Keep the faith!

It's been a long time friends and there are no excuses but life has been hectic and extremely fast paced. Therefore my words of encouragement today for you and for me are to keep the faith!

Rely on Philippians 4:13 that we can do All Things through Christ who Strengthens Us.

Be strong my Sisters, Be strong my Brothers, Be strong my friends, Be Strong! Be Strong and Know that Christ provides!!!

Strength!

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Almighty God,

Grant us the strength to follow you, and follow the world, or the wicked. Amen!

As my day progressed today and I became tired and discouraged time after time, I began to question why am I continuing on. I asked myself for what purpose do I toil and strive? I began to think about my relationship with God and how much I love the Lord, when I turned to this Psalm. It reminds me that I love the Lord, and I want to do God's will. Friends when you have a day that never seems to end, a day that is complicated beyond belief, when you find yourself asking WHY? This Psalm is for you.

God grant us strength, empower us to continue.

Do you really?

For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
Deuteronomy 30:16 (NIV)

Hello friends, today's text above is taken from the Hebrew scriptures the book of Deuteronomy. The command from Moses, or the law according to Moses is to Love God today and to let your actions prove your love. Therefore I ask the question Do You Really?

If we love God then why do we find it so hard to keep God's commandments and walk in Gods ways? Brothers and Sisters today I just pose the question if we love and confess God then why don't we do better? Why don't we do better in our relationships, on are Jobs, at home, in school , and at church.

Only you know what areas you need to work on so let's agree today, this week, this month to DO BETTTER, because we really do love the Lord.

Until next time Be Well.
Love Pastor J.

Sufficent Grace, not what i wanted to hear...

<sup>Good morning friends, I pray that God's favor is raining down on you in abundance.
Let's look to today's text from 2nd Corinthians 12:2-10

6</sup>But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, ⁷even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. ⁸Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, ⁹but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

In the reflection for today we see Paul encouraging the readers that God's grace is sufficient for him despite the issues (thorns) in his life. Therefore I encourage us to reflect today on the same idea of the sufficiency of God's grace. Imagine Paul's situation, better yet use yourself and your situations that you are going through right now. What are the thorns (issues) in your life right now, today? I am almost positive that when you think about these issues you want them to end immediately! You want God to take them away right now! So when Paul tells us that God's grace is sufficient, well that's not what we what to hear, We Want Results!

But friends I encourage you to rethink this and say with me that there are times when these words of Paul are exactly what we need to hear. We need to hear that no matter how much hell breaks loose in our life, and no matter how many thorns we have poking us God is God. Therefore God is sufficient, God's love grace and mercy are enough to see us through, keep us going, and lead us to the places God has prepared for us (via 23rd Psalm).

Today friends, rely on God's grace and guidance instead of looking for god to be our personal genie or wish master. in the words of Marvin Sapp~ Praise God in Advance!

Until next time be well.

Paul’s Concern for the Corinthian Church