http://500px.com/oktayatli

I often wonder who the next celebrity godess will be. Back in the day it was Miss Spears, now Rihanna.  But, as of late, I keep hearing a new name. A different name – Siri.

This post has nothing to do with Church but everything to do with your opinion, especially if you own an iPhone.

The story went like this. Last week I pre-ordered a Verizon iPhone 4s at Best Buy in Homewood. Insider tips told me this location is a perfect place to buy as they have limited “tech traffic.” My pre-order was great. My pickup was tragic.

Long story short, Best Buy did not receive any Verizon phones which made my pre-order worthless. So, this is my post to all of you who have the new iPhone 4s. How is it? What is your favorite feature? How amazing is Siri?

photo by @JohnEdits

At first  listen I wasn’t too interested in Ye and Jay’s latest collaboration, Watch The Throne. But now, it has taken on a whole new meaning. No apologies, head tall and daring yourself to do the impossible. Who Gon Stop Me, huh?

http://500px.com/photo/2236854

A new revelation can be compared to gas: you need it to move forward but it costs a little of your comfort to “buy” it. Embrace revelation from Almighty God as you allow me to influence your thoughts on the things of this world. You’ll get something great, and may I give a shout-out to my brother @ThompsonWrites for the wonderful series “Heart for the House.”

Yours truly returned from a 19-day European excursion organized by People to People Ambassador Programs. It was by far the epoch of all epic epochs. My group of 27 high school students traveled France, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, in which I had the opportunity to also live with an Austrian family for a few days.

My highlights: gondola ride through the curious canals of Venice; Michelangelo’s David in Florence, Italy; going to Austrian high school and playing football (not throwball) every day; and standing over Peter’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. AMAZING! We also heard good speakers such as ambassadors, a holocaust survivor, excellent tour guides, angry Italians, etc.

Upon returning home and unpacking my baggage, I crossed some change in Euros and Swiss Francs, and for whatever reason, I had the strange urge to spend them. Sadly, I couldn’t spend them because I was in Highland, Indiana. It hit me a day later when I couldn’t sleep late that night, or early that morning: Those coins (almost seven Euros and almost three Swiss Francs) are worthless in Chicagoland just like things on this earth are useless for Heaven!

Personally, this revelation became really good practical knowledge for me. Why chase stuff when it’s only equivalent to a souvenir in heavenly reality like my European currency? Now, you material people shouldn’t lose your shirts. In fact, fully clad reading is encouraged in most social circles. I still like stuff, but hopefully it’s not a motive for me to live. God likes to give me stuff too, so it must be good. Think about how He tricked out Solomon! I don’t want to steal from @BlackBradPitt, but chew on this for clarification:

Jeremiah 9:23-24 The Lord says, “Let not the…rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me.“

Mark 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Job 31:24-28 (Job said) If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained…so that my heart was secretly enticed…then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked (Jesus talking to the early church of Laodicea, the Lukewarm Church).

1 Timothy 6:6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Principle #1: The poorest man in the world is the man who has nothing but money.

Principle #2: The payoff for meekness and fear of the Lord is plenty and honor and a satisfying life. Proverbs 22:4

Principle #3: Human Life Value is everything you are when all of your material resources are stripped away…My most important asset is ME. – Garrett Gunderson

Final truth: The desire for “more” can be a destructive force to your life and faith. – Dr. Robb Thompson, senior pastor @FHClife

You can follow me, @PagingDrVictor, on Twitter for delicious insight.

—
Victor Adeleke

“You want to close your eyes for the last time and know the world is a better place because you were there.” Dr. Robb Thompson

http://fhclife.org

The saga continues … I posted some notes/thoughts from this past week.

The Bible says we are to be In This World But Not Of It (Romans 12). Which means we live in the cultures of this world but there is another set of rules/standards/culture we live by.

There needs to become a separation of how we view the world and how we view the church. Often times the influences of the world infiltrates the standards of our home.

• Our world says commitment is for suckers
• Our world says affairs are the norm.
• Our world says affairs are more fun that being married
• Our world says marriage is for boring Volvo drivers
• Desperate Housewives, OC housewives, Miami housewives, Cheating is cool, fun and exciting.

Our church should be our wife and not our girlfriend on the side. The world says we can have a wife and a girlfriend – Proverbs says:

18 Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!19 Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose-don’t ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!20 Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore? for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?

http://fhclife.org

You can build the house in two different ways.

Haggai, Zerubbabel and Nehemiah rebuilt the temple physically. Some of us today have an opportunity to rebuild in the following areas. Recommended reading (book of Ezra, Nehemiah).

*Band

*Production

*Host

*Design

*Setup

*Maintenance

*Ushers/Welcome Team

*Cleaners/Janitor

Additionally, there is a bonus pack as we merge our lives to what Christ loves (Ephesians 5:23).

*Prayer

*Leadership

*Protection

*Encouraging

*Asking for wisdom and direction from the Holy Spirit

http://vimeo.com/4895121

http://fhclife.org

How does branding coagulate with Christ?

Brand recognition is the rage. It’s no longer what you are wearing but who you are wearing. Patterns, colors and fabrics are replaced by names and seasons. The brand brings status and status brings pride.

Do you take pride in the brand of God? How excited are you about his House, his name? Is the focus on your brand or His?

13 However, King Cyrus of Babylon,t during the first year of his reign, issued a decree that the Temple of God should be rebuilt.14 King Cyrus returned the gold and silver cups that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of Babylon. These cups were taken from that temple and presented to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom King Cyrus appointed as governor of Judah. 15 The king instructed him to return the cups to their place in Jerusalem and to rebuild the Temple of God there on its original site. Ezra 5:13-15

http://fhclife.org

God + People

I want to love God as much as I possibly can. I wake up and pray. I listen to Jesus music. I say out loud, “God, give me everything you got.”

But when I walk by someone and neglect to recognize the creator in them, I have missed. I missed loving God when I missed loving His people. Young and old, ugly and pretty – Jesus loves the little children of this world.

30 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’t No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

http://fhclife.org

This one involves trees, water and fragrances.

I reposted Psalm 92 but this time I want to take a look at a few attributes of the cedars of Lebanon.

12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.13 Those who are planted in the house of the LordShall flourish in the courts of our God.14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, Psalm 92:12-13

Cedars trunk can be as wide as 8 feet and grow to 130 feet tall. They were used to build the Old Testament temple, Solomon’s palace, King David’s palace and numerous other structures.

They grow in high altitudes (3-6,000 feet), require rich soil and plenty of water. They also give out a sweet smelling fragrance.

6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. Hosea 14:6 NLT

http://fhclife.org

Where do you extract your strength? Where is it sourced?

12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.13 Those who are planted in the house of the LordShall flourish in the courts of our God.14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, Psalm 92:12-13

http://fhclife.org

What does Christ love? What captures his attention?

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27