The Spirit of Honor

God wants you to live long & be healthy because the longer you live, the more IMPACT & INFLUENCE you can potentially have. God wants you to have influence because He wants mankind, His sons & daughters to know Him & make Him known. If we die young & have no influence, we do not have or engage in the privilege to extend our/His legacy on the earth.

God wants to bless you. God wants to honor you. God wants you to be prosperous & live a long, healthy life, which is His gift to you. It is what we do with our life, that is our gift back to God. The enemy of your soul, does not want you to get HONOR, because he doesn’t want you to give HONOR. Your enemy the devil, does not want you to be “well off” nor does he want you to “live long!” His goal is to take you out, make you ineffective & to be cursed with insignificance!

Understand today: the enemy cannot do anything about YOU giving & showing honor. Dishonor becomes a tool from the devil being able to stop the purpose & progress of God in your life. You can change your life…your circumstances & most importantly your future, by getting a SPIRIT OF HONOR back in your life.

#YouGotThis

#Vision

As you look back on your life, you will often realize that many of the times you thought you were being rejected from something good, you were in fact being redirected to something better.  

You can’t control everything.  Sometimes you just need to relax & have faith that things will work out.  Let go & just let God.  Because sometimes the truths you can’t change, end up changing you & helping you grow.

Vision without action is a daydream & action without vision is a nightmare.

It’s crazy how you always end up where you’re meant to be – how even the most tragic & stressful situations eventually teach you important lessons that you never dreamed you were going to learn.  Oftentimes when things felt like they were falling apart, they were actually falling into place. 

Your dream/vision will come to pass if you determine to outlive, outlast & outplay your hesitance, hindrance & haters! 

#YouGotThis

@RussellHylton (Twitter & Instagram)
@bevhylton (Twitter)
Russell Beverly Hylton (Facebook)
www.russellhylton.com
@bfwcindy (Twitter & Instagram)
Bfwc Indianapolis (Facebook)

www.bfwc.net 

In Alignment, Out of Alignment

Building a church is COMPLEX for us but CONCISE for Jesus. He said "I will build my church." (Matthew 16:18)

At the Genesis, I think we must work on building ourselves, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to get HEALTHIER in our THINKING, SPEAKING & LIVING.

If we can start with our HEART and our HOMES it will flow naturally into whatever we set our HANDS to...both in secular work and in ministry work.

How HEALTHY are you? (Big question...loaded question.)

• Physical body?
• Spirit man?
• Relationships with your spouse, kids, family, leaders, church family, neighbors, employer, etc?

If we are going to enjoy the benefits of what Jesus is building...then we must be in ALIGNMENT with His protocol and structure. Ignoring or blatantly disregarding these elementary things will begin to produce evidence of misalignment.

Some Misalignment Indicators:

• Ignoring vital relationships 
• Disrespect
• Slothfulness and sloppiness in work
• Loss of desire
• Self-promotion

Attempting to build outside His pattern makes us doomed for demolition from the get go. Following His blueprints ensures that every area of our life will FIT and LAST for many years to come. Furthermore. we cannot assume that we can FIT with everyone else if we refuse to FIT with those who keep watch over our soul.

Our church is a reflection of our homes. Whatever is going on in our house will flow into the church house. Let's keep it HEALTHY and HOLY so we can experience a HAPPY life together.

We are helping Jesus build HIS church...NOT our personal ministry. When we seek recognition for the work we are being paid to do or volunteer to do...then we've made it about our own personality rather than His eternal purpose.

Let us hide behind His cross and allow all the glory to go to Him. It's HIS building. It's HIS pattern. It's HIS name we are attempting to make famous. We will see HIS church built when we seek HIS face in prayer, repent of areas of weakness and determine to do better going forward.

This is my word for today...possibly the next decade..."HEALTHY!" I am determined more than ever to get healthy and stay healthy.

The University of Diversity

When I look at the beauty of nature, it's clear to me that God loves DIVERSITY.  Look at how many different types of trees, flowers and animals there are.  All of these embody God's DIVERSE nature but more importantly His love.

Although similar, each is distinct with it's own differences and uniqueness.  Fish live in water and have the ability to swim and get their oxygen from the water. Yet, they are DIVERSE in their color, size, swimming patterns, etc.

We can see DIVERSITY in everything God's hand touches.

Look at the people around you. We are all similar yet very different.  DIVERSE in size, skin color, shape, temperament, gender, age and ideas.  God placed in each of us the ability to produce a DIVERSE population called "mankind."  Every people group, with their unique characteristics, came from Adam and Eve.  Our very existence reveals God's fingerprint of DIVERSITY!

Jesus told His church to "GO TO ALL NATIONS" and "PREACH TO EVERY NATION and KINDRED and TONGUE and PEOPLE!" (Matthew 28:18 / Revelation 14:6).  God intends to remove all BARRIERS to INCLUDE everyone! His INCLUSION demonstrates His extraordinary love for EVERYONE.  His example is our example.  We must reflect His love by embracing DIVERSITY!

We must not LOSE God's desire and heart for a DIVERSE family. God's love belongs to everyone and He wants His church to reflect this value for all individuals, not matter how different they may appear.

Our church should reflect the DIVERSITY of creation. When we demonstrate how HIGH, DEEP and WIDE His love is to the world...we are reinforcing the fact that in God there is neither Jew nor Greek, no bond nor free, no male or female (Colossians 3:11).  In other words, within the heart of God, RACE, STATUS, GENDER - neither any human characteristic that makes us different from each other - DOES NOT EXIST!

Our uniqueness, as humans, speaks of how COLORFUL God's palette really is!  Together, we are a beautiful portrait of His family.  We are an extension of His creative imagination but most of all we are a representation of His unconditional love for all.

God knows exactly what He's doing!  He created ONE CHURCH with various cultures. Look at the 12 Disciples...each had their own personalities, backgrounds, spiritual challenges, etc.  They had various issues that arose from their DIFFERENCES.  Early on, the church was put to the test on handling issues arising from DIVERSITY (i.e., the issue of eating of meats offered to idols - 1 Corinthians 8:4-8) of culture.  The Apostle Paul admonished the Corinthian church to be SENSITIVE to their brother and sister by understanding one another's culture and upbringing.  He does NOT make the issue a "right" or "wrong" but rather an issue of LOVE and CONCERN for your brothers or sister.  SAMENESS was not the goal...but rather living PEACEABLY in love with one another was.  Paul knew that LOVE would be the GREATER WITNESS to the world!

“Diversity” is not limited to ETHNICITY and COLOR but has a larger scope of definition that exceeds human characteristics. His church must be INCLUSIVE of DIVERSITY in gender, age, disabilities and ideology. 

Question:  

• Do we (the church) make room for the DIVERSITY God has created within the church?  
• Do we embrace women as equal partners?
• Do we make all ethnic groups feel welcome and whole in the church?
• Are we sensitive to and do we make accommodations for people with disabilities?
• Do we embrace those with differing viewpoints?

Perhaps DIVERSITY is the greatest CHALLENGE facing the church!  How can we live together as ONE FAMILY and embrace, VALUE, APPRECIATE, CELEBRATE and most importantly LOVE our differences?

Can we preach (live) the gospel by accepting DIVERSITY; by accepting God's heart of unconditional love?

My dear FAMILY (brothers and sisters in Christ), we must sincerely love each other and recognize that God’s family is multicultural and DIVERSE. 

We may not reach the same conclusion on our viewpoints, but can we trust and surrender to the Spirit of God to lead us into truth—the gospel of love? 

Are we patient with one another and the Spirit, to allow God to do His work within His family (individually and collectively)? 

Is there enough of God’s Spirit of unconditional love within us to tolerate our individual differences and to see each other from God’s eyes and heart? 

Is there a point where we can meet together on our similarities and unconditionally accept our differences? 

Yes. 

I believe the point that bridges all divides is CHRIST! 

• Christ in you (and I), the hope of His glory (Colossians 1:26-28). 
• God invites and desires all to sup at His table; and He has a seat for each one; for you and me (John 3:16).

Thank God we are seeing more people (and churches) graduate from the school called "FLESH UNIVERSITY" and are now enrolled in the UNIVERSITY OF DIVERSITY!

The Power of Percolating

This past weekend, I learned that if you are going to brew coffee in a percolator, give yourself over an hour for the water to heat, the light to turn on & the strength of the grounds to brew. If you rush it, you'll have watered coffee with no strength.

IT TAKES TIME.

When you allow time to process itself, you'll achieve clarity, strength & maturity.

How many times have you felt pressured to make a decision when you knew you should wait or you were pushed to hurry up because of someone else's impatience? Over time, I've learned not to make hasty decisions.

I want to encourage you to sit still and wait before you make big decisions that impact you, your family and others.

Waiting has benefits. (Isaiah 40:31) 

1. Renew your strength 
2. Mount up like Eagles 
3. Run and not be weary 
4. Walk and not faint.

While you wait, be... 

1. productive
2. proactive
3. persistent 
4. prepared

Also, be honoring and pay attention to the details. Cross your T's and dot your I's. You can't expect promotion if you can't even do the last assignment well. You must always leave something better than when you found it.

Often, God is using the percolating process to sanctify areas of our life that just won't get sanctified if we insist on a microwave mentality. Most people fall into this category. We want things NOW not later. We want it OUR WAY over God's way. We want it FAST not slow.

But the old saying is often true, "good things come to them that wait."

Are you willing to wait on....
- that relationship?
- that ministry?
- that business deal?
- that purchase?
- that move?
- etc

It's when we get in a hurry that we end up frustrating the grace of God in our life. We get the cart before the horse and forget about the preparation process. When we do this, we forfeit the longevity of a promise because we sabotaged it with our misguided zeal.

Zeal is good as long as it's guided and monitored. Left unbridled, it can be offensive and behave itself unseemly - refusing to follow protocol while hiding behind the guise of "I must work while it's day."

• Learn to wait on the edge of your seat. 
• Learn to wait with sugar & cream on hand.
• Learn to wait for the light to turn in your favor.
• Learn to wait for the full strength of what God has promised.

Wait and you'll witness a seamless blessing unfold in your life.

@RussellHylton (Twitter & Instagram)
@bevhylton (Twitter)
Russell Beverly Hylton (Facebook)
www.russellhylton.com
@bfwcindy (Twitter & Instagram)
Bfwc Indianapolis (Facebook)

www.bfwc.net

No Critics Allowed (Part 2)

Continued...

4. The Manipulator

Watch out for manipulators, or bullies, who try to use their negativity to intimidate and manipulate your thoughts. If you study them from a distance, you will realize that these people are overly self-focused. In other words, the people around them (YOU) fit into their plan simply based on how they can be used or manipulated for their own personal gain.

These people routinely prioritize their own feelings and needs over and above everyone else's. They will demand that you bend over backward to help them, but if, you ever need help, they will not be around.

The bottom line:  Some people will say and do anything, thoughtlessly, to get others to do what they want them to do. Do not accept this behavior as normal. When someone tries to bully you, stand up for yourself and say, "Not on my watch! This is out of order!"  And if they refuse to reason with you, walk away without a fight.

5. The Actor

Sometimes, you will have to deal with people who insist that you should be someone else. But, in the long run, it's always better to be disrespected for who you ARE than respected for who you ARE NOT.  in fact, the only relationships that work well are the ones that make you a better person without changing you into someone other than yourself, and without preventing you from outgrowing the person you used to be.

In life, you will change.  Sometimes your family and friends will fail to recognize this and continue to label you in an unfair way based on who you used to be; and it's easy to end up CONFORMING to these labels because you remember when they were true. 

What's important to remember is that you're the only person in the world who knows what's happening inside your head right now.  People who don't know you well may assume you're someone else entirely. And people who think they know you well may have pigeonholed you - but you know there's more to you than what they see!

When you IGNORE their opinions and decide to be who you are, instead of who they want you to be, you open yourself up to real love, real happiness, and real success.  There is no need to put on a mask. There is no need to pretend to be someone you're not.

You don't have control over what others think about you, but you do have control over how you decide to internalize their opinions. Leave them to their own judgments. Don't feel threatened and don't conform just to please them. Let people love you for who you are, and not for who they want you to be. Or let them walk away if they choose. They can't harm you either way; it's their understanding that is faulty, not yours.

More to come...

@RussellHylton (Twitter & Instagram)
@bevhylton (Twitter)
Russell Beverly Hylton (Facebook)
www.russellhylton.com
@bfwcindy (Twitter & Instagram)
Bfwc Indianapolis (Facebook)
www.bfwc.net

No Critics Allowed (Part 1)

On the wall in the gym I attend is a sign that says “No Critics!”  Every time I see it, I’m reminded that, in life, criticism is just par for the course.  Obviously all criticism isn’t bad.  In fact, we need the right kind of criticism in our life in order to grow.  Even a battery operates on positive & negative.

However, some people are so focused in seeing the negative side of things that they leave zero room for positive things to grow. People like this are entwined in our families, work environments and social circles. It can be emotionally draining just being around them, and you must be careful because their negative attitudes and opinions are venomous and contagious. 

Negativity perpetuates itself, breeds dissatisfaction and clutters the mind.  And when the mind is cluttered with negativity, happiness is hard to come by.

What do you do?  You ignore these people and move on from them when you must. 

Seriously, you have to be strong and know when enough is enough!  Letting go of negative people doesn’t mean you hate them, or that you wish them harm; it just means you care about your own well-being.  Because every time you subtract negative from your life, you make room for more positive.

What kind of people do you need to distance yourself from?

1. Drama Queens

Some people love to stir up controversy and drama for no apparent reason.  Don’t buy in to their hoop-la.  Stay out of other people’s drama and don’t needlessly create your own.

• Don’t spew hostile words at someone who spews them at you. 
• Keep your composure and replace the stink of confrontation with the fragrance of resolution.  The louder the opposition wants to yell, and the more drama they want to stir, the calmer and more confidently you need to think and speak. 
• Don’t let them get to you.
• Be an example of a pure existence; ignore their outlandish antics and focus on kindness.
• Communicate and express yourself from a place of peace, from a place of love, with the best intentions. 
• Use your voice for good – to inspire, to encourage, to educate, and to spread the notions of compassion and understanding. When someone insists on imposing their hostility and drama on you, ignore them and walk away. 

2. Hard To Please People

Some people are impossible to please; you will not be able to break through to them no matter what you do.  Accept this reality.

Throughout your lifetime some people will discredit you, disrespect you and treat you poorly for no apparent reason at all.  Don’t consume yourself with trying to change them or win their approval and don’t make any space in your heart to hate them.  Simply walk away and leave it in God’s hands.  Realize that bit of time you spend on them will be wasted, and any bit of hate and aggravation in your heart will only hurt you.  

3.  Dream Killers

Stop giving credit to those who discredit your dreams.  These people are punishing your potential by slowly extinguishing your inner flame with their watered down vision of what you are capable of achieving.

If you give in and let their negativity convince you of who you are, their madness will wither you away.  You will convert into who they say you are, rather than living honestly as yourself.  In this way, these people will steal your life from you.  You will lose track of where their opinion ends and your reality begins.  Their fiction will become your life’s story.

What you’re capable of is not a function of what others think is possible for you.  So look beyond their presumptions and mental limitations, and connect with your own best vision of what YOU are capable of and how YOUR life can be.  Life, after all, is an open-ended journey, and 99% what you achieve comes directly from what you work to achieve on a daily basis.

God has big plans for you...keep dreaming lofty dreams!

@RussellHylton (Twitter & Instagram)
@bevhylton (Twitter)
Russell Beverly Hylton (Facebook)
www.russellhylton.com
@bfwcindy (Twitter & Instagram)
Bfwc Indianapolis (Facebook)
www.bfwc.net

The Dirty of Discipleship

1. Say YES to Discipleship!

Programs don't disciple people, people disciple people.

2. Say YES to Relationship!

What if we made sure our structures disciple people? We need to create places for people to encourage relational discipleship.

3. Say YES to making People Matter!

Disciples are made...when they know that they matter to somebody, when they know that they have a place to belong.

4. Say YES to Gratitude!

You need a Romans 16 list...the people that invested in you, walked beside you along the way.  Who's list is your name going to show up on?  We have the ability to control who's list we're on.

5. Say YES to Affirmation!

We need to name people's potential!  Drawing out of them the person that Jesus created them to be. Our words matter so make them big! Call them up to a higher level. You have to be a little crazy to be a disciple maker...You have to see things in people that no one else sees.

6. Say YES to the Mess!
Say YES to the inevitable mess that they will either create or find themselves in. Mess transforms people's lives.  We say YES to mess beginning with diapers and drool; it doesn't stay that clean! You're dealing with the bad choices that they make. If we want to say YES to the next generation, we have to say YES to the mess. We've got to speak life into the messy places. We need to remind people that their mess is not final fate...it may be the incubator for miracles in their life.

7. Say YES to Inconvenience!
YES to hard conversations and shifting our priorities. Tell them a story that is larger than their own. We need to find ways to make people experience grace that is unmistakable. It's one thing to give people a list of statements and say believe it or give them a list of rules and say follow it...we're not going to win the next generation by making statements AT them.

It's not RULES to live by but a CALLING to live for!

Who are we leaving in our wake?

Who's going to be on their Romans 16 list?

We can make sure that those we've been entrusted with experience grace in the fullness of truth and the fullness of truth in the experience of grace. We've got to tell the story over and over again!

We cannot let Jesus' LAST command become our LEAST concern!  We must invite them into a story that's bigger than our own.

We must reach the next generation!  We must say YES!

@RussellHylton (Twitter & Instagram)

@bevhylton (Twitter)

Russell Beverly Hylton (Facebook)www.russellhylton.com
@bfwcindy (Twitter & Instagram)
Bfwc Indianapolis (Facebook)www.bfwc.net

You Are Stronger Than You Think

He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. [II Cor. 12:9.] (Isaiah 40:29 AMP)

At some point, you will come to realize that living the good life involves some amount of necessary PAIN, and that there are more flavors of pain than ice cream and coffee combined…

There’s the little empty pain of leaving something behind ‒ graduating, taking the next step, walking out of a familiar, safe situation and into the excitement of the unknown. There’s the giant, whirling pain of life upsetting all of your big plans and expectations. There’s the little sharp pains of making a mistake, and the more obscure aches of success, when it doesn’t make you feel as good as you thought it would. There are the vicious, backstabbing pains of betrayal. The sweet little pains of finding others who are worthy of your time, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There’s the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them face their problems.

And on the best of days, there are the subtle, tingling pains you feel throughout your body when you realize that you’re standing in a moment of sweet perfection, an instant of great achievement, or happiness, or laughter, which at the same time cannot possibly last ‒ and yet will remain with you for the rest of your life.

Everyone is down on pain, and when we experience it we usually say we’re having a bad day, because we forget something important about what we’re going through: Pain is for the living – for those of us who still have the chance of a lifetime. Only the dead don’t feel it, because their time is already up.

My friend...GOD BELIEVES IN YOU! He has given you the STRENGTH you need to not only survive the hurt, pain, betrayal and junk that may have happened to you but to THRIVE in the face of it!

Day 16 - Monday, January 26 - ELECTED OFFICIALS

DAY 16 – MONDAY, JAN 26 ELECTED OFFICIALS 

Pray that our elected officials (national, state & city) would be given wisdom as they guide and govern our country. 

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2