That good thing

This morning I sat in my closet waiting for God to give me a word about Thanksgiving. I looked forward to encouraging you to give thanks for where you are and what He has brought you through. But God had other plans! I kept seeing visions of people preparing for their Thanksgiving dinner.  He told me to take note of what the people were doing. And it was serious, y'all! I could see the focus, the planning, the preparation, and the execution. It was all there. Then God said, "If they can do that today, why can't they do it with Me every day?" I knew it was a rhetorical question but before I could answer, I heard...distractions. I meditated on that for a minute and then He took me to a familiar scripture.

"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 NLT)

Have you been missing it because of distractions? Has God been sending you messages but fear, frustration, busy work has gotten in the way? Have you wondered why you haven't gotten the answer that you were waiting for? Well, today, God simply wanted me to remind you that He is always there if you will simply stop and hear Him. Martha was working and serving but by the time she took time to seek Jesus out, she had already missed the message. God is constantly speaking to you but so many other things get in your way. 

Distractions have a way of disguising themselves and taking over. Sometimes it's family, sometimes work, and sometimes even church. You run around doing this and that, and all the while you are getting farther away from the Lord as your first priority. Notice, that's when the devil can throw all of these attacks and issues in your way. God wants all of you. Sound difficult? It's really not because when you give Him your all, He will make everything else work. The same way that you got your plans together for Thanksgiving, put that same effort into getting to Christ. I promise that the result will be a fulfillment that lasts much longer than that turkey! 

May your day be filled with love and family and the sweet reminder that Christ is that one thing worth being concerned about and He won't be taken away from you! 

Amen...

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.

The line comes from 1 Samuel 3, where God first speaks to Samuel. It reads like this in the New Living Translation.   “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)

I meditated on this and waited for God to give me something. And what He said was pretty simple yet deep at the same time. This is what He said. “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.

Little by Little

Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand that I could wave and certain issues would just disappear! You know the ones I mean? Those nagging problems that you have been praying about and waiting for God to just do away with. Or even those complicated situations that have so many levels and layers to them that it seems like God is doing a bunch of little surgeries instead of one big amputation. I posed this question to God recently and He sent me a word through bible study that has been blessing me ever since. Are you ready? Here goes..."I'm doing it little by little." Ummmmm...what? That doesn't fit the microwave society model that you and I operate in! Think about it...don't you want things done right away? And often you want it regardless of the cost or the consequence whether you want to admit or not. But God showed me in the Word that His way is intentional and beneficial. So here's the question, are you willing to wait on your victory even if God does it little by little?

God kept me in Exodus 23 for days. This chapter talks about the civil laws, ceremonial/Sabbath laws, and promises that God made to the Israelites after the covenant laws were handed down. One particular section stood out to me and is the basis for this whole chapter.  “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." (Ex.23:27-30 NIV) Okay, read that again, if you have to! God was promising the Israelites that He would take care of every enemy they had but it would be done little by little so that they would be prepared to take possession of the Promised Land. I started thinking about those pesky issues of mine again and I heard God speaking. He will take care of every issue, every situation, every enemy but He is timing it so that you won't be caught unaware. Could it be that God hasn't removed that situation because it would leave you exposed to another issue? He is preparing you for the next level but He knows not to rush you through the process.

I love that last line, don't you?! "Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." Not only is God strategically working on your issues, He is waiting for you to be increased enough to handle the breakthrough. Woooo! God gave me a great example. Think about the stages of grief. There are so many layers that you have to go through to get to complete healing. First there is shock/denial, then pain/guilt, followed by anger/bargaining, depression/loneliness, reconstruction, and finally acceptance. God could come in and immediately take it all away but when you are allowed the space and the time to get fully healed, you can recognize the victory. God wants to increase you while He is working. He doesn't want halfway healed people or people that are faking their way through. No! He wants to get you to wholeness and sometimes the only way to get you to breakthrough is to take you little by little.

Don't be distressed if your process is taking longer than you imagined it would take. There is victory in going through the process and even more so if you allow God to do it in His timing. God is the master strategist and nothing you are experiencing is outside of His realm of expertise. He is moving those enemies out the way in such a way that nothing overtakes you, all while increasing your power, your anointing and your ability to possess the land! Little by little...

Amen

Trust Me...

Has anyone ever seen something in you that you couldn’t see? Perhaps someone has told you that you were anointed or gifted or that something you said or did blessed them and you wanted to laugh or maybe just run the other direction. What do you do with that? How do you react? Because I will tell you that your response makes a difference. This morning the Lord said to me, Trust the gift. Then He boiled it down even further and said, “Trust Me.” Sigh…does the Lord keep saying the same thing to you? Think back over the situations that you have been in and the circumstances you have faced in recent months. Do you think it’s possible that God’s ultimate goal was to get you to rely on Him and Him alone? So when God says to trust the gift, I hear Him saying, trust that what He has given you, led you to, carried you through, allowed you to endure was meant to bring you to a place of pure trust in Him.

God is talking to you this morning. He is tired of seeing you go around the same mountain over and over again. He wants you to walk in wholeness. He wants you live your best life. He wants you to be free of bondage. But let me tell you something, it all comes down to trust. I am the queen of not wanting to acknowledge some of the gifts that God has given me but I am always forced to confront them in some form or another. It’s time to look at your life in a different way. It’s time to stop making excuses for why things keep happening over and over again and hear what God is saying. TODAY. I’m always uncomfortable when God gives me this kind of word because I much prefer to just be encouraging but He is speaking so clearly to His people. He is speaking clearly to me. He is speaking clearly to YOU. It’s time to trust what He is doing in you and act.

Let me pose a question. Do you believe God? Simple question, right? You immediately answered YES with confidence, right? Okay…well do what He says. He has equipped you to do it. And don’t make this complicated. People will often trust Him much easier when He says move to California but when He says go pray for your brother, it’s a struggle. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8) So the same way He asked Peter to trust Him on the water, He is asking you to do the same. Your friends don’t have to understand. Your family might not agree but this is not about anyone else. You have to be in God’s will, not mine or your mama’s.  He will not lead you wrong; as a matter of fact, not only that but He will lead you to where you need to be.

So here you are. Looking around at a reality that often throws you for a loop and wondering how to trust that what God is saying to you is the right thing. Let me help you out. He will never go against His word; so He won’t tell you to do anything that will not ultimately bring Him glory. You may not understand the process or the reasons but why should you? It’s not your plan. It’s time to trust the Master planner. It’s time to stop getting in your own way. It’s time to stop letting other people dictate your path, your decisions, and your life. Trusting the God in you sometimes means that you have to step out on your own. Sometimes it means that you have to believe beyond what you see. Sometimes it even means you have to quiet some voices that have speaking louder than God in your ears. TRUST GOD! Trust the gifts that He has given you and the fact that the journey to get where you are going might not be easy, but the victory will be sweeter for just trusting Him while walking it out. “Open up before God, keep nothing back; He’ll do whatever needs to be done: He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.” (Psalm 37:5 MSG)

God bless…AMEN

Shift Up!

There's something about looking out of the window of an airplane. Things that are so grand and  daunting from the ground appear small and manageable from above the clouds. Everything looks mapped out and in its proper place. I can see where the roads begin and end and even the mountains look small. Just as I was about to close my eyes for a nap, I heard the Lord say, "That's what the view is like from up here." It took my breath away. I immediately got it and I hope it hit you similarly but if not, let me share what I got. God sees the entire picture and it's laid out perfectly. You know those mountains in your life that look impossibly wide and overwhelming? They are nothing for Him to handle. Those roads that seem so long and winding to you? He sees exactly where they started and where they end. From His vantage point, your life is perfectly manageable. Here's the thing though, you have to be able to trust what God is doing. He reminded me of the classic verses in Isaiah 55. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (vs 8-9 NKJV). You have to be willing to shift up to get through.

So many times you want the victory without the battle. You want the road to be smooth and the answers to fall from the sky like rain.  It's human nature! But I think what God wants you to know today is that the victory has already been assured. He already has it planned out. Can you see it? Can you shift your thinking to God level? You know the drought you have been experiencing in your job search? Are you looking through to the end of it and taking advantage of the time you have to hear from Him? Or maybe it's the struggle that your marriage has been for the last few years? Are you taking every lesson and cataloging it for the others you will be able to help when they come to you for advice and prayer for their marriage? What about the terrible state of your finances? Are you still living your life and giving when instructed and led in preparation for the breakthrough? God is not looking at the map of your life like you are. He is way above and beyond and you have to seek out His viewpoint instead of your own so that you can shift to that next level. You have to be willing to shift up to get through.

In my own life, I often ask God why I have to keep going through some of these difficult things when I am just trying to do what He has asked me to do. Today, He highlighted something for me in the introduction to the book of Hosea in my bible. I just happened to open my bible to this page and these two sentences jumped out at me and all of a sudden...the answer. This is what it said. "The problem was how to get this message of God's love to a people not inclined to listen, and not likely to understand if they did listen. God's solution was to let the prophet be his own sermon." Do you see that? That's the kind of thinking God does. He sees your purpose and He knows that you can handle the assignment, the weight, the ministry so that others can get to Him. So He uses you and your life to break others through. If you are struggling today with a decision or a situation that feels impossible, understand that God already has what you need laid out in the plan. You just need to change your thought process. There is a lesson, a reason, and a deliverance in where you are. Someone is watching how you respond so they can trust God's plan for their own life. Come on, saint! Shift up!

Amen

Chosen for a Purpose

Whenever I write Rhema, I start by asking God for a relevant, right now word for me and you. Sometimes it comes immediately, other times it's a struggle but every time, it meets a need for someone out there. Isn't that how life is? You go through various things and sometimes those situations leave you at a complete loss as to what you are supposed to do next. Sometimes the answer comes immediately and sometimes it's a struggle. But generally if you look back, there was a lesson that you had to learn. Today, God sent a word of reassurance with a little challenge mixed in. Don't you need that every now and then? To hear God tell you that you are in the right place or headed in the right direction? I know I do. Well...here goes!

"You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name." (‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬ NLT)

That's it! Straight from the mouth of Jesus! If you have been struggling with your purpose or your call or even  with just who you are in general, this verse is for you. You were important enough to Jesus that He picked you to do a mighty work for Him. He has appointed you to produce fruit for the Kingdom. Jesus was speaking to His disciples in this verse and preparing them for the life they would experience after His death, resurrection and ascension. The disciples were just like you and me. They were normal people chosen by God to share His message. They were called from their jobs, their families, and their personal plans to "go and bear fruit, and that the fruit should remain" (NKJV). You might be saying to yourself, "ummmm, I am not a minister or a preacher!" Trust me, I know that conversation. But YOU have a purpose on this earth. Maybe it's to give the best hugs to those that look or feel unloved. Perhaps it's to be a great listener or friend. But maybe it is to be a pastor or prophet or evangelist. Whatever your purpose is, Jesus picked YOU to live it out. 

Don't get stuck in the whys and why nots of this life! You have something powerful to offer and it's worth the road and the process that you may have to travel to get there. So, here you are on this Thursday morning, trying to figure out why your husband is acting crazy or why your bank account is in the negative again and you don't have an answer. Well, here it is! How you react to these challenges are preparing you for your next level. They are giving you a testimony to share and a strength to stand on. And as you stand and share, the fruit comes...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23 NLT) These Holy Spirit given fruits will remain! But not only that, having them give you all that you need to go forward in your purpose. 

Finally, I have to close by reminding you of something else in that verse. Jesus said that in bearing this lasting fruit, "God will give you whatever you ask for in My name." That's powerful and reassuring. This is not a lottery verse, folks, but rather an assurance of relationship and response. Jesus is letting you know that in choosing you, He also equipped you and connected you to a Father that will give you what you need. So, go forth knowing that you have been chosen and covered by the best!

Trust the plan!

Have you ever woken up and wondered how you got where you are? Sometimes it's a positive question and you happily meditate on the goodness of God and how everything is lining up in your favor. Sometimes it's a more reflective time when you think back over your journey and how God has brought you through. But there are also those times when you just don't quite know how you ended up in a certain situation or set of circumstances or mindset. You look around and you just cannot believe that your marriage is a hot mess, your finances are completely out of whack, your dream business is not making any money. Or sometimes it's even harder when God is shifting you but tradition says stay, your ministry is waiting but you're scared, or God's plan is in direct conflict with what you imagined for yourself. What do you do then? My flesh, aka Molly, would like to tell you to run! Don't hang around for all of the stress and the struggle that comes from being in a "what's next" moment! But then I hear the Lord say, "Trust Me..." Man! Don't you hate that? Be honest! Don't you sometimes want to hear 'go ahead, you can quit' or 'you don't have to'? I know I do but usually that isn't the case because God always has a plan for where you are.

Think about Elijah. Can't you imagine right after he got Jezebel's message, justifiably having a "how did I get here" moment? I get it! He had been doing what God said and now he was the enemy and the target. "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." (1 Kings 19:3,4 NIV) The Lord sent an angel to feed him twice for strength. Then Elijah went to that cave to hide and essentially wait on death to find him. Do you think that was a part of God's plan for him? Think carefully because it may affect how you think about your own journey and why you have gone through certain things in your life. Do you think it's possible that God led him to that cave so he could learn a lesson that he wouldn't have learned had he followed his own plan? Think about this, Elijah didn't sign up to to die, he signed up to serve. What about you? What did you sign up to do?

Back to Elijah in the cave, trying to understand how, after doing all the Lord had directed him to do, he was at this point in his life. "The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." (1 Kings 19:11,12 NIV) You didn't hear the answer when the infidelity happened, you didn't hear the answer when the famous preacher spoke into your life. No, the answer comes when you can trust that God has you right where you are supposed to be and when you are quiet enough to hear His still small voice. God then asked Elijah the question that you often ask yourself. "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answers with a list of all that has gone wrong in his life and God responds with the plan. “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” (1Kings 19:15-18 NLT)

God has reserved just what you need and it or they will show up right when it is time. Your only responsibility is to trust the plan that God has set forth for your life. How did you get here? God has a plan and a purpose for you and it is for such a time as this. Don't get caught up in the cave, instead move out on the mountain and wait for God to pass by and speak. Trust the plan, it's been written by the Master!

Amen

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