Tag Archives: comfort

U TOOK MY SIDE…

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.” Lamentations 3:55-58

I must confess, I have a lot in common with The Weeping Prophet, Jeremiah! I guess you call it kindred spirits! I am, personally, persuaded that if you have The Love of Christ in you at all, I suspect you can identify with God’s Prophet also. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right?

Jeremiah’s pure love of God and his devotion to the people of God, often landed him swamped smack-dab-n-the-middle of backstabbing plots, the main attraction of malicious gossip, abuse, victimization and isolation! Basically, all because he dared to live godly in an ungodly environment! There goes that glitz. glam and prestigious mirage of the lifestyle of the true servants of God, huh?
Often times, in the midst of the excitement, honor, and humbling of being called, we underestimate the burden that comes along with the privilege of being used by God.

I would imagine Jeremiah was no different. Little did the he know that the weight of The Prophetic calling on his life meant being exposed to unimaginable, unparalleled suffering, grief, sorrow and yes even fear! Somebody called it—the cost of the anointing!

Much like any faithful intercessor today, much of his ministry encompassed weeping and mourning, not just for his own life, but because he knew the certainty of ultimate destruction awaiting the nation of Israel if they persisted in flaunting their outrageous rebellion again their God!

While the Bible does make it clear, that because we represent another Kingdom and King, we should expected to be tagged alien intolerant troublers, BUT spit on, chased down and beaten, treated like last weeks garbage, thrown into an empty cistern, left to die in the muck and the mire? I know it’s not always easy to help hurting people! Oh, come on now!

Nevertheless, when the saints suffer persecution because of the ungodliness of others, there is great recompense of reward! According to today’s scripture text, when Jeremiah called out to God, God rescued him. Just as He does for us! Have I got a witness?

When we come to the end of ourselves and our lamenting heart cries out, “LORD HELP ME!” our Loving Father, looking down from on high, seeing the tears streaming from our eyes, comes near, saying “Don’t be afraid! It’s gonna be all right! I gotcha!”

Has God ever restored you with A WORD? Seriously! It only takes One Rhema Word from God to jump-start the most wearied heart and re-igniting the faintest hope, with His Peace. Thereby, allowing that you to rest assured in quiet expectation of imminent rescue and deliverance trusting solely in The Loving Caring Heart of The Faithful Friend!

THANKYA JESUS FOR TAKING MY SIDE!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

WEIGHT ON THE LORD!

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weight on the LORD 3

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:13-14

“Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you;He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Isaiah 55:22

Glancing up at the TV screen on my way into the kitchen one morning, I couldn’t help but hear this early morning’s breaking news report that sometime, while most of us slept in the comfort and safety of our homes, a group of bomb-strapped terrorist had stormed into a Pakistani school house killing over 120 people, including a number of 1st to 6th grade students, teachers and anyone else who crossed their sight lines. As I tuned my ears, the commentator continuing on said that Isis had proudly stepped up, acclaiming responsibility for this heinous act in retaliation for a previous attack against their forces.

After reminding myself again,why I’m not an avid news watcher, I came up stairs to ask my husband whether or not he’d heard about it, and he had. Almost simultaneously, both of us asked “What is this world coming to”? ” It’s as if nothing is sacred, nothing is restricted by basic human morality!

Suddenly, the Holy Spirit cut into our conversation; “The End!” I repeated, as if the light had just been cut on. “The End!” The world, as we’ve known, is coming to an end, live and living HD color! Who nu? The 21st century generation would be eye witnesses to the actualization of the antiquated prophetic utterances of God’s servants.

I found myself praying, “Lord, as Pastors, preachers, teachers, evangelists, your servants, what are we supposed to do? How can we continue to preach trust and hope to comfort and encourage your people surroundied by the presence of lawless gross darkness? Especially when we ourselves are fainting, wearied, overwhelmed and being choked by the cords of cares and chaos!”

The Holy Spirit interrupted my self-induced saga; “Tell them about JESUS! After all He is The Only Hope of the World! Preach, JESUS! The Eternal Light that yet shines out of the darkness. Remind them that all these things must be before The Kingdom of God ushers in The New Life! Hail to the scattered sheep that NOW is the time for Salvation! Warn them that time is winding up, spiraling intently towards eternity and NOW is the time to prepare to meet their Master in peace; for He could show up at any minute!”

“Encourage your fellow-sojourners to take full advantage of these days, not trembling in fearful foreboding but celebrating God all day,every day!”

My mind went back to the wisdom of those ol’ skool Churrch Mothers? ‘Wear this world like a loosing fitting overcoat, that you can drop-off at a moment’s notice!’ That was their way of reminding us that we are not home yet. We are still passing through this barren land on our way to Heaven!

Beloved, if all your hope is wrapped up in what you can collect, seeking man’s approval and striving to attain society’s standard of success, then my precious one, the best you can expect to see in this world is constant decadence of morality and amplified misery. But asThe Redeemed, we have an resounding advantage over those who are yet in darkness. GOD IS STILL GOD!

God is not surprised at anything that’s happening! He Reigns Supreme Ruler over His Creation, astutely aware and actively involved in the intrinsic detailed affairs of man-kind! And to top it all off, God loves us with an Everlasting Love that compassionately invites us to come boldly before His Throne daily to find Hope, Help, Mercy and Grace!

Therefore, Beloved, we do not give up HOPE! We contend for the faith, waiting patiently in earnest expectation, resting in quiet confidence and believing to see that THE ONE WHO HAS PROMISED IS FAITHFUL TO PERFORM! WEIGHT ON THE LORD!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

RELEASE AND RELAX!

WOUNDED WARRIORS

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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

R U OPENED, OR CLOSED?

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R U OPEN OR CLOSED 3 2018

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

Remarkably, in following the footsteps of Jesus, you’ll inevitably discover that His Walk was earmarked with as much skepticism as was faith-filled devotion! A closer review of The Sacred Scriptures we’ll see recorded many instances where the very ones who should’ve recognized Him were His greatest critics! Time and time again, the religious scholars tried to bait Jesus into disqualifying Himself thereby discounting the rumors that were spreading like wild fire throughout Capernaum and Galilee that He is the Promised Messiah!

They were particularly perturbed by Jesus’ repeatedly allowing Himself to be drawn into the company of what was considered ‘the misfits’ who didn’t deserve their time of day. And in their minds, any REAL Prophet would’ve known better! Their own pompous arrogance prevented them from seeing The Light that was right before their eyes!

Unlike some of today’s Gospel Icons, Jesus did not look down on sinners, neither did He consider Himself too Holy to be in their presence. While Jesus had compassion for the sinner, He never condoned sin! In fact, He openly pronounced that His mission for coming to Earth was to call sinners to repentance! Perhaps, this in a nutshell explains why Jesus’ behavior was considered totally reprehensible to the religious leaders of that day, who considered themselves holier, therefore worthier than any of their subjects! Imagine Dat!

Unfortunately, far too many of the 21st Century Church still ascribe to this ill-begotten-theology as well. Although they don’t actually say it, their actions typify that loud and clear.

Case in point, when my husband and I were called to begin a new work in the Vineyard, God placed it upon my heart to order a banner that would be placed on the roof the the building that said, ‘SINNERS WELCOME!’ Much to our surprise and dismay, we were rebuked by the people of God for displaying such an invitation! “Pastor, don’tcha mean, ‘ALL VISITORS ARE WELCOME!’ Well, then we were really confused because the last time we checked, the Bible clearly and emphatically discloses that “all have sinned and fall desperately short of God’s Righteousness”! (Romans 3:23) Hence, every single human born into this world, must come by the Cross in order to enjoy the Divine Heritage that Jesus labored to freely give us!

Truthfully, sometimes we, seasoned saints, forget who we once were. (Ref. 1 Corinthians 6:11) For Real…the only difference between a sinner and a saint is Repentance, the core of the Gospel! Thankfully, it’s not our own self-righteousness—BUT the pure goodness of God’s Grace that causes any man to repent! (Ref. Romans 2:4)

Seriously! Think about it; what good does it do to tell people they’re a sinner and if they don’t quit sinning, they’re going to hell. Well I can tell you as a regenerated Spirit-Filled ex-habitual-sinner, sinners already know that they’re sinners! What they don’t know is that before the foundation of the world, GOD provided a way off of that easily-accessible-fatalistic-dead-end-hell-bound slippery-pathway and a that they have been pre-approved for a fully-paid 1st ticket to Heaven through The Precious Blood of Jesus, awaiting their acceptance! (Ref. Revelations 13:8)

The problem is, too many of us who have accepted The Sacrificial Lamp’s offering, have a tendency to become so closed minded and mute-mouthed that we refuse to get the message that “JESUS SAVES” out of the CHURRCH and into this lost and dying world! #OHYESISAIDIT!

In other words, instead of putting THE GOOD NEWS ON BLAST, a whole of us are quite comfortably content living lives as “Secret Servants” aka “Under-cover Christians”!

OH, C’MON NAH! RELAX! I’m not talking about ‘you’, UNLESS I’m talking about ‘you’! OPENED or CLOSED?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THIS MEANS WAR!

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

“Thou therefore endure hardness, a a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangled himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4

OMG! Do we ever love to sing those ol’ songs that tend to stir up our emotions and at the same time, placate the reality that each and any day of this life we might find ourselves on the front line of a battlefield. Most of us recognize, at least on some cognitive level, that when we enlisted into The Lord’s Army, that Ol’ Ship of Zion is a battleship and not some luxurious cruise liner! Yet, there’s an innately human propensity to glamorize our voyage to the ultimate conquest, Eternal Life with our Heavenly Commander-in-Chief.

Sometimes, you can forget that your very enrollment into God’s Kingdom demanded rebellion against your former ruler of The Kingdom of Darkness, Satan himself and his agents of disastrously diabolical deeds! And you know how hard you had to fight to get out from munder his domineering cruelty? BUT for The Grace of God, you never could’ve, would’ve, should’ve made it, huh?

Nevertheless, sometimes—even, Born-Again-Blood-Washed Believers wearied by the cares of this world, become slouthful, letting down our guard, leaving a inch-sized crack in your armor exposing your vulnerability to the Satanic strategies. How? Any good soldier knows the crucial necessity of assuring that your weapons are kept armed for optimal peformance and readily accessible in case of sneak attacks of your arch enemy. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon God’s footmen to engage in diligent daily exercises to ensure confident courageous valor!

According to the Scripture, The Apostle Paul, instructed his young protegee, “Timothy, your entire life’s experiences have been training ground for this assigment. And now, I admonish you to advance forward, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on the faith that was delivered down to you from your Mother and Grand-Mother. Son, this is a fight for your life! If you hope to succed in this mission, you must stay prayed-up! Pray every day and every way you know; pray about everything and every one!” “And above all, keep your faith energized and ablazed by The Power of The Holy Ghost, because this walk means you’re guaranteed to experience your share of suffering, simply for sharing The Gospel of Jesus Christ. BUT! If you will stay your life, focused, firmly faithful and rooted in the Love of Christ, regardless of what comes against you—your victory is imminent!”

The Apostle continues encouraging the young servant, “Timothy, run for your life, keep this commitment to the letter, don’t slack off and don’t ever give up. Arm yourself with the same mind as your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Epitome of a True Warrior of Faith!”

Beloved, perhaps today life has launched you smack-dab-indamiddle of a spiritual war zone, remember to hold fast to His Promises! Stand your ground and guard your treasure with your life! Be faithful and with holy boldness pass on His Word and The Grace of God will always keep you safe, secure and saved!

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” 2 Corinthians 10:4

B READY 2 RUMBLE…AFTER ALL, THIS MEANS WAR!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

DESERT GRACE

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desert-grace-2

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

SELAH Daily Devotions!

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