The Week In Review : Part 2

As the sun will be setting soon and a new week shall commence, I'd better finish my review.

Relationships and Church: Preach Prophetess Bynum!

I want to share a few snippets from Juanita's book Matters of the heart. ( bold emphasis me)

Loving God brings about a commitment to Him. When you love somebody, you are committed to him in every way. There is nothing that you will not do for someone you love. You would be willing to lay down your ife for your loved one . So when you say "I love you Lord" , but still walk in your own ways,then you do not really love the Lord. You are still going about in your "religious affairs", and you so not have a real relationship with Him, which will bring about a change of character and a change in the way you walk. A real relationship with Him enables you to walk in His commandments.
If you do not have a real relationship with Him then you merely "appreciate" Him for the life and breath that He has given you. You are grateful for the way He makes for you out of no way and for all the things He permits you to have . But you are still operating from a materialistic standpoint-and that is not real love. It cannot become real until you become committed and submitted to HIS ways. pg 11

Amen sister girl!

How many time I have said " I love you Lord" but then refuse to walk the way He has told me to. that's not love , that's me wanting my own way, that's me wanting ,thinking that me and God are ok all the while knowing that I'm not in right relationship with Him. I want to appreciate and love Him. To do that I've got to invest in my relationship with Him, He's already done that for me by sending Jesus to die in my place. He has already shown that He is committed for the long haul..The issues is am I will to make the same sacrifice.

This second quote comes from pg 13 and deals with Church:

We have to plow deeply into the church system to find people who are crying to God.....a remnant sitting in the body of Christ in this hour that is willing to say ,"I have to have the heart of God. I have to have a new heart. I have to be able to have a real relationship with God outside of the pews, outside of the choir roll ,outside of my favorite preacher or evangelist.How do I get back to God-Simply God? Simply God , without all the props. Simply God , without all the drama. .........

How can the church do the work of the Spirit - not just the work of Christendom - to the point that she has the power to be as compassionate as Christ Himself?

I have a friend who as he states " has left the church" . He has not left God but the church ...for a long time I worried about him( you know I did ) and his statement, because to me If you left the church you were in fact leaving God. My view has changed somewhat due to my own internal struggles with denominationalism, structured worship and traditions. You see I am called to be a Pastor , but I often wonder where within my denominations walls will I find a place to do that which I am called to do.This is because of many reasons( gender discrimination is a big one) but mainly because I realize I am becoming increasingly tired of " church " stuff. Christians make it harder to find God than He does himself. We are more concerned about numbers than the members who are in the pew hurting from all manners of diseases( spiritual, physical and mental) Why is this ? well I agree with Juanita and P.M . It has to do with relationship . We are caught up in the form and fashion of Jesus but know not His power or Him. And because of this fake relationship, it spills over into our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ .

So the Prophetess ask the question"How can the church do the work of the Spirit - not just the work of Christendom - to the point that she has the power to be as compassionate as Christ Himself?" The answer is found with the teacher ..Jesus .....Read the red passages in the gospels and then walk it out in our lives...be disciples and not just pew warmers. Only those who truly have the a heart for God will rise to the occasion and come out of there comfort zone.

For me this means that I may not fit into the status quo church because first of all I desire a real relationship with God and would want that for all that I Shepard. Come out of the box, go into the world and allow God to make up His church and follow His mandate as to how it should be run .

It all comes down to right relationships, take the mask off, deal with issues and walk in love.
It's the horizontal and vertical thing. So Juanita has just helped to stir the pot of my discontent with the "norm' and fuel the fire for something more ...so much more.

Last but not least ...... Jesus

One of the scripture covered while doing my Sabbath school lesson this week on the Holy Spirit and the unpardonable sin was found Matthew 12:24-27.

The Pharisees Rebuked
22Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.
23All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?"
24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
25And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26"If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
27"If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
28"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

It's a sad day in the "church" when we see the move of God and attribute it to satan . Lord I want to always be able to see and know . Lord never be so caught up in the traditions and trappings of ' religion" that I miss you.

Ok made it just as the sun is setting...

Day is dying in the west
Heaven is touching earth with rest
Wait and worship while the night
sets the evening lamps alight
Through all the sky......
Holy , Holy , Holy . Lord God of Host ! Heaven and earth are full of Thee . Heaven and earth are praising thee , Oh Lord Most High!

Insight and Deep sayings: The Week in review

Just wanted to share a few statement that impressed me this week as I studied. The first is from LORD, I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur. The Lord kept redirecting me to one of His names , El Shaddai - God Almighty , The All sufficient One !!

Kay described a time in her life when she was looking for love in the wrong places and trying to met all of her own needs ,but God stepped in and revealed Himself to her as El Shaddai. As I read tears ran dow my face as I realized that I also more than not take the responsibility of me and mine into my own hands . This is a job that is too big for me but not for El Shaddai.

El Shaddai is more than able to bring about ALL the promises He has made because it is through His power that they are fulfilled. Abaham's sperm was dead and Sara's was way beyond child bearing BUT because EL Shaddai promised it came to pass. God will do the same for us.

Side Bar Thought:
When looking at the story of Abraham and his promise ( Genesis 15-17) you see a few things .

#1 God made the promise of Isaac prior to Abram's name change( Gen 15)

#2 Abram and Sarai try to work it out on there own and produce Ishmael ( Gen 16)

#3 God comes back and once again makes the promise to Abram BUT this time He (God ) addresses him by a new name . God says in verse 1-2 of Chpt 17 " I am God Almighty ; walk before Me, and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you , and I will multiply you exceedingly".

Here God reveals himself to Abram as the one who will make things happen , by His power and His might. He then goes on to change Abram and Sarai's names and adds the "h" sound to each of their names to give Himself to them!!! Giving them His power . Kay states that the "h" sound can only be made by an out-breathing so it represents an outbreath or the Spirit of God coming into their lives. Bringing the power to do the impossible ..the conception of the promised child.

#3a Even in all of this Abraham still did not understand what God was saying as El Shaddai because later in Chp 17 we see Abraham laughing in his heart at the promise AND then trying to claim the blessing for Ishmael which was reserved for Isaac

Gen 17: 17-19
17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
18And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!"
19But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

Abraham was still not walking in faith or his new name because he tried to push off his flesh work for God's spirit work and we do the same . We try to work up the things of God when the promise is taking too long to manifest and then want God to bless it . NOPE not gonna happen. God is faithful even when we are not and His word is true. We need stop trying to get God to bless our flesh mess and allow Him to work His Spirit work. He knows where the blessing lies and it's in Him El Shaddai. GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I truly needed this revelation in my life and walk . God loves me so much that He has made it clear to me this week that this is how I need to see Him right now . As my El Shaddai , My All sufficient God , God Almighty and that there is NOTHING to hard for Him.

This will have to be continued ...

Next thoughts from Juanita Bynum's book "Matters of the heart "and a statement Jesus made in the book of Matthew.

Manifesto I think you'll appreciate that post

Early Morning Revelations

Whenever I can't sleep or go back to sleep after an early morning bladder break I KNOW that God is trying to tell me something ( remember that song from the Color Purple )... Today was no exception. The Phone rang mysteriously at 4am'ish , no one was on the line ( not surprised) ..Made my way to the BR and back to bed . Usually I am sleep before my head hits the pillow, but not this morning ...4:00...4:15...4:30....5:00 still awake . SO I roll over say "Ok Lord you must want to talk to me " get on my knees , pray a little and do my Sabbath School lesson. It felt good being in the WORD ..Which leads to one of my revelations , which I'll share with blog land.

The Difference is in the letter L:

The only difference between the WORD and the World is the letter L and the L stands for Love.
The Love of self will lead us to follow after the World and neglect the WORD. We either Love God and make His Word ie. Him a priority or we this world that satan has influenced. Because I am a three point preacher here are my points.

When looking at the letter" L" in relation to us we need to understand that it means:

Love : Who do you love ... Is it self or God

Where does your Loyalty lie.... Who you love most always sheds a light on where you loyalty lies.

Location : This letter and how we deal with it will ultimate determine our eternal destination or location. Heaven or Hell the choice is ours.

My desire is to live a life in the Word and have the WORD dwell richly in my so that my walk and talk align .

Tools for the journey....................

Today's blog is about the tools I plan on using for my trip towards communion with God and my divine path. I ran across this book after I decided to do a study on the Names of God. Kay does a wonderful job leading the reader to a more intimate knowledge of God by looking at His character. I really need this because although I have been lack to say the least in my study time I truly LOVE the Word of God.

From time to time I'll share insights.


Bought this book because it spoke to me from the self . I picked it up and just knew that there was a message in it for me .



SO these two books , my Bible ( NASB) , prayer and my journal will be the tools for my trip. If I add more I'll update , but I think less is more.

How close do I REALLY want to be ? That IS the question.

Intimacy with God... How bad do I really want it?

I was waiting for dinner ( veggie curry chicken and steamed veggie dumplings yummy) and I decided to just open up the book The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren . Deciding that since today is the 12th I would read day 12. Well as I should have expected God in the way only He can do must have figured I got to get this child anyway I can ..hit me with a discussion on intimacy with Him.

You are are close to God as you want to be says the good Pastor Rick. That statement seems to be my struggle of late. I have a lukewarm attitude when It comes to my relationship with my God and I'm not happy about it but I am not consistent in rectifying the dilemma. Crazy sounding I know . I preach , teach , pray and intercede for others but my own relationship is catatonic...And it is no fault of Gods . It's all me , BUT because He loves me so I feel the pull to come closer , to get deeper and to stop playing with Him. Is it fear of what He is fully calling me to? Is it laziness? Is it sin ? Is it my flesh screaming let me live and not die? What is it that make me so indifferent at one moment and so excited to be in His presence and feel His touch the next moment?

Lord I long for consistency, a converted heart and in the words of Pastor Susie Owens a do right mind. Lord Create in me a clean heart and renew the right spirit within. Transform me into the woman of God you would have me to be .

I can fool some of the people some of the time BUT you know and see everything.


Tomorrow's Blog:
My Tools

The Journey Begins........LORD have mercy please.

The Journey begins ( again) I swear it's a continual cycle...