Live a life approved…

We live each day as if nobody sees what we do or knows what we say, yet God knows all. He sees and hears every thought, word and deed that we do each and every day. We will be judged by those words and deeds even if we are saved through Jesus Christ because many times we do these things not considering that many of them are wrong in God’s eyes. If you are to live a life that shows others that you have given your heart and your life to Jesus and that you follow Him daily then your life must show it. If you don’t want to live a Christian life following Jesus and His teachings each day then don’t give your heart to Him. There are only two choices for your life…salvation through Jesus or life without Him. One you get to live here in accordance with His teachings so that others might see Him through your life. The other, life without Jesus, you can live without ever knowing Him or going to church or serving others but your life will end with your death.

A life approved by Jesus and through His Holy Spirit is a life that never ends. You will seek Him each day, living life here as a disciple and a follower of Him so that others will see the effect of Jesus Christ in your life. Hopefully they will see the peace that He gives you in times of trouble or the strength that you get through Him when you go through testing. The greatest gift that you have is the gift of eternity with Him because your life will go on after this body and this life is over. Our life will go on to be present with Him in Heaven and we will have an immortal body that will never know pain or disease ever again. The few years that we have here on Earth are the proving ground and the testing of our faith in Him and whether we will give our life to Him or not.

Does it matter if we live a life approved by Jesus Christ? Yes! If you would like your child or your children to know Him then you must live a life approved by Him. Children will follow in your footsteps whether you want them to or not and they will see the things that you do or say and learn from them whether you intended for them to or not. They will find out your past in one way or another so be careful to show them that you may have been a reprobate in the past but you have given your heart to Jesus and you have truly changed. You are no longer that person from your youth because you are a new creation in Jesus Christ!

Being a Christian in truth and in deed means living your faith everyday, not just on Sunday or on a particular holiday. It is not something that you can put on for weddings or funerals and on Sunday and then take it off when it isn’t convenient for you. When your heart is changed by Jesus, you are changed from the core of your being. Sometimes it takes a few years for the change to become visible to everyone because it is a process. Your heart is changed but the maturity comes from studying the Word of God and prayer to give you the strength each day to walk with Him. The Christian life is not an easy road to walk on. There will be trials and days when you do stumble and make mistakes. You will sin with your cuss words and thoughts but you will seek forgiveness and help in repenting from those mistakes. As I said, it takes time.

Be careful of false teachers

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13‭-‬15 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/2co.11.13-15.KJV

Do not love the world!

Our God is in control!

Daniel wrote in chapter 3:16-18: I will begin in verse fourteen: . 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?…but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. Because it shows just how much our Lord loves each of us who serves Him and boldly proclaims it to those who deny Him. Even Nebuchadnezzar admitted that the “fourth man looked like a Son of the gods”, which it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Who had come to rescue them from his furnace. They came out with no evidence of smoke or hurt or burning on them or their clothes.

The world around us is in turmoil and we have to flow right along with it but God is in control and our faith in Him can carry us through the problems and the turmoil that is ahead of us regardless of how bad it may get. Keep your faith strong by reading God’s Word and praying to Him so that you may be counted worthy to be taken in the first coming back of Jesus in the clouds to take His Bride away!

God owns the Earth

We do this too often

What are you talking about now? I’m talking about the way we take so much for granted these days. Men take their wives for granted and children take their parents for granted. It just goes on and on and on. We even go to bed expecting to wake up in the morning and go to work or go fishing…taking the Lord for granted that He will allow us to have another day for our pleasure.

All of this “taking for granted”is just too much! We have never been given nor guaranteed to have a certain number of years or days to live and work and play. God allows us today to serve Him and if we do well in that area then He may give us tomorrow and the next day…possibly. Why do I sound pessimistic? Because, the farmer who built bigger barns for his produce and wanted to sit back and take it easy didn’t have the time to take it easy. His soul was required that night so he didn’t enjoy his so-called “retirement” because God said it was time for his soul to be judged.

If we would wake in the morning and thank God for waking us on this day to serve Him and give us His blessing for the day then we may live past today or tomorrow or next month. But there are many who refuse to give Him thanks for waking them up for the day. They look at it as today is given to me and I’m going to make the most of it for my enjoyment. That is not what we are put here for and it is especially not what we are called for as Christians.

Living our daily life as Christians, honoring God with our life and our income and telling others about His blessings that come to us because of His love for us NOT because of anything that we have done. The only thing that we have done to be a Christian is to recognize that we are sinners and that we need Jesus Christ to come into our hearts and make us a new creation in Him. Once we recognize that we need Him then we repent of those sinful ways and turn to Him and follow Him for the rest of our lives.

We don’t become Christians by attending church and Sunday school every week. We don’t become a Christian because our parents and grandparents are Christians. Many people have claimed to be Christians but their life doesn’t show the fruits of the Holy Spirit which comes to those who truly are! God is the only One Who knows your heart and He is the judge of believers and non-believers alike. For believers He judges your actions after you become a Christian to see the kind of fruit you have produced. For non-believers He is your judge and He asks one question, “Why didn’t you believe in my Son?”

Taking your salvation for granted is the worst mistake that anyone who thinks they are a Christian can possibly make. It is an eternal mistake which will cost you your soul and your eternity. I pray that anyone who has even a small bit of doubt about their eternity or their salvation will seek Jesus and make sure of it soon.

Be still…

Rejoice in the Lord!

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord , my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61:10‭-‬11 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.61.10-11.KJV

Tell where your hope is from

The empty tomb

Many great men have lived and died in the world. Some of them lived on the side of evil like Hitler or Stalin and some were on the side of good like Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. Each of them meant to do what was right in their own eyes and sometimes they tried to do the best thing, whatever it was, for their people and their nation. In the end each of them died. Some died due to war or suicide and others because of other evil men and their intention to kill or assassinate them before they could do everything that they felt was needed at the time.

Even religious leaders in the past like Buddha or Muhammad died. The only One Who died and then rose from the grave was Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. He taught His disciples for a little over three years before the religious leaders of the day finally had enough and convinced Pilate to have Him crucified. His resurrection is the victory over death that we, as Christians, celebrate today. His grave or tomb is the only one that had no evidence for His body except for the burial cloths that were wrapped around Him prior to His burial.

Historians of His day recorded that He died on the cross and was buried according to Jewish law. But He didn’t stay in the tomb. Over the next forty days He was seen by many people, once by as many as five hundred, then just prior to Pentecost He was taken up from the Mount of Olives to sit at the right hand of God the Father. The angels who appeared to the disciples after His departure told them that “this same Jesus will return in like manner“. Our Savior and King is coming back to set up His kingdom on Earth. What a glorious day that will be!

Jesus also told His disciples that “I am going to prepare a place for you“. He is coming back to take the Church to the home that He has prepared for all of us who have given our hearts and our lives to Him. That is the hope that we have because He isn’t in the tomb. Our hope is in Him and His return for His Bride, the church. There is nothing left on God’s prophetic calendar until He calls us to be with Him except maybe one or two more people that will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It could be more or it could be only one more person, only God knows the date and the hour that the call will go out for us to come up here.