Reverand Kenneth Carlisle Jr. Thought for the Day: Hitting Rock Bottom About twelve years ago I found myself in federal custody, alone, and ashamed because of my addiction. When I had my spiritual awakening in that cell I told God, "I can't even tie my shoes right!!" Please Lord, show me how to live. Having been imprisoned before, I knew tha if i left the way I came, I would resort to default mode and relapse as I had done many times before. So I went on a step by step journey of actually applying the steps, suggestions and Scriptures in my life. It was very uncomfortable, and even embarassing most of the time because I struggled with what I "KNEW" to do to survive. But as time went by and years rolled by I found that most people in there merely wanted to test me to see if I was real because they really needed an ambassador to get them closer to God!!! Thank God for recovery and restoration, the process, and the refinement, the love of God in our hearts that surpasses human knowledge. I pray that your "bottom" leads to your top!! And that you can say with me like the song writer: "Started from the bottom, now were HERE!!!!" Reverand Kenneth Carlisle Jr.Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.-Mark 4:39 "DON'T PANIC!!!" Thought for the day: I wise man once used an analogy to help me understand the importance of self maintenance. He said that when your about to leave on a plane the stewardess clearly explains what to do in an emergency. If the plane begins to fail, an oxygen mask falls out in front of each passenger. They say to first strap unto YOURSELF the life saving oxygen and then.....only then.....reach over and help your children, or others who cannot to secure their masks. Sometimes zeal without knowledge and or timing can be costly to everyone. And what good are we to others if we ourselves are not rooted and ground, safe and secure? Reverand Kenneth Carlisle Jr.WAIT!!! There is a battle in your bedroom....The war of whether you will mentally access the NEW YOU equipping yourself one armor piece at a time. It may take up to 5 minutes, but could have a serious consequence on how the rest of your day is spent. Yes, dress brothers and sisters...appropriate by faith that which belongs to you..Ephesians 6:10-18 The Armor of God: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Reverand Kenneth Carlisle Jr.Good Morning!! Today I want to share a lesson that I learned a while back. I was in Federal prison serving a sentence while also transitioning into a spiritual thinker. Being the human that i am, as much as i would try to be "cheery" and joyful, when your in a cesspool of violence and negativity along with your own burdens, sometimes it's hard to remain bright. I had a friend(brother) named Jason, who had been shot over ten times with an uzi. The barrage of automatic shots started on his face and stopped on his ankle. This assault left him blind in one eye and the doctors left his face stitched up almost like Frankenstein. However, this brother had an amazing gift. The gift of "smiling". This man would beam a sincere wide smile every time I saw him, and he was on fire for Jesus!!! I thank God for him, because now i know that despite whatever I go through, if Jason can always find and KEEP a smile, then so can I. God bless you! Good Evening, I wanted to share something that was the topic in our group tonight at work. I believe that one of the worst pitfalls we face as Christians and even secular people that desire to change is having our identity stolen. The Bible says :Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.(2 Corinthians 5:17) Unfortunately, a lot of people forfeit this clean slate status because they let their emotional state, verbal abuse, or present condition rule their perception. I heard it said best once when someone said, "God said it, and that settles it". This of course goes back into the lordship role that is also the 3rd step of the 12 steps of AA/NA, concerning whether or NOT I am going to surrender my life and will. When more mental energy is spent focusing on who I was versus who I am, people tend to lose focus on the peace and blessings that follow a transformed mind. The first man, Adam was also the first victim of identity theft. 8They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."…Genesis 3:8-10 Would the infinite omnipresent, God of the universe, Creator of all things need to ask creation where he was? NO indeed!! This is loving sarcasm at best. God compelled his beloved to give an account of whom he was not where he was. He was given dominion over an earthen paradise. Yet was sniped by a thief who convinced him that who he was was not enough..........Question: Where (Who) are you? Reverand Kenneth Carlisle Jr. I just want to take time to acknowledge and thank my fiancee Tiffany! I appreciate my God given queen for the fact that she has been my backbone through thick and thin. She takes good care of my disabled son and other kids, cooks cleans and even puts her dreams on pause in order for me to pursue mine while recognizing that it is biblical for a man to lead his household. There are not enough posts or even words to describe the credit due to godly women. I love and deeply appreciate you!!!! Please be sure to follow my thought for the day on my fb page God First Transitional Living. There you are guarenteed to get a laugh and a daily dose of encouragement daily. Love you all! Thanks.
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