Let go of seasonal, grab hold of permanent

Let go of seasonal, grab hold of permanent

Friends check!

 

           

          So you got saved and you are on fire for God? I’m excited for you; it’s an awesome and fulfilling experience. God has so much in store for us on our walk with him, some things are good and others bad, some things feel good, others hurt, some things are for your good and some things aren't. In walking with the Lord, change is MANDATORY, no ifs, ands, or buts, you MUST change. God makes us a new creature in and through him, in order to be new we have to be remade, some things have to change totally, our lifestyle, our mindset, our surroundings, they all have to change.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

            Sometimes we get it twisted and think that when God changes us we have to bring those same unfruitful people along, be in those same places that he delivered us from. Oh NO NO NO!!!! You have to take a serious life check and ask God what am I doing that is not of you, who do I have around me that won’t help me grow spiritually, ask him to show you all things that need changed as well as begin the process.

When I began walking with God it seemed like the closer I got to him, the more I lost people. I did not understand at first but then he made it completely clear to me and said that in order to go where I am taking you some things (people) have to be cut off. And when I say it hurt, it hurt really badly. People I never imagined would had begun to turn against me, had started to do things that I never seen coming. I stood through it all because I knew that God was leading it and causing it to happen and, when he removed them he would replace them. God even had gotten me to a point that I wanted those unfruitful people out of my life so I gladly let them go, no hurt, no pain, and no bad feelings. Why? Because I knew they would not help me get to where God was taking me, so therefore I did not need them walking with me. It was actually funny, I had a friend who was my best friend and one day she totally stopped speaking to me, no reason or nothing just out the blue never spoke to me again. That was a situation that was truly supposed to hurt me; instead I let it go and prayed for her. Why? Because God knew her reasoning, he is all seeing and all knowing, I didn't need to know, that’s Gods job. We were unequally yoked, and God did what he had to do to make that clear to me. Through that season I learned that God was showing me I needed depend totally on him, to trust him, and overall that he is and will always be my only closest friend.  

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

            Brothers and sisters I encourage you, to let God show you those who do not belong in your life. Now don’t get me wrong you are still to love them, but you have to truly separate yourself from those people who are not adding life (spiritually) to you. If they are not adding life then they are doing the opposite of adding life which is leading you to your destruction. I promise you it may not be easy, but it is all for your good.

Remember, walking with God is not meant to be easy. God will show you things about people that you never imagined, he will truly show you who is seasonal in your life and who is permanent, if you seek him. You may have a friend you used to kick it at the club with, you may have a man or woman you used to fornicate with, you may have a family member you loved to gossip with. Can any of those benefit your walk with God? No, they can’t which means separation must take place. You have to tell girly you can’t go to the club no more, you have to tell your family member we need to pray for the person and not talk about them, and you have to be BOLD about this thing! If that person doesn't have the Lord in their heart, they won’t be able to change. And until they change they won’t be able to benefit your walk with God. Just like it says in the scripture I listed above from 2 Corinthians, we become a new creature in CHRIST it doesn’t not say in (insert name here), it says in Christ, our Lord and Savior. To walk this thing out you have to have some new creatures around you, new creatures that are changed by God and God alone.

 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. 2 Thessalonians 3:6

In closing I say this, when you decide to sell out for God, you will be willing to do whatever it takes to please him. We wish everyone would accept Jesus as their Lord and savior but the truth is, not everyone will. If you want to grow in the Lord you have to be obedient. If he’s telling you that you have to let go of that person, let it go! Be obedient! I had to learn to beat into my mind that God knows what’s best for me, so why not just surrender to his will? Why not just be obedient? It will get you a lot further obeying God than disobeying him. He knows all about you, every need, every desire you have, and he will be a provider, you just have to let him. Do NOT let a toxic relationship get in the way of what God has for you. When he starts ridding those toxic relationships, don’t get caught up on the numbers. When God removes ten, he will replace them with one, or maybe even two that will add so much life to you, that will encourage you, that will help you in walking this thing out!

My prayer for you today is that you ask God to show you what things aren’t pleasing to him, what friendships are hindering you and your walk with him. And when he shows you, you will be obedient and let him take you through the process. Examine your life, examine your friends, and most importantly trust Gods direction. You can do it. God can do it!

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14

God bless I love y’all

Tamika

What Fruit is on your tree? Fruit Check

What fruit is on 
your tree?

Fruit Check 

    When you were a kid I’m sure your parents told you how important it was to eat your fruit. Fruit is important, it gives us energy, enzymes that we need, and many other things that are essential to optimal health. Just like the physical fruit that gives us everything we need to be healthy there is spiritual fruit that we need for our spiritual health. The fruit that you bear is displayed in the lifestyle that we live day in and day out.

    Living in this world can get hectic, your job can stress you, your family may not be acting right, everything may seem to be going downhill but what is faith if it’s only displayed in the good times? We are to display the fruits of the spirit daily in all that we do. It’s easy to display them when all is going well but, what about when times are not going well? Are you showing love, peace, and patience, or are you showing hatred, wrath and envy?

What fruit is on your tree? What does your lifestyle show others? Do they see the God in you? Or the ways of this wicked world? Galatians 5:22-23 is a good scripture describing the fruit we are to bear…

“²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” -Galatians 5:22-23

    As Christians we ARE to bear these fruit. Not most of them, not some of them, not whichever ones we choose, but ALL of them. We also aren’t to bear them when we feel like it but, we are to bear these DAILY!!!! People are watching us; sometimes we are the only Jesus someone sees. If we are bearing the fruits of the flesh when they see us, we can miss out on helping someone get saved. I know sometimes it seems unrealistic, but we have to work on bearing the fruits of the spirit at all times.

In this chart below we will explore what these fruit mean exactly:

Fruit	Greek Definition
LOVE	Affection/benevolence
JOY	Gladness/cheerfulness
PEACE	Quietness/Rest
LONGSUFFERING	Patience (endurance in difficult situations)
GENTLENESS	Excellence (in character)/kindness
GOODNESS	Virtue/beneficence
FAITH	Reliance upon Jesus for salvation/Assurance/Belief
MEEKNESS	Humility (being modest and having respect)
TEMPERANCE	Self-control

Are you bearing these fruits? Are you practicing temperance when you deal with that person who tries to get under your skin? Is your life full of peace? Are you showing love to that person who tries to tear you down daily? The list of questions could go on but it’s to make the point, though it doesn’t look easy, it is attainable. When I think I can’t love someone I remember how God loves me, when I can’t control myself I remember how Jesus was spit on, beat on, talked about and still remained humble. Jesus is the perfect example of displaying the fruits of the Spirit. Jesus is God yes, but God came down as Jesus in the flesh to suffer as we suffer. Jesus didn’t come down in the Spirit, he became a man. If Jesus can do it why can’t we? After all we are supposed to be like our daddy!

God loves us even when we are caught up in our mess, but we can’t love someone who talks about us. Sometimes you may have to sit and ask yourself do I love in this situation, am I showing my faith in God, and am I being meek, practicing temperance, am I showing the love of the Father through me in this? I don’t say this to make anyone feel bad but God wants us to have these fruits in our life daily. When you wake up each day ask the Lord to help you display the fruit of the Spirit in your life today. Speak, I will be patient, I will love, I will be meek, I will have joy. You have the authority and the ability to speak to your situation. If you want change it starts with believing and claiming it with your mouth. The change may not come overnight, and don’t expect it to but know its coming.

When you struggle in a specific area see what the word says, look up every scripture on that topic. I have some listed below:

FRUIT	SCRIPTURE
LOVE	John 13:34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”
JOY	Psalms 47:1 “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
PEACE	Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
LONGSUFFERING	James 1:4 “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
GENTLENESS	Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
GOODNESS	John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
FAITH	Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
MEEKNESS	Psalm 147:6 “The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.”
TEMPERANCE	1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed”

      I will close with this, the fruit that grows on your tree is a result of a seed that was planted and grew. If your seed isn't our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ I encourage you to make him your seed. He is waiting for you to accept him so he can help you and your tree to grow. God is the one who will help you to bare these fruit daily. The bible says in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me”. You may not be able to do it on your own but God can give you the strength as well as the guidance and direction to make these fruits a part of your life.

    God has to be the source of your life. When you have a source and you need power, you plug in, if he’s your source, to get power you must plug into him. You must get to know him. To get to know him you must spend time with him. Get in your word, fast, pray; learn to praise him in the good and the bad. The people and things around you can influence you. Examine your life; eliminate those things and people that may be causing you to not bear the fruits that God wants us to display (LIFE GIVERS ONLY). Change is never easy, but it is often times necessary. Let go of seasonal people and grab hold of the blessings that the Lord has in store for you.

    I truly hope you learn from this and begin to examine not only your fruit, but also, the seed from which that fruit is growing. We have got to stop bearing the fruit of the flesh, we have got to deny ourselves, die to this flesh, put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), and bear the fruit of the spirit.

Stay connected to the source, you can do it!

Also, feel free to email me with prayer requests or if you need to talk:wpdit@yahoo.com

I love you all!

God bless!

Tamika

Faith and Trust in God

FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD

Often times as Christians we say we have faith in God, but are we really holding true to that. When bad times come where is your faith? Faith and trust go hand in hand. If you don’t have faith in a God which you cannot see, how can you trust that same God? We have to have a made up mind that our faith in God is a sure thing. It is the foundation of our entire walk with God. God is calling us to a place where despite what it looks like we have to totally trust him. I don’t know about you but the God I serve makes something out of nothing, the invisible, visible, and he works all things out for us despite our lack of faith and trust in him. Let’s take a journey and talk about faith:

What is faith?

-          According to the dictionary its defined as having confidence/trust in a person or thing, belief that is not based on proof, a system of religious belief and the list goes on

-          According to the Greek dictionary the definition of faith is truth or truthfulness of God, and reliance upon God for salvation.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

What is trust?

-          According to the dictionary trust is defined as a person or thing on whom one relies, the reliance is on the persons integrity, ability, strength, surety, etc.

-          According to the Greek dictionary trust is defined as to expect, or confide

 ^“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10)

While we cannot see God we have to be sure of him! We have to know that even though we can’t physically see him he’s still there. God is a spirit; while we can’t see him we can feel him all the time. Just take a moment and sit in his presence and welcome him in I guarantee you will feel him moving in your life as well as see him do things in your life.

When we have faith in God we are able to speak to our situation. The bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21, death and life are in the power of the tongue. The same situation we feel like we don’t have control over, we have the ability to speak life to it. An example of this is found in Matthew 21 when Jesus spoke to the fig tree telling it to no longer bear fruit.

“18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

If you read that passage closely you see that Jesus told them one important thing, you must have faith and do not doubt. You see when you doubt God you are canceling out your faith. Your saying God I have faith in you but maybe you won’t do this or maybe you won’t do that. One thing you must know is you cannot have half faith, it’s all faith or no faith but the choice is ultimately ours.

When you were younger did you ever play the game where you closed your eyes and fell backwards, trusting the person behind you to catch you? That’s kind of like our faith. One thing I always say is close your eyes and do it, that’s faith. Now you don’t have to actually close your eyes but you do need to take your hands off of it. When we welcome God into our lives, we are allowing him to take be our guide. If you want a roadmap to life, try God! He will guide you! But you must let him be the driver. We need to have faith in God that is not guided by the physical things we can see but by the spiritual movement of God. Consulting God and letting him make our decisions is so much easier than handling it all on our own. So I encourage you let God be the leader of your path, just let him hold your hands and guide you.     

“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

When we go through this thing called life it is important that through it all we keep the faith! I know, I know, it gets hard sometimes. Sometimes you want to give up and say what is the use is but remember God is always there. Keep your faith, continue to trust in him! When you wake up each morning ask God to help you to continue to have faith and to trust in him. The world will give you a million and one reasons not to trust in him and to make you feel God is not real, remember faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen! You can’t see the wind; does that mean it’s not blowing? As you go through life there will be times when your faith is tested. You may not know where your next dollar is coming from, you may not know why that relationship won’t mend, you may wonder why everything is not going the way it used to. Life is full of ups and downs, life is full of change. The only thing that will remain the same is God. As much as God did for us we should totally commit to him. God never changed, from the things you see in the bible to the things you see today we still serve the same God. God was saving then, he’s saving now, he was healing then, he’s healing now, he was blessing then and he sure is blessing now! God controls the life we have ahead of us, so why not trust the one who has your life in his hands? Keep the faith!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

In the bible there are so many different stories of people having faith and trusting God in a hopeless situation. I see so many of my brothers and sisters in this battle with me. It’s hard everyone, I know it’s hard but we have to learn to totally trust in the Lord. We have to remember who we are living for and serving. The more trails we go through the more perseverance we attain “…because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:3. Life was never set to be easy, God did not say that, but he did say he would never leave us, he promised us that! The first thing the enemy wants to attack is our faith because when he gets that out of the way everything else comes with it: trust, hope, you begin to doubt and now are bearing the fruits of the flesh rather than the fruits of the spirit. Remember the enemy uses any door to get into our spirit and once that door is open it opens up for him to attack us in a whole lot of other areas as well. When we have faith we are able to wipe the devil out and completely shut him down. The faith that we have can conquer all!!!! Not some things, not most things but all things!

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” Ephesians 6:6

I will say this once again faith is the foundation of our walk with God, we can always stand on our faith in God, it starts with faith and with trust!

In closing right now I encourage each and every one of you, despite what it looks like, despite what it feels like, close your eyes and just trust him. Let God lead you, let God provide. Just decrease and let him increase. We spend so much time trying to handle things, trying to solve every crisis yet at the same time saying we are trusting God. We cannot trust in God and handle things without him; we cannot trust in God and keep taking back what we have given to him. Whatever you’re trying to handle, whatever you’re questioning God about, whatever you are unsure about, stop right now and give it to him. God wants that thing you’re trying to hide from him, that thing you’re trying to handle all on your own while you’re giving him everything else. God doesn’t just want your all he wants your "THAT", yes your "THAT"! Give it to him. There are many stories in the bible that show us faith in what looked like a hopeless situation and in each story God provided, God came through but it came with faith and trust. My brother my sister, don’t let your faith grow weary in the hard seasons in your life, continue to feed your spirit, continue to trust God and praise him while you’re going through!

“These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7

Love y’all God bless

Tamika 

Equipped for the fight

Equipped for the fight

Lord, oh Lord, here I am

Standing in your presence yet once again

Tired of these hurts, tired of these pains

But I’ll continue to believe in your name

Temptation, yes it comes my way

I wish it didn’t but it’s here day to day

I know I’m supposed to die to the flesh daily

But I continue to make excuses and say well maybe

I see these things that are appealing to my eye

And I pick them up and get a feeling inside

Then I hear your voice telling me this does not belong to I

And then I hear the enemy say go ahead it will be alright

It’s a battle between spirit and flesh but who will win?

Is it this flesh that resides under my skin?

Or is it the Spirit that resides deep within?

Lord I know you said you’d see me through

But I continue to make excuses not to come to you

So many choices, this thing is hard for me

But I know if I call your name, you hear me

You keep me safe from day to day

I always feel your abundant grace

Yet when tomorrow comes will I call your name

Or will I sit and say maybe another day

Didn’t you send your son for me?

He took my place on Calvary

This is warfare, yes this is a fight

To show this world that I am your light

When the flesh wants its ways, I’ll make sure I call your name

No more excuse, no more games

It may get rough, but that’s alright

Because I know you’ll get me through this fight

The devil shall not have his way

But he’ll continue to try everyday

You gave me the equipment that I need

This battle that’s trying to take over my life

You gave me your word, your shield of faith

You said you’d never leave me for my sake

Lord, I know I ran from you

But here I am, coming back to you

Telling you, I can’t do this on my own

Which I know you already know

So here are my problems, I lay before you

Crying out oh Lord, I really need you

I know this world is not my home

And I know the enemy wants me for his own.

He won’t win this battle, he won’t have my life

Because you told me victory is already mine!

I’ll go through this war with my Spirit and my flesh

But Lord, yeah you know the rest.

A Letter To the Enemy

A Letter to the Enemy

God is watching me, and so is he
Yes, I'm talking about the enemy
He shows me things that are appealing to the eye
Something I long for when I'm feeling empty inside

When I’m doing so good here he’s on his way
With a boy, some henny, and a blunt to smoke away
So bring it on devil, lets see what you can do
Because I know my God is going to see me through

As I draw nearer to God, the enemy draws nearer to me
Yeah I know he got some tricks up his sleeve
But I stand on this rock, yes I stand on this word
Sorry dear enemy but there's some words that need to be heard

My God he said I am the head and not the tail
Then he goes on and says no weapon formed against me shall prevail
You see he’s watching me just as closely as thee
But his grace and mercy it shineth abundantly

So here’s my letter to you oh enemy
I know you'll come and you may not flee
But, no temptation has seized me except that which is common to man
And my God is faithful, so here I stand

Those things you bring may look good to me
But all I’m concerned about is eternity
The word also says I am more than a conqueror
So those things that come against me will only make me stronger

At certain times we must come face-to-face
And let the enemy know we stand for grace
While remembering in our hearts him for which we stand
And worshiping him through it for the battle is in his hands

By:Tamika Nicole Rutherford

Which Path Do I Take

Which Path Do I Take?

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and to give you and expected end.”

Tired of going back to Egypt knowing God delivered me from there and I’m on the road to my promised land. God keeps telling me to let him drive, let him take the wheel so, I let him but then I grab the wheel back and attempt to do a U turn but his grip over my hands jerks the wheel right back when I begin to turn the wheel back to the place where I came from.

I let God take the wheel and continue to drive but then I tell him take the nearest exit because this road is just a little too long. As we continue driving I see an exit sign labeled fornication, lust and adultery, another labeled lying, backbiting, and gossiping and another with thoughts of suicide, thoughts of killing, hurting others. Above each sign is a picture of alcohol, a picture of a boy, and a picture of weed. Which exit do I take? Maybe I’ll just try them all until I get to my destination.

I decide to take the first exit after God says no and I am left with emptiness, loneliness, a soul tie and then another life. I turn to look at the driver’s seat and realize God is no longer there because he handed me over to the very thing that he tried to keep me from. I turn to grab the wheel and stop but then I realized I’ve crashed into a wall and am not wounded.

I wake up in a mental hospital with scars and pain. And my doctor Abba walks in disappointed because I refused to take the prescription he gave me the last time I took the same exit. He says to me, for the same thing over and over again? When will you realize you must abide to the prescription I gave you? Me, speechless, looking at what I’ve done to myself when all I had to do was follow through on the prescription I was recently given. Once again he writes me the prescription “Follow my commands, stop taking the nearest exit and let me lead you to your destination.” The same prescription he gave me before but this time he wrote STAT on it! Attached to it was a note that said, “If you would just trust the one writing your prescription since I have the requirements to keep you from crashing into the same wall, you would be better off. Trust your provider and stay on the road to your destination or, all your exits will lead to destruction.”

I now pose the question: Will you keep taking your own exits or will you follow the road, the way that your designated driver is taking you?

Tamika Rutherford