Heaven's Vault

Everybody’s not going to get rich nor is everybody meant to be rich.  Lord knows that I could take a little more… a lot more in fact.  But I have learned over my years on this earth that favor and blessing extend further than paper dollar bills, but the favors and blessings of God see into my future and know what I will stand in need of at a later date, be it money, health or relationally.  We should do our level best to store up blessings in heaven by doing not only what is good and right, but also by what and how we would have someone to treat us.  Give someone a ride in your hoopty or Benz, give someone a dollar even if you know all they are going to do is buy another beer, take your old clothes to the church drive give-a-way or local Goodwill; or perhaps feed a homeless person.  Store up your treasures in heaven and not in some bank account that may draw interest but God’s interest covers so much more than you could ever expect.  God’s accounting is more mysterious than our kids “new math” but his distribution of funds are always right on time – and in the needed areas of our life; the areas where money is worthless such as a death or heavy heart.  Heaven’s vault never runs out, it only runs over. 

You Are My Sunshine

The past few days have been gloomy here in North Florida.  Clouds blotted out the sun for days and it was a spirit of heaviness throughout the city and even on social media.  People who I saw personally were just in the spirit of doom and gloom and it was all because of the cold, damp, rainy and sunless days that came in tandem.  This morning our friend in the solar system called the sun returned this morning and it not only brightened the day but everyone’s spirit.  The seemingly never-ending perpetual spirit of the tag-team duo doom and gloom has lifted and life feels, sort of normal again.  Everyone that I have passed by today has mentioned the sun; giving it it’s just do as being the center of the solar system and visibility.  I have lived a life where Christ wasn't the center of my life and I never want to experience him not being visible in my life ever again; and because his presence is crucial to both my existence and living a blessed life, I speak of him often and give him his just do.  How people choose to live without the Savior giving his light that is a lamp to our feet and a light on their paths is beyond me.  I saw what living without the sunshine can do to a person, particularly – Me! Jesus being prevalent in my life is needed even more so than the rays that bathes my skin with Vitamin D and lights my days.  I might have had to live without sunshine for a few days but I was never void of hope because Jesus is the light of my life.  Get to know him for yourself and you will never be a day without light.  He is our sunshine.

I Promise You This...

I promise you this… Many of us have heard these words and the person’s promise didn’t come to fruition – it was empty.  When God gives us a promise – his promise, he will do it!  We just have to wait for it to come to pass.  John the Baptist was the greatest but Jesus Christ was the promise.  Ruth was either married to Mahlon or Chilion but we don’t remember either of their names because the promise was for Jesus to come from the root of Jesse “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse”.  Boaz is who begat Obed and birthed Jesse, the father of David.  Jacob got Leah but he was promised Rachel.  Ishmael was loved by Abraham but Isaac was the promise.  The disciples were gathered in one place with one accord but that didn’t give them the strength to birth the Christian ministry – it took the promise of the Holy Spirit to come that enabled them to do something that would bless us all.  Wait for the promise of God – they will surely come.

Hunger Games

Hunger Games

Question:  Catching the Holy Spirit or Getting caught up by the Holy Spirit?

Catching means you have a hold to it but when the Spirit has a hold of you is when the pouring in can be done – to God’s liking.

As fleshly humans we want to control everything – even the Spirit of God.  It is only when we allow him to roam free that we can be blessed abundantly; and receive the breakthrough that we have been in search of him for. 

Those times don’t come every day or every Sunday - that is the “Catching the Holy Ghost” but it tends to happen that Sunday when you come in to God’s house seeking him and only him, just a move from him anyway he wants to give it – that’s being caught up in the Spirit.

We must take full advantage of when these times and opportunities present themselves.  When the Ark of the Covenant was brought back and David danced until he had become naked his wife found a problem with it.  The word says that David was on his way to bless his household, which she was a part of and she wasn't receptive and because of her unreceptiveness she wasn't able to bear fruit – in this instance, she couldn't have children. 

We can either be responsive to the Spirit by speaking fruit or famine into our own lives… Hunger after the things of God and his righteousness and you will never thirst or hunger again.

Bride and Groom

There is no bride without a groom.  I need a man every day of my life and his name is Jesus. If the church needs the bridegroom and there is nothing new up under the sun and Christ came to show us the way, the truth and the life; that having a covering would be a blessing to the bride.  Yes, I both want and need my husband and I am not ashamed of saying so.  Being married has blessed my life and it has increased me and my depth of understanding how God has certain blessings in store for them that seek to line up with his word, his will and his instructions for our lives. Call me old fashion but call me blessed by the same token. 

The Cage!

I used to work the voter’s poll but it stressed me out mentally and my mother-in-law who was the reason that I started working the polls in the first place, just couldn't understand my frustration.  In my attempts to explain to her that it felt like being on lock-down or in jail both physically and mentally yet she still didn't understand why I just wasn't going to do it again.  Sitting there for 10 hours unable to leave and only eating what someone brings in and having to socialize with people who I would rather not talk to, let alone interact with drove me bonkers! But, then the moment of eureka came and realized that she has never been down to the pokey or the big house aka to jail - but I have and who in their right mind would put themselves into incarceration for money.  To be caged, isolated and deprived of the freedom to come and go as I please, eat what I want and be personable to whomever I chose to or not.  I have felt this same way when it came to God – Caged! I had lived my life not really seeking to please God or to live more righteously, just doing my own thing and I felt caged like an animal but when I chose to walk with God and trusting him to make the way – the door to the cage swung open and life began to happen for me in ways that I never thought I would be blessed.  Many are living in a zoo because not only are they caged but their families for generations have lived a life of a 6x9 existence and I refuse to accept that the only life I can have is one that restricts my movements or progress.  Docile spirituality - I refuse to learn to get used to.  God says I can go beyond the confinement of lack of any kind and live a liberated life in him.  The door to the cage has always been unlocked but it was my mind that made me think that I couldn't break free.  

An Open Letter to Bishop T.D. Jakes

An Open Letter to Bishop T.D. Jakes:

I come to you, I address you, and I both direct and pose my concerns to you because you are THE BEST.  I haven’t seen any like you in my days and time, so that is all that I have to draw my conclusion on.  You are indeed like Paul, you have and can become all things to all people – the high-browed you can stand toe-to-toe with and you can get gutter and lower yourself down to the lowest level to reach those who have fallen off the grid of society.  My most pressing concern stems from a program that I watched yesterday of one of your sermons via the tube and your topic was “Run for your Destiny”.  While watching the prelude to the sermon and hearing the title I became excited because I am in the fight for my own life – all while being blessed; and I was searching for a word of encouragement to bolster my waning resolve.  You usually give me that Balm of Gilead salve right off the bat but I kept finding myself struggling to connect fully in the spirit with what you were saying.  Maybe it was me or maybe it wasn't intended for me just yet to receive or could it be that it didn't find a spot to resonate within because the sermon lacked the full power - Perhaps…   

My issue is that I was looking to be encouraged when all you were giving was motivation.  And motivation has its place but the root thereof should be founded in the strength and word of God but I felt more like your words of either encouragement or motivationally speaking were lacking testimonial truth – the grit and fortitude needed to inspire a person struggling to hold on despite what everything around us looks like.  Your words were “Run to your destiny” and what really stuck in my craw was we have to be “prepared”.  Can the blessings of God really be prepared for in that manner?  Some are running but running and running in circles is two different things.

I don’t want to say that you are a liar or call you out onto the carpet but I would be willing to argue that never in a lifetime did you ever think that you would be the man that you are today; well-known, well-traveled, well-versed in the word of God; and well-blessed beyond what you could have ever imagined or were able to think of.  You had to have your mind-blown away to one day see where God had brought you from.  With all your planning and preparing, if God hadn't opened the door you would still be on the outside looking in.  You have taught the masses how to be Mega… Now can we be taught the Meta - That which goes beyond the ordinary?

Faith is needed in good and bad times.  My life is blessed but I still find myself suffering from depression.  I have been running and I have been for my life, however, God hasn’t said what my next move is and I have to learn how to give praise even when I haven’t a clue as to what God is doing.  We do not always know what God is doing in our lives or what will be produced out of our lives.  God is often silent but it takes knowing his character through perseverance that we learn to trust him throughout all aspects of our lives and it could quite possibly be my interpretation only but that is what the sermon lacked – the providence of God and that our complete focus must be on him – that is what gives purpose to the running.  Sure there are people who came to this earth and passed by our way and did great exploits and they may have found themselves miserable, suicidal or even in a worse state by leaving this earth and not accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 

Yes… We do the lifting up of his name and word and he does the drawing but the line needs to be linear as came be by the Preachers of God’s word and you left me with a spirit of my own interpretation left to be determined at a later date, in essence - Lost.  Lost because I needed a connection between the waiting period and the destiny and a simple slogan of “running” just isn't going to cut it.  How can a person run after something that they haven’t a true clue what it is or what it looks like?  God is the only one that can give the revelation.  Question: Run after the destiny or run after the God of the destiny to ensure that the destiny is found?

We need a spirit of revival and because you are one of, if not the greatest influential Pastor of our day and time, people tend to follow where you lead. 

The world is hurting, the church is despondent and money is not the cure-all, even though that is the perception nowadays.  People were able to hold-on longer when they knew to trust in God and all his ways acknowledge him but there has been a shift in the atmospheric over-all resolve of the church/saints. 

People need to know that “Sometimes life is about risking everything for a dream no one can see but them”.  The only way that they hear is by a preacher and even though we have more preachers on this planet than ever before, the quality of life has depreciated because no one believes that the word works any longer. 

Solution you ask? One comes to the top of the list that constantly runs across my mind and that is we need a Preachers revival.  I understand your need to want to grow up leaders and pastors but the type of revival I am talking about is a return to scripture in depth and allowing this to trickle down amongst the congregations of the world and you can start the process. 

Pastors are in this world and therefore some of the world has had to rub off of them and they find themselves in cliques.  The greater good and the common goal are to work in tandem for the soul-saving work of the Father.  Political lines need to be crossed in our government and the same goes for the government of the Father in Heaven.  Beefs between Pastors need to be squashed and folk need to cross over the pew-aisles and come together in one accord to reach a lost and dying world that we can help save by spreading the gospel. 

There is a need for a conference with as many influential and non-influential pastors that can be gathered and this might have to be done several times over in order to reach as many pastors as possible.  And the ones that cannot afford the travel need to be sponsored by others that can and they be assembled with one goal and that is to raise the enthusiasm of how good and faithful our God is.

The blessing isn't in the end result of the promise but all that transpired in between the announcement of the promise and it coming to fruition which is what is cultivated through walking with God. 

Many have lost the will to take God at his word and trust can only be bonded when a person learns the character of God and not only what God can give them.  The best blessing of all is the unfailing characteristic that God is faithful no matter what. 

The elephant in the room is the fact that the world has infiltrated the church and its believers so-much-so that the church herself has lost its way but it takes the great ones to leave a legacy that they did all they could to make a difference for their God sake.  Are you that man?  Can you initiate the change of the tides that is greatly needed – for God’s sake?

I pray that these words fall on good ground and that you can see that they are spoken out of love for you as a Minister of God’s word AND for his people.  The work of the Pastor, which is the work of the Lord, is the hardest and the most rewarding all at the same time.  I pray the strength of the Lord in you to be the Rock, The chief corner stone of the Lord’s rebuilding of his temple in the earth and in his people.  It is in Jesus name I both ask and pray.  Amen!