What you seek, man can’t give you

John 5:41-44 KJV
I receive not honour from men. [42] But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. [43] I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. [44] How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

It’s so funny how current events are unfolding. People keep saying that the church has been talking about the last days forever and they have, but we’ve never seen things like this that have transpired recently. A lot of people still believe they have time, when time is up. All the way up. They are banning the Bible, making Christianity a crime. All those luke warm Christians that aren’t paying attention to the signs of the times will be just like Peter and deny Jesus when the accusers come and say they were with Jesus. How quickly they will forget all that God has done for them. Their hearts will faint in fear and the world will become their master.

I have suffered and sacrificed because of my belief in the one true God. I have lived comfortably and now I am learning to live abased, again to prove that I am serious about my walk and my belief in the Father. Despite what my life looks like right now, I know what he saved me from. I know what he saved me for. I’m not looking for men to validate me only God knows my true worth. The heart is deceitful just like the enemy. So don’t follow your heart, follow Jesus. He will lead you to salvation, the enemy will lead you to damnation. It’s time to choose. Lines are being drawn in the sand. Which side will you choose? Jesus is coming soon.

You can’t decide your calling, it was preordained by GOD

Matthew 25:44-45 KJV
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? [45] Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

It’s funny, but not really, how some people view doing the work of the Lord. Some people think it’s just about holding a title and serving in the church. Other people think I’ll just be a good person help out where I can. Then there are those who are out in the trenches, on the streets. Everyone has their place and their calling, but it’s not for us to decide what it is that we do in this life that is pleasing to God. Does that make sense? He gave us all gifts and talents and we’ve all had experiences that were meant to lead us to our callings. A lot of us ignore the calling because we want to do what we want to do. A lot of us look down on people who are doing the work because they don’t look like what we think they should look like. We condemn people because they aren’t moving the way we think they should move. Some of us are so attached to the world and thinking and moving like the world that we can’t even see or comprehend what God is doing and telling us or those around us.

It’s one thing to do things out of the goodness of your heart. That is commendable, however, most of the time that kindness goes sour and becomes pride. It’s another thing to do it because that’s what we are supposed to do and not expect anything from it. Every day some of us walk past the homeless. Some are drug addicts or alcoholics, some are prostitutes and some just fell on hard times and don’t know how to get back up. We walk past them and prejudge them. We turn our noses up at them and we refuse to be a blessing to them because “if I give them money, I know they’re just going to drink it or smoke it up.” You know how we do, but are they not also children of God. Haven’t we all done things that were not pleasing to him? Have we all not had encounters with him or the people he sent to save us from ourselves? How then can we walk past his children who are hurting and lost and pass judgment? How can we, being children of the Most High, not show them the love of Christ who looked past all of our flaws and saved us? How can we help people and then brag about it or throw it in people’s faces? How quickly we forget when we needed help or when we were at our lowest. God sees everything and he keeps a record. Jesus is coming soon. Are you on your post? Are you doing what God intended for you to do or are you doing what you want to do or are you making excuses about not doing anything at all? It’s time to choose. Choose wisely, because the things of this world will not last, but the Kingdom of God will stand forever.

It’s ok to let someone in

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 KJV
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. [10] For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Let me tell y’all, lol. I do not want to keep having these types of messages. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I am single. At almost 50 years old, I’ve never been married. Yet, the Lord made a point to let me know that I would be married. That he had set me apart, to be married to a minister. I didn’t want to be married at all if I’m being honest. I had been let down by men my whole life and I had no need for them. Anything I wanted, I would and could get it myself. The only good thing that came from being with a man was my beautiful children. So, I guess they had their place, lol. I had made up in my mind that I was never getting married. That I would be forever single. I had no desire to have to be accountable to or for another person outside of myself and my children.

This decision had consequences. I had to do a lot of tough stuff on my own. I had to raise my boys alone. I had to take care of my whole family by myself. I had to carry a weight I was never meant to carry. All because I believed the lies of the enemy and let my past dictate every decision. Every hurt, injustice, disappointment, and heartbreak was the catalyst for each decision I made, good or bad. We don’t realize that giving in to the lies of the enemy, believing the foolishness he tells us, and living by the deceit hurts us more. More than anything anyone else could hurt us. I had to learn that the hard way and while I didn’t want to carry the weight alone, I was too proud to admit it to anyone. Even if everyone knew and just pretended they didn’t and were waiting for me to ask for help or remotely look like I couldn’t handle it. If I was drowning and there were people on the shore I would have rather drown than ask for help. That is how bad people had hurt me and how much pride I carried.

Again, I didn’t want to carry all of that alone, but if I’m being honest, my expectations for the one I would allow to help me were probably unrealistic. Ask anyone that was raped or molested as a child. We want people to be mind readers. We wanted people to be God; all-knowing. We wanted people to see us. We wanted people to know what we needed without us having to say a word. I wanted the man that I would spend my life with to dote on me and spoil me like the little girl in me longed for. I wanted him to notice everything about me, to know me inside and out, and could recognize when I was not myself or something was wrong. See, unrealistic. I wanted the type of husband you only see in Hallmark movies, but a man of God, lol. I can laugh now at the absurdity of it all. No one would have ever measured up to the standards I had set. He literally would have had to be God, because he also had to be able to love me despite what I’d been through and what I put myself through and only God could love someone as broken as me unconditionally.

So, now, all these years later the Lord in all his infinite wisdom and comedic flair wishes that I should have a husband. It took years for me to even remotely come close to accepting that. I had the plan for my life mapped out and a husband was not included in that plan. Not after I turned 45 anyway. It took me all these years to realize and accept what this passage of scripture means, especially in regards to ministry and marriage. All the ways I was afraid someone would/ could let me down come to mind when I read this and it gives me anxiety….still. Opening up to someone has never been my strong suit. Letting someone in, being that close to someone terrifies me, but I know that my marriage is destined for great things. I know the weight the Lord has placed on this union and the lives it will affect. One minute I’m excited, the next minute I am petrified. Who is this man the Lord has chosen for me? How can anyone love someone like me? Have I changed enough to truly be worthy of this gift? I don’t know and still I wait.

My marriage isn’t just about me if it really is at all. When it comes to fruition I pray that it does what God ordained it to do. That I do not get in the way of it’s mission. That I don’t somehow derail it out of fear or disobedience. We were never meant to walk this life alone. If you are struggling to release the spirit of independence or fear. If you struggle with the idea of surrendering and allowing someone else to take the reigns. Just know, you are not alone and it is one of the best gifts God can give his daughters. Put the weights down, you’ve proven to the world how strong you are. It’s time to let her go, she served her purpose. It’s time to become who God intended you to be. Jesus is coming soon. Walk in who God says you are, not who the world made you.

It’s all coming to light

Luke 14:11 KJV
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

We are watching history in the making. Not that this is the first time it’s happening, but it’s the first time in my lifetime that I’m seeing such a mass dethroning of the elites. I have been warning people for years about the corrupt government and media that was aiming for our children and everyone thought that I was doing too much. The truth is being exposed. How their aim has always been for our children, the purest and most innocent of the human race. That the music they produced to the television shows all had/ have subliminal messages in them to plant seeds of all types of immorality into our children. Now, we are watching the conspiracy theories become the truth no one was willing to accept and of course, there will be some that still won’t believe, but what can you do. You can lead a horse to water and all. People are waking up to the reality that we as believers have always known and have been praying against. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you’ve been brainwashed your whole life to believe a certain way to then have the bandaid ripped off, it can be a bit difficult to handle. But God!

He forewarned us about what would happen. Now is the time for his people to go out and take the land. People are lost and hurting and don’t know where to turn or who to believe. Jesus is still the only way. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can get to the Father except through him. We have to hit the streets and every corner of our assigned space to tell people about Jesus Christ. It is time for a great harvest, we just need the workers, because there are so many who need to hear the truth like they’ve never heard it before. There ae so many that need to hear the truth period. They are just waiting for us to get on our post and do what we were called to do. There is no more time to waste. Jesus is coming soon. There is going to be a great revival and I can’t wait!

You were never last

Matthew 19:29-30 KJV
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. [30] But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Oh boy!! I needed this! Y’all don’t know how bad I needed this. I promise I don’t know how the disciples endured. It’s too much. To be called to such a great calling is mentally, physically, and spiritually draining. Crying and praying and trying to study to stay focused, reading the word is tiring. Being patient is tiring, lol. Wanting to save everyone that you held dear is tiring. Not everyone wants to go. Not everyone can handle what is coming or even care. A lot of people, especially since 2020, just want life to go back to normal and it will never be normal again. Not for nonbelievers and believers alike. The word warns us in Matthew 10:35-49, ³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. ³⁶ And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. ³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. ³⁹ He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

I remember as a child, when we found out that my great-grandmother had cancer I was told all I could do was pray and make her comfortable. I remember my prayers were always that I would see my whole family in heaven. That’s what I had been taught; pray for your family and I’ve held on to that, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realize that everyone does not want what you want. don’t understand what you understand, or care about what you care about. Including family. It used to baffle me when we would sing I’m On My Way to the Canaan Land and one of the verses said, If mama don’t go, won’t hinder me…and I was distraught like why wouldn’t my mother be going? So, as a child, my prayers became more fierce in that area. I couldn’t imagine not seeing all of my family in heaven when Jesus comes again. I guess I’ve held on to that because I have stayed in situations with family I have endured situations for family. I have fought hard to try to keep everyone together and on the same page, nobody realizes or appreciates it, but that’s how I spent my life and I’ve been praying heaven down for some of them. Only to realize that not all of them want to go. Having to realize that I can’t save everyone. There is a point in the bible when the Lord tells the prophet not to pray for those people because it will do no good. They won’t understand until they suffer my wrath and he ain’t listening. That is where God is with some of our families and friends and there is nothing else we can do. We can’t save everybody, but those of us that tried; those of us who have endured and pressed in and prayed will be rewarded.

For everything you lost, it will be returned. For every injustice, God will repay. For every plot and plan, for every time they allowed the enemy to use them, the Lord will return it to them. It’s nothing to brag or boast or even be happy about, but God is about to change some circumstances around. The ones that have been looked down on and ridiculed have found favor in the eyes of the Lord and will be blessed. He is dropping blessings that no man can take credit for. He is elevating the least likely suspects because people counted them out. Those who held on until the end and did not conform to the world, are about to be catapulted to the front. Your day of redemption and restoration is near. Just hold on.

It ain’t always easy

Ephesians 4:29 KJV
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Man, I needed this reminder about a week ago. I keep telling y’all Christians or believers are not perfect. Far from it, we are just able to accept and admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior. I for sure am one of them. My flesh rose up about a week or so ago despite me crying out to the Father to help me and keep me. When that time came, however, I failed miserably. I literally cussed somebody out and I haven’t done that, in that manner, in ages. Which is just another reminder that despite how long it’s been since you committed a sin, you are never that far removed from it, because we are not perfect. So, I acted unbecomingly, not Christlike at all, and in my sin, I felt justified. In my anger, I felt justified, but the word says be ye angry and sin not. I knew when those words escaped my mouth that I was going to be in trouble, but I could not and did not want to stop. The enemy has been picking at me with the smallest of things for months and I’ve turned the other cheek, I’ve prayed about it, I thought I had given it all to the Lord, but boy was I wrong. I had just done what I always do and I suppressed it. I hid it away in the darkest recesses of my mind to serve as fuel if I ever had the opportunity to release and boy did I?

I’m not proud of what I did and the Lord made me go and apologize. I even had to pray and ask the Lord to bridle my tongue then because there was still stuff I wanted to say, lol. Like I hadn’t said enough, but I was still so angry. I think it’s a combination of things too. Like, Lord, I don’t want to be in this situation. I didn’t want to be here in the first place because I knew it was going to be a problem and now this. Like, I think I was venting my frustration about God too. He made all these promises and we have seen none of them. It just looks like we’ve gone from the fire to the pan. It’s still hot and I don’t know what to do. He keeps sending encouraging words, but at some point you just want to get on with life and whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing. We have a heart for his people. We want to be out serving his people, but how can you do that when the situation you’re in does not lend itself to the cause? I don’t know.

What I do know is, we are never that far removed from our sins. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Whatever it may be. In my frustration I am also a stones throw away from smoking a cigarette and it’s been probably close to 7 or 8 years since I had an actual cigarette. Never too far removed. I’m telling you. Even when we stumble, we are supposed to get back up, repent, apologize and keep on moving. It should never be our intention to hurt someone else or attack someone else or make someone else stumble. Our walk/ life is supposed to point others to Jesus and we should own up to when we make mistakes and not act like we’re too holy to sin or our sin is not as bad as other people’s sins. Sin is sin. We are not better than anyone else. Get back up. God forgave you. Keep pressing forward.

Only God Will Do

I do not own the rights to this photo

Matthew 28:5-7 KJV
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. [6] He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. [7] And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

I know this is supposed to be about Easter, but the message I got from it as soon as I read it had nothing to do with Easter and everything to do with our lives and how we live them. Let me explain. Before most of us come into the Knowledge of Christ, we are just out here trying to figure it out. RIght? Living and trying to cope with traumas. Trying to navigate through life with our limited resources and knowledge. We fall a million times. We suffer multiple setbacks. We fall into some bad habits. Meet the wrong people. Get heartbroken and/ or betrayed. We look for things to fill the voids that life has left. We insert worldly things that will only bring us temporary pleasure and we keep trying to plug things into this God-sized hole that was only meant for God.

When someone introduces you to Christ, they are the angel or like the angel. Come and see where Jesus died. Come and see where he sacrificed himself for you and where he rose from the dead. He is in none of the places you’ve been searching. He’s been waiting for you and once that hole is filled with the Holy Spirit the mantle is now passed on to you to go and tell others about the goodness of the Lord and everything he’s done for you. Hallelujah! After you taste and see that the Lord is good, you can’t keep it to yourself, you have to go and tell someone else. You now have to walk out what you’ve learned, reflect the one who saved you, and teach what you’ve been taught. Simple as that. Everything after that has nothing to do with you. Once you say I do, God will take care of everything else. That is why he said to cast your cares on him. When you pick up your cross to walk out your purpose, God’s got you. There will be lessons to learn along the way. There will be painful moments and things we don’t understand, but God knows and he wants us to trust him. Lean not unto our own understanding, because we’ll never get far that way. God is the great I Am, the Alpha and Omega, the Author and Finisher of our faith. We have to know that he loves us and everything he does is for our good and his glory whether we understand it or not. Do the work and he’ll take care of the rest. Jesus is coming soon. There is plenty of work to be done.

What is there to be ashamed of?

Romans 1:16-17 KJV
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. [17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

It’s said that this is the main principle of Romans. That if you understand this, you can understand all of Romans and I won’t lie; when I first tried to read Romans because you know they say it should be one of the first books you read, it used to confuse me. It was like Paul was speaking in riddles. I had to rely heavily on other translations and commentaries to get the full understanding, but if you ask me to try and explain it to someone…I will quickly tell you that is not my calling, lol. Because I normally pick up on stuff easily, by the grace of God, even reading the KJV, but Romans was one of those that I had to read and reread just to get an understanding. This part, I get.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel or the God I serve, even when the things that I do or have to endure look crazy to the people around me. I am not ashamed because I know where I should be at his moment. Where I could have been had he not saved me. So, I’m not offended when people call me crazy. I laugh, because sometimes I think I am too, but you have to be some type of crazy to believe wholeheartedly in a God you’ve never seen. To believe that he is real and will keep his promises. Especially when you’ve been through as much stuff as I have. I know it looks absolutely insane, because what good, loving father allows his kids to suffer at the hands of monsters? I get it. I used to ask that question myself. But God! Then he revealed himself to me in a way I had never seen before. When I truly started seeking him for myself and not through the lens of religion and self-righteousness, but truly seeking him with childlike awe and deep desperation for the truth…that’s when he revealed his heart to me. His heart for me. That is why, to this day, Jeremiah 29:11 remains one of if not my favorite scripture.

His plan for me is that I be reconciled to him. That I can go home to be with him when Jesus comes again, but in order to do that, the world has to be stripped from my heart and my soul. All the things that I should have never known or experienced have to be purged from my spirit. All of the demons/ spirits that I have come in covenant with and in contact with have to be banished and broken. I have to become who he originally intended me to be. If that requires heartbreak, then that is what I must endure. Jesus’ heart broke for his people. He wept when Lazarus died. God is not pleased with the suffering of his children. So, I bear the heartache with him. If it requires loving my friends and family despite the demons they carry, then love them I will. Jesus loved Judas, despite knowing his intentions. Judas still ate at the last supper, even though he was about to betray Jesus. Besides, I also learned that we suffer not just for ourselves, but for others who have or will encounter the same tests and trials so I can assist them in growing and healing from them. The children of Israel did not suffer slavery and the wilderness and allllllll of the many times they were invaded, captured, and scattered to the ends of the earth. It was also for an example to us some 2000+ years later. Abraham and Sarah did not have to deal with baby mama drama and bearing children in their old age for nothing. It was to show us what happens when we interfere with God’s plan, but how faithful he is to keep his word even when we disobey. In each story as well, there is a thread of hope. There was a blessing for their faithfulness. Testifying to his goodness when we choose to love him and obey him.

His mercy is so great that it extended not only to the Jews, his chosen but to the Gentiles as well. Those of us who would rather have worshiped ourselves and our own creations than to give honor and glory to the creator of it all. He opened the door through the death of his son so that we could become part of the family again. So, no, I am not ashamed of the Gospel. I (try to) walk by faith and not by sight. It’s not always easy, but I always have to think back to where he brought me from and then I’m good. It straightens me right out because I do not want to go back. As much fun as I thought I was having, it is not worth me going to hell. Period. Jesus is returning soon. It’s time to make a choice.

Only those with eyes to see will see

Isaiah 8:12-13 NIV
“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. [13] The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.

I could not pass this up because it is one of those right now words. I couldn’t believe it when I read it, so I had to share. Backstory, Isaiah is yet another prophet called to warn the children of Israel that God’s judgment is about to be upon them. But God is so mad, almost nothing will soothe his anger. God knew the only way the children of Israel would learn is if they were punished. Like little children, with every new king or every generation, a new sin was introduced that threw them off course, enraged God, and made them turn away from God and it all started with the first group that went into the promised land who were disobedient. It’s amazing how stuff from our grandparents and parents can still be affecting our lives today.

Are we not in the same predicament right now in 2024? God is so angry and the warnings have gone out. Prophets are being persecuted for telling the truth to stiffnecked people who only want to hear feel-good messages that promise wealth and prosperity and love. Our government (kings) have been in bed with the devil from the beginning slowly and quite calculatingly causing our demise. If not of our own doing, also by the wrath of God. We’re about to get it from both ends. Everything is not a conspiracy because you didn’t know about it. There is nothing new under the sun. The enemy has done this over and over to wipe out God’s children and we fall into the seductive web of lies he set for us every time.

He uses fear to control us. All of the things we thought we would never see on this land have happened in our lifetime and there are so many people who still don’t want to see or believe it. They have been so brainwashed by the enemy, sedated by watered-down sermons preached from the pulpits, and desensitized by news and media outlets, movies and tv. None of the pew warmers are ready for what is about to go down, because they have been more worried about what office they’ll hold and title they can claim than the soul salvation of their brothers and sisters. Now seeing revelation unfold people are becoming fearful. We’re about to see men’s hearts fail from fear. Even the elect will be deceived, because they are prideful and think they know everything and that they still have time or that they have it all figured out and they’re good, but they will soon find out that he will not acknowledge them or their works. It’s time to repent and get on your post. Walk in your calling. Help save your brothers and sisters before Jesus comes again because the time is quickly upon us. Jesus is coming soon. Whether you like it or not. Whether you’re ready or not. He’s on his way. What will you be doing when he comes?

Will you stand when the wicked fall?

I do not own the rights to this photo.

Psalm 91:7 KJV
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

One of my favorite verses of Psalm 91. I can’t tell you why, but it has been since I was a little kid. It has always felt like the best promise a Father could give his daughter. My parents divorced when I was young and I lost my Prince Charming. I had no one to protect me and consequently, all of the rotten stuff happened in my life. So when I heard Psalm 91 for the first time, it spoke so deeply to my soul. All I ever wanted in my life was to be safe and protected. Not all women can hold it down without a man in the house and that’s just facts. My mother was one of them, despite whatever she believed when she divorced my father. It wasn’t until I was much older that realized that my father would not have been the hero I had imagined him to be either. So I clung to this chapter even more. I got teary-eyed every time we read it in church. You don’t really realize what Jesus did for us on the cross until you realize it. He took on death and the grave so we didn’t have to. He gave up his life for us and reconciled us to our heavenly Father.

God always planned to redeem us back to him. He never thought about just leaving his children out there. There would have been no point in creating us if that was the case. So when we choose him, it comes with perks and I love it. Whatever goes on in the world, as long as I am faithful and obedient, he’s got my back. He won’t forsake me. He will keep me from destruction. So when the wicked start to fall as his wrath and judgment are executed, his children will still stand. We will be hidden and protected. Just as it was for the children of Israel when the angel of death went through Egypt, it will be for those of us who believe. So, don’t let the enemy take your joy. Don’t let him sap your energy. Keep standing on the word and the promises of God. He will not let you down.

It’s time to choose the kingdom of God is at hand. Will you stand or fall with the rest?