Keeping my eyes on Jesus

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink.
“Save Me Jesus!” he shouted.
Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. ‘Why did you doubt me?”
- Matthew 14: 29-31 (NLT)

If you have been reading my last few entries you know the enemy has been attacking me from all front. I stated in my last devotion 2 weeks ago I was going to praise and pray my way thru. I have been, and even though I had my still standing moment with the Devil, he still finds new and innovative ways to come at you.

Even though I truly believe I am near the end of my storm and the blessing is just a praise away, there is still that occasional flesh is weak moment. And even though I know the Lord is by my side, I find myself even if it’s just for a moment taking my eyes of Christ and sinking fast. Then like Peter yelling ‘Save Me Jesus!”

It bothered me that even though the Lord let me know he is with me I questioned him and ask him for proof like Peter, “Lord If that’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”
“God I know my time is not your time but Lord give me a sign.”

Do you find yourself questioning God and asking for proof that he is with you. Do you take your eyes off of Jesus and began to sink and cry out, Jesus Save Me! Are you like Peter?

Father God help us to keep our eyes on you. But if we should happen to take them off of you momentarily and began to sink like Peter, please reach out your hand and grab us Lord. Guide our path and order our steps in your word Father. And Father God remove what’s blocking other from seeing you, you know who they are even though we may not.
In the name of your son
Jesus the Christ
Amen
Amen
Amen

my moment of weakness- praising and praying your way thru

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16

I come today to share a little testimony. My usual m.o. is to keep it to myself and not put my business out there but like the song writer said....

I said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody
But I Just Cant Keep It To Myself
How The Lords Been Good To me

Last week the enemy attacked from every direction
my marriage was all but over most due to our finances and me not carrying my share of the load. I have a very special woman but even very special women break after awhile. My wife is quickly getting to this point now
We wasn't sure if we were goin to get kicked out of out home
for being behind in my rent and our landlord wasn't returning calls
and my graphics person moved and didn't have internet connection for more than a month which was makin me nervous because I was way behind my schedule
while i could call someone else she was someone God put in my life to bless me with her help to see this vision thru so I chose the wait, I was still nervous and scared but I chose to wait
among a few several other things which I may speak of at a later date

I immediately was ready to throw in the towel, gave into a moment of weakness I emailed my Pastor asking to be replaced as head of our Media Outreach Ministry (sound ministry) and was goin to step down from the Publicity Ministry
wasn't sure what I was goin to do and where I was goin to be, but if my wife and I broke up I even considered leaving my church so she wouldn't have to
basically because I saw what we were goin thru as all my fault, the strain on our relationship that was because of finances had to do a lot to do with my not bringin in a regular salary and my money not being consistant

I went on to our Thursday night publicity ministry, continued doin my duties for the media outreach ministry, conducted our meeting Sunday after getting a sign that God wasn't finished with me yet and had more work to do in both ministries thru me.
Instead of callin my close family members and telling them the marriage was all but over, and crying on the shoulders of all who would listen
I did something my pastors always instructs we should do
instead of talking to everyone else
I got on my knees several times each day and talked to the Lord every chance I could.

I have to admit I still had a few moments of weakness
but tried to stay focus on doin all the small things i could do with my site
continued to pray and
and with some many other people I love and respect and associate with goin thru things a few of those time, my prayers weren't even about me, which is a new thing for me. Even in praying for the success of my new online magazine, it was more about financial stability for my family and helping those that believe in me even thought they are all goin thru it, feed their families and pay their bills from Heavy Rotation Mag (dot) com.

I had a I'm still standing moment with the enemy
no matter what you throw at me I'm still standing
I got a call from my graphic person she has a few more things to handle but she now has her internet connection and access and is back on the case
Sunday service came and the Lord spoke to my wife and I thru our pastor
and I held our media outreach ministry and continued my daily duties

I got a call today for several odd jobs, staining decks, power washing a house and some inside painting
which wont by itself solve my finanical problem
but will put several hundred dollars in the amount we need to come up with
and is a good start of the long journey
and my wife and I have agreed to put god first as far as our marriage is concerned and not make any decisions on our own which is a blessing in itself. She has been carry the bulk of the load a lot of the time and it was seriously weighting her down
and my landlord agreed to a payment arrangement even though I personally didnt live up to teh last one that I made, which may have been the problem I did it with goin to God and my wife first, so what I was counting on didnt come thru.
More importantly my wife has agreed to see the Pastor with me, which is huge from where we were just a few days ago. I may not have said it in awhile but I love you very much and I love you more as time goes by.

Spending time with my daughter while she was here in GA thanx to my wife aint hurt either. I got my swagger back and instead of having the usual 'Lord why me' moment, 'what am I doin wrong' moment, the questioning God moment and totally losing it, stressing my self out and raising my blood pressure (which is close to normal by the way- Praise God, those that know me know it was very high not too long ago, I see the doctor thursday and will share my good news on that then)
I chose to praise God and stayed prayed up
and keep my eye on the prize so to speak. Now don't get me wrong I (we) are no where near out of the fire as far as my marriage and our finances are concerned. The Mag has along way to go before it comes out, but I am here to say praying and praising your way thru works. And praying together as a couple as suppose to just praying indivually is powerful and working together instead of working independently and working against each other is much better.

God knows how much you can take and is always there to help you get thru as long as you put him first. I know now I am at the part of the story or the testimony where the person almost loses everything before they are successful and this testimony will help many Christian copies and brothers goin thru it in the future.

Instead of keepin it to myself I am realizing more and more my trial and tribulation are sometimes meant to be my testimony so it can be a blessing to someone else
so i pray this is a blessing to some who read this. Those who know me know even though I have a long way to go I have come along way. I got used to telling my testimony after the fact, but got a feeling this afternoon that this time sharing as Im goin thru will help someone, so here it is.
Thank you for letting me share that with you
peace and God bless

- AJ Woodson

Through The Fire by Justin 'Juz' Cooper

This was written by a good friend a fellow writer and I thought I would share it will all of you

I pray its a blessing to someone who reads it, holla back and let me know what you think in the comments section. Enjoy....

Through The Fire
by Justin "Juz" Cooper

I love Chaka Khan's powerhouse vocals which maneuver through her classic hit "Through The Fire." Though the song ultimately is about love and the limit to which one would go to obtain the object of their desire, "Through The Fire" can be interpreted many ways. In most cases fire is a consuming element which destroys most things that simply can't take the heat.

The Bible tells us that we may go through the fire with the hope that we will be able to come out of the furnace as pure as gold. Now that furnace is important because your furnace maybe bills/finances problems, a dead end job, deadlines, or anything that gets you hot under your collar when you give way to thought about them.

Well readers let me let you know about my furnace...it's nearing the middle of summer and no one advised me that a cold front was looming on the horizon in my finances. As you read this just know that I find myself in the furnace like the three Hebrew boys in the Bible (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego)...and it seems as if Satan himself is adding chopped wood to fuel the flames that rise up against me.

Now hear this...even when things go awry in your life, remind yourself that God is still and will always be in control. Nothing can happen to you unless God gives it the ok/green light. Think back to the story of Job who lost it all and it was because God allowed Satan to do what he does best...cause all hell to break loose. Despite losing it all Job remained steadfast in his faith that God knew best despite of what it looked like, the discomfort, or what others thought or said.

When I look at my situation currently...I could cry, "Woe is me, why did this have to happen to me?!" Yeah, yeah, yeah let me save those tears and thank God instead for his mercy and beyond merited favor. Analytically speaking and using my perfect hindsight I could have done a few things differently. Yes it is factual that I pay my tithes and offering "religiously"...WAIT...That's it!!! As I stand in this furnace with flames flickering all around me...God is showing me, teaching me, and most importantly correcting me.

Though I am meticulous by nature, I plan out everything down to the "T", I use my intellectual prowess, and critical thinking skills to accomplish many things...yet with all of that, God is reminding me, "Have you trusted me wholeheartedly?" Isn't my face cracked and on the floor?! Throughout all of my "religious" doing and using intellectual prowess...not of that can get me through what I face...what an epiphany!

When we are revealed the very things that have brought about the complacency in our lives (on a spiritual, emotional, and physical level) it is up to us to take action to get them right. I have learned that to go to the next level in your spiritual life, career, relationship, or wherever you want to go...it will involve a little pain and sacrifice to get us to that next plateau of success.

So as I stand in this furnace...at times it gets hot as hell, but Jesus is with me...like the three Hebrew boys and I will not be consumed. I know that I am victorious and the Lord knows how much we can bare...and like a weight lifter God has to increase the weights to allow us to grow muscle in Him. Be encouraged to know that you can make it through any furnace that may come your way and come out better than you did before you went in.

© JUSTIN (JUZ) COOPER
###

(Justin "Juz" Cooper, is a junior at Benedict College completing his undergraduate studies in Mass Communication, Promotions Assistant/Intern at UPN47-TV WZRB-Columbia,SC, Award winning ASCAP songwriter, and renowned journalist)

praise report: still smoke free

Over the weekend, we went to a few peoples house for cookouts, and on the fourth we were invited over by a friend. His neighbor invited us to play spades. Anyone who knows me knows I love spades. Anyway everyone at the neighbors house smoked cigarettes. This is the first time I had been around that kind of smokin and drinkin since I quit. Before Jan 5th i would have been lighting up with them.
But I am pleased to report that no matter how tempting it was I remembered I asked God to deliever me from the addiction, and I resisted the urge. I went outside several time sto get some fresh air until i couldnt take it anymore and left for good.
long story short is I have been quit for 6 Months, 1 Day, 8 hours, 58 minutes and 34 seconds (182 days). I have saved $957.45 by not smoking 5,471 cigarettes. I have saved 2 Weeks, 4 Days, 23 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 1/5/2006 2:30 AM
and I thought I would share that with you.
My former Pastor in New York, Rev Rouse used to say how can you tell you are growing spiritually? When you go to the place you use to go and are around the things you used to do and feel uncomfortable. Well this was one of the first times I really felt that way, which I take as a sign I have grown a little more spiritually.
Thank You for letting me share that with you today and continue to pray for your brother.

As always I pray all who read this have a blessed and spiritually rewarding day.

Name it and claim it- HEAVY ROTATION MAG (dot) COM

On May 22nd
I wrote about stepping out of faith
and talked about a vision God had blessed me with about a new online magazine
http://ajsdailydevotions.blogspot.com/2006/05/stepping-out-on-faith-has-god-given.html

That vision is:
Heavy Rotation Mag
The Total Urban Experience

www.heavyrotationmag.com
for my myspace people I do have a myspace page set up as well
www.myspace.com/heavyrotationmagazine

while you can check the link now and see the logo
the site is still a month or so from goin live
from my official launch

years ago I wouldn't put it out there yet
just in case it didn't come out I wouldn't want everyone asking me about it and have to explain it to everyone
I was talking defeat before I even begun the fight

I was talking to my cousin Kevin over the weekend
and I realized I need to put it out there and speak on it as if it has already happened
because when God is leading you to something
he has already provided you with what you need, the material, the personnel
but as my pastor says God will never bring your blessing down to you
he will bring you up to your blessing
sometimes the enemy puts a roadblock in the way and we just need to praise our way thru


today's entry is my first step in doin that
I am naming it and claiming it
continue to pray for ya brother