Yet it pleased the Lord

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand" (Isaiah 53:10 KJV). It pleased the Father to see His son Jesus, bruised for our transgressions. God knew what the outcome of this sacrifice would be. Through His sacrifice, every soul would be given their right to life in the fullest. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the law that could not bring forth salvation was fulfilled. Now all have their place in eternity with God through grace. Grace is a gift from our Father in heaven, and it is given freely through faith. Grace is given not because of our works or merits, but because of God's love for His creation. We don't deserve this love or salvation at all. For we all fall short of the glory of God, and God sees us fall so many times. "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities" (53:11). How powerful are the words of God! His words are filled with so much love. God understands us, for we are dust. He said that "He will never leave us nor forsake us". God did what no man could ever do, that is He saved all humanity with one Perfect Sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us. Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever. Amen.

Put to shame

"Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt" (Psalms 35:4 KJV). Lord, help us find our way back. Confusion has struck the youth of this nation and many across this great globe. Confusion is taking over their minds and hearts to where they no longer know what is right from wrong. Man has exchanged good for bad and evil for good. Our children of this world are growing up into this lifestyle. The majority of the children are being raised by single parents. Very few children have their biological mother and father within one household. The devil, being the author of confusion, has played into all of this, and today he still strikes the homes of the innocent with his evil lies and deception. I'm here to tell you that our Lord, our God the Father, is faithful and just to His word. He sees the chaos. He recognizes the hurts and pains, and He is about to do something about it. King David was crying out in the Psalms, pleading for help from the Lord. King David recognized the enemy was close. The only one that can stop the devil from coming near is the Lord our God. "Plead my cause, O Lord , with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me" (Psalms 35:1 KJV). Keep the faith, stand strong, and cry out to Jesus. He is able to see you through. God Bless you.

Ye shall know the Truth.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32 KJV). Jesus is our savior. He is also the Truth and the only truth. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the way to life, and we as His children can only experience true life by following after Him, our Lord and Savior. He came to bring light to this world and the truth that will set all free. This truth is the Word of God, and there is no other truth. So many people try to set themselves free by giving up a bad habit through a program. I tried this method many times, only to find myself caught up in the habits once again. Freedom was given freely two thousand years ago when Jesus was on the cross. He took all sin, the very thing that keeps us back so many times from being free or allowing us to know that we are free. He took our sin to the grave. I don't know about you, but I would love to see many more people walk in the Truth. If more people walked in the truth, this world would sure be a better place. Jesus is the truth, and apart from Him is nothing but false. So, if one makes his or her mind up to follow Christ, they are free. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). This is a simple Gospel, and it doesn't take a genius to be free. All it takes is faith in the Truth. God bless you.

Where art thou?

"And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9 KJV). Open the eyes of my heart Lord. I want to see you. This is the desire of a true believers' heart, who understands that everyday has to start with the Lord. From the beginning of creation God wanted and desired fellowship with man. God left His place in heaven, and came down to earth to walk in the cool of the day with man. I believe God looked forward to walking in the garden with man. However, that walk changed when sin entered into the heart of man. So, did the walk and fellowship with God and man end? Certainly not. God has not changed. He is still holy, righteous, pure, and faithful. He is always keeping His covenant. It is man that changes. Man is always chasing after his own hearts' desires. Many times these desires are not good but are poor,  and because of them we find ourselves walking alone, hiding, and even denying the very God who created us. "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden" (vs. 8). Sin keeps God's creation from walking with Him. Sin truly separates one from fellowship with God in the cool of the day. God is looking down from heaven upon His children and waiting for one to walk with Him.  I believe He is walking with many this very second. God has done so much to see humanity free and in fellowship with Him. All humanity has to do is trust in Him. God wants to walk and fellowship with you today. Give Him that time. God bless you all.

Reconciled to God.

"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [resurrection] life" (Romans 5:10 AMP).  As believers, we must continue reminding ourselves that Jesus Christ come to save the sinner. When the believer begins to trust in Him more, by having a relationship with Christ, Jesus surrounds them in His love and peace that reassures them that they are not alone or dead in sin. He came to save the lost of this world. Through His eyes and heart, it doesn't matter what ethnic group or past life we may have lived. When we walk into the presence of the Lord one of two things will take place. Either we will think this is total nonsense, foolishness, and hard to believe, or we will fall on our knees and begin to praise Him. God shows all of this world a powerful promise. If we have faith in Jesus, we are saved from the wicked powers of darkness that run freely upon the earth. "But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Jesus died for us! I wish this would stick to our hearts, Many give up and walk away from the Lord because of the sin in their lives. There is no need to give up, but we must get up and go to the throne of grace. "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]" (Hebrews 4:16 AMP). There's no time to run away. God bless you.

By faith.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1, 2 KJV).  We are justified, made righteous in God's eyes, through faith in Jesus Christ and in His blood. God sees those who believe in Jesus Christ, those who truly trust Him as their Redeemer.  Abraham had faith, and his faith was considered righteousness in God's eyes. Hard times and struggles will come, but in those times we need to remember our Lord and Savior. When justified faith becomes real, it renounces all ungodliness and brings forth God's righteousness. Praise the Lord! Grace is given to us through faith. It teaches us to renounce all ungodliness and the work of wickedness, and it helps us learn to trust, to stand, and to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. God's grace is powerful. It continues to draw us back to the throne room of God. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:11, 12 KJV). Along with faith, grace, and salvation from our Lord Jesus Christ, God also has given us the Holy Ghost that continually lives in the faithful believer. The Holy Ghost is our helper, motivator, counselor, teacher and intercessor at all times. God the Father made sure we would all be safe and sound. We lack nothing. He has given us a way to overcome this world through the Holy Spirit. God bless you. Amen.

O wretched man that I am!

"O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin" (Romans 7:24, 25 KJV). When life seems so dim within the soul, when hopelessness charges in, when we fall into sin and feel so naked and ashamed, or when we feel so far from God as if He is not around, we must look up to God. These are hard times. These are times we feel like giving up. These are the times when some just walk away. Don't give up! Look up to Him, the One we believe in. If we do fall back and find ourselves once again in the darkness of the world, we must remember who has called us. Remember His very touch. We may not want to think about it. We might feel ashamed at the time, but we just have to remember that Jesus bled and died for the sinners of this world. We must cry out with all of our hearts, and Christ Jesus will put out His hand and once again place us upon the Rock. Struggles and failures will come, but just as the apostle Paul says, "Oh wretched man that I am"; we must remember that it is through Jesus Christ that we are saved and redeemed back to our Father through faith. Keep on believing and trusting in Him and in His very Word. God Bless you. Amen.