Grace isn't a license to sin!

(Read: Romans 6)

What does it mean?
Jesus lived a perfect life without sin. He was fully God but fully man when He walked this earth. He stayed in the spirit and that kept Him from sinning. And we should try our hardest to always stay in the spirit because we walk by faith and not by sight. We can be like Him because we're made in His image. We should dedicate our lives to living for Him.

Because Jesus lived a perfect life, He was without sin. But, because He took ALL OF OUR SINS, He had to endure Hell. But, because He was so perfect, Hell basically "miscarried" Him and HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD! Hell couldn't hold Jesus because He was not found guilty of sin of His Own!!

But, Jesus experienced Hell for us so that we wouldn't have to. God put himself in human flesh, lived a perfect life, and went to hell just to save the world when He could've easily just removed sin from the world… His love for us cannot be explained or understood. (Philippians 4:7)

Here's my point: If you knew how HOT, devastating, horrible, terrible, fearful and disgusting Hell was then, you WOULD fear the Lord Almighty, not compromise a sinful lifestyle, not tolerate sin, not support sin, not entertain sin, and you would dedicate your entire life to Him and spread the Gospel.
His Grace is a gift. A gift is something that we don't deserve but, out of love it is given to us anyway. The sacrifice of God's Son Jesus Christ is a gift to us! WE ALL DESERVE to spend eternity in Hell for disobeying our Creator BUT….JESUS! *praise break* NO, I do not understand how evil it is in hell and I SURELY don't want to! But, I have a relationship with Jesus and I gave great reverence for Him. When I sin, I feel guilty and remorseful so I repent (confess then, turn completely away from sin).

This is ALL we have to do. We deserve punishment. But, God gave us a decision to choose Him (lightness) or hell (darkness.) And only a FOOL willingly chooses HELL OVER HEAVEN! John 14:6 says, There's only 1 way to Heaven (believing John 3:16) and there's only 1 way to Hell (not believing John 3:16). Because Jesus died for EVERYONE'S sins, we aren't judged for our sins but what we've done for The Lord… That should motivate us to serve Him in everything so that we can be rewarded in Heaven!!

Grace isn't a license to sin. Just because there's salvation for those who believe DOESN'T mean that His people should live as if the death of Jesus wasn't that serious… I mean... 'The Word (Bible)' becoming flesh (Jesus) sounds pretty serious to me. I KNOW that people look at me and think I'm crazy because I used to be a "lukewarm christian" and now I GO HARD FOR JESUS. But, it doesn't matter what they think. They don't know what I've been through and where I'm going and the gifts that I want to receive when I get to Heaven. MY WORSHIP IS FOR REAL! Jesus Christ laid down His life for me and the least I could do is live my life like I know Him… not just on Sundays but, daily.

We must not tolerate sin. It is deadly!! (Romans 6:23) Our sins deserve God's wrath (Hell fire). But, Thank God for Jesus! Without Jesus, NONE of us will be able to stand before our Holy God covered in our sins because our darkness doesn't mix with His lightness! Because Jesus lives in the hearts of ALL believers, God looks at our perfected spirit (Jesus) and not our sinful fleshly nature. Thank You, Jesus! We need the Body of Christ to have more GODLY FEAR! It's evident that those who call themselves christians YET live in sin, don't fear God and desperately lack a relationship with His SON and unbelievers can see that… EVEN demons! That's why the demons ATTACK people that are weak in their faith lives because they aren't fighting back! It's a SPIRITUAL WARFARE and we must act NOW! 

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

(READ: EPHESIANS 6:10-23)

Hell is just as real as Heaven. It is not an idea, a feeling or just separation from God. It's a place with severe darkness of all forms and even God doesn't want a single soul to go there and He isn't even happy when unbelievers go there (Ezekiel 33:11)… so He went there for us… That type of love cannot be explained because the limited human mind can't understand it. God IS LOVE AND LOVE IS REAL! The devil had crept into God's churches and are deceiving even believers claiming that Hell isn't physical nor is it for eternity… THE DEVIL IS A LIAR! He hates us because we are made in God's Image and the devil and demons HATE GOD so they hate us (John 15:18)! They are going to taunt unbelievers in horrifying ways for eternity… You think the devil is attacking you now… Wait until unbelievers come face to face with him in his home…. It's the WORSE place to be!

**Those who are in Christ MUST share the Gospel. It is required of us and God will reward those who obey Him and question about us not sharing The Gospel when we arrive at His Gates…  Tell every one you know about the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ coming to save the world! He conquered death so that we will NEVER have to face it if we accept Jesus into our hearts.

It's not about US but JesUS. 

Think about it:

If everyone knew the gospel and had their chance to follow Jesus or not, then, maybe just maybe, Jesus Christ would've returned for His Church! But, his patience exceeds our understanding. He's waiting for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Because once, He returns or if you die before the time… there will be NO MERCY ONLY JUDGMENT!

Please strengthen your relationship with Christ and truly get to know Him. Live your life as if you served Him. Read your Bible and pray daily! Walk by faith and NOT by sight. Spread His love NOW! Before it's too late and a lost person dies and goes to hell… Love your enemies… If you knew the depth of Jesus dying for our sins then, you wouldn't even wish 'hell' on your worst enemy.

Check out the video posted on the top of my blog or CLICK HERE!!!

 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

John 3:16 ♥

Know Your Worth! (SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE)

Ladies! Don't give your all to a man that's not your husband! Including your fiancé! It it is ungodly to have sex before marriage. It is ungodly to live with boyfriends. It is not okay to fornicate! You're a daughter of the King and you shouldn't sell your self short. Sex before marriage is cheap! KNOW YOUR WORTH! 

Here's my testimony: It was the perfect college-sweetheart-fairtytale-happily-ever-after-story… 

I met my "now-husband" in college: I dressed up really pretty everyday because I was just so in love with myself. And, honestly, Jesus was the only one who had my heart. I sat in the front seat of class everyday and showed up fashionably late. Apparently, each day I sat right in front of my future husband... One day after class I was struggling to walk down stairs in my 6" high heels. Quincy (my lover's name) was so frustrated because I was walking in front of him so slowly. Instead, of cussing me out, he started conversation with me and asked for my number. We met up at the library that night to study and do homework. He showed up with a bag of skittles and good intentions. We fell in love and the rest is history! 

However... we didn't save our bodies for marriage. We had sex and unprotected. To make a LONG STORY short: We moved in together, I got pregnant with Isaiah and I dropped out of college my sophomore year. We argued everyday. We both worked 24/7 and still could barely afford rent or make time for each other. We had so much strife in our home and things were falling apart. 

We were equally yoked… at least, we thought. We went to church together, read our bibles daily, studied the bible together a lot, prayed, gave money to the homeless and did all that we thought was a normal Christian lifestyle.... But, we were still having sex… (And, that's the very thing that was holding us back!) Overtime, my faith became stronger and I got a clearer understanding of God's purpose for my life. He wanted to bless us but, I couldn't figure out what we were doing wrong… We loved each other so we felt like sex was mandatory. Without sex we thought that our relationship would crumble. We even felt like God approved because we might one day get married. We were fooled. God never said that fornication was okay and He didn't approve of what we were doing…even if, we were still serving Him in the meantime. Sex isn't going to keep a man, and a baby won't either!!

Don't praise boyfriends! Don't give husband benefits to a man that's NOT your husband! When I became pregnant, I thought I was becoming another statistic. "Black girl drops out of college and gets pregnant by boyfriend." Not-cool… I cried a lot and nagged my BF to marry me. I realized that I couldn't change a man or make him love me. I was excited to be pregnant but, I wasn't happy about being a "baby mama." I prayed often for God to help him see that I really loved him and wanted become his wife. Thankfully, my prayer was answered a few months later… :)

I was preparing for my maternity shoot and when I was half-way ready to go, he laid a rose on my desk. It was Mother's Day so I figured his simple but sweet gift was appropriate enough since I didn't get birth to Isaiah yet. By the time the photographer snapped the first photo… he was down on one knee asking me to be his WIFE!! 

As time went by, we still had sex. Just because a ring was on my finger, doesn't mean that I was his wife yet! Things were still rough at home and I still couldn't figure it out… I'm begging and pleading with The Lord to show me what I needed to do to remove this void in my life. He told me that I needed to spend more time with Him reading His Word and learning how to pray. I finally found the answer. As clear as the Bible teaches it, I was blind to the fact because out of all God's commands, I chose to disregard that thing that He said about "fornication" because I thought it was normal and okay…

We later decided to go celibate. We thought it would be beneficial and easy since our wedding day was approaching in a few months… HA! THE DEVIL IS A LIAR! It was SOOOOO HAAAAAAARD! Sexual temptation is the devil's strongest scheme. (It blinds us from the truth, replaces lust for love and causes a whole lot of pain. It's a very dangerous game) We slipped up a couple times but, we learned our lesson: the importance to living a life of purity and respecting our bodies as God's temple! We fasted and repented together. Lesson Learned! 

I could've been walking down the aisle graduating from college May 2015 but, instead I was walking down the aisle to be given away to my husband. It wasn't my plan but God's. And, I'm fine with that… His plans are way better than ours! 

TRUST JESUS! 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and He will direct your paths! Proverbs 3:5-6

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart! Psalms 37:4

Don't do what you feel is okay because everyone is doing it. If God said not to do something then, we ought to obey. He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. Sin will take you further than you want to go! If you're treating your BF like he's your hubby then, what reason does he have to give you a wedding? YOU have to set the standards and YOU have to know your worth! Your body is precious to God. The Bible, says that "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing." Proverbs 18:22. That man must marry you if he wants the hubby treatment. Don't settle for a title. That's lust and not love. Celibacy will teach you what love really is! You deserve to dress up in a beautiful gown and walk down that aisle with your family and friends watching you be given to the man of your dreams. If you settle for anything less of that, you are deep in sin and I urge you to seek God, wise counsel and advice from MARRIED godly couples! Do NOT praise boyfriends, unmarried couples and ungodly relationships. Aim for PROVERBS 31! The perfect example of a VIRTUOUS WIFE! 

Visit our wedding page for more pictures! CLICK HERE!!

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18

The Gifts and Ministries of The Holy Spirit

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…" 
Acts 1:8

When our Lord Jesus came to this earth to conquer and redeem it, He functioned only within the framework of the gifts of the Spirit. His total ministry on earth was not as God, but as a man, functioning in the gifts of the Spirit. All the "miracles" Jesus performed were the result of a gift of the Spirit functioning at that time. 

In John 14:12 Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." The ministry Jesus performed on this earth was directed, guided, and energized by the Holy Spirit-the same Holy Spirit that you and I have today. We can expect to do the SAME works JESUS did IF we follow, line upon line precept upon precept, everything the Word of God teaches! 

The gifts of the Spirit cannons be earned. They are called "gifts" to reveal that there is only one way to obtain them: They are given to the church by God. They are divine communications, transmitted from the Holy Trinity through the channel of the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of the Trinity, to the church - the body of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth.

9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit: 

(1)The word of wisdom Is the revealing of the prophetic future under the anointing of God. In the Old Testament every seer (the former term for prophet) and every prophet who foretold the future was endowed with this gift. A word of God's wisdom is just that: a word. When God gives you a word of His wisdom, He gives only a fragment. The same is true with the word of knowledge.

(2)the word of knowledge Is the revealing of a fact in existence that can only be supernaturally revealed. It cannot be seen or heard or known naturally. This is the difference between the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom: The word of knowledge is a revelation of a fact that exists; the word of wisdom is a revelation of the future. Daniel was operating in the word of wisdom when he said there would be a Persian empire, a Grecian empire, and a Roman empire. At that time those empires had not been born.

(3)the discerning of spirits has to do with the comprehending of the human spirit, supernaturally revealed by the Holy Spirit. It is not the discerning of demons, but the discerning of the human spirit - good and bad. With this gift, you can look through straight through a person and know whether or not he is telling the truth.

(4)the gift of faith Is God's bringing to pass a supernatural change. No human effort is involved. 

(5)the gift of the working of miracles does work through a human instrument. It is a person doing a supernatural act by divine energy of the Holy Spirit. An excellent example is Samson bare-handedly killing a lion.

(6)the gifts of healing God supernaturally heals the sick through a ministry anointed by the Holy Spirit.

(7)the gift of tongues The ministry of proclaiming in a public meeting a message from God in a language not understood by the person giving it. Because he has not studied that language and does not know it, he does not give it from his mind, but from his spirit.

(8)When a message in tongues has been given, then the interpretation of tongues goes into operation. The message that has been given in another language is interpreted supernaturally by The Holy Spirit through another person, without that person's mental faculties being involved.

(9)the gift of prophecy Is the anointed speaking forth of words of edification, exhortation, and comfort - words supernaturally given to the church from God.

I challenge you to seek God for these major gifts. As 1 Corinthians 12:31 says, we are to "covet earnestly the best gifts." If we do that - and seek them with all our hearts - we will find that they are available to us.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit didn't end with the apostles! It was here before creation. On the day of Pentecost after Jesus ascended into Heaven - the Holy Spirit poured out on all believers & it formed "The Church." The Holy Spirit always functioned but, now it functions in ALL believers! {Acts 2:16-21/Joel 2:28:32} We are the church, the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ dwells within every believer and we need to use the power that He's given us! {1 Corinthians 12/13, Acts 1/2}

All information sourced from "The Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit" by Lester Sumrall + The Believer's Authority by Andrew Wommack