Brown and White Eagle 

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:30-31

While serving the Lord, has there ever been a time that you needed to stop and rest; or to admonish someone for taking too long to grasp God’s principals; or you allowed your pride to do things that you knew were wrong?  I’m certain the answer to those questions are a “resounding yes”!  Nevertheless, I have another question for you.  Did you know that while in that state of rest, teaching, and self-promoting, you still have an obligation, per scripture, that you must be prepared to meet the needs of other people who may interrupt your schedules?  In fact, it is during those times of sabbatical and renewal that God uses as ‘teachable moments’ for his elect.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SISTER TEACHER?

While re-reading a couple of biblical passages in the Old and New Testament, I saw something anew.  I saw in Numbers 20:1-11 where Moses struck the rock in order to bring forth water for the Israelites instead of speaking to the rock as he and his brother, Aaron, had been directed by God.  Moses missed an incredible teaching moment because of his short temper.  While Aaron watched silently, Moses did not give glory to God.  Sorrowfully, it was this incident that caused Moses and Aaron not to enter the Promise Land.  (Moses was frustrated with the people God had given him to lead, and Moses lashed out at them instead of showing compassion.)

A second example of God providing mankind a teachable moment is found in Mark 6:30-52.  Here we find the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.  When the disciples complained to Jesus that there was no food to feed so many people, Jesus’ response was for the disciples to feed them.  The disciples actually felt like the crowd was intruding on their private time with Jesus.

The disciples had a smart-aleck response: “Should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”  You see, the disciples were jealous because they wanted Jesus all to themselves in a quiet place.  They even asked Jesus to send the people away.  The disciples had not yet learned that even while in a state of rest, followers of Christ have an obligation to meet the needs of other people who may interrupt their schedule.

Jesus used His demonstration of walking on water to show his disciples that even while He was alone and resting on land, He looked out on the sea and saw that the boat that the disciples was in was being battered and tossed to and fro.  Jesus interrupted His rest, walked out on the sea, stepped into the boat and spoke peace to the waters.  Scripture says Jesus did this because the disciples had not understood about the loaves of bread because their hearts were hardened.

If Jesus’ Disciples needed a teachable moment…what about you?

Are you open to God’s correction?  Are you so proud that you believe that you do not make mistakes when it comes to serving God?  Do you allow pride to get in the way of serving God with a pure heart and an upright spirit?

While reading these passages, I was reminded that Saints of God must always remember to put others first.  Sometimes that is hard to do especially when we are tired and weary.  We feel that we deserve some quiet time.  Some time to refresh ourselves.  But be warned.  That may just be the time God wants to grow you and take you higher in His service.  Moses and Aaron failed the test.  Jesus’ disciples failed the test.  (But remember, in these times of teachable moments, no one’s salvation is forfeited.)

Pray and ask God to make you an instrument of His peace.  I’m guilty, too, and must examine myself.  We all fall short sometimes…but we all must get up, too.  Be blessed my child.

Although the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is not Scripture, it is befitting for this blog.  Please read and apply the teaching therein.  Converse with God for a deeper understanding.

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from the Master’s servant manager…ME!   

Ringing In The New Year 2020 With Truth And Determination

Did you know that today, most families in the evangelical communities who have practiced the tradition of keeping and/or making New Year’s resolutions have done so since the early 1700s?  It all started with the ancient Babylonians more than 4,000 years ago, but not in the month of January, as practiced in today’s modern world.  For the Babylonians, the new year began in mid-March.  The timing for this nostalgia is believed to have been approximately 1,500 years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ.

During this festive time, the Babylonians would crown a new king or just reaffirm their loyalty to the reigning monarchy.  History records that they would also make promises to their gods to repay their debts and to return any objects they had borrowed.

Julius Caesar, the emperor of ancient Rome, also instituted a similar practice to honor the new year after he tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year.  This happened about 50 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.  At that time, the new year’s celebration was based on the belief that since Janus, the two-faced god whose spirit inhabited the Roman constituents’ doorways and arches, looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future, they should offer sacrifices to that deity and make promises of their good intentions and conduct for the coming new year.

NOW YOU KNOW!

Fast forward to today’s early Christians.  Especially, in regards to John Wesley, the English clergyman who founded the Methodist religion in 1740.  He created a memorial called the Covenant Renewal Service, which was mostly held on New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Day.  Now, this religious celebration has become very popular within the evangelical and Protestant churches.  Within the African-American churches it is better known as Watch Night.  The services are mostly spent offering up prayers, praises and hymns to the Most High King and just before mid-night, all in attendance fall down on their knees to bring in the new year while making prayers/resolutions of omission and co-mission for the coming year to the Heavenly God.

WHERE DO YOU FIT IN?

Did God actually have a plan for “old time since” or “times gone by”?  That’s what Auld Lang Syne literally means.

LET’S SEE WHAT THE BIBLE HAS TO SAY ABOUT ‘OLD TIME SINCE’ AND ‘TIMES GONE BY’

I’m certain that you can find many more scriptures that instruct us as believers just how to conduct ourselves from day to day as well as from year to year.  But the question is…are we obedient and do we adhere to God’s holy word.  Did you make a New Year’s resolution for 2020?  Did you keep last year’s resolution?  Have you truly been born again?

Okay…those last 3 questions are really none of my business.  I apologize.  However, my last remarks are simply this:  Please do not make a New Year’s Resolution for 2020 if you have no intention on keeping it.  If you do make a resolution, immediately ask the Holy Spirit to help you keep it, in the Name of Jesus Christ.  God will not be mocked!  Have a private conversation with Him and perhaps pray this prayer…

Scripture Lesson:  “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.  Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat of their delicacies.”  Psalm 141:3-4

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from the Master’s servant manager…ME!

Recently, WordPress notified me that John P. Smith, a fellow blogger, was now “following” at http://www.tgifmasterminds.com and that they would receive an email every time I published a post on “Conversations With God Using Scripture”.  WordPress also invited me to go see what they were up to.  So, I did!  I clicked onto Mr. Smith’s post entitled, “Accessing Your Spiritual Guidance”, and boy, oh boy was I truly blessed and enlightened.

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John P. Smith just started following you at http://tgifmasterminds.com. They will receive an email every time you publish a post. Congratulations.

You might want to go see what they’re up to! Perhaps you will like their blog as much as they liked yours!    Accessing Your Spiritual Guidance 

******************************************************************************* Outlined below are the steps the Holy Spirit directed me to follow as I searched the scriptures to confirm without any doubt Mr. Smith’s theory on how a person’s intent frequency can positively or negatively access their spiritual guidance as he reported in his blog entitled “Accessing Your Spiritual Guidance”.  Quoted below is Mr. Smith’s thesis sentence:

“Our intent is the most powerful tool we have for raising our frequency. There are only two possible intents in any given moment: to learn with God/Spirit about loving yourself and others, or to protect against your pain and avoid responsibility for your feelings. When our intent is to protect and avoid we seek to control – through our various addictions – our feelings, others’ feelings and behavior, and the outcome of things. When our intent is to learn, we seek to take responsibility for our own feelings and behavior by discovering what we may be thinking or doing that is unloving to ourselves and others, and what would be loving.

Now the first exercise the Holy Spirited directed me to do was to get my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and look up scriptures with the word “intent” in them. (Intent (n) means:  state of mind; purpose; volition.)

Additional Scripture references of possessing a ‘good intent’ and/or to protect against pain and to control are listed here:  Biblical stories are found in 2 Chronicles 16; Ezekiel 40; Daniel 4; John 11, and 13; Acts 9 and 10; 1 Corinthians 10; Ephesians 3.

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I wish to thank Mr. John P Smith, immensely, for writing his blog on How To Access Your Spiritual Guide.  I encourage everyone to read it in order to gain a deeper understanding of your motives when praying for others and wishing God’s blessing on them.  I am also of the opinion that through Mr. Smith’s revelations from God everyone will want to seek a more genuine relationship with our Lord and to converse with our Heavenly Father more often during our time here on earth.

Thank you once again John, for allowing me to expound on your writing.

Scripture Lesson:  “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.  I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.  They looked unto him, and were lightened:  and their faces were not ashamed.  This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.  O taste and see that the Lord is good:  blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  O fear the Lord, ye his saints:  for there is no want to them that fear him.  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger:  but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.  Come, ye children, hearken unto me:  I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?  Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.”  Psalm 34:3-13

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from the Master’s servant manager…ME!   

With Uplifted Hands And With Shouts Of Joy We Will Praise You, Lord!

A few months ago, a guest minister was invited to speak at my church.  Her message to the awaiting congregation was spirit filled and impacted practically all in attendance as she expounded on effective ways to use God’s holy word when praying specifically for life’s situations.  For surely, as you know, one of the main ways God works in our lives is through praise and worship.

Do you want God to ‘show up’ in due season with HIS answers to your prayers?  Or do you abandon your partitions when you do not receive an instant reply?  Or worst yet…do you commence ‘helping’ God by taking the situation into your own hands?

Well, here is where I share with you a most positive method of how to partition God’s throne  whereby you cannot revoke your prayer request because you are not capable of doing so.  Here is what the visiting itinerant preacher had to say:

Begin your prayer time with God by imploring Him to do something for you as he has already proven he can do through scripture.  Pray the doxology prayer over yourself!

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance towards you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:21.

 When praying and/or conversing with God, make your statement then add one or two of these scriptures, incorporating chapter and verse:

“Dear Jesus, according to Ephesians 1:17, 18 and 19, I sincerely ask that You allow Your blessings to cover me with the spirit of wisdom, the hope of your calling and the exceeding greatness of your power as I attempt to lead your people on this awesome journey to…(name the place or situation here)

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“Dear Heavenly Father, just as it is written in Ephesians 3:16, I beseech Thee to keep me and strengthen me with Thy might and holy spirit and cause me to be routed and grounded in love…as I go forth in Your Name to…(name your situation here)

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“Most Holy and Everlasting Father, just as it is written in 1 Peter 1:4, I humbly approach Your throne to ask You to keep me from the corruption that is in the world through lust and pornography and to keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of Your glory with exceeding joy as it is written in Jude 24.

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Are you getting the picture?  Okay, let’s continue…

Dear Lord, may your face shine upon me as I make your ways not only my ways, but also known upon the earth  as written in Psalms 67:2, and as stated in Daniel 12:3, and help me to turn many to righteousness, with a zeal for good works as so proclaimed in Matthew 5:16.

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Our Father which art in heaven, I come to you today on bended knee asking that you be gracious unto me so that I might receive all that pertains to life and godliness as the one you called the Rock has stated in 2 Peter 1:3.  I truly need your grace and mercy so that I might abound to do every good work and turn sufferings into the power of God’s love  down here on earth as it is in heaven according to 2 Corinthians 9:8 and 12-9.

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Dear Jesus, it is my everlasting desire that I may have fullness of joy in Your presence as recorded in Psalm 16:11 and that my total being may reflect Your countenance and magnificent glory just as it is written in 2 Corinthians 3:7, and that You will shower me with good things so that I might bring gladness to those Whom You have assigned to my hands and that You and You alone might be glorified in accordance to Psalm 4:6 and 7.

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Without a doubt, Heavenly Father, You are my Way-maker, my Peace as I am yoked to Your Son, Jesus Christ, just as it says in Matthew 11:29.  Because Your peace surpasses human understanding and overcomes all human fears as recorded in Romans 5:1 and John 14:27.  I pray this prayer in the precious Name of Jesus our Lord, Amen

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Okay, no doubt, some of you are thinking this method of praying is too hard for me.  I wont ever be able to remember which scripture matches which prayer request.  So, let me put your mind at ease.  Just take one suggested prayer request that best suits you.  Make your partition, short, sweet and sincere.   Pray this same prayer for 3 days.  You will be surprised just how much your brain (mind) can comprehend.  You will have it memorized in less than 3 days.  TRY IT…YOU”ll like it!

After mastering that conversation with God…try another one.  Keep this up for just 3 weeks and you will be armed with an arsenal of scriptures, an inspiring testimony that you can share and teach to others and a whole new way to converse and pray to God.

(And don’t forget to always give God all the praise, all the honor and all the glory.)  Amen!

Billy Graham once said: “God gave us the Bible, His Word, so that we may hear from Him. So that we can be challenged. So that we can be encouraged. So that we can be changed. Hebrews 4:12 is one of several passages in the Bible that explains the power of God’s Word.”

Scripture Lesson:  “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from the Master’s servant manager…ME!   

Extend a Helping Hand – Pay It Forward

I learned something today.  It was amazing.  I had never thought of this ‘truth’ before.  This new eye-opening and informative statement caused me to wonder if others had somehow missed this fact, too.  Here it is…

“When the average person becomes a Christian, he or she is not necessarily thinking “horizontally” about what just happened–that they have agreed to be adopted into a new family of people.  Instead, they are usually thinking “vertically”—that is, looking upward towards a new-found relationship with the Almighty God and Jesus Christ.”

What is not realized at the outset is the fact that the Kingdom of God is like a composite of family members.  And that God ordained the creation of a new family community right here on earth made up with those who have become his followers–in the horizontal atmosphere.  Basically, the walls that contain the family is called the church; and the place without walls is the heart of the confessed believer.

ISN’T THAT GOOD NEWS!

Jesus’ first group of followers were also a community.  Better known as the 12 disciples or apostles, this group of men were all baptized, ate and prayed together, performed wonders and signs, and ministered to the people. (Acts 2:41-47)

What about you? 

Since your conversion, have you been responsible in introducing someone else to Christ?  I asked myself this question and without much hesitation, could recall several opportunities where the Holy Spirit had given me the unction to approach total strangers.

Once when I was eating alone in a restaurant, I noticed a young lady also eating alone seated not too far from me.  After a while, I introduced myself and invited her to join me.  I learned she had just relocated to my city and was looking for a new beginning.  What an opportunity to inquire if she was also looking for a new place of worship.  The conversation proceeded from there and ultimately, she became a member of my church.  The rest is history.

Last week I celebrated a milestone birthday with a grand party with a host of family and friends.  After reading an article in the AARP monthly magazine, I followed suit on what a reader and contributor to the magazine had done.  I read where she had given a sum of money to each party participant and had asked them to pay it forward.  As a result, she had received feedback from some of her guests with inspiring stories of gratitude.  I decided to do the same thing.

Since I had more than 80 party goers, I only gave each one a dollar and asked them to add to it if they so desired, but to pass it on by paying it forwarded with a blessing that God would be glorified.  For me, that turned out to be the highlight of my birthday bash.

You know, the older I get, the easier it becomes for me to keep the faith, to defuse doubt, to trust God, to entertain strangers, to find time to meditate, and to visit the doctors with reassurance that God’s got it!  So, in all of my getting, I am striving to get an understanding in the things of God that will bless his people in their going out and coming in.  My true desire is to pay it forward!  Amen!

Lord, Lest I forget, Lead me to Calvary….