Sighted in Dothan

In the book of 2 Kings chapter 6, there is a story about God’s prophet Elisha. The king of one of Israel’s neighbors was quite upset with Elisha and sent a large force of soldiers to capture him while he stayed in a town called Dothan. Those soldiers surrounded the town overnight. Early in the morning, Elisha’s servant got up and saw that they were surrounded by enemies. What would they do? There was no way out. Surely he and his master would be captured. So he ran to tell Elisha the bad news. Yet Elisha calmly said, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). Then Elisha prayed that God would open the servant’s eyes so that he could see why Elisha was able to make such a claim. At once, the servant saw an angelic host, horses and chariots of fire, all around Elisha. God was with his prophet.

What force can stand against God?

That is the question the apostle Paul poses in Romans 8:31 when he writes, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Do you ever feel like Elisha’s servant: outmatched and outnumbered by mess? Are you overcome with worries and doubts of all sorts? “Does God still care about me? Does he still love me? Will he still provide for me even though I’ve failed to trust in him time after time? Will he forgive me for hurtful words I speak, or taking his grace for granted? Will he bring me through trying times in my life again?"

Well if so sounds like u r hanging out in Dothan needing ur eyes opened anew!  Here’s the wonderful truth: God is for us. The proof of that is found in the fact that he sent his Son, Jesus, to save Us.  He didn’t spare his own Son, but gave him up on the cross to forgive us and make us his very own. And if that is the length to which God goes for you, then as Paul asks, “Who can be against us?” The answer? No one! Nothing! Not even Satan himself! That's why he is always planting those seeds of doubt LIES in ur heart. In everything, you are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you. God himself has seen to it.  Your Dothan is today, open ur eyes and see the chariots. 

No force can stand against God!  That's what I heard!  Be blessed today!

Tell It - Let 'em Know

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. (Acts 4:1-4 NIV)

Sometimes when it comes to witnessing or ministering to someone in need you will have obstacles.  Sometimes you will become fearful about moving out and doing the things that God has called all of us to "go therefore and make disciples".  Sometimes you will have Sadducees in the corner talking about you and throwing shade.  In those times, we must DO IT ANYWAY.  Because just like the haters do their job, you need to do yours.  They are just "sad - u - see?" so why let them stop you?  Everyone is not going to understand it, but you must continue to tell the truth.  Back in the Acts of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John were imprisoned for doing it but in 2015, we imprison ourselves with fear and doubt and insecurities.  Tell of his love, tell of his mercy, tell of his grace.  You have been a direct beneficiary to his UNCONDITIONAL LOVE POLICY.  There are others on the policy, let them know about their benefits.  I'm letting you know right now!  The kingdom may not grow by 5000 but if it grows by ONE from you telling it...WOW - it's a good day.  

That's what I heard...Be encouraged and wherever you go, come out of the witness protection program and tell just one person today how GREAT is our God!

MEpistles

(1) Do we seem to be again attempting to put ourselves in the right? or have we need, as some have, of letters of approval to you or from you? (2) You yourselves are our letter, whose writing is in our heart, open for every man's reading and knowledge; (3) For you are clearly a letter of Christ, the fruit of our work, recorded not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in stone, but in hearts of flesh. (4) And this is the certain faith which we have in God through Christ: (5) Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:1-5

That was a long scripture today, however, I wanted the whole context of the message straight from the word. This is Paul writing to the church at Corinth. Today our lives are the examples of Christ and his power on earth.  Any right living that we do is not based on ourselves but based on the power that comes from the Lord. 

One day when I was a little girl in Sunday school at Mount Olive missionary Baptist Church 608 Main St., Clarksville, TN I recall Mrs. Ella Stacker telling me as she was teaching us from the book of Luke and I wanted to go into the book Galatians that "the sinner (as some of us were not yet saved) had no business in anything after the book of John." She said that the Gospels were written to save the lost and that anything after the book of John was written to the church to teach them how to live once they got saved.  

Today we don't have an imprisoned Paul writing to us to tell us how to live. The most we have is Bishop and Pastor Monty on Facebook...lol). We have the word of God. Our lives and how we live them; our faith and how we display it; our love relationship with Jesus and how we show it are the living epistles of today.  It is not through any power that we have but through his Spirit.  I thank God for his grace on the days when my story that I'm telling is not the most well written prose I could muster. Today if ur story is not in the best chapter; if the characters have taken a turn for the worse just keep living, keep serving, keep believing. Eddie Kendrick wrote a song about it, Keep on Truckin Baby. Because when it's all well just in the nick of time it's God who gets the credit!  We r the epistle. Or as I am calling it the MEpistle!  

That's what I heard!  Be encouraged today. 

The Love Note

Good morning peeps. For Valentine's weekend I Am really thinking about love. What is it?  Do I display it?  Am I making a conscious effort to do it like the word says?? Let's take a look:

1 Corinthians 13:4-10The Message (MSG)

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

Dear Lord, please forgive my past false claims of love. I said it and meant it at the time but whew this is love for real. Help me to love like this. Help me to be a living witness of what love means. Give me the fruit of the spirit to carry out this measure of love and the wisdom to know when I am getting it wrong for self correction. Only ur son Jesus was the perfect love that cast out all fear but Give me the grace to be ur love example left here on earth!  In Jesus Name. I love u Lord Amen

Let it be Unto Me

Luke 1:37 - For no word from God will ever fail.”

In this scripture the angel of the Lord was telling Mary that she was going to conceive Jesus. His last statement to her was... for nothing is impossible with God. He told her a number of what seemed to be impossibilities and then he told her the clincher sentence.  He told her who God was! It is outside of the nature of God to fail.  What I love is Mary's response. The very next verse says...

Luke 1:38 - “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”  

She didn't need to go consult her girls... she did not need to go see if Joseph was okay... she just received the word of the Lord. In her receipt of the word she identified herself. I am the Lord servant. The King James version says let it be unto me as you have said. In other words everything that you said about me that the Lord said about me...let THAT be unto me. 

So fast-forward 2000 years later to your situation and my situation. Whatever the Lord is saying about you that's what's up...not those lies that the enemy has planted in your head about you. Everything that the Lord our God has purposed let it be unto you; everything that he has promised let it be unto you; everything that he has destined for your life from his word let it be unto you.  It's about you knowing who you are, articulating it in a proper response, and then walking in the grace that he has afforded us. 

I am the Lord servant may it be unto me as he has said!!!!  That's what I heard!

I Love the Lord. That's All

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  Deut  6:5

Psalms 18:1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

Have u ever be overwhelmed by someone's love. Maybe the love of a child or someone that just flat out outloved u and it made u love them more?  (Like my Isadore with me 💜💛❤️ but I digress). That's how David is feeling here in psalms. He has been delivered from the hand of Saul and is crying out to the Lord with an inspired love song. While he was singing he knew about his past with all of his missteps along the way but the Lord was protecting him still, loving him still.  He knew that he had worry and anxiety about Saul but he was finding his strength in the Lord. 

So it is with us. When we have a love song Sho nuff that we can pull up to remind not only God but ourselves how we love him because it is clear he has been loving us all along. Even we were not thinking about him. Even when we didn't even know he was protecting us from something until it all unfolded. Even when we have our minds made up like the little engine that could that "I'm not going to worry, I'm not going to stress" (that doesn't work by the way) we have to turn worry into worship. We have to turn stress into praise. We have to flip the script and Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength!  Because that's when he comes through like a boss and u can sincerely sing. I love u Lord and I lift my voice!!!!

That's what I heard.  Be encouraged today.  Don't worry, but worship!  

How Ya Living? By Faith

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried
- Psalm 18:30

What an understatement to us today!  But when David said it he had less evidence than we do!
God's Word has been tried, tested, scrutinized, and relied upon by Christians throughout the ages. And, just as David testified, they have found it more than sufficient for their every need. They have discovered, in every generation and in every hard circumstance, that God's Word truly is perfect.

His counsel is always wise, his history is always accurate, his lessons are always true, and his commands are always relevant. God's way is perfect. He does not need to SWEAR. He can swear on himself!!  But David was not merely making an observation or teaching an academic lesson; David's point is that because God's Word has been tried and tested by millions through the centuries, and has been found perfect, each of us should therefore build our lives on this tried and sure foundation.  Fred Hammond sings a song called Perfect and True!  Pure in all your ways. (Look up on u tube).

Who do you look to for direction and for advice? Do you trust popular opinion, what's trending on Twitter, or well-meaning friends, to help you make decisions and find meaning in life? Or do you go to God's perfect Word over and over again, for counsel in every area of life?  Every area. Even those u think u got under control?  Yes that one.

The Word of the Lord is tried, it is proven, it is sure -- but have you tried it?

He's got this. That's what I heard. Be blessed today!