photo by David Mannah Photography

Last night at Connect 2010 at Family Harvest Church was a barrage of thought provoking bombs aimed at every walk of life. Robb Thompson delivered a poetic message with a Mike Tyson uppercut attached.

Do you have people in your life that motivate you to do good? Are you consistently convinced they will give you the right answer when you need it and not the feel good answer?Have you thought about the types of people that you feed your quarters of life with?

There was no sugar to much of this medicine. It was cut n dry like a shot with no chaser. Continue reading to see the entire list of notes directly from Robb Thompson’s message titled Necessary Connections.

(These notes are directly from Robb Thompson, they have not been changed or altered in any way)
No Matter When You Were Born… You Have A Way That You Connect With Others… Boomers Connected Over The Backyard Fence… Gen X’ers Gave Birth To Technology… Being Connected Then Could Happen From Almost Anywhere – The Car, School, Or The Mall… The Millenial’s Use Technology As A Means To Intimacy… Whether You Use Facebook… Twitter… Blogs Or Texting, One-Question Remains To Be Answered For All… Who Are Those That We Are To Be Connected To… Who Are Those That Will Never Hurt Us… Those Who Desire Mutual Blessing For One Another…
Amos 3:3 Can Two Walk Together, Except They Be Agreed?

In Order To Possess The Ability To Recognize These Very Uncommon People We Must Walk In Close Adherence To The Word Of God. These Are Very Rare People & Cannot Be Spotted Easily… In Order To Detect Them You Must First Know Who They Are…

If You Search For Friends You Will Find The Wrong Ones… If You Seek God He Will Provide You With Friends…

Never Forget:
The Right People Will Always Add To Us, While The Fraudulent Plot To Take From Us…
Psa. 1:1 How Well God Must Like You— You Don’t Hang Out At Sin Saloon,   You Don’t Slink Along Dead-End Road,   You Don’t Go To Smart-Mouth College.
Psa. 1:2 Instead You Thrill To GOD’S Word, You Chew On Scripture Day And Night.
Psa. 1:3 You’re A Tree Replanted In Eden, Bearing Fresh Fruit Every Month, Never Dropping A Leaf, Always In Blossom.
Psa. 1:4 You’re Not At All Like The Wicked, Who Are Mere Windblown Dust—
Psa.1:5 Without Defense In Court, Unfit Company For Innocent People.
Psa. 1:6 GOD Charts The Road You Take.  The Road They Take Is Skid Row. (Message)

2Chr. 20:34  ¶ The Rest Of The Events Of Jehoshaphat’s Reign, From Beginning To End, Are Recorded In The Record Of Jehu Son Of Hanani, Which Is Included In The Book Of The Kings Of Israel.
2Chr. 20:35 Some Time Later King Jehoshaphat Of Judah Made An Alliance With King Ahaziah Of Israel, Who Was Very Wicked.
2Chr. 20:36 Together They Built A Fleet Of Trading Ships At The Port Of Ezion-Geber.
2Chr. 20:37 Then Eliezer Son Of Dodavahu From Mareshah Prophesied Against Jehoshaphat. He Said, “Because You Have Allied Yourself With King Ahaziah, The LORD Will Destroy Your Work.” So The Ships Met With Disaster And Never Put Out To Sea.

The Most Necessary Connections In Life…
1.Those Who Motivate You To Do Right.

Compromise Is The Pen that Writes The Story Of Your Future Regrets…
Job 36:11 If They Obey And Serve Him, They Shall Spend Their Days In Prosperity, And Their Years In Pleasures.
Job 36:12 But If They Do Not Obey, They Shall Perish By The Sword,And They Shall Die Without Knowledge. You Will Never Know What You Missed

Josh. 24:15 And If It Seems Evil To You To Serve The Lord, Choose For Yourselves This Day Whom You Will Serve, Whether The Gods Which Your Fathers Served That Were On The Other Side Of The River, Or The Gods Of The Amorites, In Whose Land You Dwell. But As For Me And My House, We Will Serve The Lord.” (Nkjv)

Dan. 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, In Rage And Fury, Gave The Command To Bring Shadrach, Meshach, And Abed-Nego. So They Brought These Men Before The King.
Dan. 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar Spoke, Saying To Them, “Is It True, Shadrach, Meshach, And Abed-Nego, That You Do Not Serve My Gods Or Worship The Gold Image Which I Have Set Up?
Dan. 3:15 Now If You Are Ready At The Time You Hear The Sound Of The Horn, Flute, Harp, Lyre, And Psaltery, In Symphony With All Kinds Of Music, And You Fall Down And Worship The Image Which I Have Made, Good! But If You Do Not Worship, You Shall Be Cast Immediately Into The Midst Of A Burning Fiery Furnace. And Who Is The God Who Will Deliver You From My Hands?”
Dan. 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, And Abed-Nego Answered And Said To The King, “O Nebuchadnezzar, We Have No Need To Answer You In This Matter.
Dan. 3:17 If That Is The Case, Our God Whom We Serve Is Able To Deliver Us From The Burning Fiery Furnace, And He Will Deliver Us From Your Hand, O King.
Dan. 3:18 But If Not, Let It Be Known To You, O King, That We Do Not Serve Your Gods, Nor Will We Worship The Gold Image Which You Have Set Up.”

Dan. 3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar Was Astonished; And He Rose In Haste And Spoke, Saying To His Counselors, “Did We Not Cast Three Men Bound Into The Midst Of The Fire?” ¶ They Answered And Said To The King, “True, O King.”
Dan. 3:25 “Look!” He Answered, “I See Four Men Loose, Walking In The Midst Of The Fire; And They Are Not Hurt, And The Form Of The Fourth Is Like The Son Of God.”

2. Those Who Correct Themselves…

Self-Correction Is Proof A Man Walk’s In Deep Convictions…
Gen. 39:9 There Is No One Greater In This House Than I, Nor Has He Kept Back Anything From Me But You, Because You Are His Wife. How Then Can I Do This Great Wickedness, And Sin Against God?”

Acts 23:1 Then Paul, Looking Earnestly At The Council, Said, “Men And Brethren, I Have Lived In All Good Conscience Before God Until This Day.”
Acts 23:2 And The High Priest Ananias Commanded Those Who Stood By Him To Strike Him On The Mouth.
Acts 23:3 Then Paul Said To Him, “God Will Strike You, You Whitewashed Wall! For You Sit To Judge Me According To The Law, And Do You Command Me To Be Struck Contrary To The Law?”
Acts 23:4 And Those Who Stood By Said, “Do You Revile God’s High Priest?”
Acts 23:5 Then Paul Said, “I Did Not Know, Brethren, That He Was The High Priest; For It Is Written, ‘You Shall Not Speak Evil Of A Ruler Of Your People.’ ”

3. Those Who Unlock Your Faith.

Faith Is Not The Absence Of Fear … It Is Denying Fear The Right To Speak…
Mark 2:1 And Again He Entered Capernaum After Some Days, And It Was Heard That He Was In The House.
Mark 2:2 Immediately Many Gathered Together, So That There Was No Longer Room To Receive Them, Not Even Near The Door. And He Preached The Word To Them.
Mark 2:3 Then They Came To Him, Bringing A Paralytic Who Was Carried By Four Men.
Mark 2:4 And When They Could Not Come Near Him Because Of The Crowd, They Uncovered The Roof Where He Was. So When They Had Broken Through, They Let Down The Bed On Which The Paralytic Was Lying.

4. Those Who Respect Authority.

We Must Stop Thinking About The Price Of “Honor” And Consider The Story It Reveals If We Don’t…
Rom. 13:1 Let Every Soul Be Subject Unto The Higher Powers. For There Is No Power But Of God: The Powers That Be Are Ordained Of God.
Rom. 13:2 Whosoever Therefore Resisteth The Power, Resisteth The Ordinance Of God: And They That Resist Shall Receive To Themselves Damnation.
Rom. 13:3 For Rulers Are Not A Terror To Good Works, But To The Evil. Wilt Thou Then Not Be Afraid Of The Power? Do That Which Is Good, And Thou Shalt Have Praise Of The Same:
Rom.13:4 For He Is The Minister Of God To Thee For Good. But If Thou Do That Which Is Evil, Be Afraid; For He Beareth Not The Sword In Vain: For He Is The Minister Of God, A Revenger To Execute Wrath Upon Him That Doeth Evil.
1Pet. 2:17 Honour All Men. Love The Brotherhood. Fear God. Honour The King.

Heb. 13:17 Obey Those Who Rule Over You, And Be Submissive, For They Watch Out For Your Souls, As Those Who Must Give Account. Let Them Do So With Joy And Not With Grief, For That Would Be Unprofitable For You.

1Sam. 24:1 And It Came To Pass, When Saul Was Returned From Following The Philistines, That It Was Told Him, Saying, Behold, David Is In The Wilderness Of Engedi.
1Sam. 24:2 Then Saul Took Three Thousand Chosen Men Out Of All Israel, And Went To Seek David And His Men Upon The Rocks Of The Wild Goats.
1Sam. 24:3 And He Came To The Sheepcotes By The Way, Where Was A Cave; And Saul Went In To Cover His Feet: And David And His Men Remained In The Sides Of The Cave.
1Sam. 24:4 And The Men Of David Said Unto Him, Behold The Day Of Which The LORD Said Unto Thee, Behold, I Will Deliver Thine Enemy Into Thine Hand, That Thou Mayest Do To Him As It Shall Seem Good Unto Thee. Then David Arose, And Cut Off The Skirt Of Saul’s Robe Privily.
1Sam. 24:5 And It Came To Pass Afterward, That David’s Heart Smote Him, Because He Had Cut Off Saul’s Skirt.
1Sam. 24:6 And He Said Unto His Men, The LORD Forbid That I Should Do This Thing Unto My Master, The LORD’S Anointed, To Stretch Forth Mine Hand Against Him, Seeing He Is The Anointed Of The LORD.
1Sam. 24:7 So David Stayed His Servants With These Words, And Suffered Them Not To Rise Against Saul. But Saul Rose Up Out Of The Cave, And Went On His Way.

5. Those Who Defend You In Your Absence.

Loyalty Is Never As Beautiful As The Day That It Defends The One Who Is Absent…
Jonathon…
1Sam. 20:30 Then Saul’s Anger Was Kindled Against Jonathan, And He Said Unto Him, Thou Son Of The Perverse Rebellious Woman, Do Not I Know That Thou Hast Chosen The Son Of Jesse To Thine Own Confusion, And Unto The Confusion Of Thy Mother’s Nakedness?
1Sam. 20:31 For As Long As The Son Of Jesse Liveth Upon The Ground, Thou Shalt Not Be Established, Nor Thy Kingdom. Wherefore Now Send And Fetch Him Unto Me, For He Shall Surely Die.
1Sam. 20:32 And Jonathan Answered Saul His Father, And Said Unto Him, Wherefore Shall He Be Slain? What Hath He Done?
1Sam. 20:33 And Saul Cast A Javelin At Him To Smite Him: Whereby Jonathan Knew That It Was Determined Of His Father To Slay David.
1Sam. 20:34 So Jonathan Arose From The Table In Fierce Anger, And Did Eat No Meat The Second Day Of The Month: For He Was Grieved For David, Because His Father Had Done Him Shame.

6. Those Who Unlock Your Gratitude.

Never Allow The Gifts That Have Been Bestowed Upon You To Ever Eclipse The One Who Bestowed Them…

Gratitude Is The Substance Of A Heart Ready To Show Appreciation, Or Thankfulness; It Is Not Simply An Emotion, Which Involves A Pleasant Feeling That Can Occur When We Receive A Favor Or Benefit From Another Person But Rather The Combination Of A State Of Being And An Emotion; Often Accompanied By A Desire To Thank Them, Or To Reciprocate
Abigail..
1Sam. 25:30 And It Shall Come To Pass, When The LORD Shall Have Done To My Lord According To All The Good That He Hath Spoken Concerning Thee, And Shall Have Appointed Thee Ruler Over Israel;
1Sam. 25:31 That This Shall Be No Grief Unto Thee, Nor Offence Of Heart Unto My Lord, Either That Thou Hast Shed Blood Causeless, Or That My Lord Hath Avenged Himself: But When The LORD Shall Have Dealt Well With My Lord, Then Remember Thine Handmaid.
1Sam. 25:32 ¶ And David Said To Abigail, Blessed Be The LORD God Of Israel, Which Sent Thee This Day To Meet Me:
1Sam. 25:33 And Blessed Be Thy Advice, And Blessed Be Thou, Which Hast Kept Me This Day From Coming To Shed Blood, And From Avenging Myself With Mine Own Hand.

7.Those Who Inspire You To Give.

Your Seed Is The Only Influence You Have Over Your Future…
David
1 Chr. 29:1 Furthermore King David Said To All The Assembly: “My Son Solomon, Whom Alone God Has Chosen, Is Young And Inexperienced; And The Work Is Great, Because The Temple Is Not For Man But For The Lord God.
1 Chr. 29:2 Now For The House Of My God I Have Prepared With All My Might: Gold For Things To Be Made Of Gold, Silver For Things Of Silver, Bronze For Things Of Bronze, Iron For Things Of Iron, Wood For Things Of Wood, Onyx Stones, Stones To Be Set, Glistening Stones Of Various Colors, All Kinds Of Precious Stones, And Marble Slabs In Abundance.
1 Chr. 29:5 The Gold For Things Of Gold And The Silver For Things Of Silver, And For All Kinds Of Work To Be Done By The Hands Of Craftsmen. Who Then Is Willing To Consecrate Himself This Day To The Lord?”
1 Chr. 29:6 Then The Leaders Of The Fathers’ Houses, Leaders Of The Tribes Of Israel, The Captains Of Thousands And Of Hundreds, With The Officers Over The King’s Work, Offered Willingly.
1chr. 29:8 And Whoever Had Precious Stones Gave Them To The Treasury Of The House Of The Lord, Into The Hand Of Jehiel The Gershonite.
1 Chr. 29:9 Then The People Rejoiced, For They Had Offered Willingly, Because With A Loyal Heart They Had Offered Willingly To The Lord; And King David Also Rejoiced Greatly.

Barnabas
Acts 4:36 And Joses, Who Was Also Named Barnabas By The Apostles (Which Is Translated Son Of Encouragement), A Levite Of The Country Of Cyprus,
Acts 4:37 Having Land, Sold It, And Brought The Money And Laid It At The Apostles’ Feet.

Cornelius
Acts 10:1 There Was A Certain Man In Caesarea Called Cornelius, A Centurion Of What Was Called The Italian Regiment,
Acts 10:2 A Devout Man And One Who Feared God With All His Household, Who Gave Alms Generously To The People, And Prayed To God Always.
Acts 10:3 About The Ninth Hour Of The Day He Saw Clearly In A Vision An Angel Of God Coming In And Saying To Him, “Cornelius!”
Acts 10:4 And When He Observed Him, He Was Afraid, And Said, “What Is It, Lord?” ¶ So He Said To Him, “Your Prayers And Your Alms Have Come Up For A Memorial Before God.
Acts 10:5 Now Send Men To Joppa, And Send For Simon Whose Surname Is Peter.

Philippian Church

2 Cor 8:1 Moreover, Brethren, We Make Known To You The Grace Of God Bestowed On The Churches Of Macedonia
2 Cor 8:2 That In A Great Trial Of Affliction The Abundance Of Their Joy And Their Deep Poverty Abounded In The Riches Of Their Liberality.

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Jesus is NOT Your Homeboy

I decided to digg up an old post because I saw another one of those retarded “Jesus is my homeboy” tshirts. Once again it reminded me of one of the greatest shows ever … Punk’d. Here is 2 Reasons Why Jesus is NOT Your Homeboy.

On a sidenote, any person who uses the word Homeboy should not. In fact, the word “homeboy” should be erased from the internet for 20 years. We can then revisit this word while watching Ashton Kutcher on the news because he fell and broke his hip.

Contrary to popular belief, “homeboy“, along with “homie” were both created by Chicano, aka Mexican American Pachucos from the word “Hombre” which is spanish for “man.” It all derived from the slang they used known as “Calo.” Chuco #1: What’s happenin’ homie?

Chuco #2: Just kickin it with my homeboy.{courtesy of Urban Dictionary}

As a man, Jesus performed many miracles, which set him apart. When we think of set apart, you have to imagine these miracles happening to you or a member of your family. Try to digest the full impact of the following miraculous acts.

He healed Peter’s mother of a fever. He also healed lepers. In Matthew 9:20 He healed a woman who suffered from menorrhagia, or, what scholars would consider to be hemophilia. Remember, no X-rays, no CAT scans, no Vicodine, Codiene, Tylenol etc. Imagine pain and then grab a hammer and smash each finger… one – by – one.

In St. Mark, Jesus heals a man who has a withered hand. He is also credited with simply speaking and healing a young boy who was close to dying. His impact was continually felt everywhere He traveled. We are talking about your levels of friends, and comparing this metric with Jesus. We are reminding eachother how insane it would have been to be next to Him as He rocked up and commanded a buried, embalmed dead man to come out of a grave. Fully dead, fully embalmed inside a real grave. Is He greater than Michael Jackson’s rendition of “Thriller?”

Luke alone states that, during Sabbath, Jesus ate in the house of a prominent Pharisee, opposite someone who suffered from dropsy, and Jesus asked the Pharisees that were present if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath. After getting no reply, He healed the man. Jesus then challenged the Pharisees to say that they would not immediately pull out an ox, or a son (or a donkey, according to some ancient manuscripts of Luke), if it fell into a well during Sabbath.

He took shots at deafness, blindness and paralysis. None of them were any match. I wonder sometimes how I would treat my local pastor if he had performed the following miracles? Would his sermon be boring or would my mind drift off to my DVR schedule of HBO? Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of The Concords… (your mind is gone at this point in church and you need to hit the reset button).

REASON #1 WHY JESUS IS NOT YOUR HOMEBOY: If you have homies, who can do everything in the above few paragraphs, then please alert me. I am hanging with the wrong people and my life sucks. (Thank you for pointing out to me my lack of awesome relationships.)

Did Jesus come to bring peace?

St. John 18:37 states: Pilate said, “…So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

St. Matthew 10:32-33 states, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” V33: “…But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”

Both of these passages of scripture scream out to me our consistent desire of obtaining FREE STUFF. We love our:
FREE COFFEE,
FREE DONUTS,
FREE CAR WASH,
Buy 1 get one FREE and so on.

I think what we forget is that Jesus lives in a place called H E A V E N. He has thousands and thousands of angels worshipping Him all the time. He is living in the greatest place EVER and is not in the business to give out a FREE HANDOUT to heaven.

Let’s imagine you recently purchased your dream home. Floor to ceiling glass, ocean views, and… you recently finished gutting out every room and installing new carpet. You went nuts and threw down mahogany wood floors, wood shutters.

You went all out, installed a state of the art replica bathtub used by past Ceasar’s, inground swimming pool with giant rock formations. You had custom rocks flown in from Brazil to form a natural waterfall 10 feet high. Now…imagine your pool is deep enough to jump in from that high!

You decided to redesign every room in your house. Your house takes almost 2 years to completely renovate. Imported tile, wood: the finest of the finest. Now imagine how you would feel if your wife or best friend decided to throw a party at your house with a bunch of college kids !

College kids who have not lived in an apartment larger than 2 bedrooms. College kids who have never actually washed dishes; they only wipe them off or use paper plates. College kids who yell WOOO WOOO when you mention the word SPRING BREAK! College kids who conveniently always have a trojan condom that they wash out and re-use because THEY ARE BROKE!

Your house would be trashed!

All your hard work would be torn apart, wasted and destroyed by these so called college friends. Your friends think you’re cool. They may even say they love you, or possibly toss you a text message every so often. These friends may even help YOU out sometimes when you need something done. The question is: do they respect you?

REASON #2 JESUS IS NOT YOUR HOMEBOY: He ultimately has the ability to change your life forever. There is not another individual on this planet or another galaxy, who holds this capability. If you missed what I said, here it is again: No one else can alter the course of your ETERNAL life. We are not talking about your mortgage, your job, your spouse, your family or your winning lotto ticket.

Imagine how long it feels like to stare at a clock for a whole entire hour. Now imagine that clock ticking forever… where would you like to spend that time?

++Digg++ St. Matthew 4:16 ,17 :: St. Mark 1:14,15 :: St. Luke 13:3,5

Closing Quote: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Theresa

You want a San Pelligrino? These orange ones are pretty good… or the lemon for that matter. I said to a buddy of mine as we stepped inside a local southside coffee shop, “I know you don’t like coffee but since I am gonna drink something, you need to have something too.” No one likes to drink by themselves, non-alcoholic or not. What my buddy said after this statement is something that most of us would drive right by. We get so close to someone but (then) somehow our brain forgets about them and shifts back to me, myself and I.

He said, “…how’d you know I don’t like coffee?”  This is pretty bizarre considering he fits the apple/starbuck stereotype look of a coffee drinker. Young, between the age of 19 – 25, currently in school -attends a world renown art school – he is slender, wears cool D&G glasses, an iPhone user and carries the artistic, eclectic persona. I looked over at him and my brain was already imaging a red florescent, flashing sign stating COFFEE DRINKER over his head. Somehow I was able to stop my brain… but how?

This young tastemaker had been over to my house only a few times, which is why he stated, how’d you know I don’t drink coffee? As most of you know I am an espresso head, so when people come over, which is quite often, the Gaggia Classic gets cranked on and the most perfect, espressos are pressed with just the right touch of crema. No, not whip cream like us Americans are so dependant on, CREMA people. It’s like the scent of a woman except the woman is the coffee bean and the scent… well, if you don’t know, chances are you either never will or you have skipped reading this section. So lets move on.

My buddy told me the last time he came thru the house that he didn’t like coffee, to my dismay I asked him if he preferred a soda or if he needed to hydrate? I can’t even remember what he decided to drink that night but something clicked in my head that he DID NOT LIKE COFFEE. I remembered because I was so amazingly shocked he didn’t drink coffee. This is when that little reminder midget in my brain walked over to his reminder chalkboard and wrote, Does – not – like – coffee.

This is the point many of us come to every single day but we somehow either block out these micro events of others or choose to tell ourselves they don’t really matter. If you decide they probably don’t matter, I would have you ask yourself these questions: do you appreciate when someone remembers something about you? Does your opinion and life matter? I would say it is a safe bet that you do matter and yes, your opinion is very valid. But what about others?

Many of us have read the book by Andrew Carnegie titled, “How To Win Friends & Influence People.” One of the portions of this book, which echoed with me for quite a long time was remembering peoples names. Still, to this day, I will do my very best to write down someones name in my phone when I meet them. I even add a reminder of a distinct feature to help me when I see them again. Many of us are the same way when it comes to names, but we forget about the added detail. We think that because we scored the name we are golden.  Not necessarily true.

You see in this day in age, everyone knows this little trick.  So how are you to seem genuinely interested in another human being? You have to do something unexpected. You have to remember details; not just names anymore. Many of you may think this is too difficult and if you do then I suggest you remain where you are. Stop – Right – There, do not read further. I will continue speeding off in my Delorean and let you know what happens.

My buddy was silently shocked that someone would remember a detail about him. I didn’t do this because I need to score points or prove my social skills. Instead, I enjoy doing things for others that I would enjoy. We must remember the value of the human specie. The price of life, mind, personality and how beautiful all of these traits are. We travel each day with an ability to view art in its simplest form. The way someone talks, idiosyncracies, smiles, hair textures, wardrobe decisions, eyes, ears and the soul within each of them. Do we want to know what makes them move and breathe? Have we sat, listened and watched from a perspective of a reality gallery?

Christ knows the details of your life, so why shouldn’t we know the details of others he has created. I find every time I collide with humanity a beautiful moment of life bulbs flashing, creating what we call memories. I cherish these memories and the people who are involved. It really is not difficult, it only takes everything you have. If you value your life, I think you will find these moments with humanity as beautiful as Monet, Picasso or Leonardo’s Sistine Chapel, why? What you create is always more beautiful, because you are in it.