The Price Is Never Right

Genesis 14:22-23

22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God most High, Creator of heaven and earth and have taken an oath 23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a threat or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'

Abram and his men defeated Kedorlaomor king of Elam and the other kings allied with him who had invaded Sodom and taken Abram's nephew Lot captive. The king of Sodom had offered Abram a deal by where if Abram gave up his men to him, he would be allowed to keep a great deal of possessions. Abram declined. He said he would only eat and share that which his men ate of. Abram knew that by taking anything from the king of Sodom he would be put at his mercy. Abram who just finished fighting for the freedom of his relative, realized that being at the mercy of another because of silver and gold was a high price to pay.

Entering into deals for the sake of anything comes with a price. The actual price versus 'retail' price, what is said something is going for, is often completely different. Once the transaction has taken place, the actual price is often revealed. In reality, the price is never right. Abram chose to be at the mercy of no one other than the Lord. The Lord is the only one who has true power to give and take what it is that He provides. Man has no real power other than what is allowed by the hands of the Lord. Yes, even Satan is limited in what he can do. The problem is many perceive man to have more power and that is why transactions that ought not take place actually do. Abram saw far enough down the road with God's wisdom that the price would never be right. What about you? Were you given a retail price versus an actual? Did you find out that the price is never right? Like Abram, you have a choice. Be at the mercy of our Lord who has ALL power, or be at the mercy of man who has limited power. The man with limited power can only sustain it for so long. And as we know later what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, God destroyed them both.

Still Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Eve and unfortunately, my family is laying to rest my cousin who lost her battle to ovarian cancer which spread to her throat. Many of you are not aware that in the middle of the rewrites for book #2 I was making hospital visits. The visits were not just for one cousin but for two on the same side of the family in the same hospital. One cousin overhearing the cries of another and praying for who they thought was a stranger. God revealed through other family members that it was indeed a relative. One returned home safe and sound after two surgeries and for this I am still thankful.  The other continued to fight. I spent time ministering through song, praying and praising God with my family and just talking with them. But one Wednesday night as I stood in the middle of the Giant, the tears began to fall because I could feel what my pastor said. There was an urgency. I began to feel the life of my cousin slipping. God granted myself and another family member favor that we were allowed in past visiting hours to encouraging my cousin. She was alert and she knew we were there. She died the next morning. Does it hurt? Yes. But the peace I have is that she really accepted Christ so I know I will see her again. For that, I am still thankful. We have yet another cousin battling breast cancer on the same side. I had an option to attend an event but I felt in my heart that I needed to just spend time with her so she knows that family cares and is pulling for her recovery. She is very positive and believes God can heal. And for this I am still thankful.

If you can encourage the whole world but can't encourage your own family, there is indeed an imbalance. I am thankful to my church family for ALL they have done and continue to do to support me and my family through this time. I am thankful to the friends who have been praying and are still praying for my family. I did not post any of this information on facebook, twitter, etc previously because I did not want it to be for attention sake. The Word says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that we are to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. So I am still thankful.

The Importance of Listening

Matthew 2:13

"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

It was important for Joseph to heed the instructions of the angel of the Lord because lives were at stake as well as the salvation of the world, though Joseph was unaware. The objective of Herod was to terminate and keep Jesus from living out his purpose. Our instructions from the Lord may or may not be as life threatening but it doesn't mean the importance of listening is any less. When the Lord says to stay put, do so. And when He says to move, do so. You may not fully comprehend why at first but at the proper time, the Lord will reveal why His instructions were necessary. Here's an example:

One day last week as I awoke, the Lord told me through the Holy Spirit to do something. I, trying to please man rather than listen to God, attempted to do the opposite. My reasoning for attempting to please man though honorable, was still yet misplaced. In doing so, the result I was hoping to obtain did not manifest. So instead I had to regroup and still ended up doing what the Lord said to do. Time, energy and resources had been wasted to achieve a result that God did not ordain. In the end, I understood the lesson. Yes we all make mistakes in not listening but it's better to get the lesson early and regroup before it's a life or death situation (physically or spiritually) or an abortion of purpose.


P.S. Remember to check out my man V of the Artist to Artist Show Mondays on www.Qliveone.com and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment!