To The Wives

This morning I was asking the Lord what to read, and He had me go to Proverbs 21. After reading there were two scriptures that stuck out to me…  

Proverbs 21:9, 19 “9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.…. 19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”  

Can you say OUCH! Even the Lord points out how difficult it can be to have to live with a woman that has some issues! It’s in His Word so even though it might hurt, it’s obviously important. Lately God has been dealing with me about dealing with my husband like he’s my child. Now I wasn’t aware I was addressing him like that until he told me one day a few weeks ago. Can you say OUCH again! It was not something I wanted to hear, but when I stopped and thought about it and he gave me examples and I can see that I do “mother” him a lot. I think it can be a natural extension of who we are as women, and I know I grew up watching over my brother and sister a lot so it’s been ingrained in me. However the Lord was showing me it’s good for your children, but not for your husband. I know now that I have to be very aware and very intentional concerning my conversations with him so that I don’t continue down that path.  

I think God wanted me to bring these scriptures out today to all the wives out there to help us to a self-check. Are there things your husband has told you about yourself that you’ve brushed off? Do you see your husband withdrawing and not communicating well with you? Does it seem like your husband doesn’t trust you with his heart, thoughts, and most intimate feelings? Etc… Ask the Lord if there is anything you need to look at changing as a wife. Now don’t get mad, God will deal with your husband, but today He is dealing with you! As I said yesterday God is cleaning house and he wants us to be a sweet smelling fragrance to our husbands, and not smell like hot garbage. So I want to really challenge you to look deep today, to call out to the Father, and to accept that which He reveals to you.  

God bless!  

Tracy Houston

Modesty

Something that was on my heart today is modesty. Now I know it's not a topic that's talked a lot about because people don't want to feel like they are being put in bondage when it comes to clothing. My intent is not to condemn anyone. I like to wear beautiful clothing and to look as nice as the next gal. I don't think that we have to be covered from head to foot to be a good witness. However, I do think as Believers we do need to be aware of what we are wearing because not only are to be witnesses to non-believers, but we also want to make sure that we aren't tempting those around us. Let us make sure that is what on the inside of us is speaking louder to the world then what we are portraying on the outside. I read this article that I thought was well written and I encourage you to read it also...

http://missionventureministries.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/what-does-the-bible-say-about-modesty-1timothy-29-10/

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Christian Center
www.kingdomvizion.org

Realizing God’s Full Potential in Your Life

Mark 4:30-32 (AMP)- And he said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all seeds upon the earth; Yet after it is sown, it grows up and becomes the greatest of all garden herbs and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air are able to make nests and dwell in its shade.

Here, Jesus is describing how the Kingdom of God should look like in your life. In essence, He is saying that if you profess to have The Kingdom within you, then there should come a time when your “branches” bear fruit and your character mirrors that of Christ, providing rest for the restless and comfort for the weary.

However, for many of us this is not the case. As I was driving into my garage this morning I peeked on our patio and looked at a tree that I have been growing for the past couple of years. Now, I’m no expert gardener or anything, I put a seed in a pot and put it outside. Nonetheless, the seed began to grow and do what God designed it to do. However, over the past couple of months the little sapling has not grown. It’s still alive and doing well, but it’s not growing. The reason that it’s not growing is because I still have it in the same small pot that I started it in. Its root system has no more room to expand.

So, as I was pulling into the garage the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that this is analogous to the spiritual condition of many who have the seed of the Kingdom of God within them. Many of us have ceased the spiritual growth process in Christ. If you take a peek at your life, do you sense that you are not experiencing God’s full potential in your life? Has it been years since you have been excited about your relationship with God? Do you feel that you are not exhibiting the characteristics in the above scripture? When people look at you do they see someone that they can rest in, someone who is nurturing, someone who has a lot to offer spiritually? When they see you do they see The Father?

If you feel that you have stopped growing spiritually, then you probably have. However, just because you have stopped growing doesn’t mean that you are dying. As you see, my tree sapling is still alive and well because the soil is still good and it still receives water and sun. In order to continue to mature and grow The Kingdom of God within you so that you become what you were created to be, your root system needs to expand. God wants you to expand, He wants you to increase in Him, He wants to put you in a bigger “pot.” In order for this to take place we must be willing to be uprooted from our comfort zones and allow God to do whatever He wants.

Just as God commanded Abram to leave his country and leave his father’s house, He wants us to do the same. For many of us He literally wants to take us to a different location like Abram. This is what I experienced when I left my home and comfort zone in Detroit to move to New York where I knew no one. For others, he wants us to symbolically leave that comfort zone. He wants your heart to be willing and ready for an increase, a change in your situation.

This is what we are called to do and become, to mature and grow for the benefit of others. Today, make the choice to expand your root system and leave your comfort zone.
Be blessed!

Pastor Daryle Houston II

Marriage

Marriage is forever not just a passing phase, and we should not treat it so commonly. Like anything in this life worth having, it's going to take hard work, perseverance, good communication, and dying to self-centeredness and selfishness. Men have to learn how to love their wives, this does NOT necessarily come naturally to them. What comes naturally to them is respect. To love means:

-To welcome

-To entertain
-To be fond of
-To love dearly
-To approve of
-To like
-To treat affectionately or kindly
-To befriend
-To show signs of love i.e. to kiss
-To be fond of doing

Women have to learn how to respect their husbands, this does NOT necessarily come naturally to us. What comes naturally to us is love. To respect means to:
 

-To reverence (a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; fear mingled with respect and esteem), venerate (revere, respect)
-To treat with deference (A yielding in opinion; submission of judgment to the opinion or judgment of another) or reverential obedience
 

Some of you might not like those definitions but it does not change the fact that they are true. Women have been hard wired to need love and men have been hired wired to need respect. It’s just the way God made us. If we are not giving those things to our spouses then it can damage our relationships and it opens a door for the enemy to enter in.
 

Marriage is designed to get you out of your comfort zone, you will have to learn how to do something that might not come natural to you. It might be one of the hardest things you have to learn how to navigate, but it is the most rewarding. There is nothing in the world that can compare to a spouse that’s been given to you by God. If you surrender and submit yourself to the process of becoming one with your spouse, not only will it make you a better spouse, but it will make you a better person in general.
 

Remember marriage is meant to change you, not your spouse. Let’s shift our focus, no matter hard it has been, off what they have been lacking and onto what we are lacking and need to change within ourselves. God is faithful to do it in and through you if you will allow Him. He is the ONLY one who can save your marriage and turn it around. He is the ONLY one who can merge you and your spouse as one. He is the ONLY one who can bring healing and wholeness and true joy into your marriage. It is never too late for Him…
 

God Bless!
 

Tracy Houston

The importance of sending up praises and not just petitions.

Currently, I am working as a Student Attorney for a public defense office here in Minnesota. Yesterday, one of my clients was an older gentleman in his sixties. As his attorney my job is to make sure that I communicate his interests to the court and to try and obtain a judgment that meets/exceeds his interests or one that comes close. Of course, like with most of my clients their main interest is getting out of jail, as was his. However, the judge decided otherwise. She weighed the evidence against him, took into account his prior record, and sentenced him to jail.

As his lawyer I was upset because I could not satisfy my client’s interest. After he appeared before the judge I met him in the back holding area and he was distraught, asking if I could do anything else. Unfortunately, I could not. I kept replaying the case over and over again, trying to think of a way I could have obtained a better outcome for him. In the end, I did all that I could do, there were no other avenues to pursue. However, I kept asking myself “was this my fault”; did my client have to go to jail?

So, this morning as I was beginning my prayer and worship time, I heard a tiny voice in my heart. The voice simply said, “is it My fault; is it My fault?” The voice was so pure and gentle; I knew it was not my own conscious. I immediately knew who was behind the voice, my heavenly father. Astonishingly, I knew somehow what the question was referring to without even having to ask, “is what Your fault?”

Usually, when I am going through challenges I hear a question presented. God usually presents a question about Himself to me so that he can teach me a lesson about myself. However, this time was unusually different. The manner in which this question was presented was not in a manner that I am accustomed to. This time I felt a genuine sincerity behind the question, I felt the question was not presented for the sole purpose of just teaching me a lesson.

As all of this was taking place I felt my heart begin to be immersed in grief, so much grief that I just wanted to weep. Continuous revelations behind the question rushed into my mind. My Father was asking me is it His fault that the people of the world are in such dire straits? He began to share what was on His heart, questions of “why did I create it all”; “should I have not gone forth with My creation”; “why do people die every day without knowing My grace and mercy when they don’t have to.” He was asking “is it His fault?” He allowed me to experience and understand the grief that was in His heart at the time.

I then knew that this prayer and worship time was not going to be about me asking God to make me a better person, to bless my house financially, to give me more wisdom, to make my cat stop scratching up our carpet, etc . . . I knew during this time I was going to bless my Father with my praise; to uplift His heart; to tell Him that He is worthy and awesome; to acknowledge the goodness of His presence in the world; and to affirm that He has done enough and it is not His fault.

You see, we were made in His image; therefore He experiences some of the same emotions that we experience. Just as we need encouragement from time to time, so does He. Just as our hearts  grieve from time to time, so does His. It is our duty to understand the reciprocal nature of a true relationship with God. We often fall into the routine of always asking, asking, and asking, our Father. Rarely do we ever bless, bless, and bless, our Father. The first thing that is highlighted in the Lord’s Prayer is praise from us to Him (Matthew 6:9-13). Once we understand the power of declaring our praises to Him, we will then begin to realize that we will no longer have to ask for so much; because the blessings we seek to come down are naturally manifested through our praises we send up.

This was a powerful experience for me. God allowed me to see that even though the price has been paid and we all have access to salvation, His heart is grieving for those that do not know Him and those who die without knowing Him. His heart yearns for them. His desire is that we all be saved and come to know Him intimately. He has equipped all true believers with the tools to administer His grace to a perishing world. So, go forth and be led as Ambassadors for Christ.

Proverbs 16:24- Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Hebrews 13: 14-16-For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

 

Pastor Daryle Houston II

Kingdomvizion Christian Center

www.kingdomvizion.org

Is It Better to Be Loved or Feared?

 

As of lately I have taken a keen interest in kings and kingdoms. I guess that comes from watching to many medieval television shows.  I am intrigued with their systems of governance, the positions that various people held, and how the people viewed and responded to that system. Surprisingly, this interest of mine has helped me understand the Bible a bit more, especially when studying the Pharaohs, Kings, Queens, the Roman Empire in the days of Jesus, etc . . .

As I was studying the book of Daniel, the question came to me; “Is it better for a king to be loved or feared?”  As I began to ponder the question I began to inquire with my Heavenly Father about it. Below, is what immediately poured into my mind.

As of lately I have been hearing so many people in the Body of Christ talk about the wrath of God on a sinful world. They also speak in the manner that if someone fails to submit to God, then that person is destined to feel the punishment of God’s wrath and suffer the fate of a burning hell. Now, I personally believe that both, Heaven and Hell are real, but by no means will I ever try to share my faith with someone by saying if you don’t submit to God, then you will be condemned to hell for eternity, and then say, “God loves you” in the same sentence.

This is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Christ. This is called persuasion to obedience by through use of fear. We all know that the spirit of fear is not of God, so why would I want to scare someone into His LOVING kingdom.  The sad part about it, many use this tactic to try and draw others to God. Sadly, the ones who are persuaded begin their relationships with God on the basis of fear and not love and grace. This in-turn breeds erroneous mindsets that wrongly interpret God’s word and as a consequence it becomes a chain reaction that reaches many others. Before you know it you have the makings of a cult that persecutes the world instead of going into it and loving on the people within it, who are in need of God’s love the most. In addition, those people operate their daily lives from a position of terrifying fear towards God and not out of the position of reverential fear.

DANIEL 3:4-7

“Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, “that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzer has set up: “and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.””  

The above account regards the command of King Nebuchadnezzer. At the time he had created a golden image and forced everyone to worship it. If someone failed to submit to it, then that person was threatened with being cast into a fiery furnace. The people worshiped out of terrifying fear. We all know the story; the three Hebrew boys did not submit to the golden image and were thrown into the fire. Amongst the fire everyone saw four shadows walking in the furnace, free and unbounded. The fourth shadow was that of Jesus.

This sounds peculiarly familiar with some of the messages that have been coming out of the Body of Christ for many generations.  “If you don’t submit to God, then you will be condemned forever in the lake of fire.” Did King Nebuchadnezzer take a page out of God’s book by forcing people to serve a golden image? Certainly not!

God is not looking for a people to submit to Him out of terrifying fear or force. This is why He gave us free-will. I receive the most pleasure out of my relationship with God by knowing what He has done for me, and knowing that I serve Him because I freely choose to, not because I am forced to or because I fear going to hell.

Again, I do believe that Hell is real and that sadly, some people go there. However, I do not believe we are to go around condemning others that at the time do not share in our beliefs. Right now the world needs to experience the love of God like never before, so much condemnation is already being spewed: “you’re bad because you are a republican or democrat, you are hideous because you are gay or lesbian, you are worthless because you didn’t attend a certain school etc . . . As a member of the Body of Christ let’s not fall into this same trap. Let’s not focus on the fiery furnace, but rather turn our attention to the fourth shadow amidst the fiery furnace that delivered the three Hebrew boys from death.

There’s a time and a place for everything.  The realization of hell should be TAUGHT to people, it should not be used in a manner in which we are making first introductions about God to someone.

So, the answer to the question, I think it is better to be loved than feared. When people serve out of love they serve genuinely. When people serve out of fear they serve out of obligation and angst. The King who is loved may not be loved by all but in the end he will have a faithful following, willing to serve no matter what. The King who is feared will be obeyed by all but in the end will be resented.  

 

Pastor Daryle Houston II

Kingdom Vizion Christian Center

www.kingdomvizion.org