So, Have You Heard From God Lately??

Prayer is a great way to communicate with God.  In the good times and the bad, I pray, you pray, we pray.  Or at least we should pray.  But what about listening to God instead of always being the one doing the talking?  How can we be sure that God is speaking to us?  God speaks to us in many ways.

One obvious way to hear from God is by simply reading His word.  The bible is a believer's guide for every aspect of our life.  That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done.  So there is nothing new under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 1:9-10  To me this means that we can find an answer for every issue in His word and it's a great way to hear from Him.

God also speaks to us through others.  He uses people to carry out His plans so it only makes sense that He would use another person to deliver a message to you.  A person may confirm something that was already on your heart.  That's how I know it's God speaking to me.  They may not even know why they said it or that something they said is from God.

Praising God brings us closer to Him and connects us to Him.  No matter who or what we are, we must praise.

God often speaks to our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  It's often undeniable when He gets our attention via Holy Spirit.  We have a tendency to override the Holy Spirit when God tells us something that we don't necessarily want to hear.  The Holy Spirit is a lot like our conscience.  You know, those conversations that take place in our mind.

Finally, when we are completely still and quiet hear what He has to say to us.

The better you get to know God, the more you hear from Him.  God often speaks to us and we don't hear Him.  Sometimes we even ignore Him.  So, have you heard from God lately?

Nobody Told Me The Road Would Be Easy

I just can't give up now.  I've come too far from where I started from.  Nobody told me, the road would be easy and I don't believe, He brought me this far to leave me.

These words are lyrics from a song that I really love by Mary Mary.  Songs help me meditate on God's promises.  Has anyone ever told you the road would be easy?  Exactly what is the road anyways???  For me the road depends on who you are and where you are in life.  Here are a few roads that come to my mind:

The Road To Salvation- Even though salvation is a free gift, why is it so hard for some to accept it?  It seems like a lot of people feel that being saved means losing freedom.  What freedom are you losing by doing things God's way?  If you think about it, going against God's word is more like slavery.  Let's take the 10 commandments for example.  Thou shalt not kill, covet, commit adultery, and steal to name a few.  What is the problem with that?  Does that seem like freedom to you?  These are things that will get you locked up for life.  Instead, focus on the fruits of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness.  Not all of these are easy but the key is to focus on these things daily. 

The Road To Redemption- I struggle every day with my flesh.  Lately I have been petty and plain old rude.  When someone does something that affects me in a negative way, I do not focus on any fruits of the spirit right away.  For me, the first thing I want to do is get even and make them pay.  I mean really, I am so legalistic sometimes that I can't even stand myself.  I have to ask God for forgiveness so that I can receive mercy from Him and also have mercy on others.  At the end of the day, I want God's favor.  To me, redemption is about forgiveness and renewal.  This is a daily thing for me and it's not easy but it is necessary.  Currently, my memory verse for this is Create In Me A Clean Heart  Psalm 51:10.

The Road To Integrity- Image is more important to me than I would like to admit.  When I blog I often stop to think about how I will look when I admit my short comings to the world.  Then God tells me that my purpose of this blog is to bring glory to Him and I am not admitting to anything that He is not aware of.  More people can identify with you than you know.  I act on my emotions without thinking and I'm trying to learn how to stop, think and pray before I act.

Billy Graham once said, "Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost."  

Without character and integrity, image is nothing.

For The Lord Searches All Hearts  1 Chronicles 28:9

Salvation Is A Free Gift

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith----and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-----not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2: 8-9

Grace is unmerited favor.  It means getting what you don't deserve.  I know that I am a sinner, saved by grace and that makes me a saint.  Not someone who is perfect so don’t get it twisted.  Just someone that loves the Lord with all my heart.

Faith is believing in what you cannot see.  Believers, be ready to tell people how you can believe in someone or love someone that you cannot see.  Love is an emotion from the heart which is connected to our spirit.  God speaks to our spirit, aka heart.

A gift is something that is given to you and is meant to be free.  A gift from God is intended to be used.  You know, such as spiritual gifts.  The gift of discernment, prophecy, etc…….  But these things come once you have received the gift of salvation.  I believe my spiritual gift is exhortation and I plan to specifically write about spiritual gifts.

Works is the means to earn something.   We don’t work for free.  We work hard in order to receive something in return.  But you don’t have to work for something that is free.  And you cannot work for the gift of salvation. 

Boasting is bragging about what you have or what you have done.   As human beings, we tend to talk about what we have or what we have done.  We can’t help it because we are proud of our accomplishments.   We all do it, including me.  For me, I am nothing apart from God and He is the one that helps me accomplish things.  He is the one that wakes me up in the morning and keeps my heart beating for another day.  And when my heart stops beating, I will be with Him in heaven.  Is that boasting?

Apply these definitions to Ephesians 2: 8-9 to see what salvation really means.

You see, it's not about how much you tithe or how often you go to church.  It's not about singing in the choir.  These things come with obedience once you have been saved through your faith.  Only God can save you because He is the one that knows your heart.  A man can fool another man, but a man cannot fool God.  God knows your heart and He will not be mocked, ridiculed or rejected w/o consequences.  He is the one who created you.  He can make a mountain move out of your way.  With God, all things are possible.  Not some things, not a few things but all things are possible according to His will.  If you don’t know God’s will for your life, ask Him to show you and He will do it. 

Stop complaining and start praying. 

Stop gossiping and start praying. 

Stop trying to be what you see, be what you ought to be.

You are created by God to do great things for His honor and glory.  He is the one that will give you the desires of your heart.  

Why do we always want to know what God can do for us?  What does God expect you to do for Him?  Hmmmmm…………

Think About It

Ya know what?  I learn something new about myself almost every day.  I once heard someone say that at least 10% of the people you know or come into contact with will not like you or your ways.  No matter what you do, they will see it or take it wrong.  Everyone has their own reasons for how they feel.  I have judged people that I don't know simply by how they look.  I have to believe that people have done the same with me.  I like to think that I'm ok with that.  But truly, truly I don't want people to think or feel the wrong thing about me.  Sometimes you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  Truth be told, you cannot control how people feel about you.  I try to stay true to myself and be the woman that God created me to be.  No matter what I do or say, I want people to see God in me.  I'm not always a good ambassador or representative for Christ, it's just the opposite.  Christ is my ambassador.  My savior who helps me be the woman that God created me to be. 

Today in church we read about Jesus' appearance.  He was not attractive.  He was actually very homely.  He looked like someone that most of us would either judge or dismiss.  Why do you think God created Jesus this way?  This taught me that looks should never, ever matter.  We need to get past our feelings regarding looks.  Somebody can be fine as wine and not worth your time.  You feel me?  Don't be so vain.  Satan was one of the most beautiful angels.  Most of us envision Satan as this ugly, red being with horns, a pitch fork and a tail.  But when evil presents itself, it will be a deceptively beautiful package.  It will appear as something that you think you need or must have.  Anything to take your focus off of God.  Most of the time it's very subtle.  Think about something that keeps you from spending quiet time with God, such as TV or anything that keeps you from going to church.  Aren't most NFL football games on Sunday?  I'm just saying.

I let so many things distract me and interfere with reading God's word.  Honestly, when I skip quiet time with God, my peace can be difficult to obtain.  Reading His word is what gives me the daggers that I need to  defeat the lies and tricks of the devil.  God's word helps us in the battle between good and evil.  This battle is not against flesh and blood.  This is not a physical war.  This is a spiritual battle that goes on around us and we are not even aware of it most of the time. God's word reveals everything that we need to fight the spiritual battle against temptation, confusion, illness, fear, etc..... 

"Enemy occupied territory that is what this world is." - C.S. Lewis

Not Without Hope

Since I spend so much time on computers, I listen to audio books instead of reading them to preserve my eyes.  I don't wear glasses every day but I do have a very mild prescription for the few times when my eyes feel too strained.  One book that I just finished listening to is Not Without Hope by Nick Schuyler.  He went on a deep sea fishing trip with 3 other men and he was the only survivor.  I remember hearing about them on the news when they were lost.  I actually prayed that they would be found soon.  I couldn't imagine being lost in the ocean for even a few hours, let alone 43 hours to be exact.  The other 3 men were his best friend Will Bleakley, and 2 NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith.  Marquis was the first one to die, then Corey and finally Will. 

One of the scariest points of the story is when they noticed 2 sharks in the water.  They weren't really huge, maybe about 5 feet but they were afraid and clung to the capsized boat even though the waves kept knocking them into the water.  There was another scary part when something best described as an Octopus came near the boat and ended up hanging out underneath the boat for like 2 hours.  A few times they thought it was gone and then they would notice the tentacles protruding from underneath the boat.  They were so relieved when it finally left.  I think it was just him and his best friend Will at that point, but I can't remember.

Nick said that he prayed a lot, asking God to please help them all survive.  He couldn't fathom the thought of his mother at his funeral so he never lost hope.  After he was saved, he asked God why he was the only person to survive.  He was very used to being exposed to cold weather when he was younger.  Maybe that was a major factor.  I believe the cold would've killed me.  Most black people do not handle extreme cold temperatures very well at all.

 I hope that Nick has a relationship with God.  A relationship where he does more than pray.  I hope he reads the bible and fellowships with other believers.  I thank God that at least one of them survived and told the story about what took place out there in that ocean.  I pray for the families of the other men that died.  I hope that they don't despise Nick for being the only survivor and telling his story.  This is something that he endured and he didn't cause any of this to happen but this is what he personally endured and I believe it helped him cope with everything that he went through by sharing his story. 

This Is Only A Test

I'm sure you have heard the saying that "life is a test" and if you think about it, it's very true.  I find myself facing the same dilemma's all the time.  And even when I finally get it and handle a situation the way that God wants me to, I just graduate to the next episode. 

As a wife and mother of 3, you can only imagine some of the issues I have dealt with.  The good news is, that's how I get experience and wisdom under my belt.  Everything we go through in life is ultimately going to help someone else when they are being tested in a similar situation.  The people that walked with me during my trials had been down a similar path and helped me keep my focus on God through it all.  My Mom was and still is one of the people that I can always depend on for that.  She used to tell me, "You don't want to go that way, I've traveled that route."  I'm so glad that she loves the Lord and she has taught me a lot about life and trusting God. 

There are no guarantees in life.  God is in control and if we walk with Him and trust Him, we will find peace in the most difficult situations. You can only learn to trust God by going through some things and seeing Him deliver you out.  No one can tell you how to trust God.  People can encourage you to keep your faith and hold on to God's unchanging hand.

My husband and I have toughed out a lot of issues.  After being together for 17 years and married for 14 years there were many, many tests that's for sure.  At one point I had to learn how to focus on God instead of him.  It may sound a little harsh but let me tell you, that's when our marriage began to improve.  We are now in a place where we truly respect and trust each other but it hasn't always been that way.

Whenever you find yourself facing many tests of life, if you focus on God instead of your circumstances, He will deliver you and work it out for your good.  So the next time your daughter sneaks out, or your spouse says something hurtful, or someone criticizes your children, remember this is only a test.  If you fail, you will get to retake the test until you pass.  Now isn't that sweet?

Humble Pie Anyone?........

How can a person be humble?  What exactly is humility in a biblical sense?  Do you think you are humble?

I am currently leading a bible study about Ministering Through Spiritual Gifts by Charles Stanley.   The gifts are Prophecy, Ministering or Serving, Teaching, Exhorting, Giving, Leading and Mercy.  So far we have covered the first 4 out of 7.  This a very interesting study and it generates a lot of discussion.  We get so excited that we end up in more than 1 discussion at once.  This is my first time actually leading a bible study and as the leader, I have to learn how to restore order with gentleness.  I believe leading anything requires a good amount of patience, discipline and humility.  I think a good way to acquire humility would be to listen more, talk less and let others say what's on their mind.  This is no small feat for me because I always want to throw in my 2 cents.  Half of the group consists of talkers such as myself and the other half is more on the quiet, reserved side.

Humility is one of the best qualities a person can have.    For a person who believes that they are right most of the time and has to admit when they are wrong and apologize, that takes an act of humility.  In a conflict, when a person decides to apologize for the sake of someone's pride, even if they believe they are not in the wrong, that takes an act of humility.  How about showing love and respect to a person that you really don't care for?  That takes a genuine act of humility.  Wives who submit to their husbands or anyone submitting to authority are exercising humility.  It is not easy to be humble in certain situations but with God's help, it can be done with a glad and pure heart.

When you decrease your status or pride, it does not mean that you are allowing people to walk all over you like a door mat.  You are setting yourself up to be exalted by God.  You see, God gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud.  The opposite of humble is pride.  Pride is when a person exalts his own self or elevates his own worth by acting superior.  Sort of like putting yourself on a pedestal, you know, like patting yourself on the back most of the time.  God will humble those who exalt themselves and exalt those who humble themselves.  Luke 4:11 NKJV   That  means, if you are arrogant, God will humble you without your choosing.  It basically means you will be brought down from that pedestal.  But when you choose to be humble, God will exalt or elevate you.  To elevate is to move or raise to a higher position, like being promoted.  By lowering yourself or humbling yourself like a child, God will make you the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 18:4 NKJV

Even though Jesus was w/o sin, he never defended his self.  Instead he humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  He carried His cross and died for our sins.  He experienced pain and sorrow and men did not recognize His worth.  He was wounded for our transgressions.  Jesus, was definitely humble.  When I am prideful, angry or hurt I have to think about what Jesus did for me and push my emotions aside.  That takes, humility.  I'm so glad today when I do or say something that I shouldn't, God has given me the heart and spirit to turn it around by saying 2 words, "I apologize" without the 3rd word, but.  And that takes humility.