Category Archives: Godliness with Contentment

DEEP WELLS

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

I DON’T MIND WAITING

I DON'T MIND WAITING!

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:3
If there’s anything that I find more detestable than eating okra, it’s gotta be waiting! Oh, don’t look at me with that tone of voice. I see your hand up too! Out of all of the spiritual gifts we crave, patience is probably at least next to the bottom of the list! The Ol’ Churrch Mothers used to say, ‘Baby, don’t ever ask God for patience, cause you’re inviting trouble to your door’!

But I’ve lived long enough to conclude, invited or not, Trouble’s bound to show up sooner or later. So it behooves us to not just expect it but to prepare for the unexpected. One of the first things on the ‘to do list’ of every soul who pledges allegiance to The Cross should be learning how to wait! While there’s little to none chance of escaping waiting, I’ve found it to be extremely efficacious to establish a few things at the onset!

Primarily, Who you’re waiting on has a direct affect on how you wait. Next, consider the probability of facilitation of your expectation. Lastly, what time constraints are you prepared to impose on the process? #WOW, huh?

Waiting on God is always our best bet! (Ref. Philippians 3:1-4) As you’ve probably realized by now, the odds of success when putting all of your confidence in any flesh, especially your own, is kinda like winning Power Ball Mega Millions the first time you purchased a lottery ticket. Exactly! Not that their intentions weren’t honorable; BUT! Sometimes, God will ordain those certain ONLY GOD types of situations to tutor us in ‘The Validity of Maintaining Confidence in His Trustworthiness’! God knows that as long as we can handle life on our own (or with the aid of that other person), chances are we’ll never come to Him! When we seek God first (not as a last resort), our faith is rewarded exceedingly beyond our expectations (Ref. Matthew 6:31-33)

GOD CANNOT LIE! (Ref Numbers 23:19) Once we’ve established the reliability of God’s Word, based conclusively upon a settled-realism that everything God ever promised already is, that all of the promises of God are Yea and Amen (Ref. 2 Corinthians 1:20) and that God has obligated Himself to bring every Word He’s ever spoken it to pass, we rest!  Hence,  personal trust blossomes through patient waiting, in quiet confident hope, knowing that our Harvest Time is coming! (Ref. Hebrews 6:18)

So the next time the devil asks, “Whatcha waiting on?”, don’t bother to respond! Just stretch out the cords, buckle down the hatches and get ready for the overflow!

When you’re expecting God, anytime He shows up is your season for Grace and Favor!  #ijs, DON’T MIND THE WAITING!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

COME AWAY…WITH ME!

 

COME AWAY WITH ME

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Song of Songs 2:10

It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. Song of Songs 3:4

 

It’s about that time again, yall! Don’t get me wrong, I so enjoy looking at the snow covered rooftops, grounds and trees …out of my living room windows! But,  I jus love the sounds of Spring bursting in the freshness of new beginnings! As a child, I could hardly wait. Not just for school to close, even though I worked hard to get good grades and deserved a break!  But, in the Newton clan,  it meant  new shorts, tank tops and Kenny Kapers, backyard cookouts with loads of family, food, fellowships and street games tournaments. As days got warmer and longer, smiles got brighter and hearts seemed lighter, as if love was in the air!

But then you grow up, huh? Life doesn’t always allow you to play as hard or often when you’ve got obligations and resposibilities to family, commitments to friends, schools, jobs, careers,  and yes church! Sometimes you’re pulled in all kinds of directions, huh?

In the mix of the longer lunch hours, and crammin more fun-n-da sun weekends, it can be difficult to carve out that one-on-one time with the True Light of The World! That still small Voice whispering, “COME” is often muted by the sermonic selections of the birds, blooming  buds and booming music, not to mention the blasts of callings to cruises, amusement park outings and island gettaways! After all, you deserve a little personal  R&R, right?

It ain’t my business, but I’m jus saying, this year, let’s not get so caught up in the heat of the dayz, that you neglect those holy moments with The Daystar, Jesus! In fact, take The Lord God with you, everywhere you go. Chances are, you gonna need Him!

Oh yeah, feel free to invite a friend… that’ll really make Jesus smile! ‘Come, ye… after me?’ Didjaheardat? SERIOUSLY? #don’tdolifewithoutHIM!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

A PERFECT HEART

A PERFECT HEART2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 2 Chronicles 16:9

 

According to Data Center Solutions, the KJV Bible uses the word ‘heart’ 884 times. When the scriptures speak of the heart, it’s not referring to the 9-ounce muscle that pumps the blood throughout the human body. But rather, it’s speaking of the central control room of our emotions, ( feelings) of love, our desires and yes the seat of hatred, envy, covetnous, bitterness, resentment and fear!

We tend to so readily embrace those scriptures that bring encouragment and comfort to our hearts, right? However, when it comes to those that teach how to avoid those secret subsceptabilities that are exposed by the light of The Holy Spirit, Who intentionally searches the hearts of men, chances are we’ll speed by those, pausing momentarily to clip a few notes that ‘I jus gotta share this one with Sis. Cantelope and Bro. Watermelon, both of whom definitely will benefit from this, more than I will!”

Today’s scripture, 2 Chronicles 16:9, says that God is searching for perfect hearts. Well here’s when most of us leave the conversation, afterall, ain’t nobody perfect, right? But a closer examination of the situation discloses God’s interpretation of a perfect heart! As our Heavenly Father peered into the heart of His servant, King Asa, we notice a few things were missing. First of all God expected to see a Holy Awe, a Reverence and Appreciation for The Almighty God who had showed Himself Powerful to deliver in the time of battle against the Cushites. Hence, instead of loyalty, total commitment and a willingness to obey God, Asa’s heart was torn between a reliance on self, man, the world and God!

When Asa was confronted by the Prophet Hanani, who alerted him of the precariousness of seeking help from any source other than God, Asa’s anger flarred up and he immediately ordered Hanani thrown into prison, revealing the true condition of his heart!

How many times have you heard someone declaring, “God knows my heart!? #ikr! He certainly does!  Therefore, He’s not easily impressed by our good works. Sometimes, we need to examine our hearts to determine if our good works are the result of right motives. Could we be harboring a religious spirit of self-righteousness? One way to identify this is by asking ourselves, “Is MY right doing to glorify and honor God or MYself?” #OOPHS!

That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:18

Solomon, dubbed the wisest man in the known world, shares this intellegence, that we must be mindful to monitor our hearts, putting limits on our feelings and desires, guarding against the innate proclivity to rationalize certain behaviors that will ultimately determine how we live. (Ref. Proverbs 4:23-27)

Beloved, a perfect heart does not means that you will always do the right thing. And, we all know the low probability of that, huh? However God’s looking for that ‘want to’, in other words, a GENUINE desire to grow in grace! This is only possible by a conscious deliberate effort to hide the Word of God in your hearts that you might not sin against the Faithful and True Living God! (Ref. 2 Timothy 2:15; Romans 12:1-2) #DIDJAHEARDAT? #WOW!

Jesus says, ‘That’s close enough, I’ll take it from here!’ PERFECT!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

DISCOURAGED BY THE WAY

DISCOURAGED BY THE WAY

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Numbers 21:4
God had kept His promise to deliver His people out from under the gruesome bondage of their Egyptian captors. Time and time again, they saw The Mighty Hand of God’s miraculous power triumph over their enemies and now they were on the way to their prosperous place finally free to serve their God!

Yet, the very first time one of their enemies refused them passage through to the Promised Land, the people of God became so discouraged and began to murmur and complain. Some even had the nerve to accuse God of making promises that He couldn’t keep. IMAGINE DAT?

It’s amusing, how we tend to judge them so harshly! As if we would’ve handled the situation any differently, huh?. Hind sight is always 20/20. And in retrospect, given the way we’ve responded in our personal wilderness experiences, we probably can relate a whole lot more than we’d be willing to acknowledge in public. Really?

Nevertheless, we must admit that there are important lessons to be learned from the Israelites. Such as, don’t be deceived just because it appears that it’s taking too long to receive that thing God has promised. Be careful that you do not allow discouragement to cause you to murmur and complain about the way that God is leading you.

Don’t ever forget to be grateful for God’s provision while you’re  enroute to the promised land. And above all, never allow your past nor present circumstances to dictate your future.

While trouble might be on your itenerary, it’s not your destiny! Remember Job? (Ref. Job 23:10) Trust that God knows the way that you take! Not only is He your Guide but He’s also your Guard! 
 
DISCOURAGEMENT IS TOXIC. IF LEFT UNCONFINED,  IT WILL KILL THE FAITH OF A BELIEVER! #DIDJAHEARDAT? WELL..PRAIZ HIM ON THE WAY! #ijs

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

TURNING POINT

TURNING POINT

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and  whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:25

 

At some point in the life of every single man, woman, boy and girl born into the Earth, we will be challenged to personally respond to some potentially life-altering questions.  At that point, they must make critical conscious decisions.  Whatever choices he/she makes will dictate the consequences of his/her ultimate eternal destiny.

Will I continue to live my life depending solely upon my own understanding, relying on my own opinion of what seems right and wrong according to my own moral standards and principles?  Or, am I willing to acknowledge the reality that  I need help from some other Source Greater than myself?

Am I willing to turn my life completely over to The One who created me? Am I entrusting my total care to Him; recognizing that He alone knows and desires the absolute best for my life?  Are you confidently assured that the only motivating factor for His Perfect Will for your life is His unconditional, unwavering, never ending, Faithful and Loyal Love for you?

The good news is that it’s an open-book test, but it’s still your choice!

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed shall live(Deuteronomy 30:19)

Precious one,  the moment you say emphatically, unapologetically, unrestricted,  ‘YES LORD’… DATZ YOUR TURNING POINT! 

Selah!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

IT’S A NEW DAY!

IT'S A NEW DAY!

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth, Shall ye not know it?   I will even make a way in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert?  Isaiah 43:19

Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6

 
 

I still remember when I would curse the breaking forth of the morning. It only meant another day filled with excruciating pain, sadness, discouragement and disappointment–just like all the others. It is no stretch of the imagination to figure out who had perpetuated those thoughts, okay?  But that was B.C. (Before Christ came into my life)!!!!  But by The Grace of God, today I stand as a living testimony to reality of The New-Life-Giving Power of God! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
 
Yessirreee Bob, this old gurl’s gotta  new attitude!  Coming from an extremely negative environment, I thought that this was just the way of the world. However, once I accepted Jesus, I learned that God’s Salvation’s Benefit Package included a completely different attitude, faith!  Yeah Baby, this new faith attitude is the heritage of the saints, the children of God! 
 
Once you recognize that you’re really in a personal relationship with the True and Living God, it’s actually possible for you to embrace each day with  joy, hopeful anticipation and confident assurance that this is a great day because God made it! Seriously,  it’s a new day!
 
Before you open up your eyes or your feet hit the floor, you have the power to dictate your day.  You can say,‘Good Lord, it’s morning already or Good Morning, Lord’. You choose whether to approach your day with joyful celebration and gratitude for  another opportunity to experience God’s Glory, Grace and Praise for what He’s already done, is doing now and for what He is about to do or you can claim fear, discouragement and defeat by murmuring and complaining. 
 
Don’t get it twisted. Even as a disciple of Christ, everyday is not the same; however each day you’re becoming new as you grow in the Wisdom, Knowledge and the Grace of God! That’s right saints, the new you makes the decision to enjoy this wonderful gift of present by refusing to allow past sins, past failures, past wounds and past disappointments, to keep you from moving forward into this brand new day! Didjaheardat?
 
The Ol’ Saints used to sing, ‘Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before!”  Don’t fool yourself, they lived through some very distressing times. Remember, The Great Depression!  Yet, amidst their adversity, they remained convinced that God was well able to keep them thru and to bring them out of anything that would unfold during a day!
 
When Jesus is your Shepherd, it doesn’t matter what happened yesterday.  God empowers each new day with new mercy, new grace and new faith to believe that today is the first day of the best of my life…because today is MY new day !

Soooooo, I decree and declare that Today, I have the mind of Christ! I believe that God is making a way out of no way, for me! Today, I believe that God is up to something that He’s never done before. Today, I expect to be strengthened, delivered and re-joyed! Today is another chance for me to do better and become more because today is another opportunity to get closer to Jesus!

Now if that doesn’t jumpstart your day, you better check your vitals and make sure you’re still living! OOOHHH GLORRRAAAAA!

HEY YALL, LIFE GOES BETTER WITH CHRIST! O HAPPY EVERYDAY!  IT’S A NEW DAY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

HIDE AND SEEK!

HIDE & SEEK

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 2 Chronicles 16:9(a)

Like most children, my grandchildren loved to play the game ‘Hide and Seek’! I mean they would really get ALL N2 it! LOL! They just knew that they’d found the perfect hiding place, each and every time! Most of the time, you could find them in their favorite spot. I mean there’re only so many hiding places in one house! But they’d get so excited as I’d go around the house calling out their names. Sometimes they couldn’t resist the urge to peek out at me as I’d pass by their spot just to make sure that they’d gotten over on me. I’d laugh when I saw their little bottoms sticking out from behind the chair that covered their heads!

There’s a whole lot of grown folk still playing Hide and Seek! Somehow they’ve conditioned themselves to suppose that if I can’t see Him, He can’t see me! Evidently, they forgot to check The Book. Ps. 139:12 says,’Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.’ Didjaheardat? Wow! Day and Night are the same to Him?

Strangely enough, just like my grandbabies, the devil tricks some of us into thinking that we’ve successfully covered up our mess. But God has 20/20 vision, there’s no where to run and no where to hide from His Presence! God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; keeping its inhabitants under constant surveillance!! (Ref. Isaiah 40:22) This wonderful reality brings comfort to the true believer, at the same time striking enormous fear in the hearts of the heathen! Aren’t you glad that God always knows exactly where you are at any time? Sounds like, everybody needs to know who Jesus really is, huh?

Truthfully, we’ve all starred in our own cliffhanger episode, right? Remember when it seems like all hell is breaking loose, and your soul’s suffering in the solace of your tears because there’s no one to help put the pieces back together. After trying everything you could think of and the trauma of emptiness hurts so deep; yet, still have no idea how to fill the space; you finally discover that the One who promises to be a very present help in the times of struggle is there all the time; just a prayer away! 

BELOVED, TRUST2KNO, GOD HEARS; GOD REMEMBERS, GOD SEES & GOD KNOWS!

When we come to the end of ourselves, we will recognize that it’s the seekers who receive the greatest blessings!

Gottcha!  Game Over! Come out from whatever you’ve been hiding behind! Just give up and turn yourself over to Jesus today! Don’t forget, He’s watching and waiting for you to seek Him!

Precious one, just ask God 2 help you; Comfort, strengthen and protect you! REMEMBER, JESUS IS WILLING 2 SAVE U AND HE WILL ALWAYS CARRY YOU THROUGH!

Come out with your hands up & tell God, ‘NO MORE HIDE AND SEEK!’ 

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

UNDER THE INFLUENCE 2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to god must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ Hebrews 11:6

 

The other day I heard someone say something that I thought was quite profound, at least thought provoking. It was said that “we are swirling towards eternity at the speed of life!” History is being written every day. Memories are being made, every day. Lessons are being taught and learned, every day. Attitudes are being formed and developed, every day.

As I began to think about this, several questions flooded my mind. First, does God’s Presence influence your life? How has the Presence of God influenced your life? What impact has God’s Presence made in your circle of influence?

We love to sing the song, “Jesus you are the center of my joy, all that’s good and perfect comes from you; you’re the Heart of my contentment, Hope for all I do….” But when the music stops, how’s your walk?

The Bible does not merely ask us to have faith to believe that God does exist. But we must also believe that God is who He says He is, that God is with us and that God is for us. (Ref. Hebrew 11:6) Accordingly, if we desire to please The Lord we must walk out our lives under the influence of His Presence that we may exemplify our beliefs throughout the course of daily living.

Does your character reflect the Presence of God in your life? Does the influence of God’s Presence affect the choices that you make? Does your life style reflect the influence of God’s Presence?

We are living epistles (letters) and folk are reading our mail, every day! How is the Presence of God in you influencing your readers? Just a thought! #ijs (Ref. 2 Corinthians 3:1-3)

The Bible says, we are the salt of the earth. I believe that means that we ought to make someone who doesn’t know God, thirsty for a drink of The Living Waters. (Ref. Matthew 5:13-14) As Christians, our greatest desire should be to allow the influence of God’s Presence to be reflected on those around us so much so that it provokes them to envy  and thirst for The God that we worship and  ultimately seek to claim Him as their personal Savior and Lord! 

KEEP IT MOVING! LIVE EACH DAY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GOD’S PRESENCE IN YOUR LIFE! 

SELAH! 

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

DENY THE POWER?

The Earth Slowly Burns - Americas

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:5

 

Never! Is probably the initial response of most professing-salvation-sanctified-sainted-souls, even at the mere suggestion that we’d be included in ‘those’. Right? BUT!  Have we ever considered the remote possibility, if you will, the collateral damage of being so pre-occupied with ‘getting’ that we lose sight of what God has already ‘given’?

Remember that Ol’ skool churrch song, “Count your blessing! Name them one by one! Count your blessing, see what God has done!”? Think about it? The Israelites were taught to sing songs that rehearsed their history as a daily reminder of God’s loving care, strength and power as He delivered them out of Egyptian slavery, lead them through the wilderness into The Promised Land! A practice, no doubt even in this bustling 21st Century culture, one might find tremendously buffering amidst the new norm of environmental chaos, anxiety and stress.

Just imagine the possible ramifications of a daily allotment of time designated specifically to reflecting upon all the many blessings that The Lord has already so mercifully and graciously heaped upon us. WOW! What inevitablemind-blowing heart-filled  sense of Gratitude, huh?

Could this be what The Apostle Paul was alluding to “according to the power that worketh in us”? (Ref. Ephesians 3:20)

Could a grateful heart pave the way for that “Greater than” we could ask or imagine? Could our pre-disposed poverty-mindedness and perverted sense of unworthiness, steeped in false humility be denying God the opportunity to show-off in our lives? Could we be guilty of having a form of godliness? GOD FORBID!

HOW GRATEFUL IS YOUR HEART? IS THAT HOW GREAT YOUR GOD IS? DENYING THE POWER? NEVER, huh? #juswondering…

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee