Walking In The Light!

When I was in Viet Nam, those who smoked were told to make sure that if they light up at night to make sure that they did so under their poncho. The reason is that no matter how dark it is out, the smallest flicker of light can be seen miles away. Light will always over power darkness and it is the same in our Spiritual life. If we are walking in darkness we are going to stumble because of that darkness. If we are living in the light we will be able to see things clearly and avoid stumbling.

John tell us that if we know belong to Jesus we should walk as He walked. Jesus said that He is the light of the world and if we belong to Him we will walk in that light.
John; 1:4-5
(In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.)
Darkness can not overcome light and keep it from shining. Neither can the spiritual forces of darkness over come the light of the Son of God.

If we are living our life for Jesus our Lord and Savior and have put our trust in Him, then we are a light among those who are living in darkness. We can tell them about Jesus and what He has done for us and them and lead them to the Light. Only Jesus is able to bring a person out of the darkness of sin and into the Light of life. Like the song some of us learned in Sunday school, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine!" This should be our goal to let our light shine in a dark world. People will come to the light to see what it is we have and then they will decide if they want to stay in the light or live in the darkness.

Let's be a witness for Jesus by letting His light shine through us. When others ask what we have that makes us shine, tell them that it is Jesus in our life and knowing that He has saved from the penalty of sin. There is life in no other and there is no other light than Him.

God Bless You!

Jesus Came To Save The Lost!

Romans; 8:1
(There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.)

Now what if you are not in Christ Jesus? Then you stand condemned because your sins have not been forgiven. If you don't put your faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, your sins will be held against you at the Great White Throne Judgment. You will be found guilty because you haven't ask Jesus for forgiveness. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone of us guilty of sin and deserving of death, but those of us who have come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness have been given eternal life and a not guilty verdict. You can either accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and have his death on the cross pay penalty for your sins or you will pay it yourself.

Maybe you don't think that you are condemned because you are a good person and go to church and give to the poor. These are all very good, but you still stand condemned for your sins because you haven't believed on the name of Jesus Christ and put your faith in Him.
John; 3:18
("He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.)
God doesn't want anyone to perish, but if you refuse to come to Jesus for forgiveness you will perish.

No matter what you may have heard in life, there is salvation in no one else. God sent His Son to die in our place as the Sacrificial Lamb. Through His blood we can be cleansed of our sins. There is no other way. If you chose not to believe, you will die in your sins and face the judgment of God. As we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus, we need to thank Him for loving us so much that He was willing to come to earth and die in our place for our sins. He is the only way to have eternal life. You will live forever either in eternal torment separated form God or in Heaven eternally with God. The choice is yours, eternal life or eternal punishment. This Christmas season let's celebrate Jesus as Lord and Savior.

God Bless You!

Time For Everything!

Solomon writes in the book of Ecclesiastes that God has appointed a season for everything in a mans life. In our life here on earth we will experience many if not all of these seasons.

Ecclesiastes; 3:1-8
(To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven;
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.)

When would a person hate? We hate sin, we hate when children are abused, we also hate when God is dishonored. So you see there is a time for everything. God has the perfect plan for our lives and we need to believe in Him and know that He has what is best for us. We couldn't have a better plan.

God Bless You!

Don't Be Deceived!

How do we identify a false religion or (Cult)? One thing that false religions have in common is that they deny the Deity of Jesus Christ. They will tell you that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God. When you dig a little deeper into what they really believe, they will deny that Jesus is God the Son. All through the Bible we are told that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. I was listening to Mitt Romney's speech today on the news where he was telling the nation that his Mormon religion would not interfere with his presidential candidacy. It all sounded good when he said that he and the Mormons believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but no where did he say that Jesus was God the Son. The difference is in admitting that Jesus is God the Son. When I have talked with Jehovah Witnesses and have asked them who Jesus is, they also have told me that Jesus is the Son of God, but not God the Son.

I'm sure that most Mormon's are a good and loving people, but they are still lost in the fact that they don't have eternal life through Jesus Christ. Salvation can only be achieved by faith in Jesus Christ.
Acts; 4:12
(Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.")
John; 14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)

Many antichrist will come in the last days and we are told to be prepared. How do we get prepared? We study the Word of God, not the book of Mormon, or the writings in the watch tower of the Jehovah witness. God gave us the Bible and that is all we need to be prepared for the Cults and their beliefs.
2Timothy; 3:16-17
(All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.)

We are instructed to be on guard because the enemy is out there and looking for someone to devour. When someone tells you something that your not sure of, filter it through the Bible. If it contradicts the Bible, don't believe it. There are many false religions out there and they are deceiving people. Not only deceiving others but they are also deceived into believing the lie. The best thing that we can do is pray for them that God will lift the veil of blindness that Satan has on them. Be on your guard always.
1Peter; 5:8-9
(Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.)

God Bless You!

The Greatest Gift Ever Given!

Matthew; 1:21
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

When we celebrate the Christmas season, we need to always remember that it is Jesus birth that we are celebrating. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment and lose the real meaning of this time of year.

Jesus or Jeshua in Hebrew means "the lord is salvation". Jesus came to bring salvation to man. He was the sinless sacrifice and the only means of bringing forgiveness of sins to man. No matter what the world says about Jesus, He is the only way to the Father. Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the trinity. There might be some who don't agree that Jesus is God the Son, but what does the Bible say?
Matthew; 1:23
("Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us.")

The Father sent the Son (Jesus) into the world to bring eternal life to all who would believe in Him.
John; 3:16-17
(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. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.)

When we are giving gifts this Christmas season, let us remember the greatest gift ever given to man, and thank Jesus our Lord and Savior for the gift of eternal life to all who will believe in Him.

God Bless You!

Christianity Under Attack!

As we head into the Christmas season, once again we are under attack by the enemy. Of course this attack goes on all year long but is even stronger during the Christmas season. The world doesn't want the words God or Christ used in any of the public displays. The world wants to push the living God out of mainstream life and replace Him with the false gods of the world. Is it coincidental or were we warned that this sort of thing would escalate toward the end times?
Matthew; 24:10-12
(And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.)
(1)-People today are offended by anything relating to God!
(2)-Look at the false religions "CULTS" we have in our world!
(3)-Many people are being deceived by the god's of this world!
(4)-Lawlessness is everywhere we look!
(5)-Peoples love for one another has grown cold!

God has told us what to watch for as the time grows closer and we need to rely on God's strength and stay true to Him. Jesus told us that He is the way, the truth and the life. He has also told us that we can do nothing on our own. As the attacks increase we should make sure that we have the whole armor of God in place.
Ephesians;6:10-17
(Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.)

As we head into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, we need to thank God for all that He has done for us. Most of us will be spending time with family and friends and this is a good time to be a witness for Jesus. It is by the grace of God that we were born in this country of plenty and that we still have the freedom to worship God. Even now those freedoms are under serious attack. When we sit down to eat the Turkey dinner, just remember that everything we have set before us is from God. You may have bought the food, but God has given you the ability to earn the money to purchase the food. We have nothing that wasn't given to us from God.

Remember to keep our troops and our country in prayer. Trusting in God is our only hope of survival against this powerful enemy.

God Bless You!

The Rain's Came Upon The Land!

I see in the news that the people of Georgia and other places in the south have finally turned to prayer. They have brought the drought up before God and have ask Him to bring the rain's upon the land. It's funny how when things are bad we look to God for help, but when things are good we tend to forget God. One of God's blessings is the rain, and He has the power to with hold the rain or give the rain. If we are without the rain, we end up in a drought.

This drought could be discipline from God. I'm not saying that it is, but it could be. As a country blessed with everything, we have refused to give God the glory and thank Him for the blessings. Instead we have done everything possible to push Him out of the way. In the book of Leviticus God told the people if they obeyed Him He would bring the rains.
Leviticus; 26:3-4
('If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.)

If you were in charge of a nation and the people of that nation kept disobeying you and turning there head away from you, would you keep giving them all of the blessings? I don't think so! So how can we expect God to continue to bless this great country of ours when we keep rejecting Him. Everything we have is because He has given it to us. All we have to do is look around at the other nations and we will see how blessed we are in this nation.

The thing we need to remember is that God is in control. He controls the rain and the lack of rain. If we as a nation would turn from our evil ways and call upon God for the rains, I believe He would continue to bless us with the rains. If we don't change our ways, I don't see things getting better for our country. All of God's people should get down on their knees and ask God to send the rains. A nation without God, is a nation doomed to destruction.
"Food For Thought"

God Bless You!

Can You Believe It?

Every time I think I've seen the bottom of the pit as far as where our country is heading, I'm once again surprised. Now in Fort Collins, Co. they have an issue with the color of the light's that can be displayed during Christmas. If you haven't been following the news, they are deciding if they will allow the use of red and green lights on Christmas displays. Apparently, someone finds it offensive and has raised a fuss over there use. Can you imagine it?

In our country there are those who just don't want us to celebrate Christmas. So what we have here is a very small minority of people who are telling the majority of this country what they can do and can't do. I don't know about you but I'm very tired of it. Why do we allow these people to tell us how we can worship our Lord and Savior? We are heading into a religious persecution that if it isn't stopped, where will it end?

(1)- They say that we can't have the Ten Commandments in public squares. What about our rights to have the Ten Commandments where we want them?
(2)-They say we can't pray at public functions. What about our right to pray to our Lord and Savior?
(3)-They say we can't display a nativity scene on public property or in public buildings. What about our right to have them there?
(4)-They don't want us to say "Merry Christmas," but instead we are to say "have a happy holiday". What about our right to say Merry Christmas?
(5)-They want us to take 'In God We Trust' off of our money. What about us who put our trust in God?


This is just a small fraction of our religious rights that are slowly being taken away from us and if we don't say enough is enough, we will end up being controlled by this small minority of people. We need to voice our opinion with our government leaders and tell them to quit caving in to these organizations and there anti Christian agenda. They don't believe in God and they don't want you and I to believe in God. They just keep pushing God further and further out of our country and out of mainstream life.
1John; 2:18
(Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrist have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.)
These organizations are hostile and opposed to God. When the Scripture tell us that many antichrist have come, we are witnessing this continual opposition to God.

If we would just open up our eyes, we would recognize the signs. John warns us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God or are they the spirit of the Antichrist. He tell us how we can recognize between the two.
1John;4:1-3
(Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.)

We need to take a stand for Jesus today and not wait. If we don't do it soon, it will be to late. Prayer is our best weapon in this battle, because the battle belongs to the Lord. Jesus defeated Satan when he went to the cross so we he has already won. Keep praying that our country will turn back to God and repent. He is our only hope!!

God Bless You!

The Last Hour! "Last Days"

1John; 2:18
(Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrist have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.)

John tells us that we need to recognize the signs of the last hour or last days before Christ returns. We are living in the last days as is evidenced by what is going on in the world. We don't know for sure when Jesus will come again, but we are told to be watchful and alert to the signs of His second coming. There are many Antichrist in our country today. All we have to do is read the newspaper or watch the news on TV. We have so many different factions that want God taken off the dollar bill, out of the pledge of allegiance, out of our court rooms and public buildings, out of our schools. We are not to use the name of God when we pray at public functions and the list could go on.

If a person does not think that we are drawing closer to Jesus return, then read what He says in the Bible will be the signs of His return. Maybe you have been waiting for the right time to give your life to Jesus thinking there was plenty of time. We don't know how much time is left, all we know is that we were told to watch for the signs. Read Matthew; 24 and see what Jesus told the disciples would occur before He would return.
SIGNS
(1)-FOR MANY WILL COME IN MY NAME SAYING I'M THE CHRIST!
(2)-NATION WILL RISE AGAINST NATION
(3)-THERE WILL BE FAMINES, PESTILENCES, EARTHQUAKES
(4)-MANY FALSE PROPHETS WILL RISE UP
(5)-LOVE FOR EACH OTHER WILL GROW COLD

These are just some of the signs we are seeing happening today. If you haven't turned to Jesus for salvation, today is the day. Don't wait until it is to late to repent and turn to Christ. He gave His life on the cross for our sins so we could have eternal life in Him. It is a free gift from God, but you must respond and ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Romans; 10:13
(For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.")
Let Jesus save you and give you eternal life. He is the only way.

God Bless You!

How Do We Know If We Have Eternal Life?

1John; 5:11-12
(And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)

God tell us in many many places in the Scriptures that life is in Jesus and only in Him. We may have a physical life while here on earth, but without Jesus in our hearts we are spiritually dead. When Nicodemus ask Jesus what He meant when He told Nicodemus he must be born again see the kingdom of God, Jesus replied with this answer.
John; 3:5-6
(Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.)
Jesus made reference to the washing of purification of the soul, accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God at the moment of salvation, required for belonging to the kingdom.
Titus; 3:5
(He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,)

If we want to have eternal life, we must believe in Jesus. Jesus tells us that He is the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. If we choose not to believe the testimony that God has given about His Son, then we are calling God a liar. I choose to believe God!
1John; 5:13
(These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.)

God Bless You!

You Must Believe!

John: 8:24
(Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.")

Jesus is telling them that the fatal sin is failure to believe that He is the Messiah. He is God the Son who came into the world that who ever would believe in Him would be saved. There isn't anything that we can do that will get us eternal life except to believe in Jesus. We are told over and over in the Scriptures that we must believe in order to be saved.

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.)
John; 3:36
(He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.)
Romans; 10:9
(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.)
Acts; 4:12
(Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.)

It's will be impossible for you to put your faith in Jesus if you do not believe that He is who He says He is. He has told us all through the Scriptures that He is God the Son. He told the religious leaders that he was God when He said to them "I AM".
John; 8:58
(Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.")
Here Jesus declares Himself to be Yahweh, the Lord of the Old Testament.
Exodus; 3:13-14
(Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' ")

If we want eternal life, we must believe in Jesus and put our faith in Him. It all comes down to our believing in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

God Bless You!

God Gave Them Up To Uncleaness!

When we consistently abandon God, He will abandon us. If we keep telling God that we don't care what He wants and commands us to do, He will give us up to our sinful ways by removing His restraint and allowing our sin to run it's inevitable course. In other words we will pay the penalty for our sinful choices and it can be a very painful consequence, even ending in early death. There are many places in the Bible which speak of people abandoning God and in return of Him abandoning them.
Judges; 10:13
(Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more.)
2Chronicles; 15:2
(And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.)

We are witnessing this more and more everyday in our country as well as in the world. God gave us commandments to obey, because He loved us and knew what was best for our life. He wants us to be able to enjoy life, but to do it without sinning. God knows the past, the present, and the future and He knows what happens when we disobey Him. When we decide to serve ourselves instead of the living God, He gives us up to our vile passions.
Romans; 1:24-27
(Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.)

So when we go against what God has ordained for life, we suffer the consequences for our actions. God wants what is best for us, and if we obey His commands He won't abandon us. One of the promises in the Scriptures is this:
James; 4:7
(Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.)
Submit to God, resist the devil. Seems easy enough if we will just do it. God loves us and we must never forget it.
James; 4:10
(Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.)


God Bless You!

The Gift Of Life Is From God!

I'm sure that most of us just go from day to day and never think about the gift of life. The air we breath, the water we drink, the food we eat are all given to us from the hand of God. We may work very hard and still we are given all that we have from God. Life itself is from God and He gives it and takes it away. Some of live to a very old age and some of us have a very short life here on earth. The one thing we always want to remember is that the gift of the human soul (spirit) is also from God and it is eternal. Our bodies will eventually grow old and die and return to the dust from which we were made, but our spirit will live eternal, either with God or separated from God.
Genesis: 3:19
(In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.")

The spirit (soul) that God gave us is eternal and the spirit never dies. All the living things have life, but God made man different in that he gave us a spirit that is eternal. All life will one day go to the grave but the spirit of man will live eternally. God has also given some to be wealthy and some to be poor but all of us will one day die and be forgotten. Our health is also a gift from God. It is the one thing that money can't buy. We might prolong it with medicine but the day will come when everyone of us will lose the heath that God has given us. We will all die because of sin in the world.
Romans; 6:23
(For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
God knows that we are all destined to die because of our sins so He sent His Son to die for those sins.

Since we know that we all will one day die and after that the judgment, how should we live this life God has given us? First we should repent of our sins to God and ask Him to forgive us. Then ask Jesus to come into our hearts and let Him be Lord and Savior of our life. Then we need to obey God and do His will for our lives.
1Peter; 4:2-3
(that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.)

God has given us a life to live and we are to enjoy all that God has given us, but we are not to live in sin. Ask God into your life, and then live the rest of your life to please Him. We need to remember that our life is a gift from God and be thankful to Him. Being obedient to Him is one way of saying 'thank you God' for creating me and giving me life. Remember that eternal life with Him is also a gift of God through Jesus Christ His Son.
1John; 5:11-12
(And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)

God Bless You!

God Will Not Be Mocked!

It seems like every day I watch some group on the news who are mocking God and His Word. They know what the Bible teaches about something and they go ahead and do it knowing that it is wrong. It's like they don't think that they will ever have to give account for the wrong doing (sin). We all will stand before God and give account.
Romans; 14:11-12
(For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.)

I watch everyday how perverted our society is becoming and how it is flaunted in our faces. A person would become increasingly more worried if the Bible had not said that in the last days it will be this way.
2Timothy; 3:1-4
(But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,)
I think that we are witnessing this everyday in the news.

I'm not saying that Jesus will come today or tomorrow (even though He could,) but what I'm saying is that we are to be able to discern the signs of His coming. God has told us that things will become increasing worse as the time approaches. All the dangerous movements of the false teachers will become increasingly more successful as Christ return approaches.
2Timothy; 3:13
(But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.)

One thing we need to understand is that God is a holy God, and He will not be mocked. People might think that they can get away with what ever they want to do, but the day of judgment is approaching fast.
Galatians; 6:7-8
(Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.)

If you haven't put your faith in Jesus Christ, today is the day. You may never have another chance to repent and be saved.
John; 10:9
(I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.)
John; 14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)

God Bless You!

'I Never Knew You'!

You've had that phone call when someone would say "hi" I'm this person or that person. You try as hard as you can to remember who they are but you just don't know them. I have had people call me by my first name and act like they knew me only to find out that they were trying to get me to give money to their organization. They want you to think that they know you when they don't have the slightest idea who you are. There are those who claim to be a Christian yet their actions speak a different story. They may be saved, only God knows their heart, but the world doesn't see any change.

The Bible tells us that we are a new creation in Christ, so we should see a change in their life at some point. They may have spoken the words but their heart wasn't right with God. You can't just say some words and go on living your life the way you want too. When you give your life to Jesus, you are telling Him that He is Lord and master of your life and you are His servant. God has told us how He wants us to live and if we aren't living that way we are in disobedience to Him. Now everyone is going to sin at times, but our goal is to be obedient to Him and become more Christ like in our daily walk. If we think that we have fire insurance by saying the words and then living as we please, we deceiving ourselves.

Jesus addresses this and tells us that not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew; 7:21-23
("Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me that day, 'Lord, Lord,' have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!')
Works will never save us but true faith will not fail to produce the fruit of good works. You can't call Jesus 'Lord, Lord,' if He isn't truly Lord of your life. If Jesus was truly Lord of your life, you would want to do the will of the Father who is in Heaven.

God tells us not to be just hearers of the word but to be doers also. We can hear the word, but if we don't do what it says we will not produce good works. We are told that the just will live by faith and with that faith we will do good works.
James; 1:22
(But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.)
James; 2:26
(For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.)

We want to have Jesus tell us on that day, 'Well done my good and faithful servant, enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Don't put your faith on something you've done but put it on what Jesus has done for you. Ask Jesus to come into your life and be Lord of your life. Jesus has told us that He will not cast anyone out who comes to Him.
John; 6:37
(All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.)
John; 6:40
(And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.")

God Bless You!

Are You Ready For Eternity?

Have you ever thought about the money that people spend every year trying to look younger? I have heard that it is way up in the millions of dollars. If you take the products that we can buy over the counter along with prescribed medicine and surgery, it probably is in the millions of dollars. You've heard the saying that we should chose the battles we want to fight. Well this is a battle that we will never win. No matter how much money a person spends on looking young, they will grow old and probably look that way. We know that we are going to die because God has told us that we will all die once. Avoiding death is a battle we will all lose.
Hebrews; 9:27
(And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.)
So we are all going to die once unless Jesus comes and raptures us out of this present world. Now if you do not belong to Jesus you will not be raptured with the rest of the believers. If you live long enough, you will go through the Great Tribulation Period.

This coming judgment is a term that speaks to both believers and non-believers in Jesus Christ.
The Bible speaks of both judgments.
BELIEVERS
2Corinthians; 5:10
(For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.)
This refers to the actions which happened while the believer was here on earth. This will not include judgment of sin because that was paid for by Jesus when He died on the cross. It will include what we have done for the kingdom of God which has eternal value. This judgment will be for our rewards.

The coming judgment for non-believers will be at the Great White Throne Judgment.
NON-BELIEVERS
Revelation; 20:11-15
(Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.)

Which judgment will you be at? You can be at the believers judgment if you put your faith in Jesus Christ and believe on his name. Our works will never get us into Heaven, only by the blood of Jesus can we be forgiven of our sins. No matter what the world says, Jesus is the only way to the Father and eternal life.
1John; 5:11-12
(And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
Put your faith in Jesus today and we will see you in Heaven. You will be a child of God and also a heir of the kingdom.

God Bless You!

Our Citizenship Is In Heaven!

If you are a child of God, your home is in heaven, not here on earth. Isn't that a wonderful feeling to know that God has prepared a place for you in His kingdom? God who created everything has made a home for His children in heaven with Him.
John; 14:1-3
("Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.)
This is one of the passages that talk about the rapture of the saints at the end of the age.

After you have been born again, you are a foreigner here on earth. You then have citizenship in heaven with Jesus our Lord. Heaven is where God dwells and it is the believers new home. We have our names registered there also.
Luke; 10:20
(Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.)
The contrast to this is that all unbelievers names are written in the earth.
Jeremiah; 17:13
(O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters.")

We can rejoice and be thankful to Jesus Christ our Lord that we have a new home in heaven. If He hadn't set aside His Deity and became a man to die in our place, we would not have any means of forgiveness from sin. Because He was obedient even to death on the cross, He became the sacrificial lamb to die in our place. Through His death we can be reconciled to God and be at peace with our heavenly Father.
2Corinthians; 5:19
(that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.)
You might wonder how that could have happened. How could we being sinners be reconciled to God?
2Corinthians; 5:21
(For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.)
God sent His Son to die in our place. We can have eternal life through His sacrifice. We can have a home in heaven and our names written in the Book of Life. Come to Jesus and be saved!

God Bless You!

The Coming Day Of God!

Most of us carry insurance on our homes and cars and some of us have life insurance. We carry these to protect us against some unforeseen crisis. We carry fire insurance on our homes and cars. What ever is valuable to us we want to protect. But our soul is what really should be of importance to us?
2Peter; 3:10-12
(But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?)

God tell us that He will incinerate the universe. This refers to the physical universe as we know it. If you are a Christian, you are looking forward to that day because God will create a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. This will come after the thousand year millennium.
Psalm; 102:25-26
(Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.)
Our present corrupt and decaying world will be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth. Righteousness will dwell in this new world because God will be dwell with us.
Revelation; 21:1-3
(Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.)

The word "tabernacle," means place of abode. This is God's house, the place where He lives.
Leviticus; 26:11-12
(I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.)
We need to ready for the day that God comes and takes His people out of the present earth. We know that God has told us that He will come again to take us to be with Him. We need to give our life to Him and let Him be Lord. What seems important down here on this present earth will not matter when Jesus comes, because it will end up being destroyed. What will matter is what we have done for the kingdom of God. Have we been obedient and spread the Word of God, or have we been a light in a dark place? Have we told our children about Jesus and raised them in the ways of the Lord? Doing the will of the Father and believing on the Son of God will be what counts.
1John; 2:17
(And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.)
You can have eternal life today, All you have to do is believe on the name of Jesus and be saved.
Romans; 10:9-10
(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.)

God Bless You!

The Path To Damnation!

Why do people end up going to the Lake of Fire ? They may have been really good people and done many things to help others and they still will end up in the Lake of Fire. The reason they end up there is that they have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They have relied on their good works and being a good person to get them to heaven.
Ephesians; 2:8-9
(For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any should boast.)
Being good and doing things for other's will not get you to heaven. Once you are born again and have the Holy Spirit living in you, these works will come as fruit of the Spirit, not fruit of the flesh. We can never be good enough to merit heaven.

The false religions want you to believe that there are many ways to heaven and it is up to you which way you want to go. They deny the deity of Jesus and want you to believe they have the answers to salvation. They are the false teachers that the Word of God warns us about many times in the Scriptures. They want you to believe that they have gotten a new revelation from God and that the Bible is wrong. God wrote the Bible through inspired men and God doesn't make mistakes. He told them what to write down and when He was done He gave us this warning at the end of the Bible.
A WARNING
Revelation; 22:18-19
(For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.)

The path to damnation is the path of a non-repentant heart. This person is rejecting the only path to heaven and that is the path through Jesus Christ.
John; 14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)
We are all sinners and in need of a Savior and our Savior is Jesus. We might say that we don't sin much but one sin is all it took to separate us form God.
Romans; 3:23
(for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,)
God knew that we needed a Savior and He sent His Son to die in our place.
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.)

There are two paths we can take, one will lead us to eternal life in heaven and the other to eternal separation from God in hell.
Matthew; 7:13-14
(Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.)
Don't listen to the false teachers, trust in the Word of God and be on the narrow path. Jesus tells us that if we don't believe in Him we will die in our sins and the penalty to sin is death.
John; 8:24
(Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.)
Repent and ask Jesus to forgive you and be your Lord and Savior. He is the only way.

God Bless You!

A Country Divided Against Itself!

What has happened to our country? We used to be respected as a great country and now we are the laughing stock of the world. They look at us and see what happens to a country that is divided against itself. We have so many internal problems that we are not of any use when it comes to world problems. We have corruption in our country from the little man to the big man and I don't see it getting any better. I'm not saying that every person is corrupt, but all you have to do is read the news and you see what I'm talking about.

People are more interested in keeping the ten commandments out of public square than protecting our borders. You have those who don't believe in God telling you that you can't worship Him the way you want because they just don't like it. We have every blessing from God that we could expect to have and yet we are not satisfied. We want it our way and that's all there is to it. We have the far left, the far right, homosexual movement, illegal immigrants and the list could go on. Everybody wants America their way and they don't care what anyone else thinks. The important thing is what does God want? Maybe you don't care what God thinks or wants, but God could destroy this country in a heart beat. If you don't believe so, look at what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. God totally destroyed them with fire and brimstone from heaven.

The further away we get from God and the more we push Him out of the way, the worse it is going to get. We are a country that is divided against our self and there is no hope if we continue this way. We have all heard the saying divide and conquer, we are going to destroy ourselves from the inside out. We are not a united country!
Matthew; 12:25
(But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.)

Is there any hope for our country? YES! there is hope and that hope is in Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel; 18:30-32
("Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourself a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!")
All we have to do is repent of our sins and turn back to God and He will forgive us.

Our enemies have always said that we would destroy ourselves from the inside out and I see it happening every day. Maybe you can see it to. We need to be on our knees as a nation and asking God to forgive us and cleans us from the inside out. We need to be a God fearing country again an maybe then we can get back on track as a great leader in a fallen world.

God Bless You!

Will You Inherit The Kingdom Of God?

Can we say the words and then live anyway we want to live? You ask Jesus to forgive you and save you, now you've said the words and you figure you can go on with your life as it was before. The Scripture tell us that we are a new creation, so how can we continue as we were before coming to Jesus. I have talked with people who tell me they are saved and yet they continue to walk in the flesh. We are warned that if we live in the flesh, we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Galatians; 5:19-21
(Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.)

The key word in Paul's warning is to practice these things. All Christians will commit sins, but what is meant here is the habitual indulgence in these sins. Living this life style and being unrepentant will put you into this habitual practice. How can we live like the world and then be a witness to the world about Jesus Christ? How can we tell them that it is wrong to live like this, if we live like this? We are told what we should do to keep from fulfilling the desires of the flesh.
Galatians; 5:16-17
(I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these things are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.)
The flesh here is not just simply the physical body, but the mind, will, and emotions which are all subject to sin.

The key here is being led by the Spirit. How do we know if we are walking in the Spirit?
Galatians; 5:22-23
(But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.)
Galatians; 5:25-26
(If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.)

If we are in any habitual sin, we need to repent and confess our sin and ask God to forgive us and to help us live in the Spirit. We cannot continue to live in the flesh and do it's will and be pleasing God.
Romans; 8:5-8
(For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.)

Give your life totally to Jesus and live in the Spirit. It is the only way you will be able to please Him and do His will. You can't have it both ways, you will either walk by the Spirit or you will walk by the flesh. You know what walking in the flesh will lead to, it isn't the kingdom of God.

God Bless You!

We Plant And Water, God Causes The Growth!

You witness to someone every time you get a chance, but maybe you don't seem to be getting anywhere. That's probably far from what is happening in that persons life. They may not except Jesus at the time you are witnessing to them, but the seed has been planted. We don't always see the growth in a persons life but God is working and will continue that work.

1Corinthians; 3:6
(I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.)
It is the Lord alone who can give the faith to the spiritually ignorant and dead. Salvation is God's work of grace to whom He chooses to give it. We can't save anyone, all we can be is servants of God and spread the seed of truth. When Jesus was about to go to the Father, he gave His disciples this work to do.
Matthew; 28:19
(Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.)

Never give up telling others about Jesus. We don't know when they may be enlightened and come to Jesus for salvation. I have heard that most people don't make that decision of faith the first time they are told the word. God knows the time and the place for all who will come to Him and be saved. You might plant the seed then someone else waters the seed by talking to them again about Jesus. Then someone else comes along and it might be the day of their salvation and they lead them to Christ. God might use a number of individuals to tell someone about Jesus, but God alone can save that person. The glory goes to God not us, we are nothing but an instrument to be used to fulfill His purpose.
1Corinthians; 3:7-8
(So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his labor.)

It's our flesh that wants to make us something when we are nothing, but we need to remember that it is all about Jesus who alone saves. We must never forget that He went to the cross, He died in our place for our sins, we are nothing, He is everything, He is our Lord and Savior. Thank You Jesus for saving me!

God Bless You!

Sticks And Stones And Our Words Can Hurt!

We have all heard the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me." I don't know who coined that phrase but words will definitely harm you. We have all had someone say something to us that was hurtful and maybe we didn't let on like it bothered us but down deep it hurt a lot. We have probably done the same to someone else without even knowing that our words hurt them. We need to be careful with what we say to others so that we don't cause them to shy away from God because of what we have said. They could look at us and the way we talk and say "if being a Christian cause you to say the hurtful things you say," then I don't want anything to do with being a Christian.

God warns us be careful with our speech. When we become a Christian, we are a new creation in Christ and we are to do away with fleshly speech.
Ephesians; 4:31
(Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.)
As a believer in Jesus Christ, we are to have a change in our character. We have had our heart cleansed by the blood of Christ and we shouldn't have venom spewing out of our mouth. When we open our mouth it should be with graceful speech.
Ephesians; 4:29
(Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearer.)

I'm sure that all of us have spoke before we thought about what we should say. Once the words are out of our mouth, there is no taking them back. The damage is done and it will be hard to fix if it even can be fixed. Remember a kind word will stop an arguement before it can get out of control and we have said something that we wish we hadn't said.
Proverbs; 15:1
(A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.)
Sticks and stones will break bones and your words will hurt just as much. Let God help you control the mouth.

God Bless You!

Real Food And Real Water!

You want to talk about faith, lets talk about the journey of the children of Israel in the wilderness. They leave Egypt with the provisions given them and now are in the wilderness with no food or water. They complain to Moses that they have no food and why didn't they stay in Egypt where there was food.
Exodus; 16:3
(And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.")
They had seen all of the miracles that God had performed and they still doubted God. He had not brought them into the wilderness to kill them but to test them to see whether they would walk in His law or not. God told Moses that He would provide food for the people every day, but they could only gather enough for each person for that day and not keep any over until morning. He would rain down bread from heaven, and bring Quail in at night for the people to eat.

Here you are in the in wilderness with no food and you are told that you could only have enough for one day. On the sixth day you were to bring in enough for two days because on the seventh day there would not be any food to gather. You've got to have faith that God will supply food tomorrow just like He did today. God also gave them water when they were complaining to Moses that they were thirsty. Once again the people were to put their faith in God that He would take care of them and meet all of their needs.

It's the same today. Jesus is the true bread from heaven, and the true river of life. We search for spiritual food because we are hungry and we look for spiritual water because we are thirsty. Jesus is the one who can supply all of our needs.
John; 6:32-33
(Then Jesus said to them, "most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.")
Jesus is the one who can give you spiritual food leading to eternal life. The manna in the wilderness was temporary, but Jesus is eternal food. Jesus also tells us that He is the living water and that if we come to Him we will never thirst.
John4:14
(but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.")

If you are still searching for something but have not found it, come to Jesus where He will give you true food and living water which will lead to eternal life. He is God who alone can give you life eternal.
John; 14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)

God Bless You!

Way He Should Go!

Proverbs; 22:6
(Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.)
Early training secures life long habits. We as parents are to train our children in the ways of the Lord. If we don't teach our children God's ways, then the world will teach them the ways of the world. Parents must insist upon God's way, by teaching God's Word and enforcing it with loving discipline consistently through out the child's upbringing.

As loving parents and grandparents we need to teach as well as read the Word of God to our children. God has given us rules for Godly living,. and if we would just obey them our life would be so much better.
Deuteronomy; 4:9
(Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and grandchildren,)
Deuteronomy; 6:6
("And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.)

If we talk about God to our children on a regular basis, they will learn and when they grow up and are out on their own, they will be able to recall what they were taught. We don't have to look very far to see what the world is teaching our children and telling them it is acceptable. When children are encouraged to turn their parents into the police if the parent disciplines them, we end up with a child who has never been disciplined. This child will then think that they can do what ever they want without any consequences. We definitely don't want our children abused, but we don't want children who abuse.
Proverbs; 13:24
(He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.)

God doesn't make mistakes. He is warning us to be obedient and teach our children to be obedient. Look at the children who die young because they have gotten involved in something they should have never been involved in. Raising children is a very tough job, but God knows that we can do it. That is why he has helped us by giving us direction in the way He want us to raise them. God has also given children a promise who are obedient and honor their parents.
Ephesians; 6:1-3
(Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with a promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.")

We also have direction for the Christian dad.
Ephesians; 6:4
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.)
The apostle makes it clear that a Christian father's authority over his children does not allow for unreasonable demands and strictures that might drive his children to anger, despair, and resentment. So as parents and children, we both have guidelines as to what God expects from us. By following these guidelines, we are being obedient to God.

God Bless You!

Believers Need Not Worry!

2Timothy; 3:1-4
(But know this, in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,)

Sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it. It seems like everyday we hear of more and more heinous crimes against others. People committing crimes against helpless children and older people. Children killing their parents, bad mouthing parents, no respect for the law. Adults killing little defenseless children and raping innocent woman and children both girls and boys. This is just what we hear about. Think of the crimes that are committed that we don't hear about. God tells us "But know this, in the last days perilous times will come".

The Disciples Two Questions. They asked Jesus when these things would happen and what would be the sign of his coming and of the end of the age? From Matthew 24:3
(1)-Matthew; 24:4-5
(And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.)
Remember the recent past. Jim Jones, David Koresh, and many we haven't heard about.
(2)-Matthew; 24:6-8
(And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.)

Jesus tells us not to be troubled. No matter how bad things are getting in our world, God is still in control of everything. He has told us in His word to be watching for this and we are not to be surprised at these things. We don't have to be fearful of what is coming if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, because we have eternal life through Him. Now if you haven't asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and save you, then you have reason to be worried, because the time of His return is drawing closer every day. Pray and tell Jesus that you are sorry for your sins and ask Him to forgive you. Believe that He is who He says He is (The Massiah) and that He will save you and then put your faith in Him.

John; 8:24
(Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.")
Jesus emphasized that the fatal, unforgivable, and eternal sin is failure to believe in Him as Messiah and Son of God. He is the Savior of the world, there is no other. If you don't come to Him for forgiveness, there is no other one who can give you forgiveness.
John;3:17
(For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.)
Don't put off until tomorrow what you need to do today. Tomorrow may never come!

God Bless You!

Live Life Abundantly!

What is the saying in the world? One is 'Be All You Can Be' another is 'Live Life To The Fullest. The idea is that we can accomplish this on our own. If it feels good then do it. This is so much the train of thought today. But God tells us that if we want life abundantly, we will find it in Him.
Isaiah; 55:2
(Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.)
Bread that is not bread is deceit. We think that we will find happiness in something and then find out that what we are looking for is not what we thought. Most of us have been through this before, whether we spent it on a car or something that we wanted, it still did not satisfy.
Proverbs; 20:17
(Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.)

What we really are seeking is a true and meaningful relationship with God. He is the one who can bring inner peace and satisfaction.
Matthew; 11:28-29
(Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.)
We are looking for peace and contentment and He has these to give to us. We don't always know what we are searching for, but God does know and wants to help us.

God is a loving God who wants His children to rely on Him. We will never find true happiness until we look in the right place. The world has much to offer, but it isn't what the soul of the righteous man is searching for.
Isaiah; 55:6-7
(Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.)

We are told to be a witness for Jesus and tell others about Him. Our job is to obey and plant the seed and God will make it grow. God tell us that His word will accomplish what He desires it to accomplish.
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.)
When we are looking for real food, we need to be in the Word of God. That is where we will find real food. Then we need to take that real food and share it with others.

God Bless You!

God's Timing!

We live in a world where time is of the up most importance. We go to work at a certain time and get off work at a certain time. We have programs that we watch on TV daily which start at a set time. We get paid at a set day and time and the list is indefinite. But our timing isn't always the same as what God timing is. We want things now, where God might have a plan for that same thing that is years away. In most parts of America we live in a fast paced society where we cannot understand why things takes so long to happen. But God knows the future as well as the past. His time schedule isn't always what we think it should be.

Lets look at Joseph in the Book of Genesis. When Rachel, Jacobs wife gave birth to Joseph, Jacobs loved him dearly. His other brothers saw this and wanted to kill him. When Jacob sent Joseph out to check on how the brothers were doing, they decided they were going to kill him. That was not in God's plan and Reuben heard of the plan and talked his brothers out of it and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. God had a plan for Joseph and had him sold to Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh.

It turned out that Potiphar's wife wanted Joseph but he refused her and she ended up having him thrown into prison. But God was with Joseph and had him find favor with the keeper of the prison.
Genesis: 39:21
(But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.)
God had a plan for Joseph and he would eventually interpret a dream for Pharaoh. God had given Pharaoh a dream to let him know that there was coming seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine in Egypt.
Genesis; 41:28-30
(This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.)
So Joseph found favor in the sight of Pharaoh and he put him in charge of all the land of Egypt. He was to gather in some food from all land through every plentiful year to use when the famine struck the land.

When Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food and they finally found out who it was that they had been buying food from, they were afraid because of what they had done to Joseph years before. This is what Joseph said to them to put their minds at ease.
Genesis; 45:4-5
(And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.)
God had a timetable for the life of Joseph, and when he was thrown into prison it was part of the plan of God to preserve life in the land. Joseph tried to get out of the prison two years earlier but that wasn't God's timetable. He had to wait for the dream to be interpreted two years later.

We need to remember that what we think we need right now may not be in God's timetable for our life. We need to trust in the Lord and know that He knows what is best for us. We do know that God doesn't want any of us to perish in hell. When the time was right, God sent Jesus to be the sacrificial lamb for all the world. He has given us eternal life as a gift, but we must believe in His Son Jesus Christ and who put our faith in Him.
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.)
We don't know how many days we have left to live, so give your life to Jesus today. Become part of the family of God.

God Bless You!

Planning Here On Earth By Helping Other People!

In the world we have retirement plans from our employer as well as individual retirement options. Most of us try to plan for retirement but have you planned for eternity. We see people who spend their whole life putting their money away in banks for the future only to never make it to retirement. I believe that God wants us to be wise with our money that He has given to us to live on and support our families with, but we are also told to be willing to share with those who are in need. We are told that if the love of God is present in us then we should show it by our actions.
1John; 3:17
(But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?)

Everything we have has been given to us from God. Sure we work for it, but we would not have the job we have if God had not given it to us. If you have a skill, or a profession, or some special ability, that is form God. When we attend a church, we need to support that church. If no one was willing to give from from the heart, how would we be able to give assistance to families who our hurting and in need of help. One thing is for sure, we can never out give our heavenly Father.

We are told in the book of Malachi to try God. What was God saying when He said try Me? The people had been robbing God by not bringing what was required of them. They were told to bring the tithes into the storehouse. If they would do what was required of them, God would shower them with blessing which they would not have room enough to receive.
Malachi; 3:8-10
("Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.)

So when we are storing up our treasures here on earth, we also need to be storing up our treasures in heaven. If we are a born again Christian and have Jesus as Lord of our life, then we need to obey Him. We need to be a people willing to share of our goods. Be a cheerful giver.
2Corinthians; 9:6-7
(But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he has purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.)
God wants us to be willing to give with a cheerful heart, because we want to give, not because we have to give.

God Bless You!

Deceiving And Being Deceived!

Galatians; 6:7
(Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.)
A man reaps what a man sows. One example in the Bible is in the book of Genesis. The deceitfulness of Jacob. When Isaac was close to death, he called his first born son Esau and ask him to go hunting and bring in some wild game and fix it the way he liked. Then He was going to give him the blessing before he died.
Genesis; 27:3-4
(Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.")

Prior to this day, Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob for some stew of lentils. He had come in from the field and was starving and Jacob had just cooked up some stew. He wanted some of the stew at whatever the cost.
Genesis; 25:31-34
(But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.)

Now when Isaac was about to give Esau the patriarchal blessing which he had sold to Jacob, Rebekah overheard him and called in Jacob to plan the deceit of Isaac. She had Jacob go out to the field and get two choice kids of goat and bring them to her and she would prepare them the way Isaac liked them. Jacob could then take them into his father and receive the blessing. He did what his mother said and received the blessing from Isaac. Thus they deceived Isaac because he could not see well enough to know that it wasn't his son Esau.

When Esau found out what Jacob had done, he was very angry and threatened to kill Jacob. Rebekah found out about the threat and sent Jacob away to her brother Laban in Haran. When Jacob came to Haran, he saw Rachel coming to water her fathers sheep and he rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well so Rachel could water the sheep. He went to Laban, Rebekah's brother and asked for Rachel his daughter for his wife. He promised to work for Laban for seven years in exchange for his daughter Rachel. When the seven years was up he went to Laban and said he wanted Rachel his wife. But Laban took Leah his first born daughter and sent her to Jacob and in the morning he realized that he had been deceived.

He had deceived Isaac and now Laban had deceived him.
Genesis; 29:25
(So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?")
He had run to Laban from his brother Esau because he had deceived his father and now Laban had deceived him. What ever a man sows, this he will also reap. He had been deceitful and now been deceived.

God tells us that what ever we sow we will also reap.
Galatians; 6:8
(For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life.)
If you chose to live a worldly life, you can expect nothing but sorrow and corruption. If however you chose to live by the Spirit, and give your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will reap eternal life. The choice is yours to make.

God Bless You!

Righteous Or Not?

Do you consider yourself a righteous person? If so, on what basis do you feel that way? You might say that you give to the poor, help people in need, go to church on Sunday, mow the church lawn, and so on. These are all very good deeds, but they do not make you a righteous person. The Bible tells us that none of us are righteous.
Romans; 3:10
(As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;)
We are all sinners and fall short of the divine standard of moral perfection. Only God is inherently righteous.
Deuteronomy; 32:4
(He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.)
Job; 9:2
("Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?)

So if none of us are righteous in and of our self, how and where do we receive this righteousness? The Scripture reveals that on the basis of faith, and faith alone, God will impute His righteousness to ungodly sinners.
Romans; 3:21-24
(But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus.)
So we see that we cannot attain it by our self. It comes from God through Jesus to us. We have hope but only if we put our faith in Jesus. It is not because of our works, it is a gift to us from God to all who believe and put their faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans; 4:5-6
(But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:)

When Jesus went to the cross, He bore all of our sins on Himself. Why would He do that for us? It was our only chance of ever receiving salvation. We are all sinners and doomed to eternal damnation. Only through Jesus Christ can we attain salvation, and that by faith and believing.
He bore our sins so we could bear His righteousness.
2Corinthians; 5:21
(For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.)
Remember, it is never what we have done but only what God has done for us. He sent His only begotten Son to die in our place. And because Jesus came and died in our place, we can have eternal life through Him. Give your life to Jesus today and put your faith and belief in Him. It is your only hope.

God Bless You!

Are You Hardening Your Heart?

The Scripture talks a lot about hardening our hearts against God. How do we harden our hearts against God? One way is by continually saying no to Jesus. The more we say no to something, the easier it gets to say no. It is the same way with the invitation to repent of our sins. When a person hears the Holy Spirit talking to him or her about coming to Jesus and he or she says no, that is the beginning of hardening the heart to the calling of salvation. You at that point have said no to Jesus in your heart. Maybe you thought you would come to Him at some other time or maybe you don't ever plan on giving your life to Jesus. The point is that you have just started the hardening process.

The Bible tells us that we cannot escape the coming judgement if we don't accept the free gift of life in Jesus Christ. Salvation is in Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Hebrews; 2:3
(how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,)
We are offered eternal life as a free gift of God through Jesus Christ and still there are people who refuse the gift. Why? Because they loved the darkness of evil rather than the light of life. Jesus is the light of men.
John; 1:4
(In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.)
If you are living in sin, you are not going to want to have your sin exposed to everyone, so you continue to have it hidden from the light. This is a continual hardening of your heart. You are still saying no to God, I don't want what you have to offer.

The day is coming when it will be to late to reverse the hardening. What I mean by this is that you will die in your sins and face the coming judgement. There will be no second chance to accept the free gift from God. You will have had your chance for life but you chose to harden your heart by saying no to Jesus. You will have rejected the only way to have eternal life in heaven.
John; 14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)

You can have that free gift of life if you will just say yes to Jesus. He is there waiting for you to come to Him for forgiveness, and He will not turn you away. He loves you and wants to save you, but you must come to Him for that gift. No matter what the world has to offer, it doesn't compare to the joy of knowing Jesus as your Savior and Lord. The world cannot say that they are of child of God, but you will be able to say you are.
1John; 3:1-2
(Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.)
What a wonderful promise we have from God. I don't know about you, but that makes me feel pretty good to know that I am a child of God. I have a home in heaven waiting for me.

Come to Jesus before it is too late. We don't know how much time we have before we will die. What we do know is that while we are alive, there is still hope for forgiveness. So as the Scriptures say:
Hebrews; 3:7-8
(Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the day of rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,)

Today is the day, there might not be a tomorrow.

God Bless You!