Jail Ministry Epiphany!

Some treasurers are meant to be shared. Here’s one…

We are studying The Fruit of the Spirit during my time with the ladies at the jail. This week we studied on the fruit of JOY. The young lady presenting did a beautiful job peppering her presentation with scriptures referencing to JOY. The Holy Spirit was moving during the presentation. At the end of her presentation, she said in amazement she never knew how simple what God is asking from us to have faith and believe! Adding, she never realized until now since she has been here (jail). We witnessed the scales being removed from her eyes… It was a BEAUTIFUL thing! I shared it is because God now has your attention.

The Bible says heaven rejoices when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7) I believe God hearing this young lady say these words put a big SMILE on His face! I told them we sometimes complicate the things God has asked us to do. He asks us to have faith and believe; He will do the rest! Once we have done what God has asked us to do, trust that He will do His part. It may not always LOOK like we expect, but it will give us the same results.

I pray this is an encouragement to YOU!

Thank you for your love and support.

Love & Blessings!

Jeremiah’s Prayer

This journey of reading the Bible cover to cover, has been so revealing. It has been a blessing in many ways. Time and time again I have seen how God’s people have turned their backs on Him. Time and time again I have seen how God has restored them. What have been striking are the many times God sent war, pestilence, famine and in Jeremiah I am reading how God is going to send evil their way.

Jeremiah’s prayer in Chapter 32 so eloquently describes how loving and kind God is which we all like to hear. Yes, He is a forgiving God. However, there are lessons to learn in our disobedience. When we turn our backs on God there are evil consequences. I grew up thinking anything bad happening was because of Satan. That thinking came from my ignorance and immaturity.

Now that I am eating and seeking the meat of God’s word, I so clearly see everything evil in the world does not come from Satan. Some of it comes from our own disobedience. We suffer from what we have done to ourselves. Many times we want to blame others, but it is us and our disobedience to God. Because our disobedience or sin destroys us little by little, God will continue to correct us until we learn the lessons He wants us to learn. Love & Blessings!

Jeremiah Speaks

In Jeremiah 26, Jeremiah is speaking on behalf of the Lord. The message to Judah and Jerusalem is to repent of their wicked and evil ways.  Usually, no one wants to hear it! The priests and prophets are ready to kill him. Jeremiah warns them if they did kill him they will surely curse themselves because of the innocent blood they will shed.

This was tough for Jeremiah. He knew he was walking into a lion’s den, but he did it anyway. I encourage you to be obedient. God will give you the strength to do his will if you lean and depend on him. However, if you will obey, then God will find another vessel to get His work done.

We read in the last verse of this chapter, Jeremiah’s life was spared mainly because the people did not want to bring additional curses upon their lives.

I believe we must proceed with anticipation in the things of God. This means we should yield, and yes, we should be a living example of representing Christ on the Earth. However, we must always rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into the things of God. On this occasion, Jeremiah was being led and guided by God. We should embrace this example. Love & Blessings!

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A Marked Man

When God sends His people out to speak for Him they may become marked people. In Jeremiah 26 we read Jeremiah became a marked man. After he had delivered the words of God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem to turn from their wicked and evil ways, the priests and the prophets did not like it. Ignoring these warnings meant curses on the cities.

In Jeremiah 26:8, the priest and prophets told Jeremiah he was going to die. At this point, Jeremiah became a marked man. The priests and the prophets conspired to kill him.  However, the princes and the people wanted to spare his life. They wanted no part in killing Jeremiah and were willing to repent of their evil and wicked ways.

The same may happen to us. We may become marked people when God sends us out to speak truth to His people.  It is usually an unpopular message, but TRUTH. We have to then decide if we will be courageous and stand up for God. Or, will we embrace the things of this world and culture and follow them. Love & Blessings!

The Lord Shall Roar From On High!

Jeremiah 25:30 God tells Jeremiah to tell the people “… The Lord shall roar from on high…” Certainly, that sounds mighty fierce to me. What is this about? Consequently, this is the continuation of the evil God was sending to Jerusalem and Judah. Why? Because earlier we discussed how God was once again angry with them for being stiff neck or hard headed. Regrettably, they are worshipping idol God’s once again.

We, who profess to honor and love God and His son, Jesus, have been shown the way through God’s word, the Bible. It is absolutely fascinating; yet, pathetic, how these people kept turning their backs on both God and Jesus. We have heard the saying God does not send people to hell. It is TRUE. It is truly a choice you make for yourself. Today, everybody seems to want to stand on their truth or MY TRUTH. Well, in Christ there is only one truth and it is the TRUTH OF GOD.  This is a heart issue and that is what God searches, THE HEART. Satan wants us to think about MY TRUTH and not about GOD”S TRUTH.

I believe there has to be a balance in our teachings of God’s word. I have heard many church leaders’ teachings on the love and acceptance of God and His son, Jesus Christ. So, no God does not want to condemn us, Satan does. I thank God for His love and long suffering with us. Undoubtedly, it is clearly illustrated in the Bible when you read how God toiled with Israel. He is still doing that with all of us today.

Let us not forgot, God will not be mocked. I feel a need to ring the bell about COVID because I do not hear our religious leaders ringing the bell and ringing it loud enough about COVID. God ROARED through COVID to the world. He was speaking individually, to groups, families, work places, governments, etc. Did you hear what God said to YOU? Love & Blessings!

FIRE Shut Up In My Bones!

God sometimes sends us on unpopular assignments. We can see this in many of the characters of the Bible. He even sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Being a Christian is not for sissies and wimps. It calls for people who have grit and guts to stand up and be used for God’s purposes.

I love how the Bible shares the innermost emotions and feelings of the men and women that risked it for our God. Again, not popular, but in many cases, it is a test of our faith.

In a previous blog, we read how Jeremiah was sent to tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah that God was going to send evil to them… How unpopular is that? In Chapter 20 of Jeremiah, we see him sharing how it made him feel to share God’s word with the people. Verse 7 says he felt deceived by God. He accounted his feelings of derision. He was mocked.

This is clearly a lesson for us. We will sometimes wonder if we are doing and saying the right things by following God. It does not feel comfortable to our flesh sometimes when we boldly proclaim the things of God. You sometimes feel like a fish out of water and floundering.

However, when the spirit of the Lord is upon you, God will find a way to encourage your spirit and your soul. In versus 9, Jeremiah seemed to have a made-up mind. He did not want to speak again for the Lord. But then he recounted. Reflectively, he said he could not do it because God’s words were like fire shut up in His bones. Remarkably, he could not stay away from speaking about God because when the Spirit of God is upon you even if you want to resist talking about Him, you can’t…Amen.

Markedly, the assignments God may send us on may be unpopular. Strikingly, a sure sign of His spirit being upon you is that you cannot keep your mouth shut on what God has proclaimed you to do and say. Sometimes we may have to do it afraid, but He is ALWAYS with us. Love & Blessings! 

The Bible Our Great Teacher

God wastes nothing. When we see repetitive words, phrases, stories, in the Bible, it is God’s way of getting our attention. It is as if He is saying, “Pay attention,” or “warning,” or “take heed.” Because of our nature, we have to hear things more than once before it starts sinking into our souls and spirit.

In culture and how the world teaches things, they make us think we are dumb or not too smart if we do not get things the first time around. That is Satan attacking our self-esteem and who we are. God has given each of us a measure of gifts and talents. We all do not get the same, nor capacity or measure.

Fortunately, God has given each of us what we need individually to do what He destines us to do on the Earth while we are here. Additionally, it amplifies our purpose. Ultimately, we are here to magnify and glorify His name… Amen! Love & Blessings!

The Gift of Repetitiveness!

The Bible is filled with repetition. I know this to be true with New Testament accounts of Jesus’ birth and miracles. It is retold in the Gospels by the disciples as they are share their firsthand accounts. Warnings and blessings are also repetitive, too throughout the Bible. However, another discovery I have made is the Old Testament stories are retold in different books of the Old Testament, too.

As I am being obedient to God and reading the whole Bible from cover to cover, I am currently reading Isaiah 36. Historically, this story is about the king of Assyria coming against King Hezekiah and the children of Israel. I am thinking to myself, this story is sounding very familiar. This isn’t the only time I am having this impression as I have been reading the Old Testament. However, this time I am deciding to dive deeper and investigate. So, I am starting flipping back the pages in my Bible. Immediately, God is taking me to where I read this same story in II King: 18. When I am looking at the top heading of my Bible, and perhaps yours to if you are reading King James Version, it reads in both locations, “Rab-shakeh’s blasphemy.”

Unfortunately, we have a tendency to forget things, experiences, and encounters. Brilliantly, it is another reason why God repeats things in the Bible! God is weeding out those things we no longer have to be held captive by.  Invariably, through His kindness and mercy to us He will send voices of repetitiveness through the Bible and through the people in our lives. Notoriously, Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy the life-giving messages God has for our lives. Thank you, God, for the gift of repetitiveness you have given us in our lives! Love & Blessings!

Bold Confident & Courageous for Christ!

There is this mystery of what we speak with our lips and what are hearts are revealing to God. More often when you look at this world that we live in, you see professed Christians taking on the beliefs of the world and culture. Some of them do it without even knowing it or thinking about it. To this point, I heard a TV minister say about abortion rights everything is not black and white and there are crisis type situations in the world.

Well, isn’t the Bible full of crisis situations, from Noah, Job, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel, Paul, and the Disciples? I can go on and on where people were in crisis situations. Courageously and confidently, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the king and his idols. They boldly stated we know that our God is able to deliver us, but even if He doesn’t we will not bow.

Why do you think these stories are put in the Bible? They were put there for US. We need guts and grit and to Christians. Because we know all of us will face crisis type situations, life is not easy. It is hard and it is difficult. It can be complicated and messy. But through it all we have a God who loves us with an everlasting love. Invariably, He will give us strength to do His will. Additionally, the Bible states on more than one occasion that people died because of their faith. Furthermore, this is still going on today in some parts of the world. So, I ask you, where is your heart? Are you willing to serve Christ no matter the cost? Love & Blessings!

Old and New Testament Speak the Same

Isaiah 29:13 is a striking scripture. God was speaking. He was saying these people honor me with their lips. Yet, their hearts are far from me and their fear of me is what has been taught to them by men.

Similarly, Jesus is speaking this same ideology. In Mathew 15:8, he says these people serve me with their lips yet their hearts are far from me. Undoubtedly, one could say Jesus had the same sentiments of our Father God. Invariably, they are one.

There is this mystery of what we speak with our lips and what are hearts are revealing to God. Introspectively, when we look at this world that we live in we see professing Christians taking on the beliefs of the world and culture. Unsuspectingly, some of them are doing it without even knowing or thinking about it.

Truthfully, in our humanity we do not like everything God is asking us to do. Unquestionably, there is some tough stuff He asks us to do.  If we are constantly getting upset on what God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are asking us to do, maybe we are serving God with our lips. As a result, maybe our heart is far away from Him… Go DEEPER! Love & Blessings!