I Have Been

I have been to the place where time meets eternity. The essence of your being is swept away in flood, the flood that can only be described as Gods unfailing love. This place has no sickness or disease; the only tears that flow are tears of gratefulness and joy for His presence.

I have been to a place of pureness and innocence where the only care is the worship you offer Him. A worship that is proven through your obedience.

I have been to a place where money has no value, but value is represented through the character of the one living inside of you.

I have been to a place where my Father cannot fail me, so it is impossible not to give Him all of me. I give Him all of me because I know He needs me just as much as I need Him. We are a team, a duo, Father and son in this place. The place that never ends…

I see people who are literally dying to get to this place of peace and serenity, but only if they knew that it could have been experienced in their life time.

I have been to a place where the chaos in my mind is swept away by the stillness of His presence, and then I learn that He is most powerful not when you’re trying to hear but rather when you’re quiet and He is listening.

I have been to a place where it is ok to show affection, it is ok to cry out, it is ok to be vulnerable without the fear of being taken advantage of.

This place is priceless, this place is more valuable than anything you can imagine, and in fact this place in unimaginable. A place where you’ll have to experience for yourself.

This place is called Heaven, this place lies within, and this place is indeed right here on earth. A place where no plane can take you, that is only reachable through the adaptation of your faith and the journey of the mind.

He sees you struggling, He sees you crying, and He’s in this place waiting for you. All you have to do is get there. He will lead you and guide you there and when reached you too will understand the place in my heart where this comes from.

Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Are You Thirsty?

Psalm 42:1(NCV) “As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God.”

These days you might hear people use the word “thirsty” as a slang term which means: Desperate; wanting or needing someone or something. In Hebrew the word is `arag, which means: To long for. Ask yourself this question…What are you “thirsty” for? What are those things that keep your focus, those things that you are running after, the things that you spend so much time praying for, confessing for, etc. When you spend time with God do you spend more time asking Him for things, then asking Him what’s on His heart, what are His desires for you? Do you spend more time asking Him to help change your situation and circumstances then seeking growth, mind renewal, maturity, etc.? God is looking for us to be “thirsty” for Him. He wants us to long after Him, for us to want and need Him. Just as a deer would thirst for water from the stream after running through the forest, in that same manner we must be thirsty for God.

So I want to encourage each of you reading this today to begin to put Psalm 42:1 into your hearts. It’s time to turn your focus off of yourself and towards the Father, because He loves each of you so much and there is so much He wants to pour into you if you have your mind open to receive it.

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

My Own Little World

Matthew West lyrics My Own Little World

In my own little world it hardly ever rains
I’ve never gone hungry and always felt safe
I got some money in my pocket, shoes on my feet
In my own little world
Population me

I try to stay awake through the Sunday morning church
I throw a twenty in the plate but I never give ’til it hurts
and I turn off the news when I don’t like what I see
it’s easy to do when it’s
population me

What if there’s a bigger picture
what if I’m missing out
What if there’s a greater purpose
I could be living right now
outside my own little world

Stopped at the red light, looked out my window
Outside the car, saw a sign, said “Help this homeless widow”
Just above this sign was the face of a human
I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”
So I rolled down my window and I looked her in the eye
Oh how many times have I just passed her by
I gave her some money then I drove on through
in my own little world there’s
Population two

What if there’s a bigger picture
what if I’m missing out
What if there’s a greater purpose
I could be living right now
outside my own little world

Start breaking my heart for what breaks Yours
give me open hands and open doors
put Your light in my eyes and let me see
that my own little world is not about me

I think this is a picture of much of the church today. We live in our own little world. Look around you, are all the people that you’re around believers, are the only people you talked to saved? Have you begun to live in your own little world of “Christians Only”.

Mark 16:15 says, “Jesus said to his followers, "Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.”

Matthew 28:19-20 says, “So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age."

It’s time to begin to break out of the bubble that you have been living in. We were created for others, there are so many lost, hurting, and broken people out there that we have been called to. It’s time to be like Jesus. Remember the people He ate with, He walked with, and He discipled, they were considered sinners, but He showed them that the Kingdom was available to them also. We can’t become like the Pharisees and Sadducees, and shun, judge, or walk away from those that might be considered “unsightly”; it’s time to show the love of God to our fellow man.

Mark 12:31 “The second command is this: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' There are no commands more important than these."

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Increase Me

Many times as we seek God and go into prayer we are asking God to increase us. “Lord, increase me in finances.” “Lord, increase me with a new home.” “Lord Increase my home by bringing me a spouse.” “Lord increase me…….(fill in your own blank)” And that is well and all because the Lord does desire to increase us in material things, but even before we can get these material things we should ask ourselves these questions…Can I handle these things? If God today gave me the “increase” I was asking for, would I handle it with wisdom, or would it begin to handle me?

Today the Holy Spirit is prompting me to have us begin to ask for increase in some of the things we really can’t live without. We might think we can’t live without a house, or a job, etc. but the things we really can’t live without are wisdom, love, compassion, patience, discernment, etc. It is those things that we need to have increase in so that we can handle the “material” things that we desire. We need wisdom to handle money, a business, a job. We need love to deal with all of the people we come in contact with. We need compassion to deal with situations and circumstances of those we are to help or pray for. We need patience to deal with to deal with our families, our workplaces, our own situations. And finally we need discernment in everyday life to guide us.

So today I challenge each of you to ask yourselves those questions and go before God with an open heart looking for inward increase. This will not only help you live your life, but it will bring the maturity that needs to be constantly happening within us on this Christian walk.

God bless!

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

I've Learned

John 6:45 (NKJV) It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

I think that one of the most powerful words in the Bible is the word “learned”. As I become closer and closer to my Father everyday through relationship, I see that it is all a learning experience. Walking as a true follower of Christ can sometimes be a very daunting one. As I always say, yes walking on the path that God has placed you on can sometimes be one that get’s challenging at times and requires effort on our part; but at the end of the day when you look and see all of the other options that you have, there is none other as rewarding as being a true Christian. Religion teaches us that we have to be perfect, never missing a beat. Religion teaches us that if we do something contrary to the belief system then the consequence is Hell. Religion teaches us that if you do mess up every now and then than you have to start all over from the beginning. Relationship teaches us that when we first come to Christ that we are all babes in Christ. Relationship teaches us that yes we will stumble from time to time but all we have to do is get back up and dust ourselves off. Relationship teaches us that this is a learned experience and that it will always be a learning experience until the day we die. God doesn’t expect you to try and be perfect for Him not missing a beat. God already see’s you as perfect because He created you and whatever He creates, in His thought process, is perfect from the time of inception. Don’t try and be the people pleaser and put up a superficial front like you’re Mr. or Mrs. Super Christian. Live the life that God has given you, submit all things to Him and just be one who learns from the experiences that He has placed in your life.

Daryle Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Thanking God for the Unseen

“Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4 NKJV

Last week I was driving to work and was waiting at a light to make a left turn when all of a sudden two police cars came speeding through the red light, missing a lady who was driving through the intersection by what looked like inches from my perspective. At that instant of watching all of this happen I started thanking God, thanking Him for saving the woman’s life, thanking Him for stopping an accident, and it got me thinking. We thank God for the times when we have a close call that we can actually see how God saved us from it. What about all the times we don’t see with our natural eyes what God has done? So many times in life we have complained and gotten angry at God when something bad happens in our lives, in the lives of those we love, in our communities, in our country, and in our world. We are angry about all of the atrocities committed, we say “Why God, why did you let that happen?” But have you ever stopped to think about what didn’t happen, the things God has been working on behind the scenes to do in your life. I bet there has been countless times where you could have died, that you didn’t even know God saved you from. Times when your boss was thinking of firing you but God changed their heart. Times when your spouse thought about leaving you, but God changed his/her heart. Times when your kids were out there messing around and God saved their lives. There are so many bad things that could have happened to us that God has prevented, but because we don’t see those things with our eyes often times we don’t think about how God is always working on our behalf. So next time something happens in your life that you consider a bad situation, don’t focus on the negative, instead thank God for all the unseen times that He has worked in your life.

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Is God Mad at Me?

The topic that surrounds the anger of God pertaining to people and the actions of the world is a highly debatable topic. Some people use scripture in the Old Testament to claim that God is not pleased with the actions of His children and some use scriptures of the New Testament to say it’s impossible for God to be mad because He only loves. This writing isn’t going to focus on the overall attitude of God to the world.

I believe that I am being prompted to write on this topic because there’s a specific group or maybe even a specific person that’s wondering if God is mad at them because their life seems to be in shambles right now with no recovery in sight. When people usually question if God is mad at them or not, it’s usually based on what’s going on in their lives at that given moment. A situation maybe the loss of a job and income, sickness in the body that seems to be getting worse, a bad marriage and it may seem like prayer isn’t working, or the need of companionship in one’s life with no possibilities of that spouse in sight.

Well when we look at certain situations that have come about in our lives that may seem negative, before we blame God being mad at us, we must firsts assess the situation itself.
1.Is this a situation that you created yourself?
2.Did you get a warning from God about the occurrence of this situation?
3.If you’re looking for a spouse, are you ready mentally, spiritually, and emotionally for someone to be added into your life? Do you take pride in your appearance to even attract someone’s interest in you?
4.Did you allow this negative situation in your life on your own terms by not standing on God’s Word?
5.Did you have a plan in place in case a situation like this occurred, and if so do you think this situation would be as bad as it is if you’ve would have planned ahead?
6.Can you learn something from this situation that will make your relationship that much stronger with God?

There is so much to cover before one can make an assumption that God is not pleased with them. Often times people tend to use the story of Job to validate their negative experiences, one might even call it suffering for righteousness. There is a meaning for suffering for righteousness but I think people sometimes take it out of context, and an end result would be someone living a miserable life and saying that they’re suffering for God.

When people tell the story of Job all they focus on is how God allowed the suffering and in the end Job was restored. Well let’s look at the beginning of the story of Job. In Job 3:25 (NKJV), Job says “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me and what I dreaded has happened to me." This passage tells me two things, 1. Job allowed fear to come into his mind which was a gateway to everything else that happened to him. 2. Fear is a powerful force that can knock you off of your rocker and potentially move you away from the life God has planned for you.

In 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) it says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind.” We have the power to create and influence our own thinking and situations according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In any situation we have to power to love and to also know that we are loved by God. No matter what things may look like we are to have peace and a stable mind.

If you call yourself a true believer, and even if you don’t, why would God be mad at you if He already knew what the end was going to be? If you were in school and you failed a test, would you be mad if you knew you were going to still pass the course with an A? It’s the same way with God, He knows that in the end you’re going to be restored, so why waste His time being mad at you now. What He will do though is stick with you as you go through the situation that you may have actually caused yourself, and see you through it.

James 5:11 (NKJV)
You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord- that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Now it’s important that while going through negative situations to always see a positive in it, something that God has shown you that you can grow and learn from. In the case of Job, he already knew that God was faithful and loving, but he didn’t know what it meant to be in true relationship with God. Job had an issue with self-righteousness, Job thought that he was made righteous because he had much, and when he didn’t have much he thought he had lost his righteous standing with God. Just read the book of Job and you’ll learn much.

God loves you, He knows your end from your beginning even if you can’t see it He can. So if you’re experiencing something in your life that is challenging you, challenge yourself by assessing the situation and growing from it. Amen

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Go Forth!

There are a lot of people that have been dealing with challenges in their lives. Many think that the challenges have been due to the economy or maybe even just another part of living life. These challenges have not been without purpose in your life, these challenges were actually a time of testing and trial.

Deuteronomy 8:2-4 (The Message)
Remember every road that GOD led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from GOD's mouth.

When we are tested and tried it doesn’t mean that we’re living outside of the will of God or that we’ve done something wrong to upset God. The testing and trial is actually a representation of quite the opposite. During the testing and trials in your life consider yourself blessed…

James 1:2-4 (The Message)
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

The testing and trials are to grow and mature you as His child and to refine you in his ways…

1 Peter 1:6-7 (The Message)
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

1 Peter 4:12-13 (The Message)
Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

I’ve been getting over the past week or so that many have been tested and many have been proved. So now it is time for us to go forth and do what God has called us to. What has God put on your heart concerning your life? Has God been speaking to you about going back to school, if so apply to the one He leads you to and study what He desires you to study. Has God put a passion in your heart to advance in the company you work for, go ahead and inquiry or apply for that promotion. Has God been speaking to you about launching out and starting your own business, if so start to prepare yourself to be an entrepreneur.

There is so much that God has placed on the hearts of His people all over the world and the command now is to GO FORTH! Now there is a big difference between going forth and just being in agreement with God about the plans for your life. The person that goes forth isn’t moved by what they see, the person that goes forth is confident in God that He will do what He said he would do, the person that goes forth let’s nothing deter them from achieving the promise. The person that goes forth actually does something when the command is spoken.

If Noah never built the ark than it would have never been built by him. If Moses never lifted his staff and commanded the water to part than the Red Sea would have never been parted by him. If David never charged Goliath than maybe David wouldn’t have been a King and such an influential person in the Bible. If you never act on the promise that God has put in your heart than that’s exactly where it’s going to stay, in your heart.

The way may look impossible or even downright scary. There may be giants in the land or people that have more knowledge than you, more money than you, and more experience than you. Whatever the situation looks like ahead just remember that it is what God has promised you and God never fails on a promise. Stay the course and claim what it is that God has for you.

Amen.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Living By the Word in All Occasions, With All Men

The dictionary definition of forgive is to cease to feel resentment against an offender, i.e., to pardon ones enemies.

Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Today I want to talk about forgiveness. There are things going on in our own lives with people in our families, in our personal relationships, within our communities, and in our nation that may be causing us offense and pain. It's not easy to feel these things or deal with these things when they happen, but as Believers there are some things we must do when these situations occur. First we must first pray to God about it. Second, we have to forgive. Third, we have to love them no matter what happens, even if we don't want to, even if it's hard to, even when they have different ideas or beliefs, even if they offend us, even when they cause us great hurt or pain. We do this not because we feel like it, but because we choose to live by the whole Word of God, not just parts; and in all occasions, not just when it's convenient to us. If we choose to not do these things then we are not acting any different than the world. If we walk in bitterness, resentment, hate, judgment, and unforgiveness, then we are not being the light of the world as God has called us to be (Matthew 5:14). Let us remember even hanging on the cross Christ forgave (Luke 23:34), those that had done unspeakable things to Him, and as Believers we must do the same with ALL men. Let us remember while we were yet sinners Christ forgave us (Romans 5:8), and He gave His son for ALL of us (John 3:16).

Mark 11:25 (NCV) When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.

Colossians 3:12-14 (Message Bible) So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Romans 12:14 (NIV) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Luke 6:35-38 (NLT) “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

Matthew 5:43-48 (Message Bible) "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Start to Build

Proverbs 24:27 (NKJV)
Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house.

There are many people that are confessing the blessings of God upon their lives but there are few who will actually prepare themselves for the blessing. You may wonder what I am talking about; you may even feel that receiving blessings from God require us only to believe that we receive when we pray. True when we pray we must believe we receive because no one will receive anything from God if they are wavering in their faith. James 1:7-8 (NKJV)

There are thousands of blessings in the Bible that we are entitled to. Today I really just want to focus on the economic blessing or in other words, finances. Now there are a lot of people that have been praying and believing God to bless them financially. This has been a desire of your heart for many years, but for some reason you still seem to struggle in this area. Let’s take a deeper look into that, well we know that God has not forgotten about you, we know that He desires his children to live abundantly, so why have you not seen any manifestation of your desire?

The title of this writing is “Start to Build” this signifies that there is something on your end that must be accomplished before you can receive this desire of yours. God needs to first of all know that He can trust you with wealth. Just as surely as wealth can be a blessing it can also very well be a temptation.

1. What are your motives for desiring to have wealth is it so you can bless others or more mainly bless yourself? Is it wrong for a Christian to buy a $100,000 car, absolutely not, but what is your driving force to be wealthy?

2. Are you faithful with the little you have right now? Do you honor God with your finances (tithes & offerings) or are you one of those people that say when I get rich I’m going to give a million dollars. Well if you can’t give $10 now than the chances of you giving a million are slim to none.

Luke 16:10 (NKJV)
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

3.Are you financially responsible? Is your reason for wanting more because you don’t have enough now? Well before you make that statement have you analyzed where you’re spending the majority of your money? Do you eat out five times a week, do you go to the mall every weekend, and do you give yourself a weekly budget? Maybe the reason you never have enough is because you don’t track your spending and you do a lot of unnecessary spending. Try trimming the fat in your finances and see what you come up with. There are some people who really don’t have enough but I’ll cover that issue at another time.

4.Do you listen to God and follow His instructions when He speaks? This is a big one, because if you have a hard time obeying God with the little finances now how will it be when you have much? You never know, God may tell you to give half of your fortune away, now if your heart is mature you would obey even though it still may be a tough thing to do. If your heart is attached to the wealth then this is something you might ignore. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21 (NKJV)

5.Are you in a season of spiritual development? During the times where God is growing us and maturing us in certain areas of our lives, it may seem we are lacking but in fact we are being stretched and our faith is being tested to see what our hearts produce an abundance of.

James 1:2-3 (NKJV)
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

God hasn’t forgotten about your prayers and desires, but if you’re looking for a financial break through one must be prepared to receive it and also manage it. If you read the story of Joseph you will see how God blessed him abundantly. Joseph was a commodities broker in his day, and because God trusted Him, He essentially gave Joseph control over all of the entire financial system in his land. Joseph was the head guy in charge over Wall Street. Everyone bought from Joseph which made him a very rich man. Joseph didn’t get to that position over night, he had to be built up before God entrusted him with so much, and because he was faithful and responsible he was blessed.

Would God trust you with $1,000,000 if you can’t efficiently manage $100?

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Where Does Your Peace Come From?

I just started working for a new company over the past couple of weeks. This position allows me to talk to people all over the country to see how our company can benefit their lives and what their trying to pursue for their futures. Some of the questions that I normally ask to gauge their needs usually refer to the topic of what will increase their happiness. After talking to people all over America the same responses always seem to be evident throughout the conversation no matter their location.

The response that I usually hear is this; having more money and a better job will make me happy and being able to do the things that I want to do in life without any worries. To someone that is not a believer in Christ and not mature in the things of God, this seems like a pretty valid response. I mean with the economy the way it is and people losing jobs or already out of work, of course this will bring people the peace and reassurance they need in life, right? Wrong!

The responses from the people have shown me that all over the country people are crying out for peace and rest in their lives. There are so many people that are weary and ready to give up because they have no peace in their lives. All of their lives they have been taught that your peace comes from a nice cushy job with a 401k plan that you can tap into when you retire. Now that the systems of the world have failed once again people are literally hopeless looking for what they were taught since childhood that would give them peace, and rest, in life.

Job 3:24-26 (Message Bible)
"Instead of bread I get groans for my supper, then leave the table and vomit my anguish. The worst of my fears has come true, what I've dreaded most has happened. My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed. No rest for me, ever—death has invaded life."

We all know the story of Job; we know that he went through a lot, and that he lost a lot. In the above passage Job is pretty much saying that his peace was in all the things he had and now that they are all gone he feels that he has lost his good standing with God and the peace he once had is no more. Well that’s a good thing, because the peace that Job had before was an imitation and not the peace given by God. If it were the peace given by God then no situation in life would have been able to take it away from him. Job goes through a lot but in the end he finally gets it.

So how can we equate this in today’s society? Let’s do a quick self analysis, can you think of any situation in your life that could potentially steal your peace and send you down a path of fear, doubt, and worrying? It may be the loss of your job, the loss of your entire savings and retirement accounts, or even the loss of your spouse. Now all of these things are unfortunate and I’m not saying that if something like this were to take place in your life that you should be happy go lucky. I’m just saying how would you respond in an unfortunate situation? Would you blame God, yourself, the economy, the person next door, and not have faith in God to carry you through like the children of Israel? Or would you say to yourself, “You know what, this situation is unfortunate and I am hurt by it but I will not let it steal my peace that God has given, and with His help I will overcome.

Psalm 29:11 (The Message Bible)
God makes his people strong. God gives his people peace.

Because we are Gods children and He loves us dearly we are made strong, and His peace is freely given to us. A peace that the world can’t comprehend and a peace that we ourselves cannot understand. During the past year God put Tracy and I into the course of Peace 101. During this past year we were both unemployed and I was the only one receiving unemployment. Times were tough and just because we were unemployed doesn’t mean that the bills were on hold. There were times when I would be completely at ease and there were times when I would be a mess. Through it all my faith in God increased and the peace of God had no choice but to reign in my life. In the end I said you know what “Whether we have or don’t have, I will continue to rejoice because what I have on the inside of me is priceless”. We would tell people our situation and their faces would drop in astonishment because they couldn’t understand 1. How we were surviving and 2. Why we seemed so joyful all the time.

Mark 9:49-50 (The Message Bible)
"Everyone's going through a refining fire sooner or later, but you'll be well-preserved, protected from the eternal flames. Be preservatives yourselves. Preserve the peace."

You may be going through something in your life that is trying to steal your peace. The only way your peace can flee from you is if your give it away yourself. There is no situation that can steal what God gave you without your permission. Although situations may seem unfortunate, don’t get caught up in the why’s and why not’s; instead look at the situation and ask yourself is God trying to get something to me through this situation? The quicker you can mature and realize that nothing trumps God, the quicker you’ll be in your own Land of Canaan.

Don’t die in the wilderness like the children of Israel; you are overcomers and more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

According to My Word

Faith teaches us to believe in whom God is and what He has done and what is still yet to take place in your life. There’s a fine line in having faith in God’s Word and having faith in your own word. Many of us fail to make this connection because there were so many men and women in the Bible that used their faith in God to produce favorable results in their lives. So as Christians we walk through life having faith in whatever makes us smile at the moment, and sometimes we see manifestations and sometimes we do not. Why is that?

When was the last time you made a heavenly decree and stood on it using faith and maybe even some scriptures from the Bible as back up, and you haven’t seen anything happen yet? Well let’s take a look at it in more detail. First of all if the thing you are using your faith for is truly indeed from the Holy Spirit and you know it because you just got that feeling, and you haven’t seen the manifestation yet, keep praising and believing God. What about the thing that you may be using your faith for that is actually not from the Holy Spirit but from your own will?

As I mentioned in the last message I gave sometimes we ask God for things and believe God for things that will ultimately increase our own sense of security and comfort. Now, you’re probably asking “doesn’t God want us to be secure and comfortable? Sure He does, but not at the cost of your maturity in Christ. When we go through things as Christians some of us think that we might be out of Gods will because maybe we were taught that being a Christian was all roses and if we are going through challenges than it’s from the Devil and we need to reassess our lives in Christ. This is the farthest thing from the truth. The challenges in life are used to strengthen our legs for the walk in Christ. Everything goes through a struggle.

Picture a cocoon with a butter fly getting ready to emerge. You can see the butterfly struggling to get out and it’s not looking to good. So, you think “well what if I just helped it out of the cocoon so it didn’t have to struggle”. In fact if you did this the butterfly would die because the cocoon is designed to strengthen it. While inside the cocoon the butterfly is pressing to get out and every time it presses to get out it gets stronger and stronger. As a result of the effort a beautiful and complete butterfly emerges ready to fly. If you would have helped it, the butterfly would have been beautiful but not able to do what God designed it to do, and would have actually died.

1 Kings 17:1 (KJV)
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

We all know that Elijah was a man with faith and had a pure relationship with God. So sometimes when we speak things out of our mouths that we want to happen we might say “well Elijah said no rain but according to his word”, than we think that we can say whatever we want and it will happen. There are a few important parts about the scripture above, first is that Elijah was standing before God. Elijah was God’s representative only to deliver a message that was first given to him but not created by him.

When it comes to putting out decrees in the name of God we must make sure that it came from God first and not emotionally motivated by either a selfish desire in your life or a challenge or struggle that you are going through at the time. Sometimes the thing we’re desiring is for the good, but if it’s not given to you by God than it’s not time for it yet. We may think the thing we desire will help but in all actuality we may be helping the butterfly out of its cocoon. Am I saying that it is wrong to help others, ABSOLUTELY NOT! We all know that God is love and that love gives, I’m saying that in all of your actions let the Holy Spirit be the motivating factor and nothing else. God knows all and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways. We think in 3 dimensional standards, God thinks much higher than that. He already knows what will happen down the line.

The second important part of the scripture is where it says “according to my word”. This can sometimes be interpreted as “my own words”. We know that words are powerful, they are God given and they can either create or destroy. This can give many of us a God complex, where we think whatever I say goes. What I believe Elijah is really saying here is that there will be no rain until my God says it will be rain. We all know that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. According to my word= According to my God.

With all this being said, let’s make sure we are truly connected with the Holy Spirit while we walk through life. Don’t make petitions to God out of emotion or selfish desire but instead let God speak to your spirit about what you really need in life, which will in the end profit you more than anything you could think of.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Faith, Intimacy, & Overcoming by Our Testimony

Hello KVM family we want to invite you to check out our latest message called Faith, Intimacy, & Overcoming by our testimony... www.kingdomvizion.org/sermons.html

We pray you enjoy it, and may it bless and encourage you!

Daryle & Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

What Do You Really Need??

Philippians 4-19 (NKJV)
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Every Christian knows this scripture; I think it is one of the most popular in the church today. There are a lot of “needs” in the body of Christ and this scripture has been used as the “need buster”. Today I want to delve a little further into what we really need and how we are perceiving in our minds what we need and comparing that to what God thinks we need.

Let’s take a look at what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:10-13 (KJV):

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

What Paul is saying here is that whatever state he is in he has learned to be content. Even though he might have lacked some things he was never in a state of want or poverty as it is defined. Well you might ask, how someone can say that if they are poor and hungry? My life and your life is nothing without a true revelation of a relationship with God. It’s not based on the external but rather the internal. Paul can say such things because nothing else mattered in his external life that could sway his relationship with God; just as long as he was connected to the True Vine he was nourished. You can only understand this concept with God’s wisdom.

Paul said he knows how to live with little and he knows how to live in abundance, and that in everything and in everyplace he is instructed to be full and to be hungry. Yes, he said instructed. Why would God instruct someone to be hungry? One thing about Paul is that he was a traveler and he had to come in contact with many different people, personalities, and situations. Through all of this he learned how to associate with the humble and not be high-minded. So even though sometimes he was hungry he was content and not fearful that he was not blessed because of what he was experiencing. Proverbs 4:13 (NKJV): Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her for she is your life.

Ok now let’s bring it back to 2010 and your life, evaluate your life and your situation and think of all the things that you think you need. Are you lonely and want to be married, do you need a new car, do you need a job, do you need a miracle? Whatever it is you can think of, I want you to start looking at what you perceive as a need and evaluate it using Gods wisdom. Why is this situation the way it is, what can I learn from this, and can I learn to be content with my “need”? When it all comes down to it this need that you think is in your life may actually be ordained by God to make you stronger in your trust in Him.

The majority of believers here in America are taught that if you’re lacking something in your life then it’s not God. Well as we read from Paul this is not true, just because you are lacking something in the natural doesn’t mean that you are not blessed and that God is not with you. Abundance is based upon what you have on the inside first and not always so much as to how much money you have or what kind of car you drive. It may just be a challenge to get you to see that in whatever natural state you are in you should be content. Does this mean that we ought to get used to living a life in lack, absolutely not. Indeed God does want us to live in abundance and will grant us the desires of our hearts according to Psalm 37:4, but first He wants to make sure that our hearts are desiring the right thing and not just desiring everything that we think we need according to what we see with our natural eyes.

I pray this has been a blessing to you.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Stay Connected

Hello KVM family we wanted to invite you all to listen to the latest message Daryle preached called "Stay Connected" we pray it is a blessing to you! You can check it out by clicking the following link... http://www.kingdomvizion.org/sermons.html

Daryle & Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Obedience

When it comes to obedience it’s not always the easiest thing for us to do. For many of us giving up control of our lives and consenting and having faith in God is downright scary, because it’s so hard to perceive with our natural minds. For many years some of us have been making our own decisions about our lives and not to even say some of those decisions were bad, they may have even provided you prosperity in your life. To give up total control of your life can be a daunting task. When we obey God’s will for our lives that’s exactly what we are doing, we are laying our own wants and desires down and trusting in Him to lead our lives into our God-given destinies. This is easier said than done because God doesn’t think like you and I, and his instructions can be very strange, not making a bit of sense to us.

Sometimes God will give us a step to take, but we don’t understand it and it seems completely irrational, or it seems like its taking us the complete opposite direction of where we think we should be going. Sometimes the action takes us way past our comfort zones. Sometimes it looks like by taking the action we might lose something, or take us out of the way of our dreams we had for our lives. When it comes to these times when God is giving us an instruction it is imperative to our lives, and possibly the lives of others that we follow the instructions that He has given us. Let’s look at Jesus as our example…

Philippians 2:7-8 (NCV)
But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death—death on a cross.

Here Jesus showed us the greatest act of obedience. What God was asking Him to endure was not something that in his humanity he wanted to endure, as you can see…

Luke 22:42 (NLT) “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

But the key in that scripture is that He said “I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even though He didn’t want to endure the suffering that He was going to go through, He knew the importance of following the will of God and because He followed the will of God we all have salvation available to us today. So each time God gives you an instruction in life, whether it doesn’t make sense, or takes you out of your comfort zone, or causes discomfort, I want you to remember Jesus, and just make the choice as He did to take that step and trust God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEV) With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.

The most important thing in your life with Christ is instruction.

Proverbs 4:13 (NKJV)
Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go: Keep her, for she is your life.

In anything you do whether it be for God or for yourself you need instruction. If you have no instruction than you have no direction and no direction will lead you just wandering through this life on a road to nowhere.

The best instruction we can obtain is from God through His Word. His instruction will lead to a place in your life that you can’t even dream of. Though you may not understand the instruction from time to time, all you’ve got to do is obey it and all will be well. If you obey Gods instructions you are telling Him that you have faith in Him and we all know that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). So have faith in God and obey his instructions and you can’t go wrong.

Daryle & Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Are You Wondering or Walking?

According to dictionary.com the word “wonder” if used as a verb can mean “to think or speculate curiously”. Have you ever asked a question like this; I wonder what my purpose in life is?

What I’ve been getting lately is that there are too many believers wondering about what God wants them to do instead of just walking into that purpose. As a society most of us have been taught since childhood to have all of your ducks in a row before you launch out and try to accomplish something. We have been taught to always have a plan B in-case plan A falls through. Now I’m not knocking having a plan at all, I actually support the idea but when it comes to something as critical as following Gods plan for your life, the plan has already been laid out and all that we must do is walk in the ways of God and everything will align.

See, when we get too focused on trying to seek God about everything He has planned for our future we get distracted and can find ourselves in a very confusing or even depressing state of mind and a stagnant state because we have stopped walking and started wondering. My advice to someone that is in this predicament is to stop trying to figure out what’s in-store and just walk into it. Live life abundantly, trust God and know that you’re walking into something good, if you can’t figure out what to do next, make the best decision you have available using the wisdom of God and keep walking because your answer may be two steps ahead of you. We have to know as children of God that He is our plan A and He can’t fail therefore we need not a plan B just as long as we’re walking with an honest heart concerning the principals of the Kingdom of God.

Psalm 84:11 (NKJV)
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

So what does God want for your future, I don’t know, you probably don’t know and you know what, that is ok because if God told you, you probably wouldn’t believe it. Just focus on what He has planned for you today, right now, and let God guide you into whatever it is He has for you.

If you’re someone that has been doing nothing because you think God has something specific for you to do, guess what you are absolutely correct; but it won’t come unless you’re doing something. What good are you to the Kingdom of God if you’re not doing anything for it? So unless God has told you otherwise, let’s get active. Time is a precious gift that God gives us every day and we must be diligent on how we use it. There must be an equal balance, don’t be that person that wastes all of it doing nothing waiting on a miracle, and don’t be that person that wastes all of it doing too much trying to be that miracle to everyone and everything. In the times we live in now it is very critical that we begin to tap into Gods wisdom in everything we do, from the least to the greatest because it’s very easy to get distracted with all of the things going on around us.

It all boils down to just trusting and believing in God that He has our backs. In the book of Daniel, did Daniel stop worshiping God because the decree was signed? No, he trusted God so much that he put his life on the line for what He believed in and God honored his faith and shut the mouths of the Lions in the den. Our situations aren’t even life and death and yet we still wonder if God is God and if what He says is true. I’m guilty of this also. So today I repent of my wrong thinking and I ask God to forgive me of my sins and to also forgive my people of theirs. As the true church we must able to face and most importantly admit to ourselves where we have gone astray in our thinking and/or actions. We must operate as ONE body in Christ if we are to accomplish all that God has for us. It’s time to grow.

Daryle Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Don't Stress be Blessed

Has God ever shown you a great vision of what’s in store for you in the future? Do you dare to dream the biggest dreams your mind can generate? Has God even promised you something that is so great that you know you can’t obtain it without Him? Many times God will show us a glimpse of what lies ahead on our journey with Him. He shows us these things to give a glimmer of hope, to tell you how great you are and how much greater you are to become. He shows us these things because He loves us and He sees His Kingdom come, and His will being done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

When God shows us grand visions and gives us outstanding dreams He’s saying that this is what I have for you and it’s already done. It has been finished since the day you were born and the only thing you have to do is walk in my ways and you shall obtain that which I have shown you, and you shall obtain it in a speedily manner according to your faith.

Ever since I could remember I’ve been a visionary, a seer into the future. In the beginning before I had a relationship with God I would envision abundance according to my terms and that meant that I had all the steps mapped out from A to Z. Now that I’m connected to the True Vine the dreams and visions are even greater but one thing still tends to get in the way. My willingness to just believe that it has already been finished and all I must do is walk into it. This is an area in which God is developing me in, but as a result of this thinking I bring on a lot of unnecessary stress and confusion in my mind. I’m finally at the point where I can truly believe that God will bring to pass what He has promised and I don’t have to have all the fine details mapped out because they’ve already been taken care of.

If this is you also than I ask you to join me in renewing your mind to this truth. You may ask, well how do I start? Psalm 128 (NKJV) says “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.” The scripture is saying all you need to do is fear God and walk in His ways and you are blessed. One of the meanings of the word “ways” in that passage is “moral character”. Walk in the moral character of Christ and you are blessed. Psalm 111:10 (NKJV) says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” Once we begin to really reverence God as master of our faith then His wisdom begins to invade our minds and the more we walk the more wisdom is obtained and before you know it, that dream or vision has become reality because the wisdom of God and your faith in Him has made you well able to do what’s necessary to bring it to pass in your life.

This word of the day is more for me but I hope that it has also blessed you in some capacity. Don’t worry about A to Z, just know that Z is waiting there for you to walk into and God has already taken care of everything in-between.

Remember if there is anything that you would like prayer concerning, feel free to email us your prayer request so that we may stand in agreement with you. Have a blessed day.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

You Are Your Ministry

Over the past couple of weeks God has been sharing with me concerning ministry and how important it is. When most of us think of ministry we think of the church we attend, we think of the organizations within the church that help the homeless, that go into the community and preach the Gospel of Christ, etc. True all of these are components of ministry but there is a much more valuable component to the structure that I believe gets overlooked regularly, which can cause people to stumble in their walk with Christ if not cared for in the appropriate manner.

Let me give you an example; when I worked in downtown Chicago, I was a Marketing and Communications Coordinator for a non-profit. That was something that I did but it wasn’t who I was, who I am is Daryle F. Houston II, husband, son, brother, and most importantly a son of God. There was separateness between my job description and who I was. I believe that many people also view ministry this way. The end result of this thinking is duality; many people believe that preaching the Gospel of Christ is something that they do instead of taking the standpoint that that is who they are. If I view ministry work as a job description instead of a life-walk than it is easy for me to turn it off and on in a moment’s notice. On Sunday’s when I’m at church it’s on, on Monday morning it’s off, and on Wednesday night Bible study its back on. Have you ever witnessed a preacher when they are out of the pulpit, act as if they were a part of the world, this could be the reason why… The duality of the mind.

James 1:8 (KJV)
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The word double-minded there means divided in interest. This is a very pivotal point when you dedicate your life to Christ. When you make this decision you have decided to make the things of God your main interest. When you make the things of God your main interest and are serious about them, this means you can’t turn it off and on like a light switch because the light must always stay on to guide people through the darkness of life to Christ. Once you renew your mind to ministry just not being a “church” thing but rather a life thing you’ll be more cognizant of your actions outside of the church and more receptive to truly applying the things of God in your everyday life so negative actions can be avoided and not a stumbling block to a new believer or to someone who may look to you for spiritual guidance.

Acts 6:3-4 (NKJV)
We give no offence in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses…

Paul new the importance of being one with the ministry God gave him. To him it wasn’t something that he did but rather it was who he was. He says that in every situation he had to act according to the things of God rather good or bad because he knew that many people looked on his ministry as a holy example. If he would have acted out of his Christ-like character he could have potentially destroyed the character of Christ in the minds of those that followed him.

In today’s terms that could equate to someone who looks up to his Pastor only to find out that the Pastor is having multiple affairs on the side. Now if someone looks up to you as the disciples looked up to Jesus and they find out this secret of yours it could destroy the image of Christ in their minds and they might revert back to the same behavior that they were engaged in before they accepted Christ in their lives.

So I say to you, if you are involved in any type of ministerial roles, operate in those roles in the character of Christ 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Know that God gave you the assignment because that’s who you are and not just what you do.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

God Reigns!

This week has really been a week of learning for me. The Lord has really been ministering to me about the different issues that we’ve been facing lately. Yesterday I spoke to you all about healing and physical issues that have arisen. Starting last night and today God began to deal with me concerning finances. For a while now it hasn’t been an easy go for us in this area. It has been ups and downs and God has always come through, but recently it has seemed like things had gotten really bad. So last night we began asking God, is there anything that we can learn from this experience, is there anything we can do, and God began speaking to us about giving. He asked the question, why do you give, why do you tithe, and it made us both really take a look inside of our hearts and ask why? Daryle begin to say I think we’ve been giving out of the wrong place; we’ve been giving out of religion and obligation because we are supposed to, and not out of our love for God. This was a very hard thing for us to say because we love God so much, but we realized we weren’t giving out of that place of love, we were giving out of tradition. So I went to bed last night thinking about that.

Then once again this morning God woke me up with a song on my heart “God You Reign” by Lincoln Brewster…

You paint the night
You count the stars and call them by name
The skies proclaim
God You reign
Your glory shines
You teach the sun when to bring a new day
Creation sings God you reign

God you reign
God you reign
Forever and ever
God You reign

You part the seas
You move the mountains with the words that You say
My song remains
God You reign
You hold my life
You know my heart and You call me by name
I live to say God You reign

Hallelujah, hallelu

And then He told me to read Luke 21:1-4. I turned there and it was the story of the widow’s mite, and He begun to speak to me confirming what Daryle was saying last night. He told me that this woman had given her last out of a love and reverence for God, and not out of an obligation like those who had a ton of money did. It was all a matter of the heart.


God taught me two lessons today. The first was that giving should come from a place of reverence and love, not out of obligation or tradition, and the second was that He reigns over everything, every situation, every circumstance; it is all in His hand.

If you’ve had the same mindset we had about giving and didn’t even realize it, God says it’s time to repent and shift our mindset, and don’t let ourselves come under any guilt or condemnation. And If you’ve been in this same place of financial hardship I just want to encourage that God will see you through. He is our provider! I want to leave you with these scriptures…

Psalm 146:10 (The Message) “GOD's in charge—always. Zion's God is God for good! Hallelujah!”

Exodus 15:18 (NIV) “The LORD will reign forever and ever."

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

It is Written

Lately I’ve been dealing with some health issues, and I’ve had people praying, and I’ve prayed, but I had not yet seen a physical manifestation of the healing I was believing for. So I begin to ask God is there something I can learn from this process. Is there something that I need to do on my end that I might not be doing? His answer to me began as He woke me up this morning with the song healer by Hillsongs in my heart; it goes a little something like this…

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

My Healer, You're my Healer

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

After I listened to the song it really put me in remembrance of who God really is, and what He did for me on the cross concerning my healing. Then He had me read Luke 4:1-13 (the temptation of Jesus). In this passage the devil kept trying to tempt Jesus to make Him do something contrary to what He was purposed to do, but each time the devil said something, Jesus said back to Him… “It is written…” and then He would quote a scripture.

God used this example to begin speaking to me about exercising my faith. He showed me how I had begun to put my trust in the things of this world concerning my health, more then in Him. For everything I experience He said…“The truth is written Tracy.” He started speaking to me about fighting the good fight of faith, by renewing my mind to what was written, and not to what I was feeling. He said every time I get a thought contrary to His Word, all I have to do is go to the Word and find where…“It is written.” And that is how I was to combat those thoughts which have been flooding my mind.

So I just want to encourage any of you out there that might be going through something whether it be physical, mental, spiritual, financial, etc, don’t give up, and don’t give into the thoughts that might try to come into your mind, take those thoughts captive every time, and find where the truth concerning your situation is written, and hold onto the promise of God because He will bring you through. God bless!

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

I'm Tired of Being a Christian!

I’m tired of trying to live the life that Jesus did, I’m tired of always putting my best foot forth only to mess up a couple of steps later, I’m tired of turning the other cheek when someone offends me, I’m tired of being persecuted by other so-called Christians when I make a mistake, I’m tired of presenting myself as a perfect person but behind closed doors I’m crying because I’m still dealing with past issues, I’m tired of being a Christian, I think I’m just going to return to the life I use to live, at least I was good at it and I had more fun.

This maybe the thought process of your mother, brother, friend, next door neighbor, you’re Pastor, or even yourself. People all over deal with these issues because of religion and religious traditions. Passed down teachings of religion has taught us that we have to try and live the Christian lifestyle out of our own power and intellect; this could be the furthest from the truth. People often get burned out trying to live a Christian lifestyle because it’s a lifestyle that God never intended on you to try and live on your own and it is impossible for someone to succeed if they try and do so. It’s through the power of Gods Holy Spirit that we are able to become witnesses of Christ. I also believe people get to this point because much of the emphasis on living a Christian lifestyle has been put on “what you do” instead of what has already been done on Calvary and who is it that is living inside of you. The only one who was able to successfully live a life with no sin was Jesus. It is because of Jesus Christ that we have access to the Father because He was a proven sacrifice without spot or blemish; He was offered up on our behalf and took on our sins so that we might be saved. When we were saved we were saved from ourselves, we were saved from guilt and condemnation, and most importantly we were saved from eternal death. Through Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension we can now enjoy a life in Him and through Him not according to the works we do but according to the work that was already done in which we believe in, and it’s because He now resides within us that we are able to live free.

Galatians 6:12-16 (Message Bible)
Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ's suffering and death. All their talk about the law is gas. They themselves don't keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible!
For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!
In my walk with Christ I make mistakes, I mess up, I try not to present myself as holier than thou, but I also know where my help comes from, I know that my salvation is a gift that I don’t have to work for, I know that even though I mess up from time to time my Father still sees’ me as perfect in His sight because the blood has covered all of my transgressions. We are not to be moved by what the world says a Christian should be and we shouldn’t try to walk with Christ without the revelation that it’s not about what we do but rather what we believe. Now I’m not saying we are free to live life like we did before we knew Christ and go around doing anything we want; I am just saying first of all that it is Christ that gives us the power to be witnesses (with our lives) unto Him through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and secondly that when we fall down all we gotta do is get back up and dust ourselves off and keep it moving.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vision Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Be a Blessing

As followers of Christ how can we make it through life without each other? Being a Christian is one of the most selfless lifestyles you can live, but it’s also the most rewarding at the same time. Although sometimes that is not portrayed throughout the church. The trend inside the church is “What can God do for me”? We often get caught up in ourselves, with the things going on in our lives, with our own dreams and desires, etc… The simple answer to the question “What can God do for me” is everything. God can turn your life up-side down or right-side up in the blink of an eye.

I think the attitude in His church should be “What can I do for you” instead? That’s what Jesus was all about and still is today. When Jesus was born His sole mission was based on what can I do for you, when He was being crucified He wasn’t doing it for Himself but rather for you and I. When He taught the people He wasn’t doing it so He could get more popular and famous, He was doing it so He could teach and encourage us. Even now Jesus is still doing the same thing; He is at the right hand of the Father interceding for you and me.

So, if the people of God are only focused on how God is going to bless them then I think we’ve missed a critical aspect of what it really means to be a follower of Christ, not knowing that your blessing is through your giving.

Romans 1:11-12 (NKJV)
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Paul is saying here in His letter to the people of God in Rome that he can’t wait to see them so that he may give them something that will be of good use to them concerning their faith. He is also saying so that he may be strengthened together with them in their faith.

That poses another question; if the people of God are so busy manifesting their own blessings, what happens to the believers that are struggling and are on the verge of giving up on God? I was listening to a song the other day by a Christian rap artist and the song was about how he was struggling in his faith and how he was feeling disconnected and all the things of his past were trying to lure him back to his old ways. In the above scripture Paul points out that through their encouragement together in the faith they would be strengthened together.

If you are in the body of Christ it’s important that we all work as one, that means of the same mind and accord concerning the things of God and that also means of the same values. Do you value being blessed more or being the blessing?

Thank you all,

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Believing is Freeing

Just imagine if I were to tell you that you were beautiful even though you feel ugly, just imagine if I were to tell you that you were rich even though you are poor, just imagine if I were to tell you that I loved you even though no one ever has, just imagine if I were to tell you that you were my son or my daughter even though you never met me, just imagine if I were to tell you that you were forgiven even if you think your sins are shameful. Just imagine…

Today as I was driving down the street God was speaking to me and He was telling me that it’s so simple, we are all of those characteristics God just described above. All we have to do is believe, for the one that has never known God you’re in the best position for Him to come into your life, because all He wants you to do is just believe. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it all right now all you have to do is believe the promises of God in the Bible that God says about you. Once you just believe you are freed from all kind of guilt and condemnation. Guess what it’s that simple.

For the seasoned Christian God is saying don’t make Him too complicated, I know a lot of times we seek an inspired Word from God full of revelation that we can barely handle. God is saying that it’s ok to look at His promises face value. Once we get the promises of God into our hearts; like we’re righteous, we’re healed, we’re made whole, we’re rich and not poor, He loves us, we are overcomers, once we get that into our hearts God will start to unlock the mysteries that we love so much concerning Him and His Word.

All we gotta do is believe.

Daryle Houston II

Word and Power

Over the past couple of months or so I’ve really been seeking God concerning “church”. People all over the country go to “church” every Sunday and maybe even a midweek service. While in “church” they are fed with the Word of God from the Pastor or the minister speaking, and sadly for many that’s where the buck stops. I’ve been seeking God on this because I know that there has to be more to it, I know that this can’t be it, I know this is not the reason why God called me to be a preacher of His Word; to go and speak a good Word and leave it at that. Deep down in my spirit I know that there is more to being a follower of Christ.

During my time in prayer the other day God spoke to me concerning my inquiry. He told me that the “Kingdom of God is not in word but in power”- I Corinthians 4:20

Its one thing to preach/receive the Word of God but it is meaningless if power is not associated with it. The time for traditional “church” is over, we’re going to either just be receivers of the Word of God or receivers and doers that demonstrate the power of God wherever we go all across the earth.

If you are someone that thinks that God has called them to become a preacher of the gospel; in Ephesians 5:1 it says “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” As a messenger of the Word of God we are to imitate God in such manners also. Whenever God spoke in the Bible it was always followed by manifested power. God said let there be light, and there was a manifestation of the Word spoken, there was light. God said that Sarah would have a child and sure enough she had a child in her old age. Now the manifested power can be both internal and external, so just don’t always expect to see just one. In Isaiah 55:11 Gods says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return unto Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

I Thessalonians 1:5
For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

As we see in the above scriptures, in Isaiah God is saying whatever He speaks WILL prosper (word, then power). The reason why Gods Word never returns to him without prospering or in other terms the reason why His Word is never powerless because it is a faith filled, it is spoken in most certainty and confidence. As the Sons of God (Son meaning Gods offspring, not male or female) we have this same power within us. In order to manifest this power we need to be trained in the right manners of God so that we are responsible stewards of this power; once that occurs we have to make sure that everything Holy Spirit puts in our hearts to speak must be spoken under assurance that it will be fulfilled. Paul was saying in I Thessalonians 1:5 that they spoke the gospel in both word and power because they had much assurance (most certain confidence) in what they were speaking.

Speaking in word and power requires more from those that are bold enough to take that stand. It requires and increased level of faith and the ability to come out of one’s comfort zone. I just sense that some things changing in the Body of Christ and I know that more and more people are also feeling what I’m feeling. We are first hand witnesses of the Sons of God being manifested all over the earth.

Thanks and have a blessed day.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
http://www.kingdomvizion.org