With His Stripes

Testimony time.

Backstory: when I was a kid, I had eye surgery for detached retina (which is often identified by noticing “floaters” or “flashing light” in your vision). In recent years, I’ve seen an increase, so a little over a year ago, I went to an ophthalmologist to get it checked out, and all was well.

The Issue: This year, at my annual check up, they spotted an “eye freckle” on my eye and became concerned enough to refer me to a retina specialist. The reason is that eye freckles are an accumulation of melanin, just like skin freckles, which could be cancerous (melanoma), and eye cancer can easily lead to death if it metastasizes, or the need for eye removal because it is such a difficult area to treat. And I’ve been waiting over a month for this follow up appointment.

Fears: Of course I’ve had some scary thoughts, from losing my eye to death. Since then every eye flash or floater has been nerve-wracking. It seems like as I’ve gotten closer to the appointment date, I’m suddenly seeing a lot of things online about will and estate planning, and life insurance, as well as material about blindness. Randomly, I see a story about Tiny Lister (R.I.P.) and how he had a glass eye. And lastly, the negative imaginations/thoughts, have been increasing.

But God: Thankfully, God is good! I’ve been constantly challenging those thoughts because the Word says to cast down and capture them into the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5). I’ve been constantly speaking the Word over the situation, that with His stripes I am healed (Isaiah 53:5) and no weapon formed against me shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17), and declaring healing over and over – and even with that the fearful thoughts kept coming, an ongoing fight for faith while walking through this valley of the SHADOW of death. I also had family strong in faith praying as well.

With the good repost from the doctor of no cancer found, I am very thankful. It is not by my action or might though, but because God is good! And, the blood of the savior, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, has paid the price. The blessing of healing is to the glory of God, and may His holy name be praised.

Responsibility and Authority

Check out our newest video message about how our responsibility of another person or thing ties directly to our authority of that person or thing.

https://youtu.be/w8L6aNZmy1I

Bless you!

Who’s There

Imagine being lost, alone, and afraid, hearing a sound and wondering, “who’s there?” It is a sad, lonely, and scary thought.

Now, imagine never having to feel that way….

By faith, God gives us comfort in His Word that we do not ever have to feel that way.

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” ~Hebrews 13:5 KJV

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 8:38‭-‬39 KJV

“And finally,

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” ~Psalm 23:4 KJV

So, whenever we feel like we are lost, alone, and afraid, this is where our faith comes in. Feed your faith daily, and in those moments, remain rest assured. The Lord is with you.

New Video – Don’t Look Back

One of the big mistakes that believers, and people in general, make is trying to hold on to things (people, places, events) that God has delivered them from. There is a time and a season for everything. When those seasons are over, they are meant to remain that way.

When God gets you out of a bad relationship or situation, it is not merited for you to reopen it or go back to you. The woman who looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah was turned into a pillar of salt for being disobedient and looking back.

That doesn’t mean that you must forget anything. It also doesn’t take anything away from the legacy. You only open the risk to tarnish your memories or the legacy of what was once great, when you try to keep using or returning to it after it is meant to be over.

Listen to the message below to hear the blessed Word of God concerning not looking back to situations, or reopening doors, that are already or should be closed.

Feeling the Holy Ghost

I was online recently, on Facebook, and in one of the groups that I am in, someone posted the above picture.  I could easily become offended, but instead chose to use this type of ignorance as a teaching tool. Christianity is one of, if not THE, most hated and criticized religion in the world.  This is no surprise though, for even the Messiah forewarned us of this:

John 15:20 – “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

We were already warned that we would be persecuted and hated for believing.  That, however, is not the point of this post.  Rather, we want to talk about why the Holy Ghost is not seen outside of church, per this meme.

Actually, the Holy Ghost IS RECEIVED outside of the church! Now, this meme is more likely referring to the display of people dancing around and shouting. While such may be a display of the excitement and power felt during praise in the presence of God, the Holy Spirit is greater and has a larger effect than that.  The primary function of the Holy Ghost is to comfort, teach, and intercede for us.

John 14:26 – But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The aspect of the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues (which edifies the speaker whereas prophecy edifies the church) and resulting in such excitement as though it feels “like fire” shut up in one’s bones is legitimate though. But the idea that the jumping around and praising in the middle of a department store aisle is a little far fetched.  Why does it primarily happen in church?

1. God inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3). People primarily praise and worship in the church building.  It is a place of safety where believers can feel comfortable praising and letting loose spiritually, just like the nightclub is a place where partyers feel comfortable doing their dancing.
2. There is a time and place for everything. (Ecclesiastes 8:6)  Everything that we do has a purpose and time. And though we pray without ceasing, and are always in the presence of God, in the general marketplace we let our light shine through our behavior and righteousness.  All things should also be done decently and in order.
3. An ideal place for worship and praise is at the altar. (Psalm 43:4). The altar represents where sacrifices were held, and in the New Covenant, we are called to give the sacrifice of praise. (Hebrews 13:15).

Overall, the meme is a meme for a reason.  Unfortunately though, many people don’t understand the inaccuracy of such things and believe or agree with anything that crosses their path. For the sake of truth, however, the Holy Ghost is felt by believers in all types of settings. I’ve felt the presence of the Holy Ghost in a room by myself during private worship, as do many others. But… to those who don’t KNOW the Spirit, who don’t KNOW God, they would not understand. But for those who do, enjoy the blessings of His presence wherever you are!

Real Preachers, Sexual Purity

So I was watching “Preachers of L.A.” and was shocked when Pastor Deitrick Haddon acted presented himself so confused when his friend advised that he was 49 and still a virgin. It is a surprising situation in this world where everything is so sexualized, BUT Deitrick seemed to act as if something was wrong with this minister for saying he will be okay if he never has gets married and have sex.

It was even more odd that he tried to reference the Bible about how God made Eve from Adam’s rib and he needs to get a woman.

If anything, he should applaud this man for his spiritual discipline, as determined and focused as a monk without the separation from the world. Even more, where’s the regard for the scripture?

1 Corinthians 7:8-10 (NIV)
8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

If the church or representatives thereof will not celebrate holiness, why will anyone else? Praise be unto God for those who stand in the gap and remain in the pursuit of holiness!

How To Let Go

I heard someone say that she wished her loved ones would just forget about the wrong that she had done and move forward.  The idea is a nice idea, that when we do wrong others would forgive and forget.  In fact, the first part of that is simply to forgive.  But, as hard as it may be to forgive, it is even harder to forget.

You will actually often here people say, “I do forgive you, but I will NEVER forget!”

The Word of God often tells us to forgive. In fact, it says in Matthew 18:20-22, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

It also says, “And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” (Luke 17:4)  So, we can clearly see that forgiveness is essential.  But, let’s get to this business about forgetting.

Forgetting something is the equivalent of something dying out.  Habits, knowledge, ideas, etc., are established by constant repetition of them, and likewise, they end by constant neglect of them.  If you want for people to forget about something, you just discontinue the behaviors that remind them of it.  Likewise, if you want to forget something that someone did to you, you also have to starve it by stop talking about and thinking about it.  (If you want to know how to stop thinking about it, you must learn to catch it at first thought and challenge/rebuke it with a counter thought against it – see 2 Corinthians 10:5)

The more that those reminders are neglected and REMOVED (if it’s a behavior), the more it will start fading from memory until eventually it will be so far in the back of your or their head that it seems weird to even bring it up anymore.  Then, just like in Job 18:16-17, the past “…roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.  His REMEMBERANCE SHALL PERISH from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.”

Starve the memory of your past mistakes by eliminating the behaviors that surrounded those mistakes (true repentance), and in doing so, the memory of those mistakes will fade into oblivion.  And then though some people who have no life of their own may still try to bring it up beyond that, it would be so awkward on them because you are so much more different than that mistake once made.

Bless you,

~Prophet Besodeiah

Do Them All

None of your God-given talents are meant to be wasted or muffled! You may be an evangelist, but have a passion and skill for hip-hop. Some would call this a conflict of interest, but the truth is that God gave you both your callings and your gifts, even those that some people would find questionable because of their limited traditional understanding that is based more on tradition than the Word itself. It is your God-given purpose, however, for you to use both.

This is where it is going to get sticky though…

Some people feel like their skill is sexual, or violent, or some other taboo. But even with that, there is a purpose. Your sexual prowess was given to you not to be loose and “spread the love” but rather that you would be a gift to your spouse in support of his or her great mission in life. Your violent gift is not about being criminal but rather making you a warrior who can protect the weaker people who don’t have the ability to protect themselves. And likewise, your other”taboo” gifts also have an honorable purpose to use them for instead of the taboo purposes that they are normally associated with.

Your gifts and skills are not meant to be muffled! Use them, no matter what they are, in service to God’s will and plan. Your superior drug selling skills (sampling, marketing, selling, financials) can be used honorably in terms of entrepreneurship to take care of your family the right way. Former prisoners, as inventive as they can be, can use those same skills to now invent things to save lives instead of to take them. None of your skills are in vain. Use them for the greater good, and God’s glory.

They were given to you as gifts. Enjoy them, and allow them to make room for you. Remember…

Proverbs 18:16 – A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

No More Fear

Ice Cube’s song said, “if you’re scared, go to church.” Beyoncé’s song said, “if you’re scared, call that reverend.”

Unfortunately, these days the church is full of fear! It should be a safe haven for those who are afraid, suffering, hurting, sick, depressed, sad, etc. And the church, believe it or not, should be fearless, like ancient Zulu warriors!

Matthew 10:28 – Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Yes, church, you should NEVER be afraid of man!! All men are created equally, and you are just as much of a danger to any man as any man is to you. And even if another person succeeds in killing your body, “we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

So yes, it is quite unfortunate that so many reverends, so many priests, so many in the church are so fearful. People of God, you have DEMONS that you have to battle, why in the world are you afraid of fragile humans and their dumb opinions??

Rise up, people of God!!! Stop living in fear: fear of rejection, anger from others, disappointment of others, verbal and physical attacks, and more… You have God (YHWH) on your side and within you!!! Stop being afraid because “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

They make fun of the church now being a place for the fearful, as in the church being full of fear. It should be a place for the fearful to find refuge and protection by the FEARLESS body of Christ! So, if people are afraid, let them come to the church. But let the church be bold and fearless enough to welcome them in. No more fear church! No more fear!!!

~Prophet Besodeiah

Mistake of Correcting Unbelievers

Trying to teach people to trust God’s discipline and correction without first demonstrating and giving them an appreciation for His love is like expecting someone to pet a growling, barking dog just because you told them it was friendly.

No one is going to accept discipline, being told certain actions are wrong, when they have no comprehension of the love reasoning behind it.

It is the same way with children. Without a foundation of love and trust, they will automatically assume you are trying to limit them when you tell them “no” rather than to protect them out of love. And with their lack of experience-gained wisdom that you have, there is no way they can truly understand your reasoning; it has to come from trust/faith, just as following God’s restrictions come from trust that He had a perfect reason for His guidelines, and it is all for the greater good.