Rebuilding Life After the Storm!

"Rise up and let us rebuild"  ~Nehemiah 2:18

One of the most devastating things to see or experience is the aftermath of a "deadly" storm. Deadly, because its delivery comes with such fury that it nearly takes out everything in its path. Some storms seem to head directly for a certain place, as if it is seeking revenge for some vendetta that it has, and leaving little to no time to prepare for  its arrival. Many times, when the storm has ended, there is a horrible reminder of its presence that is left behind. Damage and debris left as a boast of its unmatchable power. Victims of such storms are left with questions of:

What do I do now? and Where do I go from here?  How do I begin again? and Where do I even start?  These questions and more rise to the surface desperately seeking answers on how to live life after the storm.

I can't help but to think about the similarities that storms of nature have to the storms of life that we experience as we go from day to day. Unlike nature's storms, the storms of life come for the believer with EXPECTED outcomes. The Enemy tends to hurl storms in an effort to destroy what you have built permanently, while God tends to allow storms , leaving behind the necessary tools to rebuild. Just like nature's storms, the storms of life also come with power and fury, causing one to wonder if a particular storm has some sort of vendetta that is going on against you. Well, when I looked up the word Vendetta, I found out that,  A Vendetta is a very long and violent fight or battle between two groups of people, and as long as you and I are living there will always be a standing vendetta against us. Always something coming out of the Enemy's camp trying to dismantle life as we know it!

Some of us have suffered through strong storms and damaging winds, and we're still sifting through the debris, trying to salvage anything that is worth holding on to! Still trying to pick up the pieces in an effort to get back what the Devil stole from us. Trying to rebuild what was torn down, when that job was lost, when that marriage failed, when that diagnosis came out of the doctor's mouth, when they came and got that car, when they put foreclosure on your door! or you lost someone near and dear to your heart, dismissing years that you thought you would have with them.....Still trying to recover from the storm that seemed to have your name on it as it ascended upon your life, giving you no time to take shelter! what do I  do now, where do I go, and how will I ever ...ever start again?

I hear God saying, "it's time!" ......."It's time to rebuild! You don't have to worry about a thing, because everything you need to rebuild with is in your hands! Christ has already laid the foundation, all you have to do is start rebuilding! You see, in 1st Corinthians, you are called a Master Builder, so you have what it takes to rebuild that dream, you have what it takes to rebuild that relationship, that career, that failing faith, and that lost hope! 

What do you do now? Pick up a brick and start building!
Let it be said, as it was said in Nehemiah 2:18;

 "Let us rise up and rebuild!" 

Don't allow the storms of life to stop your progress!

"For somebody out there, you have been sifting through debris
 for so long that you have given up....Well,  instead of rummaging
 through things of the past, find yourself a brick and start rebuilding!

That brick is Jesus! Your Rock! Your cornerstone and foundation!

"For some, doors have been closed for so long that when God begins to open them, you're afraid to walk through them!

 .....stop digging through the rubble; get yourself up, and walk through that door....

your life is waiting for you!"

Satan has lied to you! He has told you that your storm has ruined your chances of ever rebuilding, and now that opportunity is knocking, you're afraid to get the door!


Rise up! 
Rise up and let the Enemy know that there is still purpose within you!

Rise up...you are a Master Builder and you have been equipped
with every tool you need to rebuild what is yours!

Rise up....rise up and let us rebuild!...

because there is life after the storm!


Prayer:

Father God in the name of Jesus we want to say thank you! we

thank you because you have given us all that we need to rebuild

what the storms have torn down. Lord, speak to the Master

Builder in all of us and give us the strength and the courage to

allow you to see us through to completion and restoration. 
Amen

Lord Is It I?

 

 

 

 

 

 (When Betrayal Becomes Denial)

 

Most of you know the story of both Judas and Peter and their roles leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. Judas betraying him and Peter (called, the Rock), denying fellowship and even acquaintance with him. So, tonight, I want to talk to the Judas in us as believers, as well as, the Peter in us, as “so called” sold out followers of Christ in this day and age. Like Peter, there may be some, who even now, are saying; “I would never deny Christ….. I have always, and will always stand for Him!” ..and if that is you, “praise God!” …..However, for ME! I have noticed that in my walk with the Master, I have had some Judas and Peter moments! And watch this! ….it was WHILE, I was walking with Him; “so called” trusting Him, and all the while singing, “I am sold out! My mind is made up! Let’s look at some verses, as we seek God’s help in revealing to us any “dysfunctions” in our relationship with Him, that may find us betraying his trust and denying our allegiance to Him. SOMEBODY SAY, LORD, IS IT I?

Verse:10-11

So, here we find Judas “seeking” out ways to betray Jesus. Where do we find ourselves in this passage of scripture? This scripture speaks to the compromiser! The one, who, for the right price, will sell their allegiance to him.  Self-gratification, Disobedience, and Self Will, can find you in this verse. A range of sins, paving the road that you are walking on with Jesus. SOMEBODY SAY, LORD IS IT I? Am I compromising with the Enemy, because of my lack of faith and allegiance, to the Man, who called Me to follow Him? If your trust in God’s plans are not “rooted” and anchored into WHO he really is, you just might find yourself seeking ways to “opt out” of what he is calling you to. Judas decided to “opt out” in the form of betrayal… while Peter opted out for convenience sake, by way of denial. Isn’t it easy to follow Christ, as long as we don’t have to prove our association with him? But what happens, when he sends a test of our loyalty? In what ways have you found yourselves “opting out” by playing footsies with the Enemy, when he presented moments of “self-pleasure” or personal gain, as payment?

 

Verse: 17-20

Here, Jesus wants us to know that he knows what we are going to do, before we even do it! Imagine being at the SIS conference, all of us seated at a large table, having brunch and Jesus making the announcement that, “one of you will betray me?” I can imagine that we would be looking at one another in fear, and asking the Lord… is it I? Not necessarily because we think it is us, but because, it is at that moment when we remember God’s ability of “knowing the heart of man” …What a moment of reckoning, when Jesus has located deceitful hearts! And brings it to our attention! Jesus goes on to answer, that “it is one who dips with me in the dish, who will betray me”. This was probably disheartening, because what he is saying is, this! “It is one of you, who walks with me; it’s one of you, who talks with me; It is one who teaches about me, who sings songs of Zion, and who is even able to sit in my midst as early as 5:30 every morning, soaking up the new mercies that I have given for the day” ….SOMEBODY SAY, LORD IS IT I?  These verses speak to those of us who have not totally “surrendered” our ways to God. He’s saying, I know who you are, and I know what I have called you to, but you have still not surrendered your ways unto me! Could you be one, who HE is serving notice on tonight?

 

Verse: 29-31

Okay, like with Peter, these verses speak to our disbelief in our ability to “fail him”.  You know how we can do something, and then have the nerve to act bewildered, at our “slip up?” Becoming overly confident in our own abilities to live this Christian life? Always the first to say, “I got this!” “I will never turn my back on you Lord!” not I!!… I would never betray my God!! Well, God wants us to know that there are times when we think we are on track, and feel that we are doing better than most, but I am here to say that the jury is still out on that, and so we need to ask GOD to search our hearts and minds for weaknesses and urges that may threaten our integrity, where our walk is concerned. Because although we don’t want to be the one! So many times we are the one, who he is referring to. SOMEBODY SAY, LORD IS IT I?

 

Verse: 37-38

Why is it that we keep doing what is against what God would have us to do? He tells us here! We live in a time, when the Enemy is going to and fro and we must be watching and praying constantly! It is where our strength lies. If you are unable to watch even for one hour with the Master, you may find yourself betraying the call that is on your life, due to becoming too spiritually weak to be effective!  This speaks to those who say, that this walk, doesn’t take all that! Oh, but it does and before it’s over…it will! If you find yourself in this verse, you may find yourself going back and forth in your walk, more than you care to admit.

 

Verse 44-45 in these verses our compromising has now lead to our turning our back completely on Jesus in order to accomplish our own goals and desires. We “kiss the face” of Jesus in order to temporarily do an exchange of righteousness for a betrayal of God’s standards and plans for our lives. Do you know of anyone who has ever wanted something and God told them, “no”, but they bit the forbidden fruit and “settled” somewhere in between mediocre and Lord, what have I done?? Every time we step “away” from God’s Word, we do it, as we kiss His face, as to say, Lord, I love you, BUT! In turning away, there was something in it for ME! Something that I have been waiting for all of my life! That man or woman who I just can’t live without; my habit that seems to calls me, louder than my purpose does; and that compromising moment, that promises to relieve me of all of this waiting, allowing me to touch right now, that which you have not manifested in my life! LORD IS IT I?

 

Verse 69-71:

This is how betrayal can also lead to denial! We have gone from a place of compromising with the Devil, to I will NEVER turn my back! To not only turning your back, but walking away from what God expects of you, and now to a full fledge life of disobedience, while walking “with” the Master, but not “in” HIM! So, you’re asking, how have I denied my Lord and Savior? I’ve never denounced Him to anyone, like Peter did! Well, Peter denied him with his mouth, but we deny him with our lives! Confusing the World with our on again, off again religion…and our lips that sing praises on Sunday and insults on Monday…by  standing up to your faith on Tuesday, and falling into the arms of the enemy by Wednesday! In the face of adversity, we deny our association with Him, by associating with those things that God cannot be a part of! LORD, IS IT I?

This is not a study on whether or not you will fall short of the Glory of God, because I can promise you that you will! And if my word is not proof enough, then Romans 3:23, tells us that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, so what this study does hope to accomplish is helping us to become more aware of our walk with the Lord and recognizing that without totally surrendering to God, he is not able to bring us to our full potential in Him! Notice that I did not say that he would be un-able to use us, because God definitely uses less than perfect people, as well as, defiant ones who have at some point decided that they will opt out of his plan, and head for Tarsus (remember Jonah?), BUT, when God has a plan for your life, he will pursue you and then equip you right through to your purpose. (It’s the equipping that gets hard!) but is necessary, in order to bring you to that “now faith” and that steadfast, unmovable ability to walk “in Him”, no matter what the situation or circumstance; and regardless to Satan’s offers to help you to live a compromising life! Let this mind be in YOU that was also in Christ Jesus; a life of integrity and not one that seeks to betray him with a subtle “kiss” of defiance. 

In wrapping this study up, if this is you; and you have found yourself walking with Jesus, but not “in” Him; there is forgiveness at this moment! God knows that you are not perfect, but is calling you to a new place in Him! Peter was not perfect,  but  once he surrendered his shortcomings to God, God went on to exalt Peter to walking in his purpose as “the rock”. He became unmovable, and unshakeable to those things that could threaten his allegiance to the God that he served. The God that you serve is a perfect God and through Him, He will begin to raise your standards as he did with Peter! Your destiny in Him begins the moment that you realize and confess to Him, that YES, LORD, IT IS I !!!!!!  Praise God!

 

Prayer for Today:

 Lord God of our Salvation and our hope! We know that your Word will not return unto you void. It is because you are calling us to higher standards in you! We too have “kissed” your face in an effort to mask our true intentions. We want to admit to you that there are things, people, situations, and circumstances that have caused us to be bribed by Satan to accept ways of escape of the things that you are calling us to; maybe because of doubt, maybe because of fear, and maybe because we have not realized exactly who we are in you.  We seek restoration at the foot of the cross, knowing that every sin known to man was crucified there. Renew our hope and our trust in your plans for our lives and help us to walk, not only with you, but “in” you. In Jesus’ mighty name.  Amen!

There's Hope At The End of Your Rope!

II Corinthians 12:9
My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me


In 2012, the United States saw its highest rate of suicide in 15 years! It has been recorded that every 13.7 minutes, someone in the US dies by suicide. According to the National Institute of Mental health, between 20%-25% of adults may suffer from depression at some point in their lives. The enemy has mis-lead many to believe that there is no hope or opportunity for a better life... happy life...or abundant life! He has deceived even, the Saints of God, into believing that there is no joy in their future; only disappointment! It is possible and likely, that he has even lied to someone on this very line, telling you that God has forsaken you, or that your recent divorce or separation was your fault. Your weren't fun enough or you weren't pretty enough! Or that your job will never get better, and that the sickness in your body is bigger than the God that you serve! Have you heard him? Telling you that God's purpose for you, will never find you? that grace and mercy doesn't apply to you, so you walk around riddled with guilt and shame from your past! and that those strongholds of yours will never let you go? If we are not careful, we can find ourselves, at the end of our ropes!
There have been times in my life, that I was at the end of my rope! Bad choices, wrong decisions, painful memories, and huge regrets have all threatened my sense of self worth, and have even attempted to derail God's purpose for my life, time and time again! But God! There is a song that many of you may know that speaks the sentiments of many on this line. The writer penned:

"I almost let go; I felt like I just couldn't take life, anymore! My problems had me bound; depression weighed me down, but God held me close; so I wouldn't let go...my Jesus kept me, so I wouldn't let go........the singer goes on to say....

"I almost gave up, I was right at the edge of a breakthrough, but couldn't see it; the devil really had me, but Jesus came and grabbed me, and He held me close, so I wouldn't let go, my Jesus kept me, so I wouldn't let go!

Let me tell yaw'll something! Don't let go of that rope! See, I didn't let go of my rope because Jesus let me know that He was at the end of that rope, ready to grab me! He told me to tell you to hang on to your rope, because there's peace at the end of your rope; grace and mercy is waiting at the end of your rope; I found forgiveness at the end of the rope....and I found self worth, at the end of my rope!  God is saying, that "your rope represents everything that you have done in your OWN strength, and so if you can just make it to the end of your rope! that is where you will find me!

When Life Just doesn't Add Up

Psalm 138:8
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me: your mercy, O LORD, endures forever: forsake not the works of your own hands.

Today, I want to talk a bit about the ups and downs of life; the positives and the negatives.....additions and subtractions! If I were to ask some people to give me a sum total of how life was for them in 2012, I would get an abundance of answers, that reveal to me, all of the negative things; the disappointments, the hurts, and the failures that they have experienced. The truth of the matter is, that we as Christians, seem to have it kind of rough some times; dealing with the World and all of it's cares. We are at a time, when we are faced with the reality of 2012. Where did 2012 leave you spiritually? Did it leave you in increase or lack? With knowledge or confusion? Did you win or did you lose? Did your territory indeed see an enlargement or were you bound by invisible borders, that kept you trapped in one spot?  Some will say that I found myself, with an increase of faith, knowledge, and a deeper relationship with Christ...my territory was enlarged and I am dancing to the beat of Jubilee!! And there are others saying, what about me? I love the Lord, but I seem to have come up short! I feel that I have missed out on things, unable to accomplish my goals, tapped out financially, sapped out emotionally, and drained out spiritually!
Did 2012 leave you trying to calculate your outcome? Trying to figure out why life didn't balance out at the end of the year? Why things just didn't add up? The feeling that "I should be there; but I'm still here!....I should have that, but I have this!...I should've experienced gain; but I experienced loss! I should be healthy; but sickness has been persistent!"  ...And you just want to ask the Lord to RE-calculate what is in your spiritual bank account? Ask him to take another look at your yearly increases? Well, I did! (at least I thought it!), but since God knows my thoughts he was more than happy to go over my spiritual portfolio with me. 
As I sat in my room, reading in the book of 1 Peter, I turned the page to find a recent church bulletin, that I had put there, only to keep from leaving it on the church pew...so I thought! As I picked the bulletin up, I payed closer attention to the picture of the calculator that was on the front of it. I could not seem to look at anything else. My eyes were fixed on the addition and subtraction buttons. The fact that the addition button (+) is so much larger than the subtraction (-) button...why is that I wondered? I heard the Spirit beginning to teach this lesson. He told me that the addition button represented the promises of God, and the subtraction button represents trials and burdens. And that wherever promises are, trials are near by. He told me that the promises of God are sure and that although the trials are close by, they are but a light thing for Him and have no effect on those promises! In life, we tend to focus on the negative button! It represents your problems, your lack, and your disappointments; it's aim is to take away what God has added to you. But, God is saying that those things don't represent your future, those things are not who you are! I want you to focus on the addition button....it's the "cast your cares upon me" button; It's bigger because I'm bigger! Your life is not adding up because you continue to count your problems and not your promises! When I do the calculating, I see increase! When I sum it all up, I see favor! Then I've added grace and mercy! Followed by wisdom and power! And because my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, you will never be able to calculate all of my benefits towards you, but you can rest assured that, because I am a perfect God,  my will for your life will always render a perfect answer.

Why Not Trust God Again, in 2013? (song Included)

Trust God Again in 2013!




2012 was an interesting year. It was filled with lots of uncertainties, frustrations, fears, doubts, pain, and tears...lots of tears. I don't think that I have cried any year, more than in 2012. Ironically, though, I must say that God was quite busy with my life in 2012.....more than any other year! How was your 2012? Did everything work out as you planned? Were all of your questions answered? Did you feel that sought after "fulfillment" at the close of the year? that feeling that, "I am better than ever?!" ....OR did 2012 leave you broken... dismayed... feeling betrayed... uncertain of your future... alone... and perplexed? Have I touched your circumstance yet? Well, I just want you to know that, you are not alone! 2012 was a rough year, and most people would not want a repeat of any part of it!
God has a way of bringing us to our knees in order that He can become all of the "missing pieces" in our lives. So many times, we have put all of our hope and trust into things or persons who have absolutely no power to complete us. Think about it. We put our faith into things that tend to break down and deteriorate...then we put our hope into people who are able to fall subject to failure themselves. Everything we put our faith into has the ability to fail! But not God! He is the only constant in a world of one million variables. When our car breaks down, what do we do? We try our best to get another one....If we lose our job, what do we do? Do we just sit around and declare that "I will never get a job and therefore I refuse to look for another one!? ....of course not! We start all over again! ......When miscarriage or a broken marriage threatens every ounce of faith that is left in us, we somehow, some way find ourselves reaching again to attain that which we so desperately want in our lives. Well, I just want to encourage you to trust God again in 2013! No matter what you went through in 2012, you are still here and God has given you all that you need to make it through another year. I know that some of you feel that God didn't come through for you last year, but I want you to know that God did everything that He was supposed to do in 2012. You may beg to differ, however, God wants us to know that, even if you didn't physically see your change, it is there! God already has a perfect plan for your life and as with all else; patience is the key! Don't ever give up on God! Trust him again and again, until what you are praying for becomes reality. You are not alone! We will face 2013 together! Believing, trusting, and hoping in the God of our Salvation. 2 Corinthians 4:8 lets us know that although life is hard, we have not been destroyed and we will make it! And although we go through the fire, we are renewed daily by a God who is able to do anything, but fail.....go ahead, trust God again! and watch him work miracles in you and through you! God bless!  

Be blessed by "Why Not Trust God Again" By Kurt Carr Singers


http://youtu.be/gB22TiY7sfE