A Thin Line

Many of us love talking about how God give second chances.  If I was to be honest, I am a witness to that as well.  Yet we tend to stop there as if we are giving an impression of as long as we repent, He will continue to forgive and give chances.   Just like there's a thin line in the natural where we become weary of someone doing us wrong over and over again, why would we think there isn't such a line with God?

The book of Lamentations is a short but serious book, as it shows how disobedience opens up the door to disaster in our lives.  O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause-3:59.  what does that tell you, that God yet judges for the wrong we do.  But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth (anger) against us-5:22.  What does that tell you, God can reject us in his anger.

We all love focusing on God's love, but we don't like to mention God's anger.  Yes, our God can be a angry God.   We can play with sin so much til the point we can be like Samson and don't even know that the Lord departed from us...Judges 16:20.   What causes that anger-sin.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God-Hebrews 10:31.

Saints I urge you don't cross that line with God because of the illusion of "all I have to do is repent" syndrome.  Is it true repentance if you keep doing it over and over?  Do not frustrate the grace of God!  Our Messiah is coming back!  Our hearts need to be ready for His return.  If we are having an issue, He tells us to come boldly to His throne-Hebrews 4:16.

Think about it, what do we do to a person that keeps doing us wrong over and over again, we eventually cut them off.  Continued sin will cut you off from God.  Don't get cut off saints.  Draw nigh unto Him while He maybe found!

selah

A Broken Heart

Years ago as a child watched their dad leave home to never come back.  He/ she can grow up either with the mindset of I will never do that, or it was done to me so I will do to you. That act set a course of a broken heart.

That boy/girlfriend we adored so much that we just knew they would be “the one”. Yet they cheated, an act one would think would never happen and it did.  The relationship once adored has ended, and now that action has set a course of a broken heart.

A parent has died and the grief can be at times unbearable.  It is a time where you think siblings will unite the most.  Yet that one sibling caused so much chaos at a time of vulnerability.  Their actions caused a separation and set a course of a broken heart.

That son/daughter that went on to fight for our country and their parents were filled with honor and pride over their child.  Yet that parent found their child never came back home, or they returned not to be the same.  Once what was looked upon as an honor has now turned into anger and dismay.  That act set a course of a broken heart.

How many of us is fine looking on the outside, but walking around with a broken heart?

A broken heart can make you say statements like “never again”, I’m done, or “I just give up”.

A broken heart can open up the door to depression, bitterness, anger, and defeat.

A broken heart can be a silent killer from within.

Psalm 147:3

He heals the broken in heart, and bind up their wounds.

Guess what, God is concern about our broken hearts.  He wants to heal them.  He wants to release that person that has never forgiven that dad for leaving.  He wants to heal that person that got damage by a relationship.  He wants to heal that person that may have experience a sexual assault.   He wants to heal all broken hearts.

See there is a freedom that comes upon our lives when we allow God to heal the deep wounds we have hidden from the outside.  It’s those deep wounds that can cause a hindrance in our growth with God.  He wants our hearts.  So I encourage you to give him your broken heart and let him heal in Jesus name.

I’ve come to the Realization

Our Christian journey is similar to our national journey.  In the natural, we all start off as babies, then grow to toddlers, then innocent children, then them terrible teens, to finally adulthood.   We have the same process in our Christian experience.  We all start out as babes, then the carnal minded stage, to eventually spiritual maturity.  We are to go from level to level, from glory to glory.

At the Tabernacle, there was the outer court, the inner court, and then the Holy of Holies.  The outer court is where we sometimes can get too comfortable staying.  Yet there is so much more to it our experience than that!  See once you know who you REALLY ARE IN CHRIST, you can go from begging God, to asking God, to decreeing in Jesus name.  See once we start growing in our walk with God, there are levels to reach that goes beyond what the carnal mind can see.

There is a place in God where you no longer ask what you need, you decree what you need.  There is a place in God where the angels are awaiting for your request so they can minister.  There is a place in God where the eternal become more real than the external eye can see. There is a place in God where you will even look at your trials as a learning tool and not a moment of defeat.  Do we truly believe Jesus died so that we can have eternal life? Do we truly believe we are to have life more abundantly?

Yet here’s the secret: holiness.

I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1

We are set apart. We are peculiar people.  We are to be different.  No, we can’t do anything, wear anything, or be a part of anything. We have to develop relationship with our God.  Not from our mind, but from our hearts. Let’s strive for more spiritually things and less material things.  Oh how I encourage you saints to get to know God from your heart. Whew, He will blow your mind!

Can't Get Enough

We all can relate to that feeling of being in love.  You remember:  how you could stare at that person all night, how you would laugh at that person jokes, how you couldn’t wait them to call or in today world video call.  The point is you just couldn’t get enough of their presence.  You longed to be around them when they weren’t around, and you hated leaving them when you had to go.  Oh the joys of being in love. 

Yet if we can feel like this in the natural, how much more it is to be in HIS presence! Selah

Psalm 139 is an interesting psalm of David….

7-10 Whither shall I go from the spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall they hand lead me, and they right hand shall hold me.

Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is present

I was feeling a pit down about some things, but instead of staying in misery I decided to go into HIS presence.

In HIS presence there is a peace that passes all understanding

In HIS presence there is a joy unspeakable

In HIS presence there is healing

In HIS presence there is strength

In HIS presence there is correction

In His presence there is guidance

There is something about being in HIS presence that words just can’t explain!  Saints, if you are feeling overwhelm, need direction, or simply some strength; I encourage you to get into HIS presence.  Be in love with our God.    Let’s can’t get enough of HIS presence.  It is a privilege and such an honor to have Jehovah Shammah-amen

Excuses

If we were to be honest, sometimes we just make excuses.  We make excuse on why we were late.  We make excuses on why we don’t exercise.  We make excuse on why we just had to have the latest thing in style.  Excuses are all over our world, even in the church.

We use excuses on why we didn’t pray.  We use excuses why we didn’t spend any personal time in His word.  Yes, we even make excuses with the way we dress.

Excuses, it sounds like an innocent word, but it can be causing so much damage in our spiritual life!

Just like we can die within a period of time without food or water, our spiritual man can die as well.  When was the last time you fed Him God’s word?  When was the last time you dedicated time of devotion with Him?  Oh, and I’m talking pass our Sunday morning services….selah

Saints, let’s stop allowing the devil to use what appears to be such an innocent word to devastate our spiritual lives. Remember our spirit man is depending on us!

Deception

You standing on a grocery store line and decide to browse through a magazine.  For some of us women, by the time we finish looking at these women who look so perfect in the picture, you pick up the woe is me spirit through the why can’t I look like that syndrome.

You’re on a fast because you realize there’s some crucifying of the flesh need and yet you can smell those McDonald fries a mile away.  You start thinking about them golden arches and how good those fries are, and the thought even comes to your head how you can just fast tomorrow because you gotta have those fries.

Let’s even take it back to Adam and Eve and how Satan made that piece of fruit look so appealing to Eve.

Deception…it’s everywhere!  It shows up on our TV’s, it shows up in our magazines, it can show up in our food, and it can even show up in our churches.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Saints, we have to guard ourselves from the spirit of deception, as it makes things appear to be more pleasurable than they really are. That spirit assists Adam and Eve’s fall from the Garden of Eden.  That same spirit can cause a spouse to commit adultery. That same spirit can make you think it don’t take all that with your spiritual walk. Deception…it can assist you straight to hell.  Selah.

The Power of Consistency

Sometimes my life can appear to be like a roller coaster. One day I am up, the next day I can be down.  In dealing with life’s hiccups, we can be tempted to get off track.  We KNOW who we are in Christ, but are we consistent? Selah

When we see a rainbow in the sky, we all marvel at its beauty. It’s interesting to see how the different colors all unite as one to create that rainbow.  Yet when we see that very same rainbow, it is a reminder of God’s covenant He made with us so many years ago.  We all can say that God has been consistent with that agreement!

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13.  (NIV)

Since we as His people strive to be Christ-like, part of God’s character is consistency. He expects us to be consistent in our obedience, our faithfulness, and even in our personal life. Imagine if our Savior wasn’t consistent, where would we be? Selah

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Psalm 33:1

I will be the first one to repent of my inconsistencies and ask God to grant me more grace in this area.  He’s calling for us to be consistent, especially in times when it may appear not to be so popular!  Stay encouraged!

I

When You Know

What does the characters Neil from the Matrix or Aragorn of the Lord of the Rings had in common?  They both started out not fully knowing who they really were!  They were toss to and fro due to their lack of knowledge.  Yet what happened once they came to know the truth about themselves?  They no longer had to run, they no longer had to fear because they came to know who they were-one was the chosen one while the other was a king.

Now I know these are fiction characters and these are movies some of us enjoy on our personal time, yet there is a vital message we as children of God can learn from.  See we too started out in our walk with God not knowing who we really are in His kingdom. We too find ourselves running from the enemy, walking in fear, being tossed to and fro.  This private war of a saint can cause some to walk away from the faith or walk around not fully being happy. Yet ask yourself is depression, sickness, lack, or unhappiness part of God’s kingdom? Marinate

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

See there is a season to act like a baby where everything is done for you by your parents.  Then there is a season of growth with childhood and adolescence. Finally we grow up to be adults.  Just like in the natural, there is a process in the spirit realm.  There is a season of not knowing, but then there comes that season where by consistent seeking Him; we come to know!

Romans 8:17

And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, so that we may be also glorified together.

We are heirs of God; therefore we have the right to all the benefits of his kingdom.  In his kingdom there is peace, joy, strength, health, prosperity, authority, correction, and revelation.  When we know who we really are in Christ, we don’t have to fear the enemy. He no longer has dominion over us!  Saints, it’s time for us to come to the knowledge of who we are in Christ.  Notice when Neil of the Matrix came to the knowledge that he was the chosen one, he didn't have to even dodge bullets anymore and barely use up energy to fight. Guess what, neither do we in the spirit realm for we have our Heavenly Father backing and Jesus name for our power!  So enjoy your inheritance of your Father and walk in your victory!

The Five Minute Syndrome

In the world of downloads, microwaves, Google, and a where a person can get a divorce within seventy-two hours, we have all gotten accustom to speedy results. Yes we have all enjoy this 21^st century lifestyle, but do this same quick fix mentality a reality in the spirit realm?

We pray for a healing and don’t receive it right away, what do you do?

We ask God to work out a situation and it seems to be pending, what do you do?

We want God to answer a question now but His response is wait, what do you do?

Truth…I was use to the quick answer responses from God.  The family I come from has no choice but to walk by faith.  So I will confess I got use to by His stripes I’m healed and bam, or I need this and bam. Yet came a time when my mother was in the hospital.  Several things were going on all at once.  Some prayers were the bams, and then came her situation with her leg…no bam.  We were praying, praying, and praying…no bam.  As a matter of fact there wasn’t even a release with it.  As the doctor called to tell me how they will have to amputate, my thoughts were did we sin, did we do something wrong, where’s the bam that I have gotten use to.  In the middle of me crying a river moment, you would think the Holy Spirit would say weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.  To my surprise the Holy Spirit said to me either you are going to believe God’s word or not.  I had to stop crying and marinate on that when it happened.  I decided to believe God’s word.  Yes, my mom had to proceed with the amputation, but I also watched how God delivered her out of that.  She is yet independent today.  She said something so valuable in the hospital one day.  She said you can touch my body, but you can’t touch my spirit.  Talk about a praise break right there.  God is yet a healer!

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The highlighted word there is wrestle.  The word wrestle means to take part in a fight, to struggle with a problem.

 

Truth…not every prayer is going to have that bam response.  Something’s we got to wrestle with!  So I encouraged my brother or my sister to roll your sleeves up and fight the enemy.  Get your helmet of salvation. Get your shield of faith. Get your feet shod in the preparation of the gospel of peace, and don’t forget your sword which is the word of God!  Believe the word and stand!  Satan’s kingdom is already defeated, so use your authority Christ died for you to have!   I encourage those that maybe discouraged by not seeing that bam response in their prayers to YET stand.  It could be He just wants to see will you yet believe. Selah…