I grew up in a neighborhood in Washington DC that was considered a poor area, son of a single mom working two jobs just to make it by. It was a mixed group with a relatively low crime rate but there was that one time that was memorable.

The paper boy said hello to all of us sitting on the brick wall outside our townhouse, dropped off the newspaper then my Mom said "where did he go?" Turns out he delivered it then walked through our house stole her purse and walked out the back door. That was our hood. A couple years ago I googled that address and found out that townhouses in that area were now selling for $750,000.

It went From The Hood To The Good! Representing a place where we start that isn't so good to a destination that is, we find ourselves working the Steps of recovery from #1 surrender to #12 freedom. And in the Bible we see in Mark 5:1-20 the story of an addict, a cutter whose hood was the tombs in a cemetery, who was visited by someone with Good News.

No one could help or control this wild man until Jesus stepped off the boat and changed his life. He humbled himself and asked that the Lord not inflict any more pain on him, he had enough. So Jesus removed the demonic spirits and in the end we see the man ask Jesus if he could go with him. The answer was no but he told the man to go home and tell his family what the Lord had done,

In the groups last week and this week I asked what they think the man said to his family, then used a song as a reference with these words as a refrain: I know some folks that told me I would never make it, they said I'd probably end up dead or in a cell, and from the way I used to act I understand why you would say it, but I am here to tell you now I'm doing well!

In this song "Doing Well" the artist Rare of Breed (who did a concert at Gate City Church last year) talks about his similar encounter with the Lord. He too went from The Hood To The Good as did I, as did the wild man in the tombs.

He told his family something they never thought he would say, I'm doing well! Go listen to the song (Rare of Breed - Doing Well) and you might start dancing too like some guys did last week in our group, whose lives have been radically changed.

That's what an encounter with Jesus will do. Won't he do it?

Having an attitude of gratitude in life is within our power to choose. Joy and the resulting happiness are feelings but can easily be converted into a way of life as well leading to this:

All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast! Prov 15:15

I remember an ex-wife that often said to me "I hate it when you wake up in a good mood". Her rationale was no one faces life with that kind of outlook while mine was that everybody should. Reality is often cruel but if one starts from a place of optimism, gratitude and hope, it makes for a softer landing in the most difficult of times.

Attitude is a choice, it's the one thing we can control. An attitude of gratitude shifts our mindset off what our present circumstances are into what blessings we have already received. We face it we just face it knowing we will get through. Gratitude creates solutions, it removes the complaining and begins the gaining. Here's what the Apostle Paul wrote from prison:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

Gratitude and a life filled with joy is contagious to those around you. Of course, so is negativity. It's your God given, bought and paid for Happy Switch, will you flip it on?

Not sure how you did with math in school but I at least came out being able to do computations in my head very well. But when it came to Algebra or Geometry or Trigonometry I was lost.  But I do know this, if you are outnumbered in anything you can feel overwhelmed and sometimes defeated.

Unless that is of course, if God is in it. To him the Math Doesn't Matter. Take the example of Jesus feeding the 5000 folks who listened to his powerful sermon but were getting hungry. His disciples mentioned they needed to be fed and asked him what they should do about it. He looked at them and said you feed them. He did this of course to prove that God could do what man could not. He prayed then made 5000 three piece dinners out of 5 loaves and 2 fishes, with leftovers.

You can also look at David in 1 Samuel 17 going up against Goliath, a 5 foot something kid versus a 9 foot giant with armor that probably weighed more than David. No one dared fight him except David who had an unwavering confidence in what God had done in his life (killed a lion and a bear bare handed) and in his faith that God would not be defeated by "an uncircumcised Philistine".

David stoned him to death and cut his head off because when God is involved The Math Doesn't Matter.  That includes our fight against addiction or any other sin that we may be trying to overcome. The odds may seem against us, the relapses and rehabs may be piling up but God has no equal. No drug, no charges, no overwhelming desperation phases him.

Finally look at Elisha in 2 Kings 6. Caught giving the foreign King's battle plans to his Israelite King we pick it up when he was surrounded and his servants reported there were horses and chariots surrounding them and he said "What shall we do?". As Jesus prayed before distributing that food, Elisha prayed "Open his eyes so he could see". When the servant looked again he saw hills full of horses and chariots of fire from the Lord.

Of course you know who won that battle because when God is in it The Math Doesn't Matter. Feeling overwhelmed yourself, odds stacking up against you - say a prayer and look around - they are there, maybe a couple thousand angels extending their arms to you and saying we got you.

Dare I say it one more time, please memorize for a later test - when God is in it The Math Doesn't Matter!

PS. Credit to Pastor Steven Furtick for my blog title!

What do you believe? How did you come to believe it? Passed down through generations, written in books, taught in school, heard from your parents, or maybe learned in the lessons of life.

Belief powers action. We believe in our cause we fight for it. We believe in our sports teams we travel far and wide to see them, cheering on like crazy people. We believe in our country, we are ready to do battle to protect our freedom. We believe in ourselves, there is no telling how far we can go.

From a spiritual standpoint, what do you believe? And because you do what are you willing to do for it? I read something so simple yet profound in John 6 this morning: Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the work God requires?" Jesus answered "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

This question came from Jewish brethren who were used to having to follow a strict set of rules. The answer Jesus gave must have been too simple for them as later in that same passage some of his disciples turned away from him, which prompts another question from me.

Why do we complicate Christianity? Belief should be enough to propel action like in making disciples, being kind and compassionate, being someone people can count on, or sharing love above and beyond normal? But instead we are still trying to make rules that others must comply with. Truth is if we believe we will follow the moral code he gives us and like him, do the works of the father out of love not rule keeping.

We will not just be rabid fans, we will take ownership of the gift of redemption he has given us and open it up to share with others.  Later on in John 8 he added another caveat that extended the belief to action: If you remain in my word, you will be truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

We are now free to roam the planet talking about Jesus, just believe!

There are days, there are moments, there are critical decisions to be made that are most difficult because we just think they are too hard to deal with. We don't want to do it but we have to Do Them Anyway.

We can look at Naaman, the commander of the army of the King of Aram in the Bible in 2 Kings 5 as a wonderful example of this. He was a great man and a valiant soldier, suffering from a greatly disarming  disease - leprosy. The servant of his wife suggested that Naaman go see the prophet in Samaria who could cure him.

Somehow the instructions got skewed as the King of Aram wrote a letter to the King of Israel suggesting that he could cure Naaman, and the King knowing he had no power to do this thought he was being set up for a quarrel. But the prophet Elisha heard about what happened and sent for Naaman.

So Naaman knocks on Elisha's door but instead of a face to face with the prophet Elisha sends his messenger. The instructions: go wash in the Jordan river seven times and you will be healed. No problem right? On the contrary Naaman was mad that he was disrespected because after all he was highly regarded and a valiant warrior. Elisha didn't see him personally, but he must have forgot he had leprosy.

He was in a rage, he said why couldn't the prophet just wave his hands over me and cure me, or why couldn't he wash in the rivers of Damascus, but his servants convinced him he needed to follow Elisha's instructions. He did so and was cleansed and healed from his disease. 

This just proves to us as humans that when we are asked to things we are uncomfortable with in uncomfortable places (if it is the right thing for us), we need to Do It Anyway, often to be cleansed of our problems whatever they might be. We can't deviate from the plan or it won't happen.

If you remember, Jesus sweated blood (Luke 22) in the Garden of Gethsemane thinking about how difficult it would be to take the weight of the world's sins on his shoulders. He asked for that cup to pass but eventually just asked that God's will be done. Then, when he needed his apostles to comfort him they all fell asleep and cared little for his welfare. In fact an angel had to come and comfort the Lord.

He might have been thinking why he should he die for these clowns? But he Did It Anyway because it was the only way we could be cleansed of our sins. It was his purpose, his divine instructions.

Next time we think that something may too hard for us to do, think about Jesus, and where we'd be if he failed to follow those instructions!