Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 2/27/09)

Necessary To Sustain Life...

John 4:9-15 (Amplified Bible)

⁹⁾ The Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan [and a] woman, for a drink?--For the Jews have nothing to do with the Samaritans--

    ¹⁰⁾ Jesus answered her, If you had only known and had recognized God's gift and Who this is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him [instead] and He would have given you living water.

    ¹¹⁾ She said to Him, Sir, You have nothing to draw with [no drawing bucket] and the well is deep; how then can You provide living water? [Where do You get Your living water?]

    ¹²⁾ Are You greater than and superior to our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?

    ¹³⁾ Jesus answered her, All who drink of this water will be thirsty again.

    ¹⁴⁾ But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.

    ¹⁵The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water, so that I may never get thirsty nor have to come [continually all the way] here to draw.

      I have had plenty of occasions where I have been called to fast and pray for many different reasons.  I believe in fasting and prayer, it is one of those foundational principles that I believe that God responds to.  God has called me to fast for various lengths of time and in various ways, but one thing I have found that even in a time when the Lord lead me to fast and sustained me for 72 days, I was never lead to give up water.  Food, and many other things but never water.  Our body is made up of anywhere between 55% to 78% water.  There are so many things the body can do without, food, sex, clothes, etc, but it can only do without water for a very limited time period, that is because it is substantial to life and to sustaining life.  How many things in our lives should we be doing without that we have made substantial to living?  How many things are really substantial to life that we are doing without?  For each of us this answer will differ.

     Jesus is said to be living water, but how many of us do not ingest Him on a daily basis?  For so many of us we will not do without our own way, our drink, our sexual encounters, our right to be right and our pride or even our excess of food and drink, but we do do without prayer, praise, submission, obedience and worship.  Then we wonder why we our spiritually dehydrated and naturally obese.  We have taken the one person and the one way of living that is vital to our being sustained and turned it into an option instead of a daily requirement.  We fill our spirits, our minds and our lives with us and none of HIM ( Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit), and expect that we are healthy and functioning in the sight of God in a way that please God.  If we do without water in our natural bodies, our bodies do not detoxify and our organs become stressed and will begin to shut down.  If we do without relationship, submission and obedience to God the same thing happens spiritual.  We think just because we do not feel the physical effects and see manifestations of our lack of relationship with God that we are fine, when in actuality that we are dying and our spiritual being is shutting down, and we are becoming ineffective.

     It might be time for us to switch our diet and adjust our water intake.  It is time to let the water of the Word and the Spirit of God take control and hydrate our lives so that we can live a life that is healthy and free of toxins and stress upon our heart, soul, mind and bodies.  It is time to take a drink from the fountain that will never run dry, to cleanse our lives with God's purifying spirit and keeping power.  Drink up, you look a little parched!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 2/26/09)

Fish Out Of Water Part II...

Genesis 12:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
1) NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
2) And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others].
3) And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves].

Most of us have been in the position to leave a job, a home, an environment that is comfortable and is something we know, or are familiar with. Starting over can make even the most secure person, insecure and the strongest person, weak and unsure. The last four years of my life have been one upheaval after another. Some of my realignments, moves and removals have been more traumatic than others. The shock can make you feel like you will never recover and in some cases, it can make you feel like your heart has been ripped out or that you can barely catch a breathe. It never ceases to amaze me that when you think you have adjusted and can move on, here comes another adjustment, another realignment and another shaking of your very foundation. There you go again feeling like a fish out of water flapping around trying to find your place of comfort and safety.

As some things this week began to unfold on my job, I found myself in the midst of another unexpected change. Just when I thought it was safe to swim a bit, here comes the net to move me and here I am on the floor flapping around not sure of the future. As I sat today and began to consult the Lord about why in the midst of all that I already had going on He would allow another serve change to come, His response was so simple and so complex all at the same time. These things come to keep us dependant on God and seeking Jesus, our Lord. When we began to get the slightest bit comfortable for many of us we forget that we need God to sustain us, to keep us, to bring us through. We begin to feel comfortable enough to stop doing some of the things that we do when we know we need God. That feeling of being like "a fish out of water," can be the thing for so many of us that drives us into the presence of God and leads us into deeper communion with God. Without that feeling of discomfort some of us almost become oblivious to God and how much we really do need Him. We begin to live a life that takes us from work to home and home to work without a pray, a thought for another or a revelation to make us better.

Being out of our normal surroundings or comfort zone can be our saving grace. It can be the thing that causes us to lay prostrate waiting on God. Helpless, is some times the place that we need to be so that God can rise up big in us and show Himself to be the Master of our destiny and the author and finisher of our lives. So the next time you feel like a fish out of water, stop and think for a minute what is God doing, what is He saying? Is it that He wants my allegiance and my dependency upon Him and Him alone...That very well may be the case!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Wednesday 2/15/09)

Fish Out Of Water...

Jeremiah 29:11-14 (Amplified Bible)

¹¹⁾ For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

    ¹²⁾ Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.

    ¹³⁾ Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

    ¹⁴⁾ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.

     I remember when I was young, we lived in a multi generational home.  At a time my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins lived under the same roof with us.  It was interesting in so many different ways, but it also taught me to appreciate the value of my surroundings, and how God worked within them.  My Grandma James, loved fish, for as long as I can remember she had fish, as pets.  She would often make us help clean the fish tank, which was a chore and an adventure all rolled into one task.  Catching the fish to transport them to a container while we cleaned the tank was always challenging.  The fish never wanted to leave their home and they would swim fast to try to escape the net.  On occasion, a fish would try to get away by trying to flip or jump out of the net.  On that rare occasion when an escape was attempted and it was almost successful one of the fish would hit the floor.  As he found himself no longer within the safety of his watery home and trying to find away to gasp for air in an environment strange to his habitat, he would flop and flip around.  Visibly uncomfortable and disturbed by his new environment, he would often find himself flopping and flipping at a rate that made it hard to catch him and bring them to safety.  We would find ourselves chasing the little fish or trying to wait until it was not squirming and flopping about so much in order for us to safely transport it to a liquid habitat that it would be safe in until his home was again ready for habitation.

     How often are we finding ourselves being moved, transported or cleaned out and we are in resistance to what God is trying to do in us, and we jump or try to run and find ourselves flapping about uncontrollably because we are out of the will of God and out of the safety of His care.  If we look at our lives, and if we are honest with ourselves, many of us would have to admit we are there right now or have just allowed God to place us in the net for transport. The only thing consistent in life is change, so why do we find it so hard to accept change, and trust God to keep us safe during the transition?  Probably because that would mean that we would have to give up the control of our situation and our lives to God and rest in the net of His will and the container of His love and safety.  It is when we view our lives as we know it being upset, that we no longer are acceptance with joy, we become fighting mad, instead of hallelujah glad.  We do not want to endure the move, the change or the clean up, we would rather stay in that dirty tank and live the way we want, rather than to allow God to fix what very well may be killing us or making us sick.

     Some times the unrest of movement and the discomfort of transition makes us become the fish out of water, because we choose to fight instead of submit.  If only we could see that the net is for our safety and the movement may be for our betterment, we would learn not to jump, flip or flop, we would stay still and let God have His way and work it out for us.  We would welcome the net and realize it's purpose and go knowing God has us and will keep us safely in His care.  He has a plan for us and it is to give us the best that His Sons blood could buy...Don't be a fish out of water, but instead enjoy the move and the love of God as He takes you where he needs you to be!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Tuesday 2/24/09)

It Is Too Late To Want Some Water...When The Well Is Dry...

Isaiah 55:6-9 (Amplified Bible)

⁶⁾ Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near.

    ⁷⁾ Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon.

    ⁸⁾ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.

    ⁹⁾ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

     One thing that I have found that makes me a bit crazy is to go to a funeral, after someone has passed away, or into a hospital room, when a person is deathly ill and to have people or a person in particular about to lose their mind, crying and going off. It is usually this individual that has lacked the commitment, integrity and love that should have been shown while the person was still alive or well enough to enjoy the goodness and love that is being bestowed upon them.  My Grandma James use to say give me my Flowers while I am yet still alive, so that I can enjoy them.  What good is a gorgeous, fragrant bouquet to one that can not smell the beautiful fragrance that comes from them, or the beautiful and vibrant colors that are the flowers gift to the eyes if they can not be seen?  On Valentine's Day I received flowers and a plant from two sets of unlikely individuals. Two beautiful surprises that I was blessed to receive, but one really touched me, because the card read "Thanks for all that you do."  This individual was appreciative of how I had lived my life before my children and how I have cared for them and raised them.  The gratitude they had also extended to my ability to forgive and bridge gaps that existed.  It was a moment where this individual did not wait until the well was dry before he visited it and drew from it...

    My God Daughter and I were having a conversation about the fact that on so many occasions in our lives that relationships have ended and months, years later the individual has returned with regret and remorse to find a well that was now dry and could provide them with no hydration or comfort.  We rarely appreciate those who are right in front of us.  I have been to so many weddings and heard so many sentiments of love and appreciation, only to hear complaints, disdain and lack of appreciation in the months and years that have followed.  As long as we are receiving what we view is the best for us and it is what we want we are singing the praises, but when things change or tough times come we lose that loving feeling.  We do this with people and we do this with God.  I had a person tell me, "you are a good person you just are not good for me," why had I become not good for him, because I had matured, I had asked for something I had never asked for before, a higher level of respect and accountability.  Things had gotten tough and I no longer looked like the gift of God, and the one he had waited for His whole life, that he said I once was.  Isn't this our behavior with God?  We are all about Him as long as he is blessing us and giving us what we want and need, but when the tests come and when God is wanting to mature us or take us out of our comfort zone, we want to say this is not what I signed up for, so we walk away, or rationalize our compromising or living a life designed by us instead of God.  But a day comes when we realize that truly He was all we needed and He was he best thing that ever happen to us.  When we return, Will it be too late?

    Just because you have just had a drink, does not mean you will never be thirsty again.  Don't let the well that sustained you and kept you hydrated end up dried out and unusable. Do not let that loved one, that friend, that family member leave your life without them knowing that they are loved and appreciated by you.  Don't walk away from God and His will for your life just because everyday it is not warm and fuzzy.  Remember God is the living water the water that will sustain you and give you life and give it to your more abundantly!  Keep drinking from the well that never runs dry!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday 2/23/09)

Today's Devotional Written By My Beautiful God Daughter Tracy Koweh

What Time is It?

 

Ecclesiastes 3 (New Living Translation)

A Time for Everything

 ¹⁾  For everything there is a season,

      a time for every activity under heaven.

 ²⁾  A time to be born and a time to die.

      A time to plant and a time to harvest.

 ³⁾  A time to kill and a time to heal.

      A time to tear down and a time to build up.

 ⁴⁾  A time to cry and a time to laugh.

      A time to grieve and a time to dance.

 ⁵⁾  A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

      A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

 ⁶⁾  A time to search and a time to quit searching.

      A time to keep and a time to throw away.

 ⁷⁾  A time to tear and a time to mend.

      A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

 ⁸⁾  A time to love and a time to hate.

      A time for war and a time for peace.

 

Today’s Message in the Music is from Boyz II Men’s Water Runs Dry. The main theme of the song is living and loving lifewhile you have it. Its about not waiting until the well is empty to attempt to fetch a bucket of water.

 

This weekend I attended the longest (5 hours) and most emotional funeral of my life. It was a celebration of the life of a woman who touched so many. As I sat and talked to my ex, we both had so many “what ifs” and “I wish I had” moments concerning calling and visiting this great woman. I remembered how many times I was going to make the 5 hour trip to take my daughter for a visit, and then I realized it took her passing away for me to finally make the trip.

 

So many times in our lives we take people, our health, and time for granted. We assume they will always be around. We believe we will have another phone conversation to apologize. We think because we are so great and mighty that the world and everybody in it will wait for us, but we are sadly mistaken.

 

Reminiscing with Lisa, we laugh about our 3 month rule with break-ups in our lives. It doesn’t matter how strong our love is, or how deep our commitment. When we have a relationship come to an end, it is almost like clockwork. In 3 months the men in our lives have a wake-up moment. They finally are able to see what had been right in front of them. They finally are able to know, cherish and understand the value that we brought to their lives, but by then its usually too late.

 

It’s so sad and extremely painful when we lose someone we love, become sick in our bodies, or waste time on people/things that are not worthy of a few moments of our life. But how much sadder/painful is it to leave this Earth without having a real relationship with the King. So many times God only hears from us in our mourning, sickness or time of loss. God is the eternal fountain of life. He is the everlasting thirst quencher, yet we choose to go through life dehydrated. God’s grace and mercy is new everyday, but He has His limits as well.

 

So today live your life as if it were your last. Show those who matter to you how you feel. Stop putting off important decisions for a day you are not guaranteed to see. Spend time with God as if the doctors said you had 3 days left to live. No matter what you do, make sure that you live so that your legacy is left after you are no longer around. God’s love is available to us all, but we have to accept it. Let’s cherish Him today because we may not be here in 3 months to appreciate Him then.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 2/20/2009)

I am So Not Able....

1 John 4:11-18 (Amplified Bible)

¹¹⁾ Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another.

    ¹²⁾ No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!

    ¹³⁾ By this we come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us: because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit.

    ¹⁴⁾ And [besides] we ourselves have seen (have deliberately and steadfastly contemplated) and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son [as the] Savior of the world.

    ¹⁵⁾ Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God.

    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.

    ¹⁷In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.

    ¹⁸There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].

    There is a young lady that I work with and one of her favorite sayings is "I am so not able."  It is one of those things that hangs in the room even after it is said.  It has a lasting affect on the whole conversation.  Months ago, whenever we would speak of love, trust and a long term relationship her response would be, "I am so not able."  I would laugh, because I knew in my heart when the right man came she would be"so able," and I told her the same.  Her normal response to my comment would be "I am going to need for you to stop."  As I knew, God sent a man into her life, one that she was far from looking for and far from expecting.  The fear and the trauma of relationships gone wrong in her past is gone, she looks to the future with renewed hope and a renewed sense of purpose and life.  I just laugh to myself and say, "she is so able."

     It is something when we have experienced hurts and disappointments and we close the door to love and even to hearing God's voice where love and relationship is concerned.  The key to our heart becomes lost and we have fired the keeper of our soul all because it requires for us to live outside of the bubble that keeps us safe and untouched by mistakes and human error.  What if Jesus decided to stay in Heaven with God the Father and to never take the chance on loving us and giving us an opportunity to make it right with God through Him?  Where would we be today?  It always strikes me as strange the first people crying out to God for forgiveness and the individuals needing the most protection, love and long suffering from God are the last ones to impart those gifts and characteristics on others.  It is like the parable of the one who has his debt forgiven by the king and then would not forgive those who owed him.  This man suffered a fate worse than any one's.

     God never intended for us to live in fear, because He supplies the power, the love and the sound mind.  He never wanted us "not to be able," for in our weaknesses He is our strength.  We can overcome any obstacle in love if we abide in God as He abides in us.  It is when we step outside of the veil of God's ability that we lose our ability to overcome our hurts, experiences and past.  Live in love, Give in Love for if you rest on your own abilities you truly will find yourself unable, but when Jesus comes in new life and new love begin...And You are "So Able!"

   

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 2/19/09)

Who Told You Love Doesn't Cost?

John 3:16 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁶⁾ For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified Bible)

⁴⁾ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

    ⁵⁾ It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

    ⁶⁾ It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

    ⁷⁾ Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

    ⁸⁾ Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

     I have heard people say that you will always know what you love by two things, by what you spend your money on and what you spend your time doing.  Well, to look at my bank statements you would know that there are basically only two things that I love and cherish, first is God and the second is my family.  All of my time is spent giving to those two causes.  I do spend my time giving to others and other things that I value, but those are the two where I have placed my treasures.  My greatest areas of sacrifice are in these two areas according to what I give and what I spend time on.  If you looked in your check book or at your credit card statement or if you sat down and thought about the things you spend your time doing and concentrating on what would they be?  What has you captivated?  For so many of us it has little to do with anyone else and all to do with ourselves.

     I love the commercials that focus on the priceless moments, but if you really look at those commercial everything surrounding that priceless moment, and everything that caused that moment to be what it was, cost the individual something.  Whatever made you think that a good relationship of any kind would not cost you something valuable, something that meant something to you.  Abraham waited for so many years for the promises of God to be fulfilled in his life in the area of off spring.  God let him enjoy the promise and then requested it of him, yes it was a test to see if he would be obedient enough to give back to God what He had given; but the thing most of us miss in that is that just the act of saying "yes," cost Abraham, it cost him his will and his heart's desire, even if only for a moment.  If we are one with God and we call ourselves sons and daughters of God then why don't we follow His lead in the area of love?  God loved us enough to "give us" His ONLY son.  Jesus loved us so much He gave His LIFE. So, why are we finding it so difficult to follow suit?  Probably because it cost us.  Giving of ourselves and sacrificing often is painful and uncomfortable and causes us to have to bring our flesh under subjection in order to accomplish it.  For many of us that is a deal breaker, we want to love and to be loved but it can not cost us, or we have frame work in which we will and won't sacrifice, and what we will and will not pay.

     For you, what is too much? For you it may be God's request for us to do right by someone we view that has done us wrong.  For others we can not even get past the thought of stopping something God has asked us to.  For someone reading this, God has asked you to come and talk to Him, submit to Him and wait on Him, and you have refused.  To really know love, it is going to cost you something, not just things that you are willing to give, but so often it is the things we do not want to give or the things we are in refusal to give that will cause us to find true love, peace and favor in God's presence.  Will you continue to think love doesn't cost a thing, when in actuality it may very well cost you the most precious thing to some of you and that would be you.  Think about your love language you may need a remedial course in sacrifice.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Wednesday 2/18/09)

Love Authenticated And Validated..

Romans 8:35-39 (Amplified Bible)

35) Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword? 36) Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter. 37) Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors 38) For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things  39) Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We all can remember a time when love was new in our lives and it seemed that all was well in our world and that nothing would ever come between us and our boo.  He was your world. She was your sun and your moon, your bright and shining star.  It seemed neither of you, could do any wrong and that, this individual was the closest thing to perfection here in the earth that one could get.  She was the little shorty you were looking for; he was the right balance of a rough neck and Mr sensitivity that you had ever seen.  But then... life set in, true living came around and people were able to see you and you them.  It was then that your boo became your ball and your shorty became your headache. What happen to all that love, all that togetherness and wonder and delight?Something was able to take us from it, it was life, people, and in some cases frustration.  But how could this be if love was true?  It was because the love was never authenticated, validated or even substantiated.    

When Jesus was faced with the cross, with the pains of persecution and beatings, slander and torture, His love was being authenticated, it was being proven, tried.  He had a choice to let love have it's perfect work in Him and carry Him through all the way to the cross or let the pains, the false accusations, the weight and the misplacement take him from that place of love and surrender to a place of removal and missed purpose.  Jesus was willing to validate His love for us by going all the way for us even to a place of death. He substantiated His love by His willful surrender to the Love of the Father through Him for us.  His love had substance ( and still does), it was proved and it was real, it was purposeful in it's pursuits and meaningful in it's intent.  For you and I, how many of us can say the same about the love that we give back to God and the love we claim to have for others?

 Love is not just form and fashion, nor is it words and just warm feelings.  It is the way we live, the way we obey, the way we surrender and the way we give of ourselves and give up our must haves for someone else's.  What is separating you from the love of others, probably it is the lack of love that you have for God, for when His love abides, it will take you places you never thought you would go, even up Golgotha's hill and on to an old rugged cross!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Tuesday 2/17/09)

The Truth Being Told...

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified Bible)

⁴⁾ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

    ⁵⁾ It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

    ⁶⁾ It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

    ⁷⁾Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

    ⁸⁾ Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

     This weekend was Valentine's Day and I saw some of the most romantics exhibitions and expressions of what people's definition of love is.  I saw my best friend's boyfriend propose, I heard of all the sweet gifts given and all of the sentiments shared.  My father was sick on Valentine's Day and the evening I had planned for He and my mother, had to be forgone because of his illness.  But I saw my mom stay by his side, nurse him and wipe his forehead, clean him up and hang in with him the entire day.  She never even left the house.  It dawned on me that, her display, her dedication and her commitment was a true exhibition of love.  Not just because she did it with a willing heart, but because if one were to read the scripture contained above, you would see she was a living testament to it.

     As I talked to my God daughter and we discussed some issues and some areas of challenge in her life and relationship, the Holy Spirit reminded me again of this scripture and said for her to read it and compare his actions, his behaviors and his behaviors with this scripture.  Then I asked the question was "he living this scripture in any way?" if so what was he doing before verses where he is presently?  I have been in relationships and have heard the words I love you, I need you, God gave you to me, but when the rubber really hit the road and the road became rough, love did not endure, it did not stand, it did not bear up.  It was as shallow as a wade pool and had the substance of jello, it had nothing that was substantial or sustaining. It is so easy to utter the words I love you, for so many, but it is hard to really live it, because it requires for us to see someone other than ourselves.  That is why we can fall in and out of love with each other, and this is truly one of the reasons we have issues sustaining relationships with each other and with God.

     Talking the talk is one thing but to apply the Word as our guide and our measuring stick is another.  To make ourselves accountable to God and to another, causes us to have to look outside of the "me realm" to the "we realm."  We as in God in me and and God's love in me and God's love exhibited through me to another. The next time you say "I love you" or you feel you are falling in love pull out this scripture and compare it to how you feel, how you are living and what you are willing to give, you may very well find it is not love but some other emotion at work.  It may be time to seek God's wisdom to get where you need to go and love how you need to love!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday 2/16/09)

Today's blog written by Tracy Kowehm daughter, mother, Friend, Woman of God!
Something From a Fairy Tale
John 3:16 (Amplified Bible)
16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([a]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life
Today’s Music Message is from All 4 One’s I Can Love You Like That. The guys are trying to convince a woman that they can love her with the fantasy love that most young girls grow up dreaming about. From an early age girls are trained to grow up to love and support a man. We are taught how to be lady like and submissive. We watch our mothers stay in abusive or unequal relationships to hold the family together. We grow up watching happily ever after movies and we read love novels when we hit our early twenties. By the time we find a man we have a whole bag of expectations of what we want him to be or think he will be like.
In the song the men have realized this about women and are trying to appeal to that little girl in her. They promise to turn from a frog into a prince if she would only kiss them. They are going to love her the way she has imagined her entire life. The concept is noble and probably truly heartfelt, but the reality of this happening is slim to none in the real world. Most relationships come with a price, with set rules and guidelines. Most people love unconditionally, as long as their conditions are being met. Happily ever after takes so much more than a mere kiss between two beings.
But praise God that there is one who can truly “love us like that.” And that’s Jehovah. He loves us when we don’t know how to love Him back. He loves us with his whole heart and his everything. He holds nothing back from us. He blesses us when we are on our best and worse behavior. He sent His one and only son to die for ALL man kind. For the ones He knew would never come to love or know Him. He still did it. He keeps His promises and His word even when we don’t. He still comforts us when we are disobedient, He still provides for us when we rob Him, and He is always there for us- - - -even we don’t have the time to be bothered.
This is not to in any way say that mankind is incapable of loving someone other than themselves, but that we are all human and imperfect. We all have limits on how deep we can love other people because of our childhood, past relationships, and our selfish nature. But not matter what our relationship status we can all be fulfilled with the love from our Heavenly Father. He can and does love us like that. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our favorite color, our favorite song, what makes us ticks, what lifts us up, and so much more. We spend so much energy loving those who can’t/won’t love us back when the one who wants to give us “Whatever We Like” can’t seem to get our attention. Don’t miss out on love from the Prince of Peace, hanging on to the frogs of your life.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 2/13/09)

I would like to take this opportunity to Thank My Beautiful and Sensitive God Daughter for stepping in to write Today's Devotional for SO many Reasons, I appreciate Her so much for her obedience and love to ME...

Part-Time Valentine

Hebrews 13 (New Living Translation)

 ¹ Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.^[a] 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! ³ Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.  ⁴ Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.  ⁵ Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,    “I will never fail you.   I will never abandon you.”^[b]  6 So we can say with confidence,  “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear.  What can mere people do to me?”^[c]  7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.  ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 Tomorrow will be Valentine’s Day. For some it will be a day of creating happy memories       and for others it will be a day of mourning :o). No matter what the day will mean to you, millions and millions of people will be buying flowers, cards and chocolates. Men will be making last minute reservations to restaurants that will be over-crowded and serving quick prepared meals. Some couples will break-up, others will make-up. Parents will give gifts to their children. Students would have brought home cupcakes and cards from other classmates. And for what? Because it’s Valentine’s Day.

 

Now, I’m not in any way hating on Valentine’s Day, I’m actually quite excited about it this year, but the point is “Why do we need a holiday” to express so much love. Why can’t we send our loved ones flowers, just because we appreciate them? Why can’t we send them a card, just because they were on our mind? Why can’t reservations be made to give the cook of the house a break in the middle of the week? What if God didn’t bless us until it was a special day/event in our lives? What if God decided not to answer our prayers except on Fathers Day andThanksgiving? How would we feel if God was a Part-Time Healer, Provider or Savior.

 

Just like we don’t want a Part-Time Valentine, God doesn’t want a Part-Time believer. Just like we desire to feel special, needed and appreciated for who we are and not what we do, God desires the same thing from us. He doesn’t want us to come to church when we need a blessing or a breakthrough. He doesn’t want us to pack up the pews on Easter, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. He wants to know that we love and adore Him 24-7-365.

 

So as you prepare to enter the “Day of Love” remember the greatest lover of all time. Remember the one who loved us enough to sacrifice his perfect son so that we may have eternal life in heaven. We should all have a great day tomorrow because our Full-Time Valentine is only a heart beat away. Whether you’re spending the day with your significant other, family, friends, or alone, take a moment out with Jesus and let Him show you what love really feels like. No matter what your relationship status is, what better day than Valentine’s Day, to vow not to be a part-time partner or to except part-time commitment any longer. No matter where you are in your relationship with Christ, what better day than Valentine’s Day, to vow not to be a part-time Christian anymore. Remember Part-Time workers get Part-Time pay and benefits. Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

 

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Thursday 2/12/09)

This Devotional Written By My Talented and Blessed Goddaughter Tracy Koweh

BEEP BEEP

James 4:6-10 (New Living Translation)

6)  But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”  7)  So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8) Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9)  Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10)  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

 

Most people associate the words BEEP BEEP with the sound of a car horn. Some would say that a horn is used to tell others to hurry up or watch out, but most would say it’s a sound that serves as a warning that danger is near. Well, today let me take you back to the days when cartoons were okay for people of all ages to watch.

 

Growing up one of my favorite cartoons was the Road Runner. As simple as the concept of the show was, I couldn’t get enough of Wile E. Coyote attempting to catch Road Runner. As a child I remember feeling sorry for the coyote, and being mad at Road Runner. NO matter what tricks Coyote played, disguises he wore, or speed he traveled at, he could never catch AND keep the Road Runner as his prey.

 

Well, one morning during my prayer time God dropped the Road Runner in my spirit. He asked me, “What if the Road Runner represented Christians and satan was the coyote?” Man that took me for a loop. I had never really given the Road Runner credit for always ending up the victor. I thought he was quite arrogant and mean, but maybe, just maybe he had a covering of protection over him.

 

In life we are often running from one attack, plan or distraction that the enemy as set for us right into the next one. Sometimes we fall for the bait and we do get caught and taken hostage, but thank God for Jesus and His grace and mercy. Praise God that He never leaves nor forsakes us. I am so grateful to serve a God who loves me enough to reel me back in when I get to close to the edge.

 

Most attacks of the enemy are well thought out, but simple in execution. The number one way that satan gets to us, is by getting us distracted. If he can cause us to lose our focus then the battle is half over. It’s like in sports, if you can get in your opponents head before/during the game, it doesn’t matter how good the other team is, they will step on the court as a defeated foe before the clock even begins.

 

There are some choices in our lives we make that place us in the positions we are in, but there are some times when we just fall victim to a trick of the enemy and we need help. The next time you feel trapped, caught or just stuck, just let out your warning cry to God and He will fight your battles for you. So when you see the enemy heading your way, go ahead and give him a warning- - - -BEEP BEEP…………..let him know that trouble is on its way and His name is Jesus.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Wednesday 2/11/09)

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained...

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (Amplified Bible)

 1) IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

    2) And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

    3) Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's love in me), I gain nothing.

     I remember when I was recovering from being very ill, the doctor had given his opinion about what he thought would happen.  I prepared for a life that would be limited, because of what the doctor claimed my limitations would be.  But one day I looked at my children and looked around and realized that I was all that they had and a righteous indignation rose up in me, a Mohammad Ali type spirit ( a very skilled fighter) came about.  In that moment the doctors words meant little and my children having a mom that would be their for them took on a whole new meaning.  I began to fight hard.  I began to push not for me, but for them.  How many times have we choose not to push, not to press in not venture, not to risk ourselves, because it may be too much work or too costly?  Probably more times than we have the ability to count.

    To take the road which is most comfortable for us is usually what most of would chose if we had the choice.  We have become so spoiled and self absorbed that to fight for anything for anyone other than ourselves is unheard of. We are choosing to let marriages disintegrate, children train themselves and run themselves into ruin, friendship be lost and families become a thing of the past.  We choose "me" over the "we" and to do it our way over God's way.  We chose to be served rather than to render service.  We have learned that effort is a thing of the past and to work hard and to risk everything is not something we do.  All we want is to gain happiness, completion and success without the exertion that it takes to obtain these things. The one thing we lose sight of most times is what it says in Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."  God through His gift of the Holy Spirit has made us more than conquerors, overcomers and more than successful. But if we never take the time to place our hands to the plow and apply a work ethic that only God inspires, we will not gain all of what His promises are to us.  If you do not give love in a way that you have never given it you will never receive love that you have never received before.  If you do not give or sow like you have never given before do not expect to receive in a away you have never received before.

      The definition of craziness and insanity is doing things the same way and expecting different results.  I know people that the way the resolve conflict today is the same way they did it fourteen years ago.  I know some that are living a life close in proximity to how they lived sixteen years ago, but yet in these and so many other cases they had and have the expectation that things would be better and things within themselves and others would change.  I am here to set the record straight, even Paul had to come down off of his high horse and even Peter had to stop lopping off ears, to see change manifested in their lives.  Jesus himself took leave of His throne in heaven to seek change for you and I , what makes you think you don't have to leave the comfort of your lack of effort to have change come to you?  You see it all comes down to this, NOTHING ventured, NOTHING gained!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Tuesday 2/10/09)

Don't Lose Sight...

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (Amplified Bible)

3We ought and indeed are obligated [as those in debt] to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing exceedingly and the love of every one of you each toward the others is increasing and abounds.

    4And this is a cause of our mentioning you with pride among the churches (assemblies) of God for your steadfastness (your unflinching endurance and patience) and your firm faith in the midst of all the persecutions and crushing distresses and afflictions under which you are holding up.

     Sunday in church as my Pastor was preaching, he interjected something that caused many to agree with amen.  He said that we ought to remember the things done for us.  That when people have extended themselves for us, given to us and placed much into our lives we ought to remember.  How easy it becomes to forget.  We have a tendency to live in a moment and forget all about what things have cost people that have helped us, tried to bring joy, love and happiness into our lives.  It seems easy for us to forget those who have sowed into us or even prayed for us when we did not have the courage, strength or relationship with God to do it ourselves.  Many times in my life I have found myself the one forgotten, but there have also been times that I have forgotten and replaced my gratitude with attitude.  We have all been guilty, but for some of us we do not thank God for those who have helped us unless they line up with our mode of thinking and doing, but the question becomes, what if your way is definitively not God's way and he needs for you to develop something other than "yourself?"

     We use to own a cat named Dutchess.  Dutchess was a beautiful cat, when she wanted your love, affection and attention she would rub up against you and purr, but when she had had enough of your love she would swat at you or bite you.  I have found that I have often encountered people, just like this.  They show love, give love and can receive love when it is on their terms, but when when it gets difficult, challenging, or even something they are unfamiliar with, they grew tired and they swat at you, or turn around and bite you.  These are people who have lost sight of what God might have been doing and instead became absorbed in themselves.  We do God the same way.  As long as He is the Father who is spoiling His child, we do not have any issue with Him, the minute God requires us, or He requires us to discipline ourselves and to face some hard truths about ourselves, we back away from Him and want to try to serve Him on our terms, we might go to church and we might pray, but we won't dare line our "whole selves up with what God wants. We do not want to have to struggle, or learn to push ( pray until something happens).  This is the point that we know we have lost sight of God being the creator and us being the created, we lost sight that we are to be lead not the leader, that we are to inspired not be tired.  But then we try to use the fall back, that God forgives and He knows our hearts.  The problem is not God knowing our heart it is us knowing His heart and wanting His will more than our own.

     The next time you are in a place where all is not well or perfectly in your will remember what those persons have done for you.  And when God tells you to stay and you say no I want to go God, remember Calvary and the Cross that Jesus hung on showed He remembered you even before you could remember at all!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Monday 2/9/09)

Today's devotional written by God's little wonder Tracy Koweh

No Pain, No Gain

 

2 Timothy 2:3-4 (New Living Translation)

 3)  Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

 

Today’s Music Message comes from the Oldie but Goodie No Pain, No Gain, by Betty Wright. The song is about fighting/believing/staying in a relationship that she feels in her heart is worth holding on to.

 

 In the world we live in today we want results and we want them now. We want Beyonce’s body but not her workout or diet. We desire the LL Cool J abs, but don’t have the time or discipline to hit the gym like he does. Our physical bodies must endure days, weeks, even months at a time of pain before we show any sign that we have been working out. When women give birth they go through pain that seems to vanish the second that baby is placed in their arms. The point is that for most things we get in life there is an element of “pain or endurance” we must go through to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

 

 This past month has been a very “painful” but most rewarding time of my life. I had the opportunity to have several in depth conversations with someone who is very close to me. I learned a lot of great things about myself, but I also learned a lot of not so great things about myself and my character. The experience was very painful but the insight I have been able to take away from it all has changed me for a lifetime. I am grateful the individual had the courage to say what needed to be said, but I am more grateful that God gave me a heart to receive it and a mature enough attitude to make an effort to change those things about me.

 

So where am I going with all of this………………..if almost nothing in this world comes without some kind of price why do we think being saved will be any different. The amount of attacks that are leashed on Christians are unreal. I think of Job and how he lost EVERYTHING staying committed to God. His wife, his family, his co-workers, his friends, his church buddies and as my pastor says, even his dog turned on him. They talked about him and called him a fool but in the end, God gave him back everything he had lost, plus some. God never said this would be an easy walk, but He promised He would walk it out with us.

 

No matter what your situation may look like right now, if God is truly Jehovah in your life, He will turn your pain into gain. If everything in your life is going well, thank God and be grateful, but make sure the enemy hasn’t left you alone…………………..because he doesn’t see you as a threat. No Pain, No Gain.