(No Title)

By: Monique Smith

Galatians 5:1-14

Be it known that it is 3:34 a.m. Pretty much every night this week, I have waken up in the still of the morning. Every time that happens now, I definitely feel like God wants me to pray, read the Bible, or sit still and listen out for Him if he’s speaking.  (Now umm… I don’t know if God will be in this devotional grammatically or not because I just re read that sentence and I had mad errors in it….but I’m gonna write this anyways! Y’all bear with me!

We are FREE. Pause. The followers of Christ in this world are free. If you don’t follow Him, you are in bondage. If you are lukewarm, you’re in bondage. If you are double minded, you are in bondage. Don’t get it twisted. The promises of God only come to the people who follow Him. Follow is a verb that means- “To go after in or as if in pursuit”, if you aren’t pursuing God, you’re not free.

To the free people reading this, do not disqualify yourself from being free. Don’t do it. You have come TOO far to backslide now. You have defeated too many addictions, situations, and enemies, so do not go back into bondage. You don’t wanna be a slave no more. You really don’t. (vs.1).

In verses 2-4, Paul is encouraging the Gentiles not to go back to following past beliefs or guidelines to become righteous because Christ would get no glory out of that. Not only would that be self righteous, but would also add extra burdens and restrictions on their lives but also strip them away from Christ and away from GRACE. WHERE would I be without GRACE! So to you my friends, if there is something that you used to do back before you really started relying on Grace and following Christ, don’t go back to it. And in this sense, I’m not even meaning sin, I’m talking about those things you used to do to “fix” stuff when you messed up. For example, every Saturday night/Sunday morning around 3:30/4 a.m. when I would just be arriving back home from the club, I would mumble a quick prayer and remind myself that I was “good” since I was about to wake right back up and go to Sunday school and church. So my remedy for my sin, was going to church. The other people I went to the club with and who were in the club with me, most likely didn’t go to the club, so that meant I loved God a little bit more than them, and I would have a better chance at going to heaven.  So the word to me now is, DON’T resort back to that kind of thinking.  Do not let the church and prayer become my “quick fix” when I mess up and sin, allow God’s grace to cover that. (Make sense? Lemme know if I need to expound more)

Vs. 5, Paul tells us that our righteousness comes through FAITH from the spirit. Not through us fixing ourselves.

But hold up! YOU knew this! You knew that the only way to the Father was by following Christ, by soaking up his grace, by basking in his love! What happened?! Who stopped you from pursing truth? Who twisted your thinking? It certainty wasn’t God! You knew works don’t please him! You knew nothing you can offer him other than a broken spirit and a contrite heart is sacrifice that is pleasing (Psalm 51:17).

Well I don’t know what or who messed you up, but ONE bad influence can mess up your whole journey towards Christ. One confusing sermon, one confusing scripture interpretation could send you down a path of self-righteousness, doubt, or ratchetness.

We were saved to be FREE. God wants us to love up on some people while we are free too, so we can encourage them to become free! Love them as you love yourself!

Well y’all, the Jesus juices are wearing off, so im bouts to go back to sleep. Pray that this blessed you. God still hasn’t revealed to me why He’s waking me up….but in due time I shall know. Love y’all ‘cause I surely love myself : )

Prayer: God thank you!!! I love you so much! Keep working on me and others around me! Make me a mirror so I will only reflect you!  In Jesus name, Amen.

P.S. so this has no title cause I’m legit struggling to type this right now…its 4:29 and I just can’t think of nothing lol….hahaa idk why I’m so sillyyyyyy

What does this MEAN?!

By: Monique Smith

“. . .Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” 

Luke 6:27-28

No really. What does this mean? How in the world does God expect us to practically do these things in our lives? This is basically impossible.

To be honest, pretty much everything in the Bible is impossible within ourselves. Hence, this scripture: 

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

I really thank God for scriptures such as these because without them, I personally would chalk that scripture up as an “L” and say, “I can’t do that” and keep it moving. But knowing that since I have faith that I was saved by grace and have the precious gift of the Holy Spirit inside me, I have confidence that I will be able to practice what is in Luke 6:27-28!

When I read this scripture this morning, I started thinking about how I have practiced doing these things in my life.

1. Loving my enemies. Oh boy. Is this one interesting? The way I love people who I know have been talking junk behind my back or blatantly treat me disrespectful is by being honest to God and asking Him to help me love that person. A sample conversation with God might be: God, I am REALLY struggling to love this girl because she is ALWAYS so rude and negative towards me. I just don’t get it. Lord, I want to love her so please please pleasssssse help me realize that what she is doing to me, in no way compares to the things people did to YOU but you STILL love them!

2. Doing good to those who hate me. I honestly used to enjoy doing this because it was my way of “getting back” at them. I would “kill them with kindness”, but now that I am more mature in Christ, I realize that remaining Christ like at all times is actually ministry and could touch the heart of those who “hate” me and help them overcome internal or external battles they may be dealing with.

3. Blessing those who curse me. Well I haven’t had anyone curse at me in a while, but I have learned that I have the power to reverse any curse that someone speaks over my life….even if it is said jokingly. For example: Someone may say “Monique, you are SO unorganized”, I will then say “I’m not unorganized! : ) As simple as that, I reversed their “joke” so that would not affect my future. And to look more back at the verse, in those situations, I could “jokingly” say, “God will bless you!” or something nice and positive about them. (Idk, I’m just thinking as I type) lol

4. Pray for those who use me. Whew. What a terrible feeling to KNOW you are being used! So many emotions rush to my mind at even thinking about times when I was being used or imagining if I was being used now. In situations like this, I really just try to make my situation pale in comparison to how bad people, even Jesus’ friends, his disciples, used Him. He still loved them. I can still love and pray for others too. Also, I try to look at it in a positive way, “Even though they used me and it made me hot as fire, I was still able to showcase my skills and my abilities to help them out in their situation. And in the long run, I’m not here working for men anyways! It’s ALL for God! "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men" Colossians 3:23.

Prayer: God thank you for today! Today has been such a great day and your mercy and loved has flowed out of me into my surroundings today! You are so great and I love you! Thank you for giving me your precious Holy Spirit so I would have the ability to live life in a way that is pleasing to you! God You are amazing and I love you! In Jesus name, Amen.

“I Got the Power”

By: Deborah Ross Think about super heroes like Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and my favorites, The Incredibles.  What do they all have?  You guessed it! They all have super powers.   What would their movies be like if everyone had their super powers?  Their powers wouldn’t be so super, huh?  These heroes would then be regular people and not esteemed for having extraordinary abilities.  Hmmm. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… In Christ, I like to think of our spiritual gifts as super powers.  I used to elevate those gifts and the people who operated in them but in reality, unlike Superman and all of the other super heroes’ powers, the power that many believers possess is available to EVERY believer! It’s  a gift from the Holy Spirit.   If you are baptized with the Holy Spirit and ask for manifestations of the spirit you can begin to operate in power.  Ask and it shall be given (Matthew 7:7). In 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul says that he doesn’t want the Corinthian church to be ignorant about spiritual gifts.   Later in 1 Corinthians 14:1 he encourages them to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. (This applies to us! Don’t be ignorant about this power, family, read about these spiritual gifts, study them whenever you get a chance and earnestly desire them. ) In 1 Corinthians 12:4, he tells them that, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (NIV).Therefore, there are a variety of gifts but only one source, the Holy Spirit, whom all believers have access to.  In verses 8 through 10 Paul lists those different manifestations/gifts. (I won’t go through all of them because the purpose of this devotional is to point out how we all have the ability to possess this power from the Holy Spirit.) Knowing this should make us less prone to put people in certain offices on pedestals as if they have this exclusive access to the power of God.   It definitely helped me.  It made spiritual gifts less “spooky” and less distant as well and simply something that I have access to through the Holy Spirit to edify the church, and to draw others to Christ.  The manifestations of the Holy Spirit, those super powers we have in Christ, are available to all who ask to be filled by the Holy Spirit and to receive His powers.  The Holy Spirit will distribute them as He sees fit, some may have one, some another.  We all have a part in the body and God desires to use all of our gifts for the common good, to edify the body and to advance the gospel.   I got the power!  You can have it too! =D     Deborah

How did I get here?

By: Shwanda Jones Just a few weeks ago, I was all gung ho, Got a vision from the Creator, I gave it a go Rewind to a couple months ago, stability at least I could count on as I went to and fro Here I am, where I never left Only forgot where I parked  so I just been circling giving bystanders my regards Claim to be an intellectual, but not smart enough to start a personal confessional I know He's listening but I can't even part my lips to mention Him Muffled and bound Who's fault? Believe it was I that wondered into the playground I saw the sign, went anyway Too bold to think I wouldn't stray Now I'm too weak to play Desperately calling for a ride home, but I'm not in my right mind to find a phone Years have past, same ole things cause me to crash Ordained for the people, they watching, I'm sure they'll laugh All what they expected, never what I anticipated Flesh didn't drown me, yet temptation of another face found me Not what we do, but what we don't I didn't prepare for the war, it was all quiet on the front Just a baby, I crutch Given a task, but I threw it down to run fast Stuck in a place where I can't come out Kneel to pray, redundancies come out Praise is muffled, hearts are bruised on the brink of living lost, a love lost, a purpose confused Sitting on the corner, getting tucked by lullabies Guess this is what it sounds like when doves cry Too busy, too proud, too scared didn't see the signs, my head just wasn't there I can't speak for you or you or you But I sure wish I knew the truth I think I do, but I see double Too weak to discern, had it clear… you live and you learn 24, destiny paused, purpose withdrawn, others waiting pressure didn't bring me here, I hesitated How did I get here? Been here… Once as a fighter, now a prisoner…sure hope He gets me out of here. Shwanda

Pay attention

By: Monique Smith

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing RIGHT NOW, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matthew 6:34

Wow! That was a Rama word for me! My my! Ever heard of a Rama word before? If not, it’s simply when God’s word seems to leap off the page and jump into your face! You may have read that scripture hundreds of times before but in this instance, you gain a new revelation about it or something finally “hits” you! This is exactly what this verse did to me! I was scrolling through a friend’s facebook page, and BAM, all in my face this scripture just grabbed me!

I believe this scripture stuck out so much to me today because I am such a planner! I really like to have my schedule set in advance and most times don’t like to come up with sporadic, spur of the moment plans. So with my planning and “multi-tasking” I often times overlook and miss out on the awesome things God is doing in my life at that specific moment….because my mind is already into next week or even next year! Crazy right?

This scripture was a great alarm to me and to my busy lifestyle to slowwwww down and enjoy life’s scenery and blessings.  God wants my full attention on what he is doing right now, like literally right now in my life. In the relationships I have, in the job position I am in, in the city I am in, God wants me to focus and really get the most out of everything. Often times it is SO easy to already see yourself in a “more established” lifestyle, which is married with a full time career in my mind, and so easy to ignore and brush over the stage God has you in right now. There’s no point in fussing and worrying about what could happen tomorrow or next year! God will help you with that! I was just venting to my cousin about still being unsure as to what I wanted to go to graduate school for after I complete my last year of being a college adviser because currently, I have no concrete program in mind. But pause. I haven’t even completed my first year of being a college adviser, so why am I freaking out over what I am to do once my assignment is complete in May 2013? I should chill. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty sure God wants us to be ambitious and set goals for our lives, but this should not be a source of worry and confusion for us. We can’t control it anyways. As the scripture says, God will help us deal with whatever happens when it happens.

Another way this scripture spoke to me is dealing with death. A high school/neighborhood friend of mine passed away last week at the tender age of 19. This completely caught me off guard and left me laying awake in tears one night thinking about him as well as “what ifs” concerning other people in my life. So yea, that night was rough because I was adding imaginary grief on top of current grief and just making things much harder for myself. As stated above, we can’t control things anyways, so why waste time and energy worrying about how I would deal with loosing my little brother or my best friend, when God clearly tells me He will help me deal with those hard things when they come up!

Man God is so great and its such a blessing to truly be in a relationship with Him! It’s so liberating and really has allowed me to live my life in full and opened so many doors for me and has enlightened me on so many levels! My prayer for you is to focus all your attention on the ways God is working specifically in your life and on the purpose that is placed in your life! Enjoy God more and learn from Him. : )  I love you!! <3

P.S. I included the section of scriptures that came before the highlighted scripture, below. All of these scriptures were on point! Enjoy! (This is from the Msg version Bible)

 ^19-21"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

 ^22-23"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

 ²⁴"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.

 ^25-26"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

 ^27-29"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

 ^30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

What’s Love Got to do with it?

By: Fred Reid

Sorry for the cliché low key wack title lol but this one is about love folk :) There are some people I really love with all my heart, and willingly to show my love to as often as possible; but if these people think that I’m willing to be embarrassed, spat on, brutually beaten and killed in the most painful way possible so that they can have a chance to be disobedient a long time and then finally support the cause I died for then I really hope they get off drugs soon lol

All jokes aside though this is the love of God exemplified by Jesus. It is Easter so I HAD to say a lil some’n bout that right? I was going to do this devotional a while back but never got around to it but today on Fcb I saw a status that was along these same lines and took it as a form of confirmation. God loved you before you EVER thought about Him. He continued to love you while (if you were like me) you KNEW better and chose to do your own thing anyways. Furthermore, He loves you when you're too lazy to be consistent, too doubtful to walk into the new things He has set before, and on your best days, when your righteousness is like filthy rags. HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU! His love puts mine to shame and I’m actually in touch with my emotions ya'll lol

I know I’m lacking scriptures so far but I’ll use those to describe how/what love really is in its purest form (God)

1.     Love is sacrificial (John 3:16) for God so loved the world that He…went out and bought a lot of nice gift that were expensive to prove it? Oh well maybe He called everyday and said “I love you” as often as possible? No! He gave His only begotten son, TO DIE as a sacrifice for our sins! The very first thing God does after His love is presented in this scripture is GIVE! Thus if you are attempting to love like God does you must be willing to sacrifice and give to others.

2.     Love is forgiving! God loves us enough to forgive us! Instead of killing Adam and Eve for their direct act of defiance, He simply put them out of the garden and allowed them to work for a living and suffer some pain for child birth. Definitely not the best situation, but their acts could have been rewarded by Him wiping out the human race and starting over with something else. Furthermore, when God forgives you He does not bring up your transgressions again! (I thought there was a scripture about the sea of forgetfulness but I can’t find it smh)

3.     Love is strong and persistent! If you love somebody LIKE really love somebody it takes a long time to really get over/rid of that feeling TRUST ME! Maybe this is the reason why God is eternal and He is looking for people that will be with Him not only during their earthly lives but the rest of forever! Wow that’s crazy!

Finally brethren (straight bible language on’em lol) love can be described even further in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, I wont post it here in the hopes that’ll ya’ll go back and look’em up hehehehe

Over and Out :)

It’s All about Trust

By: Fred Reid

I KNOW we are supposed to avoid popular scriptures but I’ve recently seen this one in a new light so I figured I’d share. Anybody that knows me knows that I don’t really trust people and the ones I do trust it takes like FOREVER for me to finally trust them, however trust is SUCH a liberating and constructive aspect of a relationship. I feel so much more at ease when I don’t have to second guess someone’s actions or intentions and I know that the people I’m dealing with have my best interest in mind and will do what they can to support me. How much more should this be an aspect of our relationship with the Father?

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with ALL THINE HEART and lean not unto thine own understanding IN ALL thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths”

THAT IS THE KEY TO LIFE!!! I’ll try to keep it short but I’m excited!!!

1.)   TRUST in the Lord with all your heart, and if that isn’t clear enough for you it goes a step further and tells you NOT to trust what you understand about stuff. So basically whatever happens trust that the Lord has your best interest in mind. And even beyond intentions, He will make something good out of the situation, and even better than what you are expecting.

2.)   IN EVERYTHING YOU DO ACKNOWLEDGE GOD! In a step by step basis you should: ask/consult God on matters/decisions BEFORE you decide, give God credit for ANY successes that you have. Anything that you feel you can not bring before God is clearly something that you dare not be invested in!

3.)   These kind of declarations from heaven rarely every end without a promise. The Father promises that He will direct our paths IF we trust and acknowledge Him. What is it like to have your life directed by God? Well He is the source of all life, at His right hand there are pleasures EVERMORE and His blessings add wealth and make no sorrow. Ssssooo basically it sounds like a good deal to me.

See that wasn’t so long was it? Trust the Lord friends! Trust Him with every new item and opportunity you have, every failure and loss that you experience and ultimately your life! And he will make the best of it! There’s examples all up and through the bible. As a maturing Christian (oohh that sounds nice lol) I’m realizing one of the hardest things to is trust God on a greater scale. To really just blindly walk in His will by completely turning your will over. BUT the good part is if you really trust Him, He’ll trust you enough to share the plan with you. He already trust you with the very essence of His being, His word.

Over and Out : )

God is ALWAYS with His People!

By: Monique Smith

I really don’t even have to say anymore, the title is enough! God is ALWAYS with HIS people!  How do I know? Peep Isaiah 43! It is jammed packed with promises that God has spoken concerning us. Nothing God ever says will ever return to him void, so we can count on everything coming to past!

This devotional will be covering Isaiah 43:1-7.

Now this is what the Lord says.
       He created you, people of Jacob;
       he formed you, people of Israel.
    He says, "Don't be afraid, because I have saved you.
       I have called you by name, and you are mine.
 ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
       When you cross rivers, you will not drown.
    When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
       nor will the flames hurt you.

God created us! God saved us! He called us! We are His! We don’t have to fear, He did not give us that spirit anyways! (2 Timothy 1:7)When we go through “trials and tribulations”, He is right there! When we figuratively pass though the waters in our life, the deaths, the sadness, the guilt, the doubt and we feel like we are “drowning” in sorrow or grief, God Is right there with us! He is there comforting us and gently pushing us to move on! When we go through the “fires” in our lives, the conflicts, difficult co-workers, and disappointments, God is still right there with us! We will not be defeated or brought to shame!

Why is this?

This is because I, the Lord, am your God,
       the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
    I gave Egypt to pay for you,
       and I gave Cush and Seba to make you mine.
 ⁴ Because you are precious to me,
       because I give you honor and love you,
    I will give other people in your place;
       I will give other nations to save your life.

God does all these things for us because He is God! We are precious to Him! We don’t have to fear or be concerned about who or what comes up against us! What is a goon or a goblin to our God! I mean like really! (lol) He favors us and will honor us….*pause *….the MOST HIGH will honor us….umm wow. He always will do whatever it takes to show the love He has towards us!

Verses 5-7 talk about God bringing our seed from the east, west, north, and south back to us. I asked God what could this mean for me and He told me this: Whenever you go out and spread the gospel, you are planting seed. He reminded me of my time in Missouri planting seeds, and in Florida planting seeds, and other places all over North Carolina spreading the love of Christ. God said, those seeds are not in vain but He will bring all of that harvest back into my life! Wow! How exciting! As you read those verses and reflect on them, God may give you a different revelation but I thought I would share mine. 

I hope this devotional reminded you of the greatness of our Dad! He is SO great!!!!! I love Him so much and grow in my love relationship the more I read His word!

Prayer: God you are tooooo great! I love you so much! God continue to speak to me and show me your glory and your promises through your scriptures! Jesus, you are the best brother! I thank you so much for your selfless love toward me and I want to show you love back! Thank you so much! In Jesus name, Amen.

**Mini Teaching about the Holy Spirit**

This was a topic discussed at the Joyce Meyer Conference by a guest speaker : )

·      Acts 1:8- “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

o   Power means Didymus, which means Dynamite. Do you want to be a dynamite believer?

·      The Holy Spirit allows you to live at a high level of Christian living.

·      John 20:22 – “And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

o   Believers received the Holy Spirit when they became saved. Later in Acts, they were baptized through their soul with the Holy Spirit.

·      The more skilled your communication is, the deeper your connection will be. The Holy Spirit allows us to communicate with God through utterances that we can not naturally understand.

·      I urge each of you all to study more about the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: God! Thank you SO much for the Holy Spirit! You love us TOO much! You always give us so many things and so many options to connect with you! Thank yo for giving us a chance! Help me grow and appreciate these things even more in my life! I love you so much! In Jesus name, Amen! 

Color Spectrum

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By: Monique Smith

Hey y’all this came to me on the way to church this morning. Background: I was thinking about how EASY it is to become comfortable in doing things for Christ and start comparing our lives to others. Many times, we compare ourselves to people who are doing worst than ourselves, to ease our guilty conscious. For example, if we are saved and curse, we may compare ourself to someone who curses more. Or if we're saved and dont read our Word everyday or talk to God, we compare ourselves with people who NEVER read the word and we feel better about ourselves. (I did this just last week, smh) But we are doing our souls a disservice when we do this. So here goes.

God is white. The world is black.

When we come to Christ and repent of our sins, we then become white as snow. God cleans us and washes away all of our filth. When we start to sin and dibble and dabble into things of the world, we begin absorbing the colors of those things we interact with. We turn a little green from envying things, a little red from sinning in our anger, a little gray with gossip, etc. Let’s think naturally for a minute. Take some fresh white 1’s (Airforces). If you rock them mugs with some crisp new blue jeans in about 2 days top, your white shoes will have a slight blue tint. (Looks good for a minute, but is it really worth the trouble you’ll have to go through to get it back white again….whoo! Now that goes along with the spiritual side of things too. Se’lah (think about it).

So after awhile, you take a look at yourself and you see all the different color splotches on you. Instead of instantly turning to the Father and asking to be made clean and white again, we look at our “neighbor” and see what colors they have. And what’s even worse, we’ll look at people who we know are living in sin and enjoying it, and compare our “saved” selves with them. If those people are "black", then ANY color that you have on you, that isn’t black, will be a step closer to "white". EX: You are a purplish red. You see you’re not black, and you take pride in that. But wait, The Father is pure white. News flash, purple is NOT the new white. Green is not the new white. White is the new white. It always has been and always will be. God is the perfect, pure standard.

So Mo, how to I get back white? Repent of your ways, especially if you know the things that are ruining you. Then ask God to Psalm 51:10 you. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” All you have to do is ask. He will do it. But you MUST be sincere and willing to change.

Prayer: Hey Daddy! I love you! I need your help again! God, when I notice that I have gotten slack or when I feel that I don’t want to strive harder or I notice “different colors” on me, let me instantly turn to you to be made pure again. Help me to stop comparing myself to this world and its sinful nature. Allow me to compare myself to you, the ultimate standard. Help me evolve more and more into you and your character traits. I ask these things in Jesus name. I love you bunches! Amen.

What About Secular Music

By: Qu'Derrick Covington

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8 NKJV)

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31, 32 NKJV)

The person behind the music makes it good or bad. His goal,what inspires,what it's dedicated to or consecrated for the person is serving.

Whatever a person allows to occupy his mind will sooner or later determine his speech and actions.

Musical instruments are found throughout the Bible. Harps, trumpets, string instruments, cymbals, tambourines, wind instruments are throughout the Bible. David used an instrument to drive the demon from Saul.

And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood. (2 Chronicles 7:6 NKJV)

But now bring me a musician.”
Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ (2 Kings 3:15-17 NKJV)

To sing with music was common and expected.

Sing to the Lord with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm, (Psalm 98:5 NKJV)

Psalm 33 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. (Psalm 33:1-3 NKJV)

Music isn't bad but what about the person behind it. So what about secular music?
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Secular - something that pertains to the temporal rather that the spiritual, not specifically pertaining to religion or to a religious body,pertaining to or advocating secularism.

Secularism - the view that consideration of the present well being of mankind should predominate over religious considerations in civil affairs or public education.

Secularize - to cause to draw away from religion orientation; make worldly.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 NKJV)

The devil (world) depends on music and entertainment to advance their agenda.

You were running the race nobly. Who has interfered in
(hindered and stopped you from) your heeding and following
the Truth? This [evil] persuasion is not from Him Who called you [Who
invited you to freedom in Christ]. A little leaven (a slight inclination to error, or a few false
teachers) leavens the whole lump [it perverts the whole conception of faith or
misleads the whole church]. (Galatians 5:7-9 AMP)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)

Leaven - sour dough in a high state of fermentation used in making bread; symbolizes the pervasive character of evil; paints the picture of being bred of corruption coming from previous things.
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If you can't come to church and enjoy Christian music - you have been seduced.

3 Reasons Why People Say They Don't Like Christian Music.
1. I don't like it.
2. It doesn't do anything for me.
3. It's not what we listen to.

If you find yourself only wanting to listen to secular music the devil has accomplished his goal to seduce and addict you - take you from God.

The devil goal is to have the fleshly desires control and run you - so you will never experience the things of the spirit.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Galatians 5:17NKJV)

And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:
“ For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:11-14NKJV)

No desire for Christian music means something has taken over - and it's spiritual - in an ungodly way.

The "we" in it is not what we listen to - implies a backslid den state, wrong
Associations, and the leaven has spread (also shows poor self image, fear, etc...)

Not all gospel music is legitimate either - gospel artists have a secular artist on their cd's. We must look at lyrics, the person, the lifestyle, and where they get their inspiration.

God's restrictions, parameters, boundaries, and prohibit actions are only expressions of His love, knowledge and foresight.

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. (Deuteronomy 7:1-4 NKJV)

You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing. (Deuteronomy7:25, 26 NKJV)

Can we trust an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God and Father?