Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10, KJV).

This scripture is one of the most referred to passages in the entire bible when it comes to “offering” time in the church and rightfully so.  However, I do not believe that we fully take from this scripture what we possibly could when we only use it in the context of money.  Sure money is a part of the substance that you possess, but it’s not the only substance that you possess neither is it the greatest.  I believe that the greatest substance you and I have and possess is “Our Heart and our very Life.“  Now imagine that…Honoring the Lord with your “Heart” and your “Life” and it will be filled with plenty and bursting out with new wine!!  Now that’s exciting to me…in fact Jesus echoes this passage in Matthew 16: 25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

The truth is that God wants our heart and our life more than anything else that we could ever give.  Giving material things should only be an expression of the true love that exists in our heart….

We honor the Lord by Loving Him with our heart, our soul, and our mind, and Loving Others as we Love Ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).  This love manifests itself in obedience to His Word and commandments.

If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15).

Fill your heart and life with the love and peace of God by allowing God’s Love to invade your life today like never before.  Remember to Love God and Love Others…for Love Is Your Greatest Gift.

Central to the Christian life and the life of faith is the idea that we seek the Will of the Father, as Jesus did, in all that we say and do. To seek the Will of the Father is to seek God’s plan, purpose, and agenda for our lives. Consequently, this also means that we do not seek our own will for our life. Instead, we lay aside our plan, purpose, and agenda, no matter how brilliant it may appear to be, and we make the Will of the Father our priority and focus, to carry out and bring to past in our lives.

Have you sought the Will of the Father for your life or whatever situation you may be currently facing? God’s promise to you and me is that if we do seek his will, He will direct our paths (Prov. 3:6) and lead us to that place of peace (Isaiah 49:18) that we all earnestly desire to arrive at.

We encourage you to seek the Will of the Father today and everyday through prayer, study, worship and time spent with the Father. It is in this place that we commune with God and we come to understand what the will of the Father is. In closing, we know that the Will of the Father is for His children to embody His character and nature, which is Love, so remember to Love God and Love Others for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’

Love Is Your Greatest Gift

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us.  Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.   15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them (2 Corinthians 5:14-15; New Living Translation).

What a powerful scripture this is!!  If I had to choose a verse that best describes the work of Christ in someone that has been transformed and impacted by work of the Holy Spirit, this would be it.  In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he states that it is Christ’s love that controls, urges, and impels the believer to do what they do in Christ.  As a result of the disposal of the old life, you and I no longer live for ourselves.  Rather, we live to Love God and Others and to carry out the assignment given to us by God, while on this earth.
Christ’s love is what controls you and me, and urges us to share an infinite love that changes and transforms the lives of those we come into contact with. The evidence of this love is a life no longer lived for selfish reasons.  As the scripture states, we live for Christ, controlled by His love, and sharing this love and compassion given to us by God with the rest of the world.

Remember…Love God and Love Others for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’ (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Love Is Your Greatest Gift

15And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:  16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea (Exodus 14:15-16, KJV).

It is amazing how far a little faith and obedience will take you. There was nothing special that Moses possessed that allowed for the Red Sea to be parted. Nor, did he have any special gift or talent to push back those waters that appeared to be the end of Israel’s exodus out of Egypt. What Moses did possess was a Love and intimacy with God that allowed him to hear God’s voice and transform a simple rod into a ‘Red Sea parting mechanism.’  There was no power in the rod. That same shepherd’s rod in anyone else’s hand would have yielded absolutely no results. It was Moses’ Love for God and obedience to His voice that parted those waters and led the children of Israel across and away from pharaoh’s army.

You and I can part any Red Sea, overcome any obstacle, and accomplish any feat, when Loving God is our priority and obedience to His word becomes our chief purpose. For those who Love God and for those who choose to obey God, regardless of the circumstances or the command; will do the impossible, because at that point, everything has become possible to them.

Remember to Love God and Love Others for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’ (1 Cor. 13:13)

32But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Did you know that you have to feed your dream?  In fact, it’s like raising a child….in order for that child to grow into a healthy, mature, and self-sufficient adult that child must be fed, nurtured, and tended to. Otherwise, that child will not have what is necessary for it to grow, become strong, wise and healthy, and productive.

You and I must do the same thing for our dream, our vision, and the assignment given to us by God.  It is a living organism that requires our time and attention in order for it to grow.  What must we feed it? It must be fed Love…Yes Love.  To Love your dream is to nurture it, tend to it, spend time on it, and care for it.  To love your dream is to use all your resources to help it grow.

Jesus was a dream feeder… He not only spent time nurturing and tending to his assignment, he immersed himself in his vision.  He was compulsively occupied with it and therefore was able to accomplish the greatest task ever under taken in only 33 years of life and 3 years of public ministry.

A wise man once stated that “a child spells love, T-I-M-E…” well, so does our dreams and everything else in our lives.  When was the last time you loved, nurtured, spent time, and directed resources towards your dream, your passion, your calling?

Love is the greatest gift that you can give to anyone or anything…therefore, Love your dream…feed your dream today and watch it prosper!

Remember…Love God and Love Others for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’ (1 Cor. 13:13)

14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16;KJV).

‘Let your light so shine before men so that God may be glorified!!’ Jesus instructs you and me to be a light in this world and illumine the hearts and souls of those that we come into contact with.  I believe that the best way for you and me to be that light is to live a life of love. It is this light that will bring glory and honor to God.  It is love and only love that can truly illumine hearts and bring about the peace of God in our world.  God is Light (1 John 1:5) and God is Love (1 John 4:8); therefore, Light is Love and you and I truly become this light that Jesus desires for us to be, when we become one with Love.  There is truly no greater light than the light of Love…so let this light shine before men.

Remember…Love God and Love Others for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

(John 13:34-35, KJV)

What a powerful message given in this passage. Jesus tells his followers that they shall be ‘known’ by the love that they display towards one another. In other words, Jesus’ desire is that they be known for the love that they possess and display to the world. The New Living Translation states: “ Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Now, I want you to think deeply about what Jesus is saying here. What you are ‘known’ for is your chief characteristic or trait that people define you by. Jesus is saying that your brand (A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence, or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market) should be love. When people think of you and I, as followers of Christ, they should immediately associate us with ‘love.’ The same way that we associate McDonald’s with fast-food or Wal-Mart with low prices, Christians are to be ‘known’ by their love and associated with it, inseparably.

For thousands of years the church has fought to be known by many things such as doctrine, denominations, faith, healing, social issues, ecclesiastical titles, etc. However, Jesus did not mention any of these as being be our chief message, brand, and/or identity. Love is what followers of Christ are to be ‘known’ as, or identified with. Let’s make it our aim to be ‘known’ as ‘loving Christians’ people that sincerely love God and others…this is our brand, our identity, and the message that should be clearly articulated to the rest of the world…for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’

Lyndon J. Batiste

Batiste Ministries

www.batisteministries.org

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

(John 15:5, NLT)

What Christ teaches in this passage is powerful!!  Christ teaches that those who remain in him, and those whose life is rooted in him, will bear much fruit.  Not possibly or maybe, but they “will”, beyond the shadow of a doubt, produce fruit.  In other words, the authentic believer and follower of Christ, and the power to bear much fruit, are inextricably (incapable of being disentangled, undone, loosed, or solved) joined together.

Now the question becomes, “What type of fruit should followers of Christ bear?”  It is true that it is good to produce fruit such as accomplishments, souls won, or monetary gain.  However, I believe that the greater fruit is that listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

This is the fruit that Christ truly desires for you and me to manifest, and this is the fruit that will truly bring glory to Christ’s name.  Therefore, let us strive to produce this fruit in our lives, and there is no better way to do this than by rooting ourselves in Love, which is Christ’.  For Love is your Greatest Gift!

In closing, we pray for you to have a peaceful and cheerful week.  Make sure to count your blessings each day, and don’t dwell upon your sorrows.  By doing this, you will become a more happier, productive and thankful person.

Remember to love God and other, for “Love Is Your Greatest Gift”

Batiste Ministries.

(Proverbs 3:1-2, KJV)

What a powerful scripture this is!  God’s three (3) promises to you and me, in this scripture, are that our obedience to His law and commandments will bring us length of days, long life and peace.  I believe that length of days is achieved when we commit to obeying God’s Word, commandments, and plan for our lives.  Then we will have a life that is fulfilling, productive, and full of meaningful accomplishments that bring glory to God.  The scripture also says that we will have a long life, or a life that is satisfying, as one translation renders (NLT).  In addition, a life full of peace or completeness and satisfaction…wow!

So often we interpret God’s commandments as an obstacle to a long life, peace, freedom and true fulfillment, but this is not the case.  Rather, God’s commandments create boundaries for our protection, and cultivate the character in our lives that we need in-order to experience true freedom, and a long life upon this earth.

Take time this week to reflect upon God’s commandments that are listed in His written word.  Start with the Ten Commandments, because they’re the foundation for loving and obeying God.  Also, reflect upon the Word and commands that God has spoken specifically to you about your life, and obey them.  It will lead you to length of days, long life, and peace.

In closing, we pray for you to have a peaceful and cheerful week.  Make sure to count your blessings each day, and don’t dwell upon your sorrows.  By doing this, you will become a more happier, productive and thankful person.

Remember to love God and other, for “Love Is Your Greatest Gift”

Batiste Ministries.

If you would like to make a donation into the works of Batiste Ministries, please visit us a www.batisteministries.org.