Our Life Preaches a Sermon!

Denise's ABCs For Success! (Part Two)

Last week we went over Denise’s ABCs for success from A –M, this week we will continue with N –Z.

I pray that her ABC’s has blessed you in some way!

N:  Be like the Needle in the haystack -- not necessarily something easily spotted upon first glance, but sharp and to the point nevertheless.

O:  Obey the Lord’s will for your life. His will always takes you higher than your own.

P:  Pray and give Praise in all situations.

Q:  Be sure to set aside some Quiet time for yourself. Use this time to figure out who you are, where you want to go, and what it will take to get you there.

R:  Remember to ALWAYS Respect your parents. As bad as they may seem now, they really do love you and want the very best for you. Keep in mind that you only get one true set of parents, so make it count. Don’t alienate them now, as you may come to find that, besides Jesus, they are the only people who will love you unconditionally. Show them the Respect they deserve and should demand. As one of my favorite people often says, "You'll need them long before they will need you."
      Another ‘R’ I try to practice – Remember to Ring (call) your parents once a week, every week! That way when you call for money, they can't say that you only call when you need something!

S:  Know and believe that Jesus is and will always be your Source of Strength. Things get rough out there. When they do, know that He can carry you and your heavy load.

T:  Always have a Testimony. If you don't share all that the Lord has done for you, you may be prone to forget yourself.

U:  Take the time to Understand what people are telling you, in hopes that they will do the same for you. Don't just listen – Understand.

V:  Keep in mind that the Victory can be yours. Like the song says, "If I hold my peace and let the Lord fight my battles, Victory shall be mine."

W:  Watch out for those quick to steer you toward the things you know are Wrong.

X:  Accentuate the positive in every situation. Okay – I know that this isn’t a X word, but just work with me on this one!!

Y:  Be Youthful – when you are blessed with children, remember that you were young once. Keep in mind that things look different in the eyes of an eighteen or nineteen year old than in those of a forty-year-old.

Z:  Be Zealous in all that you do!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and… AMEN!

Denise's ABCs For Success! (Part One)

Denise was the speaker for the youth program at church many years ago. Her ABC’s were written for the youth, but I thought it would be good for the adults to hear as well, because this is something we can apply to our lives as well:

A:  Always be Appreciative of what you have. There is always someone out there who would be glad to trade places with you.
B:  Be ye not Boastful. No one who really loves you cares about how much you have, what kind of car you drive, or how many pair of Nikes you own.
      An Alternate B: Be on time!

C:  Courteous, Cautious, and Considerate. These three characteristics alone will take you farther in life than money ever will.

D:  Make clear, well-thought out Decisions. Take the time to really consider all of the factors before making a hasty decision.

E:  Strive for Excellence in each and everything that you do.

F:  Forgive and Forget. Seventy times seven is the number of times the Bible says that we are to turn the other cheek. So don't hold grudges!       
      Another great F word is Friends. Find out who your friends really are and hold on to them for life. Friends are always great things to have. Like a mind, a true friend is a terrible thing to waste!

G:  Practice Goodwill. Give to those who are less fortunate than you with love and joy in your heart and the Lord will make sure that it comes back to you ten-fold!

H:  Happiness is fundamental to success. But not just your happiness, be sure to take into consideration the lives of others whose life you may have an effect on.
      An even better H is to Hold on to God's unchanging Hands. He will never leave nor forsake you.

I:  Identify and define who YOU are. Don't be afraid to be an Individual. Just because all of your friends are doing something, that does not mean that you have to jump on the bandwagon too!

J:  Most importantly, know, trust and depend on Jesus. As I said before, He will never leave you hanging. But don't just know Him. Anybody can just know someone. However, it takes a special person to develop a personal relationship.

K:  Keep your eyes, noses, ears, and mouths out of other people's business. Make sure that your own house is in order before talking about others.
      Also, (this one is especially for the younger folks) – Keep those pants up, those skirts down and Keep focused.

L:  Learn to Love, Live Life to the Fullest and always Look before you Leap.

M:  Mind your Manners. A little "Yes Sir," "No Ma'am" never hurt anyone and it may get you closer to what you want than "naw" and "uh huh" ever will.

Be sure to tune in next week for part two of the ABCs.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and... Amen!

The Precious Blood of Jesus!

I thank the Lord for His precious blood! The blood is one of the provisions that was left for us to help us get back to the Lord. The blood has never lost its power; it is able to do whatever the Lord sends it forth to do. With so many unfortunate things going on in the world today, we should never leave home without asking the Lord to cover us, our spouses, and our children with His precious blood. Here are four reasons why:

1) The Blood Cries Out for Us: Did you know that we don’t have to lift a hand when someone wrongs us? We don’t have to pay them back; we don't have to plot revenge. If we would just plead the blood every day; it has a voice and that voice will cry out for vengeance on our behalf. 



Take Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:9-10 (KJV) as an example: "And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, what hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground."

We all know how the story goes: Cain slay Abel because the Lord rejected his offering, but accepted the offering of Abel. The scripture tells us that Abel's blood was crying out for vengeance. If we want the blood to cry out on our behalf, we must plead the blood over ourselves every day. We must get ourselves clean daily by repenting and let the blood do the rest.

2) The Blood Protects Us: We need the blood of protection, so that we can be protected from the enemy. When Satan sees us going on for the Lord, he wants to destroy us, but the blood will cry out for our protection, just as it did for the children of Israel.

Exodus 12:7 says, "And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the house..." Verses 12 and 13 continues with, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the house where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." Oh how we need the blood upon our heart and down both sides of us!

3) The Blood Pardons Us and Give Us Peace: The blood also justified us; it cleans us as though we had never sinned. Roman 5:9 tells us, "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

The blood has special power to pardon and save us, so it's essential that we live under this blood. Remember, for this power to pardon us, we must spend time repenting. Repenting will allow the blood to justify and cleanse us as though we had never sinned.

4) The Blood Delivers: The blood delivers us from the full stature of Lucifer, it makes a way of escape for us and draws us closer to the Lord. Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." The blood will deliver us - if we want to be delivered. 1 Peter 1:18-19 reminds us that, "For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

My aunt sings this song all the time that says, "I'm going to stay under the blood; I'm going to stay under the blood; and the devil can't do me no harm." Now we know why the devil can't do us any harm when we stay under the blood - because it cries out for vengeance, it protects us, it pardons us and it delivers us! Stay under the blood, my friends!

With all that said, let the church say amen...and Amen!               

Forgiveness!

Forgiveness: To pardon, to give up resentment. to grant as a favor, a gift.

You know how we always like to receive presents from people? Well, what about giving yourself a gift? I'm talking about the gift of life - Forgiveness.

No matter what we perceive has hurt us or has caused us shame and grief, we must always remember to forgive. Forgiveness is our path to healing, not to mention, it's what God expects us to do.  If we offend someone; we must quickly repent. If someone offends us; we must quickly forgive. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Forgiveness is big with God, because it's an expression of His love. When we choose not to forgive, we are putting limits on ourselves... as well as on the Lord. We are holding back on His love, His joy, and His peace that we should be showing one to another - instead we carry around all sorts of unprofitable weight.

Matthew 18:21-22 says, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (In case you were wondering - that’s every 2 ½ minutes.)

Forgiveness is a choice - if we are on the receiving end of someone’s unkind words or if there were unkind deeds that were done to us in the past, we have a choice. We can choose to forgive and move past barriers that will separate us from others (and from the Lord) or we can tie God hands with our unwillingness to forgive. How easy is it for us to forget that we have made mistakes in our life?? Keep that in mind next time you're holding a grudge. We must forgive others so that we too can be forgiven.

We have no excuse for holding grudges; for not forgiving others... while Jesus was hanging on the cross He said, "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Surely we can do the same, right? Especially since we're not hanging on a cross! Forgiveness is a gift - one that we can all use and one that we all need.

With all that said; let the Church say amen... and AMEN!