Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday 12/01/08)

Owning Your Relationships...

Romans 12:9-20 (Amplified Bible)
9) [Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good.
10) Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.
11) Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.
12) Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
13) Contribute to the needs of God's people [sharing in the necessities of the saints]; pursue the practice of hospitality.
14) Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them.
15) Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others' joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others' grief].
16) Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.
17) Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone.
18) If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19) Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.
20But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.

Recently, I have had somethings happen within the realm of relationships, that have blown my mind and rocked my world. They have been everything from good to bad. From ugly to beautiful. One thing I have noticed is that often times we do not want to take ownership for what we create in our relationship's. It becomes such an easy thing to see the issues in others or to plant our expectations upon them without looking in the mirror of our own souls to see where we are responsible and what it is that we may be lacking or where we may be placing unrealistic expectations on individuals that we are in relationship with. A few weeks ago our Pastor was ministering and he mentioned that there are some of us that want love without the risk, and without the vulnerability. We want love without having to be responsible to open ourselves up and give or see through eyes that may not just be our own, or we do not want to take the risk to see with eyes of the present instead of the past. We want everyone and everything else to own our relationship but us.

In James 1:17 it says "Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]." If God has blessed us to be in relationship, it is first our responsibility to realize that it is a gift from God. How is it that we choose to treat the things that God gives us is totally up to us. We own how we value or devalue the things God gives us. We have the power to see that anything that God gives us is good even when it is challenging and that we can see it or gain from it in a positive sense. So many times we do as Adam did in the garden and say to God, "look it is this woman (or man) you gave me." But could it be maybe that it is our perspective? Have we heaped our past hurts, misconceptions and expectations on this person. Or have we chosen to place limitations or our brokenness on people? In many cases we have, and in all of these cases, we have chosen to take God's gift and take it to task, damage it, or misuse it. It is us, who needs to be in a place of constantly allowing God to search our hearts and clean us up. We should be asking God to remove the scales from our eyes so that we can truly see that gifts and lessons that He is bestowing upon us. This will allow us to glean from and care for our relationships whole heartedly.

Maybe it is not him or her that is broken, maybe it is the way in which we see those in whom you are in relationship with. Or as someone said to me recently maybe we are hearing but we are not listening, to what God is saying through that individual or what that individual is really saying, from the heart of God. It is time for all us to take ownership for our relationships and for where they go and how the get where they are. We are the one's that have the ability to steer things if we consult God and see through the heart and words of our heavenly Father, and not through the eyes of pain or the past. Open up to God's gifts and live, love and learn to own who you are and what you receive from them! It's on you!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 11/28/08)

Today's devorional written by My God Daughter Tracy Koweh, a Woman of God in Her own right and calling! Strong and Worthy of the high call placed upon her life!

Live Your Life,So You'll Be Missed, When You're Gone...

Ephesians 5:1-2 (Amplified Bible)
1) THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].
2) And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

I was recently reading an article about a 19 yr old young man who recentlytook his own life in front of thousands of webcam watchers. The part of thestory that touched me was reading just a few of the millions of messagesthat were sent to the young man. I have no idea what he was going through,but I do know that he lived in such a way that he touched the lives ofthose around him tremodously. Almost every person commented on howdependable he was, how faithful and trustworthy he was.Of course I do not condone in taking your own life under any circumstance,but I do envy the legacy he left behind. I question if I was to leave thisEarth today how would people remember me. Would my home be different? Wouldthe atmosphere at my job be changed? Would people remember me as a promisekeeper or a promise breaker? Have my actions backed up or contradicted mywords?Jesus lived his 33 years on Earth as a giver, a lover, a deliverer, ahealer and a friend. People still talk about the things he did today andwith excitement and amazement. Jesus showed loved to those He knew wouldbetray Him, lie to Him, and even reject him. He said what he meant, and Hemeant what he said. Jesus was always about His father's business. He wasfocused on what God had instructed Him to do and was not hindered by thewords, thoughts, or opinions of others. If we are to be like Christ, thenno longer can we say we didn't do the right thing because of the person onthe other side of the blessing. We can't give only when we feel like it orwhen its not a sacrifice. We can't continue to love only when it doesn'tcost us anything, or require us to step out on faith. Christ loved and gaveof hisself whole heartedly and unconditionally and we must start to do thesame. Our reward will not be from man nor from the receiver of our gift,but from God.Life is so short and no one is promised tomorrow. So today let us allbegin to live so that the legacy we leave behind, is a blueprint for thegeneration after us to follow. Don't assume you will have tomorrow to blessthat family in need, to encourage that co-worker on the job, or just to dothe right thing. Don't depend on God's grace and mercy to give you a secondchance to make things right with a loved one, just get it right the firsttime. We take so much for granted becuase we just know that we will havetime to fix it. Jesus was the son of God and he was only given 33 years tolive on Earth. Some of us how outlived Christ and have nothing to show forit. Show of us are fast approaching that age and we couldn't recall thelast unselfish thing we have done for someone else if we looked over thelast 5 years. Today vow to live your life in such way, they will be effected when you are no longer present. Live your life in such a way that your footprints are left upon the hearts of those you have encountered!

This Blogg is written by Tracy Koweh, my God daughter and an anoited Woman of God within her own right, standing and calling!

The Thanksgiving Twist

Isaiah 55:8 (New Living Translation)
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

I woke this morning like any other day, but in the back of my mind I knew it was THANKSGIVING day. I didn’t have any text messages, not one email, or a phone call……….just yet, but what I did have was one of the strongest presences of God in my room I had ever experienced. I started to get upset because there was one text and one email that I just KNEW would be waiting on me, but then God told me today to be THANKFUL for the things I didn’t have. He told me to be THANKFUL for the unanswered prayers, to be THANKFUL for the things I didn’t have, to be THANKFUL for the relationships He had cut out of my life.

How many times in our lives have we asked God for something and when we didn’t get it, felt like God didn’t care or that He was being mean, only to find out (sometimes years later), that He was actually protecting us from future hurt, pain, or disappointment we were incapable of seeing. Single ladies think of that fine- - - got it together man that you just KNEW was the one, only to find out down the road that he was a player, he was selfish, he didn’t want the same things in life you did, or simply he wasn’t half the man you thought he was. Single men think of that woman, who you put your guard down for, and she tried to destroy you, she tried to break you, or you found out she was only using you. Think of the job you thought God should have blessed you with, and see now that the hours and the responsibility didn’t quite equal the pay raise. Or maybe the pay raise was there but the cost to your family and spiritual well being would have been compromised. Remember the car or house God didn’t bless you with, and think now with this economy would you be able to keep up the payments.

I remember as a child when I would want to play outside - -after the street lights came on- - and my mom would say no. I couldn’t fathom at the time the dangers of a little child being outside in the dark because at that moment I just knew I was having fun and didn’t want it to end, but like God my mother looked passed my feel good moment and made the choice that was best for my future well being.

The point is that although God is faithful, loving and merciful sometimes He does or will say no. When and if He says no to something you ask, trust Him and let his NO be NO. Don’t try to seduce Him or tease Him into giving in, Thank Him and Praise Him cause for every door He closes AND locks; He has opened a window with a blessing so big you don’t have room enough to hold it. Don’t miss your open window opportunity, trying to get on the other side of a locked door.

Happy Thanksgiving

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Wednesday 11/26/08)

In Pursuit Of Thanksgiving...

Philippians 4:5-7 (Amplified Bible)

5) Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The Lord is near [He is coming soon]. 6) Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. 7) And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Today was an odd day. It was one of those days that challenged my ability of focus. My child was under attack by people she had gone out of her way for, protected, covered and been a true friend to. They had hurt her, used her and then made fun of her behind her back with no regard for her feelings or the fact that they were suppose to be friends at all. She had made these people a priority when they had not even made her an option; that hurt me, it caused me to want to rise up and be ghetto mama and go off, but the Holy Spirit arrested me and said that she had to handle this for herself. I found myself trying to find something in this situation to be thankful for. You see I can take a lot. I can handle things going wrong with me, but when it touches my children it makes something rise up in me and often causes me to find it hard to do what normally comes natural for me. It is in these times that I find myself pursuing thanksgiving. As this day came to a close, I heard in my spirit are you not thankful that she was finally able to see her worth and to confront some things instead of ignoring them just to maintain friendships? Are you thankful that I have set her apart and that I have her even in the midst of this situation? When these things came up in my spirit, it was then that I could begin to seek out and see things within this otherwise hurtful situation that were for my daughter's making, molding and shaping, and mine as well. Things that God wanted her to be able to glean from this situation, and gain a new sense of life.
So many times we become consumed by the situations, that it becomes hard for us to see, what we need to be thankful. We are so busy wrestling with our own mindset, hurts, misnomers, and confusion to be able to pursue God and thank Him for the ability to overcome, be healed from, and receive clarity in. We are pursuing everything but "thanksgiving," and thankfulness. We should always be in a mode that encourages us to pursue thanksgiving and a spirit of thankfulness. But this can only come as a result of us realizing that God is in control of all things and that ALL things happen for a reason. These reasons often are to do with us, growing, maturing and progressing, and little to do with the actual event itself. If we understand our relationship with God, and know that it is a relationship that affords us, divine exchange of learning and growth. It is then when we are thankful in everything, we are able to pray, petition God and thank Him in spite of how we feel about where we are and what we are going through.
How have we missed pursuing Thanksgiving? How have we missed the opportunity to grow and mature? It may be time to learn who it is that we are really in covenant with and who really is in control of our lives. When life is handing you lemons, what are you doing with them, are you thanking God for the new found supply of lemonade or are you sucking on them and turning sour yourself? Food for thought!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Tuesday 11/25/08)

I Will... Part II

Psalm 34:1-3 (Amplified Bible)

1) I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2) My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad. 3) O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

One thing I really love to do that relieves stress and gives me a sense of accomplishment is working out. I love free standing weights, it gives you a sense of power and that I am roll'in with the "big boys." I must admit it was a habit and a passion that I do not enjoy on the same level and frequency that I once did but I still do when I can. There is a special dynamic that happens to me at the beginning of any cycle of my working out, which is that pain that inadvertently sets in and that I will hurt. Now for "me," most of the time I look forward to the pain, because it is a signal to me that I am toning and shaping in a way that will become visible to most shortly. But before that pain hits there is the pain of the shock to my body and the exhaustion that usually hits in the initial stages of my work out. It is the time when I can barely life my arms and when I shower water hurts to touch any muscle that has been worked. This is the pain of my challenge. This is the discomfort of external entities that have caused a strain and stress on me in such a way that it has caused me to rethink my decision to follow this course of action. But oddly enough it is in those times that I am able to find an "I Will," stick to this "I Will," go back to the gym.

How many times in life do we experience pain and discomfort that reminds us of the challenges, the external forces that are pressing us and making us experience mental, emotional, spiritual and often physical fatigue? In these times some of us often reflect on the fact that before we made the decision to follow Christ, stuff like this may not have happened. Or for others of us it is when we were walking with the Lord , but we had not made a decision to be sold out, that life seemed so much easier, it lacked the suffering and the challenges that seemed to plagued us as we make our way towards a closeness with Christ. Some of during these times, fall by the way side, some of just begin to live a life where we drift away from Christ, because it seems easier. But then there are some of us that say "I Will" bless the Lord at all times. "I Will," serve the Lord with gladness, "I Will," bring the sacrifice of praise. It is when we mature and determine within us that we will press into praise and worship God regardless of the circumstance, regardless of what we have or do not have, it is in that moment of decision that we become committed in a way that proves our gratitude and our attitude towards God. Pressing through the pain to growth and a place of pleasing God and ministering unto Him, is what God desires and it proves that our love is not circumstantial, but unconditional. This type of "Will" represents a commitment to who He ( God ) is to us and not what He does for us.

It is time that we grow through the pain to the promise. That we make up in our minds that "I Will," honor God with my very life. That "I Will" render service unto God no matter what my circumstance, no matter what it may look like and no matter what I feel. That "I Will," let my light shine, even when it causes my flesh pain to do so. Willing ourselves to move through something painful forces us to realize we hurt but to invoke our spirit over what we feel, and be moved by our love for God and not the discomfort of our circumstance. It is time to lift up those arms in praise even when we are sore. It is time to hit our knees in worship even when it is near impossible to get down or get back up. Push past the pain into the very presence of God, to find His love, His power and His strength to preserve. Let God get the Glory out of You, just because you Will!

Words Of Encouragement To STart The Day ( Monday 11/24/08)

I Will...

Psalm 34:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
1) I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2) My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad.
3) O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

One of the hardest and the easiest things to say is I will. When we commit to being someplace we often say "I will" be there. When we commit ourselves and our lives to another individual we are asked will we and we response, "I do or I will." It is those two little words that can bring cohesiveness to our lives to another or break us apart, or make us falter. I remember a time when someone had promised to do something for me and promised that they would never do something they had done, previously that had hurt and about destroyed me, when they made that promise they sealed it with "I will, I promise." That meant to me in that moment that they had every intent of standing by their word and standing by their commitment, not just then but always.

How many times do we say "I will," with our mouth, but our heart is not in it. Or maybe it is when adversity hits and we forget, it may be in those moments that "I will turns to I won'ts, or I can'ts. I remember when I came back to the Lord, I promised Him that I would serve Him and never turn away from His service again. But as I have grown, in grace and the knowledge of Christ my I will did not just pertain to serving Him, it began to pertain to my praise, my worship, my lifestyle, my chooses, my giving, my faith, and so many other things. So many times we limit our I will's to things we feel will not cost us anything, but our choice should be that no matter what we have "Willed" to do, if it a part of God's plan we should invoke His power and His plan in our lives to bring about obedience. When the "will of God" is birthed in through our spirit instead of the will that is normally birthed in the flesh we can stand through, good, bad, ups, downs, controversy, and extraordinary situations. Training ourselves that our word is our bond and that our will should come from the depth of who we are in Christ and it should prove the quality of who we have become through Christ.

What have you not willed yourself to do, but thought you should. What things have you willed to do and then turned around and said I can't or I won't. It is time to purpose in our hearts and minds to do what we know we need to do even in the times when it is not easy. Let it be that your yes is really yes and your no is no. Will yourself to make decisions of obedience, strength, honesty, love and giving ( of one's self). Not some of the time, but ALL of the time!

Words Of Encouragment To Start The Day ( Friday 11/21/08)

For My Good...But For His Glory!

Romans 8:28-30 (Amplified Bible)
28) We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
29) For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.
30) And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].

I never understood when I would hear parents say to their children, "this is going to hurt me more that it will hurt you." Or when people would say that the pain they were going to inflict was something that would be beneficial to everyone involved. My favorite one was when you go to the doctor and they say "it will only hurt for minute and then you will feel better." I never forget when I was in labor, and my doctor told me to "let the pain work to my advantage," what kind of crazy talk was that, I thought to myself. But that pain was really for my good, to motivate me, and to help bring that child into the world. It brought forth the glory of what was and had yet to be revealed.

In so many instances there are things that we go through that are painful, uncomfortable or mind boggling at best. At first glance they appear to be to our detriment, to be something meant to take us down and take us out. But it is when we are seeking God and His will for our lives that we realize that everything that looks bad isn't bad. Everything that looks like a hot mess, isn't always that way. It is all in who is doing the looking. To look at it through the natural means, we might see the enemy ripping us apart, or getting the better of us, we recognize the pain and sometimes the totality of the situation. When we can see through the eyes of Christ, we can recognize the demise of the things in us that are carnal, flesh based and not faith based, things that are people driven instead of spirit driven, the purging out of old ways, behaviors, habits and even people are really for our good. It produces things in us that may have been hidden, undiscovered or God breathed. These things that could not have found a place had other elements stayed in our lives. It is when the fabric of who we think we should be is torn down and replaced with the reality of who God wants us to be that we can then bring him Glory and honor and it is Good!

So when you are looking at all that is going wrong and what does not seem right, try looking through the Holy Spirit. Try invoking God into the mix so you may be able to see the reality of what is really going on. Could it be that it is about God getting the Glory out of your life that all of these things may be occurring? When you step back and look at it from the eyes of God is it for your good but ultimately for His glory? Only God really knows and you can too, if you are called according to His purpose!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 11/20/08)

He is Not A Man II....

Numbers 23:19 (Amplified Bible)
19) God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say or promise to do something that they do not follow through. Many years ago, when I was younger a young man wanted to call me and promised to call at a certain time. That time came and went and he had not called. As I prepared for bed (about an hour and a half after the time he promised to call) , my telephone rang, I looked at in wondered who it could be. I had talked to all of my core people, and I knew my mom was close to if not in bed for the night. I hesitated to pick up the phone and when I did I heard the voice of the young man, on the telephone. I was in no ways impressed and was very cold and provided only one word or short answers. It was his lack of responsibility to keep his word that lead me to react in this way. I have heard so many stories of women and men alike that have had promises made to treat them better than the last one, or not to repeat a negative behavior that they had done before only to have them repeat it. Mankind as a whole does not keep their word and promises. Our words are so easily broken, this is one of the main reasons we have a divorce rate that is so high and broken homes, churches and business, and confidence is almost none existent.

It is not that way with God. God's promises are yea and amen. He is not slack concerning His promises. God makes good on His promises. He says it and then He does it. He has that follow through thing down to a science, unlike us that just talk to hear ourselves speak. We make promises because it tickles the ears of those who are listening, or feels good rolling around in our mouth. Or we say things and make promises that cause us to be esteemed in the eyes of others, all though we have no intention of following through. God's ways should become our ways, we should fulfill our word. Our word should be as a crest or seal that is over ever area of our lives. There should never be a doubt that we will make manifest those things that we have promised or said we will do.

I am so thankful that God is the one in control and He has the last say. It is time to really walk the walk and talk the talk. Our word should be what declares our good name in the community and carries that weight of who we are throughout the world. God's word is forever established, heaven and earth can pass away put God's word stands. Isn't it time you gave your words some legs to stand on?

Words Of Encouragment To Start The Day ( Wednesday 11/19/08)

He Is Not A Man...

Numbers 23:19 (Amplified Bible)
19) God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?

I have had so many conversations with girlfriends and female family members alike, and I have heard these very words uttered, " He is my man or I would want him to be my man because, or something of that nature. I had a friend who had just entered into a new relationship when asked how things were going with them, replied, "you know how men can be." The character of man is defined by who is viewing him, but more often by who they are in contact with. Mankind, in general will manipulate words, actions and behaviors to suit the method or mode needed to dominate and subdue their environment, or to yield the result necessary for them to come out in the dominate position. It is not about the truth, but about the illusion of what truth may be in the eyes of one.

I am so thankful that God is not like that. We never have to worry about God trying to impress us or manipulate the situation to His advantage. He is the advantage and He already has the upper hand. What you read about God and experience through relationship and interaction with Him is really who He is. Often because we have been exposed to the iniquity and the sinful side of mankind we find it hard to see God not as a man that will hurt, misuse and/ or abuse us. We struggle with giving ourselves whole heartedly to Him because we are waiting for the other shoe to drop, we are waiting for Him to disappoint us, walk out on us or give up on us. But that is not God, He is not fallible, or easily swayed. He is solid, remember He is the Rock (of our salvation). God loves us with an everlasting love, one that stands through our all eternity and does not fail us or give up on us even when we fall or disappoint Him, remember "He loves us with and everlasting Love."

God is wanting us to see Him for who He truly is, one that does no carry the attributes that will harm, but ones that heal, he does not tear down, without the plan to build up, He does not give up, but He gave up, His only begotten son, so that you and I both could have a right to the tree of life, that surely does not sound like any man I know!

Words Of Encouragement To STart The Day ( Tuesday 11/18/08)

Emotional Intensive Care

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (Amplified Bible)
8) Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and begged that it might depart from me;
9) But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!
10) So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength).

So many of us have suffered abuse and discontentment at the hands of those whom we placed our confidence in. We have found ourselves much like the prophet Hosea loving and married to a prostitute. We often find ourselves entangled, involved with or in covenant with one who prostituted our love, our loyalty, our faith, our heart, our willingness to do, or any other thing that we have been blessed and gifted with. I have had occasion to remember being used for my relationship with God, my ability to cook, my resources, my strength, my knowledge, and the tenderness, goodness and willingness of my heart to stand when everything and everybody around me was giving way. I can truly say, that I have experienced days when my heart was broken, my soul was shattered and my spirits crushed at the hand of those who claimed love, understanding and commitment. But talk turned cheap, when things got tough, the tough got going when they had gotten the best out of me. Where does that leave the one left for dead? What happens to the ones trying to survive the days and nights of hurt, disappointment and annihilation, It will only take God alone to intensively care for one like this.

You see God is not man. He is not one that takes us and uses us without filling us a new. He is a source of strength and peace when the world goes crazy. God is the one that we can count on. He is the one who can and will guide us through the darkest time and when we are at a lose for words He still hears our hearts and brings us unto Himself. When we are broken He rebuilds us a new, when we are tattered He stitches us with the finest of threads by His spirit. When we are dirty He cleanses us through the water of His word and when we are at deaths door He breathes the breath of life into us. He knows all that we need to restore us when we have been ripped apart by the cares and the people in this life. He can brush away every tear and provide us beauty for ashes, faith for fears, gladness for our mourning. Through the testing of our faith He can give us strength that carries us come what may, hurdles us to a better day, and a new way!

Many of us are in critical condition and we are on life support. We are barely breathing because of what we have allowed people to do to us, take from us, and instill in us. It is time to check into God's Intensive Care Unit and receive the intense attention needed to undo the wrongs and heal the rights, and give us new life without the strife. Take it from me, God can do anything but fail us!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday 11/17/08)

The End Product Of Unreal Expectations...

Psalm 146:3-4 (Amplified Bible)
3) Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4) When his breath leaves him, he returns to his earth; in that very day his [previous] thoughts, plans, and purposes perish.

I remember more than one occasion in my life, where I have given away my loyalty, confidence and more importantly my heart to individuals that did not value me as I valued them. It always seemed to be that I expected them to be to me what I was to them, whether it was loyal, understanding, long suffering, patient, understanding or loving, I seldom seemed to get back what I put out. I have had occasion to reflect and think about these times only to conclude that it was my unreal expectations that caused my own annihilation. I had placed upon these people the expectation that they would love me and care for me in the same manner in which I had done for them. That the level of respect that I exhibited for them, would be what I would receive in return, but I arrived to a point, only to find that more often than not, these individuals did not see me in the same manner in which I saw them. Which left me hurt and in most cases broken.

How wonderful it is to find a harmonious voice within that confirms and loves us as we love. But it is a difficult task to find in the confounds of humanism. It is only found in the heart of our Heavenly Father. He can love us like no man can, he can care for us better than we care for others or for our selves. We never have to worry about being disappointed by Him, because He knows what we have need of before we do, and He values us because we are His children and His creation. When we heap expectations upon flesh, they are bound to disappoint us and to let us down, to misunderstand us or take us wrong, because in the realm of flesh there is imperfection and tainted perception. We can not receive perfect harmony and perfection from the imperfect. It is our job to rely on God and abide with people. If we abide with people without expecting them to be our savior, or our source we will avoid disappointment more times than not.

It is time to look around and really see people for who they are and what they are and are not capable of. Learn to abide with them and trust and rely on God, with this balance we will stay settled in heart and in mind. It is when we lean and depend on God and not on man that we are not side swiped by people's actions and behaviors, because we can see the frailty that exist in all of us and we know that God upholds us and not people.

Words Of Encouragment To Start The Day: Special Edition ( Friday 11/14/08)

Today's devotional was written by a very special individual and extraordinary young woman in her own right. She is my spiritual daughter and a she is often referred to in my devotional as my God daughter. She has been a blessing and an inspiration in my life. She has patterned the life of an overcomer and one who excels in goodness and grace. She loves God and those around her hard and she will never know a stranger, those who encounter her are blessed if they only are priviledged to grasp the realness of who she is. Presenting Ms Tracy Koweh, may you be as touch and blessed by this devotional as I am!

To Sum It Up In Three Words...........God Is Love

1 John 4:16 (Amplified Bible)
16) And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.

I recently became a mother a little over a year ago and although alot of it came naturally to me, just as much didn't. I found myself questioning how Iwould be able to handle the next 20 + years of my daughters life. I can recall the million times I had heard that being a mother is something that is already in you, that it will all just come to you. Well that was definitely not the case with me. I had to study other mothers around. I had to ask for help. I had to put forth effort. I had to test the waters to find out what worked and what didn't. There were alot of hit and misses and I'm sure many more growing pains are down the road. So just as I had to take the time to learn how to be a mother, we shouldall take the time to learn how to love each other. God has blessed us allwith the power to love so strong it can destroy old mindsets, heal open wounds, and bring joy where there is sadness. The problem comes when past hurts, other people's opinions, childhood experiences, and fear taint the spirit and make loving ourselves and others seem like an unattainable goal. Love at its best is the greatest gift given to man. Love at its worst can be very dangerous, to the point of becoming fatal.
There are two scriptures that come to mind as I write this devotional to you: 1) That there is no greater love than to lay down your life for another, and 2) That we are destroyed by lack of knowledge. What you don’t know can kill you. So why not step out on faith and ask the greatest Lover of all time to show you how to love like only He can. Some of us won’t give up an hour to spend time with the ones we claim to love, and God gave up his ONLY son for people He knew would hate Him. Love should cause you to lay down your feelings, your plans, your wants, and your needs to sow into someone else. The secret to this is that if we are all loving each other, then All of our needs would be met.
So today take the time to express your love to someone outside of your comfort zone. We take the time to study for school, to prepare for the job, to get the promotion, but what effort do we put towards investing into the thing that will sustain us for a lifetime, LOVE. If you are already a lover, love harder. If you are a beginner, take baby steps until you get it right. If you don’t know how to love, find someone who does and take notes. Ask someone around you for a creative idea, google an article on the internet, or if you’re bold enough study some scriptures and get some insight that is guaranteed to change your life forever. Remember, just because it doesn’t come natural to you, doesn’t mean you can’t become a NATURAL.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 11/13/08)

Being Available Even When You Are Unaware That You Are Needed!

Proverbs 22:17-19 (Amplified Bible)
17) Listen (consent and submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
18) For it will be pleasant if you keep them in your mind [believing them]; your lips will be accustomed to [confessing] them.
19) So that your trust (belief, reliance, support, and confidence) may be in the Lord, I have made known these things to you today, even to you.

Today as I sat in my office, doing some paper work I noticed that the lobby had began to partially fill with members that needed help. I placed my paperwork to the side realizing I still had so much to do. I called the next member in our cue. As she came into the office I greeted her with a smile and a salutation. She sat down and we began to conduct business. Somewhere in the midst our business, she began to relay an issue she was struggling with. She knew what was right and what she had done right and where she feel short, but yet she was struggling with the humility and doing what was right in the sight of God verses what appeased her flesh. I sat and listened, and in my spirit I could hear specific things that God was saying. I could hear scriptures that pertained to her situation. When I felt a pause in the her story I began to share with her some of my experiences and what God had given me, and the lessons I had learned as a result of the experiences of humility I had experienced. I gave her scriptures and wisdom that had been bestowed upon me concerning her situation. At the end of our transactions and conversation, she turned to me and said "I am sorry to have laid this all on you, but please Ms Murry pray for me and my obedience in these areas." I told her that that is why God places us in each others lives and I would pray with her concerning her obedience.

Everyday is a chance for us to share what God has given us with someone. A chance to minister life and light into some dead and dark situations. But for many of us we are ill prepared to give out of the abundance of what has been given us because we have not stored up, God's wisdom, knowledge nor His love to give to others. We ourselves (so many time) are running on empty, and we are in a deficient place so much so ourselves that we have nothing for anyone else. If only we had taken the time to pray, that morning or asked God to use us in whatever way He saw fit. If only we had said Lord let your will be done and let your words be spoken today, could we have made a difference in some one's life. Today I hardly saw that encounter coming, but my spirit was willing and able to give, because I have spent time with the Lord each morning and spoon fed myself God's truths as well as sought out the counsel of the wise to sow into my spirit and my soul. But all of these things are not just for me, but they are for me to be a vessel that is used even when I had not clue that I am needed.

Do the work. Spend the time. Why because you never know when God will have need of you. Not that we go looking for opportunity but that we are available in season and out of season. That we can minister life into someone that may be dying in some area or that may lack the wisdom, stamina or where with all to make it another day or another moment. Step up your service, become available in Spirit even when you are unaware that there is need for you to be available!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Wednesday 11/12/08)

Divine Exchange Through Covenant Relationships

2 Kings 2:9-14 (Amplified Bible)
9) And when they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.
10) He said, You have asked a hard thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you--but if not, it shall not be so.
11) As they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire parted the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12) And Elisha saw it and he cried, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13) He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14) And he took the mantle that fell from Elijah and struck the waters and said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And when he had struck the waters, they parted this way and that, and Elisha went over.

Today my mother and I were having a conversation about how God had over the last year begun to shift my relationships. There had been people in my life a year ago that I valued and I thought would be there, that are now gone, and vice versa. There are people in my life that had been gone for years that are now back in my life in some way shape or form. There are new people in my life that are teaching me new things and showing me love and relationship in a new way. It seems that God is only allowing people that are bringing covenant and divine exchange or ones that I am developing covenant and divine exchange with, while many others are going or gone. I have certain people that God has blessed my life with, where we have the ability to watch out for one another, we can hear stress in each others voice, we can minister to the needs in each other's lives and we hear words that may never be spoken. We have learned to study each other and love each other through what we find in conversation and interaction. We are blessed by the nature and the very service we bestow upon one another.

I have noticed a trend in society, relationships that is not confined to the outer walls of the church, but that has penetrated the walls and pews of the sanctuary. It is that covenant relationships are diminishing. The need to have relationships that can take a lick'in and keep on tick'in is becoming obsolete. There are very few of us that find that we have friends, and family that have our back. God's greatest commandment is LOVE! It is that we would serve and that we would provide a divine exchange, with those we are in covenant with. That we would care for those whom are placed in our lives and to care for their needs as if they were our own. WE should have the ability to see past our own flesh to the heart, soul and need of those we are in covenant with, to make a difference in their lives as they have blessed and made a difference in ours. Our service to others, God will repay, yes this is true, but our relationships should never be devalued or one sided, there should always be an exchange of knowledge, and resource on the behalf of those we love and are in covenant relationship with.

What mantle have we held on to, or what resources, knowledge or talents do we have in hand that are meant for others that we refuse to release to them? It is time that the covenant to be fulfilled through the divine exchange that God always intended it to be. Let Go and Let Flow. Let God do through you what is necessary to be a blessing to those who God has blessed you to be in relationship, You never know what God is trying to bestow upon you through that individual or by His very own hand!

Words Of Encouragment To Start The Day ( Tuesday 11/11/08)

Serving With Purpose

Psalm 101:6 (Amplified Bible)
6) My eyes shall [look with favor] upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks blamelessly, he shall minister to me.

Our job is based on serving others. It is based on ensuring that the we provide the best Member service to our membership, that is all together humanly possible. It was the same principle when I served in the United States Air Force. There is a dedication and commitment that comes with serving your country, serving your community, and even serving our families. Those that serve with valor and with dedication do so because they have a purpose and a drive that keeps them committed to the duties at hand. You can always tell those who are in a situation just for a pay check, recognition or to make a name for themselves rather than an inner satisfaction and a sense of duty and commitment. It is evident in the quality of service that they are able to provide.

When we chose to commit ourselves to the service of God there should be more of a commitment and a sense of duty than with any thing else. We should serve the Lord with gladness, and with a purpose to please Him and walk upright before Him. We should have an understanding that when we serve God we are being "allowed" to minister to Him. When we realize what that means then we are humbled and our commitment grows. We are honored by the chance to serve and we do it with pride and diligence, so that our service brings honor upon whom we serve and upon our offering.

How we serve distinguishes what is in our heart and it identifies why we are serving. We should know that everything we do should always have purpose and we should do all things as unto the Lord, not unto ourselves. Just as Christ lived a life that was one threaded in service, we should as well. Christ served here in the earth to reconcile us back to the Father and to bring Glory to God, are we doing the same? Does our service speak to whom we serve and why we serve, or just to what we hope to gain? It is time to get in step and find the cadence of our service.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday 11/10/08)

A Messy Mentality In A Clean Situation

Philippians 3:12-14 (Amplified Bible)
12) Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
13) I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14) I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

My God daughter and I have a very strong spiritual relationship and a friendship. We have an odd kinship by many people's standards because she is 18 years younger than me, and I have known her since she was about 13. She is my daughter but she is also my friend, we laugh, cry and experience life with and through each other's wisdom, challenges and experiences. This past week we made a pact to ensure our rooms got thoroughly cleaned and organized by the end of the week. I saw her today after church she told me of how she had preserved and finished her bedroom but that she had become so use to the clutter she was still operating in the old mind set, the old room's mentality. She was still maneuvering around her room as if the room was still clutter and unorganized. We both laughed and said that is a devotional.

How many times in our lives has God taken us out of or delivered us out of a particular habit, situation or circumstance, only to have us stay in it mentally. Maybe He saw fit to promote us or elevate us in ways that we found different than the norm. but we could not adjust because our mind stayed behind. For many of us we are still carrying the same spirit the same mentality, the same behaviors from the old situation right into our new blessing, or our new deliverance. When our lives are cluttered, disorganized and out of God's will we operate within our own power and our own strength trying to get around and trying to exist, but when God steps in to move us out into a brand new arena, or venue, we should take with us a new attitude, a new spirit, the spirit of an overcomer. The mentality and the attitude should lend itself to our new situation. My sister was watching a television program the other night and as I stood in her room speaking with her I heard it relaid "money doesn't buy you class." It is true that it does not automatically make you classy, but it can afford you lessons. When God is our source of deliverance we have the ultimate source to renew our minds and hearts to function in healing, heath and safety. To have a mind that is free and empowered to live an abundant life one that is no longer bound to past tragedies, or mishaps, but delivered and free to move about in God's Grace.

Today as we look at where God is taking us, or what he is changing, cleaning up or elevating us to, we need to evaluate what kind of mind set we will need to function in the comfort of God's Grace and favor. It is truly not the same lack luster behavior that kept us stepping over messes and pushing things to the side just to survive. We should have a new mind that is renewed by God's Word and His power. We should take comfort in realizing that the chore is done and God has seen us through to a new day and a new place, laced with His love, kindness and endued with His power!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 11/07/08)

It Is All About The Process

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (Amplified Bible)
13) But we, brethren beloved by the Lord, ought and are obligated [as those who are in debt] to give thanks always to God for you, because God chose you from the beginning as His firstfruits (first converts) for salvation through the sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit and [your] belief in (adherence to, trust in, and reliance on) the Truth.
14) [It was] to this end that He called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

About a month ago I asked my mom to show me some crocheting, stitches. I needed an outlet to relax and so since my normal means for relaxation were gone, I had seen her crocheting a box pattern and I thought it was so intricate and beautiful I wanted to learn so that I could have something to do, but also something that would give me a beautiful end result. My first attempts were frustrating. Because my mom is quick and good at what she does I found myself watching her and thinking this is harder than I thought. Then my mother turned the needle and the yarn over to me and I was struggling to grasp the concept. My mind some how had issues translating the task at hand to my fingers. My stitches were loose and looked nothing like the beautiful squares that my mother had made. As the day went on, I pulled it apart and started again, it was a bit better, the nest time. The next day the first thing I did when I woke up besides pray was to grab the needle and the yarn in pursuit of that square. I pulled it apart again. That evening I started again this time there was a rhythm, a flow, a method a process to my attempt and it was evident in the end result, a square had formed and I had finally mastered this allusive stitch.

For many of us, our process of sanctification is much like learning a new stitch, new skill or a new behavior. We accept Christ through salvation and the expectation is that all will miraculously be perfect in our world. That we will not battle with those fleshly desires or the behaviors that plagued us prior to salvation. But as with everything, we find that we are not an over night sensation, but instead we bumble and stumble through, often becoming frustrated and contemplating giving in and giving up. But then we realize that Christ justified us He carried our sins to the cross and nailed them to it along side Himself, and they became covered by His blood. But the pursuit to get it right and live a life that is pleasing to God still seems near impossible because of the battle that exist between our spirit and our flesh. But as we continue to allow God to unravel our way of thinking and doing things, we realize that each time we submit to His correction, the Word of God and His will that our pattern becomes clearer and our life exemplifies Christ more and more. But we are not an over night sensation, instead we obtain sanctification through becoming tenured in Christ and being submitted and committed to Him, His ways and His will.

What process do you find yourself committed to? Is it the one that leads to Christ or the one that leads away from Christ. Are we in a place of submission to God's Spirit in order to be recreated and become new? For many of us it is time to let God upset the balance in "our lives," in order for us to be sanctified and made new. In order for our stitches to become tight, and show forth the beauty of the pattern that God is creating in us!

Words Of Encouragment To Start The Day (Thursday 11/06/08)

Pure Faith

1 Timothy 1:5 (Amplified Bible)
5) Whereas the object and purpose of our instruction and charge is love, which springs from a pure heart and a good (clear) conscience and sincere (unfeigned) faith.

There were some circumstances that kept me from finishing my MBA. As more time passed, I began to think that finishing would be a near impossibility and that I would have to put this into the status of unfinished business. My faith and confidence had been damaged because of events that I had allowed to take my focus. I began to apply my own resources and abilities to what only God could do. Recently, I went and visited a University in my area. My heart was pounding with anticipation, but the one thing that had become different was my focus and who I had relied upon. I now was allowing God His rightful place as Jehovah Jireh, who is my provider. As I spoke with the counselor and explained my circumstance He reassured me that my degree was obtainable and the concerns that I once faced would not be issues that could not be dealt with. Needless to say I was accepted into their program for a second Masters and I will be able to finish my MBA as well. That is God!

Often we miss opportunities and blessings because our faith is often founded in our abilities instead of God's. Faith should never become focused on what we do or do not have but it should only be steeped in the belief that God can do anything but fail. Faith is about God's ability and resources, not our own. Those impossible situations are not for us to fret over, but to invoke God's power to accomplish, through faith. When Joshua received the instruction to walk around the walls of the city, it was his obedience to trust God and do that caused God to rise up and show Himself strong and cause the walls of the city to crumble and fall. It is identical for us, it is out of our obedience and trust in God that things will be accomplished on our behalf.

Pure faith is not as hard as we often make it. We only need to believe God and trust that He is able to provide us with all things necessary to life and blessings. It is for us to apply obedience and confidence in God in order for doors to open to provision and answers that would other wise allude our path and our life. It is time to detox our faith, removing our inabilities and our limitations to apply purity and perfection through God's love and power!

Words Of Encouragment To Start The Day ( Wednesday 11/05/08)

God's Response Is Based Upon Our Reactions

Romans 3:3-5 (Amplified Bible)
3) What if some did not believe and were without faith? Does their lack of faith and their faithlessness nullify and make ineffective and void the faithfulness of God and His fidelity [to His Word]?
4) By no means! Let God be found true though every human being is false and a liar, as it is written, That You may be justified and shown to be upright in what You say, and prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].
5But if our unrighteousness thus establishes and exhibits the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust and wrong to inflict His wrath upon us [Jews]? I speak in a [purely] human way.

Yesterday, a friend and I were having a conversation about the election. The fear or opinion that was expressed was that Senator Obama did not return fire to all of the negativism that Senator McCain had put forth in his campaign. Their thought was that he should have fought back and been retaliatory, not so much in a means of anger, but that something should have been done, to expose McCain's dirt. I being who I am, responsed with, the fact that Obama did what was right, because God was his vindicator and that God would honor his response and reaction in this venue. They were concerned that the American people would not do the right thing, because they were misinformed and in many cases uninformed. I responded by saying I do not trust in man anyway, I trust in God and I believe that God will handle it and vindicate Him. I said we know the power of prayer. They came back again with don't you think the other side is praying too. I said, yes, but it is God who will judge the heart, motives and how they have both conducted and reacted during this time.

As I watched the numbers role in tonight, from the election this conversation replayed in my heart, mind and spirit and I was thankful for two reasons. First because God proved Himself as the truth and confirmed the word that had been spoken the night before. Secondly that God had answered prayers in a public form and had blessed and vindicated the Senator in just as a public venue as the messages had gone out. You see our blessings, our deliverance often are dictated because of how we respond to the scrutiny, accusation, trials and tribulations that come in a moment of time. If we choose to respond in kind to people and circumstances, we have chosen our method of vindication, and response. But if only we can learn the beauty and the blessing, of standing still and allowing God to fight our battles, we can enable our biggest ally and our biggest resource. If God is before us He is more than the world against us! God can bless us because of the way we handle our selves, in such a way that the world has to recognize that it is the hand of God on our lives, and that there is a power source that backs us that can not be matched.

So the next time you want to kirk out, give someone of piece of your mind, or respond in kind to slander, unkindness, or ungodly behavior, remember this night and remember that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above ALL that we can think or ask, if we can just take a dose of "Act Right" and let the Lord fight our battles!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Tuesday 11/04/08)

Have Faith, But Take Courage!...

Mark 6:50-52 (New Living Translation)
50) They were all terrified when they saw him.
But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” 51) Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, 52) for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.

My mom use to say, when I was growing up, that it takes courage to be an original. She use to try to relay to me that it was nothing to follow, but it "took" a real strong person to be their own person. I remember thinking to myself that she had no clue what it was like to try to be a part of something, that it was a lot of hard work and effort to have friends and have faith in people. As I grew and matured I learned that to be your own person, a person that does not conform to the pressure of your peers or the crowd takes more courage then it takes to have faith in people, or things.

We are quick to have faith in things, people or our own abilities. It seems common place for us to take our confidence and cast it away, often on all the wrong things. But for many of us it takes God Himself, pushing us out of the nest ( out of our comfort zone) and into places unknown and situations that stretch us for us to take the courage that He is giving us and use it. You see to take something means that you would need to do something. To have faith is just giving something that you already have away. In order for one to take courage one is required to be conditioned, just as an athlete would train, to compete. We need to train our minds, our spirits and our emotions to be able to take something that does not always come so natural for us. It is learning to trust God explicitly, so that we understand that it is God being with us that really affords us the ability to take the courage we need to do and to succeed. In I John 4:4 it reminds us of this important fact, "Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the Antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world." That alone supplies us with the knowledge and strength we need to take courage to accomplish those things that seem impossible and to overcome fears that use to hold us captive and have kept us from living in the fullness of God, being able to see all that He would want from us.

Courage is an element that requires us to be proactive. It requires us to believe God and trust Him at His word. It is true that we should have faith and that we should stand in faith, but God has given all of us a measure of faith, what we do with that measure determines it strength and use. But courage can be allusive and can never be ours if we never make up in our mind to take it and make it our own. Taking courage and putting it in our arsenal, and to training with it and become an expert at it's uses is imperative to our success in Christ and in life. This is the day to stand and deliver, to take courage and conquer those things that have held us down, or made us fear who God has made us to be. With God before us and courage taken we can truly say to the mountain be removed and cast into the sea!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday 11/3/08)

Are You A World Changer Or Just A World Viewer

2 Corinthians 1:11-12 (Amplified Bible)

11) While you also cooperate by your prayers for us [helping and laboring together with us]. Thus [the lips of] many persons [turned toward God will eventually] give thanks on our behalf for the grace (the blessing of deliverance) granted us at the request of the many who have prayed.
12) It is a reason for pride and exultation to which our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world [generally] and especially toward you, with devout and pure motives and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God (the unmerited favor and merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, and keeps, strengthens, and increases them in Christian virtues).

I grew up being told that your actions speak louder than your words. Now days you can hear the young people say you talk a good game or you talk a lot of smack. My children are big on changes and benefits. They may be brain damaged when it comes to the things they need to change you, but they never will let you forget what you have said that you will do to enhance their world. This election season, we told my son it was time that he began to prepare for His future and begin to give back to the community, so in order for him to obtain a recommendation for College next year and do some community service we made him volunteer and a campaign headquarters. The first week of his enlistment, everyday, he complained and referred to it as "that place." But now almost a month later he swiftly reminds me that the next day he has to go to campaign headquarters to work. He has done everything from clean up storage rooms, to stuff envelops, to doing data entry. But He has made a difference, so much so that directors have given him accolades when he is picked up from his internship. He made a difference in His environment and the environment made a difference in him.

What have we done to make a difference to change our environment or give back to those around us. Is God's love and are His attributes a change agent in our lives and in the lives of those you encounter. Our are we idol? Are we opting to stand by and watch the world change around us without us effect change on it by the word of God and encouragement that we speak, or the skills that we offer and provide? The Bible in Matthew 5:16 says "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." It is that light of Christ that is made manifest through us that has the ability to impact and change people, situations and circumstances. There is not a day that goes by that I do not try to present myself as a example of Christ love and kindness here in the earth. Whether it is through helping or through kind words or a listening ear. No matter what it is, I am offering myself in the service of change. You have heard the saying 'Little becomes much when placed in the Masters hands." Yielded our lives can change even the toughest situations, and even the hardest of hearts.

Today, look around you and pray and ask God to help you see the needs of others. Ask Him to help you become a agent to change the your work families, your home, your friendships, your work place, your towns, your cities, your nation, your world! Don't just simply sit and watch the world as others make it, but let God use you to make that difference and to draw all men unto Him! Be that World Changer that you were created to be!