Month: July 2015

Is Jesus’ message relevant today?


If you aren’t sure if that is a valid question then you probably don’t think so. In my viewpoint and many other Christians who are trying to follow His commandment to take the gospel to the whole world…Yes! His message is very relevant to our world today because it is needed by those who have lost hope or their will to go on. His message is relevant to all who are looking for something to fill that void in their lives. Jesus came and died for all of us, believers and non-believers!

I know that many of you don’t believe that this message is for you, but it is. Particularly now. Why do I say this? Because, regardless of  the way the media treats all of the things which are happening in the world today, we are on the edge of the times spoken of in the book of Revelation. True, the one called the Anti-Christ has not appeared..yet, but the other rumblings of pestilence, wars, persecution of Christians, are all happening now.

So, why do I look at this as a warning to everyone in the world? Because that is what it is…a warning! Turn to Jesus before the end of the age comes! I am not trying to be one of the nuts that you see with the signs that have been around for decades saying that “the end is near”, but in truth it actually is! Whether you believe me or the Bible or not, it is near. Much nearer than it has been in the past.

Jesus came into the world to save those who would answer the call to be saved. If you will seek Him and believe in His sacrifice and His message, you will be saved. Regardless of the sins you have committed in the past, with true repentance and a faithful heart to turn to Jesus…you will be saved!

Is there more to the message? Of course! We should strive to be more like Jesus every day! Like straining to get to the end of a race and cross the finish line, our goal is to be as much like Jesus as we can so that others can see Jesus through us and our words! We are not perfect and won’t be until we have our glorified body in Heaven, but working toward that goal daily makes us less of our sinful self and more like Him every day!

Salvation in Jesus is preferable to being in sin and yet many people reject it. To me that is like someone walking up to you and asking if you would like to have a briefcase full of money and then you just walk away from it because you don’t want to take that which is freely given. I know, the money is something that you can feel and touch so most people wouldn’t turn it down, but consider this: eternity is worth far more than one million dollars! It is worth more even than one hundred billion dollars or one trillion because none of that can be compared to eternity! We can’t comprehend one million years and that is just a drop compared to eternity.

The Best Foundation for your Life


http://bible.com/1/mat.7.24-27.kjv Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Read this and learn of the One Who can save you and offer you life eternal.

Psalm 86


http://bible.com/116/psa.86.1-17.nlt Bend down, O lord , and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Listen closely to my prayer, O lord ; hear my urgent cry. I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me. No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do! All the nations you made will come and bow before you, Lord; they will praise your holy name. For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. Teach me your ways, O lord , that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. O God, insolent people rise up against me; a violent gang is trying to kill me. You mean nothing to them. But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Look down and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant. Send me a sign of your favor. Then those who hate me will be put to shame, for you, O lord , help and comfort me.

Feeding your faith and starving your fear!


This is needed in our world today because there is much fear in the world and it seems that our faith in God is dying. Why is that? Maybe because of the wars and all sorts of other troubles going on around us. These things can make us lose heart and lose sight of our Savior. Why not try reading the Bible? Not just as a book of Jewish history or so-called “fairy tales” as some people refer to it but as a Book of Wisdom and one which God inspired his prophets to write! Fear keeps us from living our lives to the fullest and it keeps us from knowing our purpose in life as well.

How does fear have such a powerful hold in our lives? Because we haven’t embraced our life, regardless of how hectic you life is or how miserable it may be. Life is what it is and there is no getting around that, but we do have Someone to give us hope and that is our Savior, Jesus the Messiah! He is always there and available to us to give us strength and hope every day. You can deny it if you wish or even try to argue about this but God is available to you all of the time. Learn this Truth through His Word and find His peace in your life. It isn’t hard to understand, but you have to read and study the Bible to get the wisdom out of it. Just as you do in school when studying for a test, cramming doesn’t work and glancing at it occasionally doesn’t do you any good either.

The Bible is a book full of wisdom which changes because of your needs. That is why it is referred to as the Living Word of God. You can read one scripture verse this month and next month it will have a different meaning for you through faith and believing in the Creator. Without faith in God and His Word, the Bible is just a book with words in it and nothing more. That is why many people have told me that they have read it many times and they get nothing from it. The reason is a lack of faith in what you are reading. If you don’t believe it or won’t believe it, then no book in the world will make sense to you whether it is the Bible or biology 101!

God loves each of us and we should believe in Him, yet we want to believe that every living cell, whether in a bacteria or a whale, came from a pond of amino acids and a few proteins which got struck by a bolt of lightning billions of years ago. Really?!! The amount of faith that it would take to believe that would enable a person to walk on water or point to a mountain and it would fly into the ocean!

Fear of the unknown, and the future is certainly that, is what keeps us up at night and that is the very type of fear that God says we shouldn’t have. Why? Because, the future is something that only He knows about. There is nothing that you or I can do to affect it because the future is out of our reach. Tomorrow is not here yet, today is, so let’s make sure that we take care of the time that we have in front of us. The only “tomorrow” that we can have an impact on is that which comes after our death and that only by accepting Jesus as our Savior. If you choose not to accept Him, then your future is also affected, but you won’t enjoy the eternity that you get if that is your choice.

Life as we know it


On Earth life is everywhere! Scientists have found life in the most inhospitable places such as volcanic vents at the bottom of the ocean where sunlight doesn’t reach. Temperatures there in the pressurized waters can reach above the boiling point, yet there are bacteria, and crustaceans and other life which get their nourishment from the chemicals coming from these vents. They have also found bacteria and other organisms living in the ice of Antarctica at depths of thousands of feet.

Scientists are finding new species in the oceans and in jungles, on islands that are isolated and in some areas where we live in cities. These species have adapted to life in those areas where they are found, not evolved as some tend to push into our consciousness.

Evolution is a theory in biology postulating that the various types of plants, animals, and other living things on Earth have their origin in other pre-existing types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations.

Just in the past ten years there have been over 1000 new species found in the Amazon region so the proof of God’s genius and His creative power is in the scientific record not in a theory. Adaptation drives these changes because of where they live and what they have to live on, not evolution. Yes, I know that I am going to be targeted by those who believe that evolution is a proven fact and I am not going to debate the issue because there are too many professors who push it as such.

If Christians believed as strongly in their beliefs about God and Jesus as some of the proponents of evolution, there would’ve been a revival in this country a long time ago and it would have been of such proportions that we wouldn’t be having the problems that we have had in the past three or four decades! Unfortunately, that kind of faith doesn’t seem to exist in the church now nor did it during the fifties and sixties!

God has allowed our faith to shrink because of the time that we live in and the place that we occupy in His time and prophecy. He is in control even if it seems that everything is out of control, but His hand is guiding the world toward a time when people will seek Him or be judged by Him depending upon their decision and not His. Your decision toward God and His Son is the one decision that will have an effect on your eternity and where you will spend it. That is the only decision which really counts because this life is short like a puff of smoke, while your eternity is…well eternal!

Where do we go from here?


In the past few years there have been many books and movies about life after death and where we go afterward. It is a touchy subject because some people think that we don’t go anywhere and some think that we do and sometimes it can cause a heated exchange online and in person. Do you ever wonder about this? I used to but since becoming a Christian, I don’t worry about it any more but I do think about what the rest of the world may be looking forward to. Are you looking forward to eternity or do you even think there is an eternity waiting for you?

Some people even think that they will be having a party in hell with Satan, but according to God’s Word there will be no party. In fact, Satan HATES you and me! Specifically because we are made in the image of God but also because God placed us above him and above angels. We will judge angels one day, if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and believe in our hearts that He died for us and our sins! Satan is not a god, although he wanted to be above God. He is not omnipotent nor omniscient, but he was a powerful angel at one time and he continues to use the power that he was created with.

Where do we go in our beliefs from where we are? Many claim not to have a religious belief in any being, whether God or Satan, supreme being of any kind. Why? If there is one which some people claim to believe in and follow then there must be the other. Evil and hatred can’t exist without love, they are two sides of an eternal coin, just as light and dark or heat and cold.

God loves us, all of us and has since the beginning of Creation. Satan has been in opposition to God and His plans, whatever they were, ever since the rebellion which got him thrown out of Heaven. Satan is opposing God right now through wars, murders, diseases, and all sorts of acts which mankind is inflicting upon each other through his influence over them. He targets those of us who are serving God by tempting us and causing problems in our lives, some of which God allows to test us and our faith to make us stronger. I know that and am comfortable with it because God will see me through it all.

What about your future? Your eternal future? Not just tomorrow or next month, but after your life on Earth is finished, have you even considered it? If you haven’t, you should because it is by God’s grace that we have our being, our lives, even our next breath. If you were to stand in front of God before the dawn tomorrow, would you be able to give Him an answer to “What did you do with my Son?” Could you truthfully say that you accepted Him as your Savior? Would your Christianity hold up in a court of law today? Is there enough evidence in your life to prove to a judge on Earth that you are a Christian? Because, if there isn’t enough evidence beyond “he was a good man or a good father”, then how will God receive you?

It is something that all of us need to examine in our lives because eternity is a very LONG time and you enter it as soon as you draw your last breath in this life. Whether that is today or ten years from now or even fifty years from now, your eternity will begin that quick. Make sure that you know and are at peace with your choice because you will be stuck with that choice, and it will be because of your choice not because God sent you there.

Psalm 82


http://bible.com/116/psa.82.1-8.nlt God presides over heaven’s court; he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings: “How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked? Interlude “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people. But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core. I say, ‘You are gods; you are all children of the Most High. But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.’” Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.

Our God Reigns!

What do you want someone to remember?


It is an easy question and it is a hard one to answer. So, what do you want someone to remember about you or about something that you did?

Many people today seem to want to be as anonymous as possible so that nobody remembers them or what they have done. Then, of course, there are some who truly want people to know who they are and what they have done in their lives. Then…there are the rest of us. Those who want to be remembered for their life or maybe something that they said or did during their life. Hopefully, you will have met them during a good time in their life, when things are going really well and their lives are just clicking along like they should.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have days or weeks like this. At least, not enough for someone to notice and they usually don’t until your life changes and something happens to you or someone in your family. Even then many people today don’t really care for their fellow-man, woman or children. We have become so de-sensitized to violence and accustomed to the distance between us, whether it is a few feet or miles, until we text and tweet to each other even in the same household or at the table.

Is that what you want people to remember about you? That you always had your head buried in the screen of your phone and you rarely looked up to notice life around you? I have seen many people in videos doing exactly that on streets and in the city but it also seems to happen in family gatherings and at church. Being distracted to the point of not seeing or hearing what is going on around you is dangerous. Not only to you but for your future as well.

What will people remember about me? Not much, I’m afraid. Growing up I was angry most of the time and a loner because of my parent’s divorce, but that was over forty years ago and I am over it now. My parents are dead and the memories that I have are just the good ones now. Today is the only time that we have that is available to us, so we should make it a good one. Tell those that you love how you feel and make sure they know it. Help someone if you are able to, get involved in a volunteer effort for someone.

Your life here will be remembered for only a little while by those who don’t know you well. Sometimes, even then you won’t be remembered for long unless you did something that got people to notice. In our society today you get noticed by the bad things that you do, but people rarely see or hear about the good that gets done behind the scenes.

God loves you and He wants the best for you. You may not get the best in this life, but if you follow Him and do the best that you can at being a follower of Jesus then your reward will be far above anything you could have here! Confess your sin to Jesus and ask Him to come into your life and cleanse you of the mess that you made. Ask Him to guide you into a new life that will be worthy of His Love so that you can reflect Him into other people’s lives so they will want to know Him.

Here is the basis for a sinner to receive Jesus into their heart:

Romans 10:9-10: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Simply it could be summed up in a prayer like this:

Dear Lord, I have been messed up in my life. Please forgive me and help me to bring You and your story to others. Come into my heart, Lord, and make me a student and a teacher for your Kingdom. Thank you for your sacrifice for me and my sins. Amen.

Think about it.

Lucifer…bored?


Lucifer…Bored!?

How in the world could anyone conceive of such a thing? He is in charge of Hades or Hell, whichever you want to call it, and the torment of all of the souls who are there. He has at least two-thirds of the world worshiping him in one form or another and is tormenting others, through disease and war, rape and murder. Why in the world would anyone think that he is bored? Contrary to the belief that many have today, he is not in hell yet. He is roaming around on Earth with us!

Granted, there are millions of demons and spirits to do the tormenting for him in most cases, but someone has to oversee them. He has been busy at this since that moment in the Garden almost six thousand years ago and he was starting a war in Heaven long before that. Bored? He is probably laughing at the idea, but I am sure he is encouraging those in Hollywood and Washington, DC in all of their endeavors.

Lucifer or Satan, as he is known now, has plenty to do. He keeps many preachers and churches going in the world. He likely attends services more regularly than many people who claim to be Christians. Our world is messed up and it is due to his influence and our gullibility in following his lead. Life, every day life, is his playground because he has so many people in the world fooled or so sick until they can’t see straight. How could he possibly be bored! He has all of humanity in his grasp and he tries to deceive the churches and Christians in those churches into believing that either he doesn’t exist or that he can’t harm me because I belong to Christ. What foolish nonsense!

Christians are his targets of choice because if he can make you stumble or fall into a sin, no matter what it may be, then he can destroy your witness. If he can do it so that your child or a friend sees it, and decides that your “belief” is not real then he can stop them from becoming a Christian. Which is exactly what he wants. Satan will lead as many CINO (Christians In Name Only) into hell as he can and he will lead their families too. You can claim the name of Christ, get all emotional and even be baptized but if it isn’t real all the way down to your heart and soul, then you are NOT a Christian!

That is Satan’s job right now but deception has always been his job and he has had thousands of years to perfect his craft. His demons have also had many years to perfect their form of deception and thievery. Why do I call it thievery? Because they steal your health, your children, your job, your home and everything that means anything to you…especially your marriage. These things happen all the time and it is not just because of man’s gullibility it is because of these spiritual forces, demons, powers, they are called by many names in the Bible. Suffice it to say that we are subject to their ways and to their temptations.

How can we defeat them? Through the power of Jesus Christ in your life! That’s how. Not an emotional feeling at a revival but a true broken heart knowing that you are a sinner and the only way to salvation is through confession of that sin and by giving your life and your heart to Jesus. You don’t have to confess every lie, every stolen pen or pencil because we have all done that. The sin that needs confession is that you have lived your life without Jesus in it and now you know that you need Him. You have come to realize that there is no way that you are good enough to be allowed into Heaven without Him! This is the only way…the only path which leads you to an eternity with Him.

If you cannot believe this or will not believe it, then you tell God why you refused His Son’s sacrifice on the cross, why you believe that you are worthy without His Blood covering your life. I have given you what can save you and Who, Jesus Christ. All that you have to do is ask Him to save you and cleanse your heart and your life because you believe in His sacrifice for your sins. That is all that the thief on the cross could do and Jesus said that he would be with Him in Paradise. No baptism, no works, no church service…just belief in Jesus and Who He is.

What are you waiting for?


Many people seem to want to wait until their last breath to make a decision about their eternity. Some, even at this point, don’t believe in eternity or God yet when they are faced with an incurable disease or a child that is sick they begin to pray. For what, mercy? To whom? If you don’t believe that He exists why should He answer your prayers? God really does love each of us more than we can imagine, and thankfully He doesn’t react the way we would if we were ignored or shoved away like our country and almost every person living here is doing today! If He was as cold and cruel as some think that He is, this world would’ve been remade thousands of times since the time of Noah! But, He made a promise then and in the other prophetic books of His Word He says that the world will be tested by fire the next time. Many people have speculated that He means a nuclear war, but God doesn’t need nuclear weapons to destroy with fire. He could cause a comet of a size that would cause a fire storm to ravage the planet to hit in a desert area or in a rain forest. He could cause ALL of the volcanoes in the world to erupt at once, even the ancient ones like the one in Yellowstone which would take out most of the United States.

It is true that, if you truly believe that He doesn’t exist, scientists would say all of this was happening due to “global warming/cooling” depending upon which direction you want to go. Consider, just for once, that God is the Creator and that He does exist. Also consider that with Him being the Creator that nothing is outside of His power to create since He created all of the known universe. Our planet is a very insignificant speck of dirt in comparison, BUT He decided to make us special. He created man in His image, regardless of color of skin or hair or ethnic origin. Then, after Satan corrupted our ancestors to go against God’s commands, we were influenced by him to worship things, both animal and inanimate as well as the sun and the moon and the stars. Mankind did all of this by Satan’s influence on our minds, because of our fallen nature we came under his influence to such a point that God regretted making man at all. If God didn’t exist and doesn’t care about us or this world, why would He care what we do here or how we behave? If Satan exists then God exists because Satan was known as Lucifer the Covering Cherub, one of the most powerful angels in Heaven and God created him that way.

But, Satan became proud of his strength and of the power that God had given him and he coveted the place of God. He wanted to be God, and he got one-third of the angels in Heaven to follow him in a rebellion to usurp the throne of God. He should’ve known that his rebellion wouldn’t work, but he was blinded by pride and his own ego, thinking himself above the Creator that created him. At times we think this way too, but we can learn from our mistakes if we will listen to our hearts and to the Spirit of God within us.

We are loved by God because of His image in us but also because He took special care to create us the way we are, not to be servants or slaves but to be His children. Any parent can understand the closeness and the feelings that their relationship with their child gives them, how much more would God feel for those living here? That is why bad things happen to people today….Satan hates us because of who we are in God’s plan and what we represent…a relationship that he could never have with the Creator, even if he had not rebelled!

It is for this reason that the world suffers so much. It isn’t because God can’t control Satan, He doesn’t allow him to have completely free reign of his anger and hatred or we wouldn’t exist! God holds him in check enough that there will be more people who will turn to God for His help and for salvation. Just as God used other nations to judge Israel in times past, He is doing that today not only with Israel but with the world at large. He is trying to bring as many people into the Kingdom as He knows who will respond to Him.