“He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber, but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not allow the thief to enter the door of our hearts, for he comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but follow the good shepherd who daily lays down his life for us, He is the door of the sheep. If you hear His voice this morning, harden not your heart, but follow Him, for all who have come before Him are thieves and robbers, do not listen to them. When the good shepherd brings out His own sheep, He goes before them and the sheep follows him for they know His voice. The good shepherd willingly lays down His life for us, but the thief destroys us. God promised that as our good shepherd He will never leave us nor forsake us, but the one who is not the shepherd, when he sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches the sheep and scatter them. Will you allow yourselves to be scattered or to be led into the sheepfold of God?

Many times we are so hard to forgive others for petty things, but we expect God to forgive us for our multitude of transgressions and he does, because he loves us, and will not give up on us, until we return to him. We read in the book of Isaiah that God will blot out our transgressions like a thick cloud, all we need to do is to return to him. He promised that if we do, that He will open before us double doors, that He will go before us and make the crooked places straight, that he will break in pieces the gates that hold us captive and cut the bars of iron that restrain us, that we may know that He is the Lord, who called us by name. He said he will gird us even though we have not known Him that we may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Him, that He is the Lord, and there is no other. What a mighty God we serve! He is a God of second chances. Thank you, Lord!

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to His name, to declare His loving kindness in the morning and His faithfulness every night.” The Lord does so many wonderful things for us no matter how undeserving we are because He cares for us. How should we thank Him for all His many blessings on us? “Oh, let us give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, sing to Him, sing Psalms to Him, remember all His wondrous works and talk about them, write them on the doorposts of your heart, enter into His gates daily with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him and bless His holy name, for the Lord is good and his mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generation. Oh Lord, how manifold are your works, in wisdom you have made them all. Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.” Thank you Lord!

This week, let us use the palm as an olive branch, a peace offering and a palm of blessing to those who have done us wrong? As we go through this Holy Week of Lent, let us lay aside all envy and malice, greed and filthy lusts. Let us lay aside past hurts, old grudges, bruised hearts, and hurt feelings. Let us forget those who have done us wrong, and those who set out to put stumbling blocks in our path. Let us lay aside pent up anger, frustrations and confusion. We must lay these down at the feet of Jesus, he has borne the cross for us at Calvary so that we could be free. As we look forward to this glorious Easter, let us do so with renewed feelings, new thoughts, and new aspirations of spending eternity the God. “Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest!” John 12:12

Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord, and keep his testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart, they also do no iniquity, they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep your statutes, then, I would not be ashamed. Oh, let me not wander from your commandments, let your word be hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you, therefore I will meditate on your precepts oh God, and contemplate your ways. Psalm 119.

Thank you Lord, for covering, for guidance and protection as we walk the lonesome valley, as we walk through the storms in our lives. Lord, you promised to be a shelter for us in times of storm if we dwell in your secret place, you promised that if we make You our refuge that no evil shall befall us nor shall any plague come near our dwelling, that you will give your angels charge over us, to keep us in all your ways. Lord, you promised that when we call upon you, that you will answer, that you will be with us in times of trouble, but that we must serve you faithfully. Lord, we know that your promises are true, keep us Lord in your way we pray, that you will always be a covering for us. Thank you, Lord!

Now is not the time for us to act proudly, now is our time to encourage those who are weak in the faith, to help strengthen feeble knees, for we are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God. I welcome all of you this morning into the household of God. Praise the Lord! Many of us who have been saved sometimes act as though we are so righteous, but I am here to remind you this morning, that we all have a testimony to share, because of where God brought us from. Hallelujah! We are reminded in Ephesians chapter 2, “And you, He made alive who were dead in trespasses, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom we also conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath.” But, now that you have been given a second chance, you condemn those who are walking as you once did. But know this, “For by grace you have been saved by faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, lest any man should boast.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, remember that you were once Gentiles in the flesh, that you were at one time without Christ, an alien having no hope, but now through Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, and through Him, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Let us encourage one another, let us use our testimonies to draw others closer to God, so that they too will no longer be strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God. Praise the Lord!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, how many more times will you doubt God after seeing his footprints in the sand; how many times must you doubt God after he leads you with his guiding hands; how many times must he feed you, clothe you, deliver you, rescue you, comfort you and heal you, before you believe? Jesus stood and cried out saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink, for he who believes in Me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living waters.” So, why are you still thirsty, how long will you continue to drink from wells which cannot satisfy you?  How long will you hear God’s pleading voice and harden your heart? Are you not tired of being hungry and thirsty? I don’t know about you, but I was hungry and thirsty and when He offered me His life-giving water, I drank, and I was refreshed, I received my sight, and I have seen God at work in my life too many times not to believe. He lift me up out of the miry clay, when everyone said go, he said stay, when I was weary, tired and lonely, he said come, rest a while, and like a gentle father he bid me drink from the fountain that will never run dry. Since then, I run and don’t get weary, I walk but never faint, because I know how to get to the well with my bucket and I never come up empty. My brothers and sisters in Christ, you have been travelling this parched road of life for so long, you must be hungry and thirsty and tired. Won’t you come to Jesus and receive your share of life giving food?