Several months ago I gave a mini-sermon at Christ Image Church. It had been quite sometime since I spoke in front of my home church, but I was not nervous surprisingly enough, I was excited to bring forth the word that God had lain on my heart. It was not a word about the people becoming rich or about how eager God is to forgive us, if we just ask. No, it was a word of a different kind, it was a word about personal responsibility and accountability in your walk with Christ.

I spoke of people, most of us actually, who treat God as if He were their scapegoat. God placed this in my spirit and I did not understand why at the time, but as the day of my sermon got closer I began to understand, even more in the days following the sermon.

I explained what the "scapegoat" actually was. Just to give you a quick definition:

"The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. The rite is described in Leviticus 16:6-10.

Since this goat, carrying the sins of the people placed on it, is sent away to perish, the word "scapegoat" has come to mean a person, often innocent, who is blamed and punished for the sins, crimes, or sufferings of others, generally as a way of distracting attention from the real causes."

In this time of economic uncertain and the change of direction for the country. I wish you all a safe and happy new year. take a moment to bring in 2009 with humility, reflection, and prayer. Some of us are Baptists, some, Catholic, some Methodist, some Non-Denominational, and some are none of those. We spend too much time focusing on what is different instead of focusing on what we have in common, Almighty God is a god of love and forgiveness. How about if we try doing the same with each other.