INVITE THERESE WARRICK TO YOUR EVENTS!

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

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Student of the Word

I attended Bible Study at my church tonight, and I tell you, I was glad I went. Minister Rice taught he Word tonight. It just feels so good as a student when you know what the teacher is teaching and you get that connection! You know, when you study, you can follow along with what is being taught. I find that as I get more and more into studying the Word, I get a new and better understanding of what God wants me to know and how He expects me to live, and what He wants me to do. It is just amazing! I get so energized that I do want to live my life in obedience to God. Sometimes, I guess it is okay to pat ourselves on the back, but I tell you, I have come a long way and it's all because of God's grace and mercy. Studying the Word enlightens me, it makes me happy and it gives me joy and peace within my heart.

You know I love the apostle Paul and I always hear his words of encouragement to Timothy and to us ringing in my ears. Paul encouraged us to study to show thyself approved unto God; make every effort to give yourself to God as the kind of person He will accept. Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way (2 Timothy 2:14-15).

Be good students of the Word, everything else will fall into place.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

To God Be The Glory

My friends, greetings!

God is worthy to be praise! God is showing me everyday how great and awesome He is. He always sends someone my way who needs word of encouragement; He always sends me to someone who has an encouraging word for me; but most importantly He always sends his angels to guide and protect me. What I love about God is that He is a forgiving Father, He is an on-time God, He is never late or a dollar short! I praise Him for this because I know He will be pouring out more and more blessings over my life as time goes by. I just have to keep pressing forward.

Oooo, those blessings that will come, I will not have enough room to receive them, but I can tell you, I will share them with those who are in need. Glory to God. I just thank God for all He is doing in my life and for all that He will continue to do in my life. I pray everyday that God uses me in the way He wants me to be used. I will continue serving the Lord with all gladness because as David tells me to depend on the Lord; trust Him, and He will take care of me (Psalm 37:4-5). God is worthy to be praise.

My friends, I encourage you to start believing in the goodness of the Lord; start having faith. Believe me, when you start depending and trusting God in all you say and do, you will begin to see God's goodness, His mercy and His grace in your life. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time, but start today for tomorrow is not promised.

(Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.)

Be blessed,
Therese from Belize

Monday, September 28, 2009

Study God's Word

My friends, I tell you, God is amazing and I look forward to everyday to see what He has in store for me!

As a disciple, studying God's Word is very important. It is important because you have to know what the Word says for yourself and you need to know how to answer someone who has questions about your faith. That can make the difference between someone coming out of the dark and someone retreating back into darkness. As a student of the Word, I find that the Spirit leads me to Scriptures and as I read the verses, I get a whole new understanding. Studying God's Word gives me delight, it's like I would be reading and then I would stare off thinking about what it was like. I always think about my being a protege of Paul. I also wanted to be there when God visited with Mary and Martha after he learned of Lazarus' death. I imagine being in the crowd when Jesus was teaching. Studying the Word prepares us to deal with adversities that come our way, it helps us to be a blessing to others and it helps us to keep our eyes on God.

My friends, I urge you to read and meditate on the Word, you'll find that your life will become more satisfying and fulfilling. Pray, meditate and study God's Word.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, September 27, 2009

In the Meantime, Serve God

God is worthy to be praise! I am blessed and pray that God blesses you too!

Serve God with with all your heart, mind and soul. When we serve God, we must do it with joy. We cannot profess to be disciples and followers of Jesus and not serve. Today, we had a guest preacher at our church, Rev. Slatter, and his message was that Christianity is NOT a spectator sport. I was like, 'yes, thank you Father for this confirmation.' I just get joy when God affirms and confirms what I have been saying to others, it makes me know that what I am saying and writing come from God.

My friends, if you are not involved in some ministry, please do so. Being involved does not necessarily mean you have to be at church everyday, your service to God can be just ministering to someone today, just talking to a co-worker about the goodness of God and how one can receive free salvation. Now is the time for us to serve God with all our hearts, minds and souls. I don' know about you, but when I serve others, I get a joy in me, I get a satisfaction that feels so good. Stop being selfish and serve others, serve God by serving others. I guarantee you, you will see a difference in your life. As Christian artist, John Waller sings, "While I am waiting, I will serve you Lord, while I am waiting, I will worship you Lord." That's exactly what we must do, while waiting on the Lord for His return, we must serve.

Get in service, be a blessing to others and you yourself will be blessed. Remember, while waiting, serve, just don't sit around and wait; serve, serve, serve with all your hearts, minds, and souls. If you are a pew warmer at your church, it is not too late for you to get up and serve. Do it today, because tomorrow is not promised.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Train Up A Child To Live Right

My friends:

I thank God for always guiding and protecting me and my household. I thank God for my parents and my upbringing. As the scripture says in Proverbs 22:6, "train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." When we were growing up, we didn't have money, we did not live in any big house, in fact, we grew up in a two-bedroom house, seven kids, mom and dad, wore second-hand and hand-me-down clothes for the most part, but I tell you right now, our household had love; love for God and love for family. That's what made us rich. We were a very happy family, and still to this day, we are a very close-knit family.

My parents instilled in us to love and serve God. Even though we didn't had the best of anything, my mother, especially, made sure that we prayed; she made sure that we attended church; we observed our parents reading their Bibles everyday; we saw them praying; we heard them testifying about the goodness of God how He opened doors for them. God answered my parents' prayers every time because not one day we went hungry, not one day we were homeless, we had joy and laughter in our home. My parents sent us to vacation Bible study, sent us to revivals, I mean we were poor financially, but spiritually, we were rich. I believe because of our spiritual richness, we were more blessed than the families who were financially well-off. For that, I thank God.

Even though I did my "thing" when I became a young adult, I had the good sense to turn right back to what I know, that is, God, because that's what my parents had instilled in me. No matter what, God loves me and He forgives my sins. I urge you to start instilling the love of Jesus Christ in your children. Begin now, do not wait until tomorrow, for it may be too late then. Don't let your circumstances stop you and your family from knowing God. My parents always told us, we will be successful, we will be loving people who will help others. They did not let their circumstances (no education, manual laborers, underprivileged) deter them from becoming loving parents and parents who love the Lord with all their hearts and souls. My upbringing has helped me to be that mother that God wants me to be and now I am training my children how to live right so that when they are old, they will not change.

I pray that you will be an example to your children by living a life that is pleasing to God. When you are obedient to God, your children will see the love of God shining in and through you and they will want to follow your steps. Be a good parent and train up your children how to live right, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. I am a living witness to that. I just thank God for my parents. I can tell you right now that over loving your children will not help them when they are older; putting your children before God will not help you or them to become the people God wants you to be. Train up your child to love and fear God, teach your children the ways of the Lord so that they when they become old, they will not depart from it. Put God first in your life and let Him be first in your children's lives. Without God, we are nothing.

And remember, God brings us into this world and He can take us out of this world. So, be careful how we live our lives and how we cherish our children first instead of God. Just a food for thought.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Friday, September 25, 2009

Working Towards The Goal

My friends, greetings!

I am writing this blog with such joy because the Spirit led me to Philippians 3. I don't know about you, but as for me, I just enjoy studying Paul's letters. You noticed, I said studying not reading. I am finding that as I am becoming more mature in the Spirit, the Scriptures are understood more differently than before.
Paul in Philippians 3:12 wrote, "I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine." I am telling you, the Spirit really directs our path. There is a reason why I was drawn to this Scripture. Paul is encouraging me to keep pressing on as I keep my eyes toward the prize, that is, to get to heaven. Paul reminded me that I must forget my past and strain toward what is ahead. That is just what I needed. It gives me confidence to keep pressing forward, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and not worrying about what anyone has to say about me or what I have done in the past.

Paul tells me that as disciples, our goal is to become Christ-like, knowing in the end, that we will be going to our home in heaven. However, while preparing for that goal, there is much work that needs to be done. My friends, I just try to live one day at a time, living the best way I can hoping that someone would see God shining in and through me. You best believe that I will keep pressing on, I will keep moving forward, I will stay encouraged, I will hold on, I will declare that Jesus Christ is king. My friends, I will not give up on reaching that goal. I want to get to heaven. Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout for victory! I don't know about you, but this is one goal I will keep working on until God calls me home or until Jesus comes to take me to heaven.

My friends, I encourage you to study the Scriptures, you'll find that you will understand God's message in a better way, you'll begin to feel enthusiastic and hopeful about your life. Try it; it's free!

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Lights On

Greetings to you, my friends:

My friends, isn't it wonderful when we live in the light? I mean, it's just marvelous, it is just an awesome feeling. When we live in the light, we are equipped to handle whatever challenges life throw our way. That's what's so great about living in the light. I can tell you, ever since I discovered the light, I have learned how to pray, praise, sing, clap, dance, laugh, I mean life is just sweet. Hey, don't get me wrong, the devil tries to get me now more than ever, but listen, I know my light is on, so I call on the name of Jesus. When our lights are on, we have God living in our hearts, God is always on our minds, so praise comes from our mouth. In Ephesians 4:19, Paul encourages us to "speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord."

I am telling you, the devil will try to shut you down, but like Rev. Williams always reminds us, the devil can never shut down our mouths and so we should just keep praising God. Lights on means that we are no longer living the way we used to when were following the ways of the world. Lights on bring a new living, people will see God's love in you and they will want to have some of what you have. God is worthy to be praise.

My friends, I pray that your lights will be on today and always. When your lights are on, people will be drawn to you and you will be able to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Stop living the way of the world and ask God to turn the lights on in your life.

Stay encouraged,
Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Help The Fallen

My friends, I pray all is well with you.

As I began to write this message, I couldn't help but wonder about all the people that were praying for me when I had fallen, fallen off the wayside, fallen off the road that leads to eternal life. I am grateful for their prayers. The apostle, James reminds us that anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinners soul from death and will cause many sins to be forgiven (James 5:20). I believe this is one of the most important verses in the Book of James. Basically, what James is telling us is that if we know one of our sisters or brothers has fallen down, we know of a backslider, we know of one who has given up on life, we must help the fallen to come back on the path of righteousness and, in doing so, we are not only saving that person's physical life, but we are helping that person to save his/her soul, eternal life in Christ is being redeemed. When a sinner is back on track with God, many sins are forgiven, God's work is shown to everyone and a soul has been won for the kingdom of God. When one soul is won, the angels rejoices!

My friends, it truly hurts me when the church loses a soul, but what hurts even more is when the leaders know that members are falling on the wayside and they do nothing about it. I know I cannot save the world, but if I can save one soul from destruction and death, I know that God is pleased with me. As disciples, our duty is to bring souls to Christ, our duty is to help our sisters and brothers when they fall. We should encourage each other to pick ourselves up when we fall. The gate to heaven is narrow, but we must succeed by pressing on through that narrow gate. In the end, our reward will be eternal life with God. To God be the glory.

Proverbs 24:16 encourages me that "for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity." In other words, no matter how righteous and saved you are, there will be times when you will fall, however, you must rise up, go on doing what you were doing knowing that the wicked will get what's coming to them.

Be blessed,
Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Heart Does Not Lie

My friends, greetings and I do hope that you have been staying prayed up. I cannot emphasize enough the power of prayer. You have to pray, pray, pray and pray believing that God has already answered your prayer. However, I must caution you that when you pray, your heart must be clean, your mind must be clear of all the day's garbage. You cannot be holding a grudge against someone and then expect God to hear your prayer; you cannot go to God in prayer while mad at someone or something. Clear your mind and ask for forgiveness. God forgives us instantly, so once our sins are forgiven, you proceed in prayer, pour out your heart to the Lord.

My friends, we have to be careful with what we put in our heart. Matthew warns us that people know us by our words and that if we want good fruit, we must make the tree good. In Matthew 12:33, it says,"...a tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces." Verse 34, "...The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts and so they say good things, but evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things." (Matthew 12:33-36)

When we are living for God, our hearts must be clean. People will know us by the words we speak and the way we treat others. As disciples, we must bear good fruits otherwise it is not of God. My friends, we must speak the Word of God, we must study the Word and we must act on the Word. I pray that God will create in you a clean heart and that He will renew your Spirit.

Stay prayed up, stay steadfast in your walk with Christ, stay encouraged and you'll produce good fruit.

Peace and love,
Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Saturday, September 19, 2009

When You Become A Disciple

My friends, greetings!

God is truly an awesome God, He is a God that shows up right on time. My favorite apostle, Paul, wrote a second letter to the people, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, Paul wrote "You are not the same as those who do not believe. So do not join yourselves to them. Good and bad do not belong together. Light and darkness cannot share together. How can Christ and the devil have any agreement? What can a believer have together with a nonbeliever?" That's right, my friends. If you are now saved, there is no way you should still be under the influenced of your friends who are club hoppers, your friends who are prostitutes, your friends who are adulterous. There is no way you should be engaged or married to a man who does not believe in Christ and who does not follow the teachings of Christ. My friends, sometimes, we must let go of the people and things we love in order for us to fulfill God's work God has given us a forgiving spirit but that does not mean that we will knowingly and maliciously commit a blatant sin. Now, that's foul, that foul.

Friends, I pray that you will get the courage to inform your friends of your decision to walk with Christ. When they see how you are progressing quite brilliantly, they will ask for a show, I promise.

Be blessed, my friends, do not be ashamed of who you are or what you have done. You just stay in God's Word; keep doing what you are doing.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Friday, September 18, 2009

From the Heart

My friends:

I tell you, the devil does not take a break much less a holiday. He partakes in his mischief morning, noon and night and every hour, minute and second of the day. Sometimes, I can say I am prepared for him, but sometimes, he takes me by surprise, and I tell you, these last couple days, he has truly tried to get me. I am staying prayed up, I am staying faithful, and I am staying strong. You see, he is mad because I have been given a blessing. Every time the Lord blesses us, the devil is right around the corner to try and mess us up because he is mad. What God has given me, I am telling you, the devil is not going to take it away from me, because he is a liar, yes, he is. I have already declared to him that I am reaping the harvest that God has promised me, taking back everything that he has stole from me.

Psalm 57:1, wrote by David, be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me because I come to you for protection. My friends, I can only call on God to be merciful to me and to help me. I give the Lord the battles the devil is trying to make me fight, but I am not ashamed to say, I am not a fighter, so I give it to the Lord. I know He will take care of all my battles for me. Thank you Lord.

My friends, sometimes it seems that trouble comes to us at every turn, but be assured that God is waiting on us for us to call to Him. That's what I am doing, calling on the Lord. You do the same.

Take care.
Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Thursday, September 17, 2009

But, Are You Listening?

Greetings, my friends:

As read from 1 John 1:3-5, "...God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. So if we say we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars and do not follow the truth. But if we live in light, God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other...", I am telling you, God is worthy to be praise. I thank God for His Holy Spirit. What John is saying to us is that when God's Spirit lives and abides in us, there is a light that shines on us, when we have that light, we draw people to us and when people are drawn to us, they get to hear and know about the goodness of the Lord. Having fellowship with God requires obedience to God in the way we walk, the way we talk, praising God in good times and in bad times, reading and meditating on the Word. Having a fellowship with God happens anywhere and everywhere. I am telling you, when you are living in the light, you will not even realize that you are singing out loud to Christ, you don't even care who hears you; when you are living in the light, you know you'll find yourself just praising and worshipping God with other believers. Living in the light keeps you stomping on satan morning, noon and night, getting him dizzy, he doesn't even know why he tried to bother you any at all.

My friends, you have to be like an obedient child and listen to what I am saying. No one nows the hour or the day when our Lord will be here, but when He comes, only His chosen children will be going with him. I challenge you today, my friends, if you are a so-called "christian", a so-called "disciple", but still living in sin, I ask that you repent; I ask that you call on the name of the Lord during and after all you have went through. I pray for your courage, your strength, your renewal of the Holy Spirit in your life.


My friends, stay in your faith; stay strong. GOd bless.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Don't Be Like The Pharisees

My friends, I pray all is well:

God is merciful and worthy to be praise. I tell you the truth, when you get in God's Word, He leads you to the scripture your heart needs. I read Matthew 23, particularly verses 23-28. However, I paid particular attention to verses 27-28, it is written, "...you are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine, but inside, they are full of the bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things. It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil." Wow..I had to re-read those verses because I have been that white tomb. Yes, my friends, if we want to be honest with each other, when we have one foot in the door and other out the door, we are hypocrites. When we profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, yet still, we don't even say a kind word to our brother or sister in Christ, yes, we are hypocrites. That is why it is important that we confess our sins and ask God to create in us a clean heart and renew our Spirits. I know that many of you are walking around looking all beautiful on the outside, looking crisp with the white painting, but your inside is full of dry, evil bones. I always remind you that God wants our inside, our hearts, to be clean and beautiful. My friends, the inside is what matters, that is what's important to God. We know that man looks at the outside, because the Bible tells us that, and we see it everyday. Man is only looking at the white color, how beautiful the outside of the tomb is painted; he hasn't even looked to see what is on the inside of the tomb. Oh, how foolish.

My friends, I pray that if you are walking around painted so beautifully on the outside, but your inside is hurting, you have dry, evil bones, you will ask God to take those evil bones away and give you a new heart. When our insides are clean, everything else is clean--our thoughts, our words, our actions. I pray that you will be obedient to God and not be like the Pharisees who were hypocrites because the same way Jesus dealt with them, He will deal with you, and I pray for your soul when that happens. I suggest, be obedient to God.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Reclaim Your Life

Greetings, to my friends:

As I was waiting for a message today, the Spirit took me to Psalm 51:10-13. David's petition to God was that God create in him a pure heart and make his spirit right again (v. 10). David had sinned against God, not only did David coveted another man's wife (Bathsheba), but he actually got the man (Uriah) killed and then took the man's wife (2 Samuel 11). David paid dearly for his sins, but he repented to God. God forgave David. David prayed and asked God to not take away His Holy Spirit. David prayed that God give him back the joy of His salvation. David prayed that God would keep him strong and give him a willing spirit. David promised God that if God do all those things for him, he will teach Gods ways to those who do wrong and sinners will turn back to God.

My friends, when we do despicable things, when we commit a sin, no matter small or large, we must repent and ask God for forgiveness and mercy. If we don't, our lives go dark, the further we tangle with sin, the darker our lives become. I can tell you, when your life gets dark, it is no fun, you are really wrapped around the devil's fingers, and it is so hard for the lights to get turned back on, but I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ. My friends, just as David did, we must do. We must begin to take back all that the devil has stolen from us. That's right, we must reclaim back everything, in the name of Jesus. I am telling you, if you have been dark and you feel like you can't get out, just call on the name of Jesus and reclaim your families, your finances, your joy, most importantly reclaim your Spirit, that is, the Spirit of God. Don't be afraid to reclaim everything. It may take some time, but hang in there, pray, keep on praying morning, noon and night; ask prayer warriors to intercede on your behalf; you'll need all the prayers you can get. Oh, the devil is mad. But, who cares?

There is a Hezekiah Walker song I just love, Faithful is our God. Hezekiah sings:
Faithful, faithful is our God
I am reaping the harvest God promised me
Take back what the devil stole from me
And I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all.

Yes, my friends, you see, when we ask God to forgive us, He gives us that second chance, in fact, He is a God of many chances. All we have to do is call on His name and when we do, God let us take back everything that the devil has stolen from us. I know I am a witness. I have personally reclaimed my life. Thank you Lord. I reclaimed my joy, I reclaimed peace, I reclaimed my finances, I mean, I just reclaimed everything that I could think of that the devil stole from me. And now, I am God's witness and I pray that the backslider will find their way back to Christ. I have no shame in my game and you must not either. God has told me that my past has been wiped clean. I have been redeemed, sayeth the Lord! Now, when someone tells me I am lucky, I say, no, I am not lucky, I have God's favor! My friends, believe me, I am not writing anything that I have not already experienced. God is truly wonderful,all we need to do is repent, confess, believe and trust in the Lord. I guarantee you, when your heart is clean and renewed, oh my, what joy, what peace!

I pray for your continued strength; I pray that you will reclaim what the devil stole from you, in the name of Jesus.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Be Anxious For Nothing

Greetings, my friends:

I pray that all is well. My friends, I don't know if it is the same way with you, but sometimes I find it hard not to be anxious about certain things. I know the Bible tells me to not be anxious about anything, but instead pray about everything Philippians 4:6). I pray, I try to always remember this verse in everything that I do, but the human in me still brings out that anxiousness. Sometimes I get anxious about good things (I wonder when I will hear back from so and so, I wonder if I will get a response back from so and so) and then sometimes I get anxious about bad things (oh, oh, a bill is coming due, will I have enough in my budget to do this, or do that). It's wrong, totally wrong. Lord have mercy. I need to have more faith in God and believe that God will supply all my needs because He says to ask and it shall be given. My friends, if you can relate to what I am saying here, please let us get in agreement that we when we ask the Lord for something, we will trust and believe that He will answer our prayers. Let us stop being anxious about things and people and instead rely on God.

My friends, anxiousness causes an uneasiness of the mind. When our minds are not cleared or when it is uneasy, then our whole being is out of sync with God. When we have peace, our hearts and minds will be on Jesus Christ. Paul encourages us to think about the things that are good and worthy of praise; think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected (Philippians 4:8). I pray that when we are in the spirit of anxiousness that we will have the strength to ask God for peace.


My friends, I ask that you continue to pray for me as I will pray for you.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Saturday, September 12, 2009

We Cannot Serve Two Masters At The Same Time

My friends, greetings!

I thank God that His words are written in my heart and that I am serious about my walk with Him. I say this because September is a month of celebration for my country, Belize. I have been receiving several invites to Belizean parties here in the U.S. and I tell you the truth, I have thought about attending one or two of those parties in Louisville. However, as a maturing disciple, the words of God that is written on my heart reminds me that I cannot live for God and still want to do what the world is doing. Paul reminds me that I am a child of God and that I am not ruled by my sinful self, but am ruled by the Spirit. I politely declined those invites and I also was able to let my friends know that I am now living for God and I cannot have one foot inside the church and the other at the clubs, that just cannot work for God. I thank God for his grace.

Romans 8:14 tells me that the true children of God are those who let God's Spirit lead them. The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. I thank God for the Spirit because I was not afraid to let my friends know the only dancing I do is when I dance for the Lord. I was not afraid to let my friends know that I am now living for God, that former life has no place in my present life. As I am writing this blog, the Jars of Clay song, Two Hands, comes to my mind. The part that is lingering in my mind goes: "I use one hand to pull closer, the other to push you away; if I had two hands, doing the same thing; lifted high, lifted high." Yes, that's a shame that many disciples do use one hand to pull onto Jesus, but the other to push Him away. My friends, I pray that you are being led by the Spirit of God so that when temptation comes your way, you'll have the strength to say no; you'll have the courage to speak up for the Lord. Many of us do not have the strength to resist the temptation of this world because we are still babes in Christ. However, we must be like a growing child, we must study, study, study and do God's will. We must pray morning, noon and night. We must stay prayed up, we must stay in God's Word and put into practice what the Word tells us.

If there is someone that has one foot in the door and the other out, I pray that God will give you the courage to put both feet in the door. God wants us to be obedient. Remember, when we are obedient, great and awesome things happen. Why would you want to continue follow the world, when there is nothing out there but destruction, drugs, prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, anxiety, drunkenness, jealousy, envy, hatred? Be wise, my friends, and put both hands and both feet in God's house and see how happy you will be.

Be blessed,
Ta ta
Therese from Belize

Friday, September 11, 2009

My Reflection

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

God is worthy to be praise. God is truly an awesome God. My friends, I am no longer afraid to look at my reflection in the mirror. I am happy to report that I now see a beautiful, God-inspired woman staring back at me. I have been asking God to create in me a clean heart; I have found my divine purpose in life, and I am answering God when He calls on me. Glory. As James advised us, "Do what God's teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing you are fooling yourselves. Those who hear God's teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like. But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it..." (James 1:22-25) How beautiful!

Watch this, if we want to be honest with ourselves, we can say we have looked in the mirror and hurriedly turn our backs and walk away. I know I am right on this. My friends, we do that because we do not like what we see. When we are disobedient, everything about us is ugly and dark. The good news is that I am no longer afraid of looking at that woman in the mirror. I now have confidence because God has told me that I am His child and He loves me and that I was made in His image. My friends, as of this day forward, promise me that when you see a reflection of ugliness, sadness, depression, worry, and fear, you will do the right thing and ask God to come live and abide in your heart. Ask God to create in you a clean heart. Make that your prayer. You can pray, "Lord, please create in me a new heart and forgive me of my transgressions, in the name of Jesus, Amen." My friends, you say this prayer with all sincerity and seriousness, I guarantee that you will see the difference in yourself. That day will come when you look in the mirror, you will have to do a double-take because, I promise you, that reflection will have a light shining through it. That is the reason why James encouraged us to get rid of all moral filth and evil, and humbly accept the Word.

My friends, I pray that God create in you a clean heart and you will be able to look at your reflection with all thanks and gratefulness. Please get in the Word by studying it, praying and living the life that God wants you to live. I am not kidding, obedience brings God's favor. You must become obedient to God. I tell you, you will have an explainable, unspeakable joy, happiness, fruitfulness, prosperity, and you will be living in abundance. Thank you Lord.

Stay prayed up, keep on pressing, keep on going, keep the faith and be obedient to God in whatever you say and do.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Shake The Devil Off

My friends, greetings!

There is a Dorothy Norwood song the children's choir at my church sings, Shake The Devil Off. Chorus 1 goes, "Shake, shake, shake,
shake the devil off,
in the name of Jesus,
shake the devil off."

Shake the devil off, that's what we have to do constantly and consistently. I shake him off before he leaches on to me; I shake him off when he tries to interrupt my time with God; I shake him off when he is trying to say something to me, I know that's not from God; I shake him off when I start to get symptoms of certain ailments; I shake him off when he is trying to steal my joy. Oh yes, I shake him off at every turn because he knows how to sugarcoat and put things in a certain way that will look like it is right, or say things that will sound sweet, but is not of God; and he knows how to get us in self-pity and depression.

My friends, the devil is a liar, and every time he comes to us, we must hit him with Bible verses and praises unto God. That's why it is important that we become students of the Word; it is important that we fellowship with other believers; it is important that we speak life over ourselves. We see that the devil even tried to test Jesus so many times, but Jesus was able to hit him with God's words (Matthew 4) and we all know that when we hit him with God's words, he laps his tail between his legs and go on about his business.

To shake the devil off, we must be committed to Christ; we must turn to God for help. Psalm 121:1-2, "I look up to the hills, but where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." My friends, shake the devil off, shake him off at every opportunity, do not leave a door open for him to come in.

Be blessed,
Therese from Belize

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Stop Going Through the Motions

My friends, I hope this message finds you in the best. As I try to work for the Lord, I just thank God for His deliverance and love and grace and mercy. I was a woman who was just going through the motions of life because I allowed the devil to have me wrapped around his fingers. I was just living day-to-day, just going through the motions. I got up, said a quick "thank you, Lord" prayer to God, just because; I did not care whether I said a kind word to a stranger; I would just go to work, come home, and do the same thing again the next day. I don't know if anyone can relate to what I am saying. My life had no real purpose. Even though I had dreams about my professional life, when it came to God and living life to the fullest, the purpose was just not there. You see, I made my circumstances affect my living for the Lord. I made the devil control my every being and so I was just going through the motions. Thanks be to God that He does not give up on His children and for that I am eternally grateful.

Paul's letter in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 keeps me encouraged. Paul wrote, "we have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living." That's it, the hope of living. We must have hope to live, to live for God. Christian artist, Matthew West, in his song, "The Motions" declared that he no longer just wants to go through the motions of life. Matthew nearly lost his singing voice and he realized how good God has been to him. He declared that no longer will he go through the motions of life because that's just not enough. I agree. Like Matthew, I certainly do not want to live my whole life asking, "what if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions?"

My friends, just going through the motions is not an option for us. We must be encouragers and believers; we must live our lives to the fullest that God wants us to live. We must have hope and offer hope to others knowing that God is our Father, our provider, our redeemer, and our comforter. I encourage you to begin living life with a purpose, stop going through the motions. Let the devil know he is a liar and has no control over your life. Declare it in the name of Jesus. As Matthew sings, "Cause just okay is not enough, help me fight through the nothingness of this life." That's right, my friends, we must ask God to deliver us from the bondage of nothingness. God will deliver us. I am a living witness, God has delivered me from the nothingness of life. Thank you Father. All you have to do, as Matthew and I did, is call on the name of Jesus and ask Him to deliver you from the nothingness of life.

I pray that you will stay prayed up, stay encouraged, and encourage someone today. Live life with hope and purpose. Please stop going through the motions. God loves you and so do I.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

From Selfish to Selfless

My friends, greetings!

I tell you, it is just amazing when you can look back over your life and see how far God has brought you. Personally, I thank God for bringing me this far and I thank God for his mercy and grace, and even when man gave up on me, God never did.

My friends, I have learned that when we pray, we must not be selfish and only pray for ourselves. I, of course, did not always pray for others, to be truthful with you. I prayed for only myself for a long, long, long time. I prayed for only me, "God, please give me this, God, please give me that, God, please bless me, God please .....me." It was all about me, me, me, me. I was what you called, "one-day Christian". I was only serious about prayer when I was in church. But to God be the glory. When I started feeding myself with the Word morning, noon and night, seven days a week, and became a student of the Word, selfishness had no place in my life.

One night at Bible Study, my pastor was teaching on praying. I was convicted, you know I was that one saying, "ouch". You see, Rev. Williams broke it down for me that I must stop focusing on myself so much when I pray. He said that we must learn how to pray for others. I never learned how to pray because I was not a student of the Word, I was not interested in following Jesus 100 percent. I was only interested at that time in putting on a show for others. Lord have mercy. God always breaks us down though, that's what I love about God, He brings us back right down from off our high horses. My friends, ever since I started praying for others, people I know and people I do not know, God has been blessing me, I have found a peace and joy within that is just awesome, no words can express the feeling. James 5:16 tells me, "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. Paul, my favorite apostle, always gives me encouragement and reminds me to pray for others. As disciples, that is exactly what we must do, we must pray for people, known and unknown, pray for things, known and unknown, and stop being selfish. God does not hear the prayer of a selfish person, but hears the prayer of a righteous, kind, selfless believer.

I thank God that now I have people requesting that I pray for them and their families, I have people, who I know and whom I do not know, requesting prayer from me and for that I thank God because that's God's goodness working in me. I will keep on praying for others, not only praying, but praying believing that God is hearing my prayers. I will continue to intercede on behalf of believers and non-believers. Being selfless makes you humble, we cannot serve God is we have no humility. Thank you Lord.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Monday, September 7, 2009

Believe In God

Greetings, my friends:

As I was watching the US Open today, a young 17-year old American became "America's darling", she's the Cinderalla story. On her shoes, she had the word, "believe". I wondered if that meant she believes in God or believe in herself. I found out as she was being interviewed that it meant she believed in herself. While I like a good Cinderalla story, I thought how sad that she did not ackonwledged God. Okay, maybe I am too harsh. Nevertheless, as a maturing Christian I know that I must believe in God first. Without God, I am nothing. God is the one who has given us our talents and gifts and skills. In all we do, we must give God thanks first and foremost. We are fools to think that we were born with all this talent. No, God is the one that has breathed that talent into us. In Mark Chapter 9:23, Jesus said to the Father, "You Said, 'If you can!' All things are possible for the one who believes." Listen to that, all things are possible for the one who believes. Those are words of commitment from God. All we have to do is believe in Him and all things are possible.

My friends, if your future looks bleak, just believe, God says all things are possible. If you are jobless, just believe, God says all things are possible. If your marriage is falling apart, just believe, God says all things are possible. If your children are acting the fool, just believe, all things are possible. If you are losing hope, just believe, God says all things are possible. With God by our side, all things are possible, all we need to do is believe in God.

Be blessed,
Therese from Belize

Sunday, September 6, 2009

One Night With The King

My friends, I hope you are doing well and being blessed as I am!

The Book of Esther has been in my mind lately, in a very strong way, and then as I was listening to my favorite satellite radio station, Channel 32, the Praise channel, a song by Juanita Bynum played, One Night With the King. You know that's my confirmation to write about Esther and her courage, her faithfulness to God, and the love she had for her people. Esther, a young lady who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, became the Queen of Persia. The importance of her story is that she had faith in God that He would deliver her people, the Jewish people, from the hands of Haman who wanted to destroy them. Esther went before the king and told the king exactly what she wanted him to do for her and her people. You see, my friends, she was being in obedience to God, she fasted, she had patience, she prayed and she had faith that God would allow the king to hear her. She stepped out on faith when she went before the king. If he was displeased with her, he would have killed her. That was a risk she took because she had enough faith that God had her back. As a result of her obedience to God and her love for her people, the king gave her what she wanted, that is, set her people free from Haman, who wanted to destroy them.

My friends, Esther had only one night with the king and she was prepared to let him know what she needed. The same way, when opportunity knocks at our doors, we must be ready to say what we need. When we do not take the opportunity to be a witness for God or help our friends, neighbors, enemies when they need help, God is disappointed in us. Our timidity may cause someone to lose the little hope they were hanging on to because we did not have the courage to be a witness to them. We must be willing to fight for God's people, we must be willing to step up to the plate when we are needed and when we are called. Remember what Paul told Timothy, God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). We need to start standing up for what is right, we need to start standing up and be a witness for God.

My friends, do what Esther did, she stepped out in faith. We must live in faith if we are to be blessed by God. Try it.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Saturday, September 5, 2009

I Got A Makeover! Holla!

My friends, greetings to you all!

I was reading an edition of Today's Woman and an interesting feature caught my eyes. The writer of that particular feature was inviting women to submit their names for a makeover. Since my birthday is around the corner, and my daughter reminds me every now and then that I'll be over the hill pretty soon, and my son tells me I need to start walking again because I am getting out of shape, I decided to write in as a candidate for a makeover. I decided a makeover is exactly what I need. But I tell you, God always reminds us that we are made in His image and we should not worry about how people see us on the outside, what is important, God reminded me, is that He doesn't look at what man looks at (the outside of a person), He looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Thank you Lord.

My friends, a makeover would be nice, but you know what? I was given a complete makeover by God when I confessed my sins and asked God to come into my life. I was given a complete makeover when I confessed that Jesus Christ died on the cross so I could be free and I believe that He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I was given that makeover by God when I got baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, all my regrets, shame and embarrassment were washed away. I have a clean heart because I asked God to give me a clean heart and to renew my Spirit in Him.

I was listening to one of Rev. Jamaal Bryant's sermons and he reiterated that once the anointing of God covers my life, it does not matter who likes me or who does not like me; it doesn't matter if someone doesn't like the way I look on the outside. What's important is that God has given me my makeover. I received my makeover when God re-wrote my life, re-wrote my reputation, re-wrote my character, re-wrote all the things I used to do that would hurt Him. Thank you Father. Friends, God has reminded me that I do not need no makeover. I am beautiful on the outside, but most importantly I am beautiful on the inside. I am made in God's image and He loves me just the way I am. If you are tempted to get a makeover to look good on the outside, or to change your appearance, I challenge you today, to first get that makeover on the inside. You see, it does not matter how pretty you are or how pretty you look on the outside, God cares about your inside, about your heart. The only makeover you need, my friends, is to get in accord with God and have a clean heart.

Stay true to yourself and to God. Much love.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Friday, September 4, 2009

Being A Woman of God

My friends, greetings to you!

God is worthy to the praise. As I cleared my mind for today's message, I reviewed my journal and came upon some notes from January of 2008. They are notes from one of the sermons of Senior Pastor Jon Weece of Southland Christian Church. He was preaching to women that day, and he said that real women have four distinct characteristics:
1) Real Women follow Jesus. These women follow Jesus in their attitude and actions. Real women get other women together in prayer and fellowship. They pray steadfastly, they have faith and they encourage other women.
As I read this first statement of what a real woman is, from Pastor Weece‘s perspective, I remembered Rev. Dr. Cecilia Williams-Bryant message, And She Shall Be Called Woman. Rev. Williams-Bryant said that God’s women will not substitute conference for action. God’s women must not sanitize sin just to satisfy our own discrepancies; God’s women are resilience, have vision and courage. My friends, bottom line is that if we are truly God’s women, we must speak what God wants us to speak, we must speak with love, our action must be of love and out of love. We must be sincere in our actions and with our words and we must encourage other women.

2) Real Women are modest. To be modest means that one is free from vanity or conceit. Women who are modest have inside beauty and they are mysterious. Women who are modest know how to evangelize and speak life over others. My grandmother used to tell me all the time, it does not matter how ugly you are on the outside, what’s important is how beautiful your inside is. When your inside is beautiful it outshines the outside’s ugliness. Rev. Williams-Bryant said a God’s woman who is modest is free from oppression and does not oppress her neighbor and the environment; she practices prophetic intervention. Rev. Williams-Bryant said that prophetic intervention is an at-risk procedure but it will open the gates of heaven.

3) Real Women are content. Contented women are not jealous, not competitive, not prone to gossip, not materialistic, don’t hold grudges. Women who are contented have a joy in them. Contented women will walk away from situations that would cause them to question their integrity and character.

4) Real Women want to be romanced. Women want to be cuddled, held, kissed, listen to; learn about them from them; a woman’s well-being is fueled by conversation.

My friends, are you real women? If you are not, then get on board, give up the things of this world, be one with God and start doing what God wants you to do. Be a woman of God and intercede, pray, fast, read the Word, run this race and do not give up, lean unto the Lord for understanding; trust and depend on the Lord in all you say and do. Real women bring other women to the kingdom of God. Real women are not ashamed to speak of God's goodness and grace and mercy over their lives. I pray that if you have been fence hopping that you get in agreement and become a woman of God, become that woman that God wants you to be.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Speak Life

Hello, my friends:

God is all merciful and wonderful to us! To God be the glory. I am so happy, I have an unexplainable joy in me, hallelujah!

My friends, I am being ministered to everyday by songs of praise and worship. I have already told you I listen to XM Channel 33, the Praise Channel, but I have this one christian reggae CD that I now play over and over in my car. The one song that keeps replaying in my head is the song, I Speak Life, by Donald Lawrence. I believe God wants me to spread this message of life and that we must speak life over our lives and over the lives of our children.

In these hard times, job loss, loss of family and friends, depression, frustration, anxiety, anger, sickness, prostitution, drugs, HIV, AIDS, cancer, foreclosure, bankruptcy, whatever it may be, we need to speak life over ourselves. We need to know that God promises us life, an abundant life if we only believe and trust in Him. My friends, I speak blessings over your life. I speak health, happiness, joy, peace, love, I speak the fruit of the spirit over your lives. I speak truth that you will get in accord with God's way and His blessings will pour out on your life. Get in agreement with me and begin to speak life. Speak Life, over yourself and over those you love.

Donald Lawrence sings, "I speak life, don't give up the fight for your life, you shall live and not die. I speak life to your spirit, life to your soul, God bless your spirit, by His word we were made whole, fight for your life, you shall live and not die." I speak life, you do the same. I often ask my son to repeat to me what his package is that God has blessed him with. I speak life over him. His package: he loves God, he is smart, he is handsome, he is talented, he is a student-athlete, he can do any and everything. My friends, you need to do the same with your children, if you are not already speaking life over their lives. Affirm over their lives that they have a package. Let them know that they have a package given to them by God.

We need to start speaking life over ourselves because the devil is busy I say, busy.
The scripture for this message comes from Titus 2:3, "..teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good. Verse 6, "...encourage young men to be wise. In every way be an example of doing good deeds." Verse 14 "...He gave himself up for us so He might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to Him, people who are always wanting to do good deeds." Speak life my friends, speak life, do not give up, be encouraged, stay encouraged, be steadfast, pray, fast, pray, fast, read the Word, but do not give up on life. Remember, God sent his only begotten Son on this earth to die for our sins. Christ was crucified, He died, He was buried, but on the third day He rose from the grave. Thank you Father. We must speak life, no ands, buts, maybes about it, we need to speak life.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Battle Is Not Yours

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

As a student of the Word, I am learning to rely on God for everything and anything and it makes my life so much easier and happier. You see, I have learned that with every blessing that is being bestowed on me, there will be a battle. A battle may come in the form of sickness, worry, depression, drugs, death, divorce, unemployment, a calling, a neighbor, a friend, a family member. However, I have learned that the battle is not mine, so I take it to the Lord. God has promised to fight that battle for me so I can enjoy my blessings. Exodus 14:14 tells us that we must remain calm and the Lord will fight for us. King Hezekiah of Judah told his people, "...we have our Lord God to help us and to fight our battles..." (2 Chronicles 32:8).

My friends, if by chance you forget to give the Lord your battle, just remember the song that Shari Addison sings, No battle, no blessings. Shari sings, there is no blessing without a battle, but know that the battle is not yours. No blessing without a battle, but know that this battle is not yours; you've got to trust and believe God. Yes, that's it, trust and believe God with all your heart, mind and soul. God tells us to bring our battle to Him and leave it at the cross. We must be obedient in our walk with Christ and this means that we must not carry the burden on our own.

Have faith, be strong, be obedient, keep pressing, keep believing, keep praying, keep moving, just know that the battle is not yours.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Believe In God With All Your Heart, Mind and Soul

My friends, greetings and peace to you all:

I thank God for being in my life. I believe in God with my whole heart, mind and soul, and I trust you do too. My friends, in these difficult times that we are facing, we need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to save us from our sins. My friends we must believe that God will come again to judge the living and the dead and that the righteous will have a seat at God's table. For us to believe, we must have faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). We must live our lives each and every day as if it is our last day on this earth because we just do not know when God will call us home.

My friends, there is no better time than now to start believing and trusting God with all your heart, mind and soul. Hebrews 11:6 tells me that without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who truly want to find Him. Friends, we must believe that God has our backs in everything we say and do. He has our backs in good times and in bad times, even if the situation doesn't seem that way. We must believe in God with all our hearts mind and soul even when the devil is poking us to turn away from God. When we believe that God will set us free, that's faith.

One Wednesday's Bible study, my pastor, Rev. Dr. Felix Williams, taught us students that heaven is a place where we will live with God forever, but before we get there, there is a plan of salvation for us. Rev. Williams said that salvation requires FAITH.

FAITH is:
F - FORGIVENESS (we must ask God to forgive us of our sins)
A - AVAILABLE (salvation is available to all of us)
I - IMPOSSIBLE (it is impossible to do it on your own)
T - TURN (we need to turn away from our sins)
H - HEAVEN (a place prepared for us by God)

My friends, all we need is to have faith the size of a mustard seed and God will grant us His favor. Thank you Lord. Keep believing in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It will be all right. God said it will be all right.


Ta ta,
Therese from Belize

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