In Birmingham, Alabama we had a horrific crime to take place. Five people were killed execution style. To everyone surprise, the people that were arrested for the murders were all teenagers. In this situation, there truly are no winners because 5 people were killed and 3 young teenagers lives have been lost. How important are our relationships?
My 13 year old son started a new school this year. All teenagers want to be liked and popular. The last month or so we have had alot conversations a about who he chooses to hang around. He admitted some of those guys were in gangs that live in our new community. I was glad he told me because I have found myself telling him almost every week, "I don't like those boys." I am constantly telling him to not hang around this person and that person without knowing the kids. I just have that feeling that these kids are bad influences on him. As a parent, I pray everyday for my son. The Holy Spirit tells you things that you don't know. My point, parents if you feel uncomfortable about some of the friends of your children, don't ignore that warning. Its the Holy Spirit on the inside of you alerting you that something is not right or these are people that your child should not be around.
Whomever you habitually hang around, will influence your behavior. satan is not coming up to you and speaking directly in your face. satan uses people and relationships to influence you away from God and HIS way of living. Don't be fooled. It is nothing wrong with cutting relationships off if they are not a blessing to you. Here's a simple test you need to do with all your relationships. Ask yourself, is this person a blessing or a curse to me? Do they ask me to participate in things contrary to God's word? After hanging out with this person, am I always in trouble or in the middle of some controversy?
Proverbs 13:20
"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."
Christians have to be selective with our relationships. If you want to live victoriously as a Christian, we have to monitor and control our relationships.
Please share this blog with your teens and children becasue it does matter who their friends are. Your destiny in life might be on the other side of that bad relationship!
Brother Clarence
Author and Family Strategist
www.godlyking.com
www.godlykings.blogspot.com
clarence@godlyking.com
Celebrating over 1,000 views on the blog. Check it out!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The Battle Is In The Mind "Influence"
The Battle Is In the Mind “Influence”
Being a Christian is not always easy especially when we have so many things to distract and tempt us. All of us have a battle to fight and the main fight is the fight for your mind. Why does satan want control of your mind? Influence.
1 Peter 5:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[a] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Influence means -To control or move by power, physical or moral; to affect by gentle action; to exert an influence upon.
satan wants to influence you to control you or make you an ineffective Christian. If I can influence you; I can control you. If I can control you; I can own you. Nobody wants to be owned by the devil. The reality is that some Christians are influenced by satan and some Christians are controlled by satan. How many great men and women have fallen due to being influenced by the wrong people? How many people try drugs and sex by being influenced by the people they associate with? How many people commit crimes because they were influenced? (Just something to think about.)
Here are 5 areas that satan uses to gain influence over our minds.
1. Eye gate
2. Ear gate
3. Relationships/ Associations
4. Environment
5. Emotions
If we take the time to really evaluate these 5 things we will find some type of influence. You should be able to determine if the influences in your life are positive or negative.
Brother Clarence
Website: www.godlyking,com
Blog: www.godlykings.blogspot.com
Check it out! Celebrating a small milestone! Over 1,000 views of the blog!
Being a Christian is not always easy especially when we have so many things to distract and tempt us. All of us have a battle to fight and the main fight is the fight for your mind. Why does satan want control of your mind? Influence.
1 Peter 5:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[a] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Influence means -To control or move by power, physical or moral; to affect by gentle action; to exert an influence upon.
satan wants to influence you to control you or make you an ineffective Christian. If I can influence you; I can control you. If I can control you; I can own you. Nobody wants to be owned by the devil. The reality is that some Christians are influenced by satan and some Christians are controlled by satan. How many great men and women have fallen due to being influenced by the wrong people? How many people try drugs and sex by being influenced by the people they associate with? How many people commit crimes because they were influenced? (Just something to think about.)
Here are 5 areas that satan uses to gain influence over our minds.
1. Eye gate
2. Ear gate
3. Relationships/ Associations
4. Environment
5. Emotions
If we take the time to really evaluate these 5 things we will find some type of influence. You should be able to determine if the influences in your life are positive or negative.
Brother Clarence
Website: www.godlyking,com
Blog: www.godlykings.blogspot.com
Check it out! Celebrating a small milestone! Over 1,000 views of the blog!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Battle Is In The Mind "Controlling Your Thought Life"
The Battle Is In the Mind –“Controlling Your ThoughtLife”
Remember at the beginning of the year everyone had New Year Resolutions. Well we are almost three months into the New Year 2012 and how many have already given up? How many of us have wandered away from what we said we would not do? How many of us or right on track with what we were planning at the beginning of the year? It really doesn’t matter how you answered these questions but it is important that you understand how your goals or either achieved or unachieved. The Battle Is In The Mind.”
If you want to understand the battle for your mind you must understand that your thought life is always under attack. We have to learn to discern where the thought comes from. Whatever we consistently think on, we will act out. What does satan want you to act out?
Matthew 15:18
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile a man.”
3 Keys to Managing Your Thought Life
1. If you control your thought life you can control your behavior. (The body is the servant of the mind)
2. Thoughts effect our emotions. Thoughts and emotions create desires. Our decisions are based on our desires.
3. Satan uses the eye gate, the ear gate, and your relationships to affect your thought life. His goals are to desensitize you spiritually and rob you of your appetite for God and the things of God.
There are three sources for thoughts.
1. Man-Human reasoning/logic
2. God-Will always lead to life, wellness, and productivity
3. Satan-always lead to death or some form of destruction
One key thing we all must do is Control our Thought life.. It is up to us to identify and eliminate the access to the enemy. (satan)
Brother Clarence
Author and Family Strategist
Website:www.godlyking.com
Blog: www.godlykings.blogspot.com
Remember at the beginning of the year everyone had New Year Resolutions. Well we are almost three months into the New Year 2012 and how many have already given up? How many of us have wandered away from what we said we would not do? How many of us or right on track with what we were planning at the beginning of the year? It really doesn’t matter how you answered these questions but it is important that you understand how your goals or either achieved or unachieved. The Battle Is In The Mind.”
If you want to understand the battle for your mind you must understand that your thought life is always under attack. We have to learn to discern where the thought comes from. Whatever we consistently think on, we will act out. What does satan want you to act out?
Matthew 15:18
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile a man.”
3 Keys to Managing Your Thought Life
1. If you control your thought life you can control your behavior. (The body is the servant of the mind)
2. Thoughts effect our emotions. Thoughts and emotions create desires. Our decisions are based on our desires.
3. Satan uses the eye gate, the ear gate, and your relationships to affect your thought life. His goals are to desensitize you spiritually and rob you of your appetite for God and the things of God.
There are three sources for thoughts.
1. Man-Human reasoning/logic
2. God-Will always lead to life, wellness, and productivity
3. Satan-always lead to death or some form of destruction
One key thing we all must do is Control our Thought life.. It is up to us to identify and eliminate the access to the enemy. (satan)
Brother Clarence
Author and Family Strategist
Website:www.godlyking.com
Blog: www.godlykings.blogspot.com
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thought For Today "In Everything Give Thanks"
I was very sad to hear about the loss of Whitney Houston. If you were like me, I was glued to the television set watching all the interviews and trying to hear the latest information about what happened. Then my interest shifted from shock to acceptance and from acceptance to closure. As I watched the funeral, I am here today reflecting on what we can learn form all of this as believers and Christians. I became even more certain this morning as the Lord led me to this scripture of what I can learn and my position when faced with difficult and challenging moments.
Be Grateful for your Blessings and what God has done for you!
Brother Clarence
http://www.godlyking.com/
blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
Be Grateful!
1 Thessalonians 5:15-23
New King James Version (NKJV)
15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
I underlined what jumped off the page for me. In everything give thanks. So this morning I am leaving you with the lyrics to a song that was sang by the choir at Whitney Houston's funeral. This song was also quickened to me after a classmate of mine had an early death. Be grateful to God who is the giver of everything good! We might not understand. We might have unanswered questions but the Grace of God can and will keep you. Our part is to do what it says in verse 23 to ask God to sanctify us completely so that our whole spirit, soul and body be preserves blameless at the Coming of our Lord.
I am
Grateful for the things
That you have done
Yes, I'm grateful for the vic-tories we've won
I could go on and on and on
About your works
Because I'm grateful, grateful, so grateful
Just to praise you lord
Flowing from my heart
Are the issues of my heart
It's Gratefulness
By Hezekiah Walker
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Blessing and Admonition
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.I underlined what jumped off the page for me. In everything give thanks. So this morning I am leaving you with the lyrics to a song that was sang by the choir at Whitney Houston's funeral. This song was also quickened to me after a classmate of mine had an early death. Be grateful to God who is the giver of everything good! We might not understand. We might have unanswered questions but the Grace of God can and will keep you. Our part is to do what it says in verse 23 to ask God to sanctify us completely so that our whole spirit, soul and body be preserves blameless at the Coming of our Lord.
I am
Grateful for the things
That you have done
Yes, I'm grateful for the vic-tories we've won
I could go on and on and on
About your works
Because I'm grateful, grateful, so grateful
Just to praise you lord
Flowing from my heart
Are the issues of my heart
It's Gratefulness
By Hezekiah Walker
Be Grateful for your Blessings and what God has done for you!
Brother Clarence
http://www.godlyking.com/
blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
Be Grateful!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Dealing With It- The Man
Woman have you ever wondered why you don't understand the men in your life whether it is a son, husband, nephew or friend? You find it difficult to understand the thought process of a man. Well, maybe you have never thought about the satanic battle men face just because we were born men.
This is a passage that I shared in the book, " A Struggle Not Meant For a King" that was beneficial to my life and my parents understanding of what I was dealing with at the time. The Lord showed my parents this and it was the beginning of a better relationship with them.
Whatever the men in your life are going through, before you give up totally on them, before you call and say something negative related to their odd behavior or their bad decision making; consider this.
"Pharaoh...instructed the Hebrew midwives... to kill ...boys as soon as they were born." Exodus 1:16
Let's pray for our men!
Ever since God told satan, " I will put enmity between thee and the woman...her seed..shall bruise thy head," (GEN 3:15), the enemy 's been hell-bent on destroying men in every possible way. Males suffer more crib deaths, are more prone to heart attacks, and have shorter life spans. It's no coincidence that when a country is under attack, its enemies go after the men. By killing them, they destroy the stability of the family and ultimately the future of the nation.
Many grown men are still hurting and angry over things that happened in their childhood. Now as fathers, they struggle to fulfill a role they never saw modeled in their lives. It stops them from connecting with their children and perpetuates the cycle of alienation from generation to generation.
Anytime satan sees potential, he'll try to abort it; he can't afford to wait till its fully developed. In Exodus, Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives, "When you see them on the birth stool, if it's a boy, kill him." (Ex 1:16 NRS). This birth stool is the same word that's used to describe a potter's wheel. So it's the process of becoming a man that the enemy wants to short- circuit! If satan can destroy you while you're still on the wheel, he's accomplished his goal. Once you're fully- grown and mature, it'll be harder to intimidate and destroy you. SO pray for the men in your life!
One key to understanding men is to understand the plot of satan that is against him. satan wants to destroy the man so he can destroy the family. Be alert and deal with It!
Brother Clarence
website: http://www.godlyking.com/
blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
email: clarence@godlyking.com.
This is a passage that I shared in the book, " A Struggle Not Meant For a King" that was beneficial to my life and my parents understanding of what I was dealing with at the time. The Lord showed my parents this and it was the beginning of a better relationship with them.
Whatever the men in your life are going through, before you give up totally on them, before you call and say something negative related to their odd behavior or their bad decision making; consider this.
"Pharaoh...instructed the Hebrew midwives... to kill ...boys as soon as they were born." Exodus 1:16
Let's pray for our men!
Ever since God told satan, " I will put enmity between thee and the woman...her seed..shall bruise thy head," (GEN 3:15), the enemy 's been hell-bent on destroying men in every possible way. Males suffer more crib deaths, are more prone to heart attacks, and have shorter life spans. It's no coincidence that when a country is under attack, its enemies go after the men. By killing them, they destroy the stability of the family and ultimately the future of the nation.
Many grown men are still hurting and angry over things that happened in their childhood. Now as fathers, they struggle to fulfill a role they never saw modeled in their lives. It stops them from connecting with their children and perpetuates the cycle of alienation from generation to generation.
Anytime satan sees potential, he'll try to abort it; he can't afford to wait till its fully developed. In Exodus, Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives, "When you see them on the birth stool, if it's a boy, kill him." (Ex 1:16 NRS). This birth stool is the same word that's used to describe a potter's wheel. So it's the process of becoming a man that the enemy wants to short- circuit! If satan can destroy you while you're still on the wheel, he's accomplished his goal. Once you're fully- grown and mature, it'll be harder to intimidate and destroy you. SO pray for the men in your life!
One key to understanding men is to understand the plot of satan that is against him. satan wants to destroy the man so he can destroy the family. Be alert and deal with It!
Brother Clarence
website: http://www.godlyking.com/
blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
email: clarence@godlyking.com.
Anniversary Sale Jan. 8th- Feb.21st
23.95 Online special 2 books for 1
exclusively @ www.godlyking.com
*price includes shipping and handling*
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Dealing With It
Do you really want to move forward this year? Do you want to see a difference in your life this year? Are you tired of being stagnant or are you content with the way things are? No matter how you answered these questions, if you want to live you have to do something. If you want to live a life more abundantly which is what is promised to us from the scriptures, you have to deal with it.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
God has an expected end for all of us. How do we get to that place where we are receiving what HE has promised us? How do we experience the life that God has for us? How do we move ourselves from need to want to satisfied in life and Christ? Deal with It!
Deal with the hurt. Deal with your unforgiveness. Deal with your attitude. Deal with your lust. Deal with your anger. Deal with your discouraged heart. Deal with your bad relationships. Deal with your jealousy. Deal with your pride. Deal with your habits. Deal with your marriage. Deal with your loneliness. Deal with your insecurities. Deal with your depression. Deal with your relationships with your children. Deal with it. God heard you the first time you prayed and is waiting on you so He can bless you. The key is to get started!
" You don't have to be great to get started but you have to get started to be great." Les Brown
Some of us have more things to deal with. Some of us are reaping the results of alot of bad decisions. The point is to not become overwhelmed but to get started dealing with whatever stands in your way. God revealed some things to me and HE allowed me to deal with them one by one. There has been no pressure from God once He revealed things for me to change about myself. I will admit I quit and gave up too many times to count but I have got back up each time. Yes, I am still dealing but now I'm dealing with God instead of hiding and acting like I have it together. Every time I get up, that's the Holy Ghost on the inside who will never allow you to fail. He has never lost. Jesus is our undefeated champion. He is waiting on us to get in the game and start winning in life. We can't win until we deal.
1 Corinthians 15:57
"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Your attitude might be the stepping stone to your promotion. If you never acknowledge you have a bad attitude, God can't help you have a good attitude so that you can receive the promotion you have prayed for. I can guarantee it is not God that's the problem. It is our unwillingness to change that blocks the blessing and keeps us stagnant and unproductive. How do we move forward? Deal with it! In essence, do your part and God will do his part. Deal with It!
Brother Clarence
website:http://www.godlyking.com/
Blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
email: clarence@godlyking.com
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
God has an expected end for all of us. How do we get to that place where we are receiving what HE has promised us? How do we experience the life that God has for us? How do we move ourselves from need to want to satisfied in life and Christ? Deal with It!
Deal with the hurt. Deal with your unforgiveness. Deal with your attitude. Deal with your lust. Deal with your anger. Deal with your discouraged heart. Deal with your bad relationships. Deal with your jealousy. Deal with your pride. Deal with your habits. Deal with your marriage. Deal with your loneliness. Deal with your insecurities. Deal with your depression. Deal with your relationships with your children. Deal with it. God heard you the first time you prayed and is waiting on you so He can bless you. The key is to get started!
" You don't have to be great to get started but you have to get started to be great." Les Brown
Some of us have more things to deal with. Some of us are reaping the results of alot of bad decisions. The point is to not become overwhelmed but to get started dealing with whatever stands in your way. God revealed some things to me and HE allowed me to deal with them one by one. There has been no pressure from God once He revealed things for me to change about myself. I will admit I quit and gave up too many times to count but I have got back up each time. Yes, I am still dealing but now I'm dealing with God instead of hiding and acting like I have it together. Every time I get up, that's the Holy Ghost on the inside who will never allow you to fail. He has never lost. Jesus is our undefeated champion. He is waiting on us to get in the game and start winning in life. We can't win until we deal.
1 Corinthians 15:57
"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Your attitude might be the stepping stone to your promotion. If you never acknowledge you have a bad attitude, God can't help you have a good attitude so that you can receive the promotion you have prayed for. I can guarantee it is not God that's the problem. It is our unwillingness to change that blocks the blessing and keeps us stagnant and unproductive. How do we move forward? Deal with it! In essence, do your part and God will do his part. Deal with It!
The book,
"A Struggle Not Meant for a King"
and
"The Navigation Journal GPS-Godly Positioning System"
Anniversary sale $23.95 online special
Exclusively @ http://www.godlyking.com/
January 8-February 21,2012
1 low price 2 great books.
*Price includes shipping and handling*
Brother Clarence
website:http://www.godlyking.com/
Blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
email: clarence@godlyking.com
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Temporary Solutions for your Resolution!
I was addicted to pornography and bound by lust and masturbation. As this new year approached, I wanted to separate myself from this message because I wanted to be free to do what I wanted to do. I wanted to be free to slip up and do a little porn. I wanted to be free to go get and view adult materials. I wanted to be free to sin when I felt like it was okay. You see, I was addicted but something on the inside of me would not let me settle in sin.
Something on the inside of me woke me up at 2:40 am this morning. My plans were to copy and paste a message I read from another pastor that I thought would be great and very inspiring about new years resolutions. Nothing wrong with the message but it was not what I was suppose to do today.
I recently celebrated my 41st birthday. Every birthday is a gift. Everyday we live is an opportunity to share our gifts. As Christians, we cannot separate from the call and gifts that God has given us. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to escape from my assignment and my call because I wanted to do what "my flesh" wanted to do. How selfish of me to only consider myself?
Pornography is an addiction. It is no different from drugs. It will consume you and destroy your faith and relationship with God. If you watch it once a week, once a month, or once every three months, it is slowly calling you to sin to morally paralyze you. I know personally, because I was consumed in sin.
Christians think we can sin and because no one sees us it makes it okay. It does matter to God what we do. It matters to HIM because we say all the time that God is our source but we settle for temporary solutions all the time without considering God. Pornography is a temporary solution that will lead you down a road of no self control. The bible calls it lasciviousness.
Pornography's objective is to destroy your relationships and build false ungodly relationships and habits. We say all the time that we trust God, "Why can't we trust God with our sex life?" God created sex! The devil perverted sex. Christians like to judge other "groups" but we do alot of sin ourselves. Sin is sin in God's sight!
This is the time to deal with it. What is really going on with you? What is really hindering you? Who is really hurting and just want something to help take away the pain? I have been there. Sex, pornography, lust, masturbation, are temporary solutions for your resolution. Someone is dealing with pain and emotional abuse, God sees you struggling!
This message is not just for you, it is for me. I have to take heed and listen to the Spirit of God. It's God's love that has exposed me. It is God's love that has kept this message before me and is bringing it to you today. HE knows my area of weakness and my temptations and HE knows yours. You might not be dealing with fleshy sins like me. You might be dealing with spiritual sins like bitterness and resentment, pride or lying. Have you honestly ever taken the time to deal with your mess? Temporary solutions for your resolution only mean more of the same resolutions next year. No better time than the present to start working on you.
1Peter 5:7-8
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
Brother Clarence
website:http://www.godlyking.com/
Blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
email: clarence@godlyking.com
Something on the inside of me woke me up at 2:40 am this morning. My plans were to copy and paste a message I read from another pastor that I thought would be great and very inspiring about new years resolutions. Nothing wrong with the message but it was not what I was suppose to do today.
I recently celebrated my 41st birthday. Every birthday is a gift. Everyday we live is an opportunity to share our gifts. As Christians, we cannot separate from the call and gifts that God has given us. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to escape from my assignment and my call because I wanted to do what "my flesh" wanted to do. How selfish of me to only consider myself?
Pornography is an addiction. It is no different from drugs. It will consume you and destroy your faith and relationship with God. If you watch it once a week, once a month, or once every three months, it is slowly calling you to sin to morally paralyze you. I know personally, because I was consumed in sin.
Christians think we can sin and because no one sees us it makes it okay. It does matter to God what we do. It matters to HIM because we say all the time that God is our source but we settle for temporary solutions all the time without considering God. Pornography is a temporary solution that will lead you down a road of no self control. The bible calls it lasciviousness.
Pornography's objective is to destroy your relationships and build false ungodly relationships and habits. We say all the time that we trust God, "Why can't we trust God with our sex life?" God created sex! The devil perverted sex. Christians like to judge other "groups" but we do alot of sin ourselves. Sin is sin in God's sight!
This is the time to deal with it. What is really going on with you? What is really hindering you? Who is really hurting and just want something to help take away the pain? I have been there. Sex, pornography, lust, masturbation, are temporary solutions for your resolution. Someone is dealing with pain and emotional abuse, God sees you struggling!
This message is not just for you, it is for me. I have to take heed and listen to the Spirit of God. It's God's love that has exposed me. It is God's love that has kept this message before me and is bringing it to you today. HE knows my area of weakness and my temptations and HE knows yours. You might not be dealing with fleshy sins like me. You might be dealing with spiritual sins like bitterness and resentment, pride or lying. Have you honestly ever taken the time to deal with your mess? Temporary solutions for your resolution only mean more of the same resolutions next year. No better time than the present to start working on you.
1Peter 5:7-8
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
The book,
"A Struggle Not Meant for a King"
and
"The Navigation Journal GPS-Godly Positioning System"
Anniversary sale $23.95 online special
Exclusively @ http://www.godlyking.com/
January 8-February 21,2012
1 low price 2 great books.
*Price includes shipping and handling*
Brother Clarence
website:http://www.godlyking.com/
Blog: http://www.godlykings.blogspot.com/
email: clarence@godlyking.com
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