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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Week 7: Expectations from Staying Focused By: Pastor Lula Baker

 EXPECTATIONS FROM STAYING FOCUSED WEEK SEVEN Lenten Blog Pastor Lula A. Baker Psalm 53:2 ASV God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek after God. As we come to the close of this Lenten season, we have been compelled through thoughtful reflections and introspection to remain focused! Our struggle or wrestle becomes, what are we to focus on? What’s different now than it was centuries ago? When Jesus galvanized his band of disciples, the twelve, and the countless others who followed without titles or positions to internalize the mission and live it out in the community. Has the mission or dynamic changed? Have we lost sight of what we were created to do?? Draw sinners to repentance!! They, like we, are charged to love GOD in totality: heart, mind, and strength. Love our neighbor and enemies like He has loved and given himself as a ransom for fallen humanity! As time approaches, we seem to major in the m
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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Week 6: S.T.O.P. by Taji Brown

S.T.O.P. by Taji Brown Focus Scripture: Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Clause A of this verse is a command, an order, a directive if you will. When I read this, all I hear is God saying STOP! Stop fighting, stop trying, stop worrying, stop tripping, stop sinning, stop overthinking, stop being anxious, stop distrusting Me, stop your foolishness, stop doing what you think is best, stop fretting, stop moving, stop trying to be seen, stop trying to get noticed, stop doubting, stop doing things in your own strength, stop thinking you are smarter than you really are…JUST STOP! The word “STOP” literally means to come to an end or to cease from happening. Psalm 46:10 reminds me of Newton’s first law of motion. Have you ever heard of inertia? It simply means anything at rest will stay at rest until an outside force is applied to it. When God commands us to be still, I truly believe He wants us to rest in
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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Week 5: Be Still My Spirit; God Is Speaking by: Minister Teresa Robinson

Be Still My Spirit; God Is Speaking! Minister Teresa Robinson   During this Lenten Season, do you have the assurance that God won’t fail you? Whatever you are experiencing right now, can you quiet your spirit and see a victorious end?   Let’s begin in the Old Testament. We see the prophet Elijah in I Kings 19:11-12 where Elijah wins a great victory over the false prophets of Baal. Soon afterwards he is threatened by evil Queen Jezebel and we find him running for his life. Elijah ends up hiding in a cave lonely and depressed. Brought to exhaustion, he finds himself low, weak & tired.. like some of us are today. Elijah has opened the door to fear and doubt and has given the enemy access to flood his mind and spirit with turmoil. In verses 5-8 we see God supernaturally sustain Elijah with angel bread and water, Elijah, held together supernaturally moves forward for 40 days and 40 nights. He ends up at the Mountain of God-Horeb and lodges in a cave.  When life’s ci
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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Still Focused: Week 4: Steel Focus by Dcn. Phil Stevenson

  Psalm 121:1  I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.   Steel Focus  by: Dcn. Phil Stevenson As the old journalism adage goes, don’t bury the lead. Therefore, let me start by saying, “We should still focus on God because God is always focused on us!” We are his prized possessions, a treasure in His eyes; that He never leaves or forsakes. The Father is concerned about all that concerns us. Knowing this should result in our focus being as strong as steel. Unshakeable! Indestructible! Everlasting! Why? Because God deserves it! He deserves a strong focus that is not easily distracted. As we all know, the issues of life can sidetrack us. And even worst, the enemy is prowling like a lion, looking to steal our focus. But let us praise God, for He has provided us with all the tools to maneuver through the mayhem.                                          1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. I’ve heard (and have witn
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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Still Focused: Week 3: “Simple Focus”: by Dcn. Jacqueline Kimble

  Lenten Blog Series 2024: Still Focused: Week 3: “Simple Focus”: by Dcn. Jacqueline Kimble   February 28, 2024 “Simple Focus” When I was approached to complete this assignment, I immediately thought to myself, did “Rev. Dr. Nephew Philor” send this message to the wrong person?  What did I have to offer?  Truth be told, I struggled with where to even start.  It wasn’t until last Wednesday morning while listening to my daily 7 am prayer call, Pray on Purpose, where the Word was being shared by fellow New Jerseyan Minister Tracey Newman, that the picture began to come into focus.  As I listened to her share what God have given her, she referenced Psalm 116:6 “ The Lord preserveth the simple : I was brought low, and he helped me.” And the Holy Ghost intervened and said, Just Make it Simple. I now had some focus. The word simple stayed with me. Webster defines the word simple as easily understood or done, presenting no difficulty. It’s plain, basic, or uncomplicated. But how co
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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Still Focused: Week 2: “Spiritual Focus”: by Rev. Michael Robinson

“Spiritual Focus”: by Rev. Michael Robinson Fixing our eyes upon Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) I remember receiving my first pair of glasses as a “New Recruit” in the U.S. Army at- Fort Bliss (El Paso) Texas way back in 1983. The fact that I was handed two pair of military bifocals did not surprise me; but I was astonished at the fact that I went eighteen years not knowing that my vision was defective. Wow! In the eighteen – plus years to that point I believe that I only had one/ perhaps two eye examinations; and I could only imagine how many things I missed seeing correctly in those years. I’ve wondered also how much we, as believers in Jesus Christ, have missed because we were out of focus spiritually. We are in the midst of the Lenten Season 2024; and I am fully convinced that this is a season of divine revelation and that God is truly speaking. We have noticed that God has been moving in the midst of us His people during our Sunday worship.. I want t
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Lenten Blog Series 2024: Still Focused: Week 1 by E. Philor

  Psalm 46: 1 0 : Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.   Still Focused   Always remember your focus determines your reality- George Lucas   The psalm was written to invite the readers to be faithful in our lives and to remind us of our commitment to a great God. When I first read the psalm, I was convinced that the text before us is set to remind us that regardless of what is happening around us that we are to be mesmerized by God’s grandeur amid our lives. But that felt limiting to me as I thought about it and decided it was better to have you join me on the adventure of finding what God wanted to tell us today about this text, especially as it related to the topic.   I had such a challenging time with this topic because when I saw it, I wanted to put a conjunction between the words. I thought about Still but Focused or Still and Focused. I wanted to be deep and put Still, yet Focused because it sounds like it came
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