Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin. Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. – Psalm 103:43-46 (New International Version)

Jason M. Alexandre, Voices Against the Grain Devotional Writer

“Relented.” A verb that means “to soften in feeling, temper, or determination; become more mild, compassionate, or forgiving.” May the grace, love, and peace of Jesus Christ be on all those who have trusted in him as their Lord and Savior.  Many of us understand up to a point Jesus being our Savior but our lifestyles seem to strongly reflect that we have neglected to make him our “Lord.”  It seems evident that in our pride and arrogance we refuse to allow Jesus Christ to have ultimate authority, control, and power over the way in which we conduct ourselves and lifestyles. Thus, we ready ourselves to live a life of sin. We may say, “Oh! The grace of God and love is on my life surely the Lord knows and doesn’t expect me to be perfect? And so I can continue to treat my neighbor with malice, cheat here and there on my taxes, even drink and smoke everyday souring this body because after all I did trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior!”

My friend, that mindset could not be farther from the truth. I’ve only highlighted a few of the many excuses we use to deceive ourselves into believing for the sake of blindly retaining our sense of autonomy. But we forget the consequences of living lifestyles that characterizes sin. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. –Romans 6:1-4.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but grace. –Romans 6:12-14

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may we truly take this message to heart. May we rationalize sin no longer but aim to be truly doer’s of the Word and not merely just hearers. Jesus Christ lives and he continues to echo the words he spoke to the invalid man he healed thousands of years ago. Jesus said, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” – John 5:14 Friends, Let us not trample on the blood of Jesus Christ any longer by the words that we speak, our conduct, or anything else that contradicts the work of righteousness that is being worked out through him. Amen

-Jason M. Alexandre

About Jason M. Alexandre

Jason Melchizedek Alexandre was born in November of 1989 in Brooklyn, N.Y. His family later moved to Philadelphia, Pa., and he now resides in Limerick, Pa. In May of 2014, Jason obtained his Master of Social Work degree at Widener University. Professionally, Jason counsels persons who are homeless, parents, veterans, and others who suffer from various kinds of abuse. Although Jason’s career is Social Work, his spiritual passion is missions. Jason believes in actively answering the Great Commission call Jesus gave all Christians for the Gospel to be spread from person-to-person and nation-to-nation. Annually, Jason travels primarily to Haiti on a mission trip with Haiti Christianity Inc. Each year, Haiti Christianity, Inc., visits cities and/or villages in Haiti bringing children educational supplies, clothing, and medical supplies. They also facilitate conferences in which bible study, budgeting tips, financial planning and most importantly, evangelization takes place. Jason is currently the organization’s public relations director. Jason’s vision is for the gospel to continue to spread throughout the world and believes it is Christian’s responsibility to carry out this mission effectively. To learn more about the organization for which Jason volunteers, please visit www.HaitiChristianity.org.