Hanukkah: Rededicating the Temple

Over the past 3 almost 4 years now Yahweh has provided me with the opportunity to know Him more intimately through comprehensive reading and study of His Word.  The journey has not been easy and it has caused me to question many things and caused me to understand that many of the things that I once accepted because they were put into practice and accepted as tradition, long before I was born were in error and actually in opposition to everything that matters to God.  For nearly 4 years, I've been a Torah-believing, Sabbath keeper but the process to get here began in 1995 when I began to question the celebration of pagan holidays. After doing some research, but not a lot, I came to the conclusion that Christmas and Easter were not cool but I still celebrated them because it was what I had always done. About 2000, I became so incensed with the commercialism and materialism of the "holiday" that I believed that there was something sinister about the entire cause for celebration, I had also acquired information that linked Easter and the observance of Lent (which I, as a pentacostal, was raised to observe) was linked to Catholicism. I became increasingly uncomfortable with observing these days as days sacred to the birth, death and resurrection of my Savior, who I then knew as Jesus. I hadn't acknowledged or had ANYTHING to do with Halloween for practically 5 years or more prior to the birth of my daughter in 2002, so I decided a year prior to her birth that my children and I would not participate in Christmas or Easter either as I suspected that they were all linked to paganism. Apparently Christians of various backgrounds and denominations began to ask some of the same questions because Easter Sunday services became known as Resurrection Sunday services and I heard several high-profile preachers and even my own pastor at the time, admit that December 25 was not Jesus' actual birthday but they glossed over the celebration by stating that "no one" knew when He was born and that the church was essentially justified in celebrating December 25 as the birthday of The Messiah. Many of my family members, particularly my mom was not comfortable with my opposition to celebrating these days in the traditional manner in which they had been celebrated for at least a few centuries. Then I got the revelation to study the history of the church and as I got information regarding Constantine changing times and seasons I felt betrayed and deceived by organized Christianity. 

I felt even more incensed and troubled to find that December 25th is the historical birthday of the pagan god, Tammuz aka Mithra aka Nimrod. His mother was Ishtar aka Semiramis aka Columbia and the celebration of Easter is in reference to her as she is known as "The Queen of Heaven" and was worshiped by the Children of Israel in defiance of Yahweh. She is also referred to as the the goddess of fertility hence the presence of rabbits and eggs, which are fertility symbols at Easter. She is also said to be the female counterpart to Lucifer.

Roman Emperor, Constantine

The Roman Emperor, Constantine made it law for all Christians to celebrate the 25th of December as the birth of Yeshua and changed the day of the Sabbath from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday as it is in scripture to Sunday to cover his worship of the sun god, Tammuz.

Yule Wheel labeling the 8 Occult Sabbaths

The seasons of Easter and Christmas are important to note because they also occur with witches sabbaths this however was done on purpose, by design and not by coincidence.  Christmas is actually the occult sabbath of Saturnalia or Yule. These celebrations have their origins deeply rooted in paganism and the occult but because people have been duped into seeing Yeshua as another greek deity without even knowing it. They will never know or understand these truths because they refuse to accept that Yeshua as the Son of the Living God was a Hebrew, Jewish man when He walked this earth. He didn't have the Bible in it's current inception but He did have Torah and that is what He talked, what He taught, what He lived! Yeshua is the Living Word! He is and was Torah! 

Newspaper Clipping LA Daily Times Regarding The Azuza Street Revival

Martin Luther Early church reformer

In an attempt to distance the Christian church from its Hebrew roots the Anti-semitic Christian church forefathers who preached and taught hatred towards the Hebrew roots of Yeshua as a result people began to see Him as someone other than who He was and is and what He came to accomplish. The church accepted the very paganism and idolatry that Yahweh throughout scripture, made clear that He was opposed to and reverberated throughout scripture that such activity would separate us from Him as they are the very things that caused great terror to come upon The Children of Israel. Ever since the death and resurrection of Yeshua, the collective body of Messiah has been on a journey of progressive revelation. This is the progressive revelation that led the church to reformation to the Azuza Street Revival which brought about the biblical principles that are the foundation for pentacostals and other evangelicals. 

Now in these last days the progressive revelation of Torah as the foundation for a biblically sound lifestyle of holiness has occurred and it has changed my life and the lives of many like me, forever. It has changed the way that I live and has provided a sound and comprehensive foundation from which to teach my children and effectively minister to others  I am excited about my life in Yeshua and as the gentile world enters into another season of spending, debt and false works (doing things in the "spirit of Christmas" and not the Holy Spirit), my family and I will be celebrating Hanukkah. Below is an account that I got from a dear friend and sister in Yeshua, called The Feast of Hanukkah. This provides historical and scriptural context for the celebration of Hanukkah. I would also like to recommend a valuable resource called A Family Guide to Biblical Holidays. This book will provide information regarding the very celebrations that Yeshua celebrated when He walked this planet and why it is important for Believers to celebrate these true holy days! 

 THE FEAST OF HANUKKAH

The true story of Hanukkah is prophesied in Daniel chapter 7 and 8. The fulfillment of this prophecy is found in the First and Second Book of Maccabees, which are found in the writings of the Apocrypha.  Originally the writings of the Apocrypha were additional books of the Bible in the original King James 1611 version, but were later designated as being important historical documents.  Each winter Israelites celebrate the Feast of Dedication - in Hebrew: Hanukkah, the festive occasion in which we recall our deliverance from pagan sun-god worship. Hanukkah is one of the festivals that Yahshua (Jesus) kept (John 10:22-42), but was not one of the mandatory feasts for all Israel to keep at Jerusalem.  Hanukkah reminds us that Yahshua (Jesus) fights for those who would keep themselves pure from the pollutions of idolatry.  Yahshua (Jesus) tells us that the first abomination of desolation (Daniel 8:9, 11:31) placed in the Jerusalem Temple was a prophetic shadow picture of an even greater abomination that would confront the believer in the last days.  The feast of Hanukkah is a prophetic foreshadow of Yahshua (Jesus), his life and his return.  The story of Hanukkah starts with King Antiochus of Syria sending soldiers to a northern city in Israel, Modin.  Antiochus, surname “God manifest”, was called a “madman” by his enemies.  Antiochus was known for defiling the temple with pigs and statues of other gods.  Antiochus specifically place a gold statue in Modin, and his captain declares, “Bow or die!” to the people of Modin.  Mattathias, an 80 yr old Jewish priest with 5 sons, who was still tall and upright, and respected for his wisdom and courage, refused to bow.  Mattathias shouted, “If a man calls a statue God, does that make it God?”  Everyone was silent in Morin.  The captain responds, “You priest, you bow first.”  Mattathias turned away.  The captain approaches him, “Obey or be hanged!”  Mattathias turns eye to eye with the captain and says sternly, “I will never bow.”  Everyone in Modin stood silent for a few minutes.  A scared shopkeeper comes forward, “I’ll do it and bows.”  Mattathias punches the shopkeeper, and knocks him on his back.  All of Modin became scared for their lives.  Mattathias pulls out a knife, stabs the captain, and slams down the golden statue. Mattathias sceams, “Whoever is for God (YHWH), follow me?”  Mattathias, his sons, and a handful of men and boys ran for the hills.  The newly found rebels outran the soldiers who were on foot and horses.  Mattathias and the rebels hid in caves, and only came out at night.  Eventually, Mattathias dies, and blesses Judah to lead the rebels.  The rebels gradually grew, and became constantly struck hard against Antiochus’s soldiers nightly.  They became mighty men even with only a small number of men.  Due to the constant hard strikes, Judah began to be called the Maccabee, meaning “the hammer”.  Judah and all the rebels became known as the Maccabees.  For 3 years, the small number of Maccabees defeated thousands of Syrians.  King Antiochus is angered by the losses and sends a very large force.  The Maccabee soldiers began to fear, but Judah delivers a word from the Lord that gives them faith.  The Maccabees praise God (Elohim), and begin to blow trumpets.  The thunderous praise leads the Maccabees to victory over the Syrians.  With the loss of such a large army, the King is outraged, and sends 47,000 to crush the revolt.  As the gigantic army chased the Maccabees into the forest, the Maccabees turned back to fight and one a mighty victory.  The war was officially over!  The first order of service after the victory was to cleanse the temple of pagan rituals and statues.  The meaning of the Hanukkah story is about the removal of paganism, and the traditions of men.  Hanukkah is a yearly reminder to only bow to Jesus and his Holy Spirit, and not to man or your flesh.

 The pope, and many other preachers have banned the use of the Hebrew name of God (YHWH), just as Antiochus did to the Jews, and we will be standing against that band.  We will be tearing down the traditions of men that make the word of God (Elohim) of none effect, and rebuilding the traditions of God (Elohim).  People will be set free from being bound to the laws of men, so that they can freely follow God (YHWH).  As men and women quit bowing to the false religious rules of men, the Holy Spirit will be turning the hearts of the sons toward the Father, and the heart of the Father towards the sons.  

1 Corinthians 6:19–20

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.(NLT)

Rededicate your temple to Yahweh!

**********

Please do your own research from a truly historical and biblical perspective, consider your sources and understand that true history corroborates the Word of God as fact. Keep in mind that the man you have known as Jesus was known to the people of His time as Yeshua, as that is His Hebrew name. He was Hebrew and He was certainly a Jew. When you understand this, it'll fill in all of the empty spaces and will even provide answers to many questions instead of the vague, obtuse explanation of "it's the way we've always done things".

The video below is of the late Arthur Katz. He was a Messianic Jewish Torah teacher and minister. In this video, Arthur Katz gives the definitive and comprehensive scriptural reasons as to why it is important for Believers to know the Hebraic roots of the Hebrew Messiah that they claim to serve. I pray that you enjoy it and that it clarifies the need for you to understand scripture from a Hebrew perspective and not from the Anti-Semitic perspective of a Greco-Roman mindset or even that of a German church reformer.  Get to know Yeshua for who He truly is! More than that your children and their children need to know who He truly is! Stop using your children as an excuse to continue celebrating a pagan tradition. Christmas is NOT for the children! Christmas is NOT for Believers in Yeshua HaMaschiach!

Watch, pray, learn! Be great and let the haters, hate! Be abundantly blessed
The next post topic: How To Raise Warriors

Yahweh, God of The Universe - God of the Bible vs. Your Concept of God

As I was driving today, alone in my car, I began to pray, praise and thank God. As I was praying Yahweh placed a strong conviction in me and let me know that the sure way to establish a relationship with Him is through a lifestyle of integrity, humility and self-deprecation. This is a lifestyle that many Believers have resisted. Due to the overwhelming influence of false doctrine (i.e., prosperity preaching, word of faith doctrine, infiltration of new age philosophies and doctrines) most Believers live and behave with all of the flagrant hubris of the Pharisees and other religious leaders in Yeshua's day.  

They are under the erroneous misconception that they have IT and HIM all figured out! They can't be told anything and they are not willing to be taught of the Holy Spirit anything that will bring about revelation, vision and perpetuate true growth. What is the "IT" I am referring to? Salvation and the HIM that I am referring to is none other than Father God, Yahweh, the God of the Bible. They refuse to truly read the Bible from cover to cover as the comprehensive, inerrant word of God so many "Believers" say that they believe in God and that they are saved but could it be that the God that they are worshiping is not the God of the Bible but rather some false God that they have conceptualized in their heads? Is your God the God of the Bible or an amalgamation of a "patchwork quilt" of scripture taken out of context, sprinkled with a little bit of the "god" that the celebrity, televangelist has verbally painted as an image of God as some hippy-looking dude who is basically nothing more than a glorified Santa Claus? Is your "god" like some new age guru who allows you to be your own god? Is your "god" required to pander to the frivolous whims of your flesh in order for him to be real to you? Romans 1:21 says, "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused." I am certain that this is the reason why so many people who claim to be Believers are confused and 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us plainly, "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the meetings of God's holy people." So many are worshiping a "god" and are erroneously convinced that they are worshiping the God of the Bible. I'll give you a few examples, the "god" that exist in the heads of most of these "Believers" doesn't mind if they gossip, lie, bear false witness and covet because "he" knows their hearts so it's okay; their "god" doesn't mind if they commit fornication or adultery every now and again because "he's" the one who gave them the desire for sex and "he" understands that they can't control themselves; their "god" doesn't mind if they don't honor the Sabbath because their "god" has rendered the law obsolete instead of fulfilling it; their "god" doesn't mind them participating in pagan celebrations, "he" doesn't mind if they watch garbage on TV or go to the movies to visually consume filth, "he" doesn't mind if they listen to vulgar and obscene secular music; their "god" doesn't mind if they pander to instead of witness to sinners and people in false religions and doctrines; their "god" doesn't mind them raising their children as the heathens and pagans do; their "god" has saved them and other Christians to replace Jewish people instead of saving them so that they can live dedicated lives of holiness to provoke them to jealousy for Yahweh (Read Romans 11:18 and 11:24) and the list goes on and on! There is scripture to support Yahweh's profound disdain for all of these things and yet because of our deceptive culture of the "carnal Christian" because it's not good to be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good, people have erected an idol in their imaginations and have named "him" God, little understanding that their false perception of God is every bit as futile to them as any idol god made of wood, stone, or metal. 

And the result is still the same, when we make the mistake of trying to make God fit our perception of who we think or believe He should be, we are not worshiping Him for who He is and we are not worshiping Him for who He says He is in the Bible nor are we being obedient to what He requires of us, how can we do that and say that we love Him? That is the sure fire road to hell, my friend!  Yahweh has not changed and we are urged in Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." God hasn't changed and if the Children of Israel faced judgment because of their arrogance, pride, and idolatry what makes you think that He won't require the same of the Church that was grafted in? (Romans 11:17 - And if some of the branches be broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree;)

It is important for Believers to check themselves! If you don't have the structure and foundation of Yahweh's commandments along with the instruction of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), then you are stifling, grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit who was sent to be your Paraclete, your Teacher! I challenge you to read the Torah (first five books of the Bible) as well as the prophets. Please read the Gospels and the epistles and see what God has to say about paganism, idolatry (of any kind), lying, sexual immorality (of every kind), coveteousness, etc. Don't take anyone's word as fact regarding these matters that are concerning your very own soul but only accept God's word because contrary to what some people who probably have never read a Bible believe, it is THE TRUTH and it is FACT! The only thing that will save many who truly want to know Yeshua in these last days is a willingness to humble yourself, pray, seek God and READ and study His word so that you can rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

I pray that this post will save someone's life and cause them to commit to Messiah so that their souls will be saved and lives changed forever. Fall back and let God be who He says He is! We only see our little finite portion of the picture but Abba sees it all from beginning to end! He is holy and He is sovereign and He has provided a gift to us that has even caused the angels to marvel. (1 Peter 1:10-12 - ¹⁰ This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. ¹¹ They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
 ¹² They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.)

Holiness and the process of sanctification is a life long journey NOT a destination therefore no one has the right to behave as if they have it all figured out and have arrived! The Pharisees and religious leaders of Yeshua's time here on earth thought they had it all figured out and they missed Yeshua on account of their wicked, prideful hearts and many are still missing Him today because the exact same wicked arrogance. Luke 5:32 Yeshua told them, "I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent." Please clarify today, which "god" you are serving because you can't serve Yahweh based on your carnal perception and assumptions, His word tells you who He is and what He requires and desires of us. Who He truly is may not bode well at all with our carnal motivations, proclivities and silly notions and by design our flesh recoils at His requirements but that is what He is suppose to do because He is a holy, sovereign God of the universe. Everything about Him brings discomfort to our filthy, depraved and deceitful flesh which is why we are called upon to die daily. It's not about you, it never was! It's about the will of Yahweh! He is all that matters and as we honor Him, He will honor us!

Mediocrity hates greatness! Be great and let the haters...hate!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Believers Should Strongly Consider Family Television Viewing Habits

A 2007 study on children's television viewing concluded that more than two hours of television viewing can be detrimental to both the physical, mental and emotional health of a child. This secular study has been cited a lot recently and if this is the conclusion drawn by secular experts, how much more should Believers monitor and limit their children's access to television viewing of all kinds. As Believers, I cannot stress enough how important it is for US to groom, disciple, and minister to our children. In fact, as Believers our first ministry is to our immediate families which includes spouses and children before anyone else. This is primarily the case because when we minister and disciple the people closest to us and to whom we have the greatest influence, it holds us to a higher level of accountability and transparency. As parents we must keep in mind that we will be held accountable for how we raise the children that God has given us on loan. We are simply stewards, we are not our children's owners. That's an important factor to keep in the forefront of our minds because if we are allowing media, pop culture and other influences to mold, shape and influence our children away from Yeshua, then we are going to answer to God for failing to allow His Word to be the prominent influence in our lives and in the lives of our children.  It's not "just television", "just a movie", "just a song" when it's subversive to the Biblical values that you claim to have submitted yourself to when you gave your life to Messiah. Many of today's movies, music, and television shows (even books!) are thick with occult and esoteric symbolism and themes. The intent is to indoctrinate your children with ideologies that are counterproductive to the lifestyle of a Believer. I have covered this same subject matter in several previous posts and I don't feel as if I can reiterate it enough because your children are going to try you, they're going to challenge you, they're going to rebel a little but when you allow this filthy, ungodly culture to subvert the Holy Spirit's authority in your home then you are in jeopardy of losing your precious children to this world. You are setting up your children to be deceived by the pending government and religion of the Anti-christ and you will have to answer for all of those things! Believers should not allow Disney, Nickolodeon, PBS, BET, MTV, VH1 or any other media entity to babysit your children. In the coming months, I will be posting tips on how Believers should disciple and minister to their children. It forces you to be a REAL parent and not a parent on auto-pilot who leaves the difficult aspects of your children's rearing to someone or something else. But be encouraged, as a Believer you are not alone, you have the Holy Spirit to grant you vision and knowledge on behalf of your children so that you can "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Below is a video that reveals the media's agenda to subvert Biblical principles and replace them with wicked occult and satanic influences. I strongly suggest that you view the entire series and then do your own research regarding PBS, Disney, Viacom media (Nick, MTV, BET, VH1 networks) and the occult. Be abundantly blessed!

Remember, mediocrity hates greatness...so be great and let the haters hate!
Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Why The Grace of God Is Not Permission To Sin

People often depict the grace of God or the fact that we are currently living under grace and truth as a carte blanche invitation to sin. As if Messiah's suffering, death, burial and resurrection means that the law is therefore now void and antiquated and unnecessary. First let me say, that every kingdom has laws and the kingdom of God is no different. Without law there is only anarchy and anarchy is not of God but of Satan. The suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Messiah was never intended to render the laws of God's kingdom obsolete. Instead the grace of Elohim exists before we even sin and provides for us the opportunity not to sin in the first place but if we we're to sin, we still have the avenue of repentance once we realize and confess our accountability for the sin that we commit. Grace exists so that we are empowered through the habitation or indwelling of the Holy Spirit not to sin in the first place. The grace of God gives us the ability to obey the laws of God rather than providing for us an opportunity to explain just how "human" we are by submitting to this flesh and sinning. The law was considered bondage because there was no way for us in our human frailty to fulfill the law but it is through God's grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are able to abide by God's laws not to be idolatrous, liars, cheaters, murderers, fornicators, adulterers, etc. We cannot afford to take for granted that just because the grace of God exists that we then have the freedom to sin without repercussions. When we sin, even after we repent, that is a seed sown and a harvest that will be reaped. The grace of God helps us to refrain from sowing seeds that we are not willing to reap through sin. We will always reap what we have sown but repentance and the grace of God determines to what extent we will reap what we have sown. Although some people think that we cannot "out sin" God's grace as it is infinite, God's grace is abundant and infinite in that it will keep us from sinning in the first place as we submit to the Holy Spirit and conform to the image of Messiah. We cannot keep gossipping, backbiting, lying, cheating, etc. after the Holy Spirit convicts us, override the conviction, make excuses and justifications for our sin and then expect that the grace of God will keep us saved. When we disobey God, we put ourselves in the precarious position of removing His covering (His grace) from ourselves when we willfully and overtly sin. Yeshua came to fulfill the law not make it obsolete! So Believers need to stop the erroneous teaching of grace and truth as the coverall for sin. When you fulfill a task, you have completed it not made the task obsolete. When a man fulfills his wife, he has completed her not done away with her. MESSIAH FULFILLED THE LAW SO THAT WE WOULD BE FREE FROM COMMITTING SIN IN THE FIRST PLACE NOT SO THAT WE CAN WILLFULLY SIN, OVERRIDE HIS CONVICTION AND MAKE LAME EXCUSES FOR OUR SIN AND THEN EXPECT THAT GOD WILL ALLOW THE SACRIFICE OF HIS SON TO BE REPEATEDLY VIOLATED AND TROUNCED UPON. HABITUAL SIN IS REFUSING GOD'S GRACE. WE DON'T HAVE TO SIN! THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!
THE GRACE OF GOD EMPOWERS US TO OVERRIDE OUR SIN NATURE SO THAT WE ARE NOT A SLAVE TO IT! 

Using grace as if it will cover willful, habitual sin is to live without reverential fear of God and without reverential fear of God, we rebel against Him and disobey His laws consistently and jeopardize our souls. We enslave ourselves to our flesh and sentence ourselves to a life of mediocrity not to mention living as a carnal Christian who never matures spiritually and actually puts themselves in jeopardy of becoming a spiritual reprobate. Grace is not permission to sin! Grace is submission to the process of sanctification so that we are holy. Grace is the power, that only God can give us through the Blood of Jesus and the indwelling of His spirit not to sin! We are to die daily and submit to the Holy Spirit so that we can conform to the image of Messiah not continue sinning as if we have no help or hope!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

A Word of Thanks

I have for most of my life been the outcast, the misfit, the odd one out and as a child and a young person I use to feel as if somehow that I was cursed or that something was wrong with me because I never quite fit in. But as I get older I am more aware than ever that I am not my own, I own nothing of my own.  I am humbled that The Creator of the Universe loves me! Cares for me! Me! (Psalm 8:4) I am a worthless waste of time, breath and space without Jesus! I am useless and I am a total mess but He defines me and there is absolutely NOTHING in this life worth doing without Him. Knowing Jesus gives me purpose and meaning that is not just for this life but it is eternal. I love Him and all that He has done for me. People may look on me and think that I am nothing much, and that's really okay but hopefully when they look at me they see Messiah shining through me! He is everything worth having! I am in love with my God, HaShem! I am in awe of Him! I am in love with my Messiah and my whole world revolves around Him!

Oh! I might not have the finest car but I'm blessed! I might not have the greatest home but I'm blessed! I might not have a husband who loves and values me right now but I serve a mighty and incredible God who out of all the people in the world, loves me! I am truly a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save ANYBODY! He is the ALMIGHTY indeed! And I have officially opted-out of this world's definition of who I should be as a Christian, a mother, a woman, an African-American woman or anything else that this world tries to attach to me as a definition. Messiah defines me, I am His! This culture, this world have no say in how I live my life and raise the gorgeous children that God gave me to raise and disciple. 

There is no "time" to worship, my whole life I yield as worship for if I don't do all that I do, as a committed act of worship to Him then it is meaningless. I gladly commit to Him as worship all that I am. (Proverbs 16:3).
 It is a pleasure to yield all that I am: eyes, ears, hands, feet, heart, soul, and mind to Him. It is only then that I can be certain that I am doing those things that bring Him glory and that are things of eternal significance and not acts of futility and idle works of this flesh. Abiding in Him is the greatest love I have ever known and the only way that I can truly love. I can't imagine trying to love someone, in a healthy manner without knowing Yeshua's love for me!

Thank You, Abba for all that You are in my life! I just want to publicly take this time to tell the world just how good You are to me! Thank you for loving me!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Sexiness vs. Holiness Part II

When you apply a certain image, attitude and persona to yourself that is something other than the image of God then you are also taking on the very spirit of that image, attitude and persona. Believe it or not, many Hollywood starlets, singers, supermodels and dare I say, porn stars don't worship the same God that you do. This is the very reason why so many so-called female Believers are jeopardizing their very souls by competing with, emulating and imitating celebrities of any kind. Many so-called Believers even think that to behave like a diva is somehow "cute" and acceptable and to dress like a whorish woman is okay because after all, "Beyonce says that she is a Christian and she was raised in the church so it must be okay!" or the other lame excuses such as "People shouldn't judge me based on what I wear. To do so is being a legalistic, Pharisee." or "People who judge me based on what I wear, aren't true Christians anyway!" If your identity is not in Messiah then it is self-destructive and based on a lie and the woman who identifies herself as a Believer and yet makes it her goal to be sexy instead of being holy, she is a woman in for a very rude awakening as such an image will cause more problems than what it is worth by the negative attention that it will attract from both men and women. Let me also add there is no hybrid for this concept of being sexy vs. being holy. We live in an age where people try to go out of their way to find loopholes and exceptions for what God has already deemed as ironclad. Reprobate and lascivious behavior is offensive to God and He made no exceptions when He said "Be holy because I am holy." (I Peter 1:16)

I'm not saying that you should be judged and condemned to hell by people who don't have it within their power to even send you to either place for eternity but what should be understood is that what you wear is often an outward reflection of who you are on the inside. Neither am I insinuating that female Believers should dress like Puritans but you should allow the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and discernment regarding everything, including your wardrobe! Failure to surrender to the process of sanctification is what will earn you a spot in hell, not what people say. Don't make the mistake of confusing God's judgment with man's judgment. God has called us to holiness and a resistance to holiness is a resistance to the very presence of God Almighty. Some people have made the error of equating holiness to a strict dress code and some other contrived, man-made parameter of what is holy and godly in terms of our image but what I am saying is that God as Father God desires for us to give Him access to every part of our lives including what we wear. Once we accept Messiah as Savior then we have to submit to the process of sanctification through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the Teacher and He will teach us the ways of godliness and holiness through the Word of God and through wisdom and discernment that only He can give us. God is love and he is kind, gracious, merciful, and so much more but He is also Holy!

As Believers, we have given up the right to have "our way" and represent ourselves. We are called upon per scripture to die daily to this flesh and it's carnal desires. (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5, Romans 8:6, Romans 6:23, Galatians 6:8). We are also told in scripture that the desires of this flesh put us in opposition to God. (James 4:4,  Romans 8:7, I John 2:15) When people see us, they should see Jesus. They should hear Him in our voice both in terms of the words and tone of voice that we use. When we act and behave like the world and refuse to allow the process of sanctification to take hold and still dare call ourselves Believers and Christians, we are misrepresenting the kingdom and defaming The Only True and Living God! There is a dear price to pay for such misrepresentation and it should be something that NO ONE would want to reap.

We have to lose ourselves in Messiah and conform to His image. You will always be unique and as you conform to the image of Messiah that uniqueness through holiness will be accentuated and more clearly defined as it brings Him glory. Don't think that God doesn't want you to be attractive or look nice but there is always a distinct difference in what is holy and what is not. As you submit to the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Ghost, He will reveal what is best for you and it will always be congruent with modesty and humility.

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Sexiness vs. Holiness Part I

Lately I've been very skiddish about what I watch and what I allow my children to watch on television. I am a child of the '70's so I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie every Monday night. When I watch reruns of that show now and get a glimpse of what women were like from that time period and read my Bible and get a glimpse of what women were like during biblical times, I see that women were able to define what a godly and virtuous woman was from a carnal or more (ummm hmmm...) shall I say, worldly woman. These days with the onslaught of lingerie commercials, fragrance commercials with scantily clad celebrities in enticing and suggestive positions, to television shows and motion pictures that show parts of a woman's body that only her husband should see, not to mention the epidemic of porn addiction (print, video, and internet), some female Believers have been deceived into thinking that they have to compete somehow or join in with these images while male Believers are having their masculinity and sexuality challenged if they are not attracted to these unrealistic and fallacious standards of beauty. So the question is, what is more important for Believers? Being sexy or being holy?

Loose women have always been apart of every culture and every society and every socio-economic level. Prostitution has not been deemed "the world's oldest profession" for nothing! But with the current climate of pseudo-Christian, "carnal" Christian, celebrity worship, etc. Christian women are defining themselves by the sexual standards, both in terms of image and conduct, of movie starlets, songstresses (particularly secular), supermodels and even porn stars. Women who identify themselves as Believers, especially single female Believers, are allowing the carnal influence of celebrities, etc. to define who they are, how they should look and how they behave. What exactly are you saying when you sing, "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it..." A ring on what? Are we perpetuating the fallacy of fornication to get a husband? This entire climate of people thinking that to be virtuous, holy and practical is to be "so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good" has created a fallacious environment based on worldly illusions that will ultimately end with a lot of female Believers going to hell because they feel the need to compete with or emulate and even imitate the likes of Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, or some random Victoria's Secret model or random porn star! Would you believe women, supposedly, Believers are busting up in the church revealing just a little too much leg and thigh, too much cleavage, made-up in the image of Nicki Minaj or some porn starlet, wearing thongs and then wearing clothes that tell the world that they are wearing a thong! It's chuckle-worthy on one hand but on the other it's ever so sad! Funny and yet so sad, because it's obvious that these women are trying too hard, so hard in fact that they have allowed society or the warped perception of pseudo-Christian men who seem attracted to such garbage, to influence them away from modesty, holiness (that's right, I said it!) and humility. Don't get me wrong, I, too like to get glammed up from time to time but (please understand that this is what makes the difference between a true Christian and a pseudo-Christian is that...) the Holy Spirit convicts me and shows me when my dress and skirt are too short, pants are too tight or when my top is just a little too low or when my make up and hair has the potential to give an incorrect general representation of who I am and who God has called me to be. Please trust me when I tell you that I dare not defy the conviction of the Holy Spirit as I have been there and done that with regard to other matters and it did not bode well for me to say the least! Women who pander and who clamor to emulate these contrived and artificial, Hollywood-produced images are attracting the wrong kind of man and they are doing so at the expense of their own souls. And silly men, who call themselves Believers put themselves in the precarious and horrible position of being ensnared by the wrong woman just because she had a certain look. (More on this in the another entry.)

I attended and was the member of a very large, mega-church and there were quite a few women there who were humble and modest in their dress and then there were others who looked as if they were leaving the church to shoot porn! Bloated lips, tight clothes, too much make-up, talon nails, "the works"! I attended another church and saw young females revealing thongs under low cut jeans. I've attended many church functions where women's bosoms were "spilling" out of their blouses and they couldn't cross their legs or bend over without flashing the person standing behind them in the offering line or sitting beside them in the pew. Now, in defense of some of these women, especially those whose weight fluctuates or who were just recently saved, perhaps they didn't have anything more modest to wear when they attended the services where I saw them dressed provocatively but some of these faux pas' are easily remedied with a safety pin or sweater.  

Before you allow yourself to be taken in by the diabolical influence of Hollywood, please do your research and understand that the far reaching influence of celebrities and society's climate of celebrity worship are subversive to our identity and reality in Christ. Women who aren't Believers shouldn't allow themselves to be influenced by such nonsense, how much more should Believers refrain from allowing the film, television, fashion and music industries to influence and control how we perceive ourselves and how we live and behave and what the standard of beauty should be. Christ is to be the filter for every true Believer's perception and perspective. As believers we are called to be holy not sexy! If in your private moments with your spouse, he finds you sexy then that's fine but the goal of a godly woman is holiness, as she is most beautiful in holiness and when she reflects the image of God.


To be continued...


Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

If God Doesn't Send Him Then I'll Be Single!

This is a follow up to my last entry that dealt with the topic of so-called, Christian dating. I've just recently determined that because I need to work my faith in Messiah and trust Him to be El Shaddai, there will be no more online dating sites or other such nonsense in my future. I have always believed and felt strongly that dating for believers was out of order but because my family believed different I conceded and often compromised my belief that dating for Believers was inappropriate. But after much prayer, fasting and reading scripture, The Pentateuch which deals with the law of God but it also shows how the Children of Israel refused to trust God to meet their needs and do for them what He said He would. Every time the Children of Israel failed to trust God especially after He performed miracles right before their very eyes and preserved them from the hand of their enemies, they always ended up sabotaging themselves because of their insolent disobedience and unbelief. I now have renewed confidence in trusting God to provide for me everything that He promised that He would. I love the fact that the Holy Spirit just a few days ago made it plain to me and sealed it just after I completed the last entry, "If God doesn't send my husband to me then I won't have a husband." I am so comfortable with this and I am certain that within my God-given purpose lies a life of joy and fulfillment and if God's plans for me include marriage then it'll happen because I've trusted Him and not because I've brazenly tried to have my own way. I'm not choosing to be single and I'm not choosing to be married, I'm choosing God's will for my life, whatever that happens to be and as I continue to follow and trust Him to meet my needs, He'll continue to reveal Himself and His plan and purpose for my life to me! It's times like these that I am truly grateful to know God! I would love to be married but I love God more and my children need to see and know that more than anything else! Until next time! 

Sabali means patience! Patiently wait on God, He will not fail and He will not disappoint you!
Mediocrity hates greatness...be great and let the haters hate!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

The Oxymoron...The "Dilemma" of Christian Dating (and Other Carnal Fallacies) Revisited

Recently I went to a local church's Singles meeting and first let me say that I primarily loathe these kinds of meetings because they tend to run the gamut from pure singles misery ministry to "I-coulda-had-a-V-8" boring to shameless pick up, swingin' singles, meat markets. So usually when I hear the announcement of a singles church event, I run in the opposite direction. But to keep from becoming an absolute recluse, I decided to attend this gathering in the hopes that it would perhaps be different than what I have experienced before but we'll come back to my verdict regarding this meeting later. The facilitator asked why Christian dating is still such a controversial issue. To be frank, I would like to know why as well! My mother and I have had this conversation on several occasions and the majority of this meeting's attendees were in agreement with my mother regarding this aberration of so-called "Christian dating".

Let's get something very clear, plain and precise...there is no such thing as "Christian dating"! It is a fallacy built on carnal principles that have crept into the modern church to validate and justify traditions and practices that are not biblical. There is no biblical precedent for dating because "dating" is not an activity that Christian believers should engage in. The church has become a pandering bastion of carnal acceptance. I've had many Christians tell me that it's okay if dating is not a biblical practice because our modern times require us to participate in the aimless ritual of dating and not to date is well, naive and even silly. The young minister who facilitated the singles meeting that I attended gave his definition of dating as spending time with someone of the opposite sex, so if you meet with someone of the same sex w/the intent of homosexual or lesbian relationship, or someone under age, or someone who is married that is not a "date" in his estimation. This minister was very much into these definitions that were relative and subjective to what he felt and believed despite the lack of biblical basis for such a definition. This is happening to me a lot lately where I have been talking to people who say that they are Christians regarding everything from the paganism involved in holidays such as Christmas and Easter to this subject of dating. And much to my dismay there are far too many "gray area" Christians who justify their counter-biblical beliefs by telling people that just because society defines something one way, they can then take that corrupt and carnal thing and somehow make it valid and acceptable. 

If there is no biblical basis for practicing something it's probably because it wasn't something that Believers should incorporate in their lives and then provide a subjective explanation for practicing the activity in lieu of a biblical foundation and basis. If there is no biblical precedent for doing something then it probably shouldn't be apart of the life of a Believer. It's just that simple! There is no biblical precedent for Believers participating in pagan and occult celebrations neither is there a biblical precedent for believers participating in the carnal ritual of dating. If you are involved in a courtship with a person of age and of the opposite sex then it must be because your ultimate intent is to marry that individual, not just "kick it" until I meet someone else. The church has bought into the lie that you have to date several people before you can know whether or not the person that you are dating is "the one". That's a joke! If that were true then divorce wouldn't be so rampant in the church among believers. Dating leaves God out of the equation of a life that exists for the sole purpose of bringing Him glory. Dating says, "God, I don't know if I trust you to choose my spouse for me so I need to get out and see what's out there for myself, then I'll decide who You have intended for me to spend the rest of my life." Since when did God cease to be El Shaddai? He is the all sufficient God! People lived, courted, and married for centuries just fine prior to this last century where dating became an accepted societal practice and there is no iron clad process to a successful marriage but to put God first and yield the whole of your life as worship. Divorce existed in biblical times but divorce is always the result of a marriage that God either never ordained in the first place and it became a total disaster (i.e., cases of abuse of any kind) or a marriage where the man and woman involved have refused to die to self in order that Messiah would be glorified through their lives and marriage. Need I remind you that as a Believer, you are not your own and that you were bought with a price? I Corinthians 6:20 says, "For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." These standards do not exist to kill your fun or to keep you from enjoying life, they exist so that you can avoid a life of unnecessary hardship and emotional trauma that results from poor choices and bad decisions that were brought about by an acceptance of carnal concepts and beliefs but have absolutely no basis in The Word of God. Dating might be just fine for unbelievers who don't believe or trust God or even have a relationship with Him but Believers should be wary of anything that does not result in us yielding all that we are to biblical principles that have been substantiated time and again. Any marriage, anything that does not have it's foundation in Messiah will fail!

The Believer must consult God in prayer and in His Word prior to doing anything that could effect our life and service to Him. Seek God and His will for your life and in your seeking God and not a  person to meet your needs, your spouse will not have to bear the burden of being to you what only God can be to you, your everything!

By the way, I'm certain that I won't be attending another singles event at that church. Pray for me, I don't have it all figured out but I'm certain that God knows me and what I need far better than I or anyone else ever could.
I hope that you enjoy the video below. The sister is very talented and effectively articulates why dating is not something that Believers who are truly seeking the heart of Yahweh don't date!

  Koretta L. Allen aka LadyfromZion is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. You can follow her on Twitter @LadyfromZion and friend her on Facebook at Facebook.com/abundantlyblessed. Mediocrity hates greatness! Be great and let the haters, hate!

The Reality of This Present Time.

 Often at the beginning of a bright, shiny new year we may find ourselves wanting to gaze into the future: what we hope the future will be and what we pray it will not be. But after all is said and done it is imperative for us to prepare ourselves to abandon all of our finite planning, goal-setting and dreaming for God's infinite plan and purpose for our lives. My reality is the following: I may not ever get married. I will soon be 40 and I am not sure if I still want to get married. I am tired and weary of the subject and just want to be content with where God has me as a single woman and as a single mother. 

Once upon a time, I was very guilty of the sin of idolatry. I idolized the idea of marriage, family and having children hence my screw up in putting the cart before the horse and having my first child out of wedlock then after that relationship ended disastrously, I found myself on the rebound and with baby number two! I wanted marriage, family, and children more than I wanted anything...including God! I can admit this now and I believe that for the sake of catharsis as well as to stand as a testimony, it is high time that I came clean! My parents divorced when I was 5 years old but even before that I was 3 when they first separated. So I longed and ached for a whole and healthy family. I never got it! I prayed for my mother and father to get back together and the reality that they would never be married again was more painful than I could bare. I thought that I was justified in wanting these things more than I wanted God, besides I didn't ask to be here and I most certainly didn't ask to be born to parents who couldn't make it together. But Jesus still required faithfulness and commitment to Him. I did not have the right to use the pain that I experienced as a child of divorce to forsake Christ and erect an idol in my life that caused me to sin against the very God who could heal me.

Whether I like it or not, I may not ever get married. I may not ever be anybody's wife or spend the rest of my life knowing what it is to have a man love me enough to make me his wife. These are musings that have crossed my mind and they are facts that I have to face. I am a single mother and like it or not, I cannot afford to have just any man in my life for the health, safety and stability of my children. It is quite enough that my sloppy life (prior to selling out to Christ) has deprived my children of a healthy father/child relationship and I refuse to make matters worse for them by inviting any ol' piece of man (as my grandmother use to call them) into my children's lives. Don't get me wrong, I would like to get married but marriage is not the priority that it once was in my life.

My priorities at the present are submitting my life as worship to God and raising my children to be sold out people of God who avoid the pitfalls that I fell into as a young person. I would truly like for my children to have a father-figure in their lives but I will not allow them to become the object of a sexual predator or random nutjob that preys on single mothers and their children; the mothers who are desperate for male companionship while the children are desperate for a father figure. This is a recipe for trouble as many single mothers have married or have engaged in pseudo-marriage relationships with men who took advantage of the women and sexually, physically and/or emotionally abused the children. I am also aware that there are lots of mentor groups for fatherless children but unless I know the man personally, there is absolutely no way that I will ever allow some random man, that I don't know at a church or with an organization or anywhere who feigns himself to be a mentor and father figure to fatherless children only to have my children's innocence and virtue compromised by some closet pedophile. 

Desperation for anything or anyone outside of Christ can have disastrous consequences. Hey, that's how I got to be a single mother in the first place! I was desperate for a husband and kids so much so that I compromised myself and everything that I believed in order to try to get my way. Well, I didn't get my way and what's worse is that I allowed myself to become so consumed with wanting to be married that I decided not to do it God's way either. But to God be the glory for helping me get it together two kids and no husband later. God is faithful and I truly believe that He who has begun a good work in me is faithful to complete the work that He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6). I haven't completely shutdown on marriage but I've simply decided that my life is better spent committed to God and the things that He has entrusted me to have stewardship of right now than commit myself to getting and being married and even going so far as to try to subvert God's authority, plan and purpose for my life as well as the lives of my children.

In addition to not obsessing over marriage I had to clean some other demons out of my closet and this is just one of the videos that really helped me to face me and stop making excuses for sins that were separating me from God. I don't agree with all of this brother's videos but this one is on point for sure. However if you are not willing or ready to face, confess and repent of your own sin then you might not want to watch this video as he is very frank about a subject that most single Christians and even Christian single parents struggle with overcoming. 

Remember mediocrity hates greatness, so be great and let the haters, hate!

LadyfromZion aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com