Speak the truth in love and with boldness!

Too many times we do not want to hear the truth! We want to hear what we want to hear and many times that is not the truth! My friend it is time to speak the truth in love and with boldness! Being a true friend requires telling it like it is! We can not speak the truth only when it is convenient. We can not speak the truth only when it won't make someone uncomfortable, but we must speak the truth with love and boldness! Make today the day that you don't choose to tip toe around the truth! The truth is like medicine to a dying soul! Speak the truth in love today with boldness and watch life come forth! "Rather, let our lives lovingly [b]express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."~Ephesians4:15

We have to know the truth! When we know the truth, we choose to walk in love and truth. When we walk in love and truth, we are able to speak the truth with love and with boldness! "And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."~John8:32 I do not know about you my friend but I want to be free!  I want to stay free! Who the son of man sets free is free indeed! Don't you want to be free today? In our being free, we are able to free those around us by the word of the truth! Have you ever seen someone in bondage free another person in bondage? I have not! What I have seen is someone who was free come and set others free! Won't you allow God to use you as a vessel to set the captives free today? In order to be used by God for this purpose, you have to first be free yourself! The truth my friend is what sets you free!

No more bondage, no more chains, no more shame, and no more mindsets of defeat! Today is the day to go forth and speak the truth in love and with boldness! You do not have to stay in a state of mind that does not reflect the mind of Christ! If you are free, won't you open your mouth and speak the truth so that whoever you come into contact with will be able to walk in that freedom! The domino effect starts with one domino! You could be the instrument that God will use to draw others close to Him! His word declares if He is lifted up He will draw all men unto Him! So today my friend open up your mouth and speak the truth in love and with boldness! 

Don't give up! Don't quit! Don't be weary in your well doing!

"And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint."~Galatians6:9 When you feel like you can't go any further, yet push your way! When you feel like throwing in the towel, choose to rejoice and be glad! When you feel like waiving the white flag of surrender, activate your faith by walking by faith and not site! We can not grow weary and faint in our well doing! We do not have the option of counting the cost and then deciding if we will say yes Lord! We each have a due season, but the only way we see our due season is if we do not grow weary and faint!

If you have ever talked to someone that has been through something, they will tell you that it was not easy to get up. They will tell you that it was worth it though! When you have been knocked down, or taken a blow that was designed to take you out you must resist the temptation to surrender! The hit you took was not designed to destroy you, but it was designed to draw you closer to Christ! It is not enough to endure! We have to continue to sow! We have to know that we know that we know that we will have an appointed season! So my friend it is not time to give up! Don't give up! Don't quit! Don't be weary in well in doing!

It is time for us to be steadfast and immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain!~1Corinthians15:58 What we do for Christ is not in vain! What we do for Christ will not return to us void! We have to determine that we are not going to move! We must make a declaration that we shall not be greatly moved! It is not an option to become wavering in our service to God! You may be asking, how can I make up in my mind I will not be moved! When we allow God to be our anchor, we can be confident that He will be our sustainer! When God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are the ones sustaining us we will not be greatly moved!

So my dear friend do not grow weary in well doing! Do not faint in your well doing! Continue to sow those seeds of righteousness! Continue to sow those seeds of love, seeds of peace, and seeds of joy! In sowing those seeds you can be confident in this very fact that you will have a due season! So open up your mouth and praise God for a due season! Glory be to His name! Don't give up! Don't quit! Don't be weary in your well doing!

Going but Not Growing!

It is so important to not just go but to grow! Too many times we go to the house of God, but we do not come forth changed. It is time to not just go but to grow. It is time to grow in our faith, grow in our love, grow in our knowledge of Christ, and grow in our ability to walk by faith and not by site! Is anybody growing? If we are to know one another by the fruit we each bear, what does your fruit say about you? Does your fruit reflect a well nourished tree? "You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?"~Matthew7:16 Can we tell that you are growing from your fruit?


A lot of times we move too quickly. We are too quick to move when our feelings get hurt. We are too quick to  move and it is not our time to move. Have you heard the phrase stay rooted where you were planted? So many times we don't even allow roots to come forth before we are moving ourselves! If I kept changing out a potted plant it would be hard for that plant to grow. The same is true if you keep uprooting yourself! Let God blossom you where you are at! Be like the tree that was planted by the living water!  "And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]."~Psalm1:3 It is time to get firmly planted! Declare today that you are not just going to go but you are going to grow!

Growth is so important! We have to get to a place that we are not worried about the number of people attending a service! The important thing to be focused on is how many people are growing? If I plant a vegetable garden full of fruits and veggies but I only water half, eventually the ones that are not getting water are going to stop growing.  The veggies that are not bringing forth any fruit are of no benefit to me. Have you ever seen a banana or a potato that was just too little? You asked yourself, now what am I going to do with this! The same is true when we just go to church but we are not the "church". We have to grow and not just go!

It is time to let the rivers of living water flow through us so that we are not just hearers of the word but we are doers of the word! The time is now. "He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water."~John7:38 When we are in Christ we can not help but grow! It is time my friend to not just go to revivals, conferences, prayer meetings, retreats, and church services! It is time to be changed! It is time to be transformed! True growth brings forth renewal! Don't just Go but Grow!

Have You Reached A Spiritual Plateau?

When we are working out we can hit a plateau! When we keep doing the same thing with the same resistance, we can get to a place where we no longer get results. In the beginning, when we work out we loose weight and we see results. If we keep the same routine, we can hit a plateau and we no longer see results! We may not be gaining weight but we are not seeing any results. Has anybody hit a plateau?

In our spiritual walk we can also hit a plateau. (A spiritual plateau) In the beginning you where on fire for God. The glory of God was all over you. You were hearing from God and you spent quality time in His presence. You reaped great benefits from spending that quality time like peace, joy, and soundness of mind. But you got to a place that I like to call a spiritual plateau and you no longer reap the full benefits of walking with God!

In order to begin to loose weight a person has to switch their routine up. You have to add intensity, or resistance, or work out for a longer period of time. To get out of your spiritual plateau one must seek God more! Give to God more sacrificially! When the word sacrifice is used many automatically assume financial sacrifice. Know that God is ready to reveal Himself to those who eagerly sacrifice their time, praise, worship, lifestyle, gifts, talents, and money! 

If reading 30 minutes a day of your word use to meet your spiritual needs, you may have to read 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. If just coming to church without serving on a ministry use to be okay in your spiritual walk, you will have to pray and seek God and get your hips active in a ministry! If you are on a ministry but you are stagnant, then I submit to you, that you need to seek God more. Seek God like never before! Ask God to reveal Himself to you in every area of your life! Change and increase your desire to seek God and watch how God takes you out of your spiritual plateau! "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."~Hebrew11:6 

Wake Up!!

I was reading the other day and one of the scriptures jumped off of the page. "When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”~Luke8:51-52 So I came today to let you know that you are not dead you have been asleep! So I shout today wake up! It is time to rise and go forth your morning has come! “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.~Isaiah60:1

For far too long many have felt dead. You have felt dead and you have acted dead! No life has come forth from you. No new ideas, no new visions, no new dreams, and no excitement! So let today be the day that you have a spiritual awakening! Let today be the day that you refuse to lay down and die or to stay down and be counted out! Let today be the day that you make up in your mind that you are not dead but you have been asleep! You have been asleep for too long! When something does not move for awhile it is easy to assume that it is dead! Because of your lack of growth and movement many have counted you out, but today is the day for you to rise up and go forth! You now what happens when you sleep for to long? It takes all of your energy! Have you ever slept so long that you felt worse when you actually got up! You just got too much sleep! My friend you have been sleeping for too long!! Wake UP!

We have to be careful who is around us speaking into our lives! When you allow the wrong people to speak into your life they can declare you dead! They can already have your obituary wrote up and printed in the paper. When we allow the wrong people to speak into our lives they can get us to stop believing what the word of God says. That is why Jesus removed everyone when he went to the house of Jairus. Everyone was put out of the room except for those people that had faith to believe! He did not need those in the room that were going to be weeping because they thought the girl was dead! Jesus did not need or want anyone in the room that was declaring she was dead. This shows us we have to remove some people from around us that are weeping and declaring that we are dead! It also lets us know that we need to place people around us that have the faith to believe that we are going to live!

So rise up my brother and sister! Don't allow your current situation to cause you to think you are dead! You are alive! You are blessed! You are going to go forth and do everything that God has predestined for you to do! You are going to rise up and declare the word of the Lord! My friend you are not dead you are sleeping! Wake up and go forth and do the things that God has purposed for you to do!

And it is so!

It is so important to get before God and just lift up one another. It is also just as important to get before God and just praise Him for His faithfulness! I am humbled and honored to be able to go before our Father God and touch and agree with you! So join me in going before God together on one accord!

Father God I come before you magnifying and exalting your holy name! Father I thank you for this day! I thank you for this set time. A set time to come together on one accord before our Father and cry out and intercede for one another! Father you are so worthy of all the glory and honor. Father I come before you this day to just lift up my brothers and sister in Christ. Father show yourself mighty in our lives in the mighty name of Jesus! I thank you that no weapon that is formed against us will be able to prosper and every tongue that rises against us will be condemned! We praise you for that promise in the mighty name of Jesus!

I ask that you would lead, guide, and direct us in the way that you desire for us to take. Make the way plain in the mighty name of Jesus. Father I ask that you would create in us a clean a heart and renew a right spirit within each of us. Father we desire to be closer to you. You said those that diligently seek you will find you! So Father we come earnestly seeking you! You said that if we knock the door would be opened for us so Father we come knocking today! We come with one purpose and that is to be in the presence of our Daddy! We desire to hear from you Lord. You said those that have an ear let us hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying! So speak Lord! We will choose this day to lay aside every weight and every hinderance that will come and try to distract us from hearing from you! Father move like only you can and draw us closer in love!

I pray for marriages right now God. I pray that you would knit husbands and wives together like never before. I pray that you would rekindle passion within marriages! Father allow marriages to be a reflection of your greatness of your mercy and of your love! I pray that there will be unity in marriages in the name of Jesus!

I pray for singles. I pray that you would lead them in what you desire for them to be doing in this season of their lives. Father I pray that you would place a hedge of protection around your singles! Continue to pour wisdom and revelation into them!

I pray for children. I pray that our children will be lights shining bright for you even in their youth. I pray that our children will cry out to you even in their youth! I thank you that you are hiding your word in their hearts! They will be brought up with fear and admonition of the Lord in the name of Jesus!

I pray for men as a whole that you would show them who they are in your eyes. They are mighty men of valor! I speak favor over men so that wherever you lead them they shall be prosperous! Father I thank you for the warrior spirit that you are creating in your men! Thank you Father for equipping your men for the battle in the mighty name of Jesus!

I pray for women as a whole. I pray that you would reveal who they are in your eyes. They are women of virtue! Father I thank you that women will know their worth and not rely on anyone to validate them! You alone are the one who lifts up our head and who has redeemed us! Father we thank you that we will be quick to listen and slow to speak in the mighty name of Jesus!

Father God thank you for the authority through and in Christ Jesus to be able to declare a thing according to your word and it is so! I declare in the mighty name of Jesus that because of the Holy Ghost dwelling on the inside of us we are going to be environment changers! Just our very presence because of who you are in us is going to create an atmosphere pleasing to you! We are going to pull down strongholds in the name of Jesus. Generational curses are going to be severed in the name of Jesus! Father we declare healing and deliverance right now in the name of Jesus! By Jesus' stripes we are already healed and we declare that healing! You are the God that heals us! You are the great physician! And we thank and praise you in advance for out healing! We thank you for liberty in Jesus name!  Liberty to be free to praise you! Liberty worship you! Liberty to live a life pleasing to you in the mighty name of Jesus! Father we count it as done and we rejoice in the mighty name of Jesus Amen!

Your Character is what Sustains you!

I am amazed sometimes at what happens when a person gets a title. It is easy for a title to allow you to get beside yourself. We have to remember that a title does not make you, but it can break you! We have to stay humble and not allow our flesh to be glorified! No flesh can glory in the presence of God. That is not my thoughts but that is the word of God!  "So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God."~1Corinthians1:29 At the end of this scripture in the Message version there is an awesome statement! "If you are going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God!" Let your character speak for you. Be reminded today that your character is what is going to sustain you!

Our gifts and our talents can take us far in life, but our character is what is going to sustain us! We have to be rooted and anchored in Christ. We have to know that God alone is our shield and our buckler! God is the one who lifts up our head. Our title is not going to get us into Heaven. The way we live, the way we did not live, what we did behind closed doors, and those secret thoughts are what is important! We have to be reminded that it is what we do when we don't think anybody is listening or watching that shapes our character. What we do when we think no one is watching is who we really are. We all can appear to have it all together. We all know just the right time to lift our hands. Many of us know just the right time to shout amen! Many of us have perfected the "deep and serious" sanctified look! The important question is how is our character? Will our character sustain us?

Too many times we want to be the mirror holder and we don't want to look in the mirror. We have to ask God to show us who we are in Him. When you know who you are, you also know who you are not! It is time to get our character right. It would be a shame to prophesy in the name of Jesus, to heal the sick, to see your brother or sister receive Christ, to see people delivered but to end up falling back yourself because your character and who you are in Christ did not sustain you! I heard an amazing story at a conference recently. There was a man who had a thriving ministry. He had many followers and one day he saw a picture of a mom holding her dead baby. The baby had died from starvation. The guy said, "There must not be a God, because if there was he would not have let this baby die." The more man elevated him the farther he got from God. He got to the point that he no longer had a relationship with God. He was seeing people be healed. He was seeing signs and wonders, but his character and who he knew God to be was not anchored in Christ. His character did not sustain him. What we know to be true shapes our character!

One of the definitions of character is moral or ethical strength. As followers of Christ we have to strive daily to live a life that is marked by these two traits. Be reminded that we are held accountable not just for what we say but also for what we do not say. We are accountable for what we do and for what we do not do. A lot of times we can be so focused on what we are not doing that we forget to do the things that God called us to do. When God places gifts inside of us, we are to use those gifts for His glory. When we do not use the gifts that God gave us for His glory, we choose to not walk in our purpose. When we choose to not walk in our purpose long enough, our character will start to be broken down. Everything will be about me, my, and mine instead of about the Kingdom.  Remember my friend that your character is what is going to sustain you!

Praise God today for your Victories that were Clothed in Defeat!

It can be easy to look at a closed door as a bad thing. It is easy to think that a closed door is a sign of defeat. When we are really wanting what is on the other side of a door and we do not have access to it, we can get discouraged. In my time of reflecting on God's greatness today I ran across a journal entry from April 2009 and when I say it blessed me that is what I mean. I wrote it before corporate morning prayer and it spoke to me today 3 years after God deposited it in me. I wrote, "I thank you for every victory and for the victories that were clothed in defeat! For I know because I am in you I am made victorious in everything I do." Now that right there makes me want to stop typing and go back to praising God for His faithfulness! In order to praise God for what we see in the natural as defeat we have to be confident in who God is in our lives.

We have to remember that God is responsible for the open doors as well as the closed doors! His word declares that He will open a door that no man can shut and He will also close doors that no man can open! This lets us know that it is God alone that is responsible for those closed doors. It could mean that it is not time to go through that door or this could mean that what is behind this door is not for you my friend. We have to get to a place in Him where we can rejoice over what we see as set backs. Rejoice over what you see as a denial! Rejoice over what you see as a failure! Rejoice over what you see as a detour! Rejoice over your victory that is clothed in defeat!

Thank God for the plans that did not come to pass! Thank God for the rejection that you faced that brought you to the place that you are in Him now! Thank God for the friends that He moved out of your life! Thank God for the job that you did not get! Thank God for the house that you did not qualify for! Thank God for the promotion that you did not get! Thank God for the heartache you had to endure! Thank God for every "no" that you have received! Thank God for your victory that was clothed in defeat! Again think it not strange that certain things or people were removed from your life. Also think it not strange that certain things or people were not placed in your life at certain times.

I am going to leave you with one of my favorite scriptures. We know this scripture but now we have to stand on this scripture! "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."~Jeremiah29:11 We each have an expected end! We can live off of that promise for the remainder of the year! We can get so caught up in the beginning portion of this scripture that we do not take God at His promise that we each have an expected end! We serve a faithful God! So I encourage you today my friend to praise God for your victories that were clothed in defeat!

Do everything you put your hands to as unto the Lord!

Do you know someone who is always complaining? Do you know someone who is always arguing or questioning why things have to be done a certain way? If you do not know a person like this, ask yourself am I this person? Are you always arguing and complaining about the task or tasks that you do? When we do everything as unto God we will not complain. When we do everything as unto God we will not argue. What does the bible say about complaining you ask? It declares, "Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless."~Philippians2:14-16 Now this verse right here should help each of us stop and take a real good look at ourselves! It should also encourage us to stop complaining.

When you do everything that you put your hands to as unto the Lord, you will not need praise or validation from man or woman. When we do everything as unto the Lord, we will feel confident that we are shining like bright stars for Christ. In doing everything as unto the Lord, we know that our work is not in vain. What a shame it would be to know that all of the work that we have did was in vain. Just because we put the Lord's name behind something does not mean it is honoring unto Him! We have to check our motives. Are we making sure that we are not complaining about what we are doing for Christ? We have to live this scripture: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."~Colossians3:23-24

My two oldest children have very different personalities. My son Jeremiah will do whatever I ask him, but there will always be something that he will say about it. Like if I tell him to bring me the remote control he will say, "I do everything or I bring you everything." He will complain about it so even though he does it, it takes away the smile he would have gotten if he would have just got up and did what I asked him to. Now my baby girl Jasmine, she is a different story. If she knows that I like to wear my slippers when I get home from a long day she will immediately go and get my slippers. She gets the biggest smile because she did it because she wanted to not because she wanted to be praised or because I asked her to. The same is true in the body of Christ. Many of us sing in the choir, help with the children's ministry, are greeters in the house of God, are ushers, or are preachers, but we are complaining about doing it. We are not doing it because we know there is a need and we have the capacity to meet that need.

Today make up in your mind that each and everything that you do you are going to do it as unto the Lord. Declare you are going to operate out of a spirit of excellence! If you are cleaning the house you are going to do it as unto the Lord. If you are dropping your children off at school you are going to do as unto the Lord. If you are singing in the choir you are going to do it as unto the Lord! Today my friend make up in your mind that your work will not be in vain. Make up in  your mind that you are not going to be running this race just for fun! Be faithful over the few things that are required of you without complaining! Don't you want to hear the most amazing words possible? Well done thy good and faithful servant! Now go forth and do everything you put your hands to do as unto the Lord! 

A house divided can not stand!

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to complete a task even if it is picking out a vacation spot or what movie to watch for family time when no one can get on the same page? It is extremely difficult. Now imagine if everyone was always for themselves in every aspect of life. Wouldn't it be hard to get anything accomplished if it was every person for themselves? There is so much power in unity. There is so much power in being on one accord. "Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?"~Amos3:3 Great things can be accomplished when two come together and do what God has directed them to do. The word of God reminds us that if two are gathered in His name He is there in their midst! "For where two or three gather together as my followers,[a] I am there among them.”~Matthew18:20 I don't know about you but that is where I want to be.

A house divided can not and will not stand! "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand."~Mark3:25 We have to understand that this applies to any house. This applies to our spiritual house. As believers of Christ our bodies are His temple. "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."~1Corinthians6:19-20 That means we can not confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and continue to feed our flesh with foolishness through what we watch, what we hear, and what we do. A house divided can not stand applies for our church house. We can not allow foolishness to cause us to be divided. We can not be mad at sister Jones because she always wears hats and you can't see the choir because of it. We can't be mad at brother Ross because he claps off beat. We can't get mad at the preacher because you were hoping to be at lunch by a certain time and when they preach it always take forever in your mind. A house divided can not stand applies to our natural homes. There can not be strife against the husband and wife. Or against brother and sister. There has to be unity or the house will be divided and will eventually be destroyed!

There is so much power in coming together on one accord. Coming together with one voice is powerful. Coming together with one agenda is powerful. When we come together with a common purpose and that purpose is to exalt the name of Jesus mountains will be moved and strong holds will be pulled down. When we come together and are all on one accord with a made up mind that if God said it we believe it and that settles it we will see God move like never before! When we rise up and uplift our brother and our sister with the love of Christ, God will be glorified and the house of God will be transformed into what He desires for it to be. When the body of Christ gets on one accord we will see the miracles, the signs, and the wonders that the Bible speaks so clearly of.

It is time my friend for us to be on one accord and be about our father's business! It is time to lay aside foolishness and any and everything that would cause us to be divided against one another! It is time to go forth with boldness in love and declare that you will uplift your sister and brother. Declare that you will stand in the gap for your neighbor. It is time to lay a firm foundation in Christ Jesus so that when the storms come and when the trials come your house will stand! It is time my friend to rise up to where Christ desires for us to be. It is time out for selfish gain. We can not and will not do all that God desires for us to do all by ourselves! It is time to yoke up with other believers and call upon the name of Jesus and move when he says move and stand when He says stand! A house divided can not stand, but a house rooted and anchored by the word of God will flourish in the knowledge of Christ! Remember a house divided will eventually lead to a house that is destroyed!

We must Check ourselves so we can be a vessel of Honor for the King of Kings!!

I remember the lyrics to a song from a while back. The lyrics are, "Check yourself before you wreck yourself." Oh how many of us are living wrecked lives because we are not accountable to anyone? How many of us are living as if tomorrow is promised? It is time to stop taking a look to our left and to our right and a time to take a look in the mirror. A long look. A look that will cause us to walk away and make some changes for the glory of God. Our mirror my sister and my brother is the word of God. It is time to be a living, breathing, walking, and talking witness for God. It is time to check ourselves my friend. No one knows the day or the hour in which it will be our last day on earth. How do we know what our life will be like tomorrow? We don't know! "Your life is like the morning fog it’s here a little while, then it’s gone."~James4:14 It is time to check ourselves!

We can do many things each day. We can even do things that we feel are benefiting the Kingdom of God, but if we are doing them for selfish gain or to be seen of men it will be done in vain! All of our work will be null and void if it is coming forth from our flesh! I don't know about you but I do not want to be before God on the day of judgment and to be told to depart for He never knew me! “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"~Matthew7:21-23

It is time to check ourselves! We would not dare leave the house without taking a look in the mirror to make sure everything is looking right. We would not dare to leave the house barefoot and naked. We take the time to be clothed accordingly. Oh but we do not take the time to be clothed with the word of God. We can go about our days without taking the time to dig into the word so that the word can dig into us. How is it that we just throw ourselves together and go to the house of God? We don't take the time to pray. We don't take the time to read. We don't take the time to fast. We don't take the time to meditate on His goodness and His mercy. We don't take the time to ask God to clean our hands and purify our hearts. God is not pleased! We need to check ourselves!

From this day forward we must check ourselves. How do I check myself you ask? What is my measuring stick? My friend we check ourselves by getting in the word! "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."~2Timothy2:15 Do you know someone that knows the Bible front to back but there is not root in them? They can quote scripture but they are not living scripture. We have to be careful to not just know the word but to do what the word says to do. We don't want to be forever learning but never knowing the truth! So make up in your mind today that you are going to check yourself so that you can be a vessel of honor for the King of Kings every day of your life!!

When you know who you are in God, no one can take that from you!

I was watching a Madea movie around the holiday season. The movie was the Christmas play that came out on DVD this year. One of the lines stood out to me and spoke so much truth and just kept ringing in my spirit. "A lie has no power unless we  believe it! The same is the same for truth it has no power unless we believe it!" You are fearfully and wonderfully made but unless you believe that truth to be true then you will not see yourself that way. You will believe every lie from the enemy and see yourself as less than. The lies from the enemy will have power because you believe them. The word of God declares that each one of us are marvelous. "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.~Psalm139:13-14

There may have been a time when someone told you that you would not make anything of yourself. There may even be someone now telling you these lies. Maybe a loved one, a close friend, a teacher, or a person who played a significant role in your life told you that you were not going to make it. They told you that you were going to be just like your mom or just like your dad. The sad truth is many of us tell ourselves that we are less than enough. We whisper to ourselves in the midnight hour that we are not worthy of the call of God. Do not believe these lies anymore. Today is the day for you to say I will believe the truth. I will believe the word of God. Declare that generational curses will be severed. Declare that everything that is contrary to the word of God will not be any more in your life. Declare with authority that you are who God says that you are! The problem is many of us do not know our true identity. It is easier for us to believe a lie than to believe the truth. Who does God say that you are? Are your thoughts lining up with who God's word says you are? When it lines up it does not matter what anyone else tells you is the truth. The word will always stand! The word says that many things will pass away but His holy word will remain! "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."~Luke21:33

So who does God say we are. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus! "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."~Romans8:37 We are justified and redeemed! "And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."~Romans3:24 We are friends of God! " I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."~John15:15 We are new creations in Him! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!"~2Corinthians5:17 We are free from bondage! "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."~John8:36 And we are so much more in Christ. Take the time today to get in the word and find out who you are in Him.

It is not enough to know who the word says we are! We have to believe who the word say that we are! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are marvelous in God's eyes! You are equipped with everything that you need for this walk of faith. It does not matter what anyone says about you or to you! You declare from this day forward that you will speak life over yourself! That you will believe that you are God's masterpiece! No one can take that away! I love that the anointing comes from God. It can not be bought or taught. It is breathed from God and flows through us by the Holy Spirit! So know who you are in Christ! Know who you are in Christ so you do not compare yourself with your brother or you sister! Your gift will make room for you. What another awesome promise from God. We do not even have to make room for ourselves! We don't even have to say a word! Let your gift, your talent from God make a way for you! "A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men."~Proverbs18:16 When you know who you are in God, no one can take that from you!

This Distraction is not a Detour! Stay Determined!

This morning was quite an interesting morning. It started out like a normal morning and then turned into anything but normal. I made breakfast for my babies and seen Jeremiah off to school. My hubby came home from PT and when he got inside I went to pick up Jonathan from his high chair and low and behold there was poop everywhere. I mean everywhere. Me and my hubby immediately get as much poop off of him as we can and rush him to the bath. While my hubby is getting ready for work I am getting Jonathan all cleaned up and dressed. I then get Jazzy dressed. Then I tackle cleaning up the high chair. (Not a very fun job.) I drop my hubby off at work and then drive Jazzy to school. When I get to Jazzy's school I am greeted with a note on the door that the school is closed for today. See today is an Italian holiday. Without notice the whole morning is changed! Isn't life like that more times than not. We make plans and we have things all figured out and surprise things go completely different from our plans. Things come up, plans are changed, babies get sick, the weather is bad, the car is acting funny and boom  there is a distraction that will cause you to decide if you will keep straight or make a detour!

A lot of times we get in a rush. We get in a hurry and we do not take the time to pray about our days. We do not take the time to seek guidance from God concerning our day. Then there are the times when there are unexpected things that come up and force us to deal with them before we can move forward. Things come up and if we are not careful we will cause our distraction to detour us. We have to stay determined. The word declares that we are to "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."~Proverbs16:3 When we commit something we turn it over. The word does not say commit "some" things to God. The word says commit whatever you do to God! It does not just stops there God gives us a promise He lets us know that when we commit our ways to Him He will in return establish our plans.

Proverbs16:3 can make you feel like you can accomplish anything and that is a great attitude, but we must understand that it is just not about our plans. The word also lets us know that "You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail."~Proverbs19:21 That means we have to take the time to get in the word and take time to listen to what God is leading and telling us to do. Sometimes we can feel as if the little things do not matter to God. We can feel as if there is no need to consult God about "every" aspect of our life. This is untrue my friend. God wants us to trust and rely on Him for everything in our lives. God is waiting to hear from you.

We have to get to a place in Him that God is the first thing we think about when we open our eyes in the morning and the last thing we think about when we close our eyes at night! Again my friend we have to put our full trust in Him. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,and he will show you which path to take."~Proverbs3:5-6 What an awesome way to live, not depending on our own understanding but trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts! When we do this we will have full confidence that we are going the right way. We will have full confidence that no matter what the distraction is we are going to remained focused!

Distraction are going to come my friend. We have to be so rooted in Him that we know that it is a distraction and not a detour! Don't turn around, don't make a left, or a right. Stay on the path that God has you on. If you are not sure if you are on the right path get to praying, get to fasting, and get to being quiet before God so you can hear the voice of our Daddy. Make up in your mind today that you may have been distracted for a moment but it is not a detour! Declare that you are still determined to do just what God told you to do!

Stay Focused and keep pressing forward!

Have you ever been distracted while driving? Something on the side of the road may have caught your attention. Or maybe something inside of the car caught your attention. For a split second you took your eye off of the road and oops you either landed into the other lane or hit the curb. One morning when I was driving Jeremiah to school I took my eyes off of the road for a second and in that second I was pretty close to the ditch. I was too close for my comfort to be exact. There was another time years ago when I reached back to get Jasmine's pacifer and landed in a deep ditch. Again it just took a second to take my eyes off of the road and I landed in a big ditch. If you have ever been in a ditch you know this is not a good place to be. I was in a ditch in the country in a big SUV. I was in trouble and I had to wait on help to get me out. Oh but if I would have just kept my eye on the road.

The same is true for our spiritual walk it does not take much to distract us and get our eyes off of Jesus. Oh but when we take our eyes off of Jesus we can land ourself in a spiritual ditch. A spiritual ditch is not a very good place to be. Not only is it not a very good place to be it can be hard to get out of a spiritual ditch! So we need to be sure to keep our eyes focused on God. When things, people, and circumstances come and try to get your eyes off of God don't let them! Make up in your mind that you will stand on the word of God. "I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward."~Philippians 3:13-14 (Amplified)

The key to Philippians 3:13-14 is not just pressing but forgetting those things that are behind us. How are we to reach ahead and strive to be all that we can be in Christ if we are still looking behind us? Have you ever seen anyone running a race win that kept turning around and seeing what or who was behind them? I have not. When I was a little girl I use to love running the track with my dad. He taught me at a young age that in order to run to my full ability that I could not look back. I always wanted to know how close he was to me, but when I kept my eyes focused on the finish I ran with so much more speed and determination. In our walk with Christ we can not focus on the former things. We have to stay focused and press our way forward!

If you do not take anything else away from this blog today take away the fact that it is not enough to stay focused on God. We have to stay focused and keep moving forward in Him. It is not enough to get in our car and put the destination in our GPS. We have to drive where it tells us to drive. If we just sit in the car put in the destination and wait to magically arrive we will be very disappointed. My friend it is not going to happen. The same is true with our walk with Christ. We can not just read the word and not be doers of the word. We can not hear from God on what direction we need to take and not go forth in what He directs us to do. If we don't stay focused and press forward we will never get to the place in Him that He desires us to be! Stay focused brothers and sisters and keep pressing forward!

Who do you say God is?

Who do you say that I am? That is quite an interesting question isn't it? When you are intimate with someone you expect their response to be different from everyone else. You expect for them to know who you are without a shadow of a doubt. If I was to ask a stranger, "Who do you think I am." I am sure I would get all kind of answers. That is kinda the same way it is in the body of Christ. There are too many in the body of Christ who do not know who God is for themselves. They do not know who He is without a shadow of a doubt. They go off of what they heard or what they read, but not what they have encountered or experienced!

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them,“Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”~Mark8-27-29  I love how Jesus started out by asking the disciples, "Who do the people say that I am?" After He heard some of the responses He asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter responded, "You are the Messiah!" That brings me to this question again, "Who do "you" say that God is?" Who is He to you? Do you know with out a shadow of a doubt who He is in your life? Are you able to answer with confidence of who He is? Is your answer based off of who your husband, wife, mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, or neighbor says that God is? Do you know who God is for yourself?

Do you know that He is the great I am? Do you know that He is the prince of peace? Do you know that He is the alpha and omega? Do you know that He is a way maker? Do you know that He is the way, the truth, and the light? Do you know that He is a mind regulator? Do you know that He has all power in His hands? Do you know that He is the bright and morning star? Do you know that He is the author and finisher of our faith? Do you know that in Him we live, move and have our being? Do you know that He is a refuge? Do you know that He is a strong tower? Do you know that He is a fence all around us everyday? Do you know that He can do all things but fail? Do you know that He can not lie? Do you know that His joy gives us strength? Who do you say God is?

His word declares that God is an ever present help in the time of trouble! "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."~Psalm46:1 Ever present lets us know that He is always there. He reminds us in His holy word that He will never leave us nor forsake us! Be strong and courageous. "Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”~Deuteronomy31:6 What an awesome promise from God! He does not stop there y'all. God goes on to let us know that no matter where we are He will be there with us. Don't take my word for it. It is in His holy word. David lets us know no matter how high or low we are God is there.  "If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there."~Psalm139:8 How encouraging it is to know what the word says that God is!

Don't let your experiences with God be based on someone else. Don't allow the only encounters that you have had with God be the ones that you have read or heard about! Take the time today to dig into His word and find out who He is for yourself. Take the time to ask Him to consume you with His love and compassion. His word declares that He is a consuming fire. I don't know about you but I have never met anyone who has been consumed with fire and not been changed. I don't know anyone who has been consumed by fire and not walked away with a testimony! I don't know anyone who has been consumed with the fire of God and not known for themselves who God is! Let today be the day that God shows you even more of who He is. Let today be the day that causes you to ask yourself, "Who do I say that God is?"

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!

Have you ever asked yourself where did that come from? Where did that thought come from? Where did that negative outlook come from? Where did that dislike for someone come from? I mean Susie or Billy did not do anything to you and for some reason you just don't like them. You can't stand him or her. You do not want to be around them. You have went as far as to say, "I don't know what it is but it is just something about them that rubs me the wrong way!"Have you ever said that? Have you ever thought that way? ( I'm not talking about discerning something about that person.) I am talking about having jealousy, envy, or strife towards a person.  If so then let's see where those thoughts and words come from. In order to do better we must know better! People are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.

The word of God lets us know that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks! So the thoughts that we have will eventually come out of our mouths. What crosses our minds will eventually come out of our lips! The thing that we think nobody will know about our dislike for something or someone will eventually come forth! Let's see what the word says about this. "You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."~Matthew12:34(Message) Our words are powerful but just where do those words come from? They come from our hearts. We must guard our hearts with all vigilance. "Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.Keep your eyes straight ahead;  ignore all sideshow distractions.Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust."~Proverbs4:23(Message)

Have you ever been talking to somebody and the only thing they can talk about is somebody! There is no substance to the conversation. All they want to talk about is what so and so had on. Or why so and so had the nerve to have their hair that way. Don't let this draw you in. Don't let foolish talk cause a seed of bitterness to be planted in you! Don't do it. Don't allow it! For when that seed is planted in your heart it will cause foolishness to come out of your mouth. We have to remember out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Some say don't entertain foolishness. I say let your light so shine before them that they glorify your father in Heaven. When you run in to someone that just wants to gossip about someone season the conversation with Godly wisdom. And if you are the one always with something negative to say about your brother or sister cut it out!

We have to be careful of what words we are speaking."Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]."~Proverbs18:21(Amplified) One thing we know for sure is that we are going to eat the fruit of our words. Wouldn't you rather eat the fruit of words that were positive and brought life to yourself, your brother, and your sister? You have the power today to choose to speak life! You have the power today to uplift and edify your brother and sister. So let's get to uplifting! It is time for us to guard our hearts with all diligence for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!

New Year equals New Beginning!!

Wow it is hard to believe that is 2012! Last year went by so fast. I encourage you as I encourage myself to live this year to the fullest on purpose! It is so easy to rush through the day. Then we will rush through the week. Then we end up rushing through the month and before we know it the year is almost over. There is a lot of work to be done brother's and sister's! But we can not do this work if we are rushing through the "now"! So starting today live your life on purpose! The key is not your purpose but God's purpose! Not your will but the will of our God! Take your time to enjoy the present. Take time to enjoy the now.

It is time to forget those former things! Forget how things use to be or how things use to not be! And press forward into your "new" day! “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.~Isaiah43:18-19 Now that is a word to stand on! That is a mighty promise of God! We can not dwell on the past! God is doing a new thing! He asks us do you not perceive it? Can you not tell that God is doing something fresh? Can you not feel that He is moving in a mighty way? Take the time to ask God to lead and guide you in every aspect of your life! Stop holding back certain things from God. He wants to make a new way for you to take. A new path, a new trail, and new journey! Won't you let Him lead you and guide you!

Every time the new year comes it is easy to make new years resolutions. Have you noticed how easy it is to break those resolutions? It is just like going on a diet. A diet is temporary. But a lifestyle change is permenant. Wouldn't you rather make a lifestyle change? Wouldn't you rather stop holding on to the former things and the former ways of doing things? It is time to rise up and run forth! We have been equipped with everything we need for this journey. It is now time to activate the faith that we have by being doers of the word and not just hearers of the word! So don't make up in your mind that you will be better! Make up in your mind that you will be renewed, transformed, and conformed into who God has created you to be! You can not, I can not, no one can do it on their own!

You have to speak life and victory over yourself! You have to declare that this is a new year and you no longer are going to dwell on the past! You are going to forget the former things! You are going to strive for all that God has for you! Declare you are going to move when God says move! Declare that you are going to stand when God says stand! Declare that you are going to take God at His word! It is time to walk in the power, anointing, and authority that God has created us to walk in. Not just some of the time, but "all" of the time! Take your rightful place today. Live in today! Stop relying on yesterday's successes! God wants to do a new thing. Won't you let Him?

New Year equals new beginnings! New revelations, new manifestations, new opportunities to experience a mighty move of God. This year is going to be a year full of the unthinkable. This year is gonna be full of new things but only if you choose to break free from the bondage of tradition! Who  needs frozen success? We need to allow the true and living God to do a new thing in our lives and in the body of Christ in a whole, but it can only take place when we forget those former things! God is doing a new thing can't you perceive it?