Preach

Mark 16:15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Every person is not called to be a preacher, but we are called to spread the good news. Churches have had to be creative in how they conduct services during this pandemic. They have found new ways to engage their parishioners through social media and technology. If I can be completely honest, I like it. I like the apps. I like the shares. I like the instastories. I like the lives. I like the YouTube links. I feel more connected now than before. Yes. I miss the faces. I miss the hugs. I miss the assembly, but I’ve still been edified. I still hear the word. I still have practical applications. I’m still active in our ministry. So, just remember that you still can spread the good news. You can share a post. You can share a scripture. You can tweet a testimony. You can still preach.

No More

When is enough, enough. At some point, we have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired. We must stop making excuses. We must stop justifying it. We have to say no more. We have to let it resonate in our spirit. We have to get righteously indignant. No more! Scream it. Yell it. You insert the blank. No more excuses. No more spending. No more overeating. No more lying. No more racism. Whatever it is, make a decision in your heart and stick to it. No more!

Profess

I want to tell you a story about a tin can. My husband and I had a friend of ours make us two custom cans with the names of our future kids on them. At the time, we were just dating. We knew we wanted to get married and have kids, but we just weren’t there yet. This can sat along side 4 other tin cans with our names on them. We celebrated anniversaries and other milestones and still the cans sat. We moved and packed the cans away without a second thought. The cans sat for years. Three to be exact. Then, on resurrection Sunday we pulled out one of those cans and stuffed it into an egg for a gender reveal.

Sometimes, we pray. We decree. We declare. We profess and nothing materializes. Our hopes and dreams sit on a shelf. We pack them away without of a second thought, because they just haven’t come to pass. Well, I’m here to tell you that one day you will unpack that dream. You will pull your “hope” off the shelf, and it will be relevant in due season. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s never going to happen. Just because you don’t feel it doesn’t mean that God didn’t hear you. Profess your heart’s desire. God is always listening.

Decree

Back in the day, kings would decree things. They would set laws. They would call corporate fasts. They would give mandates. They would exert their authority publicly through decrees. God has given us this same power to speak, to declare, and to decree things. Most of us do not utilize this power. We speak lack. We speak illness. We speak ill-will into our lives everyday. (I’m sick. I’m broke.) We accept our circumstances and deny our power within. I challenge you to decree life, health and wisdom into your life and those around around you. I challenge you to reiterate God’s mandate for your life in this season. I challenge you to decree wealth and opportunities and blessings to overtake you. I challenge you to decree God’s perfect will be done in your life.

What's Next?

Perspective is everything. Do you have an optimistic or pessimistic perspective? Is the glass half full or half empty? Are you hopeful or do you expect the worst? Do you feel that the game is rigged or do you have a fighting chance? What's next? Do you have plans? Are you moving forward or are you waiting on life to happen? Are you defeated or did you just lose one battle? What's next? Do you see God's favor or do you simply see another closed door? Do you understand God's providence and sovereignty or do you only see consequences? Is your God punishing you or preparing you? What's next? Is your latter greater? What's next? Are you looking forward to what's next or focusing on what's already happened? What's next? Are those dreadful words of damnation or declarations? What's next?

I Am

We write affirmations in my house. I always tell the girls in addition to whatever they write to include "I am" statements. I tell them don't worry about if they aren't currently true because they will be. I understand that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I understand that words have the power to create our reality. I understand that generations before me spoke my freedom, my literacy, my liberty, and my ability to thrive and survive. I am because they were. I am because God created me. There is power in the great "I am" and there is power in knowing "I am."