Tag: Abuse

PURPOSE

On January 18, 2018

(THE KIMBERLY JOY SHOW: Live YOUR Dreams Part 2)

SOME PEOPLE FEEL THEY HAVE NO PURPOSE. WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?
A dream is “a strongly desired goal, aim, aspiration or PURPOSE.” Did you know God gave you a purpose? You feel like you’re not like other people, and you’re right! You’re not like other people, and you’re not supposed to be. As a matter of fact, I believe we each have special qualities. As children of God, we are extraordinary.

Unfortunately, some people walk through life feeling they are anything but that! They feel they have no purpose, that no one needs them. They feel worthless! If you are someone who feels that way, then I’m telling you that’s not true! You have to stop believing that! Draw nigh to God through prayer, worship, and the scriptures and allow Him to minister to you. Change how you speak and declare what He says about you in His Word.

Speak His Word until you believe it. Once you believe it, still continue to speak those words of Life to remain strong! Proverbs 18:21a (King James Version) says:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…..”

As you change how you speak, it may be uncomfortable at first, not because it’s impossible, but because you’re not in the habit of speaking positively. Then Proverbs 23:7a (KJV) says:

“For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he…..”

Cast down the negative thoughts you have about yourself! It doesn’t matter what other people think or say, even if those people are your family members, including your own parents. Just because they raised you doesn’t mean they always know what’s best for you. This statement is not an insult to parents. I salute all parents who love and sacrifice for their children. However, let’s be real! Some parents are abusive and bully their children, making them feel worthless. If you have experienced abuse as a child, please hear what God is saying. “THEY WERE WRONG!!” You’re not worthless! There is hope for you, and that hope is in God!

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
God has given you a purpose and blessed you with gifts. You may very well know what those gifts are. If you don’t know or if you’re not sure, seek the Lord. He will show you!

What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy doing as a hobby? Steve Harvey, a man who wears many hats, such as being an author and a talk show host, says an individual’s purpose is whatever he or she would be willing to do for free. When you think about it, it makes sense. You freely do what you enjoy and what makes you happy. You willingly do what comes natural for you or what you have a knack for.

As a child, I wanted to sing because it seemed glamorous. However, singing didn’t come natural for me. Sometimes, my voice would crack, and a lot of times I would sing off key. On the other hand, I have a knack for writing, and I now write articles for my own blog. I am a skilled speaker, and I now teach and preach the Word of God and have my own radio show.

I also have a gift for acting, and I use that gift in skits and plays to inspire others. Furthermore, I’ve always had an inclination to pray. Even as a little girl, I remember kneeling beside my bed at night to pray. No one made me. I did it because I believed in God, and I wanted to honor God and be close to Him. Needless to say, I am now an intercessor.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE TRUE TO YOUR PURPOSE?
For this new year 2018, God wants you to live your best life by pursuing those dreams or desires He has placed in your heart. Allow His purpose for your life to be fulfilled, so you can live YOUR dreams. I emphasize the word “your” because if you’re not careful, you will find yourself trying to live someone else’s dreams and fulfill a role God did not intend for you. For example, Ephesians 4:11-12 (New Living Translation) say:

“11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ.”

Some people operate in these roles identified in Ephesians 4 when God did not call them to do so. Why is that? They’re either doing what people say they should do, or they’re simply doing what they want to do for their own selfish reasons. For instance, perhaps they like the recognition it brings, or maybe they see it as a “lucrative business”. However, to be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher is not something to be taken lightly. James 3:1 (NLT) says:

“Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

Those who teach the Word of God are judged more strictly because souls are at stake. God is serious about His children. Therefore, the last thing He wants is for any of them to be led astray by someone who is giving them false prophecies, who is teaching the Word of God incorrectly, or who is draining them of their money so they can get ahead.

Again God says, “Live YOUR dreams!” Please believe God’s blessings far outweigh man’s blessings. Don’t be concerned about the applause of men. If you just focus on your relationship with God and being true to who you are in Him, as Psalms 23:5 says, He will set a table before you, even in the presence of your enemies or haters. He will bless you in front of the ones who didn’t believe in you, who said you would amount to nothing, who abused you, who bullied you, and who thought they had you all figured out.

THE PRAYER OF SALVATION
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can do so right now. I then encourage you to find a good Bible-believing church that will help you grow in your relationship with the Lord.

Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Please pray the following prayer:

Dear Jesus, I come to You confessing I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe You shed Your blood on the cross and died for my sins, were buried and rose again so I could be free! Please forgive me for my sins and the life I have lived. I confess You Jesus as Lord and accept You as my own personal Savior. According to the Word of God, I am now saved! Hallelujah! I AM FREE!

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!!!!!

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Words of Death or Life…..What Will YOU Speak?

By Kimberly Joy

On October 16, 2017

In Faith, Words

(THE KIMBERLY JOY SHOW: Teaching Our Youth to Speak Life)

WHAT ARE WORDS OF DEATH?
The longer I live, the more I realize just how important and powerful words are. I personally believe we can accomplish more and see greater things, like healings and miracles, when we learn how to cast down words of death and embrace words of life. What are “words of death”?
The following are a few examples:

“You’re ugly!”

“You’re stupid!”

“You’re worthless!”

“You’re pathetic!”

“Nobody wants you!”

“I hate you!”

“You can die for all I care!”

Some pretty harsh words, aren’t they?! I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies The Color Purple.

The movie, which includes legendary actors Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey, is deemed a classic. I believe it’s a classic because many people connect with the storyline. In the movie, the main character Celie is a woman who endures abuse most of her life, especially from the men who are supposed to love and take care of her. She’s not just beaten down by her husband’s fist, but by the words of death or hate that spew from his lips. Consequently, she doesn’t love herself. She walks around with her head hanging low, ashamed of who she is.

One of the more popular lines from the movie, a line viewers often find funny, is in actuality a very hurtful statement. When Celie first meets blues singer Shug Avery, a woman she happens to admire very much, Shug looks her straight in her eyes and calls her ugly. Now, one would think Celie wouldn’t want anything to do with Shug after that insult. However, she doesn’t seem offended. Why not? She’s accustomed to being verbally abused.

Have you been the target of hateful words or words of death? Maybe your experiences haven’t been as bad as Celie’s, but the words spoken to you still hurt. Pain is still pain! I get it! As a matter of fact, it took me years to get over some things that were said to me. Why? I allowed certain statements, even if they weren’t true, to take root in my heart.

WHAT ARE SOME SOLUTIONS?
Fortunately, I learned how to pray and take my concerns to God. I also became a student of the Bible. I adopted scriptures which ministered to my specific needs, memorized them and spoke them aloud so I could hear them and start to believe. In due time, those same hurtful words were uprooted, and I am now free!

Now that I’m free, it’s my desire and prayer to encourage others, particularly young ladies. After all, I know what it’s like to be a young lady who doesn’t truly love herself.

Personally speaking, I believe we, who make up the body of Christ, need to really encourage our young people and teach them the importance of words.

HOW CAN WORDS OF DEATH AFFECT AN INDIVIDUAL?
Words of death or hate are designed to kill a person mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Such words can also physically kill a person. For instance, an individual can feel so low and depressed because of words which have been spoken to him or her, that he or she doesn’t want to live anymore. If they could, they would just go to sleep and never wake up again. That’s scary! But it’s reality! Words are just that powerful!

Let’s consider our youth. We’re hearing more news reports of children and teenagers taking their own lives. Young people, who have their whole lives ahead of them, would rather die! Some people believe that today’s youth aren’t as tough as they were once upon a time. However, we must consider that we older adults weren’t exposed to nearly as much as they are now. For example, back in the day, if a child was bullied, it was typically at school or on the playground. Unfortunately, now there’s cyberbullying (bullying via the internet). Basically, a person can be humiliated and threatened on social media. “WWW” stands for “world wide web” because information can be spread all over the world. So, a child or teenager, who is very vulnerable, can feel like the ENTIRE WORLD is against him or her simply because of WORDS.

HOW CAN WE HELP OUR YOUTH?
Whatever role you play in a young person’s life, whether you’re a parent, guardian, aunt, uncle, grandparent, older sibling, teacher, coach, mentor, youth pastor, pastor, etc., I believe it’s important to teach our young people that words are indeed powerful and should, therefore, be used wisely. We need to teach them the importance of focusing on the positive instead of the negative. We must teach them how to cast down the words of death that may have been spoken to them, and embrace words of life, which can be found in God’s Word. Such guidance will enable them to see themselves through GOD’s eyes. The following are a few scriptures which can be memorized and recited daily for personal motivation:

Joshua 1:9 (New Living Translation), “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.”

Psalms 139:14 (New International Version), “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…..”

Philippians 4:13 (New King James Version), “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

As men and women of God, we have been given authority to speak life. We should therefore speak life over our children every day. We can declare what will and will not happen to them. For example, around this time last year, my brother and his wife were given some bad news regarding their two sons. One was said to have an enlarged heart, while the other was said to have a rare, bone disease. When I got the news, the auntie in me wanted to fall on the floor, cry and beg God to heal my nephews. However, before I could shed one tear, the Holy Spirit stopped me! He said, “Don’t cry and have a pity party, but stand and declare their healing!” I heeded His Words, and our parents did the same. As a result, a week later, the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with either one of my nephews!

Hallelujah! Glory be to GOD!!!

I encourage you, as a son or daughter of God, to speak life in every situation. Don’t allow what you see or hear or the current circumstances in your life to intimidate you. Realize and understand that YOUR words have POWER!

THE PRAYER OF SALVATION
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can do so right now. I then encourage you to find a good Bible-believing church that will help you grow in your relationship with the Lord.

Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Please pray the following prayer:

Dear Jesus, I come to You confessing I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe You shed Your blood on the cross and died for my sins, were buried and rose again so I could be free! Please forgive me for my sins and the life I have lived. I confess You Jesus as Lord and accept You as my own personal Savior. According to the Word of God, I am now saved! Hallelujah! I AM FREE!

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!!!!!

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I Love YOU!

By Kimberly Joy

On October 3, 2016

In Love

I love you! Yes….YOU! I don’t have to know you personally to love you, for God has placed a love inside my heart for His children. And you are His child! Whether you acknowledge Him or not, whether you serve Him or not, you are His. After all, He created you in His image and likeness. Genesis 1:26-27 says, “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.”

With everything that is going on in today’s world, I must remind myself daily to LOVE. “And you must love the Lord your God with all with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these,” (Mark 12:30-31). I admit that it’s not always easy loving those who may abuse and hate you, but God commands it. The old adage says, “Love conquers all!” Not hate! Why would the originator of this quote make such a bold statement that LOVE conquers? It’s very simple. GOD is LOVE! I John 4:7-8 declares, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Personally speaking, I can’t see where possessing hatred ever made a person’s life better. In fact, holding a grudge against another individual only made me miserable. The mere mention of his or her name caused me to cringe. Now, as a child of God, that should not be. I am to be an example of love, not hate. John 13:34-35 states, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”

How can I witness to people about Jesus, while picking and choosing whom I’m going to love? I must love everyone. I’m not at all suggesting that to love everyone means to endure abuse! For instance, if a woman is being physically or even verbally abused by her husband, then, by all means, she should remove herself from that toxic situation. Again, the scripture says that we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves, which indicates that we MUST love ourselves also. So a woman, who chooses to love herself by creating distance from her abusive husband, can still love him from afar by praying for him and hoping the best for his life.

This current Presidential election and the increase of unarmed black boys and men being fatally shot by law enforcement have made it apparent that racism is still very much alive in this country. Unfortunately, hate begets hate! So if I’m not careful, as a black woman who loves and honors the black men in her life, I will find myself hating those who hate me simply because of skin color. Nevertheless, my relationship with God has taught me to love, in spite of the negativity thrown my way. Let me give an example. Several years ago I was emotionally hurt by a friend, and it left me very angry. Although I understood that as a Christian I wasn’t supposed to harbor any negative feelings, I yet found myself resenting this individual. I hated the way the negative emotions affected me and knew I needed to be set free through forgiveness. I’ll be the first to admit that forgiveness didn’t come overnight because the resentment didn’t build up in one day. So, I had to continually ask God to cleanse my heart and renew my mind. In addition, every night before going to sleep I read I Corinthians 13 aloud to myself, focusing on verses 4-7, and made it personal by replacing the word “love” with “I”.

“[I am] patient. [I am] kind. [I do] not envy. [I do] not boast. [I am] not proud. [I do] not dishonor others. [I am] not self-seeking. [I am] not easily angered. [I keep] no record of wrongs. [I do] not delight in evil, but [I rejoice] with the truth. [I] always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.”

Speaking and hearing God’s Word uprooted the unforgiveness that had taken residence in my heart. However, I would not have been set free if I hadn’t accepted God’s truth over my own.

Each day I leave my home and encounter various people throughout the day, I am well aware that some may despise me because I don’t look like they do. Nevertheless, I choose not to entertain such thoughts! It doesn’t matter if they hate me or not because I am STILL commanded to love. In fact, I am now built to love through God’s love. So regardless of who you are, I declare today that I LOVE YOU!

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