FAITH HAS A FAMILY!: WHO KNEW?!!

Praise the Lord everybody!! and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!! Like I said in my last post I am looking forward to the coming year, I want more Jesus, 24/7.

I want to share something different with you all to start the year off.
This is a short story about a fictional young boy who is the lead character in a children's book I'm working on, I hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave comments here or on my new face book page, Brother Darrell "speaking OFF the WALL"      


                      FAITH HAD A FAMILY: WHO KNEW?

I remember the first time my mom took me to church. I was about six years old and I was completely fascinated by all the people, the sounds and the colors. People were shouting and singing and then a man in a bright colored robe got up and started shouting at us, for a long time and then went around knocking people out. I remember asking my mom “why is that man in the bath robe knocking people out?” she said “boy, Pastor Richie is not knocking anybody out, it’s God knocking them out in the Spirit.” I thought to myself that can’t be, God is strong and powerful He’d probably kill somebody! Then I looked at the people lying on the floor to see if they were moving. Some had smiles on their face and some were shaking and saying “thank you Jesus!”

Another thing I noticed is that everybody went around calling each other brother and sister so and so and there was a lot of hugging and handshaking going on. I asked “mom! Are we related to all these people?” She said “boy if you don’t hush your mouth while we’re in church, Yes! Yes we are related, we are children of the most high God, we are the family of faith” After that she gave me one of those looks that said “don’t bother me again if you want to live.”

 I just sat there marveling at the number of sisters and brothers I had that I never knew about. From that day forward I looked forward to going to church and hanging out with my new family. They taught me how to sing and praise the Lord. Family members from other churches came and visited us and sometimes we visited them. We had a lot of fun.

 Then one day the man in the robe, the one my mom called “pasta Richie” put some “grease” on my forehead and then hit me so hard up side my head I almost fell over backwards. I said “mom! that ain't no spirit! I knew he was knocking people out!”

 Church was becoming my second home, but one thing still bothered me so I asked my mom, “Mom we’ve been coming hear for about a year, when am I gonna meet Faith?” Mom just looked at me and laughed and said “when you get older you’ll see that faith has been here all along, now hush your mouth.” I just scratched my head.

I hope you all enjoyed this story, I will be sprinkling them in throughout the year, again feel free to leave comments here or on my Face Book page,  Brother Darrell "speaking OFF the wall",

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

GODS NOT GOING TO SPIT ME OUT!!

Praise the Lord everybody and merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!! I pray you are all enjoying this blessed holiday season remembering always that Jesus is the reason for the season.
This is the time of year that we set our goals for the coming year, our New Years resolutions we like to call them. My desire for this coming year is the same as it was last year, I want to be closer to God this year, I want to be more obedient to God than last year and I want to be used by Him more than last year.

Unfortunately for me the Devil has found out these things and is fighting me "tooth and nail" as I strive to overcome my disability and pain in order to serve God. I cannot just be a Sunday go to meeting type Christian who only goes to church on Sunday and basically ignores Christ the rest of the week. I want to be on fire for the Lord all the time. Jesus states in Revelation 3:14-16     14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

I don't want to be a lukewarm Christian because lukewarm Christians are unremarkable and do unremarkable things. Jesus would rather we be hot and zealous in our faith. Cold is better than lukewarm because at least if you are cold God knows where you stand but lukewarm means at one point you were hot and have since waxed cold in your faith and now you are neither hot nor cold and therefore useless to Him.

David knew what It meant to be "hot" for the Lord and he wrote in Psalm 69:3-9 3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

Being on fire for the Lord means being scorned by lukewarm Christians and nonbelievers. Those who don't understand your fire hate your fire. Those who hate God now hate you, those who claim to be Christians with their mouths but who have hidden sin are convicted by your very presence and refuse to use that conviction to change their ways because they love their sin more than they fear God. They will give you nick names like "Deac","Rev"and "preacher" and they use them not out of respect but out of hate and jealousy.

Yet I look forward to these things knowing this is the way that is mapped out by God for those who would pick up their cross and follow Him. Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 4:7-11    8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh
               LET THAT HOLY GHOST FIRE BURN IN YOU
         God bless you All, brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall
                   

THE SABBATH REST AND JESUS CHRIST

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath Praise His holy name! I pray you all are enjoying God’s blessing as much as I am. One of those blessings is God’s peace and rest, which He gifted to us through His son Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Genesis that on the seventh day God rested from His labors and that He blessed it and sanctified it because in it He had rested from all His labors.(Genesis chapt.2) Moses wrote Genesis for the Jewish people after he gave them the law as a way of explaining the law amongst other things.
Exodus 31:16+17  states  16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
This is The Law, The Old Covenant, there is nothing wrong with setting aside a day of rest in honor of what God has done, a day of fellowship and worship. Then comes Jesus the Christ who brought with Him a new Covenant known as the New Testament. Jesus states in Matthew 12:1-8      At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath, He created it, he goes on to state in verse 9-13  9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

Jesus let us know that rules were not more important than people or animals and that it is lawful to do “well” on the Sabbath as well as during the rest of the week. Jesus Christ is our Sabbath rest in the flesh, He who came to save the “lost sheep” and the salvation He afforded them/us was more important then rules. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus states    28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Jesus offers us rest from our burden of sin. He offers us rest in our flesh and rest for our eternal souls. When Jesus had finished His work hanging on the cross for our sins, He said “it is finished” and arose to His “rest” at the right hand of God the father. When we finish our work here on earth for the Lord we will ourselves say it is finished and enter into our eternal rest with Him. When God ordained a day of rest after our labors back in Exodus it was just a precursor to the rest that would come in the form of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let me end with this, Hebrews 4:2-11     2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

My time is well spent so let me just say this, don’t neglect the assembling of yourselves together as the word of God says. Keep the Sabbath, keep it holy,   whatever day that is to you and believe on Jesus, He is our peace and rest.
God Bless you All, Brother Darrell, Speaking off the Wall

ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED?: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!

   

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him because He is worthy to be praised. I am about to embark on a journey through the word of God many refuse to take on their own, they would rather depend on their feelings or on hearsay when it comes down to the question of “once saved always saved.” The whole question of “once saved always saved” boils down to this, can a person accept Christ as his Lord and savior then either backslide into sinful behavior without repentance or never stop such behavior in the first place and still reap the rewards of salvation, the reward being everlasting life with God in Heaven. 

Some might say “why take a chance? Live a repentant Christian life to the best of your ability and stay in fellowship with God. That in part is my view also, but let’s see what the word of God says. Jesus says in Luke 9:62    2 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

He also said in Matthew 7:21- 27  21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Jesus was letting us know that once we have been delivered from sin not to go back to our sinful lifestyle and even then only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of Heaven. God makes salvation available to us, it is up to us to grab hold of it. We don’t have to be perfect but when we fall short of the mark we must repent with Godly sorrow get up and keep on striving. 

Jesus again says in Matthew 24:10-13   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.

It’s not just what you profess that gets you into Heaven but what you live  also. So according to scripture I will say it again, “why take a chance?” Make your salvation sure, live all you can for the Lord while you can. I can go on and on with this but I will end with, 

Hebrews 10:26-31   26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

          God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall
        please check out, Brother Darrell speaking off the wall, on Face Book

HEAR NO EVIL!!

Praise the Lord everybody for He alone is worthy to be praised!! God is a wonder to my soul, He never ceases to amaze me. The key is obedience. God has proven to me over and over again that He knows what's best for me, in all things.  Every time I try to figure out my own way things get tangled up but when God whispers in my ear "do this son" even when it makes no sense, when I am obedient I get blessed.

I'm about to get blessed again because God has put it on my heart to write this third segment of a series called "Hear No Evil." Some of you might ask "where is that in the word of God?" and I would say "?it's in there." In Timothy 4:2-4 God's word states  2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

3 For 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;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Paul also states in Galatians 1:6-9   6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

We have to avoid false prophets and evil doctrine because they are sent by the enemy to lure us away from the truth and from the author of that truth, Jesus Christ. My mother who was raised a Christian and still claims Christ as her Lord and savior has this habit of opening her door for every religious group that knocks on her door and she accepts and then reads their paraphernalia. She does not use the opportunity to evangelize them rather they evangelize her. Now my mother is so confused in her doctrine that she has incorporated something from each one into her beliefs on serving God.

This is why it states in 2nd John verses 10 and 11    10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.  

So when that nice old Jehovah's Witness couple comes to your door either preach the gospel to them or bid them to move on from your door. I know the truth, God has revealed it to me and I don't need to listen to or study any other so called "truths." Our Jobs as Christians are to evangelize not be evangelized, bring light to darkness and not be overtaken by the darkness.

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

         please check out my new face Book page: Brother Darrell Speaking Off The Wall

SPEAK NO EVIL!!

Praise the Lord everybody! because He alone is worthy to be praised!!!! I don't have enough words to describe how I feel as God prepares me for the "stretch run" in these last and evil days. I have received a new anointing, a fresh infilling and a renewed vision. I have sought a closer, stronger and more consecrated relationship with Him and He has granted my request. I have a more obedient spirit and I have cleaned out my spiritual ears so that I can hear when He speaks to me.

In my last post, "See no evil!" I spoke about the eye gate and the importance of keeping it clean and holy. Today I am continuing with what God has been dealing with me about, the power of the tongue. The word of God says in James 3:4-10    4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 

Words have power! Power to uplift and power to tear down. In the body of Christ, it is not unusual to find gossip and backbiting going on. Souls come in broken down with sin and abused by Satan only to be shunned and verbally slapped around by older "established" Christians who make new converts feel like they're going through "hell week" at a college Fraternity. This why God said in His word in Ephesians 4:29-32  29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

We must stop using our mouths to destroy our brothers and sisters in Christ and also stop chasing away new converts and sinners who are searching for deliverance. James 1:19 was correct in saying  19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

We need to take out time to hear from God before we speak into another person's life whenever possible, no emotional rushing to judgment, no quick saying of "doth sayeth the Lord" before we hear the Lord really say it.
Proverbs 6: 16-19 states    16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

So let us be careful not to let any corrupt communication come out of our mouths except that which God has ordained for the chastisement and edification of His people. Let us encourage and not discourage with our conversation, both verbal and nonverbal.

         God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall
   
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SEE NO EVIL!!

Praise the Lord everybody!! Praise Him in the morning! praise Him in the evening!! praise Him when the sun goes down!! because He alone is worthy to be praised! something good is about to happen, something wonderful is in store, I feel it in my bones. God is about to do something special. Bless His holy name!!

Since we stopped watching certain T.V. shows and started spending more quality time in God's presence we have been blessed with more restful sleep. less stress and more joy and less pain. We have a new anointing!!

The word states in 1st John 2:15-17    15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

I had to get real with myself so that I could get real with God. I was caught up in the lust of the eyes which is what the media counts on, they call it the "cliffhanger" or "the hook" their goal is to get the world hooked on their "product." The world says "sex sells" weather it is homo sex, hetero sex, metro sex or extramarital sex. The world also loves the anti-hero, the reprobate, like Walter White from Breaking Bad, Tony Soprano from the Sopranos, both "likable" criminal killers. there's Olivia Pope from Scandal, Cookie and Luscious Lyons from Empire and Annalise Keating from How To Getaway With Murder, all dysfunctional people who have no problem lying, robbing or killing to get their way just to name a few.

These are the people the world wants us to idolize.  These are the shows and characters we can't wait to watch and talk about week after week. Not to mention the onslaught of Homosexual couples that are now featured on just about every show. It's time we open our spiritual eyes and see what the enemy is trying to do.  How do we protect our eye gate? Where do we turn for entertainment? I remember to whom I used to turn,  who held my attention just like an episode of Law And Order SVU does today. Jesus Christ.

I am not the Man of God I could be, or even used to be because my eyes have wondered from the prize and now I have to repair the damage that has been done through my "eye gate" over the years. Job said in Job 31:1   I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

I am making a new covenant with my eyes, not to watch the unclean thing or shows with no redeeming value at all. In this multi media age it's not easy to consecrate your eyes but with God's help, I'm going to try. If I follow His instructions how can I fail?

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