<![CDATA[Pen of Praise - Blog: Tips & Tidbits ]]>

<![CDATA[Pen of Praise - Blog: Tips & Tidbits ]]>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 23:19:05 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Highways to Glory by Jessica Bridges]]>Wed, 14 Oct 2020 17:13:12 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/highways-to-glory-by-jessica-bridges

What if the trials of life are God’s way of setting us up for His glory? What if for every trial, every affliction, every set back, His plan is that we catch a deeper revelation and understanding of His glory? As we pass through life, could these trials be highways to His glory?
As the world around us gets darker, the light of His glory shines brighter. As the trials and suffering of this life get bitter, heaven gets sweeter.
John 16:33 KJV encourages us by saying,
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
What better time to know the peace of God than in the midst of a storm? What better time to truly know the joy of the Lord but in the midst of heartache and suffering? What better time to know and experience the strength of Almighty God than in the midst of our weakness and frailty.
In his book, “It Filled the House,” Samuel Vaughn wrote, “Moses recognized that the Promised Land itself was not the true prize, but God’s presence was. God’s presence was the Promise. Without the Promise, Canaan was just land.”

Perhaps life doesn’t go like we hoped or planned, or maybe we have an idea of what God’s promise should look like, and our current lot in life feels so far from it that we are overwhelmed and struggle to see God in it at all.
Where is hope when it seems like all hope is lost? Where is the refreshing when you’ve cried all that you can cry? Where is the promise of rest?
The promise is found when and wherever He is found. He IS the promise. ALL that you thought was lost is found in HIS presence.
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11

Psalm 84 describes the pleasure, fulfillment, and blessing found in the presence of the Lord even when the ship of life has been torn and tattered.
Psalm 84:4-7 Amplified
4 Blessed and greatly favored are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence;
They will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah.
5 Blessed and greatly favored is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power];
Each of them appears before God in Zion.

As I studied this scripture, I found a beautiful truth that I pray encourages someone:
Blessed, happy, joyful and favored are those who dwell, abide, sit still and remain in the house, in the presence of the Lord. They will STILL be praising you. The storm rages and the tempest roars, yet they are still found singing and praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is found in you. In whose heart are the highways to Zion, highways to His presence.
NKJV study commentary for verse 7 mentions, “those whose heart is set on pilgrimage, those who make their way into the temple not out of obligation, but out of a wellspring of joy.”
These are those who delight in His presence.
Verse 6 mentions the Valley of Baca or the Valley of Weeping.
People whose heart is fixed on His presence will go THROUGH the Valley of Weeping. They will not remain there. The people whose heart is fixed on His presence understand that there is a treasure, refreshment, a spring, and renewal to be found in the Valley of Weeping. There is a lesson to be learned about Him. There is Glory to be revealed in the Valley of Weeping that can’t be revealed any where else. They find nourishment in the Valley of Weeping. And the most beautiful part of all is that they go from strength to strength, victorious, and increasing in power. They keep moving forward becoming stronger and stronger with every tear, with every act of worship and praise, with every song, with every broken cry, with every time they choose to lift up their heads when all hope seems gone.

This is not a valley meant to destroy you, but it’s a highway to His glory, a highway to the presence of God, a highway where your human frailty collides with the strength and power of God Almighty.

Jessica Bridges is a recent transplant to Livingway Pentecostal Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Upon her arrival, Jessica extended her hands to service. She has given Bible studies to young adults, partnered in a women’s small group, and extended prayerful encouragement to ladies churchwide. She continues to obediently follow "wherever God may lead," even when the territory is down the new path of sharing her heart through writing. When Jessica is not volunteering her time to ministry, she is caring for her husband, Chris, and her beautiful little girls, Maya and Sara.

]]><![CDATA[Sin is Sin by Amy Cormier]]>Tue, 29 Sep 2020 17:10:31 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/sin-is-sin-by-amy-cormier

Shortly after I became a born again believer, one of my first bible study lessons taught me that ALL sin was the same to God. Sin was sin period. We like to place different levels to sin and make some sins seem impossible to overcome or be forgiven simply by comparing sin. For example, I remember asking my bible study leader, “So you’re telling me that someone cursing and someone murdering someone is the same in God’s eyes?” And she answered, “Sin is Sin.”

A person who has never repented for their foul language and continues to speak with an uncontrollable tongue has sins that are unforgiven because they have not felt convicted and admitted that they are sinners and turned away from their sin. Someone who has murdered someone and felt convicted and repents from his/her heart and turns away from their sin is forgiven by God. Only God knows the heart of man. God knows when we are truly repented. He can see when our hearts turn away from that sin and turn towards Jesus.

We can often become caught up in the trap of comparing sin and circumstantially start believing that some of our own sins are unforgivable by God. For this reason, God often brings into my remembrance that early lesson I was taught when He notices me comparing my sins or when God notices I begin to judge others sins by comparing their past to my own short comings as to justify myself.

Understanding that God knows my heart helps me push past the barriers that have tried to keep me from repentance. If I know I am truly sorry for something that I have done that is not pleasing to God or if I am struggling with something and really need God to help deliver me from it, I can trust that He sees my heart! He even knows our thoughts. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” Matthew 9:4 ESV

So, the next time the enemy tries to condemn you and make you feel like your sins are beyond forgiveness, you just remember who your savior is! Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 ESV Thank God we are not the judge! Thank God for we have a savior who loves us beyond our understanding and rejoices along with all of heaven when we repent and turn away from our sins. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7 ESV

Do not wait another moment confess those things that have bound you for so long and kept you from truly living a life of freedom! Jesus sees your heart and He is quick forgive. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV God not only forgives He forgets! It’s like it NEVER happened in God’s eyes. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, Acts 3:19 ESV Does this mean that we will not have to face some consequences for our actions here on Earth? Of course not, however eternally in Heaven there is no more record of it! So that means we will not have to face eternal consequences for any repented sins! How AMAZING is that?! That is why Jesus died for you and me. So that we may live a life eternally free from sin!

“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Amy Cormier is dedicated to her work for the Kingdom of God. She, her husband, Joshua, and their three children, Tayton, Jaci, and Ty, reside in Lake Charles, LA and have attended Livingway Pentecostal Church since the Lord led their family there as new converts in January 2013. When God filled Amy with His Spirit, He set a fire in her that has grown more consuming with the passing of time. Her love for God shines through her commitment to the spiritual and her hunger for His Word, and her love for His people is most evident in her burden for children and young adults. God has used her to minister to youth through bus ministry, Sunday school, and Bible studies, but Amy’s zeal for God is also apparent in her contributions to an adult small group and in her work as a real estate agent. “The thing I love most about my career is it allows me to reach others outside of the church.” Now, Amy takes on a new challenge, sharing her affection for the Kingdom, through writing.

]]><![CDATA[Restoring the Ruins]]>Thu, 10 Sep 2020 17:46:49 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/restoring-the-ruins

With my heart in sync with the aftermath of hurricane Laura, I had more empathy for the Israelites as I read Ezra today. I could better identify with the exiles returning to their homeland. As they straggled back to a destroyed city, they likely felt emotions akin to those experienced by evacuees returning home to find that Laura had taken their homes, their businesses, and their history.

It’s mind-numbing to see the life you once knew reduced to matchsticks and mildew. You can’t point to a favorite restaurant and reminisce about dining there. You can’t go down a familiar street and see the storefronts of your favorite shops. You can’t drive into your neighborhood and wave at friends. You can’t even pull up to your own house because your driveway ends in front of a debris pile. For the returning Israelites, a 70-year-old heap of stone was the rubble that greeted them. No wide streets filled with laughing children. No busy marketplace with vendors hawking their wares. No passing by the familiar. Nostalgia was only for memory, not for reliving. Instead, the crumble of broken walls surrounded the city that was once secure within its gates. The city itself was wiped out, a mere shell of its former self. At its center, the temple of God lay in ruin, stripped of its carvings, jewels, and precious metals. Haunting lamentations and the echo of dirges hummed upon the wind. All that was bare and bleak sprawled before this tired group.

The task of rebuilding was daunting, but it was for that purpose that these people had returned, bringing with them a younger generation, whose strong backs were not weakened by the memories of what used to be and whose visionary eyes were not blinded by the city’s former glory. Eager to work, they saw only what was ahead, and their energy, hope and enthusiasm were fueled for recovery. These fearless Hebrews who had traveled 4 months, walking 900 miles from Babylon to Palestine, knew what they were returning to, but the possibilities of what they could accomplish overrode the disappointment of what they faced. That resilience put in motion practices that can help anyone rebuilding from the brokenness of life.

1. They acknowledged their God. Their journey had been made with God in mind. Freedom of worship was at the forefront of their cause. Our recovery begins with God is established in first place in our hearts and our confidence in Him is settled.

2. They secured their identity. For the Israelites this meant finding proof of everyone’s lineage so that the priestly roles could be filled. For us it means anchoring ourselves in the truth of who we are. Identity is a fragile thing, and it can quickly become unraveled if it’s placed in the temporal things that storms destroy. The stabilizer that moors identity is the unchanging Word of God. Knowing who God says we are is the surest foundation on which to build recovery.

3. They rebuilt their altar. When we are in recovery mode, we can feel weak and vulnerable. Challenges that we once anticipated can become overwhelming. We need supernatural strength. An altar of prayer provides the surrender of our weakness to the superiority of God’s strength, and we find “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” Philippians 4:13.

4. They kept their feasts. Feasts were celebratory times that connected the people with one another and with their God. Hebrews 10: 25 admonishes “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” There’s something about sharing the load with one another that lessens the pain and strengthens the determination. Keeping encouragement, especially spiritual encouragement, alive is so important. It is a gift we both give and receive to propel and enhance recovery efforts.

5. They gave money and food and supplies to support the labors beyond their own strength. Like the Hebrews, we have limits. We can’t do everything for everyone, but we can offer some kind of support. I’ve seen 18-wheelers of supplies roll in from neighboring states, and electrical workers, church groups, and the Cajun Navy, sweep in to feed the stranded, the hurting, and the helpers. There’s always something we can do to aid recovery.

While I’ve read Ezra before, I never FELT it quite like I did today as within its story were answers for our present situation…and answers we all need when we are rebuilding with a greater future in mind.

Tip/Tidbit: What you do today can be a part of a glorious future.

]]><![CDATA[A Horizon of Hope]]>Thu, 03 Sep 2020 16:52:42 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/september-03rd-2020

While hurricane winds whirled across Louisiana, I was in Biloxi Mississippi watching relatively calm waves lap against the Biloxi shore. Walking out on the pier, I observed dilapidated pilings reminiscent of Biloxi’s own bout with storms and their damage. At this off-shore level, the waves rose with greater height and dove to deeper depths as they slapped hard against the wood, rocking the scarred timber before rolling to land. I scanned the horizon. Along the line where the Gulf met the sky, all was peaceful. At that level there was no evidence of the crests and valleys lapping against the pieces of the pier near where I stood. While the waves were, in fact, present from shore to sea, my view of them was not. The distance invited me to behold the blessings of blue sky, the strokes of wispy clouds, and the sunlit sparkles glinting off the water. The way I viewed the waves was a matter of perspective.

Close up, Hurricane Laura was scary. The damage left in her wake was more harrowing still. Like pilings off the Biloxi coast, our cities were pummeled, and in her aftermath, they stood naked. Trees were stripped of leaves, vistas were stripped of landscape and structures, and families were stripped of homes and livelihoods.

Hurricane Laura caused heartache. She left behind emotional waves that run deep. Her rough winds pummeled against our souls as harshly as they pounded our land. Devastation is everywhere. It’s knee deep. Shoulders are damp from absorbing loved ones’ tears, and backs are slick with the sweat of digging through refuse for something to salvage. In many ways, we are standing on a pier, looking at losses that once defined our past. We are in the surge. Close to the place where raging winds and drenching rains hammered against us. We are soggy, soaked through. But we see the horizon. The place where trouble meets hope.

With nothing but a weekend’s worth of clothes, evacuees smile, eyes crinkling above masks thrust upon us by another storm, Covid. In hotels, we exchange muffled hellos, but they are empathetic, genuine. The thread of surviving together winds around us during elevator rides, and our hearts are tied together in the most un-socially distant way. Common loss reminds us that within skin of all shades are similar hurts and the potential to love all neighbors. Family reaches out, offering shelter and encouragement that shrink the miles between us. Friends call, checking on one another, and texts always include the words, “We are so blessed. It could have been worse. We are all alive. My family is safe; that’s what matters.” Resilient. Resolute. The scattered unify, and eyes are lifted off the waves.

In peaceful places where there are electricity and water, where powerlines are strung from upright poles, where storefronts still wear their signs, where houses still have roofs, and where mighty trees remain rooted, the horizon beckons with a melodious voice. “Look away from the waves,” it sings as strangers along the coast say, “We were praying for your city. We’ve experienced devastation before.” It sings as convoy after convoy of energy workers file down the interstate from as far north as Canada. It sings as churches in other towns hold prayer meetings with our city as their focus and preachers address their congregations-not about the blessings coming their way--but about the amazing recovery God is going to give to us.

Before the storm, we were isolated, individual, disconnected. But the storm blew us into a single world, linking us together with its invisible winds. In that unique way that trouble has, the same current that brought ruin clears away the clouds. And there is love. Exposed in all its glory. Love draws our eyes upward. It extends hands to clean, to build, to give, to serve, to encourage, to believe.

We see where sky meets water, and though the water churns at our feet, we see seascapes dappled with sun kisses. We hear the song of seagulls. We feel the peace. We experience love, and we have a perspective full of hope, an expectancy of greater, beautiful things to come.

Tip/Tidbit: Perhaps you did not go through a hurricane, but storms can come in many varieties. Look up today, and draw strength from the beauty that remains.

]]><![CDATA["Ditto"]]>Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:58:55 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/ditto

I used to sit in the prayer room hearing my friend Carla worship and pray. Her vocabulary was rich. The words rhythmic with a cadence of confidence. My tongue, on the other hand, felt heavy, weighed with an accumulation of words I couldn’t seem to speak. Prayers would swirl in my heart and praises would strain to be expressed, but my lips responded as if speech were foreign to me. As the words I longed to utter fell gracefully from Carla’s lips, I would whisper, “Ditto.”

“Ditto,” was my deepest, most heart-felt worship in that moment.

Like a toddler putting together a sentence, I felt inept in my expression; still, God wanted to hear from me. While he loved Carla’s beautifully spoken words, my fumbling, faltering lips, posed phrases that He was just as eager to hear. Prayer and praise, like each individual, are unique. Though the sounds may not fill the air the same way, there’s something delightful about devotion and supplication that is articulated. Consider a toddler’s utterances. How many proud parents make social media boasts about their little darling’s cute turn of a phrase, his first words, or her faulty use of grammar. Incorrect? Yes. Difficult to understand? Usually. But, oh so delightful. Those posts get a great big like from me every time. And so do the teenager’s colorful poem, the college graduate’s speech, and the adult’s tribute to a parent or spouse. Older. Yes. More clearly expressed? Usually. And, also, oh so delightful.

Recently, a friend and I conversed about a prayer she’d heard me pray. I had to confess. Years after those prayer room comparisons, I still struggle to put into speech the matters of my heart. The prayer she'd heard felt stilted and clumsy to me, a poor representation of my spirit cry, but to her, my words sounded like victory because they were vocalized. For her, prayer is a silent offering, deeply and fully felt but never spoken. This prayer position is critical as worship, regardless of expression, must, first and foremost, be the utterance of the soul. Words carefully journaled, fluidly articulated, or loudly proclaimed are meaningless if they originate on a pen or form on the lips. When the soul, however, is given voice, its indefinable hopes and profound gratitude, its grave concerns and earnest petitions, its inmost sorrows and jubilant extolments are released in a burst of beauty. It's like having a friend tell us how much they treasure our relationship or having her come close with words of comfort during our discouragement. We may know how she feels, but having her share those feelings aloud adds another layer of value to our relationship. When we worship with our words, we engage in conversation with God. Sure, we're telling him what He already knows, but He likes it, and we are enriched with the voicing of it. Earthly moments are exchanged for Heavenly ones. The essence of what’s hidden in our hearts spills out into the open, and our vulnerability signals to us that we are surrendered and that we are listening for God's reply.

Like a child stringing together syllables, we aren't joyful because of the precision of our grammar; our delight is in communication. No matter the development of our vocabulary, we can have a conversation with God. Sometimes our Father imparts fresh insight into what to pray, much like a parent providing a correct pronunciation of a toddler’s version of a word. Requests that were not part of our planned petitions surface. Spiritual awareness directs us to oppose the enemy. Spirit words transcend earth’s dimension. In praise, we gain access to more understanding of God's magnitude. We grow, offering greater disclosure and increasing in our knowledge of Him. We learn to recognize His responses. His enveloping presence affirms He’s heard. His whispers spiral right into our innermost being, the origin of our words. In the interaction, we experience the divine. Reciprocity with the holy.

Today, I have asked my friends to share a prayer and a praise that has been in their hearts, specifically regarding the times we are living in. While these are ladies experienced in prayer, I want you to see that each person expresses herself uniquely, even when given the same request. And God likes it. Maybe your heart will feel a “ditto” as you are inspired by my friends’ words, but their phrases do not have to replace the voice of YOUR heart. Perhaps your prayer today is “Help me,” or “Thank you,” or “Save me, Jesus.” Those have certainly been my most frequent utterances to God. Maybe it’s a fervent, “I love you!” that you'll shout loudly or whisper from trembling lips. Whatever it is that you choose to say to God, He’s leaning in to hear.

Lord I praise you because you are the magnificent, beautiful, Holy One. You alone have the power to dispatch ten thousand angels when called upon. You hold the world and my hand at the same time. You have never forsaken me. I praise you for your goodness, your forgiveness, your mercy, your righteousness, and your power. You forgive our sin seventy times seven. The stars obey your commands and the rain waits for your signal, yet you see the single sparrow that has fallen and number every hair on my head. The world is in your control, and nothing takes you by surprise. I praise you Lord because you are the only perfect holy one deserving of praise.
---Stacey

Lord, I thank you for your forgiveness and mercy to a world of people who do not deserve it. I’m asking that you would be a barrier of protection to your churches across the world. We need your divine, supernatural protection from the evil that is trying to infiltrate our schools, families, government, and churches. Please protect the innocence of our children in a world that is attacking their mind at every corner. Expose and clean out the secret wickedness of those in high places because you said that everything done in darkness will come to light. Please protect the marriages in our churches from spirits of lust and adultery that would try to creep in. Send angels to surround our church and protect it from any evil that would try to come against it. Thank you Lord for the many blessings you give us that we never notice and take advantage of. We are so blessed. Please hear our prayer for help in this time of need. In Jesus name, amen.
--Stacey

Lord, I praise you because of who you are and not just because of what you’ve done.
You are the King of Glory. The Beginning and the End. There is no one or nothing that can even come close to your greatness. You are the master of the universe. You spoke this whole world into existence. And you are the same God who cares about me.

I will praise you everyday of my life, Lord, for you are great and greatly to be praised!! You are the king who sits on the throne, and what a day it will be, Lord, when I can bow down at your feet!!! All the pain and suffering here on this earth will be nothing compared to that great day, Lord!!! Oh sweet Jesus, I am not worthy of your love, grace, and mercy, but everyday, Lord, you give me these things. Thank you Jesus for seeing my heart and knowing me .

Lord, I come before you thanking you for the authority you’ve given me in the spiritual realm, and I thank you for using me, Jesus, to fight battles on another level. Search my heart and forgive me of any sins--the ones I'm aware of and the ones I’m blinded to--that I am doing.

Satan, I have authority over you and your plans through the power of the Holy Ghost that YOUR master, the creator of the universe imparted to me when I took on his sweet name. I have sat by long enough and watched you devour friends and family members, but no more. Not one more will you take without me fighting!!!!

I bind every spirit of confusion, every spirit of compromise, every false prophet that is whispering in the ears of your people. Bind them up, Lord. Bind up the mouths of the naysayers. Take the spirits working through them, and throw them back into hell where they can’t torture your people any more. Remove the blinders from the preachers and evangelist who are turning towards another path--trying to preach truth while trying to be a part of this world. Give them strength, Lord, to keep pushing and to keep fighting.

Lord, in your word you said we have authority over the serpent and over every unclean spirit. We have the authority to cast out devils in your great name. Lord I take authority over the spirit of offense that is causing division among your people. I plead the blood of Jesus over your church, over your people, Lord!!!! Help us to be your church, the church you called us to be. Help us to love like you love and to see people how you see them. In Jesus name.

Lord, through you we have great victory!!! Victory over the prince of darkness that torments this city. Help us to tear down strongholds Jesus!!! We thank you, Lord, for the victory. We thank you for authority. You are such a mighty God!!!

—Heather

Father I come before you today in humility. I know and understand that it’s in you that I live, move, and have my being. It’s your breath that I’m breathing. I am your creation and it’s because of your Word that I exist.
Forgive me Jesus where I’ve failed you! Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me! Lord let a spirit of repentance and surrender sweep over the church, the people of Your name, and this great nation. Help us to prepare the way of the Lord and make His path straight.
Awaken us Oh God in this critical hour! Let our eyes be fixed on you and our ears be attentive to your voice and the gates of our hearts opened so that the King of Glory can come in! Not our will Lord but yours Jesus. Forgive us of our passiveness. Forgive us of our idleness. Forgive us of our ease.
For the kingdom suffers violence, but the violent are rising to take it by force! There’s an army rising up with renewed identity, strength, clarity, and strategies. And we will conquer new territory in Jesus Name! For your Name and your Power is on us, in us, and through us! No weapon formed against us shall prosper!
In the midst of a world filled with fear, sickness, desperation, turmoil, and darkness, we are preparing the way and proclaiming faith, love, hope, healing, miracles, and LIGHT. Lord let revival come. We need YOU Jesus.
--Jessica

Isaiah 52:1-2 KJV
1 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!

Psalm 18:29-32
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

I praise you for your perfect strength today!
I praise you, Jesus, that you have awakened your people and they are rising! Positioned and ready to advance for your kingdom’s sake! We have put on your garments and we are restored in our identity in you! We put on a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. For your yoke is easy and your burden is light. We praise you because the enemy, his lies, his accusations are under YOUR feet and therefore under ours! We are shaking ourselves off from the attack of the enemy and we are stronger now! And we are sitting and resting in heavenly places with you. We trust you!
I praise you for the victory that is already won! We have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony!
I praise you because you have redeemed us with your outstretched arm! You have defeated the enemy and empowered us with greater strength!
Life and death are in the power of the tongue and we declare that you are good in all your ways and what the enemy meant for evil, you meant for good! Thank you Jesus that you are forever sovereign and your mercy endures forever! Thank you Lord that in your name, we ALWAYS triumph.

—Jessica

]]><![CDATA[Attuned to the Quiet by Rachelle Fontenot]]>Fri, 14 Aug 2020 21:21:57 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/attuned-to-the-quiet-by-rachelle-fontenot

Deafening.
The sounds roaring at us today. Do this. Don’t do this. Do that. Don’t do that. Read this. No, it’s false. Listen to this person. They are telling the truth. No, this person is spewing lies.
Confusion, panic, disorientation, a whirlwind. Deafening.
Do you want to scream back? Let your voice beat against the wall of voices that are building up around you? I know I do. It only feels right to use the weapon of a deep holler to try to combat all the sounds flying at us. How unnatural for us to think that standing quietly in the middle of the chaos would be how He would fix sights on us, hear our heart’s cry, and run to our aid.
With it all swirling around, God brought my attention to Hagar in the Bible. In Genesis 21:14-17, we learn about Abraham sending her and their son Ishmael away, the water running out, and how this causes her to set the boy under a shrub and move away from him because she did not want to see him die. She then lifted up her voice and wept. I imagine this being loud and with deep groaning. She had been sent away and now she felt like she had no hope and that her son would die there in the wilderness.
What struck me, though, is that while she is weeping and crying out, God hears the voice of the boy. The Bible doesn’t make mention of the boy speaking or crying or praying, but I would like to think that maybe since we don’t know of him making any sounds to God, that God was hearing his heart’s cry. Perhaps praying, silently, for his mother in her distress. Or maybe his words were like a whisper that slammed into the ears of our God.
This hit me so hard, that I found myself looking up the scriptures in different versions of the Bible just to make sure that I was understanding it correctly. In every one that I looked into, it was made clear that God heard the voice of the boy. I, without a doubt, know that He heard Hagar too. He isn’t selective in what He chooses to hear and do but I feel the Bible mentions that He heard Ishmael over Hagar because God wants us to understand that He hears and understands our innermost thoughts. He can grasp what our hearts are longing for without us ever having to mention a word.
I believe there are times for our shout to ring out. For us to lift our voices and make a joyful noise to the Lord. When we are declaring healing and deliverance over situations that can only be overturned by God. But on the other hand, I’m so thankful that even when words can’t be formed, He hears. He knows. He helps. In the quiet, we can be assured that He is bending down low to hear us.
I can’t imagine what Hagar was feeling. The pain, shame, anger, and resentment among a myriad of other emotions. I do understand, though, how all these feelings coming at her all at once from different angles would have caused her to so easily forget the boy wouldn’t die there. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude Genesis 16:10. The anguish that she was experiencing caused her to let go of the promise that God had already given her. All she could see was being lost, without water, and with no way to help her son. But here is where God teaches us that all we need to do sometimes is remember His word, let it be hidden in our hearts.
Even more amazing to me is the fact that God told her to name him Ishmael which means “God will hear,” (Genesis 16:11). From the very beginning, He was letting her know, that He hears her. She then called God “El Roi” because she knew that God saw her as read in Genesis 16:13. Life doesn’t always cause us to come rushing at God, voicing everything that we feel is going wrong in our lives. He sees us and He hears our hearts.
I implore you to steal away with Him. Shut out the sounds of the times we are living in. Shut out the sounds of the media as they try to turn faith into fear. Shut out the sounds of negativity. Shut out the sounds of the naysayers. I promise you, He already sees you and He will also hear your heart without you ever needing to mention a word. Let His presence sweep over you. Let it infiltrate your mind.
Then, when you feel the grace of God begin to strengthen you, find your voice and shout for the victory.

Rachelle Fontenot is a Certified Pharmacy Technician and a brand-new writer. Rachelle has attended Livingway Pentecostal Church for 20 years. There, she shows her love for God through singing on the praise team and in the choir and through dramatized worship and theatrical performances. One of her greatest joys is singing alongside her husband, Allen, at church. They have been married almost 13 years and have 4 amazing daughters, Taylor, Aubrey, Edynn, and Norah.

]]><![CDATA[God Alone]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2020 19:03:57 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/god-alone

I’ve been reading about Judah and Israel and their kings. These were the nations descending from the Hebrews who’d been supernaturally delivered from Egypt by the hand of God, led through the wilderness by Moses, and secured in the Promise Land through Joshua’s leadership. For a time, they’d been united under the rulership of Saul, David, and Solomon, but following Solomon’s reign, they had separated into two kingdoms. Judah contained two tribes under David’s lineage, while the 10 remaining tribes of Israel unified under a different king. Both groups, each chosen by God and each His children, struggled to serve the God of their history. While Judah’s kings fluctuated between following God and falling into idolatry, Israel, sadly, never had a God-fearing leader. From its establishment, golden calves were worshipped, and these continued to be honored alongside various other heathen religious practices. Although mighty prophets, including Elijah and Elisha, repeatedly warned Israel to repent, Israel failed to surrender to God. Every instruction that God gave was disregarded. Everything He told them to avoid, they clung to. Finally, God evicted them from the land He’d graciously given them.

2 Kings 17:9 has this to say: “And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God.” The passage continues with a list of things they did--IN THE OPEN—but shows that the real issue was the secret place where the rebellion began: IN THE HEART. Verse 14-17 says, “…they would not hear but hardened their necks… they did not believe in the LORD their God…they left all the commandments of the LORD their God…and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD…” Their desire opposed God, but they chose it anyway.

So, God permitted them to be carried away by Assyria. They were taken to a strange land, and strangers were brought in to occupy their beloved territory. These outsiders brought their religious practices with them, but they also recognized that the God of the land of Israel was angry, and they sought to appease Him. A Levitical priest was returned to the land, and he taught the people about fearing the LORD, the God who’d been forsaken. Unfortunately, 2 Kings 17: 33 explains, “So they feared the LORD, AND served their own gods.” God interpreted this as NOT fearing Him because He will never be compromised or put on the same playing field as other gods. He is God alone or not at all.

“…Ye shall not fear other gods…nor serve them…But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit they did not harken, but they did after their former manner,” 2 Kings 17:35-40.

God still yearned to be their God. He didn’t disown them even though He surrendered them to the judgement they had earned. He still wanted to deliver them from their enemies. But He required them to turn from their rebellion, to separate themselves from the gods of the land, and to fully embrace Him as their Lord and their Savior. They, sadly, did the same thing they’d always done. They chose THEIR way of doing things. Compromise. They held on to what they wanted while attempting to appease God with what He wanted.

You’d think Judah would have learned from Israel’s misfortunate end. But Judah followed this same pattern. She, too, was removed from God’s protection and taken into captivity. Each kingdom, though treasured and chosen by God, fell victim to the destruction of their own choices.

As a reader of this record, I’m astounded by the blindness of this people. Then, I see that it’s indicative of our human nature to reject the Lord in favor of whatever we want. Like Israel, we want to blend in to the culture around us, and when we are in a pinch, we rush to God for help. But we seldom sell out. Our tendency is to add Him to our present lifestyle. While He waits and reaches, longing for relationship with those He died to save, we insist on being in charge, willing only to permit Him to be a part of what already exists. No change. No surrender of our idols of pleasure, self-indulgence, gluttony, excess, fortune, pride… We never fully lay down our shabby will for His glorious Lordship. We want a Savior, but we reject a Lord.

If my choices were written for future readers, I wouldn’t want this to be my story. I’d want those who read about me to see I did what made sense. That I feared the Lord and ONLY the Lord. That I wasn’t ruled by popular opinion, peer groups, or religion. That I didn’t try to bend God to MY will; rather, that I eagerly emptied myself to His greater purpose. I’d want it written that I was surrendered to God, and that He alone was my Lord as well as my Savior. I’d want it to be evident that the story He hoped to be written about me was the one etched on the paper of time.

Tip/Tidbit: How much better could your life—and eternity—be if you made Jesus the only God in your life?

]]><![CDATA[Positioned for Surprise Attack by Jessica Bridges]]>Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:21:39 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/positioned-for-surprise-attack

I’ve heard it stated recently, in terms of the church and the intense spiritual warfare we are facing, “New level means new devil, which demands new strategies.” New strategies are always required with spiritual advancement. Anytime God is doing a new thing, His people must make the shift as well.

John the Baptist, for example, ushered in something new. Coming in the spirit of Elijah, with passion and boldness, he stepped on the scene preaching a fiery message of repentance that prepared others for the One who would come after him, the One who would “baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire,” (Matthew 3:11 KJV ). The Message Bible describes him as “Thunder in the Desert.” But the strategy of this ministry would shift yet again.

Moving ahead to Matthew chapter 11, we find John the Baptist in prison; he was filled with doubt and questions. He’d heard of Jesus’ ministry and His miracles but apparently what John expected of the Kingdom when Messiah would come, was not what was actually happening. So he sent a couple disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one that should come or should we look for another?” Matthew 11:3 Jesus’s response is found in Matthew 11:4-5 KJV. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." God was doing a new thing.

There are lessons I’m learning especially during this current season, that are proving to me that God’s ways concerning His kingdom are so far above me. Even though John didn’t have all the pieces to what it would look like, nevertheless, he came forcefully, violently, declaring and fighting for the advancement of the kingdom of God, which brings me to Matthew 11:12 KJV. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

Oh how this word speaks to the church today! There’s no question that the kingdom is suffering violence, and this is why the violent must TAKE IT BY FORCE. The Amplified version reads, “...violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize].”
I have to ask myself, What does this look like for the church? What does this look like for me?

When I think of violent force, I think of a fear of God that produces BOLDNESS. Boldness comes when our eyes are opened to spiritual realities and we’re left in awe and wonder of our God. An example of this is found in 2 Kings 6:15-17 KJV. "And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

If we could catch a vision of the reality of our battle, we could pursue our enemy boldly and with authority. Lord, open our eyes to spiritual realities!

I think about how the enemy, just this year, has seemingly made advances and attacks that perhaps we didn’t see coming. We weren’t prepared. Have we become too predictable to our enemy? So how do we get back on top again? What new warfare strategies are God showing us? I believe God is gearing up His church for new war tactics and new strategies for an unpredicted surprise attack on the kingdom of darkness.

In 2 Chronicles 20, Judah was facing a “great multitude” consisting of the people of Moab and the people of Ammon. King Jehoshaphat feared the Lord according to 2 Chronicles 19:3, in that he removed the wooden idols from the land, and prepared his heart to seek God, even before he was faced with battle. His immediate response to the threat of this great multitude is found in 2 Chronicles 20:3-4. "And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord."

Jehoshaphat recognized that his help came from God and God only. He cried out to God on behalf of the people of Judah. "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee," (vs 12). And God heard and not only did He hear but He also responded by speaking through Jahaziel, a musician. "And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you," (vs 15-17).

This was a different strategy. A new strategy. One that involved no army. No fighting. Just setting themselves and positioning themselves and opening their eyes to God’s salvation, God’s victory!! THIS strategy is one the enemy would never see coming. Unpredicted. Unexpected.

Verses 20- 23 tell us, "And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another."

When we set ourselves before Him, the Lord sets Himself before us! He set ambushments against the enemy. An ambush, a sudden, surprise attack was the means by which GOD won the victory that day.

Scripture goes on to say that this was a victory unlike any they’d ever seen! They were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much!

It’s God’s desire that His kingdom come to earth as it is in Heaven. It comes through His people. How does it look for you to take the kingdom by force? For Judah, it was a matter of setting themselves to see God fight. They just went out and pursued the enemy by singing and praising and GOD brought confusion to the enemy’s camp which ended in their defeat and Judah’s victory. This type of “fighting” caught the enemy off guard. What new strategy is God calling you to? Beyond yourself? Beyond your comfort zone and personality? Beyond people’s opinion and expectation of you? So be it. Could it be that the move that sets us beyond ourselves is the point at which God takes over?

I think it’s high time for a surprise attack on the enemy’s camp.

Jessica is a recent transplant to Lake Charles. Since her arrival, Jessica has given Bible studies to young adults, lead a women’s small group, and written bible expositions for ladies churchwide. When Jessica is not volunteering her time to ministry, she is caring for her husband Chris and her beautiful little girls, Maya and Sarah.

]]><![CDATA[Faith Fields]]>Thu, 06 Aug 2020 05:26:24 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/faith-fields

Growing up, I never thought of my dad as a man full of faith and patience. In the light of Mama’ other-world glow, his shadows often stood out to me. But as I was thinking about developing a fruitful life, I realized how Daddy’s daily choices were an exercise of simple, yet profound, faith and patience. He was a farmer. Every day of every season he did something with the aim of harvesting a crop. Whether working the fields, preparing the seeds, nurturing the plantings, or gathering the fruit, there were daily investments that said he believed there would be a reward for his cultivation. Within himself he carried a constant hope that his labors were important to the outcome of feeding our family and blessing a host of loved ones with a bushel or two of the vegetables our fields would yield.

On long winter days when early sunsets insisted that he linger around the pot-bellied stove warming our living room, Daddy cast the vision of a future harvest by choosing seeds from his farmer’s catalog. As he sharpened disk blades and checked the tractor’s hydraulics, tires, and belts, he prepared for the moment the equipment would dig into the still-hard earth. Then, his crisscrossed harrowing would mangle the soil into submission so that the plow could shape deep furrows and smooth ridges where buried seeds would both die and live. On blustery days, Daddy would unknot the hay strings suspending burlap sacks of beans and peas from barn rafters and retie them to low-hanging oak branches. Pulverized like a piñata at a kid’s party, the bags of dried legumes became useful as husks disintegrated into fine chaff to be sifted by the brisk wind. On other occasions, Daddy would rake straw from beneath lanky pines and dump it by heaping wheelbarrows on the crib floor, where sweet potatoes hid protectively within the mound of its cushion. And when the season was right, he'd scrape pale tomato seeds, pewter okra orbs, and onyx watermelon offerings from stiff paper towels into rich, fertilized beds. There, beneath carefully monitored plastic tarps, he nurtured seeds into seedlings and sprouted the potato eyes he’d sliced into cubes on rainy days.

All these tasks and hundreds of other tiny attentions to detail took place before the more apparent toil of gardening began. These actions and the ones that would follow were taken because of faith in the unseen. It was an overlapping process of working and waiting as seasons and plant variety exacted different requirements from my farmer father. Amid this process, there was watching. No task was done without a careful eye on the weather, “an eye on the sky” we would say.

Daddy's faith for his fields teaches us an important spiritual lesson. We think of the spiritual harvest as the moment when the fruit is apparent. The moment a sinner is saved. The moment we accomplish what we feel God purposed for us to do. But the harvest requires faith in every season. A steadfastness that acts on what is yet unseen. For there to be fruitfulness, there must be faith to prepare, faith to endure, and faith to labor in all the tiny little areas that seem unrelated to the outcome we are hoping will unfold. It takes faith to work and to wait, and it takes an eye on the sky, an anticipation of the Lord’s return, to exercise diligence in what is at hand.

Farming in the natural and the spiritual is not always fun. There are seasons without sprouts as we deal with the unmanifested and seemingly unfruitful. There are moments when our joy in the tiny, emerging, vulnerable shoots is tempered by the need to protect and nurture what’s visibly weak. There are toilsome times of fertilizing and weeding and keeping away destructive pests--without the fulfillment of the fruit. And there is harvest. When all has reached its full ripening, even then, there’s labor in the gathering and sweat to slick our satisfaction.

Still, the harvest is worth it—worth the labor, worth the watching, worth facing the unknows of in between--because the harvest is far more than an amalgamation of our efforts. The harvest is an attainment of the supernatural. It is the culmination of our dependency on the Lord. It is the honor of synergism. We participate in the cultivation, but our tilling, sowing, and tending are not the source of fruitfulness; rather, they demonstrate an expectation in the God who brings forth the fruit He has already placed within the seed. In this partnership with glory we receive the fullness of our hope and step out of the shadows into God's marvelous light.

Tip/Tidbit: Your faithfulness to work with God to fulfill His purpose in your life and to bring people into relationship with Jesus is of great value. Make your contribution.
“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God:” 1 Corinthians 3: 7-9a (KJV)

]]><![CDATA[An Open Door by Amy Cormier]]>Mon, 03 Aug 2020 17:43:38 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/an-open-door

Just like that, after years of praying and waiting there it was. It was as if it happened as suddenly as I could blink an eye. Why was I so hesitant to walk through? After all these years of knocking on that door had it become too familiar? Had the image of that door standing shut in front of me become so comfortable now that I had not even considered it ever being opened in front of me? But there it was, the open door.

I had never imagined my reaction to be this way to my lifelong prayers being answered. Even as I write, I’m joyfully laughing at how my reaction was nothing like I expected. All those years I had sought God to use my son, and all the times I'd prayed for God to open a door of ministry for me, did I not expect God to answer? Well of course I did. But now seeing how God seemed to miraculously make all the answers to my prayers seamlessly come together all at once has me completely awestruck! Now that ministry has dropped in my lap and my son is being used mightily of God, I feel frozen, as if this door cannot truly be open this wide so it must be an illusion. Why should I be so surprised? Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Genesis 18:14 Is any thing to hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

God reminded me of Abraham and Sarah’s responses when God swung the door wide open on their lifelong prayers in Genesis chapters 17 and 18. In Genesis 17 God makes a covenant with Abraham and begins to pour out His blessings upon Abraham and his seed. Abraham’s response in Genesis 17:17 I’m sure is not how Abraham expected to react when God finally opened the door to his prayer to have a son with his wife Sarah. "Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old bear?" And Sarah’s response to the same open door we find in Genesis 18:12. "Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have the pleasure, my lord being old also? "

The answer to the questions I found myself asking was found right there in the beginning of Genesis 18:14 “Is anything to hard for the Lord?” My answer to my question is actually found in God’s question to me. And my answer is “No! Nothing is to hard for the Lord!” Now is God’s appointed time and once He opens that door for you, He will equip you for whatever it is He has brought you to!

So, I am going to run through this door! I’m going to grab everything that is on the other side of this open door because I know that only God could open it at His appointed time and that means it is the right time! I’m going to shout and praise Him for this victory as I run through this open door because I cannot wait to see what is on the other side!

*All Scripture King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain.

]]><![CDATA[A Connecting Touch]]>Wed, 29 Jul 2020 19:22:32 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/a-connecting-touch

Vines growing from my potted plants communicated what I already knew: we were made for touch. Ivy crept from its pot to the purple heart growing beside it, and in return, the purple heart reached out of its container to wind around the ivy. They refused to be confined to their pots as nature displayed an instinctiveness for connection. When you think about it, this message is everywhere. It’s in the dog presenting its belly for a rub, the kitten winding between its owner’s ankles, and the infant cooing when it’s picked up from its crib.

Never has the need for touch been so apparent to me than during this pandemic with social distancing and limited human interaction. A hugger by nature, my arms have ached to reach out of my space and into someone else’s. Squeezes, for me, are a love language akin to the elixir of the gods. But these kinds of touches, as satisfying and necessary as they may be, have minimal depth. Like a good scratching, they only brush the surface. Their temporary tingles delight our nerve endings and sooth our psyche but do little for the part of us connected to our eternal well-being.

The Old Testament used natural touch to illustrate the spiritual principle that the New Testament would unfold more clearly. According to the Law, whatever was touched had the potential to make a person unclean. Jesus, however, showed something new. There was a touch that could bring wholeness. His touch. He could touch the leper, the infected, the diseased, and they were changed. He wasn’t contaminated by their uncleanness; they were, instead, cleansed by His perfection. But this, too, was partial revelation. His touch goes deeper still, to cleanse the place where our hidden corruption dwells. The hand of God reaches through the tangible to caress our hearts with His Spirit, and His transforming touch washes us and makes us us completely whole.

Ephesians 3:14-19 says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Just like the plants in my flower pots, we were made for a connection that we have the power to receive if we will but reach out.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call,” Acts 2: 38-39.

Spiritual communion is available to whoever is willing to stretch out of their comfort zone and seek something more. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," Revelation 22:17.

Jesus invites all, even the most socially distant, to receive His eternal touch in their hearts through the indwelling of His Spirit, and He welcomes everyone into His family, where there are always open arms and connections to be made.

Tip/Tidbit: You are connecting with something. Is it a connection that satisfies your soul? Make today the day for a divine embrace. It's the best touch you can experience.

]]><![CDATA[What Does a "Christian" Look Like? by Jordan Sermon]]>Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:50:25 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/what-does-a-christian-look-like-by-jordan-sermon

“Christian” is a term we see all the time. Most of us would consider ourselves Christians, but did you know that Jesus actually gave a very specific instruction regarding how we would be identified?

He was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?”
In other words, What should be our main focus?
This was an intense debate at the time.

He answered this question by asserting what was--and still is--the main focus of our devotion to God: “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 (NLT)

He addressed and made plain the two most important focuses and joined the two. The greatest is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In the same breath, He says that you should love your neighbor as yourself.

We are created in the image of God. Everyone that you come into contact with is made in the image of God. It does not matter how that person treats you.

It follows closely that if you love God, you’ll love His people.

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:34-35 (NLT)

Jesus also pointed out that this is how His disciples would be known. This radical love would be evidence of their allegiance. Not aligned to man, but to God. For God is our example of Love.

"For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14 (NLT)

Everything that you study in the Bible can be traced back to Love. Read it with rose-colored glasses. It’s the greatest love story of all time. And we are His church. His Bride. But everyone else we meet is also His. Each is a person made in His image, a neighbor you are called to love.

Even if they annoy you. Or spit in your face. Or wish death on you.
You are still called to love them if you seek to be Christian.

"Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." Philippians 2:2-4 (NLT)

It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about lifting up those around you.
A leader in my life one time made an analogy that we are a conduit. We connect people to the source.
We don’t have the power to truly change lives, but we can be used to join them to the Life Changer.

The following is from 1 Corinthians 13 (famously known as the Love Chapter).
Take a moment and process what this says.
"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

If you ever need to know if your actions are grounded in love that examples a Christian life, use this as a checklist.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jordan Sermon is the Director of the Pentecostal Student Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana and is also the leader of The Switch Young Adult ministry based out of Livingway Pentecostal Church in Lake Charles. Jordan also works as a visiting lecturer in Mathematics at McNeese State University and as a curriculum writer on standardized testing. His true passion is to assist people making transitions in their lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jordan spends his days with his wife, Haley, and their many children (the students that consider the PSC their home and the Switch as their family).

]]><![CDATA[What Kind of Believer Are You?]]>Wed, 22 Jul 2020 15:14:11 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/what-kind-of-believer-are-you

In a Bible story with famous names like Elijah and Jezebel sits a key figure, King Ahab. Jezebel, his wife, was a lover of idolatry, her very name synonymous with wickedness and hatred of God. Elijah was her nemesis, a prophet of the Lord who served God as wholeheartedly as Jezebel served the devil. Between them was Ahab, and it is he who teaches us a very valuable lesson.

Every time Elijah or any other prophet of the Lord told him “thus saith the Lord,” Ahab believed it. And though God came through on every promise—victories over armies greater than Israel’s, drought and subsequent rain, fire to devour an offering to prove God was God—Ahab never served the LORD Who’d proven Himself trustworthy. Ahab’s worship was reserved for Jezebel’s gods, tangible carvings of wood and stone.

Repeatedly, God showed mercy to Ahab, and though Ahab received the blessings God provided, though he believed the Word of the Lord, his heart never responded to that mercy. Oh, he humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes, asking for God to graciously spare his life, but he never reverenced the One Who held all power and Who had proven Himself to be the only God, a God worthy of worship.

The spirit of Ahab rules our land today.

We recognize Jezebel. Evil. Loud. Take charge. Getting what she wants at all costs.

We can even point out Elijah. Bold. God-fearing. Proclaiming what God is doing and what He’s about to do.

But Ahab is still on many thrones. The king. The one who has the authority to turn things around. The one who sees clearly the power of God, but chooses other loves over that knowledge.

See, there’s a difference between acknowledging God and serving Him. There’s a difference between receiving from His hand and bowing to His authority. Believing Him is not a synonym for following Him. Knowing that God is God is not the same as surrendering to His lordship.

We are in danger of the spirit of Ahab--

When we feel in control of our destiny.
When we unite our mission with people whose hearts are sold out to the devil.
When we aim to please others at the expense of pleasing God.
When we sneer at others’ devotion to God anytime it interferes with our opinions, wants, or religious ideas.
When we remain apathetic to sin because it’s inconvenient to challenge it.
When we don’t use the power we’ve been given to do good and influence others to have a closer walk with God.
When we only seek God because we need something rather than because we need Him.
When we know God is God, but we prefer to do things our way instead of His way.

We can choose to be like Ahab, or we can be a follower of Christ. The answer is in Luke 9:24: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” What kind of believer will you be?

Tip/Tidbit: Do you believe with your logic, or are you a believer with a surrendered heart and life? One small tip to begin shifting from believing with a head knowledge of God to a believing and followings Him wholeheartedly is to realize that God's Word is not an ordinary utterance; it is a divine outpouring of truth meant to guide us into relationship with the Almighty. Seeing God's Word as an extension of God Himself enables us to move from dissecting its text for lessons on success and moves us to obey, love, and trust its author. When we see God's communication of devoted love for us, we can respond with a heart willing to submit and follow.

]]><![CDATA[Out of Love]]>Mon, 20 Jul 2020 21:17:41 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/out-of-love

One of the most confounding concepts I ever had to wrap my head around was the fact that my children wanted me to comfort them immediately after I dealt a harsh scolding or spanking. I was the one who inflicted pain. I was the one who raised my voice. I was the one who caused their hearts to hurt. Yet, right after, I was the one they wanted to be near. I was the one they chose to crawl into the lap of. I was the one they wanted wiping their tears and hugging the discomfort away.

I had already been living for God nine years before I became a mother. In those nine years, I learned of the joy He is able to bring into a life and knew Him as my strength.

For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

I gained knowledge of how to serve others out of a giving heart.

Every man according as he purpose in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

I was in the midst of people who lead spirit-filled lives and I was taught how putting Him first could lay out a firm foundation I could build my life upon.

For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. Proverbs 24:6

But it was when I became a mother that I was able to fully understand what He meant in Hebrews 12:5-6

“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

Love. It is the basis of it all. My girls are able to cling to me right after I chastise them because love was established first. A hug was given far before a spanking ever was. A word of encouragement was heard long before a reprimand escaped my lips. A connection of the heart was made instantly way before an understanding of correction ever came into play.

I can easily see why someone would have difficulty hearing of anything the Lord disproves of before they had an understanding of just how deep His love goes for them. It would be very troublesome for me to have someone start pointing out some of my faults if I never had the chance to develop any type of positive relationship with that person.

Love. It makes discipline uncomplicated. Just like my children knowing that I will love them just as much after a punishment as I did before a punishment.

Respect. When you know the One giving the instruction truly has your best interest at heart, the heart He created, it eases the discipline He brings to your life.

Adoration. Having a deep understanding of just how deep, how far, and how wide His value of and love for you goes, in turn, gives you an open path to receive the guidance He has for you. Even if it doesn’t feel good in the moment, you will know that He is doing it for your good.

I encourage you to approach God with an open heart first. Let yourself be loved by Him. Crawl up in His lap, feel His arms wrap tight around you, and listen to His loving words. Then, let Him guide you, mold you, and move you along the path He has set before you. A path that may not always be trouble-free or easygoing but will always lead to a glorious eternity with Him.

]]><![CDATA[It's a Secret]]>Wed, 15 Jul 2020 22:40:21 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/its-a-secret

As a child, I loved when my friend would put her hand by my ear and whisper. Whatever nonsense she shared seemed top secret, and I felt superior for being in the know. After 30 years of marriage to a non-whisperer, my kids’ accusations that I spit in their ears, and my inability to handle the tickles of wind down my neck, ear whispers are mostly things of my past, but being in on an exciting secret still gives me a thrill. Count me in on plotting the unplanned get-away, hiding the unexpected gift, or helping set up the surprise party. I raise my hand to be part of the scheming. But my favorite surprises are God surprises. I love watching them unfold for others, and I get sweaty-palmed when I know one is planned for me. Interestingly, God gives us a head's up, a whisper that He has something big planned. The giveaway is an enemy attack.

Often, the enemy comes against us with trouble, sickness, dismay, affliction…and that’s where we keep our focus. But that’s just the wrapping paper. A beautiful God-surprise lies within. See, the battle that’s waged against us is our opportunity for more territory. When we defeat the adversary, we not only protect what he attempted to steal from us, we gain what was already in his possession.

This is God's secret. What the enemy means for destruction is really our pathway to greater blessing.

Jehoshaphat, a king of Judah, exampled this. When Moab and Ammon came to war against Judah, Jehoshaphat went to God with the problem. He acknowledged God’s might and admitted his own lack. Then, he took courage in God’s promises to His people and in the testimony of what God had already done. In his surrender of self and with his trust in God, Jehoshaphat was victorious. God set an ambush that defeated the enemy, and Jehoshaphat’s warriors were three days gathering spoils from a battle God fought on Judah’s behalf.

God will do nothing less when Satan comes against us. He will discomfit the enemy, grant a victory, and give an overflow of treasure to us. So, when trouble comes, let’s hear the God-whisper, “Watch what I can do. Your trust is not misplaced. I have a big surprise for you.” It’s an in-the-ear top secret, and we are superior for being in the know.

Tip/Tidbit: Let today’s trouble be the big secret: God has amazing things ahead for you!

]]><![CDATA[Close the Distance]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2020 16:41:28 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/close-the-distance

We’ve all become familiar with distancing. Six feet apart, we stand behind blue tape at the check-out lines, careful, lest our buggies brush the air space of a fellow shopper. Masks hide our smiles, and huggers like me keep their arms limply by their sides. And these are the good days. With every sniffle or friend who tests positive, we hole up in a back room to count away the days in isolation, trying to protect those we love. It’s emotional, this steering clear of humanity. This disconnect. It’s something I feel all the way to my soul. Worse than this, however, is spiritual distancing, which we are often less aware of than the space we must keep between friends.

Spiritual distance is a disconnect between us and God. A gap where love used to overflow, where worship was fervent, and where zeal was profuse. Like social distancing, spiritual distancing exchanges freedom for restrictive guidelines, tidy blue lines that we stay within but which cut off the heart of fellowship and stifle Spirit flow. Spiritual distancing, too, dons a mask to self-protect, and it isolates rather than becoming a part of the big, messy life of the church, where our sins and shortcomings mingle with those of others both stronger and weaker than we. It cuts away people and compartmentalizes God.

Unlike social distancing, a demand made by a handful of authority figures, spiritual distancing comes at our own hand. The rules that we follow are of our own making. And sadly, we’re often the last one to realize we’ve set the boundaries in place as choice after choice moves us farther away from God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Affections once tenderly saved for the lover of our souls are strewn about on less glorious relationships. Time once devoted to pursuit of Him is spent on the frivolous. Like a virus, inattention infects our spirits.

But we can close the distance. Just as individual choices can lead us away from tender fellowship, restoration begins with a single step toward God. Making this our purpose, we have this promise: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you,” James 4: 8. Shackles of isolation are broken, the mask comes off, and God gets all up in our space as distance dissipates with God’s giant leap into our world.

Tip/tidbit: What’s one action you can take today to position your heart for spiritual closeness?

]]><![CDATA[Planted by the River by Jessica Bridges]]>Wed, 08 Jul 2020 19:43:40 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/planted-by-the-river-by-jessica-bridges

Our world.
So much uncertainty. So much confusion.
So much chaos. Fear.
Bible prophecy is being fulfilled at an unprecedented pace.
2 Timothy 3 describes these times as “perilous” and also describes the sinful and debilitated state of the heart and mind of man.
And yet there’s a remnant of God-fearing people that are described as steadfast, immovable (1 Corinthians 15:58), unshakable, and REMAINING.

Hebrews 12:25-29 KJV
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may REMAIN.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

The original word for remain, (meno), means:
1. to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure
2. to be held, kept, continually

Scripture tells us as children of God that we are in the world but not of it. We are not of the kingdom of this world but we are of that kingdom which CANNOT be moved.
So how do we have an “immovable” kingdom identity and mentality in the midst of a shaking world? How do we endure? How do we remain? How to we overcome the voices of fear and doubt that are challenging the faith of the church?

There are many points in scripture where we can find answers. One of them is in Jeremiah 17.
The prophet describes Judah’s sinful state and resulting Babylonian captivity.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 KJV
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

The ones who put their trust in man doesn’t see when good comes.
The ones who heed the voices of this world and fails to hear the voice of the Lord will be like the heath that lives rootless, aimless, and fruitless. And when times of adversity and fiery trials are raging, they are overtaken by the heat and by fear.
But thank God for this hope we have in verse 7!

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The ones who put their trust in the Lord don’t see when heat comes. For their eyes are lifted, fixed on the One whom they know is author and finisher of their faith.
The ones who trust in the Lord chooses to believe that no matter the circumstance, He is faithful. He will never fail or forsake those who fear Him and those that know His voice and are led of His Spirit. For they are like trees planted by the water, they choose to remain and abide in Him. They spread out their roots by the river through prayer, fasting, and the cleansing, and nourishment provided by the Word. They are strong in faith and in Spirit therefore they are not fearful or anxious in the year of drought. For they know God is Provider, Sustainer, Defender, and Protector. This is how they remain. This is how they are held and kept.
They refuse to choose the parched places of the wilderness, but instead they stand on the Word, that He makes a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19). That’s where you’ll find those that rely on the Lord. Planted and rooted by the river.

Ezekiel spoke of a river in Ezekiel 47. This was a river flowing from the temple of God.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

The chapter describes this river as healing waters where everything lives where it goes.

12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Herein lies the powerful truth and the key to remaining in times of heat and drought. Stay planted by the river. Live and walk in it’s overflow. Everything lives where the river runs. This is why the fruit will remain and it’s leaf shall not fade. Our purpose in these last days is found in the remaining fruit. “The fruit thereof shall be for meat (nourishment) and the leaf thereof for medicine (healing).”

Those who choose to be planted by those healing streams will become healing streams. As John 7:38 says, “He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” We are fruitful agents of healing and nourishment to a lost and dying world that needs to know that they too can have access to this river and it’s life giving flow.

]]><![CDATA[Be Him]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2020 21:28:31 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/be-him

“I miss my mama. I have no one praying for me anymore,” I thought. “God, would you lay me on some prayer warrior’s heart?”

The self-pitying part of that thought wasn’t true. For starters, my husband prays for me daily. But his prayers didn’t cross my mind as I sat in the shade of depression and oppression. In that moment, I felt totally alone in the world. I felt orphaned. Not at all what I am as a child of God. With my emotions more real than the truth, I sensed the unvocalized utterance. It hung there, an unspoken yearning in my heart that clung to something beyond the self-pity. Desperation mingled with the poor-me deception, and God heard my soul request. He saw my desire to rise from the shadows and my ineffective efforts to do so on my own. Seeing past my emotions to the real me, He answered the prayer suspended within my heart and in doing so, gave me a clear view of how His Body is supposed to function in the earth.

Shortly after my “heart murmur,” several out-of-the-ordinary things occurred. A prayer warrior called to say she had me on her mind and was praying for me. It took a few hours before it dawned on me that I’d had a direct answer from the Lord. He’d looked into my ache and saw my soul prayer instead of the lies that accompanied it. And He didn’t stop with one phone call. His quest to show me the thoroughness of His attentiveness continued. That day, and the next, and the next, I received several unexpected visits and texts from church members. A Thinking of You card showed up in the mail. At church, the preaching spoke directly to me, and friends prayed and worshipped with me around the altar. A couple invited my husband and me out to eat, and the fellowship was as sweet as dessert. A friend showed up to walk, and our walking turned into a talk I really needed. Through each of these encounters, God revealed how personal He was by being HIMSELF through His people. Layer upon layer, He ministered healing to me as each of His children did their part in response to His prompting.

Through the ministry of His Body, my head cleared, and I was able to see what I’d been temporarily blinded to: God is always working to supply my needs. Through my husband’s faithful prayers and devotion, my neighbors' friendships and Bible discussions, and regular communication and fellowship with godly friends, God steadily ministers to me. He daily provides me with spiritual maintenance and bountiful blessing. I’d taken these things for granted. In my weariness and overwhelm, in my focus on the stresses of life, I had lost sight my Lord's steadfast demonstration of love to me. So, He gave me another caress, reminding me of how beautifully He works through His human hands.

Tip/Tidbit: Take a minute to consider the blessings God is presently pouring into your life through His people. Then, seek to be His voice, His hands, His ears…to be HIM… to someone else today.

]]><![CDATA[What's at the Root? By Amy Cormier]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:32:20 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/whats-at-the-root-by-amy-cormier

It is time to do some digging! I have always enjoyed the outdoors. Landscaping is something I enjoy doing, and it helps clear my mind. Each year I add areas around our home and fill them with new plants and features. Some plants I move to other areas, and some areas have grown nice and full of mature plants. One thing I have noticed about gardening, though, is if one tiny unwanted seed takes root in an area of your garden it can quickly take over. You can cut it down or even pull it out with your hands, and the next thing you know, there it is again! Some of those trespassers can be more difficult to remove than others. One thing that will work at removing those unwanted guests is digging it out from the roots! You have to clean All of those roots out and all the invaded soil around it before you can truly trust that it will not show up again.

Pride is like that unwanted guest in your spiritual garden. Pride was never something I considered myself to struggle with. What I did not realize is that many of the things I did consider were stemming from pride. That is the sneaky thing about pride; it often goes unnoticed when it first invades. We can so easily detect it in others, but it is often disguised within ourselves. You might catch a glimpse of it and cut it out in that moment not realizing that the roots are still there. There are numerous scriptures throughout the Bible referencing pride. What we do know from scripture is that God hates pride! Lucifer was filled with pride, and it caused him to spend eternity in hell. I often hear adults and elders speak of the younger generation as prideful. A young person’s pride seems to be more noticeable because their garden is still maturing. Their spiritual garden has not developed so that their growth might hide that new stemming trespasser, Pride. However, if we are not careful as we grow, we can forget to weed through our spiritual garden and dig out any unwanted guest. Our growth can cover those invaders for so long that by the time it is noticeable the roots have grown so deep that we have to dig out not only the soil around that invader but also the soil around all the mature growth we have developed over time because now the root of pride has invaded all these other areas of our garden. We have allowed ourselves to neglect weeding through our garden because our “mature growth” has made us look good on the surface while covering what is lurking beneath the foliage.

Let’s ask ourselves some questions to see if we need to do some digging:

Have I ever felt like I deserved something more than someone else?
Have I ever felt like I deserved something based off of my performance?
The more I have invested in my church have I ever felt like I should have more say than someone newly invested?
Do I look for validation from those around me rather than God?
Have I ever looked for validation through my post on social media?
Have I ever posted something on social media hoping to draw attention to myself?
Do I compare what I have to what others have?
Do ever look at someone younger than myself and think about all I could teach them, or do I consider what I could learn from them?
Have I ever been ashamed of something I possessed when comparing it to someone else’s possessions?
When someone brings up something someone has done well, have I ever felt the need to point out something I have done?
Do I often feel the need to express my opinion?
Do I feel like I own something simply because I often use it and begin to feel deserving of it over someone else? (A seat in church, a room or office in a common area, a parking spot, etc.)
Do I feel deserving of help because I offered my help to someone in their time of need?
Do I hold grudges?

Well guess what? If you do not like your answers to these questions you need to do some digging! Pride is at the root! We need to weed through our spiritual garden and clean it out! Pride makes us point out others’ flaws. Pride is like driving by someone else’s home and pointing out all the weeds in their landscaping while ours is being invaded with weeds back at home. Pride makes us look at others’ flaws while ignoring our own. Anything that stems from the root of pride is evil. Manipulation, deception, comparison, lies, intimidation, inferiority, all stem from the root of pride. We must dig it out.

How do we dig out unwanted weeds from our spiritual garden?

Dig it out from the roots: Repent of any areas you know of that you have seen pride invade. Ask God to reveal any areas in your heart where pride is at the root.

Plant Humility: Humble yourself (the opposite of pride) by acknowledging that all good things come from God and all glory belongs to Him.

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom,” (Proverbs 11:2 ESV).
Remind yourself that there is NOTHING you could ever do that would count you deserving of the grace and mercy given to you through the love of Jesus. Remember that we all deserve death because of sin, but because of the Love of God, He came down from heaven wrapped Himself in flesh and took our death sentence. He stood in our place!
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,’” (James 4.6 ESV).
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Make time for prayer every day. Things can take root overnight.

Anytime we find ourselves noticing others flaws we should make sure we have weeded through our spiritual garden first.

Have you weeded through your spiritual garden lately?

]]><![CDATA[Designated Driver --By Alec Story]]>Thu, 25 Jun 2020 18:17:08 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/designated-driver-by-alec-story

   What to write?

   Ego sits poised at the keys, ready to peck out revelation and inspiration, but not for the benefit of others...for the petting of itself.

    “If I can write the words that affect change and bring quality and validation to a person or a moment, I’ll be accepted and appreciated,” Ego smugly utters to itself.

    Rattling through its thoughts and memories, it seeks to find the key that will unlock the cascade of accolades and atta-boys as it disguises its selfish, personal gain, in false humility and philanthropy.

    Hours pass. The sun rises and sets...quite a few times. Ego must admit defeat. Ego must step down. Ego must sit passenger...as insecurity takes the wheel.

    “If I can’t write the words that affect change and bring quality and validation to a person or a moment, I’ll be rejected and undervalued,” Insecurity groans under its breath.

    It stumbles over itself and types sentence after sentence, certain that it could never be of any help to anyone for any reason, vaguely proving its own worrisome prediction by attacking the delete button again and again and again. The words can’t be good enough. Not possibly.

    Anxiety is building as Insecurity slides into the backseat. Ego glances over from the passenger side of the vehicle. Insecurity hangs its head in its hands.

    Suddenly, the driver’s door opens, and a face that should be far more familiar than it is sits confidently in the seat, firmly gripping the wheel. Its hands are strong. Its gaze keen and calm. It grins ear-to-ear and glances around the vehicle. Insecurity smiles, but tries to hide it. It is relieved to be in such competent hands. Ego smirks wryly and nods its head in accord. It is comfortable sharing the spotlight with such an effective leader.

    Anointing cranks the vehicle as the passengers buckle up for what can only be described as a joy ride.
—-
    Your words cannot do the job. Whether you are confident they can or whether you feel they are vastly inconsequential, the anointing is what does the work. I assume you’re here for people. That’s the goal; is it not? We are here for people. We are here to love them, to reach them, to teach them, to help them, to rescue them, to hold them, to value them, to give to them, to support them, to be Him for them. But it is not us that does it.

    The anointing must be on your journey with you. Your talent and prowess and skill cannot save the lost.

    The anointing must guide you through your moments. Your failures and faults could never erase your name from the list of those the anointing wishes to accompany.

    The anointing, however, does not come uninvited. Your invitation is sent through prayer. Make the ego submit, through prayer. Encourage insecurity, through prayer. Invite the anointing, through prayer.

    The ball of clay you over-analyze each morning in the mirror is so beautiful and wonderful and helpful and valuable, but it cannot fulfill its purpose without the anointing.

    Join me in prayer. You can come back here again and again if you wish. You can read these words aloud as a prayer, or simply use them as a guideline for your own words. Regardless, when you do pray, speak from the heart, and speak to the Master.

    ...Jesus, I love you. And I love your people. I love your people so much. I don’t want to see any of them lost. I don’t want to see any of them sick. I don’t want to see any of them hurting. I want to be used in mighty ways to bring your power and healing and deliverance from the Spirit realm into their lives. I want to be an instrument of redemption and edification. I want to be responsible for souls joining you for eternity. I want to do my part to grow your kingdom.
    And for that I need your anointing. I know I cannot hope to perform your will on my own. I cannot ferry souls to Heaven by my own efforts. I must be anointed. I must carry your name, your blood, and your anointing on my life. Anoint me in this moment, not for my own gain or for any attention but for your glory. Anoint me with faith and boldness. Anoint me with the gifts of the Spirit. Anoint me to be more sensitive to your voice as it leads me across moments in the future.
    Let our hands come together, Lord, in a union that yields souls added to the kingdom. My hands and feet and mouth are yours. Anoint them to do your will. Let thy will be done and thy kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Alec Story God chaser. Husband to Sara. Dad to Declan, Lydian, Irelyn, and Corbin. Begleri Ambassador. Children’s minister for 25 years.

]]><![CDATA[Hatching Words]]>Wed, 24 Jun 2020 21:56:53 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/hatching-words

In many situations in life, we think the chicken comes before the egg, but such isn’t the case with a fool and his thoughts. “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God,” (Psalm 14:1). The foolish person becomes a fool because of what he thinks. The same is true for the fitness buff, the caring employee, the great parent, or the God-pursuer. Whatever we become begins with a thought. Like the single-cell egg, a thought develops into something mightier in its full-grown manifestation. This is why the enemy is diligent to whisper to our minds. He strategizes, knowing that one tiny lie permitted to grow in our thoughts can mature until we believe error, speak error, choose error, walk in error, and become error. Lies are Satan’s language, and if we speak his kind of words to ourselves, then our end will be like his.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15.

Error turns us into less than what God said we could be. Therefore, we do less than we were meant to do and possess less than God purposed for us to have. We are played the fool.

The counter to error is truth, the language of God. “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh truth in his heart…” (Psalm 15:1-2). See the progression? Speaking truth in the heart leads to making right choices which turns into a lifestyle of doing well and dwelling in the presence of God, the sanctuary of His perfection. Truth leads to elevation, not what Satan wants us to be: tossed down, less-than, diminished, and destroyed. God’s presence is always the ideal, and thinking His truth closes the gap between what we are in our own strength and what we are through Him.

We get to choose which voice will live in our cognition to become our confession and our lifestyle: the lie of Satan or the truth of God. One leads to a fall, the other to a higher height, each destination similar to its original speaker. We don’t have to let a brood of lies turn us into fools. We can hatch different words. We can speak truth in our hearts and become all we ever hoped to be.

Tip/Tidbit: What are you thinking today? Where will those thoughts lead?

All Scriptures from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, public domain.

For more about thoughts and the power of words, check out the children's book The Can's Can and the adult book, Truth or Lie. Both are listed on the Pen of Praise home page.

]]><![CDATA[Speak Your Mind by Jordan Sermon]]>Mon, 22 Jun 2020 17:06:26 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/speak-your-mind-by-jordan-sermon

What do you think would jump out in people’s minds if I said your name? What things would they remember from what you have said? How do you feel about what their responses would be?

Typically, it’s things we say and wish people didn’t remember that seem to stick the most. We would love to control which of our words people remember, but James 3 tells us that we can’t control the tongue. He actually says if we could, we’d control ourselves in EVERY other way. Though we won’t be able to control the tongue itself, we can change the things that might affect what comes out of our mouths.

An increasingly popular school of thought today is to just “speak your mind.”
In this world of heightened accessibility of information, we end up trying to justify ourselves by giving people insight into what we’re thinking. Is this wise? How often does this make things worse? Why can’t we just stop when things get tense or when we realize the other person is not listening? Why do we feel the need to have the last word?

"Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back," Proverbs 29:11 (NLT).

Even outside of an angry situation, we tend to divulge too much of our thought process. Why do we feel the need to always be right? And to prove it?

Let’s look back at the very beginning of mankind: the Garden of Eden.

Pop Quiz: what were the two trees in the garden? And what were the rules surrounding them?

Tree of Life - eat as much as you’d like.
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - do not eat from this one.

Our need to assert ourselves through our words comes back to the first mistake that we made in trying to be like God and know all right and wrong. It’s very human to want to know what is right, but we can get caught up in this and completely miss out on what God has for us.

God wanted us to eat from the Tree of Life. He wanted to walk with us.
So, as tempting as it can be to be right or to let people know that they’re wrong, God wants us to have life.

You may have been in a situation before where someone was right about something, but it just felt off in some way. You could understand their logic and even agree, but something just felt wrong. Could it be that they were speaking from their knowledge of good and evil but forsaking the fruit of life?

Often, we forget life. We miss out on God’s gift to us: life. And the thing is about true life: when you have it, you give it. We can easily find ourselves getting into the wrong stuff and get focused on right and wrong, but we just have to climb down out of that tree and get into the right things.

Speak LIFE.
Speak it into your family, your city, your job.
Focus on bringing life to this world rather than justifying what you feel.

Do you want to change your world? Use your mouth to bring good into people’s lives.

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT).

When you find yourself speaking your mind, does it show this fruit?
Is it in love? Is it peaceful? Is it kind? Is it gentle? Are you in control of yourself and your emotions? Does it provide something good for people to remember about you?

If it doesn’t, remind yourself that although you may not be able to control your tongue, you can change your heart. The Word teaches us that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

If you want to change your words, start deeper.

If you still are having issues changing, remember that even though you can’t control your tongue, you can control when your mouth is open. Consider closing it more.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible New Living Translation copyright (c)1996, 2004, 2007,2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jordan Sermon is the director of the Pentecostal Student Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana and is the leader of The Switch, the young adult ministry based out of Livingway Pentecostal Church. Jordan also works as a visiting lecturer in Mathematics at McNeese State University and as a curriculum writer for standardized testing. His true passion is to assist people as they make transitions in their lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jordan spends his days with his wife, Haley, and their many children (the students that consider the PSC their home and the Switch their family).

]]><![CDATA[The Blessing of a Burning Ziklag]]>Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:44:32 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/the-blessing-of-a-burning-ziklag

“You cannot fight alongside us. You have to go home,” the Philistine king told David. So, David gathered his troops and made the 3-day trek back to Ziklag, the town he’d occupied since defecting to Philistine country during Saul’s relentless pursuit of him. Though Ziklag had been a refuge from Saul, it was no safe-haven for David. The psalmist now lived in enemy territory, among comrades of Goliath, the giant David had killed. Time spent in Ziklag had taken a negative toll on the once tender-hearted shepherd. Separated from Israel and living a duplicitous lifestyle, David’s joy waned. Psalms no longer flowed from his pen as he became a seasoned man of war. Survival took presence over spiritual sensitivity and demanded allegiance to the political rival who offered him sanctuary. Ziklag was a wilderness experience for David..

From this position, David had mustered his troops to join the Philistines in their fight against his countrymen and family, against Saul and the Israelite army. But some of the Philistine princes didn’t trust David, so the king sent him back to Ziklag. David and his men returned home with expectations of a grand welcome. What met them was not the kind of grand they were hoping for. Instead of children’s laughter and dancing wives, instead of savory smells and the bustle of feast preparations, a desolate, smoking remains of an Amalekite raid greeted David and his warriors. Ziklag had been burned and the people taken captive. 1 Samuel 30 says the travel-weary warriors sat down and wept until they had no more strength. Then they got mad. Not at the enemy; at David. And there, where things could get no lower, David embraced the humility he needed for restoration.

The broken place got David’s attention. As the magnitude of his pain eclipsed the trials that had numbed him to the spiritual, he turned his face toward God. Without a preacher or a cheerleader, the Bible says he encouraged himself in the Lord. Once he got his mind clear of the trouble and his faith refocused on God, he sought God’s direction. The result was a grand victory in which he recovered all that had been stolen and looted the enemy. Spoils of war were distributed among the men who went to war and as well as to those who stayed behind. From the surplus, gratitude gifts were sent to Israelites who’d been supportive of David in times past. The burning of Ziklag positioned him for the next phase of his life: becoming king.

Sometimes, we need our Ziklag to burn. We need those places of compromise that have weakened our purpose and our joyful trust in God to be brought to waste. Sometimes, we need to be reminded that we’re trusting too much in things other than God. Sometimes, we need a sneak-attack to realize we’ve been exactly where the enemy wants us to be—captive in a sanctuary of our own choosing. Sometimes we need brokenness to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we can see we are not enough. We need Ziklag to burn because it restores our drive to move toward the God we've grown to love less fervently. We need it to remind us of what He's been to us and what He still longs to be in our lives. We need it because it brings us to our knees in surrender, in prayer, in seeking, in reverence, in worship. We need it because bowing down is the single way to rise up. We need it because restoration of real relationship with God is the only pathway to restoration with others. We need it because when we are whole in our walk with God, we carry a victory mindset into the battle and are strengthened to defeat the enemy. Sometimes, a burning Ziklag is our greatest blessing because it brings us low enough to be equipped to rise and rule.

Tip/Tidbit: Let your troubles bring you into sweeter fellowship with God.

Want another tidbit? Here are some thoughts about the season before the burning of Ziklag.

It seems absurd that Goliath's killer would want to live among Goliath's friends and family, but that's what happened to David. I think what led David to Ziklag is the same thing that leads us to dwell in enemy territory. To read about this click on the link.>>>

Moving to Ziklag
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]]><![CDATA[Be Glad You Showed Up Late by Rachelle Fontenot]]>Fri, 12 Jun 2020 21:38:35 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/be-glad-you-showed-up-late-by-rachelle-fontenot

Be Glad You Showed Up Late
Ok, so it literally pained me to have to type out that title. Being late goes against every strand of DNA that makes up my personality. I not only like to see the previews at the movie theater, I also like to see the commercials that come on before the previews. You know, when the lights are still on. I like to live by the words, “If you are ten minutes early, you are already five minutes late.” I have had to tone down my eagerness to arrive at places before I really need to be there because I married a man who is absolutely fine with missing the first 20 minutes of a movie! The audacity……
Most people, in my opinion, like to arrive at places on time. Sometimes it’s important, like at appointments, and sometimes it’s just common courtesy to the host, like at a birthday party. I know when I am hosting a get-together of some sort, I have set up the party so that when people arrive, their first impression is, hopefully, is a great one. I make sure all the decorations are set to be seen when first walking in. I like the food to be hot and placed so that it invites them to make a plate and enjoy it. I like the drinks to be cold and the ice to be fresh so that none is melting when they arrive. The cake should be already in place so that they know even more goodness is awaiting them once they are finished with their first plates of food.
I’ve always assumed this was the best way to go about things, but then Jesus comes along and lets us know that His ways truly aren’t like our ways, and He can flip things around to make a point like only He can. As I was reading in John a couple days ago, something in the chapter about the wedding at Cana jumped out at me. Most of us just refer to this chapter as being the story of His first miracle when He turned the water into wine, but what the ruler of the feast said is what made me stop and ponder the thought of being late. John 2:10 states, “And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
In these days that we are living in now, days of unrest, confusion, division, and disconnect, if you are anything like me, you may have had thoughts of wishing you lived in a different time. Maybe a time when technology wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. Or a time when we weren’t so aware of what everyone else was doing at every moment. A quieter time or, dare I say, a more peaceful time. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know every era has had its own trials and complications but I can surely attest to the fact that I’m glad I didn’t have to go through middle and high school with social media. But the fact of the matter is, here we are. Right smack dab in the middle of this time.
So, what if we turn our hearts, eyes, and thoughts to the idea that maybe God is about to bring out the good wine? What if He is about to release His greatest miracles throughout our world? While I know that He has been performing great works since the beginning of time, seeing myself as someone who is about to be a part of one of the greatest revivals this world has ever seen, an end time revival, causes me to rethink my place in this world. It causes me to look up, to see with spiritual eyes, to feel with a kinder heart, to seek a deeper walk with Him. It helps me to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Let’s fill our hearts with great anticipation. Let’s hold tightly to the truth that He does all things well. Let’s be grateful, not discouraged, that we are here in this moment. Maybe the most miraculous hasn't already been seen.
I see the good wine being brought out.
I’m thankful I showed up “late.”

]]><![CDATA[Smooth Stones]]>Wed, 10 Jun 2020 18:17:56 GMThttps://www.rachelwindham.com/blog-tips--tidbits/smooth-stones

“I wonder why the Bible says the stones were smooth?” I asked after reading about David and Goliath.

“A smooth stone could fly through the air faster and be more accurate…They were probably smooth from being in the water a long time…I’ve heard there were five because Goliath had 4 brothers,” Eddie offered.

I envisioned David slaying all five giants should they have shown up on the battlefield, his hurling one stone after another, but my thoughts caught on the comment about the stones being in the water for a while. Because water often represents the Spirit in Scripture, I began to consider David’s smooth stones in a figurative light, symbolic of my spiritual weapons. This is where my pondering led me:

1. God knows where we will encounter our giants, those difficulties that are too big for human intervention; temptations that threaten to overpower us; taunts that say we are defeated. Long before we hear the giant’s roar, God positions a brook, loosens the rocks, and erodes them smooth so that they are ready and waiting for us when we need them. Before we go through a trial, God has the tools for the solution provided. Investments that carry us through a financial difficulty or delays that work in our favor seem like ordinary stones until it they're retrieved from the brook to take down our giants.
2. The stones would have been irrelevant if David wasn’t a sling swinger. Practice made him aware of his part, and usage led him to previous victories over a lion and a bear. Smooth stones had already proven their worth against opposition. Why wouldn't they kill a giant? In the same way, our daily spiritual habits and our repetition of relying on God lead us into greater faith conquests. As our spiritual weapons are proven, we pick up similar smooth stones and align ourselves with God’s Spirit to combat what we are too weak to handle on our own. God's Word, for example, is a smooth stone. One verse kills the bear; another takes down the giant.
3. David countered Goliath’s threats with a confident word that showed his dependency on God. “…I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17 44-45). The spiritual weapons are in our hands, but our assurance is in the God of the weapons, and we SAY so. "But the word is very nigh unto thee,, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." (Deuteronomy 30:14).
4. The smooth stones knocked Goliath face-forward, and he was beheaded with his own sword. Our spiritual weapons slay our adversary, and when he falls, we turn his own blade against him. When we forgive our offenders, grow in God’s Word during a set-back, or rise from the ashes to help others with our testimony, the devises Satan intended against us, instead, benefits the Kingdom of God. With a strike of his own weapon, Satan's glory is put to shame.

Amid the shouts of triumph, David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem, a place occupied by Jebusites. When he later became king, he drove them out and made Jerusalem his capital city. Our victories free us, but they also liberate much more. After David killed Goliath, other Israelites rallied against the Philistines, and subsequent giant slayers rose up in Israel. We inspire giant killers in our wake. Kingdoms and future generations are affected when we pick up the smooth stones God has provided for us and through His power defeat the giants that dare to threaten the people of God.

Tip/Tidbit: Begin a practice of spiritual discipline so you will be ready to use the tools God has provided to help you win.

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