Everywhere I Go...

Back in the day, my youth choir used to sing this cute little song. Jesus is mine, Jesus is mine! Everywhere I go, everywhere I be, oh Jesus is mine! It was catchy and easy for us, as kids, to remember. This morning when I started singing it out of the blue, I heard The Lord say, remember it now. There is a really simple but important message from the Lord today...He is with you.

What's going on in your life today? Is everything going great? Are you struggling to find your way? Does everything look unfamiliar but you're expected to do the same things? Maybe it's the opposite and everything looks familiar but now all of a sudden your needs are completely different. I don't know where you are but God does. And He wants you to know that He is right where you are and He is yours.

I am reminded of when Moses presented Joshua as the new leader of Israel. He was soon to die and God had told him that he would not see the promised land. The people were at this critical place between the wilderness and the promise and they needed assurance that they would have guidance and direction to get all the way there. Some of you may recognize that place. Moses had to both turn over his leadership and encourage Joshua at the same time and he gives the word that The Lord wants me to give you today. "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬ NLT) Moses says similar things in verses 6 and 7 but God keeps putting the focus on verse 8. I believe it's because He wants you feel the intimacy of what He is saying.

You see, you need to know that God is with you right now. He is right in the thick of things with you and He will not fail you. He wants you to understand and recognize that He is personally invested in you and your success. Don't get caught up in the why of everything. He doesn't owe you an explanation as to why He does what He does or why He allows certain things to happen. Sometimes, He will give you one because the time is right but if He doesn't, you still need to know that He is there and He is working. This is a difficult time in some of your lives for various reasons. You are like the Israelites trying to get to a promise when all you have felt was wilderness. But God is intentional in what He does and what He says and when He says something, you can take it to the bank.

Be encouraged today to walk in your purpose, face your giants, and stand on faith because God is with you. He is faithful and He is love and He desires you to be all that He called you to be! **singing** Everywhere I go, everywhere I be, oh Jesus is mine! Amen...

Is It Me You're Looking For?

I was just lying on the floor going through my normal Rhema "routine", listening out for The Lord and you'll never guess what I heard. Lionel Richie! Yep..."Hello! Is it me you're looking for? Cause I wonder where you are and I wonder what you do. Are you somewhere feeling lonely or is someone loving you? Tell me how to win your heart for I haven't got a clue but let me start by saying I love you." Of course it was the whole verse, right? And I'm asking myself what in the world this has to do with what God is saying. But then I don't know why I ask that question either because God does not stay in a box with me. So I just waited. And then He began to remind me of all the conversations I have had lately with people that have lost themselves. Multiple people in many different stages in life were talking to me about feeling lost, defeated, unfulfilled and confused and when we got to the heart of it, they had forgotten about them.

Today, God wants to re-introduce you to you! I know Lionel Richie was talking about someone else but that lyric could be your heart's cry. God wants whole people. He wants you to be able to minister to others and not just out of your pain but out of your healing. Some of you have been sending out distress signals, hoping that someone would pay attention and answer the call. Well, God is answering and He wants you to remember who you are. Remember that "you are fearfully and wonderfully made!" Remember that you are His masterpiece. Remember that He loved you first so now you have to love and honor yourself.

It's almost too easy to put yourself last. You are a friend, a daughter or son, a wife or husband, mother or father...so many roles, so many responsibilities. You want to do your very best and not disappoint those that depend on you. But what about God? Does He get your best when you have given it all to everyone else? Does He get your deepest worship when you can't even get through the day without focusing on this issue or that? Does He get your all when you are so busy being broken that you don't have time to fix it? It's too easy to get lost in all of that. You are God's best creation but do you recognize it? Let me tell you a story about me.

I have always been a confident person. I was raised to know that I could do anything that I set out to do. I am a multitasker almost to a fault. When I got married and had children, I continued with my same schedule plus the added things that came along with the new life. Slowly, my decisions began to be made solely on what others wanted and needed. The time I used to take for myself was replaced by what others needed me to do. I didn't get my hair done like I used to. I didn't read like I used to because someone else needed that time. This isn't bad in all respects but you get my point. One day last year, I looked at myself in a picture and didn't recognize myself. I was at my heaviest weight, in unflattering clothes and I looked tired and unhappy. The saddest thing is that I was on vacation in the picture. I had lost track of Ebony somewhere along the way. In that moment, God told me that He needed me to be whole and it started with me. I realized that taking time for me did not hurt my family. Saying no to some things or people did not ruin their lives. God had some things for me to do that I couldn't do where I was. So...I got back to me! I reclaimed my relationship with me and I didn't feel bad about it. Once I did, I could see other things more clearly because I wasn't distracted by what I was missing. It is a continual process but it is worth it.

I don't know what your struggle is. I don't know where you got off track but I do know that God desires to use you and He wants you to be in a place of wholeness. Ephesians 2:10 really blessed me this morning when God was giving this to me. It says, "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) Recognize who you are in Christ and how awesome you are in His sight! You are His masterpiece! Be sure to honor that in you and take time to get to know you again. I promise you will not be disappointed in who you meet!

Still on Track

Sometimes I wonder how I, with my imperfect self, am even eligible to encourage you every week. I wonder how I can be going through a rough patch, a dry period and yet God see fit to give me a word to share. Sometimes I sit down to pray and meditate and I don’t hear anything or the visions are fleeting and I want to send out a message that says “No Rhema today!” I said these things to God this morning and as always He sent a word. He sent a man to walk with me on the track this morning and simply tell me that God loves me. The man walked with me for almost 2 miles and encouraged me and told me that God has a plan for me and He’s already done the work. In my spirit and soul, I already knew that but God wanted to remind me. So in turn, I want to remind you.

Many of you have been going through some of the most difficult times in your life. Your marriage has been a struggle or in recovery. Your church life is frustrating you. Your job situation is not what you want it to be. Your finances are a mess. But something down on the inside keeps telling you not to give up. I heard Sunday that God’s nickname must be “Something” because it’s Him. He wants you to know that He is in control and He is working things out for you. One of my favorite scriptures is Romans 8:28 and I’ve memorized and meditated on that Word in the New King James Version for years and years. Today, however, God sent me to the Message version and included verses 26 & 27. This is the word that He has for you AND me today.

 “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”

I pray that you receive it down in your spirit and stand on it. God has not forgotten you in your situation. He has not abandoned the plan nor changed course. He is still going to do just what He said He would do. As that man and I finished walking this morning, He paraphrased another of my favorite scriptures, Isaiah 55:11. He said “God’s word was going to find you today even if I had never said a word to you because His word is going to do what it sets out to do.” Saints, keep going and keep trusting. God’s word never comes back void. I love you! Amen…

Water in the Valley

Have you ever gotten to a point where you felt like you had nothing else to give? You’ve poured out everything at your job, to your family, at your church and at the end of the day you have nothing left for yourself. Mothers are often especially guilty of this. I remember waking up one day and I didn’t recognize myself. I had gained weight and I looked like I was 20 years older than I was. I had become so caught up with doing “stuff”, taking care of my family and meeting other people’s needs that I had stopped thinking about me. I had essentially dried up. I remember asking God to refresh and restore me and bring me back to myself. I had to have a coming to Jesus meeting with God. As He was reminding me of this, He began to talk to me about those of you that are walking around in your own personal droughts. Some of you are so dry that you don’t even realize it; you have just accepted it as your life. But today, God is inviting you to be refreshed. He is calling you into His presence for nourishment for your dry places.

God reminded me of the story of the valley of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. The entire story is powerful and prophetic but the Lord told me to expressly look at the first 6 verses in the New Living Translation and share them with you. “The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones.  He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.  Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!  I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”  

A simple question came to me. How bad do you want to be refreshed? These particular dry bones were referencing the children of Israel. They had lost all hope and life during their exile and they needed to live again. They needed freedom to be in their own land. God was basically telling them that all of their hope could be found in Him and if they would trust His word, He would lead them back to life. The same goes for you! Have you yet reached the point in your life where you realize that your refreshing lies in allowing God to breathe new life into you? Have you come to the place where the dry places are begging for water? Are you desperate enough to speak those places and command them to hear the Word of the Lord? You see, it comes down to making a choice. It comes down to recognizing when you’ve lost yourself and when enough is enough. It’s taking ownership of your life. It’s acknowledging and acting upon the need for refreshing.

Anthony Brown and Group Therapy have a song that talks about God’s presence being like water. It has ministered to me on so many levels over the last couple of weeks. But the most profound thing that it reminded me of was that I could ask God to fill me with His presence like water whenever I needed it. You don’t have to walk around in a drought. You can come to your own valley and God will meet you there just like those dry bones and blow moist life back into you. It’s time out for settling for the dry places when there is a river of water flowing through the Kingdom of God. Revelation 22:17 says “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” Jesus is offering you an abundant and refreshed life, you just have to receive it. I challenge you to take a dip in the presence of God and allow Him to refill you, refresh you, and restore you. Think of me as your Ezekiel in the valley and I am saying, Live again! AMEN…

Rest that Remains

Lately, God has been putting a lot of songs in my spirit! I have mentioned it before, but sometimes a song can really take you in, especially when you are going through things. 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

Stay on the Journey

I heard Pastor Smoky Norful singing in my mind this morning. “One more day, one more step. I’m preparing you for myself and when you can’t hear my voice, trust my plan. I am the Lord, I see you and yes I understand.” Sometimes God let’s a song minister to you because you can take the message easier. You know, kind of like when you give a baby medicine with their food to mask the taste. Perhaps you are like me and have had some hills to climb and struggles to overcome lately. You’ve made every attempt to be obedient to the voice and instruction of the Lord but there is still more to learn, more to survive, more to endure. Perhaps you have even gotten to the point where you want to throw in the towel. But today, the Lord is saying, 'I’m preparing you for Me. I am strengthening you for this next stage because it will require more from you than ever before. These tests are difficult but they have a purpose if you will just hold your ground and trust Me. I will be with you to the end.' Saints, today, I encourage you to stay on the journey.

You know it’s interesting because, this was the title of my initial sermon. God kept speaking to me about the journey and how I needed to stick with it but I thought I was done with it. But ever since I gave that word, I have had to remind myself several times to stay on the journey. The Bible speaks of endurance and remaining steadfast many times. One of my favorite scriptures is James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” I have always loved the scripture but would kind of shake my head at how optimistic James sounded. Where is this perfection and completion he is referring to?! But it’s true, after you have survived a test with faith, something has changed in you. If you really examine yourself pre and post test, there is a level of growth that is unmistakable. And that level of growth is complete until you are ready for the next step. Revelation! Each time you go through, you are gaining something new in your arsenal! You have a new weapon, a new level of anointing, a new strength. But if you get off the journey, if you give up, how will you get there? Stay on the journey, saints.

As I was singing along with Pastor Smoky in my mind, I kept thinking about the part about trusting God’s plan. Isn’t that what it’s all about? God has told you that He has a plan for your life. He said it was to give you a future and a hope. He doesn’t however tell you how you will get there. He doesn’t always give you a step by step guidebook that tells you what pitfalls to watch out for and which turns to take. You have to listen to His voice and make adjustments when He tells you. It’s often so easy to get caught up in what you want the end result to be that you miss all of the trust part. God has been working with me on this for a long time. Sometimes, I just have to trust His plan. I can’t always have it laid out for me like my administrative mind would like for it to be. But if I just stay with it, He will do what He promised.

The end of Hebrews 10 is always a blessing to me but I read it today in the Message translation and it really blessed me. In this chapter, Paul is reminding the people to live by faith. He starts from leading them from the law to the gospel to uplifting Christ’s death and sacrifice to remembering their own personal confession and relationship with Christ.  He ends with reminding them about how far they have come and to stick with it to the end. I pray that His reminder will also bless you to stay the course. No matter what circumstance you find yourself in right now, you will overcome, if you continue on the journey and trust His plan.

“Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.

It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;
    he’ll show up most any minute.
But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;
    if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.

But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.”

Stay on the journey! AMEN…

 

Freedom in your YES

I would love to say that I always get things right with God. I would love to say that when He tells me to do something I immediately obey. I’m sure everyone would like to say the same. The truth of the matter is that a lot of things get in the way of that perfect response to God’s question or call. Fear, people, past experiences all quickly come to mind. But this morning, God is simply asking for your yes. He told me quite clearly that there is freedom in your yes. I had a feeling this word was coming. You see, I am an expert at trying to negotiate with God. You know how it goes. ‘Well, God, maybe next year when I’m ready.’ ‘This really isn’t a good time.’ ‘I’m not good enough.’ Perhaps you have even said some of these same things. But God doesn’t need your perfection, He needs you. He needs your willingness to submit, your heart turned towards Him, and your spirit open to receive. He wants your yes.

Last night, I became a minister. It’s scary to say out loud much less reveal it to you. I ran for a long time, all the while asking God for another way. I figured I could keep writing Rhema and that would be enough but He wanted more of me. I knew it but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. But one day, the Lord told me that my very life depended on my yes. That floored me! The idea that I was holding up progress in my life because of my resistance was a bit mind blowing. You may be thinking to yourself, God is not calling me to preach or be a minister but what is He calling you to? Has He told you to pray more because He wants to use you as an intercessor? Has He told you to go back to school because He wants to put you in a company that needs a witness? Has He told you to write or sing because your message has power and someone will receive it from you when they couldn’t from others? God is looking for your yes. And I’m here to tell you that there is freedom in answering Him with a yes. For one, you no longer have to carry the burden of fighting it.

Do you remember the story of Esther? She was chosen out of many women to replace Vashti as King Xerxes’s wife and queen. She had the king’s heart and his ear but she was secretly a Jew. When Haman, the king’s second in command wanted to kill all of the Jews, someone had to go to the King and speak up for the Jews but there seem to be no one in the position to do that. You see no one was allowed to just go before the King unless he called for you. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, sent her a word. “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.” (Esther 4: 12-14 MSG). At that moment, Esther had a choice. She could keep silent and continue to live in secret but perhaps be found out and killed as well or she could take a stand for God’s people and go before the King no matter the consequence. Notice what Mordecai said. “Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.” God’s timing is perfect. Don’t you think that what you are experiencing right now is happening at this time for a reason? It is preparing you for something else. Esther sent back her answer to Mordecai: “Go and get all the Jews living in Susa together. Fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, either day or night. I and my maids will fast with you. If you will do this, I’ll go to the king, even though it’s forbidden. If I die, I die.” Esther said YES! She went before the king and she received favor. Everything turned around for her good. The enemy that had set out to kill her and her people ended up dying along with all of his children. All she had to do was say yes and God worked the rest out.

You are meant for greatness! God is not instructing you to do something without purpose. He knows the outcome and He just wants you to be willing to go along with His plan. He wants you to trust Him enough to know that He is not out of tune and off schedule. He knows exactly where you are and what you need to go forward. Again, His timing is perfect even when it doesn’t seem like it to you. If you don’t know what your next step is, ask Him! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. (Matt. 6:33) He wants your yes, because once you give it, He is free to work in your situation and circumstances. There is a freedom in releasing control of the plan. If you just trust Him, He will turn your yes into your next level. May God give you the strength and courage to answer His call with a yes! AMEN…