Friday, November 18, 2011

She Needs To Know


You see her... yeah, her.

She needs to know that I am God.

She needs to know that there is a God.

You see her suffering.

You see her pain.

You see her struggle with who she is.

Struggle with self-confidence.

You see her lack of self-esteem.

Wanting to be who she sees inside.

Who she can be in Me.

She needs to know.

What about him?

Look at what he’s doing.

Listen to what he is saying.

Speaking words of defeat.

Words of lack.

Trying to pass that test he’s failed for the third time.

You see him.

He’s trying to finish that thing, but he keeps falling short.

Trying to pay off that debt.

Burning the candle on both ends of the stick.

Because he’s doing it all in His own strength.

He needs to know.

Look at them. Those two right there.

Do you see how they are looking at each other?

Their children certainly do.

When they first got married, their eyes looked differently.

They had a sense of hope. A sense of belonging.

A trust.

But it’s gone. What happened?

They used to build each other up, with their words

And the way they held each other’s hands.

They used to look at each other and smile.

Now it’s a glare caught up in disdain and frustration

And regret.

Looking on each other with hostile hearts,
turning their heads in dissatisfaction.

What happened to the love?

They need to know.

They need to know that I am love.

That I am God

They need to know that weeping endures for a night

But joy comes in the morning.

They need to know that love endures all things, that love bears all things, that love knows no wrongs and points out no blame.

That love lifts up,

That love never fails.

They need to know.

He needs to know too.

He needs to know that in me, He can do all things because I have given Him strength.

He needs to know that in me, he breathes and moves and has his being.

He needs to know that I have already walked out His steps because the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

He needs to know that my thoughts toward him are of peace and not evil, to give him a hope and future.

That my plan is to prosper Him,

He needs to know.

She needs to know.

She needs to know that I am God.

She needs to know that she is the apple of my eye.

That she is wonderfully and fearfully made.

That her price is far above rubies.

That there is wisdom in her mouth and kindness on her tongue.

She needs to know that.

They all need to know.

They all need to know that I am God.

And they need for you, My child, to tell them.

Friday, September 9, 2011

On The Mountaintop

In Genesis 22, God brought Abraham to a place of testing and He told Abraham to take Isaac, his only son, and to bring him up to the mountain as a sacrifice. God was bringing him to a place of obedience. And Abraham, the father of faith passed the test with flying colors, as we used to say, because we all know that when Abraham arrived, the sacrifice he was supposed to make had been provided for him. The ram in the bush. Nevertheless he still had to do what God told him to do. He had to believe God in spite of what things looked like, in spite of what they felt like, and just had to trust God for the result. And God came through!


Sometimes we may feel as though we are in a place of testing. We are going through things and they don’t feel good. People are doing things that challenge our Christianity. They’re saying things that we never thought they would say (or not saying them). People are hurting us. Our faith is being stretched. We find ourselves wondering about the promises of God. Asking, when Lord, why Lord, even WHY ME LORD? And we arrive at the place where we are either going to believe God or turn away but I hear the Spirit of the Lord asking, but where will we go? And we don’t have an answer. We are being tested. We are being tried. We are being stretched.


And we find ourselves in this bad place and we just can’t seem to get out of it. We don’t have the strength. We don’t have the energy. And we don’t even have the desire. And that’s the real thing. It’s almost as if we “enjoy” being where we are, being miserable, because the alternative or the place of obedience that God wants to bring us to, does not look too good to us either (or so we think). Because we first have to do something, to sacrifice something before we get there. And we simply don’t want to. But God yet wants to bring us there, to that place of obedience.


God is calling us to go up. To come out of the place that we are in and into that place of obedience where He has made provision. Where He has everything that we need to be better. That place on the mountaintop.


But in order to get there we are going to have to go with our sacrifice. Just like Abraham did. We’re going to have to sacrifice what we feel like doing and do what God wants us to do. We’re going to have to sacrifice our feelings about someone or something and walk in faith, not leaning on our own understanding. We’re going to have to go to Bible Study more than once a month; we’re going to have to go to church on a regular basis. (Yeah, it is about going to church. There is something to be said about being in the house of the Lord). We’re going to have to speak to people we don’t like. We’re going to have to apologize. To humble ourselves. To shut our mouths. We’re going to have to pick up our Bible and actually read it during the week and not just on Sunday, and not just when the preacher tells us to turn to this book of the Bible. And how about this one… we’re going to have to “ONLY BELIEVE.” And God will meet us on the mountaintop (just as He met Abraham) once we make up our mind to go.


The Scripture says the joy of the Lord is your strength. It says, in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. If we are not in God’s presence, we are not going to have any joy. And if we don’t have any joy we won’t have any strength and we will stay in that bad place. But God! God wants us to press our way into His presence. To come up. To come to Him. We’ve got to go where He is. Go where is telling us to go. To the mountaintop. To that high place. To that place of obedience. To the place that He has made provision.


God is always telling us to come up. He is always telling us to look up. The Scripture says, “Look to the hills from whence cometh your help.” The hills are a high place. God told Moses to come up to receive the Ten Commandments. Moses needed to know what to do concerning the people of God and God made provision. God gave him instructions. God told John in the Book of Revelation to come up and He would show him of things to come (for He knows the thoughts He has for you. A future and a hope).


Come up. Go up. To the mountaintop. Where Abraham found provision. Where you will find provision for whatever it is you need. On the mountain of God. Where you will be refreshed, renewed, strengthened, encouraged, and given your promise. Whatever it may be.


Abraham had no clue what would happen when he got to the mountaintop, but he needed to be there. And when he got there God made provision. And then God spoke, “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:16-18)


Come up to the mountaintop. To that place of obedience. Get your provision and receive your promise. Thus saith the Lord.


God is real.


A servant of the Lord,

Sis. E

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Your Blessing Is Not Seasonal

I was in my kitchen one Sunday morning preparing my second cup of coffee and like every Sunday morning when we wake up and as we get ready for church we had a CD playing. I don’t even remember what CD, but it was a mixed one, with different praise selections. And as I was pouring the cream, a Christmas song came on; it was Donnie McClurkin singing “Hark The Herald Angels Sing.” And I remember thinking to myself, ‘what in the world; I forgot that song was on there.’ And as I went to go and skip it, I thought about a few days ago when I heard another Christmas song, “O Holy Night,” which was playing on my Zune. And I remember thinking, ‘I thought I got rid of that.’


And then I remembered a week before, where we were playing music in between services at the church, and another Christmas song came one, “Who Would Imagine A King.” And while I might have thought I had control of the other two songs playing, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “You are not in control. You had no control over that one.” (As my daughter Brandi had made this CD and had played it). Then I said to myself, “Huh… ok.. What is with all this Christmas music?”


Then the conversation began (be careful of the questions you ask and thinking you’re in control, God has a way of showing you otherwise). Anyway, I heard God say, “What’s wrong with Christmas music? You’re always talking about it’s always Christmas. How much you love it. So what’s the problem with the music?” And I walked right into it and answered, “Yes, Lord, but it’s summer.” And then He said this, “And?…” And me continuing, said, “It’s not the Christmas season.” And God answered, “Jesus was born. Jesus IS born. And because He is born, Christmas is every day. You should not be locking into a season.” Then He continued, “Because He is born you can have victory, healing, prosperity and everything that He was born to give you EVERY DAY.” And immediately I was convicted and just said, “Sorry Lord.” (Thank God for wisdom!)


Then the Lord continued, He said this, “That we as a people put too many things in a season. It’s spring, it’s summer, it’s fall, it’s winter. It’s the Christmas season, it’s the Easter season. We get excited when people tell us it’s your season to be blessed. Your blessing is not conditioned upon the season.” He said, “Every day can be your season to be blessed. Stop putting your blessing in a box. Stop putting your blessing in a season. Jesus IS born.


In the midst of the season, in the midst of whatever it is you seem to be going through, it can still be your season to be blessed, because Jesus IS born. Every day IS Christmas. Every day is whatever season you want it to be. Whatever season you make it to be. It’s dependent on you. Jesus already did His part.”


The Bible says in Psalm 1, and I am paraphrasing, but “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sits in the seat of the wicked. Blessed is the man who delights and meditates on the Word day and night. For he is like a tree planted by the water, bearing fruit EACH season. Like a tree whose leaves never wither and who prospers in ALL they do.” That’s not seasonal. That’s daily. That’s all the time. And that’s the Word.


God said if we delight in His word, we take joy in it, treasure it, value what Jesus WAS born to do… we shall be like that tree and bear fruit all the time. It’s not seasonal. And it’s not just because it’s Christmas. It’s not just because it’s spring... It’s not just because a preacher tells us that God said it’s our season and we get to run around the church. It’s every day. Daily. Every day is your season.


God said, “Do not limit Me. Do not put Me in a season. Yeah I know it’s summer but I am God of the summer. I am God of the winter. I am God of the seasons AND I AM NOT a seasonal God so there is no reason for you to have a seasonal blessing. Jesus IS born.”


And with that, if you come by my house (or by our church) and you happen to hear “Christmas” music, just lift up your hands and say “Thank You Lord for blessing me.”


God is real all the time, even in the summer.


Be blessed.


A servant of the Lord,

Sis. E


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Who's Your Daddy?

Sometime ago there was a term that people were saying, which I remember from baseball… ‘Who’s Your Daddy?” And it came shortly after Pedro Martinez went to the Boston Red Sox. In playing the Yankees, he had a few pitching losses and so the fans began to shout at him, “Who’s Your Daddy?” And in one of his remarks, he said, “They were. (The Yankees).” Because he could not find a way to beat them. Anyway, like any good marketing department does, a t-shirt came out of it, which Major League Baseball soon recalled, because the Boston fans did not like it. They found it offensive.


Anyway, a few years ago when the words spoke to my spirit, I myself made a t-shirt design out of it, and recently when I saw the phrase I was reminded of it and the truth behind what Pedro Martinez had said. Which was this, that he was basically a child of the one he could not beat. In other words, a slave to the one that had him mastered. And in this case it was the Yankees.


And I heard God say this to me, that each one of us is a child to the one that has us beat. We are slaves to the one that has rule over us. To the one that we can’t seem to get over, or to get by. To the one that seems to hold something over us. Or has a hold of some kind on us.


Romans 6:16 says, and I am paraphrasing, “Don’t you know that you are a slave to the one you obey?” And so I hear God asking, “Who’s Your Daddy?” Who do you serve? Who do you obey? Who do you let have rule over you? Who do you let master you? Who do you let beat you? Exactly who are you giving in to?


Know that if you are saved, God has delivered you from something. You no longer have to be tied to the sin that so easily besets you. Submit yourself to God, to His Word, to His will for your life and allow Him to be your daddy.


The Scripture continues in vs. 17 by saying this, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.” Our obedience to the Word of God has made us free from sin.


Who’s Your Daddy?


Pedro Martinez was beat. A word that today’s young people have coined, which means exactly that… beat, defeated. Whatever it is that you have given in to, has you beat. Whatever it is that you have allowed to overcome you, has you beat. Has you defeated. Has victory over you. Because you have given into it. You have yielded to it.


But know that God loves you. God wants nothing but the best for you. When He saves you, He fills you with His precious spirit and the Bible says He gives you all things that pertain to life and godliness. And you make Him your daddy, when you submit yourself to Him.


The Bible says that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. So you become a child of God, a slave to Him, to His righteousness. And once you become His child you get all the rights and the privileges your daddy has.


You are not beat. And you cannot be beat when your daddy is God. And so I ask and encourage you to ask yourself… Who’s Your Daddy? But do keep in mind that God already knows the answer. You just need to.


Be blessed. God is real. And He’s my Daddy. How ‘bout you?


A servant of the Lord,

Sis. E

Because He Is God

I have often said how much God uses songs to inspire me, to motivate me. He uses them as reminders when I get a certain place, I don’t need to be. And a few years back I actually wrote about this and how “Music Is the Voice of God,” (inspired by yet another song) and today is no different.


Upon reflecting on God and His goodness and how we as the Body of Christ often don’t do a good job of speaking about it, I was reminded of a gospel song. “I Honor You” a song sung by Bishop T.D. Jakes and the Potter’s House Mass Choir. It’s a simple song that says, ‘I honor You right now. Honor You right now. Honor you right now. Just because You’re God…. I worship You, right now, Jesus… Just because You’re God… I glorify Your name, right now… Just because You’re God.’


The point is this: just because He is God, we honor Him. Just because He is God, we worship Him. Just because He is God, we glorify His name. We don’t need any other reason to do it, we do it just because He’s God. He’s worthy, just because He is God. He didn’t have to wake you up this morning, but He did. Just because He is God. He didn’t have to bring you over the roads, but He did, just because He is God. He didn’t have to bless you today, He didn’t have to keep you, He didn’t have to deliver you, to heal you. But He did, just because He is God.


You don’t need a reason to praise Him, you praise Him just because He is God. He alone is God. He is your Creator, He is your way maker. He is a sun and a shield. He is your protector. He is Jehovah-Jireh, your provider. He is God. He is your Rock. He is your very present help. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the Hope of Glory. The lifter of your head. He is your Redeemer. He is Master, Savior. He is the great and mighty God. He is God. And just because He is God, you ought to praise Him.


God, I honor You right now. Right now! I‘m not going to wait for my healing, I honor You right now. I’m not going to wait for you to vindicate me, I honor You right now. I am not going to wait for a blessing, I’m already blessed. I’m not going to wait for my victory, I’ve already got it! I honor You right now. Just because You are God.


I am reminded of another song by John P. Kee. He sings, ‘There’s only two times to praise Him… when you feel it and when you don’t.’ You don’t need a reason, just do it, because He is God.


I will praise the Lord while I yet have my being, the Scripture says. And I’m going to do it right now. Just because He’s God.


And He’s real.


A servant of the Lord,

Sis. E

Friday, June 3, 2011

Music Is the Voice of God

Praise the name of Jesus!


Those who know me well (or even maybe a tad bit, if they're observant) know that I like to listen to music. Let me clarify that a bit. GOSPEL music. Inspirational, some jazz, contemporary Christian, occasional rap (VERY occasional) and even some Latino. For the young and the older. And I listen to music all day long, almost from the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to bed at night. Which is something that the Lord spoke unto the heart of my husband, Minister Jeff, a long time ago when He (God) began to move us into the plan He had for our lives.


Specifically, God gave us a vision for our home and part of that vision was sharing Scriptures or whatever Word that the Lord had spoken into our hearts on any given day to encourage each other AND playing music all day long in our household, morning until night, whether we were listening to it or not. In fact if you've ever come into our home, I'm sure you've heard the music playing in the background. We don't ever cut it on because company is coming over, it is on because "company" is already there. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost and God the Father, Himself. Praise the Lord!


Anyway, there is a song that Helen Baylor sings and it's called, Music Is the Voice of God. And the truth is that this song never really ministered to me until this very moment. We must have had the CD since it came out in 1999 and I must have heard it dozens of times, but I have never really "heard" it until now. Music is the voice of God.


I found that as the music is on, every now and then, something grabs me and I actually hear it... (with it being on so much you can hear the music, without really hearing it). But God... every now and then He captures me with the music and the words and the melodies to the songs and He begins to speak truth into my Spirit. This is why we must be careful about what we hear and what we allow ourselves to listen to. It does have an effect on you and it WILL have an effect on you in the days to come.


I often wondered sometimes why I am so on fire one day and just so full of joy and victory, and then there are days when it seemingly disappears. And I found especially recently with my stereo system breaking down that it was what I was ‘not’ listening to in this case. I missed the music. My spirit missed the music. Yes we always have our word. But we cannot read while are "at work." But we can hear. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We can always sing our own songs too but it’s accompanied by the music. Music is the voice of God.


God spoke way back then that our house shall be filled with the praises of God through the music, and we have found that playing it all the time, invokes the very presence of God. He said He inhabits His praise. That means He takes up residence where His praise is. In the house, in you, wherever. God is good and He cares so much about us. He spoke those instructions years ago and little did I know that all the testimony that I have given about a song ministering to my spirit (and there have been many) was all a part of His plan to reveal His voice to me when I needed to hear it. Don't tell me that my God is not faithful. Hallelujah!


It was not my intent to write about this today. I felt the Lord leading me to write about something and as I sat in front of my computer and began to type, the music just flooded my soul and He began to speak through it. Through His music. The music that lifts up the name of Jesus. That music is the voice of God. And as Helen Baylor sings, "It's an international language understood by all mankind. Music is the voice of God." Be still and hear it and let Him minister to you in your time of need.


God is real and He’s in the music.


Be blessed.

A servant of the Lord,

Sis. E


Thursday, May 19, 2011

God Is There

I read something recently… there is nothing that you won’t go through, that you and God won’t go through together. Whatever we have gone through, God was there. Whatever we are going through, God is there. And whatever we willgo through, God will be there, too. Know that there has not been a moment in your life that God has missed. There has not been a crisis that God was absent from, nor will there ever be.

Some of us may ask, well then why did I have to go through it? Why didn’t He comfort me through that time? But I tell you that He did. You got through it, right? You lived to speak about it, right? You just did not realize it, because you did not acknowledge His presence. As we go through things, we have to know that God is there, simply because He said He would be. Yes, there are times when we feel like we are going to lose our minds, but we don’t. Why? Because God was there. He won’t let us lose our minds. There are times when we feel as though we can’t go on anymore, but somehow the feeling subsides and we muster up the strength to continue, why? Because God is there and your faith in knowing that He is there kicks in.

God is omnipresent. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He said Himself, “I will be there in your time of trouble.” The Bible says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” But we have to acknowledge that He is with us. And when we do we are able to go through whatever we have to go through.

I was reading somewhere else that when people go through things, especially couples, it has the ability to form a bond. A rock solid bond. One that cannot be broken. A bond that is unseen and sometimes you are even unaware of it, but it is a quiet reliance, a quiet faith that joins people together at the core of their being. It’s an unspoken dependence on each other that forms, where they know they will only get through that thing together. Yes, they may fight all the way through it, because their emotions are so high because of it. They may struggle a bit, because they are unsure of the outcome, afraid of what might happen, but as they persevere and go through it, they find that somehow they get through it, even tighter than they ever were before.

This is how it is with God, with those who are growing in Him and trusting in His Word. Those experiences that we have draw us closer to Him. There is nothing like knowing that God is with you. That He will never leave you nor forsake you. That He will be with you in trouble just like He said. And when we truly acknowledge and understand that, we will realize that there is nothing that we will go through, that God is not going through with us and that He won’t bring us through, ON TOP. And with an even closer and tighter bond than ever before. Because we have gone through it together.

My husband and I just celebrated our 29th Wedding Anniversary. And we have gone through a lot of things together. Health issues, financial issues, kid issues, relationship issues, other issues and more issues. Yes, some of them were extremely difficult, extremely trying. Challenged our faith in each other and later on in life, challenged our faith in God, but we made it through. Praise the Lord! (God gets all the glory!) Because God was there, in the midst of it all. And with every passing year, we become even closer to each other and closer to God, as we become more and more aware of His presence.

God was there when we needed Him the most. He was there when you needed Him the most. God is there right now. In your current situation, your current circumstance, your current issue, know that God is there. Rest in that and go through it. And know and believe that there is nothing that you will go through that you and He will not GET through together.

God is real.

A servant of the Lord,
Sis. E



http://sis.e.home.comcast.net
http://www.ongoodground.org

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Laughing At God

Genesis 18:10-15 reads, And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No but you did laugh!”

This particular story of Abraham and Sarah’s faith falls on the heels of their attempt to do God’s job for Him, when Sarah told Abraham to go into her maiden, Hagar. And because of this, Ishmael was conceived and born (Genesis 16). God had already made a covenant with Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4), but Abraham and Sarah took matters in their own hands. Abraham himself, laughed, also when God told him that Sarah would become the mother of all nations. So much so, he pleaded with God, that He would let it be done through Ishmael (Genesis 17:15-18).

Here we have Abraham and Sarah. Abraham who believed God so much, it was counted to him as righteousness; who opened the door for us as believers to become the very righteousness of God because of our faith in Jesus Christ; who would have sacrificed his son Isaac, if it were not for the voice of the Lord (Genesis 22); who obeyed when God told Abraham to get out of his country and go into a land that He will show him (Genesis 12:1-4). Abraham and Sarah expressed faith in tremendous ways on numerous occasions throughout the book of Genesis, but in this particular instance, Abraham laughed when God made a promise, and so did Sarah when she heard it.

These two faith walkers had been walking with God for nearly 25 years at this point. They had seen His provisions; they had come to know some of His ways, but still, could not find it in themselves to believe God for this kind of blessing. They laughed. They laughed at God.


How many of us are like Sarah and Abraham? We have been walking with God, we have been studying His Word, we have been faithful servants, we have been talking to Him, hearing from Him, come to know Him and some of His ways, but every now and then, when God tells us that He is going to do that impossible thing for us, like Sarah and Abraham, we laugh. We doubt. We say, “Yeah, right, God.” We laugh at God.

No, we may not be doing it aloud (Sarah’s was an inward laugh, but God still knew she laughed). We laugh at God on the inside when we read His Word and know what it says we should do, but don’t do it. We laugh at God when He asks us to do something and we refuse. He tells us to give more, to tithe, to forgive and move one, to love our enemies and we just laugh at Him. You may not think it’s laughing, but if we hear the Word of the Lord or we hear God Himself tell us to do something, and we do not believe it or do not believe that it applies to us, we are laughing. At God.

Don’t you know that if God says that He is going to do something, He will do it? If you know anything in the Bible, you need to know that God’s promises are true. In each book of the Bible, there is some promise of God and some instance of how He brings it to pass. God is not a man the He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has he said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19). If God speaks a promise into our life, we should hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who has promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).


Children of the Most High God, if God tells you that He is going to do something spectacular for you and you find yourself laughing, fall down to your knees, repent, and just begin to praise Him, worship Him and give Him the glory because God is getting ready to do an awesome thing for you. If He said it, just believe it and get ready to receive it. And if you want to laugh, laugh because you’re happy glad at the great and marvelous thing your God is getting ready to do!!!


God spoke today through my husband and the Encouraging Word devotional… and as I was running errands, God spoke to me and reminded me of something that He spoke in July of 2002. God wants us to get this today. He is READY to do THE IMPOSSIBLE in the lives of those who will believe. Be encouraged. God is so mindful of you and He wants you to know that He is real, and He really, really loves you today!

Friday, April 29, 2011

Just Like He Said

Matthew 28:6 reads, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”


This time of the year, I can’t help but meditate on the wonderful work of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His birth, His life, His death and most importantly His resurrection. Because if He did not get up, everything else would almost be meaningless. Because of Him I have been made free. And if you have made Him Lord of your life, LORD OVER ALL, you have been made free, as well! And I love made free as my husband and pastor teaches… because if you’re set free, you can be caught again…. But Hallelujah, if you’re made free, SIN can’t hold you, death can’t hold you. Nothing can hold you, no matter where you are.


But as I have been meditating on Easter and the cross and the sacrifice and just the love of God, these words marinate in my spirit. HE IS NOT HERE… HE HAS RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID.


And I am reminded of a song (and actually a word I shared some time ago about this) and the song is by Donald Lawrence, and it’s called simply, Matthew 28. And as I was listening to the song, there is a part where Donald Lawrence says repeatedly, He is not here… He is not here… He is not here! And then he slowly says ‘For He has risen… just as He said.’ And it grabbed me. And my spirit leaped at the revelation. He is not here. He has risen just as He said He would.


And as those words rang over and over in my ear, I could hear God saying, that we can take Him at His Word. If Jesus has spoken something to us, He will do exactly what He said. HE IS NOT HERE… HE HAS RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID.


I am reminded of when Jesus saw the faith of the woman that touched the hem of His garment, HE SAID, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that very hour, the Scripture says. JUST AS HE SAID.


And when the ruler came to Jesus and told Him that his daughter was dead, Jesus told him, Believe only. And when Jesus arrived at his house, the Scripture says that after Jesus told the people to make room, for the girl is not dead but sleeps, they laughed Him to scorn. BUT when He went in the house and took the little girl by the hand, she got up. JUST AS HE SAID. She was sleeping. Just like He said she was.


At Passover time, Jesus told the disciples to go into town and there they will find a donkey, tied, which they were to unloose and bring to Him. And when the disciples got there, they found the donkey, JUST AS HE SAID.


He said that one of His disciples would betray Him and it happened JUST AS HE SAID. That before the cock crowed, Peter would deny Him THREE times. JUST AS HE SAID.


He said that they would destroy His temple, but in three days He would rise again. And He did! Just like He said He would!


He is not here… He has risen, just as He said.


And I want you to get this in your spirit, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. So hear this over and over and over again. He is not here.. He has risen, JUST AS HE SAID.


If He has told you that by His stripes you are healed, you are healed. Just as He said. Take Him at His Word! If He told you that He shall supply all your need, He will supply it. Just as He said. If He told you that you are the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath, that no weapon formed against you shall prosper, you are and it won’t happen. Just as He said.


Take Him at His Word.


God is real. We simply have to believe Him.


A servant of the Lord,

Sis. E


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Why Have You Replaced Me?

I see you, you know
You used to come to church
Every Sunday
But not anymore
Why have you replaced Me?
Allowing your ‘special’ activity to take precedence.

I see you, you know
Christmas would come around
And before the month even grew warm
You were already celebrating my Son.
Why have you replaced Me?
Speaking of the holiday, compromising the reason.

I see you, you know
The home-cooked family meals
Were more than just an opportunity to eat
It was that once a week chance you all had to fellowship
With Me
Why have you replaced Me?
Grabbing a quick fix and sitting in front of the TV.

I see you, you know
You used to play 21 with your son
And throw a couple of balls around.
I enjoyed watching you enjoy each other.
But why have you replaced Me?
Now your son does that with his coach.

I see you, you know
You used to stand for Me when school interfered with my plan.
But not anymore..
Now My plan has to be in line with the school's.
Why have you replaced Me?
A snow day can take the place of Good Friday but not a vacation day…
Without a word spoken. Without a complaint murmured.
I heard you say it’s okay. It’s just a day after all.
Why have you replaced Me?

I saw you, you know.
The death, burial and resurrection of My Son
Doesn’t take on new meaning for you anymore.
After all you have your salvation. What more can you need?
It’s a done deal.
Let them get theirs I heard you say.
But why have you replaced Me?

Every time you allow someone,
Some thing,
Some place
To take my place… you replace Me.
Every time you put yourself first,
What YOU want to do,
What YOU think is best,
What YOU feel,
You replace Me.

I saw you, you know.
When they spit at My Son
And mocked Him and He spoke not a Word.
I saw you.

When He got up on that cross
And allowed Me to put YOUR sins,
and the sins of the world on Him.
I saw you.

When they pierced Him in His side.
And the blood came gushing out.
I saw you.

When My Son cried out to Me,
Father, Father… Why have You forsaken Me?
And I didn’t answer…
Because I saw you.

In the midst of all your sins...

And let Him take your place…
because I saw You.

But why have you replaced Me?