"Unconventional Salvation For Our Black Men Who Are Dying" BeLoveJoshua Blog Post

Click link below:
http://belovejoshua.blogspot.com/2015/11/drug-dealing-death-salvation.html 

Joshua

Ministering to me this morning! PRAISE HIM!

This song is ministering to me this morning. Just wanted to share.

I've got so much to thank God for
So many wonderful blessings 
And so many open doors
A brand new mercy
Along with each new day
That's why I praise You
And for this I give You praise

For waking me up this morning
That's why I praise You
For sending me on my way
That's why I praise You
For letting me see the sunshine 
Of a brand new day
A brand new mercy 
Along with each new day
That's why I praise You and for this 
I give You praise

You're Jehovah Jhireh
That's why I praise You
You've been my Provider
That's why I praise You
So many times You´ve met my need
So many times You rescued me
That's why I praise You
I want to thank You for the blessing 
You give to me each day
That's why I praise You
For this I give You praise

For every mountain You brought me over
For every trial you've seen me through
For every blessing
Hallelujah, for this I give You praise

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/kurt_carr/

Genesis 1-4

I find the book of Genesis to be extremely fastinating. The creation story, found in the first three chapters, are written in this beautiful poetic form. Listen to the language: "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep" "So God Created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them" "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" Even though the reader is hearing it in an English translation, one can still pick out the poetic literary techniques used to paint a picture of Creation and early man.

The lord allows us to have new revelations, while reading similar scriptures over and over again. I've read this body of text several times however I never noticed something. God doesn't directly curse Adam or Eve, by saying Adam I curse you. Around the time Gensis was written, uttering the words...of blessing or cursing was very important. In the story, God directly curses two things: The serpent and the ground. Even when Cain recieves his punishment for killing Abel, God doesn't say, "Cursed are you Cain" God says, 'you are under a curse'.

My question is: WHY?

Why doesn't the language emphatically communicate God cursing these early humans, since they are the ones  sinning against him? Is this passage communicating Grace and Justice?

More to come on this subject...because in the Garden there is another tree...

A Call to Fast: Stephen Hogans Healing

I have a dear and friend named Stephen Hogans. I've known Steve and his wife Whitney for close to four years now. When I first moved to Maryland, he was the person who showed me the ropes at Celebration Church. Steve was one of the few people I could have an indepth theological conversation with. I was present to see his and Whitney's relationship develop. I was there when they got married. I remember when they had their first child together. And watched Steve raise and love Quincy as his own. I remember sitting on a bus after a conference, and the lord speaking to me about Steve's amazing calling.

Right now, my brother and friend is in a difficult place in his life. A few years back he had lung replacement surgery and now he is in desperate of need another. I've been praying for Steve concerning this for the past 9 months. Its been an extremely difficult time for Steve and his family, however he has kept an amazing resolve. Its now time for us to call out to God, for Steve's healing and recovery. GOD CAN DO IT! WE NEED TO BELIEVE AND INTERCEDE! Will you join me? Seven days...juice/water...and the power of the Holy ghost.

When: July 1st at 12:00am to July 7 11:59pm
Why: Because God listens to His children


Be Love.

Joshua

Handout from Friday Evening gathering

Is the Devil/Satan a conscious being or a personification of 'evil'? 

The first thing to understand: God doesn’t play

Lion King clip

“When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.” Mark 5:1-20

Jesus models how to fight Satan. Matthew 4:1-11 

Spiritual Warfare 101

1. Love
2. Walking in the light: Exposure of sin/struggle/temptation
3. Forgiveness
4. The Name of Jesus
5. The Blood of Christ
6. The Word of God (scripture)
7. Spiritual Armor Ephesians 6:11-20 

Listening Prayer Basics

Listening Prayer is simply listening to the voice of God. 

The Steps

Beginning Prayer: Lord silence the enemy, Quiet my own flesh, still the distractions of the world, Speak to me I'm listening. 

1. Get Quiet 

2. Read scripture

3. Then write down your question for prayer.

4. Pause and Listen

5. Whatever God gives you write it down. (scripture, images, words, colors, songs etc...)

Ask Him to confirm anything He shared with you.

Some Simple Strategies

Use a journal; it will help you focus. Writing down your impression of the Lord’s responses creates in you an expectancy that he will respond.

Use two different pens.  I like to use the first color to record my thoughts and the second pen to record what I sense God is saying.  The different colors clarify “who’s talking.”

If, when you sit down to pray, you often have a to-do list pop up in your head, then have another piece of paper handy to make a list with any other thoughts that pop up.  It’s okay and it’s natural.  Just let them come out so you can focus.

How to Test It

Was it a clear word or just an impression?  God may give us different degrees of confidence in what he has said. 

Does it exalt Christ? (John 16:14) 

Is it scriptural?  Scripture is our authority. God does not contradict himself. (Proverbs 30:5-6) 

Do other Christians confirm it? (Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 15:22)

Does God cause it to actually take place?  (Isaiah 55:11, Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Saturday Morning Liturgy

January 14

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun. 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, 

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. 

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord out Maker. 

Song “Nothin’ but the Blood” 

Receive, Lord, the offering of our lives : that every breath might be holy to you. 

Psalm 141:1-3

O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly : hear my voice when I cry to you. 

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense : the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 

Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord, and guard the door of my lips : let not my heart incline to any evil thing. 

Receive, Lord, the offering of our lives : that every breath might be holy to you. 

Ephesian 6

Receive, Lord, the offering of our lives : that every breath might be holy to you. 

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a twentieth-century Jesuit philosopher, prayed, “Since once again, Lord, I have neither bread nor wine not altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I your priest, will make the whole earth my altar and on it will offer you all the labors and suffering of the world.”

Prayer for Others 

Our Father

Lord God, we give you thanks that no building can house you fully and no place of worship can contain your majesty. Teach us by our deeds of peace and justice and joyful celebration to erect altars in the world, so that when some other soul comes across them, they will see that you are indeed present everywhere. Amen. 

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you; 

may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm; 

may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you; 

may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

Friday Morning Liturgy

January 13

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you 

as the day rises to meet the sun. 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, 

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. 

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 

Song “Be Thou My Vision” 

Against the devil’s every wile : protect me, Lord, in times of trial. 

Psalm 55:1-6 

Hear my prayer, O God : do not hide yourself from my petition. 

Listen to me and answer me : I have no peace, because of my cares. 

I am shaken by the noise of the enemy : and by the pressure of the wicked; 

for they have cast an evil spell upon me : and are set against me in fury. 

My heart quakes within me : and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 

Fear and trembling have come over me : and horror overwhelms me. 

Against the devil’s every wile : protect me, Lord, in times of trial. 

Ephesians 5

Against the devil’s every wile : protect me, Lord, in times of trial.

Desert mother Amma Theodora wrote, “Let us strive to enter by the narrow gate. Just as the trees if they have not stood before the winter’s storm cannot bear fruit, so it is with us; this present age is a storm and it is only through many trials and temptations that we can obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.” 

Prayer for Others

Our Father

Lord, you have conquered death. You have gone down to the depths of Sheol and risen again to life. Help us to remember as we suffer with you that we will also rise with you to a life that never ends. Amen. 

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you; 

may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm; 

may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you; 

may he bring you home rejoicing ; once again into our doors.