Are you prideful? Don’t be so quick to say no, lol.
It was recently brought to my attention that I have issues with pride. At first I was like nahhh… not me.. I don’t boast or brag about what I have. I don’t post pictures daily on social media for attention etc. Pride is tricky and can manifest itself in many forms! I was reminded of a statement that I made concerning myself that was extremely arrogant. There was a situation in the news that prompted me to pray. I prayed for the situation and the parties involved. Later on that day I heard the report that all was well and I rejoiced and said look I prayed for that outcome, as if my prayer alone changed the situation. I should’ve been rejoicing and thanking God for the outcome and realistic enough to recognize that there were millions of people praying for the situation, not just myself.

How do I know if I am operating in pride you might ask? Do you find yourself always steering a conversation towards yourself and your accomplishments? Is it difficult for you to accept correction and even more challenging to admit when you are wrong? Are you are quick to find fault in others? If you answered yes to any of these questions this would be a great indication that your dealing with pride. We all know that self care is necessary and that is it perfectly normal to rejoice in personal accomplishments. However, it becomes pride when it is boastful and rooted in conceit and arrogance. It is vainglorious to believe that everything begins and ends with you, that you have all the answers and can figure everything out on your own. It is basically saying that you don’t need God, and at this point your moving into dangerous territory. “God is opposed to the proud and haughty but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away froms self-righteousness”] I am sure many of us can relate to not being able to figure things out or navigate this life on our own. We weren’t designed to live this life apart from God. Our destiny and purpose is wrapped up in Him! So it behooves us to establish, re-establish or maintain a relationship with GOD (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to receive direction for life.

Do you seek validation, acceptance or approval from others? I also struggled with “needing” the approval, praise and acceptance” from others and came to realize that needing validation is evidence of pride as well. Whatever God has called you to do, DO IT. If no one recognizes you, encourages or supports you that’s fine. Even if it is people who you thought would be supportive and they are not, it’s okay. Sometimes people have this erroneous idea that they are more “spiritual” than you are based on their own preconceived opinions and judgements of your current state or even your former state. In case anyone who has this type of mindset is wondering- You are operating in pride. The only approval and validation required is GOD’s. If God in fact called you to do something, He will validate you and in due time it will be evident to all! Be encouraged! …. Also, do not let anyone make you feel like you are not in relationship with God because you are not connected to “their” ministry. God will place you exactly where you need to be, to equip you and get you to the next level in His perfect plan, not man’s. An arrogant person might say if you are not affiliated with my ministry, you are missing the move of GOD. This type of mindset is extremely dangerous. God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9)So be careful in making hasty judgements about people and situations. Instead, pray that God will direct people to who and where they need to be.

In closing, I highly recommend purchasing and downloading the ebook Leviathan written by Apostle John Eckhardt. This book is an eye opener and clearly defines and exposes the ways in which pride manifests. As a bonus it also includes specific decrees and prayers for breaking pride. (If interested you can purchase the ebook from WWW.APBOOKS.GLOBAL)

Let’s pray…
Father in the name of Jesus we come to you thanking you for who you are. You are the Most High and we love you. Thank you for every blessing, every lesson, every open door and opportunity, and every door that you have closed for our protection. Father we ask you to reveal to us the areas of pride in our lives and empower us to turn away from pride and walk in humility. Holy Spirit enable us to walk in divine love and to manifest the fruit of the Spirit which is “ [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22) Thank you for your wisdom, guidance and protection. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Without faith it is impossible to please God..

Every day we face situations that require faith (our complete trust and reliance on God) and based on what we give our attention to, we are either feeding faith or feeding doubt.
We often enter prayer not full of faith but full of anxiety and doubt. As indicated in the scriptures we must pray in faith. “…But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that man think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double – minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1: 6-8 KJV) also in Hebrews 11:6 KJV it says “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”.
For example say you are believing God for divine protection. It would not be wise to inundate yourself with the news and listen to all the crime reports and negativity. (Yes it’s ok to watch the news and important to stay abreast of world affairs) It would be more beneficial to give your attention to the word and what God says about divine protection. Read the word of God (the Bible-which is the logos word) so that the Holy Spirit can give you a rhema word (a personal word) on protection that you can stand on and believe.
Always be honest with the Father and tell Him about your anxiety and doubts concerning your situation(s). Stay in His presence so that the peace of God can envelope you. “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God that passes all understanding, shall keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus”.(Philippians 4:6-7 KJV)
Faith is the conduit by which we receive the promises of God. Faith is obedience, which means we are required to do something. “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:20 KJV) We cannot say we believe God, believe His word, yet we walk in disobedience. God is going to speak to us through the word of God (Bible). If we cannot obey the written word, how do we think we can receive specific and detailed instructions for our lives? Today let us make a decision to obey God and not walk in disobedience, to feed our faith and not our fear.

Let us pray…..
Father in the name of Jesus we come to you today. Father forgives us for disobeying you. Forgive us for our intentional disobedience and for things we have done inadvertently. Strengthen us God by the Holy Spirit to walk in obedience to your perfect will. Father we choose to believe and trust your word and plan that you have for our lives. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

To forgive or not forgive…that is the question?

Is forgiveness necessary in every situation? What about if someone disrespects you, offends you, or hurts you? Is it justifiable to hold onto the anger, bitterness and resentment in your heart, especially if the action was intentional?

The word forgive is defined as 1-to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for (an offense, flaw or mistake) 2-to cancel a debt. While writing this blog I was convicted by the latter part of the definition lol, to cancel a debt, to basically release a person from having to earn my forgiveness. This is mind blowing. It reminds me of how the Father cancelled our debt and forgave our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus. The truth is we were guilty and He had a right to feel angry and resentful towards us. Yet, Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice allowed the Father to cancel a debt that we could never repay.

I can say it is easier for me to forgive people and that is only a result of me yielding to Holy Spirit living in me.Yet at times it’s a struggle because I feel justified in my anger and I want to hold on to it. It’s even more difficult when I replay the scenario over in my head a million times or I re-read the post or text messages until my anger is rekindled. When I first gave my life to the Lord back in 2002 (I backslid and rededicated my life) I equated forgiveness with reconciliation. Sometimes it is necessary and in other cases it is not. I have learned that in certain scenarios and in order to heal it is imperative that you separate yourself from people. You can truly forgive someone, release them in your heart and not associate with them. However, we must forgive. Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”.

Now I am not advocating that you cut a everyone off you’ve ever had a disagreement with. Nevertheless, there are times when you must disconnect from people. We often ignore the Internal alarms that are ringing and going off inside of us and choose to give people “the benefit of the doubt”. Beloved (in my Iyanla Vanzant’s voice) pay attention to the signs !!! If you find yourself in a situation where you are not sure if you should reconcile or part ways with a person or people, pray about it. God will direct you. The reality is some people are not a part of the plan that God has for your life. It just is what it is. Some people are toxic, jealous and have ill intentions. Others are genuine and good natured but just not apart of the plan. If by the Holy Spirit you are being warned to disconnect from people and you blatantly ignore His dealings and stay connected you will suffer the consequences of your disobedience! No one and no-thang (nothing) is worth forfeiting your destiny for.

If we are honest we can admit that we have done or said things that have hurt and offended others. I know that I have not been the perfect friend, sister, auntie, mother, daughter, wife and so on. I know there are people that I have hurt and offended, some of which I am conscious of and some I am not aware of. I ask for forgiveness and I forgive because I need my sins and trespasses forgiven. I can be a trip at times 😂

My friends forgive so that you may be forgiven. Evaluate your relationships and determine which ones to hold on to and which ones to end, because your destiny depends on it. Ensure that you are not the toxic, jealous ill willed person in someone else’s life. If you are acknowledge it, ask for forgiveness, forgive yourself and ask the Father to help and change you. He can and will do it!!
Let’s be purposed minded, intentional in love, intentional in forgiveness, intentional in displaying the nature of Christ to a world with little hope…..till next week ❤️❤️❤️

Let’s pray
Father it is in the name of Jesus that we come before you. Father we ask for forgiveness. Forgive us Lord for the people we have hurt, intentionally and unintentionally, forgive us for hurting and disobeying you. Help us to be purposed in our love, empower us to love like you love. We ask you to remove every person from our lives that mean us harm and help us to recognize your warning signs and to not be so familiar with people that we cannot disconnect from them. Father, for those people who you remove and expose we pray for them. We pray for their well being, we pray and ask that you will deal with their heart and bring them to a place of repentance. We pray your protection over them. And Father we thank you for the divine connections that you are bringing in our life. Every strategic person that you will use to bring us one step closer to our destiny. We love you and give you praise in Jesus name amen.

Remember, forgive it is necessary and it is freeing ❤️❤️❤️