"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD..."

Praise the Lord everybody fore He is worthy to be praised! I love the Lord and I love His word, I stand on it and try to live by it each and everyday and I have not been disappointed in it's power and wisdom. That is why it bothers me when people question Gods word and it's authority. The following is a little something God inspired me to write.

Galatians 1:10-12  10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. 


Whenever I am witnessing I hear this all the time, “men wrote the bible” or “the bible was changed by men to fit their purposes.” Paul had to address the same accusations from the Galatians. People then and today don’t want to hear the truth. They want to soften Gods word by saying “God never said that! Men just put that in there because it was a popular idea at the time of the crusades.” A lot of homosexuals said that about scripture condemning homosexuality. The truth of the matter is, yes, homosexuality was an accepted practice among men pretty much since the beginning of time, especially during the time of the Roman Empire. So was prostitution, human sacrifice and a plethora of other unseemly practices,They were called SIN, by God and He Spoke against sin from the very beginning when Adam and Eve committed the first one allowing sin to enter the world.

 Even before God Gave Moses the law He Gave man a since of right and wrong, a conscience, that’s how Joseph knew to run and not sleep with Potithars wife. I’m sure back then just as today there were plenty of men who would have gladly taken his place.

 Today We believers have more than just a conscience we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, leading us into all truth. Paul said “we have the mind of Christ”So I say to you “who is making up what?” Next time a non believer tells you that Man made up the bible; just hold your head high and say “all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2nd Timothy 3:16) “ Gods word also says in 1st Corinthians 1: 17-19  17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

God said it and I believe it. "Let God be true and every man a liar.”
                            God Bess you.  Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall                                                                                                                                                                                    

SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED!!

Praise the Lord because He alone is worthy to be praised. God has truly been good to me and my wife who just got out of the hospital this past week. She is feeling much better but still has some issues that we need God to handle and heal for her. In this house we serve and trust the Lord! So as we wait on Him we will yet praise him. The following post is straight from the heart of God and really gave me pause, I am sure it will do the same for you.


Hebrews 12: 25-27       25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Twelve years ago on September eleventh 2001 terrorist attacked the world trade center in New York and the world’s financial center and the symbol of capitalism in America came tumbling down. It was a catastrophe of biblical proportions. The people of this country were shaken; they flocked to churches across the Nation seeking answers from the same God they were previously trying to turn their backs on by taking prayer out of schools and the Ten Commandments off the walls of its court rooms. A country where at one time on Sundays super markets and malls were closed and “blue laws” were in effect and people flocked to churches, now it is a place where Sundays are wide open and God has to compete with two for one sales, sports and liquor sales to get people into his church on Sundays. But for one short period that all changed, people were hurting and turned to God for answers.

 They came, some for the first time, some were coming back after leaving the church for various reasons. They appeared to be earnestly seeking answers and they were earnest in their attempts to find answers, but were they earnest in their attempts to find God for those answers?

All you have to do is look around you when you go to church these days to see that the answer is no. The same churches that were full after 9/11 are now half empty. The people who went looking for answers left out one important thing “seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” They forgot to seek God. Instead they sought answers that made since to their carnal minds and rejected sound doctrine. The bible talks about the word of God being spiritual and that only the spiritual can understand it. How do we become spiritual? We first must repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, and then His spirit will come and live in us and lead us into all truth.

9/11 shook a lot of people up but it did not stir up their hearts enough for them to truly seek God and to realize they needed a savior most of all.  They were shaken by 9/11 but not stirred enough to put pride and intellect aside so that God could truly come into their lives. So in the short time they did go to church, Gods word was not able to take root in the fallow ground of their hearts and the cares of this world washed it away and the people did not know who to blame and fell away from fellowship.

 It is not all their fault. Though they blame God and even deny His existence in some cases the church, yes the body of Christ has to take some of the blame. People hurting, confused and afraid walked into churches all over the country and were greeted with pastors preaching faith and prosperity and members with no power and living like the world. There were no peculiar people, nobody trying to live holy or teaching about living holy. So multitudes of new comers came in looked around and came to the conclusion that Jesus is not the answer. What a shame.

We Christians should have been stirred up by the opportunity we had in front of us and many were, but we failed in our presentation and in other cases our testimonies did not stand up to scrutiny. We are Christ’s representatives here on Earth; let us always remember to walk according to our calling in Christ Jesus. Let us prepare ourselves so that next time God shakes our world we will be able stir those who come looking for answers and at the same time allow God to stir up our gifts so He can use us to touch and change people’s hearts. God Bless You All
                                 Brother Darrell, Speaking Off the Wall

GETTING "HIGH" ON THE "MIGHTY"

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!! "Though He slay me yet will I praise Him" I may be in the valley right now but God is with me every step of the way. His rod and staff comfort me and He lets me know everything is going to be alright. Sometimes you have to look back at who God has been in your life and where He has brought you from. Thinking on that is when God led me to the following scripture and post.



   Obadiah 3+4                 3) "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground?" 4)”Though you soar like the Eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down; declares the Lord.”

The bible says “Pride goeth before a fall” And for good reason. There are a lot of people, in the body and out, who are going around trusting in anything but God. Their faith is in created things and not the creator. They believe in wealth, to them money is power. They hire body guards and put in expensive security systems and live in tall buildings and they say “I am safe, who can touch me here?” But the bible says in 1st Cor. 10: 12  "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall"

 There was a time when I counted myself among the “high and the mighty”, there I was, college educated, a professional Registered Nurse. I had made it I thought to myself, I have reached the promised land, “who can stop me?” I thought to myself. To make matters worse I counted myself a Christian, a disciple of Christ. Yes I had a drug problem that I was depending on God to help me with, but for everything else I was set, after all I had my degree, my License, they would surely open up any doors I needed opened and provide finances for whatever material things I would need. I did not need God for these things I believed at the time. I was my own man or so I thought.

God has a way of getting your attention and letting you know who’s in charge. He closed doors no college degree or R.N. license could open. No gift of gab or sparkling personality can get you a job that He does not want you to have. I learned that the hard way but it was a good lesson to learn. The word says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” it also says “The Earth is the Lords and the fullness there of.”once we learn to let God take control of our lives and trust that He “can do exceedingly and abundantly better than we can ever hope for or ask” we can rest in peace in Him, once I learned that, doors began to open again but not because of me but because it was His will.

Let us stop putting our trust in ourselves and other created things and put our trust in the creator of all things. Now I'm "high" on the Holy Ghost and "mighty" through God, Amen.
                     God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

RUNNING ON EMPTY!!:

Praise the Lord everybody! fore He is worthy to be praised! I pray everybody is enjoying Gods blessing. My wife and I continue to be attacked in our bodies and our finances but we remain steadfast in our faith as we wait and watch what God is doing, and He is moving concerning our relationship with Him. The following is  something God gave me that ties in with my last post "Stay IN JERUSALEM" I pray it blesses you and opens your eyes as it did mine.


              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 through out 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 with one accord. The power of being with 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 with one accord they received that power and they went on to shake up the world. The reason the Christian Church is no longer shaking up the world is because there is no power in the church anymore, we are no longer acting as one. We are separated by doctrine, race and religious rituals. When was the last time neighborhood churches truly fellow shipped 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 can not possibly be yoked together with “THEM”.

 We can’t even come together with 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 into the house of prayer. Once inside we Question Gods authority, the authority God put in place to run His  church and bring forth His vision. There is 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 with 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, other wise 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 with one accord and watch the power of God Flow.

                God Bless you all. Brother Darrell, Speaking off the wall
     

STAY IN JERUSALEM!

Praise the Lord! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name! I love the Lord and what He's doing in my life right now. He is bringing me closer to Him, reeling me in like a fish on a hook, bringing back to the relationship we once had back when I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away. A time when it was all Jesus all the time. I immersed myself in his presence and I wanted to know all about Him.

I am returning to my first love and He has told me to stand still and wait on Him because something is about to happen just like He told the Disciples right before his ascension into heaven written about in Act chapter one.

ACTS 1:3-5(NIV) STATES  3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Right now I am waiting in "Jerusalem" my Jerusalem. I'm sure just like it is for me right now Jerusalem was not a comfortable place to be for the Disciples, they were being hunted and persecuted. They were in hiding and meeting in secret and just like them I have been tempted to run away, run away from my calling, my detractors and the haters of Holiness but I like them am going to wait on the promise of God.

The word says "God is not slack concerning His promise..."(2nd Peter 3:9) or His promises for that matter. The promises He made to me concerning ministry and healing as long as I am obedient and stay in my Jerusalem and wait for it are for me. No matter the tricks and fiery darts of the enemy trying to get me to move on I will believe God. The promises of God are yea and Amen according to His word and I'm standing on that. I am tired of "leaving Jerusalem" just before my blessing comes, turning back when it was waiting for me around the next corner.

 We know The Disciples were rewarded for their obedience with the baptism of the Holy spirit. If God told you to "Stay in Jerusalem and wait on what was promised" STAY AND WAIT! Tell yourself "I'm not leaving come what may, through the storm, through the rain, through sickness and through pain, I'm waiting on Him.

Lamentations 3:24-26 states    24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

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

GET UP AND HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS!!

Praise the Lord, everybody, because He is worthy to be praised!!! I pray everyone is enjoying Gods blessing. God is doing a new thing in my life each and every day it seems. My wife and I are at this point living from day to day by faith and loving it, just waiting on Him for our daily bread.

A little while ago while I sat wondering why God was allowing all these trials to come our way He brought me to the book of Joshua chapter 10. I read the first nine verses about the defeat of Israel's army at Ai and how distraught Joshua was and how he fasted and prayed to ask God "why" and this is what He answered, Joshua 10:10-12 10 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?

11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

Have you ever found yourself going through something and you're not getting the victory you expected over the situation, so you start fasting, praying and then crying out to God. After a while, you begin to think your prayers are not getting through and then God says to you what He basically said to Joshua " get up and handle your business, there's sin in the camp!"

All the praying and fasting in the world can't help, Joshua had to get up and deal with the sin. I began to check myself for sins. Sins like drug abuse, adultery, stealing etc. are easy to identify but as was the case with Achan some are hidden away and not obvious to others and often justified in the eyes of the sinner. I found myself to have been disobedient on a number of occasions when I heard God speak and did not carry out what I was assigned to do. This is rebellion and Gods word says "rebellion" is as the sin of "witchcraft" and "stubbornness" is as "iniquity and idolatry", I had to change, I claim I know His voice so then I must be obedient when He speaks. There is no justification for disobedience. Thanks be to God I don't have to do to myself what Joshua had to do to Achan and his family, I just have purposed in my heart to be obedient and I have asked God to help me with this.

The body of Christ in America finds itself having this same problem. Every time something happens in this country that knocks us out of our comfort zone, like 9/11 or Katrina we turn to God in droves. Years later we find ourselves still caught up in the war on terrorism and the weather is more unpredictable than ever. sexual immorality is the new normal and We seek God for answers and it seems like He's not listening. The Church the moral compass of this country is ineffective, THERE IS SIN IN THE CAMP and God is saying "GET UP AND HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS!"

. The Church in America has lost its way. We have compromised and politically corrected ourselves to the point where Gods word is so watered down that what we teach and preach is at times borderline sin at best and heretical at least. We need to stop trying to simulate the world and start assimilating the world for Christ. We’ve got to get back to sound doctrine and stand flat-footed against the winds of change and the Anti-Christ spirit that is growing in this country. Let’s get back to calling sin what it is, SIN, and root it out of the Church.

We are the Church, so we must each examine ourselves and recognize our sins, by the way, disobedience is not the only thing I found in my life but with Gods help they are no longer in my "camp" I put them on the altar to be burned by Holy Ghost fire. So get up handle your business and be effective for God.

              God bless you all, Brother Darrell, speaking off the wall        

  

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, MEAN WHAT YOU SAY!!

Praise the Lord everybody because He is worthy to be praised! I'm walking in victory, hallelujah!! Back in the day there was this hit song called "walking in rhythm" a big R+B hit we used to groove to, but now I'm walking in victory and loving it. Everyday my goal is to walk in rhythm with the Holy Spirit of God. Today I can say that my conscience is clear between myself and God and myself and Man, what a great feeling.

A while back God began to deal with me about something that I'd like to share with you all today. He asked me one day "who are you seeking to please?" A simple question that I could not answer truthfully without admitting that at the time I was a people pleaser.
Galatians 1:10(NIV) STATES, 10) Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Apostle Paul was definitely not a people pleaser.

There are too many people pleaser's in the body of Christ, I know because again I was once counted among that number. God began to deal with me over ten years ago concerning this. I found myself on many occasions sitting around with non-believers nodding my head in agreement with them about things that I knew I did not agree with and God did not agree with, from adultery and fornication to stealing and lying. and not standing up for what I really believed, just to fit in with the group. Then I would go home angry with myself because I let them believe I agreed with them when I did not.

 Peer pressure, loneliness and low self esteem are terrible things and have no place in the body of Christ. How can we give the proper witness to non-believers if we are not able to stand up and proclaim what we believe in. I should have declared my faith in Jesus Christ and been a bold witness for Christ.

 We can’t try and please man and serve God, It won’t work. We must as believers stand on Gods word, say what we mean and mean what we say and in this way we can please and serve God, and at the same time influence men to follow us as we follow Christ. Now When the conversation turns to fornication, porno, adultery etc. I excuse myself from the conversation and I tell them why, I no longer contribute to the negativity by being passive, now I bring a positive to the negative, light to the darkness.

Next time you find yourself passively condoning sinful behavior, open your mouth and declare who's you are and whom you serve!
            God bless you all, Brother Darrell, speaking off the wall