better. When things don’t go as expected, it isn’t necessarily because something is wrong with you. Scripture reminds us that God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous ^{Matthew 5:45}.

When I first began typing this blog, I wanted to include my personality profile. However, it doesn’t seem to fit anymore so maybe I will tap on that in another blog. In conclusion I want to encourage you in that the consequences and results are already set. You can’t deserve a blessing; God gives them to you freely. In times when you are not receiving it may not necessarily be because you are doing something wrong. Keep giving your all, do what you are supposed to do, and everything else will work itself out.