What would you have done?

Greetings!

Today is Palm Sunday. Traditionally, folks go to church on this Sunday to get palms. For generations, people have collected palms to hang in their homes, in their cars and even on their jobs. I think most people get them because that's what has always been done. When I was growing up, I don't recall my parents explaining to me what the palms were for. I just knew we had to have them hanging around. My mother would hang them on the mirror in our living room...and just seeing them there was part of the Easter holiday for me. But I had no idea why...

For Christians, Palm Sunday symbolizes the beginning of Holy Week. During this week, we remember what Christ did for us. We celebrate His sacrifice. We celebrate His love for us and we celebrate that He gave up His life for us. But we have to also remember how the people began the week celebrating Him and by the end of the week, they were shouting, "Crucify Him." Would we have joined in with the others as they made the decision to let a murderer go free in the place of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Would we stand up for Him? Would we allow fear to override our faith?

My pastor made a good point today. He challenged us to think about what we would have done in that situation. Think about that? The people didn't know what the outcome was going to be. At the beginning of the week, Jesus came riding in on a donkey looking like royalty and by the end of the week, His body had been torn to shreds and He didn't look like He would be able to save them or Himself. They didn't know, but we do.

We have the benefit of knowing that He did conquer death on the cross for them and for us and that He was everything the people were looking for and so much more...

Until next time...

Be blessed

It takes a pressing...

Greetings!

The song, You Made a Way, by Travis Greene sums up how I am feeling today. God just never ceases to amaze me. He keeps making a way out of no way. Just when you think nothing makes sense...He does something to show you that there is a plan in place and that if you hang in there He will show you things you never even expected.

I was thinking about that song and how God works when the Holy Spirit dropped in my spirit that sometimes to get fresh oil...to get a fresh anointing...there will be a pressing. That it may appear that things are not getting any better and you may feel that you are not going to make it, but that pressing is bringing out the best in you. That pressing is not going to take you out...it is going to make you stronger. God will move mountains for you. He will cause walls to fall. He will remove obstacles and open doors that no man can shut. But none of that will happen until you give up your right to be right. God needs you to know that in Him is where you will find your strength, your joy, your peace and your power.

God will never fail you. Nothing about what you are going through is random. God is bringing out of you what you will need in the days, months and years to come. He knows what you are going to come up against and He knows about those things that are going to try to make you quit, but nothing can cause you to abort your purpose. Nothing. God has already sent ahead of you what you will need when you get there. That's the kind of God we serve.

Right now you may be going through a pressing...just know that it was not designed to hurt you, but to make you stronger in Him. God is right there with you. Trust the process.

Until next time...

Be blessed

Next Level

Greetings!

Praise is good. Getting it...giving it...it always feels good, but let me tell you there is something about worship that just takes your praise to the next level. I know they feel the same, but there is a difference. I can praise you for doing a good job, but I will never worship you. My worship is reserved for God. I worship Him; I adore Him and I love Him with a love that can't be put into words...

He is the great I AM and there is nothing or no one greater than He is. Just thinking about Him makes me want to run around the block. Whenever we sing songs about the blood in our church I feel this overwhelming feeling of reverence for Him and I know the Bible says there is power in His blood. It is cleansing. It is healing. It is freeing. Sometimes in our lives, we have to go through those low places....those valleys and it is not fun. But let me tell you...God is there...teaching...training...loving us through it. His blood reaches every area of our lives and just like the song says, that blood never loses its power. Oh my goodness! I feel that. God is doing a work right now and somebody needs to know that it is not because you did anything wrong. It is God preparing you for the next level.

The Holy Spirit touched my heart today and took me to the next level in my worship. That place where only God and I reside. It's in that place that you can ask anything and you know with certainty that He hears you. I pray today that you fall in love with Him all over again...that you dedicate your life to Him all over again. 

For this next level, we are going to have to forget all about what we want and just focus on what He wants for us. Pull close to Him. If we do that...He will take care of everything else in our lives.

Until next time...

Be blessed