What are you in pursuit of? To pursue something means that you are chasing after, following, hounding, tracking, trailing it.

If a person is pursing a specific career or entrepreneurship, this would mean they are researching, learning and spending many restless nights to obtain the information needed to have the desired outcome.

If one is pursing a person for marriage, he or she goes above and beyond to prove to that person that he/she is in their best interest. 

What are you pursuing? The Bible says this:

Psalms 34:14
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

This tells me that if I have to pursue peace, I will be faced with challenging situations where no peace exists. However, if I am pursuing peace, I am doing all that is necessary to make sure peace is in the situation, even if I do not understand?

How many times has someone had a problem with you and you’re reaction is: “Oh well, that’s their problem. I did nothing.” Are you pursuing peace? 

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

I also recognize that if I am a peacemaker, I am demonstrating the characteristics of being a child of my Father. He instilled in me to be a peacemaker and He showed me how.

Are we pursing peace in our lives? Are we chasing after it? Are we doing all that we can to make certain the outcome is peaceable? Here are some thoughts:

Do Your Part.
Don’t get even. Choose the relationship over the reason.

Romans‬ ‭12:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

Clean up.
Clear up the small stuff before they become huge issues.

Matthew‬ ‭5:23-24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Maintain a peaceful spirit and be salty.
Whether you’re right or wrong in a situation, a peaceful spirit prevents more offense and keeps a situation from worsening.

Mark‬ ‭9:50‬ ‭NLT
“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.” ‬‬

Seek wisdom from God.
We must get God’s perspective and not rely on our own thinking, which is often covered with our own emotions, to determine our attitude, actions and words.

James‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭NLT
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”‬‬

What can you do today to pursue peace and are you pursuing it?

Do you have siblings? If not, maybe you have cousins you grew up with that were like a brother or a sister. In either case, have you ever encountered a situation where you were at odds with a family member? Maybe you didn’t see eye-to-eye on something and you were not on good terms for a moment but it didn’t matter because you’re still family. You eventually got over it, but during that time, of separation, you caught wind that bae baeee somebody was bad-mouthing your relative. At that point, it didn’t matter if you and that family member has a disagreement or not. Can’t nobody else talk about them or it’s gone be a problem.

I had a thought about me having this conversation about my family with someone who was talking crazy. I wanted to share it with you. Think about this….

When we are in a relationship with God, we should have that same level of loyalty and commitment. See, God, is my Father and Jesus is my big brother…this is MY family now!

We have been adopted into a royal priesthood:

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” ‭‭I Peter‬ ‭2:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

So now, that I am in the family, I have a relationship. God is my Father. Jesus is my brother. I will not accept you speaking ill against my family. It’s kinda like this. I can’t snap off because that’s not how my Father raised me. He told me to act like I have had some home training. Since I’m a part of the royal family now, I must behave like it. Since I’ve been spiritually raised, I must WALK with integrity. My Father taught me how to have some dignity and respect about myself so that I find favor with enemies and friends, and if I respond in any other way, I will disappoint Him and I simply cannot do that.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22:6 (NKJV)

So…now I hear you talking and saying my Father is not real, and all this here crap about the universe, and scientifically proven facts and all this gurgling. I shouldn’t get upset though because you’re speaking what you do not understand. You really have these emotions because My Father did not do what you had asked Him to and He should not have. Don’t get it twisted. My Father is not crazy. He knows when someone is trying to take advantage of Him, so puh-lease… don’t try to use my Father. That is not right! The reality is, that He did not do “it” because you were not properly introduced or you came at Him as if He owes you. Someone introduced you to my Father as a loan officer and not as a caregiver. Or maybe you were introduced by one of His play children!! Remember back in the day, we would say: “that’s my play cousin?” Whelp, you met somebody that was pretending to be an heir to the thrown of grace. They pretended to know who The Father is. They pretended to be related to Jesus, but they had no features. They had no characteristics. There are no traits. When you’re adopted into the family, you look like My Father. You act like Him. Your mannerisms are like Him.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

My Father knows me and He knows I can slip up. That’s why I love my brother Jesus so. He always steps in and talks to my Father on my behalf. He is always looking out. He looked out for me when I didn’t look out for myself.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8, 11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So now… if I sit here and listen to you belittling my Father and my Brother, I’m crazy. Now I know what I’m dealing with and I’ll back down. I’ll remove myself from the situation, because I know who and what I’m dealing with. I’m royalty honey- not gone respond like you. Imma fall back because I know you haven’t had the proper introduction.

“Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2:23-26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ll pray that my Father continues to have mercy on you. And once you realize it, you’ll be looking to speak with me again. When that moment arrives, you’ll be ready to receive the adoption papers and then you’ll hear me:

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:4-7‬ ‭NLT

That was a reenactment I had in my head of me speaking to someone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God is the Creator of all. When will we have THAT loyalty and commitment towards them- that no matter what, we are committed, dedicated and passionate about our Savior, who He is and what He means to us?

We all have different views and opinions. Some more stronger than others. For example. If you place a cup of coffee in front of me, since I “strongly” like coffee, I may inquire about the type you’re drinking, or I may desire to grab a cup as we engage in convos about types of coffee. If you’re not a coffee drinker, you may not even like the smell of it and thus it may not be much of a conversation piece.

Regardless of our viewpoint about coffee, neither response is “wrong”. It’s a difference of opinion that is based upon our experiences, and what we were led to believe about consuming coffee and its effects. If we aren’t careful, we find ourselves focusing on the one opposing view, trying to prove our point, rather than respecting the different experiences that we all have had about coffee.

We are programmed to focus on that one negative thing rather than all of the positive reinforcements we have around us. Why is that? Sometimes it’s related to self-esteem issues that began when we were children. If we received discouragement about who we are and what we could (or could not) accomplish, as we grow and develop in life, we become discouraged and negative about who we are and what we can (or cannot) do. If we argue over non-essentials, then we are not accepting differences in people’s preferences and quite frankly, what does it matter? How is the conversation about coffee gonna save anybody?

Jesus put it best:

“Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.”Romans‬ ‭14:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We must be careful not to offend through our words or our actions.

“But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.”1 Corinthians‬ ‭8:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What’s the point? We all have a point. It’s. it about how you or I see it, but rather what God SAYS and us doing according to what He says. If by chance the manager just set you off course already this morning and you blew a fuse, that’s okay. Take a positive approach. You still have time to make the devil mad. Learn from this and tell yourself: “I’ll make sure I recognize the tactics of the enemy and I will allow JESUS to be seen and not me.”

“Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.” James‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭NLT

‬‬
By no means is it okay to belittle or judge and we all have a button that can be pushed, but we have to remember what we do will come back to us and most times it hurts more. It’s not okay but it can be; as long as we continue to look for ways to improve ourselves and actually put forth the effort to be a bright light in a dark world, rather than a flickering dim light that is about to blow out.

Have you ever felt just cluttered? Not physically; just mentally and emotionally drained. It seems like there is so much going on and it’s all going on at the same time. The things you fight against will stand directly in front of you, squared up- ready to battle you.

• Car acting up.
• Kids acting crazy as if they have no home training.
• People on the job judging – setting you up for failure.
• Folks in the church being hypocritical.
• The candidates in the election reflect how the “majority” feel but didn’t have a voice to speak (and you wonder how “they” got this far) but then you begin to think about the word having to fulfill itself and what all must come to pass
• Every child’s conference, musical, party invite, after-school event…all seems to fall within the same week!
• What am I going to cook for these kids?
• Homework in EVERY grade level- they have homework, pshhh parents you do also.
• One kid has a sniffle; one is cranky, one getting picked on, one confused….

Sometimes I want to scream and say: “Jesus where is the peace?” Then He reminded me…”it’s actually right here.”

John 14:27 (NKJV)
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Notice in the scripture above, Jesus says He left His peace, but the presence of peace does not mean the absence of problems. The presence of peace means that the Spirit of God is there and that we understand how to operate in temperance (or self-control) which happens to be a feature or byproduct, or result of having the Holy Spirit governing our lives- AKA the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19).

Some burdens we do not have to carry.  We feel as if we have no option, but we really do. Often times, when I am feeling overwhelmed, I think about if I had an ailment that had me hospitalized, would the things I’m stressing over be worth the value that I am giving them? For instance, if someone has a problem with you? That is their problem, not yours. You just make sure you don’t take on their problem. View it as an opportunity to put Jesus on display through YOU. Do our Children have a lot of events and school activities? Balance. Write it down; get it out of your head. Look at the dates. Some things you can’t do and some you can. That is just called life. We try to do it all when in reality we simply cannot. We must learn to prioritize and determine what is most important.

I want to encourage you on today, as I encourage myself. Stand on the word of God. These are not just words spoken by anyone, written and bound together to form a book. The word of God is life. You may ask, how can the word be life? The Word became flesh, also known as Jesus.

John 1:114 (NKJV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-4 (NKJV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And when that doesn’t work, hold tight to this:

Numbers 23:19 (NKJV)
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 

Oh Father- you CANNOT lie! You WILL not lie. If you said the weapon won’t prosper, I’m crazy enough to believe that it will not. If you said You will not allow my foot to be moved, then it will not move. If you said I will never be thirsty, then I’m drinking from a fountain of living water…FOREVER. If you said to come forth, I am letting go of all hindrances and I will spring forth like a jack…in a box. I will make some hearts burn within, just from my conversation. OH GLORY TO YOUR NAME. I will let my light shine before all- whether they desire to hear me or turn a deaf ear.  I WILL SOUND THE ALARM…THE BRIDE IS COMING AND SHE HAS MADE HERSELF READY!!!

I just had a moment…stay there. Stand on LIFE and watch life grow through you!! GOD, MY FATHER CANNOT LIE!!!!!!!

Father in the name of Jesus. Lord I thank you for another day. Thank you for protecting us through the evening hours and over the weekend.

Lord help us to recall the words you spoke to our hearts during church services throughout the world. Let your word abide in our hearts so we remember that when we sin it affects not only our lives, but those around us who know us through our confessions of representing you. Our words, actions and attitudes will either make people desire to establish a relationship with you, or push away from you.

• Restore our passion to know you.
• Restore our passion to love you with our whole heart.
• Restore our passion to serve you.
• Restore our passion to love others unconditionally.
• Restore our passion to consider all.
• Restore our passion to draw people to you. Restore our passion to fight and not give up.

Restore our passion to just do GOOD!

We recognize that passion drives our purpose. If our passion is gone, our conversation with others is not about you. It’s about what we want, how we feel, what we do not have, our lacks, dislikes and misfortunes.

Lord, I ask that you allow our week to be filled with passion, drive and completion. Give us knowledge to resolve work-related issues. Teach us to be more structured and not slothful in business but sincere in everything that we do. If there is anything that is within our hearts, that is not like you, Lord please remove it far away from us.

Please do not take your Spirit away from us. Give us the knowledge to help our children with their homework, how to succeed in life and to give their best, even when they see us not giving our best. We recognize that our children only reflect what they see. If they see us always depressed, complaining and uncertain – they will mimic that behavior.

We ask that you bind any attack of the enemy that comes in the form of teachers, bus drivers, children, siblings, principles, administrators, custodians, teacher’s aides, volunteers and whoever, the enemy uses to prevent our children from having the freedom to learn in peace, while in school. Open their understanding. Remove any distractions! You placed greatness in them. Allow us as their parents, guardians and confidants to assist them with recognizing their potential and to live on purpose in their potential. I will be intentional in my prayer so that you may be intentional in answering.

I humbly ask that you accept this prayer, in Jesus name, amen.

I can hear the cheers. I’m amazed and humbled by all of this. The chants in the background…”Let’s go! You got this, Kim. I You can do it. We are proud of you. Thank you Jesus.”

I never knew I had so much support. I never knew there was so much love for me.

The crowd awaits, as the owner sits in patience, in the midst of them, but of course, His seat is obvious. Huntay you KNOW who He is. There’s no denying. Anyone sitting in THAT seat, has to be important.

The promoter is anxious because He delivered the news to me that the owner saw something in me. They sought for me. Not only do they know all of my strengths and weaknesses, but they also know how passionate and kind I am.

Wow! I’m baffled. Somebody less than perfect. Chile, I wouldn’t choose me if I was looking for a champion. In fact I would totally understand if He picked everyone before me; but that’s not the case. True to who He is, He always chooses the underdog (or at least the appearance of). He saw my heart and made something out of nothing

The Crowd: The Heavenly Hosts
The Owner: God
The Promoter: Jesus
The Witness: The Holy Spirit

I don’t need my name in lights. I’m famous in my Father’s eyes. He knows my name. I’m not living for the applause of men. I’m already cherished and adored by my amazing Father. It’s all His stage, He knows my name. What an amazing and humbling experience.

He knows my name.

Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them. But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the LORD. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God, says the LORD. Isaiah‬ ‭43:7, 10-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

He knows your name as well.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The one question that remains is…do you know Him? No. I know you know His name but do you really know Him?

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” ‭‭John‬ ‭10:14-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Oh and you wonder, just what are they waiting for and why are they cheering? They are encouraging me to fulfill the purpose that the Spirit placed within me…

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Mark‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

and they are waiting on you too!

What if I told you the enemy was trying to take your breath away? Prayer is your connection with the Kingdom of Heaven.

So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Luke  11:2 (NKJV)

Prayer is your contact with who we really are (spiritual beings in a carnal world).

There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.1 Corinthians 15:40 (NLT) 

Prayer keeps us honest with ourselves and vulnerable enough to recognize we are dependent on the Spirit for help.

Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.  1 John 3:20  (NLT)

How would you feel if you were an afterthought? Most times, we pray as an after-thought…After we have been beat down with responsibilities from work and family, we freshen up, climb into bed, take a deep breath and say: “Oh…let me pray”

 

Anything you feel is important, you will make time for. How often do we excuse ourselves and con our minds into believing that these 2 minutes before we drool on our pillow is all the time we can afford? How would you feel?

 

Let me ask you a question: If your breath dependent upon your prayer life with the Lord, would you be breathing right now? If your communication with God was contingent upon how much you pray, how much air would you have to breathe? Would you be alive?

The breath that you breathe is the Spirit that God blew into your nostrils to create you. Therefore, we must use this breath to uplift Him, to speak TO Him, about Him and Him through us.

Jesus was and is a “fresh breath.”  First He was flesh and then He was breath.

Jesus became flesh

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14  KJV

 Jesus became breath
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22 KJV

Ahhhh a breath of fresh air…that’s Jesus! The enemy is trying to take your breath away – your connection with Jesus, through prayer. Don’t cut off your life line. Your life is suffocating and you cannot breathe because you have stiffened it through the lack of comunication through your prayer life. Take time to establish a relationship through prayer so that you can breathe again.

 

Who are you? Have you become so consumed with other things that you are uncertain of who you are?

• Whose attention are you seeking? 
• What are you focused on? 
• Are your thoughts and intentions pure?
• What are your desires?
• Do they align with allowing the Lord to be glorified in what you do?

If you were being judged this morning, strictly by what you did or said yesterday or last evening, where would your soul rest? Would God be pleased with you?
Who are you trying to please? Are you reaching beyond your comfort zone to save others?

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)
We should not be seen. Jesus should be seen through us. What this means is that others should see a difference in us because we have been set apart to make a difference. 
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

We sit and watch others die daily and as long as it doesn’t effect our immediate circle, we are fine. We are shocked and comfort those for a moment. We respond to tragedy with the 🙏🏽 hands but do we really take a moment to pray? As soon as the post changes, it’s on to something else. Just that fast. We have allowed ourselves to become desensitized to help and to save others. 

If you know who you are, in Jesus, you know what to do. It’s time to stop being a Christian when it only seems to benefit or pleases us and it’s time to do what pleases our Father. 

“make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you know who you are? You don’t need a title to share how the Lord turned your tragedy into triumph. You don’t need a platform to proclaim the name of Jesus. You only need to know who you are in Him. If you know who you are then you can share with others who He is. 

Have you ever been having a general conversation with someone? As the conversation continues, this person begins to speak about things occurring in your life, that they would not (or should not) have any knowledge of, because you had not shared anything with them…or anyone for that matter. Only pillow talks, rush-hour traffic talks and cubicle convos that you have had with the Spirit – they are now smacking you across your cheeks as you sit and listen to this person. A word of affirmation was given to you through them, about your passions, desires or dreams. 

Let me tell YOU something. This was not by mishap. Just as you have a mouth to speak, God has ears to hear. When you belong to him, He always allows us to recognize that He is and has been there, even when we ignore Him. 

Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 

No word EVER spoken by the Lord is by mishap.

God said. God spoke. God called. God blessed. Everything that exists came through a spoken word:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.” ‭‭John‬ ‭1:1, 3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today, our words, are often spoken so carelessly and yet, they carry more weight than most of us even recognize.  In fact, almost daily we hear about someone whose words have gotten them into trouble. As of late, the harsh words and statements have come as a result of the Presidential election. Ugh! Meh! Blah!

But our words mean much more than being politically correct in the eyes of social media. Bae- baee your words are instrumental in causing things to LIVE, to DIE or to CONTINUE in your life.

I just got excited. From the foundations of the world, God spoke blessings on us (JESUS!) But we speak cursings:

“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

GOD SAID. 

Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

GOD CALLED. 

Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 

GOD BLESSED. 

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

Do you understand the words that are coming off this page? God blessed you before you came into existence! Oh I have to end this devotion because I feel a burning on the inside and this will be super long. Lord Jesus. Let me end with this:

1. What have you been speaking over your life? 
2. What have you spoken into your children’s life?  Did you tell them what they cannot do? Did you allow someone to tell them they’ll never be nothing? 
3. What have you allowed others to say to you or them? 
4. What seed was planted in your life as a child? Did you pass that on? Did you believe what was said and acted out the spoken word and now you are living what was spoken?

Think about the words you have said (which are seeds) over the course of your life.  As the Lord brings to your mind words you’ve said, write them down. Then I dare you to confess over each one: “Lord, I come to you this day. Not aware of how much power you have given us through our words. Holy Spirit, forgive me. I ask that you dismember and destroy the impact of the things that went out of my mouth, that I spoke on my life.” 

From this day, let us dedicate ourselves to speaking God’s word. Not just the scriptures, but also words of wisdom, healing, and life to others, so that we build one another up and not tear down. 

WALK THROUGH A SPOKEN WORD! My books were written through a spoken word. I began to minister the Gospel of Jesus through a spoken word. My son was born because of a spoken word. My marriage is because of a spoken word. When I was 4 years old, a spoken word was passed on to me that I would be a “traveling missionary”. Oh my God. WHAT ARE YOU SPEAKING? 

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬