You want me to do WHAT?!

Imagine yourself standing at a big window in your house. As you look out, you see lots of green fields that stretch for miles and miles. There is lots of beauty and life in those fields, every color imaginable. You think to yourself just how beautiful it is and you wonder what it would be like to go outside and walk amongst those fields. It’s a bit of a struggle to act on that desire because it is nice in your house. The temperature is just right and you know where everything is. You don’t have to search for food or water. You just have to live. What do you do? The Lord showed me this very vision this morning and then He said, ‘sometimes your opportunity is on the other side of the glass’. Okay, God!

Isn’t it easy to get comfortable? You have a great routine, regularly scheduled date night, daily workout time, good seat at church. But what if God is calling you to something new, something challenging, something different? What if He is presenting you with green fields but it requires you to leave the safety of your warm house? What do you do when opportunity comes calling?

I thought about Noah. Noah walked with God. He was perfect in an imperfect world. As a matter of fact, the earth was a mess at the time of Noah. God was sorry that He had even made man. The King James Version says that God repented for making man and His heart was grieved. (Gen. 6:6). It doesn’t get any worse than that, does it? Well, you know the story! God tells Noah to build an ark because He is going to destroy earth and everything on it with the exception of Noah’s family and 2 of every creature, a male and a female. Noah is faced with a choice in that moment. He can trust God and build this boat on faith or he can risk death but stay in the comfort of what he knows to be true…what he can see. He chooses to follow God’s commands. Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.” (MSG) How many times have you let what you couldn’t see stop you from believing God?

What about Abraham? I mean, he was the poster boy for walking out on faith, right? God promised him descendants numbering more than the stars if he would leave his native land and follow Him. What would you have done? Maybe a better question would be have you had an Abraham moment? Has God been speaking to you about stepping out from the familiar? Has he called you to a new place that requires you to trust Him like never before? I remember when I left my home church. It was a devastating time for me. I had to leave all that I knew…my family, my friends, my position. To some, it seemed like an easy move for me. But I was crushed, my spirit was crushed and I was lost. I couldn’t understand how the Lord could make my comfortable house uncomfortable. I couldn’t even see the green fields outside of the window but I had to trust Him. It was difficult but in stepping out in faith, I found parts of me that I didn’t know were there. God didn’t promise me easy but He promised me opportunity and life. “By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going.” (Heb 11:8 MSG) How many times have you let the unknown stop you from moving at God’s instruction?

God has a plan and vision for your life that is sure and beneficial. Though He doesn’t always give you the full layout and it isn’t always easy, you can be assured that it will work for your good.  Folks, you have to remember that your idea of timing and opportunity is not always the same as God’s. He may present something to you that seems so foreign but turns out to be exactly what you need. The whole point is to trust Him and not miss what He has for you because you can’t see the ending or you are scared. For some of you, God has been showing you the outside of the window for a long time. “I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.” (James 2:18 MSG) Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to walk out of the house…

God bless…AMEN

 

Is that You, God?

Last night God asked me a question that made me pause. He said, “Will you recognize My voice?” Now y’all know that I immediately said, OF COURSE! But I started to really think about it. How many times have you had a thought and attributed it to God and it was your flesh? Have you heard a word from someone that sounded good and even right but turned out to be that person’s opinion or desire? God wants you to get to a place where you know His voice and respond to it. He wants your relationship with Him to be so intimate that when you aren’t sure, He can immediately confirm it and you will catch hold to it.

When God asked this question, I was reading in Nehemiah 6 about the opposition to the rebuilding of the wall. In that particular chapter, Nehemiah is faced with a decision. His enemies are sending messages for him to come talk to them, all while plotting against him. He seeks out a prophet for his thoughts and the prophet tells him to lock himself in the temple so his enemies can’t kill him. Nehemiah thinks about that advice and contemplates if he should run and hide in the temple to save his life. Then he has a revelation. “I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.  They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me.” (Neh. 6: 12-13 NLT) What is your point, Ebony? The enemy is tricky. Sometimes he will use the church or a religious idea or something that just sounds good to trick you into sin. Nehemiah had to examine the source and the word and determine that it wasn’t God speaking to him. Remember what John says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1John 4:1 ESV) Will you recognize His voice?

Perhaps you are in a situation now where you have to decide whether to move or stay. You are waiting for a clear word from God on how to proceed but you are getting so many opinions from others that the airwaves seem cloudy. You might even be tempted to ask why or if this is even God that brought you to this crossroads. You have no clue what to do. As I was writing this God showed me a word to share with all of you that are trying to discern His voice in your life. “And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes will constantly behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.” (Is. 30:20 – 21 AMP) You will recognize His voice because it will be clear and redemptive. Even if it is not the word you want to hear, it will be a word that will teach you and move you forward. God knows exactly where you are, where you have been and where you are going. He is right in the midst of your situation, and will give you the instruction that you need when you need it. Will you recognize His voice?

God is present and He is faithful and He wants for you to be blessed and connected to Him. He is always speaking to you, you just have to have your ears open to hear Him. You have to be prayed up and open to recognize when it is Him and when it is your flesh or a trick of the enemy. In this season, the Lord is challenging you to go deeper. You can no longer afford surface relationship with Him. He has things to tell you that you must be able to recognize His voice. Nehemiah was on the brink of fulfilling his assignment when the enemy tried to distract and disrupt him. If he would not have been able to discern that that was not God speaking to him, he would have abandoned a mission that he had been ordained to do. But because he was in fellowship with God, the work was finished. “So on October 2the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun.  When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.” (Neh 6: 15-16 NLT) God has a way that is mighty sweet. Will you recognize His voice in your life?

AMEN...

The Writing is on the Wall...

The Lord has been using pictures to minister to me lately and today I saw lots of pieces of paper with lines and lines of writing but I couldn’t understand what it was saying. It was in an unrecognizable language. As I continued to look at the paper, one word became highlighted and turned to English. I sat for a long time waiting for what that meant and finally He gave me the answer. He said, “Your life is not a series of accidents. There is a script and there is a plan. Even if you don’t understand what is going on, know that there is a purpose. If you can just focus on what I tell you to do, your journey will be that much easier.” Whoa…

Often times the circumstances of life, the day to day “stuff” can overwhelm you to the point that you take your eyes off of what God has told you to do. The instruction is usually very simple but your mind says “that just can’t be all there is to it.” So you complicate the instruction by adding your own analysis, interpretation and opinion and you end up with a mess. Today, the message is simple. God has a plan for you and your life, let Him carry it out. I know this scripture is quoted and used all the time but it’s what He gave me to tell you. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11 NLT) It’s time to stop taking the reins and trying to control everything and let God do what He does. I am still working on this because I have a natural inclination to find solutions but God continues to remind me that if just stay in position and listen to Him, I will avoid a whole host of pitfalls. You have to stay on plan!

It can be hard to stay on plan when you don’t know what’s ahead. Anybody out there like me? You want a clear picture, a road map, everything laid out, right? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anywhere in the Bible, where God says He will tell us everything that He has planned for us in bullet points. Have you? He says clearly that He has a plan and it's for good. But Isaiah 55:8 & 9 gives us a clue “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” So when God showed me that one word in the midst of a whole bunch of words, He was telling me that He was going to give me what I could handle. He was going to give me the part of the plan that I need right now and as I need more, He will reveal more. Don’t allow yourself to get tripped up because you can’t wait for instruction to move. Could it be that God is waiting for you to master that one instruction before He moves you into the next part of the plan? Could it be that the way He is working things out is not as you imagined it? Trust the plan!

Paul reminds us again of God’s plans for us in Ephesians 2:10. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (NLT) Do you see? God has known you from before you were formed in the womb. He planned you with good things in mind and He cannot go back on His word. Life will happen to you. He never promised that you wouldn’t have hurt or loss. As a matter of fact, He tells us clearly that you will suffer persecution for Christ’s sake in Matthew 10:16-22 and several other places in the Gospels. But He gives the assurance that even in the face of persecution and struggle, “he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt 10:22b NLT) There is a future and a hope for you, if you stay on His plan.

No matter what situation or circumstance you find yourself in today, I encourage you to focus on God’s instruction. If He tells you to walk, then walk with purpose. If He tells you to shut up, close your mouth and let Him do the talking. If He tells you to go, go in faith believing that He wouldn’t lead you astray. Put down the pen! Stop adding notes and ideas to God’s plan for your life. He will give the creativity. He will give the increase. He will provide the excitement. Trust that what He has for you is a million times better than what you could ever come up with. Be encouraged! God’s got a way that’s mighty sweet and a plan that's foolproof!

AMEN…

 

Enter In!

This morning The Lord showed me a door. That was it! A door...So I asked Him what that meant and I heard "Enter in". As I continued to listen, He began to make it clear. It is so important how you enter into something- a new year, a new job, a new agreement. You have to have the right mindset and the right intentions. It is the beginning of something new. You have an opportunity this year to make a statement about how your year will go. You have a fresh opportunity to enter into The presence of God like never before. So I invite you to take God up on His invitation and enter in!

After seeing the vision of the door, I was led to Psalm 100. This is one of the most well known passages of scripture in the Bible. Verse 4 says "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name" (NKJV) This verse and the whole chapter tells you how to get into God's presence. There must be a recognition of who and what God is in your life. In order to come forth with thanksgiving, you have to know that He has done something for you. In order to praise, you have to realize that He didn't have to do it. You see, people often get it wrong, especially in churches. People think that God is their entertainer. He has to produce a miracle or lay someone out before we give Him a reaction. But David is saying that when you go in, YOU have to do something. You have to "know that The Lord, He is God; It is He who made us and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." (Ps. 100:3 NKJV) Isn't that enough to want to enter in?

In the few days since this new year began, I have seen people struggle to wait on God to answer. I have seen frustration, depression, even fear as the issues of 2013 followed some into the new year. I believe this is why God brought this word today. You see, in His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand pleasures forevermore. You don't have to be at the answer as long as you are in His presence. He will supply the joy that carries you through. He will give you the peace that surpasses all understanding. Because the truth of the matter is that He is the answer. When Joshua was leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, it wasn't a smooth trip with daisies and sunshine. No! They had to fight and trust and survive but oh when they entered in, the promise was fulfilled! "So The Lord gave to Israel all the land He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them for The Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises The Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true."(Joshua 21:43-45 NLT) When they entered into the Promised Land, everything they had been promised came to pass. God gave them rest and He showed Himself strong. God will do the same for you! Isn't that enough to want to enter in?

I encourage you today to enter into God's presence. Make it a point to get there! Don't let the cares of this world or your circumstances keep you from getting what God has for you. Enter in, saints! All that you need is waiting for you there! God bless you...

Amen

And the giant fell...

"Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord ’s, and He will give you into our hands.” So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David." (I Samuel 17:47, 50 NKJV)

This morning God sent me straight to the story of David and Goliath. It wasn't what I was expecting! I just knew we would be talking about a fresh start or a new anointing. You know? Something exciting! But instead He told me to look at these two verses in particular and said to me, "And the giant fell..." I sat still for a minute as I processed. Then I got it. This year is about strategy. It's all about understanding who God is in your life and in your struggles. He wants you to understand that what you face daily is not outside His realm of control. He wants you to see that He will give you the victory in small and big battles when you give them to Him. 

Notice that God highlighted in these two verses that the traditional weapons of war were not needed. God took what David had and made it into a giant killer. There are a lot of big battles that you may have to face this year or are currently facing that you don't have to fight the same way. You just need to know Who is behind the scenes. You need to see and acknowledge that the battle is already the Lord's and He will give you the victory. And it is not just any victory. It's a prevailing victory! That means that you don't just win by happenstance instead you "prove more powerful than the opposing forces." Don't you want to see the giants fall in your life this year? Don't you want to walk away from battle knowing that that particular enemy is dead and you have no blood on your hands? 

I challenge you this year to see God for who He is. See Him as the Master General, the One that draws up the battle plan and carries it out with precision. See Him as the One that can take your small salary, your weakness, your hurt and turn it into a giant killer! See Him as the One who can take small opportunities and use them to prepare you for big battles. Stand in faith and watch as the giants fall...

Amen