Month: May 2024

I Know He Watches Over Me

I Know He Watches Over Me

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I Know He Watches Over Me

“So Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:31 NIV

In this passage of scripture, Jesus is telling us that we are worth more than many sparrows. Jesus told His followers that they will face persecution because of their faith in Him, but he reminds them that he is with us no matter what happens. Jesus tells His disciples to not worry. In scripture he says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Friends If God cares this much about a tiny sparrow, just think about how much he cares about you and I. God loves us unconditionally and he cares about every part of our lives. You matter, never doubt that for a second. Do you realize that we, the human race are unique among God’s creation, and there is nothing made in his image except for us. God is amazing.

His eye is on the sparrow was written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Marin and composer Charles H. Gabriel. The song has been sung by many artists over the years: including Tanya Blount and Lauryn Hill, who recorded it for the Sister Act 2 soundtrack. Mahalia Jackson’s recording of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award. This list also includes Ethal Waters, Gladys Knight, and Whitney Houston.

 May the words of this song encourage you, like it has encouraged me:

Why should I feel discouraged

Why should the shadows come

Why should my heart be lonely

And long for heav’n and home

When Jesus is my portion?

My constant friend is he;

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know he watches me;

I sing because I’m happy,

I sing because I am free

For his eye is on the sparrow,

And I know he watches over me

Let not your heart be troubled,

His tender word I hear,

And resting on his goodness

I lose my doubts and fears

Though by the path he leadeth

But one step I may see;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know he watches over me

Whenever I am tempted,

Whenever clouds arise;

When songs give place to sighing,

When hope within me dies,

I draw the closer to him,

From care he sets me free;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know he watches me.

I know he watches me.

Amen!

Shake It Off!!

Shake It Off!!

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Shake It Off!

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” Matthew 10:14, NKJV

The command to shake the dust off your feet appears only four times in the New Testament. In each of these cases Jesus is speaking to his disciples. Jesus told his disciples that they were to preach the gospel to everyone. And where they were received, they should stay and teach, and where rejected they had no further responsibility. Imagine it, they were free to walk away with a clear conscience, knowing they had done all they could do.

I feel like the scripture is telling us how to deal with people in our lives. The Word is our all-in-one resource toolbox, it has everything we need and more. Do you realize friends, how crucial our mental and physical health can be affected when we Do Not shake the dust off our feet, or simply, wash our hands of it and let it go.

The Disciples job was not to change people. Did you hear me friends? The Disciples job was not to change people, but to share a message of hope and healing by reminding the people they had choices, nothing like options. Amen. There was real help for their unique situations, they had the life changer and problem solver Jesus Christ. See Friends our job is to help with the planting and care of the things God puts in our hands to do, but at the end of the day, HE’S THE WATER WHO MAKES IT GROW.

 There was this story about an old goat who was grazing on the farm, when he accidentally slipped and fell in a well, that farmer tried all he knew to get the goat out but he failed. So he decided he’d give him a descent burial, so he took his shovel and began to cover him up with the dirt, but every time he’d throw dirt on the old goat, he’d just shake it off and pack it under his feet. Pretty soon, that goat was able to step out of that well. What is the moral of the story? No matter how much dirt you have shoveled at you, shake it off and pack it under your feet.  All of that dirt throwing is just making you stronger. Don’t you dare count God out. Where man puts periods, our God is full of commas, and like that old goat, your stubbornness means you will never give up on YOURSELF, no matter what anyone says or thinks.  Keep shaking it off friends and pack it under your feet!! Amen!!

Remember friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

Twins

Twins

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Twins

“So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.” Genesis 25:24 NKJV

Twins. How many of you have twins in your family? Back in the day, the Wrigley Company, came out with a double strength peppermint gum flavor in 1914. How many of you have heard of the Doublemint Twins? I do remember these gum commercials that showed twins representing the brand.

In the bible there are three cases of twins. They include: Perez and Zerah, they can be found in the book of Genesis, chapter 38. There is Thomas Didymus, the Gospel of John notes that Thomas was called Diymus, which is the Greek word meaning twin. And then there were two brother who are considered the best-known set of twins in scripture. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are the first couple mentioned in the bible to have twins. Who are they? Jacob and Esau. Scripture says: So, when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so, they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so, his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.” Genesis 25:24-26 NKJV

The twins grew up very different. Jacob was “a quiet man, staying among the tents” and his mother’s favorite. Esau was “a skillful hunter, a man of the open country” and his father’s favorite. One day, Esau returned from hunting and desired some of the lentil stew that Jacob was cooking. Jacob offered to give his brother some stew in exchange for his birthright—the special honor that Esau possessed as the older son, which gave him the right to a double portion of his father’s inheritance. Esau put his temporary, physical needs over his God-given and sold his birthright to Jacob.

When the time came for Isaac to bestow his blessing on his sons, Jacob and his mother deceived Isaac into blessing Jacob in Esau’s place. When Esau found that his blessing had been given to Jacob, he threatened to kill his brother, and Jacob fled. Years later, Jacob and Esau met and were reconciled.

Both Jacob and Esau were fathers of nations. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Esau’s descendants were the Edomites. Edom was a nation that plagued Israel in later years and was finally judged by God.

The story of these rival twins reminds us of the importance of resolving conflicts in family relationships. Their story is one of intense feelings and bitter rivalry, however they did reconcile. Which is a reminder for us to evaluate our own family relationships and the importance of resolving conflict through love and understanding.

Remember friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

You Got What It Takes!

You Got What It Takes!

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You Got What It Takes!

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall the do; because I go unto my Father.” John 14:12 KNJV

The scripture shows us many occasions of people who had what it takes, and God used the resources the people had or owned to help them out of their situations.

Let’s look at a few examples: When God asked Moses to go deliver the children of Israel, he was afraid and wondered how we was going to do it. He used what was in his hand, and that was a rod. When the children of Israel were being oppressed by the philistines, David used his sling shot to put Goliath down. When a widow came to Elisha crying about a debt, the Lord increased her oil to sell and pay the debt.

Think about how far you have come this year friends. If you are like me, you may have not seen any of this coming, but our God does not half do anything. He has been with you and I all the while. He helped me to use what I had. Writing.

Over the years these undiscovered and even less talked about gifts have always stirred inside, I could always feel that there was something there. But I just kept on writing to Mr. Christ about me and my little world. Then one day he opened my eyes and put a fire inside of me that burned as I moved by faith and not fear, as I stepped humbly into my calling.

Having God in our lives is where it all begins dear hearts. Keeping our eyes open by paying attention as God shows us how to move. Stay in prayer as we trust God in all things, and I MEAN ALL THINGS. Keep a grateful heart. Know and believe in your purpose, stay with it. We gotta learn to be patient with ourselves, remember Rome was not built in a day. You are not alone; you and I have the Good Lord and those amazing cheerleaders who remind us not to give up. This journey we are on takes Love, adventure, creativity, laughter, with an attitude of optimism, along with no diggity no doubt.

YOU know I never was in the military, but I spent a semester in college Army ROTC. Back then the slogan was, BE ALL YOU CAN BE! As I think of us as soldiers of the Lord we are growing from the inside out. Here are a few more reminders that you got what it takes friends: courage, commitment, service, leadership, initiative, inspiring the next generation. Those are only some of the amazing things you are doing. God is working behind the scenes preparing you for that finale. I am so excited for you!

Do you realize you are actively living your dream right now? Even as you work toward your goals, you are in motion. As you head toward your destination, take time to smell the flowers. In other words, enjoy the journey. What a beautiful view. Keep love, a sense of adventure, creativity, laughter (lots of it), with an attitude of optimism, along with no diggity no doubt!

Remember, YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES! God has not brought you this far to leave you. Stay positive, focused, and prayerful. Remember who you are and whose you are. Keep your head up. You were made with a purpose on purpose.  AMEN.

Remember friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

God Confronts His Prophet

God Confronts His Prophet

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God Confronts His Prophet

“Then the Lord said, is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4:4 NKJV

Do you ever notice how God ask questions He already knows the answer to? Let’s look at some examples of what I mean: Adam and Eve, their eyes were open to nakedness, and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. And the Lord called to Adam asking a few questions. First, he asked, where are you.  And then he followed up with a second question, who told you that you were naked. And finally, he asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree which he had commanded him not to. The prophet Isaiah was asked, whom shall I send. Jesus asked Peter, who do people say that the son of Man is?

To me, the story of Cain and Abel greatly resembles the Lord’s line of questioning to the prophet Jonah. Adam and Eve, they had two sons Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer who offered God a portion of his crops as a sacrifice only to learn that God was more pleased with Abel, a herdsman, who presented God with the fattest portion of his flock. The Lord made it clear to Cain that he could have improved on his offering. Do you see the similarity of he and Jonah’s reaction to God’s right to choose?

 Jonah wishes to die because the people of Nineveh were saved, and Cain’s premeditated the demise of his brother Abel, killing him in the field. God asked Cain the same question He asked Jonah, “why was he angry?” As we switch back to Jonah, we have heard all of his complaints as he continues to remain on the wrong side of the issue. God asked him a question concerning his overall behavior: “Is it right for you to be angry?” As I think about the question, didn’t God’s right to choose benefit for Jonah? Was it not God’s mercy that kept him alive inside the belly of the great fish? Was it not God who spoke to the fish who vomited Jonah onto dry land? Wasn’t mercy extended to him when he disobediently went somewhere else instead of where he was told to go? Was it not God’s mercy that gave him a second chance to do His bidding?

God was not finished teaching our wayward prophet yet as he prepared an objective lesson. Still upset, Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of it where he made himself a shelter. He was still hoping for a fire from the sky, world wind, earthquakes, just something to stop their celebration. The Lord prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from misery. Jonah was grateful for the plant. It was relief from a compassionate God. But Jonah was unable to recognize it because he was too busy being mad at God’s right to choose. He was having a relapse in memory y’all, for crying outloud Jonah, could he not remember where he was? In the belly of a fish!

But look at God, as the morning dawned, He prepared a worm, and it damaged the plant and it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared an east wind and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and he was ready to die. He was angry about EVERYTHING! The Hebrew word for angry is to be hot. So, Jonah was feeling God’s sizzle.

The scripture says: “But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”  “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” Let me pause there to say that this would be Jonah’s last response, imagine it friends, this would be how Jonah would be remembered in biblical history. Still stubborn as a mule! Lord Help.

The Master Teacher, Lord of Lords, the Great I Am, would have the final words as He says to Jonah, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow.  It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Niveveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left- and also many animals?”

What’s the point? God answers to no one! But we will answer to Him. He rules with ultimate authority and power over EVERYTHING. He owes no explanation, we must trust in his vision, He indeed friends can see so much further than we can. I didn’t always feel I deserved his grace and Mercy, but he looked beyond my faults, and His love lifted me. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Salvation is the Lords. Amen

Remember Friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

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