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Comment by Evangelist Nellie on August 1, 2009 at 10:43am

Sisters of Excellence & Extraordinary Power Fellowships (SEEP)

Please join us for our EXCITING bi-monthly conference fellowship. Continuing under our Mandate of Unity our topic will be about Our Relationships. We are going to have great time on this call as I know God has a word especially designed for us.

We want this call to grow, be valuable, and relevant to you. This is "The Place To Build True Sisterhood". Invite your family and girlfriends to come over to share in this wonderful fellowship with you. The call lasts for approximately one hour long but is subject to the Holy Spirit. ALL SISTERS WELCOME.

For more information, contact Evg. Nellie Griffith at seepfellowships@yahoo.com

"Enlarging Our Territory"
Fellowship Conference Call
Monday, August 3, 2009
10:00pm EST
9:00pm CST
7:00pm PST
Main Number
(218) 486-1616
Access Code
407029#

Continued Blessings,
Evg. Nellie

SEEP Fellowships is a ministry of education, empowerment, healing and support for All Women. I pray you can join us.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 31, 2009 at 4:53am

Let Liberty Decide
Darwin Hobbs
As believers, we all have to make a number of conscious decisions; decisions concerning our jobs, families, marriages, God, and concerning our life in general. And although the decisions we are faced with are often at times difficult for us to make, there is something we all can find joy in. Something very few of us believe we even have at our disposal: Liberty.
Believe it or not, we as believers have been granted liberty in the spirit of God to make choices that will effect change in not only our lives, but in the world we live in.
According to Webster's dictionary, the definition of liberty (or freedom) is the "right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing." Within this definition, we discover that we have rights, power, and yes, we have choices.
As Christians, all the power and rights we have ever needed were transferred to us over 2000 years ago at the cross. The redemption plan literally bought us back from the curse of the law of sin and death, meaning we now have kingdom citizen rights and power.
So what does this mean for you and me today?
This simply means that we have the ability to act, believe, and express ourselves in ways that bring Glory to the Father. However, although we are free and liberated by the blood of Christ, we still must make good choices. I Corinthians 10:23 states that "all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable (or expedient)."
While we reserve the right and power to make our own decisions, within this scripture lies an awesome opportunity to impact the earth with godly decisions. Throughout the course of today or throughout this week, I encourage you to try to become more aware and conscious about the type of decisions that face you.
I know it's tough, but I dare you to make decisions that don't include any self gain or self promotion for yourself this week. Instead, ask yourself...
What would it be like to consider another person over myself?
What would it be like to resist the temptation to gossip and backbite?
What would it be like to become a person of my word for just seven days straight?
It is time for us all to realize that we are not only free and liberated "by" the spirit and sacrifice of Christ, but we also now have the ability to experience liberty "in" Christ every day of our lives. It is time we all took a self-examination of our lives and discover whether we are making decisions that represent a heart that is truly free in Christ...
...or are we simply just making decisions?

Comment by Edwrin V.B. Sutton on July 28, 2009 at 6:33pm

Greetings! It is my privilege and pleasure to announce that a new Pastor has landed in Brooklyn New York. Rev. George W Maize IV was appointed to the Varick Memorial AME Zion Church 806 Quincy St. He's not coming alone, God has placed around him ministry gifts to edify and perfect the modern day saint. This man of God and his ministry team have proven their passion for saving souls and church growth. Come experience the anointing God has placed on His servant on Aug. 16th at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. Please join him as we write a new chapter in Brooklyn's history to the glory of God! Thank you and God bless.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 28, 2009 at 4:28am

Freedom Isn't Free
Milan Ford
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hear Ravi Zacharias, a renown Christian apologist, speak at an event located right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the event was to discuss the power and influence today's media has on popular culture.
During his 30-40 minute presentation, he made this one incredible statement; one that will remain with me for quite a while:
"...without TRUTH, education is moved to the skeptical, spirituality is moved to the mystical, and art is moved to the sensual."
Now more than ever before, we are living in an age where matters of faith and morality differ from person to person. What has long been considered true is now (in the eyes of many) debatable, while those things that we have always believed to be false or in contrast to our faith, are now being adopted and accepted as cultural norms.
This reversal of truth unfortunately exists within today's Body of Christ as well.
As a result of our individual and collective life pursuits (money, relationships, position, etc.), many of us at times have thrown aside the principles of our faith to pursue a sense of FREEDOM that is completely void of His truth. For some odd reason, we have bought into the lie that the freedoms we want to experience in Christ as believers, can come about without certain rules and boundaries.
We have created a generation of believers who now have a longing for the mystical to occur in their life, rather than embracing the truths behind sowing and reaping. We want to gain, but refuse any pain associated with it. We want to earn, but refuse to learn what is necessary to do so.
As believers, we really have this FREEDOM thing all messed up.
Isn't it interesting that the very first time the word "free" is mentioned in the Bible, God follows it up with a boundary for that freedom to occur:
Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. - Genesis 2:15-17.
Here we see God from the very beginning, providing mankind with instructions on how he can flourish FREELY within the garden He provided, along with the BOUNDARIES he needed to observe in order to live and succeed. While the Bible is full of these kinds of examples, we can learn even more about how God wants us to properly balance our freedoms as believers by looking at His creation.
Take a river for example.
A river is a body of water that is in constant movement, capable of sustaining life because of a flow of fresh water. Isn't it ironic that free flowing rivers are typically surrounding by a variety of boundaries.
Whether they consist of rocks or dry land, these boundaries help keep the water focused and flowing productively. However, whenever a river exists without any boundaries, it is no longer a river.
It becomes a swamp.
Today, if you are confused or at times find yourself upset with God because your life has begun to look like a swampland, rather than a river of living water, remember this one undeniable TRUTH:
God will never answer prayers that would enable us to live more independently of Him.
The freedom God provides us as believers to walk in is in fact not free at all.
It requires boundaries. May we all commit to establishing some today.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 27, 2009 at 7:52am

Dare To Pray Boldly
Deshawn Snow
Dare to prophesy every blessing and promise He has for you. Studying what God's word says is crucial to your vision. The Bible says in Psalm 1, "But His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prosper."
You must meditate and constantly think on who God says you are. Make it a mantra that you repeat over and over and over in your mind. Tell yourself:
• "I can do all things through Christ."
• "I am more than a conqueror."
• "I am the head and not the tail."
• "I will receive power and the anointing."
• "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
When you start speaking these things, meditating on them and listening to who God says you are, you will begin to see your life change and your vision become a reality. When you do, get ready!
One New Year's Day, God woke me up in the middle of the night with the incredible vision of a multi-product project. Now, just a few months later, I have a character developed, my first book done, and am in the process of getting my storyboards and voice over track so that I can pitch the concept to networks. You see, faith without works is dead.
If you want to do something, start getting the training that you need. Surround yourself with pictures and other visual images so that you are reminded of your dream every day. Get in the right environment. Declare, "Father, thank you for giving me the creativity to do this thing. Thank you for bringing the right people in my life and let this touch people for your glory." Thank God in advance for what you believe He will do.
It's been said that success is when preparation meets opportunity. When opportunity comes, you want to be prepared. Take Oprah Winfrey, for example. She had a vision that she pursued. She did not let the abuse she went through - or the environment she was raised in - keep her from her goal. I imagine she had a dream, deep within her heart, to make a better life for herself.
Through her determination, she went from working part time at a local radio station to having her own nationally syndicated talk show, to becoming the head of a multi-media conglomerate. At the same time, she has donated and raised millions of dollars for charity.
But what would have happened if Ms. Winfrey had gotten comfortable midway on her journey? What if she hadn't had a large vision and didn't see each opportunity as preparation for something greater?
When asked what gave her the ability to accomplish it all, she answered that because of her tough childhood, and the pain she endured, she was made a very strong woman. Nothing today can shake her foundation.
What is your foundation?
No matter what has happened to you in life, God is your foundation. You are not your experiences in and of themselves. You are the product of them. God took you from one place and brought you to another. Remember where you come from, so that you are sure of where you're going.
Oprah Winfrey says, "I don't think of myself as a poor deprived, ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as someone who, from an early age, knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good." You can make good too. Just remember to:
• Meditate on his promises.
• Put some action behind your faith.
• Be prepared for your opportunity.
• Remember where you came from.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 25, 2009 at 6:29am

A Spiritual Dialect
Jothany Blackwood
My grandmother had an expression that captured the myriad nuances of testimony and its power to transform. As we sat around her porch on humid, southern nights, she would open her stories of God's goodness with "honey, it's a story to tell!" As though there are some stories only to be read, others folded like worn quilts in the secret places of our hearts, or still others that dance unrestrained like leaves upon a sudden breeze.
But what I sensed in her expression was the urgency of sharing our testimonies. That engaging in a communal dialogue about the Spirit connected us to an individual transformation and ultimately, a collective one as a body of believers. When we keep the power of God to ourselves, we miss the lesson that was meant not just for us, but for others. That our overcoming is a road map for how others can continue their destinies uninterrupted.
Testimonies are simply our stories translated into a spiritual dialect, where our sundry experiences are shared in the same voice. The barriers that once separated us become less meaningful. Instead we are connected through the strength of learning that someone not only survived their circumstances, but came out of it unbroken. Where the story from the other side offers a reflection of who you can become, a compass for direction, a light in darkness and confusion, and manna for your soul.
The Word teaches that we overcome through the testimonies of others, so embedded in that is an edict that we must give voice to our experiences. That the articulation of our journey with God carries power beyond our words, but that it morphs into an agent of change when shared. You are standing now because you heard of someone who did the same. You can shout now because you read of someone who shouted out of what you are going through.
And so knowing that testimonies by their nature must be shared, we gathered around the porch on humid, southern nights to share how we made it over. And by the time the front porch crowd thinned and Big Mama shooed us all home...you knew that no one left that porch unchanged.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 24, 2009 at 6:08am

Is Your Testimony A Secret?
Tanya James
As a pastor's kid, I naturally grew up in church and was taught at an early age Biblical principles. However, like many over time I strayed away from those morals and values and thought that I was in control of my own life. And being in control meant I thought I could pick and chose which principals I applied to my life and which ones I ignored.
While trying to do things my way, I made some very bad decisions especially in the area of sexual immorality. I completely made my own rules in that area - yet I proclaimed to be a saved and sanctified Christian. You could find me serving in various ministries and I was in service every week both Sunday's and mid-week. Yes, I was living two completely different lives.
Overall, I was able to keep my double life under wraps. Most people had no idea how caught up in sexual sins I was. So when the day came that I finally fully committed my life to Christ and decided that I was going to live a life of abstinence until marriage ...I was delighted that I had been successful in keeping my sexual sins private.
And now, that I was going to follow God's word as it related to that area ... no one ever had to know about my past.
Through prayer and truly seeking God, those sexual strong holds and addictions were broken in my life. It wasn't an easy journey by any means...BUT GOD.
I definitely had a testimony but one NO ONE could dare know about ...so I thought.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord." Isaiah 55:8
God had a different plan. He gave me an assignment ... one that I ran from for YEARS! I was to pen a book about both my struggle and my testimony.
A BOOK?? God, are you serious? Not only am I putting my business on the street but in PRINT for people to see and read for years to come. I was horrified until I realized sharing my testimony would not only help someone in the same struggle, but also could keep someone from making some of the same mistakes I made.
You too have a testimony. It may not be in the same area as mine, but if God has healed you, delivered you, redeemed you, saved you...do not be afraid to share your story. If we remain afraid of what someone else may think of what we did, or where we once were...people around us will remain in their cycles of destruction.
Be willing to show your scars, so someone else doesn't have to get those same scars. You may have done those things people will learn about; but you are no longer that person!
"Therefore, of anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." II Corinthians 5:17

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 23, 2009 at 7:31am

Battle Scars That Do Not Disappear
Cory Bradley
Sometimes (if I can just be honest), many of us desire a gospel that is way too pretty.
It seems like no one today really wants the battle scars and wounds that often come along with having victory in Christ. Many of us desire to go through life unscathed and untouched; void of any evidence that we have been in the fight.
In my journey with weight management, I endured arguably the toughestseason of my life; when I was really heavy there was so much shame because everybody could see the pain, the anxiety, the fear, and the loneliness I felt because it showed up around my waistline.
As a child, I was often alienated and picked on. Many of my peers called me sissy and gay because my mannerisms reflected the world I understood which was richly influenced by nurturing women. And since I didn't have a man in my life I could respect and wanted to model, I emulated the women in my life and patterned my life after feminine expressions.
(Sidenote - Please know that every young man raised by single mothers doesn't have the same experience. Single mothers, we are proud of you! Love you mommy!)
This devotional is especially for those readers out there who believe that their testimony is not as pretty, neat, or tidy as those others tend to brag about. I used to struggle and feel ostracized with that same feeling. Until I read about someone who once shared my story.
In Genesis 32:22-32v, you will find the story of Jacob and the struggle he has one night with God. A struggle and a wrestling match that ultimately left him with a testimony.
I define testimony as an indelible impression and proof that God has COME to you and God is NEAR you. A testimony is evidence that God Almighty has had His hand in and on your life, and what a heavy hand our God has!! When presses down upon our lives, God's hand tends to break up those things we have relied upon for so long.
That's what happened to Jacob. God touched Jacob and his human frailty and weakness was exposed. And when that experience passed, Jacob was left with a clear reminder that he had been with God.
A limp.
{Come on God, a limp that everybody can see? Aren't you Jehovah Rophe, my healer? You're supposed to make the symptoms disappear, not create new ones!!}
I can just imagine poor old Jacob after returning from that encounter with God. The taunts. The stares. The endless barrage of questions like, "What's wrong with Him? Why does he "walk" like that? You know Jacob, you can go to the doctor and get that fixed?"
Perhaps today you may be struggling with the fact you're not like everyone else, or that everywhere you go and walk, you feel the effects of a constant struggle with God.
You're slower than everyone else.
It takes more effort for you to progress on your journey.
If so, understand that your limp serves as crucial evidence that God is near.
Like Jacob, you share a special experience with God that can always serve as a reference point of when He met you, blessed you and confirmed your identity. If you are in a struggle today, your weakness is evidence that God has come to you and He has touched you.
Do not allow others' perception of you make you feel unworthy.
We serve a Savior that had to endure a few struggles of His own. The nails in His hands and wounds in His side are evidence that He also experienced pain just as we do.
But despite His scars, He overcome death, hell, and the grave.
To all those struggling as they read this devotional today, know that as long as you stay in the struggle, so will God. Embrace your testimony now.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on July 22, 2009 at 5:19am

Your Testimony Has Power
Elder Marquis Boone
"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word." John 4:39-41 (NKJV)
Recently I was sitting and having a conversation with one of my spiritual sons, Curtis Smith, and we began to talk about how long ago the church loved to share their testimony. Also how in many churches they had a section in the service just for that and it was called testimony service. Now testimony service has been cut out of many of our churches and many people are afraid of telling their testimony.
A testimony is nothing more than an open acknowledgment or public profession of one's experience. It is a look back at where you came from and where you are now. I want you to understand that the bible says that "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony" Revelation 12:11 (NKJV). This shows you that a testimony has power.
In John 4:39-41, a Samaritan woman experiences the love and mercy of Christ. After this experience, she begins telling many people of her testimony about Christ, and because of this she drew more and more people closer to Christ. Your testimony has the same affect. It can draw both saved and unsaved to a deeper and new relationship in Christ. No matter if your testimony is full of good or full of things that you are ashamed of, it still has power.
Your testimony is simply what the Lord has done for you. You still being alive is enough of a testimony to tell someone else. Times are hard and many people need a light. Many people feel like the issues that they are facing are killing them, but your testimony can change their state from hopeless to hopeful. Like my grandmother use to say, "There is power in your testimony."
Don't allow people stop you from sharing the goodness of Christ in your life. So many of you may be asking, well what's your testimony? Well I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the age of twelve I almost died because my appendix erupted and left me in the hospital for over two months. During that time my eyes were opened and I realized that death has no age and tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
After that time in my life I gave my life to Christ and began to run after Him with all my heart. I was licensed as a minister at the age of fourteen; and completed high school in two and a half years graduating at the age of sixteen. God elevated me to Youth Pastor, and at the age of nineteen I graduated from college with a BA.
There is power in your testimony.

Comment by Spoken And Motion Ministries on July 20, 2009 at 2:36pm

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