It’s time to get close!

I keep hearing the refrain from Marvin Sapp’s song, Close. “I must be close to my destiny. Extremely close to my victory. ‘Cause here comes trials and troubles, jealousy and envy. I must be close to what He has for me.” When I kept hearing that lyric over and over again, I thought I was getting ready to share a prophetic word about holding on because your breakthrough is close but instead God said, “Remind them.” It was then that I realized God wanted me to pay attention to the word “close”. It’s not so much your proximity to your victory as it is your position as you wait for it.

The Lord took me back to the people of Judah in 2 Chronicles 20. Do you remember how afraid they were? These big nations were coming against them and it seemed a guarantee that they would lose. They were terrified! But the Lord sent a word that He was with them. He said, “But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!””(2 Chronicles‬ ‭20:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

 It’s actually pretty simple. The Lord wanted me to remind you to stop worrying about what the enemy is after and focus on what He has already given you. He has already assured victory, defeated death AND promised to stay with you until the end.  Why wouldn’t you stick with the One who knows the end from the beginning? Folks, it’s time out for giving Satan credit that he doesn’t deserve. He has taken quite enough already and the scripture tells us how to get our stuff back - Take your position and let God handle the rest! You see, if we are close aka obedient to the Lord even in what seems like a strange place, He will fight for you. If you look at that verse long enough, you might be confused by  God’s instruction. I mean, it’s a war so why wouldn’t the Lord do some amazing military feat or tell the people to fight hard? Those seem like responses that would be warranted in the situation. But instead, He told them to take their positions and be still. Why? Well…The Lord said to me, your posture signals the enemy but your position  saves your life. It’s time to get close.

You see, posture, as a noun, means the way in which a person sits or stands. As a verb, it means to behave in a way that is intended to impress or mislead people. Position, on the other hand is a place where someone or someone has been placed or settled. Posture is all about being seen and draws attention but position, on the other hand, signals intentionality. Remember, the enemy walks to and fro seeking who he may devour. He will most certainly go after someone that is shining a light on themselves. When you take a position, you settle in. The Lord told the  people of Judah that they didn’t need to fight, they just needed to be get in position and trust God for the victory. It’s time to get close.

Your victory is at hand, the question is are you close enough to receive it? Have you gotten in position or are you waiting to be discovered? My prayer is that your answer is clear.

Amen

Do the right thing!

Happy Thursday, Rhema readers! I hope you are all safe and warm. Today, I was geared up to do a scathing evaluation of church folk. I mean, I was ready! I have watched some people truly cut up this week and then proclaim Christ and I had something for them. I rehearsed it y’all! However, when I sat down to write, all I could think was, Thank God for the Holy Ghost! I know that sounds super churchy but it is the truth. I am grateful for the One who convicts and restrains. I am grateful for the One who reminds and teaches. But most of all, I am grateful for the One who envelops me with the presence of God. You see, the world loves it when Christians act like them. It allows them to say, “See, that God they talk about can’t be real if that’s how they act.” But the Holy Ghost will speak peace to your anger. He will bring calm to confusion and He will remind you of who God really is. You see, I really believe that God is tired of being used as an excuse for everyone’s behavior. He’s tired of people saying they represent Him but then doing the opposite of who He is. So today, the message is simple. Do the right thing!

I would really advise reading James 4 in its entirety but today God highlighted James 4:17 for me. The New Living Translation puts it like this, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” The Message says, “In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.” So there it is. It is time to get it right. It is time to act as if you hear that voice telling you to be quiet when you really want to cuss someone out. It is time to allow someone else to be blessed without worrying about what you won’t get. It is time to show the love of Christ when you are looking the enemy in the face. It is time to do the right thing!

Think about this.  Susie cusses Betty out for being nasty to her friend. Nowadays, Susie feels like it is okay because Betty was in the wrong first. She brags that God had her to “cover” her friend. But is that right? No! Why not? Because Susie is not going to stand before God on judgement day and get to give the excuse of how Betty provoked her. Nope! Romans 14:12 says, “each of us will give an account of himself to God” (ESV) So Susie will have to answer for how she responded. So if instead of cussing Betty out, Susie heeds the guidance of the Holy Spirit and ignores Betty or better yet prays for Betty, the Kingdom wins. Aren’t you ready to see God get the glory and not the blame? Aren’t you ready to be the one that really represents Christ for those that do not know Him? Let’s do it, people! Every day, the Church is losing souls to the world because we refuse to act like the God we profess. It is time to show some wisdom, restraint and discipline. I want the Lord to be pleased with me. Will you join me in evaluating your spirit and making sure you are speaking, acting and thinking like Christ? Will you not just say you are a Christian but let your character and responses speak for you?  It is time to do the right thing!

Amen.

He's got what you need!

The words, “I’m all you need” followed quickly by 2 Corinthians 12:9&10, hit me hard tonight. They were powerful and relevant words on a day where I heard a number of people asking God for different things. But then I got stuck! What was I supposed to do with this seemingly simple and familiar statement right before midnight? He said share and so here I am. We are 11 days into 2018 and some of you have already faced pain, loss or opinion. You have tried to figure out how to salvage your year but nothing seems to be working. Today, I want to encourage the tired, the grieving and the planner all at once. He is all that you need and more than enough. He can comfort and still motivate. He can love and still correct. He can prune and still cause growth. He’s an amazing God and your life is in His hands.

I believe God gave me this scripture to remind you that whatever circumstance you are facing, has a purpose. More importantly, He wanted to remind you that He specializes in handling your weak moments. His grace is enough!

“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”(2 Cor.‬ ‭12:7-10‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

No matter what is happening in your life right now, God has exactly what you need to handle it. So take your eyes off of the issue and focus on the fact that Christ is willing and able to take over.  He is all that you need!

Amen

The Follow Up...

Happy New Year! I had a tremendous response to my end of year post, “Last Call”. It seemed to speak to people’s desire to be free of the old things and relationships that had held them captive in 2017. Many people contacted me about how they were taking advantage of the last call and making changes. I cheered those folks and encouraged them to do just that. As I thought about that this week, the Lord told me to do a follow up because there were some people that just missed the concept.  In the course of our conversation, He highlighted two things for me centered around two verses in Proverbs 19 that I want to share with you.

So here’s the thing about a last call. It was meant to be an attention getter. It stirred up your emotions and adrenaline because you knew you only had a few minutes to get what you needed. Sometimes that meant decisions that were made based on feelings and not wisdom. However, your feelings did not change the outcome of the warning. The bar was still closing.  As you are examining what God is speaking to you about your next, don’t get caught in emotionalism and miss the warning.   Sometimes you can choose to overlook the freedom God is offering because of loyalty,  comfort or even manipulation. You make every excuse for why that place is good for you when you haven’t seen any growth in years. You find every positive about that person when you know they have hurt you numerous times.  You can list every great attribute about that job despite the longer list of evidence that it is time to go. Proverbs 19:20 says, “Take good counsel and accept correction— that’s the way to live wisely and well.” (Proverbs‬ ‭19:20‬ ‭MSG)‬‬ It is time to heed the warning!

The other point that God highlighted to me about a last call was the choice involved. When you hear the announcement made, you can either take advantage of the opportunity to go get something else or you can decide that you are content with what you have. Other people can encourage you to make one choice or the other but ultimately, you must decide. You have to look at what is being presented to you and make the decision that will bear the most fruit in you. As you begin this new year, you have a chance to start with the fresh perspective of freedom and new choices or you can stick with what you know and are comfortable with, even if it is not beneficial to you. But here’s the question. If God is calling out to you, why would you choose the opposite of what He wants for you? Proverbs 19:21 says, “We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but GOD ’s purpose prevails.” (Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬ ‭MSG‬‬) It is time to make a choice!

This has not been about glorifying the club scene or drinking. It’s been about trying to get you to understand that time is winding down and it’s time to get it together. Why would you continue to miss out on your best life settling for the old highs of what used to be? Why would you waste one more year making excuses for why you aren’t progressing the way you want to? It is time to grab hold to all that God is presenting in 2018. It’s time to heed the warning and make the choices that will lead to your next!

May God bless and keep you in 2018!

Amen.