LIVE FREE OR DIE!
I am sitting here in a stir. I just spent some time in prayer and as I was sitting there on the floor in a corner of my room under the cover of my comforter I discovered something. I want to live. I want to live until I am completely spent. I don’t want anything left in me when I am dead and gone. The day that I translate from the limitations of time to the fullness of eternity I want my days on this earth to have had meaning, value and impact. I don’t want mediocrity. I hate it. I want to leave behind a legacy of greatness. Why is it that the most popular person who ever lived, Jesus Christ, was the last real Godly legend. Except, Billy Graham and Mother Theresa. But even Mother Theresa was overshadowed in her death by Princess Dianna. Last week, as you all know from my former post, Michael Jackson died, and the world is still railing over his life and his death. What is going to happen to his children and his estate. Everyday CNN shows something about his family, finances, fitness or lack of all of these.
No, this is not an attempt on my part to be morbid, or even death conscious. It is an attempt to wake us up. This is an attempt to get us to see that life has to be more than 9 - 5 Monday to Friday. It has to be more. God called us to greatness. I don’t know about you but I am tired of the mundane. I am tired of myself. Sick and tired of just existing. I ache for life. Not the life that would cause me to pursue things. Even though things are nice. But the life that would cause me to pursue purpose. Do I want things? Heck yeah! I know I may lose some of you from now on when I say this. But I want God! I want His Kingdom. I want greatness! Why is the world getting to live out their destiny while we as the Body Of Christ sit on our laurels and wait for God to move. He gave us dominion. At what point do we step up and live in our dominion? At what point do we stop and think about who we are and live in the authority that we have? When do we grow some gonads (yes I said it, get over it) and be the Body of Christ.
Do we even know who we are? Do we even know the resource of power that we have being seated in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus far above ALL principalities and powers, might and spiritual wickedness in Heavenly places. Do we get it that Jesus overcame the world so that we could live in the authority that is rightfully ours?
Look! Here’s the thing, we have been duped into thinking that Christianity, (which is a misnomer, because the people of the world gave us that name in The Book of Acts) is supposed to make us nice. BLECH! UGH! WHATEVAH! The truth is, to live as an Imitator of Christ takes guts. It takes courage. It takes fortitude. It ain’t niceness! It’s boldness! It is diametrically opposite and mutually exclusive from the ways of the world. The ways of the world are take, take, take. The ways of the Kingdom are give, give, give.
Here’s where all of this is coming from. As I was praying I was just thinking about where I was, financially, career wise, personally, physically, everything and I was not satisfied. I have all of these talents and gifts but they are buried in the sand. And I bring them out on special occasssions. Sunday’s or when I am with friends and family. Sometimes they are the hardest ones to be gifted around bbecause more often then not they think it’s for their entertainment. ANYWAY!! I have all of this talent and I was wondering what am I doing with it? I have a huge dream. A dream that I know God gave me because it is beyond me to achieve doing what I am doing right now? I don’t know about you, but I want my dream. He (GOD) gave us these dreams and then put in us the necessary provisions to be able to bring these dreams to pass.
Many of us are frustrated. We are frustrated with God and with circumstance. Really! And I am saying this for myself as well. Who gives a rip about our circumstances? Everybody has circumstances, everybody has frustrations. We have to DO SOMETHING. My best friend has a Youtube video called, “DO SOMETHING!” Check it out at StevenRoddy.com.
I want us to live. I want to live and I want you to live. Jesus said, in order to live you have to die. He is right! This old way of thinking is killing us people. It is taking away or future and God’s promises for us and I want it to die. I want it to go away! In know I have to kill it. God’s promises are, Yes and Amen, but we have to fulfill them. If not He will give them to the next generation or to the next person.
What are you studying in your line of gifting? Are you getting all that you can to fulfill the calling that He has for you? Are you doing all that you can do, to get all that you need to get, so that you can give all that you need to give, so that you can get some more of what you need to get, so that you can give some more of what you need to give? Or are you hoarding everything for yourself and stagnating the flow of blessing to those around you who need you to give? They need to learn from you so that they can get from you all that they need to get so that they can give all that they need to give to those around them.
I was sitting there praying. “Dad, I want to be spent, exhausted, used up in the giftings that You gave me. I know as long as I pour out You will pour in so that I can pour out some more so that You can pour in while I pour out again.” Don’t we get it? When are we going to get it that God has an unlimited supply? Red Flag! Red Flag! We are created in His Image and after His likeness. He has an unlimited supply. Guess what we have an unlimited supply too!!!! I know it don’t look like it. That’s because we have limited our view to the natural. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:3b The things which are seen were not made of things which are seen. This boils down to this, what you see was created by what you don’t see. Part a of that same verse says, The worlds were framed by the WORD fo God.
What is the Word of God? I am glad you asked. John chapter 1:1 -4 says:-
In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men (you and me).
Later on in verse 14 it says:-
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
If we are created in God’s image and His likeness and if we are seated with Christ Jesus far above all principalities, powers, might and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. If God gave us dominion to subdue and replenish. Then why are we living so far beneath our priviledge? I will tell you why. Our words are all wrong and have cancelled Gods plan for our lives. Remember He gave us dominion on the earth. He says in James we ask and do not have because we ask amiss (we don’t believe what we are asking for is going to happen) and that we may lavish it on ourselves (hoard it up, be selfish). We ask God and then say it ain’t going to happen. And since God will not violate your will, you have what you say.
Either we are gong to do this Kingdom thing here in the earth as God planned or we might as well go on home.
MICHAEL JACKSON
This afternoon I was watching Candace Olson on HGTV’s Devine Design. She is my all time favorite Interior Designer. I have never seen any body design a room close to her, on TV or otherwise. As I was watching her I picked up a Dove chocolate and on the inside of the Label it said, ‘Bring your life to life. Stop planning start doing.’ Since I am not one to really pay attention to these things I ignored it and just went on watching Candace. After her show went off I got up and looked over some e-mails. The same old same old, nothing new, just e-mails. I wanted another one of those Dove Chocolates so I got up and went to the Candy jar and I got another one. Guess what this one said! The same thing, ‘Bring your life to life. Stop planning start doing.’ I thought maybe this is what they all say. So I opened up five more and yes I ate them. But not one of them said it again. They all said something positive but they did not all say the same thing. So I began to think, Bring your Life to Life. Stop planning Start doing.’
I was scrolling through the channels and stopped on CNN. I saw a picture of Michael Jackson, so I stopped and the Caption said, ‘King Of Pop Dead, Not confirmed’. I was like…WHAT??? There was a eerie feeling that went through me. I was saddened. Did I know Michael Jackson? No! I never even bought an album. I loved his music but never bought an album. I was sad because here was a man who had great struggles and great telent. He was somebody who had touched masses of people. He was not limited in his fan base by race or religion. Not limited by geography or socio-economical status. The poor loved him and so did the rich. The Black, White, Chineese, Latin, Indian and whoever else in between. Christians loved him as did Muslims, the Buddhists and the Scientologists, gay, straight, his fan base was far and wide. The pervading thought that came over me and still is in my thinking is this.
‘WHO TOUCHED MICHAEL JACKSON?’
Who took the time to find out where he was, for real? Who gave to him when he had a need? Did he trust anybody enough to even admit that he had a need? Or did he just keep it all bottled up inside? Who was strong enough to be honest with him and still love him when he was unlovable? Who? Who was there that didn’t constantly take from him but gave to him? Was there such a one? Was there somebody who he felt he could be absolutely transparent with? Was there somebody who prayed with him when he was hurting? Was there somebody who allowed him to hurt and heal? Or was he an icon to everybody? Did he have friends? Real, true, gut wrenching, laughing, crying, screaming, angry, loving friends? Who was there to pour into Michael Jackson? Who was there for his rainy days. Who was there that was not on payroll that could walk in and out at leisure? Despite what you may think about him or his acts over the last few years he was a human being and God loved him. But did we? Did we really love him or are we so fickle that we only love people when they are giving to us. Now that he is dead we will hear all kinds of wonderful accolades about the things that he has accomplished. We will hear about his music, his businesses, his humanitarian efforts. We will hear about his family and his marriage. We are going to hear all kinds of things. I want to write something different. I want to write about a troubled little boy who bacame what he believed he could despite the odds.
Michael Jackson was a dreamer. He was an optimistic young boy who believed he could be great. Somewhere in the deep couldrons of his mind he knew that greatness could be his destiny. He knew that if he just believed hard enough he could go as far as he wanted. At the same time he also knew that he had demons locked deep inside. Things that tormented his peace, things that caused him to withdraw into a state of recluse that forced him to hide from the world in plain view. His wounds would never go healed and his pain would never be released. His heart ached as he wore a smile and performed for the world right in the midst of a raging battle going on inside of him. A battle for self acceptance and self actualization. He had longings that could never be properly fulfilled. I heard him talk once about his disease. He said it was ugly. What I really heard was that he believed he was ugly. Somewhere in his psyche he believed he was ugly. He believed he was ugly on the inside.
No matter what you may think about Michael Jackson, he was beautiful, and here is why. He was beautiful because the Bible says, ‘He was created in the image and likeness of God.’ He was beautiful because inspite of his struggles and pain he pursued and excelled in his dreams. He was beautiful because there was a purity of heart that longed for genuine love but was perverted by evil. He was beautiful because no matter what people thought of him or how they treated him he still gave them what they wanted and then some. He was beautiful because he had the courage to live his life on his own terms. He was beautiful because, ‘He brought his life to life, he stopped planning and he did.’
Do I believe that he did everything right? No! Do I think he should have done many things different? Yes. Do I agree with all of his life choices? No. What I do agree with is this. He had the courage to live inspite of them. No matter what was going on in his heart, he still chose to bring his life to life. No matter how the world viewed him, he still chose to bring his life to life. He gave the world a gift that many of us only dream of giving.
What great thing is stored up on the inside of you begging to come to life? Why aren’t you bringing that life to life? What fears do you have that have kept you bound to a life of normalcy and mediocrity? What is your passion? Do you know? Michael Jackson was fortunate he found his passion early and it cost him everything. He brought his life to life and he paid for it. Guess what folks, we will live with his story forever. He has made an indelible mark in time. What about you?
I will always remember that I was watching Candace Olson on HGTV, Thursday June 25th, 2009 at 6 pm Atlantic time eating 2 different Dove Chocolates and the wrappers said, ‘Bring your life to life. Stop planning start doing.’ When I heard the news that Michael Jackson was Dead.
What will somebody remember about you?
Do yourself a favor and the rest of the world.
BRING YOUR LIFE TO LIFE. STOP PLANNING START DOING!
FREEDOM…IN YOUR MIND!
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speech stands out to us with these famous words, ‘Free At Last Free At Last, Thank God Almighty We’re Free At Last!’
As I contemplate today’s blog I am acutely aware that whilst many of us are indeed free from imposed bondage or slavery from people outside of us, we are most certainly not free from the bondages imposed on the inside of us. Our thinking has kept us in places and situations that have been at best detrimental to our well being and progress.
A few weeks ago as I was on my way home from weighing in, (I am doing a weight training protocol which requires me to weigh in once a week) I stopped to look at some Condo’s that have been built about a mile from my house. As I was walking around the Condo’s I kept having this pervasive thought. Why don’t I own one of these? The guy that built them was 3 years older then me and was a millionaire. I know this because I know him. Here it is I am paying rent to live in a studio and this guy has millions. What is gong on? Why haven’t I tapped into the life that I want? Then I had a startling thought. “‘This IS The Life You Want!’ Whoa!!!! ‘Hold On!’ was my response in my mind, ‘This Is NOT The Life I want!’” The next thought really pissed me off. I heard, “Every Decision You’ve Made, Either Decided Or Instinctive Has Brought You Right Here.”
After this banter went on for a while I realized that it was my own belief system and self-talk that had brought me right where I am today.
There are so many misconceptions that we have about life and God. Life has really done a number on many of us to the point that we blame God for where we are when in actuality it was not Him at all, but us. We decided to believe that snakes were dangerous and we chose fear. We decided to believe that we were afriad of heights. We decided to believe that one race of people is better then another. We decided to believe that men have an unfair advantage over women. We decided to believe that we couldn’t afford to buy the house or anything else for that matter. We decided to believe that we would never have enough. We decided to believe that we only deserve to be in an abusive relationship. We decided to believe …You Fill In The Blank. Whatever it is that has you in a quandary, whatever it is that you don’t like about your life you decided to believe that this is how it’s going to be and you took a chisel and stone and you began to hammer away at your belief system so that it would get you exactly what you have right now. I know, I know, some of you are saying I did not decide to be raped, or molested. I did not decide to be abused and misused. I did not decide to be rejected by my parents whilst they accepted my other siblings. I did not decide to have my home blown away in Katrina or my loved one killed in The World Trade Center on 911. I did not decide to be born this way, whether it be without a limb or deformed, blind or gay. And to that I say you are absolutely right. You did not decide to make all these things happen. But, bear with me for a minute, you did decide your response. Yes, these things hurt and they are painful, in many cases they caused self esteem issues and you created habits to deal with these hurts. Whether it be drugs or sex, pornography or alcohol , women, men or food. You decided what your addiction of choice was going to be and you began to medicate your pain. Here’s the thing, none of us have escaped it. None of us have escaped the pain life throws at us, but it takes a strong determined individual to make the correct choices.
BIG NEWS! ‘You Are That Strong Determined Individual.’
The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7, ‘For As A Man Thinks In His Heart So Is He’ (nkj). In Genesis 1:26, God said He made us in His image according to His Likeness. If God can see darkness and declare, ‘Let There Be Light (Gen 1:3), then what or who is to stop us from achieveing what we He put in us to want to achieve. I hear you! Some of you are looking at your obstacles and saying ‘But I Can’t.’ That ‘BUT’ doesn’t reflect God, that ‘BUT’ reflects man, that “BUT’ reflects the finite. We are connected to the Infinite. So, if we are connected to the Infinite then what is the deal? Here is the deal. The Infinite, ‘GOD,’ will not violate your will. GOD set all things in motion then HE rested. We are living in HIS rest. He gave us all the tools we would need to create the life He gave us license to create.
Being created in His Image and according to His Likeness means we are SPIRIT FIRST! We get so trapped by what we see in the natural that we limit our experiences to only that. Remember the conversation I was having with myself earlier at the Condo. What if I told you that I honestly believed that that’s how God choses to communicate with me at this point in my life. I say that because he is not limited to one form of communication. No I’m not nuts, nor am I going crazy. What if I told you that He uses our subconscious mind to get us what we want. After all of that, what if I told you that your subconscious mind is your link to Your God Consciousness (faith) and it, your subconscious mind, can be changed. But I need you to know this, IT WILL TAKE WORK.
You see, we can change every action we want. We can amend the way we eat, or even exercise to lose weight but if we don’t change our mind about what we see we will go back to being overweight, as a matter of fact we will get bigger. We can save, save, save but if we haven’t changed our mind about money we will be more broke in just a few short days after we have worked so hard and long to save, save, save. How many times have we heard of the person who has won the lottery and suddenly is a multi-millionaire only to find out a few short years later that they are completely broke and in some cases have had to file bankruptcy.
What kind of work will it take to change our subconscious mind? It will take purposed and determined work. It is going to take reading books about the subject matter that you are trying to change. It is going to take prayer, meditation and constant reinforcement. Here’s an idea! Find somebody who has ‘Garage Band’ on their computer, record your new Mantra with some ocean sounds in the background, or whatever sounds work for you, and softly, clearly state who you are, download it on an MP3 file, send it to your Itunes and upload it onto your Ipod.
Here’s what mine starts like;
“Father I thank You that you created me in your image and after your likeness. I thank You that You said without Faith it is impossible to please You. So far the tools You have given me have worked perfectly as designed and for that I am grateful. Your word says, ‘Be Ye Transformed By The Renewing Of Your Mind.’ This is Your confidence in Your empowerement, given to me, by You, to live my best life. I thank You that All Things Are Possible to him who believes and I believe. I am so grateful for all that You have given me to be able to succeed and accomplish Your will. I have every tool necessary to advance Your Kingdom, and I use those tools daily by thought, word and deed. I am thankful that I am a success in every area of life. I am grateful that I experience joy so everwhelming that it overflows into the lives of those I encounter. I am grateful that in my body I am strong lean and healthy and my weight is set to 186.5 lbs with a fat percentage of 9%…”
This is how I start, then I go on from there. It is all recorded and I listen to it every night as I sleep.
As I said earlier this week our Freedom has to be purposed. Find out what it is that you need to change, figure out what you need to have a better life and do what God did. Speak to it, and watch it come to you. After all, You Are Like HIM!
Keep reading, We are going somewhere.
Yours In Freedom
FREEDOM…WHAT IS IT?
As I sit and deliberate as to what to write on this my first ever blog, I am forced to recognize that with all the mouth I have and quick retorts that I often give without thought or concern of consequence, I, Dwayne Robinson, am at a loss for words. I am sitting here laughing at my thought patterns as they go from thought to thought like an out of control rollercoaster ride through the corridors of my mind. Please understand that in my mind this site is being established on purpose for the Freedom of mankind. The question that I have is this,
‘WHAT EXACTLY IS FREEDOM?’
Does anybody really know what it looks like? Is Freedom a destination or a state of being? Can it be achieved at all, or is it to be lived out in increments? One thing I do know, is that Freedom is to be purposed.
To live on purpose will definitely afford us the luxury of living in Freedom. So if this site is Purposed for Freedom then why am I talking about Purpose? I am glad you asked! I have found that there is no Freedom if there is no Purpose. Anything outside of Purpose is absolute drudgery. Anything inside of Purpose is pure Freedom.
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dwayne Robinson, I am a born again Christian who disdains religion, but loves God with all of my heart. I was born and live in Bermuda a little country approximately 700 nautical miles due east off of the Coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. I am 41 years old and have had many successes and failures throughout this wonderful life of mine. I sin and do right often by mistake but many times with intent, on both accounts. I have been in love and in hate at the same time. I have experienced joy and pain. I have been ecstatically happy for friends and also totally jealous all within one breath. I have been skinny and fat, rich and poor. There have been times where I have had absolute clarity and times where I have been so confused that I could not tell the difference between up or down.
What, you ask, gives me the right to talk about Freedom and Purpose? Every single experience! You see without a journey there is no experience. Without an experience there is no learning. Without learning there is no education. Without an education there is no growth. Without growth there is no depth. Without depth there is no wisdom. Without wisdom there is no purpose. Without purpose there is no Freedom.
As I blog I will write more about Freedom and Purpose and their relation to our lives and how we live them. Why we believe what we believe. How to overcome yourself. How to change your thinking and many more topics that will be both thought provoking as well as create debate. We will also find out what rights we have as Human Beings created in the image and likeness of God, Creator of the Universe.
Look out for more because, We are going somewhere!
Yours in Freedom