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HELP 2 HOPE!

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HELP 2 HOPE!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Jeremiah 32:38-41

 

As a child, I vaguely remember a glimpse of pride swelling up inside whenever I heard someone say,‘this is the GREATEST nation in the world’! I suppose that’s what they mean by ‘let’s make this nation great…again, huh? But, that was before I became abruptly aware of the undeniable reality that there were two nations insidiously co-existing in one! #ijs

According to historical accounts, Courage and Confidence was once the unrefutable hallmark of our GREAT nation, huh? Yet, some would say that the infamous catastrophic events of 911 has since radically stripped away this lofty heritage and hope-filled future legacy  once ascribed to the land of power, peace and prosperity! The land of the free is now being besieged by the rampant rage of darkening clouds of an evil foreboding fear, doubt, deception, anxiety, stress, hatred, manipulation, guilt, shame, confusion and condemnation!

Well, it’s not my intent to debate the inevitable result of widespread deviation from the moral standards as defined by The Holy Bible. Howeverrrr, may I submit for your consideration, that without a holy reverential awe, a clear vision and a Divine impartation of  wisdom and understanding of WHO GOD IS & WHAT HE REQUIRES OF US, people’s strength will fail and their expectations of security  inevitably perishes! A conscientious analysis of  our country’s past proves that without the restraint of  righteous law and order, destruction prevails! Well, like the ol’ skool preacha used to say, “I jus lost half my churrch!” Seriously?

Honestly, when we don’t understand Whose we are, we’ll be inclined to doubt God’s ability and even His willingness to help us. Void of genuine hope and unable to trust God’s Unfailing Love, we instinctively depend upon the ingenuous wisdom and compassionate concern of nonpartisant national leadership, notwithstanding the innate proclivity of self to take care of our needs and satisfy the desires of our own biased hearts! And we all know how that turns out, right?

But those of us who dare to risk resentment, ridicule and rejection from those who will slander our righteousness, labeling us as unloving and intolerant, WE DEFY the prevailing opinions of the worldly in favor of the guidelines of the Ancient Landmarks, rejoice in hope, fully persuaded that if we suffer for Christ sake, we shall also reign with Him!  #CANIGETAGOODAMEN?

Through faith and hope, TRUE WORSHIPERS develop a singleness of -heart and mind, stemming from personal intimacy with The Lord Jesus Christ whereby we experience the Abiding Presence of  The True and Living God, trusting wholly in His Sustaining Grace!

Instead of conforming to the ways of the world, true believers don’t bail out! Hence, in the face of impending calamity and the uncertainty of chaotic circumstances, we stand steadfast, rooted and grounded in The Promises, Provision and Power, persevering in the midst of devastation, famine and plagues, confident that we’re covered! Remember Goshen, God’s Protected Place? (Ref. Exodus 8:22)

Beloved, trust2kno, when it looks like your world is falling apart, look again! Don’t allow fear to drain your faith while simultaneously diminishing your hope! From Heaven’s perspective, everything is falling right in place! The Eternal Omnipotent, Omnscient Creator and Sustainer of ALL life is never caught off guard by the fraudulent affairs of human-kind! A man’s heart plans his way, BUT the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)  Hence, while Satan is always plotting against the people of God, we who delight in The Saving Grace of  King Jesus, have this confidence as an anchor of our soul! The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing! (Psalm 33:10)

Precious ones,  Jesus has already gone into Tomorrow to prepare a table before you, right in the presence of your enemies! (Ref. Psalm 23:5) #Didjaheardat?

REST ASSURED, IT AIN’T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, K? YOU GOTTA HOPE BEYOND THIS WORLD! HIS NAME IS JESUS!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

UNSHAKEABLE PEACE!

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UNSHAKEABLE PEACE 2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither, And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

 

SOMETIMES! I wonder how much easier life would be, if in fact it was meant to be lived “Que sera, sera …Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera …What will be, will be“ ?

However appealing this perspective might appear at first glance, truthfully, God Who Sovereignly created us in His Own Image, never intended us to be merely robotic beings devoid of the ability to reason and make decisions based on our individual free will. God deliberately fashioned and formed us to be fully capable active participants in working out His Plan for each of our individual lives. In other words, life, according to God’s Purpose, is not a spectator’s sport!

How childish and immature it would be to think otherwise, huh? As my son once reminded me, reminiscing back to the days when the most critical decisions he had to make that day was, ‘is it gonna be Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch’? But now, finally, as all-grown-up adults,we no longer enjoy the privileges childhood innocence affords to casting off the burden of personal responsibility and accountability for our own actions unto unsuspecting parents, school teachers, coaches, counselors, professors, supervisors, pervasive racism, financially scrapped government institutions, corrupt politicians, over zealous police officers, the collapse of basic moral ethics and inevitable endangered decaying environmental resources.

And we couldn’t wait for this?

God uses all of these, (and much much more) to train and transform us into the persons that He’s Divinely ordained us to be—a reflection of His Amazing Grace and Ominous Glory! The problem is, we’re hell-bent on thinking that God expects us to carry out this work, totally independent of His Sovereign Controlling Interest in the Process! And we all know how that eventually turns out, huh?

Hopefully, sooner rather than later, we having exhausted all of our own fire, are forced to acknowledge “This ain’t working, Lord. I need Your helllpppp! Lord, save me!” Thank God, Who steps right in, rolling up His spiritual sleeves, bears us up under The Power of Holy Spirit, places us back on The Potter’s Wheel, gracefully presses, pinches, prodding, pounding, purges and pushes us through the next phase in His process of Restoration.

When we pray and ask God to restore us, we must be willing to submit to the process. Here is where most of us miss it. We don’t want the pain, humility and the lack of control that’s often required in order to equip and empower us for the next level of spiritual growth and development. So often we, the unwilling participants, come kicking and screaming, murmuring and complaining, doubting and accusing God of miscalculating just how much we can bear!

Until finally, we surrender, committing our care to His Loving Hands, trusting His Purpose to be greater than our personal pain, embracing HIS Will rather than ours, finding more  power, rest, hope and joy than you ever  dared imagined,  are comforted by HIS UNSHAKEABLE PEACE! Hallelujah 2 The Lamb!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

HE’S ALREADY THERE

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HE'S ALREADY THERE

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” Psalm 139:7-12

At any time, completely unbeknown to us, we could find ourselves pinned to the pendulum of time, swaying violently from side to side, moment by moment, being extended to the furthers spectrum of either end, coming desperately close to the edge of sanity!

While our faith is demanding absolute confident trust (despite the mounting circumstantial evidence) that our Heavenly Father is in complete control, our inner-most consciousness is being tormented by the constant influx of those taunting threatening “what if’s”.

Unfortunately, most of the time our hearts tends to lean toward the most pessimistic catastrophic conclusion. To further compound an already desperately fragmented state of mind, there’s that unmentionable guilt and shame for even doubting God’s accessibility, ability, availability and even His willingness to intervene on our behalf!

I know! We’ve all been there. That’s the other part of our grandiose soul-stirring testimony that we are usually reluctant to share.

Yet, The Psalmist so adeptly and melodiously blends together the dangling, mangling emotions that one endures finding themselves in such a unpredictable predicament; giving us a model by which to navigate our way through the turbulence safely to the after side of life’s contrary oceans.

Not surprisingly, having walked with God for a while now, the Answer is always the same for any hopelessly-helpless,critically-chaotic circumstance.

In the midst of overwhelming uncertainties, set your eyes on The One Constant Creator and Sustainer of the seen and unseen. Jesus Christ; The Bright and Morning Star!

ITZ DA TRUTH!  Anywhere and everywhere you are, God is already there!

The ol’ folk used to sanng, “He’s too high, you can’t go over; too low, you can’t go under; too wide, you can’t go around”! Hence, there’s not a spot in the known universe where God is not!

So you see, whether you’re coming, or going, or smack dab in the middle of an unsettle ling situation, there is unspeakable joy and enormous comfort and strength in acknowledging THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT’S  Reassuring Presence!

The Psalmist further validating the foundation of every Christian’s faith, recognizes that even the most seasoned saints encounter season of glaring darkness; yet God is not intimidated nor His Will hampered! He works The Night Shift! Because darkness and light are the same to God, He is always able to see us; even when we can’t trace His Hand, we can yet trust His Heart! (Ref. Psalm 139:12)

God is too Great to figure out; too Wonderful to predict; too Marvelous to ignore and too Amazing to deny!

So you must simply, trust and thank Him for guiding you safely pass our past, sustaining you in your present, and carrying you securely into your future!

DON’T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW, GOD IS ALREADY THERE!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee

SHUT UR MOUTH!

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SHUT UR MOUTH 2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” 1 Peter 2:15

 

“GET ‘EM LORD!”

That’s frustration talking! Because, truth be told, sometimes, it’s just difficult to pray right! Like when you’re sincerely striving to walk circumspectly, pleasing God and hopefully provoke “one somebody” to pursue their own personal relationship with The Savior; and despite of all your well-doing, there’s that “certain” somebody! Apparently, their only purpose in life is to criticize, demean and spread all manner of false accusations about you. Oh, C’mon nah! Don’t yall leave me out there hang’n by myself!!! ‘Here’s the kicker, for reasons way beyond your understanding, God persists in nagging at you to pray for ‘them’! 

Kinda makes you understand how Jonah felt, huh?

This may shock you; BUT, personally, when I’m being attacked, wrongfully accused and my name is slandered, praying for them is not my natural first response!

However, as true followers of Christ, we don’t war like the world does. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”  (Ref. 2 Corinthians 10:3)  Difficult as it may be, we must realize that the genuine culprit is not that person we see with our natural eyes; but our real enemy is a notorious diabolical spirit-being! Satan himself!

Once you recognize this, it’s a game changer!  You can’t fight spiritual battles in the flesh. It’s a waste of time! You don’t have to argue, defend yourself or retaliate against them by giving them a taste of their own medicine! Granted, it might make your flesh feel a whole lot better. But if you really want to shut that devil down, just keep quiet and continue doing the good works that God has ordained you to do!  (Ref. Ephesians 2:10) Inn-ta-resting, huh?

That’s exactly what Jesus did, remember? When His accusers confronted Him, attacking His credibility and authority, He never said a mumbling word! His response was stay focused and stick to the Mission!

In other words, Jesus kept right on praying for those oppressed by the devil, delivering and casting out demons, laying hands on sick folk getting them healed and whole; stumbling up Calvary’s Hill caring that Ol’ Rugged Cross, temporarily surrendering to Death; being buried in Joseph’s borrowed tomb; ascending up to The Throne, where He poured out His Redeeming Blood upon His Father’s Altar and today continues looking down at Satan saying “Who got the last Word, now? You lying wonder!”

AND DAT DUMB DEVIL NEVER SAW IT COMING! HENCE, DON’T TRY TO GET EVEN…GET OVER!  #DIDJAHEARDAT? SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee