Waking up at 3:00am is not unusual for me…but, I usually just go back to sleep.
But this time, I woke with a dream fresh in my mind and spirit. In the dream I was worshipping and I was praying.
As soon as I awoke, I found myself continuing to worship & pray. I found myself deep in intercession for our country, our government, my church and the Body of Christ. I prayed for my family, friends who had prayer needs, and even prayed for myself and God’s calling upon my life.
I found myself declaring and decreeing boldly as the Holy Spirit led me. I don’t know how much time passed, but when I felt that I was done – I went back to sleep and slept soundly.
I want to say that I am thankful for this precious time I had with the Lord in the early morning. It definitely was not done in my own power or planned.
We are in a new season! Don’t be surprised if the Lord has you moving in ways that you perhaps haven’t moved in before. Dreams, visions, intercession, healing, and deliverance – all the ways that we see God’s people ministering in the Bible are still needed in today’s world. Now more than ever!
STAY CLOSE TO THE LORD! Tether yourself to Him and His Word! Stay connected with those that seek God’s will above their own. And do everything from His foundation of LOVE.
I am praying for you…will you pray for me? We are in this together! ❤️
We are in a New Season of time! The Lord is calling His Church to step up and be the Ekklesia He means us to be! He doesn’t want us to be satisfied with what was…but He wants us to join Him in what is to be! I am ready to step out into all He has planned! How about you?
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
As time goes on, I observe my hair turning gray and wrinkles appearing deeper and more pronounced. My eyesight has dimmed and my body has changed. Yes, outwardly there is a “wasting away.” Time does indeed affect our physical bodies.
BUT, we are told to not “lose heart” – to not get discouraged. Even as our physical bodies may let us down, our spirit is not getting weaker, it is getting stronger as we are being renewed day by day! Hallelujah!!
As we go through challenges and troubles, the Lord reminds us that in and through them we are receiving an eternal glory that outweighs them all!
So, I won’t focus on the changes of getting older. I won’t focus on COVID-19. I won’t focus on all the turmoil that is raging around us. I will remind myself that all that I see is temporary.
Brothers & Sisters! May we not focus on the problems, but focus on the SOLUTIONS. When we pray, may we not bring a list of everything that is wrong to the Lord, but may we seek His vision, plan, and purpose and join Him in praying that!! God knows what we need in our lives. God knows what we need in the world. As we seek Him, and move our focus from the seen to that which is unseen – we will be focusing on the eternal!!
Oh God!! We join You in speaking Your will, plan, and vision for our lives, our church, and our world. Help us, Lord, to get our eyes off of the problems and onto YOU! We join You in the midst of it all! We want to be a part of the solution that You want to bring to a hurting world. Speak to us, Lord! We are ready to be Your hands, feet, and mouth. Pour through us and touch this world for Your glory! In Jesus’ Name. Amen! ~Tina K. Roach
“Pentecost is a Christian holy day that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 40 days after Easter. Some Christian denominations consider it the birthday of the Christian church and celebrate it as such. Originally, Pentecost was a Jewish holiday held 50 days after Passover.”
The Scriptures describing the day of Pentecost can be found in Acts 2:1-4.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4 NASB
LORD! We beseech You to move once again in POWER upon and in Your people! Empower us through Your Holy Spirit to be Your body upon this earth! May the FLAME of YOUR LOVE burn brightly within us!! RISE UP, most HOLY ONE, and show Yourself in all Your glory!! AMEN!!
“I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23 NRSV
What powerful scriptures of thanksgiving and prayer! Do you ever think about using scripture as a basis for your prayers? As I read this today, I wanted to use it not only as a groundwork for writing my devotional, but to use it to pray for you.
Brothers & Sisters, I love hearing about your faith in Jesus and your love towards others as we continue on this life journey through the covid-19 season. I am indeed thankful for all you do!
I pray that as you draw closer to the Lord:
a spirit of wisdom and revelation will enlighten the eyes of your heart.
You may know what is the hope to which He has called you.
You may know what are the riches of His glorious inheritance.
You may know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.
Father God has put this great power to work in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places. This is the immeasurable power that is at work for us!
Jesus is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. He is above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
Father God has put all things under Jesus’ feet and has made Him the head over all things for the church.
We, the church, are the body of Christ. And as His body, we have His fullness – His presence, His power, His wisdom, His revelation, and the riches of His glorious inheritance. HALLELUJAH!!
DURING THESE DAYS OF LACK…MAY WE REMIND OURSELVES OF ALL THAT WE POSSESS!!! AMEN!
I wasn’t really planning on doing a written post today. To be honest, I woke up a little depressed. If it were a “normal” day, I would be getting dressed in a beautiful, colorful outfit and looking forward to joining my friends at church to celebrate this special day. Of course, I know this day isn’t about me…I know that it is a day of focusing on our precious Jesus…I know this and yet I still find my thoughts drifting towards my isolation. Am I the only one?
So! At this point, I CHOOSE to refocus my thoughts…I CHOOSE to trade in my depression for the oil of gladness! I CHOOSE to celebrate the awesome resurrection of our precious Lord!
As I said, I really wasn’t planning on writing a post this morning – but the Lord had other plans. Thoughts of resurrection have been floating around in my mind and spirit. And I know I am to put it to “paper.”
When we receive God’s Truth we are expected to react to it. We know that the resurrection of Jesus is true! So what should our reaction be? Hopefully, foremost our reaction should be to accept the NEW LIFE that Jesus offers to us through His death and resurrection. If anyone who reads this has not made that salvation step – I would encourage you to stop…seek the Lord…and CHOOSE to accept what Jesus did for you.
Again, what do we do with this Truth of the Resurrection of Jesus? We must DO something! I am reminded that “Faithwithout works is dead.” (James 2:26). We have faith that Jesus was indeed resurrected from the dead. What are we going to do with this knowledge? How will our lives be changed with this knowledge? How do we “walk out” this Truth?
Resurrection Power is within us! Through the Holy Spirit living within us, we walk in the same power that Jesus walked in on this earth. Sometimes it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around that Truth. But, Jesus confirms this Himself!
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:12 NASB
CHURCH! Are we walking this out in our ministries and lives? Jesus is our example. Are we seeing the works that Jesus did being manifested in our families, in our church, in our communities?
I believe that on this Resurrection Sunday, as we celebrate our risen Lord, He is calling us to be the expression of His Life on earth!! BE the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth of Jesus! HE IS ALIVE and HE LIVES IN AND THROUGH US!!
Oh Jesus! We thank You for dying on the cross for us. We thank You for the resurrected life we have in You. When we accepted You as our Lord and Savior – You brought us from death in our sins to eternal life in You!! We celebrate Your resurrection on this most high and holy day! WE CELEBRATE YOU!! Amen!
What a time we are experiencing in the world! The Coronavirus is causing us to be quarantined from our “normal” day-to-day lives. I know many are experiencing financial hardship as they are not able to return to work. Some that are working are having to find child care for their children because of school closings. We are praying for you!
I am hearing a lot of negative talk going around on social media and from people that I have encountered on my short trips to pick up supplies. I hear you…I understand the frustration and the fear that is trying to surround us. In the midst of this “storm” I am reminded that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
I do not speak against those that are having fear, but encourage you to look to God to help you overcome it. I have to admit that I have moved from the initial feelings of fear and frustration to seeing the spiritual implications of what’s going on spreading out before me.
I do not believe that the enemy of our souls, Satan, has caused this virus. However, I do believe that Satan is taking the opportunity to release a spirit of fear to paralyze the church and world. He is trying to separate and shut down God’s people and cause anxiety and depression.
I come against that right now, in the mighty Name of Jesus! I rebuke and root out the spirit of fear. I command it to GO and I release God’s POWER and LOVE to rise up within God’s people! I thank You, LORD, that we have the mind of Christ, a SOUND MIND…a mind that is not filled with what the world says, but with YOUR TRUTH, O God!! I thank You, LORD, that out of our sound mind we make decisions and choices based on Your Guidance and Your Word. May we honor and heed the guidance and directions of those that are positioned to stop the spread of this virus. May we look past ourselves to those that are vulnerable and need to be protected. Help us, LORD, to be on the front line of defense – through our actions and through our prayers.
I also believe that God has not caused this virus. However, I do believe that He causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
I see God using this time to wake up His Church!! What are we turning to in reaction to what’s going on? Are we comforting ourselves through things of the flesh or are we turning to God? Where does our hope come from?
What are we doing now that we are forced to be at home? Oh Brothers & Sisters!! What an opportunity we have to connect more deeply with the Lord! I hear the Lord calling us to DRAW NEAR!! How can we journey through this time and come out on the other side stronger?
I would encourage you (and me) to dig deeper into God’s Word. I would encourage us to spend quiet time just resting in His presence – feeling His love and expressing our love to Him. Take this time to LISTEN. God wants to speak to you. I believe that as we press into the Lord, really press in, we will begin to receive answers to questions we have had unanswered. We will receive deeper revelation of what God wants us to do during this time of separating ourselves from the world and abiding in Him.
God is calling us to HOLINESS! I see this time as a time of “cleaning house.” May we physically clean house and get things in order…but even more importantly…may we spiritually go through our homes and get rid of those things that God says to remove. Get out the anointing oil and (re)dedicate our homes as places of spiritual safety, health, love, and rest.
We also need to “clean house” in our own lives. What has God been calling us to stop doing or to begin doing? What things are causing us to move away from God instead of drawing near? Brothers & Sisters, the time is NOW! No more putting it off until later…
Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1-4). *I invite you to read through verse 13*
WE ARE THE CHURCH!! We are just as much the church even when we are not physically able to meet in the church building. May we focus on the LORD during this time. May we position ourselves to become the Church He has called us to be. May we use this time to be wise and “fill our oil lamps!” Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you to overflowing! May we burn brighter and brighter as we are filled more and more with the oil of the Holy Spirit!! When we are released from this quarantine may we be LIGHTHOUSES shining brightly for the LORD!!! GLORY!!
We are in this journey together!! You, me, and Almighty God!! Trust and KNOW that He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
2020 – a time of coming together with unity of heart and purpose…a time of seeking God for clarity of vision and direction in our own lives and in the life of our churches and ministries. We are on mission together!!
Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means ‘Coming’ in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.
Reflection of Glory! 