water the earth.

(Psalm 72:6)

Yesterday I sat in my car during my lunch break while the rain beat down and I watched the big drops of water rinse clean all of the dirt and leaves from my windshield. As I listen to the staccato of the raindrops I began to think about the refreshing rain of the power of God on our lives. It covers a multitude of sin. It washes us clean. It renews us. It destroys burdens and yokes. It fills us. The spirit of God enables and empowers us to walk worthy of His calling. It reminds me of Ernest Pugh’s song, Rain on Us. There is a certain sweet expectancy that comes when we call upon the Lord to:

Let Your glory fill this place   

Let Your all consuming fire fill this tabernacle and purify our hearts

Surround us in this place and breathe new life within us and 

saturate our hearts

The purpose of the rain in the physical sense is to refresh the Earth, make it more fruitful and replenish supply. We stand in expectancy waiting on it to wash away the old and make things new in our lives. In the spiritual sense we also stand in expectancy waiting on God to shower us with refreshing rain to make us whole and new in the hard times. We stand in expectancy of the necessary and effectual rain to destroy any burdens and yokes that is choking purpose right now in our lives.

Is this your heart cry today? Is there a burning desire for the glory of the Lord to fill every space in your heart? Do you crave the refreshing renewal that comes when God’s power rests on your life? Right now, wherever you are, praise the name of the Lord. Ask our Heavenly Father to shower down on you like never before. Cry out to the Lord to deliver the rain necessary for your refreshing and restoration. Ask Him to shower down and let His glory fill the places of your heart, purifying it and renew your walk with Him. Ask Him to wash away the old nature and create a new thing in you; new rivers in the dry wasteland (Is: 43:19). Without the rain there can be no refreshing, no fruit or seed and no replenishing. Believe that God is faithful to answer your prayers. Trust Him to open the floodgates of Heaven to shower down and replenish, restore and refresh like never before. ~LPG

Let’s Pray: Father God. Rain down on me. Cover me and wash away anything that’s not like you. Refresh me and renew me for your great plans and good work. I stand in expectancy and believing you to revive me. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

I would like to share a letter of surrender to God that expresses how I feel, in hopes that it will also encourage you to surrender all.

Dear God,

I’ve heard people say, “I got this!” when referring to their lives.  Honestly, at one point I thought that way too.  Today I’m admitting that I don’t.  I don’t have this.  I’m like an addict striving for sobriety, recognizing that at any time I can fall short.  I need you God.  I need you like the air I breathe.  I need you like I need food and water to survive.  Order my steps and show me the right way Lord, otherwise I will be lost.  Teach me how to be the Godly woman and wife that you’ve called me to be so that I won’t misrepresent you.  I’m throwing in the towel of Surrender admitting that I’m nothing without you.  All to you Lord, I surrender. All to you I freely give.  Have your way in me Lord.  I present my body as a living sacrifice to you.  Get glory out of me Father.

If you share these same sentiments, let God know today.  Surrender it all to HIm and hold nothing back.  He wants it ALL.  I like what Rick Warren says about surrender in his book, What On Earth Am I Here For?  He says, “Genuine surrender says, ‘Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s, please don’t take it away.”Wow!  Let go of your will so that God’s will can be done.  ~SMC

Let’s pray: Lord, right now…right here…today…I surrender all….Have your way. Amen.

I remember being a little girl and sitting in church.  I didn’t particularly like having to sit still and be quiet for what seemed like forever to me at that time.  However, there was always one part of the service that captivated me.  My Aunt was the choir director and I loved (I still do!) to watch her direct the choir.  But there is one thing that I loved more than her directing, I loved to hear her sing!  She has one of the most angelic voices that I have ever heard.  There is a song that she used to sing that still remains with me today.  It is “Changed” by Tramaine Hawkins.  I didn’t understand the significance of the lyrics of this song as a child, but now I do!

“A wonderful change has come over me…Changed….I’m so glad he changed me.”  The lyrics to the song “Changed” by Tramaine Hawkins have been reverberating in my spirit over the last couple days.  This morning as I pictured my Aunt singing this song, I lifted my hands in praise to God because I finally understand what it means to have God come in and change your life.  I understand what it means to be a new creature in Christ, for the old things to pass away (2 Corinthians 5:17).  When I should have been cast off for the things I have done, He washed away all my sins and made me whole.  In the midst of life’s greatest challenges, He stepped in and kept me in perfect peace.  He changed the way I think.  I don’t look at life’s situations the same.  He changed my life and now I’m free…a wonderful change has come over me!

When I think about the ways in which God has changed me and my loved ones, I am in awe.  Who, but God, could turn somebody’s life around so drastically?  I’m a living witness that once you let God get a hold of your life, you will never be the same.  Maybe you’re looking for a change this morning.  You have tried everything else and nothing seems to works.  I encourage you to give God a try.  You may be thinking that things in your life are so bad that not even God could change things.  Believe me when I tell you, there is nothing…no situation…that is too hard for God.  Trust Him today and surrender your life and situations to Him.  When God gets a hold of you and begins to effect change in your life, the impossible happens.  It’s simply wonderful…won’t you trust God today? ~ NNM

Let’s pray:  Lord, I thank you for the wonderful change that’s come over me.  I thank you for changing the way I think, talk, and walk.  Someone is searching for change this morning.  They are tired of doing the same old things and getting the same results.  I pray that they surrender their lives to you today and begin to experience the wonderful change that only you can make happen in their lives.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

And let us not be weary in well doing:

 for in due season we shall reap, IF we faint not.

(Galatians 6:9)

Don’t Quit by: Unknown Author

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

I shared this poem to encourage someone out there to hold on and not give up. It may seem like you have been in the fight of your life and things just keep piling up, one block after another and you feel like if one more thing happens, you will collapse from the weight of it all. One of the easiest things to do is quit when you feel like you have had enough. When things are going the way you thought they would or envisioned them to be, it’s easy to doubt your calling or have a desire to throw in the towel. Oh how the enemy would love that! Slew foot would be right there with open arms whispering in your ear telling you that those actions would be justified. But those arms are the arms of a liar ready to cut off your very life source if you let him. There is no peace in giving up and quitting.

Galatians 6:9 says for us to not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Barnes Notes on the Bible says the following: Christians sometimes become weary. There is so much opposition to the best plans for doing good; there is so much to be done; there are so many calls on their time and their charities; and there is often so much ingratitude among those whom they endeavor to benefit, that they become disheartened. Such Paul addresses, and exhorts them not to give over, but to persevere.

We are called to preserve and not quit. We are equipped with the Lord’s strength that we need to keep pushing. So today, make a declaration with me to stand up on the inside. We will not quit on our dreams. We will not quit on waiting on God. We will not quit on doing what is right. Even when you are standing eye to eye with your lowest point, you WILL NOT QUIT. God began a good work in you; so just please rely on Him alone to complete it. Jesus didn’t give up His mission…He kept on, past the pain, past the grave and into glory. Let our Savior be the example that you need today to move past the pain, past the grave of disappointment and despair and into the glory of God. ~LPG

Let’s Pray: Father God, without you I wouldn’t be able to stand up on the inside and face the pain and disheartenment of life. Help me to not quit on the dreams that you have placed on the inside of me. With you I can do all things and with you all things are possible. I thank you for beginning a good work within me and I trust you God to complete it. In Jesus’ name. Amen

If you’ve been following us for the past six weeks, you know that I’ve been sharing the “Stuck” series that my pastor preached several years ago to help us get emotional healing.  Hopefully you’ve had a chance to work through parts 1 – 6 and allowing God to heal your heart.  If so, you are ready for the last step: “Stop expecting people and things to do for you what only God can do.”  This step involves assessing your life to determine who or what is sitting in God’s assigned seat of your heart.

God created all of us with a spot inside that only He can fill.  That’s why when we yearn for fulfillment in men, women, alcohol, sex, drugs, work, children, material things….it’s never enough.  Looking to people and things for fulfillment only leads to addictive, discontent, and obsessive behavior because people and things were never meant to fill that inner void.  Leah realized this in Genesis 29 after numerous attempts to get her husband to love her.  Leah thought that after giving birth to Jacob’s son, she would win his heart.  However, after bearing 4 of his sons, she finally realized that she was looking to the wrong one to find love.  She received the revelation that only God could give her the love and affection she desperately craved from Jacob.  If you want to work towards becoming emotionally healthy, realize that people are human and don’t have the ability to fulfill you like you want them to.  As my pastor stated, “the extent to which a person or thing can disappoint you is based on the level of expectation you place on them.”

If you have your significant other, friend, or child on a pedestal and view them as your world, then you are setting yourself up for a huge disappointment, which will result in more hurt and pain.  To prevent this from occurring, put your hopes, confidence, and trust in God.  Make Him your first priority so you can put people and things in their proper place.  If you realize that your relationship with God is out of order, admit to Him the person or thing that you’ve put in His place.  Ask for His help to remove them from the throne of your heart and restore you to a right relationship with Him.  God’s love can’t compare to anyone or anything else, so seek to find balance in your life and put God at the center of your heart where He is prescribed to be.  ~SMC

Let’s pray: Lord I thank you for being my everything.  Heal me from the desire to have people and things fulfill me.  Help me to get my relationship with you in order and make you my first priority.  I need you Lord.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

To view all 7 parts of the “Stuck” series, click the links below:

Stuck series part 1

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135403

Stuck series part 2

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135408

Stuck series part 3

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135420

Stuck series part 4

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135423

Stuck series part 5

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135410

Stuck series part 6

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135413

Stuck series part 7

http://zc.sermon.tv/3135418

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD (Psalm 150:6, NIV).

On Tuesday, SMC shared the lyrics of Pastor Shirley Caesar’s new song, “God Will Make A Way.”  We were encouraged by the lyrics of the song, which told us to believe through our doubts that God would make a way.  Yesterday, LPG interrupted our day to bring us an important message from the L4T Emergency Broadcast System.  She told us to “Consider It Done!”  She encouraged us to focus our attention on what God can do instead of what we’re currently seeing, hearing, or experiencing.  So, we know that God will make a way.  We also know that whatever we have been seeking God for is already done.  There’s only one thing left to do…praise Him in advance!

We’re not going to wait until the situation has changed.  We’re not going to wait until we see our dreams come to pass.  We’re not going to wait until we or our loved ones are healed.  We’re not going to wait until we get the job or promotion that we’ve been praying for.  We’re not going to wait until we get the deliverance that we’ve been praying for.  We’re going to shout now!  If we already know that GOD WILL and that it’s ALREADY DONE, why wait?  Praising God now is a sign of your faith that He will do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).  We’re going to seal the deal with our victory dance today!!

Wherever you are right now, I want you to stop and praise God in advance for whatever you have been seeking God for.  Know without a shadow of a doubt that God will make a way!  Your breakthrough is coming!  Your healing is coming!  Your relationship is being mended!  Continue to trust and believe that it’s already done!  Now…shout unto God with the voice of triumph and continue to praise Him in advance for what He’s going to do in your life! ~ NNM

Let’s pray:  Lord, I thank you for making a way out of no way.  I trust and believe that it’s already done.  I’m praising you in advance for your mighty acts and your abundant greatness.  I bless your holy name! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

(Jeremiah 32:27, AMP)

I am interrupting your day to bring you an important message from the L4T Emergency Broadcast System.

Sometime this week, yesterday or even perhaps this morning, you have prayed for God to remove you from a situation that seemed like it was too much for you to handle. You have asked God to strengthen you in areas you felt ill equipped to deal with. You have asked God to order your steps and provide you with direction and confidence to carry out His plans. You have resolved to make a change toward Christ and you just need some encouragement to keep walking by Faith. You have determined in your heart and mind to forgive and you just need a little support to keep you on the path to renewal. You have decided to stop complaining about your life and do something about it yet you need just some inspiration in order to kick start your dreams.

Yes, I am talking to you! The one who has labored in tears, aches and pains and prayers to get it right today, what didn’t occur yesterday. I’m talking to the one who is still standing as a testament to God’s power and grace. I’m talking to the one who almost gave up but God intervened and reminded you that you were His precious gift. I’m talking to the one who felt unworthy because of your upbringing or environment. I’m talking to the one who felt like they’ve missed out on the joy of life or feel like they are undeserving. I’m talking to you!  The one who was chosen to be salt and light in the world. The one that God gave His Son for. The one that God cares for and loves deeply. So whatever it is, whatever you desire, whatever you are believing God for, consider it done. Consider it DONE in His mighty name. Stand on His promises and accept His love. Accept His kindness. Accept that He has already orchestrated everything for your good. The pain and struggles you are feeling today will be nothing compared to the glory that is getting ready to be revealed in your life. Don’t be blindsided by the misrepresentation of the evil one who only wants to infuse fear, doubt, and shortcomings. He doesn’t have any power. ZILCH. So don’t let him continue to harass you. He has already been defeated-That was done at the cross (insert victory dance)!

So, go in faith today. Meditate on scriptures of deliverance. Focus your attention on what God can do instead of what you can’t or haven’t done. Stay in prayer, steadfast in His word. Submit it to God because it’s already done!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming… ~LPG

Let’s pray: Lord, I thank you that it’s already done! No weapon formed against me shall prosper!  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

(Isaiah 43:16, NLT)

When I woke up this morning, the song “God Will Make A Way” by Pastor Shirley Caesar sang in my head.  I want to encourage you with the lyrics of that song this morning:

God will make a way

I know that He will

I’ve seen it and He will

God will bring you out

I know that He will

I’ve seen it and I know He will

If you just let Him make a way

God will make a way

He knows exactly what you’ve been feeling now

So don’t you doubt and don’t you give up now

For the God I serve is already working it out

You see I tried him

He made a way for me

I understand just what you’ve ben going through

It is not the time for you to give up now

You’ve been praying and your miracle is on the way

God will make a way…

Do you believe that today?  I know you’ve been going through a difficult time in your life, but it’s nothing that God can’t handle.  Drown out the thoughts of doubt with the truth of the Word.  If God could make a way for the Israelites to escape through the Red Sea from the Egyptians (Exodus 14), He can make a way for you.  If He could open Sarah’s womb after years of being barren (Genesis 21), He can make a way for you.  If God could rescue Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace without them getting burned (Daniel 3), surely He can make a way for you. Try Him and see…  ~SMC

Let’s pray: Lord, I thank you for the reminder that I’m not in this situation alone.  I thank you that no matter what challenges I face, you will make a way for me.  Strengthen me in those times when I’m distracted by my own fleshly thoughts.  Help me to stay focused on your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8, NLT).

This past week was one of the most difficult weeks that I have experienced in a long time.  By Friday evening, I was physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted.  While talking to a close friend on Saturday, I realized that we were experiencing the same attacks from the enemy last week.  I am sure we’re not alone.  Therefore, I am reposting a message that I wrote on 23 January 2013.  Take heed to the message below and I pray that you understand the importance of controlling your thought patterns.  I serve as a witness that the Battlefield of the Mind is definitely real…

Are you aware that you are engaged in battle every day??  Are you aware that the battle is taking place in your mind??  Worry, fear, doubt, confusion, depression, anger, and condemnation are damaging and negative thought patterns that the enemy uses against us to stop us from experiencing victory and peace within our lives.  Therefore, we have to be diligent about taking control of our thoughts and breaking negative or damaging thought patterns.  How do we do this?  I’m glad you asked!!

We have to learn to take these thoughts captive and apply the Word of God.  2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  What does this mean??  It means that every time the enemy throws a lie or negative thought your way, you must learn to take hold of that thought and replace it with the truth (God’s Word).  Philippians 4:8 instructs us to fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  What happens when we don’t take the enemy’s lies and negative thoughts captive?  We start to rehearse the thought over and over again in our heads and we eventually become what we think about.  Proverbs 23:7 clearly states that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

A person who considers himself a failure didn’t get that way overnight.  The enemy planted that thought a while ago and instead of believing that he could do anything through Christ (Philippians 4:13); he believed the lie.  Therefore, failing became a dominant thought pattern in his mind and it began to show through his actions.  He essentially became the thoughts he was rehearsing in his mind.  So, what are you thinking about today?  I encourage you to examine your thought patterns.  What are you allowing to seep into your spirit?  Is it aligned with the truth (God’s Word) or are you rehearsing the lies and damaging thoughts that the enemy is trying to bombard your mind with?  I encourage you today to think about what you’re thinking about!!! ~ NNM

Let’s pray:  Lord, I confess to you that I often struggle with the way I think.  I allow the lies and damaging thoughts to take root in my spirit.  Lord, help me to stay focused on you and to learn to take those types of thoughts captive and immediately apply the truth.  Today, I surrender the control of my mind to You, Father.  In Jesus name, Amen!

 (2 Corinthians 2:15-16 NLT)

Imagine for a moment, the most putrid smelling trash bag sitting next to you. I mean it reeks to the core because it’s filled with waste, rot and decay.  The stench of it is so great, that you can’t stand to breathe. Now, just bear with me, but what if the contents of that same trash bag were to spill open and get on you. Now, the stench is on you and you tried washing your skin to no avail, you can still smell the remnants of the contents and thus everywhere you go, you carry a little of the rotten reminders of the contents of that bag. That is gross right?

Would you believe me if I told you that this happens to us in life? You and I at some point and maybe even right now, are walking around with the waste residue of something awful on us that just reek. You know what is in that bag?  Hmm let’s see : unforgiveness, resentment, unbelief, negativity, complete fear, hardened hearts, contention, strife, disappointments, failures, selfishness, ego, deceit, shame, guilt, condemnation, loss, grief, grudges and a host of other bacteria that clamors for first prize of what can stink the most. And we wear the ribbon of it like a prize and irony of it all is that the ribbon stinks to the heavens because it’s not really a prize at all. It’s a false sense of security. It’s really just trash that we have amassed and we are covered in it just walking around…smelly.  And then, when it gets to be too much, we declare: This stinks! Life sucks! I can’t cope. How much longer?  Why me?

Is this you? Are you at this particular stop on lamenting tour? You are too precious in God’s sight to be walking around stinky and filthy like that.  It is time to recognize and examine the trash for what it is and get rid of it. Not the superficial way of just washing yourself in a couple of scriptures or just dousing yourself with a spray or two of inspirational song or dance. But would you really be willing to get to the heart of the matter? Would you be willing to let Jesus show you the way, the truth and the light? He said in John 10:10 that He came so that you and I can have life and have it more abundantly. When we walk with Him and live in the obedience of God’s will – we enjoy a super abundant spiritual life that is beyond anything we could ever hope and dream for. Let the name and salvation of Jesus be the sweet smelling salve to clean up all that stinky mess from the INSIDE out. Complete immersion in God’s word and walking with Christ likeness. Think about the priceless sacrifice that was spilled and shed so you and I could be saved from sin and have eternal life. He took the stink. All that stuff in your bags…He was covered in it for you and I, so we don’t have to wear it as our calling card any more. Can you imagine, Jesus, perfect and blameless having to bear the horrible stench of sin for me and you?  But yet and still we cling to the stink as a covering because we have not yet grasped the value of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Oh, what love and a sacrifice of the precious blood that saved our lives. Be free from the stink, precious ones and purpose to be the living fragrance of Christ, sweet smelling, grateful and pleasant diffused in every place (nook and cranny), excavating the stench of all that other junk you were covered in. That junky mess stinks but YOU don’t have to. ~LPG

Let’s pray: Father God, I desire to be a sweet smelling fragrance in your nostril. I thank you for the blood of Jesus that cleans me from the inside out. Renew my mind, my heart and my spirit oh God so I don’t continue to claim garbage in my life. Help me to live a life filled to the brim and overflowing in you, the sweetness of zoe that is only found in you.   In Jesus’ name, Amen.