What's the plan?

Hold on and Hold out, Help is on the Way!


Ps 46:1- God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

There are times everything in our world gets turned upside down. There are times when all the plans we have made, suddenly change. We have been living our life and the doctor tells us that we have an incurable disease. Or perhaps one spouse says to another, I don’t love you anymore. Or perhaps it is your 16 year old who tells you they are pregnant. These unwanted misfortunes can and will cross, social, racial and economic barriers. No one is exempt from these and many other adversities.

The word trouble in the above psalm refers to being pressed in; like being between a rock and a hard place. Many people today find themselves in that position. Psalm 46 furnishes the background for assuring the people that God will be present whatever the outward circumstances. We have to hold on, hold out because help is on the way.

Some of these tribulations can become pretty intense in severity and nature. Have you been feeling like you are in a pressure cooker and can’t get out? Some are under severe stress, and not just with the external and more obvious issues; some are fighting with inward struggles. These inward struggles come in the form of fear, doubt, worry, stress, insecurity. On the outside everything looks fine, but on the inside we are screaming and we wonder why no one hears us. There is brokenness in our spirits, and in our hearts.

God often uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop. It takes broken grain to give bread. He will take a broken heart and mend it back together. He will take the broken things of your life and produce something good. Isa 61:3- To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

The plan today is to go to God and give him our ashes, the things that have burned up in our lives so that he can give us beauty. The things that have caused us to mourn or have hurt us and caused us to be sad, we give HIM these so that he can give us the oil of joy. And if you feel that you have gone as far as you can and you can’t take another step. He will give you the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

We have a spiritual adversary we are fighting every day. Whether you choose to believe it or not. He wants to wear us down and wear us out. He does not want us to have any joy. Joy is different from happiness. Joy is eternal; it is based upon who the Lord Jesus Christ is in us. Happiness is temporal. It is based upon my outward circumstances and feelings. That’s why the bible declares the Joy of the Lord is my strength. We go through all that we do that God might get some glory out of our lives.

Be encouraged today, even in your darkest hour God has a plan for your life. The plan today is to place all your trust in God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. I may not understand everything that is happening around me, but I do know this God is still in control.

For we know that all things are working together. The good things, the bad things the not so pleasant things, they are all working together. Hold on, Hold Out, Help is on the Way. What’s the plan? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. God Loves you and so do I…. Pastor Tammy

Sight but no vision

Where are you going? Where are you headed in life? Do you have a goal or destination in mind? What is the vision for your life? Too many people walk around and don’t have any idea where they are going. A nowhere destination always results from a nowhere plan.

Hellen Keller was asked “What would be worse than being born blind?” She replied, “to have sight without vision.” Proverbs 29:18 says “that where there is no vision the people perish”. With a vision life has direction. What you can see is what you can be.

People with vision possess two things: they know where they are going and they are able to persuade others to follow. Hebrews 11:1 says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is vision and vision is seeing a worthy possibility before it actually takes place. To fulfill a God given vision you must take the limits off your thinking. Why it is that two people can be in the same place at the same time and both see entirely different things? Could it be that we see what we are prepared to see? In other words, what you see if what you get.

I want to encourage you today to look within yourself. What do you see? Vision starts from within! Look behind you, what have you learned? Leonard Lauder, president of Estee Lauders Said “When a person with experience meets a person with money, the person with experience will get the money. And the person with the money will get the experience. Look ahead of you what is the big picture? Look above yourself, what is God expecting of you? Great visions are bigger than one person. Look beside you, what resources are available to you? A vision should be greater than the person who has it. Look around you, who are the people you are associating with? When a vision is hindered it is usually a people problem!

While pursuing your vision remember to put in the things you love. People carry pictures of other people and things they love with them. And remember to achieve the vision you are pursuing takes time. So, take time to stop and rest, smell the flowers, encourage someone and stay your course. We all need to be refreshed from time to time, mentally and physically.

To fuel your vision you must have passion. Passion shows itself in different ways in different people. Vision is more than just a mental image of the future. Vision sees a better, more desirable future and provides direction and fuels motivation for its achievement. To turn your vision into reality:

• You must picture the vision

• Give your heart to the vision

• Make sure your vision pleases God

• Get focused

• Get organized to accomplish your vision

• Step out on faith and take a risk

• Put your faith into action

God’s gift to me is my potential. My gift back to God is what I do with that potential. Revisit, revamp and renew the vision for your life. And let’s not be a person who has sight but no vision!!! God Loves You and so do I. Pastor Tammy

Rest for your weary souls

Matt 11:28-12:1-Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Are you struggling with life? Are you hurting inside? Is there something you need that you’ve learned just doesn’t exist anywhere else? Perhaps you have been going and going and there does not seem to be an end to it all. Are you taking care of a parent whose health is failing them? Or maybe you have gone from a two income household to a one income household. Do you feel the stress of day to day living pressing in upon you?

Christ paints two pictures in the passage above. One picture is of extreme weariness. This is the person who has gone as far as they can; they can go no farther, they cannot take another step. The other picture is of extreme pressure. This is the person is about to explode; they cannot take anymore. Christ does not say what caused the weariness or pressure (heavy burdens) whatever caused the weariness or the pressure he gives a great and open invitation to all. He says Come unto him.

The first invitation is to come. Who is to come? The weary and the burdened the person who is laboring and heavy laden, weary and burden, exhausted and despairing, extremely tired and weighed down, ready to stop and collapse.

What are some of the things that exhaust us: relationships, work, family, activities, and fears, just to name a few?

Jesus is a keen observer of people. His eyes are always wide open to people, to their situations, to their struggles and to their burdens. We never see Jesus distracted or disinterested. Even at times when He is on His way to important events, the church, dinner, a meal with friends, He allows for unscheduled interactions and interruptions involving people.

Why should the weary and heavy laden come to Christ, very simply, Christ will give them rest. Christ will give rest to the struggling and despairing soul and to the empty and lonely soul no matter how intense the struggle and despair or the emptiness and loneliness. No person has gone too far for Christ to inject His rest into him, if the person will call only upon Christ.

What are the conditions for finding this rest? There is only one condition. A person must simply take Christ yoke and begin to learn of Him. This simply means that we are to learn how to live and labor under his leadership direction, guidance and care.

Every man has his yoke, that is, his life to life and his task to do while on earth. There are plenty of roads in life that promise joy, health, peace, or transformation. Most of them, however, don't lead in that direction. You can literally exhaust yourself seeking all the things the world promises you if you just work harder and spend more money.

There is rest for your weary souls! Come, Take, and Find Rest. God Loves You and so do I…. Pastor Tammy

Think on These Things

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Our life today is a result of our thinking yesterday. Our life tomorrow will be determined by what we are thinking today. What occupies our mind and what we think means more than anything else in our life.

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, honest, just pure, lovely of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. The word think means to consider reflect reason and ponder. The idea is that of focusing our thoughts until they shape our behavior. The truth is:

§ What we think is what we become
§ Where we have kept our minds is where we are
§ Our thoughts shape our behavior
§ What we do is what we think

A person who centers his thoughts upon the world and its things will live for the world and its things: money, wealth, lands, property, houses, power, position recognition and a host of other worldly pursuit. A mind that is set upon the world and the flesh is what leads to anxiety, and worry, emptiness and restlessness. A worldly mind never knows peace, not true peace, not the peace of God.

Think on these things. Whatever things are true (real and genuine) Many things in the world seems to be true, but they are not, they are false and deceptive, an illusion, and a counterfeit. They seem to offer peace but the offer is deceptive.

We are not to fill our minds with junk whether through rumors, radio, television or even in music. Be careful what you set your heart on for you’ll surely get it. Be careful about what occupies your mind, because it will greatly determine what you’ll become tomorrow. If you think you can, you can. If you think you are, you are.

Our life must be influenced by our expectations, not by our experiences, others examples or even exhilaration .

It’s amazing how many people allow their thinking to determine how much they accomplish in life. Comments such as: “Its never be done before” or don’t get your hopes up too much “have hindered the potential of many would be achievers in life. In the words of the children’s book: The Little Engine that could, we can all recite the words, “I think I can, I think I can”. And yes we will. As a man thinketh so is he. The mind is a powerful thing; and a terrible thing to waste. Let us redirect our thinking so we can ultimately redirect our lives. God Loves You and so do I….. Pastor Tammy