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Monthly Archives: March 2011

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

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I love life when life is good: my friends and loved ones are well, there are no general problems standing out, there is food on my table, the bills are paid, etc. I found it strange when I was praying today that God would reveal to me this interesting thought.

We have to remember to utilize the strength and willpower that we have through obedience during the good times so God can be glorified. I don’t want God to only be my “bailout plan”, to be the one I only call out on in sheer desperation. We can all honestly say at one point in time in our life that we found it easier to lose our focus on God when life was easier to live because the burdens did not carry a significant weight, right?

Let’s remember to move and praise God when it counts, in the GOOD times as well as the times when we are in trouble. If we are always spiritually in check by being humble in both times of our life, we have strength to be able to handle things when they come unexpectedly or out of the middle of nowhere.

So to paraphrase, obey God, and don’t wait until it’s too late!

Singing At New Freedom Community Church

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We had never been at New Freedom before, and it was truly a great experience to meet new people!

There was some wonderful singing there, it just lifted our spirits to be in the midst of it. It was easy to be free and to sing and just be yourself in the Lord. After all, no matter where you are, that is who we are supposed to be everywhere that we go regardless of the signs on the door!

The way that the spirit was leading the songs and worship was all based around the “peace” of God. I was proud to see all of those who came to get closer to God, for there is no shame in wanting more!

I was also proud of Rebekah and Mona for stepping out there and doing more!

We pray blessings upon that church, that they continue to grow and never lose sight of what God has in store for them!

Breaking Down God’s Communication

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John 16:13

[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Literally and Spiritually via the bible and through seeking him! I think about hearing the phrase into “all truth”, and it makes me to consider that there will not be any moments where I am feeling lost!

The spirit of truth will provide you with guidance, and will not lie to you. It will not leave you comfortless, or without peace of mind. Sometimes we feel like that we are left without hope, but we are not! Do not be deceived! People will deceive you, but God will not!

Luke 21:33-36

[33] Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
[34] And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
[35] For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
[36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The word of God will speak to every circumstance, and it will instruct you and help you to grow in areas that you are weak in!

It’s important to know that our decisions only line up if we know God personally. If the condition of the relationship is right also, in other words when we are right, we are in operation of the mind of Christ!

And when the body of Christ is in proper operation, people get help the way that God intended it to be in the beginning!

Romans 8:35

[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

God speaks through the details of your life; i.e. your trials and circumstances: the things that we know the best of course!

This is hard to say, but if we feel like we are getting the short end of the stick in life, then maybe it’s time we get back to basics and begin to take focus off me (flesh), read his word more, be around people in God’s will, have a strong spiritual environment, and  begin to focus more on God!

We must know and realize that our trials have their place, and they should not be the thing that rules our lives! God should be!

Proverbs 1:10

[10] My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

Say what?!? Some things must begin to change! Consent thou not! In other words, don’t feel like you have to be like everybody else! God has raised up a standard in you to be something different; an example if you will, that will lead others to Christ!

Proverbs 4:13-15

[13] Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
[14] Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
[15] Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

Let the instruction not go! If we do anything, do not let go of the things that God speaks to you, the guidance, steps and words that are given to you are the only life to you that will keep you through the dark times and storms of your life!

One Foot In Front Of The Other

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2 John 1:6 – And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

3 John 1:3-4 – For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

– – – –

I know sometimes it feels like it is going to take “forever” to ever see the great big move that we stand in need of. I am learning, however, that with each new day that there are great big moves that God wants us to make in kind. We cannot have it all without changing a great lot in turn. God requires us to “move up” by the lowering of ourselves before Him. If we are willing we must begin to live closely to God by raising our standards of Godly living, by increasing the amount of daily/weekly obedience inside/outside of church, and most of all by not letting our daily bread (faith) be cut down with our own doubts and fears.

When you talk about the correlation of obedience and discouragement from waiting on the great things, we often live in a loop of “I can do it, but do not want to” or “I am incapable therefore I will sit back and stop”. God does not want us to be in either of those states; frankly He does not accept it. If we read into our bibles in detail, this fits the profile of what we would like to call lukewarm.

So what do we say today? Declare to your mind, to yourself, and to others that you are going to see it come! Start building your faith now and see what great victory you build out in your future! I send out a word of encouragement to you out there that is down and out and feel like there is no hope to live by: just keep one foot in front of the other one and let God lead you, and you will find your victory!

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Put Into Practice:

I am not sure if this has been done before, but I hope that it proves to be just as effective as it has been for me before. I would like for you to start your “faith chain” today. All you need is a pack of sticky notes or some cut-up paper and some tape. You can spread this out to work on every day or you can work on building it all at once. It’s up to you.

First, start out with a small thing you having faith in God for. Once you think of it, write what your statement of faith should be and make sure to include that need. For example, a good one would be “I believe that God is going to make me to be a happy person today.” Once you have one or a few (I would say about 5-7 at a time), stand before it and recite it to yourself every morning in a commonplace right before you head out before your day. As you see one completed, keep it as a future statement of victory! It’s a great way to believe! I encourage you to give it a try!

Find Your Balance In What You Do For Others

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Being in a ministry that requires so much of your time allows you to learn many lessons along the way, and I thought that I would share one today that would help all of us grow together as individuals, ministries, and churches all the same.

There are people that I know as well as people that I do not, but nonetheless my ministry has been called to reach out to all of them with the same love and compassion that was showed to me with no regard to my past or persona. I hope that the church of today turns no one away or treats them differently or would chose one over another. Favoritism is just another one of those things that has to stay outside of the doors and should go and live with the “popular opinion”.

Jesus went to heal the sick and afflicted, reached out to the lost and rejected, and loved whosoever would come to believe. We are supposed to attain the mind of Christ, or in other words, take on that same frame of mind. So whatever need comes across your path, no matter how big or small it may be, we have to meet it with a balance of equal love. Just to put it simply in an example: if you spend 20 minutes praying for someone and two for someone else, those things are noticed; especially if you are a leader or someone that is a person depended on in your local community.

Please be considerate, and never forget the compassion once shown towards you! Do this, and people will take on what they see by the example set in you.

Very big words today, but very important.

With Any Help Done In Love Comes Help From Above

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One of the toughest things to ever see or hear about are to do with people that are in need of help. We as children of the Lord have a calling to always be moving to the aid of the weak. I try to remind myself each day when I feel weak that there is someone out there feeling weaker than me, and that God needs me to be strong on their behalf. God needs the body of Christ to be strong in the days that we live in, and to definitely move in the gifts and acts of charity.

To me charity comes in many ways and forms. It can come in the form of a good or service, but at any rate is given in a selfless act from one to another. If you have a special calling or ability in your life that God has placed upon you, never hold back what it is that you have inside. People need you. If you happen to be having a good month financially, think of some way that you can lose a little so that others can gain. And if you don’t have a lot and feel like you are powerless, you can ALWAYS pray and stand in the gap for others. It’s a powerful thing!

Make it a goal in your day, week, month to do something that bears a significant impact that is completely selfless. Pray before you do it and dedicate your selflessness and service to God. And in all acts of kindness, shine a light to those that do not know Christ and lead them to a perfect salvation!

Stay Focused

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Today’s encouraging word is to remind you on staying focused on who you are in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s easy for everyone to know who they are in general, but for us to continually remember and remind ourselves will bring encouragement where there might not be any.

I know I am a free, delivered, saved singer and minister of the word of God! I should not be afraid or ashamed, and should remind myself that there are many wonderful things that have came from it, and WILL come if I pursue it actively. God loves an active vessel!

Don’t let the little foxes spoil the vines!

Look Ahead And Not Behind

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Matthew 26:41 – Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

– – – –

     I know that there are a lot of things that I have done in my life that I will always regret. The people that I have hurt through my own means seem to be the hardest things to forgive myself for. Words could never describe how sorry that I am for the person that I was, but I have prayed for forgiveness and I know I am not that person anymore. That is something we all have to remember and accept each day. We are not as we were. We put off the old person that we were and are as new!

Learning to move on from the past and seeking God for peace is one of the most important aspects about being spiritually self-sufficient. Some people are in church today but in their minds or hearts are still sitting in a church service that hurt them 10-20 years ago. Others are not able to be in fellowship with one another because or religious traditions or doctrines that they cannot seem to agree on, which in turn leads to grudges that seem to never end. We have to begin to learn to break these self-created bonds that hold us down. God can set us free from all of these burdens!

As we commit our lives to God and become new creatures in Him, there comes a time in your life where you have to stop looking back and start looking forward. Make today a day that you do not reflect on something to make yourself feel bad or worse than you already do. If anything, take those negative feelings and give them to God in prayer; let God begin to work those things for your good. Stop looking in the history books and begin to write a new chapter in yours. Move on and do the good works of the Lord!

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Put Into Practice:

Let us do an applied example of how wonderful it is that we have been forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. On a piece of paper, write down with a pencil at least three things that you have done today that you wish that you did not. After you have wrote them down, turn the pencil around and erase them from the page. As you are erasing them, know that you can simulate this erasing process simply by having a humble prayer before God, asking for forgiveness of what you have done. You do not have to walk around with guilt and shame. It is rather simple when you get right down to it: ask for forgiveness, let God lead you in how not to do it the next time and move on to better things by having victory over the past!

Exchange Your Goods

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Revelation 3:19-20 – As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

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I observe more often than not the fact that people will try to live with more burdens in their life than they have to. There are things that we have to learn to turn over to God, learning to put full trust in Him. We can kid ourselves with the “I’ve got this” and “I don’t need anyone” perspectives, but one day the void of loneliness or the true weight of the burden will hit us.

It can be noticed with someone very quickly if you take the time to pay attention to their personal behavior. On the same token, if you take the time to look at all the things that may be upon your mind there very well may be behavior traits you notice as well! I know even as you read this you might be thinking (or trying to persuade yourself) that “there is nothing wrong with me”. I’m here to burst your bubble via the bible and remind each and every one of us that even at our best that our righteousness is as filthy rags. So when we consider that even at our best that we still need God, consider the next thing to do: put God first!

Consider making a trade-in on the “junky” stuff that would weigh you down for quality goods from God, and have a better life by coming to the realization of who He truly is. Doing this gives you more than I could write in a few sentences! It does more than words could say! Coming in to the fullness of a spiritually fulfilling life also gives you the fruits that you may bear of things that will not rust or corrupt or let you down in the long run!

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Put Into Practice:

It’s always easier to start with objects when you can, so find something that you know that takes your focus off of God and put it into a box lay it in a room that you seldom go into. Leave it in there for at least a week and begin to pray that God would give you the ability to overcome any holds that it would have upon you.

If this object is something you still feel like that you need even after a week, leave it in the box. This is usually a good way to identify things that we are bound to. We cannot do this with the things that hold us in mental bondage, but there is no need to fear; for God is more than able to help you with each and every problem you have. Get yourself with a good group of faith believing spirit-filled prayer warriors and ask them to participate in 5-7 days of evening prayer meetings, where you begin to focus on 1 thing for each and every person that needs to have help from something.

Just remember if you are bold enough to believe, God is bold enough to do it!