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The Journey

Wow! What an awesome anointed Word today church! Amen? As I sat in the pew receiving the Word of God through Pastor Daniel this morning, I was flooded with emotions as I reflected on our past, our present and even the future plans! What an awesome God we truly serve. I believe that in some way or another I could relate to the life of Matthias as Pastor Daniel conveyed it. Could you?

One of the scriptures that I hang onto always is found in Jeremiah 29:11, “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!” I can tell you that there were times in my life when I questioned the Lord if He really meant that. Do you ever wonder or doubt God and His promises or His Word? As in the book of Acts, which begins with the command from Jesus to His disciples to WAIT and not leave Jerusalem without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I often heard the Lord, asking me to wait on Him to direct my steps. Waiting on God is not easy for our flesh is it? Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Are you willing to be patient and wait on the LORD? Do you trust that he is timely? I learned this lesson the hard way. I’m a doer so naturally I felt that I could make things turn around better and faster only to find that I could make a larger mess of things.

I praise God that the Holy spirit is readily available to us, as it was to the disciples, for empowerment. The holy spirit is the enabling power of God and once it enters your life, you receive power. I found the power I received in forms of levels was dependent on the power that I surrendered to God. I realize now that the transformation of my life was due to my dependency of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Another realization I had to voice to the Lord, was that I had come to the end of myself. I realized that no matter what I did or didn’t do, I had no control over my circumstances in any area of my life and that of my loved ones. This is where the empowerment of the Holy Spirit became real to me. There were moments of lowness, weakness where my eyes couldn’t see past the fog of pain or devastation, yet it was those times the Holy spirit would empower me to continue the walk believing Jeremiah 29:11, I have plans for you…prosperity..future. Have you ever thought of throwing in the towel?

There was a time in my life, where Hope was a foreign word to me with no meaning whatsoever. Both sets of parents were dying of cancer, our marriage about to dissolve, my womb was diagnosed barren and well lets just say chaos was a way of life. Then we met Jesus and were baptized in His name! We invited Him not just into our hearts but to have our hearts as his own. Through the empowerment of the Holy spirit and our dependency upon the LORD, He transformed us into witnesses for him for His glory through our life’s experiences. We have witnessed miracle after miracle in our lives. We started out being part of the crew that Pastor Daniel described today in service. You know the good for nothing sinners? We are obviously evidence that He can and still does transform people. My dad was healed of a brain tumor in 2002. Our marriage has been restored beyond what it ever was! I have two kids miraculously knit by the hand of God in HIS TIME! Our health, finances, relationships etc have all been restored for Gods’ perfect purpose and all in His timing. We are witnessing a harvest in our lives…even in the midst of our not so perfect circumstances. We still have obstacles and opposition in our path, but through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the promises of God are able to endure. Prayers we prayed 8 years ago are being answered. Talk about God’s timing and not our own. Have you been praying for something for quite some time? Let me encourage you to stay the course with JESUS! Harvest time is near for you too, remember what he does for one he will do for others. God is faithful. Did it happen over night? Absolutely not. Was it easy? No, the pain and sacrifices we have endured sometimes lead us to have those conversations that started out like this: “Lord where are you?”

But like Pastor Daniel said today, Stay the Course. Stay with Jesus. You are not forgotten much less forsaken. Fear will come to crowd your thoughts but don’t allow it to crowd your path get around it and keep going! Society models giving up, it’s the chicken ramp way out. Get on the ride with Jesus, it’s the best ever! Stay in the word, even when it convicts and offends you, remember, the Lord is after your heart and its changing. Are you willing to surrender it to Him? Only His greatness awaits you. Jesus is worth the pains, the sacrifices, the ridicule and all persecution you will endure. Remember that he is interested in changing your heart.

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Call on Jesus!
In His Grip,
JoAnn Velasquez