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     The way that we live either honors God or the kingdom of darkness. Our lips can praise God yet our heart dishonors Him. Our lifestyle is worshipping the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. Many will will in that day, "Lord, I casted out demons, had a ministry, preached, prophesied, and yet the Lord will say, "I never knew you!" If the righteous barely make it in, where will the ungodly appear.

     We must be about our Father's business by doing His will! The first 5 commandments deal with man's relationship with His Creator and the commandments six through ten deals with man's relationship with how he treats others! We must walk in obedience,  forgiveness,  and in love. If we love God, we will keep His commandments!

     Obeying what the Lord says should not grieve us because we desire to please Him! In closing, love God, love our neighbor, and do His will! Let's be about our Father's business!

Joshua 1: 9: Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Not only does it take faith, it takes strength and courage. Just as God was commanding Joshua, He is commanding us to be strong, of good courage, do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged. Because of the presence of God, He is is with us. The Holy Spirit is the seal on all believers to let us know that God is with us. God is saying, "I AM with you!" He is commanding us to:

1. Be strong: to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute

2. Of good Courage: to be brave, bold

3. Do not be afraid: to tremble, dread, fear, oppress, prevail, break, be terrified, cause to tremble

4. Dismayed: state of intense disappointment,  shock, or anxiety,  typically caused by unexpected,  unpleasant  news or situations.

5. with: besides, towards

When God is with us, He endorses us with His presence! God is with us!

Mark 16:17-18

Verse of the Day:

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

We have many thirsts in this life and we enjoy our favorite beverages as a result of that thirsts. Many companies spend millions of dollars for the 30 second commercial in the Super Bowl to get you to purchase their beverage. Because of the exceptional marketing, we make haste and purchase the beverage, not knowing of we will enjoy it or not.

     Although we consume our beverages, we come to find that it only quenches our thirst momentarily. Jesus said that if we drink His water, we will never thirst against. Only Jesus has the water is pure, with no preservatives, however it will fill our reservoirs completely! We will NEVER thirst again (John 4:14)! Jesus encourages us to drink from His fountain of truth. Our souls has a void that can only be filled and quenched by the living water. If you are tired of of temporary fix, o taste and see that the Lord is good and only He can quenched our thirsts! This is no Sprite commercial, however, it is long overdue to obey our thirst. It's time to drink from the Day Spring!

Proverbs 27:1: Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

     Because life is a vapor, no creation should brag not only about the next second of their lives, but tomorrow. We don't know what today holds, let alone tomorrow. The gospel group The Winans, had a popular song in the 80's called, "Tomorrow." In the song, the person was sure that the plans that they made to give their lives to Christ "tomorrow" The song echoed, "tomorrow, very well might be too late!" There is a sense of arrogance when we make assumptions like we can guarantee that things will happen tomorrow.

     The book of James, 4:15-16 reminds us, ¹⁵ For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. ¹⁶But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Since we cannot add one hair to our head or make it black or grey, we should humble ourselves and not count our chickens before they hatch! 

   In closing,  no one knows tomorrow or the future, but our Creator. It behooves us to humble ourselves and yield to the One who knows more about our tomorrow than we think we know about today!

1. Faith-Works = Dead

2. Faith+Works= Results

3. Faith like it depends on God+ Work like it depends on you

4. Walk by Faith+Work by Formula (Mr. Joe L. Dudley)

      It takes F.A.I.T.H (For All I Take Him) to please God and guts to believe Him. Against ALL hope, Abraham believed God and it was accounted him righteous! God calls us righteous when we simply believe Him! Isn't it an oxymoron that we believe liars and struggle when believing someone who cannot lie! Due to His character and nature, God will not and cannot lie!

     It takes works, effort to obtain the necessary result of what you are believing God for. If we believe, we put the corresponding actions to confirm our beliefs. We must continue until we yield the necessary results or the manifestation of what we are believing. Our responsibility is to believe and work. We must give God something to work with. If we do our math, work is always added with faith. Let us do all we can to please God: FAITH like it depends on GOD and WORK like it depends on YOU!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart: Have supreme confidence in only Him above any person, place, or thing. Look to Him as the Author and Finisher of your F.A.I.T.H.(For All I Take Him)

Lean not or do not lean to your own understanding: Do not place your trust or confidence in your intelligence, logic, or education; do not place you weight; do not trust the creation more than the Creator 

In all your ways acknowledge Him: In every way, involve Him, recognize truth, existence, or validity as the Supreme, King of Kings, Lord of lords

And He shall direct thy paths: The Holy Spirit is the greatest GPS and course correcting system, He knows the plans for you, who you are, where your are going, and every route, detour, roadblock, signs of danger, and blueprint

Religious can destroy more people than war ever could!

The best sermon preached is a life that's well lived! Our greatest testimony communicates more than our words well! Many have said l, "Haven't we cast out devils, raised the dead, had a televison ministry, preached around the world, etc, but Christ communicated, "I never knew you!" Relationships is seen through our behavior, not vain words. 

1. When the leader wants YOU to do right and it doesn't apply to them.

2. If they are prospering and you are not.

3. When you cannot asked any questions because they are always right!

4. If you respectfully show them scriptures and they say the OT doesn't apply today!

5. You are rebellious if you tell them "NO!"

The BLESSINGS of the LORD it maketh rich and He addeth no sorrow to it. Proverbs 10:22

     God will never give you something (a blessing) that you can't keep. When God blesses you, He gets the glory. We must remain humble and not become prideful when we get what we are praying for. A woman is tested when she has nothing; a man is tested when he has everything. We must always remember that the One who blesses us is more important that the blessing. God is our exceeding, great reward.

     Blessings are more than material wealth. Health is wealth, good relationships are wealth, family unity is wealth, our soul prosperingnis wealth. Our problem is not remembering, it's forgetting. Remember the Lord after we receive what we are praying for. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23

New International Version

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

     When we surrender to God and put our investment into the Kingdom, God will provide the natural things that we need. Our Father knows that we have need of them before we ask Him. As a result of God being a good Father, He cares about out cares. When we are connected,  committed,  constant, and considerate with not only the assignment, but the One who gave us the assignment, we are well taken care of.

     Obedience is the key. Faith plus obedience equals access. Faith without works is dead. Faith plus works equal results. When we seek God and His righteousness,  God is the great mathematician that adds everything that we need unto us.

1 Peter 5:10 Amplified Bible 

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be].

We are to put ALL our confidence,  hope, and trust in the Lord. When we do those things, we shall be firmly planted like a tree by the stream. We shall flourish and make our way prosperous. The heat of circumstances shall not cause us to wither because our confidence is in the Lord. We will yield the fruit of increase in due season. He will NEVER let us down and cause us to be ashamed.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

New American Standard Bible

5 This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his [a]strength,

And whose heart turns away from the Lord.

6 For he will be like a bush in the desert,

And will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,

A land of salt that is not inhabited.

7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose trust is the Lord.

8 For he will be like a tree planted by the water

That extends its roots by a stream,

And does not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought,

Nor cease to yield fruit.

Hebrews 10:35-39:

35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”[a]

38 And, “But my righteous[b] one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”[c]

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Do not throw in your faith towel. It is important to see our faith through to the very end. Faith is what you process in your heart until it's in your hand. Faith is believing for tomorrow, today. Does our faith please God? Does your drawing back disappoint Him? Those that endure until the end shall be saved. God will show up at the appointed time and will not delay. Your confidence in God will be richly rewarded. After you've suffered awhile, you will have great recompense. Endure hardness as a good soldier and endure to the end. Don't throw in the towe, you've got another shower coming. God's will show up, show out, and show off! 

     I am thankful that we made it to another new year. However, what has changed other that the New Year! What changes do you need to make? Do you need to change your mindset? Do you need to change your attitude? Do you need to let some people, places, and things go in your life?

     Jesus said that you cannot put old wine in new wineskins because the wineskins will burst. Consequently, we cannot bring the old person into a new year. We have to prepare for a New Year by dying to our way of doing things. In other words, to become a new person, we must die to our way of doing things and line ourselves up with the Word of God. If we do not die to the world's system, the world's system will continue to grow in us.

     I challenge myself by taking a self-inventory and self-reflecting. Both will aid in me reaching self-actualization or my full potential. We must put off the old man daily and put on the whole armor of God. We must take off ourselves and put on Christ. When we do those things and become intentional about them, heaven becomes intentional about us. Put off the old man and put on the new man for the new year.  We can truly say we have become a new creature in Christ because old things have passed away. Happy New Year!

     I am thankful for all I have endured this year. Nobody but God and His grace carried me through this year. All my help comes from Him. He is both, the Author and Finisher of my F.A.I.T.H. (For All I Take Him). I will bless the Lord at ALL times and His praise shall continually be in mouth. I am thankful beyond measure. In order to know Him on His resurrection, we must know Him in the power of His suffering.

     In grief counseling, we learn that life is about suffering. But after you suffer, you shall receive the promise. Those that suffer with Him, shall reign with Him. My prayer and hope is that I passed these tests and that God is pleased because I saw my faith through until the end. On the last day od 2025, I want to thank God personally and publicly for who He is and I may not understand, what He is doing in my life.

     Walking by faith and not by sight is a daunting task. I am paraphrasing Paul when he says that it is not faith if you can see it or have it. The key 🔑 is to trust or have complete confidence in the one who is that Author and Finisher of your faith. The One who can do the impossible because with men, it is impossible, but with God, ALL things are possible. We please God when we have faith. We go to God because we know that He is God and is a rewarded of those that seek Him.

     We must rememner to walk by faith, not by sight. Faith is what you process in your heart until it's in your hand; faith is believing for tomorrow today; we must walk by faith and work by formula because faith without works is dead; yet faith plus works equal results! Faith is believing in an unseen God in heaven for seen manifestation in the 🌎! 

     Many will be celebrating Christmas and there is an old catch phrase, "Jesus is the reason for the season! " Jesus is MORE than just a mere season...JESUS IS THE REASON! Because of Calvary, His sacrifice lasts a LIFETIME. His selfless act is the Word made flesh. We should love our God will ALL of our soul, mind, and strength,  as well as to love our neighbors as ourselves.

     The world should know us because of our love. We should esteem others with respect and exemplify the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We should bear righteousness fruit daily! Our behavior is an indication of Jesus being the reason. In Him, we move and have our very being! Remember, Jesus is not solely the reason for the season; He is the REASON!