Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler
Moving past the darkness and finding the light. Transformative healing through faith in Christ.
This Podcast provides hope and transformative healing for survivors of childhood trauma, human trafficking, exploitation, rape, incest, sexual and physical abuse/assault, struggling with addiction, mental health issues, depression, and hopelessness. Faith-based spiritual support, empowerment, mentoring, healing, and more as we explore the light and freedom only found through Jesus Christ.
Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler
Speak to the Mountain
Trigger Warning: Content may cause unease for some viewers and listeners. Use Discretion.
How many of you are swimming, hoping to make it to greener pastures? Swimming to get to shore? Treading water for months and are exhausted by the effort of it all?
How do I get to the other side? The other side of this debt, this bad marriage, this suicidal child, this loss of a loved one?
How do I move past the grief, loss, frustration, and guilt and into greener pastures and still waters?
What does the Word of God say? Let's look to scripture as our guide as we dive into all Truth and swim to the safety of the shore together:
Mark 4, Proverbs 18, Psalm 23, Galatians
We will dive in and see what wisdom we can uncover in today's scripture reading and devotional time with the Lord.
Devotion is spent in a relationship with Abba Father and growing in His Holy Presence. The Word of God is alive and sharper than a two-edged sword.
Did you yield your sword today to win the battle you are facing, or did you try to fight it with your strength?
Did you fight it by avoiding or ignoring it? By drinking a glass of wine? Smoking? Eating an entire pizza? Taking a " pain or nerve pill?"
Those are worldly ways to cope when a person is led or ruled by their flesh. Let's be Kingdom-minded and ruled. A Kingdom mindset knows the Sword of Truth will win every battle!
What does God say about your sickness? Mountain of debt? Grief? Situation or profound loss? Adversity or trial?
In today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler, we will find out!
Join Tammy Toney-Butler on the Reflective Hour Podcast and YouTube channel for healing support. https://reflectivehourwithtammytoneybutler.buzzsprout.com/
You can purchase her book on Amazon Kindle, "When you know, that you know, that you know there is a God."
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tammy-Toney-Butler/author/B0DC1VXP45?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
The accompanying devotional titled A Journeying Journal to Wholeness Through The Lens of Faith can be purchased on Amazon at:
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Check out the ministry website at www.reflectivespacesministry.com
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Please check out Tammy Toney-Butler's blog and prophetic healing ministry working directly with survivors of human trafficking, sexual assault, childhood trauma, intimate partner violence, and more at www.reflectivespacesministry.com.
Hello, welcome to today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler. I'm your host, but we all know who the real host of this show is, and that's Christ. Grab your coffee, grab your tea. Wherever you are, get comfortable and let's dive in to what the Lord has in store for you today. Holy Spirit, come. Have your way in this time that we have together. May they see Lord Jesus and not me. May they hear your truth and it resonate into the crevices of of those places that they're trying to speak to, to move the mountains in their lives that are afflicting them, causing them pain, grief, suicidal thoughts, depression, sadness, hopelessness. Only you Lord Jesus, can guide us into all truth and heal us. You are our comforter, our burden bearer, our way maker. Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nisi, you're everything to us. All that you are is in your name. Come have your way in this time. Holy Spirit come. Just bask in His presence and in that peace as you sit still for a moment and let us process together. Many of you are facing storms, trials. You're treading water, afraid you're going to drown. Not sure if you'll make it to the shore to safety. Not sure if your boat will sell you into a harbor of safety as those gale force winds wage and you're afflicted in the valley. Can you speak to that mountain in your life, that mountain of debt, that mountain of addiction, of despair, hopelessness, doubt? Can you cast it into the sea? Can you say, peace, be still, and achieve the outcome that Jesus did? We have power and authority as believers to stop any storm. But do we believe it? Do we trust in what the word of God says to speak to that terminal diagnosis you're facing? The C word. Do you trust me? to lead you into all truth. That's what Jesus is saying by way of his spirit. Let's dive into what he has for you today. I took the liberty, of course he placed it upon me, to build a mini PowerPoint presentation because I believe it helps. So I'm just gonna pull it up on the screen here And I titled it, or I should say he did, Speak to the Mountain. Many of you can relate to looking out and all you see is darkness. Despair threatens to consume you. You don't know how you're going to make it. Get out of bed even. Get through one more hour at work. pick the kids up for school and fake it one more day. You just don't know. Many of you have suffered so much. You don't even know where to begin. We have to look to him to guide us. I get as much out of these episodes as I give to you because I go back and listen to them. Because truly he's speaking to me. Narrating it. And I'm just repeating his words. I won't do anything for you. I won't heal you. I'm a mere sinner. That he set free. And now I'm royalty in his eyes. As we all are. As daughters and sons of the king. Never too dirty. Never too full of shame to seek. Him, Lord Jesus, His healing power, the power of the cross, it speaks for itself. The blood of Jesus speaks for itself. It heals. It redeems. It restores. It brings restitution. It's freedom. Because even if you leave Egypt, did Egypt leave you? You left that abusive marriage, but does it still have a hold on you? You're sober, but do you still waver back and forth, toss to and fro, wondering if you're going to succumb to the temptation that maybe your friends are bringing to your door? Are you going to be able to say no? It's not going to end well. Don't go down that road. Go to a meeting. Reach out to get help. We have hotline, suicide hotline numbers, depression hotline numbers, everything you need. Referrals listed on our website at reflectivespacesministry.com. Don't be afraid to seek help. There's no shame in getting help. There's so many people that are waiting to help you. Reach out. Because you matter. Your life matters. We don't want to lose any more to suicide. Not one more. We don't want to lose not one more to an overdose. Not one more. We've had enough loss. We've had enough grief. It's time for us to have peace and hope and joy and an abundant life because that's what the word of God says that we get. And let's look at the PowerPoint presentation and dive in in this time that we have together. Thank you for liking and subscribing. Thank you for sharing this video so that others can receive this healing word and get set free from the chains that bind them. Thank you for being your brother's keeper, for sharing this, texting it to others, letting them know about Reflective Spaces Ministry and Reflective Hour. All that I am is because Christ set me free. He took it. The shame, the guilt, the fear, the regret, the addiction that I used to cope, so many things. I should say addictions. There was more than one, as with most individuals. but he set me free of all that and put me on a path to bring others with me. You don't need to stay in the darkness. You can dwell in the marvelous light, the light of his presence, the freedom as I do. Everyone has boxes. filled with negative words, lies, or thoughts they need help unpacking. How many of you have put a box on the shelf to unpack another day, but that day doesn't come, and you keep piling box upon box upon box until the shelf, the weight of it all, threatens to crash down and break open like a dam, causing a tsunami of emotions that threaten to consume you, to wreck your ship, your boat. No need. There's help. There's hope. There's healing. How do you start unpacking boxes filled with negative messages, those messages of doubt and despair? Maybe lies that have been spoken over you by others. You'll never make it. You're worthless. You won't matter. Lies spoken. But they don't define you. What happened to you doesn't define you. God's word defines you. His truth. His promises. They redeem. They restore. They deliver. They heal. They bring transformation. and deliverance. He is our deliverer. He is our deliverer. He is our deliverer. How do you refill the boxes with positive messages of faith, hope, joy, and peace? How do you do that? God's truth, God's promises found throughout Scripture give you the authority to speak to any mountain you face and defeat it as you unpack those boxes you have shelved. Let's focus today on these passages of Scripture. So grab your Bibles. Mark four, thirty five to forty one. Proverbs eighteen, Psalm twenty three. Galatians and second Corinthians, twelve, eight to ten. And of course, anything else that he gives me and we add in there. If you're watching this on Apple Podcasts, through Buzzsprout or other podcast platforms, you may want to jump over to the YouTube channel and listen to it there so you can see the PowerPoint. It's really up to you. That's just some folks, especially with my accent, like to have a picture or a slide. And whatever it helps us, however it helps us to retain the word and let it penetrate and let it fall on fertile soil so that it doesn't get washed away when the first torrential rain comes or storm. Because we want the word of God deep within us so that we can overcome any obstacle that we face. This power. And the word of God, it's living. It's sharper than a two-edged sword. It is our sword. We yield it in battle. It brings victory every time. Do you have the faith that you need? Do you? Some storms come to blow us off course, to distract us. The devil comes to kill, steal, destroy, and distract. But other storms come to strengthen us, to guide us, to get us back on the right path, to teach us things, put tools in our tool chest. As Christians, we face storms. We face adversity because we aren't to resemble the world. We're not to look anything like it. We're to be different. full of truth and hope and love. We're not to discriminate. We're not to hate. We're to forgive those that persecute us. We're not to put ourselves on pedestals and have people worship us. There's only one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our precious Lord Jesus. He guides us into all truth. People will fail you, They're humans. But there's God who will never fail you. Abba Father's love will never fail you. He'll never leave you nor forsake you. Let's dive in now to what he has for you today. And I'm going to be reading several passages of scripture as he has given them to me. And the first is Mark. four, thirty-five to forty-one, and I am reading out of the Life Application Study Bible, the King James Version. Jesus calms the storm. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, and took him even as he was in the ship, and there were also with him other little ships, and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. How many of you have been beaten up? Wave after wave of adversity coming, hitting you one by one by one. You're struggling to pay the rent. Your child's having trouble in school, getting disciplined at school. Your husband's having an affair. So many things hitting you all at once. How do you get through it all? How do you overcome? Let's keep reading. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow, and they awoke him and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? They're basically saying, do you not care that we are going to perish? How many of you said that? Cried out to God, where are you, God? I need you. I need you now, God. Only you can save me. Do you care? Do you care? How many of you think that no one cares? God was with me in the middle of my storm, in the middle of my being harmed as a child. My mother opened me up to victimization. Not God. My mother had a choice. She had free will. Although her trauma directed her steps, she never healed from what happened to her. And her choices opened me up to being victimized. God didn't do that. My mother did. But someone had hurt her before that. So many, so many are hurt. And generation after generation after generation is passing down Trauma, aches and pains and lies spoken over them. You can overcome. Poverty is not your portion. Sickness is not your portion. Cancer is not your portion. Addiction is not your portion. And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? jesus spoke to the storm he arose and rebuked the wind so first he rebuked the source of where their affliction was coming from he rebuked it some of you need to rebuke the things that are coming at you maybe it's spiritual warfare If you're in a relationship with Abba Father and the Holy Spirit guides you to all truth, He will guide you and show you how to fight every battle. And you can speak to that mountain and cast it into the sea. Don't speak death over yourselves. Speak life. And said, see that? And said unto the sea. and said unto the sea, words matter. He arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, peace be still. So he spoke to the storm and brought about the reality of the stillness, of the peace, of the calm. That's the God we serve. the God that's with us in every storm that we face. We need only look to him. He's there. He's there. He's right there with us. And we can draw from that peace, that wellspring of living water. We can draw from his strength, which allows us to be still and have calm and peace no matter what we face, no matter what storm we face. We look to the cross. We look to the promises of God's word. This is a promise. We get to grab hold of. Peace be still. Jesus did that. He protected them. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? He's saying. Faith is what you need. Perfect love casts out all fear. Faith. We'll see you through. Faith will see you through. And they feared exceedingly and said once another, what manner of man is this? Even the wind and sea obey him. We get to have what we say. We get to have what we say. He will give us the desires of our heart. He doesn't want any of us to perish. Now let's move on. I'm going to go to Proverbs, but actually before I do that, I want to read a little bit of this commentary and I want to set the context around this. The sea of Galilee is six hundred and eighty feet below sea level and it is surrounded by hills. Winds blowing across the land intensify close to the sea, causing violent and unexpected storms. Many of you, storms just come out of nowhere. They're not expected. The disciples were seasoned fishermen who had spent their lives fishing on this huge lake, but in the storm they panicked. Many of you have panicked. I used to panic. until enough of the word of God got in me to transform me. And I rebuke those spirits of fear. We speak to those mountains and cast them into the sea. We replace the spirit of fear with power, love, and a sound mind. Problems occur in every area of life. The disciples needed rest, but they encountered a terrible storm. Many of you have had blow after blow and you're wondering, when am I going to get to be still? When am I going to get to rest? The Christian life may have more stormy weather than calm seas. The Christian life may have, again, more stormy weather than calm seas. Do not surrender to the stress, but remain resilient and recover from setbacks. As Christ's follower, be prepared for storms that will come. With faith in Christ, you can pray, trust, and move ahead. When a squall approaches, lean into the wind and trust God. Lean into the wind and trust God. The disciples lived with Jesus, but they underestimated him. They did not see that his power applied to their own situation. Jesus has been with his people for twenty centuries and yet we, like the disciples, underestimate the power to handle crises in our lives. The disciples did not yet know enough about Jesus. We cannot make that same mistake or use that same excuse. We know what Jesus did and we know what the apostles did. And that same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us by way of the Holy Spirit. We need only believe on Lord Jesus. Now we're going to move on. And this time I'm going to go to Proverbs eight, team. So I'm going to go back to Proverbs. Proverbs. Okay. Through desire, a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may devour itself. When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, And with ignominy reproach, the words of a man's mouth are as deep waters and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. As believers, are we the wellspring of living water? Are we a conduit, a way for the Holy Spirit to flow from the throne room of heaven? the grace and power and mercy that is available to us as children of Abba Father, the father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham is the father of faith. We are a part of his family as believers. It is not good to accept the person of the wicked to overthrow the righteous in judgment. A fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul. His lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a tailbearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. A tailbearer, a person that gossips, spreads rumors. Those wounds, those words, those negative messages, they can hurt. We have to go back to every lie ever spoken over you. put it up to the word of God, to the truth of God, and then you see the deception of Satan. You're not worthless. You're wonderful. You're not in lack. You're in abundance. There's no hopelessness. There's only hope and joy. Let's bring your words into alignment with what God says. And let's stop bringing curses to our door and cursing those that are near us or that we love or hold dear. Even in moments of anger, we can say things we regret. Ask for forgiveness. But also remember to forgive yourself. Many of us forget to forgive ourselves. We made choices based on survival. We didn't have choices as children when the devil visited our door. The boogeyman, the predator, the controller, the manipulator. We didn't have a choice as to what happened to us. Many of us didn't have choices of what we used to cope. That's all addiction is, is ritualized comfort seeking. Or an underlying raw wound that breaks open and bleeds and you'll do anything to make the pain stop. Those invisible wounds that people can't see, but yet they judge us. They judge us, but they don't see the wounds on the inside of us. The cuts that were left behind by words and deeds of others. Forgive yourself. Cut yourself some slack. Keep moving forward day by day, minute by minute, breath by breath. Use the word of God. Let it guide you into all truth and into all healing. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and is safe. See that? The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and is safe. That's a promise. You get to be safe. The rich man's wealth is his strong city and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction, the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Make sure you actively are listening, that we aren't judging. Don't cater to the spirit of offense. Listen to someone. Hear their words with open ears and non-judgmental ears, non-judgmental eyes, so that you can truly hear what they're saying before you speak or cast judgment on the situation. The spirit of man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit, who can bear? Who can bear a wounded spirit? Many of you are in a spiritual drought, a famine, dead even. You may be the CEO of a company, but inside you feel worthless. Like you'll never matter. Living a false life, never dealing with those things that happened to you as a child. There's no shame in getting help. There's no shame in getting help. There's no shame. The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. A man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men. He that is first in his own cause seemeth just, but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. The lot causeth contentions to cease and parteth between the mighty. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. Do not let any offense enter your heart. Keep your heart pure. Bitterness, unforgiveness, hate, it just destroys you. It just destroys you. It is a weapon that the enemy uses to keep us bound, to keep us snared. It keeps us snared. And we want to break free from the snares. And snare, it can be, you know, in the Bible, it is used. And I'm getting into my phone here because I pulled it up. The word snare is often used symbolically to represent death, the actions of wicked people or the devil. For example, Proverbs twenty nine, twenty five says fear of man will prove to be a snare. But whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Devices of the wicked. The Bible mentions the use of snares by the wicked to deceive the righteous in Job eighteen, eight through ten. Now words. Proverbs six, two says, you are snared with the words of your mouth. This means that words can trip people up, cause them to stumble and prevent them from reaching their potential. Be careful of the words you speak. Remember, God spoke the world into existence. He spoke the world into existence. Jesus spoke to the storm to rebuke it. And to say, peace, be still. Remember that. You can speak to your storms. You can say it is written when the devil comes to your door. You don't have to believe it. It is written. Peace, be still. The lot causes contentions to cease and part between the mighty. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth, and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Remember, the word of God is the bread of life. It can sustain you. It can feed you. You can drink from the wellspring of living water, never the thirst again. Or it can bring death. It can bring drought. When you're speaking lies over yourselves and curses are partnering up with those. By his stripes you were healed. Healing is your portion. You don't have to accept that. A negative word spoken over you. You don't have to accept it. Don't partner with it. Don't receive that negative word. Say no. It is written by his stripes you were healed. I have been healed. I will not walk back from it. I walk by faith and not by sight. Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Whoso findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord. The poor useth entreaties, but the rich answereth roughly. A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Remember that. Don't speak doubt into the air or despair. You speak to those mountains and you command them to be still. Command them to be still or to get out of your way. You rebuke those storms and don't partner with them. God's word says that we get abundant life, that we're healed, that we're strong in our weakness. That's what I go now we're going to go to galatians now when I was looking at galatians and the lord has me in uh galatians uh one it just was powerful because it's the authentic authenticity of the gospel and it's the mark of a true gospel the true gospel and of false gospels and it's the mark of the true religion it's the way this is the way walk in it this is the way walk in it because remember marks of a false gospel treats christ's death as meaningless says people must obey the law in order to be saved tries to find favor with god by observing certain rituals and counts on keeping laws to be right with god and that's the mark of a fall gospel false gospel and remember where do we speak about marks revelation uh nine four uh the mark of the beast uh And it talks about it and bearing the mark with their leader. And we'll explore that a little bit more. Then marks of the true gospel. So there's the mark of the false gospel and now the marks of the true gospel. It teaches that the source of the gospel is God, says that life is obtained through death. We trust in the son of God who loved us and died for us so that we might die to sin and live for him. Explains that all believers have the Holy Spirit through faith. Declares that we cannot be saved by keeping the laws. The only way of salvation is through faith in Christ, which is available to everyone. It says that all believers are one in Christ, so there is no basis for discrimination of any kind in the true gospel. It proclaims that we are free from the grip of sin and that the Holy Spirit's power fills and guides us. So now let's look at and read Galatians one. It's greetings from Paul. And the mega themes are the law, faith, freedom, and of course the Holy Spirit throughout Galatians. And I do recommend that you read it. Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren which are with me unto the churches of of Galatia. Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from the present evil world according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. That's a promise. It says, grace be to you and peace from God the Father. So grace is ours. Peace is ours from our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from the present evil world. He is our deliverer. He is our deliverer from the present evil world. That's what it says. And remember, it says amen after that. So that's a prayer. So read this out loud when you read it. There is no other gospel. I marvel that you are soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, Then that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again. If any man preach any other gospel unto you that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God, or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Are you serving man? Are you serving God? Your life should reflect that and look much different than those around you. If you're blending in, going with the crowd, you need to truly search yourself and see, is Jesus living inside of me by way of the Holy Spirit? Have I surrendered my life truly to Jesus? Letting him lead my life and walking in surrendered obedience to the call he's placed on my life. Paul received the gospel from God. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me, his son in me. Jesus is in Paul. Jesus was in Paul. Jesus is in us as believers. That I might preach him among the heathen. Immediately, I conferred not with flesh and blood. Neither I went up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia and returned again into Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none save James, the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God I lie not." Afterwards, I came into the regions of Syria and Sicily and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea, which were in Christ. But they had heard only that he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me. In me. In me. Jesus is who people need to see when they look at us. Do our lives reflect Jesus? Do they? Are we living purified, holy lives? Sure, we will miss it. We're flesh. We're human. But are you repenting? Are you saying, God, forgive me? I missed it. I missed it. I messed up. I missed it. Help me to have the heart of Christ, the mind of Christ, to walk obediently as you've called me to do. Because you knew me before you formed me in the womb. You called me. You purposed me. See that? But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, Paul was chosen by God to carry out a purpose, to carry out a purpose. Many of you have been chosen. God knew you before he formed you in the womb, what you were to be. You have a purpose, a kingdom purpose. Many of you feel like you don't belong, you know, that you don't fit in. You're not supposed to. Because you have a unique purpose. You're unique. You're amazing. You're wonderful. You fit perfectly into the kingdom of God. You fit perfectly. And he's waiting on you to realize it. That's where the breakthrough comes is inside of you. When you realize that you are all that in a bag of chips. That you're fearfully, beautifully, and wonderfully made daughters and sons of the King. That you do fit. And those things that happen to you don't define you. You are worthy. You are worthy. So you can speak to doubt and despair and hopelessness. And you command it to be still. Because you can know that you know that you know who you are in Christ. You are his temple. He is in you. And our lives need to reflect that. Our lives need to reflect that. We are the church. We are the church. We are the church. Paul had a personal encounter with Christ. A personal encounter. I had a personal encounter I was one way and then I was another. And what happened in between was a prayer. And I was forever changed. I was different. I was alive. The icky was gone, the weight of it all. And I had such joy and peace. Can't describe it. I can't do it justice. But I can sure, I can surely, as Paul did, speak to you, every one of you, and show you how to be set free like I was and not be snared by the enemy. You can live an abundant life. You can walk in freedom. It's yours. How do you know? What does the Word of God say? Let's look at Psalm twenty three. And I am reading out of the Life Application Study Bible, the New International Version. God is seen as a caring shepherd and a dependable guide. We must follow God and obey his commands. He is our only hope for eternal life and security. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters or still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, even though you're in the darkness. even though you're in the darkness. And in Mark, that took place in the evening. The storm, they were in the dark. When you're in the dark, it's such a hard place to be in. But look to the light, to the word of truth, to light your path. He guides me and pass a righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the vow of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me and your rod and your staff comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love. Oh, that perfect love will follow me all the days of my life and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Forever and ever. Forever and ever. That's our portion. That's our portion. Now, when we look at second Corinthians, twelve, eight through ten, three different times, I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I'm glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. And that was the New Living Translation that I read. We get to speak to any storm in our life. Jesus came to set us free, to give us abundant life. We don't have to fear. We don't have to fear that doctor's report. that threat of foreclosure. Speak to the mountain. Invite the Holy Spirit into your circumstances, into your life, and let him guide you into all truth. Establish a relationship with Abba Father. Get alone with him in the mornings. in the evenings before you go to bed. Make faith your priority this year. Walking in abundant life. Truly becoming sober. An overcomer. People are waiting on you to discover why you were born, your kingdom purpose that only you can fulfill. God knew you before he formed you in the womb. You matter. Your life matters. You matter. Let that sink in. Let that sink in. And I thank all of you for watching us and remember to like and subscribe to reflective hour and to our YouTube channel and also reflective spaces ministry. Because I never want you to see me. I only want you to see him. Today was such a beautiful day. It continues to be as I gaze out at the light that's shimmering off the lake. And the Christmas of the morning was pretty cool here in Florida. And the ducks were just swimming to the other side of the lake in just this straight, narrow line. And they were intent on reaching the other side. You can reach the other side. Yes, narrow is the gate, narrow is the path. You can make it in Christ's strength and not yours. He truly will provide for you like he provided manna in the wilderness. We just have to invite him in. We have to ask him, help me, Father. Help me to get rid of this addiction that I have. Holy Spirit, take it from me. Take it from me. Take this bitterness from me, this hate. Help me to forgive myself. And remember, healing is a slow, gradual process. When you've been starved for attention, starved for love, starved for food, You don't suddenly get better overnight. You have to consume the word of God slowly, savoring it, letting it penetrate bone and marrow. Let it enter into you and bring about a change inside of you. It takes time. You've made progress. You've done well. Keep going. Keep going. Stay strong. Know that he's with you, that he has you. Don't fear. Reach out for help. He's waiting. He was waiting on the woman at the well and he's waiting on you. I have no idea who this word is for. I pray that I've delivered it with the heart of Christ and the intent that you see him and not me and that it brings about healing, makes you stronger and brings you closure in areas to where you need closure from. Maybe I helped you unpack one of those boxes today and made room on your shelf. One box at a time. It's all you can do. You won't do it in your strength, but you'll do it in his. God bless you. God keep you. Stay strong. He loves you and I love you. God bless you. Holy Spirit, Be with them as they go about their day, as they go about their week, as they struggle. Help them to seek you, for you are the key that unlocks the door to an abundant life. You've given us the keys to the kingdom. Let us reach for them. Let us command them. the world that we want to see. Let us speak to those mountains and cast them into the sea. Help us to do it, Lord. Oh, thank you for being there with us always, for never leaving us nor forsaking us. In your precious name, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you.