“Meet Me at The House”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …
“Meet Me at The House!”
I’m calling all my STMI family and friends to meet me at the House, Solomon Temple Ministries International. I’m even giving the address: 655 California Av – Pittsburg, CA 94565, because it looks like some of you have forgotten where the House is. Ok, so maybe giving the address is a bit over the top but, I’m sure you get my intent. I’m just saying, because we’re in the House and we’re waiting on you. We miss you!
Question: Do you know Who you belong to? “I am a son / daughter of God.” Yes!
“He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” – Psalm 91:2 (NIV).
Being a son/daughter of God comes with responsibilities. Being in the House when the doors of the church are open is one of them. No excuses – no exceptions! We have social media. Praise God for social media. However, social media is for those who absolutely cannot worship in person. Sick – disabled (no caretaker to assist them) – housed in a nursing home or care facility – a video tool used when unable to meet in person. Social media got us through the worst of the pandemic. Though it is not completely over, it is time. Return to the House.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV).
Let go of your doubts – your anxiety. Pray on them and follow God’s instructions. Let go and let God lead you back to the House. God has kept you through the hand sanitizing – face mask wearing – social distancing. Let God put a hedge of protection around you while in His House.
Return to the House. Feel the ushering in of the Holy Spirit. Experience a feeling that words cannot describe. Experience a feeling that only God can provide. It is by His Grace and Mercy that you are here today. God our Provider – Comforter – Healer – Deliverer – our All-In-All.
Meet me at the House! God wants to see you in His House on Sunday.
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“Tell Somebody – Part Two”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE ….
“Tell Somebody – Part Two”
Yes, I’m writing a part two. Why? When my Pastor is enthusiastic about a subject it moves me to action – it motivates me. Prayer – Pray – Praise has been his teaching subject for the past few weeks. He has stressed the fact that prayer is critical to our lives as believers.
“The secret to failure is the failure to pray.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
Why are you not praying more? Why are you not connecting to STMI’s prayer line? (These questions are not meant to be accusations and are not relevant for everyone. These questions, if they apply to you, are meant to be thought provoking.)
If you are not a regular prayer warrior, you will get so caught up in living that you will get the attitude and mistaken perception that you are handling all your needs on your own. When things go wrong in your life you try to fix them (sometimes you even succeed). This creates a false sense of accomplishment. You start to think you can do all things on your own.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13 (KJV).
Yes, time to reroute your thinking because it is Christ that gives you the strength and the know-how to handle your situations. What you thought was you, was not you. It was God. God is always at work in our lives, even when we don’t acknowledge Him. Because of His love for us, He diligently works on our behalf. Now shouldn’t this make you want to take the time to thank Him for His Goodness – His Favor – His Mercy? Talk to Him – pray – praise Him!
“Praise makes prayer go further.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
Just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, God will send trials and trouble your way so that your only option is to pray. Although our All-Mighty God will block your path with trials and trouble, He will not leave you there. He will keep His promise to never leave nor forsake you. God will bring you through every trial and trouble you encounter. The only thing He wants you to do is give Him all the praise and tell somebody. Well, there is something else. God wants you to conform to the likeness of His Son. (To be like His Son is something to pray about.)
Remember, it does not cost anything to pray, but it may cost you everything not to pray. Take time out of your busy day to pray. Time is money! No, time is prayer and prayers are valuable. You cannot put a price tag on prayer. Prayer is one of the most valuable assets you own. Don’t let your prayers become idle. God wants you to use them. Pray – tell God – then tell somebody!
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“Tell Somebody!”
Greetings From The Temple…..
“Tell Somebody!”
To all my fellow believers, if you were paid for every soul you introduced to Christ, what would your bank account look like? Well, let me narrow the time frame down a bit. Within this past year how many souls have you saved? Let’s all think on this and be truthful. I, for one, would have a zero balance in my bank account. Yes, zero! This is shameful. If my daily living depended on my discipleship (winning souls to Christ) I would be hungry and broke. I would have died a long time ago from starvation. Hopefully, you would have fared better than I.
“When your worship is for real, you tell somebody about Jesus.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
The best way to bring souls to Christ is to tell somebody about Him. Share your testimony. We should tell everybody about Him. And there is a lot to tell. His Goodness – Mercy – Favor – Healing – Providing (this is just the tip of the iceberg). Most of us are stuck on the premise that “we did that”. Yes, we look at our jobs, money in the bank, our homes, our cars, and say to ourselves; “Look at me!” “I did that!” No, you did not! God did that!
Remember, you have been saved, you are a believer, therefore, you are a disciple of Christ. Yes! Now, what did Jesus command His disciples to do?
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.” – Matthew 28:19 (NIV).
This translates to: “Tell everybody about Me!” Yes, we have one job, we must go (move) share what we have learned about our Lord and Savior. Go out and share the gospel with everyone! Our Pastor has told us to be like the Samaritan woman at the well. After Jesus had told her about the Living Water, she ran about town telling everyone about the Man at the well. This is what we need to do – we need to get our joy back – we need to get our excitement back. We need to run and tell!
“Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:14 (NIV).
Share your testimony. Tell of His Goodness and Grace that you have personally experienced. Our parents taught us at an early age how to share (food, candy, toys). Now, it is time to share Jesus. You can’t keep Him to yourself. You must share Him with others. Make disciples. Tell somebody!
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“How Are You Leaning?”
“How Are You Leaning?”
How are you leaning? To answer this question, you must know the subject matter. Therefore; “How am I leaning in regard to what?” In a recent series sermon: “Prevailing Through the Pain”, Pastor Brice used sub-topic, “Learning How to Lean on the Lord”.
We tend to take it upon ourselves to take control of whatever is going on in our lives. In other words, when we are under attack from Satan, we come to our own defense, instead of letting God take the reins. Why do we do this? Because we were taught by our parents to be independent. Every parent wants their child to grow up and take care of themselves. This is ingrained in a child at a very young age. Therefore, when Satan attacks, we stand our ground and try to fight our own battles.
“God will put us on display for Satan.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
Read: Job chapter 1 &2. God let Satan have His servant, Job. If God let Satan have His faithful servant, Job, wouldn’t He also let Satan come for you and I? Of course, He would! Therefore, it behooves us to lean on the Lord. Let go and let God fight your battles. Yes, we hear this all the time, but we still haven’t learned to just lean on Him. Leaning on the Lord is the only way to win against the wiles of Satan.
“Satan will knock you down, but God won’t let Satan knock you out.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands, but you must spare his life.’” – Job 2:6 (NIV).
God Is! This is a simple but powerful statement. “God is the joy and strength of my life. He removes all pain, misery, and strife. He promised to keep me – never to leave me. He’s never, ever come short of His Word.” These are words of truth from a gospel praise song. I firmly believe that God gives us Word and Word Lyrics to share about Him. Since God Is – we can!
Yes, we can lean on Him and become one with Him in praise, Word, worship, witnessing, and winning souls. Therefore, when someone asks: “How are you leaning?” They are in fact asking, “How are you serving the Lord?” We can serve God by leaning on Him.
Lean on His, Love – Joy – Peace – Strength – Faithfulness – Protection – Control.
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“Me – Myself – and – I”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …
“Me – Myself – and – I”
The title of this written piece says it all. It is all about me. Most of you (readers of this blog) do not want to hear everything about me. Would you rather we hear everything about you? Ok, where am I going with this? Our Pastor has been leading us through a teaching series on “Pride”. Pride is self-centered – self-worshiping – self-exalting. Pride will have you thinking you’re all that and more. Everything will be centered around self in the prideful person.
“Self, is the gateway to sin.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
This statement stopped me in my tracks. Why? Because I am guilty! Being a mother and grandmother, I’ve always put everyone else first. But, somewhere, somehow, I started putting myself first. I was finally having some “me first time” and it was very therapeutic. However, after hearing that self is the gateway to sin, I’ve done some praying and soul searching. It was never my intent to sin (this is how we get caught up). “I didn’t mean to do it!” Yet, you did!
“Everyone has and will participate in some form of pride.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
We must be very careful not to let ourselves be a target for Satan. Once we put ourselves out there (It’s all about me! – Look at what I did! – You can’t do it without me!) Satan will hitch a ride on your pride, and you’ll be headed for destruction. Yes, pride destroys!
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18 (NIV).
Pastor Brice also reminded us that the letter “i” is in the middle of the word pride and in the middle of the word sin. Pride and sin are a couple and will sever your relationship with God. Therefore, this is one couple that you do not want to associate yourself with.
humble: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance
Me – myself – and I, must be humble. We must walk in humility – we must walk in the Way of the Lord! You will see that while your life is filled with serving Him, you will not have the time nor room to let sin and pride enter your life. Therefore, stay humble … serve Him … and …
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“Your Gifts”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …
“Your Gifts”
When we talk about gifts, we’re usually referring to something given to us that is pleasing, special, and nice. We receive gifts from others, rather we merit them or not. Holidays, birthdays, weddings, graduations, etc. As Believers, we refer to our special abilities as gifts from God; singing, teaching, preaching, writing, etc. I, for one, have never associated my pain and sufferings with the word, gift. During our Sunday morning worship service, “Burdened, Yet Believing”, our Pastor informed us that our burdens (pain and sufferings) are a gift from God – they are an assignment from God.
“Christians have suffering to do and a cup to bear.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
God, out of love, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross to suffer for our Salvation. Jesus shed His Precious Blood for us, and He endured more pain and suffering than we could ever endure. Yet, He was resurrected and sits at the right hand of God. Although we could never measure up to Jesus, we can suffer out of love as well. We know that when God leads us to something, He will also carry us though it. Our sufferings will lead us to a stronger faith in God.
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” – Psalm 55:22 (NIV).
Pastor Brice also brought out the point that grief is also associated with our gift of burdens. Again, we will only grieve for a little while because God will see us through our grief when we cast our cares on Him. Pray. We cast through our prayers. This is reason to pray without ceasing.
I Thessalonian 5:17 (NIV) “Pray continually.”
“We need to release our burdens. Release – realize (revitalize) – rest.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
“Come to me, all who are burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:18 (NIV).
Connect with God through Word – Worship – Witnessing – Prayer. No matter what your gifts are, give God control of your gifts; grief – pain – suffering – burdens. Let Him handle them and enjoy the Peace of God. There is no peace like the peace the Lord will give you.
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“A Little Knowledge”
“A Little Knowledge”
Often, we hear the statement that it is better to know a little about something than to not know anything. You also may have heard; “Ignorance is bliss!” Truth, ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance puts you at risk, and a little knowledge is dangerous. To not know something or about someone puts you in a vulnerable position and your vulnerability can be detrimental.
Believers, and this includes me, lets stop getting by. Stop thinking that by attending church every Sunday and listening to the preached Word, we are good. This is a good beginning, but we must do more. We’re putting ourselves at risk of falling away from Christ by not diligently, actively, seeking to know more about Him – know more of His Word – and sharing His Word with others. We must: Seek – Search – Serve – Share!
Seek God and His Wisdom – Search Scripture for revelation – Serve Him and others by living His Word – Share what your Pastor has given you. This is what our Pastor means by saying he wants us to move from being members of STMI to being disciples of STMI. Be a disciple and make disciples.
Pastor Brice has begun a teaching series on “P-R-I-D-E”. “Pride is a silent killer!” So, what does he mean by this statement? Pride will kill your relationship and your discipleship. Pride will alienate you from God and other believers. Pride will have you walking away from God.
Pride will also cause you to feel superior in your own eyes. You’ll start thinking you have all the answers, that you’re always right. You’ll be giving yourself an applause: “I did that! I have a good job because I went to college. I have a nice house because I make good money”, etc. Before you realize it, your own self-righteousness will lead you to putting yourself before God. Time for a reality check! Remember, self-righteousness got Lucifer kicked out of Heaven.
“We must learn to walk more towards humility and less towards pride.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
Yes, time to humble yourself. Let pride go and get back in fellowship with God. Pride in excess will lead you to sin. When we sin, we break our fellowship with God. Let go of pride!
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18 (NIV).
Strive for more knowledge regarding: Word – Worship – Witnessing. A little knowledge will get you in trouble. Complete knowledge will get you the win!
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“Fast and Pray!”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE ….
“Fast and Pray!”
Fast: STMI will be starting a Fast on Tuesday morning (July 5th) at 06:00am to 6:00pm. Drink plain water (or lemon water) only between those hours. Do this for three days, ending on Thursday (July 7th). During your times of Fast is also a good time to Pray. Fast and Pray, commune with God.
3 Day Fast – 06:00 am to 6:00pm = 12 hours which represents power and authority Tuesday (July 5th) – Thursday (July 7th) During your Fast you are to watch:
- What you say. Beware of corrupt communication. Ephesians 4:29.
- What you see. Use Cautious observation. Matthew 6:22.
- What you seek. Use careful participation. Colossians 3:2.
- Walk with the Have committed consecration. Joshua 3:5.
The above listed Scriptures are for reference and validation. However, feel free to pray the above Scriptures if you so desire.
Pastor Brice is following God’s Instructions for us to fast and pray. Stay in tune with our STMI vision and follow our Pastor as he is being led by the Holy Spirit. We will prevail together. Divided, well, the only answer to divided is to fall. Therefore, let’s win by staying in. To win it we must stay in it. Pastor Brice’s Sunday Sermon was on “How to Prevail Through the Pain?”
“The way we respond to trials is more important than the trials themselves.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
No matter what you are going through, put a praise on it and feel the results. Yes, feel the results. You’ll find that while praising Him you’ll forget all about your troubles – pain – trials. You can’t do both at the same time, feel sorrow or pain while praising God. God won’t let you wallow in your pain; He’ll lift you up and out of it.
Read: James 1:2-4 which validates how to prevail while going through your trials.
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“How We Must Pray”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …
“How We Must Pray”
9 “After this manner therefore pray ye:
‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power , and the glory, forever. Amen’”
Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV).
In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray. Our parents also taught us this prayer. Do you clearly understand the significance of this prayer? Do you clearly understand that all our prayers must be patterned after this prayer? This morning during our STMI prayer call, Pastor Brice addressed six facets of prayer.
- Always address Him, as Our Father.
- Always praise Him for Who He Is.
- Remember, God’s Plan is in control – not yours.
- Always ask God for what you need.
- Always confess – repent – in your heart.
- Request God’s Protection and Support.
He also said that prayer must be paramount, super important, in our lives and should always be vertical. To couple pride with prayer will always be problematic.
“Walking in pride allows your spirituality to become your worst enemy.” – Pastor Victor S. Brice
The above quote is from Pastor Brice’s teaching series on: “Problem with Pride: The Silent Killer”. To allow pride to enter any relationship, is to experience a slow but sure death because “pride operates outside of God”. (Also, a quote from our pastor.)You are allowing Satan to take control. To get a clear picture of what pride does, think of pride as Satan. When you interchange these two words you get a good picture of what pride can do. Simply put, “Pride kills!”
Pray in humility. Remember, it is not about you. It is all about God. Yes, we sometimes let pride enter our relationships, but when this happens, check it. Put pride in check! Pride starts out small and grows, before you realize it, pride has taken over. (This is Satan in action.) Stop giving Satan (pride) a foothold in your lives. “Pray without ceasing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV).
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan
“Juneteenth – Freedom Day!”
GREETINGS FROM THE TEMPLE …
“Juneteenth – Freedom Day!”
Hello, my sisters and brothers! Juneteenth! We have another federal holiday that is nationally celebrated and recognized. We have the month of February (Black History month) – we have January 15th (MLK Day) – and now June 19th (Juneteenth).
President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19th as a federal holiday on June 17th , 2021.
We keep getting recognition for our history, but do we all celebrate and honor these holidays? Do we even know what each of these holidays and the month of February represent?
They all represent our Black history (African American history). MLK Day is recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a leader in the civil rights movement, February (Black History Month) represents the struggles and achievements of African Americans from slavery to present. It is significant that our name changed from “negro” – “colored” – “Black” to “African American”.
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemorative on ending slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, an estimated 250,000 slaves in Galveston, Texas received word of their emancipation from General Gordon Granger. This was two months after the Civil War ended and 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation – dated, January 1, 1863 – had gone into effect.
It is significant to note the time frame between the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the date General Gordon Granger advised the slaves that they were free. Slavery had ended but discrimination was still in full effect. As it is to this day. So, why give us another holiday to celebrate freedom from slavery if discrimination is still being practiced?
“Freedom is never really won; you earn it and win it in every generation.” – Coretta Scott King
We can honor and celebrate each holiday by reflecting on its history and its importance. When we reflect on our past we can learn from our mistakes and use what we’ve learned to work towards a better future. Believers, lets get to work, individually and collectively.
“Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful of our history, change is possible, and there is still so much work to do.” – Barack Obama
Share the Word – make disciples – spread love – remember our history – Juneteenth! Rise Up!
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Solomon Temple Ministries International – Blogger – Othella Hill-Jordan