God of all Grace

 1 Peter 5:10
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

It is God, and God alone, by His grace, that we are made children of God. In our humanity we are weak and incapable of living a life that is perfect, a life that is able to overcome the attacks of Satan as he seeks to destroy our faith and standing with God. Suffering comes with the territory of trying to live a godly life. But, through it, we are made stronger and become rooted and grounded in Christ. Peter says that the God of all grace is able to make us perfect. The word "perfect" is translated from Greek to mean “equip or adjust us.” In our humanity we are not equipped to handle the trails that we must face. God is refining our faith as we go through suffering and hard times. His purpose is to make us strong in the face of adversity. His desire is that we become established in Christ at a place where we don’t have to fear Satan and his attacks. We can trust and have faith in Christ to resist the temptations that we face in our lives each day. Temptation to put our trust in the flesh, temptation to cast our faith away, and think that God does not care about our situation, our suffering. He is the God of all grace, and we can believe He is able to do all that He has promised to do for His glory and our good.

Surrender to God

 Jame 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The word surrender is not found in the Bible, it is a word normally used in battle when someone gives up their right to fight, and they become prisons of their captors. “Surrender to” is defined as a complete abandonment of oneself entirely to someone or something. Both definitions describe the word “Submit.” Much has been said about surrendering our heart, our lives to God. The term, “Sanctify yourself” used in the Bible also has implications of surrendering. To be set apart, to be used by God. We surrender all our hopes, ambitions, dreams, and wishes to God, and allow Him to use us in any way He pleases for His kingdom. We surrender our desires, and offer everything we have to God, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God,”(Roman 6:13). When we consecrate ourselves to God, we have surrendered the life we have been living and have dedicated ourselves to serve God in whatever capacity He desires. We give up the old life of sin and present ourselves as a living sacrifice. Some would see this as giving up our freedom to do what we want to do. But the way of the transgressor is hard, and all that live in sin are in bondage to the flesh. As Christians, we are told to submit our lives daily to God, pick up our cross and follow Christ (Luke 9:23). Satan will tempt our flesh (members) to fulfill the lust of the flesh, but as we submit ourselves to God, and resist the temptation of Satan, he will flee. For the heart totally surrendered to Christ is empowered by the Holy Spirit to live unspotted by the world.

Kick Against the Pricks

 Acts. 9:5

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

“To kick against the pricks” is an idiom that implies the fruitlessness of resisting authority or truth. Saul (Paul) on his way to Damascus, encounters his resistance (Jesus). He came face to face with God, and try as he might he could no longer resist that inner voice that no doubt was speaking to him since the day he witnessed the death of Stephen. The Holy Spirit had arrested Paul with convictions, and Paul finally quit resisting and yielded his heart to Jesus. It is difficult to resist the prodding of the Holy Spirit when He convicts the heart of sin. When people do so, they only bring more hurt to themselves. God will use every means to bring others to the light. He will not force submission, but in His faithfulness, He will continue to “prick” to show others the way to go to find true peace. Let us not “kick” against the moving of God, but let us yield to His will and let Him have complete control of our lives.

Endure Temptation

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Temptation is experience by all who are made in the image of God. For temptation to exist, one must know the difference between right and wrong. Life is full of choices and some of them have eternal consequence. Having desire in itself is not wrong. We all have human desires that are given to us by God. Our bodies are made in such a way that they seek out ways to be fulfilled and be satisfied. Jesus, the Son of God was drawn away from His own human lust (desire) for food. Satan enticed Him to fulfill that desire in a way that would have been displeasing to His Father. Making the right choice is to endure the temptation to make the wrong choice. The word has promised us that when we are tempted that if we turn to Him, He will give us the ability to say no. The Holy Spirit was sent to us, to purify our hearts, and to endue us with power. Power to resist temptation, power to make the right choice. We are not beyond the ability to fall in sin and yield to temptation. We all are face with choices to make. To them that make the right choice, God will bless and grant the crown of life.

3:50am-10:00pm