Tag Archive: Matthew

Give and Ye Shall Also Receive

Randall_Daluz_Thanksgiving_MealLuke 11:41 But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

The first Thanksgiving was meant to celebrate the harvest.  The Pilgrims did not know how to farm the land in the new world.  In an act of kindness, the Indians taught them and shared their crops with them.  When you have more than you need, you should share it with those who have less.  Jesus has more than all of us and He shares it with as many as will receive it.  We should give freely and without expecting anything in return or expecting recognition.  God will bless you for it, but do not do it for blessings; rather, do it because it is what is right in the eyes of the Lord.   (more…)

Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)

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

Love your enemies.  To people who don’t know Jesus, that sounds crazy!  Even those of us who believe may struggle with that from time to time.  It took a while for me to understand how important it is to love and pray for my enemies.  There are still times when I have to read scripture to remind myself;  I have to love and pray for people who hate me.  But the more you do it, the better you feel.  When you love people who consider themselves enemies, you take away their power over you.  More importantly, you strip the devil of one of his greatest weapons – contention. (more…)

Anger

Psalm 37:8file3691295046962  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. (KJV)

Anger is the spawn of hurt and pain; all of which are the tools of the devil.  My father used to say, “Hurt people, hurt people.”  Pain, sadness, sorrow and anger are the gateways to evil.  If you do not seek the Lord to help you deal with them, then they will fester and take root in your heart.  Once that happens, the devil will begin to manipulate you.

We are constantly in a spiritual battle on a daily basis.  As true Christians, our hearts are good, but our flesh is poison.  We can never allow ourselves to believe that we can fight the devil alone.   (more…)

Deborah Jacobs

deborahjacobsphotoThis interview is a very special one for me. It was an honor to interview one of my mentors. I have met a lot of good Christians during my journey. All of them have been very encouraging to me. I have known Deborah for over a year now. We met at the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta. As with all people I encounter, I was very skeptical of her at first. She did not recognize me at first and I did not tell her why I was in jail. It had been a year since I had turned myself in. So, many people in Augusta did not realize who I was. Eventually, Deborah and I built a great rapport and forged a real friendship. The more I got to know her, the more I realized what an amazing person she truly is. The Lord is truly working through her. You can see his hand in everything she does and yet she is so humble. She and some other volunteers have helped me to realize that there are truly good and wonderful people in this world. I cannot stress how important it is to an inmate (or any sinner for that matter) to see that there are truly good and kind people who love them because God loves them.

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