You Are Blessed

This is it friends; another year comes to an end. Whatever you had planned for 2015 is done or not again for this year. But there is always tomorrow. You don't have to toss out the plans or the list with the stroke of the clock. In fact you can build on what you have. Finish what you started. Celebrate the progresses made and endeavor to do better next year.

Regardless of what you do, seek God. He was in the beginning and He is at the end. He doesn't have time restraints but still does as He plans in His timing. In fact we can count our blessings and be thankful for what we have been given.  

My friends if you are breathing today you have been blessed.  If you have no illness or diseases you are blessed.  If you have a home and food to eat you are blessed.  If your children are alive and well you are blessed. If your life is in the hands of the master,  Jesus the Christ, you are blessed. 

Have a happy new year everyone. Let this be the day you choose Christ as your Lord.

I don't mind waiting?

Wait and again I say wait on the Lord. This verse from David the psalmist has come to mind as I sit waiting on a word about my sister. The o.r. waiting room is not exactly plush in their furnishings or accommodations. So to say that I am lying in the lap of luxury would be quite the stretch. Still it is warm and I am seated. I was at least smart enough to pack a couple sandwiches as parking will eat up all my extra funds. And so we wait. And wait. With every medical person that enters the room we all look up hoping that we are the family member they seek to find And say "surgery complete and on to recovery".  

It has me thinking of waiting on the Lord. David wrote that and I believe it was as much for himself as it is for us today. He knew how hard it gets sometimes to be still and wait. Your flesh wants to act and the frustration is intense when there is nothing you can do. It brings to mind the lyrics of a song "I don't mind waiting" sang by Juanita Bynum.  I have sang it a time or two but I lied all the way through.

I do mind waiting. I hate waiting in lines. I hate waiting in this waiting room. I hate waiting on God to fulfill his promises. I want what I want right now.
I shocked myself just now. Do you know that as the thought surfaced I wondered why? I wanted to pretend to be a lot more patient and showing fruit of long suffering but Holy Spirit only leads you to all truth. I hate waiting. I do mind it. God help me.

Sigh. Now that that is out here is The truth.  As much as I want instant solutions and immediate fulfillment of promises I want my way even less. I don't want anything that I can do or make happen on my own. I want His best and His will to be done. I want His direction and His good gift. I want His way and not my way.

So yes I will wait. I will wait on the Lord and allow Him to strengthen my heart. I will wait on Him and pray that He will show me how to wait with courage. I will be brave in my waiting when there is nothing I can do and even when there is something. I am choosing to wait on him even though I don't like it. I will wait until I can sing the lyrics "I don't mind waiting" and have it be true and not lie.

Beloved here is the word, read and be encouraged: "wait on the Lord; be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14).

I once was lost

On the eve of my sister's surgery my clan got together to offer her support. I could hear the laughter from upstairs and so I ran to join in the humor. Besides my brother had just told me about my Sis in law getting lost 5 minutes away from home.  We laughed at her lack of direction in a place that was supposed to be so familiar. Our laughter grew even louder when our mom confessed that she got lost on her way back from work taking a route she travelled on every day. She was so confused as to her where about she stopped an ambulance that was passing by her parked car. They both said they were unable to see because it was dark. Nice try ladies.

While we may laugh at their late night direction mishaps I can't help but think about how this parallels the lives of so many people. I think of all those people that are lost without Jesus. He is light but they are blinded by the darkness. The bible says the prince of this world has blinded the eyes of the unbeliever. Yet Jesus gives us sight.  He has mapped out a route for all our lives but instead we opt to go our own way. Some of us get so caught up in our own world we can't see what is right before us - Jesus.

Beloved I am here to tell you that you don't have to be lost anymore. My family members are safely home and you can be too. Home is where Jesus is and He wants to dwell on your heart. (Ask my 3year old grand-niece, she will tell you Jesus is in her heart).  When you don't know what to do or where to go, look up beyond the hills and see the help. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Come to Him and be found.

Is your world bigger than you?

I have seen with new eyes my world.  To be truthful it was rather compressed. I kept saying my sister's world was small but no, mine was limited to just me and mine. 

Then my older sister got some news that took us to Sonnybrook Hospital.  There my eyes opened up a little more. People suffering with cancer. Young and old, black and white. This was the scene I walked into as I accompanied her to her appointment.  It was then I realized that I had no problems. What was I so worked up about in my own life?  Money? My family members? My job? What did it matter when so many people were going through life and death issues? 

I sat beside a woman who sobbed as she waited to see the doctor.  Does she know Jesus? That was my thought as I cried silently with her. Does anyone in this waiting room know Him? As their bodies are suffering and wasting away what of their souls? 

Here I am with hope and peace and joy in the presence of Holy Spirit and my eyes were on my little world?  May it never be that way again for me or for you.  May we see beyond our list and see others. That man on the street or the girl you passed by on the way, may you see them with new eyes.  

Beloved it is time that we love as Christ loves us. 

A Woman Scorned

I have heard it said maybe once or twice that there is nothing worse than a woman scorned.  She is not the woman to tangle with and woe to the one that has caused this shame.  Her heart is bruised and she does all that she can to inflict this same pain unto others.  She is beyond reason and out of control (as my brother always says).  She is desperate to prove herself right and to be somehow absolved in the process she takes. She takes revenge into her own hands.  She will not stop until her idea of justice has been dished up and served.

I have a front row seat to this woman.  She is not me, (although without Christ she was), but this young girl I have only ever met twice.  She is the ex-girlfriend but doesn't want to be.  I see her struggling in her new role. I see her trying to reconcile the betrayal that has been apart of her journey.  I see her ranting and raving.  I see her as the woman scorned.

As I think of her, I cannot help but feel sympathy.  My heart is tender towards her because I know how she feels.  My son thinks I need to be examined and thinks my loyalty is misplaced.  Yet he doesn't understand how it feels to be that woman.  He doesn't get why we cant just move past the pain and get on with life as if nothing happened.  Do you understand?

I know that almost everyone has had their heart broken by someone.  We cant love and not feel the pain that comes from relationships with imperfect people.  Just as I prayed for the young woman above I pray for you. May God pour his balm into that open wound that is open and oozing.  May you feel yourself enveloped by His arms. May you know today His unfailing love.  May you walk in forgiveness, for to do anything but is like trying to kill someone else by drinking the poison yourself.

My friend, I don't know your story but I know God.  He says vengeance is mine and I will repay.  He is more than able to help you through this period of pain and hurt.  He is able to step into the yesterday you have not quite let go and heal the past, so your future is secure.

There is a song that I wrote and it simply echoes this truth,
"God you're able to pull me through. 
And You know there's nothing I can do. 
Cause your the God of the  Impossible. 
And I trust YOU!"

Oh Woman scorned, God loves you.

The Journey

The journey.  When I heard these words I immediately asked of myself three questions. Where does it start?  Where does it end?  How do I get there?  In my mind I marinated these questions as it relates to my journey.  My life is a summation of days and months and years.  Through my physical eyes I see just what is before me. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more. 

In the beginning God created…the verse from Genesis 1:1 formed itself in my mind and exploded this truth.  My journey and yours begins and ends with God.  The God of Genesis is the same God of Revelation who says I am coming again.  He frames our days like bookends on a shelf.  It is hard to understand but to deny it would be foolish.  God is and was and is to come and he is the author of not just our faith but our journey. 

I have learnt that my steps have been ordered by Him.  Every single one is not without His knowing.  He has in fact known me before the foundations of the world.  Jeremiah reads that before he was formed in his mother’s womb God knew him.  The journey had already began.  The journey here on earth is a continuation to a predestined end.

The truth is that we shall all see God.  Yes.  Whether you accept Him now or not, your journey will ultimately lead to the same place as mine in the end.  Jesus will see us all. None shall be left behind.  We will all be judged according to our choices in the here and now.  We will either hear depart from me I know you not or well done my good and faithful servant.

With this I bet you wonder how to be sure that you will hear the words of affirmation.  I bet you wonder how then you are to walk in this journey so that the end is good.  The way, the truth and the life is Jesus.  He says there is no other way to the Father except through Him.

Do you know Him?  Is He a part of your journey?  Are your footsteps in line with His?  Are you listening out for His orders as to where those steps should be?  I hope so my friends.  Nothing else matters.  Nothing else that you can attain will be taken with you at the end of your days, your journey’s ultimate end.  It is not too late Jesus gives us the time to repent and come in alignment with Him.  Today, is your destiny!

 

 

It's Not About You

It’s Not About You. 

These were the words of truth echoing through my mind earlier this week as I prayed.  My past came to the present, equipped with passport and bags, he came to see his son.  In case, you are lost let me re-track.  My son’s dad came to see him.  It had been umpteen years since he came to Canada to see over the 21 years of my son’s life. Actually to be precise he visited him twice.  It was a trip that was well over due.

I found out quite by accident of this trip.  I had asked my prayer team to pray that he would visit.  I felt like it was needed for both of them and I wanted nothing to stand in the way.  So we prayed.  I heard nothing from him.  I happened to inquire of my son, “did you hear from your Dad?”  “Yes.” He responded.  “Do you know if he’s coming?” “Yes.” Was his singular response yet again.  With nothing else coming forth, I took it upon myself to go directly only to discover he will be in town the very next day.  No time. Nothing else added. Like father like son, the vault of information was closed to me. They knew and had made plans. I was excluded and unaware.

 

By now, if you are anything like me, your ire would be raised. You would be saying something like “You mean to say, they couldn’t tell you anything?”  That is exactly what I said.  So I took to the altar in prayer or complaining which ever one God calls it.  He said to me, clear as the day outside, “It is NOT about you”.  He says you don’t need to be offended, because this is not about you.  God had a plan that was in place and at the center of it were two men who were broken and in need of healing.  They needed this time together more than they even knew. This was a time to pour God’s balm into old wounds that did not heal but was only covered and hidden.  It was a time to restore and repair broken bonds between a father and a son.  It was time to throw out guilt and shame; a time to love on each other and be there for one another.  For three days they ate together, shared a room, talked, drove and “hung out” with each other. No-one else was included in the majority.  God gave them a gift these last few days – he gave to each man the g of each other. 

 

It was not about me.  I took my offense and washed it away with forgiveness.  I walked away from that time with God feeling chastened and yet freed.  God was answering my prayer and he didn’t need my help to do it.  I never saw my son’s Dad at all throughout his stay here, and guess what, it was okay.  I was happy and filled with gratefulness that this was even happening. 

Friends sometimes it really has nothing to do with you.  Allow God to do what He does and leave it all to Him.

 

Sin is at the door

I have been going through the book of Genesis. My journey into it is really just at the beginning.  So it is interesting to note that sin was from the beginning.  In case you had forgotten, it was in the very garden of Eden that Eve desired the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  From that moment, sin caused shame, fear, blame and the disconnect between man and God. 

Sin, destroys while deceiving us as the serpent did to Eve.  Sin, allows you to think that you are in control.  It gets you to believe that you will win.  Sin crouches at the door and it seeks to devour you and I, but you must master it. 

Eve fell prey.  Cain, her son, fell prey. Murder. Lies.  Guilt. Shame.  Sin grew to full contamination of the entire population of the world. Men boasted of how they would kill anyone who crossed them.  They saw themselves as equal with God.  In their hearts they believed they were God.  It caused our creator to regret making mankind.  In the days of Noah, God had his limit.  He wiped out everyone except the only righteous man left. Noah and his family.

Today we have been given grace.  We are under the covenant that God made with man.  He says never again will he erase us by flood.  Yet, do not be lulled into thinking that you can do as you wish. Do not be deceived thinking that God has gone "soft".   God said to Cain, you must master it, instead he allowed it to cause him to kill Able.  Friends, sin is at the door, do not let it get the upper hand.  Do not invite it in. Do not be deceived.  Do not be mastered by sin.

Im not worthy

On September 14th, I celebrated my birthday.  I turned 41 years old and for me it was an experience.  My family had planned a "surprise" dinner to celebrate the event. I thought as we gathered together, I am not worthy.  On the day of, I went to work and received beautiful yellow roses from one colleague, a huge cup-cake from another and the entire upper management singing at my office door, Happy Birthday to You.  I was moved to tears by then because in my mind I said I am not worthy.

That's how most of us feel when we are called by God.  Jesus, the bridegroom, has sent out to us an invitation to the feast prepared by His father.  The oxen and fattened cattle has been prepared, the table set and all is ready.  He calls us all, the good and the bad to this feast.  Yet, we turn away.  We seek instead the things that pleases our flesh.  We fill up on the feast of the world, junk food and empty calories.  We disqualify ourselves because all along we have felt that we were not worthy. 

Today, I say to you that you are called. You decide whether or not you choose to accept his invitation.  The lies by the enemy have been exposed and you are worthy, you do qualify.  So choose today, will you come and taste the goodness of God?  Will you attend dressed in the wedding garments he has prepared?  Many are called but only a few are chosen.  Beloved, you are worthy.  Jesus qualifies you.  Say yes and He will do the rest.  All is ready.  The work is done.  Come to the wedding feast, come celebrate and rejoice.  (Matthew 22:1-14)

God is Watching Over

This week I have been soaking in messages all geared to the theme of God is Watching.  It has been so good to realize that I am not alone in my walk on this earth.  I think of the many times I have felt alone and how far from the truth that has been.  God's eyes has always been upon me. I know, that for you, it might not be all comforting. You may feel that it is kind of creepy being in a glass bowl, being watched all the time.  Yet, it is not the same as a fish being observed from the outside of the tank. 

It is not like the movies that shows the gods, Zeus and all his co-gods, being high above in some celestial palace, drinking wine and eating chocolates, while we fumble around in our humanity below.  No. God watches over His children.  He waits  to bring us comfort and provision.  He leads us along the still waters, and causes us to lie in green pastures.  His righteous right hand upholds us.  He watches over us in readiness to perform His word in our lives.  He watches to make our crooked paths straight.  God is watching.

Let that be a comfort to you my friends as you navigate these moments we call life.  Let that stir hope and peace in your heart. Let it be you resting place and key to liberty.  God is watching.

Even now, his angels are encamped about you and me as Paul writes in Hebrews 13.  I breathe deeply as I am relieved to know over is truth.  He is watching over our kids and all that concerns you.   He has never left nor forsaken you. He neither slumbers or sleeps.  Rest my friends for God is watching over you.

Let Him Go

Understand that right now I am writing this down as a way to process things that I don't understand.  I am a Mom. Over the last 20 plus years I have more questions than answers. I have felt inadequate more times than I care to think about. I have made thousands of mistakes and some have been far reaching into my today. I would love to say that I am an expert at this but for me the challenges are even more intense and I am at a loss as to how to overcome.  I did say that I am writing this as a way to process and so I hope you understand.  I just need God to show me how to swim in these deep waters. I can't swim in life much less this metaphoric illustration.  I'm not sure what to do and for the most part I wish I could back to the yesterday of day one with my son. I would have done some things different and some things I would have kept the same.
I have had this conversation before and God's answer has been the same. Let him go.
This post is the evidence that I am not being obedient. I am struggling to do this but the cost is tears and more heart ache. Let him go.
This without doubt is the answer that brings the peace that I so desperately desire right now.
LET HIM GO.

Lord, hear my cry.  Oh Lord show me the way that leads not to destruction but to Life. Open my eyes God to your truth. Lord show me how to let him go.  You are his safety net and I need to move out of the way of your purpose in this process.

If you can, will you pray for me as I pray for you too.

Without Vision We Perish

If I asked you right now to describe your vision, what would you say?  Would you blurt out your heart or would you pause wondering yourself what it is?  This morning in church I was of the latter response group. I stumbled in my mind over the word vision. It became even more difficult when the Pastor said vision has been translated as a word from God, a prophetic word, a revelation. I had nothing that immediately came to mind. It worked me some because I know that without vision I would go astray. I know some might say I am being dramatic. Yet it is not that at all. This word caused me to examine myself and where I am heading in life. What am I looking ahead  to and how dies my life fit into God's purpose for me?  Think about it for a minute. Every successful company has a vision.  I just want mine to be what God has given to me. By the end of the sermon God reminded me of a picture I saw in my mind's eyes of myself. I was spinning around in a field with a bag of seeds in my hand. I threw them around me and I seemed to be so happy. It was like it was someone else but yet it was me. I was like a young girl again and for a moment I wondered if maybe it was my daughter. No matter I knew then that God gives us the vision. He is the One that has called us and He is the One that will bring about His purpose. So here I am in my Sunday best having a tea and talking to God on the McCafe patio. I'm saying to Him I don't understand it at all but I am willing to do it all. Friends let's ask God for that vision and then release it to Him.

Intimacy with God

Into Me See.  Intimacy has been described as such and I believe that even for today it is fitting.  The bible tells us that God knows us. He is intimate with us. I looked at different definitions of this word so I can grasp what it means to say God is Intimate with us. One person defines it as being in each other's mind.  Another says it means close, loyal, faithful.  Yes, God is intimate with us.  He knows our thoughts.  He is faithful. He is close.  He is loyal. He is intimate. 

God sees into us.  He sees the core, like the inside of an apple.  He sees the good and the bad.  David marvelled at this saying, it is too much for him to even comprehend it all.

My friends, while God is initmate with us, I wonder if we in turn are intimate with Him.  You see, and I have heard it said before, initmacy is a two way interaction.  He has already made the first step.  From before time began His heart was for us.  Now I believe that he stretches his hands to us and says, won't you come? My eyes tear up as I can imagine Him saying "Talk to me. Just talk to me". (Yolanda Adams). No more hiding my friends. No more running away.  It is time to draw near to Him.  It is time to enhance; discover; seek out intimacy with God.

If you dont know where to start or even what to say, how about repeating the Psalmist.  It is a good place to begin the journey of intimacy with God:

Psalm 139 NIV (Biblegateway.com)

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Just Around The Corner 3

Just Around the Corner part 3. The question has been posed,  what  is around the corner?  At first response I answered "I don't know". Who does?  God in His infinite wisdom has sent his word. Ecclesiastes 3 begins as such  For everything there is a season,  a time for every activity under the sun.  From verses 1-8 Solomon,  son of David,  gives us a list of things that could happen. For every high there was a low. And so today I say that what is around the corner is all of these. For you it may be the high or perhaps the low. However we are assured that there is a season of both.  I know that most of us hate the winters of our lives,  but it is needed.  God is not concerned with just our lives here but He is making us ready for eternity. 

Solomon continues his reflection in verse 11 to say this Yet God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has planted eternity in the human heart,  but even so,  people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Here lies our problem. Solomon has captured the root of our angst.  We cannot see the whole scope. My friends it takes faith to believe that God intends for us to have a good end. Just around the corner means that we rejoice in  wherever we find ourselves now. 

James,  the brother of Jesus knew this truth.  He writes in the very 1st chapter "count it all joy when you fall into various trials..." He understood that there was a much bigger picture that we could not see. He understood that there was and is beauty in all things that God is doing. He got the point of God perfecting us from the inside out.

Friends life is beautiful even with the tears and the sorrow. Life is more than songs and laughter.  We get everything in the span of our life time.  I therefore besseech you to hold on to the hand of Christ.  He says He will not leave nor forsake us. He is with you now and will be with you around the corner.

Just Around The Corner 2

We were brought to the  book of Joshua by Minister Anita.  As I call the name Joshua my mind starts a list:
Joshua, Son of Nun.
Joshua, Successor to Moses.
Joshua strong and courageous as commanded by the Lord.
Joshua who stayed close to God,  obeying His every word.
Joshua who faced his corners with a faith that matured as He walked with God.


Are you like a Joshua?  I ask myself how did he do this?  Well it really is very simple.  He trusted God and believed His promise.  What was the promise you ask? I am happy to oblige in answering.  God told him,  I will not leave you nor forsake you.  Is that not what we want to hear?  Has this not been the same words that God has said to us?  Beloved Joshua was able to do all that he did because he was with God and God was with him. That equation is guaranteed to bring about a good end 100% of the time.


You might say to yourself I am not like Joshua. You think I have been on the shady side of things,  The truth is I have not been good and my life is really a mess.  I have a past that is dark and dirty.  Then my friend, look at Rahab.  Her list is as follows:
Rahab, Prostitute.
Rahab, Enemy/Spy hider.
Rahab, Liar.


If I stopped here it would leave you hopeless, but let's look deeper.
Rahab, Help to the Israelites
Rahab,  Converted to God
Rahab, Married and Mother of Boaz.
Rahab, mother-in-law to Ruth
Rahab, Great times many Grandmother to David
Rahab, in the lineage of Jesus, Messiah, The Anointed One - Christ.


She had no idea that around the corner was salvation. Not just for her but her entire family.  God does not discriminate against a heart that is repentant. My friends I believe the word of God from the book of Joshua is for you  today.  I believe  that it is a map to guide you around your corner.  Get in it. Pray it.  Believe  it. As God told Joshua, do not depart from it, looking neither to the right or to the left and wherever you go you will prosper.

Just Around The Corner

Just Around the corner. This is the theme on the Embrace prayer line. Min C Taffe brought a word that causes us to search ourselves.  Her word was Forerunner.  If I asked you the name of such a person in the Bible I bet not many,  if any would have said Elizabeth.  She was the person behind the scenes.  She was the forerunner to Mary,  carrying in herself the forerunner to Jesus.  In Luke 1, we are able to see what happened when Gabriel came with a message to this family.  He had a message of what was to happen around a corner of their life. But Min. Taffe highlighted  a few things.  There was an alignment of purpose between Elizabeth and Zachariah.  Friends who are you aligned with?  Are they apart of the promise or the pull of distraction?  Luke tells us in verse 6 that they were righteous,  walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. BLAMELESS. Can this be said of us? Yet the bible says they had no child. They were missing their hearts desire. They called her Barren. But just around the corner was fruitfulness.  Just around the corner was a wonderful change. Elizabeth was about to  be used in a plan that she never imagined.  It was so big that God would not allow her husband to speak death to it. Friends are you cursing yourself when God says you are blessed?
Elizabeth had a purpose that was for a nation.  What ever God has for you my friends is not just so you can enjoy and keep to yourself.  Your gifts are for a nation. It may be your house  or job or school.  It is more than just to make you happy.  Are you willing to be the forerunner for someone else? Are you willing to be behind  the scene? What you say now will determine how you respond to whatever is just around the corner.💕

He that believeth shall live

I wrote this title as I gathered my thoughts to tell you some good news.  My sister Kal, whom you know has been off work due to medical problems, for the first time in years have been able to go away for a weekend. This was a great celebration because this day of joy was after a road marred with pain.

Friends a few Sundays prior she had a melt down. It caused her to cocoon into a shell that we have never seen before.  It was not a physical pain that we could medicate and make it go away.  It was the darkness of depression that kills people while they walk around.  She was there and we didn't know how to help her other than to pray.  We prayed and prayed some more because this was serious.  She was literally curled into a ball wishing to die even while there so much to be thankful for she just didn't know how. 

We prayed and we believe.  It was a matter of life and death and what was required was a miracle.  We prayed and we believed some more.  The days became weeks and it was looking like nothing would change. Then one day when we called in for a professional to come and see her she woke up.  She literally became alive and aware of life around her.  Time had moved on without her, life continued while she had paused. 

It was not a session that brought about the 180 degree turn about.  It was God.  He that believeth shall live my friends.  Do you believe?  Don't waiver friends.  Keep on believing in the awesome wonderful powerful God and live.

God Has Not Forgotten

All of last week I have been soaking in those four words: God has not forgotten.  He has not forgotten me when I was rejected by others.  When I was put aside and didn't quite fit in, he never forgot me. He never forgot me even when I rejected Him. When I was the builder who rejected Christ, the chief corner stone, He didn't forget me.

He didn't forget me even as a mother would not forget her nursing child. He tells me that even if that were the case and she cast her child aside, He would never forget.  His love over me is infinite and everlasting.

So the question then is Have I forgotten?  Have you forgotten?

You have prayed.  You have waited, and waited and waited.  The days became weeks, that rolled into months, adding up to years.  The thing that you prayed for never came about and so now you have closed the door.  You have determined for yourself that it was never meant to be. You have reasoned it out and it is not even possible anymore in your eyes.  So you have allowed your once glowing faith to grow dim in this particular area and you have willed yourself to forget.

You forgot that spouse or child you have wanted to have because according to the time clock you are using it is now too late.  You have tossed in the garbage that dream to return to school because it is for young people and not you anymore.  You have chosen to kill the visions about the future you thought God was telling you about because it never came around in your timing.

Is this you?  I know it's been me.  I find comfort in God's word because I know for sure I am not alone.  Luke 5:5-25 recounts the story of Zechariah the priest, married to Elizabeth (Mary's cousin). God sent an angel after umpteen years to Zechariah (Pastor Z) to say that his prayer has been heard.  He was to sire a son.  You see they had been childless and both were now past the age of child bearing.  Yet God was saying that this prayer was heard.

Of course Pastor Z was in a state of unbelief.  How was this going to be possible?  Gabriel the angel muted him.  He silenced him to keep him from speaking death to the very thing that God was speaking as life.  I wonder if that may not be the case with most of us.  I cannot throw stones because my house is made of glass. It means that I am very much like Z.

My friends, this is not a story with a fairy tale ending. This is truth and it is written down for me and you today.  God has heard our prayers. He has not forgotten you or I.  We are imprinted upon His palms and cannot be erased.  He is going to fulfill His promises, whether you enjoy the wait or not.  You see friends, God's plans are always better than ours.  While Pastor Z just wanted a child, God gave him the forerunner to His very own son, Jesus Christ. He will always exceed your expectations of Him. 

Be encouraged and believe again for God has not forgotten you.

Faith the size of a mustard seed

Today I learnt something I never  knew  before.  I learnt about the mustard seed. Did you  know that the mustard  seed is only about  1-2mm in diameter?  That seed is able to grow in dry weather or wet weather.  It can grow in clay or sandy  soil.  It is drought resistant . It is resilient. It grows  way beyond what you would expect  from such a tiny seed.  It grows up to 20  feet high and wide. It is one of the smallest seeds  there is around. This seed is little  but it yields  much.
So it makes so much more  sense to me that Jesus  says to us in Matt17:20 that with faith the size of a mustard seed  we can say to the mountain move and it shall be moved.  We say to the mulberry  tree be pulled up and replanted in the sea and it will do it (Luke 17:6).
My friend faith doesn't need to be much to be effective.  Faith is able to grow in any circumstance. Faith in God is all we need to overcome.  Faith the size of a mustard seed; Not a whole lot but it is enough.
I tell  you  the truth  that your tiny  faith will grow as you use it more and more. Just like the mustard  seed grows into a tree,  so will your faith when  you activate it. Your faith will be tested. Don't forget  faith without work is dead.

Can we all just get along?

Yesterday was one of "those" days.  You know the challenging ones, the hard ones, the never ending ones. Yes. Just like that.  I went to work feeling pretty good in a new dress.  Great start to any day. The work piled high on  my desk.  The emails kept coming. Still I pressed on.
I then got a meeting request from the president of the company. Apparently he had to fix the division that existed between my department and another.  I was unaware of an issue. Then I got a text from a sister who was offended and hurt by what she presumed I was doing to her.  My musician cancelled on me and I now have no replacement.  Then I came home to the continued cold shoulder and upset of my family member who still held me in contempt from May. It was one of those days indeed.  I'm pretty sure you can relate.  We have all had them.
I asked God out loud for a word.  In expectation I picked up my bible app and continued to read from where I left off. I laughed out loud because the verse was an answer to my situation. I knew without a doubt that God was speaking loud and clear.

It says in Psalm 133:1-3 MSG

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.

God was not off target but hit the bulls eye of my situation.  He didn't address what anyone else was doing or might do. In fact he was telling me that I am the one who needs to get along. In disunity I miss out on God's blessing.  I miss out on the sweetness of life. I miss out on what God wants to do in my life.

Hey now. Don't think you are not in this too.  Let's all get along. Let us forgive and remove offenses from our hearts.  Let's trade ugly for beautiful.

The attack on our youth

On Saturday morning, I rose up early to get on the prayer line.  My alarm went off at 6am and I forced myself out of bed to steal away to the privacy of the den.  It was then I heard the handle of our front door turning around.  I assumed it was some family member and did not move.  It was not.  My mom called me down and there was a seriousness to her voice that had my attention.
 


On our door step was a wisp of a boy, a 17y/o boy.  His clothes were rumpled up, his jacket lying on the porch floor.  He was under the influence of something and might have slept on our front porch.  Who could tell?  His arms bore the bruises of the being pressed up against a grid for a long time.  I saw him and my heart broke. 




In that moment I didn't care about anything else but him. It was the love of God that poured out of me for this young boy. As he looked lost and confused I saw him for who he was - a soul that desperately needed a saviour.  Tears filled my eyes and as I touched his arm, I asked "what happened to you?"
As he started talking I knew that I had to help him.  Somehow he ended up on my doorstep, neither of us knowing each other, but I felt like he was led there by God.  He told me that a man told him to go to the forest and he will be safe there.  The man disappeared and he found himself at my house.


I somehow got his address and I drove him home. 


This young man with his life ahead of him had somehow found himself in trouble.  I doubt very much he will even be able to remember what has happened or even that I dropped him home. I told my nephew and all he said was "sad reality".  Is this it?  Is this the norm of today? 


My friends, we have to be the light in the darkness for those that are lost.  We have to help the generation coming behind us.  They are under attack.  The devil seeks to kill them all. I am praying that my heart and yours will be tender towards them.  That we will not be hardened against them because they look different, act different or are different.  There is a mandate out for them to be destroyed but God's will is for them to live.


Father break our hearts for the people, young and old, that do not know you today.  Let us not stand in judgement of them, but instead let us extend mercy and compassion. Lord help us to look like you in kindness, love, long-suffering and faithfulness.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

I won't let go until you bless me

I won’t let go

What about me Lord?  When will it be my turn?  Tell me, is there a time when you have said this very same thing?  You know, the time your friend came and was telling what God did for them and you wondered silently, Lord what about me? 

I know this has been my questions even as I smiled and congratulated my friend.  It has been a running thought even as my lips said I am so happy for you and I lifted my hands in thanksgiving for that person that is in their season of plenty.  I am wondering now if I may be the only one.  Is it wrong to ask God these things? 

Some months ago, I was thinking of my sister. I started to sing a song that God gave me and it asked

“What will become of me?  What will I do?  Where is the help the Oh God that only comes from you....Where is the beauty from my ashes? Where is the healing from the pain? Where is the joy everlasting?”

I wrote those words down as I sang them and today it is fitting to me.  What about me Lord?  When is it going to be my turning around? What about my blessing?

I have found one other person whose life speaks to what I am asking now. Jacob.  Jacob wrestled with God and it was as if in that time he was asking him these questions.  He wanted something from him and he was relentless in his pursuit of God’s blessings.

The question I ask myself is am I relentless in my pursuit of God’s blessings.  I want what he has for me but am I willing to seek His face?  Am I willing to put aside my agenda and invest my time into His word?  More often than I am proud of I don’t look for Him.  I don’t try to find His will for me. I don’t seek him to find Him.  Yet, I moan and groan Lord what about me.

Today, I want to be like Jacob, wrestling with God, persistent in holding unto Him, unwilling to let Him go.  I won’t let go until you bless me Lord and even then, I won’t let go.

I Give You Me God

I have a new song.

The lyrics have been inside my head and have now escaped the confines of my mind. It is about the offering.  What do I have to bring? Think about it.

What is it that you could possibly give to God?  When I think that he already owns the earth and all that dwell therein,  well it leaves me with very few choices if any at all.  

So I asked myself again, what do I have to bring to God? What is worthy of a king? With nothing in my hands I finally realized that what He wants is me.

He gives me a choice. He actually asks, will you come? When I think I just can't, he reminds me of His son. Jesus already paid the price. He made himself a sacrifice.  Yet he will not demand, but He asks will you give me yourself?

So I give Him me. I give Him all of me. It really is fitting for  I belong to Him.

Friend, will you give Him yourself? It is offering time and he wants you. Will you place yourself as an offering to Him today?

The Day that Heaven Cried by B Bahadoor

THE DAY THAT HEAVEN CRIED

 

 

The sky was dark… a dark heavy gray

Black clouds hung overhead

Threatening to fall that day

The deserted street was lifeless

Not a footprint, not a sound

Then ever so lightly a drop of water fell from the clouds

The world seemed to freeze as the drop hit the ground

All hell broke loose, and the silence was shattered with sound

The dark clouds exploded in fury

The winds howled like wolves that were hungry

Yet His voice carried above the winds

MY GOD…… MY GOD……

Why have you forsaken me?

Glass shattered……Curtains torn in pieces

Thunder boomed…..Lightning illuminated

As the Father turned away in hatred

A gust of wind……then stillness

His last breath…………then silence

As He died

No one knows what happened that day,

The day that Heaven cried

Written By: Brittney Bahadoor

The Shofar Blew

Today I heard about my nephew who has been battling with cancer for what seems like forever.  Physically he is on the mend.  Yet somehow along the way, what I imagined would have brought him closer to God seems to have placed him further away.  You see, we have been praying for his body to be healed, but we now need to pray for the part of him that matters most; His soul. 

I thought about his mom and what she must feel as he rejected the very God that she has been believing in for his healing.  I thought about him and wondered if maybe he thinks that this should not have been his journey if God really loved him.  I thought about my own son and remembered that it was only yesterday that I cried for him; weeping for his soul and the life that God has for him. 

And then the Shofar blew.  It was in prayer that I heard the sound of the shofar as it blew through the winds and into my consciousness.  It was a call to God and His purpose.  It was the call that I prayed that my son would hear and come home.  It is the call that I now pray that my nephews will hear as well.  You see, I have realized, and been reminded, that we cannot do this for them.

My mom says, we cannot and have not been called to “save” anyone. She says we feel the need to plant the seed, water the seed and then we want to be the one to cause the seed to increase.  We cannot.  It breaks our hearts, because these are our children.  We don’t want them to perish and neither does God.  What we can do is pray.  For what is impossible with men is possible for God.  He can draw them to Himself. He can teach them about Himself. He can speak to them about Himself.  It is not by might or power as much we may have, but God says it is by His spirit. 

I don’t understand it and today I don’t want to pretend as if I do.  I don’t see how he will take them from where they are now to where they ought to be - in Him.  However, I believe.  I believe that God is able!  Today I stand in His truth and I am hoping to encourage you to do the same.  Parents, may we pray one for another.  May we link our arms of faith with around each other.  May we be a source of encouragement to each other. 

Today, God I pray for the moms and dads with children that are not walking in your will. Father I pray that you will give us the words to say to them and teach us how to live out Christ before them.  Lord may we be doors that lead them to Christ and windows through which your light shines bright.  Father, may we be slow to anger and swift to show compassion and love. Guide us Lord along this journey.  Our children are a gift from you.  Lord they are like arrows in our hands.  Show us Lord, how to point them to that bulls eye of Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

No-one wants Jesus. Do you?

Today as I sat down in between functions I teared up.  I was reading an email about the Americans who wanted to take the name God out of their pledge of allegiance.  I asked God, “Why do they hate you so much?”  He said, and I heard this in my mind, “It is not me they hate but my son.”  No-one wants Jesus. 

Just typing these words have me choked up.  I would have been quick to say this is someone else but I can’t help but think that there are times when this is me, was me and maybe will be me tomorrow (I so hope not).  I have at times rejected Jesus; turned away from His truth; snubbed his directions and sought after my own lust and desires.  No-one wants Jesus.

To see these words again my soul cries out in protest.  I want Him!  I want Him! Yes, and now the tears flow freely because I know that I can’t make it without Him.  If you are honest with yourself and God you know that you have felt that as well.  You long for something and maybe you didn’t know what it was you yearned for but it was Jesus. Your soul knows and cries out for Him. That void, that darkness, that feeling of unease can only be satisfied by Him.

I know what I’m talking about.  You see my friends, every time that I have tried to go it my way I have failed.  I have had to run right back to him and beg for His mercy.  I have had to cry out “Help me!” from the mess that I have caused.  I have had to seek refuge in Him when I went and did things that I knew were wrong and opened doors that caused demons to chase me.  I need Jesus.

So what is wrong if I believe in God but am not too sure about Jesus?  You may even say, Jesus was Just a man.  He walked on earth and that is not the dispute, but to say He was the son of God?  To say He was man and God at the same time?  That is hard to believe.  I will not try to convince you otherwise.  That is not my purpose to day.   The truth is still the truth whether or not we believe.  Jesus is the only way to the Father.  We can’t separate the two, or rather the three for there is also the Holy Spirit, and altogether they are the trinity. 

Today I wanted to leave you with just one question, “Do you want Jesus?”

 

I AM the definition of Christ

As I wrote that title I wonder to myself where is that coming from?  I am the definition of Christ?  It's funny because I was planning to talk about my struggles with self issue.  I was going to tell you how I have to always battle that voice that tells me that I don't look right, sound right, fit right and all that other stuff that apparently I am not.


However, I see that God has a different plan.  For me and for you.  He has interrupted this pity party to bring forth an important announcement.  Christ is our definition.  When we see ourselves we ought to see Him instead.  He is the reflection from the mirrors we have in our homes, purses, cars, shopping malls, changing rooms and rest rooms.  If we are defined by Christ then the image that the world gives us is a distortion of who He is and we need not try to emulate.


Instead, clothe yourself in the garments of praise and adorn yourself in the worship of Him who is worthy.  A friend of mine yesterday was not having me talk about myself in a negative.  She is the one who told me to put on the garments of praise and it sunk into me not with condemnation but with conviction.  I pass on this truth to you today to set you free. 


Let us allow ourselves to be defined by Christ. Let us say no to the negative view of ourselves and others. Let us lift up our eyes to the master of our lives, the author of our faith and the protector of our soul.  To be defined by him we have to know him. So let us start to seek out the truth in His word. Let us be sanctified by it. Let us be free in Him.


So say with me, I am the definition of Christ.  He is in Me, for me AND nothing therefore can be against me.

I Am who God has called me to be

I am all that God has called me to be.  I make this as a statement, not to you, but to myself.  In my 40 years on this earth I have found that I need to be reminded of this truth repeatedly.  Let me show my vulnerability to you so you can better understand.  On Tuesday of this week, I had an opportunity to sing.  I was asked to write a song for the EMBRACE WOMEN AGAINST VIOLENCE program.  No problem!  God gave me the song that very night as I knelt beside my bed.  I practiced it; I was ready for it months in advance.

On the night of the event, my family came out to support me.  It was a big deal. I don’t usually tell them anything of what I am doing.  I suppose I just thought well, it is not a big deal.  For whatever reason, I felt the need to have them with me.  They came.  I was a mess.  ON the inside of me my stomach churned with nervousness.  I felt achy and very much like running.  I dreaded the moment they would call my name to step up and deliver.  I was ready months prior but something happened to me that night and well, it changed me.

I felt like the words to the song really was a message for all to hear. It was in-sync with the videos they showed, the poems they spoke and the dance they performed.  It was truly a confirmation that I saw but it didn’t make the fear go away. As a result I went up to the stage and became so fearful I wasn’t myself.  I forgot the words of the song.  I didn’t engage the audience and I couldn’t wait for It all to be over.  I believed what I was hearing in my mind.  I was not up to par.  It was a lie.  One that I know was a lie, but I did nothing to silence it.  Irony was at its best, as my songs hook said “how will you stay silent?”  I should have commanded my mind to fall in line with the truth of God.  I didn’t.  

God is greater than even our fears.  He used me that night.  I know it because I heard the song being song after I came down.  I went up even when I wanted to run away.  I sang even though I wanted to stay muted.  God used me in my weakest moment.  He used me to bring about His purpose that He had all along.  I forgot that I am His vessel.  I started looking at my abilities and I allowed myself to be tormented and chained when God says daughter, you are free.

I am choked up right now because this is so me.  Is this you too?  The good news is that God is merciful and kind. He extends mercy and favor and compassion and love.  He is my God.  So he gave me a song.  Yes, I find that He speaks to me that way – he sings to me a new song.  The song is a reminder that I am who God has called me to be.  He has filled my mouth with words and I will sing for him because I am all that he calls me to be.

Friends, I know I am not singular in this experience. I know that you are probably like me – forgetting who you ARE IN CHRIST!   However, one day I pray that you will hear from God himself that you are who he has called you to be.  May that need to compare yourself to everyone else disappear as you focus on Him and His truth.

 

 

 

 

God Knows What He Is Doing

It is early or late, depending on which side of the fence you sit.  For me, another day has rolled into the morning of another even though the sun will not be up for hours to come.  It doesn’t matter; what does matter is that which God has spoken to me.  I walked into the kitchen and there on the radio is a man talking.  He is telling his story.  His wife had cancer and she was pregnant.  It must have been her second time on this path because he said she had miscarried before during chemo therapy.

 

On this next set of treatment, she was in a similar situation. Pregnant and having to undergo chemotherapy.  She felt nothing more from the baby within her and they thought for sure that the little guy was gone.  They went to do an ultra sound and it was then that they heard the heartbeat.  He said it was not slow and weak but strong and fast.  He knew that God was saying to them that he would bring about whatever his plans were for them and this little one.  I just burst into tears.

Right at that moment, I could hear for myself that the circumstances did not matter; God’s plan will be accomplished.  I was reminded of His Word in Jeremiah 29: 10 – 14.  God knows what he is doing.  He has it all planned out for us.  The Message version reads like this:

      Jeremiah 29:10-14The Message (MSG)

^10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “…. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

¹² “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

^13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you…. You can count on it.”

(Taken from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A10-14&version=MSG)

To read this word brings me to tears even more.  I love that God has spoken this promise that I know He will fulfill.  He was talking to his chosen people during a very difficult time in their history.  Yet, He sends this word of hope and encouragement to them. 

 

God is not saying to you or me that your life will be problem free, but He is saying that in the midst of it, trust Him.  Again, I say to you and to me, God knows what He is doing.