Matthew 5:14-16, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

There is a famous quote, “No man is an Island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” John Donne.

Everyone needs someone from time to time. We as believers need to not be ashamed to allow the love light of the Father to shine through us. To illuminate dark spaces and places in someone’s life.

We may not have the right words to say to fix an issue, but just our presence can make a great difference to some in need. Why? Because we have the light of the life of Christ residing in us. This light is a beacon that guides through darkness. Sometimes it is your smile and kindness that can save a life. It can change the trajectory of someone’s day – making a difference.

People need you…

It is the believers duty to stay plugged into our source and resource – Jesus Christ. By staying connected we can hear him (he that has an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit is saying to the church), what God is saying. We can follow as he leads. We can say and do what he needs us to. We can be a help to those in need – in real time.

We stay connected in prayer because we need to pray for one another.

We stay connected in bible study because we need to be filled with scripture. We have to always be ready to share a word when it is needed.

We stay connected in praise and worship because as we pour out to people our cup needs to be constantly refilled. We cannot pour from an empty vessel.

People need you…

We are that city set up on a hill whose light cannot be hid. People are drawn to you simply because of the love of Christ that shines through. It is for this reason that we cannot allow ourselves to fall down on our spiritual responsibility. Yes, we may fail from time to time, but we cannot afford to stay down. We must get back up and get back to work.

We cannot afford to discriminate. The light of our life should shine on the just and unjust. We cannot pick and choose who is worthy to receive what God has. We need to be a willing vessel to reach out to whoever God leads us to. The love of God is for everyone.

Be a light because people need you.

If you feel your light has been diminished, repent and be delivered. Give up and let go of the things that have worked to diminish your light. Pray for forgiveness and restoration. Receive it by faith. Then get back in alignment with God’s will for your life.

Have a blessed day.

Psalms 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

Hello OTP family!

Just so very grateful to God because of his faithfulness. He watches over his word to perform it. He hears and answers our prayers.

Thanking God for bringing very close family through surgery. And we continue to trusting God to keep this family through a speedy and excellent recovery. Hallelujah to you, Jesus!!

Sometimes we go through things (distractions), that seem so big that we allow the enemy to trick us into believing it is too hard for God to fix. We want to figure out our own avenue to make a way. But we are just fighting God.

God loves us enough to allow us our own free will. Because of this God allows things to happen in our lives. Remember, whatsoever we sow, we shall also reap. Yes, our poor choices will produce fruit. But because of his faithfulness, God also promised he would never put more on us than we can bear. And yes, sometimes our disobedience puts us on a track that was not originally apart of God‘s plan

This is the importance of repentance. When we recognize that we have violated God‘s plan for our lives, we need to repent and get back in line. We will still reap what which we sowed, but God extends his grace and mercy to strengthen us through whatever we have to face.

But God is a wonderful orchestrator. He knows how to make all things work together for our good. He is the Almighty and sovereign God. It is our duty to lean on him and trust in him through everything even when we make bone headed mistakes and go the wrong way. God is so good that he can route us back to where we need to be. Yes, he is a Grand orchestrator!

In those times when you are not strong enough to pray the prayer of faith over yourself that is the time when you need to reach out to somebody to pray for you. The scripture says it like this: Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church that they may pray the prayer faith.. You don’t need them in the room with you to lay hands on you. There is no distance in prayer. They could be across the country, across the state, or across the room. You just need them to say a prayer for you.

Sickness is not just dealing with your physical, health, but it’s any malady that would attack your mine, body, soul.

There will be times when you are in strength. These is your times to pray for people. There will be times when you are in weakness. These are the times when you need someone to pray for you. Through it all, we are to strive to pray always and not faint. 

God is faithful! Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of God!

Have a blessed night.

Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

James 5:14-15, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

We are our brother’s keeper!

We need one another, we must uphold one another. We must strengthen one another.

We need to check in with one another. We must be a friend.

For some reason the enemy is trying to attack our bodies. He is on his job doing what he needs to do. Consequently, we as believers, must also be on our job. We must be sober and vigilant – watchmen on the wall. We must be willing to call people together for intercessory prayer. We must be diligent and pray for one another!

This week I received calls from across the country regarding people being admitted to hospitals. Many new Covid cases. Many sick with new strains of the flu. The list is extensive. But our God is a faithful healer.

As believers we must be willing to set our to-do list aside and make time to pray for our brother, in Jesus name.

So tonight, before you lay your head on your pillow to sleep, please take the time to sincerely pray for someone. Pray for those that are not in a position to pray for themselves. Pray for those that are weak.

Remember, your time of sickness will come too. You are going to need someone to pray for you. As they say, pay it forward.

Please join me in prayer.

Mark 5;6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Where is your passion?

Humans are willing to fight for the things they are passionate about. It is the things that are near and dear to their heart. Some have a passion for reading, for learning, for golf or fishing, the list is endless. The things we love are the things for which we make room without apology. For many, cost is not a huge factor. People are willing to sacrifice for their passions.

The perfect example is Jesus. A definition of passion is the suffering and death of Jesus. In this instance passion also means love. It was the passion (or love) of Christ that cause him, who knew no sin, to take upon himself the sins of the world, and died for us all. He rose again with all power in his hand. Because of his passion, we all have access to so great a salvation.

Some important definitions:

Hunger is a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat.

Thirst is a feeling of needing or wanting to drink something.

Passion is a strong and barely controllable emotion.

Righteousness the quality of being morally right or justifiable.

What do you hunger and thirst for?

One thing about hunger – it will make you take action to satisfy it. The same can be said about thirst. When your body is craving water, nothing else will do. You will turn up your nose at soda, coffee, tea, etc. When you thirst for water that is the only thing that will satisfy. Hunger is slightly different. Generally, anything edible and appetizing will do.

The key here is the discomfort and weakness caused by hunger will incentivize the average person to make moves to find food and water.

Now spiritually speaking, do we even hunger and thirst after righteousness?

We live in a time where masses choose to believe that right is wrong and wrong is right. A time where we find humor in the suffering of others. We finds entertainment in evil things: witchcraft, immorality, and abolishing the family unit, to name a few. Any thing that was formerly on the fringe or considered taboo are now the things that are seen as normal.

Regardless, Jesus declares blessings on those who will push through all the temptations and distractions that flood our senses daily to seek after righteousness. God promises that we shall be filled. The void that hunger and thirst caused will be filled with the very thing(s) we need.

Beware. We must be cautious about imitations. The enemy will seek to fill those same voids too. Spiritually speaking, Instead of water, he will want to provide unhealthy sugary drinks that will not fully satisfy your thirst. He will want you to indulge in foods with no nutritional value. Instead of the meat of the word of God, the enemy will bring false prophets or doctrines of devil. Instead of the water of life, rivers of living water, the enemy will want you to drink from poisoned wells.

So, we must know God and recognize his voice when he speaks. We must seek his face and to do the things that bring glory to his name. We must seek to show love and kindness to those we meet. We must show the love of God in a world where people are turning away from God.

We must allow our passions to be Godly. If they are not, we must be willing to let them go and replace them with things that are.

Be blessed and have a great night,