Category: Uncategorized

April 9, 2020

“Surely, he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence.”   Psalm 91:3

I arose and began my day and as I passed by the mirror, I glanced at myself.  I did not like what I saw.  The person looking back at me, frightened me.  I did not recognize her.  She looked worried.  In one of the craziest 48 hours I have ever endured, I had listened to the all the “noisome pestilence.”  The noise was loud and coming from EVERY direction like fiery darts.  I had let the noise affect and distract me.  It had briefly infected me like the stupid virus they were ranting about.

What had contaminated me? the “noisome “which in Hebrew is the word havah which means mischievous, calamity, ruin, fall, destructive…and derives from the word “havah” which means to breath, rush headlong in to.

And, the “Pestilence” which is the Hebrew word deber.  It means plague, destruction, death, BUT it comes from the word dabar which means…WORDS, to put words in order, to plot against, to lay snares to destroy.

When I say I listened to the noisome pestilence, to me it means I listened to the mischievous breath of words put in order to plague, trap and destroy me!  All the media outlets used words to incite me to fear and I took the bait.  BUT GOD… in a moment that morning, delivered and snatched me away from the “snares of the fowler,” the bait-layer.  He allowed me to see me!     I immediately chose Jesus!  I chose to listen to the Words of my Daddy.  “Surely, he will deliver me!”  I smiled big in that mirror and said, “Not today!  Fear you don’t own me!  My Daddy has got me!”

I enCOURAGE you to not take the bait of the enemy!   He is a noisy pest.  Don’t worry during this troublesome time.  Rejoice in the saving words of our Heavenly Father!   Smile and put your praise on! And, turn off the noise!

April 8, 2020

 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, pray… ” (Philippians 4:6-CSB)

As I hugged my husband the morning of  March 23, 2020, the Holy Spirit surprised me and reminded me of a precious moment in my life.  I had not thought about it in a very long time. It was an unbelievable, timely reminder.

Travel back a few years with me, I was a Mom of two young boys, a three-year-old and an eight-month-old.  It was December of 1997 and I was excited to celebrate my youngest’s first Christmas.  I worked for a company headquartered in Atlanta.  I was the branch manager for the Clarksville, Tennessee office.  My immediate boss’ flew me to Atlanta for what I thought was going to be a promotion.  I was blindsided.  They had flown me to Atlanta to inform me that they were closing the Clarksville office effective immediately.  I was in shock.

And, I had to return and deliver the news to my whole team.

On the flight back home, it was all I could do to hold back my tears.  God mercifully placed a sweet Jamaican woman right beside me.  We exchanged pleasantries.  I don’t remember everything about that encounter, but I remember telling her my story.   I remember confessing my faith in God and her agreement.   I am sure she could see and feel my distress.  She offered me encouragement.  Her words still loudly echo through my mind just like the Bob Marley lyrics, “Gurl, don’t worry about a thing. ‘Cause every things gonna be all right!” That’s what she said!

She exited the plane before I did.  I tried to catch up with her as the passengers parted on the ramp.  She was gone.  She was nowhere to be found. With all my heart, I believe God sent a ministering angel to me in that special moment.

Today, the Holy Spirit used her memory and words to encourage me again.  They just happen to be the same words of Paul.  Bob Marley just happened to turn Paul’s words into the lyrics of a song which I hummed all day!

I enCOURAGE you to sing when you are shaken.  Sing with when you are afraid. Sing when you are mourning.  Sing when the nation is at unrest.  Sing when you are sad.  Singin’:

“Don’t worry ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little things gonna be all right.”
Singin’: “Don’t worry (don’t worry) ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little things gonna be all right!”

Can you hear her? Can you hear God? I can.

April 6, 2020

2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will HEAL their land.

I think we can agree that our world, our United States. and we need healing. We are broken and our land is sick. I am broken in places, but I am not claiming any sickness, ever.

The Truth says we “are” healed:  Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The Truth says we were healed: 1 Peter 2:24 (KJV) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

The Truth says we will be healed.

Our bodies may have symptoms, but the Word says we are healed!  Our nation may have symptom’s, but the Word says He will heal our land.  There is no sickness the Great Physician cannot heal.  Look at the word healed in Hebrew. It is the word rapha. I LOVE THIS WORD!!!  It means cure, repair, physician, properly, to mend by stitching thoroughly, to sew together, to make whole.

The Lord reveals one aspect of himself in Exodus 15:26 when he says, “I am Yĕhovah Rapha, I am the Lord that heals you.”  The Lord is the one who was, is, and will be. (Revelation 1:8)   The Lord was our Healer.  The Lord is our Healer.  The Lord will be our Healer.

He has told us what to do….Be humble. Pray. Seek His face. Repent. Turn from our wicked ways; He will hear from heaven.  He will forgive our sin. He will heal our land.  God, who created us whole, takes the broken pieces of our lives, our mess, and heals us. He sews the pieces back together and makes us new, better than before.  He makes us the way we ought to be. We are saved. We are whole, healed and complete!

Psalms 103:2-4 (KJV) 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgives all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  

God is saying: “Awake people to what is important. Your land is sick.  You need me.  I AM is the only one who can heal!” I am awake. Are you?  I am going to follow the prescription of 2 Chronicles 7:14:

1. I am going to humble myself before God . It’s not like I can hide my sin anyways. I have struggled with weight all my life. I have surrendered this area of my life more times than I count, but I haven’t left the race. I am going to keep running and surrender it again. The sin is I pick it up again. My routine will be that I will surrender every day at the beginning of the day. I will give my day to the Lord.
2. I am praying and asking you to pray for me. If I had corona or cancer, I would have a list a mile-long praying for me. Join me in the good fight. I am asking God again to free me from my addiction to food.  I am asking Him to help me work through any other areas where I need to turn.
3. I will daily seek His face. I will seek Him for a plan on how to conqueror this once and for all. I will seek his help on how to deal with any other areas of surrender needed in my life.
4. I turn! I surrender. I choose you God over food!  I choose life. I choose to eat healthy every day. I choose to exercise. I choose self-control.
5. I expect to hear from heaven always.
6. I know God has already forgiven my sin through Jesus; My Savior has healed me. Remember, he didn’t just come to save us and give us eternal life. He came to save (heal, whole, complete) us NOW’
7. I know I was healed. I am healed. I will be healed. I know I was saved. I am saved and I will be saved. “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou [art] my praise. (Jeremiah 17:14)

I enCOURAGE you to run to the Great Physician and let him sew you up.  What areas do you need Him to heal you?  How can I pray for you?  Be healed.  Be whole.  Be complete.  I know “He heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds.”  (Psalms 147:3)

#HealingBeginsWithUs

April 5, 2020

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I…FORGIVE their sin.
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

Last night, as I rested my head on my pillow, I heard questions rise in my spirit. “Do you remember the first mistake you ever made?  Do you remember the first time you sinned?  Do you remember the first sin your kids committed?”  My answer to every question was no.  The Lord said in Isaiah 43:25: “I, [even] I, [am] he that blots out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Blot out is the Hebrew word machah which means to stroke or rub over, to wipe away, destroy, erase. I am so glad my God has a BIG BOTTLE OF WITE-OUT!  I always thought WITE-OUT was called WHITE-OUT.  Just now, I learned that little bottle that white-washes mistakes is called Wite-out.  Did you know that?  I discovered that “wite” means blame, reproach.  And, Reproach means shame, disgrace, charge with fault.

The Lords forgiveness means:
BLOT- OUT
BLAME-OUT
DISCRACE-OUT
REPROACH-OUT
SHAME-OUT
DISGRACE-OUT
CHARGES OUT
FAULT-OUT
SIN-OUT

Believe it!  God is not a liar.  He says he does not even remember them!  It was Jesus that wite washed us and whited washed us!  No words can express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for His Word and for His, son Jesus who paid for all our sins with his blood.

I have missed the mark. You have missed the mark.  Our spouses have missed the mark (although they believe they are perfect). Our kids have missed the mark.  Our parents have missed the mark.  Our friends and enemies have missed the mark.  Who do we think we are to keep track and remember our most recent sins when God said they are blotted out and that he forgets them?  Who are we to keep record of others most recent offenses when God said he has erased them and that “HE WILL NOT REMEMBER THEM?”

The Holy Spirit answered my question with Acts 3:19. He broke it down like this for me:

REPENT (change your mind for the better, think differently). NOW!  BE CONVERTED (turn around, return to God) THAT YOUR SINS (where you missed the mark, where you made a MIS-take, where you wandered off the path, and where you  just did wrong.) may be BLOTTED OUT (anointed, washed in every part, white-washed, wiped away, obliterated, erased- “whiteout”) SO THAT TIMES OF REFRESHING (revival, catching and recovering  your breath,) SHALL COME FROM THE PRESENCE (face) OF THE LORD.  (Acts 3:19)

In case you need more encouragement, this thought is repeated again in Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more”.  The LORD says it yet again in Jeremiah 31: 34, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Need one more encouragement?  Psalms 103:11-12:  “For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

I enCOURAGE you to embrace the Lord’s BIG BOTTLE OF WITE-OUT!  You easily forget the first sins.  Forget the sins of yourself and others. Forgive!  God did. Who do we think we are?

Photo:  Parker Phillips, Marco Island

April 5, 2020

IF…
my people,
which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves,
and pray,
and seek my face,
and turn from their wicked ways;
THEN…
will I HEAR (listen, pay attention, give ear) from heaven… 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

Over and over again in scripture, the LORD:

• Hears and defends in trouble.  Psalm 20:1 (KJV)
• Hears and delivers righteous out of all their troubles.  Psalm 34:17
• Hears when I call aloud and saves.  Psalms 55:16-17
• Hears the righteous not evil.  1 Peter 3:12
• Hears when we call, pray and seek with whole heart.  Jeremiah 29:12-13;
• Hears not when we cherish sin in our heart.
  Hears with praise on our tongue. Psalm 66:17-20
• Hears the prayer of the righteous but is far from the wicked. Proverbs 15:29

When we choose Jesus, God sees us as righteous through the lens of Jesus.  We have God’s ear because of Jesus.  Jesus is ever interceding for us.

We all want to be heard. Why speak if not to be heard and answered?  Don’t you just love it when you are on the phone with someone and you KNOW they are not listening.  Don’t you just want to hang up?  What about when you ask someone something who is sitting right beside you and receive no answer.  God does not ignore.  He attentively listens because he loves us.  He wants to hear from us and he wants to be heard.  He always listens.  “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Got to love that word!  God hears us! God hears us!  The Most Powerful being in the Universe, we have a seat at the table anytime with Him.   No appointment needed.  Come to Him.  He wants to hear from you.

I enCOURAGE you to be humble, pray, seek God’s face and turn if you need to turn, so that, when you call on God he will hear and pay close attention.

“I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice [and] my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon [him] as long as I live.” (Psalms 116:1-2)

April 4, 2020

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. -Proverbs 11:3 (NIV)

Have you ever heard the word duplicitous?  I had not either until 2:11 am on March 21, 2020.  I was in a deep sleep. I honestly don’t know if I heard the word or saw the word.  It was like both at the same time.  The Holy Spirit awoke me.  I googled duplicitous. I read the definition, rolled over and went back to sleep.  I awoke again around 4am and the word loudly scrolled through my brain, again.  I went back to sleep and at 4:45 am; I awoke to the word again. I checked my phone to see if what I remembered was true.  It was all like a dream about a word. I hadn’t dreamed it.  It showed up in my google search at 2:12 am.  I did not even know how to spell duplicitous awake, much less in my sleep.  Needless to say, this was not a word in my every day vocabulary.

I proceeded to google, definition after definition.  What was the Holy Spirit trying to tell me?  I only told four to five people about this dream.  I wanted to see if they had any revelation on the word.  I discovered it meant double, hypocrite or fraud.   And, it WAS in the Bible, once.  I was not immediately enlightened by putting my eyes on the scripture. The light bulb was still off. I had nothing.  I knew God would tell me in time.

About 10 days later he dropped the bomb on me. Stay with me…

Duplicitous:  du·​plic·​i·​tous | \ du̇-ˈpli-sə-tə
: marked by duplicity : deceptive in words or action

“The idea of doubleness is at the core of duplicity. Duplicity comes from a Latin word meaning “double” or “twofold,” and its original meaning in English has to do with a kind of deception in which you intentionally hide your true feelings or intentions behind false words or actions. If you are being duplicitous there are two you’s: the one you’re showing and the one you’re hiding. And—key to the idea of duplicity—you’re hiding in order to make people believe something that’s not true.” ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duplicitous).

Synonyms: bent, bent, crooked, dishonest, double-dealing, fraudulent.

Sound like two-faced?  A hypocrite?

The integrity (completeness, upright)  of the upright (straight, straight-forward) guides them, but the unfaithful ( rooked and slippery) are destroyed by their duplicity (covert, fraudulence)   -Proverbs 11:3 (NIV)

Duplicitous: Hypocrisy: Double-Minded

Let’s look at a few examples:

• Praying for God to heal, but worried and fearful if he will.
• Talking one way to your spouse, and another way to everyone else.
• Posting on Facebook and Instagram your happy family, when it is really falling apart.
• Firing an employee for cheating on their time-card, but taking home a pen, paper clips and paper from the office.
• Pretending to be listening on the phone to your Dad, but hitting the mute button and mouthing to your spouse, “He is crazy.”
• Praying for someone to their face, but saying to others behind their back, “That family is jacked up.”
• Taking communion on Sunday after being drunk in the club or at the course on Saturday.
• Eating salad every day for lunch with others, but indulging in pizza chased by ice cream and cookies at night.

James 1:8 sounds very similar to. Proverbs 11:3:
“A double minded (double spirited, double-breathed) man [is] unstable in all his ways.”

Matthew 23:28 reads: “In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy (fake, speak falsely to. impersonate anyone, play a part, wear a mask) and wickedness.”

I enCOURAGE you “therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”  Join me in taking out the trash of  hypocrisy and “the double” in our lives.  Thinking we might need to turn from being duplicitous. We also need to watch out for the duplicitous.  We must walk worthy of the call  to remain from being duplicitous and from being duped.  Ouch that hurt!

April 3, 2020

“If my people…will…TURN from their wicked ways…”
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

TURN (shuwb):
Return
Turn around
Turn about
Restore
Reverse 
Renew
Say nay
Go in a different direction

How do we turn?  “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.” (James 4:8)

 James, Jesus’ brother is saying:

1. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

Draw is the Greek word eggizō, meaning to join together, come close.  Join forces with God and God will join forces with you. “Come to the Light.” Come close to God and he will come close to you.  God is always is on the winning team always and we are more than conquerors in Him.

2. Cleanse your hands. (Purge and purify.)

The CDC, Centers for Disease Control, advises that hand washing is one of the best ways to protect ourselves  and our family from getting sick.  Washing hands can keep us healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections from one person to the next.  Since Covid-19, reared it’s ugly head, we as a nation in whole have been washing our hands a lot more often.  It is a shame that we have to be told to wash our hands. However, this is not an original idea.  The original CDC, God instructed men about physical cleaning in the Old Testament.  James adopts the same principle and instructs us about spiritual cleansing.  Keeping our spiritual hands purged and purified is also the best way to keep ourselves, whole, healed and complete.  It is the best way to keep our families protected.  If we do not allow sin into our lives or get rid of it as soon as it happens, it will not have long term effects on us nor our family.  People are crushed under the weight of sin in their bodies, minds and spirits, IF they choose to carry it.  Jesus took the sin and carried it for us.  We must accept the forgiveness for the sin and TURN from it.  

For instance, if I had a mom that worried/feared all the time,  I may have learned to worry /fear all the time and not trust God.  If I did not “turn from my wicked ways, ” I could pass worry/fear down to my children.   Yes, worry is nothing more than fear and the scripture tells us, do not fear more times than I can count.  Wash that worry right off of your hands. Trust God

Have we cleaned out spiritual hands more often during this “Pandemic?”  We should because it is what will help heal our land. “Gonna wash that sin right off of my hands. Gonna wash that sin right off of my hands. Gonna wash that sin right off of my hands with the washing of the word and the blood of the lamb! “

3. Purify your hearts

Purify is the Greek word hagnizo meaning to cleanse, but the implication to ceremonially to cleanse from levitical pollution by means of prayers, abstinence, washings.

Have you experienced any “purification” during this pandemic?  Are you praying?  Are you abstaining?  Are you purifying you heart?  Everyday, as I pray and seek God,  I am getting a Holy Spirit whooping about cleaning & purifying my heart.  It is chastisement but not a condemnation.  It is the growing pains of being transformed into the image of my Father.  To me it is like going to my Father who happens to be the Great Physician and Him prescribing spiritual medicine.  He gives me the prescriptive word to clean and purify my heart from the worldly plaque that I have allowed to infiltrate.  Proverbs 4:22 says that his words “are life to those that find them and help to all their flesh.”  If you do not go to the doctor, you are not going to get the prescription you need.  Take a dose of God’s word everyday.

We want God’s presence.  We want him to act.  We want him to heal our land, but are we doing our part?  Are we turning back to him?  Are we cleansing and purifying?  Are we taking care of kingdom business or are we just hoping it all goes away? Are we seeking him for comfort? Are we praying? Are we spending time with Him?  Or are we turning to Netflix? Wine ? Food? Not that those things are bad, they are not.  They are not our source of help not our comfort.

I enCOURAGE you to work on you. Turn to God.  Draw near to God.  We all have stuff we need to cleanse and purify.  Clean your hands and purify your heart. And, Don’t be wishy-washy about it. 

P.S. I just took the trash off and ran quickly into the grocery for a needed item.  Why is it that I feel dirtier exiting the dump than the grocery?  Each time I leave I cannot wait to get home, wash my hands and change my clothes.  This is going to be a dangerous, but I pray that I feel the same towards sin in my life and this nation.

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:2)

❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️

April 2, 2020

If my people…will…pray…2 Chronicles 7:14

On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017, I removed a large cast iron skillet from the oven  that had been heated to 450 degrees.  I had put oil in it to preheat for cornbread.  Carelessly, I spilt the hot oil on my right hand as I removed it from the oven.  Initially,  it hurt.  A lot!  I ran to the sink and applied cool water.  Simultaneously, I spoke and poured the healing word of God on to it.   I repeated over and over again, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper!  No weapon formed against me shall prosper!”  I was cooking for the whole family and had no time for this foolishness.  I took God’s promise an applied it to my hand just like I would apply aloe. (This is no hocus-pocus.)  I was simply believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what he says he will do.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 1:11-12, “The word of the LORD came unto me, saying…then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten (be alert, active, watching over) my word to perform it.” And in the New Testament, “For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]…Hebrews 4:12 AMP.  God has given us His Word.  He has given us everything by grace, we must take it by faith.  He is waiting for us to call out to Him and to act on his promises, so that he can act on our behalf.

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

God says in Exodus 15:26, “I am the Lord that health thee!”  
Pray it: “God , You said you are the Lord that heals.  Heal me?
Say it: “No weapon formed against me will prosper.  Heal me.  God you said it I believe it and that’s it.”

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

In Psalms 107:19-20, “Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he saves them out of their distresses.  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered [them] from their destructions.”  I cried the word of the Lord to the Lord and he saved me.  He sent word and healed my hand.  Cry out to Him.  He will send His word and heal your need.

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

In Proverbs 4:22 : “For (GOD’S WORDS) they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” After, a few minutes, my pain was gone.  It “looked” bad , but I found His words and He took the pain.   His words were health to my flesh.  My skin did not blister and my skin did not scar.  Don’t you think if you  accidentally poured 450 degree oil on your hand right now that it might blister and scar?  Of course, it would if you did not, PRAY THE WORD and SAY THE WORD over you situation.  

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

Fast forward to last year, my stomach got little too close to an iron. I got a steam burn on my stomach a bout the size of my thumb.  It did not hurt too badly.  I just took it.   I didn’t speak God’s promises to that burn.  Guess what?  I have a thumb size scar on my stomach.  It took forever to heal.  Why? I didn’t pray and I didn’t say.   I didn’t think about asking God to enter that situation.  I didn’t put His word to work.  Yes, it eventually healed, God made it that ways, but I have a scar.

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

The Word says, “I carried your pains” in Isaiah 53:4.  Jesus already carried the pain in body why should I?  It is my choice.  Where do you need healing today? Do you need healing In your body?  Your mind? Y our soul?  Your child?  Your job?  Your life? Talk to God about it ! Invite Him into to your situation, your need.

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

 “With my stripes you are healed. “ (Isaiah 53:5 & 1 Peter 2:24)  His word says “you” are healed, not you will be, but you are.  Let this be the belief of your heart and the confession of your  mouth.  Is God a liar?  No His promises are true.  As a child of the most High God, take your Daddy’s word.  You are healed.

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

In John 14:14, Jesus says  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].    Why pray? Why say?  Jesus said in Mark 11:23-24 (KJV) For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. We pray and we say because we are instructed to.  When we “pray and say,” we are actually  saying to God.  We believe that you are who you say you are and you will do what you said you will do.  If you don have faith in God, then don’t 

PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.  

I enCOURAGE you to always PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD. Pray about all things.  Pray without ceasing.  Say His word.  Speak life into your circumstances.  Grace and Peace.  See? I just spoke His word into your life.  See how easy that was?  I hope I have said enough of His Word to increase your faith to  PRAY THE WORD.  SAY THE WORD.

April 1, 2020

“If my people…will…pray…”  (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Prayer to me is talking to God anytime, all the time, any place.
Prayer is calling to God and God answering.
Prayer is expectancy.
Prayer is a privilege.
Prayer is worship.
Prayer is adoration.
Prayer is confession.
Prayer is thanksgiving.
Prayer is a direct line to God 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

We were created to love God.
We were created to know God.
We were created to live with God.
We were created to commune with God. 
We were created to glorify God. 
We were created to pray. 

Simply, prayer is talking to God.  Prayer is a conversation with God.  I  have always told my boys I have a direct access line to God.   Lines of communication are open both ways. Through Jesus and according  to Hebrews 4:16, we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  Talk about an open door policy.  He is the MOST.  He is the most powerful and He says, “Come any time  and all the time.  

No one should ever be afraid to come and chat with God.  God wants relationship.   I promise,  If God is big enough to handle me and all my “stuff,” He is more than big enough to to handle you.  For instance, if you do not understand what is going on in the world in March 2020, ask him.  I am not afraid to ask God anything.  However, be prepared, you may not like the answer at the other end of the line nor the deafening silence waiting for Him to answer.  When He gets quiet on the line, just give Him a: Heller?”… just remind Him you are there waiting for his answer.  

Once, I was hurt to my core.  I was mad.  I was so angry.   It was late at night and I went and sat by a nearby lake in my neighborhood.  I cried to the Lord.  It was more like screamed and I did not care what the neighbors thought.   I ask God, “Why?’  I demanded that He listen and answer me. (Not the respectful way to talk to the Lord, but he graciously listened.)  I had to hear from him.  I required His presence.  I needed a word of comfort.  Guess what he told me?  Guess what was my word from the Holy Spirit as I sat there broken to pieces.  The last thing I wanted to hear, words from the mouth of Jesus to my ear.  “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and PRAY for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Matthew 5:44. (I have discovered this is the  very first verse where prayer is mentioned in the New Testament)   I was not happy with my answer at all.  He was telling me to love no matter what and to pray.   Later, he did give me a comforting word, but I would have to look it up.  I cannot recall it.  Obviously, it was not what I needed to hear that night. I needed to hear love, pray, and forgive.

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “Pray without ceasing.”  Why?    I believe it is because God wants to be in our presence, always.  He wants us to be present with Him.  He wants relationship.  If we do not talk to him, how can we say we are in a relationship with him.  When you are in relationship with someone, you talk to them and you talk often. Right?   Also, if we talk to Him all the time, we are focusing on Him and not our problem.  In the prayer, in just coming to Him, we are telling Him, we believe you are bigger, more powerful and have the answers.  Why talk to Him, if we do not believe he can help?

I enCOURAGE you to “pray without ceasing.”  Pray all the time.  Do not stop.  When you are always in His presence, it is a lot easier to catch his vibe.  It is a lot easier to hear what He is saying to you.  Turn off the phone. Turn off the TV. Turn off the IPad.  Turn off the computer. Turn off the noise of the world.  Turn on God.  Give Him a call.  You will be amazed.  Pray all the time and everywhere. “I will therefore that men pray EVERYWHERE, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” 1 Timothy 2:8 (KJV) 

Daily, let your declaration be:  “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” Psalms 55:16-17 (KJV) 16 

March 31, 2020

“If my people…will…seek my face.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 

When we are missing something, we cannot find it by simply sitting in front of the television, playing golf,  nor tennis.  When we are missing something in life, we must take action.  We must seek it.  When we are missing something, it helps to clean up the house.  We have to take some action to find what’s missing.  Perhaps , when are looking for the missing pieces in our life, we need to clean up our internal house to find what we are really looking for.  To fill the void that is in our life,  the hole that only God can fill, we must seek him to find him. The hole cannot be filled with money, fame, food, drugs, alcohol, or sex. The dark void can only be satisfied and filled with the Light of our God.

God is not an elusive God.  God loves us immeasurably. He wants to be found.  He wants be in relationship with us.  He wants to be in our presence.  He wants us to love him back.  He is not going to enter a place He is unwanted.  We are not going to be in a relationship with anyone who does not want to give us the time of day.  Why would He? Because he loves.  However, He wants us to seek Him.  He will pursue us.  He will call us, but He wants to be pursued; He wants to be called.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Hebrew word for seek is baqash. It is a action verb meaning to search, to search out by any method, specifically in worship or prayer; to choose for ones self, require, desire, to inquire. 

God wants us to require Him. He wants us to worship Him. He wants us to admit that we cannot do life without him. God wants us to desire him. We all want to be desired. God wants us to desire to be in His presence as much as He desires to be in ours. God wants us to inquire of Him. He wants us to talk to him. He wants us to pray with and to Him. 

REQUIRE.  DESIRE.  INQUIRE.  Seek God.

In Deuteronomy 4:29,  God promises: “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” 

The word seek is used twice in the above verse. The first time seek is used, it is translated baqash which we just discussed. The second time seek is used it is the Hebrew word, darash.  The translation of this word means to require, desire and inquire, but it also means to resort to, to, frequent a place; to practice, study, to follow, seek with application, to follow, tread, to trample, to beat a path. 

God wants us to come to Him so frequently that we “beat a path to Him.  I love this picture! To make a path in the woods we  would  have to walk the same way to our destination over and over again.  What is your chosen path to God?   Is it through His word?  Study? Worship?  Prayer?  Songs?  Books?  Sermons?  Podcasts?  Many paths lead to the presence and the face of the God.  He does not  care how we get there.  Just get there. S eek Him.  He promises that when we seek and give him our whole heart and mind that we…will…find…Him.

BEAT A PATH TO HIM.

Why does God have to tell His people to seek Him?

In  Psalms 10:4 we find one of the answers, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.”

We become to proud in our own efforts. We think:  “I can do it all by myself!” We try to think on our own and accomplish our own plans and purposes.  God wants to be in the middle of all our thoughts!  It’s our choice.  We have to seek him and invite him in to our life.  He has great plans for us.  The word  says in Psalms 34:10, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good [thing].”

Good things are in store! 

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  I hear God saying,

“Need love? A job? A house? Groceries? Healing?  What do you need? Love me.  Seek me. Require me.  Desire me.  Inquire of me.  Beat a path to me.  I am here waiting.  Ask me!  I got this.  It’s yours.  You have set your love on me.  You know my name.  I will deliver you.  I will set your on high.  I am with you.  I will show you my salvation in every need.”

I enCOURAGE you to seek His face:
Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. (1 Chronicles 16:11 (KJV))
Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.(Psalms 105:4 (KJV)

I enCOURAGE you to make this your declaration:  “One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”