Position check

Isn't it amazing how time flies? It seems like we were just closing out 2011 and now here we are at the gateway of 2013. It's been quite a year. There have been triumphs and losses, joys and sorrows, peace and turmoil. Some have celebrated a closer relationship with God, while others have questioned His very existence. People are reflecting on what has been and praying about what is to come. However, in this last entry of 2012, my challenge to you is very simple - Trust God.

Okay, maybe simple is not the right word. For some trusting God is one of the hardest things because you are so used to doing things on your own but as we leave this year behind, I encourage you to make this your plan of action. You see it doesn't matter what you're going through or who you are. This is imperative for everyone. You see, trusting God is not just for when things are going well in your life. It's when your heart is broken from the loss of a loved one. It's when you have no job and aren't sure about a plan B. It's when you are angry or bitter and just can't move on. It's when you want something so desperately but it feels like the waiting is more real than the manifestation. It's certainly not easy but it has to be our focus.

Jeremiah took me somewhere this morning on this trust journey that I believe will bless you. You remember Jeremiah don't you? He questioned why he should even be used by God and often in his book, he battles with the messages he has to give and his call. Aren't we like that? We know that God has a plan for our lives and has called us to something big but we struggle with our flesh and wanting to do what we want to do. But hear what God says in Jeremiah 17. He says, “Blessed is  the man who trusts in the  Lord , and whose hope is the  Lord . For he shall be  like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7, 8 NKJV) 

What a great word as we get ready for a new year! Look at what God is telling you. If you put your trust in Him, you won't have to worry when drought and lack are all around because of your positioning. Water represents life and God is the source of all life. If you trust Him, you will be in the place to receive continuous nourishment and supply and won't have to fear the pressures from the world or stress of lack because God will ensure that you continue to produce fruit.

It's time to stop looking to man for solutions to problems that only God can fix! This is not to say that God can't use man to help you but when we are looking to the world or a person to hold all of the answers, we are in trouble. This is what the  Lord  says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the  Lord . That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. (Jeremiah 17:5, 6 NIV)  

Aren't you tired of the desert? As we go into this new year, let's be sure to check our positioning. Let's make sure we are close to the river and not straying over into the dry lands. Let's be mindful of who God is in our lives and the fact that He knows every hair on our head so He certainly is aware of where you are in life. Don't try to speed up His timing because you think you are ready. Trust that God knows. Trust Him to handle every situation you face. As we leave 2012 behind, I challenge you to trust God with all you have. Trust Him to heal your body. Trust Him to heal your heart. Trust Him to heal your marriage, finances, faith...whatever you seek! 

Love and peace to you! Amen...

Live on...

A terrible and unimaginable tragedy occurred last Friday. Whether you are a parent or not, I’m sure your heart broke for the loss of those beautiful babies and brave women.  I was devastated as I prayed for the families. I asked God for guidance in how to move forward from this and the answer was profound: LIVE. I took a breath and let that word sink in. It became clearer and clearer. Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy. If we all crumble and die in sadness and bitterness and anger, he wins. It’s time to live! In the face of senseless death, we must not be trapped in that moment of ending but turn up our lights and cherish life that much more. It’s time to live!

It’s Christmas time again and we celebrate the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ and the beginning of His journey.  We celebrate the supernatural power that is God. We celebrate new life. God has shifted his focus to honoring that precious gift. I believe that He is moving us further beyond thanksgiving to putting the thankfulness into action.  He truly wants us to start living, to be grateful that we have breath in our bodies. Those 20 young lives that were lost won’t get to experience high school and college and parenthood or any of those gifts that come with being an adult. But they lived and made an impact. It’s our turn. Honor those young lives by starting yours afresh! Jesus told us in His own words that “I have come that they may have life, and that they have it more abundantly.”  (John 10:10a NKJV) Are you living an abundant life? If not, it’s time to live!

Charles H. Spurgeon, a 19th century Baptist preacher once said “Go forth today, by the help of God’s Spirit, vowing and declaring that in life—-come poverty, come wealth, in death—come pain or come what may, you are and ever must be the Lord’s. For this is written on your heart, ‘We love Him because He first loved us.’’ Isn’t that powerful? No matter what we face in our lives, we are the Lord’s and we must stay in that frame of mind. We must not give in to what the enemy wants us to believe. We must determine that no matter what comes our way, we will live.

I don’t know about you but I’m tired of the devil’s darkness being allowed to permeate this world. I’m tired of seeing otherwise peaceful people be turned into violent killers because the enemy overtook their mind. I’m tired of seeing marriages attacked by a spirit of division. I’m tired of seeing depressed Christians because the enemy has convinced them that they are alone in this world. I’m especially tired of watching families being torn apart by unaddressed anger and bitterness that the devil keeps feeding. Folks, we have the power to fight the devil! We have the Word! We have to return to living in the light of Jesus Christ. You see we have loved darkness for too long. The devil’s future is decided and we will overcome. “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Rom. 13:12 NIV)

As you celebrate your Christmas on Tuesday, do so with a renewed joy and faith. Choose to live! I’m standing up to the enemy on your behalf and declaring PEACE, JOY, LOVE, and LIGHT! I believe that you are no longer going to be content with irritation, anger, or bitterness. I’m excited that your latter will be greater and your old has passed away! God is doing a new thing in you! Embrace it and look forward! It’s time to live the abundant life! Live on…

Merry Christmas, God bless and AMEN…

Crucifixion time...

As I was sitting here getting ready to write, something a good friend told me earlier this week popped into my spirit. She said, “Just because things change, doesn’t mean you did something wrong.” When she initially said it, I brushed it off because I didn’t immediately connect with it for what it was: a word of correction. Isn’t it funny how we all have habits that are so much a part of us that we don’t recognize when they can be detrimental? I’m super resourceful, a planner and a fixer. If you tell me that you need a TV, I’ll send you a couple of places that are having sales within a few minutes. If you say to me “I need to get away!” I will have some ideas within seconds and email them to you. I can create an itinerary like nobody’s business! Google was created for me! That’s not necessarily bad, right? But it also takes me a while to adjust when things don’t go according to the plan that I’ve come up with. I will worry about the smallest change and how that will affect the plan until it gets fixed or someone tells me that it’s ok. Where are you going with this, Ebony? It’s a pretty simple answer actually- It’s time for a crucifixion.

I often ask God why I have to tell all my faults for the world to see. He told me that through my transparency someone else can get set free.  I can admit to not being all that agreeable at the beginning…lol…especially since my mama reads this! But anyway, here we are at a crucifixion this morning. Are you wondering who the unlucky person is? It’s you and me. We are coming to the end of another year and it was a long one! Though it seemed to pass quickly at times, there have been some real struggles and hard times this year. Things we didn’t expect to happen…happened. Things we hoped would end… didn’t. People we tried to shake… wouldn’t leave and the ones we didn’t want to let go of, went away. Now it’s time to kill those things that have been holding us back. We cannot take bitterness, anger, hurt, and pain into 2013. It’s time for a crucifixion.

This is a real crucifixion too and when it’s finished, we’re not going to resurrect any of the things that we kill today. Paul told us in Galatians 5: 1 to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (NKJV) In other words, if Christ has set you free, don’t go back and pick up the dead stuff. Christ went to the cross so that we could be free, so why do we continue to walk around in bondage? And often times, it’s not the big things that kill us. It’s those little things that we allow to grow into big things. It’s just like me getting caught up with things that I can’t control. If I allow my frustration, when things don’t go according to plan, to turn into anger or cause me to cuss someone out because they didn’t do what I wanted, I’ve turned a benefit into a negative.  So…I’m putting that hyper control up on the cross today. What do you need to kill?

This is not to say that you won’t struggle. The struggle is real but it doesn’t have to consume you. We can no longer allow unforgiveness, anger, frustration, etc. to keep us from our blessings. We can’t get to the new life of post-resurrection unless we kill the old stuff first. 2013 is going to bring promotion for some of you. It will bring new life to others.  But I refuse to let it bring 2012’s issues! Paul said, “For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor...I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2: 18, 20 NKJV)

We have to consciously leave those dead things behind and live out our new Christ centered lives. I’m not going to be the same Ebony in 2013, I want you to see Christ who lives in me. How about you? Let’s really nail this stuff to the cross. Are you ready…ok here we go! Ummmmm…anger? You’re keeping me from the righteousness of God! (James 1:20) You’ve got to die! Hey, bitterness! No longer will I be withheld from God’s forgiveness because of you! (Matt. 6: 14-15) Here’s a nail for ya!  Oh yeah…control…didn’t forget about you! I heard God tell me to be still and know that HE is God. (Ps. 46:10)So I don’t have to handle it all anymore! It’s crucifixion time!

As you finish out 2012, my prayer for you is that you leave everything that hinders you on the cross. I pray that the load gets lighter each day as you kill off those things and begin to walk in newness. I see your sleep improving, the smile coming easier, and the joy of your salvation being restored! May the God of peace, cover you as the old passes away and the new comes!

AMEN…

Revive us again!

Have you ever been in a dry place? Maybe you feel stuck in sadness or bitterness, distant from God, or just plain tired? You know the Word. You know what you should be doing but for whatever reason, you just can’t get it together. You just feel…off. What do you do? What is it? When will it end? Sometimes, the Church gets like that. We need someone to pump us up. Our services are dry and dead. It seems like no one has a testimony or a shout. It’s actually pretty draining when your well runs dry and you’re pushing and pressing but can’t seem to break through. Well today, God wants us to wake up! It’s revival time!

This past week or so, I’ve been struggling in my early morning prayer time. It seemed like I couldn’t get through the whole time without falling asleep. As I thought about it, it was reflective of all of my time with the Lord this week. My study time, my worship, everything was a struggle. You know we can blame the devil for everything but sometimes it’s us! Now, he will take advantage of the openings that we leave for him but I had to be honest with myself and say it was me. This morning, I said "Oh no! I'm orbiting out of this galaxy of foolishness!" I cried out to the Lord for a revival! I told Him that I couldn’t be satisfied with worship, prayer, and life as usual. I wanted more. Have you ever wanted more from God? Sometimes you have to chase after it and not settle for waiting for it to come to you.  You see revival is not for the world. Revival is for God’s people and His church! It’s personal and if we all grab hold, the world would be changed!

Psalm 85 is a great prayer/song of restoration in the Old Testament. The people had been freed from their captivity in Babylon but it seemed that they had not received their full restoration from the Lord so they went before Him for revival! The first 3 verses remind God of what He has done and then goes on to ask how much longer. We then find the request for revival so that the turnaround can happen.  Isn’t that like us? God brings us out over and over again but yet in our flesh, we fall back into what we have been delivered from. God heals our hearts, we bring up old pains. God blesses us, we think about what we still don’t have. God delivers us, we find a new habit.  But today, we are not going to be satisfied with that any longer. We want to be refreshed and restored! We are crying out to God, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in You?” (Ps. 85:6 NKJV)

Do you remember the old hymn, Revive Us Again? My favorite verse in the song is “Revive us again; Fill each heart with Thy love; May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.” Doesn’t it make you want to sing? “Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again!” This morning I am asking the love of God to rekindle our souls with fire from above! God, set fire to personalities and the faces of man! Spark a fire in us that we might worship You like never before! Stir up the gifts inside of us, that we might use them to change the atmosphere around us. Fresh fire, fresh anointing, fresh wind! Revive us, O God! When we grab hold of revival and let the Holy Spirit work on us, favor and restoration comes! “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.  Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.  The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.” (Ps. 85: 10-13 NIV) Doesn’t get much better than that!

I challenge you to seek God’s face like never before! Do what it takes to get there – soak, pray, take a day off to rest. Whatever it is you need to do, do it! God is seeking true worshippers and you can’t give true worship with a dried up spirit! Revive us again, God!!

AMEN