The S.I.S.T.A.H.S. Ministry International

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, again powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:10-12

When we go through ups and down, keep praising God. Praising God during bad times will confuse the enemy.

Praise God in good times, when things are going wrong and you feel alone because trouble is on every side. Don't give up keep praising God, when your friends are spitefully misusing you and talking about you. When people are lying on you, when you have berevement in your family, and have lost a mother a father or even a child.

People will laugh at you when they see you praising God and they know the trouble and pain you are going through. Praise God when you're broke. Praise God in advance. Don't let no devil in hell make you stop praising God. You've got to have that come back power. This life will take you through a lot of changes some hard changes.

I'd like to tell you a few things that happened to me since I decided to make Jesus my choice. I have been lied on and talked about. I have taken a lot of beatings and I've even been without eating, but I've never lost a pound because the Lord has never let me down. Life can get so hard it cuts like a knife.

We get lonely and heartbroken with tears all in our eyes. But keep your hand in Jesus' hand and hold on because change is coming. Let's not be so preoccupied with our physical condition, but more preoccupied with our spiritual condition.

Don’t Hold On To Grudges

"Do not let the sun go down on your wrath." (Ephesians 4:26)

For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

A sister got into a physical fight with her sister, and the whole experience left her feeling bitter. When her sister wanted to make things right, she refused to listen. In fact, she would not speak to her sister after that fight.

The mother was called, and told about the incident, which grieved her heart that her daughter’s were at odds with each other and not speaking to each other.

The mother went to the girls to warn them of the consequences of harboring angry and bitterness and holding on to grudges. She said remember, the Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath”, (Ephesians 4:26). Don’t you think you should forgive your sister of what happened? It would certainly make me happy and it will also be pleasing to God.

This reminds me of some Christians. They’re angry at certain people and hold grudges. When they are confronted with their unforgiving attitude and urged to make things right, they sidestep the issue and refuse to heed the clear instruction of the Scripture. True, we cannot change another person’s heart, but we are responsible for our own attitude. The Bible says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32).

No, we can’t keep the sun from going down. But we can keep it from setting−on our anger. And that means we must forgive.

In this case if angry lingers in the heart’s of these two individuals then other people are affected by their actions. The siblings of these two can be caught in the middle and families can be torn apart. Come on sisters it’s not that serious, forgive one another. Tell each other that you love one another and love means never having to say that you are sorry.

A grudge is a heavy burden to carry, let it go!

No matter what’s going on in our lives, nothing is bigger than God. Not even death is bigger than God.

Oftentimes we allow our circumstances to defeat us. We allow doubt and fear to creep in and we begin to feel as though God has forgotten about us, because of our suffering or discomfort.

But nothing is too hard for our God, there is nothing that we could be going through that God can’t change. Nothing comes through his hands that He can’t handle or change.

But we must walk by faith and not by sight (2ndCor5:7), we don’t have to see what He is doing, but we must always remember that all things works together for our good and His glory. (Romans 8:28).

So today speak life to your situation knowing that nothing is bigger than our God. Reflect back when the children of Israel, were trying to make it to the promise land, He parted the Red Sea, and saved them from their enemies, so if He did it back then, He’s the same God today and forever more. (Hebrews 13:8)

So today let’s make a conscious decision not to focus on our situation because it makes our situation look larger and our God smaller. We serve a big God and he owns a cattle of a thousand hills and we are heirs with God, and Joint Heirs with Christ. If this is indeed the truth, then we can ask Him for anything and it shall be given unto us. (Romans 8:17).

We love because Christ first loved us (1 John 4:19).

As we focus on the upcoming Valentines Day, we must remember that if love was ever shown to us; it was indeed at the Cross. So if you don’t receive a gift, candy or flowers, focus on Jesus’ who hung and shed His blood for you. −That’s Love −

One of the most powerful tools on this universe is Love. Love is Jesus’ greatest attribute, and He proved that to us by sending his son to die for our sins.

So if you are feeling that no one loves and cares for you… just remember what took place at the cross, what an awesome expression of His love for us.

Some may ask, “In a world of constant conflict, does love stand a chance?” I would say it does. In this world where people are still walking in darkness, we are to share Christ’s love to God’s people whether we think that they deserve it or not. Just remember Jesus said that they will know that you are my disciples by the love that you possess to others. So if we are His, we’ve got to be willing to walk in love; after all children should reflect who their Father is.

What is Love?

Kind – Kindness is discovering the joy of treating others as persons of worth.

Forgiving – Forgiveness is finding freedom from the grip of anger.

Courteous – Courtesy is treating others as friends.

Generous – Generosity is offering time, abilities, and money to help others.

Jealously plays no part in Love.

Extending love to someone who is kind or special to us comes easy because we like the recipient of our attention. But what about our enemies? Loving those individuals who are hard to love helps us cultivate spiritual maturity and allows the Lord to intervene on our behalf.

We are being pleasing to God when we walk in Love.

I love the story of the two blind men who were sitting alongside the road one day when Jesus walked by. They were beggars, the kind of people most of us try to ignore. But little did they know that their lives were about to suddenly change.

When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, Have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped in the road and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” Lord, they said, “we want to see!” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. INSTANTLY, they could see! Then they followed Him. (Matthew 20:30-34) One of the most amazing things about God is how SUDDENLY He can change things. These two blind men would be the first to tell you...

I talk to so many people who are defeated and discouraged, but they aren’t willing to take a risk for fear of failing. Sometimes when we look at challenges, we dwell on the obstacles. But when God looks at challenges, He sees the victory every time!

Is fear or failure or ridicule keeping you from achieving God’s best in your life? Remember, God will never make fun of you for stepping out and trusting Him. In fact, He’s just the opposite He rewards us when we trust Him!

Kingdom Greetings!! This is the day that the Lord, has made and I will rejoice and be exceedingly glad in it. This day has been predestined from the beginning of time, it was preordained from the beginning of this world. God saw that His people were suffering from this past administration and He saw and heard the cry of His people. When I saw the elections, before I went to bed I said, "Father God, thank You for what You have done."

My mind reflected back to the children of Israel when they were being held captive in bondage and slavery in Egypt, Jesus parted the Red-Sea, and our sea is the people of the U.S. God heard their cry and pitied their groan (Psalm 61:1). Under this past administration people lost jobs, homes, healthcare, and we've been faced with the wars. He knew that He could use someone to turn this country around. I believe in my heart Barack Obama will be the person that He will use to accomplish His will for His people.

We will pray constantly (I Thessalonians 5:17) that God will indeed give him His discernment to go forward and people will have hope to face the future.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

What you said really hurt your sister’s feelings,” Julie said to her 16-year-old daughter after breakfast one morning. “Couldn’t You have expressed yourself differently?” Natalie looked up with tears in her eyes. “Mom, I really didn’t mean to hurt Renee’s feelings, but it just seems like she can’t admit it when she does something wrong. I just felt so frustrated when I was talking to her last night.”

Yes, I know, but God never wants us to use words deliberately to hurt others, especially those we love. please tell me that you’re Going to pray about what happened and then talk to her about this.” Julie got up from the table and patted Natalie’s shoulder. “I know you’ll do the right thing.”

After the talk with her mother, Natalie prayed and asked God for guidance. She had just wanted Renee to know how she’d been feeling, and then she started saying anything and everything that came to her mind. But right after her conversation, she felt guilty about the hurtful things she had said. She knew that she had to apologize to Renee. She put her dishes in the dishwasher and headed upstairs to talk to her sister.

God never wants us to use words to hurt others. (Prov.21:23)

He who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Prayer:
Father, please forgive me for the times I have said things that are not pleasing to You. Help me to control my words and to say things that are always pleasing to You.

Passage: I Samuel 30:1 - 6 (KJV)

1 - And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 - And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 - So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 - Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 - And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 - And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.



Everything looked bleak to David and his men when they arrived at Ziklag. The Amalekites had attacked the city and taken their wives and children captive. The men were so discouraged that they wept until they had no more energy. And David, their leader, was “greatly distressed”, because the people were contemplating stoning him.(V.6).

In the end, David’s army rescued their families and defeated the Amalekites. But the story takes a great turn even before that when “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (V.6). Other translations use the words encouraged or refreshed.

The text doesn’t say exactly how David did this. But it makes me wonder, in what ways can we strengthen, encourage, or refresh ourselves in the Lord when we’re feeling discouraged?

First, we can remember what God done. We can list the ways He Has cared for us in the past, and how He has provided for us or answered a prayer request.

Second, we can remember what God has promised. “Be strong and of good courage……for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:9).

Like David, let’s learn to strengthen ourselves in the Lord, when things go wrong or bad.

So take courage, child of God, so weak and frail. God has said so, and it must be, for His promise cannot fail!

Our greatest strength is often shown in our ability to stand still and trust God.

One reason God allows adversity in our lives is to get our Attention. He’s acutely aware of when we’re too preoccupied with ourselves and our interests. God knows when it’s time to plan an Interruption so we will take notice.

The question immediately arises isn’t there another way to capture our
Attention? Theoretically, the answer is yes. There are other means beside
Adversity. But it usually takes a jolt of some kind to bring us around.

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but
Shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”
When things go our way, it is sometimes difficult to turn our thoughts to God. If all is well, we may quickly drift into a state of self reliance and
Smugness. Our prayers can become lifeless, and the Word of God may start to sound unappealing to our complacent ears. And to make matters
Worse, we can begin to confuse our sense of well-being with spirituality.
When nothing is wrong, we fasely assume that everything is right.

Anyone who has been involved in evangelism knows what I’m talking
About. It is next to impossible for an unbeliever with no pressing problems to see the need for a Savior. That person might figure,
When everything is fine, why “mess it up” with God? But come back
To the same man or woman after adversity has struck, and you will find
A completely different attitude.

Difficulties can bring even the strongest and most stubborn to our
Knees. Consider Saul, who later became the apostle Paul. As he
Traveled to Damascus to arrest believers, God struck him down with
Blinding light, humiliating him in front of his traveling companions.

No doubt assuming his blindness was permanent, Saul was now ready
To listen to God.


What about you? What could God accomplish through you
If He had your undivided attention and loyalty? We sometimes
Forget that when God looks at our lives, He see not only our past,
But our potential future as well.

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