God's Hands On YOU!

You may have heard the song from Gospel Artist Marvin Sapp, "He Has His Hands On You." This song speaks so much to me, not because of the song itself, but it is a manifestation of something my great father, the late great, Bobby Lee Belton, Sr used to say to me. Growing up I would feel left out by the people around me. I felt as though no one cared about me and struggled with a great deal of low self-esteem. The one thing that kept me grounded would be the conversations I would have with my family. My father would speak so much more sometimes than the others in my family. After we would speak for hours and hours, Daddy would conclude by looking at me, pointing in my face and say, "God's got his hands on you boy." There was no greater feeling than hearing those words from my father and watching God manifest himself in my life. As I grew older, I became more confident in myself, knowing that God had greater for me and there was a call on my life. When I went off to college, I began to meet some of the greatest people of my life. To see and hear so many people refer to me as a "cool person" made me feel so much better about myself because I still dealt with that low self esteem issue. Well, the more and more I became confident in myself, people would find themselves comfortable around me. I watched God elevate me from one level to another. I bet you are saying, "What does this have to do with me?" Well, it has a lot to do with you. I use my story to get the message across to you and I want you to know that no matter what your struggle is, God's got his hands on you! Be confident in knowing that He has a hedge of protection around you and you may be struggling today, but your struggle today will give you victory tomorrow. As I went through my college years, I found God putting me in the right place for my good. I would come to know some of the greatest friends of my life. God will put the right people in your life for the right seasons of your life. So embrace your journey because God has HIS hands on YOU!!!

You Are No Better Than The Next Man.....

"I am no better than the next man, just trying to better the next man." -Bobby L. Belton, Jr.

Have you ever looked down on someone that did not have as much as you or that did not look like you? Have you ever disrespected someone for the way they came across to you?
Have you ever been asked the question, "Who do you think you are?"

I am sure that a yes is the answer to each of the three questions above and if you have not been asked these questions then you are truly a special person, but what I want you to do is take a moment and reflect on these questions really quick because if you have not been asked these questions then it is because you have not verbally proclaimed these observatives to anyone publicly. We all have looked down on someone for the way they appear, but if you notice the third question is probably the most important question, "Who do you think you are?" or if you want me to be inclusive, "Who do we think we are?" No one is perfect my beloved, so our job and call in life is to accept those around us as Christ has accepted us for we are no better than the next person, but it is our job to pick him/her up and carry them to safety. Our society is dying each and everyday to the crucial realities of suicide and depression all because of how people view us. Please, I beg you, do not allow another person to be affected by the negativity around us. Please, I beg you, let us do our job and pick them up and carry them back to redemption because if you be real with yourself and I become real with myself WE will recognize that there are some things in our past that we are ashamed to allow people to know. There are many things that we do not want to let out, so let's recognize together that God is a God that forgives, heals and casts all of our sins into the sea of forgetfulness. He loves us for who we really are whether it be that alcoholic, drug addict, fornicator, masturbator, pornography addict or prostitute. God looks beyond where we were and looks to where we are going. Therefore, I beg you, to realize today that WE all struggle together, so WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE? Please join me in saying, "WE ARE NO BETTER THAN THE NEXT MAN, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO BETTER THE NEXT MAN!" Why? Because I AM MY BROTHERS/SISTERS KEEPER!

LET US LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE!!

God Bless

The Common Guy

Your Call to be UNCOMMON!!!!

1 Peter 2:9 declares "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light..."

Many people do not recognize that they are called to be different. They desire to fit in with the crowd and do whatever they see the next person do, whether that be in fashion, sports, or watching reality television. Everyone wants to fit in so badly that they are willing to match another person's attempt to reach their level of greatness. The mistake that is made in this attempt is the desire to match. If you begin to match what a person does to make it in life without going through what they went through, you become a counterfeit. A counterfeit, no matter how you define it, is not a good thing. So, what should you do? Well, you should be UNCOMMON. How do we define the word uncommon? Being uncommon is being your own person. When you were a child I am sure you heard your parents say to you, "You can only be you. It does not matter what people think about you. You have to do what is best for you." Well, our parents ignited the uncommon mentality, but because we were uncomfortable in our own skin, we became comfortable trying to fit in.  Well, it is time to change your mind and do what you feel, be UNCOMMON. You were in the darkness of being common, but guess what? You are called to be UNCOMMON. As the scripture above states, you are a PECULIAR people. What does peculiar mean? Let's Keep it simple, to be different. It is our call from God to be different. Please do not be afraid! Being UNCOMMON (Peculiar) looks good on YOU!!! Wear the colors that YOU like! Think the way that YOU like to think! Be the person that YOU want to be! Why? IT IS YOUR CALL TO BE UNCOMMON!

Be Uncommon!

God Bless You!

-The Common Guy