Listening to this sermon, I couldn’t help but think about the absence of such critical teaching that is absent in the body of Christ today. So very often new believers in Christ would ask that burning question after extending their faith to Jesus Christ and receiving Him into their hearts, ‘I am saved, now what?’ Believe it or not, there is rarely a concise answer for that baby in Christ. This is what makes the transition to a walk of faith in Christ so much of a struggle for the new believer.

The more I listened to the sermon about how faith without works is dead and that it is not only important, or the journey of belief doesn’t end at believing, but there must be a work to showcase the faith in what you believe. After believing in John 3: 16 of how “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life,” the believer must now embark on living a life commensurate to their belief system.

This is where the work comes in. The scriptures tell us that any man in Christ is a new creature, so now the things you once did are washed away and you are no longer motivated or propelled by the desires or impulses of your flesh or natural appetites but you are led by the spirit of God. It’s a new walk that will always require work and studying of the Word of God which is the guide to a walk of Salvation. It tells us that it was given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God (the believer) may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

As I listened to the word being taught this Sunday, my mind went way back to when churches held a ‘New Believer’s’ class mostly on Sunday mornings during the Sunday School hour or in the evening before the evangelistic service. The new believer was taught what it meant to receive the Salvation of the Lord and 95% of them stayed in their new faith and grew and matured into disciples of Jesus Christ. To some mature Christians, this message would seem simplistic and irrelevant for a Sunday morning worship service, but I found it so refreshing and pleasantly welcoming to the body of Christ.

Putting in the work that salvation requires is a necessary teaching today where we witness the blatant disregard for righteousness and holiness. A few years ago, I shared with one of my fellow ministers of the gospel, who was a fellow teacher of the Kingdom Academy at our church, that I was thinking of starting a young girls' group to teach them how to walk holy and chaste before God and her response was, ‘nobody wants to hear that.’ As difficult as it may seem to believe, many believers do not understand that they have to work at staying saved after they receive the gift of Salvation. With this misunderstanding, they believe that they are saved but continue to live the life of their past in a more dignified and sophisticated manner. It has really bothered me for a very long time and I’ve seen the disregard for holiness in the body of Christ and it is simply because our new believers are not taught the works of righteousness and righteous living.

Romans 10: 9-10 (KJV) tells us clearly “that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus (faith) and shall believe in thine heart (faith) that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Therefore, if there is no work, our salvation is dead. The Disciple James dealt extensively with this when he said in the second book of James, “…faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (vs 17), but wilt thou know O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (vs 20), and for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (vs 26).” Our salvation requires work not to attain or acquire it, but to keep it and walk a life that is pleasing to the one who has called us into His righteousness.

Jesus Himself said, “Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven,” which tells us clearly that God is not so much impressed with our words as he is with our hearts and what comes out of it in words and deeds. Such teaching delivered this Sunday morning is desperately needed in the body of Christ. It is important that all believers know that having received salvation from the Lord, they must now work the works of righteousness to be found pleasing and acceptable to Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

I encourage every believer to revisit this message and hold fast to its truth and walk in faith bearing the fruits of righteousness. It takes work to evolve from a natural being to a spiritual being. As believers, we are no more carnal but spiritual and we must work the works of the spirit and not sit idly in the fruits of the flesh. Salvation truly requires work.

Blessings!

When I think about the Grace of Empowerment, Gideon (Judges 6 & 7) comes to mind. Here is a young man in his own words, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house” (6:15).  This young man counted himself the least among his family who were facing extremely grave attacks from large enemies. But the Lord appeared to Gideon one day and addressed him how He saw him.

Great forces came against the Israelites, the Amalekites, the Midianites, and the children of the East and we don’t know how many they were but they all came to destroy the children of Israel. It was a formidable situation, and this young man Gideon did not think in any way possible he could be of any help to his leaders in this situation. Yet God chose him. God saw who he was even though he himself didn’t think much of himself. The surrounding enemy nations had destroyed all of their crops and left them impoverished, and there he was all by himself practically hiding threshing wheat to hide it from the enemies..

          When the forces of darkness come against us what do we do? We call upon the Lord, the God of Heaven and this is what the Israelites did. They cried unto God and He raised up the least from among them, Gideon. Gideon was doing the least he thought he could do and that was to thresh the wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites who kept destroying it, instead of destroying the enemies. That did not even enter his mind that he could possibly eliminate the enemy, the threat altogether. Sometimes we have to stop and ask ourselves if we are simply doing things within our own strength to hide from the enemy or keep the threat at bay instead of pulling on the strength and power of God to go beyond our natural abilities and eliminate the enemy completely. When we just try to hide ourselves or try to keep the threat at bay, the fight is always there, but when we eliminate that threat that battle is over and we can move on in victory to greater things in our lives.

God had greater plans for Gideon. God addressed him through his angel “thou mighty man of valor.” Gideon’s response was, “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (6:13). How many times have we looked around at our circumstances and wondered if God is for us why then is everything against us. If my Heavenly Father loves me and everything belongs to Him, why don’t I look like the child of a King? Our present situation causes us to forget all the many great things He has done for us so far.

So God instructed him to look within himself for the answers. The Lord said to him, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? Within him was the strength and might he needed to defeat this humongous enemy before his family, the House of Israel. What humongous battle are you confronted with at this moment? What enemy is threatening your peace at this time of your life? Within us is the grace of empowerment, the might, the strength, the know-how, and the strategy to conquer our enemies and threats.

As we read about Gideon’s encounter with the angel of God that day, we are able to see he not only changed his opinion of himself, but he received the divine help he needed to conquer his enemies. God will equip us with the divine help we need to not only fight our battles of life but to also win them. With the grace of empowerment through the Holy Spirit we are able to do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. Jesus promises us that nothing shall be impossible with Him because according to John 1:16 (AMP) ^“For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].”

We have been doubly empowered through the Holy Spirit to be victorious in the world but we must stay connected to the source of the grace of empowerment. Once disconnected we are no longer able to find the help and strength within us to do what we are called to do and have to do. As the people of God, we do need that power from God to be victorious and conquer the forces that come against us every day of our lives. Of our own strength, we will look like grasshoppers in our own eyes, we will see ourselves as inadequate and insufficient, but we must see ourselves through the eyes of Christ. He sees us as mighty warriors, royal priests, and peculiar people (not ordinary), and it behooves us to stay connected to the source of our strength, our anointing, our unction and we will be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Blessings

2025 THE SEASON OF GRACE

A SEASON OF DOUBLE GRACE

(GRACE UPON GRACE) IN 2025

“For out of His fullness (superabundance) we have all

received [all had a share of and we were all supplied with ]

one grace after another [grace] and spiritual blessing upon

 spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped]

upon gift.” 1 John 1:16 (AMP)

It is 2025 and those of us who have been graced to enter this new year, those of us who remain can safely say GLORY HALLELUJAH, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I AM ALIVE. HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE MERCY OF GOD I WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSUMED ALREADY. So many didn’t make it. Right up to the very last day and minute of 2024, many exited and didn’t see this year. I feel privileged. So should you. We have been given another great opportunity to clean up our lives, correct those things and areas that need correcting, and complete the unfinished tasks we are encumbered with.

            So the question we should all ask ourselves even as we rejoice and thank God for sparing our lives, is “Why Me?” When I ask myself that question all I can fathom is that God is not finished with me yet and He is gracing me to complete the assignments He has entrusted to me. Are you thinking the same thing? Is this your answer to your question? This is a great time to reflect, ponder and meditate on our lives going forward.

            This new year of 2025 is where we must each live a purpose driven life, that is designed and orchestrated by Jesus Christ Himself. We are not a people who have no hope but are led by the Holy Spirit of God who guides, instructs and leads us in the way we should go.

The Lord has given the shepherd of the house, Family of Faith Ministries, Pastor Exzabia Dukes, the mandate for 2025:

STRIVE 2 THRIVE

This mandate is founded and established on John 1:16 (AMP) as cited above. When I heard that word I just knew everything was going to be alright in 2025 because the God we service has reminded us that He has equipped and empowered us to THRIVE in 2025. This is a purpose-driven effort. So we pursue this new year with purpose, confidence, boldness, and the assurance that we are ready and able to complete the unfinished tasks of 2024 while embarking on new ventures of 2025.

            The text tells us that Jesus out of His fulness [superabundance] has imputed in us a share of His fulness, grace after another grace which speaks of multiple graces of Christ to do, to accomplish, and dominate in our lives. Then we are endowed with spiritual blessings upon spiritual blessings, the favor of God and man doubly, and most of all gifts heaped upon gifts. Do you realize that we are multifaceted, multi-gifted, multi-talented?

            Everyone needs to read that text over and over again and assimilate it into their hearts, minds, and spirits. So often we are inspired by the Holy Spirit to do so many things but we question our intuitions, we listen to others question our multiple gifts, but here it is, Jesus Christ has given us gifts heaped upon gifts which explains our passion for so many different things. Many times we allow loved ones, friends, and well-meaning people in our lives to restrict us and confine us to a box of one thing (stay in your lane, when you may have many lanes), for God has given us gifts heaped upon gifts to enrich our lives and shine for His Glory. God has endowed us well.

            This is why Jesus said, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” John 10:10 KJV). Better said, “… I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows” AMP. It is the will, wish, and plan of God for us to live full accomplished lives. To STRIVE to accomplish and succeed. Even for those of us who have passed our prime years, God has a word for us when He said:

¹² The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];
They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].
¹³ Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ [Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age;
They will flourish and be ^[a]vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment]; (Psalm 92 AMP).

            Surely, we are not a people who do not know what to do or where to go in 2025. Abba our Father has spoken and the house of Family of Faith Ministries is guided by this Word which is our mandate into all of this new year. Let us rejoice for Jesus Christ our Helper is here, and we can do all things through his superabundant grace.

            You may have slipped, fallen, or even slept in 2024, but we are reminded to

¹⁸ Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43 KJV).

let us STRIVE 2 THRIVE IN 2025 for the table has already been set before us.

Blessings!

Philippians 4:19

Having an encounter with God through Jesus Christ will transform our lives. Whatever the basis for the encounter, whether it be salvation, healing, deliverance, confusion, or a breakthrough, it will be transformative. It is a personal experience with God that completely alters our situation or condition joyfully or painfully.

These personal experiences of encounter occur in numerous forms, such as:

• A sudden vision: Saul who was later renamed Paul had a sudden encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus bent on imprisoning, killing, and terrorizing the believers of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:3). He was a very religious man who held fast to the laws of Moses and the forefathers, and although the Old Testament prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, he did not understand it and therefore didn’t seem to have received the memo that the Massiah had actually come. He was sincerely wrong in his belief, but he had an encounter with Jesus and he was transformed.

Transformed from a hater of the name of Jesus, a threat to the body of Christ, a cruel and vicious man to a man who not only came to love Jesus Christ but all those who love Christ, so much so that he spent his entire life teaching about the love and mystery of Jesus Christ. He was so transformed that his name had to be changed from Saul to Paul. The Hebrew name Saul means “desired” and its Greek meaning for the word Saulos means “prancing.” Prancing has an arrogant, egotistical, self-opinionated tone to it. Likewise desired, signaling confidence and self-importance.  The name Paul, which is Roman means “little.” In assuming the name Paul, he humbled himself to present Jesus as greater, seeing himself as smaller. It could also be that recognizing his inner transformation with this divine encounter with his Lord, he didn’t want to be associated with the ugliness the name Saul represented. The church which once feared him, now revered him.

• A Quiet Moment of Connection: The woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:2534) had been suffering for twelve years when in her extremities where she had spent all that she had and just didn’t know where to turn came upon a gathering with Jesus. Like so many of us I can imagine her saying to herself, ‘What do I have to lose? I have already lost everything. So she said to herself, “If I would but touch the hem of His garment, I will be made whole.” She then pressed through the crowd until she touched Him and she was healed immediately. Jesus recognized that touch amidst all the other touches he was getting from the crowd that was trying to be as close to Him as possible. He recognized that intentional and purposeful touch that demanded something from Him. It was a touch of need for healing that only He could give and she received it and was made whole in a quiet moment of connection.

• During Ordinary Moments: During ordinary moments like doing the dishes or jogging. I can recall one of those ordinary moments one evening while sweeping when suddenly the Lord told me to call one of my sons and tell him to “stop doing what he was about to do.” So I leaned the broom against the wall and I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed him and I told him what the Lord had told me. I didn’t tell him that the Lord had told me, but I gave him the instruction to stop doing whatever he was into and about to do. He responded with a burst of loud laughter and asked me if I was psychic. I told him no I am not psychic but the Holy Spirit had just told me to tell him to stop. Years later he told me that he did cancel what he was about to do but wouldn’t tell me what it was and I didn’t ask. LOL.

Encounters with Jesus can lead to repentance and conversion, deliverance as in the many cases of demon-possessed persons being delivered in the bible; boldness and a desire to share God’s love; joy and happiness from a life of sadness and depression; secure and confidence in the place of once being insecure and self-incriminating; filled with empathy and humane whereas you were once brash and cruel.

Tanika Marie writes, that having an encounter with God is much deeper than a tangible feeling or emotion. To encounter God is to have your inner Spirit refined and redirected in such a way that completely changes your life. To encounter God is to be welcomed into His all-consuming presence. To encounter God is to discover who you were made to be and who He has always seen you as. Your identity begins to mirror that of Jesus and all He provides for you through His sacrifice, resurrection, and love. Hence one’s encounter with Jesus Christ can be both tangible and/or intangible depending on the purpose of the visitation from God in the moment.

Tamika shares 7 Things That Can Happen After An Encounter With God.

1. Encountering God repositions you on the straight path. The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you” Psalm 32:8 NLT.
2. Encountering God heals the inner parts of your heart. Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28 NLT.
3. Encountering God changes the trajectory of your family and those close to you. “But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15 NLT.
4. Encountering God makes you to be a great Ambassador for Christ. “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the scriptures say, how beautiful and the feet of messengers who bring good news” Romans 16:14-15 NLT.
5. Encountering God strengthens and affirms the power in you to no longer struggle with sin. “Anyone who continues to live in Him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know Him or understand who He is. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this; when people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous” 1 John 3:6-7.
6. Encountering God ushers in a great desire to build the Kingdom of God. “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the frit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, and acceptable sacrifice, will pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:17-19.
7. Encountering God establishes a deep hunger for His presence and glory to exist, in every area of your life. “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you” Psalms 63:1

As we exit 2024 and welcome 2025 let us seek to have encounters with Jesus that will enrich our lives and make us more of who and what God wants us to be. It is all in the process of perfecting His creation that God seeks to visit our lives in such tangible and intangible ways. Let us become seekers of God. May we find ourselves in such pursuit of God that our transformation will not only please God but those with whom we come into contact with and associate with. Remember, an encounter with God will change us and our situations forever. Blessings!

“For God is not the author of confusion,

but of peace, as in all churches of the

saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Christian unity is designed to be a state of love, harmony, and oneness among Christians that is based on shared beliefs, values, and purpose. Christian Unity evolves from the only foundation Jesus Christ. It is a deep spiritual connection that reflects the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And so, with this understanding, every believer of the Christian faith, irrespective of denomination (which was never created by God), must be able to see the oneness in and among us.

Let us take a short journey through the writings of the Apostle Paul who actually grasped this concept of Christian Unity and went to much pains to explain it to the church. We must understand that the Apostle Paul, unlike the other disciples, was not present during the three years Jesus was in ministry, but he found it necessary to get to know Jesus in a very personal way. His pursuit of the mystery of Jesus Christ coined the new faith He brought to the world giving us an understanding of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. For here we see a spiritual growth unmatched as he sets out on a spiritual journey to enlighten everyone who believes, that we are all one and must therefore live in Unity.

It would appear that the church at Corinth struggled with walking in unity among the diversity of believers who were beginning to follow Christ, for we see he dealt extensively with this in Corinthians more than any other church. Here are some of Paul’s writings: “We being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread 1 Corinthians 10:17KJV, (that bread being Jesus who tells us that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:33, 35 AMP). For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ 1 Corinthians 12:12. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit (vs. 13). [For] God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him (vs. 18). That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another (vs. 25). There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of our calling Ephesians 4:4. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful Colossians 3:15. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone, members one of another Romans 12:4-5. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

As believers, we are encouraged to be mindful that we are one and there is only one overarching commission that propels us all and it is found in Matthew 28:19-20 which tells us all, not a sector, not the Jews, not the Gentiles but openly to all believers, ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

The Importance of Christian Unity

Christian Unity is much deeper than simply getting along and matters immensely so that the world will see and know that we are all followers of Christ, one Lord and Redeemer. It is important because it glorifies God, it shows what God is like and it participates in God’s divine life as three-in-one, and it will require believers to be humble, gentle, patient, forbearing, walking in the fruits of the Spirit of God. The apostle Paul commands us in Philippians 2:2 to “be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord.”

Looking into John Chapter 17, we can see the depth of Jesus’ care for there to be unity among us. Jesus demonstrated His deep passion and desire for His followers to be one that is even more powerful than the church being at unity as a witness to the world. Jesus wants us to get along with each other, but to a greater measure that we get along in God. Isn’t that something? He wants us to get along in truth. So the lies and misconceptions that separate us have to go.

This Powerful Prayer of Jesus For Unity among God and The Church:

²¹ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

²² And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

²³ I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

As the body of Christ, we have been adopted into the family, united to Christ, and therefore united to God the Father. Why then is it so difficult for the believers in Christ to walk in unity? Why is it so difficult for us to rise above our denominations, culture, race, and ideology in the body of Christ? Clearly, any schism in the body of Christ does not bring glory to God. According to Jon Bloom in Why Is Christian Unity So Hard?, “this lack of unity is often derived from countless factors such as “heavy spiritual assault (Ephesians 6:12), infiltrated by wolves in sheep’s clothing (Acts 20:29), plagued by rivalries, dissensions, divisions” stirred up by unbelievers who think they’re Christians (Galatians 5:19–21), trying to tempt immature believers to engage in partisan quarrels (1 Corinthians 3:1–4),”  and very often the lack of commitment to the body, etc.

It is only as the believer; the church intentionally pursues spiritual unity that they begin to grow and vice versa. It is in their Spiritual Growth that they are able to lay all encumbrances aside, the fleshly demands, and are able to embrace and enjoy Spiritual Unity.

Jon Bloom claims that achieving Christian Unity is hard and hasn’t been promised to be easy in the Bible. In his point of view, he sees that since the New Testament records so many Christians struggling and failing to be unified, it should signal to us that unity is anything but easy. To justify his position, he cited a few incidents from Paul’s writings where he,

• He reproves the Corinthians for their “quarreling” and “divisions” (1 Corinthians 1:10–11).
• He warns the Galatians against the dangers of “rivalries, dissensions, divisions” (Galatians 5:20).
• He entreats “Euodia and . . . Syntyche [in Philippi] to agree in the Lord” and pleads with others to intervene (Philippians 4:2).
• He instructs the Colossians, “Forgive each other as the Lord has forgiven you” (Colossians 3:13).
• And he exhorts the Ephesians not to indulge in “corrupting talk” so as to “not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” and to put away “all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander . . . along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:29–31).

It is difficult and will be an ongoing pursuit as the church matures in its oneness of Christ and understands the connectivity between Christ and the Church. Understand that the church is one wherever it is, accountable to one Jesus, and that Unity among us is His will Jesus the Christ, who is its Head. In all of our distinctiveness as members of the body of Christ, we must reflect and portray something of the oneness in the nature of God among each other and in the world.

Blessings.