Prayer
God my Father, I am coming to you today to praise you and invite you further into my life. I lift it all up to you, Lord, to do with as you will. I am nothing without you. Thank you for remaining ever present in my life and spirit. I pray covered by the blood of Jesus and in His name. Amen.
Yesterday we talked about 2024 being the year for changes. Today I want to talk about making room for those changes. Too many time we try to pull God down into our lives or change scripture to meet what we are comfortable with. Instead we need to change our lives for God and make room for what we pray for and for the blessings He wants to favor us with.
When you buy a new car, what do you do? You move your finances around to afford the monthly payments. You make room in the garage. You keep the car clean. You make rules about riding in the car. You set up schedules in your household about using the car. You go through all this, to make room for this valued vehicle.
Yet we refuse to do as much for making room for God to work and favor us!
Too busy to pray, to read scripture, or to do anything outside of what we set as Christian requirements of going to church on Sunday.
I want to talk about this because it was something I learned at Foundation on the Rock the first week I was there. You have a work schedule, a schedule for taking and picking up kids from school, of going to the doctor, of even when you eat meals. But nothing put aside for God, the creator of everything.
Matthew 6:33
King James Version
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Seek first...before anything else...the kingdom of God. We tend to seek approval from those around us, we seek food when we are hungry, we seek hours of entertainment from t.v. and social media...when do you seek God? Those other things should be scheduled around your time devoted to God.
Too busy? Got to clean your house? Turn on K-Love and sing praises and worship while you clean. Go to go to work, pray to and from the office. Pray with your children before they go to sleep...that means implementing a bedtime for them and for you. Have your children thank God for something every day on the way out of the door or the car when you drop them off to school, starting with you as example thanking God. God should be your daily routine...and everything else scheduled around that. Are you a Christian first, or are you an accountant first? Or a mechanic? Or a doctor? Are you a cashier who happens to be a Christian or are you a Christian who works in customer service?
There is always time for God. You just have to, like any other decision in life, decide you are devoted to Him.
I was going to pull from Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John for this study but I went into the old testament to 1 Chronicles chapter 16 instead....
This was BEFORE the covenant of Jesus Christ, before you had a chance to be forgiven and loved despite your past. This is down to the bones.
1 Chronicles 16
King James Version
16 So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.
2 And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
3 And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.
4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:
5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;
6 Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.
12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;
16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;
17 And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;
19 When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.
20 And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;
21 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
22 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
23 Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.
24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.
32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.
33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.
34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.
36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.
37 So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required:
38 And Obededom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obededom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:
39 And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,
40 To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel;
41 And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever;
42 And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.
43 And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.
When I read this chapter today I was immediately reminded of the verse we read yesterday 1 Thessalonians 5:16
16 Rejoice evermore.
Look at how much time and effort people devoted to the Lord, God BEFORE Jesus died for them! And now, we don't hardly do anything, reserve our worship for 2 hours one day a week. Jesus DIED for us...gave his whole life for us. And we take that love for granted. We take God for granted. He wants to bless and favor us and we do the minimal we can get by with to receive it. He just wants you to love him back and make room in your lives for what He has for you. he gave his only son to be able to do that no matter how you might mess up in this life. Praise God! Rejoice evermore!
Psalm 90:12
King James Version
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
It is important to value the moments and days He has given us. We cannot know what tomorrow will bring (Proverbs 27:1), so we ought to dedicate today and every day to the Lord.
I am reaching out today, asking for a little help with Soulshine Ministry. I'm wanting to get non-profit status. I don't really know where to start...what to do first. Someone suggested I become an LLC first. But I'm trying to become a non profit so I can start writing requests for grant money for property and start up to build. I don't know what documents I need to fill out, where to get them, or how to file them. If anyone who has gone through this before, could get in touch with me, that would be amazing. I need free assistance.
Y'all I'm moving on God's word on no funding. I am going on all in on what God has thought toward me and doing it pretty blindly...faithfully. If you can help with funding, if that is how you are led, please do so through paypal to ajs.soulshine@gmail.com or cashapp to $soulshineministry
I heard a man from Yazoo City speak last night and his message was those that love God will help with what God calls you to do. I felt like I was supposed to hear that message, that God was using that man to calm my nerves and let me know it was all going to be okay. Part of how this ministry will grow and I will be able to build the Fortress of Faith, that he showed me would be through those who do love God, by those who believe in what I am trying to do and by their word of mouth. So I'm asking if you guys will share this message out today on your pages and in your groups.
With that said, let me tell you about The Fortress of Faith. It is a large property that will act as a launching point for several ministries. My own ministry will be running a sobriety living place for women and there will be a ministry running a sober living place for men as well. I want a food truck so we can feed the hungry and a storefront to do as I've done this past year at Momma's Hope, providing clothes, toys, blankets, and household items for those in need. That is my starting point. The Fortress of Faith will unite ministries to work together to reach their objectives and provide first home opportunities for those working in the ministries and for those who have graduated the sober living program. There will be ministry businesses run off of the property that will help fund the ministries and the work we do there. There will also be a community building that can be used for group meetings such as Celebrate Recovery, on site for those in the sober living programs as well as involvement with off site ministries and church organizations. It's a massive project...but one that I have complete faith in because God showed it to me two years ago. I'm ready to start looking for the site for Fortress of Faith and to begin looking for a house for a sober living home for women now.
I'm already involved with my local Celebrate Recovery groups but want to also begin going to other groups in Mississippi to give my testimony and speak...also one of my goals for 2024. So any way you can help get this ball rolling would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for joining me today, for dedicating this time to God and the study of His word today! Please join me tomorrow for another study about how to make changes to break free from your past and move forward into 2024. Until then Love yourselves and love one another. God Bless!
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