“If My People”

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

“If My People…”

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV).

 Raise your hands if you think this Scripture is about you. No! Then, why not you? This Scripture is about all of us. We all sin and we all need forgiveness. Our sins are different, but sin is sin – big or small – often and not quite so often – horrific and non-horrific. This is reason to pray and ask for forgiveness daily.

Our worldly nations have been going through a lot these past couple of years. It all seemed to start with the COVID pandemic. Truth, it started well before the pandemic. Racial inequity – bias – pride – hatred – harassment – homosexuality – murder. Yes, the ultimate sin, the taking of one’s life by another. As a human race, we have all become complacent in thinking that because something is done (accepted) by a majority it is okay to be done. (No, the majority does not rule in everything.)

Of the 7.9 billion people in the world, Roman Catholics number approximately 1.2 billion – Protestants number approximately 800 million – Orthodox Christians number 260 million – Other denominations number 2.8 million. Do you see where I’m going with this? Believers are the minority citizens of this world. So, what does this mean for Christians?

“… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:20 (NIV)

Discipleship: following Christ; modeling and teaching Christians the precepts of the Bible – prayer – doctrine – Christian living – worship.

Participate in discipleship; bring others to Christ. Make it your personal mission to seek God first in all that you do. Live according to His Word. Live and breathe the Word of God, others will see the God in you and seek a relationship with Him as well. This must be the goal of every believer. Just think, if every believer brought at least one person to Christ, God’s people would have doubled in size. There would be twice as much worship – prayers – praises going up.

God will have twice as many people seeking Him – praying – turning from their wicked ways. This is what it really means to have: “Strength in numbers.”

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“God Is Good!”

 

“God Is Good!”

 

“God is Good!”  “All the time!” “All the time!”  “God is Good!” We hear this phrase quite often, but what does it really mean? Exactly what it says! Can this be said of you? Of any human? No! “Of course, not!” Simply because we are human. No human will be always the same.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8 (NIV).

We, humans, like the blowing wind, will change with the flow. Whether changing from good to bad or bad to good, change is inevitable. We live in a competitive world and will always strive to achieve more or do better than our parents – neighbors – family members – associates. However, we must be on guard because not everyone wants to see you succeed. We must watch  for the people who try to change our successes into failures.

What would happen if God was forever changing and changed His Mind about our Salvation? Exactly! Trust (faith) is the foundation of our relationship with God. We are saved by acknowledging (agreeing) that Jesus is the Son of God – that Jesus died, and God resurrected Him three days later. We are saved by inviting Jesus into our hearts – by calling on Him for divine assistance (intercession on our behalf). Only Jesus can take our requests directly to God.  Our faith allows us to receive the righteousness of God.

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” – Romans 10:10 (NIV).

“We have a guarantee of our salvation through the Word of God – by the Work of Christ – and by the Witness of the Holy Spirit. – Pastor Victor S. Brice

God  – Christ – Holy Spirit. Word – Work – Witness. Pray, ask God His Plans for you – be attentive to what God wants you to do – walk (live) in the change He wants you to make.  He, without a doubt, wants you to succeed – He wants you to win – He wants good things for you. God is Good and He won’t change – “He’ll do again what He did before – He’s the same today yesterday and forever more.”

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“Trust Me!”

 

BLESSINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

 

“Trust Me!”

“Trust me!” What is your immediate thought when you hear someone say these words? While you are thinking about your answer …. oh! You don’t have to think about your answer! Why is that? Ok, I guess I’m not the only one who immediately get suspicious of the person uttering these words. Why? Because I’ve had to learn through experience, and I’m sure you have too, that you can’t trust any person who leads with this statement. But God!

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” – Psalm 40:4 (NIV).

We are strong-willed, independent people. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good to stand on your own two feet and not have to depend on anyone else. However, we can sometimes carry our independence too far. This happens when we live independent of God – when we don’t include God and acknowledge Him in all that we do.  All that we have and will ever be is because of God. Yet, when we are succeeding, we place our trust in ourselves and our possessions. (i.e., Our jobs – bank accounts –degrees: science, arts, business, medicine – our homes, cars, and other material possessions, etc.)

“Those who trust in themselves are fools…” – Proverbs 28:26 (NIV)

“Those who trust in their riches will fall…” – Proverbs 11:28 (NIV)

 These past few weeks, Pastor Brice has been teaching a series on, “Fellowship”. To summarize his teaching: “Your fellowship with God  affects your life. We all sin and our sins cause a rift between us and God. We’ve missed the mark of God’s Standards and we must confess our sins to Him. When we confess, we release God to forgive us. God will forgive your sins, and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. He will re-instate you in fellowship with Him. Being in fellowship with God is a premium package. Don’t let anything interfere with your fellowship with God.”

Trust God! Stay in fellowship with Him! Grow your relationship with Him. Remember:  “You can’t grow your relationship with God when out of fellowship with God.” Stay in fellowship!

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.”  – Romans 15:13 (NLT).

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“Fellowship Unmerged!”

 

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

 

“Fellowship Unmerged”

In my “Fellowship” blog yesterday I merged fellowship with relationship. Please accept my apologies! Fellowship and relationship, although they work together, are two separate entities and must be looked at as such. So, lets separate them.

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” –  1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV).

We are called to be in fellowship with God. To be in fellowship with God is to be in communion with God (to have something in common with God) such as companionship – friendship –and partnership. All of these “ships” add up to fellowship. They are also found in your relationship with God. Your Christian walk must include both fellowship and relationship.

Therefore, I encourage you to spend time in Jesus’ Presence, spend time in worship, in prayer, and in the study of His Word. Believe in Jesus and accept His gift of Salvation because fellowship with God is synonymous with salvation. You must get to know Him and be known by Him. Stay in fellowship with Him and grow your relationship with Him. However, despite your relationship with God, your actions may cause you to fall out of fellowship with Him.  (May cause your fellowship to unmerge with your relationship.).

“Relationship with God is not necessarily in fellowship with God.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice

“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).

When we are not operating in God’s Plans we are out of fellowship with God. We do this to ourselves. (We must stop blaming our missteps on others and on our circumstances.) We all may fall out of fellowship with God from time to time, but it behooves us to return. Just like the prodigal son returned home to his father, who wanted him back, our Father, in Heaven, wants us back too. When out of fellowship with God, a dark cloud exists over your love, peace, and joy. Get back in fellowship with God – come back into the Light – live in the Light! Let His Light shine – let His Light illuminate – your love, peace, and joy! Stay in fellowship!

“Operate in agreement with God’s Plans.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

 

“Fellowship!”

 

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …


“Fellowship!”

Fellowship. What exactly is fellowship? Our Pastor, Rev. Victor S. Brice, has been taking us through a series on “God Has Your Back” for the past few weeks. He has been stressing the fact that we must be in fellowship with God. Our Almighty God – Creator of mankind – our Way out of no way – our Provider – our Comforter – our Healer.

Does Who He Is make you feel you can’t live up to His expectations?

“God wants us to hang out with Him.”  –  “He wants continued fellowship with Him.”                                                – Pastor Victor S. Brice

To be in fellowship means to be in alliance with – in comradeship – in friendship – in companionship – in relationship with. This brings to mind the song: “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. Although He is our Almighty God, He wants us to be friends. Can you just accept this fact and be a friend?

A friend knows all about you. God knows all about you, but do you really know God? Do you really know Who He Is? I’m not talking about what you were taught about God when you first became a Believer. I’m talking about your relationship – your fellowship – with Him which should be on-going. Your relationship with God must be one that shows constant growth.

How do you grow in your relationship with God?

Stay in His Word. Meditate on His Word. Research Scripture to determine what God is speaking to you about. Your Bible is The Book! It should not be sitting unopened, unread.  Stay in worship. Stay in fellowship with other Believers. Attend church (yes, you can Facebook or livestream our worship service) but you must sit with other Believers so you can feel the Spirit enter the building as the Word is being delivered by our Pastor. Stay in prayer. Pray for yourself and intercede in prayer for others. Stay in discipleship. You can be in discipleship mode and not even realize it. When you are true to the Word, others will see God in you. You don’t have to advertise that you are a Believer, others will see God emanating from you. You can make disciples without uttering a single Word.

“You can’t be part-time with God.” – Rev. James W. Brice

Always stay in fellowship with God. Be consistent – fervent – compassionate. Your testimony on the goodness and mercy of God should continuingly be on your mind and His praises should always come from your mouth. Praise the Lord!    Psalm 150:2 (KJV) comes to mind.

“Praise him for his mighty acts., praise him according to his excellent greatness.”                                                  

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“Holy Week”

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

“Holy Week”

We’re in the middle of Holy Week. Will you be doing anything different during Holy Week? Well, you may say: “What do you mean by something different?” Well, for example…My normal daily routine is to wake up praising God – thanking God for another day. I also go into prayer. But, in recognition of Holy Week, I will make my prayers more intense – fervent. I will also give thanks to Him in the same way. Why?

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” – Matthew 21:9 (NIV).

I recognize that on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey – the people were praising and cheering and placing garments and tree branches along His path as He rode. (Although, I don’t have the exact quote, but I distinctly remember Pastor Brice saying that: “before the end of the week, some of these same people would be plotting to kill Jesus.) Read: Matthew 21:1-11 also Matthew chapter 26. 

“As you know, the Passover is two days away – and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” – Matthew 26:2 (NIV).

Jesus, knowing of His pending sacrifice, went to the Mount of Olives and prayed for God to let His Will be done. This is reason enough for all of us to remain steadfast and fervent in prayer. To make it personal, “Would you be willing to accept your fate in the same way?”

Yes, prayer is the only way to give the control over to God. When God is in control the outcome is always the correct outcome – the winning outcome. To pray is to say: “Yes, Lord!” Saying “yes” to the Lord is the greatest acknowledgement you can give the Lord. Our all Powerful – Faithful – Reliable – Dependable God.

Let Holy Week prepare you for Resurrection Sunday. Spend extra time in prayer – spend quality time in the Word – meditate on the Word (meditate on the Scriptures given to us by our Pastor during his Sunday morning sermon). 1 Corinthians 1:1-10. Wake up on Resurrection Sunday morning with a hallelujah praise in your heart – with praise on your mind. Keep your mind stayed on Jesus!

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

 

 

 

“How Are You Doing?”

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

“How Are You Doing?”

How Are you? We may hear this question daily, in this form or another (meaning the same). We mostly give a generic answer to this generic question. “I’m fine, thank you! How are you?”  Then we go about our daily lives, never giving a second thought to whether the person answering with a “Fine, thank you!” is really doing just that. Are they really doing fine? If not, why then did they say so?

My generation and culture were taught to acknowledge everyone with a “Hello – how are you?”. This was respect. This is what we do. Now, lets get real. When you ask this question of someone, do you really expect them to tell you exactly how they are doing? (No, not really because we expect or want everyone to be doing just fine.) Why? Because we have the mind-set (which was driven into us at an early age) “What goes on in this house, stays in this house. Don’t put our business in the street.” “Yes, Maam!”  The mold was set!

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.” – Hebrews 4:13 (NIV). 

Mental health. We will  prioritize  our physical health while neglecting our mental health. We may eat the right foods, and get plenty of exercise, but we make the mistake of thinking physically fit means mentally fit. Again, a generational and cultural attitude. An aunt or uncle who exhibited mental illness was not helped. Instead, they were subjugated to being different and  their mental deteriorations were excused.

Façade. We smile – say all the right words – sing – dance (get jiggy with it) but this is just a façade. We are hurting inside. We are dealing with long suppressed issues that will surface from time to time. These issues won’t go away on their own. We are a human time bomb – ready to be ignited – ready to explode. We are hanging on the edge of a cliff – waiting for that strong wind – waiting to be pushed. In all actuality, we are waiting to be rescued. When that human time bomb moment or that cliff hanging moment comes, we may act in a manner that is inappropriate to our norm. We may act out in a way that surprises our family, friends, relatives, co-workers.

A cry for help. My mental break is a cry for help. “Help me!” Now is not the time to punish – condemn – discipline – oppress – or blacklist me. I need help! My mental stability depends on it. Believers, we know Who our Healer is. We know Who we can count on. God – the Word – our Counselor – our Comforter – our Provider –  our Advocator. We know that He will make us whole again. But what about the non-believers?  Disciples, we have work to do!

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses.”          –   Hebrews 4:15 (NIV).

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“How Do You Feel?”

 

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

“How Do You Feel?”

How do you feel? Don’t answer just yet. This question can cover a multitude of situations however, for this writing, I will be referring to your feelings while waiting on an answer from God. We have learned to pray expecting an answer from God. But, when God tells us to wait, or even when He tells us no, what is your reaction? Do you take matters into your own hands? If you have done so in the past, how did that work out for you?

Life is definitely a learning process. Hopefully, we will all learn from our mistakes and stop trying to do God’s Business – stop trying to help God with His Decisions. God is the only One who knows what’s up ahead – what’s around the corner – and He definitely knows what’s behind you. If you trust Him enough to ask – trust Him enough to Heed – trust Him enough to Believe!

“You can’t always see God’s Hand in the heat of the battle.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice

God fights our battles, seen and unseen – physical and emotional. We can easily lose sight of our emotional battles until they are over and won. Therefore, we let go and let God take control of our lives. God will see us through all our battles. However, to win it we must keep God in it.  (Can you say we serve an Awesome God?) This is reason to wake up in the morning praising Him and reason to praise Him before going to bed at night. Oh, and don’t forget during the noon-time – during the day-time – and during the evening-time.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5 (NIV).

We must rely on God’s Timing – God’s Tactics – God’s Touch. Pastor Brice spoke on this during our Wednesday night Word Connection. This must be our daily process. God has promised to never leave nor forsake us. Believe! To believe is to know in your heart that God will keep His Promise.

Do you realize that while you are praising Him – calling out to Him – at that moment and time, nothing else matters?  Try it! Praise Him – call on Him – focus on Him! All your worries – anxieties – troubles – and pain will be gone. Why? Because you have given them over to God. You have let God take control.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13 (KJV).

Again, I ask: How do you feel after you’ve given all your troubles over to God? Your answer ….                        “I feel like going on…”

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“What’s Your Guarantee?”

 

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

“What’s Your Guarantee?”

What’s your guarantee? What can you say to me that will let me know that you will deliver on your word, deliver on your promise? “Trust me!”  “You know me!”  “I’m solid!” “My word is bond!”  Oh, and the best one yet, “I love you!”   Yes, I’ve been there – done that – heard that – got the ring and gave it back!

We are all only human. We have good intentions when we make promises.  Michael Jackson wrote: “I’ll Be There” – Bill Withers wrote: “Lean on Me”. Both were good intentions and made you think that if they could do it then you could do it too. But could they really do it?

Fact: We can all be reliable, dependable, and good. But our nature does not allow us to be that way 100% of the time. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t guarantee a 100% reliability – dependability – or goodness. I’m not knocking intentions, no matter how good they are, but we are not built for 100%. i.e., No one is 100% good, nor is there anyone who is 100% bad. You might think there is, but you would be wrong. The good person that you look up to has done some wrong (you might not know what it is, but it has been done). Even the most vicious criminal at one time did things that were good. (You might not see it, but it is there.)

“For he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23 (NIV).

Every Word God speaks – every promise He has made – is a guarantee. Our Faithful – Reliable – Dependable God! We hear talk of being 100 – God is the only 100. God’s Word is your only guarantee. If God says so, He will do it. In fact, it is already done. You can take that to the bank.

“God is not a man, and He will not lie.” – “ Stop putting so much stock in unreliable sources!”                            –  Pastor Victor S. Brice

The hit songs by Michael Jackson and Bill Withers had us thinking that we would be there for our loved ones that we would be their strength and carry them when they were weak. Just call our name and lean on us. Do you think maybe both Michael Jackson and Bill Withers were on to something with their songs of inspiration but that they both got it wrong?

Yes. God is the only One you can call on – the only One you can lean on and be guaranteed 100% reliability and dependability. Our Awesome – Faithful God! You can call Him any time of day or night – during all situations you may find yourself caught up in. Trust Him – just  call His Name! He will be there! Lean on Him when you are not strong – God will be your strength and carry you! God is your guarantee!

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan

“I’ve Got Your Back!”

GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …

“I’ve Got Your Back!”

“I’ve got your back!” “I got you!”  How many times have you heard someone say these words? How many times did the person who said these words come through for you? Depending on the person uttering these words, these words can mean a lot, or they can mean absolutely nothing. As we go through life, we eventually come to know who we can depend on and who we can’t.

i.e., As a child, I was small for my age and would get picked on by the bigger kids at school. That was, until  they saw that I was from a large family and if they got in a fight with me (any one of us), they had to fight all of us. Yes, I was protected! My brothers and sisters had my back! 

While here on this earth, we will always go through some things. But I know a Name – I know a Name you can call on at any time, morning, noon time, mid-night hour. There is Power in His Name – there is Comfort, in His Name – there is Healing, in His Name  – there’s Protection in His Name – there is Love – Joy – Peace in His Name!  God! Our Father, Who art in Heaven! God has made promises that He will keep. Call to Him! He will answer you! He will direct your path through your life’s journey.

Live not – struggle not! There will be struggles, problems, throughout our lives. God never promised us a problem-free or struggle-fee life. He did promise to “Never leave nor forsake us.” He has kept His promise.

In our women’s Zoom class, we are reading the book: “Don’t Give the Enemy A Seat At Your Table” by Louie Giglio. The concept of this book is on Psalm 23.  First Lady Tara Brice was leading the discussion:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4 (KJV).

As we are going through something, we forget all about this Bible passage. This is God’s promise to us that He will be there with us. Therefore, when we pray, we should pray, not asking for God’s help, but pray thanking God for being there with us during our storm. Wow! What a revelation! Knowing (remembering) that God is with you during your struggles makes your struggle less of a struggle doesn’t it? You can rejoice, knowing that God has your back!

The One and only True God has your back! Just call to Him – cry out to Him! He is waiting on you. Seek Him first! Before you call your seemingly reliable mother, father, sister, brother, call God! Call our Faithful – Reliable – Dependable – Committed God! He keeps all His Promises!

“Call to me and I will answer you.” – Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV). 

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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan