30 Before 30: What Fruit Do You Want To See Born In Your Life

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:11-12

This morning in catching up on my devotions I got a revelation about seeds.  Strangely enough, God has been having me say these things at separate points but this morning the puzzle pieces fell into place.  I pray this blesses you and you begin to approach attacking your problems differently.  

Everybody is familiar with seeds.  Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, every type of bean, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, and acorns are all seeds.  Your favorite fruits contain seeds --  apples, bananas (well organic ones), grapes (some, most would but for breeding them to not have seeds), watermelon...all have seeds.  

Everybody should also know that seeds are products of the plant or tree that bears them and that those seeds could potentially produce the same plant, hence verses 11 and 12 above.  Today though, God put the pieces together and showed me why we need to be conscious of the words we speak and to monitor the thoughts we think, and specifically why scripture should be our foundation -- because the more Word we sow into the soils of our heart and mind, the more fruit of those scriptures will be born in our lives.

1 Peter 1 tells us that the word of God is imperishable, meaning that it does not die, it has no expiration date, it endures forever.  So when we pray the word of God over our lives and our situations, there is no expiration date for that word, it keeps living and keeps producing, just like perennial plants come back every year.  Since we are praying in agreement with God's word, as long as we believe and keep planting that word in our hearts, we will see the fruit of it born in our lives.  I was amazed to read of the watermelon seed's ability to take on 200,000 times its own size in water to ultimately produce a single watermelon.  I was further amazed to read the seed of a Giant Sequoia tree has the ability to produce 400,000 seeds in its lifetime as a tree.  But the key here is that these things have a set life span.  That watermelon seed, from the time it reaches maturity to it gets to your house, its days are numbered.  That Sequoia tree, its life span is many hundreds, even thousands of years.  But the word of God has no expiration date.  That same scripture you stand on will continue to produce fruit in your life.

One of the scriptures I often recite is Isaiah 55:11.  The promise in it is what keeps me confessing other scriptures:

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.  (NASB)

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. (NLT)

This scripture affirms that God's word cannot go back to Him without bearing fruit.  It cannot come back to Him empty or barren.  It will prosper everywhere He sends it and it will accomplish what He desires and succeed in His intended purpose.  So those healing scriptures you confess, you will be healed if YOU believe.  So those scriptures you stand on for guidance and direction, God is faithful to guide you.  I began confessing Mark 11:22-24 and Isaiah 54:17 regularly and I see many obstacles that once used to intimidate me have gone away. Every time I do a prayer challenge or when God drops something in my spirit, I find scriptures to align with what I'm seeking God about and I pray daily, sometimes multiple times in faith to see it manifest.  I trust and rest in knowing that after that season of prayer is done, it is done and I keep thanking God for it.  I see how situations have gotten in alignment because I trusted God and His supremacy and I held fast to what His word says. Nothing is more powerful than God and when you pray God's word over your situation, believing it to be true, it will manifest: the seeds will rise up and bear fruit.

I would be remiss if I didn't address the germination period.  Every seed has a germination period...the time before it takes root.  It is that period that seems like dormancy to us while the seed is breaking forth under ground.  Some people could be pioneers of faith and it take years for them to see that seed manifest.  Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac, Joseph waited 17 years, during which he was sold into slavery by his own brothers and served jail time for a crime he did not commit, for his dreams to manifest, and Hannah had to wait while enduring harassment and belittling by her sister wife for her son Samuel. I had to wait for my healing of my kidney problems via a transplant that happened almost 4 years after I began to pray for my healing.  I had to wait for 4 years after I should have been promoted, move to New Orleans and back and switch jobs to get the raise I was promised.  I had to wait and stand in faith on prayers for my friends and family, and I am having to wait now for other things.  There have definitely been disappointments along the way, but I hold fast to God's word and I know those things will happen.  I know the fruit of the things I am praying for will show up!

So I understand now why God has the authors of the various books of the bible to use farmers.  Planting, sowing, watering, and reaping takes time.  So I say this to reiterate to you that you saying scriptures once will not cut it and neither will praying about it once either.  The bible tells us countless times to pray without ceasing.  It took time for your mind -- the thoughts you believe, your belief systems, mindsets and strongholds -- to get where it is and it takes time for a tree to bear fruit.  But the beauty lies in knowing that God gives the increase and the word must do its work and produce fruit.  

What fruit do you want to see born in your life?  A deeper relationship with God?  A deeper understanding?  Knowing God's will and purposes for your life?  Wisdom? Favor? Deliverance? Healing - whether it be physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual? Restoration? Guidance? Direction and clarity?  Financial guidance -- I say guidance because God will guide you and tell you what you need to do, it is up to you to be obedient.  A spouse or children?  Plant the word in your heart and minds but do not forget to uproot the lies that may be keeping you from what God has for you and seek to develop a relationship with God first because God isn't a puppet or magician.  He doesn't acquiesce to your whims and concede to your demands like a genie.  Knowing God and seeking His will helps to prevent some of those disappointments we face.

I hope this helps you to look at the Word differently.  Start planting!

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  Numbers 23:19

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35

30 Before 30: Living in the Now

I've seen this written and spoken so many times but today it set in.  We live life daily as if tomorrow is coming and the past has never left us.  We focus on the past as it creates the defining lines of our personage, and we look to the future as our way out of the uncertainty of the present.  As I read today, while waiting on my 4th iPhone to sync up, it dawned on me how we try to control life instead of living it and appreciating each moment we have as it comes.

I journey back to an old familiar passage in Matthew 6.  I thought I had been living by these scriptures but I realize now it was only in a brief capacity.  Matthew 6:25-33 tells us not to worry, but I think an often overlooked message is to live right now in this moment.  

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

I focus today on verses 27 and 34.  Verse 27 asks can you add a single moment to your life by worrying...and truthfully that is all we have...this very moment.  We are not God so we cannot add another moment to our lives!  This breath we inhale in this moment represents the extent of our lives.  Think about it.  Inhale and exhale...that is all you have.  No longer should you be confined to your past because as each moment passes, it no longer matters.  Yes it happened and at some point you have to feel and deal with the pain because the pain will keep you bound.  But once you do, it no longer imprisons you.  It no longer keeps you from God's greatness.

And looking at verse 34, tomorrow does not matter.  But why should it?  Tomorrow is not promised.  It does not exist and yes you can plan for it, but it should not be greater than your living in the present with God.  We should not focus on worrying because God promises to meet all our needs (Php 4:19, Psalm 23).  

I used to spend so much time rehashing the past that I missed out on enjoying those present moments.  I can't get that time back.  Neither can you.  I also used to plan like a controlling madwoman for my future.  So when those plans I had did not manifest, it crushed me...adding to my painful past.  Once I began to surrender that need to control to God, things stopped being so serious.  Things stopped being such a big deal.  As I gain more and more freedom, I see how much peace and joy I have and love I feel by living in this moment.  You don't get this moment back, so start living in it!

You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath." Interlude  Psalm 39:5

30 Before 30: Hopeful

Goooooooddd day y'all!

I have been praying for a way to send off my twenties and today I realized the only way I can do that with grace is to do a daily mini-video (on my IG and Facebook) and to write a devotion.  I probably won't send every single day's entry to you all (don't wanna bombard you) but they will be on my Facebook and my blog.  So here goes!

There is a song by Twista and Faith Evans from the soundtrack of Coach Carter called "Hope."  The course is this:

Cuz I'm hopeful, yes I am, hopeful for today,

Take this music and use it

Let it take you away,

And be hopeful (hopeful) and he'll make a way

I know it ain't easy but that's okay.

Cause we hopeful

I thought of it this morning as I thought about how I have been through the years.  Even though part of me is sad about turning 30, the rational, Faith-filled part of me is hopeful.  Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen or grounds for believing that something good may happen.  And without a doubt, I certainly have hope.

Last night after dropping my baby niece off, I saw my first ever shooting star.  It was amazing to see, right in front of me as I pulled to the stop sign.  I knew it was God saying to me that everything will be okay, and that what lies ahead of me is far better than I can imagine and to keep hoping because it IS coming!  

Shooting stars are signs of wishes coming true.  And two scriptures that embody that ideal that I've been confessing for various prayers is Psalm 20:4 and Psalm 21:2, which say:

May he grant your heart's desires and make all your plans succeed.  Psalm 20:4 NLT

For you have given him his heart's desire; you have withheld nothing he requested.  Psalm 21:2

In confessing these and in seeing the star, the seemingly random Facebook and Instagram posts of others, the devotions I get...it has finally dawned on me to remain hopeful despite what I currently see.  

You see the devil wants you to give up and doubt God.  He wants you to lose sight of the promise and to question God.  He wants you to be hopeless and curse God and die!  But when there are so many signs and things present to encourage you if you would merely see them!!!  

Keep the hope alive and it will happen!!

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.  1 John 5:14-15

Vehicles

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Matthew 6:31-32

This may not be a big deal to you, but I'm grateful to God for going out of His way to keep me.  Almost a month ago, my phone fell into the toilet at a gas station on the way to Jacksonville.  I was devastated but all I could do is laugh...truthfully nowadays thats my reaction to most difficult things or any craziness.  Why get stressed out and bent out of shape about things you can't control right?  So fortunately, I had money to go buy a prepaid phone and the WalMart was right down the street.  But I made sure to pray because it bothered me since I use my phone to do everything: I use it for music, take my notes for bible study and the intercessory prayer call I lead, to make inspirational videos for my YouTube channel and Instagram account, and of course I use it to call people -- my family and friends, and for calling people who need prayer, to host bible study and the Friday intercessory prayer call.  I prayed and God said clearly that everything would be fine and not to worry.  I took Him at His word, I guess somewhat shallowly.  I went on to enjoy my weekend and have a great time with my cousin and her best friend.  I also got some breakthroughs there with them.

Later that weekend, I called AppleCare to see if my phone could be replaced under my coverage.  Apparently in the 6 years of having Apple iPhones, at some point along the way they stopped covering water damage.  Later that week, I called and got insurance added to my account after having to speak to 3 representatives and have to fuss pretty badly.  So I thought I would be fine and all would work out eventually like God said...but only after my interjecting myself.  My phone eventually came back on but was very unreliable.  It would give me a blue screen and shut off and then sometimes it would give me a colorful screen (it would change colors).  The screen would jump and then eventually it would shut off if I didn't shut it off myself.  I kept the trusty but quirky "trap" phone as my back up and prayed I could make it the 30 days I needed to before I could pay for a replacement through my insurance.

This past weekend was amazing with my family.  My granddaddy turned 87 and I was just so happy to be around them.  Of course over the course of the last few weeks my phone has been used to take selfies, lol, videos of my nieces, and my normal ministry usage. I was thinking things were smooth sailing until next month, when I would have to see about getting another one.  Then Sunday as I drove home, I had a breakthrough, and honestly it has been in the works since Friday as I prayed on the prayer line.  I just felt God's spirit moving in me and giving me peace about the road ahead.  But you guessed it, it cut off in the driveway at home.  I was so sad because of the videos of my niece I don't have.  So I made an appointment with the Apple Store and was wondering what I would do about getting the stuff off and having to get another phone ahead of schedule.  Again, God spoke and said it would be fine.  So Tuesday I went to the Apple store with apprehension because I didn't want to pay for another phone when I haven't even had this one a year yet.  God being the good God that He is, I got another phone for free since the hardware failure is covered under warranty.

Monday, I had already been praising God for just what He had been doing in me and in my heart over the last few days.  I had been crying and praying and repenting for all the ways I had fallen short but thanking God for loving me and keeping me through it all.  I finished one of the books I was reading before I began my 40 day prayer challenge leading up to my 30th yesterday and I finally understood.  This, like everything in life, is merely a vehicle to be used by God to get me somewhere.  Had my phone not been off and acting up, I wouldn't have been so focused the last few weeks.  I was focused in my relationship with Him and focused at work.  I refused to allow my phone not working to make me miss out on my devotion time; I used my iPad for reading and I was able to keep in touch with who I needed to through it.  Even though it was a little more quiet, I eliminated the distraction of social media again and of people and their problems to focus on God's voice.  More importantly, He proved yet again that He is a keeper and that I can hold on to His word.  He told me everything would be fine; it worked out better than I imagined.  

Sometimes we get so caught up in what's happening to us that we miss our boat or our ride to the next level.  So what happens, we have to wait for the next bus.  Don't miss your ride; God wants to take you to another level in your faith and relationship with Him.  God knows what you need better than you do.  He knew I needed more of Him and to release some things to free me up for what He has next for me.  And if you tap into His presence and seek Him more than anything, the things you worry about will amount to nothing but more importantly, you will get where you're going right on time.

Marquita

When It All Comes Together

Hey y'all!

I hope y'all are just grand.  Lol.  I contemplated long and hard about whether or not to do this post or to just stick with the video version and I think its best to do both. 

First things first, thanks to all of you for your support of my devotionals and the different ways God is using me in ministry.  It means a lot to have people see God in you and working through you and actually encourage His growth and changes in you.  I have lost a great many friends through either lack of support or just growing apart and for those of you that have supported and encouraged what God is doing in me, I am grateful to you.

I am in a place of praise and worship of God, just gratefulness!  I have been just so grateful for the revelations He has given me and how He has changed me.  At the beginning of the year, I told you all my one word for this year would be "live" and I can truly see how I began to live and to live for God now!  My life is so simple now till its ridiculous but its in the simplicity of just fellowshipping with God alone that I have gained peace and comfort.  He has truly been my constant companion throughout all the trials along the way.

I began reading a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, that of which I paused on in February to read several other books.  That book speaks of having radical faith to love God and do what He leads.  I haven't finished but I see now that I had to look at my relationships to be able to go forward reading that book.  For many years I had everything out of order, seeking people instead of pursuing God.  But I am grateful for this season of learning.  If you know me, you know I love learning and reading.  Well, God saw fit to do several things through the books He had me read.  First, I read halfway through a book on codependency, "Codependent No More", where He has shown me how He has healed me Himself from several attitudes and behaviors I had (like saving everybody and allowing my own problems to flounder in the background).  I continued reading the daily devotional, "The Language of Letting Go" and also "Battlefield of the Mind Devotional" and those have aided in my healing and growth.  But it was because of that book, that I finally picked up another book I had purchased, "The People Factor", and began to evaluate the relationships in my life, past and present so that I can be better equipped for future relationships.  The biggest lesson it drove home was having my vertical relationship, or my relationship with God in proper perspective.  

You see, the codependency issues I had caused me to stay in unhealthy relationships for the sake of helping and loving others because I thought I had to stay.  The motives were not wrong but I truthfully was not allowing God to be God.  I had not fully surrendered then and truthfully I was not allowing God to be my all.  I was looking to people to fill the voids.  I was hoping that God would heal me in my helping others; sometimes God will do concentrated surgery on us.

I will say God taught me a lot through all my failed relationships, which brings me back to my topic.  Because of my past, I saw in reading "The People Factor" that God qualified me to share with others lessons on relationships through my faux pas. 

My lessons learned: 

1) I learned to love God first and to love others as God loves us.  It finally hit me yesterday how much God loves us.  Through my failed romantic relationships, giving the guys chance after chance and forgiving them, I saw how much God loved me and gave me chance after chance.  I was in tears all day yesterday because I was so hurt after realizing how I had hurt God with my disobedience.  I realized I no longer wanted to aimlessly choose the wrong people to be in my life to have people around just to defeat the attacks of the spirit of loneliness.  Instead, in this season I allowed God to be my comfort and my friend.  Now, I talk to God about EVV-ERR-RRYY-thing.  I truly learned to cleave to God.  I learned to let Him validate me.  I learned to let Him heal me.  I learned to feel and deal and move on.  I learned to love and have joy and peace again.  Who knew all that could be achieved by being alone in His presence.  It's like I had all the puzzle pieces for a while now and over the last few months they finally fell into place.  I no longer hurt.  It's a miracle to even be able to say that.  I remember how my heart cringed every time I heard someone bring up one of my exes (outside of my first).  With one, I would be reminded of all the ways he hurt me and I would be filled with rage and with the other, I was reminded of how I longed that he would get it together and had hoped that things would ended differently.  Thinking of it, I would feel a pain in my heart and be sad.  Now, thank God that's gone!  Now, I can respond in love and pray for them and wish God's best for them.  And I believe I am finally free to move on, in God's timing of course...and I can actually say I'm content with me, myself and I!

2) I learned to trust me and the Spirit of God leading me.  I cut a great deal of relationships off.  I just stopped communicating with people.  Because I was such an open book before, I gave too much of me to people and when they betrayed me, I was deeply hurt.  Then God revealed I needed to just shut my mouth.  I hear my daddy saying, sit down somewhere and shut up! lol.  And I did that (thanks to a revelation in "When Women Walk Alone", another excellent read), and I began to talk more to God and journal and pray and talk to the right people, as He led me.  Through reading "The People Factor", God confirmed in my spirit that I did the right thing for me.  I trusted His voice guiding me, showing me things about people that were not ideal for any kind of relationship and that those were people that I was not to be in relationships with.  I also learned I didn't need to respond to every person.  Some people are not worth the energy and aggravation, especially if you are in different places spiritually.  While those in my innermost circle have greatly dwindled--as they needed to, I can say that those remaining relationships are worth cherishing and worth the time put into them.  

3) I learned to not give up hope and to keep on standing in faith.  As God moved people out of my life, He brought even better people in to give me a glimpse of my future.  The love I have for my nieces, the new friends (and solidified originals) and my immediate family are surreal.  I learned to nurture those relationships and to give love freely, knowing that I will always get it back regardless.  I consider the time, love, and affection I sowed in the wrong relationships or people I ministered to a seed sown.  Because God is so amazing, so great, and so good, I know I'll reap since it is God that gives the increase.  

4) I learned that anyone can be a teacher.  So I am a self-admitted know-it-all (because I like reading) but I learned and accepted against my will, lol j/k, many years ago that I don't know everything.  However, I prayed for a teachable spirit and I learned that you learn more if you're quiet, listening and observing.  You cannot always see your flaws; using others close to me in addition to my regular prayers that God shows me myself has been life changing.  And what a blessing that has been for me.

5) God reaffirmed to me that you cannot help everybody; instead praying for them is the best way to help unless He directs you to do otherwise.  Sometimes I would get so frustrated (codependency issue) when I helped people and they made the same mistakes over and over and over and over.  I won't lie, I would be pissed if God had me share what He showed me to them and they ignored it.  Yet it did something to me too; it caused me to feel guilt and remorse over all the times that God has done the same thing with me. I would ask for His forgiveness for me but it also freed me to turn them over to Him.  So I just started praying to God that He show that person the issue Himself and it gave me so much peace.  I realized everybody does not appreciate or respect the works God has done in me and so as such cannot receive from me.  Like Jesus said, a prophet goes without honor in his hometown, and if they did it to him, why would I expect people to listen to me.  I accepted my responsibility is only to be a vessel and relay the message.  Putting the responsibility on others to be responsible for themselves made life so much easier!!

It is crazy how God will put everything together.  I had this heaviness yesterday but as I cried and prayed and worshipped Him yesterday, I felt His peace flood me.  I was genuinely so happy this morning and I felt it in my praise and worship time.  I love where He is taking me!! I can't wait to see what this next decade brings for me.  

So now, I encourage you to 1) seek God for yourself and develop a deeper relationship with Him so that you can 2) evaluate your thoughts and those relationships in your life that may be hindering you from His greatness.  It's time to start putting the puzzle pieces together; overhauling those thoughts and people holding you back now will set you up for the breakthrough and blessing in the long haul.

Have a great day y'all!! Love you!!

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  Jeremiah 29:11-14a