Free From Sin!

We can't help being born sinners. It is our natural birthright being born human. As hard as we may try to be righteous, our own efforts will always cause us to fall short of God's glory.

Abraham chose to sleep with Hagar instead of keeping the faith with his wife, Sarah. Ishmael was born and brought dissension and resentment into his home.

Moses allowed anger to overrule his obedience to God's instructions. He missed out on reaching the Promised Land as a penalty.

David allowed lust to reign in his flesh and he committed adultery with another man's wife which led to murder when she became pregnant. The child born out of that union died as God's punishment.

All of these men were great men of faith. They believed God, followed after Him, and obeyed the Lord's commands. Yet they still sinned. They still had to deal with the consequences of those sins.

What I love about these examples is that their stories do not end with their sin. They went on to seek - and find - forgiveness from God. The Lord saw their contrite hearts and forgave them of their errors.

Abraham and Sarah eventually had their own son who went on to found the Israelite nation. Moses may have missed out on reaching the Promised Land, but he lived to witness the nation he led walking into God's promise for them. David married the widow and they had a son together who went on to be one of the wisest and richest kings in Israelite history.

Maybe you have sinned and are dealing with the consequences of your choice. Yes, you can't avoid the results of choosing to sin - every action has a reaction. But, you have God's grace and mercy with you as well. You don't have to live in bondage. You don't have to be cast down. You don't have to think that the Lord no longer loves you.

When you come to the Lord seeking His forgiveness, He is ready and willing to give it to you. He knows you're human. He knows that you aren't perfect. What's so wonderful is that God forgives and forgets! He won't hold it over your head, He won't throw it in your face down the road... It's as if you never made the mistake.

Today, bask in the power of God's forgiveness. Realize that God's grace and mercy are with you. Release yourself from the grips of guilt and gain your freedom in the Lord's love for you.

Verse of the Day: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:8-12

Wednesday's Word: Love Is A Verb

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.


If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
1 John 3:11-24 (NLT)

Have you been showing love through your actions?

Have a great day!

Wednesday's Word: Beautiful Beings

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Psalm 139:13-18

Have you ever sat and thought about how intricate you are as a created being? From the way your blood pumps through your body to the way you balance on two feet to the way your eyes take in the world... You are truly amazing!

God took time to create your being. He fashioned you with love and care. He didn't just give you a body, either. He gave you life! He plotted out a special purpose and destiny for you. He formulated a plan to allow you to be the best you that you could be.

Even as the Lord took care of you before you even made your appearance on this planet, He is always with you. He knows what you are facing, and He understands what you are going through. Today, take some time to give Him praise as the Creator of your fabulous self! Give Him honor for honoring you with His full attention. Send Him some love for how He has taken care of you.

Afternoon Ti: Working For the Good

This past week was a true week of faith for me and my family. We have had to stand, and having done all to stand, stand firm in the face of fear, doubt, and anguish. And as we stood, God proved Himself faithful. In the midst of our mourning, the Lord kept us with joy. In the midst of sorrow, we found we had peace. Where we should have despaired, we found ourselves full of His everlasting love.

Even though I may not be happy with or even understand God's decisions, I was reminded yesterday that all things work together for the good of those who love God.

I can only imagine how Abraham felt as he believed God for the son the Lord had promised him. Who knows what thoughts swirled through his mind as the years ticked away, and he still had no heir. Yet, Abraham believed God, and God stayed true to his word and gave Abraham a son in his old age.

Or, think of Noah, tasked with the feat of making something he had never seen for a phenomenon he had never heard of. Still, Noah worked faithfully in the face of ridicule from his neighbors believing what God had told him. The Lord sent the rain like He promised, and Noah was delivered from the flood.

Even Daniel had to trust that God would stand with him as he continued to worship the Lord in the midst of a pagan nation. And when his very life was threatened for following God, Daniel chose to lose his life because of how much love he had for the Lord. As a result, God honored his public stance and delivered Daniel from the mouths of the lions.

God works everything together for the good of those who love Him. It is up to us to cultivate that love, to deepen and strengthen it. God is always there willing to pour out His love for us, we just have to get in His presence and receive it. When that love is there, nothing can change, shake, or remove it. And that love will carry you through anything and cause you to overcome everything.

No matter what you may be facing, draw on the love that God has for you. Don't let circumstances pull you away from your relationship with the Lord. Press into His presence. Come closer to His throne. Continue in talks with Him, and allow Him to work everything out for your good. Allow yourself to experience the faithfulness of God.

Verse of the Day: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Feeling Lost?

Sometimes in life we lose our way, and wake up one day wondering how we got where we are. The place we find ourselves is foreign. We know we're not in God's will, but we don't know how to get back to Him.

In those times when we feel lost and alone, God is still there reaching out to us. When we are afraid of what we're facing, unsure of how to get back on the right path, and nervous about being accepted into the fold again, God is standing by.

In Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, he speaks of a shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep in search for the 1 that was lost. In the same way our Good Shepherd is willing to go into the highways and byways looking for us when we lose our way. He does not want to see any of us left behind.

We just have to position ourselves to accept His help when He comes. We have to follow His instructions to find our way through foreign territory. We have to let go of sin in order to bring our spirits back into right relationship with Him. We have to surrender our will to the Lord's will in order to get back on the right path.

We don't have to stay lost. We don't have to stay separated from God. No matter how far off we may have gotten, know that your Heavenly Father will go any distance to bring you back to Him.

Today, if you're feeling lost, cry out to the Lord. Ask Him to show you how to make your relationship right again. Tap into courage and take the necessary steps to let go of sin and embrace God's will for your life.

It doesn't matter how lost you may feel, God knows right where you are.

Verse of the Day: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38, 39