Can you see?

When I was in prayer this morning for Rhema, the Lord kept repeatedly speaking the word clarity to me. No matter how I tried to shift, it always came back to that word. So y’all know what I did, right? I looked it up. Clarity is clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity, the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; easy to understand. You see, it is important that when you hear God tell you a word that you know what it means. I knew what clarity meant, but the Lord was so adamant about it that I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Which hilariously, is what clarity is all about. But anyway, the Lord said to me, it’s time for my people to operate in clarity.

He then drew my attention to my glasses. Let me tell you; they are NECESSARY for my life. If I don’t have them on, it’s a hot mess! I can see objects and the shapes of people, but I can’t see the details. I can’t positively identify who a person is unless they are right in front of me. So I am usually wearing my glasses or contacts. Well, often in the mornings, I will put my glasses on, and I can tell right away that they are dirty. There are smudges and dirt clouding what I need to see. Things that have gotten on them from the course of the previous day and overnight. I can still see, but I’m distracted by what I have to look through. What do I do in that situation? I clean them. What’s your point, Ebony?

Some of you are walking around with dirty glasses on. You have been given an assignment, and you can’t fully operate in it because your vision is cloudy and you are being distracted by what has gotten on you during your journey. You are operating without a full understanding of what you are supposed to be doing. You have been unable distinguish the ones who are for you and the ones who are against you. You have been unable to see the details that God has put before you. It’s time to clean your glasses. It’s time to stop letting pride keep you from getting the training that you need. It’s time stop letting tradition and the opinion of man stop you from walking boldly in your calling. Most of all, it is time to stop giving in to fear. It’s time to take out your spiritual cloth and wipe those glasses off. It’s time to make the necessary steps to ensure that you see what you are supposed to see. If you want to stand up to the strongmen of this world, you have to have a clear understanding of your assignment.

Ephesians 1: 17-19 says, “I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for His followers, oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him—endless energy, boundless strength!” (MSG) Paul was telling the Church at Ephesus that he constantly prayed for them to have clarity so that they could do what they were called to do and understand what God was doing in them. Come on, people of God, stop playing with your calling and walk it out! Think back to the definition of clarity for a minute. It is a freedom from ambiguity and indistinctness. That means you are free from uncertainty or more than one interpretation. You are free from lack of definition and sharpness. God is calling for His people to be focused and clear!  He is calling you out of the gray area today.

It is no longer alright to be irresponsible with your assignment. It is no longer alright to be a renegade Christian with no clear covering or accountability. It is no longer alright to be hurting people with a gift that should be helping them. It’s time for clarity. It’s time to make your decisions with clarity. It’s time to evaluate your vision with clarity. It’s time to listen with clarity. It’s time to operate in clarity. You see, God did not give us a spirit of fear, but He did give us power, love, and a SOUND mind. A sound mind is a clear mind. Clean your glasses, saints. It’s time to see what you are supposed to see.

Amen

Are you willing?

Sometimes when I go into a prayer for Rhema, I have an idea of what I am supposed to say but I need it to be fleshed out. Today, I went empty and the Lord responded with a question. In a completely quiet moment, I heard Him ask, “Are you willing?” I felt it all the way in the pit of my stomach and knew that this was going to hurt my feelings! He flashed Isaiah 1:19 before my eyes. You know the one. “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;” (NKJV). He said, you have been obedient but you haven’t always been willing.” (*immediately starts shaking head, and quickly goes to dictionary)

The definition of willing in the Cambridge English Dictionary is to be happy to do something if it is needed, not opposed to doing something; ready or eager to do something. Well that pretty much shuts the party down from the start. Here’s my truth and maybe you will see some of you!

I’ve always been obedient. It usually tears my nerves up if I am intentionally not doing something that I have been told to do. But willing? Not so much! Which means that I have done some things with a bad attitude and gone places with the wrong intentions. Am I alone? What I have realized over the years is that if I cannot do something with the right attitude and motives then I might as well not do it. The Lord convicted me with this question this morning because I know that He has called me to do some things in the Kingdom that I have been obedient to but not willing. You see Isaiah 1:19 says that if we want to eat the good of the land then obedience alone is not going to get it. You need to be eager, ready, happy and not opposed to it. What about you? When you were called to pastor, did you go willingly? When you were told to stay at that church and serve, did you do it willingly? When you were told to go to the streets instead of the nations, did you go willingly? You see, obedience without willingness only takes you part of the way. You will still eat but will it be the best you could have? Be willing...

A lot of us have been told throughout our lives that obedience is better than sacrifice. It’s Bible, right?! But it made sense to me this morning like never before. Sacrifice is giving up something that you don’t really want to give up. Isn’t that the opposite of being willing? So of course, obedience is better than doing something that you do not necessarily want to do. Willingness, however, is to do something eagerly! Do you see where I am going? Being willing means that you take the instruction and you come into agreement with it. It means that you respond with your spirit and not your flesh. Your spirit is attached to the Holy Spirit and therefore wants what He wants. So when the Lord tells you to do something, it should be a willing response. Your flesh thinks about the discomfort and the change. It reminds you of how hard it will be and who won’t like it. Your flesh does not want to do what the Lord is saying. But its time to follow the Spirit! Be willing…

So can we have a truth moment? In this passage of scripture, God was talking to a rebellious Judah through Isaiah. He was tired of giving and His people not changing. The entire chapter is His unhappiness with their attitudes, their half obedience, and their insincere worship. He wanted change and not lip service. This is at the heart of the Lord’s question today. Are you willing?  Think about it! Have you thought about how He sees your attitude or your resistance? You have obeyed in a lot of things but willing you have not always been. The Lord called you, and you ran. He promised to equip you, you questioned. The Lord moved you, and you struggled. He told you to forgive, and you held on. He set you free, and you went back. What if you decided to switch the game up today? What if you decided that it is better to willingly follow the Lord no matter where He takes you? What if you decided that instead of just obeying, you want to be happy about it? Aren’t you ready to eat the good of the land? I know I am! I want my yes to be heard with joy and not with the echo of “He made me do it”.  Come on, men & women of God…be willing!

Amen

Are you ready to listen?

Being a writer, I often find myself sitting at the computer trying to make something God is telling me make sense like a sentence. I want it to have a structure that I can understand with a subject, a verb, and properly placed prepositions. It can sometimes take me forever to write Rhema because I am trying to say what God is saying in a way that will encourage you or make you feel better. There are some days that just doesn’t work. Today is one of those days though I tried hard to make it work. God said to me, ‘just tell the story.’ Sounded so easy but it wasn’t! I just didn’t know what to do with what He was saying. I woke up with one line echoing in my head, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” I knew exactly where to find it in the Bible because I have read this passage many times before and actually pray it every week when preparing to write Rhema. Today, I heard it differently and I just wasn’t quite sure what was supposed to come next. I didn’t hear anything else. So I went to the story and read it again.

I thought it might be best if you read it for yourself so that you really feel it. Here goes...

   “One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed.  The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.  Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.  Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.  And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”  Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel.  I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end.  I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” (1 Sam. 3: 2 – 14 NLT)

That was deep, right? Well...then I heard this. “Are you listening out for Me to call your name? Are you expecting Me to speak and give you instruction or are you sleeping through it and letting My voice continue to go unrecognized? The solution to your issue cannot be found with man but instead, it can only be found in Me.”  Well, okay then, God! It was a strong word but it made me sit up and pay attention to the fact that God wants to be heard. He isn’t speaking for no reason. If you are one that has never heard from God or recognized His voice in the word, in your spirit, or even audibly, this does not give you an out. The text was very specific in noting that Samuel had never heard from the Lord before but once he knew, he acted and God took him to the next level. He trusted Samuel with a hard assignment and though afraid, Samuel followed through with it and God rewarded him with His presence. “As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.  And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.  The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.” (1 Sam 3: 19 -21 NLT)

God is speaking but He wants to know that you are listening. The Message translates the line as, “Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” Are you ready to listen? It’s no longer acceptable to use tradition as an excuse. That’s not what they do at my church. My family will think I’m crazy if I say God told me. I’m too young, old, etc. This is important for your spiritual walk and your relationship. The trust factor that God has been highlighting for the last several weeks comes down to this. How can you trust a voice that you refuse to acknowledge? How can you go forward with an instruction that you can’t hear? God called out to Samuel three times before Eli explained to him that it was God. How many messages have you missed? Aren’t you tired of missing Him because you’ve been distracted by people, confusion, and things. So, I both challenge and encourage you to get in your secret place TODAY and meet with God.

You see what God is telling you might save someone’s life. It might change the direction that someone is walking in. What God told Samuel was difficult. He had to tell Eli that his family was going to be punished for all they had done and it couldn’t be stopped with a sacrifice or an offering. That’s hard! Eli was Samuel’s mentor and he loved him. But God had an assignment for Samuel that He wanted to make sure was heard. Eli accepted what Samuel shared and God ensured that people knew that Samuel was truly hearing from Him. You see, when God is speaking to you, you don’t have to be afraid to obey. He is going to cover and keep you.  When He tells you to speak, speak! When He tells you to be quiet, shut it!  If this is hard to read, trust me, I’m right there with you. I asked Him to speak and that I would listen so I also had to obey. This was my daily lesson in obedience. Saints, God is speaking to you and now He wants to know your response. I have a suggestion… “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

Amen.

Ok...

What would you do differently if your next decision determined your destiny? How would you act if what you said in the next minute could change the direction of your life? Where you would go if your choice were the last move you would ever make? Deep questions for a Thursday afternoon, huh? I agree! I asked the Lord what the point was and His response almost took me out. He said, ‘so many people treat the life I gave them with cavalier attitudes. They don’t seek Me. They don’t acknowledge Me. And they certainly don’t obey Me. However, when their outcomes don’t line up with their expectations, they are mad at Me. If they want something different, do something different.’ I was a bit shocked. Not what I was expecting to hear or write today by a long shot! However, it was so important. 

The Lord sent me to a scripture that people use and say ALL OF THE TIME – Jeremiah 29:11. The Message Translation says it like this, “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.” I began to wonder how many of you have missed out some plans because you refused to listen? (Insert: when I ask this question, I am including myself!) Have you ever asked yourself why there is a “why” attached to your response whenever the Lord asks you to do something? Wouldn’t it make sense to just do what He says? Wouldn’t you get to that future with fewer mishaps if you went with the plan? I wanted to say wouldn’t you get their easier but the Lord wouldn’t let me write it. You see, this whole thing isn’t about easier but it’s about structure. The Lord clearly says that He has a plan. So, if you work within the confines of His plan then you will get to the result.  Right? I know, I know…there is that funny thing called free will. It’s a real thing! The issue is that you can choose to obey.  Now that puts free will in a completely new place for me! You can clearly choose to do what you want to do but you also can just choose to do what He said.  I mean, his plan is three fold – take care of you, not abandon you, and give you the future you hope for. The problem you have is your plan usually falls short in one of these areas. How’s that free will thing working out for you?

I don’t know if this is making sense or not but I am stuck! It’s time to change perspectives. It is time to stop looking at this destiny thing as if it’s a lottery chance. It is not! The Lord said that He KNOWS the plans He has for you. Got it? Your destiny is settled. Your next is assured. Could it be that the reason you aren’t winning is because your part has not been handled with assurance? You read that scripture and add all sorts of conditional statements and feelings and emotions instead of saying, God has this handled, let me just get on board.  Listen! Will you try trusting Him with your life? Will you take your hands off everything and give it to Him? I mean get in line with the plan. How? He says to you, “Go preach My word.” You say, “Ok. Tell me where to go.” He says, “Stop going to that place. It’s not in line with My will for you.” You say, “Ok. Show me where I need to be.” He says to you, “Pour your energy here and stop wasting it there.” You say, Ok. Tell me what to do.” You see where I’m going? There is a purpose to every instruction. It’s a part of the plan! Your responsibility is to say ok.

Amen.

Throwback: Rest that remains

 Don't you love a good lyric? A good hymn or song can really take you in, especially when you are going through something. You know how it is…a song will come on the radio and it sounds like it was written just for your situation. This morning that song for me was “There Remaineth a Rest” by Donald Lawrence. I just kept hearing the chorus repeating itself over and over. “There remaineth a rest, a rest for the people of God. A promise, a finished work and we must guard it with our hearts. Everything you will ever need was provided at Calvary.” I just kept hearing it and couldn’t get away from it. Finally, the Lord sent me to the scripture in Hebrews 4 that the song is based on and once I read the entire thing, it truly blessed me. Today, God is speaking to the fighters, the runners, and the “I can handle it all” folks. He is saying, come and take advantage of the promised rest that remains.


Hebrews 4 is a powerful chapter. I usually don’t do this but I feel led to post the entire chapter here.  I believe the Lord showed me the Message version because He really wants you to get this. It’s time out for striving to fix things that God has already fixed. Often, the reason you don’t see the manifestation is because you can’t take your hands off long enough to see it. Saints, it is finished!

For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith. Remember that God said, “Exasperated, I vowed, “They’ll never get where they’re going, never be able to sit down and rest.” God made that vow, even though he’d finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it’s written, “God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,” but in this other text he says, “They’ll never be able to sit down and rest.”

 So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don’t turn a deaf ear . . .” And so this is still a live promise. It wasn’t canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn’t keep renewing the appointment for “today.” The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.

 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

There is something to be said for rest. Most people don’t get enough of it and it is often taken for granted. As I read Hebrews 4, the Lord just began to speak to me about rest. I looked up the word rest in the Greek and it means a “calming of the winds, a resting place.” The dictionary then went a little further and said “the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells and of which He has promised to make persevering believers in Christ partakers after the toils and trials of life on earth are ended.” Y’all know I don’t always get into definitions but I found it interesting that this was a different rest than the one that Jesus talks about in Matthew 11:28, when He says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” In that case, He was talking about an actual rest, a refreshing, ceasing from movement and labor to collect your strength. But in Hebrews 4, He is talking about the promise of a finished work. It is the same word as when He rested on the 7^th day of creation. He rested because He was finished. Folks, God has already done the work. Herein lies the question…do you believe it? Do you believe that the situation that is taking up so much of your time and brain space has already been worked out?

Hebrews 4 closes with a highlight of who Jesus is for a reason. You see with His death and resurrection, He did it all. But He also sits on the right hand of God as our intercessor and our advocate. God wants for you to be whole and at rest. He wants you to rest in Him, KNOWING that all that you ever needed lies with Him. I challenge you to take that situation, that husband, that child, that job and release it to God. I guarantee that He will respond with ‘I’ve got it under control.’ You know why? Because the Word says that the Lord will perfect that which concerns you and in this instance ‘perfect’ means complete! Do you see how it all comes back to the finished work of Christ? Saints, “there remaineth a rest for the people of God.” I invite you to take advantage!

AMEN

Follow through!

It’s late but I wanted to share a quick though with you. A little over 2 years ago, I had a dream. It was early morning and it played like a movie. The Lord told me to write a job description and ask for a new position. He told me what I should ask for and how to do it. I was shocked! I asked a few people to tell me if I was crazy to put myself out there when I had a perfectly good job but the consensus was to go for it. So I went into work that day and started working on the proposal. I thought it was crazy but I went with it. Long story short, after a few months of waiting, I got what I asked for. I was nervous and uncomfortable but I pressed through the waiting. What’s my point? Today, I celebrated the successful completion of the 1st year of a grant funded program that was at the heart of my “dreamproposal”. I realIzed today that I had to step out in faith for the 22 young people that finished the program today. I had to be obedient because they needed someone in position to offer them an opportunity. I had to leave my comfortable place so they could have what seemed impossible for some.

Let me encourage you today! You may not understand why you have had to take the path you have or why your journey has had so many ups and downs. But I can tell you that someone will benefit because you overcame and kept pressing. Someone won’t have to suffer as long because you took the hits. What has been so challenging for you is going to be the foundation for someone else’s next level. Please don’t give up too quick! Please don’t cancel early and forfeit the promise! God is faithful and His plan accounts for your issues and setbacks. Be sure that you don’t leave someone hanging because you won’t answer the call. Don’t prolong their blessing because  There is purpose, there is victory, and there is surely reward in your obedience. You just have to trust Him with the follow through…

Amen.

NEXT!

Ever since I entered into year 8 of Rhema, I’ve felt this sense of NEXT. I’m not sure what to do with it yet but I recognize that God is doing something new in me, my worship, and my prayer life. I’ve decided to just go with Him and His will. But I recognize that He is the type of God that can take what I consider to be over, and revitalize and refresh it. Today, I want to encourage you to tap into who God is. Tap into the majesty and depth of who He is. It’s time for you to look through fresh eyes and encouraged hearts, understanding that the God you serve is willing and able to do what you can’t, to take you where He wants you to be. That was a whole long sentence to say, He is ready to take you to your next, if you are willing to let Him.

As I was in prayer this morning, the Lord reminded me that He is big and that my expectation needs to match that. He reminded me of Philippians 4:19 and it truly blessed me. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (NKJV) Come on, somebody! But as I sat down to write He sent me to the VOICE translation and it  reads like this, “Know this: my God will also fill every need you have according to His glorious riches in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King.” So often, you miss what God wants to do in and through you because you start at your capability and your bank account and your strength. However, this verse is a reminder that what He wants to do is according to HIS riches, His Son. His ability. I want to shift your thinking today to a realm of NEXT. I want to reshape your expectation to a realm of POSSIBLE. I want to upgrade your plans to a realm of DESTINY.

You see, Philippians 4:19 lets us know that the way in which God meets your need is through His riches. He doesn’t meet you at your limit because you would never have enough. You would never be able to achieve the purpose that God has laid out for you because you, in your own strength and wealth, are not big enough. But if you start from “His glorious riches”, the possibilities are endless. I know that His riches are big enough to not only be about money but rather a supply of love, power, strength, comfort, energy, creativity, innovation, freedom etc. He wants you to understand that what He asks you for, He has given you the supply to accomplish it. You know that ministry He birthed in you, there is enough people, provision, and power to take it where it needs to go. You know that book He gave you, there’s enough creativity, words, and impact to take it where it needs to go. You know that compassion He gave you, there’s enough souls, love, and strength to take it where it needs to go.

It’s time for you to start looking at your assignment with the expectation of a giant God. He promised that He would meet every need from the starting place of His riches. You have to get in the position and posture that you expect Him to exceed your vision. I am convinced that many people are not living their best life because their expectation starts with them. He is too big to be limited to you! Will you make this verse part of your life song? Will you let it remind you that He is willing and able to take you where He has called you?  I am just crazy enough to believe that when you begin to walk, talk, and live like you believe who He is, you will begin to see an upgrade in your life.

Amen