Joseph

The son of Rachel; could his fate have anything to do with his mothers sins? ( Genesis 31:19) There was no reason for Rachel to steal from her father, some say her sin is the reason she wasn’t buried with the others. Was her actions the reason for Joseph’s turbulent life?

Left without a mother, he was raised by his father Jacob (Israel) and surrounded by his eleven brothers who despised him for his dreams and their fathers love for him. Jealousy was evident, how dare this youngster tell his elder brothers that one day they would bow to him. (Genesis 37:9)

The hatred they had in their hearts was evident. When they got the chance they got rid of Joseph by selling him into bondage. (Genesis 15:13-15) A young man betrayed by his brothers and sent to a foreign land, but things would only get worse for Joseph when Potiphar’s wife accuses him of rape. (Genesis 39:13-19)

In the midst of being confined in jail one would think Joseph would have lost his faith in God but he didn’t he continued to pray and trust God. He didn’t harbor hatred or resentment for those who had plotted against him.

Joseph was a faithful man who put his life in God’s hand and by doing so we read that Joseph was restored and rejoined with his family. He held no hard feelings but received them with open arms. (Genesis 50:15-21)

This story of Joseph is how we must live our lives. No matter who plots against us we must show love. Remembering that God is Love. No matter what their intentions are just know that God is fighting the battle on your behalf.

Luke 6:27

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.

Spiritual Cleasing

Every spring break we go to South Carolina, it’s a classic road trip with my family. This year we weren’t able to go and I was so disappointed. My mind was made up, this would be a boring spring break; what would I do for a week?

The second day of my break I woke up and went into my prayer room and began to pray. While praying I felt a presence upon me that I had never felt before, the feeling that came upon me was a longing (closeness) for the Lord and at that moment I knew that I needed to spend this time off with him. I went on a Facebook/Instagram hiatus I just wanted to read my bible, study his holy word, and share my writings with the world.

What I thought would be a boring break for me was the best time I have ever had. God opened up his word to me and refreshed my spirit. Sometimes we make plans and leave God out, the Lord reminded me of the blessings upon my life. I had to fast and not by sustaining from food but social media which meant no Facebook or Instagram.

This was a hard challenge for me because I had become accustomed to reaching for my phone first thing in the morning to check those sites before falling on my knees.

Thankful that the Lord let me know that I was headed in the opposite direction and to never get so busy that I don’t make time for him, because without him I am nothing.

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Jacob and Esau

I must say it amazes me when God allow my eyes to be open to passages that I have read numerous of times. Only God can give you the wisdom and knowledge to understand his word that is so heavily cryptic. Yesterday I began to read about Jacob and Esau and it dawned on me that these are the first twins to appear in the Bible. (Genesis 25:24) In the natural sense when we hear of a woman that is pregnant with twins we automatically assume someone on the fathers side or the mothers side carries that gene. Rebekah probably wondered this same thing but she didn’t ask her mother or father she enquired the Lord.

And the Lord said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

When the Lord told Rebekah ” Two nations are in thy womb,” this alone was a remarkable prophecy. The Lord stated that the elder would serve the younger so there was no need for Jacob to ask for Esau’s birthright (Genesis 25:31) or for Rebekah to deceive her husband Isaac into giving Jacob his blessing. (Genesis 27:6-29) To think the two must have thought that God needed their help, but the devil has a way of rearing his ugly head into situations to make you think that God is not a man of his word.

” God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)

By me reading this passage I was enlightened and the Lord gave me this prophetic message for his people, if God has promised you he is going to do something have patience and trust him he doesn’t need help he is God all by himself. Thankful for the amazing revelation God gave me while reading his word.

” Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

Box It Up

Now is the time to box up all the things that are no longer serving a purpose in your life. Boxing it up is scary for some because it means getting rid of things that you have outgrown. One may typically think of a pair of shoes that don’t fit anymore or a shirt that has become to tight but boxing it up is so much deeper than that.

What about those friends, or that job you have outgrown?

Even though no box may be big enough to fit them mentally it’s time to let go of the drama and stress that accompanies strained relationships. Now is the time to box up negativity and unpack positivity.

Friends seem to have the most influence over our lives we need to serve them notice that we’ve outgrown the monkey bar, kickball, hopscotch, and hide and seek days. We’re busy working and they still want to play. It’s time to pack up immaturity and unpack maturity.

Sometimes we can’t grow because the things we are holding onto has us buried.

Some have been on jobs for years and have settled for a cubicle when they could easily be in an office with four walls and a door. It’s time to stop settling; box up fear and unbox faith you are ready for the next level.

Philippians 4:13 King James Version (KJV)

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 

 

Adam and Eve

In the beginning God created man in his own image and because of Adam’s loneliness, he was given a helpmate. As God put Adam into a deep sleep he used one of his ribs to make who Adam would call later “woman” because she was taken out of man (Genesis 2:23).

This biblical couple had the best of everything, no worries and only one stipulation and that was to not eat of the tree. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” ( Genesis 2:17)

Along came deception in the form of a snake who tricked Eve into thinking, nothing bad would happen to her if she ate from the tree. Eating from this tree would open up her eyes and she would know the difference between good and evil. Shucks she could even share the delectable fruit with her husband.

Because of their disobedience to God they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, for not obeying his word, not only were they punished but so was the serpent.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Fast forward to 2018 and people are still being tricked by the enemy. If God tells you to do something obey him. The Bible says obedience is better than a sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). There are a lot of Adam’s and Eve’s walking amongst us being tricked daily by the enemy. It’s time to stop thinking your way is better than God’s way.

Values

Growing up my grandfather taught me the value of a dollar, in order to get my allowance on Saturday’s I had to complete the chores he had given me during the week. I would sometimes complain while working, but all the whining went out the window when he placed those five bucks in my hand. I didn’t realize it then, but my grandfather was teaching me a great value. He would always tell me ” nothing in this life is going to be handed to you, you will have to work for it.” As I grew older his words of wisdom never left me. When we go on a job we get paid based on the job that we do and no work equals no pay. Sometimes we even get incentives by having degrees or specialized training. Having money is awesome, but we must value it is as well. I can recall my grandfather having this record book and different people in the community would come to him and he would loan them money. Every dollar he loaned out he would write their name and amount and when he received repayment he would draw a line through their name and put paid in full. I can recall this so vividly and when I asked why he replied ” some people don’t value money, they spend all they have on frivolous things and when they really need something they are broke.” I recently read the scripture

Deuteronomy 28:12-13

12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

I have learned to be careful for nothing, I pray that the Lord makes me a lender and not a borrower. I don’t want to be careless with my spending I want to use the money that the Lord blesses me with wisely. Over the years I have learned you don’t have to spend everything you have at that moment, put some away for a rainy day and be thankful for the job that God blessed you with. That job has enabled you to be able to provide for you and your family needs. My grandfather was my everything and though he no longer walks this earth he left me with knowledge and wisdom that I am now able to pass on to my children. “Don’t spend it all in one place,” he would say.

Motivational Ridicule

They said I was ugly, worthless, and unwanted; I said I was beautiful, valued, and loved. Torn down for so long with the words that crushed me, by the ones who supposedly loved me.

Love is not suppose to hurt!! I took their words and used them to become the woman I am today. Their ridicule fueled my desire to become a teacher and inspiring author.

Thanks to all who spoke negative towards me your words gave me the motivation to push forward on days I wanted to throw in the towel.

Some see greatness in you when you don’t see it in yourself and try to dim your light before it can shine.

I will tell anyone don’t be disheartened when people give up on you, just don’t give up on yourself.

Death

Death visited me not intentional, but unintentional. I was dreaming, seeing myself at a graveyard when the death angel walked up; “you’re not Leon, you don’t look like Leon I made a mistake.” As the angel began to walk away I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed and even though I was asleep I felt conscious enough to know I had seen something that people don’t live to talk about. I woke up, shook off this unusual dream and got ready for church. As I sat in church the Pastor came to the podium and said “I was just informed that Leon died this morning.” As I got out of my seat and stumbled out the door recalling my dream I began to shake knowing that the death angel had stopped by. I was flabbergasted and at the same time intrigued. I wanted to know more, I wanted to see more. Death knew me personally and I wanted to talk to him again, I felt an urgency. It would be years before I would see or feel the presence of death again and this time it was more real than ever before. In 2017 my daughter lay fighting for her life after a bout with sepsis, I can recall anointing her day and night with prayer oil, calling on Jesus! I even anointed the room she slept in asking the angels of life to protect her. In her room I could feel the presence of war, a fight for life was going on, but the living angels prevailed and my daughter lived! It was miraculous because the doctors had wrote her off, they couldn’t explain how she lived because she was at the brink of death. I shared my story hoping that this testimony has made you aware that there are spiritual presences walking amongst us that we can’t see with the natural eye, but we have to pray continuously asking God to shield and protect us.

Pinky Swear

Growing up you would pinky swear with your friend that their secret was safe with you, only to find out that there was really no secret they were just seeing if you could keep a secret….LOL!! Only if we could rewind time and relive those days because in this day and time loyalty has gone out the window. Some don’t even wait until you leave to call and blab your secret they’re texting while you’re spilling the beans talking about “girl my momma keeps texting me” they know darn well that they have linked 15 numbers to one message and putting your business out there. It’s hard to trust anyone, pinky swearing has become a thing of the past. Not only has pinky swearing become a thing of the past but so has friendships. Females don’t trust each other and neither do males. You get along better with people you don’t know compared to the ones you use to know. My suggestion is to keep your business to yourself or keep you a journal. I’m not saying all friendships are bad, tainted, useless, or trash because I’m blessed to have two close friends I can confide in. These type of friends are rare I’m blessed to have these young ladies in my life, if you’re blessed to have a confidant hold onto them.

Spiritual Warfares

I’m learning to pray more and worry less. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I can’t emphasize how the movie “War Room” helped my spiritual life. Spiritual warfares almost killed me, but the God above stepped in and saved me. I can recall the first encounter that I had with a spiritual warfare; I was a young girl and I had this terrible dream, in the dream Satan was standing in my grandfathers garden he said he was there to kill me, my grandmother appeared out of nowhere and told Satan he couldn’t have me and stepped in front of me to take the fiery dart he had prepared for me. The dream seemed so real! When I awoke I told my grandmother the dream, at that moment she left the room and returned with a bible and fork, she turned to the 23 Psalms and put the bible under my pillow and put the fork under my bed she said this would keep evil spirits away.

Ephesians 6:18

8 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

I never had another encounter while my grandmother was alive, but once she passed away I started having them again. I was afraid to tell anyone because they would probably think I was crazy, but the dreams became more and more realistic. I put the “Bible” back under my pillow and the fork back under my bed, but nothing stopped the dreams or the visions. I attended church every Sunday, but I was afraid to close my eyes at night scared of what dreams I might have. I was just going to church and didn’t know the true meaning of serving God, nor trusting God!

James 4:7

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

One Saturday evening I decided to watch “War Room” of course the movie had been out for years but I had never seen it. This movie touched me, my problem was I wasn’t fighting those spiritual warfares correctly because I didn’t know how to pray. You see my grandmother had prayed for me, but I had to learn to pray for myself.

Fast forward to 2018 I began to keep a journal and not only pray for myself, but others as well. My grandmother has been gone for over 30 years and even though the terrifying dreams faded they never went a way. I will admit I still have dreams of fighting against principalities, but even though she is not here to pray for me I am not fearful because I can fall on my knees and pray to God for myself.

Ephesians 6:12

 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

My prayer journal has truly helped me to overcome and my prayer wall has truly helped me to seek the Lord more! I know that as long as I live for God, Satan will be after me, but the battle is not mines but the Lord. I am suited up now, having on the whole armor.

Ephesians 6:13-18

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.