Beyond Belief

By Kahlayah Wilkes

Beyond Belief is a personal testimony and commentary to the true living God who remains active in our lives today and forever. It is about our relationship with God. Scripture references, if not, notated are from New King James Version, otherwise, with notations of King James Version or New Century Version.

There is reason and purpose for each of our lives to be discovered here. Lying within our daily progression, we learn how to enhance our Christian walk and stabilize through our ups and downs. The reader will flow from the individual relationship into the body of Christ as a whole. Each phase is documented with miracles and personal experiences. Unexplainable events prove the hand of God throughout.

It is the primary focus of this book to be a witness as to the fact that God does exist and is hard at work in our behalf. Not only are we created for His purpose but to serve and help each other. What is missing in the church today is the development of our spiritual self. All emphasis is on sin and physical pleasures. It is the spiritual self that lives eternally. This is what must be increased and applied while we are yet serving on this earth. Growing spiritually is imperative to growing our faith and the kingdom of God. The times we currently live in demand immediate attention to this point. The church must be seen and heard in unity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798886853575

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Beyond Belief

Kahlayah Wilkes

ISBN 979-8-88685-356-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-486-4 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88685-357-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Kahlayah Wilkes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Who God Is to Us

Who We Are to God

Why Our Battles

Learning from Our Battles

Know Your Calling

One Day at a Time

Purified by Fire

False Failure

Empowering the Church

Building God's Army

Strength in Unity

Ready for Service—Now and Future

About the Author

Chapter 1

Who God Is to Us

Expect the unexpected! I say this with the same big smile that my mentors all displayed when quoting this to me as they guided me throughout my Christian life. It is not fate or coincidence but the presence of God that suddenly and mysteriously bolts into your life at the very brink of need. Consider your own life. When has something unexplained taken charge in your behalf? We must recognize that it is His presence and give thanks to Him. Why would He do this for us?

Let us consider who God is to us.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7)

God is our Creator. All other creation was spoken into existence, created from nothing. But God formed us by His hands, from earth's elements. Then he breathed into us life and our souls. We learn of His character from Psalm 103. When I was five years old, I sat beside my mother's sewing machine with her Bible opened to Psalm 103. She taught me to memorize this entire chapter, which describes how God is related to man.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. (Ps 103:8)

He is a patient and caring God. Scripture tells us that time endures because of God's care and patience for us. His second coming is delayed to give everyone an opportunity to receive His love and accept that Jesus is our Savior. God wants all people to be saved from their sins, be forgiven, and have eternal life.

The Bible tells us of His love for us.

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (1 Jn 4:16)

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. (1 Cor 13:4–10)

English translations of the Holy Bible are lacking accuracy because we do not have as many different words to directly correspond. Example is the word love. In Greek, there are at least three forms of love that need no prepositional phrases to define the level or depth. English has only one. Satan will counterfeit his version of love with what is actually lust. God's love is unconditional, pure, deeply passionate. The scripture above defines God's love. This is the passion God has for us, His people.

I know God's love by my relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. Mercy and grace abound. As you continue this reading, the miracles I express to you will amazingly reveal this love of God.

God began revealing Himself to me in my early youth. I was very privileged and blessed to be reared in a Christian home of faithful, regular-churchgoing parents. My dad had made a platform rocking chair. It was not a fully padded chair. The slender arms were wrapped in vinyl but open underneath. There was a matching footstool. I remember sitting on the arm of his chair as he read the Bible to us almost every night. It was a real treat for this story time with him. One bright spring Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit first tugged at my six-year-old heart. Church was packed. We had a visiting preacher who had stepped down from the pulpit and stood in front of the congregation. I was standing beside my mother and could see nothing but tall adults who were singing the altar-call hymn. Reaching up, I pulled on my mother's skirt, then once again harder. She leaned down, and I told her I felt I should step forward. She encouraged me to go, but I didn't want to walk up to that strange man. After the service, my mother spoke to our pastor about my decision. The two preachers questioned me as to my knowledge and understanding of such a decision. They were satisfied, and at the evening service that same day, I did present myself to the Lord and congregation as a witness that I had accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, acknowledging Him to be the Son of the living God and, for me, a candidate for baptism.

God is our Redeemer.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13–14)

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. (Rev. 5:8–9)

Jesus, our Lord, King of kings, has redeemed us of our sins. Without His redemption, we could not have this personal relationship with our Creator and life everlasting with Him. This redemption comes with a purpose. There is a divine plan for our lives. It is possible to veer off course though.

The Word tells us that God has known His plan for us even before we were born—a good plan.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11)

It is through study of The Word, gaining knowledge of God that our faith grows and grows stronger and stronger. I began a habit of reading the Bible through—straight through—from Genesis through Revelation over a year's time. Then I realized each time how much I was still learning! I still am! The Word is God speaking to us. Scripture will just jump out at you as you read, pertaining to something going on in your life at that instance. The Bible is my favorite book to read and reread. My hunger and passion to search His Word has consumed me during my life. It must be so I can relate to my readers the love He has shown me from miracles in my life.

God gave us the Word to learn about Him.

God gave us Jesus to experience a personal relationship with Him.

Jesus taught us to call God the Father.

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (Matt. 6:6, 9)

How personal it is to call upon one's Father. He is our heavenly Father, the Lord, God Almighty. So praying is relaxed, instantaneous, automatic all during the day. I find it easy to talk to Him anytime, day or night. We can pray alone. We can pray together.

I learned something about prayer at an early age. It was November 22, 1961, a Wednesday night. The youth of my church met an hour before prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings. I was asked to lead in prayer. Sure. I had often led in prayer. But this day was a different day. We were in Dallas, Texas. A few hours prior, the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated. The entire country had been in tears all day long. I opened my prayer as usual: Dear heavenly Father, thank You for this day. I froze up. Was I thankful for this day? Of course, we are to thank the Lord for another day to praise and worship Him. I was. But the events of the day lay heavy on my heart. I decided then and there that I would never be habitual or repetitive in my prayers again. The Father knew my heart. I composed myself and spoke out of my heart to Him for the rest of my prayer and for each one there that needed comfort. I needed my Father to hold my hand and guide my words. He did.

There are emergencies we can experience when we immediately call on the Father. Then there are times He comes to our rescue when we haven't even stopped to pray. Perhaps there was no time to pray. The following are my testimonies to such times.

On a hot summer day, when I was about eight years old, the neighborhood kids were all grouped together in the front yard of my next-door neighbor. We had a strong game of football going that included ages from five-year-old kids to high schoolers. I had the privilege of being center on my team. So my face was shoved into the ground after each hike. Hot and sweaty, I took a break and went to the side of this house to get a drink from the water hose. I had bent over and barely turned the faucet on as I stepped closer. Unknowingly, I had stepped onto a naked 220v wire, live and coming from a washing machine. The wire followed the foundation of the house. I was stuck in a frozen position. I began to feel the current travel through my arm and continue up. My whole body was vibrating.