Discussions of Success: "There Is No Failure ...Only Divine Redirection!"

My fraternity brother/business partner and I were chatting (on Gchat) this morning about the blessed fact that the word "failure" has never been used in the Word of God!  Many people, myself included, have or have had a fear of failure.  And speaking from experience, fear of failure is paralyzing.  So many times we miss our blessings because we succumb to this fear and don't take the steps that are already ordained by God. 

My brother had this to say...

"We can fail at something but that does not make us a failure ...a 'fail' is a temporary moment.  A 'failure' is more permanent. I'd rather fail trying than be a failure for not trying. It is truly liberating to know there is no failure in God.  Anything with the word fail attached to it, I believe, is attached to the world's standard. If we 'fail' trying something new ...we still learn from it which is a measure of success.  So ultimately, we did not fail ...we just succeeded in learning something new"  ~Min. James Riddick

Because we both recognize that iron sharpens iron (Prov. 27:17),  we're even more inclined to encourage and mmotivate one another.  No crabs in this barrel!

Until next time ...attempt to do that which you USED TO have a fear of failing.  There is no failure ...only divine redirection!

Christoph Writes...

"If my words have the ability to develop wings of encouragement, I hope they take flight in someone's life." ~Christoph Jenkins

Discussions of Success: The World Has The Wrong Definition of Success! What does God Have To Say?

Have you ever asked the question, "Why do famous people who blatantly reject God... prosper?  Why do people who clearly worship other gods such as money, sex, drugs, and violence seem to be the ones who gain all of the wealth in the world while we who try our best to do the will of God...struggle?  If I have these questions, I'm sure I'm not the only one. 

This is what the bible says about the subject.  I found a very relative passage of scripture in Psalm 37.  It reads...

1 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. 2 In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun. 3 Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. 4 Keep company with God, get in on the best. 5 Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: 6 He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon. 7 Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don't bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top. 8 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes - it only makes things worse. 9 Before long the crooks will be bankrupt; God-investors will soon own the store. 10 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it; you'll stare at his once famous place and - nothing!

Recently, I made a commitment to God! I told God that I would read and study the bible, more consistently. Well, lets take the words "more consistently" off the previous sentence and just be honest. I need to stop making these excuses! "I'm too busy!" "It feels like I have homework!" "I don't know where to start!"

I'm honoring my commitment! Even though I wasn't sure where to start, that didn't stop me, finally! lol In keeping with the question that inspired this blog post, I wanted to know what God had to say about this subject...so I googled "success in the bible" and clicked one of the top links called "Success According to the Bible." It is so on point. It has inspired me to really dissect Deuteronomy 8:10-20 and strategically apply it to my life. Check out this information below that I found online! A MUST READ!!!

The world defines success in terms of achieving one's goal, acquiring wealth, status, prestige and power. Successful people are those defined as people enjoying the good life. In short, dollars, power and status is the central definitions of success in the world today. Such definitions have many fatal flaws when we consider the lives of the rich and famous whose lives are wrecked by pain and tragedies.

Success According to the Bible God's measurement of success is defined differently from that of the world. God's measure of success involves our obedience and faithfulness to Him, regardless of the opposition and trials we face. In short God's measure of our success is whether or not we are being loyal to Him and obey Him.
The determination of whether one is successful or not is answered by whether or not one is satisfied with one's life. It should not be based on or measured by someone else's standards. We should determine what our success is by God's standards for He is the one who has created us and He is the one who will judge us and by His standards.

Success is much more than just money and status. All others is temporary. When we leave this world, none of it will be of any use to us nor will it guarantee us eternal life. So should we define money and status, which is temporary, as real success? Who amongst the rich today can guarantee their happiness on earth and in heaven?

Does God Want Us To Succeed?
God is not in the failure business. The scriptural truth is, God wants us to succeed. God's condition for success is simple - Obey Him and Obey His Laws.

God Wants Us to Succeed
Proverbs 16:3 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

God Wants Us to Prosper
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Gave Us the Ability to Produce Wealth
Deuteronomy 8:18 - He gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/success-according-to-the-bible-504707.html#ixzz0wxajCxZ1

Until next time ...make your dreams bigger than your excuses!

Christoph Writes...

"If my words have the ability to develop wings of encouragement, I hope they take flight in someone's life." ~Christoph Jenkins

Discussions of Success: What Is Your "WHY?"

"What is your why?"  I pose this question to YOU because I am in the process of answering it for MYSELF.  However, it is not enough to simply recognize the reason WHY we want to reach a particular goal or to simply be successful.  Our WHY must be engrained and engraved into our daily make-up until it becomes a staple article of clothing that we feel we must WEAR on a DAILY basis.  We must wear our WHY religiously to the point that we feel NAKED or LOST without it.  You know how RUINED you feel every time you rush off to work and leave your cell phone at home ...on the dresser? ...the work day just drags by because our cell phone is what gets us through the work day (no texting, NO INSTAGRAM, no Facebook because your job blocked it on your computer, lol).  The day we leave our cell phone at home feels like the longest day of our lives. 

Well, if you...if WE continue to go through this life without a WHY as our daily motivator, we will continue to live life AIMLESSLY.  It is not enough to know what goals we want to reach.  If we don't have a heart wrenching WHY that we wear daily, it'll either take us longer to reach our goals or we never will!

Until next time... ask yourself, "What is my WHY?" ...and once you know your WHY... WEAR IT!

Discussions of Success: How Do You Know You're Waiting On God the Way HE Wants You To Wait?

Am I truly leaning on God while I wait on Him to open the next door in my life?  This is just me taking an honest inventory of myself.  I am confident that I am being obedient by excericing patience.  The quarrel I have with waiting on God is understanding the thin line between actively waiting and getting in God's way by trying to make things happen on my own.  Take my situation for instance.  I feel that it is time for a career change because where I currently work, it feels like more of a job and less of a career.  Don't get me wrong...I appreciate having a job in this unstable economy and I thank God every day for blessing me with the affordability to pay my bills and stay above water drowning waters.  At the same time though, being the progressive thinker/dreamer that I am, I know that more is possible.  I know that having a career that promotes upward mobility is feasible.  And I believe that while you wait on God you must do your part... but I struggle with determining whether or not I have gone past actively waiting" and entered into "getting in God's way." 

I can go on and on about this but I want to hear from some friends and family.  I know for sure that  many people feel the same way I feel right now.  You may not be waiting on a new job/career like a lot of us are, but it may be that you're waiting on God to send you a significant other or you may be waiting on God to make a way for you to purchase a house or a car.  Some married couples are trying to conceive a child and are waiting on God make their dream come true. 

How do you know that you are waiting the way that God wants you to wait?  Through this discussion, we all may learn a more EFFECTIVE way of waiting on God.

Until next time... until God opens that next door for you, praise Him in the hallway!

Christoph Writes...

Humbling Experiences: I Shared My Poem @ The Candlelight Vigil for Trayvon Martin on 14th & Park Rd NW

This week has been a week like never before.  My life has been been somewhat redirected in someway.  And this redirection has nothing to do with MY WILL.  I truly believe that God has taken control of my life's compass.  I never would have thought that I would be standing in the center of hundreds of people on 14th & Park Rd. NW, Washington, DC in Columbia Heights, advocating for a justice through my poetry.  One can't just conjure up events like this and say they're going to make them happen.

This took place this past Monday, two days after I spoke in front of thousands of people in front of the Wilson Building, in downtown D.C. at Freedom Plaza, on Pennsylvania Ave.  The authorities had to literally shut down several blocks for safety precautions.  When I arrived, there were cars passing through like it was a regular Saturday afternoon.  Moments later, people started to come in droves chanting, singing, causing traffic to build.  Then the police began to assemble and started blocking off the streets so no vehicles could pass through.

Not too many people can say that they stood next to prominent activists and advocated for justice in front of thousands of people.  I don't say this to gloat.  I say ...or write this to say that I thank God for giving me the strength and forthright to do such "scary" things.  There was a time, not too long ago, that I probably would have turned down the opportunity to speak in front of so many people.  In front of my church? ...no problem.  In front of thousands of people with cameras? ...who have plans of broadcasting me across the world? ...WOW!!!  I don't think so!

I'm just being transparent with you right now.  I'm being very honest, when I say that I had to simply say to God, in prayer, "If you want me to complete these assignments (because that's what these events/experiences are; assignments from God), I'm going to need YOU to give me the tools and resources to get the job done.  I can't do what YOU"RE asking me to do with what I have.  If I have it already, I need YOU to reveal it to me because I don't see it."

God did just that.  Before I knew it, I was standing in front of thousands of people on Saturday and then on Monday I stood in the center of a few hundred of people, reciting the poem I wrote for Trayvon Martin, "Who Will Cry For The Little Boy, Trayvon Martin?".  The message was well received ...even though it was so cold I was getting cotton mouth because of the cold, dry wind that kept blowing.  I met a few people.  I enjoyed myself.  Now, I'm on to the next assignment God has for me.  God bless!

Until next time...follow God's plan for your life!

 Christoph Writes...

Exercising My Passion: The world has the wrong definition of "SUCCESS"! How do you define it?

Have you ever asked the question, "Why do famous people who blatantly reject God... prosper? Why do people who clearly worship other gods such as money, sex, drugs, and violence seem to be the ones who gain all of the wealth in the world while we who try our best to do the will of God...struggle?

Recently, I made a commitment to God! I told God that I would read and study the bible, more consistently. Well, lets take off the words "more consistently" off the previous sentence and just be honest. I need to get in the Word and stop making excuses! "I'm too busy!" "It feels like I have homework!" "I don't know where to start!"

What are your excuses???

I'm honoring my commitment! Even though I wasn't sure where to start, that didn't stop me, finally! lol In keeping with the question that inspired this blog post, I wanted to know what God had to say about this subject...so I Googled "success in the bible" and clicked one of the top links called "Success According to the Bible." It is so on point. It has inspired me to really dissect Deuteronomy 8:10-20 and strategically apply it to my life. Check out the blue text below! A MUST READ!!!

The world defines success in terms of achieving one's goal, acquiring wealth, status, prestige and power. Successful people are those defined as people enjoying the good life. In short, dollars, power and status is the central definitions of success in the world today. Such definitions have many fatal flaws when we consider the lives of the rich and famous whose lives are wrecked by pain and tragedies.

Success According to the Bible God's measurement of success is defined differently from that of the world. God's measure of success involves our obedience and faithfulness to Him, regardless of the opposition and trials we face. In short God's measure of our success is whether or not we are being loyal to Him and obey Him.

The determination of whether one is successful or not is answered by whether or not one is satisfied with one's life. It should not be based on or measured by someone else's standards. We should determine what our success is by God's standards for He is the one who has created us and He is the one who will judge us and by His standards.

Success is much more than just money and status. All others is temporary. When we leave this world, none of it will be of any use to us nor will it guarantee us eternal life. So should we define money and status, which is temporary, as real success? Who amongst the rich today can guarantee their happiness on earth and in heaven?

Does God Want Us To Succeed?
God is not in the failure business. The scriptural truth is, God wants us to succeed. God's condition for success is simple - Obey Him and Obey His Laws.

God Wants Us to Succeed
Proverbs 16:3 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

God Wants Us to Prosper
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Gave Us the Ability to Produce Wealth
Deuteronomy 8:18 - He gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Read more:
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/success-according-to-the-bible-504707.html#ixzz0wxajCxZ1