Complete Your Calling

The Power of Your Thorn

So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it way from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness”. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9

Question for you today: Have you ever prayed to God to remove something from you that has not been answered yet or fulfilled? If you have and answered yes, then you are not the only one. I have been thinking about that recently after reading more about judgments and forgiveness. It was something that I have been musing on more deeply as we watch the world becoming more radically judgmental and less forgiving.

My mind went back to this verse and I heard someone talking about this verse last week, I think in part as a reminder for me, but maybe also for you. I remember a time in my life when I would ask God over and over to remove some behavior or thinking that I thought was blocking my ability to deepen my relationship with Him, but to be honest, it actually strengthened my dependence in Him, which ironically drew me closer to Him.

Why? How? You may be asking. Well, it made me even more reliant on His guidance and support to let what needed to be stamped out of my life to be done in His timing, not in my fleshly conquest. And as you can see, we are not alone in this journey. Even Paul ( formerly known as Saul) battled with something that led to his boasting in Christ. This same Paul who wrote 2/3rds of the New Testament, was weak in an area that only power of God could strengthen.

Although we do not know what Paul’s thorn was, we know what ours is right? We all have one. It makes us human. It makes us relatable to others. It makes us look at our plank more than the speck in someone else. It makes us more reliant on the power of the Holy Spirit and it shows us that when we are weak, then He is strong. Instead of feeling shame, regret, or perturbed by your thorn, thank God for being made in His image and for the opportunity to be revived in His presence and to receive His power and belief in Him to be reborn.

Stay Encouraged.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

The Cloud & The Light

In the daytime He led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light. Psalm 78:14

I was thinking about God’s leading recently after having a conversation with a friend. She was questioning hearing or seeing God in this murky season that we are all encountering. I recounted a few times where I specifically sensed God steering me in a direction unbeknownst to others around me and gave her a list of ways that I began to become even more intentional about hearing and moving in the way that He advised; even when it meant a season of loneliness or wilderness.

This brought me back to this verse. God was leading the Israelites during their wilderness experience. They had a physical manifestation to cling to day and night and they were led accordingly. What I came to realize during this time of reflection is that to be led requires humility, not pride. Many times we miss what God is trying to convey because of our own inability to submit and obey.

In reading this verse and seeing how God led them all day and all night, it made me even more aware of the importance of being led by the Holy Spirit during this season. Just as the Israelites had the pillar of cloud and the fire of night to guide them, God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to direct us, to speak to us, to show us what to do through His Word, to give us wisdom, provide discernment and insight along our very personal journey in life.

Let us all be led and fed by the Holy Spirit.

If God gave Him as a guide for us to use, then He knows what’s ahead and understands the critical importance of what path to correctly choose.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Stay Encouraged

The Speck vs The Plank

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3-4 (NIV)

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I took a bit of a pause in writing over the past couple of weeks, but yesterday as I wrote notes in my journal at church, I stumbled upon this title that I must have written about one month ago. I thought during my devotional time that I would be reading a book that I found on our bookshelf, but the Holy Spirit led me to sit down and write. So here we are- you reading this and me writing this.

I think over the past few months in listening to what others are saying whether between the lines or outright, passing judgements is becoming more and more overt. If not careful, one may find themselves either judging in secret or in public, but the question that I pose is, would Jesus approve? When I asked the questions to myself, I could feel the conviction in my own past diction and thought pattern leading me to repent for my own wrong doing.

In our daily experience, we will encounter those who we may not particularly care for and who we believe are wrong, but we must be careful to observe whether we are falling into the trap of judgements either in our mind or dialect and ask God to remove the bitter fruit of that entrapment.

If we honestly look at ourselves in our own mirror, we can see our own plank that needs correction. I know I require help from the Holy Spirit in this area as my flesh desires to react, but my spirit overrules to respond in love. When we posture ourselves in this manner and consider all that God has forgiven us for, how can we judge others? Makes you sit back and think right?

I pray that today and each day moving forward we can both remove our own plank with His help and guidance, see past the speck of others, lead with love and overdose with grace.

Stay Encouraged. Seek Him, Obey the Call, Complete Your Assignment.

Tension in Transition

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19 (NRSV)

Tension. A word that I am sure we can all relate to especially after reading the definition. According to dictionary.com, tension is defined as the “the state of being stretched tight”. If you have or are experiencing it, tension can be seen right before, during or after a major change or a major shift. Although we may not like the feeling, it is a necessary component for transition (the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another) to occur.

However you consider your time of tension in transition, know that God is still in midst. He is always here, but sometimes we become dull in Spirit and cannot effectively sense or see the infinite possibilities that can occur if we keep moving forward with Him as our guide. Other times we become nostalgic, not ready to give up what needs to be retired so that we can pick up what God wants to spring forth.

In your devotional time today, meditate on this verse. If you are experiencing tension in transition, perhaps that is exactly what you need to embrace and allow God to reveal to you in His time, what is next. Transition is a period of changing and that is exactly what we are doing every day; changing.

Our current condition does not dictate the final outcome, but our internal position and divine recognition plays a major role in our ability to ebb and flow with the tides of life. Give yourself to His internal workings. Allow yourself to be immersed in His presence. Believe on His promises and accept the tension in your life as fuel for transition and the springboard for future elevation.

Stay. Encouraged. Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Know who He is

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, “The Lord”. The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” Exodus 34:5-6

In my devotional time this morning, I could sense God nudging me to re-read this Bible verse as He knows me so well and knows exactly what I need to hear and see for myself for it to penetrate deep within. I am not sure about you, but I am always reflective on Resurrection Sunday and what it truly means; not what the secular world portrays. I often think about the anguish experienced by Jesus a couple of days before He had to endure the most painful and selfless sacrifice for those who would reject Him and not appreciate what He had to walk through for us.

When I thought about this, all I could hear in my mind is something that Jesus said in John 5: 19(NRV) “… the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does”. Knowing that Jesus walked this earth in physical form to display God’s love for us in everyday, tangible and supernatural ways made me even more grateful to know the God the Father that Jesus spoke of and “the Lord, the Lord” that came to meet and assist Moses.

To attempt to describe all that God is and what He truly represents is not possible, because there are not words, but there is a deep internal worship that consistently oozes from me when I cannot muster up even how to fully describe Him. As He renewed His covenant with the Israelites in the days of Moses, so He did with us by providing us with a divine intercessor- Jesus who died to save us all.

Let us not forget what this day represents. Thank you Jesus for dying for our sins so that we can be set free externally, but most importantly from within.

Stay Encouraged!

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

He Raises Deliverers

But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who delivered them, Othniel some of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel; he went out to war, and the Lord gave King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. So the land had rest forty years. Judges 3:9-10

When reading this yesterday during my devotional time, I sat in awe and marveled on the graciousness and faithfulness of our God as I read what was occurring in the lives of the Israelites and even reminiscing on events that have transpired in my own life, which provided me with a new fresh wind of peace that flooded within. I again began to just thank Him for His protection and provision. In times of uncertainty, in times of unrest, in times of feeling unsettled and even in times of doubt. But with just one reminder and one verse, it is amazing how God’s care for us creates a sense of hope and assurance of a future that if we were to see through the lens of the world is void of that word:hope.

I am even more aware in these times of great darkness that if we are not in this place of active discovery of how the Lord continues to look after His people, we are missing the very true nature of our loving Father. He hears us. He is listening to us. He is in every detail; even in the thick darkness. He is ever present and understands our prayers even when we do not. I am reminded of Paul and Silas (Acts 17) , being persecuted and landing up in prison but praying and praising God until they too were delivered from the very bondage that man placed in their path.

And just like those Israelites crying out to the Lord and the Lord hearing them and raising up someone who delivered them out of their circumstances, God can do the same thing in an instance. But we must seek Him and have faith in His ability. We have no idea what God may up to, but He is always doing something that we cannot even fathom. Our job is to trust and serve Him; to love others and to pray for everyone (even our enemies; yes even them) .

The body of Christ is in this earth for such a time as this so let us rise out of any feeling of defeat and despair and get off our feet and kneel in His presence in deep reflection, thankfulness and prayer.

Stay Encouraged.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

According to His Pattern

The Lord spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give you light in front of the lampstand”. Aaron did so; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. Now this was how the lampstand was made, out of hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. Numbers 8: 1-4 (NRSV)

Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe with a golden sash across His chest. Revelation 1: 12-13 (NRSV)

I cannot begin to tell you how amazed I am after reading the Word of God, when He just reveals something to you that at one time you would have glossed over. I know this is not just happening to me as I have had many conversations with others who have been experiencing this exact same process in their personal devotional time. This was how I felt when re-reading these verses over and over again, which if I had not journeyed through the book of Revelation in detail months before, I would not have recognized the relationship between these two books. But who am I kidding, the entire Word of God is connected to each other. It is His inspired Word so why would it not be?

In studying the book of Revelation recently where the messages to the seven churches, representing the entire Body of Christ were given, I have been examining my ways more and more and have been asking God to sift through my heart and hammer out anything that is not pure in His sight; not in the sight of man. And I recognize that this year is a year of deep purging and purifying as God takes us all through the process of sanctification- to be set apart for His purpose, which requires a certain process; according to His pattern. Just like God gave Moses instructions to give to Aaron regarding the way that these lampstands should be made- hammered out of pure gold; every single piece of it, so is God hammering things out of us, in order to purify us, according to His” modus operandi”- a distinct pattern- a method of procedure.

And everything that is occurring in and around us right now is according to His pattern. We may not understand it, and maybe we are not meant to? Maybe we are to trust Him in everything and have faith that He will bring us through. What we may be walking through is a distinct opportunity for us to be refined, to become purified, to remove the vestiges that do not suit us any longer so that we can represent His true nature on the earth, but sometimes it requires a hammering, a forceful repeated molding that might not “feel” good at the time, but is necessary for our growth and for our true selves to be revealed. Let us all embrace what God is doing in our lives and accept the pattern according to the Lord. The more we submit to the change, the better off we will be and the more light buried deep will become more and more exposed for others to gravitate towards and see.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Stay Encouraged

The Call to Return-Do You Hear It?

Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: “Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts” Zechariah 1:3

I remember the day that I heard God speak to me to start writing. I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom watching a revival in progress on the television and there was this overwhelming sensation to start seeking God on a new level that required me to put away many meaningless distractions in order to draw closer to Him. I began with just one devotional and then day after day and hour after hour, He began to just download topics to write about followed up with His Word for daily application, which so strategically caused me to study the Word more, not knowing how much I would need it right now. I chuckle now because God used the thing that I love to do; learn and study and drew me right into His presence day after day.

When I read this verse, I thought about that time. I would even spend hours in my office just reading and writing and allowing the Holy Spirit to just guide the process. Little by little, He was removing the “stuff” that I thought was once important and that created a deeper desire to continue to seek Him out, but I had to be in a place to hear Him. What about you? Do you hear Him? Do you feel the call to return? I sense Him nearer and nearer these days; so much so that I find myself just sitting with instrumental worship music yearning for Him to speak as I make myself available spiritually to hear. It has taken me a while to get to this point and when He feels far, I ask myself if I have placed anything in my life that is disrupting the flow of me being able to hear Him.

And as the voice of the Lord was speaking to His people through Zechariah in a time when the people of Israel had returned from Babylonian exile to Judah and Jerusalem, the message still holds true today: the call to repentance and to return to Him wholeheartedly. Repentance is a word that we use often but it must be more than just a word, but a lifestyle. I believe that God is calling us. He is calling us all to return; to repent, to seek Him for more understanding and wisdom, to experience the genuine love of a Father, to feel His correction as protection, to embrace His guidance with complete obedience and to let go of what may be corrupting our ability to recognize His divine presence.

Stay Encouraged

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment

The Light in His Word

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130

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I know it is not just me as I have heard this from many believers I know, but the Word of God is literally beginning to jump off the pages and taking new shape and authority over my life. I believe part of that is more of the understanding of who God is to me in this season but also because I sense His presence more and more these days and there is nothing more comforting than His righteous Word. During my devotional time, I began reading the selection for today and this particular verse describes what I think many of us feel as we read passages that we have read before but depending on the season we are in, it penetrates more deeper and new understanding begins to surface.

This is the beautiful consequence of studying God’s Word. We begin to see how applicable it is to our experiences and they really do start to provide light to all areas of our lives; especially the areas that need adjustment, correction and direction. Am I right? And just over the last two weeks as I searched for God more in His Word, He began to open up to me again things that I did not see before because maybe I did not want to see it or I was not ready to receive it. But now, as God continues to enlighten me daily, ignorance can no longer be part of my existence. This understanding that He gives us, can literally unlock so many areas in our life that were or are bound; if we want this. It is our decision to make, right? Whether we apply what is in this great Book or gloss over verses that require us to use in our daily operations.

When light comes into our space, it generates energy that cannot be erased. And, this is exactly what the word of God does. Once it exposes us to certain things, we cannot unsee it. It’s a catalyst that requires change in order to be made whole. As God continues to unwrap and unveil certain details to us in our own time with Him and in reading His Word, let us continue to see the light that He is giving and not take for granted the many chances to become made new is in His image in order to properly navigate in this world in which we are living in.

Be Encouraged. Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment

This is The Way

And though the Lord will give you bread of adversity and water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher and your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, “this is the way, walk in it”, when you turn to the right and turn to the left. Isaiah 30:20-21

I am sure when you read the first sentence of the verse there were two words that jumped out to you as did me: adversity and affliction. I had these verses written out for weeks and happened to read it this morning, not knowing that the pull to write would center around this text. I then wanted to know more of course to understand the context of what was happening during this time in biblical history. This was a time when the people of God were resisting His direction and instruction. Even though they would go through hardships as a consequence, God still shows great mercy and compassion and would reveal Himself to them and guide them into proper sight. However, they still needed to do their part by repenting and removing certain practices which were taking first place in their life.

And this is truly how God responds to all of us; with compassion, mercy and love. I cannot think of a better demonstration of love but from Him. The purest source of light that we can ever experience and the ability to hear from Him or for Him to reveal Himself to us requires a relationship with Him that we must continuously seek after for more and more instruction, daily. Knowing that He our Father, is watching over us, walking with us through much adversity and affliction, but being right there to see us out of it and allow us to continue the journey with Him speaks so much to me about His faithfulness that we do not lose our way or come out of divine fellowship with Him.

Seeing and hearing is great, but listening and seeking is needed on our part. So in your day to day activities, which I am sure are many, because I know how it is these days; take the necessary time to seek Him so that you can hear Him and so that you can see Him. He wants us to walk with Him, but our attention to His presence and guidance requires stillness. The next time God speaks, will you hear Him? The next time He reveals Himself, will you see Him? Only you can answer that question, but go deeper into what He wants from you and as He instructs you on your way, do the next right thing and obey.

Stay Encouraged,

Seek Him , Obey the Call, Complete Your Assignment