Bishop's Blog

Relationship Revolution starts Sunday, January 15 at 9 AM & 11 AM @harvest_cc Aurora Campus

Here’s a relationship question that came in that I wanted to address -

I was listening to your show the other day about advice from men to single ladies waiting to be found…I have experienced just recently, alot of men coming at me telling me they love me or I’m the one for them, etc. Now I just got out of a relationship that he told me the same things and I believed him though it was all lies. After talking to these individuals a little while they start trying to talk about sex. Now my question is….Would sex be a topic for conversation when getting to know someone? I ask because it seems to be a topic that comes up with every man that has approached [me]. Would a serious man of God bring that up in a conversation or is it he probably has an alternative motive?

GREAT QUESTION!!! Generally, for Christians, sex shouldn’t be a discussion that’s had too early in the early stages of getting to know someone, ESPECIALLY in the first 90 days when you’re still in the “ecstasy” stage of a relationship, which means your mind is not able to distinguish things properly because you are still in the stage of thinking everything smells and is good. If someone brings sex up early in discussions, it’s revealing a motive to you. Unfortunately, many times in the Body of Christ we don’t talk about dating and relationships and answer questions like this and so people are unprepared to handle issues like this…

The key in dating and relationships is to pray and ask the Lord for discernment AND that when God shows you something you PAY ATTENTION. There are many times the Lord will show you something, but you may not be willing to pay attention to it. If the Lord allows you to keep being confronted with the same thing, it could mean that somehow there’s some lesson that still needs to be learned so you don’t have to keep repeating the same test.

Here’s a golden key - when dating, LET THE OTHER PERSON TALK!!! Don’t be so quick to do all of the talking, let them reveal what’s really inside of them and they will!

Spoils from the War

Numbers 31:12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

There are battles that we will have to fight in life where God goes before us and He is our strength. The battle we fight is with our mind and with keeping the faith during times that look tough. When we wage war against negative circumstances we can sometimes find ourselves questioning if we’re called and if God is really going to make a way for us. He can, He will, and He has. However, the Lord will not fight every battle for us. The Children of Israel had many battles that God fought for them, but there were others that they had to go out and fight themselves with God’s divine instruction.

A short cut to having your battles end quickly is through your praise and worship of God according to 2nd Chronicles 20:20. At the end on the battles we get to collect the spoils of war, which was everything that the enemy that you just defeated had. If you just fought a financial battle that means increased financial provision is your spoil. If you just fought a family battle that means a harmonious family is your spoil.

Standing on God’s Word

Isaiah 43:26
²⁶Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right).

When you pray for something once, God hears you and He answers you. You must then stand on His word by putting Him in remembrance of what it is that He’s promised you and what it is that you’ve prayed for. It’s not that God forgets, but it’s that you must be diligent and consistent. You don’t have to ask for the same thing over and over again.

Once you pray, you then thank God for what it is that you’ve prayed for by reminding Him of His Word to you. That’s what Jesus means when He says to knock and keep on knocking. To pray from the same thing more than once is unbelief. Do you believe He heard you the first time or not? What does standing on God’s Word mean? It means that you send a reminder to the Heavens and to your circumstances that God will come through and if He said it, you must believe it and that’s got to settle it.

Get Rid of Heaviness

Psalm 103: 1-5 AMP

[A Psalm] of David. ¹BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! ²Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits— ³Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases, ⁴Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy; ⁵Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

Praise is a commandment and not an option. God has commanded that we praise Him for what He’s done and that we worship Him for who He is. When David is writing is Psalm 103, he is commanding that his soul should bless the Lord. Our soul is comprised of our minds, thoughts, our will, and our emotions and from that, praise is initiated. Sometimes we have to command our souls to bless the Lord because sometimes we must put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Heaviness tries to steal our worship for God. Have you ever been somewhere and felt so heavy that you couldn’t praise the Lord? That’s called heaviness and we must learn that sometimes we must praise in spite of heaviness. Only praise can release heaviness. So if we don’t praise God because we’re heavy hearted, we stay that way until we do.

God has not just given you happiness, but He has given you joy and the joy of the Lord is your strength. God’s joy increases when He thinks about you. God knows the thoughts and the plans He has for you and they are good and not for evil. Praise is a key way to see those plans realized in our lives. Today, when news comes your way that tries to make you heavy, don’t let it do it. Bless God with your soul and everything that is within you.

Do you have trouble making time for God?

Let’s face it… most of us live busy lives and wear many different hats. Developing a quality relationship with God requires time. You must be intentional!! Here’s a question that came in on the subject -

Thank You Bishop for answering my question…..I have one more…Hope I’m not asking to much….But I have trouble getting into my word due to the fact I have 3 children and can’t seem to find the time…do you have any Scriptures that could help me with what God is getting ready to do in my life?

This is a great question because I am sure that there are many people in this position. Believe it or not, being a good mother is a part of your relationship with God because that means that He has entrusted you with His inheritance according to Psalm 127:3. In terms of getting in your Word, here are some very practical steps to take to being able to do so:

God prefers quality over quantity according to Matthew 6:7. Set aside a time each day when you can begin with worship, prayer, and then getting into the Word. You should study the Scriptures just taught the last message you were taught by your pastor. Just start with 10-15 minutes per day when you can focus and from there add more time. The key is being CONSISTENT!! I taught on that in the message on this called “The Power of Consistency.” It’s available in our online store.
Utilize time that’s not being used constructively like time you spend watching TV or talking on the phone. If we look for time, we can find it!! Maximize the 24 hours that you have each day!
Ask God for a hunger and a passion for the Word and He’ll give it to you!! This will help you to find that time. Whatever you have passion about you act on.

Here’s a Reason that Might Have Happened

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

What are you expecting to happen today? What are you expecting to happen this week? The principle of Scripture is that whatever it is you are seeking, you are going to find. If you’re constantly seeking negative and have a negative disposition about everything, that’s exactly what you’re going to find.

The story of Job is an interesting one. God trusted Job so much that He volunteered Job to be sifted and tested. Whenever God allows there to be testing, He is planning for promotion. When God permitted the storm in Job’s life, He had double in mind for Job. Here’s the problem… in Job 3:25, Job says “the thing in which I greatly feared has come upon me…” That tells us that Job had fear about the very things that happened to him.

You might say, “Bishop, what’s the problem with that?” 1st John teaches us that perfect (mature) love casts out fear. Which means if we’re operating in fear, we are not resting in the love of God and the Bible teaches that fear involves torment. When you are not confident in God’s love for you, you will be tormented by always seeking out negative things, always expecting the worse, always being your own worse enemy, always finding a way to destroy a good thing AND guest what? That’s exactly what you’re going to get; because if you seek, whether good or bad, that’s what you’re going to find.

5 Things to Make Tomorrow Incredible

Here are five simple things you can do to make tomorrow an incredible day. Great seconds make great minutes. Great minutes make for great hours. Great hours make great days. Greats days make great weeks. Great weeks make for great months. Great months make great years.

Apply these principles one day at a time:

Face your fears. They aren’t as bad as you think they are. Facing your fears increases your confidence and builds your faith. Fear is absence of the right information not necessarily a lack of faith. You receiving God’s unconditional love in your life will cast out fear.
Forget your failures. Learn from them, but don’t live in them. Avoid making the same mistakes again, but don’t limit yourself by assuming that since you failed before you can’t succeed this time. Try again because you’re wiser and stronger. Don’t be trapped in the past! Your windshield is a lot bigger than your rear-view mirror. Failure is really just a stepping stone to success. Better to fail with $5000 than to fail with $500,000,000!! Learn, grow and move one.
Reward yourself when you succeed. Make small achievable goals and reward yourself once you accomplish them. If you desire to be debt free, celebrate paying off one bill. It may not be the total goal, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Over-Communicate. We often make assumptions about a situation or person which are not true. Your attitude and behavior can be negatively affected so if you have any doubt or question ask and don’t assume you know why or how.
Don’t be defeated! Try something else. Don’t be defeated by one failed attempt. Everyone fails before they succeed. All you need is a different approach. Reposition yourself to approach your goal from a different perspective.

Great Daniel Fast Recipe - Spicy Tofu

One of our Harvesters made a GREAT spicy tofu. Try it!

1 – 15 oz extra firm tofu
2 – Jalapeño peppers chopped (or to taste)
1 – Bunch fresh cilantro chopped (use as desired)
1 – Bunch of fresh green onion chopped (use as desired)
5 – Cloves of garlic minced (or to taste)
½ cup of soy sauce (or to taste)
2 – Table spoons of canola or extra virgin olive oil

Wrap tofu in paper towel about six sheets two per side and place a heavy pot, etc… on top as a weight to drain excess water from tofu. Do for at least 6 hours or overnight replacing paper towels as needed. Once tofu is at desired dryness; slice in half horizontally.

Spread some of your jalapenos, cilantro, green onion and garlic in bottom of dish pour a bit of soy sauce over that then place tofu on top. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and soy sauce. Let marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn occasionally.

Heat skillet to medium high; add oil. Brown tofu on each side about 2 minutes or until brown. Once tofu is browned; slice tofu vertically as desired; then add your marinade and cover and simmer until vegetables are tender or soft.

Bon Appetit

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]