God has always had His standard, which is and always will be Holiness. God's standard of Holiness, is taught in His Written Word, for the Church of Jesus Christ, to always live by, as a way of life and all the days of a Christians life. This is Gods will for all of His Children to live before Him, continually, all through life and throughout all generations, until the day of Jesus Christ. When God saves you He instills His Spirit of Holiness, in you and me. Gods Spirit will always lead you, to live Holy before Him and to learn to let go of this world's ways that are sinful. A good minister of the Gospel will be a Vessel that has been taught to live a life of Holiness, before God and man. A good Minister of the Gospel, will preach or teach or both, the message of Holiness, to the Church and unto the sinner alike. A good Minister will teach you about Holiness, as he or she lives this standard of Gods, in their life. For God to always anoint them to walk in, all of Gods divine will for their ministry calling that they are called into. God can then give His Ministers, confidence and assurance by the Holy Spirit, to know where you and I stand, in our Holy Walk with God. Every Child of God can learn to live a Life of Holiness, after being Born Again or Saved by the Spirit of God. Yet God will try to correct you all through life now, to keep you on a good and straight course, in your serving and worshiping Him. A life style of Holiness is to be a way of life for you now, all the days of your life. Holiness is your standard of living now, as a Living Sacrifice that is Holy and Acceptable, unto God and is your reasonable service. Gods Holy Spirit will always deal with your heart, to live right and correct you when you sin. It is up to you to Hear Gods Voice and to obey Him. You must learn to repent when you sin and know not to let your faults and failure, cause you to quit serving God. When God saved you, He entered you into His grace also, so you would always have Him to come to, by asking for forgiveness, this is repenting. The Grace of God that saved you, has made provision also, to keep you in His Grace, all the days of your life, as long as you stop and say no to the devil and his temptations, which could lead you to sin. Gods Spirit is Gentle and Speaks unto us Softly and also uses your minds thoughts, as long as you obey God, you will always stay on course. Gods Spirit will take you through His Spiritual Process, of living a Holy Life before Him, it is up to you to let go of the world, its habits and old friends and anything that the Holy Spirit, asks you to let go of. You are the Keeper of Your Own Soul, by learning to listen to the Holy Spirit and to obey Him and His leadings that He will forever give you, as long as you Hear and Listen unto Him. Just because you got saved, doesn't mean that you will never do wrong things, which is sin. God's Grace through Jesus and His name, when you pray and repent, is always here for you. This is how God keeps us clean from this world and its sinful ways of many. If you sin, just ask Jesus to forgive you and get right back up and start all over, you have been forgiven and you must believe that, once you have asked Jesus for forgiveness of your sins. Never let Satan trick you into giving up because you have sinned. You must always remember that God Loved You So Much That Jesus Died For You and is seated at the right hand of the Father, always ready to make intercession for you, when you sin and repent of your wrongs. This is God's way of giving us, His Loving Grace and Mercy. It is when we ignore the Holy Spirit, as He tries to teach us to say no to sin as the devil tries you that we get into a backslidden condition and a rebellious state of mind. Grieve Not the Holy Spirit The Spirit of God will always be present in your life when you become Born Again. THE VILLAGE CARPENTER PUBLISHING HOUSE, PO Box 133, Lakeview, Ohio 43331 USA or see TheVillageCarpenter
About the Author: My name is Pastor Luke L. Chapman. I haven't always been a preacher, quite the contrary. When I was a young teenager everyone always said: "Boy what a good kid Luke is. He is a wonderful young man." Because of a stepfather that had no love for me, my clothes were packed for me and placed on the front porch on Christmas morning. Arrangements were already made for a near friend to pick me up to take me to my real dad's home. This became a cycle unto me. I learned soon to take flight in life, realizing I'm on my own. I was kicked out of school for truancy, failure to want to go to school and to learn. This started a foundation for my life, for my ongoing future. My new friends taught me how to smoke, drink, and cuss and to tell lies. I graduated to smoking weed and using cocaine. I never drank or used cocaine on a regular basis. I just started on weekends or invited parties. I got married and had a Child when I was 21 years old. But, with a lifestyle of drinking, spending money in bars and not on bills or in my home, I soon went through a divorce. Does this sound familiar, like today's youths? At this time, now I'm remarried my wife and I are both cocaine addicts. My wife smoked weed? I sold weed and cocaine to supply our habits. My wife left me one day. I was arrested the same day and put in jail. In jail, I bowed my knees on the floor in my cell. I was the only one there that day. I called upon Jesus and was saved and sent to North Central Correctional Institution. I never thought anyone cared. But I was so wrong. What was meant for evil for me, God changed for the good. Prison became My Bible College. Prison was where God counseled me about my morals. God taught me about being a good husband, a good father unto my Children and how a preacher must live and act. I served six and a half years in prison to learn not do use drugs, not to walk through life aimlessly. I learned my lesson. God raised me up to be a preacher in prison. Prison was my lifesaver. Wow, what a statement one might say! The reason prison was my lifeline was I could have graduated to the other side of life... Six Feet Down. I almost did! I had a heart attack, just before I was sent to prison, from smoking crack cocaine. I almost died. Your Friend... The Harley Davidson Preacher Man Luke L. Chapman Gods Vision... A Ministry of Fire