1 Tim:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

I remember it well. November 2002. It was around 6 months after my 40th birthday and I was making a public declaration of my faith. I was being baptized. Yes, I was christened as a child, where my parents dedicated me to their savior, but this was me – my personal choice.

Getting saved doesn’t mean everything is perfect forever and ever. But it does mean you have an extra card to play. Jesus told us this: “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” While we are all children of God and he loves us completely, those who choose him will be acknowledged by Jesus and God in heaven. Celebrate!

Gal. 5:1‐26 “For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Some years ago, a generous fellow came to my aid. I had no idea how bad my situation at the time, was but he showed up out of nowhere, paid my debt and the jailer set me free. His name was Jesus.

At the time I was so hopelessly addicted to alcohol, I could barely function and I was ruining my life.

The whole “Christian” experience takes a bit of getting used to. Grace, by definition, is unmerited favor of God. We don’t deserve the good we receive. But we get it anyway. God asked me what I wanted in the situation – I, like blind Bart said “I want to see”. Now nearly 25 years later, I’ve experienced the freedom he promised me.

If you desire freedom, point to this verse and ask God firmly for his blessing of freedom. He’ll give it to you.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

TGIF. Since it’s Friday, it’s an expression you probably will hear from someone today. However, most of the people you hear say this are thankful because of the day of the week it is.

It’s fine to be happy that the weekend is upon us; the time when we can shift our focus to things we enjoy more than work but I encourage you to connect today to the real reason to say TGIF. THANK GOD I’M FORGIVEN!.

When Peter speaks of being ‘forgiven of your sins’, he’s not necessarily talking about what you and I have done. He’s talking about generational sins. Those passed from the mother and father on to the children. Since we are all descendants of Adam & Eve who committed the original sin of not trusting God, we too are all sinners. We received that from our ancestors.

According to the Bible, the penalty for sin is punishment and death. But when you repent and are baptized, God cancels your debt and sends you a gift. The gift of the Holy Spirit, who is sent to be your helper. To guide you to a life everlasting. Yes! TGIF, indeed. Not just today but every day!

2 Cor. 12:7b-9 “There was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

This morning my back hurts. I’ve known for some time it’s a weakness. Truly it’s hard to boast when it’s a challenge to move easily. You, like me, have your share of “issues” to deal with, too. I’m certain of this because Jesus told us “in this world, you will have trouble.”

So what are we to do? One approach is to focus on the trouble. That’s what most people do. However, that won’t change things, so perhaps another approach would work better. To boast about our trouble.

That’s what Paul did, and it’s a great response for us too. God’s power is made perfect when we accept that He is God, we are not and we celebrate that fact. I know that all of my infirmities are to remind me that I’m a spirit in a clay shell. I came from dust and one day to dust I will return, but God will live forever.

If you’ve accepted Christ into your life, you can ask for and receive his power. Boast about that and your troubles will be a lot less troubling!

MT 4:4 Jesus answered: “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’.”

A new morning of a new month, in a still new year. So why is a huge part of life the same as it ever was? Because the one thing that hasn’t changed is that the “tempter” still exists in our life. It’s possible that no matter what you try to do you feel opposed and unsure of how to break through. Am I right?

But our Savior, Jesus, faced similar issues. He once was tormented and is now victorious. In Matthew 4, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. My conclusion on hearing this was that “I’m not alone.” Thank God!

But Jesus was able to resist temptation by telling our enemy that there is more to life than food. And the food we’re usually hungry for isn’t the secret to life anyway.

When you feel you’re being tempted and feel tormented, the solution lies in getting some ‘bread’ into your system. A small, steady diet of the Word of God will help you dispatch the devil every time he pays you a visit, to live to fight another day and to rise victorious! Praise God!