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.

Only God Will Do

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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.

It’s still coming to pass

Isaiah 40:8 KJV
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I especially needed this today. When you are hardcore seeking God for direction and trying to do his will for your life, between the heavy spiritual warfare, the sleepless nights, the constant fasting and praying, it gets tiring. I’m tired. You read the stories in the bible and you absolutely understand why people tried to “help” God fulfill his promises, lol. It feels like it takes forever. He made me some promises 10+ years ago and some he gave me in 2020 and I’m still holding on, but I’m so tired. I’m ready to see them come into fruition, but it’s taking sooooo long. Don’t ever think that believers don’t get weary, because baby! I am tired, I am weary, I am worn, lol. I just want to get to a place where I can walk out my purpose fully, where I am surrounded by like-minded believers who truly love me and are about that Jesus life, and where I can rest peacefully; at least sometimes. Not somewhere where I am constantly having to anoint and pray over it warring in the spirit.

So, trust me I needed this first, lol. As much as I whine and complain to God, he knows I’m not going to give up. The thought has definitely crossed my mind, even recently I thought about just ending it all because it’s too much. It’s so overwhelming and heavy and I feel like I’m alone, like everyone is living for and looking out for self, and like the world is not ending and Jesus is not coming soon. I hate it here, it’s so ghetto! 🤣🤣 But as God is reminding us, his word stands forever. He said he had the victory. That Jesus was coming again and we would all live with him for eternity if we choose him. I believe it, that’s why I haven’t abandoned ship, lol. God knew I was a warrior, that’s why he laid so much stuff on my shoulders. I just wish he had sent my battle partner a long time ago. Going to war is not easy alone, but he knew that I would stick it out. I may be a runner, but I’m not a quitter and I want to see him in Heaven cause I got a lot to say.

Don’t give up. Keep holding on. He would not have given you the assignment that you’re on if he didn’t already know that you would complete it and he is right there with you. Every promise he made, he will keep. Every blessing that’s been held up you will receive. We just have to hold on and keep praying and praising through the storms, but it’s always a choice.

He will send the one

Matthew 18:19-20 KJV
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

There is a great debate about what this passage of scripture is actually referring to. Just like the enemy to find all of the pettiest stuff for us to argue about. Right? Keep the flames of internal strife stoked so we don’t pay attention to what’s really going on in the world and so the kingdom can’t advance. That’s the whole reason he gave man the idea of denominations. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3) If we can’t agree on the things of God, we definitely can’t advance the kingdom. Not properly anyway.

So, this passage of scripture is proceeded by the way in which we are to deal with our brothers and sisters who trespass against us. It says we should go to them and talk it out. If that doesn’t work, take witnesses. If that doesn’t work take them before the church and if that doesn’t work leave them alone. Don’t associate with them. Avoid them. However, if they do listen then you’ve gained a brother. After all of this it says if two shall agree ANYTHING that they ask, it shall be done. So while, yes this is referring to the redeeming of a brother or sister who has done some offense to you, he reminds us that when we stand together and agree, God will grant our requests.

It’s not to take away from how we should handle our brothers and sisters in a loving and fair way, but I don’t believe where this was placed was a coincidence. I don’t believe that it only refers to the solving of disputes between brethren. We know that there is something special about the number 2. The animals were taken 2×2 to the ark. The disciples were sent out 2×2. Marriage is reserved for two people. Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. (Ecclesiastes 4:9) That is why the Lord gave Adam, Eve. It is not good for man to be alone. We need accountability and someone to battle against the enemy with. Someone to stand in agreement with us in prayer and supplication before the throne. Where two stand and agree, God will hear from heaven and if it is beneficial for your purpose and his Glory, it will be done. That’s the part people forget to mention. God doesn’t just answer all of our prayers because someone is praying and agreeing with us. There has to be a benefit for you and that he will get the glory.

This dynamic of two is a means of protection and accountability. It is not to be taken lightly. Marriage is not to be taken lightly. Friendships are not to be taken lightly. Business partnerships are not to be taken lightly. If either of the two involved goes astray, there could be disastrous consequences for both. So they must be on one accord. They must not be unequally yoked. They must have the same destination and goals in mind. Otherwise, that’s how things go left. That’s why we must pray for divine connections and not just jump into stuff leaning on our own understanding. Desperation and impatience will cause us to make detrimental decisions. It’s always best to wait for God. His timing is perfect and it’s always the way he originally intended. Like the promised land. It was full of everything they needed to thrive. They just had to do the work to maintain it and remain obedient. But he gave us free will. We still have the choice to do it our own way or wait for his perfect will. The choice is yours. What will you choose?

You will get it back

Luke 6:38 KJV
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

It’s so funny how people use this scripture. They always leave out the last part. I wonder why. The verse before this says, Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. We as Christians always want the feel good messages, not the ones that tell us the truth. We were commissioned by God to love our neighbors as ourselves. To treat people the way we want to be treated, yet we will gossip about, condemn, belittle, ostracize, and outcast people based on how they look, what we heard, or how we feel about them. Make it make sense.

People are quick to say you can’t judge me or don’t judge me because the ones usually doing the judging are hypocrites. We are all sinners. None of us are perfect. The word tells us not to judge unless we can judge righteously. None of us are capable. The word also tells us in Matthew 7:3-5, And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

You will receive back what you put out with the same measure or worse. Especially people who claim to be so holy and righteous, but are just a bunch of gossiping old hens. Be careful how you treat people. It will come back on you. Vengence is mine saith the Lord. Even though God sent those nations to conquer the Children of Israel when they were disobedient, those nations had to pay a price for it because the hebrews were still his chosen. Anyone who does his chosen wrong will dealt with accordingly. So just be careful. Repent and ask for forgiveness of anyone you may have wronged. For the kingdom of God is at hand. It’s time to choose who you will serve, God or flesh.

Stop living like an orphan

1 Peter 5:7 KJV
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

I believe I’ve said this before, but our lives were not supposed to be the way they are. We should have been frolicking in the greenest most beautiful of gardens with all that we need supplied for us. That was the original plan, but then sin entered the world. We were taught stuff we weren’t supposed to know. Greed entered the hearts of men and the perfect place God had created became a cesspool of every manner of debauchery and sin, fed by the hatred for God’s beloved creation by the enemy. He never intended for this to be our plight, thus it is not.

Everything that we suffer and worry about, he wants it back. He wants us to hand it to him for him to handle. Remember as children, we trusted that our parents would take care of us? They would feed us and clothe us and protect us. We are children of the Most High, we should trust him the same way we trusted humans as children. They had nowhere near the power or resources of God, yet we trusted them emphatically but we can’t trust a God who created us and holds the whole world in his hands. Make that make sense. Because he is our Father he grieves watching us struggle just trying to survive….in our own strength. His hand is ever outstretched, waiting for us to hand it over to him. Waiting for us to grab his hand. As I wrote that, I remember holding out my hand to my children when we were crossing the street or in a crowded place. I wanted them to hold on to me so nothing would happen to them. So they wouldn’t get lost or run away from me where I couldn’t find them. So no one else could take them away from me. God is a good good Father. He is holding his hand out for us. He wants to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. He wants us to hold on to him instead of running away from him or running ahead where we don’t know what awaits us. He wants us to hold on to him so no one else can take us away. Sin had separated us. The blood redeemed (reconnected) us to him and he doesn’t want to lose us again.

He wants to carry your favorite bag with all your favorite things because it’s too heavy for you. He wants to take away all the things that hurt you and stress you out. He wants you to have the best childhood with no cares and no worries, but you have to trust him enough to give it all to him. Jesus carried a cross. I’m sure he can handle your stuff.

Don’t miss out

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Hebrews 13:1-2 KJV
Let brotherly love continue. [2] Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

It’s so funny that this came up today. We look at people through the lenses of our own experiences and what we were taught. We look at homeless people and people that are unkempt and we judge. Not always intentionally or maliciously, but let’s be honest. We form opinions of people based on the same things. We don’t know these people. We don’t know their story, yet we judge. The word says don’t judge unless you judge righteously and we do not and cannot judge righteously. We are a sinful and selfish people. It’s not in us, but we fail to realize that some of the people we encounter are angels on assignment. The way you treat people could be the difference between a blessing and a curse.

We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Deuteronomy is literally the playbook on how to treat and live peaceably with our brothers and sisters. You never know why people cross our paths. You never know what they were sent to bring you or tell you, but the world is so selfish and corrupt.

Let me tell you. One of the places we stayed, we were out doing our street ministry and a young man came to the area we in. He looked like he was homeless. He dropped his bag and stood there a minute. We were dancing and praising to the music we had playing and he began to praise and worship with us. This young man reeked of alcohol. He even asked one of us if we wanted a cigarette. We later found out that he was a guardian angel because of the people who were sent to try and do whatever it was they were going to do. We had seen them watching us. They would leave and come back and just watch, but while he was there they didn’t come back AND he sowed into our ministry. It was only a couple of bucks, but I’m sure that was all he had at the time. Never look down on people because of how they look. Don’t assume you know the type of person they are just by looking at them.

My story may seem farfetched, but there are plenty of stories in the bible where people were visited by angels. The Bible is not some book of made up stories and he is the same God today as he was yesterday. He can and will do it. Don’t miss out on being blessed or being a blessing to someone else because your prejudice got in the way, but as always the choice is yours.

Jesus’ blood paid for you, the world is just bribing you

Psalm 119:25 KJV
My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

When I read this, I heard, I am nothing but Lord, created by your hands. My life belongs to you, do with it what you will. It’s whoa! Who says that? Who truly wants that? That is asking for and saying a whole lot, because most people don’t truly know what that entails. We’ve read the stories in the Bible, but that was a long time ago. Surely God will not call us to live such lives. Right?

Considering when the Bible was written, it does seem a little outdated. They didn’t have cars, they didn’t even have bikes back then. No internet, no running water. They had taxes, unfair taxes at that. The point is their lives were no different from ours. They had struggles just like we do and they survived with less than we have. Our lives were never supposed to be the way they are. We were supposed to be a people that wholly trusted in the Lord and his provision. He created everything to sustain us, but greed and sin tainted and polluted it all. Everything good has been labeled bad and everything bad has been labeled good.

Some of us were meant to live like the disciples. Some of us were meant to be Jonahs and Joshuas, Peters and Pauls. We have missions that need to be carried out for the kingdom not us succumbing and assimilating to culture. People live in fear of what people may think or how many people they will lose, what possessions they will lose (like the rich young ruler) but we have to be like Jesus. He was willing to separate from his “family” to do the will of his Father whatever that looked like. We have to be the same. When it says we are to be Christlike, most people have no idea how literal that is. We want all the benefits of being children of the Most High, but none of the struggle that goes with it. Jesus didn’t have an easy life and he is God’s only begotten Son, so who are you that you should have it easy.

God is drawing a line in the sand. He is separating the wheat from the tares. Don’t get separated out because of disobedience or giving in to the desires of your flesh. That divide will come in families, friendships, churches, and marriages, no one and nothing will be spared. Either you stand for God or you fall with the enemy. The choice is yours and it’s time to choose.