It's About What You Don't Say.

There are many times in life when people are very uncomfortable and in unfamiliar situations. This can happen when people have good intentions, but the perception of their actions or behaviors can be misinterpreted.

Sometimes we find ourselves delivering clear communication and other times we allow our words to be interpreted by  those who receive them. What do you do when you find yourself on the opposite of a strained relationship not because of what you said with ill intentions, but because of what you didn't say with good intentions.

We all make mistakes, but mistakes don't make us bad people, We are just good people who find ourselves in bad situations.

"Even when you know you're not wrong, you still have a responsibility to make things right...with God" - C. Holmes

Trust Him

God is shifting the very ground that you stand on in order to loosen something inside of you that you would not voluntary release without Him interrupting your spirit. Let Him get the glory out of you.

"Since He shaped it, He can shake it." - C. Holmes

Who's leading?

How can see God as a guide if he is not the head of your life? He wants to direct your paths. Many times we ask him to lead us, but do we really release the power to Him to do so. What part of you are you taking into a situation and leaving the rest to God instead of giving it ALL to Him.

Proverb 3:6 says that "in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Where are you going? Who is leading your there.

"Don't put Him in the background, when we serve a forefront God." - C. Holmes

Count it all JOY!

You often hear people say, "No matter what you go through, count it all joy."  What does that really mean? It means that although you go through tests, those tests are God's way of preparing you for what He has in store. So if the test is the will of God then you must assume that there will be glory at the end because He will not give a Season of Stress without producing a Season of Solution. Or a Season of Problems without a Season of Promotion. Or a Season of walking in Grief without a Season of walking in His Glory.

So sense you know how the season ends, you can count the test as joy, as This will be the final outcome for His namesake.
Reference-James 1:2

"Give God what He deserves because He does the same for you." - C. Holmes

Life is Good!

From the Etymology Dictionary, the definition for word good says "sense of 'kind, benevolent' is from late Old English in reference to persons or God, from mid-14c. of actions. 

Your dilemma does not change the description of God. He is still God and He is still good.

"So if life is about submitting to God and He is good, then by default a good God supplies you with a good life." - C. Holmes

Why Win to Lose Again?

There are many things that we desire in life and many of those things are in our reach. But what are those things that you once possessed that you desire again? Before you had it, you were persistent to get it. But once you obtained it you lost the consistency to keep it. Why put so much energy into winning to only lose again? If it was worth working to win, it is worth working to keep. 

In order to win again here are some reflective questions you must ask yourself, and in this order:

1. What is that one thing that you desire to have back? 
2. Why do you want it back?
3. How did it feel when you had it? 
4. What did you do to lose it? 
5. Can you get it back? 
6. Is it work getting back?
7. What changes do you have to make? 
8. What changes are you willing to make? 
9. When are you going to do it? 
10. How are you going to do it?

"Persistence is the door [it gets you there], but consistency is the key [it keep you there]"
- C. Holmes

Put Me in the Game!

Any great athlete realizes that the victory is not won on the bench but on the field or in the arena. But you can't have victory if you don't the follow the plays/plan that is prescribed in the play book. The is designed for you to WIN. Continuing to sit on the bench and studying the play book is pointless, unless you put the plays into action in the GAME. At some point you've got to say, "Put me in the game!"

So is this true in life. Christ has left us with a playbook in the form of the written Word, but some of us never put the plays into action. How can you win the game of life, if you never get in the game?

Stop being a bench warmer for faith and become a game changer. Get in the game!

And if you were in the game before but endured some bumps and bruises, GET BACK in the GAME!
There is a victory that awaits you EVERYDAY as HIS mercies are new every morning.

It's Game Time!

Word for reference: Ephesians 6:10-20

Rise Up!

Opportunities are like clouds floating in the sky. The misnomer is that, like clouds, opportunities don't come to you but you must be elevated in order to reach opportunities. Which means you may have to elevate your thoughts, behaviors, interactions, surrounding and relationships in order to find your opportunities.

"Rise up and meet the opportunities that await you." - C. Holmes

What's driving you?

"Life means nothing if we spend it trying to get the approval of man, but never receive the appointment from the Master."

- C. Holmes

Keep Believing...

"Don't Let the Hurt of the World Affect Your Hope in God." - C. Kelly

Love is... Pt 5

1 Corinthians 13:4 "...it [Love] is not proud.

We normally think of pride as word that has positive tones. This type of proud links more to an emotion that one person has towards another. However, the type of pride spoken here is linked more towards a person's feelings on them-self. Being proud means to believe that you are better than or more important than others.

How willing are you to help those that you do not feel are deserving to be in your presence or are not equal? God never called us to be better than one another, but He did call us to be our best IN HIM and better than the world. If you are going to be proud, don't be proud OF YOU but be proud of the God IN YOU. He wants to pour out of us what is inside of us, but the problem is that some of us need to be cleansed on the inside and make more room for GOD.

"Don't let your pride take up so much space that God does not have a place." - C. Holmes

Love is...pt 4

I Corinthians 13: 4 "It [Love] does not boast..."

What does it mean to boast? Boasting means to talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about your own achievements, possessions, or abilities. When you boast it is easy to lose sight of how and what you are boasting about and transition the focus to who is doing the boasting.

When you boast, it gives the listener the impression that you are the reason for your good fortune and blessings. The last time I checked a person is not able to bless themselves, but they do have the ability to position themselves to be blessed. If you are gonna boast, boast about what He has done in, for and through you. Boasting gives you the glory and not to the God that is working on your behalf.  

"You can take credit for your obedience, but give God credit for your blessings" - C. Holmes

Love is...Pt 3

I Corinthians  13:4 "It (Love) does not envy." Envy means to have a feeling of resentment or discontent based on someone's possessions, position, abilities or opportunities. What we fail to realize is that with every position a person is given there is a price that had to be paid. We have to ask ourselves a simple question: "Am I willing to pay the price to be in a different position?"

Many times we should not focus on where people currently are, but should rejoice in the that where they used to be they are no longer there. We should be ready to listen to the praise report that someone has instead of finding ourselves envious. The fact that God not only delivered them, but elevated them, is encouraging that where you are you will not always be. And when he decides to remove the chains off your life, He is also going to bless you with increase. There will be evidence that you have had an encounter with Christ and when we find ourselves envious we are focused on the evidence of God's presence in someone else's life. Sometimes God has to bless someone else to show you what you missing out on due to your disobedience. So instead of asking "Why them?" we need to be asking "Why Not me?" and "What must I do?"

So how what do you have to do to have evidence that God has shown up? Are you words and behaviors aligned to God's will?

"Put yourself in a position to be evidence of God power." - C. Holmes

Love is...Pt. 2

I Corinthians  13:4 "...love is kind". Love is kind even to those that are not kind to us. This is what we find so difficult. How do you be kind to those that purposefully mistreat you? How do you be kind to those that purposefully have unkind for you and towards you?

If you keep your focus on God's direction and not people's deterrence, you will find the ability to be kind much easier. You also have to be kind to others even when you don't feel like you have kindness in you. Hurt, anger, depression, sadness, bitterness and the feeling of being overwhelmed can all halt or delay kindness. It takes energy to be kind, but the reason that you are empowered each day is so that you demonstrate a Christ-like life, which includes being kind. God has placed people around you who need a model for kindness which is why He made you who as He did and positioned you where you are. Christ demonstrated being kind through His grace and mercy. He's expecting us to do the same. Just understand that we are not Christ but desire everyday to be more like him.

Love is...Pt. 1

The first tenet of love in the the Bible says that "Love is patient..." When I think about this short phrase I automatically think of God's goodness. God is love and not only is that who He is, but it also what He personifies.

We don't always do what He wants us to do when He wants us to do it. But instead of allowing us to walk into destruction, God defers the discipline and gives us patience. He waits on us. And for some of us, He is STILL waiting. Isn't it funny that when you feel you are waiting on God, He is really waiting on YOU.

If God can demonstrate His patient love with us, why can't we do the same for others. So when you get the things that you desire. Show love. Patience. When you don't get the answer you desire. Show Love. Patience. When you feel you have been looked over just know He is your look out. Show Love. Patience.

Faithfulness vs. Foolishness

"Faithfulness moves mountains, but foolishness makes mistakes. Be consistently faithful." - C. Holmes

In spite of it All...

You've been through a lot. Ups and Downs, the good and bad, tears of joy and sadness, friends and foes, setups and setbacks and mountains and valleys. But in spite of it ALL, YOU ARE STILL HERE. YOU MADE IT!

"Don't give life the power to take you out.Give that power to the Giver of life." - C. Holmes

Happy People?

"Be careful when sharing your happiness, because everybody can't or won't be happy for you." - C. Holmes

I Invest in Me.

Commit your time today to YOU. Be either ALL IN or ALL OUT. The time is now or never which will result in something or nothing. Realize that you are worth the energy and risk. Invest in yourself today.

"Time, unlike other items, can't be recycled when wasted. Use it wisely." - C. Holmes

Why Do You Receive Not?

James 4:3 "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Stop asking for stuff that you don't need, but ask in order to make a difference. Ask unselfishly and see an overflow of blessings in your life.

"He gives to a man of good heart [intent] not a man of great haste." - C. Holmes

Just One More...

"When you have experienced many rainy days, you learn how to appreciate just 1 sunny one." - C. Holmes

Check Your Baggage

The idea of moving forward has so many positive overtones to it. But the struggle in moving forward is that there are some people or things that we take with us in this movement. So the dilemma that many of us deal with is not the concept of going forward, but rather the speed in which we are able to move. With so much baggage, be it emotional, physical or psychological, that is carried with us we fail to realize our stifled progression.

"Check your baggage before your embark on your next life's journey." - C. Holmes

Look at the Corner

We always seem to be going somewhere, but who is going with you. Everyone is not happy for you in your success but revel in your mistakes. Evaluate your corner. Like a boxer, you need someone in your corner that will cheer for you when you down and patch your up when your wounded. Instead, some of us help those that walk away when we're down or pull away when we reach out for help.

"Be careful who you keep in your corner because everybody doesn't like being in the shadows and will eventually will try to be in your light." - C. Holmes

Output = Outcome

"The state of your outcome can be accredited to the measure of your output" - C. Holmes

First Step in Treatment

"You can't treat the infection until you disinfect the area around you" - C. Holmes

Move On!

"If you never move beyond the barriers (what's stopping you) you can never internalize the blessing (what's meant for you)" - C. Holmes

What did I say?

If you had a choice for your life, what would it look like? Sometimes the vision that we have for our lives may not match up to the direction or the path in which it is moving. Or possibly, every time you try to fulfill a desire it ends up in ruin. How do you deal with this misalignment? What causes this?

It is possible that you are not taking the time to evaluate what is meant specifically for you and mishearing the direction that God has orchestrated because you are so focused on completing your own agenda. But your agenda does not supersede God's purpose. Take the time to hear from Him and let Him guide your path.

"God's voice is more important than your vision" - C. Holmes

Rain to Riches

Now after the prayer, God will provide an answer. In the Bible, James 5: 18, it says "then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit."

Continue to pray to God and at some point the windows of heaven will open up and pour out a blessing in the sense that it will be as if rain is falling upon you. The great thing about rain is that when it occurs you can't get away from it. You can run, hide or try to take cover, but no matter what you do, the rain is still pouring down on and around you. Receive your rain and let it be the catalyst for growth and fruitfulness in your life.

"The rain is the beginning of your journey to your riches." - C. Holmes

Even Me.

Lord, I hear of show’rs of blessing   Thou art scatt’ring full and free, Show’rs the thirsty land refreshing;   Let some drops now fall on me.
	Even me, even me, Let some drops now fall on me.

- Elizabeth Codner (1860)

My prayer today is this: Lord in the midst of all that You have going on, in spite of the fact that I am not deserving of your mercies, I come to you asking that You allow your blessing to be on me. Not that I may gain anything but so that I can give unto someone else in order to give You glory. So as your drops of blessing fall around me, I'm asking that just a single drop fall on me. One drop from you is all I need and is more than sufficient to fill me. If you see fit to allow some drops to fall on me I will be all the more grateful. But if You don't, You are still worthy of my worship and praise. This is your humble servant with a humble prayer, willing to serve a powerful God. It is to you I pray. Amen.

"With or without a drop, He is still deserving," - C. Holmes

Do they know?

Is everyone that you love aware that you love them?

Take time to share your love with someone. Do it today.

"Love can be temporary, but the void it leaves can last for every." - C. Holmes

Making a Difference.

"What makes today greatly different from yesterday is if you are differently great." - C. Holmes

Make today different and better than yesterday by bringing something different. But not something simply different but something great to today.

Rest to the Weary

"When life gives you resistance, God's love and power gives you rest." - C. Holmes

What is Love?

What are some things that help you identify when someone is acting in, or out of spirit, of love?
Post your thoughts in the comment section.

"Be willing to give the kind of love you expect to  receive. But also realize that people can't birth something in a barren vessel." - C, Holmes

Right Body, Wrong Spirit

I John 3:24Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

But what happens when you don't carry yourself as if his Spirit is in. What spirits are you dealing with that often block the spirit of God from entering into your life?

"Spiritual health is more important human wealth. In eternity, it's your spirit that will be its mate." 
- C. Holmes

Your Gifts, His Glory

Since we belong to and should be a reflection of God's love for us, how is it that we withhold the gifts that God placed inside of us which is to be given back to His people, but expect the total manifestation of God's glory in our lives?

Continue to be obedient to Christ. I John 2:21 when we're working within His purpose we should feel empowered and be able to "come to God with bold confidence." For example, if you have been faithful in your career and have been productive for your company, when it comes time for yearly evaluations your should be very comfortable and confident to ask for a raise. Same thing with God. When you are faithful with your assignment, you should come to Christ with boldness and confidence and ask for Him to elevate you, enlarge your territory and to be blessed in an extraordinary manner. I believe that God wish he had more bold Christians, but unfortunately, manner of us would not dare to insult Christ when we have been less than dependable for Him.

"If you give of your gifts, He will give of His glory." - C. Holmes

How are you loving?

1 John 3: 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Love is more than an emotion causing you to say so. But love is a verb that causes you to show so. Love has to be more than a declaration, but in its truest form, it is a display of the sacrifice you are willing to make to demonstrate your selflessness on behalf of others.

I encourage you to BE love today and allow someone to experience your essence of love.

"Let you love be like crumbs from a rich man's table. It only takes a little to desire its taste." - C. Holmes

What are You Willing to Give?

[1 John 3:16-17] 16We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^f in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Christ has given us so much, but some of us aren't willing to give much, if anything at all. Some of us are so selfish with blessing that were given to us that we aren't willing to be a blessing to someone else.
But the only reason you were blessed is so that you could be a blessing? Do you not know that God knew that you would, at some point in your life, encounter someone that needed to experience mercy and He thought of you to be that vessel to operate on His behalf? But in order for you to be a useful vessel He had to bless you.

But the awesome thing is that He blessed you because He believed He could trust you. What happens when God can no longer trust you? What happens you stop being thankful but become boastful?

Now here you are thinking that it was you and your own abilities that made you so great.

"Your greatness would be nothing without His grace" - C. Holmes

Do You Want Something to Cry About?

Exodus 2:

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died.The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 

24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 

25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

I think the interesting part about this passage is that the Israelites groaned, but their groans were not recognized. Groaning could be seen as simple complaints or possibly as frustrations, but not an issue that requires God's immediate attention. Complaints and groans are issues that he feels you can handle or something that you should not be invested in otherwise.

But when you cry, God becomes concerned. When he becomes concerned he has to act. I am pretty sure that God will not be tricked by a cry that is really a groaning situation. He will only attend to your earnest cry. Let your cries be sincere and real.

"Be careful not to cry prematurely because you will need those tears later when He gives you something to cry about." - C. Holmes

When Right Feels so Wrong

Exodus 2: 11-14

11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 

12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 

13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?" 

14 The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."

What does this scripture teach? What is the lesson that can be learned.  Moses, although justified in his feeling of anger toward the Egyptian, decided to be the ruler of justice. He took judgement in his own hands, while knowingly committing an act NOT of God.

How do you know he understand that what he did was not right? Let's start with verse 12. It says that Moses killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. If he felt justified in his actions, why would he hide the man? Moses had decided that the man needed to die based on his behaviors. But the Bible does tell you that you should not judge unless you want to be judged also.

In verse 14, the second second sentence, it says that he was afraid. Fear only comes from a place of discomfort and an awareness that your current situation does not seam favorable. When you act on behalf of God, that action should be accompanied by a feeling of peace, not panic.

As we continue, we will see what happens when man determines that he can make judgement and justify the actions of others.

"Don't be to critical of others' judgments, when you don't have the power to justify." - C. Holmes

JOIN THE SITE AND BECOME A MEMBER

Cry Baby!

JOIN THE SITE AND BECOME A MEMBER


Exodus 2: 1-10 1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said. 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" 8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."

Looking at verse e, it should you remind that when you under God's covering he hides us and protects us from the hand of the enemy. He hides us until he knows that we are ready to deal with the struggles of the world, but first you have to been up your strength in Him, your faith.

But at some point he let you veer into the land of the lost, the world. But it is a blessing to know that even when we are in the world, God will send a vessel in the form man (woman), to rescue us. But when you look at verse 6, you should notice that when God sent his vessel in the form of the slave girl, the baby was crying. Only when you are vulnerable and are limited to crying out for help, will God send someone to your rescue. Because the verse says that because the baby was crying, the girl felt sorry for him. Although he was distraught, she was determined. He cried, but she was courageous. He was lost, but she could take the lead. He was alone, but she was on assignment.

What happens as a result of the tears is that the child is comforted and nurtured until maturity as seen in verse 9 and 10. Think about that. When you stay under God's covering, He will comfort and nurture you until you are mature enough to deal with the next situation. But what happens when we remove ourselves from the covering before maturation? Disaster, which leaves you to return back to God with the same situation.

"When you give God your Problems, you still try to retain Power. But when you give Him your Tears, He is ready to Takeover." - C. Holmes

What happened to the Kings?

We will continue in Exodus for this conversation.  Picking up with verse 12 [But the more they (Isrealites) were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ]..

13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly. 15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

Question 1: Keying in on the mid part of verse 16, the question that I want to pose to you is "who or what is trying to kill the king in you?" Is there something that has been placed inside of you that someone is trying to kill before you birth it into existence?

Question 2: Have you aborted your own king? Unlike the the Israelites, who were forced into bondage and captivity, we willingly place ourselves in bondage with the things that we engage in, the people that surround ourselves with and the unhealthy thoughts that we have about ourselves and others. Do you have vision but are not a visionary (this is for another time, because this is series by itself)? Sometimes we are not living in kingship because we do not walk, talk and behave in the manner of a king/queen. But like all great kings, timing is imperative and patience in paramount. You have to know when to make your move. Too much activity or stress while your king is in the womb could abort the promise.

Questions 3: The other question that I have to ask is, "Have you have ever been a king killer?" Sometimes, unbeknownst to ourselves, we can say or treat others in a way that could be demeaning or discouraging and kill their hopes or dreams. We need to have a "midwife mentality", which is a spirit of love and faithfulness to do what the Lord asks of us. But you first have to know what He expects from you. When you allow someone else's inner king to live, God blesses you and your king to live.

But thank the King has called us to be kings and queens.

"In order not to abandon your kingship, you can't abandon the King" - C. Holmes

Please leave comments if you wish to create dialogue.

Haters Aren't New!

Here is where the thought for today stems: [Exodus 1: 6-12] 6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. 8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. If you look at your life, when it seems like all things are falling in place, there will always be someone who will not bask in your favor. There will always be someone who doesn't seem to be supportive or excited about your success or opportunities or happiness or promotion or love life. Haters are not new. Like Pharaoh they will try limit and minimize you because they are envious based on what they don't have. But you need to have an Israelite mentality. Even in bondage you can be bountiful (in abundance). When you are in the will of God, oppression by man will not disturb opportunities provided by the Master. Be fruitful today and watch how your haters respond. It is not your responsibility to prove haters wrong or right. But when God responds on you behalf, your haters are placed in a position to behave.

"Haters can't hate, more than God can Love." - C. Holmes