Friday, November 21, 2014

A MISSION IS A MISSION







I had been listening to a church member who was very unhappy in her marriage. She told me about all the things she could not do. She finally broke down in tears as she talked about all the things she desired, but could not have because her husband kept her in submission.


Out of the blue I told her she was not in submission, she had a submission. The truth is, a mission is a mission. Whether is an admission, dis-mission, emission, omission intermission, transmission, permission, submission, or remission, it is a mission. You own the mission, whatever that mission may be. It is your mission. Often we see missions on resume’s. Here is an example;


 My Mission: I am a dedicated member of the Michael Jackson Global Family. My love, admiration and commitment to him is unwavering. My goal is to bring surety to the restoration of Michael Jackson’s legacy.


 The thing is, it is your mission. I can’t emphasize that enough. Your mission is given to you by God, although we may not immediately realize it. We get smothered in the talk of today, and people telling us what we should be doing. Ultimately we can’t hear the voice of God, giving us the mission He/She has for us. Scripture has an interesting story about the voice of God;


  Genesis 3:8-11a (AKJV) 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, who told thee that thou wast naked? Everything goes downhill from there.


So, this is the situation. Adam and Eve were in the garden enjoying each other. The most High called out to them but they ignored the voice of God. Adam finally comes forth and expresses fear, because he was naked. God responds, in asking “who told you that you were naked?” 


The key word here is ignore. The root word for ignorant is ignore.  It doesn't mean dense or slow, it means uninformed; unaware. Well no doubt, if you cannot hear the voice of God you will not be able to hear your mission!. Ultimately, you become  a prime target for someone else to use to complete their mission, while not fulfilling your own.Nevertheless, inside we all know what our mission is. A well known scripture is:  Eccl 3:1 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Everyone, and everything has been given a mission by God, or as King Solomon said, a purpose.


Those thoughts that you have that delight or thrill you are in most cases are you receiving the purpose God has created for you. We begin to have aspirations (notice the word spirit in there?) by the time we get to college it becomes our major, but once we step out…it becomes our calling. It is like a company. Everyday that you walk in that door, you realize that your mission is your position. If your mission is to whole somebody elses  mission up, then it is a sub-mission. It belongs to you. No worries though. In a crazy way we all have a sub-mission. Our mission in life is to help others, so we cannot always have the same position whether we like it or not.


My favorite verses on this are what Paul says to the Corinthians. Romans 12:19-26 “19 and if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be feebler, are necessary: 23 and those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 25 that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.”


What I like about this is we are all cells in the love of the Most High. In as much as we are one body, each member has a purpose. If one member because of ignorance, try’s to fulfill the mission of another member it is sure to feel fearful and unaccomplished. Just like us! If a cell from the foot attempts to follow the eye and do what its mission is, it will not be successful. That mission was not given to that cell! However, if that same cell were to fulfill its God given mission it would be strengthening to the body. Each member “owns” a unique mission, it is not transferrable.


Michael is incredible. He says all that I have said in a few simple words, “In the end, the most important thing is to be true to yourself and those you love and work hard. Work like there's no tomorrow. Train. Strive. Really train and cultivate your talent to the highest degree. Be the best at what you do. Get to know more about your field than anybody alive. Use the tools of your trade, if it's books or a floor to dance on or a body of water to swim in. Whatever it is, it's yours. That's what I've always tried to remember”


 "Even if you're sweeping floors or painting ceilings, do it better than anybody in the world, no matter what it is that you do. Be the best at it, and have a respect for others, and be proud of yourself…and to honor, be honorable.”

 Michael was wise beyond his years. In other words he is saying take your mission and run with it! Don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed.  Empire probably began  with that one old man mopping floors as young man. There is no doubt in my mind that he was snubbed by many men who looked a bit high and mighty. However, he followed the mission that he had been given. To thine own self be true. Still you have to know yourself. "I know who I am inside and outside, and I know what I want to do. And I will always go with my dreams." Once again we hear wisdom from Michael Jackson. Michael in effect is talking about how dedicated he is to his calling, his mission.


This is how the pope said it. (I am not Catholic, but I am so happy about the message of love that he brings.), “When the Lord wants to give us a mission, wants to give us a task, He prepares us. He prepares us to do it well, as he prepared Elijah,” the Pope explained in his June 13 daily Mass. “The most important part of this…is the whole journey by which we arrive at the mission the Lord entrusts to us.” June 13th 2014 Dailey Homily. That’s it in a nutshell.


Steve Jobs is an excellent example His unwed biological parents, Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, put him up for adoption. His adopted parents raised him in a community of engineers. Although he went to college he dropped out and began to seek another path. Jobs was a “fruitarian”. I suppose his favorite fruit was apples. The first job he got after he dropped out was working in a video store. Can you see how God is preparing him for his mission? It was not long after that that he and a friend began to work with electronics. Together they began “Apple”. So you can see that the pope has hit the nail on the head.


There is a painful element of hearing the voice of God, and realizing that God has already given you a mission, and you are free to fulfill that mission. It is that you must leave some people behind, this is an absolute fact.  Scripture says “2 Corinthians 6:17 (KJV)  17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” Now, I really don't know what the unclean thing is. I suppose we all have something that is unclean in our lives. Something that hinders the spirit. We will each have to answer that for ourselves. What I want to show is you have to leave some friends behind. For our purposes, let us see the unclean thing as the life you are leaving behind, and God receiving you and blessing you to a conversational relationship with Him. You cannot converse with God  if you cannot hear his voice

.
Now, I am speaking with the bible as a reference. Consider this, however. Everybody does not read the bible.  In fact, you may be the only bible that some may get to see. Michael is like a walking book of righteous instruction. It is incredible! Michael has given us the same message as Pope Francis. Why was Michael able to do that? That is for you to ponder and answer. Personally, I think that Michael had a very personal relationship with God. He could hear God calling, and he never ignored His voice.


Here is the Dalai Lama in his teachings on training the mind; Training the Mind:
 Verse 1
With a determination to achieve the highest aim
For the benefit of all sentient beings
Which surpasses even the wish-fulfilling gem,
May I hold them dear at all times.

‘These four lines are about cultivating a sense of holding dear all other sentient beings. The main point this verse emphasizes is to develop an attitude that enables you to regard other sentient beings as precious, much in the manner of precious jewels. The question could be raised, "Why do we need to cultivate the thought that other sentient beings are precious and valuable?" Training the Mind/ Teaching of His Holiness. The Dalai Lama. 


Verse 1 is about training the mind to deal with the practices associated with cultivating the method aspect of the path such as compassion, altruism, aspiration to attain Buddhahood.”


Michael made the same point in two short sentences through the spoken word.  1) “But I will never stop helping and loving people the way Jesus said to.”  2) “When all life is seen as divine, everyone grows wings.”  ― Michael Jackson


Also, he delivered the same message in song “There’s a place in your heart And I know that it is love And this place could be much Brighter than tomorrow And if you really try You'll find there's no need to cry In this place you'll feel There's no hurt or sorrow There are ways to get there If you care enough for the living Make a little space, make a better place. Heal the world”


Each of them are speaking of a path. Michael sings also “There are ways to get there if you care enough for the living…  The Pope, The Dalai Lama, and Michael are all speaking of loving your neighbor. The Pope is speaking of a journey by which we arrive at the mission the Lord entrusts to us. His Holiness says it is a matter of achieving the highest aim. So they are speaking of a path… but the vehicle that takes us is love.


It is a matter of respecting and loving Our Most High, ourselves and our neighbor. When all is said and done, the only mission that any of us has in this entire world is to be of service to each other.  That is the only way you can make a better place. It is actually possible to renew your mission, or to have a remission of the pathway you are traveling


The good thing is that our missions in life can change. You can work your way up on a job. However you cannot do it without learning, and usually when you learn something exceptionally well, it is because God has empowere you to do so. Jesus taught the disciples for three years, then they became Apostles. Apostle means sent. They were sent to fulfil the mission God had given them. So, what is your mission? Do you know?  The most important thing to know is everybody and everything has a purpose, or mission if you will. Lets conclude with a few quotes from Rick Warrens " The Purpose Driven Life"



"Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren’t.  You simply ask, “Does this activity help me fulfill one of God’s purposes for my life?” 

“Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources.  You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at the moment.”


“Without a purpose, life is a motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason.  Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless.”

 “The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.”

.



Monday, November 17, 2014

Remembering Michael Jackson

A Brother and a Hero

Recently I heard a reporter say,"Why is the whole world grieving over Michael?" He then said Michael was a good entertainer but that he was a pervert and a freak. He got the part about Michael Jackson being a good entertainer half right...he was more than good. Michael Jackson was phenomenal. There is not likely even the slimmest chance that someone like him will come again. Also, some of us knew them before Ed Sullivan, before MTV. In my case, I first knew of Michael Jackson when he was five years old. He and his brothers sang at an assembly at my mothers school. My mother raved about him forever. By the time I actually saw Michael, by the time I saw him at the Regal Theater he felt like my little brother. Most of us watched him grow with protective spirits, because life was not kind for black artists. Until Michael Jackson, MTV refused to put black people on. But, who could resist Thriller? Michael changed how music was presented and he changed the way white people treated black artists. He became something of a hero to most of us. He was breaking barriers and changing life for black artist who would follow.

Why did Michael turn white?

I really do want to address his transformational appearance, which earned him the title of freak. Michael Jackson had the unique ability to take the hand that life dealt him, and to play it...win or lose. One of the things that Michael experienced was a skin disease that turned him porcelain white.He never beached himself white because he hated being black, He simply never wanted anyone to see him as someone with a disability. So he did everything he could do to hide it from the world, including wearing a glittering glove. More recently he was seen wearing masks over his face. Michael found a way to live through it all. Have a look at this video, it is extremely informative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6xJlyJgfS8

There was also quite a lot of talk about the surgeries he had on his face. The first rhinoplasty he had done was because of an accident because he actually broke his nose. What is unknown to most of those who are not his fans is
the shame he'd felt from his father ridiculing  him about the size of his nose. The rhinoplasty was a reason to have work done on his nose was a reason to reshape his feature. That is the nose you see him with on the Thriller album. He is black, and he still has a black mans features. Refined, but black, like Oprah.

As time went on his skin disease got worse. Virgilio was beginning to turn him white. This took place over a period of years. The treatments that Michael had to take did not bleach his skin. (If you haven't watched the video above, now is a good time. It explains what vitiligo is, and the treatments Michael had to take for this incurable disease). Ultimately, Michael became almost totally white. It was something he could not change. Michael decided to live the best he could with the condition. He was now white with black features on his face. Michael finally had a second rhinoplasty to have a nose that belonged on a white face. At this time he was beginning to look totally white, and most people had some theory about it. The chief myth was, he hates being black.

I think changing his features to fit his skin was smart. It really was more fitting, plus people would still have talked if he had not had the surgery. Later he felt he looked too feminine, so he had a clef put in his chin hoping it would solve the problem. He was taking his situation and finding a way to live with it. He was not trying to be white, and he was especially not trying to look like a white woman! The tabloids went wild! They completely forgot about the good that Michael had done to save hundreds of lives.

He Was a Humanitarian

ccording to Whats Haute, June 29th "The loss of Michael Jackson shook the world on Thursday. Michael Jackson the entertainer not only impacted the music world in tremendous ways, he was also a global humanitarian, lending his support to 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through project sponsorships. He received recognition in the 2000 edition of the Guiness Book Of World Records for breaking the world record for the “Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star”. Despite media allegations, Mich

Michael Was an Inventor!

Michael Jackson loved all children, and took time out while touring to secret visting sick children and even had special rooms at his Neverland Ranch for sick and terminally ill children.' This is agood article with beautiful pictures. I you can, visit this site.
(http://whatshaute.com/?tag=guiness-book-of-world-records)

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/113-michael-jackson

Charities Supported

Michael Jackson has supported the following charities:
The following is a list of charities he pubilicly helped in his life that was taken from AllMichaelJackson.com:
AIDS Project L.A.
American Cancer Society
Angel Food
Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles
BMI Foundation, Inc.
Brotherhood Crusade
Brothman Burn Center
Camp Ronald McDonald
Childhelp U.S.A.
Children's Institute International
Cities and Schools Scholarship Fund
Community Youth Sports & Arts Foundation
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)
Dakar Foundation
Dreamstreet Kids
Dreams Come True Charity
Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Love Match
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Minority Aids Project
Motown Museum
NAACP
National Rainbow Coalition
Rotary Club of Australia
Society of Singers
Starlight Foundation
The Carter Center's Atlanta Project
The Sickle Cell Research Foundation
Transafrica
United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
United Negro College Fund Ladder's of Hope
Volunteers of America
Watts Summer Festival
Wish Granting
YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw