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EXCHANGING TRUTH 4 A LIE!

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EXCHANGING THE TRUTH 4 A LIE

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

…because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened Romans 1:21

Therefore God also gave tem up to uncleanness, in the lusts of teir hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans 1:24-25

 

Granted, you don’t hear a lotta preaching these days about this particular subject, nevertheless, TRUTHBTOLD, there is NO EXCUSE!

I know many have chosen to sugar-coat reality in an attempt to dismiss their personal obligation and responsibility, preferring to see themselves as victims of some mystical cosmic mishap, yet from the beginning of time, GOD has openly made GODSELF known to humanity. The Holy Scriptures announce that even ‘the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament displays His handiwork.’ (Ref. Psalm 19:1, Acts 14:15-17)!
Can we talk 4REAL 4REAL?

Our problem has never been that we don’t know the TRUTH, but as history has clearly disclosed, since mankind’s knowledge of God became perverted by the willfulness of rebellious flesh, humanity has been determined to oppose the Righteousness of God! As a result man’s heinous act of high treason, his God Consciousness has been severed, thereby losing contact with the true purpose of his existence!

Choosing to yield to the dictates of their heart’s fleshy lusts, instead of Glorifying God, they rejected Truth for a Lie!  Having created man with the power, ability and freedom of choice, God turned them over to pursue the vile passions and inevitable consequences of the insatiable deception,  idolatry and corruption, reaping the Wrath of their selfishness, uncleanliness, ingratitude and rebellion!

Only a fool denies the existence of GOD. (Ref. Psalm 14:1) Still too many, by failing to acknowledge Him as GOD, refuse to bow to His Majesty in their faithful obedient service,  and are determined to attain righteousness through their own understanding of good and acceptable behavior. And we all know how that turns out, huh?

While the godz of this world work relentlessly to distract us away from seeking a personal revelation of Our Loving Father, we must always remember, that our enemies can do absolutely nothing, except God allows! Hence, as The Good Shepherd safely guides us through the fires, floods and the storms of this life, these experiences allow us to gain a fresh insight into the height, length, dept and width of His Loving Kindness and the Sufficiency of His Grace to any who demonstrates personal trust in Him through a lifestyle of humility, loyalty and faithful obedience!

God has so wondrously fashioned each man with a GOD-SIZED VOID so that the ultimate fulfillment of life can only be consummated through his pursuit of intimacy with his Creator! Unfortunately only a few are driven to forsake the lure of this world’s glitz and glamour to tread the least traveled remote pathways to ETERNAL LIFE!

But every once in a while, a isolated sojourner catches a glimpse of The EVERLASTING LIGHT OF HOPE found ONLY in Christ Jesus, forsakes the ways of this ungodly world to lay hold of ETERNAL TRUTH,  establishing themselves firmly rooted and grounded in The Hands of  JESUS CHRIST, The Almighty King, who has Sovereignly summoned them, before the foundation of this world, as HIS BELOVED! 

SSSHHHH! #Didjaheardat? #WOW! EXCHANGING THE LIES 4 TRUTH!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

THE HERITAGE OF THE FOOLISH !

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MORNING GLORAAA

 

ETERNAL TRUTHS!

 

Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools. Proverbs 3:34-35

The heart of a fool is shapened by his continuous rejection of Godly Wisdom and Understanding and is committed to the ridicule of righteousness! God treats that man with contempt therefore bequeaths him the legacy of shame!

BUT GOD shall establish the humble, who refrain from wickedness, esteeming the soundness of Godly Wisdom with Understanding, with enduring riches of glory, honor, safety, discretion, inner peace and Eternal Life!

Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

Prov. 13:15

MAN’S DECISIONS DETERMINE WHETHER HE RECEIVES HIS JUST PENALTY OR INHERITS GOD’S GRACE AND FAVOR! #ijs…LIVE WISELY, LIVE WELL!

THE HERITAGE OF A FOOL!

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ETERNAL TRUTHS! #CARE2SHARE #WOW

AFTER THIS, LOOK 4 THE GLORRAA

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after-this-look-4-the-glory-2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said. There is nothing. And he said, go up again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, go up, say unto Ahab. Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. 1 Kings 18:43-45

 

It’s one thing to say that we trust God, but it’s how we endure the proving time that determines the genuineness of our trust! #Didjaheardat?

Life inevitably includes intervals of those pesty impositions I call ‘the dark times’! Like unexpected uninvited guest, trouble has a way of poppin in and staying way longer than we’d prefer! And to make matters even more unsettling, it’s during these seasons that we’re most likely to experience times when all evidence to substantiate that God is still with you and any sign indicating that He’s even listening to your prayers is essentially non-existent!

Knowing personally, it’s not easy watching our children’s lives being ravished by sickness and their youthful dreams and ambitions dissipated by helpless-hopelessness. But this is where the clichés that we so impressively sprout off to others are proven real or Memorex!  Beloved, the longer we walk with Jesus we discover that it’s in the midst of the storms that God reveals His Best Handy Work!  Who would’ve ever imagined that in spite of the dire forecast, The SON yet shines, leading and drawing us closer to Himself! Clearly, He’s determined, through any means necessary, to prove unequivocally that everything that the devil meant for evil, God can turn it around and make it work in our favor! (Ref. Romans 8:28)

Oh My! How my soul rejoiced that day, hearing that my son had given his life to The Lord during a bible study class the evening before! Little did I know that God would use this storm to woo him into seeking Him for himself , thereby positioning him for the miraculous showers of blessings that would follow! And most certainly, I never imagined as I was praying that God would stretch my faith and increase my knowledge of His Wisdom and Power, that I’d have to bury his twin brother to experience a whole new dimension of God’s Super-Sustaining Grace!

The Prophet Elijah teaches his young protégé that even when we can’t see no way to escape the very real threat of emminent destruction, we can yet trust God’s Heart and His Hands. God’s vision is far greater than 20/20. It’s from eternity past to eternity future! God watches guardingly over us thru The Blood stained eyes of Jesus. And through Divinely-inspired confident trust and quiet patience we discover the inexhaustible treaures God’s Faithfulness!

Today, you may find yourself plagued by all manner of maladies. Many of God’s people’s lives are being wounded and worn out by the insidious attacks of the enemies of God and  unfortunately, many are losing hope for life getting any better. But remember, anything is possible with God! TRUST2KNO, while our troubles have a predesignated date of expiration;  our prayers are eternal! #DIDJAHEARDAT??

As people of Hope, instead of surrendering to the pressures of circumstantial evidence, we pray; committing ourselves and our circumstances to our Omnipotent, Omniscient Omnipresent Savior and Lord! By doing this, we’re demonstrating to God that we are relying wholeheartedly upon His Love and the sufficiency of His Grace to sustain and deliver us! As we pray, God intervenes in His designated timing, turning everything the devil meant for evil—around for our greatest good and His Highest Glory! (Ref. 1 Chronicles 7:14)  #4REAL!

Don’t allow the darkness to deceive you. Could God be using the clouds to shield you from your enemies view, aligning you up for an unexpected miracle? (Ref. Exodus 13:21) I know it’s been a long night, but don’t give up!  They tell me, the darkest hour is just before the break of a new day. #Ijs!

Beloved, go take another look! SEEDAT? AFTER THIS, LOOK 4 THE GLORY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

A NEW DAY!

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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 actually curse the breaking forth of the morning. For me, it only meant another day filled with excruciating physical pain, sadness, discouragement and disappointment–just like all the others.

Looking back, it’s doesnt take a lotta stretching of the imagination to figure out who had secretly planted those deceitful diabolical thoughts into my mind, 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 ol’ 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 into my life, 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! #WHOKNU?
 
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 behold The Beauty of The Lord, 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! Howevrrrr,  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!”  Sometimes, we think that’s because things were a whole lot different, as my Granddaughter Sadie says , ‘Bacndaday’! 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 fully 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, TRUST2KNO…LIFE GOES BETTER WITH CHRIST! O HAPPY EVERYDAY!  IT’S A NEW DAY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

 

THURSDAYS’ PRAYERS!

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

GOOD MORNING FAMILY!  GOTTA MOMENT? OOOH GLORRAAAA!

Thankya for joining us in our Weekly Thursdays’ Day of Corporate Prayer and Fasting. The Bible encourage us to pray without ceasing and we certainly have much to bring before The Throne of our Great High Priest today! As we turn our hearts Heavenward, we come thanking Him for the privilege bestowed upon us to enter into His Presence fully persuaded that He is Able and Willing to perfect all things that concern us! Shall we  worship HIM?

There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord; There are sweet expressions on each face, And I know they feel the presence of the Lord. Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove, Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love. And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise; Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived, When we shall leave this place! Let’s pray…

Our Father and our God of Heaven and Earth, we come before You, humbled by Your Loving-Kindness, Grace and Mercy! We’re eternally grateful for one more opportunity to behold The Glory of Your Presence! We thank You for opening the eyes of our understanding and revealing to us  The Glory of Your Love through the Face of our Lord Jesus Christ! We know that  this is The Day that You have made, therefore we must  cherish this day and not take it for granted as if we have a right to live! Because of Your Sacraficial Love, we now live, move and have our being! We come with our  hearts rejoicing, hands uplifted  and our lips forever praizing You! You Alone are The One Who strengthens, empowers and gives us the wherewithal to do what You’re calling us to do! Oh, how awesome are Your deeds! For You have preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping!

Abba Father, You are such a Great God and an Awesome Deliverer! Thank You for interrupting our lives and giving us a new testimony! We know that if it had not been for Jesus, our enemy would’ve destroyed our very lives, leaving us hopeless and helpless. But because of the Love You had for The Father, Jesus, You were willing to sacrifice The Glory of Heaven and come down, take on the feeble tabernacles of human flesh, suffering the same temptations, yet refusing to sin, unselfishly enduring the shame of The Cross, humbly surrendering to death, hell and the grave, opening up the Way to Salvation to any who will sincerely ask of Your Grace! We will forever give Your Name the praise for counting us worthy to be called Sons of God thereby changing our narrative!

Sweet Holy Spirit, we stand in faith, declaring today we are redeemed! We are free from the power and penalty of Satan, past, present and future sin, soul hurts, unjust mishandling, mistreatments, disappointments and rejections.  By Your Grace, we choose to forgive our perpetrators and walk in the authority and anointing  You given us to do and be everything You are calling for in this day. It’s according to Your Word, that we go forward, walking circumspectly and claiming our inheritance! You have called, appointed, directed us to walk in the right path! We’re hidden behind the Cross therefore we rise up in the same Resurrection Power that raised Jesus from the dead!

Precious Lord, we thankya for the fresh Words of Truth and the imputation of a new anointing, as we continue to move forward fearlessly courageous, trusting and relying upon The Power and Might of The True and Living God! Because Your Word has instructed us to lean not unto our understanding, but in all of our ways, or situations to acknowledge You, we submit our spirits,  souls, minds and bodies to You, giving thanks to You for giving us the Spirit of Love, Power and a Sound-Mind! In Jesus Name! Amen 3x!

Heavenly Father, because no man can come to the Father except You draw them, we interceded on behalf of every unsaved soul! Lord, please quicken the Spirit of Godly-repentance in their heart and in their mind that they will come today confessing a “SINCERE YES” to Your Grace Gift and receive You as their personal Lord and Savior! We’re believing that You will direct their footsteps and place them and settle them into a church home today where they will learn Your Ways and Will for our lives that we may meet You in Peace.

Lord, we ask You to put a fresh “COMMITED YES” in the heart and mind of every backslider and let today be the day that they come back to You and come back to YOUR local church where they will be embraced with acceptance and love, willingly submitting their lives to the sound teachings of Your Word, and learn to love and live their lives walking to please You First!

Father, as You know, so many of our family members and friends are being afflicted in their bodies, minds and spirits. We pray for all those who are in need of healing, Lord they do want to be healed! Touch our brother, touch our sister, bind, rebuke and cast out every symptom and disease at the root, for Your Name Sake! We’re lifting up all those who’re afflicted by every form of cancer, including blood, liver, kidney, brain, cervical, pancreatic, bladder, breast cancer! Lord, shrink every cyst, every growth, heal rheumatoid arthritis, MS, dementia, Alzheimer, drug addiction, Autism and every kind of mental disorders!

Heavenly Father, as You have decreed, You are Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever! Even as you walked in this earth healing all who were sick, feeble, lame we know that You’re Well Able to do the same right now! Lord Jesus, Your Word declares that Your stripes have redeemed and healed us and we’re yet standing on your promises that the prayer of faith shall save the sick and raise them up, Therefore we celebrate the testimonials that are going forth declaring Your miraculous healings now, In Jesus Name! Amen 3x!

 

Sweet Jesus, as we lift up our children, grand-children and great-grand children, help us to remember that such were some of us! By faith, we decree and declare that every scheme that Satan desires to inflict upon them, IS HEREBY SUDDENLY CANCELLED, and RECOILED! As we commit them into Your Providential Care, we acknowledge that because Your Plan and Purpose for their lives cannot be over-ruled, we have the blessed assurance that EVERY STEP AND STOP IS BEING ORDERED UNDER THE WATCHFUL CARE OF YOUR EYES AND NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST THEM SHALL PROSPER AND EVERYTHING THAT PERTAINS TO THEIR DESTINY OF LIFE AND GODLINESS IS FULLFILLED! Therefore, WE SPEAK THE PEACE OF GOD OVER THEIR SPIRITS, MINDS AND BODIES, RELEASING A SPIRIT OF LOVE, HOLINESS AND EXCELLENCE TO FULFILL THEIR GOD-ORDAIN DESTINIES, IN JESUS NAME IT IS SO!

 

Holy Father, we lift up every spiritual leader, Apostle, Bishop, Overseer, Pastor, Elder, Preacher, Teacher, Superintendent, Evangelist, Missionary, Deacon and Deaconess who are yet standing on the wall proclaiming Your Word under the power, conviction and anointing of Holy Spirit! Lord, touch Your  shepherds, show them how to reach and touch Your people, teach them to lead the people and give them clarity of vision! For You’ve told us that without a Vision the people perish! We pray for Your Vision and not ours! We’re askingYou to release an immediate manifestation of that special miracle that they’re believing You for! Cover them as they go in and out amongst Your people with honor, wisdom and favor! All who would seek to discredit, hinder and even destroy their faith, faithfulness and the GOD-ORDAINED ministry shall be rebuked and restrained by The Power of Holy Spirit. In Jesus Name!

Holy Spirit, we lift up every auxiliary leader, musician, choir, praise team, usher, nurse and lay member, trusting and believing that You will Grace them to be the Godly examples in their homes, churches and community that will cause everyone who comes into contact with them to fall in love with You, trust wholly in and commit to live the rest of their lives serving You! 

We pray for all the saints, those who are in contentious situations in the land, in our churches, our homes and our communities. We bind the Spirit of Exclusion and release the Spirit of Oneness that affirms that Your people are living witnesses that The Lord our God is One God.  Help us to build up and not tear down one another. We Thankya for the Empowering Spirit of Agreement and the Promised Blessing resting upon those who are unified before You!  

 

Lord, we’re praying for the arrogant, selfish, self-aggrandizing, men and women who are depending upon themselves and neglecting Your Righteous standards for each life! Reveal Yourself to them in dreams and visions! Reverse the hatred, and bigotry in this land. Help us as we continue to pray for the White House, Congress, Senate and every government/legislative/corporate leaders of our nation and the world!

 

Heavenly Father, asking that You visit them in the night with dreams and visions, letting them know that You, O God never sleep or slumber, warn them that Your Eyes are going to and fro searching the hearts, minds and motives of all who have been given Power and Authority over Your people. Convict them that they shall be held accountable for every deed and decision that they make; Impress upon their spirits that, He who digs a hole and scoops it out will fall into the pit he has made and the trouble he causes recoils on himself and his violent schemes will come down on his own head! In Jesus Name! Amen 3x!

Sweet Holy Spirit,  endow the hearts of  Your people as we walk out our transitions into new chapters of visions with clarity to discern Your Will, Purpose and Plans for our lives! Bless us to be blessings to all those whom You have assigned to our lives. Fill every heart with the confident expectation that our times are in Your Hands and that regardless of the deceitfulness of this world, You have promised to prove, protect, provide and preserve the righteous who trust and obey Your Word!

Continue to open the eyes of our understanding that we are not easily deceived nor distracted by demonic-induced Spirits of temptation, addiction, oppression, depression, rejection, self-hate, suicide, fear and failure, assigned to entrap us in bondage to that which You have delivered us from AND EMPOWER US STAND FREE IN THE LIBERTY THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY ACQUIRED FOR US BY THE SHEDDING OF YOUR SACRAFICAL BLOOD!

Precious Lord, as we close this prayers, confidently trusting that all workers of iniquity are trembling and suddenly departing in shameful defeat because of Your  Burden-Bearing, Yoke-Destroying Anointing that’s being released right now!

Receive our praise to You Father, from hearts fully persuaded that because You have heard the voice of our weeping, our supplications and received our prayers as sweet savor coming up before Your Sovereign Throne of Grace and Mercy, every supplication, petition inquiry, concern will be answered according to Your Will, for our highest good and Your Greatest Glory! According to Your Holy Word, we know that no good thing will You withhold from those who strive to walk upright before You and we Glorify You Name Forever!
Abba Father, we shall continue embracing You, in obedient reverence, bowing before The Hope of all the earth, believing that as Your face shines upon us, You Who Guides and Rules Justly over The Circle of The Earth, is making Your Will, Your Ways and Your Salvation known among all nations! We honor and praise You now, believing that In The Exalted Name of Jesus it is done! Amen 3X and It Is So!

SELAH!


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WHATZ N 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 and fed 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 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 nah—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 Truth 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 crucial 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.  C’mon, don’t shout me down nah! #ijs!!!

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! Don’t look at me with that tone of voice, Y’all know I ain’t by myself!

I know it’s not always easy, especially when 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

SHALLOW SAINTS?

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SHALLOW SAINTS

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for HIM when HE appears, ready to receive Him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when He arrives. Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God’s true children. 1 JOHN 2:28-29 THE MESSAGE

 
It jus might surprise you! One of the greatest deterrents to advancing The Kingdom of God in the earth is not ‘da devil’ BUT ‘Shallow Christians’! What is that, you ask. Well they’re not that hard to recognize. In fact, they’re probably your pew partners. Whhhaaaa? #ikr! While they confess their faith in The Lord Jesus, their walk does not line up with their talk, and as a result, most likely they’re confusing many who’ve yet to invite Christ into their lives as their personal Savior and Lord!

OOOHHH Yessss I did go there! I know how churrch-folk are adamant about not judging, right? But, for your own safety,  check da BOOK!  #Seriously! The Bible says a tree is known by the fruit it bears! More importantly, GOD knows those who are His! (Ref. 2 Timothy 2:19)

Without a doubt, the preaching and teaching of this Gospel of Christ is still the best way to get souls saved, but sometimes His PR staff could use a refreshers course on what it means to live deeply in Christ!

Rest assured, God is not mocked! (Ref. Galatians 6:7) While we might impress some people with our 11:00 A.M. Sunday morning tongue-talking, pew hopping, propha-lyin, shout’n and danc’n, GOD KNOWS the difference between those who are faking it ’till they make it and those who freely rejoice in the mercy, compassionate, longsuffering, unconditional Love of The Heavenly Father, yet acknowledge that sometimes they miss the mark and have yet to reach perfection!

While shallow christians hide behind shameless excuses to continue to satisfy their ungodly cravings, when a true child of God is convicted by Holy Spirit, they will be quick to repent of willful or unwillful sin!  GOD KNOWS those who are genuinely striving everyday to mortify the deeds of their wicked flesh and live a life that pleases HIM… even to their own hurt! After all, we are living epistles! It’s our holy lifestyle  that will advertise and promote the True Answer to mankinds’ most dire and desperate need–THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, JESUS CHRIST!

I am by no means suggesting that this is easy nor is it a one and done thang! But God already took care of that too. He sent your Guardian, Holy Spirit, to live inside of you to teach and empower you to say NO to sin and YES to righteousness!

Sometimes, it looks like Satan is gaining the upper hand, huh?  Beloved, don’t fall for the devil’s tricks and please don’t blame God! TRUST2KNO, God ain’t scarred! Remember what happened when Jesus went to Hell, snatched the keys from his puny hands and got up proclaiming, ALL POWER IS IN MY HANDS? (Ref. Revelations 1:17-18)

God is raising up an army of disciples that no man can number; building a new nation of trusting believers who will obey His Voice; hewing out a community of courageous Believers who’re not ashamed to live righteously in the midst of darkness as a monument to HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, POWER AND MAJESTY!

Examine yourself? REPRSENT JESUS? LIVE DEEPLY? SHALLOW SAINT? #WOW!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

GOT JOY?

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Jumping woman at sunset

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  John 15:11

 

If the only evidence that the prosecution had to convict us of being Christian was our countenance or our dispositions, our case would be thrown out and we’d get off scott-free! A lot of  church-folk are claiming salvation, naming the Name of Jesus and on their way to heaven anyhow, but most of them don’t seem to be enjoying the trip. If so, they forget to send an IM from their heart to their face!

One would think that if anybody should have joy, it’s the saints of the Most High God., right? But if the Saints are walking around with our heads hung down, broke, busted and disgusted with everything and everybody, then how can we persuade a lost world that life goes better with Christ? Don’t shout me down , now!

Don’t get it twisted, I’m not jus preaching to the choir, I’m talking to myself too. Since I’ve been saved, sanctified and walking with Jesus some thirty-sumptin years now, I learned that while it makes for a good shout, however, not everyday gets sweeter than the day before!  LIFE HAPPENS 2 the saints and the sinners!

Perhaps, some of us have become wearied on this journey  because we’ve mistakenly equated joy with happiness. While happiness is an emotional response based merely on enjoyable circumstances, joy is a constant internal state embedded in the Love of God, producing serenity and tranquility totally independent of external conditions.

Jesus looking from eternity past and seeing the many souls that would be saved, overwhelmed with joy made a conscious commitment to endure the pain, despise the shame, become obedient, even to death on the Cross of Calvary that His joy, might be poured out upon His people. (Ref. Hebrew 12:20) Guess what, that makes YOU the JOY of Jesus!

There’s more to Joy than goose-bumps. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is our strength”.

Jesus Joy is a weapon of mass destruction in the believer’s arsenal. Hence, Jesus Joy is empowerment to overcome any challenge with courage and confidence!

Just knowing that every promise in The Bible is ours to claim with the assurance that Jesus will never ever leave nor forsake us should make every Born-again, Blood-washed child of God’s heart swell up to the overflow with pure Jesus Joy until we can’t help but HOLLA and THROW UP BOTH OF MY HANDS! JUS REMEMBER, JEHOVAH HAS THE FINAL SAY!

Didjaheardat? JESUS OVER YOU! WOW,  NOW DATZ POWERFUL! C’MON NAH, U GOT JESUS, U GOT JOY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

THE HEART OF THE FATHER!

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THE HEART OF THE FATHER

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:31 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 40:28-31

 
Uuuh forgive my intrusion into your alabaster box, howeverrrrr! Do you sometimes cry out, as I have, “God, don’t You see my tears? Can’t You see my broken heart? God, never mind me, but how can You bear to see the agony of my loved one? God, I know that You care. I just don’t understand why You don’t intervene in this situation right now. Why don’t You do something? And, God, why did you do that?”

Then,  in the midst of my lamenting heart,  I seem to hear His still, small voice whispering, “Ann, trust Me. I know what’s best.”

…And I’m left to wonder, “Hold up, Ms. Smarty pants, why  would  you ever think that you know better than God what’s best for yourself  or your loved one, huh?”

Perhaps, that kind of thinking is the product of humanity’s naivety to presume that once we finally surrender our hearts to The Saving Grace of Jesus Christ, from that point on life consists of floating down rose, hydrangea, tulip and lilly clad pathways of ease, on our way to the Pearly Gates of New Jerusalem!  Unfortunately, there’s nothing in The Holy Writ that remotely resembles such a scenario. In fact, there’s more evidence to support that following in the Footsteps of Jesus is more likely to parallel swallowing big gulps from the cup of imminent suffering and sacrifice! #SERIOUSLY!!!

Remember, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.”  Job 14:1

Don’t get it twisted!  I am not being sacrilegious nor am I craaazzzy enough to dare imply that our Heavenly Father is a Dead-Beat Dad or some kinda Narcissistic Sadist! Quite the contrary!  I am fully persuaded that before the Beginning began, The Creator of Life, in the Sovereignty of His Own Will, determined that purpose trumps pain! Hence, God has Divinely orchestrated the terrains of our journey to include sporadic detours through wilderness pit stops as well as ecstatically triumphant mountain top encounters to perfect in us the same Godly Character and Radiant Glory of our Kinsmen Redeemer!

Remember, “His Ways are not our ways and His Thoughts supersede our severely limited intellectual capacity to comprehend the length, width and depth and wonder of His Omnipotent Omniscience! (Ref. Isaiah 55:8-9)

Nevertheless, by Faith, we know that all things work together for our highest good and His Greatest Glory! (Ref. Romans 8:28) Consequently,  as  Blood-washed, Born-again children of The Most High God, no matter what it looks like, in the end VICTORY BELONGS 2 JESUS! Thus, WE SHALL OVERCOME!  #DIDJAHEARDAT? #WOW!!!

 Beloved, thru test, trial, toil and tragedy, wisdom has revealed through experience that the quicker that you and I acquiesce to the promptings of The God In Me//You, the sooner our po-wearied-soul is encompassed about with the Comforting Presence, Joy and Peace of The Only Wise Savior and Lord of our Life! 

Holy Father, time and time again, You’ve  proven to be The Loving and Compassionate Shepherd who leads and guides my steps and stops according to what’s  best for me! Therefore, I humbly bow, submitting myself under Your Mighty Hands,  declaring and decreeing “Lord whatever You’re doing… don’t do it without me!  Abba, when my circumstances appear to contradict Your Promise and I am tempted  to doubt Your Faithfulness, please forgive me, help my unbelief and give me a double portion of Your Supernatural Grace 2 Trust  the Benevolence of Ur Heart  even more than what my natural eyes can see! In Jesus Name, AMEN 3X!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

LIVING IN TODAY!

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LIVING N 2DAY

SELAH Daily Devotions!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrew 11:1 KJV

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. Lamentations 3:23-24 THE MESSAGE

 
Several years ago, I heard a teaching by Kenneth Copeland, reminiscing about his early experiences in the family church. Bro. Copeland said that just about every Sunday morning, it was pretty much guaranteed that you’d hear the Preacher say ‘You gotta have faith!’’ or ‘You need to increase your faith!’, or ‘If it’s not of faith then, it’s sin! ‘ Bro. Copeland remembered how frustrating it was because the Preacher never told them how a poor soul might procure this precious gift of faith!

Well, guess what? Not much has changed, huh? Even now, given the popularity of  21st Century prosperity doctrinal teachings, I’d venture to say that a whole lotta churchgoers are still confused about how they can exercise true biblical faith in their lives. Contrary to New Millennium mysticism , faith is not a new theological doctrine reserved for the elite seminary scholars. God has given every one of us ‘a measure of faith’ and it’s a free gift, yall! No one can work hard enough or be good enough to earn or deserve it! But The Heavenly Father so graciously pours it into us when we open our hearts to HIM!

Simply put, Faith is a patient confident trust in the integrity and power of our Loving and Caring Heavenly Father to do for us everything He’s promised in His WORD!

Faith is the currency of exchange in The Kingdom of God! Duuhhh! God doesn’t need our money! Everything, including all the silver and gold already belongs to Him! However, we need faith to lay hold to anything that pertains to life and godliness that we need from Him! In fact, you can’t even approach God unless you truely believe not only that He does exist but you must be fully persuaded that GOD  is able to do what you need Him to do for you. Sounds like it’s virtually impossible to please God without it, huh? (Ref. Hebrew 11:6)

Hebrews Chapter 11, dubbed The Hall of Faith, highlights several examples of ordinary men and women, empowered by faith, who were able to achieved extraordinary things thru God! Unfortunately, we have this innate proclivity to relegate GOD’S FAITHFULNESS to an historical phenomenon, which suggests that HE’S CHANGED and what HE DID BACK IN THE BIBLE DAYS WAS FOR THEM AND WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! (Ref. Hebrews 13:8)  HOWEVER, that’s not what THE BIBLE says! Check it out, the text says ‘NOW faith’ not THEN faith’!!!

Beloved, take a moment to glance back over your own life. After all that God has done for us, even B.C. (Befoe Christ) it’s seems foolish not to trust Him…NOW! Like the ol’ skool Preacha said, “Am I right about it?” 

Did you have any idea how much it actually blesses our Heavenly Father’s Heart knowing that His precious sons and daughters genuinely trust in Him to do life every day? Seriously!

Faith in God says, ‘Father I believe that You love me unconditionally and will always have my best interest at heart. Even if  all the circumstantial evidence doesn’t look like it, I have this Eternal Hope that Your Loyal Love towards me will never forsake me nor abandom me! Therefore, by faith, my heart is thoroughly convinced, COME WHAT MAY, MY GOD IS WORKING EVERYTHING TOGETHER FOR MY HIGHEST GOOD AND HIS GREATEST GLORRAAA! (Ref. Romans 8:28)

NOW talk back to that lyn’n devil! ‘SATAN, IT AIN’T GONNA WORK TODAY & TOMMOROW AIN’T LOOKING THAT GOOD 4 U, EITHER!  IF YOU KNOW WHATZ GOOD 4 U, U’LL BACUPOFF ME!

 #Didjaheardat? TRUST2KNO, IF HE EVRRR DID IT B4, HE WILL DO IT NOW! —WOW! THAT’S FAITH 4 LIVING N TODAY, huh? #IJS!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee