Tag: #holdon

Take Me to the Water

Take Me to the Water

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Take Me to the Water

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11-15 NIV

You know just the other day, my daughter Cherelle and I were talking, and I shared with her my memories of her baptism. Holding her in my arms as our eyes locked, she trusted me and did beautifully. The conversation got me thinking about my own baptism celebration. My dad along with one of his deacons did my dunk’in. There I was sitting on the front row with my shorts and top, covered with a white sheet and something like a swimming cap to protect my pressed hair. I was kind of nervous, but I wasn’t the only one going up into the baptismal pool on this Sunday morning. When it was finally my turn, I do remember thinking, Mr. Christ you know I can’t swim right?  As I stepped down in the water, I had the whole churches attention. As my dad said in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I baptize you, I held my breath the best I could and closed my eyes.  It felt like they were holding me down extra-long, as I came up out the water, coughing and opening my eyes, I could hear clapping and singing. Take me to the water, take me to the water to be baptized.

Seriously friends, when I think about my baptism it was only the beginning in my new life as I took Jesus Christ as my personal savior. I had been writing to him since I was in the 4th grade, and now I was going on this new journey to build a relationship/friendship with the man I had been talking to and asking everything for.

John the Baptist name implies that he baptized people, which he did, but his life was more than baptizing. He focused on the kingdom work set before him. His life was characterized by devotion and surrender to Jesus Christ and His kingdom. He proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to a people who desperately needed a savior. John the Baptist reminded the people, that he was not the Christ, but was sent ahead of him. He let them know that he was a messenger sent by God to proclaim the truth.

What I have learned from the life of John the Baptist is faith. Test and trials are going to come friends, they always do. Hold on to Christ, seek him in truth, and stand firm in your faith. 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.

Jacob Wrestling with God

Jacob Wrestling with God

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Together with kindness and in understanding, let’s take this time to self reflect. I am here to inspire, encourage, and remind you that God has given us the most important weapon we have to fight the enemy, his Word.

Now let us dress our soul like we dress our bodies, EVERYDAY!

I Will Not Let Go Unless You Bless Me!

“And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed. Genesis 32:26-28 NKJV

To know Jacob’s story is to know that his life was one of struggles. He was a man full of fear and anxieties. At a central point in his life, he was about to meet his brother Esau, who had vowed to kill him. All of his fears were about to be realized, Tired of the ill treatment by his father-in-law he fled to Laban only to encounter his brother Esau. Hoping to pacify his brother he concocted a bribe and sent gifs with women and children across the river. At that point he was tired and alone in the desert wilderness, feeling powerless to control his fate. He collapsed into a deep sleep.

That night there was an angelic stranger who visited Jacob. They wrestled through the night until daybreak. He was crippled by a blow to his hip that disabled him with a limp for the rest of his life. It was then that Jacob realized what had happened: “I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” (Genesis 32:30) In this process Jacob the deceiver received a new name, Israel which means to struggle with God.

What do you think friends? When you feel like you can’t go on any further, the wind of God keeps you moving toward your goals. When you don’t know how, God is right there providing tools and the right people to speak into your life now. Could you recognize your own struggles through Jacob?  Through this story I could feel the Fear, darkness, loneliness, vulnerability, powerless, tired, and his aching heart.

What we learn out of conflict is the gift of God to receive transformation and freedom. This is our ability to endure, exercise our faith, and take courage. At the end of the day we must do what Jacob did and that is not to let go until the Lord blesses us. The Word reminds me, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” I encourage you to hold on to God’s unchanging hand.

Remember we are each others keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

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