Archives for the ‘WordoftheMonth’ CategoryYou’re NEVER Too Old to Get a Whippin! – July 2K11 WOTM
Friday, July 1st, 2011
By Min Andre Powell Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; Ephesians 6:2 The dictionary defines honor as: to hold in honor or high respect; revere: to honor one's parents. God gives this instruction to honor our parents as a commandment, which means it better be obeyed! This is something that is near and dear to the Lord, otherwise the added promise wouldn't be necessary. The promise is…that thy days may be long up the land. And for many of us that promise is a great thing (more time to live is definitely a plus in my book!).
Because I honored my mother, I was obedient to what she said and asked (most of the time without any lip). When we revere our parents, we get blessing and there is no simpler way to say it. Don’t disrespect them and don't take them for granted. You only have one mom and one dad. That is all. Yes others my adopt you into their families, (the Metz-Gecowets, Coles and Hawkins families have adopted me and, while I know that I am not blood kin to them, they treat me like one of them and I honor them just the same), but there is still only one mother and father that are your blood. It really annoys me how much society has made it okay to be disrespectful to our elders. There is such a lack of respect for each other and it is worse between kids and grown ups. When I was growing up, spankings were okay. If a child was out of line, you spanked them and sent them home to their parents. There was less time out and more switches (if you have every picked your own you know exactly what I'm talking about). If society would go back to when it was okay to correct our children properly, maybe there would be less unruly youth. Maybe kids would receive better grades. Maybe there would be fewer smarty pants and bad attitudes. One of my favorite lines from a parent is: "I'm disciplining you because I love you…" But I will never forget what my grandma said to my mom, "You're never too old to get a whippin!" (I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. I love you Grandma Henderson!). Out of honor and reverence to your parents, be obedient, listen to what they have to say and do as they ask you even if you don't want to. They are looking out for your best interest even when you get to be my age. Just remember, "You're NEVER too old to get a whippin!" True or False – June 2K11 WOTM
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
By Brother Michael Benjamin But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king… Jeremiah 10:10a
In Genesis 1:1, the reader gets his or her introduction of God—the Creator. All we know is that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Notice at this point and time, there is no question of whether God is the true God, or if God is the living God….He is just God. Somewhere in between then and now, there has and always will be an ongoing debate of who the true God is. Which one is it? Jehovah…Allah…or Buddha? Sad, but true, the devil has been deceiving the hearts and minds of men since the Adamite ages. Questioning the validity of someone or something has not just ended at God. Brothers and sisters, it has gotten so bad where now I’ve heard people term saints as “true” Christians or “saved” Christians. Well, can there be a false Christian, or an unsaved Christian? Is the point getting across? Just as water and oil do not mix, neither can the truth and a lie. James 3:11 says, Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? It does not make logical sense in the natural for two opposites to correlate, so why in the spiritual? So, what is the point Brother Mike? The point is that we as Christians must build ourselves up on our most holy faith. Let there not be any room for question as to who the true and living God is. Let us weigh our actions and motives according to the Word of God. Last, but not least, always be “prepared”…never know when a question will pop up. Forever Rejoice in the Lord Your God – May 2K11 WOTM
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
By Min. Vernon Miles
It is good to praise God! It is right to rejoice in Him. He is worthy to be praised and righteous to all who rejoice in Him. Lift up your voice all ye people and sing the Lord your God a new song each day that is given unto thee; for by doing so, that which is right and true from on high shall come down afresh upon thee and everything pertaining to your life shall be blessed! The Lord is faithful unto all; His majesty is in all the earth. It does not matter where you may be, know that God is there! His unfailing love is with you until the end! So shout for joy and rejoice with gladness in all that you are and do daily in your walk unto salvation – for the mighty God you serve is well on your side, and believe me, He is working all things out for your good! Hallelujah!!! Persevere – To Receive Your Blessing! – April 2K11 WOTM
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Persevere – To Receive Your Blessing!
An important thing for us to remember is God’s plan for us is always the right plan! Proverbs 3:5 tells us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding.” Have you ever looked back on something you really wanted and realized that if you got it when you asked for it the result would not have been a good one? I know I have. When looking back on things I have asked God for, I have to give Him praise for not giving me everything I asked for. There have been jobs I have been turned down for only to receive better jobs later. There have been scholarships I was rejected from only to receive more lucrative and prestigious scholarships later. I can go on and on, but the point is if we trust Him, God’s way beats our way every time! Romans 8:28 reminds us that, “ALL things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to HIS purpose.” As long as we are doing what God commands of us we will come out victorious! So I encourage you my brothers and sisters. Whatever you are asking God for, persevere and WAIT ON THE LORD! He WILL answer your prayer! Expect The Great With What You Have! – March 2K11 WOTM
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Expecting The Great With What You Have! Numbers 13:33 – And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. It amazes me how low self-esteem greatly affects Christian men and women of all shapes, shades and creeds. Yes, circumstances of this world are constantly beating on us. Yes, our faith is constantly being put to the test. Yes, our walk and talk are constantly under the microscope as the world looks for chinks in our spiritual armor.
We are who God says that we are . . . and you are who you say you are! Encourage yourself like David did (1 Samuel 30:6) and speak those things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). If you are a grasshopper, be the best grasshopper that there is. We can’t belittle ourselves and expect great things to happen through or for us. Throughout the Bible, God used ordinary people to do great things. He used a shepard boy named David to defeat Goliath, the giant, with a sling shot and five stones. God used Gideon’s 300 men, instead of 32,000, to defeat the Syrians. He used a little boy with two fish and five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men, not including women and children. God can use YOU just the way you are, He just wants you to allow Him to use what you have. YOU have enough to make a difference and do great things as long as you are willing AND available. Little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s hand! Stop looking at yourself in the flesh, but look at yourself through God’s spiritual glasses. Then you’ll see what God sees and you can Expect The Great With What You Have! Humbly submitted, The Gift of Love – February 2K11 WOTM
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
In the gospel of John 3:16, Jesus tells us, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In spite of a world, which had become inundated with sinful and hateful people, God loved us so much that He gave His very best gift, His only son, to sacrifice His life for us and redeem us back into a relationship with Him. Jesus makes mention of His love in John 15:13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. It is impossible, then, for anyone on earth to equal or exceed the love Christ has for us. Apostle Paul goes on to give us another view of love in I Corinthians chapter 13, which is also known as the “love chapter.” Prior to this chapter, he talks about the blessings of spiritual gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discerning spirits, prophecy and divers kinds of tongues. But even if a Christian is blessed with one or more of these gifts, Paul shows us a more excellent way. He explains that although we as Christians may possess the manifestation of these gifts from God, if they are not exercised with love we are nothing. He was warning against gifts that are being used for self glory and not shared to edify the body of Christ. Paul goes on to define love as being kind, longsuffering, envieth not, not arrogant, not easily provoked and thinks no evil, just to name a few (I Corinthians 13:4-8). So as you remember that special person on that special day in February, and as you make plans to shower them with love and gifts, don’t forget about the One who created love. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Deacon Jeff Howard
A Yet Praise – January 2K11 WOTM
Friday, January 14th, 2011
By Min Andre Powell Job 13:15-16 reads, 15Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 16He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
The story of Job is one that is a testimony of a man with TRUE faith in the Lord. He found favor with God for being faithful and then Satan just had to put him to the test. God allowed the devil to inflict hardship on Job because He knew Job could bear it. In losing everything, Job still says these words, “yet will I trust…” We as children of God get caught up in everything that is going on in our lives and forget who is really in charge. We come into some conflicts with our heads raised high, then we proceed to allow them to beat us. This is where your Yet Praise comes in handy. The strength and power over that situation has already been given to you, wrapped and compact. You can take it wherever you go. That Yet Praise can help you through the storms in your life; over the hurdles that you are forced to go through. The Lord will never allow you to face an obstacle you can’t handle. If you can’t see your way out of the situation, you still have that Yet Praise in reserve. There is victory in our praise and nothing stands against the power of the Lord when we praise because He will Inhabit that praise and give you more than enough for that situation. Remember when you are struggling on the job and you cannot see the bright side, use a Yet Praise. When your life is going in every directions and won’t slow down for you to catch up, have a Yet Praise. Know that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Hold on to your Yet Praise and give God glory for the things that He has done, is doing and going to do. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet! Have in your heart…”A Yet Praise!” Let Us Groan For The Manifestation of God’s Word Within Us – December 2K10 WOTM
Monday, December 6th, 2010
By Elder Joseph Guilford And not only they, But ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:23
May God help us to groan for the coming of the Lord, and the resurrection which He will bring to us. Do You Really Believe? – November 2K10 WOTM
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
By Min. Vernon Miles But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
The time of greater works in Christ Jesus is now, but if you are not receiving now then check your believing; only if you truly believe can you actually receive. To receive is faith working and not to receive is faith dead. Be alive in Christ all ye saints each and every day by not only being a good Christian, but more so a bold believer! Because greater is He that lives within you, than he that is in the world. So do not sin anymore, have faith in God and believe! God Bless you! Put Your Blinders On – October 2K10 WOTM
Friday, October 1st, 2010
Put Your Blinders On
The first is in Luke 8:42-48 and deals with the woman with an issue of blood for twelve years and the physicians who could not do anything for her. She spent all she had trying to find a cure for this. She heard that Jesus was coming into town. She had the faith that she could be healed and she pressed through the crowd to get to Jesus. She believed that if she just got to his garment she could be made whole. The woman touches the hem of Christ’s garment and immediately she is healed. The second story is in Matthew 8:5-13 and deals with the Centurion and his sick servant. The Centurion, a commander of 100 or so men in the Roman army, had a servant that was at his home sick of palsy. He went to see Jesus and ask him to speak and heal his servant. He had faith that Jesus could do it from where they were standing. Both of these stories show a great deal of faith. The woman with the issue of blood could have easily been distracted with the sheer number of people that surrounded Jesus and given up, but she pressed on. After twelve years with this issue, she could have given up because her body was weak, but she was pressed anyway. Her faith kept her going in spite of the circumstances. The centurion could have also lost focus by his position alone, he was a high ranking officer and many people knew him. He went to see Jesus anyway. He could have been discouraged from the beginning because his servant was close to death, yet he had faith that the Lord could heal his servant. I know you are probably thinking, what does “Put your Blinders on” have to do with these stories about faith? Faith is our blinder. Faith will help keep us on the right track with the Lord. Psalm 30:5 says, “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” We have faith that no matter what is on our plate, what could go wrong, or the curveballs that life may throw, our morning is going to come to us. Our faith has to grow, our blinder must be enhanced. The Lord will never put more on you than you can bear, but that does not mean that you can handle what is ahead with how you are now. That is almost as bad as a computer virus 10.0 against a computer protected for virus 7.5. The virus will take that computer over. We have to grow in faith. Faith changes things that we do. Without faith we would be lost to the world around us. In Luke 17:6-…“The Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” Our faith can be that strong through fasting and praying, reading our word, diligently seeking the Lord, and pressing for the mark of the High calling. Heaven is my goal…you are welcome to join me. Put on your Blinders and Focus! |
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Growing up I was taught to have manners. It was yes ma'am and no ma'am, yes sir and no sir to my elders. Please and thank you to everyone. I didn’t do this because my peers said so, but because my mom said so, which meant it was law. I may have forgotten it at times, but then my mom would look at me with her "Don't make me grab you, answering me with WHAT!" stare. As I got older, things became a little more relaxed with me, but I never lost that habit of being respectful. Today, some people even tell me that I make them feel so old when I say yes ma’am and no sir – but it was just how I was raised. I know that if it were not for my mother and grandmother I would be a very poor speaker and pretty rude. They instilled in me that politeness and chivalry are important, no matter when or where. And even when I may have dismissed things they taught, I knew better.
No, this is neither a 50/50 question nor is it a pop quiz (those “unprepared” do not need to ask others to borrow a pencil). In truth, this is more of an observation. But in order to get the point across, this observation requires a little background history.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love (Psalm 33:1-5, NIV).
I’m willing to bet each of us have had situations where we really wanted something badly. That something may have been a car, a new house, money to pay bills or even a spouse. We prayed and we prayed, but nothing happened. In our minds these things are reasonable requests and we had a reasonable time frame in “our mind” when the request should be completed. It is human nature to want what we want when we want it, but as we grow in Christ we need to realize that “God’s mind” does not always agree with our mind. Hosea 12:6 tells us to “wait on God.” This is something increasingly difficult to do, because the longer we wait the longer we have to deal with our current situation or go without that something we want so badly.
If we as Christians are living this holy life with our own might, then I would agree that our lives would be hopeless; that our circumstances should overwhelm us; that there was no way possible to live a holy and separated life! But Acts 17:28 tells us, For in Him we live, and move, and have our very being. It is ONLY through God that you can Expect The Great With What You Have! It is through Him that we:
A presentation of lovely fresh red roses; a gift of chocolate candies; a surprise mail delivery of a beautiful, colorful bouquet of flowers to a loved one; and a romantic candlelight dinner for two are all familiar sights and smells of this special day in the month of February. For many of us, Valentine’s Day sparks the emotion of love in our hearts as we perhaps become more inspired to show affection to a special person. However, though we may get caught up in the urgency to order flowers before the 14th, buy that special gift and make the dinner reservation from the elegant restaurant, the originator of love is often overlooked.
The dictionary defines praise as the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship.
This groaning is universal among the saints: to a greater or less extent we all feel it. It’s not the groan of murmuring or complaining. It is the note of desire rather than of distress. Having received in earnest, we desire the whole of our portion; we are sighing that our entire being, in its trinity of spirit, soul and body, may be set free from the last vestige of the fall; we long to put off corruption, weakness and dishonor, and to wrap ourselves in incorruption, in immortality, in glory, in the spiritual body which the Lord Jesus will bestow upon His people. We long for the manifestation of our adoption as the children of God.
Have you heard the saying you are what you eat? Indeed, this is a spiritually true statement. If a man does not believe in what he feeds on from the living Word of God, then how can he receive from that which he claims to believe in and is fed from? Not possible! We are living in a time when our appetite in Christ Jesus must be truly fulfilled because of our true faith in Him. Simply spoken, if Jesus said it, we must believe it! And if Jesus did it, we must know that we have been chosen to do it and even the more. In John 14:12 (NIV) the Lord Jesus says,“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
Focus has been a topic for our Pastor’s messages recently, and it made me think about my life and what distracts me from my purpose. As a young man growing up in the 21st century, it is easy to see why the saints before us had so much power. Back then, there weren’t cell phones with thousands of apps, handheld TV’s (let alone television), gaming systems and computers; the absence of these distractions afforded them more time with the Lord and increased their strength. While dealing with being focused a thought was given to me to “Put your Blinders on” Blinders are an eye covering put on racing horses’ heads so they can only see what is in front of them. There are two short stories I want to focus on in this: |
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