Folly is Fired!

The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it. Proverbs 9:13

Folly – that is her name. I was introduced to Folly in Proverbs Chapter 9 many years ago. Sadly, she resides in everyone, women especially. Her name alone means to be foolish. She lacks understanding and common sense. She is described as brash, meaning she is irrational, tactless, hasty, and thoughtless to say the least. Ironically, brash also means fragments of something or debris. In essence, women are truly broken.

The folly that women carry within them is a perpetual residue of the fall of man. Once Eve gave into the temptation of eating the apple, the spiritual wisdom bestowed on her was substituted with the overwhelming stench of folly. Eve’s blatant disregard of her Father’s directions was nothing short of costly. On that fateful day, spiritual wisdom was marked with a tombstone and folly came to the forefront of life.

The folly within us that is outwardly expressed causes a great deal of harm. Women cease to get along or work in harmony for the greater good because the fight for attention takes center stage. It is at that time that Folly does her best work causing confusion, creating divisions, and masterminding manipulations. Drama is her specialty. Forgiveness, patience, love are not in her vocabulary. Folly does a multitude of damage, but has no insurance to cover it. Fire folly today!

The best way to fire Folly is to give her notice and interview Wisdom on the spot. Ask Wisdom how she would handle a situation. She has the ultimate answer. Her response is found in Proverbs 9:10-12 says, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.”

Wisdom has a much better resume’ and she has the benefit package of life. Call Wisdom to the forefront. Wisdom is more than qualified to handle the qualms of life. For the best results of life’s situations, employ her now. Proverbs 9:17-18 speaks truth about wisdom, “Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king. Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.”

Every day is a battle to resist the temptation to act a fool or have the wisdom to respond righteously. Part of wisdom is being disciplined to make the right decision. Gaining knowledge and trusting God will reveal the true benefits that Wisdom offers. Love Wisdom and she will blossom like a beautiful flower in spring. She will make you heavenly in nature.

Pray with Me

Dear Heavenly Father!

Thank You for the forgiveness of sins. Even though I was a fool yesterday, I can choose to be wise today and every day. Please help me tap into Your wisdom and call her name to the forefront of my life. Instill in me the ability to make righteous decisions because I have a renewed fear of You. Grant me the knowledge that will glorify You and advance your Kindgom. ~In Jesus’ Name~ Amen!

Shepherd and Proud!

The Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. John 10:11

Being the parent of three children has always meant I either work just to pay child care or I stay home with the kids. The expectation of women working outside of the home and caring of children has been a role I could not fulfill well. As I reflected back on my sporadic periods of employment, I realized that the maternal generations before me had the same issues. I had reason to believe I was living under a generational curse. I felt like an outcast in the shadow of working women. Recently, I realized that I have a job that will not be found on any Human Resources employment board.

Two weeks ago while in search of a word from the Lord, I stumbled into the book of Jeremiah. Chapter 17 verse 5-7 says, “This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert with no hope for a future. They will love in the barren wilderness in an uninhabited salty land. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.”

Going a little further, I examined Jeremiah’s trust in the Lord. In verse 16, Jeremiah says, “Lord I have not abandoned my job as a shepherd for your people.” Although Jeremiah had been scoffed at by people, he fulfilled his shepherd duties assigned to him by God. He did not let the fact that people did not understand what he was doing deter him from his assignment.

Suddenly, I realized that the Lord had made me a shepherd. My assignment has not been to comply with the world’s expectation of working women. I have been assigned to protect, guide, and watch over the flock the Lord has given me. My flock will sometimes include other people’s children as well. My flock is also found in my devotion audience by writing a word to people to in need.

Some of the Bible’s notable shepherds including Abraham, Jacob, and David were in a class of people who were far from being highly regarded from a societal standpoint. Yet, they had favor with the Lord. The shepherds were the first to witness the miracle of baby Jesus. They were the first people to spread the word of the savior’s birth. God never left the shepherds without hope when they trusted and followed Him.

It is an honor to be a shepherd and to watch over people the way Jesus watches over us. He sacrificed his life for us. In our own way, stay-at-home moms are sacrificing their life, dreams, and sometimes even their marriage for the sake of shepherding their children and training them in the way they should go. No, it’s not a generational curse. It’s a spiritual assignment. Although we may wrestle with the worth in what we are doing, God will provide for us, our children and the people we care for. It’s alright to be a shepherd and proud!

Pray With Me

Dear Lord,

We may not understand why you have placed us in certain positions, especially the ones that seem so unfulfilling. There is a reason we have been called to sacrifice our personal dreams and lifestyles. Thank You for ensure our needs are met. Thank You that there is a purpose for the times we are in now for eventually they will yield the fruit of prosperity. Please kiss us every day and help us be content with the assignment You have given us. In Jesus name ~Amen~

 

 

Rejection is a Relief

Rejection is a Relief

Most writers keep some type of journal and I am no exception. Recently, I was reading through some prayers I was mediating over a couple of years ago and one of them caught my attention. I had gone through a period of rejection with a loved one and asked the Lord, “What good is a life of rejection?”

Rejection is a refusal to grant or accept something or someone as is. It is an act of casting off or discarding. In my life, I have been rejected in many situations including relationships, friendships, employment, etc. At times I thought even God rejected me! Joseph, David, Job, Naomi, all experienced so type of rejection in their situations. Rejection can leave people feeling hopeless and asking what’s wrong with me.

In my notes, it appeared I had an immediate revelation from Psalm 118:21-22. It says, “I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory! The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.”

Even though the scripture reference is made about Jesus, at the time when I was reading it, God revealed that He chose me as an essential, indispensable representative of His kingdom. I have been constructed to carry the word and be a light. Just as the world rejected Jesus as His son and savior, of course people would reject me. The lesson is that Jesus was given the highest honor because of his rejection. Although I am not given an honor as such, I have seen the very people who rejected me get completely embarrassed and have to end up asking me for help or advice. The sad thing is that the person does even recall rejecting me to begin with.

I could choose to walk around feeling sorry for myself because I do not fit in or I’m not somebody’s first choice. I could walk around angry, have an attitude, and hate people. The truth is that I am not meant to fit in. I’m not meant to be accepted by this world. The world wants a new thing, the latest thing, the better thing, but without doing the right thing. I am uniquely designed to stand out. Nine times out of ten when people reject me, I am better off!

Praise the Lord that rejection is a relief. It is an honor to be rejected by people. Psalm 118:5-7 confirms that God has my back, “In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

God is doing a wonderful work in me. In hindsight, we will soon realize that rejection is a wonderful blessing in disguise. It is a relief to be rejected. The burden is off of me and it comes full circle. The people who rejected us will soon find themselves in predicaments wishing they had accepted us. Embrace it and keep moving forward.

Pray With Me

Dear Lord,

Rejection is not an easy pill to swallow. It hurts deeply and causes anger. It is embarrassing. You know exactly how to turn rejection into a blessing. Help me trust you to know that you will make that rejection a blessing. You will cause the rejecting person to need me. You are doing wonderful things in my life. I trust You!

Trusting Circumstances

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

YouVersion is a very good spiritual tool to utilize for bible study. It has a website and a mobile app version. I love it because I can access it wherever I go. I can also join reading plans, bookmark my favorite verses, and share them with my friends through social media.

Today, YouVersion’s verse of the day was from 1Thessalonians 5. I kept reading the verse over and over again thinking I know this verse. It didn’t sink in until I actually inquired of the Lord what he wanted me to get out of it.

Since I moved, it was my expectation to be employed right away. I have applied for job after job to no avail so far. That is when the word circumstances jumped out at me. Circumstances are the existing conditions or state of affairs that affect us and our actions. They can affect us mentally, physically, financially, and spiritually. Circumstances can limit us or empower us depending on our attitude.

God challenged me on the point of being thankful in all circumstances because this is His will for me. I realized I was complaining quite a bit about my non-employment circumstances. (Yikes! Sorry God). Although, I cannot see the entire picture of what His will entails, He expects me to trust Him and be thankful for my circumstances.

Honestly, even though I have not been employed for the last seven months, my family and I have been well provided for. For that, I can certainly be thankful. God had me share this today because there are people affected by circumstances that are doing just what I did-complaining, questioning faith, and envying other people.

Dwelling on the negativity of our circumstances does not help us overcome them. It just leads us to see more negativity. Circumstances can be a kill-joy and sadly that is just how the devil wants us to feel about them. We have to counter the negatives with the positive by being thankful and trusting God.

Eventually, these circumstances will be a testimony of our faith. In hindsight, we will be able to understand why God has us in our individual circumstances. Trust Him and thank Him. Be grateful for where you are now. Likely, we are all better off than what we were. Hallelujah!

Pray With Me

Lord, please forgive me. Thank you for my circumstances. Thank you that I am not where I was. Thank you for where I am going. Thank you for keeping me in your will. I pray to put my trust in You and your plan. I pray for the faith to know that you will take care of all things. I am already provided for; I am already healed; I am already saved! ~In Jesus’ name~ AMEN!

Get Ready for Your “Wow” Moment

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

Jeremiah 17:7

How is your trust in God going? For me, it is already the challenge I knew it would be. Have you ever felt like God has let you down? Recently, I was waiting in expectation for something that did not work out the way I had hoped. Actually, it happened on more than one occasion.

I had to fight the clawing sensation within me not to take control by getting what I did not get in my own way. It is hard to have trust when confidence and hope are broken. There are times when our human confidence is misplaced and we set ourselves up for dashed hopes. We have to be mindful of putting our hope in God and not money, things, or people.

Dashed hopes used to get me down and keep me down. I used to dwell on the “why” of that moment over and over again. For a long time I failed to realize that I should have been preparing myself for the “wow” moment that God has planned for me. I began to notice that every time I had a disappointing episode that God began to deliver something even better later on. “Wow,” meaning waiting on wonders, is an awesome surprise from God. It is the blessing that God bestows on those who trust Him. When we wait on God to do things on our behalf we can experience those “wow” moments.

Learning how to trust God is part of the daily battle. There are so many instances that attempt to steal our focus from that trust. God has “wow” moments planned for us. They are the moments when all else has failed and suddenly a silver lining appears that is meant just for us. We will not too many of those moments unless we trust God. Psalms 119:65 remind us of the good things he has for us, “You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised.”

Keep up the good fight of trusting God. He has your back like a good parent should. He knows what is best for you. His timing is always perfect. Get ready for your wow moment.

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Pray with Me

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please forgive me for desiring to do things on my own power. I know You are in control. I panic when things do not go my way. I get so emotional. I have so much history of being let down that it is so hard for me to trust You or anyone. Please show me the wow moments that you have for me. I want to experience the divine power of Your promises to me. Then people will know You and seek after You because of what you have done in my life. My story will glorify you. ~In Jesus’ name~ AMEN!

WHERE IS YOUR FAITH

Here’s Petey! ❤

MATTHEW 6:25-33

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

More often than not, when I hear people speak or when I am reading I hear what I call, “TITLES” in my head. This morning while reading it happened again. What I read was, “Where is you faith,” but what I heard was “Where IS you Faith?” Is your faith in yourself? Is in the government, your job, your bank account, your friends, or is it in GOD?

So many times because of disappointments, distractions, and let downs we tend to lose our faith in God or we just lay it aside not really realizing that it was ever missing. When we do that we unknowingly are putting our faith in ourselves or other things and not in God. Through the distractions and disappoints that arise in our lives the enemy has lulled us in to putting our shield of faith down. God does not want us worrying about anything at all. I know that is a hard thing to comprehend sometimes especially when life is hitting you hard but its the truth. We see from the scripture God is saying, “What are you worrying for, if I can feed the birds, if I can clothe the fields with beautiful flowers, then surely I can handle what you need.” Its our job to BELIEVE that, to put our faith and trust in Him and His word.

Philippians 4:19 And My God shall Supply ALL my needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.

So today, I challenge you to ask yourself, “Where IS my faith, where did I lay it down?”

CHANTEEA

Testing the Spirits of Media Faith

Testing the Spirits of Media Faith

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. (1 John 4:1 NLT)

I’ve done my share of following the trendy crowd of TV evangelists. It is really easy to turn on the TV, get a good word in quickly, and go about your day. There are excellent TV programs and evangelists that promote the word of God correctly.
There are some evangelists on social media who give an encouraging word during the day. However, it is necessary to acknowledge that some of the messages delivered through media avenues such as TV, radio, internet, social media are not always aligned with the word of God. Some messages sound good and they make sense, but are they spiritual or worldly? That is why John said that not everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit should automatically impact or overrule our belief. There are people who manipulate the Word for their own purpose. Paul communicated the same message to the Galatians in 1:6-7 by saying, “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.” If Christians were being led astray even back then, how much more are they being misled now. We have to test the spirits against the word of God.
Media faith should be rated PG for parental guidance. God is our Father in heaven. He desires that our whole heart to be devoted to Him. As His children, he wants us to listen and view media faith responsibly. In order to do that we must screen what our eyes see, ears hear, and our heart receive. We have to discern the truth of what is being said. Media faith needs to be a supplement to our faith and not a replacement. Anything that we hear through media channels should be our confirmation of God’s message to us. In doing so, we are testing the spirits.
Spreading Good News is definitely aligned with God’s purpose. It is still our responsibility to spend personal time with God, test the spirits, and discern the truth of media preaching.

HAPPY “RE” NEW YEAR!

HAPPY "RE" NEW YEAR!.

HAPPY “RE” NEW YEAR!

Do not remember the former things nor consider the things of old. Isa 43:18

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Phil 2:5

Happy “RE”New Year!! I actually started this blog on New Years Day but due to unforeseen events I could not finish it. So January 2 was my second attempt to “RE” start what I had already started, and I was well on my way, got to the end of the blog and hit the wrong button and LOST IT ALL!!! So here I sit having to “RE” do it all over again!! Isn’t that where we find ourselves at the end of every year. Having to “RE”start things we had already started in the beginning of the year?

The prefix “RE” means to do again, to start over, or to turn around. Ha! Ha! Ha! Jokes on me right! God sure does have a sense of humor. At the end of every year we sit down and “RE”view the previous year. The progress we made, the obstacles we did or didn’t overcome. The promises we made to ourselves that we kept or didn’t keep. We make New Year “RE”solutions to better ourselves in the upcoming New Year. We are going to lose that extra 50 pounds, we are going to get out of debt, finish school, etc, etc,…But aren’t those the same goals we had in previous years? I mean seriously, take a look back over your life right now and ask yourself, “Just how many of those goals have I actually accomplished?” Do you find yourself having to begin all over again on goals that you set in the beginning of last year? Why do we have to keep “RE”starting over again every year? Good question, the answer is YOU CAN NOT BEGIN A NEW YEAR WITH AND OLD MIND. If you take your old mindset into the new year the only thing that will have changed is the date on the calendar.

The Lord spoke to me and said in 2013, THE NEW IS UP TO YOU!!! If you want to experience a NEW YEAR like never before then YOU have to do something about it! God had already given us everything we need to succeed in life. First of all He sent His Son Jesus to die on the Cross so that we could have eternal life. (John 3:16) With the acceptance of Christ and what He has done for us, we gain a NEW life and a clean slate. That’s called “RE”pentance. We have turned from the way we were living before we accept Christ and the sacrifice He made for us and we have a chance to start fresh. All the mistakes we made, are making, or are gonna make are forgiven.

Secondly, He has given us His word, with which we must “RE”new our minds. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the “RENEWING” of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom 12:2) The word of God has the ability to give us a NEW mind. Our old ways of thinking and doing things will change once we “RE” make our mind over with what the word of God says about us. When our minds are changed our lives will change. There is Power in the Word of God, but in order to experience that power working in our lives we have to work the word. How do you do that, you ask?

Your mind and life will be “RE” made over as you read and speak the word over your circumstances. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. (Prov 18:21) You must search the Word of God for the scriptures that pertain to your situation and start speaking them over your life even when it looks like nothing is happening. On January 1, when I sat down to begin this blog the unforeseen circumstance wanted me to bring my old mind into the New year. The thoughts that I was having were screaming, “this year is gonna be just like last year, you are not gonna see anything different just more of the same struggle and fight, BUT, THE DEVIL IS A LIAR AND AIN’T NO TRUTH IN HIM! I know what promises God has given me concerning certain situations so when circumstances arise that scream otherwise its my job to STAND on what the Word says, even if I have to do so with tears in my eyes. You see its important that you watch your words and not speak against what God has promised. That is exactly what the enemy wanted me to do that day. He wanted me to agree with him that the only thing that had changed was the date on the calendar, he wanted me to give up on coming back and starting this blog all over again. He made sure I didn’t have the time to do it either. I may have had to wait a couple of days but you can best believe God had a plan.

IF you want to experience the newness of 2013 then you must realize that the “NEW IS UP TO YOU!” You must realize the new has to begin in your mind. Make a decision to search the word and watch your life change for the better.

Father God,

We come before You now asking You to forgive us where we have fallen short. We thank You for the gift of Your Son, as well as Your Grace and mercy. God the Your Word says that YOUR Grace is sufficient for us and YOUR strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. Help us God to accept that and press on towards the life You have predestined us to live. Empower us with Your spirit that we may do what we know to do when the enemy comes against us. Give us wisdom in all areas of our lives as we walk in the NEWNESS of this NEW year. Help us to realize that every test we have walked through in 2012 will bring forth a testimony to encourage someone else in 2013. We thank you for keeping us and all that You have done for us in the past, present and future in Jesus Name AMEN!

THE NEW IS UP TO YOU!!!!
CHANTEEA

Everything Is All Good

I’m done making New Year’s resolutions. In fact, my final resolutions concerning weight loss, cutting dead-weight people out of my life, and make clearer decisions based on selfishness came about two years ago. My resolutions revealed quite a bit of worldliness that was not doing me any good or doing anything to glorify God. I realized that I lacked a lot of discipline to do much of anything on my own power. Sadly, I possessed an ungodly amount of judgmental thoughts, self-righteousness, pride, and selfishness. Needless to say, I had some more maturing to do. That was a fact that I begrudgingly, but humbly accepted.

So, I altered my attitude of the New Year and tried another approach. I decided that my new year needed to be based on my walk with God and not my personal desires. I began by letting God lead me to a scripture that summed up the lesson He wanted to instill in my life. Prior to going in to 2012, I realized that God had worked out some things on my behalf and for my good during 2011. So my theme for 2012 was based on Romans 8:28,“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”- Everything is for my good.

As I have shared in previous blogs, I did not always feel like everything was for my good in 2012. This was especially true when I was going through certain situations. That breast lump the doctor thought she found on me this past summer gave me quite a scare. Thank God it has not amounted to anything serious. Going through the motions of getting a definite answer showed me how grateful I needed to be and much more sensitive I need to be toward those going through the breast cancer battle. It was all good.

The move from Georgia to California was exciting at first, but the reality gave me more challenges to deal with than I cared to. Leaving a stable lifestyle, family, and friends behind to start over was hardly desirable. The red carpet was far from being rolled out for me particularly in the work force. I learned to have a heart for other people who relocated as we did. It is difficult to pick up, move, and get settled. I also needed to accept what God has in store for me job, no job, extra jobs or whatever. Even though it was a tough transition, it’s getting better-it was all good.

There were many things that I did not understand at the time when I was going through them. Then I realized that God has to put me through certain situations as part of His will. He positions me for what He needs to have done not what I think I should be doing. Many times, I have thought about ways I can rewrite God’s plan for my life. As much as I would love it, my plans will never succeed as long as I put “me” at the center of it all and not Him. Looking back over 2012, God has proven to me that everything: easy, difficult, undecided were all for my good.

The spiritual path we all chose will impact the decisions we make the rest of the year. Consider your walk with God and think about what He wants you to get out of the New Year. Think about the message or theme He would have for you, how it applies to your life, and how you can implement the changes He would like to see in you. God will move in a mighty way when you focus on Him and what He is trying to teach you. It is all for your own good.