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Who Are You?

Excerpt from the Prayer Room’s I KNOW WHO I AM – (A PRAYER OF DECLARATION):

  1. I AM AN AGENT OF CHANGE on assignment from heaven to bring change to my world.
  2. I AM AN AMBASSADOR FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, so I HAVE AUTHORITY to command and affect change on earth.
  3. I AM EQUIPPED with power, gifts, and abilities to be successful in my assignment.
  4. I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM.

But who are you really?

Most humans are born with their senses intact and functioning. They can receive and respond to stimuli in their environment. However, not all humans’ senses function to the same degree. For some, specific senses and/or sensory organs are more heightened than for others.

This is because every human is a carrier. We are carriers of the blueprints or instructions needed for the development, sustenance, and reproduction of that which God wants to see manifested upon Earth. We transport God’s ideas and inventions into this earth realm. The Lord God has encoded within us that which is needed for our assignment and for the war.

If we just paused for a moment and reflect on what makes me different from the others who came out of the same womb, we would be surprised at the glimpse into the revelation of who we are.

After spending some time looking at my life, analyzing the ways in which I was different, my strengths and weaknesses, patterns, cycles, attacks from the enemy, and my preferred mode of response, I discovered some things about myself. I came to understand that, although the following is true of all humans, and in particular, the children of God, for me they are especially true. I arrived at the following answers to the question of, “Who are you?”

  • I was built and designed – A Student of THE WORD – hence my attraction to books, study, teaching, and teachers of the word.
  • My greatest strength is WORDS.  I have been given the ability to see a word and uncover things in it that are (otherwise) hidden from the eyes of mortals.
  • I have been given the ability to hear words on frequencies….
  • I have been given the ability to use words to shape the minds of others; to build ministries; to build relationships; to call things into existence.
  • My greatest weaknesses/attacks therefore are linked to words. The words I hear have the ability to break my spirit and wound me terribly. So do the words I see (read) and the words I say. Hence the struggles with my speech.
  • The gift of WORDS is not only evident in my ability to see and hear the “veiled” things, but it is also connected to my ability to write – hence my obsession with writing.

What about you? Do you know who you really are? Are you able to identify what makes you different, at the core?

Such knowledge is needed to effectively wield your power, gifts, and abilities to be successful in your assignment.

Such knowledge is needed to affect lasting change in your world.

Such knowledge is needed to realize victory in your spheres: internal life, marriage, family, work, community, and church.

I submit that many of the struggles that we have in our relationships and assignments as women may be linked to a lack of knowledge of who we are. Would you make a commitment today to go beyond who you were told you are and discover who you really are?

PRAYER: Lord, I hear you. Please give me a revelation of the true me. Open my eyes that I might see beyond what others see in me. May your Holy Spirit reveal what flesh and blood cannot reveal. As you reveal, help my whole being – body, soul, and spirit – to come into alignment with who I really am; with who you designed me to be. Lord, I know that you not only sent me, but you are with me, and I shall ….”

DIG DEEPER:
1. Devotional – What Did He Call Me?

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I HAVE an ‘ezer!

The month of June 2020 is a momentous month for me. It is a month in which I celebrate two anniversaries: my 7th year anniversary of migrating to the USA and my 1-year anniversary of the launching of ‘ezerwatchers. Celebrating any kind of anniversary causes one to reflect; to look back at where you came from and where you are currently. Consequently, upon reflecting on both, I could only come to one conclusion: Through it all, I had and still have an ‘ezer. This fact is especially significant to me today because of what I am about to face.

In my first blog post for 2020 – New Year, New Training – I wrote, “For me, this new year – this start of a new decade – is another opportunity to become more skillful in warfare; the kind of warfare which, at its roots, is about listening to and obeying God’s commands. With this year comes new training for battles for which I lack experience.”

In that post, I also asked the questions, “What battle experience(s) am I lacking? What has God allowed to remain in my life from the previous year(s) that would give me the necessary training and experience so that I can become more fit for and skilled in warfare?What “enemy” has been left in my life for testing and proving; to know whether I would listen and obey the commands of the Lord?”

I concluded that, although I may have entered a new year, there will still be some old, remaining, or leftover things that I will have to deal with for my betterment. The Holy Spirit was impressing upon me to be careful not to offer wasted prayers, rebuking and cancelling the very things that the Lord has ordained for my growth and development.

At the time that I penned those words, I had no idea that six months later, in June, I would be taking a surgery for a health condition that I had been battling for some time. As I woke this morning and thought… six days away, I heard, this is an opportunity to not only SEE God as my ‘ezer, but EXPERIENCE Him as the true epitome, true prototype, of who and what an ‘ezer ought to be.

I was reminded of Genesis 2:18. Adam was alone. It was not good for him to be alone so, God made a help suitable for him. God made him an ‘ezer. As much as my husband, my children, and my mother are walking through this battle with me, I need an ‘ezer: one who can HELP in ways that they cannot. Just as Adam could not find a suitable helper (‘ezer) and God made him one, even so God is my ‘ezer in this season of warfare.

Motivated by this thought, I reached for my study tools at my bedside and began to dig deeper into this concept of ‘ezer. I was reminded that ‘ezer ( a noun) was derived from the verb ‘azar which means to surround, that is to protect or aid. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon states of ‘azar – The primary idea lies in girding, surrounding, hence defending. It is used of an ally in war (1 Kings 20:16) and means to be helped (Psalms 28:7), especially by God (2 Chronicles 26:15; 1Chronicles 5:20) “and they were helped against them,” i.e. God gave them the victory.

When I think of undergoing general anesthesia and the whole surgical procedure, I embrace this idea of girding and surrounding. According to Israelbiblicalstudies.com, “to gird does not mean just to fasten, but to encircle and make safe. It comes from the root word that means to lock up, as in a city that is encircled by a wall.”  I find comfort in knowing that even though I will be under anesthesia, in a medically-induced coma, I have an ‘ezer who will encircle me and keep me safe. Although I will be unconscious, hence unaware of and unable to participate in this battle for my life, while I am asleep, there is one who will shield me and fight for me.

2 Chronicles 32:8 says, “With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help [‘azar] us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”  In this battle, I am growing in the strategy of warfare called Resting in God’s words.

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee [‘azar]; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

I go into this surgery knowing, believing, that God is my ‘ezer and that God will ‘azar me. He is my helper, my ally in this battle for my health. He will surround me; be all around me, enclose me on all sides. He will lock me in and keep me safe as a walled city. The end result is that God will cause me to conquer this enemy because, I have an ‘ezer.

I do not know what battle you may be facing today; what obstacle you are finding difficult to surmount. What I do know is that you have an ‘ezer. You do not have to face this battle alone. God is your help and, if you can just rest in His words, you will see the deliverance from the sword of your adversary.

Pray with me: My Father and My God, please help me to rest in your words so that I can experience you in a personal way during this time of difficulty. Cause me to lean on you as my ‘ezer, my present help and comforter. May I find in you the support I need to carry me through and over this ordeal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DIG DEEPER:
Prayer Room: From one ‘ezer to another

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SCENT MANAGEMENT

My second daughter turned 14 years old over this past weekend. As I watched her enjoy her birthday celebrations, I was reminded of her as a newborn infant, clutching to only me at first, rooting for my breast. Her actions were that of one who could detect the unique signature odor of her mother and rested in the comfort and trust which that scent represented.

I woke this morning being instructed by the Holy Spirit. As I slowly awoke, I heard the statements:
• “Sin multiplies.”
• “Sin carries a stench.”
• “Unclean spirits are attracted to that scent.”
• “Sin, when it is full blown, leads to death.”

I not only heard the statements but saw scripture references simultaneously: Genesis 6; Genesis 4; Romans 6; James 1. So I hopped out of bed, grabbed my study tools and, with the memory of my daughter as an infant and those 4 statements as my focal points, went to studying. I found out something very important: spirits are attracted by the spiritual odor I exude. My scent attracts and repels. Managing my spiritual scent then is another strategy of spiritual warfare.

In my research, I found out that each person has a distinct odor, a natural scent called their signature odor. For newborn infants, though they can’t recognize their mother by sight, their highly sensitive sense of smell causes them to recognize their mother by her natural scent, by her signature odor. I also discovered that my infant becomes so familiar with my scent that she can even detect the difference, in odor, between my breast milk and that of another mother’s. This is why mothers of newborn infants are often cautioned against wearing strong scents such as perfumes or fragrance skin products. The baby’s sense of smell is so sensitive that strong scents/odors can become overwhelming and interfere with their sense of taste.

Wanting to understand what the Spirit was teaching me, I delved further into my research on body odor. You see, I have learned from the word and from experience that the natural, physical world mirrors the spiritual world in some ways. If we exude scents/odors from our bodies from which others can detect and extract accurate information, then our spirits also exude scents/odors from which other spirits can detect and extract accurate information about our condition or state. Our body odor can inform a sensitive or highly trained individual of various body conditions (like problems with specific organs, hormonal changes, disorders), choices (like diet), emotional state, and life stages.

As I thought on this and its parallel in the spiritual realm, I was reminded of the fact that not only am I an ‘ezer, a watcher, but I am also being watched and being targeted. After all, I am in a war. Just as I am studying warfare, so that I would not be ignorant of my adversary’s devices, even so he is studying me as prey (1 Peter 5:8). The clues I give, through the scents my spirit exude, inform that predator of my state. Then he chooses whether to retreat or attack.

But this doesn’t only apply to me. It applies to everyone, even my children who may not be as skilled in the warfare as I am. I thought of my 14-year old daughter, her current stage in life and her hormonal shifts which will likely affect her emotional state. I thought of what “odor” she may be emitting spiritually that may get the attention and “favor” of unwanted spirits. I pictured them, just like the beast who crouched at Cain’s door, waiting for a foothold to enter in and master/overpower him (Genesis 4:5-7).

I thought, “For the sake of my children, I need to manage my spiritual scent so that my children’s spirit can always locate my unique, signature odor AND find that place of safety, comfort and rest.” I cannot afford for my scent to be masked by the cares and stresses of life, lest they would not be able to find their ezer warrior that God has assigned to them for their “help”. For their sake, I must manage my scent so that I do not attract unwanted attention and cause them to have to fight unnecessary battles.

This Mother’s Day 2020, I want to encourage you, as an ezer warrior for your family, to manage your scent. Don’t let your children or those entrusted in your care smell the stench of anxiety or fear exuding from you. Don’t let the cares of life so overwhelm and overcharge you that your environment becomes a beacon for unclean spirits. Fill your space with the aroma of sacrificial praise and sacrificial worship. Attract the presence and favor of God and repel the crouching and stalking of the adversary. This Mother’s Day reproduce for your children the first gift they got from you, after birth, the gift of your scent.

DIG DEEPER:
Bible Study: What’s that Smell?

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LOOK UP!

Excerpt from my prayer journal on 3/18/2020
I awoke this morning and laid in bed thinking about my day ahead. Today marks the first day that I will be teaching from home because of school closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak. School closures, social distancing, discretionary travel, cancellation of events, scarcity in the supermarkets, etc…. The list of the many things that are arresting our attention goes on and on, and we find ourselves distracted from our walk of faith.
As I lay in bed, several passages of scriptures came to mind. The first was Luke 21:26, 28 – Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:… And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

I thought about what Jesus said our response should be during times like these: LOOK UP and LIFT UP YOUR HEADS. So I hopped out of bed, grabbed my study gear and began to research what exactly was meant by those two phrases. I discovered that the former phrase (LOOK UP) refers to a change in attitude, while the latter ( LIFT UP YOUR HEAD) refers to a change in focus.
As I meditated on what I was discovering, I realized that the Spirit of God was counseling me so that I could experience victory during this season of pandemic. He was drawing my attention to the strategy Jesus had given almost two thousand years ago; a strategy that would not only ensure my survival but my victory.
Guard against distraction….DO NOT BE DISTRACTED!!

When men’s hearts’ begin to fail them for fear, that is a sign that we need to implement a new strategy.
CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE!
CHANGE YOUR FOCUS!
Your redemption is near!

Heavenly Father, please help me not to sorrow and wallow in Fear as the world is doing now. Help me not to allow Fear and all of the bad news to draw my attention away from what you expect of me. Teach me how to change my attitude and my focus and give me the strength to follow through on both, in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

DIG DEEPER:
1. Bible Study: Unbend
2. Prayer Room: Lord Guard My Focus (2)

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO REVISIT:
The Bible Study Series – Change of Focus, Change of Perspective
Blog Post – It Might Just Be an Illusion!
Bible Study – Maintaining Focus


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TIME MANAGEMENT: Warfare Against The PRESS

I awoke this morning remembering a vision that I awoke to about a year ago. It was a vision showing the state of spiritual activity on Earth. In the vision, I did not see fixed bodily forms but rather an understanding of concepts and truths revealed to us in scripture. In this “vision”, there were three layers of activity in the Earth.

  1. In the first and uppermost layer, there was Jesus seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come, with all things under His feet (Ephesians 1:20-22).
  2. In the second layer, the one far below Jesus Christ’s, there were these principalities, powers, mights, dominions, and all sorts of names actively moving around, influencing the activities of humans on Earth.
  3. The third layer, the lowest of the three, had at its top (just below the bottom of the second layer) the things that consume our daily living: jobs/careers, marriage/relationships, finances, children, desires, emotions, and the list went on and on. They circled and amassed as a crowd at the upper area of that third layer to the point where they became a barrier, a wall. I stood on the floor, at the bottom, of this third layer, with my hands outstretched and my eyes lifted in prayer. Though at my core I am a spirit, my physical body with its dependence on my physical senses to understand and navigate this physical world, kept me grounded, earth-bound, limited in my ability to pierce through the barriers of the second and third layers so as to partner with Jesus Christ in victory, through prayer.

Why did I get this vision? At the time, for about 3 weeks, I had been consistently spending quality time with the Lord, early in the morning, at the beginning of each day. This communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit was so consistent that I would awake in the morning hearing words of advice, counsel, and admonition.

I experienced what the prophet Isaiah spoke about in Isaiah 50:4 – “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.” I like how the NIV translation states it: The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.However, the week prior to my awakening with this vision, the constancy in my communion with the Holy Spirit was broken. The cause? Busyness. That week I was super busy. The busyness so drained me that I became tired and weary. I was so exhausted from the many obligations that I had to fulfill that I would awake late in the morning and not be able to have that quality time with the Holy Spirit. Getting the children to school on time and my arriving to work also on time became a great effort because of how worn out I felt.

Nonetheless, I awoke that morning with this picture in my mind and realized that the Holy Spirit was being my Help. He had penetrated the barrier of tiredness and exhaustion to reveal to me the attack and strategy of the enemy. I later called this strategy The PRESS. You see, the enemy had filled up my atmosphere with busyness so as to cause excessive exertion and lack of sleep. His purpose was to use the PRESS of my daily activities to block my access to the heavenlies. I learned in my Science classes that the atmosphere is very important to life on Earth and does many things to help protect life and help life to survive. The enemy’s agents in the second layer were influencing the timing of these activities to create a PRESS.

That morning the Holy Spirit taught me the importance of being aware of the condition of my atmosphere; the importance of being intentional in my warfare against the PRESS, which manifests as crowdedness. Crowdedness speaks of filling a space almost completely, leaving little or no room for movement.

The enemy’s desire is to keep us Earth-bound by keeping us crowded. When we are blocked in, our movements in the spiritual realm becomes restricted and we are unable to access our true position where we will experience victory. He works with TIME and uses time to frustrate our purposes so as to keep us locked in. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that the weapon of warfare needed to counteract this attack of the PRESS is the discipline of time management. Learning how to be and becoming disciplined as a manager of the time I am given will defeat CROWDEDNESS in my life.

Now why did I awake to this one-year old memory? Because promotion is fast approaching and I will be faced with some new obligations and new battles for which I lack experience. If I am to make my way prosperous and have good success at that new level, then I need to become more skillful in my warfare against the PRESS.

Could it be that the exhaustion and frustrations that you have been feeling lately are a result of the PRESS? Have you been crying to the Lord because you can’t seem to find TIME for Him as you would like? Join me as I continue to explore principles associated with this warfare gleaned from the lives of Zaccheus and Martha.

DIG DEEPER:

  1. Devotional: Isn’t There Anyone to Help Me?
  2. Bible Study: Surrounded? Run Before!

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New Year, New Training

This week has been a week of new year’s resolutions and goals for many. As I move around, I hear some speaking of this year as a time of newness and a fresh start. Others view it as an opportunity to start over or to attempt some things again. For me, this new year – this start of a new decade – is another opportunity to become more skillful in warfare; the kind of warfare which, at its roots, is about listening to and obeying God’s commands. With this year comes new training for battles for which I lack experience.

On New Year’s Day, on our way back from a 3-night revival service in Florida, I came across a passage of scripture that grabbed my attention. I later returned to the passage and dug deeper into it, so I could understand what the Holy Spirit wanted to disclose to me. The passage reads as follows:

Judges 3: 1-4 (NIV) These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan  (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience):  the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.  They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

This passage indicates a few things that called for my consideration:

  1. Warfare is taught.
  2. The teaching of or training in warfare is initiated and facilitated by God.
  3. Battle experience is necessary to develop skill in warfare.
  4. It is imperative that those who have not had previous battle experience be taught warfare.

Upon consideration, I began to ask myself a few questions, in light of the upcoming year:

  1. What battle experience(s) am I lacking?
  2. What has God allowed to remain in my life from the previous year(s) that would give me the necessary training and experience so that I can become more fit for and skilled in warfare?
  3. What “enemy” has been left in my life for testing and proving; to know whether I would listen and obey the commands of the Lord?

I concluded that, although I may have entered a new year, there will still be some old, remaining, or leftover things that I will have to deal with for my betterment. The Holy Spirit was impressing upon me to be careful not to offer wasted prayers, rebuking and cancelling the very things that the Lord has ordained for my growth and development. He cautioned me that, no matter how many people I hear declaring all newness, remember that all things will not be made new just because it is a new year. However, I must be mindful that those things which are not assigned to be made new, are essential for the perfection of my warfare.

Consequently, I look forward in anticipation to the upcoming new training that God has designed for me. I do not fool myself into thinking that it will be a walk in the park. I know that I will have some challenging moments and may even fail some of the lessons and accompanying tests. Nevertheless, I surrender to the training God has chosen for me and expect that, if I tarry, by the end of this year, I will be more skillful and experienced in warfare.  I would have gained more ground for the kingdom.

Therefore, I go forth this year joining with the psalmist David, declaring, “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” – Psalms 144:1 (NKJV). Will you join me in God’s School of Warfare?

DIG DEEPER:
Bible Study – The Greatest Teacher of Warfare

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A Weapon of War – ME

What if I was never born?

How would this world be different if my existence and all that such an existence affected were obliterated?

How have I changed the world in a positive way?

Today I celebrate the end and beginning of another year on earth. As I reflect on my day of birth and my purpose for being sent to earth by the Most High God, I am reminded of the fact that the knowledge of who I am is one of my greatest weapons in this spiritual war. I am reminded that I was sent as a unique weapon of warfare to facilitate change in this world; to promote the advancement of the kingdom of God here on earth. I am reminded that I matter, because my assignment matters. My assignment involves changing individuals, changing nations; enabling change that will cause the will of God to be manifested here on earth.

My reflections bring to mind the memory that my birth and existence spurred my mother to surrender her life to God, which resulted in my father’s salvation, changing the path and trajectory of my family’s life. His subsequent decision, as head of our home, to migrate to another island a few years after my birth, positioned me to reside in a number of different countries, providing me with different perspectives of life here on earth.  Further contemplations reveal how God used these various places of abode to familiarize me with diverse peoples and cultures, an act that would sharpen the weapon called ME.

Experiences such as being a young, single mother then marrying somewhat later in life – being given a second chance at being a mother – continued to shape me into the skilled weapon of warfare that God intended me to be. My marriage to my husband also changed the trajectory of his life, putting him on a path to affect the kingdom in ways that he never imagined. This marriage produced 3 warriors that I was blessed to be a carrier of; my three “arrows”, Persephanie, Grace, and John. The Holy Spirit reminds me that they too were sent on assignment to do great damage to and lead renown wars and revolutions against the kingdom of darkness.

What if I was never born? What would become of so many children who were born with special needs. Shortly after my marriage my husband and I founded the Visionaries for Christ Academy, an educational institution for children ages 6 weeks to 16 years old. Through this institution, we provided education for students with and without disabilities, as well as advocated for their rights to education. This advocacy affected change in our nation’s policies and laws in regards to special education students and their national assessments.

Of course, I cannot forget my assignment to the body of Christ. I reminisce on how God endowed me with the gift of teaching to influence the thought patterns/belief systems of the people of the kingdom as it relates to living as God intended humans to live in this world. I can see the faces of so many whose spiritual eyes were opened, because I yielded to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

This is what the Lord said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:24 (AMP), “But let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord.

Today I do not boast in myself. I boast in knowing the Lord and being able to carry out His assignment, His will and His counsel as it pertains to my being here on earth. I honor Him by being the vessel, instrument, and weapon that he created and fashioned me to be. I am a weapon of war fashioned by the Almighty.

DIG DEEPER:
1. Devotional : God’s Battle Ax
2. Bible Study: Jael, Wife of Heber the Kenite
3. Prayer Room: I Know Who I Am

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Bent Over!

I smile. I laugh. I do everything within my power to keep up appearances, because I do not want to rob my family of the wife and mother they deserve. But there are times when I am unable to be that ezerWatcher in their lives, because I am bent over.

In Luke 13:11-13, we are told of a woman who was bent over. We are told that the cause of her condition was the result of a spirit of infirmity that she had for 18 years. Was she bent over for those 18 years or did the permanency of the bent condition gradually set in? We were not told.

However, what we can surmise is that she was not in hiding. She was in public view; her plight was apparent to all. Yet only one, truly saw her need and responded to that needed. Her plight screamed so loudly (though she was silent), that it interrupted his activity.

We are told that Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues. When he saw her, he stopped teaching and called her to him. He didn’t call her to draw attention to her plight; rather he called her to give her a release that was overdue. He spoke a word of deliverance over her, laid his hands on her, and watched as 18 years of infirmity fell off her back. Immediately she was straight, no longer bent over!

As women, sometimes we struggle with some types of infirmities that may not be visible to the naked eye. Our bodies go through stages and phases that oftentimes even we do not understand. There are times when these infirmities put us in positions where we, like this woman, are unable to lift ourselves. We continue attending church. We continue with our daily tasks, not realizing that every day the burden of the infirmity is causing us to bend a little lower than the day before.

Eventually, we awake to the fact that we are completely bent over. We can no longer lift ourselves, nor those around us. This very lack of strength or ability to lift ourselves then becomes an additional weight of worry and guilt, because we are not able to function as the ezer we know we were created to be. The weight of that knowledge causes us to be even more bent over. If left unnoticed or unaddressed, gradually we become so bent that we find ourselves in a prison of despair.

But thanks be to God! We have a Savior who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). His ears are attuned to the silent screams of our hearts. He is never too busy to call us to himself, speak a word of deliverance over our lives, and lay his hands of healing upon us.

My sister, he is waiting for your response to his call today. Would you be made whole? Will you come to Jesus as he calls you today? Will you heed his invitation, come aside for a while, and allow him to cause all the weights you are carrying to fall off so that you can be straight again?

Every now and then we may find ourselves bending beneath the weight of life; the weight of being ezer. But we were not created to bear that weight alone. Jesus died so that we do not have to remain bent over!

DIG DEEPER:
1. Bible Study – The God Who Hears & Sees Me

***Infirmity – from the Greek word astheneia – means want of strength, weakness, infirmity
A. Of the body
– Its native weakness and frailty
– Feebleness of health or sickness

B. Of the soul – want of strength and capacity requisite
– To understand a thing
– To do things great and glorious
– To restrain corrupt desires
– To bear trials and troubles

***Bowed together – from the Greek word sygkypto – means bent completely forward, stooped together i.e. completely overcome by it.

***Lift up – from the Greek word anakyptoa – means to unbend (as in a reversal) i.e. to rise figuratively, be elated – look up.
– To raise or lift one’s self up (i) one’s body; (ii) one’s soul

*** Key Terms definitions are taken from Strong’s Concordance and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon.

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Time for a Check-up!

I can’t believe it! The end of the first quarter of the school year here in Berkeley County, South Carolina is fast approaching. I am in the process of entering grades in my gradebook, because report cards will soon be due. The grades represent what the students were able to achieve or learn this quarter and give some indication to areas where they may need extra help or support.

While I am in this mode of thought, I can’t help but think about my spiritual report card, particularly my report in regards to my prayer life, and consequently my warfare. As I meditate on this, two passages of scriptures come to mind.

The first was recorded by the writer of Hebrews where he makes mention of a “report” as well. He states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report….  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, ….” (Hebrews 11: 1-2, 39)

The second was written by Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church. It was not specifically speaking about a “report” but was encouraging the believers to do some self-examination or self-assessment. This is what he said, according to 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 in the Message translation: “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.”

The latter passage was referring to assessing oneself to determine whether or not they are in the faith. Tonight, I am taking heed to this advice and applying it to my prayer life. I am encouraged to take some time out for personal assessment, that is, self-reflection, and self-evaluation. The objective is to determine my areas of strengths and weaknesses, so that I can wage a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18).

Would you join me as I pull out my ezerWatchers Checklist as my measuring tool and invite the Holy Spirit to be my Evaluator who will reveal and lead me into truth? Consider these indicators/descriptors with me.

Which number best describes your skill level for each statement?
1-Never  2-Rarely  3–Seldom  4-Often 5-Always

  1. I pray according to the will of God.
    – I research God’s word as it pertains to the situation. ________
    – I gather information about the issue/situation before praying.  _________
    – I accept the truth about the information gathered. ________
    – I seek God’s will regarding the situation. ________
  2. I am aware of when I may be contrary or opposed to the will of God.
    – I am honest about my feelings regarding the issue/situation.  ________
    – I war against my contrary will. _______
    – There are times when I war against my intellect. _______
    – I am aware of the distractions in my internal and external environment.  _________
    – I research God’s word as it pertains to distractions in my internal and external environment. ________
  3. I engage in prayer in different dimensions.
    – I pray prayers of confession as it pertains to my perceptions. ________
    – I pray prayers of submission as it pertains to my emotions. ________
    – I use different forms/types of prayer. _______
    – I have a strategy for overcoming these distractions in my internal and external environment. ________
  4. My prayers are led by the Holy Spirit.
    – My spiritual sight is corrected through the lens of my prayer. _________
    – My prayers are guided by my spiritual sight and not my perceptions. ________
    – My prayers are guided by my spiritual sight and not my emotions. ________
    – My prayers are led by the Holy Spirit, proactive – not just reactive. _______
    – I use a weapon in which I am skilled during prayer. ________
  5. Although I pray any and everywhere and at any time, I have routines associated with my communication with God.
    – I have a set place in my home where I meet with God. ________
    – I know the primary channel of communication through which God communes with me. _________
    – I have set times in my daily schedule when I meet with God. _______

So what did your results reveal?
In which of the 5 categories did you see more strengths? In which did you see more weaknesses?
Revisit 2 Corinthians 13: 5-6 (MSG) – “Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, …. If you fail the test, do something about it.”

I borrow this excerpt from The Art of War by Sun-Tzu: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”

Getting regular check-ups through self-reflection and self-evaluation positions us for victory in the war.

DIG DEEPER –  For more information on:

1. Praying according to the will of God, check out
– Lord, Please Guard My Focus (1);
– Strategy for Warfare (2)

2. Being aware of when I may be contrary or opposed to the will of God, check out
– Lord, Please Guard My Focus (2);
– It Might Just Be an Illusion;
– The Woman & The Serpent (2);
– Change of Focus = Change of Perspective

3. Engaging in prayer in different dimensions, check out
– Warfare Against Fear;
– Warfare for My Children;
– Warfare: Obedience Conquers Fear;
– Be Rid of The “Thorns”

4. Being Led by the Spirit in Prayer, check out –
A Cry for Discernment;

5. Routines associated with my communication with God, check out –
– Tactical Position: Listen Up!

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CARRIERS: Make That Right Connection!

If you look at me, you would never know it, but I am a carrier of the sickle cell disease (SCD). I have inherited one sickle cell gene from my mother and a normal gene from my father, so I have what they call the sickle cell trait (SCT). For the most part, I do not have any of the symptoms of SCD, but I can pass the trait on to my children. One of my three biological children have inherited SCT and now has the potential of passing it on to her children.

Of my mother’s three biological children, I am the only one who inherited a sickle cell gene. I am the only carrier. When she was pregnant with me, she was not knowledgeable of the fact that she had the SCD. However, her lack of knowledge did not prevent her from passing that gene to me. Without her knowledge and without her permission, that gene was passed on. Why? Because she is a carrier. Now I am a carrier and my eldest daughter is also a carrier.

If you are reading this, then you are a carrier. In fact, God has designed every living organism to be a carrier. None of us can begin to comprehend all that we are carrying. The possibilities are infinite but materialization of what we are carrying become evident when we make connections. Our connections determine the physical expressions or observable characteristics of what we are carrying.

My father does not have any sickle genes. If he had married a woman who also did not have any sickle genes, then he would never have produced a child with SCT. On the other hand, if my mother had married a man with SCD, like herself, then all of her children would have had SCD.

The physical expressions or observable characteristics of what we are carrying are dependent on our connections. The connection can be physical, like a marital connection or a business connection. On the other hand, the connection can be spiritual, like connecting with the Holy Spirit.

Abraham understood that God had separated him and had chosen his lineage to be the carriers of the Promised Seed. So, when it was time for his son Isaac to be connected to a wife, Abraham was sure to let God handpick that connection. We can think of other connections:

  1. David, whose connection to some vagabond men described as in distress, in debt, and discontented, produce his mighty men of valor, renowned in scripture (1 Samuel 22:2)
  2. Naomi and Ruth, whose connection produced a faithful daughter of the God of Israel.
  3. Paul and Timothy, whose connection transformed a timid young man into a bold bishop of the church of Ephesus.
  4. Aquila, Priscila and Apollos, whose connection produced a mighty evangelist for the kingdom.

Of all the connections we can have, the Holy Spirit is the one that we should first pursue to see the manifestation of the will of God. Scripture teaches of the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing revelation to us of those things that God has already prepared for us when He created us as his workmanship; those things that we are carrying buried within us. The word of the Lord declares in

1 Corinthians 2: 6-11 (TPT)
However, there is a wisdom that we continually speak of when we are among the spiritually mature. It’s wisdom that didn’t originate in this present age, nor did it come from the rulers of this age who are in the process of being dethroned. 

Instead, we continually speak of this wonderful wisdom that comes from God, hidden before now in a mystery. It is his secret plan, destined before the ages, to bring us into glory.

None of the rulers of this present world order understood it, for if they had, they never would have crucified the Lord of shining glory.

This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine – these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers.

But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit. Yes, he has revealed to us his inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things.

After all, who can really see into a person’s heart and know his hidden impulses except for that person’s spirit? So it is with God. His thoughts and secrets are only fully understood by his Spirit, the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 2:10 (TPT) – We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

When you make the right connections and create environments conducive to growth, i.e. conducive to the activity of God, you would be amazed at the change that can be effected in the earth. When we connect with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, we create such an environment and are then able to birth forth the things that God has ordained us to.

Would you make that right connection today?

DIG DEEPER:
1. Devotional: What are you carrying?
2. Bible Study: CARRIERS: Authorized Transportation Agents