Live2 Empower365 with Johnnie Porter M. Div., M.A.C.M.: Recent Episodes
Johnnie Porter
This podcast is about the activities of an African American Pastorpreneur... I have a lot to say as a person who happens to be a husband, father, entrepreneur, student, healthcare worker, Pastor, and creative individual with experience in networking, marketing, sales, ministry, finances, insurance, mental health counseling, and Consulting. Enjoy various talks with special guests, experts, and professionals that will inspire you. Be sure to leave a voice message about your favorite episodes. We may play them in future podcasts.
Sometimes we go through things, and it feels like we end up in a very dark place. Darkness has his purposes, but light also has a purpose of ending the darkness, allowing us to see more than we ever could in the dark. Sure are eyes made adjust to the darkness And we can learn to navigate but light is better. This devotional today is just to be a lifter and a reminder that trouble doesn’t last always. My prayers that this devotional allows you to think differently, and that as your light comes on you begin to see yourself on the other side of whatever you’re going through now. Continue to pray for me and I will continue to pray for you. Remember, if you give the people light, they will find their way. And do share your light with others.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/live2empower365/message
In this podcast series Johnnie combines three daily devotionals to inspire listeners to have a destination mindset, which requires having the right attitude and trusting God with your plans. Yes, God needs something to work with! So, you should have plans that you can give to God knowing that he will help you especially when you’re afraid. Fear is not of God because fear hinders whereas perfect love propels. So put in your destination where he won’t go to take you where he want to go and allow him to lead you. I assure you the journey will be interesting but you will get there because God doesn’t fail.
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There are times when we must remember that we are covered and that we are protected. Just as an umbrella Scheels from rain in covers our head so does God‘s grace and love. But like the shield he can protect us from the things that would penetrate a very souls that could bring harm to our lives and change to our purpose, God protects us. David said that God is a shield that covers him completely not just the front but also the back above and beneath. Isn’t it comforting to know that we are covered completely by God‘s love and His grace? We are armed for spiritual warfare and we are shielded from the snipers seen and unseen. Best of all, we know in our vulnerability we are yet protected.
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Did you know that we have the ability to encourage each other through our words and sharing of testimonies? Well, we do. Imagine being one of Jesus‘s disciples and learning from the disciples who spent time with him and all of a sudden you’re a disciple. Well this was Paul story. He didn’t meet Jesus like the other disciples did but he did have an encounter with Jesus personally. Learning the ways and words in the works of Jesus allowed him to become a teacher to others. Paul wanted to care of this learning process on by encouraging the believers he serves to do likewise. To admonish each other which simply means to encourage each other using the words that he learned from Jesus and that he has taught them to share with each other. In today’s society we should do the same thing. Instead of being quiet and silent we should speak up and share what we know because it really does encourage us. It really does help to know that we’re not alone in this walk. This journey is a pilgrimage to Heaven and everyone on this road headed that direction need to know they’re going the right way. If someone is weary traveling this road with a word of encouragement could refresh them to keep going until they get there. Heaven our final destination is truly worth the journey but we cannot be weary and we cannot allow our brother and sisters to miss what’s waiting at the end. We pray this devotion this morning inspires you call God and your faith in everything you do in this world. Grow rich in your relationship with the Lord… and may everything you learned of Him nourish you, and allow you to sharpen someone else… and that they can sharpen you because they to have been nourish in their faith. This is the journey in heaven is our shared destination.
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Have you ever started something and along the way you wanted to just quit? It happens to the best of us. We are encouraged as believers to continue living in faith with a steadfast attitude. This is something that should be seen in every aspect of our life. Which is why we have to become really good at believing in what it is we believe. As believers of Christ Jesus the evidence is not in our words but rather in our actions. If we truly believe… then our beliefs should look a certain way. It should be visible. We often seek inspiration that will fuel our motivation no matter our status or occupation and our desire to reach certain destinations or goals. And if we’re ever to reach those goals, we’ll never reach it if we quit. But if we’re steadfast just as we desire to attain through grace, Heaven and eternal life, there is no doubt we will reach them.
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Our heart is more special than we often know. That is why we guard it. We take care of it. Our hearts are connected to each other. This devotional reminds us of that connection and why it’s so important to be deliberate in caring for it. When were absent from one another I heart can tell. Even in death our hearts long for connection but believe it or not the connection is never broken. Makes you wonder why God himself put so much value in our heart doesn’t it? And if God does this, shouldn’t we do this also? Your heart is the most valuable possession you have because it doesn’t belong to you. It never did. You’re just a caretaker of it. And someday if not every day you’ll have to give it back and you’ll discover how to best do that when you learn to share it with others. In my heart I am sure of that!
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Sometimes looking outside of ourselves we don’t realize what people see until we are able to do just that… Look outside of ourselves. The Bible teaches us that we are like elevated cities placed strategically on top of hills. Interesting enough it doesn’t say that we were like a house but rather together we’re like cities. Our placement in itself is something to behold… but the fact that we are lit, serves as a beacon for others to elevate themselves as welcome visitors to join us as they are drawn to the light that has been put in us. Understanding our part in the world as creations in motion means that we have a relevance now not later. Our stories right now are being written and unfolded at the same time. This is the time to shine without any regrets or what we could’ve done or should’ve done we can say God is doing it in us right now. So let your light shine and let the world see what God has put on display. Get used to it the world is always watching give them something to see. Let them see God working in you and you living in Him.
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Love is more than a feeling. Remember when our parents would discipline us and they would say I’m only doing this because I love you? It didn’t feel like love nor did it look like love did it? Ultimately when we benefit from love in action it makes us look a certain way. People can tell you’ve been loved. The look that love gives us is beautiful. As we are ending the month of February we are also concluding the series that focuses on our command to love others. It is such a wonderful thing to be loved. What an amazing feeling! May you give as much as you get it may you get as much as you give. That’s how this should work. Don’t worry about everyone else but you be the person to start. If you’re waiting on someone else to do it it may never happen. But if you do it love has already started and is in motion. Imagine where that motion can take us. Isn’t that a wonderful thought?
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No one loves being told what to do. It’s part of our nature. In the military, new recruits are given the opportunity to join the branch of their choice to serve their country. In an extreme circumstances the some are drafted. In the army of the Lord we are soldiers. Our commander in chief gives us orders to love others. As civilians we often don’t think about the mindset of a soldier. We don’t think about taking orders and following them to the letter a soldiers do. But if we’re gonna be soldiers in the Lords Army maybe we should. This devotional is a simple reminder that… when it comes to love and other people this is not a democracy. This is a command a direct order that we must complete. It has to be such a part of us that whenever we’re not following that order we become very uncomfortable. No one‘s perfect. Learning how to follow orders takes time and effort. I prayed that listeners will just try to do better every day. Again, God is not asking us to be perfect but He is asking us to be better. And what better place to start than perfecting our abilities to love?
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Imagine having great news but sharing it cost you your life. There are stories in the Bible where this happened. As Christians sometimes the good news that we have this year isn’t always receive well. Sometimes sharing that news with others makes us afraid that we are imposing or proselytizing when we should not be. As messengers of God‘s word some people would think that doesn’t matter and that we should just say what we need to say. Sharing our experiences if God’s hand in our lives is an amazing testimony that must be shared. Concern for how listeners respond shouldn’t hinder delivery of your story. Nevertheless, we have to be careful and strategic to timing, motives and the use of the right words (which God will provide us). But no amount of right words are strategies are as effective as having the necessary courage to actually deliver the message we’ve been sent this share. Messengers are always at risk of being attacked. Ever heard someone say don’t kill the messenger? As Christians and as believers we encourage to be courageous messengers with the mission of Sharing the good news of the gospel. And truthfully if the message is too good to keep to yourself it’s almost impossible to keep it to yourself. So be courageous and share the good news every chance you get. I can assure you that there are many people who would love to hear it.
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Many of us or Carl into ministry to do something special at the course of whatever we were doing before we were called. Paul mean tents Peter caught fish Matthew collected taxes and John was a writer. As disciples many of us have responsibilities to our families and to dad. Often time like Peter we’re torn between family duty and work and also our calling. Today I’m making a major decision for the sake of my family and my own personal mental health. Most men suffer in silence when they’re stressed out about work. I am 50 years old and I want to change and in order for me to do that I have to make some tough decisions. Today I wanna share with you one of my resources that I use to help me when I’m in a tough spot. Having a positive mental attitude is a very important thing when you’re in that spot. Join me as a sheer with the hopes that it helps you if you know what I’m talking about.
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We’re encouraged to be thankful every day for all the things that the Lord is done for us. Sometimes when things don’t go away we’re forgetful to be thankful in that moment also. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to think that way but we encouraged you. Understanding why we are going through whatever struggle we are is sometimes difficult in itself. But we can trust that the Lord is in everything every experience and every situation. It is our thankfulness that it brings the wave of change because revelation shows as in God set time why we went through the experience. It is at that time where we realize that we praise God in advanced. So if you’re going through something right now and you don’t understand why you’re going through it and things are rough be thankful. It doesn’t have to make sense because eventually it will. And right now you can thank God for that.
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Though kindness is wonderful to receive, it a totally different thing when we share it with others. Kindness comes with complications, opportunities, blessings and grace. Everyone should be a recipient of kindness to experience being both the benefactor and the beneficiary.
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In a competitive world we’re always face with the challenge of losing and not winning. Nevertheless when we lose according to the Scriptures we win. Sometimes when we win we face a challenge of pride that could potentially influence our humility. This devotional inspires God’s people to reflect on the victory and not the problems that want to make us victims. What the enemy think would destroy us, God uses it to construct the victories that blesses us! We are blessed with strengthen hands as they are used to minister to others. That’s why we trust that when we strengthen our hands to do the work of the Lord, God’s Kingdom wins.
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As we focus on the goals that God has put in our hearts we hang with precision with a plan to accomplish what we’re aiming for. There’s a confidence that is required to hit the marks that we have our sites on nevertheless God‘s plan for us doesn’t require anything from us. And yet God needs something from us that he can use which is faith and complete trust in him. But I thought you said that God doesn’t need anything from us? The key word is need. He doesn’t need it or anything else from us. He’s faithful to bless us regardless. But imagine what he can do with what we give him. What we give him an offering and what we give to him and service can be manifested into something even better because it is given for his glory. So, as we aim for For the goals he has inspired in our lives then, how wise would we be to give God something to work with?
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The world is a very busy place and often time we are pressed to get everything done. However often we leave so much undone yet pollen on more and more. We all know they got should come first but often time he does it. This morning devotional is to help us to remember to prioritize what’s most important but also to inspire us to leave room and all of our busyness for the things that are most important which is family our own health and most importantly our relationship with our creator. The world is a very busy place and it’s not likely this truth is going to change. May this devotional bless you and inspire you to always remember to leave room forgot and everything you do.
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Sometimes we get tired, sometimes we exhaust all of our energy enduring struggle and hardship that feels for us at times unprecedented. Nevertheless God gives us strength daily to continue doing what he has called us to do. Isn’t it wonderful that our strength is renewed when we need it most? I pray that you experience the type of renewal of strength that will help you to be the strongest you ever been because struggle does just that… It makes us stronger. Look for this renew strength and expect deliverance, for God is our help and a very present help in our times of trouble. May your renewed strength bring glory to God.
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Isn’t it amazing how we can love God when we never seen and yet we see God‘s love every single day? Isn’t it amazing when we feel that love not knowing that that same feeling can be experience by so many others? Though we’ve never seen God we have seen his love over and over again. This devotional this morning is encouraging us to share a love like no one’s ever seen. Because every time we see love we are seeing a level of love that we’ve never seen before. The message is simple let people see the love of God in us and they will also see a kind of love from our Heavenly Creator like they’ve never seen before.
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Have you ever talk with someone to learn something new about them and you asked a question or said to yourself I didn’t know that? Pastor Johnnie shares a devotional with his morning team of caregivers who provide care to hospice patient in our territory. Reminding the team that they share a powerful testimony that can brighten someone’s day. As you listen to this devotional ask yourself what do I have to share with others? What do I know that I can share with others? The answer is simple… Just share what you know. You know your self and your story and your journey better than anyone. It is us who don’t know your story. Stories are powerful and they are also life-changing because it reminds us of how God is working in our lives and that if they can do something for you he can also do something for me. Share what you know…thank you for listening!
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You ever think about the plans you have for your future? Well… believe it or not God has plans for you to and I’m pretty sure his plans exceeds ours.
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I woke up this morning full of ideas but no message to share with my congregation this morning. Pastors, have you ever been there? Well, it's not the first time, but there's something different about this time. I realized that I am full because I have a lot of unfinished projects and tasks that need to be done. I simply do not have room for anything else. I need to unload and check some things off the list. This is self-care. Creating a podcast and a platform to share and work with others provides something to me I believe I need. Talking it out to friends who will answer their phones when I call always helps too, but as pastors, we often have the kind of friends that we need when we need them in the way we need them. I'm ok, but I thought, about how important it is to keep your mental space clear. So, I decided to start this podcast. It's not my first time, but it's been a long time. As you will hear, I have a lot going on, but everything I am doing is something I am called to do. Journey with me on my first show, and keep visiting with me as I develop this show.
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