Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you . Ephesians 4:32 Forgive. It is something that every Christian understands. We are thankful that God has forgiven us of all of our past, present, and future sins (1 John 2:12; Hebrews 10:10, 14, 17, 18). When you acknowledged before a holy God that you were a sinner, repented of those sins, and believed in your heart that Jesus is Lord, your

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? 1 Corinthians 15:55 You can't run from it, you can't hide, you can’t make a deal with death, it will find you. It will come for all of us. Christian and non-Christian. Rich or poor, young or old, no one is immune from the power of death. However, there is a gap as wide as the deepest ocean between what happens to those who belong to Christ and those who have rejected Him. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, drilled t

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law . Galatians 5:22-23 Throughout history, there have been people who counterfeit the original and people who impersonate others. Some people will pose as veterans for benefits and favors only veterans deserve. It is called stolen valor and is a crime only if the person tries to financially benefit from saying they are a ve

Oh, fear Yahweh, you His saints; For there is no want to those who fear Him . Psalm 34:9 At first, it seems uncharacteristic of God that He would command his followers to fear Him. We must understand what fearing God means. It does not mean being afraid of Him. All believers are called to fear Him, but we have no need to be afraid of Him. In fact, if you are afraid of God, you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior. A non-believer needs to be afraid of God, very afraid. Jesus wa

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord . 1 Corinthians 15:58 All of us have regrets in this life. You might have regretted relationships you have had, purchases you have made, jobs you have settled for, or decisions that have affected your health. But, there is one regret that a Christian will never have: living for Christ. A dear friend of mine, John Riley, and I m

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth . Colossians 3:2 Let's face the truth. It is not easy to stay focused sometimes when it comes to living for Christ. We can easily be distracted by things of this world. However, as children of the King, we must stay focused on what matters. When I was hired by the Richmond Bureau of Police in 1978, I was 21 years of age and had never shot a pistol in my life. The academy was in the basement of the Mosque (

For I, Yahweh, do not change; Malachi 3:6 How many times have you found yourself changing your mind? As I have grown older and hope wiser, I have changed how I handle certain situations. As mere men and women, we can be very fickle. Just think how your taste in music has changed over the years. Take your Pastors taste in music. In the late '60s and early '70s, I listened to heavy metal music like, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Uriah Heep. Then in the '80s, it

Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains . Matthew 24:15-16 Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, warned of a future event that Daniel had also prophesied. The prophet wrote his book around 540 B.C., over 500 years before Christ. Jesus' warning refers to the moment when the last half of the tribulation period w

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love . 1 John 4:18 When you were saved, God transformed you. You no longer were a slave to sin; you were made a slave of righteousness (Romans 6). In his Gospel, John recorded the following about what our Lord said about abiding in Him: I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from