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IS FAIRNESS OVERRATED?

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IS FAIRNESS OVERRATED

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: Romans 1:21-26a

 

Oh, c’mon nah? Don’t be looking at me with that tone of voice! Even if we were too sccaarred to speak it out loud, chances are, we’ve all thought about it at some point in our lives, huh?

Particularly, when circumstances didn’t flow in the natural order of progression according to our personal logic! That’s when we tend to get all philosophical and put God on the witness stand! “Why would a Loving God send people to Hell? Why do innocent babies die? Why do bad things happen to good people?” Unfortunately, as Bro. Job can attest to, except thru Holy Spirits’ impartation of revelation, we’re fundamentally incapable of assessing the Ways and Means of our Sovereign Lord’s Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge. (Ref. Job 42:3-5) Am I right about it?

Amazingly, The Sustainer of everything, knowing the hopelessness of relying on the innate frailty of our flawed, fickled, self-centered frame, so graciously restrains Godself with compassionate patience, suffering with us through The Divine Maturation Process, until we arrive at the unity of faith implied by trusting in The Son of God! (Ref. Ephesians 4:13)

Howeverrrrr, TruthBtold, this type of interrogation is generally a direct result of a deliberate, self-induced distortion, rebellion and ultimate rejection of God’s Perfect Morality in order to justify our unmoral proclivity to satisfy the our own fleshy lust for wickedness and evil-doing! WELL? #Didjaheardat? Like the ol’ skool preacha said, “I jus lost 1/2 my church!”

According to Scriptures, Creation declares the reality of God. Barring some rare genetic malfunction, every human being born into the earth has an inner GPS (God’s Protection System) directly plugged into The Creator of The Universe,  otherwise known as a conscience. This inner sensory perception allows us to discern good from evil. Therefore, there’s no excuse for anyone to claim that they don’t know whether God exists or if He does exists, what He requires of their lives! Now, given that we are not robots, we all have the freedom and ability to suppress God’s moral standards in favor of our own or the world’s! And…such were all of us! (Ref. 1 Corinthians 6:11) Yet, the consequences of our erroneous decisions are completely out of our hands! And we all know how well that plays out, huh?

Beloved, there’s no denying how much God loves us! I mean, He was willing to sacrifice His Righteous Son to save us who so deserved the punishment for our unrighteousness! NEVERTHELESS HE CANNOT DENY HIS LOVE!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Yet to deny the other part of GOD’s Holy Nature, is down-right foolish!

Hence, stop trying to PLAY God! HE IS NOT THE ONE! Trust2kno…the last thing you ever wanna DO is make God angry! Seriously! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (Hebrew 10:31)

Beloved, God’s mercy awaits us every morning as He awakens us to embrace one more day! Unfortunately, we have no clue how long before Grace is frustrated. While it is yet today, Precious Ones, exercise your choice, accept Jesus as Savior and Lord! When it comes to your eternal destination…FAIRNESS IS OVER-RATED…CHOOSE LIFE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

STILL SAY YES?

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STILL SAY YES

SELAH Daily Devotions!

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 2 Corinthians 1:20

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Hebrews 4:2

 

WOW!

Just thinking about backndaday, when the Saints gathered on Sunday afternoon for Holy Convocation! Talkin’ about The Grand Ole Church of God In Christ. I’m here to tell ya, did we ever have some sho nuff churrch huh? I remember how I felt when the Elder would approach the pulpit and begin bellowing out our International COGIC Anthem, “YES LORD!” Still not sure whether it was meant to call the church to order, calm the shoutin saints down, to take up the offering or what. But what I do know is that just hearing those words that were first uttered from the mouth of our Founder, Charles H. Mason, always took our worship into another dimension of God’s Presence!

Unfortunately, you don’t hear that song sang much anymore. At least not in the same manner, huh? Don’t shout me down now! #ijs

 

The Holy Spirit just said, ‘that’s because My people aren’t saying ‘YES’ to Me that much anymore!’ OMG! Honestly, that really doesn’t suprise me! There’s so much noisey chatter going around the Christian Community these day, folk aren’t sure what’s of God and what’s not! One side of the church is saying, “It’s a new day and we’re no longer under The Law, we’re under Grace”! The other side is saying, “If you don’t have a new house, drive a certain car, live in a certain zip code, the favor of God is not on your life because you don’t have enuff faith!” And hardly anybody is preaching what God expects of those who claim His Son as Lord and Savior! (Ref. Micah 6:8)
We’re living in a day-n-time when every man wants to do what seems right in their own eyes. If we don’t like what that preacher’s preaching, we can keep driving until we find one that affirms and validates what we want to do, right? To make the transition easier, we can even search the internet until we find one that suits our lifestyle and  THEN there’s always e-church!

Problem is, while times have changed, The Word of God HASN’T! IT IS ETERNAL!!

While the world is busy colluding, electing, legislating and flaunting their rebellious unrighteousness, rest assured, it’s virtually impossible for mere man to dismiss the boundaries and rules for living that God has established! JESUS IS LORD!

 Saints,  I know, sometimes, we’d prefer to not acknowledge it, HOWEVRRR…there’s another side of God’s Holiness that the world (and even some church folk) has completely rejected! ‘The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath” (Nahum 1:2)

Hence, while it may seem as if God has turned His face away from this world and is allowing everything to fall apart, The Sovereign Creator God wants us to know that everything is falling right in place! Anybody remember, Goshen? “They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” Exodus 10:23

There’s no denying, the Adversary is working double-over-time attempting to persuade the Saints to give up all hope of anything getting better! But God says, there’s an appointed time and a purpose for all things! (Ref. Eccl. 3:1) TRUST2KNO, Satan ain’t running nothing! It is GOD who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and He has and never will relinquish HIS POWER TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING! 

What does God want us to do? It’s simple, walk with HIM! Trust HIM, agree with HIM! Regardless of how the circumstantial evidence appears to contradict The Promises, have faith in The Immutable Word of God! (Ref. Proverbs 3:5-6)

Beloved, keep getting up in the morning, set your face toward JESUS and just keep right on saying ‘YES LORD’! #Didjaheardat?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

 

UNREASONABLE HOPE?

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UNREASONABLE HOPE

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15

 

Daily, the end-time prophetic utterances are being actualized in real-time-illustrated- sermons. You don’t have to be a Biblical Scholar or Seminar Theologian to recognize that we’re living in troubling times and that the end is nearer now than its ever been. The world is spirialing towards Eternity at the speed of life and there’s absolutely nothing man can do to effectively change the course of destiny! Except humble himself and surrender his life to His Creator! The problem is, far too many are yet unwilling to accept Truth even as it’s glaring at us right between our eyes. What’s up with dat?  Perhaps we might glean some insight from The Bible.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19.

Honestly, The Bible never tells us that after we make the decision to live holy, as unto The Lord, that we can just relax stretched out on a flowery bed of ease. Yet, it does promise rewards of a better life than those who refuse to accept The Savior’s Amazing Grace. Nevertheless, far too many still opt to take the pathway of least resistance. Falling prey to the assumption that rejection liberates them from that pesty notion called ‘accountability’, they prefer the more popular alleyway of “I’m the master of my own destiny; therefore I’ll do whatever seems right in my own mind for as long as I feel like it! And IF there is a GOD, then I expect Him to calculate my good and evil deeds and compassionately determine that since I’m not like so and so, He’ll let me come thru The Pearly Gates.”

Unfortunately, sometimes the-saints don’t fare much better! When challenged by unfavorable situations, fear and doubt will slither in, causing us to erroneously accuse and attack the Faithfulness of Jehovah Jireh with a “Where are you GOD? Why is this happening to me? I am born-again, I’ve been baptized. I’m not perfect, but I deserve better than this. Besides, I thought we’re no longer under the Law but under The Dispensation of Grace. So EVEN if I still walk in unfaithful disobedience, God, you know my heart, right?”

Ironically, the more holy your lifestyle, the more of a target of unsavory rejection and reproof you become to those who choose not to live Godly. Evidently, your Godliness testifies against their Godlessness! (Ref. 2 Timothy 3:12) Is there any wonder that our (those of us who actually believe that The Holy Bible is The Word of God) attempts to share TRUTH are often ‘buked and scorned, castoff with disgust, as if we’re such an annoying nuisance? That is until The Adversary rips into their comfortable lives threatening to destroy their self-orchestrated world! Can I get a good Amen?

Oftimes, these frantic inquirers have no clue that trouble does not discriminate between the just and the unjust. In fact, it’s almost as if Satan gets a double-kick out of terrorizing the saints even more than those rebellious unbelievers. Kinda makes you wonder if demons are rewarded with trophies for bringing down God’s Elect!

Nonetheless, God allows tests and trials to strike our lives, knowing full well that there’s a group of haters watching and waiting for you to faith, fail and fall! Remember, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Psalm 23:4-5

Hence, the greater the darkness, the brighter Light shines! It’s almost unfair, considering the supernatural advantage that we, who no longer rely on fate-based-circumstantial-evidence, have over the unregenerated souls. But, then again; favor ain’t fair!  #ijs

When the world sees you still standing, having endured the ravaging assault of hell’s fiery darts, surviving the very same pitfalls, hardships and struggles, yet determined to sanctify our hearts, trusting God regardless of what the circumstances look like! Talk about a REAL living testimony, huh?

Can you imagine the devastating gut-ravishing rage that your commitment to Christ causes in the Kingdom of Darkness? More importantly, can you imagine the joy, applauds, shouting and dancing erupting from Heaven’s angelic hosts, not to mention the cloud of witnesses cheering us on? (Ref. Hebrews 12:1) NOW AIN’T DAT AMAZING!

Come what may…whatever we go through, we have The Blessed Assurance that our Victory is inevitable! Okay, now that’s just too good to keep to yourself!

That’s exactly why we gotta keep telling everybody that what we have reaches far beyond this world and RESTS SOLELY IN THE ETERNAL HOPE PERSONIFIED, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO REIGNS FOREVER! #SOUNDREASONABLE? #WOW!!!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

AFTER THIS…LOOK 4 THE GLORY!

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

And said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said. There is nothing. And he said, go up again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, go up, say unto Ahab. Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. 1 Kings 18:43-45

 

It’s one thing to say that we trust God, but it’s how we endure the proving time that determines the genuineness of our trust! #Didjaheardat?

Life inevitably includes intervals of those pesty impositions I call ‘the dark times’! Like unexpected uninvited guest, trouble has a way of poppin in and staying way longer than we’d prefer! And to make matters even more unsettling, it’s during these seasons that we’re most likely to experience times when all evidence to substantiate that God is still with you and any sign indicating that He’s even listening to your prayers is essentially non-existent!

Knowing personally, it’s not easy watching our children’s lives being ravished by sickness and their youthful dreams and ambitions dissipated by helpless-hopelessness. But this is where the clichés that we so impressively sprout off to others are proven real or Memorex!  Beloved, the longer we walk with Jesus we discover that it’s in the midst of the storms that God reveals His Best Handy Work!  Who would’ve ever imagined that in spite of the dire forecast, The SON yet shines, leading and drawing us closer to Himself! Clearly, He’s determined, through any means necessary, to prove unequivocally that everything that the devil meant for evil, God can turn it around and make it work in our favor! (Ref. Romans 8:28)

Oh My! How my soul rejoiced that day, hearing that my son had given his life to The Lord during a bible study class the evening before! Little did I know that God would use this storm to woo him into seeking Him for himself , thereby positioning him for the miraculous showers of blessings that would follow! And most certainly, I never imagined as I was praying that God would stretch my faith and increase my knowledge of His Wisdom and Power, that I’d have to bury his twin brother to experience a whole new dimension of God’s Super-Sustaining Grace!

The Prophet Elijah teaches his young protégé that even when we can’t see no way to escape the very real threat of emminent destruction, we can yet trust God’s Heart and His Hands. God’s vision is far greater than 20/20. It’s from eternity past to eternity future! God watches guardingly over us thru The Blood stained eyes of Jesus. And through Divinely-inspired confident trust and quiet patience we discover the inexhaustible treaures God’s Faithfulness!

Today, you may find yourself plagued by all manner of maladies. Many of God’s people’s lives are being wounded and worn out by the insidious attacks of the enemies of God and  unfortunately, many are losing hope for life getting any better. But remember, anything is possible with God! TRUST2KNO, while our troubles have a predesignated date of expiration;  our prayers are eternal! #DIDJAHEARDAT??

As people of Hope, instead of surrendering to the pressures of circumstantial evidence, we pray; committing ourselves and our circumstances to our Omnipotent, Omniscient Omnipresent Savior and Lord! By doing this, we’re demonstrating to God that we are relying wholeheartedly upon His Love and the sufficiency of His Grace to sustain and deliver us! As we pray, God intervenes in His designated timing, turning everything the devil meant for evil—around for our greatest good and His Highest Glory! (Ref. 1 Chronicles 7:14)  #4REAL!

Don’t allow the darkness to deceive you. Could God be using the clouds to shield you from your enemies view, aligning you up for an unexpected miracle? (Ref. Exodus 13:21) I know it’s been a long night, but don’t give up! They tell me, the darkest hour is just before the break of a new day.

Beloved, go take another look! SEEDAT? AFTER THIS, LOOK FOR THE GLORY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

WHO MOVED?

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WHO MOVED

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at anytime we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” Hebrews 2:1-3

One morning during my devotion, the Lord began speaking to me about The Millennium Church Age. At this point in my walk with Jesus, needless to say, I’ve heard many a message preached about the Church of God down through the years! Gratefully, much has been pontification of the Glorious and Victorious Church as well as those that admonish the people of God concerning the goats and the sheep and the wheat and the tare. However, I must confess I was a bit surprised when God began to talk to me about a different threat (either unnoticed or unacknowledged) that has slipped under the radar of nodding watchmen into the Kingdom. He asked, “Have you heard the one about the ‘drifters and the disciples?”

After thinking for a moment, I responded “No, Lord. I don’t recall hearing that one.” Honestly, my mind went ‘back in da day’, remembering the Drifters, that group of fine black men, dressed to da T and sanng’n those ‘Good ol’ slow songs’! For the 30 and under crew, u betta ask ya Mama!

Abruptly bringing me back from the edge of Egypt, God began to reveal to me, “Oh yes! You’ve heard about them. They may have been called ‘Backsliders’ instead!’

Okay! I know about the backsliders! But, when church folk think of a backslider, what generally comes to mind are those wicked ol’ evil rebellious hypocrites, aka that heathen who has turned his back and walked away from the Lord and the Church. In other words, we’ve categorized them as somebody who didn’t really love the Lord, at least not as much as he loved the world. Right?  HOWEVERRR! The Lord, allowing me to peep into His thoughts for a moment, led me to Webster’s Dictionary to look up the word ‘drift’ to discover that Webster defines it several ways, but here are a few that Holy Spirit highlighted:

“To be carried along by a current of air or water; to pile up or to heap, to move or appear to move aimlessly, go along without knowing or caring where one is going; the sideways movement of an aircraft or ship off it’s projected course due to cross currents.”

OMG!  #Didjaheardat? First of all, you don’t have to leave the church at all to backslide! You can become a drifter sitting front row, center aisle, or back row, far left and yes, truthfully, center stage of the pulpiteers!  #WOW! That ol’ devil is as cunning and subtle in 2017 as ever, huh?

Satan knows he can’t just blatantly confront some of us face 2 face with the lies that have been proven so successful among the babes in Christ. You know; like, “I don’t need to go to church; I can read my bible at home (the bedside Baptist)”; or “who says you have to belong to a church to serve God?” What about this one, “Get with the times! Don’t be so narrow-minded; after all there are all kinds of roads that lead to the Universal god, you know The Higher Power!”  #BOOM!

Therefore, he applies another method to bring down the more seasoned saints. Unfortunately, all too often they’re just as lethal and successful! Satan hurls wicked devices (distractions) into our lives to catch us off guard and sidetrack us from our true mission! A little trouble here; a trial there; a threat here lodging a bit of anxiety there; an ominous sense of foreboding fear here; a dip of delay, denial and disappointment there; a letter here and a phone call there, a rumor here and a lie there; a modest competitive spirit there or a root of resentment and rejection here!  Didjaseedat? Who nu?

The scariest part about drifting is that you rarely recognize that you’ve moved at all! It’s not as if you were swept away from the shore by some gi-normous wave; you didn’t even hear the thunder or see the lightening flashing. In fact you never felt the ground collapsing underfoot. One minute, there you were sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tides rolling—you thought you had it all together, handling thangs, maintaining! Until… you reached for that dose of The Holy Ghost and discovered that your cup was empty and your subscription had run out! Apparently, somewhere along the trip, we got so busy with other ‘real-life-stuff’ at the expense of your personal, intimate time with Jesus! Unbeknownst to you, you’d become weary in your well-doing and unconsciously decided that it don’t take all that!

Tell somebody it takes all that and more! More prayer, more fasting, more wisdom, knowledge and understanding of his word, more praising, and a whole lot more His Grace to stay anchored in The Lord!

But here’s the ultimate catastrophic fatality, when all hell breaks out in your life, we tend to look at Godc, ross-eyed, and place the blame for our circumstances on HIM!  Of course, we’ll most likely not own up to such brazen charges again our Redeemer, howeverrrr buried down in the seat of our being, we whisper “Lord, if  You  REALLY love me like You said, why did You let this happen to me?”  #BOOM  We’ve swalled Satan’s bait and the seeds of doubt have taken root  producing a crop of accusations, distrust and unbelief!  #canIgetagoodAMEN3X? OK, maybe not, huh?

TRUTH BE TOLD, God can’t lie and God can’t fail!  If He said, “I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU, NEVER” THEN IT STANDS TO REASON, GOD NEVER MOVED!  (Ref. Hebrew 13:5)
Precious Ones, with all that’s going on in the world around us, it’s incumbent upon each one of us to not make light of the lessons to be learned from The Apostle Paul’s teaching! Hence, make a real earnest commitment to BE a true disciple of Jesus Christ. GET A GRIP ON THE MASTER’S HAND AND HOLD ON AS IF YOUR VERY LIFE DEPENDED UPON IT! BCUZ IT DOES!

WHO MOVED? HOPEFULLY NOT U! #SERIOUSLY? #IJS

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THURSDAYS’ PRAYERS!

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

GOOD MORNING FAM! GOTTA MOMENT! OOOOHHH GLORRRAAAA!

Once again, we are absolutely delighted that you have joined us in our weekly Corporate Prayer and Fasting. My heart is overwhelmed with compassion for all who don’t know who or where to turn to in these days of immorality, deceitfulness, confusion and chaos. While those of us who have placed our personal faith and confidence in the Eternal Word of God are truly privileged and grateful, yet we feel the weightiness of such a burden and responsibility to intercede on their behalf. But By The Amaazing Grace of God, we will continue to look to the hills, from whence cometh our help. Remember, Beloved, all of our help comes from The Lord Jesus Christ! Shall we bow before The Maker of  Heaven and Earth?

Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care; In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast bought us, Thine we are!

Abba Father, here we are again! As we hear the call of Holy Spirit, inviting us to seek Thy Face, our hearts reply, Thy Face Oh Lord we seek! We bow in humble and obeisance, basking in the radiant ambiance of Your Magnificent Majesty! We draw nigh to You with our hands lifted high and our hearts rejoicing in Your Sovereignty! For You Are the Self-Existent, Creator and Sustainer of all living creation. With holy-boldness we cry out, knowing that in Your Presence there’s fullness of Joy and at Your Right Hand are pleasures forever more! Sweet Jesus!

Thank You for loving us! Thank You for choosing us Thank You for redeeming us! Thank You for forgiving us! Thank You for keeping us! Thank You for being such a patient and understanding God and Father to us! We know that there was and is nothing in us that merits such loving-kindness, mercy and grace that You’ve poured out upon our lives! From our Mother’ womb You have kept us, carried us, shielded us from dangers seen and unseen. Hear our sincere confession, “If it had not been for the LORD on our side, our enemies would’ve swallowed us up a long time ago!”

We praise You Heavenly Father for directing Holy Spirit to open our eyes and break-thru the shallowness of our stony hearts, revealing to us The Wondrous Grace of Salvation that You have made available to any who will humbly seek and accept the Sacrificial Atonement of Your Beloved Son, Jesus Christ! We bless You for adopting us into Your Royal Family and decreeing us as joint-heirs with Christ!

Sweet Jesus, teach us to see sin through Your eyes and to acknowledge it as evil wickedness and rebellion against the Lover of our souls! And when we sin, quicken our spirit to repent immediately and to confess with our mouth our wrongdoing, that we might receive the Gracious forgiveness of our Heavenly Father!

We bless Your Holy Name, not only because You have forgiven us more than we could ever know, but because over and over You’ve blessed us even when we failed to keep our promises to You! For this we pray, “Abba Father, forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to Your Heart. Holy Spirit, because You have given us the assurance, that as we confess our sin, You are Faithful and Just to forgive, pardon and restore us back into rightful fellowship with You, we ask and thank You NOW for Your forgiveness! For this cause, we gladly present our spirit, soul and body as a living holy sacrifice to be used for Your Greatest Glory! in The Precious Name of Jesus!”

Precious Lord, because no man can come to the Father except You draw them, we intercede on behalf of every unsaved soul, please quicken the Spirit of Godly-repentance in their heart and in their mind that they will come to you today confessing a “sincere Yes” to your Amazing Gift of Grace that they might be able to receive You as their personal Lord and Savior! We’re believing that You will Divinely orchestrate their footsteps settleling them into a local church home today.

Lord, we ask You to put a fresh  “committed YES” in the heart and mind of every backslider! Let today be the day that they come back to You and come back to YOUR church where they will wholly submit their lives to the sound teachings of Your Word, and learn to love and live their lives walking to please You First!

Abba, we ask that You encourage and comfort the souls of Your Elect who are overwhelmed with fear, doubt and worry because of the things that are going on in our personal lives and in this ungodly world systems! Send Your assurance with an double-portion-outpouring of Divine Favor upon each who needs encouragement and empowerment to stand steadfast, immovable in the midst of these wicked and evil days! Console and Comfort us to know that we are never alone and never without Your Very Present Help!

Father, we pray that You will touch our brother, touch our sister whose body has been afflicted by sickness and disease, especially the spirit of cancer, kidney disease, heart/lung disease and rebuke and cast it out at the root, for Your Name Sake. Heavenly Father, You are Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever! Therefore, even as You walked this earth healing all who were sick, feeble, lame we know that You’re Well Able to do the same right now! Your Word declares that Your stripes have redeemed and healed us and we’re yet standing on your promises that the prayer of faith shall save the sick and raise them up, In Jesus Name! Amen 3x!

Heavenly Father, we pray according to Your Will, for the leaders of our nation, corporate, judicial, education, financial institutions and our churches! We come against the Spirit of rampant immorality, hatred, corruption, deceitfulness, rhetoric ambiguity, racism, bigotry, pride, arrogance, and human-supremacy! We’re asking that You touch the minds and hearts, that You speak to them in dreams and visions letting them know that You Who Sit Enthroned Above the Heavens are keeping record of the deeds of every man’s heart and will reward accordingly!

Heavenly Father, we bring so many others that we’ve failed to mention before Your throne O God. Those who are broken hearten, feeble in mind, body and spirit, the one at a crossroad of life who have no idea where to go or who to turn to, the ones addicted to harmful substances, our armed forces, policemen, fire and rescue personnel, nurses, doctors, pastors and leaders, missionaries far and near; our leaders of the world. We’re trusting You to send peace where there is confusion, send love where there is hate, send unity where there is division. Bless the fatherless and motherless. Keep us ALL in your care. These favors we ask in Jesus mighty name!!

Father we wait in confidence and quietness, rejoicing in hope and trusting wholly that all workers of iniquity are suddenly trembling in terror and retreating in shameful defeat, because You have heard the voice of our weeping, our supplications and received our prayer as a sweet savor coming up before Your Sovereign Throne of Grace and Mercy!

Abba Father, we stand in agreement with You Who hears ours prayers and forgives our transgressions! Holy Father, because You have chosen to live in Your House, we shout with exceeding Joy unto The Hope of all the earth, believing that as Your face shines upon us, You are making Your Ways and Salvation known among all nations for You Guide and Rule justly!

Father, we thank You NOW, for WE believe that it is done! In The Exalted Name of Jesus. Amen 3X and It Is So!
Now every child of God who is standing in agreement with this prayer, GO TELL SOMEBODY THAT JESUS SAVES!

SELAH!

PAUSE, PONDER, PRAY & PRAIZ!

 

NOT THERE YET!

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NOT THERE YET!

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. Deuteronomy 2:3

 

It’s been a few years ago that Holy Spirit pricked my heart prompting me to ask this question, ‘ARE WE THER YET?’ I’m sure that it caused you to reminisce about the 2005 film starring Nick Persons (Ice Cube) Nia Long and Aleisha Allen!

Sadly, once again many of my fellow kinsmen in Christ find ourselves trapped in this dilemma (whether we’re willing to acknowledge it publicly or even privately)! What am I talking about, NOW? While it gladdens our hearts to acknowledge the tremendous strides that we, as a nation, have taken as it relates to establishing ethnic, gender and social equality in the land of the free, on the other hand, we’re yet haunted by the insidious pink elephant in the room, chanting “We ain’t where we used to be, but we sho ain’t where we ought to be!” Don’ lost half my church, again, huh?

Granted, it’s been the custom of many of our leaders to ascribe to the notion of ‘separation of state and church’, yet, there has been a subtle reformation amongst a few to sneak preach their opposition to those who have, in no uncertain terms, expressed their earnest and impassioned desires to repeal and replace the furtherance of political, legislative, economic, social and religious progressions of the more contemporized inclusive mind-sets of 21st Century millenniums with the more partisan-palatable-self-engrandising traditions of their ancestral culture. Oooh NO SHE DIDN’T! #uknowidid!

Quite honestly, the recent events of the past year and a half,  plainly affirm the vociferous premise, “We ain’t there yet”!  Down thru the years, those of us who have witnessed numerous infractions of the civil and domestic rights, defined by The U.S. Constitution, of every citizen of this nation, have been stupefied, shocked and yes terrified by the attitude and inexpiable restraint of those who consistently choose to ignore the obvious and supplant distractions in an effort to excuse the inexcusable activity that’s been perpetuated upon us DAILY, in live and in living HD coverage!

I must confess, personally,  it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the saved and sane, who sincerely endeavor to obediently follow after the heart of God, to fake stupid and go along just to get along! Some of us actually believed our Grandma and Maya Angelo, “If someone repeatedly shows you who they are, BELIEVE THEM!” #IJS!!!

Life has a way of teaching us two of the greatest deterrents to successfully reaching our goals: contentment and indulgence!  Again, I’m not trying to negate the credibility of The Apostle Paul’s revelation “Not that I speak in respect to want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11) However, I AM simply reverberating the apparent, if we linger here too long, our contentment becomes a comfort zone that potentially diminishes our hope, dreams and drive for reaching better…there! GOD FORBID!

God promised to bring His Chosen people into their good land, flowing with milk and honey! But when they got so comfortable going around Mount Horeb that they were willing to settle for a piece of God’s Promise, this became unacceptable! When do we grow-up into a level of spiritual maturity that exemplifies God’s perspective of righteousness? Not only is partial obedience disobedience, but it also robs Him of the opportunity to fully express His Glory!

Beloved, it’s time out for pointing our fingers at them Israelites and not looking at our own lives to recognize how many times we’ve settled for less than God was offering! Yes, we are not called out to fight as the world, nevertheless, the weapons of our warfare are still mighty thru God! (Ref. 2 Chronicles 7:14) BUT! When we get thru praying that effectual fervent prayer of the righteous that availeth much, we get up and vote, show up at the city council, town hall, school board, PTA and home-owners association meetings!

I dare U shout on dat?

Please hear my heart, Precious One, God said, “It’s time to head northward! Shake the dust of compromise off your feet and getta steppin—FORWARD”!

Let’s lift up our heads! Remember, “…the race is not given to the swift neither to the strong, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”Matthew 24:13!

Nawh, we might not be there yet, BUT…GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN US THAN HE THAT’S IN THIS WORLD! Let the Spirit of Caleb rise up in you, exhale the spirit of doubt and fear and trust GOD 2 PREVAIL THRU UR FAITH AND FEET!

ARE YOU ‘THERE’ YET? SERIOUSLY?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

This is Ann Caffee and I pledge my allegiance to The Gospel!

 

UP & AT ‘EM!

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up-at-em

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Proverbs 24:16

 

LIES! LIES! AND MORE LIES!

Isn’t is jus annoying?  I mean, the constant bombarding of your mind with those pesty intimidating thoughts, strategically designated to taint your perspective and sabotage your peace. Unfortunately, sometimes, the video has been playing in our minds for so long, we just might get confused and start to believe that it’s prophetic, huh? Satan, aka da devil, knows fully well that he has absolutely no power to stop what God has planned for your future, yet, he’s determined to strip us of the Hope and Joy of our Salvation!

However, regardless of his deceptive tactics, Saints we must know that Satan is NOT God!

Since his first encounter with our foreparents, Adam and Eve, he’s become quite adept in manipulating our thoughts causing us to question the Faithfulness of God! How? Well, one of his favorite methods is using our Memories to provoke guilt, shame and self-unworthiness! You do know he’s been studying you from the moment you showed up in the earth, right?

Ever notice how the devil keeps bringing up your past mistakes and failures, reminding you of what you did and accusing you about what you should’ve done and didn’t? Oh Yeah!  He is the Accuser of the bretheren. (Ref. Revelation 12:10) Well, this morning I was reminded of something I heard many years ago ‘When the devil starts messing with your mind about your past, just remind him of his future!’

My Precious ones, we don’t have to tuck tail and squirm away in condemnation, as if that’s the end of our story. We can remind the devil that what happened back then was just a chapter setting me up for future episodes of coming attractions!  Remember, The Bible does say, let the redeedmed of the lord, tell their story!

You have been authorized to speak The Word of God with a holy boldness fueled by  confident assurance! You know, like James Brown, ‘SAY It loud! Say it proud! I don’t care whether the fat lady sanngs or not;  for the Blood-Washed Child of The Living God…Failure ain’t Final! In fact, tell ’em,  “I AM the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! I’m not in this thing by myself!  AND when I do stumble and fall, The GOD in Me enables me to fall forward, get back up and keep on moving into my destiny and God’s Purpose! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)

Beloved, take a stand! Let the devil know, ‘I am fully persuaded that whatever you’re planning to trip me up, give it your best shot, just like it didn’t work the last time, it won’t work this time either.(Ref. Isaiah 54:17)

If you really wanna shut his mouth, let ’em know that you know…“My God has ggggrrreeeaaaatt plans for me, for good and not for evil, and He swore by God-self, to bring me into an amazingly glorious future! And remember all that stuff you keep reminding me of, it’s covered, blotted out by the BLOOD!! I know it ain’t fair, it’s called‘favor’! (Ref. Jeremiah 29:11)

Now seal the deal! “One more thing, You Lyin’ Devil, I peeped the back of the Book, and the TRUTH is it ain’t looking that good for you! In the end, we win and you’re still a loser!

#BAMM! #shutdafrontdoor! Didjaheardat?  HOPE SO! UP & AT ‘EM!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

AFTER THIS, LOOK 4 THE GLORRAAA!

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

“And said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said. There is nothing. And he said, go up again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, go up, say unto Ahab. Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”(1 Kings 18:43-45)

 

It’s one thing to say that we trust God, but it’s how we endure the proving time that determines the genuineness of our trust!

Life inevitably includes interludes of pesty impositions I call ‘the dark times’! Like unexpected uninvited guest, trouble has a way of poppin in and staying way longer than we’d prefer! And to make matters more unsettling, it’s during these seasons that we’re most likely to experience times when all evidence to substantiate that God is still with you and any sign indicating that He’s even listening to your prayers is essentially non-existent!

Knowing personally, it’s not easy watching our children’s lives being ravished by sickness and their youthful dreams and ambitions dissipated by helpless hopelessness. But this is where the clichés that we so impressively sprout off to others are proven to be real or Memorex! Yet, it’s in the midst of the storms that God reveals His Best Handy Work! Who could’ve ever imagined that in spite of the dire forecast, The Son yet shines, leading and drawing us closer to Himself! Clearly, He’s determined, through any means necessary, to prove unequivocally that everything that the devil meant for evil, God can turn it around and make it work in our favor! (Ref. Romans 8:28)

Oh My! How my soul rejoiced that day, hearing that my son had given his life to The Lord during a bible study class the evening before! Little did I know that God would use this storm to woo him into seeking Him for himself positioning him for the miraculous showers of blessings that would follow! And most certainly, I never imagined as I was praying that God would stretch my faith and increase my knowledge of His Wisdom and Power, that I’d have to bury a son to experience a whole new level of God’s Sustaining Super-Grace!

The Prophet Elijah teaches his young protégé that even when we can’t see no way to escape the threat of emminent destruction, we can yet trust God’s Heart and His Hands. God’s vision is far greater than 20/20. It’s from eternity past to eternity future! God watches guardingly over us thru The Blood stained eyes of Jesus. And through confident trust and quiet patience we discover God’s Faithfulness!

Today, you may find yourself plagued by all manner of maladies. Many of God’s people being wounded and worn out by the insidious attacks of the enemies of God are losing hope for life getting any better. But remember, anything is possible with God! Troubles have a predesignated date of expiration; yet our prayers are eternal.

As people of Hope, instead of surrendering to the pressures of circumstantial evidence, we pray; committing ourselves and our circumstances to our Omnipotent, Omniscient Omnipresent Savior and Lord! Relying wholeheartedly upon His Love and the All-Sufficiency of His Grace to sustain and deliver us! As we pray, God intervenes in His designated timing, turning everything the devil meant for evil—for our greatest good and His Highest Glory! (Ref. 1 Chronicles 7:14)

Don’t allow the present darkness to deceive you. Could God be using the clouds to shield you from your enemies view, aligning you up for an unexpected miracle? (Ref. Exodus 13:21) I know it’s been a loonnnggg night, but don’t give up! They tell me, the darkest hour is just before the breaking of a new day.

Go take another look! See that? AFTER THIS, LOOK FOR THE GLORRAA!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THE NIGHT SHIFT!

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the-night-shift

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:4

 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.  Genesis 28:15 ESV

 

Whether you’ve been walking with Jesus for a long time or just recently made your decision to follow Christ, none of us are excluded from faith’s stresses, test and trials! If you don’t have a clue about what I’m talking about, may I draw from dem ol’ skool Mothers’ terminology, “Baby, jus keep getting up in the mornin’ and going to bed at night, sooner or later you will encounter a season in your life when you’ll feel as though God has left you in the valley of the shadows of death to fend for yourself!”

I understand that this kinda theology may seem a bit strange, (not to mention unbiblical, after all we live in the Dispensation of Grace) to some Millenniums who’ve been spoon fed Gospel-Lite-Prosperity pablum prepared by the more sophisticated-socially-acceptable-all-ingratiating-all-inclusive preachers! But check The Book, it’s still in there! “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” 1 Peter 4:12

Yet! When you’re forced to trample through the turbulence terrains of this life, know, that your Heavenly Father is not a dead-beat absentee Father. God has left His Eternal Word as a Light to the 21st Century Saints! Hence, The Word of God is still well able to comfort, strengthen and encourage those who seek Him!

Precious ones, perhaps, at this reading, you find yourself smack-dab-in-the-middle of a loooonnnnggg night of overwhelming fear and anxiety,  yet Truth remains! Even when you’re unable  to trace God’s Face or feel His Hand, trust His Heart!

Sometimes, we’re so focused on the trauma of the moment that we forget that we have a real enemy who delights in secretly launching attacks against God’s elect, under the cloak of darkness with his diabolical wiles, strategically aimed to diminish your confidence and trust in God!  Nevertheless,  don’t fall for the okey-doke…Satan ain’t running nothing! Your God is Sovereignly watching over you 24/7! He never naps! Day and night are the same to Him! Every step you take is Divinely-ordered by The Lord! He’s already gone before you preparing designated rest areas along the road to revive and re-energize our spirit and soul! #Didjaheardat? IT’S TRUE!

Beloved, when it seems as if everything is falling apart, Holy Spirit says, ‘It’s falling right in place’! Abba Father is weaving each piece of your life together for your greatest good and His Highest Glory! And at the appointed time, He will flip it over to display His Magnificent Masterpiece! (Ref. Romans 8:28)

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2

Like Jacob, as we continue our pilgrimage through the gross darkness of this fallen world en route to the celestial city, we may all proclaim of our Savior “The God that led me all my life long” works THE NIGHT SHIFT!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee