Breakfast For Your Soul

Wednesday, July 14, 2009

The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace

[Psalm 29:11]

Good Morning Beloved,

Ever received a blessing so fabulous it makes you nervous?  As much as we know and have experienced the goodness of God, sometimes we can think, “what did I do to merit this?”.  Well, the Bible does tell us that the goodness of God leads one to repentance (Romans 2:4), and Matthew does remind us how well God takes care of the sparrows, and the lillies and of the fields and that we are worth more than they are.  Not one single thing escapes His attention.  I was just thinking about Sampson.  Most people know his story.  We’re familiar with his strength, his hair, his addiction to women, his donkey’s jawbone weapon, and the most expensive hair cut in history.  Not only was Delilah paid very well for her services by the leaders, but Sampson sold his power, his strength, his anointing, his position, his dignity, and in the end he received nothing but death… that was one expensive hair cut.  Most of us know the story, but what sticks out in my mind is how many chances God gave Sampson.  Even to the very end God never left him.  He was waiting for Sampson to come to his senses.   Wonder how the story would have ended if instead of asking God to let him die with the Philistines, he had asked God to forgive him and deliver him from his enemies.  Every step along his journey there were roadblocks, signs, walls all around him trying to keep him out of trouble.  His parents tried to reason with him about his choice for a wife… he pushed through that.  He knew the laws governing the Nazerites… he pushed through them. His first wife betrayed him out of fear for the safety of herself and her father… and then there was Delilah.  Every step of disobedience hardened his heart, and made him even more susceptible to the next act until he was in full fledged rebellion.  He began to act as though he were master of his strength, instead of realizing that his great strength was given to him by God for Gods’ purposes.  Playing with sin and dancing around the edge of the cliff rebellion, he finally fell in… head first… into the lap of deception.  His is one of the saddest life events in the Bible.  So much potential… wasted.  God protected His people from their adversaries, and the imminent threat to them was vanquished for a season… but Sampson died.  His life serves as a warning to us of the dangers of “playing with fire”, but it also tells us something else… God loves us and we will never find ourselves in a situation where there is no way out.  Take the exit!

… and THAT Beloved is Good News!

U Blessed

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina

“I can’t even walk (without You holding my hand)”, Jesse Dixon

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv6rLqdNDBc

“Shelter”, Jumelle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwt2mSjXxBw

“It ain’t over”, Maurette Brown-Clark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXNhArf-MSk

“um good”, Smokie Norful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lsYUeihV8s

“Guide me oh Thou Great Jehovah”, Rev. Timothy Fleming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEBaCapT-Ls

“A song of strength”, Fred Hammond

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7-XxVJNVHw

King James Version view cartoons in Biblical order Copyright 2009 Michael D. Waters

Thursday, May 26, 2009

After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses My servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

[Joshua 1:1-9]

What Did He Say?

Good Morning Beloved,

God gave Joshua very specific directions didn’t He?  It would be nice if we received direct, step by step instructions from God Himself.  It would be nearly impossible to mess up… right? ()  I love the confirmation Joshua received.  Moses lead a multitude of people out of bondage.  He was their leader for many, many years and they knew that God spoke with him Face to face.  Joshua had assisted Moses for a long time.  He probably didn’t have a clue that God was prepping him to lead these people into the promised land.  He was content to serve Moses and when Moses died… well those were some pretty big shoes to fill.  God had other plans.  He gave Joshua his own ‘shoes’.  I don’t know about you, but I can get really comfortable serving in the ministry of others.  It excites me to see my brothers and sisters in Christ walking in their vision.  I love the theater and when someone asks me to participate I’m there.  However one of my close sisters-in-Christ challenged me one day.  I was telling her about the projects I was working on (three during the same time period), and she quietly said, ‘uh-huh, but what are you doing with the ministry God gave you?’  OUCH! (Thanks Denise) …. That was months ago, but her words grabbed my heart and have not let go.  She was the perfect one to minister to me about this, because she too is a person who loves to push others in ministry. She is always ready to lend a hand wherever she can, but still manages to keep her focus on the vision that God has placed in her care.  She has had her share of Moses-like mentors, and now she is a leader herself in the “Joshua generation”.  She has watched my theater ministry from the very beginning in the ’90′s.  We have spent countless hours talking about what God has placed in our hearts.  How to use what He has given us to uplift the Kingdom.  I believe she feels she has invested too much time and energy in me, to see me put Regal One Productions, Inc. on the shelf, and let it collect dust like a forgotten ‘what-not’.  I am blessed to be encircled by people who are moving forward in what God has placed in their heart.  Am I saying not to work with other ministries?  NOPE.  We all need each other.  I already have projects on my calendar that I can’t wait to dig into.  What I am saying is that we should not use helping others as an excuse not to do what God has told us to do because we’re afraid to do it (long run-on sentence intentional).  What I’m hearing in my spirit, is what God challenged Joshua… ‘Be strong and do it’…. well alrighty then ….

That Fam is Good News!

U Blessed

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina

 ”Anointed”, Eddie Neblett

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

“God Is Here”, performed by K&K Mime

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

“Breakthrough”, Israel & New Breed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVbsab0j3vE

“Nothing To Lose”, The Clark Sisters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4GM–pJr6w

Faith Fuel -Romans 10:17 5 of 123   We need to have faith in God to get us down the highway of life, to the destination that God has planned for us. The Word of God is the fuel that keeps our faith moving along.

Copyright 2009 Michael D. Waters