“IF ONLY YOU KNEW!”
John 4:10 – Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you
and who you are speaking to, you would ask me,
and I would give you living water.”
Jesus left Judea, and departed again into Galilee because He must go through Samaria. Why did Jesus need to through Samaria? Because there was a divine hookup that was predetermined to happen at Joseph’s Well. A Samaritan woman needed to have an encounter with the Messiah. It was necessary for Jesus to go through Samaria because it was specifically for this woman’s liberation! Let’s see what happens.
SHE AVOIDS THE MESS (V.6-7)
We all know HERstory! She was the talk of the town! Had been married five times, and was living with a man who was not her husband! You could find her story on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok and Threads. She was ashamed, embarrassed and uncomfortable being around all the other “so-called” respectable women. She didn’t feel worthy or valuable enough to even be in their presence at a public place. So, she waited until she knew they all had come and gone before she went to draw her own water. To avoid the looks, the murmuring and whispers, she decided it was best to simply wait before she came to get what she needed. But on this day, it was meant that she be there alone to receive something she had never had before, and something that she needed but did not know she needed it! What are you in need of today? Oh, but if only you knew...
SHE ANSWERS THE MAN (V.9)
She was not only a Samaritan, but she was a woman! Leave it to the Radical Redeemer to break through barriers and opposition to reach the unreached, teach the untaught and save the unsought! Jesus is the one who opens and concludes their conversation! We already know the Samaritan woman would never have initiated a conversation with a Jewish man. But Jesus was on assignment! There are several things that take place in the conversation that cause her confusion. First, a Jewish man speaks to her. Second, she realizes that as He asks her for water, He himself has nothing to draw from. Not only does He ask her for water, but then He tells her that He has living water to offer her! Jesus is speaking of the new life that He will give; a life connected with the activity of the Spirit. What is your response to Jesus’ offer? If only you knew …
SHE ACKNOWLEDGES THE MESSIAH (V.19)
God’s Word has an undeniable way of making you look at yourself and seeing where you have come from, where you are now and where you need to be in the future! She is engaged in a one-on-one with the Master! A man who knows everything about her past, present and her future! A man who knows things that she has never ever uttered to anyone else! Things that not even one of her five husbands was privy to! But He still needed to talk with her. Notice how Jesus met her at her point of need! He knew all about her marital status and confronted her about it. Once she was confronted and the truth was laid out before her, she was convicted but was afforded an opportunity to confess her fault to the one man who would never hold it against her. The one man who would love her to death. The one man who could look beyond all her faults and see her need! Then she was able to see clearly and recognize that she was not just talking to a mere Jewish man, but she was talking to a Prophet, the one man who had the power to save her from her sins!
If only you knew the Messiah Jesus who is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you of all your unrighteousness! If only you knew the Master who can save from the gutter most to the uttermost! If only you knew that He loves you so much despite everything you’ve ever done in your life! He doesn’t care about where you’ve been. He’s only concerned about where you’re going! It makes Him no difference who you were because His focus now is on who you will become in Him! If only you knew who He was, you would not hesitate to drink from the living water that only Jesus can offer you and you will never thirst again! If only you knew …
BBLESSED! ABOUNDING LOVE BIBLE MINISTRY © 2023
DON’T STOP!
I Corinthian 15:58 – So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.
Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
Whatever God has called you to do in this season, be about it, don’t just talk about it! If He chose you, He formed you and He filled you to perform what He wills in your life. The enemy will slither his way into any opening and crevice he can find and try his best to thwart the vision God has given you. He is cunning, crafty and calculating and if he can’t get you one way, he will return with a new trick up his sleeve! He is a liar and a deceiver. And he will use those close to you to distract you, detain you and deny you of what God has promised you.
During the month of “Supernatural” September, guard your eye gates and your ear gates against naysayers, pessimists, and opponents. Things you know God has called you to do that may not have manifested yet, the enemy will use that against you and begin to plant seeds of doubt, discord and disdain. Your faith may waiver and your patience may pause, but hold on tight and don’t let go. (Philippians 1:6) – And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Have you ever noticed when you are doing something great for God, the adversary always shows up and tries to give you a reason to stop what you’re doing! It may be lack of money, lack of support, lack of time, lack of opportunities! Whatever he can muster up to keep you fearful and fretful, he will do it every time. You my brother and sister are a child of the Most High God! It doesn’t matter what anyone says to you or about you, it ain’t over until God says its over. Press your way! Don’t give up. Don’t give out. Don’t give in. You will win! You will reach the mark.
Here are a few reasons to continue and not stop:
- The race is not given to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but to the one who endures to the end.
- Do not be weary in well doing in due season you shall reap if you faint not.
- Wait on the Lord and he will strengthen your heart.
- Work while it is day for when night comes, no man can work.
- Only what you do for Christ will last.
Nothing you do for God goes unnoticed! He sees, He knows, He cares. Let me encourage you on today. Just do it. Do it cheerfully, enthusiastically, sincerely, earnestly, decently, joyfully, generously and boldly! Stay on the wall until it is finished! Be strong and immovable, like a tree that’s planted by the waters that cannot be moved! God’s got you!
Don’t stop!
BBLESSED!
ABOUNDING LOVE BIBLE MINISTRY © 2023
DON’T WORRY, IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN!
Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: What is the definition of “confident”? Confident is having full belief, trusting, relying, fully assured. Has God given you an assignment to fulfill and it has yet to manifest?
Has He shown you a vision of something greater than yourself and you have been waiting and waiting for it to come to pass? Do you feel like everyone else is accomplishing phenomenal things and you are still on the sideline watching everyone else? Has the enemy begun to tip toe in your mind and plant seeds of doubt that what God showed you will never happen? If that’s you, YOU are the person I need to talk to.
Listen, God is not a man that He should lie. If He said it, it shall be! You must trust and believe and walk by faith and not by sight. Can I be transparent with you? I have been waiting since 2011 for a vision that God gave me to come to fruition. I never let the vision die. I kept it burning in my heart. I kept believing, praying, hoping and trusting in the God who can do exceeding abundantly above all I could ask or think according to the power that worketh in me! I have no doubt in my mind that He called me to this work. My entire life’s course has led me to this place and space filled with lived experiences, teaching and observation .I have come to the realization that things will happen only in God’s timing. I thought I was ready, but there were some tests and trials and troubles I had to encounter that would ultimately bring me to another level of wisdom and discernment needed for the assignment. I tried before to do it on my own and did not do very well. Yes, I was disappointed when I thought I had failed, and it would never be. I stopped doing the things to keep moving forward because I had fallen into a pit of hopelessness and helplessness. But I was provoked into action when my daughter said, “You keep talking about it, but what are you doing about it?” That let me know that my children were l listening and watching. So how could I be on their case to finish something, if I was not doing the same?
I was reminded that sometimes, God must remove what we have, to bless us with what He wants for us. So, I relinquished the wheel and allowed God to take total control. And just in case you did not know, God does all things well! When I moved out of the way, God was able to do what needed to be done. He reformed, reshaped, restructured, reconfigured, renewed, repositioned and repurposed the very thing He told me to do, and showed me what progress and success would look like for the assignment He gave me. Many prayers have been prayed. Many doors have opened. Many alliances have been made. Many opportunities have been presented and many lives have been impacted as we stepped out on Faith. Our borders have enlarged immensely, our territory has
greatly increased, and our reach has vastly broadened.
Yes, I could have given up, given in and given out, but I know without a doubt what God showed me. I have unwavering and unstoppable faith to believe that He who has begun a good work in me will perform it! So let me encourage you. Hold on to the very thing you know God has called you to. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Don’t worry; it’s going to happen!
BBLESSED!
ABOUNDING LOVE BIBLE MINISTRY © 2023
“HE CAN DO IT SUDDENLY!”
Isaiah 48:3 – I have declared the former things from the
beginning; and they went forth out of My mouth,
and I shewed them; I DID THEM SUDDENLY,
and they CAME TO PASS.”
The Lord says, “Enter into his season of suddenly.” What does “suddenly” look like in the life of a believer? Macmillan Dictionary defines it as happening or done quickly, immediately, without delay, at once. In other words, sooner than right now, and faster than immediately!
Is there something that God has spoken over your life? Something He’s called you to and you have yet to see it manifested? Is there a dream, a vision, a ministry, a business, a book, a music project, a playwright, financial freedom, a career, a life that has burning constantly in the etches of your reality? If you answered, “YES”, get ready for acceleration! Learn how to be content in the waiting. Waiting is the portal to arriving. You’ve got to go from here to there! No matter how long it seems, trust that God can do it suddenly!
Daniel 10:12 – Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. Let me suggest on today, that you’ve got to speak it until you see it. It can be seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years. But if God deposited that very thing in you, he will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Once you surrender your will and your desires to align with the will and desires of God, it will come to pass.
Understand, you were a thought in God’s mind before you became a creation in His hand! He laid out the blueprint for your life even before you breathed life! He made you in His image and in His likeness. He formed you and he filled you with praise, purpose, passion, and power! Yes, the power of the Holy Spirit which will allow Him to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. They are as far as the East is from the West!
Can I share something with you, in the last few months, I’ve seen God work as never before! Visions that have been simmering on the fleshly tablets of my mind and taking up residence in the walls of my heart. Things He’s shown me. Plans He’s laid out before me. Possibilities he has presented to me. Prayers that have been prayed constantly, consistently and carefully! Before I can say, “Amen”, the answer is waiting in a letter, a phone call, an email or a text! People He has hand-picked, divinely appointed and brought into my life to partner with me, who have eyes to see the vision, ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. And hands that are willing to work, and feet ready to run!
He knows every thought, concern, issue doubt and fear that weighs us down, that shackles us and keeps us bound. But He’s able to remove burdens, He’s able to destroy yokes. He’s able to break chains. He’s able to loose every fetter and He’s able to break up the fallow ground in your life! Because His love for His children is eternal, enduring and evident, He prepares the solution for the need even before the need is met.
Let me speak this over your life. Get in position! Stay in the right posture! Continue in prayer always and raise a perpetual praise to the God who can speak it out of His mouth, and it shall come to pass. Get ready! Be ready! Stay ready because He can do it suddenly!”
BBLESSED!
ABOUNDING LOVE BIBLE MINISTRY © 2023
THE PAST IS THE PAST”
Philippians 3:13b-14 – “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
As we close the chapter in our Journey for 2022, I urge you to leave all the negativity, the disappointments, the severed relationships, the lies, the deceit, the hurt, the sickness, the depression, the shattered dreams, the loss of hope, the stifling fear, the uncertainty about tomorrow, the unconfessed sins, the gossiping, the backbiting, the idleness, the cruelty, the unforgiving spirit, the indecisiveness, the bad choices, the lack of vision, the lack of income, and the unexpected failures all behind you. Do not bring any of that into 2023. Why? Because the past is the past!
It does not matter that you feel you missed the mark! It does not matter that your marriage did not work out, your child is cuffed to illegal substances, you did not get the job you just knew you had landed, your best friend no longer communicates with you, your house was foreclosed, your car was repossessed, your brother or sister, niece or nephew was senselessly shot down in cold blood, the doctor gave you a bad medical report, your loved one died and left you all alone and vulnerable, you did not get accepted into the university you really wanted to attend, you went places you knew you should not go, you said things that were not becoming of a Christian, you did things in the dark you would never want anyone to find out about, and you did those ungodly things with someone you should not have been with in the first place, you are not happy in the mental or physical state you are in, you did not attend worship service faithfully and regularly when the doors reopened, you did not pay your tithes and your free will offering during the pandemic because you felt you could not afford to, you did not volunteer or agree to serve in ministry at your local church, or you just cannot seem to get your relationship right with God. Why? Because the past is the past!
We serve a God of another chance – not just a second chance! The bible states in (Romans 3:23), “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” However, the answer to that dilemma is found in (1 John 1:19), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Ain’t that good news? (Acts 17:28a) reminds us that, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;” If we are in Him and He is in us, we always have an opportunity to get it right! As you crossover into the new in 2023, do not waste your time, effort, and energy on the past. Do you know what the word “past” really means? It is defined as 1) No longer current; gone by; over; 2) Having existed or occurred in an earlier time; bygone; 3a) earlier than the present time; ago; b) just gone by or elapsed. It is difficult to drive forward while looking backwards. And as you continue to move forward, you will notice, all the things in the rear-view mirror begin to look smaller until they completely disappear out of your view. Why? Because the past is the past!
Please take the time during this year end to reflect on the things you were not able to complete in 2022. Make a list and then bring those things before the Lord! Get deep into His word so that you will confidently know what His will is for your life. Listen, some of the things on your list just might not have been in the will of God. Seek Him diligently because He is a rewarder of them who do just that. Once you are clear on your direction, write the vision down and review it daily so that it stays in your head and in your heart! Then set small achievable goals for completing the task. Put one foot before the other as you move forward in your purpose and in your destiny! Speak these words repeatedly until they reside deep in your spirit, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” May God grant you bountiful blessings immeasurable in 2023. Happy New Year!
BBlessed! Abounding Love Bible Ministry © 2022
“WATCH YOUR STEP!”
Proverbs 4:26 – Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
As we are quickly approaching the end of another year, may I pose a question? What have you walked into in 2022? Did walk in the Flesh or did you walk in the Spirit? Did you acknowledge God in all your ways and allow him to direct your path? Did you commit your will and your works to God that He would give you the desires of your heart? Well, we are walking to the end of 2022 and getting ready to step into 2023. Are you ready to walk in the straight and narrow, knowing that time is not as long as it has been? Understanding that you have no more time to waste! And that you know not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will appear.
All throughout scripture, it speaks of “Walking “… Worthy of God, Honestly, Worthy of the lord, In the spirit, As children of light, Worthy of vocation, After the spirit, In newness of life, In the Light, Spiritual, With God, In truth, According to his commandments, In his ways, Not after the flesh, but after the spirit, In his statutes and judgments, Honestly, By the gospel rule, In the old paths, Not walking by sight, but by faith, In love, In Christ, and Uprightly. God desires that you may live, and that it may be well with you. That can only happen when you “Watch Your Step!”
I remember back in the day when a child got too grown for his own good, talking back and being totally disrespectful to his elders, the old folk would simply say, you were ‘smelling yourself’. They would look at you with an intentional glare and give you a stern warning saying, “Watch Your Step!” You knew instantly, you had better get on the good foot and fly right or you might just find whatever was in arm’s distance flying across the room upside your head!
Proverbs is a book of Wisdom! It assumes a progression from learning to knowledge to wisdom to understanding. So much sound advice for the young as well as the old. It makes a big difference in your life when you obey God. It’s that simple! Balance your credibility. Adjust your behavior. Do your best. Be steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and stay on the right path. For every cause (action, choice, or decision), there is an affect! When you are intentional about doing the right thing even when no one is around, your outcome is always going to be positive!
Listen, wise men do not let life happen to them. They act with careful thought and sober reflection. They plan and manage their lives. They choose wise goals and the means to achieve them, and they compare their progress to them. When walking, a person who deliberately considers where he steps is far less likely to stumble, or to fall into a trap. Do not make hasty decisions but discern the Lord’s will and then do it. (Proverbs 4:2).
Praying for God’s direction is totally different than waiting on God’s direction. Yes, I prayed. But I failed to wait on God to answer. I saw all the reasons not to go down that path, but I kept moving forward to my demise. Oh, but I thank my God for His grace and His mercy that held me close and didn’t let go! He had a plan and purpose for my life. And He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ! God will get the glory out of your life if you “WATCH YOUR STEP” and all your ways will be established. Won’t He do it? Yes He will!
BBLESSED!ALB MINISTRY © NOVEMBER 2022