Isolation.

Sometimes we become confided in the walls we've built around ourselves.
Walls built out of anger, pain, betrayal,
Or possibly be it pride or vanity.
But on all occasions there is a diligent intention to guard ourselves from something we see as opposing,
Something that stands as a threat towards us so we try to block all things relative to it.
For example, 
If Ella had a friend named Belle that betrayed her, it's most likely that she's going to make sure that doesn't happen again right?
But the flaws come in when instead of Ella confessing her upset out of love and talking things through with Belle, she decides to build up this wall of defence laid with bricks like bitterness, bricks like pain and bricks like anger,
And at this moment of time Belle doesn't even realise how much she's hurt Ella until she faces her resentful brick lain wall.
Ella's intentions were to prevent the possibilities of that betrayal occurring again, but what she's really done is entangled herself more with the yoke of bondage.
Now, around her is the brick lain wall of disgust, resentment, and anguish that she built herself to be set free from the betrayal, but as a result she's become captive of her own outrage.

So now that Ella's been imprisoned by her own fury, how then can she be set free?
Many of us are going through Ella's situation, but because these walls that some of us built as a line of defence turned out to be walls of hatred and seclusion, we almost don't even want to be set free.
However, we can't try to convince or justify ourselves that isolation will be able to save us from what we're trying to protect ourselves from, because by not seeking God we are infringing the freedom we have through Jesus Christ!

Now let's take it back and remember our position as Christians!
Are we not free from the guilt of sin because we have experienced God's forgiveness?
Are we not free from the penalty of death because Jesus died for us on the cross?
Through Jesus Christ we have been called to liberty, because God sent forth the Holy Spirit so that we are no longer a slave of sin but a son of God, therefore making us heirs of God through Jesus Christ.
We have no power of our own that is able to free ourselves from our sinful nature which is why we are in need of a saviour.
In John 8:32 (NKJV) it reads : "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
As we begin to know the truth we will learn about how much God values love towards one another, 
We begin to love each other as Christ loved us and we will be able to respect and grow with each other instead of conflict and dispute.
However, there is a personal accountability for us falling back into bondage which is when we become inconsistent with the Gospel and hearing from God, therefore we need to 'Stand fast' and make that effort and commitment to stay in this place of liberty and maintain our freedom with Christ.

God has given us freedom not to live selfishly, but to live to love and serve one another.
If we conform to the flesh, we'd expect others to conform to us and giving heed to our selfish desires,
But if we conform to the Spirit, we are operating on completely different principles to our One and utmost Master Jesus Christ, who gives us power and strength to conquer the flesh.


We must stand guard of our Christian liberty or else the world will continue to try and entice us from our salvation, therefore "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage" - Galatians 5:1

Love and Blessings,

Melissa-Ann Rose 

xx

Galatians 5:13

New King James Version (NKJV)

13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty;
only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another.

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Preservatives

As we grow up as Christians and become more indulged in the Word of God, 
The trials we face when it comes to evangelising the Word of God in a decaying society becomes more evident, & this is because we are more aware of the devices the enemy uses in order to destroy the body of Christ.

But before I speak on that,

One of the many things I've become aware of is tasteless Christians.

Christians that have lost their flavour, and most importantly their purpose to preserve.

And these are Christians that proclaim the Gospel in their good will, but their lives don't reflect the glory that they are proclaiming, which ultimately dilutes the message.
Some of us are degrading the value of the Word of God because our lifestyles don't reflect what's being preached.
This hypocrisy makes it seem like its acceptable for people to preach about humility but they take glory in their acts out of pride;
As if it's acceptable to preach about forgiveness but they're holding a two year grudge,
And then they justify it with things that may be said in the Bible but interpret it in ways that are of benefit to themselves instead of what God originally intended.
Such as quoting Psalm 37:4 'Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart' in order to say God will allow them to do what they want so long as they love Him.
There's so much more to it than that alone.

Coming to think of it, 

In order for the enemy to get to Christians that are stood affirm with the Lord, he works in a way that twists with the truth to make it sound like the truth.

And if we are preaching a concoction of the truth mixed with what sounds like the truth, we are unknowingly creating a route which is an invitation for the enemy to deploy corruption, doubt, and denial -

Which is the same way Eve was tempted by the serpent right?

The devil, as crafty as he is manipulated Eve with a question proposed to make himself seem innocent saying “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
He spoke of God's law to be unreasonable or uncertain and then spoke the opposite of what God had told Eve and said 'You will not surely die.'
Eve knew what God had commanded because she recited it back to the serpent when he asked, however the serpent made room for her doubt which then resulted to the fall by eventually disobeying the command that was given to her.
And these are the same acts some Christians are portraying in their daily lives, we know what God has commanded, but somehow an excuse is made or we take certain things too lightly which results to our disobedience.

I refuse for us to fall in the enemies deception!

God has righteously declared that we are the salt of the earth.
As mentioned earlier, one of salts purposes is to preserve, therefore one of our missions is to preserve the world from the principalities of evil and from those corrupted by sin. 
In a decaying society we have been sent forth to season it with the Word of God equipped with grace and knowledge,
All things that we preach should be agreeable to the scriptures, things that exalt God's glory, magnify His Holy name and encourage those that are lost to turn their hearts back to Christ.
As children of God, we were not convicted by the convincing of man but we were convicted by the Word of God's authoritative power.
And by this conviction we live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and by His power we will ultimately influence those who haven't found Christ or those who don't believe to turn back to God.

However,
Christians tend to lose their flavour by having a passive attitude towards the Gospel,

therefore ignoring some of the vital components to our Christianity and being involved in the works of the world.
They have become dissolved into the likeness of the world therefore drifting further and further away from God.

But because they have portrayed themselves as Christians before the world, and to many people of the world we are the only representation of Christ,
Many people of the world will begin to receive this half worldly half Christian image, this lukewarm image, this half dead half saved image.
How can a man be half saved?
How can a man belong to the world and belong to Christ?
The middle ground between any two factors is full of contradictions and hypocrisy and eventually people begin to overlook these kind of Christians because they have made way for the enemy to deploy confusion!
Which will inevitably result to being rejected by the world because a saltless Christian has lost its purpose to preserve.

Losing our saltness demonstrates our distancing from Christ.
It demonstrates the incapability of carrying out God's will without being teased with the world's likeness.
We have not been made to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men, for we are more than conquerors and we have power over the enemy's corruption.
God is our strength therefore we must abide in Him, in order to be able to overcome many of the enemy's provocations to bring you back down from our elevated position with Christ.

Love and Blessings,
Melissa Ann Rose
xox

Matthew 5:13 (NKJV)

13 "You are the salt of the earth; 
but if the salt loses its flavour,
 how shall it be seasoned? 
It is then good for nothing 
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 

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What kind of relationship do you have with Christ?

A secure broadband connection? 
Or a wavering dial up connection? Dependent on your surroundings or outside factors and conditions?

Maintaining a faithful relationship with God is an open invitation to have spiritual encounters with Him.

But one of the areas we as Christians fall is understanding our position in this relationship -

We find it hard to grow with Christ, because as mentioned in the earlier post 'Passion', some of us are still yearning for worldly desires due to the lack of knowledge concerning the promises God has declared for us to receive, and therefore it's a struggle to maintain this relationship if God knows what's best for us but we're still 'flirting with sin' as my youth leader would say.

We need to trust in the Lord, and be patient as He unravels the plans He has for us.

One of our major purposes as Christians is to be a vessel whereby God can intervene through us and move in our generation.

Christ came and demonstrated the way by which we must follow, and although Christ had died and risen, an advocate has been left on our behalf which is the Holy Spirit who is our immediate relation to Christ because He lives in us, therefore we must avail ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest His glory through us, because ultimately our everlasting God is still living and is still in control, all we have to do is trust in Him.

In order for God to intervene and save this decaying world, as ambassadors of Christ we are in the position to carry out God's will.

If we look closer into the modern role of an ambassador,

A successful ambassador is someone who understands and has knowledge of the afflictions concerning their representative(s).

Therefore, being an ambassador for Christ means we need to understand and have knowledge of the things God is telling us through the Word of God.

But we can't merely read the Bible and draw conclusions from it, we have to pray without ceasing and hear from God the desires of His heart concerning our generation by being empowered by the Holy Spirit for our understanding,
And as we start to develop this kind of relationship we begin to understand our purpose in this position of righteousness He has placed us in order to intervene in worldly affairs and proclaim the gospel.

Quickly looking back to when we first met Christ,
We were not convicted by the convincing of man, we were convicted by the authoritative power of the Word of God.

Therefore as ambassadors we need to stand firm in His Word and proclaim truth, but at the same time submit and give way for the Holy Spirit to convict people through you who don't know Christ.

If you think about it,

When you develop a relationship with someone, many of the emotions they feel are easily passed onto us because we have that mutual connection with them.
We need to desire to be at a place in our relationship with God whereby whenever we are faced with things that aren't according to His will, things that break Gods heart will easily break ours and we'll be in a position to make that appeal for God.

Our mutual connection with God is made evident because we are operating as empty vessels and fruit of the spirit such as wisdom will be synchronised into our spirit at times we are faced with arguments that could result to foolishness;

Patience will be synchronised in order to tolerate ignorance and opposition,

And most importantly love.
God is love, and He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for us in order for our salvation.

We have been crucified with Christ so that we no longer live but Christ lives in us - (Gal 2:20)

Therefore by this process of synchronisation we are equipped to function like Christ by the grace of God.

However, we have to stay connected to Him in order for the sync to be successful and to be able to function like a true ambassador of Christ.

There is nothing too impossible for God to do in His will,
We just need to avail ourselves to Him, and let the Holy Spirit take absolute control.
Trust in Him, and all is well.

Love & Blessings,
Melissa Ann Rose
xox

2 Corinthians 5:20

New King James Version (NKJV)

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God were pleading through us:
we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

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Crossroads.

I thought I was on the right track this time
Swimming back from this far county as my soul drowned in despair

I knew it was unusual to leak sweat as I traced back my steps,

and although it wasn't hot enough, its like I could sense dehydration causing my spirit to become faint

The presence of that living water became faint

But I guess I was unconscious to the subconscious dismissal of this overflowing well Isaac dug in this foreign land for me as my conciousness of the world grew

I could've sworn I was light headed in the right direction

Like I was one step away from the collapse of my prodigal heart

This mirage of righteousness at my countenance, this escape from the world seeming prevalent its

Like I could almost taste the anticipation although my throat ran dry cause of all the running from those demons My,
thirst for transformation was like Abimelech when he needed Isaac in need of restoration of those life sustaining wells

but then like a horror filled fairytale my hallucinations became tainted

trembling, trying to turn back while this traducement teased at my torment tainted

tarnished as it trespassed that transcendent topography tainted
And it kept flashing back at me

Whip lashing every time I looked back at sin staring right back at me

It's like it knew my spiritual anatomy,
Conceived the conspiracy of my Christ lain corpse
And the rebirth of my sins grew back into my thoughts 

Manipulated the parts of me most in need of a revival

Making it feel difficult to turn back to the Bible

But Its all I've got
And no matter how many times my imaginary middle ground got my self harmed
to the point where sin became that painful addiction,
Although its relapses became violent, not knowing my complacency caused it to become domestic,
And even when I became sick bathing in this lukewarm ocean, 
despite the amount of lather I added to revitalize the aroma
This agony my heart of stone couldn't bear any longer, and at the voice of the Word forced my sinful desires to commit suicide

So before I didn't wake up to see tomorrow come, because of my ungratefulness of His protection
Before I wheezed my last breath because I used it in sin rather than to glorify HimBefore I don't remember yesterday because I failed to acknowledge His faithfulness from the time I was conceived
Before sin dilapidates the foundation I built with Christ, before my rejection on earth results to rejection of salvation
I'll surrender,
This is my sacrifice, for my life with Christ.

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Where are you most likely to find a betting shop?

Probably one every 5km if we were in an area upper class dominated,

But in areas that aren't as wealthy or developed, we tend to find betting shops walking distance from each other,  maybe 3 or more on the same street if we're lucky.

And if we look closer into the art of gambling, 

Its aimed at taking a risky action in order to get a desired result,

Playing games of chance in order to multiply money on something that is against the odds.

And if we look closer to why these companies build shops in specific locations, it is because 

people who have are wealthier are less likely to gamble because there is too much of a chance to risk losing their money, whereas they are more likely to invest it in banks where they are certain they will get an increase of what they started with.

On the other hand, people who aren't as wealthy are aroused by the thought of winning 10 times the amount they put in, multiplying their money in order to reach a certain amount quickly and without toil.

They have the knowledge that money that can be made if they worked hard for it over a certain period of time, but would rather skip the hard work, the toils, trials, tests and jump straight for the money.
The one thing these two types of people have in common is the same desired end result, which is to get rich. The only difference is the means to achieving their desired end result.

Now if we think about it in terms of our Christianity.
There are people that are obedient to the Word and are devoted to doing God's will, they are aware of God's faithfulness and withhold nothing from God in trust that He continues to build them up as a Christian.
However, there are also some people that know they have flaws and are weak in certain areas of their lives, they know only God's guidance is needed to make their sense of direction more clear, but they suppose they're regular attendance at church would be enough for God to let them have a bit of leeway here and there.
They suppose their problems aren't not too much of an issue in comparison to sister Andrene's immoral addiction or brother Dominic's spiteful habits, so maybe God would excuse them for not being as bad.
They suppose tithing only 5% of your wages instead of 10% would be enough, because God knows they're probably still students and would allow them to keep the outstanding 5%.
And at the end of all these adjustments to how faithful these people choose to be, they still expect the same blessings as Pastor David. 

Some people like to gamble with salvation.

Some of us are a bit too complacent with the Word, and decide how much time we want to pray; decide when we want to attend church meetings or services; decide how much offering we put in on church services or even to give at all.
But the thing is, we all have the same desired end result right?
We all want to inherit the kingdom of God, but instead of investing in ourselves and be assured of our inheritance, some of us like to take the risk.

But what some of us tend to forget is God is holding an account for all the things we do on earth which will replicate what we inherit in heaven, as Paul tells us in 
Collosians 3:24-25 NKJV
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for[a] you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

Complacency is one of many symptoms of a stagnant spirit.
Many of us are complacent because we are ignorant of what the Word of God is really telling us concerning salvation, concerning inheriting the Kingdom of God.
It causes us to be lukewarm in our acts whereby we'd be so full of the spirit that we could almost taste salvation but then reject the truth or walk away from it when we go through tests and trials.
And the issue with this is God tells us in His Word that those who endure to the end will be saved,
So how could you assume the half way point between being righteous before God and being consumed of the world is going to be enough to save you? 
Where is the middle ground between heaven or hell that is able to be your support when you decide to get tired?
It's complacency which triggers the thought 'God is willing to meet me half way', but in the process of your interlude you have already forsaken Christ.
How? because you have given up on Him when God has assured us there is nothing too hard for Him.

2 Corinthians 2:11lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

It was made clear to me that its easier to exploit in areas where people are suffering in poverty, people who have a deficiency of the Word of God, because in these areas there is more suffering and lack of knowledge. Therefore, a deficiency of these things makes it easier for the enemy to take advantage of such people and cause them to perish because they lack overall understanding.

Invest in yourself instead of taking the risk, because it's too much of a chance to gamble on salvation, between a life with Christ or a life without Christ.

Love and Blessings
Melissa-Ann Rose
xox

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His route? or his route?

When we study the Old Testament, we see that Moses was seen as a great mediator, a great intercessor, and someone you look up to in order to get closer to Christ.

This was because before the Israelites could get access from God, they had to go through Aaron who was a High priest, and Moses - they did not have direct access to God.

The Jews then grew fond of Moses, because amongst all the other prophets, Moses was the only one that spoke to God 'mouth to mouth', through Moses God gave His law; Moses lead the Israelites when they fled from Egypt and he parted the Red Sea, and so much more!

So we can see why Moses was highly favoured in the eyes of the Jews.

Now if we think of our Modern day Moses,

We'd probably have elders and pastors in mind, who have been given mandates from God to teach, oversee, lead, and care for the people of the Church.

However, God still encourages us to pray and He will provide His riches through Jesus Christ

But we need to be careful, because although we may genuinely be seeking help in areas of our faith, we will begin to subconsciously continue seeking this same person regarding many other issues when it comes to our faith.

But through this act our actions portray that we are become too devoted to a particular person, and what this demonstrates is we are thinking of this person to be greater than Jesus.

And I've put it like that because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus who was higher than the angels, became lower than the angels in order to raise men who have fallen, up with him in exhortation, glory and power.
And although we acknowledge that there is power in Jesus Christ, we aren't appreciating the access God has given us through Jesus Christ, because some of us are overdependent of the assistance of man like the Israelites depending on Moses.
The only difference was in the Old Testament grace hadn't been introduced, therefore man had to depend on Moses who had direct access to God in order to be shown the way.

However, grace was introduced to us after the death of Jesus Christ, whereby the curtain in the temple which the only the High Priests could go through in order to go enter the holy of holy's and have direct access of God tore into two, therefore everyone now has direct access to God by merited favour.

So it is through Jesus that we can attain wisdom, knowledge, understanding, He has availed Himself in a way that it is easily accessible for us to connect to Him by faith and obedience.

But instead of directly looking unto Jesus, some of us are looking unto our modern day Moses.

And just like the Jews, instead of being disciples of Christ they became disciples of Moses, and this is where the issue lies.

As Christians, we have all called to be ambassadors of Christ.

Just like Moses, we are to be faithful servants in Gods house, but Jesus who is a son over Gods house is greater than the house itself because He built the house.

In addition, God has made us all in His own Image and Likeliness, so if we are to seek help in areas concerning our lives, would it make sense to ask another one of God's creation or ask the creator Himself?

Christ's sufficiency supersedes all human efforts, so our modern day Moses could have only attained His wisdom, His understanding, and His knowledge through faith and obedience of His Word.

Our modern day Moses wouldn't be much like the real Moses because in the Old Testament, because it was only through the real Moses that people could have access to God, because Jesus Christ hadn't been sent therefore grace wouldn't have been introduced to the people of that time yet. However, now that we have grace and the Holy Spirit we have direct access to God ourselves.

Our modern day Moses wouldn't relate much to the real Moses, because Moses redeemed the first born sons of Israel by instructing them to put blood of lamb on their door posts and roasting its flesh on the first passover, but now we have Jesus who is the true sacrificial First born son, who John the baptist identified as 'the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world', and through Jesus Christ we have ultimate redemption.

Our modern day Moses is indifferent to you and I as a person, however has attained all righteousness from the Holy Spirit, and because the Holy Spirit has been given to us all as an advocate that indicates that we are all able to receive the same abundance of grace.

Humans are only able to give us humanly knowledge and humanly understanding, although their advice can be helpful it cannot compare to the divine knowledge and divine understanding we can attain through the Holy Spirit.

As Christians the Holy Spirit dwells in every single one of us, and we have direct access to speak to God by His sufficient grace. 

Love and Blessings, 

Melissa-Ann Rose

xxx

Hebrews 3:1-6 NKJV

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

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Have You Taken Your Position?

Have you taken up that role God has ordained you as part of doing works for the Kingdom of God, or perhaps still in the process of finding?

As children of God the fruit of the Spirit has equipped us in order to be able to fulfil Gods will and enable Gods plan concerning our lives to come to pass.

God knew us before we were formed in our mothers womb and the plans He has for man are for us to be a prosperous nation.

And because God knew you before you had even been born, there is a reason as to why He decided to breathe you into existence this present day, 

He knew your existence would be able to create a move in your generation, He knew you will be able to form an impact that will touch people of your generation,

because God set us apart for a higher purpose, He has given an instruction to man to go out and proclaim the Good News of the Gospel,

And the reason why God has breathed you to existence this present day, is because He knows you are able to break the bondages the enemy has people of the world entwined in.

The enemy has tampered with people of the world in a way that a man doesn't need to be blind in order to have no vision.

Jesus Christ who Is the Light of the World, came to bring us out of darkness, and can ultimately restore the vision of those who haven't even heard of Him,

The enemy has manipulated people of a world in a sense that a man doesn't need to be deaf in order to have lost his hearing,

Because the confusion of the world has convinced them that the God we serve is not real, and these are all means which have been constructed by the enemy in order to bring destruction to the Church

But as God's people, we aren't here to solely convince them into serving God, because our words aren't as authoritative as God's own Word

The Word of God is Living and Active, so when we preach to people the Word of God the Holy Spirit will take absolute control.

God wants to restore that relationship with people who are victim of the enemy's deception, confusion, lies, manipulation, grief, depression and the list continues

But when we look back to the fall of man, and when sin brought separation between man and God, there needed to be a means whereby God can show man the way and bring upon salvation.

But In order for God to appear to man, He had to become man

And through Jesus Christ He has brought us an indefinable and incorruptible means to salvation. 

Now that God has left us the Holy Spirit it is our turn to do our part.

God cannot reveal Himself to people that have not accepted Him, therefore the means to someone else being able to receive Christ is though the Church

And what we are as Christians is to be that frontline, we have been equipped with the Holy Spirit who will captivate those we evangelise to, we just need to take our position.

Some people are afraid to be on the frontline because they feel that they need to get to a certain spiritual level before they can help someone else.

We have that help ourselves first before others mentality.

Some people feel as though their role to play in the Kingdom of God isn't as significant of a role a pastor plays,

Or we feel as though we're not ready to be elevated to a certain level and we let others get put forward,

An example being people may think that cleaning up after service isn't good enough to elevate us to where we ought to be in Christ, so either we don't do it or when the moment comes of elevation we let it pass because that's what we are doing and we don't feel ready.

We need to diminish the kind of mentality that only a type of person or someone at this kind of level is only able to be elevated.

Because when the prophet Samuel came to look for the new king,

and all the brothers but one were ready, standing at the frontline

Samuel asked if he had another son which was David that was ploughing in the field, excluded from this ceremony the entire city was aware of

Now if we put ourselves in David's shoes at this time, all his brothers and father were at this ceremony and he was left alone ploughing at the field

we'd probably be feeling lonely, unimportant,

but here Samuel tells us that young David, whatsoever his circumstances is going to be King

We don't realise our moment of anointing, our moment of God manifesting His glory in our lives can come at any given time.

No matter what role you play in the body, whatever our circumstances we need to be ready to be used by God, we have to be at the frontline expecting that move of God in your life, because everyone in the body of the Church has their own individual function and you will be needed soon.

In our process of waiting we need to build ourselves up with courage and boldness.

God isn't going to wait on us, because if He finds you asleep at the time He is ready to anoint you, He can give that anointing to someone else who is ready at the frontline, waiting on Him.

So are you going to stand affirm on the frontline, building yourself up by speaking the Word of God, at the same time we are firming someone else's foundation in Christ? 

Or are you going to stay asleep, and let the anointing pass you by.

The front line is the line of military who are positioned closest to the enemy. 
Jesus Christ has already overcome death, sin, and the enemy, so when we stand with Christ we will overcome because we are more than conquerors.

God Bless You,
Melissa-Ann Rose
xox

And He said to this tsm, Go and e - Mark 16:15 (NKJV) 
For as we have many members in one body, 
but all the members do not have the same function, 
so we, being many, are one body in Christ, 
 and individually members of one another. - Romans 12:4-5 (NKJV) 

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