FRIDAY INSPIRATION: “THE PRAYER”

I’ve heard many versions of this song.  Most of them are really good.  This is Donnie McClurkin & Yolanda Adams singing The Prayer.  Trust me, we all need it not just daily, but moment by moment.  Enjoy your Friday Inspiration.

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TODAYS INSPIRATION

This is one of my top picks for songs last year.  I do have several more but this one really is awesome!!!   The song is called “How Awesome is Our God” by Israel & New Breed (feat. Yolanda Adams).

 

EX-CON PRAYS FOR POLICE OFFICER(S)

I found this on Christiantoday.com and thought that it would be apropos today.  Check out this interesting backdrop/juxtaposition to what we normally see in the news. 

A papal visit can’t heal these wounds

© ABC 13 Screenshot Edward Amey and Texas City Officer Salvador Chapa hold hands in prayer.

The last time Edward “Doc” Amey saw Texas City Officer Salvador Chapa he was being arrested on a gun charge. That was eight years ago back when Amey used to be a gangster but recently he found God and since then he’s been living a righteous life. He used to sell drugs; today he stops police and asks if he can pray with them and more importantly, for them.”I have not always been a friend to the police,” Amey told KHOU. “I grew up selling drugs. I’ve been to prison three times.”

According to the news station, Amey’s rap sheet includes six felony convictions and several more misdemeanors. But Amey says all of that is behind him as he lives a prayerful life.”The last week-and-a-half God has really been giving me the urge to pray for police officers,” Amey said.

So when he saw Officer Salvador Chapa he asked if he could pray for him. The officer agreed and the two men held hands, bowed their heads as Amey lead them in prayer. Amey’s friend who had no idea he was going over to pray with the officer snapped a photo of the two men praying. The photo has gone viral on social media.

“I arrested him several years ago on a gun charge,” Chapa said. “And due to that, he ended up doing some time.”

Amey told the news station that he hopes the power of prayer can help change the negative image that people have of young black men and cops.

“They’re used to seeing cops getting killed by young black men or young black men getting killed by cops,” Amey told KHOU. “They’re not used to seeing an ex-con and a cop praying with each other.”

Amey told the officer, “I love you,” at the end of his prayer.

“I love you, too, brother,” Chapa said. “Thank you very much for praying for us.”

 

SUNDAY INSPIRATION

William Murphy: I’m Praying For You (MIME)

Psalm 95:6-7  NIV – Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice.

 

THE TRICK IS ON THE DEVIL

You’ve got to see this video!

This is one of the most poignant testimonies that I think I’ve ever heard.  This was played in church today and the place exploded.  To some it may start off a bit slow but really gets real interesting at the 3:30 mark.  This pastor, Ron Archer talks about being born to a prostitute and his atheist upbringing.  Most importantly he talks about how GOD brought him out.  I hope you check this out and let me know what you think.  It is powerful!

MOTIVATIONAL MOMENT

I’m Gonna Be Ready: Yolanda Adams | OFFICIAL MIME VIDEO was sent to me by loyal reader A. Renae.  I’ve always loved this song but this is the first time that I’ve seen this video and it’s awesome. Enjoy the rest of the week.

Matthew 5:14,16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

 

DO YOU BELIEVE?

When I saw this clip, I definitely wanted to share it with you.  This ought to be a great series presented by OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).  It talks about the one thing that we hear or face every single day of our lives; belief.  When we talk about the word BELIEF, certainly GOD is the first thing that comes to mind.  There are some that claim that they do not believe in GOD but I find that hard to BELIEVE.  Check out this example:

I once worked with a gentleman who heard that I was a BELIEVER.  this gentleman approached me one day and told me that he did not BELIEVE in all of this fairy tale nonsense that was in the bible.  He said that he could in fact do exactly what he wanted to do.  He said that he could get out in the street and kill 20 people if he so desired.  I told him that he could only do this if GOD allowed it to happen.  He said that it had nothing to do with GOD.  I personally choose not to argue with fools and I ended the conversation.

Two years later, I pulled in the parking at work and before I could get out of my car, the same man approached me.  This time, he told me that his young daughter had been hospitalized and that things were not looking good for her.  He said, “when you go down on your knees tonight, send one up for me.”  I asked him, “who do you want me to send it up to?”  He looked confused and I reminded him that he did not BELIEVE in
GOD and of course he again asked me to pray for his daughter.  I think that people are convenient believers.

Back to the series called ‘BELIEF’ that Oprah is having on her network in October.   It really ought to be good.  Let me know what you think.

CHURCH MASSACRE IN CHARLESTON,SC

The senseless murder of nine black men and women, who were at a bible study, by a white male with white supremacist ties has sparked outrage around the country.  This horrific incident took place two days ago in Charleston, SC.  An arrest has been made but the name of the suspect will not be entertained on this site.  I am posting two songs in memory of the victims.  The songs are:  “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” by Lauryn Hill & Tanya Blount and “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men.

The names of the victims are listed below:

State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, 41, pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Church, Cynthia Hurd, 54; Tywanza Sanders, 26; Sharonda Singleton, 45; Myra Thompson, 59; Ethel Lance, 70; Susie Jackson, 87; the Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74; and DePayne Doctor, 49.

MONEY AND CHURCH IN THE NOW…

Today is Sunday and many people attend the church of their choice.  Most churches are filled with mostly women.  I’m not really sure why.  A lot of “salesmen” typically cater…to women for one reason or another.   What I am sure about is that churches are BIG BUSINESS!  Not only that,  though I do attend church regularly, I find that there seems to be an issue in part with organized religion.

One of the major problems with organized religion is this money component that seems to be extremely prevalent.  I’ve heard of many pastors who not only preach but they also handle the purse strings at their church as well.  This leads to “absolute power” and… as I heard stated earlier in life:  ABSOLUTE POWER RUINS!  When I first heard this phrase, I really did not understand it.  As I grew older and exposed to various and sundry things, I certainly came upon the realization of what that phrase means.

When an individual has ABSOLUTE POWER it brings about corruption.  One would think that the church would be the last place that you would find corruption, yet that is not the case.  I think we all have seen news stories where preachers have been arrested for taking money from their congregation.  Recently a Delaware pastor, Eric Sapp was sentenced to 5 years probation  for stealing more than $56,000 from Grace Baptist Church. In Houston, an associate pastor, Russell Thompson, is charged with felony theft of $250,000.  In Cleveland, Pastor Merita White, was convicted of stealing $150,000 from a member of her congregation, Mattie Cunningham. There are more stories of this than I care to repeat.

Basically, organized religion often causes competition between different religions and it forces people to lose focus on the major theme set forth in the Bible.  That theme is LOVE. There are many who call some of these pastors PIMPS IN THE PULPIT because of their emphasis on dollars rather than biblical sense.

I am posting the top 10 list of the richest pastors in the world.  I think this list is from a year ago and I’m pretty sure that Joel Olsteen is in the top 10 but they do not have him on this list.  I think I saw somewhere that his net worth is estimated at $40 million dollars.  Am I saying that they are stealing from their congregations?  Most definitely not!  What I am saying is that the church of today is BIG BUSINESS and… everything you see, is not what you see.  I hope you see what I mean.

Top 10 Richest Pastors In The World

 

This is a list of the richest pastors worldwide.

1. Bishop T. D Jakes: Bishop Jakes lives in a $1,700,000 mansion, he has been called America’s best preacher and has been featured on the cover of TIME magazine. He is a writer, preacher and movie producer. Thomas Dexter “T. D.” Jakes, Sr. is the bishop/chief pastor of The Potter’s House, a non-denominational American mega church, with 30,000 members, located in Dallas, Texas. T.D Jakes wears custom made suits and sports a diamond ring the size of a coin. This man of God has been endowed with a $150 million net worth.

 

2. Bishop David Oyedepo: Bishop David Oyedepo is a Nigerian Preacher, Christian Author, Founder and Presiding Bishop of Winners Chapel known as Living Faith Church World Wide. Has been hailed as the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a total net worth of $150 million and properties like 4 private jets and homes in the United States and England. After the foundation of the Living Faith Outreach Ministry in 1981, it has evolved to be one of the largest congregations in Africa and has a flourishing mission in Nairobi.

3.  E A Adeboye: This messenger of God was listed in an African magazine, NEWSWEEK, as the most powerful man in Africa and one of the top 50 global power elites in 2008/2009, among others such as President Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy. Pastor Adeboye heads the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), something he has done for the last 28years.Amongst his posessions are private jets.

4.  Benny Hinn: Israeli televangelist,Toufik Benedictus “Benny” Hinn has an estimated net worth of $42 million. He is best known for his regular “Miracle Crusades” – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, “This Is Your Day”. Hinn was born on December 3, 1952.

5.  Chris Oyakhilome: This is the man behind Believers’ Loveworld Ministries, a.k.a Christ Embassy.His church has an estimated net worth of $30 million – $50 million last year, the charismatic preacher was at the center of a $35 million money laundering case in which he was accused of siphoning funds from his church to foreign banks.

6.  Creflo Dollar: American Bible teacher, pastor, and the founder of World Changers Church International, Creflo Dollar, has an estimated net worth of $27 million. As his name suggests, this preacher’s “manna” comes in form of the green buck.

7.  Kenneth Copeland: He runs Kenneth Copeland Ministries, was one of several televangelists whose finances were investigated from 2007 to 2011 by Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.

According to an article by the Associated Press that ran in 2008, “His ministry’s 1,500-acre campus, behind an iron gate a half-hour drive from Fort Worth includes a church, a private airstrip, a hangar for the ministry’s $17.5 million jet and other aircraft, and a $6 million church owned lakefront mansion.

The article later added that while Copeland has not released up-to-date salary statements, “the church disclosed in a property-tax exemption application that his wages were $364,577 in 1995; Copeland’s wife, Gloria, earned $292,593. It’s not clear whether those figures include other earnings, such as special offerings for guest preaching or book royalties.”

8. Billy Graham: American evangelical Christian evangelist, William Franklin “Billy” Graham, Jr., has a net worth of $25 million. The Southern Baptist evangelist rose to celebrity status as his sermons started getting broadcast on radio and television. Graham was born on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina in 1918, he has conducted many evangelistic crusades since 1948. He is now a world renowned televangelist raking in millions of dollars.

9.  Matthew Ashimolowo: Ashimolowo, the owner of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) gets an annual income of $200,000. Having his humble beginnings as a priest in Foursquare Gospel Church, a Nigerian church that sent Ashimolowo to open a satellite branch in London. Pastor Matthew had other ideas and decided to set up his own church instead. Today, his Kingsway International Christian Center is reportedly the largest Pentecostal church in the whole of the United Kingdom.

10.  Temitope Joshua: Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) has an estimated net worth: $10 million – $15 million Nigeria’s most controversial clergyman is also one of its richest and most philanthropic. T.B Joshua heads the Synagogue Church of all Nations (SCOAN), a congregation he founded in 1987, which accommodates over 15,000 worshippers on Sundays.

 

 

 

 

 

CREFLO DOLLAR SEEKS $65 MILLION FOR JET

Honestly, this is one of those stories that is enough to make a person sick.  When I first read this story, I told myself that I was not going to post it.  But… because I used to go to this church, several people have reached out to me to get my opinion.  I then promised that I would respond via this site.

My opinion:  To me, this is the very reason that a lot of people shy away from the church.  A lot of people I talk to usually say that  that the church is full of a bunch of hypocrites and that all that they want is your money.  And… this pastor, Creflo Dollar, is one of the most talked about ministers that I personally know about.  I wont go into why I don’t go to this church any longer but trust me when I tell you that I thoroughly understand why a lot of people say what they say about this “ministry”.  Truthfully, I pray for some of these people and their patterns and pathologies.

Wait, what… You want the people to donate $65 million dollars to buy you a plane to go minister around the world???  Seriously????!!!!

Anyway, let me know what you think about the story below.

ATLANTA —

WSBTV.com reports:

A local megachurch is asking its congregation to dig deep in their pockets and donate so their church can purchase a $65 million jet.

A spokesman for Creflo Dollar’s World Changers Church International told Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston they are serious about buying the luxury plane.

In a video on the church website, Creflo Dollar asks 200,000 parishioners to donate $300 each to purchase the jet.

The Gulfstream G650 would replace the ministry’s current plane purchased in 1999, according to their website.

The current plane, made in 1984, reportedly had an engine fail during a recent trip to Australia.

The donation website says the plane would allow “Pastors Creflo and Taffi to blanket the globe with the gospel of your grace.”

“Our ministry is international. We travel to areas of the world others won’t go to spread the gospel,” spokesman Juda Engelmayer said.

Engelmayer made clear the plane would belong to the ministry, not Dollar.

Leonardo Blair, a reporter for the Christian Post, told Huddleston the jet request is one of the most talked about stories he’s covered.

“Most people think the appeal is very extreme, and they basically believe that they are sending the wrong message to the world about Christianity.”