It's Thursday. Think before your speak.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.Psalm 19:14

Ever since I have been able to form words, my tongue has gotten me in more trouble than I care to think about. My mother says that I was never satisfied until I had the last word.  I was never deterred by the punishment that was sure to follow. (I had one of those mothers who was very skilled at the backhand smack across the mouth). My satisfaction was always in saying what I had to say. Timing nor tempering was not my strong suit.  Whatever came up, came out.

Before I was born again, I took delight in skillfully training my tongue to be a very quick, sharp and lethal weapon. I collected an arsenal of magnanimous words with the intention of verbally bullying anyone from ants to giants, oftentimes leaving them mentally discombobulated not knowing if they had been insulted or complimented.

Little did I know back then that God could or would use my tongue for His purpose. I wish I could say that it happened immediately when I accepted Jesus into my heart. Sadly, this was not the case. I went from being a heathen verbal bully to a Christian one.  Along with other words that I had learned along the way, I now included Scripture to my arsenal. Not the merciful and loving ones.  No, they did not carry the kind of power punch that I needed to wield at those who were not walking in godliness.  I needed scriptures that would remind them of the punishment that awaited them if they did not get it together.

I look back at those days and am amazed that God did not push the mute button on my vocal chords.  Instead, He removed the scales from my eyes.  He allowed me to see how the words of my mouth reflected what was in my heart.  I was lacking love and compassion for those who needed God's word the most. I was judgemental by my own standards. Sure, I was saying a lot Scripture and praying a lot, but it was not acceptable in the sight of my Lord. My intentions had not changed.

I don't know about you, but whenever God exposes a hidden sinful part of "me" to me, I am just amused.  Not in a joking type way.  Amused when I discover the fool that I have made of myself thinking that I am so righteous. Of course, this is followed by deep remorse and repentance and humility.

I can tell you that even though I may always have this battle with my tongue, I am learning more and more how to control it with God's help. I do think more often before I speak. My intention is ALWAYS to help and not to harm even when those intentions get misinterpreted.  And trust me, they do.  I thought I had come a long way until the other day when I was talking to one of my daughters.  I mentioned that I try not to offend anyone at all when I talk now and she said, "Really?" It was the kind of "really" that says, "I wouldn't have noticed had you not said something."  And then I said, "Really?", which was the kind of "really" that made me think.  It even made me laugh. And yes, you know what I did next.  I repented and I cried out to God Psalm 19:14..."Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

Pastor K.

Don't save it; sow it

2 Corinthians 9:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity^[a] in you.

If you don't sow it, God can't grow it.

One of the great lessons that I am so thankful for that I learned early in my Christian life is to be a giver. Being a giver is part of the nature of God.  That nature is part of our born again experience but it has to be developed in each of us.  It also has to be intentional. If you are not careful, your natural mind will reason you out of giving more times than you can imagine. Therefore, you have to practice giving until it becomes your norm.

When we think about giving it helps to broaden our mind.  Many times people think that if they do not have money to give, then they have nothing to give.  This is not true. We must be willing to give of our time, talents or non-financial assets.  God can use anything to bring you a harvest.  The illustration in our text says that God gave the farmer seed and then bread to eat. You must admit that if the farmer would have put actual money in the ground he would have never received anything.  But God gave the farmer exactly what he needed to sow to get the kind of harvest that he expected. The kind that would meet his need.

The same is true for you.  Our text says, "In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you." Whatever God has given you to sow, sow it and watch God increase your resources.

There are three attributes that are common in true givers.  One is that they give without thinking. In other words they give before they can think themselves "out" of giving.

Secondly, a true giver understands that everything that they own, they don't really own.  It belongs to God and he has chosen them to be managers and stewards over his assets. As you come to believe this, it makes it so much easier to give things away.  After all, it is much easier to give away something that belongs to someone else.

Finally, a true giver never has lack.  Their needs are always met.  Why? Because it is a kingdom principle.  It is the law of reciprocation. God provides you with a seed. You plant the seed.  Or as I like to say it, "you put the seed to work".  You give it a place where it can thrive.  The seed will in turn produce a great harvest.  Great resources.  Enough to do more than meet your need. It produces enough for you to give more.

What seed has God given you? Are you sowing it or saving it?

It's Wednesday. Know your worth.

 "God paid a great price for you. Don't be a slave to the world."
I Cor. 7:23

This month I was blessed to pay off my car. This particular car has a special meaning to me because it represents a particular faith experience between me and God. You know there are defining moments in every Christian's walk with God that you just never forget.  For me, this was one of those moments.

Have you ever had a desire for something that you knew was out of your price range? In your mind you could see yourself with it, but in the natural, not really? You knew that God could do it; but you dare not think that he would do it.  Why would He?

Those are the kinds of conversations we have with ourselves when we don't know our true worth in God. I had wanted this car for a couple of years. It was just a desire in my heart and I remember so well asking God to bless me with it.  I told my husband, my children and my church that I was believing God for this kind of car. The children in my church would see it on the road and they would say, "There goes Pastor Karen's car." Everyone who knew me, knew that I expected to own a Chrysler 300 Hemi, fully loaded.  I remember so well the day that I was driving home and the Lord spoke to my spirit and said, "You know I am going to give you that car."

Now with that word you would think the car was just around the corner.  No, it did not happen quite like that. I am a woman of faith but I am not a foolish woman.  Just because I see something that I want, I don't just go and get it...especially when it comes to signing a dotted line.  In fact, many other people got that car before me.  I remember one day I was on my way to church.  I was stopped at the stop light and I happened to look across the road and saw a man driving the car that I was believing God for.  In the front passenger seat sat his big dog.  The devil used this opportunity to taunt me.  He said, "Even a dog can get this car but you can't." Now you can imagine my seeing that image and hearing those words from the enemy did not do a good job in helping me to see my worth in the eyes of God.

I remember the day that I went to purchase the car. It was everything that I had asked for.  Unfortunately I did not leave the dealership with the car. Since I was purchasing the car alone without my husband, they said that my income was not sufficient enough for me to purchase it without a cosigner. They gave me three days. This created a dilemma for me since the requirements of the dealership were directly opposed to the requirements that God had laid out for me. Little did I know that I was going to have to close the deal in the spirit realm before it could be closed in the natural realm.

The first two days were not a problem.  I just believed that by day three I would be picking up my car. I don't know what I expected to happen.  Was someone going to call or stop by and say, "Pastor Karen, the Lord told me to buy you a car." Was I going to get an unexpected check in the mail? I have heard testimonies like these, so why couldn't it happen for me? Well by day three, it was clear that it was not going to happen for me like that.

I remember dragging myself out of bed and going to the living room where I often go to pray.  I remember dropping to my knees as if I had a 100 lb weight on my back.  Shamefully I have to admit that I was a "faithless mess".  It was day three and there was not an inkling of a sign that I would be picking up the car of my dreams. God had made me a promise and I was depressed because for some reason I feel like it is my responsibility to make it happen and I could not.

While I was on my knees with my face buried in the couch cushion, I felt so worthless. I began to cry and plead to God like a beggar. It was then when I clearly heard Holy Spirit say to me, "Get, up girl." His voice was not gentle.  He was not comforting or gentle like I would have preferred at this time. Instead,  he sounded like a parent talking to a whining child.  Like I often sounded when speaking to my whining children when they were younger and did not believe that I was going to fulfill the promise that I had made them. I felt so embarrassed at this moment.  After all, I had taken great caution to cry quietly so that my husband would not hear me.  I had chosen to pray in the living room, a place further from the bedroom than any other for the same reason. I could not let my husband see me so faithless on the third day.  For the past two days I had been in a state of euphoria.  For the past two years I had bragged consistently about how God was going to bless me with this new car without ever receiving a word of confirmation from him. No, I would not give hin the opportunity to see me this way. So imagine my surprise when the Holy Spirit called me out.

He told me to get up and begin to praise the Lord like the worthy child of God that I was.  He told me to begin to thank God for keeping his promise to me and then he gave me one more command.  He said begin to decree and declare exactly how you want this situation to go.  I did what he said and God did what I said. When I drove my car off that lot without the assistance of a co-signer or a down payment, I realized that it was never about the car.  This experience was about believing God to keep his promise to a daughter that he counts worthy.

You feeling CURSED?  Want to be BLESSED?  NOW!

It's Monday. Manage your mood. 

 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
Teaching us that denying worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." Titus 2:11-12

Monday Madness - I don't know what it is about Mondays, but Lord knows most people are in a horrible mood. For many pastors, like myself, it is technically our "day off" and yet I find myself battling with keeping my mood in its proper place.  Most Mondays I want the word "off" to mean excused from everything, including and especially my private devotional time with God. (Can you believe a woman of the cloth would confess that?)

Yes, I said it.  Mondays are hard on everyone which is all the more reason why I can't take the day off from the one thing that keeps me righteous and godly in this present world. There are angry store employees, angry customer service representatives, angry bank employees, etc. that I have to deal with on any given Monday.  Somebody has to be sober minded.  It may as well be me.

It's Sunday. Be glad about it.
"I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord." Ps. 122:1

IN THE HOUSE WITH MY FATHER

I remember when I was a young girl how much I hated going to church.  The only thing that made it tolerable for me was that I was with my daddy. I loved my daddy so much that I wanted to be with him wherever he was, even if it was the place that I dreaded the most.

When I was sixteen I gave my heart totally and completely to God. It was then that I learned to love church. And just like when I would go with my daddy, I still don't like everything about church.  But I love being there with my Father, God.

It is Saturday. Stay saved.

"This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24