What Does The Word Say?

Praise the Lord! The year has come down to its final days and we are in yet another season of reflection and transition. 2012 has been an incredible year of blessings from the Lord as well as character development and growth. I thank the Lord for His blessings, but more than that, I thank the Father for developing my character and growing in Him. Development and growth are both terms that indicate maturity. A natural child grows and develops as they are fed, nurtured and taught. This is also true when it comes to spiritual growth however, the scripture commands growth which bespeaks of obedience on the part of the individual. 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Notice the

There are two types of mist. One is an aggregate of water globules that hangs low in the air which diminishes visibility. The other comes from a cloud of particles as in perfumes or aerosols. In essence, both types of mist blur, obscure or dim vision. Think of this in terms of the commercial where the actors are in a room of trash, dirty laundry, or molded food. They are blind folded and a type of air freshener is sprayed and the mist of the spray is advertised to completely cover the stench to the point that all they smell is the fragrance from the air freshener. They Holy Spirit brought this to my attention today. He said this is the way of the church today. There is a mist that has unbelievers, as well as unbelieving believers blinded to the truth of the gospel of Christ. The Message translation of 1 Corinthians 4:4 says it this way, "All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother

Consequences. I have been thinking of the word all week. A simple definition for this word is the fruit of choices. When we make good choices, it results in good consequences. When we make bad choices, it results in bad consequences and no one, I mean no one, likes the fruit of bad choices. We would rather God miraculously deliver us from the situation we got ourselves into. I learned this through my dental ordeal. It was only an ordeal because I failed to go to the dentist every year. I failed to brush for two minutes twice a day and floss. I would eat all the candy and other stuff throughout the day and go to bed with all that stuff still on my teeth. It was my fault and now, though my teeth and gums are healthy I will have to go to the dentist every three months instead of twice a year. This is an just example of one of my consequences. I was thinking on all of this and while on the way home from Zumba, the Lord spoke to my heart as I was getting off the freeway. He said, "

In 2009 I went to the dentist for the first time in possibly ten years. Yikes! I had been taking our children for about a year and each time I went in, I would tell the dentist, "I'm next." I was in no rush to go because I had this foreboding feeling that, when I opened my mouth, things were not going to be good. I knew something wasn't quite right when my teeth were bleeding every day for about a year. This is NOT normal. When I would brush my teeth I would hear, "Dentist. You need to go to the dentist." I would shake the thought off like one would shake their head knowing a fly was trying to land on their nose. Well, just like a pesky fly keeps coming back until smashed with a fly swatter, the thoughts would come every day until I finally went to the dentist. My apprehensions were correct. I reluctantly went to the dentist and laid my life down in that dentist chair for some stranger to go poking around in my mouth. I was horrified when the dentist to

Remain faithful. Seems simple enough. Nevertheless, how many of us struggle with those two words? People, saved and unsaved, have difficulty remaining faithful in marriage, money, exercise, church, good eating habit, study habits etc., etc. Why is this? Well, before answering the question, let's look at the life of the wisest man of his time, King Solomon. He was a good king and began his reign asking the Lord for wisdom instead of things (1 Kings 3:1-9). He displayed his loyalty to the Lord in the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:23, 61). However, in the end his heart was turned away from the Lord. How could this happen to a man full of such wisdom? 1 Kings 11:2-4 tells exactly how this happened. It says, "The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart aw

I love it when what I read during my times of devotion, that The Lord speaks to my heart and gives me an opportunity to write to you and encourage your faith. Today was one of those days. After reading Our Daily Bread, the Holy Spirit stirred my heart with today's blog, "Who Will Tell Them?" This is a clip of what I read. "In a sense, our lives are marked by “use by” dates—except that none of us knows the exact date when our heart will expire or we’ll take our last breath on this planet. Given that reality, shouldn’t we try a little harder to capture the moments we’ve been given? Capturing the moment means that we’ll do things like love more deeply, forgive more quickly, listen more carefully, and speak more affirmingly. Paul gives this good advice: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). He also instructs us to “walk as children of light . . . finding out what is accept

"Abs are made in the kitchen." I read that today on Facebook and immediately thought of that yummy pizza that I had yesterday. I just love pizza! I think it just may be my favorite food. BUT, I realize, recognize and know that if I eat pizza like I love it, I will turn into a little butterball! That my friends, is NOT going to happen! After I was done thinking on the delicious pizza I had, the profundity of that statement hit my spirit and immediately, the Spirit of the Lord spoke this to me. "The soul is made in the secret place." I, in turn posted it on Facebook. Thinking that was the end of that, I went on to something else in my devotions and, that statement continued to dwell in my heart and mind.   As I continued to pause, ponder and pay attention to what the Lord was speaking to me, I became more aware of the importance of my time spent with the Lord. The world has such a strong pull on us. However, no matter how strong the pull of the world, if we make

I was reading a devotional today on the fruit of faithfulness and the Holy Spirit spoke very clearly to my heart. Yesterday, I was sharing with Dr. Poole some concerns that I had. He spoke into my life regarding my concerns, and I went on about my day. I know God is dealing with me about being faithful to love because He has brought this to my attention the last three times that I was spending time with Him. Before I went to bed last night I was reading a bit of The Three Battlegrounds. It was talking about love and how the enemy will use offense and bitterness to get believers to not walk in love. This was just a confirmation of what Dr. Poole  recently preached about how an ant will find food and lead others to it. Offense is looking for food to lead others to it. Then I read the devotional this morning on The Fruit of Faithfulness. I heard the Lord speak to my heart loud and clear on what I need to do regarding my own faithfulness to love. The Scripture says in Psalm 86:11, &quo

We are living in a world today where we consciously and subconsciously hear voices. The problem lies in whose voice to listen to. Should I listen to my parents or should I listen to my friends telling me to defy my parents? Should I listen to my teachers or should I listen to my friends telling me to play instead of doing my school work? Should I listen to my pastors telling me to obey God and all will go well, or should I listen to my flesh telling me that if I fornicate this one time it will be okay? Whose voice should I listen to? Let's look at what the Word says for the answer. Jeremiah 38:20 Jeremiah replied, “You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you. Jeremiah 39:18 Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken! ’” Today as I was reading and spending time with the Lord, the above verses, as well as the Our Daily B

This is the final teaching in the series Persist in Resisting. I will be sharing with you insights from Daniel 3:12-30. From this passage of scripture I will show you by example from the lives of three Hebrew boys so that you can see that you too can persist in resisting. I showed you through encouragement, exhortation and now by example. I know your life will be enriched! You have the power to prevail! You can persist in resisting! Shadrach, Meshach and Abenego faced three things that we too will face in the midst of difficult situations. No one is exempt from facing them, however, as one empowered to prevail, you can know going in that you have the victory. The first thing that they faced is The Wall, which is indicative of anything that is in front of or behind; opposition which puts you in a position of fear or faith.  Three Hebrew boys faced with the wall of bowing at the kings command. Should they bow in obedience to God or refuse in obedience to God? The second thing that

I am continuing on with the series, Persist in Resisting. Now I want to encourage your hearts with seven words. I believe that if you would meditate, mutter and muse over these seven simple words it will revolutionize your life. I know by the Spirit of God that  matter what you are faced with you can stand on the truth found in these seven words.  Are you ready? Here you go. The Word of God can NOT fail! Wow! My spirit just did a back flip as I typed out those seven words! Now think of those words in light of what may be going on in your life today. Since the Word of God can NOT fail, you should make it your business to find out what it says about you. Think about the profundity of that statement and let it resonate in your spirit so that you can make it through any season of your life. With this in mind, I want to encourage you to never give up! The Word can NOT fail if you persist. Remember that it says. “resist the devil and he will flee” (James 4:7). This is absolute, this is

In my last blog I shared with you Persist in Resisting. I am going to continue on with this thought with a word of exhortation and encouragement, along with an example so that you can prevail in the midst of any situation you are faced with. The exhortation for you today is, all that Jesus accomplished through His death, burial and resurrection provided all who believe with victory. We are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from a place of victory. Once you once you receive the revelation of what He has already done, you will begin to fight and insist on living and walking in the victory God has given you. It may take a while, and may not be easy, but if you persist you will have the victory that is promised to you. The Bible declares in Ephesians 6:10-12, "Finally, my brethren, be  strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put  on the whole  armor of God, that ye may be  able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

Praise the Lord, 2012 has been an incredible year! Our mantra, The Kingdom Prevails has been the impetus to walking in victory, in spite of what life presents. Many have experienced death, prolonged illness, loss of jobs and homes, nevertheless with the word of the Lord burning like an eternal flame in their spirit man, these men and women of God pressed forward, knowing that the Kingdom Shall Prevail. How are these people doing this? How am I doing this? Why aren't some prevailing. These are simple questions with simple answers that I am going to share with you from my personal experience. I know this is going to help you! You will be blessed. While attending a ministry conference, I was afflicted with a migraine which caused me to cry out to God for answers. At the second evening service I attended, it was really a press because of the pain I was in. God spoke to me at the height of my pain, this quote by William Barclay. "Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard

I have been serving the Lord now for over 25 years. Hallelujah! I remember as a new believer, I had a strong desire to just know the Lord. I struggled with this for years, as it seemed like the believers around me knew Him better than I did. Through the years, I came upon Philippians 3:10 in the Amplified Bible. It reads, "[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [ which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]." When I first read this, I had a "eureka" in my spirit; an epiphany if you will, of the expression of my heart to know God. But what does it mean to know G

Many cooks marinate their meat in order to enhance the flavor. We all know this is done by soaking the meat, sometimes overnight, in some type of concentrated marinade to allow the flavor to permeate the meat. After the meat is satisfactorily saturated, it is cooked and now, what was in the marinade has been absorbed by the meat. Everyone who enjoys the dish, tastes the flavors bursting in their mouth like a Fourth of July fireworks show! Yum! Okay, so now that you want some marinated meat, let's look at this process of marination a little closer. First off, the definition of marinate is to steep food in a marinade; treating it like a sponge, tenderizing it, enabling it to absorb flavor. Cooks marinate to make meat tender and enhance flavor. So, if you have four steaks and four marinades, each steak is going to become more tender and take on the flavor of the marinade. Now think of this in terms of your mind. The first line of attack for the enemy is your mind. So if you have f

Have you ever gone to the movies and saw someone look in a mirror, not like what they see and then hurl something at it breaking the mirror? It is safe to say that the reason the person broke it was because they weren't pleased with the image. Somehow they felt that breaking the mirror would solve the problem, when the only thing a broken mirror does is make the image worse. James 1:25 calls the believer to look into the perfect law of liberty, which is the Word of God, and do what it says. This let's us know that the Bible is like a mirror. It shows us where we are and where we are going (Psalm 119:105). If we don't like the way we look in the mirror of God's Word, then by the power of the Holy Ghost we must change. Throwing away the Bible or destroying it will not change the fact that change is necessary to fix the reflection. Marriage is also an analogy of a mirror. Many married people have found out their true colors through the eyes of the mirror called their s

Three years ago, I overcame my dental phobia; to God be the glory. However, when I left the dentist from my initial visit I was traumatized. Nevertheless, I followed his instructions to the letter and, today, I have healthy teeth and gums. I am truly grateful to the Lord for the whole experience and He has taught me many things along the journey. For the sake of space and time, I will share with you the one that continually comes up in my spirit and ministers to me. For years I was only brushing once a day for barely a minute. I suffered greatly for this. Now that I brush like I am supposed to, along with flossing, brushing in between and rinsing I am the better for it. The thing that amazes me about all of this is that after brushing and rinsing, I still have food in my teeth that comes out with flossing. After flossing, I still have food in between my teeth. Finally, after brushing in between my teeth, I get the last particles of food out. From that, this is what the Lord often spe

Praise the Lord! Last Sunday, Dr. Poole preached a message entitled, And The Child Grew. Ever since I heard that word, the Holy Spirit has been prompting my heart. He did this from His initial pricking of my heart from the end of the message. He said, if you are the same place that you were last year, then you have not grown. If you have not grown you are in sin. What? I'm in sin if I am not growing? Why? Because in 2 Peter 3:18 Peter said, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." When he said, "but grow," this was a command and and not a suggestion. God is therefore commanding us as believers to grow up in all aspects of Him, and if we are not growing, it is a sin. Okay, so, he preached that message last Sunday and the Lord has been bringing it before me ever since. In response to His leading, I quit going to Facebook on my free time. I downloaded a couple new books and began to read, as well as purposing to read the dev

What are you looking at? Quit staring. Take a picture it will last longer. Have you ever asked that question, or used that statement when being stared at? I remember being a teen always thinking that someone was staring at me. What in the world? I was so insecure! Anyway, don't you wish worry would say these same things to you? Ha! That would be nice and perhaps we would listen and change our focus. However, worry doesn't speak to us that way. In fact, it is like a magnet that draws every negative force to the mind. The last thing worry is trying to do is repel itself. Therefore, the negative magnetism of worry draws these kind of thoughts. What if I lose my house? What if my kids walk away from the Lord? What if this is cancer? What if my spouse leaves me? What if I never get married? What if? What if? What if? With that said, let me cut right through the chase. What if's are indicative of worry and worry IS a sin! But Dr. Sheila, there is no Bible verse that says, &qu

Praise the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever. Great is His faithfulness! I read something in a poem today that nearly put me on tilt! It was a short poem, but this one line did it for me. "You're powerful; yet personal." Those four words set my heart ablaze, making my heart burn for more of Him. The Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth knows my name and is intimately aware of and concerned about me! That is how that statement translates for you and me. This profound statement has to be translated and broken down into layman's terms because our natural proclivity is to just see this as a religious statement. When it is seen as a statement, and not see it through the lens of life, it causes problems with how we view God. In other words, it makes God seem obscure, out of reach and out of touch. If we as believers only see Him as the Big Guy in the Sky or the Great God Somewhere Out There, we will never experience Him as our loving, caring, sharin

I read Our Daily Bread today. It's title was Hatred is Self-Destructive. The author quoted George Washington Caver who said, "Hate within will eventually destroy the hater." The author ended the devotional with these words, "Hatred promotes self-destruction;love fulfills Christ’s instruction." The text used for the devotional was Esther 7:1-10 where the passage talks about Haman's plot to hang Mordecai and destroy the Jewd backfired and he ended up on the gallows being hung instead. The other verse referenced was Romans 12:17 which says, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men." Both of these verses really spoke to my heart as I thought of times when someone hurt me and God reminded me that He is my vindicator. Also, any time when the hurt deeply, the Holy Spirit always reminds me by saying, "Hey little girl. I forgave you, so you can forgive." When I hear that, my heart immediately softens and

Praise the Lord! This morning I was reading a devotional and it blessed my soul! It was a direct answer to prayer and I rejoice for His answer concerning the situation. As a result, the Holy Spirit prompted me to encourge you with the same encouragement that He has encouraged me with. Some of you may be in the fight of your life. You may be facing some impossible situation which is causing your faith to waver. Well, I say to you what the Spirit of the Lord has said to me, "Don't quit!" God is truthful to His Word and faithful to perform it. Hope against hope believe Him and trust in Him to turn your impossible situation around. With that said, I want to leave you with this faith confession. I encourage you to say it out loud daily until you have it memorized. Then, when the devil comes saying someone is going to die, lose a job or home etc., speak the Word only! Choose to believe God in the face of any and every impossible situation and watch Him move on your behalf.

Today my heart is overwhelmed as it is my 25th spiritual birthday. As I have gone throughout the day talking with some friends and family about this special day, the tears force themselves to the edge of my heart for the gratitude toward the Lord for what He has done in my life. I have been sharing with you a series of teachings on Consider the Consequences, but today I want to interject these jewels from the Word that the Lord has ministered to my heart throughout the day. With each scripture, I have given a short yet simple insight for you to treasure in your heart. Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. As believers, we MUST learn to discern. This is critical as we deal with life. 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. God wants us to grow up! The King

Praise the Lord! I have been sharing with you from the topic Consider the Consequence. All of our actions have consequences. It is important to consider the consequences before you act so you don't have any major problems. In my last blog, I charged you to consider the consequences of the who, what, when, where and why of marriage before you get married. Today I want to bring your attention to some things you may want to consider after you say I do. For example, what do you do when you didn't fulfill a commitment to your spouse? Should you lie or tell the truth? What about overspending? What about sin issues such as infidelity, pornography or abuse? There are no easy answers to these real problems that occur in marriage. The real question is how will you choose to handle them? Remember, however YOU CHOOSE to act will have consequences and you must consider your next move through the lens of God's Word. Will your action toward the issue glorify God? On the flip side, I

Last night before I went to bed, I noticed a piece of paper on my dresser that showed what my book sales were at the last event I ministered at. What caught my eye was that my book So You Want to Get Married? Let's Talk! sold the most copies. Immediately I chuckled within myself thinking, "Wow, this is still the heart beat of many single women." Let me present to you a few questions. What is your heart beat concerning marriage? Do you desire marriage more than you desire God? Do you sense that God is preparing you for marriage? Are you ready to submit to His preparation? Are you even ready to get married? Here's the big question. What if you NEVER get married? I challenge you to ponder these questions in your heart. I even further challenge you to write each question down, give it thoughtful consideration and write down your answers. This will help to serve as a guide in the direction that the Lord is perhaps leading you. Don't take these questions lightly. Yo

I remember when I was a little girl and my mom said to me, "You don't need to be holding no little boys hand because one thing always leads to another." Of course I thought she didn't know what she was talking about, and it wasn't until I was about twenty-five or so that anything my mother said made any sense. I know it may not make sense, even as a believer not to date before getting married, but I have discovered that if you don't consider the consequences, the end result can prove to be disastrous. So, have you considered the consequences of a dating relationship? I believe that if you would be honest with yourself, you would say that most of the times, the end result of your dating relationships was not good. However, since society says that dating is acceptable, believers fall into the trap and end up in a relationship that causes them to lose sight of God's kingdom purposes. God's kingdom purpose for bringing a man and woman together is to bu

The greatest thing that the Lord gave mankind over all of creation is a will. The human will can be our greatest asset or our greatest liability. The choice (based upon our will) is up to the individual. God will allow us to make our own decisions, even though He is not pleased with it, knowing the outcome will be detrimental. Now, the will is no longer an asset. It has become a liability. As I pondered this after writing my last blog, the Lord gave me five areas to write about to help you consider the consequences. I will set before you the Word of the Lord in each of the areas so that prayerfully you make the right choice. My goal through this process will be to equip you to train your will to be an asset so that you can please God in all that you do. So the first topic that came to mind was mating. The term seems a bit animalistic being that animals mate. Nevertheless, when a believer fornicates it is liken unto mating because it is birthed out of mankind's base nature to gr

I remember speaking years ago to a friend who is a social worker. She said something to me that has stuck with me to the point that I often share it with others I may be talking to. She said, "There are consequences to everything we do. If you do good, there will be good consequences. If you do bad, there will be bad consequences." This is such a simple truth. It is displayed throughout the Bible, yet, due to the sinful nature of man, many times mankind still make bad choices. Moses told the people in Deuteronomy 30:19 to choose life so that they may live. However, as we know from reading the history of the Israelites after the death of Moses they did not choose life. They chose to disobey God repeatedly and this led to them being taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Here's the clincher, God will allow you make bad choices and suffer the consequences. Don't believe it? Look at how Acts 7:42 reads in the Message Bible: "God wasn't at all pleased;