INVITE THERESE WARRICK TO YOUR EVENTS!

INVITE THERESE WARRICK TO YOUR EVENTS!
THERESE BRINGS INSPIRATIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGES TO WOMEN!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Show Me Your Friends And I'll Know Who You Are

Greetings my friends:

To God be the glory!

As I was preparing for this message, an old proverb came to mind, show me your friends and I'll know who you are. In other words, the company we keep say something about who we are as a person. Wise King Solomon warned us that trusting unfaithful people when you are in trouble is like eating with a broken tooth or walking with a crippled foot (Proverbs 25:19). Now, you would think commonsense would hold here that if you know that your friend is not one who walks with the Lord, then why rely on that person for advice? But you know what? I am pretty sure we are guilty of that at some time or the other in our lives. I am guilty. Yes, when I was running the streets even though I knew better, even though I grew up loving and worshipping God, I still allowed myself to be influenced by friends who were unfaithful to God. But no wonder I was being whipped left, right and center. Thanks be to God that He is a forgiving God because once I started to rid myself of people who were not good influence, my life became a lot more peaceful and loving.

My friends, what I have learned is that one, God is the best friend I'll ever need; two, I know that I can go to God in prayer and He will not judge me or talk about me or say how silly I am; three, God will open up a way for me where there seems to be no way out; and four, I need a prayer partner who has my well being at heart. Now, how many of us can say that we have friends who would give the shirt from off his/her back for you?? One, maybe two?? I suggest that we start relying on God for everything; rely on Him in good times to make good decisions and rely on God in time of our troubles. Paul in Philippians 4:6 advises us to pray about everything.

My friends, God can make a way for us when it seems impossible. We must learn how to lean on the Lord instead of leaning on friends who do not even care about us. You see, we must be careful to whom we complain or gossip. True friends will call us out when we are not doing what God wants us to do, true friends will encourage us to stay positive when we are going off on the negativity. True friends will call us and pray for us and with us. True friends will not be ashamed to testify to us about the goodness of God.

Show me your friends and I'll know who you are. Rid yourselves of those persons who are kryptonites in your lives. My friends, God want us to align ourselves with people who love Him and with people who work for Him. I pray that you will get enough courage to rid yourself of some friends who are not good influences on you or your family.

God bless and may He continue to have mercy on us.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Be An Encourager

Greetings, my friends. I pray that all is well with you and your families. God is an awesome God. I thank Him for His grace and mercy and for His favor over my life.

Just as Paul encouraged Titus to be an example in every way of doing good deeds, we must do the same. Paul advised, "when you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. Speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized." Titus 2:7-8. My friends, as followers of Jesus Christ, we must be an example for others. We must live our lives in such a way so that someone who does not even know us will want to know Jesus just because of the way we live our lives. Our lives must reflect that of obedience, happiness, joy, peace, self control, patience, love, kindness, and I can go on and on. However, the important point here is that we must set examples for others by doing good deeds. What are good deeds? Good deeds are working in ministry, whatever your calling or purpose may be; helping and assisting others in need; spreading the good news of salvation; say a kind word to a stranger. When our lives reflect what comes out of our mouths, God is pleased with us. When God is pleased with us, our blessings flow from heaven.

My friends, as followers of Jesus Christ, we must spread the good news. In order for us to spread the good news, we must know what is in the good news, what it is all about. We must study God's word so that if someone asks us a question, we may be able to answer with a scripture from the Bible to go along with that answer. When we provide scriptures for others, they read them and they become more and more interested in learning about Jesus Christ.

I pray that you will stay prayed up. Remember, we must pray for any and everything. We must pray. We must submit to His will.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Getting Rid of Your Kryptonite

My friends, I pray all is well with you and your family!

I had never heard of the word "kryptonite" until I was watching Bishop Jakes' He-Motions sermon. And then I was listening to Pastor Creflo Dollar the other morning and his sermon was based on kryptonites in our lives.

Kryptonite was made known in Superman, it is a fictional substance/mineral that had a detrimental effect on Superman, so we know that it is not something good. Another definition of kryptonite, as I learned from Bishop Jakes, is that it is a weakness; it is something that has a detrimental effect on us, but we love it nevertheless.
What is your kryptonite that is keeping you from doing what God wants you to do? I know what mine is. I am praying to God each day about it because I do not want my weakness to interfere in my work for God. My friends,we need to defeat the devil because he is the one that brings these kryptonites in our lives. We need to seek help in getting rid of our kryptonite, we cannot do it by ourselves. A kryptonite may be a man, a woman, a "toy", a habit, anything or anyone that is not good for us. It is not something good.

Bishop Jakes advised that until we defy our kryptonite, we will be vulnerable to destruction. How do we get rid of our kryptonite? We can do so by praying to God, asking God to take that thing away from our lives, or remove that person from our lives. We can also defy our kryptonite by getting help. Whether it is for drugs, alcohol, depression, loneliness, we can defy this kryptonite by seeking out people and getting the appropriate and relevant counseling. Paul, in Ephesians 6:11 urges us to put on the full armor of God so that we can fight against the devil's evil tricks. Yes, my friends , we must arm ourselves with the full armor of God, that is, the sword, the shield, the helmet, the sandals. We know that even Paul had his kryptonite, but he prayed to God. My friends, it is simple, all we need to do is pray, but pray believing and trusting God that He will pull us out of bondage from the kryptonite.

I pray that God have mercy on us and release us from our kryptonites. I must continue to P-U-S-H until I am released. Thank you Father.

Stay blessed,
Therese from Belize

Friday, August 28, 2009

Choose One - Asset or Liability?

My friends, I hope you are praying, pushing, singing, praising, pressing, progressing, elevating, and moving all for the glory of God!

I had just recently become a member of my church when I was convicted by a sermon Rev. Dr. Williams preached on this one particular Sunday. I will never forget that sermon. Rev. Williams told the congregation that he wants members in the church who are assets, he wants people who are willing to work and serve. He went on to preach that when you are a liability, you are no good to God; liabilities cost, assets bring gains. My friends, I got that message loud and clear. I told my pastor for sure I do not want to be a liability.

The dictionary defines assets as everything of value that is owned by a person or a company. On the other hand, a liability is anything that is a hindrance or puts an individual at a disadvantage. A liability is anything that is owed to someone else. Now, which one do you want to be? See, the way you live, the way your finances are lined up, the way you and your family fear the Lord determines whether you are an asset or a liability. The good news, my friends, is that if you are truthful enough to admit that you are a liability, that can be corrected. Jesus is a loving and forgiving God, just remember that. You see, the same way your bad credit can be repaired, so can your selfish self be repaired too.

Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6, "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure He will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again." My friends, Paul encourages us to keep on working to complete our salvation with fear and trembling, because God is working in us to help us do and be able to do what pleases Him (Philippians 1:12-13). I accepted my pastor's challenge to become an asset not only to the church, but to God's nation. When we work to uplift God's kingdom, God blesses us, we get a joy and peace that is unexplainable.

My friends, I am challenging you today to put down the ways of this world and get with Christ as a true disciple. We cannot be of this world, do what the world does and also want to serve. It doesn't work that way. And, you know, God says, we must have only one God and it must be Him. My friends, I am advising you to let go of your ways that are of this world. As Rev. Dr. Cecilia Williams-Bryant had said, we must break the shackles of materialism and unleash the Word of God. My friends, I pray that we will all start working for God's kingdom and that God gives us the strength so we may let go of the ways of this world and begin to walk in His path, spreading the Good News along the way!

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Life's Rut Will Put You In A Coma

My dear friends:

To God be the glory!

My friends, there is a song in my mind, bills, bills everyday, bills, bills, you've gotta pay, water bill..to pay, light bill....to pay, income tax..to pay..... so much bills to pay.... That's right. I would suggest that nearly all of us, if not all, have bills to pay. However, some of us can handle the payments, some of us cannot. When we get overwhelmed with bills, along with the other life challenges, some of us go in a rut, a deep, deep rut. When we put ourselves in a rut, it is the most difficult thing to come out of, believe me because I have been there, done that. When life's rut gets you down, you go in to a coma, a spiritual coma, Bishop Jakes calls it. A spiritual coma, according to Bishop Jakes, is a stage one goes in when you give up on life. You get in a spiritual coma and do not want to be encouraged. The self-pity and self-abuse are the way of life at this comatose stage. However, the good news, my friends, is that as children of God, there is a way to get out of that coma. It is through salvation, by the grace of God. We just need to call on the name of the Lord, pray and believe that God will deliver us out of life's rut.

Rev. Williams had said that the power of life and death is on our tongue. It is up to us to speak faith and favor over our lives or speak misery and death over our lives. My friends,as soon as we find ourselves slipping into the coma, we need to jump up and down and start praising God. When we find ourselves slipping into a spiritual coma, we must get up quickly and find Jesus, even if we have to run, walk, jump, whatever, but we must find God. We can do this through praising, worshipping, thanksgiving, asking for forgiveness of our sins, but most importantly we must get in the Word of God.

When you slip into a coma, it will take the prayers of many and God's willingness to forgive you and let you overcome. It will also take all your praise and worshipping. God is able and He will see you through, but you must be faithful. You must have faith. Take the example of the woman in Luke 8:40-48. This woman could have gone in a spiritual coma because she was an outcast in her community because of her blood disease that she had for 12 years. She touched the edge of Jesus' coat while He was in Galilee. She was healed because she believed. My friends, we just need to have some faith, we just need to praise the Lord, call on His name and believe that God has anointed our lives.

I hope this message touches someone today. Remember, praise God in advance.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Be Careful

Hola, mi amigos! I do hope you are having a blessed day! God is worthy to be praised.

My friends, I realize our families are the most important people in our lives, but we must be careful that we do not put them before God. God should be first in our lives, above and beyond everyone and everything,including our spouses and our beloved children. We must thank God for His love, for allowing you and me to birth that baby, allowing you and me to have the job that we have, allowing you and me to buy the house we have bought, allowing you and me to drive the car that we drive. Make no mistake about it, it is all because of God's goodness and mercy and love that we are where we are today.

Take time and consider how much you are hurting God when you put everything and everyone before Him. God is a a good God, but when He gets displeased with us, He will show us His anger. For us, that may means that He eliminates those things from our lives that we put before Him. The Bible tells us that our God is a jealous God.

My friends, ask God for forgiveness; start dedicating your lives to God. Love God first then your family. Without God in your lives, you are nothing. Remember, today we are here, tomorrow we are gone.

Be blessed,
Ta ta
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

It's No Secret: I'm Rich!

My dear friends:

You may know by now that I am filthy rich!! That's right, rich. No, I did not win the lottery; no, I have not married a wealthy man; no I did not steal anything either. You see, my winnings came when I started to take back all that the devil has stolen from me. That's right. Just imagine, all that the devil has robbed me of over the many, many years of my disobedience to God. For all those years I allowed myself to be robbed, used, misused, and abused by the devil, but no more. The devil is a liar. I thank God for his tender loving kindness and mercy. My friends, ever since I have started being obedient to God, favor has ruled over my life and I am richly blessed.

In Paul's first letter to his protege, Timothy, Paul wrote, "serving God does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have." 1 Timothy 6:6. My friends, I am satisfied with my life because I am working for the Lord. My reward is too numerous to count. However, the greatest reward is knowing that my riches are stored up in heaven, that's right, in heaven, where I know I'll have a seat at my Father's table. I don't want my riches here on earth because I cannot take those with me to heaven. Working for the Lord is a rich experience. The riches I have acquired since I have been obedient to God are faithfulness, happiness, joy, peace, laughter, confidence, humility, love, patience and gentleness. How many of us are financially rich, but are not happy? How many of us work around the clock Sunday to Sunday, but do not even take the time to extend a smile to someone? How many of us have acquired material things but have no one to share them with? I am telling you, true riches come from serving God. When you serve God, you experience an unexplainable joy and peace within your soul.

My friends, if you want to be rich, serve the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. I guarantee you, you will see your riches starting to multiply. But, be sincere about your service to God. Don't serve God just because you want something; don't serve God because your mom is doing it, or your sister or your brother is serving; don't be a hypocrite, serve God from your heart and serve Him with gladness. You will be richly rewarded the same way I have been and continue to be rewarded by God.

Peace,
Therese from Belize

Monday, August 24, 2009

You Reap What You Sow

Greetings, my dear friends:

The scripture for me today comes from Paul in Galatians 6:7-8, "Do not be fooled, you cannot cheat God. People harvest only what they plant. If they plant to satisfy their sinful selves, their sinful selves will bring them ruin. But if they plant to please the Spirit, they will receive eternal life from the Spirit."

My friends, Paul warned that we must be careful what we sow because what we sow is exactly what we will reap. In other words, if you do bad, bad will come back to you, sooner or later. If you do good, great and wonderful things will happen for you. As disciples of Christ, we should be planting good seeds, seeds that are pleasing to the Spirit. When we plant seeds of encouragement, seeds of obedience, seeds of helpfulness, seeds of kindness, seeds of forgiveness, seeds of truthfulness, the Spirit is pleased with us and we will harvest the good fruits. When we harvest good fruits, the Lord God rewards us richly here on earth, but most importantly, we will also be rewarded in heaven. Don't get mad at me when I get my blessings from God. If you truly want the blessings then you must plant good seeds so you can harvest good fruits.

Paul encourages us to stay the course and we will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. The apostle Paul is my encourager. He keeps encouraging me to stay the course for the Lord. My friends, I tell you, I will have it no other way. I am too blessed to even think about falling off course. I am encouraged, I will stay encouraged and I pray that you do the same.

Let us keep praising God, let us keep helping one another, let us keep ourselves occupied with the work of the Lord and in the Word of God. I pray this message brings peace to your heart.



Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Intercession

Greetings, my friends:

Well, my mind is alert,my heart has been receptive. God is truly an awesome God.

I thank God for my sister, she is a young woman who has truly lived her life for God. While she was visiting me, we had our fellowship time and we prayed, we sing, we shared stories, but most importantly we interceded on behalf of everyone in our lives. The power of intercession is just awesome. Every week, Wednesdays and Sundays, my church has family prayer where the church intercedes, but I tell you, what I experienced in the comforts of my own home, was just different. As we prayed, I felt the Holy Spirit in our midst. It was just an experience I will not forget. My heart just became so full of joy, my knees became weak, I had to pray on my knees to God. I mean, I just felt them go weak and I found myself kneeling at my bedside. The Holy Spirit has a way of bringing us to our knees. Thank you Father.

My friends, when we tell someone "I'll pray for you", we must be sincere and do just that. When we intercede on behalf of someone, we will find ourselves being blessed by God. Our whole being, when we intercede, becomes "light"; I find myself clapping and dancing and praising God. Galatians 6:2 says that by helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ. We obey when we pray for someone who is in need or who is in trouble. We all have troubles in our lives, some of us just know how to hide and pretend more better than others. But remember, you can run, but you can't hide from God! I am asking you to please intercede on behalf of some people in your lives. My friends, prayer works. Prayer works. Keep fighting until your victory is won.

God's Word is blessed and I am having a blast becoming a student of the Word.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A Refreshing Review

Greetings, my friends:

In case you are wondering, I have been taking a few days off, as I still have family visiting. We have been conducting awesome fellowships and watching great Christian movies. I especially enjoyed the movie Fireproof. If you are married or even separated, but are fighting to save your marriage, you should definitely review this movie. It is based on Christian principles and love. I also watched several of Tyler Perry's movies and those movies too all have Christian messages based on family and relationships. I have not had a chance as yet to watch One Night With The King, but that is on my "to-watch" movie list! I have also been reviewing some of Bishop T.D. Jakes' past sermons. I introduced my sister to the He-Motions sermon. You may know that the bishop had originally written the He-Motions book for men, but in the sermon, he had included some messages for women. I recommend you watch this sermon in its entirety or get the book.

Bishop Jakes message to women in his He-Motions sermon was that women need to understand when men are in their "turning" stage. When men "turn" it is usually because something has happened in their lives, such as the loss of a job, death in the family, finances are messed up, kids are getting in trouble, etc. It is at this point in their "turn" that women must be supportive of the men. It is at this point in a man's life that if the woman is careful, she may lose her man/husband/son. Bishop Jakes said that when men are at that "turning" stage, they get in a spiritual coma. A spiritual coma is a stage that one goes through when you are giving up on your family, on your life, and you do not want to be encouraged. However, when men are in a spiritual coma, that is the time that women must be supportive, must be loving, must be peaceful, must build-up the man instead of bring him down.

My friends, when that man gets in the "turn", I plea with you to hold on for dear life. Hold on, don't let him make that turn by himself. If you do, that may mean the end of your marriage, the break-up of your family. I encourage you to please be supportive, please be sensitive to a man's needs when he is in the "turn". Just hold on to him, hold on for dear life. When he is in the "turn", I urge you to please do not nag him, please do not curse him, please do not berate him. Have understanding, be that supportive shoulder for him to lean on, be patient, be kind, be loving, be empathetic, just be there for him.

As Paul advises us in James 1:19-20, "...we must always be willing to listen and slow to speak; do not become angry easily because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants.


Kryptonite - weakness

*There is a king in every kid, and a kid in every king, however, if someone does not acknowledge the king in the kid, the kid will forever be a kid.

I hope you will take some time to review the bishop's sermon. I need to thank Minister Tony Wilson for bringing this sermon to my attention. He had told me about it and I had to listen to the sermon for myself. You do the same.

Stay in prayer, please forgive, please love, please be kind, but you must keep God first in your life.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Monday, August 17, 2009

You Can Run But You Can't Hide

Greetings, my friends:

I hope we have all done something good today for a stranger, whether in words or deeds.

Let me ask you, sometimes don't you want to just hide from God because you know you have said or done something that is not pleasing to God? I am sure it happens to all of us. However, I am not sure why we are so hard-headed in our disobedience to God because God knows exactly what we have done, when, where, why. God already knows what is in our hearts and what is in our minds even before we speak.

David acknowledged to God his guilt because David already knew God was aware of his guilt. In Psalm 69:5, David made the acknowledgement to God, "God, you know what I have done wrong, I cannot hide my guilt from you." My friends, when we think we are running away or hiding from God, we are only fooling ourselves. As disciples, we must learn how to deal with our struggles, our guilt, our demons. We must learn how to obey God's laws. Running away from God and what God wants us to do make us very disobedient. We cannot be leaders if we are not obeying God and respecting our pastor and elders. As disciples, we must set the example for other believers and non-believers. David's psalm in Chapter 139, reminds us that God knows everything. We should be fearing God knowing that He knows everything. My friends, we are only fooling ourselves when we try to run from God.

Stop running way from God. Do as David did in Psalm 139:16, he spoke to God, "...all the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old." You see my friends, God has already mapped out our lives for us. So, you can run all you want, but just know that you cannot hide from God. You see, even the great David was not able to hid himself from God. He knew that God was all around, so he did what any smart person would do, that is, he surrendered his life to Christ. He praised and thank God for making him in an amazing and wonderful way.

My friends, we need to stop running from God, we just need to start thanking Him for making us in His image; we need to thank Him for sending His only Son on this earth to save us from our sins. God's Son, Jesus, was crucified, He died, He was buried, but on the third day He arose from the grave in fulfillment of the Scripture. Thank you Father. To show real thanks to God, why not stop running away from God? Show real thankfulness to God by admitting your guilt, asking for forgiveness, and walk forward in God's path.

All I am saying, do not run anymore. Face your battle head-on knowing that God has already made a way for you.

Be obedient, stay in the Word, and stay prayed up.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Being A Student Of The Word

My friends, greetings!

Today has been a fantastic day for me (wonder if it is because I did not mow the lawn)! On a serious note, I have been blessed today to be in attendance at my church where the Rev. Dr. T.H. Peoples, Jr. preached. Oh my goodness, not only did Rev. Peoples preached, he taught the Word today! I tell you, I was so thrilled, I was a student of the Word today. For that, I a so grateful! Thank you Lord.

My friends, just in case you are still wondering why the enthusiasm about being a student of the Word, you see, I have been getting in the Word and when you start studying the Word instead of just reading, you get a whole new revelation about God and His goodness. You start to learn about the apostles and disciples and the people who believed and had faith in God. I mean you truly start to connect with them. I do hope someone can feel me on this. I was in my element because Rev. Peoples talked about Paul the apostle, and you know I love me some Paul! I learned some things about Paul I did not know, I love him even more! He did not let his physical stature (apparently he was only 4 feet and some inches)stop him from spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and he certainly did not let his ailments stop him from carrying on with God's work (he was sick and Luke the doctor had to help him along the way). Now, see, Paul endured a lot, but he knew that his work for God had to be done.

The main thrust of the sermon was that there are people who have been in our lives along the way and still are today who have helped us to get where we are in our lives. Some of us tend to forget where we come from; some of us tend to forget our neighbor, our relative, even a stranger who has helped us along the way, whether in words or in deeds. We cannot walk this life alone. We need people in our lives. However, most importantly we need God and we need other believers in our lives.

Colossians 4, Paul advised us to continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God. I thank God for this renewed faith that I have in Him.

Stay prayed up, stay in the Word and not only read, but study. You will find yourself smiling more often, testifying more often and you'll find yourself just being a better steward. Let us be like Paul and have us some believers in our midst.

May God give you continued wisdom and knowledge as you study His Word.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Let Your Light Shine

Greetings, my friends!

God is wonderful and I just thank Him for wisdom He has bestowed upon me. My Bible reading for today took me to Luke 11:33-36. Luke wrote that no one lights a lamp and puts it in a secret place or under a bowl, but on a lamp stand so the people who come in can see. Your eye, according to Luke, is a light for the body. Luke wrote that when your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But when your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Luke warns, be careful not to let the light in you become darkness. If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you."

My friends, as disciples we should all have our lights shining. In order for our lights to keep shining we must be connected to God, connected to God in every way, especially in obedience. When we are not obedient, our lights go dark--our entire body, mind and soul. Let me ask you, have you ever seen someone who is just dark? I am not talking about the skin color, but I am referring to the attitude, the spirit, the whole body of that person. It is sad when we come across people who are dark, but the truth of the matter is that one becomes dark when we do not follow God's way. We become dark when we do things that are not of God, not of God's teaching.

I was reviewing some notes dated 4/7/09, and I am not sure when or where I wrote those notes, but as I was reviewing them, I noted that a question was asked--do I really have a light? My friends, I do have a light because my mind and my body are in perfect peace with God. I am allowing God to use me, I am trying to be obedient, I am testifying about God's goodness. Please ask yourself the same question--do you have a light? Answer truthfully. If you do, praise God, keep on obeying God, keep on working to uplift and build God's kingdom. If you don't have a light, get on your knees and ask God to open your heart and your mind. Start believing and start obeying God's word. My notes further reflect that we must have a good connection with God to let our light shine. It says, God wants us to move to another level and when you are connected, God's favor is in your life. When we have God's favor in our lives, our lights shine brightly. Thank you Lord.

Let us get connected with God. I keep telling you, as disciples we are to be living in abundance and excess, especially in our spiritual lives. When we have our lights shining, people will listen to us, we may be able to get someone to come out of darkness. It is a great feeling when we live in the light and we know that God is pleased with us when we help a fellow believer get back on life's track.

My friends, I do hope you are living in the light. When we live in the light, we are able to see clearly, think clearly, walk with our heads up high, not in arrogance, but in humility. God loves you and so do I.

A prayer changes everything.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Too Blessed To Be Stressed

Hello, my friends!

I hope while I was away, you were keeping yourselves prayed up and praising God. My friends, I wasn't going to write a message, but I believe someone has been waiting on me.

I tell you, I thank God for His favor over my life! I am so blessed, I don't even have time to be stressed. God has been blessing me in every way--I am just so blessed, I am happy, I have joy in my heart; my kids are blessed, my family in Belize is blessed, my finances are blessed. Every now and then someone lets the devil uses them to try to remind me that I am a "single parent". However, I have the good sense to know that that is a label society has placed on me, but you know what? My God is the head of my household. God does not put that label on me. I have God's favor, I am blessed, despite being labeled "single parent". I cannot even explain to you in words how God has been blessing me. That's what you call favor. Thank you Lord. In fact, just look at me, look at me dead in my eyes, I guarantee you, you will see my brown eyes with light and twinkle in them! Even when the devil tries to put a damper in my spirit, even when the devil tries to remind me of my past, I just keep on smiling and praising God. That's God favor. You see, it's the God in me that keeps me going each and every day.

Psalms 30:5 tells me that God's anger only lasts for a moment, but His favor lasts for a lifetime! Oh, how sweet. I did not always do what God wanted me to do, or expected me to do, but I thank God for His mercy and grace. I thank God for my wonderful parents who prayed for me no matter what I did, no matter how disappointing the situation was that I had put myself in. My friends, please do not give up on yourself, do not give up on your family, do not give up on your kids, do not give up. God's favor is all over your life, if only You will let Him do what He wants to do. All we need to do is keep trusting and believing in God. I mean, trust and believe in Him. I know personally for me I have issues trusting people, but you know what, the one person who I trust to the max, that one person who does not remind me of my past, that one person who does not talk about me, is the One above, my Father, my God. It is just so sweet knowing that we can take all our troubles, all our misery, all our headaches and heartaches to the Lord in prayer. I have learned that when I go to the Lord with a problem, I must leave it with Him to take care of it. He is the head of my household. I have learned how to lean and depend 100 percent on the Lord because He is the head of my household.

My friends, just depend on the Lord. All you need to do is cry out to Him, all you need to do is call on His name, all you need to do is trust in Him. I mean completely trust in Him. God is a God who performs miracles. He is still in the miracle working business. I am a witness, God has performed numerous miracles in my life. You know that I know what I am talking about. My friends, when we trust God completely, we begin to see God's favor moving all over our lives--everything in our lives just line up according to God's will--everything blessed. It is just so sweet when we have God's favor. Thank you Lord.

Remember now, Psalm 90:17 says, may the favor of the Lord our God rests upon us!

Be blessed.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Confess and Reject

Greetings, my friends:

Today has been a wonderful day. I thank God because I have been looking forward to going on vacation, and it is finally here! Thank you Lord.

God is just awesome how he works things out. No one would have told me years ago that I would be able to afford a vacation. It is only God's favor upon my life why I am so blessed. When we confess our sins and live the way God wants us to live, He pours out His blessings on us in abundance. I know someone knows what I am talking about. Proverbs 28:13 says, "If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy." When we receive mercy, we have God's favor over our lives. Favor is what we do not deserve, but God gives it to us anyway.

My friends, we must not hide our sins. We are only fooling ourselves when we try to sweep our sins under the rug, but you know, God is still watching. I will tell you too, whatever you do in the dark will come out in the light (sooner or later). God wants us to be humble and confess and ask for forgiveness. My personal experience is that when I tried to hide my sins, I just felt sick, sick, sick to my stomach. It was a nauseating feeling, I have no choice but to surrender to God. I no longer hide my sins, as soon as I sin I ask for immediate forgiveness. I am successful because I have God living and abiding in me. I am succeeding because I confess and reject my sins. That's what we need to do, we need to confess and reject our sins so that we can be successful.

My friends, I am on vacation, but I will still bring the message because my spiritual life is not on vacation! God is wonderful and I just thank Him for providing for me.

Stay blessed,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

I Am Not A Dwarf

Hello my friends:

I do hope this message finds you doing all that is great and wonderful! Let me tell you something you don't already know-- the devil is a busy bugger. I mean he is just busy. I am telling you, if I don't put on God's full armor, I would be falling victim to the devil each and every day. I am not kidding. It's like he just uses specific people to get to me, you know, get under my skin. However, I thank God that He is working in my life because I tell you, if I didn't know that I have a Father who loves me, I would probably be a cursing sailor, a negative, miserable, old fart. But heyyy, Therese from Belize, has a smile on her face despite the situation; she is still rejoicing, singing, and dancing!! The devil is a liar and I will prove him a liar each and every time he uses someone to get to me.

When I was in the situation today, I had to think about the sermon my pastor, the Rev. Dr. Felix G. Williams, III, preached on Sunday, August 2. One of his points was that God does not want to use someone who is a dwarf. When Rev. Williams used the word dwarf, he was not referring to someone who is small in stature, a little person, but he was referring to someone who has given his/her life to Christ many years ago and is still a babe in Christ, someone who has not grown in the Word, someone who is not spiritually mature. A dwarf, according to Rev. Williams, is anyone who who fails to grow in God. The authors of the book of Hebrews in tells us, "anyone who lives on milk is still a baby and knows nothing about about right teaching. But solid food is for those who are grown up. They have practiced in order to know the difference between good and evil" (Chapter 5:13-14).

My friends, I just have to thank God for His grace and His mercy; I have to thank God for being in my life. Today, I gave myself a pat on my back because of the way I handled that situation. I am telling you, it was only by God's good grace that I handled it with spiritual maturity because I am practicing obedience.

Hey, I am not a dwarf!

Be blessed,
Ta ta
Therese from Belize

Monday, August 3, 2009

Submit to God

Hello my friends:

I tell you, we serve a true and loving God. I am just rejuvenated, cheerful, happy, and joyful because I serve a loving God. My friends, if you submit and wait on the Lord, I promise you, He will always come through for you.

I keep my spirit joyful by getting in the Word, practicing what the Word tells me to do, and also I sing and dance unto the Lord. Of course, I listen to my favorite satellite channel, XM channel 33, The Praise channel.

I was listening to this song by Destiny Praise, titled, His Will.

Destiny Praise sings:
Are you in bondage to the status of nice things
Addicted to the attention and the compliments they bring
Feeling the weight of growing debt with each bill
That's not His Will
That's not His Will

If that's not you then maybe this one's on point
Still need a drink or you gotta smoke one joint
To get thru the pain of all the heartache that you feel
That's not His Will
That's not His Will

It's not a trial, It's not a test
God wants for you, His Best
But not until you submit to His Will

Do you need validation wrapped up in false love
So you sneak out, to the strip club
Knowing that nothing there can ever be for real
That's not His Will
That's not His Will

Maybe you think that you will find it in someone
So you sleep around hoping each time that you're done
But that one is not found and you're still trying to heal
That's not His Will
That's not His Will

It's seems unfair,It's so much stress
God wants for you, His Best
But not until you submit to His Will

He heard your crying tears
He knows your silent fears
He wants to just renew
His relationship with you

Don't be afraid of facing everything inside
Even the guilt, wrapped up in pride
God will step in but He's waiting until
You're in His Will
You're in His Will

Don't you give up, don't settle for less
God wants for you His Best
But not until you submit to His Will
Jesus is waiting to reveal His plan for you for real
But it won't happen
Til you stop and submit to His will

My friends, when you submit to God, He gives you the best of everything. You will see how life becomes much easier. Even when Satan tries to rain on your parade, God will intervene on your behalf because He knows that your heart belongs to Him. My friends, it is not until I submit myself fully to the Lord that I can praise Him even when the devil tries to keep me down.

I ask you today, to submit your life fully to Christ and you will see how everything will fall into place for you. Hebrews 13:8 tells me that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. My friends, when you submit yourself to Christ, he forgives us of our past mistakes, He wipes our slates clean because He created in us a clean heart. Friends and family will be asking you how come you look so happy, how come your finances are lined up, how come you have a sparkle in your eyes, how come you are smiling all the time. I tell you, this is what happens when we submit our lives fully to the Lord. Our past is forgiven, our present is blessed to the max, and our future is bright because we look forward to seeing our Lord. When we submit ourselves to His will, we do not know any other way to live, but to live joyfully! Thank you Lord.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Spirit of Discernment

I bring greetings, in God's name, my friends!

When I was a babe in Christ, I really didn't understand the true meaning of discernment because I was still wobbling in my walk with Christ. However, as I got more and more mature in my walk with Christ and when I truly started to get in the Word and really started to understanding the Word and really started living the way I am supposed to live for Christ, I have been able to understand discernment. My sister used to tell me about her being able to discern spirits within people. It used to scare me. I also have a friend who has the gift of discernment and it used to scare me because I used to wonder if he would be able to sense or see some evil spirit in me. Yes, I know this is not christian-like, but you see when you are not truly committed to the Lord and His teachings, those are the very type of things you concern yourself with. It is wrong. As true believers, we must all have the spirit of discernment. It is a gift from God. However, we don't know we have the gift or we do not use the gift because we are not committed to the Lord. Discernment comes from being obedient and knowing the Word of God. When we open our hearts and minds to God, the Spirit uses us to help others turn away from their sinful and selfish ways. When God gives us the gift of discernment, we are able to fight the flesh; we are able to fight off, rebuke and bind up whatever spirit, person, or thing that is not of God.

Paul tells us that the Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy; and the Spirit gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and to another the ability to interpret those languages. One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things and the Spirit decides what to give each person (1 Corinthians 12:10-11). Paul goes on to tell us in Galatians 5:16 that we must live by following the Spirit, then we will not do what our sinful selves want. In verse 25, Paul tells us that we get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. When we renew our hearts and begin to faithfully follow God, we are gifted with the spirit of discernment. I know that whenever I am around someone who is negative or who has a spirit that is not of God, I just get a heavy heart, I get uneasy, I mean, it's like I want to run away from the person. I can just tell that something is not right with that person. However, I can't just run away, my job as a disciple is to share a kind word with that person, or ask that person if I can pray for him/her; or when I leave, I should pray for that person. My friends, when we have discernment and we come across people and situations where we know that what we see and feel is not of God, all we can do is pray, pray for the person and ask God to bind up the spirit that is not of Him.

As Christians we must be able to discern what is true and what is false. The only way to discern is to know what the good news of God says. That way, no one will be able to bring false teachings to you. That is the reason why, my friends, I keep telling you that the most important thing you need to do for yourself is to get in God's Word. You need to read, read, read, and understand, understand, understand what the Word is telling us, and then we must obey.

My friends, ask God for the gift, ask God to come, live and abide in you so you may be able to use the gift He has given you to discern what is right from wrong, what is evil and sinful and to help others to receive the gift of salvation.

I do hope you are staying prayed up. Please continue to pray for me, and I will pray for you. When you pray for me, please say my name, please call out my name, Therese from Belize. Thanks.

God bless,
Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Sin Wants You, But You Must Rule Over It

My friends, greetings!

As disciples of Christ, we must live in obedience and not let sin rule over us. Genesis 4:7 tells us that sin wants you, but you must rule over it. How can we rule over sin? Paul in Romans 8:14 tells us that the true children of God are those who let God's spirit lead them. That's right, we must obey God's laws and live a life that is pleasing to God. Paul tells us that if we use our lives to do the wrong things our sinful selves want, we will die spiritually. If we use the Spirit's help to stop doing the wrong things we do with our bodies, we will have true life (Romans 8:12-13). My friends, we let sin rule over us when we gossip, when we envy, when we become jealous, angry, and selfish. Sin rule over us when we commit fornication or other sexual sin in our minds, heart, and thoughts. Paul encourages us that we get new life from the Spirit when we crucify ourselves of these sins. As a believer, we inherit the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. These are the spirit that we must have living and abiding in us. You will know when you have the fruits of the spirit because you will handle situations a whole lot differently than when you were caught up in the sinful self.

I thank God for the fruits of the spirit because I know they live and abide in me. My friends, when I was out there in the world, I did what the world wanted me to do--I sin non-stop in every way imaginable, but thanks be to God, He has forgiven a wretch like me, and now I no longer do those things of the world, or at least I try not to. I can tell you, I don't even want to go back to those old ways. I don't know about you, but when I look back at the mess I used to do and say, it's like I have to take a shower or rinse my mouth out with soap (like Mr. Brown says he has to do when Edna talks and behaves nasty!). I am telling you the honest truth, when I hear people calling other people out of their names, it just bothers me, I have to say something to them because it insults me; it's like I can't even stand to hear bad words or hear people talk bad about other people. That's the fruit of the spirit working in me. Thank you Lord.

My friends, I still have a long way to go in my Christian walk, but my goal is to be Christ-like. I want to live a life that when you see me, you see His light shining through me. To be Christ-like, we must not let sin rule over us; we must rule over sin. To rule over sin, we must stop doing what we used to do that is displeasing unto God and start doing what is pleasing to God.

If you are a committed Christian and you are still living in the same sinful way, Paul warns that you will die spiritually. As Christians, we should be living, our spirituality should become more and more mature in Christ. My friends, you just never know when someone is looking to you for their answer. The way you live your life and the way you talk as a Christian can mean the difference between someone giving their life to Christ and someone walking away from Christ. Do you want to be held responsible before God for allowing a child to walk away from His kingdom?

Pray, pray, pray. We need to become better stewards of God's kingdom and we can only do that when we rule sin and not the other way around.

God bless.
Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Search This Blog