George Liele is the first of many African American missionaries who will go to a nation not their own to those who know nothing of the Son of God. They will go because, like George, they too “hold to live nigh the scriptures as much as (they) can.”

Truly, the life of George Liele embodies that of a pioneer. He paved a path for others to follow behind him and, like most pioneers, faced the challenges of going first. He was born around 1750 into slavery…

Jealousy stalls out our destiny because it causes us to despise what we have been graciously given by the Lord in light of what someone else has been given. When jealousy is operating in our lives, we don’t steward and express the unique gifts God has given us to serve the Body of Christ; instead, we compare and compete to be better than one another.

God intentionally promotes others around us in different seasons to train us to honor and celebrate others. When we see favor rest on others, it tests our hearts for jealousy, and when we respond with celebration, we are set free.

Think about weeding out your garden versus clearing years of brush from an overgrown yard. Both are possible, but one is a lot more work. We want to do the work of dealing with offense before it grows roots.

When we fail to pull out that weed of offense when it springs up, it begins to grow roots that wrap around our heart and mind. Those roots carry a deadly poison that will “defile” our soul. That poison is called bitterness. It’s a poison that leaks into every part of our lives. Soon those bitter roots will produce bitter fruits.

It’s time to uproot bitterness and take hold of your destiny.

This is an appeal to songwriters to explore the depths of writing songs that not only express the human heart but infuse the earth with the substance of Heaven. Perhaps you’ve never thought of songwriting as being intercessory. But, our songs can be a catalyst for “on earth as it is in Heaven.”

We are trekking the valleys, deserts, dark places, and mountains of life on our way home to all things new. Along the journey, our songs are opening wells (connection with heaven) in the valley of weeping (our present earthly reality).

When we haven’t allowed God to reconcile our history with our identity, we don’t move forward in our destiny; instead, we fantasize about another destiny, a false destiny. We create alternate versions of ourselves that made different decisions, walked a different path, didn’t receive wounds, stood up for themselves, and grew up under different circumstances.

These versions of ourselves created by regret are stronger, more successful, liked by everyone, farther along than we are now, competent, courageous, skilled, etc…the list goes on. The problem is, that person doesn’t exist.