A Call to Remembrance

A CALL TO REMEMBRANCE 2 1 12
I had such a passionate, heart filled devotional experience this morning in prayer. It didn’t start that way but I thank God it ended this way. After taking my complaints and stressors to the Lord (we all need a chance to vent sometimes) I read the Book of Psalms 77 out loud while still in prayer. During the second reading my heart began to stir as I began to feel and relate to the words of King David. The verses that made my heart move were
10And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
11I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
12I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings (kjv).

In reading these words of the King I began to remember the years of the right hand of the Lord in my own life. In particular the days of my youth when He undeniable, unequivocal, indisputably delivered my life(2 year old son at the time and 12 year old sister) from death. I began to recall the thoughts, feelings, words and actions on that fateful night and how it would’ve turned out totally different if the Lord hadn’t showed His right hand of mercy, grace and deliverance for my family. Calling this wonder to mind I couldn’t help but cry, lift my voice in adoration to the Most High then fall to my knees in humility and gratitude. What I love about the words of the King is that he was so honest as to question God in his mental swaying and emotional doubts but He came to the conclusion He would CALL TO REMEMBRANCE the wonders of God of old. The King refused to rely on his current mental, emotional and situational state to dictate the validly and truth of God’s existence but instead let the prior acts and testimonies of God prove His existence and presence in his life. Sometimes, like the king, we will question God, wonder if He is near or even exists but do like King David did then and like I did this morning: Call to remembrance God’s acts and wonders in your own life and your doubts, questions and uncertainties will become convictions declarations and proclamations such as the king’s in verse 14.

14Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

Felecia

Don't look back

DON’T LOOK BACK
Must your past have a direct connection to your present or future? You have the power to create the present and it need not have anything to do with your past. Whenever we look back we recreate a present state of the past which in turn can create a “ false state of being and living” (which is the reliving of something that is dead and over with) because God never meant for the past to ever become or replace what he has ordained for our present and future state. Do you know that God has purpose for every present and future second of your life?
Take a look at the passage concerning Lot and his family.
“Run for and towards your life. Pay no attention, give no regard to what is behind you which is destruction, agony, punishment and death and don’t stay in the open plain (the world or land of barrenness, deserted place) where you are alone, unprotected and vulnerable but rather run to the mountain (which represents the height and strength of your future in God) where you can hide and seek refuge”
But Lot’s wife looked back remembering past thoughts and feelings and became crystalized in her past experiences. (Gen 19:7 19:26; Felecia’s amplified version).
Lot and his family were commissioned to not look back, period! They were instructed to run for their lives, towards their new lives not back for the lives they once had. They were to turn their backs to their old lives for God knew what was behind them didn’t represent the present or the future state He had for them. When we are delivered, set free from a situation whether by desire or not, forced or willing, right or wrong we are commissioned to not look back unless we become paralyzed in our past like Lot’s wife who looked back and turned into a permanent fixture of salt which became her eternal present state.
You stop looking back when you stop looking back! You stop looking back when you make a decision to stop looking back. You stop looking back when you realize you have a life and future to run towards and not back for. You stop looking back when you realize the past was never meant to be “looked” upon (which is why we don’t have eyes in the back of our heads) and when one understands you can’t continue to look back and expect to ever experience the true sense of what God meant or has in store for the present or the future.
Above all please take heed: Every second spent looking back turns a piece of you into salt………
Don’t become like Lot’s wife and be found dead looking back in the past.

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deut 6:5 and Matt 22:37)

The Creator commands us to love Him with everything in us a love that is so deep it surpasses the deepest depth of the ocean floor (36,000 feet) yet it continues to find ways to grow deeper each day He blesses us to remain in this life. What love? And yes this kind of love for God is possible and have been made possible through the death of Jesus Christ who so loved each and every one of us He gave His life (John 3:16) so we might feel this unconditional never ending kind of love that God has for us so we can in turn feel it back towards Him. So what are we called to love God with? According to this Scripture we are called to love Him with everything in us: Our thoughts, feelings and strength.
Why do you think God created us with a mind? So we could love Him with our mind with goodly and lovely thoughts about His love, grace and mercy. A heart? So we could feel for Him, want Him and love Him with thankfulness. Legs? So we can run towards His altar. Hands? So we can lend to others and reach for him? Knees? So we could bow down before Him in worship? Mouth? To praise Him and testify of His love.
God created us for His glory (Is 43: 6-7) and for the explicit purpose of us loving Him with our entire being. But if we are to love God with our mind, heart and might we can’t then use our mind, heart and strength to love the world and our flesh (which is our own way of thinking, feeling and doing). A choice must be made whom we will love. We can’t serve two masters.

God made it possible for us to love Him with everything we got. I’m not Keith Sweat but I do ask this question: How deep is your love - that is for God of course? Is your love for Him so deep you can drown in the depths of the excitement about seeking, serving and obeying Him? Or could it be your love for Him has no or little depth and is floating on the surface of excuses, denial, procrastination or ignorance? Take the challenge! Make a New Year’s resolution to love God with your mind by thinking of His ways and commandments, your heart by feeling the delight of love in serving Him and might by doing things that express your love for Him such as praying, reading His word, attending church, giving, forgiving, repenting, seeking, loving others and keeping his commandments.
Felecia

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. De

Whew! Reading this Scripture yesterday, I knew the word spoke directly to my own experiences so I had to study it this morning and write my very own amplified version:
And you shall call to mind and never forget to speak of the journey of roads of tests and paths of afflictions the Lord Thy God navigated you down these 40 years in an strange unhabituated land with no natural maps or compasses for the purpose of manifesting what was in your heart through calculated trials of experience to see if your obedience to His commandments would take precedence over your flesh which is your own way of thinking, feeling, doing and not His.
Thank you Lord! We will all have a wilderness experience/s which is an experience of attacks, oppression, afflictions in the way of rejection, hurt, pain, anger, grief, lack, uncertainty, loss, abasement so forth. Some of these experiences may be shocking, embarrassing and may strike suddenly. Yet and still some of our roads of mental, emotional and physical uncertainty will be orchestrated by God Himself for the purpose of blessings us after the fact through the testing of our level of devotion, fidelity and faithfulness to His word in the face of our predestined and situational trials and tribulations. Does your heart testify that you are obedient to his word by keeping your body pure as he walks you down the road of singleness? What about the paths of unemployment, divorce, breakup and bankruptcy. Not to insinuate that God causes these things to happen but does your heart bear witness that your mouth still praises Him, your mind still thinks well of Him and that your actions still glorify Him.
The Lord wants us to call to remember our very own journey of wilderness experience because if we trust and obey Him - HE will surely bring us out and into our promised land of fulfilled dreams, goals reached, prophecies and desires. He never wants us to forget where He brought us from so we never have to go down those same roads again. Remember that Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and nights with the Devil but when His heart was found to withstand the temptations of the Devil the Lord God brought him out of the wilderness and into the land of fruitfulness walking in his calling winning souls. Jesus never had to go down that same road again with the Devil!
So if you’ve had a wilderness experience revisit it from time to time to keep it fresh in your spirit so you will stay humble and grateful. And for those of you who are traveling down your roads of testing now I don’t know how long your wilderness experience will last or what tests lay before you but I’m a witness that God will bring you out emotionally whole, mentally sound and spiritually full if you obey and keep his words. Remember that God will not put more testing on us than we can handle or allow us to be tempted beyond our capacity because He will always provide a way out (1 cor 10:13). Not a way out of the journey but a way out of the roads of demonic strongholds, depression and help and hopelessness.
Felecia

Guard your heart

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (KJV Pr. 4:23).

Guard (stand alert at all times ready to defend, protect from intrusion) your heart (the place where feelings and emotions conceive) because the heart will give birth to every one of its feelings creating the issues and circumstances of life which in turn determines the kind of life you will have and experience.

Wow! I like this amplified version from the Lord. The Bible states to guard your heart and for good reason. Your heart is the womb that fertilizes and gives birth to every situation you will ever experience in life which is why it must guarded and protected. Think of the material things you guard and protect: Hair from the rain, new stilettos from mud, purse from thieves. Just like you guard and protect your hair, shoes and hand bag you must take the same care to guard your heart. Guard your heart from what? Satanic inspired and produced sights, smells, sounds tastes and touches.

The 5 senses are outlets that lead right to your heart. Whatever is successful at passing through these sensory mechanisms the heart converts into feeling that ultimately transform into emotional issues of life. And Jesus said from the heart comes every evil thing (Matt 15:19). Therefore, every image, scent, sound, taste and feeling should be frisked, screened and detained if necessary before they are allowed entry into your heart. Now this security measure might seem tedious and a bit drudgery but this is what you need to do if you are going to effectively guard your heart and experience the abundant emotional/physical life Christ has prepared for you.

You protect your heart by filtering what comes through the 5 senses.

Check out the heart sense "checkup" on the following page for preventative measures to protect your heart from fatal heart conditions such as heart breaks, aches, disease and failure.
GUARD YOUR HEART: HEART SENSE CHECK UP
1. WARNING SOUNDS: Deceptive words (spoken or written), music, voices. One of the easiest ways of letting down one's heart guard is through the hearing of words. Jesus said my sheep know my voice and will not follow another (John 10:27). Do not allow your heart to follow a voice or become under the influence of words (even your own) that do not align with the word of God and of a speaker who do not bear fruits of God whether it be a family member, friend, colleague, stranger, church member, minister or prophet.

Do a sound check of your heart. If you hear words that don't beat to the tune of God's voice you are at risk for heart failure. Guard and protect your heart NOW by allowing God to renew and revive your heart with the voice of His faithful and true words.

2. WARNING SIGHTS: Sexual visuals, pictures, magazines, television. If your eye offends you cut it out! Okay, not literally because many would be walking I mean falling around everywhere due to self-inflicted blindness.

It is possible, however, to train the heart to avoid ungodly sights and use the eyes for God's intended purpose: Keeping them on the prize and not on plump thighs and buff guys. Needless to say, pornography is one of many visuals to be avoided and not just by singles but married people alike. Pornography distorts and deceivingly "brightens" images just like cataracts distorts and illuminates sight making images seem brighter than what they really are. Pornographic images seduce and adulterate the heart producing unrealistic images and fabricated feelings/expectations. Once again, single and married people alike should avoid pornography. Just because the marrieds' bed is undefiled (us singles shouldn't even have a bed) that don't mean the married shouldn't censor what they watch and see. If you are married and need sex therapy the book store has a plethora of less offensive yet effective books that can assist.

Do a sight check of your heart and if you see pornographic images "laying or surfing" around you are at risk for heart break. Guard and protect your heart NOW by allowing Jesus to restore blinding cataracts with sight that flees filters and extinguishes the fiery, nasty, lustful rays of the Devil.

3. WARNING SMELLS: Cologne, perfume, candles, incense, food…..shoot even a box…never mind. Don't follow your nose because it doesn't always know. Recognize the thoughts and feelings that certain smells trigger or else you might find your heart in bed or back in bed with "brotha no good" or " sista feel good" all because you passed by a cologne or perfume booth in the mall.

Do a scent test of your heart and if you sense the stinky stench of fornication you are at risk for a heart disease. Guard and protect your heart NOW by allowing God to clean the air of your heart from all flesh borne pollutants, toxins and poisons so you can become a sweet, soothing fragrance acceptable in His presence.

WARNING TASTES: Everything that taste good don't mean it's good for the heart and eating the wrong foods can lead to a premature death. Some things you just have no business tasting like the seemingly innocent kisses and flirtations of a married man or woman. These types of calories turns into fat that clog, saturate and chokes the heart then spreads throughout the body affecting every member of the body and household. Of all the weight you carry and try to lose you do not want to carry the weight of adultery for its weight is very difficult to lose and more than not takes a life time to burn off.

Adultery may taste sweet but this dessert leaves a bitter after taste. Do a taste test of your heart. If you taste desserts from someone else's dinner plate you are at risk for a sudden triple drive by I mean by pass heart ache attack. Guard and protect your heart NOW by changing your diet from the forbidden fruit to manna from heaven and you will taste and see that God's goodness is sweeter and healthier than the any of the devil's food cakes.

5. TOUCH WARNINGS: Provocative, suggestive, flirtatious touches, caresses and strokes. You remember the good touch bad touch lessons from grade school? Well, that lesson was for children but the concept is useful for adults as well. Unless you are touched by an angel, The Holy Ghost, your spouse, a chiropractic or a certified massage therapist (and I mean certified degree and all) you have no business receiving (or giving) questionable touches from anyone. And for you singles, I know R Kelly wrote the song "I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind" but God sees a lot wrong with it. If adultery can be committed with mere thoughts (Matt 5:27) it stands to reason sexual sin is committed with bumping and grinding which is a lot more than your thinking.

Check your heart for illegitimate touches. If you feel unlawful fingers creeping up your heart you are at risk of having your heart violated and stolen. Guard and protect your heart NOW by allowing God to wash your body with the touch of His presence and then He will guard, protect and cover your heart with His breast plate of righteousness.

God has provided a way of escape for every "sinseful" and senseless temptation which means you can effectively guard your heart. But it is only done when you use your senses to hear, see, touch, smell and eat His word on a daily basis.
A publication by the singing crafter

© 02/10

I must admit I have been depressed lately. I've been worried about my unemployment state, confused about some promises that have yet to be fulfilled, guilty about wasting time with distractions and not completing my book. I don't even want to relive the thoughts and feelings I have experienced this season of my life. It seems harder to pray even more harder to believe. Don't know how to describe it but when you experience the same mental battles and emotional struggles over and over again the coping skills that once sustained you (even prayer) seem to lose their effectiveness. This is the state I seem to live in more often than not. But the Scripture is clear to not cease to pray. So no matter how difficult it was to go before the Lord the God in me mustered up the strength to pray this morning and I tell you I was transformed once again. It took some time to get my mind focused and to feel what I was praying but it didn't take long after I began to reflect on His goodness. I praised Him pass the mood and was reminded in prayer that God will complete the good work He has begun in my life (Phil 1:6 ). I recalled the things God had brought me through since my adolescence to now. I was reminded I'm only alive because My God spared my life ( I have a wonderful testimony and may share later) and yes for His good purpose. My God brought something to my attention that I had never considered quite like I had this morning . The Lord spared me guilt, shame, remorse and condemnation concerning the two most devastating experiences of my life – losing my mother at 17 and my divorce some 5 years ago. It was His Rhema word given to me specifically concerning both situation that blessed me. Yes, God loves me. Yes God loves you and proves His love every time our heart beats whether or not we hear or feel it. My eyes not only released a river of joyful tears but my heart was crying too because it had felt God once again. I would like to share several insights God revealed to me during my devotional this morning. I pray it transforms your mind and emotion like it did me.

 

1. What God has promised to do He will fulfill. What happened or hasn't happened has nothing to do with Him keeping his word.
   
2. Stand on what you know. Forget about what has happened or hasn't happened and stand on what you know whatever that know is……
   
3. God will fulfill or complete the good work He has begun in your life. The good work has nothing to do with you but everything to do in God. The good work is His work planned before creation and if you are sincere, available, obedient and willing God will fulfill it (Phil 1:6).
   
4. Don't cease to pray (Col 1:6). Talking to God may be difficult at times because talking makes you confront painful situations. But talking is confession and confession is good for the soul. You must talk to God about what your thinking and what your feelings because He cares about your thoughts and feelings.
   
5. Pray with thankfulness. Being thankful can be difficult when facing difficult situations but it is medicine to your heart. I had to think back to some things God did for me in my youth to muster up some thankfulness for today. I tell you the more I thanked God the more I felt renewed and assured.
   
6. Be anxious for nothing. I will expound on this in a later post but I was so moved with the insight God gave me about myself concerning this Scripture. This might seem odd but God don't want us to be anxious not even for His promises.
   

What is Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1).

Faith is simply the word of God. Faith comes from the hearing of the word of God. If God didn’t speak we would have no faith. We would have no conviction or knowing of His existence. Faith is God’s word.
God framed the world with His word. He has framed your world with His word as well. God spoke and the earth was. God spoke and your world will be too. Sun, stars, joy and blessings made up God’s world. What has He spoken to make up your world? Your faith can’t reach full maturation without God’s specific word about you. Not His word about your mama, brother, sister, spouse or friend but his word about you. What has God spoken about you? Your Faith is the substance of God’s word spoken about you. His word entails and embodies your future. The fulfillment of His word relies and is contingent upon your belief, obedience, reliance, fidelity, dependence and trust in Him about the promises He prepared for you before you or your world was.
God’s word is bond, sure, collateral it’s your bail. Your faith is the title deed that transforms His word from substance to reality. Your faith is the assurance, confidence, right, entitlement the insurance policy that you can have the desires of your heart (which are the things he has prepared for you) if you believe He is who He say He is and is a rewarder of the man or woman who seek Him.

God cares about our daily affairs

I was headed to Michael’s but while in route I realized I didn’t have my receipt for the new Cricut cartridges (Sweet heart and Kitchen) I purchased several days before. I became paranoid as I looked through my purse (at a stop light) and still couldn’t find the receipt. I thought it was strange because I had my other Michael’s receipt for other items purchased at the same time I purchased the cartridges. As soon as I got home from Michael’s, ( I went anyway to return a 18 by 18 Martha Steward album) I shuffled through a purse I used earlier, old receipts and finally the garbage can as I had thrown away some receipts before I left to go to Michaels. While looking through the garbage can I stumbled across a piece of mail I had told my daughter to place in the mail box a day earlier. Suddenly, I realized God had devised the present events just so I could find this letter and mail it off for this piece of mail was my son’s rent. I began to thank God immediately for His mysterious working power at the same time thinking of a way to punish my daughter for not doing what she was told. Anyway, I had a peace knowing I would find my receipt after I realized God has ordered my steps and these events so I didn’t worry. I then remembered I had some coupons (the ones Michael’s print out on their receipts) in the door of my car so I went outside to check it out. After sorting through several coupon receipts the last receipt was my receipt for the Cricut cartridges. I praised God in amazement for blessing me not only to find this receipts but blessing me to find something I didn’t even know was missing – my son’s rent check. During the process, my anger towards my daughter subsided for I knew without a doubt this incident was a blessing from the Lord and was not meant for punish and discipline (although I will verbally admonish her). More so than both of these blessings, however, God blessed me once again by manifesting His mysterious working power in my day to day life. What would I do without the Holy Spirit who expresses his concern for my affairs (whether small or great) in such ways as He did today.
Thank you Jesus!