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 Breaking…

Ever held a glow stick? In order for it to glow, what do you have to do? You must break it!

You, my friend, are no different! For your light to shine? You must break! Break those old habits, break away from those toxic relationships, and break that train of negative thoughts. You must be broken!

When we are broken, we are able to be used by the Lord for His work! Brokenness brings us closer to our Savior. Brokenness is the key to unlock our true purpose in Christ! Brokenness leads us to wholeness. Brokenness guides us to the arms of the Savior. Brokenness leads to humility and allows us to experience God’s grace and mercy!

Dear friend, the Lord does not despise your brokenness, quite the contrary! Your point of humility, that point of surrender that brokenness brings us to positions us to be used by the Father! This is where we shine! Our weaknesses positions us to be used for His glory and our good! In our weakness, He shines! We were at that point of being down and out, we are able to truly experience the might of God’s power!

Surrender your broken pieces unto the Lord. He will mold them together in a way that you could never imagine. Your broken heart will be the tool used by the Lord to increase your capacity to love, to have compassion, and to experience joy.

Do not forsake the breaking, our friend, the Lord is going to make you shine!

Peace and Blessings

Death to Tradition…

The upcoming Independence Day celebrations are going to look a little different for many people. Some states are still restricting large gatherings. Many areas have canceled fireworks. And many people of color are opting out of celebrating the holiday as July 1776 did not offer freedom for enslaved African Americans. Traditions will take on a new face this holiday and others to come.

Traditions can help us feel some sort of normalcy. When our traditions are disrupted, that can make us feel uneasy. We tend to hold on to traditions, simply because that is what was always done.

However, we must be willing to explore the traditions we hold dear. Is it beneficial? Is it biblical? Is it what God wants us to do? The Word of God echoes that while traditions are permissible, they are not always beneficial.

What traditions of men are you treasuring more than the Word of God? It is the commandment of God that must prevail over traditions! We can not compromise what the Lord says simply because it has always been done that way. Examine your order of service. Examine the way you may feel about those who wear jeans instead of a long dress to church. Examine the way you feel about those who opt out of church. Examine the leadership positions, the celebrations, and the anniversaries.

We must be sure that we are not confusing tradition with the commandment of God. His command comes first and the rest falls second.

Jesus defies tradition by eating with taxpayers and prostitutes. Jesus defies tradition by healing on the Sabbath. Jesus defies tradition by permitting salvation for the gentiles in addition to the children of Israel.

His defiance towards tradition led to our salvation! You were healed, delivered, and set free by the commandment of God and not tradition. So death to tradition as the commandment of God through our Lord Jesus Christ reigns on!

Peace and Blessings

Heart Healthy Diet…

There are specific foods that are good for the heart: Green veggies, whole wheat, berries, fish, and the list goes on. A heart healthy diet also includes stress management and exercise. The attention that the heart receives is vital because if it stops, we stop.

This natural fact is also a spiritual truth. The heart is of great importance because the “issues of life flow from it” Proverbs 4:23. So how do we maintain a healthy heart in the supernatural?

We stand guard: The heart is delicate and must be protected at all times. We can control what penetrates the heart by guarding our ear and eye gates. We must be careful in what and who we are listening to and what we are watching. Has listening to a sad love song ever made you sad? The heart wasn’t guarded. Have you ever watched something aggressive made you feel some type of way? You weren’t guarding your heart.

Weigh the weight of our words: The words we say and the words we digest affect the condition of our heart. There is “life and death in the power of the death” and to maintain a healthy heart, we must be mindful of the words we say. “Anxiety wears the heart down but a kind word cheers it up” Proverbs 12:25.

Choose Crosses Carefully: Ask yourself, is the cross you are bearing, yours to bear? Sometimes we try to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, which destroys the heart. The burdens of the world were never intended for our shoulders or our heart. The cares of our world should be placed at the Lord’s feet.

Maintaining a healthy heart creates a space for the Lord to plant His purpose, His will, and His mission for our life. Having a healthy heart purifies the wellspring of life. A healthy heart is the good soil needed to hear and understand God’s Word.

If you find your needing a healthy heart, anchor yourself here:

Peace and Blessings

The Healing Process…

You catch a cold and there is a process that is involved with getting over the cold: rest, plenty of fluids, cold meds, and hot tea. You do this and the body recovers. A similar antidote is recommended for the flu, stomach bug, and allergies. They may involve antibiotics or longer rest periods but the process is about the same. This process builds up your immunity and while you may fall ill again, you have developed the toolkit needed in order to recover stronger and better!

Spiritually, there is a healing process involved when recovering from pain inflicted on ourselves or when others cause us pain. Let’s look to the Gospel:

Humility. Prayer. Seeking the Lord’s face. Turning from our wicked ways. These components are our healing process.

Been abused? Been misused? Been overlooked? Been rejected? Messed up? The Father has revealed your healing process! He’s laid out His perfect plan for your restoration and redemption.

The healing process takes time and requires you to go through as you grow through! Humility, praying, pursuing the Father, and repenting will build up your immunity to the obstacles that will come! The process is preparation.

We can’t promise you that you won’t be rejected again or experience hurt by someone you love. We can’t promise that you won’t be misused again. We can promise that the healing process chronicled by the Father WILL absolutely heal you every time!

Etch His promises to you as you endure the process: He will hear (you) from heaven. He will forgive (your) sins. He will restore your land.

Trust in the process.

Peace and Blessings

Move On…

Spiritually, mountains can represent many different things. Maybe for you, it’s a relationship. For another, it’s a place of employment. For someone else, it’s an attitude or a past situation.

Maybe your mountain is the career where you are making tons of money. Maybe your mountain is the relationship with the man of your dreams.

Sis, you’ve stayed here long enough, it is time to move on…

Everything that is good to us, isn’t what God has for us. The man of your dreams may not be who God has planned for you. Maybe that hurtful moment in time should be used to propel you forward.

You’ve stayed long enough, its time to move on…

The children of Israel were instructed to move on. The Lord had massive amounts of land promised to them. The mountain wasn’t their promise. And this is true for you too!

Camping around the mountain may be comfortable, but it’s a distraction. The mountain, although it may be beautiful and massive, it is blocking the promises God has for you! There are greater things in store for you! You’ve stayed here long enough, move on!

Move on from that past relationship that hurt you tremendously, God is waiting to manifest that promise of healing in your life. It is time to move on from that career that isn’t in God’s plan for your life, there is a promised gift of fulfillment that awaits as you live out your purpose. Move on from that closed door, an open one awaits.

You’ve stayed here long enough, it is time to move on to the promises God has for your life.

Peace and Blessings

The Never-ending Mission…

Ministry is service.

Some of us are in children’s ministry, some serve behind a pulpit, others may lead Bible study or teach in other capacities. Ministry is work. Ministry is never-ending work. The fact of the matter is, you are always a minister of the Gospel.

There is an pandemic occurring and the world is in need of the Healer. You are the conduit with your service.

Consider the exhortation from scripture:

Preaching isn’t just about standing behind a pulpit. Being a minister of the Gospel is all about living out God’s Word. Churches are closed but the mandate still stands. Limitations are in place but the mandate still stands.

We must preach the Word in season and out of season. This is where witty ideas and inventions are birthed. How can you minister even in times such as these? This is your never ending mission. Your service does not bow to any pandemic. You do not retire from your ministry. Your work is not done until you are called to rest and await the return of the Savior.

Be prepared to minister the Gospel at all times. Reprove. Exhort. Rebuke. Technology is available. Your next door neighbor needs the Gospel. There is a child in your sphere of influence that needs your ministry. There is an senior citizen who needs the light within you. Your co-workers needs the hope that never disappoints.

Ministry is service, it is your service. It is your never-ending mission.

Peace and Blessings

Declare and decree…

Every cough and sneeze brings an concerned look or glance. Every other word is COVID 19 or coronavirus or pandemic. Every other statement is about what’s lacking.

People of God, we must be careful about what we say, especially during a time such as this. Our actions and words declare and decree. It’s so easy to get caught up in the times. We, too, have concerns or may be dealing with an consequence associated with this major issue that is going on.

Even so, we must be mindful about what we are declaring and decreeing. The world is not only watching, the world is in need of your light. The world is in need of the hope that never disappoint. And you have the key, you, as followers of Christ, have the answer.

Don’t you know that your words have power?

What are you declaring and decreeing? Believers, with a united faith and prayer, can be the change that this world needs right now. We can declare and decree hope in a time that seems to be focused on hopelessness. We can declare joy in a time of confusion. We can decree prosperity in times that are focused on lack. We can declare truth in a world full of facts.

Instead of running from the next person that coughs, declare healing. Instead of worrying about where to find the next pack of toilet tissue, decree that the next store you step into will have everything that you need. In the times of unstable employment, declare stability. In a time of panic, decree peace.

Declare a thing, and let it be established for you, for those whom you are connected to, and for a world that is searching for the One whom saves.

Peace and Blessings

Praying Power…

You, my friend, have praying power! Yes, Sister Johnson may scream and shout. Yes, Sister Smith may speak in tongues. Neither of those ladies nor any other prayer powerhouses in your life takes away from the power that YOU possess!

The enemy wants you to believe that your prayers won’t be heard. He wants you to believe that God does not care about you or your prayers. He is a liar, please do not fall for his schemes. The less you pray, the further you are away from God.

Keep praying, continue to seek God. Your prayers ARE changing things! Your prayers is changing YOU! Healing, deliverance, and restoration are found in your prayers. Salvation, forgiveness, and mercy are found in your prayers.

Sisters Helping Sisters would like to give you the opportunity to use your praying power! On Saturday, February 29th at 9am EST, we will be holding a prayer call. This serves as a time to pray for the sisters in our lives as prayer is the most important step in helping others! Join in if you can! The number is (425) 436-6200 and the access code is 827208. All we ask is for you to have a prepared heart and the name of one lady whom you would like to prayer for. It can absolutely be your name!

If you can’t join in, let us know how we can pray for you! You can drop your requests in the comment section or feel free to send us an email at sistershelpingsisters757@gmail.com.

Peace and Blessings