Reversal of Circumstances

Isaiah 38:4-5

 

4And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5"Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.

 

Has God ever reversed something to you that was taken away or about to be taken away? King Hezekiah was faithful to God in that he tore down the high places where people worshiped false gods. His intent was that the people of Jerusalem would serve the Lord. King Hezekiah fell ill and was near death as the word says. The prophet assigned by God to King Hezekiah informed him that his time on earth was about to be done and to get his house in order. Have you ever received word that something precious to you, including your life, was about to come to a close? Have you ever been told that you were about to lose something? King Hezekiah then turned his face to the wall and began to cry out to the Lord. He reminded the Lord of his faithfulness to him. And because the Lord heard his cry, He restored him. The miracle God used to prove it was the reverse of the sundial. At the University of Maryland College Park, where I went to school, there sits a sundial on McKeldin Mall. The sundial was used to tell the time of day before there were clocks and watches. God did a reversal of the shadow that tells time to show that He would reverse King Hezekiah's dire circumstances. Has God ever reversed anything for you? Have you ever lost something then God did a reverse and gave it back to you? What does reverse mean? The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary gives the first definition of reverse as 1)  opposite to previous or normal condition, 2) acting or working in a manner opposite than usual 3) bringing about reverse movement. I used to hear my assistant pastor speak about God being the keeper of time all the time but then directed us to where it exists in the Word. For Hezekiah, God reversed the time of death and added fifteen years to his life. WOW! Jesus said in the word that worry can take away years but God also shows in His word where He can add or give back years. He can add life. He can give back what seemed lost or hopeless. Only God can give back what seemed lost. What has God reversed in your life? What you do with the reversal of circumstances that God gifts to you will show your gratefulness. Always be faithful and show God your gratefulness.

Do You Know the Meaning of Love?

1John 4:7-8

 

7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 

This scripture has been visited before. But what is different this time? Do you know the meaning of Love? Many equate it to "large quantities of chocolate" as stated in the film, The Devil's Advocate. Some say love=sex. Sex is one way to express one's love because you become one with a person in body and spirit as the Word says . There are many different versions of love. Ultimately, the premise is still the same. Love involves thinking of someone else other than you. Love involves the willingness to sacrifice. Love involves moving from selfishness. Love involves wanting to give and not just take. We are called to love in the body of Christ. But do you know the meaning of love? God is love. God created you and I in His image. He then decided that because He loves us so much, that He wanted to rectify Adam's mistake by allowing Jesus to be born so He would suffer and shed His blood for the remission of our sins that we may be reconciled back to Him. He loves us so much that He has delayed Christ's second coming so we have enough time to get right with Him. He loves us so much that He provides for every need. He loves us so much that He wants to give us guidance through His Word and the Holy Spirit and desires our friendship. God is willing to do anything to get your attention. Someone who loves you wants your attention, your time, your friendship. Many people fear saying, "I love you." The Word says that perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. The Word also says that he who fears has not been made perfect in love. In other words, there is nothing to fear in love originated from God. If you fear it, it is because you have not known it before. There are some who say "I love you," at the drop of a dime but love is an action. Where is your action? Love involves giving in some way. Love involves sacrifice. Love originating from God is never empty. There is always proof of love. Do you know the meaning of love? One of the definitions of love as defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary says unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for others. It also says to feel a passion, devotion or tenderness for. In these cases, they require action. God's love for you has and is expressed through action. God wants you to display your love for Him through action. He also wants you display your love for others through action. Again, do you know the meaning of love?

No One Comes Between You and God

1Samuel 2:29

 

29Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?

 

The Lord sent a man of God to the priest Eli to rebuke him for knowing the wrong his sons' were doing yet not properly punishing them. This was after God used the young prophet Samuel to announce the judgment. So again, Eli was warned. Eli's sons were not only harming the people of Israel, they continued to practice the ways of the Canaanites with sacred prostitution as the NKJV Study Bible states. Eli did address his sons but he did not remove them from the house of the Lord for their deeds. By not doing so, Eli blatantly decided his sons were more important than upholding God's ordinances for His people. As a leader, Eli decided that his sons were more important than all of God's people who were being tainted by their acts. The NKJV Study Bible says that our sins do affect others. It is natural to want to side with or protect one's family. But to God, you are to uphold Him first, whether you are in a ministry position or not. Samuel's mother, Hannah, could've chosen to hang on to her son but she remembered the promise she made to God and therefore gave her son back to God to use as His instrument in the world.

 

Abraham was tested to see if he would love God more or value his son Isaac more. Isaac was the son from his wife Sarah's barren womb. Abraham was told that he would be the father of many nations. But Abraham had to be willing to give that up all to keep his relationship with God. When Abraham took Isaac up to the mountain, he believed in his heart that God would provide another sacrifice. He passed the test and this is why you and I know God as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. God provided a ram in the bush. Abraham's heart was pained again because Sarah, his true wife, recognized by God, was told to send Hagar and Ishmael away. God told Abraham to obey his wife's wishes. God also told Abraham that Ishmael would be provided for and He would still make a nation out of Ishmael because he was also Abraham's seed.

 

When God says you have to make the choice to obey him over your heart's desire, it is a difficult choice indeed. True believers in Christ have carried and are still carrying that cross. But because He knows the outcome, He knows the end, His will is always better than our own. His will always sees what you and I cannot see. His will always knows what the end result will be. For Abraham, Ishmael was still provided for and Isaac lived. But Eli refused the choice to obey God. And his entire household died. Even years later when Saul became king, the NKJV Study Bible records that the slaughtering of all the priests in Nob was extended to the entire city which ended more lives from the house of Eli.

 

No one is to come between you and God. Abraham, whom you and I belong to because of the blood of Christ, had to remember to love God with all his heart and so shall you and I.

Bullying

2Timothy 1:7

7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Young Timothy was being encouraged by the Apostle Paul to stand strong and remember who he was called to be as he was young heading a ministry and often became the subject of persecution as the NKJV Study Bible explains. The spirit of fear has been talked about in past messages. But G...od has been moving on my heart today to address the spirit of fear created through bullying. Many do not know but I was subject to bullying, especially during my middle school years when I spent time back in my home town. Bullying is a very serious issue that has plagued many preteens and teens in the last few years. The situation has become so grave that anti-bullying laws are being created and enforced in some places around the country. What is a bully? The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines bully as a person habitually cruel to others who are weaker. The behavior usually starts verbally but then progresses to physical violence. What is the purpose? The bully often creates a spirit of fear and terror so as to dominate or get what it is they desire from others and/or to feel superior themselves.

In my home town, I was bullied so much that even until this day, I remember the name of the young lady, even the smell of the perfume she wore. It used to sicken me so. The bullying began because I would not allow her to cheat off my paper during an exam. First of all, the middle school I attended was designated for "smart kids" or those with averages of 80% and above. To top things off, our class was considered the "smartest team" in the school. In order to be placed in a team you had to be tested. While your grades were a factor, the tests determined your level. So I knew that everyone in the class had the same capability and aptitude to learn just as I did. I knew that the cheating was just out of laziness. Now, the young lady was already smoking illegal drugs, skipping school, etc. I knew she wasn't stupid but lazy so I was not going to enable her laziness. If I had to study and work, so did she. And that pissed her off. Most of the class seemed to fear her and she used that fear and popularity to create havoc that I became the subject of scorn based on the color of my skin and my clothes. Though they were still bewildered how a dark skin girl could have long hair. When she saw that she could not stir me enough, she then got classmates to participate with her in stealing and hiding my personal belongings, to the point that the teacher punished everyone since no one would come clean as to who took my things. And for that I paid a greater price. When she found out that I was friends with someone taller and bigger than her and was warned not to touch me, she backed off from starting a fight. I had dreams about fighting her to the point I knocked her slam out. (For real) Instead, she used the students in the class to physically start fights with me, especially those taller than me. It was to the point that I had to get the school involved. When certain administrators were told who my mom was, they remembered her as she worked for the school at one point in time. They vowed to chastise anyone who laid a finger on me from that point on. The threats continued from multiple young ladies that I would be "jumped" at the end of the school year. I recall talking to an aunt and she told me of her days dealing with fighting. A young Latina lady that I befriended on the school bus had heard of my dilemmas as I was often talked about and offered to utilize her knifing skills if necessary. She was at the middle school next door. A young man that I knew was arrested because he brought a gun to school to counteract anyone messing with him. The fighting was so bad between the students at both schools that a new ordinance had been decreed and announced that anyone caught fighting would be handcuffed and hauled away by police. Teachers were done trying to break up fights as they became more vicious. I knew another young lady whose relative was friends with a relative of mine. She didn't speak to me much while in school but when I overheard that they were planning to jump her, I spoke to my relative and asked if I could call her friend and warn them both about the beat down coming. It was too late. She was jumped by multiple girls on the way on from school. Their plan was to put her in the hospital. My time at the school was temporary. I was grateful when I returned back to where I belonged. See, where I was prior, I was liked for who I was and often protected.

What is the point of sharing this with you? If this was what it was like for me more than twenty years ago, what do you think things are like for those being bullied now? Often bullies are covering up for their own inadequacies whether self-imposed or brought on from an environment. In either case, young people are in real danger. If you suspect bullying, get the school involved before a child ends up seriously injured or dead at the hands of another. If you have to get authorities involved and get them in counseling, then do so. It is better to do it before your children take matters into their own hands by taking their own life and/or the lives of others.

Those of you who know me, now understand why I don't let a person's size frighten me into doing what I do not want to do. I will not return to a spirit of fear for anyone, now that I know who I am in Christ.

Author of "Shh Don't Tell" Hosts Coffee for Kids at Safe Shores DC

You are aware of my passion for helping abused children, as I was, and to spread awareness on the effects of abuse and signs to look for through my book, "Shh Don't Tell" and volunteer efforts. Many of you recall my interview on NBC4 Washington in August. Below is the article from Safe Shores DC that references the interview as well as what you can do to help prevent child abuse.  I will be the ambassador for the Coffee for Kids Information session and tour on Thursday, October 23rd from 8:30am-9:30am. I know many of you are typically scheduled to work. I am asking that you sacrifice an hour of your time for the life of a child you are connected to. That child needs your protection and your guidance with awareness on the subject matter and resources available in the DC area. DC has the highest rate of child abuse in the country.  Please let me know if you are willing to attend on Thursday, October 23rd. The address is 429 O Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001. There is parking in the front and if necessary in the back of the building. The closest metro station is Mt. Vernon Square on the Green/Yellow Line. Please go to my contact page on www.getyourjoyinthemorning.com  if you are willing to attend and provide a phone number where you can be reached.

 

Thank you,

 

-Joy

 

 

"CHANGING MINDS" ABOUT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE         Safe Shores' Clinical Services Director Cindy Bridgman as well as Safe Shores’ supporter and child abuse survivor, Joy Riley, were featured on NBC-4 Washington’s "Changing Minds" series, which focuses on mental health awareness. Click here to see the full segment     .

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE   Stewards of Children Training – Safe Shores has trained over 250 individuals in Stewards of Children Sexual Abuse Prevention Training this year! Join us for this interactive training that teaches adults how to recognize, respond to and prevent child sexual abuse. Upcoming trainings are on October 21, November 20 and December 17. Did we mention that it’s FREE?  Click here for more information and to sign up!       “Coffee for Kids” Tours – Every other Thursday, Safe Shores offers a tour of our mission and an opportunity to learn firsthand from Safe Shores staff. Click here for a list of upcoming dates.

Counteraction

1Samuel 15:9

 

9But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and was unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

 

King Saul was given a directive. He did not obey that directive obviously. As a matter of fact, he kept what seemed good and useful to him. The Amalekites did attack the Israelites when they left Egypt. The word says that the Lord swore to have war with Amalek from generation to generation. What Saul didn't know was not only would God reject him for not completing the task he was assigned, but God would have to send someone else to clean up what he was unwilling to do. Samuel finished off Agag but five hundred years later, those associated with Amalekites still existed. So someone else had to be sent. That person was Queen Esther or Hadassah (her Jewish name). Saul had disobeyed God many times but the last straw was sparing King Agag of the Amalekites and taking all the plunder from a people who did not worship God and made sacrifices to other gods. Five hundred years later, Agag's associates resided in Babylon. Babylon is the place of captivity that God sent the people of Israel to for their continued disobedience. It was there that an associate of Agag was in a position of leadership with a plan to execute vengeance upon the people of Israel. I love Queen Esther because she is the embodiment of courage, my favorite woman of the Bible. She was willing to lose her position as queen, her reputation and even her life, for the sake of her people. Had Saul obeyed, there would've been no need for the Festival of Purim (casting of the lots) which is celebrated every year in the Jewish month of Adar or March on our calendar.

 

What is the moral of all of this? Who will God need to send to counteract your disobedience and unwillingness to do what God said for you to do? Who has to be sent who will be willing to lose their position, reputation or even their life for something greater than them? If you don't do it, will God send someone else in your bloodline later? Will God raise up a group of people from somewhere else? God's people were put in danger certainly not just physically but spiritually. There are consequences to not following what God said. You just don't know who those consequences will fall upon. In Saul's case, it fell on the people he was to lead, God's people hundreds of years later though his consequences were immediate.  Saul's consequences resulted in God rejecting him as king and picking David as the new king, sending an evil spirit upon him. His disobedience continued to the point that no one in his family would remain. Has God told you to do something? Are you willing to do it? If not, who will suffer or feel the sting for it beyond you? And who has to be sent in your place?  

The First Directive

Mark 1:17

 

17Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

 

What was the first directive Jesus gave to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew? He said to Follow Him. So why is that people want to become fishers of men without first following Jesus? There are too many who want to start things tagging Jesus' name to it yet have no intention on truly following Him. How so? If you never bother to 'hear' from God then how can you say He is leading you to do something? Many want to lead but in order to lead, the first command is follow. The disciples didn't just become apostles overnight. They had to learn from Jesus how to carry on His ministry. First thing's first. My pastor just recently preached on going your own way instead of God's way.

 

I remember when I received a recommendation from my pastor when I desired to enter seminary. He had a conversation with me as well as my assistant pastor. They both continually said to me that going for the piece of paper is great but without learning to listen to the Holy Spirit, what you receive is simply a piece of paper. Do you remember the first time Samuel heard God audibly call his name? Samuel thought it was the Priest Eli whose leadership he was under. Eli finally discovered that Samuel was hearing from God and it was rare in those days as the word says. Well I heard God audibly call my name one morning. I felt so special and loved that He would call my name. There was absolutely nothing like it. When you can hear God whether audibly or through the Holy Spirit, it is a beautiful experience because it means He knows you and you know Him.

 

So why attempt to lead, attaching Jesus' name to anything without first following His direction? Two words: pride and greed. Pride because you want your name in lights and greed because you are unsatisfied with what the Lord has already provided. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines greed as acquisitive or selfish desire beyond reason. It's no longer about God but about you. I love when my pastor says, "It's all about God and not about you."  How do you expect Him to give you much if you are unfaithful with little? Satan or Lucifer as he was called, already carried the name of the Lord with him as the chief choir director. But it was not enough for him. He desired to have his name equal with God's as the star. He was not satisfied with what the Lord gave him to do. And therefore he lost the assignment he did have as well as his place in heaven. That's a hefty price just because you want to be the star. It's something to think about.

 

P.S. This message was written in the wee hours of the night and suddenly lost. But I PRAISE GOD because He gave it again. Without the Lord's direction, there is no Get Your (J)esus (O)n (Y)ou In The Morning, that's a fact.