Who is Satan?

The title of this may be a little startling since this is a christian blog; however, give me a moment to express the importance of knowing who Satan is. Most of our posts speak directly towards developing a relationship with God. Spending time in His Word, worshiping Him, praising Him, and etc. which is extremely important. We suggest these things in order for us to live out our purpose in Him without fear. The fear of failing, the fear of knowing, and the fear of succeeding. Perhaps you're thinking, "fear of failing I understand, but the fear of knowing and the fear of succeeding is silly". Remember our post "Ignorance is Bliss"? In that case not knowing was certainly better than knowing. While I can't say for certain, but perhaps this is why some people fear knowing certain things. Unfortunately, some people fear living to their utmost potential to avoid the accountability that accompanies that success. Where does said fear come from? You guessed it, directly from Satan. He doesn't want you to know your abilities and moreover he doesn't want you to know God's abilities.  

Just as God has a plan for your life Satan has strategies to prevent that plan from coming to pass. This is who Satan is: a lying, conniving copycat creating strategies to convince you that he is more powerful than he really is (Fervent by Priscilla Shirer). Unlike God he has limitations and does not control your destiny. Knowing exactly who Satan is allows us to recognize him in certain situations and knowing God gives us the ability to fight back accordingly. Satan tries to get the very best of you because he knows what God can do with the very best of you.

It's a new month with a new focus: Acceptance, Truth, and Joy and we're ready to show Satan who's boss! We're halfway through 2016 so take a look at where you are, remember where you were 6 months ago, and imagine what God has in store for you 6 months from now. Acceptance is what I would like you to keep in mind when you think of where you are right now (mentally, spiritually, and physically). When you accept where you are within each one of those aspects of your life you are exhibiting an understanding of Truth (God) and your truth. We want the two, Truth and your truth, to be aligned but most often they aren't thus requiring us to do some work. Your truth are the actual facts and you cannot obtain joy until you have accepted your truth and found purpose right where you are.

Look at it from this perspective, we are a technological generation in which many of us can get caught up in games on our phones. Most of the games have levels that require mastering the level you're currently on in order to move to the next level. Sometimes there are things that have to be uncovered, patterns to be followed. walls to be knocked down and etc. All of these games start out easy but as your levels increase so does the difficulty and trickery. That pretty much sums up our lives. We'll face obstacles at each level, but once we realize where we are we can then figure out how to move on from there joyfully. Yes, satan WILL try to intervene. Yes, satan will try to distract you. Yes, satan will lie to you about who you are and about who God is. Yes, satan will try to confuse you. So how do we stop satan? We use our strongest weapon...PRAYER! And always remember satan has limits whereas God does not.

Through prayer you'll allow God to lead your life out of the mundane, ordinary state that you're in to an extraordinary, supernatural state that will make all of your enemies tremble! Are you ready to go there? I know I am!!

Picture This! May 2016

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows who are His. And, let everyone who names The Name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Picture This! So, there was this well known person passing through a great mass of people. He gave each person the exact same instructions. The instructions were very specific regarding what he wanted from them. Turns out only one person followed the directions that were given. Everyone admonished this person with their mouth, but only one actually followed directions. True enough that was the only person who stood out in the midst of all the people and their praises.

See where I'm going with this? You guessed it! God actually gave me this vision Monday morning. I was floored. I read a scripture that was convicting to me and prayed on it before I started my day. Then, I closed my eyes and God gave me this. Obedience to God is better than the sacrifice of praise with our lips. In Luke 6:46 it asks, "Why call Me Lord and you do not what I say?" God wants to be Lord over our lives, meaning He wants to govern us. Trusting Him in good faith that He knows what He is doing is all He asks of us. Isn't that a key element in a relationship, trust? How dare we praise someone we rarely submit to in our daily living? How dare we talk about God in such high esteem but live our lives the way we see fit. The scripture says in Proverbs 21:2, "Every way of man is right in his own eyes, but God ponders(looks at) the heart." This is exactly what went on as I closed my eyes. It is funny how convincing it seemed to hear the great number of people calling for this person yet, it was all rubbish. He looked over every voice and searched the hearts. That of which, He only found one that obeyed. Once I opened my eyes, it proposed a question for me. What am I doing to stand out? Am I living a life that is pleasing to God? Is this a wake up call?

God wants us in a place where we are solely satisfied with Him. We should be eager to give ourselves to God daily by adhering to what He has to say. Then, actually putting His Word into action. Seeing how messed up the world is now, people need to see us searching and fleeing to God. The world has Hope, Jesus! We are to exemplify that to others. How? Not just by merely talking highly of Him, but by following His Will for our lives through obedience to His Word.

How can we call ourselves sheep 
if we do not listen to our Shepard?
For God gets ALL the glory!
Let us lift our lives in worship together!

Christian. (Verb)

Hello good people! This year is just flying by us. I could have sworn it was just January like yesterday and I was bundled up in boots and gloves. Now, the summer is vastly approaching. Just as the seasons change in Mother Nature, they also change in our lives. I can definitely attest to a time of diligently reading The Bible and spending time with God. Man, was I on fire! When He woke me up I talked to Him. Throughout the day I would pray, and before I laid down I made sure to talk to my Father. How about now? Oh, I am either too sleepy to care or rushing to work. Then, I am so easily distracted by my day that I "forget" to acknowledge Him when I am fully awake. Let's not even talk about how "exhausted" I am to talk to Him before I go to bed. Isn't that funny? I, me, and maybe even you can go a whole day without spending any QUALITY time with God. I am not referring to those drive by prayers that we mumble. Do not misunderstand me, by drive by, I mean no meaning. Those prayers we say just because like..."Oh Hey God, almost forgot about ya...okay well bye" kinda prayers.

For whatever reason we tend to forget about the ONE person who never forgets about us. Us silly humans can call our parents every day, friends, significant others, etc...but "forget" to have meaningful conversations and meditation with God. You know The One Who sent His Son, Jesus, to die for OUR sins, filth, and deserved seat in hell. One quote I found while looking back at some notes I took during my devout years is this, "It does little good if Christians declare and defend The Truth, but fail to demonstrate it in their lives." How powerful is that? Who really cares how much we talk about God if we barely spend time with Him for Him to be ACTIVE in our life. Being a Christian is not an adjective to me, but a verb. It is not just a person proclaiming to simply know Christ. It is a person living like Christ. Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus says The Word of God! How do we allow our minds to change?

Well, the answer is and will forever be in His Word. I can say I do not want to have sex all day long. Does that stop the desire? No. Does it prevent temptation from ever so loudly knocking at my door? Of course not! What will sustain me in those times? His Word, through DAILY meditation, prayer, and fellowship with God and with like minded people. How can a drug addict stop using drugs around addicts? So how can we get closer to God if we are hanging around people who seem to have it as an option and not a priority? Bad company is another post, but I believe you get the point. Let's live out our beliefs and be the action verb Christian and not just the adjective...

God is speaking.
Do you hear Him?
His words are piercing,
but we are not listening.
We are so busy,
but not really.
Lord I don't have time.
Even though You gave me time.
I mean You understand
Because You are forgiving, right?
Man, what am I saying.
I have been too busy complaining
to realize You have just been patiently waiting,
on me.
It's crazy. Your Love is so sweet.
I don't want to keep taking advantage.
Today is the day that I stop taking US for granted. 
You made this possible.
You are GOD, incomparable!
Your Power is unstoppable!
People call me crazy because Your Word is not logical.
I laugh because Your Word is REMARKABLE!
You opened my eyes and my life was then radical.
Said that to say, I love you and 'bout time that I show it.
Christian is a verb. 
Not just another word.
Not just something cool to say. 
Remember, God said He loved us and His Son died to demonstrate.
Jesus, came and showed us how to behave.
He loved until the last blood drop while being betrayed.
Now it is on us; what will we illustrate?
The noun, the adjective, or the verb?
Let's choose to freely LIVE out The AMAZING Truth of God's Word!

Stay Connected!

Colossians 4:2 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving" 

Last month we were afforded the opportunity to participate in the Use Your Words 30 Day Speak Life challenge. This challenge was instrumental in revealing how impactful the words we speak can be for ourselves and for those surrounding us. Moreover, we were able to see how God uses His Word to guide us, direct us, comfort us, redeem us, and so forth. I'm led to share with you all that every word you speak has the potential to be cultivated as it flows from your mouth into the realm of your life. Remember the parable of the sower? When you read, re-read, or re-call the parable think of the words you speak as seeds. There's no better way to end one season (Winter) than planting seeds in preparation of the season to come (Spring).

Springtime is so refreshing in that our days become sunny and bright with comfortable weather that's not too hot and not too cold. It's a complete change from the snow-filled, rainy, dark, and groggy days of the Winter season. During this time it's easy to find ourselves in a rut as we're mostly confined to indoor activities, layered in heavy clothing, and bedridden with illness. Spring is a season of growth, look around at all the beautiful flowers that are in bloom. Now YOU get ready to bloom. Let's spring into the month of April with the expectation of growth; the growth of the seeds planted during the speak life challenge last month.

As we bask in all the beauty of Spring let's not forget to stay connected to the source of our growth and our ability to bloom in this season. We must be Fearlessly FOCUSED on prayer, worship, and praise. Our main line of communication with God is prayer. That connection becomes more intimate when coupled with praise and worship. Effective prayer consists of praise, thanksgiving, repentance, specific requests, and commitment. It is imperative that you be diligent and committed to staying connected to God during your season of bloom. Your growth is inhibited once you allow the source of that growth to be diminished. Don't allow the change of scenery weaken your connection.

#StayConnected #SeasonOfBloom  

Where Is Your Faith?

Hello people! March is winding down and April is around the corner. Today, we are going to touch on a subject we love to talk about, but rarely exercise, FAITH. The very element that is vital to our spiritual relationship with God. I mean how is it possible to be saved BY faith and fail to operate that SAME faith in our lives? Good question, right? The same question an unbeliever would ask out of confusion. How is it that a go tell it on the mountain, singing, dancing, teaching, blogging, and preaching Christian is ready to give up so easily? Where is your faith? Do we know how incredible Jesus' death was for us? Can you understand how ridiculous it sounds to believe in Someone you have never met that happens to control everything and also made everything? In addition, we have the nerve to believe God is real, willingly died for us, was resurrected AND will save us from hell? That is a tremendous amount of trust. So, why are the day to day challenges so difficult? Think about it. Have you really pondered your salvation and the depths of what you are telling people you believe? Are we as daring in our actions as we are with our declarations?  No, because we fail to trust Him for trivial matters that are a given on this journey WE accepted to venture on while accepting Jesus in our hearts. Talk about disrespect. Can you imagine how God feels watching us talk to Him like a (excuse my real)  nigga on the street? Like He does not have ALL Power? Like He is unable to keep HIS Promises?! Yeah God I believe you, but not really. However, can you bless me anyway? We aren't even convinced in our hearts, yet still expect God to do His Thing without holding up our end of the bargain-FAITH.

Oh sure, I trust God to deliver me from hell and have this awesome paradise set up for me where I will have no worries at all, but I do not trust Him to pay my bills, to marry the right person, to heal me, to mend broken relationships, and to break curses? Looking back at Jesus' life, healing people was child's play in comparison to saving our wretched souls from hell. So, I ask again where is your faith? Are we able to realistically believe in Him to deliver us from hell and not deliver us from day to day problems that we encounter?  I ask because our faith as the church, as His bridegroom, is at an all time low in my opinion. We do not believe in healing or that God will provide. We will rather say a weak prayer with doubt because cancer is such a horrific disease Jesus could not possibly heal that person. Jesus can't pay my bills, I just have to work three jobs. Is this the more abundant life He promised us? I am not saying every disease will be healed. I am saying we need to stop acting as though God can't do it by living this mundane Christian lifestyle with stale belief that is only shown via mouth and not lived with the Power Of God moving in us. No one likes anything stale because it has no taste, it is useless, and unwanted. So is faith without works! Remember "Oh taste and see?" We can't advertise to the world stale bread and have the nerve to wonder why they aren't converted. Jesus isn't stale bread. He was manna in the flesh! I have seen God heal, perform miracles, and breakthroughs for myself recently, not talking in "yester-years."

Where is your faith? Is your light shining consistently? By light I mean is your trust in God so deep that it lights your path so that others are drawn to The Light, meaning Jesus? Does God even believe you have faith in Him? That may be a good reason as to why your "prayers" are not being heard. Where is your faith? Is it in your heart? Is it disposable? Is it convenient? Is it unmovable? Is it tied to this worldly magical emotion that soon fades once trouble approaches? Do we tell our situation to God in confidence or in doubt? Where is it? Is it visible? Is it helping anyone?
                                                        WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?

He Still Resurrects!

It is Resurrection Sunday people! God has blessed us to celebrate one more time together in gratitude of what His Son, Jesus did for us thousands of years ago. His innocent Blood was shed for you, just for you. His Love was stretched from left to right, up and down on The Cross. His patience was between the two thieves that represented us. That's another story because those two thieves represents the two kinds of people in this world. However, Jesus faithfulness to us kept Him there. Jesus was exalted in the midst of His enemies. In the midst of His ridicule, shame, and agony he was high and lifted up! Just as with us and our turmoil of life God will lift us up. He said He has already prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies. For all of those going through remember The Cross and remember that He did not stay there. Jesus got up! God raised Him from the dead just as He will raise us from our seemingly dead places in life. Jesus went to hell and preached. Are we still preaching in our hellish lives? Are we still proclaiming the soul saving power of Jesus when we are going through trials in life? Jesus showed God's Power never left. God's Power never leaves us. We may leave Him, but He is always there! Even when we feel like we are unable to feel Him, all we have to do is ask. Ignite God's Power over every situation in your life.


 Now, every day is a declaration of what Jesus did for mankind. I know we have our days when we feel like giving up. Jesus shared those same moments with us, but nevertheless He said not my will, BUT let YOUR Will be done! So speak The Word when you are having those same struggles. God has purposed you and your living is not in vain, just hold on. Your Resurrection from your dead places is coming! God is STILL resurrecting! 

Eliminating Waste

Isaiah 52:2 "Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive" 

Let us continue marching on through 2016 growing and staying focused on the goals we've set for ourselves. I'm excited to see what God has in store for us as we switch our focus to redemption, forgiveness, and grace this month.

As I sat struggling to stay awake in an evening work meeting yesterday God saw fit to use that "boring" moment to reveal a message to me. My exhaustion during that meeting stemmed from being emotionally, mentally, and physically drained as we all have our days. God encouraged me to "stay awake". The objective in the meeting was to assess a process within the department in order to improve it following an integration. My role in this is to serve as a facilitator ensuring that the team stays on task; however, there are moments (such as yesterday) when my presence is not much needed. After about an hour of laying out the current process the head facilitator moved to the next task on the agenda which was to identify any waste in the process. Oh, now you've gotten my attention.

One could regard their life as a process in the sense that there are certain types of ways we tend to operate. Your process could be working, but there also could be room for improvement. When assessing a process it is important to identify wastes. What is waste? Waste is anything that consumes resources without adding value. One type of waste is "moving" waste whereas we actively go back and forth physically, mentally, or emotionally unnecessarily which slows down the process. Another type of waste is "stopping" waste in which you are completely stuck waiting on something or someone which hinders your process. The last waster I'd like to mention is "searching" waste whereas we spend an excessive amount of time searching for things in all of the wrong places.

We should operate in such a way that promotes growth and in order to do so we must "Stay Awake". Waste has the ability to accumulate in and around you forming a hinderance, don't allow it. If something doesn't add value to your life it is considered a waste; of space and of time. If you find yourself going back and forth with something or someone it is considered a waste; of energy. Just as the above scripture says, shake off your dust and free yourself from the chains that are holding you back. Redemption has been given to you (vs.3) and it is only through God's grace.

Eliminate that Waste!!!

#FearlessFAITH #EliminateWaste #March2016