Tired of Trying....

The past two months, I’ve been trying.  Trying to help the best I can with love ones. I’m trying to play peace maker with family members.  I’m trying to be understanding with situations.  Giving when I really don’t have it like that.  Has anyone been there?

The truth is trying can be draining.  There are moments when I just break down and cry, as I feel so helpless.  I am doing all I know how to do and yet feel like I am hitting a brick wall.  Such things like anger, frustration, guilt, sorrow all comes to my emotions.

Yet should we stay being controlled by our emotions?  The word says to stand.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13).

 Stand therefore, having your lions with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14).

So I will yet stand…in the midst of feeling drain, in the midst of feeling angry, in the midst of feeling sorrow, I will yet stand.

So I encourage all that may find themselves in a period of trying to yet stand.  As I encourage you, I encourage myself!  Let’s continue to know our worth; not only as women, but as women of God as well.

Is Turning Back REALLY the Answer?

Reflecting back when the news broke out that Bishop Eddie Long was involved in a homosexual scandal, I remember thinking oh no, how can this be?  Then came such comments like:

“See, that’s why I don’t go to church because of stuff like that.”

“How can he be a pastor of a church and doing stuff like that?”

“That’s why you should just do what you want because the church ain’t living ____.”

Galatians 5:7

You were running a good race.  Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

Let’s marinate on the scripture for a minute!  Why do we let another human being actions cause us to turn our backs on true love, peace, joy, strength, encouragement, anointing-our God?

Psalms 118:8

It is better to trust upon the Lord It than to put confidence in man.

The truth is just because a person gets saved doesn’t mean they don’t still yet need deliverance.  Our salvation is a lifelong process, not a one shot deal.  It hurts when a brother or sister cause you pain.  It can be devastating.  Yet that person is a human being, prone to make mistakes.  We have all sinned and come short to HIS glory!

Proverbs 26:11                                                                                                                 

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

Marinate on that…do you really want to return back to your “vomit?”  Do you really want to give up experiencing peace in the midst of a storm, joy unspeakable, strength when weak, or encouragement when down?   What is fornication; drugs, excessive alcohol, and clubs are to you?  I call them substitutes.  They only give you a false sense of what you get from God for a short period of time.  And let me remind you, the devil substitutes aren’t cheap!

Church hurt is painful.  The wounds can be very deep!  Yet ask yourself is it really worth me turning my back on God just to return to my vomit?  What better way of the enemy than to get God’s people with church hurt?  You have to admit it’s an excellent strategy. However, instead of looking at the situation, see it as that person needing deliverance and pray for them.  So what does the word tells us to do in these situations?

Matthew 18:15-17

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen to the church, treat him as you would and pagan or a tax collector.

The best thing to do is try to talk these things out and if things can’t get resolved, keep your distance and keep praying for them.  I myself at 19 didn’t do this.  Instead I caught an attitude and turn my back on God.  The peace I took for granted was gone and it felt horrible!!  It took me two years just to feel His presence again. I do not take it for granted anymore, as not everyone gets to experience HIS presence.    So the next time you may be entertaining the thoughts of backsliding ask yourself, is it really the answer???

Can We Endure Correction....

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.   Romans 7:18-20

Let’s pause for a minute on those scriptures.  Selah.  How many of us can relate to what Paul is saying here?  The battle of the spirit vs. the flesh is real!  It is a constant battle even for us in the body of Christ.

 For example, you have a disagreement with a co-worker, how many of us can say you rather cuss that person out than to still show the love of God to them?  You know you are married, but he/she looks so good that your flesh just desires to have that other person.   How about you are home alone and you know you shouldn’t be looking at porn by yourself, but you’ll sexually arouse and hey, no one will see you looking at it.

Here’s another thought: 

Proverbs 15:3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.  

Yes, God sees us.  He sees us when we are in the right and He sees us when we are in the wrong!  He sees what we are doing behind those close doors!

 Revelations 3:19

I correct and discipline everyone I love.  So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 

Meditate on that for a moment….

When God is correcting our ways, why do we get mad at Him?  Why can we come up with excuses when He shows us the truth about ourselves?  For instance, I confess I have asked God why certain things have to be considered a sin.  Don’t you know this is 2011?  Yes, I have said it. 

The truth is we all want to cater to our flesh.  Catering to our spirit man crucifies the flesh, and let’s face it, it hurts when we are being dead to sin!  Yet knowing that God is only correcting because He loves, it should makes us want to do right by Him.

John 14:15

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

I come to find that we can’t just confess our love for God, but we must also show our love towards Him.  As we all have quoted “actions speak louder than words” towards each other, how much more so towards our walk in Christ!

Psalms 29:11

The Lord will give strength unto His people.  The Lord will bless His people with peace. 

Some can be prayed out, some can be word out, and some need prayer, fasting, and God’s word.  What a blessing it is to know that we can call on Him for help with our weaknesses and in return, He will give us strength.  Saints, the world need us to be powerful!  Let’s get our love walks right by confession, repentance, and then seeking His face for change.  Let’s not stay in our flesh with our weaknesses.  It will only lead to spiritual death.  I am learning there is a freedom in obedience, but the road to get there is mighty hard to follow.   Let’s appreciate His correction which is His love!  Stay encouraged.

Are We Keeping It Real....

I woke up a little late so I found myself flying to early morning church service.  It's just something about meeting God at the 6 o'clock in the morning hour. His presence is the best part of waking up :)

Yet, can we handle it when God tells us the truth about ourselves?  Pride, doubt, selfishness, rebellion...these are words describing sinners, right?  Of course these are not words you think of when you see a saint. 

We come to church and put our Sunday best on with one another. "Oh, I'm blessed and highly favored."  "Oh I'm victorious in Christ."  We are all dressing and saying the part, but are we REALLY living the part?  Let's dwell on that for a minute. 

We wonder why the world is so discourage when it comes to the church.  We wonder why the power of God isn't meeting us at our services.  We even wonder why we're not completely satisfied with our salvation.  At the end of the day, have the saints learned how to act out this thing?  Should we all be receiving academy awards for our performances?  Are we really "keeping it real" with our God?

These are questions that pounded my heart, as I was listening to the minister speak.  I haven't been "real" in everything to God.  I say Jehovah Jireh but then go into panic just over a thought of another car note, for an example.

Proverbs 22:4

Humility is the fear of the LORD,its wages are riches and honor and life.

Let's face it saints, we have to be humbled in our walk with God.  Put that "godly" pride aside, get the tissues, and be real.  It's in our weakness that He makes us strong!  It's in that honesty is where we will experience intimacy with Him.  And as the scripture says, that's when we will have true riches and honor and life.  Amen

A Thought...

There are times when I can look at my husband and know exactly what he's gonna say before he can even say it.  Sometimes we can be talking to one another in a setting without saying one word.  I sense when he can use me to give him that back rub or space from a long day. Sending me flowers cause its a Tuesday, intimacy.

As I reflect how intimate I am with my husband, I begin to wonder how intimate are we with our God? Do we truly give all to Him?  Is He the first person we think of when a problem arises.  Do we fast in a crisis or fast cause its a Tuesday?  How often to we set aside time to be alone with Him? Do we play a favorite gospel song just to think about Him?

Are we treating God like a genie in a bottle, or are we intimate with Him?  Hmmm

John 14:21

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

Do you want God to show himself to you?  Then its time for some intimacy!

Have Women Lowered Their Standards?

Let's go back to my parent's generation of music.  "You're the greatest, my greatest inspiration." Good old Teddy. Yet now, the lyrics in what is suppose to be a love song is quite different today.  What has happened from our parent's time until now?  Upon a conversation with my Uncle, I pondered upon this question within my heart.

There was a time when men showed respect towards women.  They spoke nothing but sweetness in our ears.  They reminded us how beautiful we were, and made us feel like we were number one in their world.  Yet today, I find some men are saying things like they just want sex, not a relationship. What is more disturbing is how some women are agreeing to this, only to get their emotions hurt at the end.  Hmm, Let's see if we can dig deeper into this.

Proverbs 18:22

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

Even the Lord said we are a good thing.  Then why are we as women not acting accordingly?  Maybe it was abuse, maybe it was low self-esteem, maybe you were taught sexuality is the way to a man.  It's time to get a release from emotional pains of the past that maybe hindering our present and future!

John 4:13-26...

I am reminded of the Samaritan woman and how clever Jesus ministered to her.  She had affairs with five husbands.  Yet our God let her know they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  He showed compassion on an adulterous woman and sent his truth, as He is truth.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.

The same God that showed compassion towards the Samaritan woman is the same God that can heal your emotional wounds.  So I ask you, call on Jehovah Rophi, the Lord our healer.  He doesn't just heal physically, but emotionally.  He is here to help you release the emotional baggage you have been carrying around for years.  Sex can't do it, a man can't do it, only Jesus Christ can meet your needs.  He can restore your soul. He can help you realize your worth!

Psalms 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"--and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

You don't have to lower your standards just to feel complete with a man.  You don't have to dress lustful to get a man.  You don't have to be having sex just to feel loved.  Jesus Christ is waiting for you to give your heart to him.  So I encourage you as women to know your worth!  Let's go back to demanding respect from men by respecting ourselves!  Amen.

* For those you may not know Jesus Christ and will like to give your life to Him, click on the link below. It's a sinner prayer.  I can guarantee you He will change your life for the better!

http://www.intothelight.org/answers/sinners-prayer.asp

The Spirit of Rebellion

"No, you can't wear that to school."  Remember those words when you were a teenager?  Oh, how we would roll our eyes and tell our friends how our moms just didn't understand us.  So behind their backs, we would put that makeup or that short skirt in our book bag, calling ourselves being cute. Yet the word is not void, what's done in the dark comes to light.  So we would all eventually get caught by our mothers, and reap the punishment that was to follow due to our rebellion.

The body of Christ is acting just like the rebellious phase of our youth. "It don't take all of that."  "I'm not doing that cause I'm free."  These are statements we hear many times within the body when it comes to doing something physical to crucify our flesh.  It appears today we rather cater more to our flesh than our spirit man.

James 1:25

But whoso look into the perfect law of liberty, and continue therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Are we really being doers of the word or just hearers only?  How many times do us women rebel against dressing modestly? We rather adorn our flesh to look like a harlot, and then wonder why we have a problem with men lusting after us.  We haven't spent anytime in prayer doing the week, and then wonder why His power is not falling within our services.  We barely spend personal time in His word, and then wonder why we yo-yo in our love walk.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Saints, we are in those times.  A spirit of rebellion has been lose in the atmosphere, even amongst the saints.   There is liberty in Christ, but as a doer of the word; not as a hearer only.  The same word that says you can look to the hills which comes our help, our help comes from the Lord; is the same word that says watch as well as pray.

Let's reap the blessings of obedience, even when it hurts our flesh.  If not, God grants free will and we will reap the consequences of rebellion.  Does the children of God that was delivered from Egypt ring a bell? Think.