8/19/2018 1 Comment That "L" Word"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 (NLT) Let's talk about LOVE! I know what you are saying, Tamika, love, that is easier said than done! Or, it is only easy to love when everything makes sense, when people are nice to us and everything goes our way. But the truth is that is NOT love, that is an ACT! And we can be great actors! Love is, still being kind when you have a boss constantly working against you or when you are patient with that person that is constantly tearing you down! That is love! Love is loving when it is hard and when it is messy! Love was never said to be easy but it was always said to be necessary! The Bible reminds us that love is UNCONDITIONAL. That mean's that NO condition will change the love that you have. And while it is hard, Jesus does it for us every day! I mean we make mistakes, we fall short, we do not listen, we turn or backs from God, but yet he still loves us. He loves us so much that he died on a cross for us before we were even alive. I mean what kind of love is that? Unconditional love! I know you are probably thinking, but I am not Jesus! And while that is true, that does not mean that you should not be striving daily to love as Jesus loves. Each and everyday on this earth we are given opportunity to be more like Christ, even in the hard areas, the areas like love! When we love we are not simply showing who we are but we are showing who Christ is. So today I encourage you in the hard times, LOVE! Even when it is messy and when it does not make sense. Let love lead and let LOVE WIN!
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8/12/2018 0 Comments Opposition Creates Opportunity"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity" Sun-Tzu Life comes at us fast, and believe it or not; we often find ourselves facing more opposition than opportunity. Everything is pulling us in every direction but in the direction that we want to go. While we often see the face of opposition as a limit, it is not. The thing about facing opposition is you have to learn how to make it work for you. Challenges provide us the ability to grow. If you were never in that toxic relationship, you would have never developed standards for your future spouse. And if you were never in piles of debt, you would have never learned how to save, budget and create financial independence. Creating opportunity starts with re-evaluating what you see as a setback and developing a plan to build opportunity. Understand that these things give you a chance to grow in your relationship with God. The things that you face are meant to draw you closer to God. When we get closer to God, our lives begin to change, which allows our lives to be examples to help impact a change in others. Creating opportunity may be something as small as being kind to someone who is mean to you. Maybe it's you giving you last dollar to a homeless person on the corner, and reminding them that God loves them. When you allow yourself to be open to seeing opportunity, you allow God to move in your situation. This week, I want to encourage you to stop looking at your oppositions as problems and take time to discover the opportunity they create. And remember, oppositions will come but how we handle it can change! Stop looking at your oppositions as problems and start looking at them as opportunities to do and be greater! 8/5/2018 0 Comments The Perfection In ImperfectionCan I be real for a minute? Sometimes when I sit and think about the things God has called me to and the places he is taking me, I find myself fearful. I find myself scared because I am not perfect. I mean I mess up, I fall short, I make mistakes, and most days I feel unworthy of the call. Although I have battled with these feelings quite a lot, I have also discovered the beauty in my imperfections. Through my flaws, God has shown me his perfect love, and while I am not perfect, he is. You see God reminded me that he never called me to be perfect; he simply called me to lean on him. While it is easy to feel alone in falling short, the truth is, many of us fight this feeling at some point or another. Many of us go day to day striving to be perfect in the eyes of God yet feeling less than when we fall short. But today, I want to remind you, that your walk with Christ is not about being perfect; it is about learning on he who is perfect. We must understand that this perfection syndrome is something that does not come from God, it starts with us. We feel pressured by things and people to do and be more. The beautiful thing is that perfection is not a requirement from God. When we realize this, we can rest in knowing that the pressure of perfection we place on ourselves, does not have to rule over our lives. The bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (KJV). And if we ALL fall short, God knew we would ALL fall short, and he chose to love and use us anyways. If you are struggling with feeling like you have to be perfect, know that you are lot alone. When you find yourself in the struggle, remind yourself who is in charge and rest in knowing that he who is in charge is the only perfect one! Friend, today I want to encourage you to stop striving to be perfect and to start working to be more like Christ. Your imperfections are the very thing that make you perfect for what God is calling you to!
7/29/2018 0 Comments Not Your BurdenCome unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 It does not matter who you are, where you are from, or what your status is, none of us are exempt from the burdens of everyday life. Part of being human is having a life that consists of problems and issues. While our problems may seem to be the driving force in our lives, the Bible reminds us that our issues do not have to control us. God gives us the opportunity to lay our problems down at his feet and rest in knowing that he is in control.
In Matthew 11:28-30, the Bible reminds us that the heavy loads that we face are not ours to carry. God is willing to exchange the burden that you carry for his rest! Remaining in control of our problems can seem so much easier, but the truth is, there is such a beauty in resting in the fact that God is in control. You know you could worry about your problems, but you chose not to because you know someone bigger and greater than you is in control. Isn't that amazing? So my brother, my sister, today I want to encourage you to rest!! I know it doesn't sound easy, I know it doesn't sound like your norm, but why carry these loads when you do not have to? Learn to rest in knowing that the God of this world loves you so much and he has his hand over you and your situation. Every anxiety, every worry, every fear, place them at God's feet, and watch him work it out. Stop carrying the unnecessary and start resting in God's promises. It is not your burden to carry... 7/22/2018 0 Comments Drop Your Nets"And Jesus, waking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a new into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed him" Matthew 4: 18-20 In life, we find ourselves comfortable with familiar. We love the job, the car, the house, and oddly enough we are okay with having doubts and fears too. But what about the times when God calls us to leave the things that make us feel comfortable and tell us to follow him? In this text, Peter and Andrew were busy and caught up in their familiar everyday life, yet when Jesus called them, they dropped everything and followed. While it may seem like for the disciples it was a easy decision, it is not always that easy for us. We hear about God and who he is but following him is an entirely different story. We hide behind what we know because we fear what may happen if God sees who we are. Here is a newsflash: God already knows who you are, he knows your issues, and he loves you ANYWAYS! And because he loves you, he wants you to live a life beyond your nets. We must get to a place where we realize that our nets are limiting us and God is moving us beyond. Stop allowing your nets to define and limit you and start realizing they are a stepping stone to go from where you are to where God wants you to be. I am here to say that dropping your nets is may not be easy, but I promise you it is necessary. When you say God I trust you, God I want to follow you, Lord lead me we must prepare to leave our nets and embrace the unfamiliar! What nets are holding you back? Pray and ask God to help you drop those nets and prepare for what is on the other side. I will be praying for you too! 7/15/2018 0 Comments Overcoming Distractions" I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible" 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NLT) Day to day, there are things and people that are grabbing for our attention. Sometimes it is little things we do such as surfing social media surfing or checking celebrity gossip, or sometimes it is the people we are connecting with like that boyfriend or girlfriend that is toxic to our soul. The thing we often fail to realize is that as much as those people and things scream for our attention, God is also seeking for our attention. This week I found myself caught up in something that I deemed innocent, all the while God has been pressing on my heart that I needed to disconnect because those things were slowly pulling me from him. I found that when I tried to disconnect, it was challenging. In this I was reminded that while disconnecting from distractions may not be easy, it is necessary. The thing about distraction is it can become a problem without us realizing. One day we look up and see that we are being led more by the distractions and less by God. When things of this world are speaking to you and consuming your attention more than God is, it is time to disconnect and reevaluate your priorities. "Don't allow the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord" In Hebrews 12:2, the Bible tells us to fix our attention to Jesus Christ. Directing our attention to Jesus requires that we be intentional. Last week we talked about intentional development. We must get to a place where we are so intentional about pursuing God that we are willing to get rid of those things and relationships that are keeping us from drawing closer to him.
I do not know what your battle is or what you are wrestling with, but remember this, distractions are destructive. What are you willing to disconnect from in order to reconnect with your Father? Friend understand this, if the devil can distract your mind, he can distract your sight, and when your sight is off of Jesus, you will find yourself down a path you did not which to journey. Keep your mind on Jesus and allow him to guide your path today! This weeks truth: A noise is not King over my life, Lord you are King over my life. 7/8/2018 0 Comments Intentional Development"But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:40 (KJV) Have you ever been in a season of busy? I mean a season where you are so busy serving others that you are forgetting to serve yourself? We often wear busy as a badge of honor, but the truth is, it may be the very thing sabotaging us. I mean we are so caught up serving at the church, or putting in the extra hours on the job, and before we know it, we are burnt out because we were so busy serving others that we did not take the time to serve ourselves. When I first got saved, I remember I was so busy at my church, I was serving on ministries and I was helping where I could. When I was not at school or working, I was at the church. While all of it was for the glory of the Lord, I soon began to realize that being busy doing up activities (even church ones) was stripping me from being intentional about developing my walk with Christ. When I began to realize this, I took a step back. I began to say no, I stepped down from serving in several ministries, and I began to take all my time and energy and put it into developing the most important relationship that I had, my relationship with Christ. Serving others should never replace you serving Jesus. When you read the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), you see that Martha was so busy and caught up with serving Jesus, that she missed the opportunity to be fed by Jesus. Serving others is not what gets us into heaven. We must learn to never allow anyone or anything to compete for the place that God holds in your life. So, in this season I want to encourage you, be intentional about your development in your own relationship with God. Learn to say no to some things and say yes to Jesus. When we allow busyness to become King, we can miss the beauty of what God is trying to teach us, where he is trying to lead us, and what he wants to show us. teach us. There are times when we are meant to be busy, and there are things when we are meant to grow. Give yourself permission to grow!
7/1/2018 0 Comments Accepting The Invitation "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV) One thing that Jesus knew well, was how to pray. It did not matter who he was around or where he was at, Jesus knew how to call to the Father. When he needed direction, he prayed... When he needed help, he prayed... When he needed strength, he prayed... Even when he was on the cross, he prayed... Jesus' prayer life demonstrates not only the prayers importance but its prayer. Prayer provides us direct access to heaven, it allows us direct connection with the one and only living God. So often we look at prayer as an obligation, something we need to check off of our to-do list, but prayer is not an obligation but it is an invitation to experience the power and presence of God. "True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that - it is spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth." - Charles Spurgeon Prayer is not about the thee's and thou's, its not about how much of the Bible you have memorized. Prayer is about your heart, God wants a heart that is ready and willing to hear from him. Prayer is your chance to tell God what you need, and watch him work in your life. It does not matter where you are in life or what you are going through. We must learn to make prayer a non-negotiable in our lives. Learn to not allow what you are going through now to keep from from what God has in your future circumstance to keep you from what God can do in your future. There is nothing to big or to hard for God. Do not fear the unknown, do not worry about all the details, simply open up your mouth and talk to your Father. "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24 (KJV) Prayer is God's invitation for you to connect with him. Will you accept the invitation?
6/24/2018 0 Comments Peace I Leave With YouIt has been a tough week in the city of Pittsburgh. Over the last week many hearts are hurting following the shooting of Antwon Rose, a 17 year-old killed by police. In hearing the news and having it be so close to home, it has just been so tough to wrap my head around this tragedy. My heart hurts for his family, friends, and this city. In the midst of examining this tragedy, God has reminded me that he is sovereign. In the midst of all the chaos, God can provide us, something that this world can not, peace, a peace that is far beyond human understanding. As I was studying the peace God gives, I found that it translates to the Hebrew, Shalom which is defined as completeness and soundness. You see God reminds us that in the midst of chaos, he is able to provide a soundness and stillness to our hearts and minds. God allows us to find an ultimate rest in him. It does not mean that it will be easy, it does not mean that we will not hurt, but it means that we are not alone, that we can find a stillness no matter what is going on around us. John 14:27 says: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" John 14:27 (KJV) Peace does not mean that we do not have problems but in the midst of our problems we can turn to a savior who is sovereign and who will see us through. In that we can find our rest and stillness. So as you go through this week I encourage you to tap into that peace. No matter what your current chaos is, we can find the same rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray to the Lord for that peace, and in his peace let us find rest. Rest my brothers and sisters, God is with you! Let us pray for the family of Antwon this week, and let us encourage someone else that they are not alone! 4/15/2018 0 Comments Faith Over FearIn life, things happen to us, and more times than not we are thrown off by the unexpected. It is easy to have faith until that one thing that you never expected to happen, happens. That one thing throws off your entire course. One thing that I have learned is that it is not what happens to you than matters, it is how you react to it. You see when life throws us problems the easiest thing to do is react out of fear, and worry. But what would happen if we started acting out of a place of faith? What would happen if instead of being scared we just rested in the fact that no matter the outcome, everything will be okay. I think we often find worry and questioning to be the easiest and most logical thing to do. We often feel worry means we are openly addressing the issue when instead worry often makes our situation worse. Today I want to remind you, like I had to remind myself that worry does not have to consume you, worry does not have to define who you are! I want to encourage you to stop allowing fear to lead your life and start allowing yourself to be lead by faith. Hebrews 11:1 says: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (KJV) Our faith should never be in what we see of this earth, it should be in God. Sometimes I think it is so easy to look to place trust in the things that we see but the Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen. Now you may ask what does this mean. Let’s break this down:
So faith requires you to have confidence in a God that you can not see. When you have confidence in God, you are trusting him, you are trusting his ways and you are trusting his plans. While you may not know what next week holds, and you may not know how you are going to work things out, God does. So today lets stop putting our confidence in things and people and start placing our confidence and trust in the one is for us! Until next time, Tamika |
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