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The Angry Black Woman
Unlike me, with my round body, chubby cheeks, and inherent shyness, my paternal grandmother was a prideful, slender woman. She was caramel colored with fine, flowing hair that she effortlessly pinned in an updo most days. A former school teacher, for many White folks in our small southern town, she was more articulate and poised…
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Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Love You Back
It doesn’t matter what we set out to do, from the smallest to the greatest of feats, if we do not begin it from a place of respect for God’s truth, the outcome will not be as awesome as it could be. This will always, always be the case, and it is never more true…
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Preparation Reinforces Your Authority
Preparation reinforces authority in you. We have to let that marinate for a minute. We’re going to dissect this truism more, and by doing so give our prayer lives a very necessary and bountiful boost. To begin, it’s necessary to state a perhaps basic but important truth. It is the reality that everyone is not…
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Help Us Bless Your Kingdom
Dear Heavenly Father, As Your children, it’s our privilege and responsibility to be the salt of the earth. It’s our job to season it with Your love and goodness by spreading Your Word; for Your Word is excellent seed and will harvest good fruit. There’s no reason why our lives shouldn’t be overflowing with blessings,…
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Opening The Floodgates Of Blessings
God’s motivation for being in your life is to see you blessed. It is for you to live the fullest, grandest, and most fulfilling life of which you’re capable. This is the truth that must frame your entire existence. It is the lens from which you must view both your triumphs and mistakes. There is…
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The Big Shake-Up!
If there’s one thing that this environment of change and chaos has taught us, it is that we need God’s peace and love more than ever. From the outside looking in, it’s appears as though things are unraveling at an alarming rate, but the Christian can take confidence in John 15:1(NLT), where Jesus Christ teaches,…
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I Am Not Ashamed of The Gospel
Dear Heavenly Father, The Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16 (NLT), “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” It is sad, Heavenly Father, that Paul wrote this thousands of years ago, at a…
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God Makes Everything Work Out
Dear Heavenly Father, I’ve learned in my walk with You that nothing works out if I try to do things my own way. Through choices about relationships, friendships, school, and those affecting family members, I’ve learned that if I stick with what Your Word says, things will work out. This is not always an easy…
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Be Ready for What God Has in Store
The wonderful passage in Proverbs 3:5-6(NKJV) tells us, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” I’m sure every Christian will agree that this is especially meaningful given the current time in which we…
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Humility When a Kindness is Unappreciated
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for blessing me to learn another spiritual lesson. I’m very grateful that You’ve taught me how important it is that we give and pour into the lives of others. It keeps us thriving in a positive cycle, but sometimes our giving isn’t received in the way we hope. This week,…
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Elevation, Progression, and Promotion
Dear Heavenly Father, In Psalm 51:10(NKJV), the psalmist, King David, cried out to You, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” This verse resonates so deeply in my heart. I haven’t experienced the weight of responsibility and danger that David did, but I believe my desire to…
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The Game of Life
There aren’t too many people that start off playing a game with losing in mind. Most of us play because it’s pleasurable, and the cherry on top is the win. Well, life is serious business, but there’s no mistaking it, it’s a contest and we very definitely have an opponent. The name of this game…
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Our God is Awesome and Amazing!
Newness is indeed upon us, this cannot be doubted. Lamentations 3:22-23(NLT) reminds us, “22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” These verses should ignite excitement in us every day. We ought to be enthused about what the Lord…
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Endure Out of Rest
There are periods within our Christian journey where things run rather smoothly. We’ll notice that this is particularly true after we’ve received a spiritual promotion. When we’ve graduated from one spiritual level to the next, it is almost always connected to learning what God has ordained us to learn,…
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Your Way Is the Right Way
Dear Heavenly Father, One thing I’ve learned on my Christian journey is that you can’t do what everybody else in this world is doing. You told us in Romans 12:2 (NLT), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.…
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God Wants You Strong and Living Long
One of our primary responsibilities and privileges as children of God is to provide Him a field upon which His blessings will land. This field is a place and space in our lives. It’s when a clearing is forged because of our faith; just like the Red Sea parting that the Children of Israel experienced.…
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How Past Hurt Can Navigate A New Path
Wherever we are in life, we’re either inviting a new blessing to come in or causing it to remain at bay. This begs us to know two things, one is that we are responsible for making room for something new to take root, and the second is that God’s…
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What NOT to Do When the Relationship is New
When I was a teenager, like most kids my age, I wanted everything quick, fast, and on the double. Not only did I want my desires delivered with all due haste, this was the approach to just about everything else I did as well. I rushed through my homework, and I couldn’t wait until the…
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How Are We Quickened by the Holy Spirit?
Anything that does not grow will die. This is a very plain statement of truth. It goes beyond that of being a fact. A fact is something that pertains to what we know in the present, but it could change when more information about the subject is gleaned.…
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Enjoy His Glorious Kingdom!
One of the things that we are constantly warned about is the temptation to get caught up in what the world is doing. We know from God’s Word that the world is under the dominion of the adversary and that the devil’s lease is almost up. Ephesians 6:12(NLT) tells…
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Avoid the Post-Holiday Crash
We love the holidays because of course, we adore our blessed Savior, and Jesus IS the reason for the season. In fact, he’s the reason for every day, and that’s why the holidays should be a time for some serious joy. We wait the whole year to pull out all the stops and ought to…
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Dare to Hope!
Sometimes you meet a person and you just click. You can’t really explain why, but the friendship develops quickly, and you feel as though you’ve known each other for years, even though you’ve only just met. That’s how I felt about a friend that I recently learned had passed…
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Run to Win!
When you peel back all the layers and get down to the core of your identity, if you’re in Christ, there will be some components that drive you in this race we call life. Three of those are major, and must be present if you want to remain on track to win. There are no…
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A Message to Heavenly Father
God’s instructions to the prophet in Habakkuk 2:2 (KJV) was, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” This was a particular Word given to a particular complaint made by people that questioned the cause and longevity of their oppression. Heavenly…
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When Something Doesn’t Feel Quite Right
In John 14:6, Jesus Christ tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can get to the Father except they come through him. We can read this verse a thousand different times, and each time that we do so with a heart open to receive from heaven,…
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Cut’em Loose
The Word of God is a very practical book of life and wisdom. Among many, many, many other vital pieces of spiritual wisdom, it tells us what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. One of the major reasons for errors is that we either…
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Don’t Lose Another Opportunity
Jesus Christ said in John 15:8 (NLT), “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” Many scholars believe that the spiritual lesson that Jesus taught in John 15 was at the last supper. It was the night he was betrayed, so we can gather that this…
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Best Thanksgiving Ever!
When I was in grade school, I remember the excitement around celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. There was a student contest every year in art class, and the best and most elaborately decorated turkey poster would be chosen. I have very fond memories of those times, but it does seem odd that a turkey is the…
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Dealing with a Spirit of Discouragement
I’d like to bend the spiritual ear of those that have been waiting on the Lord to do something in their lives for a long time. It’s those individuals for whom a few very important requests have been the central theme of their prayers, but the manifestation of results has not yet come through. You…