Remember The Time…

There’s a song by Michael Jackson called “Remember The Time”. He’s encouraging his love interest to remember their love story and relationship. The intention is that he hopes as his love interest remembers the good times, she’ll be drawn back to him. It is, as the young kids say, a bop. Remembering can help one to recognize how sweet things use to be, remembering helps us maintain hope, and remembering helps us to be encouraged.

Friends, when we are in our dry seasons and droughts, we need to remember the time as well. Remember the time God saved you. Remember the time the Lord wrapped you in His arms. Remember the Lord, your God, who brought you out of your Egypt. We don’t need to look to the lyrics of that Michael Jackson song to remember the time, we need to look to the Word of God.

Will you recall? Will you remember? We know it’s dry right now but remember His wonderful deeds of long ago! Remember how He put food on your table, remember how He healed you, remembered how He protected you from hurt, harm, and danger! Remember how our Father snatched you from the snares of the enemy! It’s important to remember His word, remember His promises, and to remember the miracles He’s performed. The Word of God was written to tell His story and to etch in our memory who the Lord, our God, is to those who believe.

Friends, we cannot forget the goodness of the Lord! We cannot forget His faithfulness! We cannot afford to forget the majesty, dominion, and power of the Lord! This is why it is important to hear the testimonies of those in the kingdom of God. This is why we have to proclaim our testimonies! Someone needs to hear your story so that they can remember the time!

Let His deeds of long ago help you to remember who He is and what He will do for you.

Peace and Blessings

Show and Prove…

Faith requires action. Have you ever heard yourself saying, “I believe God”? If so, how do you live that out? Are your next steps bold and brave or small and scared? Are you moving beyond “hoping” the Lord hear your prayers to knowing that He hears your prayers? Do you speak His promises loud and proud or nervously?

Faith is an action word. You must say AND do! After you shout, “I believe you God”, you must live out that statement. You must be willing to trust God in a big way! You have to start writing, start filming, and start walking.

Believing God for healing? You must be committed to a healthier lifestyle. Believing God for the business? Start taking those classes. Believing God for a husband? Begin preparing yourself to be a wife. We must show and prove! We actively demonstrate our faith in God by preparing ourselves for the move of God. We must prove that we trust God by beginning to execute the vision He provides.

Without the work, faith is dead. The Word tells us so…

Active faith testifies to the capability of God. Make no mistake, He is GOOD and CAPABLE all by Himself! However, a world that does not know Him will never know just how amazing He is if we do not operate as the ambassadors and high priests we are. Our faith is used to testify of His Good News. Our faith eloquently preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It’s time to show and prove to a dying and fear-filled world! Show and prove by your works! Those steps lead to a testimony of our Father!

Friends, your prayers and preparation tell of your faith. Your focus and drive speaks to the faithfulness of Christ our Lord. Your commitment, no matter what they say and what you see, echoes the message of the cross.

It’s time to show and prove!

Peace and Blessings

Silence is Golden…

Many times throughout scripture, God’s voice was heard in the silence, think about the crackling of a burning bush or a wind that gently whooshes pass you. The voice of the Lord isn’t always booming. Sometimes it’s small and still but packs a powerful punch.

And if His voice is small and still, that means we have to turn down our world to hear His voice. Our world is loud. Full of distractions, sounds, and booms. But if we want to hear His voice, we must learn how to be silent. We must learn how to sit quietly, to pray quietly, and to silence the world around us.

Your prayers don’t have to be full of words. Don’t forsake the power of your silence before the Lord. There is a time to shout and there is a time to sit still. Being in a quiet space without the television or the phone can change and greatly impact your relationship with the Lord. You don’t always have to catch the latest and greatest teacher and preacher, not when you belong to the greatest Teacher and Preacher. Turn them off and sit before the Lord. Sitting quietly before Him requires trust and submission.

There is value is silencing the racing thoughts and the nagging voices. Your silence represents hope, trust, and faith. His word speaks to the beauty of silence:

Your silence is golden. Everything does not warrant a response. You don’t have to always verbalizes your prayers. Let your tears speak. Let your pen cry out. Let your posture before the Lord echo what you are trying to say.

The Father knows what you have need of and He knows what pains you. The Father is well aware of your wants and desires. He knows what you want to say before you say it. Your silence speaks volumes.

Wait in silence, for your hope is in Him, not the eloquence of your speech or the beauty of your singing and the uniqueness of your spiritual tongue. Your silence is golden for your hope is in Him alone.

Peace and Blessings

Gift of Answered Prayers…

You are the answer to someone’s prayer. Is that hard to believe? It shouldn’t be! You are fearfully and wonderfully made, handcrafted by God our Father. Anything made by our Lord Almighty is a gift. And that includes you.

As a mother, wife, employee, daughter-you are the answer to someone’s prayer. Your life may be the answered prayer of a mother whose womb has been declared barren. A man who has prayed fervently for a wife-you have met that desire. Your commitment to your job is the answered prayer of a supervisor who is struggling to lead her team. Your children are blessed by your presence.

Answered prayers comes in all shapes, sizes and objects. Someone prayed for protection on the road and a red light slowed them down. A farmer prayed for rain for their crops and a rainstorm came. Someone prayed for someone to talk to and their best friend called them.

We must have our spiritual eyes open so that we do not miss the move of God as we utter our prayers. Do we believe this truth?

If we believe the Word of God, then we must realize and look at the things of our life from a different perspective. A clutter house means we are blessed with the things we need. Those toys that you trip over are the children for whom you prayed. We must take a different look at ourselves as well.

Someone asked for you too. No matter your mistake, no matter the choices you made, you are the very thing someone prayed for. Continue being the amazing woman of God you are. Know that you are a blessing to someone’s life. Know that you were planted here for a purpose. You have worth and you are a gift.

Peace and Blessings

The Gospel According To…

A wise woman once said that sometimes people have a tendency to minister from their hurt and pain instead of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, friends, we ask you what gospel are you preaching? Are you ministering from your hurt and pain? Or are you telling the world about the good news of Jesus Christ?

Sisters, this post is not intended to discredit your narrative. Nor are we discounting the hurt and pain that you’ve experienced. However, we must consider who is at the center of our stories. Does the event, the trauma, and the experience point to Jesus, to the one who caused the pain, or to ourselves? As believers and followers of Christ, of our lived experiences should point to our Savior. Yes, the hurt and pain is real but Jesus is greater. Yes, that person is wrong for hurting you but Jesus is still on the throne.

The Word of God informs us whose gospel we should be proclaiming:

The Gospel and Good News are used interchangeably in different versions of the Bible. If it isn’t clear, we are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our life experiences should be woven into His story so that others can be drawn to Him. When delivered appropriately, your story is one that speaks of Good News, one that speaks of God our Father, Savior, Healer, Redeemer, and the list goes on.

Your pain and heartache belong under the feet of Christ not at the center of your story. You should proclaim Good News from a heart that has been repaired and restored. Love must be on the edge of your lips. Your voice is most powerful when it reveals forgiveness towards your oppressors. Joy can truly be your strength when you proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your narrative matters and has the ability to empower but it is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that saves…

Peace and Blessings

Clear Vision…

The messages and sermons on vision this year are probably endless. 20/20 is good vision, right?! However, it’s probably been a little tough to see the good in 2020. With COVID, death, social unrest, natural disasters, and numerous other issues, seeing the good in it all can be rather difficult, one can imagine.

If that is all that you are seeing, it’s time to correct your vision. Yes, the trials and tribulations are ever present but so is the goodness of the Lord! Let’s look to the Word of God to help clear our vision:

Friends, we know that you are seeing the devastation of the coronavirus and the sadness of racism but we want to encourage you to see the Lord at work. Be confident in seeing the goodness of the Lord.

Reconciliation is taking place as conversations about race are happening. The Lord still heals as we hear of those who have recovered from COVID. People are still getting jobs in this season of layoffs. The goodness of the Lord is still here in the land of the living! Will we look and see? Will we clear our vision to see the Lord’s hand in the midst of it all?

Be determined to see the movement of God. The blood still works! The Lord still heals! Jesus is still very real! Let’s set our sights on our Father so we can see His goodness in the midst of pain and heartache! We clear our vision by focusing on our Savior.

This world, its worries and woes, will all pass away, and the goodness of the Lord will forever stand.

Will you remain confident in this, that you will see the goodness of the Lord?

Peace and Blessings

The Path of Life…

Many motivational speakers will speak about the path of life. They will tell you that you make your own path, that it’s rocky, that it’s complicated, and that you are essentially the master of your own path and destiny. Unfortunately, if these motivational speakers aren’t speaking of or about Christ as they try to tell you about the path of life, they are sadly mistaken.

The first step in understanding the path of life is your vision. Where are your sights set? In order to understand or to even find the path of life, we must set our sights on the Creator of life:

If we set our sights on things above, we can learn more about the path of life and where it ends. It is the One above who will direct and order our steps. His way is the best way! Yes, the path of life may be rocky, but He guides our steps. Yes, the path of life may be long, but He is our guide.

Our feet must hold fast to His path (Psalm 17:5). Only in Christ is where we will be able to get to where God wants us to go! We must to submit to His will and His way. We must ask the Lord to teach us His paths (Psalm 25:4). Who better to teach us in the way we should go than the Lord Almighty!

You may be searching for the right way but with your eyes on Him, He will get you there! The path of life does not have to complicated if we simply trust and surrender to the Lord. Not only is your intended path crafted by God, it is for Him (Psalm 23:4).

As a child of God, you are no longer wandering aimlessly, you have an destination and a purpose. Your path of life will be for your good as you choose to be led by the Lord. Your path will strengthen you, be your testimony, and serve as a witness to the goodness of the Lord!

Peace and Blessings

Never Forgotten!

You, our friend, are not forgotten! God remembered Noah, Abraham, Rachel, Issac, Jacob, and the list goes on! Matter of fact, go on ahead and add your name to the list! He remembers the covenant that you were grafted into as you became a believer. He remembers that you need bread, water, and shelter. He remembers your dreams and your desires. He remembers the prayers you’ve whispered and the ones you’ve have shout! Sis, He remembers you!

You are not forgotten by the Lord! You are not forsaken by Him. Will you stand on this promise today?

He remembers your desire to finish that degree, to start that business, and to start that ministry! Be encouraged, He has not left you nor forsaken you. Whatever you’ve done, there is absolutely nothing that can separate you from His love. So praise Him today! Praise Him for remembering your name, remembering your family, and remembering your purpose! Rejoice even now for His memory (unlike ours) will never fail! Rejoice because you know that you are on God’s mind! Rejoice because you are not forgotten nor forsaken.

Sisters Helping Sisters is extremely thankful that the Lord has heard our hearts and that He remembers us! If you are in Hampton Roads, Va, myself, Pastor Tanya Coles, will be featured on The Street Preacher broadcast on WGNT-27, The CW at 6:30am every Sunday morning! I am thankful that the Lord has remembered our ministry and remembered our desire to proclaim the goodness of God to those who lost and in need of encouragement!

This world may say that you are insignificant if you look a certain way, don’t have a degree, or don’t make a certain amount. I, too, was once trapped by the lies of the enemy and believed that I was insignificant. We are here to rebuke the lies of the enemy right now in the name of Jesus! You are not insignificant, you matter to the heart and mind of our Father and Savior! You are not forgotten, your Heavenly Father remembers you!

Etch this truth on your minds and hearts: I am not forgotten. I am not forsaken. The Lord remembers me.

Peace and Blessings

Grow Up!

Have you ever found yourself telling a sibling or friend, “Oh, grow up!” in jest or in good fun?

Well friends, perhaps as we are joking around with our loved ones, we may need to step in front of the mirror and tell ourselves that very same thing!

The good Lord exhorts us to transition from milk to meat in Hebrews:

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14

It’s time to grow, my sisters! It is time for us to transition from milk to meat! We have to declare now that we are going to teach, we are going to preach, and that we are going to be the leaders in our communities!

We can no longer be bounded by the things that use to trip us up when we first came to Christ. We cannot have a temper tantrum every time our Father says no. We cannot stumble over every obstacle that comes our way. We are no longer babes, we are mature in Christ!

We stand ready to engage in spiritual warfare. We stand prepare to rebuke every demonic spirit that tries to take over. We are filled with wisdom, we are encouraging others, and we are ready to do what thus says the Lord! We are going to choose to worship instead or worry. We will not be swayed by every distraction. We will stand tall because we are mature enough to know to stand on the promises of God.

Being grown up in Christ leads us to rejoice over closed doors because we know that’s God’s protection. Maturity in Christ leads us to thank Him for relationships that end because we know that He has better for us! Growing up helps us rise above the naysayers and the negative people because we are focused on the voice of the Lord!

Friends, we are no longer babies. Our childish days are over. It is time for us all to grow up:

Peace and Blessings