"I believe in person to person. Every person is Christ to me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is the one person in the world at that moment."
- Mother Teresa
Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. 
Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? 
Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. 
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. 
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. 
The Tree of Life vs. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil...thanks for hearing the word concerning these concepts again this morning...revelation is manifesting, line upon line, precept upon precept...the nine o'clock service was fun and excellent ("It's Showtime!")...loved the on-the-spot feedback...crowd was bigger than expected...don't know how long we can keep it in the Narthex...we'll see...I am grateful for you all...
Hey bloggers...I want to pre-order the Gospels in the Now - I do not see anyway of doing it online - I will send December's gift in tomorrow, do you need a separate check in advance for book? I would like it sent to me the day it is available so I have no issues writing a check early, I just need price. Christmas gift to myself :) Hate to bug ya online but last two times I called bookstore no one answered - Don't you people want my money? :) strange Christians you are - everyone else wants my cash - :) I keep waiting for you to say something I don't believe - stop disappointing me - kidding aside have a great night and very glad our paths have crossed.Of course I assured him that we ain't mad at his money (and the price is $30)...for those of you who have had trouble getting through, sorry for the inconvenience...please try again...the book is supposed to arrive on the 11th, and I'll do a signing on the 13th after the 11:00 service...P. Judah was supposed to preach on that Sunday and spotlight Project 404 while I was going to be in the Philippines that weekend for a GPF, but I've decided not to go since I'll be there in January for the UNITE 2010 conference with Bishop Tommy Smith...Judah has asked to postpone doing a P-404 service until next month so that I can preach on the weekend that the book becomes available...
I'm not sure when Daisson (my son-in-law, for those of you who don't know) will be home, but there's a very good chance he will be in Afghanistan for Christmas...he doesn't have a lot of phone access, but he can check his email, so if some of you would like to contact him and wish him a merry Christmas, I'm sure he would appreciate it...Christina sent me a note about it saying "he's all cold and living in a tent and it's the holidays so he's probably kind of bummed out"...his address is:Ephesians 3 (The Message)
The Secret Plan of God1-3. This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
4-6. As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
7-8. This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
8-10. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
11-13. All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
14-19. My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
20-21. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
For unto us... not unto me… not unto you... but unto us, the collective, corporate community of mankind...the household of humanity...unto all of us, a child is born; unto us, the global family, a Son is given, and the responsibility of the government will rest on His broad shoulders. In fact, all the governments of all the peoples of the world will ultimately recognize Him as their one true foundation, for the earth is His, and He belongs to all of us . He will be the physical embodiment of the “I Am,” the God who defies description; and, in an attempt to define the indefinable, He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase and expansion of His kingdom and government and peace there will be no end. He will reign initially from David's throne and over His kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time, on into the eternal now. The passionate zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:6,7 - The Bible In The Now)
And the eternal Word morphed into flesh – into a manifested incarnation with human attributes and authority in the natural world – so that He could live with and among us human beings. And He did live with us here in our world, limiting Himself to the constraints of the human condition without reservation, but we could still plainly see His eternal, divine glory. It was obvious that He shined with the glorious light of a unique, firstborn son who was miraculously like His Father who had sent Him. The illumination from that glory revealed that He was literally filled with grace and that He overflowed with absolute truth.
Pastor D.E. mentioned in the Sunday service about the rainbow that was over Conyers and CITN yesterday morning...I didn't even know it rained in Conyers Saturday night or early Sunday A.M...very interesting...anyway, it made me want to re-post this blessing...enjoy!
Today, on this last day of November, I speak a blessing over you...over every blogger and blurker...over all of CITN and cyber-CITN...over every believer, and even over every non-believer...over every man, woman, boy and girl...even over every Democrat and Republican...I speak into your life with hope for the future, because God has said, "I know the plans I have for you"...regardless of what is happening in the material world, you have the promise that God will not fail you...
All of the promises of God are YES and AMEN, and the same God who, in the ancient world, put a rainbow in the cloud to show Noah that the nightmare/storm was truly over, will watch over His word to perform it for you in the here and now...
I speak a blessing over your dreams, as the colors of the rainbow remind you of all the possibilities available to you...
I speak joy to you...joy unspeakable, and full of glory...Kingdom joy that confirms your righteousness and your peace...joy in the Holy Ghost...the joy of the Lord which is your strength...
His word will not return to Him void, and His promises are now simply statements of fact...a revelation of what is already yours...an unveiling of the mysteries of God...an understanding and realization of what you already possess...
You are blessed, in spite of what is happening in the economy...and you will continue to be blessed, regardless of anything that happens in the natural realm...no matter what you hear, the world - God's amazing creation - is still a beautiful place...
Keep looking up...there are signs in the heavens, and the heavens are declaring the glory of God...
Put on the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness...His burden is easy, and His yoke is light...the sun is shining, and the rainbow is clear and brilliant...hope is everywhere, and the atmosphere is charged with faith...all things are possible...
Arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!
2 - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing — (covers by Mahalia Jackson, Nat King Cole, Take 6, and the Vince Guaraldi Trio from the A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack...)
3 - Christmas In Dixie — (Alabama)
10 - The other artists: Kirk Franklin, Aaron Neville, The Judds, Joshua James, Mannheim Steamroller, Mahalia Jackson, Diana Krall, The Roches, Hillsong Australia, Harry Connick, Jr., Kelly Clarkson, Vince Gill, George Winston, Luther Vandross, First Call, Wendy Francisco, Boyz II Men, Chris Botti, Shirley Caesar, Johnny Mathis, Michael W. Smith, Celine Dion, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah McLachlan, Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Boston Pops, The Sojourners, Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston, Clay Aiken, BeBe & CeCe Winans, 4Him, Boney M., Carnie & Wendy Wilson, Marc Anthony, Josh Groban, MercyMe, The Monks and Choirs of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Vienna Boys Choir, U2, Lauryn Hill, Sparrow Artists, Paul McCartney, Anne Murray, David Crowder Band, Trisha Yearwood, Point of Grace, Hymns on Guitar, Jewel, Angie Winans, Relient K, Sarah McLachlan, The Carpenters, Sixpence None The Richer, Angels & Airwaves, Red Nativity, Wayne Watson, BarlowGirl, Jars Of Clay, Destiny's Child, Kathy Mattea, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, The Temptations, John Coltrane, and Messiah — A Soulful Celebration.
