A 2016 CALL TO PRAYER-Christian Meditation

God Morning Family!

 As we push towards deeper prayer we must understand that our thoughts or opinions, desires, and emotions (in other words our souls) can greatly influence if and how we pray.

Eph 6 tells us that as we put on the full armor of God that we are also pray in the Spirit at all times and to be watchful.  It is not just the devil we need to be on the look for but our very own selves.
Unfortunately we are very easily influenced by false doctrine, other people, entertainment, this worlds system, and anything else that agrees with our flesh.  For this reason we need to stay rooted in God's Words to us.

We have all heard this phrase.

"You are what you eat."

This is not only true with our bodies but with our spirit.  Whatever we take in through our eyes or ears has the power to shape our thoughts.  Whatever dwell on in our minds has the power to change our hearts. And out of our hearts flows our words and actions.

As we take this time to let God search our hearts and help us to commit to consistent and deep prayer I ask you to consider what are you allowing in that distracts you from God or causes you to think or meditate more like the world instead of like Jesus.  Novels, videos, movies, music, self help books, talk shows, and  people are all preaching to us.  The issue is not these things but the message.  If they are preaching a message that is birthed from the Word of God, brings us to repentance, and helps us become more like Christ our time in prayer and the Bible will reflect that.  However if these things feed our pride, push us to carnality, and lead us away from Jesus to sin then we need to cut these things out of our lives.

Let us dig out scripture and memorize it.  Memorizing scripture is not just for kids.  Hiding Gods word away in our hearts will insure we always have His word with us.

Let us speak it out, take it apart, do word studies, think on it, and pray about it until we are one with it.  This is what meditation does.

Let me also say temperance in even a good thing is needful. Books, videos, godly friends with the right message are helpful but should never replace our intimacy with God and our need to hear His voice.  Lazy Christians would rather eat of the fruit of anothers' time with God then search Him out themselves.  Meditation on Gods work requires time and effort.  It's work.  But the fruit of it is well worth the effort.

Here is a link to an excellent article on Christian Meditation that I encourage you to read.  Then...

GET TO WORK :)

http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-meditation.htm

A 2016 CALL TO PRAYER-He Is The Be All And End All

God Morning Family,

This morning I went to the Lord with no agenda but to pray that we would all allow God to search our hearts and to listen for His voice.

He showed me something that is difficult to express in words but I will try.

I saw what looked like a man trying to break out of rubber, or a dark, slime like substance.  The substance covering him was so thick I could not see the mans features.  I could only see his form through the rubber. His outline was one of a runner pressing towards the finish line. My sense was the elasticity of the rubber was so strong it was trying to snap him back but he was using all his strength to break out.

Then a word came to me that summed all this up.

STRAIN

meaning force (a part of one's body or oneself) to make a strenuous or unusually great effort 

Two scriptures come to mind.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:13

And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Mark 12:30

God wants our effort.  He wants fervency in our hearts and fire in our words.  He wants that we strain against the complacency, the apathy, the deadness of our souls and reach for

HIM.

Prayer begins and ends with a desire to know God. He is the Prize.  Our intercession must be rooted in this.  Our cries for His help must be seated in the realization that we our His and He can do as He pleases with us.  Even our fire to do His will must be tempered with the fact that only He can bring the increase.  Whatever the outcome of our obedience God is the be all and end all.

God wants us to be His ministers of flame.  But it is our worship of Him before anything else that brings Him pleasure.

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
Rev 3:15
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16

A JAN 1, 2016 CALL TO DEEP PRAYER FROM MY MOM DIANA BRICE (9 Oct 1044-Nov 2, 2015)

My mom was a brilliant woman who was always learning and growing.    At 16 years old she started her freshman year at the University of Missouri in Columbia.  She earned her Bachelors in Home Economics and Two Master degrees (Public Administration and Library Sciences) while working full time and raising her children.  She gave her life to Jesus on Feb 11. 1996 at my wedding and never looked back.

     My mom loved cooking, crafts, hosting get togethers.  She LOVED words and books.  To her throwing a book in the trash was a sin :) She believed reading was key because if you could read you could learn how to do anything from baking bread to building a bomb.

    Towards the end of her life she knew her time was short on this earth and realized she had problems and concerns mere books could not solve.  She needed the power of God.  After seeing the movie War Room my mom was inspired by the Holy Spirit to become a prayer warrior.  To fight for herself (she was very ill having suffered Lupus for too many years) and loved ones in prayer.  To trust that God would hear her and act on His promises as she declared the Word of God.  She said YES to God and had begun turning her clothes closet into a PRAYER closet.

    Due to paperwork I found as I went through her things I believe she thought she had at least a few years left on this earth.  However my mom contracted a salmonella infection that ravaged her already severely weakened body, went into a coma, and died Nov 2 of this year.  She is now at peace with Jesus.

   The last thing she insisted I do (before she was infected) was watch that movie War Room.  I promised her I would and I did two days ago.

    I myself have felt a push for a few months to cast of worry and fear and go into deep prayer.  I have loved ones I worry about in my family and in my church.  I have seen too many I love turn away from God or back pedal from their commitment to serve Him with all their might.

   Not only that but a spirit of FEAR through terrorist acts, mass shootings, and hate induced crimes is permeating this country (USA).  I remember as a child living in a constant fear of nuclear war attack from Russia.  Then for some years we had a semblance of peace.  Now we daily arise wondering what will happen next.  Christians in other nations already have felt this type of uncertainty.

     My mom had it right.  She turned to God with a heart not only to go deep in prayer but to influence others to do the same. I too encourage you to watch or re-watch War Room and let it speak to you.  Or simply obey what God is already saying to you. :)

     Whether you are overwhelmed with life, fear of what will occur in our nation or the world, worried about family, experiencing chronic illness, struggling with mind battles, financial issues, life changing decisions or, to just stay saved, PRAYER IS THE ANSWER.

   I am asking you to let the Holy Spirit show you your next step.  Whatever you need to do;  create a prayer closet, carve out time in your busy schedule, repent and confess your faults, forgive, get rid of every carnal distraction, be accountable to a spiritual leader or partner with a bestie in Christ I believe God is speaking to ALL of us (leaders and disciples alike) to draw near to Him, pray, dive into His Word, and be used by Him in prayer.

    JAN 1, 2016 is the date! That doesn't mean to wait to pray until then.  In other words you and I have a few days to sit with God, take an inventory of our hearts, confess our helplessness without God, and commit to a disciplined prayer/Bible life. Write your vision down, make it plain, and post it in your house.

   This is NO season of prayer, 2016 resolution, or a few weeks of fasting then back to life as usual.  I am talking about a life change. If you and I can become people of deep, prevailing prayer and then HELP OTHERS to do likewise God Himself will build His Kingdom through us and the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church.

DO NOT FEAR FAILURE!!!  Any good habit takes time to develop.  You have the rest of your life. Any YES to God will meet resistance from our flesh and the enemy.  EXPECT IT!  Step out of the boat.  It's time for you and I to walk on the stormy waters!

     If you feel this is for you please comment and lets do this together.  I will be blogging and posting some practical stuff for all of us this next few weeks.

      This is His promise to us; 'Fear not for I am with you. Seek FIRST my Kingdom and whatever you need for this life I will add unto you. The rivers will not overflow you. You will walk through the fire and you will not be burned. Turn to me with all your heart and with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Rend your hearts for I am gracious and merciful. I will pity you as a Father pities His very own children. I hear the prayers of the righteous!'
  Is 41:10, Matt 6:33, Is 43:2, Joel 2:12-13, Ps 103:13, Ps 34:17

Tonight My Mother Died

It's quiet in my mother's house.  We don't really want to say or do anything.  Our lives just changed forever.

She had been in a coma, unresponsive since last Wednesday when they sedated her.  Day after day we went to the hospital and desperately clung to every piece of good news the staff gave us and then we were equally destroyed by every bad report.  Definitely an emotional roller coaster.

We hoped and prayed we would have a chance to look into her eyes, hear her voice, tell her we loved her but that didn't happen.  The doctors told us she was dying.  The infection in her blood was too strong for her but perhaps a procedure might save her?

"Go for it."

One last chance.  One last hope.

30 minutes into the dialysis her heart dropped dangerously low.  We only knew that because we saw the nurse wheeling the machines down the hall. 

Questions.  Anger stirring.  Why isn't the doctor speaking with us?  Why so little communication?

As my sister and I stepped back into the hall, perplexed, we heard...

CODE BLUE

For a split second I couldn't connect that with my mom, but then I turned and went back into the ICU.
They began the resuscitation.  As they frantically tried to get her heart started we had only seconds to decide whether to release her or to try and hold on. 

Stop.  It's over.  Let her go.

Tears. Sobs. Quietness. Confusion.  Papers to sign. Prayers.  Decisions to make.  It's not what I imagined.

We walked back in to say goodbye.  But all I could see is it was my mother but it wasn't.
It's just a body.  Just a shell. 

This is what I said to my children,

 It's just a body.  Just a shell.  Mom is with Jesus.  No more lupus or steroids to wreck her body.  No more walker and frustration.  No more pain and asthma.  She is dancing and rejoicing.  She's on the other side and we will see her again IF we stay the course.

As we drove to her house from the hospital we all agreed Chicago would never be the same for any of us.

Halloween, Hell, and the Devil? Here's Why.

If you happen to follow me on Facebook you have noticed that almost daily since the beginning of October I have been posting about halloween, hell, and the devil.

Here's why.

I feel Christians have forgotten there is a devil.  Okay maybe not forgotten.  After all we believe in heaven and hell.  We know Satan was cast down.  And we know he still exists.

BUT...

I think a lot of us have forgotten he has power (limited though it be), he hates us, he makes war against us daily, he hates us, he can possess people, he hates us, he can still make stuff happen, and YES HE HATES US.

So daily I am posting little reminders that the devil is real.  I want us all to remember there is a supernatural, a spirit realm, and Satan is a deceiver who has come to steal, kill and destroy.

I want to remind us that there are unholy things that belong expressly to the devil and when we mess around with them we open doors to the enemy and allow him to put us in bondage, mess with our minds, and wreak havoc in our children and our marriages.

Please fight to pray family.  Return to the reading and study of God's holy Word.  Be convicted of sin again and repent.  Start going to church again.  Shut the door to the enemy and say YES to God.  Time is drawing short, Jesus really is coming, and Satan is frantic to steal as many souls as he can.

Let's not make it easy for him.

Trust Me I Know The Way

I have a memory that never fails to make me smile.

It was a very hot summer day and I was doing some work at my church. My youngest daughter was with me.

When we finished whatever task I was working on we headed home.

On foot.

I asked Salome if she would like to stop by the store and pick up something tasty. I warned her it would make the trip longer, and hotter, but she chose the "something tasty".

On our way home Salome began complaining about the heat. Our usual route home had very little shade, and was very hilly.

I decided on a detour.

"Mom?"

"Ya Honey?"

"Do you know where you're going?"

I had to laugh. At this time Salome was about five or six years old.

"Yes, Salome. I know exactly where we're going."

The detour we took was shady and less hilly, but unfamiliar to my daughter. So it wasn't long until she questioned me again.

"Mom, are you SURE you know where we are?"

"Yes, Salome, I know where we are. Stop worrying."

We hadn't walked much further when,

"MOM!!! WE'RE GOING TO GET LOST!!!"

I don't recall how the rest of the walk went, though we obviously made it home just fine, but ever since then God has used this memory to remind me that He knows the way.

All I wanted to do that day was make the way home a little more bearable for my daughter. She, however was more comfortable with the old familiar way. Never mind that it was hotter and a much tougher walk.

I'm sure I was tempted to get at least a little annoyed with her, except I could see myself in my little girl.

I'm a lot like that. The old ways may be harder, but at least they are familiar.

What is it about human nature that resists trusting God?

He is bigger than me, older than me, smarter than me...

Yet when He takes me along an unfamiliar path I hesitate, tense up, and with trembling voice I shout,

"GOD!!! I'M GOING TO GET LOST!!!"

With compassion He takes my little hand into His eternal one and says, "With me, you are never lost."

Nodding, I try to ignore my unfamiliar surroundings and just focus on His big, strong hand holding mine.

I keep following, but I'm still a little...

...afraid
.


Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Is 41:10 NKJ

The Devil Is Real

CBN testimony of John Ramirez. Ex-satanist redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxrldnzNqKA&feature=share

Halloween (Dipping Our Toes in Darkness)

We are coming upon October.  The month of Halloween.  I urge you to focus on the knowledge of and intimacy with the Holy Spirit and celebrating all God has done for us through Jesus instead of joining the world and satanists in celebration of this demonic holiday.  Take time to educate yourself in what October means to those in darkness and refuse to join them.

Google satanic calenders and you'll find abduction human sacrifice, sexual rituals, attempts to open doors to the underworld (Whether you believe in it or not CERN has been going on spiritually for ages), sexual association with demons and animals.

Please read the following which was taken from a Church of Satan website and is probably the most benign of their beliefs about in October. Satanists are laughing at the fact that we say we hate their practices yet indulge in darkness every Oct 31st.

"We see this holiday as the night when the mundane folk try to reach down inside and touch the “darkness” which for Satanists is a daily mode of existence. Particularly in the United States, Halloween is a time for celebrating monster films, wearing costumes of a macabre nature, and evoking the thrill of “fun fear.” Children (of all ages) can indulge their fantasies by donning costumes that allow for intense role-playing and the release of their “demonic cores,” the parts of their personalities often hidden from their friends, co-workers and families.

Though there are traditions making this an occasion for recalling the dead, it has been popularized as a time to play with what historically were fears directed towards what were thought to be unquiet spirits of the departed. And the grand traditional question “Trick or treat?” has become a means for fulfilling an indulgence in sweets, without the need to resort to the optional coercion.

Satanists embrace what this holiday has become, and do not feel the need to be tied to ancient practices. This night, we smile at the amateur explorers of their own inner darkness, for we know that they enjoy their brief dip into the pool of the “shadow world.” We encourage their tenebrous fantasies, the candied indulgence, and the wide-ranging evocation of our aesthetics (while tolerating some of the chintzy versions), even if it is but once a year. For the rest of the time, when those not of our meta-tribe shake their heads in wonder at us, we can point out that they may find some understanding by examining their own All Hallows Eve doings, but we generally find it simpler to just say: “Think of the Addams Family and you'll begin to see what we're about.” "
http://www.churchofsatan.com/faq-holidays.php

THE DEVIL IS REAL FAMILY.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  Eph 5:11

The House Of Kindness

There is a story in the New Testament that has always weighed on my mind in that I've never fully been at peace with the way some interpret it..

The story is found in John 5:1-9 and tells how there was a pool called Bethesda where miracles happened. At certain seasons an angel would stir the waters and whoever got into the water first was healed of whatever sickness they had.

Jesus comes on the scene and taking note of a man who had been lying by that pool for 38 years, He asked him,

"Would you like to get well?"

The man responds by saying that he could not get well because every time the waters were stirred someone would get in the water before he could. He had no one who would help Him.

I've heard this invalid described as an excuse maker, an apathetic man who was wallowing in self pity. I heard it said that if this man really wanted to be healed he would have found a way to get in that pool, therefore if you and I are not healed, delivered, or still struggling in some emotional area it's because we just don't want the victory bad enough. 

I do believe that we are responsible to do our part when it comes to receiving things from the Lord. But, I also know that sometimes people suffer from conditions (Physically, mentally, spiritually) that they can do absolutely nothing about. They are not making excuses they just do not see a way out of their suffering. It is in these cases that God expects us to help one another.

It is amusing that the pool was called Bethesda which in the Hebrew means house of kindness. Imagine this. The pool is packed with the sick and infirm waiting for the angel to stir the water. They are as close to the pool as they can get. Day after day passes and everyone is afraid to sleep or take their eyes off the water for even a second. Everyone is on edge and no one is thinking about their neighbor. All they want is to be the first one in the water so they can be free from misery. Finally the waters begin to stir and the people are anything but kind. The sick are trampling on one another. Fists flail as each one desperately attempts to be the first to step in. 

Finally a shout of triumph! A young man with kidney stones had pushed down an elderly woman with cancer and stepped in the water first. Glorifying God he went home healed with out a second thought about those still sick. The crowd went back, each one to their place, some weeping, others grumbling, all dejected. 

Then Jesus comes and His attention is immediately fixed on the one who had been their 38 years and his complaint was so genuine Jesus did not dispute it. There was no one who would help. So Jesus spoke and the man was healed.

I have several thoughts on the matter and even as I write I pray God convict me daily to put my needs on the back burner when I have an opportunity to show a kindness.

1) We are our brother's keeper. We have a responsibility to be the solution to an other's problem. I imagine Jesus angry at the selfishness of His people as they lay by that pool. He still gets angry. We get so wrapped up in ourselves, our trials, that we forget to have compassion for one another. When we get our breakthrough we praise God with our mouth but forget that our brother is still suffering. 

I wonder what would have happened if someone had determined that the next time the pool stirred they would grab their brother and jump in together. Maybe God would have been so pleased that in His mercy they both would have been healed. Maybe a revival would have started and everyone who jumped in would have gotten healed.

Don't forget the four friends that tore up the roof of a house to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Jesus healed that man and said it was because of the faith of his friends. Mark 2:1-5

2) Jesus healed the man by the pool and it was the sabbath. Jesus knew by healing this man on the sabbath He was asking for persecution as it was considered unlawful to heal on the sabbath. 
It will cost us to extend help to someone else. We will suffer the little...maybe giving up our eating out money to give another family groceries. We will suffer greatly...as do those who bring the Gospel of Salvation to countries where Christians are persecuted to the death. Yet those who are willing to lay down their life to bless someone else are called the friends of Jesus.

3) Finally, and my sincere apologies if this sounds cynical but, in the end we can really only depend on Jesus. For 38 years no one would help this man and I imagine he must have reached out for help. He must have begged for help only to have people turn a deaf ear. For 38 years people had an opportunity to show kindness in the House of Kindness and no one did. The man waited because he had no choice, but finally God showed up.

The proper response to this is to keep your heart soft and do not get bitter. Selfishness is human nature even in the most spiritual man or woman of God. The best of us have to fight off self more than the devil...how much more those in the church who do not seek God and His ways. 

Just remember while you wait for God, though you may have been forsaken do not forsake others. When God shows up pay it forward.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Phil 2:3-4

Outer Court Worshippers...Dancing On Dangerous Ground Pt 2

Between the altar and the Holy Place was the basin. Before the priests could enter the Holy Place they had to wash so they would be clean and not die before the Lord.

There are those who do seek the presence of God but have yet to learn to stay before Him. They are continually going in and out of the Holy Place. I personally think that a lot of Christians who really do want to love God fall in this category, but they have not made the necessary adjustments that will allow them to dwell in His presence continually. So they enter in and minister to God. But then out they go again, picking up the dirt of this world and their own flesh. They know they ought to fully belong to God and fully hate the world but it's the little foxes that spoil the vine...the love of entertainment and comfort. Their passion to surrender is choked out by the cares of this world.

As God's priests we are to be made clean by the washing of the water of the Word. Only those who keep guard over His Word continually in their hearts can continually be clean and abide in His presence (John 15:3 & 10) But so many do not. Their prayer and Bible reading is erratic at best. They are not studying the scripture that they may be workers approved by God. They are not meditating on it that they may obey it. They are not calling on His Spirit for help. Against their own convictions they do not discipline their bodies to seek His face. So in and out they go.

At first this does not seem too bad. After all they are trying more than some others. but Revelations 11:1-2, 13 says this,

Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles....
...In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. 

There is no time to discuss the full meaning of this now. I'll leave it to your study of the Bible such as it is. Let's just keep it simple. God measured off the temple and those who worshiped inside. The outer court was not only given over to the haters of God's people but after the resurrection of the two prophets there was an earthquake that killed thousands...all found outside the presence of God.

I don't fully grasp Revelations, but even I can see it wouldn't be good to be found in the Outer Court if that's where God's judgment was going to fall, kind of like being outside the ark the day it started to rain.

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a parable of 10 virgins. All were destined to meet the bridegroom. All had full lamps. But only 5, who were wise, had vessels with extra oil. The 5 who were foolish presumptuously thought that the oil in their lamps was sufficient. Why go through the trouble of finding more oil and then carrying an extra vessel around with them? As they waited for His coming they used up all they had in their lamps. When the bridegroom arrived they began to scramble to find more oil, but it was too late. They were locked out of the marriage simply because they wouldn't go the extra mile in making preparation for the coming of the bridegroom.

These are the ones who one moment are worshiping in the Holy Place and dancing in the Outer Court the next. These are the ones who tempt their own fate by their continual coming and going. One foot in and the other out. Straddling the fence. Double minded with divided hearts.

There are those who stay in His presence continually. They know He is coming but they don't know the day or the hour. All they know is that they do not want to miss it, so they draw nearer to Him and watch....and wait.

These do not fear Hell. They fear eternal separation from the object of their deepest desire. They fear never to be able to look upon His face, never to gaze deeply into His eyes, and never to hear His voice speaking their name.

Let us enter in with them. The veil is rent in two. He is waiting. He will not wait forever.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth...Luke 18:8

God is speaking.  Let's all have an ear to hear family.

Outer Court Worshippers Or Dancing On Dangerous Ground

This morning the Outer Court has been weighing on my heart. I am no expert on the Temple and it's lay out. Nor am I an expert on the tabernacle erected by Moses. While I've read about it many times I don't fully understand all the sacrifices or ceremonies.Yet God has shown me some things about the Outer Court that pertain to the condition of the heart of believers.

In the Outer Court was the Altar of Sacrifice. It was placed some distance away from the tabernacle which housed the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. People came with their sacrifice, the officiating priest offered it up, and the one who brought the sacrifice went their way without going near the Holy of Holies where the presence of God was.

So many people are just that way. They are Outer Court worshipers who are continually repenting over their sin but never coming close to God. These people fear hell more then they fear God. They fear hell because they know they are closer to it than heaven. They are closer to hell than heaven because they don't fear God. They want to go to heaven but they really don't want to know the King of heaven. At least not on His terms, not if it means they have to change.

Some of these are the people that seem so faithful in God's kingdom because they do so much. Yet God sees the motive. They do not obey God so they try to make up for their disobedience with sacrificial offerings. Yet God says obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Sam 15:22)

Surrounding the tabernacle was a wall. This wall was not made of stone or brick but linen. It wasn't sturdy but yet it was a wall just the same. It was the line that separated the spiritual from the secular.

At first Outer Court worshipers know not to cross certain boundaries. They know some things belong to God and ought to be reverenced. But it isn't long before their senses are too numb to discern between what is holy and what is flesh (1 Tim 4:2). Like bulls they plow through that seemingly flimsy boundary into the world. Then who they are at home is no longer who they are at church. The secular world holds an allure while the things of God pale in comparison. They begin to bring the world into their homes. More and more their conversation is laced with flesh and they delight to call the holy legalistic. Speaking those things that they ought not, they believe God is altogether like them. Walking in their pride they begin to touch the anointed things of God without fear. (1 Chron 16:22 & Jude 8-10) They become careless and familiar with the holy.

Another thing about the Outer Court is it was in the open air. No covering. Outer Court worshipers hate authority. This is the one that talks the Christian language, shows up at church, and may even faithfully hold ministry. They have a form of godliness, that is until someone tries to bring correction. It is at this point that the Outer Court worshiper has a tantrum. Some are like Korah and will blatantly oppose God's chosen leadership. Others will sweetly and quietly listen to the correction yet still insist on their way of doing things.

Sadly these people do not understand what the word covering means. It means to hide, to clothe, and to provide for. It also is a military term that means to protect from enemy action, as in "Cover me while I throw my grenade". It means to protect financially. It's a term that expresses the intimacy of a husband with His wife. It's also a term that is best expressed by our free will. God will not force anyone to stay under His covering. Whether it be a wife, a child, a disciple, or an employee, only those who love and trust Him will submit to the covering He has provided for them....

Part 2 Next Week

A God-LESS Church (My Response To The Gay Marriage Law)

Last Friday our nation was delivered the news that same sex marriage has now become law.  I, along with other Christians, was shocked, disappointed, and dumbfounded.  But as I thought further this thought occurred to me...

why am I surprised?

Before I gave my life to Jesus I was a sinner and I was good at it.  I remember my life, my views, my political and spiritual stance and none of these things were in line with God's Word.   If this law had been passed then I would have not only agreed with the Supreme Court I would have celebrated their decision.

Sinners, unbelievers, heathens (Or whatever you want to call those without the fear of God and understanding of His holiness.) do what sinners do.

 Christians ought to do what Christians do.

Unfortunately many in the church are not a far cry from being like those we call unbelievers though we think we are. 

When those who profess to know Christ do not read and study the scriptures, do not seek God in prayer, do not attend church, see no need to repent of our thoughts or things we do to please our flesh, LOVE the world and the things of it (alcohol, tobacco, riches, fame,  sensuality, entertainment, food/gluttony, fashion, violence... and the list goes on and on),  and seek our own ways more than the ways of God and yet call ourselves the people of God then I would say at best we are highly confused but at worst we are not even saved.

We have become a God LESS church.

What do I mean?

I mean less conviction, less Godly fear, less obedience, less love, less selflessness, less servant hood/work, less prayer, less church, less giving, less witnessing, less HOLINESS.  And yes, less God Himself. 

A wise woman I know says something like this,

Make up your mind!  If you want to sin then drop the pretense and just go be the best sinner you can be.  But if you're going to serve God then give Him EVERYTHING!

When the church stops asking what can we get away with doing and still go to heaven and starts asking how much more can we give to JESUS who suffered and died to prove His love to us and pay the price for our sin then we will indeed be the church.

But at this moment in time the church really just needs to get saved!  I mean FOR REAL saved.

  And YES I am preaching to myself.

I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.  Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. Rev 3:1-3


I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! Rev 3:15-16

Counting The Cost Of Discipleship

I thought this was worth saying again.




So you want to disciple others for Christ...

...WHY?

Why?  Isn't it obvious?  Jesus commands us to go and make disciples.  It says it right in Matthew 28:19!

He also told us to count the cost.  (Luke 14:28-33)  Have you done that?  Have you counted the cost of discipling another?

People have babies all the time and never once consider the late night feedings, hours of constant screaming, tons of poopy diapers, the financial cost, and the utter lack of FREEDOM.  This my friend is just the beginning of the cost of discipleship.

Just as babies grow up into teenagers and rebel so do disciples.  Children love you one moment and want nothing to do with you the next, so do disciples.  Children listen to their friends and trample all over your words of wisdom.  Children arrive at a time in life when they think they know it all.  Children are self-centered, hate work, love junk food, and test your patience.

So do disciples.

But just as children eventually arrive at a place in life where they have endured the trials of life, have their own children, and become wise enough to see how much their parents have truly invested emotionally, again financially, and spiritually, so do disciples.

So, my friend, if you have considered all this and you're ready to lay down your life go for it.

In the end it will all be
worth it and you will receive your reward!!

Your Excuse Has Just Become Your Bondage-A Soap Box Sermon

As one who must OFTEN ask people to volunteer I OFTEN get to hear their excuses when what they are really saying is...

I don't want to.

Every blue moon I get someone who has decided they don't care and are just flat out rebellious enough to tell the truth...

I don't want to.

But for the most part I must stand there with a smile and listen to excuses from those who prefer to have a form of godliness.

I actually understand excuses having had to repent of having a pocket book full of my own from time to time over the years.  I mean c'mon.  Who really wants to go out of their way to do anything when they are tired, overworked already, or have had no time to just sit and....

breathe.

So it's not like I don't understand human nature..

BUT there must come a time when we get past our excuses

lies

and become a people of sacrificial and obedient lives.  But that's for another blog.

What I'd like to jump on my soap box about is how Christians will use certain things in their lives to keep from having to serve God.

For example a wife who feels her husband is too controlling and never does a thing he tells her until she is asked to serve then suddenly she becomes this "submissive" wife who needs to ask her husband before she is able to commit.  Of course said husband always says "no" and the wife is sweetly able to save face as she lays all the blame on her overbearing spouse.

Then we have those who use their illness as their excuse.  They can do anything they want to do (fun) but ask them to serve in a area that is distasteful to them and suddenly they are all but but bedridden.  "Pray for me" is their common refrain.

Next we have those who are always broke.  They own the latest in dvd's, they regularly eat out, and hair and nails are faithfully done but ask them to serve and suddenly they lack gas money.

And finally there are the "I would do that but my kids..." folks.  My kids are sick. My kids have homework. My kids need to get to bed.  My kids have games.  My kids may get offended.  I know I'm an adult but really my kids are in charge and I just keep house for them, pay their bills, and buy whatever they tell me to buy for them.  They are so busy bowing down to their children that there is no room in their lives to worship God.  Oh and did I neglect to tell you that most of these parents complain continually that their children have behavioral issues?

Again I understand the temptation to use excuses but there are some who will continually tell you how much they need God to move in their lives but will actually use the very thing in which they are asking God to help to keep from serving HIM!

Do they actually believe God is blind and deaf to this fact?

God please heal me, deliver me, rescue me!  Oh wait don't deliver me right now I need to use my (fill in the blank) to get out of serving You!

They need God to move.  I say that as long as their need is their convenient excuse they will never see God move because they have made that thing their god that delivers them from the task master the rest of us know as God in Heaven.  God in fact might just turn them over to that god and allow them to remain in bondage to it.  He did it to Israel when they continually worshipped other gods.  He actually arranged it so they would be force marched to Babylon where they could be slaves to the
very gods they worshipped when they were free.

Let us no longer be a people of excuses.  Let us no longer love our bondage because it allows us to get out of serving.  But let us love God and show Him our fidelity through our grateful service to Him.

God will not be mocked.  We shall indeed reap as we have sown.

Another Christian Four Letter Word...OBEY

I am not sure why so many Christians think they can pick and choose what they will and will not do in their walk with God.

We come to church when we please.  We join and quit ministries depending on how we feel at the moment.  One day we are paying our tithes and giving offerings, then suddenly we just think we'll take a break from that and handle business.  

One of the new phrases I hear thrown around a lot is, "He or she is in their emotions."

That bugs me.

It's the new catch phrase for anyone who is acting inappropriately because they are upset for one reason or another.

In the flesh.

God expects us to obey Him no matter how we feel.  No matter the cost.  

Is it always easy?

NO!

Will we sometimes fail?  

YES!

But, the heart that wants to obey God pushes towards that obedience through prayer, repentance, and yes, fasting.

The disciple of Christ who wills to do the Father's will does not make excuses or just throw up their hands and say...

Well, when God chooses to deliver me from this I can obey Him.

No!  They are storming the heavens, asking, seeking, knocking, until they are walking in God's will.

Seeking to obey God is no light or passive thing it's a desperation knowing one day we will stand before Him and have to give an account.

Do you and I really want to stand before Him and say...

 well God I would have obeyed you but...

I think not.

The mark of being Christlike is obedience.

The mark of being carnal and not Christs' is lawlessness or disobedience.

You choose.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Phil 2:8

On This Martin Luther King's Birthday...I Am A SLAVE

Good Morning Family.

On this day, Martin Luther King's birthday, I am at a bit of a loss in what to say so I will just write from my heart.

I am a Christian.  My skin is dark.  My gender is woman.  I am a wife, a mother, a daughter.

I am a SLAVE.

I am not a slave in the sense that we would consider slavery.  Due to the providence of God, through mighty men and women, my generation in America was spared that atrocity.

I am a SLAVE to Jesus Christ.

A willing SLAVE.

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 1 Cor 9:19
From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.  Rom 1:1


There was a time when I was a slave to sins and bondages of all kinds...fornication, adultery, drugs, alcohol, depression, suicidal thoughts, selfish desires, stubbornness, people pleasing, the ways and "wisdom" of the world...

I was a SLAVE to the devil.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? Rom 6:16

I remember a day when I was living in my father's home.  I was a single mom and while my daughter was in school I was folding socks.  Then in the midst of folding the thought suddenly came upon me...

I am going to HELL and there is nothing I can do about it.

I was frozen like a deer in headlights.

I wanted to run for my life but there was nowhere to turn.  One day I would die and have to go before God and because of my sin I was destined for hell.

I can't tell you how long I stood there petrified but eventually the thought dissipated and I went on with my day.  But it was only a few months later when salvation was explained to me and I gave my life to Jesus.  Yes, I was a sinner, but no amount of going to confession, lighting candles, praying to "saints", taking communion, or being a "nice" person would save me.  I needed to renounce and turn from my sin once and for all, ask Jesus to come into my life, and be born again.  Only JESUS could set me free from my sin nature.

It was years later that I realized I exchanged one master for THE MASTER.

The master I had served before had come to steal, kill, and destroy.  Jesus gave me abundant life, love, and provision.

The devil hated me with a rage that will only be swallowed up in the lake of fire.  Jesus called me His beloved and He wanted only to protect, heal, deliver, and then empower me through His Spirit to build His kingdom that He wants to give to ME!

As a black woman I do not deny my heritage nor the injustice committed in the earth against people of color.  But as an ambassador of Jesus Christ my concern is not JUST for the injustice committed against people who share my skin color.  Looking through the eyes of Jesus I see with sorrow injustice rampant against everyone made in the image of God.

I see those who claim to be Christians bickering over who is more oppressed.  I hear those who before, seemed so God fearing revealing the prejudice in their hearts.

I see racism in the church.

May I say this...there is no room in heaven for those who will not do all they can to make peace, to rid their hearts of hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness.  To bring Christ and His word into every situation.

The Ferguson case, and others like it, are true revealers of the hearts.  I pray Christians everywhere are shocked about their response to this case and are repenting and praying the mind that is in Christ will be in them.

Am I suggesting that we all deny what is happening in this country?  Not at all.  I am exhorting us all to return to the commandments of God and trust in Him.  Every injustice, if we are His, ought to drive us to our knees in prayer.  And If we are to act, to act in such a way that points others to Jesus.

May I say this?  Most people who made comments or commentaries, on Face Book, twitter, through emails, or on You Tube did NOT make time to pray and dig in the Word of God for wisdom or comfort.

And they surely did not FAST.

They spoke out of their own insecurity, hurt, and anger...out of their own resources instead of going to Jesus.

One last thing.  As a Christian I do not vote based on a man's skin color, I do not overlook crimes of famous people who share my skin color, and I do not give favoritism because someone is a "Sista".

Because I am a Christian my sister, my brother, my people are those who are believers in Jesus Christ.

For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. (Jesus) Mk 3:35

I am a SLAVE to my Lord.  If that offends you then you either need to mature in your walk or you need to, as I did, exchange your master for THE MASTER.

I...Am...A...Christian.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  Martin Luther King

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. Martin Luther King

Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.  Marin Luther King

The reason I can't follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everyone blind.  Martin Luther King

Love in our Lord,
Lauren