Month: November 2013

Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39 ERV)

Verse 37 says Love God, verse 38 tells you how important verse 37 is, verse 39 tells you to love your neighbor the same as you love yourself. I was thinking about that……hmmmm

How much do we love ourself? I know some of us have gone through some stuff, some of those things have caused us to stop loving ourselves in a healthy way. Many of us have tried to kill ourselves, not with pills, knives and guns and boom, dead but with unhealthy relationships, negative thoughts, wallowing in pain and fear. It’s almost like you feel guilty for loving yourself after the rape, after the drugs, after the sexual deviance, after the alcohol, after the food (come on there are people who are eating themselves to death), after the divorce, after after after….

Today I challenge you to love God with all your heart and soul, then love yourself enough to love me. We keep loving each other the way we love ourselves and are creating more pain because we haven’t accepted ourselves and therefore can’t accept each other. Let it go, I know it sounds easy, because it is. Once you make up your mind your done with something you walk away and don’t look back. Well look at your past, examine it for the lessons you needed to learn and walk away. It’s over! You survived it already, a little dented, hurt and crazy (lol) but your still here. Give your future what it deserves, a chance to Love.
But now these three remain— faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. (Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 13:13 TLV)

Many of our troubles are not caused by the devil, the evil one or an imp, it’s called life!

Stupidity is reckless, senseless, and foolish. She sits in front of her house and on the highest hills in the town. She shouts to everyone who passes by, “If you are stupid, come on inside!” And to every fool she says, “Stolen water tastes best, and the food you eat in secret tastes best of all.” None who listen to Stupidity understand that her guests are as good as dead. (Proverbs 9:13-18 CEVUK00)

Sound familiar?

They even make songs about it, “If loving you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right”, “so I creep, keep it on the down low”, ” I don’t see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind”, the list goes on and on of things we decide are acceptable wrongs. Forbidden fruit, secret sin and the whole idea of how good it feels to be doing something secret. But we were young and foolish then, When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. (1 Corinthians 13:11 ERV)

My mama always said “What’s done in the dark will soon come to the light!” Well I hope not, and prayerfully you will get a break too.
I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 ERV)

Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”

 

On 11/6 I delivered my baby 6 weeks early, due to health complications of my own. I have never been so scared, my baby had to go to NICU. All I could think about was my sister who spent like 8 months in NICU and had over 15 surgeries in that amount of time. God had other plans for my sister because after all that she did not make it. Now my daughter didn’t have the complications that she had but it still scared me. My daughter spent 11 days in there and I think I cried every day. But it also helped me to depend on God like never before. It was amazing watching God work daily. Everyday my little baby got stronger and healthier. I prayed so much I think God was telling to me chill and let him work. I’m saying all this to say that you have to TRUST God in all situations not just the stuff you feel like giving him but everything. In time of need you want to depend on family and friends but the first person you should be talking to is God. He is the only person that can truly comfort you and handle your situation.

Dear father,
Allow everyone that’s reading this to be blessed. Father give them the tools needed to trust on you daily. Remove any doubt that anyone may have. Allow them to Seek you first and friends last. It’s so easy to call upon someone else but you are all we need. We love you and we thank you for life and love. With all the craziness going on in this world protect us father and keep us safe from harm.Allow us to be the light in this dark place. Father God in every situation allow people to see you and not us because we know we don’t have what it takes. In Jesus name we pray and ask it all. Amen!!!!

I let them win!

I got so mad at myself yesterday because I let a person who I know ain’t right get at me. This situation has been brewing for a few weeks and I let my guard down. I have been praying about it and asking God to keep me and I was diligent until I wasn’t. I got comfortable, relaxed and boom, yup one wrong word to me and I forgot all about my prayers, I forgot who has my back. It was only about 5 minutes but my flesh almost rejoiced in its freedom to vent. In my defense I did not let Bam out, I was professional but I got my point across. See the problem? I got MY point across when really, God had already put his plan in motion and did not need me. Can I say I’m ashamed? Even though I acted professional, I knew it was not my fight.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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 6:11-13 ESV)

It does not say fight anywhere in this, it says stand firm!

Pray with me that today, I will Trust God in ALL THINGS!

Have you ever felt hopeless, lost, confused and discouraged? Yeah it happens to us all at times. Don’t start questioning your love for Christ when this happens, We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan. (Romans 8:28 ERV)
Everything serves a purpose, even your discouragement. Think about when you call your friend, spiritual sister, prayer partner and the like, they hear that your down in the dumps, they feel your discouragement. Boom, you just activated their faith and called forth the Holy Spirit in their life to minister to you. You never know if the words God sent to them for you is also ministering to them and the other people who know what your going through, they see you get lifted by the word of God and boom someone else decides to trust him. See how that goes?
Our God is an amazing God, he reigns in love and power.

I challenge you that the next time life sends rain and thunder, dance in the rain, praise him anyhow. Be lifted up by the words of Jesus, be lifted by the promises of God!

Jas 5:16…….. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

1Jn 5:14…….. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Josh 1:9………… “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture!

My soul gave up all hope, but then I remembered the Lord. I prayed to you, and you heard my prayers in your holy Temple. (Jonah 2:7 ERV)

I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer. He gave me this child. And now I give this child to the Lord. He will serve the Lord all his life.” Then Hannah left the boy there and worshiped the Lord. (1 Samuel 1:27, 28 ERV)

Good morning, this is Sheveze, sharing something for the parents.

We talk about love a lot, who loves who, what it should look like and when it’s been destroyed. If you look at how God views love and how we do, it’s different.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ERV)

Many of us love our children like this. Through the years the love grows, deepens and expands. We want to hug them, kiss away their fears, rub away their worries and shout the victory for their joy. A parents love is endless and fearless and extends to their friends and mates.

How many of you can agree that watching your children grow up and endure pain and heartbreak and hurts and disappointments is tough? Well this is when we have to trust God, know that he has their future in his hands and he loves them even better than you can. I can remember the prayers and the tears I shed for my child, and one day God reminded me that just like he was the God of Jacob, Moses, Abraham and Sheveze he would be her God if I got out of the way! He showed me that my love and me trying to fix her life was hindering her ability to trust God, to get to know him like I did!

All I could do was cry, I love The Lord and trust him but I was preventing the child of my heart from experiencing the fullness of Christ. Not anymore.