My Sins For His Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us,who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".

Jesus Christ death;the message is unbelievable,a message of redemption,that is a substitution for sin. This is one of the great verses proclaiming the unbelievable love of God.It is impossible for man to grasp the fact that God made Christ to be sin for us,yet that is exactly what the scripture says.He who knew no sin made to be sin,for the soul that sinneth shall surley die,so for man to live He had to die.

Why was this act necessary? Because man needs more than just righteousness to stand perfect before God.To stand righteous before God is not enough,for man has already sinned.Man already stands guilty of breaking God's law, and the judgement and condemnation of death has already taken effect upon man. So the condemnation and judgement of sin had to be taken care of. God did this by laying all the sins of man upon Christ,all the guilt and condemnation of sin,God placed it all on Christ and let Him bear it all Himself.God's purpose for this was that we through Christ death, might be made righteousness of God in Christ.When a person believes in Jesus Christ,I mean really believes,God takes that man's faith and He counts it as righteousness.The man is not righteous,but God considers the man's faith in Christ as righteousness.God does this because he loves man so much,so much that he sent His only begotten Son to die that we might have a right to life.Jesus secured righteousness for man.He came into the world to die for man.He came and arose from death and thus conquered death for man,thus His resurrected life could stand for the resurrected life of the believer.

The truth is this God loves His Son Jesus Christ so much, that He honors any man who honors His son by believing in Him and believing Him.When we sincerly trust Christ,God takes that faith and counts it as righteousness,thus He judges us , and treats us,as though we are innocent.We are not innocent,us and God both knows this,but God counts us as innocent because of our faith in Jesus Christ.To God we have died with Christ and rose a new creation.So He had to die in order for us to have life.

Bought And Paid For

1 Corinthians 6:20 "For ye are bought with a price:therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,which are God's".

Paul in this letter to the Corinthians,used some very pointed language in an effort to make people see that they were not the Christians they should be(read verses 9-11).He deals with the fact that the Corinthians were indulging in, and giving pre-eminence to the desires and lust of the flesh. Way too many who profess Christ today,give in to the lust and desires of the flesh,denying the power of God to keep them.

We are a purchased possession.The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,the spirit of God is to dwell in the temple of man.We are not our own,we can't do as we will with this body,it no longer belongs to us.God purchased it with the life and blood of His only begotten Son.We were bought with a price,one that no man could pay or repay.Now this body is the property of Christ,to do as He wills,we are just trustees of this earthen vessel.We are to use it wisely and to bring glory to God,by leading lost souls to the salvation of the Lord.So let us live a life of obedience and submit to the will of God, and do His will.Nothing hurts God more than direct disobedience.

Remember! God will allow you to do as you please.Even to your sorrow and destruction,you are the loser not God.God wants us to do His will,and thereby receive blessing for ourself and bring Him glory.

The Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:23 " And I will set up one shepherd over them,and he shall feed them,even my shepherd David;he shall feed them ,and he shall be their shepherd".

Like discontented sheep ,we often burn the ground running in all the wrong places to satisfy our deepest needs.We are all lost sheep in need of a good shepherd.In the old testiment there were two shepherds which demonstrated important principles about shepherding while showing us a picture of the Good Shepherd.When Moses was a shepherd on the backside of a desert,God gave him 40 years experience tending sheep.Before David fought Goliath,he gave his shepherding credentials to King Saul.He told him how he rescued a lamb out of the mouth of a lion and killed all the enemies of the flock.The sheep didn't belong to either David or Moses,yet they loved as though they did.

The good news is the Good Shepherd of Israel can be our personal shepherd.Simular to David and his sheep,Jesus can deliever us out of the lion's mouth of the wicked one(1Pet.5:8) and deliever us out of the demonic activity of all the wild beast of our day(Ps.22:21). No weapon formed against God's flock shall prosper.He leads us beside still waters and into green pastures.If we are hungry,Jesus comes alongside as the bread of life to fill up ever longing.If we are thirsty,he is the living water to soak every dry place.If we are afraid,He is our shield and defender to bring us to safe and secure pastures.He can nurish and fill our soul with the good things by leading us down the trail of His word,where there are tasty morsels from everlasting to everlasting.

Jesus is our shepherd,let us follow where He leads us that we might thourghly furnished to every good work.Trust in Jesus he will never fail.He is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, Now let us give our life to Him. 

The Promise Of My Father

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father,and He shall give you another Comforter,that He may abide with you for ever".

We were born in sin and shaped in iniquity, children of the darkness, children of disobedience, and enemies of God.Yet God's love for us,has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.We have been called to be the salt of the earth, the light upon a hill,called to be perfect,to be holy,we who at our best is but a filthy rag, called to be ye holy as the Father in heaven is holy.How you ask,well we have a promise from our Father of a Comforter.

God knows all of our short comings. He know we have a willing spirit but that our flesh is weak and a enemy to Him.He promised to supply our every need so He sends us His holy spirit to aid us in our journey.The Holy Spirit sent to us to teach us all things and to bring all things to our remembrence.To teach us and help us to have love one for another,and give us the power to over come the trials and temptations of the evil one. His holy spirit supplying us with all we need to do the will of God,to proclaim the word of God, and lead others in the way of God.The promise of our Father not to leave us Comfortless.

No matter what is is you are going through or what situation you are in ,no that you are not alone. Trust that you have all the help you need to overcome,to stand,and to be victorious,is at hand, for you have the promise of our Father of a Comforter,His Holy Spirit to protect you.He said He will never leave you nor forsake you, so take comfort in the faithfulness of God.Find peace in His promised Comforter.In Him is your resting place.

Created to Be Lovers

John 15:12 "This is my commandment.That ye love one another,as I have loved you".

It is so easy now a days to find a reason not to love.We live in a world that has become divided by race, religion,national origin,sexual preference, and politcal parties.We tend to hate anything and anyone who don't agree with us or who isn't like us.In a country that was built on differences it is sad that the thing that made us a great nation is now the same thing which is tearing us apart.But that is to be expected from the world,but the sad thing is this attitude and state of mind is now encompassing the beliefs of those who profess to be christians.

We who profess to have been born of the spirit of God were created to be lovers and not haters. When you profess to be Christ like you give up the right to hate any man.You cannot love God and hate that which He created and died for.We can disagree with the policies, opinions,ways and decisions others might make,we can hate the sinful acts one might commit,we can go so far as not to believe what they believe,but we don't have the right to hate them.Jesus said the world would know we are His by our love one for another.It is not hard to see why the world can't tell the difference between the self professed christian and the out right sinner,as both tend to speak hatred.Let us who profess to know the Lord love like we know Him that the world might learn to love.Jesus told us, we the born again blood washed baptised believers to love ye one another,then He qualified it by saying as I have loved you.

See we are to love each other with the same love that Christ loves us with.Our love should be one that suffers love,and is kind,not envious,not provoking,and without evil thought.A love that can bear all things,hopeth all things and can endure all things.A love that can weather the storms and trials of life and still be seen by a dying world.A love that will give of itself that another might have eternal life. We were created to be lovers,so let us love one another and share with a dying world Christ and Him crucified.The greatest love of all.

Gospel not Gossip:Now Run Tell That

John 1:40-41" One of the two which heard John speak,and followed him,was Andrew,Simon Peter's brother.He first findeth his own brother Simon,and saith unto him,we have found the Messiah,which is being interpreted,the Christ".

It is sad that gossip is shared faster and with more frenquency than the good news of salvation.
After church service phone all over the world are being use in an effort of spreading the gossip of the day.friends telling friends who did what, who was with who, and how sister shout to loud really put on a show.But God called us to share the gospel, it is with the gospel that a lost world will be saved. As we see in our text,shareing the gospel is how we bring souls to Christ.

Here in our text we have an example of how this salvation thing is suppose to work.See Andrew heard John speak, tell the people to repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.Now he didn't gossip and tell his brother how John was dressed, or how his hair wasn't combed or even the food he ate,no Andrew told his brother the good news about Christ.Andrew heard the words of John and believed. Remember faith comes by hearing,and Andrew put himself in the position to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.Then right away Andrew he went seeking his brother,and brought him to Jesus. We too who have heard and believe the good news of salvation must first seek our family members, and bring them to Jesus.We to often bring the mess of the church home and share it with friends and family instead of bringing home the gospel.Many time our family members and friends stay lost because we share with them the shortcomings of man instead of the glory of God.

Let us make it a point to bring home the good news of salvation and share that with those we love that they to might brings others to Jesus.gossip might sound good, but believe me it won't save anybody.Hear the gospel and run tell that.

Gifts Given To Be Given

Ezra 8:28 "and I said unto them,Ye are Holy unto the Lord;the vessels are holy also;and the silver and gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers"


We musty believe in being a faithful steward.Our health,strength,and money all come from God.God gives us guidelines for how He wants His gifts to be used to benifit individuals and the building up of His kingdom.We should pray,worship and take the having and using of God's gifts seriously,and to realize that we have these gifts and talents to use for God's plans and His glory.

As a Christian everything we possess comes from God.He ask that we use all that we have or own in a manner that honors Him and brings Him glory.We can safely say that He also wants us to set aside a portion of everything we have solely for ministry.The word of God ask for 10% of our first fruit to be consecrated unto the Lord.Even the skills we have, that we use in the secular world to earn a living should also be used to the glory of God.After all, He is the one who blessed us with the skills and the jobs we posses.Our spiritual Gifts should also be use in the edification of the body and for  the glory of the Lord. Everything we are and all that we have should be used to glorify our Father which art in Heaven.

God expects us  to use what he has given us in ways that align with his will and purpose.He wants us to obediently use the gifts,abilities,talents,and resources He has given each one of us,to bring Him glory and honor.They are gifts given to be given that he might be honored in all we say,do,and have.

A Letter Of Love

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world,that He gave His only begotten Son,that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,but have everlasting life."

If there any text that Satan would like to blot out of the Bible, it is John 3:16...If there is any text that has made the foundation pillars of  Hell tremble, it is John 3:16....If there is any text that has lightened up the pathways of Heaven for a many a lost men, it is John 3:16....If there is any text that deserve to be called the little Bible" it is John 3:16....This verse spoken to Nicodemus,embodies the whole truth of God's love and His infinite plan of redemption,it is world-wide in scope,yet it is a very personal letter to every indivdual.This is a love letter from God to us all.

The writer of this letter is God, the subject of the letter is His love for all man and His deep concern for our welfare and needs.It is written in the crimson ink of His only begotten Son,whom He gave to and for lost man.Peter talks about this letter, (1pet1:19),John talks about it (1John 1:7),Paul mentions it (Rom.5:9) One third of the Gospels is devoted to the context of this letter.The contents of subjects of this letter, it offers eternal life with only one condition,you must only believe in Him. It offers two alternatives ,everlasting life or everlasting death(perish).And this letter is address to "whosoever", it is a personal letter to you.

Here is God's letter to you telling you of the crimson blood that was shed for the remission of sin,the offer is eternal life.Your acceptance or rejection of this offer determines your destiny.What is your answer to God's love letter to man

The Way Is The Lords

Proverbs 20:24 "Man's goings are of the Lord;how can a man then understand his own way?


God is absolutly always in control.Do you truly believe this? Manyof us make this confession yet we live of life like we are in the drivers seat.We often make decisions and choices based on what we want,think,and think we know, yet the word of God tells us that our goings are of the Lord,and how can we understand our own way.

We have no ideal what God is making of us, we only see in part.We have no ideal how to get to heaven,we only know Jesus is the way,yet we spend our life doing the things we want and hope they are pleasing to God instead of doing what He said and know that it is pleasing to Him.He gives us Pastors according to His heart, to teach us and guide us,yet we feel we have the right to pick and choose the pastors we want to sit up under.He has placed each member,everyone of them in the body where it pleased Him yet we church hop and shop based on what the eye sees and what the flesh like, when God knows what each of us stand in need of to enter His kingdom.Do we no longer trust that God knows what He is doing? Remember He is preparing a people for this prepared place He has for us.How can we understand our own way,when it is of the Lord and our ways are not His ways.

This journey we have been called upon is solely about The Lord.He is the way we should go,the way we should do, the way we should act,the way we should give,love,share,care and forgive.He is the way so How can we understand our own way when we have no way.Let us surrender to the whole Christ, the crucified saviour and the risen Lord and trust He will do just what He said....

Actions Speaks Louder Than Words

Mark 7:6b "This people honoureth me with their lips,but their heart is far from me.

We have all confessed to be children of the most high God.We talk a great game.We praise Him with our mouth, we say all the right things when approached by those who are lost,and we are quick to give Him a hand praise,but do we give Him a heart praise?Is our worship of Him from the heart, or is it just lip service?

Here Jesus tells us that with our mouth we do praise Him , yet our hearts are far from Him.See we talk one way while our walk leads us in a different direction.We say the right things but we often fall short when we are called to do the right thing.The word say, we must worship God in spirit and in truth, yet we fool ourselves into thinking we are worshipping God, when we are in fact in a carnal state of mind. It seems the things closest to our hearts, are the material things of this world.We have begun to love things more than we do people,spending more time and energy caring and planning for the things of the carnal man than they do preparing for the spiritual man.We might feed the carnal man 3 or 4 times a day while the spirit man is lucky to eat once a week, and then we want to feed him junk food, sweets, stuff that taste good but is not really good for us.Some of us are on a spiritual diet,seeking a low calorie gospel,scared we might become spiritually over weight. Some of us are physical giants,carring around spiritual midgets inside.

We say God is the head of our life ,yet He gets the tail end of our service, the last part of our day and the end of our week end.The spirit man is not concerned about carnal things, no the spirit man is moved by the love shared one to another.Let us surrender our hearts to Christ,spend more time with the spirit man that we might be a better, more effective witness to a dying world,and give more than just good lip service.

Uplifting Self Or God

Zechariah 7:6 "And when ye did eat,and when ye did drink,did ye not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves"?

Everything Christ did was to lift up the name of God.He was obedient for His Fathers glory,He suffered bled and died for our salvation.He rose on the third day morning that we might have access to eternal life with the Father.As He said in the garden"not my will,but thy will be done".But is seems that we who profess to be christian, to be Christ like have taken a selfish attitude to our calling.It seems we will do nothing unless it in some way lift us up.

Sometimes it seems we have gotten so important in a life that is not about us,and no longer belongs to us,that we are losing sight of our first love.The word of God tells us that "the life we now live in the flesh we live by the faith in the Son of God".Truly we have been bought with a price, we don't own ourselves, this calling is not about us.We are just tools in God's garden of salvation which He uses as He see fit, to bring in the lost and shattered sheeves from the reeping fields of life.It is not about our titles, positions,ministries,fame or fortunes, this thing is about God's revelation to mankind, Christ and Him crucified.Do we study God's word not to live rightous lives before men and bring Him Glory, or do we do it so we can seem smarter than others and to justify the fancy titles and positions we give ourselves.Do we pray for His spirit that we might live a life above sin,and have the strength to love one another,or is about showing others how saved and holy we are.Weare called to introduce a lost world to the saviour,not convience the world that we are saved.

In our scripture God is telling the children of Israel,His earthly church, how the things they do in worship is no longer being done for Himor His glory,but for their own edification.Let us remember it is not about us or who we are,but about living a life that shows whose we are.Let us live a life that brings glory to His name.

Open The Door And Let Him In

Revelations 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock:if any man hear my voice,and open the door,I will come in to him,and will sup with him and him with Me".

" He came unto His own,and His own received him not.But as many as received Him,to them gave he power to become the sons of God,even to them that believed on His name". Jesus suffered, bled and died on an old rugged cross to save the whole world.But to be save you must accept His death as your own,you must believe Jesus died for you.You must let Him in to your life.Is Jesus still knocking or have you opened the door to your heart and let him in?

Jesus says "I stand at the door and knock".Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts and He is knocking. He came to seek and to save the lost.He is humbling asking to come in,For if any man hears His voice and open,He will do the rest,He will come in.He said "the day that you hear my voice harden not your heart".See today is the accepted day of salvation,so open your heart to receive Him,and open your mind to believe Him.He will come in and sup with you and you with Him.Feast on the bread of life,O taste and see the goodness of the Lord.He is no respect of person he said if "any man" hear My voice,So he is standing and knocking on the door to the hearts of all men, and all women.he is calling out to you, let him who has an ear hear Him and open the door that he might come in.

Jesus came from heaven to earth to show us the way to salvation.He did everything that was needed for us to enjoy everlasting life with the Father.All he ask of us is just to believe and let Him in.Let receive the free gift of salvation and everlasting life with our Savior.

Hold On In Fervant Prayer

Genesis 32:26 " And He said let me go, for the day breaketh,and he said ,I will not let thee go except thou bless me".

This is a long hard journey we are on and there are times when you might feel like what is the use.It can sometimes seem like the more you do, the more you pray the more you tithe and give the harder things get.While the evil doers seem to be walking on easy street.But be not dismade,serving the Lord will payoff after while.Just hold on with a fervant prayer and wit for God to bless you.

In this microwave generation we live in today,everybody seems to want everything right now.Nobody wants to pay their dues as they use to say.My Mother use to always tell me "Michael everything God has for you is yours and He will give it to you when you are ready for it." Now of course I use to think "I am ready for it now",but the truth is I wasn't then and some things I am still not ready for.In todays story Jacob was about to meet his brother Essau for the first time since he tricked him out of his birth right.He was here wrestling with an angel and he refused to let go until the angel blessed him.People we must continue to hold to the promises of the Lord until we are blessed.The job of the enemy is to try to discourage us.He will cast doubt and sometimes put fear in our hearts trying to get you to let go of God. But we must remember God cannot lie,if He said it,it must come to pass.Here Jacob continued to hold on and the bible says the angel did bless him there.

The true blessing come when we hold on to God, through all of the trials and storms that come upon us in life.So often the storms and trials themselves are blessings as anything that makes you call upon the name of the Lord is in fact a blessing.Don't let the lies of the deveil cause you to let go of the promises of God,and miss out on your blessings.Hold on to Him , for the effectual fervant prayer of the righteous availeth much.So pray without ceasing and watch God work in your life.

Freely Given;Not For Sale

Acts 8:20 "But Peter said unto him,Thy money perish with thee,because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money."

Salvation is not for sale. There is no amount of money you can give that can save you.You cannot buy the indwelling of God spirit that comes in and changes a lost soul into a child of God.Jesus paid the cost when He shed His blood on Calvery.Through His death and His alone we can receive the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Here Simon who once decieved the people that he was someone great,and the people from the greatest to the least though he was one great from God.Now believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God and was baptized with the rest of the people.God's word is the power of God unto salvation it can change a sinner into a saint.There are many today who go about decieving the people.They go about selling the power of God's word  in the form of prayer cloths, miracle oils and water,and yes even the seeds of faith,as the people believe them to be someone great from God.After he was baptized,Simon continued with Phillip and beheld the miracles and signs that were done.When Simon saw that when Peter and John laid hands on the people they received the Holy spirit, he offered them money to have that same power.

We don't have to pay money to receive the power of the Holy Spirit,we only need to believe.When you accept Christ as your personal savior,and surrender your life to Him,you have all the power He has, for the life you now live in the flesh you live by faith of the Son of God. See it's not I, but Christ that lives in me. He rose with all power,so I, in faith have access to this same power,if I only believe.It is freely given to all who will sincerely accept it...........

Public Defender

Romans 8:34" Who is he that condemneth?It is Christ that died,yea rather,that is risen again,who is at the right hand of God,who also maketh intercession for us".

The key to solving the problem of sin is the help we receive through Jesus Christ.Jesus came not only to make possible the forgivness of the past,but to help us conquer the stronghold of sins, the deeply entrenched habits that are so difficult to dislodge from our lives.Jesus is our merciful High Priest in heaven,who is interceding with the Father on our behalf.Jesus is ever ready to help us gain the victory over sin:"And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.Who is he who overcomes the world,but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God"? The Apostle John, while acknowledging our human weakness, encourages us not to give in to sin."I am Writing these things to you so that you may not sin.But if any one does sin,we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.He is my lawyer,and He has never lost a case.

Jesus died to save us from sin not to save us in sin, by his mercy we are forgiven the sins we have commited and will commit, but his grace gives us the strength to not give in to sin and the wiles of the evil one, as it allows us to walk in his spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.This should give us every reason for encouragement in our daily struggle against sin.After all Christ has experienced the same temptations and fully understands our plight.For our High Priest is one who can sympathize with our weakness,as he has been tried and tempted by the same enemy who attacks us, yet without sin,and he has been given power over all flesh.Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness,so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

How do we get that help?Jesus said " ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened". He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him,Jesus Christ our great intercessor, our lawyer in the court room is standing in the gap,pleading our case before God, and those He has been given He has not lost one.....

Tempted By Temptation

Genesis 39:10 "And it came to pass,as she spake to Joseph day by day,that he harkened not unto her,to lie with her,or to be with her".

Rather we know it or not there is an enemy out to destroy us.From the time we are born, before we know anything or anybody,before we have made a friend or foe,there is one who is set out to destroy our lives.He is persistant, relentless and will use anything and anybody to accomplish his mission. Nothing is off limits to him,and he plays by no rules.His tools are mans own weakness and faults,the lust of the eye,the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.The same tools he used in the garden,the tools by which he tried to tempt Jesus with, are the same tools he uses to temp man in an effort to destroy his character,his witness and his testimony.

Here in our story today we see first hand the wickedness of the enemy.Joseph was a slave given great authority over all his master had,except for his wife.Now the enemy in an effort to destroy the character of Joseph and to get him to turn from God,tries to tempt him with the one thing which has been kept from him.The enemy will always try and get us to focus on what we don't have in an effort to turn us against God.But the word says,"contentment with God is great gain". The scripture says she "spake to Joseph day by day"; the enemy is not going to take a day off, he will speak to you personally,he truly believes you will give in before he gives up.But Joseph "harkened not unto her,to lie with her or to be with her";see we cannot listen to the enemy,when we give him our ear ,then he will began seeking our hearts.We must resist the devil by turning to God and he will flee. But if you notice the enemy might flee but he won't give up,as our story tells.It says that when all were out of the house,she grabbed hold of him to make him lie with her,and he ran off and left his cloak.

When you are all alone the enemy will grab hold of you by telling you,"nobody will know you can get away with it".But remember God sees all,and you are a walking recomendation to the grace and mercy of God.So what ever the enemy grabs hold of to get you to lie with him,leave that with him and flee.The bible says if the right hand offends you ,cut it off,it is better to go to heaven with one hand than to hell with two.

Fervant Prayer

Acts 12:5 " Peter therefore was kept in prison;but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."

Prayer, a sincere heart felt communication between man to God.The most personal form of worship that we have.Prayer,the only thing that Jesus said a man should always do.Prayer life is to the spirit man what breathing is to the physical man.Prayer is the single most powerful weapon or tool we have at our disposal in this spiritual battle we undertake daily. It is through the power of prayer that God's mercy is shared with us, as Jesus prayed from the cross,"Forgive them Father for they know not what they do".Prayer is power.

In our story today, we have James being killed,and Peter imprisoned awaiting to be killed.Now it says he was in prison, chained between two guards.There are many today who are held prisoner.Captivated by sin, chained between hoplessness and dispair.Locked in darkness seemingly to have no way out, awaiting the certain death that sin brings with it.But the text says that the church prayed without ceasing to God for Him.We the church of the living God are to pray for those who are lost ,trapped in darkness those who are without hope and see no way out.It is the effectual fervant prayers of the righteous that brings about a change in this world.All through the Bible when someone prayed without ceasing, something changed.The text says when the church prayed,the angel of the Lord came to where Peter was and set him free.It was the prayers of the church which released the power of God.It is when we pray that the power of God is at our disposal to change our hearts which changes our situation and makes us free.

We who profess Christ are the church, and rather we like it or not we are our brothers keeper.Just as Christ prayed for us , we too are to pray for others.It is the duty of the Church to do the will of God, and His will is that none should parish.So let us ,the church pray without ceasing for the lost souls that Jesus shed his blood for, that all might come to know the love of God.I'll pray for you and you pray for me and together we will pray that all might be saved.

True Confessions

Romans 10:9 "That if thou halt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,thou shalt be saved".

The relationship with God that is of salvation is a matter of the heart, and here in this 10th chapter of Romans it is revealed how a man can be saved from sin and death and be made the righteousness of God. The righteousness and salvation of God is right before man,it lies within his heart and only need be confessed with his mouth.

The gospel demands that man only believes and confesses that Jesus has both died for his sins and have been raised from the dead, for him to have everlasting life with the Father.All that man desires,perfect peace, righteousness,and salvation, are found in mans mouth and in his heart.Man only needs to do three simple things to be saved from sin, death and hell, and enter into the rest of the Lord.Man must confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus.He must confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord from heaven,the only begotten of the Father.He must believe in his heart. Believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. He must believe that Jesus died for man,and was raised from death because he perfectly satisfied God's demand for justice.God was perfectly satisfied with Jesus dying for the sins of man,taking the sins of mankind,and his punishment upon His back, therefore God raised Him from the dead.Man must believe with the heart,and then confess with the mouth as you can't confess that which you don't believe.

When we believe with our hearts that Jesus is the Christ who accepted for all mankind the wage paid by sin,God takes that faith and counts it as righteousness.Then the man confesses Christ unto salvation, that is he is saved by openly confessing Christ,no man can deny Christ and be saved by Him.It is a matter of the heart.

Preach Christ and Him Crucified

Acts: 8:35 "Then Phillip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus";

During the 40 days following his resurrection, Jesus met with his disciples on numerous occasions. During these gatherings Jesus instructed them to preach the gospel message to a dying world.It is with this single message,that we can reach out and save a dying world.Everything we will ever need can be found in Jesus God's gift to mankind. Everything God wanted to say to man, everything he wanted to do for man, everything he wanted to give to man was accomplished when he gave us Jesus the Christ, the power of God.

  In Jesus is the fulness of life,he is the abundance of life God promised,and this the early saints understood.Even though they were smaller in number, they were big in faith,love, and they understood where their strength and power came from.They did more with less, while we are doing less with more.They didn't have the megga buildings but their church was built on the foundation of the gospel.They didn't have T.V., radio or the social networks,but they shared the truth of God's word everywhere they went. No matter what challenges ,trial , and/or tribulation came their way, they never lost focus as to what their mission was ,nor did they sway from their message,as they continued to reach out to a lost world.They didn't change the message to get the people, the people changed to get the message,they trusted God's word to do just what he said it would do.

When sin crept in, they reached out with the gospel, when envy raised its ugly head they reached out, preaching Christ and him crucified. When trouble tried to enter the body of believers thru murmuring, they never lost sight of their mission; even when faced with death(like stephen) they reached out with the love of Jesus, and prayed that the charge be not held against their enemies.They realized their strenght was in doing God's will, they were lead by  Gods spirit, and trusted in Gods word, and reached out with Jesus the Christ God's gift  to a dying world

What Do you Do With Jesus!

Matthew 27:22 "Pilate saith unto them,what shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?They all say unto him,let Him be crucified".

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die that we might live.God loved us so much that He gave.He gave at a time when we were in great need,and He gave the best that He had."For while we were yet sinners Christ died for us".But the question is what will you do with this precious gift that has been given.

Jesus was given to everybody, yet there are many who refuse to accept this free gift from God.Jesus is the answer to what ever question that you might have.He is the solution to whatever problem that might arise in your life,and He is the way out of any circumstance that surrounds you,yet many still have yet to receive this free gift.So what are you going to do with Jesus?Do you accept Him in your life? Do you share Him with a dying world? Or do you like the mutitude, kill Him off to keep Him silent.The Jews and religious leader wanted Jesus dead because He put a damper on their agenda. Many of us want Him dead in our lives because He puts a damper on our personal agenda's.He causes us to love when we want to hate,to forgive when we want to stay angry,to share when we want to keep it all to ourselves, and to look at ourselves instead of being able to point our fingers at others.

What do you do with Jesus? He is God's free gift to all the world, He is as near to you as your heart.  Do you accept Him and share Him or do you kill Him off in your life to keep Him silent.He has been offered ,do you accept or do you reject?

Love Inspite Of

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,Christ died for us".

Here we have God's unbelievable love and the great depth of Justification.This passage also gives one of the clearest definitions of God's love,agape love.It actuall shows the meaning of agape love.It is a new kind of love a love unknown to mankind.It is a godly love,a sacrificial love,a love that gives itself for those without strength,for the ungodly,for sinners,and for the enemies of God.It's God's unbelievable love.

God's great love is seen in this unbelievable act.We were without strength; we were weak,worthless, useless, helpless,hopeless,destitute,powerless, we were spiritually unable to help ourselves.We were ungodly,not like God,different from God,profane,having a different lifestyle than God.We were on our way to Hell in a hurry, and in due time, in God's time, He sent His Son to die for us.See mankind had to be prepared for Christ before God could send Him into the world.We had to know that we were sinners in need of salvation.Even now we must come to the realization that we are lost before we will began to look to be saved.Christ died for us,for our benifit, because of our sins.Christ didn't died for those who  were righteous or holy,but God commended His love toward us that while we were yet sinner, still in sin, enemies to God, Christ died for us. 

It is impossible for the carnal mind to fully comprehend all that God did for man that man might be reconciled back to his loving creator.So Jesus told us to only believe.Let us take God at His word and accept on faith this unbelievable love He has given us.Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Beheaded and Beloved

Revelation 20:4"And I saw thrones and they sat upon them,and judgment was given unto them:and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,and for the word of God ,and which had not worshipped the beast,neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or their hands;and they lived and reigned with Christ  a thousand years.

There are many who are lost in the church who truly want so badly to live holy for the Lord.They are lost to who God truly is and what it is he truly requires from us.Many try and apease God the way we apease the people in our life.We try to serve, worship and give to a spiritual God,with a carnal mind. Until we are willing to give up our head,we can't fully give God our heart.

The problem is our head,or carnal mind is enemy to God and the spiritual things He stands for.So it seems everytime  you want to give God your all, the carnal mind gives you a reason not to.It tells you things like "it don't take all that" or You don't have to put up with that" or God understands you are only human" and all these things may be true to the will lust and desires of the flesh and the carnal mind,but they hinder you from giving God your whole heart.We must remember God dosn't want our things He wants our whole heart.His word says" give me your heart and I'll give you eternal life".We must come to the realization that the carnal man has no understanding of the spiritual man.The carnal man can't understand suffering for another,can't understand self sacrifice,can't understand losing your life to save it, or the thought of denying ones self taking up a cross and following a crucified savior.So we must be willing to lose our head and let Christ be our head that we might surrender to Him our whole heart.

In our scripture today, it was those who were willing to lose their heads,to tell the story, to stand bold on Gods word,who refuse to worship, give his mind or the business of his hands to the work of the evil one.It is those that were beheaded and surrendered their whole hearts,who will reigning with Christ.So are you willing to lose your head to surrender your heart?

A Holy Calling

Thessalonians 4:7 "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness,but unto holiness".

"You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"This quote has become a common catch phrase among believer.Anyone can grow up in church or hang around church people and pick up church language."I'm too blessed to be stressed"."I'm saved,santified,and filled with the holy ghost". Does the public and private life of a believer reflect his or her church jargon, or are these just catchy phrases used to cover up ones short commings?

God is calling us to be holy as He is Holy.God speaks to us in various ways, and he is calling us to stand up in the holiness of his darling son, whom he sent to die that we might live. Perhaps we've heard the still small voice of his spirit directing our spirit.Or maybe our conscience has screamed at us when we've headed toward something we know isn't pleasing to God.Maybe some instruction in God's word has hit us squarely between the eyes when we've needed it most.The timely conversations with the other Christians that brings us a needed word of encouragement,direction,or warning.God is speaking to us,calling us to holiness.But are we listening?Sometimes we're so busy with us,we don't stop long enough to acknowledge or absorb what He's saying to us. At other times we may not want to hear what He's saying because it dosn't fit in with our agenda at the time.Or we may just not take the time when we have it, because we're "not in the mood" to spend time with God.(let us be honest with ourselves).Hopefully,though this isn't the norm for us.As Christians we should long to hear from God and approach Him with a heart that is eager to listen and please him.But it can be a battle to fight against our own self as well as the pull of the world's demands pressing in on our time and attention.That why we must learn to set aside some quiet time everyday (maybe 2 or 3 times a day) just to spend with God in prayer and meditation.Time set aside to listen to his instructions.The time of day we do this is not as important as having the readiness of heart and mind to not only receive what God is telling us,but also to obey what he tells us.

God is calling us to holiness, the word says "be ye Holy as I am Holy", but we'll need to be listening in order to hear His call.Jesus said that those who follow Him should live in such a way, so that others would see their good works and glorify God in Heaven.So our holiness is more than just a matter of personal spiritual growth; it's a matter of honoring God and proclaiming Him to the world.To most of the world we are the only way they will see God. Are you an accurate reflection of our Saviors? Does your actions, attititude, and way of life ,show our Fathers characteristics? Will you answer God's call to Holiness?

It's About Jesus

Philippians 2:21 "For all seek their own,not the things which are Jesus Christ's".

WIIFM "What in it for me"We as children of the most high God have to come to a few realizations before we can effectivelly walk this journey we have embarked upon.The first is this life we now live is not ours.The souls we are to lead to Christ He paid for,and the church we are members of belong to Him.We are just tools He uses in His garden of salvation,unworthy earthen vessels chosen to carry His precious word through out a dying land that all might live.

The word of God tells us this life we now live in the flesh,we now live through Christ,it is not us who live but He now lives through us.We have no say so as what we will or will not do.We are His servant, He is the master we are His bond servants.It is not about our will,our wants or even who we are.It is not about our salvation but the Savior who saved us all.They are not our souls we were told to compell to come to the Lord.It is not up to us who is or is not worthy to hear the good news.Jesus said go out and proclaim it to ever creature.Just like we don't know who is going to hell,we also don't know who is going to heaven,regardless of how many tickets they have in their hand.Jesus told us to proclaim the gospel to every creature.It is not our church,or even our ministry,we are just ministers in the ministry of Christ. We are members of the Church of the living God.Jesus said" upon this rock I build MY Church", not your church or your ministry.We don't even have a say as to where in the body we want to be,for He says "God has placed each member,everyone of them in the body where it pleased Him".

When and only when we truly come to realize this is about Christ and Him crucified,when we come to the knowledge that God didn't leave any part of salvation up to us for He said "you didn't choose me,I chose you",cause we didn't have enough since to choose Jesus, we said give me Barabas.But we were chosen for His will,out of His goodness and to serve His purpose.So let us remember the true JOY of salvation "Jesus-Others-Yourself",and let us stand united as the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Walking The Talk

Galatians 5:25 "If we live in the spirit,let us also walk in the spirit".

Living our lives with the Holy Spirit in control will bear wonderful fruit:love,joy,peace,patience, kindness,goodness,faithfulness,gentleness,and self-control.Also, in order to show the fruit of the spirit, we need to help others and not be judgmental toward each other.The Holy Spirit will help us do this because we cannot bear His fruit without His help.

With the spirit's help, our desires and passions should change from the natural desires Paul talks about to become instead what the Lord wants for our lives.We can get to the point where we will desire obeying God over sinning.This is not easy,but when we follow the spirit's lead,good fruit will be produced.This is what the fruit of the spirit will produce in us.If we surrender ourselves to faith in Christ and His Word, the fruit will grow and stay in our lives.However ,fruit is not something that Christians "work on", it is what will grow in our lives when we choose to submit to the spirit.If all the fruit is not in our lives,we are not surrendering everything to the spirit.If these qualities of the fruit are not ours,we know we are not following His lead.The fruit describes what a christian's character eventually should become.The fruit of the spirit is holiness being developed inside you.It is something you are,not just something you do or think.It is not about doing good deeds to show God what good children we are;this is a way of living that genuinely flows from our changed hearts.

Every day we are challenged to live as our old sinful selves or to live by the spirit.The more we live by the spirit,the more we show the fruit of the spirit and produce fruitful lives that will lead others to Christ.

Calvary

Luke 23:33 "And when they were come to the place,which is called Calvary,there they crucified him, and the malefactors,one on the right and the other on the left".

Calvary,the most sacred place in the world.It is where the Son of God died that men might live.Where the innocent blood of Jesus was shed that all might be cleansed.The place where all the sin of the world was laid on the one who knew no sin.Calvary,a place where man can come with their troubles,and find peace which passeth all understanding.Where you can receive life,joy, and assurance cause Jesus paid it all.

Calvary shows us the love and compassion of Jesus to all mankind as we hear the words "Forgive them Father,for they know not what they do".Forgive those who crucified Him.Those who mocked, tempted, and were indifferent to Him.Forgive those who deny me in word and deed and those who rejected Him, he prayed for their salvation.Calvary th eperfect picture of salvation,by grace and grace alone,as the thief had nothing to offer Christ ,yet by repenting and trusting,we hear the promise to all who come "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise."And at Calvary we hear the words "It is Finished",salvation now in reach to all people.Salvation is complete,nothing to be added,we just need to accept the gift.

Jesus paid it all at Calvary,and all to Him we owe,sin has left a crimson stain,He washed it white as snow,on a hill called Calvary.....

Standing Firm

Daniel 1:8a " But Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank:"

There are many who started this journey on fire for the Lord only to find themselves in a position of compromise.In an effort to fit in, to be politically correct, or for prestige,prosperity and/or power they have given into the temptaions,will and desires of this world.They have compromised their message, their walk and what they once believed in favor of the joys,toys,treasure and false pleasures of this world.They have eaten of the kings meat and drank of his wine.

In our story today,we see 4 who stood firm,they refuse to eat the Kings meat or to drink his wine.We who profess Christ have to be careful that we don't swallow that which the world tries to feed us.We must continue to feed on the truth of God's word,and walk in His spirit,even if it means to stand alone.We can't succome to the doctrine or spirit of this world and continue to profess to be a child of God.The world is enemy to the ways of God.The world's food allows us to live anykind of way that we want.It say" it's your thing do what you want to do", the world is about "me ,myself and I".The world is selfish,selfrighteous,and self serving.The worlds spirit is one of greed and is uncaring.But we who profess to be children of God, must esteem others higher than ourself; We must be willing to lay down our life for a friend.We must bless others with that which God blesses us with, and live in a way that leads a lost world to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

In these times of the self claimed, self named and the self fame, there is much compromise.Our religious practices has gotten further and further from the word of God.We have allowed the world to dictate what a Christian is and what type of behavior is acceptable to God.The bible says" Jesus Christ the same yesterday,today and forever" which tells me God's word  has not and will not change.So I ask will you stand firm?