Antoinette Hardy
I
f water boils at 100 degrees Celsius this middle aged man was on the front eye of the stove and was about to boil over because he had already been running hot. Here he is in his early 50's and at first glance he has it all together. But, behind the mask of his upper middle class persona and facade he was as dangerous as a land mine in Iraq. He comes into my office after taking the time to schedule an appointment and before I can close the door good he belts out a manly holla that was enough to raise the deceased. I know most men don't yell unless it's a game on the tube and their team is winning; but, this brother had to let one go and he did. I sat looking at him like Ms. Sealey sat looking at Mister trying to cook breakfast for Shug Avery in the movie the Color Purple. In short, I did not say a word I just watched. And when he finally calmed down he said "Rev I’m sorry but I had to holla!" Has it ever happened to you before? Has life ever made you want to just holla? Wait before you answer let me tell you what made this grown man holla. He had been married for 14 years and his wife decides that she's not happy. He’s been working two jobs but it's just not enough. They both have children from previous relationships and her son does not want to follow the rules of the house but his son is expected to; money comes into the house but as soon as it comes in it goes out; and, folk on his job are really giving him the blues so his job had been stressful. On top of all of this, he is the one in the family that carries the load. If it is broken, he is supposed to fix it, if it is down he is supposed to lift it and if it is due he is supposed to pay it. When all was finished he lost it and had to holla just to let off some steam before he blew a gasket. Okay, now back to the question. Has it ever happened to you?
Have you ever had to bear the load for the whole family and life made you scream? Marvin Gaye, that soulful song bird from the 70's said it best. He said "it makes me want to holla and throw up both of my hands!" I hope that there are those of you who are reading this devotional that are stressed to the max, tired and frustrated at what is happening in your life and on the verge of just losing it. If that is you today, then consider this message to be a Word from God for you that has been sent to comfort, encourage, and bless you in your time of need. When life makes you want to holla there is a Hebrew hymn found in the book of Psalms that will lighten a heavy load, strengthen you when you are weak and guide you when you are lost. Here's what the Psalm says, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth" (Psalms 121:12, KJV). Now this is healing and helpful. The Psalmist makes it clear that in the midst of current circumstances, whatever they may be,God is there and He alone is the One who is going to take care of you. So here's the devotional question for you to ponder as we share this moment today; what should you know about what you are dealing with and going through that can keep you when you really want to holla? First of all, know that your present problem is not a permanent predicament. For some of you reading this devotional it has been smooth sailing. To you I say give God the glory while you are in the sunshine. But, for others it has been crazy to say the least. For those of you that have found moments of difficulty to endure remember this, no storm stays! They are always passing through. The best news of the day is this, where you are now is not where you will end up! Your current location is not your final destination. The Psalmist is looking upwards at hills and mountains. Antithetical Wisdom tells me that if he is in a position to have to look up then he is down. In short, he is in the valley at a low point. But, that's where he is now and it is not where he is going to end up! How do we know this? Because he says, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills....." Did you get it? Here's what he is saying I may be low right now but my aim is high and I am on my way to the hill country. Yes, you may be in a valley now but when you have God on your side you can say that I'm on my way to the mountain top! Secondly, know that your hills are big but your God is much bigger. Whenever life makes you want to holla it is because we have a big problem with a small God. But, when life makes you rejoice it is because you have a big problem with an even bigger God! The text says "from whence cometh my help." A phrase like this is called a metoynmy. It suggests a query and not a statement. It should be better translated like this "does my help come from the mountain?" The obvious answer is no. But here's the shouting news for those who have really big mountains in your life. Your God is bigger than your mountain is. Just like you can hold a pebble in your hand God can hold you and your mountains in His! Check this out;
NASA scientists contend that there are an estimated 140 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone. For us it is still too innumerable to measure. Yet your God is big enough to give each of them a name! Now, if He knows the name of a star in the galaxy, you know for certain that He knows the names of His children that He died to save! Yes, we have big mountains, but relax you have an even bigger God and He is in control! And lastly, know that the force of your life is the source of your living. Can we just be really honest for a second? Where did your help come from the last time you had an issue that you could not fix or a problem that you could not solve? Who helped you the last time no one else was there to assist you? Here's your answer in total honesty...The Lord. The hymn says "my help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and the earth." The term "help" should really be translated strength. The idea is that it is not your strength that keeps you but it is God's power that holds you together. Now here’s a good devotional question to conclude with. How much strength does God have? He has enough of it to make heaven and earth. The word "made" here is awsar. It means to put something together. In short, God hooked up an earth, gave it a home in a galaxy, and made the galaxy give Him glory. This same God is the source of your life. He put air in your lungs, seeing in your eyes and life in your body. And, believe it or not, He is not just hooking up an earth and holding a galaxy, but He is hooking you up and taking care of you as read this devotional! He is your source and He has everything that you will ever need!!! Yes, sometimes life can make you want to holla. But, there are times that the goodness of God can make you want to holla too! Have you ever just paused to consider just how good God has been to you? Have you taken the time to think about all of the things that He has done for you? Have you ever looked back at your life and realized that it was the Lord keeping you all of the time? When you pause long enough the grace of God, the kindness of His blessings and the benefit of His goodness is enough to make you want to holla! Be honest, you want to holla right now don't you? Me too! God has been kind and He is going to take care of you because He alone is your help! Psalms 46:1 (KJV) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Tylesha Ross
Alisa Boutte
Andricka Williams
Dr. Johnny E & Carolyn Brown
D.I.V.A.S. of Port Arthur
Ericka Claiborne
Rev. Sanders & Cheryl Wilkerson
Tonia Duplantier & Daughters
Reverand Albert & Eugenia Chargois
Minister Antionette Y. Mays
C
onsider this statement to be a prophetic utterance that comes from the throne of Almighty God. Plant this first remark on your hearts and leave it there for the entire school year. Hear this as if it were God giving you a forecast of what is about to take place in the academic year to come. Hold this statement near and dear to your hearts...THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST SCHOOL YEAR THAT YOU HAVE EVER HAD BEFORE IN YOUR LIFE! Your family will gain strength; your relationships will be solid; your financial gains will be life changing; your attitude will be positive; your students will learn more and retain more; your students' parents will be more helpful and committed; your co-workers will feel like team players and not enemies in disguise; your stress levels are going to be lower; your tolerance levels will be higher; your test scores will be exemplary and victory will be yours for the taking. It does not matter what last school year looked like because it is already in the books! This is a new academic year and it will be the one that you have always prayed for. This will be the year of the harvest! This will be the year that God transforms your years of testing into a new season of blessing! This will be the year that the Lord shines through you His great light of victory and triumph! In the past you’ve had problems with parental involvement. But, this year you will have parents that want to be involved because your prayers will be answered. In the past you have had students that have come from harsh home environments that were unreachable. This year you will reach them! In the past, you have seen days and seasons that were so heavy that you didn’t think that you would make it. But, this year, you will still have a load, but the Lord is going to carry it for you and He will make easy your way! This is the year that you will win and win big! The affirmation and confirmation of this declaration comes straight from the Word of God! The King James Version of the Bible says it like this, “Order my steps in
thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts” (Psalms 119:133-134). Okay, you missed your shout, so let’s look at the same verse in the Standard Version of the Bible. It reads like this “Make my steps steady through your promise; don’t let sin dominate me. Redeem me from human oppression, and I will keep your precepts.” Okay some of you still didn’t get it. So let’s try the RSV. It reads “As you have promised, keep me from falling; don’t let me be overcome by evil. Save me from those who oppress me, so that I may obey your commands.” You’re starting to get it, but let’s look at John R. Adolph version of this verse. It says, “Fix my future according to the promises that you have made me because you are my Daddy! Keep me from messing my victory up because it is already preplanned! And, Lord keep fake false folks away from my foot-steps because this will be the best time of my life!” This is why you should rejoice right now! God has made you a promise according to His Word that you would win and not even the devil in hell can cancel it! Here’s some more gospel news to shout about! Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. It has 22 sections containing 176 verses. And it is filled with 8’s. It has 8 verses in each section. It gives 8 responses to the word. It gives 8 responses to the Word. It gives 8 portraits of the Word. And it gives 8 awesome ideas about the Word. You’re not happy and here’s why. You don’t know what the number 8 symbolizes in scripture. You see, 8 in Hebrew mind is the number of new things! Jesus rose on the morning after the 7 th day which means He got up on the 8th day! It is why we worship on Sunday and not on Saturday. It is because we are people of the number 8! Noah went into the Ark and 8 people and he was the only one that stood victorious against the flood! And, you are believers that standing on the 8th frame, of the 8th segment; of the 8th portion; of the 8th promise, given by a God that said if you do it His way victory shall be yours!” But, here‘s the question that we want to answer as we move into a
brand new school year together. What does it mean to win with the Word of our God?
It means that your victory in the Word is by divine design! How would you respond if you found out that you were supposed to win? What would you say to God if He told you that winning is what you are supposed to do? How would you feel if you knew before your school year started that you are already marked by God to be victorious? This is the news that God has spoken in this text just for you! The Psalmists says “order my steps in your Word.” The word order in the Hebrew is the term KOON and it is Hiphal stem and the imperative mood. It is just saying direct my destiny! It means to rig the outcome for me so that the end result is favor for me and mine! It means that I have done it my way enough, but this time God I yield to your Word so guide me from the press box according to your play book so that winning feels normal to me! Walter Brueggeman says the Words used by the Psalmist here “are relational and not institutional.” In other words there is a relationship like unto that of a Shepherd and His sheep. Now here’s the shout. The relationship between a cowboy and his cattle is institutional. He does not name them. He only uses them for his own gain. But the relationship between a Shepherd and His sheep is not just institutional, but it is relational. And the reason why the sheep are victorious and win is because they have a shepherd that won’t let them lose! Here’s why you will win according to His Word this school year, your Sphered is Jesus Christ and He is not going to let you lose! According to His Word, you shall win!
It means that your mistakes and mishaps will be met by His Word! Okay, let’s be honest for a moment. Even thou we have a wonderful Shepherd with an awesome Word there are times that we can make some of the dumbest mistakes. There are even times when things that we both do and say make us mess everything up. But, this year your mistakes and your mishaps will be met by the mercy of God like never before! In fact, the favor of God will cover so well until people will only see God’s favor and not your flaws. Here’s what the passage says, “…order my steps in your word and let not iniquity have dominion over me.” The language is very intimate. An iniquity is a sin of poor judgment and faulty decision making. It is a sin that makes you feel dumb after you do it because you knew better but you just didn’t do better. It is a sin of the tongue that permits you to tell a co-worker off really well and then later say to yourself, “Lord I shouldn’t have said that!” It is a sin of personal regard that is a test of your training in which you should pass the test but you end up failing. Now here’s the shout! Because you are going to have your future fixed by God according to His Word, when iniquities comes your way that will not stick! Like water on a ducks back they will not have dominion over you at all! In short, in the eyes of men you will appear to be flawless!
It means that you will be protected from evil people and kept by His divine power! You know that you are really victorious when you began to realize that there are some people who do not mean you any good at all! They are demonically possessed and they want to see you down, lost, hurt, and disgusted. But here is the news of the day that is worth shouting about! You are on the Lord’s side and with His power He is going to fight your battles for you! The Psalmist offers a plea complete victory! He says deliver me. It is the Hebrew word that means ransom me. It could be better translated like this, keep me! Now here’s the shout of the year, if God can’t keep you, you cannot be kept! It is just that simple. Here is the question of the century. If God loves us so much then why does He permit evil people in our midst that are not trying to help us but hurt us? Why? He does it for one reason and one reason only. So that when He gets through defeating them for you, you will know that you win not because of what you’ve done. But, because of what He’s done for you and that you couldn’t have ever done without Him! Last year we had a teacher terminated from a school district for literally doing nothing wrong. We cried together because she was a single parent with a mortgage. But, after we got through crying we started praying and reading the scriptures and taking God at His Word. For a moment it seemed as if her enemies had won. But, at 8am one morning (did you get it? 8am!) Human resources called her with a new assignment! What looked like a demotion became a promotion! All because she watched the Lord fights her battles for her! Here’s the Word for you and as you enter the 20142015 school year, “ye shall not have to fight the battle! The battle is not yours it is the Lords! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord! No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper! Greater is He that is within you than He that is in the world! By faith nothing shall be impossible to you! All things will work together for good because you love the Lord and are called according to His divine purpose! God will be your refuge a very present help in every case and circumstance! Live the Word! Walk in the Word and remember your victory this year will be according to His Word!
Candace White
Deacon Ike & Attie Mills
Ms. Alexander
Cynthia Young