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