Lent: Day 2: Genesis 2:4b-3:24

After reading this passage, I was trying my best to string together some words to convey what I saw in the text. I wanted to sound profound. I wanted my words to be eloquent. I wanted to sound like a prolific theologian with some deep explanation of the text. However, I couldn't come up with any of that. All I could muster was one sentence. One sentence to describe the action that took place during the encounter in the Garden of Eden between God, Adam, Eve, and the serpent with much emphasis on Adam and Eve. If you have any questions about the sentence feel free to email me at michaelswortham@gmail.com. So here is the sentence:

We can sabotage our own blessings by not following instructions.

That is all.

This is Minister Mike and I want you to Consider This...

The Season of Lent is upon us

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 marks the beginning of Lent for this year. Lent is a period of preparation and consecration for all of Christendom. During this 40-day period (March 9-April 23: excluding Sundays), we engage in a time of fasting and prayer, of self-denial and sacrifice in hopes of strengthening our relationship with the God of our salvation.

The 40 days are representative of the time period that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying while being tempted by Satan. This time in the wilderness occurred prior to his public ministry. Before engaging in ministry, Jesus went through a period of fasting and prayer. Jesus went through a period in which he went into solitude to be with God and eliminated those things that were hindering him from being closer to God. Jesus throughout his ministry found time to get away from everyone and spend time with God. Before we embark on journeys in life it important that we pull ourselves from the things that distract us from hearing God. In order to gain clarity and insight on our life's journey, it is important that we engage in periods of fasting and prayer.

The period of Lent is not a competition. It's not about "who can out fast who." This period of fasting and prayer is between us and God. We do not have to advertise that we are participating in Lent or that we are fasting. We don't have to share with the world what we are giving up. This is about us and God.

And give up something that is going to actually to be a struggle for you. The point of fasting is removing those things that we feel we can't "live without" and replace those things with the One we can't "live without." Jesus fasted from food and water, two things we need to live, but that was replaced with God. For us is may be fried food, candy, fast food, etc. For some it may be twitter, facebook, television, etc. For others it may be alcohol, sex, clubbing, etc. What we must do is search within ourselves and be honest with ourselves and ask "What is it that is hindering me from getting closer to God? What is it that is preventing from hearing the voice of God"

In the next post, I will provide a weekly scripture and prayer itinerary that my church provided for us. We can use this as a guide to help us during this period.

I will be in much prayer for all us during this period. God Bless.

This is Minister Mike, and I want you to Consider This...

“Get Up, Stand Up”

“He has told you O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”- Micah 6:8

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24

“Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!” - Bob Marley, “Get Up, Stand Up”

Yesterday, January 17, 2011, marked the 25th anniversary of The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. National Federal Holiday. For the past 25 years on the third Monday in the month of January, we have celebrated the life and legacy of one who committed his life to freedom and justice for ALL people. When we think of Dr. King, one of the first words that comes to mind is “dream.” The eloquent speech that he gave on August 28, 1963 on the steps of the memorial honoring the “great emancipator” (laced with sarcasm) is what many people remember of the Atlanta, GA native. But his life was so much more than this speech and his dream was not one conceived by his own genius. Dr. King was not the first to have a dream nor will he be the last to have a dream. The dream that Dr. King spoke of was a dream birthed by so many before him. A dream and vision of a world where love, justice, and righteousness would reign. A world where the “-isms” that separate us can be destroyed and we live in harmony. A place where the people of God would not lack. A place where the poor will be cared for. A place where the orphan and widow will experience love and compassion. A place where all injustice would be eradicated and justice will reign supreme. This dream and vision trickled down through the ages. This dream and vision was conceived in the mind of God, professed loud by the prophets, and exemplified best through Christ.

On the third Monday in the month of January we have a tendency to idolize The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. We try to live vicariously through him and be satisfied with the work that he did with his life. We talk about “carrying on Dr. King’s dream” but if we are honest we would be satisfied if someone would do it for us, whether it be our preachers, pastors, politicians, or whoever. What we miss is that it is our job to help this dream and vision of “love, peace, and justice” come to fruition. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, Ella Baker, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and host of others have done their part but the fact of the matter is they are dead and are not going to resurrect from their resting places. It is time for a new generation to rise up. We need to stop waiting for someone to declare a leader then we all follow. If you see injustice, inequality, or hate, do your part to stand and fight against it. Marley said it in these simple words, “Get up stand up/Stand up for your rights/Get up stand up/Don’t give up the fight.” It is time for us to get up and stand up. If Dr. King and others were living, they would not be pleased with the state of the world. They would not be pleased with the random acts of violence that continue to happen in this country. They would not be satisfied with our failing school systems. They would not be pleased with disparity between the haves and have-nots. They would not be pleased.

So it is my plea to my generation that “WE GET UP AND STAND UP!!!!!” so “JUSTICE CAN ROLL DOWN LIKE RIVERS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE AN EVER-FLOWING STREAM” and do what God expects of us and that is “ TO DO JUSTICE, AND TO LOVE KINDNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD.”

This is Minister Mike and I want you to Consider This....

Consider This...Episode 3 "Christmas Edition: Share Your Gift" MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

"Consider This..." Episode 2: Fear

Choose This Day

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:14-15

Idolatry is a huge problem in Christianity. If we honestly look at ourselves, we worship everything but God. I’m not one to categorize “sin” but idolatry has to be at the top of the list of most committed sin. God has called and commanded us to worship him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Simply put, God wants us to worship him with our whole being. God understood that we would have other “gods” in our lives, hence the reason we are told not to worship these other “gods” before him. The problem is that we are easily distracted by so many different things in this world. We are distracted by our successes and our failures, our joys and our pains, our ups and downs. So many things vie for our attention and we graciously and willingly give it over to them.

However, God has given his recommendation that we “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be given to you as well.” God has warned us that we cannot “serve two masters, because we will love one and hate the other, we will devote ourselves to one and despise the other.” God has advised us that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.” So let us begin to look into our lives and see what it is that we truly worship. What are the “gods” and “idols” in our lives that are preventing us from worshiping God? What is it that is blocking us from having real relationship with God? And then we must answer Joshua’s challenge to the people of Israel: “choose this day who you will serve...but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” So on this day ask yourself “Who will I serve?” I know for me, I will serve the Lord.

This is Minister Mike and I want you to Consider This...

For Colored People in a State of Emergency Searching For Something to Fight For!!!

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:28-31

This past weekend I found myself in a place of deep reflection after watching For Colored Girls and Black Girls Rock. While watching Black Girls Rock, I felt this energy that I had not felt in a while. I saw a resurgence of power occurring in people byway of Twitter. Seeing the tweets from my sisters and the inspiration they felt encouraged and inspired me as a black man. Not to mention the intensity of For Colored Girls and how it challenged me deep in my spirit. Both productions touched me in a special way and caused me to look at the state of my people at the moment.

We are in a state of emergency as a people (some would probably argue that we have been in this state for a while). That is the only way I can express it. I am not going to list a bunch of statistics because I witness this emergency we are in with my own eyes everyday. The mental, physical, and verbal assaults we launch on each other is down right depressing and sad. Despite this, I feel like there is a shift in the tide.

My generation has been asking the question for a while “What cause is there for us to fight for?” “What is our movement?” When we look our ancestors, the clear cut enemy for them was the evil that is racism and many of them decided to fight against this evil, even putting their very lives on the line. And yes, racism is still an evil that exists in the world, but I am convinced that the enemy most prevalent and damaging to our community is the self-hate that we have for ourselves and each other. It saddens me because it appears this self-hate has become all too natural. It appears that the self-hate is a part of our very DNA and flows through our veins.

So you may ask, how do you reverse over 300+ years of mental damage? How do you reverse over 300+ years of being taught to hate yourself? It is simple, we start by reversing the mental damage today. We understand that people took the time and effort to mentally crush us as a people. That same time, energy, and effort must take place to resurrect us as a people. This can occur by each of us “young professionals” mentoring a young male and/or female. We must begin to affirm each other with words of encouragement. We must hold accountable the people who perpetuate self-hate. It is essentially a radical movement of love. By re-establishing love as a dominant force in this world to counter the hate and evil that is all too pervasive now. Love is an action and state of being that we should operate in on a daily basis. It is a love for God, ourselves, and our people.

So let us being the love movement so we can reclaim this world and reclaim who we are as a children of God.

This is Minister Mike and I want you to Consider This....

“What Am I Doing?” (Drizzy Voice)

“You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is good for you. And even though ‘I am allowed to do anything,’ I must not become a slave to anything.”- 1 Corinthians 6:12 (New Living Translation)

There was a report that hip-hop artist, Pittsburgh’s own Wiz Khalifa, was arrested on drug charges in Greenville, NC yesterday evening. Wiz Khalifa has now become a part of the revolving door of hip-hop artists who cannot escape their infatuation with criminal justice system. Lil Wayne was just released after serving a little under a year for a weapons charge. TI is headed back to prison for violating his probation after just being released from prison earlier this year. And the list can go on and on about artists who have been in and out of prison. I wonder if them and others ever ask themselves, “What Am I Doing?” (Drizzy Voice)

Now let me turn the light off these artists and focus it on ourselves. What actions are we engaging in that are detrimental to our progress? What actions are we engaging in that can undermine the work that has already taken place? What actions are we engaging in that are just not beneficial for us? “What Are We Doing?” (Drizzy Voice)

The Corinthians text above reminds us that we must be mindful of all of our actions. Just because we are in a position to do anything we want does not mean those actions are beneficial. We cannot continue to undermine the blessings of God by failing to make wise decisions. The above MCs are or have participated in actions that can, have, or will lead to their demise. What actions have we engaged in that can, have, or will lead to our demise? It is time to take assessment of our lives and begin to adjust life accordingly. We must make sure that we do not sabotage the work of God in our lives because of our foolishness. We cripple the body of Christ and ourselves when we live reckless lifestyles. Therefore I encourage us not to become slaves to our vices (drinking, smoking, sex, pride, ego, ambition, men, women,etc.) but remain faithful to the calling that Christ has placed on each of our lives.

This is Minister Mike and I want you to Consider This...

Consider This...Episode 1 "Who Controls Your Mind?"