Where is the love?

Many times I have been to churches and I have experienced no love. Now, you may wonder what I mean by this. I’m not saying that God should not be the focus and I’m definitely not saying that we should go to church for people or to play the sympathy card. I’m merely asking where is the love of Christ in church? I did not experience the love of God through “church people” until I got to my current church (I got so tired of people hugging me, lol). A lot of times we see people sitting right next to us and we don’t even bother to ask them how their day is going. God can do all things, but He uses us also. You smiling or asking someone how they are doing can brighten their whole year up. The world can be so cold and unforgiving. No one should have to come to the Lord's house and experience the same treatment. If you were in a tough place in your life and a stranger told you that God loves you and asks you if you needed prayer, would you look at them crazy? Keep in mind that you’re in a tough place in your life when answering that question. This same example is how God desires to use you. We do not go to church to look pretty and fill seats; we have a job to do and God is feeding us His word so that we will be equipped to do it. Show the love of Christ to someone today. I know that this assignment may be hard, but ask God to teach you how to see with His eyes, feel with His heart and hear with His ears.

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Peace Be Still

“ One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marv...

The Process of Faithing It: Trusting Jesus with Your Faith

“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34 NKJV). Can you imagine Jesus in a crowd? Everyone has a need, but His target in that moment is to go and build the faith of a little girl’s family at the request of her father because they think that she will die. The father is scared, but Jesus was on the way until He felt something. This feeling was different, but powerful. Jesus turns around looking, asking questions, but finds his answer in the form of a woman, standing and looking amazed at what just happened to her. After 13 years of anemia, tiredness, dizzy spells, soiled clothing, and impacted relationships, she is healed. This woman with an issue of blood had spent all of her money, but decided to trust Jesus with her faith, which was all that she had left. Jesus was not too busy to stop and ask, “Who touched me?”. The disciples reminded Jesus of all the people that were around them, but this touch was different. Some...

Fear Can Not Exist Where Healing is Needed: The Authority of Jesus within Mental Health

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” ( John 10:10 KJV). The people of Gadarenes gave the enemy access to their region, not just a man at a tomb. As a bystander within Mark 5, I’ve seen many parts of this scenario played out in real time. I know the broken heart that Jesus had at seeing this man, and I also know the love and compassion that He had for him as well. The people may have feared the man because of his strength, but Jesus understood and displayed that fear could not exist where healing is needed . Working within the mental health field, I’ve seen what was depicted by the man at the tomb. It’s not easy, but Jesus removed the cover of what was happening. The Legion of demons (composed of thousands of demons) thought that they could continue to reign and rule, but the King stepped onto the ground and caused atmospheric shift to happen. “T...

Let’s Talk About Sex

Tonight, I thought about sex. I thought about the beauty of it and I thought about the reasons that God created it. Sex can be beautiful and pleasurable, but sex can also be very dangerous if you don’t know the truth behind it. As a young girl, no one sat down with me and talked to me about sex. I never got the “protect yourself” talk and I never got a real run down about what people will do just to have sex with you. I lost my virginity at the age of 14. I didn’t even really know the guy, but I thought that I would spend the rest of my life with him because that was the story that he sold me. I don’t blame him, and I don’t resent him for anything anymore, but I wish that I had been wiser and that I understood the value of what I was giving away. In my 20s I learned that sex is not only physical, but it is spiritual also. I learned what soul ties were and I began to understand why it was so hard for me to break away from people after the “relationship” had ended. I ha...

The Healing Prophet

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The Barrel of Meal Shall Not Waste, Neither Shall the Cruse of Oil Fail: RESET

This morning as I was thinking about the fact that God gives us a new start each year, the word reset came to mind. I tried to figure out why that word came to mind, and I began to look up its meaning. I have listed the meaning in the noun, verb, and adjective forms. Reset- set again differently, cause to enter the state representing the number 0, a plant that is planted again, to restore, a plant that has been recently transplanted, adjust again after a failure, set anew. Once I found the meaning of the word reset, I began to look for synonyms associated with it. Words like order, switch, replace, shift, changed, corrected, reformed, prepare, recondition, make ready, modify, do over, reappraise , and rework came up. At this point, I got a little excited and began to wonder how the Lord reset His people in the bible and what that word means concerning me. One of the first thoughts that crossed my mind pertained to the prophet Isaiah and the time that hot coal was placed over hi...

My Personal Truth

I remember sitting on the bus in middle school and this guy who was older than me told someone that when I started having sex I wouldn’t be able to stop. I was always very quiet, but I thought to myself, how could someone who didn’t know me say such a thing? He was in a sense, speaking over me. I was kinda rebellious as a teen. I lost my virginity at the age of 14 and I had already been on most of the depression medications that were out at that time. I was in love with love and that led to a lot of heart ache. I even left home for a little while when I was 17 because my mother found a pregnancy test in my bathroom. It did not look like I would graduate from college. It did not look like I was a smart young lady. It did not look like I would amount to anything, but God saw different in me. I got saved for the first time when I was16. I did not understand God or how he operated. Even when I was saved? I just knew that I was on my way to hell. During that time, I battled depr...

Breaking Out of The Mundane

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Wait! Believe! Receive!

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Famous “waiters” in the bible include Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary. These three woman had a promise from the Lord, but they had to be patient with themselves and with their God. In waiting, you have to be sure of who your God is. No matter who gets a promotion before you do or who gets married before you do, you have to know that God does not lie and cannot fail. The way that Sarah replied to God and the way that Mary replied to God concerning the promises that they received were totally different. Sarah laughed because she looked at her circumstance. How many of us laugh at the promises of God because of the view that we have of our circumstances. We forget that nothing is impossible for God and if we do decide to believe God we attempt to make his promises happen on our own watch. Sarah ga...

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2018 is not over just yet, but so far it has been a year full of heartache, challenges, growth, and blessings. The heartache came from the passing of my little brother exactly 1 month ago. It was a surprise and my heart breaks because he is no longer here, but my comfort is in Jesus. I know that he is in heaven happy, smiling, pain free, and worshiping at the feet of Jesus. I still cry and I still miss him, but I know that God is in total control. God knows what He is doing at all times and I am learning to respect His will in this situation. Aside from the pain of losing my brother, God has been growing me up in ways that I am learning to be comfortably uncomfortable with. God can use any situation to position us in Him. Some of those situations involve challenges, but those challenges are meant to evolve us, not destroy us. I am a person who hates conflict, but I have had so much of it as I get closer to reaching the personal goals that I have set for myself. I have had ...

JaNina B.

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