Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Put your hope in the Lord.
      Travel steadily along His path.
   He will honor you by giving you the land.
      You will see the wicked destroyed.

   I have seen wicked and ruthless people
      flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
   But when I looked again, they were gone!
      Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

   Look at those who are honest and good,
      for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.
   But the rebellious will be destroyed;
      they have no future.

   The Lord rescues the godly;
      He is their fortress in times of trouble.
   The Lord helps them,
      rescuing them from the wicked.
   He saves them,
      and they find shelter in Him

[Psalm 37:34-40]

Peace, Prosperity and Shelter in Him

Good Afternoon Beloved,

God says what He means and means what He says.  Many times the “wicked” seem to prosper. It seems as though their wealth, which they received through ill-gotten means are rewarded, envied and copied.  The “honest” guy is often times maligned, ridiculed and mocked, called foolish and a “sucker”.  In reality he is the one who will receive double honor.  Even if he never sees it in this life, he will in the life to come (which is MUCH longer).  The Bible tells us, “not to be weary in well doing for we shall reap if we faint not”.  I am personally surrounded by people who live their lives in honesty and truth.  They seek to do the will of the Lord and to live a good life.  They are always seeking ways to help not hurt… to bless, encourage and uplift others.  Still, there are times when the warfare we talked about the other day gets so intense they may want to throw in the towel.  I found something very interesting.  At one point in the earthly ministry of Jesus, as His time here grew short… He had a conversation with His disciples.  Some of them evidently did not like what He said because they walked away.  Jesus turned to those who remained and said, ”Will you also go away?.  I like ole brash Peter.  Peter answered and said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  And we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the living God.”  When this is the heart cry of our spirit, during our rough patches! … I believe it blesses the heart of God and He will honor us for it!  WOW!

… and that Beloved is Good News!

Y Stress? … U Blessed!

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina

Thursday, February 4, 2010

 This is what the LORD says:
   “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
      who rely on human strength
      and turn their hearts away from the LORD .
    They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
      with no hope for the future.
   They will live in the barren wilderness,
      in an uninhabited salty land.

    “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD
      and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
    They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
      with roots that reach deep into the water.
   Such trees are not bothered by the heat
      or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
      and they never stop producing fruit.

[Jeremiah 17:5-8]

Yeah… for folks who live as though this is all that there is, life can be pretty depressing at times.  Even for the born-again, spirit-led, blood-washed, bible-totin’, scripture-quotin’ saint of the Most High God it can get a little tough.  The difference is we know in Whom we have believed.  Things may get a little rocky… but we know that “The Rock” of our salvation has us in His steady Hands. He is able to, “..keep us from falling and to present us faultless before before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…” (Jude 1:24). Trust and believe that no matter what is going on, He is still, “able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we could ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).  Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my Grandmother “Elnora Curry McCloud” or ‘Ms. El-Nor’.  It is probably because the threat of this Friday’s impending blizzard, has stirred memories of the snow storm of ‘83.  The snow was so high, we could not open the door of our trailer and were stuck inside.  My Grandma was a pet lover, and out of concern for her critters, she brought them all inside to stay with us until the weather cleared. Along with the 4 chickens (2 of which were named “Buffy” & “Hilde” remember “Bosom Buddies” -Tom Hanks & Peter Scholari), we had the dog “Smutt”, the cat “OJ” and the duck “Boo”.  That was one long winter.  In the midst of a weird and smelly situation, we learned to cope.  I learned from my grandmother and my mother that you can do anything you want to do… if you want it bad enough. They both had practical working knowledge of the bible.  What they learned, they practiced.  Grandma did not tolerate blasphemy and was careful what she said.  She could not read or write very well, (had to drop school to take care of her family) but was able to read and understand the bible.  She was a living testimony.  It blows my mind that if she were still here, she would be 111 years old!  Even though she is gone, just like the verse above, she has never stopped producing fruit.  What is even more beautiful is that my grandmother never had any biological children, but she adopted my mom when she was a baby, from a young girl who had a lot of problems.  Her God provided a daughter for her that loved, cherished and provided for her.  Not only that, but she gave her a grand-daughter (me), that kept her youthful and vibrant.  Not only that, but he gave her a second grand-daughter, my friend Tina that also helped to take care of her in her latter days.  She never traveled any farther than Baltimore, never, ever wanted to get on an airplane, or a cruise, but to her, her life was full, rich and meaningful.  She never wanted for anything.  She was blessed with wisdom and wit.  She was strong and tenacious (some might say stubborn, probably where I get it from), and really did not care what people thought of her.  But she was full of love, funny and sweet and her legacy lives on… through those who love and remember her and what she taught us.  What she taught us, we have passed on to Jah and the children that are all around us.  God kept her and honored her… just like he said he would… He’s a God who keeps His Word!

 ”May The Work I’ve Done Speak For Me”, The Consolers

(my grandma’s favorite song) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euuNvaSezY0

“Grandma’s Hands”, Bill Withers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxjNauWYFfc

“Grandma’s Hands”, Y’anna Crawley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXiE6zYHo2Y

“Lost Without You”, LeJuene Thompson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CnfIDsblb4

“Born Again”, Lejuene Thompson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puLpcHwh99c

“Cast Your Cares”, Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers w/LeJuene Thompson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTQwem9kQjw

“God Specializes”, Gloria Griffin, Donald Vails, and the Celebration Delegation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlHmlC054T4

“Farther Along”, Pastor E. Dewey Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7JGahCqGH4

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

 “So obey the commands of the LORD your GOD by walking in His ways and fearing Him. For the LORD your GOD is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.  When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your GOD for the good land He has given you. “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your GOD and disobey His commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your GOD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Do not forget that He led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the LORD your GOD. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant He confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the LORD your GOD and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. Just as the LORD has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the LORD your GOD.
(Deuteronomy 8:6-20)

Cure For Spiritual Altzheimers

Good Afternoon Beloved,

Whoa!  Can the Word get any plainer.  Can you tell the Lord meant business here?  One of the many awesome facets of God’s persona is that He is a giver.  He gave Adam and Eve the whole earth.  He gave them the power and authority to name every living creature in it.  He gave the prophets of old power to split seas, raise the dead, make ax heads float.  He has given us the power to “tread on serpants and scorpions and over all of the power of the enemy so that nothing could by any means harm us at all”.  Most of all, He gave us His only begotten Son for our redemption.  Giving is His nature and His delight.  He loves giving us not only what we ‘need’, but also our hearts ‘desire’.  If your heart’s desire is a better, safer home in which to raise your children, that doesn’t make the All Sufficient One nervous.  If your dream car is a Bentley, that doesn’t make Him blink twice.  People may have a problem with it and say “nobody needs all that”, but think about it… whether we take our last earthly breath and leave this earth, or the Lord should return, “Hoopties”, luxury cars, yachts, trucks, vans, bicycles, skateboards, alike will be left wherever they are, so drive whatever you want (long run-on sentence intentional).  His only mandate is that we not forget Him in the midst of all of the good stuff He has given us.  We hear much about how to praise God in chaos.  How to “look to the hills from whence cometh our help”  when the baby needs a new pair of shoes and the light bill is due, but what about when all of our bills are paid and things are looking pretty good.  Not everybody is broke… even in this economy.  Learning to honor God in a season of abundance is just as crucial as learning to trust God in a season of lack.  Even Jesus spoke to the issue when He said,

Now when JESUS heard these things, He said unto Him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, He said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of GOD. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And He said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with GOD. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed Thee. And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of GOD’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

 

We’ve all heard of people with an abundance of material things, who believe they have no need for God… until the bottom drops out of their world.  Many have taken not only their own lives, but the lives of family members and friends because they lost their job, or hit a financial rough patch.  Those who have placed their trust in the living God, realize that situations change and God is Lord over whatever circumstance we find ourselves in.  This verse lets us know that whatever we’ve lost (or thought we lost), it will be replaced… in this lifetime and in the life to come… now that’s what you call “abundance”… just don’t forget to remember the SOURCE from whom all blessings flow!

… now that Beloved is Good News!

Y Stress? … U Blessed!

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina

*Regina, Ma & Tony (brother)

“Never Shall Forget”, John P. Kee & NLCC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82A1N_JUf7M

“My Joy”, Tye Tribbett & GA w/ John P. Kee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1DVYpw1rRk

“Thank You, Mary Mary & Kirk Franklin (Kingdom Come Soundtrack)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9HTXT7TPnI

“My Mind’s Made Up”, Rev. Milton Bronson and the Thompson Community Choir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb90PTvNoiU

“How Can I Say Thank You”, Hezekiah Walker w/Monique Walker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tW9AGEL8bE

“There Is No Failure In God”, Donald Vails

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgWHfOuwZf8