Have you lost anything in 2020?

After my double mastectomy surgery…

In 2020, I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. I lost my breast, but God gave me life!

It has been years since I have posted a blog. I have gone through both heart ache and enormous joy all within the past few years, but I still have hope! I lost a husband, had two miscarriages, and as we all have, I have lost freedom to just do “life” as I use to, but can I tell you I have gained it all back!

I’ve remarried. I’ve had a beautiful baby boy. I’ve found more life and rest in the last year than in years before, in spite of the circumstances I have faced.

Likewise, COVID, or other things, may have caused many of you to lose a lot, but I have good news. Jesus is going to do something new in our lives that will make us feel as if we gained what we thought we lost!

The past year has been nothing like we’ve ever seen before. For some of us, it gave us a place of rest and allowed us to renew our thinking and get back to the things that really matter like our health and spending time at home with our families. While for others, the loss associated with 2020, has brought enormous pain and void.

For some we learned to value our friendships and relationships that much more. When things we take for granted are taken away we see the value for what it truly is.

How many of you saw the value in Jesus more this year? There is one relationship that we have either clung to or ignored before COVID-19, and it is the one we have with the Son of God. But today, we have brand new perspective and hope!

Kenita Smith

There’s a story in Joel 2 that reminds me of what this last year has been like. The people of Judah had gone through some hard times, they were in another wilderness like state, but God sent them a message and told them everything was going to be alright. He was telling the people to not be afraid because the pastures in the wilderness are turning green.

Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.

Joel 2:22

Photo by u00c1kos Szabu00f3 on Pexels.com

I am writing to encourage you. The Bible tells us that things will happen in the world, but those of us in Jesus can be of good cheer because He overcame all that we will face. Different strands of COVID may come, other illnesses, more disasters even, but in the midst of all of that we have a relationship that is important. A Father in Heaven that cares about us and will finish what He began in us.

Joel told the people to look forward to restoration in faith even before they see it. Joel was speaking what could not be seen in the natural, but His eyes had been opened spiritually. I write to encourage you. Your outcome will be greater than what you expected!

I know the events of this past year caught you off guard, but there is still more for you to hope in because you are still here!

You may be in a wilderness state where everything is drying up, but the low hanging carrot is dangling in front of your face to reveal to you that in Jesus there is a promise. The wilderness is becoming green. It will not stay dry forever. See your trees bearing fruit. All of your hard work will pay off. Your work is not in vain and your tree is not barren. But you will see the fruit of your labor.

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

Joel 2:23

Since there was no irrigation system in the times of old the people had to water their crops with the rain and there were two great seasons of watering, the autumn and spring.

But in this prophecy God was saying that He’s going to give the people what was held up the former and the later all in the same month!

What has been held up, will be released. This may not be true for the wicked, but it’s true for those of you who have NOT turned away from your Father in Heaven. “When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.” (Psalms 84:6-7)

You have something to look forward to. “Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” (Isaiah 61:7, NLT)

The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

Joel 2:24

Metaphorically speaking, people equate the threshing floor to a trial because of the process of separating what’s real from what’s fake, but it is actually a place of blessing because it is where you receive the blessing that comes out of the mess…the trial…the hurt. The threshing floor is a flat and hard place. It is uncomfortable, but it’s a place of identity.

It yields an increase (Numbers 18:30) and you will find when this “season” is over that your floors shall be full of wheat and new wine and oil…which means fresh anointing. It won’t be what you had, it will be what has been added unto you! It will be the Lord’s restoration!

• “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” (Psalms 84:11, NLT)

What you lost will be restored!

You can’t physically get time back, but it will feel like you have because God will restore the fruit that was lost to the things that overwhelmed you, kept coming at you, stripped you, or grew you, and give what you lost in this season as if you never lost it.

“The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts (overwhelming), the hopping locusts (nonstop and very active), the stripping locusts (stripping you of what you have and leaving you bare), and the cutting locusts (pruning).” (Joel 2:25, NLT)

And when it is all said and done, you will know that He is God! “We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.”(Psalms 66:12, NLT)

Have a blessed week and know that you are loved by God and there’s nothing you can do to change that!

It’s all coming back to you!

It’s been two years since my last post, and I’m sure I have COVID19 to thank for my ability to write today.

In January of 2018, I told you all how I was so happy to be in a process of restoration after having battled cancer and losing my late husband in 2016. Well, today I am remarried, a new mommy to a four-month-old, and living in my very first owned home! I have truly been restored in many ways and blessed beyond what I could have imagined.

Did I do anything to deserve this, NO. I just chose to believe that my Father in heaven desired to restore me and would. And guess what? He did.

As I was sitting enjoying one of the many perks of COVID19 living, online church service, I saw a vision of a boomerang, and I heard the Spirit of the Lord say, “it’s all coming back to you!” Immediately, I began to get excited because if you are familiar with my blog, or know me personally, you know that I am a giver. I LOVE to give! In fact, one of the things that made me happiest in my worst times was giving. 

It’s interesting how life throws curve balls, but we have a choice in how we can handle those times. We can wallow in despair or be lifted up!

Did you know that all boomerangs don’t return to you, but the ones that do have a curve-shaped path that allows the boomerang to respond to the air by lifting itself in a manner that brings it back? There are some seeds you plant that aren’t meant to come back because they are meant to accomplish what they were planted for in someone else and it will be watered by others, but there are other seeds that come back and when they do it’s usually multiplied.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7, ESV)

I stopped my workday to take a break and tell you that all of the sleepless nights, worrying moments, hard work days, grief-struck days, and obstacle field years have served a purpose. Life may have thrown you a curve many times, but TODAY those seeds you’ve planted (whether talent, money, time, encouragement, etc.) are coming back to you! God has heard you and He has seen all you have gone through. You’re reaping time is NOW.

Enjoy your day knowing that God has your front and your back!

Out of the Valley

Hi Pearls for Pigs Blog Family,

It has been a while since I’ve blogged. Not because I haven’t desired to, but because for the past year and a half I have been trying to balance my life, after losing my husband to bladder cancer in 2016.

Having fought cancer with my husband for almost every year of my seven-year marriage, I realize what it is to be in the valley. As a Christian, the term “valley” is a common one, it usually describes some kind of trial, and a word read throughout the Bible. However, no one really embraces it while in the mist of it.

Yet, if you are in the valley today, I want to encourage you that there is good news! Although things are rough now, you are in a good place because in the valley God is close!

Yes, you read that correctly. I’ll rewrite it, “in the valley, God is close!”

Even more so, you have a lot to look forward to! Why do I believe that, you ask? Because the Bible gives many examples of the benefits of the valley and the process of RESTORATION!

Yes! You, my friend, are going through to be brought into your GREATER! Look at Hosea chapter 2.

God considered Israel to be adulterous, putting all of their faith in everything, but Him. Are you guilty of that? Living the good life, and then forgetting about God until the trial comes?

God told the prophet Hosea that the Israelites were putting on their earrings and jewelry getting dressed up for their lovers, but forgetting about Him (Hosea 2:13).

Wow! How often do we do this? We give everything and everyone our time, but God. Forgetting who our source and prosperity truly comes from.

But even though the Israelites were guilty of this, God allowed them to go through a wilderness season. He called it the Valley of Achor (trouble) to restore them back to Him.

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.”

God brought them to, not to condemn them, but to give them hope. A hope that can’t be denied, and can’t be satisfied by any other gods we put before the one and only true God.

In the valley we may lose our hope, joy, provision, and become unfruitful from all the grieve we feel, but one thing is for certain God’s mercy endures forever!

If you are in a rough place right now, God is still with you. He’s close…comforting you and trying to restore you to right relationship with Him so that you may prosper and grow from this experience.

Yes, it may be painful and almost unbearable. Believe me I know, but there should be a comfort in knowing that God has good plans for you. Plans to restore you, to help you, to give you a new joy, provide for you, and give you more than you could have ever imagined both physically and spiritually.

God is not done with you yet, and you will be the last one laughing! I look forward to encouraging you more and writing again.

With Love!

God can change your situation in seconds…

It’s been a while since I’ve written. My life has had some pretty hard turns since the last post you’ve read. For those that are familiar with my blog, you know that my husband is battling Stage 4 Bladder Cancer that has spread to his lungs, and one day before Thanksgiving we found out it spread to his liver. To say that my family was devastated is an understatement because we were expecting a good report.

We just had a CT scan which revealed that the tumors in his pelvic area were shrinking and the ones in his lungs were as well. However, they showed two dense spots on the liver that they wanted to check. Yet, they didn’t believe the cancer had spread because they said it was rare to see shrinkage in one area and growth in another area. My husband had gained all of his weight back and he looked really good. We were unprepared for a bad report.

But something amazing happened the next day….

When we woke up, my youngest boy (who is ten) said to me and my husband, “you know what I am most thankful for?” I asked, “What?” He said, “You guys’ strength!” And then all three boys began to tell us what they were thankful for. It was in that moment that I realized the power of prayer and the faithfulness that God continues to show our family. We celebrated our Thanksgiving with smiles, laughter, family, and fun.

We decided as a family that we aren’t going to allow the doctor’s report to dictate what we believe for our lives. As I sought to encourage myself, I was lead to 2 Kings 7. It is a wonderful story about God changing things in a matter of hours!

In the story, Israel was in a war and famine. The king sought Elisha for a Word. Elisha told the king that this time tomorrow food will be selling for one piece of silver (2 Kings 7:1). The king’s officer found it hard to believe because of what things looked like. He said, “That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!” (2 Kings 7:2, NLT) Elisha reinforced that the Word will definitely come to pass, and the officer will see it, but he will not be able to eat any of it.

The chapter goes on to talk about four men with leprosy that were outside of Israel’s gates. They assumed that their fate was death and were waiting at the gates to die. In their eyes they had one of two choices- to starve to death or to turn themselves into the enemy who was planning a war with Israel. They decided to do the later and turn themselves in to the Aramean army, whom the city was at war with (2 King 7:4).

As they prepared to go into the enemy’s camp, God was working behind the scenes. God caused the Aramean’s to hear horses and chariots coming. Because of this, they fled for their lives and left all of their goods and belongings (2 Kings 7:6).

When the lepers arrived the camp was deserted and an abundance of food, gold, silver, and goods were left behind. They were EXCITED and began to enjoy the spoils. As they were celebrating, they realized their blessings were too good to keep to themselves so they went to share it with Israel and the King. And it just so happen that things occurred just as Elisha said it would, at that time the next day food sold for a piece of silver, and the king’s officer didn’t eat any of it because he was trampled by the stampede of people trying to get to the goods at the gate (2 Kings 7:8-17).

What’s the moral of the story?

The moral is GOD CAN CHANGE YOUR SITUATION AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT! It didn’t look as if the end was going to be well for the four lepers or Israel, but God was working behind the scenes to bring His Word to pass!

What has God spoken over your life? Has He given you a Word for your situation, but things don’t look like they’re going to work out that way? Remind Him of His Word and believe! The Word of the Lord is SURE and it MUST come to pass! Don’t be like the king’s officer and miss out on the blessing because of doubt.

Things didn’t look good for the lepers. They tried to make their own way, but God had a plan for them.

I believe that God has a plan for you too; a plan to prosper you, not to harm you, and a plan to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

God gave our family a right now Word from a prophet none of us knew. He called my husband by name (in which we never gave) and told us that God is going to do a miracle in my husband. Everything around us looks different from that Word; in fact, things get worse with every report, but we have a choice. We can believe the doctor’s report, or we can believe God’s report.

WE BELIEVE GOD! Will you?

We Have Property Rights: Full Restoration

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guiltiness on his account. But if the sun has risen on him, there will be blood guiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.” (Exodus 22:1-4)

They say you reach the most people when you write out of your pain. I have endured a lot of things with my husband being ill and walking in my calling. Yet, I continue to press towards the mark of the high calling that is Christ Jesus. And like many of you, I have sometimes cried myself to sleep wondering when this season will be over. But there is one thing that has kept me, and I believe David said it best.

I would have fainted, had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! (Psalms 27:13)

I received a mailing from Joseph Prince the other day and it talked about restoration, and how when God restores, He restores double! He referenced Exodus 22:1-4, and I love how it showed the restitution of God.

You see the enemy may think he has stolen your peace, your joy, your health, or your family, but for the children of God, you don’t have to give it to him, but if he does take it…he can’t keep it! He has to give it all back! And not only does he have to give it back, but God is going to give you beauty for ashes and restore you in double!

He did it for Job, Joseph, David, and others in the Bible. He will, and has done it for you. The Bible says in Joel 2:25 that He will give us back the years lost to the locus and the cankerworm. And I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to my double portion.

There is a gospel song that says, you have to have a made up mind; well, I have made up my mind to believe that God has restored my household, my husband, our finances, my joy, and everything else that this situation has tried to take from me. Yes, some days I may get sad, but I have realized that I walk in greater victory (even in my weak moments) because that is when God is strongest in my life.

I encourage you today, to know that the enemy has no rights to your stuff! The desires of your heart will be fulfilled and it will be fulfilled in great magnitudes. God is not done with you yet. Your story is greater than the trials of today. You can make it!

When you come out on the other side of through, you will be richer (spiritually and physically) than ever before. You may not understand why you have to go down the path you are on, and it may be despicable, but Jesus is with you. He is birthing in you a mighty testimony that will attract souls to Him!

So endure till the end, keep pressing, and move forward. Your future has an expectant hope and you will be fully restored!

No More Delay!

Hey Readers!

Have you ever felt like God wasn’t listening to your prayers? Well, so did Job! In Job 21, he talked with some of his very insightful, but completely off based friends, about the incredible storm he was in, and he says to them his problem is not with man, but with God!

Woe! What a thing to profess. In fact, he said in verse 5-6 that it even stunned and scared him to say such a thing. His complaint was that the wicked seemed to prosper, while he suffered enormously.

In preparing for my first sermon in a few weeks, I heard the Holy Spirit saying that many people’s hearts felt the exact same way. You wondered where was God at in your situation? Why has he not answered my prayers, while everyone who has no reference for Him seems to prosper?

God indeed has an answer! It has always been his answer. Are you ready for it? “Those who accept my commands and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and REVEAL myself to each of them.”(John 14:21, NLT)

Regardless of what you may be going through, if you have a relationship with God, He will reveal Himself to you and you are not alone!

You may be saying, that you are loosing heart because you have been waiting so long. My answer to that is, prayer is hard work for those who are broken. When the answer seems delayed, it hurts and we can lose confidence; which can cause us to question the power of our prayers.

However, prayer is powerful, and the enemies strategy is to cause you to doubt what God said is true. There is a story in the Bible that exemplifies what we must do in situations like this. BE PERSISTENT!

Parable of the Persistent Widow:

“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8, KJV)

If an unjust judge can render a just decision, than cant our caring and loving Father react to our persistent faith? God will reveal himself to those who love Him, and Yes! He WILL show up for you!

Reveal in the Greek is emphazino…. Emphazino= is a verb that means fully manifest. It is future tense, voice is active, and mood is indicative. It occurs 814 times in the New Testament (verb).

Future tense= certain occurrence of an event which has not yet happened (faith).

Active voice= represents the subject as the doer or performer of the action.

Mood indicative= simple statement of fact. If an action really occurs, has occurred, or will occur it will be rendered in that mood.

Jesus is the ultimate means through which God reveals Himself! According to the definitions above, Jesus is certain to show up, He will perform the action you ask for (you just have to give it to Him), and that is just fact!

In other words…Jesus is the conduit through which God will reveal himself and He is THE PROMISE!  We can’t be deceived by what Jesus says, so if He said it, than it is fact (as mentioned above) therefore what Jesus reveals to us is the promise, and the promise is received by faith! (Romans 5:16, NLT)

God hears your cries, and He hurts just like you do. The Bible says “in all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” (Isaiah 63:9, KJV)

The difference between that judge and our judge is that God is not annoyed by our request, nor is He waiting for someone to get on His nerves before He brings about justice.

“And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He [a]defer them and [b]delay help on their behalf?” (Luke 18:7, AMP)

You can receive the promise!

God’s promise is for you, even if you mess up sometimes. “If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.”(Romans 5:14,NLT)

it is our gift and only obtained by faith. “Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.” (Romans 3:27, NLT)

Therefore, be encouraged and don’t lose faith in what you are believing God for. Faith brings joy, loosing heart brings despair. There is greater for you, and you WILL have it. Be persistent and watch God reveal His glory in your life!

Word of encouragement: Everything doesn’t happen instantly.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” (Proverbs 13:12)

That scripture sums up the pain you experience when you want something to happen so bad, but you don’t see the manifestation of what you hope for quickly. I could imagine many of you may be experiencing that right now. Maybe there is a job you desire, a spouse you’ve prayed for, healing, children, etc…whatever it is, waiting is hard!

Some of you may have read my previous posts about how I have been waiting for complete healing to manifest in my husband from bladder cancer. We are now at a crossroads where all we can do is trust God. They want to perform a 6 hour surgery on him to remove his bladder, in which we will have to spend 7-10 days in the hospital and 4-6 weeks recovering at home.

What’s so bad about that, you may ask? At least it’s not terminal.

I’ll answer. For the past several months, I have been believing God for no surgery and His ultimate healing. I know that healing can come through traditional medicine, but as a young wife (only married for 5 years), that’s not my desire for my husband, or our marriage. I have learned to accept whatever God’s will is, BUT I still hope for the things I desire.

However, God has a way of getting our attention to help us understand His ways, and a few mornings ago He did just that. He helped me to see that just because it doesn’t happen instantly doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

My husband was experiencing a lot of pain a few nights ago, so I laid my hands on his abdomen and held it while I prayed silently.

I prayed over and over again for pain to leave him. At first, it seemed like my prayer was not working because he was still obviously in a lot of pain. I went to bed discouraged, thinking my prayer didn’t work…was it my faith?

I woke up the next morning, and my husband hugged me. He said, “Thank you for laying your hands on me. I don’t know what you did, it didn’t happen instantly, but I feel better today! “

You see, I went to bed with a hurting heart because I thought my hope had been deferred. But what God showed me in that very moment was that my prayers were being answered, just not instantly. God’s delay was not a denial, but He was working out a process so that my faith could be strengthened.

The morale of the story for me was not to doubt the power of prayer! Just because I don’t see things come to pass instantly, doesn’t mean it will not happen!

What are you believing God for today? Have you given up hope because it hasn’t happened yet? Don’t give up on God! He knows that hope deferred makes the heart sick, but He also knows just what you need to build your faith even stronger than what it is today. Stay encouraged! God is working it out. There will be a good getting up morning, and you will see it!

God bless you all!

The Art of Love!

“If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” (1 Corinthian 13:3, NLT)

Love is an attribute from God that gets over looked in the body of Christ, by sometimes even the most gifted servants of Christ. The Bible says that love is supposed to be what sets us apart from every other religion in the world that is defined by works, judgment, and discipline.

God’s love is totally different from the world’s love. His love is selfless and shown outward towards others. The world’s love reflects on an inward “feeling” usually conditional and short lived. His love goes against our natural instincts and is usually unobtainable unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and focused on carrying out God’s will towards others.

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church because they had forgotten the importance and significance of love. They had all of these great, powerful, and gifted leaders; but love was not a common practice within their flock.

What would giving and serving really do for you if there was not any love behind it?

Paul wanted the church to understand and know that love is what makes our actions and gifts useful. In fact great acts, services, and miracles have little effect without love.

Have you ever encountered someone that wasn’t very genuine in their desires to do something for you or be there for you? Without love, a person’s motives are questionable and perceived upon as manipulative, selfish, or alternative. In other words, their actions aren’t geared towards you or God, they’re geared towards themselves.

Paul gives instruction on what love looks like, but as we look at these examples of love; I want us to look at three things. 1) How we love others? 2) How we love ourselves? 3) How we love our God?

Love is patient: How patient are we with others? Ourselves? God?

When going through hard trials are you passively affected, or do you take all of your frustrations out on those closest to you? Maybe you’re one of those people that keep everything inside, so although you don’t lash out at others, you beat up on yourself.

Are you bearing these pains without fretfulness, or are you murmuring and anxiously waiting on God to fix it having no regard for God’s plan?

God’s love is patient. He gives us plenty of time to mess up and make things right again. He is patient with our flaws and our mistakes.

Love is kind: How kind are you to others? Yourself? God?

Bickering and being combative is not of God, it is a tool of the enemy to cause division among those that God calls to have unity. This may be easy to do with those whom you like, but do you have anything good to say about those who may get on your nerves? What about when you fall short of your own expectations; what kind of “self-talk” are you having? And what about when God doesn’t deliver things “your way”; what kind of conversations are you having with Him? Are you kind (showing tenderness and goodness to others, yourself, and God)?

Love does not envy: Have you been jealous of another’s gifts, testimony, or life? That’s not showing love to that person, God, or yourself. It tells yourself that your gifts, testimonies, and life is not good enough, and it tells God that what He created in you doesn’t compare to another individual.

Love does not boast & is not proud: when we are in Christ Jesus, the true source of anything we have is in Him. Therefore, if we are pumping ourselves up in pride bragging on things we truly weren’t able to accomplish on our own, we aren’t acting in love towards others because we’re throwing accomplishments that they may not have achieved in their faces. We’re certainly not showing love to ourselves, because we’re painting an illusion of ourselves that can certainly hurt us latter, and we aren’t loving God by taking His Glory.

Love is not rude or self-seeking: If we are seeking after God, and God is love, then our desires should be His desires and there should be nothing we seek for selfish gain.

Love is not easily angered (irritable): Most of the time when we are irritated with others, we’re really irritated with imperfection. We put this enormous pressure on others and ourselves to be something that we, or they, will never be…perfect. There was only one man that was perfect on this earth, and that is Jesus. Perfection is within God only.

Love keeps no record of wrong: If you’re keeping tabs of every time your spouse, friends, or family members, have offended you, made a mistake, or hurt you; you are not acting in love. God is able to forgive our sin and erase our wrongs because He is love. If He can bestow grace and mercy on us (and those who have wronged you if they are a believer), then you can certainly forgive and forget.

Love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, & never fails: Think of your children…no matter what they do, how angry they make you, what they say….you will protect them at all costs, you give them opportunity to gain your trust (if they’ve lost it), you never lose hope in them, and your love never fades. That is the love that God expects us to show others, ourselves, and Him regardless of what is done, what we face, and how we feel.

Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message; hope is the attitude and focus of His message; and love is the action of His message.

How well are we loving?

Something Real!

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2

Today I want to present you with something real!

I’m not interested in teaching you how to attempt to manipulate God with scripture to get Him to act on your behalf according to your will! I’m not interested in telling you how to get rich quick off of a $1,000 seed, or selling you a miracle prayer cloth or vial of water; but what I am interested in… is telling you about the fullness of Jesus and how He is the end all to all of your hurt, all of your pain, all of your struggle, all of your iniquity, all of your anger, all of your sorrow, all of your agony, and all of your bondage.

When Jesus died; He bore ALL things. The cross for the believer is a point of deliverance. “But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5)

(Eph. 2:13) “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

Being made whole is not just a physical healing…being made whole is healing emotionally, healing physically, and healing spiritually.

There is an old hymn that says “at the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burdens of my heart rolled away! It was then by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day!”

Why is the author of the song happy? He is happy because he realized that in Christ Jesus he is made whole. That when He believed and had faith that Christ died for him, He realized the Lord’s love for him and it was at that moment that he was no longer a slave to his sin, bondage, or brokenness. That it was in Christ Jesus that ALL of His needs were met. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19) The scripture wasn’t talking about material gain. It was talking about Jesus…Jesus being everything that we need. In Him we have it all. In Him we are set free. In Him we are made whole.

How does that heal my hurt? How does that heal my pain? How does that deliver me from all that is going on around me? …..Perfect love HEALS all things! We’re not talking about man’s love; we’re talking about Agape love (admiration, affinity, affection, communion, amazed, authentic, unadulterated, unconditional, overwhelming love), and when you can visualize what Jesus’ crucifixion has really afforded you and the love that God has for His children….you can walk in healing of any sort because you understand His love and once you understand His love you can start to see that He is love and verses like John 3:16 start to become alive to you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” You start to see that this whole thing started out of God’s love for His children, and as you reach for Him you reach for His love…and in seeking Him and abiding in Him healing occurs.

You may ask how can I receive this when I am hurting right now today & scripture just is not comforting me? I’m tired of people saying “no weapon formed” and quoting scripture when I live in today and nothing around me is changing.

You receive it by BELIEVING…believing that He is!

If you can believe that God is real and He sent His son, who is also real, who died and took on everything because He loved me and His love is real…..Then, you can receive Him and His love, BY FAITH, and if you can receive Him and His love then you can receive healing in your mind, body, and soul.

And that’s what I come to do today. I come to supply you with something real for all that you’re going through! I come to point you to Jesus! He is the supplier of all of your need.

Does this mean that you won’t hurt after you come to accept Him, or that you won’t experience illness? No! (John 16:33) “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

In other words you may go through some things, but you don’t have to be trapped in bondage from your circumstance. That in Him you can overcome all things because he has already overcome the world. However, while you’re going through you will remember Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” In other words he’s saying, That in this world you may go through some things, but don’t let it allow you to neglect my love for you because I know how I feel about you and I have a future for you and in knowing that  you should have hope!

That although you’re going through, Isaiah 61:3 is the loving Father I am.  I plan …“To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

That (Isaiah 61:7) “Instead of your shame [you shall have] double [honor], And [instead of] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs [yours].”

(John 15:9) “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (John 15:7) “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

In His Word He said lay your burdens down “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mat. 11:29) In other words, let me handle all your cares today…let me heal all your hurts and right all your wrongs. BELIEVE that I am!

God Is Not a Liar!

“…Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.” “(Romans 3:4 NLT)

How many of us have struggled with God’s promises and His truth? The Bible is filled with examples of people that have, in their human nature, questioned God’s Word and prophetic promises. Zechariah questioned God, when God sent the angle to tell him of his prayer being answered regarding a son promised to him and his barren wife. Sarah questioned God when news that she would bear a child in old age. Jeremiah questioned God when people mocked him, but he knew God told him he was a prophet called according to His purpose. 

I, too, have sometimes found myself questioning the very promises of God in my own life; but there is one thing I have grown to learn in this daily process of dying to self, is that God is not a liar!

I have had to remind myself that God is not like any human creature that has the ability to let you down. He is not my earthly father, mother, sibling, or earthly friend. He is the Lord, my God, holy and most high. His love and compassion for me far outweighs that of this world. 

He has no desire to hurt us, disappoint us, or cause us pain. I have learned not to compare Him to any of your human relationships, but to remember who God is and who He has been in my life.

It is important, as believers, to know that we CAN trust God!

His Word is true and His promises are true. He says….

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalms 37:4, KJV)

Now does this mean that if we are in Him anything we want we can have? NO! What it means is as we are in Christ Jesus we should be desiring to line up with His will for our life’s, and as we do this God will place desires in our hearts that He will provide for us!

 

Think back, has there ever been a time you were in His will and He let you down? If there is anyone who has been unfaithful in our relationship with God, it is us; not Him. Our Word and intentions cannot be trusted, but His Holy Spirit gives us the power & ability to stand on His Word & believe in faith.

Therefore, if you’re standing in need of a breakthrough today, I encourage you to trust Him. It doesn’t matter if no one has ever done right by you, believe that He WILL… if you give Him the chance. Ask God to help your unbelief & watch the power of God flow in your life. God is able!