Category Archives: Savior

EYES WIDE SHUT!

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EYES WIDE SHUT!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

CDAT? OR… ARE YOUR EYES WIDE SHUT?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THE BIGGEST LOSER!

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

“But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in him.” Psalm 37:39-40

 

You know how Ol Slu Foot (dat devil) is constantly bombarding your mind with negative thoughts designed specifically to sabotage your peace? Yeah, but do we really know why?

Most of what he does is just him acting out his frustration. You see, knowing what’s in store for him compared to what we have awaiting us, and having absolutely no power to stop what God has planned for our future frustrates hell out of him!

Oh don’t get it twisted; Satan is not GOD! He has no creative power! Therefore, whatever he’s doing is restricted to what he’s allowed to do by the Authority of GOD ALMIGHTY! The Bible says that he comes as a Destroyer! Unfortunately, down thru time, he’s become quite proficient in his endeavors by using the only resource available to him to accomplish his three-fold mission. (Ref. John 10:10) What’s his resource, you ask? Memories!

Ever notice how the devil keeps bringing up your past mistakes and past failures? He specializes in accusing you of what you did or should’ve done and didn’t! Well, this morning I was reminded of a message I heard years ago. The Man of Gawd told the saints, that “When the devil starts messing with your mind about your past, just remind him of his future!“ WOW! Deep huh?

Psalm 107:2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! As a born-again, Blood washed, Holy Ghost-filled, Child of The Most High God, we have been appointed, anointed and authorized to call those things that be not as though they are. (Romans 4:17) The problem is, most of the time we fail to exercise our power and continue to call those things that are as though they’ll always be. #4REAL!!!

Beloved, you don’t have to be intimidated by the devil. Jesus is the perfect example of walking in the overcoming life! Remember how Jesus dealt with Satan in the wilderness? (Ref. Matthew 4:1-11) And guess what, you can do the same thing that Jesus did!

Don’t be skuarred–take a stand! When believers say what God says by faith, it blows the devil’s scheme right out the water. When the devil starts dredging up your past, you better recognize that it’s time to go ol’ skool R&B on that bugga and, “Say it Loud…I’m Saved and I’m Proud!

Saints, you have to let the devil know that we know, What we know and in Whom we believe! Our God has an amazingly glorious future planned for our lives and it’s ALL good and not evil! (Ref. Jermiah 29:11)

The next time the devil tries to destroy your peace, put him in his rightful place, under your feet. Let him know in no uncertain terms, ‘Hey devil, all that stuff you keep bringing up, it’s ALL covered—under The Blood! Oh, and by the way devil, I peeped the end of the story and it ain’t looking all that good for you.

In the end, I win and you’re still a loser! It looks like you got Hell to pay!”  LOSER!!!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

DESERT GRACE

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.” Jeremiah 31:2-6

What a Life, huh? Sometimes, you just gotta take a deep breath and make a moment of reflection and introspection in order to put things in proper perspective. Granted, this is no easy feat, given that we’re all so busy now with so much to do and never enough time to do it, right? However, these day it’s no longer optional, but rather essential! Didjaheardat?

Considering the very fact that God communicates with such lowly creatures at all yet continues to baffle the regenerated soul. BUT HE’S JUS THAT KINDA GOD! What a blessing God has reserved for those who seek His Presence and guidance in the pages of His Holy Word.

Today’s scripture text allows us to mine the surface of our Creator’s loving devotion towards us as God unravels the historical context of a somewhat capricious (on our part) relationship with His Beloved Israel. Notice how tactfully The Holy Spirit enumerates the way that God’s endless loyal love is reciprocated with our disloyalty, rejection and unfaithfulness!  Even so, God’s desperation, despair and disappointment seeps out of His Yearning Heart onto the pages of these sacred writings, piercing the hearts and minds of generations who earnestly await, longing for His appearance. Don’t you just Love The Lord? Who else would go to such lengths to draw such a people, steeped in rebellion and prone to wandering back into His Providential Care?

The Holy Spirit labors to impress upon us the attentiveness by which The Heavenly Father consistently demonstrates His commitment to gently lead, guide and train us thru courses of harsh terrains, plagued with extreme hot and cold, poisonous thorns, sand storms and drought of desert life!

Lest we forget that it’s God’s Faithfulness that gives us the faith and hope to live through the dearth, every now and then we come upon random respite oasis of joy-filled celebrations to convince us not to focus on present temporal circumstances but entrust our hearts to His Hands that He might carry us to the places He wants us to go.

For some of us, the journey may start out as a dance through the tulips filled with wonder and hope-filled ease until the tide shifts and we’re encompassed about with confusion, heartache and void of all reason to hope. It’s at this point, that we come face to face with J The Good Shepherd and Savior. Christ JESUS! Much to our amazement, we soon discover that it is HE who has choreographed our steps and stops all along. More astonishing, we realize that while we have been slipping and sliding all over the place, searching for the promised land of contentment and solace, God has been right with us, waiting for us to acknowledge our intimate need for something (SOMEONE) greater than self!

Fortunately for many of us, that’s when we discover personally JESUS CHRIST! DESERT GRACE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

 Ann Caffee