Are You SURE???

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Tamela

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved:…Romans 10:9

As I am writing this quick message, America, pardon my error… to be more exact, the ENTIRE world is still in the middle of a pandemic. There have been countless lives lost, lives recovered and everyone’s life have been turned upside down. This Covid-19 epidemic has caught many people off-guard and now living in a ball of confusion, fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety. Who would have thought that in the month of March 2020, that our normal everyday lives would be introduced to a “new normal”. This “new normal” of 2020 opened the eyes of many individuals to the fact that if they were to contract this virus and die, where would they spend eternity. On a side note, I can attest to the rise of this question, because my insurance agency has seen a tremendous surge in people purchasing life insurance.

God is omniscient, meaning that He is all-knowing. So we can rest assure that this DID NOT catch Him off-guard. For whatever reason why God allowed this pandemic during this time only He knows. But maybe in my small mind of thinking, it could be to allow more people to come to realization that they need to repent and accept the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, into their life. In the Bible in 2 Peter 3:9 it states, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” This is such a time for this awakening. We have been stripped of our everyday idols, our version of normalcy, and worst of all, stripped of our capability of attending church. You know God has His way of getting our attention solely back onto Him. It can be an easy way or the hard way…I guess we wanted it the hard way.

So now, I get back to the title of this message, “Are you SURE?”

Are you sure that if you were to die today, would you know where you would spend eternity? If you are not sure but would like to be able to say “Yes” then read and acknowledges these truths:

You must acknowledge that you have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…Romans 3:23 We all sin and fall short of God’s glory everyday. By acknowledging that we have sin, we allow our hearts to be open to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior Who washed away all of our sins.
Understand that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus…Romans 6:23 Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will have sanctification and the outcome will be eternal life.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…Romans 5:8 Our sins is what kept Jesus Christ upon that cross. He knew that the only way for us to be in right standing (righteousness) with God, we had to have our sins washed away by the Blood of Jesus Christ being shed for our sins.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast…Ephesians 2:8 There is nothing that you did or could do physically to become saved. It was your faith in God thru His grace that you obtained salvation. If were able to “work” for our salvation, then we would get all of the credit and not God.
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…Romans 10:9. Now confess this scripture aloud and believe in your heart and you will be saved and your name will be written in the Lambs Book of Life…HALLELUJAH!!!

So now, lastly I ask you again, “Are you Sure?” If you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior just now, you can answer in confidence with a “YES”!

But before I finish this message, it would be remiss for me not to provide the next two crucial steps in your life as a new believer:

Please begin studying your Bible. You can study with your church members, Bible believing family members and most importantly by yourself in your daily life. The Book of John in the New Testament is a great place to start.
Praying without ceasing. Prayer is THE KEY of communication with God. Just as you feed your physical body, you must feed your spiritual body with prayer and with God’s Word EVERYDAY!

I love sharing God’s Word and pray that this message was a blessing!

Go with Christ today!

Tamela D. Bowie

Count it all JOY!

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Tamela

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” …James 1:2

As I am sitting here writing this article, America is in one of its biggest trials, COVID-19. This virus has caused a national and international mayhem of fear, uncertainty, and worst of all…death. If we reflect back on the scripture I shared above, one might find it crass or a lack of sympathy to suggest that we should “count it all joy” in such a time as this, but if we are true followers of Christ, we should know that COVID-19 did not come as a surprise to God nor did it catch Him off-guard.

The purpose of this article is not an attempt at trying to explain if God knew this was coming then why did He not prevent it from happening, but more to provide encouragement on how we should respond to His allowance of trials and tribulations in our lives.

In the scripture of James 1:2-3, James suggests that a person should “count it all joy WHEN you fall into various trials”, so let’s focus on the word when. “When” is an adverb and it is defined as, “at what time”. So, it comes as no surprise that James chose to use the word “when”, because he knew as well as Jesus Christ did, that as Christians we will have trials on earth. (John 16:33, Romans 5:3, 1 Peter 4:12). Therefore, as followers of Christ, our expectations of trials should not be, “none at all”, but they should be “but when”.

Next in the same scripture, James suggests that we should “count it all joy”. Wait a minute, “joy”, we are expected to be joyful when going thru trials? Yes, we should. We should be joyful because of the fact of knowing that the trials do not last for long. And most importantly, any trial that we are faced with, Jesus has already overcome the world ( i.e. trials) so we will not be in bondage to it. In the Book of John, scripture verse 16:33, it reads, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”. Therefore, if God is telling us to “be of good cheer” in our trials, it is because He knows that we will come out more mature in our faith and have freedom from bondages. And lastly, as Christians, we are the light and salt of this world, so when the world sees us going thru trials with joy, it clearly shows that there is a One True Living God.

“Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience”…James 1:3. The word “testing” in this part of the scripture sometimes causes a lot of confusion with believers. Many Christians oftentimes view their “trials” as a form of punishment from God. If God is allowing a trial in our lives, it is because He is the author and only good will come from it. Trials do not mean that God is displeased with us nor is He testing us to see if we will fall or sin. When we are facing trials, His mission is to grow us into the maturity of our faith and walk more closely with Him.

“Faith produces patience”…James 1:3. Before I tackle, “faith produces patience”, there must be a clear understanding that trials do not produce faith. A person either had faith going into the trial or no faith at all. For non-believers, going into a trial is not going to magically produce a faith outcome. For the most part, a non-believer is not going to understand the premise for the trial and will most likely sum it up as a streak of “bad luck” or “bad karma”. For believers, that is God’s intent and purpose behind a trial is to mature or grow our faith. Since trials do not produce faith, then what does? What produces faith is reading and hearing God’s Word on a daily basis. Romans 10:17 reads, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”.

Now that we have an understating what produces faith, let’s learn about what faith produces during a trial. According to James 1:3, …”faith produces patience”. It is no surprise that patience is produced from a trial seeing that it is one of the Fruit of the Spirit. Patience is defined biblically as the quality or virtue of endurance or forbearance. It is a quality of self-restraint or of not giving way to anger, even in the face of provocation. Many of our trials can come by way of being provoked or non-provoked. Either way, sometimes anger, resentment, and bitterness can take root in a believer which can cause them to want to escape the trial. However, escaping the trial prematurely will prevent faith maturation and most importantly prevents God’s plan for your victory on the other side of the trial. That is the reason why in James, we are encouraged to allow our faith to produce patience so that we will not miss out on what God is trying to impart into our lives spiritually. It is during the trail that as our faith matures, we will develop patience and wisdom to know that God still sits on His throne, He is in control, and that He only wants the best outcome for His children.

Many believers struggle thru trials because we lack the proper “tools” needed to prepare and endure. Here are the Five R’s” to dealing with a trial:

“Recognize” that is a trial. Especially if it comes out of nowhere and it is unexplainable.
“Remember” it has a purpose. Seek God thru prayer for the purpose of the trial.
“Refocus” your eyes off of the trial and focus on God.
“Restore” your prayer life and time with God.
“Rejoice” in knowing that God’s promises are true and that the trial will pass.

Hopefully this article has opened our eyes to the purpose and reasons behind our trials. In addition, I pray that the “5 R’s” to dealing with a trial will find themselves useful at a time when we find ourselves facing a trial.

In closing, if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and would like to be saved and have everlasting life, then please read the following scripture aloud and believe in your heart, then you will be saved and the angels will rejoice in Heaven and your name will be written in the Lambs Book of Life.

Romans 10:9…”that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. Amen!

Go with Christ today!

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela D. Bowie

MONDAY MOTIVATION

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Tamela

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails”…Proverbs 19:21

“Winning at the Game of Life”

Some say winning at the game of life is oftentimes like playing a game of chess. We are faced with certain limitations, positional movements, and consequences that we must overcome. Every decision made will have an impact on the rest of your life. Winning requires strategic planning, clear vision, and unyielding patience. However, the difference between winning a game of chess versus winning at the game of life is who we allow to be our strategist. Will it be us or God? God has already set up a winning strategy for our victory…all we have to do is to participate, be flexible and most importantly be faithful. According to scripture, God has dealt to every man a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and it is that measure of faith, that we should use like a chess piece. Instead of us strategizing our goals and plans, we should allow God’s plans to navigate us through the game of life because He always has the winning plan!

God’s Winning Plan!

1. Seek God and His Plans for your life
2. Stop Striving and Start Abiding
3. Allow God to be in the driver seat
4. Be still and allow God to do what He does best
5. Trust the Process

In closing, in order to be able to implement God’s winning plan in your life, you must be a member of God’s team. It is very easy to join and there are no membership fees required. It is very simple…You must first accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. So if you are ready to become a member so that you can implement God’s Winning Plan into your life, then say this prayer out loud and believe it in your heart:

Romans 10:9

That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved.

If you said that prayer and believed it in your heart, then you are saved, and God, Jesus Christ, and the angels in heaven are rejoicing!!! Praise The Lord!!!

The next step is to find you a Holy Spirit filled, Bible believing and teaching church, and start to read your Bible. If you do not have a Bible, please contact me and I will be more than happy to have one mailed to your home or place of business. To God be the Glory and Go with Christ today!

In Christ’s Service,

Tamela D. Bowie

Positive Affirmations for the Next 21 Days

Posted on August 13, 2017 by Tamela

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7

We are what we we think we are. We are what we believe ourselves to be. We are what we believe in our hearts. Our perception of who we are is our reality and what we project to others.

It is very important that as Followers of Christ that we project the love of Christ at all times and in every situation. There is no better way to share the Good News of Christ than by how we live our lives and how we view ourselves. Please do not perceive my words as “worldly vanity” consisting of make-up, fancy clothes, living in large homes and driving fancy cars, but living our lives knowing the truth in who we are and Who we belong to.

That is why I truly believe that positive affirmations that are scripturally based are important to be spoken by us and over us each day of our lives. They can serve as a reminder as to who we are in Christ, and Who we belong to and the power that comes with knowing the Truth. Also, it puts the enemy on notice that we know our identity in Christ which makes it difficult for the enemy to be able to lie to us about our identity, rob us of our peace, and create confusion. The enemy knows that he can be successful at disempowering Christ followers by getting them to be unknowlegedable about their identity in Christ. Why do you think the enemy works so hard at keeping us from reading God’s Word…if we don’t know what God’s Word says about us, then we are subjected to fall prey to the enemy’s lies about who we are and Who we belong to.

I believe the saying that “anything that you do consistently for at least 21 days will turn into a habit”. I know for me and for my children, it is very important and crucial that everyday we speak scripture based positive affirmations over our lives. I found this list of scripture based affirmations on-line and made it a part of our morning prayer time…I am sharing in love in hopes that you will make it a part of your daily prayer time and share with others for the next 21 days.

I declare in the Name of Jesus Christ that:

I AM a child of God, and I have a Kingdom inheritance today

I AM seated with Christ in the heavenly places

I AM free from all fear, all anxiety, all panic, and all confusion

I AM free from all sickness, all disease, all injuries, all illnesses, and all infirmities

I AM healed through the Name of Jesus Christ Who I serve

I AM at peace in my body, in my soul, and in my spirit

I AM a citizen of Heaven

I AM the head and not the tail

I AM victorious

I AM prosperous in my soul, in my finances, and in all that I have!

Here’s a little tip that I use to make sure that we do not forget to say these affirmations. I place it on the mirror in the bathrooms and on the refrigerator door. My suggestions would also be to place in the areas of our home where you and your family frequent the most.

In closing, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior ( to be saved) and you would like to, please say this verse out loud and believe it in your heart and you will be saved..

“…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”…Romans 10:9

If you said that scripture out loud and believed in heart, you are saved and the angels in heaven are rejoicing and God has written your name in the Lambs Book of Life never to be blotted out. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!

Thank you for stopping by and go with Christ today!

Sharing in God’s Love

Tamela D. Bowie