Where is the Love?

What's on my mind?- Relationships between men and women.  Not just romantically. But in business, ministry and in the community- particularly among Believers.

Women, I know "all [your] life you've had to fight [sexism, misogyny,  discrimination, abuse etc]" but every man is not a chauvinistic hater. You don't have to be so rude and defensive to everyone with a penis. You don't have to compete with him. You don't have to  prove yourself to anyone except the Lord. The word says study  to show yourself approved unto GOD! (2 Timothy 2:15)

Please keep in mind, you don't have to defer to every man just because he's a man. The ONLY man who automatically gets your deference is YOUR husband. You don't have to shrink back into false humility and false meekness to cater to inflated egos.  Blessed are the peace MAKERS- not status quo keepers. 

Sometimes you have to disturb the status quo so that things come into alignment with godly standards. But be careful. Don't react defensively  as a trauma response to abuse. Go with God, in the character and nature of God with the wisdom of God as you speak the truth in love.

Men, God blessed humanity- male and female to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion in the earth.  (Gen 1:27-28) You're not the head of every woman. Just your wife. (Ephesians  5:22) Unless there's  some other established line of authority, you and everyone else- including women, owe each other the same level of honor and respect- honor all humanity, love sisters and brothers in Christ,  respect leadership offices [without regard to the  gender of the person who occupies the office].(1 Peter 2:17)

I sometimes sit back and discern  the hearts of men toward women and watch the actions of women toward men, and I'm troubled- deeply!😪 Where is the love? 🙏🏾  That's what's on my mind right now- love and mutual respect and admiration among men and women of God.

Look to God and Live!

Some of you have gone through a season of trials and tribulations that has literally caused you to curse God and die!  And the worst part is you don't even know it.  How? You may ask. 

One aspect of cursing someone is to say that a person is without significance. Some of us have made our issues larger than the God we claim to trust, obey and serve.  By focusing on the challenges rather than focusing on God some have begun to doubt, waiver, and lose your zeal for the things of God.  Your worship life, prayer life, word life are all declining. 

You are literally DYING spiritually! God is not at the center of your thoughts, emotions and devotion.  You've made God insignificant in the matter.   I have been there. In fact, if I am really honest with myself I am in  a place of asking God for God's grace to recenter and refocus my attention on Him rather than what has been going on around me for the past four or five years. Its been  challenging to say the least. But God! God us faithful. 

When challenges arise, one of best things we can do as one man of God advised me is to "Move forward with God!"   Remember, God is sovereign.  Whatever you're going through God allowed it.  If you die and you're in Jesus, you will go home to be with the Lord.  That's a win!  If you live through it, God is with you in the fire.  God causes all things to work together for your good.  That's a win! James said we should consider it pure JOY when we go through trials and tribulations!  

Look for the God factor even in the midst of the trial.  You, your trials, and tribulations are present in the fire.  Look for the fourth One in the fire! When trouble comes, don't do as Job's wife advised him to do by cursing God and dying.  Do as a wise woman of God- The Rev. Dr. Marguerite Dorothy Doctor, told me when we suffered the loss of our son in 2020- "Look to God and live!"  I didn't FULLY understand what she was TRULY saying in that moment.  But her words had spirt and life in them and I was encouraged.  Those words stirred something within me. 

When trouble comes- Look to GOD and LIVE!!

In All Things...

We Give God Thanks 

This is a picture taken April 7 on our dad's 84th  and last birthday celebration on this side of eternity. We surprised him. He was upset that he wasn't "properly dressed" but  had on "work" clothes (his words). Zoom in. Look at that smile. Priceless! On October 4, he was birthed back into eternity. We celebrated his home going celebration October 14 which was dad's first born son's birthday. 

On the morning of his home going celebration, I woke up with excitement. God didn't disappoint. It was a beautiful day. The Funeral Service  wasn't somber or sad. It was a celebration of a life well-lived. 

At the homegoing celebration, I didn't shed  a tear as I stood to talk about dad's life, love and legacy. Dad was a sound Believer. He lived to see great great grandchildren. His hair was white- not gray. There was no mixture of black and white. 

Dad wasn't taken from us. Near the  end of his days while in a sound mind, he made healthcare choices which demonstrated he truly believed that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Dad was ready to go home and be with the Lord. Before taking his leave, he made sure he gave a charge to his sons to take care of our mom who was his bride  of 58 years. Dad passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family. He released his blessings upon us in his last days in the earth. 

We bless God for grace, comfort, peace, joy and strength. Thanks to family and friends for traveling to be present with us.  Some traveled for  hours and hours to visit for a few hours and then turned around to drive back home to attend to other duties. Thanks to family and friends for prayers, words of comfort , flowers, cards, and bereavement gifts. Love is an action word! We thank God for the love we've received during this time of bereavement.

Basic Survival Skills for the Wilderness

1. Tend the Fire. Continue to pray fervently and strategically. Leviticus 6:8-13. Key verse 6:12. 

2. Soak in His Presence. Engage the Word, pray, obey God, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and celebrate the goodness of God. John 4:1-26. Key verses John 4:13-14.

3. Eat the Bread of Life. Search out "case studies" in Scripture which provide insight into your circumstances. John 6:22-40. Key verse John 6:35. 

4. Get a grip! Hold onto God's unchanging hand. Be assured that God was is and forever will be the Unchanging Changer. Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8.

5. Choose a weapon. Several weapons of spiritual warfare are the Word of God, prayer, worship, the names of God, fasting, your testimony, and thanksgiving. 2 Corinthians 10:14

6. Shelter in Place. Remain in the secret place. Stay in fellowship with the saints.  Psalm 91:1-2; Hebrews 10:25.

7. Receive First Aid. Be made whole. The wilderness can be a place of intimacy with God to receive inner healing and deliverance from soul wounds. Hebrews 12:1 TPT

8. Set a trap. Catch the thief at work. Ask God for revelation about whether God allowed the enemy to drive you into the wilderness and if so on what legal grounds. Ask forgiveness. Cry out for mercy. Seek restoration and restitution.  Proverbs 6:30-35. Key verse 6:31. John 10:10.

9. Stay ready. Be like the wise virgins who were prepared.  Seasons of trials and temptation will come. Matthew 25:1-13; James 1:2. 

10. Remember, this too shall pass! It's only temporary. You're going THROUGH and coming OUT. Psalm 23:4, 30:5.

Let Go! Let God!! Walk in Abundance, Peace and Joy!!!

Its a new season! God is doing a new thing. Will you not see it? Or will you go into your new season kicking and screaming, murmuring and complaining while lamenting about what you enjoyed in "Egypt"?! Like I did. 

Listen, God answered long standing prayers of mine. But because it didn't happen how I was expecting it, I was fighting the process of promotion, settlement, and fulfillment. Transition is difficult. The birthing canal is narrow, tight, dark and painful. Many die in the birthing process. The truth is somethings within and connected to you MUST die so that you can live- truly live in higher realms and dimensions. Carnal mindsets must die. Anything unfruitful or unprofitable MUST DIE. But YOU will live. You will have life and life more abundantly. You will declare the works of the Lord. 

We often must walk through the wilderness to get to the promised land. The wilderness is a place of testing not only for you, but also for everyone and everything connected to you. A couple key relationships DIED in my wilderness season.

After pruning comes fruitfulness. There's so much newness around me- new streams of income, new home, new boo. But, I can't say I walked into it gracefully. I initially waged war against becoming an independent contractor and consultant.  I initially fought prosperity and abundance because I didnt like the pruning that preceded the prosperity. But God!  All I can say is God has blessed me beyond what I could think, ask or imagine! One of my clients said "You're a free agent!" Yep, FREE agent. But I was thrown into a  freedom that I fought every step of the way. 

Side Note: The Lord says this is the season to focus on your business ideas all the more. Many of you are destined for wealth to become kingdom financiers. You won't become wealthy working for someone else. But you're playing it safe. What's in your hand? Work it. Work it while you're employed. Work it until it replaces the income from your 9-5. God has given you the power to make wealth. 

I fought against being settled in a new home because I'd not carefully planned out every step of the relocation process. Even though I didn't plan it, I'm living in a house in the area God highlighted to me in September 2020. He gave me the zip code in prayer! When I returned to the States, I initially longed to MOVE BACK into an income generating, tenant occupied condo that's too small for my growing family- which makes no sense! But I thought it was a "safe" move. 

However, God gave us the specs for our single family home in 2020. Settling for anything less is actually an act of disobedience to God! We don't know how God wants to use the land and house He showed us.  I  say "us" because, God gave the same vision (square feet, number of rooms, acreage) for OUR home to my partner even before we met! He had it written down in a journal- just like I did. 

I always say I'm a lover- not a fighter. But y'all, I fought LOVE!! 🤣 The day I got engaged, I hid the engagement ring because I didn't think the timing was right to get engaged. I knew my partner had the ring. I discerned what was in his heart to do that day. So I went into his backpack, took the ring, and hid it. Don't judge me. In my mind, we hadn't known each other long enough to get engaged. It wasn't logical. Made no sense. Yet there are at least 12 indisputable, infallible proofs that he's the one- including finding a ring that was otherwise unfindable without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. 

As I'm typing I'm hearing this in my spirit "You like being in control. You're being HUMBLED to have a right view of My SOVEREIGNTY and your LIMITATIONS. You're not in control. In order for Me to get My return on My investment in you, you must RADICALLY trust and obey me without fear, reservation or delay." Who else needs to hear that?! Read it again. 

I can speak to you from first- hand knowledge. Promotion, settlement, and fulfillment don't always look and feel like promotion, settlement, and fulfillment at the onset. Let go!  Let God!! Walk in abundance, settlement and fulfillment!!!

Five Dimensions of Consecration and Holiness

There are five major areas for which we should seek God’s consecration (sanctification, dedication, blessing, hallowing). These are Birthright, Office, Community, Time and Land. Your birthright are things that are due to you simply based on your birth, or birth order.  You have birthrights attached to your natural lineage and your rebirth in Christ Jesus.  You have rights of citizenship based on where you were born or where your parents were born.  You have inheritance rights to property owned by parents or others. Above all- you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.  The enemy will try to rob you of your birthrights. 

An office is a position of authority of service.  We can occupy the position of daughter, sister, mother, wife, Prophet, employee, employer, etc.  There are rights, responsibilities and blessings attached to offices.  There are also curses, negative cycles and patterns attached to offices.  For example, the first son usually gets a “double portion” of his father’s inheritance.  But the first son often has huge responsibilities that weigh on him spiritually, mentally, emotionally, financially, etc.  If not managed well by relying upon the grace of God, first sons often grow weary in their well-doing and crumble under the burden of responsibilities.  First sons in many developing countries often die prematurely due to the stress and burdens related to their office of first son. 

A community is a social unit with commonality such as place, norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity.  Our first community is our family of origin.  Community also includes but is not limited to extended family, ethnic group, church family, etc. God is intentional.  God has a purpose and plan for each individual, family and social unit within the earth and world system.  He places a mandate and calling on these units.  God releases gifts, graces, anointings and blessings upon these units to do that which they're called to do.  The enemy always tries to counter what God does.  So there are also curses, negative cycles and patterns assigned to social units that are enforced by demonic powers. 

One of the tools the enemy uses to enforce curses, negative cycles and patterns within a social unit is a strong man.  Mark 3:27 says “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”  According to Evangelist Joshua Orekhie, a strongman is an agent of darkness. A strongman is a demon that steals, kills, destroys, oppresses, delays and frustrates a person’s destiny. He’s an enemy of your progress, success, and breakthrough. In every family, there is a principality that torments them. For example, if you discover in some families, there is always marital delay, poverty, suffering, barrenness, miscarriage, demotion afflicting them, know that there is a strongman that is enforcing these symptoms into the line of that family. Foundational strongman needs to be destroyed with deliverance prayers.”

Time is a unit of measurement for actions, processes, conditions which succeed one another from past, through present, and to future to fulfill our destiny and calling in the earth.  Time is a unit of destiny.  Our time can be blessed.  It can be cursed by time wasters which cause our actions, processes, conditions and events to be unfruitful and unprofitable.  Too often we think of the devour eating away at money or health.  But the devour can waste time.  The Book of Joel promises restoration of time that has been wasted by devouring spirits.   

Land is the terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. This could be your personal property, a town, city, state, region, country, continent.  The Land can be blessed.  It can be cursed.  It can be polluted.  It keeps score.  It testifies for or against people, places and things.  The land can be used as a point of contact to speak blessings or curses over people, places and things which come into contact with the terrestrial plane in any location in the earth. An herbalist in a village in Ogun State Nigeria can step onto the soil and use it as a point of contact to perform a ritual against someone in NYC.  A woman of God can step onto the soil in McDonough, GA and use it as a point of contact to speak blessings, life and favor over members of the Body of Christ in China.  Using points of contact has the same effect as the actual laying on of hands.

Church Leadership

The leadership structure of the early church was very simple consisting of two offices- elders (senior leaders) and deacons (ministers who assisted the elders in caring for the flock). Some of the Elders were ordained by God as special gifts to the Church for reasons outlined in Ephesians 4:12-16.  These gifts are Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers (Ephesians 4:11). These gifts had varying spheres of influence (metrons). Most served a local assembly. Some served several assemblies. A number served large regions and territories. A few served the Universal Church. This is the biblical model of governance in the Church. This model was dismantled by Constantine in the second century.  But God is bringing restoration to the Church.  

Elder, Pastor and Bishop or Overseer represent qualities of those who serve in the role of a senior leader. “Elder” represents spiritual maturity and wisdom. “Pastor” is a shepherding term referring to how Elders care for people. “Bishop” or “overseer” refers to the oversight or administrative  responsibilities that comes with the role of an Elder. 

Elders may be called to serve the Body of Christ as a five-fold ministry gift (Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Evangelist, Teacher). These ones are gifts to the Body. They're ordained by God and affirmed by other five-fold ministry gifts. 

Not all elders are five-fold ministers. But I believe all five-fold ministry gifts should meet the qualifications of an elder AND serve  in the role or capacity of an elder (sometimes referred to as "pastor") in an assembly prior to being affirmed to a five-fold ministry office. I believe one reason we see so much drama in the apostolic-prophetic movement is because we've been too quick to lay hands on people with no track record in life, faith or service. In many instances,  we've exalted giftedness over character when affirming members to a five-fold office. So what are the qualifications of an elder? Here's how I interpret 1 Timothy 3:1-7. 

1. Elders are servant leaders. Elders desire and pursue opportunities to serve and minister to the needs of others. 

2. Elders have solid character. Their lifestyle doesn't bring shame or reproach to the Church. They abstain from  violence and lawlessness. They have a good reputation in the Church and among the lost. 

3. Elders are faithful. They don't engage in fornication, adultery (spiritual or natural) or any form of  idolatry. They are fully committed to the Bridegroom Who is Jesus the Christ. 

4. Elders are alert, watchful, prayerful, vigilant and clearheaded. Elders rely upon the grace of God for the inner strength to refrain from any excess that would dull spiritual discernment. Elders are not given to drunkenness (naturally or spiritually) or gluttony. 

5. Elders are sober minded. Elders have a  serious attitude about spiritual matters. Elders are earnest about the works of ministry. Elders don't cheapen ministry or the Gospel message with foolish words or behavior. They do and say everything to the glory of God. They speak as oracles of God and represent God in the earth with their actions and deeds. 

6. Elders lead respectable, orderly, self-disciplined lives. Commentator Homer Kent said this: “The ministry is no place for the leader whose life is a continual confusion of unaccomplished plans and unorganized activities."

7. Elders are hospitable, lovers of strangers, contribute to the needs of saints, and minister to the saved and unsaved.  

8. Elders are able to teach the Word and defend the faith. They embody the Presence of the Living Word. 

9. Elders are not contentious. They can disagree without being disagreeable. They're patient, long suffering, considerate, genial, forbearing, and gracious. They easily pardon human failures. 

10. They answer the call to serve not to be served or to amass wealth. If God allows them to become wealthy as ministers wonderful! And that should not be their driving force for becoming a minister. We do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, the worker is worthy of his wages. However ministry should not be chosen for financial aspirations. 

11. Elders are spiritually mature. They're not recent converts who are still babes in Christ. 

12. Elders manage their personal lives,  households and families well. An elder cares for their family in a dignified manner that encourages and draws respect from others. Their homes, family lives and personal relationships are under the authority of Christ and adhere to biblical standards. 

(Reference: https://bible.org/seriespage/7-essential-qualities-elders-1-timothy-31-7)