Acknowledge

Happy Sunday!

Proverbs 3:1-4 says, "My son, never forget the things I’ve taught you. If you want a long and satisfying life, closely follow my instructions. Never tire of loyalty and kindness. Hold these virtues tightly. Write them deep within your heart."(Living Bible) This proverb is overflowing with valuable instructions necessary for a good life. You probably already know this passage by heart. It's like the precious words of a loved one. I constantly hear things in my head, and heart that my mother, and grandmother used to say. Remembering is not enough! The only way these proverbs and words of wisdom will benefit us is to apply them or as the next verse in this chapter says, "acknowledge" them.

Dr. Bill Winston talked about the duties of an air traffic controller.  The air traffic controller has tools that allow him to see the big picture.  The pilot receives clearance and instructions from the air traffic controller. The pilot must trust the air traffic controller. The pilot may hear the instructions and fully intend to obey. But he must acknowledge that he has heard and will comply. If the pilot fails to respond and obey, the consequences could be deadly. Proverbs 3:5-7 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil." (KJV)

Acknowledge means, to accept or admit the existence or truth of.  When was the last time you acknowledged the Lord?  When was the last time you accepted His Word as truth?  When was the last time you considered that the way you are doing things may not be right? When was the last time you reverenced the Lord? Hopefully, you are admitting the existence and truth of God daily. If you do, there are tremendous blessings available! Verse 1 promises a long satisfying life, verse 4 promises favor with God and with men,  and verse 6 promises clear direction for your life.

Verse 8 of this chapter says, "It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."(KJV)  Another translation says, "Then your body will be healthy and your bones strengthened."(Common English Version)  Did you get that? Do you truly trust God? Do you realize that when you acknowledge Him health and strength are guaranteed? Verse 10 says, "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."(KJV)  In Hebrew the word "acam" is translated "barns" and it means storehouses. The Hebrew word "mala" is translated filled and it means a steady flow.  In Hebrew the word "saba" is translated "plenty" and it means abundance, luxury, and inexhaustible supply.  Isn't that wonderful? Acknowledge God, admit that he is right and your storehouses will have a steady flow of abundance, luxury, and an inexhaustible supply!  As my little sister, Zorina Ann Brown always says, "That's what I'm talking about!"  That's the kind of blessing I want, and I plan to have.

Last but not least, verse 10 ends with, "thy presses shall burst out with new wine."  Wine represents joy! I was reading in Psalms this week.  I may have started in Psalm 103, but happened to run up on Psalm 104:15.  It says, "You give us the wine that makes us happy, the oil that makes our skin soft, and the food that makes us strong."(Easy-to-Read Version)  I had to smile!  God thinks of everything!  He wants you to be joyful!  He cares about your well-being!

Acknowledging Him, love and prayers, Cynthia

Protection from Bullies

Happy Sunday!

Praying that you enjoyed the week and are ready to embark on the Holidays!  I love you and I am praying for you like the Apostle Paul prayed for the church at Ephesus, "God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power." Ephesians 1:17-19 (Voice)

Dr. Bill Winston continued the series entitled, "The Power of Love" with the subtitle, "Possessing Your Mountain".  As the old folks used to say, "It gets gooder and gooder!"  It may not be grammatically correct and the words may not be in the dictionary but it describes how relevant these messages are in my life.  I hope that they are meaningful to you, and bless you.

John 14:21 says, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (KJV)  Don't miss that!  Keeping God's commandments proves how much you love him.  Don't tell me you love Jesus and your life shows no proof!  No, not just the length of your skirt, or the number of Thanksgiving Baskets you gave to the poor, it's obedience that reveals our true love.  When we love Jesus and keep his commandments, God get's involved and manifests himself to us.  

Scary things are happening in the world! Always remember God did not give you a spirit of fear. Matthew 10:16 says, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."(KJV)  And Luke 10:3 says, "Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves."(KJV)  These scriptures are the words of Jesus! Would Jesus put us in danger? Good question!  The answer can be found in Luke 10:17.  When the disciples returned after this mission, this is what they said, "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name."(KJV)  Don't miss this! They returned with JOY!  They were not ripped to pieces by the wolves, but with the power and authority of the Name of Jesus they overcame every obstacle!  John 16:33 in the Amplified Version goes right along with this.

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]"

The Devil is a bully! Don't let him bully you! Dr. Winston tells the story of a bully at a certain school. He carried a list of all the children he could beat up. One young man heard that his name was on the list. He approached the bully and told him to take his name off the list. He proclaimed to the bully, "You can't beat me up!" The bully quickly agreed and took the young man's name off the list. You need to command the Devil to take your name off his list! Remind him that, "For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him." Psalm 34:7 (Living Bible) Make sure he knows, "Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—they may often seem overwhelmed—but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them." Psalm 34:19 (Voice) Don't forget to remind him of your assurance plan outlined in Psalm 91 as well!

Love and prayers, have a Happy Thanksgiving...Cynthia

Work it out!

Happy Sunday!

God is amazing!  He knows exactly what we need and gives it to us at just the right time!  I woke up this morning after a night full of crazy dreams.  My daughter Crystal, reminded me that I took Advil before bed for knee pain.  I generally don't take them and thank God I don't even have any daily medications.  Laying still trying to remember the details of the dreams, I thought about all the things that have been happening in our world.  Our enemy wants us to be afraid!  He replays the videos over, and over again in an attempt to make us feel fearful, helpless, and hopeless.  We think these tragedies are so terrible, what can I do about it? That's a great question!

What can you do about all the evil in this world?  Jesus gave us the answer.  Matthew 18:18 says, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth shall have [already]been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful]on earth shall have [already] been loosed in heaven." (Amplified)  Did you get that?  We have a part to play in all this.  God gave Adam dominion on earth.  Adam committed high treason and gave his dominion and authority to Satan.  Satan became the god of this world. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God."(New Living Translation)  BUT Jesus came in human flesh as a man, and LEGALLY took back everything Adam lost.  "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matthew 28:18 (KJV)  Wait!  Hold the presses! It didn't end there! Jesus gave us permission to use his Name, his blood, and his authority in the earth!  We have dominion, we just have to learn to use it.

We are NOT powerless, and we are NOT helpless, BUT we are IGNORANT!  I know it hurts, but we have to face it!  It is not funny! It is not cute! We are perishing because we don't know who we really are.  2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (KJV)  Did you get that? When we study the Word we won't be ashamed!  Dr. Bill Winston talked about his time in the military.  As a fighter pilot, there were standards that had to be met! Every year, their ability to fly the jets properly and accurately was measured.  Everyone did not automatically pass.  There was no trophy for everyone just for participating!  Your hard work and effort speak for you.  Just in case you don't think God is concerned about your performance, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 says, "And the quality of each person's work will be seen when the Day of Christ exposes it. For on that Day fire will reveal everyone's work; the fire will test it and show its real quality. If what was built on the foundation survives the fire, the builder will receive a reward. But if your work is burnt up, then you will lose it; but you yourself will be saved, as if you had escaped through the fire." (Good News Translation)

Even though we are saved by Grace, and our salvation is not based on our works...we are still expected to run this race and work out our soul salvation.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Philippians 2:12 (KJV)  And the Apostle James said, "So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. But someone may well argue, “You say the way to God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good works are important too, for without good works you can’t prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see that I have faith by the way I act.” James 2:17-18 (Living Bible)

Dr. Bill Winston continued his series, "The Power of Love" with the subtitle, "Possessing Your Mountain".  He talked about how we have three and four churches in a city block, but murders and destruction are happening every day.  This has happened because so many our churches are carnal; waiting for a feeling.  If you never get that fuzzy feeling again, but you believe, rely on, and trust the Word of God you can change your family, your community, and your world!  It's not about a feeling or an emotion. The enemy has used our emotions against us for years!  Don't let him fool you!  "We walk by faith, not by sight!" 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)  

Get in the Word!  Learn more about your authority and the weapons God has given you to fight the enemy!  Don't wait for a terrorist to get to your front door!  Learn to use your weapons now!  Prayer is a mighty weapon!  Here's a link to a prayer that I pray for my city.  Change the name of the city and use it to pray for your own city!     http://www.livingwd.org/uploadedFiles/City%20of%20Chicago.pdf

​Love and prayers, Cynthia

Destroy the works of the Devil

Happy Sunday!

Dr. Bill Winston continued the series, "The Power of Love".  He mentioned winding up the series soon, but I'm enjoying it and every week the message has been applicable and relevant.  Again this week, the messages I have heard and the experiences have had went right along with the message.

We have a real enemy!  Ephesians 6:12 says, "We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places."(Voice)  Our enemy tries to keep people ignorant.  Every area that you lack knowledge in, is an area that the enemy can overtake you.  Knowledge protects us. Now, don't confuse knowledge with intellect. Education is great. MD, PhD, DDS and all the other alphabets behind your name are wonderful. I applaud your diligence, and hard work but intellect is not light. There are millions of educated fools in the world. Psalm 14:1 says, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."(KJV)  Do you know any educated people that deny there is a god? Sure you do! Do you know any educated people living in poverty? Sure you do!  Do you know any educated people dealing with depression or mental illness? Sure you do! Do you know any educated people suffering with sickness and disease? Yes, you do and so do I!  What is missing? Knowledge, understanding, and enlightenment are missing.Psalm 119:130 says, "As people understand your word, it brings light to their lives. Your word makes even simple people wise." (Easy-to-Read Version)  The Word of God provides the answers to all of our human issues. Proverbs 4:7 says, "Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment."(Living Bible)

Jesus came to equip us and empower us. His purpose through us is to overcome the world. 1 John 3:8 says,"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."(KJV)  The works of the devil are the works of darkness.  Darkness and light cannot coexist. Jesus said, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."(KJV)  The enemy is called the Prince of Darkness. The enemy seduces men and women to do evil. Have you ever watched the news and wondered how a person could commit murder? The enemy uses the power of suggestion. The comedian Flip Wilson used to say, "The Devil made me do it!" No, the devil didn't make you do it, but he gave you the idea and you fell for it!  Don't cooperate with the enemy!  Don't be deceived and don't be afraid!  

How can we identify the works of darkness? How can we destroy the works of the devil?  Great questions.  So glad you asked! The best way to identify the works of darkness is to study the Word.  As you study the Word, you can compare what the Word says to what you see in your life and in your world. If it contradicts the Word of God, you should not be doing it! Ephesians 5:11 says, "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."(KJV)  The best way to destroy the works of the devil is to be a doer of the Word that you have studied. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James 1:22 (KJV)

Love and prayers, Cynthia

King Sized

Happy Sunday!

What a week!  I was almost ready to start singing, "Nobody knows...the trouble I've seen".  But I remembered that we walk by Faith and not by sight! 2 Corinthians 5:7 in the Living Bible translation says it this way, "We know these things are true by believing, not by seeing."  Then I got to church this morning, and Dr. Winston encouraged us with a powerful Word!

Faith is our currency!  Even if the only thing in your wallet today is a piece of lint, God's Word is still true!  He has already done all he is going to do.  When Jesus died, he said it was finished.  He did not say, "I'll be back next week to bless you."  He as already given us everything that we need to live a godly life. Where is it then? Good question!

Dr. Winston reminded us of the widow in 2 Kings 4.  Her husband died and left her with massive debt.  The debts were so great her sons were going to be forced into slavery to pay off the debt. This scripture is so full of interesting points.  Her husband was a believer, but he hadn't applied the Word to his life. There was no excuse for him to be ignorant! He was training under the Prophet Elisha!  You remember Elisha don't you? The one that got a double portion of the anointing, and power that had been on his mentor Elijah!  He was in the right place but missed some important points. He was in debt. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich lord it over the poor, and the borrower is the slave to the lender."(Voice)   Now, there is no reason to feel condemned! We can start today to change the situation for the future. With the supernatural help of God your debts can be canceled by the end of the week! The man was religious, but not good! Proverbs 13:22 describes a good man,"When a good man dies, he leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren; but when a sinner dies, his wealth is stored up for the godly." (Living Bible)  The Word of God is clear and concise.  

OK, so the prophet asked the widow what she had in the house.  She had a pot of oil!  No money, but a pot full of potential! That little bit of oil mixed with the invisible supply of God, paid her debts in full and allowed her to keep her sons safe at home.

We are still in the series entitled, "The Power of Love".  Believing that God loves you, and receiving that love is imperative!  God is the King, and he loves and gives like a king!  In Matthew 2, the wise men from the East arrived with gifts fit for a king.  Don't be fooled by the Christmas cards, and carols that say it was just three individuals.  These kings came with a caravan of gifts for the King of the Jews.  If you don't believe me, read it for yourself.  If they brought three little gifts, how did they capture the attention of King Herod?  Why did King Herod kill all the baby boys from 2 years old and under, if there was no visible threat to his kingdom? Dr. Winston mentioned, Peter J. Daniels, a Christian billionaire. He commissioned a team of historians to research the magi and the gifts which they brought to Jesus. They determined it was that more than 300 kings with a calculated wealth of over $4 million.  Persian documents showed that the gift was escorted by an army. That would explain why King Herod and the people were worried, they thought it was an invading army.

You are a child of the KING! Let that sink into your thick scull!  In this kingdom, you don't have to achieve to receive. You must believe!  Believe what? Glad you asked!  You must believe that no matter what happens, no matter what you see with your physical eyes or feel in your physical body, God's Word is true!  You can't take a little of God, and a little of what the world says and make it in this kingdom.  Faith demands that God be your only source! Faith is acting on the Word of God. God says to you everyday, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you." Jeremiah 31:3 (Amplified)

Enjoying King sized love and blessings, love and prayers, Cynthia