Weekly Soap

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I have a question for you today? I want you to think very deeply about this.

Are you living peaceably or are you raising hell?

source: Giphy

Now, I’m not trying to call anyone out and I’m not making this a bash post. As I grow in Christ, I realize that this part of myself (and others…) needed to be dealt with. Now what am I talking about exactly? Let me give you an example.

Amy, a newly converted Christian, pulls into a parking lot in a very crowded area. As she drives up and down every aisle, she comes across a space with her name on it. As she is about to turn the wheel into the parking lot, another car out of the blue, steals her parking spot. Amy felt the rage inside her come to the surface. Her face was red with anger and she could hear the myriad of expletives running through her head directed at this driver. As she was about to open the door, she heard clear as day, “No, not today.”

HOLD UP! Amy deserved to get those feelings off her chest, right? Her anger would dissipate and she could be calm after confronting them. Right?

WRONG.

Let’s dive into the Word.

Scripture:

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

(Romans 12:17-19 KJV)

Observation: Paul highlighted that in this world, we may get persecuted, face hatred, and endure downright awful things from people. Our human reaction to this is to retaliate, to fight back when wronged. But, now changed, we need to live peaceable lives with all men, those who love us and hate us. It is not our job, our responsibility, or our place to seek vengeance, but God will handle it. He fights our battles for us.

Application: In faith, fighting evil with evil only creates more evil. Amy would have received temporary satisfaction from cussing out that driver, but what does it do for her spirit? We are examples to people of who Christ is in our lives and what He does inside of us. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, so that means throwing off the old man and picking up the new (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22). Even as Christ lived, people had hatred in their hearts toward him and sought to kill him, yet He met them with love and treated them fairly in peace. Know that God has the final say everything that happens to you. You no longer have to fight like the flesh wants, but fight with the Word! God fights for you!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being an example of Christian living. As you walked peacefully among men, I pray that I follow in your steps. God, I pray that I do not combat evil with evil, but that I overcome evil with good. Remind me that vengeance is yours and that you will repay. Lord, let me be honest in faith and stay humble. Forgive me, Father, for not approaching every situation this way. I thank you for the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that I can use going forward. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Song of the Week

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It’s the end of June! We have officially made it through the first six months of the year!

tenor GIF

However, this is still 2020, the year of clear vision! Those same declarations we decreed in January still can come, by God’s will, before the close of this year. Do not lose hope. God’s got you!

It is by God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that we continue to be. I thank God for every single one of you who is reading right now. Stay strong and know that by God’s grace “are ye saved through faith and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).

As you listen to the Song of the Week today, I want to remind you that there is freedom, strength, peace in Christ. John 12:46 says, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

Grip of Grace (Lyric Video)- VOUS Worship
Grip of Grace (Live at VOUS Casa) – VOUS Worship

Weekly Soap

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Hey Everyone! How are y’all feeling? Let me know how you feel in the comments below!

This past week for me was ROUGH. In all caps! At times, my efforts to do anything were minimal and my head was not in the zone. I couldn’t seem to shake this funk at all.

It not only affected me naturally, but spiritually too. When I tried to pray, I felt such a mental blockage. When I tried to praise, I couldn’t get into it.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME?

Yet, God always has a way of snapping me out of it. Amid my turmoil, God called me to fast. It seems like every time there’s good eating or a show on TV I want to watch God gives a fast, but I know it is so necessary. These distractions keep us from seeking Him. Once removed, we can hear and see what God wants for us.

So now, after my week of surprises, I have a Weekly Soap for you:

Scripture:

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

(Psalm 27:7-8)

Observation: In this Psalm of David, titled in the Holman KJV Study Bible as “My Heart Shall Not Fear”. I am not sure what part of David’s life this was, but this was certainly a time that he was seeking God heavily. Starting off strong in beginning with his psalm, verse 7 was a plea to God from David. He wanted God to hear his prayer, his song, so that God may have not just mercy, but to give an answer. He was desperate to hear from God, he needed him because life possibly had shifted. And by verse 8, he had it. God told him to seek his face. To chase after God passionately! But it wasn’t out of David’s mouth that his answered flowed, but his heart. His core, his mind, his character, his entire being would seek God.

Application: From my short narrative above, this is exactly what happened to me. Life was going great, just like the first half of Psalm 27, but everything slowly dwindled down. I felt like I couldn’t pray or do anything to get my connection to God where I wanted it. But just as the frustation overwhelmed me, God spoke, just as He did with David and gave instruction. “Seek ye my face.” He made it personal for each and every single one of us. Meaning, it’s our responsibility to go to the Father. In Matthew 11:28-29, it says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” You can’t want help and expect it, if you do not voice it. God knows what you need, but you have to come to Him. To lay out the issues you have before Him.

But this all starts with the matters of your heart. Without hesitation, David’s heart responded to God’s instruction. Our heart’s desire should be to stay in the will of God, and at that moment, this was the answer. We should do whatever it takes to please God.

I will never forget my mother’s story of tendinitis in her arm. For a while, her arm was in so much pain until God spoke to her. He told her to wear one of my old soccer socks around the arm until it healed. Now, how absurd does that sound? But because she was so desperate to escape the pain and she was obedient to God, she did it. I can’t even remember how long she wore those makeshift armbands, but what I do know is that her pain is gone.

And that’s what it takes for us a Christians. To seek God’s face with our whole hearts. To chase after him shows that we love him. How could we not serve him? In Matthew 8:27, which is after Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples said, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

I urge you all, even in the midst of turmoil, to push forward and seek God’s face. I know it gets hard to pray, I know it gets hard to praise and God sees that. But PUSH THROUGH! Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Prayer: Father God, I come to you today as humbly as I can, to seek your face. God reveal to me your will and your ways so that I may follow after you. Please Lord, remove any distractions in my way that are preventing me from seeing you. Remove any impurities from my heart so that I may be obedient to you always. Thank you God for seeing me as I am and changing me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Song of the Week

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Hey good folks! I hope all is well with everyone of you. I know during these perilous times sometimes we can feel ourselves diving into a black pit. However, what does the word say?

“Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5,11; 43:5)

So, for this song of the week, I wanted to go backwards in time to one of my favorite songs as a kid (you will see how young I am now). Not only is it catchy, but the message was uplifting then and still is now.

Hold On (Change is Coming) by Sounds Of Blackness

This hit, released in 1997, brought optimism, positivity, and overall message of knowing that everything will be alright. Though very contemporary with its roots, this song always played on our local Gospel radio station.

However, I cling to this song more than ever because of this stanza:

When the troubles of life weigh you down
Just lift your head up, yeah, yeah
When the love you seek is hard to find
Don’t give up, just keep strong, keep the faith

The first two lines remind of the scripture, Psalm 121:1 (KJV), “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help“. I firmly latch onto this verse just because it puts life into perspective. When it feels like you’re in a hole surrounded of darkness on every side, you can always look up to see the light. That light for me is Christ Jesus.

In John 8:12 it says, ” ‘When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.‘ ” The path of righteousness is illuminated because of Jesus, but when we turn from the son, we cannot see it. However, that doesn’t stop God from loving us.

We know that God’s love for us goes above and beyond what any man, woman, or child can give in this world. It is unconditional. Although Sounds of Blackness talked about the difficulty of finding the love we seek, and to persevere, we don’t have to go very far to know that God loves us. He wouldn’t have sacrificed His Son, if He didn’t (John 3:16).

As a reminder to myself, I think on these things when I feel down or unwanted in the world. Especially right now as many are fighting for change, through protests, hard conversations, and petitions of justice. I hope that as you listen to this song, that they encourage you.

Hold on and know that change is coming!

Matthew 7:7 it reads, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Deny Him Access!

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As I prayed the other day, I heard this title loud and clear. Now at first I was perplexed where God was going with this, but it had everything to do with how I was living. I will start this off with a brief story.

In November 2019, I had backslid into sin for a moment. I understand that we are not perfect by design, but we can fully understand what is right and wrong. However, I had chosen a path of unrighteousness at the moment that led to a consequence that I was not prepared for after repentance.

I had unintentionally invited torment into my life that manifested physically and mentally. The devil was literally playing mind games with me in negative self-talk, insomnia, and making me believe that I would die. I had forgotten the scripture, John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill, and destroy…”. I felt that I could not escape this until December.

As I cried out to God to take this burden away from me, He exposed the truth behind this madness and how my deliverance would come. If I had looked at the second half of John 10:10, I would have known what God was about to tell me: “…I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.” The only thing that wanted to take me out was the enemy, not God. He brings life, not death. However, I was missing out on what I possessed inside of me, the power of the Holy Spirit. Just like the disciples in Luke 9:1, we have “the power and authority over all devils…”. So, how was I going to proceed in doing all this? I did not understand the supernatural battleground, nor did I have a strategy. All I knew was that I would win because of Christ and that I had to keep fighting.

Just like any battle, you can’t use the same tactics from previous battles. My communion with God would have to be more frequent, my prayer life would have to deepen, and my knowledge of the word would have to increase. When everything came together, then was I given a plan.

What kind of plan was this? This is the plan that God made for me. It was what He wanted out of me at the time for my deliverance. And this is what I want to share with you.

  • To focus solely on God (to keep the enemy away):
    • Realize that you will go through some things in Christ (Luke 9:23).
    • It’s important to make a daily sacrifice/offering to God. What does that look like? That in whatever we do that it is “it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord” and done DAILY! (Lev. 3:5)
      • Reading the Word
      • Worship
      • Praying
      • Fasting
    • When delivered from ailments or sin, do not go back to the very things that caused you to do it before “lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John 5:14)
    • Always repent! About all sin, not just the sins you know about consciously, but those that are secret or you have no knowledge (Psalms 19:12-13)
    • Let your speech and thinking reflect what is acceptable to God. (Psalms 19:14)

So what does this have to do with my title? Absolutely everything.

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Do you realize the strength in this verse? We can say NO to the devil! Not only that, but when we do it, he’s got to go! Just as Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me…” so can you. (Matthew 16:23).

Don’t let the enemy rob you of something that he can’t take. You would have to give him access to entry to take it, but we won’t do that. Today, DENY HIM ACCESS! Tell him he cannot come in. Tell him that his card declined and he cannot buy you. Tell him he doesn’t have enough flier miles to fly on your plane. Tell him he cannot have you!

Song of the Week

theheartofapreacherskid2 Comments

Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Truly this month has been full of revelation and chasing after God’s heart!

This is exactly why I wanted to share the Song of the Week with you.

Waterfall by Jonathan Ogden

With his chill vibe and mellow voice, Jonathan Ogden describes the love of God and the reaction we should have towards Him.

Everlasting One
Nothing else compares
To knowing You
To knowing You
You’re the living God
And my soul it longs
To be with You
To be with You

In the opening verse, I couldn’t help but reflect on the last part. Our soul longs to be with God. When we develop a relationship with anyone, we feel such a connection that it’s hard not to think of them or want to be in their presence as much as we can. The same goes for when we form a relationship with God.

As our relationship with God flourishes, we long to be in His presence. For some, their spirit sings from joy or even erupts in laughter. But to know Him is to love Him. Nothing will ever compare to that which He gives to us.

Oh Lord Your love is like a waterfall
Your love is like a flowing stream
And whenever I’m feeling dry
I come to the river, I come to the river of life

His love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3) and it never runs out. His love is not conditional, and it never fails. Can any man on earth say the same? The love of God is so great that the comparison to a waterfall truly explains two things: it is continuous and it is refreshing. However, it didn’t stop there. Because of His love, we were given His Son Jesus, who brought us eternal life when we believe in Him (John 3:16).

As the song comes to a close, Lucy Grimble says:

As the deer pants for the waters
So my soul longs after You

In quoting Psalm 42:1, our attitude and action towards God should shift. Willingly we should bring ourselves to God with so much passion that we truly cannot get enough of Him. Like the deer who depends on the water to continue to live, we should depend on the Father to live.

Waterfall by Jonathan Ogden ft. Lucy Grimble

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Be Blessed!

–Chan

The Mouth

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How many of us have run into trouble because of our mouths? Be honest.

Credit: Giphy.com

This week, I definitely fell into my old ways of being quick-witted, sarcastic, and talking slick to… wait for it…

my family

Now I could say that it wasn’t completely my fault or any other excuse for my actions, but I knew I’d have to answer the Most High. I previously read, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” (James 2:5 KJV).

However, I had forgotten all of it last week. In a trial of taming my tongue, I had completely failed. It seemed like everyday I was going back and forth with my parents over the smallest things. Very meaningless things.

However, God always knows how to get our attention (especially mine) and cause us to change our ways. So how did God call me out on my mess? In my sleep through a dream.

It mirrored one of our previous arguments about pet peeves. I was relentless the entire time; I couldn’t find it within myself to stop talking. As the conversation peaked, my mother said to me, “I cannot protect you anymore. You brought this to yourself.” In an instant, my family fell apart. I had never felt so distant from my family at that moment.

I would like to say I woke up at that moment, but I didn’t. My mind was awake, but my body wasn’t. Clearly, God had much more to say to me before I fully was awake.

Even now, I find it uncanny the parallels of life to spirit. When we step out from under the protection that God gives us, we can be susceptible to anything including our lives falling apart, but thank God for repentance.

As I laid there, He spoke to me about myself and what I needed to do to right my wrongs. As He finished speaking, it felt like someone was rubbing their hands across my eyes to clear dirt away.

I can’t help but think that was God’s way of revealing to me my own actions. From that moment forward, I had to dig deep inside of myself and thoroughly process what to do next.

Going back to James 3, verse 8 says, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Here dear folks is where I made my first mistake.

Only with the help of God can we truly fully control our mouth!

No wonder I couldn’t find it in myself to be quiet in my dream, I had left God out of it and forgot one fruit of the spirit: self-control. “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (Proverbs 25:28).

Next, I realized that I went against one commandment I heard my entire life: “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12). As much as our society pushes independence and speaking your own mind, the gospel still holds precedence over my life. Sass ain’t holy and I still have to respect my parent. If my mortality being on the line wasn’t enough to convict me, I read John 14:15 this same week:

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

I know I love God, so I had to follow through. Yet there was still one more piece missing: Forgiveness.

Colossians 3:13 says, “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.” Not only did I have to apologize to my family but pray that they forgave me.

How easy it could be if we put God first in our conversations! However, I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect, but God always shows us how to go about life in the right way.

As each day brings new mercies, remind yourself to have God at the forefront of your conversations. To think before you speak, to let the Holy Spirit move through you and use you. I have on my bathroom mirror Ephesians 4:29: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Every morning I read this to remind me of the life I’m supposed to be living.

I hope this PKE helps you to find your scripture to tame your tongue and speak life to not only yourself, but to others.

“Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Proverbs 16:24

Song of the Week

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Greetings righteous people! It overjoys my soul, the song I’m about to talk about!

If you didn’t read my previous Weekly Soap, go read it now! It explains how Jesus is the well of living water, full of everlasting life.

Now, I will preface that this Song of the Week is no ordinary song. It will have you jumping, shouting, and overwhelmed with the love of God! So listen at your own risk because I could not sit down after listening!

Holy Water by We The Kingdom

Holy Water is the upbeat song I needed to hear about forgiveness and the grace of God, but mostly about how much we need it.

Starting at the beginning.

God, I’m on my knees again
God, I’m begging please again
I need You
Oh, I need You

Walking down this desert road
Water for my thirsty soul
I need You
Oh, I need You

This verse reminded me of so many moments where I felt far away from God. It was kneeling on my floor in my living room crying out to God that became the epitome of this verse. Sometimes we come to a crossroads where we feel no peace or have fallen back into sin, yet the only one we know to call on is God. If He doesn’t step in, we would continue down a path of desolation. I need Him. You need Him. We all need Him.

But what follows our plea is what we shouldn’t take for granted: God’s mercy and grace; forgiveness.

Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
Like holy water on my skin
On my skin

There is nothing like forgiveness. That it is sweeter than anything. It sounds better than anything. It feels like refreshing water! In Psalms 130:3-4 NLT, it says, “Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you”. God is gracious that even for the sins we have committed, with repentance, they are washed away. We have a clean slate. Who wouldn’t revere a God like that?

Sometimes we get caught up. I’ve heard the saying, “But God knows my heart” multiple times because of forgiveness right. Well, of course, God knows our heart, but let’s look at scripture.

Romans 6:1-2 NLT says, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that GOd can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”

We shouldn’t abuse God’s grace knowing that He forgives us! When we accepted Christ in our lives, we were no longer slaves to sin. We are freed by Him, so since we know better, we have to do better (vs 17-18)!

Just like We The Kingdom sang,

I don’t wanna abuse Your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change

AMEN!

Also Enjoy the rendition of this song with We The Kingdom, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and Maverick City Music.

“Holy Water” by We The Kingdom, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Maverick City Music

Don’t forget to like, subscribe with your email, or comment on this blog! I would love to hear your feedback!

Be Blessed!

–Chan

Weekly Soap

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Welcome back wonderful people! It is a new month with new promises; We’re in the month of May!

Now I don’t know about you guys, but I’m focusing on knowing more about God. Starting with Jesus’s life and the miracles done by Him, I am super excited to dig deeper than just from what I heard as a kid.

Of course, I had to bring what I read to you, so here’s …

JOHN 4

Scripture:

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Observation: This passage from vs 1-26 is the story of the woman at Jacob’s well. While traveling, Jesus and his disciples had stopped in that area. Though they were gone, he knew that this Samaritan woman would draw at the well in the day’s heat. He asks her to give her a drink, but she couldn’t wrap her head around who she was talking to or what Jesus was offering her. She was skeptical, questioning if He was greater than Jacob. But Jesus spoke vs 13-14. The natural water that we drink will never be enough to satisfy our thirst. When we drink from the well of living water, we will always be satisfied. We will thirst no longer. In Isaiah 12:3, it says, “Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation“. Through Christ Jesus, we have salvation and eternal life. That is the well we must drink from!

Application: It’s uncanny to me how the thought process of the Samaritan woman is like that of those who don’t know Jesus. In the very beginning, skepticism and unbelief runs how we feel about faith. We question, make excuses, or say it’s just coincidence. But God is so personal with everything for us. He knows our lives, our fears, our character, our hearts. When the Word confronts us with a promise of a gift, that no man can take away, and a life of eternity, it is impossible to not want to get something so amazing.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the well of living water. Thank you for the gift of salvation and Holy Spirit. I pray that we continue to chase after your Word and that we choose to life every day. Let us never your love for granted. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Song of the Week

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Hey Folks! I hope y’all are having an amazing week so far!

This week I hope the Song of the Week is not just encouraging but a reminder of about who God is and what He does!

In the great collective of worship music pumped out by Maverick City Music, I was drawn especially to this song. At the opening of their videos, it always reminds of how diverse the people of God are but that we all remain on one accord.

As the music begins, automatically you can feel yourself go into a sway of joy! I knew right then that this song was about to be a bop, in my opinion. I was in for a treat once the lyrics followed.

Parallel to Mark 9:23, the opening verse is a verse to remind us that through faith we can do all things. Not only that, but God is a covenant keeper and whatever he says to us is the truth. The songwriters of Maverick City Music knew exactly what they were doing in the chorus:

If You said it, we believe it
If You said it, we believe it
‘Cause You’re a man of Your word

If that doesn’t minister to your soul, I don’t know what will! To know that God keeps his word no matter what is such a comforting piece to me. At the close of the song, KJ Scriven ushers in a new phrase in the song that says:

I am what I am
‘Cause the Great I Am said He speaks over me

Two things here that I gathered just from this simple phrase:

  1. Jeremiah 1:5 highlights that God knew me before I was even formed in my mother’s womb. Just as He spoke a word of Jeremiah’s life, He has spoke a word over me.
  2. God is great and greatly to be praised. He told Moses right before going to the Israelite people to tell them that “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Even in verse 15 NLT, God said that “This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations“.

With that, go listen to “Man of Your Word” by Maverick City Music ft. Chandler Moore and KJ Scriven in the link below.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe with your email, or comment on this blog! I would love to hear your feedback!

Be Blessed!

–Chan