I say Amen!

Beloved, for the past week I have been feeling very little desire to push on. I have been experiencing an exhaustion that was keeping me from allowing God’s Word to pour into my heart and revive my life!

But my God is faithful and He is the healer of all heartache that goes down to the very soul! This I have known, that although God remains in a high place He is so loving and His mercies endures forever that He would be concerned with the lowly state of human beings. Amen!

This morning as I awoke and couldn’t return to sleep. I got up knowing God was telling me that I needed to spend time with Him as I was slipping into a depression. As I struggled and tossed back and forth in my bed knowing I needed to get up, I finally got up but I felt a tear inside me; a fight going on in me— an absolute need to spend time with my God, but a stronghold that kept me from it.

To be in prayer, to be in His Word, and to cry out to Him as I presented my need to Him knowing He has been there for me every step of the way and hasn't abandoned me, but this stronghold kept me from it all.

As I struggled to pray. As I struggled to reach for my Bible and open it. As I struggled with a battle going on in my mind, in the corner of my eye I saw some words on a sheet. As I lifted it up and began to read them, I come to a familiar sight. These words stared back at me but they penetrated into my soul, as a hand to a switch, turning on something inside of me that craved God.

These words: “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Beloved! I say Amen! Amen to God. Amen to His Word. Amen to His enduring mercies. Amen to His ever present love that abides in all of creation. Amen!

I say Amen to God’s willingness to give strength to the weak, lifting up the lame that they would walk.

I say Amen to God giving sight to the bling and hearing to the deaf. He is able and willing! Reach out to Him, He is faithful. So I say Amen.

As I found myself looking to promises of God, and I found myself in the book of Psalm, God’s peace certainly covered me. God’s peace certainly guarded my aching heart and guarded my troubled mind. Praise You my God!

I say Amen to God’s faithfulness.
I say Amen to God’s grace.
I say Amen to God’ forgiveness.
I say Amen to God’s healing.
I say Amen to God’s mercy.
I say Amen to God’s Truth.
I say Amen to God’s Word.
I say Amen to God being all seeing, all knowing, all powerful and always EVERYWHERE PRESENT. Amen!

Beloved, God knows us. God is with us, and above all that I weep in joy and even now tears swell up, God is so amazing in His perpetual love that He allows us to know Him! Through His Son. Amen Lord Jesus!

To that! I say who amongst us can resist the call; resist the invitation, to know our GREAT GOD?! I certainly cannot.


I am moved to pray a prayer of praise: Beloved let us pray.

Father and God, You are, Amazing God! Your mercies endures forever. Your love is perpetual. You are mighty to save those who are weak, in mourning, and without a protector. Yes! My God, there is none other but You! Who loves for a thousand generations. Yes! My God, there is none other that gives rest to a weary and tired soul. Thank You that in You! We have rest. We have peace. We have comfort. We have contentment in Your Truth!

Oh heavenly Father, my soul cries out to You, and in my despair You heard. You came near, You embraced me... You saved me.

My God I weep at the embrace of Your gentle hand. Your love overpowers my doubt, and brings clarity to my lack of understanding. Praise You my God! For You and You alone know me from the depths of who I am. You cover me in my coming and my going.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. (Psalm 139:1-10, 13, 14, 16-18 NKJV)

You my God, I cry out to and say Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Amen.

And You are so faithful and true to hear me... Me! And You alone are quick to answer. Oh Father I cry, I weep and rejoice in Your love. May You be forever praised in and through my life, in Jesus name. Amen.

Surely, in Christ, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life! You and You alone my God! I will praise with my whole heart! Amen.

Therefore beloved, give God your absolute praise. Submit to God. Resist the devil (as he is the father of lies) and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Amen.

He heard my cry... I will praise the Lord

Beloved, I thank my God with tears of joy. Yes! I thank my God, for He is worthy of my praise. He heard my cry as I came to Him brokenhearted over what I had done and the hurt it caused.

My God heard me. I came to Him humbly asking that He forgive me and protect those who would receive word from me that wasn’t consulted with the Lord.

My God is faithful. I repeat! The Lord our God is a faithful God who hears the cries of those in need. He listens and answers the prayers of the righteous. He is quick to show mercy, and slow to anger.

My God, You and You alone I praise. As I rise and as I lay to rest, You are there. You comfort me and protect me from the ills of the world. How truly blessed I am. Who can love this way in the world apart from my God?! No one!

For this is your Word that I receive and I rejoice in. Praise be to You forever and ever. Amen.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. (Psalm 5:1, 2 NKJV)

Amen!

Love Week (part 3): Reflection Brings Newness

"As in water face reflects face,

So a man’s heart reveals the man." (Proverbs 27:19)

As I read the Book of Deuteronomy again after quite sometime, I am filled with all this thankfulness to God. My prayers are lead in such a manner, my thoughts are more focused, and my heart and soul desire God more and more. Why is this all happening to me? One word...REFLECTION

God's Word tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (See Hebrews 13:8). And today I started out by reflecting on God's blessings into my life of yesterday, today and those blessings that are to come. But! It all starts with reflection. 

Reflection to me is a powerful weapon. It allows us to reflect on good and bad. The good motivates and inspires us. The bad; the way it is seen and used can either cripple us or become a stern warning on what to avoid this time around. Therefore the Lord's promise, should inspire us to remain hopeful in faith, as it is written, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." (Matthew 24:35). To such, let us retain God's Word in all its virtue, promise, direction and beauty, as it is written, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11). 

As I read in the Book of Deuteronomy, I read that Moses, the then current leader of the nation of Israel REMINDS God's people of what amazing things the Lord their God did for them. The promises the Lord their God made to them. The Law they were to uphold being a people freed, holy, lead and spoken to by God Himself prior to their triumphant arrival into their Promised Land.

The question begs: If God has done so many wonderful and miraculous things for us in our past, why would we be so cold to Him in our present?

Let us reflect on what God has done for us in the past and remain keeping our hope in the Lord our God, because of God's faithfulness to us, and of what He expects, let us remain with a listening ear and an obeying heart as the Word of God speaks to such hope in reflection, as it is written, 'Consider Him [being Jesus] who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.' (Hebrews 12:3 emphasis added). Let us reflect on who God is, for the Lord our God is to all of us; our Redeemer, our Savior, our Champion, our Guide and a Fortress of help when we are weak. He is the source of all blessings (see James 1:17). Let us continue to love the Lord our God, for it is love that binds all things in perfect unity. Amen.


Our reflection of God's faithfulness and mercy in times past will help us build an intimacy with Him in our present and for our future. It will renew our strengths, it will renew our commitments. It will renew our dedication. His faithfulness to us will stir our hearts and minds up and have us with a new sense of adoration towards our great God. Therefore, perpetually keep your hope in Him, lifting your eyes up to the high heavens in prayer and in praise to God, that He may hear you and shower you with His grace. 

What the Lord our God always does in our lives is because He loves us and desires for us to know Him and be known by Him. Amen.

God's love isn't something you buy for an occasion or think about every so often. His love is something you embrace in your lifetime and throughout eternity. God is the reason to rejoice in every season. Amen.

O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you.
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. 
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:1-3)

Praising is rejuvenation

In the mornings I am a slow riser. I remember sharing with my beautiful girl Mishel, how I would get up 2 hours before work (in which my job was about 5-10 minutes driving distance from my house) simply because I was a slow riser. I would wake up and sit at the corner of my bed getting my thoughts in order. Then I would start thanking God for my day, for giving me another day. Another day where I had a fresh start. Another day I could share with others the joy I felt. Another day I could help someone. Another day that God would share His heart with my heart. Another day I was blessed to have His Word, His promises, His blessings working for me against the enemy. 

I have realized although at times it's not the formula I follow, that if you thank God more than you ask God, you actually have a youthfulness to you. This is why I come to realize that God is the actual fountain of youth. How so? Through praising God for all He has done, all He is doing, and declaring according to His Word all that He will do, your ways of thought, speech and action are more lively. The Word of God says, '..be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.' 

So the question is, How do you renew your mind? By being in the Word of God, and praising God for all that He is doing by His Word. It's a simple formula. Praising! Now this morning I read a verse in a devotional that makes this simple formula for success a bit harder, and requires our faith to truly be shown. In Jonah 2:9, Jonah says these words to God, But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” In other words Jonah praised God even in the midst of his difficulties. We may find ourselves usually praising God in the good times, but praising Him in the bad times is far more defining of the faith we have in God. 

This page out of heart today will speak to such. I will share with you one moment in my life where God was praised in the bad and how it revolutionized my faith in Him despite a bleak outlook. In April of 2011 I was robbed just a block away from my aunts house. I was returning from one of my walks with the Lord, where I would walk and talk with God, praise Him for all that He is, and ask Him to show me new and amazing things while speaking life into me. I called this time with God, "Let's see what we see." As I was returning from walking I was listening to praise music and singing and just rejoicing in the Lord and from the corner of my eye I saw something approaching, and when I looked a car drove up alongside me and a man got out covered from head to toe so I couldn't see any distinguishing marks. The whole incident went by so fast and although a barrel of a gun was aimed at my face and the gun was placed so close to me that if I leaned forward an inch I would've touched the barrel I had such a tremendous peace over me, and although these next few words may seem ludicrous I believe that same peace was over the man who was robbing me as he wasn't shaking, angry, belligerent or any such manner known to be displayed from one who is robbing. We even exchanged words together in peace. He asked once I responded to his request to give him everything I had, if I had anything else, and although this may seem weird to you, I responded all I have left are my headphones and he responded back with okay and ran back to the getaway car.

For a split moment it was surreal, then I ran around the corner to my aunts house and explained to them what happened. As my family called the cops and we went through the motions, all I thought of was how amazing the peace I had felt. How amazing it was that the robber was calm and collected. Later on after the cops arrived and i gave my statement and all that took place as my family was upset and sharing words (we'll keep it like that), and I shared with them how I was protected by God and was in His peace, I walk away and felt an overwhelming desire to pray for the robber and his getaway partner. I thanked God that no one was hurt and I asked Him to intercede on the their behalf. I didn't want them hurt or remain doing such things. I wanted them to know who Jesus was and to be saved. Once I finished praying I couldn't help but be amazed with God. I was praising Him and thanking Him for His Word and once again allowing it to be my reality; my Truth! How so? The Word of God spoken in great fashion by our Lord and Savior in (Mathew 5:44) commands us in this manner, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

Trust me when I tell you that the next day I wasn't thinking like that. I didn't wish harm on my robber but I started to think of scenarios of how it could have gone differently. Everything from me being a hero and fighting him off and turning him into the authorities to my robber actually taking my life a block away from my safety. All in all that is a moment in my life that was profound for I experienced God's Holy Spirit praying what I couldn't pray and God's peace shining on me and the robber. I don't know what ever happened to the two individuals but it's was my prayer and still is my prayer that they would be saved and redeemed by the Blood of Jesus. Amen

If you have experienced such a peace of God, and have praised Him despite a bleak outlook I'd be honored if you would share your story with me and others.


As always...YOU ARE LOVED.