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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