Submission Volume 6

The human race was created with a yearning to submit to a higher authority. Ever since we took on the fallen nature of Adam when he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we continue to battle the urge to rebel against that authority. But there is something that is still innate in all of us to strive for something greater than where we are in life. Many times, the things that the Lord intend to do through us for His glory, the enemy interrupts by using society and the cares of this world to take us off track in order to keep us from focusing on the Will of God for our lives. If the enemy can keep us distracted and focus on our own lives, the lives we were created to live will never come to bare and the glory that God intends to receive through our vessels will not be obtained. An instance of this is being expressed greatly in the earth during this time of year. As many get ready to bring in the New Year Holiday, they start to reflect on their lives and as they wish for greater things to happen next year they start to make out their lists of resolutions. Once again to be in the world is not to be of the world, many of the resolutions that are made are vain in motivation and has no eternal value in Heaven. Our proper response during this season as we feel the calling to submit to change in our lives, is to focus on the Will and Word of God in order to pursue those changes that will bring Him glory and have eternal impact in Heaven. Today, meditate on the calling of your life, spend time in prayer asking, seeking, and knocking!!! God will give you the path to take for the New Year, not only that but He is Gracious enough to start it and complete it in you, if your heart is to please Him and bring Him Glory!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of submission on purpose!!!!!

Ecclesiastes 2

Pleasures Are Meaningless
1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem[a] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

1 Timothy 4

1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters,[a] you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Submission Volume 5

As we grew and matured into adulthood we no longer had a dependence on our parents and we were able to start making decisions on our own. The decisions we made were based on the lives we wanted to live. An immature thought I’m sure we all had in our preteens and teenage years was that we could not wait to move out from under our parents so that we could do whatever we wanted to do in life. That idea most likely came to an abrupt end when we found out that we were still subject to authorities such as professors in college, drill sergeants in the military, or supervisors on the job. We soon found out in order to survive in this country we had to obey the rules of the land and to pay taxes each year. God continues to place authorities in our lives in order to keep us in a place of learning how to submit. While many have rebelled against the authorities in this world as to show men that they are only subject to God, the scriptures teaches us another way. The Word of God teaches us to be in the world but not of the world, meaning that we must continue to understand that we are subject to the authorities that have been placed in our lives. We should obey their laws and regulations as unto God, as long as they do not directly go against the principles of God’s Word and His Commands. God wishes to save every man walking the face of this earth and many of the authorities we deal with every day and are subjected to, we are to respect in the hope that one day we will have the opportunity to share our Gospel of Hope and Reconciliation with them. We cannot be a light to the world if we are operating in the spirit of rebellion for our own selfish motives. If we continue to do so, the thin line that is drawn between how we treat our neighbors and how we treat God will be crossed. The rebellion that we show our authorities, we will ultimately start to show God!!! Once again let us draw from the Word of God and see our Perfect example Jesus Christ and how He dealt with His Authorities!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of submission on purpose!!!!!

Luke 20

Paying Taxes to Caesar
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

Matthew 17

The Temple Tax
24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Submission Volume 4

Our Lord and Savior is such a great leader, in the sense that we all know a great leader leads by example. A great leader will not ask you to do something he or she is not willing to do themselves. As we continue to look at the precious life of our Savior Jesus Christ we will see another time when He submitted against His own Will to follow the Will of His authority. When we are young God gives us loved ones that are to guide us and mold us to grow into strong vessels for His glory. During this time of upbringing we are subject to those authorities that have been placed in our lives. Many times as we grow, we wish to do our own will but it has to be in accordance with the approval of our authority. We have learned through the scriptures that obedience is better than sacrifice. God has a plan for all of our lives and in each season of life He is taking us through a process of maturity and growth that will aide in our ability to be conformed to His Son. As we see Jesus as a small boy, we can see Him learning these lessons of submission that will one day fulfill the purpose of His mission. As we learn in each season the lessons the Lord places in front of us in the form of submission, we come ever closer to the place He wishes to take us!!! Have we learned the lessons from those early years or are we still being taught those lessons today in the endless cycle of rebelling and then conforming??? Our Father is in no rush and will not allow us to press forward until we learn the lessons of submission as we ought to, look at the children of Israel in the wilderness!!! Have a wonderful life of submission on purpose!!!!!

Luke 2

The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[f] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Submission Volume 3

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has shown us the most ultimate act of submission when He chose to follow our Father’s Will and became flesh and blood in order to fulfill the scriptures and to pay the penalty for sin for all mankind. Let us think about this for a minute, we many times casually glance over the start of our Lord’s life by saying yeah He was the baby in the manger, but what did it take for Him to get there? It took a heart that so loved His Father that He would sacrifice His own life in order to save a chosen people that rebelled against His Father (Jews) and a people, who up unto that point, was never to know the blessedness of an intimate relationship with His Father (Gentiles). Here is a Son who the whole earth and everything therein was created through Him. He has all power in His hand and saw the point when Lucifer was cast down to the earth. Many of us would have a FIT if our supervisor came and asked us to do the same work we are performing today at a quarter less the pay than what we are making. Here is God’s Son, not coming to be King to reign over all the earth, at least not at this time, but comes to be a servant and sacrifice to all mankind. All of this was preordained and recognized by the son before He ever entered the womb. He knew that he would be separated from His Father during the period of punishment He had to endure!!! Yet His perfect submission reconciled man to God and so we celebrate His beautiful birth each year. Looking at the lives of Mary, Joseph, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we can see that obedience to our Heavenly Father is the truest form of Love towards Him, “If you Love me you will keep my commandments”!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of submission on purpose!!!!!

John 1

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Submission Volume 2

Joseph the father of Jesus, had a tall order to fill when he decided that he wanted to be wed to Mary. Think of a teenager who decides he wants to be married, that is a great deal of responsibility alone. Then you find out that the woman you want to marry is pregnant with another man’s child, that would cripple most men. The pressure of dealing with this issue is to either accept this child as your own and bare the shame along with your bride or accuse her of this wrong and have her put to death by stoning. Then to hear that this is the work of the God whom you love and honor and His Will is for you to go through with the wedding and to raise His child as your own. Joseph submitted to God’s will and took on the task of loving a woman who bore the Son of God, and endured the shame that came along with it. Joseph’s name is not mentioned all that often in our society or in our sermons but he truly exhibited the character of a righteous man for this act of submission. As we meditate on our journey in Christ, would we have the faith to trust in a loving God to submit to His Will if it would bring shame and pain to our lives. Do we cherish this life that we have made greater than the life God Wills for us to live??? Have a wonderful life of submission on purpose!!!!!

Matthew 1

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Submission Volume 1

This time of year always produces an excitement in the Christian Community because we are given more grace and opportunity to speak on the subject of Jesus Christ. Christmas allows us to share the story of our God’s love for a fallen world and the hope that we have in a Savior that was born during this time of year. We get excited to point people from the vanity of Christmas to the reason for the season which is honoring a living Savior and a loving Father!!! This week we will look at this unbelievable story in another perspective, that is the lives that were affected and how this story came together through the submission of humbled hearts. Mary found favor with God to be the chosen vessel to bring forth God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. This was a teenager who most will say was around the age of 13. This young lady knew the consequences of being obedient to this call upon her life yet trusted in a God she loved and submitted to His perfect Will. We don’t know how the story would have turned out if she refused and praise God we don’t have to speculate because there was a vessel willing to submit to her loving God. What areas of our lives is God calling us to submit unto His Will today, are we willing to have a submissive heart like young Mary??? Have a wonderful life of submission on purpose!!!!!

Luke 1

The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Our First Love Volume 4

Living a life of being in love with our First Love will keep our spiritual eyes focused on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So many times we take our eyes off the Lord and start to sink in our unbelief as Peter did when he was walking on the water with Jesus. As long as he kept his eyes on the Lord he was able to walk on the water by faith. When we turn our affections to the world and our focus turns from the Lord we either start to lose faith in the ability of God’s grace sustaining us as we worry about the trials we are going through or we start to fall away from his protection as we are lead away by our lusts as the evil one temps us. The word says to “study to show thyself approved unto God” in the book of 2 Timothy 2:15, I would also add that if we are constantly studying and in prayer with the Father our focus will not stray, or if it does we can instantly catch ourselves and place our focus back on Him. Joshua was a great example of a life devoted to the Father and even in his last words to Israel, he charges them to keep a focus on God and states that he himself will do the same. Will we keep our eyes focused on our first love, or are we being distracted by another??? KEEP FOCUSED!!! Have a wonderful life of Loving your First Love on purpose!!!!!

Joshua 24

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen[a] as far as the Red Sea.[b] 7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”

19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.

23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.

27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.
Buried in the Promised Land

29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah[c] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.

Our First Love Volume 3

Living in a relationship with our First Love affords us a life trials and tribulations with the ultimate joy of knowing that we have the eternal victory in each battle. The Lord of hosts loves us and gives us the strength from our inner man to be more than conquerors in Him. As we continue to look at Joshua’s life we see that his faith paid off as he was selected by God to lead the children of Israel into the promise land. Even with that great privilege bestowed upon him, Joshua faced many trials through the battles with the inhabitants. The Lord wants to capture your heart and to work in our life to bring the Father glory. As we continue in our relationship we may not know all that He is doing or why He is doing it, but we do have a great promise to keep us; “God is working everything to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His Purpose”. Trusting in our First Love gives us a life of being perfected in every trial. Many at the end of their lives would have loved so many and given their hearts to so many yet, would have never given it to the one that counted the most. Today, let us face the battles and trials in our lives as Joshua did, being obedient to our First Love to be strong and courageous!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of Loving your First Love on purpose!!!!!

Joshua 1

Joshua Installed as Leader
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’”

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you after he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

Our First Love Volume 2

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is a one to one direct correlation with our faith in God and His word!!! We see this in the life of Joshua, when the people chose to tell Moses to go up on the mount himself and bring the words of God back to them and they would be obedient, we see that Joshua wanted to sit at the tent of God for himself even after Moses left. Joshua was seeking a relationship for himself. This is then shown in the Faith Joshua had as the twelve scouts went out to seek the land of milk and honey. There were Giants in the land but Joshua had his faith in a Living God. Just like David, Joshua knew that his God was much greater than the giants that would be in opposition to him. How many of us are facing giants in our lives, are we trusting God as Joshua and David to give us the victory over those Giants. Is our personal relationship building an unyielding Faith in the most High God??? If we want to share in the same testimonies of previous saints we are going to have to face some giants in our life. All of this will bring glory to our Father and continue to bring salt and light to a decaying world. If we are afraid to face the giants and there are no victories what would the world place their hope in??? Let’s run the race loving our first love and give this world a Lover that will never leave them or forsake them!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of Loving your First Love on purpose!!!!!

Numbers 14

The People Rebel
1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell face down in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

13 Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

Our First Love Volume 1

Today, we have so many distractions taking our attention and our affection from our Lord and Savior. The worries of this world increase daily as we get closer to the end times. Pressures of the keeping up with family, career, health, and friends all come as a part of this life. So much so that sometimes we lose sight of our first love. First let’s see why our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will always be considered our first love. This reason is because we never knew what love was until He showed us. The love that we used to love people with came from a worldly stand point which had more to do with fulfilling our own desires than with the sacrifice of ourselves for others. Now, one of the greatest hindrances to a believers walk is that they fell out of love with their first love. Simply think about your relationship with our Lord and Savior as one with a significant other. Remember when all you wanted to do is spend time with them. All you wanted to do is learn all about them and do those things which pleased them. Well, our Lord is the same way and we know that Our God is a Jealous God, as He should Be!!! What husband would want to share his wife with another man or vice versa. What father or mother would have their child to leave their home and move in with another family to grow up. A loving Father will not have another raising His child, He would delight in raising His own children and building them up into the mature adults that He wishes them to be!!! We can see this in scripture and this week we will look at the life of Joshua as an example of a child of God who never left His first Love!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of Loving your First Love on purpose!!!!!

Revelation 2

1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Exodus 33

The Tent of Meeting
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Being a Vessel of God Volume 6

The joy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to have many brothers and sisters following the perfect Will of His Father. Our joy is found in the living word of God upon which not one word will fade away. Our vessels being used by our Heavenly Father is truly a reason to rejoice in His Goodness and Love. There is one fact that is greater than being used which continues to humble us day by day. That is the fact that our names are written in the book of life and that we will never have to taste death again!!! While our vessels are being used by the Holy spirit, the greater joy is that our vessels contain the Holy Spirit!!! The fact that we have an eternal comforter, an advocate interceding in prayer for our needs, strengthening us after trails, encouraging us to continue to press, renewing our minds daily as we read God’s Word, giving us revelation of scripture, and molding us into the image of Christ, should be enough to put a smile on our faces daily. All these things the Spirit does within us without scratching the surface of what He can do through us. Just knowing that we have this comforter inside is worth the journey of this life. Today, let us appreciate the comforter inside and let that be a source of thanksgiving to the Father when we cannot seem to see a reason in front of us!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel God can Use on purpose!!!!!

Luke 10

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[b]
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

Acts 1

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Romans 8

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Being a Vessel of God Volume 5

We have a Savior in the name of Jesus Christ. Some like to call him our Lord and Savior and they would be right to do so. While we all want a Savior, many of us even after salvation do not want a Lord. We see this in the fruit of our walk in our Christian life. Having Jesus as Lord means we gave Him ownership of our lives to do what He wishes. We have given our bodies to a loving Father to be used for His perfect Will. The more we struggle with the submission of our lives the more heart ache we cause ourselves. There is a peace in being in the Father’s Will and having a Lord who can direct us as we ought to live on this side of glory. That being said, many times we struggle with the places that the Lord calls us to dwell, whether it’s where we live, work, attend church, or places where we minister. Every move that the Lord has called us to is moving us closer to the purpose of our creation and deeper into His sufferings and resurrection to be conformed to His image. We must allow every move to take place in order to glorify our Father and to complete the mission of His perfect Will. In the places that we are struggling with in our lives because we feel like we are not making progress, please seek the Father to see if it is Him that closed the door. He opens the door that no man can close and closes the doors that no man can open. Rest in the Lord and His perfect plan and see the Joy in Serving an amazing Lord!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel God can Use on purpose!!!!!

Acts 16

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Being a Vessel of God Volume 4

One of the hardest places people find themselves in the decision making process of whether to allow Christ to become their Lord and Savior is the control factor. We in our fallen nature want to be in control of our lives. The enemy tells us that if we don’t have the Lord as our Savior we can live out our own lives, which is a complete LIE!!! We will live either for God or for the evil one. That being said the enemy has subtly also made His way into the mind of believers by saying that once we accept Christ we have salvation and we can continue living our lives. No, please do not be mistaken, either we will be vessels for God’s glory or vessels for the evil one’s glory. We did not create ourselves, therefore we cannot truly control what our original purpose was meant for. The clay cannot tell the potter what it desires to be. The clay can only be obedient as the potter shapes and molds it into his desired purpose. The more the clay fights the more pressure the potter has to use in order to conform it to the image he desires for it. There are many vessel in the body of Christ, based on our obedience we can be vessels of pure gold and silver or of wood and clay. We can choose to be vessels of honor such as Joseph or those of dishonor meant to teach others lessons of what not to do such as Samson. Choose this day, that we will be a vessel of honor that will bring God glory!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel God can Use on purpose!!!!!

Isaiah 29

13 The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[b]
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
“You know nothing”?

Isaiah 64

8 Yet you, LORD, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, LORD;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.

2 Timothy 2

15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
17And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
18Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
19Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

Being a Vessel of God Volume 3

As we become vessels of our Heavenly Father, we have the joy and peace of being able to end our earthly works and join into His Heavenly purpose for our creation. This is saying that before we all came to the Father, we pursued many different paths in life that we thought would bring us those things which we all crave such as love, purpose, appreciation, wealth, possessions, companionship, and the like. We traveled down many roads that would bring us back to the same fork ever so often and that was to make the decision to do it in our own power our to give up our will for the Father’s Will. When we made that decision and was sealed with the Holy Spirit, we began to go through the process of how to lay our burdens down and as we did this we took on the peace that surpassed all understanding. Jesus Christ told His disciples not to worry what to say when it was time to speak after being placed under charges when they went out to spread the gospel because the Holy Spirit will give it to them, the same is true today. As we continue to be obedient to the filling of ourselves with the Word of God and to place ourselves in the proper atmosphere for growth and maturity, the Holy Spirit does the work of the Father’s perfect Will in our lives. We get to be yoked to a Savior that is all powerful and can move mountains. This privilege affords us to give freely what we have been given freely, which is Jesus Christ!!! Our lives as vessels may not always be easy but it will definitely be worth it when all said and done. When the Spirit moves we move, when the Spirit rests we rest!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel God can Use on purpose!!!!!

Matthew 10

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

1 Thessalonians 4

Living to Please God
1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Being a Vessel of God Volume 2

Our Father looks upon many of His children with a grieved heart because they do not understand who they are in Christ. Many saints deem themselves unworthy of being vessels of God because of their past lives or because of the struggles they still may have. Being a vessel of God does not mean that you are perfect or qualified because you built this resume of works for God, we are vessels because we have said Yes to Jesus Christ, the Lord of our Lives and because we have a heart that is open and teachable. You have to look at the process of becoming a vessel God can use in this way:
Glass = You Soap = Sin Water = Word of God Faucet = Holy Spirit
We all should know that if we placed a tablespoon of soap in the bottom of a glass and then ran water in the glass we will see a cup full of bubbles. What we tend to do is see the sin in our lives and we read the word of God and think after a week or month, that the sin will disappear. That is equivalent to filling the glass up to the top and then immediately pouring the soapy water out. We look back in the glass and see a couple of bubbles still in the bottom so we repeat the process, we fill it back up and immediately pour out the water. There are two places to go from there, either go back through the process again which most saints will not because they just figure they will not be able to overcome this sin which disqualifies them in their mind from being able to be used by God. The other is to keep with the process and stay on this cycle of filling up and then pouring out and yet still seeing some of the residue. Their spiritual life stays in the infancy stage because they continue to focus on the sin, their vessel is so preoccupied that they are not available to be used. The process we should use is displacement, which is to keep the glass under the faucet of water until all the bubbles have been processed and all that is flowing out is pure water. This way it is not us doing the work of emptying ourselves out, but we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work. As we come into our relationship with Christ and we just continue to feast on the Word of God, it will process the areas of our lives that need to be rinsed out. A vessel can only give to others the substance of which it is filled up with. In our maturity we want to stay connected to the faucet so that we can continue to over flow from the Holy Spirit so that we will not just give the water but we will connect others to the source!!! If we continue to allow the Word of God to flow into our vessels we will have an overflow which will result in the work of God being done through us for His glory. That is to say all we have to do is be the glass which is an open vessel and fill ourselves with the Word of God, have teachable hearts, and allow the Holy Spirit to do the rest!!! The works will all come in God’s timing!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel God can Use on purpose!!!!!

1 Timothy 1

The Lord’s Grace to Paul
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Being a Vessel of God Volume 1

One of the most blessed joys on entering into this relationship with God is also entering into His Work. Being a blessing to others and spreading the Word of God gives us such a purpose and joy in this life before receiving the ultimate joy in our next. The one thing we have to remember is that we must enter into God’s work the same way we entered into God’s Salvation and that was through His Grace. We did not earn our salvation nor do we earn the ability to do works for God. The only works that will be accredited to our accounts at the end of our lives are the works that we were obedient to allow the Lord to work through our vessel. Many have settled for doing works on their own accord and claiming that this was for the glory of God. Let’s take a look at what a vessel is to see the simplicity of our contribution. A vessel is a container used by a higher being to function in a capacity desired by that higher being. In plain we tend to use a vase as a vessel to store water and flowers. The vase had no choice in the matter, whether it would hold water, dirt, flowers, coins, candy, or sand. The vases job is just to be obedient in functioning as what the higher being calls it to be. The most important part to this simplistic equation is that the vessel and the contents of the vessel can never be the same material. A vessel that is full of the same material that it is made of can no longer be a functioning tool for the higher being. So a glass vase that is filled with glass is no longer a vase but becomes a sculpture, while it may be very pretty and appealing to the eye, it cannot serve the many functions the higher being may wish to use it for. In other words we as vessels of God cannot be filled with ourselves when we are functioning in God’s Will, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit something that is contrary to our flesh. We should allow our Father to fill up our vessels with the Holy Spirit and to over flow the work through us, instead of being full of ourselves and doing meaningless works!!! Be encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel God can Use on purpose!!!!!

John 14

Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

“Come now; let us leave.

Intimacy with God Volume 4

King David in the Old Testament was a perfect example of a man who wish to have a truly close and intimate relationship with his God. We read all throughout the psalms how David greatest wishes were never for possessions or women. They were not for the fame amongst men nor to establish a kingdom for himself. He song many psalms about the trials he had and for deliverance from his enemies. Mostly David song about wanting to be closer to God in relationship and the beauty of God from his eyes and heart. Paul in the New Testament is another perfect example of a vessel wanting nothing in life but to be in a full committed relationship with the Christ our risen King. Paul did not just want the fellowship of the strengths and life of Christ, but he also wish to share in His suffering and death. He wish to allow the Holy Spirit full custody of his vessel in order to please his Loving and Graceful God. As we saints journey in this life we must allow the intimacy of our relationship with our Risen King Jesus Christ and a Loving Father to be made known through the vessel we were given for this side of glory. The Father wishes to have a fruitful and abundant relationship with each one of His children. Today, seek, knock, and ask for that abundant relationship, and with Thanksgiving receive it to the full!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of intimacy on purpose!!!!!

Psalm 23

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Philippians 3

No Confidence in the Flesh
1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Intimacy with God Volume 3

As we think about our own relationships in life and what they mean to us, think about how Christ must feel towards us. Not one of us have been beaten for the sake of our family’s or significant other’s wrong doing. We may know what it felt like to take a penalty like detention or a disciplining from our parents for a siblings wrong doing but to take it in front of thousands is unimaginable. We are there for our loved ones in many ways including; with personal services, gifts, financially, with encouraging words, protection, and affection. If we provided all of those things in a 24 hour by 7 day status, would we understand how that same loved one wouldn’t want to talk to us. Could we take that every time they were in communication with us it was always one sided, them doing the talking but never taking the time to listen. Would we fell appreciated if the only time they came to us was when they were in great need. How about if they told the world they were in full fellowship with us to receive some perks in life yet they never took the time to call on our name. If we had people like that in our lives, I’m sure it would bring us sorrow upon sorrow. Yet, many of us treat our Lord and Savior this way when He in return said He would never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus Christ wants an intimate relationship with us all, are we willing to have the same with Him??? Have a wonderful life of intimacy on purpose!!!!!

Matthew 6

Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 7

Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 11

The Father Revealed in the Son
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

John 10

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Intimacy with God Volume 2

When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died His perfect death on the Cross, the Word of God says that the Vail in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. This was the physical sign that the barrier between man and God was once and for all taken away and we were now allowed to enter the Holy of Holies to have relationship with the Spirit of God. We no longer needed human Priest to go and make sacrifices for us. Now the one and only way to the Father is through our High Priest Jesus Christ. Sadly many brothers and sisters are still to this day not experiencing the full beauty of a relationship with the Father because they have chosen to live it through another. In other words they want the Pastor to read the Word and bring it to them. They want the bible school teacher to teach and bring it to them. The want the evangelism to take place through those who have those gifts. Yet we are all called to do these things and even greater than that have relationship with the Father every day. Many Christians are living out their Christianity through their parents, husbands, wives, children, and other saints. They believe, because they are with other Christians and doing “Christian things” and even may have been baptized, that they will enter the heavenly gates. The tragedy that will take place is on the day of their judgment the Lord will say “Depart from Me, I never knew you”!!! Christ went through so much on our behalf dying for our sins, let us not be like the Chosen people of God in Moses day who wanted Moses to go himself up to the mountain and bring everything back to them. Let us partake in this intimate relationship ourselves!!! Have a wonderful life of intimacy on purposeJ!!!!!

Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Matthew 7

True and False Disciples
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Intimacy with God Volume 1

Imagine this, a man sees a nice young lady in a grocery store, their eyes meet and there is an instant connection. The young lady has had a troubling history of failed relationships and is very hesitant to start a new one. She decides not to exchange numbers and tells the young man that if it is meant to be their paths will cross again. A couple weeks, later their paths cross in a book store and the young man reminds the young lady of her words from their previous encounter. She is still not sure and tells him that she would do him more harm than good and she has never had a relationship to end congenially. She thwarted his second attempt and states once again that if they are truly meant to be they will have to leave it to fate. Six months later this same young man shows up at her door and states that he cannot stop thinking about her and he had to look her up to prove to her that he was serious. This young man courts her for the next year, he proves that he is trust worthy through his character. He treats her with a sweet kindness that she has never known before. He continues to sacrifice himself in order to benefit her life. One day he drops to his knee and asks for her hand in marriage, she thinks about all the wonderful things he has done in her life and with great joy accepts. They pick a date and get married before friends and family confessing their love for each other to the world. After their honeymoon, the wife goes back to her place and continue to live life as she once did. The husband is very dismayed because he has prepared a home for her and wishes to live out their intimate covenant made before all. Sadly, many Christians treat Christ in this manner, after a wonderful time of courtship and covenant, we never think that Christ really wants to have an intimate relationship with us. If you have left your first love or you don’t feel the same intimacy you once had, please turn back and accept His love and sacrifice. If you have never felt that intimacy then ask the Lord Jesus Christ for a relationship, TODAY!!! Have a wonderful life of intimacy on purpose!!!!!

Galatians 3

Faith or Works of the Law
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a] 4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c]
7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[e] 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”[f] 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[g] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[i] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Children of God
23 Before the coming of this faith,[j] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

More Than Conquerors Volume 4

This precious life that we have hid in Christ Jesus has given us the full privilege of entering into His victories. We have seen Him defeat the world, so we have overcame the world. Christ defeated death in His perfect body, which means we defeated death in Christ’s perfect body. Our Lord conquered hell through his selfless sacrifice and we have shared in that same victory. If we have already conquered all these that once laid ahead of us, what more is there to conquer. The reason why we are more than conquerors is that not only have we defeated all these things in Christ’s death but we also through His resurrection were sealed with the Holy Spirit living inside of us, guiding us through a proper relationship with God in this life and in obedience to the Father’s Will. We have been given all we need to please the Father and to run the race by which we were created. In our storms and struggles in this life we must daily rely on these truths to bring us back to the throne of God in thanksgiving to draw strength to press forward. We must identify ourselves with these victories and set our affections on the blessed hope of our future in the eternal life that awaits us. No matter what our circumstance today, WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS IN CHRIST JESUS!!! Have a wonderful life of being more than a conqueror on purpose!!!!!

Romans 8

Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

More Than Conquerors Volume 3

Studying the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will afford us the opportunity to see how He conquered Hell. Hell will be the resting place for all the souls who choose or have chosen not to be saved by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. This place in scripture talks about a fire that burns eternally and everyone that goes there will be in pure anguish with weeping and gnashing of teeth. The presence of God, His loving Grace and Mercy, will never be found in this place. We can see a bit of this anguish played out on the cross when Jesus yells out “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me”!!! The separation Christ felt from His Father was great, and the burden He had to bare, He did it alone in order to fulfill the penalty for our sins. Once again Christ did this in His perfect body and because the Father was pleased at the fulfilling of the sacrifice, God resurrected Jesus from the grip of Hell and death. We no longer have to worry about our resting place after life in this world because Jesus defeated Hell. Let the glory of Heaven be on our minds this day and let the world see the Hope that we have in a living and risen King!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being more than a conqueror on purpose!!!!!

Psalm 22

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.[c] 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce[e] my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

More Than Conquerors Volume 2

As we understand our position in Christ Jesus, we will continue to understand what makes us more than conquerors. Jesus conquered death on the cross and His loving Father raised Him back to life in three days. This act did not happen because it was simply a miracle produced out of thin air. The bible states that the wages of sin is death. When Adam was created, his life was never meant to end. God intended to dwell with Adam for eternity in the Garden of Eden. When Adam ate the fruit from the “tree of knowledge”, it allowed death to enter into the earth through his sin and therefore produced a separation from God’s Will. God stated after the separation that Adam could not eat from the “tree of life”, which produces eternal life. In our perfect Lord, He lived a life that was sinless and which was purely according to the Will of the Father. First of all, He was not produced of incorruptible seed as coming through Adam, as we all have. Jesus like Adam was produced from God Himself and took on the likeness of fallen man. Death could not hold Jesus because death could not make the case that Jesus sinned and should be keep in that place. Through Jesus’ obedience to the Father, He defeated the one law that stills governs the earth today which is, everything that has life must die someday. When we gave our lives to Christ we experienced that death and through His Life we have defeated death once and for all as He did!!! Today, we must take off our grave cloths once and for all and live the abundant life through Christ our Father intended us to Live!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of more than a conqueror on purpose!!!!!

Romans 5

Peace and Hope
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.