Celebrate!

I don't have much for you this week! This is the first time in almost six years that I have been this late with Rhema and my nerves are torn up. I've had a crazy week and my Thursday and Friday just plain got away from me. The Lord gave me a quick word of encouragement and that's really it.  And when I tell you that  I’ve tried over and over again just to get this word to you with no real success. Finally, He said me just send the word. You see, some of you have been going through some real challenges and you have been waiting for confirmation that it is  soon to be over.  Well, God sent me straight to Psalm 118:21-25 in the Message translation yesterday morning and hasn't let me forget it. He told me that it is time for you to celebrate your victory. It's time to remember that what Christ did was a finished work and rejoice! Are you ready to take off those grave clothes and dance? This is your day…the day!

“Thank you for responding to me; you’ve truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is GOD ’s work. We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it! This is the very day GOD acted— let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, GOD. Salvation now! Oh yes, GOD —a free and full life!” (Psalm‬ ‭118:21-25‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

I need you to put David’s words in your mouth TODAY! Generations before Christ was born, he prophesied Christ’s victory. David spoke of the overcoming spirit of Jesus and how important that is for you and me. Come on! Get excited. No matter what people have named you or called This is the very day that God will act on your behalf. This the day He frees you from bondage. This is the day your marriage recovers. This is the day He saves your whole family. Isn't that enough to celebrate? My prayer for you today is that you experience true rejoicing. That you know what it is to be confident enough in the God that created the moon and the stars. Trust your life and your rejoicing with the God who finishes. So join me, today with a shout of celebration! God has acted on your behalf…

Amen.

He's got just what you need!

One of my favorite hymns growing up was Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. I can still hear the strong voice of Mr. Clyde, one of the deacons, singing “Leaning, ohhhhh, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.”  I loved to watch the old saints as they sang because you could tell it meant something to them. You may not have understood why they got so into it but you knew the words were doing something. Then one day, you wake up and realize that the only way you are going to make it through that particular day is if you lean on the arms of Jesus. You realize why the saints were shouting and waving their hands. You see, that song was written almost 130 years ago but it can still minister to you. It can still remind you that as long as you stay wrapped up in the arms of Jesus, you are safe and secure from all alarms. Do you know why that is? It’s because God has not changed. He is everlasting and eternal. Today, I just simply want to remind you that God is still just what you need.


One of my favorite scripture passages is 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10. It literally blesses me every time I read it! I think it’s because it reminds me that I cannot do this journey in my own strength. This passage comes right after Paul’s account of his own out of body experience in heaven. He received so much revelation that he was given a thorn in his side to keep him humble. Paul begged God 3 times to remove the thorn and God finally responds with “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Sometimes, you can get so caught up in the problems, the weights, the burdens, that you forget the solution is already present. God’s grace and strength are always at work and you really don’t have to do anything except receive it. God is still just what you need.


I remember doing a bible study lesson once that focused on the armor of God. There was a lively discussion about being prepared daily for battle. The question was raised as to why folks think it’s a good idea to put the armor on in the middle of the battle instead of at the beginning. Ephesians 6 has been available for centuries, yet people still find themselves losing the same battles due to lack of preparation. Why is that? God has not changed! He has given you everything that you need to resist the enemy and win! I love what Paul says in Ephesians 6:10 – 11, “God is strong, and He wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the devil throws your way.” (MSG) God is still just what you need.


I just want to encourage you today to stay rooted and grounded in the God who does not change. He is faithful and He is working things for your good. It’s hard sometimes, because it feels like the hits keep coming, the challenges keep popping up, and the struggles keep growing but tell yourself like David that “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” (Ps. 138:8a NKJV) He won’t abandon, forsake, or fail you. He still has just what you need to make it through whatever you are facing! Come on, family, sing with me! “What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.”


Amen

I'll just say YES!

Over the last several months, the Lord has been giving me a series of challenges. They have been hard and have hit every major area of my life – family, finances, job, and church. I couldn’t understand why I kept having to deal with these scary places. I knew in my heart that they were meant to grow me and my trust level, but I still struggled with the why. Today, I got my answer and the instruction to share it with you.  Ready? He is increasing the speed of your yes! He wants you to get to the point where you see a challenge or an instruction and you just say “yes, Lord.” No more struggle with your ability, or your capability, or your authority. It’s time to step into acceptance. You are blessed. You are strong. You are anointed. You are HIS!

It’s a funny thing about the word yes. I’ve always had a hard time with it because it meant agreeing to something that had consequences. For someone who likes to be in control and analyze all of the potential outcomes, yes does not come easy to me.  It almost implies a level of weakness in certain areas because it could mean that you are agreeing to something that you may not want to do. I’ve realized that the reason God has challenged me so much in this area is because He wants me to understand that He isn’t going to lead me to a place that He has not already planned for. Ministry was scary but He already had Rhema for me. Marriage was scary but He already had Kevin for me. Moving back to North Carolina was scary but He already had a promotion for me. None of those examples were easy and they involved a whole lot of trust but my yes to them opened up life for me. Do you understand that when you say yes, God is free to move?

You would think that Matthew 5:37 would be the scripture that immediately came to me. “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” (NKJV) It would make sense, right? Say yes and stick with it! But no, the Lord said to me, “Your yes has to be wrapped in My Son’s yes.” Whew!! Blessed my whole life! He sent me to 2 Corinthians 1. Paul is talking to the church of Corinth about why his plans changed in the middle of his trip. Apparently, there is some concern about what his yes meant. Paul answers firmly about what yes means in God. “Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In Him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting His Yes within us. By His Spirit He has stamped us with His eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.” (2 Cor. 1:20-22 MSG)

You have to decide today that your yes together with who Christ is, will carry you to destiny. You cannot be swayed by people or by the enemy. You must simply exercise your yes, knowing that the Lord, by giving us the Holy Spirit, has guaranteed the activation of His promises. No more delayed obedience. No more fearful maybes. No more doubtful declarations. God is calling you to a quick yes! He is calling you to hear the instruction and respond with a yes. In the last couple of weeks, I have seen God move miraculously in my yes.  I made a decision to not panic when challenges came my way but rather, respond with “Ok, God. I will do just what you have told me to do.” Even in my discomfort and if I’m honest, my fear, I said yes and I said it quickly and God moved.  If God is showing you something, speaking to you about something, or moving you to something, throw fear away right now and say YES! And do it fast! Victory will follow…

Amen

Freedom in the finish!

I have been writing a book for over a year. It has literally been one of the most challenging and draining experiences of my life. In order to finish it, I had to live it and that was not fun by any stretch of the imagination. There were a lot of starts and stops, revisions, revelations and struggles. There were days where I threatened to quit and days when I literally walked away from it. I had people in my corner, praying for me and pushing me to keep going it but I still felt like it was me and God playing the “staring game”. You know, the one to look away first would lose. You know how that went, right? Of course, I never won. Mainly because God wasn't playing games with me. He had an assignment for me to do and He was going to stick with me until I completed it. Well, I finally finished this past weekend! Hallelujah! This morning as I was looking at revisions, God told me that He was teaching me about the freedom that comes with the finishing. Whew! Friends, you have to finish what God has called you to do and you must make steps towards it today.

I really began to think about what to finish something. It means to bring something to an end or to completion. It's final stage.  As I went through this book process, I really desired to finish. It was my ultimate goal and what I pushed towards for months even when things got really hard. The thing about it is, life didn't have the same goal. Life, people, the enemy had different agendas but I still had to keep my eyes on finishing. Sometimes, I had to say no to my family and rearrange my schedule because I HAD to finish. What have you allowed to get in between you and completing your assignment? What have you used as an excuse to put off what needs to be done? You see, when God gave you that assignment, He already planned for the ending! He already blessed it and said it would be better than what you started with. How do I know? Well, Ecclesiastes 7:8a says that “better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” (ESV) It's time to get to work! There's a celebration waiting at the end of that thing and it will be better than what you imagined!

I asked the Lord to elaborate on the freedom part. Partially, because my book is about freedom so I didn't want to hear wrong just because I'm in that mode, but also because I thought freedom was a little bit of a stretch. He pointed me to Jesus! When you think about all that He had to endure on the cross, you don't automatically think about freedom. But the Lord reminded me about the work of ministry and the building of a Kingdom that Jesus did in those 3 years that He walked the Earth. He was writing the greatest story that you will ever hear and He finished it. He was very clear about His assignment and said things like, “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”(John‬ ‭4:34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬) But more importantly, it's what happened when He finished the work of the cross and uttered the words, “It is finished.” Those words set the stage for resurrection and victory! Because He finished His assignment, you can live! Because He finished the assignment, you don't have to be bound to the influences of sin. Because He finished His assignment, you will have eternal life. What greater gift can finishing than freedom from death, hell and the grave!‬‬

Saints, don't keep putting off what God is calling you to do. There is a freedom dance waiting at the completion. There is a sense of accomplishment in knowing that you not only did what he said but you finished! Come on, saints, freedom is waiting on you to cross the finish line!

Amen