Here's my worship...

My mind has been all over the place this week! I have talked to people going through so many different things in life and struggled to find the words to comfort them. I lost one of my youngest first cousins at 22 years old and I have struggled to find the words to describe my feelings. I have seen people hurt by church folk and I have struggled to respond with my spirit and not flesh. God, how do I write this week when struggle seems to be all around? How do I give You what I know You deserve when all I have today is struggle? Then I heard this sweet melody in my spirit and I began to sing, “Here’s my worship.” How about you? Look at the last week or so and see if you can hear a worship…

People won’t do right…here’s my worship!

Money looks funny…here’s my worship!

Tired and weary…here’s my worship!

Been waiting for a long time…here’s my worship!

Just don’t know how you’re going to make it…here’s my worship!

Relationship is taking more than it’s giving…here’s my worship!

 

You see, The Lord let me know that worship was the answer. He sent me to Luke 4:8 and I found something so interesting. Most of the translations I looked at said something along these lines, “For it is written, you shall worship the Lord and only Him.” But the New King James Version (my favorite!) added something that I believe is important this morning. It reads, “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:8 NKJV) I took this as a reminder that the enemy wants your worship. He wants you to struggle and give in to that place of isolation and sadness but the Lord has sent a word to you today. Tell the enemy to get behind you! Tell him that your worship goes to the Lord and Him only. That means that your time, your attention, your focus goes to the Lord alone. Isn’t that what worship is?

 

If the enemy has tried to put a whole lot of other things in front of you this week, I challenge you to turn your back on the foolishness, put your eyes on the Father and sing, “Here’s my worship!” You see, it is so important that you remember Who alone is deserving of all the attention that you have given to that person, situation or place. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days so I think He can relate to struggle. However, before He gave that Word, He made sure the enemy knew that his power did not go ahead of the Word. His tricks and his schemes could not change what the Word says. Will you remember the power of your worship today? It can break yokes and change situations. Here’s my worship, Lord…

 Amen

To My child...

I have started and stopped 3 times trying to get my wording right but apparently, this is going to be one of those weeks. The Lord said type and I will do just that…

It is not what it looks like. I am working what looks lost for your good and I am bringing to the forefront what seems small. I just need you to trust Me. I need you to use wisdom and discernment and know that I do not do anything by accident. I need you to understand that you can no longer allow the temporary to hold you up because what I have for you is eternal. What I have prepared for you has been in My plan since the beginning of time. Do you know what means? It means that just because what is happening in your life seems like a surprise to people, it is not. I planned that promotion, that elevation, and that shift. I called you to the crossroads and I expect you to take the road that I have instructed. Why? Because you know it’s the right thing. Fear may say something else but I have not given you the spirit of fear but love and a sound mind. Today, I expect you to use your sound mind. Today, I expect you to do what I have called you to do. Today, I expect you to walk on water and trample on serpents. Today, I expect you to do the challenging thing. Why? Because that is what I have equipped you to do. People have gotten the authority that I gave them all wrong. They have used it to control and manipulate but I gave it for salvation and life. I gave it so that you could snatch someone from the grasp of the enemy with power. I gave it so that you could look at a situation and speak life over it. I gave it so that My word would go forth and reach more people. I gave it so that you would be ready for the next level of glory. My child, this is your time to move in obedience not in the comfortable. It is not the time for you to make My word fit what you want to happen but it is time to take the hard step and walk out what I have told you to. It is time.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18 NLT)

Amen.

Just what you need...

My heart’s cry for you today is Jesus. His name is the answer to your prayer and the balm for your battered spirit. Today, I want to love on those of you that have just been pushing through. You have been working and serving without acknowledgement. You have been leading and pouring out for others without a refilling of your own. You have been carrying the weights of a family or a people and it has been heavy. You have been praying and covering while wondering if anyone was doing the same for you. You have been secretly worrying about loved ones while appearing to be strong. Today, the Lord is speaking to you. Today, He is healing you. Today, He is shifting the weights and easing the load. Today, Jehovah Shammah is sweetly whispering, “I am here” in your ear.

The Lord led me to the words that He spoke to Moses when they spoke face to face in the Tent of Meeting in Exodus 33. If you remember, Moses would set the Tent up outside of the camp and the people would stand at attention until he entered. When the Lord in the form of the Pillar of Cloud would descend to meet Moses, the people would bow down in worship. The Lord showed me YOU in this illustration. He showed me the heaviness of carrying the petitions of a people. He showed me the weight required to meet with Him for others and then carry out the instruction. He highlighted Moses’s words to Him so that you would know that He understands where you are.

Moses said to God, “Look, you tell me, ‘Lead this people,’ but you don’t let me know whom you’re going to send with me. You tell me, ‘I know you well and you are special to me.’ If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans. That way, I will continue being special to you. Don’t forget, this is your people, your responsibility.” (Exodus 33:14 MSG)

Have you said something similar recently? Have you wondered how to continue or how to respond to an instruction that only you and God know about? Has the weight of praying for husband, children, parents, church members completely exhausted you? Do you just want a clear answer, guide, plan? Well, hear the word of the Lord, just as He responded to Moses.

God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.” (Ex. 33:15 MSG)

He is with you. He is covering you. He is healing you. He is restoring you. He is strengthening you. He will not stop before you come out. He will not leave before your breakthrough comes. He will not abandon you before the promise manifests. He will see you through to the end.

Amen

Under control...

I am in Florida this week for a family vacation. Hurricane Irma also seemingly has plans to come to Florida and she is not a welcome guest. As I have been watching the coverage surrounding this impending storm and the damage left behind by Hurricane Harvey, I’ve been thinking a lot about the storms that we face in life. Like in nature, there are those quick storms that pop up and end quickly. Then there are those big ones like Irma that we see coming and have to prepare for the potential fallout and damage. The Lord told me something very simple today and I pray that it resonates with you. He said, I control the storm.

Some of you may cringe at a statement like that. I know I felt a  little prick in my heart! How can God be in control when these catastrophic storms come our way? God sent me to Psalm 107:29 – 30 for the answer. “He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper, so that the waves of the sea were still. Then they were glad because of the calm, And He guided them to their desired haven (harbor).”(Ps 107:29-30‬ ‭AMP‬‬) Here’s the thing! God wants you to understand that there is nothing that comes your way that He can’t handle. He can turn the strongest storm to a whisper. Whether it’s the buildup,  the impact, or the debris,  He can speak to it and bring it down to size. And when it’s all over, you will know that He has brought you through.

It may almost seem that I am making light of the storms in your life by writing so little. In actuality, I am showing you how little you have to do in the face of all of these storms. Your main responsibility is to trust in the God who controls it. Jesus spoke a three word phrase, “Peace, be still” to the storm in Mark 4:39 and the winds and the waves had to obey. In Matthew 8:26, He rebuked the storm and there was peace. You see, no matter how loud, how much pressure or how threatening, He is present and He is in control. He is not afraid and He is not taken by surprise!

Stand firm, prepare as He says and watch Him handle the storm!

Amen…

Lessons from my miss!

For the first time in over 6 years, I didn't post Rhema on Thursday. The truth is my day was crazy and it completely slipped my mind. I woke up this morning and realized what had happened and felt my heart sink. How could I forget? How could I not complete my assignment? What are people going to say? All of these questions played in my head on a loop for several minutes. After a while I realized that I had been letting Ebony's voice speak pretty loudly but I wasn't getting anywhere. So I stopped and just listened and I heard it. The Lord said to me, "Now you move forward..."

Listen! Life happens to all of us. We will inevitably miss a meeting or an appointment. We will fail a test. We will lose some friends. We will even disappoint God with our choices. But can I let you in on something? God doesn't sit down in our failures and misses. He continues to operate and work in the plan that He has set before us. Romans 8:28 says, "All things work together for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." (NKJV) It doesn't say those things that Ebony gets right will work together for the good. Nope! It says ALL things. But it also doesn't say that all things will work on your timeline. What it does say is that you have a God that takes care of His kids. It does say that He responds to relationship and honors it by making sure that whatever you go through will work for your good.

Some of you may be saying, what's the big deal? So you missed a week, so what? My response to that is I will be available to chat when it happens to you. You see, when God has given you an assignment or shown you a vision and you don't fulfill it or it doesn't work the way you expect, it shakes you. It can take people months, even years to recover. But the Lord reminded me this morning that His plan is not contingent upon what you or I do. His plan goes forth regardless! Why? First of all, He has already accounted for our free will. But mostly because He is too forward thinking to be caught by surprise by your ups and downs. If He was, Kingdom work wouldn't go forth, when the pastor is sick or the outreach team is on vacation. He showed me 3 scriptures that I want to leave you with. 

Jeremiah 29:11 - “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” (MSG)

No matter what your natural mind says or the opinion of people or the enemy, God has a plan for you that is filled with Him and your next looks good!

Proverbs 19:21 - “We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but GOD ’s purpose prevails.” (MSG‬‬) You can come up with every plan B and option 2 in the book but God's purpose for your life is going to go forth. That's why a miss or failure can't be allowed to take you out. He's already seen the end result!

Jeremiah 1:5 - “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.”(MSG‬‬)

Doesn't this give you comfort? Before you planned your life out at age 9, before you got that divorce, before you lost that job, before you missed that assignment, God knew you. He knew all about you and He made a plan for you to impact the Kingdom. He had you and your life on His mind. Trust me, He's got this!

So that's it! Keep moving forward, man of God! Don't quit, woman of God! Your miss is another powerful line in your testimony of how God took the mess that was you and produced victory. Rhema will survive one Friday post, as will I! And guess what? You will survive too! Love you...

Amen 

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Are you really free?

Today, God gave me some specific instructions for you and I am going to get right to it. He said, “Stay right there.” What does that mean, Lord? Stay right where? He answered, “Stay in your truth, until you get where I’ve called you to be.” Before I go too far, let me be clear. This is a “meet you where you are” word. This is a word of self-examination and truth. This is a word for YOU. How can I say that? Because it was a word for ME first. So many times when people talk about freedom and breakthrough, it is wrapped up in what someone did to them. The bondage is easily identified with a point of impact or a traumatic event - the abandonment of a parent or a spouse, the mental or physical abuse, the molestation, the divorce, the death. Those are real places and they have real effects on how you live your life and how you interact with other people. I am not talking about that today. Today, I am talking to you about you. I am talking to you about how you tell yourself that you are in a good place, when in fact, the enemy has blinded you to how you actually present to the world. I am talking about those moments when you hear the Holy Spirit speaking conviction but it is easier to say it is about other people.  I am talking about how you pray for others to get free but you have missed the areas that still require work in you. I am talking about truth.

Jesus left the Holy Spirit on earth with clear responsibilities in John 16. He left Him to be a comforter and an advocate. He left Him to remind us of God’s righteousness and convict us when necessary. He is to be a conduit of Truth. He does not speak on His own but tells what He has heard from Jesus. He is the voice of the Trinity. He is to guide us into all truth. I really started thinking about this thing and it really started to blow my mind. Jesus wanted to make sure that when He left this earth in the physical sense, the truth of who He is as our savior was clear to His people. Why? Because truth is who He is. Do you remember what He said in John 14:6? He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” So the question is why don’t you tell the truth? Why don’t you acknowledge that a lot of what is happening in your life can find its roots in you and your decisions? Don’t take offense! I am not minimizing what has happened to you, however, it is time to have real talk. I mean, at what point do you say to yourself, “Pride has kept me from apologizing to some people.”  “My unwillingness to acknowledge that I did not get it all right has separated me from some people that had my best interest at heart.” “My attitude has kept me from being promoted at work or in ministry.”  “My need to control everyone and everything in my life has caused isolation.” Does any of this sound familiar?

Jesus was not talking to non-believers in John 8 when He said, “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” He was talking to His people! Look at John 8:31! They were so comfortable in their position as descendants of Abraham that they didn’t see that there was areas in their lives that needed to be addressed. They didn’t see that they were missing the message of Christ because there wasn’t room in their hearts. They ended up wanting to stone Jesus in verse 58 because He called them out of their complacency and their position. Are you willing to come out of your position to get free and I mean really free? Are you willing to stay in the trenches of your own “stuff” until there is nothing left except the Holy Ghost? Are you willing to tell the truth today? Pride has to die. Anger has to die. The spirit of competition has to die. The need to be right has to die. The Pharaoh spirit has to die. Jezebel has to die. Come on! Tell the truth and call that mess out. I’m tired of watching whole families stay on a cycle of poverty, lack and chaos because Grandma won’t tell the truth about her pride. I’m tired of watching churches fall apart because Pastor won’t admit that he is broken and needs deliverance. Lord, help us today to tell the truth!

Hear the word of the Lord, tell the truth today and break the stronghold that has been over your life and that of your family. It is time. Stay right where God puts you until you get it all. Why? Because whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”

Amen

Stop your mess!

Listen…obedience is hard. It’s hard when people don’t understand your why but you still have to do it. It’s hard when your yes makes others uncomfortable. It’s hard when you have to leave what you know because the unknown holds your destiny. Yep...obedience is hard. The last year of my life has been a study in hearing the hard instruction and saying yes. It has meant lost relationships, lonely moments, and hard conversations. It has meant understanding that what God had for me was more important than what people felt about me. Let me tell you…not fun! But what I have come to know more than anything else is that my obedience is enough. My willingness to follow God’s lead is exactly what He wants from me and it is what He wants from you. You see, at the end of the day, your feelings don’t matter. Why someone did what they did doesn’t change what God told you to do with the information. Your response is what He is looking at. I’m learning that God’s plan for my life doesn’t always include the outcomes that I want or think they should be. Things don’t always look how I want them to but if I do what He says, the end result is always the right one.

I want to briefly point something out to you that I just really noticed today. It’s the why that I have often sought when thinking about my life. Hebrews 5:7-9 says, “While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the One who could rescue Him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”(NLT) It was through those hard beatings and the taunts, that Jesus saw why He had to obey. It was through the doubt and the abandonment that He saw why humankind needed a savior. It was the challenges to His deity and the questions about His power that made His yes make sense. Because of those lessons, God exalted Him and lifted Him up as the One that we all must obey. Out of His suffering came obedience and from there qualification and elevation. Don't you think your obedience is worth it?

Oh yeah! There are some of you that have gotten this obedience all wrong. The Bible didn’t say stay and suffer. This verse said the suffering birthed the obedience. Men and women of God, your obedience is necessary. You can no longer let your comfort or your fear dictate your move. There is too much work to do in the Kingdom for you to keep living in disobedience. So I’m calling you out today! Scared to start your own business even though God told you He would provide? Stop your mess and obey! Stuck in a dead place when God has shown you life? Stop your mess and obey! Been holding on to that blank school application for 2 years but won’t turn it in even though God showed you the perfect program? Stop your mess and obey!   I’m sorry that I don’t have anything soothing to say. I’m just plum out of soothing! It’s time for action and I mean NOW. You have waited long enough! Let me help you out before I close. Ready?  I made it and so will you. I know what it is to survive hard instructions and thrive. You just have to do it!   I am now free to be who Ebony Bryant was called to be because I said yes! I know that God desires the same for you.

Amen