Tag: #outofthebelly

Can You Dig It?

Can You Dig It?

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Can You Dig It?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Lord have mercy y’all, I know some of my uncles and aunties remember, saying these word “Can you dig it.” is an informal expression that means, do you understand what I am saying? I hear it a lot on some of my favorite 70’s television shows, like Sanford and Son, Good Times, and What’s Happening.

Now the scripture I have chosen today, tells us to trust in the Lord and not trust our own ways. Yep, I have my guilty shirt somewhere in the closet or is it in my storage container. Either way, I have tried it my way, time and time again only to have to come back to the drawing board. Yes, I was prideful and silly.  I was that hamster on that wheel going round and round and not getting anywhere. Same old same old. But one day I got tired of the insanity, I realized there was a better way. God’s way. His timing is perfect.

Even the best-laid plan we think we have friends, cannot begin to measure up to the magnificent plans of the Good Lord. God’s ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts. He can see so much further and clearer than we can.

We often will not understand how God is causing “all things to work together for good, but when we trust him with all our hearts, He shows us what making a way out of no way really looks like. Friends you don’t have to understand everything when you are trusting God. His word tells us to lean not to your own understanding. And when we acknowledgement of Him, our are paths are directed and lead.

Can you Dig it?! The scripture shares the lives of those who lived understanding that just that.

Solomon, God gave him great understanding, wisdom and a large heart.

The Sons of Issachar, these people were known for their understanding of the times

Job, learned to trust in God’s wisdom even when he didn’t understand why bad things happened.

Moses, a reluctant leader who led the people out of Egypt.

Ruth, a loyal woman who faced poverty death, and social discrimination

David, repented and had his words about God etched in history

Peter the Apostle, a man who overcame personal and spiritual struggles to show his belief in Jesus.

The benefits of trusting in God: Peace, direction confidence, and strength. Jesus prayed to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking him to spare him from the pain of his crucifixion, but he choose to put his fathers will before his own. “not my will, but yours be done.” Keep praying about it, trust in God, and keep the faith. You are on the winning side.

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.

A Life That Shows

A Life That Shows

By | | Comments 0 Comment

A Life That Shows

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor.” Proverbs 21:21 NIV

Consistently throughout scripture God is portrayed as the giver of life, which distinguishes living organisms from inanimate things. Life is contingent upon the continuing, sustaining, “breath” of God.

This past weekend I attended a funeral with my husband. Not in the traditional sense. We were in his Semi Truck, along with two other drivers who all gave a trucker salute to the dearly departed in unison. It’s nothing like those diesels humming.

Sitting there in the truck I gazed out of the window seeing all the graves with various dates. With death all around, my thoughts were on life. What kind of life did they all live. What kinds of hurdles did they come through, the laughter, and love they shared with their families. “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.” Proverbs 27:19

On of my favorite Gospel groups, Commissioned came out with a song called, A life that shows. It is from the 1989 album, Ordinary Just won’t Do. Let me share some of the words with you.

You need a life that shows, every single day in every way.  A light that glows. People deal with us every day, seeing us come and likewise go.  They listen to what we say and what you stand for they don’t know. A little upward show will let them know it’s the Lord you stand for. You need a life that shows, you need to be a light that glows.

Sometimes blending in is misunderstood, as being afraid or being ashamed. Take a stand my friend this you should. You belong to Jesus be proud you’re wear his name. cause you are his, go ahead and be a witness, go on and be a guiding light. You need a life that shows. You may be the only help that some will ever know. Be a light that glows.

Let your light shine before all men. So, men can see the way, you can show them to a brighter day, there is a world filled in darkness, maybe you’re the only light they’ll ever know. Let your light shine. 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.

Hello

Hello

By | | Comments 0 Comment

HELLO

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ Greet you.” Romans 16:16 NKJV

Hello in the English is the way I greet others, but it’s not the only way to say it.  In Spanish its Hola.  It is Konnichiwa in Japanese. Bonjour in French. Shalom in Hebrew. And Jambo in Swahili. Did you know that greeting can vary depending on familiarity and culture.

There are plenty of physical ways to say hello too.

Handshakes are common in America, Europe, and many parts of Asia and the Middle East. It’s also popular greeting in Ethiopia.

Bowing is a common practice in many parts of the world with Japan often being the most common. Other places are Thailand, Cambodia, and India.

Another greeting is with a kiss. Cheek kissing is widely another widely known way to say hello, particularly among the French. It is a classic way to greet friends.

In Romans 16:16, the apostle Paul issues a directive to greet one another with a holy kiss. This isn’t romance, instead it is loving, holy, and sacred.  This was also a common form of greeting among family and close friends, symbolized love, brotherly love, and fellowship.

All these things point to God himself, who by his grace offered us his hello and loving kindness going back to the beginning of time. How about this as a thought as it relates to the word, HELLO.

“To change a life, you don’t need to do anything grand. Sometimes all you have to do is just say, Hello. And don’t forget to smile.” 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.

You Got a Right to Change Your Mind

You Got a Right to Change Your Mind

By | | Comments 0 Comment

You Got a Right to Change Your Mind

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge to him, and he shall direct thy path.” — Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV

What an awesome thought friends when it comes to the right to change our minds. We never have to stay in the shape we are in, we can choose to change it up ya know. Thank you, Jesus. You have the right to live free, to love, to laugh, to let go of things that benefit you not. You have a right to change how you feel about something, that may have been somethings but now it’s just nothing.

The bible is filled with people who had to some dramatic life changing encounters, slash transformations. Let’s look at a few who indeed changed their minds.

Moses who became more aware of the bad treatment the Jews received from the Egyptians. He told Pharoh, God said let my people go. Moses changed his mind. Samson, who was blessed with incredible strength. Even though he did his own thing at times, he had a moment that humbled him turning him to the Lord in faith. He changed his mind. Mary Magdalene is one of the most important figures in the gospels. She was a disciple and supporter of the Lord and the first to see His post-resurrection form. It was her that Jesus went to announce that He had risen again. But her story begins much differently. She changed her mind. What about Saul, who was on his way to Damascus.  His close encounter with Jesus, was the starting point of a new life. He changed his mind too.

You and I have decided that not only was change good, but it was necessary. You have a right to do better, stand taller, and be stronger. You have right to trust God with what’s on your plate, you have a right to praise him for all the blessings he has given you, and you most certainly have a right love, live, and laugh. Changing our mind is not just about altering our thoughts or beliefs, it goes far beyond that. It involves a deep look and willingness to challenge our own assumptions. It is where we humbly lay ourselves at the Lord’s feet. It is also an acknowledgement that we don’t have all the answers and yes, there is always room for growth and improvement in our lives. Changing our minds is not only a state of mind, it’s our response in action. It’s your right to choose. Yes friends, you got a right to change your mind.  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.

The Power of Forgiveness

The Power of Forgiveness

By | | Comments 0 Comment

The Power of Forgiveness

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake; and remember your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25 NIV

This week on my so good to know blog, I shared a story about two old ladies, whose meeting was long overdue. Hugging and crying I heard them both saying, “it’s been too long, we have wasted so many years.” Standing there holding on to each other for what seemed like dear life, they tried taking a picture, but neither one of them could hold the phone up. I stepped in an offered to take the picture of them. For a few seconds with their heads together, they froze with smiles and tears in their eyes. In their seventies they said to me, “nothing should ever make you so angry that you hold on to it for 30 years like we did. We wasted so many years being angry at each other, about nothing. We made a vow to each other that for the rest of our lives we will spend it loving each other.”

 Though the two ladies lost 30 years together, it was by nothing short of a miracle and grace of God that they made things right in their friendship. I saw a love the was lost and now found. I saw forgiveness and hope for tomorrow. I thought to myself what a beautiful site. The miracle of their forgiveness toward each other, has set them free. No weights there between them just sisterly love.

The topic of power in forgiving isn’t just food for thought for you all but for me and everyone else in the world. I admit those ladies, made me think about things I wasted time on by not forgiving.  As I thought about my life, I didn’t want to hold things for 30 plus years. There isn’t any freedom in that. In the scripture for today I am reminded that God didn’t have to forgive me, but he did. The word says, He who blots out our transgressions, and remember our sins no more. We have a forgiving God, who shows us by example what living free is supposed to feel and look like.

The power of forgiveness is a part of Gods plan. It is a gift that he gives to us, and we should be willing to pass it on to others. When we forgive, we detach ourselves from that “puppet on a string” mentality.  We take back our lives and own our right to be free indeed. Consider this thought, “Forgiveness has never been for THEM, it’s for YOU!!” 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.

Shake It Off!!

Shake It Off!!

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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.

You Got What It Takes!

You Got What It Takes!

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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.

What’s Going On?

What’s Going On?

By | | Comments 0 Comment

What’s Going On?

 

“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, ‘isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish.  I knew that you are gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah 4:1-3 NIV

Chapter 4 of Jonah brings some big uh-ohs concerning Jonah’s behavior and attitude yet again. As we ask the question best sung by Marvin Gaye, what’s going on? But before we jump into it, let’s take a moment to reflect on the facts thus far:

  • Prophet called by God to go to Nineveh; bails from the presence of the Lord by going on ship anywhere but where he was instructed to go.
  • Caught in a dangerous storm and through the casting of lots is found guilty by the crew who was then thrown overboard and left for fish bait.
  • Swallowed up by a Great Fish, he served a sentence of three days and nights of solitary confinement.
  • He realized that salvation is the Lord’s and from that statement alone that the Lord gave the fish a command and he vomited Jonah onto dry land.
  • Jonah gets a second chance to redeem himself as he does God’s bidding, and he preaches to the people of Nineveh.
  • The preaching WORKED and the people of Nineveh REPENT!!

Now that we have the facts up to this point, we can discuss “what’s going on” with an anger prophet as we go into the fourth chapter. Can you see that old see attitude creeping back up?

Jonah was now full of displeasure, disappointment, and annoyance at not only the people of Nineveh, who were getting ready to party hardy, but God too. He could not contain his anger anymore, as he begins to sulk, mumble, and grumble. And just when we thought our prophet had learned his lesson in the belly of the great fish.

Can you see a little clearer how his story had nothing to do with the people of Nineveh, instead it had everything to do with him. Starting with his attitude. This attitude was brought on because God chose to save the people of Nineveh. And get this, since he figured God would show mercy, he went on a rampage, reminding God why he ran the opposite way in the first place. And then had the nerve to tell God to take away his life, for it is better for him to die than to live. Can you say man overboard again. Even in this situation, God was throwing him a rope. But He will not disappoint in schooling our prophet on a few things, besides there is no one better to provide this lesson than the Master Teacher Himself.

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.

Preaching and The Response

Preaching and The Response

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Preaching and The Response

“Forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah 3:4 NKJV

Our prophet was gung-ho and he loudly let the people of Nineveh know the state of their city. Having been through his own ordeal-not that they would believe his fish tale, he stayed focus on his task and on God’s message to the people.  He was doing God’s bidding and speaking, what thus says the Lord. Jonah went up and down streets speaking God’s message full of warnings.

The people responded to Jonah’s message of destruction with concern as they embraced it, hook, line, and sinker. That’s a pretty appropriate term if I do say so myself. The people of Nineveh believed God-not the second, third, or fourth time, but the first time. They responded by proclaiming  a fast, as they all put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

The words Jonah had proclaimed came to the king, who along with his people arose from his throne, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Did you know that the concept of sackcloth and ashes was a customary symbol of a public sign of repentance and humility before God? It also could represent disgrace or mourning. Sackcloth is a coarsely woven fabric, usually made of black goat hair, and it was very uncomfortable to wear. Can you say itchy. The ashes signified desolation and ruin. Everyone in that city responded with repentance, fasting, and sackcloth and ashes. It was an outward sign in response to an inside condition.

The king did not stop there friends, he proclaimed a fast and published it throughout Nineveh saying, “Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not!” Jonah 3:7-9 KJV

The people of Nineveh took Jonah’s message and its charges seriously. God saw their works, as they turned from their evil ways. Their repentance moved the Lord to extend grace and mercy to them. Jonah doing the Lords bidding had PAID OFF for the people of Nineveh. This was cause for celebration don’t you think? Look at the lives saved, and the pride Jonah should have felt as a servant of God.

BUT….wait.

Canadian Book Publishing

Menu

Latest Release

The Armor Project