“Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves as instruments of righteousness to God and sin shall not have dominion over you.” Thanks be to God, that we have been set free from the bondage of sin through His grace, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed. No more shall we bear fruits of unrighteousness, but fruits of love and peace, for where sin abounded grace abounded much more”, and as one song writer said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, how far will you allow your sins to take you, to keep you and to cost you? Shall we continue to sin so that grace may abound? Scripture says, “Certainly not!” but that we should walk in newness of life, a life set free from the bondage of sin, through the death of Christ. Therefore, let sin no longer reign in our mortal bodies, that we obey its lusts, for we are no longer slaves of sin, but slaves to righteousness, we are not under law, but under God’s grace”  Praise the Lord!

“He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men, but he who speaks in tongues edifies himself. God is not the author of confusion, but the author of peace. My brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying or by teaching? Unless you utter by the tongue, words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? There are many languages, but, if I don’t know the language of him who speaks I shall be a foreigner to him. Therefore, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church you seek to excel. If you pray in the spirit, also pray in understanding, for if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies from a place of the uninformed say, “Amen”, at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?” My brothers and sisters in Christ, I thank God for the spirit of understanding in my praying, for I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue which no one understands. Praise the Lord!

Daily we have to put on the whole armor of God, to guard against the enemy who wants to destroy us. We must be strong, we must stand firm, we must not allow our members to war against each other, for scripture reminds us, that a house divided against itself cannot stand, so we must keep our hearts and minds in tuned with God, we must guard our heart, our palace, with the word of God, so that no thief could break in and destroy it. “When a strong man guards his own palace, his goods are in peace, but when one who is stronger comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils.” My brothers and sisters in Christ be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, put on the whole armor of God so that you will be able to withstand, to guard your own palace, your heart, so that it will be at peace. Praise the Lord!

As Christians we should not be judgmental, for the same measure in which we judge will be measured back to us. For many times, we are quick to point out the little faults that we see in others, yet, our own faults stand out like cedar trees and we are too blind to see them. Scripture calls us hypocrites who does this, and reminds us, that before we say, “Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then, you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye. “Judge not and you shall not be judged, condemn not, and you shall not be condemned, forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” Praise the Lord.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, take comfort in songs of praise and worship, and meditate on the words. When I awoke this morning, this song came to me, a song I have not heard or thought of in years. “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?” I will reflect on the words of this song all day, and ponder this question, “Is my all on the altar of sacrifice laid?” The song writer says it so true, “We can only be blessed and have sweet peace, if our all on the altar of sacrifice is laid, and if our hearts the Spirit controls. Let us walk with the Lord, in the light of His Word, we must do his sweet will, and have peace and contentment always, and our all on the altar of sacrifice is laid. For we never can know what the Lord will bestow, of the blessings for which we have prayed, till our body and soul he does fully control and our all on the altar of sacrifice is laid.” Praise the Lord.

To know God’s will, we must walk in God’s way, but walking in God’s way requires devoted hearts and trusting spirits; for many times the path that God has chosen for us seems impossible to walk, and that is why we have to trust him, to understand that he knows what is best for us, he knows our abilities and will never push us beyond our limits, only beyond our comfort zones. So, today, in the midst of your longest walk with God, in the midst of your greatest trial, give God thanks and praise, for in these times we are weak, in these time it is so easy to turn away from God, but know that God is strong, and he promised to never leave us nor forsake us, so, boldly say, thank you, Lord, for the situations that brings me on my knees in prayer before you, you have my undivided attention,  so, I will be still in your presence and wait for you to act. Man sees the impossible, but God does the impossible. Praise the Lord!

It is not because of anything good that we have done, why we are alive this morning, but because of God’s grace; and we have been assured that no matter what will face us today, that God’s grace is sufficient for us. My brothers and sisters in Christ, do not allow your needs to overwhelm you, for God has promised to supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus, God’s knows our needs before we ask and will grant them according to his will; he said he will never leave us nor forsake, for he is our father, a father who knows how to give good gifts to his children. Therefore, trust in the Lord, depend upon his word, for his grace is greater than your needs. Thank you Lord!

“They profess to know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. But, as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, show yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine, show integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, and sound speech that cannot be condemned. Speak evil of no one, be peaceful, gentle, and showing humanity to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceiving, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice, envy, hateful and hating one another; but, when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us, through the renewing of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Thanks be to God!

“Behold a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, some on stony places, some fell among thorns, and others fell on good ground.” My brothers and sisters in Christ are you the sower or the reaper? The seed is the word of God, the sower who sows the good seed is the Son of man, and the reaper is the angel. When the sowers sows the good seed, some will fall by the wayside and many will not understand it, some will fall on stony ground which will spring up, yet, will not survive, because they cannot grow root, some will fall among thorns which will choke the word of God, but he who receives the seed on the good ground is he who hears the word of the Lord, understands it, and indeed bears good fruit. We are all commissioned by God to be sowers of the good seed in the field which is the world, the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels. He who has ears to hear the word of the Lord, let him hear. Matthew 13

As a child growing up, I could remember my grandmother would always say to us, “Be satisfied with what you have. Don’t watch anyone for what they have, you don’t know how they get it.,” and, as I grew older, these words never departed from me, and when I gave my life to Christ and really started meditating on God’s word, being content with what I have, now has even more meaning. Since I have learned to live a God-dependent life, I have come to be content with what I have, knowing that God will give me all the desires of my heart when he knows I am ready to receive them. Many times, we go out of God’s way to take things he did not want us to have, and they bring us much trouble. My brothers and sisters in Christ, learn to be content in whatever state you find yourself in, and trust in the Lord, for contentment brings great gain. If we are content with little, God will put us in charge of plenty. For what good is it to us, if we have a table laid with good food and a heavy heart, with no friends to share with. “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than a fatted calf with hatred. A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken.”