This book began as a written sermon series. "S" Senses, the sermon series, was first published in 2017 as a section of chapter 3 in Prayer Power, the debut Victorious Praise book. The goal of "S" Senses, the sermon series, was to use the extent to which we as humans depend daily upon the five senses as a frame of reference for understanding how crucial it is that we also learn to use our spiritual eyes, ears, nose, mouth/tongue, and touch (1) in our own personal walk with God and (2) in our service as members of the church, which is the body of Christ. We rely heavily on the 5 senses of the physical body. The 5 senses that allow us to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel through touch are indeed gifts from God. This book is not an analysis the 5 senses of our human body, however, but a study of the "S" Senses of our inner man. A careful look shows that the title of this book does not include the number "5" before "senses" but the letter "S". The "S" Sense (essence) of the inner man comes from following the leading of the Holy Spirit. As the apostle Paul exhorts in 1 Corinthians 2:14: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, but they are spiritually discerned." The true essence of the believer comes from yielding to the Spirit. This book is divided into 5 chapters. Seeing, sound, smelling, savoring, and suffering are all discussed, from spiritual perspective, in separate chapters. This book is not a journey of logic but of faith. The spirit man and natural man are fundamentally not in agreement but at war. Therefore, the "S" Sense of seeing is not to see with the natural man. The "S" Sense of sound cannot be perceived with the natural ear. The "S" Sense of smelling is to clean up rather than mask the stench of sin so that we can exude the aroma of the Spirit. The "S" Sense of savoring is to tame the "unruly member" of our tongue so that we can taste and see the goodness of the Lord. The "S" Sense of suffering is to recognize that Jesus, though sinless, feels our pain, for as the author of Hebrews 4:15 puts it: "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." In spite of adversities that we may face, however, we must press on to the point that our walk with God is not based on our feelings. It is my prayer that everyone who reads this book will be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man.
About the Author: Victoria Gray and her husband Randy reside in Memphis, Tennessee. They are the proud parents of two daughters, who both matriculated at Howard University with plans to enter law school upon graduation. The younger daughter is now a senior and the older daughter, who represented her institution as Miss Howard University 2016-2017, is currently a student at Georgetown University Law Center. Victoria Gray teaches history full time at Southwest Tennessee Community College, where she has been employed for nearly 20 years. She is a native of Mississippi and graduate of the University of Mississippi, where she earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees in history. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of Memphis and will defend her dissertation in February 2019. Gray is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Physically active and a lover of the outdoors, she was part of the track team in high school and still enjoys running 5K races for charity. The author was licensed as an evangelist in 2012 and earned a certificate for completing a nine month course at Downline Institute in 2016. She is an intercessory prayer warrior and Sunday school teacher. She has also taught Vacation Bible School (adult class). The author has written several books, most of which are unpublished, along with a series of more than 100 detailed outlines for history classes that she teaches. In 2017, she published two books (Prayer Power and Poetic Praises) as part of her "Victorious Praise" series on Biblical topics. Decolonizing God, also published in 2017, is one of her "Gray Matters" books on subjects in the discipline of history. The author's current books are available online at Amazon through VICTORY IN PRAISE Publications.