I just had a light bulb moment. You know when 1+1 finally equals 2?
Whether you deem it favor or grace, its one of the highest commodities in Christiandom. So many of us want FAVOR with the Lord. Technically its contingency has nothing to do with our behavior, what we get wrong or right. But here I am scanning through his Holy word and I Peter 2:19-20 shares how we unequivocally can obtain favor from the Lord and its found when we do right, even we we are wronged. Talk about "the big pay back"!
The Lord will repay us for our obedience. When we neglect our flesh to get the last word or letting the other person know how we REALLY feel and simply submitt to authority. As the old adage goes "there is a blessing in your pressing." Pressing through persecution, injustice and pain only to obtain a great gift from our awesome God in the form of FAVOR!
Favor is when we get what we dont deserve and couldn't pay for ourselves. Doesn't that sound like the opposite of what may have just happened to us? Here we are someone dodging us and we refuse to go there with them. In turn we are blesswd with something WE DONT EVEN DESERVE. I dont know about you but I need a dose of favor EVERYDAY!
So when you recieve the call to walk in favor, know its going to cost you something, but the reward is some much greater, something you couldnt do for yourself, its the favor of God.
Just the other day, I had to take my cell phone in for service. In order for them to see what the issue was I had to uncover the phone from the case which kept it safe. When I received the phone back I noticed how clean and brand new it looked. This fresh look was not because, the technician gave it a quick buff or that the sales associate exchanged it for a new one, it was simply because the phone had been COVERED.
Every time it fell face forward on the hard cement, thrown across the room like a football, or stepped on, it had made it through these turmoil situation in tack simply because the phone was covered.
I couldn't help but to make the parallel between my phone and being covered by the blood of Jesus Christ to this scenario. Literally, I would be a millionaire if I had a dime for every time I personally failed horribly, was stepped on spitefully, or my emotions were tossed like a ship during Hurricane Katrina. I am extremely grateful for being covered by God's loving arms. Psalms 91:4 reads, "He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield." Even when we aren't faithful, God is!! The Lord warmly invites us back into his fortress of security and forbids the thing that is trying to take us out to deplete us. Refuge in anything but Jesus is a complete setup for failure. Following our selfish desires, and not heading to the promptings of the Holy Spirit leads us directly away from the comfort we desperately desire.
I encourage you today to make your bed underneath the warmth of our sweet Savior, Jesus Christ. The psalmist declares, "Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be at the door of the house of my God than to live in the tents of wicked people." (Psalm 84:10). When you are overwhelmed with the harsh reality of life, or you find yourself in a season of victory, remain covered by His amazing grace.
Allow this song to touch you and serve as a reminder of God's love and awesome covering
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and you would like to today. Pray this prayer
" Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.
I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.
You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.
Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.
Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.
Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life. Amen.
Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, give the Lord a hallelujah shout and celebrate the fact that you took ownership on the development of becoming a more Godly woman. Throughout this study many life-changing topics were introduces to us. Some of them made us cringe knowing we must do better, then there were many “ah-hah” moments that altered your thought process and actions. There is nothing God wants more than for us to walk in the fullness of who He created us to be.
We are meeting one last time (Saturday, April 26) to celebrate, not the end, but the beginning of a transformed and prosperous life.
Ladies, I again salute you and I am excited to see the transformation continue.
Blessings and peace to you, Proverb 31 woman. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”
Let’s face it, we have all been there before; facing
a daunting task, confronted with making an important decision or charged to
walk blindly by our faith. “How on God’s green earth am I supposed to do this?”
You ask yourself, then you begin to find every excuse in the book why you can’t,
not realizing that greatness is really inside of you!
In this scripture we find Joshua on the brinks
of walking in his God-ordained purpose. Through his obedience he has been given
the opportunity to change the life course of the Israelites for generations to
come. But what is standing in his way?? The thought that he has to accomplish this
gigantic mission alone. As if the same God that delivered them from the chains
of Pharaoh, parted the red sea and kept them during the years in the wilderness
is out of power, out of protection and lacking provision. As children of God,
He assures us countless times throughout His word that he will not leave us nor
forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6), greater is he that is
within us (1 John 4:4) and right here in Joshua
he tells him a few simple, but profound words…”BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS for I am with you WHEREVER you go.” Did
you catch that…WHEREVER we go! If that doesn’t give you confidence, I don’t
know what will. There is something special that happens when we read God’s word
and a fresh breath of air literally falls on our spirit and we are renewed with
inner strength. The fact of the matter is, God doesn’t want us to do anything
in our own might, but through the might of God. This is how we can gain full
confidence to face our fears and move forward.
Every now and again we need the confirming words
from the Lord or a fellow believer to shift our focus and help us to understand
that we are not in this thing alone, but we have an almighty and all-knowing
God that has forecasted our future and it looks pretty darn good. Our job now
becomes to trust in His word and act in obedience. After all, every great
player in history needed a good ole pep talk and you are no different. #yougotthis
#shereadstruth
Psalm 130 speaks two messages loud and clear, PATIENCE and
HOPE. I don’t know about you, but I have had plenty of times where I was unsure
and felt like there was nothing I could do but WAIT and see. But here is the good
news, we are not waiting on ourselves, a friend or some politician to come in.
We are waiting on a mighty, powerful and all-knowing God. This reminder should
help you to wait in peace.
While we wait, I encourage you to wait with hope and
expectancy. The Lord will come in with his lovingkindess and redemptive power
to blow our socks off. In the waiting period we may become impatient, and try
to find a solution on our own…remember Sara and Hagar?? This is not what our
God wants us to do, He wants us to wait in faith with expectancy that He will
deliver. Just take a second to remember your past victories, the points of
redemption from the pits that were so deep they left you in despair and tears. The
part I love the most about Psalm 130 is the promise at the end, “And He WILL redeem Israel from all his iniquities”.
Beloved sister, there is no sin, no past mistake that the Lord isn’t willing to
wash away. So here is the hope you can rejoice in today. Our God is a God full
or mercy and grace…He WILL redeem! #shereadstruth
January 6 was a long time ago. It was the day we embarked on a journey to become the women God wants us to be. As any journey, there are times of mountain peaks and valleys. Those who win in life are the ones that are able to perservere through the pain, take care of business when you do and dont feel like it.
So, here we are at Day 60, with just 30 more to go. Don't give up now, continue with your TAG, discover your hidden potential and begin to deal with the areas that need growth. You are an action step away from greatness, after all that is what God created you for!! Jeremiah 29:11
Next Gathering:
Saturday, March 22 @ 10am
3903 Braodway Room 202 Oakland, CA
I truly appreciated the author's exploration of the Proverb 31 woman's enterprise last week, it definitely lite up my entrepreneur spirits!!! Currently, I do operate an event planning company, but I've been encouraged to take it to the next level and explore other ways to leverage my gifts.
There are so many opportunities out there ladies to add to our pocket book. I want you to do something RIGHT NOW, take an inventory of your skills and talents. I bet there is something on that list you can get paid for. Whether you have creative writing skills, and you can offer services to write cover letters, or bios for people. Or, you have a creative way to teach children how to read, turn it into a curriculm or Youtube video and market it to parents. Maybe you have the gift of baking or mixing ingredients together to make a remarkable product? That is exactly how Carol's Dughter got started (read her story here).
Bottom line, as women we have many responsibilities, why not position yourself for financial freedon, to leave an inhertiance to your children's children (Proverbs 13:22). We live in America, the place of free enterprise. There are several program that target women and minority business owners, in helping them start businesses (see list below). I challenge you today, out of the five different ways to earn extra income, select one to explore.
REMEBER.."I can do ALL things through Christ, which strengthens me" Philippians 4:13
