Healed From the Pain of Death

You know, yesterday (September 2, 2020), the craziest thing happened to me. I called my Mom just to check on her, you know, to see how she was doing and I didn't think much about the specific day other than the fact that I had not spoken to her in a while. What was strange about the conversation was that at the end she said that she was doing fine and then she asked how was I doing today? So, I thought it was the weirdest thing because we had already spoken on the phone for about 40 minutes. And then it hit me: yesterday would have been five years ago that my father passed away. 

Typically, on that day I would call my Mom to check on her just to make sure that she was okay. So, I told her that until she mention it that it was the first time I had even thought about it at all. At first, I felt bad for not recognizing the day and so after I got off the phone with her, I texted my brother to check on him (we had made it customary to just check on each other). To my surprise, he had the same reaction that I had - until I mentioned it he had not thought of the specific day either! 

This made both my brother and I realize that there had been some healing for us. No longer did the sting of the day of our father's death impact us. It took us five years to get to this point and this is not to say that we will ever think about it again, but this was the first time it had never crossed our minds on the day. This is the beauty about our Lord and the Holy Spirit. Yes, we as humans will grieve and we will deal with human emotions, but in due time God will take away the pain that we've felt due to the loss of a loved one. We will never forget them, but the pain that we felt on that day no longer holds us captive and that is healing only God can provide. I think my brother summed it up best when he said,

...to me I don't want to think about today if I don't have to, don't want to think about the sad thing about daddy but celebrate the happy moments... --Adrian Hall

If you have suffered the loss of a loved one, I know that we heal in our own times, but I would encourage you to think how my brother stated it.  Celebrate the happy moments and don't focus on the sting of the sadness of loss. I guarantee there is more celebrate than the one day of pain.

Be Blessed Folks.

Antoine E. Hall

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Out of Grief and into Comfort

Let's face it. This year, 2020, has been a doozy. It seems like Murphy's Law definitely applies for this year. It is as if anything that you can think could go wrong, seems to have gone wrong up to this point. With shock and awe in society, racial tensions, numerous public figure deaths, family deaths and economic uncertainty, I feel that one of the emotions that may describe many of us at this time is one of grief. Grief can be described as "an emotional reaction to change. It may entail many different feelings or changes in behavior. You may grieve a loss that has happened or one that you know is coming if, for example, a loved one is terminally ill. Depending on how close you were to the person who passed, you will notice varying degrees of grief." (from Mary Elizabeth Dean's article "Learning The Grief Definition Is The First Step To Finding Peace" at BetterHelp.com). I mean, we are human beings and as such we will experience various ranges of emotions. The bigger question is one of how we deal with them. However, no matter what we may be experiencing, there is One who can comfort us at all times. Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us and as we become better, we learn how to help comfort others during times of trials. Yes, these are trying times, but we cannot lose faith and hope in God who knows it all. Again, it has been a crazy year, but the things we are experiencing are not above the power of Yahweh. If we are at the end of the rope, in despair, and believing nothing can fix us, then we are saying that God has a limitation which is far from the truth. Know that He knows where you are and He knows how much you can bear. It is up to us to trust that God's love, mercy, and grace is sufficient enough to get you through these times and as you are built up, you are able to help lift up someone else as well. Be Blessed Folks. Antoine Hall

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Do Not Quench the Spirit

You know, it's funny how the Holy Spirit works. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to read from 1 Thessalonians (I mistakenly stated that it was from 2 Thessalonians) and a part of that included verse 19. Something about that verse stuck out to me among the others, so I intended to come back to it for study.  I mean it seemed so simple and straight to the point, I wanted to double check that I wasn't missing something.

Well, little did I know that the Holy Spirit would bring me back here because of my own thought process.

Back Story

Since we have been back to Raleigh, NC back in 2013, we have been renting our home. We have taken slow steps of getting to build, but it has taken a lot longer than we'd liked.  We have gone into purchased land which we maintain, but we do not live on at the moment.  We've been looking at plans, we've talked to builders, but just waiting for all the finances to line up for us. Again it's goinn slowly that we would like.

Last Night

So, being the High-I (Optimistic, Influencing, Outgoing, Visionary) type personality that my wife is, she boldly says (and I am paraphrasing some):

What month is it? Oh yeah, we need to get started building by next month.

My response?

Well, we will see what this economy does first.

She says, "Oh, forgot about that" and we moved on to other things. Considering that we are in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020 and pretty much the US economy has shut down, I am thinking about the residual effect of the economy. You see, I am the High-C (Contemplating, Cautious, Detailed Oriented) type personality and I think about the "down-the-road" scenarios.  For us, while our personality types differ, they help us to balance each other out.  While I might overthink things and have analysis paralysis, she can see above the details and drag me out of being stuck. While she is the visionary and might not think of the details at times, I can add some "meat" around her ideas to help understand the small stuff.  We balance each other out.

Dousing the Fire

Now that you understand our relationship dynamic, you might see my response as "thinking about the details".  However, if you don't look further, you may miss how my response could have squelched her enthusiasm. This very same idea is what is meant by quenching the spirit.  The Holy Spirit is like a fire and He moves and guides us, but we at times put our own reasoning above the movement of the Holy Spirit. By my response, I pretty much ruled out the fact that my wife's bold statement may have been from the Holy Spirit. Despite what the economy looks like or what happens around us, what is planned for us is for us. I may be standing in my own way and putting out that fire of the Holy Spirit to do the good that is meant for my family!

The Conclusion

In Matthew Henry's commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5, I think he summed it up best by saying:

"...it is this Spirit of grace and supplication that helpeth our infirmities, that assisteth us in our prayers and thanksgivings. Christians are said to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He worketh as fire, by enlightening, enlivening, and purifying the souls of men. We must be careful not to quench this holy fire. As fire is put out by withdrawing fuel, so we quench the Spirit if we do not stir up our spirits, and all that is within us, to comply with the motions of the good Spirit; and as fire is quenched by pouring water, or putting a great quantity of dirt upon it, so we must be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit by indulging carnal lusts and affections, or minding only earthly things."

We all make mistakes, but this is also why it is good to have the humility to admit when you're wrong. I was wrong to assume that my thought process was the right one. I mean, even the best of us have the best intentions, but our plans are many...it is God's plan which must ultimately prevail.

Be Blessed Folks.

Antoine

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Not In Our Own Wisdom

The Bible does not shun wisdom as it is a good thing to have.  However, when we share the gospel we all have to be careful not to be wise in our own might, but rather through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 2:1-5   And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (NKJV)

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The Purpose of Christ: The Holy Spirit

(1) When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord[a] in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  - Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)

Image courtesy of WikiMedia.org

It has nearly been two weeks since Christians around the United States celebrated the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  As such, this was a great opportunity to address each part of the celebration of Yeshua.  First we talked about the cross. For that blog post visit,

http://toinebo.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-purpose-of-christ-cross.html

Then we talked about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ which can be found here:

http://toinebo.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-purpose-of-christ-death-burial.html

Today, we will look at the last and largely overlooked piece of the plan for the Son of God - the Holy Spirit.

In the grand scheme of things, there has been a plan since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned against Yahweh, there was a plan in place to redeem man back to Himself.  It would be a long while before the full plan would be fulfilled, but the Father paved a way for us to get to where we are now.

Sin and the Law

First, man was given the Law of Moses.  "The Mosaic Law was a bilateral covenant made specifically for Israel alone to govern her life in the promised land. From the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen.12) we see Israel was a chosen nation, an instrument of God to become a channel of blessing to all nations. Yahweh was her Theocratic King who was to rule and guide the nation in her destiny that she might not become polluted or contaminated by other nations and could thus fulfill her purpose. For this the Mosaic Law was instituted to direct Israel as a nation in all spheres of her life—morally, socially, politically, economically and religiously" (The Mosaic Law: Its Function and Purpose in the New Testament, Bible.org).  In addition, the the law revealed the people's sin to them and as such, they had to atone for those sins.

About five years ago, I did a study on the different types of offerings in Leviticus and one of those was the sin offering.  Rather than duplicating efforts, I will copy a snippet from that blog entry:

The reason for the sin offering was for the atonement of the people. TheFreeDictionary.com defines atonement as "[a]mends or reparation made for an injury or wrong".  In looking at all of Leviticus 4 and 5:1-13, you will notice that blood is the key ingredient in which God requires to be burnt. The Burnt, Meat, and Peace Offerings were all ones that were voluntary and provided a sweet-savory aroma for the Lord.  The Sin and Tresspass (which we'll discuss the next time) Offerings did no such thing.

"He is merciful and will forgive based on Christ's sacrifice, which these offerings represent, but even though He accepts the offerings, He takes no satisfaction in sin".1

Therefore, there would have been no communion with God on that occasion.  At least in this case, "[n]o restitution was necessary because of the nature of the sin."2  (Leviticus Lessons: Offerings V; also see Leviticus 4; 5:1-13)

The key is the part which talks about Yahweh's acceptance of the offering, but there was no satisfaction of it.  No matter how many times this was done, the Israelites still could not restore themselves back to Yahweh.  The only sacrifice that would satisfy the Father was that of the Passover Lamb, which was without sin.

Fulfillment of the Law

We have heard that Yeshua died for our sins and this was definitely preached on Easter or Resurrection Sunday.  But, it should be explained WHY we no longer live in sin and how we are free from the penalty of sin. Something important to remember is that the Christ was sent to fulfill the Law.  He tells us this Himself.

Matthew 5:17-18  (17) “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (18) For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (NKJV)

What does this mean?  It means that He came to complete the law; put a period on it; end a chapter in the lives of those who were under the Law. Yeshua fulfilled the law because He was the only one who could walk perfectly in the law and uphold all of the law.  The moment He died, the law died with Him.  In addition, the veil of the temple was torn which meant, everyone had access to Yahweh again.

"The veil of the temple was torn in two: The veil was what separated the holy place from the most holy place in the temple. It was a vivid demonstration of the separation between God and man. Notably, the veil was torn from top to bottom, and it was God who did the tearing" (JESUS' TRIAL, DEATH, AND BURIAL, David Guzik :: Study Guide for Matthew 27).  

After Christ's death, we know that He walked among the people for a short while.  He was seen by various people, including the disciples to confirm that He had risen from death (see, Luke 24:36-37).  Even at this point, there was a piece of the plan that had not been executed.  The Law had been fulfilled, but now what?

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

If you recall, the Mosaic Law was put into place to guide the Israelites and to reveal their sins. However, since Christ fulfilled the law, what were those who lived by Yahweh to do?  By this point, I am sure you know where we are headed.  It was the promise of the Holy Spirit that completes the plan of Yahweh.

John 16:5-8  (5) “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ (6) But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. (7) Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (8) And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  (NKJV)

Yeshua told the disciples this before He died, but they did not understand what was happening.  We see in Luke 24 that they were afraid when He reappeared before them.  It was at this point that He would help them to understand why He had to die and what was to come:

Luke 24:44-49  (44) Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (45) And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  (46) Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise[h] from the dead the third day, (47) and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And you are witnesses of these things. (49) Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem[i] until you are endued with power from on high.” (NKJV)

Here, the promise is the Holy Spirit.  It is this Spirit that would fall down on the disciples like a mighty rushing wind that made them speak in the tongues of their own language (see, Acts 2:1-4).   However, this could not happen until Yeshua ascended into heaven to be with the Father.

The Purpose of the Holy Spirit

Today, many will ask the Holy Spirit to help them, but I do not believe many understand the purpose behind Him.  See, the Holy Spirit is now what guides man since there is no need for the Mosaic Law. The Law was completed when Yeshua died for our sins. By Him ascending into heaven and sending the Holy Spirit we were given the will of the Father!  Thus, we have a new covenant with Yahweh and are all reconciled back to Him!  There are numerous scriptures that show us this.

Hebrews 10:8-10  (8) Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), (9) then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”[b] He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  (NKJV)

The first that is taken away is the Law.  The second is established by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in man.

Romans 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (NKJV)

The law is no longer our prosecutor, but we now live under Yahweh's grace.

Galatians 3:19-25  (19) What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. (20) Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. (21) Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. (22) But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (23) But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. (24) Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (25) But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  (NKJV)

I thought it good to share a good portion of Galatians here to add context, but verses 24 & 25 sums things up really well.

One might ask about the moral law. Doesn't that mean anything?  Well, we are still not allowed to steal, covet, or lust, but this is not because of the Law.  It is because we NOW know the will of the Father through the Holy Spirit that resides in us.  If we know Yahweh's will and intentions, then there is no need for the law.  Besides, scripture tells us that we are no longer under the law. We are not to cherry pick the laws which we want to apply because they seem good to us.  We are either under the law (death) or have the Holy Spirit (life) and if we are saved we are called to live by grace. The law doesn't apply to us.  For more in depth information on the Law, I would highly encourage you to read, Laying Down the Law, by Joseph Herrin. You can download a copy here:

http://www.heart4god.ws/index_htm_files/Laying%20Down%20the%20Law.pdf


Wrapping Things Up

It is interesting that most people do not realize that Yeshua actually lived under the Law of Moses until he began his ministry. He grew up in the same times and place where the Law was in enforced. It was not until He was baptized, that he began to live by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:13-17  (13) Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. (14) And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” (15) But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. (16) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. (17) And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (NKJV)

At this point, Christ is walking among the law-keepers with the Holy Spirit.  This is why He was able to do things like heal on the Sabbath.  He knew the Father's will because He was living by the Holy Spirit!!  The law did not matter to Him because it was ultimately Yahweh's will that prevailed and He continued living by the Spirit even unto death.  For example, just before His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed the following:  "...Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will" (Mark 14:36, NKJV).

Yeshua is our perfect example of living by the Holy Spirit.  If we have been truly baptized by the Spirit and not by water alone, then we too will know the Father's will (see, Acts 19:1-6).  This is very important to remember as many may have been led to believe in Christ on the celebration of His resurrection two weeks ago.  It is my prayer they understand the symbolism of water baptism, but more importantly that they are baptized in the Spirit as Paul discussed in Acts 19:1-6.  If this is so, then one will be able to see and understand that going to the cross was not enough.  We needed Yeshua to die, be resurrected, ascend to heaven AND have the Holy Spirit come, so that the will of the Father could be known to us throughout our walk in Christ to the end.

Be blessed!

Antoine E. Hall

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Filling Your Voids

Courtesy of Commons.WikiMedia.org

I wish to speak to you about voids and having them filled. It is a pretty simple concept, but I wish to share some simple examples and along with some scripture of course.

In my prayers, I ask the Lord to remove qualities or sinful natures (unlike Him) from my body and life. In their places I ask Him to fill me with gifts and qualities that will contribute to the building of HIS kingdom. That is a pretty simple prayer, right? Of course it is. However, let's look at what happens when you are filled with Godly things.

Overview of Acts 4 (NIV): Peter and John (the apostles) had been speaking, preaching, healing, and resurrecting the dead in the name of Jesus. Because of this, they were arrested and thrown into jail over night, however the greatness was already done. The people had seen and believed in what the apostles were doing and it began to spread across the area. The next morning, they were brought before the Sanhedrin. Now, because I didn't know the definition of Sanhedrin, I looked it up and felt compelled to share it with you. A Sanhedrin is "[a] group of 70 men who were a religious political body for Israel (a Jewish supreme Court) made up [of] 24 chief priests (Sadducees), 24 elders (Pharisees), 22 scribes and one high priest [-] overall (71) religious men who dictated how people were to worship God and practice Judaism" (http://www.calvarychapel.com/redbarn/terms.htm#S, retrieved Wed Nov 2, 2005).

Basically, the lawmakers asked Peter and John who and what gave them the authority to do what they were doing. Here is Peter's response:

Acts 4:8-10 (8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! (9) If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, (10) then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. (NIV)

Noticed that Peter boldly spoke out as he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The law makers could not deny what Peter and John had done because all had saw and believed, but the Sanhedrin wanted to quiet them. They asked the two not to speak about Jesus any more and to leave,"But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God." (Acts 4:19, NIV)

After more threats, they were let go and returned back to their people. They spoke about all that the Sanhedrin had said and the people all broke out into the "Believers' Prayer" (see Acts 4:24-30). After they finished praying the Word says,

Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (NIV)

Again, I would like to point out that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. See, we all have voids in our lives and if you do not fill them with something good, then something bad will fill them.

Modern Day Example: Let's look at a yard as an example. I would like to have a plush green, golf-course type lawn, but in order to do that, it must be filled with all the same type grass (tall fescue in my case) and no bare spots in my yard. If I do not fill the bare spots with seed, guess what? Weeds take over the bare spots and you have a mix of grass and weeds in your yard. (Lawn tip: A weed is anything that grows in your yard that is unwanted, so if I have Bermuda Grass and Tall Fescue Grows in patches, it can be considered a weed). Then you have to fight, buy weed killer, and remove the weeds and believe me, it is hard to undo a weed problem! The point is if I had pro-actively filled the bare spots with good grass I would not have had this fight with weeds and my lawn would be plush.

This is an example of what the devil does in our lives. We all have "bare spots", but if we do not care to fill them with Godly things, "weeds" will grow in those spaces. A good example of a bare spot (or void) is a neglected prayer life. If you do not pray, the devil will wait patiently to fill it with something unholy. 

Keep working at your Christian walk as we will always have voids to fill in our lives. Just make sure they are filled with good things. I don't know about you, but I would like the Holy Spirit to fill my voids any day!

Antoine E. Hall

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Addictions and Bad Habits

I want to talk to you about addictions and bad habits. I am not just talking about being addicted to alcohol or drugs, because addictions can include the TV, work, sex, gossip, etc. If you are going to be addicted to something shouldn't you be addicted to Christ? I mean that's a good addiction isn't it?

Addictions start out as a something new to try. After a while, it becomes a habit (or something you do not think about but just do). Once you find yourself in this position, you are addicted to what you are doing.  Let's define the word addition.

addiction (noun): “The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.” (Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/addicition, Feb 22, 2006)

There were multiple definitions out there, but I really liked this one. Now let's look to the Word of God for an example of habits and what they can cause.

1 Timothy 5:11-13    "(11)As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. (12)Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.  (13)Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to." (NIV)

In the example above, Paul is speaking on how to deal with young widows. Before verse 11, he states that no woman younger than 60 may be placed on the widows list. Why? Well he explains in verses 11-13. The reason is because they let their "sensual desires" take priority over their "dedication to Christ". In addition to this, the younger widows form a "habit" of being idle and becoming "gossips and busybodies". There is an addiction in that one passage and it is not to Christ. It is an addiction to things that would keep someone from Christ.

Like I said earlier, the TV can be your addiction. If you cannot sit quietly and feel the need for the TV then it's your addiction. Or, if you come home and your first notion is to go for the remote well that may be something that you need to address. Maybe the first thing you do is run to the computer and check Facebook or email. Well, that is something you may want to identify, accept that these are bad habits and change them. If we can work to replace the things that occupy our time away from Christ, we can begin to live a more victorious Christian life. Why? This is because you would begin to spend more time with Christ. If we are looking towards God instead of gossiping, you can begin to break the habit of gossip.

Well how can you break addictions? In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul gives us a starting place:

"(22)You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; (23)to be made new in the attitude of your minds; (24)and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (NIV)

In addition we can look at Chronicles and Psalm as well.

1 Chronicles 16:11   "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."

Psalm 34:1   "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips."

If we can learn to identify our habits we can change them. Remember that acceptance is the first step. If you cannot accept the fact that you have an addiction or bad habit, you will never move forward with changing it. Bad habits do not change over night. It is a gradual process, however, if you slowly begin to replace these activities with more Godly activities, you will see how the habit slowly goes away. Remember that no two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

Antoine E. Hall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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