Based on: Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Excerpt: 

Living a life without the Holy Spirit is a set up for destruction and death. People are scrambling trying to find something to make sense out of the state that this world is in. They will give their last dollar for a few moments of sanity and peace.  The Truth is the gift of the Holy Spirit is free to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Based on: I Corinthians 16:5-9

After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you---for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door of effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

Excerpt:

Obviously, Paul had found something that many of us are searching for. That is the ability to look beyond the adversity and see the victorious opportunity.

Based on: Exodus 2:23b (NIV)

The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.

Excerpt: 

After all that we have been through, they thought we would be dead by now. After all that we have been through, we ought to be dead by now. But what they did not know is that we are a resilient people. Whips and shackles could not hold us in.  Bull Connor’s fire hoses, billy clubs, and biting dogs could not hold us back, and a knee on the neck will not hold us down.

Based on: Luke 24:44-49 (NIV)

44 Then he said to them, “These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, 47 and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”

Excerpt:

So the disciples are directed to “stay in the city.” They were to stay in the city of Jerusalem where the best and worst of humankind had been on center stage. The city of love and hatred. The city of loyalty and betrayal. The city of brokenness and forgiveness. The city of death and resurrection.

Based on:

Isaiah 60:22b (MSG)

I am God. At the right time I’ll make it happen.

Excerpt:

We are a “now” people, but God is an “At the right time” God. It is at the right time that God moves. Not before. Not later, but at the right time. In the natural it may appear that God’s deliverance is long delayed. In the Spirit, God’s estimated time of arrival is right on time.

Based on: Acts 28:5 (NIV) 

But Paul shook the viper off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

Excerpt: 

Healthy love knows when enough is enough. It recognizes self-care as a top priority. It quietly creates distance without abandonment. It says, “I am here when you are ready to take responsibility for your healing.”

Based On: Luke 24:31 (NIV)

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Excerpt:

Those two confused disciples who were on their way to Emmaus knew that something life-changing had happened. What they did not know was that the life-changer Himself was walking right beside them. In their downcast state they attempted to explain to Jesus all that happened over those past few days. They did not know that the answer to all their troubling questions would soon be provided.

Based on: Isaiah 53:11a (GNT)

After a life of suffering, he will again have joy;  he will know that he did not suffer in vain.

Excerpt: 

It takes courage to raise a self-reflective question. 

Am I worth the ultimate sacrifice demonstrated on Calvary’s cross?

Did Christ die in vain? Is my life His gain?

Based on: John 4:29 (NIV)

Excerpt:

The “Survive to Thrive” stories of death and resurrection have given me a greater appreciation of the Lenten season. They have demonstrated the journey from death to new life that only the love of Jesus can take us on. A journey that carries us to our deepest depths and our highest heights. It is a journey of fear and faith. A journey of joy and sorrow. A journey of persistence and patience.

Mr. Sir Markadoo

Every now and then we meet someone who is truly living in the overflow of grace and mercy. That is the epitome of Mr. Sir Markadoo who took twelve t-shirts and built a million-dollar company. His journey from pain to prosperity is a source of healing and empowerment for us all. Sir’s life is a fitting example of what it means to “survive to thrive.” Fasten your seat belts as my conversation with Sir Markadoo overflows with the energy, enthusiasm, and enlightenment that only a life led by God can produce.