Be Vigilant!

As we drive through the streets in Nassau, I constantly feel like I am in some of life size obstacle course. Every turn, stop, light, person seems as if they are destined for you to be in a collision with them. I thought this morning, as we were going out and almost collided again!! that people are so consumed with their personal objectives that they are not aware, or do not care of anything around them and hence, it causes accidents that sometimes lead to injury and death.

It's the same way with the Spiritual life, we are so consumed with what the world has told us is success, that we are out to get what it is we want, what we think we deserve, regardless of who or whatever suffers. Sacrificial living is not a part of who we are; neither is servant living. We don't believe that certain things will happen to us, even though it has happened to others that have gone before us. We believe we can do the same wrong things and for whatever magical reason we will escape.

This is why the bible is clear, "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." Just as we are to stay alert on the roads, watching for people's faux pas, so that we avoid collisions, injury and death. So, we are to watch in our spiritual walk. There are pitfalls, stumbling blocks designed to take us out.  Most of the times, they are so subtle you cannot see them.

My admonition to myself is to also remember I have an adversary, to be watching all the time. not just watching but praying. Pray without ceasing. Reading the word of  God daily. Meditating on God at all times. My friends....be vigilant!

Encouragement from Unexpected Places

Have you ever walked into an unexpected blessing? A word, a gesture from someone, something unexpected. Something that creates in you a joy that you can not explain.

Yesterday, I had something like that happen.  My daughter and I were out, doing things for the ministry; when I said to her. Let's go and say hi to my uncle, as she was only going to be in town for another couple of weeks.

We waited for him and when he came out he was happy to see us. He told me, that he wanted to talk with me and so we followed him to his office. After he sat down, he said that I had been a blessing to him. I could not understand how or why? As I had not seen him for more than 8 months and had spoken with him briefly a few months back.  I was puzzled.

Then he proceeded to talk and he said, On Sunday!, and I then knew where he was going. He said that he been blessed by my testimony, that aired on the radio on Sunday morning. He said that he got a blessing from that message that morning. He told me, he was proud of me. He told me while reading the invitation to the event that, yes this was what I was created for. He also said, that my message on Sunday was "hurt for the hopeless/hurting."

Even, as a forty-five year old wife and mother, you need someone to say, that they are proud of you. That what you are doing a good and to just continue. You see, he is my mom's brother, my mom has been in heaven for seven years and she is not here to see what is happening.  She would be that person to encourage. She would give the words of affirmation.

So, coming from my uncle, yesterday, that was huge. I cried; the little girl in me, came out and sucked that up like a sponge. Today, someone may need to hear, well done, I am proud of you!
I did not know, how much I needed to hear that from someone, but now I do. Today, seek out those people you can tell them, I am proud of you, you are a blessing to me. It will make a difference in their day!
"Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Just Say Yes! or No!

"But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned." James 5:12

In the book of James, we are told to give a simple yes or no. Why is this so hard for us? James continues to say that if we neglect this, that we sin but, unfortunately it is a growing trend.  For me, dealing with others sometimes is so hard, it is the most disheartening thing.  You may have also had these types of experiences. While you are standing in their face, they say yes, yes and then they ignore your calls, texts, emails. Do we realize that this is a poor reflection on us as people first and then as a believer. We are told that we will be known by our love or by our fruits.....something to think about.......

I am by no means perfect and have made this same mistake but, I am working to say yes or no.
In this age of technology, we are so bombarded with interruptions in our day to day lives and we need to take control, and set boundaries for our time.  My fellow brothers lets examine ourselves and our actions; say yes or no! and move on. It will bring honor to the relationship and also to our Father in Heaven.

Our Father is not partial to anyone and, so we must be careful to not consider someone else more important than the other, because we sin!  In Acts, we see where Paul and Barnabas had a conflict over John Mark and Paul held fast to his conviction; he did not want John Mark to travel with them. This cause a rift between Paul and Barnabas, maybe because of the familial connection with Barnabas and Mark and, there was a separation.  Later on in Timothy, we see where Paul tells Timothy that Mark is valuable to the ministry. His mind changed but he was always clear in his standing.

Can we try this? If you are approach for any reason and you tell someone to contact you, respond when they try to reach out. If you don't want to connect with them, tell them you are not interested at this time. It will really be better and will cause less confusion.

I believe that this is on the same level as Ananias and Sapphire lying to the disciples about their contribution to the church. What did God do? He killed them right there. This shows us how serious our word is.....

As I work on this, I challenge you to do the same!

A Letter to Her, During this Mother's Day Weekend...I love you! But.....

I remember the day so well. It was a Tuesday, you had been inching your way closer to the sunshine for the past 24 hours, I could feel you making your way down.  Early that morning, while resting my water break but I was clueless, did not know what was going on. I mentioned it to your daddy but he did not know. I called "my mommy" and asked her and she explained what was happening.

It did not take long for things to escalate and we knew we had to get to the hospital but even still we made a detour and stopped to get some very good friends.

We rushed to the hospital and found that I would have to be by myself because of the construction in the private ward. This is sad but it was what it was. A few hours later, I was being taken into the operating room and it was a few minutes before you entered this world. A gift so precious that I can to this day, say that I am so unworthy that God would allow me the privilege to be your mother.

Your dad met you and it was love at first sight!

They took me my room and your grandfather's were the first to visit you that day! They had you in the nursery and the bassinet beside me was empty.

When my father came, we were talking waiting for you to come not knowing when they would bring you. I heard a cry from down the hall and I said to my dad, "that's my baby"; he looked at me and said that could be any baby, you don't even know her yet.

But sure enough two minutes had not passed and the nurse came in with you crying. I looked at him and i said, I told you so!

I love you! But......

My love can be fickle

My love does not last forever

There are times when my arms cannot hold you, although I want to

My love is partial and so sometimes flawed

My love cannot touch your soul

My love cannot transform your mind

I love you! But....

My love pales!

In comparison to the one who is Love!

His love is not fickle

His love does last forever

his arms can hold you anywhere you are!

His love has no partiality and so is not flawed

His love does touch the soul

His love can transform your mind

His love does not pale to anything or anyone!

20 years later and it seems as if it is day one. This mother's day weekend I want to continue to point you to the ONE whose love is Real, Unfailing. you can find no greater love than Jesus!. My daughter, this is the greatest gift I know to give because as flawed as I am, He renewed me, He cleanse me. I would not be alive today, were it not for Him. Jesus!

He is the best this world has to offer. My daughter, He tells us to love another as we love ourselves. And, so I choose the best to give to you! I love you! But.......Jesus loves You Better!

Mommy

"If You Don't Stand For Something, You Will Fall for Anything"

"If You Don't Stand For Something, You Will Fall for Anything, " this is a saying that I remember hearing all though life from many different places.

As a Christian, this has taken on a greater meaning to me and not more so in my life than during this time of starting this ministry. When God spoke to me concerning starting this ministry, I was presented with a checklist things to do and the last on the list was, " Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

This was the last on that particular checklist because that was what I would need the most. The enemy of faith, you see is fear. Fear of people, what they would say, what they would do, whether they would believe in you, whether they will come alongside you, anything you can possibly think of. In the face of these fears is my Lord and Savior saying,..."I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with my righteous hand".  These assurances may mean nothing to you but to me it means everything; for you see God was the one who died for me, the one who saved my life, the one who laid down His life for me. No One else has ever done that for me.

So as I, and others who have joined me in this ministry, to bring glory to God's name, we stand. We stand for the Sanctity of life for every person, every life because they are all precious in His sight. I know that the time will come for persecution, for condemnation, for ridicule but He says that I am to take up my cross daily and follow Him. I don't just want to sit back and admire my brothers and sisters who are dying for their faith; I want to join my Lord in the fields and harvest the crops that He desires.

This stand is for life and death; a spiritual war; a fight for the very lives of our people. The government can't fight this fight only the church. God's People!!  These are some verses that I keep in front of me.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19

'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;…Matt 25:40

Open Door

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key
of David, he that open and none shall shut, and that shut and none open: I know thy works behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut, that thou has a little power, and did keep my word, and did keep my word, and didst not deny my name." Revelation 3:7-8

 

 

A door is a representation of so many things, a safe place, a place to call home, an opportunity, fear, uncertainty, it could also be a place of fear, a prison but my focus today is the 'OPEN' door that only God can open or close.

 

Have you ever experienced that, a door that only God could open?  I am not talking about an ordinary opportunity but an actual OPEN door.  I have, on a number of occasions and it is a time that you have to decide whether you trust God or not. You see He opens the door but we have to decide to go through it. We have to make a decision.

 

You see these types of doors are opened only:   BY GOD

We have to enter this door:                                 WITH GOD

Because you see the door is opened:                   FOR GOD

 

In the book of Genesis, God provided an open door to Abraham and told  him to leave his home, his family,  everything he knew and to go a place that God would tell. Abraham took that leap and entered the door and went through, with God and we all know that through his faith, the land of Israel was birth and we who are God's were also grafted into this family; all for God's glory.

 

My husband and I are on the cusp of walking through a door that God has opened. We are in the process of beginning a new ministry in our country that has never been here and we are starting it out of nothing. Trusting that God will provide though his people all that we need; a building, an ultrasound machine, volunteers and funding for everyday work. We trust God because He is faithful.  This Crisis Pregnancy and Youth Center is all His work and all for his glory.  The harvest is plentiful, the bible tells us and the laborers are few; the Father has sought to send us into the harvest and we are saying, Yes, we will Go!

 

For some of you, this is also an opportunity for an open door, you have the building that will change lives, you can provide the machine, you are ready to volunteer, you have the funds.  This is the Great Commission in action and the harvest is ripe. Evil can only prevail when the righteous do nothing!

 

To walk through the open door we have to be unhindered by uncertainty; we have to embrace the challenge, and go because He says so.  David would not have taken down Goliath if he had looked at the odds.

 

Faith is trusting God not our sight! and not our own limited strength and knowledge. Pray as to how God will use you in His work. Look for the open doors that He has prepared for you. Then walk through them knowing that it is all for His glory!

 



Hoshiya Na - Hosanna

As He enter Jerusalem, the people cried Hosanna, Hosanna!

Jesus Saves!

I am excited, awed, hope that yes! Jesus Saves.....

There is hope for you that do not know this glorious hope. Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him.

The bible says that we all have come short of the glory of Glory of God and that by one man sin entered the world.

We all have sinned but there is hope.
Hosanna!
The bible also states that if we confess out sins He is faithful and just to forgive of all our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness...

One day all those of us who have accepted him will reside with him in heaven. Oh, what a glorious day.

Accept him while there is still time, my friends.