Category Archives: trust

SACRED TRUST

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SACRED TRUST!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. Psalm 91:14-15

Ever heard, (perhaps you’ve said it yourself) “I’ll forgive you, but I won’t forget!”? What I think the person’s really saying is, “To err is human, but trust is Divine”!

One of the most catastrophic casualties of any broken relationship is trust!

Personally, I believe that’s why God hates sin. Given the uncertainty of the expansive lapse of time and the incomprehensible impact of the devastationing consequences of their high-treason against El Elyon, any attempt to describe the weight  and wealth of this trusting intimacy and fellowship that Adam and Eve enjoyed with The Creator as unimaginable, would at best only be a severe under-estimation! #IJS

Nevertheless, The Bible does reveal sporadic glimpses into the pure delight of The Heavenly Father’s Heart strolling through The Garden in the cool of the day, the intimate communion with the most precious of creation, sharing secret Eternal Wisdom, proudly affirming and re-affirming man’s authority and dominion over all living creatures and expressing Loving-Providential Care towards that which was created in His Own Image!

Despite the palatable convenience and more advantageous point of view for man to deflate the effect of our transgressions, both in Heaven and in the earth, from God’s perspective sin corrupts! Therefore it demands separation from Holy. Hence, sin brutally interrupts the intimacy that God purposed between God-Self and humanity when He formed us! Thereby emphatically grieving the Holy Spirit of God! Yet, we have the audacity to describe our unrighteous infractions as ‘my little issue’, ‘a slip up’ or ‘to miss the mark’! WOW!

Fortunately for us, God’s love would not be denied! Today’s scriptures tells us that knowing the innate frailty and the proclivity of human flesh to fall hopelessly into the temptations of sin’s lure, The God of Compassion and All Comfort , determined to restore the sacred communion (trust) with His Family, sacrificed His Only Begotten Son, the 2nd Adam, to repair the breach ruptured by our rebellious nature. (Ref. John 3:16)

Even more awesome, is the reality that we, (the offender), have only to accept this free offer (made by the Offended), Salvation by Grace, by confessing a faithful-heart-filled prayer of repentance (Godly sorrow) and professing a solemn commitment to live each day of the rest of our lives wholly unto The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

WOW! #didjaheardat? NOW THAT’S AWEMAAZZIN! 2 KNOW GOD IS 2 TRUST HIS LOVE! SACRED, huh?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

WHAT’S THE POINT?

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whatz the point

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“ I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:8-11

According to Biblical Historians, today’s scripture text was penned by the highly-acclaimed, wisest and wealthiest man in all of the known world, King Solomon! WOW! Here he is, King of the most powerful nation in the world during that time, Israel! The off-spring of Israel’s King, David, Solomon, having been hand-picked by GOD to carry on the lineage to The Seed promised to Abraham; privileged and honored to build The Temple where God promised to dwell in the midst of His people forever! I’d say King Solomon pretty much qualified as top-dog—back in dat day, huh?

The Bible tells of Solomon’s humble, earnest, passionate prayer of dedication of The Temple, that so touched the heart of God. He did not ask for wealth and fame, but for wisdom to lead God’s people in such a way that they would honor God before the other nations of the world. And because this prayer pleased God so much, God responded “I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou will walk in my ways, to keep my statues and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy day” (1 King 3:5-15)

SO, WHAT HAPPENED to cause the smartest, richest man in the world, to get to where we find him in Ecclesiastes?”

Apparently, Solomon came to a point in his life where he began to realize that none of the glitz and glamour of this world’s luxurious creature comforts that one might accumulate, could ever fill that God-size void in each of us. Unfortunately Solomon spent a life-time of pursuing and getting; yet not recognizing and understanding that the true value, wealth and treasure of what was right before his eyes. GOD!

WHAT’S THE POINT?

In all thy getting, get understanding! WITHOUT CHRIST—LIFE IS NOTHING!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

WAITING 4 HOPE!

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WAITING 4 HOPE!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” Lamentations 3:19-25

“Semper Fidelis”, are two Latin words that the wife of every single USMC member (active-duty or retired) recognizes! Perhaps you might’ve seen it plastered on the rear window or bumper as you’re driving down the road! Semper Fi (the short version) meaning “Always Faithful” is the motto exemplifying the code of conduct and character of these courageously loyal soldiers.

While many of us who have enlisted in The Army of The Lord, strive diligently to honorably discharge this same spiritual SOP,  all of us sometimes falter in our attempts to sustain such lofty moral excellency, only to find ourselves desperately isolated in the hornet’s nest of a godless nation!

Such appears to be the predicament of God’s Prophet, Jeremiah, aka The Weeping Prophet! According to our scripture text, Jeremiah’s passionate efforts to persuade his beloved countrymen to repent of their persistent back-slidding rebellious ways and turn their hearts back to The One True God, once again fell on deaf ears! Consequently leaving Jeremiah lamenting exhausted, slipping helplessly further down into a bottomless pit of discouragement and drowning in his own tears.

Truthfully, many a soul can identify with The Prophet!  After having repeatedly warned our love ones of the error of their sinful lifestyle and encouraging them to seek The Savior to escape imminent destruction , yet instead of being embraced with grace-filled gratitude, we end up rejected, ridiculed and cast off like a badly-told joke.

I thank God for recording this historical event for 21st Century Believers to glean powerful insights from the experiences of those faithful servants of old  as to how we might also overcome these same challenges in our lives!

Looking around him, seeing the terror of Satan’s threats and looming clouds of fear, destruction and death Jeremiah found no reason to hope. But! Looking up, remembering Who he served and Whom he belonged to, there was every reason to hope!

When your hope is rooted and grounded in the never-ending Compassionate Mercies and Faithfulness of The Almighty God of the Angel Armies, it will inevitably ignite a courageous confidence and assurance that not only is Our God more than able to keep me, but He shall deliver me out of every evil situation that ever confronts me! (Ref. Psalms 34:19)

Jeremiah’s hope emerges, out of the depths of a compassionate sorrow for his people who, adamantly refusing to submit to God’s Lordship, would endure the brutal wrath of God’s anger, being exiled to Babylon, nevertheless stood firm on The Rock of His Salvation, knowing that now is not always!

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5

We too have this confidence!  No matter what or how bleak your circumstances appear to be, be still knowing that we have The Strong Deliverer–Christ in Us – Our Hope of Glory! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)   AT EASE, SOLDIER!  WAITING 4 HOPE!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

GOD SENSE!

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GOD SENSE

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.” Isaiah 45:8
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” Isaiah 45:22-25 KJV

Oh, c’mon, jus think about it? This is not your first trip to the ‘it jus don’t make no sense” place! Check out your own personal testimony. You know that it could not have been nobody but GOD who blocked ‘that’ or even carried you through ‘it’! After all, who else was there with you? In the midst of the chaos, when you almost lost your mind, God stepped in to sustain you, delivering you, empowering you to triumph over tragedy!

Yet, the instant that life takes an expected shift, you tend to develop that acute case of spiritual amnesia, huh? Don’t get it twisted! Believe me, I ain’t even pointing a finger atcha! Let’s just say, “Been there! Done that AND might be RIGHT THERE NOW!”

Nevertheless, one must conclude that apparently, these Divinely-Orchestrated spontaneous-Hic-Ups are essential to develop your personal trust in The Faithfulness of The Invisible Savior! Every single detour has been designed to prove His Eternal Love and Providential Grace towards you not only in this world but in the Ages to come! Unfortunately, just when you need it the most, these great theological revelations are often entrapped by cloud-covered bouts of dismal desperation, anxiety, foreboding fear, dread and hopelessness!

Hence, what can you do when life comes crashing down all around you, and all of the circumstantial evidence points to your imminent destruction and certain demise? How can you persevere when life as you’ve known rapidly decays into a murky mire of ‘non-sense’?

Do what every other Blood-Washed-Born-Again, Baptized-Believer must do—turn to The ONLY One Constant, Creator and Sustainer of everything, your True Source of Blessings, Power, Wisdom, Strength, Honor and Glory—GOD—YOUR GOD! The GREAT I AM!

Logically, to put your eternal destiny in the testimony of a man, born of a virgin claiming that she’d been with no man, who walked the banks of The Jordon River, healing the sick, feeding  well over 5 thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread, opening up blind eyes, casting out demons and devils, resurrecting dead people, muting the wind and the waves, voluntarily executed on Calvary’s Cross, being buried in a borrowed tomb for the weekend until He was raised from the dead early Sunday morning; and now has returned to His Thone in Glory to pray for you and me, huh? #nowdatdontmakenosense! 

YET! REMEMBER HIS-STORY! GOD-SENSE!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

GODZ EXPECTATIONS!

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GOD'Z EXPECTATIONS

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?  shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:6-8

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 2:10

 

For those of us, who truly love God with all of our hearts, spirit, soul and body, yet feel an intrinsic urging to apologize to Him each and every day because it’s a guarantee that at some point between the time you get out of bed and the time you crawl back into bed, you have inevitably fallen short of living up to God’s Righteous expectations of you, have I got some great news for you!

Given the fact that He is our Creator, God is perfectly justified in establishing specific standards of behavior for us to live by. Hence, it also stands to reason that because He has shown such unfathomable loving-kindness, tender-mercy and unmerited favor towards us, that the only reasonable response should be radical thanksgiving and faithful obedience! Yet, try as we may, left to our own efforts, we’re totally incapable of reaching this level of holy worship that God so richly deserves.

I mean, even on those day where we actually do some righteous things, they could never equal out all our unrighteous thoughts, words and deeds! So we certainly can’t gloat in our self-righteousness. However there’s yet Hope for our terminal dis-ease!

According to God’s Word, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

Truthfully, my precious ones, what God really expects from each one of us, is failure! And from sixty something years of personal experience, I can testify, with absolute confidence, that we can surely do! Royally! Can I get a Hallelujah and Amen 3x?

Dontchakno?  It’s only when we come to the end of ourselves and acknowledge our weaknesses that God is truly glorified!

For without Him, we can do absolutely nothing, however through Christ’s strength, we can do all things.(Ref. Matthew 19:26, Philippians 4:13) As long as we think we’re capable of doing anything on our own, we deceive ourselves and deny God the pleasure of delivering us from any and everything that is trying to hold us captive. That’s why The Bible encourages the weak to say I am strong. (Ref. Joel 3:10) Therefore, with holy boldness, we humbly confess that the only thing standing between our strength and weakness, righteousness and wickedness, success and failure, is Jesus!

GLORRAAAA 2 GOD! Christ IN us, The Hope of Glory, guarantees our victory every single time! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)

WHO NU ACCOMPLISHING GOD’S EXPECTATIONS WAS THAT EASY, huh?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

WOUNDED WARRIORS

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wounded warriors2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:19-22

As a remnant of the 20th Century Church, I’ve lived long enough to have a clearer understanding, why The God of The Bible adamantly commanded His Chosen Ones to resist amalgamating with those outside of covenant relationship with Him. (Ref. 2 Corinthians 6:17) And some of us thought that God just wanted to keep us from having any fun! Considering the way this world is headed, now we see the consequences of not distinguishing ourselves from unbelievers. Apparently, Father still knows best, huh?

Unfortunately, many who profess Christ, remain double-minded, straddling the fence, depending on the group they happen to be in the midst of. While God never intended us to conduct ourselves arrogantly, as if we are better than anybody else, yet as recipients of God’s Amazing Grace! Well, spiritually speaking, it does make us better-off!

What’s the matter Zion? Are we allowing the media’s reports of doom and gloom to mute our praise? If we’re walking around with our heads hung down and hearts inundated with fear and anxiety; worried about how we gonna make it, then what separates us from the Gentiles?

Abraham,The Father of our faith, found himself in a seemingly hopeless situation. Not surprising, Abraham tried to fix the problem by himself. He got Ishmael (the child of the flesh) when God intended to give him Isaac (the child of Promise).When the drama and chaos had escalated to the point that Sarah gave him an ultimatum (it’s either her or me) suddenly, Abraham had an epiphany “the only hope that I have of this thing ever working is Divine Intervention.” In other words, “I can’t do this, without Your Grace!”

OMG! Can we ever identify with Abraham! How many times have we been in a situation and we tried and tried, we cried and cried, murmured and complained, spent all we had and still came up short? It was not until we, like Abraham, made a conscious decision to stop depending on our inability, started relying on God’s Ability and turned it over to Jesus, that our hope was revived! As the text says, when all human reasoning for hope was exhausted, Abraham hoped on and God brought life into his dead situation. (Romans 4:17-18) Hence, when we come to the end of ourselves, God steps in and does what seemed impossible!

Stop listening to that devil telling you, “it’s too late, you might as well accept the situation for what it is –eminent defeat!” He’s still a liar! My precious saints, don’t allow your present (temporary) circumstances cause you to doubt the faithfulness of God’s Eternal Word. Don’t settle for seconds! If you are Abraham’s seed, you are the heirs of righteousness! So gird up the loins of your mind, being confident and fully persuaded that because The Christ in you automatically gives you a supernatural advantage over natural consequences! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)(Ref. 2 Corinthians 2:14)

Beloved, WHATEVER GOD PROMISES, HE IS WELL ABLE TO PERFORM! EVEN IF I CAN’T, GOD CAN!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee