We need Compassion

As I was shopping on Christmas Eve with my family in NYC, my sister and I noticed that some many people around us were unhappy. That spirit of depression and sadness really comes out this time of year. Many people are alone, down casted, broke, unemployed and angry. The world is a very cold and a difficult place to live in. Many people are consumed with material things and self love.
In Matthew 9: 36 it says that Jesus moved with compassion because he saw in the villages that the people were weary and scattered like sheep without a shepherd. The definition of compassion is to recognize the suffering of others, then take action to help. In the next verse it says Jesus turns to his disciples and says, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”Matthew 9:37-38
Christ with His never ending compassion saw that there was a need for the people in these towns and took action. He healed their sick, cast out demons, made the blind see and gave a word from the Father to encourage them. But Christ did not want to be the only one doing this, He wants us to also move with compassion as He does. He has commissioned us to reach out to people and take action!
I pray leading up to the New Year that when ever we see people upset or depress that we gave them a smile, say "God bless you", "Jesus loves you" or "I love you." Whatever it is move with compassion and God will give you the words to say.

True Stormriders: Christians Fleeing Iraq To Avoid Violence

There is an article on The New York Times website about Christians fleeing Baghdad because of the increase violence against them. Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters over there. Pray that their faith does not grow weary and that they are reassured that the Lord is with them. Here is a video piece from the website and the link to the article is below.
Iraqi Christians, continue to ride the storm. God Bless



Link to article

Share Christ With Your Loved Ones This Thanksgiving

It is that time of year again, Thanksgiving! It is time to be around family and friends that we haven't seen in awhile or just being introduced to. This is my favorite time of year, not only because of the food but also the time of fellowship with the ones you love. This is the perfect time to catch up on what everyone has been up too. Our lives can get so busy with work, school, ministry and our families that we hardly have anytime to call or meet up with our loved ones. If you are blessed this Thanksgiving to spend time with your family please take this opportunity to tell them how much you love and care for them.
Let them know, even though you don't see each other often or hear from one another, that you keep them in prayer. This is also a perfect time to reach out to friends and family members who are not saved. Tell them what God has done for you in your life and what you are thankful for. Tell them how Jesus has blessed you to see another year and has kept you. Sharing how much we are thankful for Christ in our lives is one of the best ways to share His love.

In Ephesians 3:14-19, Apostle Paul gives us this encouraging word on how to pray for our loved ones:

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

I pray and hope that the Lord blesses you and your family this Thanksgiving Holiday!
I want to share this song that I love! It is called "Thank You" sung by Mary Mary. Hope you are bless by this song.

O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His doings among the peoples!
1 Chronicles 16: 8

True Stormriders: Christian Motocyclist Attacked in Haiti

I just saw this article and had to post it. CNN reported today, that a group from The Christian Motorcyclist Association were in Haiti to donate motorcycles to local pastors in the city of Cap-Haitien. They were attacked by demonstrators that believe that peace makers started a cholera outback. Everyone on the bus, that was attacked, survived. Please take time to read this article and continue to keep Haiti in prayer. My sister and I by God's grace will be going to Haiti next year on our next mission's trip. That country needs a lot of healing, so let's pray that God continues to send His people down there and that there is a hedge of protection around them at long times.

Click here for article.

A Picture of Salvation

Zechariah 3: 1- 4

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

I love this portion of scripture! God in His total love for us gives us a glimpse of what happens in the supernatural once we come into salvation. In this passage we see Joshua the priest (not to be confused with Joshua from the Book of Joshua) Standing before the Lord. He is dressed in filthy garments and Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. Then God says something absolutely amazing; God says, “Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" In John 15:6 Jesus says, “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned." It is when we turn from our wicked ways that we are plucked from the fire. In essence, until we know Jesus, The Word of God made flesh, until we abide in Him, we are basically hell bound. We are in the fires of hell until we cry out to the Lord and ask Him for forgiveness and to change us into new creations. This is the picture that we get to see through the experience of Joshua. We see how we are plucked from the fire and allowed to stand in the presence of God.

Something important to note; in this passage Joshua stands before God filthy. He is in the presence of the Almighty God, filthy. Why? Because we can’t make ourselves clean, only God can make us clean. He is the only one that can change who we are. So many people feel that they need to come to God in a perfect state; that we have to clean up our act before we come to God and God is saying “no”. He is saying that He is the only one that can change our filthy rags and make us whole.

Also, in this portion of scripture we see God as a protector and a defense. Joshua didn’t open His mouth and neither do we. God will always speak on our behalf and will always rebuke the enemy from the ones He calls His own. Just as Jesus did not open His mouth to speak when He was being accused, neither do we. Because I believe that while Jesus was silent God was proclaiming amazing things in the heavenlys. And what’s even more amazing, there is no indication that Satan even spoke. It says that he was standing there to oppose Joshua, it didn’t say that he started opposing him, or had opposed him it said “to oppose” him. There will be times in our lives at various stages in our walk where the enemy will want to oppose us, but God won’t even let him speak. Right before he can say anything God says “I rebuke you Satan”. God puts an end to the accusations before they can be said. Why? Because God already know the things we have done, He already knows what we will do and He doesn’t care about our past. He washes it away! And God won’t let anyone try to bring to remembrance what He has already pardoned.

There is so much to glean from this passage and in essence God is saying that He alone can redeem us and clean us. He alone can protect and defend us. He alone can cause us to be a new creation. He pardons our sins and removes them far away from us. God’s love for His people is so strong and I thank Him for His love, protection, defense and cleansing power.

Magnify Him!

I don't know about you but I love to worship the Lord. No matter what I am going through, worship music always helps me feel better and encourages me to worship the Lord. Below is one of my new favorite songs. I like this song because it simply says Magnify Him! No matter what we go through or how we feel we ought to magnify the Lord. He is worthy of all our praise. I notice if I have some worship and devotion time 1st thing in the morning, I tend to have so much energy! Worship puts me in a good frame of mind and adds a pep to my step! I hope you all enjoy this song. In everything that we do let's remember to Magnify Him!

Get Alone With God

We recently went on a weekend retreat with our young adult ministry from church. We were able to get away from the busyness of the city and relax out in the country. It was a wonderful time to reflect and get alone with the Lord. Like we have discussed in previous posts, it is so important to build your relationship with God. One of the ways to do so is to be intimate with God.
The healthy relationships that we invest in with our family members, friends, co workers and spouses are earthly examples of how our relationship should be with the Lord. We need to get alone with Him to learn more about Him. We can experience His love, joy, pain, concerns, compassion and spirit by just taking the time to be in His presence. When you want to get to know someone better, you spend time with that person. You build a level of intimacy with the person. You learn that you can confide and trust that person. You also find out what the person thinks about you, if they love you or care about you.

God wants that same level of intimacy with us. He wants to hear about our concerns, deep thoughts and desires. On the flip side we need to also ask God about what concerns Him about us. Are we walking in His will, are we obeying Him and loving Him? Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days to get alone with God, before He started his ministry.

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness John 4:1. Jesus got alone with his Father to gain wisdom, strength and understanding of His plan. Jesus also got alone with the Lord when John the Baptist died and before he feed the 5 thousand (Matthew 14:10-14:21). There are other times throughout the gospels that Jesus went out to be alone with the Father. And every time he went out to pray something miraculous happened! So if our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could find the time in the short 3 years of His ministry to pray and get alone with God; we need to follow His lead and do the same.
I pray that you get into the prayer closet and get alone with God. He is the reason why we are still here, so give Him your time and attention every moment you get.
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:5-8

Salvation Is For All

I know that the concept that salvation is for all seems pretty simple and common sense for most Christians but the truth is, there are still some Christians that feel that people who have done horrible things i.e. rape, murder, sexual molestation etc are not worthy of God’s grace and certainly not our forgiveness. The truth of the matter is that before we came to Christ, we were all sinners. In God’s eyes a sin, is a sin, is a sin, is a sin. Meaning, whether you killed someone, committed adultery, fornicated, bore false witness etc it is still sin. Anyone and everyone can be redeemed! To say that God is willing to save a thief and not a Satan worshiper is incorrect and goes against who God is. Romans 5:8 (New King James Version) states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” At one point we were all Anti-Christ. We rejected His will and way, but when grace stepped in and His Spirit called us to Him we received Him and He pardoned all our sins. What God’s love teaches us is that no one is closed off from receiving salvation or forgiveness.

Which brings us to the importance of forgiveness; If God, who is constantly the offended party, can forgive and extend grace and mercy to all who come seeking Him, then why should we think that we ought not forgive others. We ought to pray for those who have hurt us. I was sitting in church on Sunday night and a young lady gave her testimony. She mentioned that she had been molested and that when she had an opportunity to speak to the person that did it, she told them that she forgave them. By doing so, her simple words/act of forgiveness is what kept that person from committing suicide. Forgiveness doesn’t just free us but it frees the offender. Because of forgiveness your enemy could become your brother or sister in Christ. Forgiveness is divine. When God asks us to pray for our enemies, He is not asking us to pray for judgment against them but rather that you can have a heart to forgive them and you can start interceding on their behalf. God does not want any of us to go to hell. No matter how bad we have been or how many sins we have committed. If someone hurts you, pray for their salvation, in love. Pray that they can experience God the way you have been able to experience God. If Christ could pray while dying on a cross, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do”, then surely we can pray grace and mercy over our enemies and the enemies of the Lord.

Salvation is free to all. If you see/meet someone who is Anti-Christ, don’t point your finger and condemn them to hell, or speak negatively behind their backs. Pray that God will draw them unto Him so that they might receive life and receive it more abundantly. We have been given grace and mercy so that we can share it with others.

Let’s pray for God to give us His eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to feel so that we may be effective in His kingdom. Pray that all people come to the Lord and receive salvation, so that the devil is put to shame and that the Lord is lifted up high for all to see and worship.

True Stormriders: 17 Year Old Beaten for Being a Christian

Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11
VOM has a new article about a Somalian girl being beaten by her own family because she converted to Christianity. I was deeply sadden when I read this story. Nurta Mohamed Farah is only 17 years old and is being persecuted for accepting Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Her parents are convinced that she is mentally ill and believes that by reading the Quran to her it will make her well. They tie her to a tree during the day and at night they put her in a small dark room.
Please keep this young girl in your prayers. She is going through a lot of persecution and her faith might be in jeopardy. Please pray that the Lord gives her strength through this time of affliction and that He is gloried in her suffering.
Also remember to thank God that you live in a country that allows you to worship freely. Yes America has its many faults and our society is becoming more and more immoral by the minute. But we can still go to church on Sunday, worship in our homes and have the freedom to spread the Gospel.

To read the full article about Nurta please click here.

No Prayer Is To Small, Ridiculous or Insignificant

We wanted to encourage you to increase your prayer life. No prayer is to small or insignificant. When you are lead to pray about something, the Holy Spirit can exactly take you in a different direction. The Lord revealed this to me Thursday night. My sister and I were watching the NBA finals game. We were rooting for the Celtics and they were down by two at the half. The series was 2-1 and the opposing team was up.
At half time, I turned to my sister and said let's pray that the Celtics win. She gave me this look, like "Are you serious?" I told her it couldn't hurt. It might seem like a shallow prayer but why not try. So she said okay and I lead us in prayer.
My prayer started with praying that the Lord would bless the team and coaching staff. Than my prayer took a turn. The Lord brought back to my remembrance that Nate Robinson, a Celtics' player, thanked God twice for helping him to play well in a playoff game that they won. So than I started to pray for Nate and other Christians that might be on the team. That they would pray, motivate and encourage their teammates to do the same. Towards the end of the prayer, I prayed that God would get the glory at the end of the game. Regardless who won, that God would be glorified.
Into the second half, the game started to take a turn. Certain players were playing the best game they have ever played! It was amazing! I started calling shots before they happened! God was really answering my prayer. What was so interesting, was that when the game was in favor of the Celtics, they started to get bogus calls from the refs and some players lost their composure. There were two technical fouls called and the two excellent free throw shooters from the opposing team missed both shots! It was like God was not allowing the negativity to block what He was about to do.
Well the Celtics won and the players that made a difference (both who are bench players) for the Celtics were interviewed. Glen Davis and Nate Robinson gave God the glory three times! How amazing was that! God is so good! He answered a simple prayer and got the Glory! Not only that, but by them thanking God it might have planted a seed in someone who was watching the game, a team player, or someone on the coaching staff. After the game we prayed that the seed would grow in whom ever it was planted in.
So sometimes we think that we are praying for one thing and the Holy Spirit steps in and moves you in pray for something else. Be encouraged and open yourself up to the Holy Spirit for He is the one you leads us in prayer and teaches us how to pray. Christ said, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" John 14: 13-14. The clip of Glen Davis and Nate Robinson is below.