Category Archives: last

ITZ ALL ABOUT THE CROWN

itz-all-about-the-crown-2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelations 2:10-11

 

PARDON ME, again! I know this isn’t religiously correct, how—evrrrr sometimes, it’s just hard!

Here you are, as the ol’ saints used to say, ‘living all u know how 2 live for JESUS’, with everything in you clinging to The Testimony of God’s Faithful Witness, who is TRUTH, YET …EVERYWHERE U TURN, U GOT TROUBLE BREAKING OUT!!! #WHADA…???

Seriously, none of us normal human beings enjoy suffering, right?
Nevertheless, life has taught you (and even the Word admonishes us) that those who Name the Name of Jesus must expect trouble. Afterall, even “Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered”! (Ref. Hebrew 5:8)

“Yeah, but but butt”…I feelya, okay? Yet, according to The Scriptures, God has Sovereignly linked suffering and glory into the lives of those who have confessed their trust in His Plan for our lives. Remember the words of The Apostle Paul? “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Roman 8:36

I know, sometimes that doesn’t help MUCH! BUT! We have this confident assurance that before God permits sporadic seasons of tribulations He sets an expiration date before the test begin! Aren’t U Soooo glad, trouble don’t last always!

Beloved, there’s always a greater purpose behind our pain! And no, it ain’t always God punishing you for your disobedience! For His own reasons, God has elected to allow test, trials and trouble along the landscape of our journey to draw us closer to Him, to purify, purge and position us to partake of His Divine Nature—HOLINESS!

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

This life has a way of putting you through the ringer, huh? But God has decreed, that nothing you will ever experiene can separate you from His Love! “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Rest Assured, GOD KNOWS!

Today, receive His Words to The church at Smyrna, as your very own! Don’t allow fear of this temporary situation to deter you from your eternal goal! The King of Glory has declared and decreed that I AM ALPHA and OMEGA! I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU. LO I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAY!  FOR WHO CAN STAY MY HAND! (Ref. Rev. 22:13; Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:2o; Isa. 43:13) Didjaheardat? #WOW!!!

Precious ones,  endure persecution with fidelity, confident that “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND YOUR REWARDER! DON’T QUIT! YOUR CROWN AWAITS YOU!”

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6

 

I wasn’t born and raised in the church like a lot of you. I was one of those who kinda fell up in the doors of the church after years of getting beat up and beat down by the devil’s abuse. But thanks be to GOD! The Gracious Compassion Savior took me in and saved me anyhow! Being naïve and overwhelmed with pure joy and gladness to be saved, I actually thought everybody would love, welcome, accept and celebrate with me, because they were so glad that I was now part of the family of God!

Needless to say, I was shocked to discover that people are still people—in and out of the church. I still remember Mother Annie Carter, (my 1st spiritual mentor) pulling me under her wing, warning me “Stay close to the praying part of the church, baby”.  At the time, I wasn’t quite sure what Mother was talkin about, howevrrrr, it didn’t take long for me to realize that only THE REAL TRUE GOD can make a saint!

Beloved, you see what I didn’t know was that the Church is a construction zone and the Master Builder is GOD! He doesn’t build His House with brick and mortar, but with flesh and blood (dirt and water)!  Through the Precious Blood of Jesus and the regenerating Power of THE WORD, Holy Ghost empowers ordinary, imperfect people to do extraordinary exploits!

While, some of us just need a few minor adjustments, others may require little more or even a major overhaul. TRUTHBTOLD, most of us were so jacked up that we needed a longer stay in the furnaces of afflictions than others before we’re done.  So don’t be surprized when you get a little too close to a brother or sista and get pricked by a thorn!

Always remember, there’s some good in the worst of us and some bad in the best of us, okay?  Nonetheless, we are all under construction according to The Master Carpenter’s specs and all of us  need the same GOD to help all of us!

Even if your intentions are just and honorable, sometimes helping people can hurt you! The Scriptures back this up numerous times!  Yes, even the most sainted, faithful and committed servants of The High God can become entrapped, disenfranchised, hopelessly discouraged and find ourselves retreating to dark caves or the backside of mountains and valleys.  It doesn’t matter how long or how far you’ve walked with The Lord, any of  God’s faithful-elect, can find themselves overwhelmed by the cares of this world to the point that you’re tempted to just give up and leave the church! #shuturmouth!

But, before you do something foolish, can I remind you of this one thing? There is NO PLAN B!

We’re it! God chose us name by name to expand His Kingdom in the earth, fully ware of the challenges of this seemingly impossible task.  That’s why He sent Holy Ghost to equip you to overcome!  Yep,  The Holy Ghost is your personal trainer! He takes your everyday life, places you on pathways strategically designed to stretch and strengthen your christian character, develop your trust, build up your confidence and fortify your commitment!

While it may not always look like God’s anywhere to be found, HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE preparing you for a glorious future!  (Ref. Hebrew 13:5)

 BELOVED, TRUST2KNO, HELL CAN’T STOP ANYTHING THAT HEAVEN STARTS! GOD COMPLETES EVERYTHING HE STARTS!  UNDER CONSTRUCTION? UUUHHH… REALLY…MAKE SURE YOU’RE WEARING UR HARD HAT! #Didjaheardat?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

 Ann Caffee

BOTTOMS UP!

 

BOTTOMS UP 4

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

REMEMBER…THEY DID EAT! FROM THE BOTTOM UP!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee