A Little Something to Ponder........................

I really want you all to ponder this thing with me.....................
For the past 3 years…..I have been recovering from some detrimental storms that happened in my life and I have had to make some hard & painful decisions under the direction of the Holy Spirit…….God has forced me to look at every single aspect of my life in a totally different lens……These new lens are filled with more & more of God and not judgment of his people nor condemnation. This brings me to my Something to Ponder………………..
The word of God says………”For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. {Romans 13:9}
I know we have all read this scripture many times but today I want us to “ponder” this thing. The text is saying that if WE would love our “Neighbor” (those whom we encounter whether short term or long term) as we love ourselves that we are following all of the commandments of God! I asked the Lord why such a great emphasis on loving my neighbor and especially why should I love them as I love myself???????
He took me to when I fell back in love with myself…..when I began to love me again, I watched what I would put on my body because I didn’t want to cause any skin irritation or scars. I took note of the types of food that I consumed because I only want to fuel my body with foods that are nourishing and not harmful. I make sure that I don’t put myself in harmful situations that may cause me to be injured or worst. I do all of this because I love ME!!!
Now……God is saying for ME to love my Neighbor the same way!!!!!! That means that whatever I do, say, or think about my neighbor….I should do it as if I am doing it to myself!!!!!!! If everyone of us in the world would really get this commandment…..we wouldn’t have to be concerned with locking our doors, sending our children to school, going to the store late at night or none of the things that cause us to be concerned because each one of us are loving each other the same way we love ourselves! Marriages would be whole, siblings would not rival, communities would unite, and peace would be in the land!!!!!!
Instead of trying to categorize sin acts and compartmentalize sinful nature…….why not practice, preach, and teach ROMANS 13:9?!?!?!?!? If this one scripture is in play we could re-focus on the main objective and that is offering Christ to the world!
OMG!!!!!!!! MY PEEPS………Really ponder this thing & LET’S GET IT TOGETHER!!!!
Be encouraged & know you are blessed!

I am Diva!!

A little something to ponder…………………………
A young woman sat in her living room and began to reminisce over her life and she thought about all the times she was told she was unattractive or made to feel like she had no value. She went back in her mind and thought about how she did not have a father figure in her life caring for her and calling her “Daddy’s little princess”! She thought about her two failed marriages and how with both of them she walked away empty, bruised either mentally or physically, torn down and used. With the tears rolling down her face and unable to really catch a hold of her breath she begin to think that she was nothing, that she was not good enough to have someone to care about her for who she was and to give her what she had desired all of her life….Genuine love!
Just when she was about to completely submit to her thoughts of being worthless and tired of trying to love someone who just did not or could not love her, the spirit of the Lord came into the room and she heard the voice of the Lord say to her…..”You are wrong my daughter” “I have always loved you!” The Lord went on to tell her…”let me tell you what I think of you” In my word in the book of Psalms 139:14….the declaration was given that you are fearfully and wonderfully made! My sweet daughter, I knew what I was doing when I created you….when I made the curve of your hips and the thickness of your thighs….when I told your feet how big to grow…when I commanded the texture of your hair and the color of your skin and eyes! I knew exactly what I was doing…..I was creating a DIVA=Divinely Impeccable Valued and Anointed! I called you Queen before I formed you in your mother’s womb. I utilized the perfect parents for your DNA because you have special purpose! The path you have taken is not just for your learning or experience but it is to be shared as a testimony of my glory in your life! See my daughter….I allowed you to go this way in life to get you here in this position so that you can now hear me clearly! I want to be first in your life! I want to be your Father for I am the lover of your soul! The things you were looking for in mankind can only be found in me!

As the Lord dried her tears…he told her that she needs to fall in love with herself first and then fall in love with Him! He assured her that once she did that-that He could fill all of the empty voids in her life.

My dear Sisters! Most of us can relate to some area dealing with this woman here and God is telling us the same thing. We are DIVA!!!!!!! Some of us are small size, mid-size and plus size but all of us are DIVA!!!!!!!

God wants us to know who we are and whose we are! We are divine and everything about us is ordained of God. You are a woman of God and anyone that has the honor to know you is blessed of God! The word says that “who so ever finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor of the Lord!” {Proverbs 18:22} My Sisters we are worth the time and effort but we have to first know that!

I come to serve notice to the devil and all the haters……….no longer will we walk in a defeated state! We are no longer victims! We now walk in Victory!!!!! Take your place women of God! For you are DIVA - Divinely Impeccable Valued and Anointed!

May the Grace of God encamp you, the mercy of God protect you and the peace of God comfort you always!

Your Blessing is on its way!

A little something to ponder………….
As I look around my community, I find that the enemy has set up camp and is working hard night and day to strategize his plan of attack on the men and women of God. Although I can spiritually see the imps of the enemy busily going about their assigned task, I am in no wise disturbed in my spirit.

The enemy’s job is to seek after us in hope to devour us (I Peter 5:8). Our job is to trust and depend on the Lord for He is our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end. There is no need to be worried or perplexed with the cares of this world for God has a plan for each one of our lives!

Now that I have been blessed to spiritually see what it is that the enemy is doing, I count it all joy! Not because I want to be attacked spiritually or naturally by the devil but because the vision God has shown me is a wonderful sign that my blessings are on the way.

My dear friends don’t look at the things that are happening to you as just lessons to be learned or seeds to be reaped or just life’s tragedies but instead remind yourself of the promises that God have given unto you no matter how long ago it was. We serve a God that can not lie, that will not lie, that shall not lie, that has no desire to lie. So with that being a fact, why would He have promised you something and not allow it to come to pass? Why would He dangle His beautiful blessings in your face and not give them to you full of grace? There is no argument that He loves us with a special kind of love and that he gives us new mercies every day so why wouldn’t this awesome, grace giving, mercy supplying God give unto you His child? The word of God states clearly that Christ came so that we may have life and that life more abundantly! (John 10:10)

God is ready to give us everything that He has promised us and this is why the enemy has turned up the fire in our lives. God allows the fire of the enemy so that we can spiritually see that He is in complete control! We must build our faith to know that He is right there at our defense and He has all that He has promised to us with Him. My friends, hold tight, keep the faith, trust and depend on God for your blessing is on its way!

God Is In Control!

A little something to ponder………………
These are the favorite words of a dear friend of mine. Whenever he encounters a difficult situation, he comforts himself by saying “God is in Control!” When I first met him I could see by his anointing that he has spent a lot of time with the Lord but because I was having a very difficult time in my own life I was not eager to always except him saying to me that God is in control! As the Lord used him to minister to me, I begin to have an appreciation of his theme words. Often times we have trials and tribulations and circumstances that seem originally designed just for us and we feel that no one could ever understand what we are going through. Because we all have our own cross to bear, we think that our problems are authentic but I am here to serve you notice.
There is nothing new under the sun and the same afflictions that are in you are also found in your brothers and sisters. There are no new problems or trials or tribulations that the enemy have created. He is using old tricks, traps and snares to hinder the Christians from accomplishing their mission here on earth. Our job is to encourage one another to keep it moving! Keep going in God! Don’t give up and don’t give in!! When you reach a situation that seems unbearable…speak the words of my dear friend and remind yourself that God is in Control!!! There are many things that the Lord will give the enemy permission to do to you just so that God can get the outcome from you that He is desiring. I know you are waiting for me to back this with the word of God so here it is. Go with me to Jeremiah 29:11. The Lord was making it clear that HE knows the plans that he has for us. It is not the plan of God for you to be depressed, oppressed, miserable, disgusted, in poverty or none of those other negative things. He sent His Son so that you may have life and that life more abundantly! There is no reason for you to think that God has turned His back on you or forsaken you because that is NOT His plan concerning you! God has big things in store for you and if He didn’t He would have told you!

God is in Control!!! God has a plan and He is working the plan in your life. Just keep pressing forward. When you come to an obstacle, don’t hesitate and don’t break just go through. When it gets dark and dreary and you find yourself crying in the night, just look to Jesus and remind yourself that you are a victor and not a victim! Keep speaking to yourself and say, “I won’t bend and I won’t break because My God is in Control!” God said that He is our Alpha and our Omega, our beginning and our end. If He is indeed our beginning and our end then surely He knows what we are going through and how we are going to get out of it. My dear sisters and brothers, this is a fixed fight and you are destined to win! All you have to do is allow God to work His plan in you.

Yes my brethren God is in control and all you have to do is trust Him with your life!

Saved by Grace!

A little something to ponder.........

So often we hear Pastor’s, Preacher’s, and Teacher’s say that we are “Saved by Grace”. When you really look at that for “face” value, you find out that the statement is very profound and divine.

Grace is unmerited favor or undeserved favor. God’s Grace is the expression of His goodness toward the undeserving.

The Bible speaks of God’s grace from Genesis to Revelation and each one of us have at some point or another read or heard of the Grace of God but have we really examined His Grace or do we really appreciate all the Grace that has been shed upon us?

Ephesians 2:8-9 states that “For by Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This passage of scripture lets us know that there are NO works or good deeds that we could perform that would merit Grace. Divine Grace is just like the Holy Ghost, it is a gift of God! Your being saved has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you are a good person or that you were a horrible person or anything in between. The plan of Salvation was designed and commanded of God and him alone. I don’t care how much you try to give, do, or be, the only thing that will save you is God’s divine Grace! The God we serve needs no help and He doesn’t want your bribes to get what you want. God wants your life! God wants us to serve him fully and completely with our whole life not just portions or segments. By serving God fully and completely, your faith will be strengthened and you will learn to lean and depend solely on God and God alone.

God’s Grace has extreme value and must be appreciated, just because we know that we serve a Grace giving God does not mean that we have the liberty to continue to sin. Roman 6:1 lets us know that we should not continue in our sin assuming that Grace will abound. We must make the conscience effort to please God with our hearts, mind, and lifestyle and by doing so, we will find that any trials, tribulations, obstacles, or road blocks will be cleared through the divine intervention of God’s Grace.

Restore unto me the Joy!

A little something to Ponder............

David in all his might and glory, many times found himself in compromising positions. One situation that comes to mind is when he sinned with Bath Sheba. Of course David was looking for some type of way to conceal his sin, but sin, no matter how discreet, can never be hidden. The word tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God-(Romans 5:12) - but the word also lets us know that there is a remedy for our sin.

Brother Donnie McClurkin spoke the remedy in a song that says it best and that is “We fall down but we get up”. The Word of God has reminded us time and time again about sin and its vices but we still submit to human nature and allow ourselves to be captivated by the sins of this world. For those of us that want an escape from the weight and burden of sin, we must first acknowledge that we have sinned, that we are in the wrong and that we have come short of the glory of God. The Church at Corinth made the same mistake that we still make today, and that is, they refuse to acknowledge their own sin. Spiritual pride had consumed their minds and they were trying hard to ignore their sin rather than confess their sin. In order for the road of restoration to begin, we must first acknowledge that we have sinned. Sin has to be exposed in order for it to be uprooted. Paul had to write a letter to the Corinthian Church and make it known that he knew of their sin in order for them to acknowledge their own sins
(I Corinthian 5:1-10). Nathan had to confront David and expose his known sin and in return, as an acknowledgement of his sin, David wrote Psalm 51 confessing his sin and pleading for mercy with repentance unto God. God has a way of escape for our sin, and the formula is to first acknowledge that we have sinned, then repent from our sin and after that enjoy RESTORATION in God. Once you have thoroughly repented from your sins, expect your joy, expect your happiness, expect peace of mind, and expect God to move on your behalf. The Bible says that “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH” (Nehemiah 8:10). After repentance, comes restoration bottom line.

Yes, we fall down but we get up. So with this in mind, acknowledge, repent, get up, dust yourself off, and go on in God better then you were when you fell.

I'm Still Standing!

A little something to Ponder...............

Through life’s ups and downs, I’ve found one thing to remain the same and that is the love of God. It doesn’t matter how hard the task or how easy the journey, The Lord has never left my side. As I think back in my mind of all the trails and tribulations-some satan inflicted but mostly self-inflicted-I come back to one point that remains the same and that is the realness of God and all his grace and mercy upon me. I have not always been the best of a saint and as a matter of fact some would question my sainthood. As I look back at the bridges that I have crossed and the valleys I have walked through, I couldn’t help but wonder how I got this far and then my spirit reminds me that it was grace that brought me through. I’ve suffered what seems to be turmoil after turmoil but in spite of my suffering I still had joy.

I’ve been let down and disappointed time after time but yet and still I would continue on the road that I was traveling. As I turn the pages of my life, I see just were the Lord allowed grace and mercy to equip me with the strength that I needed to go on. So many times I would hear the voice of the Lord encouraging me to move forward and not stay in the state that I was in at that particular moment. But then there were times that I didn’t hear anything from the Lord and I would wonder where I went wrong.

Since then I found that the steps I was taking were already ordered and the path was already paved. You see, my friend, our lives are like a wheel that is continuously turning and what helps us to get through life is the things that make up a Christian, things that include trust in God, Hope in God and Faith in God. Often times we hear one’s say that “God wants the same mountain top praise while you are yet in the valley.” I agree with that statement completely but I would also like to add that, God wants just as much praise on the road between the valley and the mountain top. We get so caught up in either being happy or sad that we miss being “alright”.

If we would saturate ourselves with the word of God and submit our hearts to the will of God then we would appreciate our “alright” times, learn the lesson in our “valley” times and rejoice in our “mountain top” experiences. We must accept and acknowledge that “all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”. (Romans 8:28) Once we get to that point, there will be nothing that can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39) and when the enemy attacks us with our trails and tribulations, we will be able to stand strong and fully armored and after the dust is settled and we have endured to the end, our trails will be over and we will be left “STILL STANDING” (Ephesians 6:11- 18).