Tag Archives: perserverance

THE MORNING AFTER!

Leave a reply

THE MORNING AFTER

SELAH Daily Devotions!

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

STAND YOUR GROUND!

1 Reply

STAND UR GROUND 2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:11-13

Once again, The Apostle Paul finds himself in a life-threatening situation, being unjustly accused by his former peers the Sadducees and the Pharisees, who now hold him in great contempt. Their hatred for Paul was so intense that they persisted, relentlessly, for several years to discredit and ultimately take his life. Regardless of how many times God frustrated their schemes, they were committed to his destruction. Kind of reminds me of the Devil, huh? And frightenly similar to the way some of the nation treated our President Barak Obama!

However, Paul’s accusers failed to recognize that Paul was a man on a mission for God! Since his Damascus Road conversion, the newly ordained Apostle had become so in tuned with the purposes of God that he refused to allow external circumstances to determine internal perseverance. Paul had discovered the secret of drawing on Christ’s power for strength rather than trusting in his own ability! Paul’s revelation that Jesus Is Lord, therefore in control of everything, gave him the fortitude to persevere in the midst of persecution, confident that none of these things will move me! (Ref. Acts 20:24)

In this day of 21st Century Christianity many of God’s people have been dupped by hefty doses of the more contemporized “Gospel Lite Theology”! Hence, in their minds, once you surrender your life to Christ, everyday is gonna be a tip-toe thru the tulips awaiting the Trumpet sound when they’ll be transported to the Pearly Gates of The Celesterial City. Unfortunately, real-life does not remotely resemble Hollywood’s version. Being a Christian does not promise we won’t experience test, trials and even tragedies. However, it does mean that God will be with us thru every single  challenge that we’ll ever face!

As we walk with The Good Shepherd, maintaing a consistent gratitude for what God has already done, a  hopeful expectation for the future and relying solely upon the All Encompassing Sufficiency of God’s Grace, we’ll learn to remain steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the Faithfulness of God’s Love! (Ref. 1 Corinthians 15:58)

I don’t care what’s or who’s threatenng to destroy your peace today arm yourself with the same Spirit of Faith that motivated, not only The Apostle Paul but our Ultimate Role Model of a man on a mission, The Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, by the way don’t worry about threatening demonic forces who try to take you out, remember who created the bow and the archer! #ijs (Ref. Isaiah 54:16-17)

BELOVED, GOD HAS PERSONALLY POSITIONED YOU TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD! STAND YOUR GROUND AND SHINE ON! 

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

B HAPPY…IN JESUS!!!

1 Reply

B HAPPY IN JESUS 2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

 

Many of us who have heard the 1988’s hit song, ‘Don’t Worry; Be Happy!’, written by Bobby McFerrin, remember that while it topped the charts in America’s Pop Music Culture, the song also came under the scrutiny of critics who felt that the lyrics were promoting a philosophy of denial to escape our unpleasant reality.

As Christians, we should be accustomed to the backlash often associated with our belief in the reality of The Invisible God!  Yet, when confronted by opposing views, we must remind ourselves that The Supreme One is always in control of every aspect of our being, and has promised to supply everything that we need to live abundantly in this present world! (2nd Peter 1:3)

Don’t get it twisted. We, the Body of Christ, are not denying the reality that we’re living in turbulent times. All over this world, people  are being inundated by the cataclysmic convulsions of the systems of this world causing epic fear, frustration and panic. We are certainly not suggesting that we’re to stick our heads in the sand and act as if we can mystically dismiss  what’s right before our eyes! Not at all, we’re still on earth, not Heaven!

However, what I am purporting is that because we know Truth, we confidently expect that someway–somehow you’re going to persevere  thru the tumultuous state of human affairs and  when you come out, you’re not gonna look like what you’ve been through! Remember, Goshen? (Ref. Exodus 9:26)

Today’s scripture reference reminds us how The Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Master of our destiny takes care of the wildflowers who never spend a dime or a moment of time worrying and working, shopping and primping, and yet they’re fashionably arrayed such that would put the Parisian Designers to shame!

Unlike those who don’t know God as The Source of their life, health and strength, our personal faith history allows us to maintain a stance of  unwavering confidence!  As joint-heirs to The Kingdom of Heaven,  we don’t have to be so preoccupied and traumatized by what we’re going to eat or drink, how we’re going to keep a roof over our heads, how we’re going to pay our bills, that we lose focus on that we do know!  

Walking with our Shepherd, we’ve learned that reliance on His Faithfulness allows us to press courageously through any adversity, resting assured that the same God who delivered us in the past is the same God now—and is yet well able to carry us through this into our future victory again, and again!

Beloved, if God takes care of the birds of the air and flowers of the field, how much more will He provide for those created in His Own Image, huh? While sometimes  it seems as if the world is falling apart, remember, absolutely nothing happens except God allows! Fear not, little children! You’re never outside of God’s sight nor His reach. Our lives are hidden in Jesus and we’re sheltered under the Shadow of His Almighty Wings!  (Ref. Hebrews 13:5)

GOD’S GOTCHA! #didjaheardat?

SO? RELAX, DON’T WORRY ABOUT A THANG! BE HAPPY…IN JESUS!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

WAITING 4 HOPE!

Leave a reply

WAITING 4 HOPE!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

STAY IN TOUCH!

Leave a reply

STAY IN TOUCH

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live….And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole….But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.” Matthew 9:18, 20-21, 25

Sometimes, what you know doesn’t always get you where you want to go! Perhaps that’s why there’s so much emphasis placed on social networking today. You’d probably be amazed at how quickly certain doors that were once off-limits to you could now be opened to you, if you have the right connections, huh?

As it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual, huh? According to today’s scripture text, one day a certain ruler came to Jesus standing in proxy for his daughter who had just died. Yet, despite of this tremendously desperate situation and the looming circumstantial evidence starring him in his face, taunting him to ‘just accept it’; it’s too late’, ‘you waited too long’; you might as well just accept the fact and go home and bury your baby gurl, the text says that this local official mounting up some audacious-faith, came bowing crying out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, if you would come to my house and simply touch my daughter, she will live!” Jesus recognizing that this man’s astonishing-faith expectantly looked beyond the natural, piercing through the impossible, grabbed hold to The Supernatural to acquire that which his heart desired. Jesus proceeded to follow the ruler home!

On their way, they passed a woman, suffering from a blood disease that literally left her leaking the very life out of her body, everyday for the past twelve years! Having heard that Jesus was close by, risking everything, including being stoned to death if she was exposed, she made her way through the crowd, determining in herself to get close enough to put her finger on Jesus’ Robe, knowing that her life would be restored. Jesus recognizing that certain faith-touch, and that corresponding pull on His Anointing, instantaneously released healing from His Being.

Jesus, glancing back over the huge gathering, fixed His eyes on this one woman, whose faith out-shined that of all the spectators, immediately began to comfort and encourage her to not be afraid! At that moment, The Great High Priest assured her that her courageous faith had made a Kingdom Connection. Hence, that which she had believed for, she’d become! Not only was she healed, she was made whole! (Ref. Hebrews 4:14)

Continuing on to Jairus’ house, pushing past the nay-sayers, the doubters, the unbelievers and the mockers, Jesus went to the young damsel’s bedside. Taking her hand gently, pulling her from the gripping clutches of death, He restores her to life! When the word of Jesus’ miraculous powers spread around town, it sent shock-waves of gossipers pouring through the streets and the surrounding regions proclaiming that The Kingdom of Heaven has come to dwell in the earth!

Be encouraged my precious ones! Regardless of what it looks like, despite how long you’ve had to endure this present situation, it’s just temporary! ( Ref. Romans 8:17-18) BUT JESUS IS NOT!

As fellow-partakers of the faith, “keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession”. (Ref. Hebrew 3:1)

GOD IS STILL LOOKING FOR THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO STRETCH THEIR FAITH WELL BEYOND THAT WHICH CAN BE SEEN, HEARD AND EVEN IMAGINED! TOUCH THE HEART THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR! …STAY IN TOUCH!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

 Ann Caffee