Category: Abide in Him

When will You show up?


We want to ask this especially when we are going through a tough time. The bills can’t be paid because the money isn’t there. You can’t buy groceries, again, because of no money. You get a diagnosis that frightens you and surprises you at the same time…so when will You show up in all of this, God?

The days that we are living in and through today bring questions like this to mind. We may not voice them aloud but they are there. There is something that we need to remember in all of this: God is always here with us. He knows when a sparrow falls, so don’t you think He knows when you are having trouble? Even if you haven’t given your life to Him yet, He still knows and He is never more than a prayer away.

God loves every one of us. He loves us even more than we think anyone could and He does. So, why do we feel alone and abandoned at times? Don’t blame it on Him because He hasn’t moved. Most of our loneliness comes when we either push Him away or we don’t invite Him into our problems. We think that He isn’t interested. Realize this: If God knows how many hairs are on your head, don’t you think He cares about every other part of your life? God knows you and me far better than we know ourselves.

Your life is precious to God and He wants to treat you as such but when most people don’t believe in Him as their Savior why should you receive any help from the God that you don’t believe in? Many of us have made “god” in our image and that is the god that we worship, even in church. He is not judgmental. He doesn’t require us to do anything for His Kingdom. We have created an idol with our idea of who god is and we have placed him in a box to be brought out when we want him and need him. That is not God the Creator and Father of Jesus.

We have to follow our Savior, Jesus, every day. Make sure you read the Bible so you will know exactly Who you are following and why. God loves you!

Give thanks


What will it take?


There have been hundreds of sermons preached in America and around the world, maybe even thousands since the time that Jesus Christ was here. How much more preaching will it take to get people to realize that God’s Word is true? God inspired the men of Israel to write the books that they wrote and yet we think that the Bible is just some old, dusty book and nothing more.

Consider the parable of the pearl. A merchant found a pearl. Perfect in all of its dimensions and without a flaw. He sold everything he had in order to purchase this pearl. This is exactly how God views each of us. Our soul is worth more to Him than all of the wealth in the entire world and in today’s economy that would be in the trillions of dollars. I’m not speaking of the human race, I’m talking about your soul or my soul. God values each of us that much. So much in fact that if I had been the only person to be saved by the death of Jesus on the cross…He would’ve still died just for me or you or any one of the billions of people on Earth.

Not only does God value us that much but He loves each of us that much. It doesn’t matter if you are Jewish or a Gentile, God still loves you that much. Just think about that for a moment. Is there anyone that you would give your life for like that? I can think of a couple of people but to do it for someone I don’t know…I don’t think so. The thing that we have to remember is that God knows each of us and He knew us long before we were born. He knows each person intimately enough that He doesn’t wonder what kind of person we will become because He already knew that long before we were born.

I pray that each person that reads this will think about this for a few minutes. Consider how much God cares for you and that He would’ve died for you even if you were the only one that could be saved by His death on the cross.

Love each other


Do you know Jesus Christ?


Does He know you?

Knowing about Jesus doesn’t help. Knowledge of the Bible, attending church, and knowing about Jesus does NOT save your soul. You have to believe in Him for your salvation and repent of your sinful life, and determine that you will never go back in the direction you came from. Follow Him into eternity. Ask Him to come into your life and cleanse your heart and soul. He will do it if you mean what you are asking Him for. He knows your heart. He knows if you are just saying the words or if you are sincere about your repentance.

Saying the words and walking down the aisle at a church is not enough if your heart is not in it. God loves you and He made a way for you to be saved from hell. Through your faith in Jesus and your belief in Him as your Savior, you can have eternity with Him. You have eternity ahead of you even if you go to hell but you will not see God after your judgment. Hell was prepared for the devil and his demons, not for humans. Hell is the total absence of life and God is not there. He knows what is happening there, but He isn’t there.

If Jesus knows you then you don’t have to worry about hell. There are many people who have attended church for most of their lives and they have never really accepted Jesus as their Savior. As I mentioned earlier, attending church does not save your soul. Jesus Christ is the only way to gain entrance into Heaven. Give your heart to Him and your eternal home is secure. Faith comes through hearing the gospel and it takes faith to bring you to salvation. I pray that even more of you will give your lives to Jesus soon because we are living in the time of the end of the age.

The word “but…”


Many times you read it or hear it said, “but, they followed their own way”, and that is when things go wrong. There are also places in the Bible where the writer says “but God remembered” and it is usually those “but God” moments that really make a difference not only in the nation of Israel but in our lives too. It is those times when we decide not to follow Jesus and we create our own “but” moments. “But I want to do it this way or that way”; the problem with this is if you have been called to be a Christian, you are supposed to be following Jesus in your daily life. Yet, we look at our lives and, if we are honest, we can see that our lives work with Jesus as our Savior until we decide that we know better and we come to one of these “but, I want to…” moments.

It is unequivocally clear that it is at those times when we get off of the pathway that Jesus is leading us on simply because we see something off to the side that we want to pursue. It might be a shiny new car or this new job but it isn’t what God was leading you toward. So we follow our own desires in that “but” moment. It is usually at this point that we find that this new path or job or whatever it is that we wanted isn’t what we thought it was. Then…we have to come back into a right relationship with Jesus and begin again on His path.

That little three-letter word “but” can bring a lot of heartache and misery into our lives. Especially when we are just starting our walk with Jesus. We will get distracted by something or someone and walk off into the briar patch and then realize that we have gotten into something that we shouldn’t have gotten into. Sometimes we realize it right away but most often it is after we have been off of the “narrow way” following Jesus for a while. The best part of following Jesus is that He never walks away from us. He is always right next to us and when we decide that our way isn’t working, Jesus takes our hand and we begin again.

While it is true that life is a highway, it is the narrow path that leads toward your eternal home. The highway may be smooth and easy but the path that leads to eternity, even though it is narrow, it is more productive and it doesn’t have the same dangers that are on the “easy path”. That little word and thought, “but…”, can lead you into some wonderful places but it can also lead you down some dangerous roads. Seek out and follow Jesus while there is time.

Don’t hide your light


Hobbled, but not done


I broke four of my toes on my left foot yesterday afternoon. Now, I’m getting around with a cast on but I’m not done yet. God still wants me to work and post for Him and for you too. Life is not over, I’m just having to move a little slower these days.

He is working on healing the fractures and I’m still putting His message out here so people can read what He gives me to say. God is good even when things go a little sideways. Job got through His ordeal and I will too. Thankfully, I haven’t lost everything the way he did but I’m used to getting up and walking without problems or a cane. I guess I’m going to have to slow down and be a little bit more careful from this point on.

God provides for our provisions in this life as long as we live according to His commandments and follow Jesus as your Savior. There is nothing that can stop you when Jesus is your Savior. He is on your side when you have given your heart to Him. It doesn’t matter if my legs are broken or my foot is broken, I will be in His house to worship Him regardless of the pain or difficulty. God loves you more than anyone on this Earth could ever love you and He cares more about your little problems than you do.

Give your heart to Jesus and follow Him for your life and it will be more than you can ever manage or imagine. You may not be wealthy in this life but your home in Heaven has been built by the Creator of all and the road going to your home is paved with gold. His authority is over every sickness and ailment in our lives and everything in the universe does as He intends and tells it to do. My fractures will be healed and I will be walking without these implements before my birthday on November 1st.

There’s no “Oops”in the Bible


It’s not strange to note that God doesn’t have anywhere in His Word where He says “Oops”. He knows what He’s doing and He knows how things will turn out so nothing is a surprise to Him.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmaments sheweth his handiwork.” – Psalm 19:1

He is the Creator and our Savior and there is no other. He is in control even though the rest of the world says that He is not and they don’t care to know Him. Everything that He made in the first chapter of Genesis was good. God’s creation has more beauty in it because that is how He made it to be. Don’t turn away from the One Who loves you more than anyone else can.

Is your crown bent?


I have fallen and gotten back up so many times in my life. Mostly because of alcohol and just plain stubbornness. The fact that I am writing here is a testament to God’s faithfulness that He will not let go of us even when we try to get away. Jonah found this out and I did too. God called me to become a preacher in 1983 but I didn’t want to. I knew who He was and I knew about the salvation that was offered through belief in Jesus but I didn’t want to proclaim it as a preacher.

I felt that I had done too many things wrong in my teenage years. Everyone in my school knew about the drunk that I was. I had wrecked two cars that my Mom had allowed me to use. I had spent many days recovering from those injuries in the hospital during different school years but still…the effect on my “reputation” was the same. I knew that I could not preach salvation in our community because my crown was bent in more than one way.

The thing that I didn’t realize about Jesus was this: He doesn’t require us to be perfect. He changes us so we can be His representative wherever we are. Even if the people in your community know how you were or what you did, He can change you so that your message is fresh and meaningful to those who hear it. God has used so many flawed people over the years and He can use your witness regardless of how deeply you stepped off of the path to Him. It doesn’t matter how far you got from Him, He can bring you back to the pathway that He needs you on.

Give Jesus a chance and He can make you into His disciple and His missionary to whoever He needs you to talk to. It may be only one person that you can have an influence on but He knows that you are the only person who can do it.