Category Archives: believe

STAY IN TOUCH!

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STAY IN TOUCH

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live….And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole….But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.” Matthew 9:18, 20-21, 25

Sometimes, what you know doesn’t always get you where you want to go! Perhaps that’s why there’s so much emphasis placed on social networking today. You’d probably be amazed at how quickly certain doors that were once off-limits to you could now be opened to you, if you have the right connections, huh?

As it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual, huh? According to today’s scripture text, one day a certain ruler came to Jesus standing in proxy for his daughter who had just died. Yet, despite of this tremendously desperate situation and the looming circumstantial evidence starring him in his face, taunting him to ‘just accept it’; it’s too late’, ‘you waited too long’; you might as well just accept the fact and go home and bury your baby gurl, the text says that this local official mounting up some audacious-faith, came bowing crying out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, if you would come to my house and simply touch my daughter, she will live!” Jesus recognizing that this man’s astonishing-faith expectantly looked beyond the natural, piercing through the impossible, grabbed hold to The Supernatural to acquire that which his heart desired. Jesus proceeded to follow the ruler home!

On their way, they passed a woman, suffering from a blood disease that literally left her leaking the very life out of her body, everyday for the past twelve years! Having heard that Jesus was close by, risking everything, including being stoned to death if she was exposed, she made her way through the crowd, determining in herself to get close enough to put her finger on Jesus’ Robe, knowing that her life would be restored. Jesus recognizing that certain faith-touch, and that corresponding pull on His Anointing, instantaneously released healing from His Being.

Jesus, glancing back over the huge gathering, fixed His eyes on this one woman, whose faith out-shined that of all the spectators, immediately began to comfort and encourage her to not be afraid! At that moment, The Great High Priest assured her that her courageous faith had made a Kingdom Connection. Hence, that which she had believed for, she’d become! Not only was she healed, she was made whole! (Ref. Hebrews 4:14)

Continuing on to Jairus’ house, pushing past the nay-sayers, the doubters, the unbelievers and the mockers, Jesus went to the young damsel’s bedside. Taking her hand gently, pulling her from the gripping clutches of death, He restores her to life! When the word of Jesus’ miraculous powers spread around town, it sent shock-waves of gossipers pouring through the streets and the surrounding regions proclaiming that The Kingdom of Heaven has come to dwell in the earth!

Be encouraged my precious ones! Regardless of what it looks like, despite how long you’ve had to endure this present situation, it’s just temporary! ( Ref. Romans 8:17-18) BUT JESUS IS NOT!

As fellow-partakers of the faith, “keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession”. (Ref. Hebrew 3:1)

GOD IS STILL LOOKING FOR THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO STRETCH THEIR FAITH WELL BEYOND THAT WHICH CAN BE SEEN, HEARD AND EVEN IMAGINED! TOUCH THE HEART THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR! …STAY IN TOUCH!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

 Ann Caffee

EYES WIDE SHUT!

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EYES WIDE SHUT!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17)

 

Retracing the footsteps of Jesus, we soon discover that His Sojourn was earmarked with just as much skepticism as faith-filled devotion. According to The Sacred Scriptures, those who should’ve recognized Him, Emmanuel—GOD with us, were in fact, His greatest critics!

Religious scholars repeatedly tried to bait Jesus into disqualifying Himself in an attempt to muffle the rumors that were spreading like wild fire throughout Capernaum and Galilee that Jesus was indeed the Promised Messiah. The Pharisee were particularly perturbed by Jesus’ continued fellowship with those ‘misfits’ who didn’t deserve their time of day. And besides that, any REAL Prophet would’ve known better. Obviously, Jesus’ behavior was considered totally reprehensible to religious leaders. Blinded by their own pompous arrogance, they couldn’t see The Light that was right before their eyes! WOW! Apparently, the more things change the more people remain the same, in and out of church, huh?

Unfortunately, the 21st Century Religious Sect doesn’t fare much better. Although, they don’t actually say it, sometimes our actions typify that same message loud and clear. On the one hand the Born-Again Believer expresses a desire to see their friends and loved ones come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, yet struggle at the reality of sharing The Good News.

And if we do finally get around to telling them, how do we represent the Grace that was so lavishly poured out upon us when we were wallowing in our mess?

What good does it do to tell someone they’re a sinner and if they don’t quit sinning, they’re going to the Devil’s Hell. NEWS FLASH! As a regenerated, reformed serial-offender – can I tell you something? Most sinners already know that! What they don’t know is that GOD has already provided a way to escape the fatalistic-dead-end hell-bound-roadway. It’s called Repentance—the core of The Gospel. God has reserved a fully-paid 1st Class ticket to Heaven through The Precious Blood of Jesus for anyone who will place their trust in JESUS!

Our Compassionate Loving Savior testified that He was not sent to Earth to condemn the sinner nor condone sin, but to convict, heal and restore mankind’s sin-sick souls. And guess what? Jesus has commissioned every Believer to get THE WORD OF GRACE out while the deal is still on the table.

CDAT? OR… ARE YOUR EYES WIDE SHUT?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

WOUNDED WARRIORS

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wounded warriors2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:19-22

As a remnant of the 20th Century Church, I’ve lived long enough to have a clearer understanding, why The God of The Bible adamantly commanded His Chosen Ones to resist amalgamating with those outside of covenant relationship with Him. (Ref. 2 Corinthians 6:17) And some of us thought that God just wanted to keep us from having any fun! Considering the way this world is headed, now we see the consequences of not distinguishing ourselves from unbelievers. Apparently, Father still knows best, huh?

Unfortunately, many who profess Christ, remain double-minded, straddling the fence, depending on the group they happen to be in the midst of. While God never intended us to conduct ourselves arrogantly, as if we are better than anybody else, yet as recipients of God’s Amazing Grace! Well, spiritually speaking, it does make us better-off!

What’s the matter Zion? Are we allowing the media’s reports of doom and gloom to mute our praise? If we’re walking around with our heads hung down and hearts inundated with fear and anxiety; worried about how we gonna make it, then what separates us from the Gentiles?

Abraham,The Father of our faith, found himself in a seemingly hopeless situation. Not surprising, Abraham tried to fix the problem by himself. He got Ishmael (the child of the flesh) when God intended to give him Isaac (the child of Promise).When the drama and chaos had escalated to the point that Sarah gave him an ultimatum (it’s either her or me) suddenly, Abraham had an epiphany “the only hope that I have of this thing ever working is Divine Intervention.” In other words, “I can’t do this, without Your Grace!”

OMG! Can we ever identify with Abraham! How many times have we been in a situation and we tried and tried, we cried and cried, murmured and complained, spent all we had and still came up short? It was not until we, like Abraham, made a conscious decision to stop depending on our inability, started relying on God’s Ability and turned it over to Jesus, that our hope was revived! As the text says, when all human reasoning for hope was exhausted, Abraham hoped on and God brought life into his dead situation. (Romans 4:17-18) Hence, when we come to the end of ourselves, God steps in and does what seemed impossible!

Stop listening to that devil telling you, “it’s too late, you might as well accept the situation for what it is –eminent defeat!” He’s still a liar! My precious saints, don’t allow your present (temporary) circumstances cause you to doubt the faithfulness of God’s Eternal Word. Don’t settle for seconds! If you are Abraham’s seed, you are the heirs of righteousness! So gird up the loins of your mind, being confident and fully persuaded that because The Christ in you automatically gives you a supernatural advantage over natural consequences! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)(Ref. 2 Corinthians 2:14)

Beloved, WHATEVER GOD PROMISES, HE IS WELL ABLE TO PERFORM! EVEN IF I CAN’T, GOD CAN!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

BOTTOMS UP!

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BOTTOMS UP 4

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:15-16

 

We are a piece of work, huh? And living proof of the Loving Compassion of our Creator! #ijs

Seriously, no other god would put up with us for as long as The Living God of the Bible. Every morning we’re awaken to a brand new day filled with hopeful promises of  fresh Mercy and Grace. Every evening we lie down confident that He who never sleeps nor slumbers will watch over us, protecting and shielding us from dangers seen and unseen, sustaining our bodies, assuring that every particle of flesh and bone is in perfect alignment with its ordained purpose and functioning at the precise rhythm of its appointed origin, without any assistance from us. (Ref. Psalm 121:4) Awemaazin!

Nevertheless, at the first hint or threat that our circumstances aren’t going the way we think they ought to go, immediately we are stricken with an acute case of fatalistic-selective amnesia, forgetting that that Self-Same-God of The Universe Who has elected to be our Father also rules and reigns over the affairs of his most precious creation, humanity!

Unfortunately, our tendency to adapt to the world’s mindset that says, ‘if I don’t, nobody else will’, often lands us smack-dab-center–staged in the valley of despair victimized by fear of lack and hopelessly doomed to looming defeat and death. The truth of the matter is, God never intended us to live independent of Him in any area of our lives!

However, it’s the all-consuming task of our adversary, Satan, to keep us so pre-occupied with our personal comfort that it takes a conscious concerted self-determined humility to commit our entire being into the Hands of our Faithful Savior, fully trusting that He’s already provided everything that will ever be needed to prosper in this life and the life to come!  (Ref. 2 Peter 1:3)  OMG! #Didjaheardat?

As our scripture text unfolds, we see The Sovereign Teacher, using a season of severe drought and famine as the Lesson Plan, to test and strengthen the faith of both His servant Elijah and the un-named widow of Zarephath. The Prophet of God had oftentimes experienced the miracle working power of God’s Grace to deliver him triumphantly over his enemies. Yet when suddenly confronted by a new threat to take him out, finds himself hiding at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of The Jordan River being waited on by God-Sent Ravens. Then God orders him to leave that place and go to another place where he’d find a woman, who God had instructed to feed him. Being the obedient servant that he was, Elijah obeyed.  Howevrrr, unbeknownst to him, this woman was dealing with her own desperately dramatic circumstances. In fact, by the time Elijah got there, she’d made a decision to prepare this last meal for herself and her son after which they’d both die and it would all be over!

God is not limited to temporary situations, neither is His power diminished by our finite ability to accurately assess what, how, where or when He dispenses out miracles. Notwithstanding, God’s miraculous intervention is sometimes limited by our personal willingness to trust Him to do whatever He promises for us! Hence, we must take care to not miss our miracle because it doesn’t look like what we expect.

For instance, imagine if Elijah had allowed the outward appearance and the initial assumption of the woman’s distressing circumstances to direct his steps? He would’ve missed another opportunity to testify to the Glory of The True Source and Sustainer of Life! And, if the widow woman had allowed her wearied fluctuating state of emotions and even the reality of physical hunger to confine her to her own plan, she and her son would’ve missed their Divine Visitation!

The scripture also makes mention that God did not instantly pour down a whole barrel of oil and a full bin of flour. And we know that HE COULD’VE! However, each day The Good Shepherd supplied them with a sufficient portion of bread and oil from the bottom of the vessels! (Ref. Matthew 6:11) Apparently, it is the delight of our Heavenly Father to joyfully greet and so graciously meet the needs of those who offer their personal trust and confidence to Him one day at a time!

REMEMBER…THEY DID EAT! FROM THE BOTTOM UP!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

HE TURN’T IT!

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HE TURNED IT 2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it. Jeremiah 30:23-24

 

LOOK OUT…then LOOK UP! These are indeed the times of Jacob’s deep trouble distress prophesied in The Bible! Looking around, you can’t help but to see tragedy, corruption and injustice. So one might erroneously conclude that the fires of darkness have prevailed, releasing double turmoil and chaos on the land, from which there is no recovery!

Obviously, the people of God have not been excluded from the suffering, pain and disparity. In the midst of the overwhelming darkness, some will succumb to fear, giving in to the seducing spirits of the Tempter, turning their faces away from The Hope of Glory and drift over to the enemy’s fire, as if Satan has the power to save them. LOL!

However, don’t be befuddled by the jeers of the false prophets, GOD ALWAYS HAS A NUMBER WHO REFUSE TO BOW! Hence, there yet remains that Faithful Remnant who have determined, “COME WHAT MAY…I WILL trust in the One that the world has rejected, my proven Chief Corner Stone, with all of my heart, mind, soul and spirit!”

Jesus, The True and Faithful Witness, has given His chosen, everything that we shall ever need to endure these hardships as good soldiers! Hence, as we stand solidly on The Rock of our Salvation, taking God at His Word, in due season, we shall see the reward of the wicked and the servants of God exalted!

Always remember! Those who have a personal faith relationship with The Redeemer and Restorer, have an Incorruptible Hope that’s far beyond this world! (Ref. 1 Peter 1:23)

The Righteous Judge has decreed, “I AM keeping watch over MY Word to perform it. Don’t be afraid! I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS! I see everything that you’re going through and I WILL enter into your darkness AND TURN IT AROUND to save and deliver you! AGAIN!

Don’t worry about those fair weather folk who mock and dismiss your faith as ‘hopeless fanatic ignorance’! But cling to ME, for you are MY very own people and I WILL BE YOUR VERY OWN GOD!”

My fellow sojourners, BE STEADFAST, UNMOVABLE  ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF OUR LORD! (Ref. 1 Corinthians 15:8)

WHEN THE DUST SETTLES, YOUR ENEMIES WILL BE LEFT GROVELING IN THE DIRT, HEADS SPINNING , MOUTHS GAPPING IN ABSOLUTE WONDER, “didjaseedat?”

CHECK THE BACK OF THE BOOK! JUSTICE PREVAILS! WE WIN AND ZION SHALL STAND FOREVER! GOD TURN’T IT!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee