I believe the Bible is the Word of God. Furthermore, I believe miracles are the work of God. I also believe the Word of God is NOT up for negotiation. Joshua 24:15 “…choose this day whom ye will serve”. We should always give God the glory “in spite of” not “because of” His blessings. The Lord never intended for us to be the peacekeepers with the enemy, for that would negate The Cross. He did however, intend for us to be the keepers of our brothers and sisters souls. We, as Christians, are called to protect all that is Holy. Holy being the Holy Spirit inside of us manifesting the Word of God in our hearts. Once the Word of God is manifested in our hearts and we begin to praise God in spite of the enemy’s attacks we start becoming a new breed of Christian. Entertainment no longer matters but the Word of God sets your soul on fire. Use that fire to ignite the fire in others and never let the enemy even try to snuff it out!

The Cross – we must understand The Cross to fully understand humility and humbleness. If it wasn’t for Jesus Christ and The Cross we would be living under The Law of the Old Testament. We all know Jesus died for our sins but do we fully understand what He alone saved us from? There are no unconditional covenants, promises or blessings. After the fall of man (Adam & Eve) Jesus was sent to offer Salvation to all who would receive. We could not save ourselves because our will power alone was not enough. God’s mercy and grace gave us free will but most importantly, God’s mercy and grace gave us His only begotten Son because He knew we could not do it alone. God wants to give us every opportunity He can without taking away our free will. Sometimes God will use instruction, love, perserverence and even drastic measures to turn us away from hell – but He will not take away our free will. We can’t grow rich off of all of the Lord’s blessings then reject the source. Once we realize “the source” is Jesus Christ and The Cross, we will also understand just how humble we should be. We now live under God’s grace and mercy only because of Jesus. Thank you Jesus for The Cross and our Salvation.

Although religious rites are important we cannot rely on them for effectiveness of winning souls over to Christ because spiritual things cannot be discerned by the unredeemed. We MUST rely on the original Christian program which is the preaching of Christ, the Cross and the gospel to win souls. It is not the “art” of preaching but “what” is preached. 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

One thing we, as sinners, (yes, I said “we”) all have in common is excuses. We live in a fallen world and try as we might, we too will fall into the trap of the sin nature. Most of us know the “10 Commandments” but did you know there are actually 613 Commandments? ONLY Jesus was able to keep all 613 Commandments. Here is the good news, because of Jesus and The Cross we now live under the grace of God. Because of Jesus we now have the Holy Spirit living inside of us which causes us not to enjoy the sin nature. Never expect to give up the sin nature without the help of the Holy Spirit; our will is not strong enough on it’s own. The Lord does not take things away from you, He adds His mercy, grace, love, joy and peace which eventually leaves no more room for the other “stuff”. Our God is not a God of condemnation. He wants nothing more than for us to prosper and receive ALL He has to offer. The Lord knows our struggles, weaknesses and temptations. Ask the Lord for strength to overcome what has you bound and rebuke that spirit of condemnation. Let the Word of God feed your spirit. Concern yourself with God’s glory and His will, not what the enemy tries to offer. Psalms 89:21 “With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him.”

The benefits of being a child of God far outweigh the requirements. When we react to our emotions (frustration, anger, fear,etc.) we are allowing the enemy to take possession of our soul. Take back what is yours!! Luke 21:19 “By your patience possess your soul.” Be patient and know God is in control. The Lord will always use our circumstances to our benefit and not our harm. Nothing in life happens “to” you, it’s happens “for” you – this is your testimony. Possess your soul by patiently waiting on the Lord’s will and let anything that hinders your testimony strengthen your resolve to testify and glorify Him.

There is a difference in ignorance and unbelief. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge. As harsh as it may sound, we all suffer from a degree of ignorance because we are not all knowing – only God is all knowing. However, unbelief is the lack of confidence in God. Unbelief is the lack of faith in His Word. Knowledge we can gain through prayer and reading the Bible but is completely void if we do not believe the Word of God is true. Rest assured Satan knows and believes the Word of God; he even quoted it back to Jesus trying to tempt Him in the wilderness (Matt 4:6). Faith only works at the point of execution, until then it is knowledge. The spiritual level of a person is not determined by our knowledge but by our faith in the Word of God. Knowledge of God’s Word is the basis of Christianity but Faith is the key to our Salvation.

Faith – the devil’s attacks are directly and strategically aimed at our faith. This fact alone should give us pause. The Lord responds to faith. God will test us to help strengthen our faith in Him. The enemy will tempt us because he knows if our faith fails, we fail. God will NEVER allow the enemy to tempt us above what we can bear. He will ALWAYS make a way to escape. (1 Corinthians 10:13) Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you “the escape route”. Hold on to your faith and let the Holy Spirit give you the power you need to accomplish God’s will in your life. Give God something He can work with – your faith in Him.

Jesus had an independent, Holy Ghost led ministry. He was Jewish by race, not by religion. Through the inflammatory power of the Holy Ghost, Jesus and His disciples did not wait for the people to come to them, they carried the gospel to the people. Soul winning then and soul winning now is not an option but instead an obligation. Instead of looking at man, money and methods to orchestrate amusement, recreation and entertainment in our churches today in an attempt to fill the void in our soul; we should rely on the Gospel, The Cross and the Holy Ghost.   When the Holy Ghost is lead councilor, our hearts are filled with peace, love and joy; Jesus’ standards become our standards. We want to serve others, rather than be served; we want to give rather than receive, we begin to humble ourselves rather than always attempting to humble others when the Holy Ghost leads our ministry. “Living in the Spirit” is available to all whose soul is aflame by the Holy Spirit.

A revelation is not the same thing as information. There is lots of information in the Bible. We read, study and quote Bible verses for informative purposes. It is not until we become spiritually alive that the information becomes a revelation through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Once we are spiritually alive the Holy Spirit fills us, ministers to us, guides and directs us. All of the “information” we receive cannot be spiritually discerned by the unredeemed as a revelation. Once we acknowledge that the Lord is the source of our wisdom through His Holy Spirit, He begins to reveal to us His Word. Once this revelation is given to us, if not manifested, it becomes a missed opportunity.   Take the time to manifest the Lord’s revelations in your life as a Christian. Also, take the time to understand the unredeemed in Christ need to SEE the manifestation of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in you (joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, faith and love) for the Lord to be able to reveal Himself to them through you. Be available for God to use you today!

The enemy tries to distract us. He will present an attractive counterfeit to keep your thoughts and ideas directed away from God’s will in your life. The goal of the devil is to keep us busy running in circles until it’s too late. If our spirit is not resurrected in this life it will remain eternally separated from God. Love and hate are not emotions, they are a conscious decision we must make everyday. Love is of God, hate is of the enemy. Choose the love, peace and joy that only comes through Jesus and the Cross. Choose blessings. DO NOT let the devil rob you of the life God has planned for you no matter the storms that surround. Live from the inside out and let the Holy Spirit order your steps. Confusion, fear, anger is not of God. Be aware of every decision that is made without the Lord being involved.