THE GOOD FEAR: IN CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that Has breath praise His holy name!! As this year winds down, I have been sitting here contemplating how much God has blessed me this past year. From the outside looking in it might appear to some that all He has given me is a lot of trials, tribulations, and physical pain. In the natural, that would be true, but in the spiritual realm, he has given me so much more. I'm truly looking forward to the coming year where I believe God will allow me the opportunity to put into play the wisdom and understanding He has blessed me with this past year.

I'd like to share with you about something that can hinder your walk and progress in the Lord or enhance your walk and relationship with God, and that something is the "Fear Factor." The use of the word "Fear" in the Bible can lead to confusion if you are not careful in your study of God's word.

I can remember a time when I was newly saved, working in fulltime ministry for the Lord. God was providing for all my needs, I was on fire, fasting, praying, and consecrated unto God. God was using me to win souls by blessing my testimony and anointing my preaching, all was right in my world as far as I was concerned. One day all that changed when I fell back into drug use, and when I fell I fell hard. During that two day run, I brought shame on myself and on God's ministry. It was then that I came to my Pastor and he said to me something I will never forget "Brother Darrell, this happened because you don't fear God."

The words he spoke stung me, and immediately I began to defend myself. "What do you mean? I fear God! I do, I just don't understand how I let the devil trick me." I did not understand what he meant, and that statement haunted me as I went back into rehab and discipleship as God began to restore me.

To me the spirit of fear was a bad thing, didn't the bible say in 2nd Timothy 1:7  7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
I knew that we were not supposed to be afraid of God, and I knew that I loved Him, so what did my Pastor mean "You don't Fear God." I knew the Devil tries to bring fear and paranoia into our lives as he tries to destroy us and hinder our walks with God, but what was I missing? What did I need to do to improve my walk with God?
God's word says in Proverbs 1:7 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  I knew this scripture, but I did not fully understand the meaning behind it. This went on for a few years, I made many mistakes and bad decisions. I left the program and fulltime ministry and returned to the working world. It was then, that God began to teach me what it meant to "fear" Him.

First of all, He stripped me down. I had no job, and could not get one, no matter how many degrees or nursing licenses I had or experiences I had. To make a long story short, God used this situation as a teaching tool. For all my love of God, my brokenness when He saved me, all my service, and sacrifice in His name, the bottom line was I did not "respect" God. That was the "fear" that was missing from my life with Him.

I had yet to realize that it was God who was in control of every aspect of my life, not me. There is no job, no career, no life, no anything without God's okay. The fact that I wake up every morning was at His pleasure, not mine. The reality of who God is finally became real to me. I had been trying to hold on to some of my own control, thinking I was doing something, achieving something in my own strength, I had to realize that my WHOLE life was in His hands, and once I did that I felt another burden lifted from me, now I understood what Jesus meant in Matthew 11:28 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

Once I put down the burden of trying to do things in my own strength, wisdom began in my own life. I realized what my Pastor meant back then, you don't want to anger or disappoint the one who has your life in His hands. He was right, I probably would not have done what I did if I truly had "feared" or respected God totally for who He was and still is back then. God had mercy on me and allowed me to avoid learning this lesson in jail. He allowed me to learn from my mistakes.
The fear of the Lord is a good thing. I just would like to leave you with the following scriptures.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Job 28:28  And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom; and to depart from evil [is] understanding.

 Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD [is] a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.

God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

HOW THE REAL GRINCH IS STILL STEALING CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!! AND AGAIN I SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!! When I was a child I thought as a child, I thought of Christmas trees and Santa Clause, stockings and toys. As an adult, I thought of Gifts and Secret Santa's and Grab bags and sales. One day I came out of darkness into God's marvelous light. Now I think of Jesus Christ, God's gift to the world, The Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the earth, the real reason for the season.
                       I FIRST PUBLISHED THIS IN 2013, BUT FELT IT WAS WORTH REVISITING, GOD BLESS!!

There is a spirit in America that is getting stronger each and every day. All you have to do is look around during this time of year. Signs exclaiming Merry X-mas, Happy Holidays!! and Seasons Greetings!!, all accepted salutations for this time of year but the real reason for the season, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ seems to diminish every year. Regardless of what His actual birth date is, this is the Churches appointed time to celebrate that occasion. The world has commercialized this Holiday and is trying to remove Christ from the equation. They have also banned Nativity scenes in front of Churches and town squares in many cities. they have X'd out Christ.

This spirit is not only prevalent during the Christmas season but abides all year round. The country is about to remove "In God We Trust" from our money and you can not talk about Christ in most public schools when speaking in a general assembly and they have already removed prayer and movies have been made questioning Christ's Deity and His Holiness. 1 John 4:2-3 talks about this spirit, the spirit of the Anti- Christ.  1 John 4:2-3
King James Version (KJV)
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

It is here and it is getting stronger every day. Man in his own wisdom has decided that the name of Jesus Christ and Christianity is divisive and an affront to other peoples beliefs and therefore it is getting to be politically incorrect to use His name during His own holiday season. In part, they are correct Jesus himself said He was coming not to bring "peace but a sword" in Matthew 10:33-35 
King James Version (KJV)
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

He also came to reconcile Man and God, giving us a chance at redemption and everlasting life. He came down from glory to die for our sins. No greater gift has ever been given nor ever will be. Celebrating jolly fat men in Red suits and red-nosed reindeer and toys instead of the Birth of our savior, yes I said OUR savior because He is whether you believe or not, is a heartbreaking shame. In this country that still claims to be a "God-fearing" Christian nation, this should not be happening, just like people leaving their families and running out to shop on Thanksgiving Day should not be happening.

Jesus could have cared less about being "politically correct" as He squared off against the Pharisees and the keepers of the law during His earthly ministry and neither should we. Let's stop dressing up in Red suits and hats during this season and clothe ourselves in Christ. Make Christ visible this Christmas!

              God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

GOD IS OUR AUDIENCE!

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name! Praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the evening, praise Him when the sun goes down! I love to praise Him, and if that is wrong, I don't want to be right.

God showed something to me the other day while I was talking to a good friend of mine and I would like to share it with the Saints of God. He was recounting to me a conversation he had with his Pastor one Sunday after he had led the praise and worship that service. The Pastor began to mention some of the comments made by the congregation concerning his singing and or style of leading the worship and praise. After listening to the comments he told the Pastor, "I can't be concerned about those things because when I'm up there, the Lord is my audience." That statement stuck with me and brought to mind what David did and said in 2nd Samuel 6:12-23

12 And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.

13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

 19 And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.

20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.

22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honor.

23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

David had it right and so did my friend, our praise and our worship is not for the onlookers here on earth to give their opinion or be a judge of it, it is for God. Praise and worship is not entertainment, it is a way for us to show our love and devotion to God. the Gospel music industry has corrupted what was once pure praise, and has made it just that, an industry, a money-making machine. Gospel Artist are pushing out album after album in order to meet the terms of their contracts, anointed or not it doesn't matter because it's not for God to enjoy, it's for the people and to make money.

We have shows like "Sunday Best" where contestants compete over who can sound more anointed and more consecrated, but God knows who is faking it and who has really consecrated themselves unto Him, Who's about fame and fortune and who are truly worshipping Him out of true love. He knows who wants to be seen and heard by people and those who only want to please Him.

One particular pet peeve of mine are those churches that open their doors to tours of people, especially in Harlem New York, Where Pastors make deals with tour services to bring in busloads of people to their Church services whose only reason they come is to be entertained by the choirs and soloist. They bring food and snacks and sit in the back and get up and leave as soon as the preacher gets up to preach, but he doesn't care because at least they were there for the offering.

The spirit of praise falls on everybody differently, our praise of God is a personal thing, it’s not for entertainment but it can be entertaining. It can not be judged by man, only God.

God is our audience! and not just for our praise and worship but also in our everyday life He is there watching. Jesus tells us in John 4:23 23 But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

So worship God in spirit and in truth, worship Him for who He is and what He has done you and for His people, and don't let anybody tell you there's something wrong with your worship or your praise as long as it is in spirit and in truth. Our audience is God, not men.

God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

WHOSE SHEEP ARE YOU?

Praise the Lord everybody, let everything that has breath praise His holy name! The Lord is truly moving in my life right now, showing me what's inside of me. God has put things in me, some things I did not even know were there, things needed for such a time as this.

These are perilous times for the body of Christ. God is preparing the Church for His son's coming, and He is preparing me so that I can do my part in the preparation.

Lately, God has been showing me that what King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, that there is "nothing new under the sun", is still true today. Today we have our own version of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and we also have another issue that Paul talks about in 1st Corinthians 1:10-13, and that is the confusion of men following other men or Pastors instead of Christ. Verses 10- 13 state 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

12 Now, this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

There are many so-called pastors and Church leaders out there preaching and teaching all kinds of doctrine and versions of the Gospel, one more charismatic and mesmerizing than the next. Saints are going around saying "I'm into Olstien", "I'm a Jakes man" or "I'm into Prince or Bernard" and so on. We have become consumers of style and soothing doctrine, instead of consumers of the Gospel of Christ. Paul said "follow me as I follow Christ"(1st Cor. 11:1) But we have become so attached to men that we have been remiss in our duty to make sure our leaders, our Pastors are doing just that, following Christ.

Jesus states in John 10:1-5   1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

    2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

  3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

 5 And a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

 Our ears are becoming more and more out of tune with the voice of the "Good Shephard" because we have become distracted by the many voices of the world and our desires to keep the status quo, to not rock the boat or be seen as a "troublemaker" instead of taking measures to "right the ship" and get things back on the right path, using the guidelines given to us by God.  The Bible tells us in 2nd Timothy chapter about men "5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:" it tells us as a last resort "from such turn away." 2Peter 2:1 states 2 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

The Bible is full of scripture on false prophets and teachers, I'm sure they all started out on the right path but for whatever reason, they lost their way, whether it be from slackness in study or secret sin in their lives, we can not continue to follow them blindly into the abyss, that leads to our and their destruction just because we like their style, or because we've followed them for  years. Jesus tells us that HIS sheep know his voice and another they will not follow. It also tells us in Jeremiah 50:6 - My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away [on] the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place

We cannot allow ourselves to be led away by undershepherds who have forgotten their resting place, causing us to forget ours.

We have to ask ourselves "WHOSE SHEEP AM I?" If you are the sheep of God's pasture, then follow His voice and His word. If your Leader sounds like someone other than Christ and he refuses to get back in tune with Christ, do whatever you have to do to hear God again. Remember, HIS sheep will not follow another's voice.
       
                  God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

DON'T PLUCK OUT YOUR EYE; JUST CUT OFF THE T.V.!!

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! As the Lord continues to take me to another level in Him, it still amazes me to see Him at work in me. I'm constantly moaning about my need to spend more quality time with God, in His word, in prayer, and just walking with Him in the "cool of the day".(see my previous post)

My wife and I have about 13 weekly T.V. programs that we enjoy watching together. I DVR them so that we can enjoy them together at our leisure. As you can guess, after a while we begin to fall two and three weeks behind in some of our programs for one reason or another, leading us to have to try and cram in our shows whenever we find ourselves with a little free time. This, of course, causes us to spend less quality time with God.

Many times I have determined to cut down on my television watching only to break my vow to God. I enjoy "The Black List", "NCIS", "Law and Order SVU" and all the other Shows we have bonded over these past six years. The Word of God says that He is a "jealous" God, and I am feeling His jealousy burning against me whenever I spend extra time with the television rather than with Him. God's word tells us in
 Matthew 18:9 (KJV)
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Now, I like having two eyes, so I went before God and prayed that it would not come to that. I asked God not to do anything rash because of my weakness and disobedience, and the Lord spoke back to me just as clear, "do not pluck out your eye my son, just turn off the T.V.". He made it sound so simple, and after I thought about it a bit, I realized it was just that simple in my case.

I realized that as much as I loved those shows, I loved the Lord even more. God knows the heart of man and He knows mine. God knows that I would trade in all my favorite shows just to spend some quality time in His presence. I know my wife would do the same thing. I know she would not be upset with me if we were to cut out some shows in order to spend more time before the Lord, together and separately.

So why do I find it so hard to do just that? God's word says in Galatians 5:19-25 (KJV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The answer to my earlier question is too much flesh! Television provides everything mentioned in verses 19 through 21, and my flesh wants to experience those things, but verses 22 to 25 speaks about the fruit of the spirit and the one I lack the most when it comes to watching television, is "temperance".

Temperance means 1. Abstinence from or moderation in drinking alcoholic beverages. See Synonyms for abstinence.
2. Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression.

My flesh is always trying to overthrow the spirit of God in me for control of my life. To me, temperance or self-control is one of the most important fruit of the spirit because without it the flesh would quite simply destroy us with all of its desires and lust. Flesh is on parade every Sunday in the body of Christ in America, we have jealousies, lust, pride, envy, and wrath, among other issues. The time is now for Us to live and walk in the spirit as God's word tells us to.
I for one have begun to take back control of how much time I spend watching T.V. and how much time I spend seeking God. Yes, I'm still going to watch SVU and NCIS, but not at God's expense. So no matter how far we fall behind in our shows, so be it. I'm keeping my eyes and just turning off my T.V. whenever He wants me to.
                    God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall
 

THE COOL OF THE DAY: WALK WITH GOD

Praise the Lord everybody!! for He alone is worthy to be praised! I want to thank the Lord for allowing me to live to see Him moving and confirming His word in these last and evil days. These are truly exciting times that we live in as God's word comes to life right before our very eyes.

The time to seek God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is now while He can yet be found. God is asking us to give Him more now than ever before. He wants more than our scheduled devotions and our time on the prayer line, more than our Sundays, and our weekly prayer services. God wants that time when we're riding the train or bus on our way to work or school, or just out walking and enjoying the fresh air. God wants to be included in our activities of daily living.
God's word tells us in Genesis 3:8-9  8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

God wants to walk with us in the "cool of the day" when we are just relaxing and "chilling out", that time when we are usually talking to ourselves, making decisions and plans for the day and the future. He wants to be in on those inner conversations we have about our jobs and our relationships. It is obvious from the previous verses that God was used to just walking with His creation in the cool of the day, fellowshipping with him and was greatly disturbed when that bond was broken by the fall of man.

Prayer lines, church services, and devotions are great, but God wants to re-establish that bond with us that He had with Adam and Eve in the beginning, before man's fall. Genesis 5:23-24 states  23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Genesis 6:9 states 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

leviticus 26:12 states 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

It is apparent from these Old Testament scriptures that God desired to walk amongst and be one with His creation, especially those who were obedient to His statutes and sought His face diligently. In the New Testament God by His spirit dwells in all believers who have accepted His son Jesus Christ. A dwelling is one thing, to walk with is quite another. To dwell means:     1. To live as a resident; reside.

2. To exist in a given place or state: 

               

The building I live in is a large multi-family building with many families living together but even though we dwell together in one building I barely know the other residents and we rarely even say more than "hello" to each other. God wants to do more than dwell with us, He wants to walk with us and be involved in every part of our lives. God wants to listen to our daily concerns and give us advice on how to handle whatever life throws our way.

It's always the cool of the day now when it comes to my relationship with God, we talk everywhere about everything, not just about what I want or what I need.
Open up to God, He's a good listener.

              God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

SOMETIMES GOD NEEDS A WARRIOR!!

Praise the Lord everybody! the Lord our God is truly worthy to be praised! I can't thank Him enough for what He has done and is still doing in my life. God is truly loving as He demonstrates to us every day, but then there are those times when God requires a Warrior to carry out His will.

The Bible is littered with the accounts where He has raised up men of God to be warriors. Elijah for one, he was zealous for the Lord, in 1st Kings 18: 36-40 we see an example   36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

Elijah was a man of God, and like all men, he had his moments of frailty and doubt, like when he ran and tried to hide from Jezzabelle, (see 1st Kings chapter 19) but he was able to call on that inner warrior when he needed it, as we see in the previous scripture.

In the old testament, God needed men to be warriors in the natural, like David and Samson. Today He is looking for natural and Spiritual Warriors, as His word tells us in 6:12 Ephesians  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We have to be ready to do battle in the spiritual realm, always wearing the full Armor of God. Peter Had that warrior spirit and it was never more evident than in John 13:7-9  7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

This to me is the sign of a true warrior, Someone totally sold out to the cause, who is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. Peter was that guy, "If just washing my feet is going to help us be closer then wash my hands and head also" in other words "I want it all, all that I can get." Peter was a true believer, no turning back and like every man he had his moment of fear and doubt, where he denied Christ but he came back stronger than ever after the holy ghost had come upon him.

Paul is another example of a  true warrior, God even used him to write about the full armor of God. When you read the epistles of Paul you can feel his warrior spirit. As in Romans 1:18- 32 where he lays down the law to a Roman Empire that at the time condoned all kinds of debauchery and sexual immorality including homosexuality also in 1st CORINTHIANS 4:14-21(NIV) he states 4 I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the LORD. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. 18Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you very soon, if the LORD is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

Peter and Paul were men of God who meant what they said and said what they mean. They didn't worry about pleasing men, A warrior cannot be a people pleaser but must always be a God pleaser. Peter on the day of Pentecost preached in Acts 2:36  36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Peter didn't pull any punches and sometimes as men and woman of God we have to be warrior strong, pulling no punches when God requires us to be His warriors. A soldier carries out his orders, trusting that his leader knows what he's doing. In the thick of the battle as with God, there is no time to hesitate. God always has "a ram in the bush" ready to carry to carry out His plan if we falter. God calls on His warriors because He knows He can trust them to deliver.

We all have that inner warrior so when God calls on you for that seemingly overwhelming assignment, let your inner warrior come out because sometimes God needs a warrior.
 God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall 

GOD KNOWS WHO I AM

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath Praise His holy name! God is taking me through something right now, something painful but at the same time, it's a good thing for me in the long run. In this walk with Christ, I have learned that some learning experiences will come with pain attached.

Sometimes God will assign us a task that we think is above our "pay grade," in other words we have a Moses moment, as he had when he spoke to God in Exodus 3:9-11
9 Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

Like Moses, we feel not only unworthy but also ill-equipped for such a task. We not only begin to question our hearing but we may begin to also question God's judgment. The enemy seizes the moment and starts to plant the seeds of fear and doubt. Just as God told Moses not to worry and that He would surely be with him, God wants us to know the same thing. God  tells us in His word Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) 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

God wants us to have the spirit of David when He gives us these seemingly insurmountable tasks, David when facing Goliath ran to his task in 1st Samuel 17:45-47(NIV)  45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

God wants us to trust Him as David did when we face our Goliaths, with faith knowing that God has our back, knowing that He would not send us on a mission to fail. He tells us in His word Philippians 4:13 13 I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me. He tells us that we are "more than conquerors" in Romans 8:37. God wants us to stop asking Him "who am I" and turn it around and declare "who I am" in Him, by standing up in faith and walking in our calling, God wants us to trust in our gifts, He knows what He has invested in each of us and He wants us to put them on display, not for our glory. but for His glory. God wants us to go from "WHO AM I" TO  "I AM". To quote Joel Osteen "I am who God says I am!!" I will leave you with this,
2 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)

14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

  God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

HUNGER GAMES!

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! God has been so good to me, His grace and His mercy towards me is never-ending. I ask myself have I been as attentive to Him as He has been to me? Truthfully I must say I find myself lacking. I have slacked off in my pursuit of Him.
God has been dealing with me concerning this issue. I remember How it was when I first got saved, how I carried my Bible everywhere and every chance I got I would open it and read God's word. Gods word was like finding water while wandering in the desert, and like food to a starving man. After reading it from cover to cover I would just start all over again and each time I read it was just as enlightening as the first time, and just as thought-provoking. His word was and is alive and we had a love affair with each other. Now we are like an old married couple, comforted by each others presence but the passion is fading.

David wrote in Psalms 42:1(NIV) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

I asked myself where is my "panting, my hunger and thirst?" I had to admit that I had over time began to fill my hunger and quench that thirst with other things, things of the world. It started when I finally decided to buy a T.V. after over four years of just me my Bible and Christian radio. Slowly my hunger for the things of God has had to compete with my hunger for a good movie and a plethora of television shows.

I often long for those simpler days of just me and God and His Word, but I fear what with social media and all the exciting media distractions these days, can I ever really go back to those days. I do find that as I get older, it is easier to let go of those things that I used to think were so important to me.  And like that old married couple, I mentioned earlier when we do take a moment to really look at each other we realize the Passion is still there and there are still things we don't know about each other, all we have to do is take a moment and look. 

The fire of God and His word never goes out and the hunger for Him and His righteousness never dies. Psalms 63:1 states   O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

David had a heart after God, and that's what I have always desired, I love the Lord and I'm growing tired of distractions coming between us. In these last and evil days, we can not afford to be caught watching television when He comes for His Church.

Hebrews 12:1 states,  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 

I am asking God to help me throw off those hindrances that I so unwittingly put upon myself. First off I think I'll buy a radio.

 God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

NO TIME FOR THE OLD SOFT SELL!!

Praise the Lord everybody, let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! God alone is worthy of all glory and praise. Jesus is preparing to return to His Church and at the same time the Holy Spirit is doing His best to prepare us, The Church to be received by Christ. I say doing His best because the Children of God have always been a "stiff-necked" people. Yes, we may be grafted into the vine as adopted children but we have somehow received the same stiff-necked DNA.
 As "that" day gets closer, God is saying to the Church "It is time to press a little harder. the time for the old soft sell is over." In Luke 14: 23 Jesus says in a parable   23 And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (read full parable)                

He asked his servants to "compel" them to come in, and that's what He is asking us to do now in these last and evil days. Time is short and we have to add urgency to our efforts to win souls for Christ. The dictionary tells us that "compel" means 1.  To exert a strong, irresistible force on; sway: 
2.  To necessitate or require, as by force of circumstance; demand

Compel is an action word, we need to take action. God is letting us know that the days are past where we can just walk around looking good and smiling at people and"acting" like Godly people, hoping that was enough to draw them in. I remember how I used to admire the Jehovah Witness, watching them walking around in family groups smiling and appearing blessed of God. But when you strip away the facade you find out they are lacking something. We as Christians can not fall into the same trap.
I was going to say that we don't have to go around door to door like them but then again, why not? We need to take our soul-saving game to another level, at least let's get back to the streets, handing out tracts and preaching Gods word, praying with people and telling our testimonies.

Before we can do these things we have to be ready for this type of ministry, no matter how good your rap game or your gift of gab, if you don't have power, Holy ghost power, your efforts will bear very little fruit. It is the anointing that destroys the yoke of bondage.
The time has come when people can no longer slide by, avoiding the spiritual. The time has come where every man and woman is going to have to make a choice. and it's our job to let them know what those choices are. We don't have to be obnoxious but we must become more determined. We must go forward with compelling testimonies, compelling preaching, and teaching, even our lifestyles should be compelling. It is Gods wish that His "house" His Kingdom be full and it's our job to let Him work through us to make it happen. God by His spirit is compelling us to go out a compel the lost to come in and be saved.

        God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall.

THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES, AND GOD

Praise the Lord everybody, let everything that has breath praise His holy name. I am truly grateful today for God's grace and mercy in my life. The Lord is really dealing with me now, as we go forth in these last and evil days. God is calling on the Church to get its self together. Jesus is coming back for a church without "spot or blemish", and as of right now we have a lot of spots and blemishes that need to be removed.

Philippians 4:23 states, Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

"True worshippers" worship God in spirit and in truth, this means not only speaking the truth to God but being truthful to one's self. We can't be fully honest with God until we are fully honest with ourselves.
A lot of the time we say "Lord take me, I'm ready to come home" Let me ask a question if Jesus were to come back right now how many of you believe without a doubt that you would be going back with Him? A lot of us, including myself are going to be quite surprised on that great getting up morning if we don't get ourselves together.
A great man of God, Apostle Paul said this in  Philippians CHAPTER 3:7-21 
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
17 Brethren, be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Paul realized that to obtain the perfection God has called us to, we have to press toward that mark every day, minute and second. We have to forget those things that we have left behind, like our flesh, our besetting sins and everything else that has been holding us back.

s not a game of Musical chairs where if you get caught without a seat you just wait until the next game. If Jesus catches us not sitting in our "Kingdom" chair there is no other "game" there is no other chance for redemption.
Jesus is coming back for a church without spot or blemish. We lie to ourselves when we say to God "I'm ready to go" while ignoring the fact that we still think it's alright to gossip, tell so-called "little white lies," we call ourselves "supporting our schools" when we buy lotto tickets and raffles with God's money. When we have a "little" drink every once in a while just to "calm our nerves" or for other medicinal purposes. When we continue to fall into sexual immorality, masturbation, and fornication because "God knows I had to stop my flesh from burning." God is now telling His people to put away all these things and press toward the mark He has set for us, It's pressing time!! This i
Let us stop lying to ourselves and to God, it's useless anyway. Let's "keep it real" with ourselves and God and ask Him to help us rid ourselves of every transgression so that we can best serve Him in the beauty of Holiness and the fullness of the spirit. IT'S PRESSING TIME!!

 God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

THE CHURCH IN AMERICA: A SOUNDING BRASS!!

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!
God has truly been good to me these last few weeks, He's good all the time but He's been especially gracious to me lately and I'm so grateful. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these are exciting times for the men and woman of God who have eyes to see and ears to hear the signs of the times in these last and evil days.
One thing the Lord has been showing me over and over again is that the church in America has become as a "Sounding Brass" when it comes to its effectiveness in the Body of Christ. 1st Corinthians 13:1 1If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
The dictionary says "sounding brass" means 1. resounding; resonant  2.having an imposing sound and little content; pompous
In other words, making a lot of noise about nothing, or with no effect. We have learned over the years how to put on a good show, with large megachurches and all-inclusive "Christian centers" with on site bookstores and cafes. I just recently heard about a church in Detroit that put in ATM machines for the offering. We've created Gospel stars and have made "idols" of our men of God who in turn have accepted our accolades and have sought titles with more grandeur than "Preacher" or "Pastor".
they are no longer taught and led by the Holy Spirit, instead, they seek Ph.D.'s from Seminaries where the Gospel of Christ is just another myth to be studied by nonbelieving theologist.

We have lost our hunger for souls and our charitable outreaches either don’t exist or are just empty religious gestures, the sins of the Church in America are many and the list goes on and on. Not to worry though because God in His long-suffering love for us is telling us through His spirit that the time is now, now is the time for us to wake up and repent, put our hands to the plow and help bring in this final harvest as Jesus is preparing to come for His bride. Time to kick the “world” out of the church, along with pride, falsehood(otherwise known as lying), gossip, envy, strife, anger, malice, sexual immorality, and disobedience.
 God tells us in 2nd Chronicles 7:14   14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
 We all know what we are doing and what we are not doing, and so does God. It’s time that we each search ourselves and ask God to remove every stumbling block. Including ourselves.  The full power of God can not flow through a cracked or "dirty" vessel. That has been our problem from the pulpit to the door, compromise and the lust of the flesh and the eye have corroded our values, doctrine and our vision in the body of Christ. Those who would point the way back, who preach the true Gospel of Christ, are vilified by those who would call good evil and evil good.

The Bible told us that these times would come, in 2nd Timothy 4:1-4 1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables

Many Christians today do not want to be confronted with their sin, they do not want to humble themselves. True men of God will be preaching and teaching the full Gospel of Christ and many will turn away to the "new" Gospel-lite being preached in many churches across America. Paul talks about this in 2 Thessalonians 2
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
This is no time for the Church to fall away from faith and sound doctrine, it is time for us to fall in. Fall in line with Gods word and His spirit. It is time to repent from our wayward ways and start taking authority over our flesh and our shortcomings. God has made His power available to us by His spirit and we must start displaying that power in everything we do.

God Bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall





 

BROTHER DARRELL IS ON VACATION!!!

 PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT PAST ARTICLES IN OUR EXTENSIVE ARCHIVES!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!!

JESUS CHRIST; A LEGACY WORTH PRESERVING: REVISITED

Praise the Lord everybody!! God gave me this message to share with you all last year and it is still relevant today, and He has put it on my heart to share it again with you again. God bless.


Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! I bless the Lord, I bless the Lord, and His praise shall forever be in my mouth. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate what God is doing in my life. The fact that I woke up this morning in the land of the living is reason enough to praise God, He alone is worthy to be praised.

As I left the weekly "hour of power" service at my church this week began to gaze out the window of the Access A Ride vehicle, and as we rolled through the streets of Harlem on our way home to the Bronx, I began to feel something stir up in my spirit. I began to take notice of all the refurbished BrownStone buildings, some were showpieces while others were still in the process of being renovated. I watched as people struggled to maintain a legacy, an earthly history and something that would bring a certain historic charm to their world.

The Lord began to speak through His spirit, telling me how these people were struggling to maintain a history that can not be saved. He reminded me of what Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 24:1+2   And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

I began to see man as God saw us, struggling to hold on to what can not be held on to, holding on feebly to the natural when we needed to be holding onto that which is spiritual. We are not concerned as much about our spiritual legacies as we should be. Our lives here on earth have become too precious to us, our own creations and ideas fill our hearts and minds. Being out and about our fathers business is something the world rarely thinks about and Christians are following the world instead of Christ.

Paul states in Colossians 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

We need to remember whose we are and whom we serve. For the short amount of time we are here on earth God has a mission for us, It's not about establishing our legacy, it's about building the legacy of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that by His blood we could be saved from ourselves and reconciled with God. The only thing Jesus was concerned about leaving behind as His "legacy" was His Gospel, and the Holy Spirit to empower man to spread the Gospel and to live Godly lifestyles.

As men and woman of God, our concern should be that we bear spiritual fruit, rather than worldly fruit. Jesus states in John 15:1-5    I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Let us bear the fruit that God requires and not the fruit that flesh desires.
             God Bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking off the wall

THE AMERICAN CONTROVERSY

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name! The Lord in His grace and mercy has truly been good to me. He has blessed me despite my shortcomings, despite my issues, but still, I know I must do better in my service to Him. I cannot continue to take advantage of God's long-suffering love for me, neither can America.

The good old USA, the land of "In God we trust", and the "Ten Commandments" posted on the walls of our courtrooms, and the home of hot dogs, apple pie and "God-fearing" people, God is trying to tell us that we have a "controversy" with Him. This is not the first time God has had a "Controversy" with His people.

Hosea 4: 1-3 states,
1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Everywhere you look these days, from the White House to the Church, We see the lying, the swearing, stealing and the lack of mercy, being demonstrated by the people of America. A country that at one time had such faith that it put the words "In God, we trust" on it's most valuable possession, it's money! Now we want to remove God's name from everything, the mere mention of His many names or His son Jesus is enough to cause tension and dissension between people. In a country that at one time would not even show two married people sleeping in the same bed on T.V. or open it's store's for business on Sundays because it was "the Lords day," now anything goes on T.V. and Sunday's are one of our busiest shopping days of the week.

God is now saying to us enough is enough. The Lord has "controversy" with this Nation and all you have to do is look around to see how far we have fallen. This country is about to explode, it is divided by race, religion and political ideology. And the Church, which should be the steadying force, the "rock" on which this country was supposedly built, is just as fractured as this country is. The Church is divided over race, politics, doctrine and even sexual preference. We have reached the "controversy" stage with God. We need healing!!

2nd Chronicles 7:14 states If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 

This is our lifeline, we need to grab hold of it, we need to humble ourselves in fasting and prayer. We need to stop compromising with the world and recognize sin for what it is, sin. God wants to heal our land, all we have to do is follow His instructions.

         God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

FOR SUCH A TIME AS TODAY!

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name! I am so excited by the times we live in. We can see God moving everywhere we look in this world. Yes, for those who have "eyes" to see, these are exciting times for the body of Christ.

It seems like the more I try to press in to get closer to the Lord, the devil is right there fighting tooth and nail against my every step. This is no time to be caught on the outside of God, looking in with your lamp flickering for lack of "oil" inside it. We have to be prayed up and ready at all times to be used by God in these last and evil days. The following is just a little food for thought that the Lord gave me to share with you all.

                 
Esther 4:10-14          10) Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11) “All the Kings officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the King in the inner court without being summoned the King has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the King to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the King.” 12) When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13) he sent back this answer “do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  14) for if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. But who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

A lot of us Christians appear to be in a rut these days, we’ve been Saved a few years now we’re sanctified and Holy Ghost filled and we’re just sitting back enjoying our Christian walk. It seems like God hasn’t asked us to do anything since we first got saved except not to forget the assembling of ourselves together. I believe Esther was feeling the same way, she probably thought her fasting and praying days were over. A lot of us Saints are feeling the same way. We’re just sitting back waiting for our next assignments. We’re waiting on God to “give me a ministry” to open that door that no man can close, we plead “Stir up the gifts Lord!” and the Lord is looking down from heaven saying “WHY?”

“Didn’t I see you walk past a starving beggar yesterday without giving him a second glance? Did not sister Sherry remark to you that she lost three volunteers last week at the food bank and all you said was “I’ll keep you in prayer,” As you kept right on walking to “your” car. Everybody is waiting for an Esther moment, a moment where they are suddenly thrust into harm's way and have to make a decision that could lead to them being martyred or to them becoming the next Christian Idol. We’ll be on all the Christian talk shows and invited to speak at conferences and revivals all over the country.  While we are waiting for our big moment to serve, God is saying “you want to minister? Then minister!” Help unload trucks down at the food bank, give a helping hand at the soup kitchen. Maybe hand out some tracts in the area of your church. How about visiting the sick and the shut-in. Who knows maybe the reason God called you out of darkness in the first place was for such a time as this. “This” being any opportunity that comes your way to show the love of Christ. Why wait for an Esther moment to serve God when there are so many moments that are passing you by. 1st Corinthians 15:58 states  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Our time here is short, who are we to not take advantage of every opportunity that God sends our way to spread the love of Christ and serve for such a time as today.
         God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall



                                                                   
                                                                                   

POWER OUTAGE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST!

Praise the Lord everybody!! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name. I am loving what the Lord is doing in my life right now. Some of the lessons are painful, but I know God chastens those He loves.

Today I would like to share a little food for thought that the Lord gave me to share with another ministry, and now He wants me to share it with you all. It all started with the following scripture.

              Acts 2:46,47       46) “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

There is a reason the Christian church is not growing as fast as Islam or other religions throughout the world, and it’s not because there are not enough televangelist, Christian radio stations, missionaries or tent revivals. In some Cities in America, there are two and three churches on one block. We have street preachers, subway evangelist and people who just hand out tracts on street corners. Still, the Christian church is not growing as fast as other religions, especially in the U.S. There is something missing from the Body of Christ, we have forgotten some of the things that gave the church power, things that spurred the Lord to bless the church and to prosper it.

The above scripture from Acts talks about the church being in and continuing in one accord. The power of being in one accord was demonstrated on the day of Pentecost. Jesus told his disciples they would receive power from on high and when they were gathered together in one accord they received that power and went on to shake up the world. The reason Christian Church is no longer shaking up the world is because there is no power in the church anymore, we are no longer in one accord.

 We are separated by doctrine, race and religious rituals. When was the last time neighborhood churches truly fellowshipped together? When was the last time they went out into the field together to work the harvest together? Instead, we look for excuses to put each other down and reasons why we cannot possibly be yoked together with “THEM”. We can’t even come together in one accord in our own “Church clubs”, I call them church clubs because we treat them like private clubs, members only! We pull up in our fancy cars and step over the locals as we enter the house of prayer.

 Once inside we Question Gods authority, the authority God put in place to run the church and bring forth His vision for the church. There are instances of disobedience, backbiting, gossip and sowing seeds of discord. And Gods work gets lost in the mix.

We need to get back to breaking bread together and coming together in one accord for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to serve God and worship him in spirit and in truth. We need to flip the power switch back on so that preachers can preach the full council of God with boldness and without fear. Stop fighting the vision and start embracing your pastors vision because he received it from God. Of course, if your pastor goes off track from the word of God point it out to him, otherwise, follow him as he follows Christ. Reach out to the Churches around you join with them in their labors to bring in the harvest, fellowship, break bread and come together in one accord and watch the power of God Flow.

God, Bless you all. Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

Praise the Lord everybody. let everything that has breath praise His holy name. I continuously thank God for His grace and mercy. He is truly doing a great work my wife and I's life. Every day I look forward to what He hs planned for us.

Today He has given me a little food for thought on relationships. People are always concerned about relationships. Relationships at work, with family, with friends and with the opposite sex, relationships with the opposite sex being the most agonized over.

Christians being human also find themselves agonizing over relationships and falling into the same traps as the world. Today I want you to know that there is only one relationship, as a Christian, that you need to worry about, the one that will affect and shape all others, and that is your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:21-23  21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

We must not fool ourselves into thinking that God will accept any kind of relationship with us. We cannot look at it as just a job where you punch in, do your work and then just punch out at the end of your shift. No matter how great a job you do at work you must realize that the relationship does not end at the end of your shift. You can’t talk your way through a relationship with God either, lip service will not satisfy Him. Isaiah 29:13NIV STATES,  The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

 God wants to spend Quality time with you. God wants to be your everything, your all and all.

God is love and how can we know what love is if we don’t know Him? The bible says in  1 John 3:16-20 (NIV)

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

A loving relationship with Christ is the cornerstone needed to build all our other relationships on. So, make sure the love of God is in you and leading you in every way. Next time someone asks you about relationships, make sure to ask them about their most important relationship, the on with Jesus Christ.

      God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

     

WE ARE THE "LIGHT BRIGADE!!

Praise the Lord everybody!! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! I can't begin to tell you how deep the Lord is working in my life. He is digging up the deep things in me that I thought were long dead and buried in me and resurrecting them so that I can deal with them. It is a sometimes painful but necessary procedure. God is doing a work in me, and I like it.

The Lord is in the process of getting His body, the Church, in order. He is coming soon. The other day I found myself thinking about a poem that I hadn't read since I was a boy. The poem was "The Charge of the Light Brigade" BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON.
It was one of my favorite poems at the time, it started off like this: 
 Half a league, half a league, 
Half a league onward, 
All in the valley of Death 
   Rode the six hundred. 
“Forward, the Light Brigade! 
Charge for the guns!” he said. 
Into the valley of Death 
   Rode the six hundred. 

II 
“Forward, the Light Brigade!” 
Was there a man dismayed? 
Not though the soldier knew 
   Someone had blundered. 
   Theirs not to make reply, 
   Theirs not to reason why, 
   Theirs but to do and die. 
   Into the valley of Death 
   Rode the six hundred. 

III 
Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon in front of them 
   Volleyed and thundered; 
Stormed at with shot and shell, 
Boldly they rode and well, 
Into the jaws of Death, 
Into the mouth of hell 
   Rode the six hundred. 

Let me stop right here, I'm sure you get the idea. Anyway, as I sat there envisioning their gallant charge with no regard for their own lives, God began to deal with me in that regard. The Bible states in Revelation 12:7-11 that 7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
 8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

As I read this passage it came to me that as soldiers of the Lord, covered in the full armor of God, We are Gods "Light Brigade." Our Job is to bring God's light to the lost, no matter what the cost. Jesus told His disciples "14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." in Matthew chapter 5.

We have a mandate from our "commander and chief" to be light for a dying world, and we must carry that light, even if it turns out to be a suicide mission. I don't know about you all but, I'm not ready to die. But even more important than that is I don't want to die before I completely carry out my mission. I want to hear God say "well done Brother Darrell, come and enter into my rest." I don't want to hear "Get away from me, I never knew you." 

We have our work cut out for us because the world loves darkness as stated in John 3:17-2117 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, we must advance the love and light of God into the darkness of a dying world. charge!!
               

God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off the wall

I AM SIMON OF CYRENE: REVISITED 2

Praise the Lord, I first posted this at this time the last two years and I was blessed by the response. During this time of prayer and reflection, I was moved to re-post it this year. To God be the glory.



Praise the Lord everybody! I pray everyone is enjoying these holy days leading up to Resurrection Sunday. These are days of wonder, days to look back in retrospect at what Jesus did for us. The other night I was watching the "Passion of the Christ" and as I watched I was again appalled by the brutality of His death. I also was intrigued by the plight of Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus carry His cross. As I meditated on it I was moved to write the following account as seen through Simon's eyes. Luke 23:26
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 


I am Simon of Cyrene and a heartbreaking but wonderful thing happened to me on a  Friday many years ago as I entered the city. There were crowds everywhere and as I neared the via Dolorosa I heard the sound of the woman weeping and wailing mixed with the shouts of men.I could not see to whom or to what all this emotion was directed, so I pressed in closer to get a better view.

It was then that I saw this large wooden cross that seemed to be dragging itself down the stone covered street surrounded by Roman soldiers. I said to myself "how is it that the cross moves?" Then I saw Him, half hidden by the crossbar a bowed and bloody figure stumbling under its burden. Blood was pooled in his every footprint as He grunted and groaned with His every step. Every part of him I could see was ripped and bruised, His flesh hung in ribbons.

As I detachedly watched, the agonizingly slow procession I was suddenly thrust into the surreal scene when I heard a voice loudly growl "YOU!! YES, YOU! COME HERE AND HELP HIM CARRY HIS LAST BURDEN!" as the soldiers laughed, I hesitated and started to protest, then I thought about running but thought the better of it.
As I approached this poor soul I could feel his pain and anguish, it was weird. I sped up to avoid the lash and arrived at his side just in time as he fell into me placing all his weight and that of the cross on me. I summoned all my strength and somehow kept us both upright.

Just like that, I found myself going from onlooker to the eye of the storm, surrounded by a whirlwind of emotions. As I joined in this obvious death march I was conflicted as I looked upon Priest and Pharisees and other devout men cursing this man yelling "blasphemer!! Crucify him!!" as they spit at us as I now shared in his shame. I thought to myself "my God what has he done to deserve this?"

At that point, he lifted up his eyes to me and I saw tears, not tears of anger or pain but tears of compassion FOR ME!! FOR ME! OF ALL THINGS!  he was concerned for me, even as he was suffering in what was undoubtedly his final moments. He looked at me and never said a word but that look said it all.
He then righted himself and continued on ahead of me leading me and his cross toward Golgotha the hill where hey liked to crucify and leave them hanging to be seen by everyone as an example. He could barely carry his own weight and as we drew nearer stumbled again and again, finally I dragged Him, myself and the cross to the top of the hill.

"OK you can go on your way now!" barked the Centurion as they began to unload the hammers and the nails. They ripped him out of my grasp and though I wanted to turn and run away I reached out to Him and asked "Who are you?" but He did not speak but again I felt his compassion as I finally turned and walked away covered in his blood. One of the soldiers cried out "YOU SHOULD BE HONORED, He CLAIMS TO BE A KING! KING OF THE JEWS!"

As I walked away I tried to wipe his blood from my person but I am glad I was unsuccessful, even though you can't see it anymore it is always there and the man whose name I did not know, three days later rose from the dead, I know Him now as Jesus the Christ my Lord and my Savior.
                     God bless you all, Simon of Cyrene

     I KNOW IT WAS THE BLOOD!   BROTHER DARRELL, A WATCHMAN

THE BUNNY IS WINNING!!: REVISITED

Praise the Lord everybody!! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name, for He alone is worthy. I pray everyone is enjoying the Holy week. I'd like to share with you a post I wrote on last years "resurrection Sunday." I feel the topic is just as important this year, if not more so. So here it is again for those who missed it, or just want to revisit it, God bless.


I began writing this post today, "Easter" Sunday to the world and known as "resurrection" Sunday to most of us Christians because I noticed something different in the spirit this year. Even though I could not get out to Church because of my disability my wife was able to get out to our Church today and she was able to confirm what I had been seeing, and feeling.

The Bunny is winning! Where are all the "Church folk" with all their finery crowding into churches in reverence to the Lord? On a day that the joy of the Lord is usually seen and felt everywhere, there was a distinct lack of fanfare for our "risen" Savior throughout the city and even the nation. I couldn't even find a decent sunrise Resurrection day service on television or cable, but everywhere I looked on T.V. or social media the "Easter Bunny" was leading the charge.

There were Easter egg hunts everywhere including the White House. Commercials about chocolate bunnies and Cadbury Easter eggs were everywhere. Facebook was filled with pictures of children and pets dressed up as bunnies, and a lot were posted by people calling themselves Christians. I asked myself "where are the tributes to the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

Are these the times Jesus was talking about in Matthew 24: 3-14  3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Anyone with eyes can see that we are in the Last days and Jesus said that in those last days, and that "the love of many shall wax cold." Their love for their fellow man and their love for Jesus shall dwindle and is dwindling away and it becomes more evident every day. On the day that celebrates Jesus Christ rise from the grave after dying on a cross for the Sin of mankind, the bunny got more media coverage and more reverence.

In a time when every Christian holiday is being downsized, it is time for Christians to take a stand, especially in the United States of America. The spirit of the anti-Christ is running rampant in America where Christians are trying to blend into the world rather than resisting the world in order to show the world a better way.

Brothers and sisters the bunny is winning and it's time for us to wake up.
          God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall