My word from God today is to be set apart. It is so amazing how the Lord answers us so clearly and quickly sometimes! I went to bed thinking with this thought in my mind... "I claim to be God's child.. but how am I really different from everyone else... what does that look like?"
Okay sidenote: I have had the Holy Bible app for forever but JUST found out a few days ago that they have bible study plans! I kinda went crazy and subscribed to quite a few! So on morning 1 of checking them out.. it just so happened that every reading was somehow connected to my query last night! All my devotions and bible verses this morning highlighted the role we have as believers to be set apart from the rest of the world. I read Romans 6 which talks about how we died with Christ -- we are no longer slaves to sin the way we used to be! For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Romans 6:6-8 The next daily devotional focused on Proverbs 1 which warns us to pursue wisdom and shun evil. As if that wasn't enough, I looked at Psalm 1. This chapter presents what the way of the wicked looks like, compared to the way of the righteous. To top it all off, the bible verse of the day is: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. 1 Corinthians 1:27
Wow! This was so powerful to me. These passages all relate to being set apart in that they are reminders that God's ways are not the world's ways! God, in his mighty wisdom (which we can tap into through the Holy Spirit), has called His children to lead a life that is different! The world thinks it has everything figured out - but we are supposed to look foolish and weak even when we pursue God's righteous ways. As a Christian, how do I stand apart from the ungodly, sinful world? Love Sarah B, #kingdomwomen
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Thank You LORD for your Kingdom Women. Women of God who You have called out of darkness into Your marvellous light. I thank You LORD that each individual not only has a purpose but is the purpose. I thank You LORD that Your Daughters of Zion are crowning You LORD of their life. Crowning your King over every detail in their life. I ask LORD that You take permanence in their life. Take full control as we surrender ourselves as a living sacrifice onto You Father. LORD Jesus, I pray that You be a consuming fire and consume everything in our life that does not look, breath, think, talk like you. LORD I ask You be a restoring fire, and restore everything in our life that belongs to You. Holy Spirit I ask you do what only you can do, which is, take one message and multiply it a 100 000 different ways. Today is the day we will not remain the same. Today is the day LORD, that you created before the foundation of the earth that we my set our minds on the things of You LORD and abounded the cares of this world. Continue to establish us in your grace Father, above all Let your name me glorified in our life. In the Might Name of Jesus who conquered and defeated all I pray Amen
Last weekend, Chenai wanted us to stand with her in faith and fast and pray. Zemi and I took turns in fighting in faith with Chenai for her breakthrough. Saturday she messaged me asking me to pray that the Lord gives her strength. I continued to do what I was doing while praying for her. Holy Spirit directed me to this scripture in Isaiah 40: 31But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. As I was looking up the versus on my Bible App, Holy Spirt showed me this scripture Isaiah 40: 3-4The voice of one crying in the wilderness: " Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rouch places smooth.
Ladies we are in a race. The race of faith. This race is like a relay race. It started of with Abraham who is referred to as the father of faith. He run his race and passed the baton to the prophets who pointed to the coming of Christ, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah passed the baton to John the Baptist who run the race and prepared the Children of God to receive Jesus. When Jesus died, rose again and defeated all, the baton was passed to the Apostles who where led by the Spirit of God to write what we know as the New testament/ the new testimony of Grace.
We are the generation who is preparing the way of the coming of the Groom. The last generation to run the race well so that Jesus comes back to a church without spot of wrinkle. We are an elite generation in whom God thought of before the foundations of the earth and placed, positioned us so we may proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We are the Last Generation to run the race with a God conscious mind, set on his ways not on ours. Ladies, the last person to run the race is the strongest runner. God found it fit that you would be in this era not another. Do not lose confidence in the God/Jesus you serve. Fight the good fight of faith knowing above all that you have a crown awaiting you. We have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. Lets get fit with the Word of God and run this race.
Love you,
- Shamiso M.
Scriptures For Meditation
2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Acts 20:24
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
2 Timothy 2:5
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:7
You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
Hebrews 12:1-29
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ...
2 Timothy 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Hebrews 11:1-40
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ...
Isaiah 40:28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Hebrews 12:2
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
The last msg/post/sermon touched me. I believe everyone woman should listen to that message. This song has been my testimony when I get tiered and I am truly prayed out. Listening to a sermon is not enough in those moments. At times I felt God not speaking to me. Don't get me wrong I know that I know that I know God never leaves me. But trust me when I say I know when God is not speaking to me or it seems that he is not speaking to me. I have been praying with confidence now over my situation( I will testify soon) and I have not lost confidence in my King. Thank You Jesus. Sisters hold on. I want to thank my Kingdom sisters, especially Chenia and Zemi, yall have been impactful when I was weak. I always tell Chenai when I am weak I am under her faith for that time because I am too weak to build it on my own. Love you dearly Ladies ! - Shamiso
I’m excited to write my first blog post. I feel like I have so much to say but I don’t
know if I’ll articulate everything all at once. I hope everything will make
sense as I write.
First and foremost all Glory and Praise to Jesus!
GOD.IS.REAL. That revelation is
overwhelming at times because I feel that, now that I know and accept and truly
believe in His existence He should just take me home! There are 7 billion
people on this Earth, you’ll find someone else to do what you want me to do:
JUST TAKE ME HOME. And then at times, I know and believe He’s real, He’s here
but then in my mind he is so far away. And when you add the dysfunction in the
world in all its forms it makes me frustrated because I feel that “Can you just
speed up time and get to the point so you can establish a new Earth and you’ll
reign for eternity.” Those moments, the impatience is unreal.
But I digress.
The point of this post is to just give Praise to God for his
goodness and mercy and love and faithfulness. I recently wrote the LSAT exam
(and when I get my results and get into the school I want I will post my
testimony), and that process I chalk it off to God. I fasted, and prayed, my
momma and my besties were praying for me, and I felt such a calmness and peace
that at one point I thought to myself: “Holy Spirit, what’s the point of me
going there. My victory has already been won.” It’s not that I felt cocky, but
the certainty I felt was unreal. I don’t think I have had that level of faith,
where I am 100% sure of what I cannot see. It wasn’t mind over matter. That was
just God being God. The morning of, I opened my Bible and the verse I landed on
was Proverbs 2: 6—For the Lord giveth
wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Another
version I’ve seen is this:“All wisdom
comes from the Lord, and so do common sense and understanding.”
These verses are powerful in themselves and in the context
of the situation. And that morning, this made me smile and feel so confident.
It was also a reminder to myself that it’s not by my own wisdom and knowledge
that I am going to pass this exam, but it’s through the wisdom and knowledge
and understanding that God has already given me.
The days and weeks before this exam, a thought had been
gnawing at the back of my mind, thoughts of “what if I fail?” “What if God
abandons me? What if he doesn’t pull through with his promise? Maybe this is
just my mind making things up.” The fearful thoughts the devil was trying to
paralyze me with sent me running to Jesus, and that’s how I ended up fasting. I
had planned months before that I would fast 2 weeks before the exam, but when
that week was approaching I toyed with the idea of not fasting. But then I was
bombarded with these thoughts, and I told myself I wasn’t going to have a melt
down before the exam. I suppose I should thank the devil, but I won’t. He’s a
liar and a thief. He doesn’t deserve any gratitude from me. Busta has stolen
more than he has given.
After the fast I received this word: Numbers 23:19—“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?” This has been my
new go-to scripture because I think it’s a huge building block in my
understanding of God and in my walk to trusting him. Trust has always been an
issue with me, even with God. I trust Him with some things, and not with
others. And this was confirmation about what He put in my heart (which I shall
reveal when everything comes together, but trust me it’s AH-mazing!). It really
struck me that this was God saying, “Listen, I am not going back on my word. I
don’t go back on my word, I never do. I’m not a man/human being that I will say
something then apologize for not doing it later. I say something and I do it; I
speak and I fulfill it, I make it good.” It’s like that scripture in Isaiah
55:11; where he says when he speaks, his word will accomplish the purpose for
which it was sent; he can’t swallow back his words. There are no take backs
with God, and I think that is important when you are going through this journey
and when you may have doubts about His promises and whether he will fulfill
what he spoke to you. Those thoughts try to plague me too; even now as I sit
and write this, part of me is wondering how all of this is (my life, my career)
is going to come together, but He promises that he has plans to prosper me, and
that is a promise that he will fulfill because he is not a liar, and what he
says he will do, he will do it.
FIght For your Blessing !
And hey, if reminding God of what his word says helps keep
the power of suggestion from the devil from attacking you, do it. Because in
reminding God, you always end up reminding yourself and solidifying that trust
in Him.
There have been times where something will happen or a
thought will come about, and in my righteous anger I go to the Holy Spirit,
livid because all the low-blows Satan is taking, and for some reason all these
scriptures I never knew I knew start coming out and I’m slaying demons and
reading the devil for filth, and by the end of it, whatever powers of illusion
the devil was trying to establish is broken and I go about my day. I start off
going to God saying “What is this foolishness that you are permitting the devil
to do” and it ends up being redirected to shredding the devil to dust. Those days, I swear, if there was a portal
into the spirit world I’d have the devil running to God for protection. Those
days I am not here for his shenanigans. And that’s how we have to be in all
situations. Slay him with God’s word, but don’t just say it to say it; believe
what you are saying and be firm and swing that sword of the word of God and
take no prisoners. If he were in your
face at that moment you need to see yourself just annihilating him. And it’s
not through your own power, it’s through the Spirit of God, it’s through what
God says: that you are more than a conqueror; it’s through his word that says He
defeated the devil already; it’s through his word that says that the devil may
have power but he doesn’t have authority over your life. You have to remember
that when he comes at you trying to spin his web of lies.
I think it was Shamiso telling me that, the devil is a
spirit and he sees the blessings that God has given us but tries to make us
doubt because we don’t physically see it before its manifestation. So him coming to you, trying to sow seeds of
doubt, means something is about to go down. And I’m m not saying I am always
keeping watching and I’m always alert, and it’s something I am working on, but
even if you falter, run back to Jesus, repent, get restored and come back
energized and ready.
Because we have all given the devil our time, minds,
energies, bodies, our money thinking we are investing in something good, and
none of us have gotten a return on our investment. The devil’s time’s up.
Personally, I think I gave him more chances than I gave God, and I got nothing
on my investment. Not even a penny. Not even a dime. A dime, Satan; your
lying-self couldn’t even give me that.
So, yes, I’m confident in my walk with God now, and I know I have life,
peace, prosperity, and an overflow of blessings in Him.
Right now I am battling some heavy issues: seeds that were planted in my past which have developed into a single full grown tree with deeply penetrating, intertwined roots. That is just the figurative way of putting it and already it sounds like work. The reason I ended up in an abusive relationship, with liars, manipulators, etc is because I did not recognize these people were coming to take rest under this growing tree that was within me. I wasn't whole neither was I producing good fruit so the vultures knew just where to sit.
Now that I am walking with God, He wants me to be whole and complete, lacking nothing. He is the one who revealed to me that my problems began far before I lost my virginity. He is the one who showed me what the roots (i.e. root issues) are. Little me can barely pull up weeds sometimes and I'm looking at this monstrous tree thinking, "Lord how do I do this?! I'm too weak. I'm too small. I need your help!" After I was done wallowing in self-pity and pondering on the work I would have to do, I went to God with a spirit ready to work (although still afraid) and said, "Okay Lord how?" He told me that the answer was in His word.
Sometimes don't you just wanna go, "God are you serious?!" That was me: "Ughhh...okay Lord...in your word? Where in your word? Is that all you've got? Don't you see the size of the tree you're asking me to pull up? Can't you see my little arms?! Ughhhh!" lol So after a full month of trying to pull this tree up: searching the word, asking for prayers, listening to sermons, digging for blogs, trying to curb habits...I came to a point of realization...this isn't working. It can't be this hard. It's not supposed to be this hard!
This past week I saw my old self rearing her ugly head and I went into panic mode. I really want to be free! I want to be a true reflection of Jesus Christ! Within days I found an email in my inbox on the subject of worrying from Heather Lindsey, randomly received a guide to moving closer to Christ from my mentor, and stumbled upon a link to a video conference dealing with the issues I was facing. (I'm telling you God wants His children healed and He sends a way!) So now we're at today. I am more determined than ever to be delivered. I'm on a day-long fast, I prayed to my heavenly father and my mindset is: Lets Go!
Since August I've been rereading the New Testament and am currently in Luke. As I was on the bus reading I came to Luke 3:9 (emphasis added):"Even now the axe is laid to the ROOT of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is CUT DOWN and thrown into the fire."About five light bulbs went off in my brain all at once. I've been so focused on pulling this tree up that I completely missed there is a better way: cut it down!
All I have to is cut out these behaviors by pulling out my axe - the word of God. When I'm anxious - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6 NIV). When I'm afraid that love will hurt me - "There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment..." (1 John 4:18 KJV) When things seem to be going wrong - "...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 KJV). When my future seems unsure - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). When I just can't seem to understand God's plan - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV). I have the axe! And I'm about to cut this bad boy downnnnnn!
