Last Call!

I was a club girl and I was faithful to it! You could find me at the jook joint as easily as you could the sophisticated nightclub. I loved to dance and I loved to drink. I know some of the saints have immediately checked out of this post. LOL! But it’s okay. It’s time for us to tell the truth in the church. Anyway, at the end of the night, the bartender would call out “Last call!” It was an immediate signal that I needed to get to the bar for one last drink before they stopped serving. Well, today as I was praying for Rhema, I heard the Lord say “Last call!” and it immediately got my attention as it used to back in the day. As 2017 comes to an end, instead of rushing to the bar for another drink, it is time to head straight to your secret closet and place your order.

Unfortunately, too many of you will go into 2018 the same way that you have been in 2017. You will still have the same dramas, anger, and frustration. You will say one thing about change but continue to live out what you have always been.  But today, the Lord is giving you a heads up! He doesn’t want you to get caught by the end of the year without giving you an opportunity to come see Him one more time. He doesn’t want you to end your year regretting that you didn’t get to Him on time. Therefore, I just want to challenge you to take advantage of the last call! Rush up to Jesus, leaving those things that mean you no good.  He’s giving you an opportunity before 2018 comes to place your final order of 2017! So here goes…

Last call for the relationships that are not beneficial to your next! “Don’t link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself.” (2 Cor. 6:17 MSG)

Last call for foolishness in the church! “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters,by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” (1 Cor. 1:10 NKJV)

Last call for manipulation and control! “And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.” (Matt. 24:4 ESV)

Last call for bondage! “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” (Gal. 5:1 MSG)

Last call for doubt! “Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” (James 1: 6-8 MSG)

Last call for fear! “For God has not given us a spirit us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7)

Last call for shame! “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.” (Is. 61:7)

Listen, I could go on and on but the truth is, this may not be your list! This is your opportunity to tell the Lord what you are unwilling to take with you into 2018. I don’t know about you but I believe 2018 is going to be my best year yet. I am expecting God to do amazing things in and through me. And guess what, I am completely unconcerned with what people think about that. I spent much of 2017 worried about how to make other people comfortable with what God told me to do. Well, that is over! The Lord told me to keep my eyes on Him and He would work the other things for my good. If you know like I do, you will move quickly. I’m a witness that His favor is better than man’s opinion.

Happy New Year!

Identity shift!

Nine years ago on Christmas Day at 5:17pm, my whole life changed. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Sanai, who despite many doubts from doctors, arrived on her expected due date. She was small and caramel and looked just like her daddy. She barely cried and I remember asking if she was okay because I didn’t hear anything after she was born. On that day, I had an identity shift. All of a sudden, I was someone’s mother. I was responsible for making sure that she was fed, protected, and prepared to face the world. It overwhelmed me and I looked to my own mother for a comfort and knowledge that she was uniquely able to give me. Because that day was so life changing, I remember it like it was yesterday. So what is your point, Ebony? What does my birth story have to do with you? The Lord reminded me of this day and what happened to me because of the birth of a baby. He, in turn, asked me to remind you of how the birth of a baby 2000 years ago has affected you. It caused an identity shift!

Listen, the world has made a real effort to shift your attention from the birth to the gifts. If you think long enough, it makes sense to key in on the wise men and their gift giving because it is the most comfortable part to digest. It doesn’t take much faith to envision giving gifts to a new baby. If you give all of your attention to that, you don’t have to try and reconcile the Immaculate Conception or the assassinations by a threatened king or even the various appearances by angels. In focusing on the gift giving, not only do you lose sight of just how much this birth changed the world but it also shifts you away from how much the birth prophesied who you were meant to be. You see, upon His birth, the world went from waiting and reading “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6 ESV) to the reality of “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger... (Luke 2:7a ESV) There was no longer the tension of possibility that was felt with Isaiah’s prophecy. Now, the waiting was over! The baby had arrived, and with Him the manifestation of the promise of restoration and redemption. As soon as He was born, there was a shift in who you could be.  Don’t miss your identity shift!

Just as my identity changed with the birth of my daughter, yours did with the birth of Jesus. Do you remember how I said that Sanai was born on her due date? Well what I did not mention was that I was sent home from the hospital on Christmas Eve because I wasn’t ready for birth. It frustrated and upset me because I was in a lot of pain and I thought it was time; but what I failed to realize then was that her birth was written in the plan. She came on time despite my frustration, the nurses’ predictions, and the doctor’s projections. And so it was with the birth of Jesus. Despite the circumstances, the doubts and the struggles, He came right on time, and it was about so much more than a manger and some gifts. It was about what He would do for you 33 years after that night. It was about the fact that you would need a savior and an advocate. It was to shift your identity from one who was born in sin and shaped in iniquity to one who is saved and redeemed. It was to transfer the responsibility for your protection and provision from you to Abba Father. When Mary said yes to God, it propelled you into destiny. Can you imagine that? Someone else’s yes hundreds of years ago was the vehicle to your victory. True, if she had said no, another would be used but you have to understand that the plan was already written and it included her yes. He did not have to have an alternate because He had chosen the right one. Some of you are so afraid to answer your call when the reality is that you are the right one and your yes is already in the plan. You are just slowing down the process with your fear.  Accept your identify shift!

In all of my rambling, I hope you understand that the birth of Christ solidified who you are in the Kingdom. With Him, you are victorious. With Him, you are saved. With Him, you are purposed. His birth means you are no longer who the world wants you to be. You are identified with Him, forever changed from dying to life! Sanai made me a mother on that Christmas day many years ago and on His birth day, Jesus made you a winner. May you embrace your identity shift and walk in who you are!

Merry Christmas!

 

It's prep time!

There are 17 days left in 2017 and my assignment today is to make sure you use the time wisely. As I was praying this morning, the Lord put Romans 12:1-2 in my spirit. I heard it as clearly, in the New King James Version, as if an old deacon was reading it on a Sunday morning. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” However, in order to make sure you really feel it, I am going to share it again in the Message version. (I know, I know…not surprising!)

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Rom. 12:1-2 MSG)

 The Lord began to talk to me about leaving the old behind and walking into the new with clean hands and a pure heart. He began to talk to me about the great exchange and the reality of a living sacrifice. The churchiness in many of us will skip over the importance of Paul’s choice of words when he said “living sacrifice”. You see when God sent Jesus to redeem us; He gave His life for our freedom. He took the purity and holiness of Christ and put it against the dirt and shame of sin and the result was eternal life, victory and restoration.  When Paul talks about placing our whole life before God as an offering, he is reminding us of that exchange. He is reminding us that while offering and sacrifices in the Old Testament meant death, Jesus’s sacrifice means life. That is why it is so important to take the instruction of these verses and walk into 2018 with a new level of thinking. Your perspective must change. Your willingness to compromise your obedience to make others comfortable must change.  Your decisions to prioritize your schedule over God’s plans must change. The Lord is calling us from a self-centered comfort to a God-inspired obedience.

2017 has called for many of you to transition and shift. It has called for you to exchange some relationships and places for new ones. It has called for you to leave some old attitudes and behaviors behind and replace them with new ones. It has been challenging and uncomfortable, as it is not an easy process to leave the familiar for the unknown. Believe me, I understand! However today, I want to let you know that the harvest of spiritual maturity will be worth it. The stretching and the uncertainty will pay dividends.

People of God, use these remaining days of this year to deal with your disobedience, rebellion and struggle. Identify what is keeping you from presenting your whole life to God as a living (continual, breathing, moving) sacrifice and fix it. Leave the world’s approval behind and embrace the Lord’s opinion. Give God your best in preparation for your new in 2018!

Amen

Let God be God!

Can I just help you out today? I won’t take up much of your time but I want to tell you something and I really want you to apply it to your life starting this very minute. Ready? Let God be God. That’s it! That’s all I got! I know that may be difficult to really take in because your automatic response is “I do.” I know that because it was mine. But the truth of the matter is, you don’t. I mean, you say the right things, and do the expected things but sometimes you get in the way. Sometimes God’s timeline doesn’t line up with yours and so you make “adjustments”. Sometimes God’s decision isn’t quite what you expected and so you rationalize another way. Sometimes God’s instruction is a little too hard and so you decide to do things your way. The result is what matters, right? Wrong. You see, God has a purpose and a plan for your life. It’s intricate and detailed and it was written on a level that is so much higher than yours. It takes into account your free will, your bad attitude, your “no”, and your wrong choices. It’s even prepared for your fear and your disobedience. Does your plan have all of these contingencies? No? Well, let God be God!

I know, I know! This is supposed to be an encouraging holiday word that you can feel good about and that’s truly what I wanted to do but God thought better of you! God wants you to walk into your 2018 better than where you are now. He wants you to know that He can handle any and everything that you face and it won’t be hard for Him. But here’s the thing. He doesn’t need your help! He is God all by Himself and there is no one like Him. He has this plan for your life and it’s well thought out. Look at Jeremiah 29: 10 -14.

“If you want the truth, this is what the Eternal has to say: “You will remain in Babylon for 70 years. When that time is over, I will come to you, and I will keep My promise of bringing you back home. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Eternal, “plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope—never forget that. At that time, you will call out for Me, and I will hear. You will pray, and I will listen. You will look for Me intently, and you will find Me. Yes, I will be found by you,” says the Eternal, “and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations where you’ve been scattered—all the places where I have driven you. I will bring you back to the land that is your rightful home.” (VOICE)

Notice that I started with verse 10. You see, people don’t like to look at the hard stuff that often comes before the blessing.  But God showed me that in order to trust Him in the “future and hope”, you have to trust Him in Babylon. In the beginning of Jeremiah 29, God told the exiled Israelites how to live and survive in Babylon before He told them about what would happen in the future. If you let God be God in your life, He will show you how to prosper in your wilderness and then bring you back home RESTORED. Read those verses again! He’s telling you how to let Him be in control of your life. He’s telling you how to make it, how to trust Him. He’s showing you that He already knows what you’re going to face and He’s made provisions for it. He has not lost track of you. He has not forgotten what He told you or the hard places that He has sent you to. The issue is whether or not you will relinquish control long enough to reap the fruit.

“God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?” (Num. 23:19 NLT) God is consistent and He is faithful. You can trust Him to handle your life. As a matter of fact, you’ve seen Him do it before. So here’s your chance…get out of the way! Step back, stop trying to carry it, stop trying to plan it, stop trying to figure it out. God is asking you TODAY to let Him do it.  HE is lining things up for you. HE is shifting things in your life. HE is putting things in order. And guess what? He has it all under control so just take my advice and let God be God…

Amen…

It's in you...

Sometimes when I get ready to write Rhema, I hear a scripture. Sometimes I hear a phrase or see a vision. Today, I just heard God say, SPEAK LIFE. He told me to edify and build you up for your next assignment, your next hard conversation, your next challenge. He told me to remind you that what He has put inside of you is enough to accomplish that which He has told you to do. He told me to remind you that He has not forgotten what He told you and He has not forgotten when He told you. He told me to tell you to stand on the promise that He gave you. He said so many times people have disappointed you and told you that they would do this and do that but they fell off or never finished. He said to remind you that He is a finisher and His work is already done.

He wanted me to speak life over you. He said, “Daughters and sons, life is in you. “ Then He took me back to the beginning…to the creation…to the moment when He gave man life. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. “ (Gen. 2:7 ESV) He told me that when He gave Adam breath, He was thinking of you. He knew of the failure that would come. He know of the bad decision that would come. He knew of the shift that would come. Nevertheless, in all of that He knew of the life that He had put inside of you. He said that it was to sustain and encourage you. He said to hold on to it! No matter what death may try to come against you, He put life in you. No matter what criticism may come against you, He put life in you. No matter what sickness comes upon you, He put life in you. No matter what opposition comes against you, He put life in you. Remember the life. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Woman of God, rise up! Man of God, stand strong. You “shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:17)

I speak to the tired and to the weary! I speak to the struggling and to the lonely. I speak to the pushing and to the pressing. I speak to the leaders and to the followers. The Lord is speaking life into you today. He is blowing strength back into you and lifting you up. He is reminding you that you are not in this fight alone. He is reminding you that though circumstances are hard, they are not the end of the story for that has already been written and YOU WIN.

May you hear the voice of the Lord and receive your fresh wind. May you feel the peace of His embrace and move in His grace. May you remember His promises and walk out your purpose. May you LIVE.

Amen

The time is now!

One of the great things about doing Rhema on Thursdays is that I get to celebrate Thanksgiving with my readers every year! It has been 6.5 years and it still absolutely amazes me to  think about the people all over the country that God allows me to encourage each week. It made me really go back to the beginning of what God said about Rhema and how my yes to write a blog has led to a retreat and books. What about you?  Have you taken time recently to think about what God placed you here to do? Have you re-visited the instruction that He gave you or reviewed the vision He showed you? Have you made sure that you are doing what He said? Well, as you ponder all of the things that you are grateful for today, I want to challenge you to remember what He said. I want to challenge you to follow up and follow through. There is no time to waste.

God is a planner. It may seem crazy to simplify God down to that one phrase but it really sums everything up. From the very beginning, God has worked a well thought and strategic plan that will culminate in an eternity with Him for those that accept His invitation. In the midst of His planning, He thought about you. Yes…YOU! He thought about how everything you would go through would come together to bring Him glory. He thought about your ministry and your purpose. He thought about your business and your destiny. He even thought about your family and your legacy. So if He told you to start a daycare, He not only saw the parents and children that would be impacted on a daily basis. He also saw all of the people that each child would touch because of the seeds you planted. Make sense? You have got to be about His business. You have got to finish what He told you to do! You don’t have a choice because it is bigger than you. There’s no time to waste.

For those of you that are waiting for your money to be right and your schedule to line up before you make your move, stop. When God gave you the vision, He meant for you to do it. He meant for you to start praying, start saving, and start moving. He meant for you to act like you heard Him. He meant for you to obey. The Bible says,  “He who watches the wind [waiting for all conditions to be perfect] will not sow [seed], and he who looks at the clouds will not reap [a harvest].” (Ecc.‬ ‭11:4‬ ‭AMP)‬‬ In other words, if you are waiting on perfection, you will not ever move. If you are looking for “a sign”, you will not get what God has in store for you on the other side. There is no time to waste because the wheels are already in motion and the clock is already ticking. Whether you choose to move or not, God’s plan and purpose will be fulfilled. The question is whether you want to be a part of it or watch someone else do what He told you to do. There is no time to waste, saints! Why? Because the time is now…

Amen

It's time...

The Lord gave me a question early this morning to ask you and it hits hard and straight. What is it really about? He then began to show me all of these examples. What are the random angry outbursts really about? What are the defense mechanisms that you put up for everyone really about? What is the sadness that exudes from you really about? What is the depression at the same time every year really about? What is the need to stay when you know you should be gone really about? What are the repeated cycles and patterns in your relationships really about?

He showed me a vision of a Victorian library with very old books on the shelves. It looked like it got a lot of use but I noticed with closer inspection that it had cobwebs. It seemed to me like a huge contradiction. Why would a room that gets a lot of use still have dust and cobwebs?  I didn’t really understand what He was showing me. However, as I continued to look around, He told me to pay closer attention to the whole scene.  He told me that some of you are like this library in the spirit. The books are the experiences and situations of your life. There are a lot of them, some of them very old and you go back to them on a regular basis and look at them, flip through them, and read them. The issue is that you don’t take the time to deal with them. You don’t invest in cleaning your space out and taking out what no longer fits there. You don’t take the books that no longer fit or tell the story that fits this season your life. You skip over the hard books that document the hardest struggles and the most painful chapters. You just let them sit on your shelves, taking up space and aging you.

I am uncomfortable in this type of writing and sharing but the Lord is saying that today is about truth. He reminded me of how Moses spoke to the Israelites at the end of his life about the Covenant. He wanted to make sure that they were ready to receive Joshua, their next leader. He gave them a lot of important instruction to prepare them. One of those was to not allow things or people to stay in their midst that would ruin the whole group. “Don’t let down your guard lest even now, today, someone—man or woman, clan or tribe—gets sidetracked from God, our God, and gets involved with the no-gods of the nations; lest some poisonous weed sprout and spread among you, a person who hears the words of the Covenant-oath but exempts himself, thinking, “I’ll live just the way I please, thank you,” and ends up ruining life for everybody.” (Deut. 29:18 MSG)

Today, God is calling you to your next level but you cannot leave anything that can eventually poison you or your purpose. Today, you have to go into your library and deal with the hard stuff. Today, you have to face your secret hurts and struggles. Today, you have to acknowledge that there are some places, some things, and some people that you need to be delivered from. Today, you have to speak to that spirit of grief and tell it that it can no longer cause you to live in depression years after your loss. Today you have to speak to that spirit of manipulation and tell it that it can no longer cause you to stay where you are not valued or loved. Today, you have to speak to that spirit of rejection and tell it that it can no longer cause you to miss the authority that you possess. Today, you have to speak to that spirit of religion and tell it that it can no longer keep you from experiencing the fullness of God. Today, you have to speak to that spirit of guilt and tell it that it can no longer keep you from living in your present. It is time.

The Lord desires to take you to your next level. He desires to see you living out your purpose with joy and zeal. He desires to see you loving your family and your life without the conditions of past hurts and struggles. In order to do that, you have to deal with the hard things. It is time to face what people may have done to you and even what you have allowed. It is time to take a hard look in the mirror and ask the Lord to show you what you need to be set free from and then do the work. I am tired of hearing people say that they are good when they clearly are not. I am tired of people saying that it doesn’t take all that when they clearly need more. I am tired of people thinking they are judge and jury when their crime is just as big. You see, everyone has to look at himself or herself and tell the truth. EVERYONE! I have to do it all the time. I wrote a whole book about getting to freedom because I had to do it. It’s time. Get in that library! Take those books down that don’t tell your story anymore. Throw away what doesn’t belong and update them with the books that speak of freedom, restoration, and truth.  It is time.

Amen

Expect God!

Last Sunday morning, my pastor walked into our morning meeting with an excitement! She encouraged us to expect God to show up in our service in a mighty way and He did. Ever since she spoke those words, an excitement has been stirring in my spirit. I have been declaring my expectation to God and He has been answering. So, I don’t have a deep word for you today. All I have is a simple challenge and it is this: expect God and He will do it! Whatever your hardship, whatever your struggle, I don’t care! Expect God to show up in that situation and watch Him do what you have requested.

The Lord led me to a familiar passage of scripture but one I wouldn’t have connected with this. Acts 3:1-8 in the Message says this,

“One day at three o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting. At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout. Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Look here.” He looked up, expecting to get something from them.

Peter said, “I don’t have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. He jumped to his feet and walked.

Can I just direct your attention to the section where the man saw Peter and John about to enter the temple? He saw them and immediately decided to ask for a handout. Peter and John looked at him in preparation to do something for him. Why? Because that was what they were called to do. But I digress. Peter and John responded by telling the man to look at them and here’s the key. “He looked up, expecting to get something from them.” God highlighted this one line for me. This man looked at Peter and John like we should be looking at God. He had asked for a handout and he was expecting them to give him something. He sat at that temple everyday so he most likely had seen them before. He probably had an inkling of what they had inside of them. If you know God’s track record and you know you belong to Him, shouldn’t you be waiting for Him to show up with something you need? Shouldn’t you position yourself at the temple aka in your prayer posture and wait for God? Peter and John responded to the man with exactly what the man needed. Some of us get it wrong because we want the response to be what we want but God is giving what you need.

That man had an expectation for something to happen on his behalf. Whether it was a little food or a little change, he expected Peter and John to answer his request. He had been lame since birth but he wasn’t even asking for healing that day. But guess what? His need and his expectation collided and he got his breakthrough. Can I suggest to you that God is waiting to do some things for you? Your job is just to believe and expect Him to do it.  Can I just encourage you that the Great I Am, El Shaddai is big enough to take care of your needs and meet your expectation?

I want to stir up such an excitement in your spirit that you begin to look at that sickness, that barrier, that trauma, that bill, and you put your expectation on it. Just begin to declare, “I expect God to do it!” over every hard place in your life. It will change your focus, your perspective, and your outcome. It will challenge the enemy to be greater than God and he can’t do that. Come on, saints of God!! It’s time for a language upgrade! It’s time to show God that your expectation lies in His ability to come through. Declare with me! Hallelujah! Glory to God! Thank You for the good report! Thank You for the answer! Thank You for another promise kept! I expect You, God and I know You will do it!

Amen
‭‭

Do Not Disturb

There is something special about being able to sleep in. I don’t mean when you oversleep but rather when you wake up on your own without the alarm or a phone call. When you have intentionally given yourself the opportunity to really rest and your body naturally wakes up. Think about it. What is the first thing you do when you go to a hotel? If you are like me, you hang up that “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door. You want to go ahead and have it in place so there are no early morning knocks or disruptions from the housekeepers. As I was in prayer this morning, I heard the Lord say it is time to put up your “Do Not Disturb” sign and stop the disruptions. He showed me that some of you have been in battle so long that you have missed some crucial opportunities to hear from Him. You have been rushing to get here and there. You have been fighting off attacks. You have been sick in your body. You have been busy being everything to everyone.  You have been off your game. Well today, God says, it’s time to take back your time and your peace.

He then led me to what I thought was an odd place in the word - John 14. It is one of those classic funeral scriptures. It’s probably in the top 5 of New Testament scriptures that we go to when we think about death.  It makes us feel better to hear Jesus say that He has gone away to prepare a place for us. However, God highlighted the very first verse to me in the Jewish bible translation. It reads, “Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me.” (John 14:1 CJB) Did you see that? Wow! Jesus led with those words before He gave the disciples key information about who He was. He essentially said there are some important things coming and you need to be in a place where you can hear it. You need to be on guard. You cannot let yourselves be bothered. You can’t let your heart be troubled as the New King James says. What you need to do is trust God and trust Me! This is so important, folks! God wants to tell you your next assignment. He wants to give clarity to an instruction. He wants to walk you through the steps to your next level. But guess what? He needs you paying attention. He needs you undisturbed and trusting. It’s time to take back your time and your peace. Where is your “Do Not Disturb” sign?

The Lord then instructed me to go to the dictionary for those that need a little more. To disturb means to interrupt the quiet, rest, peace, or order of; to interfere with, interrupt or hinder; to interfere with the arrangement, order or harmony of; to disarrange; to perplex or to trouble. Did you find yourself in any of those words? You see, when God has a purpose for your life, the enemy gets his plan in order to disturb you. He wants you to be so caught up in the logistics or the people that you miss the lesson and the instruction. The Lord said that it is time to get back to the place where you are intentionally hearing Him. He is tired of playing second fiddle to your friends, your family, and your “stuff”. He has heard your complaints of “I’m tired”, “Where did the time go?”, and “These people are getting on my nerves.”  Do you know what His response to me was? He said, “Make a choice.” He told me that some of you have made “ministry” your excuse. He is not impressed. He said ministry without Him is not ministry. It’s being busy.   Get in His face and stop letting circumstances, distractions, and people keep you from getting what you need. He said you have divine deadlines to meet and you do not have time to entertain distractions. Put up your “Do Not Disturb” sign. It’s time to get to work.

Amen.

No more excuses...

The Lord has had me parked at John 9:1-4 since 5:30 this morning when I got off a powerful call.

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”  Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.” (MSG)

The devotion leader talked about the verses and highlighted that you have to do the work that God has instructed you to do while you have time.  It truly blessed me and I kept replaying those verses.  It has taken me all morning to discover why I could not move away from it and why God had me to read it in the Message translation.  Verse 3 says, “Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do.”  This is where God made me sit up! The man’s blindness was not about someone’s fault. It was about God’s glory being revealed through it.  Listen!  Some things have happened to you that have been hard - that transition, that divorce, that death, that foreclosure. They were crushing but what they were not meant to be the end of you. Stop looking at those things as where your life stopped and instead let them push you to a new beginning. Look at what God can do through you because of what you endured and overcame instead of the event itself. He does not make mess and He does not give mess. People are the ones that mess things up when they taint His instructions with flesh.  Jesus said just do what God sent you here to do! Take your eyes off the wrong things. It is simply time to stop asking the wrong questions about your life and get moving! Hear the Lord.

No more excuses. No more saying what you cannot do. No more holding on to dead things and places. No more allowing the enemy to rule what does not belong to him. No more repeating the traits and traditions of your parents because it’s what you know. No more using fear as your crutch and safe place. No more complaining about what you don’t have. No more whining about what someone else did or said. No more excuses. The Lord told me clearly today that until you stop owning the pain of your past, your today will continue to look like your yesterday. He said until you make the choice to tell the truth about your feelings and your issues, you will stay exactly where you are. He said it is time to move and He is tired of the excuses. He said that He does not give out instructions, gifts, or assignments just for the sake of doing it. He does it for the advancement of His Kingdom.

What right do you have to give more credit to the enemy’s schemes and plans than to His word? Before you start to deny it…Yes, you do! When you allow fear to keep you somewhere that you no longer belong, you are crediting the enemy. When you perpetuate the wrongs of your family, pastor, boss or whoever, when you know it’s not right, you are crediting the enemy. When you refuse to honor the visions, plans, and ideas that the Lord has given to you, you are crediting the enemy. When you blame others for what is wrong in your life instead of seeking deliverance, you are crediting the enemy. No more! It’s time out for all of that! You see, the Lord is not playing. He has GREAT things in store for you but until you look at what God can do rather than what the enemy has said you can’t do, you will continue to live an average life. You will continue to keep waiting for the promise rather than walking in the manifestation.

I have had to repent for making excuses this morning. I have had to repent for giving the enemy my time and attention. How about you? Are you ready to leave the excuses behind and walk into what God has for you? Wholeness, freedom, victory? Come on! Let’s do it! What God plans for, He always prepares for. Therefore, He has given you everything you need, the only thing you need to add is your faith. NO MORE EXCUSES!

Amen

Have you found the right thing?

The other morning, while in the shower, I heard the Lord say something critical. He said, “You’ve lost some things in your life, but you have found the right thing.” I have replayed those words repeatedly this week. He has kept it before me and reminded me at key times throughout this week. I have had to share it with others and I’ve had to hear it for myself. Just now as I was struggling through what I thought was supposed to be the post for today, He said it again. Therefore, I am going to stop struggling and be obedient.  That last sentence is a word all by itself but I digress.

Listen, you are going to lose some things in this life. People are going to disappoint you and your relationships will change. God is going to move you to a different place in Him and your church might change. You will make decisions that cause you to lose money or homes or jobs. You WILL lose some things! But today, God wants me to remind you that if you have Him, you have found the RIGHT thing. The Lord then dropped Proverbs 18:22 in my spirit. It reads, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.” Ummmmmm…not quite where I thought we were going with this but it was not to the wedding scripture of the year! However, the Lord told me to look at it again. He re-translated it for me and it jumped off the page for me as “a person that finds a God ordained covenant finds a good thing and obtains favor.” Ohhhhhhh! That’s what marriage is, right? It is the first institution of God, it is holy, and it is personal. If you have committed yourself to the Lord with your heart and your spirit, and you tell Him that He is your Lord and Savior, you are essentially married to Him. You are in relationship. You are in covenant just like Christ with the church. Therefore, if you have found Him, you don’t need to worry with what you have lost. This scripture speaks to what you gain when you find what He has purposed for you.

Maybe I am being too deep so let me put it in Ebony terms. I do not care what man says about you or does to you; they do not define your next step unless you allow them to. If they leave you, turn their backs on you, disappoint you, it does not matter. They cannot give you what God already has stored up for you. In other words, stop worrying about what is no longer with you. Stop crying over WHO is no longer with you. Some things and some people were not meant to stay. They were placed in your life to teach you, grow you, and show you who you are. How you interacted with those people/experiences and how they affected you was all about getting you to your next place, either through pain or through joy. Your responsibility is to see that for what it is and go forward with God. Why? Because you have found what you need in Jesus. You have found the good thing!

Think about this! Many women really want a baby. They have prayed and waited, perhaps even tried to make it happen in various ways. However, a baby will not replace the stability and joy of Jesus Christ. That little person, no matter how cute, cannot give you wholeness. Nope, it’s only the Lord that does that. He can use the baby, the marriage, or the job for your benefit and His glory but it is Him and not the person or thing that does it. Find yourself in Him and the result will be favor. Stop looking for peace in people and find it in the One who gives it beyond all understanding. Stop searching for wisdom from man and find it in the One who gives it liberally and without reproach. Stop looking for love and fulfillment and find it in the One who gives it unconditionally. You may have lost some things in your life but I promise you that if you have found Him, you have the right thing!

Amen…

Rhema Classic: Shhhhh...God is speaking

Do you remember as a little child when you would be talking a mile a minute and your parents or your teacher would put their finger up to their mouth and say SHHHHHHHH? That was the way many of us learned the cue to be quiet.  Nobody has to explain what it means when someone says SHHHHHHHHH, right? It’s universal.  We live in a culture where everyone has to give their opinion. Everybody has to have a chance to talk. It seems now that we’ve taken that into our relationship with God. We want to tell him all about our situations and issues but whenever He wants to give us the answer, we can’t hear Him because we’re still talking. Well today, if you close your eyes and really listen, you can hear the Lord saying “SHHHHHHHHHHH…I’m speaking.”

It’s so interesting how often you hear people say that they need to hear from God or how long it’s taking to get an answer. But we fail to recognize that God hasn’t stopped speaking or answering, we’ve just stopped listening. Do you remember in Exodus 14 when the children of Israel were at the Red Sea and the Egyptians were quickly approaching? They began to cry out in fear and ask Moses why he led them out of Egypt to die. Sound familiar? You know when you got to that trial that you didn’t see coming and it caused you to chase after God but when the breakthrough didn’t come as expected you began to question God’s plan? They were ready to turn back but Moses told them to “stand by and see the salvation of the Lord…” He then said gave them the key in verse 14, “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” (Ex. 14: 14 NASB) Right after he said that, the Lord began to speak and He told Moses exactly what to do and they were saved!  God couldn’t tell them what to do when they were talking and crying. Shhhhhhh…God is speaking

What about our friend Elijah? We find him in 1 Kings 19 in quite a mess after killing all of the false prophets of Baal and ticking Jezebel off.  She promised that she was going to kill him so he ran for his life into the wilderness. Like many of us may have done, he started talking and asked the Lord to take his life. He just couldn’t see a way out of his situation so he chose to focus on the end. But I am grateful for a God that knows what we will face and will send angels to minister to us in our low place. The angel of the Lord fed Elijah and he was able to travel for 40 days on that food until he reached a cave on Horeb, the mountain of God. The Lord came to him and asked why he was there. Elijah responded and The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” This is when it gets good, folks.  “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (1 Kings 19: 11–13 NIV) Sometimes we get caught up in thinking we need a big grand sermon, a famous preacher, or thunder and lightning for God to be speaking to us. We keep talking and searching and we miss the fact that He is speaking to us in a whisper. Shhhhhh…God is speaking

Whenever I need a word from God, I have to put myself in a place of silence. A place where there is no distraction. Before I write Rhema, I pray and then lie quietly and just listen. If I don't, I will write out of my flesh or get caught up in the distractions of life. Listen! God is always speaking but we are missing it. We’re missing it as individuals, as families, and as the church.  He wants us to know His heart and hear what He is telling us but we seem to like the sound of our own voices more than His. Proverbs 10:8 says “the wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined.” It’s time to be quiet, saints, and listen because God is speaking.

May your hearts and ears be open to receive what the Lord is saying to you today…God bless!

AMEN…

It's not dead!

Today, the Lord said to me, “It’s not dead.” He told me to declare that over your life, over your vision, over your marriage, over your business, and over your faith. He told me to remind you that He gave it to you and He has purpose for it. He told me to speak life over you, your mind, and your spirit. He told me to stand flat-footed and tell you that, “It’s not dead.”

He showed me that some of you are struggling with some things that, in your mind, you did not ask for. When it came to you, you accepted it, you invested in it, you loved it but now that it looks like there is no life in it, you are questioning God about why He gave it to you. “I was perfectly fine being single, God.” “I was doing alright in the background.” “I was alright with the bible study, Lord.” “I was moving along with the little bit, God.” You sound similar to the Shunammite woman when she went to Elisha after her son died in her arms. “Was it I who asked for a son? I told you not to mislead me!” (2 Kings 4:28 VOICE) She wanted to know how to respond to the death of a promise that she did not ask for but had come to love. Have you been there?

Elisha responded to the woman by sending Gehazi to check the status of the boy by laying his staff on the boy’s face. Nothing happened. There was no response.  Some of you have people that have looked at your situation and declared it dead. They have diagnosed your marriage and said there is no coming back. They have looked at your finances and figured there is no way you can climb out of that hole. They have seen your vision and determined that you cannot possibly get it done. Let me give you some good news! The Lord has seen the lack of response and He is responding with power.  He is sending exactly what you need to inject life into what looks dead. He wants you to know that He has the power to invoke a response where others have had no success. It is not dead!

Look closely at what Elisha did. He decided that an in-person appearance was necessary. He showed up on the scene and he went to work.

“Elisha arrived at the house and saw the lifeless body of the boy lying on Elisha’s bed.  He went into the room, closed the door behind both of them, and prayed to the Eternal. Elisha approached the boy and lay down, placing his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, and his hands on the boy’s hands. He covered the boy with his own body, and warmth returned to the boy’s body.  Elisha turned around and paced back and forth in the house, then he went back into the room and covered the boy’s body with his own body. The boy sneezed seven times, and then he opened his eyes.” (2Kings 4:32-35 VOICE)

Can I show you how the Lord walked me through Elisha's process?  Go with me! First, Elisha saw that there was no life left in the boy but he did not declare death over him. Instead, he closed off all distractions and he prayed. Stop speaking death over what God gave you! It can still live. He then laid down with the boy.  He didn’t take the “pray from a distance” approach. No, he got close and then he addressed his heart. Heart? Where do you see that, Ebony? It says he put his mouth on his mouth. Well, the Lord reminded me that out of the mouth, the heart speaks. The necessities of life flow through the mouth – eating, drinking, and breathing. Jesus said that life does not come from food alone but from “every word that comes from the mouth of God”. (Matt. 4:4)  If Elisha put life back into his mouth, he could go on. Come on! What is coming out of your mouth concerning your promise?

He then addressed his vision. I was reminded that Jesus said, “the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” (Matt. 6:22)  If Elisha put life back into his eyes, he could go on.  He then addressed his hands. Folks, this was the impartation of power! Job said that “he who has clean hands, grows stronger and stronger.” The Lord even said in Isaiah that He has us written on His hands. If Elisha put life back into his hands, he could go on. Have you invited the Lord to put His hands on that gift? He then addressed His body as a whole. Why? Because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:19)  Your body is your sacrifice and your tool for worship. (Rom. 12:1) If Elisha put life back into his body, he could go on.

Finally, Elisha paced the house before he went back to finish the work. In other words, he stepped back from the situation and took authority over the place where the lifeless thing was going to have to live.  Once he had done that, Elisha covered the boy's entire body. Why? I believe that in doing so, he sealed the work by covering it with all that God had put into him. The boy responded by sneezing 7 times. "Sneezing is your body's way of removing irritants from your nose or throat." (healthline.com) The boy was able to reject what death had tried to accomplish and claim the finished work.

Listen! I know this was super long but I need you to know this. When God has given you a promise, He will not let it die before it accomplishes its purpose. It is not up to you to make something happen, but it is up to you to make sure that you get that promise in the right position to live. The Shunammite woman didn't ask for her promise but once she got it, she watched over it and made sure it had what it needed to live. Don't give up...it's not dead.

 

Here's my worship...

My mind has been all over the place this week! I have talked to people going through so many different things in life and struggled to find the words to comfort them. I lost one of my youngest first cousins at 22 years old and I have struggled to find the words to describe my feelings. I have seen people hurt by church folk and I have struggled to respond with my spirit and not flesh. God, how do I write this week when struggle seems to be all around? How do I give You what I know You deserve when all I have today is struggle? Then I heard this sweet melody in my spirit and I began to sing, “Here’s my worship.” How about you? Look at the last week or so and see if you can hear a worship…

People won’t do right…here’s my worship!

Money looks funny…here’s my worship!

Tired and weary…here’s my worship!

Been waiting for a long time…here’s my worship!

Just don’t know how you’re going to make it…here’s my worship!

Relationship is taking more than it’s giving…here’s my worship!

 

You see, The Lord let me know that worship was the answer. He sent me to Luke 4:8 and I found something so interesting. Most of the translations I looked at said something along these lines, “For it is written, you shall worship the Lord and only Him.” But the New King James Version (my favorite!) added something that I believe is important this morning. It reads, “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:8 NKJV) I took this as a reminder that the enemy wants your worship. He wants you to struggle and give in to that place of isolation and sadness but the Lord has sent a word to you today. Tell the enemy to get behind you! Tell him that your worship goes to the Lord and Him only. That means that your time, your attention, your focus goes to the Lord alone. Isn’t that what worship is?

 

If the enemy has tried to put a whole lot of other things in front of you this week, I challenge you to turn your back on the foolishness, put your eyes on the Father and sing, “Here’s my worship!” You see, it is so important that you remember Who alone is deserving of all the attention that you have given to that person, situation or place. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days so I think He can relate to struggle. However, before He gave that Word, He made sure the enemy knew that his power did not go ahead of the Word. His tricks and his schemes could not change what the Word says. Will you remember the power of your worship today? It can break yokes and change situations. Here’s my worship, Lord…

 Amen

To My child...

I have started and stopped 3 times trying to get my wording right but apparently, this is going to be one of those weeks. The Lord said type and I will do just that…

It is not what it looks like. I am working what looks lost for your good and I am bringing to the forefront what seems small. I just need you to trust Me. I need you to use wisdom and discernment and know that I do not do anything by accident. I need you to understand that you can no longer allow the temporary to hold you up because what I have for you is eternal. What I have prepared for you has been in My plan since the beginning of time. Do you know what means? It means that just because what is happening in your life seems like a surprise to people, it is not. I planned that promotion, that elevation, and that shift. I called you to the crossroads and I expect you to take the road that I have instructed. Why? Because you know it’s the right thing. Fear may say something else but I have not given you the spirit of fear but love and a sound mind. Today, I expect you to use your sound mind. Today, I expect you to do what I have called you to do. Today, I expect you to walk on water and trample on serpents. Today, I expect you to do the challenging thing. Why? Because that is what I have equipped you to do. People have gotten the authority that I gave them all wrong. They have used it to control and manipulate but I gave it for salvation and life. I gave it so that you could snatch someone from the grasp of the enemy with power. I gave it so that you could look at a situation and speak life over it. I gave it so that My word would go forth and reach more people. I gave it so that you would be ready for the next level of glory. My child, this is your time to move in obedience not in the comfortable. It is not the time for you to make My word fit what you want to happen but it is time to take the hard step and walk out what I have told you to. It is time.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18 NLT)

Amen.

Just what you need...

My heart’s cry for you today is Jesus. His name is the answer to your prayer and the balm for your battered spirit. Today, I want to love on those of you that have just been pushing through. You have been working and serving without acknowledgement. You have been leading and pouring out for others without a refilling of your own. You have been carrying the weights of a family or a people and it has been heavy. You have been praying and covering while wondering if anyone was doing the same for you. You have been secretly worrying about loved ones while appearing to be strong. Today, the Lord is speaking to you. Today, He is healing you. Today, He is shifting the weights and easing the load. Today, Jehovah Shammah is sweetly whispering, “I am here” in your ear.

The Lord led me to the words that He spoke to Moses when they spoke face to face in the Tent of Meeting in Exodus 33. If you remember, Moses would set the Tent up outside of the camp and the people would stand at attention until he entered. When the Lord in the form of the Pillar of Cloud would descend to meet Moses, the people would bow down in worship. The Lord showed me YOU in this illustration. He showed me the heaviness of carrying the petitions of a people. He showed me the weight required to meet with Him for others and then carry out the instruction. He highlighted Moses’s words to Him so that you would know that He understands where you are.

Moses said to God, “Look, you tell me, ‘Lead this people,’ but you don’t let me know whom you’re going to send with me. You tell me, ‘I know you well and you are special to me.’ If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans. That way, I will continue being special to you. Don’t forget, this is your people, your responsibility.” (Exodus 33:14 MSG)

Have you said something similar recently? Have you wondered how to continue or how to respond to an instruction that only you and God know about? Has the weight of praying for husband, children, parents, church members completely exhausted you? Do you just want a clear answer, guide, plan? Well, hear the word of the Lord, just as He responded to Moses.

God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.” (Ex. 33:15 MSG)

He is with you. He is covering you. He is healing you. He is restoring you. He is strengthening you. He will not stop before you come out. He will not leave before your breakthrough comes. He will not abandon you before the promise manifests. He will see you through to the end.

Amen

Under control...

I am in Florida this week for a family vacation. Hurricane Irma also seemingly has plans to come to Florida and she is not a welcome guest. As I have been watching the coverage surrounding this impending storm and the damage left behind by Hurricane Harvey, I’ve been thinking a lot about the storms that we face in life. Like in nature, there are those quick storms that pop up and end quickly. Then there are those big ones like Irma that we see coming and have to prepare for the potential fallout and damage. The Lord told me something very simple today and I pray that it resonates with you. He said, I control the storm.

Some of you may cringe at a statement like that. I know I felt a  little prick in my heart! How can God be in control when these catastrophic storms come our way? God sent me to Psalm 107:29 – 30 for the answer. “He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper, so that the waves of the sea were still. Then they were glad because of the calm, And He guided them to their desired haven (harbor).”(Ps 107:29-30‬ ‭AMP‬‬) Here’s the thing! God wants you to understand that there is nothing that comes your way that He can’t handle. He can turn the strongest storm to a whisper. Whether it’s the buildup,  the impact, or the debris,  He can speak to it and bring it down to size. And when it’s all over, you will know that He has brought you through.

It may almost seem that I am making light of the storms in your life by writing so little. In actuality, I am showing you how little you have to do in the face of all of these storms. Your main responsibility is to trust in the God who controls it. Jesus spoke a three word phrase, “Peace, be still” to the storm in Mark 4:39 and the winds and the waves had to obey. In Matthew 8:26, He rebuked the storm and there was peace. You see, no matter how loud, how much pressure or how threatening, He is present and He is in control. He is not afraid and He is not taken by surprise!

Stand firm, prepare as He says and watch Him handle the storm!

Amen…

Lessons from my miss!

For the first time in over 6 years, I didn't post Rhema on Thursday. The truth is my day was crazy and it completely slipped my mind. I woke up this morning and realized what had happened and felt my heart sink. How could I forget? How could I not complete my assignment? What are people going to say? All of these questions played in my head on a loop for several minutes. After a while I realized that I had been letting Ebony's voice speak pretty loudly but I wasn't getting anywhere. So I stopped and just listened and I heard it. The Lord said to me, "Now you move forward..."

Listen! Life happens to all of us. We will inevitably miss a meeting or an appointment. We will fail a test. We will lose some friends. We will even disappoint God with our choices. But can I let you in on something? God doesn't sit down in our failures and misses. He continues to operate and work in the plan that He has set before us. Romans 8:28 says, "All things work together for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." (NKJV) It doesn't say those things that Ebony gets right will work together for the good. Nope! It says ALL things. But it also doesn't say that all things will work on your timeline. What it does say is that you have a God that takes care of His kids. It does say that He responds to relationship and honors it by making sure that whatever you go through will work for your good.

Some of you may be saying, what's the big deal? So you missed a week, so what? My response to that is I will be available to chat when it happens to you. You see, when God has given you an assignment or shown you a vision and you don't fulfill it or it doesn't work the way you expect, it shakes you. It can take people months, even years to recover. But the Lord reminded me this morning that His plan is not contingent upon what you or I do. His plan goes forth regardless! Why? First of all, He has already accounted for our free will. But mostly because He is too forward thinking to be caught by surprise by your ups and downs. If He was, Kingdom work wouldn't go forth, when the pastor is sick or the outreach team is on vacation. He showed me 3 scriptures that I want to leave you with. 

Jeremiah 29:11 - “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” (MSG)

No matter what your natural mind says or the opinion of people or the enemy, God has a plan for you that is filled with Him and your next looks good!

Proverbs 19:21 - “We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but GOD ’s purpose prevails.” (MSG‬‬) You can come up with every plan B and option 2 in the book but God's purpose for your life is going to go forth. That's why a miss or failure can't be allowed to take you out. He's already seen the end result!

Jeremiah 1:5 - “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.”(MSG‬‬)

Doesn't this give you comfort? Before you planned your life out at age 9, before you got that divorce, before you lost that job, before you missed that assignment, God knew you. He knew all about you and He made a plan for you to impact the Kingdom. He had you and your life on His mind. Trust me, He's got this!

So that's it! Keep moving forward, man of God! Don't quit, woman of God! Your miss is another powerful line in your testimony of how God took the mess that was you and produced victory. Rhema will survive one Friday post, as will I! And guess what? You will survive too! Love you...

Amen 

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Are you really free?

Today, God gave me some specific instructions for you and I am going to get right to it. He said, “Stay right there.” What does that mean, Lord? Stay right where? He answered, “Stay in your truth, until you get where I’ve called you to be.” Before I go too far, let me be clear. This is a “meet you where you are” word. This is a word of self-examination and truth. This is a word for YOU. How can I say that? Because it was a word for ME first. So many times when people talk about freedom and breakthrough, it is wrapped up in what someone did to them. The bondage is easily identified with a point of impact or a traumatic event - the abandonment of a parent or a spouse, the mental or physical abuse, the molestation, the divorce, the death. Those are real places and they have real effects on how you live your life and how you interact with other people. I am not talking about that today. Today, I am talking to you about you. I am talking to you about how you tell yourself that you are in a good place, when in fact, the enemy has blinded you to how you actually present to the world. I am talking about those moments when you hear the Holy Spirit speaking conviction but it is easier to say it is about other people.  I am talking about how you pray for others to get free but you have missed the areas that still require work in you. I am talking about truth.

Jesus left the Holy Spirit on earth with clear responsibilities in John 16. He left Him to be a comforter and an advocate. He left Him to remind us of God’s righteousness and convict us when necessary. He is to be a conduit of Truth. He does not speak on His own but tells what He has heard from Jesus. He is the voice of the Trinity. He is to guide us into all truth. I really started thinking about this thing and it really started to blow my mind. Jesus wanted to make sure that when He left this earth in the physical sense, the truth of who He is as our savior was clear to His people. Why? Because truth is who He is. Do you remember what He said in John 14:6? He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” So the question is why don’t you tell the truth? Why don’t you acknowledge that a lot of what is happening in your life can find its roots in you and your decisions? Don’t take offense! I am not minimizing what has happened to you, however, it is time to have real talk. I mean, at what point do you say to yourself, “Pride has kept me from apologizing to some people.”  “My unwillingness to acknowledge that I did not get it all right has separated me from some people that had my best interest at heart.” “My attitude has kept me from being promoted at work or in ministry.”  “My need to control everyone and everything in my life has caused isolation.” Does any of this sound familiar?

Jesus was not talking to non-believers in John 8 when He said, “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” He was talking to His people! Look at John 8:31! They were so comfortable in their position as descendants of Abraham that they didn’t see that there was areas in their lives that needed to be addressed. They didn’t see that they were missing the message of Christ because there wasn’t room in their hearts. They ended up wanting to stone Jesus in verse 58 because He called them out of their complacency and their position. Are you willing to come out of your position to get free and I mean really free? Are you willing to stay in the trenches of your own “stuff” until there is nothing left except the Holy Ghost? Are you willing to tell the truth today? Pride has to die. Anger has to die. The spirit of competition has to die. The need to be right has to die. The Pharaoh spirit has to die. Jezebel has to die. Come on! Tell the truth and call that mess out. I’m tired of watching whole families stay on a cycle of poverty, lack and chaos because Grandma won’t tell the truth about her pride. I’m tired of watching churches fall apart because Pastor won’t admit that he is broken and needs deliverance. Lord, help us today to tell the truth!

Hear the word of the Lord, tell the truth today and break the stronghold that has been over your life and that of your family. It is time. Stay right where God puts you until you get it all. Why? Because whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”

Amen

Stop your mess!

Listen…obedience is hard. It’s hard when people don’t understand your why but you still have to do it. It’s hard when your yes makes others uncomfortable. It’s hard when you have to leave what you know because the unknown holds your destiny. Yep...obedience is hard. The last year of my life has been a study in hearing the hard instruction and saying yes. It has meant lost relationships, lonely moments, and hard conversations. It has meant understanding that what God had for me was more important than what people felt about me. Let me tell you…not fun! But what I have come to know more than anything else is that my obedience is enough. My willingness to follow God’s lead is exactly what He wants from me and it is what He wants from you. You see, at the end of the day, your feelings don’t matter. Why someone did what they did doesn’t change what God told you to do with the information. Your response is what He is looking at. I’m learning that God’s plan for my life doesn’t always include the outcomes that I want or think they should be. Things don’t always look how I want them to but if I do what He says, the end result is always the right one.

I want to briefly point something out to you that I just really noticed today. It’s the why that I have often sought when thinking about my life. Hebrews 5:7-9 says, “While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the One who could rescue Him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”(NLT) It was through those hard beatings and the taunts, that Jesus saw why He had to obey. It was through the doubt and the abandonment that He saw why humankind needed a savior. It was the challenges to His deity and the questions about His power that made His yes make sense. Because of those lessons, God exalted Him and lifted Him up as the One that we all must obey. Out of His suffering came obedience and from there qualification and elevation. Don't you think your obedience is worth it?

Oh yeah! There are some of you that have gotten this obedience all wrong. The Bible didn’t say stay and suffer. This verse said the suffering birthed the obedience. Men and women of God, your obedience is necessary. You can no longer let your comfort or your fear dictate your move. There is too much work to do in the Kingdom for you to keep living in disobedience. So I’m calling you out today! Scared to start your own business even though God told you He would provide? Stop your mess and obey! Stuck in a dead place when God has shown you life? Stop your mess and obey! Been holding on to that blank school application for 2 years but won’t turn it in even though God showed you the perfect program? Stop your mess and obey!   I’m sorry that I don’t have anything soothing to say. I’m just plum out of soothing! It’s time for action and I mean NOW. You have waited long enough! Let me help you out before I close. Ready?  I made it and so will you. I know what it is to survive hard instructions and thrive. You just have to do it!   I am now free to be who Ebony Bryant was called to be because I said yes! I know that God desires the same for you.

Amen

Future so bright...

Last week, I invited you to say goodbye to foolishness. It was a challenge that I felt deep in my soul. One that stretched some of you to look some people, situations, and circumstances in the face and tell them farewell! Well today, I want to invite you to say hello to your future. You might ask what the two have to do with one another and it’s an easy answer. You can’t walk into your next place carrying the baggage and weight of your yesterday. You can’t walk freely in your tomorrow if you are holding on to the struggle and the fear of what was. You see, foolishness has taken up a lot of your time.  And by foolishness I mean the people, places, and things that God has separated you from that you keep trying to hold on to. If you haven’t already, I want to encourage you today to change your perspective completely. Turn your face toward your future and begin to welcome it. The old stuff is behind you and freedom, peace, and deliverance await you on the other side. If you will just take the step of courage, you will see and feel the breaking and shifting that you have been seeking.

You see God is on the side of your future. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Do you see that? It’s future tense. It’s telling you that what you leave behind won’t be allowed to take you out because God will be there. It’s telling you that no matter how the people react or how the situation turns out, you have a safeguard. You have a promise that God won’t let fear or dismay be your end result. **Insert praise break** Yes!!!  Isn’t that good news? Jeremiah 29:11 says that He has plans for you and they are for a future and a hope. And guess what? Your future is full! Why? Because if God is with you then love, strength, and peace are with you. Isn’t that God? He is the All Sufficient One!

So get up, let’s say hello to that future! God does not want you holding on to your past when He knows what He has in store for you at the end. Come on saints, you’ve wasted enough of your shifting time because you’ve been scared of the movement! No mam! No sir! It’s time to say hello to your next. I mean…LISTEN…it’s time.  Today, I am speaking freedom over you! I am speaking life into your future! I am cancelling every chokehold that has held you attached to your past. You need to dance right over those chains and into your joy! And can I tell you that there is no dance like a freedom dance?! Hello, future! I’m ready for you!

Amen...

Goodbye, foolishness!

I have been relaxing all week since Rhema ended. I even contemplated not writing today and as you can see, it is late in the day. But then, I heard this one thing that I need to share.

The call on your life is too important to risk on foolishness. 

If God has given you a business, a vision, an assignment, or a dream, please don’t let people stop you. Please don’t let opinions and schemes keep you from walking in obedience. Please don’t let your own doubt keep you in the clutches of someone else’s need for control. You see, the Lord doesn’t waste His purpose. Nope! When He gives it to you, it’s because He wants to see you walk in it and no one else should have the ability or power to tell you when or how to move in that purpose. So today, in these few sentences, I want to stir up your confidence and remind you that you have nothing to fear because God is with you!

“One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid anymore, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you in order to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” (ACTS‬ ‭18:9-10‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

These 2 verses slapped me in the face today out of nowhere. I don’t remember having ever paid attention to them before. They are nestled in the same chapter where we are introduced to Aquila and Priscilla and yet, they took me completely by surprise. The verses are God’s reminder to Paul after a particularly harsh encounter with the resistance and opposition of Jews in Corinth. He shakes the dust off himself and decides that he is going to preach to the Gentiles. After, Paul makes that decision, many are saved at the home of Crispus. What is your point, Ebony?

Once you make up in your mind that the calling on your life is worth walking away from old mindsets and traditions, your whole life will change. Once you recognize that you have Jehovah Shammah, present with you, your vocabulary will change. You will see that you don’t have to fear because God is with you. No more keeping silent because you don’t want to upset someone else. No more downplaying your gift and purpose so that “bound” people will be comfortable. No more believing that you need a certain set of people to push your vision. As The Lord told Paul, no one will be able to succeed in their attack against you because He has put people in place to support and cover you. You might not even see them but they are there – ready to sow, ready to cover and ready to bless. So, let’s get going! Tell silence and fear goodbye. The call on your life is too important for foolishness.

Amen