Pastor Odie Kennedy's Pearls

As I stood in the pulpit on Sunday, I looked at all the people sitting in expectation.  They had not come to church out of ritual, but they were led there by the spiritual revelation that there is a great God!   We cannot afford to walk this life without recognition and revelation.  What do I mean?  This sinful word demands that we recognize our need for God.  Despite our education, we aren't intelligent enough to survive without God.  Despite our assets or assignments, we cannot effectively do battle in warfare on our own.  We must recognize our need for God and his power.  He has to be the head of our lives.  His direction must be the roadmap we follow.  His word must be our word! When we take inventory of all God has done just this morning, we can't help but come to the spiritual revelation that there is a great God! He woke you up this morning without any assistance.  He was the alarm before there was an alarm....

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  Psalm 139:14 I remember a time when it was not "saint-appropriate" to look at yourself and say that God did a good thing when he made you.  It was considered arrogant and puffed up.  Well, today I want to talk to the women who are dealing with low self-esteem.  It is not arrogant to believe what God says about you. When I was younger, people used to call me ugly.  I don't think they realized how painful that was or how it would affect the way I saw myself.  Because I bought into their opinion, I accepted mistreatment and belittlement. They made me feel I didn't measure up to those around me.  I didn't know that God had not created me to be measured against anyone.  He fearfully and carefully crafted every feature on my face.  He took his time when he made me.  He made a Godly woman! There are so many traps...