The brunch!
Me and Erica (I was so proud and happy that she pushed through!!)
I’m sure she’s reading this and getting weepy right now. #crybaby
Her event was magnificent!! She taught out of Numbers 20. In Numbers 20, Moses disobeyed God by striking a rock twice with his staff to produce water, instead of speaking to it as commanded. Due to this lack of trust and failing to honor God before the Israelites, God declared that Moses and Aaron (his brother) would not lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. (This was the land God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give to their descendants.)
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
YIKES! Can I just say that those were some ungrateful, nagging, and complaining people? There would have been some serious beat-downs going on in the wilderness… You feel me? Who could identify with Moses? I certainly can. He was angry, frustrated, and lacked faith. BUT it cost him. He was not obedient. We should all feel conviction right now, because we’ve ALL been there. Water came out of the rock, thanks to God’s grace, but Moses didn’t do it how God wanted him to do it, and as a result, he would not usher the Israelites into the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 34, we learn that God showed Moses the land before he died.
Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
5 And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said.
I must admit I struggled with this story when I first read it years ago. I was like, “Wow, God, really?!?” I felt like God could have shown Moses a little more grace and mercy after all he did. After all, we’re talking about Moses, who was bold enough to step to Pharaoh and say, “Let my people go…” before and during the plagues, and this was the “Red Sea parting” Moses. Yes, that Moses. It was God’s power working through Moses, of course. Needless to say, I don’t struggle with this passage of Scripture anymore.
When God tells you to do something, you’d better do it. And follow directions to a “T,” adhering to the directions with absolute precision, accuracy, and attention to every minor detail, and leaving no room for error. If you don’t, there could be long-term consequences that follow.
Anointing and activation
After it was over, we gathered in the lobby, took more photos, hugged, kissed, and said our goodbyes. I was feeling reeeeal nice, not wanting it to be over. Qori and I were the last to leave—always a divine setup with us (We have stories, smh). So she and I are walking to the door and there is an adorable, Latino teenager sitting by the door—the restaurant host. We say goodbye to him, and I ask him his name. He said, “Gabriel.” We collectively said, “Ooooo…” And Qori said, “Gabriel was an angel!” He smiled and said, “Yes, I know.” We smiled and said goodbye to him, again. We walked out the door and were outside on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant when Gabriel ran through the doors and said, “Hey… wait… I heard you guys were asking for prayer requests.” We said, “Yes. What’s going on?” And he opens up to us about school, a Christian school he attends nearby.
After he spoke, my girl Qori went in! “I speak to that spirit of ….” Let me tell you. Don’t you just love it when God uses you in pairs, because you complement each other so well?!? (I think I would have still been processing what he said, and surely would have had follow-up questions for him before praying, haha). I’m getting flashbacks of my show, The Chosen, right now, when the show depicts Jesus sending the disciples out two by two to spread the Gospel, heal, and cast out demons. After she was done praying, I prayed and anointed him with oil—all right there in front of passersby and car traffic. That’s right! Gabriel was about 6’2’’ and had a football build. You couldn’t miss him, or us. He thanked us, and we all hugged!
Erica’s after glow
May the God of a first, second, third chance—and beyond—speak to you as you read this story of obedience. I pray that you get no rest until you do what He wants you to do—not for the rewards, but because someone’s life and assignment depends on it.
Who will God encourage, deliver, strengthen, save, heal, and set free when you step out?
Until next time!
Kenya
Hi Friend,
Last month, I was honored to be part of the “push team” to create the flyer for my Sister in Christ, Erica, who was having her first event on Valentine’s Day. The theme was: Obedience is God’s Love Language. I was looking forward to this—not only because of the delicious brunch, but because this was HUGE. Erica has a God-given purpose—just like you. When you have an assignment, the devil will tell you lies and use people to make you feel you’re not qualified. He does NOT want you to walk it out. And as a result, she was fearful and needed encouragement to do what God had already told her to do. After many talks and threats (just kidding), God used me and others to help get her out there!
Erica’s Facebook Post:
This weekend I did a thing….my 1st ministry event.😁 After many excuses and delays I finally moved out and started a ministry to disciple women, men and children into an obedient relationship with Christ. We anointed folks, we prayed for the serving staff, we laughed and looked at the disobedience of Moses and Aaron (what has kept you out of your “promised land”). We did PRAY out loud in that restaurant and to God Be the Glory!! …Dr. Charles Stanley said “My responsibility is to Obey God and leave the consequences to Him”…. I did🙏🙌 #LetsGooooo
Thank you to my sister and ministry partner Kenya Sheri Ulmer for pushing me….🥳
I appreciate you too Qori Williams for praying over the people and declaring the word of the Lord 🙏
Moody Publishers / FreeBibleimages.org
Moody Publishers / FreeBibleimages.org
Moses looking at the Promised Land – Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org
When you get directions, confirm, and MOVE. As I said in the previous blog about Queen Esther, you don’t know what horror will happen if you don’t obey; you don’t know who you’ll save.
At her event, we weren’t quiet in the restaurant like she said in her social media post. Yes, we were tucked back in a nice room, but the servers assigned to us knew what the deal was. They were all young and attentive. Erica asked one server if she knew Jesus. She said yes, and Erica also asked if she had any prayer requests. I asked another server, Brooke, if she had any prayer requests. She said she needed to think about it, and later told Erica what they were, Praise God.
I had my own set of duties because Erica asked me to pray for the event! God kept me up the night before with instructions for the event. It didn’t make much sense to send three last-minute invites to some people that I forgot about—not because I didn’t love them, but because God dropped them into my spirit when He did. Two out of three came! One of them was none other than Ms. Qori, whom Erica mentioned in the social media post. If her name sounds familiar, she was a speaker at my Single Mama 180™ conference on the farm in 2024. I was her Moses, and she was my Joshua, as she affectionately puts it, because she took over the Single Parents Ministry at my church when God called me out in 2023. Well, guess what? Erica asked her to pray after me at the event (Always be ready). It was a PERFECT ending. “RISE UP MOTHERS OF ISRAEL was Qori’s command!” I thought there was about to be an earthquake. Whew! Talk about Holy Ghost fire!
We had phenomenal teaching, played games, ate yummy food, laughed, talked, were anointed and prayed over, charged, and received activation! We all had no excuse—and work to do.
Erica, Qori, and me
The scene of miracles (inside the restaurant and out!)
Listen, sometimes you gotta handle business right then and there, and you should NOT be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of Gabriel’s need and his resolve not to let the moment pass him by, he was changed, blessed, and strengthened. He got EVERYTHING he needed from the King! And that’s how it should be wherever you step your feet… whispers about your arrival because of the God that lives on the inside of you. I feel the Holy Spirit! (I’m getting ready to get up and run!!)
Thank you, Erica, for your obedience. Because you did what God told you to do…
- The devil is defeated.
- Gabriel was strengthened.
- Passersby witnessed prayer in the moment on the street.
- Staff were prayed for and know that strangers love and care about them.
- Miracles were happening in that restaurant (and passersby) that we may never know of.
- A community spanning ages 4 to 98 was brought together to experience God.
- A fresh anointing was given to all.
- Purpose and destiny were born.
- We saw the Holy Ghost glow resting upon you.
- We witnessed the beauty of obedience.
- We felt the love and presence of God.
- I was able to encourage others by writing this blog.
& SO MUCH MORE!
