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DEMAND & SUPPLY

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SELAH Daily Devotions!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Matthew 7:7)

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6)

While there are undoubtedly many attributes that can rightly be ascribed to our Lord and Savior, may I submit to you that there’s one that is often neglected—Jesus The Master Economist! Jesus specializes in managing the world to ensure that nothing’s wasted, missing or lacking. Every Word that He speaks never returns to Him void but completes the very intent to which it is sent! (Ref. Isaiah 55:11)

Jesus is intentional! Jesus was commissioned to come into this earth by His Heavenly Father for a specific purpose; the expansion of The Kingdom of God in the earth. Strangely, though He chose to accomplish this seemingly impossible task by releasing the Seed of Potential into the hearts of His elect, thereby expanding the faith of humanity! “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives.” John 12:24 NLT

The Master Carpenter has a habit of setting you up in custom-designed circumstances to stretch your faith. I believe that anyone of Jesus’ disciples would readily testify how Jesus was constantly pulling them outside of their comfort zone. Remember that day when Jesus was preaching out in the desert to about 20 thousand folk, and suddenly turned to them nonchalantly saying, ‘Ok, it’s getting late so let’s feed the people”. (Ref. Luke 9:16) Can you imagine them looking at one another shocked, confused and wondering which one of them had pre-ordered a banquet lunch before they left town?

And what about that widow of Zarepheth, finding herself hopelessly trapped in a desperate situation, resolved to fix this last meal for herself and her son—and diewhen suddenly interrupted by Elijah The Prophet, who insisted that she make him a pancake first! Yet, the scriptures tell us that her faithful obedience released an unexpected miracle that not only sustained her and her household but outlasted the famine! (Ref. 1 Kings 17:7-16)

Guess what, He’s still doing it today!

I know, we’ve all heard preachers preach (and it’s biblically correct) that God doesn’t put more on you than you can bear; however, we can’t deny thatsometimesssss, Jesus will ask us to do things that are way beyond our personal realm of possibility, comprehension and ability! Amen??? What we must come to realize is that we’re beckoned to these challenging predicaments, not to diminish us but to grow us! While uncomfortable to our flesh, they are God-ordained opportunities to experience the Supernatural Encompassing Sufficiency of God’s Presence, Power and Providential Care!

Beloved, Jesus invites you into these holy moments to prove that His Strength is made perfect in our weaknesses! (Ref. 2 Corinthians 12:9)

It behooves us to stop focusing on what you don’t have (deficiency) and set your attention towards WHO you do have, huh? If you will give God your trust, even if it’s no greater than a mustard seed, He will always exceed your expectations!#ijs

Sooooo, what’s going on in your life now, that’s too hard for you and Jesus to handle?

REMEMBER, ANY PROBLEM + JESUS = VICTORY! DEMAND & SUPPLY!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THE 1st RESPONDER!

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the-1st-responder2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. ” Isaiah 43:2

” lo am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:20b

 

Certain things just kinda stick out at you! Like, where you were and what you were doing on Tuesday, September 11, 2001?

If you were anywhere in the United States, you were probably sitting somewhere stunned and paralyzed, eyes glued to a TV screen at images that are now indelibly entrenched in your psyche! Some of us initially were just trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Were our eyes betraying our thoughts or was this simply another advertising stunt vying for publicity?

But, as we listened intensively to the broadcaster’s pronouncement, our inquisitively quickly gave way to awe, fear and helplessness! Millions of us sat immobilized by not knowing where or when the next strike would hit. We watched masses of people running terrified away from buildings, aimlessly through the streets in an effort to escape the billowing clouds of gas-filled smoke and the menacing threat of flying glass and debris. The sense of security and the superfluous naivety of an Invincible America tragically came falling down right before our eyes, shattered live and in color!

Just as the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust, tragedy and trouble are neither biased nor prejudice! Except you be some sadistic masochist, most of us are intrinsically wired to avoid pain. Perhaps, that’s why some of us might’ve secretly questioned the wisdom of those ‘first responders’. Nevertheless, we honor the courageous men and women who waived the threat of death in lieu of the prospect of rescuing the survivors and ran boldly into the face of catastrophe!

Perchance, that’s what makes GOD so appealing to that desperately lonely wayfaring stranger, crying out to The Heavenly Father, “Lord, save me!”

Today’s scripture assures us that our Savior, Jesus, doesn’t sit uncaringly aloof, watching us meandering our way through life’s tumultuous terrain, endlessly giving way to hopelessness and despair. But so Gracious is our God, who Lovingly leans toward us, tenderly guarding and guiding us safely through overwhelming floodwaters of seemingly unconquerable test and trials!

May this note serve as a constant reminder, that whenever we find ourselves surrounded, constrained by dire circumstances, in the claws of the temptation to give up and tap out on life, may those of us who have made a personal decision to surrender our lives to The Lordship of Christ, find consolation, encouragement and confidence by faith, to look up–for our Redemption is Always near!

Jesus, The First Responder!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

BACK 2 THE FUTURE

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BACK2 DA FUTURE2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls, But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16

 

Okay! I gotta confess, our family might be a bit eccentric! But, c’mon, ever met anyone’s clan who wasn’t, huh?  YEAH, RIGHT! 

One of the personal proclivities of our household is the weekly (or daily for the patriarch) excursions to every thrift store within a 20 mile radius of our home. Overtime, the quest to recruit followers has been somewhat successful, amongst the older members of the family. However, the considerable efforts to pass down this soul rewarding heritage to future generations, have most often been met with extreme resistance! Obviously, the young’ns have yet to developed the palate necessary to distinguish (#appreciatethevalue) old from vintage!

Hence, may I submit for your consideration, that these same sentiments can  perhaps be attributed, spiritually, to the world at large! Don’t shout me down, now? Seriously! Given the spirit of this 21st Century Age of comtemporarized, unconventional, ambiguity, tolerance and self-motivated righteousness, apparently there’s little need and even less desire to conform to the irrelevant, antiquated dictatorship of The Holy Bible! After all, look what we’ve already done! Jus check out the mind-blowing accomplishments that we’ve attained just in the past 100 years, right?

To be honest, in a high-tech synthetic world of rockets, jets, cruiseliners, skycrapers and paved roadways, voice activated iphones and ipads…one might easily get caught up in a world where nature is generally overlooked! It’s no wonder that we tend to ignore The Creator and glorify creation! I mean, it’s kinda foolish to serve a God that you can’t even explain, when our sophisticated intellectual contemporary world appears to offer every kind of solutions to any problems that we face, right?

I’m sure you know by now that there’s always going to be plenty of folk around you who will tell you that ‘all you gotta do’ is keep on trying; pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and remember you da man 2 make it happen, right? But as good as that sounds, what do you do when you ain’t got no boots?

Life has a way of suddenly intruding upon, unannounced and uninvited, and dismantling the perfect 5-year plan that we’ve conjured up, leaving you at the crossroads of clueless, helpless and worse yet hopeless as how to recover and reconnect the broken pieces! It’s  usually at this point, that our Heavenly Father, reaches down into the pits of our vanity and depravity and draws us into a personal encounter with the Creator of Life, Love, Faith for Peace and Joy! It’s in this state that we discover that the true meaning and purpose for our being is to praise and glorify HIM!

As Holy Spirit begins to reveal Godself to you through The Word and intimate communion (prayer) the eyes of your understanding is enlighten and you recognize that the path for right living has already been marked out by God before the foundation of the world!

Unfortunately, even today, so few will choose to leave the glitz and glamour of the wide road, going their own way, and venture off to the old narrow pathways to follow in the footsteps of The OneTrue Shepherd! Those who have lost (or were never privvy to) God’s Perspective of their lives, tend to minimize the benefits of being set apart to manifest the Glory of God’s Mercy and Grace to a people living in a world filled with the emptiness of gross darkness, lost yet consumed with persuing a hell-bound life of eternal devastation and destruction!

Everyday, we’re forced to make numerous decisions, however there’re those which have eternal consequences. Are you going to choose the old ways (God’s) or will you continue forging on new paths of your own way?

Don’t get it twisted, JESUS is STILL the ONLY WAY LEADING TO PEACE AND REST FOR YOUR SOUL! #BACK2DAFUTURE!!!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

GOD REMEMBERS!

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GOD REMEMBERS2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation. Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:2-3

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isa. 49:16

 

In light of the prevailing gross darkness, devastation and desolation taking place in our world today, I was incited to review the words of God’s Prophet, Isaiah, speaking to the remnant of God’s Chosen nation.

God’s people were facing eminent danger of massive destruction, yet we hear Isaiah offering a word of warning and hope that we’d do well to glean from today. The Prophet encourages them that no matter what’s happening around you, don’t be afraid, but keep trusting and praising our God! Isaiah, knowing God inhabits the praises of His people, speaks to souls wearied by the consequences of unwise choices and reminds them that their only hope of deliverance was to remain steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of their Lord! (Ref. 1 Corinthians 15:58)

God is Holy, Righteous and Just! While He must punish the unjust, His Anger does not last forever! Unlike many of our earthly fathers, YAH is our Covenant-keeping God and remains a Faithful Father, Saving Strength, Shield, Provider and Redeemer to all who call upon Him! From His own Mouth, Abba Father promises to wipe away the tears from their faces and keep you in perfect peace because we trust in Him! (Ref. Isaiah 25:8, 26:3-4)

Beloved, when life is out of your control, rest assured, Jesus is always in control! The Eternal Word testifies that you are the apple of His eye and He has tatooed your name in the palm of His Hands forever. (Ref. Psalm 17:8; Isa. 49:16)

In the midst of these unsettling times,  there’s no denying the myriad of distractions that are attempting to cause even the most seasoned of saints to question whether or not The Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of All Life is really concerned about what’s going on down here amongst the gross darkness of a lost, unfaithful and rebellious world,  nevertheless, I adjourn you to keep your eyes on Jesus, The Joy of your Salvation and your feet steadfast on THE WORD! Be confident of this very thing, He that has begun a GOOD WORK IS FAITHFUL TO COMPLETE IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST! (Ref. Philippians 1:6)

Precious ones, when you can’t see no way, why not confuse hell and praiz JESUS anyhow! Don’tchaknow? At the mere mentioning of THE NAME OF JESUS demons tremble and the angelic host is put on alert!

Ooooh Yeah!  TRUST2KNO, The Great and Holy One of Israel is closer than ever before! Hence, don’t ever forget that YOUR GOD REMEMBERS!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

GOTCHA!

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GOTCHA

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiced; and with my song will I praise Him. The Lord is their strength and He is the Saving Strength of His Anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance; feed them also, and lift them up forever. Psalm 28:7-9

 

Remember that song that the Sunshine Choir sang, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands”? In a world full of constant drama, it’s comforting to know God is in control, huh? Yet, sometimes on this journey called life, we’ve all experienced those times when knowing that He’s got the world in His Hands can ring a little bit hollow. I mean no disrespect to The Most High God, but sometimes, we need to bring God a little closer. That’s exactly why He sent His Son Jesus!

God, knowing the frailty of our human frame, understands that sometimes we need to experience His Personal Touch. Oh Yeah, we know God’s got His hands pretty full maintaining all of creation, but His Hands are so big that there’s always plenty of room left for us! Keep this in mind, even when it seems like you’re living on the edge, He’s yet able to keep you from falling. (Ref. Jude 1:24)

Our Heavenly Father asked the Prophet Isaiah,‘can a mother forget her suckling child?’ Well even if she does, God wanted His children to know that He can’t ever forget you; you’re forever before His eyes. He’s even engraved your picture on the palms of His Hands! (Ref. Isaiah 49:15-16) #didjaheardat?

Wow, what a friend we have in Jesus! The scriptures, confirm that Jesus is that friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is so devoted and committed to uphold us in all of our ways. Seriously! There is absolutely no thing or no one who could ever pluck you out of His Hands! He swore by GODSELF!  “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself” Hebrews 6:13

If you’re in His Hands today, relax. Trust2Kno, You’re in the safest place in this world! Trust The Love that won’t ever let go! Rest assured…He’s Gotcha!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

INSIDER ADVANTAGE!

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INSIDER ADVANTAGE 2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

 
“The rich get richer and the poor get poorer!” Ever heard that ol’ addage? I was thinking about the Wall Street moguls, sitting in penthouse corner offices, puffing on expensive cigars, bellowing out orders to their subordinates, (who’re most likely in some crowded rooms filled with discarded ticket tapes with the I-Phones glued to their faces) ‘Buy low; sell high’! ‘Buy now; sell it now’! We’ve seen Hollywood’s behind the scenes depictions of the ‘the powers that be’ conducting transactions that keep the big ballers on top and the rest of us clamoring to make ends meet!

Down thru the years, we’ve watched the rising and collapse of major financial institutions, heard stories of CEO’s jumping out of windows at the threat of bankrupty, the accusations and a few convictions of corporate corruption as a means to topple their competitors to gain or maintain ‘top dog’ recognition and witnessed the slander of whistle-blowers who dared to expose the tyranny of boardroom shenanigans all in the name of capitalism!

As you’ve probably determined, having no personal knowledge, experience nor a financial portfolio, I can only assume that there’s a whole lot of insider information involved that the rest of us are generally not privy to.

However, I do know a thing or two about Kingdom Economics! I know that God can do big things in tight places! How do I know, I’ve seen Him do it! I’ve seen Grand-Ma take a pound of chicken livers, mix it with a couple cups of rice, bake a pan of biscuits and turn it into feast to feed a family of fourteen! I’ve seen Mama mete out the equivolent of a two week paycheck over a month of expenses! I experienced the Hand of God drawing a spiritually drought, emotionally-hopelessly distraught, physically battered, single Mom into the Fountain of Life-giving Love, transforming her entire being in unimaginable ways from the inside out!
Oh don’t get it twisted! This was (is) not a one-and-done fix! But by the ever-increasing empowering Grace, we learn to lean and depend on the in-dwelling Presence of Holy Spirit. Who knu?

God is so determined to confound the wisdom of this world that He chooses those least likelys to be reflectors of His Glory! The greatest thing about the process, is that God is the One who begins and completes the work! Talk about guaranteed success, huh?

Ain’tdatamazing? Our Heavenly Father, already knew the frail-fickled-flaws of our flesh, yet before the foundation of the world, stragetically implemented His Plan to reconcile and restore those created in His image back unto God-Self through The Sacraficial Atoning Blood of His Son, Jesus! Now, God’s Spirit living on the inside of us enables us to live everyday shining His Light in the midst of the gross darkness of this world! That’s the Gospel of Salvation! WOW!

Sometimes, looking at ourselves and the surmounting circumstantial evidence, it’s easy to believe that your spiritual maturity is in the red and become discouraged, huh? BUT don’t give up! Remember, ‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ 1 John 4:4) Hence, God will never give up on you until He sees Jesus’ image in you!

Jus knowing that God loves you ‘despite of-just-because’ should make u grab hold to the Hope of His Divine Help and His Healing Presence, in confident humility and grateful obedience—until He completes His Work in you! #ijs #INSIDE ADVANTAGE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

SILENT PRAIZ!

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SILENT PRAIZ 2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.” Psalm 65:1-2

 

Being Pentecostal, born and bred, means that I am accustomed, and I might add, a willing participant, to exuberant praise and worship. So can you imagine my surprise, to discover that God-Honored Adoration is not necessarily limited to loud singing, hand-clappin’, foot-stomppin, shoutin’ and dancing to drum thumping, key-board tickling, guitar pick’n tunes escalating His Glory!

Who nu? There is a high praise in God, where the weary souls, thirsty and hungry for an escape from the chaos and confusion of this world’s clamor, finding rest, peace, security, strength and hope, fall prostrate into HIS PRESENCE!

There’s a secret place, a Cleft hued out in The Impregnable Rock of Salvation, where mere words are no longer necessary, and sighs are welcomed, giving way to hope-filled silence, birthing unspoken-bellows of acceptable obedient prayers and God-Centered Praise and Worship!

There is an epiphany where we all must ascribe to reach in God, where we practice appreciation and respect for HIM by disciplining ourselves, focusing our minds and making a conscious decision that regardless of my circumstances, I’m going to Bless God—not just for all of His Goodness to me—BUT for WHO HE IS!

In this lofty estate, time spent waiting on The Lord is no longer full of anxious frustration, but quiet peaceful resting in child-like confident anticipation, trusting that you’re being kept safely, far from your conspirators’ reach, hidden in The Glory of His WONDEROUS PRESENCE.

As God’s Chosen, you’re surrounded by a Fortress, the Builder and Maker is The Creator of The Universe, where we can breathe easily, waiting patiently, for as long as HE says,  fully assured that everything we will ever need and hope for comes from HIM—JESUS!

#DIDJAHEARDAT? The Holy Spirit is calling! Be still, in that Peace-Filled-Knowing that all of your Help and Hope of Glory abides in The All-Powerful God,  EL SHADDAI…your GOD! SILENT PRAISE! #WOW #AWEMAAZIN, huh?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THURSDAYS’ PRAYERS

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PRAYN AND FASTING PIC

SELAH Daily Devotions! Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

GOOD MORNING FAMILY! GOTTA MOMENT?
Once again, we encourage you to join with us today in our Weekly Day of Corporate Prayer and Fasting between 6 a.m. – 3 p.m. Those of you who YET believe that Jesus is our Great High Priest, seated at the right hand of The Father, interceding on our behalf, let’s go in together, k?

 

BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME! BY THE GRACE OF OUR GOD, AS WE EMBRACE THE BREAKING FORTH OF A NEW DAY WITH JOY-FILLED HOPE, LET EVERYTHING THAT HATH BREATH GIVE HIM PRAISE! OOOHHH SWEET WONDER! OH SWEET WONDER,! JESUS, THE SON OF GOD! OOOHHH SWEET WONDER! OH SWEET WONDER, JESUS! THE SON OF GOD!
Our Father and our God, Who Reigns Forever, above the heavens and over all of Creation, we come boldly yet exceedingly grateful for this honor and privilege to offer up our prayers of petition, supplication with thanksgiving to The Only True Lord in The Precious Name of Jesus!

We’re immediately struck by Your Awesomeness and Your Wondrous Benevolence that you continuously show towards us all day, every day! Your Mercy and Lovingkindness testifies of Your tenderness to both those who confess You as Savior and Lord, and also to those who have yet to acknowledge Your Faithfulness and Righteousness to all of humankind! You alone are Worthy of The Highest Praise! Hallelujuah!

We take comfort and courage in Your Eternal Truth, THAT POWER BELONGS TO GOD! Therefore, as we place our personal trust in you, we’re confident that despite of the chaos that exists in this fallen world, our feet shall not BE MOVED! For our hope is in Your Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence and the Immutable Word that has been spoken before the foundation of the World!

We bless the day that You pierced our stony hearts, opened our blind eyes allowing us to see Your Glory in the Face of our Redeemer, Your First-Begotten Son, Jesus Christ! We praise You Heavenly Father for loving us beyond our desperately wicked sin-sick souls, so much so that You sent Jesus to sacrifice Himself to atone for the sins that we did that we might become your sons and daughters!

We humbly bow in obedience as our only reasonable response to such Great a Salvation, asking that You deliver us from temptation and keep us in the safety of Your Holy Will. For we recognize that our justification, our sanctification is rooted in Your Love and Your Power at work to, in and thru these vessels of clay!

Abba Father, we rejoice with unspeakable joy that our faith is built on nothing less than the Victorious Sacrificial Blood of Jesus that was poured out on The Cross at Calvary! And according to Your Word, The Blood Yet Prevails!

We pray that today it will reach down into the valley of desolation, despair, grief, hopelessness, sickness and disease, and lift up that unbeliever who is outside of The Arc of Your Covenant bound by their sin, destined for eternal destruction and draw them into a personal relationship with The God of All Salvation and Comfort. We ask that the eyes of their understanding be enlighted and that their hearts be filled with an everlasting YES LORD that the Word of God will have full access to every facet of their being, that they be forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteous! We’re believing that Holy Spirit will guide them to the local church where they may be taught and trained in the ways of Holiness that they may be empowered to walkout each day in the way that is pleasing in Your sight!

Abba Father, we pray that the called out, chosen of God who are struggling to endure the challenges, tests and trials of co-existing in this fallen sin-lusing era, be strengthened, encouraged and renewed day by day by The Resurrection Power of Holy Ghost, that we might be A Light of Hope and a living witness to Your Faithful commitment to those who call upon THE ONLY Name given to save any man,The Excellent Name of Jesus!

Heavenly Father, we ask that You keep us close, hidden under Your Wings, for You are our Refuge where we rest in peace, admidst the turbulent times that we’re forced to contend with because of the rebellious nature of those who cleave to the dictates of unregenerated minds and degenerative desires of sin-lusting flesh, bent on perverting the truth of God and following the terminal dictates of Satan, the Liar and Deceiver.

We pray for the leaders in government, corporate, financial, health, and education institutions, communities and churches that they will be truly convicted and converted to rule justly, walk upright, and stand firmly on The Holy Bible, and not be bribed by fame, wealth, influence and power of this world, but be filled with the Love of Christ, to exemplify Righteousness in all of their affairs!

Lord, we’re grateful that when we run out of words,You Listen to the groanings of our hearts and grant unto us those things that You in wisdom, know what’s best for our highest good and Your Greatest Glory!

We are trusting and believing that it is so, in Jesus Name! Amen 3x!

LET GOD BE GOD!

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LET GOD BE GOD

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19

And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen 1 Peter 5:10-11
‘He’s got the whole world, in His Hands! He’s got the whole wide world, in His Hands! He’s got the whole world, in His Hands! He got the whole world in His Hands!’

WOW! I’m good with that; for about the first 22 seconds of consciousness! Then I realize that I’m awake! Opening my eyes, immediately hell’s hounds pounce onto my thoughts filling them with the residue of yesterday’s drama, failures, guilt, shame; which gives way to loneliness, dispair, taunting fears and ravaging accusations! Puff! There goes my  joy, hope and confidence.  Oh, don’t get your knickers twisted! I’m talking about me, yall!!!

Oh Yeah! It’s easy to quote the scriptures and sing the songs when life is beautiful, all is well, the air is filled with the sweetness of His Wonder Working Power. The problem is, life is not always bliss because we’re still living in a fallen world! I don’t care how long you’ve been walking in da way, trusting God in times of tests and tragedy is trying, huh?

One of the most difficult things I’ve ever been asked to do, is absolutely nothing! It’s kinda like asking your child to sit for five minutes without saying a single word? Obviously, stillness is not one of our more dominating genetic traits.

Particularly, when it comes to waiting on God’s answer in what we perceive as  ‘time-sensitive’ issues. Unfortunately, the art of stillness doesn’t always get better with age. Quiet as it’s kept, even the more seasoned of saints find ourselves boppin up and down in a faith dance every now and then. Oh, we start off fired-up, after all ‘We know God is able to do all things’. That is, until He doesn’t do what we’re expecting—when we expect it!

What happens after you’ve been faithful to follow (as best as you can) all that God has required of us, and yet find yourself backed up against a stonewall, surrounded by situations that are hell bent on taking you out? What can you do when the realities of your circumstances collide with His Promises and the suffering and the pain are screaming ‘this will never end’? Apparently, the only thing God expects any of us to do is trust Him to be God!

Seriously? Absolutely! The same God who created the entire world, faithfully ordered, maintained and sustained everything since it’s beginning, is He not also capable of taking care of anything that’s happening in your life? Duuhhhh! The last time you breathed, ought to tell you God’s Still Reigns, huh?

However, He’s such a gentle Savior! He never forces Himself into situations uninvited. However, the moment we let IT go, releasing and casting the care of the circumstances into His Almighty Hands, entrusting Him to make everything work together for our greatest good and His Highest Glory, His Incomprehensible Peace comes in; flooding our hearts, overwhelming the burdens of fear, doubt, anxiety and hopelessness!

As we acknowledge The Inseparable richness of His Lovingkindness and Compassion towards us, suddenly, His Amazing Grace begins to restore quiet rest and ernest expectations to our po-wearied soul!

BE still, and know that I AM GOD; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10

I know, feels strange, huh? I’m not saying it’s easy, but I’m a living witness,  IT IS POSSIBLE! Hey, don’t knock it until you try it!

Take a couple of days off, from running your world, k? Pray and wait for God’s answer! HENCE, LET GOD BE GOD 2 & 4 U!

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