To Speak or Not to Speak

Shut UP!! Yes a rude word combo but it’s sometimes necessary for a believer. It’s amazing how we manage to always find something to say when it’s not necessary! For example we can criticize the work of someone else, talk about people, or give others a piece of our mind but when it comes to right vs. wrong, anything related to God, or when it’s time to address some hard truths we somehow can’t muster up the words to say. Heavy stuff I know and I am guilty as well, but what would life be like if the roles were reversed? If we were bold enough to have a serious conversation that may seem offensive to a non believer, potentially risking the exposure of our own personal neglect and flaws. or if we would without reservation confess Christ and introduce our friends to Him….. if we weren’t afraid to say what is right without an ounce of disbelief. If we would close our mouths when our words are negative, with the intent to put someone down or hurt some feelings, bite our tongue when we would typically lash out, or preserve every piece of our mind for its proper benefit, to think, and not give it away frivolously as if we could do without certain parts of it.

Believers it is time for us to exercise both self-control and God confidence. The pressure to be quite concerning important matters shows a lack of God confidence and on the contrary the pressure to speak out of emotion and our fluid feelings displays our lack of self-control! Let’s confuse the enemy……let the words that come out of our mouth be a product of our thoughts. Changing our thought pattern to focus on whatever is of a good report, whatever is lovely, and whatever is pure allowing those thoughts to guide our speech. Let’s be quite when we are offended by a friend, family member, or enemy and pray for them instead, let’s keep our unproductive comments to ourselves and let the Holy Spirit guide us on when, how, and what to say!

It’s backed in the Word!

Proverbs 15:23, Philippians 4:8, Proverbs 18, Luke 9:26

***All images are from Google***

Redefining Blessings

                                                            

Don’t you just love (or hate) when you talk to that particular someone and all they say is “I’m blessed and highly favored”…you ask them how they are doing  and their response is “I’m blessed”, you call them,  they answer the phone “Blessed assurance, this is  “so & so” just a blessed person who ends all their emails and text messages with “be blessed” or “have a blessed day” and you wonder what type of life are you living that has got you so BLESSED?

How do you define success?

                                                          

On the flip side there are those who open new businesses and holler :”I’m blessed”, or get a new car, house, job, man, etc. and scream “I’m so blessed”, almost in a way to sort of rub it in your face that they are in some way better than you, being that you didn't get a new car, house, job or relationship. Does material wealth make you blessed? Ponder that question. Reaccess your motives, do you feel less blessed when you hear others rant and rave about all they have acquired, or does the person who always claim God’s blessing make you feel some type of way?

I must admit, as an immature believer I once thought blessings equated things. The more you had the more blessed you were and praise God I have grown to realize that notion is far from the truth. It’s funny how the enemy uses spiritual words to cause dissension among believers and deception for non-believers. People who don’t even worship God with their life say they are blessed all the time. That’s an inaccurate truth, POINT, BLANK, PERIOD!
                                                  

Let’s Define Blessings!

Accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior is the number one indicator you are blessed. Come hell or high water when it’s all said and done, YOU my friend will be chilling with the Father up in heaven walking on custom made gold streets. I don’t care how many bags such and such has, if they don’t get their life together will NEVER HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SAYING THEY WALKED ON GOLD STREETS FOR FUN! Ha, now that’s blessed. The fact that you are alive and have another opportunity to share Christ and model Christ to the world, is yet another blessing. I can only image how elated God is to see YOU wake up every day and represent Him to the world. For those of you that are working in the area of your passion or purpose, you are blessed. You are one step ahead of the rest, truly living out on a daily basis the reason you were created in the first place. You my friend have the luxury to dedicate the majority of your time to fulfill your God given destiny. Some people are prospering in occupations that God had zero intention of them doing in the first place; He is not honored by their lifestyle, and is infuriated that they are forfeiting His purpose to pursue their own selfish-gratification.
                                                       

So before you get sad when someone is flashily claiming this “blessed life” or get frustrated with that someone who prophetically claims blessings over emails understand the true definition of being blessed. Understand God. Understand that you too are indeed blessed, and regardless of what it looks like God’s blessings are raining down on you still!

**All images are from Google**

Why do we Climb the Mountains we Face?

I recently climbed Stone Mountain and there was so much power in that experience. I got so much revelation about life, personal will, and God’s power. After the experience, I was strengthened by hard work and perseverance, thankful for a support system that did not let me give up, and most of all thankful to God for answering prayer. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7) a scripture that I rehearsed over and over again in my head during the entire hike, operating in the spiritual realm to overcome the fear and minor panic attack that desired to overtake me. Once I reached the top I felt accomplished and powerful, however I experienced a seemingly overwhelming feeling of sadness because the journey was so hard but at the same time I was excited because I finally made it to the top. It was a weird combination of feelings,  to say the least. The closer I got to the top the harder it got and once I made it to the top I realized the journey did not take as long as I'd thought it had. I did not want to come down, in fact I was scared to go back down. the journey down  looked much harder than the hike up. But to my surprise the journey down was much easier, however for others that traveled up with me, going down was far more difficult. I was reminded of the scripture that says speak to the mountain and it will be moved out of your way Mark 11:22-25. So after the experience was over I began to compare that physical hike up Stone Mountain to the journey of life which is filled with many mountains that we have to overcome. I began to wonder how that scripture Mark 11 comes into play in our personal lives. I started to wonder why so many choose to hike up the mountain when we have the ability to tell the mountain to move out of our way?

The ability to speak to the mountain belongs to all of us but it requires faith and patience. We have to believe that God who created the mountain is able to move it out of our way so that we can securely travel the journey of life laid out before us. It also requires much patience; we have to be willing to wait on God’s timing to move the mountain. That is when the simple verbal assignment becomes difficult. As we stand at the bottom of the Mountain waiting on God to move it we see so many people starting the hike, others coming down from the hike and began to think to ourselves “if they can do it surely I can”. So we take the steps and begin the journey. God is so faithful that even when we choose to take the hard route he is faithful and just to see us through. Some parts of the journey are harder than others, rocky, confusing, slippery, and even dangerous. Then there is patches of leveling, those places don’t last long but provide a sense of relief and empowerment for us to continue moving forward. There are even rest stops available if it gets to rough providing the option of stopping and taking a seat, but the rest stops aren’t comfortable, I suppose for reason.

God provides us with everything we need to make it up, but our journey could have gone differently if we had simply waited on God to move the mountain for us. The decision to tackle the mountain on our own is ok because He provides us with a support system who have the same goal in mind; to make it to the top. They won’t let us give up if they are any good. However we may encounter some that encourage us to turn around and depending on where we are in life we may continue moving forward or give in to the temptation to turn around. On this journey you encounter some people hiking up the mountain who are relying on their own strength and personal ability to make it up the mountain, and they indeed succeed. These people are called the self sufficient. They brag about their ability to make it up the mountain and even scoff at your pace, they sometimes run up the mountain with their eyes closed and take pleasure going up and down the mountain to prove their personal ability to make it happen.

My story is not quite the same. It is God and God alone who helps me up and down and receives all the credit and praise for my arrival. However I can’t help but wonder  why have I yet to be courageous enough to take my rightful stance and wait on God to move the mountains I face. Is my motivation peer pressure, pride, curiosity, desire to be accepted, or to impress others? I am not ignorant enough to believe that my only way to the top is to take the hike, I know that God is able to do anything He pleases if my trust is in Him. Why can’t I be still and know that I serve the God of all? Why must I make the journey more difficult that it has to be? Why do I climb the mountains I face?

**All images are from Google**

Chasing Success & Feeling Left Behind.....READ THIS!

Life is happening….as you look around you see the success of many, the failures of some, you witness births, deaths, marriages, divorces, businesses launch and others fail from friends, family, and strangers alike. Then you look at your life, you begin to compare and contrast: “I’m not married but at least I graduated college”, I didn’t graduate college but at least I’m not single” and so many other, in our eyes, valid observations that we make so that we feel validated and important. I want to encourage some today and challenge others, regardless of what is going on around you if God is not its focal point and foundation according to Him it’s invalid; so why compare?

 Some friends may be getting married…. but God is nowhere in their marriage, some people are building empires…..but it’s measured by their own hands, God despises that! Children are a blessing but the baby momma and baby papa drama that is to follow is not God’s design for you or them either. People are getting engaged….but for the wrong reasons. The next time you begin to feel unaccomplished or left behind after seeing or hearing of someone’s success ask yourself “Where is God”? Also please keep in mind just because they throw God’s name in there a few times, He’s not impressed and neither should you be.

Don’t fret believers who are firmly planted on God’s truths, believers that lead with Christ, rest assured that those who believe in Christ will succeed in Christ. I challenge some to redefine success. If you still measure success off how many bags you can have, shoes you can own, cars you can drive, and places you can go with your money….there is still some work to be done in you! Many of us try to manipulate our motivation for success by using our kids or our desire to help our family as a way to prompt God to give us more. All that sounds good on paper, but God knows the motives of your heart.  If given the dollar amount you desire or the occupation of your lifetime, how much time will you spend working vs. the time you will spend worshiping God? How much money will you truly spend on your family or kids as opposed to luxury items, things to fill voids or to boost your self-esteem? Be honest with yourself, no one else is reading this right now but you!

Be confident that God has not forgotten about you. Be self aware, knowing who you are and owning it, asking God to reveal to you areas that are displeasing to Him. Those He loves He chastises, those that are called out for Him can’t afford to reap their harvest before its time. If you love God, if you trust Him, know that you are not falling behind but where you are is right on time for where God is taking you. Trust Him, Believe Him, Worship Him!

Selah

**All images are from Google**

YOU WIN

Following God you win. There is no way around that contributing life factor, when you follow God you WIN. Regardless of the current scene, making the decision to defy enemy’s gravity and stand with full assurance on the promises you received in Christ, guarantees you success. God is honored the more confident you become in Him , the more assured you are that He will not only save you but present you a better alternative emboldens Him to pour His blessing and provisions more lavishly upon you. To think that your plan is in some way greater that God’s plan is a deceptive trap that is sure to lure you into depression, helplessness, and further away from the victory that is already afforded you in Christ Jesus. Today choose to stand strong, stand firm, believe God, trust God, continue to be faithful to the promises you’ve made to Christ and trust this known fact…..YOU WIN!

It’s backed in The Word

James 1:12-14 Proverbs 24:16 2Timothy 2:1-15 

Patience Confirms Maturity

To be patient confirms maturity. In waiting there is so much God wants to show you. Instead of questioning everything that happens or doesn't, redirect energy to the vibrations of His voice.  Become determined to hear Him speak by gaining as much as you can from the waiting experience. Sometimes timing is just off. What you want and/or desire maybe yours for the taking but not immediately, there is work to be done and time is critical. Patience creates an opportunity for new perspectives. Being distracted by  our own point of view may call for time to challenge and implement  different viewpoints. Being patient uncovers deception, deceit, or ill intent from yourself or those around you. Last but not least being patient allows God to truly reveal his character and unending love for you. By waiting you see God’s hand in the process and learn to appreciate another dimension of the favor on your life and the grace that has been afforded you. God has so much in store for you, you just have to wait for it. 

Its Backed In The Word

Romans 12:12 Jeremiah 29:11 Psalms 37:7-9 Romans8:24-25

Just In The Nick Of Time

You’re sitting around thinking God has forgotten about you; 

~You’re a single woman: No husband in sight

~You & your spouse have been trying to have a baby for months…years: No luck

~ You have a bill due in the next few days: No money

~ You need an encouraging word: Nobody to talk to?!?! 

You feel Alone, Abandoned!

You sit and wonder, “where the heck is God” wondering how many tears do you have to cry, how many prayers do you have to pray. Let’s be transparent you feel like there are no more tears left and no more words left to pray. You are over it! You are tired!

Well God has not forgotten you. He has a plan for your life so grandiose that if He told you there is no way you could handle it’s magnitude. It all sounds cliché’ but that doesn’t stop it from being the truth. I want to encourage you, be transparent with you and let you know that on this journey I have quit several times. I have told God "look you can have it I’m tired of trying". I have had many sleepless night, several broken hearts (my heart’s been broken so many times I didn’t even know it was possible), I've been too broke, not even $5 to my name……….. seriously,  you name the struggle I have been there or severely close. Through it all I can attest there has always been one solid factor, one thing that has always stayed the same. God! God has always been there for me no matter what. Even when He didn’t speak I could feel his breath as the wind blowed. I promise you every prayer that I have ever prayed in my entire life, has been answered. I still have a few pending requests but I am overly confidently that He can and will handle those request as well.

This I have learned: rarely does He answer the way I would hope, after all He’s boss not me….but He answers; and I can also say that despite my disappointment at times, as a result of  his response. it has ALWAYS been for my best interest looking back.

Yeah, I can agree sitting around with no money does not seem profitable in the least bit, or not having a husband or wife to go home to and being tempted by boyfriends/girlfriends in no way seems beneficial, nor does the quest to procreate yielding no creation at all, seem like its helping the world expand. I get it, trust me! But know that God’s sure plan is working for your good despite your knowledge.  Just in the nick of time God is going to show up, just as the door is closing….**Would you look a there***…..God will pop up on the scene.  He’s able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above anything you could ask or think! 

HE loves you! Be Encouraged