WOMAN OF PRAISE

Matthew 4:1-11 In this passage, Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God to be tempted by Satan and was going to be fasting for 40 full days there.  At the end of his fast, the Bible says that he was extremely hungry and that is when the tempter came.  (verses 1-2)  Also see Luke 4. In the first case the Devil said to him, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”   Jesus responded with these words , “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (verses 3-4) In other words, there is a thing that is equally important to man as food: it is the life in which man walks in the fear of the Lord and observes to do all that God commands.  In the second situation, the Devil takes Jesus up into the holy city, sets him on a pinnacle of the temple, and tries to get him to commit suicide by saying unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his

TO BE HUMBLE IS TO BE COURTEOUS . According to online dictionary.com, the definition for courteous is having or showing good manners; polite. I asked my oldest daughter to tell me what her classmates do that she considers bad manners.   She said, “Disrupt the class.”  This led me to think about a list of  disruptive things that people do.   People disrupt marriages.  People disrupt relationships.  People disrupt ministries.  People disrupt the program of God.   People disrupt lives.  People disrupt conversations.  People disrupt people. Mark 12:31 gives us the solution for this disruptive problem.   It says that “ Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Meaning, that the good that you want for yourself want for others, too. For this wisdom originates from the heavens.  But the wisdom from which carnal behaviors are born is described in James 3:15 as earthly, sensual, and devilish and according to James, produces con

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words in light of the persecutions that he knew his disciples would face when he returned to his Father.   John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my   peace   I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” In the world you will have tribulation, but remember to be of good cheer because I have overcome the world (John 16:33) and its persecutions, and even though I am going to depart soon, I have just the right thing to sustain you: My peace.   The peace that the world doesn't have and the world cannot give. The peace that surpasses man’s understanding. There are no words to describe it.  It’s indescribable! But when it comes upon you, you will feel as if God walked into the room and it will cause you to fall on your knees and bow in worship and adoration unto your God.   It will cause you to throw your hands up in surrender and open up your mouth and repeatedly say, “God

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” For the Almighty God, the Father of Jesus Christ, and the God of all comforts loved all of us that He gave up His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be crucified for us so that whosoever believes in the Risen Christ shall not be condemned to everlasting death; but shall be given everlasting life.  Man would receive the gift of salvation by first believing in Jesus Christ that He is the Savior of the world and the Son of God who was crucified on a cross, buried, raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and declared to be the Son of God by the Spirit of Holiness.  Next, man would confess his sins before God and invite Jesus to come into his life in order to be saved. Therefore, salvation will occur when man’s faith merges with God’s grace.    Ephesians 2:8-9   “For by (God’s) grace are ye saved through (your) faith; a

TO BE HUMBLE IS TO BE COURTEOUS . According to online dictionary.com, the definition for courteous is having or showing good manners; polite. I asked my younger daughter to tell me what her classmates do that she considers bad manners.   She said, “Throw trash at me!”  Well, that hit me like a rock in the head, and I was just about to put on my shoes to find this little person who throws trash at my daughter, when something held me back.  Thank God for the Holy Spirit.   I believe this is exactly how the Father behaves when people throw trash at us.   He doesn’t like it.   So, how do people throw trash at us? The first thought that comes to my mind are “words.”  Yes words.  You know what I’m talking about.  We bless with them and we curse with them.   We sing with them and we pray with them.   We communicate with them.   We throw trash with them.   Psalm 50:20-23 20  Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.  21  These t

After you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will need to be clothed with strength from above because of the bombardment of harassment, oppositions, and hardships that you will face as a Christian. This strength is not your ordinary strength but strength that comes from the Most High God. THE HOLY SPIRIT Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” God sent you strength from above so that you can live your Christian life victoriously.   This strength is in the Holy Spirit.  He falls on you and He fills you.   He encourages you and rebukes you.   He leads you in the paths of righteousness.   He is your teacher and life-coach. He is the enablement to be a witness for Christ.  He is the one who separates you to ministry. He comforts you.  He empowers and emboldens you for all that you’ll do.       He is t

When life’s face is discouraging And everything’s tumbling Encourage yourself in the LORD. When your heart is filled with sorrow And you don’t want to see tomorrow Encourage yourself in the LORD. When life’s skies are lowering And darkness is overshadowing Encourage yourself in the LORD. Remember what He did for you. Remember His unfailing love for you. Remember that He’s still on the throne And that He still calls you His own. Remember that He is your God Your Savior Your Deliverer Your Healer Your Provider Your Strength Your Comforter And lift up your hands to praise Him! When life’s face is discouraging Encourage yourself in the LORD! by Evangelist K. Michael  

TO BE HUMBLE IS TO BE COURTEOUS . According to online dictionary.com, the definition for courteous is having or showing good manners; polite.   Ø Calling people by their names is one way of showing good manners. In some cases, if it is against someone’s culture; then use a courteous suitable alternative, such as sister, brother, pastor, and so on.  I once knew a woman who used to walk up to me all the time and just begin a conversation without calling my name.  I called her by her name; but for whatever reason she couldn’t find something to call me, and when she did address me, she said something that looks like this “Ehy!”  I found it rude and disrespecting.  People love to hear their names and need to be addressed by them. Not doing so seems to me, to be a great disservice to them; but more than that, it is a sheer disregard to the precedent that the Almighty God set in the book of Genesis, chapter one, when He named the things He created; then passed it on to Adam wh

My daughter, who is in kindergarten, wrote a four-page instructional manual with four steps of how to get dressed.  In my presence, her teacher passed out the manual and told her she did a good job.  I took the manual and glanced at the topic, which immediately whetted my appetite for this delicious, medium-well sirloin.   So, I got out my knife, fork, and napkin and got ready to dig in.    The first thing she wrote was, “First you put your shoes on.  Next you put your stockings on.”  And so on, and so on.  The first thought I had was, “God, you mean I’ve been dressing my child with shoes before stockings all this time!"  I was a little perturbed. Then I looked at the entire presentation and saw that in addition to her good topic choice, she spelled well.  Then I said, “This is beautiful, baby; but when I dress you in the morning, do I put the shoes on before the stockings?”  She didn’t respond, but I could see in her eyes she understood where I was going.  She knows how

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” A few weeks ago, I observed that a couple things I said came to pass instantly.  I warned my daughter to be careful she didn’t drop something in her hand, and it fell.   I complained that it was too cold at my home and that we would get sick.  I got sick all weekend.  My husband, replied that if I wanted to get sick I could; but He and the children would not get sick. They did not.  No wonder the Bible admonishes us to control our tongues.  What happened was neither coincidence nor incidence; but the unfolding of the above Bible truth, which warns that your words have power to build or destroy, so use them discreetly. Always speak positive things over yourself and others, and be alert to the things that people pronounce against you.  When they do it, you must be quick to reverse it with your lips of authority.  Don’t let it settle in your spirit for a seco

Matthew 23  Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,  2  saying:  “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.   3  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, [ a ]   that  observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.   4  For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay  them  on men’s shoulders; but they  themselves  will not move them with one of their fingers.   5  But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.   6  They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,   7  greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’   8  But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, [ b ]  and you are all brethren.   9  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.   10  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  

While outside doing street evangelism a few days ago, we came across a mother and her child passing by.   The child, who looked like about one year old, was so precious to look upon, like all infants.  He was delighted as many children are when their moms allow them the freedom of toddling. Seeing his free spirit and the glee in his eyes, my husband stretched out his hands and told him to come.  Without any hesitation, he spontaneously came to him to my astonishment.   This is how it was in the days of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.   He just called, and the disciples followed.  There were no complaints, no temper tantrums, no kicking and screaming like a baby, no one saying he was too busy, and no one making excuses.  They just came like little children.  Today, the Father is still, with outstretched arms, calling you to repentance.  Will you listen?  He gave His only begotten son for your salvation, and it is not His desire that anyone should end up in hell;

When you look at the homeless, the first thought that comes to mind is that they have been forgotten.  Yes forgotten, by friends, family, and even government.  The sight of these individuals shouldn’t be a heart-hardening experience; but a heart-breaking one.   So yesterday while driving by, I saw a homeless man lying under the overpass with a life that just seems to be fading away.   Immediately my heart ached with pain—as it always does when I see the homeless—then I whispered a prayer for him understanding that God knows about his plight.  The Bible says that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without God’s knowledge and presence. I want you to know that God is aware of your struggles.  He knows where you are and what you are going through.  Your situation may look grim; but He is very much present, and He is going to see you through because He has the power to do it.  He feeds the birds, He clothes the lilies, and He will take care of you because you are worth more th

Sometimes it's better to say, "I pray I will not..." than to say, "I will not...." Kathy-Ann Michael John 3 King James Version (KJV) 3  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born