Tag Archives: trickery

THE NIGHT SHIFT!

 

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

HE’S ALWAYS THERE

HE'S ALWAYS THERE!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

I am with you always, even to the end of the age

Matthew 28:20 
 

One morning I received an email that took me back to an all too familiar place. As I read  on, I immediately realized that the lost sheep could very well had been me. Feel free to eavesdrop on the conversation,…
 
 “In the early 1980s I counseled a Christian young woman who was languishing in deep spiritual, mental and emotional torment. She wrote:
 
“Dear God, Where are you? How can you watch and not help me? I hurt so bad, and you don’t even care. If you cared you’d make it stop or let me die. I love you, but you seem so far away. I can’t hear you or feel you or see you, but I’m supposed to believe you’re here. Lord, I feel them and hear them. They are here. I know you’re real, God, but they are more real to me right now. Please make someone believe me, Lord. Why won’t you make it stop? Please, lord, please! If you love me you’ll let me die…A lost sheep”
 
I deal with many Christians who are filled with such confusion that their daily walk with Christ is unfulfilling and unproductive. When they try to pray, they begin thinking about a million things they should be doing. When they sit down to read the bible, they can’t concentrate. Whenever they have an opportunity to serve the Lord in some way, it comes up short by discouraging thoughts of self-doubt.
 
Having found freedom and deliverance, “the lost sheep” penned a response to her own prayer based on her new understanding of God’s provision in Christ.
 
“My dear lost sheep, You ask me where I am. My child, I am with you and I always will be. You are weak, but in me you are strong. I am so close that I feel everything you feel. Be crucified with me and I will live in you, and you shall live with me. I will direct you in paths of righteousness. My child, I love you and I will never forsake you, for you are truly mine…Love, God”
 
Saints, by The Grace of God, while I too have experienced the freedom of  being delivered from the tormenting trauma and enslavement to depression; however I will never everrrr forget to remember How Great A Salvation that The Lord wrought in my life!  
 
It’s incumbent upon us to remember, this is not heaven, the devil is still a liar and God’s Word is Truth! If the saints are feeling the heat of the devil’s wicked devises, can you imagine what he’s putting the unsaved through?

Saints, ask God to open the eyes of your heart that you may see who’s hurting around you. If the whole world’s coming out the closet, we certainly can’t afford to be closet Christians! We have an awesome responsibility and an obligation to be the Love, Compassion and Hope of Christ to a lost generation! You ought to tell one somebody that there is a Hope that’s out of this world…I mean, really?
 
His Name is Jesus and He’s Always There!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

DON’T SWALLOW THE BAIT

DON'T SWALLOW THE BAIT

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.” Psalm 27:4-6 KJV

 

One thing for sure, nobody who knows me would ever accuse me of being remotely ‘out-door-sy”, huh? Yessssirreeeyyy! I’m totally domesticated!

So when it comes to taking part in those adventures that so many of yall find such immense pleasure in, such as camping, hiking, fishing, skiing, anything I say about them are solely vicarious! However, I am married to an avid fisherman who would rather be on a boat in the middle of a lake for hours at a time than just about any other place; save Heaven!

I understand that in order to catch a fish you must have certain equipment. A fishing line, a hook and a bait! I have experienced opening up my freezer door and being greeted by neatly packaged baggies filled with all kinds of strange looking objects to which I’ve been inclined to immediately dump in the garbage; that is until he informs me of their intrinsic value.

Unfortunately, too many of you are just as ignorant of Satan’s wicked devices as I am when it comes to fishing!

While we  may acknowledge this Truth, mentally assenting to its veracity, that as Born-Again, Blood-Washed, Children of The King, Satan no longer has authority to lord over our lives far too often,  yet the revelation fails to transcend into our ‘real life’, huh? Apparently there’s a innately human flaw of fickleness that tends to overcome even the most sainted believer the moment The Designated Accuser fires his darts, interrupting your blissful state of abiding in God’s Presence! Hence, you develop an acute case of selective amnesia; forgetting the Fundamental of Christianity 101!

When you placed your personal trust in The Lord Jesus, accepting Him as your Redeemer, you were immediately rescued from The Kingdom of Darkness and transferred into The Kingdom of God’s Son! (Ref. Colossians 1:12-14) Didjaheardat?

Ooooh Glorrraaaa! That means that the devil has no right or power to control any area of your life! He’s a defeated foe! Now, of course being the Master of Deceit, he’s unable to resist his diabolical urges to persistently threaten any unsuspecting Child of God who will swallow the bait, hook line and sink to a level far beneath his God-Ordained position of Righteousness in Christ Jesus!

But you don’t have to! Today’s scripture text tells you where you are, from God’s Perspective! Hidden in God’s Pavillion, seated safe and secure in The Rock of Ages, far beyond the reach of all of your enemies!

So, before you start acting like Satan is a true prophet, re-evaluate the Reality of your situation!

Pause, take a deep breath, ponder and relish His Presence! Got it?

AAAAAWWWWWW!!!! NOT TODAY DEVIL! AND FROM WHERE I’M SITTING…IT AIN’T LOOKING DAT GOOD FOR YOU TOMORROW EITHER! BBBBAAAAMMMMM!!! DON’T SWALLOW THE BAIT!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee