What Are You Saying?

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose (Proverbs 18:21, MSG).

                Much is determined by the words we speak. We often speak a bad day into existence or a positive result by the words we say. I don’t think we realize how much power we possess as Christians, much less, humans. Recently, I have taken notice of the words I speak and how they affect my well-being.  I have also realized the many scriptures in the Bible that pertain to the power of words. God is always leaving what I like to call clues and treasures in His word to help us. If we pay attention, we will begin to understand just how powerful words are in our lives.

                The Bible says in Genesis 1:1-3, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”.  God didn’t touch anything, He spoke and so it was. We who have accepted Jesus Christ have the Spirit of God within us. If we have the Spirit of God in us, we have the same power that God has. That is to speak things into existence. With that in mind, we should be careful of what we say.

                We must also believe what we speak is true. Jesus said, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:22-24). If you believe you are a failure and speak those words, you are a failure. If you believe things will never work out for you and speak those words; guess what? Things won’t work out for you. I truly believe that we shall eat the fruit of our lips. In Matthew 12:34 it says, “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” If you sincerely listen to what people say you will hear their hearts. Furthermore, we are accountable for every word we say. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.” For your own sake, watch what you say. I know it is hard to speak life to a seemingly dead situation. When all hope seems lost & there is no sign of a breakthrough it’s easy to pay attention to what we see. The fact of the matter is, “…we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2Corin.4:18).

                It is imperative that we get in the habit of believing the promises of God and speaking life into our circumstances. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak (2Corin. 4:13). Speak life. Prophesy over yourself in the morning and throughout the day. It’s ok to do that. Get in agreement with God about your life and speak positivity.

                The scripture that describes Gabrielle the angel, visiting Mary about her supernatural conception came to my mind today. I thought about how she reacted when Gabrielle told her she would give birth to a son although she was a virgin. Though the promise seemed impossible she believed what God told her. She didn’t doubt and she sealed it with a word of agreement. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS (Luke 1:30-31). "I am the Lord's servant,"Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her (Luke 1:38). 

                On the contrary, if you look a few verses back the Bible talks about Mary’s cousin Elizabeth being pregnant also. Elizabeth and her husband Zachariah were old in age. The word of the Lord came to them by Gabrielle also promising them a son. The Bible says in Luke 1:13, But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. Zechariah’s unbelief caused him to say to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.” But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.” (Luke 1:18-20)

                I firmly believe that God shut Zachariah’s mouth because he knew that this man’s unbelief would cause him to speak things that would hinder what God wanted to perform. God could have caused Zachariah’s vision or hearing to become impaired until the birth of his son. But He didn’t. God closed the one thing Zachariah possessed that had enough power to change the circumstance, his mouth.

                God says, “The same thing is true of the words I speak. They will not return to me empty. They make the things happen that I want to happen, and they succeed in doing what I send them to do” (Isaiah 55:11). The same is true of the words we speak. What are you saying?

My Life...God's Way

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9, NJKV).

                Indeed God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thinking is higher than our way of thinking. Therefore, His standards are higher than our standards. What we think is right living; God may not necessarily think is right living. The Bible says in Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the hearts (AMP). It is up to God to decide what is right or wrong, not us. If we get confused about what is right in the eyes of God, we only need to turn to His Word to find the answer. Our feelings and what we see cannot be trusted. We can go our own way but God’s way is the best way. In Proverbs 14:12 it states, “There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death (AMP). This can mean death spiritually, emotionally, socially, etc. When we stray from God’s ways, we are in danger of making matters worse.

            There is a peace that comes from knowing you are in the perfect will of God. When we disobey God or go our way, we lose that peace because we know in our hearts that it is not the will of God. Obedience brings peace even in the midst of a storm. Personally, I can remember doing whatever my flesh wanted to do. I drank what I wanted, smoked what I wanted, and was in relationships that I knew God told me to cut off. I was satisfied in my flesh but my spirit was weak. There was no peace because I knew I was living in disobedience to God. It was so bad I did not even want to go to church. You know the infamous guilt feeling on Sunday mornings after you have done your own thing. Nevertheless, I thank God for His grace. His grace is definitely sufficient (2 Corin. 12:9).

            His grace will give you chance after chance. His grace will give you the strength to keep on going. His grace will give you the heart to live a life pleasing to Him. However, we have to be willing and obedient. The Bible says in Isaiah 1:19, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land…”  We also have to be honest with God and ourselves. If you do not have the desire to live in obedience, pray for the desire. If you do not have a desire to stop a particular sin, pray for the desire to stop. Ask God to show you what in your life is not pleasing in His sight. I personally know He will show you.

            Apart of being in right relationship with God is doing what pleases Him. A lot of that has to do with faith. If you don’t have faith to believe God for something you’ll end up doing anything. This is not an overnight turnaround. It’s not a switch that we can turn on and off. It takes a lot of prayer and being tired of one’s own self to get to this place. The place that says, "I’D RATHER OBEY God than continue in this behavior or settle for less than what I believe God has for me." God’s ways are for our benefit. He knows what we don’t know. He sees what we cannot see. He understands what we cannot understand. We are to Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all our heart and mind and do not rely on our own insight or understanding. In all our ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6, AMP).

            My life Gods way is not just a slogan or a cute phrase to recite. It’s a lifestyle…a way of life. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” Jesus is the Way. God’s Word is the right way. Everyday my feelings and my body want to tell me what to do. I don’t always want to be meek and endure other people’s ignorance or jealousy. My body does not like the fact that I am celibate and waiting for the one God has for me...at all. I don’t want to be nice to nasty people. But God’s ways are not my ways. Everyday is an uphill battle but God is able. I am grateful that God is pulling me out of carnality, meaning living and making decision according to my flesh and not the Spirit. Trust God instead of yourself. Live life God’s way. It’s not an easy road to travel, but it’s a worthwhile one.

Reflections

 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Revelations 3:20, KJV).

Recently I have been thinking about where I have been in life, who I was, and how God has changed me. We often focus on the here and now but every now and then, we should look back to see how God has moved in our lives. I look at who I am now and can’t help but give God praise. I’m not a perfect human being. I mess up and I am still a work in progress. I don't have it all together. Nevertheless, God has and is changing my heart and mind drastically. My conduct is no longer the same. My mindset is an upright mindset (most of the time...it's a battle). My heart now desires to be obedient to Christ. Those changes, which are blessings, come from God alone. I can remember thinking that a new boyfriend or new friends can make life and me better. I was chasing the wrong things. After years of falling down and making the same mistakes I finally quit trying people and tried Jesus. It wasn’t easy, still isn’t easy but God is keeping me.

I look at the mindset I had years ago and the things I was doing. Some things still make me cringe. Some of the things I did, I don’t even have the courage to do again. Unless we are exposed to what the Spirit wants to reveal to us, we remain in darkness. We see what we want to see. We continue in behavior and relationships that are unhealthy. For God to reveal Himself and for us to truly hear from Him, He sometimes has to remove people from our lives.  We can’t see what God wants us to see when we are blinded by darkness. Darkness hides the real issues and detrimental thought patterns that keep us from the life God wants to give us. I used to be so angry with God for removing people from my life. However, I am realizing that God has always had a purpose for me and not everyone is included in that purpose. Apart of that purpose is healing. Healing from disappointments, hurts, bad relationships, and wrongful thinking. People often ask God for healing and deliverance. Many people were healed in the Bible. Most of those times the people had to first do something. There was an act of obedience connected to their healing. Sometimes our healing can’t take place because we continue in relationships that God has told us to cut off, or behavioral patterns that God has warned us to stop. I'm saying this to say, as I look back I realize that God couldn’t tell me certain things or bless me because of my disobedience and the people who were still hanging around.

My life is better spiritually, financially, socially, and intellectually. Not to mention the lives of my family members have been blessed because of my obedience to Christ (that’s a whole other entry). Many blessings have come but only because I gave in and allowed God to change me. I’m excited about the next five years of my life because I know who holds my life in His hands. I look forward to reflecting on more of God’s Hand on my life.

Do yourself and the people around you a favor. Seek God’s face. Seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Be obedient to what He is telling you to do. Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land; and feed on His faithfulness (Psalm 37:3, NKJV).

The Most Unlikely Person

 

1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV- But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

                God often does or allows circumstances that make absolutely no sense to the human mind. He usually uses the most unlikely person for His own purposes. Sometimes we can feel unworthy of God’s love, His provision, and His Hand on our lives. In fact, we may look at others and ask why God would ever use that person in ministry. We may think they don’t have what it takes or they are not worthy of a high calling from God. On the contrary, God does not see people as we do. “…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1Samuel 16:7).

                Only God knows the heart of a person. He sees when no one else does. He sees when you submit to Him in obedience while everyone else is doing his or her own thing. He sees you worshipping on your lunch break. He sees when you cry alone but praise Him in faith. God sees our hearts. He sees in secret. The Bible says in Matthew 6:4 that, “…your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

                God knew us before the foundations of the earth. He already had a plan for us before we even thought of stepping into the doors of the church. He knew who we would be once He captured our hearts.  Look at the disciples He chose to work with Him in ministry. He was around these people every day. These were his friends. Matthew, who was a tax collector walked with God. A tax collector was a shameful profession in biblical times. They would take advantage of the people by taking what they had unjustly. However, with no hesitation, Jesus desired to use Him greatly. Peter, who was hot-tempered and denied Jesus three times was used to perform miracles and preach to the Good News. Saul later known as Paul was well known for killing, beating, and torturing Christians. But without Paul, we wouldn’t have almost half of the New Testament. Lastly look whom God chose to be the parents of Jesus Christ. They were young and underprivileged, but obedient to God. I can go on and on about the people that God used in the Bible to accomplish great things. He has always done this and will continue to use people that we don’t think are “worthy.”

                You may not feel worthy of the calling that God has placed on your heart but you are worthy in Christ Jesus. Jesus has made us worthy of any call by God. You may have been a drug addict but God is calling you. You may have slept with more people than you’d care to admit, but God is calling you. You may drink more alcohol than you eat food but God is still calling you. The guy dealing drugs on the corner can be used to save thousands of souls one day. The prophetess that you see today could have been the young lady that slept around the neighborhood yesterday. God can pour out His Spirit on anyone at anytime. Peter in Acts 10:34 said, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.” He can use the man that went to Harvard and the man that never graduated high school to do the same job.  

                The bottom line is don’t be discouraged because of your background or where you came from. Don’t disqualify yourself by thinking that your past has anything to do with your future. He uses the most unlikely person to show His power and His strength. It is His glory that will be revealed in you. This is done so that others may know and believe that He is the Living God.

1 Corinthians 1:27, MSG -Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

New in Christ

Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (2Corinthians 5:17, AMP)

            The year 2012 was a great year for some people. For others, 2012 was a year of heartache and difficulty. Some received answered prayers, favor, and blessings. On the other hand, others made bad decisions and forgot to keep God first in their lives. However, the New Year is quickly approaching. It is a time to celebrate another year we made it through and reached another holiday season in our right minds. It is also a time to reflect on the wrongful decisions and moves that we have made. This is not to beat ourselves up, but to learn from the error of our ways going forward. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. We gain wisdom from our mistakes.

            With that said, 2012 is passing away. It’s passing away with all its frustrations, cares, mistakes, bad relationships, hurts, and disappointments. Many of us are blessed with the opportunity to see another year. The year 2013 is an opportunity for a new beginning. This is the time to have hope and use your faith to make things happen for yourself. What is that thing that is pressing on your heart that you must accomplish? If you want to go back to school, go back. Do you want to write a book? Write it. Thinking of starting your own business, then do it.

           The time is now. The bible says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17, NJKV). Redeem the time. Time that you could have used to do something major you wasted it. More time has been given to you to accomplish your goals. Again I say, redeem the time. For some of us this means seeking a deeper relationship with God. For others it means finally making the decision to put God first in your lives. God should be first in our hearts, finances, relationships, and decision-making. If you would “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6, AMP).

            The New Year is a chance to become new in Christ. “…leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse, because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do. But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy” (Ephesians 4:22-24, NCV).

            You can become new in your thinking, your attitude, and in your heart. God Himself can do this through His word. So “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2, NIV). Talking to God in prayer, reading His Word, and hearing the Word are the best ways to become new in Christ. Make a New Year’s resolution to seek God truly in your heart. Decide to turn away from all the things and relationships that detach you from God. There are attitudes, mentalities, and habits that God wants us to get rid of. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32, NKJV).

Jesus gave up and accomplished so much for us. What will you give up and accomplish for Him in 2013? 

Take Up Your Cross

And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also] is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:38 AMP).

            We all have a cross to bear. God will allow some burdens and tribulations in our lives because He is trying to teach us steadfastness, in Him. How will we learn to trust God if everything is always perfect? For Him to be your Deliverer, you must be delivered from something. For Him to be your Healer, you must be healed from something. For Him to be your Provider, you must lack something so that He can provide. Get it?

             The challenge is when burdens and tribulations seem to last forever in our lives. Sometimes it can feel like God is busy answering everybody else’s prayers except yours. Not true. If you will be steadfast in the Lord, He will come. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him (Isaiah 64:4,NKJV). God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. The key is to wait. Wait for His deliverance and His provision. Whatever it is, bear your cross and follow Jesus. He never promised that the road would be easy; He promised He’d get us there. Jesus was so honest with us that in John 16:33, He tells us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We must have the faith that declares if Jesus has already overcome the world, then because he lives in Me & I live in Him, I have already overcome this affliction.

            Doing the right thing despite the consequences, detaching yourself from ungodly relationships, and doing things God’s way regardless of what everybody else is doing is bearing a cross. Sometimes it hurts to do things Gods way, but my bible tells me, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides” (Matthew 6:33, AMP). We often worry about the everyday issues of life, from money to our relationships, or the lack thereof. However, if we could just focus our hearts on Jesus and be still, I believe that God will move on our behalf. Remember, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:19, NKJV).

            Have you ever been in a relationship with someone, whether romantic or platonic? You two were like peas and carrots when life was comfortable. Then when things got rough, they split? How often do we do this to God? When life is simple and all our prayers are answered quickly, we easily follow Jesus. However, when times get rough and when life does not turn out how we expect, submission to Christ becomes taxing. Bearing a cross of any kind is now out of the question. We must learn to serve God in and out of season. When we are prosperous and when we are not. Otherwise, how real is your dedication to Christ? My friend, bear your cross. I personally know that this is not an easy task. Therefore, surround yourself with people of God that will pray with and for you. Have faith in God’s good character and press your way into your breakthrough. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10, NKJV).