Category: Christianity

Internal Wins

August 5, 2020

This past week a recognition of internal warfare came to my attention. Regarding success and life, I began thinking of where I am versus where I want to be. Internally I have been battling with wondering if I am able to get it all done. The financial goals, health goals, parenting goals, marriage goals, ministry goals and the list just keeps going. I become paramountly aware that the mark has been missed….Or has it??

Did you see that?? This is my battle! One part of me says, Man…. you are way of course. While the other part says, no matter what you have done, look at what you are now doing. You are heading in the right direction!

Frustration sets in while we are contemplating who we are or what we should be accomplishing. Trust me, this is even a problem for people who look like they’re holding it all together. Rich, broke, healthy or not so much, no one is absent of feeling like they have missed the mark or that they have not lived up to a standard. But each of us, despite our current circumstance must keep believing in ourselves. We must believe in ourselves just after failure, in the middle of losing and right after setbacks.

If we are not walking towards purpose or in purpose, we will “feel” lost. But that does not mean we are. There are times I have been driving and thinking I knew where I was going but then I see landmarks that don’t look familiar. So, I’ll turn on the GPS to realize that I’m still on track to my destination. Achieving success is not about a feeling but a conscious decision to keep going!  

Its the reason that Internal faith must be present because our roughest fights are internal. The hardest fights to win start with decisions of discipline such as waking up early, praying daily, exercising, eating healthy, and managing our time well. Too many external battles are lost because we are bleeding out on the internal battlefields.

Take a moment to think. How can “I” be better today and prove to no one but “me” that I am enough. God didn’t create you to be insufficient. You are enough!

Today, because somebody needs your best you, give them your best you!

  1. Have confidence in who you are. And do not let anyone insinuate that you are not enough! You are!
  2. Understand you may not have all the knowledge or skills but giving it attention and consistency will produce success.
  3. Plan your steps. Begin your day with a plan and press through with passion.
  4. Keep your purpose or your why at the forefront of your mind and focus on the actions that will fulfill this.

Have a blessed day  

Aquila T Carmon

3 Things To Remember About Making Changes

April 1, 2019

3 Things to Remember when it’s time to take action as make big changes.

1. It will cost you in the beginning.

It will absolutely cost you! Money, time, energy and sacrifice will be inevitable in order to see progress and success. Taking action is not easy but it is necessary for self development. Positive action adds positive value via increase of knowledge, wisdom and experience.

2. If you don’t take action things will stay the same for you but continue changing around you.

If we are not willing to take action we are subjected to watching things change around us and nothing big ever changes for us. The risk in that, is experiencing how changes in our career, family and life will either slightly benefit us or cause damage forcing us to change anyway. Don’t wait to see what happens, make moves to create changes that will benefit you!

3. Everyone will not approve or agree.

It is absolutely ok that people won’t or don’t get what you are doing. It may be someone you expected to support you like a best friend or a spouse. But develop an “oh well” mindset. Oh well, thanks for listening. Oh Well, this is still something I have to do. Oh well, it’s risky and I might lose in the beginning or I know it’s going to cost me in the beginning but I’m going to do it anyway.

Aquila T Carmon

A Measure of Faith

March 26, 2019
What does it mean that God has dealt to every man the measure of faith? Pondering this causes me to ask questions like….How much faith did He give me? How does it compare to the faith of others? Will this faith only get me so far vs the faith of great leaders?
Romans 12:3 says:
“For I say to every man that is among you, through the grace given unto me, 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.
Let’s be honest for a moment. Walking by faith is scary when you don’t seem to have the faith it takes but at the same time it takes faith to accomplish what we are called to.  It takes faith to walk into ICU and believe God will heal sickness.  It takes faith the bury our closest loved ones and believe God will give us the grace to keep going. It takes faith to encourage someone that it will work out. It takes faith to look into the eyes of a parent who lost their child and believe God will strengthen them.
It takes faith to make marriage work, start a business, serve with people who often disagree with you, maintain beneficial relationships and to raise children against the waves of negativity, darkness, distraction and disaster that crashes into our minds every single day. It takes faith to know that you can be who God created you to be. 
What did he create you to be? Powerful beyond the strength of your enemies. Wisely armed with the Mind of Christ. Unstoppable with the force of the Holy Spirit working in you day by day, leading you to and through victories great and small.
So the measure of faith that we are given is a tailored, measured, calculated portion of faith that is meant to work in and through you actively assisting you to your predestined call.  You Measure of faith is directly proportional to who God, as a man, measured you up to be. It is not to be compared and it is not to be doubted. It is an activator that will drive you into prayer and then into action. If you were a vehicle, this measure of faith is premium gasoline, high grade oil, fluids and regular maintenance for you life. If you have the faith to believe enough in yourself and believe enough in God then you will see that all things are possible.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen” Hebrews 11:1 Your measure of faith is only meant for what God intended to achieve in you and through you. So don’t just keep the faith, Use the Faith!
Bless you,
Aquila T Carmon

The Necessity of Change – Introduction

March 6, 2019

I woke up on Sunday Morning and my son busted into my room, his little wet body shivering, wrapped in a towel saying, “daddy where are my clothes.” I woke up from my sleep as I heard the door open and half way surprised asked him, “Did you already take a shower?” He replies “Yes I did”! Both of us were proud as I told him “Awesome…Now go back downstairs and find some underwear!”

Wow….only six years ago I was changing pampers on him and his twin brother. Most of us do this but when did you last think about how much time changes things? Seasons are in and out seemingly faster as we age, almost as if seconds tic faster on the clock nowadays.

Time isn’t waiting for you is it? Nope, so what are you waiting for. Opportunity is not only telling you to find it but opportunities are searching for you.  Open your eyes and see the chance to do something you haven’t done yet. Change!

For too long, our days become so routine and predictable that we could feel the need to change in our heart, soul, even in our bones. Change is calling us out! When we feel there has to be more, like we have to do better and begin to sense there is more for than this, guess what. There is! This feeling of unsettling means we have now engaged with the necessity change.

Why? Because purpose and destiny are on the line! Who you become, who you are becoming, depends on the steps you are taking to improve, develop, build, learn and grow. You don’t have time to waste or to procrastinate. The Almighty Phrase “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I’ll start on Monday” is a life snooze that will put you late for your appointment with purpose. Don’t WAIT!

Start the business, ask her to marry you, set up the budget, get your Credit fixed, go to the beach, read the book, take the classes, apply for the grant, build the church, move to the other state, MAKE A POWER MOVE and watch God be faithful when you act in faith!!

Aquila T Carmon

5 Principles of Progress

February 1, 2019

There are quite a few principles that drive us in the direction of progress and success in our lives. It’s wise to reflect and see if we are putting those principles in place. Today I’ll share five of those values with you that caused a huge difference in my life and catapulted me from literally a place of depression and distraction to determination and desire for greater achievement. These principles are relevant for spiritual, financial, career and personal growth. Let’s jump into it.

The first one is PRAYER. What is one of the secrets of having great focus? Having direction! Having a really good sense of destination sets our sails on course for an amazing and purposeful journey. Like any journey though, Inevitably,  we get lost or sometimes even lose ourselves. Prayer brings us back to a proper head-space, heart-place.  Prayer keep us grounded and in connection with God. Praying for God’s guidance, strength and peace essentially aligns us with God’s will. Through our convictions, His grace and gives us clarity even through the clouded and crowded times. Jesus spent hours praying because He understood that not only external but also his internal needs came from a Spiritual source, His Father in Heaven. It is wise to consult with the Lord about where we are headed and what we should accomplish before consulting with men.  God knows the ultimate purpose for our lives and there could be unnecessary frustration when we allow our intentions to supersede God’s divine direction for our life.

The second is PERSPECTIVE.  How do you see where you are? We should see our challenges like a weight lifter sees a weight that is too heavy and consider how we will build up to clearing that weight. Problems can make us better problem solvers, trouble can build patience, tragedy can push us closer to our Source of strength, pain builds our ability to endure greater pains, hurt and broken trust wises us up. You get the idea. Don’t see a wall as a wall, but a teaching objective that will force you to reach, stretch and think more critically or trust God more consistently.  See your problems from the perspective of every problem has a solution. Remember that God will never put more on you than you can bear.

Next is PLANNING. Yes, strategy is vital in this game of life. I hear you….” Things never go as planned” I’ll say that is True and False. The wrong perspective may tell you this, simply because the whole plan didn’t go as planned. Get this. If you create a plan to meet your goals and only 10% of your plan worked out, then the plan is working because the plan was really to make progress.  A plan is a safeguard. It’s like putting the bumper rails up at the bowling alley to keep you from rolling a gutter ball. Planning may not get you a strike, but it should at least help get you some points on the scorecard.

Fourth is PERSEVERANCE. The ability to move forward when you are ready to quit. Perseverance is the internal characteristic that you can train yourself to put in action. Deciding to walk when you cannot run, crawl when you cannot walk and stopping only to catch your breath, to re-strategize, to pray, to reflect on your perspective but never stopping because you quit.

Lastly to Acknowledge and Celebrate PROGRESS. Seeing and realizing that even though this was small progress that this is a BIG moment. If your plan is laid out and you have made progress toward that goal, then you must realize within every goal is the goal of making progress. If your church didn’t grow by 20 members but it grew by five, celebrate the progress. If your business income didn’t grow by $5,000 but it grew by $1,000, celebrate the progress.

Remember that “The race is not given to the swift but to those who endure to the end.” Your life doesn’t need to be in competition with anyone else. So, kill all those comparisons and work towards your goals. Stay focused, stay positive, plan every aspect of your life and Celebrate along the way.

There is Hope,

Aquila T Carmon

The Grace Place

January 24, 2019

One of the first things that really attracted me to God was the opportunity to bring my life to him while I stood in a state of hopelessness and in a condition that others would not accept me in. It attracted me to him because even though I had sung all my life about amazing grace it isn’t until you really need it and try it that you realize wow, this grace of God’s really is amazing.

When I gave my life to God sixteen years ago, I was broken, hurt, broken-hearted, failed everything I’d tried at life so far. I had just lost my job, my license, car broke down, with drugs parading around in my system and the first three things all happened in one day. I was in a hard place, a place of depression, desperation and decision.

I needed something, someone or both. Honestly, I had no friend that was able to deal with the weight of my heart, thoughts or emotions. Even If they did understand, people don’t really have what you need when your life seems to be a walking tragedy. I’ve always found it to be a true statement that it is difficult to find mercy with people. Whether it be the mercy that will urge giving or the mercy that allow forgiving. Truly, what’s needed when waves are crashing into our ship while sailing in deep waters is God and His grace.

Ah, Grace, unmerited favor, mercy, compassion and acceptance that can be shown but not even noticed. I wonder if you’ve ever missed the opportunity to thank God for grace because you didn’t see it. Many of us think that grace is just for the saints, covering us as we make mistakes. But listen, grace is so much more. God uses grace as a means to influence, lead, change and alter the condition and direction of our hearts. Grace is a heart influencer that chases us down and finds us when we are lost. The Word of God says that grace “bounds towards me.” Yes, it finds us in times of need, justifies us and “through grace we are saved” by faith. Ephesians 2:8

I’ve found during my walk with Christ there are 3 places God’s grace meets us. Not the only 3 places but the ones I’d like to share with you today.

The First place we meet God’s grace is in A Place of Sacrifice. A place where we make it no longer about us but like David in Psalm 51:10 simply desire a clean heart. The sacrifice where we realize our desires may be of flesh and not spirit, so we then seek after God’s righteousness and abandon our own selfish agendas. Oswald chambers wrote “purity in God’s children is not the outcome of obedience to His law but the result of the spiritual work of His grace.” We become righteous by giving God full permission to work in us and work those things out of us that are not like him, without resistance to his leading. We render our whole man to God’s hand

The Second place we meet God’s grace is in A Place of Humility. A place where we recognize we’re willing to go but we must openly admit to God that we are just not brave enough or strong enough. It’s the place in the process where we love God and want to do his will, but we fail at holiness because we cannot obtain the mark without His supernatural strength working inside of us. We openly admit that it is not us but Him and that His Holy Spirit is not only the prerequisite but the absolute necessity to obtain any true level of relevant success in this life. This is where grace doesn’t just cover our sins and cleanse our heart, but grace works as an element of force, as much as we will allow it, to turn our hearts back to God or fully towards Him.

The Third place we meet God’s grace Is in A Place of Victory. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all suffiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Suffiency literally means a perfect condition of life in which no aid or support is needed. This is not to say you don’t need help but to say that here is the grace and with this grace comes all of the help you need!

In times of need, desperation, loneliness, confusion, despair, brokenness, grace abounding moves mountains, tares down walls, lights up darkness and crushes every enemy just to get to where you are.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. How did it find me in all of this mess? It does not matter what stands between you and God when you have decided to accept Jesus into your life then God sends Grace abounding towards like a train without brakes just to deliver you right where you stand.

Know today that God has a meeting room for you. It is called A Grace Place. And this Grace Place could be your living room, your dorm room or your workplace restroom. It is the place that you make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

There is Hope,God Bless You!
Aquila T Carmon

The Making of Moments

January 22, 2019

The word moment is defined as a very brief period of time or an opportunity.

Over Sunday Dinner I engaged in a conversation discussing with Father in law and my sister in law’s boyfriend regarding things we remember from our past. Ironically this post refers to how we only remember certain things concerning our yesterdays and needless to say, I can’t remember exactly how the conversation began.  What I do know is that we were in agreement.  We are unable to go back in our minds, press rewind and again see the clips we missed.  Nope, everything’s spotty and we only remember moments. Have you ever tried to go back to your childhood and remember a whole situation play by play.  If you can then I commend you for tapping into a part of your memory muscles that many of us cannot.

For example, I can remember acting out the role of a Lion in a 3rd grade play in the library at Grifton Elementary School. I recall the sun shining through the blinds and my mother showing up to support me.  I had one line the entire play which was “I don’t care” until at the very end something caused me to finally say “I care.” What I can’t remember is other classmate who was in that short play with me. I remember the time while in high school we performed a play for the elementary school kids. I played the lead role as a King who allowed someone to sale him a royal outfit persuading him that it was of the most well-designed and extravagant outfit people would ever lay eyes on. But my friends, the kicker was the outfit was invisible. I remember not one line from that play 20 years ago, but I recall walking out on that wide wooden stage in my loud underwear covered in big yellow smiley faces and watching those kids go wild!! Oh, What an incredible memory.  I played baseball for fifteen years, but I can only remember certain moments of certain games.  I travailed through boot came for thirteen weeks but the moments I can remember are very few and in between. The only vivid recollection is when the Eagle, Globe and Anchor was placed in my hand and in that moment, I had achieved my greatest accomplishment ever.  I wish I could remember more moments with some of the loved one’s I’ve lost or some of the people I grew up, but I can’t.  You see I understand that all of my experiences in some way has helped shape me into who I am today, but they all didn’t make the cut to the memorable moments team.

I think the value of memory is neglected by our own desire to make tomorrow more valuable than yesterday.  I hear some many people say, “the past is in the past” or “you can’t change the past”. True!! All True! But remember that every day we are present, we are creating a past. So, it is vital my friends, to recognize that your future and your past are impacted by your present.

It is in The NOW, where you must make moments for your family that will become positive and powerful memories.  When both of my grandmothers were buried, the moments I recalled during their funerals were full of warmth, love, wisdom and peacefulness. Their homes were a safe-shaven for everyone.  What moments are you leaving for your family to remember you? What moments will your family have to Cherish? Are you teaching those around you to create good moments? Your destiny, your fulfillment of purpose and your legacy is built by the way you manage the moments.

Recollections of great moments remember the emotion and overwhelming love when you held your first child for the first time. It is when you understood the pressure to be an amazing parent when wiping your child’s tears and lifting their head up. It is when you feel purpose fueling when leading a lost soul to salvation. It’s like seeing your father stand again after doctors said he would die. It is the hearing someone tell you simply that you have helped them become better.  These moments keep us grounded. Seeing impossible things become possible are monumental reminders, in the moments we forget that everything really is going to be ok.

Today, Moments are ready to be made. Which means it is important for us to make our decisions count. Whether big or small make them count.  Because when someone stands over our casket it will be good for them to lose us knowing that we gave them the best of who we are.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~ Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

God Bless you,

Aquila T Carmon

 

My Daughter’s Motivation

December 22, 2018

How many of us have ever found motivation from frustration? Have you ever been motivated by difficulty in reaching a goal, obtaining a level of achievement or making something happen when it feels like you don’t have much of anything to make it with.  Has failure ever motivated you to the place where you say this will be the last time I find myself in this situation?

My most recent motivation came from my seven year old daughter.  I wish I could say that it came from watching her do something amazing or seeing her not give up. Those are always great moments that motivate me to do and be better.  Unfortunately, not this time.  I was picking her up from after care along with my two five year old sons.  She came running to the car with an amazing amount of excitement and I begin to think, boy she has been in there having fun!! She runs up to the passenger side but today she didn’t reach for the back door to get in. She says, “Daddy, Daddy you have to come inside the school for the Winter festival!!” At that moment I’m thinking, “OH NO, What did I miss?” Knowing that this is about to be a hard conversation I reply, “baby we can’t, I have to go back to work.”

So far there are two dilemmas.  The first, not knowing this winter festival is taking place because I didn’t read through all of the teacher’s communications. The second is that my daughter really wants me to attend this event but I’m on the particular day I am scheduled to work the late shift even though I have been working since 8am to catch up on unfinished assignments and to meet fast approaching deadlines.

So my baby girl who sometimes will make it known she is upset and sad breaks down to cry.  Not an “I am mad” kind of cry.  But a “This is the most disappointing thing ever” kind of cry.  My heart is pierced to the point that if I wasn’t a grown man I would have cried with her.  I immediately become angry that I haven’t “made it” yet.  I become angry because I have been exposed to opportunities that if I had worked and pushed years ago I would be financially free by now.  I become angry because my job, as important as, it is should not be putting my in a position to chose an income over my children. Not in 2018 when people are making six figures in their 20’s. I became so angry that I became motivated. You see she cried until I promised her Chinese food and a bag of takis.

You see, as I begin to promise her some of her favorite things.  I began to promise myself some things too. I promised myself that I would not stop building my own business until it is a business that will provide for them what my kids need.  That it will produce the type of residual income that will afford me options. The Word of God says in Ecclesiastes 10:19 “A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry and money answers all things.” You see money unlocks options.  It provides opportunities and choices for us.  Its the difference of where you get your education, how you spend your time and who you spend it with.  It can determine how you can get out of your normal routine and rest or if you have to work 2-3 jobs to make it.  I’ve pulled countless double shifts, stayed in terrible hotels, hoped for a ride to come and the “friend” never showed up.  My father and mother are the hardest working people I know. But they taught me to get hired on a job, pay the bills, take two weekend trips a year, then rinse and repeat. I have no desire to leave my children with the burden of being routed and steered by society. Neither would I have them facing road blocks, rejected credit and a limitation of resources because I refused to exist outside of the box that I have grown up to know.  I desire to leave them with a way to fund their dreams and a way to finance the cost of their goals. Sometimes we are waiting for a miracle after God has given us a resource to produce right here in our hands and our minds.

My daughter’s tears became another motivator for me to be better and to do better.  My daughter’s tears have motivated me to revisit my dreams and push for them.  They motivate me to build and work more intensely in ministry and for my community for the children who don’t have the parents that say “Baby everything’s going to be alright!”

Be motivated, stay encouraged and know that anything is possible. Nothing worth building is built overnight. It may take all you’ve got to build it but build it none the less. Build your Church, build your marriage, build your business, build relationships. Build yourself until you can look at your life and know you’ve given God and the people he has entrusted you to impact all you were meant to give.

Aquila T Carmon

The One Thing I Can NOT Live Without

November 29, 2018

As I grew up hearing about eternal or everlasting life these words always seemed to gain a connotation that would relate to the afterlife or life after death. We die then our soul passes to eternal life, in heaven with the Father. While this teaching is partly true in context, isn’t it imperative to grasp the understanding, meaning and necessity of everlasting life as it applies heavily and deeply to our earthly lives. Not only after our soul departs from the body but while warm blood flows in and through our veins. Everlasting life is God’s response when praying, “Lord let your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.” Everlasting life is not more about the quantity or the length of life as it is about the quality or the depth of life.

The depth of my life is vital to me because my greatest fear is dying without chasing destiny down, satisfying my calling and birthing God given dreams. We should not be comfortable with passing  through this life without grabbing hold of all that God has for us.

Oswald Chambers wrote “Our destiny is to work out what God works in. It is not that our eternal salvation depends upon our doing it, but our value to God does and also our position in the Kingdom of God.”

What is accomplished, where we end up, the significance and impact of our journey depends not necessarily where you are right now but what you have access to. John 3:16 says “God sent His only begotten son so that those who believe in Him will not perish but have Everlasting Life” (PRESENTLY). Everlasting Life is something that dives beneath the surface of man. By nature it must dwell in the most shameful, nontransparent, conflicting places of man with the intent of influencing our nature to duplicate its own. Everlasting life is a continuation of the work Jesus finished on the cross. You see, the surface shows smiles but beneath the smile is loneliness. Surface shows willingness to love but love is limited because in the depths of us stand walls surrounding the heart. Yes, if visible the depths of the heart display resentment, selfishness, and thoughts not quite lined up with all the righteousness we speak about. At times we pray to a mighty God yet fight to maintain unmighty faith. At times searching for promise but down deep past the surface, past the layers wrestling to retain hope forcing belief, not yet fully realizing, that at some point God will faithfully answer prayer. The surface and the depths together may form the person but are very distant in nature . It’s true, we are made with a soul, flesh and spirit but what each one desires, prefers, and needs are not one in the same. The surface of man is flesh but the soul of man lives in the depths. The soul cannot drink a glass of water and no longer thirst. What the soul needs can’t come from multiple sources. Although we try to quench the thirst of the soul with sex, money and drugs we will take the drugs and still wake up broken, have sex and get up still desolate and make the money and still go through life empty. Understand that to have all is nothing without the water Jesus speaks of in John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, everyone that drinks of this water will never thirst again but whosoever drinks of the water that I give him shall never thirst again but the wat that I give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life”

Everlasting life is not the inhabitance where we dwell with God, it is the place that God comes to dwell with us in which we become the environment while God exists as the atmosphere. Looking at the context of the word “believe in Him” from its original form translates believes as “into” or “In Him” The soul Our Creator placed in us deals with the perplexities and conflicts of sinful flesh but also is the temple that calls out to God connecting our spirit with His Spirit confirming His existence as a reality as we receive Him and He receives us. Everlasting life is a present, prevailing state of God’s light and life manifesting His glory within us and through us as we live in Him.

John 5: 24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Everlasting life must be present before death in order to pass from death unto life.
John 6:27 “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. It is not the physical thing you must work hard to maintain, rather it’s the life that God has given, the purpose, the soul. The focus should be Lord let me be filled with you because your life is the key to my life.
John 6:47 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” He that is in God has it, You have everlasting life!

What is Everlasting Life? It is the one thing I cannot live without! It is the life of God working through throughout to develop you into who you were born to be. Everlasting life means Endless, perpetual, eternal, timeless, constancy, No matter what changes on the surface, the depths of who you continues to define who you are. It’s the reason the body breaks down and the soul remains whole. Your circumstances change but your faith remains strong. Everything on the surface is chaos but you remain at peace. Everlasting life passes through realms without impact of time in every sense of the word time. It passes from Heaven to Earth and from death to afterlife unstopped and without change of direction. Only with Our Heavenly Father’s instructions to belong to you and connect you with Him. Everlasting means to endure all things meaning it is indestructible incorruptible, and continuing indefinitely. You cannot be broken, you’re in God and God is in you!

Everlasting life awakens your inner man by allowing God’s light in you to illuminate all truths. The good, the bad, the ugly and whatever else that may come with who you are. Causing you to deal with your issues, to deal with your unforgiveness, to deal with what needs to be delivered, to deal with your shortcomings by connecting you with the Power of God’s amazing grace. The power that shows you how God’s real love can know the depths  of your issues and still love you past it. The power that searches your depths and see the part of you that loves sin yet still gift you with a gift and use you to change somebody else’s life. It digs past what people see, what people heard about you, what your resume says, past what you drive and how you dress. Hold on, Let me pause and shout for a moment…!!! Everlasting life can’t be fooled. It knows you look real nice today yet it’s in there digging through the depths or your heart and soul like ghost busters in the sewer filled with pink slime. Digging through pain, addiction, disobedience, fear, hatred, racism and all that type of stuff that offends people like when you let things out of yourself in the car and refuse to roll down a window like it smells good. Digging through it so it can work in you and through you changing you and molding you so your life can add value and glory to God’s Kingdom just the way He intended.

God sent everlasting life to recover the fall of the human spirit.
To restore the hope of a suicidal world
To provide recompense for the sins of men
To reconcile our relationship with The Father
To show us the depth of our life. That life’s deeper than what is visible. To prove that in the depth of your life is where you find the meaning of life.
That its not about getting through the day but living life through the day.

When we dig into our life searching for answers God gives them to us from the depths of who we are. Everlasting life comes as a gift. God hand delivers it to us custom packaged underneath the chest of His only begotten son, released by the dying words of Jesus when he cried “It is finished.” We received this give humble and eager, ready to unwrap the power, passion, purpose and the path of our destiny.

So, its not just about who we love but how we love. Not what I sacrificed but why I sacrificed.
It’s not about who wronged us but how quickly we forgave.

It is my decision to believe in Him because of the benefit of the everlasting life that reaches the depth of who I am and shows me the way.
Leading me through an unperfect marriage. Leading me through the challenges of ministry, leading me through the uncertainties of life but when my soul cries from the depths, everlasting life is already there to attend to the call of my soul.
Psalms 119:143 “Trouble and Anguish have taken hold of me, yet thy commandments are my delight”.

I have a question for you. Have you accepted it? Are you living your life in Him with access to this everlasting life?
Will you risk losing all you think you are to know all of who you are by giving Him your whole life and allowing God to work in the depth of your life, by looking past the surface and becoming brave enough to trust God’s ability to use you and your life for His purpose.

By His Spirit,

Aquila T Carmon

A Father’s Word

November 22, 2018

The Power of a Father’s Word  *Isaac’s Blessing over Jacob*

Genesis 27:27-29

 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you heaven’s dew
and earth’s richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine.

29 May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.

 

This story teaches us how a Father must be careful of how his “word” is used and how it is directed.  A father’s word contains the power to speak over his family and totally shift a thing that is out of balance into balance or something that is in balance to become out of balance. In Isaac’s case he shifted the birthright of his sons from the older to the younger without intention.  A father’s word needs to be certain before it is spoken.  A father’s word plays the role of the bow as well as the arrow.  It sets things in place like a bow sets an arrow. Then once the word is released if aimed correctly it can save a life at the exact same time it’s taking one.  A father’s word has the ability to encourage or tare down.  It has the power to lift up or to discourage. A father’s word must be directed with intention.  Its one of the reasons the father should speak the least in the house. His words need to be strategic, thoughtful, and thought provoking.  A father must understand that the power in a father’s word can not be mishandled. There are four things a father’s word has the power to do that I see in this blessing that Isaac spoke of Jacob.

 

 A Father’s Word has the power to:

  1. Confirms his son’s position as blessed

When we speak over the lives of our children we must be able to see what hasn’t been seen yet and through our words guide them to a place of authority, power and blessing. Speak Blessing into the lives of your children.

  1. Declares the presence of overflow

  It doesn’t matter about your background, where you are from, your current title or status.  Too many times a father can judge where their children will be based solely on what they have or have not accomplished. Declare that your children will live their lives in a place of overflow.  Declare they will find favor with God in their finances and well being through connections and resources.

  1. Provides Perspective on who His child is

Father’s must be very careful what we speak and how we speak to our children.  The name we call them by becomes the name they wear.  Even when they make wrong decisions, we must remind our sons and daughters that they are royalty and that their lives are necessary and full of purpose. We must constantly guide the thoughts of our children by speaking positivity and encouragement to them.  Sharing God’s word and wisdom with them daily. 

  1. Speaks into existence spiritual power providing protection and Success

As Father we must always pray for our children.  There is a real enemy that is committed to destroying the life and soul of our children. Faithfulness in prayer and active parental is necessary to cover our children.  We must constantly guide the thoughts of our children by speaking positivity and encouragement to them.  Sharing God’s word and wisdom with them daily.