Not of This World: by Rodney Jones

Years ago the devil started a rumor. He told a few Christians that as long as they lived in the world, they had to suffer as the world did. He told them they had to share the diseases and the defeat, the poverty and the failure of those around them.

It was a crafty lie--and it worked. Believers accepted it and began to spread it among themselves. You may have even heard it yourself. If so, I want to help you put that rumor to rest today. I want to help you get the facts straight once and for all.

You see, despite what you may have heard, health, prosperity and victorious living aren't concepts some comfort-hungry believer selfishly dreamed up. They are God's ideas.

You may say, "That sounds good, Rodney, but we've got to be realistic. We live in a world that's full of problems. And as long as we live in this world, it seems to me we're going to have our share."

Yes, that's true. Even Jesus said, "In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration." But notice, He didn't stop there! He went on to say, "But be of good cheer-- take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted--for I have overcome the world.-- I have deprived it of power to harm, have conquered it [for you]" (John 16:33, The Amplified Bible).

Most believers don't have any trouble believing the first part of that verse. They know all too well how many tribulations, trials, distresses, and frustrations surround them. But they're less certain about the last part. They haven't yet experienced for themselves exactly what Jesus meant when He said He had deprived those things of power to harm them.

Why not?

Because they're still living as though they're part of the world.

But, listen. Jesus said you and I are to be "sanctified," or separated from the evils of this world. How? Through the Word of God! (John 17:17).

The Word of God will separate you from the world. His Word will set His dream for victory into motion in your life. If you'll receive it and believe it, speak it and act on it, that Word will set you apart from those around you. It will take you from trouble to triumph again and again. I Am With You!

" Whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith."

– 1 John 5:4


~A Special Thank you to Rodney Jones for allowing me to share your words of wisdom here at Calz Corner... 
                                                       

To God be the glory!

Three Christian Questions: with Bri Gray

1. What is your background in Christianity?

• I was raised as a Christian but I was never clear as to what Denomination, I just knew that I loved Jesus. As I grew older and visited churches, I learned that I had more freedom to openly praise in a Baptist church setting. I prefer to attend those types of environments, but I am still unsure as to what denomination I am. In all honesty, I do not care to claim one, and my mom never placed emphasis on it either. As long as I love Christ and I am chasing after him, nothing else matters.

2. Where has GOD brought you from that helped you grow as a Christian?

• God has brought me from the City of Detroit, with a ghetto mess outside my door, but a single mother who provided peace inside our home. Considering our surroundings and the complacent people around us, I have come very far and my mommy raised my little sister and me well. God has blessed my life and given me the drive, and desire to be more than my environment. I am now obtaining my master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
• God has also brought me from a struggle that seemed nearly impossible to overcome; to a differ type of struggle that seems much less daunting and much more inspiring than before. This struggle is the struggle before success and I appreciate it much more. This is not a situation that makes me wonder whether or not I'll be defeated but instead one that God has placed in my life that I feel is meant to make me appreciate my blessings and accomplishments much more. This struggle has made me understand that if there is no struggle, there is no progress. God has shown me favor despite my flaws and he has loved me even when I did not know who I was to love myself.

3. How can we guide more souls to Christ?

• The best way to bring people to Christ is to love like Christ and to allow His light to shine through us. It's also important to bring awareness to how amazing He is and how His love is the greatest feeling and gift of all. Along with this, we must avoid forcing Christ onto others and instead embrace them as Christ would, without judgment; it has to be in their hearts to seek him. Forcing or judging will only push them away. Most importantly, we must try our best to walk the path that God has for us, but do not step on others or place ourselves on a pedestal in the process. We have to be examples as Christians but we must also be relatable and approachable if we want others to come to Christ.

This blog entry is very special to me because you are my first born niece.  I chose you to be the first female to be interviewed because I think highly of you as a Christian, I'm very proud to see the woman you have become, and I am always blessed by your GOD given talents.  Not only your beautiful voice, but your beautiful heart, mind, and soul.  Thank you so much for your participation and I love you!

God Given Talent!!




**Slightly Modified

Three Christian Questions: with Corey White

1.  What is your background in Christianity?

• Growing up, I attended a Missionary Baptist Church, where I attended service on a regular basis, but was never baptized. When I turned 27, I was baptized in an apostolic church, under the Pentecostal persuasion of Holiness. (Oneness Pentecostalism) It is a denominational church setting where we believe you must take on the baptism in Jesus name. Although, now I am not in a denomination but believe in the name of Jesus Christ as a quintessence of salvation.

2.  Where has GOD brought you from that helped you grow as a Christian?

• I believe God has brought me through the struggling sense of forgiveness, pride; use of profanity, disbelief, smoking, drinking and the list goes on... It is ineffable (too great for words) of what God has and will do as a testimony/witness.

3.  How can we guide more souls to Christ?

•  Transparency is greatest, or the best asset to lead others to Christ. People need Kingdom citizens to be real, relevant, and relational at best. Point blank! If we as ambassadors of Christ do not spread the gospel with truth, conviction and sincerity, then we ourselves are living a lie. My advice to this epidemic and dichotomy…“Don't lie on the truth, because the truth shall set you free. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. Therefore, if we intuitively grasp the fact, we must buy the truth and sell it not; then we would also know that it (truth) is not on sell at a retail outlet. The truth is not cheap, but is the best and most valuable asset to our lives, as it relates to victorious living, reformation, and lastly transformation.

A very special thank you Corey for your participation, and your words of wisdom.  I have been truly blessed, and I am sure the readers will be blessed as well. Until next time... To GOD be the glory~  



**Slightly Modified

**The Works of GOD'S Kingdom** ~featuring Pastor Ralph L. Godbee, Jr.~

1. For starters, tell us a little back-story regarding your life as a Christian, and when you initially gave your life to Christ...

• I was raised in the church. I was baptized at around 7 years of age, at the Leland Missionary Baptist Church by it's then Pastor, the late Rev. Eugene Rhodes. I knew of, and felt the Holy Spirit at a very early age. I always admired preachers. My dad accepted his calling into the ministry in 1977, so I am a “PK” as well.

2. Where is your place of worship located, and if any, which denomination are you affiliated with?

•  I currently serve as the Senior Pastor of the Inner Court Christian Center located at 4240 E. 11 Mile Rd, in Warren, MI. We are non-denominational; believe that the bible is the infallible word of God authored by God and written by man by way of divine inspiration and authority of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Trinity; the triune nature of God being God the Father; God the Son; and God the Holy Spirit.

 

3. As far as baptisms, which formula does your place of worship, utilize? i.e., do you baptize in the name of Jesus? Or the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

• We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. However, I understand that doctrinally some baptize in the name of Jesus only. I personally do not feel that God is going to invalidate anyone's salvation over the different interpretations of doctrine by man regardless of which methodology a Pastor subscribes to.

4. Would you consider your place of worship to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

• I would absolutely say that our worship experience is Holy Ghost led, ordained, and filled. I do feel we have to be careful though not to always associate "Holy Spirit Filled" with the decibel level of our service. No matter how proficient we are in the outward demonstration of Praise and Worship, only God knows the heart of a person. We must stop these monolithic categorizations of what "Spirit Filled" means, looks like, and sounds like.

5. Explain to us the Godhead...

• The Godhead is the triune nature of our deity. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as we are three parts Mind, body and soul. We are made in God's image and His likeness, which is personified in the personage of Jesus Christ.

6. Tell us three things that you feel will draw more souls to God....

• There has to be a level of transparency that unfortunately, church leadership is unwilling at times to display. The hypocrisy of "church folks" is not that they do wrong, but it's the pretense of perfection, and the judgment that accompanies it that turns most people away from today’s church. We overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our "testimonies"! People need to hear and know what God has brought you through in order for them to understand that God is capable of delivering them as well, from whatever their particular sin bondage is. 

-We also need to be more forthright in our asking for money, and what we need to sustain our respective ministries. Salvation is free but administration of the ministry has a cost to facilitate it effectively. We as church leaders must be good stewards over what is entrusted to us by the congregation. Some of the extravagant trappings of some more prominent men and women of God have turned many people away from the church and some see the church as just "another hustle". We have to be mindful of how things "appear" to the world because the word of God instructs us not to let our good be evil spoken of. All things may be lawful for me but not all things are expedient as penned by the Apostle Paul.

   
7. Lastly, on lighter note... Give us a little insight into your favorite Christian music... I am positive the readers will appreciate it...

• I am a huge fan of a lot of our homegrown gospel artists and I will get myself in trouble if I start naming them because to me Detroit is the proverbial "Mecca" for gospel music and you could fill a 30GB I-Pod on Detroit gospel artists alone. I have to say, however, my musical tastes have expanded greatly in Gospel and Christian music. Lord, I tap danced around that better than the late Sammy Davis, Jr.!!!!  

A special thank you to Pastor Godbee for blessing us with his awesome words of wisdom.           

Thank you for reading!



**Slightly Modified

~Father's Day Hiatus~

~Happy Father's Day from Calz Corner~

     ~See you next Sunday...

**The Works of GOD'S Kingdom** ~featuring Dante Love~

1. Give us insight into when you gave your life to Christ.

• I gave my life to Christ July 2008. I saw my life and my future without God and I needed to change or I would go to Hell.

2. Are you more drawn to the Old Testament or the New Testament? Please expound...

• New Testament, because it seems to me in my studies that the Old Testament is the history of Israel and how God revealed himself to the world. It seems to me that the New Testament is the revelation of Jesus Christ and the calling and teaching to the world to believe in Jesus Christ. And the forgiveness of sins.

3. What is your take on the rapture?

• The Church is not ready for the rapture, if the rapture happened now (this very second) not many will be invited to the wedding feast of the lamb. (Revelation 19:6-9). The Church needs to repent, live, and teach according to the Bible not man's desires.

4. The book of Revelation, have you studied it? If so, can you give a short synopsis into what you gather from that particular book?

• Yes many times, I will try my best. The book of Revelation is describing The Great Tribulation, which is God's judgement of the wicked. Many people think the rapture will happen after the tribulation, but they’re wrong and WILL be left behind. People can still be saved during the tribulation, but they must repent and be fully sold out for God's will and not receive the mark of the beast, which is an RFID chip.

5. How do you feel about what you see in the church today or Christianity in general?

• Churches are robbing the people of true gospel and the Bible teachings. Church services are filled with the desires of man, not teachings of the Bible and of the Holy Spirit. The Church needs to come back to their first love, Jesus Christ and repent of all their wicked ways.

6. What advice can you give to the world that can possibly draw them to Christ?

• As you probably know by now, you can't fix all your problems on your own and you must know this earth didn't come from nothing. God created the world for you to live in. He loves you more than you can express, and He wants you to have peace. So, stop running from God, give Him ALL your problems, and let Him fix them for you.

7. Which scripture would you give someone to meditate on if that individual needed to be placed in a better mood?

• Matthew 21:21-22 (NIV)
• 21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

A very special thank you to Dante Love for participating. Very straight forward and to the point. Your response will help many as I truly enjoyed your words of wisdom. You are definitely a Godsend.

                                               

                                              
This will be my last installment of this series until further notice. Stay tuned until next week for my new blog series, 3 Christian Questions with Calz. Thank you for reading!



**Slightly Modified**



 

**The Works of GOD'S Kingdom** ~featuring Rodney Hobson~

1.  First, I would like to know your background in Christianity.

• I grew up in the church; I have been at my church Word of Faith International Christian Center since 1986. I was always active in church participating in children's choir, and bible study. I was really into the bible at an early age but didn't really have the right guidance at home so when I got older and started working, I drifted away from church and more into the streets. Nevertheless, as quickly as I went to the streets I made a quick decision to turn back to God. Now I am doing everything for God instead of for myself. Now I attend Church 2-3 times a week, I'm apart of a faith group, which is a group that meets every first and third week of every month to have fellowship and discuss the topics our pastor has arranged for us to review. I plan to further my Christianity study by attending school of the bible and pistis, which is bible-training facility. I plan to become a minister, preferably a preacher.
  

2.  Which, if any, of the apostles do you feel you are most likely to be compared to and why?

• I feel I am most likely compared to Andrew (brother of Simon Peter). Andrew was active in bringing people to JESUS, and I find myself doing the same thing. I do swat on Saturday at my church. Swat, which stands for soul winning attack team, which consists of a group of people going out and reconnecting to JESUS, through salvation, rededication, Holy Spirit baptism, healing, and prayer. However, before this I was using Facebook to bring people to JESUS, which I still do to this day.

3.  Are you ready to be persecuted as a Christian? How do you feel you would handle that situation?

• To be persecuted for the good and righteous name of JESUS, I would gladly allow it to be done. JESUS died for me, so why wouldn't I die for him? If that situation ever occurred, I would handle it correctly. I wouldn't disown my Father or JESUS for anyone or anything. Even if it means me being put to death. I know my faith and my love for him will get me through even if they do kill me. The worse thing that could happen is I go to heaven and that sounds like a great problem. (Lol)
• (1 Peter 3:13-17 KJV)
  And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

4.  Pertinent to the Word of GOD, would you recommend to babies in Christ, the Old Testament or the New Testament and why?

• I say both but start with the Old Testament, then go over to the New Testament, and then compare. I feel you will learn a lot when you compare both.

5.  Have you ever read the book of Revelation? If so, what did you get from it?

• The book of Revelation is about things that are to come after JESUS Christ died for us. It talks about the church being under fire in the end times, the Antichrist, and the mark of the beast. Therefore, what I get from it is signs of what to look for during the end times. Such as a true one-world government, the 7 years of tribulation when the Holy Spirit is taken away from earth, natural disasters, the 7 seals, the 7 trumps, the 7 bowls, and lukewarm churches that exist right before the end times. That means less people in the pews, and more compromising of our beliefs to try to fit in. Changing our beliefs to try to “make sense” of God, and trying to find God in our own individual way. The bible not only warns us not to do such things, Revelation says that the lukewarm, compromised church is the last sign to happen before the rapture of all true believers in Christ.

6.  How can we as Christians, bring more souls to Christ?

• First off, by showing the love of God, how He loves us unconditionally even when we turn our backs on Him, and when we sin. He is still there waiting for us with open arms. By witnessing, praying for one another, and showing how to unleash your blessings by forgiving others for any wrong doings. Never be offensive to people you talk to, carry a testament with you at all times, go believing, and always have a positive attitude.

7.  Lastly, on a lighter note, what are you typically doing after Sunday services?

• Sundays, I hang out with my faith group at a restaurant, then a movie, skating, and game night. We always try to find something to keep us entertained.

       Rodney, thank you for blessing us with your words of wisdom. I truly enjoyed your interview.  I'd also like to extend a thank you to all of you out there that are reading these blog entries.  Stay tuned for my next entry to be announced!  To GOD be the glory!    



*Slightly Modified