It’s Your Time and Your Turn!

Today I feel inspired to remind you that not only is it your time but it is also your turn! And oftentimes we hear this and half the room shouts “AMEN” or lifts their hands in belief while the other half of the room sits back and waits for the preacher to get to the “good part.” I am already there…. I have no long speech or eloquent words to help you understand or to make you believe…you must simply believe that He who promised is not only able to perform it, but is HERE to perform it. If He could only get you to believe like He believes…If He could get you to have the God kind of faith that believes no matter what it looks like, NOW is my time and my turn!

Look at it this way. Imagine yourself in the grocery store; there are times where you are only running in to pick up a couple items, you get to the register, and you are done. You are so excited that you came out so quickly; that you did not have to spend any real time in the store. Then, there are the individuals that go in knowing it will take them a minute to pick up everything they need. These people are in no rush. They go through each aisle seeing if there is anything else they may need while they are there. They get to the register and the line is 10 people ahead of them. Some people have two or three items and while others have a basket full; but everyone has what they need…while you are in line, you will find two types of people. Those that are in a rush to be out…They cannot stand still. They keep looking ahead to re-count how many people are ahead of them, as if magically everyone ahead of them are done. Then you have those that note how many people are ahead of them and they decide to browse through a magazine while they wait or check their phone for messages…they have learned how to trust the process. These people know their turn is coming; so they patiently wait.  Each time a person finishes, the next person moves up a little more, until finally, it is your turn…and here is where we find ourselves. Some of us went into a period of transition, trial, and error; and came right out. Then there are those of us that went into what seemed like an eternity of testing and all we could do was learn to trust the process. And we find ourselves on the brink of ‘out’ and realize we were not the only ones coming out…there is a line. So yes it is your time—but guess what? The line has been moving, slowly but surely, and now it is your turn! Do not miss your moment by going back for something you think you have forgotten…Saints, I know no other way to tell you that you have been in line long enough…Step up! It is time to not only come out but it is time to step into your turn!

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Walk Out What He Said

Today we jump right in and visit a text that is almost always associated with rebuke…”And why call ye me, Lord Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 KJV) 

Oftentimes when the Body of Christ hears this text most usually assume the Leader is about to go on a tyrant about submission to authority, and unfortunately most times this is the case; but I invite you to read a little further with me so that we keep what the Lord is saying in its true context.

Continuing with verse 47, “Whosever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:47-49 KJV)

Let me ask a question…Do we really envision the Lord standing in front of a multitude of people, using this moment where people came to be healed and set free to bash them on being submissive? Because the Bible says that he was in front of a multitude of people from “all of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon.” NO! There is a bigger picture…It seems to suggest that obedience and submission to the things of God produces the strength to endure any amount trouble. That believing what the Lord says and making it applicable to my life means, when trouble comes I do not have to stand on my own strength, I can now stand on the solid Rock…and those that hear and decide to choose another way but still “have a form of godliness” and have submitted themselves to religion rather than relationship, that when trouble comes, there is nothing there for them to stand on and ultimately they are destroyed. What am I saying today? Simply put, “to obey is better than sacrifice…” Trust that what He speaks to you in your private time is for your success and not your demise. Trust that no matter how difficult it appears “he that begun a good work is able to perform it.” Believe Him when He said, “my grace is sufficient for you.” The power lies in believing what He said…make the necessary adjustments in your spirit and rise to the occasion Saints! Now is the time to walk in what the Lord has promised!

You Must Believe

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July

Psalms 27:13-14, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (KJV)

 

Another translation says, “I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth. Stay with God! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with God.” (MSG)

 

Let us take a moment to become one with the writer…to hear his heartbeat…to put our finger on his pulse…but for a moment the writer has taken time to paint a picture for us, to invite us into the personal and private groanings of his heart. He is closing out a song unto the Lord and knowing that we, the readers, cannot hear the music, I invite you to listen for the music of your own heartbeat while attempting to grasp what the writer is truly saying…

 

“I would have fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living…” Oftentimes life is like the sport of Baseball. We finally determine to step up to the plate, determined to give life everything we have got, only for a curve ball to be thrown at us; our children are being defiant, our marriage is headed towards divorce, the doctors did not give us a good report…OR you step up to the plate and it is a fast ball; your child makes you a grandparent before he/she graduates high school or the boss calls you into his office to say they are making cuts starting with your department…One difference between the sport and real life is that sometimes you get multiple hits at one time. It is enough to make one want to quit right where they are. To make one want to sit one inning out…but a still small voice whispers in your soul reminding you, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” So we shake ourselves and give notice to our soul, “…that he which hath begun a good work will perform it…” and like the psalmist, we turn from what would love to make us take our eyes off the promises of God, and encourage ourselves. Saints, wait on the Lord! Be strong and very courageous! Take a stand, within yourself, and declare if this isn’t what the Lord promised then this can’t be the end! Don’t faint, your healing is here! NO, I am not just saying this to make your emotions perk up…Take a sober look at your situations and speak to the mountain…you cannot faint and speak at the same time…The writer said, “he would have fainted…unless…he had believed…” Believe that your day is here…I can want it for you until I turn blue but you MUST believe it for yourself…Child of God, the day you cried for, the day you fasted and prayed for, the day you hoped for is here…if you just believe!