Good morning; praying that as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, you joined with your local body of believers and returned thanks to the Lord on this past Lord’s Day?! Paul commends the congregation of Colossae for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints” (Colossians 1:4). The strength of any congregation is based upon the strength of their faith in Jesus. As individual believers and congregations, we are only as strong as the faith we place in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. Many folks are weak in their faith because of the lack of confidence in the Holy Word of Jesus Christ. My friend, if you want your faith increased, deepen your relationship with Christ. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, the faith we have in Christ will increase. As our faith is strengthened, our love relationship with brothers and sisters in Christ will also be demonstrated through our actions. Paul was taking great joy in knowing this young body of believers walked in a manner that demonstrated their faith in Christ as well as their love for the brethren. “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (v.5). Noticed in the order of these words, faith, love, and hope. Faith has to do with the content of our Salvation, the Faith we place in Jesus. Love has to do with the Character of our Salvation, as we love the fellow saints of God. Hope is the consummation of our Salvation, as our hope is placed in the future that Christ has prepared for us in glory. As we place our faith in Jesus, as we grow in His love for the saints, the reality of our Hope that is “laid up for you in heaven” is so real to us through “the Word of the truth of the gospel.” Father, we thank you for the truth of the gospel where we found our Salvation, and the gospel truth continues to reveal to us the hope of our Salvation. Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!

Good morning; as we are pressing forward on our journey “to the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus,” Peter reminds us of some things we are to be laying aside along the way. “Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking” (1 Peter 2:1). Malice, guile, envy, evil speaking, and hypocrisy are sins that will hinder our Christian growth and prevent us from living a life of holiness The Lord has called us to. But “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby”: (v.2). My Christian friend, our desires in this life determines which way we are growing. A Christian must desire, must be thirsty for the Word of God to grow in the holiness of the Lord. If we do not desire God’s Holy Word, we can never grow in Holiness; we only learn of the Holiness of God from His Word, as the Holy Spirit teaches us. I pray you are joined to a local church where the Word of God is “rightly divided,” and the Word is front and center of everything that takes place in the body. I encourage you to thirst after, to desire the Word of God; Job said he desired God’s Word, “More than my necessary food.” Make sure you join with your local church and Worship around God’s Word. Father, I pray as we continue to live in this world that our desire for your Word will continue to grow and that our worship will be centered around your Holy Word. Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!”

Good morning; I am thankful for the day God reached down and delivered me from the sin I once lived in. “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise take thy wife and they two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city” (Gen 19:15). If you are saved this morning, would you stop for a moment and thank God for sending the Holy Spirit of God to convict you and draw you to Himself? Abraham prayed for Lot that God would spare his life and his family from being destroyed with the sinful city of Sodom and Gomorrah. My friend, we must continue to pray for our loved ones that God would convict them and save them before the destruction of this world occurs. All that you see will one day burn and be destroyed just as Sodom and Gomorrah. But, I want to encourage us this morning; once God has delivered us from a life of sin, don’t look back. “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (v.26). Many folks are trying to walk with God and looking back the whole time. My friend, keep your eyes on Jesus; look straightforward, and as long as you stay focused on Jesus, you can “walk on water”. Father, I pray this morning that we as the people of God, those who have experienced your deliverance from the destruction of this world would not look back to the life of sin, which will end in ruin. But that our focus will be more on where we are going and not where we have been. Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!