Find JOY In It!

I awoke this morning singing, “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, as we wait upon the Lord”. I wasn’t sure why, as I think I was just as tired when I woke as I was when I went to sleep. Reached over grabbed my phone for my daily bible reading and the scripture that jumped out to me was, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Yes, I shook my head, lately I have seen trials and sorrows and was glad for the reminder that Jesus has overcome, so can I with His help. I moved into the kitchen for a quick bite to eat, and what do I find in Twitter?

What? Not only am I told this morning that my strength will rise when I wait, I’m told I will have trials and sorrow and I must find JOY IN IT? So am I suppose to jump up an down and shout that I have trouble and trials? I think instead I will just sing, “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, as we wait upon the Lord”. Some days, minutes or hours I may sing it louder to remind myself. So, I searched through the scriptures for Joy today and found this blessing that I am praying over me and each of you.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.

Future King Gone Wild!

About a week ago I was sitting on the bed reading my bible, when I suddenly began to laugh out loud at the story I was reading. My daily reading plan has me reading about David, and I am often tickled at David’s stories but this one really made me laugh out loud. I have to share.....

1Samuel 21:10-15

So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,

‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”

David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.

Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”

Can you picture the drool running down his beard and him scratching at the doors? It struck me that here was a guy, an anointed a king none the less, who because of his fear he resorts to acting like a madman. I can just imagine what our media today would do with this story, “Future King Gone Wild” or “Madman or King?”. I got very tickled.

Why was this Anointed King so afraid of the words being spoken about him? Wasn’t he told he would be the King of Israel? Where was his faith?

God then began to speak to my heart. We do this so often. God tells us to not fear. He tells us He will take care of us. When we accepted Christ into our lives as our Savior, we were anointed as Heirs with Christ. Yet, when we hear people talk about us, or we get overlooked for that job we wanted, or that relationship didn’t work out like we wanted, we begin to act like madmen(women). We run and hide, we cry our eyes out, slobber runs down our faces and we act like wild people scratching on anything in our way. David did it as a distraction because of his fear of death and lack of faith. Why do we? Is it simply our lack of faith?

Ouch! Needless to say I quit laughing and began praying. I prayed that I would not act like a madwoman when I don’t get my way or when I become fearful. I prayed that my faith would grow strong and that I would trust God with the big and little details of my life. I prayed over you too Sisters. May you have supernatural faith that takes the “madwoman” out of you.

Be blessed!!

Believing in God But... Not Prayer

It's Saturday morning and I awoke as my husband was leaving to go work at the church. They are working on the landscaping in the back. I reached over and grabbed my iPhone so I could read a few chapters of the new book I'm reading (The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel). The titles of the chapters all begin like this: When You Believe in God but.... But, the 3 little letters that completely discount each statement before it.

I was humored by a story that Craig told in Chapter 4: When You Believe In God but Not in Prayer. In this story a pastor asked his church to begin praying that God would shut down the neighborhood bar. They gathered for a prayer meeting and pleaded with God to close the bar. A few weeks later the bar was struck by lightening and it burned to the ground. The bar owner then sued the church. In court the bar owner argued that God struck his bar with lightning because of the church members' prayers. The pastor began to argue that yes, his church did pray but they didn't really expect anything to happen. The judge of course was perplexed, he stated: "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Right in front of me is a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and a pastor who doesn't."

This story hit me right in the heart. How many times have I prayed and not expected God to answer? How often have I said I believe You God, but...? How often have I said I would pray over something and then didn't because I really didn't think God would care? How often have I said with my actions, "I believe in God but not in Prayer"? Question after question kept running in my mind.

Of course I believe, don't I? YES!!! I do believe that God can and does answer prayer. I've seen many prayers answered. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 instructs us to Never stop praying, Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. If you are a Born Again Christian, it doesn't matter what you are praying for, God hears your prayers and is ready to answer. Are you really believing he will answer? Are you not praying because your afraid He won't answer and /or you will be disappointed with the answer? Can you trust Him to answer according to His will? What would happen if we really believed in the Power of Prayer?

Lord, help us in our unbelief. We say we believe in you, yet our actions speak otherwise. Let us walk in your will continually seeking your guidance. Develop in us a heart to communicate with you. No matter how big or small, remind us that you want us to talk to you. Whether we talk to you in spoken word, written word, song or dance remind us that you hear us and that you love us. Put a burning desire in our hearts to come to you with our arms open, ready to give ourselves to you.

Got Your Back Girlz... Luncheon

I believe our luncheon was a success today. Many came dressed in their Zebra print. I love the participation. Take a look at the picture video.

One In A Million

Hi Ladies! Please join us for One in a Million, a Bible study that will challenge you to conquer your wilderness living and teach you what it means to live free in Jesus Christ. This new 7-week study from Priscilla Shirer is a one-in-a-million opportunity to fully engage in the abundant inheritance God has waiting for those who are willing to follow Him into the promised land. Be prepared to dig into God's Word and gain prayer support from the women who will be walking beside you in this journey. We hope you have a great time of Bible study and fellowship in the weeks to come!

You can sign up in the church lobby or drop us an email at CWCWomensMinistry@gmail.com

Where: Calvary Worship Center

When: Begins Monday, February 15 through Monday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Cost: $20 for materials