Sometimes because of the way we are treated or because of things that happened in our life, we may feel lonely and invisible. We began to doubt our valve. We lose our sense of purpose, especially when there is trouble in our relationships. I believe God uses life’s challenges to bring us to the end of ourselves, so that we can really think on the purpose of our life. Our purpose is bigger than a failed relationship or marriage. It is bigger than that person who decides they want to walk out of our life. When I think of the story of Amnon, with his wicked self, I get angry. Yes, it makes me mad! Before you judge, there are two kinds of anger, there is the anger of man which does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20), and the anger which is an expression of God’s righteousness (Ephesians 4:26-27). Any injustice makes me angry!

Now back to the Amnon. He raped his sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1-21). He destroyed her destiny and her future. He killed her self-esteem and spoiled her integrity. He assassinated her character. And to make matters worse, he did not want her afterwards. The Bible says, “he hated her with a greater intensity than which he loved her before” (2 Samuel 13:15). The old saying goes its a thin line between love and hate. Tamar pleaded with him to not throw her out. She said, “What you’re doing to me now is worse than what you did to me at first. Raping me was horrible, but not wanting me is worse” (2 Samuel 13:16). She lay on the ground outside with nowhere to go. The Bible says she cried. I’m sure many women and men can relate to Tamar. I believe she felt worthless and of no value. Some of us have gone through situations or relationships that left us feeling unwanted. It can destroy your sense of esteem and value. It hurts. If you allow it too, it can change you forever and how you relate to others.

I not going to tell you that it’s an easy fix to get over the pain of being wounded like Tamar was.  I will tell you that it is possible. I believe if you know whose you are, it will change how you think of yourself. And how we think of ourselves, will determine how we respond to life’s hurts and pains.  One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 1:5, “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I set you apart.” WOW! This always blows me away! Our parents did not even know us before we were born! Each and every one of us was set apart. We were planned in the heart and mind of God. No matter the circumstances of our birth, we are one of a kind, a special product created by God. Because we are a product of God, nothing that happens to us in this life, can diminish our valve! And if that is not enough, take a look at what David declares in Psalm 139:13-14. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” WOW AGAIN! Our worth and valve is not in the eyes of man, but in the eyes of God! There is another woman the Bible speaks of that felt like a “nobody”. Hagar, who was the slave of Sarah. I’m sure in her culture, pregnant and alone, she felt hopeless and invisible. But God saw her. God stepped in. He protected her twice from Sarah’s hatred (Genesis 21:1-21). And when God saw her, she in return saw him. This empowered her! God became real to her. When we really see God, even through the tears, pain, and life’s ever ending issues, we see an ever-present hope, encouragement, salvation, and joy, not just for this life but for eternity! 

No matter what we face in life, knowing that God knows us, loves us, and will never leave us, is enough for us to face anything. When the pain gets to be too much and you feel like you are worthless with no value, take another look at your label. We are the children of the Most High, the King of Kings! I don’t know about you, but this makes me a princess! That is enough for me to pick up my crown, hold my head high and keep moving! Love and Blessings…  

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 chest, from head to toes. I knew something was wrong when two days of pain became four days and four days became weeks. And two years later, it’s 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’s hard to breath! It’s hard to explain to people when you look like there is nothing wrong, but some days you just curl up in bed and medicate. So you hide it most of the time. It affects you mentally; you think you are going crazy. Actually, in the beginning I was told by the “professionals” that it was in my mind, until they finally figured out the problem and came up with a diagnosis. And then they think you are crazy again because you refuse to accept the diagnosis! I’m not telling this because I want pity (I have passed the pity party stage), I’m telling this because someone is dealing with their own pain, and it may not be physical. Someone has their own story. 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. I want you to know that I tried to stand, I fought hard! For a year I dealt with the pain in secret and silence. I believe that was the problem. I stood, I fought, and I dealt with the problem.

 When I could no longer stand, I knelt down to God and I let Him know I was tired and that I was giving my pain to Him. Even when the pain is unbearable, even when we can’t move, even when we are crying, we must pray, we must give our pain to Him, and then trust God, not our 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! (John 5:4) We serve a God who is greater than any diagnosis, circumstance or problem! (1 John 4:4) Listen, Jesus suffered and died so that we could be healed! I live by His promise, Isaiah 53:5, no matter what it looks or feels like!

We must breakdown the strongholds of satan against our bodies, our finances, and our families. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) We must realize that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. (1 Corinthians 3:16) Greater is He that lives in us than he who lives in this world. Once we realize this, we will experience the power of God. God is greater, and when we simply trust in His wisdom, we are able to behold all the greatness of God! I’m not saying I no longer have pain, I’m saying that God is greater than the pain. His grace is sufficient(2 Corinthians 12:9)and He is using me in ways that I have never imagined! Believe in the promises of our God. When everything is going good in our life, we will probably boast in ourselves. When things are going bad, that’s when we will glorify God and trust in Him more because we know it’s only the almighty God that can help us. And He gets all the credit when we get through it. 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 can’t stand any longer, that’s ok, just kneel. Keep praying, keep fasting. Sometimes God doesn’t answer in our way or our time, but He answers in the best way and at the best time! Sisters and brothers don’t give up when it’s raining or you won’t see the sunshine when it comes.(2 Chronicles 15:7) And it will come! I am a witness of the glory of God! Please read God’s Word in “Food For The Soul”. Love and Blessings…..

 

 

 

***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***

    Spoiler Alert—Spoiler Alert—Spoiler Alert—Spoiler Alert—Spoiler Alert

IF YOU ENJOY PARTICIPATING IN HALLOWEEN PLEASE DO NOT READ

I greet you all with love and blessings. I meditated a great while as to how to properly deliver this topic. I prayed to God on how this message should be delivered to honor Him and the Kingdom. His message was clear, tell the truth in love with mercy and full of grace. I Clifton, a servant of God and Jesus Christ, write to all the saints in the Faith and pray that grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ:

As a child, I recall Halloween being one of my favorite times of the year. A time when it’s okay for you to eat as much candy as you want! I wasn’t too big on wearing costumes or anything, but those bite size chocolate candy bars, they were on point! I used to try to hide them because my mom and dad would be digging all in my bag talking about I don’t need all this candy. That was a long time ago, now as a parent I witness my children growing up eager to join in on the festivities. To them they knew only the fun associated with this day, they were unaware of the pagan traditions associated and the merchandising that went along with it.

As a believer in God and Jesus being my Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit has given me deeper insight on Halloween. I want to shed some light on two factors concerning Halloween.

The first is that it originated as an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. Starting with Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating sweet treats. Those of us that try the spirit by the spirit and clearly see this holiday originated with pagan concepts, honoring Samhain instead of God. It also was later changed by Pope Gregory III to in some ways create a positive outlook on a negative celebration. In other words, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represents Halloween, the Tree of Life represents Christ. Meditate on these scriptures below:

 Ephesians 5:15-16 (ERV)

“be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times.”

I Thessalonians 5:19-22 (ERV)

“Don’t stop the work of the Holy Spirit. Don’t treat prophecy like something that is not important. But test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil.”

 Ephesians 5:6-12 (ERV)

“Don’t let anyone fool you with words that are not true. God gets very angry when people who don’t obey him talk like that. So don’t have anything to do with them. In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. This light produces every kind of goodness, right living, and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. Have no part in the things that people in darkness do, which produce nothing good. Instead, tell everyone how wrong those things are. Actually, it is shameful to even talk about the things those people do in secret.”

 The second factor is the merchandising of Halloween. Can you believe that one-quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween? Or that Americans spend an estimated $9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas? They estimate this year each American will spend a record $86.79 per person, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey. One reason is that Halloween is a very affordable holiday. It doesn’t cost as much as Christmas or Thanksgiving and is still lots of fun. Part of this is a permanent shift to thrift that occurred during the Great Recession. Record Halloween sales statistics buoys retailers. According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween signals how well retailers will do during the all-important holiday season. That’s when about 20% of retail sales occur for the entire year. The kick-off is Black Friday, which is just a month later. In fact, 40% of shoppers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween.

 Which brings us to the point of this revelation. I know many Christians prefer “Trunk or Treat” at their churches or try to exclude all the scary and dark things associated with Halloween and try to make it a righteous event. I pose to you this question, can man alone turn something evil into something good? I present this question not to cause division among the body of Christ, because we are to all be of one accord. I recently noticed how many yards were decorated for Halloween this year. I learned two things, people are very creative, and a lot of adults enjoy this time of the year as much as kids. I started to wonder, what does God say about all of this? So, I asked Him, I said “Lord if Jesus was to come back right now, what would He say about all these fake cemeteries, ghost and all those other scary looking creatures in people’s yard?” I was thrown back by His answer, He told me to look pass the things you see on the outside of people’s houses and look into their hearts. Look into this person’s purpose in my kingdom. Instead of judgment show encouragement, be an example. And then He sent me to this scripture:

 Philippians 5:27 (ERV)

“Just be sure you live as God’s people in a way that honors the Good News of Christ. Then if I come and visit you or if I am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will know that you stand together with the same purpose and that you work together like a team to help others believe the Good News.”

 As always God is true, righteous and just. I was also reminded by my mother (by the way check out her God inspired website at www.emanne.org), that imagine if God looked at Saul with human eyes, there would not have been a revelation at Damascus, and Saul would’ve remained Saul instead of Paul. Bottom line, Love, Grace and Mercy should be our guiding light when discussing the worship, practice or celebration of Halloween.

 In conclusion, we are aware that Halloween originated as a pagan celebration, and that it is a money-making event. But for those that follow Christ, how do we respond to these things? If God hasn’t revealed to us the hearts of those who celebrate it, we should follow the righteousness of Christ and be led by the Spirit to respond accordingly. Some people will decorate their house with a Fall theme, others believe it is a time of harmless fun without included all the demonic stuff or can we mix things of dark nature with the things of Light nature and call it innocent fun?

 I Corinthians 10:14-22

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”

 You have the origin of Halloween, you have the merchandising of Halloween, now you must pray and seek God concerning our participation in Halloween. To my sisters and brothers in the Faith according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

 COMMENT BY EMMANUEL: Wow! To God be the glory! Deep and thought-provoking. Knowledge is powerful! Charles Spurgeon once wrote,

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

If we think that we know it all, or at least that we already know all that we need to know, we are already potentially deceived into believing a lie.  Satan I believe wants us to think than we are smarter than we really are.  Whenever this deception occurs we are then not going to make the effort to seek to know the truth of God’s Word. Love and Blessings…

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

My neighbor, a man of God wrote this prayer. Every morning I start my day with this prayer. There is a spiritual warfare going on my brothers and sisters. If you remember, I wrote about how we are God’s soldiers and we need the full armor of God, how we need to study the Word of God and place it in our hearts, so like Jesus, we can use it when the enemy comes with his lies. I also wrote about the power of the tongue and how words are powerful. We can use words in the fight against the enemy. I suggest starting your day with this powerful prayer. Yes, this prayer is long, but would you go to war with only a few weapons? No, you would want the entire armory. Our words, when they come from the heart and are based on His Word have the power to defeat the enemy! The Holy Spirit tells me to leave this here for a week. Also read Food for the Soul Scriptures pertaining to Spiritual Warfare. Feel free to ask questions, comment and share. Love and Blessings…

A WARFARE PRAYER BEFORE STARTING YOUR DAY

Heavenly Father, I bow in worship and praise before you. I cover myself with the blood of Jesus Christ, and claim the protection of His blood for my family, my finances, my home, my spirit, soul, mind and body. I surrender myself completely in every area of my life to you. I take a stand against all the workings of the devil that would try to hinder me and my family from best serving you. I address myself only to the True and Living God, and refuse any involvement of satan in my prayer. satan, I command you and all of your demon forces of darkness, in the name of Jesus Christ, to leave my presence. I bring the Blood of Jesus Christ between you and my family, my finances, my spirit, soul, mind and body, I declare, therefore, satan, that you and your wicked spirits are subject to me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Furthermore, in my own life today, I destroy and tear down all the strongholds of the enemy and smash every plan that has been formed against me and my family. I tear down all the strongholds of the devil against my mind, and I surrender my mind to you. Blessed Holy Spirit, I affirm Heavenly Father, that you have not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). I resist the spirit of fear in the name of Jesus, the Son of the living God, and I refuse no fear, refuse to doubt, refuse to worry, because I have the authority (power) over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt me (Luke 10:19). I claim complete and absolute victory over the forces of darkness in the name of Jesus, and I bind the devil and command him to lose my peace, joy, prosperity and every member of my family for the glory of God, and by faith I call it done!!!

I break and smash the strongholds of satan formed against my emotions today, and I give my emotions to you dear God. I destroy the strongholds of satan formed against my will today. I give my will to you, Heavenly Father, and choose to make the right decisions of faith, I breakdown the strongholds on satan against my body today and I give my body to you, realizing that I am the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20). I cover myself with the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and pray the Holy Ghost would bring all the works of the Crucifixion, all the works of the Resurrection, and all the works of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into my life today. I surrender my life and possessions to you. I refuse to be discouraged in the name of Jesus. I will not hate, envy, or show any type of bitterness towards my brothers, sisters, or my enemies; but will love them with the love of God shed abroad, in my heart by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5).

Open my eyes and show me the areas of my life that do not please you and give me strength, grace and wisdom to remove any sin or weight that would prevent our close fellowship, work in me to cleanse me from all ground that would give the devil a foothold against me, I claim in every way, the victory of the cross over all satanic forces in my life, I pray in the name of the lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving and I welcome all the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Lord, I seal this prayer in the Blood of the Jesus claiming no interference from satan or any contrary spirit, in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen…

Howard Coates

 

Sometimes in life we want to hit the pause button and breathe. Unfortunately that is not an option, life goes on. Life does not stop because we are stuck. So what do we do when we get stuck, unable to go back, too afraid to move forward? We become paralyzed, thinking we don’t have the skills, experience, resources, or time. We start to feel inadequate. I don’t know why as human beings we have the tendency to let negative thoughts overcome the positive. We can have ten positive thoughts, but the one negative is what sticks. When we get hurt or broken, we feel our entire life is broken. A rough patch doesn’t mean a rough life. A bad day doesn’t mean a bad year. The key is to keep moving forward. Because whether we do or not; life will continue on forward into the future.

 Terrible things will happen. In this world, hurting people hurt people. We live in a world full of sin and satan is not a cartoon character. He is real. But because God is with us and He is greater, beautiful things happen too. We have to keep moving to see them. If I had stopped two years ago when I felt paralyzed, not wanting to see the next day, I would have missed this joy I have today. I could not put my life on pause, I could not go back and I did not want to move forward. I thank God every day that He did not let me give up. I allowed God to use the circumstances of life to strengthen me through my weakness, so that He could be glorified. Today I can say I am here, I made it through only because of Him! Life is a journey; there are mountains, hills, storms and rain. But there is also sunshine, laughter, joy and peace. To get to those we have to keep moving. Take baby steps if necessary, crawl if you must. There just might be a miracle waiting for you around the corner. I am a witness! I am a miracle! Let God do what He does; carry us when we are tired. While we may not have all the answers in this life, the Lord does, and we can trust Him more than anyone or anything in this world. He will help us get through everything. He is our strength, our refuge. Give God your hurts and fears. When disaster rages around us, His love will comfort us and our hearts will find healing. Trust Him. Speak life. Dismiss any negative thoughts immediately and do not allow any negative words to come out of your mouth. Keep moving forward in spite of what it looks like. If we do these things, God will give us a renewed courage to face another day. God’s love and beauty makes us brave. Please read Food for the Soul, God’s Word shows us how and why we must keep moving. Love and Blessings…

 

Some of us are familiar with people saying “I keep it real”, “I’m not going to sugar coat anything, and I tell it like it is”or“I’m just being honest”. I am not opposed to people speaking their mind, especially if they have the mind of Christ. Recently God put on my heart to study how we ought to encourage and uplift one another in speech through mercy and grace. The first scripture he took me to was Colossians 4:5-6 (KJV) “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

 The MSG version reads like this: “Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, and not cut them out.”

 I was immediately thinking, how many times have I shared my opinion in a conversation with someone and not been gracious or merciful. Telling myself I was helping the person with constructive criticism. The thing is criticism whether good or bad is not in the scriptures, constructive or not, it is just another way to judge a person. And what does the Bible tell us about judgment?

 Romans 14:10-13 (KJV) “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

 What’s important is that we tell people God’s truth, that in any situation or difficult circumstances we express the will of God and not our own understanding. We don’t want to plant bad seeds; negative words that we believe will help them. Instead plant seeds of faith that will grow in maturity and love to build godly character. Sure we can give people advice on marriage, raising children, managing their money and so forth. I mean God allowed us to have those experiences to share with others, but God wants us to share it in grace, mercy and LOVE. Read carefully 1 Corinthians 13. That chapter is our example how we tell people the truth, how we keep it real, how we tell it like it is and how we are honest.

 Galatians 6:1-2 (ERV) “Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too. Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ.”

 In closing I’m encouraging each one of us to commit to speech that is full of grace, mercy and love. This does not make us weak; this doesn’t mean we walk on eggshells when talking to people. It means that we must meditate, pray and wait on the Lord to give us an answer on how to properly and righteously speak to our brothers and sisters. Inspired by God, written by vizhun…

 COMMENT: Powerful message from a man of God! Let us master our mouth, words matter! Words can tear down or build up; we want to build up ourselves as well as others. Read today’s scriptures in “Food For the Soul” on how God wants us to live and act in grace. Love and blessings…

I was blessed this morning with a great message from Pastor Michael Thomas. It corresponded with a song that’s been in my head for months. I sing it every day (well I can’t sing but…), it is “He Promised Me” by BeBe Winans. Pastor Thomas spoke about the great promises of God. His teachings, as usual was on fire! My spirit tells me this message needs to be shared. Now sometimes my memory takes a vacation but thank God it always returns. It’s amazing though, when it comes to His Word, God makes sure I remember what He wants me to remember! This morning’s message will take us through the rough times in life. I am going to go over the main points of the message.

 Our life has already been planned out by God. The problem is we get in the way of God’s plans, because we decide to live as we want instead of how God wants. We get discouraged when God’s promises do not come when or how we expect them to. “I know what you said God but… I’m sick, he or she left me, I can’t pay my bills, etc.” We have to learn to hold to the promises of God regardless of the situation. God’s promises are not based on people or circumstances. God’s promises are not bound by time or eternity. God is not limited by age. Look at Abraham who was 75 years old when the covenant was confirmed at Haran. Twenty-five years later, when Abraham was 100 years old, Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Genesis 25:26). Nothing is impossible for God! God made promises to Abraham that required nothing of Abraham. We must have faith in the promises of God. And faith is not base on feelings but on God’s Word. When God is going to do something great in your life, He will make you some promises. When that happens, God will allow you to be tested; the trials and tribulations will prepare you for what God has for you. So we must not faint during those times, but hold on to His promises. The promises should take us through the storms of life.

 As Pastor Thomas said, “We are not saved by making promises to God, but we are saved by believing God’s promises to us. We will reap the promises of God if we don’t faint” I thank God for the Word this morning from His messenger. I pray it blesses you as it did me. Please read “FOOD FOR SOUL” for today’s scriptures on God’s promises. Love and Blessing…

 

Sometimes trying to do the right thing can be exhausting. What do you do when you get angry responses to well-intentioned actions or words? Words that you meant to be encouraging. Or when you smile and say hello, only to be met with silence and a deadly stare. The other day at Wal-Mart, I realized the cashier had not scanned an item and just put it in my bag. I knew this because I always check my receipt, especially when they are moving really fast. I’m not trying to pay for something twice! Anyway, I got back in line and let her know the mistake. She looked at me as if I was crazy. She probably was thinking why did I stand in line again to give it back like a fool, at least that’s what her look said. Sure, it would have been easier to keep it. But easy does not make it right. I’m no saint; I fall short daily, but that day I passed that test. It doesn’t matter that the cashier did not respond the way I thought she should have, what matters is that I did the right thing. When people act that way, it makes you wonder sometimes do your well-intentioned words and actions make any difference at all.

The answer to that question is yes, it makes a difference to Jesus Christ. He desires us to do the right thing at all times, in every circumstance. God’s standard is perfection, make no mistake about that. The reality is that we are sinful. Thank God that our relationship to Him is not based on our perfection, but on Christ’s. His perfect obedience is credited to us so when God looks at us, He sees us as perfect. If we could be perfect on our own strength, Christ’s death would have been unnecessary. (1 John 2:1) We are sinners, who because of our salvation, are saved by grace. Our goal should be to pursue and strive through  the power of God’s Spirit to live up to His standards. And that is what God expect of us.

 So let’s think about that before we react with hurt or anger when people do not respond in the way we expect them too. We must remember that we won’t always see the results we desire when we say or do things in love. We may not get a thank you or any type of appreciation when we do good things. We may not get recognized or any type of award. In Galatians 6:1-10, Paul encourages us to consider our motives and test our actions for what we say and do. If we do things from the heart, then we do not expect anything in return, not even a thank you (though it would be nice), our reward comes from above. As Paul says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. We must persevere. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.” Think about that whenever you get weary or feel unappreciated. We will get nowhere when we trust in our own abilities. But when God leads us, we only want to please Him. It is through the power of God’s Spirit that we can truly love and help our brothers and sisters, even those who seem unappreciative. Love and Blessings…

As I dig deeper into the Word and seek to know the character of God, my faith in His faithfulness has increased. I believe this peace I have now is connected to my increase in faith. I have always known who God is and believed His Word. I know that He is a God who redeems. I know that He is a God who provides. I know that He is a God who heals. I know that He is a God who restores. I know because He has been my redeemer, provider, healer and restorer. The difference now is, even if He does not do what I or this world expects Him to do in the way we expect Him to; I know He is still God. I still trust Him. And that is where my peace comes from.

 This makes me think of the story of the three Hebrew boys; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They faced death and remained committed to their God. We know that God showed up and we see His undeniable power. They stood up to King Nebuchadnezzar. These boys chose never to serve any other god except the one true God, now get this, even if God did not save them. (Daniel 3:17-18) They knew God could and they believed He would, but even if…They really had a firm foundation in their faith and their commitment to God.

 I’d like to believe I have that even if he doesn’t kind of faith. I do know for sure it’s not like it used to be, my faith was strong when God answered all my prayers. What about you? Can you say, even if He doesn’t save my marriage, even if He doesn’t give me this job, even if He doesn’t heal my child, even if I lose my loved one, whatever your even if He doesn’t might be, can you say you will still trust him and stand strong in faith? I was worried that if it came down to the fire, would I have that even if He doesn’t kind of faith. But in my studies, I have learned that if you don’t have even if He doesn’t kind of faith where you are right now, it’s ok. Daniel and his friends made a decision when they were taken captive in Babylon not to defile themselves with the rich foods of the Babylonians. (Daniel 1:8) They were committed to God, to following His ways, to living the way they had been taught from childhood. They didn’t start building an even if He doesn’t faith when they arrived in Babylon; they had been growing an even if He doesn’t faith from their childhood.

 The more we walk through the fire, the more we see His faithfulness. The more we experience His faithfulness, the more confident we become in His ability to rescue us. The more confident we become in His goodness, the more likely we are to have an even if He doesn’t faith. To have even if He doesn’t kind of faith, we must know God’s character, that He is a good Father who loves His children and does what is best. It’s a process of walking through the painful circumstances and seeing Him bring beauty from the ashes. It’s about allowing God to be God instead of expecting Him to act as we think He should. When we give our life to God; we must learn to leave the results of our lives in God’s capable hands. When we believe God is who He says He is, then we trust Him to accomplish His purposes even when they don’t make sense to us. Someone said common sense does not always work when trying to understand God; we have to use spiritual sense. I believe it means trusting in our Father’s ultimate plan. I believe the more we stay in God’s Word and the closer we get to Him; we will find ourselves learning to say, “even if He doesn’t” more often. Read today’s Scriptures in FOOD FOR THE SOUL. Love and Blessings…

 

Our love has limits but God’s love is limitless. God offers His love and forgiveness to everyone, the good, the bad, and the ugly. He offers forgiveness and love to murderers, dope addicts, child molester, rapist, etc. In our minds, we think how can God love people who do evil the same as He loves those who try to do good? After watching the movie, “The Shack”, and discussing it with my son, I prayed for more understanding of how God’s love works. How can God love and expect us to love and forgive someone who has hurt us, when they have hurt someone we love, especially our child as was the case in the movie? God is our Father. That is the answer. It’s like telling a mother whose son has committed murder not to love her child anymore. As parents we love our kids unconditionally. We may hate what they did and punish them for it, but do we love them any less? No, we forgive them and we love them just as much as before. That’s how God feels about us. We all will be held accountable for our actions, but God shows us mercy and grace every day. I for one shudder to think what would happen if He punished us for every wrong thought or action we did. Why is it that we expect God to forgive us and have compassion, but will not extend the same to our brothers and sisters? We tend to look at what others “deserve”, forgetting we need God’s love and compassion just as much as the next person. Sometimes we even go as far to ask God to punish our offenders the way we want them to be punished. What’s’ up with that? We want God to punish them but not us? God doesn’t work that way.

 I was told once that if a person stepped on my toe, I would kick them to the curb. (that’s how we said it back in the day). You know what I mean, “Boy Bye” or “By Felicia”. However you want to say it. The bottom line is you are done! It was a true statement at the time. And to think I was proud of it! I felt if you made a mistake, you didn’t deserve a second chance or my forgiveness. I had no compassion at all. That was the old me, thank God I am a new creature in Him. Earlier this year I was convicted by the Holy Spirit. I felt hurt, and I blamed the other person entirely. (although I was partly to blame). The old me kicked in and I dismissed the person, never wanting to see or hear from this person again. Even though I had accepted the apology, there was no forgiving. Wow. I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit now lives in me. Trust me when I say, He will convict you when you are wrong! He had me asking myself some hard questions. I had to look at things from the other person’s perspective. I’m telling y’all, thank God I done changed! I had to look at the person’s heart and not the actions. Isn’t that what God does for us? We all make mistakes. We should not be so quick to dismiss someone from our lives because they make one. With that being said, let me say that forgiveness does not mean letting someone keep stepping on all your toes before you say ouch. Sometimes enough is enough! Forgiveness does not mean forgetting when someone continues to hurt you. Pray about it. Listen to God. He will let you know when to forgive and go on and when to forgive and let go. There really are times when we do have to say “bye boy” or “bye Felicia”. I’m just saying.

Anyway, I passed my forgiveness test and I am so grateful that God loves us where we are, but I am more grateful that He does not leave us there. Scripture says He does not want anyone to perish. That is why He is patient with us. Unfortunately not everyone will be saved, because not everyone wants to be saved. There will be murderers and criminals in Heaven, only because they repented and asked God to forgive them for their crimes. And they accepted Christ into their hearts. There will be those who here on earth went to church every Sunday and did good works, but may not be in Heaven. Why, because it was all a show for this world and they did not in their hearts accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Sadly some feel they do not have to repent for what they call “small sins.” In God’s eyes there are no big and little sins. Big or small, He hates the sin but loves the sinner. In God’s eyes, disobedience is disobedience. What the sin was is irrelevant to God. We as humans get hung up on that. He can love and forgive the serial killer as well as someone who stole a piece of candy, if they truly repent. So Yes, God does love everyone, even murderers. It is the sins and the actions of the person that God does not love. Before Paul became a Christian he was persecuting Christians and doing horrible things to them but God loved him still and forgave him. (Galatians 1:13). God turned this man from a killer of Christians into a lover of Christ and His people. Don’t take my word for it, read the Bible for yourself. Moses was a murderer, Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, Peter betrayed Christ, and David committed adultery. But I believe they’ll all be in Heaven. We may not have done any of those sins, but we sin. Thank God we are not judged according to our own actions (or we ALL would be in trouble). Please read today’s Scriptures. If we try to live by His Word daily, it will help us to love one another, not to be quick to judge, and to forgive as God forgives us. Love and Blessings…