ROLLING IN THE DEEP : OURS IS NOT TO QUESTION WHY

Praise the Lord everybody! because He alone is worthy to be praised! I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing. God has blessed me these last few days, after months of sciatica pain to the point where I could not sit up to eat. The pain is sixty percent better and I can actually get up and walk around and exercise a little. Praise the living God! My legs are a little weak after months of inactivity and weight gain but I have begun to rehab them now by God's grace.

I am still having to fight for my home and my pension, my wife is still ill with an undiagnosed illness and still needs insurance and Disability to come through but our faith and trust remains in the Lord. When everyone including my wife thought I should go to the hospital I knew it was only a matter of time before God would raise me up off my bed of affliction. Hallelujah!!

I have in the last three years been faced with many afflictions, trials and tribulations, Some were brought on by myself. There is a price to be paid to earn God's trust in ministry and there is a price to be paid for disobedience. I am paying for both. Like Jonah there were assignments given me that I did not finish and some I did not start. There were doors opened I did not enter and doors closed I tried to go through. There were gifts given and ministries ordained. I like Jonah even in my chastening remembered the Lord chastens those He loves and I like Jonah cried out to the Lord.

Jonah 2: 1-9
Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,

2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.

7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord

I know what it is like to be cast into the deep because of my own shortcomings. Then swallowed up by situations beyond my control. I know how it feels to have your friends and family start to look at you funny because they cannot comprehend how or why God has allowed these things to happen to you. Yet my hope and my trust remains in Him. I know I can call upon Him and He will hear me. I do not ask Why this has happened but ask "What must I do on my part?" and He instructs me and guides me and leads me out of the deep.

When God plants my feet back on solid ground I am a stronger, wiser man with a testimony that is even stronger than ever. When things were at their worst and it looked like I might need back surgery or worse I consecrated unto the Lord. I asked Him to heal me one more time and if He did, this time I would do my part and take better care of my body through diet and most importantly proper exercise to strengthen my legs and back. Since then my back is sixty percent better and improving every day and His spirit has led me to find some new sciatica exercises on line that have been a great help, God is faithful!

I am looking forward to going to church next week and being back in the thick of things where God wants me to be, better equipped and ready to do battle.
Next time you find yourself Rolling in the deep remember the words of Jonah, cry loud and don't ask why, ask "What would you have me do Lord?"

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

CHURCH OR JESUS FACTORY: ARE WE MASS PRODUCING CHRISTIANITY?

Praise the Lord everybody! He alone is worthy to be praised! I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing, I know I am no matter how many times the enemy says I am not. The enemy is trying to strip me of health, wealth and even the roof over my head but I know God still has my back. He is allowing these things for a reason. God will and has given me the strength to make it through this and whatever else might come my way.

The other night God had me up in the middle of the night praying and as usual He began to speak to my spirit saying "Christianity is not a product!" and he began to make it clear to me that we the Church must stop treating Christ and Christianity as a commodity, something that can be prepackaged, branded and advertised on T.V. and in magazines with Preachers as pitchmen and celebrity endorsers. It cannot be mass produced, but is based on a series of one on one relationships with the ultimate relationship being the one with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of Acts chronicles the history of the Church and it's formation and breaks down these relationships in Acts chapter 2 verses 36 - 47   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.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
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,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Preacher, perspective convert, new convert, Pastor and Brothers and sisters in Christ we all must know, trust and fellowship and grow together through our personal relationships with Christ and each other. The word of God also says in 1st Thessalonians 5:12, 13 12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

Brothers and Sisters do we want to be estranged dysfunctional family members or do we want to KNOW one another and not just in name only. The early church pulled together in love, breaking bread from home to home sharing one with another. It's not about Filling mega churches and stadiums where no one knows anybody. God is calling us into fellowship with Him and each other. Jesus said we will be known by our "love one for another". We need to stop mega-plying and self aggrandizing and start esteeming others over ourselves and sharing the love of Christ. Churches are not private clubs! In God's house anyone can find a friend.
            God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall 

THE HANDS OF A FISHERMAN

Praise the Lord everybody! because He alone is worthy to be praised!! I truly pray that everyone is enjoying God's blessing. The last few days have been good for me because my sciatica is starting to show some improvement and I'm believing God that I'll be able to go to church before the month is out. IN JESUS NAME!!
 I was meditating today on something Pastor Green(First Church of Christ Holiness) posted today on Facebook about Christian Soldiers and those who would pose as Soldiers in the army of the Lord. This is my favorite analogy of who we Christians are and I have many early post that attest to that. Then I began to think of another analogy that Christ Himself used in Matthew 4:18-19 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  

We are not only soldiers in the Army of God but we are also called to be Fishers of men. In order to build an army, you must go out and recruit. When I think about fishermen back then I think of strong, rugged types, hard-working men with big strong hands, gnarly and scarred from hauling up nets and wrestling with fish all day at times to bring them in, and Sometimes they would have to launch out into the deep waters where other men feared to tread to make their catch. That's also how I see Fishers of men. This is not for the wimpy, in the natural or in the spirit.

There is not a lot real fishing going on these days. Megachurches are just like today's mega fishing boats that just sail out to a spot and just suck up hundreds, thousands of fish at a time and process, package and freeze them all before reaching shore. Today's churches just invite everyone to come up and be "saved" walk them through a prayer, give them some literature and slap the label "Christian" on them and send them on their way. Where are the gnarled, scarred hands from doing the work of discipleship, launching out into the deep to pull in the deep running fish like addicts, alcoholics and the homeless? those who have nothing to tithe but still need Jesus and His cleansing life-changing word. Jesus told his Disciples in John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 

Are today's churches just large processing plants turning out canned or prepackaged Christianity? Once the meeting is over and everyone starts heading there own way who is making sure the new convert is alright and comfortable with what just happened? Who is reaching out? When is the fisherman through with his catch? He has to keep them fresh and viable until they are ready to be sold at market.
We must prepare our "catch" for the market, the world market where they will be seen and observed. The well prepared go on to bring in there own "catch" because what they have is appealing to those in the world who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness.

The hands of Fishers of Men should not soft from lack of work or effort but the bumps, the bruises, and the callouses should be soothed by the Balm of Gilead, the love of Jesus Christ. The job of the fisherman just like the hands of a fisherman is rough but what we do for God is nothing in comparison to what He has done, doing and will do for us.

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

IT MAY BE DARK BUT I STILL SEE JESUS!!: REVISITED

Praise the Lord everybody! I pray you all are enjoying God's blessing. I must admit that I and my wife are going through what some might call a dark time. Not so much in our marriage as it is in our everyday lives. The trials and the hindrances we face now are approaching biblical proportions, any day I expect Moses to come knocking on my door crying "let my people go!" The light is flickering at the end of the tunnel. It may be dark  but I can still see Jesus and that's enough for me.

I wrote the above and the following paragraphs two years ago and I must say in the physical realm nothing has changed but in the spiritual God has used these trials to stretch out our faith to another level. I must say I am not the man I was before these trials and that encouraged me to revisit this post and see where God has brought me from and if you are experiencing the same things I pray it blesses you. BACK TO THE POST:

It is my faith that keeps me putting one foot in front of the other. Faith gets me out of bed and into the shower and starts me on my way, to make matters worst my wife and I have to endure this trial apart from each other having to combine our faith by long distance. Right now it's just me and God holding things down here at home. Sometimes I think of what Paul wrote in 1st Peter 4: 12+13
¹² Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
¹³ But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I Start to meditate on this and I stand up a little taller, then I think about Psalm 30:4,5,6
⁴ Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
⁶ And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

As I meditate on these verses I begin to smile "In his favour is Life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning and In my prosperity I said I shall not be moved"Praise God! you might say "what favour? what prosperity? your in the middle of a fiery trial." But I am reminded of whose I am and who I serve, I have favour because I am covered in the blood of Jesus and that makes me a son of God from that comes my prosperity, I am a joint heir with Christ and in that I will not be moved! I then begin to think of Gods grace, the grace He gives us so that we can stand during these times of tribulation. Romans 5: 1-4 states

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

² By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
³ And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

This is just another experience, something I can look back on and use as a testimony to the power of God. It's part of that amazing grace we have through faith in God. My trial by this time is now whittled down from a mountain to a mole hill and I can now see over it into the valley. I see times of refreshing and a peace begins to overtake me, Jesus said in John 16:33
³³ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Praise the Lord! by now my mood has changed, I have encouraged myself through God's word. and I'm ready to stand firm one more day as I wait on Him to deliver me out of this trial.
Remember there is no place so dark no light can be found, you just have to look.

                     God bless you, Brother Darrell, A Watchman
PS: I may be still going through the trial, still basically home bound and bed ridden again after a season of improvement physicaly but the light of Jesus still lights my way, God bless

THE DEVIL WANTS ME DOWN: BUT MY SHIFT AIN'T OVER!!!

Praise the Lord everybody! He is truly worthy to be praised!! I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing. This is Revival week at my church and I hear God is doing amazing things for His people. Unfortunately I am still laid up with a bad case of sciatica and have been missing all the fun. It has been almost two months since I was last in church. At times I feel myself getting a little frustrated and then the Enemy tries to come in and talk me down off the wall.

You see even though I am down physically spiritually speaking I am still up on the wall, on my watch, I am a Watchman. For those who don't know it most of your cities in biblical times were surrounded by high walls for protection and on those walls they had walkways. The watchman would walk those walls and keep watch over the city, inside and outside the walls, every hour or so he would announce what time it was, make pronouncements from the King and if all was well or not.

The wall I am on is not contained in a building because God and his people are not contained or constrained to a building. As I stand my watch, seeing things through God's eyes, (see Psalms 32:8) and speaking what He wants and writing what He gives me to write even as my own life is full of trials and tribulations the enemy of our souls is near by urging me to "come down from the wall, take a break and focus on yourself and your troubles."

The devil is always trying to make God's people "come down" to his level. In Nehemiah 6: 1-4 the enemy comes and tries to talk him down.1) Now it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. 

Nehemiah recognized the enemy and did not fall for his deception or the "okey doke" as we used to say back in the day. The enemy tried to talk Jesus down twice, once in Matthew 4:5-75 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 
Then again in Matthew 27: 39-42  39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Like Nehemiah and Jesus I am not going to be talked down by the enemy! Jesus did not come down off that cross and I'm not coming down off this wall. Come what may I have been called up on this wall by God and the devil might want me down but I'm letting him know "I'm working for the Lord and my shift ain't over!" Through the storm and through the rain, through sickness and through pain I am going to serve Him till He calls me down to say "well done".

 The next time the Devil calls out to you "come on down the water is fine" remember there is no water in hell! Stay on the job till your shift is over!

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

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

Praise the Lord everybody! because He alone is worthy! I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing. I am still in my Job phase it seems, still awaiting that period of refreshing that I know is coming. It has now been three weeks since I was last able to attend church service or go anywhere for that matter due to snow storms and sciatica pain. Add to that the fact that my wife and I have had trials in our finances and trials concerning our health that seem to have no end in sight.

God has been the constant in our lives as we strive to serve and obey Him as He pushes us to another level in Him. I also thank God for our Pastor, Johnnie Green and our church, First Church of Christ Holiness in Harlem N.Y.C.

David said in Psalm 73: 1-3   Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.

2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Like David my feet had almost slipped, slipped off the "Rock" on which my feet were planted as I took my eyes off myself and what God was doing in me to look around at the "prosperity of the wicked." The enemy whispered in my ear "why strive to live Holy and suffer while the unholy prosper while serving no one but themselves? go ahead he said lie on those forms, you need that money, you know the system is not set up to help disabled married couples" I struggled for a moment, my heart wanted to faint and my flesh wanted to give up but then I remembered verses 26-28  26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. 

I felt like Job must have felt when God smacked him back to reality and said to him in Job 38,  3 "Gird up now thy loins like a man...," "This is not a walk for the faint of heart!" I could hear it reverberating through my spirit. So I began to "Gird up" with His word. Isaiah talks about a time such as this in chapter 40 verses 30-33 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Jonah said in chapter 2 verse 77 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
I have remembered the Lord and His promises and His Deeds of old on my behalf and I grabbed hold of them and Pulled myself up to my feet with them. I then looked past the obstacles in my way and saw the finish line. I like the way Paul said it in
2nd Corinthians 4:15-17  15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  

With my life girded about with the truth of God's word I will not be shaken!
Whenever this walk has you feeling "faint" Gird yourself and trust God.

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

THE BATHROOM DOESN'T LIE!!

Praise the Lord everybody! because He alone is worthy to be praised! I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing. So far the year 2014 has had an up and down start. snow storms and very painful Sciatica have caused me to miss the last two weeks of Church and my back is progressing slowly. God is moving at First Church in a powerful way and I can feel it even here at home and I long to be apart of it. Because of our infirmities my wife and I try and spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation.

Jesus said in Matthew 6: 5-7   5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

In my home the "Prayer Closet" is the bathroom. We didn't choose it, God chose it. I always knew there was something special about the bathroom, things seemed so much clearer, problem solving so much easier and there was that still small voice that spoke to me there. Still I did not fully put it all together until my Wife moved in with me. One day she said to me "Wow! did you know your bathroom is anointed?" Confirmation! then it all made sense to me, the bathroom was the prayer closet! God was meeting us there.

Once I realized that still small voice of wisdom I'd been hearing in there was God and not me I began to listen more intently and was more obedient to what I was instructed to do. I began to trust that voice, to trust God. His voice always speaks truth and The results were immediate. I began to speak "what thus saith the Lord" without fear of consequences or rejection. Gods word says "My sheep know my voice and a stranger they will not follow" now when I hear that voice I listen and obey. I am His, a sheep in His pasture, I'm not saying I'm perfect but I am striving.

Find your prayer closet, commune with God and have an obedient spirit. Do these things and you can't go wrong. In my home we know the "Bathroom" never lies.
                 God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall