TODAY’S INSPIRATION

“THE FLOWER THAT BLOOMS IN ADVERSITY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THEM ALL”

I have been going through some challenges lately. Physical challenges. I do not know about you, but it seems the closer your walk with God, the more the enemy will try and attack you. Because you are trying to walk hand in hand with Jesus, he can not touch you spiritually, so he will attempt to attack you physically, mentally, or financially. The devil will remind you of your mistakes, failures, and sins. He will tell you that because you have fallen short, you cannot receive your healing. He will accuse you, condemn you, and try to persuade you that you deserve everything you are going through. My mama said it would be days like this. But more importantly, Jesus also said we would go through times like these in this world. But He also said He had overcome the world. God said, “You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you” (Isaiah 54:14). The truth is that the devil cannot enforce anything in our life if our heart and soul is steadfast in faith and in the righteousness of Jesus.

Yet Curleen, this pain I feel is real. Don’t I know it! Let us talk about physical challenges and healing. Jesus said we are healed, and we know our God cannot lie. We must not forget that God did not say there would be no weapons formed, He said they would not prosper. So yes, the enemy will attack our body with symptoms. We will feel the pain. The doctors say you are sick. We will hear them. The test confirms we are sick. We will see them. What we are feeling, hearing, and seeing begins to affect what we are thinking. Then we speak it, I am sick. We pray for healing. Our family and friends pray for healing. Wait. What? Did not God say I was already healed? Did not Jesus shed blood on the cross for my healing? Whose report am I going to believe? This is the time to stand up and declare, because of Jesus’s finished work I am not trying to get healed, I am already healed! I will pray for the healing to manifest and I will pray for strength to endure the pain or whatever God’s will until it does. What I will not do is give in to the enemy and speak his lies. I do not care what it feels or looks like, I will stand on the victory ground which Jesus has given me. I am here to tell you, the doctors, the medications, can only work when you are believing and fighting from victory. I heard Pastor Prince say once, “It makes a world of difference when you fight from victory and not for victory!” I get it. I pray this helps someone. We are healed in the mighty name of Jesus!

Love and Blessings…

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) NIV

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) NIV

“no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” (Isaiah 54:17) NIV

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raise Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11) ESV

“What shall we then say to these thigs? If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) KJV

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57) NIV

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful of them all.” …Author Unknown

This morning as I read Philippians 4, I was reminded that we must stay humble, submitting our will to God’s will. We should ask for our specific needs according to His Word, and keep praying persistently even when we don’t see the results right away. We must have hopeful expectations that God is going to show up, no matter how long it takes. I had to encourage myself because sometimes the wait is hard. The pain is real, the hurt is real, whatever the situation or circumstances you may be going through is real. But God is realer. (I think I made that word up) But you get it, He is bigger than anything we may be going through. And we that love the Lord know that the wait is always worth it! So I ask you the same questions I asked myself. Did you pray believing your prayers would be answered? Do you trust God? Do you believe that your prayers are heard even though God may be building your faith by delaying a response? If you answered yes to all those questions, then don’t worry, all is well!

Love and Blessings…

Philippians 4:4-8

This morning my bed started shaking, actually the entire building. I didn’t know what was happening but I did not panic. I said what are You doing now Lord. I found out later it was an earthquake. The news said the strongest here since 1916. I don’t know but the Bible does say that before the Lord returns in judgment, world-wide chaos and disorder will increase. Jesus said that there will be wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various place. However, as Christians, we should not worry or be afraid. We should eagerly wait with anticipation for the return of Christ. Since we do not know the time or the hour, we should stay alert and prepared.The Bible clearly instructs us to be vigilant. We should seek God and submit to His will. We should live a life of purpose. We should continue to practice holiness and take every opportunity to do good, loving others wherever and whenever we can. If we do these things we can be at peace. Because we know the return of Christ will not be the end, but the beginning of the very best!
Love and Blessings…

“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 4-8)NIV

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)NIV

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:10-13)NIV

When we let our minds shape the state of our souls, we can become lost to who we are and whose we are. Whatever we allow to enter our mind, affects our soul. I do not know about you, but just about every day I face challenges that seek to destroy, confuse, and entangle my mind. I look at what is happening all around me in this dark and fallen world and fear tries to creep in. Covid-19, racism, injustice, circus politics, hatred, and panic. And then we must contend with our own life and challenges. It is enough to drive any sane person crazy! Some of you may be feeling depressed and overwhelmed right about now. You may feel like everything is out of control. The truth is it may be out of our control, but God has always and will forever be in control! Nothing in our personal life or what is happening in this world has caught God by surprise. We on the other hand can get overwhelmed by it all. We can become frightened by these uncertain times. The good news is we do not have to be if we keep our gaze on God. I am careful about what I watch and how much I watch the news on TV. Someone said they do not call the shows programs for nothing, that they program your mind and your way of thinking. I can see that happening if you sit there and watch the same negative things repeatedly. I am also intentional about how much time I spend on social media. Honestly, I do not understand how a person living their life, have so much time for social media. I realize now with the social separation it is a way for people to interact and that is great. I’m just saying do not get so caught up on other people’s lives to the point where you stop living yours. And please do not compare it to yours, you see what they want you to see! My spirit said someone needed to hear that. My main purpose on social media is to glorify God. Just four years ago I knew little about social media and I had no desire to. Then God told me to tell my story and to tell it on social media. I am so happy that after some resistance; I was obedient because it was the beginning of something greater! We must understand that satan has access to social media and TV. He gets mad when it is used to spread the Gospel, spread love, and to encourage one another. He loves it when it is used to spread lies, deceit, and hatred. I am not saying we need to be oblivious about what is going on around us, but we cannot let it consume us. (Lamentations 3:22). We must look to God for answers, not man. Scripture says we perish from lack of knowledge! (Hosea 4:6). It is important we know what is going on but just as important that we do not allow it to jeopardize our faith or shape the state of our mind and soul. (Romans 12:2) In spite of what is going on with me personally and what is happening around me, I will remain grounded in the Lord. I will keep my focus on God and my faith in Him knowing that despite what it looks like, He is in control! Someone once said, “Our faith is what connects our weakness to God’s power. You can see God’s signature everywhere around you once you learn to recognize His handwriting.” And that is how I stay grounded; I can recognize His handwriting. I know by faith that even though it may look and feel bad in the natural, God is working it out for my good! Knowing this gives me the peace I need to make it day by day. (John 14:27). However, faith that has not been tested or does not translate into action is no faith at all! (James 2:17). We should allow God to lead us and use us to do what we can to help the issues in this world that tear at our souls. Whatever we know breaks God’s heart, should also break our hearts. The answer is letting God lead us and not our emotions lead us. We do what we can to rectify the injustices of this world. The rest we leave to our Father who is in control and has the power to change things in one prayer! We do however have control of our reactions and the way we respond to situations. I am still working on not allowing negative people or the things of this world to enter my mind and get into my soul. It is not easy because the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. (Galatians 5:17). Because of this we should continuously meditate on God’s Word and all that is good. (Colossians 3:2) Darkness can sometimes settle on us as we see the conditions of our world. And that is why we must keep our minds filled with a steady diet of study, meditation, prayer, and fasting. This way we can see the light of God and embrace it, not what is going on in this world. Brothers and sisters, we can refuse to fill our minds with negativity and let the condition of this world steal our joy. We can train ourselves to flip the script from negative to positive. We can make careful decisions about what fills our minds and choose the things which will honor God and guard our souls! (Romans 8:5-7) Love and Blessings…    

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) 

We cannot limit the Holy Spirit by deciding who or who may not need a word from God. We may not feel comfortable talking to certain people, or we may feel it is putting our “business in the street” if we tell our story. We may even feel ashamed. We may be scared that we will be laughed at or talked about. But guess what, so was Jesus. [ 560 more words ]https://emanne.org/…/todays-inspiration-cant-keep-it-to-mys…/

We cannot limit the Holy Spirit by deciding who or who may not need a word from God. We may not feel comfortable talking to certain people, or we may feel it is putting our “business in the street” if we tell our story. We may even feel ashamed. We may be scared that we will be laughed at or talked about. But guess what, so was Jesus. This right here is for somebody! If God was with you in the storm, and He brought you out, you better tell somebody! He blocked the enemy from destroying you so you could be a living testimony. Not to show what you did to survive, but what He did to save you. You get to tell your story, and God gets the glory. Sharing your personal testimony is a way to share the gospel with others. It shows how God changes lives. It shows how God can change situations and circumstances if we wait on Him. Because we know God loves us all the same, your story gives hope that if He did it for you, He will do it for me. Hope then gives strength to hold on. Somebody needs to hear from you to know that they just need to hold on, to not give up, to keep the faith, and that God is working it out! We must not let fear keep us from allowing God to use us. God will tell you when to tell your story and who to tell it too. You may or may not be an author, and your story might not be for everybody. But God knows who needs to hear it, and He will make sure the people who need to hear it is in the right place at the right time. We must be obedient when the Holy Spirit says the time is now. We must let the Holy Spirit speak through us. We are to send God’s Word into lives by faith and trusting the Holy Spirit to do the teaching and imparting. The Lord promised to put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts. We as believers know His requirements and feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we do not meet them. God said all shall know him, from the least to the greatest. I am so thankful that I know Him, and I am committed to allowing the Holy Spirit to use and direct me to bring souls into the family of Christ. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! I cannot keep the goodness of the Lord to myself!!! Love and Blessings…

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

“And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19)

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

“For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:12)

“For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:20)

“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:17-18)