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Freedom

5/25/2015

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Today, I just want to take this opportunity to place honor and blessing on those who serve and have served our country in the military. I pray peace and comfort to those who have lost loved ones and speak restoration and healing to their hearts.

In America we have the freedom to worship Jesus because of those who fought for our rights. We have freedom to have many luxuries that many other countries will never experience. Unfortunately, we take our freedom for granted and use it for a bunch of foolishness.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

We use our freedom to please our flesh, but God is calling us to serve each other. Our free will to sin is an illusion of freedom. When we use freedom to sin, we actual become slaves to sin and in bondage to the enemy. This is why it’s so hard to stop an addiction. The shackles of bondage to sin can only be broken by the blood of Jesus. It covers you through repentance and forgiveness and He will freely offer you His grace and mercy when you ask and turn from your wicked ways. God’s love is freedom. His perfect love casts out all fear. He wants you to be free in your soul and experiencing a life of abundance and blessing! Jesus laid down His life for us, His friends. So as we remember those who lost their lives to give us natural freedom, let’s also celebrate the one who gave us victory and still lives. The freedom that Jesus gives is everlasting and brings wholeness to your body, soul, and spirit.

Father, we thank you for freedom. Bless America, its military, leaders, government and all of its occupants. Help us not use our freedom for foolishness. Teach us your ways and make us vessels of honor. Forgive us for the sins of the land. Help us turn from our wicked ways. Make us a humble nation of prayer that You may come and heal our land. Forgive the sins of our forefathers. Cover us with the blood of Jesus. Make us whole. Let us experience freedom from sin. Convict our hearts and cleanse us. We want to be free from the devil’s shackles. We are overcomers and more than conquerors. Our identity is in You and we trust You with our hearts. Purify us and bring healing to every broken place. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!

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Are You Ignoring God?

5/18/2015

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God is speaking continuously to all of us. The question is, are we listening and if we are listening, are we obeying. Have you ever set out to go somewhere and in route there is a hold up of some kind? While sitting there waiting, you think something told me to go the other way. What about you start to do something and it all starts to go wrong and you think, I knew that this would happen? That “something” is God speaking. That “knowing” is God speaking. Too many times we ignore God’s signals when He wants to warn us. He wants us to hear Him and obey His instructions that He may train us in the way that we may go. Once we become sensitive to His voice, there are no limits on the things He can guide us in. God wants to perfect all things that concern us. He wants to use us to bless others, but first we need to stop ignoring His voice. One time I was driving on a freezing cold winter day. Snow and ice covered the streets. My kids were in school and I was on a break from work. As I drove, I passed a man and woman standing on the corner. They looked like they might have been homeless and maybe on drugs. I felt bad that they were in the cold. As I passed them up a couple of blocks, I had a strong urge to go get them. I immediately rejected the idea. I started thinking of the harm I would be putting myself in, what would happen to my children if something happened to me, etc. Now I’m not saying that you should go around just picking people up off the streets, but if God tells you to do it, know that He will also protect you! I was disobedient, but thank God for His grace and mercy toward us. I repented and asked for another opportunity to be a blessing. I promised God that next time that I would listen. A few months went passed, and I was leaving church. I was a single mom at this time and had my two girls with me. Usually, I would hang out and talk with friends afterwards, but this day I felt an urgency to leave. As I drove down the main street of the church a few blocks, I passed a lady walking. I heard in my spirit to go back and get her. This time I had to obey! I made a u turn and my car stalled right in the middle of the street. I started praying. I knew that the enemy didn’t want me to obey. My car started back up. I drove back to where the lady was and she was now crippled over on the ground. It appeared like she was having an asthma attack. I helped her into the front seat of my car. I started heading towards the hospital. While I was driving, I laid hands on her chest and started to pray over her lungs and breathing. I pleaded the blood and everything I knew how to do. By the time we got to the hospital, she was breathing normally and seemed just fine. I asked her did she need help going in. She said no. I didn’t ask her name and she didn’t ask mine. That day I believe that God sent me to answer that lady’s prayer. I’m not sure what would’ve happened had I not listened to the voice of God, but I believe she remembers that day just as I still remember. God uses those moments to train and develop us, to grow us from faith to faith and glory to glory. So I challenge you today to listen intently. What does God want or not want you to do today? You will always be blessed by your obedience! Obedience is a way of showing reverential fear of the Lord.

Psalm 128:4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Father, we thank You that You desire to speak with us about everything. Help us to be quiet and hear Your voice. Give us the desire to be obedient so that we might be blessed and be a blessing to others. Grow us in faith. Make our instructions clear. Give us the mind of Christ. We want to talk to you like Adam did in the garden of Eden. Forgive us for ignoring Your voice. Give us another chance to fulfill Your purpose. Perfect the things that concern us. Fill us with Your desires and send us out. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!

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Beautiful Weeds

5/11/2015

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Your personal garden is a place of beauty, safety, and prayer. A place where God’s presence can dwell. The flowers that we grow are determined by the condition of our own hearts. My children always love the first signs of spring. They want to go in the grass and pick all the beautiful dandelions out the yard and give them to me. Of course, their intentions are pure and sweet. Never the less, I do not want a bunch of weeds brought into my house. I explain to them that even though they look beautiful, they are not good for the grass or for us. They make Mommy’s eyes itch! Some of you might think this is cruel. Just let the kids pick the beautiful weeds, but I think it is important to know the difference between the real and the counterfeit. How many times to we let things into our spirit because it looks good, sounds good, tastes good, smells good, or feels good? Everything that appears to be good, isn’t good for us. God’s creation is filled with glorious beauty, but there is an enemy of our souls that wants to pervert God’s goodness with polluted counterfeits and seeds of unrighteousness. Have you ever noticed how there might be one dandelion in the lawn one day, but by the next day the entire grass is full of them? It doesn’t take long for the weeds to overtake the whole yard. This is also true with unholy things that we let into the gardens of our hearts. If we don’t address them quickly, we can be overwhelmed with a takeover. The good thing is that our redeemer lives! God’s word says that we must test the spirits. I challenge you to ask God what He sees in your heart that might appear good but isn’t good for you. Give it to Him. Let Him deal with you and repent. He will not only restore your garden, but replace it with a beauty beyond what you thought was good!

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Read James 1

Father, we thank You that every good and perfect gift comes from You. Thank you for the beauty of Your Holiness. Thank You that we have access to Your goodness and that the Holy Spirit gives us discernment on what we should and shouldn’t let into the garden of our hearts. Show us the places where we have settled for counterfeits. Forgive us and fill our lives with Your glory. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

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Riots

5/4/2015

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My heart is so heavy regarding the division and destruction that is going on in Baltimore and all over America. There has been so much controversy and understandably so. I’ve been thinking about the riots and how horrible it is to destroy your own community. Although I will never fully understand the deep seeded pain and ongoing issues concerning what it means to be black in America, I do have compassion for righteousness and realize the justice system does not treat everyone the same. I’ve heard many conversations about the rioting. It is very sad to see the devastation that has taken place. While I don’t agree that rioting is a solution to the issues at hand, I do strangely understand the response. People riot within themselves all the time. We make decisions based on our emotions that aren’t good for ourselves or others. How many people smoke cigarettes in stressful situations? I have before God delivered me. What about drinking to numb your pain? Anybody ever try to escape reality by using drugs? Have you ever hit a wall when you were angry? What about treated the ones you love badly because you were having a bad day. I believe at one time or another we have all did something that wasn’t good for us in order to fill a void that only Jesus can fill. Pain is only masked by pain killers, they don’t heal the problem causing the pain. Oddly enough, people respond poorly to good news too. I was on Madison St. in Chicago one of the years that the Bulls won the championships. People went crazy and were looting and shooting! People get drunk to celebrate, people have unmarried sex to celebrate, people spend money they don’t have to celebrate, etc. The sad truth is that we respond negatively in situations all the time. We have a desire to feel whole and try to achieve wholeness by means of our own devices. Jesus is the only remedy. We also have a natural desire to celebrate good news. We are supposed to praise and thank God. We should be celebrating Him because He is the giver of all good things. We riot our own bodies and our own homes. The only way to learn how to respond differently is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind .You renew your mind by washing it with the word of God. Deliverance is a choice. You have to want it, and of course the enemy doesn’t want you to have it. So while we are far from free and living equal under the laws of this land, we all can experience the freedom that came from the cross. God is no respecter of persons and wants us all to be free and victorious. We must continue to fight (in the spirit) for the healing of injustice, but we need to start with ourselves. We need to be prepared. When God comes in with His justice, no man will ever be able to override it!

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God

Father, we thank you that you have given us an answer to everything through Jesus. Heal us of our deep rooted hurts and deliver us from abusing ourselves and those around us. Fill ever void in our hearts with your fullness. Help us be the solution that the world needs to heal. Give us strategy in prayer. Put us in places of influence so that we can make a difference. Let us be a light in our homes, at work, and in our communities. Let the peace that surpasses understanding guard our hearts and minds. Protect us and keep us from evil. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

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HEAVEN'S GARDEN

Freedom

Are You Ignoring God?

Beautiful Weeds

Riots

Bonnie Kay Rimpson

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