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Live For The One Who Remembers

12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? ~ Ecclesiastes 6:12

Life is a really weird concept when you think about it. Every single one of us is born just to one day die and soon after be forgotten. Very few are remembered throughout the centuries, but the majority are forgotten. Their lives, stories, names, and faces are all forgotten. Lost to time. A bleak and depressing understanding of life that makes you ask the question, “What’s the point?”

When we leave life there, it honestly seems very pointless. Purposeless. A speck of dust sailing through the wind. Here one day, gone the next. But that’s not the end of the story. We aren’t just born to die and then one day forgotten. No. We are never forgotten by our Creator. Weare so important to Him that our very hair on our heads is numbered by Him.

Our words, thoughts, actions, and legacy are never forgotten by Him. Yes, man may forget us. Our bones one day turned to dust. Our names forgotten and our graves lost, but our souls, if we delight ourselves in the LORD, will forever dwell in the arms of the LORD Most High.

Yes, man will forget us, but the LORD God our Creator, Savior, and friend never will. Therefore, live your life for the one who will never forget you. The one who will never forsake you. The one who loves you like no other.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live For The One Who Remembers.

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Don’t Sleep On God’s Plans

Genesis 5:28-29

[28] When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son [29] and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”

From Adam to Noah is ten generations. Lamech (Noah’s father), when his wife gave birth to Noah said that he would bring relief to the people. Lamech didn’t know how, but he knew something was special about Noah. Something was different about this newborn baby. Lamech’s spiritual eyes were opened, and he was in tune with the Spirit.

Noah ended up being the sole reason eight persons survived the flood. Survived the punishment of God upon sinful mankind. Noah not only fulfilled his father’s prophecy about him but he fulfilled being the tenth from Adam.

See, 10 is the number of covenant. It is Noah whom God makes a covenant with because of his righteousness and obedience. It’s because of Noah that God made a covenant with all on the earth that He would never flood it again.

Noah truly lived up to his name, the prophecy, and his place in his generation. Are you? Are you living up to what the LORD has laid out for you? Yes, it’s difficult because of distractions, temptation, etc. but is that truly an excuse? Noah lived in a time that was so evil and wicked, filled with temptations and distractions that God destroyed all of them except for eight people. Noah’s day and age was difficult as well, but his desire was to please God, not please man.

Today, ask yourself, who am I trying to please? Others? Myself? God? Whose plans for my life do I want to follow? God’s or man’s? God has plans for our lives, but so does mankind. But God’s plans are for our good and not our harm. Plans to give us  and a future.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Sleep On God’s Plans.

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Don’t Just Read

Matthew 1:17

[17] So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Matthew uses fourteen generations. He makes a big deal about it, so I started paying attention. 14 is the Hebrew 10 and 4. 10 is the number of covenant, and I believe 4 is the number of division or separation (kinda like sanctification).

See, in Hebrew, there aren’t separate symbols for numbers and letters. The numbers and letters share the same symbols. Each letter equates to a number; this is where the Hebrew Gematria comes from.

14 in Hebrew is also notably connected to the name David, which is who Matthew was trying to show them Jesus was the son of. David’s name is 14 in Hebrew Gematria. I thought that it was interesting that Matthew showed them that Jesus was the Messiah (the Son of David) through the numerology of their own language.

Everything in the Bible has a purpose. There’s nothing written just to be written. Just to fill the page. Matthew was showing that Jesus’ very own genealogy states He is the son of David. The rightful heir to the throne. Three sets of 14 generations from Abraham to Jesus, showing He is the promised offspring of Abraham. Two sets of 14 generations from David to Jesus, showing He is the rightful heir to the everlasting throne promised to David’s descendant.

Each and every letter has meaning in the Bible. God has written it, now it’s up to us to seek out the meaning of these things.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Just Read.

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Give Thanks For A New Year

Proverbs 27:1

[1] Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

James 4:13-14

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— [14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Another year has come and gone. 2025 has come to an end, and today marks the first day of 2026. As we start the new year, let us give thanks to God for bringing us this far. So many didn’t make it to the new year that those of us who did should make sure we start out the year right, with thanksgiving that the LORD hasn’t just given us a new day, but a new year.

Let us not waste the first day of the year. Today, let us make a conscious effort to go before the LORD with thanksgiving and praise for all that He has done for us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Give Thanks For A New Year.

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The Benediction

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our LORD Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. ~ Hebrews 13:20-21

These two verses are the writer’s benediction over his readers. A benediction is the declaration of God’s blessings over His people. It is usually pronounced by the pastor just before he dismisses the congregation after a church service. And this, being December 31st, the last day of this Old Year, it is totally appropriate for us to declare the blessings of the LORD over you.

So, as we close out this Old Year, 2025, we look forward to a New Year, with peace, joy, hope, and the love of our God all around us, and in us. May the LORD God Almighty, the Father of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, equip you with every good thing that you need to accomplish His will, and complete the work that He has called you to do. May His presence always be felt, His peace enjoyed, and His love eternally experienced. For the LORD is good and His mercies are everlasting.

Our Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for sending Your Son, Jesus, our Redeemer, to die on the cross so that we might live. Thank you, LORD Jesus, for loving us and being obedient to the Father. In this coming New Year, help me not to miss opportunities, nor waste time, nor ignore divine appointments, nor overlook the little things in life that You send me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Learn What Grieves Him

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the Presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ~ Genesis 3:7-8

Genesis chapter three records the fall of man and the first thing that happened to him. Their innocence was immediately lost, and guilt and shame immediately entered in. And did you notice what the very first thing they did? They tried to cover it up by sewing fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves. But who knows that only the blood of Jesus can help us with that?

So, obviously, that did not work for them, for as soon as they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden, Adam and Eve ran and hid themselves from the Presence of the LORD, still wearing the makeshift clothes made out of fig leaves. But it made no difference. They still felt shame and fear.

It’s no different today. You know… if you have a relationship with the LORD… you know when you have grieved His Holy Spirit. You know when you’ve stepped over the line. And here’s something else: what will grieve the Holy Spirit with me won’t grieve the Holy Spirit with you. And likewise, what grieves the Holy Spirit with you won’t necessarily grieve the Holy Spirit with me. To each his own, and you had better be aware of grieving God’s Holy Spirit.

So, just as Adam and Eve were warned of the sin they were to not commit, we too are warned of the sins we are not to commit. If we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit, we best learn what grieves Him and what draws Him closer to us. It’s not for each one to simply just decide right from wrong for themselves. We have been given the Word of the LORD. We have His Word, and He has written His Law on our hearts, so we are without excuse on that final day when we will stand before the LORD and give an account of our lives. When we will have to answer to the LORD Himself for our actions. What we have done and what we did not do.

Therefore, learn the Word of the LORD. Put His Word into practice. Stir up the Spirit and His gifts. Don’t just take hope for granted. Learn who the LORD is and what He demands of each of us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn What Grieves Him.

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Pursue Holiness

Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord? ~ Isaiah 42:19NASB1995

If you really take a moment to think about this statement by the LORD, it is pretty frightening. He is not talking about the blindness or the deafness of these heathens, or those who hate Him. No, God is talking about His own people, His own servants. These people who are supposed to be following and working for Him. The one who should have a close relationship with Him. But instead of closeness, we find distance. Instead of intimacy, we find lukewarmness.

Just because we claim a relationship with the Almighty God does not mean we have one. God’s people, the ones who should know Him intimately and serve Him wholeheartedly, are the very ones who are trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot and making the name of the Holy One something common. That’s why God asks the question in Isaiah 1:5, “Why will you be struck anymore?”

In other words, why continue to rebel after He has redeemed you with His own blood, and now you’re receiving just punishment, punishment that He takes no pleasure in. It is not God’s will that anyone perish, but all come to repentance. But we refuse to draw close to God because we love the pleasures of the world. Let us forsake evil and turn from lukewarmness and cling to God in pursuit of holiness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pursue Holiness.

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Stay Ready

2 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV

[1] In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: [2] Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

This is Paul warning Timothy to always be prepared. See, Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father. Paul actually had to circumcise Timothy because the Jews they were going to only knew his father was a Greek. Timothy ends up being set up as a leader of the Church by Paul to ensure they don’t stay from sounds doctrine while he’s gone.

Paul’s warning was about keeping watch and not repeating the mistakes of his people. See, just a few years back the people of Israel denied and rejected the Messiah. They went as far as to have Him crucified by the Romans. Jesus came at a time they didn’t expect as a person they didn’t anticipate.

Jesus showed the severity of their spiritual slumber when He walked past the fig tree (out of fig season) and cursed it for not bearing fruit when its maker/creator walked by. This was symbolic of the Jewish people. Jesus, their God became man and dwelt among them, yet they didn’t see Him. They couldn’t recognize Him. They were spiritually asleep.

Paul was warning Timothy not to repeat their mistakes. Paul was warning Timothy to stay ready. See, we don’t know when the LORD will call on us to do something, to witness to someone. Teach a lesson. Share the Gospel. Or change our lives completely. God’s timing isn’t always our timing.

So, we have to make sure we are always awake. On guard. Watching. Praying. Seeking. And never sleeping. Regardless if we are in season or out of season. Regardless of whether it’s expected of us by those around us or not. Whether we have a platform or not. Whether we are wining in life or not. We are to be ready for God to call us regardless of the time or season.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stay Ready.

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The Overcomer Within

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:10-13

In 1914, a woman by the name of Mary Anne Bevan developed a disease called Acromegaly. The condition caused progressive facial and bodily disfigurement due to the overproduction of growth hormone because of a benign tumor on the pituitary gland. This kind of disappointment would set most people back. They would become depressed, repressed, and lock themselves inside their home. Mary Anne, however, was cut from a different cloth.

Mary Anne didn’t let the disease overcome her. She didn’t let the physical or emotional pain keep her down. In order to provide for her family, she entered a “Ugliest Woman” competition and won. She proceeded to work for Barnum and Bailey Circus (as well as other companies) and made around $50,000 (about one million dollars today) and was able to provide for her four children.

In this life, there will be many trials and tribulations. We will experience ups and downs. The enemy will try to take everything from you, but you must overcome. You have to find the strength not give in to the attacks of the enemy. You have to find your strength in Christ Jesus because in Him we can do all things, including overcoming this world and its afflictions.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Find That Overcomer Within.

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A Great Feast

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. ~ Acts 6:1-7

I always knew today was Boxing Day, but I never knew it was the Feast of Stephen. The Feast of Stephen is most well known for being in the song/hymn “Good King Wenceslas.”

Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.

We all know these words, but the last words I had never heard before. They truly summarize the Feast of Stephen.

Therefore, Christian men, be sure, while God’s gifts possessing,
You who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.

See, on the Feast of Stephen, you honored the memory of Stephen the martyr by giving gifts to the poor. Why? Because Stephen was one of the seven chosen by the early Church to oversee daily food distribution to ensure none were being overlooked or missed.

Stephen died not too long after this in 36 AD. He was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin. And with his dying breath, he prayed to the LORD that He wouldn’t hold that sin against them. He used his dying breath to pray for his murderers.

Today, we honor that legacy. A legacy of love, selflessness, forgiveness, and giving. If you, LORD forbid, were to die today, what would your legacy be? What would people remember you for? Today, don’t let it just be another day. Go out of your way for another person. Let today be the day you start leaving a legacy you would be proud of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Leave A Great Legacy.

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