Saturday, July 30, 2011

He's Speaking. Are you Listening?

A friend and I was having a very interesting conversation on the phone the other day and she said something that struck me. She made a comment that "God is speaking, but people are not listening." I had to think on that for a minute. After pondering on her statement, i realized that she was telling the truth. I examined myself and the events that is going on around us and realized that may be the problem with most of us. God is speaking, we're not listening and we are being destroyed. Not only that, but do you realize that how we live our lives affect our offsprings (our children)?

There is so much evil, destruction and immorality taking place in our lives and in our minds because of the fact that we are not listening to the voice of the Lord and trusting Him enough to do what He tells us to do. We want to do things our own way. I don't know about you, but that is not working for me. This is what you call disobedience and I know that we are all guilty of that whether you are young or old.

The bible says in Isaiah 48 versus17 through 19, "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you  should go. Oh, that you had heardened to My commandments! Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a flowing river and your righteousness like the abundant waves of the sea. Your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like the offspring of the sea: their name would not be cut off or destroyed from before Me." (amplified version)

God is instructing us and telling us which way to go because He knows what is good for us and He knows our purpose. We hear Him, but we're not listening. There is a difference between hearing and listening:
Hearing - you are able to hear or perceive what is being said
Listening - to give attention with the ear, to take heed and obey what is being told to you
There are benefits to listening and obeying the voice of God. Let me break down the 3 P's in the scripture above:
Profit - to gain an advantage or benefit
Peace - mind is free from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, obsession. your mind is not unraveled and you have a sense of calmness
Prosperity - success
It says your peace and prosperity shall be like a flowing river. Why like a river? When you look at or sit by a river, a river is quiet, calm and peaceful. A river is a natural body of water that flows together in the same direction into a larger body of water or a larger territory. Your righteousness is as large as a wave of the sea and we know a sea wave is strong enough to knock you down.

Do we want to be successful and have greatness in our lives? Do we desire these things mentioned above? If so, then we need to listen to the voice of the Lord.  He is here.


http://youtu.be/Evzu3w334RI  listen to this song i hope that you will be blessed by it.


Sunday, July 17, 2011

Killing Dreams

Killing Dreams
Last week some ladies was sharing with me about how they were being mistreated by their mothers and could not understand why. These ladies are single mothers and students in school trying to better themselves and pursue their dreams. They depend on their parents for help because they feel as if they don't have anybody else, but they are hurting because of how they are being treated and they feel as if they are stuck. My heart was filled with compassion and i knew at that moment  it was a time for ministry.

We are all here for a purpose, regardless of what our lives look like today. We were born with dreams and our dreams are our purpose that God has placed in us to pursue. See it's like this, we were not placed on this Earth to please ourselves nor other people, but we were placed here to please God.  God knows exactly what it is that He wants us to do, where He wants us to go and what we are capable of doing. We make the mistake of making our decisions based on what other people think and how it makes us feel.  Later on in life we end up regretting some of those decisions.

We are all born with a gift. There is something great in each of us. Other people will see your gift before you do. Satan doesn't want us to recognize our greatness. That is his biggest fear because when we recognize our greatness and began to pursue our purpose we become a powerful nation. Satan will use as many people as he can to keep us from doing just that. To keep us from pursuing our dreams/purpose satan will find those what i call "dream killers", but he doesn't have to go very far because most of those "dream killers" are members of our household, also known as family members. Well Tamara, why do say that? Is what most of you may be thinking. It is not I who says it I can only agree based on experience.
Matther 10 verses 34-36 says "Think not that I am come to send peace on Earth: I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am come to set a man against his father, daughter against her mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law and a man's foes (enemies) shall be they of his own household."  There it is right there.  Everybody will not agree or like your purpose. Apostle Ron Carpenter said today "Hardest people to see you going anywhere are the family members who know you best." It's true. It hurts too because we don't expect for our family members to be the ones to criticize our dreams, to talk down to us, to hinder us from going certain places, to give such negative opinions on decisions we make, but they do. They become our dream killers. Don't get me wrong, that may not be their intentions, for some anyway, but that's what they do. Those family members could be parents, siblings, spouses, grandparents, aunts,uncles, children,etc.

The two ladies that I spoke of earlier their mothers talk down to them. Telling them that they are not going to make it or be anything. They are wasting their time going to school when they have children to raise. These women keep striving to prove something to their mothers but they don't need to worry about that. All they need to focus on is pleasing God. That goes for all of us. They didn't understand why their mothers treat them the way that they do. I informed them that their mothers recognize something great in them that they probably don't recognize in themselves and their mothers are afraid that they will pursue their greatness. So they are trying to kill it.
Even with children that wants to leave home to go to a particular college, go into the service or pursue a career. Some parents will keep them from going to where ever it is that they want to go or attempt to talk them out of what it is that they want to do. Maybe it's because they are afraid for that child to leave home or they feel that child will not have a future in the career they have chosen. Regardless, you are killing dreams. Parents, you don't know your child's purpose and what God has called them to be or to go. Again, we are not here to please ourselves or others we are here to please God.
Spouses will hold one another back from pursuing their dreams. The husband may want the wife to stay at home or keep the job that she has because of the money she makes. The wife doesn't agree with her husband quitting his job to start that business that he has always dreamed of. She is afraid that it will not work and they will lose all that they have.

See what i mean. Satan will use members of our household against us to keep us from pursuing our dreams because of fearThat's why Jesus went on to say in verses 37-38 "He that loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."
Yes, we are suppose to love our parents,children and all our family members. But not more than we love the Lord because when God says go we have to pick up and go. You know what's in your heart. You know what it is God is telling you to do or where to go. Listen to the voice of the Lord. Beware of how much you share with others and the voices that you allow to get in your head. If it's negative cast it out. If it's wicked cast it out. If  it's unfruitful, cast it out. If' it's not what God has said to you, cast it out. Cast out the voices of "dream killers" and take heed to the voice of God.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Church: Is It a Tradition or a Lifestyle?

Psalm 84

Church: Is It a Tradition or a Lifestyle?

Why do we attend church?

Why do you not attend church?

Is attending church a tradition for you or is it a lifestyle?

What do I mean when I ask is attending church a tradition for you? Tradition:

Do you attend church because "it's the right thing to do" or because you grew up attending church and you feel guilty if you do not attend? Do you attend a particular church because that's your family's church? Your mama,daddy, grandparents, aunts,uncles,etc attend that church. Perhaps, one of your family members may be the pastor of that church and you feel obligated to stay where you are. Are you spiritually growing and learning in the church that you attend? Do you hear the Word but don't apply it to your life? Are you the same person that you have been for years with the same mindset, personality and attitude? Not much has changed with you except for your age. Or are you there and feel safe to say "I attended church today?" Do you have a desire or a longing to be there? That's what  i mean by traditional.

Is attending church a Lifestyle:

Do you love to be in the house of the Lord where you feel free to worship? Are you learning more about God and His Kingdom? Do you feel yourself growing spiritually? Can you see a difference in your life? Are you attending a church, not where you are fed because being fed means that you are full, but where you are hungry and thirsty for more of God's word? When you hear the Word of God do you apply it to your everyday life? Are you only hearing the Word on Wednesday or Sunday,or are you studying the Word for yourself at home? (2 Timothy 2 vese 15) Do you feel good when you attend church? Do you feel revived? Most importantly, do you feel the presence of God?

Don't get me wrong when you read this. I had to ask myself the same questions a time before and now I can say attending church for me is a lifestyle when it use to be a tradition. I see a difference in my life. I am happy where I am, which is Redemption World Outreach Center in Greenville, SC. This blog is not intended to draw you to RWOC but to draw you to God. I look at some people who attend church every week and has been doing so for years, but you don't see a change in them. Some of these are older generations and they wonder why some of the younger people won't attend church. I come to realize that for those who don't feel the need to attend church are probably looking at you who attend weekly. They do not see a change in you and probably say to themselves, "what's the use for me". I have had conversations with people that attend church, but they are not happy or growing where they are. They continue to go because that's their family's church or whatever other reasons they may have. I've witnessed people go to church and then come home complaining about what's going on in the church. People this should not be. That is a very dangerous thing to do. I had to ask for forgiveness on that.

I want to know what is your reasons for attending or not attending church. Again, this is blog is not created to judge anyone. You are who you are. Share with us your views.