Month: June 2026

The Truth of the Matter

by Ms. Rita's Minute

Ephesians 2:6 (NLT)

“For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” 

If you believe and honor the Bible, don’t listen to lies! Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are now seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.  We aren’t prideful about it, but are grateful for it. It is finished! Now, we’re able to act like it. Hallelujah!

Jesus paid the price for our new position in Him. Mark 1:15 shows us, “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” As such, we are of a different rule, a special place, one of a holy, righteous, and just king. His title, among many, is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

We are God’s children (Romans 8:16), often called saints, holy people, set apart for God, emphasizing our new identity in Christ. Though we may sin, I love how He calls things that be not as though they already were (Romans 4:17). Not to mention we are now heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). 

Interestingly, He no longer calls us servants, but friends (John 15:15), and because of our spiritual union with Christ, “…you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). 

We must remember we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), but our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We’ve been bought for a hefty price and aren’t to become slaves of human beings (1 Corinthians 7:23). And as Stephen reminds us in Acts 7:48, “The Most High doesn’t live in temples made with human hands.” Besides, as stated in Acts 7:50, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the Lord. ‘Could you build me such a resting place? Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’”

As we live on the earth, we will be subject to all kinds of lies our enemy may bring to our minds about who we are, what we can’t do, and so many negative things.  However, don’t receive, dwell on, or embrace any of it! The truth of the matter, as I’m reminded of in an old song we used to sing back in the 80s, written by Dwight Liles and sung by Steve Green, “We are alive in Christ, dead to the world, free from the sin that enslaves. In His death we died, in His life we live again, on the other side of the grave!”

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Illustration: Easy-Peasy.Ai

3 How-To’s for the Family

by Ms. Rita's Minute

Galatians 5:16

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Today, I thought of three instructions that might be helpful to my brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as to myself. These are things I’ve pondered recently that I thought would help us in our Christian walk. These things relate to behavioral and spiritual enhancements and how we might walk them out with the help of the Holy Spirit.

1. How to Be Different Without Being Rebellious

Some of us, or maybe even most of us, feel very unique from other people. With this thinking, we may, in certain areas, reject any suggestions to change, for fear of becoming something we are not. However, it is not a bad thing to change, as this happens to all of us as we grow older, whether we like it or not, for better or for worse. Yet, thankfully, we are encouraged to grow to become more like Christ. Hence, we want to move further away from being rebellious and closer to improving and being humble.

In 1 Samuel 15:23, the Bible relates being rebellious to witchcraft. It represents an attempt to usurp God’s supreme authority in favor of self-will or other spiritual powers. Rebellion also involves having a rigid attitude that resists rules.

God has given us all a spirit and soul that live in a body, where all three are different from those of other people. Yet He has given us His Bible to teach us how to live and communicate with Him and others in love. Hence, while our personalities are and should be different, our ways of relating to others should align with God’s teachings.

We’ve been reared in various ways, enjoy different things, and dislike other things, which involve our family history, personal desires, learning, and environment. But rejecting rebellion in our lives entails replacing pride with humility, cultivating a teachable spirit, and actively submitting to authority. We are to avoid self-reliance alone and disobedience to God’s will, as a defiant and stubborn spirit leads to judgment and spiritual destruction. 

Thankfully, God has made His will for us known through His Bible and by communicating with Him in prayer. So, if we lack wisdom, we are told in His Word to ask, and He will grant it to us liberally. Moreover, He’s given leaders in the Church to give us His instructions, as well as His Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth.

2. How Not to Conform, While Being Transformed

The Bible tells us we are being transformed into the image of Christ. Specifically, Romans 8:29 says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” We are also told in Romans 12:2-3, not to “conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed” by the renewing of our minds. Then we will be “able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Meditating on the Lord’s teachings daily strengthens our faith. It allows us to remember what the Lord’s will actually is, instead of what the world imparts to us. As we train ourselves and practice what He has instructed, we become more accustomed to His will and ways and less desiring of worldly ways and attitudes. Not to mention, His Holy Spirit’s sanctification process, which is a lifelong work in our lives to make us more like Christ.

3. How to Love without Compromise or Carnality

The Bible teaches us in 1 Corinthians 16:14 to “do everything in love.” Also, in 1 Corinthians 13:6, “love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” So, truth is important in showing love. True love rejects wrongdoing and celebrates truth. Moreover, “love does no harm to a neighbor…” (Romans 13:10).

When we are carnal, we appeal to our flesh, and as Romans 8:7-8 teaches, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” Therefore, we must seek to live according to God’s Spirit and not our own carnal desires.

Living in this world, over time, we have developed worldly habits that need to be replaced by godly habits. We’ve grown accustomed to living and doing in ways that are opposed to God’s desires for us. We won’t know what that is until we hear and study the truth of the Bible’s teachings. Compromising involves settling for an altered version of the truth. And there are many altered versions of truth one can embrace. So, we must know and understand the truth God has made available to us in the Bible.

Consistently, learning and practicing God’s standards for living keeps us in the knowledge and way of truth. Needless to say, encouraging one another in God’s principles for living His life of love is a blessing to our growth.

The chief way to learn how to love is to know God and live close to Him. He will show us how to love others as well as ourselves. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:8, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” So, knowing God is the first step to success in love.

It’s quite apparent that these things can’t be accomplished in our own strength alone, but we need the wisdom and guidance of God to help us. One fruit of the Holy Spirit we can exercise to help us walk by the Spirit and not our flesh is self-control. It empowers believers to govern their desires, speech, and actions rather than being ruled by them.

Who’s In Charge?

by Ms. Rita's Minute

Jeremiah 10:23

“Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.”

As a child, I was aware that someone had to be in charge if there were no adults in the house. Unfortunately, I was never the one, as I had a brother who was five years older than I was. Hence, he never let me forget I was the baby of the family and he was in charge.

Many years later, I’m still not in charge, as there is one much greater and wiser who has that job. Thankfully, I accept it because I need what’s best, His will over mine in all things. I’m remembering Him as El Shaddai, God Almighty, or the All-Sufficient One. I want to make sure we have not, in our minds, somehow reduced Him from His rightful position as described in His Bible.

God is in charge of the universe He created, the Church over which Jesus was given authority, human government and its authorities that He sets in place or removes, and the home, being the head of man and his family.

So, what makes Him in charge and one to honor? The Bible teaches that God created the heavens and earth and all that exists. He’s also described as the great God and great King above all gods, as well as the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. These, among many other scriptures, show His superiority over all things.

The fact that the Lord created the heavens, earth, sea, animals, man, etc., by His great power, shows us the level of His ability or might. Also, the Bible tells us that before He ever formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, He is God.

God’s power is unmatched in that nothing shall be impossible with Him. Not to mention that by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.

Another amazing fact is that Jesus, God’s Son, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making atonement for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Father. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 

In addition to His great superiority and power, He’s not only the great Creator, but the owner of all things. David described in his Psalms that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it, the world, and those that dwell in it. Also, the Lord declared that the silver and gold belong to Him.

Further, every beast of the forest belongs to God, along with the cattle on a thousand hills. Even the bodies of believers, described as our temples, are not our own, but are God’s, as we were bought with the price of His dear Son’s death.

The one and only true God in all His glory and majesty is worthy of being honored for His supreme greatness and power. He is the loving, kind, fair, and generous God whose compassion never fails. We are blessed to know and worship Him.

______________________

Scripture References:

Genesis 1:1, Exodus 20:11, Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 95:3, Haggai 2:8, Daniel 2:21, Jeremiah 32:17, Luke 1:37, Romans 13:1, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Colossians 1:16-17, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 5:23, Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 1:8, and Revelation 21:6.

Tongues–An Edifier

by Ms. Rita's Minute

1 Corinthians 14:15

“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding…”

For readers who accept that speaking in tongues is a biblical practice available to Christians today, I’d like us to recall its purpose and significance. For those who may not know, this is a spiritual gift of speaking in languages we do not know, but is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift we see show up in the disciples, given on the Day of Pentecost, described in Acts 2:1-4, when they were all gathered together in prayer in one accord.

I’d like you to know that if you have been given the ability to speak in tongues, please do it more now than ever before. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:4 that a person edifies themselves when they speak in tongues. That Greek word is oikodomeō, which means house builder. Hence, when we speak in tongues, we are building and strengthening ourselves. This is a very good thing.

In the world we live in today, many things can deplete us or work for our attention. God has given us His word and prayer to assist us. Speaking in tongues is another way we can develop ourselves. It is a language we speak ourselves that we’re unable to understand unless we, or someone in our presence, has the biblical “gift of interpretation” (1 Corinthians 12:10). Nevertheless, it is a gift from God to be used for His glory and our edification.

Finding time to speak in tongues doesn’t have to be hard, though it may feel somewhat difficult to spend a longer amount of time doing it, versus praying “with understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15) as the Bible describes in your native tongue. Yet it is an edification tool that is very useful to us, or the Lord would not have made it available to us.

One doesn’t have to just sit quietly alone and speak in tongues. For some, it may be practiced while ironing clothes, cleaning, driving, or even working out. Yet it’s always nice if one has some pleasant worship music on hand, or a place to relax and pray. Sometimes, I’ll even braid, brush, or set my hair while doing it, as it helps me to be more consistent in doing it while doing habitual duties.

At other times, one may be in a prayer meeting, and for those who welcome the practice, the group may begin to pray using their prayer language. Anything appropriate that assists in helping us to use this precious gift will be a blessing to our edification.

The languages we may hear in prayer by another person may be very different from one’s own spiritual dialect. I’m reminded of a church in Silver Spring, Maryland, where some visiting Native Americans spent an evening with us. We had a time of prayer, as many of us began to speak in tongues.

It was a sweet and encouraging time. As we began to pray for one another, a young man approached me with tears and a holy hug, and I was amazed. That very Native American, Indian man spoke a dialect that sounded exactly like mine! It gave me such joy. This was my brother in Christ, though very different in appearance. His prayer language sounded very much like mine and was very amusing to me. This was just a glimpse of heaven in my eyes.

Sometimes, spiritual encounters like these may not be acceptable to some people and may appear weird. However, we must remember that God, heaven, and all things spiritual are not earthly, human-created things. These things and ways of God are higher than our ways and are SUPERnatural! So we shouldn’t expect much from God to be earthly as we know it. Just reading the Bible should help us to understand this.

In any event, allow this post to be a short reminder of another gift the Lord has so graciously given us that is very helpful to us in living a successful Christian life. Being “built up” in our “most holy faith,” praying in “the Spirit every day” (Jude 1:20-21) is an honorable exercise.