C H O F Ministry

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“Keep Beating The Door”

Praise the Lord Beloved!!! Happy Monday to you all.

I’m sure there’s many of you (like myself) that have prayed a heartfelt petition for God to do something, change something, or stop something. We want to jump for joy at the good news when our prayers are answered. Now allow me to ask you a question: what do you do when you pray and pray, and it seems like you’ll never get an answer? Have you ever had that to happen to you? I sure have. 😀

This morning I’d like to help you get a breakthrough.

Let’s look at the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. Here, Jesus describes a woman who went many times to an evil judge asking him to grant her justice until he had no choice but to finally grant her request, if for no other reason than for her to cease coming to him with the same request.

Beloved, if that evil judge, who “had no fear of God and no respect for anyone” (according to Luke 18:4) finally granted her what she asked, how much more will our Father in heaven, who is a just and good God, give us what we ask for? He already knows what we need before we ask Him, and before we are done speaking, He has heard our prayer. So, go to Him in prayer every chance you get, and I’m very confident when I say-

He’s been lovingly waiting for your knock.

Have a blessed week Everyone!!! 😀

February 11, 2019
“Bishop Houston’e Monday Morning Blog”

Good Morning Everyone!!!

Beloved, in the book of Genesis 39th chapter you’ll find that Joseph didn’t wait until everything was going right to trust God. He trusted God’s Hand in his life starting in the pit, all the way to the prison, and then in the palace. *The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.*

Beloved, regardless of the circumstances, Joseph was successful. 😀 This wasn’t because he had everything, it was because the Lord was with him. 😀

As you go through this week, I want you to be encouraged.

I want you to know that God knows where you are and He’ll never leave you nor forsake you.

Have a blessed week Everyone!!! 😀

November 19, 2018
“Stop, Go, Reconcile, and then Return”

Praise the Lord Beloved!!! Happy Monday to Everyone!!! 😀

Allow me to ask you this question.: “What if you’ve gathered the courage to approach someone you’ve offended or felt you’ve offended and wanted to move on. You’ve confessed what you did with sincerity. You’ve asked for forgiveness. But he or she refuses to forgive you.
Now what? 😀

I’m sure many of you “like myself” have come to this crossroad or on this crossroad. Well I have an answer for you. 😀

Beloved, the important thing for each of us to remember is that you’re responsible for you, and I’m responsible for me. Romans 12:18 AMP says: 18 “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”. Beloved, with the right motive, in the right spirit, at the right time, out of obedience to God, we’re to humble ourselves and attempt to make things right. God “WILL” honor our efforts.

The one offended may need time first to get over the shock and next to have God bring about a change in his or her heart. Healing sometimes takes time. Occasionally, a lot of time.

Now, there may be someone out there reading this blog and asking: “Bishop Houston, “What if the situation only gets worse?” This is a very good question!!! – And I’m Glad You Asked. 😀 This can happen. You see, all the time the one offended has been blaming you… Thinking all kinds of bad things about you. When you go to make things right, you suddenly cause his or her inner scales to become unbalanced. You take away the blame, and all that’s left is the person’s guilt, which does a number on him or her, resulting in even worse feelings. But now, it’s no longer your fault. 😀

Now, there may be somebody else out there reading this blog that’s asking: Well, Bishop Houston, “What if I decide simply to deal with it before God and not go through the aggravation and embarrassment of talking with the other person?” This is another great question!!! 😀 And I’m glad you too have asked!! 😀 Well, we’ll do “anything” to make things easier, won’t we? 😀 First off Beloved, that’s a willful contradiction of the command. To paraphrase Jesus what said in Matthew 5:24 “Stop, go, reconcile, and return!”). “NOT” to go is direct disobedience!!! 😀 It also can result in things getting worse.

Let me give you an example: Let’s say I’m driving away from your church parking lot next Sunday morning. I back my Lincoln MKZ car into the side of your beautiful new Mercedes. BANG!!! Your stomach churns as you see me get out of my car, look at the damage – and then bow in prayer:

Dear LORD, DEAR Heavenly Father, please forgive me for being so preoccupied and clumsy. And please give this dear brother/sister grace as he/she sees the extensive damage I’ve caused out of absolute carelessness. And provide what’s needed as he/she takes this car in to have it fixed. Thank you. In the might name of Jesus, I pray, Amen and Amen.

As I drive away, I wave and smile really big as I yell out the window, “It’s all cleared up, my friend. I claimed the damage before God. Isn’t grace wonderful!”

Now, tell me, how do you feel about that? I have rather strong doubts that it would suddenly make things okay with you, no matter how sincere my prayer might have been. You and I know that would do no good. You would say or scream loudly as my mother use to say, me “I will lay my religion down at the door and (with very hard-core words)” after it.: -D

Beloved, the Savior does not say, “Simply pray and I’ll forgive you.” In fact, He says, “Stop praying until you’ve made things right!”

Now, there may be someone out there asking Ok Bishop Houston, I ‘ve read your blog, so answer this question for me: “What if it’s impossible for me to reconcile because the offended person has died?” This is absolutely a great question.!!! And, I’m Glad you asked also!! 😀

Well, obviously, you cannot contact the dead. In such unique cases, I recommend that you share your burden of guilt with someone whom you can trust. A close friend, a companion, a counselor, or your pastor. Don’t beat around the bush. You must be specific and completely candid. Pray with that individual and confess openly the wrong and the guilt of your soul. In such cases—and only in such cases—prayer and the presence of an understanding, affirming individual can provide the relief you need so desperately.

Beloved, when you’ve been the cause of an offense or you feel you’ve been the cause of an offense and you want to move past the indifference, have the heart of a servant. Stop, go, reconcile, and then return.

Have a Blessed Monday Everyone!!! 😀

August 27, 2018
“A Confident Message”

Praise the Lord Beloved!!! Welcome to Wednesday’s CHOF Bible Fellowship Bible Study.

Our focal CHOF Bible Fellowship verse this morning comes from 1 Kings 17:1 (NLT)

Our focal verse reads this way:

(17) Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”

Beloved, we find King Ahab’s first thought after encountering the prophet Elijah may well have been: “WHAT!!! This dude got some kind of nerve!!! Just who does this dude think he is? Blasting onto the scene out of nowhere, Elijah challenged Israel’s evil king with a message that would soon disturb life throughout the whole region.

To read the rest of today’s Morning Bible Study

click the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/chofministry/

July 25, 2018
“God Changes Conditions

Praise the Lord Beloved!!! Happy Monday to you all. I hope you had a marvelous Sunday.

You know Beloved, God takes His time developing us. You see, a small or slow beginning is just the introduction to a marvelous climax at the end!!! You’ll find that many of God’s work of genius were developed in small, slow incomprehensible conditions.Take for instance Moses. Moses was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. He was trained in leadership while shoveling sheep manure on the backside of the desert. Now granted his discipline was developed in the royal courts of Pharaoh’s house, but his disposition was shaped through failure and a desert kingdom with no one to lead but flies, gnats and sheep.

Beloved, who would have thought, looking at Moses’ church of goat deacons and gnats for choir members, that later he would lead the greatest movement in the history of the Old Testament theology?

So, Beloved, you or anyone else can’t tell what’s in you by looking at you. God is in the love, blessings and salvation business!!! God is establishing patience, character, and concentration in the school of “nothing seems to be happening.” Just because God promises to move in your life and anoints you to do a particular function doesn’t mean that your foundation will be immediately built, nor does it mean because you may have turned down ministry or slow to develop correct morals doesn’t mean God won’t create and develop a spiritual foundation that’s fit just for you. 😀

Have a blessed Monday and an awesome rest of your week.

July 23, 2018
“Generate Joy If You Can Discover It”

Praise the Lord. Happy Monday to you.

Apprehension. Arrogance. Monotony. Idleness. Overthinking. Crying. Feeling sorry, guilty, as if you’re not good enough. Hurting others with the truth or comforting them with a lie. Listening to a reply or trying to understand.

Beloved, life becomes increasingly complicated. But really, it’s not. It’s actually dang simple. It’s hard, but simple.

I believe there’s something that keeps everything in place so to speak. The Universe. Yes, it’s a work of art.

In the world of men and women, what keeps everything in place is love.

That’s because love is the only force on Earth that takes as many forms as fear does. Overthinking is a special form of fear. So is anxiety. Or shyness. Hope is a special form of love. You can feel it, don’t you? Even when nothing makes sense, even when your brain tells you to give up, there’s something inside you fighting to keep on going. Fighting because one day it will all make sense.

One day you will understand.

In life, we’re taught one lesson. How to love. Ourselves. One another. The world. What we do. What we have. What happened.

Compassion is a different form of love. So is patience. Or courage. This world will break you until you understand this one lesson. If you don’t love yourself, you’ll always be chasing after people who don’t love you either. If you don’t see magic and beauty in yourself, you won’t see it anywhere else.

You see what you are. You are what you love. You’re what you choose to be.

Beloved, in life it’s not so important what you are, what your qualities are, but what you see. What you’re looking at changes according to how you feel inside.

The world is but a mirror, showing us our soul. It’s also not important what you do, but why you do it.

Being kind to others because you want to be perceived as kind or because it’s expected of you or you will ultimately made to feel unwelcomed, an outsider or like a fraud. You’ll always be afraid that people will expose you I’m speaking of your weakness to love and be loyal. But be kind because that’s the right thing to do, even if no one’s ever going to repay you or even show you gratitude… And there’s a very good chance no one will ever even notice… Treat others not according to who they are or how they treat you. Treat others as a reflection of your character. Be who you want to be, not what others want you to be. Know that happiness is not a destination, but a way of travel.

And understand deeply that love is capable of conquering all. Sooner or later.

Have a Blessed Monday Everyone

June 25, 2018
“Tell Someone You Love – You Love Them”

Praise the Lord Beloved.
Happy Monday to you.

This past weekend was one that saw horror, fear and some confusion as my family experienced a crisis we never saw coming. While visiting my brother and other family and friends in Austin, Texas, while preparing for a trip our beloved mother Elnoria Butler was found by a granddaughter unconscious and immediately rushed to an Austin, Texas area hospital for immediate surgery.

Thanks to God first, a quick-thinking brother and sister-in-law our mother is
as of this blog post recovering with loving family members by her side.

Beloved, everyone’s life crashes into a serious illness sooner or later. Maybe it happens to you, maybe your spouse, or maybe someone else close to you, but no one is immune. Fear and uncertainty arrive at the moment of diagnosis, weighing down patients that are alert or for family members with an overwhelming question: What do I (we) do next?

But, when the crisis comes it’s important that everyone come peacefully together to answer the question: What do I (we) do next?

Now, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed or frightened, or anxious when we’re told about a loved one’s illness. But you know beloved, many families are shredded apart when a crisis is centered.

Some for personal gain, some for manipulation, and some for the purpose of true agape (love).
But love and peace becomes futile when there’s massive unrest is in a family.

I thank God for His Productive Words of healing in a time of a crisis.

Ephesians 2:14-22 ESV)
¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²²In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Beloved, today reach out to someone you love and tell them you love them,
because telling them later- JUST MIGHT BE TOO LATE.

Please keep my mother and my family in your prayers as we go through this crisis.

I love you all!!!
Have a blessed Monday Everyone. 😀

April 30, 2018
“How to have Confidence in God Completely”
Beloved, I want you to visualize going to your favorite amusement park. You get on the rollercoaster, fastened in and just like that, nervousness grasps you. Your normal response is to improve your grip and reposition yourself to get some control, so you grasp the security bars tighter.

Or maybe you’re the one who keep your hands wide open and enjoy the experience.

Beloved, if you’re anything like me, you grip the security bar, close your eyes while tightening every muscle in your body while millions of thoughts of how to survive go through your mind. It’s in those moments I’m regretting I got on. But after it’s all over, I’m glad I did and want to go on again!!!

Beloved, this is an example of how we tend to live out our lives with God.

Either with a closed fist “wanting to be in control of all that’s happening out of fear”. This is nothing more than mere transitory security. Or, you have your hands wide open with no reservations of the unknown and no expectations, knowing that a Sovereign God has your life in His hands. And, has created all the threads and qualities of your life so complicatedly, like beautiful well-hung drapery.

While the prior example may seem to present the most comfortable situation, I can tell you that God is after the latter. He’s always after your faith!!!

Romans 8:28 tells us He works all things for your good!!!

Beloved, God wants you to completely have confidence in Him.

While it’s easy to say you believe that God is Lord and you have faith in Him, He’s requesting you to also put your confidence in Him for all the complications you face in life.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT) says:
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

There’s one phrase that you’ll normally hear in most types of relationships is “just trust me.”

As a Minister, I say that a lot to many people when I’m trying to get them to try something new that’s extraneous to them. As a Minister, I would never put my fellow followers in harm’s way or have them try something that would upset, wound, or offend them, it’s the reverse!!!

I want them to find gratification from this something new.

Beloved, it’s the same with God. He wants to do good to us, it’s His desire, while also transporting to Himself the honor He’s due.

Now, my question to you is: What Door(s) Are You Knocking On To Put Your Confidence In?

Not long ago, First Lady, Donece asked me to go to lunch with her. She wanted to take me to this fast food restaurant that didn’t serve the food I liked. I went back and forth with her trying to persuade her to select something we both liked. But because she knows me well, she knew that they had something that I would love despite my past experiences with this type of food. I finally gave in, and you know what? I ended up loving this specific sandwich she wanted me to try!!!

Beloved, all along she kept saying to me, “Just trust me.” You see, I thought I already knew what was best for me, so I wanted to regulate in other words “control” the situation.

This is what God is saying to us daily because He knows us!!!

He’s saying just to trust Him!!!

Trust Him with our:
- jobs
- children/grandchildren
- finances
- marriage
- family relations
- school
- health
With absolutely everything!!! Without questions!!!

God is saying to you: “Stop holding on!!! Let Go!!! I Got You!!! Take hold of my hand and just trust Me!!!”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) says:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Now I must admit, this area is a little scary in terms of understanding this.The unidentified or strange can be startling!!!

But when the Lord reestablished my relationship with Him, that was one of the first and scariest things He had me do!!!

To surrender control and select to have faith over fear was the key. It was essential for my transformation. I wouldn’t be doing ANY of what I’m doing today without that step of faith.

Beloved, it absolutely was the best decision of my entire life.

Sure, I might have closed my eyes tight and turned my head back, but my hands were wide open.

Many of you know my past!!! I’m sure many of you are amazed at my transformation. Let me tell you from my life experience, God is able-if you allow Him to take control.

Beloved, is the cry of your heart, “God, have Your way?”

Or, are you still repudiating to let Him have complete control?

My question to you is, why are you so afraid to let go and let God?

There’s a song sung by the late Rev. James Cleveland called “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired” the words of the song are awesome.

“I don’t feel no ways tired,
I’ve come too far from where I started from.

Nobody told me that the road would be easy,

I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.”

If you allow God to take control, He will not drop you off and leave you.

Let me tell you Beloved, even though at times countless methods of perceived trials come up against you, you may feel all alone or no one is paying attention to what’s going on in your life, just remember God is in control of everything that’s going on. Everything is at the mercy of God, and nothing can touch or overtake you without almighty God’s authorization or endorsement.

When your life is held in the palms of His hands, you have no reason to be frightened or stressed out. Allow yourself to get to that place where you say repeatedly, “I don’t believe You brought me this far to leave me.” Not because you know what your future holds, but because you serve a great God who does.

Now let me tell you right here, God won’t pry open your hands to receive His plans for your life. But, He’ll always accept the invitation if you let Him in.

Beloved, you must have complete confidence in God.

Hebrews 11:1-2 (NLT) says:
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

In the Bible, there was a former prostitute named Rahab who lived in a city that God commanded the Israelites to destroy and take over.

When Joshua and his men came into the city, terror gripped the people who lived there. But Rahab showed a significant amount of courage and faith. She didn’t know their God, but she heard about and His mighty acts. Instead of running, and showing terror, she risked her own life by hiding the two Hebrew spies in her home.

Beloved, it was her act of faith that allowed God’s plans to succeed, and her entire family was spared!!! Sure, she could have easily turned the men in or hardened her heart against this foreign God. She could have rejected them by just saying, “No.”

But she didn’t!!! She allowed her faith, her confidence to be bigger than her fear.

Little did she know that God had a great plan for her life!!!

Beloved, she was a woman shamed and looked down upon in society!!! But not in the eyes of God!!! He saw who she would become through His grace, mercy, and power.

God ended up blessing Rahab, and she became the great-grandmother to King David!!! And eventually, her name was written down in the actual lineage leading up to the birth of King Jesus!!!

Now, if Rahab was able to open her hands at that moment and trust an unknown God, then how much more can you trust a God that you do know?!!! 😀

To God Be the Glory.
Have a blessed week Everyone.
April 23, 2018
“Confirm Your Reservation”

Praise the Lord Beloved!!! Happy Monday to you. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a joyful Sunday.

This morning I was led by the Holy Spirit to read Ephesians Chapter 2 and it put a great smile on my face because I saw my past, present, and eternal life.

Beloved, God has raised us up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus!!!
YES!!! That’s what the Word of God says. There are very few who actually believe this. And know actually, we’ve elevated Jesus. We’ve exalted Him, and this is the way it should be!!! But, at the same time, we’ve unintentionally belittled what He did by not allowing Him to bring us along with Him.

You see, that was God’s purpose at Calvary “to bring us along with Jesus.” To make us what He already was.

You see Beloved, Jesus didn’t need exalting. He was exalted before He ever came to this earth. He was already one with the Father. He didn’t need to get authority over the devil. He’d never lost it!!!

He put on a physical body so that He could come to earth as a man and gain authority over sin and illness, demons, distress, deficiency and all the other curses that came when the law of death moved into the earth, and He did just what He came to this earth to do. Yes!!! He succeeded!!! He mastered everything in the world of the “intellect”, everything in the physical world.

But before He ascended, He said, “All authority is given unto Me both in heaven and in the earth.” Then He turned around and gave that authority to us by giving us His Name. “HALLELUJAH!!!”

You and I are the reason Jesus came to earth and died and lived again. He didn’t do it for Himself. He did it so He could bring us together with Him. So, we could wear His Name and exert His authority on the earth. He did it so that we could stand before God and be everything to Him that Jesus is.

Beloved, when you were born again, you were made the righteousness of God in Christ!!! So, this week as a born-again believer, let us all continue to accept the challenge to receive God’s message, to meditate on it and to act on it.

Beloved it’s time to confirm your reservation around the throne.

Have a blessed week Everyone.

April 16, 2018
“Yea!!!-The Yoke Is Coming Off!!!”

Praise the Lord Beloved!!! Happy Monday to you. 😀
I hope you had a marvelous weekend and a rejoicing Sunday.

This morning, I want you to know that God never created you to be ordinary. He created you to leave your mark on this generation. 😀 Beloved, God wants you to do something “BIG”!!! He wants you to go further than anyone in your family.

Believe it or not, you my friend, have seeds of greatness inside of you. I want you to know that the yoke that’s been around your neck of being who the world has called abnormal is coming off!!!

Beloved, God is about to push you to a new level of destiny. You’re going to have a new purpose in life, your intentions will now have pathways. 😀 That’s because your spiritual ability has grown to a mature level that can hear and recognize God’s calling on your life.

Beloved, your life is going to be extremely copious!!! It’s going to be much greater than what you could ever envision!!! This is a new day, and you’re going to see the harness-destroying, burden-removing power of our God like never before!!! 😀

Beloved, if you’ll receive this into your spirit and not talk yourself out of it, your faith will ignite and become a reality. Let these words go beyond being an encouragement and grab hold of it in your spirit.

Beloved believe then say: “THIS IS FOR ME!!! THIS IS MY DESTINY!!! SOMETHING NEW IS BEING BIRTH!!! I HAVE FAITH THAT BURDENS ARE COMING OFF OF ME!!! CHAINS ARE BEING BROKEN!!! I’M BELIEVING WHAT GOD’S WORD IS SAYING TO ME, SO I’M STEPPING INTO MY DESTINY RIGHT NOW!!!”

To God Be the Glory!!!
Have a blessed week Everyone. 😀

April 9, 2018