Sistas Saving Sistas for Christ

"Instead of shame and dishonor you will inherit a double portion of prosperity and everlasting joy." Isaiah 61:7

 

Good morning my precious Brothas and Sistas,

 

I pray that you are feeling well and know that you are so wonderfully blessed by Him this morning. I woke up this morning with praise on my lips for all that He has done for me. There is none like Him. After going through a brief period of testing I believe that the Lord has something so wonderful in mind that if He were to let me in on it , it would absolutely blow my mind. 

 

You know, Brothas and Sistas, our latter will always be greater than the mess of our past He has brought us out of. Martha Munizzi says it best when she says, " All things are possible, Your Latter Will be greater than your past. " Because of this great truth we should never allow the enemy to continue to bring up our past and beat down on us as though we will never amount to anything. 

 

In spite of what the enemy is telling you, in spite of your former shame, in spite of all of your past and present mistakes, the best is yet to come. He is greater than any disappointment and will supernaturally use your past as a platform to promote you into a prosperous future. He is so wonderfully good like that. 

 

Many of us go through life in a bowed down position because of the things that have happened in our lives. I just want to encourage you today that it does not matter what pit you have been delivered from God has promised to give you a double portion, a double inheritance for your former shame. Some of us have come from bowed down and broken situations. And sometimes it seems as though it is an utterly impossible task for us to overcome the shame and pain of years gone by and move beyond our past. But Jesus specializes in the broken, torn down, battered, ostracized, weary, and worn Brothas and Sistas. In fact, in every situation God has already orchestrated a way out. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." I Corinthians 10:13 It was never meant for us to just stay there in a bowed down or broken state.

 

We must remember that God has allowed us to go through these situations to bring us to higher heights in Him. The key words are GO THROUGH. To go through means to continue firmly or obstinately to the end, to extend between two points or in a certain direction. The enemy would have us to believe that this is the way it will always be. So we just may as well lie down in defeat, never to rise again because it won't get any better. But Jesus says, "Forget about it, ain't nothing but a misdemeanor" Our labels from the past (sexual, verbal, physical, emotional abuse victim,whore monger, adulteress, liar, drug or sex addict, and alcoholic no longer define who we are now in Him. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling which is in Jesus Christ our Lord." Philippians 3:13 To press means to advance or carry on vigorously.

 

 

In other words, Jesus redeemed us and has given us wings to fly and to soar and vigorously advance above every situation be it our past or present. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired (exhausted of strength or energy; fatigued) or weary (physically or mentally fatigued exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness) and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power (strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted; might) of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope (to have confidence; trust : to cherish a desire with anticipation to it's fulfillment) in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

 

We can most definitely fly above all of the plans that the enemy has intended for us and soar with wings of an eagle in the redemptive promises of the Most High God. We can make it, because our past bowed down and broken state was just a temporary layover (a stopping for a while in some place during a journey; short stop or break in a journey, usually imposed by scheduling requirements). He is taking us from point A to Point B and He has promised that it is going to be an awesome ride.  It is not meant for us to take a permanent hiades, but this is just a temporary diversion that has been scheduled by Satan for us and our Father is trying to get us to confirm firmly or obstinately to the end that He is the great I am and He is Alpha and Omega, that He is Jehovah and is ready, willing, and able to deliver us from it.

 

Just know beyond a shadow of a doubt, this seemingly impossible situation was strategically woven by God through the sand crystals of time so that we could see Him breathe unforeseen favor and possibility into man's impossibility.  "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 He says, "Oh, I can take you to higher heights in me if you just put your spiritual seat belts on and hold on for the journey and just believe (to have firm faith, especially religious faith; to have faith, confidence, or trust).

 

This is no longer the time for you to walk around with your head bowed down in shame and disappointment because God has promised you a portion of prosperity (success,  to thrive, and flourish) and to have everlasting joy (a feeling of great pleasure and honor) instead of shame and dishonor for your past. Isaiah 61:7 We are ready for take off, and "If thou canst believe, all things are possible." Matt. 9:23 Just remember, in every situation we must view things through His eyes , the eyes of faith. He has given us wings of faith to soar (rise) above the muck and mire of our past, if we choose to do so by faith. 

 

 

 

Good morning Brothas and Sistas,  

The Greek word for knowing God is gnosko which means to know truth about Him, to know Him intimately. The Hebrew word for knowing God is YADA, which means to perceive Him, to understand Him, to conform to Him, to believe Him. The definition of YADA that I like the most is to see or experience Him, to recognize Him. To see means to know through firsthand experience, to consider to be. Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see (know through firsthand experience, consider to be, perceive) God.”  

  

  

  

“The difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way we look at them - through faith or unbelief - that makes them seem so. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good.

Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God. The more we know Him, the more we will desire to know Him. As love increases with knowledge, the more we know God, the more we will truly love Him. We will learn to love Him equally in times of distress or in times of great joy.”
― Brother Lawrence,  the Practice of the Presence of God

Thank you Lord that we get to know You, The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are so amazing and we love you. You desire for us to spend time with you and learn from you so that we may have your heart and do great exploits so that you may be glorified in the world. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 

  

 "He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." Psalm 62:2 

  

Read Psalm 62  

  

In the midst of our goings and comings, our ups and downs, and life's challenges there is only one source that remains stable. When we hit rock bottom and the bottom is about to give out, the Lord is our constant stay. He helps calm our spirit and gives us a quiet peace and assurance that everything will be alright when we wait on Him. We can always count on Him to be our confidence (full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person (Jesus) regardless of what comes our way).

   

I love the confidence that David had in the Lord because he said,"Truly my soul silently (still; not inclined to speak; not talkative; refraining from speech) waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. " Psalm 62:1 David knew how to wait on Him. Brothas and Sistas, notice that David did not call on his friends, he just quietly spoke with the friend that sticks closer than a brother. David's heart was fixed. He was still. He did not run to everyone he could think of for counseling (psychiatrists, therapist or other counselors) for He consulted with the WONDERFUL COUNSELOR!!!!  

   

I love the fact that eventhough David is LIVID with his enemies, he still decides to patiently wait on God. He goes on to say,"My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength. And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, You people." Psalm 62: 5-8 That is Powerful!!!! Exodus 14:13 says, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day"  

The Lord always, always fights on our behalf when we refuse to become unsettled, fearful, and anxious or try to do things in our own strength. The battle is already won on our behalf in the Spirit. We just have to sit back and calmly wait for the manifestation in the physical. He is just that powerful to take our enemies out not only on a temporary basis, but permanently as well!!!! He can do some real collateral damage on our behalf. We just need to stay in peace and trust HIM!!! There is that staying power that He gives us again. That is why David tells us to, "Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." 

  

I like the hymn that tells us "Now let us have a little talk with Jesus. Let us tell Him all about our troubles. He will hear our faintest cry. He will answer by and by. Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning. And you know a little fire is burning. You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right." He will make it alright, NOT MAN. Sometimes we just need to talk to Him. Even in the midst of the tauntings of the enemy we can have a little talk with Jesus and He will make it right (upright: being in accordance with what is just, good, or proper : conforming to facts or truth : correct) He is AWESOME like that!!!! If God can save my soul surely He can handle my light work!!!! I may as well leave everything else to His disposal knowing all shall turn to my salvation!!!!!! 

  

  

Smooches,

  

 

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I d do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13, 14

Good morning Brothas and Sistas, 

Brothas and Sistas, what about the child that has taken up permanent residency in your home, not by your choice of course, that plucks your last nerve and you wish to God that they would get a clue and do right and then by God’s grace, move the heck out of your house? Have you forgiven them? If only we could undo some of the mess that have become a hindrance in the permanent fabric of our lives , then our lives would seemingly, be so wonderful. Stop trippin. I am so sorry to tell you, it ain’t gonna happen! So you may as well stop wishin, stop regrettin, and stop hatin' on folks. What’s done is done. Let me say it again, IT IS A DONE DEAL!!!! 

Amen.

Blessings

Sister Michelle

Prayer of Faith,

Dear Lord, 

Help is to forgive daily. We want to move on from a place of bitterness so that our lives may be blessed. We know that in order to walk in your full blessings we must let go. Thank you for forgiving us when we mess up daily. We love you so much. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16, NIV). 

The statement my cousin made that day broke me down to nothing.  I cried so hard for those children and when I was done crying for them, I cried for me too.  I remembered how I felt when I was the victim of sexual abuse and rape by that ex-boyfriend and felt helpless. He lived up the street from me and I was still friends with his sister. One night we all decided to meet up and go to the store. His sister suddenly changed her mind about going to the store with me . I made a poor judgment call and got into the car with him. We never made it to the store. He took me to a place called Lovers Lane, which at the time I knew nothing of such a place. He physically assaulted me and made me have sex with him.

  

  

 It was only about 6:30 in the evening, but I immediately did what I was told and went to bed.  As soon as I laid my head down on my pillow, I felt what I can only describe as a warm heaviness envelope me, like a warm blanket had been wrapped around me.  My entire body relaxed and I took a deep breath and blew it out gently, and then I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, I realized it was the following day because the sun had risen.  I don’t remember a thing after I closed my eyes.  I didn’t dream, I didn’t wake up for a potty break. I didn’t even roll over during the night. I just slept the most peaceful sleep ever.

 

There will be people in your life at certain times, especially the opposite sex swearing their undying love to you.  But ask yourself this, “Are they here for me when I need them the most or only when it’s convenient for them? And do they love me or lust me?"

  

Audrey 

"The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”  The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:6-11

               I feel so very sorry for the Pharisees because they would not embrace who Jesus truly was for to embrace who Jesus was would have meant that they would have to relinquish who they thought they were and come face to face with the reality of who they really were apart from His grace and mercy, in addition to embracing the true freedom that He came to give them including His grace and mercy. And to do that would have meant they would have to let go of themselves and all that they held onto, such as titles, positions, and their stuff. Hmmm. They wanted to stay right where they were and wanted everybody else to stay there with them. Sistas, misery loves company. And this is how it is with those around us who remember what and who we used to be. If we were a whore monger, an adulteress, a prostitute, a swindler or a liar, folk that knew us or knew of us in our BC days want to keep us right there. For they want to keep us in bondage of who we were instead of embracing who we are now even though we now full well know the truth of who He says we are.

             The Pharisees could not even wrap their minds around Him being Messiah and hated the praise of those who did. Ladies, there are some people who will embrace what God has to say about you, who you are now, who you will become and your praise, but then there are those that simply want to keep you right where you were. The key is that we must not let them. Days later, Jesus sat near the temple and observed all that was going on. A midst all of those around Him He focused on this one woman. It is amazing to me how He takes notice of those of us that are seemingly unnoticeable or trivial in the eyes of mere man and ignores those of us that simply have to and want to be noticed. His focus is on us, the outcast and the seemingly downcast. We are the apple of His eye when all others seem to want to diss us He is there right there with us capturing every moment of who He says we are to Him. This woman was of profound faith for you see this woman literally gave her all. Mmmm. She gave all that she had to the one who proclaimed himself to be Jehovah Jireh, The Lord God Our Provider, El Shaddai, The More than Enough God,  The All Sufficient One. He is THE SUPPLY, but yet SHE GAVE HER ALL TO HIM!!!! Amazing!!!! This woman could have held on to it all in hopes that He would recognize her destitute state and show her pity but instead she knew that once she gave all of her substance to him, the thing(s) that she might have wanted to hold on to, He being the God that He was would do something even more wonderful with what she had left and replace the old with something so wonderfully new if she just trusted Him. Jesus saw her faithfulness and I believe that He blessed her for it. 

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that pe

rson gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." Galatians 6:1

Good morning,

Brothas and Sistas, we live in a world full of compromise. In an attempt to live this Christian life as He would have us to there are times when we sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23 I am so grateful today that we have been justified (demonstrated or proven to be just, to be made right, or made valid) because He has demonstrated through His great love for us in dying on the cross that He has now made us right. We are in right standing with the Father because of Him. Yet sin can be so subtle that there are times when we don't even realize that we have succumb to it until after the fact. "As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Romans 8:36  

Even some of us that consider ourselves to be spiritual Christians will sometimes miss the mark. But I am so glad today that the next scripture gives us the victory and we can be triumphant over that sin that so easily beset us. (Hebrews 12:1) Romans 8:37 says,  "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Now once we have sinned this is not the time to beat ourselves down. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1, 2 

  

Brothas and Sistas, once we have fallen short we should not fall prey to disparity, for we have been set free. We simply need to recognize that God has set about this appointed time for us to go to Him to gain wisdom from the lesson that He is trying to teach us. He is a loving Father and always, always wants to impart wisdom to His children. "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5  We must remember that even our mistakes are a teachable moment with God. 

   

The first step to healing is acceptance and confession. There is no need to lie about it, deny it, or try to cover it up. "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." I John 1:10 God wants to use deliverance from our shortcomings for His glory and to help bring another Brotha or Sista out of the miry clay that may be experiencing some difficulties in the same area. Nothing is void of being used as a teachable moment by Him. This is why we so desperately need each other because if the truth be told we don't always get this thing right. 

  

  

This woman was determined to get in touch with the one thing that she went seeking for. I propose to you that Anna had to have been a prayer warrior. She was a woman on a mission. Nothing could dissuade her determination. Years could not deter her. The sand crystals falling from the hour glass of time did not move her. Wrinkles, arthritis, a deteriorating body, and all the pains that come with old age rapidly creeping up on her did not keep her from bowing in the presence of what was to come. 

Anna was on a quest for something larger than life itself. Her mere existence banked on that one thing. Quest is defined as the act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a search. Jesus had become her ecstasy (state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control). You see Anna was void of all rational thought. After all who in their right mind would spend 60 years in the temple worshiping day and night, fasting and praying for something that was not yet physically tangible. One could surmise that Anna had lost her ever loving mind. 

Jesus wants us to lose our natural mind, our fleshly point of view to Him. And in doing so nothing that we do will make sense to ones human reasoning. He wants us to gain His birds eye view of things. He desires for us to remain in close proximity with Him in the temple of His immediate surroundings and vicinity. He wants us to pursue Him with an undying passion so that we can find the answers to all life's queries that plague us. We simply have to become absorbed with Him.

Lovingly submitted,

Sista Michelle

Dear Lord, 

More than anyone else or anything else we must crave you and your will. There is nothing or no one more important than you. Nothing or no one should ever take precedence over spending time in your presence. Help us to want you more than anything. May you become our undying quest. In Jesus name we pray. Amen