Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Praise Him my OTP friends and family!!
It has been a little while since I last posted, but I could not let the year end without a good close out conversation. Yes, 2024 was full of ups and downs, challenges and struggles. But it was also full of blessings and triumphs. God is faithful that even when we are going through trials and troubles he still allowed the sun to shine upon us to refresh, renew, and recharge when it was most needed.
The New Year will come with a lot of “unknowns” that can make us feel apprehensive. But just as we have with every other challenge, we will face this new year in faith and fight every battle with faith and God’s holy scripture.
I encourage you to keep God’s word alive in your heat and ready on your tongue. For we will need it to fight and withstand the attack of the enemy.
Most importantly, embrace and enjoy all that God has in store for you in 2025!
What God has promised you he is able also to perform. 2025 is your year to walk in God’s plan for your life – the fullness of the purpose he has for you. We don’t deal in fear, for it is full of torments. But we walk by faith, and faith is full of freedom.
So, Happy New Year!! 2025, here we come in the name of the Lord!!
1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Psalms 91:2, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
Life happen. We deal with a lot of stuff. We face stress everyday and toil under its burden. Challenges attack our faith everyday. And many don’t have a safe place to turn to. Nor anyone to just talk about these things with.
Don’t worry, God is always there with us. To me, this is a way of escape. God is my fortress. My safe place to unburden my self too every day. He is the keeper of my secrets. He is my problem solver – my problem resolver. God has a way of miraculously fixing my situations.
A definition of fortress is a person or thing not susceptible to outside influence or disturbance.
This definition is so fitting with God! Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
I take comfort in the fact that God is able and he holds me safely in his arms. Even in those times when the enemy wants us to believe we are all alone. I can run to him – take refuge in the power of his name. I am held safe in him because he is my fortress. I have peace! That peace of God that passes all understanding.
I just have to choose to call upon him. To trust in him.
This is why I don’t have to worry!
Because of him I am protected. I am comforted. I am heard. I am understood And I am safe.
Even when the world is full of chaos. Full of unprecedented times. We don’t have to fear for we have a fortress. A strong tower. Covering.
It’s all about choices. We have to choose God – every day. We have to choose peace. We have to decide to allow God to be these things for us. He is always willing and able to. But God does not force to do anything. He wants to be your choice.
My mom used to say “when you get sick and tired, you will change.” This is true. When you get tired of dealing with fear and uncertainty you will choose something different. God wants to be who you turn to.
The change that my mom referred to is making different choices. People think change is some huge mountain that is nearly impossible to climb. But the simple truth is that real change is make different choices. Like choosing an apple over a candy bar when you want a healthy life style. It’s a small choice that can lead to major changes. Mix in consistency with your choice and before you know it you have made a real change.
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” Making different choices takes practice. So keep working at it.
Don’t worry. In everything give thanks. If you thank God during the tough times, it will be a breeze to do the same in the easy time. It is God’s will concerning you!
We give thanks because our situation could be worse. We give thanks because we know it won’t always be like this. We give thanks because even when the worst happens – we understand God will not put more on us than we can bear. We give thanks because God’s goodness and mercy follows us daily.
John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Life is crazy. It is full of stuff designed to pull us in all directions. Needless to say we can easily be rerouted from the plan God has for our life. This happens very subtly that we can spend years rerouted before we even realize what has happened. When it happened, or how it happened.
But through it all God has not forgotten. He has not changed. His plan (will for your life) has not changed. We are the one who feel the pressure. We concern ourselves with failing God. We wonder how we got so far away from where God was leading us. We stress over that thought that God has probably changed his mind. That he cannot trust us to be faithful to the call. So many misleading thoughts invade our mind and take over.
We have to remember that God never changes.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God (Ezekiel 12:25).
Our issue is that we can be very short sighted and we tend to have a very narrow view of things. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12, tells us that we know in part. That we see through a glass, darkly. And this is so true. But this is also by design. God gives us just enough to hold on and walk by faith. For if we knew the full story, what would be the point of faith?
Our duty is to remember.
The Bible tells us repeatedly to remember.
Joshua 4:1-24, tells of the stones that were taken out of the river Jordan.
Just as Joshua used the stones as a memorial to the miracle God worked for the people. We too need to do whatever is necessary to remember what God has brought us through. To remember what God has spoken. To remember what we have dedicated to God.
The tough road we had to take was full of many lessons. Where is the profit to us if we forget those lessons once we come out of the battle? Each successful faith battle teaches us about God (draws us closer), but it also teaches us about ourselves. We learn how to walk by faith. We learn how to trust God. We learn to hear God’s voice. So many lessons learned. But if we don’t build a memorial as Joshua did, we will forget.
We go through a lot – pain, heartache, loss, heart break, disease, death, etc. If we are not careful, we will get overwhelmed. This burden, this sense of drowning can be debilitating. We can find ourselves forgetting who we are and who we serve.
God shared something with me the other day and it has changed my life. He told me I set you free. You chose to forget that and go back into bondage. You can be free, you just have to choose it – everyday.
God has not forgotten you. But he has done the complete work at Calvary. The blood is still working everyday, all the time. We just have to accept and embrace all that God has given. Salvation is the beginning, after receiving it, we must endure to the end. We must live a life of faith, according to the word of God. It is during this everyday living that we must depend on the memorials we have built to remind us of the goodness of God.
Life is about choices. We have to choose to believe God. We have to choose to be free. We must make this choice everyday. This choice is evident in the way we live, in the people we hang around, and in the places we go. Our choices are seen by the people who watch our lives. And yes, people are watching us every day. Many are routing for our downfall, but there are also many who want to see you succeed. For your success provides them with hope.
God has not forgotten you. But you must remember who you are in Christ, and act accordingly.
Matthew 5:14-16, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
There is a famous quote, “No man is an Island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” John Donne.
Everyone needs someone from time to time. We as believers need to not be ashamed to allow the love light of the Father to shine through us. To illuminate dark spaces and places in someone’s life.
We may not have the right words to say to fix an issue, but just our presence can make a great difference to some in need. Why? Because we have the light of the life of Christ residing in us. This light is a beacon that guides through darkness. Sometimes it is your smile and kindness that can save a life. It can change the trajectory of someone’s day – making a difference.
People need you…
It is the believers duty to stay plugged into our source and resource – Jesus Christ. By staying connected we can hear him (he that has an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit is saying to the church), what God is saying. We can follow as he leads. We can say and do what he needs us to. We can be a help to those in need – in real time.
We stay connected in prayer because we need to pray for one another.
We stay connected in bible study because we need to be filled with scripture. We have to always be ready to share a word when it is needed.
We stay connected in praise and worship because as we pour out to people our cup needs to be constantly refilled. We cannot pour from an empty vessel.
People need you…
We are that city set up on a hill whose light cannot be hid. People are drawn to you simply because of the love of Christ that shines through. It is for this reason that we cannot allow ourselves to fall down on our spiritual responsibility. Yes, we may fail from time to time, but we cannot afford to stay down. We must get back up and get back to work.
We cannot afford to discriminate. The light of our life should shine on the just and unjust. We cannot pick and choose who is worthy to receive what God has. We need to be a willing vessel to reach out to whoever God leads us to. The love of God is for everyone.
Be a light because people need you.
If you feel your light has been diminished, repent and be delivered. Give up and let go of the things that have worked to diminish your light. Pray for forgiveness and restoration. Receive it by faith. Then get back in alignment with God’s will for your life.
Psalms 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
Hello OTP family!
Just so very grateful to God because of his faithfulness. He watches over his word to perform it. He hears and answers our prayers.
Thanking God for bringing very close family through surgery. And we continue to trusting God to keep this family through a speedy and excellent recovery. Hallelujah to you, Jesus!!
Sometimes we go through things (distractions), that seem so big that we allow the enemy to trick us into believing it is too hard for God to fix. We want to figure out our own avenue to make a way. But we are just fighting God.
God loves us enough to allow us our own free will. Because of this God allows things to happen in our lives. Remember, whatsoever we sow, we shall also reap. Yes, our poor choices will produce fruit. But because of his faithfulness, God also promised he would never put more on us than we can bear. And yes, sometimes our disobedience puts us on a track that was not originally apart of God‘s plan
This is the importance of repentance. When we recognize that we have violated God‘s plan for our lives, we need to repent and get back in line. We will still reap what which we sowed, but God extends his grace and mercy to strengthen us through whatever we have to face.
But God is a wonderful orchestrator. He knows how to make all things work together for our good. He is the Almighty and sovereign God. It is our duty to lean on him and trust in him through everything even when we make bone headed mistakes and go the wrong way. God is so good that he can route us back to where we need to be. Yes, he is a Grand orchestrator!
In those times when you are not strong enough to pray the prayer of faith over yourself that is the time when you need to reach out to somebody to pray for you. The scripture says it like this: Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church that they may pray the prayer faith.. You don’t need them in the room with you to lay hands on you. There is no distance in prayer. They could be across the country, across the state, or across the room. You just need them to say a prayer for you.
Sickness is not just dealing with your physical, health, but it’s any malady that would attack your mine, body, soul.
There will be times when you are in strength. These is your times to pray for people. There will be times when you are in weakness. These are the times when you need someone to pray for you. Through it all, we are to strive to pray always and not faint. 
God is faithful! Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of God!
Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
James 5:14-15, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
We are our brother’s keeper!
We need one another, we must uphold one another. We must strengthen one another.
We need to check in with one another. We must be a friend.
For some reason the enemy is trying to attack our bodies. He is on his job doing what he needs to do. Consequently, we as believers, must also be on our job. We must be sober and vigilant – watchmen on the wall. We must be willing to call people together for intercessory prayer. We must be diligent and pray for one another!
This week I received calls from across the country regarding people being admitted to hospitals. Many new Covid cases. Many sick with new strains of the flu. The list is extensive. But our God is a faithful healer.
As believers we must be willing to set our to-do list aside and make time to pray for our brother, in Jesus name.
So tonight, before you lay your head on your pillow to sleep, please take the time to sincerely pray for someone. Pray for those that are not in a position to pray for themselves. Pray for those that are weak.
Remember, your time of sickness will come too. You are going to need someone to pray for you. As they say, pay it forward.
Mark 5;6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
Where is your passion?
Humans are willing to fight for the things they are passionate about. It is the things that are near and dear to their heart. Some have a passion for reading, for learning, for golf or fishing, the list is endless. The things we love are the things for which we make room without apology. For many, cost is not a huge factor. People are willing to sacrifice for their passions.
The perfect example is Jesus. A definition of passion is the suffering and death of Jesus. In this instance passion also means love. It was the passion (or love) of Christ that cause him, who knew no sin, to take upon himself the sins of the world, and died for us all. He rose again with all power in his hand. Because of his passion, we all have access to so great a salvation.
Some important definitions:
Hunger is a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat.
Thirst is a feeling of needing or wanting to drink something.
Passion is a strong and barely controllable emotion.
Righteousness the quality of being morally right or justifiable.
What do you hunger and thirst for?
One thing about hunger – it will make you take action to satisfy it. The same can be said about thirst. When your body is craving water, nothing else will do. You will turn up your nose at soda, coffee, tea, etc. When you thirst for water that is the only thing that will satisfy. Hunger is slightly different. Generally, anything edible and appetizing will do.
The key here is the discomfort and weakness caused by hunger will incentivize the average person to make moves to find food and water.
Now spiritually speaking, do we even hunger and thirst after righteousness?
We live in a time where masses choose to believe that right is wrong and wrong is right. A time where we find humor in the suffering of others. We finds entertainment in evil things: witchcraft, immorality, and abolishing the family unit, to name a few. Any thing that was formerly on the fringe or considered taboo are now the things that are seen as normal.
Regardless, Jesus declares blessings on those who will push through all the temptations and distractions that flood our senses daily to seek after righteousness. God promises that we shall be filled. The void that hunger and thirst caused will be filled with the very thing(s) we need.
Beware. We must be cautious about imitations. The enemy will seek to fill those same voids too. Spiritually speaking, Instead of water, he will want to provide unhealthy sugary drinks that will not fully satisfy your thirst. He will want you to indulge in foods with no nutritional value. Instead of the meat of the word of God, the enemy will bring false prophets or doctrines of devil. Instead of the water of life, rivers of living water, the enemy will want you to drink from poisoned wells.
So, we must know God and recognize his voice when he speaks. We must seek his face and to do the things that bring glory to his name. We must seek to show love and kindness to those we meet. We must show the love of God in a world where people are turning away from God.
We must allow our passions to be Godly. If they are not, we must be willing to let them go and replace them with things that are.
Romans 2:1, “Therefore thou are inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for where in thou judgestanother, thou condemnest theyself; for thou that judgest doestthe same things.”
Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the las was out schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
I was at a church service on this past Sunday. My husband and I decided to visit another ministry. Normally, when we do this, we have a wonderful time in the Lord. We enjoy worshiping with a body of believers. There is something extra special about being apart of a worship service on one accord – glory be to God!
However, at this particular service things seemed to go sideways from the beginning. There was someone who testified (just prior to opening prayer) that she had been practicing witchcraft all week because she was afraid that someone was after her. This was never addressed by the person leading prayer, nor was it addressed by the Pastor or ministerial staff. It was ignored as if it never happened.
During the preaching, the Pastor went on a rant about who is called to preach and who is not. He talked against looking and acting like the world, and how we should instead be the salt of the earth, and to let our light shine bright. This was good until he made it seem that ministries that are successful (larger congregations) are wrong because the church should not be liked or well accepted by the world. The Pastor inferred that small membership churches are better as they preach against sin, and to live lives that are holy and acceptable to God.
Then during prayer at the end of service, the same lady who confessed to doing witchcraft for a week was allowed to go around and pray with people.
This (and so much more) grieved our spirit. If it were not for the fact that the exit was at the front of the church (behind the pulpit), we would have left the service. One would have to walk past the Pastor as he was preaching to exit. This would have been just as wrong as some of the other things that occurred during the service.
But God did allow me to realize something – no matter what is said over the pulpit or done by church leadership, we still have the bible. God requires us to read and ask for understanding for ourselves, and not to just depend on others for our spiritual stability. It is called the responsibility of salvation. 2 Timothy 2:15, tells us to study the word for ourselves. God tells us if any man lack wisdom to ask God who gives to all men liberally (James 1:5). Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise. The bottom line – there is no excuse to miss the mark because we have the bible and should read (study to know) for ourselves.
You will not always understand everything you read in the bible. But you should study. To properly study, you will need to run references, conduct research, and to pray and asked God for understanding. God is faithful. He will allow you to come into understanding about the issue. This may be received through listening to preaching, attending bible study, meditating on the word, or via revelation from God. The scripture tells us that (2 Peter 1:20-21) that no prophesy of scripture comes from someone’s own private interpretation. But is should be established, supportedand confirmed from the Bible itself. The bible will not contradict itself. It does explain and expand on information provide in other areas of the bible.
In these confusing times we should run to church, not away from it. But you must make sure the place you attend is indeed teaching the truth. If you are not sure, ask God in prayer. He will reveal his will to you.
However, before you judge someone else, make sure that you are right. Otherwise, you just condemn yourself (Romans 2:1).
It is a faith walk – the just shall live by his faith. Faith comes by hearing (any applying) the word of God. This is exercise. We hear the word, apply it by faith – walk it out in our daily lives. It is a never-ending cycle because we are constantly learning something from the bible. Or at least we should be. So, when you hear something over the pulpit or in bible class or from TV, TikTok, or whatever source, we need to search the scripture for ourselves. If what we heard is not supported by the word, shake the dust of that word from off your feet and keep moving.
We do not verbally attack the messenger, but we pray for them and their congregation. Prayer changes things. We allow our sovereign God to address the issue and provide correction as he sees fit. Our duty is to pray and make sure we do not get caught up in the fallacy.
Matthew 26:41 ESV, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he; eat and drink, saith he to the but his heart is not with thee.”
Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
The I AM factor:
God is the great I AM. He told Moses, that is who he is (Exodus 3:14). He tells us he is our all in all. He is forever in a present tense because he does not have to wait to evolve or become a thing. He is always exactly what you need. He is the Great I AM! He is an ever-present help in a time of trouble (Psalms 46:1). In trouble, we need help RIGHT NOW. There is no time for God to evolve or become what we need. He already is exactly that. Most times we do not fully know what we need, but God does. He is there to be just that.
The I AM factor pulls from that idea. Whatever we need, God is. Conversely, whatever we say we are, we become (or remain). Whatever we say we have is just what we receive or strive for. Why? Because of the I AM factor. Whatever you say is looking for you because you have the “Great I AM” dwelling within you. If you say I have peace, then peace is looking for you. Wherever you go, whatever situation you face, by speaking peace, peace is looking for you. You can walk in peace. Every room I enter, peace comes in with me.
Proverbs 18:21, reminds us that the power of life and death is in out tongue. What we speak matters! I remember Donald Lawrence singing about this and it has finally resonated with me.
If you say “I am poor” then poor is looking for you. The spirit of Lack is looking to oppress your life. You will have plenty of days where “not enough” is the theme until you change what you speak. Speaking a thing enough will cause your mind to act because it believes what you say. Have you ever met someone who told a specific lie enough that they began to believe that lie as the truth? That is the same principle. Their mind began to believe what their mouth spoke so often.
We must know the scriptures and stand on this by faith. You must remind yourself who God made you to be and speak that. Deuteronomy28:13, tells us we are the head and not the tail, we are above only, and not beneath. But you must know who God says you are. Once you know, then change your confession. Speak by faith the things God says about you. Then you will begin to prepare yourself to walk in abundance, because “poor” will no longer be your confession.
Let me just interject here, the things we say as ‘just joking’ counts. Your mouth is only speaking what is in your heart. Even in jest, you should not want to call yourself anything other than how God sees you. This is how you train yourself to believe God over your own negative thoughts. Respect yourself enough to stand with God, not against your own best interests.
What do you call yourself?
With this in mind, take a moment to consider your most private and intimate thoughts.
We are quick to guard how we allow people to speak to us. We will stand up against disrespect and take swift action to protect ourselves against anyone who would attempt to belittle. But are you guarding yourself from the thoughts you think about yourself? Those private thoughts that we don’t even recognize for what they are but can do far more damage that we realize. Are you quick to squash out disrespectful thoughts regarding who you are that sneak into your mind?
Are you full of negative self-thoughts?
-Do you privately believe you are not healed?
-Do you think you will never get out of this or be free from that?
-Do you doubt God is able to do what he promised in the Bible?
-Or have you talked yourself out of taking steps to drive change?
Remember faith without works is dead, and the just must live by faith. You still need to confirm your belief and holy confession by taking steps by faith. For example, if you think God is going to change your financial position, then you must seek to learn changes you can make. If you make poor decisions on how you spend the money God places in your hands each pay, then take a quick course on financial responsibility. It will change the way you seek your money, thus impacting the way you spend or allocate it. Whatever you are asking God for is going to require you to put some work to it. As you take a step, God will do his part. If you are unwilling to back your faith up with action – as they say “put your money where your mouth is” then you cannot get made if you do not receive what you say.
The enemy is on his job – arranging circumstances that would interject thoughts of doubt, and sow seeds of discontent and unbelief.
Our job is to combat this with a mind that is stayed on Jesus (the word, a praise/prayer on our hearts, etc.). We meditate (think on) the word, and on the goodness of God. I would even pepper these efforts with fasting. Once we have our minds guarded, then we concentrate on adding our own positive confessions to combat the distorted thoughts inspired by the enemy.
Daily positive affirmations are a perfect tool to use in this battle.
No one knows the thoughts you constantly battle better than you. Take some time to sit down and compile a list of lies the enemy wants to you believe and embrace. Then find scriptures that directly contradict these lies. Each morning, during your morning routine to get ready for the day, say this list of affirmations to yourself. During the day, as those thoughts would try to invade, repeat the affirmations by faith. Just as Jesus battled the enemy with the word in Matthew 4, when he was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, we must be prepared to do the same.
Success in this arena will lead to a better view of your own self-worth. You will begin to see yourself the way God sees you. This will impact the private thoughts you think of yourself.
It’s time to get in line with the word of God, so you know how God sees you, and you can view yourself the same way. That is what you should call yourself.
Hebrews 13:5 ESV, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Even when the going is tough and rough, or you are feeling like you are in the battle alone. Or you feel like no one knows or cares about your situation. Understand that God knows all about you and he has never left you alone.
Don’t allow your minds to get muddled in the struggle of this daily life. You are only where you are because God knows you are strong enough to make it through.
Don’t focus on your lack or the things you don’t have. Rather think on or remind yourself of all that you do have. Then take a deep breath and relax – in the presence of the Lord.
God is intimately involved in your right now. He is with you in the heat of your right now – whatever that is. Relax in him. He has your back, your front, your left and right sides. Trust in him.
The presence of the Lord is here!
You can be content in where you are right now because God is with you. Allow yourself to be free. And rejoice in the great God we serve.
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