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Readings for the

Soul



By: Dr. Christopher D. Handy, Ph. D.

Scripture verses are taken from the

King James Version of the

Holy Bible.

My collection of spiritual inspirations

Copyright 2011 Dr. Christopher D. Handy, Ph. D.

ISBN: 978-1-4524-2810-9



All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted

under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be

reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or

retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

Acknowledgements

I like to acknowledge my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for without whose

wisdom and insight this book would have ever been possible. I also like

acknowledge all of my family and friends.



Table of Contents

Foreword...............................................................................................................................5

The Purpose of the Church................................................................................................5

Introduction..........................................................................................................................9

Chapter 1............................................................................................................................10

The Beatitude: It’s All In Your Attitude.............................................................................10

Chapter 2............................................................................................................................24

The Fruit of the Spirit: Fruit to Live By.............................................................................24

Chapter 3............................................................................................................................38

The Seven Churches:

What Do They Stand For?................................................................................................38

Chapter 4............................................................................................................................49

Empowering the Body of Christ:

Help Is On the Way..........................................................................................................49



Making the Dream a Reality..........................................................................................130

The Plan of Salvation.....................................................................................................132

About The Author:

Dr. Christopher D. Handy, Ph. D.

Author/Lecturer/Teacher/Minister..................................................................................134

......................................................................................................................................134

Foreword

The Purpose of the Church

The Church has a purpose and In St. Matthew 16:18; Jesus said unto Peter

"Upon this rock I will build my Church." The term Church is both familiar and

misunderstood by most. Because many believe that the Church is a building, but

the meaning has nothing to do with a building. The word Church means called-out

ones, chosen ones, belonging to the Lord, the body of Christ, and the bride of

Christ. The Church consists of a body of believers known as people, who

collectively form the Church and who meet in a building.

We the body of believers meaning the Church must constantly remind

ourselves that the Church is people: individuals who share a common bond and

who belong to Jesus and are called to be in a relationship with each other to make

up the Church. We need to understand that Jesus Christ is the one who gives the

Church life, meaning, and purpose, and without Him there is no Church. The

Church belongs to God, and it is the creation of God's word and Holy Spirit. The



Church cannot be the Church without giving witness to God's will for the salvation

and transformation of the world.

The Church is God's means to restore the shattered relationship between

Himself and mankind. The Church is to be the pillar and ground for Love, truth,

justice, equality, and unity. Its' mission encompassed the preaching of God's Word,Baptism, and Service. The Church is built on a solid foundation, which is the Word

of God. Therefore, the Church is the being of God's word, which as a living voice

creates and nourishes itself throughout the ages. God's Word is borne witness to in

the world and makes itself heard through the scriptures by the Church.

We the Church, the body of believers, are called to proclaim the good news

of a better life; a life rightly related to God through Christ, and lived according to

his purpose. The Church exists to reach out to all of mankind for Christ, to proclaim

the good news of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ as the

Savior of the World. The Church is not the Church when it does not attract peopleor reach out to people nor is it a Church when it preaches hate and exclusion

based upon ones race, creed, and gender. The Church is not a social club or

private organization with an exclusive membership based upon ones political,

social and financial status.

Denomination is not the Church and the use of the word to describe or label

the Church is misleading and inaccurate. Jesus did not intend for denominations to

play a role in our true understanding of the Church. Denomination causes

separation by placing barriers between people and God, and denomination opens

the door for discrimination. Denomination is a human creation, which is ours tobuild, ours to modify, and if need be ours to dismantle. The Church is God's

creation, which is his alone to build. The Church is to Love each other regardless;

God loves all of mankind in the rich variety of endless diversity.

The ultimate purpose of the Church as a whole is to unite all of God's

Children in harmony and peace. Denomination and Discrimination can play no part

in God's Church. The Church is to embrace all of humanity with the Love of God

and share the good news of Jesus Christ. Sharing the Love of God that we have

within us is the greatest part of being the Church.



The Church must begin to move forward by working to make the world a

better place for all of mankind; witnessing the salvation in Christ, and sharing

God's Love throughout the world. We must not allow our success and abundance

to block our ultimate allegiance to Jesus Christ and serving humanity. God's true

Church must never diminish from the true calling of revealing God's own heart and

soul to all of humanity in the world. When the Church begins to know God, Godthen impregnates us with a growing ability to love others as God love all of us. This

is how the Church can rise to the many challenges, which the Church faces today.

God is calling the Church to join forces with Him in this life to love and

translate this love into service and action. God does not intend for us to keep

ourselves locked up within our own world; but we must invest and enlist in the

work set before us of making human life more human, politics more humane, and

economics more compassionate.

As the body of Christ, we are no longer strangers but part of a universalfamily; every true Church must find new ways of holding the body accountable to

each other. Caring, courtesy, kindness, Love, peace, and unity must begin in the

Church, which serves as a model of what human relationships can look like in the

world. We as humanity can build a better creation and a new world through the

greatest gift from God; which is the Church.


Ms. Annie Hall

-St. Matthew 25:40-

Jesus Said in St. Matthew 25:40 "And the King shall answer and say unto them,

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these

my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

http://www.jesusfolk.com/Bible/40025.htm#40

http://www.jesusfolk.com/Bible/40025.htm#40



While visiting a family member who was ill in the hospital; I was introduced to Ms.

Annie Hall.

Who was a patient and I was told that Ms. Hall was alone and she was dying on this

cold sunny Sunday afternoon. The hospital staff knew I was a minister and

suggested I visit her and perhaps offer her some comforting words. I did not know

her nor have I ever heard of Ms. Annie Hall before this day. The staff said no more could be done for her but to make her comfortable for the

last few hours she has left. The facts were Ms. Annie Hall was dying, her time was

approaching, and she was alone on this cold sunny Sunday afternoon. There was

no one to notify, no family no friends, not even a close acquaintance.

She never once had any visitors or well-wishers that stop by to check on her, no

flowers or cards to brighten her side of the room. This poor old lady lay dying in a

hospital bed all alone on this cold sunny Sunday Afternoon. Her age was probably

four score and then some, I can’t say for sure. Her body was frail and lifeless as

she lay in her hospital bed curl up in a ball. Her shallow face expressed the pain

and suffering she was going through. Her eyes remained closed and her body

never once moved.

I could tell by looking at Ms. Hall that she lived a hard life and met many difficult

challenges and disappointments; I decided for the last few moments of her life on

this earth.

She would not die alone. So I pulled out my Bible and began reading several

scriptures.

Especially the familiar one Psalms 23 “The Lord is My Shepherd.” After reading

those scriptures I gently reached over and grabbed her hand. I knelt down beside

her bed and I began to pray a short prayer for Ms. Hall. Then all of sudden shemoved her head slightly as though she heard every word I was saying and then

she made a soft sigh then it was all over, Ms. Annie Hall died; I notified the staff

that she had died; they came in and confirmed she was dead. They removed the

machines that were attached to her body that were keeping her alive for that short

period of time. Since Ms. Hall was not in a private room the family of her roommate

insisted that Ms. Hall be moved as to not upset their relative; So the hospital staff

rolled her bed into the cold hall until the funeral home arrived. I waited there with

Ms. Hall until the funeral home arrived to take her off because I felt it was the right

thing to do. No one should die alone especially on a cold sunny Sunday

afternoon.Ms. Annie Hall did not die alone as intended, she died with a friend.



Introduction

Readings for The Soul is a collection of inspirational writings to help you find thestrength to face each day with hope and courage. Through a life of Faith, Jesus

lives in us and we live in him. The goodness of God has the cross planted in the

middle of it.

Chapter One; The Beatitudes is Jesus Sermon on the mount from St. Matthew 5.

Jesus sermon was not only for those during his time but for us today. It’s a sermon

directed at us to change our attitude from the negative to the positive, it is a

message of hope and deep courage for those of us who struggles with

disappointment and discouragement. With the right attitude we can conquer our

fears and become victorious.

Chapter Two; we are what eat and that includes our spiritual diet. The Fruit of the

Spirit focuses on the advantage of having the right spirit as we walk with God and

our fellow man. The Holy Spirit gives us new life and new authority to receive the

things that belong to God. This chapter will help you to find the power to bear fruit

in your life and upon Jesus returns, so that He will not find us barren.

Chapter Three is a message to the Seven Churches in Asia Minor and the Church of

today. John who was an apostle of Jesus Christ was banished to the Island of

Patmos for preaching the gospel of Christ. While there John was in the spirit andwhile in the spirit he was given a message to the Seven Churches of Asia.

Although this message was given over 2000 years ago, it is relevant to the

churches today. It is a mirror image of many of the churches that exist today and

why they are unproductive in saving souls and revitalizing communities. This

chapter should encourage and motivate people to follow Jesus last commandment,

the great commission in St. Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all

nations, baptizing them in the name if the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I

am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”



Chapter Four is a collection of various articles to empower and encourage the body

of Christ, which are the believers, too press on regardless of one circumstances. In

this chapter God tells us who God is and how we are able to rejoice in tribulation.

We will see God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s kingdom, and most importantly God’s

love, for all of humanity. We will see that God has not forgotten nor forsaken his

people. God remembers and He hears our prayers when we sincerely pray to Him,Help is on the way.

I pray that the contents of this book will be a blessing to you as it was a blessing

for me to write. May Readings for the Soul bring you peace, joy, and happiness to

your soul. May God Bless and keep you, I thank you for purchasing this book.

Chapter 1

The Beatitude: It’s All In Your Attitude

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit-Matthew 5:3-

Matthew 5:3 is the opening verse of the Sermon on the Mount and of the

Beatitudes. The Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s instruction to the world on what

God expects of those who are of the kingdom of heaven. It describes a Law that is

higher than the Laws of Moses. It describes a standard of ethics higher than the

traditions of the Pharisees. It gives us a sobering glimpse of the ways of God thatare higher than the ways of man and the thoughts of God which are higher than

the thoughts of man. The eight Beatitudes describe the right attitudes we should

have toward God and our fellow man in our daily walk with Him. The word

beatitude comes from the Latin word meaning “happy” or “blessed.”

The first of the eight beatitudes beginning with “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This beatitude can be paraphrased as “I need

help and I can’t do it alone.” The poor referred to in this verse, often relates to the

lowly to which God reveals what was hidden from the wise. To be poor in spirit is

really an attitude, a way of thinking and a way of living. When Jesus calls the poor"blessed", he is not praising their condition of poverty, but their openness to God.



In the eyes of the world, it is strange to see Jesus through these scriptures exalting

those whom they generally regard as poor or broken. We become poor in spirit

when everything we rely on falls apart. For some, it is the lost of loved ones;

failure of a cherished dream or ambition; loss of a job; loss of faith in others or us;

prolonged periods of dryness in our spiritual life; illness; and other life

disappointments. Jesus says, blessed are you who seem to be losers in life becauseyou feel you have lost everything that seem dear and precious to you, you are the

true winners: the kingdom is yours, but first you must humble yourself and submit

to the will of God.

Jesus is calling mankind to realize theirs own spiritual helplessness and to put their

whole trust in God.” The poor in spirit or broken spirit have no confidence; they are

pained by guilt, defeated by life, depressed from failure, and even suicidal.

Jesus wants this kind of person, who has been broken because they believe they

are sinners and all hope is lost. Jesus prefers this state of mind because it makesthem susceptible to accepting the promises of God. In these painful and

challenging times, of poverty, of racism, of violence and of social injustice, which

are prevalent in our world today and the need for God is unmistakable.

Therefore, we must learn not to depend on the usual things that our culture relies

on to define one’s identity, wealth, status, possessions, and even other people. All

of these can be taken from us. We must realize that God alone is the only enduring

one. We will discover our true self in our relationship with God.

Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is within us and as we grow in our ownpersonal relationship with Christ; we draw closer to Him and we learn to surrender

our all to Him. For in this, we can learn that our needs and concerns are

important, but so are the needs and concerns of others. All of us must learn how

to love others with true compassion. Only then are we more open to seeing God at

work in the creation and in the lives of others. We can learn how to live in ways

that our life becomes more worthwhile. We can learn that the only real peace

comes from our relationship with God and in living God’s will.

It is perhaps in this lowly state of mind that when all else fails in our lives is when

we should turn to God. Jesus is the Love of God who came down to mankinddesiring to embrace us and save us at our most helpless moment. So don’t give



up when your performance does not measure up to your possibilities. Don’t cave in

when you fall off the wagon of sanity, sobriety and sanctity. Don’t destroy yourself

when you are bitterly disappointed by your own idleness, unawareness and

foolishness. Hold on to your possibilities. Keep your head up, shoulders erect and

your faith alive.

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, For They Will Be Comforted-St. Matthew 5:4-

The Second Beatitude in St. Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they

shall be comforted.” This beatitude is powerful. It focuses on the power and

presence of God in our personal existence and in our daily affairs. To mourn is to

sorrow over a loss, which is outwardly expressed, generally in expression of grief

and often time followed by tears. The promise Jesus made by this beatitude is that

we would be comforted when we experience these trials.

When we mourn we feel empty, needy, and aching for comfort. Life is not right anymore, there is a void that we ourselves cannot fill. I don't think anyone chooses to

be in a state of mourning. It is painful and heart wrenching. Usually, we think of

mourning in the context of the death of a loved one. But we also mourn over lost

relationships or lost opportunities. We cannot restore this loss ourselves.

When we are in a state of mourning, we feel like we are in a state of waiting.

Waiting somehow for life to be set right again. This is why mourning is so

uncomfortable. Why is it a place we wish to avoid, if at all possible cost? In

mourning, we are very aware of our poverty or lack of spirit. Mourning is hard

because it grows from love. Love is hard because it risks loss. Mourning stirs upour love of life by caring deeply for what has been lost. Mourning is not a small

thing. It is a response to a loss of someone or something truly dear to us. In this

sense, it is the loss of a part of us.

Yet, when we are mourning, we sense God at a distance from us. We may even

wonder if He has abandoned us. We are tempted to believe our mourning is a sign

of His disfavor, or simply lack of concern and presence in our lives. Perhaps, it’s a

sign of the power of sin in our lives to alienate God from us to the extent that He

has totally given up on us, God forbid.



Jesus does not say they are blessed because they mourn. They are blessed

because they will be comforted. True comfort is not to be found in self, but in

Jesus. Jesus is referring to spiritual mourning. Jesus pronounces those who mourn

"blessed." They are blessed because the Spirit of God has produced a work of

grace within them. They have been awakened to see and feel their lost condition.

They are "blessed" because God does not leave them at that point, "they shall becomforted.”

When the Holy Spirit produces in the heart a Godly sorrow for sin, He does not

leave us there. But brings us to look away from sin to the Lamb of God, and then

we are comforted. You are blessed when you mourn.

In your sorrow, you will be comforted. Sorrow helps us to see those around us who

are much worse off; the abused, the discriminated, the hungry, the poor, the

victims of crime, of natural disasters, of war, of disease and of prejudice. Their

sorrow can move us to lend a helping hand to those who are suffering and be Jesus' instrument of comfort to them.

This word “comforted” from Jesus frees us to mourn. Yes, there is loss in the world,

everything is not right here, and we are not living in the place that is our true and

final home. To mourn is to recognize all those things that are truly not according to

God's will. This comfort transcends the hopelessness of death. Eventually, we

realize that the death of a marriage, the death of a career, or even the death of a

love one is irreversible. We cannot undo what has happened, but we can go

beyond death to hope. This hope is based upon the one who has conquered death.

There is a power at work for us that are invasive and pervasive evidence of God’s

astonishing goodness and amazing grace. We can trust in the Risen Savior who

speaks to us and comforts us when we mourn.

Blessed Are the Meek:For They Shall Inherit the Earth

-Matthew 5:5-

The third beatitude “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” When

we think of the word meek, we usually think of a wishy-washy, spineless individualwithout a backbone, someone who is afraid to stand up for themselves or someone



who lets others push them around. This word gives some negative feelings

because in the eyes of most Meek implies weakness.

The meek person is the opposite. He/she is secure, humble, and modest. It

describes a person who is able to handle conflicts and insults without an ego crisis.

The world image of a meek person is one who lacks spirit and courage. Meeknesshas nothing to do with our lack of assertiveness toward others but has everything

to do with our posture toward God. For meekness is of the heart.

In today's society, where rights are our focus, meekness is not a popular idea. It's

more common to read articles or books telling us how to get what we deserve, how

to exercise our rights, and how to be ambitious and successful in our

determination for greatness.

The meek person Jesus is referring to in St. Matthew 5:5, is one who is strong but

not violent, able to endure injury with patience and without resentment. The meekhumble themselves before God and are able to recognize that life is intended to be

a partnership between humanity and God the Father.

Jesus says, these faithful non-aggressors would inherit the earth. What did he

mean? Inheritance means to receive an unearned gift. The recipient is an heir

who, without personal effort, takes control and ownership of property as a

beneficiary. This idea differentiates from society belief that you must work

harder, think faster, and compete aggressively to succeed and rise to the top.

It is here that Jesus says that the meek shall inherit the earth. What is the earth?"Earth" means the realm of your existence. It is your environment. It is the place

and circumstance of your life.

So the humble, the gentle, and the faithful will be given control of their existence.

God will do this. He will cause harmony between the meek person and all the

circumstances of their life. Toil and effort to exist, to survive, and to succeed are

no longer required. The God who controls all things will takes control of your life to

make your efforts easier, more productive and satisfying.

We can change our economic situation. We can improve our educational situation.We can improve our hygienic situation. We can try to improve our longevity by



medical means assuming that they do work in extending a person's life. But, these

things do nothing to change the person on the inside. God wants to change the

heart of man. In order to change him, man has to be changed from the inside.

Strife and envy becomes a thing of the past. When your life is in God's hands and

is managed by His power and love, worry and anxiety will go away. This is God’sgift and His blessing to the world. God is looking for men and women after His own

Heart with a genuine spirit of meekness. In the spirit of meekness God makes us a

new person.

When you become a new person, you have the beginnings of a new society. When

you have a new society you have a new world. God is not finished with us for

there is still work to be done. In no other way can mankind’s problems be solved

except through the spirit of meekness.

Blessed Are They Which Do Hunger and Thirst For Righteousness: ForThey Shall Be Filled

-St. Matthew 5:6-

The fourth Beatitude is on hunger and thirst which means to crave and desire.

Hunger and thirst are two of the strongest drives known to mankind. Hunger and

thirst expresses a passionate yearning, of which the body and soul are acutely

aware.

In this beatitude, Jesus is speaking of another type of hunger and thirst that cannot

be satisfied with food and drink. He uses the example of hunger and thirst to

illustrate how humanity should strive for righteousness. Righteousness is doing

what is right in the sight of the Lord. The opposite of righteousness is wickedness.

In Jesus day, there wasn't much righteousness in the world. The Pharisees and

Sadducees, the religious body at that time, sought their own righteousness by

keeping God's law to the minimum degree, laying heavy burdens on the people.

Not much of that has changed today. We are still faced with that old saying bythose in leadership “do as I say but not as I do.”



In reality, life is no different today than it was over 2000 years ago. People are still

suffering all over the world. There are the rich and the poor. The greedy and the

needy, the corrupt governments, corrupt public officials, corrupt preachers or

scoffers as in 2 Peter 3:3, and the overburdened people.

The average person today has a deep hungry and thirst for righteousness in theirlives. They look to the church, to the government, to their families, to their friends,

and they look in some of the most unusual places one can ever imagine but none

can be found.

The people during Jesus time looked for a messiah who would overthrow the

unjustly rich, the corrupt governments, the Roman rule, and set up His own

kingdom of peace and harmony in the world. Even so today there is work that

needs to be done. Issues that need to be address, lives that need to changed,

injustices that need to be righted, hearts that need to be mended. When God

creates a hunger and a thirst in ones soul, it is so that He may satisfy them. Jesussaid those who hunger and thirst for righteousness recognize that they do not have

what they most need to stand before God.

The promise of God is that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, then we will

be filled. Our craving will be satisfied to the degree that we hunger and thirst for it.

If a person lacks the desire for righteousness, he only has to ask God to give him a

greater hunger and thirst for it.

The wonderfulness of God is He loves to answer any prayer where a believer longs

to be more like Christ and to know Him more intimately. Jesus encourages peopleto live a righteous life that will please God. For we know in part that "without

righteousness no one can see God".

Those of us who trust in the righteousness of Christ shall one day be filled with

Divine blessing without any sorrow. We shall be filled with praise and thanksgiving

to Him who wrought a work of love and obedience in us as the visible fruit of His

saving work in and for us. Jesus hath filled this hungry and thirst with a

righteousness that’s full, perfect, sufficient, and entirely complete. He bestows

goodness and mercy upon us, who are the sheep of His pasture. Our cups run over.

Yet all that we presently enjoy is but a mere foretaste of all that our God hathprepared for them that love Him.



Blessed Are the Merciful: For They Shall Obtain Mercy-Matthew 5:7-

We live in a world of human need. There are physical needs, emotional needs, and

spiritual needs. We also live in a world of sin. In this busy and self-absorbed world

where people are climbing on top of each other just to get ahead, being merciful

goes completely against the flow. The world is true to its nature; it is unmerciful. It

finds revenge enjoyable and forgiveness tame and unsatisfying. People hurt each

other, neglect responsibilities, fight, argue, and do as they please without a care or

a concern. These sins create many more needs; for cleansing, for comfort, for

healing, for security, for love, and for forgiveness.

In this beatitude, Jesus shows us how to find a blessing in a needy and very hurting

world by showing MERCY. Mercy is an attribute of Divine love and one of man's

noblest sentiments. Mercy is marvelous because it brings it’s owns rewards. Mercy

means showing compassion, forgiveness, kindness, patience, pity, sympathy,

tenderheartedness and also refraining from harming or punishing offenders or

enemies. To show mercy is to reach out to help someone in a desperate situation.

To show compassion to our fellowman means to help bring relief to a

person's misery and suffering.

The merciful are those who have compassion on others. To be merciful, we need aparticular way of seeing. In our needy world, we can easily grow calloused toward

people. We train our eyes to look at what we want to see instead of looking at the

real needs of others. We need the eyes of Jesus. For example "When he saw the

multitudes in St. Matthew 9:36, he was moved with compassion on them, because

they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." Jesus

merciful eyes saw more than surface needs. He saw their despair, discouragement,

fear, hatred, injustices, loneliness, rejection, and self-pity. God wants us to have a

merciful attitude towards our fellowman, which will bring about merciful acts. He

promises his mercy to us. He asks us to be as merciful to others as you want him

to be merciful to you. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."



Mercy is not a quality we expect to see much these days. Mercy is a very

prominent spiritual characteristic; it is an indispensable trait in the body of Christ,

divine character that becomes ours as a result of a warm and close relationship

with God. It is a quality given to us through His Spirit as we surrender in obedience

and develop it.

We cannot change the whole worldly system. In this world there will be abuse,

offenses, oppression, sins, and violence. Things will happen to people that never

should happen. And because of that, there will be poor people, suffering people,

miserable people, wretched people, as long as we are in this world. For Jesus says

in St. John 16:33, “In this world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I

have overcome the world.”

How blessed are those who are moved by the needs of their fellowman? Mercy is

more than a feeling of sympathy. The merciful are those who respond to human

need, those who move among the suffering, and those who give what they have tohelp those who have not. Nobody is above need. Nobody is above needing

compassionate response.

Those who show compassion receive compassion. They receive it from those to

whom they have shown compassion. The best of all, they receive it from our

heavenly Father. It does not mean only to sympathize with a person in the popular

sense of the term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone in trouble or

need. Mercy means the ability to get right inside the other person's shoes until we

can see with their eyes, think with their mind, and feel with their feelings. Clearly

this is much more than an emotional wave of pity; clearly this demands aconscious effort of the mind and of the will.

Furthermore, we need to remind ourselves that to be merciful represent signs of

those who are truly Christ's disciples. Jesus is calling the Church to have mercy and

to serve the needy and unfortunate rather than the self-satisfied and well-off.

When we understand His mercy, we see that we have no right not to forgive, for he

has done something much greater than we could ever deserve. It is God’s desire to

show us mercy, not because of us, not because we deserve mercy.

The fact maybe that we are a good person; never harming anyone does not entitleus to be receivers of His Mercy; we were born out of Sin, inherited by Adam’s fall,



In Roman 3:23, it says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

When we show mercy to others, we bring glory to God and show a lost world that

we have been transformed by His marvelous grace.

Blessed Are the Pure In Heart: For They Shall See God

-Matthew 5:8-

In this sixth beatitude, Jesus Christ encourages us to achieve purity of heart. The

heart is the guardian of our spiritual life. Out of the hearts of mankind manifest all

kinds of things, from evil thoughts, to greed, to hatred, to prejudice, to slander,

and arrogance. All these evil things come from the inside of man’s heart, and this

evil from the heart is what makes man impure. Just what does it mean to be pure

in heart? The pure in heart are meek, humble, guileless, simple, trusting, true,

unsuspicious, gentle, good, not covetous, nor envious, nor adulterous.

To be pure in heart is to be free from taint or pollution. It means we are free fromcontact with that which weakens, impairs, or pollutes our heart. Free from moral

defilement, but it also means we have to be innocent and faithful. To be pure in

heart, we must continuously be in a repentant attitude. We must continuously

repent of our sins, our weaknesses, and our mistakes, so that God can change us

on the inside so he can use us and mold us into the people He wants us to be in

His Kingdom.

The big question is how can we be pure in our hearts? Free from sins like pride and

envy, free from evil thoughts, and evil deeds? The truth is we can't do any of these

things on our own. We can't reform ourselves. We can't clean ourselves. God aloneis able to make cruel people pure in their imaginations, thoughts, words, deeds,

and desires. The pure in heart are those who are free from evil desires and evil

purposes.

Jesus teaches us in this beatitude that your heart, your thoughts, feelings and

emotions must concentrate on meeting God. Knowing and pleasing God needs to

be so important to you that it is your main aspiration. When you make this your

priority, God will come to you. He will reveal himself to you so vividly, as if you

have actually seen him.



Your face-to-face encounter with God proves his reality and nature. Seeing God

and knowing him as your Heavenly Father is the blessing promised in this

beatitude. When we become born again and we have completely surrender

ourselves to Jesus and put our entire faith and trust in him, God will renew us and

give us a brand new nature, a new self. We become a brand new creature. The

beauty of this beatitude tells us if we are pure in heart then we shall see God.

The reward for this beatitude is truly marvelous because when the believer

becomes pure in heart, not only will they see God as they pass into heaven

immediately upon their death, but they will see God right now, not with their

natural eye, but through their spiritual eyesight, through their faith in Jesus Christ.

The pure in heart will see God in all his glory and in every single thing that they

see. To the pure in heart, the invisible God will become extremely visible. The Holy

Spirit is the one who's going to guide you and teach you and show you exactly

what to do and how to do it, in order for you to become pure in heart. For in Psalms51:10, it says “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within

me.” For this transformation all the believer needs to do is to keep their faith in

Jesus Christ.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers, For They Will Be Called the Children of God

-Matthew 5:9-

This seventh beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons

of God". What is the meaning of this word Peace for the Christian? Especially in a

day when much emphasis is being placed on peace; the Christian needs to

seriously study the meaning of this Beatitude in regards to their own daily lives.

We must begin with a proper understanding of what is included in this word peace.

The Greek word for "peace" is "(eirene)" which means prosperity, set at one again,

and at rest.



The Hebrew word for peace is "(shalom)," meaning the absence of strife and evil,

but also the positive and the presence of all good things.

However, peace is far more than the absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of

righteousness. True peace produces a relationship that brings enemies together.

You can stop fighting without righteousness, but you cannot live peaceably withoutrighteousness. Righteousness puts an end to the desire to harm others. It ministers

love which produces harmony. When a person’s life has been redeemed through

God’s forgiveness, that person now can experience genuine love in their heart

which comes from true peace. One who has experienced peace with God should

intentionally cultivate the art of peacemaking. Each regenerated individual should

strive to bridge gaps and to heal breaches.

Jesus here turns His attention to those who are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).

When Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons

of God," he does not tell us how to become a son of God. He simply says that thesons of God are in fact peacemakers.

What a wonderful rich word this is; peacemaker! The peacemakers are those

children of God who not only have a great love for God, but also have love for all of

mankind and they attempt to do everything possible for the advancement of peace

everywhere. The peacemakers are those who have a peaceful personality because

to make peace is to have a strong and hearty affection for peace. It is to love,

want, and delight in peace.

Many will tell you that the world's today greatest need is for peace. But it appearsthat much of what man does today ends up in disagreement, dissension, and

division. Neighbors killing neighbors, complete strangers killing each other,

brothers murdering brothers, religious factions tying to wipe-out each other, tribes

exterminates neighboring tribes, whole nations tying to destroy other nations, and

on and on it goes. These horrible examples of hate all begin with the absence of

love and having no desire for peace.

However, peacemaking does not mean seeking peace at any cost, for the

peacemaker realizes that peace at any price will usually end up in complete and

total destruction. So a peacemaker is not an appeaser. He or she is not one whosmiles a lot and doesn't take a position on anything. He/she is not one who has an



easygoing personality and who is nice and soft or can easily be shoved around.

He's not a doormat. A peacemaker is one who through strength and Godly

knowledge endeavors to establish a right relationship between estranged parties

based on truth and righteousness. Being a peacemaker is a hard but necessary

process because we are dealing with the hearts of men and women. People do not

want to die to their own desires and they don’t appreciate being confronted.

The peacemakers realize that there is only one way that this world can have true

peace, and that is by trusting in Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on the cross was bring

peace between not only God and man, but also between man and man. Christ's

death tore the barrier of the veil at the entrance of the Holy of Holies from top to

bottom and opened a way for us to have access to God, so that we can now come

into the very presence of God and have peace with our Father. And when we are at

peace with God, we will be at peace with all men. People who are peacemakers will

be recognized as the sons of God at the judgment and they will be called what

they are Sons of God and welcomed into the Father's house for eternity.

Blessed Are They Which Are Persecuted For Righteousness Sake,

For Theirs Is the Kingdom Of Heaven

-St. Matthew 5:10-11-

In this the last of the eight beatitudes; “Blessed are they which are persecuted for

righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when

men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against

you falsely, for my sake, rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in

the heavens.”

This beatitude focuses on persecution; Christ pronounces a blessing on those who

are being persecuted. But the persecution that they are suffering is not for

misdeeds or evil acts, but for doing righteousness. In other words, blessed are they

who are persecuted for their faith, for their goodness, and for their good deeds

performed in the name of Jesus Christ. Such people will be rewarded in eternal life

with the blessedness of the Kingdom of Heaven. To persecute means to pursue

with evil intent, to oppose, and seek to injure is obviously the sense in thispassage. The persecuted are the objects of hostility and prejudice.



If you are not being persecuted, you should ask, "Why?" And the answer just may

be that you are not living a Godly life. It is our Godly life that causes the other

person to get heated up, offended, and unhappy. The truth is everyone who lives a

Godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. If no one is persecuting you, it is

because you are not living the Christian life and shining as lights in the world.

The more we become like Jesus in our daily walk, the more the world will hate us. A

believer growing in Christ’s likeness will reflect the light of Christ. However, the

world loves darkness instead of light. This can all be summed up in St. John 15:20

"If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." Jesus said "If they

persecuted me, they'll persecute you also. The world hates Jesus because he is

light, righteousness, and truth. They hate him because he reveals the wickedness

of the people of the world and they hate him because he exposes their evil. Jesus

also told his disciples that they were his servants, and he told them just as he is

telling us, that if the master is hated, then the servants of the master will also be

hated.

In today's society to tell others that you are a born again Christian who has put his

entire faith and trust in Jesus Christ, is to bring on smirks and laughs, rude and

disgusting comments, and alienation and retaliation.

The unbelievers are constantly attempting to destroy anything that has to do with

God in a desperate attempt to do away with the source of their feeling bad;

blaming someone else for their troubles has always been very easy for many

people. So the sinner is an enemy of God and therefore they fight against God. And

since the sinner can't get at God, they do the next best thing; they go after thosethat follow God. Jesus told us in St. John 3:20 that, "Everyone who does evil hates

the light," and in John 7:7 he declared, "The world hates me because I testify that

what it does is evil."

Today, in many countries around the world it is a crime to be a Christian. In this

country the greatest persecution against Christianity has been the many unjust

laws that have been passed recently, all with the idea of suppressing Christianity in

all areas of our society. Let us not be troubled by the apparent victory in this world

of falsehood over truth or darkness over light. The fundamental truth of the

Christian faith consists of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and that He

Conquered death, and He makes us heirs of this victory. To those who believe in



Him, Christ gave the Cross the most powerful weapon against evil, the victory of

God's truth over the kingdom of the prince of this world.

As this world of ours grows darker, it will increase in it's hatred for God and His

people. Many today are being martyred for their faith in Christ. As the end of this

age draws nearer, we can expect greater and more frequent persecutionsworldwide. But even in the midst of the pain and suffering, a believer can rejoice

and be exceeding glad because he knows that the Kingdom of God has been given

to him.

A glorious reward will be waiting for those who stand firm to the end. As we abide

in Christ, we will find ourselves bearing fruit for His Kingdom and walking in the

Christ like character that brings joy to our lives and glory to God. We may end up

losing everything in this life, but there is nothing that can compare with what we

will receive in eternity.

Chapter 2

The Fruit of the Spirit: Fruit to Live By

The First Fruit of the Spirit: Love-Galatians 5:22-

The most famous passage about the 'fruit of the Spirit' is found in Galatians 5:22,

where Paul gives us a list of fruits. The list is meant as a contrast to the list of the

deeds of the flesh' found in Galatians 5:19-21. The Bible clearly teaches that

Christians are to bear fruit. Jesus said, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit,

he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may

bring forth more fruit" (John 15:2). Jesus expects His followers to bear much fruit:

"Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my

disciples" (John 15:8).

The fruit of the spirit list is clearly not intended as an exhaustive description of the

fruits, but was given to highlight the fruit that Paul wanted the Galatians’ church



and us today to keep in mind. How do we bear the "fruit of the Spirit?" For us to

bear the "fruit of the Spirit," we must "live in the Spirit" and "walk by the Spirit."

For the Spirit to "live in us" is the same as for Christ to "dwell in us." The Spirit lives

or dwells in us through the Word of God.

The fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian's transformed life. Inorder to mature as believers, we should study and understand the attributes of the

nine fold spiritual fruit: The first of the spiritual fruits is love, which is the key to all

the others. There are three types of Love there is; Philadelphia: which means

brotherly love, Eros: which means the kind of love between a man and a woman,

and Agape: which means unconditional love; the kind of love God gives:

Love is not an emotion or a mushy feeling. Love is action. God not only wants us to

walk in love, but He wants us to be love. It is love that surpasses human

understanding and causes a person to be filled with the fullness of God. This

spiritual fruit must be produced by all Christians. In fact, if one is a Christian, hewill bear this fruit. This fruit-bearing is not always easy. Sometimes we find it hard

to do. What makes this fruit so important is that it makes us different from other

people.

Through Jesus Christ, our greatest goal is to do all things in love. Love is patient,

love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is

not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love

does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). This

spiritual fruit helps us to imitate Jesus Christ, which he wants us to do (Eph. 5:1). Jesus came to earth out of love for us. We in turn should desire to live our lives out

of love for him and to our fellowman. The experience of the love of Christ helps us

to reach out to others in compassion. People without Jesus have no hope. Their

destiny points to eternal separation from the love of God.

The spiritual fruit of love is not just a feeling or an emotion, but rather it is a

decision. This fruit of the Spirit causes us to make a decision to love even when we

don't feel like it. God wants our love to grow so big that it will chase people down

and overtake them. When we walk in the love of God, everything else will fall into

place. So, ask yourself if you are Loving or trying to show love not only to God but

also to people.



When we bear the "fruit of love," we are making the world a better place in which

all of humanity can live. When we bear the "fruit of love," we become like Christ. If

you have love, then the love of God is in your heart because of your belief and

faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus says in St. John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give

unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one

another." "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love oneto another."

The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy-Galatians 5:22-

The second Fruit of the Spirit is Joy. Joy comes from having faith in God and

without faith we cannot experience true joy. Joy is a Spirit and Joy comes from the

Holy Spirit and is not dependent on how happy we feel, but on the character of God. The spirit of Joy reinvigorates the tired soul; it re-energizes the spirit for at the

heart of joy, one finds the true Spirit of God. Joy lives in the heart that is obedient

to God, it flourishes even amidst the greatest tragedies that have plagued our

lives. Such as the devastation of hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, and the death

of a love one; for hidden in the soul lays the knowledge that true joy can only be

found in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy

might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11).

Joy is different from happiness, in that happiness is a fleeting moment; a transient

feeling here today and gone tomorrow. Whereas happiness may be temporal, joy iseternal, when we understand and embrace Jesus with the knowledge God has

given us to persevere through trials and tribulations. For instance if someone gives

you a gift we are happy, if a family member, a friend, or even a co-worker

compliments us for a job well done, that also makes us happy. What if something

goes wrong or something tragic happens? Or everything we loved and cherish so

much was one day removed from our lives, would we still be happy? And would

we still have joy?

In the Bible many wonderful and great historical events were always greeted with

joy. The angels were joyful when they exclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest,”



declaring the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:14. The disciples in Luke 24:41 also showed

great joy upon seeing their risen Lord.

The Fruit of Joy protects us from falling into bondage and servitude to the world.

Joy is the strength that enables a person to remain steadfast, unmovable, always

abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). The joy that the Lord brings liftsus above our trials. Nehemiah said, "For the joy of the Lord is your strength"

(Nehemiah 8:10).

Therefore, we are to glory in the Lord and rejoice in our trials. God is great, and

whatever else is going on, He is faithful and just to bring us to a new level. It is the

joyous soul who reflects and leans on God; they are the ones who have this inner

strength which springs from the wellspring of joy in the spirit of God. A joy filled

soul does not rely on man's opinions to validate its sense of worth, the soul instead

becomes the reflection of the Divine which shines from within and becomes the

face of Christ to all mankind. It is impossible to keep our joy to ourselves when welook upon God's creation, which is all around us. We are to glory in the Lord and

rejoice in our trials, for God is great, and whatever else is going on, He is faithful

and just to bring us through.

Our God is awesome and loving because he sent His only begotten Son Jesus

Christ, who came to take away the penalty, the power, and the guilt of sin and to

bring us into fellowship with God, a reason to rejoice!

The Third Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

-Galatians 5:22-23-

The third Fruit of the Spirit is Peace. Peace is the spiritual tranquility resulting from

having a relationship with God. Peace contains the idea of completeness, ease,

rest, safety, and unity. The Bible uses "peace" in two ways. There is personal

peace with God which comes when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and

Savior. Then, there is the peace of God which is available on a daily basis as the

believer participates in the Christian way of life according to the will of God. To

work for peace is to build unity and promote harmony between people of all races,

nationalities, between all genders, and generations; where the excluded are

included and all of humanity can live in peace.



When one has true peace, he or she is not troubled about what the future holds

because he or she knows who holds the future. Peace is not the absence of

conflict; peace is total reliance on God during the conflict. Peace is the pervasive

sense of contentment that comes from being rooted in God while being fully aware

of one's own void. It is a state of being that endures beyond the ups and downs of

life, beyond the emotions of joy and sorrow; at the deepest level one knows that allis well, that everything is just right despite all appearances to the contrary.

Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the

world" (St. John 16:33). Jesus overcame His troubles and anxiety, and proved by

word and action that He has the power to do the same for you. In order for us to

have peace we must first walk with God before we can experience the peace of

God.

A state of peace is harmony and that's what God has promised the believer. Peaceand not fear. Peace in the midst of trouble, peace in the midst of persecution, and

peace in the midst of war. All these have one common denominator and that's a

lack of peace. God has promised us peace and all its benefits not because we will

not face troubles or challenges, but because whenever we do, we are fully assured

of His promises to us in His Word that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

For the Christian, peace at times seems difficult, distant, and pointless but peace is

necessary to further the kingdom of God. Without peace there is confusion,

conflict, hatred, malice, and war. Through peace we will find fellowship with God,

daily growth, progression in spiritual things which brings stability, a relaxed mentalattitude, and the ability to utilize our faith in all areas of life. God's peace is

unshakable and eternal and best of all, it's free. We simply need to accept the gift

He offers. The key to finding peace begin and end with a relationship with Jesus

Christ. He came to make peace between man and God. This implies man is at odds

with God. Peace is a quality of life He can give us even as he gives rain in due

season.

Jesus loves us and wants to give us eternal life, and if He wants something as

wonderful as everlasting life for us, how much more will He take care of our daily

needs and worldly troubles? We must allow the peace of Christ to come into our

hearts so we can unload all our anxieties and troubles on Him. The toughest step



may be the first: to completely open ourselves to Jesus Christ. But once we take

the first step, we’ll discover that His peace is real.

Jesus always has everything under control and is filled with love, compassion and

wisdom that He is willing to use for our benefit, to give us rest for our soul.

The Fourth Fruit of the Spirit: Longsuffering-Galatians 5:22-23-

The fourth Fruit of the Spirit is Longsuffering. The word "longsuffering" is actually

two words, which means "long of anger," and long before getting angry. The Greek

word for 'longsuffering' is makrothumia: one of the most magnificent words in the

Bible, and one of the qualities which distinguish Christians from others.

It is the attitude which enables you to bear the hurt that others do to you, andnever bear them ill will for it, or retaliate in anger. Without it, there can never be

forgiveness or progress, for unless we can soak up the punishment and still want

fellowship, no possibility of true reconciliation remains.

Longsuffering can also be referred to as patience, both go hand in hand. Patience

is being mild, gentle, and constant in all circumstances. And patience is another

sorely needed quality in the fast paced world in which we live in today. Patience is

that powerful attribute that enables a man or woman to remain steadfast under

strain, not just standing still but pressing on. Patience is the driving force which

produces positive results even under opposition and suffering. Patience is the act

of love, being polite, self-giving, pressing on, enduring hardship, because of the

benefit it may bring to others. It is a willingness to wait and watchful for the right

moment to make the appropriate move.

In the Bible longsuffering (or patience) is strongly related to testing of our faith; St.

Luke 21:19, says “In your patience possess ye your souls.” In this verse we learn

that trials can be good for us, because they allow us to be strengthened but most

of all they allow patience, to be developed by the Spirit. The very fact that God is

longsuffering is precisely the reason mankind should be longsuffering, but because

God holds His anger, we too are to hold ours.



To be longsuffering does not mean you agree with the wrong behavior.

Longsuffering is assurance in God's unwavering commitment to his promises. Our

security is no longer based on anything we might possess or accomplish, but

rather on our conviction of God's unfailing protection and readiness to forgive.

Longsuffering (or patience) speaks of one’s steadfastness under provocation; that

is, patiently enduring ill-treatment without anger or thought of retaliation orrevenge. The real test of patience is not in waiting, but in how one acts while he or

she is waiting. A person who has developed patience will be able to put up with

things without losing his or her temper.

Longsuffering is Love on trial and in action. Longsuffering enables you to forbear

and forgive others. As with the other manifestations of spiritual fruit, you can't

produce it in yourself. The ability to be longsuffering comes from the Holy Spirit

and by loving God and obeying his commandments.

God showed His longsuffering patience toward all of mankind before we were eversaved. But even now more than ever in the history of the world more people

continue to turn away from God and rebel against his commandments; yet God

patiently endures with mankind. He shows much longsuffering because He is not

willing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God

wants to establish this same longsuffering and patience spirit in our lives so that

we might love one another and be saved.

In St. Luke 23:34, As Jesus hung on the cross on Calvary looking down at them who

had betrayed him, beat him, denied him, deserted him, and mocked him; he

responded with words that have echoes throughout the centuries “Father forgivethem for they know not what they do.” Just think after everything people have said

and done to you in your lifetime, can you utter those same exact words?

The Fifth Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness-Galatians 5:22-23-

The Fifth Fruit of the Spirit is Gentleness. Many people draw back from this fruit

because to be gentle is to have a mildness of temper and meekness. Gentleness ispower, strength, spirit, and compassion under control. Although gentleness might



be considered by some individuals as a character trait that stands in the

background and never ventures out to do anything bold.

Gentleness is a participation in God's way of doing things that is at once gentle

and firm, sustaining all creation with its massive diversity, yet without effort.

Kindness is another word for gentleness which also stands in contrast to pride,arrogance, and selfishness. In the Hebrew Kindness is pronounced: "chesed" it

literally means, "to treat courteously and appropriately," it is also translated,

"loving-kindness."

In the Greek: it is pronounced "chrestotes" meaning "useful, pleasant, and

gracious." Put them all together: Kindness is "caring enough about others that you

treat them with gentleness, courteousness and generosity." It forces us to re-

examine our relationship with one another.

The spirit of kindness is to regulate our attitude and our action toward our fellowman to show compassion to one another. This type of spirit exhibits kindness, even

towards those doing you wrong, not sharpness or bitterness but with true love and

real compassion. Kindness sows the seeds that can only bear good fruit. Peter

wrote in II Peter 1:8, For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that

ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Kindness is not beyond any of us because it usually costs us nothing. Although

kindness should never be done out of selfish reasons, with the intent of making

someone do something in return, it then become all about me and no one else. It

may require some time and energy. It may even require the discipline to bethoughtful of others' needs and to make the effort to act. Kindness is another

major quality needed in our world today. Kindness is one of the most under-rated

fruit of the Spirit, everyone talks about "being kind to one another, being kind to

your neighbor, and being kind to animals," but very few practice it. So many

people have been beaten up and hurt in their dealings with other people. Those

are times when kindness is difficult, but when our desire for kindness runs out,

Christ's loving kindness takes over. While it is easy to show kindness to those we

love, what about the person on the highway who is rude and aggressive, or a

racist, or a neighbor or co-worker whom we just cannot get along with. The Holy

Spirit reminds us what Christ has done for us and how he has empowers us to



show loving kindness in His place. On our own it is impossible without Him; this is

why we need his spirit within us.

Jesus is the perfect role model for us to learn from especially with how we should

treat people while here on earth. There were times that He would engage and set

people straight like He did with some of the Scribes and Pharisees. There wereother times that He dealt with people very gently with kindness and gentleness.

His gentle way of handling some of these people is what really jumps out at you

when you really study how He handled different types of people.

Jesus Christ is the only one who lived a prefect and gentle life. It should be our

daily prayer that He forgives us of our failure in showing kindness and guide us

into a better understanding of gentleness and the love of God. If mankind is ever

to rise above it conditions to make this world a better place for all of humanity to

live in perfect harmony, it must start with us and it must begin today.

The Sixth Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness-Galatians 5:22-23-

The Sixth Fruit of The Spirit is Goodness; Goodness is holiness put into practice and

results from knowing God. Goodness means to be compassionate, to do and to live

Godly instead of humanly good. Goodness is obeying God's law by studying and

applying it in our service to God. And as we give ourselves over to doing good evil

will be conquered.

God’s goodness is done in the power of God. Human good is done in the power of man. God’s goodness is permanent, which means that it will last forever! It is built

on God’s rules, which do not change. Human good is temporary, which means that

it will eventually go away. It is built on mankind’s rules, which can change from

person to person. Only God's goodness is absolute.

Those of us who love Christ understand that goodness goes far deeper than just

"doing well." It is this quality which is found in a person who is led by the God’s

Spirit. It is love in action and is demonstrated in our daily lives by our relationship

with God. God must exist in our hearts to do good for without God it’s not good.

God’s goodness does whatever loving wisdom calls for in a given situation.

Goodness has the ability to reach down deep into the heart of a believer's



personality; where goodness can radiate. We as Christians are called to be a light

in a dark and gloomy world, and we must make up in our minds that we are going

to shine!

Jesus says that we are to carry His light and we are to let that light shine before

men and not attempt to hide it. Many people have gotten saved through anindividual believer, who says what drew them in was the love and goodness they

saw shining through that believer. This is what will lead sinners to repentance and

salvation. Not only does this goodness of God draw people directly to Him, but this

fruit of goodness operating in a believer can draw people directly to God through

the actual believer. Those spirit-filled saints who are walking with this fruit

operating within them become like a magnet. One of the key qualities a

nonbeliever will pick up on in a real Christian is this quality of goodness. As a result

of seeing this God-like goodness deeply ingrained into their personalities, there is

an immediate drawing towards them. You feel safe around them because you

know you can trust them and you know that they would never deliberately hurt

you.

This is why when a person accepts Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in their

heart. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit produces Christian virtues in the believer's

life. These virtues are the fruit of the Spirit and we become more Christ-like. This is

why this particular fruit and quality is so important for each Christian to have.

Once you have this knowledge, goodness is supernaturally produced in you; and

you can easily draw more people to the Lord. This is why we must cultivate

goodness within ourselves to enable us to overcome the evil of this present world.If we experience the true goodness of God then are we able to do well in the face

of evil and not conform to evil.

God’s goodness enables us to do well even to those who hate and use us as well as

those of the household of faith. This is why we are able to be good to all people

regardless. Our witness won't have any effective power unless we are kind one to

another. And the goodness of God can be transmitted and worked up into our

personality through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must always remember that

the Lord is with us regardless of our circumstances; God is the source of all that

can truly be called good. He does not just have it or do it; He abounds in it and

greatly desires to give it to each of us who seeks it.



The Seventh Fruit of the Spirit: Faith-Galatians 5:22-23-

The Seventh Fruit of the Spirit is Faith; Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the

substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Our Lord God

holds this particular fruit of the spirit in high esteem. This is one quality that He will

really expect all Christians to operate strongly in, especially in your personal

relationship with Him.

Faith, unlike any other fruit of the spirit, is really indescribable through any of

man's five natural senses. Faith is an essential element that each and every

Christian must possess in order to go to heaven. Faith is the dynamic expression of

meekness. It is the daily giving of ourselves and all our actions to God out of

compassion for others, especially in service of their needs.

As we look at Faith, we will discover that faith is a gift and also a manifestation of

the fruit of the Spirit. The gift of faith is imparted from God through the Word, but

the fruit of faith is produced by the Holy Spirit. The gift of faith can also move

mountains, but the fruit of faith is what is required for our daily living. To be

faithful is to be consistent and reliable in our responsibilities. To be continuous

despite the trials and problems that may be thrown at us. The fruit of faith enables

us to walk and live by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God. If we

truly love and want to please God, we must walk and live by faith. The faith that

pleases God is a faith that stands upon God's word.

Faith is a part of the very nature of God Himself which becomes a part of our new

nature in the divine process of human salvation. True faith is a basic and essential

thing. The true fruit of faith begins in the initial seed gift of faith and begins

growing and maturing through your God imparted spiritual belief being put into

action. God is really watching all of us on this quality of fruit. He is watching to see

who is going to stay true, loyal and faithful to Him and who will stay true, loyal and

faithful to the friends and family that are brought into our lives; this is why we

need the Holy Spirit.



Too many people especially those who call themselves Christians are bailing out

from their families. Too many spouses are having extra-martial affairs behind their

spouse's back, thereby destroying all trust and faithfulness that may have been

built up over the years in their marriages. Too many dads are bailing out of their

homes and then abandoning and neglecting their own children; sadly never

wanting to see any of them ever again!

If God brings you a wonderful mate, wonderful children, good and wonderful

friends, then He will expect you to stay loyal and faithful to all of them in your own

personal relationships. By true faith a true friend will stay by your side for life

through thick and thin and for better or for worse. Just as God will stay faithful to

you in His personal relationship with you; He will expect you to stay faithful in your

personal relationships with others.

It is comforting to know that Jesus is always there for us. He is the friend that sticks

closer than a brother. He is a sure comfort in times of trouble and despair. Theultimate reward for our faithfulness is given in Revelation 2:10: "Be faithful until

death, and I will give you the crown of life."

The Eighth Fruit of the Spirit: Meekness-Galatians 5:23-

The Eighth Fruit of the Spirit is Meekness; The Hebrew translation of "meekness" is

anav or anaw, meaning humble, lowly, and gentle. The Greek translation for meekis prautes which means mildness, gentle and humility. Meekness is defined as

freedom from pride and arrogance; to be meek is to demonstrate that you are not

easily provoked to anger.

Meekness is so important that it is the third characteristic Jesus mentions in His

Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"

(Matthew 5:5). The meek are among those so favored that they will share in Jesus'

inheritance of the earth.

Meekness is a fruit of the spirit that seems very much lost in our aggressive and

self-centered world. The world favors more conspicuous and so-called heroic

virtues. Those who are assertive, competitive, forceful, and strong, are the ones



who receive recognition, admiration and reward. These are the ones who end up

on top of the pile, possessing the most and the best despite other obvious and

perhaps even offensive flaws in their character.

This is why the world tends to draw back from this fruit of the spirit. Because most

people associate it with weakness; but meekness is not what people think.

Meekness is an attribute of God Himself and important to our being in His image

and a true witness. Indeed, this characteristic will largely determine how much

peace and contentment are in our lives and how well we will do during our trials

and tribulations.

Meekness is a quality of character that was seen in the greatest human being ever

to grace this earth, Jesus Christ. We need to study His actions very carefully when

you read the gospels and how Jesus handled different types of people. There were

times that He would engage and set people straight, like He did with some of theScribes and Pharisees. But there were other times that He dealt with people with

kindness and gentleness. His gentle and meek way of handling some of these

people is what really jumps out at you when you really study how He handled

different types of people.

For Christians in particular, His actions and His behavior towards others should be

an example we should seek to follow in our own lives. Not only will people love and

be drawn towards you more if you learn how to walk in this quality; but you will be

at peace with yourself since you won't always have to be fighting and competing

with others. Once you start walking in the Holy Spirit with this fruit operatingthrough you, your life begins to have meaning and purpose.

The Holy Spirit will guide you in all of this. We must realize that this quality of

meekness is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit. This is one of the fruits that Jesus

would like to get worked into our personality especially in being able to use it when

dealing with our fellowman.

Meekness is impossible until we learn to become poor in spirit. We do this is by

coming before God in total repentance and submission and with a clear knowledge

of the vast difference between ourselves and what He is and what He wants us tobe.



Jesus is the perfect role model for many of us to learn from especially with how He

handled people while He was here on earth. And one of the qualities that Jesus had

operating in Him with great abundance was the quality of meekness. This inner

strength that was seen in Jesus is what mankind needs to mold itself after.

The Ninth Fruit of the Spirit: Temperance-Galatians 5:23-

The Ninth Fruit of the Spirit is Temperance; though it is listed last, there can be no

doubt about its importance to Christian living. Temperance can also be called self-

control which means having the ability to control one’s thoughts and actions. Self-

control is the translation of the Greek word enkrateia, which means "possessing

power, strong, having mastery or possession of ones personality."

Through the spirit of self-control, actions and thoughts do not control us; we

control what we think, and what we do. We see a good example of self-control

implied in Proverbs 25:28: "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city

that is broken down, and without walls."

Self control is the fruit of the Spirit that dominates our will over our emotions. A

person who has self-control is mild and calm, avoids extreme behavior, and

exercises self-restraint in both actions and speech. After all, self-control and love

are the bookends that hold all the other fruits in place. It is rather our awareness of

God's abiding presence and is the result of the infusion of God's steadfast love.

Although restraint and self-control aren't easy; they are necessary if one ever

wants to operate in the fruit of the Spirit. Self-control is needed in all these areas

of our lives. Self-control is the ability to make decisions about how and when we

express our feelings, and which of our impulses to act on. This is a life-long process

which is critical to our salvation.

When we know something is wrong, but we do it anyway, we aren't controlled by

the fruit of Spirit of self-control. When we feel like doing something that we know

we shouldn't, we are being tempted. Everyone is tempted to do wrong things



sometimes. Even Jesus was tempted. We all sin and give into temptations now and

again, but Jesus exercised God's spirit of self-control and never sinned. For all that

is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not

of God but is of the world. We must realize in spite of our weaknesses, God will

give us the strength to get through every trial and temptation.

We will never be able to control all of the things in our life. We cannot stop the

tides from going in or out. As much as some would like, we cannot control the

weather so that it will not rain on our parade. We must admit that there is far more

over which we exercise no control than that which we do. God does not require

that we try to control what is beyond us or that we worry because they are beyond

us. Some things in life we must learn to accept peacefully, yield to and work our

way through.

Otherwise, we will find ourselves "beating our heads against a wall" and driving

ourselves into a psychological imbalance of always seeing ourselves as victims.Concerning anger, our temper must be controlled; Concerning food we need to

exercise moderation; Concerning dress, modesty is appropriate; Concerning

alcohol, non-medical drugs, and tobacco, avoidance of their consumption is best;

Concerning sexual matters, the marriage bed is honorable but abstinence is

required for those who are not married; and Concerning worldly pleasures, 1 John

2:15-16 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the

world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Perhaps the supreme irony is when we realize how little control we exercise over

ourselves. We find ourselves enslaved, even addicted to habits created andimprinted on our character over years of practice. God loves us and because he

loves us we must trust him, and ask Him to give us more of the Holy Spirit, to help

us control ourselves. When things seem to be out of control remember Philippians

4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.”

Chapter 3

The Seven Churches:What Do They Stand For?



The Seven Churches of the Revelation- Ephesus-Revelation 2:1-7-

In the Book of Revelation Jesus began by dictating seven letters to seven churches.

From Church history these were seven actual Churches in cities that existed in the

Roman Province of Asia, now western Turkey. The term Church is both familiar andmisunderstood by most. Many believe that the Church is a building, but its

meaning has nothing to do with a building. The word Church means called-out

ones, chosen ones, belonging to the Lord, the body of Christ, and the bride of

Christ. The Church consists of a body of believers known as people, who

collectively form the Church and who meet in a building.

We the body of believers meaning the Church must constantly remind ourselves

that the Church is people: individuals who share a common bond and who belong

to Jesus and are called to be in a relationship with each other to make up the

Church. We need to understand that Jesus Christ is the one who gives the Churchlife, meaning, and purpose, and without Him there is no Church. Jesus is not

coming back for a bride (the church of believers) who does not love Him. He is

coming to take home His bride who loves Him wholeheartedly.

The message to the seven churches is timeless. The churches are faced with the

choice of a blessing or a curse. From the outside everything seems alright, but God

knows what is on the inside.

The first letter goes to The Church of Ephesus. The Church in Ephesus represents

many churches today. They worked hard and endured patiently. They did nottolerate evil people and they exposed false apostles. They also hated the works of

immoral Nicolaitans just like the Lord did. The Nicolaitans started the idea of a

religious system within the Body of Christ with those who called themselves the

"know it all" versus the "ignorant masses". Jesus hated this because it caused a

separation within the body of the Christ for which he shedded His precious blood

for.

The Ephesus’s Church did many things right. On the other hand, Jesus had some

things against them. He stated that they had left their first love. This first Love

that Jesus mentions is the Love for him and the love for one another. This is thecondition of many Churches today. No love for God and no love for one another. In

http://g.msn.com/9SE/1?http://www.truthablaze.com/church.html&&DI=293&IG=bce3fe21643d41ef93e5bbb270b27129&POS=5&CM=WPU&CE=5&CS=AWP&SR=5




other words a church is barren without God's love. Love is what keeps us together.

To love God and to Love men is the greatest commandment given to believers

(Mark 12:30-31). God expects mankind to live by His commandments. It doesn't

matter how sacrificial or selfless your actions are. If you do it without love for God

or love for men in your heart, it is nothing (I Corin. 13:1-3).

This is the condition of many churches today. Their actions are right, but their

actions are not as a result of God's love. They began well, but as time goes by, the

love for God and for man slowly eroded in these churches. It does not happen

overnight, but slowly and steadily. As worldly activities/programs increased, the

focus slowly shifts from God to the activities/programs. Our worldly

activities/programs become people centered instead of God centered.

The solution to this problem is in verse 5, the Lord tells us to repent and turn back

to God and to renew our love for Him. He wants us to start a new beginning by

going to His presence in fasting and prayer, and asking Him to renew a right spiritof His love in our hearts. We must be willing to ask Him for a heart filled with love

for God and love for one another. God's love, which is the main unifying force

missing in the Church today. Where there is Love there is hope and opportunity.

Love can bridge any gap that exists between God and humanity. Without Love

there is no hope and no opportunity for unity.

The Spirit of God is still making this same plea today to the believers to "have an

ear" to hear what the Lord is saying to the churches. What is your Church like?

The Seven Churches of the Revelation- Smyrna-Revelation 2:8-11-

And unto the angel of the Church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and

the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and

poverty, (but thou art rich). Smyrna was addressed somewhat differently than the

Church of Ephesus. The Smyrna Church were warned of an impending ordeal, but

told that if they just remained faithful even to death, they would be given eternal

life.





The Church of Smyrna was made up of Christians whose hearts were right with

God, in spite of the fact that they faced severe persecution. Jesus addresses what

seems to be the source of some of the persecution; apparently those who were

persecuting the Church of Smyrna were religious Jews which Christ referred to as

"the synagogue of Satan." Those are strong words, and ones that reflect the true

feelings of Jesus towards those who persecute and dehumanize Christians.

Even though suffering is caused by the devil, what it bring out of a Christian is

priceless. It is this priceless treasure that made the church in Smyrna rich. Why

does Jesus call this church rich? The reason is that this church had the amazing

ability to endure the poverty, pain and suffering. The character and endurance that

this church developed as it went through the hard times made this church rich.

You can be the poorest person in your neighborhood, but if you have a relationship

with Jesus Christ you are indeed rich beyond comparison. If you want to grow more

in the love of God and want more treasure of the Kingdom of God, this is the only

way to get it. No one can get the riches of heaven on this earth without going

through what the church in Smyrna went through. If this is how success is

measured, then the church in Smyrna would be considered a spectacular failure. It

is poor, persecuted and constantly being opposed. Today's prosperity preachers

would look down and sneer at a church like this for its lack of faith.

As Smyrna was facing persecution, Jesus lets them know that death does not have

the final victory. Because He lives, there is life beyond death, hope beyond the

grave and there is a crown laid up in heaven for those who endure to the end.

This may seem like a bleak picture, unless you look at the promise of a crown of life. This word "crown" this is not a crown that a king would wear as like a golden

crown or diadem, but it is a victor's wreath. It symbolized victory.

Jesus told us in the gospels that we should not fear him who has the power only to

destroy the body, but could destroy the soul. The One we should fear is the One

who not only has power over the physical, but the spiritual as well which is God

alone. Jesus was telling the Church of Smyrna not to be afraid even in the face of

death! Why could He tell them this and expect to comfort them with these words?

Because Jesus himself, was alive, then crucified, but now Alive forevermore! Jesus

Christ has the power and has triumphed over death, hell, and the grave! Not only

that, but he has destroyed him who had the power of death. No amount of pain or



suffering can shake a child of God. That is how we are different from the people of

this world. When they suffer, it breaks them and they remain broken. But when we

suffer, we are broken and God builds us again and we become much stronger in

Him. No matter what we go through, Jesus will give us the strength and He will

never leave us. And as we come out of the suffering we will emerge purified, rich

and victorious.

The Seven Churches of the Revelation-Pergamos-Revelation 2:12-17-

The message to the Church of Pergamos reveals a struggle that the church has

always had to contend with which was false doctrine. Let's look at what Jesus had

to say to the Church of Pergamos.

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath

the sharp sword with two edges. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, evenwhere Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my

faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain

among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because

thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a

stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols,

and to commit fornication.

The message to this church and the Church today is "repent." These people were

faithful and held fast His name under trying circumstances and great temptations,

but they also tolerated evil. This is the complaint of the Lord toward manychurches today. Many churches are tolerating false teachers who have crept into

the body of Christ and have misled the people of God.

Despite popular belief, Satan is alive and actively working today as he did during

the time of the Church of Pergamos; and he is the ruler of this present and evil

worldly system. But Jesus Christ knows that Satan controls the worldly system. He

knows where Satan is located, and he knows how the believers can gain victory

over the enemy. It is important to notice that Satan chose Pergamos, not Smyrna,

to be the place of his personal, concentrated efforts. Although he fueled the

persecution of the church at Smyrna, his own individual work focused upon paganreligion and the attempted infiltration of such a world system into the church.





Likewise today, Satan is using “religion” and “false teaching” even within the

church to lure unsuspecting individuals away from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Lord told the believers at Pergamos that He knew the difficult situation in

which they found themselves. He knew that they were surrounded by unparalleled

worldliness and paganism. Even though these believers lived "in the world," they

needed to refrain from partaking "of the world."

Romans 12:2 says “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by

the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,

and perfect will of God.”

The two edge sword that Jesus mentions here in Revelation 2:12 is the Word of

God; the sword shows Jesus' authority to conquer all and how it cuts two ways. It

cuts down the enemies and it cuts the evil within the church. He cuts down evil

and sin wherever it is whether within or without.

The scriptures themselves declare that the Word of God is "quick and powerful,

sharper than a two-edged sword" What better way to confront false doctrine, than

to use the rightly divided Word of God to correct. The sword or Word of God is

noted as being two-edged. It has the ability to convict, to heal; and the Word of

God is not "bound" and can perform the impossible. The Word of God is alive and it

is the key to the new birth and most importantly it is the key to spiritual life.

The only true course of survival for the church today is to separate from those who

embraced false doctrine and to exclude them from their fellowship. This is what

has so many Churches in bondage and turmoil today which is false doctrine taughtby false teachers. Jesus says in St. Matthew 7:16, that “Ye shall know them by

their fruits.” Only through the true teaching and preaching of the Word of God can

the Church be set free and delivered from false doctrine. He that hath an ear let

him hear what the spirit saith unto the Churches.

The Seven Churches of the Revelation-Thyatira-Revelation 2:18-29-

Ephesus had left her first love; Smyrna was poor and yet rich; Pergamos was

where Satan’s throne was; and now we come to Thyatira. The Church of Thyatira is





the fourth Church described in Revelation Chapter 2. Thyatira was not a major

center of religion or political power. Rather, it was a small insignificant city known

in the first century for its trade connections and its production of dye.

Yet despite the city's political, social and religious inconsequence, the Lord issued

a specific, important message to the church at Thyatira, a message that theChurch of today needs to take note of. “And unto the angel of the Church in

Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a

flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and

service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than

the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest

that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my

servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave

her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her

into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except

they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the

Churches shall know that I am He who searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will

give unto every one of you according to your works.”

Despite His words of praise for the church at Thyatira, Christ also leveled a serious

charge against this body of believers: It allowed a woman who called herself a

prophetess to remain in the congregation and influence the believers. These

believers within the church refused to separate themselves from her and stand

against her.

This woman who claimed to have received revelations and whom taught thebelievers to commit fornication and embrace idolatry. This false prophetess

claimed to have received special knowledge of what Christ described as the

"depths of Satan", which led some within the church of Thyatira to commit

immorality and idolatry against the Lord.

Christ is merciful and gives space to repent, but we also see there is a day of

reckoning for those who are contentious and do not obey the Word of God.

Christ gave this woman a period of time to repent of her false teachings, but she

refused to repent. He declared that judgment would fall upon this false prophetessand her followers. Any who listen to and practiced her doctrine, even those within



the church at Thyatira, would surely die; this judgment would serve as an outward

example of Christ's omniscience and His lack of toleration for sexual and spiritual

fornication and idolatry.

Jesus searching eyes of "fire" penetrated into the hearts of those who claimed to

worship him. He could see their sins. Christ’s feet of "fine brass," showed thatthose who walked with him were justified and pure. Sadly, many churches today

are satisfied to simply meet the status quo, rather than attempting to do more for

the Lord and their fellowman. They try to merely survive by doing as little as

possible. But Christ commends those churches that seek to grow and excel in their

service to Him as they glorify Him out of a pure and loving heart.

The message to Thyatira and the Church today is hold fast to the Word of God

which we have received until the return of Christ. The Church must reject any

other message that’s goes contrary to the Word of God; and only then will we be

safe and sound from false doctrine. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the

Spirit saith unto the Churches.

The Seven Churches of the Revelation-Sardis-Revelation 3:1-6-

The Church of Sardis once had a reputation for being alive. But now it is dead.

Christ defines a dead church as one that is comfortable with the world, applauded

by the world and walks in the ways of the world. In the Lord's eyes, a Church which

is alive is one that faithfully preaches the whole Word of God and glorifies theSavior.

This is what Jesus had to say about the Church of Sardis; “And unto the angel of

the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God,

and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and

art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to

die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how

thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not

watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come

upon thee.”





Sardis was a city engulfed in worldly and pagan activities like that of the other

Churches already studied. Yet the church at Sardis is unique from the four

churches previously addressed by Christ in which it was completely surrounded by

worldliness; that the church at Sardis could not even be distinguished from the

world. Their outward works consisted only of that which the world found

commendable. The Church at Sardis apparently had a reputable name in the worldthat brought them recognition and wealth from the world. Yet Christ knew the

reality of their situation and observed that they were spiritually dead. These

believers were more concerned about their reputation before the world than their

reputation before Christ. How similar this church is to so many churches professing

Christ today?

It is so important for believers to study and better understand this church because

so many leaders today are exhorting and encouraging today's churches to live like

the world and conform to the lifestyle, attitude, and actions of unbelievers.

In these last days, the Body of Christ will be filled with churches like this. They will

exist, but spiritually they will be dead. They will be infested with sin and their

deeds will be far from right in the eye sight of God. They will be completely dead to

the guidance and direction of God Spirit. Their hearts will be infested with the

things and cares of this world therefore being spiritually dead. They will be

completely cut off from Christ, the life of the church.

Jesus wants the believer to look within themselves to see if they are perhaps alive

in the eyes of world, but in reality, spiritually dead. If true spirituality is found to be

lacking, the believer must repent and hold to that which can give you life. Only Hecan bring you back to life. When He brings you back to life, He will fill you with His

Spirit and His power. This is why Pastors and leaders of the church today need to

surrender to the will of God and completely be submissive to the leading and

guidance of the Holy Spirit. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith

unto the churches.

The Seven Churches of the Revelation: Philadelphia

-Revelation 3:7-13-



The Church of Philadelphia is the sixth Church mentioned in Revelation and it

means “Brotherly Love.” The church at Philadelphia was persistent and faithful in

serving Christ and watching for His return and taking every opportunity He gave

them to minister to others. Although this church was small and insignificant, yet

the power of God rested upon it and they possessed the necessary strength

needed to accomplish the will of Christ in that city.

This is some of what the Lord had to say about the Church of Philadelphia; “And to

the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He

that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth;

and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before

thee an open door, and no man can shut it:” Christ promised a crown to those

faithful believers who held fast to His Word. What a glorious promise of Jesus

Christ’s that He will keep all of them that keep His word. He encouraged the saints

at Philadelphia and the saints today to watch for His coming and to "hold that fast

which thou hast" so they would not lose their reward they had laid up for

themselves in heaven.

Jesus tells us and the church at Philadelphia to "hold that fast which thou hast."

This is a message we seldom preach or teach on, but we must remember that

there is an enemy whose is out for our souls who would like nothing better than to

steal and destroy everything we have. The church at Philadelphia was promised

“an open door, and no man can shut it.” Christ hath set before us an open door,

and though many would be anxious to shut it, yet no man can shut it. The open

door refers to those true Christians who have access to the presence of God and

refuge under the shadow of His wings. The closed door represents the line which

God would not allow the enemy to cross or do any harm to his people.

This is why the Father who gave us to Christ is greater than all; and none shall be

able to remove us out of His protection. Christ promises the faithful believers in

Philadelphia not only does He love them, but one day will vindicate them by

causing the oppressor to come and “worship before their feet.”

It is comforting to know that God has the key to the gate and the only access the

enemy has to our lives is that which He allows. We know that He will never leave

us nor forsake us and that He is with his people always, “even to the end of the

world.”



Let us trust in Christ, let us go forward in strength; let us go forward in power; let

us go forward in simple faith, looking unto Jesus. We can take refuge in this fact

that Jesus is building His church and the “gates” of hell will not prevail against it.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.

The Seven Churches of the Revelation: Laodicea-Revelation 3:14-22-

The last of the seven Churches in Revelation; Laodicea which is the worst of all and

perhaps the most criticized. The Church of Laodicea was so poor that the only

thing it had was money and influence. The Laodicea’s Church is sharply criticized

for being lukewarm neither hot nor cold; its wealth hides its spiritual poverty.

This is what the Lord had to say, “And unto the angel of the Church of the

Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the

beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold norhot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither

cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Jesus addresses this church in Laodicea as being neither cold nor hot, it was about

to be spewed out of God's mouth; meaning being rejected. Yet, this church felt

confident that it was successful, walking in the ways of God, and all that they were

doing were accepted by God. But God viewed this church as spiritually blind,

depressing, naked, poor, and worthless. This Church was blinded by self-

righteousness rather than the righteousness that comes from God. It was headed

for serious trouble. The attitude of this church is reflected in the hearts and mindsof many Churches today who believe that approval from God is gained by

pretentiousness, popularity, acceptance by the majority, and maintaining the

status quo. Little do they know that this is not how Jesus said Christians would be

acknowledged. Jesus said in St. Matt. 5:11-12: “Blessed are ye, when men shall

revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,

for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: great is your reward in heaven:”

A lukewarm spiritual condition is an abomination to God. The Lukewarm spirit is

the result of a mixture of the world and the spirit of God. This is the kind of mixture

that causes lukewarm nature in many churches today. If the devil by any means





can shut the Holy Spirit out of the church, he has effectively prevented that church

from being God's church on the earth.

One of Satan most effective strategies is not to destroy the church, but to mix the

world to the Church to make it lukewarm. The way he accomplishes this is not by

some obvious work of evil, but by quiet displacement and unnoticed substitution. This is why this mixture is dangerous. Slowly, this deadly mixture results in a

lukewarm attitude, without any one noticing it. As a result, church leaders lose

sight of spiritual edification and substitute it with entertainment and social

gatherings. In the midst of this the Church loses it power and purpose to serve God

and humanity. This is the state of many churches today.

Lastly, as we learned from this church and the Church of today, the Spirit of God is

doing everything He can to teach us the great truths of scripture, to warn us of sin

and unbelief, to challenge us to a higher plane of Christian living, to offer us great

promises if we will indeed be a part of the “overcomers.” He that hath an ear, lethim hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.

Chapter 4

Empowering the Body of Christ:Help Is On the Way

A Call to Repentance-Matthew 4:17-

Jesus said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." If there ever was a time

for a change it is now; Jesus says in Luke 13:3, "I tell you, nay; but except ye

repent, you shall all likewise perish." God is always willing to forgive us if we just

only confess our sins to Him and repent.

We remember that we are all sinners. In Romans 3:23 it says "For all have sinned

and come short of the glory of God". Many in this world do not believe in sin and

that certain acts are not sin. This attitude is nothing more than open rebelliontowards God. God gave us the law and the prophets that we might know what sin



is. The penalty for sin is death, Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death." There

is no escape from death without the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave

himself a sacrifice for us that we might be saved. As a Christian, we should be

aware of our sins and ever ready to repent of them.

It is either repent or perish; the choice is ours. Satan does not want us to repent.All people everywhere, and that includes you and I, are commanded of God to

repent. Repent of what? Repent of our sins, such as back biting, fornication,

adultery, stealing, lying, the people we have hurt or even killed, and for not fully

serving and following all that God commands of us.

God is pleading with us right now as we are reading this message to repent. He

greatly desires that we turn to him. God wants us to repent so we can be saved.

He is patiently waiting on us, but eventually our time will run out. The longer we

put off repentance, the harder our heart gets. Repentance is not just being sorry.

Repentance is a change of heart and a change of mind. We must make up ourmind to stop living life our way and start living it God’s way.

It is making up our mind that from this day forward we are going to serve God with

all our might and do everything He says. In Matthew 22:37, "Jesus said, Thou shalt

love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy

mind." In other words, we must do it with all of our being. The goodness of God

should lead us to want repentance. God has been so good to us, and this should

cause us to want to please Him in every way. Because of God love for us, He has

done so much for us, and because of this we should want to repent and do all the

things that He has asked us to do, otherwise we do not love God.

When we love God, more than ourselves, we keep his commandments. Loving God

and loving our neighbor, this is the true walk of a Christian. If we truly love God

and our neighbor, we will be ever mindful not to offend and acknowledge and

repent when we do wrong, for our Lord Jesus Christ is ever willing to forgive. God is

always willing to forgive us if we just confess our sins to Him and repent. When we

sin, we are to confess our sins to God and then we are to turn away from our sins.

We should also be mindful that sin arises not only from our actions but also

inaction, not only what we have done but also what we do not do. After therecognition and confession of our sins, we are to turn away from them. For many



this can be the most difficult step towards repentance. How do we become free

from repeating sin? The answer is, by turning not only away from sin but turning to

God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with our entire mind. To be truly

free from sin requires total surrender to God. Surrender to God requires that we

die to self, to be crucified with Christ it is a daily walk of faith, prayer, self-

examination and avoidance of even the appearance of evil.

We should ever be mindful of the cross and what it truly means. We should

meditate on the meaning of the cross daily, the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ

and the fact that he suffered and died because of our sins, when we do this, the

Holy Spirit will work within us to help us turn from our sins.

A Reason to Be Thankful-Ephesians 5:20-

Thanksgiving’s day has become a traditional holiday in the hearts and minds of many, because it has been a day set-aside for families to gather around the dinner

table for the traditional thanksgiving feast and concludes with a football game.

By Thanksgiving, I am not referring to one day out of the year but many days

throughout the year for giving thanks. One day is simply not enough to give

thanks, especially for those who truly know God; thanksgiving should be a way of

life. A daily reality and a practice that each believer seeks to develop in his or her

own life. Some where we have forgotten the gracious hand of God, which

preserves us in times of peace, multiplies us in times of lost, enriches us when we

are destitute, and strengthens us when we are weaken. We as human beings havebecome too self-centered, too self sufficient, to feel the need to redeem and

preserve humanity, too proud to pray to the God that made us, too soft to stand up

for righteousness, and too afraid to speak out against injustices.

We have become an ungrateful people living only for the moment. We are a

society that has lost sight of the one true God, and we behave as though God is

dead. For example we hate when we should love, we ignore when we should reach

out, we destroy when we should build, and we kill when we should encourage and

promote life.



Humanity has no reasons not to give thanks for God has truly blessed us. We have

so many reasons to be thankful even in the midst of adversity, but because of the

world around us, the attitudes of most, and our own self-centeredness, we are

prone to be very unthankful.

Thanksgiving is one of the keys to an obedient and joyous living because, it takesour eyes off our problems, ourselves, and it allows us to focus on the Lord and His

greatness. Without thanksgiving the heart grows cold and callused. We become

insensitive to God and more and more self-centered and independent, going our

way and doing our own thing without a care or regard.

Thanksgiving replaces, resists, and restrains the attitude of sin such as anger,

anxiety, bitterness, discontent, envy, fear, and jealousy. Thanksgiving also

replaces grumbling, complaining and criticism; not only that, it often results in a

positive attitude toward people and the one true God.

God has given us all things for our enjoyment, a family to love, a free will to

choose, and materials to satisfy our needs and wants. Material things were never

designed to replace mankind’s relationship with God nor our dependence on him.

They can never give peace, lasting joy, security, and meaning. Life does not

consist of the abundance of the materials things we acquire, but knowing God and

having a lasting true relationship with him.

In Ephesians 5:20, it says “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the

Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” True thanksgiving becomes an

expression of an inner recognition and acknowledgement of the grace of God inevery area of one’s life. True thanksgiving becomes something real that proceeds

out of the inner person’s heart through the lips and exhibited through compassion

shown to one’s fellowman. With a Thankful heart, we no longer have a distorted

view of life but are able to treat people with dignity and respect, because our

hearts have been renewed through the power of God’s love and grace. Be Thankful

for what you have and let Thanksgiving continually be offered in your life to the

one true God.

A Teachable Moment

-Psalms 25:5-



In Psalms 25:5 it says “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of

my salvation.” This brings me to a common expression known as “a teachable

moment” which means a time at which a person is likely to learn something or

responsively to being taught or made aware of something. Teachable moments are

perfect for teaching about life disappointments such as the horrors of war, death,

poverty, social injustices, or when the answer we seek turns out to be no instead of yes.

What is there to learn from teachable moments? For one thing the Christian must

be rooted in the word of God to know the value of a teachable moment. That

moment is usually very brief, but it is worth a lifetime of instruction.

All teachable moments begins with a question. For Instance many people are

asking questions perhaps like some of us. What's happening to our children? Why

is there so much hatred in the world? Why can’t I get ahead? What wrong with me?

Why is there so much pain and suffering? Will there be other hurricanes likeKatrina and Rita? Is God trying to tell me something? These and others kinds of

questions are being asked frequently because in the question there is a lesson to

be learned.

God creates opportunities for spiritual learning for all of us. Sometimes it's a

personal experience; sometimes it's the experience of someone we know;

sometimes it's a catastrophe event. In all facets of life there are teachable

moments all around us. God deliberately and intentionally through teachable

moments teaches us biblical truths to help us reach a higher goal in life.

In such moments, we experience what teachers call 'optimal intellectual arousal'.

Like the perfect storm, circumstances come together and it is then we can learn

best. In such moments individuals are prime for discovering and developing a new

understanding. It is indeed these teachable moments in time which touched our

lives through relationships, love, death, achievements, and disastrous events.

These moments are teachable moments for in them we can learn life purpose. The

teachable moment may not be comfortable. In fact, it is often extremely

uncomfortable and confronting.

And yet, at other times, there seem to be peak moments when everything comestogether, the perfect circumstances in which we learn dramatically and intensely.



Such moments are often very memorable ones, our lives and many of us will

always remember those as we look back over our lives. Then there are those

moments that aren’t so memorable? The ones we wish never happened or would

like to forget those are the ones that challenge us never to repeat.

Through teachable moments we are able to pass something on to others becauseGod just might have a plan for us. If we don't learn from that experience, we just

might have to experience it again and again until we get the message God is trying

to teach us. Through our teachable moments we have the assurance that we are

not alone for Jesus is with us for in St. Matthew 28:20, Jesus says “Lo, I am with you

always, even unto the end of the world.” To be filled by his Spirit is to be taught

and empowered by Him. Christ's life is then reproduced in us by the power of the

Holy Spirit.

A Winner Never Quits-St. Matthew 10:22-

In a familiar passage of scripture from St. Matthew 10:22, it reads “But he that

endureth to the end shall be saved.” The main word here is “Endure” which means

to tolerate or to bear. The original Greek word used for "endure" is UPOMONE,

which means: Patient endurance in adversity; in persecution; in suffering and in

tribulations. The enduring is possible because of the relationship with Jesus Christ.

Everything about the way we live expresses the fact that "Following Jesus always

exposes us to adversity and hardship." Our endurance is demonstrated in the waythat we live and act toward one another in the world.

However, there is more to endurance than just surviving and waiting for the end to

overtake us. To endure to the end takes great faith. It takes great faith and

courage to pray to our Father in heaven and say not as I will, but as thou wilt (St.

Luke 22:42). The faith to believe in the Lord and endure brings great strength.

Enduring to the end includes being willing and prepared to endure the trials of life.

There are people who win, not because they are bigger, better, or smarter, but

because they have one thing their opponent does not. Call it grit, determination, oreven stubbornness, but they simply outlast their enemy. Life is hard enough, but



being a true Christian makes it even harder. Besides the knocks, bruises, and

frustrations of ordinary life, the Christian has to face persecution, loss of family and

friends, and sometimes imprisonment and death because of their faith. There is no

escaping the hardness of life.

God has decided that we should endure it. Endurance is a part of life. There aresome things that will never come your way unless you are able to endure. So many

times, we think we are helpless and there is no hope. We think there is nothing we

can do, so we stop trying. We throw up our hands and give up. But endurance is

not about giving up. Endurance requires a conscious decision, and has a goal in

mind. Those who cannot be shaken are those who have learned through trials and

tribulations, and even cheerfully to accept the burden laid upon them. Those who

endure are those who willingly pick up their cross and struggle down the street

behind Jesus; who look the enemy in the eye and refuse to give up; who refuse to

cash in their chips before the game is over.

Throughout life difficulties and our many trying days God wants to deepen our faith

in Him. He wants to reveal to us His unconditional love for each one of us who are

called by His name.

There is still one more thing you can do as a child of God-ENDURE. That which

endures, lasts it has staying power. It does not quit or nor give up even when

defeated. Those who are going to be saved must have staying power. There is one

more important thing to know: There is no way to find out what cannot be shaken

without shaking everything. There is no way to find out who will endure without

turning up the heat. God knows but do we know. Isaiah 40:31 says “But they thatwait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as

eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea-Exodus 13:17-

What do you do when things seem really bad? Do you look back and regret; Do

nothing; or simply jump into the sea and die. The Exodus from Egypt and thedeliverance at the Red Sea is the high point of salvation in Israel's history. In this



event God revealed his deep love and care for Israel. When all hope seemed lost,

by a divine act the Israelites escaped through the sea on dry ground and the army

of Pharaoh drowned when they tried to follow. This escape is the most important

event in Israel's history. It is the culmination of God's great work in delivering the

Israelites from oppression and bondage and providing salvation. It would forever

be remembered as the event that revealed the compassion, the power, and theLove of Israel's God.

In Exodus 13:17, God is stating that He knows what will happen to the people's

faith if they were to face the philistines and war. So, He leads them in a different

direction. This demonstrates that God knows the future. He knows what will

happen under different circumstances.

The important thing to observe is that God was faithful to provide the Israelites

with a visible manifestation of His presence, protection, and guidance. The pillar

was constantly with them and never left or failed them. Even today, Godcontinually gives His people evidences of His presence with them. Some people

claim to believe in God, but don’t believe the miracles in the Bible. The parting of

the Red Sea is a good examination for someone like that. If they think it’s just a

nice story, or insists on a naturalistic explanation, chances are they really don’t

believe.

The children of Israel repeatedly rejected Moses’ leadership, even after witnessing

the miracles God gave him to perform. Even after he led them out of slavery in

Egypt, they still managed to bad-mouth him and accuse him of terrible things.

Moses was the first in what would prove to be a long line of servants of God who

would suffer accusations and indignities at our hands.

The fact that Israel’s leaders and most of our people rejected Jesus when He

presented Himself 2,000 years ago, working miracles and doing good; should come

as no surprise. Israel’s lack of appreciation didn’t prevent God from fulfilling His

promise to bring them to the promise land. Israel’s rejection of God will likewise

not to prevent God from fulfilling the promises He has made concerning their

eventual restoration and blessing in the Land.



Our path to God is through Jesus. Why Jesus? Jesus forgives our mistakes there is

no one else like Jesus Christ. It's that simple. Jesus is more than just a man, He was

God. God, who came to save us from sin by paying the price of our sin when He

died on the cross, God's love is that strong for us: it's so amazing. He would die for

us so that we might have life. Because of the righteousness of God, mankind must

pay the penalty for sin, or someone who is acceptable to God must pay thepenalty.

The death of Jesus was the greatest demonstration of the love of God for sinners. It

is a great love for someone to die in place of a loved one. But Jesus died for those

in rebellion. To know God in the most difficult times in one’s life, one has to meet

Him through the means He has provided. Jesus will forgive you of your mistakes.

He loves you just the way you are. He shows love, grace, mercy and friendship.

Jesus has paid the ultimate price of our sins by dying on the cross. He made it

possible for us to approach God through Him when the veil of the temple was tornin two. He pleads to God on our behalf continually, but we must accept all that He

is offering to us; we must come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Talk to God as you would a

close confidant and friend, holding nothing back, your good times, your worries,

your sin. Let Him give you the peace and guidance that only God can give. He died

for you personally and the only way to God is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Born For a Purpose-Ecclesiastes 3-

The time to die is fast approaching. Pain and suffering fill our world. This is given tous that we may always have something to do; none of us were sent into this world

to be idle.

God's plan for His creation doesn't end with our physical existence. It extends into

an eternity of inconceivable endeavors. Mankind’s calling is to be a blessing to

others such as a simple smile, feeding the hungry, helping the poor and needy,

mentoring some misguided youth, helping someone build their faith, or leading

someone to Christ for Salvation. We were not born to be selfish or self-centered

but born for a purpose, and that is to be a blessing to others. God is more

interested in who we are becoming than He is concerned with where were going orhow fast we get there.



We may not always be able to keep our pockets or bank accounts filled the way we

would like. In fact the richest moments in our lives can be the results of us

reaching out and helping others. We are not just a divine whim but designed as the

clay model that can be transformed as a vessel of worth and beauty.

Humanity spend so much time on unimportant things with no ultimate meaningyet for reasons no one seems to fully understand, such nonessentials stand at the

center of our worldly existence. They have no connection to our spiritual

connection with God whatsoever, yet they have attached themselves to our lives.

Like parasites, they eat away at the core of our soul and deny us inner peace and

joy. The only way to rid ourselves of their destructive things is to walk away not

from things that need to get done, but from thoughts that need to die. Every

person was born for a purpose. It is up to each person to determine their purpose.

No great life purpose is fulfilled without aligning oneself with the greatness of our

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

All who come to Jesus, believe him, obey him and who stay with him till life's end

are destined to share with him in his inheritance, to live forever as sons and

daughters of our heavenly Father. Only those who will step out on the narrow and

difficult path of Faith beaten by our Savior will fulfill the awesome purpose for

which each of us was born. That purpose is we become part of His divine Family,

true children of God. Throughout this life, God actively molds His children into His

divine image through our unique ups and downs; all carefully monitored by Him.

To achieve this extraordinary experience of life, we must embrace a more spiritual

perspective. Otherwise, we will die one day without ever having known the real joyof living. This joy emerges from the experience of our true being when we detach

ourselves from the world and embrace Christ. When we allow ourselves

permission to dream our greatest dreams and we're willing to forgive ourselves

and others, we're willing to remember that we were born with one purpose: which

is to love and be loved.

We as Christians are to give the world the best we have, and the best will come

back to us. Just like any growing season it takes time to reap the harvest. Yet if we

plant and tend to our garden, the time will come when we will enjoy the fruits of

our labor.



Can God Forgive Me?-1 John 1:9-

We all carry some form of guilt and regret, and we need to know with certainty

that God’s forgiveness can truly lift the load of our guilt and shame. Yes, God can

forgive you, In 1 John 1:9 its reads, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to

forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we have sinned,

forgiveness is available to us at the very moment we sinned.

This statement is sure to bring immense comfort to every child of God. The

promise is, "If we confess, He will forgive." Throughout the history of the Bible God

demonstrate acts of forgiveness to even the most horrible of sins: the adultery of

David, the blasphemy and persecution of Paul, the evil immorality of the

Corinthians. If He could forgive those, He can forgive you

To receive true forgiveness from God there are three requirements: Recognizing

the offense itself and its admission before God, making a commitment not to

repeat the offense, and asking for forgiveness from God.

God and only God can forgive us for all of our sins in our lives. Not only does He

want to forgive us, but He also wants to have a loving, rewarding, intimate

relationship with us. He wants to be the fulfillment of all our relationships such as

our father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, neighbor and our best friend.

Furthermore in Hebrews 10:17 it says “And their sins and iniquities will I remember

no more.” Once God forgives you He purposely will not remember your sins

anymore. God loves you and wants you to come to Him and lean on Him. He will

never fail you, or chase you away. He will give you strength and comfort. He will

heal you and He will heal your heart if you will put Him first in your life. Give it all

to God and allow Him to take control. He will give you rest for your weary soul.

Jesus understands our weaknesses and our failings, because He was tempted in

every way just like us, yet He did not sin. This means that He understands and

even sympathizes with your failure. It does not mean it was not a sin or that you

don't need to confess it and ask for forgiveness, but it means that when you do He



will intercede for you with the Father. God the Father hates sin, but He loves the

sinner.

The price for God's forgiveness is high, but He paid the price Himself. Christ's

loving act of grace, believers are eternally freed from the penalty and guilt of sin.

Once we're covered by the Blood of Christ, God doesn't keep a record of our sins.Our forgiveness is total and complete. The answer is not found in our ability to

forget, or in our ability to forgive ourselves, or even in our ability to feel forgiven.

The answer is found in the extent to which God has gone to bear the pain and

punishment of what we deserve, when Jesus died on the cross.

We must face the situation we are in. We cannot undo it. But, the Lord can get us

through what must seem like very difficult times. We need to seek the counsel of

the Holy Spirit through prayer which will us help us move on. God has a plan for

us, even in the midst of these circumstances. We must be prepared to follow His

will for our lives, as difficult as it may be.

We should begin a daily walk with the Lord, which includes Bible study and prayer.

He wants to teach us about himself and guide you into all truth. In His Word, we

will learn about God's character and principles for living a Christian life. The

promise is, "If we confess, He will forgive." Let’s take God at His word.

Can’t We All Just Get Alone?-Ephesians 4:31-32-

As Christians, most of us know we're supposed to “get along” with one another,

but it's not always as easy as it sounds. It's one thing to sit down at Church and

sing “Oh, How I Love Jesus” but it's another to leave the Church, and learn to love

one another in everyday life.

Our ability to relate and get along with others in peace and perfect harmony is thefoundation to Christianity. How we treat and interact with one another has a



profound impact on our ability to function effectively in life. It's no secret that in

the midst of the Church there are and will be disagreements and

misunderstandings among the believers. Although we may disagree at times there

should never be any bitterness or hatred towards one another.

In Ephesians 4:31-32, It says “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, andclamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind

one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's

sake hath forgiven you.”

We all have been hurt and wronged in our lives; therefore, we tend to become

angry and bitter. A bitter person is his or her own worst enemy. Bitterness is one of

the most severe spiritual problems in the life of a person. Bitterness is the sharp

emotion that is generally the result of anger allowed to fester. It is an attitude that

will always render a Christian useless in the Body of Christ. When a Christian is

bitter, there is a loss of fellowship with the Lord and a hindrance in one'srelationship with Jesus Christ and one’s fellowman. Bitterness causes a loss of

many blessings of the normal Christian life, including emotional stability, peace,

and joy. And bitterness results in the loss of production of good works, which are a

major source of blessings and reward in the plan of God. It is very difficult to

maintain any kind of relationship with a bitter person; and bitterness is a major

contributing cause of marital and family problems.

However, forgiveness is the spiritual process of cleansing oneself of the bitterness

and anger that exist in our hearts against another person for an offence, difference

or mistake. Forgiveness is the most important part of a Christian life and we mustremember that forgiveness is a gift, not something we can win or take for granted.

Through forgiveness comes Love, and Love is the sign of a true Christian. If Christ

is living in our heart, we can love and get along with one another. The reason for

this is once we have experienced God’s mercy, we realize how blessed we are to

have Christ in our life. In spite of our weaknesses his grace gives us strength to

overcome. God tells us to love one another just as He has loves us. Because we

are in Christ and Christ is in us, God has declared us to be holy; He wants us to be

holy in our actions. We are to be like Him, which means we are to be different from

the world around us. We are not to treat others as they treat us but we are to treat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resentment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resentment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anger



them as God treats us, with compassion, forgiveness, gentleness, humility,

kindness, patience, and love. Love is the perfect bond that keeps us together.

1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved let us love one another: for love is of God; and

everyone that loveth is born of God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is

love.” If God’s love lives inside of us, we will have that kind of love for others. Let’sbegin today by putting aside our anger, bitterness, differences, hatred, and our

divisions that exist between us. Can’t we all just get along for the sake of unity and

peace?

Do You Believe In God?-Matthew 16:26-

Do you believe in God? This question may be one of the most important questions

you'll ever be asked in your life. St. Matthew 16:26, Jesus said, "For what is a man

profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a

man give in exchange for his soul?" I want you to really think about what that

verse is implying. Many people in the world today believe in many things but they

don't believe in God. You may be one of them. If that is true, I would hope that you

would take the time to read this article carefully. I am not writing this article to

condemn anyone but simply to get you to think about what's important in your life.

Let me give you some reasons to believe in God. One reason is that we are not a

creation of mere chance. Evolutionist will tell us that we originated from simplesingle cell organisms and that we evolved from apes. And by chance, we have

mutated into what we are today. When I look around this world and see the little

things like the complexities of a little leaf and all of its elaborate designs, it leads

me to the fact that this world did not come into being by simple chance but by the

creation of a supreme being, God.

Another reason to believe in God is the way we have seen Him work in our lives

and the lives of others. In all circumstances, whether good or bad, I have seen the

way God has been taking care of me and really changing my life for the better. I

truly don't know where I'd be right now without God in my life.



Despite all appearances and because of the tragic condition of human existence,

all things really do work together for the good to them that trust and love God. Our

relationship with God should be a joyful and a wonderful experience of never-

ending celebration because it is based and built upon a rock of the dependable and

invincible redemption of God. Our God is more than a creator and sustainer. God

supersedes all our imagination and expectation when God takes up the cause of our redemption. Our God is a redeemer, a rebuilder, and reestablishes the

covenanted relationship between God and humanity.

We must come to the realization that many of us couldn't make it on our own and

that many of us are drowning in a sea of sin. You may be the nicest person in the

whole world or you may think that you are a really good person in heart but nice

and good don't cut it. The reality is that we are all sinners. Romans 3:23, says "For

all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Nevertheless, the crown of

righteousness is reserved for those who fight the fight, finish the course and keep

the faith. So the only logical conclusion for many of us is to build a solid

relationship with God. It’s so reassuring, so comforting, and so peaceful knowing

that there's someone out there looking out for us and who’s in control of our world

that seems to be spinning out of control.

God’s great history of the world has a happy ending because there is no power, no

problem, no problem, and no experience that is greater than God’s love. God who

answers our prayers, recreates the universe, and baptizes the earth in rain that it

may abundantly produce a fruitful harvest. God is the eternal power of

rejuvenation, revitalization and restoration. God offers the same grace and mercy

to all who come to him in faith.

Romans 10:9-10 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,

and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt

be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the

mouth confession is made unto salvation. There is an eternal reward that awaits all

of us in a future life to compensate for all of the trials and tribulations that we have

gone through in this life. Regardless of your current life situations God has not

forgotten about you, Romans 5:8 plainly say “But God commendeth His love

toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." "For God so lovedthe world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him



should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world

to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-

17

Ending and Beginning

-Philippians 3:13-14-

Some things have to come to an end before they can ever begin, many of us still

live in the past. We grieve over bad choices. We rehearse our failures, past

mistakes, and sins over and over to ourselves. We face the danger of looking back

instead of ahead. Too often we have allowed ourselves to become just shells of

what we were. When this happens and a backward look is taken, too often, we just

want to go on living in the past instead of facing the present.

This word “forget” literally means to forget upon or over. That is, we are to forget

in consequence of something else. We can get over past hurts because of something more important. Since forgiveness is ours by maturity in Christ, Christ

then becomes the center of our life. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is

faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Once we confess our sin we should never look back on that sin. Once others have

confessed their sin we should never hold them to their sin. That takes strong faith.

It is a matter of believing in God, not ourselves.

We will never grow or mature spiritually as a believer as long as we refuse to

forget. Spiritual growth is impossible with such an attitude. Temporal spiritual

death occurs in the believer heart because he/she wants to punish themselves orthe other person for what has happen in their lives. They do not want to release

the anger or past hurt.

The Apostle Paul sets forth two perspectives in Philippians 3:13-14, those things

which are behind and "those things which are ahead." Some live in the past but

Paul is plainly saying that we should put those things behind us and press forward

to live in the future with Christ and not the pass. This is the choice every Christian

must make, if we are to grow in Christ we must look ahead or remain in the past.

Paul like many of us had a choice to make in his life. His past, with its success and

its shame, he chose to forget. What mattered to him most was keeping his eyeson the goal of gaining Christ’s approval.



It is the devil's business to distract us from the goal. If we take time to answer the

bystanders, the critics, we lose precious time and focus. If we indulge ourselves

with anger, we will not bury our past regrets. From Paul example, we as God’s

Children need to forget past hurts, disappointments, defeats, betrayals, and move

on. Burying the past will liberate us from the bondage of thinking about it. We are

then free from living with it. It is not enough to forget the things of the past. Weshould focus on things ahead.

There are mountains and hills that we have yet to climb, oceans to swim, places to

see, and a God to know. There is so much God has in store for us, but we cannot

and should not waste time on past failures.

We should invite God to bury our past and push back our horizons. Imagine the

wonderful things God could do for us if we would only allow him? We will get the

prize when we reach the goal. We look for our Savior's words, "Well done, good

and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler overmany things" (Matt. 25:21).

The best is yet ahead for us, the children of God. The best and most fruitful years

are yet before us, so bring an end to the past and begin enjoying your wonderful

life that God has given you.

God Has a Plan and It Includes You-Romans 4:25-

Regardless of your current circumstances, which may seem gloomy and darken by

life trials and tribulations? There is a plan for your life. Regardless of what you

may think or feel at the current moment. God has a plan for the Jena 6, our youths,

our nation, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, our decaying communities, troubled

families, the genocide in Darfur, and for those who have no plan for their lives.

There is plan, and it lies within Jesus Christ and not with man.

The church is wrestling for its very life. Its position of influence in the world is

gradually slipping away. Large churches may be getting larger but small churches

are getting smaller. We are clearly losing ground over all; there are many people in



our world who have given up on the church. To them, it is irrelevant and

unimportant in their busy lives.

We as Christians, light of the world, are called to present Christ in an attractive

way so that people can see their need for a Savior. Whatever else it may take to

introduce Christ in a simple way to those who don't know Him, we should find away. The impossible can be possible because we as Christians have seen many

miracles. One such miracle is that we woke up this morning, and regardless where

you are in the world the sun came up. Another miracle is that many of our prayers

have been answered. We have seen the sick healed and those who were lame walk

again. We have seen the blind see again and have seen those possessed by

demons delivered and set free.

There is a plan for our world and for each of us if we only believe in Christ. We are

to cast our cares upon him for He cares for us. We are to teach others to do the

same, for with God all things are possible.

God is the architect of our lives. We were designed and created by Him. He knows

exactly when we should surrender our past and our future into His hands. He has

so much to offer mankind, if we only just have the faith to believe in him. He is an

awesome God, and we are the apple of his eye. He has promised that he will never

leave us no matter what may come, no matter what we have done. He is a

forgiving God. When we repent and ask him to forgive us, he is just, merciful, and

very long suffering. The death of Jesus on the cross is God’s plan for the

redemption of mankind from sin. Since Jesus was sinless, death has no power over

Him.

Therefore, Jesus had to die in order to redeem us; His death had to be at the hands

of sinful people. However, without sin, suffering, and evil in the world, Jesus could

not have been sent to the cross. So, it could be said that suffering in the world is

necessary in order to bring about the cross which in turn demonstrates the great

power and the awesome love of God.

God has a plan, and that plan includes you. Since God knows all things, He tests

us often with suffering and with sorrow; He tests us, not to punish us, but to help

us make it through our midnights. We always want the sunshine, but God knowsthere must be rain. God will never hurt us needlessly, and He never wastes our



pain for every loss He sends to us is followed by rich gain. When we count our

blessings that God has so freely sent we will find no cause for murmuring and no

time to weep.

Our Father loves us to Him all things are possible. So He never sends us pleasure

when the soul's deeply need is pain. So whenever we are troubled, wheneverything goes wrong, it is just God working in us to make our spirits strong. God

has given us freedom of choice. God has a Plan of Salvation for you. There is life

after death, and God has established a Plan of Salvation so that you can spend

eternity in Heaven. Jesus paid it all for our sins by dying on the cross. Three days

after His death God raised Him to life again.

When we believe this, we can receive what is called salvation and become a Child

of God. His Holy Spirit will enter our lives to comfort, guide, help, and counsel us

during our earthly life. When our earthly life is over, we will spend eternity in

Heaven with Him. It is by Christ's suffering and death on the cross that we areredeemed. This means that God has incorporated us into His divine plan to

accomplish His divine will to save mankind. God has a plan, and that plan includes

you.

Hatred Is a Sin-St. Matthew 5:43-44-

Hatred is one of the most deadly Sin, just like high blood pressure, which is also asilent killer. It is how we use love and hate that determines whether they

contribute to harmony or conflict. The greatest thing that can ever happen to a

human soul is to become utterly filled with love.

Whereas to love means we experience joy and happiness that we continue to

produce it until we have so much that we simply want to share it.

By showing love we reach out to all of mankind and encourage others to feel joy

and for them to leave behind theirs negative emotions and push forward into a

self-empowering future. Now the spirit of hate, on the other hand have always

caused division, and since division and conflict have always been the issues, which

plagued mankind progression.



Yet to live in hate means it prevents one from experiencing joy and happiness, it

allows them to concentrates their energy and time being aggressive, anxious,

apart, distant, fearful, insufficient, needy, and rejected. Those who hate have

nothing worth sharing with others only something to take.

Hate also enslaves thereby causing the person or persons who is hated to be theobject of the person who hates thoughts and dreams. Which means the person

who hates becomes a slave to his or her obsession with hating a person or

persons.

Fortunately for humanity only God could be instrumental to counteract hate and

division with love and actions that promotes unity. Yet mankind stands outside the

doorway with the keys that will unlock the doors, which will determine the direction

that humanity will progress. Jesus, the great physician, has a cure for hate and

that is love. In St. Matthew 5:43-44; Jesus says “Ye have heard that it hath been

said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you,Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and

pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” The power to love

comes from God then it flows through the heart enabling us to love self and to love

our neighbors. The power of love not only allows us to love, but to change, to

build, to trust, to hope, and to make a difference.

If we love God with all our being, our life will find new meaning, a new peace and

contentment. If we love our neighbour as ourselves and that means every one of

every race, religion, non-religion, creed and sex; but most importantly we shall find

greater joy in loving one another than in any material possession. Together wecan help build a better world for all, and we shall find love given back to us. When

one truly finds the love of God, they will be transformed into a loving people. Once

the person experience, the love of God, they will be transformed into a loving

people.

Once the person experience, the love of God they will never be the same again or

be able to return to their old life style. Love sets one free from the bondage of hate

to experience a freedom of God’s love.

We will then find that Love conquers hate by not conquering the person; Loveopposes hate by not opposing the person. We will one day be judged on the way



we lived our lives, how we cared for the poor and needy, and how we treated our

fellowman. Perhaps the punishment may well be our own remorse at the

selfishness of our lives when we really see them for what they are. In 1 John 4:7-8,

we find the words “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and

everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth

not God; for God is love.”

Hearing the Voice of God In The Midst Of a Storm-St. John 10:27-28-

Life trials seem to sometime bring us to the point of despair and hopelessness, but

the words of God, God voice calms the storms of life. They can change a negative

situation into something positive and encouraging. In St. John 10:27-28 Jesus says,

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give untothem eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them

out of my hand.” To those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, this

statement made by Him, will undoubtedly bring them assurance, confidence, and

everlasting joy.

These verse commences with the word “My” Jesus’ use of this word is to stress the

fullness of His authority obtained from the Father, as He said to His disciples, “All

authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” as stated in Matthew

28:18.

In our world, if you don’t like what you hear, you can change the channel, change

Church, and change the people you are associated with. The temptation is to listen

to something else, to follow someone else, often without considering the cost, you

see while there is much in the world to listen to and to follow. Only in Jesus do we

find the words of eternal life. My sheep hears my voice, and I give unto them

eternal life, and the lost sheep are lead to the slaughter. It’s just not that simple,

the question is where do you want to be?

Once we have attained the blessings of being called “His” by Jesus, we are then

titled as “sheep”. We may ask, why is Jesus relating His followers to an animal? Theterm “sheep” used by Jesus, determine the intention of the word and the



characteristics of the type of animal used. In Isaiah 53:7, Isaiah prophecy Jesus “as

a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearer's is dumb, so he

openeth not his mouth.” John the Baptists in St. John 1:29 referred to Jesus as “the

lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” 1 Peter 1:19, Peter identifies

the blood of Christ to that of a “lamb without blemish and without spot.”

By examining these terms, we now have an understanding of the term used by

Jesus, relating it to humbleness, purity and obedience. We can appreciate the fact

that those who Jesus calls “His” He is also identifies the same way as He himself

has been identified by Gods’ chosen people. We must be recognized by Jesus to be

“His” He said that in John 14:15 that we must “love Him and keep His

commandments.” Those who will believe, accept and trust in Jesus are recognized

to be His. His to be bless, His to enjoy peace and harmony, His to be ready to

endure the burden of the cross, and His to be made successors of eternal life.

There is a choice, and it is simple, whose sheep are we? I’m not saying that youwill be perfect, and I’m not saying that sin doesn’t matter, what I’m saying that

every day, in what we think, do, and say we are answering the question, whose

sheep we are. We struggle, we are tempted, we often fail to listen to our Savior

and to follow where he leads, but we keep coming back to him, because no where

else can we find the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation that is ours in Jesus

Christ.

The real story is not what we do, but what our Savior does as often as we wander,

it is he who find us, who carries us, who brings us to a safe place, and that is how

we come to know how much he loves us. And in the end, that is why we follow, notbecause the law says we must, not because we are afraid of sin and death, but

because we trust our Savior, we know the quiet waters and green pastures he

provides, and we are thankful for the forgiveness and life we have been given in

his name.

God is speaking to us and saying hold on don’t give up, help is on the way. Hold on

and be strong, keep the faith. Don’t give up, help is on the way, those words

should be words of comfort for us as Christians. As long as we trust Jesus Christ

and listen to his words Help is on the way.



How Do You Know You Are Not Dead?-St. John 11:25-26-

How Do You Know You Are Not Dead? You may be breathing, your heart is beating,

and you are walking around, physically you are alive but spiritually you are dead.

Spiritual death is the condition of one who is spiritually cut off, temporarily orpermanently, from the presence of God.

The Bible is very clear that death is not restricted to merely the physical death of

the body, but the death of the spirit. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they

died that very day spiritually and lost their personal relationship with God. A

physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death, which is

of greater significance, is the separation of the soul from God. A person without

Christ is spiritually dead. Paul describes it as “being alienated from the life of God”

in Ephesians 4:18.

Jesus carried the cross, He hung on the cross, and He paid the ultimate price for us

by dying on the cross on our behalf. Even though He is God, He still had to suffer

death of a temporary separation from God the Father, due to the sins of world. Sin

is the exact opposite of God and God had to turn away from his own Son at that

point in time.

Jesus has the power over death. His claim is He is the source of eternal life. In St.

John 11:25-26, Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in

me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in

me shall never die believest thou this.”

The resurrection power centers in the person of Jesus Christ. He is alive because of

that resurrection power, and because He lives, we live as well. Nevertheless, we

live in our present situation by the power of His life living within us. He is both our

future hope and our present strength. He has already given us eternal life. We

merely have the privilege of beginning to live it out now.

The first thing we need to remember is that if Jesus is the resurrection, it means

that He lives, Jesus Christ is alive. The resurrection power of Jesus Christ means

that the chains of death and the grave could not hold Him. The promise of Jesus to



us is that we will live forever. When we are raised from the dead, we are raised to

eternal life. Our destiny in Christ is secure forever.

The power of the resurrection means that we will live forever. Christ’s resurrection

power works in us even now. When Paul testified to his desire to know Christ and

the power of His resurrection, he wasn’t merely speaking about eternity future; hewas speaking about living today. Jesus has been raised from the dead He is alive

today to live within each one of us. Now, there are many of us with the

resurrection life residing in our very being.

Jesus didn’t just say that He was the resurrection. He said He was and is the life.

The life that is inhabitant in us is the person of Jesus is the life that gives us the

power to rise again and again. It is also the life that conforms us to His image in

the here and now. It is the life which makes us the salt of the earth and the light of

the world. It is the life that gives us the power to manifest Jesus to the world. It is

the life which gives us the capacity to live victoriously in the midst of the world.

Resurrection with Jesus is resurrection indeed. Life in Jesus is life indeed. It enable

to us to be resurrected, to be strengthen, to live life after death, and ultimate

perfection, when we see them all coming to us in Jesus. He is the golden pot which

hath this manna, the rod which beareth these almonds, the life whereby we live.

All this is in connection with Jesus. When we are born again, the spiritual death is

reversed. Before salvation, we are dead (spiritually), but Jesus gives us life. Not

only does the resurrection power mean that Jesus lives, it also means that we live.

Yes we will live forever, but we will live in a joyous paradise forever. We will live inHis presence forever to enjoy the glories of the Lord. There we will never know

pain or sorrow, sickness or death. There we will be united again with loved ones

who have preceded us, never to be apart again. There we will be free from the

limitations of this frail human body as we are changed in the twinkling of an eye.

This mortal will put on immortality and we shall live forever.

Humility and Servant Hood

-St. John 13:1-20-



In St. John 13:1-20, on this the last night before Jesus trial and crucifixion knowing

his time on earth was ending and this would be his last time he would be with his

disciples. He wanted to leave them with one last lesson and that was humility

followed by servant hood. We find that earlier that day while Jesus and his

disciples were walking on the road to Jerusalem that a stripe among the disciples

arose as to which of them should be accounted the greatest. In the past Jesus hadanswered them by saying the greatest people were not the heroes, political

leaders, or warriors. We should not waste our time or energy worrying about how

we compare to others. It is our responsibility to fill the needs of our fellowman that

we see on a day-to-day basis.

Because of the love for his disciples, Jesus needed to bring a completeness and

fullness that would prepare his disciples for that which is about to take place.

Especially for them to fulfill the mission of spreading the gospel, the disciples

would need to learn and understand the importance to serve. This present

attitude they currently had was pride and arrogance, which would ruin the

disciple’s relationship with God, to each other, and to the people (mankind) they

are trying to save. Humility and servant hood are evidence of love that

overshadowed all doubts.

Notice the six things which Jesus did that night: 1) He riseth from supper, 2) laid

aside his garments 3) Takes a towel, 4) Girded himself, 5) Poureth water into a

basin 6) Washes the disciples feet and to wipe them with towel wherewith he was

girded.

This is one task that people do not line up to do because it has no importance,glamour, or prestige. The washing of the disciples’ feet is not only a manifestation

of love but is the model for mankind to use when serving his fellowman. Jesus not

only washes their feet but cleansed theirs heart as well. A powerful symbol of

slavery and without saying a thing started to wash the disciple’s feet. Jesus

showed that, as he was Lord and Savior he cast down his robe and humbles

himself to serve his disciples/humanity.

So Jesus becomes the slave offering to wash the disciples’ feet. As king of all

creation, he does not ask the disciples to wash his feet. As master of all, he does

not demand to be served. As Savior of the world, he does not tell his friends to

minister to him. He rises from the meal, puts on the servant’s towel. Jesus takes



on the role of servant hood through the menial task of foot washing. Jesus

acknowledged that he was not there to dominate, to rule, to tower over others, but

to serve, to be humble, to step out of the way so that people could see God

working in him.

When we are secure with our identity and know exactly who we are in Christ, thenwe are able to wash the feet of our fellowman without shame. Jesus was secure

with his identity and knew exactly who he was and he had nothing to prove, so

Jesus our Lord and Savior took on the role of servant.

I Am My Brother’s Keeper-Genesis 4:1-9-

In the book of Genesis 4:1-9, after Cain had murdered his brother Abel, he then

tried to hide his offense from God. God asked Cain, where was Abel his brother?

Cain replied angrily with; Am I my Brother’s keeper?

This word Brother means a male sibling born of the same parents or one who has a

common bond with another person. Truth is if we be in Christ then we are all

brothers and sisters, because we have a common bond with each other because

God is our Father. Now the word keeper means custodian or guardian.

Whether we admit it or not and whether we accept it or not; we are our brother’s

keeper. Our brother, who is our fellowman, depends on what we do or refrain from

doing. Regardless of one’s race, creed, sex, religion, or any other man-made

barriers does not exclude us from being brothers to one another. If we were asked

this question today, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” What would be your reply?

In Christ we will discover that we are our brother’s keeper, and this is a fact we

must accept if we are to be in Christ. When Cain replied to God, Am I my brother’s

keeper? Cain knew deep in his heart that he was his brother’s keeper and knowing

that fact, he sought to escape his responsibility. In reality that same selfish spirit

still exists in so many of us today. We want to be our brother’s keeper, but the

hard cold fact is we want to choose our brothers, and we want to determine our

means how we should aid them according to our will and not God’s will.



When we become the keeper of humanity, we become slaves to righteousness and

in doing the will of God from our hearts. This is done by the way we live our lives

and how we treat one another.

We are responsible for our brothers as Jesus taught us in St. Luke 10:29-33, the

parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable introduces a clear and compellingword that joins spirituality with practical and compassionate initiatives and

demonstrates how we are to serve humanity.

In other words we as mankind need to show more love and compassion for those

brothers and sisters that are outside of our reach. This is the only way we will

eliminate the hatred, greed, violence, racism, sexism, and poverty that exist in our

world today. It is only through God’s Holy Spirit that our eyes can be opened to

the needs of our fellowman. It is through the Spirit which invades our world that

causes us to change and be more responsible to their needs.

The Holy Spirit works through the events and issues of our times to draw our

attention to the higher reality of God’s continuing presence and power in the

world. It’s how we treat people that determine God presence within us and

working through us. Although God is invisible but he is made visible through our

brothers and sisters that are blessed through us.

God has invaded the world and has caused a new world to emerge. This can only

happen through us when we reach beyond the man-made barriers setup by this

world to our brothers and sisters with loving kindness and genuine compassion.

In this we learn that God does more than create, redeem, and sustain us; God

gives us incredible joy and endless delight! We have more than righteousness; we

have love. More than faithfulness; we have gentleness. More than adequacy; we

have generosity. More than truth; we have love. More than things useful; we have

things beautiful. More than riches and success here on earth; we have life with

God eternally.

We are too our Brother’s keeper by following Jesus’ example of daily living. We are

to practice being kind to one another. We are to practice hospitality to one

another. We are to practice Godliness toward one another. We are to comfort oneanother by practicing humility.



The incredible generosity of God leads us gently to believe and to discover that if

we follow these examples the best is yet to be. When we live and love like Jesus,

live only to do well, willing to love all; we will be living as we should. We will be our

Brother’s keeper, for either we become our brother’s keeper or we remain the evil

one, like Cain.

Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord?-Genesis 18:14-

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" God is still asking this same question today. It's

been over 4,000 years since Sarah laughed in the tent of Abraham at the promise

that she would one day have a son; and implored this question from God in

Genesis 18:14. Sarah knew her body was past childbearing to have a child. She

was 90 and Abraham was 99. Sarah was having a hard time believing what God

was promising her would really come true. God was telling Sarah that she would be

a mother of nations. She had no idea that something so great could come from herwomb at her age.

So out of doubt and disbelief she laughed at God’s pronouncement. Abraham and

Sarah are like many of us today we doubt the ability of God. Doubt is an attack

upon faith. You cannot have doubts unless you have faith. Faith is the way God

works, and so the enemy is bound to attack your faith immediately as he sees you

beginning to act and live and walk by faith. Therefore doubts will begin to arise as

a result of Satan's attempt to overthrow your faith for there is no faith without

doubts.

Jesus says in Matthew 17:20, for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of

mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and

it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Many of us have given up on our hopes and dreams because they seemed to be

impossible or unattainable. God had to remind Abraham and Sarah and even us

today that NOTHING is too hard for him. We serve a God that can do the

impossible. God loves impossible situations. When there is difficulty, God does

something wonderful. When there is impossibility, God does something

miraculous. When we end up in circumstances where we don't know what to do,



we need to turn to God. It doesn't matter if it is difficult or impossible. God

specializes in the difficult and the impossible!

The only thing that God cannot do is act contrary to His own character. For

example, Titus 1:2 states that He cannot lie. Because He is holy, in 1 Peter 1:16 its

says, be ye Holy; for I am Holy, He cannot sin. Because He is just, He cannotmerely overlook sin. Christ paid the penalty for sin; He is now able to forgive those

who will repent and turn to Christ. Truly our God is an awesome God, eternal in the

heavens, unchanging, unlimited in power, in knowledge, in wisdom, in love, in

mercy, and in holiness.

Today, we are very much like the Israelites who, even after seeing God display His

power and love repeatedly, doubted both His love and ability as they came face to

face with each new trial in their lives. God does not promise that you will never

experience adversity in your life. Nor will you be excused from grief, heartache,

pain, and suffering. These things come up in our lives to show us how strong wereally are, that we are an over-comer and more than a conqueror through Christ.

What God does promise is to bring healing and health to our wounded soul in due

season. You can be assured what God promises He will surely bring it to pass. The

great thing to remember in all this is his purpose in our lives, in everything that

happens to us, is to increase our joy. As God promised, Sarah gave birth to her Son

and named him Isaac and Isaac had Jacob also known as Israel. Israel had twelve

sons who later became the 12 tribes of Israel. In this we learn that there is NO

problem too big or too small that God cannot solve.

Jesus Endorses Love-1 John 4: 20-21-

Love is the most important thing in our lives. Jesus is humanity example of how

much we need to love one another and ourselves. When we love God with all our

heart, soul, mind and strength, we grow to recognize that everyone is part of His

creation. Jesus makes it clear in St. John 13:34-35, we have a new commandment

to Love One Another. We must love one another because we are loved by God; and

have received that love, and live in light of it.

If you are reading this and thinking, this all sounds good, but there are somepeople you just can't love, regardless. We all probably felt that way at times,



especially towards those who have hurt or done us wrong. Keep in mind Jesus is

love and Jesus loves everyone even the ones who betrayed him and those who

beat him. In Jesus, He loves everyone through us. It's just another example of why

we must continually let Him direct our lives and control our destiny. Since this is

God's kind of love, it comes into our life through our relationship with Him. If we

want to love one another more, we need to draw closer to God.

If God’s love lives inside of us, we will have this kind of love for others. This love

John speaks of in 1 John 4:20-21, comes from the Greek word agape; it is the

concept of a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting re-

payment. This love is rare in the world. Such love requires the foundation of

integrity, truthfulness, and unity with the absolute.

Love is the sure sign of a true Christian and Christ abiding spirit within ones heart.

If Christ is living in our hearts, we will have this love for our fellow-man. The reason

for this is once we have experienced God’s mercy, we realize how blessed we areto have Christ in our life. In spite of our weaknesses and our short comings, his

grace gives us strength to overcome hate. When we have this heavenly outlook in

our hearts, we naturally love those who are not part of our family. It is this true

love that is totally committed to the welfare of others.

Nevertheless, love springs forth a long-lasting relationship with God which comes

from our being born of Him. If we are born of Him, and are abiding in Him, the

resources for love are there. It is up to us to respond to His command with our will

and whole being.

Jesus Himself said in St. John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”: Jesus

came to teach us the way and the truth and the life. So, if Jesus is in me, I have the

way, and the truth, and the life, and the righteousness of Jesus, and His holiness,

His redemption; and the love of Jesus, and His patience, and His humility living

inside of me.

It's human nature to emulate those we admire the most, so in getting to know

Christ, we'll discover a God worthy of our whole-hearted love, and mankind will see

that love in us and the power of God’s Love. It is not for us to know who will choose

Him and who will not, but we are called to be His witnesses. In order to fulfill thatcalling, we must love others enough to desire their salvation just as He does.



The truth of the words of Jesus Christ which have echoed over two thousand years

are the basis upon which unity is built, but love is the bond that holds us together

in His truth. With this, any church can look forward to spiritual health and growth

and fruitfulness. Once we accept this we will realize that Love is more powerful

than hate.

No More War-St. Matthew 26:52-

The avoidance of war, the promotion of peace, the resolution of conflicts by non-

violent means, should be the subject of major concern to all world leaders,

religious leaders, and all people of goodwill throughout the world. The swords,

guns, and the bombs comes out, and people are stabbed, shot, electrocuted,

gassed, annihilated, and slaughtered. We strike with the sword and so much more.

We cut off an ear and so much more. We destroy entire countries and exterminate

hundreds of thousands of people in a flicker of an eye. In fact, we are willing to riskthe destruction of our entire planet for sake of being the controlling factor. We

strike back with violence to protect ourselves. We carry on because of the ever-

present, ever-trusty, ever-faithful sword.

At this climactic point in the story as recorded in St. Matthew 26:52, as the soldiers

put their hands on Jesus to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane and take Him

away, Peter drew a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, a slave of the high priest.

When the sword was actually used, he rebuked Peter, healed the wounded man,

and said, “Put your sword back into its sheath, Jesus turns to the disciples for the

final time. As he is dragged away by the authorities, he tells his community onceagain to reject violence, “for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

The word "peace" was often on Jesus his lips. Jesus not only followed a course of

nonviolence and nonresistance he commanded his disciples and us today to do

likewise. Those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Violence begets

violence. Killing begets killing. Nukes beget more nukes. Death begets death. Jesus

stands for peace and not war. He will not yield to the way of violence. Although

Jesus knew that he will perish on the cross's violence, he places his hope in the

God of Life and awaits that third day.



The followers of Jesus are prohibited from drawing the sword. We are encouraged

to love our enemies. As followers of Jesus we are to suffer violence rather than

inflict it upon others. We should reject every form of violence, from nuclear

capability, chemical or biological warfare, to handguns, to any form of

dehumanization that causes another life. We should renounce war and violence,

and embrace the gospel of nonviolence. We should not only put away any swordswe have but also encourage others to do the same. The unarmed Christ disarms

us. Christ's community, the Church, is a community of nonviolence.

Jesus went beyond the condemnation of murder to condemn anger and contempt.

He went beyond limited revenge "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" to

unlimited forgiveness, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. Do

not judge or condemn your enemies, he says in St. Matthew 7:1 rather, love your

enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for

those who abuse you.

When we turn, however, to the life of Jesus’ dealing with his enemies, or his

Sermon on the Mount, or to his warning to his nation regarding the Roman

occupation, the uncertainty becomes inescapable. It is this side that has given the

church an uneasy conscience regarding war and peace. Actions speak louder than

words, so we shall start with Jesus’ own actions in face of the hostility and

persecution that confronted him personally. Jesus’ attitude toward revenge, when

he was rejected and turned away from a Samaritan village, his disciples said,

"Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume

them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. It

was not about revenge, or conflict rather peace," and the willingness to suffer pain.

In situations like this even death transform the situation to one in which real peace

becomes possible. The commands to follow Jesus’ example are also promises to

share his glory as "children of God."

The disciples are unable to comprehend Jesus' way of nonviolence. Over and over,

Jesus instructs them to love their enemies and to lay down their lives for one

another, thus preparing them for confrontation with the ruling forces and the

inevitable outcome. But the disciples never understood Jesus’ message. They

heard His Sermon on the Mount, and they celebrated the Passover meal with him.But they kept asking, "Lord, shall we strike with a sword?"



If we will obey the last words of Jesus, then we will not, like Judas, side with the

enemy and employ their means of violence. We will instead suffer what Christ

endured and take up our cross right alongside of him. Jesus, the Son of God, stood

for life and peace not war. He will not succumb to the way of violence, nor should

we, as he said put away your sword.

Overcoming Hate with Love-St. Matthew 5:43-44-

To overcome hate with Love is one of the most challenging tasks that we as a

society can attempt but a task that needs our immediate attention. It is how we

use love and hate that determines whether they contribute to harmony or conflict.

The greatest thing that can ever happen to a human soul is to become utterly filled

with love. Whereas to love means we experience joy and happiness that we

continue to produce it until we have so much that we simply want to share it. By

sharing this joy and happiness, we reach out to all of mankind and encourage

others to feel joy and for them to leave behind theirs negative emotions and glide

forward into a self-empowering future.

Now the nature of hate, on the other hand have always generated division, and

since division and conflict have always been the issues which plagued mankind

progression. Yet to live in hate means it prevents one from experiencing joy and

happiness, it allows them to concentrates their energy and time being aggressive,anxious, apart, distant, fearful, insufficient, needy, and rejected. Those who hate

have nothing worth sharing with others only something to take. Those who hate

live in a fantasy world that reality should give them what they want and that

others should ignore their disrespect, their inconsistencies, their irresponsibility,

their stubbornness to compromise, their willingness to dehumanize and victimize

and become victims of their own actions.

Hate means being proud enough to play god with the meaning of the actions of

others, and deceive and manipulate others to do what they want done. Those who

hate seek to dominate one or others by depriving them of their rights. Those who



hate’s lives are miserable and their intentions are to make everyone else lives

miserable that do not meet their standards.

Hate also enslaves thereby causing the person or persons who is hated to be the

object of the person who hates thoughts and dreams. Which means the person

who hates becomes a slave to his or her obsession with hating a person orpersons.

Fortunately for humanity only God could be instrumental to counteract hate and

division with love and actions that promotes unity. Yet mankind stands outside the

doorway with the keys that will unlock the doors, which will determine the direction

that humanity will progress. Jesus, the great physician, has a cure for hate and

that is love. In St. Matthew 5:43-44; Jesus says “Ye have heard that it hath been

said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you,

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and

pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” The power to lovecomes from God then it flows through the heart enabling us to love self and to love

others.

The power of love not only allows us to love, but to change, to build, to trust, to

hope, and to make a difference. If we love God with all our being, our life will find

new meaning, a new peace and contentment. If we love our neighbor as ourselves

and that means every one of every race, religion, non-religion, creed and sex; but

most importantly we shall find greater joy in loving one another than in any

material possession. Together we can help build a better world for all, and we

shall find love given back to us.

When one truly finds the love of God, they will be transformed into a loving people.

Once the person or persons experience the love of God they will never be the

same again or be able to return to their old life style. Love sets one free from the

bondage of hate to experience a freedom of God’s love. We will then find that Love

conquers hate by not conquering the person; Love opposes hate by not opposing

the person. Mankind will one day be judged on the way we lived our lives, how we

cared for the poor and needy, and how we treated our fellowman. Perhaps the

punishment may well be our own remorse at the selfishness of our lives when we

really see them for what they are.



Now is the time that we show the world the way of unity and tolerance, not strife

and rivalry. We (mankind) as a community, as a city, as a state, as a country, as a

people and as a world community can overcome hate with the greatest tool of all

which is love. In 1 John 4:7-8, we find the words “Beloved, let us love one another:

for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He

that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Remember Darfur in Your Prayers-St. Matthew 5:4-

The crisis in Darfur, in western Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights

abuses imaginable, including widespread murder, rape, abduction and forced

displacement. Genocide has unfolded, while the world watches and refuses to say

anything. The Bush’s administration, thus far has offered only empty rhetoric andidle threats. The failure of the international community to act is costing the lives

of thousands.

The conflict in Darfur has led to the death of over 400,000 men, women, and

children. Over 2.5 million people have been forced to flee from their homes.

Innocent civilians have died as a result of both deliberate and random attacks. Not

since the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 has the world seen such a depiction of

slaughter, rape, starvation, and displacement as is happening right now in Darfur.

Countless women and girls have been and are being raped. Hundreds of villages

have been bombed and burned; water sources and food stocks have beendestroyed, property and livestock looted. Mosques, schools, and hospitals have

been burned to the ground.

President Omar El Bashir's of the Sudanese government in Khartoum is behind all

of this tragedy or ethnic cleansing. His group has a strong Arab character and

derives most of his support from the north of the country, which is largely Arab.

The Sudanese government sees the people in Darfur as a major threat, and has

funded, armed, and recruited militias such as the Janjaweed from local Arab tribes.

The Janjaweed, a ruthless band whose name means "devils on horseback", havemurdered and forced millions of Darfur is to flee their homes for crowded refugee

http://worldnews.about.com/od/glossaryj/g/janjaweed.htm

http://worldnews.about.com/od/glossaryj/g/janjaweed.htm



camps, where they continue to suffer extreme deprivation, disease and continued

violent attacks.

Many refugee families are headed up by women with no form of income, as the

men have been killed trying to defend their homes and villages. There are also

many orphans who have lost or been separated from their parents during attacks.Large parts of Darfur are desert, and conditions are difficult and dangerous during

the best of times. Even when the villages are left intact, many refugees are

unwilling to return to Darfur unless there is security in place to protect them. If

they were to return to their homes villages, they would be killed. The deadly

combination of the Janjaweed and the regional drought have made these the very

worst of times for the people of Darfur.

This conflict will not be solved quickly in Darfur. Armed intervention by a combined

African Union/UN peacekeeping force is not viable without arriving first at a

political treaty, expressed in a peace agreement. This will require the mostvigorous diplomatic and economic initiatives aimed at bringing Khartoum and the

rebels to the bargaining table.

In the meantime what can you and I do to help? As Christians we should not just

carelessly stand by and watch while innocent people continue to face inhuman

suffering and death.

In the midst of all this suffering, Jesus is calling us to examine ourselves. He

commands us to let His Spirit search our hearts and show us where we are wrong.

We must be Christ like and envision a world in which the Christian community iswilling and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities. Our mission

should be to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and

stop the suffering. Our primary focus now is on the Darfur genocide; our larger

goal is to help build a permanent anti-genocide society that transforms “Never

Again” from a promise we make into a commitment we keep.

The teachings of Jesus Christ are simple today as they were over 2,000 years ago,

but are very much needed during this critical time in our society. Darfur needs us

and each day that we sit back and do nothing more innocent lives are lost. The

only assurance we have and the people of Darfur have at this time is the Divinecomfort in the peace of knowing and trusting God. So where ever you are please



stop and remember the people of Darfur in your prayers, worship services, and

your thoughts.

Segregated Sunday-St. Matthew 7: 12-

The late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said in one of his many speeches

"Eleven o’clock Sunday morning was the most segregated hour in America." If Dr.

King were to ask today if Sunday was still segregated; our answer to that question

would be yes; because nothing has really changed and Sunday morning still

remains the most segregated time in America. Why are these words of Dr. King

still echoing regarding eleven o'clock on Sundays being the most segregated hour

in America still valid?

Racism, which is attributed to segregated Sunday, is a sin, and it is still very

prevalent in the church today. Racism is a spiritual problem, which has always

thrived in the church for centuries, yet it is very important to remember that the

founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, never once advocated it. As a matter of fact,

His summary of the Ten Commandments broke down very simply to love God with

all your heart and soul and strength, and then to love your neighbor as yourself.

He gave a perfect example about who is your neighbor in the parable of the Good

Samaritan in St. Luke 10:30-37; Jesus showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that

loving your neighbor is to transcend racial, social, and status barriers.

Jesus said in Matthew 7: 12, "Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you,

even so do you also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets." This rule was

not given for the Jewish people alone, but for all people of all races and nations. It

is the perfect end toward which all the law and the teaching of the Lord are

directed. It requires that each one put himself in the place of the other. We do not

want others to be prejudiced against us; we want them to understand us. Hence

we are not to be prejudiced against others, but try to understand them. No matter

what position we may find ourselves, we want to be treated with consideration,

fairness, kindness, love, sympathy, and sometimes with compassion and mercy.

We are, therefore, to treat others in the same manner. This is a very simple



principal and easy to understand. When Christians sincerely pray about this, we

will see a difference.

This is where reconciliation begins in the heart of mankind; and with people

working together in an environment in which everyone has pledged their

allegiance to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to speak to their hearts. If the church isgoing to provide a picture of reconciliation for the world to see; Christians of all

colors have to be pro-active. It isn't enough to walk one mile, however it will take

walking two miles to make a difference in this world of ours. Jesus created the

Church out of Love for us and it’s up to us with Love to reach out to others.

Moving forward means understanding that reconciliation stretches beyond

integration or equality to a unity of spirit and purpose. Reconciliation begins with

removing the "dividing wall of hostility" in one-on-one relationships. We must be

Christ-like by viewing the other person as one whom God loves dearly. The time

has come for the Church (meaning us the believers) to strive to be a model of

reconciliation in a world of bitterness and hatred between the different racial

groups. This world is big enough for all of us. God is big enough for all of us and

God created diversity. If we can learn from nature about life then we can learn

from each other the importance of diversity. We as Christians are to unite with one

another and we are to live in harmony with one another because of the fellowship

we have in Christ.

Should Women Be Allowed To Preach?-1 Corinthians 14:34-35-

The role of women in our society has changed dramatically over the past hundredyears or so. Today, amid this backdrop of social equality, we must attempt to

determine where women fit into religious practices, and how we can best utilize

their talents which they bring to the church without causing harm.

Of the many hot topics being discussed by the Church today, one of the hottest

seems to be the controversy over exactly what a woman's role is in the church.

When someone says, "God does not call women to preach," it is like saying that

God does not baptize with the Holy Spirit today, the gifts of the Spirit were not

limited to the men only. God does not look at gender but he looks at the heart of the person. There is no doubt that the female is a member of the Body of Christ



and has many important and valuable functions to perform: wife, mother of her

children, friend, doctor, teacher, lawyer, judge, law enforcement officer, and many

others too numerous to mention.

Jesus opposed traditional roles for women by including them as disciples. They

were not in the apostolic circle, but were certainly considered as disciples by Jesus.In Mark 3:35, he claimed them as “family”: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother

and sister and mother.” Women were included in the “followers” as Jesus

proclaimed, “If anyone would come after me, he must take up his cross and follow

me.” (Mark 8:34) At the cross, women remained to morn Jesus’ death. In Galilee,

these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who

had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

People who think a Christian woman should not be allowed to preach or teach the

Bible, doesn’t know Scripture. If women are not allowed to have a preaching or

teaching ministry as some claim; then someone forgot to read the book of Judgesabout a woman by the name of Deborah. She was the chief ruler of Israel for 40

years, giving orders to the Generals and all the army. She did the work of an

evangelist, prophetess, Judge, and a preacher. God gave her authority over the

mighty as he did for the men.

Two passages of scriptures which often misunderstood the most in the bible

regarding the role of women preachers comes from 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and1

Timothy 2:11-12.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 says "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it isnot permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under

obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their

husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.”

In the first century the faithful women in Paul’s day who attended church were not

permitted to sit with their husbands. The men sat on one side of the building and

their wives on the other. In today’s churches the family unit sits together.

Through out the sermon as the preacher would deliver his message the ladies

wanted to understand more of the message and would disrupt the service bygetting up or yelling across to their husbands in the middle of the preaching as to



what was being said. This is why Paul made this statement for a woman to keep

silence in the Church, because it was causing a disturbance during worship service.

Then there is 1 Timothy 2:11-12, which says “Let the woman learn in silence with

all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the

man, but to be in silence.” It is also to be understood that if anyone, whether manor woman, is usurping authority over the God-given leadership of the church, she

or he is to be silent, and not to teach, or act in such a way that would create

discord in the Church.

To condemn women preachers is in a sense to claim they are doing wrong and

committing sin and is a serious offense, because God has stamped His approval on

them by His Spirit.

We should not condemn women preachers, lest we find ourselves fighting against

God, and committing the evil sin of attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to thedevil. If God can use a she-ass, he can use a woman. If a woman minister has a

message from God then we need to hear what God is saying.

Smart People Make Foolish Choices-Exodus 32:1-14-

In Exodus 32:1-14, we find the familiar story surrounding the building of the golden

molten calf. After Moses meeting with God had taken longer than they expected,

the children of Israel decided that the invisible God who redeemed them from the

grip of slavery, hunger, and thirst in the land of Egypt was no longer able tosustain them. They decided to take their gold and make themselves a god of gold,

a golden calf. They worshipped the golden calf which was huge, visible, and

dazzling. The golden calf had everything but life and the ability to give life. The

calf was impressive but motionless. The calf could be seen and admired, but could

not be trusted nor could it answer prayers.

It is the easiest thing in this world is to be deceived by gold rather than Godliness,

size rather than spirit, the visible rather than the invisible. Everything we see and

hear may tempt us to believe more in things and people rather than the one true

God who rules all things. The great challenges to our faith are things that aredazzling, smooth talking, well polished, impressive, and irresistible.



For example smooth talking politicians, well polished preachers, Fast talking

salespeople, and even impressive looking mates fool us. They tell us what we

want to hear not what we need to know.

Politicians tell us one thing until they get into office and then they do the opposite

of their promises; Churches seeking Pastors call candidates that tell thecongregation what they want to hear and not what they need to know. Many

Churches have had and are having a difficult time with their choices because the

Preacher turned out to be not what they appear. Salespeople bend over backward

to sell us a product but hold back the important facts such as the warranty, the

risks, and the longevity of the product.

Many lonely people are so desperate for a mate that while searching for someone,

they make the simple mistake of judging the outer qualities, such as the length of

the hair, the color of the skin and eyes, the size and make-up of the body, and

even the size of the bank account; instead of looking at the heart and the integrityof that person, and finding out where does God stand in their lives. We make

unconscious life choices without regarding the consequences which often bring

about hurt, disappointment, sadness, regret, and ultimate death.

Even so one can travel around this nation and see some magnificent places such

as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Renaissance Center in Detroit, and the Lincoln

Memorial in Washington, DC. and the beautiful Metropolitan Museum of Art in New

York City. Those are some impressive places. The New Jerusalem, though invisible,

is the ultimate, eternal home of all saints.

We must be careful not to repeat the same mistake as the children of Israel did by

making a foolish choice. They turned their backs on the mystery of God to

embrace the visible impressiveness of material success and the splendor of a

golden calf.

Are we not guilty of continuing to make the same foolish choices in our daily lives?

Can you see GRACE, MERCY , PEACE, and the LOVE of God? They too are

invisible, but if we choose Christ today, he can give our lives meaning and purpose

above and beyond what we could ever imagine.



Stop Procrastinating-St. John 13:27-

In St. John 13:27, during the account of the Last Supper, Jesus tells Judas: “That

thou doest, do quickly.” Judas then went immediately to betray Jesus. It is obvious

that Judas had already been influenced by Satan. Judas knew Jesus’ ministry wascoming to a close. Judas was a worldly person and therefore loved the things of the

world (money) and even though he was among the inner circle with Jesus, he was

the target that could easily be influenced for the greatest betrayal in history. At

the last supper, we find Judas partook of the bread (symbol of Jesus’ body-flesh).

Judas dipped the bread with Jesus, but he left before he could partake of the wine,

a symbol of Christ’ bloodshed on the cross for the remission of sin.

Judas identified with the humanity of Jesus but not His ultimate mission. He left to

his betrayal before the wine was passed to symbolize the new covenant. So Judas

partook of Jesus as far as the bread stood for, but never partook of the truecommunion, a symbol of the blood that could cleanse him. If Jesus had not

instructed Judas to do what was in his heart and to do it quickly. Mankind would be

lost in sin and without a Savior. Without Jesus going to the cross and shedding his

innocent blood for the remission of sin for humanity, there would be no means to

have fellowship with God.

What does this message have to do with us as Christians and Non-Christians? It

comes down to one simple word that keeps so many of us from reaching our

ultimate goals in life, procrastination. Just in case you did not know, a

procrastinator or someone who procrastinates is someone who puts off importantwork or tasks that they are supposed to do now, but we put it off for a later time.

Procrastination is one of the biggest problems that most people have. All of us

procrastinate on occasion. For some people, it is a chronic problem; for others, it is

only a problem in certain areas of our life. Procrastination causes stress, anxiety,

and a feeling of failure. Procrastination is always frustrating because it results in

wasted time, lost opportunities, disappointing work performance, generally feeling

bad about oneself.

There are many reasons why people procrastinate, but one of the reasons is thatwe find it harder to start something new than to maintain what we are already



doing. Most people do not have a problem finding time for things they want to do.

However once they see a task as too difficult, painful, boring, or overwhelming,

then procrastination steps in. When we procrastinate, we allow less important

tasks to take up the time and space that should be devoted to more important

things. For instance like losing weight, visiting the sick, helping the poor and

needy, mentoring an at-risk and troubled youth, studying the bible, praying more,attending worship services regularly, managing your finances, tithing, ending an

abusive relationship, ending an ungodly lifestyle, and developing a closer walk with

God.

Two common reasons for procrastinating are fear and failure, and dread of taking

on long boring, and difficult tasks. Fear of failure often occurs at work or at school

where results are evaluated and can affect our future. When a task is perceived as

long or difficult, many will procrastinate simply because there is no immediate

gratification.

Procrastination is a habit, a bad habit that you can change so that you can get on

with your life. However, this cannot be done alone this is when we need inner

strength to bring us through. Philippians 2:5, says let this in be in you, which was

also in Christ Jesus. Having the mind of Christ will not allow one to procrastinate

on the important things in life. There are things that need to be done in your life

that will secure your salvation, and those things need to be done now. Once you

understand this, you will be able to understand, recognize when you are

procrastinating, and develop the courage to overcome it.

The Cross, Easter, And Jesus-St. John 11:25-26-

In the cross we see what God has promised to do for those who believe in Jesus

Christ. But what happened to Jesus will happen to all believers. He suffered, and

He arose. We will suffer, and we will rise. The cross represents our commitment to

the Lord by following His example and obeying His word. There will be times when

the cross will seems heavy, but most of the time we will hardly notice the burden.

Jesus walked right up to the cross and took on the sins of world. We owe him

everything, including our very own existence. A true disciple gladly gives up all

that he has in exchange for an unending life of joy and happiness with God. The

joy He offers, no sadness or loss can diminish. The cross of Christ leads to Victory



and Freedom from sin and death. The cross was a real and live illustration of love.

This is the true meaning of Easter!

Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter never fails us,

even in the worst of times, amidst destruction, death, and despair. Easter arrives

as surely as daybreak, boldly proclaiming the message of renewal and hope. Theworld was never and will never be the same again after the resurrection. Jesus’

blood stained linen wrappings and the empty tomb ushered in a completely

different era of a brave new beginning. The message of love, faith and hope still

echoes across the globe, from the devastation of hurricane Katrina, and the

genocide in Darfur.

Through this we must realize that without God, everything becomes impossible.

Easter declares: "With God, everything becomes possible."

This means hope to our world; hope transcends our limitations and triumphs overour worst fears. Easter symbolizes the kind of tragic optimism that cannot be

crushed by all the forces of darkness including death.

Jesus explains to us why it’s so important to follow him. Nothing is more important

to God than our eternal soul, neither riches nor pleasure nor intellectual pride. If

we aren’t willing to deny ourselves, we are not true followers of Christ. Nothing

should be more important to us than God. Jesus knows that no human being is

qualified to follow Him until they have first died to this old life. Jesus knows that

mankind cannot live until they have died and been raised to life again. Jesus

therefore bids us to die to self right away, so that He may raise us from the deadby His Indwelling Spirit and place us immediately upon the correct path.

In Jesus, mankind was able to see goodness and love demonstrated even toward

those who persecuted Him. Sin was overcome through a love that gave all. This is

the meaning and the message of the cross, the message we too are to take to our

world.

Jesus did not come to merely tell us how to live, or even to merely show us how to

live. He came to be our Life. Jesus allowed people to see what God is like. He not

only taught truth, He lived it.



As Christians we should be driven by our love for Jesus Christ to get involved in the

lives of others. This is what Jesus did when He died on the cross. Anytime a

believer suffers in order to obey and serve God, he is losing his life that he may

gain it. Jesus says in St. John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that

believeth in Me, though He were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and

believeth in me shall never die.”

The Devil Made Me Do It-1 Corinthians 10:13-

We know that the first Adam failed and did not overcome the temptation of eating

the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Why? Because he was spiritually weak;

but we praise the Lord for the second Adam who is the Lord Jesus Christ. He

triumphed over Satan. Jesus lived that temptation in the most agonizing way from

the desert to the cross. The long, painful history of the Church is the history of

people being tempted to choose power over love, control over the cross, being a

leader over being led.

Temptation is always subtle and tricky. It seeks to turn good into evil by driving

goodness to the extreme which is evil. We may be tempted to cheat on our mate,

tempted to commit a crime, and tempted to eat something we shouldn't for health

reasons. We may be trapped in a harmful pattern of thinking, or dangerouslyinvolved in a lifestyle that is harmful. Temptation will come, but it’s hard for the

devil to deceive us when our mind is on spiritual things. Satan can only work with

what we give him, so we are not to give him any space in our minds. We can avoid

many of the temptations we face if we will put this into practice. Satan’s main

purpose is to get us to doubt ourselves and our capabilities.

Temptation is a fight, and fighting temptation is a battle that is as much spiritual

as it is emotional or physical. To be tempted is not a sin. Everyone is tempted and

at different stages of their life. Even Jesus was tempted! Temptation happens when

the opportunity is present to do what we know is wrong, whether against God,ourselves, or others. Being tempted is not wrong, it's the decision to do wrong and



the corresponding action that follows. In plain and simple words the devil did not

make you do it; it’s was your choice.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says “ There hath no temptation taken you but such as is

common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above

that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that yemay be able to bear it.” We can win against temptation; God will either help us or

give us a way of escape, so that we may endure.

Temptation involves choice. Do we obey God or give in to our own desires? The

good news is that with God's help, we can make the right choice. There may be

pain and anguish in your heart and mind when declining temptations of the flesh,

but overcoming temptation is treasure for the soul.

Christ’s victory over the temptations of Satan in St. Matthew 4:1-11, had various

implications and applications. Jesus emerged sinless from the temptations provedHim to be qualified as God’s Son to rule over the earth. Jesus did not defeat Satan

and resist temptation with His divine power, but He defeated Satan by those same

means which are provided for us today; the Spirit of God and the Word of God.

Either we will drive out temptation by faith, or we will drive out faith by fear that

gives in to temptation.

The Great Commission-St. Matthew 28:19-20-

In Matt. 28:19-20, we find Jesus Christ concluding words before his ascension unto

the Father in heaven. Those last precious words relate to The Great Commission,

one of the most referred bible text but the less preached text in the bible, given

the fact that the great commission contains Christ’s marching orders for the

church. The words are: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to

observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you

always, even unto the end of the world.” The Great Commission is called great

because the task required is great. It requires nothing less than making disciplesof all nations by reaching out to every human being regardless of race, creed,



religion, sex or other man made barriers of separation and presenting them with

the gospel of Christ.

The Great Commission is universal in its scope-to make disciples of all nations by

reaching out to all of humanity. The Great Commission shouts out the arrival of

the new age of a new creation-the redemptive historical transition from the old tothe new. Jesus makes it clear that the great commission is not about the

expansion of the nation of Israel; Instead Jesus would build his Church. The old

covenant circumcision made Jews out of the people. The new covenant baptism

brings all races of people into the church of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of heaven

that demolishes all the limitations of the old covenant and shatters all the

boundaries of the nation of Israel.

In Matthew 10:5-6 Jesus sent the disciples out two by two and said as he sent

them, “ Go not into the way of the gentiles and into any city of Samaritans enter

ye not: But rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The disciples werelimited in their going, but those days have come to an end. With the resurrection

and glorification of Jesus Christ, omnipresent has been ushered in, and the gospel

must be preached to “all nations,” meaning Jews and Gentiles can be blessed with

the salvation of Jesus Christ.

The disciples were given three commands and they were: Go, Baptize, and

Teach.

Go: Jesus tells his disciples to go to all nations and make disciples of them. A

disciple is one who exercises his or her mind as they hear and understand thegospel. Disciples are those who will also deny themselves and follow Jesus Christ,

all the days of their lives in complete obedience.

Furthermore disciples are those who will love Jesus Christ more than their parents,

their own culture, their own race, their own lives, and everything else. Most

importantly Disciples are followers of Christ who have separated themselves from

the world and committed to doing His will upon this earth. It’s going to take

enthusiastic disciples to reach out to the forgotten, the lonely, the unloved, the

unsaved, the unchurched, and the untouched and provide them with the Good

News of Jesus Christ.



Baptize: Jesus also commands the disciples to baptize the converts in the name of

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: Baptism is the sign of separation from the

world and union with the true God. It is the sign of submission to the rule of Jesus

Christ, the Lord of all. It is the entrance way into the covenant community of the

great King, whereby entering into a vital and lasting relationship with the true

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Teach: The disciples then were to take up the task to teach the people from every

nation on everything Jesus had taught them, what a glorious task that would be. As

we carry out the Great Commission, we have the glorious hope that Jesus, who

commissioned us will see to it that our task be done effectively and efficiently.

The most important part of the Great Commission is that we need to remember

what Jesus said, “I will be with you always,” This means that when we are young

he is with us; when we are old he is with us; when we are weak he is with us; when

we are strong he is with us; when we are sick he is with us; when we are healthyhe is with us; when we are poor he is with us; when we are rich he is with us; when

we are hated he is with us; when we are alone and forgotten he is with us; when

the world seems so big and we seem so small he is with us; when we are attacked

he is with us; when we are beaten he is with us; Though we go through the floods

and the fire; God is and will be with us all the days of our lives.

In Hebrew 13:5, it says in the last part of the verse “I will never leave thee, nor

forsake Thee.” As we carry out the Great Commission, we have this assurance that

he who commissioned us will see to it that our task be done. In Matt. 28:18, Jesus

said “All Power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Jesus Christ, the greatcommissioner, is the resurrected Lord, who conquered sin and death forever! Jesus

Christ, the great commissioner, is the One who possesses all authority in heaven

and on earth! He, who was raised from the dead, is now seated in heavenly places

at the right hand of God the Father. He is able to forgive your sins, however great

and many your sins may be, and that is the good news that needs to be

proclaimed throughout the world. The power of the great commission is to save

and redeem that which is lost and bring forth people from the world into the

Kingdom of heaven. Now is the time for the Church to answer it’s calling to “Go ye

therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I



have commanded you: and, Lo, I am, with you always even unto the end of the

world. Amen.”

The Importance of Children-St. Matthew 19:13-14-

No matter how you may feel about Children they are important, in reality children

are here to light our path. With their innocence, love, wisdom and even struggles,

children show us when our choices are motivated by fear, hatred, or by love.

Nonetheless, Love should be the golden thread that runs through all your actions

in dealing with children. Children growing up today are face with many difficulties

and challenges. As adults, we are responsible for providing our children with a

nurturing and loving environment, as well as tools that will empower them to

succeed. Today's children have an important mission ahead of them which is to

change our family, educational, political, and other systems, to ones based on

honesty, collaboration, empowerment, and Love.

In St. Matthew 19:13-14, the disciples did not think children were important, but

Jesus turned their idea upside down. Jesus said to them then and to us today,

“Suffer little Children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the

kingdom of heaven.” We see in these verses that some people brought their

children to Jesus for him to bless them. Jesus’ disciples saw this and got angry

because they thought that it was a waste of Jesus’ time. They thought it was

unimportant for children to get close to Jesus or to be blessed by him. But Jesus

didn’t feel that way. Jesus demonstrated that all children regardless of their

circumstances are important to Him. He was very unhappy when the disciples triedto send the children away. He told them to let the children come to Him.

As we look around today we see many parents, Christian leaders, politicians, and

civic leaders, talking the talk but not walking the walk when it comes down to the

well being of children. Some people just don’t seem to have time for children

whereas others just don’t care for children at all. Jesus showed us without a

shadow of doubt that children are very important to Him. Jesus is calling us and

presenting us with a challenge to let the children come to him and not hinder them

in anyway. Our fundamental goal as parents, Christian leaders, politicians, and

civic leaders should be to introduce our Children to a God who loves them and who

is concern for their well-being. Jesus loves for children is an example of how we



should treat and love all Children. All children need love more than material things.

Although material things have their place Love can survive longer than the life of

material things.

We as Christian’s adults need to make our churches, our home, and our society a

safe place where children can learn the truth about Jesus, and to know that theyare loved, protected, and valued. Children need positive role models and positive

family relationships in order to help them develop into these kinds of relationships

in their own adulthood life. Imagine what our world would be like if we allowed our

Children to come to know Jesus and developed a relationship with him.

We as Christians have a moral obligation to our children, because they belong to

the same family as we do the family of God. Our children are too valuable and our

future is too important to let Satan have a chance at them. If we educate our

children, make them wiser, with love and acceptance, not condemnation, we can

make a difference in this world ours. Next time you see one of God's children; besure and pass along His love and his compassion because you can make a

difference. Children need our support and guidance, and together we change the

standards that will help create a brighter future for all of mankind.

The Power of Prayer-1 John 5:14-15-

Prayer may seem strange to someone who has never prayed before. But, to all of

those who have prayed their lives have been changed and will never be the same

again.

Prayer is our direct line with heaven. Prayer is a communication process that

allows us to talk to God! He wants us to communicate with Him daily, like a person-

to-person phone call. For example cell phones and other electronic devices have

become a necessity to some people in today’s society. We have blue tubes,

blackberries, and talking computers! These are means of communication that allow

two or more people to interact, discuss, and respond to one another.

Prayer is an effective method to communicate with God to offer praise, to make a

request, confess sins, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thepower of prayer should not be underestimated. God definitely listens to our



prayers, answers our prayers, and moves in response to our prayers. To many

people prayer seems like a complicated task, but it is simply talking to God. They

questioned what is prayer because they desire to pray, but don’t know how.

Jesus set an example for us on what to pray for. He prayed for His disciples, his

enemies, and for every generation to come that would follow Him. His prayer wasthat God would protect and strengthen them as long as they were in this world.

Jesus also prayed for those who would come to believe in Him through the word of

God.

The power of prayer is not the result of the person praying. Rather, the power

resides in God who is being prayed to. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us, "And this is the

confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he

heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that

we have the petitions that we desired of him." Our prayers are not being answered

based on the eloquence of our words. We don't have to use certain words orphrases to get God to answer our prayers. In fact, Jesus rebukes those who pray

using vain repetitions.

No matter the person praying, the passion behind the prayer or the purpose of the

prayer is what God answers. His answers are not always yes, but are always in our

best interest. When our desires line up with His will, we will come to understand

that in time. When we pray passionately and purposefully, according to God's will,

God responds powerfully. We must know to whom we pray. There is only one

supreme Creator and sovereign God. There is only one way to Him and that is

through His only Son, Jesus Christ. God, our Heavenly Father, is the only one wecan be assured of who hears and answers our prayers. He is the God of amazing

love, mercy, and forgiveness. By Him, all things are possible.

God helps us through the power of prayer, throughout the bible the power of

prayer has overcome enemies (Psalm 6:9-10), conquered death (2 Kings 4:3-36),

brought healing (James 5:14-15), and defeated demons (Mark 9:29). God, through

prayer, opens eyes, changes hearts, heals wounds, and grants wisdom (James 1:5).

The power of prayer should never be underestimated because it draws on the glory

and might of the infinitely powerful and wisdom of God. It’s good to know with

confidence that God will hear you when you pray, so open the line of



communication. Pray, know that no matter how far you roam, your connection with

Him can never be lost.

Nothing is impossible for us; the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the

world. On the contrary, they have divine power to tear down strongholds. We have

the power through prayer to demolish arguments and every habit that sets itself up against us. It is a work of God that changes the whole person and gives a brand

new heart, not a natural, but a spiritual rebirth in the heart.

There is nothing we can’t pray about. The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing”

and “in everything give thanks to the Lord.” When we choose to have a positive

attitude, we realize we have received many blessings for which to give God praise.

The Prodigal Christian-St. Luke 15:11-32-

The parable from St. Luke 15:11-32, which is commonly known as the Prodigal Son

was told by the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus Christ. The word prodigal

means wasteful. It is from this word that the younger son is known as the Prodigal

Son.

This parable is one of the most well known and least understood of Jesus parables,

because it becomes a mirror image of humanity shortcoming and returning to God.

In this Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the story of a man who has two sons. The

younger demands his share of the inheritance while his father is still living. He then

goes off to a distant country, where he "wastes his substance with riotous living"and eventually has to take work as a swine herder. There he comes to his senses

and decides to return home to throw himself on his father's mercy. However, when

he returns home, his father greets him with open arms, and hardly gives him a

chance to express his repentance; he kills a "fatted calf" to celebrate his return. It

is especially essential to emphasize the reason for the Father’s joy when he

uttered; “My Son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” To his

surprise and the surprise of others, he's welcomed, without question, into his

father's loving and forgiving arms. No amount of time, no amount of money, and

no amount of rebellion could get in the way of the father's patience and

unconditional love for his son.



What the Father was saying is that the Son had been spiritually dead, living

without God, and now he had spiritually come back to life, having given his life

over to God. The older brother becomes jealous at the favored treatment of his

faithless brother and upset at the lack of reward for his own faithfulness.

The older brother was angry to the point of not celebrating against the Father’s willshows how people can unjustly get upset over the mercy shown to one who

repents. The turnaround of the younger brother no longer being spiritually dead

and lost, but now spiritually alive again was the reason they were celebrating. The

older brother should have been thrilled like the Father and rejoiced because his

brother’s soul got saved again.

Jesus told this parable because he wanted mankind to know that it is very easy for

a person to do foolish things and to do wrong. In telling the parable, Jesus was

telling us what God is like. God, who is our heavenly Father, is much like this boy’s

father. If we do wrong we deserve to be punished. But because our heavenlyFather loves us, he gives us many chances to correct our wrong and to move on.

Even in the midst of our wrong doings, God is hoping we will do what is right. It

also communicates the fact that we are relating with a God who is clearly

concerned with the intimate affairs of our daily lives especially when we stray

away. It is because of God’s love and compassion that he does this.

In this parable the younger son, known as the prodigal son is a symbol of a fallen

mankind, and, at the same time, of each individual sinner. The portion of goods

that fall to him is the younger son’s share of the inheritance. These are God’s gifts

to us with which each person is endowed but many of us take for granted. Thismessage to us is about patience, perseverance, prayer, and most importantly love.

It’s about viewing the “prodigal experience” as a spiritual process. It will help build

and strengthen each of us and our faith in God’s plan for our lives.

The True Definition of a Real Man-I Corinthians 11:3-



What is my role as a man? What is a real man? Where are the real men? If you're

a man reading this, you've undoubtedly asked yourself these questions but may

not have had much prospect of answering them.

I admit that my motive for writing this article is to stir up the “Men of God” and call

them back to God’s Word, God’s methods, His message, and to be in the rightfulplace in his home and his community. If ever there was a time when we needed

the true men of God to stand up and be counted, now is the time.

In today's society, Men have been fooled into believing many false things about

what it means to be a man. Real men are defined as being macho, athletes,

entertainers, and action-hero types. However, God's view of a real man is quite

different as stated in Ephesians 5:23.

The Godly view of a real man is rooted in Christ, the ultimate model of human

perfection. Each person, created in the image and likeness of God, is bestowedwith dignity, freedom, intellect, and will. St. John 15:5 says "I am the Vine, ye are

the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much

fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."

Through an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, a real man will bear fruits such

as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-

control as mention in Galatians 5:22-23. This means that a real man will surrender

his life, his will, and his plans to the loving care of the Lord. Whether single or

married, the Lord must takes first priority in his life, family next, and his career and

aspirations follow, for a real man knows that with his priorities in order, God willmeet all his needs. As in St. Matthew 6:33 Jesus plainly says, “But seek ye first the

Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto

you.”

God has called men to be leaders in their homes, church, and communities, to be

examples to their children, but why then have so many men relinquished this

authority to their wives or mate? Some live a life of watching TV, or living at their

job, or hanging with the fellows, or simply not engaging with their family. It's not

fair to the wife/mate or the children. This is not the way God intended it. A real

man must devote himself to his wife/mate and family faithfully and fully.



I Corinthians 11:3, says “that the head of every man is Christ.” Which means a real

man must be a good example to their families. If he sets a distorted example or

refuses to lead within the family unit, this action, like a disease, spreads to all the

family members. If you have bad habits, if you curse, if you are lazy (sorry), your

family will follow that example of leadership whether you want them to or not. The

children of alcoholics are often alcoholics themselves. The children of child abusewill usually abuse their own children. The real man must instruct his children in the

ways of the Lord. He must teach his children without partiality, knowing that the

seed he plants will one day flower in the life of the child as they grow older.

Proverbs 22:6 says “Trained up a child in the way he should go: and when he is

old, he will not depart from it.”

A real man must admit his need for a Savior and puts God first in his life. A real

man is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and obedience

to God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit, and until the men of God step up and

take back their responsibilities and God given roles, then we will never see society

or our families or our relationships be as good as they can be, and have the

potential to be the best it can be.

In closing, I seek to honor those men who have embraced the challenge to be good

husbands, fathers, and leaders in their communities, mentors, and real Men of

God.

The Truth Hurts-St. John 8:32-

Jesus says in St. John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make

you free.” This verse has particular relevance to the Jews who were under bondage

as a nation to the Roman Empire and to us today who are in captivity to a corrupt

and unjust system. Jesus is saying that humanity can be free spiritually, even

though they are physically bound to a tyrannical government or to an evil system.

A simple definition of Truth is “a fact that has been verified,” and we love the truth

especially when it agrees with us, but how about when we are wrong and the truth

does not disagree with us. We must make a decision to either accept or reject the

truth when presented to us. If we reject the truth, our hearts get cold and hard.More people have been hardened in the church than anywhere else because the



church is where people are confronted with reality about themselves. Either you

will accept or reject the truth based on your relationship with God. To be free from

sin, you must admit your guilt before God, and forsake your sin.

For example the woman taken in adultery in St. John 8:11; Jesus told her to go and

sin no more. A lie will not set you free, because you are constantly trying to coverit up. You must constantly remember the lie you told, and the other lies you have

told after the first one, trying to make the first lie be the truth. Sin has

consequences. Sexual sins cause for more sexual sins and more dishonesty to

cover the sin up. Sins bring with them physical diseases, and other physical

aliments. Sin binds you to other sins. Sin will never set you free. When you are

mad at somebody and won’t forgive and forget, your remembrance of them always

makes you mad all over again. But when you have turned loose of your anger, your

remembrance of that person will bring joy to you.

Lost people are bound in sin, not bound in the truth. Lost people serve the devil,which are the prince and the power of this world. Lost people have no choice but to

continue in sin, because that is all they know. Their dead spirits and dead

conscience never brings them to the place of knowledge of sin, or of repentance,

much less bring them to eternal life.

It must be understood that the truth can make a person free even while they are in

prison. Consider Joseph in Genesis 45:5, 50:20, who was a slave, yet considered

himself a faithful servant of God. Even when his brothers sold him into slavery;

even when Potiphar believed his lying no good wife instead of Joseph; even when

the butler forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph interpreting his dreams; Josephremained free. When Joseph’s brothers came into Egypt to get grain, and Joseph

revealed himself to them, he told them they meant their selling him for evil, but

God meant it for good. The truth made Joseph free.

Being truthful about yourself and what you feel can lead to a deeper understanding

of your relationship with God and your fellowman. This is the truth that can set you

free to fully heal and love. Living in truth requires deep honesty with self. This

means acknowledging and being fully aware of what you are experiencing in every

moment. Truth demands your acceptance of which you are the good and the bad;

even when "bad" judgments about you surfaces. Once you can accomplish this,



truth becomes a pathway to your deepest state of being, and a way to experience

yourself in the present moment, without judgment.

This is the truth that tells us that we’re not living right, and that we’ve got

grudges, hard feelings against someone or something. The truth hurts and the

truth can only become valuable to us if we come to the realization that we have aneed to be set free. If we remain in God’s word, then we are truly his disciples. We

will then know the truth, and the truth will make us free.

The Value of Friendship- John 15:15-

We all need friends whether we admit it or not. Many of us can attest to the fact

that we have been hurt, betrayed, and abandoned by those whom we call friends.

Some of us have even shared some of the most intimate secrets with those whom

we called our friends but later discovered they shared that secret with others.

Friendship isn't always easily described. Friends can be special people. We can't

pick our family members, but our friends can be as diverse and infinite as the

adjectives we choose, such as close friend, best friend, childhood friend, intimate

friend, trusted friend, and beloved friend. Whether you use adjectives or different

words, few could deny the infinite meaning in such a simple word. Our friends in a

very real sense reflect the choices we make in life and the type of person we are.

In a real friendship there is a trust in the other person that allows us to believe in

them, to feel safe and secure never doubting their loyalty, but looking towards

them with confidence. One of the characteristics of a true friend is that they guard

us when we are off our guard and do not forsake us in times of trouble.

The friendship that Christians have with Jesus is absolutely amazing, especially

when we realize that we can have a personal, intimate relationship with the Son of

God, who is responsible for creating and upholding the universe. It's overwhelming

to grasp the truth of what it means is to be a friend of Jesus Christ.

As Christians, we need real friends, and there is no one like Jesus Christ to have as

a friend. Jesus makes known to us His purposes and plans. We can share with Him



all our hopes, dreams, joys and sorrows. He will never betray, fail, or disappoint

us. There is no friend like Him. Jesus demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice himself

for the sake of others. Jesus did this not only ungrudgingly, without weighing up

the cost, but eagerly, and so ready to help that Jesus would give and give, his very

life if need be, to aid and save his friends.

In John 15, Jesus talks to his eleven beloved disciples after Judas left to betray Him

(John 13:21-30). The eleven remaining disciples are represented by the abiding

branches in the analogy Jesus has shared in the preceding verses of chapter 15.

Aware of the impending departure of Jesus, their hearts are filled with sorrow.

Jesus comforts them by telling them they are his personal, intimate, and beloved

friends. Jesus tells his disciples that he will even lay down his life for our sakes; he

restrains us from doing wrong; he encourages us to do right. He reveals to us the

way to heaven. In John 15:14, Jesus gives a clear-cut condition for being His friend:

"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatever I command you." The key to being a friend of

Jesus is obedience. In fact, obedience is the standard for every relationship with

Him.

Jesus tells his disciples “I have called you friends”; it is a friendship based on the

new created life in us which has no affinity with our old life, but only with the life of

God. Friendship with Jesus is a fantastic privilege. Jesus gives us five

characteristics of his friends. They are not things you must do to become a friend

of Jesus; they are the visible evidence that you are his friend.

The friends of Jesus love each other, know God’s word, are chosen out of this

world, bear fruit that remains, and who are prayer warriors. The idea of all thosethings belonging to the believer is almost beyond imagination! Are you searching

for love and truth? Are you longing for a meaningful, productive life? Are you

searching for fulfillment in your life? Become a friend of Jesus, and you'll have

them all. Mankind must one day choose during his/her lifetime whether they will be

the friend of Jesus Christ or the friend of the world.

Wake Up

-Ephesians 5:14-



Are our eyes closed? Can we not see the daily predicaments that we face? Like Rip

Van Winkle, men and women are sleeping through a time. In this case it’s a time

that requires people to be clear-headed. If people do not wake up soon, it will be

too late. The apostle Paul is saying in Ephesians 5:14, awake sleeper; he defines

the situation of a believer who is not walking in fellowship with God as one who’s

spiritually asleep. One who is not producing fruit, not working for the Lord, and iseven involved in a lifestyle of sin. The passage exhorts believers to imitate God in

their daily walk. In so doing it indicates the undesirability and the consequences of

a disobedient life.

It’s time for a new day. Wake up and rise from the dead, rather than sleeping as

the world is currently doing. Christians should value unity and embrace love, but

not at the price of injustice. Christians should be committed to action; action to put

a stop to the evils that destroy our society and our world.

We as Christians should be exposing the evils of the world such as poverty, racism,social injustices, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and let us not forget the

genocide in Darfur. This Christian that Paul speaks of is not one that is physically

dead or spiritually dead. They are temporarily asleep, meaning useless in the same

way that faith without deeds are dead useless to God. They are out of fellowship

with God. They walk in darkness and our job as Christian believers is to expose the

crimes of darkness. We are commissioned by God to verbally expose the evils of

the world. We must diagnose it, confront it, and offer the solution. Our solution is

the word of God. Sin is a cancer that must be removed, and the only instrument is

the word of God. We aren’t helping anyone by ignoring it.

We must have not only the sight and knowledge that sin is sin, and in some

measure shameful, but see it as a breach of God's holy law. People need to be

convicted about their sins before they will ever see their need for a Savior.

It should be pointed out that God does indeed, in the most awful of situations,

grant His people strength. He does, every single time, bring about His will, even

against the evil intent of those who are His enemies. But let us also remember

that, while we currently enjoy a time of safety, there is no guarantee that it will

abide. Indeed there may come a time when we are called; let us wake up so that

we can be effective.



Ephesians 5:14 further states that to act like a believer is to be as a child of light

possessing eternal life, rather than to act like the world and suffer the

consequence of being evil and losing one's inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. So

today is what we call 'the moment of truth,' the day that people wake up from the

deep sleep of death and arise to a new day in Christ. As Christians, we are no

longer controlled by a self-centered mind. Christ thinks for us, acts through us,loves through us, feels through us, and serves through us. God has a plan for the

universe. As long as Christ is working in us, He’s working out a part of that plan

through us.

Let us wake up unite and support those individuals who go above and beyond the

call of duty to help those who are unable to help themselves. Every day should be

a fantastic adventure for us because we’re in the middle of God’s unfolding plan

for the ages. Putting God’s love into action to build a better world should be the

goal of each individual, in order for that to happen we must be awake.

Watch Your Mouth- James 3:8-

Believe it or not the words from our mouth have control over our lives and the lives

of others, whether we like it or not. The words from our mouths can be deceitful,

offer comfort, cause joy, inflict pain, and even cause death. What comes out of our

mouth determines the type of person you are and your character whether good or

evil. For in James 3:8 it’s says, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly

evil, full of deadly poison.” The tongue however you may look at it controls the

destiny of your life. Mankind was created in the likeness of God and given thechoice to choose his own words, speak them, and thereby declare his eternal

destiny. God made man to be a steward not only over the earth but over his own

mouth as well. In a matter of speaking, we are our own prophets. What we say

today will impact our tomorrow.

Proverbs 17:28 says that: "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted

wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." The only

way many Christians can become victorious in life is when they change their

thinking. So many Christians are praying and waiting for God to change what they

think about. However it's up to them to change their own thinking by reading and

digesting the Word of God and avoiding harmful worldly influences. Remember, we



can't stop the enemy from bringing thoughts to our mind, but we can control what

we dwell on. We need to choose to think Godly thoughts. As Christians, we are to

be thinking on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, righteous, and praiseworthy.

We must not let frustration, fear, hate, or anger rule our hearts, but rather let "the

peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep our hearts and minds throughChrist Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7).

The cure to controlling our tongue begins first by controlling our thoughts. Right or

wrong thinking is the basis for controlling our words. It's the simplest principle, yet

it's the most difficult area in our lives to discipline. No wonder the enemy tries to

bombard our minds with evil thoughts of doubt, fear, and discouragement. Satan

wants to prevent us from receiving all that God has for us.

We as Christians face a constant power struggle. While we have the Word of God

coming into our hearts, the devil is putting thoughts into our minds against theknowledge of God. It is our job to cast down this wrong thinking.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:17 to take the helmet of salvation, and the sword

of the spirit, which is the Word of God. In other words we must take up the sword

of the Spirit and use it as a base on which we operate our minds. We must

determine in our hearts to confess the Word of God over any and every given

situation, regardless of what the situation looks like. We must not speak negative

or against God’s Word because what you say is what you get.

As we go through life, we will have many decisions to make. We must rely on God'sWord when making these decisions. God's Word is a compass that will guide us in

making the right decisions. In Psalm 119:105 it says “Thy Word is "a lamp unto my

feet, and a light unto my path." God's Word is victory, so believe the Word, pray

the Word, meditate on the Word, speak the Word, and most importantly live the

Word. Jesus said in John 6:63: "The Words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,

and they are life." For when we read and study the Word of God, our minds can be

transformed and renewed. Therefore, we need to pay close attention to every word

and phrase that comes out of our mouth. Each word will affect our future and the

future of others, so watch your mouth.



Weapons of Mass Destruction: Ignorance and Fear-Hosea 4:6-

I sometimes find it difficult to understand how people today deliberately refuse to

look at what is actually happening in the world around them; believing the lies and

distortions that leaders tell them. With a straight face such individuals as our civic

leaders, economists, politicians, religious leaders, and media figures tell us that

black is white, war is peace, lies are truths, joblessness is economic recovery,

ignorance is intelligence, and hate is love.

If there is ever going to be an awakening or change in our society it needs to begin

now. Two of the most destructive factors to any society are the effects of

ignorance and fear. They harm us more than we can harm ourselves. Because of

ignorance and fear poverty, prejudice, and AIDS has been allowed to hound and killour communities like a serial killer. Because of ignorance and fear war, hatred,

social, and economic injustices are destroying the fabric of this nation at a rapid

rate.

Hosea prophesied during a dark and gloomy era of Israel's history, the period of

the Northern Kingdom's decline and fall in the 8th century BCE (before common

era). The ignorance and fear of the people was rampant, having turned away from

God in order to serve the calves of Jeroboam and Baal, a Canaanite god of fertility.

Their conduct was the very opposite to that which God desired and demanded. The

picture painted here was truly that of a nation in decay and a people spirituallylost.

Too often we have shifted the blame to the system being against us, and all types

of other injustices. Though there are many social injustices, a lot of our current

circumstances rest with us. In order for us to be able to overcome the issues that

are there, we must first admit to it and take responsibility to our contribution to the

degradation and breakdown of our communities and lives, and then take

appropriate action of change to correct them.

The Time has come for us to realize that we deserve something better forourselves. It’s time for us to change and overcome our ignorance and fears. For in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Israel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_century_BCE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeroboam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Israel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_century_BCE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeroboam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal



St. Timothy 1:7 it says “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,

and love, and of a sound mind.

We must realize that God is not ignorant nor fearful but wise and bigger than any

of our fears. Hopelessness; God is bigger. Loneliness; God is bigger. Terrorist

Attacks; God is Bigger. Economic downscale; God is bigger. Sickness; God isbigger. Social injustices; God is bigger. God has more power, more resources, and

more intelligence than anything this world could ever offer.

We must learn to trust Him to deal with the unknown things we cannot see. No

matter what happens, God will always be there the solution to being ignorant and

fearful is simply trust; trust that is put in no one else but Jesus. When your trust is

solely in Him, peace of mind is your reward ignorance and fear flies right out the

window. Trusting in God means that you recognize His authority and power over

everything that may happen on earth and to you. When you trust in God, you put

your faith in Him, instead of in money, people, and government, and things. Thosethings will all fail one day, but God never will. Trusting God doesn't mean you'll

never have fear in life, but it does mean that you can always look to Him for

comfort, hope, strength, and wisdom. It also means that you don't have to worry,

because God will always have your back.

What Is The Meaning Of Christmas?-St. John 3:16-

There are so many man-made pressures associated with the holiday, standing and

waiting in long lines to buy gifts and the stress of just feeling alone. Sadly for manyChristmas is a time when problems do come into our lives such as debt, worry,

loneliness, despair, and even the thought of suicide. Many people will be saddened

by the fact that they will not have the money to buy presents for their children,

family, or friends. Many will be saddened at this time when they think of their

loved ones who have died and gone on or will not be able to come home for

various reasons. The traditional Turkey dinner may be only a wish and not a reality

for some due to economic reasons.

Christmas is the season of hope and joy but rather than simply hoping for the best,

it is a time we should put our hopes and aspirations into actions, our thoughts andwords into deeds. It is a time we should put aside our differences and prejudices



and embrace the real meaning of the Christmas season, which is about the birth of

Jesus Christ our Lord. When we celebrate Christmas with real intentions and desire,

we not only experience the real meaning but also live it within ourselves, in

actuality we become a Christmas agent of the rebirth of the soul and the source of

hope.

In the midst of all of this Christmas can be a season of great joy as God shows His

great love for the world. It can be a time of healing, renewed strength, and peace.

It’s not about giving and receiving gifts but the realization that at this time God

sent his only son so that we might have salvation. In St. John 3:16 it says; “For God

so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in

him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” When we celebrate the birth of

the Christ child and the best way to celebrate Christmas is by believing in Jesus

Christ and asking Him to come into our heart. It is the possibility that comes solely

from the fact that God is God, and that he is the kind of God who comes into our

human existence to reveal Himself, he calls us to himself because he is Immanuel,

(God with us.) He will forever change the world and all humanity. It is this same

God who has promised to be with us, with his people, with the church and with us

individually, as we live as his people in the world.

Christmas, Christ birth, should be an every day event in our daily lives to

emphasize the rebirth of hope. This is what Christmas is supposed to mean, the

birth of hope to a dying world, but society has made it seem like a day to give

gifts, talk about Santa, and feast on a meal; when we really should be telling the

world the true meaning of this season.

Jesus is hope incarnated into flesh, a hope that can be held in a mother’s arms,

and a hope that expresses a reality that will live beyond death itself. It is the hope,

the possibility, which springs from impossible and insignificant beginnings, infused

with the power of God through the Holy Spirit that will blossom into a light to the

nations. It is this possibility that we celebrate at Christmas. And we do so with a

confidence born, not of our own desire for it to be so, but from the birth of a child

born over 2,000 years ago, a child who was the Son of God, the hope of the world.

What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

-2 Corinthians 5:17-



There is much confusion among people, as well as the religious community,

concerning what it means to be a Christian? Especially from those who call

themselves "Christians" seem to also have much difficulty expressing their

meaning of what is a Christian? To be a Christian means to follow Christ, to desire

Him, to fellowship with Him, to be indwelt by Him, and to bring glory to Him in your

life. The Greek word for Christian is Christianos (khris-tee-an-os') which istranslated "follower of Christ." So, what exactly is a follower of Christ? It means

you have a personal relationship with Christ, by accepting Him as your personal

Lord and Savior. In the Bible, the word "Christian" only appears three times, In Acts

11:26, Acts 26:28, and in 1 Peter 4:16. Some people think that to be a Christian

means you can't see movies, you can't dance, can't socialize, or that you can't

have any more fun. That isn't true. Christianity isn't about rules and regulations to

follow. It is about a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Being, a

Christian means that you are changed on the inside, not controlled from the

outside. It means that your heart has been changed by the presence of God’s

spirit. Because the person has been changed from the inside he/she does not

desire to do those things that are contrary to God.

In actuality being a Christian means that you have encountered the true and living

God and that you have undergone a change in your heart and soul. Therefore,

he/she will naturally desire to go to church. They will desire to be a good person,

to be honest, to live peaceful, and to love his fellowman. He/she does not go to

church, be a good person, be honest, or live in peace, or love his fellowman, in

order to be a Christian. They do these things because they are a Christian and

want to please God from the inside. For in 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all

things are become new.

As a result of this personal transformation, Christians are then led to changing not

just their own lives, but the lives of their families and friend, their communities,

their nations and their world. Personal salvation equips and motivates Godly

people to live in obedience to God, loving Him and loving one another. Until the

heart is changed, the world remains in sin and darkness.

The Christian life does not end with personal salvation, but it certainly begins withit. Any supposed "Christian" church that neglects the good news that Jesus Christ



has died for sinful men and granted them a new life by faith has forgotten the

most fundamental aspect of Christ’s teachings.

The Teachings of Christ teaches us that Christians has been given a new nature as

a result of salvation. This new nature is a radical transformation of one’s entire

being resulting in such things as; a renewed mind, a new character, a new walkand a way of living. By living a Christian’s life and loving and accepting others, you

have already put yourself that much closer to heaven, because you have allowed

God to work through you and show His love to people through you. Every person

who receives Jesus Christ and becomes a Christian is assured of Christ's spiritual

presence and empowering. Jesus declared in Matt. 28:20, "Lo, I am with you

always, even to the end of the world.”

What Does The Bible Say About Pain And Suffering?-St. John 16:32-33-

Someone that is unfamiliar with the bible might think that the bible references

little to the on going problem of pain and suffering. The bible is not some academic

thesis written by neither highly educated neither intellectuals nor a collection of

moral stories written to promote good behavior.

Rather the bible is a book inspired by the Holy Spirit and written by ordinary

humans about some real human problems and needs. The writers of the bible

were ordinary everyday people who were given an extraordinary task from God to

write these experiences. They had the same feelings, fears, and frustrations, which

many of us encounter today.

They knew exactly what it was to feel abandonment, exhaustion, isolation, hunger,

death, injustices, imprisonment, humiliation, sorrow, sickness, and pain. If you

actually read many of the stories recorded in the bible you will find that these

people were much closer to pain, suffering, and death than we are today.

What is pain and suffering? The definition of pain is distress, bodily suffering, and

anguish. Pain and Suffering tells us something is wrong and our immediate

attention is required. As a matter of fact if it wasn’t that we suffer and experience

pain we might conclude that all is well. Yet every single person on the face of theearth at one point or another will have to endure some form of pain and suffering.



It seems that some people go through more pain and suffering than others do but

all go through some form or degree of it.

Why do we experience pain and suffering? The real reason we experience pain and

suffering is that God loves us enough to let our actions have real consequences.

God gives mankind the possibility to actually have a say in own everlasting destinyas well as their destiny here on planet earth. Our heavenly Father is searching for

real people who are willing to share in his everlasting goodness forever. God is

looking for a real love relationship with mankind. This could not be possible if we

had no real choice in the matter and these real choices have a big effect in our

lives. Bad choices on the other hand hurt people including you. Bad choices invite

the involvement of evil spirits, which keep people in bondage to things that bring

no lasting satisfaction and often leavings mankind discomfort, discouraged,

disgusted, dishearten, distressed, and disturbed.

The big question is how do we handle pain and suffering when it comes? We ashuman being will never be able to totally escape from pain and suffering, which we

experience in this life neither by drugs, alcohol, denial, or suicide. In our pain and

suffering we have hope in Jesus Christ for future glory. Jesus has opened the door

to our Father’s Kingdom and has invited us to come in but we must leave behind

what means so much in this world and enter the true life of the age to come.

Jesus has given us a new outlook on life through his pain, suffering and death on

the cross; this is the center to Christian understanding of human Salvation. The

hope that is in God is bigger than the pain and suffering that we are going through

in our lives. To achieve this new outlook in Jesus Christ we need faith to believe, afaith that will prepare us for the unknown and unseen, and a faith to help us meet

the pressures of everyday struggles.

Faith changes us so that we no longer live for ourselves but for him who saved us.

Faith allows us to face any and all challenges that come upon us. Through a life of

Faith, Jesus lives in us and we live in him. Those who have a personal relationship

with Jesus Christ are better able to cope with whatever situation that they are

experiencing in their lives. We can rejoice in our pain and suffering because Jesus

Christ our Lord and Savior suffered for us on the cross to save us from ours sins,

but also Jesus gives us peace and joy while we are enduring our pain and suffering.



In St. John 16:32-33, Jesus says “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that

ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I

am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you,

that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of

good cheer; I have overcome the world.” No one can comfort the depths of our

sorrows but God and through his Son Jesus Christ he assures us that he will neverleave us alone especially during our pain and suffering period.

When Enough Is Enough-St. Matthew 10:16-22-

We crave for peace, but in our foolishness and the wisdom of God we are denied

total peace. We can't and should not avoid the cries of pain, social injustices, and

the inhumane treatment of our fellow brothers and sisters. Our involvement in the

world is more needed today than ever before. There is discrimination, suffering,

hatred, war, the genocide in Darfur, and poverty in our world. In all such instancesit is necessary to be courageous in rejecting and disapproving of such actions, in

standing up and being counted. A person needs real courage to challenge the

thoughts in their hearts because without that heart in charge, what are we going to

trust to keep us safe from emotional pain?

Jesus told his disciples in St. Matthew 10:16, "Behold I send you forth as sheep in

the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

These words of Jesus, do not sound very caring, until we remember that His service

is perfect freedom; we can refuse to love and serve Him; He does not compel us,

but those to whom these words were addressed had already cast in their lot withHim and pledged to His service. Jesus was an absolute realist. He knew the forces

of evil ranged against good. He did not know what His followers could expect, nor

was He mistaken.

Jesus knew that there is something in the heart of men and women that rises to

meet the challenge, this is called courage. Courage is a love of the external, and a

belief in it, even when we fight it. Courage is a quality of spirit that enables you to

face dangers and pain of life without showing fear. Courage is power to say enough

is enough, because of this we need courage to stand up, and to stand out, often

alone if the need arise against the pressures of the world. Jesus knew our inner

nature and our weaknesses, but He promises us His presence and power, his



strength and courage. Only in the assurance of His presence with us can we have

the courage to witness faithfully for Him and only He could possibly say such a

thing as, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves".

We all need the courage and the wisdom of God to let go and face the reality that

what we once found indispensable that takes real courage. Courage is not afearlessness born of unthinking instinctive behavior but of acknowledging the

inward fear, facing up to it and believing in Him who is so much greater than we

are and who has promised us His presence, by bringing victory out of our fears.

Through courage comes real love and love is one of the most important aspects of

following Jesus. It is through love that you can begin to know God and express His

infinite compassion to everyone. Love is the core of faith. This is the fundamental

reason why Jesus asks you to love God. His commandment to love opens our

hearts to the infinite Grace of God. Once your heart is open to His grace you

become a light that shines through darkness which exists in our world. We can'tslip out of the world or stop the world and get off; but we see the example of Jesus

unflinching, never swamped by trouble or misfortune. The love of Christ was real,

universal, unconditional, understanding and forgiving. He followed the way of the

Cross, knowing that God was and still in control of the world and the Lord was His

strength and shield and will be ours if we grow in real courage.

When God Touches Your Soul

-II Peter 3:18-

At the dawn of time God created his most precious creation, mankind. He gathered

together a handful of dust and breathed into it. The breath of God turned dust into

a living soul. This is one of the reasons that human beings are so special to God.

God has invested something of himself in us. We are special for this very reason.

In Christ, we are called to live in the world securely and calmly anchored,

established and serene in Christ. In Christ we become complete. We are fulfilled.

We have all things in Christ. We need no other dependences such as the fanatics

would press upon us when they tell us, you go to do this, you go to do that. Weare living in a unique time in our world. Our nation continues to sink deeper into



sin and immorality and it appears our only hope is a radical move of God across

the earth.

When the power of God touches our lives, we begin to change from the inside out.

God gives us a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel 36:26 says “A new heart also

will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” With a new heart yourattitude changes; your heart toward others changes; the things you desires

changes; your thoughts changes; your behavior and action changes. For God to

make these changes, we must surrender all to him. He will not force the changes

on us. We have a free-will and must make a decision to accept or deny.

God is working in our hearts, purifying and intensifying them, and working on our

character, making us more and more like himself. God’s passion is that we

experience his divine joy and eternal glories beyond our present understanding

which makes what we presently call happiness seem common.

How can change occur? It is the gospel of Christ that has the power to change our

lives. 1 Corinthian 1:18 says, the preaching of the cross is to them that perish

foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. The Gospel of

Christ is the power of God that brings salvation to us. Romans 1:16 says, “For it is

the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”

We can only truly enter the joy of the Lord by becoming like the Lord. And it is

towards that end that God is constantly working. By meditating on and learning the

Word of God, we’ll begin to develop Godly thinking. Every Christian must keep

growing and changing to become more like Jesus. II Peter 3:18 says, but grows ingrace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus emphasize

that the person who is faithful in little will be given much. He also stressed that the

assigning of heavenly rewards will differ so markedly from the present distribution

of comfort and honor that many will be amazed.

The Lord is devoted to our welfare. The Lord has plans for you, but they are for our

well-being and the building of His Kingdom. God loves you, not for what you can

do for him, but for what he can do for you. The unimaginable intensity of God's

love is as close and as crucial as the oxygen we breathe. But we can partake of his

joy, only if we first partake of his nature. The reality is that everything God does isa manifestation of his infinite love and his eternal judgment upon sinners. Often



what seems like God’s lack of love is actually God expression of his divine love

towards us.

Where Is God?-Psalms 22:1-

No one in a lifetime has been so despise; so misunderstood, hated without a cause

as God is every moment of every day by millions of people worldwide; each of

whom he loves more than we could ever conceive. No one is touched as deeply by

humanity’s anguish as our Heavenly Father. No one is more aware of the human

experience of pain and suffering as God is because our pain intensifies His pain, no

one loves with the intensity that God loves. God does not cause oppression, but He

demonstrates time and time again how God can use oppression to fortify, glorify,

justify, sanctify, and unify those whom the oppressed and the mistreated attempts

to destroy.

Where is God? This is the question that has been asked by mankind from the very

beginning of time, especially during the most trying and challenging times in our

lives. The suffering and challenges that humanity faces on a day to day basis are

poverty, social, economic, and political injustices, the war in Iraq, and the genocide

in Darfur. Even when the cause seems beyond human control, all heartaches can

be traced not to God’s will, but to the rebellion against God’s will. We can be

assured that whatever may happen to us cannot subvert God’s will and God’s

purpose for our lives. The conflicts within our world are real and we may walk in

the midst of trouble. Yet our God will preserve us against the wrath of our

enemies. The love of God will be triumphant.

Suffering can make us better people and more worthy of eternity, when it

functions as a discipline, and as an inspiration to make us more compassionate

towards one another. It brings us closer to God because we have to rely on him

more. There is a light that reveals to us who God is, where God is and what God is

doing in the world. In this we learn that God’s people cannot be destroyed.

We may seem to be destitute, but we are daily by God strengthened and

encouraged, to whom we entrust our entire lives. Those of us who will trust in God;

will be like a tree that never fails because it is rooted near the flowing, feedingwaters of the river of life. If we limit our vision and victory to what we can see or



experience today, we are miserably deceived because God has so much more in

store for us than we are able to see, think, imagine, or appreciate now. When we

know God, we don’t need to know, where is God?

There is always more to God than what we can see. God has promised to love us,

be with us, forgive us, hear and answer our prayers. God does not want to beseparated from humanity by being safely sequestered from our pain and suffering,

our problems, our pressures, and our injustices.

God is on our side. He is the source of our amazing vitality, strong hope, deathless

love, and inevitable deliverance. Under the worst human conditions, God creates

the best demonstrations of new life and new hope. God is the one who responds

when we feel all alone and abandoned by the world. The battle is God, and God

gives that victory of survival and success to those oppressed and hated within the

Earth.

In spite of the suffering and challenges that befalls the servants of God; there are

daily manifestations of God’s goodness and mercy. God's love has been made

known to us, and now He stands at the door and knocks. God knew what real love

was because he allowed Jesus to give up his life for us. Jesus willingly suffered and

died a dreadful death in order to pay for the sins and reunite humanity back to the

Father. God is and always will be with us.

Who Is My Neighbor?-St. Luke 10:29-33-

The foundation of Christianity is based upon how one individual treats his

fellowman and the love that encompasses that relationship. Which bring us to the

word neighbor and the big question, who’s my neighbor? The word neighbor

means friend, companion, fellow citizen, and it is also similar to the word brother.

Which means it breaks down all barriers and obstacles that causes separation and

disunity among mankind as well as bring uniqueness in brotherhood?



When Jesus was presented with this question, he used the parable of The Good

Samaritan in St. Luke 10:29-33, to illustrate to those who lack the true meaning of

the word neighbor. The story begins with a man who had been robbed and left to

die on a road. Then came the priest who saw the man and passed by on the other

side, then came the Levite who also did likewise. Then came the Samaritan who

was of a different race, different religion, and a different culture. Who had wisdomand compassion to look beyond those restrictions that keep man from true

brotherhood and saw that this man was in trouble and without a second thought

answered the call.

The Good Samaritan displayed five characteristics of a good Neighbor, 1: He saw

him-You must see the needs of people and not look at their race, religion, culture,

sex but the needs of the person, 2: He had pity on him-You must have God’s

compassion. 3: He went to him-You must reach out to people. 4: He met his

needs by touching, washing, and placing oil-You must meet the need of people

that are suffering and isolated. 5: He took the time and got involved and was

committed. We as Christians, must take the time and get involved and be

committed to helping those who are in need as the Good Samaritan.

The Samaritan’s actions were a true demonstration of love and compassion

because he had no prior relationship with the wounded man; he would not gain

anything materially from his actions. He would instead lose time and money for

this effort and the wounded man probably would not have done the same for him if

the situation were reversed.

In this parable The Good Samaritan represents Christ, His pouring oil and wine inthe wounds represents the ministry of Christ, while in the flesh as the salt of the

earth helping a fallen mankind with the truth and the spirit of the truth. The

Samaritan taking the wounded man to the inn represents the Christ brining

humanity into the millennial conditions. His making matters financially good with

the innkeeper represents the purpose of the ransom merit to the Divine justice for

humanity deliverance and care in the forthcoming. His promising to make good for

any further expense called for by the care of the wounded man represents the

Christ’s promise to justice to make good any further claim that justice might have

for men’s millennial wiliness.



Jesus’ parable forced from the lawyer of the law to admit that the Samaritan was

the real neighbor towards the wounded man. Thus he helped him to see at least in

part the truth that every human depending on the closeness of the relationship is

neighbor to every human.

In conjunction our common humanity is this neighborly bond and that only thosewho recognize this bond and act accordingly are worthy of the name neighbor.

The apostle Paul in his writing to the Galatians states that “As we have therefore

opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the

household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). Are you a good neighbor?

Who Is Responsible?-Ephesians 6:12-

Who is responsible for all the past and current evils that have occurred in our

world? Who is Responsible for the assignation of the Kennedy’s brothers andMartin Luther King, Jr.? Who is responsible for the 911 attacks, the war in Iraq and

Afghanistan, the genocide in Darfur, and the death of innocence? Who is

Responsible for black on black on crime, hate crimes, police brutality, the racial

discord in Jena, and all other social injustices?

Who is responsible? Ephesians 6:12 says "For we wrestle not against flesh and

blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness

of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." The reason is we do not

wrestle against flesh and blood (this means other people). The battle is not against

another person but is against spiritual wickedness. This wicked spiritual being isthe devil along with his demonic spirits and their works. The rulers of darkness of

this world are the false teachers who darken, rather than enlighten minds; and

spiritual wickedness in high places is inside human beings who use their power for

evil purposes rather than good. Spiritual wickedness is exactly what it implies, evil

in people. Ephesians 6:12, is referring to where it exists in people in high places

such as those in powerful positions which are occupied by many in the church,

corporate world, civic leaders, in the judicial system, law enforcement officials, and

government.

Although, we cannot see these spirits because they are invisible, but they do existand are powerful. They are out to deceive and destroy lives. Remember, if we are



in Christ they have no chance of harming us. Jesus told us that if we have faith as

small as a mustard seed we can move mountains; Satan has deceived us into

thinking faith is simply not enough. Satan seeks to control people by fear and

deception, and many have been hurt by that ideology. We should never allow

Satan a moment's access to our minds.

While we continue to criticize the unreal, the real go unchecked. Spiritual

wickedness is responsible for every criminal and evil act imaginable. The struggle

against evil will not end as long as we just sit back and do nothing. If we want it

done in the name of Jesus Christ, we must rise up and do it in His name, praying to

God's for help and guidance.

As Children of God, we are called to take a stand against the evil that controls the

world. If we work in one of those "high places" and are witnesses to deceptive

practices, we are as guilty as the doers if we don't expose it. Our fight is not

physical, but don't let that deceive you into thinking it is not against evil people.And do not be deceived as to who those evil people are. They are the ones that

have been brainwashed into believing they are the righteous of them all. Our

failure to guard our hearts and minds against Satan's depressive, sinful, negative

thoughts and suggestions is one of the major causes for depression, sickness,

disease, fear, discord, conflict, dissension, mental illness, despair, frustration and

failure in the lives of Christians.

The battleground where the spiritual warfare is waged is the believer's own heart

and mind. There is a real warfare going on continually between Christ and Satan

for control of the soul. If Satan can gain control here, then he knows that he canvery well determine the course of events in your life and limit or destroy your

effectiveness in God's Kingdom.

God is Love, and his Kingdom is a spiritual place, a place of love, peace, holiness,

righteousness and power. It does not control nor does it inflict pain or suffering on

people. There is no need to fear Gods Kingdom. God Kingdom is a Kingdom of Love

and perfect love casts out all fear. We cannot stop all of the impending evils that

engulf our world. We can only serve our God in Peace and Love and be spiritually

prepared to leave this world and live with God for all eternality. There is no better

way to dispel evil than to present the truth as it is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord



and Savior. Let us no longer be bamboozled by the deceivers, who are themselves

subjects of Satan.

If we as Christians would focus our attention more on Christ and the word of God

and seek to have this mind created in us, a large part of our present difficulties

and problems would disappear, allowing us to be victorious.

Why Is There Evil In the World?-Revelation 21:4-

Why is there evil in the world? Mankind, have been asking this age-old question

since the beginning of time. Frankly, there is no simple answer to this question of

Why is there evil in the world? Evils such as the abuse of children, crime, disease,

hatred, jealousy, murder, racism, rape, social injustices, suffering, terrorism,

violence, and war are all realities which cannot be explained away. Why the

innocent suffer and the wicked often prosper? Why do people get cancer and aids?

Why are there earthquakes and hurricanes that destroy entire cities and

communities? Why does mankind sit back and allow his fellowman to suffer when

there are resources available to help? And why do people have to work so hard just

to have enough money to barely feed and clothed their families? If God is just,

then how can this be?

There is an answer to these WHY questions found in the Bible. But it's not an

answer that most people would like to hear. First, one must understand what isevil? Evil is contrary to God's perfect will, but not his permissible will. Evil is the

absence of good and where there is no good, evil will thrive. Evil is like rust to a car

or rot to piece of fruit it spreads like wild fire. The reason there's evil in the world is

not because of God, but because God gave us the freedom to choose.

Now the potential for love outweighs the existence of evil, because you see, evil is

only going to exist for a short time, but love is going to go on forever. All of the

suffering and all of the death that we see in the world today are the result of man

making wrong choices. God loves us and wants us to love him back. And how could

we love him back unless we have the freedom not to love?



God could have made us like robots who do nothing more than say, "I love you. I

love you. I love you." But in this we would have been forced to do so and that

wouldn't be real love. Love is a choice. And if you have a choice you have the

ability to choose not to love and that in itself is the nature of evil. Evil is choosing

not to love. So when God gave us the freedom to choose, he gave us not only our

greatest blessing, but he also gave us our greatest curse because we can chooseto do right or choose to do wrong.

God allows evil to continue even though it is not his will. If evil were God's will it

would contradict his perfect and holy nature and everything he stands for and has

told man not to do.

God has given humanity freedom of choice, having this freedom means that we

can rebel against God and make choices that are contrary to His desires. Since we

can say that evil is anything contrary to God's perfect and holy will, then anyone

who chooses anything contrary to God's perfection is committing evil. But this isthe risk of being able to have freedom of choice. But how could this account for

natural disasters and sickness that brings suffering?

Biblically, Adam represented not only all of his descendents but all of humanity

and he was also the head of the created order since he was given dominion over

the earth. Therefore, when he fell, sin entered into the world for Roman 5:12 says

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so

death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” And with it the effects of

being fallen spread to all the earth as well as to humanity.

God has done something about evil in the world through the person of Jesus Christ.

By appearing in human form, Jesus showed us that we could trust him. Jesus is the

tangible evidence of a God who is not only profoundly grieved by suffering, but

who entered history to overcome death and evil.

And what did Jesus do while he was here on earth? He suffered! Jesus endured a

suffering beyond all comprehension. He bore the punishment for the sins of the

entire world! For all the evil that every one of us from the beginning has

perpetrated, he paid the penalty. None of us can comprehend that suffering.

Though he was innocent, He voluntarily took upon himself the punishment wedeserve, why, because he loves us. It is like he was saying, "I know you don't



understand why I permit every evil. It's not possible for you to understand yet. But

just to show you that you can trust me, I'm going to suffer with you." But there will

come a day when the Lord will return and cleanse this world of all sin and all

suffering.

In Revelation 21:4, it reads "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; andthere shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any

more pain: for the former things are passed away."

You Must Be Born Again-St. John 3:3-

Among all the things that Jesus ever said during His time here on the earth, the

most profound one can be found in St. John 3:3. It reads “Except a man be born

again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was a very religious man,

but he was also a man in need of salvation. This describes millions of people today

who are religious, yet lost until they are truly born again of the Spirit. Every single

one of us has been born in the flesh, which simply means a physical birth into this

world, but Jesus stressed the importance of being born again of the Spirit. In other

words Jesus was talking about a “spiritual birth” which must take place on the

inside of a person, thus allowing them to see the Kingdom of God. There are

millions of people who have their names on church rolls but they do not have their

names on God’s roll, which is the Book of Life.

During a secret meeting in the dark of night, Nicodemus came to Jesus. Jesus told

Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus could not understand the

words of Jesus, and he said this: How can these things be? Jesus answered and said

unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? (John 3:9-10)

Jesus did not mean re-incarnation. He did not mean that we should be born again

by doing good deeds. The things that we can do by our own natural ability cannot

make us born again. It means first dying to self and receiving Jesus Christ as your

personal Lord and Savior through the word of God. Then we must allow the spirit

of God to enter into your soul, and becomes one with your Spirit. You then becomea Child of God. The same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead now lives in



you. It means that, God by the power of the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you,

transforming our being.

Jesus said in St. John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is

born of the Spirit is Spirit.” We do not need to be born again naturally. We need

our spirits to be born again, and we can only achieve this by God's power. WithoutGod's help, we cannot be born again. By these words Jesus teaches us that we

cannot see the kingdom of God, we cannot believe except we are first born again.

To this He adds, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter

into the kingdom of God." Being born again is strictly a work of grace, by the

washing away of our sins and the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Without it

we can neither see and believe nor enter God's Kingdom by faith.

By His words Jesus teaches us two vital principles. First, we are born again by

God's Spirit and therefore believe, and not the reverse. Secondly, being born again

is not an experience but a divine work of grace in the soul, out of which we aresaved through faith. Faith therefore is not our decision, but the fruit of grace, of

being born again. The Spirit of God is called the comforter because He comforts

the weary soul and points them to Jesus Christ, the one who came to rescue

mankind.

Jesus left us with a promise regarding the Holy Spirit: It means that something

supernatural has to happen to a person on the inside to take them from the way

he/she is to the way that God wants them to be. This means that we must put our

trust in Jesus to save us.

Regardless of what is happening in our world we should never give up hope. In

time, God will reveal himself to us. In time, God will give us the faith we need to

believe in him, then we will be born again. This is important. It is the most

important decision that we will ever make. Being born again is not just an

experience. It is not a phase or a fashion that you will forget. We receive eternal

life and a home in Heaven only by receiving Jesus. At the moment we invite Jesus

to come into our heart, accepting Him and all He has done for us, the Holy Spirit

imports eternal life to our dead spirit, causing us to be "born again," born of the

Spirit. This is how we draw close to God and draw others to His saving grace in

Jesus Christ. Through this act God transforms our lives, which will last forever and

bring us to the beauty of heaven. God loves us so much that He gave the most



precious thing he had (His son) so we wouldn't have to go to Hell, and instead we

can spend eternity in Heaven with Him.

You Shall Know Them-St. Luke 6:43-45-

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not say in his famous speech, "I have a very good

plan," he shouted with enthusiasm, "I have a dream!" Future leaders of tomorrow

will have to provide a passion and a strong sense of purpose in order to bring

about significant changes. The world is changing, America is changing; our

communities are changing; we are changing as a society. The choices we will make

at the polls will determine the fate of our communities and us as a people in the

coming future. I am not here telling anyone who to vote for or who not to for.

What I am saying is don’t waste your vote on candidates that have no track record

of helping others or the compassion to serve the community. We need real public

servants who have a heart to serve with conviction and fortitude.

Jesus our Lord and Savior has appointed us and those in positions to go forth and

bear fruit. Jesus says" A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one

another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men

know that ye are my disciples, if ye have Love one for another." The most winning

and powerful witness we can give is the reality of true love. Jesus said that the

world would know us, not by our knowledge or worldly possessions, but by our

fruit.

This fruit is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ in us as believers inHim. Just as you can identify an apple tree by the apples it produces, or an orange

tree by the oranges it produces, so should the world know we are Christians by

Christ that is produced in us.

God is like the vinedresser who prunes back the branches so they can bear the

most fruit. Since the fruit is simply the out-forming of what has passed through the

branch from the vine, we should ask.

What is it that we receive from the vine? Jesus' answer is love. Abiding in Jesus

means abiding in his eternal love; Jesus said "As the Father has loved me, so have Iloved you. Abide in my love. Abide in me is replaced with Abide in my love, and



this statement shows more specifically of what we receive when we are united to

the vine namely, the sap of divine love. It stands to reason, that this is what we will

receive from the vine which flows through the branch and results in the fruit of

love, for the nourishment and refreshment of other people. If you bear fruit, you

will love people and win people to Christ.

Jesus will live in your heart to keep you, if you only invite him. He will forgive all of

your past sins and present sins, as he cast them into the sea of forgetfulness to be

remembered no more. You will be a child of God. The door to a new life will be

ours. Jesus Christ is the only one who offers you true love. His love is a love that

can’t be corrupted, bought or stolen; He doesn’t get turned off by our sin, shame

and pain. He is real, and His love is powerful. There’s nothing like hearing the living

God whisper: “I love you; I cherish you; I know what you’ve done and it doesn’t

scare me away. I died for you, and I’ve wept when you were hurt. Let me cleanse

you and wash away your shame. Let me heal you.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says, Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does

not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own,

is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in

unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears. All things, believes all things,

hopes all things, endures all things.

Therefore, when we love we are fulfilling the commands of Jesus, which is at least

part of what it means to bear fruit. Consequently, bearing fruit means loving other

people. It means letting the love which we constantly receive from Christ as we

abide in him flow through us and out to others for their benefit. Believing andacting on it is what it really means to abide in the love of Christ. So if we keep

Jesus commandments then we are able to bear much fruit. The world should see

Jesus Christ. This is how the Son is manifested into the world. Remember, Jesus is

the head, and we are His body. Let us hold fast to the Head that we may move in

union with Him and one another. Then will the world see the fruit and know Him,

for He shall be living in us mightily.



Making the Dream a Reality

On April 4, 2012 will mark the 44th anniversary of the assignation of the Rev. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Clearly, Dr. King's dream did not end on that Thursday April

4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel. We have to

acknowledge that the dream began with God and continue with God, for without

God there is no absolute transcendent truth on which to base a call to justice. Nor

is there any other source by which we may draw strength to love, to serve, and tobe compassionate. Dr. King's life exemplified this truth and therefore we must do

more to honor his name other than parades, marches, speeches, and events.

History is composed of significant events which shape our future and outstanding

leaders who influence our destiny. Dr. King's contributions to our history place him

in this unparalleled position. In his short life, he was very instrumental in helping

us realize and resolve those unspeakable flaws which tarnished our nation and our

world.

The life and the courage of this extraordinary man cannot be underestimated nortaken for granted. He was a drum major for justice, an advocate for peace, and a

believer in righteousness. He was a champion for the poor and the

disenfranchised. He was a lone voice crying out in the wilderness of America for

the equal rights of a forgotten people.

Within a span of 13 years from 1955 to his death in 1968, he was able to expound,

expose, and rescue America from many wrongs. It is this cause that his memory

and his dream will not die but continue to haunt our every existence. Dr. King, the

dreamer whose dreams were mental images of a better world, was overwhelmed

with strong convictions. His deep belief was that everybody is somebody. Thissymbolizes human worth and the destruction of suppression.



If we ask ourselves today what has become of Martin Luther King's Dream, what

would your answer be?

Forgotten, shelved or stored away until we need a reason to do something to

remember Dr. King, yet we do not act or put forth an effort to make the dream a

reality. Yet 40 years after his death, we are still confronted with poverty, violence,racial discrimination, economic injustice, and war; all still dominate our society. His

repeated plea was for mankind to enter into a personal relationship with God that

would transcend that which could be seen and that, which was being experienced.

The dream is about changing our world and having a voice in how we live and

eventually how we die.

Dr. King's unselfish use of the word Love became dominant throughout his life and

practiced in the many struggles he encountered. The love he often spoke of was

biblical love which comes from God, which is agape Love. This love is

unconditional, unselfish and seeks the absolute good of others. This kind of love istough love, one that confronts wrong, injustices, discrimination, hatred, sexism,

racism, and prejudices. Dr. King showed us that no matter what challenges we face

as a society, Love can conquer a multitude of sins. Dr. King showed us that it is

better to build a better society rather than destroying it with hatred.

Today, we are challenged by Dr. King's legacy to make America a great nation,

greater than we can ever envision or ever hope for. Dr. King provided this nation

with a road map so that all people could follow and share in brotherly love,

together in the abundance of this great democracy. America can be that beacon of

hope for the world by following the path Dr. King blazed for us. Now let us begin innow in our own communities to make the dream a reality by confronting those

economic, political, and social issues that threaten our society. Dr. King often said

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools".




The Plan of Salvation

The Holy Bible teaches that God has provided salvation in the person and work of

Jesus Christ. Jesus was made to assume our flesh, die in our stead, rise again from

the dead, ascend to the Father, receive the place of power at God's right hand, and

appear before God in the believer's behalf. He is to come again to consummate

redemption. This work of God's Son was for the purpose of saving us from the guilt,

the penalty, the power, and ultimately the presence of sin. Salvation was provided

for those who believe in Christ and walk in his ways. Repentance is necessary for

salvation, but merely aids preparation of the heart and not as a price paid for the

gift of eternal life. Faith is the only condition to salvation, and it is the gift of God.

God Loves You

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that

whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Roman 5:8 says “But God commendeth his Love towards us, in that while we were

ye sinners, Christ died for us.



All Have Sinned

Roman 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Roman 3:10 says “As it written, there is none righteous, no not one.

God’s Answer for Sin

Roman 6:23 says “For the wages of Sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also

received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures: And that he

was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

How Can I Be Saved?

Roman 10:9 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and

shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be

saved.

Roman 10:13 says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of Lord shall be saved.

Today can be the day that you make the most important decision you make in this

life. Where will you spend eternity? Jesus died so that your sins could be forgivenand you could live forever in heaven when this life is over. All you have to do is

pray this simple prayer.

Prayer

"God, I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I believe in my heart, and

confess with my lips, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Come into my heart

Jesus. Take my life, I surrender it to you. From this moment on, I will live my life

according to the Bible and serve you. Thank you for taking away my sins, giving

me a clean heart, and everlasting life. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen"



If you prayed this prayer, please contact me so that I can pray for you and with

you, and also help you in your walk with Jesus Christ.

God Bless You!

About The Author:Dr. Christopher D. Handy, Ph. D.

Author/Lecturer/Teacher/Minister



•Having a dream to re-build decaying communities and lives by making the world

a better place for all of humanity to live in peace and harmony. The Rev.

Christopher D. Handy strives to raise the conscience of people everywhere to

make a difference. His meager beginnings in a small rural town in Monroe,

Louisiana and his childhood in a housing project greatly contributed to his mission

to enlighten, inform, educate, and motivate people to better themselves, theircommunities, and the world around them.

•Handy has written many articles for various newspapers and magazines. He has

organized marches to combat violence, injustices, and poverty, and while in school

in Michigan he ministered on the 'bad' streets of Detroit and other cities. He

continues to uphold justice and freedom by sharing his experiences with audiences

everywhere. His first book “The Scars of Racism” has made a stunning and

positive impact on people of all races.

•In 1999, Dr. Handy founded a Non-denomination Christian Community ChurchMinistry called The New Testament Bible Church and a non-profit organization

called I.C.A.N (Innovative Community Action Network); Dr. Handy main focus is the

future of our younger generation and the out casts of our society. In effort to

prepare all young boys and men for the realization of being a man in today's

society, he has developed a program called "Christian Manhood Training Program"

(CMTP), which is a rites of passage program which deals with many of today's

tough issues such as developing a relationship with God, treatment of women,

responsibility of being a Father, learning to love and not Kill, the importance of an

education, handling racism, and the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse.

•Dr. Handy is currently the CEO/President/Executive Director of Innovative

Community Action Network (I.C.A.N.). His focus is working with at-risk and troubled

youths, the poor and needy, the disenfranchised, and those without hope within

the community by helping them to believe in themselves and encouraging them to

strive for success. He was honored in 2002 with an Honorary Doctorate of

Humanities Degree from The Institute of Christian Works for his work with his

Mentoring Program for at-risk and troubled youths. Dr. Handy is also a certified

prison fellowship counselor, who has spoken to numerous inmates of all ages on

how to survive on the inside, thus, preparing them for their release into society. Dr.

Handy is a Licensed and Certified Counselor/Certified Life skills Coach and

Trainer/Adult Organizational Development Specialist. Dr. Handy is a Certified



Private Postsecondary Educator in Christian Education. Dr. Handy is the

President/Chancellor/Founder of The New Testament Bible Church Biblical Institute

an accredited and licensed Biblical Institute. He also serves as Professor of

Theology and Practice of Ethics and Ministry. In April 2011, Dr. Handy was

appointed Presiding Bishop of the Louisiana Conference from Fellowship of

Christ International; his appointment was accredited to his many years of dedicated service to God, service to humanity, and ministry. His district covers the

entire state of Louisiana.

•His educational background includes an Associate Degree in Business

Administration from Louisiana Business College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious

Education, a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, a Master’s of Divinity Degree, and a

Doctorate of Theology Degree from Andersonville Baptist Seminary in Camilla, Ga.

He has a Ph. D. in Philosophy in Counseling from the Institute of Christian Works in

Columbia, SC. Dr. Handy is the Father of three children and definitely believes the

family is the foundation of any society. Dr. Handy has received many citations andspecial recognition awards from many states and civic organizations across the US.

For additional information on seminars, scheduling speaking engagements, to write

to the author, or to comment on how this book has touched your life. Please

address your correspondence to:

Dr. Christopher D. Handy, Ph.D.

P.O. Box 7514

Monroe, Louisiana 71211



Phone: 318-343-6297

E-mail Addresses: [email protected] ,

[email protected]

websites: http://www.revchristopherhandy.com

http://www.focilouisianaconference.homestead.com

http://www.tntbiblechurch.homestead.com http://www.tntbibinstitute.homestead.com http://www.icandoall.org http://www.icanmentoringprogram.homestead.com

mailto:[email protected]


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