Faith In His Name

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. 

Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Father, in Jesus’ name! Thank you Father for this day, Hallelujah! Thank you Father for this program. Thank you Father; I pray that you would minister to many hearts; that you would give us all ears to hear and hearts to receive what the Holy Spirit is speaking, Amen.

Today’s program is called, Faith In His Name. Let’s turn to Acts 3:1,  Now Peter and John went up together to the Temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the Temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the Temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, Look at us. So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 

Let’s go to Acts 4:8, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief Corner Stone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 

Php 2:5, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in Heaven, and of those on Earth, and of those under the Earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Jesus said in John 14:12, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. 

Let’s go to Eph 1:15, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 

Hos 6:1, Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the Earth. Isn’t this good people! What a joy!: The Word of God and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Hallelujah!  

Eph 2:4, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, That is where we are! That is where we are! Those of us who believe in Jesus; who have faith in Him; who have confessed our sins; who have repented and believed the Gospel, and been crucified with Him, through water baptism, and raised with Him, and are seated with Him at the Father’s right hand, in the heavenly places, far above all principality, power and dominion, and every name that is named: we are there in Him! We must simply believe!; believe what the scripture says; believe what has been accomplished through the Gospel; through the resurrection of Jesus! Thank you Lord! 

Rom 10:8 But what does it say? The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the Word of faith which we preach: that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

In Philippians 2, we read that the Father has highly exalted Jesus, and given Him a name above every name, in Heaven, on the Earth, and under the Earth. In Ephesians 1, we read, He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand, far above every power and principality and every name that is named!

We don’t just speak the name of Jesus; many people are speaking the name of Jesus. It is speaking His name in faith: faith in who He is, and in what the Father has done in him and through Him. When Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house to raise his daughter from the dead, many, many people were thronging Him and touching Him, hoping to be healed of their diseases. But there was a woman, who came up behind Him, and she said in her heart, If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I shall be healed! She had faith in Him, and when she touched His garment, virtue went out of Him and immediately she was healed of her plague!  When we speak His name in faith in all that the Father has done in Him, and we refuse to doubt; if we continue in faith, believing the report in Isaiah 53: By His stripes we are healed; He has taken our sicknesses and carried our pains, we shall be delivered; we shall be healed. The prayer of faith, not just speaking His name, but faith in His name, will save the sick, and if they have committed any sins, they shall be forgiven. If you start to faint and fall into doubt, just stop and repent and acknowledge it to God, and get back to believing!: Lord, I believe, forgive and help my unbelief !  

One day, several years ago, I was speaking with a friend of mine about going to Israel. We were speaking many things about going to Israel. And at that time the Lord spoke to me and He told me, I’m sending you to Israel. I believed Him, and I kept on believing Him. I had no money to go to Israel. After a while, I stopped believing; I wasn’t believing Him about going to Israel, and one night, in my office, I humbled myself, and I prayed a prayer of repentance: I told Him, Father, forgive me, I’ve quit believing; I ask you to forgive me. From this night on I’m going to believe what you spoke to me: You are sending me to Israel! Immediately I had two charley horses, very strong; very painful, in my legs, courtesy of you know who, and I was in pain, but I determined that I was going to keep believing Him. And I kept on believing Him, and one night I was in a restaurant with a friend of mine, and they said to me, I believe it’s God’s will for me to pay your way to Israel, and they said, Do you think that’s God? I was overwhelmed, and I said, Yes I do, and, needless to say, God brought me to Israel, with a dear friend of mine. So, what a joy to believe God! So, as I’m saying, if you faint, if you quit believing, there’s no condemnation, come to the Lord and say, Lord I believe; help my unbelief ! 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)

 Ungodly Alliance

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Amen Father! We just praise you and thank you for this day. Thank you Father; you are the God of all flesh; every knee shall bow to the name of your Son Jesus and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord! to your glory Father, in Jesus’ name. Lord, bless this program; bless everyone reading Father, I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Today’s program is called Ungodly Alliance. Let’s turn to 1 Kings 16:29, In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 

And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 1 Kings 21:25, But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 

2 Chr 17:3, Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance. And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah. 

Chapter 18, verse 1, Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab. After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead? And he answered him, I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war. Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire for the Word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain? So they said, Go up, for God will deliver it into the king's hand. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him? So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say such things! Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly! Verse 14, Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain? And he said, Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand! So the king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? Then Micaiah said, Therefore hear the Word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of Heaven standing on His right hand and His left. And the Lord said, Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead? So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. The Lord said to him, In what way? So he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so. 

Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.

2 Chr 18:28, So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel. So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel! Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded. The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died. Chapter 19, verse 1, Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God. 

In 2 Chr 18:1, we read that Jehoshaphat joined affinity with Ahab. The word means, a relationship by marriage. In the Hebrew: …and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab. What was the marriage? Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, most likely to bring about an alliance between Judah and Israel. 1 Kings 22:44,  Also Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 2 Chr 21:5, Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. If Jezebel stirred up Ahab to do evil, it is probable that Athaliah stirred up Jehoram to do evil as well. And when he became king, he killed all his brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat, who were better than him.

2 Cor 6:14, Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be  separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Chapter 7, verse 1, Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

This was a great error on Jehoshaphat’s part: to seek alliance with Ahab the king of Israel; the most wicked of all the kings of Israel; a worshiper of Baal, not of the Lord God. He almost lost his life, and the resulting marriage of his son Jehoram to Athaliah, Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter, brought much evil upon the kingdom of Judah. She was as wicked as her mother Jezebel, and upon the death of her son, by the hand of Jehu, she arose and killed all the royal seed in Judah, and took over the throne and reigned in Judah for seven years, until Jehoiada the priest stood up against her and raised up Joash, the son of Ahaziah, her son, to be king, and he had her killed. So this alliance that Jehoshaphat made with Ahab had long lasting evil consequences.

So, we all need to examine our own lives, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ: do we have any alliances with evil people?; people who hate the Lord and are involved in idolatry; people who practice sin in their lives? Ask the Lord to show you, and if so, you need to deal with them , as He leads you, and forsake every evil alliance. There are many people in the so-called Church these days, even preachers, who practice evil in their lives, and if you are allied with them, they will bring evil into your own life, which could result in great destruction.  The Apostle Paul said, in 1 Cor 5:9, I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person. Paul was talking about people in the Church who call themselves a Christian, a brother or a sister, who practice evil; this includes preachers! We are supposed to put them away from among us. Of course we have to deal with people in the world who are wicked; the whole world lies in wickedness. That is totally different from entering into an alliance or covenant with them. Do not be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever, or with anyone who practices evil, for what communion has light with darkness? It’s the yoke!, or the communion with them that is wrong, and will bring evil and destruction to you, and very possibly to many other people. Should we help the ungodly, or love those who hate the Lord? 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at robertyhaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)

 

 Slavery

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Heavenly Father; thank you for this day. We praise you; we bless your holy Name! Thank you Lord God, Amen. 

Today we’re going to talk about slavery. Let’s turn to Mat 7:12, Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

1 Cor 7:20, Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 

Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. 1 Pet 2:18, Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Col 3:22, Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Chapter 4, verse 1, Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in Heaven. 

Ok, let’s go to Gen 24:1, Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of Heaven and the God of the Earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac. Verse 9,  So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, Please let down your pitcher that I may drink, and she says, Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master. And it happened, exactly as he prayed. Verse 18, So she said, Drink, my lord. Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking. Verse 26, Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord, and he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. The man’s heart was toward his master Abraham, and he bowed down and worshipped God for leading him to the right woman. It does not say, but you can tell that this man was well taken care of by Abraham. He trusted him with all his goods, and to do this work, with the Lord’s help, to find a wife for his son Isaac. This man worshipped God; he had a right heart toward God and his master Abraham. Abraham was God’s servant.

We are servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and Master. He bought us with His own Blood and the sacrifice of His own flesh, through His love and the Father’s love for us. He loves us and He cares for us. We love Him because He first loved us. We love Him and we keep His commandments. Jesus said, If you love Me, keep My commandments. We are Jesus’ slaves; He bought us; He owns us. If we will not deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, as He commanded; if we want to do, rather, our own will, and rebel against Him, we will not be spared from His judgment, unless we repent. He came as a servant to us: in Luke 22:27, Jesus said to His disciples, For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. In John chapter 13, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet; in verse 12 Jesus said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 

Rom 6:16, Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

We read in Col 4:1, Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in Heaven. If you are a Christian, and you have servants, you are commanded by God, your Master, to treat them fairly and justly; to do unto them as you would have them do unto you. You are commanded by your Master to love them and do them good as you have opportunity. As you obey God in this, He will bless you and your business. You can clearly see how He blessed Abraham, and his servants were blessed. Abraham’s oldest servant had charge over all his goods. When Boaz, the great grandfather of King David, came to his fields in the morning, he blessed his servants, and they blessed him. He was also very kind to Ruth, the daughter in law of Naomi, his relative, when she came to work in his fields. He was a blessed man of God.

The African slave trade, in Europe and America, in the 1700’s and 1800’s, was not so at all. Driven by greed and the lust for riches, the masters, even several of our American forefathers, badly mistreated the slaves they owned. Their living conditions and daily provisions were often cruelly lacking, yet they demanded of them consistent hard labor. Some were more compassionate than others, and some ended up opposing slavery and freeing their own slaves. This was an evil mindset and practice that was a major part of the American economy at that time, and it has brought much evil upon many people over the years, long after slavery was abolished in this country.

If you are a black person in this country, and your ancestors were slaves, I urge you to ask God for His grace to help you to forgive their masters who so cruelly abused them. Unforgiveness and bitter resentment are cruel masters and you need to be free from them and their effect on your life. Jesus said, Forgive and you shall be forgiven. He also said, If you won’t forgive, your Father in Heaven will not forgive you, and He will turn you over to the tormentors. I can truly understand, after learning how many slaves were treated, that it is hard to consider this. That’s why you need God’s mercy and grace to help you forgive those cruel masters. I read an account by John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, who was a captain of a slave ship before he was converted to Christ, of the African slave trade, and it was truly horrific to learn how the slaves were treated. Also I was shocked to learn of how my white forefathers, the founders of our nation, treated their own slaves. So this was a great evil perpetrated against your people, and you must ask God to help you to forgive, so that you yourself can be freed from bitterness and unforgiveness that you may have in your heart. 

Everyone is a slave. Everyone has a master. Who is your master? If you are a Christian, you are bought with the precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are not your own. You belong to Him. He is your Lord and Master, and you serve Him. John 8:31, Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, You will be made free? Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)