Going from Grateful to Ungrateful in No Time Flat!

Grateful: thankful or appreciative for benefits or kindness.

Ungrateful: not thankful; showing no appreciation.

Have you ever thought about how easy it is to be grateful when things are going your way? I know that I can't just be speaking for just me when I say, "It's VERY easy!!" What about when things exceed your expectations? Have you ever thought about how easy it is to become complacent or even ungrateful? For example, think about some simple things: we know that we need rain in order to have the pretty green grass, beautiful flowers and beautiful gardens, right? So when the rain comes, we are initially so grateful. But what happens when it rains longer than we think it should? Those same folks who were grateful for the rain can become the first folks in line complaining about the number of days in a row that we've had rain! We don't typically mean any harm, but we can easily become ungrateful and we start complaining about the very thing we were so happy to get.

Look at the ten lepers in Luke 17:12-17. When those lepers saw Jesus entering into the village, they (all 10) "...lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us," and Jesus said, "go show yourself unto the priest and it came to pass, that as they went they were cleansed. One of them saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice, glorified God, and fell down on his face.." at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks. Jesus said "...were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" Surely the nine were very appreciative for being cleansed, but so ungrateful that they did not come back to give thanks.

The children of Israel are another example. They were grateful to be out of Egypt from under the hands of their hard task masters, but by the third experience on their journey, they started to murmur and complain about the very one that had brought them out. They sang God praises after He made a highway in the midst of the Red Sea, but not too far on the other side  they started complaining, "would to God we had stayed in Egypt." They were very grateful in short term, after crying out to be delivered (or ungrateful) in the long term.

But as it turns out, we really don't have to go that far back for an example; most (dare I say "all") can look in our own lives. For instance, some of us might have prayed long and hard for a spouse, but when we get blessed with one, about six months in some of us probably wish that he or she would change, when most of the time it's us that need to change! When we were going to the altar, we were so grateful, but six months later, it's all "woe is me!" We find ourselves becoming ungrateful and we start wondering where did I get this woman or man from and why didn't I see that they were like this before?! 

Let's learn to be grateful, my friends, for the Lord is not under any obligation to even wake us up in the morning! So let's first be grateful for Him, for people, places, things and for the person that the Lord has allowed us to become. Instead of talking about the things we don't have, let's celebrate all the many blessings that we do have in our lives!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen… and AMEN!

Everyone Has An Opinion!

Opinion: a conclusion held without positive knowledge

Everyone has an opinion, but I think it's safe to say that not every opinion needs to be heard. Once we understand that we can heal or that we can tear down with words, hopefully we realize the importance of using wisdom before we speak. The word informs us in James 1:19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." While we may truly mean well, we have to keep in mind that our opinion is our "conclusion held without positive knowledge."

In other words, we don't always know the true facts - we only speaking what we think - which we all know is simply our version of reality. When we speak without wisdom, we can easily hurt a family member or a friend, not to mention grieve the very spirit of God. Like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, when they offered their opinion against Moses and Aaron. They said unto them, (this was their opinion) "ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord"(Numbers 16:3).

That was truly their opinion, neither the Lord, nor wisdom or knowledge were found in those statements. If it had been, the earth would not have opened her mouth and swallowed them up, "with all that appertain unto them, and went down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord" (Numbers 16:30). They should have kept their opinions to themselves, because it grieved the spirit of God and caused them to lose their lives.

James 1:5 tells us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." We have no excuse, we can always go to the Lord before we give our opinion to someone else. He loves us and He won't rebuke us for coming to Him to get wisdom. So let's be careful about how we throw words around, as they may come back to swallow us up! Not to mention, every opinion simply does not need to be heard.

As you may have heard people say, "Opinions are just like noses - everybody has one." Just remember that just because we have one, it does not mean that it needs to be heard!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!
                                                                                                               

Let's Declare Our Declaration!

Declare: announce, proclaim, to state emphatically.
Declaration: announcement, the act of declaring.

This declaration was emailed to me and it blessed me tremendously; so much so that I wanted to share it with my friends.

Friends, because you are the righteousness of God, angels have been sent to minister to you. They respond to the word of God, which you speak. Therefore, loose angels with the words of your mouth.

So say today, let the Lord, who takes pleasure in your prosperity, be magnified. In the name of Jesus, command the angels to bring to you prosperity in your spirit, in your home, in your body, in your family life, and in your finances.

Declare promotion and command the angels to bring promotion into your life. You have a blood-bought covenant promise from God Almighty to multiply exceedingly. Therefore, confess that you are exceedingly fruitful and blessed, right now, in Jesus' name! Command the angels of God to go and bring this covenant to pass in your life now! You have the power to get wealth, and release the angels to bring wealth into your life.

Declare right now that you are healthy, healed, delivered, and freed from the bondage of sin. You are the head always, and never the tail. You are above only, and never beneath. You lend, not borrow and everything you put your hands on shall prosper.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

The Lord Wants Us to be Prosperous!

Prosperous: to be successful; to achieve success

In our day to day lives, we always want God to bless us with this thing or that thing, but how often do we stop and think about what we need to do to receive those blessings? In order for us to get what we want, we have to step out on what God has put in our hearts to do. It's pretty hard to be blessed when we don't put something out there to be blessed. Take for instance, a person with a God-given talent to sing, but doesn't do so. How can the Lord bless their beautiful voice if they don't use it? How can they achieve a successful career in singing if they don't allow God to make it prosperous?

If we want to be blessed, we've got to give the Lord something to bless. Take me for example, I wanted to write blogs and I believed in my heart I could - but if I had not picked up a pen and paper to write, it would still be a desire or a great idea in my mind. Instead, I stepped out of my comfort zone in faith and I gave the Lord something to work with. Now, I may not have completely achieved success, but I have given the Lord something to work with and I have no doubt that He's going to make it prosperous! Have you ever heard the old saying, "if you take one step, God will take two?"

Look at David when he was tending his father's sheep - his sheep were attack by a bear and a lion. David didn't just sit there - no, he took a leap of faith and went after the bear. Because David put action to his faith, God caused him to be successful - He allowed David to take the sheep out of the bear's mouth. Not only was he able to take his sheep, but he successfully killed the bear as well. Now, what if David had just thought that he could protect the flock, but never put forth any effort to do so. It seems pretty reasonable to believe that the bear and that lion would have eaten all his sheep. David's willingness to step out on faith also led to his defeat of Goliath. Here was David - a teenager - and Goliath - a giant - but when David heard him defy the armies of God, he didn't hesitate. I bet it never crossed his mind that he was just a child, nor did he allow what his brother said in 1 Samuel 17:28 (his brother thought that David was coming just to show off), effect him in any way. He knew of his past success and wasn't afraid to give God something else to work with!

That's the way we must be my friends, if we want to be successful in certain areas of our lives. We have got to give God something in or from us to make prosperous. If we want money, we have got to give, because when we give, God has something to work with. He can make it (and us) prosperous and allow it to come back to us. Let's give the Lord something to work with each and every day!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Take a Stand Even if You Don’t Understand!

Stand: To remain unchanged; to resist

Understand: To comprehend; to realize

We must learn to remain unchanged even when we can’t comprehend what’s going on in our lives. Today, we might be - as a famous songwriter once said - sitting on top of the world today, the next day we might feel like the world is on top of us. That’s when we have to pull from within and remember what the Lord has said and what He has done.

Let’s take a look at the Shunammite woman. Even though life threw her a curb ball, she was still able to take a firm stand.  Let me share with you her story from II Kings 4:8-35. The little Shunammite woman and her husband made a little chamber in their house for Elisha; for she perceived he was a man of God. She wanted to make sure that he, a man of God, would have a place to turn in to whenever he passed through. In return, the man of God wanted to be a blessing to her and he realized the woman and her husband had no children. Elisha told her about a specific season, according to the time of life, that she would embrace a son. And of course, the woman bore a son in the season that Elisha had said to her. When that child was grown, he went to his father and complaining about some pain saying, “my head, my head” and his father told him to go to his mother. He went to her and sat on her knees till noon then he died.

After her son passed, the Shunammite woman went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. She then shut the door upon him, and went out.  She never told her husband that their son was dead, she simply said, “I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.” He said, “wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor Sabbath.” and she said, “it shall be well.” So she saddled up a donkey and headed out to see the man of God – despite the fact that her son had just died. When the man of God saw her from far off, he sent his servant to ask her, “is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?” 

Even though her son had just died and the scripture tells us that her soul was vexed; she took a stand. I’m pretty sure that she didn’t understand what was going on and yet she took a stand. Her response to the servant was “it is well.” If the shoe was on the other foot and you were in her situation, could you answer with a simple, “it is well?” Or would you spend at least the next 5-10 minutes telling the servant all of your woes? Would you be able to stand even when you didn’t understand?

Getting back to our story -- the Bible tells us that Elisha went back to the house where the child was dead and laid on his bed. He went on to shut the door upon them and he prayed unto the Lord. Elisha then laid upon the child, put his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes and his hands upon the child’s hands. He then stretched himself upon the child and the child’s flesh began to warm. Elisha later repeated this process and wouldn’t you know it - the child sneezed seven times and he opened his eyes!

That Shunammite woman had not asked for this child - he was a gift from God. For him to then die at such a young age had to be difficult for her - you know there was no way that she could understand what had happened to him, but she was able to stand firm and go forward. Let’s let that Shunammite woman stand as an example for us when things happen that we don’t understand. 

Let’s resolve to take a stand even when we don’t understand what’s happening around us. Pull from deep within, my friends, and trust in the Lord with all you have!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!