There was a time when I wrestled with anxiety constantly. I worried about big things, small things and everything in between. I lost my cell phone last week and it made me think about the time I lost my phone years ago. I worried myself sick about it. I was still worrying about that phone even after I got a new one. How crazy it that? In my defense, we do keep a lot of information in those phones, so it is justifiable to be concerned. However, scripture tells us to not worry or be anxious about anything. I did a good job of hiding my anxiety most of the time. It did not fit my “strong woman” image. I am sure I am not the only one who have tried to fake it, not wanting any one to see the fears or anxiety. We believe we will be judged or looked upon as weak. Let me tell you that God does His best work in our weakness. In our weakness, God gives us strength. We do not have to fake it with God, as my son says, we just need to faith it. Anyway, we cannot hide our fears from God. He sees them and He wants us to trust Him so He can comfort us. He can give us a peace that is priceless. It sucks I lost my phone, however when I focus on how good God has been to me, how He keeps me and protects me, and His promises for my future, I just cannot get upset about a phone. No matter what the situation or how hopeless you may feel, you must know that God is in control. You must believe He works everything out for our good, even lost phones. I am glad I learned to take the small things to God as well as the big things. He cares about every area of our lives. Scripture repeatedly tells us not to be afraid. Because of Jesus Christ, our fears do not have to rule our lives. Sure, we will face challenging times in this life. But God promised to be with us through it all. Our Heavenly Father never takes His eyes off His children. We cannot avoid some situations and heartaches, but we can live with confident faith relying on our Helper and Protector who watches over our lives. As I look over my life, I can see God at work. I am sure you can too. He will comfort us through the rough times, and sometimes He will stretch us through the trials and storms. The stretch makes us stronger. The stretch builds our faith. The struggles we face in this life can seem so big, but only if we take our eyes off God. He is so much bigger than anything this world can throw at us. I am not saying fear and anxiety does not try to creep into my being, but now I lift my eyes from my fears, and with faith and dependence, I focus on God. I now look to the One who promised to comfort us. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, no bad circumstance can or will ever cause us to be destroyed or forsaken by God! He is God! He is able and He is more than enough! When we surrender our anxieties to our Father and leave them there, He comforts us and gives us a peace beyond all understanding. God’s comforting presence is more powerful than anything we may face! Love and blessings… 

 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yok e is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) 

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) NIV 

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) 

 “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 25-34) 

According to the CDC parasites are organisms that live on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. They can cause all kinds of damage. This life is full of another kind of parasites that can suck the life out of you if you let them. I am not talking about organisms. What parasites am I talking about? I am glad you asked. To name a few, there is low self-esteem, jealously, lying, despair and guilt. There is immorality, corruption, and greed. There is fear, who nurses itself in your thought life, feeding off your inner struggles and hang-ups. And last but so deadly, there is the past, which you cannot let go. And that is just to name a few. It seems every day we are ducking and dodging these parasites. Your home, which should be your escape, can also shelter them. If we let them, these parasites will attach themselves in our life, and destroy us, they will destroy our family, success, our dreams, and our goals. They can also block our blessings. Everyone has had to deal with these parasites at one time or another. If you have not, thank God. But most likely you will. I know because God put it this way, in this world there will be troubles. He also said the enemy walks the earth, watching and waiting to destroy us. Did you know that these parasites are the enemy’s weapons to use against us? As Christians our life is a fight, and it is not one against people but against the forces of darkness in this world. Some are what I call parasites. The enemy is vicious but also sneaky, he does not always attack us in ways that are obvious. He is discreet. His tactics are clever and cunning. The parasites I am talking about belong to him, and unless we are aware and on guard, they will suck the blood out of us. Thank God we are covered under the blood of Jesus. That is the Good News! We have a God that is greater than the enemy. This same God will give us the strength to reject, overpower, and defeat the enemy’s parasites. Yes, they may come for us, in our mind, in our homes, at the workplace, even in our relationships, but we can refuse to feed these parasites, and they will eventually die. We can think positive until every negative parasite is choked to death by God’s light and our positive energy.

Ok, you may say I am ashamed, and I am broken. I have let these parasites suck the blood out of me for so long, I feel powerless and I do not know where to begin. Begin by thanking God that He is all powerful and ask for His help. Everything good comes from the Lord. If  it is not good, and it is hurting you or others, it has to go! Parasites can live in your thoughts, actions, and your words. They will disturb your peace and joy. They will redirect your focus. They will disrupt God’s plan for our lives, and the only way we can fight back is to know the truth, and have the truth set us free. (John 8:32) I don’t know about you but it gives me comfort to know that we have the power through Jesus, prayer, and His Word to stand up, release the grip of parasites and boldly walk into our God given destiny.  The promises of God are waiting for us.

 Love and Blessings…

 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1)

 “Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.  God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” (James 1:17-19)

 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” ( 1 Peter 5:8-10)

 CDC https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/index.htm/

TODAY’S INSPIRIATION: INVISIBLE PAIN

I knew I was in trouble when the pain went above my tolerance level. I have always had a high tolerance for pain! I knew something was wrong when the pain began to move from my wrist to my ankles, from shoulders to my chest, from head to toes. And finally, my entire body. I knew something was wrong when two days of pain became four days and four days became weeks. And four years later, it is still hard to explain to people a pain that never goes away. A pain that affects your entire body and that can sometimes get so bad it is hard to breath! What do you say when they say, well you look like there is nothing wrong? Some days you just want to curl up in bed and medicate. So, you hide it most of the time. I am not sharing this because I want pity, I passed the pity party stage a long time ago. I now only have Holy Ghost parties! I am sharing this again because someone is dealing with their own pain, and it may not be physical. Someone is hurting on the inside, and it is invisible on the outside. It could be the pain of depression, the pain of divorce, the pain of loneliness, financial pain, the pain of addiction, or the pain of losing a love one. Whatever it may be, I want you to know that God will sustain you. When the pain is unbearable, when you cannot move, when you just want to give up.  Do. Not. Give. Up. Instead pray. Give God the pain, and then trust Him, not your feelings. You can call me crazy, but I refuse to accept defeat, in spite of a diagnosis. I refuse to accept defeat because of what my bank account looks like! I refuse to accept defeat because someone walked out of my life! I just refuse to accept defeat! We serve a God who is greater than any diagnosis, circumstance, or problem! We serve a God who can and will kick their butt! If we trust Him. I choose to live by God's promises, no matter what it looks or feels like! We must breakdown the strongholds of satan against our bodies, our finances, and our families. Greater is He who lives in us than he who lives in this world. We must trust God through the good, bad, and the ugly. When everything is going good in our life, we thank God and praise Him. We should do the same when things are going bad. We should glorify God and trust in Him because we know He is our help in times of trouble. He will either remove it, restore it, or give us the strength to endure it. What He will not do is leave or forsake us!  I know the struggle is real, but so is our God! You may not see the light at the end of the tunnel right now. You may feel that you cannot stand any longer, that is ok, just kneel. Keep praying, keep fasting. Sometimes God does not answer in our way or our time, but He answers in the best way and at the best time! Sisters and brothers do not give up when it is raining, or you will not see the sunshine when it comes.

 Love and Blessings….

“For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” (John 5:4)

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4)  

^“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On  demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

^“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

“Be ye strong therefore and let not your hands be weak: for your ^awork shall be rewarded.” (2 Corinthians 15:7)

“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.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

There have been times in my life I could really stink, wait, let me clarify that, my attitude stank! At times I did not give off the aroma of Christ! I probably could come up with quite a few examples, but I will give you just one. I am ashamed to say I was egotistical. Back in the day as they say, I was self-centered, proud, and arrogant. In other words, I had the “it’s all about me” syndrome. Even though I was a nice person, that mind-set showed up far too many times in my attitude. Our attitude determines how we relate to those around us. Some people may have seen this in me, and others may not have. But God did and I am sure He was not pleased! One of the lessons God taught me during my time in the wilderness is that nothing is about me, it is all about Him! When the attitude we possess places others first and we see people as important, our perspective will reflect their viewpoint as well as ours. Our attitude determines how we smell to God. Consider these questions; Is your thinking stinking? Are you self-centered, proud, or arrogant as I was? Are those around you drawn to God as a result of the sweet aroma of love and peace you display? Do your conversations constantly honor God, representing the fruit of the Spirit, and eject the fragrance of life, or are they sometimes laced with bitterness, resentment, anger, complaining, and gossip?  Imagine what message it sends to our families, children, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, when we intentionally misrepresent Christ. And that is exactly what we are doing when we have nasty smelly attitudes and claim to represent God, our attitude deforms the face of Christianity. Anytime negative thoughts or behavior creep into our thoughts, conversations, or behavior, we must reject them and pray to God for a clean heart. Pray to God for an attitude that gives off an aroma of Christ? Everyone may need an attitude adjustment now and then. I made a list of attitude adjustments I needed to work on. Over the years, day by day, that list gets shorter. We all are a work in progress. I found out that with the help of the Lord we can clean up and smell right nice. I am working on taking captive of my thoughts before they come out of my mouth. In doing this I find I am inclined to speak the best, not the worst, to speak of beauty and not the ugly, and to praise and not curse. I am working on my attitude because I want to smell good to God all the time, not just sometimes. We can dress up on the outside all we want, and be looking really cute too, with our stinking self. It is not until we clean up on the inside will we have that sweet aroma, the one that is pleasing to God. I realized a long time ago that I cannot do it alone. We all must spend time in prayer asking God to reveal areas in our life that does not smell as they should and to help us clean up. Love and Blessings…

 “If we say, “We aren’t sinful” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

 “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” NLT (2 Corinthians 2:15)

 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)

 “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10)

 “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (Ephesians 4:29; 5:3–4)

 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

God is our spiritual mechanic. He refuels us every morning. God can change, rotate, and balance our life. When we are broken, damaged or defective, He can repair us. Whatever malfunction we are experiencing, body, soul, or mind, He can fix it! The best part is Jesus already paid the price for us, so it is all free! Because of Jesus we can have an eternal warranty. If we allow Him, God will even rebuild us. Sometimes we need detailed from inside, cleaning up on the outside will only get you so far! When God cleans us on the inside,  it ensures that our integrity and soundness is in tact. This is important because our structural integrity is essential to the survival of others, if we fail in our Christian duties, others can go down in flames along with us. We must not resist God’s ordered stress test, but use them as indicators to gage where we are in our Christian walk. The lives of others may depend on our ability to withstand. Consider these questions; how do you react when your stress test is at hand? Do you go to the Master Mechanic? What did you learn from your last stress test? Are you committed to the maintenance and upkeep of your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit? How joyful it is to have God as our master mechanic and to keep us tuned up for eternal life!Love and Blessings…

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) NIV

“And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) AMPC

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corithians 6:19-20) ESV

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

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