All Things Encouraging

1 Thessalonians 2:11: Encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, Who calls you into His Kingdom and glory.

By Me

Matthew 7:7: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Hi everyone,

I know I testified about this in church yesterday, but I wanted to testify to those who hadn’t heard it already. It may seem something small, but it was really big to me. Thank God for the messages that He shows us, in both the great and small.

I had a manual that a friend let me keep for a while. She asked if I could give it back to her yesterday during church. I thought I remembered where it was, and went to get it before going out in the morning. Alas, it was not there. I began looking all around the house, but couldn’t find it. I even went out and tore apart my car and van, but it wasn’t there. I became exasperated. I felt bad that I had lost something that a friend had trusted me with. Of course that old devil tried to make me feel worse, and planted the thought to stay home from church yesterday because I would be embarrassed to face my friend. Thank the Lord I have learned (and am still trying to put into practice) to not entertain those crazy thoughts, and immediately cast it out of my mind. I felt so bad that I called her to apologize, and asked her to give me one more week to find it–I was going to scour the house (thank God that I got a break and didn’t have to “face” her on the phone…I left a voicemail…smile!)

Well, just before I was getting ready to leave to go to church, I had to go into my closet to get my coat. All of a sudden, I looked down and saw a bag that I haven’t carried for quite a while sitting on top of my shoes. I bent over to pick it up, and what was in there but the manual I had been looking for. To me, this bag was my ram in the bush! I immediately turned around and praised God, and who was standing there but little Katrina. She saw my excitement and simply said, “mommy, I just prayed that you would find it, and you did.”

Can I say WOW!!! Again, talk about “and a child shall lead them!” Here I was, all flustered and upset. I didn’t even THINK to pray, but she did, and SHE SAW THE RESULT. God is soooo good. I thank Him for His forgiveness when I repented of my worry and anger, and I thank Him for another lesson to both my little girl (who already knew it) and myself that all we have to do is come to Him, with ANYTHING, pray, and trust Him to answer our prayers.

Really encouraged me that God cares for EVERYTHING about us, and reminds me of the wonderful thing we have in prayer! I hope it does you as well!

Here is a new favorite song of mine that the girls and I sang all the way to church yesterday morning…”Put it on the Altar.” Thank God that “it’s going to be alright!”

Love you!
Janine

By Me

Matthew 7:1-3: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

This message came to me while watching TD Jakes this morning. He was talking about how we all have “issues.” We all have things that we are battling with everyday. Noone is exempt. He was preaching on Paul and how he said that he had “many tears and temptations.” I think that can pretty much describe us all. The Word says that even Jesus was in all ways tempted as we, yet without sin.

None of us is good in ourselves. The only good in us is because of Jesus. Our own righteousness is like filthy rags, but we are truly made righteous in Christ.

I have been convicted on this point. When I see something going on that I may not agree with, I can be quick to say that is wrong and how could people do/say that. Yet, when I do something wrong, I come up with excuses to justify it, or at least minimize it in my own mind.

And yet, sin is sin. Rather than judging or condemning, I am learning to be more compassionate and loving (both with others and myself). That’s what Jesus did. When He faced those who had problems, or when people were brought to Him that MAN thought deserved punishment (i.e. the woman caught in adultery…and yet, where was the man? But I digress…), He didn’t condemn them, He didn’t brow beat them and make them feel worse. He also didn’t overlook their sin or minimize it. No, He simply said, “Go and sin no more.” That was a statement in itself. Paraphrasing, “I know what you’ve done. What you’ve done was not right. But I don’t condemn you for it. I forgive you. Forgive yourself, and go on and don’t do it again.”

What a loving God we serve. Yes there are consequences to sin, the wages (or payment) for sin is death. BUT GOD. If we bring those sins to Him, if we come before Him in repentance, He responds to us not with judgement, but with mercy and love. He cleanses us from the stain and guilt of sin, sets us back on the “right road,” and simply tells us to go and sin no more.

This was a very different word than what I usually send out, but it’s the word that the Lord has placed on my heart. If someone is tired of the sin they are in, and wants help, just bring it to Jesus. He knows all about it anyways. Open up your heart to Him, let Him take it and clean you, and be made whole.

And for those of us who tend to be critical or judgmental, let’s not worry about others’ specks, when we’ve got planks. Let’s repent of our planks, and pray for the specks of others. Then we can all be made whole.

Love you much!
Janine

By Pam Robinson

1 Samuel 1

6.1 million women ages 15-44 cannot have children. They are infertile/barren.
Barren: unfruitful, unproductive. Can’t conceive. There is something stopping and keeping the woman from becoming pregnant.
In the Kingdom: how many of US are barren when it comes to spiritual babies?
Hannah: married to Elkanah. One of two wives (Peninah). Barren. The Bible says that the Lord closed her womb.

Reasons for barrenness in the natural:
1. Environmental circumstances: stress: Hannah vs. Peninah
2. Scar tissue: due to inflammation.

What was inflaming Hannah?
1. Anger: at Elkanah, at Peninah, maybe even at the Lord?
2. Jealousy
3. Sadness
4. Bitterness
5. Depression
These things were scarring her heart so that nothing could get through.

1 Samuel 1:7: Peninah provoked her even in church.
Hannah wept: cried, complained, regret, lamented
She told God she was upset.

Hannah didn’t eat.
Ezekiel 3:1-3: The son of man eating the scroll (the Word of God). To eat: read, meditate, ingest, digest, get it into you.
The Word is also called a seed.
Luke 8: 11, 14
Thorns=scar tissue
Choked=an obstruction
Something is stopping the seed from going through and connecting successfully.

How long has Hannah been in this situation? Year by year.
The woman with the issue of blood: 12 years
Luke 13: the woman with the spirit of infirmity: 18 years
John 5: the man at the pool of Bethaisda, 38 years
How long have WE been in OUR situations?

1 Kings 19:5: Elijah is depressed. The Angel of the Lord said: ARISE and EAT. Elijah was about to give birth. He couldn’t stay where he was. He had to deliver.
Arise: to lift up, bare down, and push.
God’s needs us to do something for Him.
We are His birth mothers. That’s why He gave us a womb. There are some things God gave us to carry that a man can’t. We can’t get bogged down with our issues–not now. We’ve been here too long. RELEASE. We’ve got some babies we must give birth to.

1 Samuel 1:9: So Hannah arose: she came to herself (like the prodigal son). She made a decision.
We can’t wait for somebody else. God has given US what we need. God is saying to us…Come Forth.
Hannah also changed her focus. She was looking down, but now she was looking up.
She prayed in her bitterness: while she was in her situation.
With a change in focus, she went into the Tabernacle: The Presence.
Lord of Host: a source of nutrition. GOD became her source.
She made a vow: not just a promise. A commitment.
We need to make a vow that we’re not going to stay where we are. We are NOT leaving 2012 the way we came in.
Psalm 37:4: To delight: to join ourselves with the Lord. We must commit our way to the Lord, trust Him, and let Him do what we’ve committed to Him. (Psalms 37:5)
Micah 4:13: Arise and Thresh
Thresh: to separate from some stuff (relationships, friends, whatever is our “stuff.”)
Hannah got up, separated herself, and went into the Presence of God.
The end of the story: she got pregnant and had Samuel (one of the greatest prophets of all times). **If Hannah gave up, look at what may not have been born.
1 Corinthians 2:9
We CAN’T give up. We must NOT die in our situations.
There are women that need to hear what God has put in us.
We as women have to come together and hold each other’s hands up and help each other up.
God has given EACH OF US a womb.
God made us special.
We weren’t made out of dirt like man. We were made out of the rib.
We must ARISE, GET IN GOD’S PRESENCE, FIND OUT WHAT OUR BABY IS, and then DO IT.
Some of us are OCTOmoms!
We have many talents and gifts. We must use them for God’s glory. Then we will see the blessings of the Lord.
We have spiritual descendants to birth.
Somebody is going to get saved, healed, and delivered due to our gifts.
We simply need to do what we can do.
The word for 2012 is ARISE.
We must become an army of women, and MOVE FORWARD.

By Me

Ok, I’m going to crush the devil’s head with this one. I tried to type it once, but my computer stopped right at the end, and did not save it, so I have to type it again. The more the aggravation in getting the word out, the more I know it will bless someone, so I’m going to type it again–the enemy is DEFEATED! I bind the prince of the air (computer waves) right now in the Name of Jesus!

I woke up this morning with today’s title on my mind. Here’s the background: God made a promise to Abraham that he would have a son, through his wife. This doesn’t sound too impressive, but consider that Abraham was 75 and Sarah was 65 at the time. It woud have been a miracle for them to have a baby at THIS age, NEVERMIND 25 YEARS LATER WHEN THEY ACTUALLY DID (ages 100 and 90 respectively!)

Romans 4 breaks it down even more. Two HUGE obstacles stood in the way of Isaac’s birth: 1. Abraham’s body was “as good as dead” being that he was 100 years old, AND 2.Sarah’s womb was also dead. But, did these FACTS stop Abraham from believing in God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promise? No! Although they were FACTS, they were NOT the TRUTH! Verse 20 says [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strenghened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. Verse 18 says that “against all hope, Abraham believed in hope, and so became the father of many nations.”

This word really stokes me up this morning. I don’t know about you, but I have a few Isaac situations in my life right now. They look dead, maybe even beyond dead, YET, I now what God has promised me, I know what it says in His Word, and I will be like Abraham. I will NOT waver through unbelief, I will be STRENGTHENED in my faith, I will GIVE GLORY TO GOD, and I will be FULLY PERSUADED that God not only has the power to do what He has promised, but HE WILL DO IT AS WELL.

This is my encouragement to YOU today as well. You may be facing some “Isaac situations” in your life. But, you know God has made you a promise. HOLD ON TO HIS WORD. HOLD ON TO YOUR PROMISE. Remember, His promises are yes and Amen! NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES…GOD IS FAITHFUL, and your promise (and mine) WILL COME TO PASS!

Know that I LOVE YOU, and our Isaacs WILL BE BORN!

Have a GREAT day!
Janine

Sermon by Pastor Alton Burrow

1 Chronicles 4:10: Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

God grants favor and petitions.
Granted: to give what is requested. Whatsoever!

Romans 15:4: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

When God grants it, it is done.
God can stop our struggles.
We need to be expecting that God’s power is going to come our way.
Something GOOD is going to happen to us because we are children of God.
God is NOT limited in His gift-fiving.
We need to be expecting and ready to receive.
Whatsoever: all who, which, what, that
God’s Word is our hope.
God’s Word is alive. It’s real.
What God has promised in the Word is ours, but we’ve got to receive it by faith.
We don’t need to be intimidated by the devil–he is defeated. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.
God said to put Him in rememberance of His Word.
We have to be able to say what the Word says.
We need to put the devil on notice.
What God did for Jabez, He is still willing and able to do for us–if we only believe.
God let Jabez have it just like he wanted it.
God always seems to over-answer our prayers.
When God answers prayer, He answers prayer (i.e.feeding the children of Israel the quail).
We serve an over-abundance God.

John 10:10: “[Jesus] came that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

If you are going THROUGH something, you’re going TO something…a wealthy place.
We are headed to something better than what we’ve got–God is an ever increasing God.
If there is nothing impossible with God (and there is), then we need to start believing.
We need to get radical and fanatical with our faith.
We need to grab the horns of the altar and not let go until God blesses us.
We’ve got to know what we’ve been trained to do.
All that we’ve been complaining about, we’ve already been trained to do it.
We must keep our swords sharp.

Mark 16:27: With men it’s impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

It’s not the American dream, but the Kingdom dream (all over the world. God is not limited only to America).
Our blessing stays and goes with us.
We are heirs according to the promise.

Ephesians 3:20: Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or imagine/think, according to His power that is at work within us.
If we think it, it’s MORE.

Ephesians 3:14-19
v.16: Grant
v.19: that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
*There’s MORE to this thing.

It’s time to change our feelings.
We’ve got to say we’ve got it. We’ve got to talk it.

If we can get our finite minds to exceed their limitations, we can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6)

1 Corinthians 2: 9-15

1 Corinthians 2:16: We have the mind of Christ.

We can’t think like the world (Romans 12:2).

The mind of Christ is His Word.
An intellectual mind can’t comprehend the things of God…they are spiritually discerned.
The things of God can only be understood by the mind of Christ.
God’s Word is our life-line.
Men are trying to teach the Word of God with carnal perceptions.

Galatians 1:8

John 15:7
The more we get the Word in us, the more we can ask according to it, the more will be done/given unto us.
Abide: to live in
We need to get beyond ourselves and get into the Word.
One word from God can change our lives.

Luke 10:19

Proverbs 10:22

Psalm 37:4

Isaiah 59:19
NO WEAPON that is formed against us shall prosper–we are COVERED.

Psalms 91:11-12

By Me

“Time and time again, life hasn’t gone according to plan. Time and again things happen–no matter how challenging, how painful, or how unexpected. And yet, through it all, one thing remains: God Always Wins.”

I must tell you that God is soooo good! He truly gives us what we need, exactly when we need it. The above is an exerpt from the book, “Role of a Lifetime” by James Brown. As a matter of fact, it is the last exerpt in the book. The whole book was good, but exactly what I needed was this very last thought–God Always Wins.

When I was reading this book, I had just experienced something that was so painful to me. It truly was challenging, and very unexpected, so these words rang true to my spirit as soon as I read them.

It was so good to be reminded that it didn’t matter what I was feeling at that particular time, no matter how much of a failure I felt that I was, no matter how defeated I felt in the situation, GOD ALWAYS WINS. And because He is in me, I ALWAYS WIN AS WELL. You know that adage, you may lose the battle, but you win the war–that’s true for all Christians. Many battles we may SEEM to lose, but just hold on, because the ULTIMATE VICTORY is ALREADY ours. Satan is not GOING to be defeated, he has ALREADY been defeated–not just yesterday, or last month, but over 2000 years ago when Jesus said “It is finished” on the cross. So, as we acepted Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross and allowed Him to become Savior and Lord over our lives, we became winners right at that moment. And winners are conquerors over the situations that they face. The Bible says that we are not JUST conquerors, but we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS because of Jesus’ love for us.

So, in reading that exerpt, I may have felt down, but, thank God, I DIDN’T STAY DOWN. As Jesus rose on the third day, so my spirit rose in reading these words–GOD ALWAYS WINS.

And as I was encouraged, I encourage you today. No matter what defeated situation you may be facing, no matter how much of a failure you feel that you may be, no matter how difficult the giant seems before you, remember you are MORE THAN A CONQUEROR THROUGH CHRIST JESUS; remember, YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU; remember, THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS; and remember, GOD ALWAYS WINS.

I love you all–you are all winners to me!
Janine

By Me

I woke up this morning with this song on my mind. You know, many times we get happy and excited over those doors that God opens, but we should be equally happy and excited over those that He closes. He doesn’t close them to punish us or to make us mad (even though, at the time, sometimes we do get mad, and at Him! Pretty foolish, but we do). No, He closes them to keep us from hurt and harm. You know, those things seen and unseen that we pray about? Well, thank God He sees and knows it all, even when we don’t. That old adage that what you don’t know can’t hurt you is not necessarily true. Alot of times, what we don’t know can and will hurt us, but what WE may not know, GOD does, and He protects us from it all.

So, enjoy not only this video, but particularly the words, and let’s THANK GOD for BLOCKING all the “its” in our lives!

Love you!

Janine

There were dangers awaiting me
Destruction was sure to be
But thank God for Angels
That were shielding and protecting
And looking out for me
Thank You lord

The Devil had a plan to kill me, I know
But God intercepted his plan
And told the devil, no
God blocked it
He wouldn’t let it be so
No He wouldn’t let it be so

Haven’t lived a perfect life
Seems I’ve done wrong more than I’ve done right
But thank God for compassion and forgiveness
That kept me from a terrible plight

You see, my life was spinning out of control
The fact that I’m still a live today
Ain’t nothing, nothing but a miracle

God blocked it
He wouldn’t let it be so
No, He wouldn’t let it be so

For I’ve got work to do
work to do

God wouldn’t let me die
Because He knew I had work to do

Oh yes

And I’ve got life to live
There are blessings
He want’s to give
God blocked it,
He wouldn’t let it be so
No, He wouldn’t let it be so

God blocked it
He wouldn’t let it be so

It was the lord
Nobody but Jesus

By Me

Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

I’m telling you, since the beginning of this year, I have already learned or re-learned some important lessons. I already told you about the one on integrity and compassion that I saw in my girls. Well, even before that happened, I learned another one, on patience, right in the first few minutes of 2012.

The girls and I had gone to welcome in the New Year at First Night in Raleigh. We had a great time seeing the Big A drop…not the apple seen in Time Square, but the acorn (don’t quite know it’s significance, but that’s what it was). We had just left the festivities and gone back to our car to leave. Our car was parked on the sixth floor of a parking garage, and needless to say, there was a traffic jam. No cars were moving, and people were getting pretty impatient. People got out of their cars, horns were blown, and shouts were made. It was getting pretty bad in there, so bad that it scared Katrina and made her cry. In an effort to calm her down, I told her that we were ok, that God was with us and wouldn’t let anything happen to us, and her sister and I tried to get her to go to sleep, but we couldn’t. She said she wished that the police were there so that they could take control and restore order. She was just panicked.

We remained in that situation for about 50 minutes, when all of a sudden, we see the blue and red sirens of a police car! I don’t know how they got there (I would say through the prayers of a little girl!), but there they were, driving against traffic and restoring peace. In just a minute, the traffic jam was resolved, and we moved quickly out of the parking garage. On the way down, we saw that the floors below us were already empty, and we were able to move out in no time flat.

As we were driving, I thought about the whole situation and how it related to us being patient in life. I always say that we all have to wait at some point in our lives, so we might as well learn how to wait well. Delays and disappointments happen. Things don’t always go according to our time table. What should we do when this happens? Should we act out impatiently, ranting and raving and looking foolish during this time, or should we simply calm down, relax, and wait for things to happen at the appointed time, or, as the Word says, in the fullness of time? Our acting out is not going to speed up the process, so we should just keep our wits about us, go on doing what we need to do, and patiently wait. My pastor always says that “God is the slowest thing to ever show up on time.” I have learned that this is so true!

One other lesson that I learned is that while we were up on the sixth floor, we didn’t think anything was happening, as we didn’t see any cars moving. But, as we drove down to the floors beneath us, we saw that things were actually clearing out. Although we didn’t see it, it was happening just the same. Isn’t that how it is with God? We may be in situations when we don’t think that anything is happening, that we are stuck, and nothing is going on. But this is the furthest thing from the truth. God is always working, whether we realize it or not. I’ve heard it said that sometimes He works on the right hand, where we can see His work openly and plainly as He demonstrates His power, and sometimes He works on the left. It is at this time that He is more behind the scenes (remember Esther…God’s name is not mentioned in the book, yet He certainly was involved in what was going on!), but although we can’t see Him, He’s there, and He’s working everything out for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thank God for the lessons that He allows us to see and learn, even in the “ordinary” things of life. May we remember that we will always have waiting times, and during that time, may we wait in calm expectation that our due season/fullness of time WILL come. God WILL show up. As we continue to delight ourselves in Him, He WILL give us the desires of our hearts (Psalms 37:4). And, when we can’t SEE Him, and we can’t TRACE Him, we must continue to TRUST that He is still with us and still working on our behalf. Suddenly, what was on the left hand will shift to the right, and we will SEE the answer to our prayers. Our faith will become sight–and what a GLORIOUS day that will be!

Waiting patiently with you (Help me, Lord! Smile!)

Janine

By Me

Matthew 5:37:
37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Gee, it seems that I am learning alot of lessons this week. I love it how God shows you things in the midst of what seem like normal occurrences.

This is the background…Katrina had wanted to participate in a science fair, but was having difficulty getting her project together. She did not get it done in time, and felt bad because the winner was to get a number of special tickets for which they could buy whatever they wanted in the school bookstore. Kendall felt bad for Katrina and told her not to worry about it; she would give her 50 of her tickets so she could still buy something nice. What a great gesture from a nice big sister!

Well, that was a couple of months ago. Now we are up to yesterday. I think Kendall thought that Katrina forgot about those tickets, but she should know that there is no way that Trina is going to give up a prize…so she asked Kendall for her 50 tickets. At this time, Kendall was not so gracious because she only has 54 left, and that would leave her with only 4. Here they come to momma arguing about what should be done. I knew this would be a hard lesson for Kendall, but I had to let her know that she had promised the tickets to Katrina, so even if it currently meant a sacrifice for her, she still had to do it, and give her the tickets.

Needless to say that Kendall wasn’t happy, but she understood. I felt good about the lesson that I thought was being taught through all of this–no matter what the cost or sacrifice, if we give our word or promise something, we need to do our best to do what we said we would do. That’s integrity, and is a great virtue to have and be known for.

Lesson taught, lesson learned, and I thought all was finished, but what happened next really touched my heart. Katrina saw how it hurt Kendall to have to give her the tickets, so, on her own, she offered to let Kendall keep the tickets and said she didn’t have to give them to her. Wow–COMPASSION!! Almost brought tears to my eyes! In the end, they struck a compromise–Kendall would give Katrina tickets, but only 10 of them, so she could still have some for herself.

In this interaction, I think I felt a small bit of God’s pride when we, His children, behave in ways that we should. It is so good to see your children show that they have learned what you are trying to teach them. What’s even more cool is when they do something extra that you don’t expect. You may not have deliberately taught them, but they learned it just the same.

Lord, forgive me when I have not always walked in integrity or with compassion. Talk about “and a child will lead them!” May we all come up a little higher and do a little better in these ways so that our Heavenly Father can be proud and glorified in us!

Love you and have a great day!
Janine

By Me

Lamentations 3:22-23:
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Hi, my name is Janine, and sometimes I can be an emotional wreck…and the group says, “Hi, Janine.”

Funny huh? But oh so true. My family and friends can testify to this sometimes (my girls could last night when I was exhausted after coming home from work, but still had to cook, practice spelling words, and do a report on FLOUNDERS, but I digress…smile!)

But today, after a night of rest, I feel much better. Why? Because I know God has blessed me with another day, and that because He allowed me to make it to this day, He has given me new mercies–with my attitude, I used up His mercy from yesterday, but I am glad He has an unlimited supply, and I gladly accept mine for today. You know, give us this day our daily bread? Well, thank God for this day, my daily MERCY!

Thank God for a day being only 24 hours. That means whatever craziness is going on in one day…if we can just hold on, that day will end, and we get to start anew every morning. Remember the Word says that weeping may endure for a night, but JOY cometh in the morning. I love waking up with God’s joy, don’t you?

So, let’s go out and remain in God’s joy today. Let’s use the mercy that He has so graciously provided for us this morning. As our supply depletes throughout the day, don’t worry, because there’s more where that came from. Make it through the day, thrive and not just survive, get a good night’s rest, and Lord willing, if God allows us to open our eyes again tomorrow morning, our mercy reserve will be full once again.

Love you, and pray that I don’t have to see flounders again today (smile!)
Janine