Tag: Faith

Uncategorized

Knock Knock!

keeshonpatrick

Dear God, here I am. Asking to be used as a vessel for Your message. As I write these words, please take over my mind, my heart, and my soul that they convey Your word like no one has ever before. May this be a reminder for someone that You are trying to come into their life. God show Yourself not only to them, but continue to show Yourself to me. Thank You in advance for the plans that You have for my life. May You look down and be pleased with my life. For your glory, Amen.

Summer of 2019, I became worn down with the trials of life. I was tired of doing things on my own. I was exhausted from trying to be something that I was not. I was lost and in need of a life-saving change. I prayed a very different prayer to God. One that was as vulnerable as I had ever been with Him, even though he already knew my struggles. In hindsight it is a joke to even think that I was truly hiding something from God, but that was my thoughts at the time.

As the summer continued, a switch occurred. It was evident that not only had He heard my prayer, but He came to the door of my heart and knocked. He came to me at my lowest moments of faith, and refused to let me be alone. So, when you ask why I am on fire for God? It is because He not only accepted me; with my wavering faith, parts of unbelief, and doubt in both Him and myself. I realized that He saw not who I was in that moment, but the person that I am now writing these words. God knew that eventually I would be in a position of being grateful for how far I’ve come, but also focused on where He wanted to me to go next. I was so thankful that I let Him in. I was also thankful of one thing that eased my doubt.

His Grace Accepted Me.

Right now, I know there are a few people who may not want to admit it, but they need Him in their life. I know that you hear Him knocking and you are afraid. You feel that you may not be worthy of His love. You fear that you will let him down, like you have let so many people down in your life before. You are reading these words, and filling in your own problems and reason why He cannot love someone like you. There is no way that I deserve His Grace, His Mercy, and any of the things He offers. Look at those I have hurt and all the bad that I have done.

STOP!

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) How many people do you know love you enough to sacrifice their children? I will wait, because I can only think of one. This verse is why you should not talk yourself out of the love God is trying to give you. He wants to sit with you at the table at your lowest moments. He does not expect you to change overnight. He knows our short comings. (Romans 3:23) He knows exactly who you are, but He knows that first you have to let Him in.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Are you going to let him in? He is knocking on the door of your heart. Waiting on you to open the door and receive the favor that he has on your life. God is not accidentally choosing your door. Him choosing you is intentional; God sees something in you that you have yet to see in yourself. Now you’re asking, “How? Why?” It is simply, because He knows what is in your heart. See you are afraid that God will judge you like people judge you. You are afraid that God will shame like people do every chance that they get, BUT that is not the God we serve. (1 Samuel 16:7)

This moment gives me the opportunity to do something that is the sole purpose of why I started this blog. In Romans 10:9-10, the Bible says 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. I want to give you an opportunity rather it is your first or 100th time.

Read this aloud:

“Dear Father,

I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.

Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.

Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.”

Uncategorized

You’ve Probably Heard This Before.

keeshonpatrick

Before we get started, Lord please annoint the hands that type the words of your love and grace. God use them to convey a message that is so moving that, they know you had to be apart of it. God please allow these words to heal, deliver, and protect each reader from anything the devil is trying to throw at them. God I understand that they might be familar with this text, allow these words to give them new insight. May these things be done in Your name, for Your Glory, Amen.

Trust me, You’ve Probably Heard This Before.

Let’s break this down. Starting with verse 20, “Now to him who is able to do far more than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”

How many of you right now; during a time of pandemic, economic struggles, children being home with us 24/7, being a new homeschool teacher, and having to truly get to know ourselves need a reminder that we serve a God that will not only do all that we ask or think, BUT WANTS TO DO FAR MORE? How many of us needed to be reminded that the power he has, has been given to us?

His dead-rising, lame-walking, blind-seeing, and life-saving power.

That power is within us all, waiting to be used. The only bad part is that when we doubt God’s power, we doubt what he put inside of us to face our problems. We feel like he left us without the answers, when in reality he’s already given us the answers and we have to stop waiting and starting meeting God. That is why I strive to have more than a relationship with Him; I also want a fellowship. I know that a relationship can lead to one side doing more, but a fellowship means we are both working hard to make things work. It helps God see that I am just as eager to do my part, as I am for him to do his.

See, God does not only want to help with what we asked for, he wants to do MORE. He wants to help us be more, see more, feel more, help more, love more, and even have more, but first he wants you to realize that the power to do those things is already working inside of us. Like I said last week, you cannot pull out, what you have not put in. Imagine thinking that you can pull out something that you did not even know was there. That is not a probability that I am willing to rely on, but this is the beauty of our Intentional God. He does not try to hide things from us. He actually has laid out all the answers, we just have to do our part and fellowship (read, listen, yield ourselves) and we will learn those things that are in us.

When we stop looking at oursleves as a seperate organism, but instead a branch of God’s tree. Then, maybe we will realize not only His power, but the power He’s given to us. (John 5:15)

Now let’s tackle verse 21, “To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Throughout all generations, our actions are larger than us. The affect of what we are doing now is not just impacting our life, but EVERYONE who will come after us. We must realize the importance of what we are or are not doing right now. We must understand that us losing faith, because our spirit feels alone during this pandemic is not just affecting how we deal with hard times. It could also have an effect on how future generations deal with hard times. So be careful the next time you decide to give up, because you are trying to handle it alone. Be careful the next time you do something without God, because you could be setting the precedent of what future generations do. You could also be directly affecting the life they live, because of your decisions.

Another thing that stands out as the doors of physical church is closed, and congreagations have been forced to fellowhship online is, “To him be the glory in the church.” When I was growing up my aunt used to sing a hymn that went like this, “Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. And with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living. Sanctuary oh for you.” Right now that is what we are being forced to do. More than ever we are realizing, that we the people, are the church. The church is inside each of us. What we do outside of those four walls, beyond the hour and half on a Sunday is more important to our walk with Christ than ever before. So if you ever feel like you are struggling spirtually, struggling with life, struggling to realize the power God has given us then go to Ephesians 3:20-21.

Trust me, I know You’ve Probably Heard This Before, but I am beliving that you’ve never heard it quite like this before.

Uncategorized

To Christ It Was Only A Nap

keeshonpatrick

Dear God, I want to thank you for putting this verse in my heart and mind. God please give me the words, so that this devotion will be a blessing. From this, may you get all the glory. Let’s remind people that to you, It Was Only A Nap! Amen

When you put into context the moments before these three scriptures, you will understand that this is a very different moment for Christ. Many of His miracles, were done for strangers and people that He had met along His journey of fulfilling His purpose. In this particular moment, the person who needed a miracle was one of His closest companions, Lazarus. Lazarus, was the brother of Mary and Martha, yes the same Mary that Christ showed himself to first once he had risen (that’s a sermon in itself). Christ was forced to come to the realization that his best friend was fatally sick, and the only way he would get better was through him.

What makes Christ, Christ?

In this moment, he knew and understood his power. He knew that He could heal Lazarus, while he was alive; Lazarus’ sickness would then cease. But what makes Christ, Christ is that he understood the opportunity of this moment. He knew that the timing of this miracle would be the key to how the story unfolded. And how the story unfolded, would then be the key to the glory that His father would receive. He knew that it was not enough for people to see Him heal the sick, but He needed people to see Him raise the dead. He knew that if they believed in Him, then they would believe in the Father.

This is what Christ is in our lives; The Bridge. He is our connection to God, which is why it is so vital to believe in Him. As my grandfather would say, let me give you some foundational truths. God is not one being. So when you read, John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. There is more than one person in this verse. God is three persons, the Holy Trinity to be exact. The greatest relationship to have ever existed, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You cannot believe in one without the other. In fact, once you know this, scriptures even read differently. Trust me I had to reread the entire John, because of this very reason. What I came to understand from this, is why Christ seemed so eager to win souls. He knew that He was the bridge (the way) to the Father. He knew that if you believed and loved Him, then you believed and loved the Father and also the Holy Spirit. He also knew if you believed and loved Him, then the Father and the Holy Spirit would love you too. Christ was that conscience of His purpose, and He is that important to our faith. (John 3:16-17)

Now this leads us back to the verses for today. Christ, waited 4 days before going to see about his best friend, Lazarus. Once again a very intentional move by the God we serve. This was a moment for His disciples to see His true power. Lazarus was dead, but to Christ It Was Only A Nap.

How many of us need a brother like that? Someone that can bring back to life, the things that you thought were dead. Someone who cares enough about you; that they go into a place that they are unwanted just to meet your problem. That’s the God, we serve.

Now let’s really touch everyone’s situation. See many of us are needing Christ to bring our joy back to life, to bring our relationships back to life, our finances back to life, our faith back to life, and for some of us we just need ourselves to be brought back to life.

If that did not fit your situation, then you fill it in, “I need God to bring my _______ back to life.”

You know the saying, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!” Guess what? There is GREAT NEWS… He sees your struggles and you are not alone. He sees the things that you are needing Him for, and He knows that only He can do it… BUT!

Can you be patient? Are you okay with him waiting, until he can get the largest amount of glory out of your struggle? I know that we want our thorn removed, but so did Paul. I know we feel like we cannot make it unless he brings our finances back to life, but just try to keep the faith. He is working it out so that he can get all the glory. Do you know what that means for you? Well, let’s just say that when God is getting the glory, then something great must have happen for you. Something life changing must have occurred. For example, CoVid-19 was supposed to kill the things I wanted to do in 2020, but somehow it brought me new life (This Blog). Remember, what we think is dead… To Christ It Is Only A Nap!

Uncategorized

Go To Sermons: Part II: Fading Faith (Crazy Faith Part 19)

keeshonpatrick
“It’s Only Crazy, UNTIL IT HAPPENS.”

Before I get going, I pray that he allows my words to be plain, and easily understandable in hopes to bless your life. I hope that if you are struggling with faith or any doubts, that this will feed your spirit. Each word typed is not me, but the God within me. May he get all the glory. Now, let’s get rid of that Fading Faith.

Let’s start here: What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see.”

Faith is CONFIDENCE in Christ.

There is a certain walk a person has when they are walking with confidence. Most of the time it’s; chin up, chest high, and an exuberance that is unshakable. Most of us build our confidence on positivity. Things like a raise at your job, a compliment, or getting a good grade. Only if the feelings from these things could last forever, BUT let’s be real.

The truth is, many of us are not as confident and in return, we lack faith. Now, I am not saying that you have to be confident in yourself, in order to have faith in Christ; actually I am saying the opposite. If you have faith in Christ, then there is no reason why you should not have faith in yourself. His grace alone is sufficient enough, for you to believe that he will never leave you, nor forsake you. To make it plain, because of his grace God will not give up on you. If you know that you serve a God like that, why is it so easy to lose faith?

Maybe it’s because our expectations of what Christ should be doing, does not match His will. Let’s break that sentence down by using everyone’s FAVORITE verse, Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Now here is the reality pill of this verse, number one “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” Pastor Mike poses the question, “What happens when the thing that you were believing in him for does not happen?” This made me think of a few questions of my own. Do we actually love him or do we love what he does for us? Do we love him when we are going through our valley? Why am I asking these questions? Well, mainly because we think that we love him all the time, but when we are honest, we will probably notice, that the only time we truly love him is when everything is going well in our lives. That’s when we have the most confidence (faith) in Christ, when he is answering every prayer or raining down every blessing we asked for. That is when many of our faith is the strongest. It does not take faith to believe that everything that is good is God, but it does take faith to believe that He’s using the bad things to fulfill our purpose, just as much as the good things.

Reality pill number two, “who have been called according to His purpose.” You know the things you want for yourselves, but he knows the things that you NEED. So, if you do not have something that you want, that may not mean that he is punishing you. It might mean is that it does not fit into the Will of God! So, maybe instead of holding it against God, thank him for saving you from something that you may not be ready for. Stop losing faith in God, for not having something that is supposed to be in the next chapter of your life. Little do we know, if we stop writing our book at our disappointments (at our moments of Fading Faith), then we will never allow ourselves the opportunity to write our testimonies.

Now that we have defined faith, let’s talk about the cure to Fading Faith!

In this video, from 43:00-1:16:00, you get to see Transformation Church, giving to different charities, churches, communities, families and staff members. When I watched this for the first time, my faith was not low or fading. My faith was actually in a decent place, yet within these moments I felt something brewing inside of me. Something that I had never felt at that capacity before. Something that instantly felt contagious.

SEEING OTHER PEOPLE GET BLESSED, WAS BLESSING ME.

It was at this moment that I realized the cure to fading faith. The cure is when you can get just as excited for the blessing that you witness other people receive, as you can get for the blessings that you receive. I begin to shed tears, watching these lives get changed and watching these people receiving blessings that they could have only obtained by having Crazy Faith. But I begin to bawl, when I realized that if God can bless them, then he can also do the same for me.

“It’s only crazy, until it happens.”