of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to “amend their ways” due to their misplaced trust in the Temple while living disobediently. The prophet addresses that God wants sincere obedience and a genuine relationship more than just performing religious rituals. Although sacrifices were part of the covenant to address wrongdoing, they were not meant to replace true worship. The people’s engagement in idolatrous religion and injustice rendered their sacrifices meaningless. The fundamental command has consistently been to obey God’s voice and follow His ways, emphasizing that outward worship is insufficient without the requested obedience.

what we’ve done doesn’t resolve the problem because we often continue with harmful patterns of thought and action, even when we don’t want to (see Rom. 7:14-25). So we need to be freed—or redeemed—from the enslavement to sin and death that leads to those harmful patterns so that we can truly love and care for one another.

Both forgiveness and redemption are accomplished through Jesus’ death. His blood, shed on the cross, cleanses us from the defilement of our wrongdoing and functions as a “ransom” or “redemption payment” to free us from our bondage to sin (Mark 10:45). Ephesians 1:7-8 connects the ideas of redemption and forgiveness, saying that in Christ, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (NIV). Redemption is not the same as forgiveness, but Jesus offers us both so that we may be free to live according to God’s ways, which lead to life.

The Bible also talks about how people can be redeemed. If a debtor ran out of money in ancient Israel, they could sell themselves as a slave to pay off debts. A family member could then pay money—a redemption price—on their behalf to claim their relative back from slavery. That rescuer, called a “kinsman-redeemer,” would transfer the enslaved person back into the family. 
The story of the Bible begins with the idea that all creation, and especially humanity, belongs to God. But tragically, humans have been corrupted and enslaved by death. God wants humanity back, and the story of the Bible is about how God transfers us back into his possession—he redeems us.

¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not ^[d]imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

emphasizes a continuous commitment to God in all aspects of life. This means: 

Presenting oneself for service: Being available and willing to obey God’s will and commands.

Submitting desires and plans: Aligning one’s goals and actions with God’s purposes.

Living a life of holiness: Setting oneself apart from the ways of the world and striving to live in a way that is pleasing to God.

Ongoing transformation: Allowing God to continually shape and transform one’s character, thoughts, and actions. 

A living sacrifice means a Christian’s entire life becomes an act of worship and dedication to God. 

God is expecting growth. When a seed is planted we expect a change; from a seed, to a sprout, to a plant; “change, growth’. During the Birth process; We see the ultrasound, hear the heartbeat , the belly grows until inception. When a child is born do we expect him /her to stay that way ? God forbid. We expect to see growth, We expect a child to reach certain goals by a certain age. In the same way our Father is looking for growth in us after salvation. “You will know them by their fruit” what fruit? their fruit of repentance (matthew 3:8) don’t be satisfied with initiation, nor just with salvation but lets move on to transformation.

_{from the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

overwhelming circumstances. In these times we are instructed to cast all of our cares upon the Lord, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We are to set our hope of deliverance upon the Lord our God, and we are not to rely upon ourselves, or our own strengths and resources. We are to anchor our hearts on the steadfast certainty of every promise for believers as set forth in God’s word.

Just as God delivered Paul from trouble that was far beyond his ability to endure (2 Corinthians 1:8-11), so we also are to look to God for His help and His deliverance from the overwhelming troubles that we are facing. When we read accounts of God’s deliverance of His people as recorded in the Scriptures, let us once again recall what Paul taught in the book of Romans: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4).

All of these accounts of God’s deliverance in the Scriptures are recorded for the benefit and encouragement of all of us as God’s people. Our Sovereign God’s deliverance for our situation, as hopeless as it appears and as far beyond our ability to endure as it may be, is surely coming for us. And while we are in the midst of these troubles, we have His promises given to us through His word, where He has assured us that He will help us, and strengthen us.

_{from the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

Self-righteous pride may be the most difficult obstacle to overcome when free grace is offered, for one relies on the merits of man while the other rests on the grace of God. The constant strivings of the religious man to become acceptable to God by works is a far cry from the submitted heart of a broken sinner, who is thirsting for salvation.
_{Source: https://devotion.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Grace+of+God}

Is what they are saying or portraying a declaration or just decoration? a declaration of a truth, “That without God we can do nothing,” acknowledging He is worthy of the praise” or a decoratory praise to sound or seem like they are something that they are not, “humble.” What about you and me? Do we live a life represented by the cross of Christ as a declaration of our faith or a decoration of humility?

Matthew uses these words to describe this form of “lip service”

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. _{Matthew 15;8(NKJV)}

Do we praise God ? If so, is that praise in both word and deed, or are we guilty of offering lip service to the only One worthy of all of our praise? Jesus desires praise from our lips that is rooted in the truth of our deeds. Perfection is not required; but He is pleased by the praise of those who are earnestly seeking Him and are surrendered to Him.

_{From the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

1.It makes you a prisoner of your past, 2. it gives you the all-pervasive disease of bitterness, 3. it opens the door for Satan, and 4. it alienates you from the full, rich fellowship that God desires to have with you. There is plenty of good reason, then, to be a forgiving person. (read the warning of the “unforgiving servant” in Matthew 18:21-35)

_{From the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

it’s like He’s not there, and when it doesn’t seem to make any sense at all, I have too remember;

God is always in control. He tells us to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6) he will never leave us nor let us down.. you feel me?

Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into the sea at the time Jesus called them. The Bible says that “they immediately left their nets and followed Him” (Matt. 4:20). It must have been difficult for them to drop their heavy involvement with their daily tasks and leave just at that moment. But catching men, in all probability, always will be very inconvenient. Jesus did not tell them to finish the job at hand and come along when they felt more inclined. He called them, and they left their nets and came.

James and John were also busy when Jesus came by. They were not actually casting their nets into the sea, but were mending them (see v. 21). They “immediately” left their aging father, their nets and boats – all that they loved – and followed Him.

What are your “nets”? Jesus is asking you to catch men and women for His kingdom. This will involve commitment and a radical change in your lives. Will you obey – immediately – like the early disciples?

_{From the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

This week, how many thoughts did you have, words did you speak, or decisions did you make that omitted the Lord from your process entirely?

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It’s embarrassing to admit my disfunction to you, but I’m not always good at preaching the gospel to myself or allowing it to influence everything I think, say, and do, even though I teach it to others publicly.

_{From the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

Sometimes the temptation to “follow the crowd in doing wrong” is almost more than we can bear. We crave the acceptance of others so much that we will find ourselves doing wrong (going alone with the crowd) so that they will like us. This is true, not only for insecure children, but also for just about everybody. It is hard to stand for what is right when the crowd of your so called friends want to do wrong.

_{From the Editor: Elder Jerome Green}

The world wants you to gain everyone’s approval, and find your worth in your reputation. But the Bible tells us something very different.

I understand, “Comfort and safety are worthy pursuits.”

I look around and see currents that have dug deep crevices in our culture and eventually carved them into our souls. Currents that make us think:

As a generation, I see us waking up, identifying, and comparing the truth of God with worldly endeavors. If God is real and we are going to live with Him forever, shouldn’t He be the controlling force of our lives? If we really believe this we feel a growing desire to not become like the religious people God referred to when He said, “This people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me” (Is. 29:13, ESV).

Finding and Living Your Calling

Multi facets of people are on the hunt for their calling and purpose. Jesus made it really clear when He gave us this mission statement in Matt. 28:19-20 (ESV):

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’”

This mission is not just for those in vocational ministry. It is for all of us. Whether you are an accountant or a teacher, a stay-at-home mom, or a doctor, God has called you to help other know Him.

We are given differing places to use our gifts throughout our lives, fortunately locations or numbers don’t matter. So don’t compare your race to someone else’s, rest in the fact that God built you, and freed you up for Him to move through you. Instead of chasing down the next thing to achieve and wondering if it is what God has for us. He gave us a calling to make disciples. We get to rest in that!

Great people don’t do great things. God does great things with surrendered people. And surrender happens every day in one thousand small moments. Live called.

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Live Tha’ Life Saints of The Most High God, Live Tha’ Life…