Jesus’ blood paid the price for ALL who will believe in Him for their Savior. The thief believed, I believed and many others have believed. Won’t you believe in Him for your salvation too?
How many lives can you save?
Month: September 2020
Liars, killers, and adulterers too
Every person that God used in the Old and the New Testament were flawed people just as we are. They weren’t perfect. Moses killed and Egyptian before going into the desert to get away from being put to death for his crime. David, who was described by God as “a man after my own heart“, lied to one of his best friends after having an adulterous affair with his wife and then had him placed at the front where he would be killed in the fighting. Yet, David wrote many of the Psalms that we use today to carry us through tough times that we are having today.
Not one person on the Earth is perfect. All of us have done things which would keep us from God’s Presence but through the blood of Jesus and His atonement for our sins we are made clean. If we just believe like the thief did on the cross that Jesus is our Savior then we will be saved from an eternity of punishment away from the presence of God. Your life here may be or has been in the past one of the most unworthy of sinners, just as Saul said he was, but Jesus came to him on the road to Damascus and blinded him with His Presence. Then he sought the Lord until one of the Christians in Damascus came and prayed for him to have his sight restored and it was.
Jesus is the only One born of a woman Who had the Spirit of God as His guide for His whole life. He is the only One Who could’ve stoned the woman caught in adultery but He didn’t condemn her. He just told her to go and sin no more. Jesus knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep that promise completely, but what He told her to do was to repent of her adultery and never do that again. Be the wife and mother that she should be (this last is just my interpretation of His Words). God keeps up with even the sparrows and He knows when one of them falls from the branch dead. If He cares about them, doesn’t it make sense that He would care for us even more?
God has never said that He doesn’t care about us, even if we aren’t Jewish. The reason that Jesus came to give His life for our forgiveness was because of His Love for us. We are His creation and just as we love our children, God (Jesus) loves each of us. God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are all God and they make up the Godhead. It is through their work, their influence in our universe and their power which keeps the stars and planets in their places. Nothing in our world is unnoticed because they see it all from their view outside of our time. They can see when you were born, what you did when you were twelve and what you will do tomorrow.
Don’t think or consider that because you have hidden some of your sins, if any of them, from God. He knows what you think, what you are doing, what you are thinking about doing and what you will do. God is so far above our ideas until that is the reason that people who were granted a glimpse into heaven as a prophet or as someone who had a “after death experience” and returned to tell about it, yet they can barely describe what they saw. The colors were so much more brilliant and more than we see here, more vibrant, more green or blue than what is in our world. That is why the view of Heaven or the Jerusalem when comes down from Heaven is so descriptive of clear gold streets, huge pearls for the gates and a foundation which looks like its made of every precious jewel imaginable.
The mind of God is above ours and everything works exactly the way He wants it to work, good, bad or otherwise. Nothing escapes His notice and nothing happens without His knowledge of it. I pray that those of you who read this will read God’s Word and give your life to Jesus because whether you are ready or not, He is coming back for the church, His Bride.
When we are too burdened by sorrow…
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/rom.8.26/309
God gives us His peace
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/php.4.7.KJV
Peace is something that is not easy to find these days. Every time the news comes on, our peace is taken away. All of the things going on in the world and the way they are reported takes your peace away. Lean on God and His Word every day, not just on Sunday!
From the heart comes the truth of your beliefs
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/jer.17.9.KJV
The heart of mankind is where your true self lives. If you have given your heart to Jesus, then you are a new creation. If you haven’t your heart can deceive you into thinking that you are a Christian when you are not.
There have been some preachers who have been to school and seminary and yet they found that one day they were not saved. You can go through the motions and still not be saved! God knows your heart, but your own heart can trick you into thinking that you are saved even though it’s a lie.
Seek your Savior, Jesus, while there’s time to do so. If you’re still breathing you can still come to Christ. Amen
Love others as Jesus loves you!
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/rom.13.10.KJV
Anger, hatred and violence
What we see on the news today did not begin with injustice on the streets, at least not the injustice that they are claiming started it. It began much earlier than just a month or two ago. Socialist ideas and ideals have been infecting our society for nearly sixty years and maybe more. The downfall of our society began, in my opinion, when the slave trade was in full swing over 200 years ago. Enslaving people to work for others who think themselves above “menial labor” is and always will be wrong!
While it is true that some of those who held slaves were African-American free men, it still doesn’t make the practice any less barbaric. Should anger over this injustice and the injustices of today make people angry? Yes, but burning cars and looting stores and tearing down monuments which were erected to honor those who fought against slavery does nothing to stem the violence and continued hatred and bitterness! Kinda like a wound that you keep pulling the scab from, it takes a lot longer to heal unless that is what you want to happen.
When prayer and the reading of God’s Word was taken out of public schools in ’63 and ’64 our country began a radical change. I’m sure that the Civil Rights movement would’ve come and made its mark with or without that omission but the riots and the activism which flared up in the latter years of the 1960’s might not have been as violent as they were if students were still learning from God’s Word. So many of the problems that we faced all through the decade of the ’70’s might’ve been avoided if the education system had stayed true to their roots and kept God’s Word as an elective at least.
Why do I pin the problems of the latter half of the 20th Century on this one decision? Go back and look at the SAT and ACT scores prior to banning the Word of God. Check the statistics of teenage pregnancy before and after the removal of God’s Word and prayer from schools. The entrance scores started to go down on the standard tests and the number of teen pregnancies began to go upward from the point where God’s Word was removed from education. You can find articles which verify this online.
God’s Word and the wisdom that it contains has always been a part of education, at least until the theory of evolution came around and educators began questioning its validity. So, why am I bringing this up in this post? Because most of the educators who are in our colleges and universities now are the same ones who were protesting back in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s. Refusing to allow people to learn from both sides is wrong but that is what most educator’s and the system that they work in are doing.
God loves us. Regardless of how you may feel toward religion or God or even Jesus Christ, you are loved by the Creator of the universe. That is why we should’ve kept His word, the Bible, in schools and in our education system. Not because we are trying to indoctrinate anyone but because of the wisdom contained within its pages. Giving your heart to Jesus and becoming a Christian is a personal choice and when you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to accept Him as your Savior…don’t turn away from the opportunity. Because it may never come again. We are not given or promised the next hour of our lives let alone tomorrow or next week. When the invitation touches your heart I urge you to accept it.
Your strength comes from the Lord
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/eph.6.10.KJV
Don’t depend on your strength because the world and the trials of daily living are too much for you alone. Rely on Jesus each day and His strength will carry you through the rough days.
Wisdom or education?
Which is more valuable to you and to those around you? I’ve heard of people who have PhD’s who are working at McDonald’s, so how much is their education helping flip the burgers or fix salads or serve up french fries? I know the problem. Some people with those heavy duty letters behind their name either can’t find a job in their field or they were downsized out of a job. So they had to take a job that would kinda pay some bills. I have a BS degree in Medical Technology but I’m disabled and can’t work in my field. So how much good does all of this education do for our communities or the country?
Not very much good at all.
Wisdom can be learned from the trials that we go through because of our education. Wisdom can also be learned by reading God’s Word, the Bible. Because the wisdom contained in it is wisdom which isn’t bought or purchased from an education system. The wisdom that comes from God’s Word comes straight from the Source of all Life. You might ask “What if I don’t believe in God?” Well, the wisdom contained in the Bible, specifically Psalms and Proverbs, is wisdom which can be used for business and the home as well. The Bible is a book which covers many areas of life experience, so reading it and seeking God’s wisdom can help you in many areas of life.
There is a misconception that the Bible is only for “holy rollers” and church people but it really isn’t. It is the history of God’s chosen people, the Jews, but it is also about human nature and how we tend toward self-destructive behavior in our spiritual life as well as our life in general. We see this kind of behavior in everyday life. On the news, in our own family, in our friends lives, in celebrity’s lives, in politics, you name it, the behavior to destroy our lives is not limited to spiritual people or to those who choose not to believe.
“So how can learning from God’s wisdom help me?” There are many answers to that question. One is it can draw you closer to your Creator and He will draw closer to you. Even closer than He already is! God did not create this world and the human race and then run to some far-flung corner of the universe to retire. He is involved in our world every day. He sees the horrible things that we do to each other. He knows the pain that we feel when someone close to us dies. He cares about you far more than you can imagine.
The Bible speaks about the time that we are living in right now. People will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money. They won’t care about others or the church but will be working to get rid of the church. Why? Because the Truth which is found in the Bible cannot be destroyed or turned away from once you know what it says. The world around us has been on a downward spiral for years but we are coming to the end of what is called “the church age”. It began when Jesus ascended to heaven and it will end when He returns for His bride, the church. When will this happen? God is the only one that knows that answer. It could be tonight or tomorrow or next week or next month but it is going to happen.
If you are not a believer in Jesus for your salvation prior to that day, if you haven’t given your heart to Him and asked Him to forgive you of your sins then you will be left on Earth when that day comes. You will go through the Tribulation described in the book of Revelation and it will essentially be “hell on Earth” during those seven years. There will be death from diseases and wars and demons. You will be forced to take a mark in your hand or your forehead in order to buy or sell anything. If you have become a Christian but you take that mark, God will wipe your name from the Book of Life and you will forfeit your salvation. If you don’t take the mark, they will hunt you down and kill you but if you are a Christian you will just step from this life into eternity with Jesus!
The Bible is a book of history and changes and it is His story as well. Because Jesus is foretold in every book of the Bible. He is the Seed of the woman in Genesis and He is the Alpha and Omega in Revelation as well as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. There are so many names for Jesus in the Bible but the one name that I love the most is “My Savior and my Lord!” Seek Him in the Scriptures, ask Him into your heart and your life and you will never be the same again because when He comes into your heart you are a new creation in Christ!
Do you consider yourself wise?
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. James 3:13 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/jas.3.13.KJV
Thinking that you are wise is arrogant. Even those who have many degrees from a prestigious university are foolish in God’s sight. God is the Creator and he placed each star in each galaxy yet he calls them by their names. He did all of this and He still knows how many hairs there are on your head and mine.
The Living Message of Christ 