The Walk of the Believer!

Walk: to move about; travel on foot; behave

As a woman or man in Christ, our walk has to be different; 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." In other words, we must put aside those things that are not becoming to holiness and put on the fresh new things of God. The Lord always gives us instructions on the things He would like us to do, so this week, I would like to share a few with you.

1. We must learn to walk worthy of our high position -- We are to lead a life worthy of whatever the Lord has called us to do, with behavior that is a credit to the services of God. We do this by living with a completely humble mind and with meekness; where we are unselfish, gentle, and mild with patience. We must always remember to bear with one another and make allowances for each other, because we are learning to love one another as the Lord has commanded us to do.

2. The walk of the believer as a new man in Christ -- We must put off and discard our unrenewed self which characterizes our previous manner of life and be constantly renewed in the Spirit of our mind by having a fresh mental and Spiritual attitude. We must put on the new nature created in God's image, as in true righteousness and holiness. Additionally, we must express the truth with our neighbor.

3. When angry, do not sin -- We should not let our fury or indignation last until the sun goes down. We must never leave room or foot-hold for the devil, we don't ever want to give him any opportunity to move in! Also, let no foul or polluting language, nor evil words, or worthless talk come out of our mouths, instead, we say only those things that are good to the use of edifying God and others, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Let's walk in the light, in truth, in Christ, in the Spirit, in wisdom, and in love that we may please the Lord at all times.

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

We Know Faith is Important, Now How Do We Get It?

Faith: belief and trust in God; a system of religious belief.

Last week we talked about the importance of faith, this week I want to share with you how we go about getting faith. Unfortunately, we don't just wake up one day and have all the faith that we need, it's a growing process. The word declares, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In others words, we must spend time in the word of God, feeding ourselves with the word, reading of all the miracles Jesus did for His people and realizing that He's the same today, yesterday, and will be tomorrow. As we read and study His word, we will began to hear His word in our Spirit.

Hebrews 11:1 informs us, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Take for instance, the Shunammite woman in II Kings 4:20 - her Son fell ill and died. Unlike some of us, she did not accept that. She had so much faith in the man of God that she knew all she had to do was get to him and all would be well. She did not tell her husband that their son was dead, instead all she said was; "all is well." The man of God had so much faith in God that he didn’t stop to think about what he was going to do, he just went back with the woman. She took him to her son's room, he shut the door and prayed unto the Lord. After that, he stretched himself upon the child twice, the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. God worked a miracle, because of that woman's faith. She gained more faith, because this was a personal experience.

It's so important that we go over and over the word of God until we get it in our Spirit. It should be so much a part of us that we automatically do it. For example, we don't have to think about how to brush our teeth (or whether we should) - it's such a part of us that it's automatic. That's how we should be about having faith in God.

Remember: we get faith by hearing, reading, and through our own experiences. We are healed by faith, we were saved by faith, and we are (and will be) rewarded according to our faith. It pleases the Lord when we walk in faith. God is real and well able to perform what He has promised, our job is to believe and be ready to receive!

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

The Importance of Having Faith!

Faith: belief and trust in God; a system of religious belief.

This week I would like to share with you the importance of having faith or a belief system in God. It's imperative that we believe in our prayers, in His word and in God Himself. Hebrews 11:6 informs us, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him." If we want to please our Heavenly Father, we must have faith. The good news is that we don’t need a lot of faith. Matthew 17:20 declares, "... 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.”

True faith is choosing to believe that God will do just what He said. Let’s not put our faith in some thing, but rather in some one (Jesus). If we are praying for our spouse (or to get a spouse), for our children, our grandchildren, for better finances, or whatever the case may be - we can't give up just because we didn't see anything happen last week. And we can't give up based on what we see, hear, feel, or think. God is not only the author of our faith - He’s also the finisher. He is well able to do all that He has promised.

We must have faith like the lady with the issue of blood, she believed that if she could just touch the hem of His garment she would be made whole and that's exactly what happened - she was healed. You know what Jesus said? "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." 

Look at the faith of Joshua, they were in a battle, "Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the amorites before the children of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies" (Joshua 10:12-13). Joshua was not too afraid to trust God, he exercised his faith in front of all Israel. 

Consider the two blind men that followed Jesus crying and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. Jesus said unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened.

Every situation we go through won't always be pleasant, but we must trust God to do in us what He needs to do in order to build our faith in Him. He has already told us that He would never leave us or forsake us and what He’s promised - He’s also able to perform!

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

To God be the Glory!

Glory: adoration and praise offered in worship.

To God be the Glory for allowing us to see the first Wednesday in 2016! As I reflect back on 2015, I can honestly say that God deserves all the Glory, all the honor, and all of the praise -- not because I’m living in a big fancy house nor because I have a fat bank account, or because am I driving a fancy new car. No, not for those reasons my friends. Instead, it's for all of the reasons we all should be thankful for, including the fact that we still have His breathe of life in us. Colossians 1:13-14 tell us; "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." For all of that I say, To God be the Glory!!

If we have breathe in our lungs today, there's still time to praise Him for His mighty acts and for His unconditional love -- where He loves us not because of, but in spite of. Do you realize that we could have lived our whole life and not known about His love, His saving grace, His mercy, or His forgiveness?! But God, in all His infinite wisdom and mercy came down to this earth and died for our sins, so that we could live in eternity with Him. For all of that I say, To God be the Glory!!

In 2015, as we traveled to and fro over the dangerous highways, look at how God protected us: He healed us from whatever ailed us and also our loves ones. He kept a roof over our heads and He didn’t allow us to miss many meals (if any at all; although most of us could have skipped one or two!). And look at how he covered us with His precious blood, so that no hurt, harm, or danger came to us as we slumbered and slept. For all of that I say, To God be the Glory!!

In 2016, when our way feels like it's getting too hard; when we could allow situations and circumstances to depress us; or when it looks as if there is no way out, just look back at how God delivered you in 2015 and know if He did it then, He can and will do it again. For all of that I say; To God be the Glory!!

To God be the Glory for all that He has done for all of us. May the Lord bless and keep each of us as we go through the next chapter of our journey. Remember, we can’t add to His Glory, but we can exalt it and magnify it! 

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