Posted on

What do you treat as common?

John 4:23-24 (AMP) But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

The Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. Who are such people? Those are the people who search within themselves. Part of my growing deeper in my walk with God has to do with the inward change, not just the outward change. I do care about how I present myself, but it should matter more how I present myself to God. The biggest tell is how I treat going to church. In my culture we have watered down reverence so much to go so far from legalism that it has turned into lawlessness. What is the difference, not much, because neither reveres a Holy God. It is how we see God. We treat church as common, not really special, something ordinary. We have gone so far from the importance of it because of the few that abused their authority in it. So much so, that I am even watching how I approach people in my own church. The enemy has a done a good job of making sure that when we join together, we are still powerless. However, there is a remnant. There is hope. I am not writing just about my church, but the body of Christ in general.

Psalms 145:18 (NLT) The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.

Isaiah 29:13 (NLT) And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”

He also requests that we worship Him in truth. That is the opposite of lip service. Lip service is not taking God’s Word as serious, but as common, no real change happens. It is not taking the promises of God as real. Those who offer lip service, and still go through the motions, have missed out on what reverence means. How we receive the Word (spoken and written) has all to do with the honor we give it. Reverence is shown in the fruit of our application. It has come to a point that a common treatment of attendance, in fellowship or even how we approach worship is normal. That reverence is now seen as radical Christianity. We have made it a point to get so far from the legalism that the church got into (that the building is not the church but the people) that it has turned out that we do not even attend services with a reverence for a Holy God. We treat it as common. Even if you do not show up for a service, it will be okay, I can catch it later online…but really what do I miss. That is a common thought life on what God tells us is important.

Ephesians 2:21 (NLT)  We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

Hebrews 10: 24-25 (NLT) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Acts 2:42 (AMP) They were continually and faithfully devoting themselves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to eating meals together and to prayers.

During my time in corporate prayer yesterday I was interceding for the body of Christ and God put this on my heart. He asked, “am I glorified in this?” How we approach our fellowship with the body, is He glorified in this? In how we gather together for worship and the teaching of the Word, is He glorified in this? When we meet each other in public, is He glorified in this? I had to admit to myself, no. He does not get glory when we treat what should be in spirit and truth as common, nothing special.

Romans 12:1 (AMP) Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.

Colossians 3:12-17 (AMP) So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others]. Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Nothing we do as born-again believers should be common. We should not treat anything as common. We should be excited to gather together. We should be in awe of the gifts in each other’s lives working together. We should be beaming with joy at the growth spiritually in each other. I was so excited to hear how God was speaking to each one of us individually during our corporate prayer yesterday. There are places that I go every day of the week, as a schedule, but my schedule should not be seen as common. There I can worship God in spirit and truth. Every day is another day to give Him glory. Every time I come into the house of God to worship, I expect to hear God in a different way than I did when I was seeking Him privately. He is the same, but it is never common. It may look radical to you, but it is definitely not common.

Abba, our Father, our Jehovah, You are Holy. You are everything we will ever need. You are so Marvelous and Wonderful. Thank You for You Son, our Redeemer and our Prince of Peace. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, our Teacher and Comforter. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your Presence that never leaves us nor forsakes us. Thank You for Your Mercy and Loving Kindness. We repent for treating our lives as common. We repent for acting like nothing special happens past us receiving Your Son as Savior. We repent for going through the motions of worship and not truly worshiping You in Spirit and in Truth. We repent for the lip service. Lip service does not glorify You. Our desire is to bring You glory, for Your Kingdom to be established here on earth. Check within us Lord, search within us, and remove anything that keeps us from growing deeper in You. You are anything but common to us. Your Word is a lamp to our feet. We take Your Word as special. Every day is special and new. We cannot wait to join in with other believers and glorify Your Name. We repent for not thinking meeting together as important to You. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

The places you will go

Ephesians 3:20-21 (AMP) Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

I have been doing a deep dive in the book of Ephesians over the last few months. I am taking it one verse at a time. In doing so, I have learned a lot of about Christ and the fullness that He wants in our lives. On that note, we have have centered so much on that fullness, that we have become self centered in our relationship with Him. Let us look at the above verse for instance. How much do you think that verse is really about us? Look at it again, it starts out “Now to HIM….” That’s right, it is about Him and His glory. We are the benefits He receives, not the other way around.

Matthew 17:2-3 (AMP) And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

There were a few men that walked really close with Jesus. Jesus even showed them His true form on this mountain. His appearance changed dramatically in their presence. There are surface level relationships that we can have, and then there are deep intimate relationships. The level is dependent on the mutual understanding of both parties. The second part of this is the most exciting to me. Moses was able to step his feet into the promised land.

Psalms 37:4-5 (AMP) Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him also and He will do it.

Where I am, I see a lot of people concerned about where they are going to go in life. Are they going to experience all they want to experience? Moses got to be in the promised land, and it was with Jesus. I have learned that when I find myself rooted in Him, my life is much bigger than I could ever have imagined. I am no longer concerned about visiting Paris, as I had dreamed about in high school, I would rather go somewhere that He can get the glory for. When we took out trip to the Dominican, we had so many opportunities to share the gospel. We were given a heart for the people there and are looking forward to going back this Christmas. This time we are going to take our boys. When it is about Him, then we look outside our ourselves. How we see ourselves in Christ will determine where we will go.

Matthew 6:33 (AMP) But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

His Kingdom is rooted in the person of Christ. The Isrealites reached the physical promised land and still they were not satisfied. They kept searching for other forms of worship to make them whole, and to fulfill their every desire. Jesus came so that we can rest in the promised land (Hebrews 4:1-11), it is found in Him. No more striving. No more searching. No more being hungry and thirsty. Just Him. The fullness of the Kingdom of God is found in Him. Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think. Then you will go places you never dreamed of, and you will have a heart for people you never thought you would.

God, our Creator and our Lord, You are so Mighty and Awesome. We worship Your Holy Name today. We want to glorify You will all that is within us. Thank You for Your Son, that we have become a part of Your Wonderful family. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that reveals the deep knowledge of Your Mercy and Loving-kindness. We repent for being self seeking in our actions and deeds when it comes to Kingdom life. We have fallen into the same trap as the Pharisees in doing so. We want the fullness we have to be a deep reflection of who you are. To You all the glory. To You all the honor. Let our attitudes and character reflect that of You. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose faith today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

Why is Corporate Prayer Important?

Acts 2:42 (AMP) They were continually and faithfully devoting themselves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to eating meals together and to prayers.

Since the day I received my salvation in the Lord, in 1998, I have been at church every time the doors were opened (except for the few vacations that have been planned over the weekend, and I mean A FEW). The only times that I would not be able to make something was if I was at work. A work day, I was there. Any camp meeting night, any call to prayer on a Saturday or weeknight, just anything. This was way before I got married and it did continue on afterwards. Would it be because my husband’s parents were the pastors? There were times that I was tired. I also had a rebellious streak, and I could have told him to go without me. Here is the thing though, when I started this new way of living, I wanted everything that God had for me, that meant I had to give Him all of me to.

A woman in the church and I started coming together in prayer a few years ago. I had never led prayer meetings, only attended them, and honestly it was intimidating. About a year and a half ago we opened it up to the whole church to accompany us. It is Tuesday mornings at 11 am. There have been a couple of ladies that have been faithful to join us as well. Others do so sporadically. Some want to pray at home. I understand the need for comfort, however, corporate prayer is not about comfort.

The early church gathered for prayer as often as they could. They were so unified and full of the fear of the Lord that miracles and healing were a part of their daily lives. We have grown so accustom to do things our own personal ways that we do not want to sacrifice a couple of hours, in the middle of the week, to gather for nothing else but prayer. We will sit down and scroll on our phones for hours on end, mind-numbingly, but to leave the house to pray with other believers, that is just asking too much.

I understand, I love my time. I love being in control of how I plan my day. I have certain days that I do certain things, but I have made it a point to not plan anything during this time (except for when something has happened with one of my kids). Enough about time, let’s get to the reason of why corporate prayer is important. Have you ever thought about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and His call for corporate prayer on behalf of what was about to take place in the coming days?

Matthew 26:36-41 (AMP) Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane (olive-press), and He told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], He began to be grieved and greatly distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and stay awake and keep watch with Me.” And after going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible [that is, consistent with Your will], let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep actively watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

The call to prayer as a group was not first brought to attention in the Book of Acts, as they were waiting for the Day of Pentecost. The call to prayer corporately and to watch has been all through the Bible. How about Esther? How about King David? The beginning of the church found it so important (that as you read more in Acts, to the letters to the Corinthians, Ephesians and in the Book of James) they found every opportunity to gather together in prayer.

I believe this is what made the church so powerful. Jesus was going into battle for us, He requested his closest disciples to pray with Him. Which reminded me of another story found in 2 Chronicles 20.

2 Chronicles 20:12-22 (AMP) O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless against this great multitude which is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” So all Judah stood before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children. Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph. He said, “Listen carefully, all [you people of] Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: ‘Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Go down against them tomorrow. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the river valley, in front of the Wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; take your positions, stand and witness the salvation of the Lord who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.’”  Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him. The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice. So they got up early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe and trust in the Lord your God and you will be established (secure). Believe and trust in His prophets and succeed.” When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in their holy (priestly) attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Praise and give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.” When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down [in defeat].

What happened when the entire nation bowed and revered God? What happened when they sought His face and His guidance? This is the purpose of corporate prayer. It is not about me any longer. This is why I am urging that we understand the importance of corporate prayer. It grows us so much further than we could ever have imagined. Think of what the church can do when she is unified. This is a call to no longer be a passive observer in your church.

I have learned a lot about the people in our church that attend corporate prayer. I have also learned a lot of myself. The best part is when prayers are answered and we get to come back together and rejoice about it. Corporate prayer has also changed the way I have my personal time of prayer. It has also changed the way I receive from the Holy Spirit in my time of prayer. The Words of scripture come to my mind quickly. I am ready to listen more and I am okay being in the silence.

James 5:16 (AMP) Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].

Prayer is an active part of our faith. It should be one of the things that breaths life into your church. Gathering for teaching, worship and fellowship are great in building each other up. However, do not forget about prayer. The early church started in a little room and carried it with them wherever they went. Let us do the same!

Father, our Lord, our Jehovah, You are more precious than anything, there is nothing we can compare with You. Thank You for sending Your Son to restore us. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that empowers us, comforts us and teaches us. Thank You for Your Word, that we can get to know You more. We repent for not valuing prayer as a part of our faith life. We are sorry for not desiring to gather together to see Your Kingdom established more and more in this earth. We are thankful that You desire us. We are thankful that we have a community, a body that You have joined us together in. Let us not take it for granted any longer. We choose to forgive ourselves and others for being the reason we have just not wanted to gather together. Give us a new heart and a new desire to worship, pray, gather and learn as we grow glory to glory. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

Faith and Expectation

Psalms 31:24 (AMP) Be strong and let your hearts take courage, all you who wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

Are we showing up to places expecting calamity? Are we expecting a struggle? Are we expecting to walk into confusion? I want to tell you something about this faith life, we cannot pray against something that we have invited. We need to change our mindset and our expectation. God is not going past what we expect and speak with our mouths.

Matthew 15:15, 17-20 (AMP) Peter asked Him, “Explain this parable [about what defiles a person] to us.” Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming). These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Ephesians 4:29-31 (AMP) Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence].

I was in prayer yesterday about some of the confusion we have had with setting up on Sunday mornings. It has been effecting our worship and media (which includes the sound) teams. Where is all this confusion coming from? As of right now we are renting from another church. We have a 1:30 in the afternoon service. Their worship and media teams have been doing some changes with the equipment and it is different every week. There is discouragement, and I understand that, it is not easy to figure out when we are not a part of the whole picture. What we cannot do is lose the joy in that we have a place to come to worship together. We cannot allow it to cause discouragement in how we approach worship.

The first thing we have to do is to check our heart attitude. Have we lost the joy? If so, what are we doing to find it again? Psalms 31:24 says, “Be strong and let your hearts take courage.” Discouragement cannot enter our hearts. Out of hearts we will speak what we expect. My prayer was, “God let our hearts remain steadfast to your Word. Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit by our complaining when we come into this place. Holy Spirit, we value You more than any inconvenience we may face. Let our words build up. Let our words be used to bless.”

I am praying against the confusion, but I am also praying for our minds to be in correct alignment with the Word. No matter what, the Holy Spirit is more important than what we sound like or look like on the camera. We are not producing a product, we are ushering in His Presence. We should have excellence, but not at the expense of not sitting at His feet. We can often get into the works of it all, that we forget the most important part, being with Him.

Joshua 6:10 (AMP) But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout [the battle cry] nor let your voice be heard nor let a word come out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout!”

This is the story of how God delivered the city of Jericho into the hands of the Israelites. They marched around the city walls six days with only the trumpets being blown by the priests, and the ark of the covenant being carried behind the priests. On the seventh day, when they had walked around the city seven times, this time when the priests blew the trumpets the people were to give out a shout. I believe it was a shout of praise, it was a shout of victory, it was a shout of expectation. Their faith had lined up with their expectation that God had delivered the victory.

We cannot pray against something we have invited. Change your mindset and change your words. Stop inviting confusion into your life and into your worship. Do not allow discouragement to take root and cause your mouth to curse what God wants to do in that moment. Speak faith, speak expectation, speak to build up. Your faith will meet your expectation.

Our Lord, Our God, Our Banner, You are more precious than the sun you put in the sky. We want to bring glory to Your Name. Thank You for Your Son, for coming to earth to live among us and for restoring us to our rightful place in Your Presence. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Your Word says that the Holy Spirit is the seal of our redemption. That means we have been inspected and approved. We are no longer broken vessels, Your Son redeemed us. We repent for speaking words that are not uplifting, that we have spoken out of the confusion without going to Your Word and Your Promise. We choose to forgive ourselves and others for having expectations that do not line up with Your Word. Let us choose to remain silent and get our hearts and minds in correct alignment so that we do not dishonor You with our words. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

Come Closer

Romans 11:36 (AMP)  For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.

God is the originator of all. It is because of Him that we live and exist, and it is for Him we live and exist. This is why He is to be honored and glorified. We live in a world that only wants to worship when they receive. How about it is because of who He is. The next verse comes in Romans chapter 12. It is connected to the above scripture.

Romans 12:1 (AMP) Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. 

My act of worship is not a song I sing before the preaching starts. It is not the few minutes I give God in my day to pray. My life is an act of worship. Now this does not mean that I quote scripture ever other breath. This is an invitation from God that I can walk continually in His Presence. When someone is in our presence, do we ignore them? We check in and acknowledge them.

James 4:8 (AMP) Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people].

What does it mean to be double-minded? I look at it that we become self-focused and self-driven. We are double-minded in that we care more for our well being than anyone else’s. Part of my worship is how I treat others. I do not live for other’s approval, but I am to live is such a way that people do matter. This does not mean I subject myself to abuse or put myself in places that people can manipulate me. It does not mean that I only seek out relationships that can benefit me. My prayer this year has been for God to increase His love in me so that it is all that flows out of me. This requires patience, because I am not always going to get it right. This is why I have a deep need for Him.

John 15:7 (AMP)  This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.

John 15:10 (AMP) If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

Jesus walked in Oneness with the Father here on earth. Why? He stayed close to Him. In His humanity He showed us how to do this. His life on earth was that of worship to the Father. That is why He could just speak and deliverance, healing and people were raised from the dead. I do not believe Jesus spent so much time with God so that He could do those miracles, the miracles were a by product of His time spent with God. How many of us seek God for the blessings, when the blessings should be an outflow of the time we spend with Him. The Kingdom of God cannot help but to prosper. Your mind cannot help but to be renewed. Your emotions cannot help but to be put back in line. He is desiring us to draw near to Him.

My life matters. My eternity started when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I am not fearful of losing my salvation. That is not the point of this life of worship. The point is that we should not treat His Presence as common (the opposite of Holy). He is still the God of the beginning and the end.

Romans 11: 33-35 (AMP) Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and decisions and how unfathomable and untraceable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it would be paid back to him? 

No one is like the Lord. In His Presence is fullness of joy. Why would you not want to be there? He is inviting you to come closer today. Lay it all down. Surrender whatever that you have been holding onto. Surrender the worry. Surrender the doubt. Surrender and let faith draw you near. The width and length and height and depth of His love (Ephesians 3:18), let it surround you. We are learning a new song at church called Surrounded By Holy. I love this part of the song that says, “The more that I enter in, You consume all I am, I lose myself in the One who’s holy.” There is no one more Holy. Come closer.

Father, Elohim, Creator and Lord, You are all that is and all that will ever be. You are Holy. We honor You today in our worship. Thank You for sending Your Son to restore us back to right standing with You. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, the third person of the God head, that dwells within and with us. We thank You for the throne room of grace and mercy. We are no longer bound to the outer courts. We repent for the times we have only sought Your face for when we needed something from You. We do not seek after Your blessings. We seek after You. We are choosing to love like You love. We want to see the best in others and to live unselfishly in love. We surrender our hearts and minds to You. We desire to present our whole selves as a living sacrifice to You, holy, as our act of worship to You. We want to draw closer. We are making a choice to forgive freely. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

To care or not to care? That is the question.

John 13:34-35 (AMP)  I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.

The word “love” here is the in the Greek agape. It is not a word for emotion but a description of doing things for the benefit of another person. It is having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.

My husband and I are in a theme of Restore on Sundays. We minster together. It is a teaching we have been doing for over a year now. Often times as a person we want to be restored without having to make any effort on our part, because sacrifice has become as bad of a word in the church as repentance. A surrendered life is the example Jesus lived. It puts responsibility on me. We hold onto the truth that Christ paid it all on the cross, yet forget the words of Paul, “continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ] (Philippians 2:12).” I do not work for my salvation, but I am responsible for maturing. I am responsible for my surrender. Let’s go back to what Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” This takes maturity, because I am selfish by nature, as are you. The best place to work this out of ourselves is in a group of people with the same purpose. That’s right, I am talking about the body of believers in your church.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (AMP) Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.

If you do not think the people in your church are important enough for you to be present, then you are missing out on a great opportunity to work out your salvation. You are missing the part that Jesus told us, “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. (John 15:12-13).” He is not talking about dying for each other, He is talking about us dying to ourselves. He is asking us to genuinely care for each other. Care so much that you see how important they are in the Kingdom. Why are we so self concerned whether someone else’s life looks better than our own, that we cannot care for one another? It really is a sad state because how is the world suppose to know that we are His? If you have love and unselfish concern for one another.

Let’s put it another way. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to take care of this temple. Often times we only pertain this to ourselves. Look what Ephesians 2:19-22 has to say, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord]. In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” We are being build up together. I am not an individual set apart, I am apart of a body that is set apart. Know you can see what they are talking about in Hebrews about falling away from meeting together and the harm it does. I cannot do this on my own and I was never suppose to. Look at Haggai 1:2-10 and see what happens when we do not care about the temple of the Lord (the body of Christ). We lose in more aspects than we could ever imagine. We wonder why we struggle.

I’ve heard that there is no condemnation in Christ. I do not have to do any of this because works do not make me saved. That is all true. Works do not make me saved. However, I am not to neglect because of my freedom. That is not the character and nature of God and does not line up. We often like to quote Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].” However, we often use it out of context. It comes on the heals of Paul admitting to his own selfish tendencies. He is not giving himself permission to be selfish, but pointing back to a surrendered life. So I am not in condemnation because I have surrendered…that is how I am in Christ Jesus. That is why I want to care and show love for others. That is why I show up every Sunday. It is my worship to Him. It is not about me! Excuses make it about me. A surrendered life will want to follow the new commandment. A surrendered life cannot help but want to serve as Jesus did (John 13:5-15). He was the ultimate example, we are to do as He did. To care or not to care? If you really care then show up and serve.

Lord of the Universe, our Father and our Maker, we honor You today with every breath that is in our lungs. We praise You for who you are. There is none like You. We thank You for Your Son. We thank You that He lived the perfect life and gave us victory over death. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. We thank You that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in us. We repent for squandering our Salvation by not maturing like You desire us to. We repent for continuing to live for ourselves and not walking out salvation to build each other up. We repent for not accepting the gift of the body of Christ and loving each other. We repent for not caring. Look at our hearts and take out any part that is within me that has continued to harden towards the love You want me to give. We choose today to turn back to Your face and live a life of surrender. We choose to walk in forgiveness and desire to see the best in others. We choose joy as our weapon. You said that Joy is our strength and I cannot have that apart from You. We desire to see Your Kingdom established and we repent for only caring about our own. Your Son said it is of not any benefit to do for those who would only do for us in return (Luke 6:32-35). Let us choose to be merciful and compassionate just as You are. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

Only You

Jeremiah 24:7 (AMP)  I will give them a heart to know Me, [understanding fully] that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

“Only You,” that is what I heard over and over again yesterday in prayer. As I was worshiping and giving Him first place. As I was praying over the men in our church. As I was praying over the worship team. As I was praying over the hallways and the fellowship hall. As I was praying for laborers for the harvest. As I was praying over those who serve in our children’s departments. As I was praying over our greeters and ushers. “Only You,” is what my heart was crying out for.

Why do we gather? Why do we worship? Why do we serve? “Only You!”

Jeremiah 29:13 (AMP) Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Psalms 37:4 (AMP) Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.

How often we tell God that if He gives us our hearts desires that we will follow after Him. We try to bend Him to our will, instead of us surrendering to His. We want Him to fit into the idea of who He is to us. Instead of us trying to define Him according to our self seeking ideas.

Jeremiah 30:22 (AMP) Then you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

It’s our heart change to Him. What have we sought above Him? Maybe it is a job that would be fulfilling? Could it be a family that will need us and fulfill our every need for love? What about a peaceful home? The love of a spouse? None of those things replace the need for Only Him.

When I came to know Christ I was already engaged to my husband. It was the deep desire to be loved that I clung so hard to him. God was taking him on a journey and his passions had changed. The man I had known for the two and half years before was changing. God spoke to me and wanted my heart. He showed me the pedestal that I had my husband on, that I sought him to meet my every need. God wanted me to tear down that pedestal (that idol) and put Him there. That is when I gave my life to Him. It has been twenty five years since that moment, I have never forgotten it.

Isaiah 58:13-14 (AMP) “If you turn back your foot from [unnecessary travel on] the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, not going your own way or engaging in your own pleasure or speaking your own [idle] words, then you will take pleasure in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the [promised] heritage of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

For twenty five years I have sought pleasure in doing for the Lord. There has not been a Sunday that I have not served. I have notebooks from the messages preached and hung onto every word, not because of the person, but because it is a Word for the body I was a part of. Even when I had kids, they were right there serving with me. If I did it for man, then I can tell you that I would not have stuck with it as long as I have. Have I been hurt by people? Yes. It is when we look at people that we get our focus off of Him and make it about us. I have been hurt by leadership. I have been abused by people in the church. I have been insulted about my looks. Yet, I serve Only Him. I honor Him.

That was my heart cry for the body of Christ. That we know “Only You.” That we focus on “Only You.” That we serve “Only You.” That we seek after “Only You.” That we are satisfied with “Only You.” Our purest worship is for “Only You.”

Yahweh, there is nothing to compare with You. We want nothing else but You. You are our One and Only. You are the King above all. You are Lord over all. Thank You for loving us with Your One and Only Son. We repent for setting anything else in the place that You are to be. We want Only You. We seek You as our vital necessity. We repent for making it about us by holding onto unforgiveness and withholding from the body of Christ. Forgive us as we forgive those that have done selfish deeds towards us. Grace and mercy are the fruits we eat of Your Presence. You left us Peace and we stand firmly in our redeemed stature. Look into our hearts and remove any area that will not yield to You. We choose love today. We choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

Battle Mode

Revelations 4:11 (AMP) “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were created and brought into being.”

Worship the Creator not the created. Focus on the Creator not the created. Easier said than done right! Especially when it comes to maintaining what He has placed in our midst. How can we not help but think on His created. One thing I do know is that when I focus on people too much, my mind goes into dark places. I bring harm on myself. Even thinking of me too much will do that.

In my prayer time I pray for those who are battling depression. Depression does not show itself in staying in bed all the time. It can show itself with mood swings. We can be full of energy and make everyone feel welcomed, yet battle depression. We can be snappy and push people away, yet battle depression. There is no one way to define it, yet many people are being diagnosed with it.

When it hit me I had to go into battle mode. My flesh wanted me to focus on the problem. Our minds will tell us that it is the people we are associated with or the environment we are in. If I focus on the created and pray against the created it does not take me out of the dark place. It is when I change my perspective to the Creator.

1 Chronicles 16:27 (AMP) Splendor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His place (sanctuary).

Psalms 16:11 (AMP) You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Psalms 1:1-3 (AMP) Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example], nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers). But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].

These are the three verses He gave me when I was praying a couple of weeks ago and the word to focus on was joy. The opposite of depression is joy. It is the one of the attributions of the fruit of the spirit rooted in love. In Psalms 1:1-3, we see the contrast on our focus. When we focus on the created as a problem in our lives we will start to slander. We will talk unhealthy about people and even give into gossip or criticism. This does not bring relief as we hope, but it brings us deeper into depression.

Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].

Romans 7:25 (AMP) Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve] the law of sin.

Romans 12:16 (AMP) Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself.

This week He gave me three more verse with the focus being on the mind. When we are in depression, we are not at peace in our minds. When we focus on ourselves as the most important thing to take care of, we cannot live in harmony with each other. Then we battle in our minds again. It is a battle we cannot win without Christ. Who is our deliverer? Jesus! Why do we try to go at life without Him. I have been guilty of doing this myself. Thinking it would make my life better. Self-care is not bad, but taking care of ourselves so much that we forget about hospitality is not. There is a balance to it. What is the litmus? The thought…how have I estimated myself? Do I think of myself as better than, greater than, more important? I am wrong. Do I think of myself as lowly? I am still wrong. I need to think of myself from a place of loved, not by people, but rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:16-19). Joy and peace will become what I am clothed by. Do I still have battles and depression will stand at the doorway? Yes. This is what I have learned from going deeper and desiring more, I now know how to fight those battles. How? Because of Jesus!

John 1:1 (AMP) In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

Elohim Kadem (God of the Beginning), our Creator, our King of Kings, we worship you with praise and thanksgiving. Thank You for sending Your Son to live a life of hospitality, bringing deliverance and restorations through His death. Thank You for the Holy Spirit that now dwells within us. Thank You, that when we read Your Word, that Holy Spirit and us commune ; fresh revelation about Your character and nature comes forth. You desire for us to know You more. We desire to know You more. We desire Your Presence. We repent for the things we have made about our lives. We repent for focusing on the created more than You. We repent for pointing at Your created as the source of our problems. We are turning our worship back to You. Search our hearts Lord. Lead us to the way our thoughts should go. We surrender to You. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose peace today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

The struggle of acceptance

Ephesians 3:16-19 AMP May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

I struggle with acceptance. In my previous post titled, “Stepping out of fear into my hiding place,” I mentioned how I am coming out of being an extreme introvert. Yesterday was another challenge for me. We have had to do video worship before, when we were lacking musicians, for a season. Yesterday was such a day. When doing video worship I and others will stand in front of and face the congregation to worship (a style of leading). Thankfully the screen for the lyrics were above everyone’s heads. However, now we are live streaming the service. Now I have to be mindful of my face. Something that I was told to me to do in the past. I was told that I had the look of someone who could bite a car in half. Wow! That was sure encouraging to hear!!

The above scripture was needed for me yesterday and I hope it encourages you to do the hard things. Without the Holy Spirit I would not have been able to stand in front of people. He is who energizes me. He is the one who I want to reflect in my innermost being and personality. He is the only one who can soften that face of mine. How? I am rooted and securely grounded in the love of Christ. Even though it was someone “in Christ” that told me that I had the look of someone who could bite a car in half, that was not what Christ would say. Christ would never tell you something that made you feel unlovable. His love is endless!

I do not like that I struggle with acceptance. I do not like not feeling uninvited. So what do I need to do? Verse 19, above, tells me that I get to know this endless love more when I allow Him to work through me through practical experiences. I can know all those scriptures in my head, but until I step out (in courage) I am not going to know the true richness of those Words. In order for me to be complete, made whole, I have to give the Prince of Wholeness something to work with. I had to stand up in front of the church yesterday and lead worship by video. Why? Verse 20 has a promise…look for the key word “now.” Now follows a responsibility on my part.

Ephesians 3:20-21 AMP Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

When I yield the feeling of not being accepted and rest in Him (faith in action, not the absence of acting), He can fulfill His purpose. His purpose is superabundantly more than I can thing or dream of. I have often read the scripture about seeking first and foremost the Kingdom and all things will be given to you also (Matthew 6:33). If we really believed that and did that with all of our hearts, the things we thought we wanted would pale in comparison to the fulfillment of walking in your purpose. That is where I want to be.

Praying this encourages you to step out a little more into your purpose today.

Posted on

Fresh Bread

Leviticus 24:5-8 (NLT) You must bake twelve flat loaves of bread from choice flour, using four quarts of flour for each loaf. Place the bread before the Lord on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two stacks, with six loaves in each stack. Put some pure frankincense near each stack to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the Lord. Every Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the Lord as a gift from the Israelites; it is an ongoing expression of the eternal covenant.

I like to bake. Most of my meals for my family is prepared using the oven. As of right now, there are about two different baked goods, on the counter, for my family to grab anytime they want something.

A couple of weeks ago, when I took my mom to the beach, I was reading this book, The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. It was my second time reading it, first time was about twenty years ago. Chapter two in The God Chasers is titled “No Bread in the ‘House of Bread’ crumbs in the carpet and empty shelves. What are crumbs in the carpet?”

This caused me to do a little research. There would be bread in the tabernacle, behind the curtain that the priests were only allowed to go through. On a golden table there would be two stacks of six (twelve in all) of round loaves of bread. It was referred to as Show Bread.

First of all we think that the show bread is there because is symbolized the manna that fell from heaven, and then there are the twelve tribes as to why there are twelve loaves. Show bread in Hebrew is לחם הפנים‎ lechem haPānīm, literally, “Bread of the Faces”. haPānīm is translated “face” and sometimes intimate/inward relationship. haPānīm according to the Hebrew alphabet, the letters equals 180. In their culture numbers are very meaningful. Moses met with God haPānīm el haPānīm, face to face. So 180 plus 180 equals 360 and that is the circumference of a circle.

So why do we not have bread in our modern services today? John 6:35 (AMP), Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.“

This bread symbolized a personal, face to face, relationship with God. Jesus is not here with us today. The Holy Spirit is though. John 14:16 (AMP), And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever.

What I like is that the bread had to be fresh. If bread is not fresh it gets hard, it gets stale, it gets moldy. Matthew 6:9-11 (AMP), Jesus instructed them, “Pray, then, in this way:‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come,Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread.”

When I think of a kitchen that is used often we have different smells. You can have a burnt smell, from a house that does not know how to cook. A sour smell, from a house that does not take out the trash enough. There is also the house that has a luring aroma, the house that when you enter your stomach starts grumbling. My kids friends say my house smells like the later. They know where to get a good meal. I believe that is the desire of the Father about His house.

Who brings that bread though? We do, as worshipers. It was not the priests that brought the bread, it was the Israelites. I proposed this to my church yesterday (there is a link to the full message below): Do you come to Sunday service with a fresh expectation or are we expecting to be fed off of the same bread crumbs? Do we think it is not necessary to bring fresh bread, a gift in our worship?

I pray this encourages you that God wants to do something fresh and new in you today. I also pray this encourages you that you desire to give Him your best self today as well. Be blessed!

Link to yesterday’s message Fresh Bread: https://youtu.be/ZM_skPaLI00