Category: A new life in Christ

Pleased to be there…


Since Jesus came, there have been many centuries have passed by and many have wondered when He will be coming back? He’ll come back when God tells Him that it is time. It could be tomorrow or it could be in a few minutes or next year but God doesn’t forget His promises. The angels told the disciples that Jesus would come back in the same way you saw Him go when He ascended to Heaven. They didn’t say that “He might come back”. God’s Word is not a myth or a collection of fictional stories. It was penned by men who the Holy Spirit gave those words, the Third Person of the Trinity. God has chosen each of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior and He knows us by name. There is a quote that I’m going to place here for you to consider:  Did you ever stop to think that God is going to be as pleased to have you with Him in heaven as you are to be there? A. W. Tozer

Our lives begin when we are in the womb because God places all of our personality and our gifts inside each life that is to be born before we come into this world. When we live our lives according to His principles and His wisdom we are living our best lives because we have chosen to be His. We choose this because He has chosen us when we feel that pull in our heart that tells us “there is more to life than just living day to day”. The Holy Spirit touches us and we know that we need Him in our hearts to help us with this life because living this life without Him, while it isn’t impossible, will be a life without a true purpose.

God loves each of us whether we love Him or not is our choice. Does God want to bring all of humanity into heaven? Yes, He does but there are so many who have chosen to believe in a “higher being” that isn’t God and that is what will keep many people from going to live with Him. It isn’t your sins that will condemn you to eternity in hell, it is your choice of Who you worship in this life. Whether it is yourself or another god or the Creator, Jesus Christ. Only believing in and giving your heart to Jesus will grant you entrance into “My Father’s house” as Jesus told His disciples.

This life is not the only one you have. Each one of us has an eternal soul that will live on after the physical body has died. Your destination in eternity is what you determine in this life. Have you chosen to live your life as you feel it could be done to please yourself? If you have then you are your own “god”. If you have ever felt God touch your heart to bring you to Himself then you should’ve given your heart to Jesus at that point. If you did then you are all set for eternity. If you pushed Him away and haven’t gone back to that point…what are you waiting for? Not one of us is guaranteed to live through the day today, so make sure of your eternity as soon as you can because we cannot see the future even one hour from now.

Pain…


History teaches us that pain can cause people to act in such a way as to reduce the object of that pain. Oysters cover it with a substance that turns the source into something beautiful. Why can’t we learn to do something similar?

What can we do to ease the pain, regardless of what caused it? Go to God with your pain. Pray about your situation and let Him know that something is hurting you in this situation. He already knows that you are hurting but just as your earthly father wants you to ask for his help, God wants us to ask Him for help when we need His help. He doesn’t push salvation on us and He doesn’t help you without you asking for it. He will give you the strength and the ability to get through it every time…IF you ask Him.

Hunger and pain cause people to do things that they wouldn’t normally do. If you have been paying attention to the news lately then you know that the food shortage for babies is only the beginning. The world’s producers of wheat are either buying up what they can on the market and hoarding it or they’ve stopped producing wheat for export completely. This year is not going to be as rosy as some are trying to convince you that it will be.

All of this was predicted in the Bible and if you’ve ever read the prophecies in Matthew and Luke and at the very beginning of the book of Revelation you can see it happening in real-time now. I pray that there will be many of you who will look to God for your salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. Because there will be a day coming sooner than many believe when those who gave their hearts to Jesus will leave this Earth for their eternal home in heaven. After that…the news will show that what we think is bad now is just a tiny fraction compared to what is coming.

Don’t put off your salvation in Jesus. Please seek Him out today for your own eternity because even though some will be saved during the Tribulation, wouldn’t it be better to be in His house while hell is breaking loose on Earth?

Receive His mercy…


Conviction of your sins…


Why is the church declining?


Don’t get me wrong, the church still exists…but barely. It has broken into so many different “congregations” and beliefs that it is no wonder that young people are confused about the message. Few churches preach or teach the same message. They twist it and “adapt” it to their audience so that everyone feels welcome. Jesus didn’t do that! He taught His message, God’s message, whether the people in the crowd liked it or not! If some walked away disgusted so be it. He was more interested in those who heard the message and wanted it to make a difference in their lives.

I watch Matt Hagee preach some days, early in the morning, and when the camera picks up people in the crowd it is amazing the differences you can see in the people’s faces. Some seem to be giving God the glory and praising Him during the service. While others seem to be indifferent to the message and just want him to get it over with. Then there are some who seem to be listening but the expression on their face is hard to read. It may be that they are interested in the content or they agree with what is being said…these are the people that aren’t quite sure what to do with the message. Why?

It could be that they are truly searching for the Truth of God’s Word. It could be that they feel the need for a Savior to make a difference in their lives but they’re not sure…yet. What will happen on that day when Jesus comes to take the church, His Bride, home to be with Him? Those who were indifferent will be angry at themselves because they didn’t listen prayerfully. Those who were interested in the message, and agreed that they needed Jesus hopefully made that decision before the Trumpet sounds.

The problem that I see in the crowds at Cornerstone church and other television crowds is that there are too many who want to wait or maybe “ride the fence” for a while. The problem with this is that we don’t know when God’s Trumpet will sound for us. The couple that wants to wait may be killed in a car wreck on the way home. The man who just wants the sermon to be over may have a heart attack this afternoon or tonight. Our individual “calling home” may happen before the Big call comes for the whole church and we have no idea when that call will come. Make sure of your salvation today before it is too late.

Do not worry, have faith in God!


B-I-B-L-E


“That’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.” This is from a song taught to young children about the Bible in Bible school and in Sunday school too. Although, today was the first time I heard it.

The point is that, as young children, we believe the words of the song and the Bible as well. As we grow older and are taught in schools and in college that it isn’t true, we tend to walk away from that “child-like faith”. As we become adults we “just don’t have enough time” for the Bible and its teachings. Why?

Mostly, it is because the world around us doesn’t have time for it and the teachings of the Bible don’t correspond with the “values” of the world. In other words, “life gets in the way of our belief in God”, at least until we feel that we actually NEED Him. Growing up causes us to lose our child-like faith or rather it gets trampled by all of our “education” to the point of being forgotten until God gets our attention in some way.

The Bible didn’t come together as a collection until the Council of Nicea in the fourth century. A printed Bible with both the Old and the New Testaments wasn’t printed in English until the 1600s. So for 1200 years the Bible was written or printed in Latin and only the “clergy” was allowed to read it and tell their congregations what they should hear and know about God and His commandments and laws. If you don’t believe me, look it up.

My point is this: God gave every book and every letter of the Bible to mankind as our textbook to learn more about Him. It is not just an “instruction” book or a book of rules to live by. God’s Word is our guide but it is so much more than that. His Holy Spirit can make every book in it come alive and be instructive to you and me in ways that a book off the shelf can’t. But the Holy Spirit can only teach you through His Word if you are a Christian and have Him living inside your heart. If you don’t believe in Jesus as your Savior and have the Holy Spirit as your Teacher, then the Bible is just another book and it makes very little sense to you at all.

Read the book of John in the New Testament and ask God to show you what you need to know and Who you need in your life. Then, read the book of Luke and Acts and go from there to the end of the New Testament. Once you have finished that, then go back to the book of Genesis and read the whole Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to show you, Jesus, in these books that were written many hundreds of years before Jesus was born. He is there and your life will never be the same again.

Fear not! God is in control


Love is the glue that keeps us together


The end is coming


Ominous beginning, huh? The title is the truth of history and prophecy. God’s Word says that this is going to happen and all of the signs have already happened except one. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you have given your heart to Him, it won’t be long now. For many who do not know Jesus as their Savior life will go on as it always has…until that day when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ will explode from their graves, wherever they may be. I say explode because they will have glorified bodies and will meet Him in the air. Then, those of us who are alive and remain steadfast in our faith will be changed in the twinkling of an eye to meet them and our Savior in the air. Oh, what a glorious day that will be!

All of those who have believed in Jesus for their Savior and their eternal hope will be taken from the Earth, from the first century saints until the day of His calling all of us to be with Him. It will be a massive amount of people in the air and unless it happens at night, everyone in the world will know that it happened! I pray that if you don’t believe in Him for your salvation, I hope you won’t be on a plane with a Christian pilot. If you are then unless the co-pilot can take over quickly, the plane will fall. The entire world will be in even more turmoil on that day than it is today. Because many won’t have a clue about what is happening, although there will be quite a number who do know but have not given their heart to Christ. They will be left to mourn over their indecision.

God loves each of you and He does want you to be saved but it is up to you to act on the call of the Holy Spirit when you feel that you need Jesus as your Savior. God doesn’t force His will upon anyone so when you hear a sermon or feel His call in your heart for you to turn to Jesus as your Savior, please don’t turn away as if you have many more years to make that decision. Not one of us is guaranteed even to make it through today, so please seek Him because He is seeking you if you have turned away even once don’t put it off again. Give your heart to Jesus and be saved from the time that will come after the church is taken away.