Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish each of you a wonderful New Year! I pray this upcoming year inspires the growth that gives birth to the greatest you you've ever known.  A woman that is free from fear, insecurities, strongholds, habits, sin, and whatever else that may be prohibiting you from living the abundant life you deserve. 

As you make your resolutions for the coming year, be sure to keep your relationship with God as your top priority for out of it will flow everything you will need to accomplish your goals. Make getting closer to Him and diving deeper into the study, understanding and practical application of His Word your main focus and watch Him provide the direction, clarity, wisdom, strength, and power you need to live your best life. God has deposited so much purpose and potential inside of you.  As a godly woman, you are always pregnant.....pregnant with purpose, that is.  And while the birthing process may sometimes be painful and seemingly unbearable, in just a little while, if you will endure and not faint, God promises to bring forth the greatest you the world and you have ever known. 

So stay focused. Remember who you are. You might be Eve's daughter, but you live beyond the garden of the past.  You are not your mistakes. You are not what your current circumstances might suggest.  You are a woman of purpose and you are growing....slowly but surely. You do not settle. You do not quit. You will make it and things will get better.  Just. Keep. Growing.

All My Love,

Nicole

Pearls of Wisdom: Enticement

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.  ¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:   ¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:  ¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:  ¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:  ¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:  ¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.  ¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.  ¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.  ¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

In this passage the writer warns us against the enticement of sinners that seek to draw us into disobedience and foolish behavior.  What a valuable pearl of wisdom!  At first glimpse, you might be tempted to consider the enticing sinner externally, i.e. someone on your job, one of your unsaved friends, that guy that is unsaved but still pursues you, etc.  However, I’d urge you to consider the sinner within.  Every enticement and temptation originates from the sinner inside of you.  It is your flesh that desires to disobey God’s word, and it is your flesh that has the power to take away the life of its owner – you.  Because of sin, our bodies suffer physically from ailments, disease, stress, illness and other issues related to our inability to resist the desires of our flesh. But more importantly, the ultimate cost of sin is death, both physically and spiritually.  Therefore, be careful to control your fleshly desires through the Holy Spirit.  The scripture says that when we are tempted, it is by our own evil desires that entice us and lure us away (James 1:14).  The sinner within.

The sinner that entices you to act contrary to God’s word is the woman in the mirror.  She is the one that entices you to choose comfort over real growth.  She is the one that entices you to settle for less that God’s best.  She is the one that entices you to speak and act out of emotions. She is the one that entices you to be spiritually lazy. She is the one that entices you to disrespect your husband.  Yes, that beautiful creature that you see every morning when you look in the mirror – she is the sinner that seeks to lure you out of the will of God.  Do not consent to her!  Her ways will rob you of your purpose and destiny and will ultimately take away your very life.

For this reason, you have to be on guard against her. You must deposit the Word into her on a regular basis. You must pray and have relationship with the only One that can control her.  You must train her to be obedient to the Word of God despite how it feels. You must protect her from her own lusts and desires by guarding the atmospheres and relationships that she enters into.  Do not underestimate her.  She is clever and will attempt to convince you that something is okay when it is really disobedience.  She will try to convince you that you can handle certain people, places and things. Do not be deceived! Her desires are contrary to the Holy Spirit and if you give in to her, you will reap the consequences of her disobedience. Every time.

SHE is the sinner that entices you!  Watch, pray and be on guard.

Pearls to Ponder:  

In what ways does your flesh try to entice you to disobey God? To choose comfort over the pain of the process? To settle? To give up and quit?  In what areas is your flesh stronger than your desire to obey God? In what areas do you rationale certain behaviors and attitudes that are contrary to the Word? What can you start doing today to guard against the lure of your fleshly desires?

Pearls to treasure:

Romans 8:13: For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Resolution Revolution: My Blessing

As we wrap up this year’s discussion on the Resolution for Women, we are nearly half way through the book.  It has been great and interesting discussion and growth thus far.  The book has challenged me in ways that I both like and dislike. It has exposed things about me that I both like and dislike.  It has caused me to re-think some of my habits, ways and beliefs.  This book is full of understanding and practical, applicable revelations.  I often reflect on Priscilla’s statement that she wants “to experience more than God’s omnipresence. She want to feel His manifest presence. His noticeable, tangible presence.”  Is that your desire?  Then I’d encourage you to make the necessary changes that result in God’s noticeable presence in your life. 

So before we wrap up our thoughts of our most recent chapter, let’s recap our resolutions so far.   We have resolved to be content in our current season; to make the most of this season by maximizing our time in it. We are not going to rush through this season. We are going to learn from it and see the blessing in it.  We have resolved to model and champion biblical femininity and reject feminist ideals and approaches in our lives.  While we are blessed to be as equal as men, we are not called to be as men, and we will teach our daughters that godly femininity is still God’s perfect design for His daughters.  We have resolved to celebrate our uniqueness as well as those we see and admire in others.  Remember, one of the greatest blessings you can personally give another woman is your admiration and affirmation of her beauty, uniqueness and gift.  We have resolved to devote the best of ourselves to the primary roles the Lord has entrusted to us, and we started by first identifying our Godly priorities and adjusting our time and talents to achieve the necessary balance.

And finally, we recently resolved to esteem others by giving the gift of our time and undivided attention to those who need it.  We discussed how difficult it can be to sit and really listen attentively to others in a way that lets them know that we care about them. For some women, this comes easily. For others, it takes practice. Either way, Priscilla notes that giving the gift of your time is the greatest gift that you can give anyone.  It lets them know that they are important to you. I’ve often heard people say that a person doesn’t want to hear what you have to say until they know you care. A great way to show that you care about someone is to grant them your time and undivided attention. 

This thought led us another important principle of this chapter: wisdom.  Priscilla defines wisdom this way: 1) knowing what to say, and 2) not saying it.  Another way to say it for some of us is having something to say and not saying it.  Sometimes we think we know what to say just because we have something to say.  But wisdom teaches us that everything that we think to say should not be said.  So we committed to Priscilla’s 2 day challenge.  Would you try it? For the next two days, make a point of not saying anything that is not necessary to be said.  A wise woman is slow to speak and quick to listen. Spend more time listening and then decide if a response from you is necessary and if it is, choose to give thoughtful, careful responses that are free from emotion, pride or selfishness.  If it’s not necessary, don’t say it. 

To the wives, I shared a helpful piece of advice that a woman once shared with me, and it is this: “For some conversations with your husband, you must wait for the Holy Spirit to schedule the meeting.”  All this means is that you should wait on the Holy Spirit to provide the right atmosphere and opportunity for your Husband to receive what you have to say. And in order to do this, you must exercise wisdom and patience.  Everything does not have to be said or discussed with him right now.  For some things, the Holy Spirit will prompt your husband to solicit what God has given you for him.  This ensures that his spirit is fertile for the seed that God wants you to plant, and as a godly wife, everything you say to your husband sows a seed.  This is the gift and anointing that God has given you as your husband’s help mate.  You are to be a good steward over this anointing and use it solely for God’s purpose and not your own.  Always be careful in your speech towards your husband. One emotional statement can sow a seed that can take you years to uproot.

Lastly, we talked about guarding our hearts from the seeds that lead to foolish, degrading or sinful talk.   As Priscilla noted, the scripture says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).  While the common cliché suggests that we should follow our hearts, the scripture suggests that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah  17:9).   If that’s true then why would we follow it? We shouldn’t! In the movie Fireproof, there is a quote that says, “don’t follow your heart, lead it.”  We should lead our hearts by guarding it from evil seeds and influence and by depositing the Word of God into it on a regular basis.  If we want to ensure godliness in our speech then we have to deposit godliness into our heart. 

Until our next discussion in January, take the time to revisit all of the resolutions we’ve discussed so far.  Make sure that you are walking out the principles in a way that makes a difference in your life.  Begin to actively practice living a resolved life.

Have a great week!

The Monday Rewind: The Joy of the Lord

Throughout my entire childhood, my mother, sister & I lived with my grandmother, and I would often hear her walking through the house early on a Sunday morning, rattling pots & pans because she wanted us to wake up and get dressed for church without being late. And I would always hear her humming/singing a song that still reminds me of her today.  She would sing, “This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me and the world can’t take it away.” 

Yesterday my husband spoke about the strength that believers should experience due to having the Joy of the Lord.  In the spiritual context and principle, joy can be translated as “life” and is not be confused with the common ideas of happiness. This is because true joy is not subject to our situations while happiness can be circumstantial and very temporary.  For the believer, joy is a choice while happiness is only a feeling.  Joy allows us to live life above and beyond what we can see with our natural eyes, essentially allowing the believers to deal with the circumstances of life with a trust that eliminates fear.

 As the scripture suggests, joy provides strength to endure the trials, battles and challenges of life. The trials that we face often consume every bit of natural strength we have.  It takes all you have to raise children as a single mother, to be a godly wife in a difficult marriage, to resist the attractive yet unsaved gentleman who is flattering your emotions when you’re single.   And it certainly takes all the strength you have to control your emotions when something touches them and threatens to open the floodgates. So if you are trying to accomplish any of these things in your own strength, my sister you are fighting a losing battle.  You cannot defeat your flesh without a greater strength that you can tap into. 

But I have great news for you! There is a level of strength that is stronger than any situation or temptation that you could ever encounter.  It is even stronger than YOU.  And there is only one place to get this strength.  It is the place where you come to completely and totally trust in God.  Without a full and complete trust in God, you will never have joy and thus never experience true strength.  When you trust Him, you learn to see the blessing and godly purpose in and beyond your circumstances.  You trust His Word to guide you in making the necessary decisions to walk out your purpose and destiny according to His will rather than relying on yourself or other external forces. 

However, when your trust is not full, neither is your joy. And when your joy is not full, neither is your strength. A full joy occurs when you realize that your covering lies in your absolute trust for Him. And absolute trust for him shows up in what you do, not merely what you say.  As Pastor so emphatically said yesterday, when we are not operating in a total and complete trust for God that is reflected in our life and circumstances, we are just faking it.  We are called to be living epistles read of men, which means that if God is this great God that we often sing and talk about, it should be evident in the lives we live rather than our words or extreme spiritual displays of religiosity.

I’m sure many of you remember that old song that my grandmother used to sing, and I’m hoping it gets stuck in your head for the remainder of the week. J  And as you’re humming softly to yourself, reminding yourself that the joy that YOU have, the world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away, I hope that you will stop for a brief moment and at some point this week ask yourself this question:  What about your life proves this statement is true for you?

Have a great week!

Pearls of Wisdom: Grace

Proverbs 1:8-9

⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:  

⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

If you are a parent, you should really pour these two scriptures into your children on a regular basis. Post them around the house, in their room, in their minds and hearts.  Really take time to cement their understanding of these scriptures because we all know they will need them very soon.  For most children, the instruction and laws of their parents always seem unfair, restrictive, overly protective, and unreasonable.  But little do they know, these instructions and laws protect them from the unknown, train them to be good and productive citizens, respectful and honorable towards adults as well as focused and disciplined in their behavior.  They do not know this but we do.  As their parents, we must see beyond their cries to issue discipline.  We must see beyond their saddened faces to train them.  Despite their numerous and boisterous protests, we must place boundaries in their lives for their own protection.   How many times have your children disregarded your instructions only to find themselves in the very trouble you tried to warn them about?

The same can be said about our responses to God's instructions.  We often disregard the instructions found in His Word only to find ourselves begging Him to get us out of situations that He tried to warn us about.  In His Word, God is urging us to hear His instruction and not disregard it.  Through our personal devotion with Him as well as hearing the Word in church, God sends us instructions that are purposeful for our protection, discipline, character, integrity and maturity.  Like our own children, we may often view God’s instructions as limiting and restrictive.  Yet we often forget that God’s Word is designed to protect us, train us, keep us focused and deliver us into His promises.  He desires that we have an endless supply of His promises, and for that reason, He has given us instruction on how to experience and endless supply of Him.  Yet whether or not we will hear and hearken to these instructions is a matter of personal choice.  A choice that we often struggle with despite the scripture’s promise that they shall be an ornament of grace upon our head.  His divine grace.  The grace that covers us and protects us from the snares of the enemy.  The grace that heals and delivers us from sinful behavior and strongholds.  The grace that allows us to grow in Him although we often make mistakes along the way.   And more specifically to you sister, the grace that adorns a godly woman’s speech, behavior, attitude and attire; that empowers a godly wife’s submission to her husband; that strengthens a godly single mother to raise her children while she pursues her career or educational goals.  Only in the divine instructions contained within His Word can we find this Grace.   

And this same grace shall act as a chain about our flesh.  A chain is a series of things linked together to provide the strength that binds or restricts objects.  This is exactly what our sin-driven flesh needs in order to remain subject to the will of God.  Because our natural tendencies are to be sinful and flesh-driven, we must continually stay linked into our personal relationship with God that is linked to a bible-based church that is linked to our purpose in ministry that is linked to our obedience that is linked to godly relationships that are linked to our accountability and so on…do you see where this is going? This godly chain is available and necessary for us to be strengthened and delivered from the lusts of the flesh that so easily get us off focus.  This chain is rooted in the grace found in His Word that can bind and restrict your flesh and at the same time set YOU free.  You need only choose to hear the instructions of your father and obey.

Pearls to ponder:  How does the Grace of God adorn your life?  In what areas does the Grace of God need to change you?   How strong is the chain around your spiritual life? What links do you have in your Godly chain?  Are there any links in your chain that should not be there?  What is the weakest link in your chain? What is the strongest?

Pearls to treasure: 

Isaiah 48:18 O that you had hearkened to my commandments! Then would your peace have been as a river and your righteousness as the waves of the sea.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

The Monday Rewind - God's Promises

Yesterday my husband made the very bold statement that many believers desire the promises of God but are not committed to doing what it takes to obtain them.  The enemy is always seeking to rob you of God's promises by convincing you to sit back and do nothing but wait on God to manifest His promises without your participation. Do not believe it! The truth is that many believers never receive and experience God's promises because they do not walk out the process required to get them. Unfortunately, religion has taught us that in order to receive the promises of God, all we have to do is wait on God "to move." This is a lie and a trick of the enemy to keep you in a place of complacency, lack and unfulfilled promises.  The truth is that there is nothing more for God to do. He has already done His part. He has died on the cross.  He has ordered your steps.  He has written the road map to get you from bondage to abundance.  And, He has given you His Spirit to dwell with you as your counselor and guide all the way to Canaan.  He has done it all!  And, He has done this because it is His desire that you should have everything He promised you.  Everything. 

It is true that everything God has for you is for you.  Unfortunately, it is also true that without doing your part of the covenant, everything God has for you will go unmanifested in your life.  God promised us abundant life; however, we can only access this promise through our personal obedience and sacrifice.  The scripture teaches us that after you have done the will of God, you shall receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36).  This is the covenant promise, and there is nothing in this text that suggests that there is more for God to do in order for you to receive the promise. As a matter of fact, Jesus made it clear when He said "it is finished."  What is Jesus referring to in this statement? He is referring to the satisfaction of the debt for our sins.  He is referring to the establishment of a new covenant whereby we enter into His grace.  He is referring to His fulfillment of purpose and destiny in the lives of all who believe on Him through faith.  So while we often think we are waiting on God for deliverance or manifestation or breakthrough or the fulfillment of His promises in our lives, the reality is that He has done all that is required for His will to be perfected in us.  All that remains is that we enter into covenant relationship with Him through faith. A relationship that is evidenced by faith through actions (deeds) that cause the growth and change that manifests into abundance.  Thus, our level of abundance is directly tied to our level of faith through obedience.  If we believe the Word, then we choose to live and obey it; and if we obey it, we experience its powerful effects in our lives that results in new levels of growth that results in new levels of abundance. This is the manifestation of His promise.

So as you examine your life to understand why you may not be experiencing abundance at the level that you had hoped, you must also assess whether or not you are living at a level of obedience that correlates with the level of abundance you desire.  You cannot expect abundance at a greater level than your own personal sacrifice and obedience.  Likewise, you should not expect abundance in any area where you are not totally submitted to God through this same sacrifice and obedience.  There is nothing more for God to do in order for you to experience His promise of abundance on earth.  He does not need to "show up" in your situation. He is everywhere already. He does not need to send a breakthrough for you.  He needs to "break you" of the habits and ways that have caused you to live beneath your divine privileges as His daughter.  He does not need to "move" in your situation. You do! 

Sister, Jesus has made abundance available to you. He has made deliverance available to you. He has made financial peace available to you. He has made love available to you.  And He has done so by making Himself available to you through faith - the kind of faith that shows up in your actions and not just your words.  So if you're believing God for the manifestation of His promises in your life, you must take an honest evaluation of your life to determine if your actions line up with your belief. 

Take some time to ponder these questions and then do whatever it takes to go get your promise!

• Are you living your life according to what you believe God has promised you? Or are you living your life the way you want all the while expecting God to deliver His promise to you without your participation? 
• In what areas of your life are you believing and seeking God for more than you are obeying Him? 
• What changes can you make in your life today that can realign your life with your expectations of God's promises?

Pearls of Wisdom: Knowing

 



Proverbs 1: 1-7



¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;   ²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;   ³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;  ⁴To give discernment to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.   ⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:  ⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.  ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction

These statements introduce us to the purpose of the book of Proverbs.  The principles of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity contained throughout this book were given not only for the management of society, but for our individual everyday lives as well.  If we focus our attention on getting a proper understanding, the book of Proverbs offers valuable lessons, principles and guidance for every part of our lives from relationships to finances to personal fulfillment.  When you face decisions and you ask yourself is this wise?, there is a good chance that the answer can be found in Proverbs. 

The first and absolutely most important principle of this book is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  This fear does not imply that we should be afraid of God; rather, we are to reverence Him and His Word in our lives.  Wise women revere God in all areas of their lives – ALL AREAS.  To revere simply means to respect and hold in the highest regard.  Do you hold God in the highest regard in every area of your life?  Do you fear God in your home? In your actions, responses and behaviors?  How about your attitude and conversation?  Do you respect God in the things you say and do?   It is the decision to respect and honor God in every area of your life that is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.

When we focus on handling our lives with the utmost honor and respect for God, we begin to realize (obtain knowledge) that the opinions, thoughts and approvals of people are not necessary.  We free ourselves to be ourselves. We free ourselves from people’s expectations. We free ourselves from the burden of impressing others.  We free ourselves to make mistakes without wallowing in them because we free ourselves to experience God’s true grace as we grow in Him.  When we learn to fear God above people, meaning we hold God in higher regard than we hold people, it truly is the beginning of knowing who you are in Him; knowing how much He loves you just the way you are; knowing that you have a divine purpose hand-crafted by Him; knowing that every situation you encounter is working for your good; knowing that no weapon formed against you shall prosper; knowing that you can do all things, even the extremely difficult things, through HIM who strengthens you; knowing this wonderful God in an intimate personal way that shows up in the way you do your life.  Only the fear of God can give you this kind of knowing.  And as the scripture says, only fools despise (or disregard) so much rich and valuable information on how to manage your life.  So let us not be foolish but wise, learned and trained in the simplistic understanding of fundamental truths contained in this book.  This is the only way to experience abundant life on earth.

Pearls to ponder: In what areas of your life do you hold people’s perspective, opinions or expectations in high regard? Why? Are there things about you that you try to hide from people? Why? Are there areas of your life where you overlook the fact that God is watching your behavior? How can knowing God’s perspective, opinion and expectations help you in these areas?

Pearls to treasure: 

1 King 1: 8 Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

James 1:5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault-finding, and it will be given him. (AMP)