Category Archives: faith

WHO KNEW?

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WHO NU

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6

 

Shhh!!! Quiet as it’s kept, sometimes even seasoned-saints are overwhelmed by a daily dose of mass media infiltration of ‘you- just-gotta know current events’! Oh, don’t shout me down yet!

You know what I mean!  What about that hefty serving of derogatory remarks from the ‘people in-the-know’, mixed with a side order of another senseless school slaying and alleged child pornography arrests, sandwiched between two slabs of multiple assault, batteries and robberies along with a ear-full of not-so-subtle-any-more racial slurs directed at high ranking politicians coupled with the collapse of another financial institution due to the greedy boardroom antics, the increase of bankruptcies, foreclosures and the unstable employment stats, and for dessert we get a heaping dollop of flamboyant ungodliness in some pulpit way across the country. It’s bound to jangle the lifestyle of the comfortably complacent and vex the very soul of the righteous, huh?

And we haven’t even gotten to those ‘real-time-scandalous-drama-pop-ups’ that keep recurring in your own personal day-to-day life! 

May I offer this Word of consolation? Absolutely nothing ever catches God by surprise!

Really! According to Scripture, God knew that men would audaciously rebel and reject Godly Wisdom and Truth, and go about doing that which ‘seemed right’ in their own eyes. (Ref. Judges 17:6) Nevertheless, He didn’t change a thing! Why? Because He controls everything in Creation! Before laying the foundation of this world, God deliberately put in place everything we could possibly ever need to overcome anything we’d ever face!

As we go about the daily business of life, rubbing up against the ungodly on our jobs, riding the subway, in the malls, the grocery store, at the bank and even in our homes—rest assured, no matter what it looks like—GOD KNOWS!

That’s why He sent Jesus to preserve the faithful and vindicate the righteous! 

Can I tell you something else? God never intended you to set this whole world right! Neither does He want you to run thru life scarred and terrorized by the lord of Destruction.  Well, what am I supposed to do? The answer is found in The Book! 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Yes, somethings happen in life that are beyond your control. However, you have the power to choose your response! Make a decision to rest in God’s Love, trust in His Faithfulness and depend upon God’s Power!

Beloved, today, may your faith be affirmed, your strength renewed and your peace restored through The Knowledge, Absolute Authority and All Sufficient Grace of your OMNISCIENT FATHER GOD!

WHO KNEW? GOD KNEW!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

EMPTY HEARTS & OPEN HANDS

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EMPTY HEARTS OPEN HANDS

SELAH Daily Devotions!

I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?  Ruth 1:21

 

Personally, today’s text is one of the most saddest scriptures in the entire Bible. These words, uttered from the lips of Mother Naomi, can’t help but resonate in the wounded  hearts of any one of us who’s ever had their life, brutally interrupted by tragedy!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned saint or a rank sinner, none of us wake up in the morning anticipating that today is the day that my life as usual will be ravaged by an out of the black catastrophic event. Yet tragedy is an uninvited, unbiased, self-imposing and most certainly unwelcomed guest that arbitrarily shows up anywhere , at anytime, at any one of our doors!

While The Bible clearly tells us that as new creations in Christ, we ought not to look at the things which are seen but rather, through the eye of faith, we’re encouraged to focus our attention on those things which are invisible to the natural eye. By the way, faith in God does not suggest that we deny that our current circumstances are challenging, but rather because we know that it’s only temporary, we must not allow fear and panic to rob us of The Eternal Hope we have in Jesus Christ! (Ref. 2 Corinthians 4:18)  Nevertheless, when tragedy strikes your life, it’s difficult to see real-time in an eternity perspective!

Mother Naomi’s words depict the pit of a woman’s soul devastated by despair and terrorized by hopelessness due to circumstances that were not of her own doing! Have you ever been victimized because of someone else’s choices? As you read Naomi’s story,  you discover that doing the right thing doesn’t exempt you from bad things happening to you. (Ref. Psalm 34:19) However, you’ll also recognize that you’re not the first person to have their life’s dreams crushed leaving your soul vacant and despondent!

While this may offer the faithful a glimmer of hope, sometimes the pressure of all the present circumstantial evidence stacked against us, blinds us from the spiritual reality that GOD is yet seated on The Throne, and has not lost–nor relinquished one iota of His Omnipresence, Omnipotence and Omniscient Glory!

That’s the point! The real root of the enemy’s constant plotting against God’s Chosen is not to steal your husband, wife, house, car or job. The bottom line is, the devil wants to destroy your trust in our Heavenly Father!

My precious ones, whatever you do, don’t allow the devil to intimidate you. Before you give up and throw in the towel,  REMEMBER.THE DEVIL IS A LIAR! And if he lies, he’ll steal, and if he steals, he’ll kill! (Ref. John 10:10a)

Now, the question is, who are you gonna trust?

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO PLEASE GOD, YOU’VE GOTTA TRUST HIM, EVEN WHEN YOU HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE WHAT HE’S UP TO!

Reach out to your Heavenly Father, trusting that He Who makes all things, holds all things together! That’s what Naomi did! She made a decision to go back to Bethlehem! Back to the Land of Promise! Not only did she reconnect to her relative, the Land-Lord, Boaz, she became the Great-Grand Mother of  Israel’s Greatest King, David, the descendant of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! WHEN NAOMI OPENED HER HEART TO GOD, HE FILLED HER HEART AND HER HANDS! Hence, is your heart opened to God’s Plan or yours?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

BLESSED LIKE THAT?

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BLESSED LIKE DAT

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrew 6:11-12

 

Can we talk?

None of like waiting, right? Yet, life teaches you that it’s inevitable! Hopefully, eventually we will get to the point that we understand since it’s virtually impossible to avoid, how you wait is vitally important!

For some mysterious reason, (The Wisdom of God) even the most sainted of us will be challenged in this area. On one hand, The Bible encourages us that ‘the promises of God are Yeah and Amen’; yet in order to inherit the promises we must wait–in confident expectation! Okay, but how?

Let me be frank with you up front, it’s not easy but IT IS POSSIBLE! Some folk  (a lot wiser than I) now honored in The Hebrews Hall of Faith, left an example for us to follow. In order to fill that gapping season between when the promise is given and the manifestation of the promise, you’ve got to talk to yourself! Now don’t just swipe this under the rug as ‘holy talk’!

Experience has proven this to be factual! Because there’s someone waiting for you to throw in the towel and surrender to your circumstances so he can begin to talk to you! And can you guess what he’s gonna say? The conversation will probably go something like this, “whatcha waiting for”; “what you got now is all you’re ever gonna get; none of your people ever got any higher, further, never accomplish anything greater than where you are right now” “Your Momma wasn’t nothing, your Daddy wasn’t’ nothing…WHO DO U THINK U R?”

Can I tell you something? It’s time to let your ears hear your mouth, talking to yourself! Even if it means standing in the mirror and saying out loud in your best MLK voice, “I have a dream!” Next, add some fuel to the fire by writing the vision, making it plain so that every time you read it, it will fortify your will and re-affirm your resolve that no matter what it looks like, “I’m determined to run for it!” Hence, this will help you to line your thinking in that direction and curtail your actions to take you towards that dream.

Stop sabotaging your future with your mouth! What ‘they say’ is not as important as what you say to yourself. Make sure that you tell your feelings that they don’t get a vote! Above else stop procrastinating and command your feet to run in the direction of your vision!

Watch it! Ihearya! “But! Obviously, you don’t know what I been thru”! SHUT YOUR MOUTH and set your face like a flint towards the vision that God gave you then SHIFT! The fact that you’re still here means that you’re a survivor and most importantly, God is not thru with you yet!

At the end of the day, it boils down to this…CAN you STAND TO BE BLESSED LIKE THAT?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

IF U THINK…U CAN THANK!

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IF U THINK, U CAN THANK

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“When I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all he has done for me,my soul cries out Hallelujah! I thank God for saving me!”

 

We’ve all heard that; some of us have even testified it ourselves. How many of us were clueless that this was really a verse of a song, and not a scripture? But datz okay! Regardless of it’s roots, reciting these words has pulled many drowning souls out of the depths of hopelessness and despair!

The master of deceit, Satan, flourishes in our proclivity towards selective amnesia. Whether it’s a self-induced defense mechanism or some type of ego-boosting-denial-syndrome, I don’t know. However, if we’re honest, every single one of us could testify we’ve scaled some mountains higher than we thought possible and drifted through seemingly impossible storms that “NOBODY BUT GOD kept us alive!”

Truthfully, that’s exactly what terrifies Satan the most. He knows that if we ever take the time to really think about how often The Power Twins, Mercy and Grace, showed up, just in the nick of time delivering us from danger, destruction and even death, praise and worship is imminent! And of course, that’s the absolute last thing the devil wants to endure is a bunch of happy trusting believers rejoicing and lifting up The Name of Jesus!

Well, guess what devil, you might as well pull out your earplugs, because God is raising up a nation of your worst nightmare,  reformed doubters-complainers, an honest-to-goodness -genuine BELIEVERS! Oh Yeah! We’ve come through some fires, been through some storms but we can truly say that God was with me all the way!

In fact, come to think of it,  everytime that I cried out to Him, Jesus heard me and saved me out of all my troubles! ( Psalm 34:6) And because of my personal history, I have learned how to lean and depend on Jesus! Therefore, I truly and profoundly declare and decree (with both hands raised) “I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES, HIS PRAISE SHALL CONTINUALLY BE IN MOUTH! (Psalm 34:1)

And guess what else, if you think I’m gonna keep this to myself, you must be an ol’ fool! I’m about to tell everybody, ‘come and see what the Lord has done for me!” THINK ABOUT IT…U GOTTA THANK HIM, huh?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

 

CONTRADICTIONS

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Contradictions!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
 

I’ve heard that some scholarly skeptics, after critiquing the Holy Bible, conclude ‘how can they be taken in by this foolishness, considering that The Word of God appears to contradict itself!’ But! The devil is still a liar!  The Word of God emphatically states that, the secret things of God are sacred and cannot be discerned by the carnal mind.  (Ref. Deuteronomy 29:29) Oh, there’s no denying that we’re often challenged by circumstances and situations that appear to be totally contrary to the promises of God!
 
And yes, it’s difficult to hear that still small voice of comfort and reassurance, amidst the boisterous tempest of compelling circumstances! We’ve all had those periods where our experiences challenge our expectations. Yet, hope compels us to stand firm being confident in this sure thing!  God is not a liar and God is yet faithful!  Remember, if God did not hold back the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, the very best He had to offer, then how shall He not deliver you from the snare of the adversary again, and again!
 
Perhaps, today, it seems as if God has forgotten you or at least miscalculated just how much you can actually bear.  But He has not!  He is Alpha and Omega!  He planned every episode of your entire life from the end to the beginning.  Sometimes, it may seem like you’re not even on the winning team, huh? But rest assured, Beloved! God has decreed that though your beginnings appear humble now, and your problems seem to be overwhelming…..your Deliverer is about to arouse Himself to restore you to your rightful place. Everything you’re going through is a sure sign that you’re being positioned for purpose. (Ref. Mark 10:30)
 
Jesus is not impressed nor is He ever moved by anything that Satan is trying to do in your life! He already dealt with him on Calvary! Remember, Jesus said, ‘IT IS FINISHED’!  If God said it, He shall do it; if God spoke it, it shall come to pass.  His thoughts toward you are for good and not for evil and your future is brighter, joyful and more prosperous than you could ever imagine!
 
My precious saints, wait patiently on your God! He is the same God who came through for you in the past! He’s already proven His Faithfulness.  He’s already proven that He is worthy of your trust! He’ll do it again too!
 
Don’t focus on the contradictory circumstantial evidence, but continue to look to the Almighty God knowing that not only is He your sufficiency HE IS YOUR SOURCE!  (Ref. James 1:17-21)
 
Don’t take the enemy’s bait. Never allow your past experiences nor present conditions to determine your future destination!  The Promises of God supersede and overrule every apparent contradiction!  It ain’t what it looks like!  CONTRADICTIONS, huh?

SELAH!
 
Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

UN-HOLY COWS

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UN-HOLY COW!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LordGod of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 12:1-4

 

Due to the incredible technological advances, we’re now living in an Age of constant transition. As knowledge increases, our world appears to be getting smaller by the second. Yet many of us escape the stress and chaos that often accompanies such swift changeovers by clinging to the Hope and Comfort of The Holy Scriptures, which profoundly proclaim to 21st Century Believers, that while time is spiraling down into Eternity at unprecedented speeds of Life, Jesus remains the same; Yesterday, Today and Forevermore! (Ref. Hebrews 13:8)

While there are no shortages of intellectually astute scoffers who, sparing no punches, continually dispute its validity  and adamantly renounce the relevance of The Bible’s antiquated moral code to their sophisticated culture! HOWEVRRRR, that’shouldn’t surprise any of us!

The Holy Spirit already told us these days were coming, right?  Certainly does! The Good Book lets us know that there will be those who would choose to ignore what their eyes clearly observe, trivializing Truth into fabricated self-delusions and imagining themselves excused from the obligation of submission to any authority outside of the god of self! (Ref. Romans 1:18-23)

Nevertheless, what’s more even vexing to the hearts of God-Honoring followers of The Lord Jesus Christ, is the misconception of some New Millennium converts who have latched onto the false doctrine of “Come as U R and Stay as U R”!  C’mon nah, don’t yall shout me down!

Hence, on any given Sabbath Day, padded pews are filled with unsuspecting people clad in their mindset, clinched fisted and unashamedly determined, “Preacha, I’m Good! Okay, so don’t bother me with your out-dated version of un-realistic expectations. After all, we’re no longer under the Law, we’re under Grace! And besides that, who are you to judge me anyhow?”

BUT! Before you get a little bit too happy, can we allow The Living Word of God to shed some Truth on what God thinks about this matter? Isn’t that what every Born-Again, Blood Washed Child of God has sworn to live by? Right!

God sent His Son, Jesus seeking to save those of us who were lost (outside of Covenant-Relationship with The Father of Glory)! Jesus Sacrificial Blood redeemed you from darkness and dominion of Satan! By personally trusting in HIM, you have become a Child of The Kingdom of Christ! Now, that your eyes have been exposed to The Light of Truth, why would you want to continue in bondange to the works of wickedness and evil? If it was all that good, why did you want to leave Egypt in the first place, huh? EXACTLY!

R U listening? God has stratetically placed you in The Body of Christ, under the direction of His Shepherd, Holy Spirit, whom He has appointed to lead, guide, instruct, encourage and discipline you in The Ways of Righteousness, Love, Peace and Joy! So…stop kicking against the prick!

Now! Isn’t it time to make that change!  Ooops, I jus felt a ‘tomato throwing spirit’ in da house!  Seriously, The  rules of engagement in The Kingdom of God demands both a change of mind and heart! Tear down those sacred shrines and stop making those un-sanctified offerings of yester-year (when you were out there doing everything and anything that the devil, your former Hard-Task-Master, COMMANDED YOU TO DO)!

DIDJAHEARDAT?

#IJS…Now that Jesus  HAS DELIVERED YOU INTO HIS ETERNAL ABUNDANT LIFE, STOP THE BULL! UN-HOLY COWS! #ijs

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

AIN’T NO QUIT IN ME

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AIN'T NO QUIT IN ME

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

For our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory… 2 Corinthians 4:17-18a

 

Someone, with far more wisdom than you and I, penned these words, “Winners never quit, and quitters never win!” Granted, we’re living in times that could easily tempt us to just fall apart, succumb to our dire situations and even begin to doubt God‘s ability to turn things around in our favor. Yet, Jesus never told us to rely on what we think, we see or even what we feel. The Word admonishes us to put no confidence in flawed fickle flesh, particularly our own. Believers walk by faith and not by what it may look like in the natural. Believers believe!

When the enemy comes upon us flooding our hearts with intimidating fear and discouragement, a spirit of super tenacity, and holy boldness, begins to flow up from the pit our inner most being and when it kicks in, it really doesn’t matter what we go thru, a true believer will refuse to throw up our hands and give in! The Ol’ Skool Church used to say, “I’m in it, to win it”! You see they knew something—I don’t care who sanngs, God Reigns, therefore it ain’t over until God says it’s over!

When it appears that the circumstantial evidence against us pretty much guarantees we’re going down for the count, we have a secret weapon on the inside of us that assures us the victory! Greater is He that is in me than anything that comes against me! (1 John 4:4)

The Apostle Paul, encouraging a troubled Corinthian Church, lets us know we’re don’t have to deny the severity of our situation, we just deny it’s  power to work against us. (Ref. Isaiah 54:17) Didjaheardat? Yes, it’s okay to acknowledge what’s happening, but don’t just stop with the bad stuff, remember Who we have going right for us.

Okay, we might be feeling some pressure, but we’re still standing! We might not have all the answers, but we know The One who does! Our circumstances might not be what we expected, but God already knew about it before He allowed us to be in it! It may seem that the burden is much more than we can take, but God’s Grace is sufficient! We might not know how long we’re be in it, but God knows! He’s predesignated a set time for our deliverance! And when God brings us out we don’t come out empty handed, but we come out with Greater Glory!

YEP! Believers may bend, but we don’t break! We hold fast to the Hope that is within us! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)

BELOVED, DON’T STOP, ‘TILL YOU GET IT! GET IT?

Seriously!  Obviously Satan didn’t get the text, huh? So you tell ’em, ‘Ain’t nobody got time 4 dat; check the back of the Book, WE WIN! Ain’t NO QUIT In ME!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?

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WHAT'S IN UR HEART

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you,testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger andfed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word[a] that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 ESV

 

We’ve all been there! At some point in this journey, we’ve found ourselves, barraged by seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against us, huh? There I was, sitting there unsuccessfuly attempting to make a 911 connection to The Throne Room. This one, was a time sensitive—not later—but I need you right now—Lord situation! As my eyes skimmed over to my laptop and I realized that somehow it was in the middle of running an unscheduled scan! Immediately, I understood what the Holy Spirit was trying to do in me.

Remember when you thought you knew, but didn’t really know? Exactly! It’s during these moments of mental confusions and conflicting emotions that we need the aid of Holy Spirit. According to Isaiah 11:2, no one but The Spirit of True and Wisdom, can scan the the inner most chambers of the human heart, assess the situation, identify the dangerous infectious viral components, quarantine and eliminate them before they’re able to contaminate our heart’s drive! WOW, and He was doing this way before Bill Gates or Steve Job! Awemaazing, huh?
With that being said, once again I had to admit that before I could make a right connection with Jesus, I had to clear the line! No, God was not saying that my issue was not valid, but that there was an even more life-threating situation that demanded immediate attention. There was something going on in my heart that I was not willing to confront and deal with at the root! Sometimes we do that, you know? We like to justify our rebellion by playing the blame game. “Lord, if they hadn’t….then I never would’ve …” But God wasn’t buying none of that!

There’s no denying that there’s something embedded in the DNA of humanity that resists repentance. It’s difficult for us to acknowledge that we’re at fault. It’s a whole lot easier for us to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our good intentions, huh? But God is not intimidated by our self-deceiving, willful, prideful hearts NOR IS HE IMPRESSED BY OUR CHURCH TESTIMONIES!

God strategically sets up unscheduled heart scans to illuminate potentially critial viruses that left untreated could result in the hardening of the arteries causing damaging blockages. For instance, that spirit of jealosy, envy, anger, resentment, bitterness and yessss the unforgiveness haboring in the crevices of your heart against someone, who probably doesn’t even know it! You know how fake the saints can be sometimes. Problem is, chances are before the end of the day, you’ll probably gonna need somebody to forgive you for something! The scripture is clear on this, if you don’t forgive others, neither will Your Heavenly Father forgive you your faults! (Ref. Matthew 6:15) OMG! Kinda sheds a different light on it, huh?

Beloved, I don’t know about you, but I NEED THE MERCY AND GRACE OF GOD, ALL DAY…EVERY DAY!

I know it’s not always easy, especially since you’re the one who’s been hurt. But considering the repercussions, sounds to me like, by God’s Grace, whatever the offense, we just need to release it, drop it, leave it and let God handle it! God always knows everything about everything –and we don’t!

SO, WHAT’S REALLY IN YOUR HEART? #GOD REALLY KNOWS!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THURSDAYS’ PRAYERS!

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PRAYN AND FASTING PIC

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Good Morning Family! GOTTA MOMENT! Great!  Once again, we encourage you to join in our weekly Thursday’s Day of Corporate Prayer and Fasting!  

We love You Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship You. Oh my soul, rejoice! Take JOY my King, in what You hear, and let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your Ear! We adore Thee! We adore Thee, We adore Thee, O Lord! Let’s pray…
“Almighty Lord God, as we bow our heads and our hearts to thank you for this day we honor our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for the privilege to enter into Your Throne Room confident that You welcome us and rejoice in the confident hope that You are listening to our prayers!

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our being able to see, and to hear, and to speak, and to feel, and to taste of Your goodness this day and every day.

We’re blessed because You, being Holy and Righteous continue to be such a loving forgiving God, and such an understanding and caring God. You have done so much for us and yet you keep on blessing us. Lord forgive us this day for everything we have done, or said or thought that was not pleasing to you. Abba Fahter, we are sincerely sorry, humbly repent asking for Your forgiveness trusting in Your Promise that You are Faithful and Just to give us.

We thank You for being The God of our Salvation, our Deliverance, Breakthrough and Provision.We’re thankful that because You know our frame, Your faithfulness and compassion allow You to look beyond our human frailties, faults and iniquities to see and minister to all of our need!

We pray for renewed strength, understanding and power that comes from a heart open to, depending and relying only on You. 

We pray that as Your eyes continue to search the hearts of mankind that you save the lost, and reclaim every back-slider and that You will place them and settle them into a church home today.Father, I pray for those who are unsaved, put a yes in their heart and in their mind that they will come to you today and receive You as their Lord and Savior.

Father we lift up every government official, education, financial, judicial, health care and spiritual leader, asking a special miracle for each and every one of them who are yet standing on the wall proclaiming Your Word under the conviction and anointing of Holy Spirit.

Father, we’re trusting and believing that you will Grace them to be the examples in their homes, churches and community that will cause everyone who comes into contact with them to fall in  love, trust wholly in and live their lives serving You!

Father, we commit our children, our children’s children and by faith, into Your providential care! Lord, we realize that You have a plan and purpose for their lives too and we have the blessed assurance that their steps are yet being ordered by Your eyes!

Heavenly Father, stir up the hearts and minds of those who are professing Your Name that they will have a desire for an even greater personal, intimate relationship with Creator God through fellowship of Holy Spirit that they might prove what is the perfect and acceptable will of The Lord Jesus!

Knowing that You Sovereignly Rule and Reign over the affairs of mankind, we pray and thank you for our President Obama and his family trust that no weapon that is formed against them shall prosper.

We ask that you continue to open the eyes of understanding so that your people are not easily deceived by those who would desire to entrap your children in bondage once again to anything that You have delivered us from.

Lord, I pray for every believer who is yet holding on to Your Hand by faith today, that You will release Divine power, Supernatural strength and health, provision, prosperity and protection. I pray also Father, that You will preserve them thru the tests that they must go thru and that You will bring them out wholly restored, renewed, refreshed and with the reward as You have promised them in Your Word.

Father, we rejoice now in confidence and quietness, trusting wholly that all workers of iniquity are trembling and suddenly departing in shame, turning their backs from Your people, because You have heard the voice of our weeping, our supplications and received our prayers as a sweet savor coming up before Your Sovereign Throne of Grace and Mercy!

Father,  we thank You, honor and praise You now, for  I believe that it is done!  In The Exalted Name of Jesus. Amen and It Is So!

CHALLENGED?

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Goliath meets his match

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 1 Samuel 17:28-29

The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want! Psalm 23:1

Life is challenging! That’s what I call grossly understated, huh? If you can’t say Amen, the ol’ saints used to say, ‘Jus keep getting up in the morning and going to bed in the evenings!’ There is always going to be something or someone who’s sole purpose in existing is to challenge your peace, patience, prosperity, position or your purpose. Okay?

Here’s the clincher! Sometimes your worst adversity comes from your own house! I mean, one might expect oppositon competing for a job, after all the unemployment rate being as high as it is. And of course, given the deminishing numbers of viable bachelors/bachelorettes these day you kinda know how steep the competition is for someone looking for the whole package (head, body and heart). But when you gotta overcome rejection and disrespect from those who are closest to you, even your own brothers and sistas, well that’s a whole different kinda beast!

Most of the time  when 1 Samuel 17 is preached or taught the focus is on Goliath, but upon closer observation of the context, David faced serious oppositon even before he dealt with the 10 ft. Philistine. Remember what happened that day God sent Samuel to anoint the next King of Israel? (Ref. 1 Samuel 16) Well, it was only after much resistance from his Father,  Jessie, that David was even considered an option. Isn’t it something when your own kinfolk can only see you the way you used to be or never acknowledge that where you are now is not necessarily your final destination?

Even more difficult, is rising above those who’re secretly intimidated by your desire to excel to dimensions beyond where they’ve chosen to settle in the comfort of complacency, paralyzed by their fears rather than risk failure. WOW! #OHNOSHEDIDN’T #YESSHEDID!

But the young shepherd boy had somehow learned that when you can’t find support or encouragement from without, don’t give up! Look to the only One truly qualified to determine your worth or define your destiny! The Creator and Giver of Life, The Lord Almighty! David drew strength, courage and unfailing unconditonal love abiding in the Presence of The True Shepherd, Yahweh, translated I  AM THE ONE,  or I AM WHAT I AM!

In the midst of  foreboding clouds of impending threats, persecutions, peer pressure, hopelessness and despair, David found respite rehearsing holy moments he’d spent searching the Heart of His Lord!

Like David, most of us can look back at those ‘almost’, and rekindle those ‘look what the Lord has done’ moments! But sometimes it takes us a while to regroup after we finally back  off looking for our own way out, huh? When you realize the folly of depending on self and others,  you’ll come to the realization that when God decides to bless you, it doesn’t matter who tries to curse you! Oh Gggglorrra!

Life has a way of teaching you that you can’t overcome what you’re not willing to confront! However, even more rewarding is understanding The Good News! God’s got a plan for your life and it’s all good! (Ref. Jeremiah 29:11)  You already got the victory; you jus gotta fight the good fight of faith! Didjaheardat? Trust2know! CHALLENGED?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray and Praiz!

Ann Caffee