Category Archives: Acceptance

IT’S THE GOODNESS OF GOD!

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ITZ THE GOODNESS OF GOD

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And thinkest thou this O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgement of God? Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness, and forebearance and long-suffering; not kowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Romans 2:3-4
A while ago, I heard a preacher confessing  that at one time he was an avid believer and willing partaker of one of the greatest lies that Satan has perpetrated. As he went on to talk about his early perception of God, I began reflecting back on the B.C. (Before Christ) in my own life, I humbly concluded, “You ain’t by yourself preacha!” If we would be honest, for real, a whole lot of us would have to raise our hands and say Amen 3X, Preacha!

How many of you once believed that somewhere, way out there, there was a Great Big Ol’ Angry God, watching and recording every single thing you did? And when you had accumulated that mystical, unknown number of sins, His Hand of Wrath would suddenly appear from heaven, striking you down with a big sledge hammer, crush you and fling your po’ soul straight into the devil’s hell! Oh, don’t play me like you never…

Perhaps you were with that other group—the self-righteous who ascribe to the lie that when they get themselves together, they fully intend to start going to church and but they’re not going to be no hypocrite, like all them other folk. They’re gonna be real about serving God!  And we all know how that’s gonna turn out, huh?

Just think about all those times He could’ve, should’ve, BUT didn’t serve you your just desserts. Remember all those unfulfilled promises you made (lies) just before He delivered you, again? How many times has God chosen to withhold justice and instead dispensed His Grace and Mercy towards us? WOW! Haven’t got a clue, huh? Neither do I!

Let’s be for real! You and I will never, ever be good enough to qualify as ‘acceptable’ to a Holy GOD—SO….get over you!  God already knew that we’d fall short numerous times.That’s why, before we were even formed in our mother’s womb, God’s plan of Salvation was already established!

Ephesians 2:8 declares, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”! Didjaheardat? God never left it up to us! Salvation is God’s free gift.

That’s the GOSPEL! It’s called GRACE and it’s still available to WHOSOEVER will  humble themselves before God, acknowledge themselves as sinners who have no other Hope for Salvation but JESUS and accept His Amazing Gracious Merciful Forgiveness! NOW THAT’S THE GOODNESS OF GOD!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

 

WORD PROCESSORS

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WORD PROCESSORS

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:1-3

 

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we vow to live our lives according to the testimony God reveals in The Holy Bible. As our knowledge of God’s Word increases, we discover how God has ordained certain rights, privileges and promises to us and for us.Yet, even as confessing Believers, sometimes we fall short when it comes to experiencing the fulfillment of God’s exceedingly great and precious promises. Now don’t shout me down, yall!

Consequently, our churches are filled with frustrated, anxious, angry and unsatisfied folk who’re secretly disappointed with God. Amen? For the record, let’s concede this, God’s not the problem! His faithfulness is not on trial! God’s Word is Eternally Immutable, Faithful and True. Am I right about it? So what’s up? We go to church and hear the gospel—well most of the time—anyway, preached with power and conviction. We enjoy the sermon, buy the CD’s and the DVD’s. We’ll leave the sanctuary talking about “Man, we had CHUURCH today”. But, where’s the fruit? Where’s the evidence? How has the message profited our lives? For real, where’s the change in our personal situations and even more important, what’s changed in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

The Bible warns us how Satan, comes immediately to steal the Word before we can reap the benefit. The devil persistently preys on our frustrations, anxieties and fears with one goal in mind, to cause us to distrust God. Can we go a little deeper? Ask a Saint who knows a little Bible and they’ll religiously proclaim that The Gospel has the ability and power to save and transform the lives of anyone who believes it. But—the Bible also says, “be ye doers of the word and not hearers only”. (James 1:22)

Therein lies the underlying issue! If nothing changes, then nothing changes! However, thru the completion of proper processing (a series of actions, motions, or occurrences intended to achieve a certain results), you get the right results!

According to Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” As followers of Christ, we know the Word is True, we must ultimately concur that the breakdown is not with the Word, but with the processing of the processor!

Mark 4, says, “the Sower sows the word” Hence, the preacher preaches the Word ; but, the harvest is determined by the condition of the soil. Wow! Didjaheardat? Sounds like The Word must be properly processed in order to produce the harvest! (Ref. Mark 4:15) How? By applying it to your everyday life through confession (speaking those things as though they were); meditating on the promises rather than your problems, meditating on who you are now in Christ Jesus, as opposed to who you were and acting on your convictions rather than impulse. (Ref. Romans 4:17)

It’s important to note, that The Advesary has been observing you from the moment you entered the earth realm. Hence, he knows just what buttons to push to get you to do what he wants you to do. Then he hides his hands, leaving you to deal with the guilt, shame and self-rejecting disappointment, causing you to exclude (thus disqualify) your ownself as an eligibile beneficiary for God’s Mercy and Grace!

Precious One, don’t let the devil intimdate you into allowing fear and frustration to cause you to abort your promise. Instead, embrace The penetrating Light of God’s Word to break up the hardness of your heart and be processed in the perfect ground of a yielded, trusting, believing rest-filled heart! 

BELOVED,  AS YOU DILIGENTLY WORK THE WORD, IT WILL WORK IN, FOR AND THROUGH YOU! TODAY, MAY YOU PURPOSE IN YOUR HEART TO REST IN THE FAITHFULNESS OF JESUS’ PROMISES, IN JESUS NAME! AMEN 3X #WORD PROCESSOR

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

COMPASSION

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COMPASSION 2

 

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17

 

WOW! I know it’s been a while, nevertheless,  the movie “The Passion of Christ” starring Mel Gibson, still continues to amaze skeptics and awaken the consciousness of untold hundreds of thousands of people in and out of the church!

In just about 3-hours of an action packed, emotionally charged sequence of events, the movie attempts to depict the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Beginning with His Triumphant Entrance into The Holy City of Jerusalem on to His Betrayal, making His Way to Pilate’s judgment seat, up to His Sacrificial Death on Calvary’s Cross, thru His burial in Joseph of Arimathea’s borrowed tomb on route to His Victorious Resurrection and Glorious Ascension back to His Rightful Seat on The Throne in The Kingdom of His Father in Heaven. And we can’t even imagine  the view from Heaven’s perspective, huh?

Okay, I confess, while I too was noticeably touched by the animated shockingly detailed reality of what My Savior endured to redeem and restore my Eternal Life,  I am yet more perplexed by the persistent rippling effect that continues to invade my life even though it’s been several years since I sat silently sobbing in that theater.

And while it’s been several months since we’ve commemorated Resurrection Sunday,  I’m still reeling at the depth of Jesus’ compassion for a people who, for the most part, would ignorantly continue to reject The Grace that He so freely offers to us. (Ref. John 1:11)

I mean, when you just take the time to really think about it, it’s almost unbelievable, huh?  Seriously! What outrageous compassion our Lord displays as He walked the shores of Galilee healing all manner of sickness and disease! (Ref. Matthew 4:23)

What flamboyant compassion The Law Giver demonstrates when the woman caught in the act of adultery was thrown before Jesus by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. (Ref. John 8:1-11)

What extravagant compassion The Servant exposes as He humbly kneels to wash His disciples feet, including Judas. (Ref. John 13:5)

What preposterous compassion The Suffering Savior manifests as He interrupts death on the Cross to assure and confirm the thief’s reservation in Paradise that day. (Ref. Luke 23:43) 

What excessive compassion lingers on as our Resurrected Lord and High Priest faithfully prays that The Father forgive us, and send The Promised Comforter and Keeper to us in this world. I know right…WHAT UNCONSCIONABLE COMPASSION?

Wow! And to think that Jesus trusts us to show that same exorbitant loving compassion to this lost and dying world. AWEMAAZING!

SELAH?

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

SURRENDER??

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SURRENDER

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

 

Back in the old’n days, one of my favorite things to do was watching the westerns on our black and white tv’s. Yeah! Those good ol’ shootem ups (as Daddy called them)! The bad guys always wore the black hats and the good guys never lost a fight. I remember, there would always be that scene when the bad guys would be hemmed in a cabin, a barn, or a dead end road, surrounded by the posse of good guys, with no way out! The sheriff would call out, ‘We’ve got you surrounded, so throw your guns out!’ ‘And come out with our hands up!’ After a moment or two, you’d see a white hankerchief being waved out of a window or door and the bad guy would holler, ‘Don’t shoot, we’re coming out’! They’d come stumbling out of their hiding place with both of their hands in the air high above their heads to surrender. Boy, those were the days, huh?

Surrender! WOW! That word is almost as bewildering as ‘commit’, right?

We stand in the sanctuary with our hands lifted in the air sanngin, “I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Jesus, I surrender, I surrender all!” However, what does it mean to surrender to Jesus? Surrender is just another way to say, submit! Ooops dat didn’t help much, huh?

Even Christians sometimes find this task elusive. Although we love the idea of receiving Christ as our Savior, we struggle to master the concept of surrendering according to The Word of God! Could it possibly be, because it grinds up against our pride and the innate insatiable need of being in control? #ijs

One day Saul, found himself in a strange place. And he did just what a lot of us do when we hear the Voice of God calling us to another level of anointing. Saul went and hid behind some stuff! But because God’s Word must come to past, Saul could not stay there. Eventually, Saul came out from his hiding place, threw up both his hands, and surrendered to the Will of God for his life! (Ref. 1 Samuel 10:22)

What stuff are you hiding behind? What’s keeping you from surrendering to Jesus? Are you hiding behind fear and anxiety of failure or succes? Is it doubt and personal insecurities? Perhaps it’s self righteousness or your own will! Could you be using your family or friends as an excuse for not embracing your destiny? Or, do you need to come out from behind your past and your sins?

Perhaps today, you’re surrounded, hemmed in, backed into a dead–end—no—win—place, let me assure you it ain’t what it looks like! God’s got you just where He wants you. Trust2know, it’s gets a whole lot easier to surrender when you know that it’s JESUS calling you to come!

When you get the revelation that God is simply asking you to trust your entire being to the Faithful Loving Care of the Unconditional Lover of your soul, you can throw down any and everything that’s hindering you from moving into your next phase of His Glory and gladly run to the shelter of His Almighty Arms! Afterall,  you said you wanna be like JESUS, huh? Your life is not your own. Remember, you were purchased by The Blood of The Precious Lamb of God!

‘My Beloved, empty out your heart; give in to Jesus and submit your all to My Will for your life. Stop resisting and yield! Give Me the right of Way in your life!’ #didjaheardat?

MAKE TODAY THE DAY THAT YOU SURRENDER YOUR ENTIRE EVERYDAY LIFE TO YOUR GOD! LET PEACE BE YOUR ANCHOR AND YOU’LL DISCOVER THAT JESUS ALONE IS THE REST FOR YOUR SOUL!

DON’T BE SCARRED! HIS GRACE IS ALWAYS SUFFICIENT TO UPHOLD AND CARRY YOU THRU, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE TO WHEREVER HE’S CALLING YOU TO! IN JESUS NAME. IT IS SO! SURRENDER!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

COME BACK 2 THE TABLE

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COME BACK 2 THE TABLE

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 1 Corinthians 11:29

 

At our church, it’s every 1st Sunday! The table has been prepared by Deac, anticipating the moment when the scripture will be read and Pastor will extend the invitation to the congregation to come to the table and partake of the bread (wafer) and the wine (grape juice). The charge is given, to let every man examine his/her self and let them eat of that bread and drink of that cup, lest you bring a curse upon yourself by mocking the Body and The Blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! #heartpounding, huh?

Unfortunately, since we don’t know what’s residing in the hearts of our brothers and sistas, how many folk refrain because their own hearts have condemned them or not just because they don’t want others to think that they’re not in right-standing with Christ? Anyway, it’s not my business, right? #juswondering

Chances are even some God-fearing-sanctified-baptised-holy-walking-tongue-talking believers don’t really understand the significance of The Communion Table and wrongfully approach this feast as a religious traditon ritual. Hence, this is just something we do 1st Sunday! Oh, Precious Ones, there’s so much more taking place that meets the eye! Journey with me as the Holy Spirit lluminates the spiritual reality, intimacy and implications of this sacred fellowship with The Risen Savior!

The Communion Table is Divinely instituted to take us back to The Cross of Calvary and The Blood that was shed for the remission of our sin. When we come to The Table, we’re revisiting remembering the whipping posts where The Lamb of God was beaten with 39 stripes + 1  before He was nailed to an ol’ rugged Cross atop Calvary! While many who watched self-righteously believing that they were doing God a favor,  there were a remnant of others who knew that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and the stripes that He bore in His flesh were for our healing!

When we come to the Communion Table, remembering the Cross, you gotta come correct! Not in pride nor condemnation; but in joy-filled anticipation, humbled by Jesus’ humiliation! Come, humbled by Jesus’ Holiness, His Faithful submission to death, hell, the grave and to His Father’s Will–in order that we could have a right to eat the fruit of Eternal Life!

Come to the table, remembering the falability of your humanity and the infallability of His Divinity, acknowledging that not only do I need The Atoning Blood to get saved, but to stay saved!

The Word of God reminds us that there’s a devil who’s constantly plotting against us, determined to stop us from living holy and righteous before God. He’s always lurking about us, awaiting the opportunity to sneak up, entrapping you with that sin that so easily besets you, drapping your heart with burdens of guilt, shame and condemnation destroying your peace! He’s strategically scheming to flood your mind with fear,worry and doubt, drainining your spirit of the Jesus’ joy, strength and hope! But the Communion Table, reminds you that just One Drop of The sanctifying Blood applied to the door post of your heart and mind is enough to shake off temptation, depression, gloom and doom and lift you up out of the pit of hopelessness and dispair!

When you drink of The cup of Redemption, your strength is refreshed, renewed and your holy boldness is restored, empowering you to repel the firey darts of Satan. When you eat The Body, remember you now stand clad in The Full Armor of God, declaring to the kingdom of darkness, ‘I refuse to deny the Testimony of Jesus on The Cross – I gotcha covered, IT IS FINISHED!

Beloved, the next time you partake of the Communion Table, let the Blood cleanse your heart of the guilt by acknowledging that it was your sin that betrayed Jesus, even since you’ve been saved. The devil will choke on that, because you know He certainly was planning to throw that back in your face, k?

But be of good courage, that’s why Jesus suffered The Cross, once and for all who will receive Him as the propitiation of their sin. As you eat His Body and drink His Blood, remember, Jesus prayed, knowing you’d fail Him again before you leave this world. That’s why He asked The Father to send you The Helper to live on the inside of you to empower you to live faithfully and obedient to His commandments!

As you fellowship with The Savior, hear His plea, ‘All I want you to do, when you are converted is go strengthen your brother! Go tell them how much I still LOVE them! Go tell them about My Blood that frees them from sin! Go tell somebody how I saved, healed and delivered you! Go tell one somebody that if Jesus was able to saved me, a wretch undone, He can saved anybody! WOW! #didjaheardat?

Maybe you need to come back to the table? C’mon, THE BLOOD STILL WORKS!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

BEYOND UNDERSTANDING

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BEYOND UNDERSTANDING

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have Power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and high And deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that Surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of All the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

 

There’s an ol’ song we used to sing, backndaday, that says, “I don’t know why Jesus loves me, I don’t know why He cares, I don’t know why He sacrificed His life, OOH but I’m glad, so glad He did!” Can I getta witness?

A lot of people have acknowledged, intellectually, the fact that God loves them. Unfortunately, THAT intellectual comprehension is  hardly ever incorporated into their individual everyday life!

Okay, so let’s go further. Because our knowledge of who we are and what we know about ourselves, we may find it extremely difficult, bordering on impossible, to process intellectually that a HOLY GOD could extend such unconditional affection towards something as flawed and fickled as humanity. Because God is Omniscient (all wisdom), to logically conclude that He loves us so deeply, makes no sense at all!

Could this be the reason so many intellectually astitute stumble and stagger at the premise that the Almighty God, Creator and Sustainer of everything cares so much for us that He was willing to sacrifice His Life for our life, just to restore an intimate fellowship with Him! Makes no sense, huh? That’s why we must come to Him in faith and not facts!

According to the Scriptures, not many wise, not many of the scholars, the elite of society would accept His offer of GRACE. (Ref. 1 Corinthians 1:26) However, given what I know about ME, I’d have to be a fool to refuse it! When I realized what was at stake, I had to jump quickly to grasp hold of so Great a Salvation, before He changed his mind! Ha! Ha! And I’m glad, so glad I did. Ain’t dat Amazing Grace?

Stop trying to figure it out and jus go for it! (Ref. Hebrew 11:6)

May the reality of God’s Rich Love fill your heart today! #Getit? IT’S BEYOND UNDERSTANDING!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

TRUSTING SILENCE

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trusting-silence

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46

 

I don’t pretend to speak for every believer, however one of the most difficult things for me is trusting God when Heaven goes mute! Not only does this create anxiety, stress and discouragement, but the doubt, confusion and sense of abandonment becomes a personal virtual hell. And no, I am not a babe-in-Christ, but I’d consider myself to be a reasonably seasoned-saint! #ijs

Our spirit man knows quite well that God answers all of our prayers in one of three ways. Yes, No or Not Now, right? Nevertheless the carnal mind could care less! Flesh  wants immediate gratification. ‘I did what You told me, I asked, seeked and knocked; but I guess the answer must’ve got lost in the mail or either perhaps You’re too busy managing the world to be concerned about what’s concerning me, huh?’ Now don’t look at me with that tone of voice, surely I’m not the only one to concede to the Tempter’s situational analysis!

In all of scripture, these feelings of abandonment is never more profound than at the words uttered from the mouth of our Savior hanging on The Cross… and God is silent! And while there is no record of God’s answer in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, or Luke, the Passion story does not end with our Lord’s despairing cry. In Psalm 22, God’s affirming Love and Grace encourages us to trust Him to resurrect Greater Greaterness out of our greatest messes! “In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.”

While some folk would have you believe that faith means unwavering trust in God’s power and ability to do anything, and that’s absolutely Truth. Nevertheless, there’s that other part of faith that commands trusting God’s silence as well as His actions, that has proven to be, at the least, extremely unsettling!

The Word of God tells us that the promises of God are Yeah and Amen, however we tend to forget that spiritual things are governed by spiritual laws. Case in point, seed-time-harvest! God is more concerned about developing christian core values and attributes than providing our fleshly creature comforts!

The Prophet Isaiah encourages believers to persevere through the trials expecting your deliverance is soon to come. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Isaiah 40:31) And James 1:4 admonishes us to ‘let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Honestly, while both texts have been tremendously resourceful, strengthening and comforting, sometimes they ring hollow when the circumstantial eveidence against you is screaming hopelessness, rejection and it appears as if Heaven’s doors are closed and locked you out!

As you walk with Jesus, experience will teach you that these feelings are just a trick of the enemy to get you to doubt the validity and Faithfulness of God’s Word. If He ain’t saying nothing else, then keep doing the last thing He told you because evidently He ain’t changed His mind!

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Beloved, when you can’t see God’s Hand, feel His touch or hear His Voice, trust His Heart! REMEMBER THE TEACHER NEVER TALKS DURING THE TEST! TRUSTING GOD’S SILENCE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

JESUS NAILED IT!

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JESUS NAILED IT 2

 

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1 John 5:10-12

 
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross! Colossians 2:14
OOOOOHHHHH GGGLLLOOORRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!

 

Can you believe that? Or is that Infamous-Lying-Accuser-Arch-Enemy of your soul, Satan, still  keeping you in solitary confinement, condemned to a lifetime of guilt and shame, despite your best efforts, leaving you hopelessly spiritually bankrupt to make restitution for the SIN-debt stockpiled against you since before you were born?

Well stop it, NOW! It’s illegal incarceration!

According to the Irrefutable Kingdom Executive Order, all the evidence that the devil presented against you and I has been declared inadmissible. Consequently, all charges have been dropped! The Righteous Judge has ordered your immediate release!!
 
Can we jus keep it one-hundred? Once you accept The Gift of God’s Grace—SALVATION—available to you through the Sacrificial Blood of Jesus Christ—you exchanged your unrighteousness for His Righteousness—you’re FORGIVEN—and FREE to live The Abundant Life that God created you to live in the first place! Amazing, huh? YET! It’s all TRUTH! And we can throw The Book at ’em to prove it! (Ref. John 10:10)
 
When Jesus, offering Himself, as The Sacrificial Lamb of God, voluntarily submitted to Death—every ordinance, decree, commandment and indictment that the enemy ever has railed against you and I (sinners), has been totally obliterated, cancelled, blotted out of the way—ONCE AND FOR ALL—NAILED to HIS CROSS—!!! (Ref. Hebrew 9:28, 1 Peter 3:18) Now that’s the Gospel!
 

WOW! OH YEAH, JESUS NAILED IT!
 
SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!!
 
ANN CAFFEE

DEEP WELLS

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DEEP WELLS

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” John 4:13-14

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” John 4:23-24

 

As you study the WORD OF GOD, throughout Jesus’ public ministry, you’ll discover that most of his criticism came not from the heathens, but from religious folk! Can I tell ya something, Jesus hates religion!

Now that might shock some of you, because all your life, you’ve been lead to believe that that’s what church is all about. But Jesus never came to start a new religion! in fact there’s too much of that going on now and it makes God puke! Didjaknowdat?

According to the scriptures, religious folk claim to be close to God, but their rebellious lifestyle of disobedience proves otherwise. They’re simply going thru the motions and their religion boils down to just a shallow  practice of routine rituals. God looks into their hearts and seeing that there’s is nothing real about their worship because there is no real love for Him nor sincere thankfulness to HIM for all of Lovingkindness towards them! Because there’s nothing personal about their relationship, they’re simply empty pots making a whole lot of noise—but ain’t saying nothing to touch His Heart!

The Prophet Isaiah says, ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men –who turn my words upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Can the pot say of the potter, HE KNOWS NOTHING!” (Isaiah 29:13-14)

In other words, God’s not impressed with our performance, for God is SPIRIT! So those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth! Hence, God longs to have intimate fellowship/communtion with our spirits. He wants us to meet Him Spirit-to-spirit. That’s what the scriptures means when it says, deep unto deep. He wants us to approach Him humbly, transparently, honestly, witholding nothing. Recognizing Who He is and realizing who we are in His Presence!

Saints, what separates christianity not  just apart, but above every other religion, is when we invite Christ into our hearts, immediately we shift from one Kingdom to another Kingdom! That’s what salvation thru Jesus Christ is all about! Yes, The Heavenly Father welcomes all to come as you are, but once you come into The Body of Christ, you don’t just stay where you are! It’s a rite of passage, to taking a quantrum leap from religious rituals to personal relationship! Once you taste of The Goodness of Jesus, you can’t resist the Holy Spirit’s promptings and urgency to change. YOUR WELL GETS DEEPER! #4REAL!

Could this be why carnal folk don’t understand why you go to church on a Tuesday nite, pay the whole 10% of tithes, and give an offering every time you come to church?  #interesting, huh?  However, you can’t get mad at them, because spiritual things cannot be carnally discerned. Some folk are just content to be CME …CHRISTMAS, MOTHER’S DAY AND EASTER WORSHIPERS! They’re just speaking out of their shallow well! #ijs

Nonetheless, some of us can testify, “Since I met Jesus, my well is continuously getting deeper. I no longer need my environment to consent that I need to praise God. I don’t have to have my circumstances to be perfect to determine whether or not GOD IS WORTHY 2 B PRAISED! BUT I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES, GOOD, BAD AND INDIFFERENT…MOUNTAIN TOP OR VALLEY…I WILL LIFT UP MY VOICE AND MAGNIFY HIS NAME…FOR IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE LORD ON MY SIDE, I WOULD NOT EVEN BE HERE TODAY!”

C’mon now! HOW DEEP IS UR WELL? WOW!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

TRUTH OF CONSEQUENCES!

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TRUTH OF CONSEQUENCES

 

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Ecclesiastes 7:29

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 2 Timothy 3:5-6

 

One day in the winter of his life, King Solomon, God’s proclaimed wisest man in the world, sat pondering events, adventures and experiences of former seasons, and penned the words left in Ecclesiastes 7:29. Theologians have various perspectives on how and even if somethings happened that caused a quantrum shift in this young man’s overview of life. Since, I am unqualified to object or sustain either I defer the question to the more capable intellectual biblical scholars!

However allow me, with the aid of Holy Spirit, to share a few insights that I gleaned as I visited these texts. Hopefully, someone might find them useful for practical daily application. I am firmly convinced that every one of us born into the earth has at some point, looked up inquiring, ‘Why me, what’s going on and when is it gonna change for my good?’ But it’s alright, ain’t nobody here but you and me, ok?

It’s a whole lot easier to hide somethings in the closets of our minds, rather than openly subjecting them to the speculations of folk we need to impress and even more so advantagious to cover them up from self, huh? But somebody a whole lot smarter than I said, ‘You can’t conquer what you’ll not willing to confront’! Don’t you just hate those addages? LOL!

Recently, I was confronted by an opportunity to delve heart-first into a long-standing personal dilemma, ‘how is it that we, humans—save and unsaved—are able to justify our actions even while acknowledging that they’re wrong!’ I use that word wrong, because they say in this New Millennium Age, it’s more palatable than SIN!

Most of us have, at varying degrees, mentally assented to the reality of GOD! While there may be a multiplicity of individual opinions of Who,Where and What role does He play in our lives, I don’t think I’m way out on a limb with this assumption. The unregenerated soul cannot be expected to receive the things of God because they don’t know HIM. (Ref. 1 Corinthians 2:14) Problem is those of us who name the Name of Jesus Christ, are obviously able to conjure up in our minds an IMAGE of our own God. Beloved, trust2kno! I know better than anyone, I am far from a finished work! Hence, I say this not out of a superficious self-righteous spirit, but as a statement of observation over the past years of pastoring God’s sheep!

We all know that The Word of God is alive and speaks to us taking into full account our personal circumstances and situations! Nevertheless, there are inherent truths that flow through generations, that are immuable! Whether we understand, believe, agree or disagree! Truth is ABSOLUTE because God is Truth and God is Sovereign!

Can you imagine the angelic conversations, looking down from Heaven’s view, witnessing humanity’s arrogance, self-will, pride, power coveting, resistance to the authority as we perpetually deny the Soveignty of God? Probably not, huh? Perhaps even more perplexing to the heavenly host, is our prevailing response to the consequences of our disobedience. We got some nerve, blaming God when we reap the wages of doing what seems right in our own eyes. As if the clay can demand the potter to relent from His Purpose for His creation. (Ref. Jeremiah 18-19)

I guess, we never looked at it like that, huh? After all, God knows out hearts, right? It’s more self comforting to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our good intentions! After all, what would become of us if we looked in the mirror of God’s Word and saw ourselves as God sees. Why we might have to plead guilty to the myriad of alleged charges railed against us of repeated abuse of God’s Love, breaking His Commandments, gross dis-honor and negligence, denying His Right to rule over His creations, refusal to submit to His authority and Power as Eternal Soveign Lord God!

Well, when you put it like dat! Kinda makes you wonder, what’s your response to the ultimate question ‘WHO DO U SAY I AM’?

I’m not Holy Ghost, Jr. so I can’t tell you what King Solomen’s final conclusion meant or didn’t. I can only speak for myself. But! Think about it! At the end of the day, we’re all slaves; yet GOD honors us as Sons! #AWEMAAZZIN!

IT BEHOOVES ANY /ALL OF US TO REMEMBER THAT BABYLON WILL BE JUDGED IN ONE DAY! WOW! TRUTH OF CONSEQUENCES!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee