It's Time to Snap Out of It!

 Happy Sunday!

I want to take this time to apologize for the break in my "Happy Sunday! messages.  I had computer problems.  I hope to have them permanently resolved soon!  I was so sad about missing even one Sunday.  I was trying to complete the whole year without missing one Sunday!  Oh well, I will try again.  Thanks to everyone that let me know how they missed the messages.

I haven't missed any church services though, and Bishop has been preaching excellent messages as usual.

Last week he preached,  "It's Time to Snap Out of It!"  He used 2 Kings 7:3-11 as his text.  I love that story!

2 Kings 7:3-11 (New Living Translation)   
 ³ Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates.  “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. ⁴ “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”    ⁵ So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! ⁶ For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!” they cried to one another. ⁷ So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives.  ⁸ When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. ⁹ Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.”   ¹⁰ So they went back to the city and told the gatekeepers what had happened. “We went out to the Aramean camp,” they said, “and no one was there! The horses and donkeys were tethered and the tents were all in order, but there wasn’t a single person around!” ¹¹ Then the gatekeepers shouted the news to the people in the palace.

Bishop encouraged us to "SNAP OUT OF IT!"  You know what your "IT" is.  It is that fear that keeps you from being all you can be, it is the negative things people have told you in the past, and it is anything that keeps you from moving forward.  Bishop asked us, and now I ask you..."What if there is in a better you in you?"

God wants you to be your best!  He has given you all you need to succeed.

2 Peter 1:3 (New Living Translation)

 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

You just have to decide to move!

“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

Love always, have a wonderful week!  Cynthia

You are an Over-comer!

Happy Sunday!

“You are an Over-comer!”  “You are a Survivor!”   After all you've experienced in your life, you are still here!  By the Grace of God you are alive!.  Yes, life can be depressing, difficult, and disappointing.  You may suffer set-backs, reversals, and struggles.  But you must remember you are an over-comer! 

Bishop Thomas preached from Revelations 12:7-11.

Revelation 12:7-11 (New Living Translation)

 ⁷ Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. ⁸ And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. ⁹This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
 ¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,
   “It has come at last—
      salvation and power
   and the Kingdom of our God,
      and the authority of his Christ.
   For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
      has been thrown down to earth—
   the one who accuses them
      before our God day and night.
 ¹¹ And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
      and by their testimony.
   And they did not love their lives so much
      that they were afraid to die.

If you remember the story, the Apostle John was banished to the Island of Patmos for preaching about Jesus.  Historians believe he was forced to work in the rock quarry, but was allowed to worship one day a week.  While worshipping one day he experienced visions and wrote about what was revealed to him.  In this text he writes about a war in heaven.  Not the normal place you would expect a war to be going on.  He describes the fight and explains what caused the winners to prevail over their enemy.  These same things will help you to win in life.

Their “Covering” – The Blood of the Lamb –  In the story of Moses, the last plague visited upon Pharaoh was the death of the firstborn.  God instructed the Israelites to kill an unblemished lamb and place the lambs’ blood upon the doorposts.  When the death angel saw the blood, he wouldPassover.   The Egyptians suffered the loss of their firstborns because they did not have the blood covering.  Jesus is our sacrificial lamb and he paid the price for our protection.  

Their “Confession” - The Word of their Testimony - The Psalmist wrote, “Let the redeemed of the Lord, say so!”

Psalm 107:2 (The Message)

    Oh, thank God—he's so good! His love never runs out. 
   All of you set free by God, tell the world! 
      Tell how he freed you from oppression, 
   Then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas. 

We win by letting others know what we have overcome.  Too often we don’t share our testimony with others.  We suffer and those around us suffer because we are silent.  We are afraid to let people know what we’ve been through and where we’ve come from.  But your testimony will encourage the right people to continue when they feel like giving up.  There are people who are experiencing things right now that you have already overcome.  Let God lead you. 

Their “Commitment” – The did not love their lives more than the cause of Christ – Galatians 2:20 (New King James Version)  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

I often think about our ancestors.  Maybe your ancestors came to the United States in the Nina, the Pinta, or the Santa Maria.  Maybe your ancestors were "Native" to this land.  Maybe your ancestors came through the "Middle Passage". However they arrived, they were survivors!  They endured untold horrors and uncertainty, but they survived.  They experienced the death of loved ones, separation from family and friends, loss of property and belongings.  They went hungry, they may have been financially bankrupt.  They were raped, beaten, and cheated!  But they survived, I know they did!  Because you are living proof!  You come from very good stock!  You can make it!  You are an over-comer!  You are a survivor! 

 Have a wonderful week!  Remember who you are!  Cynthia

Don’t Let Nothing Block Your Blessing

Happy Sunday!

“Don’t Let Nothing Block Your Blessing” that was our encouragement from  Bishop Alexis A. Thomas today. Yes, Ebonics included! LOL!  He wanted us to be aware of some of the “Blessing Blockers”.

God wants you to be blessed!  He said so in the WORD;   3 John 1:2 (King James Version)  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

God is a good father and he gets no pleasure or enjoyment seeing you suffer in any way. The word blessed means: divinely or supremely favored; fortunate.  Or as the Amplified Bible defines it,  blessed means - (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions).   Throughout the bible God promises blessings to those who will listen and obey.

So what are some of the “Blessing Blockers”?

·         Not having a relationship with Jesus Christ will block your blessings.   Rev. Cleophus Robinson Sr. used to sing a song, There’s only one bridge that can take you to heaven.  That bridge is Jesus…John 14:6 (Contemporary English Version)  "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father.

And you may say, I'm blessed and I don't have a personal relationship with Jesus. Well my friend, the Word says the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust.  Do you just want to get a trickle of what God has for you?  Or would you like to get all he's got prepared just for you?

·         Not being consistent with the things of God will block your blessings.  

Hebrews 11:6 (New International Version)  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

James 1:6-7 (New Living Translation)   But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

·         Hanging out with the wrong crowd will block your blessings.  

Psalm 1:1 (GOD’S WORD Translation)  Blessed is the person who does not   follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers.

Bishop explained that he enjoys watching the space shuttle lift offs.  He compared it to our lives.   The space shuttle has booster rockets attached.  The purpose of the booster rockets is to get the space shuttle into orbit.  Once the shuttle is in orbit the booster rockets must fall away from the shuttle.  In order to be blessed we may have to let go of some people and some things.   They were instrumental in getting us started on our way, but they will not accompany us into our destiny.  

·         Being Stingy will block your blessings.  

Luke 6:38 (Contemporary English Version)  If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (Contemporary English Version)  God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others.

·         Being a Hater will block your blessings.   If God blesses your neighbor, rejoice because it means he’s in your neighborhood.

·         Not Praising God will block your blessings.   Psalm 100:4-5 (King James Version)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Don't let anyone or anything block your blessings!

Have a blessed week!  Love and prayers, Cynthia