The beauty in weakness

In each and everyone of our lives, we have areas that we are not strong in, and sometimes we fail to realize that us not having strength in an area is not a bad thing. For me, it was not until recently that I was able to get the real revelaton that weakness is something that I can actually have joy about. I know you may be thinking girl you are crazy? There is no way you can be happy about having weak areas. And my response to anyone thinking that is yes i can, and so can you. If you had asked me about a month ago, I may have told you otherwise, but now I am at a point of joy and contentment in my struggles. 

About two weeks ago, during our most recent series called "Mind Games", my Pastor quoted the scripture from 2 Corinthians 12:9 which reads:

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT)

This scripture is written by Paul to the church at Corinth. In the beginning of the text, Paul shows that he has things he can boast about but rather than that he was choosing to boast about his weakness. The weakness, Paul refers to as a thorn in his flesh which was preventing him from boasting in the mighty things he was done. This thorn was allowing Paul to boast in the weaknesses that he had as a man. Paul asked the Lord to take the thorn away, but the response that he was given was "...my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness" (v. 9) In this moment when the Lord refused to take his thorn away, Paul realized that rather than allowing it to hinder him, he could have joy and boast because Christ was working in this midst of his weakness.

I dont know about you, but to me, that is mind blowing, and a true act of humility. You see Paul had things he could brag about for days, but it would not be something to bring glory to God but rather himself. In bragging about God working in his weakness he was able to show others that Christ is able to work in us when we come to the end of ourselves.

In this past week I was tested in this area highly. And I will not lie, like Paul there were times when I just wanted God to take it all away and let me have it easy. But as a Christian our lives are not going to be easy, we are going to get tested and tried, just like Jesus did. The great thing is we do not have to go through it alone. In the midst of my tests I was reminded that Jesus can work in my weakness, so I handed my issues over to him and said Daddy take it. When I did that God worked in my situation. I realized that I as a human am weak but the God that I serve is not. His strength is all that I need to get through anything.

I encourage you on this weak to allow our Heaveanly Father to work in your weakness. You can't do it on your own and the truth is you can't. Depend on his strength and let him work in your weakness.

God bless,

Tamika 

He cares

Recently in my quiet time with the Lord he reminded me of something, that he cares. He really cares. Oftentimes we think God is to busy helping someone else or that he doesnt care about what we label as small. But the truth is he cares about all of that. He cares about you. Your are precious, you are valuable, and he loves you.

You see the enemy will trick you into believing that God is to busy with other things, that you have messed up entirely to much, or even that God just doesnt care. The list could really go on and on as he is a liar and an accuser. The truth is that God loves and cares about you so much. He wants you to come to him, he wants you to depend on him.

In 1 Peter 5:6-7 the Bible tells us that God cares.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

If you look at this verse it doesnt say he cares ONLY if you never mess up or ONLY if you have a big problem. It says put your care on him, no ifs ands or buts. If you care God cares! God cares even if you dont care!
The bible also says that God cares, he cares about you where you are at. Its so clear through Gods word that he loves us. God is love.

Today I challenge you to take your cares, big or small and cast them onto our Savior. When you do keep in mind the fact that God actually cares and wants to help you. There is nothing too big or small for our God. And theres is NOTHING he can not handle.

Psalms 55:22 KJV
Cast thy burden upon the Lord , and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

He cares for you.

God bless,

Tamika

Do yourself a favor and forgive

So this past Sunday my pastor preached a awesome service on the topic of forgiveness. The sermon left me completely and totally wrecked and caused me to examine my ability to forgive in my own life. You see in life people will hurt you but also in life we will hurt people as well as God. Forgiveness is a two-way street, God forgives us and we forgive others. 

I realize that forgiveness can be a challenging thing to do especially when you are hurt beyond belief but forgiveness is vital in our relationship with God. In the bible we get a very clear picture on forgiveness in the following scripture:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14, 15 NLT)

WOW! So what is this scripture saying? Its saying if we dont forgive others God will not forgive us. In simpler terms its saying if you want to recieve forgiveness is starts with forgiving. If that isn't clear enough to cause you to forgive i don't know what is? This scripture changed my life! God calls me to forgive so i can be forgiven, and trust me i need his forgiveness, DAILY! If you want to experience the goodness of Jesus then you have to forgive those who hurt you.

I know you may say but Tamika, they really hurt me, you dont understand. Well let me flip the switch, we really hurt God daily when we sin against him but does he forgive us? YES! So what should you do? FORGIVE!

In my own forgiveness struggles i remind myself that if God can forgive the mess that I am i can forgive others. God loves us and he calls us to love others. When people dont meet our expectations we get mad, when they dont do what he want we get mad, when they hurt us we get mad. We may very much have a right to get angry but why not take the anger and turn it into love?

Do you know that if someone did something to offend you and you decided to forgive them that the person may experience Christ because of it? See you may not see it now but in all that we do, even in forgiving a person, we are showing and representing Chrsit. So today, I challenge you to do yourself a favor and FORGIVE! Forgive that person who hurt you, did you wrong, or offended you and revese it and extend love.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (Colossians 3:13 NLT)

God bless,

Tamika Mahomes

God's Love

Today, I want to encourage all of you. To remind you that God loves you, he is NOT mad at you. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We allow ourselves to think and believe that God does not love us, that he does not care. I am here to encourage and remind you that he loves you. A daily reminder is that he has made an ultimate sacrifice for you when he died on the cross, while we were in our sin. In Romans 5:8 it states:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 

 

I went through a season where I felt completely unworthy, as if God didn't love me. I didn't hear from him, I felt like he just left me. I spent days wondering God is me serving you even worth it? I feel like I'm trying to please you and never will. I am not perfect Lord, I am a sinner. I mess up a lot and I am so unworthy of your love. This is a season I actually just recently came out of.
 

There is a person who truly does not love you and that is the devil. He has a mission to destroy you. 

 

 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

 

 He wants you to be consumed with thoughts of God is mad at me, I will never be good enough, God can't use me. Lie after lie after lie.  Don't believe them.  In this time the enemy was attacking me because he knew God had something greater. See the devil wants to stop you, he wants you to give up so that you can serve him and not God. The devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness before he began his ministry. If the devil would have stopped Jesus, if Jesus would have gave into sin, we would not have the opportunity at salvation. If the enemy stops us, we wont fulfill the things that God has for us, or the next level that he is taking us to.
 

In the time where I felt alone, unworthy, not good enough, God reminded me that he is with me always, even when I feel he is not. He reminded me of this promise in his word:

 

..."and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" Matthew 28:20.

 

You have to remember that the truth about Gods love is written in the bible. When those thoughts come in we have to examine why? Are we reminding ourselves of Gods love? When things are we allowing to distract us? What are we allowing to fill those thoughts. For me I was allowing the cares and business of this world distract me from the time I needed with God to be reminded of his promises and to learn more about his love. I would have known and been reminded off Gods love if I had been spending the time learning and knowing about it. We have to spend our time thinking and focusing on the things he instructed us to. As Christians we have to do our part, the bible says faith without works is dead.

 "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" James 2:26.

A good way to check your thoughts is with this scripture:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 KJV)

What this does NOT say is think on things that are false (the devils lies), things that are unlovely, things that are negative, things that aren't of God. It DOES tell us to control what we think on. We have to make a choice to think positive and remind ourselves of Gods promises. 

So today be reminded you that God loves you & he wants you to know that. Do not forget it. If you need a reminder pick up the bible, it has an entire love story written for you. The chapters unfold the love he has for you. They unfold his promises to you. 

Do your part and leave the rest up to GOD!!!!!!

God bless,

Tamika

As you are....

 

Text: John 4:1-42

Focus verses 7-11, 15-19, 39-42

 

As I was in my quiet time last week, I was studying John 4 focusing on the story of Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. As I read this story God was showing me some things that I had not realized before with the main thing being that the woman was accepted by Jesus just as she was. There are many reasons why people choose not to come to Christ but some people refuse because of their current situation.

 

 

In reading the story of the woman at the well in verse 9, you see that the woman was surprised that Jesus would even speak with her. Why? Because he was a Jew, she was a Samaritan, and these two groups had nothing to deal with one another. She could not even understand what he would want to do with a woman like her, yet he still wanted to impart something important to her.

 

"The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"" -John 4:9 (NLT)

 

If you read further in the story you also see that outside of being a Samaritan she has 5 husbands and the man she was with was not even her husband. The thing that she did not realize was the prior to Jesus telling her that he knew who she was, and what she'd done, Jesus already knew. You see the thing is he didn't take her current circumstance and through it in her face instead he yes it for his glory. Jesus revealed to her that he was the Messiah, he had come to give her an opportunity of salvation. He accept her as she was, not for what she can, should, or would be.

 

 

 ^"“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”"-John 4:16-18

 

 

You see, Jesus was not and is not a respecter of persons, he didn't care about the fact that she was Samaritan and he was Jewish, or that she had several husbands and a man that was not her husband. Jesus already knew every part of her story when he sat down to speak with the woman.

 

I say all this to say, I know there may be someone reading this and you may be thinking, you have so many issues, or so many wrong areas in your life and you cant come to the Lord. I come to tell you that even where you are right now, God wants you. He totally is crazy about you and waiting to have a relationship with you. He already knows your story, he knows everything about you and he still loves and wants to use you. You have a purpose and a plan, don't allow your mess ups to stop you from allowing God in your life or fulfilling your purpose. Do not limit God out of your life, allow him to come in and use you right now, just as you are. If you do not have a relationship with him I encourage you to begin to have one, allow him to come into your heart and move.

 

When Jesus knew the woman's past he did not condemn her and tell her she was a horrible person. Rather he used the opportunity to change her. When you truly allow God into your life, a transformation will occur. Yes, God wants you as you are but he will change you. When you have an interaction with Christ you will NOT remain the same, your mind WILL be renewed. The below scripture makes it very clean that God wants to restore you and make you new.

 

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." -Romans 12:2

 

 

Lastly I want to mention this, in this story the woman went and told her friends about the interaction she had with the Lord and in turn their lives were change. When you allow Jesus to work in you, others will be able to experience him as well. So take allow his light to shine through you so that others can come and experience this same thing! Its amazing I'm telling you, he loves us so much. The true definition of unconditional love. Who would of thought that this one interaction at the well between a Jesus and this woman would be a divine intervention! I encourage you to allow God to sit down with you and intervene in your life.

 

God bless,

 

 

Tamika

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poem: Which Path Do I Take? (From the Archives)

Which Path Do I Take?

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and to give you an expected end."

 

Tired of going back to Egypt knowing God delivered me from there and I'm on the road to my promised land. God keeps telling me to let him drive, let him take the wheel so, I let him but then I grab the wheel back and attempt to do a U turn but his grip over my hands jerks the wheel right back when I begin to turn the wheel back to the place where I came from.

 

I let God take the wheel and continue to drive but then I tell him take the nearest exit because this road is just a little too long. As we continue driving I see an exit sign labeled fornication, lust and adultery, another labeled lying, backbiting, and gossiping and another with thoughts of suicide, thoughts of killing, hurting others. Above each sign is a picture of alcohol, a picture of a boy, and a picture of weed. Which exit do I take? Maybe I’ll just try them all until I get to my destination.

 

I decide  to take the first exit after God says no and I am left with emptiness, loneliness, a soul tie and then another life. I turn to look at the driver’s seat and realize God is no longer there because he handed me over to the very thing that he tried to keep me from. I turn to grab the wheel and stop but then I realized I’ve crashed into a wall and am not wounded.

 

I wake up in a mental hospital with scars and pain. And my doctor Abba walks in disappointed because I refused to take the prescription he gave me the last time I took the same exit. He says to me, for the same thing over and over again? When will you realize you must abide to the prescription I gave you? Me, speechless, looking at what I’ve done to myself when all I had to do was follow through on the prescription I was recently given. Once again he writes me the prescription “Follow my commands, stop taking the nearest exit and let me lead you to your destination.” The same prescription he gave me before but this time he wrote STAT on it! Attached to it was a note that said, “If you would just trust the one writing your prescription since I have the requirements to keep you from crashing into the same wall, you would be better off. Trust your provider and stay on the road to your destination or, all your exits will lead to destruction.”

 

I now pose the question: Will you keep taking your own exits or will you follow the road, the way that your designated driver is taking you?

 

-Tamika 

In the wilderness...

If you take some time and read Luke 4: 1-13, you see the story of Jesus' first temptation by the devil (see below*).

This story amazes me because it was a time when Jesus was vulnerable, he was fasting in the wilderness. Jesus had opportunities to give up and to give in but he didn't! Through his temptation he did not say yes, I'll take what you can offer me, instead he did not give into the enemies tricks. Why? because he knew he was on earth for his fathers business. Jesus had a mission and was set to fulfill it. In this story the devil tempted him three ways:

1.) He commanded Jesus to perform a miracle there and then IF he was the son of God. (Luke 4:3-4)
2.) He offered him power over the kingdoms IF he would worship him (Luke 4:5-8)
3.) He told Jesus IF he would jump to death that the angles would protect him (Luke 4:9-12)

If you look at those three things you see that the enemy wanted Jesus to 1.) question who he was, his identity (are you good enough? You messed up., God can not use you etc.**) 2.)  question the power he had, he presented him a short cut (you don't have to pray today, you don't have to give up everything etc.**) and 3.) to kill himself and be protected. Those are areas that the enemy constantly attacks us in. He wants us to question who we are in God, he wants us to question the power of God (can God really do that, is the bible true etc.**)


You see these same ways that the enemy attacked Jesus are the same ways that he attacks us. He tries to make us feel like we are not good enough to do Gods will, or we do not have it all together so God can not use us, our past is too messed up... and the list goes on and on. But I am here to tell you that that is oh so far from the true. God can use you just how and as you are. You do not have to have a title behind your name, you do not have to know it all. You don't have to do or be anything but YOU in order for God to use you!

If you read further in the story after the temptation of Jesus took place his ministry began. Imagine if Jesus would have gave into the temptation of the devil in the wilderness, imagine if he would have bowed down and served the devil. Do you think we would have the opportunity that have eternal life through Jesus? I do not think so! If the enemy would have ruined it we would not be able the have freedom and liberty as we do today from the enemy.

Now any story in the bible has a deeper meaning, Jesus' temptation was an example for us. You do not have to be in a fast to be in the wilderness. The wilderness can be our own situations that we are going through, it does not always have to be a tough time it can be a good time. In your wilderness whatever it may be, the enemy may be tempting you as he did Jesus, telling you to just give up, to just give in, to just bow down and serve him. The enemy may be telling you that he has something so much better for you as he deceived Eve, but that is a lie! What the enemy has to offer you is not better he has a total mission to steal, kill and destroy you (see John 10:10), he does not love you, he does not care, he HATES you! Point, blank, period!

So I am encouraging you right now when the temptation comes, even at your weakest moment, do not give up do not give in. We have to stop focusing so much on the temptation that comes to us that we lose focus of who our enemy is and who our God is. Look to Jesus, press through it and tell the enemy he can not have his way. DO NOT let him win, DO NOT let him win, DO NOT let him win. In your wilderness, in those hard times do not give up!!! Trust God, lean on him, rest in him. Remember the promises that God made for you and keep your mind focused on the kingdom!

* Luke 4: 1-13

 

4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

² Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

³ And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

⁴ And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

⁵ And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

⁶ And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

⁷ If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

⁸ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

⁹ And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

¹⁰ For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

¹¹ And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

¹² And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

¹³ And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

 

**Examples of this temptation today

I'm praying for you in this time. God bless you!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome!!!!!

I would like to take the time to welcome everyone to my blog. No matter what walk of life or situation you are coming from I'm so thankful for you. The focus of my blog is Kingdom related. I will be doing biblical based blogs from topics such as Jesus' ministry, faith, salvation, marriage, trust and many other. I will use and write these topics as the Lord leads me.

My prayer is that these words will be able to bless you and speak to your life, not through me but through the Lord. I want each and everyone of you to come to know our Lord and Savior if you do not. I can write about things all day and all night but my prayer is that after you read these words you take the time to study for yourself. The bible says:

 

 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." -2 Timothy 2:15

 

So I'm encouraging you to take these words and to get to know God for yourself. I can not save people only the Lord can, I am just a vessel. :) Just know that God is amazing, he totally loves you. He is the forgiver of your past and the leader of your future. He loves you! Do you have to be perfect, no, just willing to serve him.

I love you and am praying for each and every one of you. I look forward to the teachings that the Lord is going to do. I'm ready are you? God bless, love you!