All Hands On Deck!

It's time for a wake up call!

Hello Kingdom Sisters and Brothers, with being in a time like this, it's very easy to fall short in the things that you were called to do, it's also very easy to fall into doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. How so? Well, with most of us staying in the house, we probably have already formed a certain mindset to process all of this on our own time. Some might still have to work while others are still trying to find work. There's some of us out here who might be fighting to keep our minds healthy while others are just settling for giving up. Even if you're reading this right now and you are allowing yourself to fall off from the things of God, just know that it's time for a wake up call. Now during this strange time, some of us have a lot of time on our hands, nothing is a good enough excuse to fall off from the things of God but if time was ever your excuse, well, now you have it! With some churches being online and speakers being online, now is the time to truly see where you are in your relationship with Christ. How much of a drive do you have for the Kingdom when you don't have any access to the building. We know that as believers in Christ that we are church, sometimes people try to use this as an excuse because they either didn't want to go into a building or whatever personal reasons they had. At my home church, it's always being vocalized about how much the people on the streets truly need a hope. How even the thugs, prostitutes, and drug dealers need to know about Christ's love for them. We can't frown our noses up at the unfortunate just because they are stuck in a graphic lifestyle. We all know what it's like to have a past that we aren't proud of, so the next time you see less fortunate people or lost souls, just pray for them to be saved or that some way or somehow, God will send them a way of escape. Now it's okay if you are realizing that you aren't as hype in your relationship with God now than you were when you were in the building. Why is that okay? BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY GO UP FROM HERE! Guess what? You don't even have to admit it to anyone because you're at home. The pressures of others looking at you or even you feeling some kind of way doesn't have to happen because we're all at home. (I still don't condone the behaviors of people when they choose to look down on someone who's trying but we all know that people are watching regardless) With you realizing that you weren't as zealous for God as you thought, improvement is truly yours for the taking. We have nothing but time on our hands so why not stat today?

Now is NOT the time for complaints, it's a time for gratefulness!

After taking in the fact that you aren't where you thought you were in your relationship with God, gratefulness is probably the last word you would expect to see. You need to have gratefulness though especially during a time like this. Just think about it for a second, the reality of it all is that despite your way of life having to change, you still have..LIFE! Some people are out here losing their loved ones daily and back to back and yet here you are still surrounded by those that you love. Even if you are on your own, you're still alive and well, you still have a roof over your head, food on the table, all of that. So why do we as people find time to complain? Well recently, people have been taking this time to see who's really there for them and who isn't and I strongly disagree with that. Truthfully I do because we are going through something that none of us have ever been through before. There are other things on our minds. To just sit in the seriousness of that, I was at a store the other day and baby wipes were entirely cleaned out from head to toe on the shelves. If you're a parent, you know just how important diapers and wipes are and how fast babies and toddlers run through them. The diapers were scarce but were still there. Now of course we have all seen the crazy videos of all the tissue and stuff running out but to actually see that face to face makes you think..or at least it should. It should make you switch your perspective on just how blessed you are right now. Some people just aren't going to be checking on others too much during this time because we are literally in a unique situation. Not only are we trying to survive with just being in the house and risking it whenever we have to grab groceries or being in the midst of the virus for essential workers, but some people are literally fighting to stay sane. Don't get upset if people aren't checking in on you everyday or even at all. If you keep expecting people to be omnipresent then you'll be disappointed every time. Some may read this and point out the fact that I'm a wife and mother so why in the world would I need someone to check on me? I get it truly but the same way people talk about how lonely things can get, you can still be with your family and wonder if your friends or anyone is thinking about you or even praying for you. The thing is simple, people in general, no matter how good, aren't omnipresent. Only God is and yes you can also say that at least something would be nice but if you truly examine your call list or text thread, how many people have you reached out to on your own? Not for needing a favor or anything but just to see how that person was genuinely doing? Not because you saw a post that you thought applied to you because you secretly got convicted but genuinely because you either thought about that person. Now think about just how many people you truly are connected to. It's impossible to contact everyone all the time every single day. So show grace to others and to yourself. Remember, we're in a pandemic, some of us may not be struggling as others but people are literally just trying to survive day by day physically, financially, emotionally and mentally.

Use this time wisely...

Using this time wisely goes hand and hand with refraining from complaining. With all of this time on our hands, we've all been lagging behind in certain areas. Don't just use this time to be productive with your platforms, use this time to be productive in your personal relationship with God as well. You see, some of us should be way passed the point of needing someone to tell us why we should seek God's face. It's time to put the phone down and turn your face to the wall. You never know how truly preserved you are when you pray. Lay across the floor and give God what He desires from you, a heart and mind for Him. With all of this time on our hands, it's easy to either be lazy all the time and just chill, be overly productive until you burnout and just sit there drowning in thoughts that really aren't helping your state of mind. Put your relationship with God first TRULY this time. You don't have an audience to perform in front of now. If you've been one to put up a religious front because it looks good to certain people, it's time to release yourself from that self placed burden and truly begin to be in love with God's Holy presence. Now let's just say that you're one of the people who feel pretty secure in their relationship with God. You know for a fact when the Holy Ghost truly came over you in church and when you just have moments of truly being in His presence. Well dear believer, there's even room for you to improve as well, there's still areas within yourself that need to be smoothed out. No matter where you are in your relationship with God during this time, what you choose to do will show you if you're truly in this to hear " Well Done" in the end or just to keep up your image. I'm telling you, now is truly the time to take your one on ones with God seriously because He's seeing who His real children are. Now as you're reading this DON'T beat yourself up if you may fall into the "keeping up an image" category. As I've said before, you have the time to improve, you don't even have to put yourself out there in front of everyone, you have the time to truly change. Even if you're reading this and you've gotten puffed up with your chest sticking out claiming to be secure in your relationship with God, you should examine why this even got a reaction out of you. We all have to focus on what truly matters, and that's Jesus. I get it though, it can be hard and your social status has nothing to do with it, sure moms can testify to having trouble finding quiet time and dads too but how far are you willing to go to hear "Well Done." At the end of it all, only YOU will be held accountable for what you have chosen to do in this life. That scares me because I know for myself when I've messed up and when I have bluntly done, thought, or said something that I KNEW wasn't of God! You won't be able to say "well nobody told me to fast so I didn't" "Nobody called me so I didn't pray" "Someone's post offended me so that's why I didn't pray for them even though you told me to." These probably sound silly and far fetched but we serve an omnipresent God, one who is true and living, all seeing and all knowing. It's scary to know that ALL that you have done will be shown back to you one day. We've all missed the mark and dropped the ball, I can't tell you how many times I let my flesh get in the way of me receiving growth and healing in certain areas. Please use this time wisely, don't blame what you didn't do on others, if you're wearing a religious mask for the sake of looking the part, take it off so you can breathe in the Lord's goodness and actually live out how good and merciful God has been to you. Use this time wisely please!

Having a Christ like mind when it's hard...

We ALL have our weak points, even the ones who may look like they don't, trust me, they do, if nobody had any weak points, we wouldn't need Jesus. Now I know we've all heard that once before but did you know that there's someone out there who is purely focused on seeing you mess up at least just once? Now don't take this the wrong way, this is not about to turn into a "we have haters" rally because honestly that's played out and I just simply don't care for having a "mhm that's them" mindset because when I'm faced with God, I'm going to be all on my own when it's time for judgement. I won't be able to point the finger or justify any petty moments or thoughts so I just rather not care honestly. It doesn't matter people of God, no matter how well you carry yourself behind closed doors, because you don't bleed all over your socials or do obvious sins in front of people, someone will think that you think you're perfect and untouchable and meanwhile you're just trying to hold on to God. You see, people don't see every tear, people won't always hear your side of the story, people aren't in your brain! You could genuinely be scrolling online and because someone saw you active and you didn't hop on their page, they're offended. You could be genuinely trying to show the love of Christ to people but because you're connected to someone they don't get along with, they cut you off because they think you're against them secretly. Then there are those who will keep their distance from you because even though they knew you for praying and laboring for and with them, because of how others treat and love you, they rather keep away from you. They rather stick to the image in their head about you that someone else told them. There are a lot of innocent people in the Body of Christ who go through persecution, slanders, and being thrown in undertone problems that are only one sided just because someone wants to see you fall. Their version of who you are spreads to other people they are close to because they want that version of you to stick. This is where having a Christ like mind comes into play. Now after reading that you can tell that it sounds precisely like a haters rally, stick with me here. You can still be aware and not care to react or even let people know that you are aware. How? The Holy Ghost and PLEASE don't try to pass off your lurking skills as the Holy Ghost, if you are one of those people, it's okay, you can outgrow that. You truly have to know the difference between having discernment through the Holy Ghost and your flesh just tricking your mind into thinking that someone is out to get you. Am I saying that we are all completely innocent, not at all. It's just that some people are more mature than others and that's just honest. Your age surely has nothing to do with how mature you are, not at all, we can all say that we have seen people who were much older that threw tantrums for the sake of being real but truthfully they just wanted to be heard and probably didn't go about it the best way that they could have. Now then, when you work on your relationship with God through actually fasting, praying for more than 10 minutes, seeking the Holy Ghost more and more and denying yourself, sometimes certain things are revealed to you before they happen. AS IN WARNING COMES BEFORE DESTRUCTION. God will only begin to reveal certain things to you when it's needed, don't go into this thinking that you're going to gain dirt on someone who's bee treating you wrong, then you'll just end up back to square one with looking at your own intentions as a whole. Having a Christ like mind will have you knowing that certain things just don't matter anymore. Validation from others, the desire to be praised, the feeling of needing acceptance and wanting to be good with everyone. Remember, you can't change whatever version you are in someone else's mind no matter how humble, hardworking, honest or consistent you are. If someone trusts someone else just that much, then their image of you can be altered in their own minds as well. This is why whenever you pray for others or you're shown to pray for specific people, your Christ like mindset has to kick in. IT WILL KEEP YOU WILLING AND OBEDIENT TO GOD IN SPITE OF IT ALL. Even when it may feel like only certain people are against you and you can check all areas and know TRUTHFULLY that you didn't do anything, you still have to show the love of Christ and maybe they'll be shown the truth. 9 times out of 10 they've already been shown but some would rather view you how they view you. Don't live by their definition and know that it does no good to linger on it, or even acknowledge it, we are ALL held accountable for what we do, say, and think. So keep your mind on more important matters like getting closer to God through Jesus, doing good deeds without needing anything in return, being quick to forgive and move on.

Above it all, have repentance in your heart and mind...

With reading that, maybe you're the victim of everything that I have just listed and maybe you're the one who's doing all of that to someone else. No matter who you claim to be only you and God know the complete and absolute truth. Nothing is hidden from Him at all even when you've hidden it so well from others. You are completely stripped of privacy from the Father. It's WORTH it to be honest with yourself and confess to God of what you have done. Being honest with yourself is hard because nobody willingly wants to call themselves wrong or the bad guy but trust me, that's the only way you're going to grow and gain freedom. Maybe you were the victim of all that was listed and you know your innocence and instead of carrying it out well, you let your flesh get the best of you and you retaliated with even worse behavior and intentions behind the scenes. You have to shake it off if this applies to you, it's very dangerous to talk down on others or even have certain problems with them. For one, you're holding in destructive problems that are making you rot on the inside, and for two, you never know who they truly are to the Father. WE CAN ALL TESTIFY to not immediately gaining something we desired because of our mouths. Speaking death over someone is just as bad as speaking death over yourself, especially when you didn't know that God might have sent them to help you out or even pray for you secretly. You just never know what you are coming against because some people are out here willing to pray for you even if they don't know you too well, there are those who are willing to cover you sincerely in their prayers without you asking because in the spirit, they were led to do so. You have to be careful how you view certain people because some of them are actually willing to be obedient to God and they have no problem doing His will when He tells them to pray for you, sow time into you and much more. It's time to get out of the habit of only wondering who's against us. Most of the time, the very ones that you have undertone problems with are the main ones who are genuinely praying for you without you knowing. Have repentance in your mind and heart when dealing with others and how you view them in your mind. Some people aren't as vocal as who they are in the Kingdom and they shouldn't have to be just for you to treat them right. You should treat them right because it's the right thing to do. If it's forced, it'll get revealed. No more pretending, prepare yourself for the real thing because you never know who's holding onto this powerful  scripture:

"Now who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. Do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ." 1 Peter 3:13-16 

All in all, during this time, extend grace to yourself and others, use this time to grow closer to the Father, form a new love for God through Jesus, be focused on how your actions will come back to you on Judgement Day, don't be afraid to drop the act, always seek the Holy Ghost and live to hear "Well Done."

As Always: Stay Blessed & Encouraged