Fri, May 30th - 12:53PM

Out of the abundance of the Heart!

Out of the abundance of the Heart!

Luke 6:45:
⁴⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

(NLT) 2 Corinthians 10:5:
⁵ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

Matthew 12:36 (Whole Chapter)
And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.

What is stored in your heart?  We all like to think that we are good people.  Some of us are even honest enough to say that we are not perfect.  But the truth of the matter is, what are we putting into our vessels?  What do we do in the morning when we wake up?  What do we listen to on the way to work or when we are getting the children ready for school?  What conversations are we taking part in? What do we allow ourselves to think about throughout the day?  What do we listen to while we work?  What do we listen to on the way home from work or when we are driving to and from our destinations?  What are we watching on TV?

All of this is being deposited into our spirit! 

Since we are going to give an account for every idle word we speak then wouldn’t it benefit us to be more cautious of what we listen to, watch and read?

What goes to the brain is what we see, hear and listen to.  What we see, hear and listen to is processed and most times becomes what we think, feel and talk about. 

We want all of these things from God.  We want to live right.  We want to talk right.  We want to do His will.  But, do we want to discipline ourselves?  Do we want to fast and pray?  Do we want to go to church?  Do want to go to bible study?  Do we want to choose different friends?  Do we want to change our lifestyle at all?  Do we really understand that we are trading in one way of life for another and as we release our old habits and ways they will be replaced with New Kingdom ways?  Why can't we seem to get excited about that?

John 14:24 (Whole Chapter)
He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

John 14:21 (Whole Chapter)
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

¹⁷"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven

John 3

¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.^{[g] 19}This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

God did not send Jesus to condemn us because we were already condemned to death.  But He loved us so much that He has given us a chance through Christ to be delivered.  But the other part of that is to WALK in deliverance.  Live like we believe.  Allow the Holy Spirit to live in you.  We received the Good News, but what do we do with it?  It’s one thing to hear it and speak it but do we live it? 

We want to have the Gift without living the life and God is not pleased with that.  We are blessed because God is a forgiving God, He is merciful, His love is unconditional but He is a Just God.  EVERYTHING in our lives has to line up with the fact that we believe that Jesus died for our sins, and that we believe He loosed us from the bondage of sin and gives us a chance to have everlasting life.  And believe this:  Whatever is in our heart is shown in what we say and do.

Lord let us repent and make the necessary changes and where we lack the strength, please give us the strength.  We can’t do it without you, Lord.  And thank you for what you have already done in us, thank you for your grace and mercy.  Lord we love you.  Amen and amen!

Wed, May 28th - 1:28PM

Daily living

^{Colossians 3}

¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your^[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

    ⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.^{[b] 7}You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

    ¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

    ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Once we are born again in Christ, it becomes a daily walk.  No matter how much we study, pray, fast, meditate on the word, minister to others; we are always subject to sin.  We have to remember to sacrifice daily, take a daily self inventory, die daily to our old ways and live only for God’s purpose.  If we get to a place were we look at people and think, “they are not as saved”, then you we still have for to learn and room to grow.  That is not how Jesus lived and that should not be how we live.

We are supposed to share the Good News.  We are supposed to learn and teach.  We are supposed to talk about God and who He is and what He has done in our lives.  But, be careful that you are not just speaking just so the person can know how saved you are.  For example: you meet some one or you see an old friend and every other word is God- you know what I mean.  People will know you just by the way you talk, walk, dress, live etc. The presence of the Holy Spirit in you will tell that person who or whose you are before you even speak.  A child of God won’t look right when they are drinking, smoking, cussing, partying-you name it.  A worldly person will know, your old friends will see.  The only people that may have doubts are the Christians-we are always looking for a flaw in the next Christian instead of praying for each other.  Let’s be careful and live Holy!

God Bless!

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Thu, May 22nd - 11:43PM

Perseverance through God’s promise

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. (Read 1 Samuel 16:6)  The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do!  People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”

1 Samuel 16:13

So David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it on David’s head.  And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him from that day on.

2 Samuel5:3-5

So there at Hebron, David made a covenant with the leaders of Israel before the Lord.  And they anointed him king of Israel.

David was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned forty years in all.  He had reined over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

We like to hear about the promises of God but somewhere along the line we miss the fact that not all of God’s promises come over night. 

God promised Israel that they would go to the Promise Land Yet:

Deuteronomy 2:7 (Remembering Israel’s Wanderings)

The Lord you God has blessed everything you have done and has watched your every step through this great wilderness.  During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you and provided for you every need so that you lacked nothing.

I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that David could not have imagined that he would be running for his life for years before he was to become king. 

What about the Israelites?  They actually saw the Promise Land that was promised to them but because they rebelled against God (in this case, out of fear the Israelites disobeyed God’s command to Go up and take possession of land)  that generation outside of a few were not allowed to enter the Promise Land. 

Some of our promises take time to come to pass for many reasons from we are not ready for the blessing to it’s just not the time or we are holding the promises up ourselves. 

Single ladies: Realize that you have to build a true relationship with God first before trying to build it with a mate.  It can be done but, that’s the hard way.  We make a lot of bad choices because we fear being alone.  We are scared that if we wait for God we may not get what we want at that moment.  Ladies WAIT on the Lord and be obedient, even if it’s not what your flesh wants.  You will save yourself a lot of heartache.

Married ladies:  You had your chance to do it God’s way and you chose to do it your way.  Now it’s time to trust God.  Now it’s time to put away the fear and know that God is with you.  Pray, Pray, Pray over your husband.  You were an individual before marriage, now you are one with your husband.  Any attack on him is an attack on you.  Ask God to open your eyes to the spiritual warfare that is taken place in your marriage.  (If you have an abusive husband separate (not divorce) and get help, both of you!), open your eyes and ask yourself: when I married him was I being obedient to God? Was he being obedient to God?  Did we pray about this first? Or did we rush through the marriage counseling (if any) just so we could have it our way?  All of the things we’ve said to each other.  All of the things we’ve done.  “I can’t stand him”.  “I can’t do this anymore” (I feel that way sometimes).  Understand that marriage is ordained by God.  From the first moment you chose not to place God (Intentionally or unintentionally) at the head of that relationship from the beginning, you allowed Satan to have access to your relationship.  See it for what it is?  Ask God for forgiveness, repent, forgive husband and forgive yourself.  Turn to God and say:  Lord this marriage is yours, your will be done.  Save our marriage.  And guess what, for a period of time (short or long) your husband may not be on that same page, but YOU have been renewed, which means you know better and he doesn’t.  It will be up to you for a while to get things on the right path.  You will feel vulnerable; he may do and say some things that you will not like.  Pray!  As long as your vessel is not being feed with Godly things you will be open for the enemy’s attacks.  Now that you are a child of God, His daughter, His blessed and highly favored, DO NOT FEAR! You will receive peace and God willing a renewed marriage.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper”

1 Peter 3:4

Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  For this is the way the holy woman of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. ..If you do what is right and do not give way to fear.  

1 Corinthians 7:13

And if a woman has husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live, she must not divorce him.  For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife…

Remember this: your household is blessed because you are blessed.  You are protected.  Everything that God have for you beats anything you thing you deserve here on earth!

I have a thorn in my side just as Paul did.  It’s hard to change during a situation, this is why I stress to any unmarried young lady I meet to get it together before marriage.  I thank God for opening my eyes to the truth and I pray a lot that God continues to renew my mind, heart, and spirit.  God is still doing a work in me but, I continue to PUSH and not give up (even when I want to-when I feel that way I remind myself that God made me a promise concerning my husband, who will I believe him or the enemy).  I am not perfect but, I can say that as much as I’ve grown into the woman God called me to be, my husband is also growing. 

Persevere through the Promise.  You may be giving up right at the edge of a break through.  There is always turbulence before going to the next level!

God bless!

Wed, May 21st - 10:16PM

Hypocrites take a self inventory

Hypocrites take a self inventory

Matthew 23:13-15

How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you won’t let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won’t go in yourselves.  Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and Pharisees.  For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are.

When I read this, I said Whoa! Strong words but true. 

The teachers of religious law and Pharisees were well learned in the scriptures and made sure everyone followed them to a tee, so well that they forgot to follow the scriptures themselves.

It is so easy to do.  You spend a lot of time researching the scriptures, knowing them backwards and forwards, trying to teach and lead others.  And because you are in this position you sometimes lose sight of the fact that you are not done growing yet yourself.  Whether you say it or not, has it really reached your heart.

Here, Jesus pointed out how hypocritical the leaders were.  How can you lead someone to a Kingdom you go into yourselves. 

Once you decide to give your life over to God, it becomes a day by day, step by step process.  Some things come easy to let go and others do not.  It’s wise to realize and live out the fact that we may learn a lot and we may be able to teach someone else but, we are still evolving.  Just as hard as we are trying to change, Satan is trying just as hard to stop that change.  Also check your motives.  Are you changing for show or are you changing for pure desire to please God. 

We do this all of the time; we go to church on Sunday learn from our pastors.  We read our bibles and receive a revelation.    We have prophetic visions.  We may even have the gift of healing.  And because of that we say, “wow I’m doing all of this, God has blessed me to be filled with His Holy Spirit and to have the Spirit work though me”, but you are not done yet.  This journey is not over.  Stay humble!  Lead with a humble spirit.  Take a self inventory every day.  Instead of looking at the people you are teaching and leading to Christ as if “you are the sinner and I am the saved”, look at them through God’s eyes. 

If we are going to allow the Holy Spirit to live in us then why not look at people with the same eyes Jesus did, the same heart, the same compassion?  Jesus dealt with people with the understanding of human nature and He interacted with them from where they were in their life.  He challenged their thinking, He didn’t bring Judgment and we shouldn’t either!  Realize that in the process of leading someone to Christ it can quickly turn into you leading them into the enemies handles.  Pray ask for God’s leading, stay focused on God’s plan not your opinion.  People forget that you still have some changing to do even while you are teaching someone else. 

Serenity Prayer:

Grant me serenity (calmness, peacefulness, contentment) to accept (understand, recognize) the things I cannot change (not your job to change people, God causes a change-you plant the seeds. God wants you to change you or the availability to allow Him to work a change in you), the courage to change the things I can (yourself) and the wisdom to know the difference.  Amen

We are all in this together!

God Bless!

Tue, May 20th - 5:20PM

Servants

Matthew 23:11

The greatest among you must be a servant.  But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

“The greatest among you must be a servant”.   The “greatest”, would that be the one who is exalted by others?   Exalted- High ranking, important, elevated, prominent or well-known.   When we answer our call to God’s work, depending on our life’s experience we are anxious, excited, scared, or uncertain…so many feelings.  But, as you begin to write and speak and people tell you; “that was good”, “what you said touched me and really ministered to me” or “I needed to hear that”, there is a feeling you get when you hear those words.  When people say, “I remember how you use to be and you have changed a lot” or they tell people “they are really living what they preach”, it makes you feel good to hear that people can see the changes you are striving to make.  It feels good to know that you are reaching people.  It’s like a spiritual high.  Well, the enemy tries to use that just as he tried with Jesus (Jesus didn’t rely on the praises of people, He relied on the plan and promise of God): 

Matthew 4:8

Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory.  “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will only kneel down and worship me.”  “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him.  “For the Scriptures say, “You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.”

These teachers of the law and Pharisees knew the scriptures-studied the scriptures and were waiting for the prophet’s prophesies to come to pass.  They led people, taught them, made sure they lived by the scriptures, the people looked up to them and in that the leaders became prideful, self-important, haughty and snobbish.  They forgot the true meaning behind the scriptures. 

Not only do the leaders get caught up in this, we as Christians also fall to this.  We find God and then we change our lives.  We see changes in ourselves and so do other people.  We’re proud of ourselves for not doing some of the things we use to do.  We forget that although we are Christians, we are still sinners.  God does not distinguish between intentional and unintentional sin.  Even though there are things we are no longer doing, we still have things that are hard to stop doing.  Do you know that getting caught up in feeling good about things that you have stopped doing can cause you not to see other things that you need to change?  Weighing out sin, “at least I don’t do this or that” is a sign of being blind to sin.  Smoothing it over, “I know I’m not perfect and I fall sometimes but” doesn’t make you cleaner or more saved than the other person.   God doesn’t see it that way.  Sin is sin. 

A servant must serve.  Not just God, but people. 

These are some words to meditate on: 

Those who exalt themselves (praise themselves, admire themselves, honor themselves, glorify themselves or worship themselves)  will be humbled (humiliated, shamed, or discredited) and those who humble themselves (are modest, meek, reserved, submissive, obedient, respectful) will be exalted (elevated, important,  well-known, recognized). 

Sun, May 18th - 2:33PM

Who are they?

Matthew 23:7

They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called ‘Rabbi’, for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters.   And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father’, for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.   And don’t let anyone call you ‘Master’, for there I only one master, the Messiah.

Because our leaders teach us the scriptures, because they stand up in front of us and tell us, “Thus saith the Lord”; we place them on a pedestal as if they are not sinners.  We judge them as if they are exempt from the enemies attack. 

In the Old Testament:

Leviticus 4:22

If one of Israel’s leaders does something forbidden by the Lord his God, he will be guilty even if he sinned unintentionally.  When he becomes aware of his sin, he must bring as his offering a male goat with no physical defects…In this way priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven. 

Leaders are not perfect.  They have a sinful nature as well.  We have to respect their calling and respect their place.  But we should always remember that God is the only Father and Master.  Our leaders are our teachers but they are also our brothers and sisters.  They are subject to sin intentional or unintentional.  Our job is to learn the scripture that they teach and make sure to live according to the Word of God.  And if that leader is not living what they are teaching, do not follow their life-do what we know is right. 

Because we tend to place the leaders on a pedestal, for some of us we tend to worship them.   They become “big-headed” by the attention.  “Oh Pastor, Bishop, or Elder so and so is a Godly person”.   “They can teach that Word”.  “They practice what they preach”.  It’s not for us to lift them up.  They will get that recognition when they stand before the Father.  We are all in this together as brothers and sisters of Christ.  And what the leaders did was to answer the call of God on their lives.  They made themselves available.  We forget though that as they teach us there is something we are supposed to do as well:

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you …

We are supposed to learn and teach, not stay stagnant.   Where the leaders are concerned we are supposed to watch their lives so that we can determine whether their life is the example we should follow.  We are not suppose to judge, gossip, and all the other stuff we do to our leaders when they are caught falling. What about praying for them and fasting specifically for them and their strength.  This is a spiritual war, satan has not counting the Leaders untouchable, so why should you?  And leaders, how about recognizing when you are caught up in the attention and ask God to help you with that.

 God Bless!

Sat, May 17th - 2:18PM

Sins of the Teachers and Pharisees

First I want to give you the New Living Translation of yesterdays Scripture (yesterday’s translation was from the NIV/New International Version):

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures.  So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example.  For they don’t practice what they teach.

So in this scripture, you see that Jesus already explained to the first of His church that their religious leaders knew the scripture, knew how to teach the scripture, but was not practicing what they taught.  Sounds familiar?

There is nothing new under the sun, so stay focused and do not get detoured by what you see at church.  Your relationship with God is more important than how you feel people are behaving in church.  God sees what they are doing but, He is also watching you!  You do your part and let God handle his!!

Matthew 23: 4 (NIV)

They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to life a finer to move them.

(NLT) They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.

Know the difference between God’s teachings and religious demands (society ideals, standards of what makes you a Christian or saved).   The only way to know that is to read the bible for yourself.  Study the scripture, fast and pray. 

Today, we have a lot of dedicated leaders, but there are some that will pour out the scripture and check to see if you are living according to God’s word but they are not.  They look down their nose at you but they are on the same path to destruction as they claim you are.

I’ll stick with the NLT:

Matthew 23:5

Everything they do is for show.  On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue!

Be careful not become enticed by the pride of life.  It’s very tempting to want recognition.  When our eyes are first opened we what to share everything we know with the people around us and that’s a good thing.  But be careful not to do it for the wrong reasons.  We are no better than the lost.  We are always one step away from destruction ourselves.  God doesn’t like a show off.  We are servants of the Most High and Just as Jesus carried himself in a humble manner, so should we. 

God Bless!

Fri, May 16th - 9:08AM

Teachers of the law and Pharisees Hello Saints-Do as they say not as they do!

Last night I was reading Matthew 23   (The Seven Woes)

(This chapter is too lengthy to do all at once and get the full bread of it, so I will do a piece at a time.)

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.  But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 

I thought to myself what does He mean?  We talk about a lot of scriptures, but as Christians we should really meditate on, fast on…Pray on.

He spoke to the crowds and the disciples about the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.  He also was trying to talk to the teachers and the Pharisees about their behavior. 

Jesus understood God’s plan.  He understood that each person had/has their part to play in this plan.  He said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in the Moses’ seat”.  Really understand that these leaders were called into this position by God.  If you go back to the Old Testament (Exodus, Deuteronomy) you will find that while the laws were being set there were Priest that took care of the temple, the sacrifices, prayed for the people, they were set aside for God’s purpose of teaching the people God’s laws or His ways.  The Priest, Teachers of the law, the Pharisees, the Kings, and the Judges all had the part to play in keeping God’s laws and teaching them to the people. (Another lesson) good, bad or indifferent, everyone has a part in God’s plan.  God will call us to His purpose, His work, and we may or may not say yes to it.  That doesn’t mean that we are not a teacher, minister, pastor, etc. because we haven’t said yes.  We are called, therefore, we are.  We can be good leaders, serving God, living according to the Word or we can be false or bad leaders, not living what we preach or not teaching the truth.  But a leader is a leader good or bad.  Just as David understood this, Jesus understood this as well.  That’s why He said that they sit in Moses’ seat-They were called by God for God’s purpose. 

Jesus says, “So you must obey them and do everything they tell you”.  Why?  David said it best in 1 Samuel 24 (David had a chance to kill Saul, but he spared his life.  He even felt guilty for cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe).  Verse 6 David said: “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”  Jesus did not teach the people to disrespect or not obey the leaders because they were not living according to God’s ways.  He taught them to not live like them but, respect the position.  He taught the people to obey what the leaders told them to do but do not live how they live.

This scripture in itself had a lot of revelation to it for me because, this society is teaches that you have to earn respect.  It teaches “I’ll do this, this and this for you as long as you are acting desirable”.   “I’ll do my wifely duties if you are being the husband you are supposed to be”.  “What am I going to get out of this situation”?  We rarely teach that you are to respect the leader or husband (just adding that in) because role God placed them in.  If they are not in line with God’s word you are not the one to lay a hand or tongue on that person.   They have a purpose and you have a purpose.  You will be blessed for being obedient to God’s word and the person in that position.  Jesus understood the importance of this.

And this is so long as what they are instructing you to do does not violate your covenant to your relationship with God.  We have to pray for wisdom in that area and really allow God to lead us in the right direction on that.

We are suppose to know the difference between right and wrong.  We are suppose to know what a healthy relationship with God is.  We are suppose to be able to identify whether our leader has a healthy relationship with God.  We are not suppose to gossip about it.  We are not suppose to judge them.  But, we are suppose to be able to identify this so that we can determine whether we can use them as a role model or if we have to rely solely on the Word of God.  We are each in different situations where this is concerned so please pray and fast about this and stay in line with God.

Now, Jesus starts to lay out what the leaders are doing…

God Bless

Thu, May 15th - 10:46AM

Proverbs 31 Woman

To understand the Proverbs 31 woman (the virtuous woman), we will first have to look up some definitions:

Virtue- A conformity to a standard of right.  A particular moral excellence.

Virtuous- Having or exhibiting virtue.  Morally excellent. Righteous. Chaste.

Moral- Of or relating to principles of right & wrong behavior.  Expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior.

Righteous- Acting according with divine or moral law: Free from guilt or sin.

Chaste- Innocent of unlawful sexual intercourse.  Pure in thought and act.

Submission – Humbleness and obedience

Meek- Enduing injury with patience and without resentment

Honor- Respect, admire, adore. (1 Peter 3 for husband part of the scripture)

More words related to Virtue are Wholeness, dignity, strength, power, and grace.

Before we get started let’s take care of the submit/submission issue, because we tend to get stuck there.  Always remember that we ALL are called to submit.  Submission begins before even marriage.  The man and woman should be submitted to God before becoming husband and wife.  So, if you haven’t first submitted your life to God, you will then have a problem submitting to the authority of your parents, your employer, your church and your mate.  We have to stop making excuses about submission because the bottom line is that God sees as us sinning against him.  You see at the beginning of the inability to submit is pride, which falls in line with arrogance and control.  God feels like we think we are above Him!

Some of us were taught that strength means not to take any mess from nobody.  We were taught to look out for ourselves and if we are not being treated the way we think we should move on or take away the cooking and the cleaning and the sex.  Look here; I heard it said many times in the past few months that women are the glue that keeps the family together.  Women kept the family together during slavery and women also kept the family together during the wars.

It’s easy to go off, to hold a grudge, to not cook or clean or have sex because your spouse made you angry.  It’s easy to put you before others and to hold on to pride.  There’s not fight in that!  It takes strength to hold your tongue, to look past a person’s faults, to submit to someone, to have your husband’s back even when you don’t think he deserves it, not to talk about people, and to continue to maintain your home even when you feel that you are pulling all of the weight.  We say she’s weak, but God says she’s strong.  Each one of these words describes the Proverbs 31 woman.  Maybe some of us are already there, but most of us may have determined we need some work.  If you are like me, you need some work.  Well, that’s not something we do on our own.  We’ve had our defenses up for so long, so called protecting ourselves, but little did we know we’ve been hurting ourselves all along.  We have been called to be Virtuous Women of the Most High and maybe we don’t have what we want because we have not been giving God what He wants.  Once the truth has been revealed to us, we have to allow God to rebuild us.  When we fall back into our old ways we should repent and try again. 

I heard it said:  “If you are comfortable then you are not growing”.

God Bless

Wed, May 14th - 9:18AM

Galatians 5:19-22, 6:1

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins.

But the Holy Spirit process this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

6 …If another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.  And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

This is important scripture, as is all the scriptures, but this scripture in particular is crucial to our spiritual development.

Think about this:  I’ll use empty glasses—The first empty glass represents our birth.  When we are born we are innocent, full of hope.  When we think of sin we really only think of our adulthood, but children sin too.  So let’s take the glass and fill it with dirt everytime we sin, starting with our childhood.  What could a child do?  Well, a child can lie, sneak and do something their parents told them not to do, misbehave in school, talk back to their elders, etc.  If we look back in the scriptures God commands the child to “Honor thy mother…Along with the words of wisdom from Solomon in Proverbs.  Okay, so take this first glass and begin to deposit dirt into it.  The dirt represents sin—sinful thoughts, sinful actions, sinful feelings, etc.  Deposit the dirt for each time you have sinned in your life beginning with your earliest memory up to the moment when you asked for God’s forgiveness and decided to turn your life over to God.  At this moment if you are anything like me your glass is full of dirt.  This is all that has been deposited into your spirit, mind, and even instincts.  This covers your reactions to situations, the way you talk to people, the things you do day-to-day, even how you handle your relationships. 

At some point in our lives God begins to reveal the truth to us.  Check this out, the truth has always been there but it is this moment God opens our eyes, just as he did Saul on the road to Damascus.  It is at this moment when we realize how much wrong we have done and that we need to change.  So we begin to read the Bible, pray more, fast (some of us), and go to church.

Let’s go back to the dirt in the first glass! 

So now we have the second glass, which represents the living water, the bread of heaven.  It has water in it.  Now pour the water into the glass for each time you pray, fast, study God’s word, minister to someone else, repent for your sins etc.  If you have just asked God to forgive you that’s just a drop of water in the dirt and that’s not enough to clean you up.  Let’s not forget about the dirt—you should still be depositing dirt into the first glass for you sins.  If you have been knowingly and unknowingly sinning all of you life what makes you think that you don’t have to study your bible everyday, go to Sunday school and bible study, pray everyday, fast.  How do we get to the point where we are at verse 22, the fruits of the spirit? 

We have a saying, “I’m only human”.  Once we come to know God that should no longer be the issue.  I guess it all boils down to what we are depositing into the glass, because if we are depositing spiritual things into our vessels our glass should be filled with the living water.  Even excepting the fact that we all sin daily, if we discipline ourselves to the things of God, then that becomes our nature and even though the dirt is going into the glass the water is at the point now where it is canceling out the dirt or does not have the chance to stay in the first glass. 

Part of our cleansing is to understand that we all fall short.  The key word is Humbly, whether or not you are a layman or a leader.  Sometimes we forget that even though we are living the life that God called us to live we still sin and fall short, which make us no better than the next man.  And if we are not gently and humbly helping our fellow believers back to the right path, this could be the very stumbling block that is causing us to fall as much as we do.  Put more dirt into the first glass because that’s just that much more water we need to keep ourselves clean.

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is that there is much more to this walk than knowing there is a God, talking to Him every now and then, taking an every once in a while inventory, picking up the bible every other day, or talking to our friends about God.  We have to make up for the time we’ve missed. 

Ask yourself this:  If you shut down the circular music, shut down the TV or at least paid better attention to what you are watching, went to your corporate studies, fellowshipped more with the saints, read more, just gave your attention to God completely for 1 month-none stop, what would your glass look like?  What fruit would your spirit produce then?  How prepared for battle would you be then?

Tue, May 13th - 1:40PM

Where is the overflow coming from??

Joshua 24:15 (Whole Chapter)
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Incorporate God's word into your daily life.  Start a bible study day for your family-it can be formal or informal.  Find audio books that you can listen too as a family .  If you have small children start reading them the bible stories (from the childrens books) at bed time.  Teach them bible verses.  Look in the bible, choose a verse and teach it to them-start small and work your way up.  Buy or rent Christian based movies, music, books etc.  There is so much out there.  If they have to listen to rap can't it be christian rap.  There a variety of music and movies out there.  Just because society pushes the circular entertainment doesn't mean that we have to stay in it 100% of the time.  Change up! 

The one thing God loves to do is spend time with His children.  We can't get spiritually connected if we do not take time out for God. 

Homemakers don't have the time?  Then buy the bible on cd and play it while you are cooking or washing or cleaning or napping.  Choose a scripture for the week and place it on the kitchen cabinet or Refrigerator or on corner of the bathroom mirror.  Put the bible and other reading material (daily bread or other spiritual books) in the bathroom.  Start off with 10 minutes a day.  Read a Proverb a day (31 Proverbs- May 1 Proverb 1).  Take the time.  Only when we procrastinate do we lose track of our time and let the day get away from us.  I think that's why this is an important scripture:

Proverbs 31

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
       she provides food for her family
       and portions for her servant girls.

Our day is filled with so much, that when we finally sit down the last thing on our minds is reading the bible or listening to a sermon.  And then we are too tired to wake up in the morning.  By the time we get up, we're rushing to catch up with our day.  But we have to purpose ourselves to spend time in God's word.  It's important to our spiritual well being. 

God Bless

Mon, May 12th - 9:24AM

Heart to Heart!!

Always remember that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy!  A lot of times we walk around with our guard down.  This is what the scripture says:

Ephesians 6:10 “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

            Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In the 2 Corinthians 12:8, Paul has a thorn in his flesh –that thing he just can’t get rid of or stop doing and he’s asking God to remove the thorn.  God says, “My grace is all you need.  My power works best in weakness.”

Remember this when your thoughts are overwhelming!

Isaiah 58:11 says, “The Lord will guide you continually giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.”

Isaiah 57:15 God says, “…I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

We control our thoughts.  We decide once a thought pops into our head to continue to think on it or to change what we are thinking about.  We control how we think.  Thoughts will come to us but in the end, we have control over whether we entertain those thoughts.  We can choose happy thoughts or sad thoughts.  It’s our choice!!  We choose to be mad or not.  Always remember it’s our choice!!

In this life we either think on ourselves, others or God!  Satan would have us think on ourselves. Things like pride, selfishness, vanity, and etc. get in the way of what God has planned for our lives.

We don’t always realize how precious we are.  Especially to God.  We think that we have to have a relationship with man.  To an extent this is true.  But no man comes before God!  Sometimes we forget this and man becomes an idol that we place before God instead of a gift God has given to us.

Another thing to always remember!

Genesis 1-3

God created heaven and earth and everything in it.  Before man and woman were couples they had a relationship with God first.  They didn’t find each other then get with God.  Adam worked before God gave him Eve.  He had a relationship with God first.  Our first relationship is to God and then He blesses us with our mate, children, home, etc.  It’s is not man that pays our bills and keeps us out of debt.  It is our obedience to God.  Are we being good stewards over what He is giving us through that job we have?  The job that He blessed us to have!  What do we do?  Do we pay our tithes and offerings?  Or do we put our bills before God and say whelp can’t give my tithes? 

Are we faithful to God?  Are we fornicating/having sex before marriage?  Are we cheating him in our finances?  Are we spending more time with the world than with Him?  What are we filling our spirits with?   

Anything that is not according to or lined up with God’s word and His will for our lives is the work of the enemy. 

Remember, the enemy is trying to do what he can to kill us, steal our blessings from us, or destroy our chances of eternal life with God!

When everything seems like it is closing in on us and all odds are against us what do we do?

Well, I remember:

Lean not unto my own understanding but in all things trust in the Lord!

God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son so that we may live!

God knew us before we were yet born and he has number every stand of hair on our heads.

Everything that I am looking for and everything that I need comes from God and God alone.  Men are human and will disappoint you everytime.  You can only count on the Lord!

NOTHING is too big for God to work out!!!

Fri, May 9th - 1:38PM

God’s promises to a restless soul

Matthew 6:25 (Whole Chapter)
[ Do Not Worry ] "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?

Matthew 6:34 (Whole Chapter)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:33 (Whole Chapter)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Philippians 4:19 (Whole Chapter)
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 3:5 (Whole Chapter)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

John 14:26 (Whole Chapter)
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Numbers 23:19

¹⁹ God is not a man, that he should lie,
       nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
       Does he speak and then not act?
       Does he promise and not fulfill?

I think these verses are self explanatory.  I feel the spirit moving all through these verses. 

God has tried to teach us throughout history that our relationship with Him is very important; more important than material things, more important than life.  Society standards are that self comes before anything.  Your happiness, your self-preservation, you needs… We have learned that having a house, cars, clothes, money, and status, you name it is more important than anything else.  When we turn on the television we see teenagers kiss and having sex.  When we are in relationships we are taught that if we aren’t getting what we want out of it, dump him and start again.  The old “you can do bad all by yourself” idea.  These verses are Truth.  These words bring life to those who listen.

The truth is, what have you really gained from fornicating, pride, putting yourself first, saying the first thing that comes to your mind, holding sex back from your husband, desiring (coveting) you neighbors-friends-family property or lifestyle etc…? What have you gained by allowing the desires of your heart go willy-nilly all over the place? 

We want all of these things and it seems like we’re just spinning around in circles and in the process we are loosing so much.  We had to have all of this stuff so now we are in debt.  We had to have this man because the attraction was there, now we have animosity, hurt, pain, heartache all because we could not be patient and wait for the man God has for us.  We want to indulge in the things of the world but we do not want the curses that go with it.

  Romans 12:2 (Whole Chapter)
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 Because of our sin, we are blind to the fact that most of the unhappiness, dissatisfaction, restlessness, void we feel is because we are not in line with God.  I mean even if we were doing all the right things we will still experience trials and tribulations but God promises a peace.

John 14:27 (Whole Chapter)
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Please examine your life and ask yourself:  Did I use wisdom in the decisions I made in my life?  Did I pray before accepting that job, accepting that proposal, buying that house or car, paying my bills, etc..?  Did I seek God’s kingdom first in my choices or did I get so consumed with my on desires that I just jumped into the situation? 

Some of this hurt you feel because of a situation is due to choices you made.  Stop blaming him.  You didn’t know that he wasn’t ready and maybe he didn’t either, did you ever consider that?  People can have good intentions and when put to the test that’s when what was in them all along really show through but before the test they may have felt: “I really like or love this woman”. 

Matthew 26

  ³³Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."

    ³⁴"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."

    ³⁵But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.

Later in the chapter

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.

    ⁷⁰But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

    ⁷¹Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."

    ⁷²He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"

    ⁷³After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."

    ⁷⁴Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"

   Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

The bible says in John 2

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.^{[c] 24}But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. ²⁵He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

We entrust too much of who we are into man, materials, feelings etc…  Jesus knew that He was the Son of God, He knew what God promised, and He knew that He had to stay focused on the promises in order to have the life God Promised.  He knew that man had a sinful nature and even though our intentions are good, even though we want to do right, even though we love God and all of that we still have a sinful nature.  That’s what he knew, that’s what he lived by- not imagination, dreams and fairytales.  He believed in God’s plan.  He trusted that if He lived this life as God planned it out He would receive what God promised.  He stayed focused on the Kingdom of God.  And He lived His life for us not for Himself, knowing that He would gain more through the sacrifice.  This is a good role model to follow!

Until you seek the Kingdom of God, God’s purpose for your life, and stay focused on the things of God and not of this world you will always be unhappy and dissatisfied.  Live day by day, do not worry about tomorrow.  And look to God for all things.

God Bless!

Thu, May 8th - 2:57PM

Control your thoughts; do not let your thoughts control you!

2 Corinthians 10:5 (Whole Chapter)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Merriam Webster Dictionary

imag·i·na·tion  noun

1: the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality2 a: creative ability b: ability to confront and deal with a problem : resourcefulness <use your imagination and get us out of here> c: the thinking or active mind : interest <stories that fired the imagination>3 a: a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creation b: fanciful or empty assumption

1.      Daydreaming
Temporary escape from daily reality by forming mental pic...

A lot of times we like to escape from our present situations.  We sit back and we think about how things could be for us.  We are sad because things did not go as we planned.  We think our mates are not measuring up to our expectations, our ideals of what a person should be to us.  We imagine and we daydream.  The problem is if we imagine, plan or daydream it should be in line with God’s Word and purpose for our lives.  If you are in a state of dissatisfaction take a step back and ask yourself if you are thinking on the things of God? Or are you falling into the bondage of your imagination? 

It’s good to dream, imagine and have expectations but, those thoughts should be holy and acceptable to God.  The things of God are pure; they are beyond anything we can imagine. 

Think about your husband according to the man God called him to be.  If Jesus was interacting with your husband right know how we he treat him?  How did Jesus treat the people he interacted with? What did Jesus imagine or think about? Think about your life according to God’s promises, your inheritance.  The bible says:

“My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”

So, why are we pressing are husbands or looking towards man to supply those needs?  Why not ask God! Yes, we are supposed to have a man that is a good provider; that loves us just as Christ loves the church.  But, did you submit to God before making the decision to marry your husband?  Did you make your choices according to you daydreaming and imagination of what this man looks like in the flesh?  Or did you stay in line with God’s word.  Outside of your mate’s flaws, can you step back into reality and dig deep into God’s word and pray for God to minister to your husband’s heart, to give you the strength to wait patiently wait will God completes His work in your husband. 

Wives, the enemy knows that you are one with your husband.  The two complete each other.  Adam said: Bone of my bone flesh of my flesh...”   The enemy knows this, why don’t we?  We tend to separate ourselves from our husbands when we are not happy with our marriage.  We all have a foolish side, we all have flaws and we all have things to work on.    We can not work on our changes and try to change our husbands at the same time.  We have to leave him up to God and be accountable for our own actions.  Satan will have us turn against our husbands because a Kingdom divided will fall.  He thinks: “How can she pray for him, his battle, his struggle, his mind, his soul, his heart, his footsteps, when she is so busy tearing him down”.  You’re either working with God or your working with the enemy.  Spiritual warfare is just that- Divide and conquer. 

We can not allow our thoughts to control our lives.  We have to cast down our imaginations, especially those that are not in line with God.  The reality is that it is hard to think good thoughts about someone that is behaving in a disappointing manner or to think good thought when a situation seems like “what else could go wrong”, but God is in control of all of it, whether we recognize it or not.  The only thing we are in control of is our thoughts, what we say and what we do.  “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak”- that includes action.  If you are sowing into your mind bad thoughts then pretty soon that will reach your heart and then thoughts will manifest into words and action. 

I used the husband relationship as an example, but this scripture falls in line with any relationship, work place, children, unmet goals, past hurts, forgiveness etc.

Do not get so caught up in your ideals and imagination that you miss the blessings of today.  Think of how God has blessed you daily.  Think about the good things your husband does daily-even the little things.  Think about the good aspects of your job.  Think on how God saved you from a relationship instead of how no good the man was.  Think on how God kept your mind when you should probably have lost it.  Think on how you were blessed to live-you could be died from that situation.  If you don’t have a car-God blessed you with legs to walk.  You don’t like your job-but God blessed you to work to pay your bills.  We choose how we think of our situations.  We choose how to feel about our situations.  We can’t control the people around us, we can’t control every little thing that happens but we can control how we think.

Ladies, we an abusive husband is another topic.   

God Bless!

Wed, May 7th - 12:23PM

The Difficulties in God’s Word

I have heard women complain about some of the scriptures in the bible.  Some women feel that men did not respect women and held them as the weaker, mindless, and low of importance.  Sometimes the bible seems like it was written in favor of the man.

We get so caught up in the wording that we lose the meaning-God’s meaning!

Here is one for example: Ephesians 6: 22-33

²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

    ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing^[b] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰for we are members of his body. ³¹"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."^{[c] 32}This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

To truly understand this you have to understand who you are.  Look beyond “wives, submit…We always get stuck at “submit”.  Wives, women, ladies who are we?  The church. 

As we read in the bible, the church started though Jesus.  We always see, in the bible, Jesus say “I am in my father and my father is in me”

John 14:11 (Whole Chapter)
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

Also look at John 1:1-5

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

    ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood^[a] it.

We know that Jesus is the word that came down in the flesh.

This is what God said to Jeremiah:

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

    ⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb I knew ^[a] you,
       before you were born I set you apart;
       I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Please meditate on this because we have to understand this to really get in line with God’s plan.  Who are we?

(Genesis 2)

When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- ⁵ and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth ^[b] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth ^[c] and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ but streams ^[d] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- the LORD God formed the man The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah) it is also the name Adam (see Gen. 2:20). from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being…

  But for Adam ^[g] no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs ^[h] and closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib ^[i] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

    ²³ The man said,
       "This is now bone of my bones
       and flesh of my flesh;
       she shall be called 'woman, ^[j] '
       for she was taken out of man."

(Genesis 1:26-28)

²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^[b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

    ²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
       in the image of God he created him;
       male and female he created them.

    ²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Why did I add all of this scripture?  #1 because people tend to pull out scripture just to fit there point.  #2 because it is important to understand where we came from.  We say that we are children of God; we say that God created everything.  Do we really understand that?  If so, then why do we act like we don’t?

I think the meaning or understanding gets lost as we read the story (bible) in its entirety.  Not only that, but the impact grows weak throughout generations.  Think about this:  God created Adam and Eve and through them the whole human race was born.  We are talking generations upon generations upon generations of Adam and Eve’s family. 

Genesis 3:20

 Adam ^[c] named his wife Eve, ^[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.

It’s like we read this and say, “Aw that’s nice” and move on.  Do we really understand that Eve is the mother of us and she was created through Adam and Adam (representing all of humankind was created by God?

What did God say to Eve?

Genesis 3:16

¹⁶To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

He will govern, preside over, oversee, lead, be in charge...

God created us ALL in His image.  We are all made in His likeness.  Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him.  We are in the Father and the Father is in us.

We are the Church.  Ladies we are the church.  This is the hard part.  Jesus loved the church so much that he sacrificed His life for the church.  Husbands are supposed to love their wives so much that the sacrifice for them.  That means the streets, the spending habits, and the attitude.  Jesus was submitted to God, the Father.  Men are supposed to be submitted to God, the Father.  Understanding their purpose is to present the wives, the church clean, holy and acceptable in His sight.  When Jesus walked with the people, He respected them, the dealt with them on the level they were on-he did not belittle them or act like he was better than them, he was humble, he served them, he taught them, he lead them, he prayed for them, he sacrificed for them. 

But ladies, in the same token don’t blame the men for your choices.  You chose your mate.  The bible says, “A man that finds a wife…”, but you have the choice of saying yes or no.  Are you submitted to God?  Are you living out your purpose in the season?  Are you living like a child of God?   How will your spirit recognize this man, if you are acting like a child of satan and not a child of God?  Enough with choosing a man from the pit and trying to clean him up.  Do you treat your body as the temple of God? Or do you allow your desires to take over and choose to partake of the forbidden fruit and then when your eyes are open blame on the man for letting it happen.  (Remember, like Eve blamed the serpent).  Believe it or not there are men out here who are submitted to God and trying to live according to the word of God.  If we would move pass the temptation of dealing with the “bad boy”, we would get to see them. 

This word, submit, would not be such a problem if we would get in line with God and learn to choose a man that is in line with God.  We ALL are first submitted to God before anything.  Parents teach their children submission before they leave home. (that’s another story).  Don’t go choosing the devil and then say I don’t want to submit because he’s not Godly.  Do it right from the beginning.  Well, what if he acts like he’s Godly?  Spirit recognizes spirit just like game recognizes game!  We all have a part to play in God’s plan.  We all have our roles, we all have our places.  Jesus understood that, so don’t we?