Posts Tagged ‘Words to Live By’This Is Not Impossible To Achieve – November 2K11 WTLB
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise:
This was written by an unknown author, and how true are these words. If a survey were done among God’s people then 99.99% would give testimony to confirm these words to be true. I can testify what God has done to strengthen me, to comfort me, and the Light that has guided me and is still continuing to guide me. This was not impossible to achieve. I love my family they mean everything to me, but without God being the head cornerstone then my love for them would be insignificant. Ephesians 3:17-19 states: Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (NLT) How could some people not want to experience this? This is not impossible to achieve. An addiction is a compulsion, craving, obsession or even a dependence that one may have for something or someone. Some people are addicted to things that keep them physically and mentally on a downward spiral. The disadvantages to that are not free. They pay for their addiction and they can do harm to themselves and/or others. What about being addicted to the word, addicted to God, addicted to Godly people, addicted to church, addicted to faith in the precious blood of Jesus, addicted to reading your bible, etc. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, it states,"Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." (NLT) How could some people not want to experience this? This is not impossible to achieve. Time is of the essence, everyone needs to make time for God. Why? We are not promised this day, or any other day. What we do with our time is very important. We need to take time to praise our God every day. Are we going to put off what can be done today for next week, next month or next year? Because some people think they wake themselves up in the morning or someone else woke them up. They don’t give true recognition, praises and glorification to the Lord of lords through whom all things are made possible. Instead of acknowledging how powerful our God is, how magnificent our Maker is to give unto us another day that He never promised us to begin with, some go about without as much as “Thank you.” Many forget that God has all the time in the world because He is an infinite God and He is patiently waiting for all his children to make time for Him. Rev. 1:3 states, “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” How could some people not want to experience this? This is not impossible to achieve. In conclusion, I chose to talk about Love because whether you love or being loved, God can be a part of it. I chose Addiction because, people don’t always have to be addicted to things that are not good for them, God is good for everyone. I chose Time because God has time for everyone. Are We Too Busy? – October 2K11 WTLB
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
Hey, slow down! With multiple jobs, business deadlines, productivity quotas, and children to attend to, you can really flood your schedule. It is not impossible to improve our relationship with God despite the overwhelming schedules. Let us try to prioritize by putting God at number one on our list and watch how He allows everything else to fall into place. Jesus in the city of Capernaum: at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many (Mark 1: 32-34, NKJV). The next day Christ sought out a quiet place and prayed. There Jesus received further instructions on how to proceed with His ministry. Let us follow the example of Jesus Christ by setting aside a specific time for prayer, and while we are praying, trust that God is working on our behalf. Because, when we have our mind in the right place Jesus will not allow anything to steal the time we need to commune with Him. So, slow down and learn to lean on the Lord for guidance and direction and He will keep our life balanced. God Bless! Sis Danieth Pryce God, I’m Waiting – September 2K11 WTLB
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
By Mother Deborah Brown
We must be reminded that God is always with us and that He has everything in His control. He will never leave us nor forsake us and He will be with us always. Even while we are waiting, God is always present with us. We can always rely on Him to be a constant friend. Get Back Up and Keep Going – July 2K11 WTLB
Friday, July 1st, 2011
Have you ever tripped or stumbled over something and fell; maybe in your house, on the job, somewhere out walking, or perhaps in the mall? True enough, it may have been an embarrassing moment. However, you got up, and if needed, you brushed yourself off and continued on your journey or task. The real question is how many times have you somehow fallen? For many, the answer is countless times.
According to dictionary.com, a just man is someone who is guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness. Also, synonyms or characteristics of a just man are upright, fair, honest and merited. In the song titled, “We Fall Down” by Donnie McClurkin, just men (and women) are the “we” in the song. The song goes on to tell us that it’s not too late to rise back up again. If you’ve fallen, you can get back up again without condemnation. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned (fallen) and have come short of the glory of God. However, it is up to each individual person to ask God for forgiveness, believe that He has forgiven you, and keep going: keep fasting, keep praying, keep serving, keep trusting and keep believing. Once you have fallen, don’t allow the devil to keep you down. You must immediately pray and ask for forgiveness, forgive yourself and let God put you back in your rightful place. In other words, get back up and keep going. Humbly submitted, Sister Melissa Nibblett Serve – April 2K11 WTLB
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
By Mother Doris Cassidy What does it mean to serve God? God is awesome and deserves all honor and glory. Serving God can mean to direct our time, attention and talents toward Him. Serving is a form of worship and requires preparation. SERVE GOD WITH A PERFECT HEART
David was informing his son that he must worship God with a perfect heart and serve him with a willing mind because the Lord searches all hearts and understands our motives, desires and thoughts. Nothing can be hidden from God. God demands complete devotion. You need to be completely open and dedicated to God. SERVE WITH FAITHFULNESS HEBREW 11:6, But, without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is. And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Faith is confident trust in God’s promises. Faith enables Christians to face trails. Genuine faith includes the commitment to stay true to God when we are under fire. We need to have faith as the three Hebrew boys. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego was thrown into the midst of the burning fiery furnace believing that God was able to deliver them. We must know that even in the fire God is with us. MATTHEW 25:21, His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou been faithful over a few things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. F= FOUND A= ANSWERS I= IN T= THE H= HOLY GHOST SERVE WITH OBEDIENCE OBEY- To carry out orders and commands. GENSIS 22:18, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou had obeyed my voice. 1 Samuel 15:22, And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord: Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . . 1 HEBREW 13:17, Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit your selves for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you. True obedience to God and keeping His commandments bring forth blessings. Disobedience to God and not keeping His commandment bring forth curses. In the word of God, it is written that obedience is better than sacrifice. As Christians, we must fear God, instead of being like Saul, who feared the people. To get over our fear of what people might say or do, we must take our eyes off of people and look only to God. When we can learn to obey God, then we will have no problem doing as it says in Hebrews 13:17, Obey them that have rule over you. Be obedient to your Pastor and leaders of the church. When our leaders are in line with Word of God, WHAT’S WRONG WITH OBEYING THEM? SERVE WHILE SUFFERING When we suffer, we must know that God had not abandoned us. The book of Job shows a good man suffering for no apparent reason. Job lost his possessions, his children and his health. Job never placed his hope in his experience, his wisdom, his friends or his wealth. Job’s wife told him to curse God and die, but Job continued to trust in God. Job endured and God blessed him with more than he had before. SERVE WHILE WAITING Isaiah 40:31, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles’ they shall walk, and not faint. When you feel all of life is crushing you and you cannot go another step, remember that you can call upon God to renew your strength. SERVE BY HELPING ROMAN 12:11, Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. We must not make excuses for our laying back and doing nothing in the body of Christ. We are many members but one body. There are several auxiliaries where you can serve God. Be faithful and serve with joy and a willing mind. Serve to honor God and let Him get the glory. Seek God’s approval and not man’s. Christmas – December 2K10 WTLB
Monday, December 6th, 2010
How can we forget the One who made this holiday possible? Jesus gave up His heavenly abode to come to Earth and reconcile us back to the Father. The Father longs to have a relationship with us and did not hesitate to send His son to open up the means of communication with Him. Reconnecting with the Father should be our goal during this Christmas season. Remind others by wishing them a Merry Christmas instead of allowing others to change it to season’s greetings. Instill in your next generation the true meaning of Christmas. Remind them why we celebrate Christmas. Teach them the blessedness of giving and not just receiving.
Take the time to reflect on God’s goodness to you throughout the year. He has blessed you to make it through the difficulties you faced and allowed you to reach the doorstep of another year. Make room in your heart for Jesus. Do not allow Him to wander as Joseph and Mary, did trying to find a place for Jesus. There was no room at the inn, but there should be room in your heart. Appreciate the gift God has given you. As you receive gifts from others, accept the gift God has given you. It came at a great price. No amount of money could have purchased it. Salvation was the greatest gift anyone could have ever bestowed upon you. Cherish it and share it with others. It is a gift that the Father won’t mind if you re-gift it to someone else. My Christmas prayer is that God continues to uphold you and bless you during this wonderful time of the year and that the love of Jesus continues to remain in your hearts. Have a very Merry Christmas! Tunnel Vision – August 2K10 WTLB
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Tunnel Vision “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.” - Henry Ford
It was, and to an extent, is still one of my least favorite features. The extent of my strabismus is not by any means the worst case, but when I get really tired or am sleep deprived, it becomes noticeable. Outside of the infamous childhood ridicule, the worst part about having strabismus is that I have to actively focus my eyes. I can feel my eyes wandering sometimes, mostly when I’ve been staring at the same thing for long periods of time. I have to force myself to keep my eyes straight. It takes real work. Some days, I don’t have the energy and just blink my eyes back into focus. Thankfully, the older I get, the better I become at focusing my eyes. Thus, the disease becomes much less noticeable. Most people have no idea that I have a wandering eye anymore because now I am an expert at focusing my eyes. As a rededicated Christian, my walk with God is much like having strabismus. The fact that I call myself “rededicated” says it all. Rededicating means that I obviously must have dedicated myself once (make that many times) before. Well just like with my eyes, I wandered away. Despite knowing that God has always wanted me, I wandered away from him because, just as I said with my eyes, staying focused takes real work. And living in this world makes it easy to lose that focus. Today, I was sitting around wasting some time I could have been using to talk with God, so I decided to go read my Bible. I ended up in Matthew 14:22-36. It’s when Jesus walked on water and Peter asked to come to Him. And Jesus obliged. However, when Peter noticed the boisterous winds, he became scared and started to fall. Many Christians, especially those who are not as strong in their faith, wander away from God when obstacles arise. But obstacles only become obstacles when we allow them to be. Peter had Jesus right there. Jesus was prepared, willing and able to carry Peter across the water, but Peter looked away. Peter allowed his eyes to wander. Just like Jesus did for Peter, God carries us. He NEVER wanders away. He is always prepared, willing and able to bring us through anything because he has a beautiful destiny prepared for us. Despite God being ready to carry us, we have to trust that He will and not become scared when things become hard. If we spend more time looking to God, He’ll be able to do all that He desires to do for us. So I challenge you to develop a holy tunnel vision. That way, we’ll only see God and He will become the focus of our lives. In seeing God, we’ll see everything and we’ll accomplish anything. Living the Great Life – July 2K10 WTLB
Sunday, July 11th, 2010
by Aspiring Missionary Howard
When we single out a person’s life based on how they live, even the type of job that a person has will speak of what kind of life they have. For example, someone in the armed forces has a “military life.” When we ask what kind of life a person has, we often hear them say, “I have a dog’s life. I have a crazy life. I don’t have a life.” Others may say, “This is my life and I’ll live my life the way I want to.” Webster’s dictionary defines life as the time a person or things exists; one’s manner of living or the people and activities of a given time, place. In other words, a time frame or what they experience day by day that it is. One may say their life is going to work every morning, coming back home, preparing dinner and taking the kids to sports or school activities and nothing more. We may even see many get depressed, give up and, sadly unable to cope, take their own life. But for us as Christians, life has another meaning. Our lives have a purpose and are of great value. Jesus is our life. He already let us know that we are in the world but we are not of this world. Yes, we might go through many things right now, but it does not matter to us because we know that He is able to keep us. We don’t walk this life alone. We’re living a Christian life where God is in control – He is our source. Yes, we will face troubles. But our trials and suffering are not in vain. That’s the way we’ll grow and there is joy in our journey. John 10:10b states, “I come that they might have life, and they might have it abundantly.” John 5:24 reminds us that “they that believe on him have everlasting life.” Our lives do not have to end. 1 John 5:11,12 lets us know that God “hath given eternal life… this life is in his Son and he that hath the Son hath life.” Our lives have style – we are living a great life! OuT oF focus – April 2K10 WTLB
Friday, April 9th, 2010
When the optometrist placed his high-powered microscope in front of my eyes, I saw surprise register on his face when he pulled away. "Young lady, do you know you are already 3x more nearsighted than your father? You need glasses right away. I don't know how you've been able to get around without them, you're blind as a bat!" Needless to say, glasses and other eye correction paraphernalia have been a part of my life ever since. As long as I live I am going to have to be careful to make sure my vision and focus are functioning correctly. I find that this same principle applies with my walk in Christ. Spiritually, there are times when my focus and vision have been off. It often happens gradually, without my realizing it. Normally, I would say that I am nearsighted, or that I can only see what is directly in front of me. I get so wrapped up in my immediate situation that my focus shifts away from God and becomes obscured and blurry. In those cases, it seems like the problem I am facing will never end; that there is nothing beyond my current circumstance. But sometimes, I can be farsighted too. I try to guess God's next move, or plan my own future without consulting Him first. This causes me to lose focus on the blessings God is giving me at the moment, and on the path He's trying to point out to me. Sound familiar?
-Prayer -Fasting -Reading His Word -Fellowship with believers in church -Regular church attendance For you nearsighted folks, check out Psalms 16:8. For my farsighted fellows, read Proverbs 14:12 when you get a chance (I won't ruin the surprise!). Don't worry – it seems like a lot of maintenance, but the benefits make it well worth it…20/20 vision! ~Delia Pruitte (That's DIL-yah PROO-it) Are You In or Out – Dec09 WTLB
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Are You In Or Out? How many of us have been asked are you in or out? I know I have been asked that question a few times in my life, in good situations and in bad. The older I get I find myself asking myself that question about my walk with Christ. I can’t remember a time growing up that I was not in church, which was and still is my life. While living in Germany at the age of fourteen I went to a jurisdictional meeting and I remember God saving me. I thought that the excitement and zeal to want to live right and spread Gods word would last forever but I was wrong. After church you still have to go back to the life outside of the church and it took me years to find a balance with this world we live in and my Savior. The older I got I still loved the Lord, but I had become comfortable living two lives: one for God and one for this world. Now I know I’m not the only one who has had this problem, and many of you understand where I’m coming from. So my questions for you is, are you in or out? Are you living your life fully for God or are you still trying to serve two masters? Preachers always talk about how you can’t serve two masters but a lot of us try to do it and I’m here to tell you that you can’t. The Bible talks about us being cold or hot in Revelation 3:15-16 and also tells us that because we are lukewarm he will spew us out of his mouth. When I think about that scripture I begin to recall the many times I have heard a message dealing with that scripture, and the message is still the same. We as Christians need to know that God has said, you either need to be cold or hot and not in between. That means if you’re going to live in this world and do the things of the world your cold. If you’re hot you’re on fire for God, reading your Word, praying and giving Him the praise, and living for God everyday whether you’re in church that day or not. What God is not wanting us to do is to try and do a little bit of both and be in church on Sunday praising God then during the weekday doing things of the world and not letting our light shine. In doing that we’re still not pleasing God and we might as well make a Choice As for me, I finally made a choice and I now know I made the right choice. Now, I’m not saying that living saved is easy and you won’t still have trials, but I know that as long as I put God first everything else will work out. You have to work at it or you will lose your excitement as I had done in the past. In order for me to become a strong Christian I can’t just sit around telling people I’m saved and that’s it. I have to learn to pray more and read my Word because that is where my help comes from and if I can do that I know I will be able to make it. God bless! |
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by Sis. Mary King
It is easy to think, if only I didn’t have so many responsibility, then I could have a closer walk with God. 
Is it ever okay to ask God what he is doing? Is it ever okay to remind Him that you are waiting on him? As believers, it is not uncommon for us to lose faith or become weak during the course of our journey and wonder where God is. Sometimes asking God questions is just the conversation we need to have with Him to remember that He is in heaven and He is mindful of us.
In the spiritual realm, we fall just the same when we sin. However, it is up to us to repent of that sin (get back up) and continue on our spiritual journey. Proverbs 24:16a says for a just 
1 CHRONICLES 28:9, And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth, all the imaginations of the thoughts;…
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“Are you looking at me?” she asked as she stared at me bewildered. She looked back, trying to figure out if there was someone behind her, someone who I otherwise could have been staring at. Of course, there was no one. I thought to tell her I was looking past her, that my eyes were fixated on the black and white poster of Marilyn Monroe bleach blonds silhouette. However, I wasn’t in the mood to lie. Though I should never be in any mood to lie, I was eager to avoid the coming conversation. “Yes, I’m looking at you,” I sighed back. I thought to pause, maybe give her a chance to respond, but before she could say another word, I chimed in. I explained that I was born with strabismus – an eye condition that has as its main symptom a very obvious wandering eye. Medically, it means that I have weak eye muscles. However socially, it means I got called “cock-eyed” as a child.
What is life? Some people believe that life is the way we choose to live our destiny.
I was sitting in Ms. Lew's fifth grade class when the voice of the school secretary suddenly burst into our classroom over the announcement system. *Ding! "Ms. Lew? Could we have Dee-LYE-ah Proo-TEE down in the front office for early dismissal please? Thank you!" her voice blared, followed by another *Ding! I hopped out of my seat and immediately began throwing everything on my desk into my backpack. Not even the secretary's horrible mispronunciation of my name, or my classmates' snickers could quell my joy at being able to leave school early! I had nearly forgotten that my dad was supposed to be picking me up to take me to the eye doctor. I walked as fast as my 10-year-old legs would carry me to the front office, where sure enough, my dad was waiting on me. Off we went to the optometrist.
Thank God for the Holy Ghost, our personal optometrist. He can tell us when our spiritual eyes are beginning to shift out of focus. He even provides us with tools to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and everything in between! These tools are: |
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