Give Me Liberty

John 8:36- “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!”

This week I have been enjoying a time of vacationing with my family in Virginia. Ironically, on Independence Day we were actually visiting the sites of colonial Virginia. One of those sites was the battlefield in Yorktown. And as we walked around the site there were people wearing colors and tees representative of the day. One man I passed had a tee shirt that read, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Of course, I knew it would be the title of my next blog.

Now if you remember your fifth grade history lessons at all, you may remember that Patrick Henry gave a speech in Richmond, where we actually vacationed, designed to cause those listening to him to understand his passion for independence and their need to prepare to bear arms against Great Britain. His parting words, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” are still remembered today.

As we have celebrated the 4th of July, the day the founding fathers of America signed the Declaration of Independence, we may have mixed feelings about when our freedom was actually acquired and what this day means to us. I for one am American and I am thankful to be American, although our history is shady at best, I am glad to be an American. I am not an African American, I am an American and I am Black! For another day!

This area also holds much history for our ancestors who were brought here as slaves. We visited Petersburg today, the site where the Civil War was finally ended, where Black soldiers fought alongside white soldiers for their freedom. My husband’s ancestor fought in this battle! Lol! We visited the entry point of the slaves in America and saw the auction block. Didn’t stop! I got the point!

As I saw that shirt I couldn’t help but think of my liberty in Christ Jesus! He said, in the verse above, if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed, and yet countless believers are not living in freedom. Yet Jesus Himself said that we are free indeed!

How can His word be true when our lives lie daily to that truth? I believe it is quite simple. We must believe that we are free!

Have you ever heard a story about an animal being trapped in a cage, or tied to a stake, or trapped in a jar who desperately tries over and over again to be freed to no avail? And then one day the animal just accepts its new reality and stay put, so that even when the restraints that held it in place is removed, it is still imprisoned in its mind? Well, I think that is the way with the vast majority of believers. They have been enslaved to the yoke of sin so long they have become comfortable with it and don’t know how to live without it. But you can have your liberty! Jesus said so!

Let’s say someone is bound by drugs. It’s all they ever knew. And when Jesus saves them and grants them their liberty, they return to the drugs. Or let’s say someone is bound by a lustful spirit, and Jesus comes into their life, the Great Liberator, but when they get alone, they still have those same desires to watch porn or to continue. in sin. They have been told that they are free, but they don’t believe that they are free. So even when the restraints of sin have been broken off of the lives of His people, if they don’t grasp or can’t grasp the truth of their freedom, nothing much has changed for their earthly situations in life.

It’s time to shout like Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty!” It has already been obtained for you, but you have to take it! Seize the moment! You have to understand that Christ has set you free and you are truly free! Then you live like it one day at a time with His amazing grace!!

Will it be easy? Not at first! But is it possible? Most definitely. I used to curse. A lot. Then one day I started to hungering for God like never before. I was a believer but I had a dirty mouth. I read the scripture about bitter and sweet water doesn’t come out of the same fountain (James 3:11). I decided I needed to be cleansed and free from that. After surrendering it over to the Lord in prayer, I got up determined my mouth would be clean. And you know what, it was! Overnight! No slips and dips, just free from a foul mouth.

Will it be that way for every one in every situation? No! I am still dying to my flesh in some other areas. But because I know I am to be free, I will have my liberty! The chains of darkness have been broken off my life and the lives of every believer, but we have to walk it out agreeing with Jesus that we are free indeed! Go declare your spiritual freedom as loudly as you declared your national freedom and then go and live it with His unlimited grace. Wonderful Jesus!

Life After Death

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

In my previous blog I wrote about the need to die to hypocrisy. The same hypocrisy that Paul addressed when he spoke to Peter and the other Messianic Believers of his day. The same hypocrisy that needs to be addressed in us all! But there is so much more we die to!

We not only die to our old ways of thinking, behaving and acting, but we die to our sin. Paul knew that, and so did the others. I didn’t address it because he was talking to believers and that was understood. His point in this verse is that when they died to their sins, they died to the law and to their traditions. And it was worth it!

But today I want to address life after death!

Nevertheless, I live!” Paul has just mentioned the effects of his death by crucifixion, but he doesn’t stop there. He lets us know that he has been raised from that spiritual crucifixion to being very much alive. Paul could have just as easily said, “I have a new way of living since I died to my old way of living and it is much better than that old life I had because I am truly alive!”

If you know anything about Saul of Tarsus, then you know that he was a busy man for the Sanhedrin and the cause of Judaism. As a young man he was zealous for God without any spiritual revelation of his knowledge. He went about gathering Believers and turning them over to be killed because he felt they were a bunch of heresy practicing lunatics! In Acts, Luke makes a point of letting us know that Paul was there when Stephen was martyred and was instrumental in his death! So Paul had a full and busy life, yet he recognized it was life he had to die to in order to live!

“Yet not I, but Christ lives in me!” However, Paul is saying, I am not alive because of laws, traditions, and hypocrisy, but because Christ lives in me. By now I am sure the Jewish believers are squirming in their seats! Paul reminds them all, life didn’t begin for any of them until Christ came to live in them. Jew and Gentile both lay claim to same thing “salvation by faith in Jesus Christ”, because if they don’t, they are yet not living. True life springs forth from the life of Christ that radiates from the inside to the outside. It did then, and it does now.

Jesus introduced this concept when He made the statement, “The thief comes but to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I come that you may have life, and that more abundantly!” (John 10:10)

I was just reminded of something that happened to me many years ago. We went to pick up a young lady for church services who lived in the projects of Chicago. My husband drove me there, but on the way he made a statement about her being in the tallest building without a working elevator in it, living on the top floor. I told him to stop it! But sure enough, it turned out to be true. He then decided that the girls and I should go back to the van and wait for him because he didn’t want us in that building.

As I was headed back to the van, I saw four young men headed towards us and I knew by the Spirit of God that they were up to no good. I put my daughters in the van quickly, locked the door and turned to face them.

The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Have you heard that Jesus came to give you life and that more abundantly?” It stopped them in their tracks! They surely was not expecting that! As I began to share the gospel, that saved me from being robbed or something, three of them walked away and the fourth one prayed the prayer for salvation with me! Glory to God!! If that young man was sincere, he died to his sinful ways that he came to assault me with and walked over to new life in Christ!!! And when my husband came back down he reported that the young lady was not there and he knew she had probably given me the wrong address to begin with. But someone still got saved that day!!

Paul reminded Peter of this new life and that there was so much more to it than being one way with the Jewish brethren and another way with the Gentile brothers. He reminded Peter that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and Life and that no one comes to the Father, but through Him!” And since that had happened with him and with the the Galatians, he should have known better. Abundant life in Jesus is not through our contacts, our heritage, our family, our works, or our church affiliation…only through Him and in Him!

Life after death!! That is the greatest and most powerful testimony any of us can have! And it can be yours today if you have not been crucified with Him. Ask Him in today that you may be crucified to your death and alive in Him. Say this simple prayer: “Father God, I recognize that I have never given my life and my heart to you. Today I recognize I am in need of your salvation. I believe in You, God! And more importantly, I believe that Jesus is Your Son, who came to earth in the flesh and died on the cross for my sins. That He rose again from physical death and is alive in You. Forgive me of my arrogance of thinking that I could live my life without You. I want Him to be alive in me. Jesus come into my life today. Change it! Crucify the old man in me and make me alive in You! Then lead me where I can learn more about You so that our relationship can grow and I can experience life more abundantly. In Your Name I pray! Amen”

Well, if you have prayed this prayer today, I welcome you into the family of God. We are family!! Praise God for another member being ingrafted in the family! One last thing— if you have prayed this prayer today, please leave me a comment so that I can begin praying for you that Christ will be formed in you and also rejoice in this great salvation! You have just experience life after death! Wonderful Jesus!

Are You a Hypocrite?

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

The goal of my life is to live it according to this verse. When Paul said this to Peter, he said a mouthful and I have been impacted by it in such a way that I want it said of me, Galatians 2:20 encapsulates her life.

Paul and Peter were fellowshipping with the Gentiles when some Jewish brethren from James arrived. Peter, a leader in the church, removed himself from the mix fearing criticism, causing other Jews, including Barnabas, to do the same. Paul was so outdone that he felt a need to address the situation. So he called Peter out in front of everybody.

Paul begins by reminding the Jewish believers of the truth that when they became believers, the law and its code of separation from others went out the door and was no longer the way they should live. The Bible actually refers to this type of behavior in the New Testament as hypocrisy.

Let me just stop and say that I believe that God told the Jewish nation to stay separate from the other nations because they didn’t have the power to live for Him yet, while being amongst them. In other words, it wasn’t until they accepted Jesus as Savior and were filled with the Holy Spirit that the power to intermingle with unbelievers were made available to them. You can see throughout scriptures that they acclimated to every culture they lived near. So God was trying to keep them from straying from Him, while at the same time teaching them that the law was insufficient in helping them to do so! Now Paul is reminding Peter and the other Jewish believers that in light of this truth, what they had done was hypocritical.

Paul then comes to this life changing statement of faith! He says “I have been crucified with Christ!” This is powerful! Don’t miss it! Paul is saying, I have laid all of that stuff on the cross with Jesus. All of my elitist attitudes have died. All of my old ways of thinking have died. My old ways of living have died. All of my allegiance to separatism of the law has died! All of it!

There is so much in this verse! As I was meditating on it I had to really think about my life. Have I truly died to everything associated with the “old man” and its nature? Yes, I have! It is written, “old things have passed away, behold all things are new!” But it is up to me and up to you to live accordingly! As it was up to Peter and to Barnabas! They too had died to their old man, but when placed in certain situations, the old man was resurrected.

Peter knew this better than Paul did. Or he should have. After all, it was Peter whom God placed in a trance and commanded that he eat the unclean beasts. Peter then told God that he wasn’t going to and he never had eaten anything unclean or uncommon. Then God responded to him, “Don’t call common what I have cleaned!” (Acts 10). I thought it interesting that Peter had just raised Dorcas from the dead and seen a mighty move of God and now he was telling the Lord what he wasn’t going to do! Just a note to remind you that even when He uses us powerfully, we can still do and say some dumb things!!

I’m not going to go where you I know I can go with this. Suffice it to say, there is no place for this type of attitude in the body of Christ. It was not acceptable then and it isn’t acceptable now. Paul reminded Peter, and I will remind myself and you, hypocrisy is harmful to the body! Especially from leadership! Leaders are leaders because others follow them. Right or wrong! You don’t want to be responsible for leading others into the ditch!

If you are a leader in your church and you have felt above others, or selectively have fellowship with others in the faith, or have totally not embraced others because they are different, you are a hypocrite! If you, as a member of the Body of Christ, have ever been guilty of similar behavior like Peter’s or Barnabas, you are a hypocrite! Stop it!

Might I remind you that Jesus died for us all! He cleansed us all! He doesn’t have one cleansing for the Jew and one for the Gentile. He doens’t have one cleansing for the blacks and one for everybody else. He doesn’t have one cleansing for men and one for women. He doesn’t have one cleansing for Baptists and one for Pentecostals. No!!!!!! If you are born of the Spirit of the Living God, then you have had the same Blood washing that all the rest of the believers have had. And that’s the gospel truth!!

I told you that there is a lot packed in this verse! I didn’t realize that I would only be able to address this first part. If you want to know what else I have to say on the rest of this verse you will just have to return to my blog to view it. Until then, don’t be a hypocrite! Wonderful Jesus!!

Faith is a Time Changer!

John 2:3-4 – And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

I was sitting in Sunday School this morning when we were discussing the miracle of the water being turned into wine. During the discussion, different opinions were being given about why did Jesus say it wasn’t His hour and yet Mary told them to do whatever He said? As we were sitting there I heard the Spirit of God share something with me.

Jesus was at the wedding feast with His family and disciples. The wine runs out and Mary, His mother, comes to Him and makes Him aware of the situation. Mary knows that she is talking to the Son of God, One who is capable of doing miracles. We can surmise all day long about maybe God gave her a dream, maybe He had already done a miracle, or it really was His time and she knew it; but scripture tells us that Jesus said it was not yet His time.

So how did Mary get her son to perform a miracle when it wasn’t His time? Her faith! Mary very confidently and filled with faith looked to the servants and said, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” And at that moment, Jesus recognized her faith filled words and responded, because He always responds to faith.

We see this happen when the Syro-Phoenician woman goes to Jesus on behalf of her daughter who had an unclean spirit. In Mark 7, starting at verse 24 we can read the account of what happened. She was a Gentile and she wanted healing for her daughter because she had heard about Jesus. Jesus tells the woman that the children must be fed first, meaning this was the time for the Jewish people, not the Gentile people. He even called the Gentiles dogs. But this woman was not to be deterred by the fact that she was a Gentile and it wasn’t her time. She responded in faith that even the dogs eat the crumbs from the children’s table. In other words, she wasn’t looking to be denied!

I hadn’t seen this before, but I saw it today just as clearly as if Jesus Himself had explained it to me. Her faith caused Jesus to respond even though it wasn’t His time to heal the Gentile girl. That was Paul’s assignment!

The Bible establishes a truth on the grounds of two or three witnesses, so I will add an Old Testament witness.

Look at the life of David. He was an Old Covenant man with a New Covenant experience. He had the Spirit of God with Him while others experienced the Spirit of God when God needed them to do something. He initiated worship to the King, while others waited for those who served in the temple to lead them into worship. He had a personal relationship with God when it had’t even be thought to be possible. David’s faith pulled the God of the New Testament into his Old Testament life. God loved David and David lived as if he knew it!

You may be saying at this point, okay, that’s fine, but what is the relevance? The point is simple, Jesus is greatly moved by faith and not by timing. A lot of the time, we place Jesus within the confines of time and say it’s not my time, it’s not your season, or whatever! But Jesus, while working within the timeframe given Him, can be moved upon by faith to grant you what you need now even if it is scheduled for a later time in life.

I know that there are some fixed times in the Spirit realm and in Scriptures, but faith causes God to shift the calendar of events on our behalf. I thought that was news worth sharing! Don’t let time pass you by waiting on the right time when scriptures say, “Now faith is!” Believe He’ll do it today! Wonderful Jesus!

Shipwrecked Faith

1 Timothy 1:18-19- “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to faith.”

I thought about this verse this week and thought I would use it in my blog this week.

When I think of shipwrecked faith, I immediately think of someone who believed God for something and became so discouraged after a time that they lose all hope of ever seeing it come to pass. Maybe that has been or is you! I want to share something with you today!

What is Paul telling Timothy? First, Paul tells him to recall to mind the prophecies that were spoken over him. Most of us hear a prophecy, get excited over it, but if it doesn’t happen within a certain timeframe we forget it or say it wasn’t God. But Paul is telling Timothy, “you have to keep recalling it!” What has been spoken over you about your life, your family, your ministry, your health that has encouraged you but hasn’t come to pass yet? Start rehearsing it!

Why? Because Paul said in rehearing it you might fight the battle well. What battle you might ask? The battle that the enemy is going to wage in your life and your mind to negate the prophetic word over you. Remember scripture teach us that the enemy comes for the word! (Mark 4:15) So you have to lay spiritual hold of the word and receive it and rehearse because the devil, your adversary will come to steal it.

Then Paul says, hold on to your faith and a good conscience. I have heard this type of faith described as bulldog faith. Have you ever seen a bulldog get something in his mouth? Then someone come along and try and take it? Well, if you haven’t you should YouTube it. When a bulldog has something in his mouth, his intent is to keep it and so he latches on to it making it nearly impossible for someone to take it from him. That’s the faith Paul is talking about. A faith that says I absolutely am not letting go of this word from God that He spoke to me through His servant! Holding on is not passive, but aggressive. Who holds on to a ledge passively? Who holds on to a lifeline passively? No one who wants to live!

What’s a good conscience? I like to call it, keeping your heart right! A faith battle is a battle in your mind and in your spirit. If you allow your conscience to become polluted, it pollutes your faith. So you have to keep your heart right during the process as you hold on to faith. They go hand in hand.

My husband and I were recently talking about offense. He’s reading Bevere’s book, “The Bait of Satan” and so we were discussing offenses. And as we were doing so he shared that people in offense blame others for their situations. “This person is holding me back!” “I could’ve been great if this person would have helped me,” and so forth and so on. But this is where many lose the battle. Allowing the lies of the enemy to enter their hearts and get into the blame game instead of trusting God.

Years ago I was working in a school when my principal began asking me to help with different things in the building. After a couple years she needed an assistant principal. Well, I wasn’t sure I wanted the position but I was sure I wanted to be asked. But I wasn’t. As a matter of fact I was disappointed when I wasn’t. For about 20 seconds! Then the Lord spoke to me, “Promotion comes from the Lord” and I knew He was saying this was not mine to have. So I immediately released it. When others brought it up to me, I refused to speak negatively about her choice and worked to continue my assistance. I could’ve become angry and bitter over it, but God gave me a word and I trust it. Even these years later when I have still not be promoted in the natural. He later told me that my promotion was approved and so, I just keep reminding myself of that. It is so!

Paul let Timothy know that when this advice is rejected people tend to become shipwrecked in their faith. They get to a point where they become embittered from some perceived wrong from God and they lose faith. Their hopes are dashed upon the rocks of disappointment, frustration, and weariness. And before long, shipwreck has occurred!

The promised healing that takes too long! The promised husband that seems to never cross your path! The promised promotion that keeps going to someone else! The promised provision that never appeared and now you are in bankruptcy. All things that are real and important and pressing in your life but didn’t happen and now you feel as if God has failed you, lied to you, abandoned you! Well, He hasn’t!

He is faithful! His word is true! And He is not the problem! Shipwrecked faith is the problem. Somewhere along the route of life you stop believing the promise or stopped holding on to your faith, or stopped having a good conscience and that is why your faith is shipwrecked. Paul never told Timothy that faith becomes shipwrecked because God delays, but because we don’t hold on to our faith, keeping our hearts right and rehearsing or confessing the word He gave to us!

If you are feeling like you are shipwrecked or heading in that direction, change the course of your faith by following Paul’s advice to Timothy! Don’t become a statistic of discouragement, become a bulldog of faith and stay on course! God will come through for you! Wonderful Jesus!

Leave the Water pot!

John 4:28-29- “The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and Smith to the men, ‘Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever i did: is not this the Christ?'”

Today, I had a lot planned for my evening. But as I was cooking dinner, I got a call from my assistant pastor asking me to accompany her to visit a dear sister in the Lord. Well, I thought a quick visit wouldn’t throw me off too much and I said yes. But it ended up being a much longer visit. In the end, I was more concerned about my sister in the Lord, than my busy schedule and just went with the flow of what God was doing. As I got in my car, the Spirit of God said to my spirit, “sometimes you have to leave the water pot!” I knew exactly what He was saying. And I knew I wanted to share it!

In this testimony of the Samaritan woman at the well, she had an encounter with Jesus! Jesus began the conversation by asking for water. Now if you are familiar with this encounter, then you know what happened. But that’s not my point. Yet!

I want to focus on this woman for a minute. She has come to the well to get her water for the day. If we understand biblical times, the women gathered at the well to get their water. But not this woman. She came when she thought it most likely that no one would be there. Not because she was shy, but because she was not a woman loved in the community, but one of a bad reputation.

Jesus reveals her life to her and to us when He mentions her husbands. And the fact that she was living with a man at that time, made it even less likely that the “good women” of Samaria would want to be bothered with her. But she needed that water!

Water was precious then, and going to the well to get it was her responsibility. I am pretty sure she needed water to drink, water to cook, to wash her body, to clean her clothes, and every thing else that she needed to do. And even though she didn’t have a husband, she did have a man she was living with, and he needed water too. So here she is at the well coming to take care of something that was an important part of her day-getting the water.

But after her encounter with Jesus, she got so excited that she knew she had to let the townspeople know. She got so excited she left the water pot because what she needed to do in town became more important than getting water. So when the Holy Spirit spoke this to my spirit, I knew He was reminding me that what I did was more important than what I had to do!! Wow! I needed that reminder today!

How about you? Do you need a reminder to leave the water pot in your life? What has you so busy and so consumed that you haven’t taken or haven’t felt like you could take the time to be a blessing to someone for the King? Is it your job? Is it your family? Or maybe your project, your school? Whatever it is, Jesus understands the importance of what you have to do, just as with this woman. But He stopped her in the middle of her responsibility and asked her to offer that water over to Him. In return, He promised her living water. She was so excited to meet the Messiah and have Him speak into her life, that her natural need took a backseat to her spiritual need!

I encourage you today to allow the spiritual things in life to overtake the natural things in life when He asks it of you. You will never regret it! The Samaritan woman left the pot but saw her entire city come to the Messiah! I left my water pot and heard the Lord in essence say, “Well done!” Just imagine what leaving your waterpot behind today could do for you! Wonderful Jesus!

Teach Them!

Matthew 28:19-20- “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

For me, teaching has become my life. I have been teaching elementary school for the past 14 years, and I have been teaching in the church since I was a teenager in our Methodist Church. As a matter of fact, my greatest joy in life comes from teaching the word of God.

Of course, Jesus spent most of His ministry teaching the people. He taught in the synagogue, He taught on the mountaintop, He taught in the city, and in the fields; and anywhere else He had an audience. So I am honored to do the same ministry as my Savior.

In the above verse Jesus is speaking, and He said “teach all nations”. Why teaching? Years ago I did a Sunday School teachers’ training session on the purpose of the teaching ministry of the church. I called these trainings, professional development because I saw myself developing my team to become the best they could become as teachers.

During this particular session we discussed the power of teaching. When teaching is just about giving information, it doesn’t stick. Not in my elementary classroom, and not in a church. However, in the school room the highest level of learning is about application (put something into action; applying knowledge) But in the church, effective teachers, teach for transformation (a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance).

Jesus wanted people to be taught all over the world how to observe all things that was commanded of them. Another way to say it is, how to obey Him. No one is born in the world with the ability to just obey. They are taught to obey. When people are born in the kingdom, they have to be taught to obey, that their lives will be transformed.

Now, don’t go thinking I am talking about a rules and consequence gospel. No! But I am talking about the fact that if you are born again, it’s only your spirit that is born again. The will, the emotions, your soulish realm has to be taught how to react to the world around you and even to the God you have surrendered to as He commanded.

When I was a young child and a believer, I would read the word but I didn’t know that I had to study the word. I actually could quote 2 Timothy 2:15. Learned it in VBS. But I didn’t realize that reading the Bible and studying the Bible was not the same. I had to be taught that. It transformed my life.

I didn’t know about tithing. I had to be taught from the word of God that I should tithe. Once I was shown in the word the reason I should tithe, I jumped right on it. It transformed my life. Some ministers like to use scare tactics to get people to live biblical lives, but if we teach new converts and old pew warmers what the word really says, they will be transformed by the power of His word.

Paul said it like this, “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” News flash! The renewing of your mind comes from being taught the word of God. As you are taught the word of God and are receptive to what it teaches you about life, transformation is inevitable.

I was a believer. I loved Jesus. But it wasn’t until I was taught about the baptism in the Holy Spirit that I understood it and desired that experience! Oh but when I found out! You guessed it, it transformed my life!

You see, Jesus wasn’t interested then, in just us having experiences in Him for He knew that without the understanding of what was happening we couldn’t maintain what He was giving to us. Remember the proverb, “You can give the man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, you can teach the man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime”? That’s transformation!! The man went from a beggar to a provider as a result of teaching!

So Jesus said to “teach them to be disciples” because just getting them saved isn’t enough. They need to know what it means to be a disciple and what it looks like. They will only get this through teaching and once they get it, transformation will take place.

Teaching is about action. So when something is not lining up with the kingdom of God, just know that you need to get some teaching on the matter. And as you understand it, you will be renewed in your mind and on the way to transformation. Don’t just get any teaching, get teaching that comes from the word of God through an anointed teacher of the word of God. Allow God the pleasure of taking the life you are living and transforming it into the Life He is giving! Go get some teaching!! Wonderful Jesus!

A Canopy of Glory

Isaiah 4:5-6- “And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and rain.” KJV

I was reading in the book of Isaiah, visiting a beloved friend, when I read this verse. Isaiah was one who understood God. He understood His majesty, His heart, His plans, His purpose, His words, His desire to know us, His desire to be known by us. He understood God. I have been known to say, “If you want to understand Jesus, read the gospel of John; but if you want to understand God, read the book of Isaiah. Sometimes I just want to read about the One who is the Lord of Glory! And tonight I want to talk a little about that glory!

The word “canopy” can be defined as “a protective covering”, and for my blog tonight, it’s the one I want to use.

In the above chapter, Isaiah is talking to Jerusalem of a time when they will be in utter desperation because of the hard times that they will experience. Hard times brought on by their sins. But then he goes on to write that the time will come when God will bring a cleansing to His people. And when they are cleansed they will be His holy people.

Now before I go any further, let me remind you that if you have been washed by the Blood of Jesus and your sins have been forgiven that you are His holy people. Peter said it like this, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you our of darkness into His marvelous light.” So now this prophetic word that Isaiah spoke to the people of Jerusalem now becomes a prophetic word for the believer.

Isaiah prophesied, that once you were made holy, the land would produce for you it’s best. And if that is not enough, Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would place a canopy (a protective covering) of His glory over His people- a cloud by day and a fire by night!

Now where have we seen this before? When the children of Israel left Egypt for the Promised Land. So here we see the Lord of Glory again promising that His Glory would be before us protecting us as it did the children of Israel! This is awesome news!

Some shocking news have come across my ears and some unusual things have been happening in the world today; and if we are not careful, fear will grip our hearts. But the prophet Isaiah encourages us with these words that once again, His glory will go before us and be behind us, and He will place a canopy of protection over us! He promises to be our shelter, our protection from the storm and rain, and even from the heat. This is wonderful news, from a wonderful savior, for His people. It was relevant then and it is surely relevant now! Thank God for His canopy of glory that is over you! Wonderful Jesus!

Heroes of Freedom!

Hebrews 11: 32-33- And what shall I say more? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeion, and of Barack, and of Samson, and of Jephtae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions…

Today is Memorial Day. A time set aside when we remember the sacrifices that our countrymen made in service for our freedom. And for those of us who are of African descent, it should hold an even greater significance since it was started after the Civil War in honor of those who fought to unify our nation and end slavery.

I’ve been teaching on the Civil War in the past few weeks. During this time I have tried to instill in my young learners an appreciation for all that the war accomplished for our ancestors, and therefore, for us. I asked them this question: Where do you think we would be if the nation had never dealt with the issue of slavery? Of course, an even greater question today is, “where would we be if those who fought for the country to be united and then “threw” slavery in to keep the slaves from fighting with the South had decided not to fight? I’m so thankful they did. For that led us to the road to freedom. And right after this war, General John Logan called for a nationwide Decoration Day to honor fallen soldiers, which led to Memorial Day.

So, I can’t personally thank them, they have departed. But I can thank God that one day someone decided that slavery needed to end and put their life and all they had on the line to see it come to an end. I thank Him for the generals, the soldiers, the medics, the infantry, and all those involved. And then I thank Him for those who fought and died in every war since then so that we can live in the freedom we have come to love. Those who served in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guards are all to be remembered for their patriotic service to our nation. America doesn’t always shine as beautiful as it could, but it is truly the home of the brave and the free and I am glad to be a citizen.

Memorial Day also causes me to think of those who died in the faith for the King of Kings to promote and establish His kingdom. They saw the world in which they lived and then they believed God to help them to live victoriously in it.

They walked out their faith, they stood against demonic forces, they were delivered from the hand of the enemy and some died before seeing the promise come into manifestation. But we see them as our heroes of faith! Those who dared to trust God in the midst of situations that don’t even seem real, and yet they prevailed because of Him.

As I walked today and thought about those who died that I might live, of course I thought of my greatest hero, Jesus! And then the song came to my mind, “Oh happy day! When Jesus washed my sins away!” He had to die and get up out of the grave for that to happen. And He is alive! But He did die for my freedom and I honor Him most of all!

Before you close your eyes and end this day, thank God for His freedom, bought by the precious Blood of Jesus! Then thank Him for your physical freedom, bought by the life blood of so many men and women who sacrificed their lives that ours might be free. God bless you this Memorial Day! Honor and remember! Wonderful Jesus!!

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Proverbs 18:21 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

When I was in elementary school, I had a teacher that introduced to our class the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is the story that she shared with us:

“In the story, Oedipus’ father Laius is warned that one day his son will kill him. To avoid meeting this fate, he abandons the child and leaves him to die. However, Oedipus was found and raised by foster parents, under the assumption that they were his real parents. One day, he is also confronted with a dire warning—that he will kill his father and marry his widowed mother. Of course, Oedipus has no wish to kill the man he believes is his father or marry the woman he believes is his mother, so he abandons his home and foster parents and heads off to the city.

In the city, he meets a stranger and ends up in a fight with him. Once Oedipus kills the strange man, he marries his widow. He later learns that the man he killed was his actual father and that his new bride is actually his mother. By trying to avoid fate, both Laius and Oedipus ensured that the prophecy would manifest.” (Taken from positivepsychologyprogram.com)

Her point to us was, if you believe that you will be successful, you will be. If you believe that you will fail, guess what, you will!

The amazing thing about this little Greek tale, is that it is biblically sound. The principal in the word is “you can have what you say!” In Proverbs the above verse states, “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” If you speak death over yourself or your situation, you will die, it will die; just as surely if you speak life over yourself or your situation, you will live or it will live.

In spite of the fact that I know this on the psychological level to be true, and on the spiritual level to be equally true, I am still guilty of speaking negative things over myself. For example: I have actually gone to work and on my way decreed that I was going to have a challenging day with the students. You’ve guessed it! I did! And I have also gone to work declaring “this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!” And guess what, I had a wonderful day!!

My pastor has been preaching a series of messages on our words and I have definitely needed the reminder to watch my words. But being human, I don’t always do it. It is an area that I need God’s help with regularly!

I don’t want to go through life on a seesaw. Good days, bad days, mediocre days, don’t know how to define this day. I know that ultimately my day isn’t based on the people around me, it’s based on my words and my expectations of the people around me. So if I say negative things or even expect negative things, I will receive what I believe. Jesus said it like this:

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Mark 11:23

In other words, whatever we believe about the things in our lives, and say about those things, that is what we will get. The good, the bad, and the ugly! I am so grateful for the word of God reminding me that my words are powerful. They can keep me in bondage, lack and fear, or they can keep me in freedom, hope, love, and prosperity.

My words got me saved. I had to confess that Jesus was Lord and believe that in my heart. My words got me married, I had to believe what God told me about about marrying an officer in the navy and I just kept saying it. My words have gotten me healed, as I have believed that by His stripes I was healed and I spoke it over my body. I’ll give you an example:

One morning I was rushing to the car because I was running a little late. As I was going out the door I fell on my concrete steps, knees first. Immediately I cried out, “Devil you are a liar! I am not receiving any pain in Jesus’ name and I am going to work pain free and will remain pain free!” (Well, these may not have been my actual words but they are close!) Sure enough, I got in that car, drove to work, and I experienced zero pain that day and non afterwards!

I am having a wonderful 2019! Everything in my world isn’t wonderful, but I am still having a wonderful 2019, because it is what I believe and what I am saying. Doors of opportunities are opening to me like never before! I am experiencing break through in finances, ministry, and my professional life. My home is blessed, my family is blessed, and no weapon formed against us can prosper.

I am truly fulfilling the prophecies over my life. I lay hands on the sick and they recover. I am the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. The Holy Spirit manifests when I teach and preach the word! I am leading more people to the Lord this year than ever before and will continue to do so!!

No sickness, no depression, no lack, no hindrances, no discouragement will be effective in my life because I will fulfill not only all the prophecies I say, but every single one that the Lord has spoken to me, over me and about me in Jesus’ name!! Amen and amen!!

So what are you saying over yourself this year? If you don’t like what you have experienced thus far, check out what you are saying, and reverse it, because God has some amazing things in store for you, and He doesn’t want you to miss out on a single one!

Get busy fulfilling those prophecies that He has spoken over you by agreeing with Him and declaring them over yourself! Wonderful Jesus!!