You are not a slave to SIN!

God loves me this I know. I really do know the love of God. He shows me this love in many ways. Some times he tells me "no" when I pray for things that don't fit into his plan for my life. I always ask for God's will to be preformed in my life. So when he leads into a certain situations, even the ones I don't understand, I say "the will of the Lord be done"and walk on in faith.

S.O.A.P.

1-28-2015      Romans 6:15-23

S.            15 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

O.           Righteous people are dead to sin and do not serve sin.

A.           People who sin are sinners, not Christians. It is impossible to be both Saint and sinner at the same time. If I am dead to sin then the doctrines of sin being a normal part of living are a lie. I “can” sin but I am not doomed to sin.

P.            Father; keep me from sin and teach me to always be an overcomer. My flesh, mind and soul are yours. Give me wisdom to see each temptation and never fail. Amen.

IS THIS A SIN?

If you can't make up your mind about whether a "thing" is, or is not, sin ..... it is!  The fact that you have the question rolling around in your mind makes it sin. If a "thing" is pure, holy, righteous, good and acceptable then questions never arise in the first place. So when the questioning begins ... Run!

S.O.A.P.

1-27-2015      Romans 6:11-14

S.       11 likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

O.      Sin must stop for righteousness to abide.

A.      We must stop sinning, I don’t mean the occasional slip followed by quick repentance, I mean that we must stop deliberately sinning. No excuses, no reasoning sin away and no justifying.

P.       Father; you hate sin and will not overlook sin. If I harbor sin then I am un-presentable before you. Teach me to hate sin as you hate sin. Send your Spirit into my life to reveal sin, that I may repent and stay clean before you. Amen.

Victory

With every great battle comes a great victory.  Looking ahead to that victory in the middle of the battle is where our faith comes in. Do not quit! Do not even think of defeat! With God ALL things are possible.

S.O.A.P.

1-26-2015      Romans 6:8-10

S.       8 now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

O.      Dying to sin brings eternal life.

A.      Avoiding sin is a constant war that must be won. God gives me the word, the Holy Spirit and fellow Christians so I can be victorious. With His help I can live a holy life, but, only with his help.

P.       Father; I desire to live pleasing you, helping others and overcoming any sin that I may be tempted with. Help me to be this person. Amen.

God is healing his children ..... TODAY!

Raise up and claim your healing children, for our God has not changed, his word will never fail and he is longing to share his blessings with you. He is a loving father ...... with healing in his wings!


S.O.A.P.

1-25-2015      Romans 6:1-7

S.       1 what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

O.      Those covered by grace no longer sin because they are dead to it.

A.      Sin should become our enemy when we are made new in Jesus Christ. People that teach that sin can’t be overcome are teaching in error. If God is powerful enough to redeem us from sin, he is powerful enough to help us to stop sinning. God sends the Holy Ghost to infill us and lead (teach) us away from sin … all sin!

P.       Father; help us to overcome the false teaching about sin and live the life you designed for us. Amen.

Brother's Birthday

Today is my brother's Birthday. Jerry is one of a kind: Good friend, hard working, honest, guitar playing, God fearing and loyal. I have two wonderful brothers and I want the world to know that these are two of the best men on earth. Happy Birthday Jerry. I love you.

S.O.A.P.

1-24-2015      Romans 5:20-21

S.       20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

O.      Grace is superior to the law and ushers in eternal life.

A.      More Grace is available to me than I could ever need but I must not misuse this knowledge. Deliberate sin may cause me to go past the point of no return. I choose th fight sin on every level and with God’s help come out victorious.

P.       Father; cover me with grace, fill me with wisdom to see sin for what it is: failure, shame, disgrace and separation from you. Amen.

Don't die in sin..........

Set your life in order for tomorrow you may die. Have you made things right with everyone? Have you paid the debts you owe? Is your sin forgiven and abandoned? One of my more difficult responsibilities being a Pastor is helping people prepare to die. Most people just fly through life and never even think about the end until it's too late. You and I are not sure when our time will come, so be ready. Pay the debt, give and receive forgiveness, stop sinning and ask God to make you his. NOW!

S.O.A.P.

1-23-2015      Romans 5:13-19

S.       13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

O.      Death and Judgment came because of Adams disobedience as pardon and justification comes through the obedience of Jesus.

A.     To please God and honor the gift extended to me through Jesus (his death on the cross to pay for my sin) I will embrace faith, abandon my fleshly desires, learn obedience to prepare myself to stand before him and be justified, whole and redeemed.

    P.       Father in Heaven; thank you for loving man and sending your best gift to redeem our souls.              Cleans me afresh and make me new as I rejoice in your favor and grace. Amen. 

He's still working on me!

Learning God's will for my life is a slow, on-going process. In the beginning of my walk, God made it clear, that I was to be a pastor. Since I was young, uneducated but eager and fearless I said "yes"to the call. The path was before me and God was by my side. Soon I learned that being a pastor required you to live by faith, trust God, do without many of life's pleasures and invest most of your time into others. This lifestyle was not matching my ambition or my nature. Forty eight years later and I am still working out the kinks. I'm not complaining, sorry or trying to gain sympathy, just letting you know that I am still a work in progress.

S.O.A.P.

1-22-2015      Romans 5:12

S.       12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

O.      Sin is common to all.

A.      The war of sin rages in every life. We are born under sin because of Adam. We can be victorious over sin because of Jesus. The war will be won or lost depending on which of these two men we follow. I chose Jesus.

    P.       Father; teach me how to live a life pleasing to you. Show me the path of righteousness and                 strengthen me that I could overcome my flesh. Amen.