"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - Self-awareness!

"By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect." (1 Corinthians 15:10)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - I Gave Up...So that I may be Lifted Up!

I just stopped by this morning to tell you that I had to be captured in order to be released. I had to become a slave (to the love of God), in order to be free. And I had to surrender in order to gain everything!

"Surrender your heart to God, turn to Him in prayer,  and give up your sins — even those you do in secret.  Then you won't be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless."(Job 11:13-15 CEV)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - Truly, we have an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE!

During this time of year our televisions are saturated with basketball. It's March Madness and the madness begins prior to the teams even taking the court. We get in a frenzy in our office pools in filling out our brackets and depicting who are our favorites to advance to the Final Four and ultimately, the championship.

Well, for those of us who have been Saved, we've been given an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE! Unlike all other teams that we will have to contend with, we have an extra player on the court that causes us to triumph, giving us the victory every time! When we get tired, He's still going! When we miss a shot, He's there to tip it back in for us! When we need a strong defense, He is the ultimate defender!

The game has been rigged. There's an extra player on your team! Yeah, it's UNFAIR but so is our opponent who will stop at nothing to cheat us out of our victory; trick us out of our victory; and steal our opportunity to compete for the prize!

Today know that you have the ADVANTAGE, utilize it!!

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14a NKJV)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - MORE THAN...

"Hallelujah" is all that I can say on this early Thankful Thursday morning! I went to bed tired, drained and a little overwhelmed by many things professionally, spiritually and emotionally. But God woke me up early to speak these words into my spirit, "MORE THAN". I'm now up with the knowledge and understanding that the God that has Called me is a  "MORE THAN" God!

He has made me in His likeness and His image so that I may be MORE THAN a conqueror. He reminds me that I am lacking absolutely nothing because He is MORE THAN able to keep me from falling. He loves me MORE THAN gold, silver or any other precious gem. My God is MORE THAN enough and says that if He's before me then who can be against me. Yes, every day gets sweeter than the day before!

I'm Thankful on this Thursday because I know that He has made me MORE THAN ready for whatever this day decides to throw my way!

I'm also convinced that if you slow down just enough to see how God has been a "MORE THAN" presence in and over your life, you would also have a Thankful Thursday...giving God thanks, love and adoration even before you start your day, because you realize that He has already done MORE THAN you could have ever asked, thought or has entered into your heart to ask of Him!

Have a Blessed and Thankful day.

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - "iknowuknowiknow"

There are just some things that you must have complete confidence in knowing; and those that know you understand that you know what you know because you do what you do!

Sounds confusing? Well, it can be somewhat confusing if you don't know me and if you don't know what I know. If you truly knew me, then you would know what I know because I would surely tell you all about The One who knew me before I was me!

You may have known the old me before I became the real me. The old me was a counterfeit me. You may have known me to be  conniving, conceited, contradictive, combative and cocky. I'm not embarrassed by those who agree because "iknowuknowiknow" this to be factual.

But praise be to God who has convicted me, comforted me, converted me and still covers me by the blood of Christ Jesus!

• "iknowuknowiknow" that it wasn't anything but the Grace of God that Saved me and changed me to be who I am today

• "iknowuknowiknow" that because of His Mercy towards me that I was not consumed by my old ways

• "iknowuknowiknow" that my life has been forever changed, my conversation has been forever changed and my spirit has been forever been filled with Purpose

Finally, "iknowuknowiknow" that God is not a respector of persons and what He has done in me, He will also do in you...and even greater He has in store for those who love Him!

"iknowuknowiknow" that this entire post may be difficult to read, but if you give it a chance, you'll find it easy to understand. The phrase "iknowuknowiknow" is a title of a rap song my son Keith Jr wrote and performs. I used it, not because I agree with his lyrics, but because I know that God has a plan for his life and that God will use the talent that He gave Keith Jr to help someone else. You see, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I was also talented using cuss words, but God used my talent with words to speak life, hope and love. So, "iknowuknowiknow" that He can and will do the same with my son and with you.

"iknowuknowiknow" that I'm completely confident in giving God my heart's desire and that is that  you shall be Saved!

"I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. (2 Timothy 1:12b; Jude 1:24-25 NKJV)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - Our Love for God is Motivation Enough to be Gracious in EVERYTHING We Do.

In our work; In our community; In our homes:

It's important to have a higher standard within you than what others may place upon you.

There are always two ways of doing things. We can do the bare minimum and nothing more; we can do it in such a way as to make it clear that we hate the whole thing; or we can do it with a smile, with a gracious attitude, with a determination not only to do this thing, but to do it well and to do it graciously. We can do it not simply as well as we have to, but we can do it far greater than anyone ever expected us to. 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)