Tag Archives: christianity

NON-NEGOTIABLE

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NON-NEGOTIABLE2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15

 

Who nu? Dictionary.com would have so many different definitions of the word ‘DEBATE’!

So, I’ve decided to add my compilation synopsis to the list. Here goes:

“To engage in formal/informal discussion, argumentation or disputation with another person or group, to deliberate upon, to consider and/or to contend for or over opposing viewpoints, in which the affirmative and negatives side of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers”

Now, ain’t that a mouth-full? No wonder there’s seems to be no end to the perplexity of issues up for debate, huh?

The ancient Grecians were famous for their fascination with prolific debating practices. There’s still open-ending discussions regarding whether the art of Grecian debate played a significant role in developing today’s American society… or not. Apparently, while many antiquities of social traditions are extinct, the debate goes on and on!

One might ascertain that Humanity’s Inalienable Right to freely express his/her own opinions and to make choices regarding issues they presume relevant, sets us above all other creation, or not!

This concept of “either /or” has existed since the Garden of Eden. God allowed Adam to exercise his freedom of choice giving him access to a garden variety of luscious fruit to select from, with the exception of one particular tree; The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Ref. Genesis 2:17) And we all know how that worked out! Huh?

Temptation makes it extremely difficult to resist engaging in some form of debate. Does chocolate taste better than vanilla? Are Marines better equipped than The Navy Seals? Is marriage better than remaining single? Creation vs. Evolution?

Logic leads us to this conclusion. Even though we do have the freedom and power to choose our actions, when it comes to the consequences of our decisions, it’s completely out of our hands. God’s Sovereignty over His Creation is NOT UP FOR DEBATE! Hence, there are some decisions that command intentional consciencous reflection, consultation and evaluation because the aftermath of an erroneous selection is irrevocable!

Unfortunately, this often doesn’t sit well with some. Many a disillusioned soul has taken issue to this kind of ‘authoritative manipulation’ resulting in habitual sinful rebellion. But! God looks down from His Throne and laughs at this foolish obstinacy! (Ref. Psalm 2:4)

The Great Debate continues to infiltrate various sects of society. Hence, Absolutes vs. No Absolutes! Either you are male or female, saved or lost, spiritual or religious, Calvinism vs. Arminianism? Does God exist or not? Is there One God or many? Is Jesus Lord of all or not at all? Apparently, there will always be those who disagree with with our preferences, yet there’s no denying that these tough issues warrant careful deliberation! 

Amazingly,  the Graciousness of a Holy God still allows man the power of choice to either bow now or bow later! #ijs

Beloved, may I submit for your consideration, BEFORE YOU RESPOND, TAKE A MOMENT TO PAUSE AND PONDER! AFTER ALL, THE CONSEQUENCES ARE ETERNAL! IT’S EITHER HEAVEN OR HELL! BELIEVE it or NOT, ultimately, The Word of God is NON-NEGOTIABLE!  #WOW #Didjaheardat?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

ROCK STEADY, BABY!

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ROCK STEADY 4

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.  Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:1-8

 

Unless you were born late last night or just landed on Planet Earth early this morning, you’ve probably already recognized that real-life comes at you hard and fast! It matters not whether you’ve been walking with Jesus for a long time or just recently made a decision to follow Christ! Truthfully, none of us are excluded from life’s faith-stresses aka test and trials! In fact, The Holy Writ is ladened with numerous accountings to alert even the most sincerest of faith-talking-faith-walking-Christians among us, to expect trying times to pop-up when you least expect them!

The Apostle Paul describes life as a race, and we soon discover that it’s not a sprint, but a marathon! However, unlike The Boston Marathon, God doesn’t usually let us in on the specifics that we’ll encounter along the way that could potentially hinder, even derail our progress, ultimately keeping us from finishing our course.

Perhaps, it’s because the Omniscient One knows that if we had foreknowledge, most of us would re-calculate our journey to suit own will, or worst yet, start looking to external resources, other than GOD, to be our help!

Yes! We all experience those seasons when it feels like our lives are being torpedoed by Satan’s inferno darts, coupled with the tolls of living in this fallen world, even to the point where our own flesh turns against us and we ‘re almost persuaded that GOD has obviously just abandoned us in the valley of the shadows of death, hopelessly desperate to fend for ourselves, huh?

But, The Psalmist, David, having personally triumphantly trampled through turbulent terrains many times, extends to us this olive-branch of hope-filled-encouragement, don’t give up! Despite of what it looks like, never stop trusting God!

Why? Because David knew what Satan never wants us to know, that no matter what the enemy throws at you, we have a Forever Faithful Refuge on our side and HIS NAME IS JESUS!

The next time (and there will be a next time), the enemy tries to convince you that it’s over, defeat is imminent, there’s no place to run, no place to hide, everything you once stood on has now turned to sinking sand, TRUST2KNO, God Alone is your Impregnable Mountain of Righteousness!

Beloved, when darkness surrounds you, hiding HIS Face, press on; trusting HIS Heart to do whatever is necessary to keep you safely tucked in HIS Providential Care every minute of every day! 

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:20

Didjaheardat?

Don’t be afraid, little children! Remember, if Jehovah allows you to go to it, it means that He’s already gone before you, preparing Divinely designated rest areas along the road to comfort, renew and energize our spirit and soul!

GOD’S LOVE REMAINS—ROCK STEADY, BABY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

HALLELUJAHHHH!!!

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HALLELUJAH2!

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 148:13-14

As a born-again and bred, Blood-washed, Holy Ghost baptized and filled in the Grand Ole Church of God in Christ, I know, personally, what it means when you hear the words ‘give honor to whom honor is due’! And if you’ve ever had the pleasure of attending one of their Holy Convocations or District meetings, I’m sure you do too! LOL!

Although we were trained in pulpit etiquette that once the podium is addressed the first time, it’s no longer necessary for every subsequent person to address the entire pulpiteers individually! At least, that’s what they told us. Nevertheless, some of us could not help ourselves from spending at least 8-10 minutes giving honor to ‘the Bishops, Superintendents, Pastors, Elders, District Missionaries, Evangelists, Deacons, Chairman of the Usher Boards, Choir Directors, Choir Member, Saints, Members and Friends before finally doing what they were asked to do!

Don’t get mad at me…on the inside, I’m still COGIC 2 DA BONE!

However, I’ve noticed that there’s only ONE NAME that’s uniquely and distinctly dignified with its own Exclusive Exaltation! And that’s the Name that’s above every other name that can ever be named! That name is JESUS!

When you understand the tremendous worth and exceedingly radiant glory impregnated in HIS NAME, the only acclamation that even comes close to befitting HIM is the ONE Divinely-inspired by the original praise and worship team (the angelic host) who continuously behold His Face, is ‘OH Glorraaaaa!’

Considering, according to Biblical Historians, the name YAHWEH was so sacred that uttering it was almost blashphemous, what an amazing honor that The Father has bestowed upon us that allows up to freely lift up The Name of His Son—JESUS! Awesome things happen, when you call upon Jesus because there’s extravagant power available to those who trust in the Name!

The world has purposed its own list of certain names that are synonymous with importance, wealth, fame, beauty, talent and intelligence such as Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Rockefellow, Haley Berry, Magic Johnson and Sigmund Freud, to name a few. And while these names may carry a certain degree of clout and access among man, it does not impress God in the least. But there is a name that over-rides and over-rules everything seen and unseen. Talk about name-dropping, huh?

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:10)

No wonder, those who have been saved, healed, delivered and truly love the Lord, just can’t help but to worship the ONLY NAME WORTH praising at all—JESUS!

“ Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 150:6

#Didjaheardat? “HALLELUJAH!”

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

FACT OR FANTASY?

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FACT OR FANTASY

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance, despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love, rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:16-22

 

WOAH! TIME OUT! Can we at least agree that there’s a strong possibility that prophesy is being full-filled right before our eyes, live and in living color, huh? WHO KNU? (Ref. Matthew 24:6)

Truth is, any given morning, we wake up to BREAKING NEWS  of the latest epidemic of civic unrest, chaotic rioting, murders, robberies, wars and rumors of wars, unraveling of corrupt political slanderers, traumatic earth-transforming global warming, firey earthquakes and floodings, threatening government shutdowns, human trafficking, corporate bankruptcy, lay-offs, hackers, sword-wailing–errorist bombings targeting soft-spots (bridges, restaurants, libraries, nite clubs, airports and schools), drug overdoses, suicides by cops and we can’t ignore the sporadic plane, train, bus and car crashes. It’s no wonder that so many of us are walking around bi-polarized with fear, anxiety, UN-diagnosed clinical depression coupled with post-election stress disorder, right?

While the world maintains it’s diminutive-demoralizing ‘a wishin and a hopin’ …‘we can only hope so’ ideology of GREATER days to come and Satan continues to infiltrate unregenerated hearts and minds with taunting lies and alternative facts that perpetuate hopelessness and despair, the saints cling desperately to the reality of the yet unseen Eternal Hope!

There’s no denying that it’s extremely difficult to not be frustrated as the wickedness of man profusely increases. Nevertheless, amidst the scorners, believers have an advantage that the world knows not of and a HOPE that reaches beyond this world! We know that NOW IS NOT ALWAYS! According to our Kingdom Constitution, the sufferings of this present time, are not worth even sweating over; compared to the glorious future that awaits us at His Appearance! (Ref. Psalm 33:10-11)

Although, sometimes, God allows the horsemen to trample over our heads. Nonetheless, when faced with the harshness of real-time woes, we don’t tap out but anchor our Trust in Hope! We know that it’s just a temporary set-up to catch our enemies off-guard to their imminent destruction and our inevitable Triumph! When we’re at our weakest, His Uncompromising Faithfulness to save, rescue and cover us is stronger than our momentary doubts! (Ref. 2 Corinthisans 2:14)

Unlike worldly hope, duped in the fantasy, “I am the master of my own destiny’, a believers’ Hope is rooted in a spiritually-inspired anticipation that whatever God has promised HAS TO COME TO PASS! Hence, this holy boldness, assured by every Promise given by The Eternal One, Who abides free from outside influence, is the launching pad to our Eminent Salvation, giving substance to our faith!

Little children, while it’s clearly impossible to turn a blind eye to the downward spiral of this 21st Century society, our spiritual discernment confirms that while it may seem as if things are falling apart, EVERYTHING IS FALLING RIGHT IN PLACE!  TRUST2KNO, nothing  happens that can everrr take God by surprise! The Eyes of The Lord are always looking on His Beloved and His Ears are ever attentive to the cries of those whose hearts revere and Hope in His Holy Name! WOW! Didjaheardat?

Obviously, we have every reason to rest secure, trusting in the Strength of God’s Unfailing Love! NOW DATZ A FACT! #JESUSISLORD!

 

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

HE’LL DO IT AGAIN!

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hell-do-it-again

SELAH Daily Devotions!

For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7

For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

 

There’s never been a point, place or space in time where God is not! God IS and will ever BE—for He is ETERNALLY GOD! #didjaheardat?

To souls wearied and wounded from matriculating through the sporadic-tumultuous terrains of life, this statement has proven to be the Source of great comfort and strength. At the same time, to the forces of evil, it’s the sting of predictable debilitating destruction and defeat against their insidious attacks!

The primary mission of the Kingdom of darkness is to cause the people of God to abandon their hope and personal trust in The Eternal Father by any means necessary! Satan’s disciples strategically set up obstacles  to ensnare believers with confusion, fear and doubt designed ultimately to contaminate their faith, causing them to re-evaluate the Reliability of trusting in an invisible, yet all emcompassing True and Living God!

Problem is, all too often, it’s the personal testimonies of triumphant victories down thru the years that continue to rigorously validate God’s Faithfulness, fueling the Believer’s Hope of Eternal Glory!

Granted, finding ourselves knee-deep in the dung of this 21st Century Anti-Christ culture, there’s no shortage of opportunities to just throw in the towel, tap-out on the Promises revealed in the Sacred Writ, resolving that they’re no longer relevant in this self-centered, self-righteous, intellectually astute, Hi-Tech, contemporal millenial society!

However, such thinking is only logical to those who have foolishly opted to avoid the reality of The Omnipresent Omnipotent True and Living God! Nevertheless, absolutely nothing ever happens that catches God off-guard. Hence, He is Alpha and Omega! The Omniscient Creator, Sovereignly orchestrating the affairs of humanity from eternity past, thru present into eternity future, determined that His Purpose shall never be frustrated by the inherent iniquity of flawed-fickled-fleshy-lust-filled mankind!

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two inchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of The Hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this Hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:17-19

Beloved, standing firmly on the Immutability of God’s Word, gives us the leverage to embrace every situation with confident assurance that we’re never alone and God is always in control. Relax! Remember this ain’t your first rodeo, right? A quick glance over your shoulders will remind us that our Heavenly Father has always been our very Present Help, constantly undergirding our inabilities with His Infinite Excellence!

History declares that we’re surrounded by clouds of witnesses who’ve gone before us, therefore, we imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises! (Hebrews 6:12) 

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:6

Remember, My child, when it seems as if the odds are stacked against the righteous—GOD’S AT HIS BEST! FAITHFUL…IF HE DID IT B4, HE WILL DO IT AGAIN!  #seriously

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

 

 

THE MORNING AFTER!

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THE MORNING AFTER

SELAH Daily Devotions!

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

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1 Peter 4:12-13

 

Over the past two decades, there’s been a lot of controversial debate concerning whether or not we should allow access to a certain medication that’s being distributed indiscriminately in other countries. I’m talking about the ‘morning after pill’! Not surprising, most of the dialogue is not so much about the potential threat or the adverse physical side effects resulting from ingesting these drugs but rather, whether or not you accept or reject the implicated morality issue.

While the medical field and the pharmaceutical industry may, or not, have their own interests in pursuing the mass distribution to the public at large, my heart leans towards the individuals who persistently engage in leisure sexual promiscuity, irregardless of the eternal consequences of their activities. Evidently, many are convinced that all they have to do is gulp down a pill in the morning, swallowing away any chance of an unwanted conception and juskeepasteppin! After all, it’s their own personal right, right?

Can you imagine what our lives would be like without accountability? Well, guess what, we don’t have to go very far to discover that many of us live everyday as if one day we all will NOT have to take responsibility for the deeds we’ve done in our bodies. (Ref. 2 Corinthians 5:10)

Fortunately, The Omniscient Father of Grace and Comfort, knowing the frailty of our human flesh and our proclivity to be drawn to that forbidden fruit, refused to abandon us, leaving us doomed to our own sin-lusting appetite. That’s why Jesus, prayed asking the Father to send The Promise, The Holy Ghost, to abide in us to help us, not just to do the right thing, but giving us a pure desire to want to do right! (Ref. John 14:16-18)

As born-again, blood-washed believers, sometimes it’s not easy to deny self and go the way of faithful obedience. Especially when life gets difficult. Despite doing all we know to do to walk pleasing to God, there’s a part of us that just wants to throw in the towel. “What’s the point, right?”

The point is that we have Help and Hope that’s beyond this world. The Word of God assures us that while the journey of this life is not without its own share of suffering, pain, rejection, disappointment and despair, we’re not home yet!

Yes!  We, as children of The Day, have a dual citizenship!  BUT,  the pathway to Glory is not without dips, slips, detours and sporadic dead-ends! Yet! We have A Glorious Truth awaiting us!

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:21

My precious brothers and sisters, HOLD ON TO HOPE! THERE WILL BE GLORY IN THE MORNING… AFTER THIS!

 

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

YOUR ANSWER IS AT THE DOOR!

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UR ANSWER IS AT THE DOOR

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she wa so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” Acts 12:13-14

 

According to Acts Chapter 12, the 1st Century Church was experiencing phenomenal growth as the Gospel spread. Not surprisingly, everybody was not excited about what God was doing! The people were leaving the synagogue in droves to follow the Message of this relatively new (and suspect prophet) Jesus Christ. The religious leaders were quite upset because their social and economic status was diminishing as the offerings were declining with so many of their big time supporters leaving the Temple. In order to gain political clout, recognition and favor within the Jewish community, King Herod Agrippa launched an all hands on deck campaign to quench the fire of this Gospel preaching by killing as many leaders of this so call “Christ Ones’ Movement”. Now, it’s Peter who was locked up awaiting execution. BUT GOD BLOCKED IT!

God sent an angel into the Maximum-Security Detention Center, where Peer was chained hand and feet in stocks under the watch of 16 armed guards assigned to secure one unarmed Preacha! WOW! I must point out that (unlike a lot of us) Peter was not up pacing the floor crying, ‘Why me, Lord’ or accusing God for letting this happen to him, but according to the text, Peter was sleeping so hard that the angel had to hit him forcefully just to wake him up! The Bible says, immediately the chains fell off of him. Everything happened so fast, Peter thought he was having a dream or a vision!

Once he came to himself and realized that he was free, Peter decided to catch up with his boys (who were most likely at John Mark’s Mother’s house) and let the know what The Lord had done. Unbeknownst to Peter, while he was locked up in prison, they were having a shut-in (all night prayer meeting)! While they were ernestly seeking God’s help on behalf of their brother, Peter knocked on the door! Rhoda, the servant girl, went to the door, seeing Peter, got so excited that she ran to tell the others and she forgot to open the door to let Peter in. When they finally opened the door and saw Peter standing there, the scripture say they were utterly astonished. Didjaheardat? They were praying to God, but not really expecting their prayers to be answered. #OUCH! Sounds like some of us, huh?

How many times have you, with your sanctimonious self, taken the time to pray for something not really expecting God to answer your prayer? Or worse yet, failed to recognize the answer when it came knocking at your door? Yall know, we have a tendency to allow what we’ve experiences in the past to get in our present circumstances and rob us of now faith!

God is Sovereign! Hence, His Ways are not our ways! We must remember that when we pray, we’re not praying to a mere mortal or some distant-disinterested,-sub-diety—BUT THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD WHO CAN DO ANY AND EVERYTHING! In fact, it grieves the Holy Spirit when He sends answers to our prayers and they’re returned to Him stamped ‘unclaimed’! When we pray we must know not only does God care about everything you care about, but He is willing and able to give you those things that you desire of Him, that’s according to His Word!

Precious Ones, don’t miss your breakthrough because it doesn’t look like what you were expecting. Don’t give up! Keep on praying; keep on knocking! Keep on believing! God’s listening and any moment now expect to be blessed! TRUST2KNOW; YOUR ANSWER WILL SOON BE AT THE DOOR!  SSHHHH! What’s dat?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

DEEP WELLS

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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

IT’S TIME 2 PRODUCE

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IT'S TIME 2 PRODUCE

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. Isaiah. 54:1

 

When I think of the word ‘barren’ I get an image of a desert, a wilderness, dry, desolate, unfruitful place. Obviously, The Prophet Isaiah could not be talking to God’s Chosen Ones. Or could he? I know this doesn’t quite fit in the New Millennium Church Prosperity Theology. After all, aren’t we the head and not the tail, above not beneath. Aren’t we the blessed coming in, and blessed going out, right?

Well, I don’t mean to intrude into your celestial comfort zone and burst your balloon, but for those of us who’ve been walking with The Lord for more than a week, can testify that sometimes real-life contradicts everything that we’ve ever heard, studied and believed about what it means to be “saved”.

Many times the saints believe because we love God and know that God loves us, the favor of God automatically guarantees a life of levitating thru this world on a flowery bed of ease; that is until life doesn’t produce the fruit of righteousness that we expect! That’s Barrenness! I’m talking about even after, we’ve made all of our faith confessions, planted faith seeds all across the nations; only to end up broker, busted and even more disgusted. Don’t shout me down, nah? #ijs!

What about when Prophet Lightning Buzz told you that your soul mate was on his way to you and up pops Sis. Rahab or Bro. Bozo and she or he snags the very one you just knew God said was yours? I’d call that a barren place!  #4REAL!!!

And what about this one, you make up your mind to stop robbing God and start paying your tithes and giving your offerings faithfully and consistently, and you still can’t make ends meet? Okay! Now you see what I’m talking about, huh?

Sometimes it appears as if God brought you into the L&D room, watched you suffer the pain, exposing you for everyone to see and then stitched up your womb and left the building!

O YE BARREN, HEAR YE THE WORDS OF THE LORD! “It ain’t what it looks like!” God uses our barrenness, to mature us and to prepare us to take possession of our heritage!

Perhaps, some of you have been wandering around the desert for quite a while, aimlessly drifting without direction or purpose. Have you considered that God’s been trying to bring you out, howevvrrrr, because you’ve refused to trust Him and keep trying to deliver yourself, you continue to go round and round in circles!  Beloved, might I offer an alternative perspective,  God had to make the brook dry up just to get you in position for your miracle!

Stop It! It’s time to go in and to take possession of everything that God has promised you.

Remember, your  next blessing is never in what you’ve lost, but it’s always in what you’ve got left! God can produce more in a famine than the wicked can in his wealth. It’s time for you to stop trying and start trusting.

O Ye barren; get ready to enlarge your tent! TRUST2KNO, IT’S TIME TO PRODUCE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

SHALLOW CHRISTIANITY

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SHALLOW CHRISTIANITY

 

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 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 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, 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)

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!

Shallow christians hide behind shameless excuses to continue to satisfy their ungodly cravings, but a true child of God will be quick to repent. GOD KNOWS those who are genuinely striving everyday to mortify the wickness of their flesh and live a life that pleases HIM even at 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! Trust 2 know, 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?

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 courageous People 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?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee