Author: Kris Joi

Hi, My name is Kristen Joi Cantrell aka Kris Joi Founder of GC ink. Welcome to our virtual space. We are A Kingdom core.poration that focuses on creating and celebrating beauty from the inside out. Lets journey together through the word and world in Christ. Life. And Style. XOXO 😘 K.Joi Grace.Love.And.Mercy
encouragment, glam, peace, Purpose

Happy Holidays Challenge!

Kris Joi

We are officially a month away from Christ-mas and 3 days away from Thanks-giving. And y’all i’m finally in my holiday celebration mode (Christmas playlist in full effect as we speak!!). This has been a rough season for many of us and let me just encourage you… God’s not finished with US yet. Keep hope alive and give it ALL to our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ! The REE-SON FOR THIS WONDER-FULL HOLI-DAYS SEE-SON!

Heyyy Ladies & Gents,

So before 2024 ends it was impressed upon my heart ❤️ to take some time to hone in on the things this time of year is all about: Thankfulness, Gratitude, Giving, More Christ (Christ-Mas), Holiness/Sacredness, Love, Peace, Joy, Fruitfulness, Family, Friends, Food, Fun, Celebration, Gathering, Reflection, Evaluation, Growth, Goals, Newness/Freshness, Beauty, Wonder, Praise&Worship, The Word, and (if y’all anything like me) some good music, cute clothes, and pretty decorations (#mood #period 🤩)!

And when I say it all came in like a flood how eternally grateful I am to God for every season i’ve lived thus far, it’s an understatement! We ARE truly BLESSED 🥹! Some of you may say but you don’t know what i’m going through. My friend, I can’t say that I fully know what you’re up against but I just want to 🧠re-mind you. God LOVES US SOOO MUCH, has so many great things in store, and wants to re-store every part of our broke💔 hearts & lives. Life brings with it great pain, but God is still in control! Keep your head up 🆙 and Smile!🙂

On that note, this week i’ll be doing 7 days of Thanks + Giving ( feel free to do the same and share if you’re #GCINSPIRED24 ). Seven 7️⃣ is the number of completion and I want to share & show how completely grateful I am for YOU! YES YOU! If we ever crossed 🚶🚶🏽‍♀️🚶‍♂️paths in real life or 💻virtually, I just want you to know you inspire me! Your strength, your story, your glow 🌟up, your 😍beauty, your 🦄creativity, and MORE! Also stay tuned for a new divinely inspired post on Nov. 30th, after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Image by Biljana Jovanovic from Pixabay

You may ask, what is 7 day of Thanks + Giving, and how do I do it? Well first I want you to take some time to reflect 🤔on what you have to be grateful for. If you need some help, ask God to bring it to your remembrance. Ask Him to reveal 👁️❤️to you all the times He was with you and for you. Even when we are unfaithful, HE YET REMAINS FAITHFUL! (See bible verse 2 Timothy 2:13).

Caution! ⚠️ This reflection may cause feelings of shame, grief, feelings of unworthiness, even heart ache. Transparent moment, these feelings are warranted. We are imperfect/flawed humans who need a Savior. But we can rejoice in knowing that we have ONE✝️! God’s LOVE ❤️ COVERS US no matter what we do or where we are. His Grace, Love, and Mercy is there/here to restore us to His original plan for our lives (GREATNESS)!

If you want someone to talk to, pray with you, and stand with you on this journey of life, PLEASE reach out to us via message. This can be through the message/contact section ⬆️above, comment section ⬇️below, text message💬 if you currently have my/our number, or 📧email. One of our admins will connect and pray with you in faith that God will meet every need! See Keep in touch section in the drop down above ⬆️.

Stay posted as we continue to 💗grow. Check the blog or my personal instagram (listed under contact section above) for updates, the latest posts, and how you can stay connected and/or be apart of our team! We are MOVING FOR WORD #BrideTribe!

On that note, the 7 Days Of Thanks + Giving Glam Chichallenge 💋 STARTS TODAY. November 25th through December 1st 2024. And this is how it works: After we reflect on what we’re thankful for, and ask God for forgiveness for all the times we were not, LET’S have a little FUN! 🤩 Here’s the challenge. Each day take some time to show God, Others, and Even Yourself Gratitude. Simple Right? I don’t wanna limit your creativity by telling you how to do that. Pray about it! Let Him Lead You!

But if you need a little help here are some ideas: love/like/share &support a LOVED 🥰 ONES content, business, and/or journey, say thank you and/or apologize, give someONE a special gift 💝 , feed 🍽️and/or cloth 🧤🧣someONE in need, spend some extra ⏰ time in 🙏🏽prayer/praise&worship🙌🏽/word📖, visit or call ☎️ someONE you haven’t talk to in a while, buy yourself 🥞breakfast, 🌮lunch, and/or 🍝dinner, take someONE on a date 📆, book a 🛫🏝️vacay, etc. Bottom ✍️Line LOVE GOD, YOURSELF and OTHERS as yourself in word & in deed!❣️

XOXO 😘

G.C. INK. 💌~K.joi~

encouragment, glam, Purpose, suffering, Uncategorized

Cry Now, Laugh Later. Laugh Now, Cry Later.

Kris Joi

Psalm 34:17-19 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 

Psalm 10:13-14 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

Greetings In Grace ❤️ Beloved Ones,

I pray this post finds you well. Today’s post is a little impromptu as I didn’t realize it was the 5th of the month. It’s been a very eventful past couple of weeks & days, and I am still “grasping my bearings” ⚖️ per se. So just a few updates, I attended a live recording a few days ago that was AWEsome. I’m still gathering myself from what took place that night. I will soon be incorporating more music posts on my blog, this will include my personal creations and the creations of others that I know will be a blessing to you. 🎶 With that being said, as soon as the recordings from that night are released I will be sharing it! Also our ministry is doing a 24 hour emergency fast until this evening AND Y’ALL IT’S BEEN QUICK & POWERFUL. ⚔️ Looking forward to finishing strong and joining the saints in prayer & the word in a few hours. We’d love for you to be apart, it’s a collaborative Kingdom effort, so ALL are welcome (message me or comment below for more details).

As many of you know today is also a very important day in history, as our new commander in chief or president 🇺🇸 will be selected this evening. With that being said there is a lot of activity going on right now in the spirit realm, and I encourage everyone to be prayerful 🙏🏽& watchful/vigilant👀. I just reached out to my loved ones to make sure everyone will be settled and safe as things are unfolding both spiritually and naturally. I encourage you to do the same, check on your loved ones and BE safe.

So God was impressing upon my heart ❤️ a few scriptures over these past weeks (see scriptures above). As I was pondering on them I heard today’s title. And I admit this time I had mixed emotions 🥹 about what God was putting down. I was excited because I’m saved, but I know and love several others who are not. The bible says God DOES NOT want anyone to perish, but for all to be changed/saved (see 2 Peter 3:9). And beloved as God’s daughter & friend I feel the same. I’ve heard and seen stories 😱 about hell and it’s heart wrenching to think of that being anyone’s ending. Non-stop pain, suffering, torture, and eternal death is not the way to go. The bible says it will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (see Matthew 13:47-50).

See the enemy, the Devil, is always up to no good. He roams about the earth seeking whom he can devour (see 1 Peter 5:8). He does not fight fair! He lies and schemes to trick people into believing that if they serve him and live any kind of way (indulging in pleasure/flesh) they will be happy. And yes this may be somewhat “true”, but as the old saying goes it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. 😢 And beloved someone ALWAYS GETS HURT! You get strung along on this quick & easy magical fantasy ride until next thing you know it all comes crashing down/disaster. No matter to what extent we allow the enemy to have room in our hearts/minds and lives, it never ends well. For this reason I made up my mind 🧠that he can’t and won’t 🚫have any place in me or mine.

On the contrary God promises us just the opposite. He says that if you deny yourself now and suffer with HIM ✝️ you will have an everlasting abundant life (See 2 Timothy 2:12 & John 10:10). One may ask well why does God want us to suffer? The thing is friends, suffering is inevitable. We will either suffer with God or suffer without Him. But with Him 🙌🏽 it is so much better. We will suffer for various reasons including: choices/decisions we & others make, living in a sinful fallen world, doing what’s right, doing what’s wrong, etc. But in the end it all comes down to who we suffer with and why we are suffering. Are we suffering for good or for bad? 🤔Perspective is everything!

It’s important as we are going through the trials of life we ask God what it is He wants us to get from what we are going through. ⁉️There are always lessons to be learned in every test, trial, and tribulation. The thing is sometimes because we don’t ask or seek God as to what that lesson is we can often find ourselves going through the same troubles again and again. 🏫 Think of it like we are in school, when we fail a significant test that’s required for our next level, we have to keep taking it until we pass. The good news is our teacher (God/Jesus/Holy Spirit) wants us to pass. In fact the bible 📖 says His divine power has given us everything we need as it pertains to LIFE and GODLINESS (see 2 Peter 1:3).

Comedy and Tragedy theatrical mask isolated on a blue curtain background. http://www.freepik.com

My leader says it like this: God wants us to LIVE LONG and LIVE WELL! Unfortunately our adversary the devil doesn’t want us to have either, but on the contrary his desire is for us to die prematurely and die full of sin/sickness. BUT NEVERTHELESS GOD IS FAITHFUL and provides us with a way of escape (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). And let me admonish you that any one who does not want you to live long and live well IS NOT INSPIRED BY GOD but by the devil. 🛑 Stay Away. Transparent moment: it was really hard for me along my journey to think that I had anything in common with the enemy. It wasn’t until I had a wake up call that some of my behaviors were proving contrary. See beloved, our flesh/carnal mind is an enemy of God! This is why God says we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:2). We are all sinners in need of God’s grace to save us from evil, including the evil right within our hearts.

But I’m so glad, God again, gives us a way of escape. He says repent, change your mind and actions. Yet, again He doesn’t want us to even try to do this alone. He says that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of ALL 🙇🙇🏽‍♀️🙇‍♂️ unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). All we have to do is be honest and humble enough to come before God and say Lord I NEED YOUR HELP! And in our humble cry He will hear and answer! PRAISE GOD!

Let’s 🙏🏽 Pray: Father thank you for loving us unconditionally. Thank you for giving us a way of escape through your Son Jesus. Who came to suffer, die, and be resurrected in power so that we could do the same. Forgive us for every sin, known and unknown. Wash us and purge us with hyssop until we become whiter than snow. We don’t mind laying down our life so that we can receive a greater one. And we acknowledge we need and want your help.

 In Jesus Name We Pray, Amen.

XOXO 💋 Grace, Love, and Mercy, Signed K. Joi

glam, peace

Compare A Son

Kris Joi

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit

Romans 12:2-3 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith

Greetings In Grace ❤️ Beloved Ones,

I’m excited about being able to write this post on the last day of the month. A lot has transpired since our last post. Things have been intense lately. 🥊I have never felt pushed to so many “limitations” in any of my lifelong memories, as I have been this October. I am just now exiting some serious attacks, testing, and trying that could have been life threatening but God is so good! Even the more it makes me glad to be able to come and break the bread 📖of life together with you.

So in our last post we talked about gos…sip and the importance of keeping our wells 🚰pure. The bible says that out of our belly (mind to mouth) shall come rivers of living water. And how when we allow corrupt 🚫 communication to come forth out of our lips we create the opposite of life (death) for ourselves and all involved (see Proverbs 18:21). On the contrary when we take in the word of God it cleanses us inside❤️out. I’m reminded of John 4:1-42 where Jesus is with the Samaritan woman drawing water from the well and He admonishes her to drink from Him & be refreshed.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Today God was impressing upon my heart the word comparison. And I love how He gave it to me to write out, Compare A Son, because at the end of the day it’s always about pointing us back to Jesus. So let’s dig in. A while ago we talked about our senses (taste, touch, 👁️sight, hearing, smell👃)… I actually think we skipped the last of the 5 but I promise we will revisit it. When I heard the word comparison I saw an image of a pair of eyes👀 that were looking all around. And although we ought to be alert and aware of what’s going on around us, we have to remember we are in this world but not of it. When we start to walk based on what we see we begin to walk outside of Faith (see 2 Corinth 5:7). In other words our eyes as beloved ones ☝🏽☝🏼were made to look up TO OUR FATHER & SAVIOR (see Hebrews 12:2 & Psalm 121:1). My friend we live in a world FULL of distractions, some intentional, some not so much. But laser sharp focus (given by God) is key 🔐 to us getting the victory. And remember when we win, others win also.

So what makes our hearts/minds so restless these days? Cares my friend…cares (see post Weight for a Weight). But Jesus says cast 👏🏽those cares on Him and He cares for us (see 1 Peter 5:7). On the contrary the world wants us to be weighed 🏋🏽down, worried, and weakened with all kinds of THINGS (social media, who’s doing this, who’s doing that, what will we eat, drink, wear, rumors of wars and wars, political agendas, etc.). This tells me something: our attention must be pretty valuable 💎because not only is the ONE who deserves it (GOD) vying 🥊for it but also is the world, family, friends, spouses, etc. And of course we should make time for those we love, but at what cost? It comes down to this: who & what we treasure/value gets our attention.

One of the more difficult things I had to learn was how to not try to overcompensate😣. I found myself always reaching out to everyone, availing myself to anything, and spending a lot of time trying to make things be that weren’t meant to be at that time. Much out of fear, anxiousness, and at times loneliness, all rooted in my pride(focus on self and what I wanted). But what I had to learn was how to be able to understand moments, quiet 🤫 my desires, learn what to value (including myself), and be led by God. And in exchange I received a greater level of peace (wholeness, soundness, completeness).

It was later I found through our church’s weekly sermon on worship that these exchanges of my heart 🤯for His ❤️were considered worship. So now instead of me worshiping my way, things, acceptance of others, etc. 😢I am now able to give that to God and ONLY worship/bow to God. My friend and what I received (and continue to receive as I continue in worship) in exchange for the excess was greater levels of peace. Y’all I love that word peace ✌🏽 it’s packed with soooo much good stuff. In fact, let’s go there. So please forgive me but over a year ago I said that we were going to do a dive into the 9 fruits of the spirit, and we never did because of my procrastination. But I have a feeling God’s going to have that be my next series of posts.

Isaiah 26:3-4 reads Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. In fact if you have time the entire chapter of Isaiah 26 is a great read it further talks about the consequences of pride and the results of walking with God. But that word peace is the word shalom shalom in Hebrew. It means: ⛑️safety, wellness, 😆happiness, friendly, health, prosperity, favor, friend, good, rest, 🫡salute, and wholly. And my husband brought to my attention the other day that the word perfect in that passage is translated the exact same thing(shalom shalom). MY LORD! That means when our minds are stayed on Him, He keeps us and we receive a double portion of all those things listed above.

LETS PRAY! God THANK YOU for every promise that you have made to us. To keep us, shield us, and bring us into your perfect peace. We acknowledge Lord there is nothing this world has to offer us that is worthy of our worship. We give you our minds, our vision(s), and everything we possess for we/it ALL belongs TO YOU. We ask for you to keep us in perfect peace as we keep our minds stayed on you! In Jesus Name We Pray! Amen!

Uncategorized

Gos🗣️…Sip🚱

Kris Joi 
The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. ~Proverbs 18:4 
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. ~Hebrews 12:15

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. ~Proverbs 18:8

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14

Greetings In Grace ❤️ Beloved Ones,

So sow sew glad you are here. 😁Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (psalm 133:1). AND Oh how God Loves Us, I Love Him and I Love You (truly)!!! The longer I live i’m realizing more and more the power of God’s Love to change us from the inside out. It has become my driving force these days and i’m so grateful for it!

I was meditating (pondering) on a few things this week and I was excited when God starting to impress upon my heart tonight’s topic (it’s currently in the 11 o’clock hour ⏰where I am located). Now by looking at the title you may wonder what’s so exciting about Gos…Sip, WELL it depends. I love that God had me to break 🛠️the word up into two parts Gos and Sip. When looking up the origin of the word, gos- actually originated from old English meaning god. And the word sip comes from the middle English word Sup meaning to drink. This is also where we get words like supper, super, supply, superior, supplement, etc. from. Which i’d love to talk about but for the sake of time & space we’ll save that for another post.

But what really excited me was when I realized that gos is also in the word GOSPEL. Now that’s good news! But nevertheless it was also on my heart to deal with the “other side of the coin” (so to speak or metaphorically). Let’s start with a question. Have you ever experienced 🗣️gossip firsthand in your life? How did it make you feel? What type of effect did it have on your thinking and/or relationships? Let me guess… probably a combination of confusion, pain, and disorientation. 😵‍💫Ask me how I know. Unfortunately friend we have all probably been both the victim & perpetrator of this act. And it (gossip) indeed is not a victimless crime.

Shrine Of Christ’s Passion in St. John, Indiana✝️

In fact it harms all those who are involved. SELAH (Pause & Ponder) and SAYLESS (Understand). I was taught by my leader that you cannot pray/intercede for anyone that you are actively against (see definitions of the words 🙏🏽pray vs. 🐍prey). Meaning you can’t be for someone and against them at the same time. Now does this mean we will agree 100% on everything always? Of course not. We are human. As they say there are two sides to every story, which I’m finding to be true.

Nevertheless there is ONLY ONE TRUTH (see John 14:6). And if we want to see if our ways and words are in alignment with truth we ought to look to God’s Word/Jesus, whom is the author ✍️ and finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). God is not a man that He should lie neither the son of man that he should repent (see Numbers 23:19). My friend God is faithful, even when we are faithless (see 2 Timothy 2:13). And He is a friend that 🪵sticks closer than a brother (see Proverbs 18:24).

In these last and evil days it is important that we ask God to give us hearts that can discern good vs. evil. For we know that the thief/enemy of our hope filled mind, will, and emotions only wants to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10). BUT OH THANK GOD FOR JESUS, ✝️ who comes to anchor⚓️ our soul (mind, will, emotions, appetites) in hope/Him. David said he would have fainted if he had not believed that he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living (see Psalm 27:13).

Let’s Pray. Father purify our hearts and cleanse our hands. Purge & deepen our wells. Let them bring forth living waters. Forgive us for our sins. Forgive us for all the unrighteous blood shed, the sins of our fathers, children, and our children’s children. Cover us in your blood that our hearts would be right before you. We repent (change our mind & actions) and ask that you would give us another chance to live the life you created for us to live. In Grace, Love, and Mercy, Completely Hidden In Christ.

XOXO,

K. Joi❤️

Uncategorized

Fix Your Face! 🙂🙃

Kris Joi

Isaiah 1:5-6 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Scripture References

Greetings in grace beloveds,

I’m grateful to God and pray that ALL is well with and for you! We serve an AMAZING God whose love for us is GREAT! I pray that as we continue in our journey we never forget where God has so graciously brought us from. Let us never cease in our thanks giving, and seize every moment of our lives as an opportunity to live in/for love. For God is Love (See 1 John 4:8). ❤️

On that note let’s dive in. Our ministry just came off of our seasonal time of virtual prayer & fasting, and as always it was AWEsome. The wonderful thing about these gatherings is anyone from anywhere who has a heart to seek God & grow can join. With just the click of a button people from all over the world (from different churches, cultures, and ages) have been able to seek and cry out to God together, for both corporate & individual advancement. And y’all we’re on the move! If you would to join a collective of like minded individuals who are hungry for God you can 📧 email admin at behindtheveil0720@gmail.com, the more the merrier 🙂 !!!

When I say I am so grateful for being able to be on the Lords side in these times, it’s an understatement. It disheartens me when I look at the condition we are in as a whole, and have committed myself to being apart of creating change for good. Seeing people being tossed from pillar to post, to and fro, in and out, up and down is not the Fathers heart for His people. One morning I heard God 🗣️speak one simple yet relevant word to me and that was STAND (See Ephesians 6:11). Ever since i’ve been holding that word in my heart as I continue on this journey.

In this verse (Eph. 6:11) Apostle Paul(A.P.) is admonishing the church to put on the armor of God to protect themselves from tricks of the devil our adversary/enemy. He further goes on to list the different pieces of armor in the next few verses and their placement. For the sake of time we are just going to take a look at the helmet ⛑️ and the head. In the natural we know we wear a helmet on our heads to protect it from harmful impact. In this passage A.P. identifies the helmet to be salvation (verse 17).

That word salvation ✝️ in the Greek translates properly concrete, defence, defender, or to protect from attack. We talked a little bit about salvation in a past post in which we ended with a call to return to the Lord. Whom is the head of the church, and our ONLY means of salvation. Apostle Paul is admonishing the church to protect there head/mind from outside attack by receiving continual salvation (through Christ).

When I heard the title for today’s post immediately after I heard Isaiah 1:5-6 and several other scriptures that talk about our eyes, ears, mind, and even mouth being surrendered to & set on God. I will include all of those scriptures in the next 💋 P.S. post for the sake of time & space. Nevertheless, God was highlighting to me how sickness in the head (literal or figurative) can lead to sickness being spread throughout our entire body. And that healing is going to come to us as a whole ONLY when JESUS becomes our focus from the head down. David said I will look to the hills, from which comes my help (See Psalm 121:1-2).

I’m reminded of the scripture 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. My friend I’m so encouraged that God gave us a way of escape from every enemy that comes against our hope-filled future. There have been many times where I found myself in situation that I needed rescue, and EVERYTIME I turned to God and asked Him for help, He never failed me. What is it you stand in need of today? Even if you’re not really sure, or there’s a laundry list of things, I encourage you (even as I encourage myself) fix your face on Jesus!

Inward Beauty Reflected Out #Grace #Love #Mercy #Christ.Life.Style

Uncategorized

Hide & Seek

Kris Joi

Psalm 119:11 NKJV Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Greetings in Grace Beloved Ones,

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” (Numbers 24-26). Hope that this post finds you well and inspires your heart. So when I heard the title for today’s post it made me think of how many things we learn as children that are still relevant in adulthood. I remember someone saying everything I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten. And whereas the word everything is a bit of a stretch, I agree that much of what I learned as a child, rather good or not so good, has had some effect on my adulthood. 

For instance I have fond memories of my mom keeping our home clean and making breakfast for us before sending us off to school. I also remember my dad going to work to make sure we had the things we needed as children. As an adult I am more able to appreciate their sacrifices than back then. Even how these things ingrained something in me in the form of training/cultivating me for my coming into adulthood. I thank God for them & their sacrifice. Even as our natural parents have sacrificed and ingrained things within us, how much more has our Heavenly Father who made us in His image & likeness.

Let’s “start” here our words & our actions have a residual effect on everyone that encounters them. David understood the power of words, especially God’s word. The book of psalms is filled with reminders of the UTMOST importance of the word of God being our meditation & habitation. In simple terms God wants us to Remember & Live in, by, for, with, and through His word. This is why in the scripture David said he would hide God’s word in his heart (mind, will, emotions). He understood the value of God’s word as it pertained to LIFE! The bible says man shall not live on bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (see Matthew 4:4). It also mentions the power of life & death being in our tongues (see Proverbs 18:21). Think & Speak on that!

So let’s take a look at a few words in the scripture Psalm 119:11 written above ^. The first one being, hid. The word hid comes from the Hebrew word tsaphan meaning to hide by covering over, to reserve, protect, esteem, keep, a secret place, lay up. Next, let’s look at heart, in the Hebrew leb, meaning feeling, will, intellect, center of anything, mind. And lastly sin, in the Hebrew chata, meaning miss, lack, lose, loss, lead astray. So as this generation would say David didn’t want to be caught slacking. He understood the word was a treasure that had some benefits to his daily life and if he didn’t keep it, it would be to his loss. The bible also tells us that there is a thief (the enemy) that comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I AM(Jesus The Living Word) comes that we would have life abundantly (see John 10:10). Now we have to ask ourselves when Jesus comes to see us where will He find us… seeking or slacking?? 

IDK about you but I want to be found seeking, serving, and safe in Him. Psalm 91:1-2 talks about dwelling in the secret place of God so that we are hidden from the dangers of the thief. Which leads me right into our second and last scripture from above Jeremiah 29:13. In this passage God is speaking to His people who have been led astray into captivity. He reminds them of His plans and thoughts to prosper (not harm) them and bring them out of captivity into freedom. And that this place of freedom will only come when they seek(worship, pray, ask, enquire, desire, strive after) Him with all of their heart.

Beloved I’m so glad that God provides a place of refuge in the seek. There are times where we may find ourselves captive/captivated by sin & wicked ways(inside & out). But Jesus says return/seek/see/speak of me & my way/word, and find Peace(rest, quietness, prosperity, be set at one again). Thank God for freedom! This makes me think of the parable of the lost sheep. That talks about a shepherd’s willingness to go after one lost sheep while leaving the 99. Jesus our good shepherd doesn’t want not one to be lost, but hidden & found in Him!!!

XOXO 

Grace, Love, and Mercy

P.S….. Post Prayers, Petitions, Scriptures, And Songs Coming Shortly 🙂 ❤

Uncategorized

Ascend N.O.W.(No Other Way)

Kris Joi
Photographer Credit: Stefan Cosma @ Unsplash

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Cast all your care upon Him for He careth for you.

Greetings In Grace,

And blessings be multiplied unto you in the favor of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I thank God for His continual lovingkindness and faithfulness even toward us. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Timothy 2:13, it states “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” It’s a reminder that God is constant and doesn’t change, in an everchanging world and in our transitions in life. Let’s press in to His faithfulness.

The word humble (G5013) in the passage above means to bring low, lower, depress, assign a lower rank, bring ones soul(mind 🧠, will, emotions) down of its pride, think modestly/less of self. I heard someone say it like this it doesn’t mean to think of yourself as less but to think less of yourself. Then it says under the mighty (powerful) hand of God. This makes my heart ♥️ leap with joy because in the last post we were talking about feeling/touch, and God’s ability to be touched by our infirmity/ weakness, and to touch us back to impart into us His strength. When we allow God to bring us under His power, direction, and guidance He will lead us in THE WAY.

Let’s talk about some practical ways of humbling ourself. The first thing is making up in our mind that we are going to give our lives over to Him. The bible 📖 says we cannot save ourselves, Salvation only comes through Jesus. John 14:16 Jesus said to him, ” I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” If we believe in our ♥️hearts and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord we receive His eternal salvation. If you are reading this and are considering giving your life to Jesus I both encourage and admonish you to DO IT! I am going to attach a prayer 🙏🏽 of salvation at the end of this post, feel free(literally & figuratively) to use and/or share it.

Take note we are not saved by works (see!!! Ephesians 2:8-10), yet when we are saved there are works that come with and aid us in walking 🚶🚶🏽‍♀️out our salvation (victory, help, health, safety). These works done in sincerity of heart are ways in which we humble ourselves under God’s hand: prayer, fasting, hearing/reading/meditating/studying God’s word, serving/considering others, sacrificial giving, etc. For these are all things God has instructed us to do in His word (by His leading/strength/power) as a means of turning us away from the worlds wrong 🚫way of doing things, unto his perfect way. As we continuously turn towards God, seeking Him first, we continually grow, advance, and prosper as He changes our heart(see 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Now let’s look at the word exalt. It comes from the Greek word hypsoo (G5312) meaning to lift up, elevate, exalt, to raise to opulence, prosperity, honor, dignity, and happiness. The passage goes on to say in due ⏰time, meaning the proper/set time. One of the most important concepts i’m learning in life is time & place. Have you ever heard the saying being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Well just as that saying goes there is a such thing as being in the right ✅ place at the right time. And when we allow God to lead & guide us He always leads us in the right direction. 🧭

This is why Jesus prayed to the Father during one of His most agonizingly painful moments, if you be willing remove this cup far from me, nevertheless NOT MY WILL , BUT THY WILL BE DONE. At that moment Jesus felt all the feels, 😩 as this Generation would say, and the weight of every ungodly sin pressing on his body & soul that we would ever commit. Yet He knew no sin, He is righteous in every way! But He chose to take our failures, flaws, and mistakes upon Himself so that we would be set free from everything that holds us ⬇️down & back. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelations 12:11).

I find great comfort in the part of the passage that states, casting our cares on Him for He cares for us. The word care there means through the idea of distraction. In a time where there are so many things pressing to cause us to take our 👁️ focus off God’s Way, we must come pray like Jesus for willful determination to yield and keep our eyes on the prize. The prize is everything on the other side of where we are now, that God has promised 🌈 us (more peace, joy, love, blessings, glory, understanding, breakthrough, etc.). My friend God never runs out of goodness and He wants to 💝 gift us with it. When we trust Him with everything He exchanges our current reality for a greater one.

C.I.A. Call in Action: 💭 Ponder what things/cares have been distracting us from spending time under God’s guiding? Let’s pray 🙏🏽 and ask God for strength to surrender and strategy to press in and on to greater.

Grace, Love, And Mercy (G.L.A.M.)

XOXO K. Joi ❤