Category: Uncategorized

by Tammy Phillips
March 27, 2023

“Be still  and know that I [am] God!” (Psalm 46:10 NKJV)

Most Christians know this portion of Psalm 46:10, but what does this verse really suggest? What does it look like to get in the presence of the Lord, and be still?  When we use His phone number, Jeremiah 33:3, and we call Him, He will answer!  He will show us hidden things we do not know in His word, even if we have read and heard it a million times. 

For the past days, I cannot get away from the phrase “BE STILL,” and Psalms 46:10.

• I heard it in a blog from Lana Vawser.
• I heard it in a You Tube video a friend sent me.
• I heard it in my prayer time.
• I heard it during “Cover Tennessee Prayer time”
• I read it in an email from a friend.
• It is the scripture written at the bottom of my journal as I write this TODAY.
• It is in notes I just reread from prayer.
• I heard it when God cancelled my original plans to go to Georgia in order that we could have  a three -day faith-cation.  He called into the stillness of His presence.
• I heard it  a week later while sitting in the cool of the morning on a friends deck in the Blue Ridge mountains.
• I even saw it while shopping on the side of an inspirational cube in TJMAXX. (Yes, I bought it.) 

“I hear you Lord.   I really do.”  Then it was almost as if Holy Spirit said, “Do you?  Let me show you what I really mean.”

He showed me alright.  He showed that  “be still” means:

• To slacken
• To not be tense
• To hang loose
• To relax
• To slow down
• To sink down
• To cast down
• To throw down
• To let go
• To drop

I heard Holy Spirit loudly say so that I could understand, “To be still is to drop everything!  Drop everything.  Let it go.”

Drop every worry, anxiety, and fear.
Drop  your family problems, job challenges and finance woes.
Drop your hurts, pains, and  impossibilities.
Drop your bitterness, backbiting, and blabbering.
Drop your “I-know-everything.”
Drop your “I-need-to-help-out-with-this.”
Drop your control, you list of  “to-dos” and  your list of  “have-to-get-done.”
Drop your phone, I-pad and computer.
Drop EVERYTHING!

“Be still (soft voice)…and KNOW  I AM God (roaring voice) Know, see, experience, be acquainted with, discover I AM GOD.” – Father God

Friend, I hear your response, “I cannot just drop everything.”  YES. You can.  Let go and let God.  I hear other’s say , “ I cannot just take off three days from work and spend with God.”

That is my call, not yours.  I am so very blessed,  I know that.  I am blessed to spend unlimited  time with God, but I choose to spend it with Him.  I could be doing other things.  I could be playing 4 hours of golf (nothing wrong with that!), but have I been still and gotten in the presence of God.  I could be watching a baseball game or TV show (nothing wrong with that), but how much time have I spent allowing God to reveal more of himself to me. I could be attempting  to do my job and be frustrated by the push back of the day.   I could come home from that  long, trying day and  choose to get lost in the web, reels, Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram in an attempt to leave the weight of the day behind.   All of those things are KNOWLEDGE, good or bad, but have I been still?  Have I dropped everything to step into that Intimate place with Almighty, All Loving? Am I knowing Him?   He is our Help. He is all power. He is our Strength.  He is our Refuge and Shelter. He will be our everything if we allow Him.

God may not be calling you to a 3-day faith-cation!  However, He might  be calling you to a 10-day fishing trip with Him.   He may be just calling you to put down your phone and spend 15 minutes a day with Him.  I do not know your call.  I do not know your situation. I do not answer your call.   I do KNOW that He calls us all to  be still.  He calls us to drop everything at His feet. He calls us to throw it all down and to  get to know Him.  He is God. He can easily handle your anything,  if you will just drop your everything.

I enCOURAGE YOU to be still.  Drop everything at the throne of grace.  Get to know GOD.  Learn that He can handle it all and does not need our help.  He wants to be in Your presence and you in His.

VIVA MAGENTA:  Live.  Breathe.  Be…still.

 

 

by Tammy Phillips
March 20-22, 2023

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…”(Eph 3:17 NKJV)

We had a mega windstorm come through our town, Friday, March 3, 2023.  Hurricane force winds reached up to 79 miles per hour.  Oddly enough, an out-of-town friend and I were out shopping in the middle of it.  We were in a store when I got a warning call from my son that it was bad, and he had just watched a tree uproot near us. When we exited the store, it was difficult to walk against the wind to my car. 

We looked to the right.  The sky was dark gray, but to the left, we only saw the bluest skies. We decided to proceed with our lunch plans, but found our destination was without electricity from the barrage.  We decided to head home, but after a brief chat and a look at the weather map,  the blue skies over Clarksville drew us downtown.  Alicia, my out-of-town friend,  had not seen the city in years and it had changed a lot.

On the way into our small city, we began to see more damage.  My husband called with news that the gusts hand blown the door open and off in one of the buildings on campus and that a tree had fallen on it.  We continued our sight-seeing journey as the air around us continued to rampage and howl.

We attempted to catch up with my husband. In our pursuit, we  witnessed a massive tree slowly uproot and fall to its death right between two houses.  As we meandered, we saw more and more destruction.  Finally, after catching up with Kris, we agreed that we should return to our respective houses.  The path home was not straight nor direct.  Turn after turn we encountered colossal trees overturned and blocking our way.   I had to turn on the GPS to guide us home.  Keep in mind,  the bursts were still shaking my car.  When we finally navigated into recognizable territory, we were jarred by an exploding transformer.  We felt like we were in a “Mad Max” movie.  Timbers were toppled and their carnage was everywhere.  Stop lights and road signs were twisted, waved, and bent like nothing I had ever seen. 

When we finally got home, it was a strain to open the car door against the forceful, unseen gales.  We made it safely through the storm, but as I drove through our  neighborhood, I saw multiple uprooted trees.  Thankfully, only a few had claimed houses as their victims. 

The next day, my husband and I were driving to help my mother- in-law pick up the debris in her yard.  We were discussing the prior day’s events with a friend.  We came to the exit of our subdivision and saw a large tree who had succumbed to the windstorm, laying on the ground with its roots resting perpendicular to the horizon.  Its  rootball was taller than the home.  I stated, “It’s roots were just not deep enough to survive the storm.” (An encouragement idea birthed.) This was a scene that would repeat itself many times as we made our journey out into the country.   The roots were not deep enough to sustain the wind.

A divine appointment came two days later,  a devotion about none other than “Deep Roots.”  The writer talked about research conducted on trees.  I further found the study was conducted at Biosphere 2, a research facility in Arizona.  Indoor habitats were created to see how things would grow in outer space.  Many things thrived, but not trees.  They grew fast but would fall over.  The lack of wind did not allow the trees to develop stress wood. Wind causes small cracks to form in the tree’s wood when put under stress. Stress wood helps the tree strengthen, grow towards the light, and develop deep roots. 

Although we do not welcome the windstorms of life that seek to uproot and move us from our steadfast position, they do make us stronger by creating spiritual stress wood.

Keep in mind… 1 Corinthians 10:13 and that a “temptation” could be a tempest, or a spiritual windstorm.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God [is] faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear [it].

Now, looking again at the focus verse, how does God grow “stress wood” in our lives and help us bear through the storms? 

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…”(Eph 3:17 NKJV)

• We call on Him. “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”(Jer 33:3 NKJV)
• We ask in faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” (Jas 1:6 NKJV) Faith keeps us aligned, strong, steady, and not tossed around by the winds. 
• He “grants” us according to riches of His glory.  Grant means to give to the one asking.  He answers us.  He “lets-us-have-it” according to his abundant and limitless riches in glory. 
• He grants us to be strengthened with might in the inner man. We are made and grow strong in our inner core. Spiritual stress wood is created when we call on Him, grow and go deep with Him  in faith. God thoughts are very deep. (Psa 92:5 NKJV). He reveals deep and secret things.(Dan 2:22 NKJV)

“But God has revealed [them] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (1Co 2:10 NKJV).  

This is the might.  Might makes things happen. Might is the power for performing miracles. Might is the “can do.”  Might is the dynamite to make impossible, possible. This is what we have inside working for us, the wonder working power of Christ.  Feel any stronger?  And all of this is simply through faith in Him.

God said in Jeremiah 33:3 that He would show us great and mighty things which we do not know. The word might in Jeremiah and Ephesians means the same thing.  Things that are inaccessible, hidden, held back, and impossible to men.  This is divine revelation and it strengthens us.

•  Being rooted. We become fixed, established, and rendered firm in Him. We grow deep roots in Him through faith and His revelation of the deep, secret, and  mighty things.  Scripture says,  “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Col 2:7 NKJV)
• Being grounded in love. God is love and we are made stable, established, and steadfast in Him alone. He is our very foundation.

 “But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. “(1Co 15:58 NKJV)

When we become  rooted and grounded in Him, His love, His Word, and His revelation.  We can be steadfast, not easily uprooted.  In fact, we can be immovable trees of righteousness! We can be victorious through Him, not swayed when the storms and temptations of life come.  They only make our inner man stronger

I enCOURAGE you to dig in.  Dig into His word. Dig into His presence.  Grow your roots deep in the love of God. Be strong, immovable, and not easily toppled.  Do not let the tempest’s have their way with you like they did with the trees in Clarksville that March day.

I was reminded by my coffee cup this morning,  

“God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” (Psa 46:5 NKJV)

“God is within her; she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (Psa 46:5 NIV)

Now, go back and slow read this verse and let it be your confession.

VIVA MAGENTA: Live! Breathe! Be…STRENGTHED, ROOTED and GROUNDED! 

March 13, 2003

God’s timing…

Wednesday, February 22, 2023, during prayer time with the “Cover Tennessee” gals, Holy Spirit stirred this word in my Spirit and I wrote Nehemiah 4:14 in my journal:

“After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’” (Neh 4:14 NIV)

On February 26, 2023, just four days later, I arrived at Cornerstone Church in Athens, Georgia to hear Pastor preach part 1 of “Fight For Your Family.”  Want to guess what scripture he led with?  You got it, Nehemiah 4:14!  The  next week he preached, and I watched part 2.  Below are 10 points, notes from his sermons, and links to listen.  Good stuff.

FIGHT FOR MY FAMILY (pt. 1 & 2)  by Pastor Scott Sheppard

“Feelings will help you fall in love, but you are going to have to fight to stay in love.”
  -Scott Sheppard

10 Fighting for Your Family Principals:

1. Repent right away. No fake apologies like, “Well, I am sorry I made you feel…”   Only say, “I am sorry. I was wrong and I will not do it again.”
2. Forgive right away (and like crazy).

Love like Jesus. Love gives everything, love is not about what you can get but about what you can give.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 NKJV)

Why forgive like crazy? because we have been forgiven like crazy.

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV)

3. Choose to speak life. We either build up or break down with words.

“Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”  (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)

4. Speak each other’s love language. (“The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman—Did I mention this book was in my bag at church because I was reading it at the same time?! )

Love language #1: Words of affirmation. …
Love language #2: Acts of service. …
Love language #3: Gifts. …
Love language #4: Quality time. …
Love language #5: Physical touch.

5. “Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.” What do you need me to do? Show and tell me. You cannot break up a marriage that serves one another.

Ask: 

What do you need more or less of from me?
Is there anything that’s making you feel second?
Is there anything you need me to stop or stayer?

“Submit to one another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:21 NKJV)

6. Get the right help.

 “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors [there is] victory.”(Proverbs 24:6 NKJV)  

Talk to Godly people! Don’t seek counsel from bitter people. Only take advice from people that have been where you want to go. Healthy family! Health life!

8.  Don’t stop dating your spouse.
   Dating has nothing to do with money but making time for each other.
9. Continue to go after God.
   Fight for your time with God pursue Him.

 “I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NKJV)

9:  Do not quit!

“Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is] knowledge, it will vanish away.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV)

Hebrew word, ahvah:  a love of my will.  I choose to love you.  Love you no matter.  You cannot get rid of me. I am not going anywhere.

10. Stay connected to the Vine.
    Wounds are past and present. Relationship shrapnel is everywhere. We cannot do it on our own.  We can do all through Him and nothing without Him. The enemy wants to destroy but…

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

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

In presence of God things change—

• Hurts are healed
• Things turns around
• Hope is restored
• Confusion turns into clarity

BUT…

• You have to fight to pursue God
• You have to fight to stay connected.
• You have to fight to stay connected to vine.
• You have to fight to repent.
• You have to fight to forgive.
• You have to fight to  speak words of encouragement.
• You have to fight to stand.
• You have to fight to never quit.
• You have to fight!

Sermon links:
FIGHT FOR MY FAMILY (pt. 1) by Scott Sheppard
FIGHT FOR MY FAMILY (pt. 2) by Scott Sheppard  

I enCOURAGE YOU  to fight for your families.  Fight for your spouse!  Fight for your sons!  Fight for your daughters! Fight for your future generations!  Fight for your homes!

Viva Magenta:  Live. Breathe.  Be…fighting!

by Tammy Phillips
March 6, 2023

 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect.”  (Gen 17:1 KJV)

What a visit 99-year-old Abram had with God!  We are never too old to have an encounter, nor assignment from God.  The Lord  introduced himself  for the first time as Almighty God, All-Sufficient, the Most Powerful, and  God Who Is More Than Enough. He was in fact letting Abram know He was more than enough to keep all His 25-year-old promises to make Abram a Father of many nations and powerful enough to make them happen.   He charged Abram to walk in His presence and be perfect. Eek!   In Genesis 17:5 God even changed his name from Abram to Abraham.  He called him what he was not at that time, a father of many nations. 

When I think of Abraham, perfect does not come to mind. He had flaws, just like you and me.   When I think of Tammy Phillips, perfect is definitely not the first thing I think of.  Perfect to me has always meant flawless. God had to change my way of thinking just like he had to change Abrahams. 

It was in the early 2000’s when I found my life verse. “You are complete in Him!”(Col 2:10 NKJV)

This word changed everything for me.  I learned it was all about God and not me!  It was about who I was in Him, complete, “full filled” to the top, and  perfected. About 14 years later, I learned in Job 1 that the Hebrew word for perfect is “tam,” and it means healed, whole and complete. God gave me a new name in Him.  He called me what I definitely “was not,” but “was to be” in Him.  I say by faith, “I am Complete.  I am Healed. I am Whole and I am Perfect. I was dead inside, but He made  me alive with Him, forgave all my trespasses, wiped out the handwriting and list of charges against me.  He took it ALL away and nailed it to the cross.”  We are not supposed to recall our list of flaws.  We are to live.  We are to breathe. We are to be.

Yesterday, at this point I came to a screeching halt.   Holy Spirit challenged me, “What does it mean to be perfect?”  (You cannot make this stuff up!)   I had researched “be perfect”  and had a list of verses for this encouragement but after spending an hour or so trying to write, I was at a brick wall, and not progressing.  I stopped, prayed, and thought about it all day!

This morning I pulled up the “Be Perfect”  document to work on but decided to journal about yesterday instead.  I was thinking about someone I have let get under my skin.  I wrote in my journal, “Be the better person! Be the better person!”   Then Holy Spirit dropped, “Turn the other cheek” into my spirit.   My thought was:  “Seriously, God?”   I googled “turn the other cheek” to find its place in scripture.  First word that appeared was Mathew 5:43,44…48:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…. Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Mat 5:48 NKJV, and of course this was one of the verses on my list, boldly highlighted, for this encouragement.)

I stopped and laughed at Holy Spirit’s sense of humor.  The Breaker had given me the breakthrough I needed.  I guess we were finishing this encouragement after all.  I said, “Hello, Lord!  This is not the ‘turn-the-other-cheek’ verse!”

I heard Him laugh and say, “Oh, but it is.  Keep looking!” 

Holy Spirit had a little more to say.  Just above Mathew 5:48, I found…

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have [your] cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” (Mat 5:38-41 NKJV)

Jesus is perfect and we are  to follow Him and His example. The word “perfect” in Matthew 5:48 means complete, finished, grown up, and mature.  Think about this. Paul’s thorn in the flesh could have been another person.  When someone physically or mentally slaps us or a loved one, naturally, we want to slap back, or at least give them a piece of our  mind.  The “perfect” thing to do is be mature about it.  Remain, whole and complete.  Do not lose it, nor allow the “enemy” to move us from our place of peace.  We should readily give them our peace of mind, Jesus.   

How can we be perfect? Complete? Whole? Healed?  Like Abraham,  we have to walk,  live and be mature in the presence, and face of God.  We cannot take our eyes off Him.  We can only  be perfect, complete, and mature in Him.

I enCOURAGE you…finally, brothers and sisters…be glad, be well, and be cheerful.  Be perfect, be complete, become mature, be restored, be repaired, mend what has been broken, and put things in order.  Be comforted and be encouraged.  Be of one mind!  Be at peace!   Live in peace!  and the God of love and peace shall be with you. (2Co 13:11 KJV)

My prayer for you is Hebrews 13:20-21…

Now, may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, (The God who can do anything!)  that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you complete, whole healed and perfect,  in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen.

Viva Magenta: Be cheerful!  Live! Breathe!  Be…Perfect!

by Tammy Phillips
February 28, 2023

If you did not read yesterday’s blog, please do so first.  Here is the link. BE DONE WITH IT.

So many of us have believed a lie that  we have to be perfect in the public’s eye.  I did for years. I was a people pleaser.  Other’s opinions matter, but it is God, My Father, who I aim to please.  All the days of my life have already been written in my book, and He knows all my imperfections.  I am one of the reasons He sent Jesus…to pay for all my mistakes.  At this point in my life, I may overshare, but I try to live as an open book,  I share so you may know you are not alone in your journey. We are all  imperfect but complete in Him. The whooping I received  from Holy Spirt was too much for one day’s writing so here is the second part that really shook me up.  

BE WON OVER WITHOUT A WORD

 “In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word (of God), they may BE WON OVER WITHOUT A WORD by the way their wives live, when they observe your pure, reverent lives.” (1Pe 3:1-2 CSB)

I do not know about you, but I want to live in a way that my husband can be won over to the Lord without a word.  HOW POWERFUL IS THAT?   I want my ways to lead my husband closer to the Lord and my words not  to drive him further from away.  My “ways” include my conduct and behavior.  It is how I walk and journey through life, day to day.  The Greek word for way/conversation is a derivative of the word “anastrephō” which means to live, behave oneself, and  be used.  It also means to overthrow, overturn, turn upside down, to turn back, to turn hither and thither, to turn oneself about and do the “hokey-pokey” of life.  Our every turn and return may affect our husbands relationship with the Lord.  And you know, how we do life  has to spill over to our kids and grandkids and everyone else around us. Words matter but actions matter more.

We can doll up for our husbands and the world but…

“Don’t let your beauty be of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry, but rather be what is inside the heart ​– ​the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”(1Pe 3:4 CSB)

Gentle, meek, and mild are definitely qualities I NEED to work on.  Make-up and hair are easy compared to those. And a quiet spirit…still,  undisturbed, and steadfast…  Be quiet is pretty grand advice!  It is worth a lot in God’s eyes.  Will this whooping ever end? How many times must I be told to watch my mouth?

Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.  (1Pe 3:8-9 CSB)

Finally!  I have been waiting for the summation in this whooping.

Be of one mind.
Be sympathetic (not self-centered).
Be compassionate. Feel the pain of another.
Be loving.
Be humble.
Give a blessing for insult. (WOW…kind of like love your enemy!) We were CALLED to do life in this way so that we may be blessed.  All of this is very contrary to the flesh.

I thought Peter had said finally, but he was not finished.

“For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT and LET HIM TURN AWAY FROM EVIL and DO WHAT IS GOOD. Let him seek peace and pursue it because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil. “ (1Pe 3:12 CSB)

We heard all this yesterday in earlier chapters of  Peter, but he felt the need to remind us, again.  Once more, We are  told to BE DONE WITH IT, SIN.  I want God on my side.  I want to do his will. I best zip my lips,  crucify my flesh and be done with it.

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding ​– ​because THE ONE WHO SUFFERS IN THE FLESH IS FINISHED WITH SIN ​– in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. (1Pe 4:2 CSB)

Peter warns that the end of all things is near; therefore…

Be alert. Watching.
Be in the right mind.
Be self- controlled.
Be  sober-minded for prayer.
Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1Pe 4:7-8 CSB)

We  cannot love well if we are constantly complaining, speaking badly about or to someone.   We are told to “be hospitable to one another without complaining.” (1Pe 4:9 CSB). We are to be fond of guests  without mumbling, muttering, grumbling.  We are to use our  gift t to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. (1Pe 4:10 CSB).  And, be clothed with humility because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  (1Pe 5:5 CSB). My mouth was way too proud of my ugly behavior last Saturday and I have been being humbled by His loving words for the last ten days.  (Oh and by the way, my actions have not been perfect since then either, but I am going to keep on trying.)

I enCOURAGE you to learn from my mistakes and misbehavior.  What we say, but more importantly the way we walk out life, can and will lead people to Jesus.  Choose life. Live life in a way that others, including our husbands, will BE WON OVER WITHOUT A WORD!  

Viva Magenta:  Live. Breathe. Be…

 

P.S.  Want to know God’s will for our lives?  Look at this expounded list of  “BE’s”  from just  1 Peter:

Be sober.
Be holy in all conduct.
Be holy, for I am holy.
Be honorable in your conduct.
Be good.
Be as you ought to be in your conversation.
Be done with every trace of wickedness.
Be done with a bad nature.
Be done with all tricks.
Be done pretending.
Be done with jealousy.
Be done with backbiting.
Be done with evil speaking of every kind.
BE DONE WITH IT!
Be submissive to [your] masters with all fear.
Be  submissive to your own husbands….
Be beautiful inside.
Be quiet.
Be gentle.
Be like minded.
Be sympathetic.
Be tenderhearted.
Be compassionate.
Be not afraid of threats
Be not troubled.
Be ready to defend the hope within.
Be humble.
Be a blessing.
Be turned from evil.
Be alert.
Be sober.
Be serious.
Be in the right mind.
Be self-controlled.
Be  sober minded for prayer.
Be loving.
Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
Be glad with exceeding joy.
Be not  ashamed.
Be clothed with humility.
Be sober.
Be vigilant.
Be done with it.

Dare I go to 2 Peter?

by Tammy Phillips
February 27, 2023

“Be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy) and slander andevil speaking of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:2) 

God has such a sense of humor. 

Last Saturday, I awoke just past midnight,  I watched two episodes of The Chosen, streaming series. One show took the liberty to show Jesus’ disciple, Peter bent-out-of-shape over a loss he had experienced.  My thoughts were: “Really, Peter after all you have seen and been through with Jesus. You physically got to see him, talk with him and walk with him daily.”  Those before-dawn, judgmental thoughts would come back to bite me.

I do not see Jesus with my eyes, but I am blessed to walk and talk with him daily.  I get to see him at work accomplishing his words and works every day.  Yet, later in the day that I had  so easily judged the Peter’s character, I got bent out of shape and knocked out of alignment. I did not walk nor talk like the woman God has called me to be. 

For an unexplained reason, after I watched The Chosen  episodes, I fell back asleep and woke up a little later, unexplainably, extremely agitated. My  husband asked me what was wrong, I said, “Nothing,” multiple times.  I had no idea what was wrong with me. 

I allowed this attitude to last throughout the whole day.  We went to an event, a basketball game and to dinner with friends.  I was ill like I had not been in a very long time.  I went to the event and sat at the farthest table away  in order to isolate myself from the hundred plus people. It did not work.  I was soon joined by friends, one who is really named “Grace Lord.”  The “Lord” literally showed up and I was still mean, snappy, unsocial, and ill like Peter had been.  And I was going with it.  Another friend told me to snap out of it. My flesh rose up and I did nothing to resist.  The day before had been a great day!  I had been shopping , resisted the urge to buy, and had conquered the flesh by saying, “No. No. No.” I could not even blame this attitude  on the devil.  This was all ugly me not abstaining and refraining.   

I said things I should not have.  I made faces I should not have.  I acted like I should not have.  I was not kind.  My canvas was not reflecting the glory of the Lord who lives in me. I joked and laughed about my attitude,  but it was not funny!

Sunday morning, I wrote in my journal, “What is my internal struggle?”  I wondered what Saturday had been about.   It did not take Holy Spirit long to answer my question, begin my gently whooping and needed correction.

I heard in my spirit, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.”  Although I knew  was from Ephesians 6, I did a word search for “flesh” on my Bible ap.  I was led to  and through 1 Peter, Peter of all the books in the Bible.  I had judged Peter’s action and now the Lord was going to use his words to set me straight.  God and His humor.  He and Peter would have the last laugh.   Here is just part of what I was reminded:

You [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1Pe 2:9 NKJV)

I heard…YOU ARE CHOSEN, just like Peter.  You are a royal; act like it.  You are holy; act like it.  You are His own; act like it. You have been called and you have a job “to proclaim the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  

AND! 

Beloved, I beg [you] as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable (1Pe 2:11-12 NKJV)

I heard, “You are still loved.  Be-Loved!   As you are walking through life ABSTAIN and REFRAIN FROM FLESHLY LUSTS WHICH WAR AGAINST THE SOUL.  Hold back, keep off, separate, be distant  from fleshly lusts.  They war against the soul!   Be honorable in your conduct.”   What does it mean to be honorable in conduct?  It means to be good, excellent , beautiful, pleasant, delightful,  genuine, approved, be as you ought to be in your conversation, behavior, and walk.  (“Ouch, that stung.”) If that was not enough…

I Peter 2:1 instructs us to “be done with every trace of wickedness (bad nature, depravity, malignity) and all deceits, tricks,  and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy) and slander and back biting and  evil speaking of every kind.”

I heard, “BE DONE WITH IT,  every trace of  wickedness, bad, thinking, feeling, acting, and speaking. Be done with pretending and jealously.  Be done with evil speaking of ALL KIND!  BE DONE WITH IT!  Ouch!

Peter continued with my whooping  in verse 2, “desire the pure milk of the word, so that you MAY GROW UP INTO YOUR SALVATION, if in fact we have tasted of the Grace of the Lord.  (I had Grace Lord sitting right in front of me and I still didn’t change my ugliness.)

As I continued to read through 1 Peter I heard:

1. It is God’s will for you to do good. It will silence the ignorant. (1Pe 2:15)
2. Christ left you an example, follow in his steps. (1Pe 2:21)
3. He did not commit sin, and no lie or ugly was found in his mouth. (1Pe 2:22)
4. Christ was insulted, he did not insult in return. He suffered, he did not threaten (1Pe 2:23 CSB)
5. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1Pe 2:24 CSB)

We are called to live the right way. 

I enCOURAGE you to be done with it!  Abstain and refrain from all ugly!  Be done with the evil speaking and acting. Follow Christs example.  Say what Father God says and do what He does.  Follow Jesus’ examples.  Live the right way.  Be good. The struggle is real, but God is greater than the struggle and greater is God inside us than anything and anyone in the world.

Viva Magenta:  Live. Breathe. Be…DONE WITH IT! 

P.S. I learned to “be done with it,” but Peter was done with me.  I’ll be back tomorrow with his final words that really shook me, as if all this was not enough.

 

 

 

 by Tammy Phillips
February 20, 2023   

“Therefore ,a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen 2:24 NKJV)

I knew this verse was next in line for the “BE” encouragements and thankfully, I was reminded not once, but twice this week what it means to be one. 

Kris and I were invited to a surprise 40^th Anniversary celebration.  The man threw the party for his bride, gushed over her in his speech, brought me to tears, and asked her for another forty.  Not only that, but he also had  helped make one of her dreams a reality by joining her in opening a restaurant…the very next day.  What a picture of being one.

Secondly, at the same party, my husband and I were sitting  together at a table of eight, enjoying conversations, and the evening.  The restaurant was loud, roaring with chatter and a singer bellowing in the background.  Kris and I were  turned from each other and talking with different individuals.  From behind us we heard the woman sing one of “our songs.” Simultaneously, hidden from the view, we reached for one another.  We entwined our fingers and continued our conversations. In that brief moment, I was reminded, again, what it truly means to  be one.

What does it mean to be one? 

Often in sprouting relationships,  one person or maybe both will question, “How do you know if you have found “the one?”  Perhaps the correct question should be, “how do you know if you have found the right half to become one?“  Many selfishly enter into marriage thinking that they ARE the one.  Wrong.  The marriage union created by God is between two parts, two halves, a man, and a woman, who when joined together become one flesh.  Man and woman were made to be joined, to fit perfectly altogether, united as one. 

As a married woman of almost thirty years, I can say the marriage union is a miracle of God. It is a process.  Scripture says, “they SHALL BE  and shall become one flesh,” not they are one. Becoming one is not easy.  LaDonna McClain, a friend of ours once said, “Marriage is so much more than love. It is commitment.”  It is commitment to have and to hold, for better, for worse, in good times and bad, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death parts.

So many enter marriage with the thought that if it does not work out, there is always divorce.  What a way to enter marriage, thinking about ending before you even begin!  We should all enter marriage with thoughts of  holding on!

Kris and I have been through it all, better, worse and the worst; poor and rich; sickness and health.  Have we both wanted run at times?  Yes, but God!  We chose to hold on.  After we took our wedding vows, walked down the aisle, and came out the church doors, we made another spontaneous verbal commitment to each other, “THIS IS FOREVER!”

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joinedto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” [Mat 19:4-6 NKJV]

We entered marriage with a “hold on and be joined” mentality.  Do you know that the Hebrew word in Genesis 2:24 and the Greek word in Matthew 19:5 for “be joined” means the same thing.  It means to  cleave, cling, stick, stay close, keep close, stick to, stick with, to adhere, especially firm as if with glue; to be glued together; to cement; fasten together; one single by union; undivided; the same.

Why is divorce so hard?  Marriage between man and woman, designed by God, was NEVER meant to be separated.  It was, and is, to be two parts cemented and glued together, forever.  God did provide for a  conditional way out, but that is not His perfect plan.  His plan is one, joined, cemented together, forever. That is what it means to be one!

I enCOURAGE you singles to choose wisely with the guidance of God who your other half will be.  Those of you who are married, continue to work on becoming one.  Do not give up.  Life, children, work, family, other outside influences, and voices will try to divide.  Other things will try to chisel away at God’s cement and melt the glue that joins you, BUT GOD.  He is the glue that holds it altogether. “What God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Viva Magenta.  Live. Breathe. Be…one!

by Tammy Phillips
February 13, 2023

“And Adam said: “This [is] now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” (Gen 2:23 NKJV)

Contrary to what society is now telling the world, “God created man in His [own] image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:27 NKJV)  If you believe the word of God, there is male and female, period, the end.

In Genesis 2:7 the infallible word of God says He “formed man [of] the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Then, “the LORD God said, “[It is] not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper.” (Gen 2:18 NKJV)

God didn’t think it was GOOD that man should be alone. The word “alone” in Hebrew means, alone, separate, and apart.  Man was missing something, a part of himself. God thought Adam needed a HELPER.  God did not create another man to help Adam. He created a female.  And Adam was allowed to name her in Genesis 2:23, “She shall be called woman.”

Come on women in the group.  Immediately, God saw man was going to need some help and he sent us!   (We all know that, right?  You can smile now.)  Man and woman working together was, is, and always will be God’s plan. We are needed and we are important in God’s plan.

My oldest son, jokingly, used to call me Woman.  I think he did it because he knew it got under my skin  a little bit.  At that time, I did not like being called Woman.  If  he chose to call me Woman after studying this verse, I would count it a compliment because I know he, in all reality, would be calling  me a helper, a supporter, and an aid.  Websters defines “helper”  as  one who furnishes or administers a remedy.   According to Websters, “help” defined is to lend strength or means towards advancing a purpose; to relieve; to cure, or to mitigate pain or disease; to remedy; to change for the better; deliverance from difficulty or distress.

“God [is] our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” (Psa 46:1 NKJV) 

We were created in His image as female, as strong, and as helpers.  It is part of His plan and purpose for us.  It is no wonder we try to fix everything!   We were created and called to help! 

I am just fine being called  Woman.

For the greater part of my life, I walked around with my head down feeling inferior, discouraged, not good enough, and not much of a woman.  (I was not the most graceful of creatures.)  Not now!  The word of God has renewed my mind.   I know whose I am and who I am in Him.  I am a daughter of the Lion of Judah.  “I am Woman, hear me roar like my Daddy!”

I am a woman created by God.
I am a very present help in trouble.
I am a supporter.
I am an aid.
I am an Advancer of God’s kingdom, purposes, and plans.
I am a reliever.
I am an administer of remedies.
I am a deliverer from difficulties and distress.
I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I am strong.
I am bold.
I am courageous.
I am warrior.
I am more than a conqueror.
I am an overcomer.
I am victorious.
I am an ambassador for Christ.
I am a follower of Christ.
I am an oak of righteousness.
I am a daughter of the Most High.
I am an heiress.
I am a wife.
I am a mother.
I am a sister.
I am a friend.
I am accepted. 
I am blessed.
I am beloved.
I am a believer, not a doubter. 
I am chosen.
I am creative.
I am a doer.
I am an enCOURAGER.
I am favored.
I am forgiven.
I am free.
I am a fierce defender.
I am giver.
I am a helper.
I am important.
I am an intercessor.
I am justified.
I am loved.
I am not moved.
I am redeemed.
I am sanctified.
I am saved.
I am satisfied.
I am not shaken.
I am transformed.
I am treasured.
I am thankful.
I am a writer.
I am whole.
I am healed.
I am complete in Him!
I am Woman.

You are too, my sisters!

I enCOURAGE you to embrace who God has called you to be…WOMAN.  You are so important in the Kingdom of God.  You are greatly loved by Father God.  Fulfill the purpose and plans God has for you. 

Viva Magenta:  Live!  Breathe!  Be…called Woman!

God [is] in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. [Psa 46:5 NKJV]

 

by Tammy Phillips
January 31, 2023

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”. [Mat 16:24 KJV]

 Over the last few weeks, Holy Spirit has repeatedly led me back to this verse.  I have been stuck on a  verse in Genesis for about two weeks.  I have been asking the Lord what he wants me to say about the Genesis verse, and  he keeps leading back to, “Follow me.” When I did a Blue Letter Bible search of “follow me,” I was brought back to Matthew 16:24, again.

I am a follower of Jesus. Why does he keep saying follow Me?  I am his disciple. He is my Teacher.  He brought me down a different path this morning by asking  and saying,  “Who and what are you following? Follow me.”

Today,  I was stuck.  I have never had writers block like this.  Two weeks and the words were not coming. I was done. I started retreating a little from seeking God about this and going down a different path.  I was tired and did not seem to be going anywhere.  I felt like I was spinning my wheels.  I closed the computer and started to write in my journal.

 “I do not like this day on the calendar.  It was a painful day in my history.  It is not one I like to relive.  I have had to overcome it every year since 2017.  The pain likes to raise its ugly head, but I WALK BY FAITH.  I squish the thoughts from the enemy .  Not today!  I am not following you to that place. I follow Jesus.  I follow love!  I follow hope, joy, a future, patience, and endurance. I do not follow you pain.  I do not follow you thief who tries to steal, kill, and destroy my joy.  I do not follow you into enemy territory.  You cannot move me from my place in Him.  I choose the direction that I will go.  I go to Him.  I follow Christ.  I follow truth and life.  I go to the place He leads me.  I am in Him, and He is in me and that is where I am staying today.”

 Jesus said, “Follow me.”  Following Him is  every day, every time, and every second.  It is our choice.

I ask you the same question Holy Spirit asked me, “Who and what are you following?” 

Are you following pain down a path when the Lord has already healed you.  Are following shame down the path of regret when the Lord has already restored you?  Are you running after  offense? Are you allowing unforgiveness to take you to the place of bitterness?

Hear the loving  words of Jesus:  “Come after me, deny yourself, and take up you cross, and follow me.”

Deny yourself.  Don’t follow the dead end of  pain, hurt, offense, bitterness, unforgiveness, hate anger,  or selfishness.  They will take you places that you do not want to go.  Forget yourself!  It is all about following Him.  Walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. (Gal 5:16) The flesh wants you to go one way and the Spirit another.

I enCOURAGE you to choose the right way. Deny the wrong ways.  Follow Him down the path of life into  health, wholeness, completeness, love, joy, and peace that passes understanding.  Live, breathe and be in Him.  Hear Jesus, “Be..following Me!”