Monday, May 9, 2016

Tit for Tat (5/9/2016)

Hello everyone, I pray that all has been going well since our last fellowship. The past few weeks I haven't been home for long periods of time, which prevented the production of the SOW during those weeks. My apologies for any inconvenience this may have rendered. Please be aware that if any prayer requests were submitted, I personally lifted your concern in prayer during our fellowship break. Aside from your requests, I have been bugged by the typos I caught after submitting the previous SOW entitled Triple Ls (I misspelled desirable, material, and healthcare, and had a brain fart notating "John Smith" when I should've named Joseph Smith as the founder of the Mormon doctrine); I told yall before about my computer, but aside from that, Outlook doesn't always catch the typos and my alternate spell check program isn't compatible with Outlook. I try hard to proofread and correct any typos at least, I'm well aware that my grammatical skills are not stellar, so I can only do my best with the formulation of sentences via proper structure and punctuation. In the future, I ask that you will excuse my spelling and grammatical errors; I do my very best to maintain a quality online ministry that is removed from self and guided by the Holy Spirit. PRAYER REQUESTS: I found out that my great-grandmother (Tru - 94) is having some health issues as well as her elderly daughter (Fran - late 60's); they were living together but have been recently forced to live in separate nursing facilities due to their declining health. As a result, they are experiencing some depression, and again, dealing with failing health. Another individual I'd like you to remember in prayer this week is Lina (fellow Sabbath school member); I have no idea what her need is so please pray as the Spirit leads. As far as me, I am expecting my first baby and would love to have the proper spiritual and financial foundation established before my child arrives. As blessed as I am, a moment of weakness led me to sin while going through premarital counseling, and now I am a soon-to-be mother. We all fall down, but we must get back up. My slip-up did NOT lead us to rush into marriage, we are still seeking pastoral counseling, evidently in the wrong order. So, I'm asking for prayers for my fiance and me in our spiritual walk, over our household, relationship, our unborn baby, as well as our finances. Generational curses can be broken, negative bondage can be removed, people and things can be transformed through the Power in Prayer; I believe in God's authority over our circumstances, I know you do too, so let us continue to pray for one another, thanking Yahweh for the victory while refraining from confessing the problem caused by the enemy; ALWAYS pray for your desired result, NOT the unfavorable outcome. (refer to the book The Tongue – A Creative Force, by Charles Capps)ANNOUNCEMENTS: Gospel artists Anthony Brown & Group Therapy will be performing on Saturday, July 9th at 5:00 PM (for more information on that, visit http://seccblackmin.adventistfaith.org). My non-profit organization, Fostering Mind, Body, and Soul Incorporated, is greatly in need of NEW and DEDICATED members and volunteers, as well as material contributions and/or monetary donations to assist in our day-to-day operations. We expressly appreciate EVERY contribution as well as EVERY donation, no matter how big or small; your contributions and donations assist us in our mission to help people in need, locally. To arrange a donation or contribution, contact me at any time via email or phone and/or through the PayPal link located on our website (listed below under Join Our Cause). Another way to contribute is through the Ralph's/Food 4 Less Community Contribution Program (details available upon request). Don't forget that you may also give back by joining my team of volunteers and members for a permanent role or for specific events (for more info, contact me). Your continued support is always appreciated. Please keep spreading the word. #SOW

HEALTHY LIVING TIPS:
Change begins within… For FREE workout routines that can be done in the comfort of your own home with little to no equipment or in-home equipment alternatives, and for FREE meal plans and motivation, check out http://Hasfit.com. "If you're looking for a sign to go workout, this is it. GO NOW" (Hasfit.com).

JOIN OUR CAUSE: Fostering Mind, Body, and Soul Incorporated (FMBS Inc.) is on a never-ending quest to locate deserving individuals to extend our services to. Therefore, we are always in need of monetary donations and/or contributions of hygiene items, sealed snacks, bottled water, winter items (gloves, scarves, blankets), mini bibles, etc.our YEAR-ROUND mission is to serve homeless and/or needy individuals and families in underprivileged communities throughout Southern California. We are successful because of YOUR continued support. Please continue to back us up through participation, and/or by encouraging others to join our cause!
 
For more information about our organization, visit our website at http://www.fmbs-inc-bytye.org and/or add our Facebook page, Fostering Mind, Body, and Soul Incorporated (and/or Fostering Mindbodyandsoul), and follow us on Twitter @FMBSInc. On behalf of myself and my team of volunteers, I thank you in advance. ~Tylesha "Tye" Allen, CEO/Founder, FMBS Inc. Est. 2012~
 
BE ENCOURAGED: NEVER lose sight of God in the midst of adversity Ponder this: "Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty" (Henry M. Robert). I'm no theological scholar, and even if I were a pastor or an expert in God's word, I would still advise you NEVER to take someone else's word as solid truth; "Study to show thyself approved" (II Timothy 2:15), and CHALLENGE EVERYTHING by comparing it to the Word of God. If what you see, hear or read does NOT fall in line with the Word of God, then it is NOT truth... The rest of this day isn't promised, let alone tomorrow, so why not strengthen your faith TODAY? Feed your body healthy nutrition, be cautious of what things you allow your eyes, ears, and spirit to be exposed to (e.g. media, books, TV, music, etc.) so that YOU can start anew and become a better you NOW, not later. Have a blessed rest of the week.

Yahweh, please clear our minds and open our eyes, ears, and hearts so that we may see, hear, and receive your intended message from this fellowship. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!
 
PASSAGE – REVELATION 2:1-10 (NLT): 
"Write this letter to the angel [Or the messenger] of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: 'I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.' 'But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! [Greek: You have lost your first love] Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.' 'Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.' 'Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:' 'I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.' "
 
**Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible; retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage**
 
REFLECTIONS:
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" (Revelation 2:4)... Our human nature has caused us to develop a tit for tat nature; We say things like, "if you want respect, you gotta give [earn] it." We give ultimatums and stipulations for others to gain and/or retain our love, such as, "if you really love me, then you..." or "if you don't do 'this,' or keep doing 'that,' then..." Naturally, our bad habits carry over into our spiritual relationship through Christ; in order to remain interested in the Lord, or to "love" Him, we are expecting Him to show us some form of tangible evidence of His presence in our lives. Where did we miss the mark? Prioritization! We don't prioritize the most important thing in our lives. Let me paraphrase an analogy given on April 30th, by Pastor Seth Yelorda during a sermon entitled Lost Love: in an effort to show his students the importance of prioritizing, a professor had two buckets on display. One bucket was 3/4 filled with small rocks while the other had a single, yet large rock. Upon trying to place the large rock into the bucket with the smaller rocks, the professor was unsuccessful. However, when he took the small rocks and transferred them into the bucket with the larger rock - SUCCESS! The significance of his demonstration suggests that if we placed (prioritized) the most significant Rock 1st in our bucket (lives) - Yahweh - then we would have room to fit all the other rocks (issues, activities, etc.) around Him. Instead, we keep trying to fill our time with insignificant rocks - secular activities, empty/temporary/selfish pleasures, the hustle, relationships, careers, struggles/worries/anger, sin - thus, leaving very little space (time) if any, for God.

Tit for tat... we want Yahweh to keep producing favorable outcomes in our lives so that we will remain encouraged to continue in His will. Interestingly enough, we haven't lived up to our end of the bargain. Knowing that we would all fall, He yet and still loved us enough to send His ONLY Son to save the sins we've already committed, and those that are yet to proceed. We cannot continue trying to walk both sides of the fence, expecting Yahweh to render results in our favor; when we place Him first, everything else will fall into place. Consider that He may just be protecting you from a more significant circumstance by delaying His hand in your current one. "While there are many legitimate things in our lives to prioritize, we must not forget GOD IS MOST SIGNIFICANT" (Pastor Seth Yelorda).

Getting back to Revelation 2:4, the Lord addresses that we have "left" our "first love"; we can serve the Lord elaborately and as much as we want, yet still not love Him first. When the things of this world interfere with or replace your time with God (reading the Bible, fellowshipping, serving others, forgiveness, repentance, prayer, etc.) - when you find yourself trying to "fit" God into your equations - He is no longer your "FIRST love." When you start considering Yahweh's happiness - His will - more than your own, then you will know that you have returned to your Him. Pastor Yelorda admonished that "EVERYTHING else" [that we are in pursuit of] "is SELFISHNESS masquerading as Love." The things we do in our lives aren't typically for Yahweh. Rather, what we generally do in our lifetime stems from our quest to find satisfaction in someone or something. Pastor Yelorda introduced us to the Greek term "Eros" which signifies an erotic/sexual love; in a state of Eros, we "love" what that someone or something does for us - how it satisfies us - it's a self-centered love, which is totally contrary to the definition of Love as defined in I Corinthians 13Does Eros not sound like the "love" we have for almost everything and everyone in our lives, including Yahweh? Our desire for Him is based on what He does for us, if it weren't, then we would be praising Him through EVERY minor and major trial and tribulation that we encounter. 

We "love" Yahweh as long as He makes us feel good - tit for tatIf you've "left thy first love," then you didn't have Love to begin withEphesians 2:1-9 informs us that there is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God; unlike us, Yahweh's love in its Greek translation - Agape - can be defined as unconditional, unilateral, ONE way. Everything He asks of us, He supplied through Yeshua - His Gospel. Yet, we have the nerve to ask Him to keep doing for us what we have yet to do for Him; in our conditional love - Eros - we pray for results and get upset when they are delivered in a package that is not visually appealing. "BUT GOD" (Ephesians 2:4) continues to bless us with opportunity after opportunity - through every new breath of life that we are given - to return to Him. Once we develop enough faith to accept that Yeshua has done enough, we will remain in HimThe only way to emerge in Agape is to STAY in the Word, REMAIN in prayer and PARTICIPATE in fellowship and service, so that your eyes, heart, and mind will turn back to Him and maintain refuge thereinYou will never ditch Eros for Agape by continuing in the things that have separated you from God in the first placeIn order to see better results, you MUST GET RID OF what is customary and comfortable, and develop - DO - something NEW (CHANGE); "SACRIFICE" [LET GO OF] "the people and things that do not add value to your life" (Pastor Yelorda). 
 
POWER IN PRAYER:
Yahweh, we thank you for life, health, and strength. Thank you for providing the courage and strength we need to remove the guilt we've placed on self, and for removing every negative thought that has held us captive in our own minds. Lord give us a stronger desire to love and to seek you more, and to develop an intimate relationship with you by spending more time in your Word and applying your will to our lives. Forgive our transgressions and place in us the strength and desire to forgive those who've wronged us as well. Please deliver Tru and Fran from any health ailments and discomfort resulting from their recent separation. We ask that you will provide Lina with strength in her weakness and lift her up according to your will. Bless Tylesha, her fiance, and their unborn child; remove any generational curses and bondage attached to them or lingering in and around their dwellings and forms of transportation. Restore and build their spiritual relationship with you, strengthen their relationship with one another as you build and establish a stable foundation built in you, and repair/increase their financial stability. Father help us to release everyone and everything in our lives that does not add value to it. Please close every door that needs to be shut in our lives, and open supernatural doors that will supply our innermost needs, and meet our desires as they fall in line with your will. As you continue to guide us, transform us into the individuals you have called us to be. Please bless each of us with a double portion of your Spirit, the peace that passeth all understanding, prosperity, clarity, contentment, and happiness. We ask that you continue providing each of us with the clear and concise revelations we need in order to overcome the adversary; help us see, hear, and feel your presence through every trial and tribulation, and for discernment to know the difference between your will vs. our own desires. We take back everything the enemy has stolen from us, and bind every evil and malicious plot, plan and scheme devised against us, in the matchless name of Jesus. We grant your angels permission to do our bidding on earth and thank you for protecting us from its recourse. For everyone and everything we have failed to pray for, we ask that you do not fail to address the concern. This is our affirmation of faith Yahweh, we submit our petition to you, and claim all these things in the matchless name of Yeshua, Amen!
 
Very Respectfully,
  
Tylesha "Tye" Allen   
Owner | CEO, T.Y.E. Childcare | Mobile Notary | FMBS Inc.
·         Mobile: (951) 790-2127
·         Address: Moreno Valley, CA
·         Website: www.fmbs-inc-bytye.org | http://sodbytye.blogspot.com  
·         Email: tyeallen99@outlook.com
·         Change begins within; work on becoming a better You
·         "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8)
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