He restoreth my soul

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was get on social media then I heard the voice of The Lord say, "See you haven't spent no time with me". Instantly, I put it away and began to pray..  While in prayer I begin to recite Psalms 23 but I knew there was a verse I was missing when reciting it so I opened up my bible to read it.

Psalm 23

1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Verse 3 is what I was missing, seems that is always the verse I can't remember.  The phrase "restoreth my soul" stood out to me and I began to study out the scriptures to get a better meaning of it.  Restore means to "turn back" and Soul means "the person, your inner you, your emotions, your will, you mind'.

So God was saying to me he is the one that can turn me back...my inner being my mind, will and emotions.   Circumstances  has cause much doubt fear and worry in my mimd and even though I knew the only way out was through Jesus Christ,  it has been easier said than done.  TodayGod has reassured me that I can be restored through the law (his instructions) that are perfect (whole ,has nothing missing).  I can once again be free In Him, How? By abiding in his law because it Restores My Soul!

Psalm 19:7 says, 

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul...

Scripture says that the law, which is God's plan to life is perfect  that there is nothing missing in it . It is WHOLE and it turns back my inner self to where I am to be in Him but I must be in His Word daily.  I tried reading the word some of the time didn't work out so well. That just leaves room for the enemy to get in and destroy the image of who I am in Christ Jesus.  Usually doubt, fear, worry, guilt, regret, sadness, frustration gets in and tears down the image God has established in us. But we have to be disciplined and do what Joshua 1:8 says, 

8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

God is with us no matter where we are at, there is no getting away from him. That's why even when I feel I am at my lowest God still speaks to me.  He told me today spend time with me, just so he can fill me with encouragement by reminding me who He is and who I am in Him.  Wow that is just loving and kind of Him, I love that he loves me that much.  And he loves you just as much. 

John 15:7 says,

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Go ahead and try God today, doesn't matter how you are FEELING, because you are walking by faith not your feelings.  As you read his word it will restore your soul, get into God's word today and hear him speak to you, it will be worth your time.  It was definitely worth mines. Besides, what do you have to lose?

Keep the Faith!

Remember...God is WithU4U

No Good thing does He withhold....

I looked at her my 13 yr old with such joy in my heart, instantly I had forgotten how mad, sad or disappointed I had been towards her earlier.  The tone of her voice saying, "Oooh" and the smile on her face when she opened up her bag of makeup brushes was just what I needed to experience.  Such a small gift made her so very excited and made me thankful in that instant to be her mom and share in her joy.  My daughter and I had just been bumping heads for the past couple of days.  I just was annoyed with her actions as she was with reacting to her actions. Seems no matter what we were discussing we didn't agree with one anothers demeanor. Me saying no to certain request made her mad as well as sad and made me feel like a mean overwhelmed mother.  Amazingly one decision to do for her despite what had been taking place changed my attitude. Her joy made me aware of how much God loves me & rejoice in my joy.  In spite of me messing up, or being fearful or not doing what he commands me to do, he still doesn't withhold good things from me. 

Psalm 84:11 (NASB)

¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly

I made a quick trip to the store for one thing but came back from the store with a couple of things which included a few items that she had previously mentioned she wanted to buy.  For instance makeup brushes for her eyes; recently she became interested in wearing eye makeup.  She is always on Youtube watching videos on how to "properly apply" your makeup. LOL teenagers.  So while in the store I picked up a set along with eye makeup remover (no oil). Why? Because her older sister said it just annoys her when she sees her remove her make up with vaseline.  "It's greasy mom she complains about bumps on her forehead so she doesn't need to use that", WOW I use vaseline and it works just fine for me, but okay I gave in and bought it.  Some concealer because the Youtube expert says it allows your eye makeup to last longer.  Some Clear Care a special solution that cleans her contacts (that she just got for her 13th birthday because she says she is sooooo tired of wearing glasses :-) to get rid of protein that builds up on them (according to her doctor). Last item some Zaditor antihistamine eye drops to stop the itching when wearing her contacts because of allergies.  And to think I went to the store for 1 item.

Whew girls are so much work & expensive!   LOL.

Now I know these things are tangible things and she was happy to receive them but I received such an unexpected blessing from watching her joy! Her joy touched my heart it caused me to want to show my heavenly Father joy so that I may touch his heart.  Doing something for her was a lesson for me. I have a new perspective on showing joy to my Father so that he may have joy in his heart when he sees me full of joy.  I was overjoyed to see my child full of joy I only imagine Jesus is just as overjoyed. Tangible things are nice to have but "joy" is such a blessing to experience. Jesus loves us unconditionally, He is the one that gave his life so that we can have eternal life, have unspeakable joy  and for that I'll worship & praise Him continually!  I love Him wholeheartedly for who he is!

Joy is a good thing and I don't ever want to withhold it from my saviour.  Thank you Jesus for being my savior!

Just visualized with me for one moment...
A crowd of people standing together side by side are looking up.....What do they see? They are feeling the love of their Father.  His love is flowing down to them, all of them in the crowd know he is pleased. Why? Because 'we' have accepted his son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  He looks out to the world saying....these are My Kingdom Kids!

...translated N2 the kingdom of his dear Son, Jesus
                                                                       -Col. 1:9-14
 Yes I said , we in that last sentence because I am in that crowd of people.  Are you? Don't you want to be one of those in the crowd?  If you don't know Jesus Christ and haven't accepted Him as your Savior you can do that right now.  Jesus became a curse so that you & I could have everlasting life.  He loves you and wants to present you as well to the world as one of  "His Kingdom Kids".  All you have to do is confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord & believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead..and you too shall be saved.
                                                 -Romans 10:8,9,10

You have nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about.  Verse 11 in says, no one who adheres, relies or trusts in Him will ever be put to shame or be disappointed.

I don't know about you but I have had many disappointing moments in my life, and there have been times I felt ashamed that I am not where I think I should be in life.  But I have never been disappointed or ashamed that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.  Because of Him I have been able to continue to fight the good fight of faith, walk by faith and not by sight, and believe that he has a plan for me.

Today I was listening to Redeemed by  Big Daddy Weave and the Spirit of The Lord filled me with such joy I just began to thank Him for being who he is, for loving me and for sparing my life.  I was just kept driving around giving Him praise.  Whew!  It was just me and God and it was awesome just to be in a mindset of thankfulness.  I want everyone of you to experience the beauty of a loving faithful Savior.

So just do what the song says,
....shake off those heavy chains, wipe away every stain.
Because you are not who you use to be.  You are Redeemed!

Hallelujah!  Glory to God!  Thank you Jesus!

Remember to Keep the Faith and know that God is WITHU4U

K. Smith

The Most High is El Elyon...The Sovereign Ruler of the Universe

Psalms 91:1-2

I sit down in the secret hidden place of the most High ( El Elyon, the Sovereign ruler of the Universe)  shall (meaning it's going to happen) abide, I shall stay, I shall dwell, I shall remain permanently under the shadow (the protection) of the Almighty (Shaddai, the most powerful one)

I will say in my heart of The Lord Jehovah,
He is my refuge (my shelter) and my Fortress (my stronghold, my strong place, my defense), my God;
on Him I lean and rely
and in Him I confidently trust!

Psalms 18:1
The Lord Jehovah is my Security, my  stronghold, and my deliverer he brings me into security. My One True God; Jehovah, my Rock, in whom I seek refuge, in whom I flee to for protection.  He is my shield, the strength of my (salvation) safety, prosperity and welfare (salvation).

JUSTICE???

First shock then anger then pain, is what I felt when I heard the verdict for the Trayvon Martin case.  A child is dead and the person who did it can walk away because of how he "felt".  Many different thoughts bombarded my mind.  First a  family lost their son, brother, friend and now (it seems to me) the  hope they had of justice being served.  I can see still see the face of his mom sitting in that court room,  such courage is what I saw looking at her.  But I am sure  inside other emotions are what she felt.  The look on his fathers face as if he was thinking, just give me my son back, let all of this not be real.

But God was there.

I remembered my cousin who was shot down on the streets walking home from the store and no one has ever been brought to justice for his death.  Died to young,  It reminded me also of 2 elderly men (family members) traveling from Georgia back to Michigan.  The one man drove picked up his friend in Georgia to bring him back to Michigan to visit family and friends that the other one had previously moved away from.  Two men, black men that had lived through so many unfair, controversial injustices of this world but survived.  Only to find one dead and the other on the side of the road, with evidence of a blow to his head.  Delusional and clearly traumatized by the events that led to his friends death.  Events  that he would never be able to talk about.  He died a few years later taking what happened that day with him.

Yet again I believe God was there.

I think of my son, nephews and future grandsons and I pray to God they will be protected and their lives will not be shortened by the hand of another person. I think of my daughters, nieces and future granddaughters that they too will be protected from the evil in this world.  I began to ask God what is going on, what can be done, how am I suppose to express the feelings that are going on inside of me.  What do I say to my child that is so angry at the outcome, who also learned today of a former classmate that died TOO YOUNG, and another classmate whose mom died TOO YOUNG.

I pray!

That is the only thing that helps me in my time of need. When I say the name Jesus things happen in the atmosphere!  God there is so much pain in this world, there are so many questions that are being asked that needs answering.  There is so much pain in my heart right now, I just want to scream to the top of my lungs in order to set things right.  But I know that won't change nothing that transpired today.

It won't bring back Trayvon, or Chris (my cousin), or Mr. Thomas (the elderly man killed). A respectful law abiding man that was pulled over by a suburban police car who claimed they let him go with a warning.  But he never made it to his destination.  Only to be found dead on the side of the road near some railroad tracks.

It also won't bring back Mr. Ernest (the man traumatized) one of my grandfathers best friends, a man he knew as a child, a man that I knew my whole life.  Who was just coming back for a visit but ended up in the hospital and having to be told his friend was dead. Killed! All he remembered was being pulled over, sat down on the ground, and hearing Mr. Thomas talking back to the police that were not speaking kind words to him, and that didn't seemed to like what answers they were getting back.  Why? We still don't know why.

But I have to believe God was there.


I can, I will,  pray! I will pray for all involved.  I will call on the name of Jesus when I feel overwhelmed with pain, anger and confusion, and when I need answers.    I will pray for those mourning the lost of loves ones. I will also pray for those that know things that need to be told, so that justice will be served.  If not in the worlds judicial system it will be served in God's Kingdom!  Nothing is done that God does not know about.   I was always told what was done in the dark will come to the light.  Scripture says it like this,

¹⁷ For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.                  Luke 8:17

Keep God first in your life, and remember He is WITHU4U

Keep The Faith!

Love,
K. Smith

If you think God is ... think again!

 

If you think God is off doing something for some one else think again.
Yesterday I met a young lady at my job and in the midst of her giving me a flyer for a concert.  I was so mesmerized by her hair.  You see  I have been trying to get an hair appt. for a month but it would not work out.  Every time  my beautician was available  wasn't.  So needless to say i have been walking around looking like a tack head.  LOL now that's a throwback from the 80's, "tackhead".

Anyway, this young lady who was just as excited about her hair as I was called her beautician., instead of just giving me the number.  She was so excited when talking to me about what her  Since i was working, lol she texted me and we made an appointment for the next day at 12.

Well I came in early after running errands for my hubby and sat there waiting her arrival.  I was so excited and nervous at the same time.  Well the closer it got to 12 I began to get nervous.  Thinking maybe she forgot about me the enemy was stealing my joy slowly but surely. 

But God...

As soon as that thought came she texted me, " up the street on my way".  LOL Thank you Jesus! She didn't forget about me.  So we're in the shop she is analyzing my hair telling me what needs to take place.  She is serious about her hair.  She says, my hair is her hair now so when I am at home she expects me to treat her hair correctly.  LOL i love it. 

Fast forward to her rinsing my hair she begins to speak to me from God.  She was singing,  God's able to do just what he said he will do.... don't give up on God cause he won't give up on you.  He's able!  She then says to me, "that's for you. 
She says God is not standing by just seeing what's happening he see what's going to happen.  He's there for  you. 

I tell you I just wanted to weep.  But I held it together, she said you're in the right place at the right time.  Whew! thank you Jesus! I tell you God will meet you where you are at, and use whomever he desires to use to get to you.  I will not be frustrated nor give up, no matter what the situation is.  I will STAND!! and  you should too.

Know that God loves you and he is WITHU4U

Keep the Faith! 

Kresendo Smith,
A Kingdom Kid!

The Experience of a Kingdom Kid

I'm so excited right now I just heard the most inspiring story from my cousin and wanted to share.  Her daughter attends a Christian dance school and their recital was the other day. Of course she did fabulous I mean it's in the genes.  LOL! Well when she was finished she was receiving her flowers and getting congratulations from all her family and friends. 

In the midst of the excitement my cousin noticed her son crying.  They began to ask him what was wrong, she thought maybe he was looking for attention since everyone was focused on his sister. But that wasn't the case, he began to tell his little sister how proud he was of her.  His sister had this look on her face of such concern for him. I wish I could show you the pictures of him full with emotion crying, her looking at him like she just want to fix what is wrong.  But that's not all. 

He told his mother later, "I felt God today and I know now I'm saved."
Can you say with me HALLELUJAH!!!!  Glory to God!

This is a life changing moment in his life.  I believe he is 10 his sister is either 7 or 8 (I'm terrible with ages, sorry).  But when I was told by his mother what he experienced it brought tears to my eyes and joy into my heart.  I immediately thought he's a "kingdom kid". 

Also it's great that they were able to catch this moment with pictures, those pictures will forever be a reminder to him when he personally knew God for himself. Priceless!  To me the pictures are a true image of a "kingdom kid". Someone that has been translated out of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son... I Colossian 1:13.  He felt himself being moved from one place to another in his heart.  WOW! that gives me goose bumps it such a overwhelming feeling of joy and peace just thinking about what he experienced.  Isn't that awesome a young man gave his heart to the Lord,  he is officially a KINGDOM KID!   I am rejoicing! 

What's also great is he shared that moment with is mother.  He didn't want to tell anyone else at that time he only wanted to share it with his mom.  He did tell her he would tell his dad later, and the next day or so he told his aunt. I know that brought so much joy and peace to her.  I'm overjoyed that she thought to share it with me.  I try to always stand on the Word of God in all situations, and do things according to his word. So for her to call me and share that moment with me was an honor.  I really needed some encouragement today it was a sad day for me, thinking of my dad.  But I have been reminded life continues, that there are people out there that need to experienced the love of God.  So prayer and ministering God's word must continue. 

Later on I talked to his aunt, she's the one that sent me the pictures.  She said her nephew told her when the kids were dancing to "Take Me to the King" by Tamela Mann, he felt (inside of himself) like he had went to see the King.  That was his moment and no one can take it away from him. I think it's a beautiful thing that he will be able to pinpoint that moment in his life when he came to know the Lord for himself.   

My prayer is that all of mankind will have a moment like my cousin did.  That they will hear a song, see a dance or hear some words that will guide them to give their hearts to Jesus Christ and accept him as their Savior and become Kingdom Kids!   Please continue to uplift those that don't know God as well as those that know him but need to experience Holy Spirit. 

To my cousin I say thank you.  Thank you for sharing such an intimate moment in your life.  I am encouraged to continue to move in the direction God has for me.

Keep The Faith and
Remember God is WithU4U

Love,
K. Smith