Walk It Out!

And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.  And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.  –Joshua 6:1-5

 

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.  –Joshua 6:20

 

Good Morning Friend!

 

Are you ready for the victory that God promised?

 

There are many promises that God has made to the believer.  There are promises of health, healing, prosperity, wholeness, happiness, comfort, love, peace, joy, and the list goes on.  The promises of God are plenty and the possibilities to the believer endless!  As a matter of fact the bible declares that the promises of the Lord are "Yea and Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20).  The Message Bible Translation reads verses 20-22 of 2^nd Corinthians like this: "Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete."  Yes, God has promised us great things as well He has already gotten us the victory in any circumstances we have or will face in life.  Many will ask (and do ask) "well, If God has given me all these promises, why haven't I seen them yet then."  The answer is simple and is confirmed all throughout scripture.  Yes, God has many promises and victories for the believer but in order for us to access this fullness in God, it requires OBEDIENCE on our part.

 

You see, sometimes we can get so caught up in the promises of God that we forget to uphold our end of the bargain.  I preached before that we serve an "if/then God."  Meaning that whatever promises that God gives to the believer, requires the believer to do something in order to access the blessing.  He says in his word if we believe on Him then we will have eternal life (John 3:15).  If we bring all the tithe into the store house then God will open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that we wont have room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10).  If we live a life that is pleasing unto God, then we shall inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  So we see that accessing the blessings of the Lord takes obedience through faith on our part, that what God is saying will work!  When we move and follow God's voice and directions we will ultimately have the success that God intended.  But when we delay in our obedience or even ignore the instructions of the Lord concerning us, we show God that we really don't believe Him.

 

Joshua had to make many of the same spiritual and natural decisions back then that we have to make today.  In the text Joshua gained the victory because he listened to the voice and the word that God gave to him, brought the instructions of God back to the people and followed through with what the Lord had instructed him to do.  Ultimately, because Joshua followed God's instructions precisely (from how many preachers should be there, how many trumpets should be blown and how many days/times the people should walk around the wall down to the positioning of everyone in the line up and the precise time when the people should raise their voice in a shout) the wall of Jericho came down and Joshua and the people of Israel possessed the victory over Jericho as God had promised.  Now, I'm sure Joshua had the whisperers saying that him and the people looked ridiculous simply walking around the wall one time, everyday for six days, then the seventh day walking around the walls seven times.  I'm sure the army generals of that time didn't see or understand Joshua's strategy and probably criticized him.  I'm also sure that some of the people walking with Joshua started out strong but by day 6 grew a little weary of the process and not "seeing" any victory ahead.  Regardless to all this, Joshua held on to the promise of the Lord and continued to walk out the plan that God gave him.  Friend, there will be some times that no one (including you) will understand the vision that God placed in your belly, but regardless of weather or not you understand and if other accept what God has spoken to you, whatever God gave for you to do, YOU'VE GOT TO WALK IT OUT!  See God has ways of taking us through processes that will build us while we are in the midst of uncertainty.  Joshua may not have understood why God would have him and the people walk around the Wall for seven days, with seven priest leading, with seven trumpets made out of ram's horns (7 being the number of completion or perfection…look at God!) but with every step they took in the direction that God set out for them they came closer to their victory and perfecting that in them that would in the end carry them to victory.  When God speaks we ought to hold on to every word and promise that He gives us and WALK IT OUT until everything that is standing between us and our promises comes tumbling down and everything concerning us is complete and whole!

 

If God chooses to use us, we must remember that it's an honor to be used by the Father.  Furthermore, as I always say, whatever God allows us to face in life is to ultimately prepare us for where He's gonna take us in life.  In Joshua and Israel's case, Jericho wasn't really a large city, but it was an important, formidable fortress city.  If Israel could defeat Jericho, they could defeat anything else that would face them in Canaan. Again we see the wisdom of God as opposed to human wisdom, in that Israel faces their most difficult opponent first.  You need to know that your worst days are truly behind you and what you are facing is not really that big of a thing to conquer…nevertheless this victory is pivotal in the subsequent victories that you are to gain!  Just like God did with Joshua, he many times allows us to face our hardest trials at the beginning of our journeys because He knows if we can get through this one, that He can trust us to go the rest of the way and we will have more confidence in Him [God], ourselves, our callings and missions in life.  Remember, the greatest battles won always started with one step!

 

Are you ready to step out of what's been and WALK into what God has promised?  All it takes is your initial "yes" to God and obeying is voice and instructions from that point on.  No matter how hard it may seem, how strange it may look or how crazy it may sound to others, you continue to WALK OUT the plan that the Lord has set forth for your life.  Because when it's all said and done if you can WALK IT OUT then you will definitely be able to WALK ON THROUGH to your destiny…your victory….your freedom…your promise!  Don't get tired now, cause you've got to WALK IT OUT!

 

Much Love,

Clyde L. Webster

Who Cares?

Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.  –Hebrews 4:14-16 (Message Bible Translation)

 

Good Morning Friend,

 

Have you ever felt like "who really cares"?

 

Well I know I have and probably more times than I care to remember.  You know its funny how people will say "hey I'm here for you", "call me if you need me" or "I'll be there for you until the end" only for you to actually be in need one day and call…but there's no help.  This can be very hurting, especially if you are like me and would rather not bother people with your problems and you push yourself to take those people up on their offer…all to get the door slammed in your face.  You see, I personally would rather work my own problems out with the least involvement from others possible.  That's how I've always been.  But there are times when I just need someone to talk to…not pay a bill, not to borrow money or a cup of flour from…but to simply TALK.  But I found that not everybody who says they will listen if you need them to actually care to listen.  In our society today, we have become so engulfed in "self" and our "selfish agendas" that we forget to love and to be there for our fellow brothers and sisters in their time of need.  For one reason or another we drop the ball when it comes down to actually BEING what we proclaim to be to one another. 

 

The bible says in Romans 15:1 that "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves."  Meaning that if our brother or sister in Christ (or anyone for that matter) comes to us with a problem, no matter how great or how small they should not leave us feeling like they are alone!  Neither should we get pleasure out of our brother or sister going through a problem, hardship, heartbreak, etc.  "But I'm going through and have problems of my own" and to you I say SO WHAT!  I have found that when I'm in the midst of a pit, the quickest way out of my moment of depression and sorrow is to help someone else through their problem.  Sometimes I may not be able to offer anything other than a listening ear, but by doing so God begins to lift me up and becomes stronger in me and consequently strengthens me to be what I need to be for my friend, loved one or maybe even a perfect stranger at that moment.  Moreover, when it's all said and done 99% of the time I walk away with a renewed strength, joy and frame of mind because while I was working on someone else's behalf—God was working on mine.  Furthermore, because I was not selfish in the time of someone else's need, my need got met at the same time.  I'm convinced that people who are hurting and want to reach out for deliverance, freedom and restoration would take off their "I'm alright and got it altogether" masks if they knew that they would have someone who would cover them with their love and understanding; rather than look down on them and judge or measure them by where they are rather than where they are going or the potential that rests on the inside of them (Bishop Bennett, thanks for that revelation that you dropped on Resurrection Sunday!  That was some life changing stuff!!!).

 

Watch this…most of us would take the Romans 15:1 scripture and say well I'm weak right now, I'm in a horrible mess myself, I cant even help myself right now, so how can I help someone else?  Believe me, I know how it feels to be burned out and on the edge of breaking down but its not how I feel at a particular moment that makes me strong—its what I have on the inside of me that makes me strong and able to withstand whatever I am faced with.  You also need to know that there will be times when you will feel abandoned, all alone and like no one understands, feels your pain or even cares to.  But I speak to you just as the Apostle John spoke in 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:  because GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD!  When you are down to nothing, when you are weak and in despair—you need to remember that I've got something down within me that makes me strong, makes me great, makes me smarter, it even makes me wiser.  It encourages me when I'm down and pushes me when I'm ready to give up.  What can do all this you may ask…it's God and his precious spirit and all you have to do is access or pull from what is inside of you to make it through.  Whenever you feel like giving up, remind yourself "I've got something GREATER in me than what I'm facing or am in right now!"

 

God convinces me more and more as I live and grow that there is NOTHING that I can or will face in life that He won't strengthen me to go through.  Remember God's strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Meaning God is at His best when we don't have the strength to fight anymore.  Have you ever been in a situation where you were trying to break up or intervene in a fight or argument?  You go to pull your friend or one of the parties away to end the fight but they are so pumped up that they end up beating you up more than their opponent.  Sometimes you can control the person and sometimes you can't.  So what do you do?  To avoid your lip, eye or head from being busted, you loose the individual(s) until they get tired and then you are able at that point to pull the person(s) back, come to their rescue or be able to have your voice heard because now they are weak, out of breath and are starting to "come to themselves."  It's the same way with God, He sometimes has to stand back until we "come to ourselves" and become so tired of fighting on our own until we believe, trust and lean solely on him!  So the flip side of it all can be that sometimes God doesn't want us to lean and depend on anybody else but him, so he will allow us to face destitute times, loneliness and the such to get us to a place where we find rest and comfort in him…because he understands and HE CARES!

 

Friend, there is no pain that we can feel that Christ hasn't already felt and isn't willing to see us through.  There is no hurt that we can experience that Christ has not felt and cannot heal, neither a void that we can experience that He doesn't understand is not able and very capable of filling.  God loves you and cares for you so much—never let anything you face in life tell you or make you feel otherwise.  I understand now with even greater appreciation when the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8 "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Yes, at times we need (and desire) that human touch, that listening ear, that heart of compassion from those around us.  But if you never get that you will always have it in Jesus!  Moreover, the best way to overcome that feeling of loneliness, abandonment and sadness is to become to other what you always wished others would become to you.  Before you know it, you will find that someone really does care for you and that you are not the only one who has experienced bad and evil.

 

Who cares?  I CARE!  But most importantly God cares… for you!

 

Much Love,

Clyde L. Webster

Its Been So Long...

Good Morning Friend,

 

When was the last time you really laughed and enjoyed life?

 

You know I was thinking the other day while hanging out with some friends that it had been a while since I really enjoyed life.  You know really laughing out loud, enjoying simple things like kicking it with a good friend, stretching out on the couch in my favorite PJs and socks watching TV, taking long walks along the waterfront, enjoying a meal from my favorite restaurant and laughing at something funny that I might have remembered when I was by myself.  Life (and the issues of life) can wear on you and literally suck the…well life out of you.  Even in our everyday pursuit to "become" and to "make it" if we are not careful our pursuits can get us to a place where we are constantly in search of something and never really just taking time out to breath and to be "human" (if I may) for a minute.

 

Friend, I want to encourage you today to take time out for YOU this week.  If I may be honest with you, there have many times that I have buried myself underneath my work because there were some inner enemies that instead of just dealing with them, I would make myself so busy that (hopefully) I would forget about the pain, the loneliness, the frustrations of dating, the struggles in pursuing a better life and the journey of finding myself and becoming a better me.  So I would (and sometimes even now) find myself trying to go into protection mode (as I call it) where my work becomes my best friend and every success becoming my streams of happiness and joy.  Until one day this fool proof lifestyle caught up to me and I felt myself having an emotional meltdown right in the middle of all this stuff that I had gained that I thought was making me happy—but it wasn't!  Actually, I finally realized that the more I gained, the unhappier I became because I refused to deal with the enemy in me.

 

It wasn't until this point in my life that I realized that God wants (and requires) us to have a balanced life.  Where we love and serve him wholeheartedly but where we also enjoy the life that we lead.  God wants us to be whole people, not only in our religious pursuits but in our family life, love life (love life…YES I said it LOVE LIFE!), our professional lives, etc.  Jesus said in John 10:10 the B clause of the scripture "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  The message bible translation says it like this: "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."  And just like I would do, some of you hide behind certain aspects in your lives in order to prevent having to look at the whole you and working on the parts that are preventing you from having an abundant and whole life.  I declare over you now (and you need to make this declaration over your own life) that you will begin to live the REAL and FULL life that the Lord gave His life for you to live. 

 

Think of it this way, every time you refuse to live life to its fullest in every aspect that concerns you, you take the validity out of the stripes that God bore for you.  Every time we refuse to simply take time out for self and family and allow life's vicissitudes to beat us down we discount the cost of the blood that Jesus shed for us.  I have learned (and am still perfecting) the principles within me that will lead to a quality life.  Know your breaking points and try to keep yourself away from those parameters.  Find what keeps you sane and what keeps you on focus.  It may be reading a good book, exercising, spending time with a special somebody, or maybe even just lounging at home by yourself.  Whatever it is—find positive ways to release all the negative energy that bombards us all on a daily basis and take the time to do that which will keep you centered and whole in life and in God. 

 

For me (and you can ask my Personal Assistant/Administrator) I try to make sure that I don't schedule any meetings or anything important on Monday evenings and every other Saturday morning.  That is the time that I take out just to see about Clyde L. Webster.  During this time I may go to the spa and get a massage, go see my girl Dana and get a mani and pedi (and it aint' nothing wrong with a man taking care of himself…just thought I would drop that out there), do a lil shopping (MY FAVORITE!), sleep in, go out to breakfast with a friend, my mom or one of my little brothers or just spend some quality quiet time at home.  During this time I am no longer minister, inspirational author, life coach, confidant or any of the things that I am on a daily basis (which I do enjoy wholeheartedly by the way!).  But during these brief moments in time I can forget about graphic designs and marketing, church work and traveling and just enjoy myself and my life.  It's these few hours that I take out weekly (along with praying and meditating on the word daily) that help me keep things in perspective, help me keep my passion for the things I do on a daily basis and help keep a brother sane!  What do you do or what can you do to make sure that you are remaining in-tuned with yourself?  Selah.  (Pause and think about that thing for a minute!)

 

So if its been a while since you have smiled for no reason, laughed out loud until your stomach hurts, danced like you are the only one present, took a picnic, let your hair down and smelled the fresh air…take the time to do so this week.  It doesn't cost you a thing to love on yourself!  Furthermore, when it's all said and done its all about the QUALITY of life we possess rather than the QUANTITIES we pick up along the way.  Now don't get me wrong, I believe that we should be prosperous and abundant—but when the pursuit of things overtake our pursuit and grasp of real joy and happiness its time to put things back into their proper perspectives.  So live, laugh, love and know that God gets pleasure out of you living a wholelistic life rather than a life of stress, strain, tension and loneliness.  You can do it!  And you deserve it!  Here's to you and a "whole" new you!

 

Much Love,

Clyde L. Webster

Reach For The Unattainable! (Stretch Forth Your Hand)

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? —Matthew 14:29-31

Good Morning Friend!

Is it really unattainable?

Think about it. Many times we pursue greater places or states of being, things, people, and levels in life and stop because we become discouraged. We become discouraged and often times too easily—just because what we are ascertaining seems like it's out of our immediate reach, league, educational background, economical vantage point, etc. So we acquiesce to our insecurities and give up saying, "surely I was not meant to live in that community, I wasn't meant to drive that type of car or attend that University or to contend for that job." (This is the conversation that many of us have had with ourselves if we are honest….) "If God wanted me healed he would have done it by now. If it was meant for me to have, the Lord would have made it easier for me. I can't do it like them so it's not going to work for me"…and on and on we go, time after time, talking ourselves out of our inheritance. When all we actually have to do is stretch out our hands and possess that which is already ours.

Now, we all know that sometimes it takes a little more than literally stretching out our hands and taking what we want. Try that if you want and most of the times it will lead you to stretching out in jail. (SMILE!) But in all actuality it's as simple as that analogy. Simply put—you have to do something or go through something to get something! Stretching in this case symbolizes the act of being taken out of ones comfort zone. It symbolizes tearing and resistance, pulling and expansion, being uncomfortable but yet remaining resilient. Stretching shows you some things in you that you would have never known were there (both positive and negative) if it wasn't for the stretch. Stretching is inevitable with growth. You show me somebody who doesn't get stretched or refuses to get stretched and I will show you somebody who chooses to settle, remain stagnate and in the same old place. But you show me somebody who is stretched and goes through the stretching process without quitting or fainting, I will show you someone who is ready and able to handle the blessings of the Lord.

You see, higher levels require higher tolerance levels, greater patience, a stronger relationship with God, greater levels of trustworthiness, faithfulness, diligence and I could go on. But how will you ever develop greater and higher levels in these and the other areas in your life if you don't go through something that ultimately makes you stronger in the end? I look at my life and how there have been many times that I have missed blessings because I got discouraged because not only was what I was reaching for a "hard thing" for me at that time, but I also had to deal with people around me that didn't understand or who were not willing to stretch and reach with me. You have to be careful of who you keep company with when you are reaching for higher levels in God and in life. Ultimately, I would become more discouraged because not only was I carrying the weight of my own personal stretch and the voices of doubt that would try to creep into my head and spirit (and some times successfully) but I had to deal with the doubters around me. Often times it was too much and I would let go and have to start all over again. Fortunately, God allowed me more chances because He knew what was on the inside of me and I'm glad that I allowed myself to get back up in these situations as well. That's the great thing about going through processes, this is usually your training ground where you can mess up and start over without actually being right in the middle of your destiny and messing up. So if you have fallen in your attempt to reach for more…get back up, dust yourself off and stretch out again towards your goal with your new strength and knowledge.

In Matthew 14 we are placed in a one on one encounter with Jesus, His disciples and their faith. The disciples are out on a boat and see Jesus walking on water. They become afraid and confuse the water walking Jesus with a Ghost. Jesus calls out to the fellas and tells them to be not afraid for it was He that they saw. Peter yells out in the midst of this and says to Jesus "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Jesus tells Peter to come and Peter stepped out of the boat and just on the word of Jesus he begins to walk on the water. Peter starts out strong too…with his eyes set on his destination, which is Jesus. But just like many of us Peter began to experience some turbulence and harsh winds that distracted him from the promise. The more the winds blew and the waves crashed the more Peters faith begins to faint. At this point Peter begins to sink but Jesus stretches out his hand and saves Peter. Jesus then says to Peter "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Seeing that the disciples had just witnessed Jesus feed five thousand men (plus women and children) with five little loaves of bread and two fish, one would think that Peter's faith would still be full from what he had just encountered. But aren't we just like that at times? Here Jesus has done the impossible by feeding thousands with what was originally meant to be a lunch for one and he did it on what the bible calls "a desert place" meaning that there were no other resources available to the people within this particular place but Jesus. Don't you remember how God has blessed you, kept you, fed you, strengthen you and loved you all while you were in a barren place in your life? And look at you now, you are still here throughout all of what you've been through! Now if God blessed you and me in the midst of famine before…and you survived just from "manna" which basically means "stuff" or fragments…don't you KNOW by now that whatever you face GOD'S GOT YOUR BACK BABY! I feel a praise right there, because if we just look back at some of the horrible pits that God has delivered us from—that should be enough to fuel our faith to continue to press forward towards the mark. IF HE DID IT BEFORE (oh I'm about to loose it!) WON'T HE DO IT AGAIN?

When I looked at this passage of scripture verse 31 it jumped out at me the most because it says "and immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him" meaning that Peter was so close to Jesus (or the goal—which was to get to Jesus) that he could have literally stretched out his hand [Peter] and taken hold of the goal or Jesus. How many times have we been so close to the goal or to victory only to begin to faint right before reaching the promise? My friend I know that in the mist of pursuing we get tired, that's only human. But I want to encourage you and speak to your spirit that its time out for fainting! We are going to make it through this time! I don't care if I have to get over on "broken pieces"! I don't care if I have to cross the finish line cut and bruised…but I declare that I'm going to make it to my goal! It's time out for just looking at life and waiting for a hand out to make it…stretch out your own hands, your mind, your will, your tenacity, your strength, your courage, your creativity, your skills, your FAITH and possess what has already been declared YOURS!

Remember as you go throughout your week…"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:8

Much Love,

Clyde L. Webster