You Choose

Happy Sunday!

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for ME and my house, WE will SERVE the LORD."(Joshua 24:15 AMPC).

Moses was dead, and Joshua was the new leader.  He didn't tiptoe around the issues with the Children of Israel.  He reminded them that God has given us free will, we get to choose.  He doesn't force us to serve, honor, love or obey Him.  We get to choose.  After all that God has done for us, you would think the choice would be easy.  Romans 2:4 says, "Don’t you realize how PATIENT he is being with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see that he has been waiting all this time without punishing you, to give you time to turn from your sin? His KINDNESS is meant to lead you to repentance."(TLB).

I ran across this poem, and it's so fitting.

"You are the person who has to decide.

Whether you'll do it or toss it aside;

You are the person who makes up your mind.

Whether you'll lead or will linger behind.

Whether you'll try for the goal that's afar.

Or just be contented to stay where you are.” - Edgar A. Guest

Have a positive, powerful, and prosperous week!

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Oldie, but Goodie!

Happy Sunday!

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome fathers! Shout out to my Daddy, Perry A Woods, Sr.! 

This is a Re-Post from June 2012.   Bishop Alexis A. Thomas has gone home to be with the Lord, but back then he reminded us that we should be grateful for the people in our lives that taught us about God and made sure we attended church services whether we liked it or not! When I think of my Daddy, I think of First Baptist Church of Chesterfield in Chesterfield, Missouri. As Martha Stewart says, "That's a Good thing!"

Bishop Thomas preached, "Are You Balanced?" He used Ephesians 6:4 as his reference scripture. You know I love the opportunity to read the Word in several translations. It makes it so clear.

• Message Translation - "Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master".

• New Living Translation - "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord".

• GOD'S WORD Translation - "Fathers, don’t make your children bitter about life. Instead, bring them up in Christian discipline and instruction".

Parenting is challenging! Proverbs 22:15 says, "Young people are prone to foolishness and fads; the cure comes through tough-minded discipline". (Message Translation) I don't know about you, but periodically I replay things I've done or said to my children in my mind. I think, "I wish I'd done that or said that differently". Unfortunately, we can't go back for a do-over. But there is hope for those of you with young children. In everything we do, we need balance. The King James version of this scripture says, "Nurture and Admonition". Nurture means chastisement and discipline. Admonition means dialog, instruction, and counsel.

Even those of us without young children or without children at all, we need balance too! Balance between our work and our personal life. Some nights I dream about work, isn't that sad! I need balance! I need to find a happy place where I can leave work at work and enjoy time away from work! It comforts me to know that God "will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation". - 1 Peter 5:10 (Good New's Translation) I need balance in my finances. I need balance in my diet and exercise. I'm doing better and I thank God..."And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns". - Philippians 1:6 (New Living Translation)

Are you balanced?

Moving toward greater balance this week! Love, Cynthia

Bored?

 Happy Sunday!

"Then, knowing what lies ahead for you, you won’t become BORED with being a Christian nor become spiritually dull and indifferent, but you will be anxious to follow the example of those who receive ALL that God has promised them because of their strong faith and patience."(Hebrews 6:12, Living Bible).

Because of their strong faith and patience, the people in the previous scripture received all that God had promised them.  Don't you want everything you are promised?  Of course you do!  You don't go in and order a fully loaded vehicle and then accept a stock model with manual windows.  You want what you were promised, what you ordered, or what you paid for.  Jesus paid it all!  He paid for your life, healing, wellbeing and prosperity.  Isaiah 53:5 says, "But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so.  Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him. He endured the breaking that made us whole.  The injuries he suffered became our healing."(Voice).  

Psalm 78:41 sheds some light on why the Children of Israel missed out on the Promises of God, "Again and again they turned away and tempted God to kill them and limited the Holy One of Israel from giving them his blessings."(Living Bible).  WOW!  What were they doing that made God so angry?  I'll tell you what they were doing, and we sometimes do these things as well.  Murmuring and complaining, speaking against their leaders, and doubting if God would provide for them.  

The Apostle Paul offers a bit of encouragement for us, "Let us not grow tired of doing good, for, unless we throw in our hand, the ultimate harvest is assured. Let us then do good to all men as opportunity offers, especially to those who belong to the Christian household."(Galatians 6:7, Phillips).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

FEARLESS

Happy Sunday!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7(KJV)

Luke 21:26 describes a time to come when, "People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world."(CEV).  In every generation there are things that can produce fear.   Watch just 15 minutes of your local news broadcast and you can be tempted to fear!  Fear of carjacking on the street, fear of nuclear war, fear of economic hardship, and fear of the side effects of a medicine you need to survive are just a few.  Revelation 21:8 tells us that the "FEARFUL" will spend eternity in Lake of Fire.  We definitely don't want to be there forever, and ever.  How can I live a life without fear?  I'm so glad you asked!  Romans 10:17 tells us that, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of God."(KJV).  

To live a life without fear, we must "lean on, rely in, and trust the Word of God"(Psalm 37:3, AMP).  To live a life without fear, the Word has to be more than just ink on a page.  The Word has to be "hidden in our hearts" so that when we are tempted to fear the Word rises up to squash it.(Psalm 119:11).   1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.(KJV).  Another translation of this scripture says, "Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected."(Phillips).  Don't miss this!  When we understand and accept the fact that we are loved by God, we can live without fear.

As children we learned and sang, "Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so!"   Why did we have to repeat it so many times?  We repeated it then, and we repeat it now because our enemy the Devil is constantly lying and telling us that we are not loved, that we are not lovable, and that no one really cares about us.  Jesus described Satan as the "Father of Lies". (John 8:44).  He lies about everything!  Don't let him fool you!  If he's telling you anything, it's a lie.  And if it's not a full lie, he's bound to have twisted some truth by adding a lie.  Think about when Jesus was in the wilderness.  The enemy tried to tempt Jesus by perverting the Word.  “Jump off,” he said, “and prove you are the Son of God; for the Scriptures declare, ‘God will send his angels to keep you from harm,’ . . . they will prevent you from smashing on the rocks below.”(Matthew 4:6, Living Bible).   He was taking Psalm 91:11-12 out of context.  It says, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."(KJV).  Jesus didn't waste time arguing with the Devil, "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."(Matthew 4:7, KJV).  

Dr. Bill Winston said, "Any Believer that will not be AFRAID will always conquer. The anointing that will flow will guarantee success!"    Fear Not!

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. - Matthew 10:26(KJV)

And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. - Matthew 10:28(KJV)

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. - Matthew 10:31(KJV)

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. - Luke 12:32(KJV)

Bless Others

Happy Sunday!

This is a Re-post from May 2017!  It falls right in line with what Pastor Tiff Shuttlesworth preached at our church this morning.  I hope you enjoy it!  Happy Memorial Day!

Many years ago, I began to pray..."Lord help me to be a blessing to everyone I come in contact with!"  I still pray this and I'm so grateful that as I have prospered, and I am able to do more.  I think I've always been a giver, and giving is so much more fun when the range of gifts and blessings to others expands.  Now before you send me a link to your third cousins ex-boyfriends Go Fund Me page, let me say I've learned the hard way that giving must be inspired or led by the Holy Spirit.  I once had an attitude with God, after giving time and resources to a few ungrateful and seemingly heartless individuals.  Yes, don't worry he can handle it!  He said to me, not audibly but I really know it was the Lord..."I didn't tell you to give THEM anything!"  Ouch!  When I thought it over, the warnings were there.  I bypassed the leading of the Holy Spirit and did what I thought was right.  Yes, we are promised in Luke 6:38 that when we give, it will be given back to us in a corresponding manner to which we gave.  We are also assured in the Word, that being WISE is better than money.  Proverbs 16:16 says, "Wisdom is worth much more than gold. Understanding is worth much more than silver."(Easy-to-Read Version).

People will always remind you that prosperity is much more than money.  Yes, of course, prosperity is physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial.  Even though each of these are important, much more falls on the financial.  If we are honest, we probably have a list of all the things we would do if the money was right.  Jesus often spoke about money and our relationship with things.  His ultimate theme was "Being Blessed to Be a Blessing".   We often miss this theme especially in the story of the "Rich Young Ruler".  Matthew 19 tells the story. The young man comes to Jesus and asks, "Teacher, what good deed can I do to assure myself eternal life?"   Jesus told him keep the commandments.  The young man boasts that he'd kept them all his life.  You know how we do..."Oh, I have always been saved.  I've been in church all my life!"  But as the old church members would say, "You ain't living a nickles worth of nothing!"  Jesus could see through the facade!  He knew the young man just wanted to buy his way in.  His trust was in what his money, and the security, and position it could provide.  Jesus had nothing against financial prosperity.  He later told the disciples,  “Let me assure you that no one has ever given up ANYTHING—home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or property—for love of me and to tell others the Good News, who won’t be given back, a HUNDRED times over, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—with persecutions!  All these will be his HERE on earth, and in the world to come he shall have eternal life."(Mark 10:29-30, Living Bible).  If the young man had stayed around long enough, he would have found out that you "can't beat God giving, no matter how you try!"

I'm personally working on giving MERCY and understanding.  I'm trying to give the spiritual and emotional support others need.  My co-workers and my children laugh at how random people just want to talk to me.  Yes, even crazy people in public.  They don't know I can cast them demons out!  LOL!  People are hurting, they are often misunderstood.  They are lonely! They are fearful.  Psychologists and psychiatrists are being paid for what we share for free.  Yes, there are times when I don't want to be bothered and try not to make eye contact.  But there are times when I allow the Holy Spirit to lead.  Those times brings great joy.  It's what great songs and poems are written about...that perfect moment when you are in the right place at the right time with the right information and the right understanding and you do the right thing!  Colossians 3:22-25 says, "Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work."(Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

GOD is waiting on you...

Happy Sunday!

Trust in God totally OR God takes his hands off! - Dr.  Bill Winston

When I heard this quote, I thought about a person trying to save someone who is drowning.  Perhaps, you have already been warned about trying to rescue a drowning person.  In panic, the drowning person will instinctively grab onto and push up on anything they can.  Sadly, many times, the one trying to rescue another ends up drowning!  God is trying to save us from Poverty, Sickness, and Death!  But if we insist on doing it our way, God will allow us to drown in our mess.   

Oh, I know what you are thinking..."God is merciful, He's sovereign, He's in control."  Yes, you are correct!  But most importantly, God is TRUE to His WORD!  He will NEVER contradict His Word.  He gave man DOMINION in this earth, after losing that dominion to Satan, Jesus came and RESTORED our Dominion and Authority.  NOW we are responsible to RECIEVE what has already been provided.  GOD isn't waiting to do anything.  He's waiting on US to do what we have been COMMANDED and receive the Blessing.  

BUT many of us would rather BLAME God, the government, or our families for where we are, and what we have.  This thinking is nothing new, Isaiah 45:9-10 says, "Woe to the man who fights with his Creator. Does the pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with him who forms it, saying, “Stop, you’re doing it wrong!” or the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be!”? Woe to the baby just being born who squalls to his father and mother, “Why have you produced me? Can’t you do anything right at all?” (Living Bible).  Sounds foolish, doesn't it?

God will not do anything that he has told YOU to do!  Stop praying and telling God to go to the hospital!  He told you to, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the lepers, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!"(Matthew 10:8, KJV).   Stop telling God to go to the prisons and help the homeless!  Jesus said a certain group of people would be recognized one day.  They will be the people that did the following things, "For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me."(Matthew 25:35-36, Living Bible).  

God is a SPIRIT.  He determined that to do business legally in the Earth you must have a physical body!  That's why Jesus had to come in the flesh!  You have a physical body, and you have work to do!  He has given us the tools to change our lives and our world.  I know.  It's daunting...but God did not give us a spirit of fear! (2 Timothy 1:7).   Fear short-circuits your Faith!  Faith is the only thing that will defeat the enemy.

Love and prayers, Cynthia

LISTS

 Happy Sunday!

We love lists!  Every magazine cover I see has at least one list.   "Ten Steps to Great Abs", "Five Ways to Know He Cares", and "Seven Steps to a Happy Life" and on and on and on!  My Mother loved to leave us lists of chores that had to be done before she arrived home from work.  My children can attest to the fact that I have created similar lists in my child rearing days.  Even the Bible is full of lists.  Psalm 1 lists the description of a Blessed Man..."Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God."(Easy-to-Read Version).    Proverbs 6:16-19 lists the seven things that God hates..."These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him:  A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil,  A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren."(Amplified).

So often I just wonder if there is a quick one step method that will cover all the bases.  Obedience is a great starting place!  When King Saul sinned, God instructed the Prophet Samuel to tell him, "Behold, to OBEY is better than sacrifice..."(1 Samuel 15:22, KJV).  Now before you brush me off and stop reading, even the Apostle James saw a need for simple obedience.  He compared our disobedient tongues with animals in nature, but even the animals can be tamed and learn to obey!  James 3:7-8 says, "For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."(KJV).  Now thankfully, when we submit our tongues to the Holy Spirit in obedience, they can be tamed and used to bless ourselves and others.  Obedience is the key, and it's not hard to do!  1 John 5:3 says, "Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all."(Living Bible).  

Years ago, Dr. Bill Winston preached a series entitled, "Christ in You" with the subtitle, "Fulfilling Your Dominion Mandate".  When Adam sinned against God he lost several things.  He lost fellowship, he lost assignment, he lost provision, and he lost his mind.  What a SAD list!  But Jesus came to get all of our stuff back.  What Jesus did for us is not just a sweet story to recant on Resurrection Sunday.  Jesus paid the price needed to get us back to Dominion!  You are meant to dominate!  Situations and circumstances are not supposed to dominate you!  You do have the upper hand, it's the Hand of God through the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Dr. Winston said, "Don't you dare complain when you are dominated!  Dominate!"   2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "Now thanks be unto God, which ALWAYS causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place."(KJV).   Don't miss this!  We are designed to WIN all the time!  We have access to the Unlimited Potential of God!  We can LISTEN and OBEY, and WIN!   Start where you are.  OBEY God when he says, "Don't lie."  Get to work on time, be the best employee they've ever had!  OBEY God when he says, "Give!"  He's responsible for the getting and he promises abundance.  Luke 6:38 is true!  "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."(NASB).   OBEY God when he says love your enemies.  Hating people is like a self-inflicted wound.  They continue on their way, while you are get stuck in the mud of what they did to you.

We may always have lists, but obedience can change our lists to lists of gratitude and thankfulness...like "One Million Ways God Has Blessed Me".

Love and prayers, Cynthia