Month: August 2017

Who is in control?


Our government and those serving their own interests are not in control of much, particularly with regard to our society. So, who really is in control? Satan?

I know that many of you don’t really believe that he exists, but God said that he does so that settles that argument. But is he in control of all of the things which are spiralling out of control today? I don’t think I would give him that much credit. He may be influencing those who are stirring up trouble to be more violent, more destructive even, but he isn’t in control of them exactly.

IamtheWayBesides, if you have ever read the book of Job or heard a sermon from it, then you know that Satan has to get permission to do the things which he does, especially if it may harm Christians or Israel! The One Who is in Control and Who watches everything unfold in its time, is God. Sometimes bad things do happen to good people, but not without God’s permission. He knows that occasionally something has to happen if it will bring about a greater good in His Kingdom. It may cause pain for now, but in eternity the pain is taken away.

Many people seem to be searching for the Truth of God today, although some seem to be looking in the wrong places. Yes, God is still speaking through His Word, the Bible, and preachers who read and study it and then expound on His Wisdom trying to make it as understandable as possible. The message of salvation is easy enough for a child to understand but as adults we tend to make things harder than they should be. Either by not reading the instruction book, the Bible, or by adding our own ideas to those contained in it.

God doesn’t need your help or mine in order to save you. He already provided the remedy and the way of salvation for each one of us, through belief in and trust in Jesus the Christ.

Period.

No other doctrine or work needs to be applied to your life in order to be saved! There is nothing that you or I can do to get us into Heaven, Jesus did it all. Just believe in Him and His atonement for your sins, turn away from them (repent) and follow Him. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Truly, it is simple…although living your daily walk with Him is going to be hard at times. Your friends will call and ask you to come to this new bar they found or maybe go for a weekend off to the Bahamas with your fiance which you aren’t married to yet. These are the stones which can trip you up and cause you to stumble and fall.

But…if you truly have given your heart to Jesus, even if you fall, you can ask forgiveness and strength and He will give you both! Don’t turn away from Him and go back to your old life. Don’t feel the pull of the Spirit in church or after you hear a sermon on TV and then decide NOT to give your heart to Him. Remember, we are not guaranteed tomorrow so don’t back away from Him when you know you need Him!

Racism shouldn’t exist


AllRoneinJesus

There is also no such church as a white church or a brown church or a black church, but the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ should be the only church that is in the world.

Why am I putting so much emphasis on this problem that America and the world is having to deal with now? Because I have lived in the South, in Mississippi, all of my life. I have seen and heard most, if not all, of the history of racism. Granted, I am white and I haven’t been jailed because of my skin color. Nor have I been told that I couldn’t be in a business or a bus because of my color. The reason that I am writing and posting all of these posts about racism is because it is tiresome!

I think that fifty years is more than enough time to be bringing this up. Over and over during the past fifty years, I have noticed that by the time we finally seem to be getting closer to getting along like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr wanted, someone will do something to rub the scab off! Just as it’s about to heal and get better, some person will do something to stir the hornet’s nest up again. Isn’t it about time that we put away all of the pain and the hurt of the past and let the scar finally heal?

Another rant, I know, but I had to get it off my chest because it is getting a bit old.

Are the -ism’s the real problem?


genetic-variationWe have so many of these today. Consider this, we have communism, Islamism, racism, nationalism and many other -ism’s which are part of the names of religions besides Islam. The minority’s which are on television and all of the media outlets today are the loudest and the most virulent and violent which is why they have everyone’s attention.

I am not speaking of a “racial minority”, just the few percent who are loudly proclaiming their rights and that their voice be heard. Their voice is on all of the social media “channels” so to speak which makes their demands and their voice louder than it would’ve been if they were only on news programs.

But…truly, are these the real problem or is this just a symptom of a larger problem which has been building over the decades?

Racism has been swept under the collective rug of our consciousness and if not forgotten then they haven’t been out in the air for a while. At least not until the past decade or so.

I suppose it has been simmering a bit here and there because there have been flare-ups of violence from time to time, but these days those flare-ups are threatening to go widespread. We, as a nation of Christians, need to do something even if it is “only prayer”!! God knows what is happening and it was foretold in scripture that near the time of tribulation this would be happening. The real problem is that it is going to get worse before it gets better. Much worse.

We need desperately to draw near to our Lord…NOW! Stop posting about it and talking about it and DO IT! Because if we don’t and if we don’t tell others that it is needed, our towns and cities will become powder kegs which will explode and become wild fires! God loves each of us and even if we can’t come together to worship Him without looking at the name of the church or the color of our skin, then we desperately need to examine our faith in the One Who died for us.

Make sure of your salvation in Jesus before He comes back. Before the times truly do get bad in the world, because when He comes and those who are taken up are gone, the violence of today will look tame in comparison to what will come afterward. If you truly believe the Bible is the Word of God…then believe that He cannot lie.

Racism isn’t a thing!


Yes, it does happen to people, but we are the same race people! Human beings! Culturally we are all very different, even in the same town. Yes, our skin is lighter or darker depending upon your parents and your genes but God created us as mankind!

we-are-not-born-racist-people-learn-to-be-racist-6800532Racism is LEARNED! Like most everything else in life it is either learned from your parents or grandparents, sometimes it is taught to you by your “friends”. The point is that we all have the same genetic make-up. If your blood is compatible with me then I can take it and it won’t make a difference in my life except to help me live a bit longer.

It is time that we put this “race” card in the fire and burnt it! I know that many slaves were used and bought and sold in America, but many of those were white slaves from Ireland before there were any brought over from Africa. I have Irish ancestors and my first ancestor to show up in the colonies was an indentured servant or slave from England.

Should I be ticked off because of it? Why? That was in 1645 and at least six generations or more removed from my life now. Does it bother me that my ancestor came over here as a slave? A little, yes, but that has nothing to do with today. God gave us this land to be a beacon to the world and we seem to want to destroy that beacon that our country has been for over two hundred years!

For what are we destroying it? Statues and memorial parks reminding us that our country was divided over slavery at one time. There were more slaves up north than there were in the South from what the real history books tell me! While it is true that those in the South were treated more like cattle or dogs than people, that was over a century ago! Can’t we move forward from this without causing another civil war today?

This is just my rant for the day, please comment peacefully. God loves us whether we are black or brown or white or any other color, so please seek His guidance in this before it is too late.

How much?


Life itself is full of contradictions. How much or how little? Where and when did evolution begin? When did the first ape/human make the leap in knowledge in order to become more than she/he was before? All of the contradictions in life can be looked at as a different view of the chicken and the egg. A chicken comes from an egg so where did the egg come from?

Genesis1In a scientific view humanity and animals are not so different because at one point far back in the past we were the same. But, the logical viewpoint actually falls to having a Creator or as some circles call it, Intelligent Designer. Whatever label you place on God, He is the determining Factor in all of Creation. Call Him what you will but He is and always will be God!

How much proof do you need? Some people can see the Designer in a blade of grass or in a newborn baby. Some try to argue that evolution is the right way to go and that we all came from a single cell far back when the planet was young. Thermodynamics and chaos theory would disagree with you.

I am not a mathematician, so I am not and will not be drawn into a theoretical discussion in this matter. Generally, when you toss a bunch of sticks or 2 x 4’s into the air, they don’t spontaneously form into a deck or a puzzle. You will only have a pile of wood before and after unless there is a builder or Designer to act upon the pieces to form them into an orderly combination of pieces such as a deck or any other combination.

It is also the same way that natural processes work. No natural system goes from simple to complex. Systems in nature usually go from a complex state to a more simple one. A rusty old car will break down into a pile of iron oxide if given enough time, it will not change into a Bentley if it started out as a Pinto!

God’s design of our universe and the stars and planets which populate it, is impeccable. The cells in your body and in all animals in the world, cold-blooded or warm-blooded, work perfectly in sync in those who are healthy. Cells which do all of the things which they do in our bodies, didn’t evolve to do this, God designed them for each part of your body! Your nerve cells, your brain cells, the cells in your bone marrow which make all of your blood cells, these did not come into being because of mutations and selection!

God is our Creator and Designer and He is the One which placed the stars in their courses and the planets too. Each comet and asteroid in our solar system is where He intended for it to be. Not one grain of sand is out-of-place in God’s sight, no matter where it may be. He knows each of us more intimately than we could ever know ourselves because He knew you and your personality and your intellect long before you or I were born!

How much proof do you need? We and all other life on Earth were created by God and in the beginning life was perfect enough to live a life of thousands of years. Until we thought that we could do better than God. When the decision was made to defy God and go our way, that is when disease and shorter lifespans came into the world. Don’t throw your eternity away by thinking that some man-made religion can save you because it can’t.

Even the religion of “evolution” can’t hold up to entropy: The law of increasing entropy — also known as the second law of thermodynamics — stipulates that all systems in the real world tend to go “downhill,” as it were, toward disorganization and decreased complexity.

Give your heart to Jesus. Seek Him out as your Savior and follow Him. That is the only way into eternity and Heaven, by believing in Him…our Creator!

What is going to happen next?


I am sure that there are many who are asking this very question. I wish that I had an answer for it, but the only One Who could answer it is God Himself. The book of Revelation tells us that this time in which we live today will be much like the world was before the Flood. Bad things happening to good people, threatening of world war in the news, people killing and hurting people because of skin color or beliefs. any of this sound familiar?

heaven-or-hell-eternal-destinyChristians need to dig deep into their Bible, read and study them with prayer and some fasting. If you aren’t a Christian, I would suggest that you seek out Jesus and ask Him to come into your life. Why? Because, He is the only way to Heaven! Not Islam, not Zen Buddhism, not cults which teach that you will be a god! Jesus came to save mankind from their own delusions of grandeur and Satan’s lies. He is the only way to have a real eternal life. Being in Hell is not life at all, but it is the second death!

Don’t fall for Satan’s lies, seek out your Creator and Savior, Jesus the Christ. He never has left you alone in any of your trouble and He won’t now.

The book of Revelation is not a fantasy or allegory but it was and is a book which describes the time of Trial or Tribulation which is coming to the Earth soon. John the Apostle couldn’t describe many of the things which the vision showed him, so much of those descriptions sound fantastic, but God is going to bring it all on the Earth. Satan will use much of this time to try to expand his kingdom as well, but his kingdom is in hell! You won’t burn up in an instant, your eternal soul will be there as the Bible says “forever”!

The only salvation which will keep you from that place is through Jesus. Trust in Him and believe that He came for your soul and for everyone else’s because He did pay the penalty for everyone. The only thing that you have to do is believe in Him and His atonement for your sins. Then, live a changed life until you are in His Presence!

Amen.

An alphabet prayer


I put this up on another site of mine, but I thought you might like to see it too:

Alphabet Prayer

Which will you choose?


We have many choices in life. What clothes to wear to school? Which shoes to put on today? What will you or I eat for lunch today? Will I attend college or go to a trade school? All of these choices are part of life in many countries today, but in many others people, especially children, don’t have as many options. In some areas of America, children go hungry at night..sometimes for days at a time. Although most of the world wouldn’t believe that, it is true and it is a very sad fact.

Why do I call it a sad fact? Because for some of those children, maybe more than most people realize, the reason they are without food is because their parents are addicted to drugs. It may be because of an injury or some other problem which gets them addicted, but once they are, they don’t care about much else except staying pain-free and that usually involves getting high.

I don’t intend to sound all high and holy or any of that. I have some severe pain and I have been given some opiates for that pain…I didn’t like the way they made me feel. The point of this post isn’t really to point a finger at anyone, in fact, the situation which many find themselves in, seems to be almost normal today.

We search for a way to feel good about the life that we live. We search for a way to have more stuff and make more money. Some even preach that God owes us and that He should supply us with what we want in this life. That is not how God’s laws work! He is our Creator after all, He isn’t required to give us anything above our actual needs!

heaven-or-hell-eternal-destinyGod loves you beyond any measure that we can understand and the grace that He extends to each of us in the offer of eternity is beyond any monetary amount which can be gained in this life! Our pitiful attempts at being immortal, whether with fame or cryogenic preservation, will likely be futile. Consider that the only reason which our country’s founding fathers are remembered is because of their place in history, nothing more.

Which of us will be remembered beyond our obituary? Our family may remember us for a few days or weeks, but very few others will, even if we considered them our friends. So, which direction on the path will you choose? Will you choose to follow Jesus into Heaven and eternity or will you decide that you know best how to live your life and that your version of being dead with no eternity is the way to go?

The problem with that is this: there is an eternity in which to live! Your choice determines whether you live in Heaven with God or in hell without Him. The Bible describes the eternity without God very well and it isn’t a place which our eternal body was destined for at all! Satan only wants those who choose not to believe in Jesus to make that choice because he knows that it hurts God and he is determined to do that as much as possible. Satan doesn’t care about you or your eternity but he will lie to you about it in order to get you to go there.

Don’t make that choice which leads you into hell. Believe in Jesus as your Savior and follow Him, then your eternity will be with Him.

What does God do for you?


ProsperityPreachingIt seems that for many in the ministry and in churches, God is expected to provide all of our wants in some form or fashion. That is not taught in the Bible though. In many pulpits it seems that people hear about how God wants us to be prosperous (well off), but that is not the meaning of scripture at all, in particular the scriptures which speak of what God provides for us.

Here is one which Jesus taught about: Matthew 6:25-34 – Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

God provides all of our needs in any area of our life, particularly when we depend upon Him for those needs and don’t try to do everything ourselves. By getting ahead of our Shepherd, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble, which God will allow us to do until we wise up and realize that we put the motor on the front of the boat when it should’ve been God doing the driving! Yes, we have front-wheel driving cars and we have electric trolling motors for boats, but when God is in control it doesn’t matter where the force comes from…we will get where we are going. As long as we let Him drive!

God also gives us our talents in order to make a living in this world. Finding them and using them in the way that gives glory to Him in the process makes our lives so much easier than doing things in our strength and in our way! Seek Him out in all things, especially in your vocation, because when He shows you what you were made to do then you will be satisfied with it and with your life!

It doesn’t take a “self-help” book or coach to tell you how to live your life! The Bible is the best book for that in all of the world! Why? Because, if you have read any of those books and then read through the book of Proverbs or Psalms, you will find most of the wisdom that you paid for in the self-help book is already contained in the Bible!

I mean, come on, where do you think all of the wisdom came from? God gave it to us, most of it is written in our DNA, which is why it doesn’t sound strange when we read the Bible! Especially when we read it with an open mind and with prayer and faith! Without these three ingredients, the Bible is just a historical book with a few wisdom chapters contained within!!

God inspired men to write it by the inspiration of His Spirit. It is our guide-book even though it contains much of the history of the Israelite nation. The growing pains which they went through in becoming that nation reflects all of humanity’s weaknesses and failures. It also shows our hopes and dreams through their hopes and dreams. As long as your dreams don’t get ahead of your hopes and your finances, then you will be taken care of in all things by your Creator and Savior! Depend upon Him and His provision for you and all of life will go the way that He deems necessary!

If you can’t live that way, then I feel pity for your life and its outcome.

Life goes on….


Pain and grief, disease and heartache all of these are part and parcel of our lives on Earth. Even though it is hard to see that God is present even during the times of “testing” in our lives, He is there. At times it seems that we can’t feel His Presence in the days which bring pain and depression…but God is there. He doesn’t leave us, even those of us who don’t believe in Him. How can He leave us alone when He occupies all of Heaven and Earth?

Good shepherdWhen we don’t acknowledge His Presence, it doesn’t cause Him pain. It just magnifies our suffering because we are not seeing His goodness in things which seem to be hurtful to us. Allow Him to be in your painful days, ask Him to give you the strength to go on during those times of feeling without strength or even the faith to believe that He will do it! God is there in the dark with you and He is there when you come out of the dark places. Whether the dark is caused by a personal problem or by a death in the family or even by some other happenstance, God has not left you alone.

He was present when Job was going through all of his trials and Job didn’t give up his faith in God. He questioned God and was angry with God for his suffering but he didn’t lose faith in Him. That is how we are supposed to live our days out on this Earth. Whether we are battling cancer or having to handle the death of a loved one, God is there when we go to sleep after a long night of grief. He will be there to wake us after we have rested and He can carry us through the next day and the next if we will allow Him to do so. Don’t do this on your own strength because it will tear you down physically and emotionally!

We were never designed to live our daily lives without God, so be mindful of His Presence in your day. The drops of rain which fall to nourish the Earth and its plants also causes floods which can be dangerous. God is still present in all of this no matter what the outcome is. Seek Him out in your pain. Ask Him to give you strength to get through today, then make sure you do it again tomorrow. That is what Jesus meant when He said to walk with Him daily.

The walk of a Christian is not one that is to be done alone. It is one that we must acknowledge our Savior as our Messiah and determine to walk with Him every day. It is a walk of purpose not a casual walk. That is why Jesus said that we had to take up our cross and follow Him every day. Meaning that you are to “die to yourself”. You are to give your life to Him as a sacrifice on a daily basis. It isn’t a burden to carry or a problem that you alone have to handle. Give your LIFE to Jesus purposefully, every day, determine that He is in control…not you! Follow Him as a sheep would follow the shepherd because they know that by following him they are safe and cared for!

The same with us. As long as you and I follow along with Him every day, He will keep us on the path with Him. Don’t try to do things on your own, seek His guidance and His strength in all things so that your days will be productive and useful to yourself and to His Kingdom. This is what is called “storing up treasures in Heaven”. It may not be spendable here on Earth, but the reward is eternal.