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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Why I won’t date

So many women define themselves by their relationship status. I used to be one of those women. It didn’t matter if that man cheated on me, lied to me, or insulted me; I was not going to leave him. I needed a relationship to make me feel beautiful and wanted, but at the same time I knew that the men that I was trying to make love me were not ordained for me. Women don’t consider that word, ORDAINED. It’s easy for a man to make us feel loved, wanted, less lonely and desired, but that man cannot make us feel full. That is what I need in my life, fullness. I understand that God is my husband and that my fairy tale love story has to begin with him before I bring a man into the mix. You see, marriage is a union. You become one with your husband. You live with him, you love him, you worship with him and you fight (spiritually) with him. The not so tricky thing about the before mentioned aspects of marriage is that all of those things have to begin in your singleness. I have a tendency...

The Private, Matters

“And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” ( Luke 1:1-20 NKJV). Zacharias’ prayer was not answered in the way that he thought that it would be. During his prayer time with the Lord, he asked God to allow him and his wife to have a baby, but years passed, and they got older. Zacharias’ went on with his life until his season changed, and it was time. Time for what you may ask; it was time for the blessing of the Lord over this man and wife to come to pass. The issue was that Zacharias had allowed this prayer to leave his heart, and unbelief took its place. Wha...

Can You Praise the Lord in Prison?

“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (Acts 16:25 NLT). Paul and Silas were some bad boys! Can you imagine doing the right thing and being locked up because of it? These men had a freedom that the people they encountered needed to see because they were not bound although others could visibly see the chains that had been placed on them. They did not misrepresent Christ because of their circumstances and they did not try to give up serving Him because of the predicament that they had found themselves in. ~~~~~ Stop being mad at God because things do not go the way that you expect them to. ~~~~~ “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Paul and Silas knew who their God was and they knew that He was going to come through for them no matter what their situation looked like. They knew enough about God...

Why Are You Here?

During an encounter that I had with a young person recently, I told them that things were difficult for them because there were some things that they would need to do that had never been done before. The analogy that I used to help this person understand what I was saying to them was that of a wilderness full of trees. I told this young person that they would be the first one to cut down the trees in that wilderness to create a smooth path for those coming behind them. The same is true for many of us. There are large trees that we must cut down so that those coming behind us won’t have to fight as hard as we are fighting, and they will not stumble because we are destroying everything at the root that is attempting to block us. The task of doing this may seem difficult but the testimony is worth it. You have to be able to identify the things that have hindered individuals in your lineage, know what the signs of those things are in your own life, and then eliminate it. ...

You Are Not Alone: Wilderness Chronicles pt.2

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings:19;4 KJV). The wilderness is a different place to different people. Some people consider the wilderness to be a dry place full of nothing. Other people may consider the wilderness to be a situation. Whatever you consider your wilderness to be, know that you are not alone. The devil uses the wilderness to isolate you, but God uses the wilderness to teach you, advance you, equip you, and then eventually release you out (or back) into your purpose. God can also use the wilderness to refresh you. Elijah was an awesome man of God. He literally prayed down fire and he went against kings in the name of the Lord. Elijah was bold, but he was also human. On one particular occasion, Elijah went into the wilderness after an encounter he had wi...

Waiting for the Promise vs. Moving in Impatience

“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? ” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” ( Genesis 17: 17-19 NKJV). Isaac was desired, but Ismael was birthed out of impatience. If God told you that you were going to birth something beautiful, no matter what your season may look like, bank on the Lord’s promises. Your Ishmael does not have to be a man, your Ishmael can be an opportunity. Don’t walk into just any ole thing because you got tired of waiting on God. If God promised you something in 2016 and you didn’t see it in 2017, that does not mean that He forgot about what He promised you. Isaac had a set season and ...

Eat The Meat

I am not sure what age my parents took my bottle away, but I do know that I was old enough to understand that it was time for me to give it up. I remember wanting a pool, and my father told me that I could have the pool if I threw the bottle away. He didn’t have to tell me twice. I put the bottle in the trash and found it back on the counter a little while later. Perhaps my parents knew that I would not adjust well, or perhaps they didn’t want to find out what it would look like for me to go through that transition in that moment in time. To make a long story short, I continued to use that bottle after I threw it away, and I never got that pool that I wanted. Growing up never excited me, and I suffered for many years because of it. There were times that I thought that I was big enough to be ‘grown', but mistakes and the need of my mom pulled me right back down into reality. As I continued to get older, many intersections that I faced placed me in a...

Welcome Back!!!!

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. ” (Luke 15:20-24 KJV) Would it be fair to take a look at the notion that perhaps the prodigal son’s mistakes made him a little wiser than the son that stayed with his father? The son who did what he was supposed to do seemed pretty perfect for the most part. He seemed like a guy who did what his dad said and learned all that he was supposed to learn in order to manage what his father ...

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...

The Healing Prophet

I did not desire to write this, but I heard this title and agreed to be obedient. I once read a statement by Tasha Cobbs Leonard. She shared that she would go and sing, return home, and then feel depressed. I understand that feeling more than I would like to admit. Depression is a weapon the enemy uses against those whom God has anointed in many areas. Depression has stagnation attached to it, and its assignment is to either kill you, isolate you, or both. As a therapist, I help many people navigate through depression. I advise increased therapy sessions and medication when needed. I tell them all the ways to battle what has been battling them while being in the very same fight myself. Depression is nobody’s friend. It is an enemy that wounds. The Healing Prophet is an intentional title. It speaks to the heart of the one who carries and speaks the oracles of God, and today, God has a word for you, and for me. “Get up and believe Me.” I...

JaNina B.

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