No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Talking ‘bout you sorry, and you ain’t going to do it no more!  Just be honest. You like getting high. You like drinking. You like fornicating; committing adultery. You like the way Sin makes you feel. Going around singing, “Ooh, baby, baby…  The way you make me feel, you really turn me on. You knock me off of my feet.  I’m in ecstasy. I bet you are! But I got news for you Mr. Feel Good. “Thus saith the Lord, ye have sold yourself for nought” [Isaiah 52:3]. You have traded your soul for nothing!  You have come up empty! “Oh, I say and I say it again, Ya been had! Ya been took! Ya been hoodwink! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok!” [Malcolm X 1992]

You know when Lysimachus, king of Thrace, was very thirsty he offered his kingdom to the Getae for a drink of water. After he had drunk he said, “Ah! Wretched me, who for such a momentary gratification, have lost so great a kingdom.”  Esau who traded his soul for fleeting pleasure, sold his birthright, which included not only material benefits and family privileges, but spiritual blessings as well, for a bowl of soup. It says that “he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way” [Genesis 25: 29-34; Hebrew 12: 16-17]. He didn’t have a second thought about what he had done. He did it, it felt good, and only much later did he come to regret it.

How applicable this is to him who, for some earthly pleasure, loses conviction of sin, conversion, and the Kingdom of Heaven! Selling your soul for very little, for mere trifles, for nothing of value! For one bowl of pottage, a momentary gratification, a few moments of pleasure. The truth of the Bible is that sin may bring short-term pleasure, but it always brings long-term misery and pain. What great consequences are sometimes connected with little actions. For one morsel of meat, for one sin, under certain circumstances, Heaven is given away, and the soul is forever lost in the bargain.

Listen, every day you’re trading your life, your soul, for something. The question is, For what?When it’s all over and you’ve cashed in all the time and abilities which have been allotted to you, what will you have to show for it? If you trade it in for fleeting pleasure, to gratify your immediate needs, you’ll come up empty. But if you trade your life for God’s kingdom and righteousness, to fulfill His purpose, you’ll be satisfied with that which no one can take from you.

Paul reminds us that the stories God includes in the Old Testament are there to help us avoid making the same mistakes (I Corinthians 10:11-12). No matter how temporarily enjoyable and satisfying any sin is in that moment, it cannot begin to measure up to the eternal rewards of God’s birthright promises. Sin is pleasurable but only for a time and that time is passing.  What then? “The wages of sin is death.” [Romans 6:23]

Trading your soul for what? Don’t do it!

^” For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [2 Timothy 3:2-7]

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

You hypocrite! The Bible teaches us that it is vital to our witness of the Gospel to live what we preach, or we will bring reproach on the Word of God! You ought to know that God takes seriously the call to practice what we preach! Instead of just talking the talk, why won’t you walk the walk! Pretending to be something that you are not! Saying one thing and then doing the opposite. Acting one way in a certain setting and then acting another way in a different setting! I tell you, before you practice preaching, you had better practice what you preach.  

We are the body of Christ for the world and our integrity of faith is on the line. Therefore, it is very important that as Christians, we follow the example of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter where we are or who we are with. The words we speak and the things we do should always reflect our faith.  But naw, you are good at telling other people what they should do and how they should live, but you fail to follow your own instructions. No wonder Jesus told the crowds and his disciples to do what the Pharisees and the scribes teach them to do, “but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach” [Matthew 23:3]. I want you to know that nothing kills credibility faster than not practicing what is preached.

But this is nothing new. A long time ago, in the nation of Israel, the priests of the old covenant were under the same obligation, to practice what they preached. When they failed to live up to the message they were teaching, God sent the prophet Malachi to “remind” them. “You have turned aside from the way and have caused many to falter by your instruction” [Malachi 2:8]. They were not practicing what they preached, and God was watching. He warned them to return to their faith, lest He should turn their blessing into a curse! It is a very strong message. Not only to priest, preachers, deacons, teachers and their families; it applies to every Christian alike.

Listen, Christ as the master teacher taught his disciples not only by Word but by example [John 13:15]. He demonstrated by His living how we should live before our heavenly Father. To understand the importance of learning to practice what you preach, British-born American writer Edgar A. Guest wrote: “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day, I’d rather one should walk with me than merely show the way. The eye’s a better pupil and more willing that the ear; Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear; and the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds, for to see the good in action is what everybody needs. I can soon learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done. I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true; but I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do. For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give, but there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.” Practice what you preach! “We are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.” [Matthew 5:14]. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! [James 1:22]

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

“Not; Says the Lord!” I meant what I said and said what I meant! I am a compassionate God and I am not slack concerning My promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [2Peter 3:9]. But when the rubber meet the road, don’t get it twisted, I will not be a loving God at the expense of My holiness. Besides, how many times have I bowed to your pleas for mercy?  “Please Lord, give me one more chance. I love you. I’m sorry. Please Lord, please!  All right,” I said. “I’ll give you a break this time. Once more I relented. I said, “Okay, but this is the last time. If you don’t return back, I will become a consuming fire towards you. No excuses, no whining. Is that clear?” “Oh, yes, thank you Lord. I love you” you said.  Profuse in your gratitude, and filling the air with solemn promises of loving me. What happened? What went wrong?  Instead of loving and honoring me, you profane me.

I tell you, “After all the things that we’ve been through you should understand me like I understand you. To love and be loved in return, it’s the only thing that my heart desires. Just appreciate the little things I do… we can build a world of love, a life of joy make our goal each other happiness. I will do everything for you. Every day I want to do a little bit more….” [Teddy Pendergrass – When Someone Loves You Back].  What more can I do? “I gave my heart, soul and Spirit to you, didn’t I; didn’t I do it. I gave you the love you never knew. Didn’t I?  I thought that heart of yours was true.” “Silly of me to think that I could ever have you for myself; Silly of me to think that you could ever know the things I do are all done for you [Silly –The Delfonics]. It’s obvious; you don’t love me as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! [Revelation 2:4-5]. You have abandoned the love you had at first”–the love that caused you to drop everything and to follow me into the desert. This is the love that captures my heart and colors every moment of every day. Turn back to me “… or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place …” [Revelation 2:5].

Oh, how God longs to have a relationship with us. The Bible tells us that what God desires, what He really wants, is a meaningful relationship. “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” [Mark 12:30]. I tell you, the greatest investment we can make in this life is a wholehearted pursuit of a deep personal relationship with God. Think about the time in your life when your love for Christ burned more strongly than ever. Think back to what it was like when you first came to know the Lord. Remember how you felt? What you did? How often you prayed or read the scriptures? Remember how you responded to tough situations? It is easy to slip, to get busy and to fall away from that strong relationship with Christ. But, [Revelation 2] says to remember what it was like, to remember that spiritual infatuation you had with the Lord at the start. Go back and do the things you did at first.  Return to your first love, renew your devotion. Because, nothing could be more important than living your life on the foundation of God’s greatest commandment: to love him. Let Him be your center, your focus, your everything.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans 8:38].

I tell you, “ I have never been so much in love before, what a difference a true love made in my life, so nice so right, loving Him [Jesus]. He gave me something new that I’ve never felt, never dreamed of, something’s changed, and no it’s not the feeling I had before, ooh, it’s much much more.  A love I never knew that it’s touch could mean so much… and when we walk hand in hand, I feel so real, lovers come and then lovers go that’s what folks say, but not my lover. What we have is much more than they could see, yeah so much more…” [L.T.D. – Love Ballad].

Are you prepared to let the one who loves you more than anything else in the world lavish His love on you? If so, Shhhh. Listen. Receive. Drink it in:  Precious one, you might not know me, but I know you like none other.  [Psalm 139:2] I am your most beloved companion.  [Psalm 119:63] It is my desire to overwhelm you in my love. [1John 3:1]  I chose you when I planned creation.  [Ephesians 1:11-12] Nothing you have even done can separate you from my love.  [Romans 8:38-39] You are not a mistake.  [Psalm 139:15-16] I am healing all wounds and brokenness of heart.  [Psalm 147:3] I will never stop doing good for you.  [Jeremiah 32:40] I will never, no never, leave you nor forsake you. [Hebrews 13:5] You are my treasured possession. No one loves you like me.  [Exodus 19:5].

Can you feel His lavish love? Go ahead. Do something outrageous and incredibly silly. Embrace His courtship and gentle wooing. Jesus loves you this I know!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say or do can and WILL be used against you in a court of law. You who are living in sin, you who are refusing the Savior, you who are delaying the time of repentance, you who have backslidden, and those of you who are opposing the gospel: “The Word of the Lord is against you.” For thus saith the Lord, “I will destroy you, and none will be left.” [Zephaniah 2:5]. There it stands, bearing testimony against you, who, in due time, unless you become partakers of the grace of the Lord, shall be overwhelmed, and destroyed without remedy.  Oh, that God may help me to speak so that your life may be changed, and that the Word of God may be against you no longer!

O sinner man! Consider the fearful danger you are in!  You have made God your enemy, what a terrible thing this is. For thus saith the Lord, “Therefore will I also deal in fury; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them” [Ezekiel 8:18]. Talking about the wrath of God, there is no other way to put it, it is infinitely dreadful.  

Listen, God stands ready to pity you. This is a day of mercy; but once the day of mercy is past, your most pitiful and sad cries and screams will be in vain. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction. God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that it is said he will only “laugh and mock, [Proverbs 1:25-26]. Today however, you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice therefore, let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. Let everyone fly out of Sodom: “Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. [2 Corinthians 6:2] Don’t wait until it’s too late. Tomorrow isn’t promised. The only time you have is right now. God says, “Now”, “Today”, not “Tomorrow.”

“Come NOW, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” [Isaiah 1:18].  “TODAY if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” [Hebrews 4:7(b)].  “Boast not thyself of TOMORROW; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” [Proverbs 27:1].

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them [Deuteronomy 30:15-20].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

After all Jesus did for you, you spit in His face by continuing in your sin. You ingrate! You have failed to appreciate the purpose of God’s forbearance with you. Showing contempt for God’s forgiveness. You done lost your mind! Dead towards God, but alive to Satan’s power. You better wake up and come to your senses. It would have be better if you had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command you were given to live a holy life. [2Peter 2:21]. God is a Holy God and He requires that we be Holy. “Be ye Holy for I am a Holy God,” saith the Lord. [1 Peter 1:15-17].  This I say therefore and testify in [the name of] the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the heathen do in their perverseness of their minds. [Ephesians 4:17-19]. You have been freed from that vile prison. Don’t you dare go back and live like you used to live. If you do, sin will take you further than you ever wanted to stray, keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay and cost you more than you ever dreamed you would pay. Let the daily conduct of your life conform with your new life in Christ. Make a clean break with your old life and stop living by the standards of behavior of the pagan people. For you have heard and accepted “the truth as it is in Jesus”; now you must live, act and speak according to this new standard. There can be no compromising alliances, no stultifying reserves, and no divided interests.

As Paul reminds us in Titus… “We also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. [Titus 3:3]- As unbelievers, we were the pawns of Satan, under his dominion, carrying out his dictates. We were unaware of this because he controlled us through the influence of the world and the flesh. We once walked “according to the course of this world” and in accordance with the “lusts of our flesh” But now that we have been born again, in Christ we have been raised from our dead state spiritually to newness of life. And because of this, we are to renounce the world and its dominion over us. We are to “put off” fleshly things and “put on” the things of the Spirit. Being born again is meant to reverse the way we once were, apart from Christ. Do not use the grace of God as an excuse and a license to keep on sinning. Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God–I say this to your shame. [1 Corinthians 15:34.]”

For these are the words of the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the ruler of God’s creation.  I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” [Revelation 3: 14-22].

SIN NO MORE. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:1-5) I admonish you to no longer live and wallow in sin. God’s grace has set you free from sin and the power it use to have over you. Even, though the power of sin seems so strong at times, the tug, the pull, the pressure, the battle, the struggle. Even though it can get to the point where it seems and feels overwhelming. You must put forth effort again to do what is right. So DO NOT let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. DO NOT offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. Sin shall not be your master….” [Romans 6:12-14]. The command is not merely to flee evil but to hate evil, just like the command is not merely to do mercy but to love mercy, to love righteousness. This is not optional. It’s commanded in the Bible, not suggested. Knowing that you are free from the power and penalty of sin, reckon yourself to be dead to sin and alive to Jesus. Consider it a done deal!

May God grant that you have knowledge of what God has done to save sinners, that you may reckon on its truth and reality in your life, and may you yield your body to serve the living God!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Sure, you did! You knew what you was about to do was wrong, but you did it anyway. So what do you mean you didn’t mean to? What kind of fool do you think God is? Do you think you can do something that he says is wrong and you won’t have consequences in your life? Scripture is clear: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows this he will also reap. Doing right is not an option in the Christian life. James says in [James 4:17] “Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, Sins. No matter what others do, you know what you have to do. You cannot afford to live the life that people are living simply because it is the acceptable thing to do. I tell you “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread””Look before you leap.”

Listen, the only way to grow is to take full responsibility for your actions. Scripture clearly shows that believers sin and must take responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. It is far better and far more biblical to say, “I sinned and I take full personal responsibility for all my thoughts, words and deeds. I cannot blame my circumstances, my friends, my loved ones, the world, my flesh, the power of sin within me, or even the devil. I must admit that I chose to sin and I confess it. I did it, no one else made it me do it. Now I must face the consequences.” 

What does this mean? It means, in the final analysis, you do right because it’s right to do right. Besides, you don’t want to mess around with God. God is a consuming fire!  “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.” [2 Samuel 6:7].  He died, instantly. Why? Because he did wrong when he knew to do right. The Bible is full of stories like this. Remember the golden calf incident at Mt. Sinai, recorded in [Exodus 32]? Only because Moses pleaded with God to remember his covenant mercy did God decide not to destroy the entire nation of Israel after they offered unacceptable worship, [doing wrong when you know to do right], by making an image of him in the form of a cud-chewing stud. Even after Moses pleaded with God, they still didn’t get off scot free, about 3000 died and the rest was struck with a plague. When you know to do right, do it!

The underlying: A wheelbarrow doesn’t choose which direction it will go.  It moves in whatever direction the person pushing it decides is best.  A wheelbarrow doesn’t argue with the person pushing it or try to choose its own path.  A wheelbarrow simply goes where the person pushing directs. With God’s Spirit controlling us, we don’t have to try to do the right things.  We don’t have to try to obey God’s commands. We don’t have to try to guess which direction God wants us to go. [Ezekiel 36:27] says, “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”  These verses were written to the nation of Israel, but God’s promise applies to all who claim Him as God.  The message in this verse is that God has placed His Spirit in each of His children and this Spirit will move us to do right and to obey God.  God’s Holy Spirit will guide us in the direction that God knows is best for us. And when the Spirit moves us, it is up to us to obey.  It is up to us to go in the direction in which He is moving us.  The Holy Spirit will always move us in the right direction.  He will always move us to obey God and do God’s will.  We don’t have to move ourselves [make ourselves go in the right direction].  We simply need to allow God’s Spirit to move us in the direction that God know is best for us.

“But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.” [2Corinthians 13:7].

May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched “

And this is my prayer,” Paul wrote, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness.” [Philippians 1:9]

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Is that right? Are you sure that’s what you want to do? Because flirting with sin is flirting with death. That’s right! You flirt with sin, you flirt with death. [Romans 6:23]. The rule is simple: If you play with fire, you will get burned. If you think you can sin to your heart’s content without repercussions, and if you think you can go out and break the commandments of God over and over because you’re an exception to the rule, then you are deceiving yourself. God will not be mocked! If you compromise His rules, you will suffer horribly for it. Be forewarned reader!

Sin kills and destroys everything it touches. [Romans 6:13]. This is the purpose behind everything Satan does. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” [John 10:10]. Be not deceived! You can’t dabble in sin without being swept away. You can’t gargle with toxins without ingesting poison. Sin will cause you to hook, line, and sinker. Do not underestimate the seriousness of sin! Sin is divisive, deceptive, destructive and deadly. Sin Thrills…then it Kills. Sin Fascinates…then it Assassinates. Sin always destroys lives, both for time and eternity. Do not flirt with it, and do not dabble in it!

[Matthew 5: 29-30] says, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

I tell you Satan always tries to minimize the serious nature of sin, so that we excuse it as no big deal, tolerate it as normal, or even re-package it as a good thing. The Devil is a liar! Sin is SINFUL and EXCEEDLING so! Sin appears attractive, but is hideously ugly. Sin appears to be right when it is wrong. Sin appears to bring life when it brings death. Sin appears to be so insignificant when it is so major. Do not be deceived! The wages of sin is death!

Listen, you get one chance to live your life; and then the judgment. If you do not make some radical decisions now, and set your face like flint to walk another way. If you go on yielding to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life as your way of life, you will get just what sin warrant ? Death! Do not be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. [Galatians 6:7-8].

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God! Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortions, shall inherit the kingdom of God…” [1Corinthians 6: 9-10].

God’s warning is clear. If you compromise His rules, you will suffer horribly for it. Be like Joseph who when Potiphar’s wife grabbed hold of his coat and said, “Make love to me!” Joseph ran out of the house, leaving his coat there in her hands. He ran as far and as fast as he could. He knew that there would be hell to pay with God and men. He knew he would be burned if he stayed, so he ran from the fire [Genesis 39:12]. He evacuated the building as fast as he could, closing doors and windows behind him as he left… I tell you, the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way…” [Proverbs 14:8].

As long as it is called ‘today,’ [be sure] that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin… for was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? [Hebrews 3:13-18].

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

We ain’t even three months into the New Year, and you doing the same thing that God delivered you from last year. Why? After all the pleading you did? “Lord, please, if you get me out of this mess, I promise I want do it again!” “Lord, please, please forgive me Lord, I’m sorry!”? “Please Lord, help me, I promise I’ll serve you for the rest of my days!”? “Please Lord!” [Psalms 107:18-19] Miss Me with that!

You come weeping buckets of tears, and then you go and do the same thing you did before. You kept repenting and repenting, but somehow, you can’t get beyond, the repenting stage. Let me tell you something. Repentance is not you asking God to forgive you of your sins while you continue to live in your sins. Repentance carries with it the idea of changing?changing your mind, changing your heart, changing your attitude, changing your ways; a complete change of direction. You remind me of King Saul. Poor Saul never learned. He apologized and was sorry many times, but he never really repented, he never turned and went the other way. Saul would break down and weep before the prophet Samuel, but he didn’t weep because he was repentant; he wept because he was sorry he was about to lose the kingdom. He didn’t really confess and forsake his sin, the evil root beneath the outer show. Now King David, although he also committed great sins, after God forgave him, he became a man after God’s own heart. He deeply loved God, and he really wanted to glorify God and please Him. Exemplary of true repentance?not just being sorry, but having a complete change of mind and heart and direction—a whole new man, a new personality, a new creature in Christ Jesus—born again! Only God can do it, but we must put forth the effort of a believing will. 

I tell you, you can’t keep on living the same way. You can’t travel the same path anymore. You can’t go back and be a slave of mammon and serve God. It’s impossible; Jesus said, “You’ll either “love the one and hate the other, or hold to the one and despise the other.” Just as the Lord issued a call through Joshua, all those centuries ago, for His people to make of their minds as to whom they would serve, so He issues the same call to you on this day. Choose Whom this day you are going to serve. It’s time to make up your mind! And, it is! You need to contemplate all the Lord has done for you! Remember where He found you. What He did for you. How He has blessed you. How He has worked on your behalf time and again. How He has answered prayer and met needs. Remember His power in your life. In everything you faced, He was there to help you and to see you through. You need to contemplate the fact that you have much today that you simply DO NOT deserve! God has been so good to you. In light of these truths, I wonder why you seem to have a hard time just simply loving and serving Him as you should. Of course, this is nothing new! Israel was guilty of walking out on God even when He had been so good to them [Jeremiah 2:5-19].

Listen, Joshua’s command to the people was three-fold. They were commanded to “fear“ God; clean up their lives, and to serve the Lord. This would put them in a position to put God back in the forefront of their lives. If they serve Him, He will bless them, but if they renege on their end of the agreement, there will be a high price to pay. While God is a God of love, grace and mercy; He is also still a holy and righteous God. He will not tolerate sin in the lives of His children! There is a terribly high price to pay for disobedience and you better understand today that you will reap exactly what you sow [Galatians. 6:7].

If the Lord be God then serve Him. If He isn’t, then go ahead and serve whatever has your heart. Whatever you do, stop trying to have the best of both worlds! I tell you, it’s time to make up your mind! Today may be the last time you hear God’s voice. After today, God may give you over to sexual impurity, to shameful desires, or to a depraved mind. After today, God may take away His hand and let you find what it is that you think you want.

“If you go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment” [Hebrews 10:26-27].

“I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you, but if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live” [Deuteronomy 30:15-20].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Now that the celebration of Black History Month is coming to a close; how can we honor our history, respond to the present, and build a viable, vibrant future for our people? I’ll tell you how…. We can honor their memory by rediscovering the “Faith” that allowed them to survive. The Faith, that enabled our forefathers to endure trials and hardships that we can only imagine. The Faith, that inspired leaders to respond courageously to the problems of our people. We can build on the legacy they have left us by carefully following the One they followed – Jesus. It is not too late! We can still return to the God of our fathers. For we have an extraordinarily rich spiritual heritage and there is victory in our bloodline. We belong to the family of God, and being engrafted into His family means that we are over-comers through the Blood of Jesus; the Blood of the Lamb, the Conquering Weapon.

Therefore, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the pioneer and perfecta of our Faith. For it wasn’t by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of God—the wisdom, authority, power, and presence of the Most High God—that freedom, equality, and justice was and will continue to be.   Let us learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses.  “Though beaten, they were not beaten down by life because they looked to Christ. Though enslaved physically, they were not enslaved spiritually because they were free in Christ. For a people in bondage for 400 years— it is a sustaining and comforting reminder to know that God has not forgotten. “He has seen!” our afflictions, and heard our cries: every tear shed was preserved, and every groan uttered was being recorded, in order to testify at a future day, against the authors of the oppressors.”

Understand this truth…. God has chosen us for Greatness…. And there’s nobody, there’s nothing, and there is no circumstance, under the Sun that can keep God from doing exactly what He wants in us for His Glory! We have victory through Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior who lives and Reigns in our heart…. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, if God be for us, who can defeat us? If God be for us, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  If God be for us, is there anything that we can’t do? If God be for us, is there anything our families can’t overcome? If God be for us, is there anything that the world can do to stop us? I hear our slave ancestors answering, “No!” I hear the civil right marchers, answering, “No!” Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who heard the songs of the slaves and the chants of the civil rights marchers will hear the prayers of those who now cry out for justice throughout our country. With God’s help, we shall overcome.

Oh, what an amazing future it is! Living moment by moment looking back with thankfulness on all that God has done for us, and looking forward at all God promises to do for us because of Christ. Let us rejoice in God’s great faithfulness consistently displayed through our great struggles and great strides. For empowered by God as they were, we can continue their work and likewise pass down legacies of strength, perseverance, faith, and victory to future generations. [Psalm145:41].

As it is written: “For our sake [they] were killed all day long; [they] were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in ALL THESE THINGS [they] were MORE than CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. They were persuaded that neither death nor Life, nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, nor things Present nor things to come, nor Height nor Depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate them from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:35-39].

Thanksgiving toward the Past, Faith toward the Future!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

I want to encourage you to NEVER lose hope.  Why? Because, hope is the anchor of the soul.  Our ancestors held on to hope when facts, circumstances, and actions of others said otherwise. They had no evidence and no reason to believe things would get better, so they held desperately to hope. Hope, that was based on the fact that: God will continue being what He has always been – faithful.  Hope that was based on the fact that:  God will successfully complete whatever He has begun.  Hope, that was based on the fact that: God would keep all His Promises. Hope, that was based on the fact that: There would be justice and equity. Hope, that was based on the fact that: All things would work together for good to them that love God.   What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

According to the Bible, “Hope,” is about a promise. Hope is a confident expectation regarding the unseen and future [Hebrews 11:1-2; Colossians 1:27]. That’s why Paul said in [Romans 5:3-5], we can rejoice in our sufferings because we are a people of Hope. Not only that, but that our suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” [Romans 5:3–5]. So as you hold on through the storms, know that there is a proven-ness in regard to your character.

Never lose hope. Hold on, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Because the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish usu. [I Peter 5:10]. And this is the hope we have as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure, says the Scripture.

“All the promises in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” [2 Corinthians 1:20].Never lose hope. The Anchor of the Soul!