Our Men Are Under Attack

During my Bible study we were discussing the events that will occur during the last days and it's evident that we're living in the last days now but what’s interesting is the devil knows his reign is coming to an end so he's trying to get as many people as he can to turn against God. During our discussion I can’t remember what lead me to the thought something made me think about all of the marriages that are falling apart. I know that the family unit within marriage is something ordained by God and because of that holy covenant it is one of the sure things the devil tries to tear apart and with that he always goes for the weakest link. Usually it seems to be the children but here lately it seems that he is targeting the men. That is so sad when from the beginning God positioned the man to be the head and to lead his family TO Christ but at this point things are so backwards that it's the women trying to lead the families to Christ and hold the families together because that devil is really on the men's backs. 

I really feel for them because the devil is in full on attack of them and they don't see it.  For those that have an intimate relationship with Jesus there is a chance they will wake up and realize what's going on and put on that full armor of Christ and not let the devil win but for those who do not know or who don't open their eyes my goodness I feel so bad for them.

We all need prayer but right now I really feel the men of this world need a special prayer because we are all in a spiritual war but the odds seem to really be stacked against these men. We always seem to focus on bettering women and children but it seems we do more complaining about the men. So I’m asking that you please stop and say a prayer for them.  I have included a prayer below that you can say and or use as a guide.  I thank you and the men of the world thank you.

Father in Heaven,

By the power that you have granted me I take authority over the enemy’s attacks on the men of this world. Please enable all men to put off the old nature in their lives, and be renewed in the spirit of their minds, so that they may put on a transformed nature of holiness.

Grant all men to perceive the image of strength and love that You have bestowed on them, Father. And grant them the will to use these gifts for the benefit of their wives and families and for the greater good of the whole Body of Christ.

I ask this in Jesus Name,
Amen

Accept One Another

 "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Romans 15:7

 Acceptance sets the tone in a trusting relationship. It ascribes value by making a friend feel special, especially if someone struggles with wounds from past rejection and hurt. Acceptance is an antidote for guilt and regret. It looks to bring meaning in the moment, not dwelling on former failures. It creates a non-judgmental, safe environment. Like a sympathetic nurse, it listens with empathy. Acceptance feels no discrimination or bias.
 
Who is hungry for your approval and acceptance? Is it a child, a parent, a friend, a co-worker or fellow Christ follower who needs to feel your warm words of delight in them? To not be an included team member is emotional torture. Passive rejection can be worse that blatant rejection.   Indeed, an accepting attitude says, "I believe in you", "I need you", "I am for you". You give others the benefit of the doubt. A person who feels your approval has nothing to prove.

"To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6 NKJV

Acceptance from Almighty God is found in Christ. He accepts the rejected. He invites those who wander from the faith to come home. Christ calls His children back from embarrassing situations and embraces them with open arms. His acceptance is unconditionally based on His love and grace. The Lord is looking for those in need of approval. He can't wait to bless and believe in His own. Jesus accepts back those who have turned their backs on Him.

Therefore, accept others as Jesus has accepted you. Even sinners, you may ask? Yes, you can accept the individual without compromising your integrity. You grow in Christ's character when others, who are unlike you, know you like them. You love those who love the world, without your loving the world. When you serve someone with competing standards, they tend to ask "why me". Lovingly say, "why not you"--in order to bring praise to God!

"The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them." Romans 14:3

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for accepting me in Christ, so I can accept others in the same way.


Related Readings: Psalm 101:3; John 6:27; Acts 15:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 

Renewing Your Mind For Relationships

One of the ways that I healed from an emotional unhealthy mindset was listening to messages and mini sermons several days throughout the week. Sunday is a great blessing and all, but when it came to feeding my spirit and renewing my mind I needed more.

My favorite place to go on-line and get information that pertained to me and my personal issues and situations was OnePlace.com. There are so many different ministers there and so many different ways to listen, learn, and grow. You can search through the archives and find topics that relate to what you are going through at any given moment, that is what I did and still do til this day. It’s so helpful! Especially when your Pastor doesn’t talk much about Parenting, Friendship, or Marriage. Or it may just be that you are having some major issues with your in-laws and for that whole month at church you guys are reading the book of Revelation.

With all that being said, I’ve listed a few places that I think can be helpful to anyone if they open up and allow it.

With Dennis Rainey you get something like a teaching interview.

Family Life Today

With June Hunt you get something like a counseling session.

Hope for The Heart

And with James McDonald you get brief 30 minute sermonets that bless your soul!

Walk In The Word

It’s doesn’t do us any good to come up with excuses like “I don’t have time” because the messages can be downloaded and listened to in your car while you are driving or on your iPhone or Pod while you ride the bus, work out, get your nails, hair and toes done. We find time to watch our favorite T.V. Shows, go to the movies and out to eat, I’m sure we can find the time to feed our souls. It’s when you are really hungry for change that you will eat.

Most of the times people find a bunch of other unhealthy people to talk to and they validate what they are feeling and they think they are ok. But if people lie to you or just can’t give you the truth because they themselves don’t know it, you can’t grow as an individual.

It takes a lot to find a great person to hook up with forever when you are jacked up yourself. Inside you say “I want someone who will treat me good, not beat or cheat. Provide, protect, love, respect, submit, honor,” and on and on the list goes. But if you are emotionally damaged and refuse to admit and then take actions to change, more than likely you won’t attract that type of person.

Recognize, realize, and then renew!

Shared by The Relationship Stuff

Being Alone Ain’t Good

If man truly believed that God is the same as He was and the same as He will always be yesterday today and forever, then how come when He says in His word “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18

man acts as if God has stopped making a helper suitable for Him? I hear single Christian men going around telling people they are waiting on God and that there are not that many good godly women to choose from and all this other garbage. But my question to you men in waiting is why would God say that it’s not good for you to be alone and then not provide that which would make your life good? He does not love you less than He did Adam. Open your eyes and believe that your suitable helper is somewhere near you.

Post shared by mrs relationship stuff

Build On The Rock

 
I’ve seen so many people try to build their loving relationships without Christ. This is impossible to do. You may stay together but being in love is so much better. I mean being alive isn’t enough, you have to be living! A man spends his life in jail, he’s alive but living, not. Most of us want more out of life, that’s why we do our best not to commit crimes that will land us in prison for life!

So to be in a prison of a relationship can be just as bad. A relationship can’t thrive unless God is in it. One of my favorite movies is “Not Easily Broken.” One of the things the Pastor told the newly married couple is that God had to always be in their relationship and the one steering the ship. Meaning, even though you want to do things your way, God’s word and His ways need to come above that, or else your relationship can end in shambles.

So I’m keeping it plane and simple today, only build on a solid foundation of Christ. God is the creator of relationships so He can be trusted.

Post courtesy of The Relationship Stuff

6 Biblical Lessons on Relationships

After 35 years in ministry and 30 years of marriage to Serita Jakes, Bishop T.D. Jakes has outlined key life lessons learned from these two great institutions.

The following are 6 sample "Lessons from the Heart"  excerpted from "The T.D. Jakes Relationship Bible: Life Lessons on Relationships from the Inspired Word of God."

1. Overcoming Our Differences in Relationships.

The art of relationships requires that a man who is very different from his woman finds common ground with her and vice versa. We are meant to balance each other by attracting people whose strengths may be our weaknesses. Together as a result of our differences and unique distinctions, we complement each other. Understanding only comes when you stand under a real desire to know, love, and comprehend the other person, embracing the uniqueness of who they are.

2. Healthy Relationships Require Emotional and Spiritual Freedom.

You often won't know what you have, let alone need, in your life until you clear the mental and emotional room to experience the here and now. We don't have to stay buried under the past or cycles of mistakes, even though it may seem insurmountable. You can move on with your life. You have to keep your mental and emotional house clean and in order. Praying, journaling, mediation, and exercise are common ways for you to be sure your emotional issues of the past aren't seeping into your current relationships.

3. It Takes Courage to Really Love Someone.

Deciding to love gets harder as you get older. It's more and more difficult to fall in love because your "faller" gets broken. We've all had relationships that didn't work out for one reason or another. The loss of a relationship can be a traumatic experience and can affect us in our lives for months and sometimes for years. You need to understand what role you played in the relationship's demise, and work to come to peace with your partner's behavior as well as your own. No matter what has happened to you, the only hope of a healthy future relationship is to let go of the past.

4. Healthy Compromise in Relationships.

Negotiating win-win possibilities in relationships often means seeing things through the eyes of the others involved in the situation or problem. In most cases of healthy compromise, both parties feel they are "right." Healthy compromise is the hallmark of healthy relationships. The Lord's peace often results when each side comes close to His viewpoint, His perfect plan for both parties. We cannot remain so entrenched in our view that we cannot change or adapt, and we must know when not to compromise too far.

5. Safeguarding Your Relationships.

In order to maximize your life and relationships, you have to minimize your load. You must focus on what's important when it comes to your relationships. Lightening your load means knowing when to release things. Most of don't realize that the key to release ourselves is within our own hands. You can move ahead and conserve your strength for things that count, things you can change, things you can control. Have the wisdom to see the importance of giving you all to your relationships today!

6. Evaluate Who You Are.

When you see yourself as valuable enough to deserve love and attention from the other person, you form a boundary that you will not compromise. A little self-esteem goes a long way in garnering the courage to ask and answer questions that reveal who you really are and what you really want. Once you look realistically at who you really are and what you desire in a healthy relationship, you are ready to enter into the research that will lead to sound decisions.

Bishop T.D. Jakes in

Love Her

 

“Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up… an unloved woman who is married.” Proverbs 30:21, 23a

 

What does a woman long for from her husband? Simply love. A husband’s love is like a fresh breath from heaven for a wife who feels vulnerable and at times fearful. His love is a rock of refuge after she reels from a relational conflict at work, church, or from another family member. The love of her husband goes a long way in satisfying that deep desire of a woman to love and be loved. 

“His banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4b).

Husbands, a gracious woman is not to be taken advantage of or to be taken for granted. Instead, thank God for a wife who wants to please the Lord and serve her family. When was the last time you loved your bride in a way that she wants you to love her, in a way that only you can love her? Have you asked her lately how she needs to feel loved by you?

Outside of Christ’s love, your love is the most meaningful, valuable, and satisfying to your spouse. She needs to know that all of you belongs to her and all of her belongs to you. There is never a place for a feeling of competition between your wife and another woman. Dismiss this danger at the outset. Make your wife feel the fidelity of a “one-woman man.” You desire no other.

“My lover is mine and I am his” (Song of Solomon 2:16a).

Where can you learn to love your wife? Ask her. Learn from her, for this is her natural disposition. Seek out men who love their wives well and gain insights from them. Ask God. He is the Lord of love and Lord over your marriage. Go to the source of love, your Savior Jesus, and He will instruct you in the way you can love your wife unconditionally.

By God’s grace, love her by protecting her. Love her by trusting her. Love her by giving her encouragement and hope. And always love her through the good times and the bad times. Love her with your words, love her with your time and love her with gifts and kind words. A wife loved well by her husband is beautiful to behold—she is a trophy of God’s grace.

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:7).

How does my wife want me to love her? How does God want me to love my wife?

Related Readings: Ecclesiastes 9:9; Hosea 3:1; 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 5:25-26

Respect Him

 

“The wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33b

Respect for a husband is like love is for a wife. It is a catalyst for his confidence and encouragement that he can fulfill his role as provider and leader. Most men question their ability to be everything they need to be for their family. But insecurities become insignificant in a home where a husband feels respect. A wife’s support energizes her man like jet fuel to a booster rocket.

Husbands need the respect and support of their wives. It of course works both ways, as the wife needs to feel the support of her husband. But, respect is huge for a man. A God-fearing husband knows the Lord has placed him in a position of leadership. It is overwhelming sometimes, feeling squeezed by the pressures of life. The last thing a husband needs to feel is distance or distrust from his wife. Her spousal support may be the only thing that is preventing him from giving up.

“He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect” (1 Timothy 3:4).

Wives: Do not underestimate how your support sustains your husband. Your affirmation is valuable and powerful for the ongoing success of your husband. Men are not as self-sufficient as they might seem. On the outside we may seem invincible, but on the inside we are needy and desperate for recognition and validation. A man needs to know his wife trusts his decision making and his ability to provide for his family.

Your confidence in him propels his confidence in himself to higher levels. Your belief in your husband builds him up to believe in himself. It is difficult for a man to rise any higher than the opinion of his helpmate. Men long to be built up by their brides. Brag on him in public and affirm him in private. Look to your husband as the leader God has placed in your life.

Pray for him to lead lovingly and wisely. Be patient and don’t usurp his authority when things are not getting done. Trust him to God, for He can handle him much better than your creative consequences. Give him over to God and trust in the accountability of the Almighty. Embrace your husband in the light of eternity. God wants him to grow up and give spiritual leadership. Let him lead—even when it means he fails. Your respect can grow the heart of your husband to love well.

“Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (Romans 13:7).

How can I respect my husband in a way that encourages him and also honors the Lord?

 
Related Readings: Deuteronomy 1:15; Proverbs 31:23; Luke 11:43; 1 Timothy 3:2-4

Marriage & Family

If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel– 1 Timothy 5:8

We live in an age of self-justification. We can excuse or explain almost any personal behavior or habit or shortcoming, making a case for our own innocence. But Paul here cuts through all our layers of self-defense and plainly states our obligation.

If you, husbands and fathers, are not carefully laboring to provide the food, shelter, and clothing that are needed by your family—to the best of your ability—then you are not a Christian, no matter how much you may protest to the contrary.

In fact, Paul says, you have denied the faith of Christ by your actions; therefore, you are worse than an unbeliever, because you are bringing reproach on the name of Christ. You cannot claim an allegiance to Christ, on the one hand, and selfishly or carelessly deny the help to your family that Christ demands of you.

These words may sound strong or harsh, but in reality they are helpful and loving. We might be tempted to deceive ourselves on this issue, if it were not so plainly worded for us. Our families might suffer because of our thoughtless neglect, except that Paul has forced us to consider them.

If you have failed in this regard, do not give up; it is never too late to repeal your denial of the faith, to throw off your unbelief, and to show your commitment to Christ by laboring for the welfare of your family.

Passive Husband

“So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, ‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.” 1 Kings 21:4

A passive husband is a poor leader. He lacks leadership for his wife, his children and his work. His passivity may be a result of many things. He may be stuck in neutral because he feels overwhelmed. The thought of doing anything locks him down. He may be unable to function as a leader because he didn’t get his way. If he can’t do things his way, he will not do them at all.

He may be passive because his dad was passive. This is the only role model he has ever known. A man may be suffering from chronic passivity because his confidence has been crushed. He has never recovered from a traumatic event that sent him into a sequence of bad choices. Or, a man’s lack of action may be a combination of these or other reasons. He is like a turtle perpetually stuck in his shell, afraid to come out and face the realities of life. He may be going through the motions of life, but something is missing. The fire to engage life has been extinguished, or is only flickering at best.

If that describes you, it is time that you awoke from your slumber of irresponsibility. Your wife and others have covered for you long enough. You are on the verge of losing what you have worked for all these years. More importantly, the respect of your wife may be quickly vanishing, and your credibility in the community may be eroding. Now is the time to take the reigns of your responsibility and do something. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Eventually, however, you need to lead. This is your role and calling from God as a husband, a father and a man. Leaders are made, not born. Indeed, this is probably a huge faith issue for you. Nevertheless, these are opportune times to model, for those who love you, explicit trust in God. He understands your apprehensions about leadership. Your heavenly Father is your leader. You can lead, because He leads you. Lead as He leads you. Model His leadership. You cannot improve on the leadership style of Jesus.

Because He leads you as a servant, you can lead as a servant. Because He leads you with humility, you can lead with humility. Because He leads you in love, you can lead in love. Because He leads you with patience, you can lead with patience. Because He leads you with compassion, you can lead with compassion. Because He leads you with purpose, you can lead with purpose. Because He leads you with courage, you can lead with courage. Because Jesus led, dependent on His heavenly Father, you can lead dependent on your heavenly Father.

The Holy Spirit is the leader of your life. Submit to His leadership—He will move you from passive to active leadership: a leader led by the Holy Spirit. When you are led by God’s spirit, you will lead. It is as natural as falling off a log. Yes, you will fail along the way. But it is better to fail as a Spirit-led leader than to do nothing in your own strength. This requires faith, especially for a husband to take a risk as a leader. Faith overcomes fear and failure. Your leadership at times will let down your wife, but she will love you even more as she experiences your leading in love.

Giving her everything she wants is not leadership. Giving her a husband led by the Holy Spirit is what she needs. Trust God to take care of her wants. You give her what she needs. A passive husband sucks life from relationships. An engaging husband gives life to relationships. Be a life- giver by trusting God with your leadership. Lead for God’s sake!

Forgiving Your Parents

Forgiving our parents is a core task of adulthood, and one of the most crucial kinds of forgiveness. We see our parents in our mates, in our friends, in our bosses, even in our children. When we've felt rejected by a parent and have remained in that state, we will inevitably feel rejected by these important others as well.
 

But letting our parents off the hook, psychologist Robert Karen says, is the first step toward happiness, self-acceptance and maturity. Here are some thoughts to help the healing begin:

Resolve resentment.
Nursing resentments toward a parent does more than keep that parent in the doghouse. We get stuck there, too, forever the child, the victim, the have-not in the realm of love. Strange as it may seem, a grudge is a kind of clinging, a way of not separating, and when we hold a grudge against a parent, we are clinging not just to the parent, but more specifically to the bad part of the parent. It's as if we don't want to live our lives until we have this resolved and feel the security of their unconditional love. We do so for good reasons psychologically. But the result is just the opposite: We stay locked into the badness and we don't grow up.

Develop realistic expectations.
The sins of parents are among the most difficult to forgive. We expect the world of them, and we do not wish to lower our expectations. Decade after decade, we hold out the hope, often unconsciously, that they will finally do right by us. We want them to own up to all their misdeeds, to apologize, to make heartfelt pleas for our forgiveness. We want our parents to embrace us, to tell us they know we were good children, to undo the favoritism they've shown to a brother or sister, to take back their hurtful criticisms, to give us their praise.

Hold on to the good.
Most parents love their children, with surprisingly few exceptions. But no parent is perfect—which means that everyone has childhood wounds. If we're lucky, our parents were good enough for us to be able to hold on to the knowledge of their love for us and our love for them, even in the face of the things they did that hurt us.

Foster true separation.
To forgive is not to condone the bad things our parents have done. It's not to deny their selfishness, their rejections, their meanness, their brutality, or any of the other misdeeds, character flaws, or limitations that may attach to them. It is important to separate from our parents—which is to stop seeing ourselves as children who depend on them for our emotional well-being, to stop being their victims, to recognize that we are adults with some capacity to shape our own lives and the responsibility to do so.

Let your parents back into your heart.
When we do that, we can begin to understand the circumstances and limitations they labored under, recognize the goodness in them that our pain has pushed aside, feel some compassion perhaps, not only for the hard journey they had but also for the pain we have caused them.

Commit to the journey.
Getting to a forgiving place, finding the forgiving self inside us, is a long and complicated journey. We have to be ready to forgive. We have to want to forgive. The deeper the wound, the more difficult the process—which makes forgiving parents especially hard. Along the way, we may have to express our protest, we may have to be angry and resentful, we may even have to punish our parents by holding a grudge. But when we get there, the forgiveness we achieve will be a forgiveness worth having.

From the May 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

Everyone Can't Be In Your Front Row

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33

Life is a theater- invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives.

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.
It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, those not -going anywhere relationships/friendships and fellowships.

Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention to; which ones lean, which ones lift, which ones encourage and which ones discourage, which ones are on the path of growth and which ones are going downhill. When you leave certain people, do you feel better or worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know or appreciate the gifts that lie within you.

Listen; The more you seek God and the things of God, the more you seek quality, the more you seek not just the hand of God but the face of God, the more you seek things honorable, the more you see growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the "FRONT ROW" and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

You cannot change the people around you... but you can change the people you are around.  Ask God for wisdom and discernment and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life.

Born Twice

There is a longing within everyone to be a part of a loving family that lasts. In a world of fractured marriages and dysfunctional families, that longing becomes greater. No matter what type of family we're from, God gives all of us a chance to be part of the only family that lasts. We had no choice on our earthly family but we do have a choice on entering God's family through faith.

Jesus calls this spiritual birth being "born again." We all have a physical birthday, but not all of us have a spiritual birthday, which comes when we accept God's invitation to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior. With no spiritual birth, we die twice--physically and spiritually. But, with a spiritual birth, we die just once (physically), for our spirit lives forever.

Born once, we die twice. Born twice, we die once.

If we're born twice, we're saved from spiritual death and we're in the family of God forever.

John 3:3

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Raising Teenagers

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

It’s hard not to be exasperated by a teenager and its hard not to exasperate a teenager. For those who think they know everything, it seems impossible to tell them anything. Yet, God gives parents teenagers so they can learn laughter, wisdom, forgiveness, trust and the grace of imposing guidelines. After all, the older a teenager becomes the less a parent can control them—and therefore, the more is the parent’s felt need to give their teenager’s accountability over to the Lord.

Indeed, tension arises in the transition from immaturity to maturity. It’s during this avalanche of emotions that someone has to act like the adult. The parent is positioned by the Lord to be the voice of reason, as the transitioning teenager has yet to qualify. So, persistent prayer, patience and pardon go a long way in promoting peace in the home.
 
“Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.” Genesis 37:2-3

Fathers these passionate pre-adults need your firm and loving leadership as they learn how to manage their freedoms. Mom is the gentle nurturer when they are in grade school, but as they acquire acne you protect your wife from being taken advantage of with your wise and caring leadership. Most of all, remember to be intentional in your relational investment with your young person, as rules without relationship leads to rebellion.

Do you feel taken advantage of, lied to and manipulated? If so, welcome to the world of hormones hijacking the heart of some self absorbed teens. On the other hand, thank the Lord for those young people who, because of God’s grace, have grown in character and their care for others. Make sure to give these models of faithfulness positive feedback. It’s easy to only give attention to the troublemakers and take for granted the good kids.
 
Above all else, pray together as husband and wife for your teenagers to fear God, love Him and obey Christ’s commands. Ask the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit, so you can model for them what it means to be a loving disciple of Jesus. Confess your faults to the Lord and your child—and ask for their forgiveness. Teenagers trust transparency. Train and instruct them in worship, Bible study, service, faith, love and grace based living.

Related Readings: Psalm 89:19; Proverbs 23:22; Lamentations 3:26-28; Matthew 18:21-22

Kissed or Rebuked?

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful." Proverbs 27:6 (Amplified Bible)

Some people would rather be "kissed, than rebuked". If someone corrects us when we are wrong, we should not be offended but take it as a learning experience. Wrong is WRONG!! Regardless to who is it. Be humble and accept correction when we are wrong. Cautions and warnings litter the scriptures concerning being humble and repentant when we are wrong. Be warned again if you get mad at someone when they tell you the TRUTH about something you've done that was in fact wrong!!! Don't get mad. You know you did wrong, just accept the correction because it is from GOD. NO, you are NOT being judged, and if you are it is RIGHTEOUS. Do not become like------>

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (Amplified Bible)
1CHARGE [you] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by (in the light of) His coming and His kingdom:

2Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.

3For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,

4And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions.

Don't be deceived by pride.

"Be honest in your judgment and do not decide at a glance (superficially and by appearances); but judge fairly and righteously." John 7:24 (Amplified Bible)

Courtesy of Kelvin R. Jordan

THIS IS IT!

This is it! What if it’s too late? You had so many opportunities to say it. You had so many chances to do it. So many years, months, weeks and days….but you kept putting it off. You kept waiting until you ‘felt like it.’ Now it could be too late. This could be your last day. No one knows their last moment or their last breath. You could have told her that you loved her. You should have told him that you were sorry. You could have told them that you appreciated them. You should have told her that you forgave her. What about telling him that you were proud of him? This could be it. Today could be the last day; the last opportunity and the last chance. This is it!

Day after day you thought about it. You considered it, but you thought you had plenty of time. After all, you weren’t going anywhere and they aren’t going anywhere…right? You kept putting it off, because of your pride. You kept procrastinating because they didn’t say they were sorry to you first. You were going to help them, but you didn’t have time. You were going to check on him, but you were too busy. You always said that you would do it tomorrow. Tomorrow kept coming; tomorrow kept going, and still you find that you forgot; you were distracted…always an excuse, always a reason. This could be it. Today could be the last day; the last opportunity and the last chance. This is it!

Don’t put it off any longer. Live today as though it were your last. Tell people you forgive them; let others know you appreciate them;

show someone that you love them; check on the person you have been neglecting; reach out to that person who is lonely; witness to that lost co-worker… Come on, stop procrastinating. This could be it. Today could be the last day; the last opportunity and the last chance. This is it!

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little wile and then vanishes away.” James 4:14 NAS

When you stand before the Lord, what would be your reason; what would be your excuse for not loving others as you should, everyday, all day.
The two greatest commands are all about love.

Love somebody today who doesn’t love you; doesn’t care about you; won’t repay you, can’t repay you and doesn’t want to repay you…then you will be treating them the way God treated you…

PRAISE THE LORD SAINTS!

A Bondservant of Christ

Rev Toni-Brooke Brown, Pastor

God’s Storehouse

18301 John R

Detroit MI 48203

313 867-1234

www.Gods-Storehouse.org

Enough Is Enough

Milan Ford
Milan is scheduled to release his first book, 83 Things I Wish The Black Church Would Stop Doing, later this fall (2009). You can find Milan blogging at ThePewView.com or follow him at Twitter.com/milanford.




This past Sunday evening, I struggled heavily with writing this devotional for today. The theme for this week, Generational Blessings, is such a great one for us to discuss, that I wanted to find just the right words to say to stress the importance for us (as believers) to pass the wisdom, statutes, and blessings of our God from generation to generation.

After hours of staring at a blank page, I decided to take a break and flip through a few TV channels. It wasn't long till I discovered that BET (Black Entertainment Television) had scheduled a special Michael Jackson tribute during their 2009 music awards show. While not a fan of the network, I (along with millions of people across the world) was a huge fan of Jackson as a child.

Like many of you, I had been glued to the TV for three days straight in disbelief. While we all understand that indeed our days our numbered with the Lord, the passing of Michael Jackson still hit hard for many of us who grew up listening to his music. Despite the many personal challenges and character flaws he has often been attributed with, it is difficult to argue that his influence on today's pop culture and music is immeasurable. (I still have the glitter glove to prove it!!) So despite my distaste for the network - my wife and I decided to endure it anyway to see how this generation would pay tribute to one who helped pave the way for so many. Towards the end of the program, one of this generation's most popular artists, Lil Wayne, performed a song along with several others entitled, Every Girl. {enter a frown here}

Without assuming every one reading this devotional today is aware of this song, Every Girl is basically about the desire of this artist, and those who accompanied him on the song, to have sexual intercourse with "every girl" in the world. The explicit lyrics of this song (I promise you) are unparalleled. And despite the implications of this song, BET allowed Lil Wayne and those with him to perform the song with what appeared to be several underage girls dancing on stage.
{enter another frown here} My wife and I were frozen in shock. And our shock, quickly turned into tears. And with tears in my eyes, I walked back to that blank page I spoke to you about earlier and wrote these three words: Enough Is Enough.

Family, please hear me: I am thoroughly convinced that there is a direct link between one's ability to obtain and benefit from the GENERATIONAL blessings God has for them, with one's inability to address and eliminate the GENERATIONAL curses that they are faced with.
For generations, African-Americans have endured pain and suffering at the hands of unjust racial discrimination. However, because of a desire to see the next generation experience the blessings of God, a decision was made to fight against the discrimination that had for so long cursed them. However, there is one GENERATIONAL curse that has hindered our communities for far too long. Although we see it and know that it is there, we remain silent. However, interesting enough, our silence can be heard around the world every time you turn on the radio or television.

This curse must be addressed and broken for us to truly see the blessings God has for our people, regardless of race and creed. I am talking about the TREATMENT OF OUR WOMEN.
How can we continue to allow the very vehicle God created to bring forth and redeem mankind, be turned into a such an immoral and commercial commodity? How do we expect our nation, our churches, and our homes to be blessed when we curse the very creation of our God?

As a husband and father of three, I have come to understand that the manner in which I raise, protect, and pour into my family has GENERATIONAL implications, none greater than with my children. Church, we are the LIGHT of the world - and the SALT of the earth (Matt 5:13-14).
How can we continue to be fixated on receiving the blessings of God, when we are surrounded by curses that remain unbroken? Our voices must be heard. And our influence must be seen.
Today, I am serving our nation's entertainment industry this final notice: Enough Is Enough. We are the people of God, and our women are not just EVERY GIRLS. They are a BLESSING.
A blessing that must be protected GENERATION after GENERATION.
Church, it is time to rise.

Trust....

Trust - reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. (Dictionary.com)

A Person may develop a fear of trusting people for many reasons. You may have experience with people lying, cheating, stealing and/or betraying your confidence in any other way. It could be that you experienced your parents divorcing because of trust issues such as one or both of them cheated. You saw a friend suffering due to someone betraying their trust. You experienced your own hurt due to being betrayed by someone you opened up to or you are just an untrustworthy person and you don’t trust yourself. It doesn’t really matter if you were the one betrayed or betraying or if you saw someone else suffering from betrayal, in either case, the subconscious mind will still consider trusting other people dangerous.

If you believed in any idea, your subconscious mind will gather for you all the clues that prove that this idea is true. Your subconscious will discard some important events and will focus on the ones that prove that people aren’t trust worthy.

Trust forms the foundation for effective communication because it provides you the confidence you need to share your feelings and emotions with others. When trust exists in a relationship, almost everything else is easier and more comfortable to achieve.
Trust initially is how a relationships starts, and it is through the development of trust that relationships grow.

When you have problems trusting someone ask yourself these questions: If someone isn’t trust worthy does that mean that the whole world is not? If someone cheated on their partner, does this mean that the whole world cheats? The more you ask yourself these questions and are honest with the answers, the more you will be challenging your incorrect beliefs and the more you will start trusting people.

In order to build trust you have to begin with yourself. Allow others to trust you by being trustworthy. People who cheat on others and who lie often usually have problems trusting others because they think that everyone else is going to be like them. Even if you discovered that someone wasn’t trust worthy know that one person doesn’t represent the whole world, he/she is still one person.

You don’t have to trust everyone but you must know that there are some people out there who can be trusted.

Pray with Your Partner

It’s been said “families who pray together stay together.” Incorporate that into your marriage!

Taking the time to pray with your partner for at least five minutes a day can increase intimacy, trust and respect in your relationship. It allows God to work with you to build and strengthen your covenant and protects it. It also gives you more to talk about when you are on the same spiritual wavelength.

God wants to help the two of you build a marital foundation that is lasting and unshakable and with Him in the middle. "a threefold cord is not quickly broken " Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New King James Version) Our personal lives as well as married lives benefit from a living relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the more you pray, the more power will come to you. Find a mutual time to establishing your routine of praying. If you’re apart there is nothing wrong with praying on the phone.

Prayers don’t need to be long-winded or flowery. Prayer is simply talking with God. If you each speak for one or two minutes, that’s just fine or maybe in the beginning only one of you will speak. As you develop your own style and patterns, you may find yourself extending the experience. You will become more comfortable and both of you will want to state your concerns and requests. Praying is like exercise...the more you do it, the more natural it becomes and you can use everyday language because God does not require thees and thous. It’s your heart, not your tongue that He wants to hear from.

You should ask God to show you where your problem areas are, freely confessing those problems you perceive but don’t make this a time for bringing up your partner’s shortcomings. Thank God for your spouse and ask Him to show you ways in which you can love and support each other more. As you pray together, you will become more united in your thoughts and desires. Focusing on us. He wants to free you from the shackles of resentfulness, insecurity, mistrust, doubt, guilt, shame, fear, uncertainty. Don’t own it anymore. Give it all to Him. Let God carry your baggage.