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.

More Than Conquerors Volume 1

As saints in the body of Christ, we have been given a beautiful hope in this life by our Apostle Paul who penned that we were more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. Most of us may know this scripture, and may have experienced it in this life being conquerors over trials and tribulations that we have gone through. To be more than conquerors, we first must understand what we have conquered. To start to answer this question we only have to turn to Jesus Christ and His life. Jesus Christ conquered the world, death, and hell by living a sinless life and offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Today let us look at how He conquered the world. We know that the prince of this world is Satan, and through many attempts directly and indirectly he tried to tempt Jesus to be disobedient to God’s Will. Jesus conquered the sin that entered the earth when Adam ate from the “tree of knowledge”, by never parting from the Will of God as Adam had. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, were all conquered through Jesus’ obedience. We have died with Christ, shared in His burial, and have resurrected to new life with him also. This means that we defeated the world with Christ and we are to with the aid of the Holy Spirit continue to be obedient to God’s Will for our Lives by being obedient to the Spirit inside of us. We have defeated the world through Christ Jesus and it no longer has a hold on us!!! Today, let this be our reality and live according to the Spirit as we are called to!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of more than a conqueror on purpose!!!!!

Romans 8

Life Through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Our Race Volume 3

As we run this race we have to continually remind ourselves through the word of God about His promises in our lives. The reason for this is that as we run, the enemy will throw all sorts of hurdles in our way to trip us or to set us back. We have to continually keep our eyes focused on the Will of the Father in order not to be side tracked by one of these hurdles. The shield of Faith is an excellent weapon to accomplish this great task of keeping our eyes on Christ. When the busyness of work tries to take over our lives and it seems that you are always putting out the next set of fires, we must rely on the shield of Faith that God will continue to provide protection and covering in that place. This will allow us not only to accomplish the tasks we were hired to do but to also keep our eyes and hearts open for the people God wants us to sow into and to share the His Gospel with. The same goes in our family and with our friends, we may always seem to be dealing with others drama and as much as you love them and want them to experience the peace of Christ, sometimes the best thing to do is to turn them over to Christ and keep your eyes on the race that is in front of you. This is a heard thing, especially knowing that God loves people more than anything, but at the same time God nor Jesus forces anyone to follow them. Our lives must represent the same fruit, if you find people in your life who you continue to battle with as far as their drama and getting on the right page, at some point you have to go to God and ask if this is His will for you to continue going through because you wish not to be distracted from your race and earning your prize. If God gives you the sign that it is time to release, please do so, it is for your benefit and you will just have to trust that God has a plan for that person and they will have to go to Him for their own salvation. Today, as you run, Let Go of Baggage, Let God Handle That, and press towards in the race that was set specifically for you!!! Let not the hurdles of this life trip you up any longer!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of running your race on purpose!!!!!

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.

Following Paul’s Example
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Our Race Volume 2

As we run our race in Christ, the enemy tries to disqualify us, one by one, in a number of ways. First , he will use the desires of our hearts to draw us away from the track subtly. We first start off maybe talking to someone new in our lives of the opposite sex. As we progress in the relationship with that person one day we wake up to see that we are no longer on the track and the people we were running with are long ahead. The relationship between two individuals is not the problem, it’s when the relationship interferes with our relationship with the Father and hinders us from running our race. Second, the enemy uses family and friends that you once may have been very real close to, to distract us from running. They will come out of the wood work trying to do some of the things we use to do with them before our conversion. Then when we try to tell them we have been changed and we try to help them find the peace in Christ we have found, they start to tear us down. They will use guilt tactics and remind us of all of the things we use to do and call us a hypocrite. Third, but certainly not last, the enemy will use the sin that may be still in our life to keep us bound. We all know the saying; “I just got this one thing I am struggling with, and you know we all got that one thing”. Well while we are struggling with that one thing the enemy keeps us in a crazy cycle of being free from it and then back in bondage. This is what takes up our time, strength, motivation, and peace. We are so busy trying to be free we don’t even notice that we stepped off the track and are no longer running. There are many other examples that we all can list but they will all fall under one of these three categories; lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, or the pride of life. Those were the same three the enemy used against Jesus in the wilderness in the form of the rock/bread, kingdoms of all nations, and proving that He was the Son of God. Today, while there is still time, look around and see if you are on the track and running, or have you been disqualified and find yourself on the sidelines. If you are on the sidelines, cry out and run back to the Gospel and your first Love, Jesus Christ!!! Jesus wishes for us all to be free and to run the race to bring His Father glory!!! If you are running, continue to press towards the mark of your calling!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of running your race on purpose!!!!!

Hebrews 12

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Warning and Encouragement
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

Our Race Volume 1

As we journey in this life as a new creation made holy through our faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, we find ourselves placed on a track in a race. We learn that our lives are no longer our own and we have but only a set time on this earth to complete the task of our creation. Many saints in our beautiful Word of God has referred to this journey as a race. The illustrations we are given are very vivid in the same terminologies we use today to describe the sport of running. Our hope in this life is that we finish our race by the Grace of our Lord and at the end of our race we will have stored up treasures and crowns based on our placing in this race. Many souls are wondering the earth trying to find their purpose in life, while for us we have the play book and have found the hope in a life after death. We should run this race in a manner that will allow those who are standing off the track being spectators, find a desire building in their souls to run with us. Our running is not to please man or show others that are running beside us how fast we can run, but solely for the glory of the one who placed us on the track. Today, run in the blessed purpose of your salvation and allow those around you to burn with desire to run with you!!! Be encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of running your race on purpose!!!!!

Acts 20

Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Distractions Volume 4!!!

We know that we are new creations in Christ when we choose to believe that He died for our sins, resurrected, and is seated on the right hand of His Father in Heaven. When this took place and we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, we started on a journey for the Lord and our lives would never be the same. Sadly, after a while most of us hit a season were we want to go back to our old lives. There are many reasons for this regression back to our old nature and lives, one because it is comfortable. Life can become very scary at times when we cannot see our tomorrow. Our faith covers this fear with an assurance of a sound mind, knowing that a loving Father would never put on us more than we could bare and who would never leave us nor forsake us. Second, we have learned to operate in that world all of our lives, up until the point of our salvation. We trust in our own abilities in that world, yet God calls for us to Trust in Him and in Him alone. Third but not last by any means, we tend to get anxious when we are not sure what we are to be doing in a season. We have to be dependent on God’s timing even when it’s His will for us to do a certain task. God is continually building on dependence on Him and Him alone, this requires us to be still and wait on the Lord which is totally contrary to our flesh. Today, have we settled back into a life that distracts us from pressing forward in our Father’s will, or are we keeping our eyes focus and waiting patiently for the Father to tell us to move??? Rest in Him and He will finish the work He started in you to the coming of our Lord!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel of God on purpose!!!!!

John 21

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.[a] It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Distractions Volume 3!!!

God will continue to use those who avail themselves for His Will. We see this in Mary when she is lead to pour perfume on Jesus head to prepare Him for the journey He had to take to the cross. When the disciples saw this in their nature they wanted to sell the expensive perfume so that they could use the money for the poor. We have to be connected in the Spirit when moving in God’s Will, because there will always be someone to try and sway us from our task that we know was given to us by the Father. Our intimacy with the Father will continue to allow us to hear His voice clearly and not have the mixing and mingling of our flesh and our rational judgment. The disciples look at this as an opportunity to serve the poor, which would be a great thing. This on the other hand had a Godly purpose to prepare Christ for His burial. Here God used the same woman that was caught in fornication and was brought to Christ for His approval to stone. God has a plan for all our lives and we must humble ourselves in order to receive His Will so that we may be “Good and Faithful Servants”. Do not let the talk of men discounting your service for the Lord become a distraction and hinder your purpose. Keep your eyes focus on God and He will keep you in His Will!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel of God on purpose!!!!!

Mark 14

Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Distractions Volume 2!!!

People can many times, not in a malicious way, but in a way distract us from the task our Father has set before us. We find an example of this with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God, always intends to have “His Will”, done in “His Power”, and in “His Timing”, so that no man can boast in himself and that God would receive all the glory as well as His timeline of events will take place. When Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus gets sick and is close to death, they send a message to Jesus to come quickly and heal him. Jesus receives this message but knows His Father has something else in plan for Lazarus’s sickness. If Jesus succumbed to the pressure of loving Mary and Martha more than He loved God He would have moved before God’s timing which would have not been in God’s Will. Jesus would have ended up doing a good thing in healing Lazarus life and not God ‘s Will in raising him from the dead, so that the next steps would be made leading to the cross. God’s timing and man’s timing seems to always be off, the reason is we can only see what’s in front of us while God sees the whole timeline at once and he knows what needs to happen now in order for events to take place days, weeks, months, years and even centuries from now. We have to have a heart that wants to please the Father and Him alone, if not we will please men and not the Father!!! The beauty and grace of the Father is when we are in the Father’s timing all the glory goes to Him. To summarize, if Jesus healed Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and the rest of the Jews might have praised Jesus alone and Jesus would have not pleased His Father, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He pleased His Father and the Father got the glory, Jesus also set into motion the necessary motivation the Jews needed to kill Jesus so that His purpose would be fulfilled!!! Today seek to please God in His timing and give Him the Glory for all He does through you!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel of God on purpose!!!!!

John 11

The Death of Lazarus
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Distractions Volume 1!!!

Our lives have been hide in Christ Jesus and therefore we gave up our will’s when we came to Christ. The fact that we are to have an intimate relationship with the Father gives us the blessing of having an abundant life before we reach glory. One of the biggest hindrances we have in having this relationship and being able to hear from the Lord is with the business of life. We wonder how we miss the presence of the Lord and how other saints say that He showed up and left and we never saw Him. We see a perfect example of this with the sisters of Mary and Martha. Martha the older sister had the esteemed privilege of having our Lord and Savior over to her house to fellowship. While Martha was busy preparing and being a gracious hostess, her sister Mary decided to simply sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His teachings. Martha took offense to this and asked Jesus to order Mary to help her, but Jesus rebuked Martha. Martha was doing a “good” thing but the fact that God was in the building should have taken her whole attention. We miss the appearance of the Lord many times in our lives because we are trying to do the “good” things in life. Let us today, focus with a heart to want to have fellowship with our Lord, and sit at His feet to learn from the greatest teacher!!! Have a wonderful life of being a vessel of God 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.
22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

At the Home of Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”