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Faith

The Evidence Of Things Not Seen

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Hebrews 11:1  – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

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I would like to talk about the other half of the phrase of faith, which is said in the bible to be “the evidence of things not seen”. Carrying from the same theme from the last page, I would like to define evidence: The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid; Information given personally, drawn from a document, or in the form of material objects, tending or used to establish facts in a legal investigation or admissible as testimony in court; Signs; indications

Most of what persuades about evidence is usually defined by things that we can be persuaded with by sight. And yet, when we read the word of God, we base our faith upon evidence of things we cannot see. For those who do not believe God, this is ludicrous. It is often referred to as being “absurd” at the ideal of people believing in faith to a higher power. When you think about it, it would be easy to understand this point of view if you did not know the experience of having an everyday relationship with God. That is why it is so important to have one! I am proud to say that in big and small ways that I practice faith every day! I pray, believe and trust God for things that I could only reach by hope in God and not my own power. That is how that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us! By faith! Remember that we cannot always base our hopes on what we can see, but we build our faith in the hope through Christ the way will be made for you!

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Put Into Practice:

At some point in each of our lives we have had to either experience or know someone who has went through a time where they were losing a loved one. When someone is slowly dying and deteriorating, there are two different ways that people can really handle speaking over it: with or without hope. I know in my own personal experiences that throughout some of my loved ones that I saw slowly leaving this life that in my heart I was hoping continually. My mind was not going to be persuaded that they were getting worse, even when I began to hear reports that tried to persuade me otherwise.

The point that I am trying to get across is that we have to begin to face some of our worst situations with speaking hope and things that are not as though they are. Give this a shot: find one thing that you know that you have been working on to a change for a while and truly speak (or write down) a sincere statement of faith. If you are bold enough, speak it faithfully to someone else. If you are even bolder, speak it to someone else and ask them to help you pray. Seek God and begin to allow your faith to build. That is how it begins! It builds by the great things that God has done in the experiences of your past and the hope that you build for the future victories that are ahead of you! And as you make it through another mountain, it is yet another step up closer to a faith that you will not leave!

The Substance Of Things Hoped For

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Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Psalm 143:1 – Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

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When I begin trying to understand important phrases in the word of God, I try and comprehend the roots of the important pieces that apply in my life. When we think of faith, we think of “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”, right?

In considering the meaning of substance, one would know several relevant definitions: The quality of having a solid basis in reality or fact; The quality of being dependable or stable; The quality of being important, valid, or significant; The most important or essential part of something; the real or essential meaning.

The basis of the beginnings for what I hope for (in faith to God) has to be the most important thing to me. The “substance” or “essence” of what exists to what I believe God for must exist and has to be active within me! A substance is something that exists! This could be: your thoughts in prayer standing in the gap for others, believing God for deliverance for those that are bound, or trusting God for your own trials! All of these different types of things to believe God for begin to be unlocked upon the basis of your faith!

So I ask today, what is the substance that you have in your mind? What are you hoping for in your heart? Are you hoping? Change your frame of mind and set in your mind the hope for what you want to believe God can do, for God has no limits! Do not allow your heart to be broken simply on what you have seen or heard. Set your sights beyond that by seeing through what the word of God has provided you with. Faith!

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Put Into Practice:

One of the hardest things that I ever had to overcome was trusting God to move for my job. I was not happy where I was, and was definitely in a state where I had little faith. For a while there I truly thought I was going to be stuck! However, as we (being me and my wife and other family members) began to bind together for what seemed like months upon months, God moved and opened another opportunity for me!

It could have been easy to have stopped praying and to have stopped being faithful. And if it were easy to be faithful and endure to the end of each trial, everyone would be doing it! So I ask you to find the hard things in your life and begin to dedicate time in prayer and dedicate faith to believing the better outcome and to release yourself from feeling stuck forever!

Our Fall To Sin

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Genesis 1:27,31

[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

[31] And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Man was created in Holiness, and what God made was good within us! Before sin ever entered the world, what we were made to be was good! God made us! What God has made in you is good as well! Even taking in to consideration that we fail because of sin, we still have the good that God has placed! We often forget that in the midst of life.

Genesis 3:6

[6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

By voluntary transgression, man fell to sin. So many times, we voluntarily walk into failure, and God has provided more than enough of ways to avoid sin and temptation to sin. You are only as strong as the spirit that lives within you. With that said, it’s simple: little spirit leaves for little ability to resist. A strong spirit presents a formula for success against the enemy in this world!

Psalms 94:11

[11] The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

The thoughts that we possessed started to become vain. The thoughts that we have every day without God are vain by default, lest we realize what place they should have in our lives. If God is first, He will lead you to see exactly what things should be and should not. That’s the direction of the Holy Ghost that only comes through prayer seeking for direction by faith!

Jeremiah 17:9

[9] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The heart started to become deceitful. Without the help of the comfort of the spirit, we will become weak from our emotions that want to rule us by default. We should never be driven by emotions. Emotions often times will drive us to irrational motive, which in turn leads to actions we should have never found ourselves at to begin with.

Romans 8:7

[7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

We became an enemy through the carnal being. Our minds are either upon God and serving him with our commitment to, or we are resisting because we have (in our mind) chose not to. The art of submission when it comes to the spirit begins with making up your mind. We can never inherit the mind of Christ without first surrendering our wickedness first. I say that not in condemnation, but in common sense. We will eventually lead ourselves to destruction over time without God helping us!

Genesis 6:5

[5] And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

By sin overwhelming us, God recognized that even back then and still does today! In the days we live in now, we know not the appointed day, but God wants us to be prepared each day by not falling into the sin that was clearly warned about all through the days of the bible. The example of the flood in the Old Testament should be example enough that we surely would rather come to God’s love rather than God’s wrath!

Romans 5:12,19

[12] Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

[19] For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

The first sin was fatal for all mankind and made us sinners as we know it today. And from generation to generation, we still make the same mistakes that were made before us, regardless of the reasons of why. The “why” does not matter; what matters is finding our way to repentance! That’s why Jesus Christ was sent to be an advocate for us to find forgiveness by the mercy and grace of God.

Romans 1:18,20

[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Being unrighteous, all are condemned without defense or excuse. There is nothing that I could throw at God to ever have a great enough of reason or to feel good enough to be justified. We have to obey, we have to repent, and we have to move on from hurt! It’s as simple as that! God sees what you are going through, and will move on your behalf. So why stay in that condition?

Isaiah 1:5-6

[5] Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
[6] From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

The whole nature of our beings is corrupted long-term from never treating the damage that sin takes upon us. Lest we begin to bring to God our problems and issues, we can never begin to heal and recover from what we deal with and go through!

Isaiah 53:6-7

[6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

All of our sins have been forgiven if you recognize the one who performed it! If we come to God and believe in faith upon Jesus Christ and surrender our lives completely, a magnificent life-changing transformation can begin to take place! Do it today!

Keep Your Head Level

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1 Peter 5:12 – By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

1 Thessalonians 3:8 – For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

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Everyone has heard the phrase at some point that “life throws you curves”. It seems to surround the idea that there are many shocks and surprises that come along when we least expect it. Things only seem to shock us when we are not prepared, right? I wish that I could say that on all of our behalves that we will be prepared for everything to come in our futures. The fact of the matter is that we could never possibly have every financial surprise planned or every little detail in order; for it simply could not be done without the knowledge of tomorrow.

The best thing about what I am about to say is that it is a small piece of wisdom you can keep for the rest of your life. Through all of life’s future uncertainties we only have but one solution: place your faith in is God and enter into rest for the sake of your own stability! It is the only thing that you can be deeply rooted in spiritually and will never you let down, even in the times when you feel discouraged from things that have blindsided you. I refuse to hear from anyone that God cannot comfort you from the worries and anxieties of life! His spirit is greater in us than the part of us that dwells and suffers here on earth! If you are watching and praying as the word of God teaches us, then in essence we always have access to the comfort of the spirit and peace for our minds when we need it. It still might hurt as bad but I can assure us that we will not be caught off guard! Keep your head level by establishing your solid foundation in Jesus Christ! You cannot go wrong with that!

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Put Into Practice:

One of the most common balance tests that you read about is called the Romberg test, which requires a person to stand with their feet together and their eyes closed to see how well they can stand without shifting. I remember one of the first times that I did this test and how that before this I always felt that I was in control of my balance. Little did I know that by shutting my eyes and putting my feet together that a couple of things would have me moving around in ways that I never had.

When you put this in comparison with life and God, it is pretty easy to get off balance when a couple things begin to shift us around and put a haze or darkness in our vision. The most important thing I could say today is for you to remember not to get out of balance in your Christian life. Find God as your first priority and let life pan out as God leads you in it. Even though you might feel everything go crazy at first, God will help you with the sudden changes to make Him first. In other words, “all these other things will be added unto you!”

Giving All That We Have

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Luke 21:1-4

[1] And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
[2] And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
[3] And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
[4] For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

There is a difference in throwing our best in flesh versus our best in spirit. There is something to just coming in and going through the motions versus actually coming in and giving God a sincere effort from your heart. You can have all the wonderful gifts and talents of God, but without casting in all that you have, or in essence that which “all you can give” it cannot fully profit you. God does not want us to hold back nor be ashamed of what lives within us!

“All the Living” vs. “All the Flesh” is two completely different things! If I act and perform out of myself exclusively, it will only help temporarily or even not at all. It is only the things we do that are spiritual and done in love through faith believing that are truly sown and grow over time! That goes for things you do for yourself as well as others!

James 4:5-10

[5] Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
[6] But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
[7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
[8] Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
[9] Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
[10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

There is nothing wrong being down to being humble. God cannot use us if we are too proud or think that is “not required” of us to be obedient. God wants to be glorified and is only glorified through our actions in faith! Faith without our works is dead, or in other words cannot go any further than the thought of it. I am faithful to believe I can help people, absolutely. However, it goes much further when I believe that and step out in obedience to God, pouring out myself so others may be exhorted and lifted up in their time of trouble.

We can lose our so-called riches to inherit far greater things! Those things that we consider of worth in this world are made new and fade away. There is nothing that we could ever produce that will ever replicate or replace what God is supposed to fill inside of us. Jesus is the way, and the only way we can grow as an individual, ministry, or a church!

Matthew 5:29-30

[29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
[30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

If there are things that are standing in the way of your humbleness, work on you first, THEN IN LOVE, encourage, not MAKE others to move to work for Christ in the same manner!

It is better to lose things and it feel like a loss in the short term to gain the greater things in God. It only feels like a loss to us because we have placed such a high value upon it. Things like this should be a clear indicator to us that God is not first or above something that we are struggling with, and should be immediately addressed if the spirit convicts you of it! And it’s not a hard thing to give up with faith and prayer and continual coming to God!

Walking Close Versus Standing Back

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When Jesus was alive and walking in the midst of people working miracles, there was always a crowd; people always wanted to be where the action was. They either wanted to get help or bear witness to it. And to those that were not able, they cried aloud for it.

So what about today?

We as God’s people often will be in services today and feel the presence of the Lord enter in the midst but stand by because we are either unsure or do not believe for whatever reason. These reservations, whether we choose to acknowledge it now or later, are ripping the church apart day by day. We NEED the spirit of God to heal our land, guide or direction, and repair the broken-hearted. We need the backbone of the pillars of the saints of God to be restored once more so that we stand again proud and not afraid when one small trial comes through to blow us over!

I choose today to walk close to the presence of God! I want to be right in the middle of it! I press through the crowds of hindrances and stumbling blocks in faith just to get to the hem of Christ’s garment! I’m that desperate for joy and peace in my life! There is no other by which we will stand and have a stable life! Join with me in walking close again and not standing back anymore!

God Provides What Is Promised

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Proverbs 25:22 – For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

Matthew 16:27 – For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

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One of the key scriptures that we read in the Bible is that the “promises of God are yea and Amen”. In other words the combination signals a great big yes! When you begin to petition your needs and wants before God, you are backing it up by actually going before him through the works of obedience and living it. All the while you are continually asking and putting your faith into action by the experiences you have and the ones you believe is ahead. You see, the spirit of God in its own magnificent way will bear witness and start to speak to your heart according to the will of God. It may not always be what we want to hear, but sometimes that when God’s ways exceed our ways!

Sometimes I am sure that we could wish that God dropped in our laps millions dollars so that we could have lots of “stuff”, but that may not be in Gods will right? God’s promises to us are that we would not go without and as long as we are obedient that everything will be taken care of for us, even in the midst of uncertainty. There are many who choose to stick with what they can read, and that is fine. I want to encourage us to step out of the boat and try to be more faithful and start to believe in the spirit that bears witness in the depths of our hearts! I know it is a simple thought, but I just want to remind you that if God has spoken to you in your heart or through the ministry of others, heed to it! Be led by the spirit of God, stay close to the Lord and pray in faith for the good things to come. Water those promises until they grow to full fruition! I know they are on their way!

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Put Into Practice:

This is not an actual physical activity today, but I would like for you to consider an activity of the same. Imagine that someone was standing on top of a building and was about to jump. Bear in mind they are being faithful to the inflatable safety device that when they reach the bottom they are safe. What if there was just enough of a hole in the safety balloon to cause it not to function? The person has to know and consider all of these risks before they ever lift from the ground to jump, right? The faith that it takes to get a person to leap is just the amount that it takes to be enough. The amount of faith that it takes for us to be willing to be out of our comfort zone and be in risk sometimes may be the very thing that God is looking for from you. It may be one thing that you have been afraid of to do your entire life. Trust me, I would have never thought that I would be writing, singing, playing, or preaching! Trust God and take a leap of faith! And by leap I do not mean off of a building! Get out there and make a difference in this lost world!

God Understands

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THE WORD

Luke 12:7 – But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Psalms 56:8 – Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I have worked and lived in environments in the past where I dealt with people that had little or no concern for me or my life. At first people possessed compassion but over time motives reveal the true colors of love’s lack. Even when it comes to our own families you will find that people may let you down at some point. It is a hard life lesson to learn (especially when you need it to count) but when realized can be of the most benefit. Why you ask? Sure, it is good to have others that you love in your life help you, but depending on people in this world for your emotional needs and friendship may leave you feeling helpless.

When everyone else has stopped listening and begin to unknowingly neglect you there may be a moment where you feel like your life goes unnoticed. Do not be deceived by this! God understands! God is an all-seeing, all-knowing God! He will never leave you, nor forsake you! My interpretation of this is that in my hardest situations that God is the same regardless of the love from people. He is the only constant for humankind. We should always make full use of this certainty and lean on God instead of personal relationships. Do not get me wrong; for it is good to have people, but this is how God’s intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit is enjoyed. God is compassionate to all of your needs and wants to hear the cries and prayers of us all! So do not be afraid to call out today!

PUT INTO PRACTICE

It is always a good thing to improve our positive faithful thinking before God. One way to begin to work this in full-time is to append words of faith to every negative thought that comes around to attack you. For example, “I know I do not feel the greatest right now BUT I know God will bring me through”. You would be surprised of the impact that this will have as you see some trials come to victory. You may just begin to believe what you say!

You Are Made To Overcome

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Romans 12:21 – Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 John 4:4 – Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

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We hear the phrase so often that “you are made an overcomer”, right? That part of the phrase is empowered with the part of “by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony”, right? One would be quick to say yes in words, but as I observe in the ministry each and every day I find people that sit persuaded that they are “powerless” and have yet to realize the fullness of the power of an overcomer.

Being powerless was not the mindset that God laid out before us to possess. Power was endued from on high so that we could obtain all the qualities of God to fulfill in the areas that we lack in and need strength! Peace came so that we could find joy in the middle of our tough trials. You start unlocking more peace with faith, and faith begins to build and is brought out in you as it comes with works in your life! I work through my troubles by using the blood of the Lamb. I am a redeemed, blood-bought child of the living God! We should never forget the almighty powerful God that we serve! His provision is far greater than this world, and gives me more than enough and far more than I could ever fathom!

When I am in the midst of personal trials I remind myself to use the words of my testimony to stir myself.  When I begin to grow stale in the midst of a routine life: going through the motions, feeling like everything is the same thing, I go back to a time where I remember that I was in desperate need, and God met my every request! I should never doubt that power and should never feel like that I am powerless! We as the children of God have to stop being deceived by our own discouragement and use the very things God gave us to get up and overcome!

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Put Into Practice:

Here is a challenge that I encourage you to do the next time you are at a church service or function: give your testimony! Simply follow your heart and share the great things that God has done for you in your life. Let the spirit of God lead you in your words and do not be afraid to be humble! Surprise yourself by opening up and giving God glory for the multitude of things that have been done and are yet to come!

I can honestly say that I took this challenge a long time ago and that my life has never been the same. In fact, I can honestly say that I wish that I would have stepped out speaking for God a long time ago.

Mind Over Matter

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Everything that I enjoy or do not is in control within my mind. My complaints, my compliments are all from the mind as well! The mind is the head of my body! If my mind is corrupt, I am scattered! I’m lost with no direction, and need God to lead me. The mind is the one thing that is yours, that no one can change or control within you. They can take all of your possessions, but they cannot take your mind. That’s a powerful and yet revealing statement when it comes to our walk with God.

Direction Of Focus

Psalms 123:2-3

[2] Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
[3] Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

We also have to remember that we are servants also. That means that I am going to have to lead even when I do not feel like it. That means that I have to push on and continually have focus on God regardless of my trials. With that said, we have to learn to wait and be more patient. The first thing that we lean on is generally the very thing we trust in first. If that isn’t God, that should speak to us in a very great way. It is going to be an effort for me to trust God when I live in the flesh.

How God Reveals

Isaiah 53:1

[1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

Do we believe? What fuels our beliefs? How do we keep that kindled? Our faith! We have to begin in something greater than what our hands are able to do! God does not work on our timeline or resources. That should be encouraging to you! The report of the Lord sometimes is not what we want to hear, but we have to begin to hear what God is trying to speak to us and apply what is being sent our way.

Take Heed

Malachi 2:16

[16] For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

The keyword that comes to mind is “covereth”. We attempt to come in and hide our problems from everyone and God, and being too filled with pride to admit that we need help. We have to begin showing God exactly who we are so that He can transform us! We have to take heed to ourselves! In other words, we must begin to take inventory before we come into the doors and expect the “blessings to fall down”.

Beware

Mark 4:19

[19] And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

The keyword that comes to mind is “choke”. If we choke out the spirit that leads us from temptation and keeps our minds and hearts, we’ll begin to give in to things we would have normally never gave into. We will begin to become unfruitful and not be able to even help ourselves after a while. The cares of this world versus how important God should be will begin to shift into the favor of your flesh.

Look To Him

Isaiah 45:22

[22] Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

There is nothing else that will ever keep you! I tried to find everything out there and there was never a solution other than the Holy Ghost entering in and changing my life forever! I have never been the same, and I recommend it for anyone who is willing to make up their mind!