A Choice To Serve

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Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Choices
Choices (Photo credit: Sky Noir)

Every day you realize you are awake and able to live another day, you have a choice to make.  In addition to the choices about what you will wear, what you will eat and what you will do first as you survey your list of options, you are responsible for an even greater choice. If you are not willing to make this choice, your decision is made for you. You can thank Adam for that. Whether you are God‘s child, or not, the life you live will always present opportunities for you to become willing to make a choice to serve the God who created the Heavens and the Earth or the gods of this world.

The choice is found in who you will serve –  who you will work for through the service of your life.  We all are destined to be used by God – goodness and evil are all manifested by God’s Sovereignty. Many of you seperate good from evil and designate good as being of God and evil exclusively being from Satan.  We need to consider Psalm 24:1 A Psalm of David and I Corinthians 10:26 An Epistle of Paul’s – “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” – EVERYTHING THAT IS HERE AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS HERE IS BECAUSE OF THE LORD’S SOVEREIGNTY. If you fail to accept this truth then your choice will always be manipulated by your own ideas.  Even the evil that manifests through you is under the authority of Christ today. 

Joshua was nearly at the end of his life when he delivered this sermon in Joshua 24. It gives attention to doctrine and application.  The doctrine is represented by all of the deeds in which the Lord God Almighty provided for His people. From the calling of Abraham, the birth of Isaac, the deliverance out of Egypt and through the Red Sea and their warring victories into the Promised Land, God proved His determined will and put it on display for the world to know. The Hebrews were recipients of the consistent manifestation of God’s Sovereign Power.  They had proof to know that no other god is comparable to the God of the Heavens and the Earth.  But it is the application of the sermon where we find the purpose of the choice to serve.

Your acquaintance with good and evil notwithstanding, it is a fundamental Biblical truth that when your flesh is controlled by sin you can not please God. You sow seeds of sin through all types of lifestyle choices.  Every decision you make is based on your pursuit to manifest and fulfill the desires of the flesh.  Joshua was reminded of Moses who declared the importance to choose life with a heart that loves the Lord, His Word all with a willingness to serve Him daily. Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20.  You can offset any affinity towards sin when you make a choice to serve God by praying for the knowledge of His will and the power to be all that He has created you to be. You can be of maximum service to God, realize the Conqueror Lifestyle  and serve Him and others effectively, when His power is working in you and through you conforming you to the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But you can make this choice to serve God only because of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ which gives you access into His grace.

Others realize your choice by every word that comes out of your mouth, every deed of your hands and every direction that your feet move towards. The heart decides which choice is to be made.  A heart that is willing to freely surrender to God’s Sovereignty is a direct result of a quickened spirit connected to the power of the resurrection at work in you. It’s not hard at all to make Jesus your choice when you accept all that He has freely done for you.  You willingly desire to serve Him because of how effectively He serves you.  Stop trying to be your best you independent of God’s spiritual blessings at work in you. You will know true service as He manifests His good works in your life when you make the choice to depend on and serve Him in all that you say and do. Agree with me and Joshua and make your choice THE LORD.

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“Pray 1st”

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Psalm 121:1 A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 
Ps 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 
Ps 121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 
Ps 121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 
Ps 121:5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 
Ps 121:6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 
Ps 121:7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 
Ps 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

My awakening was greeted with the severest of pain. I have learned to live with it from day to day. Yet this morning, like so many others, it began with the horror of stillness summoning the acuity of my spirit.  The stabbing, burning suffering in my flesh upon awakening is more consistent in the last year. There is literally nothing immediate about the relief process naturally.  It can happen at the most inconvenient moments and with no apparent reason.

Hopefully, you will read my new book, “A Conqueror In Training” over the holiday season and discover how I came to realize the “Conqueror Lifestyle.”  In fact, I pray you will want your friends and loved ones to have the blessed experience of reading it as well through your gift giving via ebooks. When you have read it, the message of this post will resonate in your spirits more brightly.  His training has effectively taught me to “pray 1st.”  Today, and everyday I start out in prayer 1st helps me to continue to stay in the race and run on some more.  Doing this has proven His Sovereignty over my life from situation to situation, experience to experience, outcome after outcome ultimately revealing that “Prayer Changes Things.”

Billie Holiday penned the song “Good Morning Heartache” while wrestling with her reality of pain and heartache experienced every morning when she needed another “fix.”  Her addiction to heroin was breaking her spiritually as her body required the drug more and more. Over time it destroyed her talent and took her life in death far too young.

English: Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York.
English: Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The imagery contained in this powerful recording demonstrates a heart overcome with brokenness and unwilling to “pray without ceasing.” I Thess. 5:17.  When you are caught up in your flesh and your spirit is conquered by sin, you will do everything humanly possible to discover change which can only come through the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Pain is painful.  God allows pain for the purpose of perfecting His will in us. A personal identity to Jesus’ suffering on the Cross is where this truth begins. Thanks be unto God for  the mighty power of His Spirit at work which manifests and maintains the Conqueror Lifestyle in me from day to day. You too can come to know the Conqueror Lifestyle God has just for you. When you pray 1st, you call His power into the situation immediately.  Humanity ceases and Divinity commences in spiritually defining ways to demonstrate His power in us.   And He will do, what no other power, can do.

Stay in the race!

Darrin

 

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Let Him Lead You

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"Lead Me, Guide Me" by Doris Atkers
Verse 1 
I am weak and I need Thy strength and power,                                        
To help me over my weakest hour. 
Let me through the darkness Thy face to see, 
Lead me, oh Lord lead me. 
Chorus 
Lead me, guide me along the way, 
For if you lead me I cannot stray. 
Lord, let me walk each day with Thee. 
Lead me, oh Lord lead me. 
Verse 2
Help me tread in the paths of righteousness.
Be my aid when Satan and sin oppress. 
I am putting all my trust in Thee: 
Lead me, oh Lord lead me. 
Verse 3 
I am lost if you take your hand from me, 
I am blind without Thy light to see.
Lord just always let me thy servant be,
Lead me, oh Lord lead me.

“Where Your Feet Are IS Where You Are”

Solid as a rock
Solid as a rock (Photo credit: Joybot)

     For years I struggled with the TRUTH in the slogan above.  Furthermore, for decades I maintained enormous opposition against the idea of “God‘s leading” over my life. As I look back over my life I can now see that all of my struggling with the prospect of surrendering to God’s will for my life was due to me wanting to be in control, my ego leading me in the fulfillment of the desires of my flesh and my human affinity towards being a product of this world rather than a servant of the God who created me. I could not “Be still and KNOW THAT GOD IS GOD” and appreciate all of the goodness that He brings into my life through His Sovereignty over my life. The best I could do was to continue spinning my wheels of human potential landing in life situations where I ultimately got stuck in ditches that got deeper and deeper over time. I could not appreciate the joy in the journey because I was always frustrated with one aspect (or another) of my life’s reality where I kept coming up short. 

     Along the way to the point of realizing God’s mission for my life, I came to appreciate all of the hardships, pain and suffering, grief, loss, guilt, shame and remorse my life manufactured. Today “I do not regret the past nor do I wish to shut the door on it.” Like Iyanla, “I did my work.” The evidence of the task is soon to be realized publicly with the release of the books. Today I can be grateful for where my feet are because my heart and mind are humbled under the “mighty hand of God.” There is a consistent awareness of God’s presence that sustains me. The reason for the presence of peace, love, joy, thanksgiving, faith and hope that wakes me up every day and preserves me throughout most of my days is because GOD IS LEADING ME. The essence of His leadership in and over my life is realized in the Conqueror Lifestyle that He prepared just for me. 

God has a Conqueror Lifestyle prepared just for you as well. To find out more about the Conqueror Lifestyle follow me on twitter @ConquerorShots.

 Darrin D. Payne

 

 

 

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A Conquering Response to a Trending Lack of Love

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A response to this article http://www.americapreachers.com/speak-out/pastor-says-no-to-women-wearing-weaves-in-church/
A response to this article
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Willingness To Wait

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wait
wait (Photo credit: CmdrFire) It’s Not As Difficult As You Might Think

When one is willing he/she is practicing the act of making a choice. Decision making is a process we are introduced to as early as our toddler years. Remember when you or your child was learning to walk. The toddler develops a comfortable stride and encounters the opportunity to demonstrate willingness. Will he walk up the stairs, down the stairs, out the door, outside the fenced area, etc. His willing heart will try to venture about with his new found gift – the ability to walk.

A Willingness to wait on the LORD requires faith. Faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus establishes the relationship between you and the LORD. The onset of the relationship is when you become willing to trust that He died, was buried and arose from the dead to save you from your sins and the judgement of eternal separation from God. Faith produces a willingness to believe that all things are working together for your good and the difficulties have intentional results DIRECTLY associated with His will JUST FOR YOU. REMEMBER He died so that you can live. Your life’s spiritual awakening, development and maturity is the relationship. During the maturity of the relationship, He uses the “waiting” to mature your faith through His Word. The Christian faith establishes the power of God in us through the resurrection of Christ Jesus. By this we are equipped to walk by faith; not by sight.

Christians are often referred to as “children of God” mainly because of the spiritual adoption principle found in Romans 8:14-15. We are His children always. When we are in receipt of the “gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” we are forever classified as children of God which makes up the family of God here on Earth.

In today’s world we live in everybody wants everything NOW. NO ONE LIKES TO WAIT FOR ANYTHING – phone assistance, public transportation, traffic jams, DMV lines, restaurant seating, the cable man etc., etc., etc…  The wait produces the need to focus on God’s presence during the wait!
“God is our refuge and strength – a very present help in trouble.”

He maintains this description to ALL of His children no matter what level of spiritual maturity we are working with.Try as hard as you can to disprove this Heavenly attribute while you engage life matters from day to day. You will find that He Is ALWAYS present and He NEVER COMES UP SHORT. But you do all the time, and you will even try to blame others, including our Heavenly Father, for your own shortcomings. Ultimately you will find a need to wait on Him and encounter your own willingness to wait. In times of waiting, the trials will mature you and you will be better because of your willingness to wait.

Psalm 27:14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 130:5  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Proverbs 20:22  Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

The fact is that a willingness to wait on the Lord is a practice that yields an experience similar to how a toddler practices his decision making skills when learning all the opportunity “at his feet.” My hope is that you will benefit from the use of the Conqueror Lifestyle to willingly wait on the LORD and grow in the process. It will help you soar to new heights In Christ that you could never experience outside of Christ. All of the possibilities are manifested in your willingness to wait. Waiting develops patience. Patience develops perseverance. Perseverance develops hope. Hope propels a Christian to maintain his/her position in Christ because He NEVER fails. Surrender to win and be a witness to the power of living victoriously day after day. 

 “Qualities of A Conqueror Volume 1” – a textbook/workbook compilation available now to help you develop and maintain The Conqueror Lifestyle.

Stay in the race!

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Have You Heard………?

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Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

In the Book of Joshua the 2nd chapter you can read about the story of Rahab.

Rahab and the Emissaries of Joshua
Rahab and the Emissaries of Joshua (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The mere mention of her name elicits the world of prostitution. Her Biblical story reveals that she was a ‘working girl’ who was willing to help 2 Israelite men who Joshua sent to spy on the land, including Jericho. The fact that she was willingly accommodating to these young, viral men could suggest the theory she was preying on their vulnerability giving rise to an opportunity for her to capitalize and get paid. The human mind will also fantasize about the origins of the spies ending up at a harlot’s house. In fantasy they may have deliberately ended up there to “blow off some steam.”

In the story’s enticing opening the reader will want to find out what happens. This is a great read in and of itself. However, the emphasis for this “shot” is on what Rahab heard and how she responded. As she takes the liberty to check on the spies she divulges her true nature. Here we see that the word was spreading about God‘s power being demonstrated through the chosen Israelites. The news worthiness of their trek through the Red Sea and the conquering of 2 kings was a source of awakening in the hearts of many. Rahab’s awakening is clearly stated in verse 11″When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath .”

Rahab heard what God had done and her heart awakened to TRUST IN GOD. The Israelite men were God’s men. She did not view them as objects for capital gain. Instead she was IN POSITION as a vessel for God to use as He deemed necessary. It is this design for FAITH THAT WE WILL NEED TO REALIZE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A CONQUEROR LIFESTYLE. We live life from day-to-day under the auspices of God’s Sovereignty. NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, HAPPENS BY SURPRISE IN THE CREATOR’S WORLD. Yet human beings are constantly attempting to act as “the controlling force” of their destiny. Psalms 24:1 says the Earth is the Lords and the FULLNESS thereof. If you are ever going to be of use to anyone it is because of God and God alone. God is ALWAYS UP TO SOMETHING GOOD BECAUSE GOOD IS ALL HE DOES.

You have to hear about God’s power; hear about God’s grace; hear about God’s love; hear about God’s faithfulness; hear about God’s Sovereignty. Have you heard that Jesus Christ SAVES to the UTMOST?

Hear how He provides, protects and preserves His people. Hear how He can DO ANYTHING BUT FAIL. You can hear it from Genesis to Revelations as you read about the Mighty God we serve. All the while your heart will awaken to a continuous cultivation of FAITH in all that you hear about Him. As this faith matures, a newness in the way you think and respond to ANY life situation erupts. You will say things that you thought you would never say, do things you thought you would never do and life will take on new meaning. This and more is likely when you HEAR of his goodness, strength and power and discover He is always available for you. Faith comes by what you heard and what you hear from the Word of God.

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Healing Hope

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Jesus in Pray
Jesus in Pray (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Son of God called on “Daddy”

 

Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”(NASB)

 

 

 

I have a friend who I met a few years ago. It was at a time when I was devastated by the effects of separation from my wife and kids which ultimately led to divorce and continual estrangement from my children. During the first year of our friendship he would listen to me as I became willing to share my pain, misery, heartache and despair that plagued me daily. He too knew the suffering associated with a life dream of marriage bliss becoming a nightmare of perpetual horror disguised as divorce.

 

He listened.(Thank you Lord for giving me a friend who understood and listened!) He offered very little verbiage to the phone conversations at first. As I began to hear the words that were describing my issues, he would then share his awakenings with me. I had no idea how to begin to process any resolutions. It seemed that my ability to think rationally was completely destroyed by the constant barrage of emotional torpedoes that simultaneously connected to the unimaginable bull’s eye attached to my heart by my trials and tribulations. He instinctively knew when I was rid of the debris. Every time I had the wisdom to listen to his experience I opened myself to the origins of HEALING HOPE.

 

The first time we spoke in this manner I asked him to pray for me. I had no prior knowledge of his prayer life but I knew he possessed an  awareness and relationship with the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. To my surprise, gratefully so, he obliged. It is not uncommon for me to appeal to others for prayer particularly when I am too weak to pray earnestly for myself as in those prior months. Yet I was ALWAYS mindful of my personal need for prayer – even if the words were simply, “Lord, have mercy. In Jesus name Amen.”  There were many times when that was ALL THAT I COULD SAY………  My friend however, was primed and ready to offer prayer on my behalf. He began in the most prolific and personable manner – “DADDY!”

 

I sat straight up in the chair as he yelled with conviction this opening to prayer that was soul-stirring. His tone of assurance that God, HIS HEAVENLY FATHER, was listening and ready to attend to the specific needs he would offer which included a particular instance of thanksgiving that soothed my battered heart. My friend knew how fragile my spirit was. He was also aware of the constant associations that were in my immediate surroundings that intensified the matter. The manifestations of fear and bondage had greatly overtaken me then. His prayer reminded me of the depths of “ABBA FATHER aka DADDY.”

 

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  It is for these results spiritually, mentally and physically, which are the direct result of my personal salvation, that I can call Him Daddy.

 

Calling God “Daddy” helps me get in touch with His Fatherly love for me. I was not fortunate to know a healthy human father/son relationship. I struggled greatly with the identity of this necessary human dynamic. It is no coincidence that God would ultimately have to demonstrate His Fatherly qualities to me over the course of my life – specifically my teens, twenties and thirties  It was during these years that I became a father myself. I remember the concerns I had as my oldest son was born and I realized how inadequate I was to be called his father. It was then that I became personally acquainted with the HEALING HOPE associated with “where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.” This is true even more so as God reveals His Heavenly designs of fatherhood in my life. God allowed for ALL my deficiencies in order for HIS SUFFICIENCY to have weight and depth IN my life.

 

HEALING HOPE is an extraordinary gift from God that originated in the beginning. Hope is Eternal when we realize how Heavenly salvation really is. However, knowing “DADDY” also provides HEALING HOPE when life happens.

 

 

 

 

 

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Blessed Delay

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 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.  Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” Psalms 27:13-14

Delayed
Delayed (Photo credit: Aquila) WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THERE IS A SUDDEN DELAY?

Recall a time when you were in need of DELIVERANCE and instead of an “IMMEDIATELY” result, you encounter a significant DELAY. Nothing is more dreadful than having to wait for a particular outcome you KNOW you need. The difficulty you face as you MUST “endure the hardships” of the circumstances can work in one of two ways:

 

 

1. The delay can distract you from the plan and purpose of the circumstance. This personal response fuels hopelessness and despair as you move away from God.  You will find human alternatives that can serve you like band aids on a bleeding wound.
2. The delay can propel you towards the plan and purpose of the circumstance. This personal response fuels hope and faith in God through prayer and reading and studying His Word. "His word is a lamp unto your feet and a light to your pathway." DARKNESS OR DESPAIR WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HINDER YOU. You will find His power and peace to preserve you while you "wait" and His Heavenly purpose will ALWAYS be revealed,BLESSED DELAY results in His Faithfulness.

I am blessed to have the gift of “waiting on the Lord” in my spiritual arsenal. However, I did not always consider the delays that God allows as a blessing. In fact, there was a particular delay in my life in which I thought I was receiving NO additional Godly intervention. I believed that it was God’s will for this particular matter  in my life and HE WAS NEVER GOING TO ALLOW FOR CHANGE. I WAS SO WRONG! While this was a painful reality for me to accept, it FORCED ME TO DRAW CLOSER TO HIM BECAUSE OF A PERSONAL NEED FOR HIS POWER TO SUPPLEMENT MY POWERLESSNESS. “His STRENGTH IS PERFECT WHEN OUR STRENGTH IS GONE!” Through the process of getting closer to Him He eventually allowed for MORE change. “GOD’S DELAY IS NOT A DENIAL.”

The more I realized #2 at work in my life the more HOPE I REALIZED AS IT WAS MANUFACTURED IN MY SPIRIT DURING THE BLESSED DELAY. All the while I could experience the goodness of the Lord through His continual provision for me, His peace in me and His plan for me. The essence of Him presiding over the “NEED” also manifested in the lives of my loved ones all around me. The song writer wrote “He Keeps On Doing GREAT Things For Me.” Ultimately, the presence of HOPE in my spirit yielded a fertile ground for SEEDS from the WORD OF GOD to cultivate IN ME. 
You too can experience “THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.” HAVE FAITH IN HIM and ALLOW for a BLESSED DELAY in your life. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart. PLEASE WAIT ON THE LORD!
 

 

 

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What’s Going ON?

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Boston, MA
Boston, MA (Photo credit: JasonParis) AT WHAT PRICE?

Marvin Gaye penned the lyrics to this song title during a time of social unrest in this country as the 70’s began. I was a little boy learning life  in a community where everyone knew everybody and everything about everybody. Never did we imagine a tragic moment where gunmen would heartlessly spill gunfire into a school classroom as children are learning. Yet today this is our reality. The question still resonates today but the need for a Savior resonates all the more.

It is shameful to see how our country is continuing to realize the devastating results of the legitimacy associated with the rights to bear arms. Everyone knows the dangers we face – adults and children alike – in this nation because of the loose regulations regarding gun control.  The fact that we as a nation continue to mourn the loss of life secondary to gun violence in public establishments screams out for immediate attention of law makers and enforcers to raise up and initiate protective measures for us all.

In the meantime these lyrics are a source of comfort as the tragedy pierces our hearts:

In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
In times like these you need the Bible,
In times like these O be not idle;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
In times like these I have a Savior,
In times like these I have an anchor;
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
Chorus
This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He's the One;
This Rock is Jesus, the only One!
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock! 
Ruth C. Jones
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Shannon’s article on faith today supports this month’s theme “awareness of God.” A life of faith includes a daily awareness of God. This post makes faith in God highly attractive.
Thanks Shannon. God bless you!
Darrin

Revelations in Writing's avatarRevelations In Writing

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” – Romans 3:28

Our forgiveness, salvation and justification from and before the Father are found only by faith; by trusting whole-heartedly that Jesus’ death on the cross was enough for us to become right with God.  We are not saved by works.  Only by FAITH.

“Why does God save us by faith alone?

(1) Faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a deed that we do.

(2) Faith exalts what God has done, not what people do.

(3) Faith admits that we can’t keep the law or measure up to God’s standards – we need help.

(4) Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.” – (NIV Study Bible footnotes)

If faith eliminates our personal pride for what we practice, then as we come before Him…

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