2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

1 John 4:18 & 19, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

The love of God keeps us. Because of his perfect love we can be kept free of and safe from fear.

The Bible’s tells us fear is full of torments. How true this is. Just the thought of fearful things can immobilize even the strongest person for pursuing or moving forward. Fear is one of the most powerful tools in the enemy’s arsenal against the people of God. He uses it plentifully as fear comes in many different forms. Sometimes it is overt or obvious to spot. Other times it creeps in subtly or is disguised as something innocent that we, as the people of God, fail to recognize it from what it is.

Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.

The power of fear is the thing we fear does not even have to happen. Just the thought of the things we fear is enough to keep us from accomplishing our goal. Just thinking that something is dangerous, painful, or threatening can be paralyzing to many.

But God is so amazingly awesome, that he stops this whole fear thing in its tracks. He assures us that he has not given fear to us. He takes the time to explain exactly what we do have instead of fear – we have power, we have love (his great love), and we have a sound mind. Everything we need to combat fear when it tries to rear its ugly head in our presence. We have the power fight and rebuke it. We have the love of God to stand fast in. We have soundness of mind to combat the lies that fear brings with it.

This love is evident when we discuss the 2nd church noted in Revelations 2:8–11, Smyrna.

Once again God shows the church that not only is he with us always, but that he knows us so well.

God tells the Church at Smyrna – I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich). He knows the inward struggles of their minds. How they thought themselves to be one thing when they were something altogether more. He knows the battles they faced. How they had to deal with people who said they were one thing, but was something altogether opposite. He knows how they had to fight the enemy in the midst of their congregation.

The most awesome thing? God knows you too!

The scriptures tells us that God warns the church not to fear any of the things they must suffer for the cause of Christ. He even warns that some may put into prison to be tried. But tells them even with that there is an expiration date. Know your trial will not last for ever – even though there are times when it feels like they will. The Bible tells us that God declares the end from the beginning. Going into your trouble, God had already the ending of it. What a mighty God we serve!!

The God tells them of their blessing he has for them – if you remain faithful unto death, He will give them a crown of life. God loves us so that he is handing this reward out himself! He said “I will give…” what a wonderful savior. He provides further blessing – he that can over this fear they shall not be hurt of the second death. The magnitude of this blessing is great as the second death is a final eternal death.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary says it like this: “The second death is unspeakably worse than the first death, both in the agonies of it, and as it is eternal death: it is indeed awful to die, and to be always dying. If a man is kept from the second death and wrath to come, he may patiently endure whatever he meets with in this world.”

Understanding the blessing of overcoming fear and remaining faithful until the end gives us incentive to continue to fight the good fight of faith.

Again we ask, why should we fear? God is with us.

Revelations 2:1, “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;”

Hello OTP family!! I have been doing steady on the seven churches spoken of in the second and third chapters revelations. I just wanted to share some things that got a place on my heart during my studies.

Introduction:

God provides warnings and encouragement to the churches

Although these churches were in such different states as to purity of doctrine and the power of godliness that the words of Christ to them will always suit the cases of churches today. The God we serve knows and observes their states; though he is in heaven, yet he walks in the mist of his churches on earth. He observes what is wrong in them and what they want.

It is awesome to know that God is with us still.

The Church at Ephesus:

Because God knows us so well, he sees what other people do not. This church God commended them for diligence in duty. Just as he promised, Christ keeps an account of every hour’s work his servants do for him. He promised our labor will not be in vain in the Lord.

But he also warned – diligence is not enough. There must also be patience:

– we must bear in patience,

– and we must wait in patience,

– we must show zeal against sin. By definition, zeal is great energy or enthusiasm  in pursuit of a cause or an objective. This zeal is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. We must always operate in love.

The Church of Ephesus could not bear evil doers. They tried those which call themselves to be one thing and found them as liars because they were not who they profess to be.

What God held against them was they lost their first love. God encouraged them to repent, and to do their first works over. This loss of love impacted how they treated evil doers.

What this means – the Church did not lose their love. What they lost was their fervent (passion, compassion) degree of that love they had when they first came to Christ. They allowed their love to grow remiss or cold towards him. When our love grows cold, we lose the compassion to deal with and treat the people of God in a manner that brings glory to his name. Cold love makes it difficult for people to receive our ministry. It causes us to speak with carelessness and indifference. This, God sees as sinful.

By definition, fervent is having or displaying a passionate intensity.

Remember hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is. Be definition, indifference is lack of interest, concern, or sympathy. Where there is indifference, there is no love.

To get back our first love is to pray earnestly for that first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness we had at the beginning of our walk with Christ. and then once we have retrieve this first love, we must watch over it diligently, so we don’t lose it again.

We have to remember this Christian life is a warfare against sin, against Satan, against the world, and against the flesh. We must be careful to never yield to our spiritual enemies. We serve a God that always causes us a triumph, and anyone who is triumphant does not give up in battle. The strength to stay faithful in battle is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and his holy word.

God is so faithful that he encourages us in this journey. To the church at Ephesus – he promised to all who persevere they shall eat of the tree of life. This means we shall receive from Christ – as he is a tree of life – perfect perfection, confirmation in holiness, and happiness; communion with Christ and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Impact:

Sometimes we find ourselves in a place where it seems our love has also grown cold. We still care, we still work, and we still pray. However, we have lost the ferventness of our work. This includes prayer, Bible study, and our testimony – sharing Christ with everyone we meet. That degree of passion and compassion is not the same as when we first started walking with Christ.

We must remember that our focus should be all about winning lost souls to Christ. But this is impossible to do when we are indifferent. Cold love does not draw, it pushes people away. We must drive to get that fervent love back.

Conclusion:

God is still with us.

As he promised, to never leave or forsake us. It is we who sometimes turn our back on him. He told us “those whom he loves he chastises”. He is our father. Just as a father has to correct his children, God must also correct us. This is love! It’s a blessing to know that God considers us so much that he takes the time to provide correction to us.

What a mighty God we serve! What a loving God we serve!

Have a blessed night.

Discovering our call for 2025!

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.“

Happy New Year – Welcome 2025. Today is Sunday, January 12, 2025. Statistics say that New Year Resolutions end by the 2nd Friday of the Year. This day is known as “Quitter’s Day”.

Thankfully, we are now past this time frame and can focus on discovering God’s plan for us in 2025. We are at the point where we are no longer focusing on New Year Resolutions. Hopefully, we have come to the realization that God wants better for us than we have had in previous years. But we also know that we cannot achieve the better with the same mindset we have had. As the saying goes “if you do what you always have, you will get what you always got”. If you want better, we need to do better. This requires a new mindset.

We need to clear away the old to make room for the new.

To do this we need to hear from the Lord. We need direction, a plan of attack, for 2025.

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thought that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not if evil, to give you an expected end.”

In this verse God acknowledges that he has a plan for each and every one of us. However, for most of us, we have no idea what the fullness of this plan is. I believe it is human nature to want all the details. It gives us a sense of comfort, makes us feel as though our feet are on solid ground. However, if we knew all the details, what would be the point of having faith?

We do not need all the details. What we do need is a plan. We need to settle ourselves to hear from God. Then walk in obedience to the direction he gives. Rest assured, God will speak to us. It is our duty to make sure we are positioned to hear. Revelations 2:7a, “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;”

It’s Fasting Time:

The Bible is our instruction manual. It provides concrete, specific instructions on how we can effectively walk by faith in our journey to be obedient to God’s will for our life. The instruction manual tells us how to fast – to break up the fallow ground that has developed in our hearts.

In farming vernacular – Fallow ground is land that has been plowed and prepared for planting but is left idle for a period to time, allowing the soil to regain its fertility and rest before being used to grow crops again; essentially, its a farming technique where land is left unplanted to recover and replenish nutrients.

Fasting is a spiritual discipline used for increasing faith sanctification repentance, power, strength, and hearing from God.

God is saying, now is the time to get to work. But we must first receive direction. It is time to move away from being idol, to planting seeds, and establishing a plan to bring in the harvest! We know that God has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11), we now must settle ourselves to hear from God to receive the direction. This is where fasting comes into play.

Types of Fasts:

• The Absolute Fast (Matthew 4:2) – a total fast which includes complete refraining from food or drink for the duration of the fast.
• The Partial Fast (Daniel 10:3) – this fast is from particular food or things that hinder our spiritual growth.
• The Daniel Fast – this is a biblically based partial fast. There are 2 options: Option 1 – only fruits and vegetables, drinking only water for a beverage. Option 2 – Is still only fruits and vegetables, but includes dairy, breads, and pasta.

Daniel fasted for 21 days. However, I am recommending fasting starting tomorrow, January 13, 2025, through the end of the month. Please decide the type of fast you will offer as a sacrifice to God. Remember to give up something during this time that means something to you.

While you are fasting, remember to have quiet time set aside. This is time spent with the Lord in study, prayer, and daily devotion. Cultivating this habit will support your faith and draw (keep) you closer to God.

I also recommend having a journal during your quiet time. You will want to write down what God shares with you.

I wish you all a blessed time during your fasting journey.

Remember, it’s time to clear away the old, to make room for the new.

Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Praise Him my OTP friends and family!!

It has been a little while since I last posted, but I could not let the year end without a good close out conversation. Yes, 2024 was full of ups and downs, challenges and struggles. But it was also full of blessings and triumphs. God is faithful that even when we are going through trials and troubles he still allowed the sun to shine upon us to refresh, renew, and recharge when it was most needed.

The New Year will come with a lot of “unknowns” that can make us feel apprehensive. But just as we have with every other challenge, we will face this new year in faith and fight every battle with faith and God’s holy scripture.

I encourage you to keep God’s word alive in your heat and ready on your tongue. For we will need it to fight and withstand the attack of the enemy.

Most importantly, embrace and enjoy all that God has in store for you in 2025!

What God has promised you he is able also to perform. 2025 is your year to walk in God’s plan for your life – the fullness of the purpose he has for you. We don’t deal in fear, for it is full of torments. But we walk by faith, and faith is full of freedom.

So, Happy New Year!! 2025, here we come in the name of the Lord!!

May God bless you all!!

1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Psalms 91:2, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

Life happen. We deal with a lot of stuff. We face stress everyday and toil under its burden. Challenges attack our faith everyday. And many don’t have a safe place to turn to. Nor anyone to just talk about these things with.

Don’t worry, God is always there with us. To me, this is a way of escape. God is my fortress. My safe place to unburden my self too every day. He is the keeper of my secrets. He is my problem solver – my problem resolver. God has a way of miraculously fixing my situations.

A definition of fortress is a person or thing not susceptible to outside influence or disturbance.

This definition is so fitting with God! Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower:
the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”

I take comfort in the fact that God is able and he holds me safely in his arms. Even in those times when the enemy wants us to believe we are all alone. I can run to him – take refuge in the power of his name. I am held safe in him because he is my fortress. I have peace! That peace of God that passes all understanding.

I just have to choose to call upon him. To trust in him.

This is why I don’t have to worry!

Because of him I am protected. I am comforted. I am heard. I am understood And I am safe.

Even when the world is full of chaos. Full of unprecedented times. We don’t have to fear for we have a fortress. A strong tower. Covering.

It’s all about choices. We have to choose God – every day. We have to choose peace. We have to decide to allow God to be these things for us. He is always willing and able to. But God does not force to do anything. He wants to be your choice.

My mom used to say “when you get sick and tired, you will change.” This is true. When you get tired of dealing with fear and uncertainty you will choose something different. God wants to be who you turn to.

The change that my mom referred to is making different choices. People think change is some huge mountain that is nearly impossible to climb. But the simple truth is that real change is make different choices. Like choosing an apple over a candy bar when you want a healthy life style. It’s a small choice that can lead to major changes. Mix in consistency with your choice and before you know it you have made a real change.

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” Making different choices takes practice. So keep working at it.

Don’t worry. In everything give thanks. If you thank God during the tough times, it will be a breeze to do the same in the easy time. It is God’s will concerning you!

We give thanks because our situation could be worse. We give thanks because we know it won’t always be like this. We give thanks because even when the worst happens – we understand God will not put more on us than we can bear. We give thanks because God’s goodness and mercy follows us daily.

Don’t worry…just give thanks!

Have a blessed night!

John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Life is crazy. It is full of stuff designed to pull us in all directions. Needless to say we can easily be rerouted from the plan God has for our life. This happens very subtly that we can spend years rerouted before we even realize what has happened. When it happened, or how it happened.

But through it all God has not forgotten. He has not changed. His plan (will for your life) has not changed. We are the one who feel the pressure. We concern ourselves with failing God. We wonder how we got so far away from where God was leading us. We stress over that thought that God has probably changed his mind. That he cannot trust us to be faithful to the call. So many misleading thoughts invade our mind and take over.

We have to remember that God never changes.

• Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
• For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God (Ezekiel 12:25).

Our issue is that we can be very short sighted and we tend to have a very narrow view of things. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12, tells us that we know in part. That we see through a glass, darkly. And this is so true. But this is also by design. God gives us just enough to hold on and walk by faith. For if we knew the full story, what would be the point of faith?

Our duty is to remember.

The Bible tells us repeatedly to remember.

• Joshua 4:1-24, tells of the stones that were taken out of the river Jordan.

Just as Joshua used the stones as a memorial to the miracle God worked for the people. We too need to do whatever is necessary to remember what God has brought us through. To remember what God has spoken. To remember what we have dedicated to God.

The tough road we had to take was full of many lessons. Where is the profit to us if we forget those lessons once we come out of the battle? Each successful faith battle teaches us about God (draws us closer), but it also teaches us about ourselves. We learn how to walk by faith. We learn how to trust God. We learn to hear God’s voice. So many lessons learned. But if we don’t build a memorial as Joshua did, we will forget.

We go through a lot – pain, heartache, loss, heart break, disease, death, etc. If we are not careful, we will get overwhelmed. This burden, this sense of drowning can be debilitating. We can find ourselves forgetting who we are and who we serve.

God shared something with me the other day and it has changed my life. He told me I set you free. You chose to forget that and go back into bondage. You can be free, you just have to choose it – everyday.

God has not forgotten you. But he has done the complete work at Calvary. The blood is still working everyday, all the time. We just have to accept and embrace all that God has given. Salvation is the beginning, after receiving it, we must endure to the end. We must live a life of faith, according to the word of God. It is during this everyday living that we must depend on the memorials we have built to remind us of the goodness of God.

Life is about choices. We have to choose to believe God. We have to choose to be free. We must make this choice everyday. This choice is evident in the way we live, in the people we hang around, and in the places we go. Our choices are seen by the people who watch our lives. And yes, people are watching us every day. Many are routing for our downfall, but there are also many who want to see you succeed. For your success provides them with hope.

God has not forgotten you. But you must remember who you are in Christ, and act accordingly.

Have a blessed day.

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,