Author: Tammy Phillips

by Tammy Phillips
August 27, 2020

And that they may RECOVER themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (2 Timothy 2:26 KJV)

Kris, my sweet hubby, headed out the garage door for a lunch meeting.  Within minutes he was back in the door asking me, “Have you seen my key?”  I thought, “Uh…oh!”  Kris always knows the location of his key fob. I prayed, “Lord, help us find that key, please and thanks?”  

We searched in all the obvious places and then, all over the house. We looked upstairs, downstairs, under beds, sheets, and sofa cushions. I thanked the Lord for His help as I went. I knew that He knew where the key was, and had it covered.  I even took wet clothes out of the washer. NO KEY!  Kris headed for lunch in my car and I looked a bit longer.

I did not recall where, nor what, Kris had done they day before.  I called him to find out.  He said that he would look when he got home and not to worry about it.  I wasn’t worried; I just wanted to help.  He started retracking his steps.  He told me where he had looked and two more places to look. Then, the answer to prayer came.  Confidently, he told me to check in his coat jacket.  Abnormally, Kris had not worn a suit jacket much in the last six months. This coat was a spring/summer coat.  I doubt that he would have worn it again any time soon and the expensive-to-replace key would have been lost for a while.  But God…it was recovered in the coat pocket. 

What have you lost? Peace? Health? Wealth? The Key? What do you need to recover? 

When we think of the word recover, it brings to mind a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength; to find or regain possession of something stolen or lost; to get back, reclaim, or repossess.  Recovery means returning to the way God intended, whole, healed, and complete in Him.  I love that in 2 Timothy 2:26, recover means return to soberness, your senses and a sound mind.  It means recover yourself. 

David said in Psalm 39:13, “O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.”  In this verse recover means to break off or loose; to desist from grief; to be bright; to shine forth as the dawn; to laugh, to be cheerful; to smile.

God’s plan and will is for us to completely recover! Recover what was lost. Recover our mind. Recover our smile. Recover our beauty. Recover our wellness. Recover the Key, if we have hidden Jesus away from the center of our lives.

Recovery requires aggressive action.  We cannot just sit and hope it happens.  Each person will take different steps and paths to reclaim what was lost or stolen. 

I enCOURAGE you to look at the simple steps we took.   Hopefully, it will help you recover:

1. Realize something is lost or stolen.  
2. Ask for help from those around you and from God! 
3. Take action.  Do everything you can.
4. Recognize that God has had you covered since before you were born. “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13 NKJV)
5. God alone will “deliver you from the snare of the fowler [And] from the perilous pestilence.  He shall cover you with His feathers.” (Psalm 91:3-4 NKJV)
6. Ask and believe God; you will receive and be saved.  You will recover what is lost.  These signs will follow those who believe…In My name, they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mark 16:16-18 NKJV)
7. He will show you the steps you need to take towards recovery and find what “your key fob.” 

by Tammy Phillips
August 26, 2020

I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.” (2) I was mute with silence; I held my peace [even] from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. (3)  My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. [Then] I spoke with my tongue: (Psalm 39:1-3 NKJV)

You know why the Psalms are so comforting?   King David was real and relatable.  He would have been a great country music song writer. I am smiling while I write because I cannot help laughing at him.  

In Psalms 37 he delivered the greatest encouragement about not fretting.  Here is my country version: 

“Do not fret because of bad, broken down people. Don’t burn and be red faced with anger because they done wrong.  Chill with Big Daddy; dance and twirl. Don’t fret when people succeed by doing wicked stuff.  Drop it and Stop it…breathing so hard!  Calm down. Fan those flames. Don’t fret. Don’t be hot.  It’s just gonna’ turn out bad.“

The Hebrew word for “don’t fret” is charah.  Sound familiar? Char? It means to be hot, furious, to burn, to glow warm, to blaze up.  David was trying to talk himself down.  Constance Spicer, my sister in Christ and the traveling Bulldawg baseball family, would say it like this: “Breathe in Jesus.  Breath out Satan.” 

Fast forward to Psalms 39 David said:  
I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.

David remembered his prior commitment to stand against sinning with his tongue.  He is talking himself down and here is where I relate.  David said that he was going to put a muzzle on his mouth because that would stop his sin.  I concur.  I have said many times that I am was going to apply duct tape to guard my mouth.  Not on social media? You are smart.  I get a little heated by some of the things I read and out comes the tape because I would like to let loose. I follow David’s, maybe immature, example.  I do not say anything.  It doesn’t mean I am not stirred up and pained.

I was mute with silence; I held my peace [even] from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. (Psalm 39:2 NKJV)

David remembered his commitment to be RESOLUTE, not to “tongue sin” and offend God nor anyone else. “We ought steadfastly to resolve that we will take heed in our ways, and frequently renew that resolution.  Having resolved to take heed in our ways, we must upon all occasions, remind ourselves of that resolution, for it is a covenant never to be forgotten, but that which we must always be mindful of.” -Mathew Henry

David confessed in verse three that he was still hot! He had to let it out.  He had to speak, but the next words out of His mouth were,“Lord, make me know….”  David prayed.  When we allow our “enemies” to stir up our passions, we need to follow his example.  Stop and pray.

“The stronger the temptation to a sin is the stronger the resolution must be against it.”- Matthew Henry

I enCOURAGE you to be watchful and RESOLUTE in the strength of God’s grace.  It will help curtail the “tongue sin.”  If that does not work, put a muzzle on it!  Apply duct tape…again.

Create in me a pure heart, O God! Renew a RESOLUTE spirit within me! – Psalm 51:10 NET

by Tammy Phillips
August 25, 2020

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, [the] Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a RANSOM for all, to be testified in due time.  (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NKJV)

Ever played Monopoly?  It is a game where you buy and sale property.  The goal is to create a monopoly and bankrupt everyone else.  A monopoly, simply defined, is exclusive possession or control.  In the game one can be sent to jail.  To get out of jail, you have to serve time, pay the “dime” or use the “get out of jail free” card,” if you by chance drew it.  In life if you commit a crime, you have to pay your way out of jail or serve your time. 

What invisible jail are you imprisoned in?  You do not have to stay!   God has the monopoly on salvation.  Jesus paid our RANSOM with his blood and his life.  Jesus tells us in Mark 10:45 that he came to give his life a RANSOM for many.  He traded places with us at the cross.  He received our punishment.  He received what we deserved for our sins.  

Jesus paid our ransom.
Jesus paid the price of life.
Jesus paid the price of redemption.
Jesus paid to liberate us from the penalty of our sins.
Jesus paid to loose us from what binds. 
Jesus paid to break and dissolve the chains that hold us captive.
Jesus paid to release the bonds.
Jesus paid for our discharge from prison.
Jesus paid to set us free. 
Jesus is our “get out of jail free” card in life.

To Paraphrase David is Psalm 59 -57:
Why should I fear in the days of evil, NOW, calamity, misery, depravity, perversity, mischief, the crooked, the wrong, the bent and twisted at my heels surrounds me? People trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.  We cannot be rich enough to redeem our brother nor ourselves. We cannot give God a ransom for our brother.  We cannot afford nor ever pay for our own sins.  It is all God.  He paid our ransom and set us free with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.   

“Our enemies are too insignificant to be worthy of one thrill of fear.” —Spurgeon

What has us arrested and held in an invisible cell?  Are we in the jail of fear, pain, sickness, grief, guilt, lack or the jail of depression?  Trust me but trust our God the most because He is the Most!    Trust His words.  Jesus paid the ransom. Jesus paid the price of for our lives.  We could not pay it.  We definitely could not afford it! 

I encourage you to break out of your invisible cell today.   Call the jailer and say, “I owe you nothing!  I am using my get out of jail free card that Jesus paid for, today!   I am free in the most powerful name of Jesus.  Thank you, God.” 

He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. (1 Timothy 2:6 NLT)

by Tammy Phillips
August 24, 2020

REMEMBER the former things of old, For I [am] God, and [there is] no other; [I am] God, and [there is] none like Me. REMEMBER the days of old, consider the years of many generations. (Isaiah 46:9NKJV and Deuteronomy 32:7 NKJV)

To REMEMBER is defined as to recall, recollect, remind, rehearse, record, call to mind, make a memorial; to mark; to exercise the memory.  

REMEMBER is used 148 times in the King James version of the Bible.  We are encouraged to remember, by God, the prophets and the disciples.  Often times in the Bible, the men and women of God ask God to remember them. We encourage each other to remember. 

I learned this morning that I like to exercise…exercise my mind by remembering.  I have exercised every day of my life and I did not realize it.   I love to remember good times. I know you do, too.  I take thousands upon thousands of pictures to record our family history.  It makes it easier to recall those good times.  Around ten years ago, I started writing everything that the Lord poured into me.  Hard lesson, I lost years of writing by not backing up my computer.  I moved to recording God thoughts and my life in journals about seven years ago.  Each stroke I write is remembering what God has just revealed or they mark a special event or time in life. I return to these memorials to remember and learn.  I do not like to recollect bad times so much, but I can say I have grown the most out of the hardest trials.  I write them down, too. 

What does the Bible say about remembering? 

The rainbow reminds God to REMEMBER his everlasting covenant between God and every living creature on the earth. (Genesis 9:15-16 KJV) 

REMEMBER this day, in which ye came out… out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out Exodus 13:3 KJV)

REMEMBER the sabbath day. (Exodus 20:8 KJV)

REMEMBER what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; (Deuteronomy 7:18 KJV)

REMEMBER what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam (Deuteronomy 24:9 KJV)

REMEMBER Lot’s wife. – Luke 17:32 KJV

REMEMBER the LORD God. He gives us power to get wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:2, 18 KJV)

REMEMBER the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7 KJV)

REMEMBER his marvelous works, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; (1 Chronicles 16:12 KJV)

REMEMBER the word that I said unto you. (John 15:20 KJV)

REMEMBER the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35 KJV)

REMEMBER the poor. (Galatians 2:10 KJV)

REMEMBER that Jesus was raised from the dead (2 Timothy 2:8 KJV)

REMEMBER them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow. (Hebrews 13:7 KJV)

 REMEBER where you are fallen, and repent. (Revelation 2:5 KJV)

I enCOURAGE you to REMEMBER the great things God has done.  REMEMBER, Jesus.  I enCOURAGE you to REMEMBER the life God has given you and the life He has promised you.  REMEMBER what He gave up so you could have that life.  Write down your hopes, dreams and memories.  Memories help us grow, progress and transform into who we are called to be. We are encouraged to remember where we have come to know where we can go.  Memories bring great joy. REMEMBER?

Remember what you received and heard, and hold fast, and repent (Revelation 3:3 KJV)

by Tammy Phillips
August 23, 2020

“The secret [things belong] to the LORD our God, but those [things which are] REVEALED [belong] to us and to our children forever, that [we] may do all the words of this law. – Deuteronomy 29:29 NKJV

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has REVEALED [them] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. Now we have RECEIVED, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. – 1 Corinthians 2:9-10,12 NKJV

Sometimes, you hear a song, it gets in your head and you replay it over and over again.   You sing it all throughout the day. The song might bring you back to a lighthearted day, a happy time in your or a joyous event.  You know, what I mean?  I could type out the lyrics of a song and they might take you to a place or a time.

My friend and prayer partner, Gina Suiter, texted me a podcast and encouraged me to listen.  No, a song did not get stuck on replay in my spirit, but the text she sent along with the video did.   She said, “Also something interesting…the ‘R’ words.”  I know I might have just lost you, but stay with me, please.  I knew exactly what she ways saying.   I have hardly played a different tune in my head since her text.  I began meditating on the “R” words that the Lord had been dropping in our spirit for a long while now.  My guiding word from the Lord for the year is RESOLUTE.  I have been studying the word REPENT for weeks now.   Gina knows all this.  Along with her, I have heard RENEW, RESTORE, and REBUILD.  And, what is REPENTANCE, but changing the mind by the RENEWING of the mind through meditation on the Word?  This week I learned that meditate in Romans 12:12 means to murmur, growl, or ROAR.  So, if we READ and ROAR the word, our minds are RENEWED.  We are RENOVATED from the inside out.  Did I mention that I met a new sister in the Lord this week and ask her what her word for the year was? ROAR.  I cannot make this up.

“Something interesting…the ‘R’ words…” I could not shake this melody!  I began working on an “encouragement” using the “R” words.  I started by making a short list, but then, I kept digging for significant “R” words in the Bible.   I could not begin to fathom the deposit the Holy Spirit would make.  I encourage you to mediated on the wealth of the “R’s:”

REMEMBER, REPENT, RANSOM, RESOLUTE, RAIMENT, RAIN,  REFRESH, REST, RHEMA, READ, RAISED, RISE, REJOICE, REPROVE, REPROVE, REBUKE, RECOMPENSE, RECONCILE, RECEIVE, RECOVER, REDEEMED, REMISSION, REMOVED, REVEAL, RESIST, ROAR, RENEWED, RESTORE, REBUILD, RENOVATE, ROOTED, RAIN, RULE, RUN, RAISE, READY, REWARD, ROYAL,  and REVELATION. 

Most valuable are the names of God: REDEEMER, REFINER, RIGHTEOUSNESS, ROCK, REFUGE, RESURRECTION, RAPHA, ROOT OF DAVID, ROSE OF SHARON, AND RULERS OF GOD’S CREATION.

I enCOURAGE you to park on the “R” words.  They are all attributes, actions or the very names of God.  They define who He is and what He has done for all of us. Mediate on the ”Rrrrrr!”  I am going play this tune for a while. I believe the “R’s” to be passwords to unlock the secrets of the Kingdom of God.  Actually, we only need one word, Jesus, but you know what I mean. 

“Truly your God [is] the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets…”- Daniel 2:47 NKJV

by Tammy Phillips
August 22, 2020

Isaiah 58

I cannot begin to put in words how GOOOOOOOD our God is!!!  He is a LOVING FATHER! He is the BEST!  He knows what we need when we need it. 

I wrote this in my journal yesterday,

August 21, 2020:
“Early rise 2ish, yesterday and today.
I am drained. 
I need to be replenished with sleep and the Word. 
I need order.
I need balance.
I need sleep.
Father:  I ask for order, balance and empowerment to do all that I need to do for the kingdom and You and for my home.  Amen and Thank You!”

This was scripture at bottom of my journal:
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him–my father’s God, and I will exalt him! – Exodus 15:2 NLT

Even though I had been spending a lot of time reading and in God’s word, I was thirsty.  I felt spiritually dehydrated.  The Lord empowered me.  The Lord poured into me.  I was in His Word from around 2 am until I put it down and fell asleep in the recliner around 9 pm.  It was a day of replenishment.  It was like standing under a waterfall and letting it cascade all over your body.  

Today, I awoke around 3 am refreshed.   “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great [is] Your faithfulness. “- Lamentations 3:23 NKJV.  The Holy Spirit continued to shower with me with the Living Word.  This was not a “Psalms Shower.” He led me through Deuteronomy, 1 Kings, Hosea, Joel, and landed me to Isaiah 58.  It wasn’t until I was sharing with a friend about the Holy Ghost “rabbit trail” that I realized what was right in front of me.  It was THE DIRECT ANSWER to my prayer in Isaiah 58:  

​​8Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

9 ​​Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’…

11 ​​The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
​​And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

12 ​​Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the 
Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

by Tammy Phillips
August 21, 2020

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! – Psalm 46:10 NKJV

Yesterday, I drove two and a half hours to and from a meeting.   The “school” was scheduled to last four hours.  It lasted thirty minutes.  Yes, I drove five hours for thirty minutes. Oh, I also arrived and hour early because I allowed for traffic delays.  When I happily exited the building, the most beautiful sky was waiting on me. I could have been mad and grumbles that I wasted 6.5 hours of my time.  Instead, I decided to be still and thankful that I did not waste 10 hours of my day.   

As a Christian you have heard this 2000 times, well, here it is for the 2020^th time.  “Be still” is the Hebrew word, raphah, meaning:

Let it go. 
Let it fall. 
Throw it down.  
Drop it. 
Relax your grip.
Abandon it. 
Forsake it. 
Be quiet. 
Cease and desist.

Be still in your home.
Be still in the COVID pandemic.
Be still in illness.
Be still in worry.
Be still in fear. 
Be still in all you have to do.
Be still in the civil unrest.
Be still in social media
Be still in the media.
Be still in all the voices.
Be still in the election.

I encourage you to KNOW that God is God!  He has not changed. He has not lost power. He has not gone anywhere.  He will be exalted. He will rise up among the nations. He will be exalted.  He will rise up in the earth.  Be still.  Let it all go.  Loose your grip on all that you are holding so tightly.   Let go of the things that move your faith, confidence and security in the Lord.  

Hear God in all His authority say: “BE STILL.  Know. that. I. AM. GOD!”

By Tammy Phillips
August 20,2020

Pray without ceasing – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV

Pray without ceasing.

I enCOURAGE you to pray without ceasing.

by Tammy Phillips
August 19, 2020

And of some have compassion, making a difference: – Jude 1:22 KJV

We do not know what people have gone through or are going through.  We are called to love them.  We are called to “make a difference” in their lives.

How can we make a difference?  Jude 1:22 refers to treating people differently.  No, not everybody needs to be treated the same.  We are all different.  Sometimes, we need to speak the Truth with all compassion.  Sometimes we need to speak the Truth of God with strength and firmness.   “And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” (Jude 1:23 KJV).  To scientists, we may need to make a difference by presenting salvation in the form of the scientific method.  To an athlete, we may need to present the gospel by an example of running a race or playing a game.   Jude was simply saying “make a difference.”  People are different and respond differently.  The goal is that “none should perish but all should to come to repentance and the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. “

Make a difference by letting someone cut in front of you out the check out
Make a difference by tipping a waiter, big.
Make a difference by cooking someone a meal.
Make a difference by writing a letter or sending a card.
Make a difference by sending a text or making a phone call.
Make a difference by saying, “Thank you!”
Make a difference by actually praying with someone, not just saying I will pray.
Make a difference by believing God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.
Make a difference by extending grace to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
Make a difference by sharing the saving love of Jesus.
Make a difference by sharing your experience.
Make a difference by sharing that Jesus saves, heals, delivers, protects, understands and loves unconditionally.

I enCOURAGE you to die to yourself and start making difference in the lives of all you touch.  One man, Jesus, changed my life and history, forever.  You make a difference.  You have kingdom work to do.  You may be the only hands and feet of Jesus that “one” person meets.

God has blown my mind.  He has used these enCOURAGEMENTS to touch 5,914 people in 30 different countries across the globe this year since March.  I do not say this to brag on anyone but God.  To God be all the glory.  I am one woman who dares to believe God.  I pray you arise and do what He has called you to do. GO, Make a difference!

 

 

 

by Tammy Phillips
August 18, 2020

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. – Isaiah 60:1-2 KJV

I love this picture, but I love my Lord, Creator of this sunrise, more!  Often, I remember this day, August 17, 2016.  My life will never be the same.  It was a turning point, a day of surrender and a day of commitment.  It was a day when God demonstrated to me how very much He loved me.  It was a day when I basked in the radiant glory of God which does not even compare to this glorious sunrise.  I would like to name it and have a celebration each year to remember what a great day in the Lord it was.  It was and is a day that keeps on giving.  Maybe, I will name my special dates with the Lord, “GLORY DAYS!”  I should plan a sabbatical each year to the beach on August 17^th to celebrate Jesus and this glorious date.  Ok, Kris Phillips? Remember you were part of this?

I COULD NOT have possibly made it through the last four years, much less the last ten, without my Jesus, my King.  He went before me and walked with me every step of the way.  Thank you, God!!!!

The Lord wants to give and spend these kinds of days with you. He wants to have “dates” with you.  He loves you so much.  He wants to be in your presence and you in His.   When you enter His presence, He does not hold back.  He gives you Himself, when you seek Him.  It is an experience that cannot be explained in mere words.  As much as I try, I cannot adequately define nor describe God’s awesome enormity and His amazing love with words.  He never ceases to amaze me.

I enCOURAGE you to seek the Lord every day.  Seek His presence.  He is not like a childish boy who coyishly turns away your advances; He welcomes you in with open and enveloping arms.  He is deeply in love with you and wants to have many unexplainable, incomprehensible, extraordinary dates with you.  Honestly, every day/date with Jesus should be a glory date; I pray that you have many “GLORY DAYS!”  Jesus said:

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.   As the Father loved Me,  so I have loved you; abide in My love.”  – John 15:9 NKJV