Monday, August 31, 2009

Rainbows, Why Are They There?

Rainbows...All of us have seen them and probably remarked how beautiful they are! Have you ever wondered why they show up after the rain? They happen because God places them there to remind Him of the covenant he made with man and all living things on the earth.
Genesis; 9:12-13
(And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.)

So you see this rainbow is brought on by God. Maybe you don't know the story of the flood, but God destroyed all living things except Noah and His three sons and their wives and two of every living thing. In this way, He was able to keep the species of every living thing that had the breath of life in it alive to repopulate the earth.
Genesis; 7:2-3
(You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of the earth.)

Why did God destroy the earth with the flood? It was because the people had become so evil in their heart. They had chosen not to obey God's commands and were in rebellion against Him. God would only put up with them for so long and then He said enough. Kind of reminds us of our world today, doesn't it? If God didn't allow evil to continue in Noah's day, why would He allow our present world to continue in evil? The answer is, He isn't going to!
2Peter; 3:5-7
(For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens of old, and the earth standing out of water and in water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.)

Men on the earth were destroyed because of wickedness then and men will be destroyed again for the same reason. Therefore, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. How can you do this? Repent of your sins and ask Jesus for forgiveness. It's the only way!

God Bless You!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Are You Born Again?

Some people in the world think this is just a term that Christians use to separate them from the rest of the world. In fact, this does separate you from the rest of the world in that you are alive both physically and spiritually. The Bible is very specific on this in that you cannot be born again without putting you faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. At that point, the Holy Spirit dwells within you and you become alive spiritually. If you haven't done this, then you are not born again and are not part of the family of God. You must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah or Anointed One whom God sent into the world to be the Savior from sin.

Being part of the family of God is not something we deserve of something we gain by being of any certain race or culture. It isn't given to you because of the church you attend nor is it hereditary. It is given only by the direct act of God. It is the inner working of the Holy Spirit in our lives giving us new birth. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Without His work, we are spiritually dead and there is nothing we can do to merit salvation.

When you are born again, you'll begin to change to be more like Christ. Your attitude will be different toward others because you'll have the love of God in you. You'll have eternal life given to you by God and you become a child of God. It doesn't get any better than that. Here we are a sinner deserving of death, and Jesus comes down to earth and dies in our place. Then He gives us eternal life which we don't deserve and welcomes us into His family. How great is that? All we have to do is believe in Him and ask for His forgiveness. Why do people reject so great a gift?

If you haven't already accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, do so today. He loves you and wants to forgive you but you must come to Him. Not because you have to but because want to.
John; 3:16
(For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.)
BELIEVES-To trust, rely on, and have faith in Him. Faith is not just a one time event, but an ongoing condition. Saving faith is a gift from God that He produces in a persons heart. Ask God to give you that faith and give your life to Jesus.

God Bless You!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

God Is Merciful!

1Chronicles; 16:34
(Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His mercy endures forever.)
Sometimes I'll hear someone say, "How can God allow that to happen?" Well, I would never try to answer for God why He does some things and doesn't do other things. All I do know is that God is faithful when we aren't, and that He loves me and is merciful to me. The Scriptures are full of God's grace and mercy which He has shown to individuals as well as whole nations. Take our nation the United States for example. Over the years, we have become more corrupt, more immoral, more wicked, and out right sinful, and it keeps getting worse. God has shown us grace and mercy by not destroying us for our wickedness.

Why does God allow this to go on when He has told us in His Word not to do these things? He is giving mankind every opportunity to repent and turn away from sin. God doesn't want anyone to perish but that all come to saving knowledge and be saved.
Lamentations; 3:22-24
(Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion" says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him".
Are you able to say that today? Do you put all your hope and trust in Jesus? If not, today is the day to turn away from sin and ask Jesus for forgiveness. He promises to forgive all who come to Him for forgiveness.

Start every day with a song of praise to our God for His great mercies. We are instructed to be merciful to others as God is merciful to us. So as we have been shown mercy from God, we need to show mercy to our fellow man.
Matthew; 5:7
(Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.)

God Bless You!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Accept Jesus As Your Lord And Savior!

Revelation; 13:8
(All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.)
This verse is speaking about the time when the beast (antichrist) is ruling on earth. His power comes from satan and he will cause all whose names haven't been written in the Book of Life to worship him. They will be required to have a mark on their forehead or right hand in order to buy or sell anything. It's going to be a terrible time on the earth for any one who has not come to Christ for Salvation as they will not be able to buy food or sell anything. They will be hunted down and will probably be martyred for their faith.

Maybe you say "I would never worship this beast no matter what". If you are not able to take a stand for Jesus today when all that might happen to you is a little ridicule, how will you be able to take a stand for Jesus during this time period when it will probably cost you your life? You don't have to take that chance if you will just come to Jesus for Salvation today. He is ready to forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life if you'll just come.

As the verse says, all who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the Book of Life. If you haven't been raptured out of here with the rest of the church, then you will go through this period of time. This beast is going to be given power to perform signs and wonders so that people will believe he is God. They will believe the lie and receive the mark of his name and thus be doomed for eternity. Don't put yourself in this period of time, accept Jesus as Lord and Savior today. If you don't, this is what the Scripture says.

Revelation; 14:9-11
(Then the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever received the mark of his name.)

God Bless You!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Choice!

We all have a choices to make in life and some are very difficult to make. Where will you go to school, who will you marry, the list is endless. As tough as these seem, there is one choice that will affect you not only in this life, but in the life to come. Where will you spend eternity? This is a choice that no one can make for you because it's your choice.

God tells us that He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins and now we can have forgiveness of sins. Jesus didn't have to come to earth to die in our place, but because of His great love for us, He chose to come. Now you and I have a choice to make. Will we accept that free gift from Him or will we let our pride get in the way and we refuse the gift? There will be consequences if you refuse Him and your name won't be written in the Book of Life. You might ask, "What is so bad about that"?
Revelation; 20:15
(And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.)

The other choice you can make is to accept Jesus as your Savior and have eternal life in Heaven with Him. Before a person comes to Jesus, they think their life is good just the way it is. They think a Christian can't have any fun or joy in their life, but that is just the opposite of how it is. When you become a child of God, you have more peace and joy than those who don't have God. You have the freedom from sin that you never had before and that in itself bring joy. The most important thing you have is forgiveness of sins. Without this, your doomed to spend eternity separated from God in hell. Our few years down here don't even scratch the surface of eternity.

John; 3:16
(For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.)
Remember, God loves you so much that He is offering this free gift of life. All you have to do is say yes to Jesus and the gift is yours.

God Bless You!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Pray For The Lost!

Maybe you are a person who is afraid to talk about Jesus. Maybe you just aren't comfortable so you don't witness when you know you should. I'm sure there are many times we wished we would have said something and didn't. You are not alone when you've failed to witness, but fear isn't an excuse not to speak up for Jesus. God gave us the command to go into all the world and tell others about Him.

I have personally had many times I didn't speak up only to regret it latter. We have to realize that person may never get another opportunity to hear the good news about Salvation in Jesus Christ. There has been times when I have witnessed to people and we went our way and I thought, that didn't go very well. But God tells us that His Word will accomplish His purpose and not come back void.
Isaiah; 55:11
(So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.)
If God has sent you to talk to a person, don't worry if you'll be good at it or not. God will do the work, all we have to do is be faithful and spread the Word. We never know how God will use even a casual word of witness to plant and water the seed in somebody's heart.

Another thing we need to be doing is praying for the lost. Probably everyone of us who have accepted Jesus Christ for our Salvation have had someone praying for us. I know that God answers prayer and we need to ask. So don't be shy, stand up for our Lord and Savior and spread the Word today, and don't forget to pray for the lost souls. Eternity is for ever.

God Bless You!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Is There Going To Be Punishment?

Isaiah; 13:9-11
(Behold the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.)
You don't hear many messages of punishment coming from the pulpit anymore. I guess it's not politically correct. But God mentions it many places in the Bible so I take Him at His word. If God tells us that those who choose to live a life in sin will be punished, I believe God.

We don't know when the second coming of Christ will be, so we need to be sure we are telling the lost souls the good news of Salvation. Our life here on earth is so short and we shouldn't waste any of it. God gave us the command to tell others about Him and we had better be obedient to this command. I know that sometimes we get nervous about witnessing and so we don't do it. Maybe that chance was the last opportunity that person would have had to here the good news. Don't be a conformer to the worlds view of things, but rather stand up for what you know is true. Jesus says He is the only way and people need to know that.

God wants us to be a shinning light in a dark world, so let shine forth with the good news of Salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God Bless You!