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"Daughters, Know Your Worth"
| Posted on 4 June, 2015 at 22:15 |
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"I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Marvelous are your works. Psalm 139:14 Good morning Kingdom Sons and Daughters, This morning I want speak specifically to the King's Daughters, Daughters, know your worth. Don't sell yourselves so short. Know whose you are and what you really are. As daughters of the King, you should never live by the opinion of man based on his own selfish motives of who he thinks you should belong to or what he thinks you are. You should instead see yourself as your loving and trustworthy Heavenly Father sees you, as His own precious commodity. Sistas, you are a rarity, uniquely formed and fashioned by the hands of the Creator and you should live out who you are and what you are according to this truth. You are jewels in your Heavenly Father's eyes. Please do not allow a worldly man to take this from you or try to use their carnal theology of worldly player rap to deter you from the value of all that He has placed in you. Never let another man tell you who you are without first knowing who you are, yourself. Worldly men can tell you what you are by describing what they think they see or perceive to be true outwardly, without knowing the reality of who you really are on the inside, which in all reality is who He created you to be. If you buy into this lie, you will begin to see yourself as they see you and begin to think less of yourself based on what has been said to you. Trust me Sistas, that brotha does not really know you. He is only going with what he perceives to be true because his ultimate goal is to get what he wants from you and Satans ultimate plan is to use him to get you out of the will of the Father. And yes Sistas, he is trying to get into your head. That Brotha can make you believe that you have less value than what you are really worth. A Brotha may say, "You seem to be aggressive." or " You seem to be a very sassy woman.", without even recognizing the fact that you could just be having a bad day or could still be reeling from some past hurts. Sistas, just because you come off a certain way, it does not mean that that is who you truly are. That Brotha is only telling you what he thinks is true. His view is just merely based on his own selfish perception. Sistas, if you are not careful you will start being what he has described you as being rather than what is truly on the inside of you. Daughter, the Father has placed much more value on you than that. Remember in order for the Brotha to really know what is on the inside of you, he must first spend time with you and listen to you. It is sad to say that someday, after all is said and done some Sistas wake up to this reality and will say, " You never really knew ME. " or " You never really got to know ME, so how can you tell me what I am without really knowing who I am? And therefore, what you perceive me to be on the outside does not dictate who I am on the inside." In conclusion, Sistas, you have to know and walk in who He says you are and who He specifically designed you to be and not the opinion of someone else's and who they perceive you to be. Don't be afraid to express who you really are when a Brotha comes at you in this way. And more importantly than anything, Daughters, KNOW YOUR WORTH. Have a blessed day. Minister Antonio Washington Prayer Time Dear Lord, We are so grateful for a Savior that wants us as Daughter of the Most high to know our worth. We are precious in your sight and of great value to the world and more importantly to You. Lord, may we never settle for less than the best of what you have in store for us. Help us to know ourselves intimately so that we will never be taken for granted. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. http://youtu.be/4zO2T7APX0A Featured in Poetic Pastries http://youtu.be/cDjUVYxyNag Featured in Poetic Pastries |
Favor Just Ain't Fair, It Just Ain't - God Favored Me
| Posted on 31 May, 2015 at 20:54 |
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“It's not the law of religion nor the principles of morality that define our highways and pathways to God; only by the Grace of God are we led and drawn, to God. It is His grace that conquers a multitude of flaws and in that grace, there is only favor. Favor is not achieved; favor is received.” ― C. JoyBell C. Genesis 37 - 47 Good morning Sistas and Brothers, There are times in our lives when we totally confuse the enemy and our haters. What should have killed us actually revitalized us and gave us passion to live a more determined life in Him. What used to cause us misery is now a God ordained ministry all because of His sustaining power. What could have made us permanently bury our head in the sand simply allowed us to rise above our enemies all because He is ultimately the lifter of our heads. What should have made us bitter actually made us better. And all of our naysayers look on in astonishment with their minds completely baffled because of the resurrecting power of the Him that is within. Hallelujah!!!! As we ponder on the story of Joseph we see our own story. Joseph was definitely a daddy's boy. He was his papa's favorite and knew it. He was the annoying little brother that you just loved to pick on and secretly despise. Joseph was a brown noser and a turncoat because he would tell on his brothers in a New York minute. Just like with any sibling rivalry, if any child gets all the goodies and the rest of the crew get the leftovers and hand me downs, It is on!!!!! His brothers did whatever they could to Joseph to make him pay. They were quite annoyed with his big mouth and all of his bragging about him one day ruling over them. Man, he just had to have plucked their last nerve. They were haters!!!! I can hear them asking and telling Joseph now, "Who do you think you are and what makes you so special? You are not the boss of me and you never will be. They wanted that brother dead. Not only did they throw him into a ditch for him to be eaten up by wild animals, but they sold him for twenty pieces of silver. What kind of mess is that? Who does that to their own blood. I guess no one schooled them on the saying that "blood is thicker than water". They totally disregarded Reuben's warnings to leave Joseph alone. They were naysayers but little did they know that all that they were doing was all in God's master plan for Joseph to be SET UP for God to SHOW UP. After Joseph was sold to Pharaoh, he was elevated to be his right hand man. God appointed Him to be Pharaohs personal aide. Hmmm. See y'all I told you favor just ain't fair. It just ain't. But the story does not end there for you see Pharaoh's wife, being the cougar that she was, tried to get Joseph to do the unthinkable which was have a midnight hookup with his bosses wife. Unbelievable, that chick had some serious issues among other things. And because Joseph dissed her she retaliated by lying on him and getting him thrown into the slammer. Okay, so she was feeling quite rejected. And we all know that a woman scorned is dangerous!!! It's a pretty thin line between lust and hate. Joseph interpreted numerous dreams that Pharaoh's cup bearer and baker had while he was in the slammer and they both became quite impressed with him. Now mind you the cup bearer and the baker were grateful but not grateful enough to remember Joseph right away after they were elevated to higher positions once they were released from prison. It took the cup bearer two years to remember the brother. We have a term for that. It is called selective memory. The cup bearer finally got a clue and realized that no one else could interpret Pharaoh's dream like Joseph could. Joseph did an off the hook job at interpreting the dreams and was once again elevated to Pharaoh's right hand man. I like the scripture that tell us that Pharaoh then gave Joseph his signet ring. I'm just saying, not only did God promote Joseph but he got a little bling in the process. Joseph was put in charge of the entire country. Awesome!!!! And guess what? Joseph's story still does not end there because there was a famine in the land and his brother had no food and by the way Joseph was the one in charge of giving out grub. Okay, so who is the MAN now? Joseph!!!! Yeah, I know, there's that favor thing again. And his brothers, you know the one's that put him in the ditch and sold him, now had to come and ask him for food. Everybody say BOOMERANG!!!! And guess what when they came into his presence they literally BOWED DOWN TO HIM just as he had interpreted in his dream when he was a little spoiled brat, you know Jacob's (Israel's) daddy's boy. Joseph gave them food not once but again and again. He eventually confessed who he was and told them what they meant for evil God meant for good. HATER'S, IT'S ALL GOOD!!!! I'm just sayin'!!!! Joseph knew that God was behind it all along and eventually his entire family was reunited. As I told you before God had set Joseph up so that through it all He would always be the one to SHOW UP on Joseph's behalf. You see Joseph was in fact a daddy's boy. He was shown much favor because he knew who he was. And this is our story, because you see this is exactly how it is with us, God's children. We are daddy's sons and daughters and you know how our Daddy feels about His kids. We should know that we ARE special. We are daddy's favorite and should not only know it, but speak it, and live it. And if we truly know beyond a shadow of a doubt who we really are and the spoiled brats that He sometimes makes us out to be when He showers us with His blessings, His favor in spite of us we have no need to fear when thrown into the ditch because He will ALWAYS, ALWAYS SHOW UP and SHOW OUT on our behalf. Now let's just turn to all of the naysayers and haters in our lives and give them this one last word in the Spirit without opening our physical mouths and with just a tad bit of spiritual tenacity and inwardly say, "FAVOR JUST AIN'T FAIR, IT JUST AIN'T!!!! GOD FAVORED ME!!!!" Praise Him!!!! Prayer Time Dear God thank you so much for you favor something the world can't give and the world can't take. We thank you that you're in control of every single thing in our lives. We bless you for your faithfulness and for the privilege of being your sons and daughters which gives us access to your many promises. You are such an awesome father you never leave us and regardless of what's going on in our lives you have never forsaken us. We love you Daddy. In Jesus Name I Pray..Amen |
Is There Anything Good In Lo Debar? Guess Whose Coming To Dinner?
| Posted on 31 May, 2015 at 4:06 |
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 Luke 14 II Samuel 9 Good Morning Sistas and Brothers, If the truth be told often we look for people who are like us to minister to, befriend, and show kindness to. We don't blatantly come out and tell others that we don't want to be around them or certain types of folk, but deep down on the inside of us we tend to show partiality. The definition of partial is favoring one person, faction, etc. more than another; biased; prejudiced. We knowingly or unknowingly can be very biased and prejudiced at times. Our bias often surpasses His truth about those that we come in contact with and most often stems from our own personal judgment. We only look for people with the same prejudices to minister to, be kind to, or befriend. Yes Sistas and Brothers, if we really be honest with ourselves there are those times when we tend to be quite uppity. Uppity is defined as putting on or marked by airs of superiority : arrogant, presumptuous. We can at times give off this air that we are somewhat better than others. We come off almost as though, "We got it like that ." And we will only invite certain people into our circle. We will only invite certain people to the table. Often times we will even allow our own personal judgment to cloud our view of who we show genuine kindness to. I am blown away by the story of David when he inquired about the possibility of anyone being left in the house of Saul that he could show kindness too. Even though Saul had plucked David's last nerve he still thought that the right thing, the godly thing to do was to bless his household in spite of all that Saul had put him through. This right here is a picture of true Christian character. Oh yeah, David had been good friends with Sauls' son, Jonathan and he felt a need to some kindness for his name sake but we still cannot look beyond the fact that David had shown Jonathan's father, Saul kindness while he lived and continued to show kindness towards his family while Saul laid in the grave. Sistas and Brothers, what I am saying to you is that he did not allow his misfortune, personal judgment, or unforgiveness for what had occurred in the past affect his judgment in terms of being a blessing to Sauls' kinfolk now. Phenomenal!!!! There are so many times when someone does something knowingly or unknowingly to us or even worse we perceive that we have been offended when that is far from the truth only to hold it against the person even after they are dead and gone. There is no true Christian love in all of that madness. When David, made this inquiry the servant Ziba said.“There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” Notice that the servant was quick to point out Jonathan's son's weakness right off the bat. Isn't it amazing how we can focus on another persons perceived weaknesses without really getting to know them more personally or finding out what is really going on with them beyond the mask? What we see is not always what we are genuinely seeing. There is more to a person than meets the eye. There is often a treasure behind the perceived tramp. I have friends in my life that have been such an awesome blessing to me once I looked beyond what I saw and invited them to the table based on the genuine love that was shown towards me when He invited me to His table. The servant, Ziba just like us had yet to get there because he immediately focused not only on what he physically saw but he focused only on what he wanted to see. David looks beyond all of that and he focuses on the individual just as Jesus does by immediately responding.“Where is he?” David was not concerned about this individuals shortcomings (faults; defects; or issues) he just wanted to love up on him just as we should want to love up on our sistas or brothers that appear to be a little different. Scripture goes on to say, Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” Hmmm. Mephibosheth resided in Lo Debar. Lo Debar is defined as a place of no pasture. This was a place of poverty and destitute. This was not a place where you would hold your girlz or guys greatest night out and housewarming party. The place was dead, void of vigor, and life. Lo Debar would have been your ultimate place for party poopers and deadbeats. The story goes on to say,"So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel." In other words, Mephibosheth was getting ready to throw his own coming out party. He was being brought out of this dark, dismal place (disposition) by the King. Ahhh, how many of us remember what it was like when King of Kings and Lord of Lords brought us out of all our mess, those dismal and dark places of sin. It was Party Time!!!!!! We immediately switched dance partners and we are still hungover from the after affects of the celebration. Party over here, Party over there!!!!! Praise Him!!!! OK now it really gets good cause, "When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” David was so excited to see this great man who had once been perceived to be one of low estate. King David the one of royal position wanted to serve this lame man, this outcast. Wow, wow, wow!!! How many times do we go out of our way to show homage and serve those that are less fortunate than us. Most of us live in our ivory towers and we often forget about those that are without when the Lord has so richly blessed us. This act of kindness blew Mephibosheth away. Let's look at what he says in response to David honoring him. "Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” You see Mephibosheth still had yet to recognize his new found state. He no longer needed to see himself as he once was. Remember the king had taken him out of the dark, dismal place. He had been removed from his once meager existence. There are some other Sistas and Brothers that have a mentality just like Mephibosheth they only see themselves as being what he has already delivered them from, they see themselves still being what they used to be and we need to school them a little bit. Because Mephibosheth had lived that way so long that was all he knew. He had yet to realize his true identity. He had yet to realize that he was an heir of a King and David recognized his thinking needed to be transformed. David did just as we have to do with our sistas and brothers at times. He had to lovingly remind him of who He WAS when he went on to say to Ziba “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” We see right here that David invited him to his table on a regular in spite of their differences, in spite of what Mephibosheth had came out of, in spite of what Mephibosheth was perceived by others to be. David recognized that something GOOD could come out of Lo Debar, the pastureless place. David recognized the good stuff he saw in Mephibosheth. He saw Mephibosheth becoming as one full of vibrancy, life, and prosperity. He saw Mephibosheth coming into a good land!!!! We have got to look at our sistas and brothers as what they someday are going to be. We cannot focus on what we see now. And you know what David's actions in turn changed Ziba's outlook on things. Look at what happened. "Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons." That's all it takes is one of us to see our sista or brother in a different light. Our actions can change the minds of those around us about them. When David recognized Mephibosheth as one of the kings sons not only did Ziba's mind began to change but I also believe that Mephibosheth began to see himself differently too. We need to know that we are each others family in CHRIST. We are daughter's and sons of the King and in spite of how we feel about each other we have to recognize the fact that we are all born of Him and we need to let go of our personal judgments, we have to let go of our uppity mentality. This change in us may in turn help others to feel differently about themselves as well. The story ends with, "And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet. This reminds me of the parable of the wedding feast in Luke 14. Jesus tells the host of this great feast" Hey Bro, don't just invite your homeboys, your peeps, cuzins, and other family members but invite those that you have yet to establish a relationship with. Invite those that don't already know about you. Jesus was always looking for opportunities to minister to those that were outcast, different, and destitute. Jesus was so relational regardless of who He came in contact with. Jesus was never a respecter of persons like we sometimes are. James 2:1, 9 and Acts 10:34 Is there anything Good coming out of your sistas or brothers Lo Debar? Well, guess who's coming to dinner? We seriously need to get away from our uppity mentality because He has a great work for us to do in the lives of those around us. Praise Him!!!! Smooches, Me Prayer Dear God we thank you for never judging us. We praise you for seeing beyond our faults and calling out the person that you've designed us to be. God please help us to remember that when we come across a brother or sista that is acting out of character that there is more than meets the eye because you are the one that transforms us and anything that you come in contact with will change. Amen |
Are You Willing to Partake In Behind the Scenes Christianity?
| Posted on 13 April, 2015 at 23:13 |
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 "A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias." Joel 3:18 b Good morning Brothas and Sistas, There are many of us that desire to be used by God in some way or another. Many of us sit on our church pews Sunday to Sunday, month to month, year to year wanting to be used by God. Some of us become disappointed when the same old people are being used and serve on several ministries. And as a result we become very disgruntled and a little resentful with our Pastors and ministry leaders for not using our God given gifts when they go unnoticed. And if the truth be told we often leave churches based solely upon that reason alone. Many of us think that we can only be used within the four walls of the building called church but I want you to take heart today. God has a ministry just for you. Sistas often times ministry may be right at your finger tips, in your backyard, on the phone, in your neighborhood, or within the community, etc., My husband and I are foster care parents as well as leaders in our local church. And when we have afternoon church services we are expected to be there. Well, not too long ago we were having an afternoon church service and it just so happens that DSS called us two days prior to this church service to take in children temporarily on an emergency basis. Well, me being the multi- tasker that I am was praying for a way to be made for us to go to the church service and make sure that the children that were placed in our care had a backup provider. Not too long after my husband and I got in from church the children's mom called. You should have seen me running around praying and asking God for a babysitter after we found out at the last minute that our son could not do it. I was sending up the timber and one of the children walked in and said that his mom wanted to talk to me. The immediate response in my spirit was, "Lord don't you see me praying 'cause I have to get out of here." Well Brothas and Sistas, very gently the Lord began to prompt me to take the call and just listen. After all it should only take about 15 minutes, I thought to myself. I had spoken briefly to mom previously. Often we will allow the foster care children that the Lord sends our way to contact their relatives if it is permitted to calm their fears. When I took the call I could hear a stressed out mom on the other end of the phone in tears because she had not been given the opportunity or phone numbers to contact her other children. She began to tell me about all the work that they had to get done to their home in order for her children to return to her. Brothas and Sistas, immediately the Lord prompted me that I needed to take the time to pray for her and make sure that she was saved. As I prayed with her and talked to her about the Lord she responded in tears and told me that she had prayed when they took her children that they would be with a nice family that attended church. Sometimes church service and ministry can be wherever He has us to be at any given time. Quite often we look for a platform within the four walls to minister and all God is looking for is a willing and available vessel to be His arms, legs, hands and feet to minister to those outside of the four walls of our local churches. Joel 3:18 says, "A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias." Brothas and Sistas, since Jesus represents the river of life, He is the living water and He desires for us to be His representatives here on earth to quench the thirst of all of those that we come in contact with that are spiritually dry from not having an intimate relationship with our Savior. Notice this scripture says, "flow OUT of the Lord's house". That just simply means that we must come from behind the four walls to do ministry. Brothas and Sistas, here is my challenge question for you today. Will you stop complaining about how you are not being used in your local church and begin to ask God for opportunities to (water) minister to those around you that are in dry places as He prompts you to by His Spirit? Behind the scenes Christianity can be just as rewarding. Praise Him! Smooches, Me Our Daily Bread/Prayer Time Dear Lord, We thank you for the gifts and talents that you blessed us with. You are such an amazing God. We pray that we would begin to use our gifts to bless others that do not attend our local churches. Lord, the truth is sometimes you want us to minister to those that are right in our backyard. Help us to take the time to minister to those around us. Help us to be your hand, legs, eyes, and ears to those that need help. We pray all these things in your name, Jesus. |
What Source Are You Tapped Into?
| Posted on 8 February, 2015 at 19:06 |
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"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24 Good morning Brothas and Sistas, In our modern world of technology social media has opened us up to the endless possibilities of communication. There are so many forms of communication that we can tap in to get our long awaited message or point across but I must confess to you that the best mode of communication is the spirit to Spirit connection that we partake in through prayer. There is nothing like connecting with Him one -on -one with our petitions knowing that He is ready, willing, and able to work miracles on our behalf. Jesus is the expert among experts in communicative technology. For instance, the Holy Spirit is our WI-Fi (wireless connection) to our high speed Internet connection, Jesus Christ Himself. For example Jesus receives instant messaging via the Holy Spirit, our voice recorder. You see with Jesus we never have to worry about the experience of going through connection issues on His end or the frustration of hitting a drop zone because Jesus. "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24 He instantly answers the things in our hearts and minds that we desire to communicate before we even allow it to come out of our mouth and roll off our lips. Prayer is the one thing that moves the hand of God. God actually allows us to see His awesomeness when we commit ourselves to prayer. He wants to show us great and mighty things when we make a commitment to call upon Him in our time of need. To show means to cause or allow to be seen or display in exhibition. He wants to show us his awesome power and might through answered prayer. He wants to put His awesomeness on exhibition for us when we trust Him. He will not move based on how much we worry as opposed to how much we seek Him. He moves based on our solemn but consistent hearts cry to come to Him in all humility. A God who controls the universe, who puts thinks into being, and who utters a mere word and things happen and then takes time from all of the business of taking on the world's woes to come see about us on an individual basis, His children, to hear our heartfelt prayer and answer it. That is the kind of awesome God that He truly is!!!! This is the kind of awesome God that we serve! Brothas and Sistas, prayer is not just an opening of one's hand to receive a thing. Jesus is not our spiritual genie in a bottle. Prayer requires us to do something on our part. Prayer requires faith on our part. He says that anyone that comes to me must first believe that I am and that I am a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Let's take a look at the I am that He so eloquently positions Himself to be. To Moses He said, "I am that I am." I am in the Hebrew is pronounced Ehyeh asher ehyeh and is the sole response God used in the Bible when Moses asked for his name (Exodus 3:14). It is one of the most famous verses in the Old Testament. Hayah means "existed" or "was" in Hebrew; "ehyeh" is the first person singular present/future form. Ehyeh asher ehyeh is generally interpreted to mean I am that I am, though it can also be translated as "I be that I be." He is just that Phenomenal! To be means to be equal in meaning to have the same connotation as, objective existence to have; reality or actuality. As some folk say I think, therefore I am. We'll, God does not have to think because He knows, and because He knows that He is, Uh, He is. Another old sayin goes I be what I be. He needs no introductions because He just be's. God just is, HE JUST IS! And because of this proclamation He is willing and able to answer each one of our prayers if we just believe. Our complete reliance and dependence on Him is based on knowing who He is and trusting in His ability to come through for us through our prayers. Brothas and Sistas, what source are you tapped into today? He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. There is so much we can gain when we learn how to tap into the awesomeness of PRAYER POWER! Denise Cole Prayer Time Thank you Lord for the power we receive each time we spend time in prayer with you. Thank you for filling us daily. May we acknowledge daily the importance of prayer to those that live their lives without your daily direction. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. |
Girlz, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff - He's Got This
| Posted on 27 October, 2014 at 20:21 |
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 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him" Psalm 37:7a Good morning my gorgeous Sistas, I pray that you are enjoying this beautiful Lord's Day. I am learning to rest in Jesus. What about you? Many times we say that we have given a thing over to Him and before you know it, we become burdened by it all over again. Sistas, there is a sweet release in letting things go. Rest in Him today and try not to sweat the small stuff. Guess what? It's all small stuff to Jesus. Praise Him!!!! Smooches, Me Sistas, many of us in one way or another are stressed on a daily basis by the cares of life. Not only do our bodies need rest but our minds and spirits need rest. As a matter of fact, rest is defined as a peace of mind or spirit or repose. I especially like the word repose. Repose is the act of resting or the state of being at rest, freedom from worry; peace of mind, calmness (undisturbed, the mental state of being free from agitation, excitement) ; tranquility (quality or state of being peaceful; calmness; quiet; serenity). Jesus gives us freedom from worry when we learn that He is truly in control of every situation. He is sovereign. We become undisturbed and unagitated by the pressures of life, walk in a quiet calmness, and learn to obtain a serene spirit when we begin to lean into him. True peace of mind or spirit can only be found in resting in Jesus. The word rest is mentioned over 200 times in the bible. Jesus not only took physical rest seriously but he also took resting in Him very seriously. Scripture says, "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently (bearing or enduring pain, difficulty, or annoyance with calmness,endurance of difficulty, provocation without complaining or losing self control, or annoyance, tolerant, understanding, patient, persevering, or constant, refusing to be angered or provoked) for him" (Psalm 37:7a) Wow, that was a mouth full. Among Christians, we have adopted the saying" Let go and let God." We can sound really spiritual when we say that but do we really know what it means to truly let go of every situation and allow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to work things out on our behalf? Well, maybe not. Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn (gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery of through experience or study) of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Sistas, a yoke is defined as a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together, an arched device formerly laid on the neck of a defeated person or a frame fitted to a person's shoulders to carry a load in two equal portions. Well, back in the day farmers used to yoke the young ox with the old experienced ox to train them. The old ox would take the major load and the young one would walk alongside and learn from him. This gives us an awesome picture of what Jesus does for those of us who are exhausted, weary, and burdened from carrying the load by ourselves and stressed by the cares of life. It brings us tranquility, serenity, calmness, rest, and allows us to remain quiet and undisturbed when we know that Jesus is right with us, walking with us, teaching us, and strengthening us side by side in every situation! Wow, I feel such peace right now just being reassured of that very fact. Sistas, this is a process and we all need to learn how to rest in Him today and everyday. Girlz, don't sweat the small stuff because it's all small stuff to Jesus!!! He's got this!!!!! Praise Him!!!! Prayer Time Dear Lord please teach us how to cast our cares to you and leave them there, please continue to teach us that if we just trust in you we could experience so much peace and tranquility. We thank you God for using every opportunity in our lives to draw us closer to you. We Love you and we desire that you will be glorified. In Jesus Name...Amen |
Unload Be true to Yourself, Be true To Him
| Posted on 26 October, 2014 at 1:00 |
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 "But be careful about following THEM." Matthew 23:3 Inspirational Bible Matthew 23- The Message Bible Thanks so much for these devotionals......you will never know how big of a help they are. This particular one reminded me of Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones...I can remember thinking what's wrong with me can these (my) dry bones live?...in the words of Ezekiel "Lord you know." I have wasted some much time as a people pleaser trying to live up to the expectations of people which constantly change....I found myself with no joy or peace or since of accomplishment in my life feeling EMPTY....until I realized it does not matter what people think about me as long as God is pleased with me. If God can forgive me who is anyone else not to forgive or accept me. I Thank God for that victory....Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Sister Girl Heather Oftentimes we grow weary under the load of trying to keep the law of another person's expectation of what they think a Christian should act or be like. If the truth be told the real us is often stifled by the religious opinions of those around us. And that is a weight that no Sista should bear. So, Sistas I ask you how do we get out from under the weight of expectancy? I must submit to you the answer is not that profoundly difficult to surmise. Sistas, you must unload (relieve of something burdensome or oppressive; dump; or remove the charge from), be true (consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous pretense) to yourself, and more importantly be true to Him. This morning in my quiet time the Lord spoke the words, "dead men's bones" to me. Now I must confess I had no idea what that meant, so I looked in my concordance and it lead me to Matthew 23:27. The Message bible explains Matthew 23 in the most extraordinary way. It deals with the religious fashion shows in Christianity not only of Jesus day but of our day as well. I like verse 3 especially because it says, "But be careful about following THEM." So often we are following someone else's words instead of His law and to be quite frank we are all jacked up as a result of it. "Let's take note of what Jesus is saying in verse 4. "Instead of giving you God's law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next." Hmmm. I suspect that Mr. Eugene Peterson under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is referring to those amazing Pharisee's of that day. LOL!!!! Wow, it is so crazy how we fall prey to wanting to live up to everybody else's standards, rules, and preferences while others live a life of hypocrisy by under minding the rules they put in place and we in turn lose ourselves, our true selves in the process. We become dead to the reality of who He created us (the objective form of we, you, me ) to be. Sistas, what up with that? OK, so is it that they are being led by the Spirit which brings about conviction and repentance or is that they have deemed themselves to be a carbon copy, replica, or Jr. Holy Spirit which translates into a phony or false witness in hopes of putting the weight of their personal preference, their religiosity on us? Conviction for the Christian should always be based on the truth of God's word. Preference which is birthed out of the flesh is based on one's concept, taste, or liking. Sistas we need not to ever fall prey to another man's (woman's) concept, taste, or liking for we will never be lead by the Spirit if we choose to do so. Now let's take a look at vs. 27 which says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe!!!!! That brother must have said the word woe about seven times already. The term Woe denotes affliction, misery, trouble; deep distress, regret; wretchedness, misfortune; or calamity. I don't mean no harm but you can keep your woe's to yourself cause I Don't Want Any, and that's for sho'. Sistas, you know what? I have come to the exceptional conclusion that whenever we submit to the or bear under the heaviness of someone else's preference or what they believe to be gospel to them we begin to look just like they look. EMPTY. Notice He says they appear to be beautiful, living holy, and righteous outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones. Let's take a look at the term dead men's bones for a minute. Sistas, if we take on the persona of the religious elite we begin to decay because we no longer have a body which is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, Spirit, personality, and behavior. WE no longer have substance or a fundamental or characteristic part or quality of who WE ARE or were created to be. If we look at the Old Testament, we see that many of the saints of old would go back to the remains (dead bones) of their loved ones to get them so that they could be carried to their permanent resting place. Sistas my prayer for you today would be for you to unload the dead bones of someone else's opinion, whether it be the opinion of your loved one, another Sista, saint, ain't or friend and carry them to their final resting place. Sista, Be true to yourself, but more importantly be true to HIM. Praise Him!!!!! Smooches, Me |
Building Up One Another With An End In Mind - Seeds Of Hope - The Power of An Encouraging Word
| Posted on 24 October, 2014 at 23:05 |
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"From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Ephesians 4:16 Good morning my precious Brothas and Sistas, In my study time this morning I found that nearly every building that is custom designed and constructed, often requires a long time to complete. There are so many intricate details that are not only involved in the planning process but there are intricate details involved in watching the actual building take form. It is an often slow and tedious process. Often in ministry we get so frustrated when we tend to concentrate too much on where we perceive our Brothas and Sistas to be. The difference between us and Jesus is that he always focused on what and where His followers would one day be. That's why He changed Abrams name to Abraham, Sari's name to Sarah, Saul's name to Paul, Jacob's name to Israel, and Simon's name to Peter. Jesus saw and still sees amazing potential in all of His followers. If Jesus just concentrated on where they were or what they were when He found them he would have never spoken possibility into them. My husband is an amazing encourager within the body and he often speaks possibility into the people that are around him. He will lovingly takes people who are at their lowest point in life and begins to pour positive into them. He is so extremely patient with people. I can remember when our kids where younger he would sit them and their friends on the living room chair and pour God's words into them and tell them about the amazing potential that they have in them. Many of them looked like they were going to pass out or kill over because he would have them sitting there for at least 2 hours at the least. Brothas and Sistas, you know how preachers are, they love to talk. Many of those teenagers would often take part in our family vacations and God would give him opportunities to pour into them some more. After years of him ministering to them, many of those teenagers are beginning to do some positive things with their lives. They still deeply respect my husband today because of all that he did for them when they were younger. They always make it a point when they stop by and he asks them how they are doing, where they are with their future goals and their current accomplishments. You see, when he first started pouring into them many of them did not know what they wanted to do or be beyond what they had been doing which was stealing, going to jail, cussing, getting high etc., I believe that those words that my husband spoke into them are bringing forth seeds of greatness as we speak. My husband has done the exact same thing with me. Last weekend I heard a story about Pastor Ron Barnett of the Dream Center in Los Angeles and how he often meets drug dealers, prostitutes, people in prison etc., and he often speaks words of life into them by telling them that they will one day be one of his deacons, worship leaders, ushers, or youth pastors even before he actually gets to know them. Do you not know that very often those people that he speaks life into become the very things that he has spoken into them? That pastor does not call them what they are but by faith he calls them what they will one day become. In Ephesians 4:16 we are told that we are to edify each other in love. The word edify means that we are to build; to establish; to improve enlighten or uplift. The Greek word for edification is oikodomeo or okedome which is defined as the act of building. This word means to promote Christian character. Ephesians 4:16 also says that we are to be "fitly joined together." Fitly means proper size and shape for, suitable time or proper suits a given time, purpose, occasion or condition. There are times when the Brotha or Sista that we are ministering to may pluck our last nerve and we may think "Lord you must be confused. This IS NOT, IS NOT the right one that you want ME to minister to, to build into, to establish, to improve, to enlighten, or to promote Christian character in. Lord they are not right for me. They don't fit the bill of what I would expect them to be. This is not the right time, occasion, and they are not in the right condition for me to deal with them. Lord, you must be trippin'."But, Brothas and Sistas, as I mentioned to you in the beginning just like with any building project that requires a lot of time and effort, so does building into our Brothas or Sistas. It requires dedication and commitment on our part. We have to see this process through. We must keep in mind that God is using us because He is building us all up. Build is defined as the act process art or occupation of constructing. Jesus is the master builder. He is well versed in the art of constructing His daughters and sons. He sees so much phenomenal potential in all of us. He is always involved in the intricate details of each one of His building projects and can see the finished project well ahead of time. He is building up other Brothas and Sistas through you because He has a desired end in mind. So please don't stop planting those seed of hope. You never know how far the power of an encouraging word will go. Praise Him! Prayer Time We love and adore you. thanks for all the times you encourage us when we are down. Help us to encourage our Brothas and Sistas the way you encourage us. May we be patient with them as you are with us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. |
Jesus Got You Part II
| Posted on 14 October, 2014 at 19:51 |
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 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way." Psalm 37:23 Hello Sistas, It is good to be back with you today. Sistas, as I said before I knew that I needed a change in my life. My sister was saved at the time and was stable with Christ. She did not agree with my lifestyle. I knew that I needed support in my walk with Christ. I decided that I needed to move back in with her. I started all over again. I eventually moved back to Baltimore and had been praying while I was in Miami that the Lord would allow me to run into Pastor Godsey. Sistas, God is so good that He answered that prayer. I actually ran into him. I was at the credit union and he was in the credit union too. He gave me his church information and I began attending his church soon after. Sistas, God is so amazing that He even orchestrated me being a part of a ministry and I did not even know that Sista Godsey was part of it as well. It was as though the Lord brought us back together through that ministry. How awesome it that!!!! I began to pray more and socialize with some Christian friends that were growing. I knew that I had to let some people in my life go and Sistas it was for the best. I knew that if I kept those old associations that I would be right back where I started and would fall away from Christ again. Remember you only resemble the people that you are around and if they are going no where in Him, you will go no where in Him. God began to put some godly people in my life. He even got me in contact with my old friend. We had been friends since middle school and had lost touch with one another and were reunited through Facebook. My friend was going to church and invited me to her church for Women's Ministry. Sistas, I started going back to church and began growing in the Lord. My husband and I got married in 1997 and I finally divorced my husband in 2004 while in Florida. My life has changed for the better. As I am getting closer to the Lord, my heart's desire is to have a godly mate, but for right now I am enjoying my singleness and I am being blessed in it. Redeemed |
Jesus Got You
| Posted on 6 October, 2014 at 20:26 |
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 http://youtu.be/NG5wqIbAbeU"However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" I Corinthians 2:9 Hello Sistas, My Testimony today is "Jesus got you" no matter where you are or where you have been, He is right there holding your hand, drying your tears, and bringing you through those rough times even when you can't see your way through. Oh, let's see where do I begin. I married my high school sweetheart because I was pregnant with my daughter. He was in the military in North Carolina. We were away from each other for most of the time that we were married, but I loved him and wanted to hang in there. Sistas, unlike him I was very dedicated. So much for my hard work and effort. Can you believe when I tried to move to North Carolina, I found out that he was cheating on me? I was so hurt. Sistas, he actually had another woman down there while I was in another state hoping that we could get our problems worked out. Like most of us that are married and love the person that we are with, I really, really wanted my marriage to work. Sistas, I was pregnant and I knew that I needed something to sustain me through the trials that I was facing. I was working at a cleaners and my daughter was really sick after she was born. Out of no where, Sista Lakita Godsey came over to the cleaners and begin to share with me about her church and invited me. My daughter was very sick and had to be hospitalized after she was born and her husband, Pastor Godsey, came to the hospital to pray over her. Even while all of this was going on I still had a strong desire for my marriage to work. So I tried to get counseling for my husband and I through Pastor Godsey, but my husband did not want to come to the counseling. After going through so much with him I eventually stopped going to church and fell out of fellowship. I moved to Florida hoping to get a fresh start. I found a new church home and rededicated my life to Christ but I eventually fell away from the church again and into an adulterous relationship for about a year. I thought I could find comfort in another man. Of course the relationship did not work out because I was out of the will of God. I knew that I could not keep up this charade so I decided that I needed to .............. (to be continued next week) |
