"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - There's a Purpose for Today!

Today is Leap Day and that means that each of us have been given an extra 24 hours to do something good for one another. Some of us have been asking for another chance, well today is your chance!

God has purposed today for each of us to have an opportunity to love anew, to forgive and even to forget past hurts and misunderstandings. Move on and rejoice in the blessing of an extra day to do the right thing!

Let today be lived with Purpose and on Purpose..."It's a new is season, it's a new day, a fresh anointing is flowing your way..."

"To everything there  is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV)

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

This is what was spoken in the spiritual about what I need to understand in the natural:

"Not more for me but more OF me"

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

In this season, I'm praying to get "THERE". I have been "here" for some time and in order to grow I must move from "here" to "THERE". My moving is not a physical/geographical action, but a spiritual action/location.

Staying where I'm comfortable is problematic as I can rely on my talents instead of needing and seeking God to do in me what only He can do.

I know that God wants for each of us to mature as Christians. I'm not sure what He has in store for me, but I do know that I have to move from "here" and get to "THERE" In order for me to be in the "PLACE" of instruction, equipping, anointing and blessing.

We're all on a journey and journeys require movement; we need to keep moving and not overstay too long on any part of the journey. Read the signs and yield where we need to yield; use caution when we need to have caution; obey the speed limits and don't try to get "THERE" to fast; never run on empty, there are plenty of refueling stations on our journey; and TRUST your navigation system, it will get us "THERE" on schedule and intact.

Have a great day on the journey of faith that we are on together!

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - Bible Study Etiquette

Are your Bible Studies thriving? Are the studies full to capacity or standing room only? How about the participants, are they engaged, speaking up and speaking out; are they taking an active part in your studies?

It has been my experience as a participant early on to be afraid to take part in Bible study. My fear, as with many others, is the fear getting it wrong, saying something contrary to what others may be saying. I had my thoughts on a subject and my ideas of what the passage was saying but I thought that my sharing my thoughts would expose my lack of understanding.

However, I thank God for His servants who recognized my fear and encouraged me to share my thoughts. No matter what was said, it was handled in such a way that I was corrected and felt really great about it and invigorated to dive deeper into study so that God would use me in a similar way to help others gain knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God and God’s Word.

Today, I lead several studies with this great gift of providing an inviting, engaging and sharing setting for study. Not only do I lead, I still participate in other settings and I still share my thoughts in order that we may reason together and grow as brothers and sisters.

Differences should not be feared or avoided, but accepted and handled with love. We shouldn't expect everyone to agree on every subject. It is the sharing of ideas that leads each of us to a better/fuller understanding of what the Bible teaches us. We will benefit when we accept, listen to, and respect others.

Truly, differences of opinion need not cause division, but our differences can and should be a source of learning and unity in our relationships.

"Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently." (Romans 14:1 MSG)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - Stop Watering Weeds!

During my Prison Ministry visit on Saturday, an inmate made the following statement: "I've allowed Satan to plant a Garden in my mind, and I've been watering it ever since."

Think about this. Have we allowed the same thing? Are we watering what we've allowed Satan to plant in our minds. Are there seeds of jealousy, racism, lust, greed, lies, and addiction that we are watering and allowing to grow in our lives?

There is a stronghold on our minds and we must win the battle that is being waged in our minds. In the movie "The War Room", one of the strongest scenes in the movie was when the wife was sitting in her closet and she begun to understand what the scriptures were saying to her. "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee". She said this to herself several times and when the Word of God became real to her, it became the turning point in her home, her marriage and in herself!

Know this truth today and every day, God wants to plant seeds of righteousness in the lives of His people. God requires from us a harvest; He wants for us to be fruitful. We are not to harvest "weed", instead weeds are to be pulled out and uprooted/destroyed. Yet our society is legalizing "Weed" and we wonder why things are as they are. We haven't resisted the devil, we are welcoming him into our society, our homes and in our lives and we are creating legal means for him to remain.

Bottom line, we need to resist him. We need to submit to God. We need to tell the devil to go to Hell. Get out of our houses, get out of our kids, get out of our relationships and get out of our marriages!

The Word of God tells us to "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee" (James 4:7)

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

When I hope, I believe that God is at work to make better for me, ALL THINGS, regardless of how things happen to be turning out for me today. Hope means that I have great confidence that I can face whatever life throws at me. Hope means that I never need to give up. Hope means that my efforts have potential, power and relevance because of The One at work within me!

You see, for the one who believes in God, the hinge point is not simply what I'm capable of. The real question is what might God want to do through me?

The truth of the matter is - Hope does not prevent me from expecting the worst - instead, the worst is what the hopeful are prepared for, because...

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” – “My Man, Confidant, My Go To”, Ace, My Friend” SAY IT ISN’T SO!!!

We shared everything. We talked about everything. You was welcomed in my home, knew my family and broke bread at my table. We played ball together, washed our cars together and we even attended the same church where we worshipped together. You promised as did I that we we would always have each other’s back. I shared my deepest joys, hurts and secrets with you. Truthfully, I trusted you with ME!

SAY IT ISN’T SO! It couldn't be…I refused to believe it when I heard it…How dare they even fix their mouths to say that…IT WAS YOU who betrayed my trust!

Yes, although the above isn't something that is actually happening in my life at this moment, I share it because it happens more often than we would like to admit it. The truth is, those who hurt us the deepest are those that are the closest to us. I write this to remind us of what a great privilege we have to be considered a close friend. I write this to challenge us to be careful to not fall into temptation of the most serious offense against our friendships…Betrayal. 

Nothing hurts more than a hurt from a friend. Real friends stick by you in times of trouble and bring healing, love, acceptance and understanding. What kind of friend are you? Don't betray those you love. 

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance.” (Psalms 55:12-13 NKJV)