NEVER BE BITTER WITH GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MARCH 21, 2023.

SUBJECT: NEVER BE BITTER WITH GOD!

Memory verse: “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (Matthew 11 vs 6.)

READ: Job 9 vs 4; Isaiah 45 vs 9 - 10:

Job 9:4: God is wise in heart, and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him, and prospered?

Isaiah 45:9: Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?

45:10: Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’

INTIMATION:

Some people are harboring hidden anger and resentment at God for certain areas of their lives where they have felt cheated or disappointed. While so many others harbor resentment toward God over their appearance, background, unanswered prayers, past hurts, and other things they would change if they were God. Even some others often blame God for hurts caused by others, and consequently create "their hidden rift with God." These people usually ask God, "Why me." Why not you? Until we mature enough to understand that God uses everything for good in the lives of believers, we would be entangled in such bitterness toward God at our own detriment. We need to confess those hidden anger and resentment, and repent.

When we are bitter with God, we create the greatest barrier to friendship with Him. Usually when one is in an unfavorable or difficult situation, some will say, “Why would I want to be God's friend if He allowed this thing in my life?” The remedy, of course, is to realize that God always acts in your best interest, even when it is painful and you don't understand it. But releasing your resentment and revealing your feeling is the first step to healing. The wise and right thing to do when you are in doubt or bearing any resentments, because of happenings around you, is turn to Him in all honesty, and not turn away from Him.

Everything that moves you to question the integrity of God, or His love for you must be destroyed, so that the altar of your heart can be prepared for the fire from heaven. While preparing your heart to approach God in prayer, one of the things you must guard against is offenses. So many have their conscience ensnared with offenses toward God or man, and all they do in prayer is nothing but complain, and murmur. When you are offended in God, you turn Him against yourself; and if God is against you, who will save you? If you despise Him, who will lift you?

When you are offended in God or man, you bear iniquities in your heart that inhibits God from hearing you (Psalm 66 vs 18). Many are stranded because of offenses. When they stand in prayer, they justify themselves against God. They say, "Lord, I have acted in my best attitude, and have done everything that You commanded. Only You haven't done your part." In other words, they count themselves faithful and God unfaithful. But the Bible says, "...Let God be true but every man a liar..." (Romans 3 vs 4.) Anything that makes you to murmur against God is moving you against your destiny. You can't expect Him to answer your prayers when your heart is full of complains and offenses toward God or man. 

In our memory verse, Jesus said that those who do not take any offense in the Lord are fortunate and blessed. Jesus said that when John the Baptist that sat in prison, and began to have some doubts about whether Jesus really was the Messiah. John thought in his heart that if his purpose was to prepare people for the coming Messiah, then why was he in prison when he could have been preaching to the crowds, preparing their hearts. John expected that the coming Messiah should be able to save him from prison. 

When John the Baptist’s disciples came and put his question before Jesus; "Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus knew that he was already offended in Him. He asked the disciples to go back to him with the good news of His exploits—the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Obviously, that would have offended John the more because he already had heard all those evidence that indicated the real identity of Jesus, and wondered why He didn't want to save Him from prison. 

It is noteworthy that it was in the same prison and the same Jailer that held Paul and Silas. They were doing the work of the Messiah when they were arrested and jailed. But they didn't get offended both toward God or the men, but instead sang and praised God while in there, and God came in His Might and saved them. But forJohn, he was eventually beheaded when the King's daughter, on the advice of the mother, asked for his head in a platter.

Romans 8 vs 28 says, "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." So, set your heart right before Him. Count Him faithful in all things. Refuse to complain, but rather let God know that you have no alternative beside Him, and that you are ready to hang on till your answer comes from Him. Any attempt to step away from God, is stepping into doom for you. Certainly, there is no unrighteousness with God! (Romans 9 vs 14.)

Let your conscience be as that of the apostle Paul who said, "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men." (Acts 24 vs 16.) Give your destiny motion by clearing off every offense from your heart, to establish a thoroughfare to heaven in prayers. This is the way to maintain a good communication line with God.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the Lord, the Creator of all things. All that happens are already known to You, and You allow them for Your purposes. Give me the grace to have a conscience free from offenses toward You and men, that I may pray through to heaven, and be worthy of Your blessings accordingly, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Jesus Died for This Moment

 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

When the alarm went off at 4:59 this morning, I had a split-second thought of the utter realness of dying and standing before an utterly holy God with nothing to commend me but my own life.

The horror of it was only surpassed by the flash of reality: Jesus Christ died for this very moment.

Then it was gone.

My immediate sense was: This is the essence of what happens whenever someone is converted. This is how Jesus Christ is discovered to be real. This is how a person comes to cherish the love of Christ. Suddenly, for the first time, they see and feel, with the eyes of their heart, the undeniable reality of having to meet God with a guilty conscience.

The impact of that vision is devastating. It causes us to know that our only hope is a Mediator. Standing alone, with nothing to commend us but our own sinful life, we are utterly lost. If there is any hope for eternity in the presence of this God, we will need a Redeemer, a Substitute, a Savior.

At this point of terrible crisis, nothing shines like the gospel of Jesus Christ — “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). In the split second before he was there, I was granted to see the all-engulfing darkness and horror of the judgment — not a theological inference, not a merely rational conclusion, not a mere thought, but a glimpse with the inward eye full of knowing and feeling and certainty.

Our God is a consuming fire. He will not look upon evil. We are utterly lost. My guilt was so huge, so real, so unquestioned in that split second, that there is not even the remotest possibility of making excuses. It was sudden and all-enveloping and infinitely hopeless.

In this instant Jesus is all that matters. O Christ! O Christ! Can my heart contain the wave of gratitude?! O Gift of God, my desperate and only Need!

THE BANE OF SELF-PITY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 20, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE BANE OF SELF-PITY!

Memory verse: “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” (Psalm 69 vs 20.)

READ: John 5 vs 2 - 8:

5:2: Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in the Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.

5:3: In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

5:4: For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool, and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

5:5: Now a certain man was there, who had an infirmity thirty eight years.

5:6: When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

5:7: The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

5:8: Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”

5:9: And immediately the man was made well, took up His bed, and walked.

INTIMATION:

When you are trapped in a problem so long, the tendency is that you lose your faith in the promises of God. Some people become so stagnant in the problem that they forget the promises of God. They become so weary that they are acclimated to their problems. Such people will then fall into the pit of feeling sorry for themselves. That is 'SELF-PITY.' It's dangerously bad! It is not a place for a child of God. Self-pity conquers faith, because it leads to negative confessions when you accept your position or consequences facing you as your fate. It makes you look for man's approval rather than God's direction. 

Self-pity is a death that has no resurrection, a pit that has no bottom. Self-pity is a destroying trap, because it has a multiplying effect on your problem. Once you indulge in it, you will develop what I call the 'wilderness complex.' Have you always counted yourself as poor? Have you always regretted your life? Have you always counted yourself as unlucky or felt unfairly treated by God? Have you always felt that God has failed you? Have you always wished you were another person, in another relationship, in another place, and so on? All these are what I called the 'pity-pots.' 

There are two common responses to hopelessness: despair and self-indulgence. But we need not act as if we had no hope. Self-pity is so damaging and dangerous that you resort to depending on man rather than God. Your problem becomes a tool for seeking or begging for help from people. And that is what I mean by 'making you seek man’s approval instead of God's direction.’ You live your life at the mercy of others. At any opportunity, you want people to know how bad it is with you, or your family, or your partner, and so on.

In the passage we read today, we saw a man who had an infirmity for 38years, and had abandoned himself in that hospital (Sheep Gate pool), had no hopes of ever getting out of there healed. The man had fallen so deep into the trap of self-pity that his problem had become a way of life. No one had ever helped him, and he had no hope of ever being helped nor healed. The man’s situation looked hopeless, and he had lost faith completely. But no matter how trapped you feel in your infirmities or troubles, God can minister to your deepest needs. As we face difficulties, our proper response should be to trust God and His promises.

One would wonder how Jesus came to that hospital and was interested in only one patient while there were so many patients lying there. Jesus had seen how the man has been self-defeated and lying completely hopeless in his ‘pity-pot.’ He knew the very dangerous situation the man was in that couldn’t help himself nor get help from anybody. The man was so downcast that he lost faith even in God, and Jesus saw that clearly. However, He came to give hope to the hopeless hence He ministered healing to the man. 

Don’t let a problem or hardship cause you to lose hope. What that means is your obvious denial of the promise of Christ who said to us, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11 vs 28). A person may be carrying heavy burdens of sin, oppression, persecution, affliction, hardship, or even weariness in the search for God (The list is not all inclusive—not limited to these mentioned areas), but Jesus frees people from all these burdens. The rest He promised in Him is love, healing, freedom, and peace with God. God may even have special work for you to do in spite of your condition, or even because of it. 

When you face problems, and people scoff at you, mock, insult, humiliate, and make you an object of citywide gossip, never fall into self-pity. If your situation seems hopeless, determine that no matter how bad things become you will continue to pray. God will hear your prayer, and He will rescue you. When others reject us, we need God most. Don’t ever turn from your most faithful Friend.

When we are completely beaten down, we are tempted to turn away from God, give up, and quit trusting Him. Faith in God is justified even when our situations look hopeless. Faith based on rewards or prosperity is hollow. To be unshakable, faith must be built on the confidence that God’s ultimate purpose will come to pass. Circumstances are never so bad that they are beyond God’s help. We need never despair because we belong to a loving God. We don’t yet know what good He may bring out of a seemingly hopeless situation (Romans 8 vs 28). 

Prayer: Abba Father, if life seems hopeless, You are the reason I still have breath in me, if I have lost something, You are the reason I have not lost everything. You are the reason I live and move and have my being. I know the thoughts You have for me, thoughts of good and not of evil, to give me a future and a hope. In You I put my trust, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 19, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUE! 

Memory verse: "For he who speaks in tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries." (First Corinthians 14 vs 2.)

READ: First Corinthians 14 vs 2 - 5:

14:2: For he who speaks in an unknown tongue does not speak to men, but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

14:3: But he who prophesies speaks edification, and exhortation, and comfort to men. 

14:4: He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but he who prophesies edifies the church.

14:5: I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that prophesied: for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

INTIMATION:

Speaking in tongue is a special prayer language, and a legitimate gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a heavenly language unknown to anyone, and considered as languages of angels. The gift of speaking in tongues that continues throughout church history and is so widespread today is the Spirit-prompted ability to pray and praise God in a heavenly dialect, possibly even an angelic language that is not related to anything spoken on earth such as English or French or German or Latin. 

The Holy Spirit personally crafts or creates a special and unique language that enables a Christian to speak to God in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. This gift is not a human language that one might encounter in some foreign country, but a Spirit-empowered capacity to speak meaningful words that are only understood by our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God can also provide the interpretation through the one speaking or through another believer. 

It is noteworthy that speaking in tongues is not a sign of spiritual superiority nor the invariable sign of Spirit-baptism or Spirit-filling. There are numerous instances in Acts of true conversion and Spirit-baptism where no tongues are mentioned. No one should put down those Christians who do not speak in tongues. The apostle Paul made several points about speaking in tongues: (1) It is a spiritual gift from God; (2) it is a desirable gift even though it isn’t a requirement of faith; (3) it is less important than prophecy and teaching. Speaking in tongues primarily benefits the speaker. 

The exercise of the gift demands some guidelines so that the purpose of the gift—to help the body of Christ—is not lost. Those who speak in tongues should follow the guidelines. Those who do not speak in tongues ought not seek the gift as a sign of salvation or for special closeness with God, for it is neither. It is a gift of God, given only to whomever God chooses. If a person has not experienced the gift of tongues, he or she ought not seek it but seek what gifts God has given.

The gift of speaking in tongues is of no value to the congregation as a whole, only to the person who speaks to God in the unknown language. But if the person also has the gift of interpretation, the tongue could be used in public worship if the one praying (or someone else with the gift of interpretation) would then interpret what has been said. This way the entire church or congregation would be edified by the gift. 

The apostle Paul says that the one who speaks in a tongue “speaks not to men but to God” (First Corinthians 14 vs 2). This means that tongues is a form of prayer: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” (First Corinthians 14 vs 14.) 

Tongues is also a form of praise: “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” (First Corinthians 14 vs 15.) 

It is also a way in which we give thanks to God: “Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the room of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.” (First Corinthians 14 vs 16 - 17.) 

Tongues is also a way in which we edify or strengthen ourselves: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” (First Corinthians 14 vs 4.) It is noteworthy that self-edification is a good thing, as we are commanded in Scripture to edify ourselves: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,” (Jude 20.) Self-edification is only bad if it is done as an end in itself. It is good to take whatever steps you can to edify yourself, to build up and strengthen your soul, so that you might be better able and equipped to build up others (see First Corinthians 12 vs 7). 

The self-oriented use of the gift of tongues by believers must be carefully practiced in order not to pursue self-development at the expense of broken, lost people. When we give too much attention to our own needs, ideas, and spiritual expression, we may push aside the Spirit’s true desire and abandon those who need encouragement. 

Spiritual gifts are beneficial only when they are properly used to help everyone in the church. We should not exercise them only to make ourselves feel good. No matter what gift(s) a person has, all spiritual gifts are distributed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit decides which gift each believer should have. We are responsible to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take no credit for what God has freely given us.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your manifold spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. I crave for the gift of speaking in tongues that can enable me communicate with You directly; praying, praising, and giving You thanks, and edify myself; building myself up in the most holy faith, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

A Six-Point Summary of the Gospel

 

Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18)

Here’s a summary of the gospel to help you understand it and enjoy it and share it!

1) God created us for his glory.

“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6–7). God made all of us in his own image so that we would image forth, or reflect, his character and moral beauty.

2) Therefore every human should live for God’s glory.

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The way to live for the glory of God is to love him (Matthew 22:37), trust him (Romans 4:20), be thankful to him (Psalm 50:23), obey him (Matthew 5:16), and treasure him above all things (Philippians 3:8; Matthew 10:37). When we do these things we image forth God’s glory.

3) Nevertheless, we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him . . . and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images” (Romans 1:21–23). None of us has loved or trusted or thanked or obeyed or treasured God as we ought.

4) Therefore we all deserve eternal punishment.

“The wages of sin is (eternal) death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Those who did not obey the Lord Jesus “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

5) Yet, in his great mercy, God sent his only Son Jesus Christ into the world to provide for sinners the way of eternal life.

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

6) Therefore eternal life is a free gift to all who will trust in Christ as Lord and Savior and supreme Treasure of their lives.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

Why We Must Hold Fast Our Hope

 

When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17–18)

God is not inconsistent. He does not exert himself with promises, and oaths, and the blood of his Son, simply to anchor down one end of our security while leaving the other to dangle in the air.

The salvation Jesus obtained by his blood was everything it takes to save his people, not just part of it.

So, we are prone to ask, Why does the writer encourage us to hold fast to our hope (Hebrews 6:18)? If our holding fast was obtained and irrevocably secured by the blood of Jesus — which it was (that’s the difference between the new covenant and the old) — then why does God tell us to hold fast?

The answer is this:

What Christ bought for us when he died was not the freedom from having to hold fast, but the enabling power to hold fast.What he bought was not the nullification of our wills as though we didn’t have to hold fast, but the empowering of our wills so that we want to hold fast.What he bought was not the canceling of the commandment to hold fast, but the fulfillment of the commandment to hold fast.What he bought was not the end of exhortation, but the triumph of exhortation.

He died so that you would do exactly what Paul did in Philippians 3:12, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” It is not foolishness, it is the gospel, to tell a sinner to do what Christ alone can enable him to do; namely, hope in God.

So, I exhort you with all my heart: Reach out and take hold of that for which you have been taken hold of by Christ, and hold it fast with all your might — which he mightily works in you.

RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL! - PART 2

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MARCH 18, 2023..

SUBJECT : RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL! - PART 2

Memory verse: "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19 vs 18.)

READ: Matthew 5 vs 38 - 44; First Peter 3 vs 10 - 12:

Matthew 5:38: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

5:39: But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 

5:40: If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

5:41: And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

5:42: Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

5:43: You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

5:44: But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

First Peter 3:10: For "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.

3:11: Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

3:12: For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."

INTIMATION:

One of the Pharisees, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question to test Him, saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him: ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” The Scripture in Matthew Jesus said, “This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 40.) 

If you love God, you would obey His word (John 14 vs 23). The Scripture says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (First John 4 vs 7 - 8.) 

When you do not love, you do not know God, you are clearly a child of the devil. All the devil does are evil; there is no good with him. But God is love, and He is associated with all that is good: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10 vs 38.)

The Scripture recognizes the devil as the evil doer, and those who do evil as children of the devil; "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He is a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8 vs 44.)

As I said yesterday, It is often our desire to return evil for evil, tear people down verbally or get back at them, if we feel hurt. God encourages us to pay back wrongs by praying for the offenders, to seek peace and pursue it. If we love life and desire to see good days, we should eschew evil and do good. "For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." 

In God's kingdom, revenge is an unacceptable behavior, and therefore, is ungodly. Rise above getting back at those who hurt you. Instead of reacting angrily to these people and speaking guile words, pray for them. When our speech is motivated by Satan, it is full of bitter envy, selfish ambition, earthly concerns and desires, unspiritual thoughts and ideas, confusion, and evil. But when our speech motivated by God and His wisdom, it is full of mercy, love for others, peace, consideration for others, submission, sincerity, impartiality, and righteousness.

Too often we see peace as merely the absence of conflict, and we think of peacemaking as a passive role. But an effective peacemaker actively pursues peace by building good relationships, knowing that peace is a by-product of commitment. The peacemaker anticipates problems and deals with them before they occur. When conflicts arise, they are brought into the open and dealt with before they grow to unmanageable level. Making peace is hard work—you have to search for it and work to maintain it—and it results in God's blessing.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with Your spirit of love, and help me to tame my tongue, that I may manifest the fruit of the Spirit at all times, in Jesus' Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!