1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgave the iniquity of my sin.
6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou may be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Colossians 1:13 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/col.1.13.KJV
All of the Bible is held together by God’s love for His people, the Jews. He also loves all of mankind, no matter what ethnic background or skin color they may have. Our problem with God’s love for us is that we can’t understand the depth of it. Why would God love people who hate Him? Why would He send Jesus to die on a cross for people that hate Him and His message?
Because of God’s promise to Eve and Adam that “the Seed of the woman will crush the head of the snake”, meaning Jesus would come and vanquish Satan and his temptation paying the price for ALL of mankind so they could regain their place in God’s house. This message runs all through the Bible and is fulfilled entirely when Jesus is born and grows in a village in Israel. Without God’s promise of a Redeemer and the fulfillment of that promise in the New Testament, there would be no gospel to preach and no salvation for mankind.
John 3:16-17 tells the whole gospel message in just a few words: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
God created us as living souls so that we can commune with Him. He had this relationship in the beginning and God will bring us to Himself through the blood of Jesus. If we will believe in Jesus as our Savior and turn away from our old life and walk-in “newness of life in Christ Jesus“.
The song, Don’t worry, be happy! Is a good representation of this principal from God’s Word. During stressful times it is hard to feel happy and joyful, but by keeping your your focus on the blessings that are yours through Jesus Christ you can feel joyful. Because of the eternal life that is yours because of His sacrifice.
The past few weeks…basically since the election, I’ve not been writing as much here. I have also been a bit distracted because of having to have a colonoscopy done. That’s as much information as I’ve giving here on that.
I have been studying my Bible although not as regularly as I was. Why am I slacking off? Truthfully…I’m not sure. I’ve noticed during the last few years that my holiday writing and studying drops off a bit. Maybe it is a little bit of the so-called “holiday blues”. It feels as if I am having to put out more effort each day to study the Bible and get the Word, the wisdom that God wants me to understand for my life, to make sense to me. Sounds like I have a real problem.
My problem is easy to pinpoint when I look at it that way. Even so I have to consciously bring my mind into subjection to His Holy Spirit so that I can write and understand that what I’m writing may bring someone who is looking for Jesus will find Him and not me. I cannot make the change in their life, in your life that will give you an eternity in heaven. Only Jesus Christ and your belief in His atonement for your sins can do that. God loves each of us so much that He sent Jesus to Earth to live as one of us and then die for all of our sins.
The only veil separating you from eternity is God’s love and He knows when you will come to know Him as your Savior. Some say that we are immortal until that day that God touches our heart and lets us know that He is waiting and all we have to do is accept Him as our Savior. Some people say ” Now wait a minute, you said that I have to believe in Jesus Christ for my salvation and now you are saying that God loves me enough to wait for me to give my life to Him!” Which One of Them is my Savior? They both are.
Jesus is the Son of God but He is also the Second of the Trinity which makes the Godhead. This is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit or Ghost if you prefer. All of them were present on the day that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist if you will read it in Matthew. So what is my problem these days? Satan.
Just because I am a Christian and a pastor doesn’t mean that he leaves me alone. In fact, he attacks me harder when I am about to write here or when I am working on my sermon or just studying the Bible. Why? Because as long as he can keep my mind occupied with bills and surgery and medical tests and my medication then I won’t be thinking about the work that I should be doing while there is still time to do so…to tell you and others about my Savior and what He will do for you. He doesn’t bring us wealth or fame here on this Earth or in this life but consider that no one on Earth can give you eternal life! What is wealth here compared to being in heaven with the Creator and my Redeemer? I mean the streets of New Jerusalem are paved with gold! How fantastic is that?
There isn’t a rich man on Earth that can pave his driveway with gold bricks because they would be stolen during the night. Nobody would spend thousands on a brick of gold and then place it in the dirt or in concrete to pave even a driveway. But God does. God doesn’t care about the gold and diamonds and pearls, each of the gates of the city in heaven are made from one gigantic pearl and there are 12 gates! Each one made from a precious stone like diamonds or sapphires. Can you imagine a door 12 feet tall made from one gemstone or pearl?
No amount of money impresses God…He wants your obedience and your love to be focused on Jesus and His life. We are supposed to be reflections of Him in our lives so that others can see Him in and through our lives because for some people you and I and the lives that we live in front of them are the only example of Jesus’ love that they may ever see. Live your life as close to Him and be as close to His example as you can with the strength that He gives you through the Holy Spirit because that is the only way that you and I can do this.
How should we live and act when we sin each day of our lives? Should we just shrug it off and tell ourselves that “God has already forgiven us through the blood of Jesus because I am saved by my belief in His atonement for me.” These words are true…but God’s Word says that we should confess our sins and He is just to forgive us. We should NOT assume God’s forgiveness because of our belief in His Son.
Consider this: many people, especially in the “Bible Belt” of the South, THINK that they are truly saved by Jesus but their life doesn’t show behavior that proves this out. Why is that? Because of our culture in the South. We attend church almost from the day we are born and we grow up in the church. Many of us can quote Scripture almost as good as our pastor can…but have you truly given your heart to Jesus? Did the conviction of His Spirit touch your spirit and show you that your life doesn’t reflect what you say you believe?
Many of the people in America, whether you are from the Midwest or the Northeast or the South, claim to be Christians! In some recent polls, there has been as many as 80 to 90 percent of the population making this claim. Then why are so many churches closing their doors because there are too few people in the congregation to keep the doors open? Those same polls show that when the questions get down to true, serious, Bible studying Christians the percentages drop to as little as fifteen percent regardless of their location in America. Now that this “new” coronavirus has hit and churches have been told NOT to meet together in groups of more than fifteen persons I wonder how many more churches will close their doors?
So…should we pray through the denials that we have been inflicting on ourselves for more than forty years? Of course, we should! The Church is the people who make up the Body of Christ here on Earth, not the buildings. Prayer is our connection to God in all of His Glory and it is He that will bring about a return to church and the study of the Bible. How can we just hide behind a tree the way Adam did when he heard God walking in the Garden so long ago? We should confess our sins and beg for His forgiveness of our sins. It was our sins which nailed Jesus to the cross and it was for our atonement that He died and rose on the third day to bring that forgiveness to each person who will ask for it with a humble heart knowing that each of us is truly in need of His forgiveness today and forever.
The instances of PTSD that we hear of today can come from many different situations, but God can get each of us through them if we will learn to rely on Him every minute of every day. What do I mean by “different situations”? The teenager who was sent into a war zone during the Vietnam war gets it because of what he feels or sees around him in the jungle. If he sticks his head out too far the enemy may put a bullet in it. The child of an alcoholic develops it because of how their personality changes and they become violent for little reason. A policeman or woman develops it because of the culture that we live in today that seems to be hunting cops while they are working. Firefighters and ambulance workers get it because of what they see and hear and fear during their shifts. God can help us through all of these but we have to know Him to come to Him for our comfort during our episodes of PTSD. Seek Him every day for His strength and His comfort in every trial, no matter how small or big it may seem to us.
Biblical Names of God the Triune One (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
Advocate – 1 John 2:1 Almighty – Revelation 1:8 Alpha – Revelation 1:8 Amen – Revelation 3:14 Angel of the Lord – Genesis 16:7 Anointed One – Psalm 2:2 Apostle – Hebrews 3:1 Author and Perfecter of our Faith – Hebrews 12:2 Beginning and the End – Revelation 21:6 Bishop of Souls – 1 Peter 2:25 Branch – Zechariah 3:8 Bread of Life – John 6:35,48 Bridegroom – Matthew 9:15 Carpenter – Mark 6:3 Chief Shepherd – 1 Peter 5:4 The Christ – Matthew 1:16 Comforter – Jeremiah 8:18 Consolation of Israel – Luke 2:25 Cornerstone – Ephesians 2:20 Dayspring – Luke 1:78 Day Star – 2 Peter 1:19 Deliverer – Romans 11:26 Desire of Nations – Haggai 2:7 Emmanuel – Matthew 1:23 Everlasting Father – Isaiah 9:6 Faithful and True Witness – Revelation 3:14 First Fruits – 1 Corinthians 15:23 Foundation – Isaiah 28:16 Fountain – Zechariah 13:1 Friend of Sinners – Matthew 11:19 Gate for the Sheep – John 10:7 Gift of God – 2 Corinthians 9:15 God – John 1:1 Glory of God – Isaiah 60:1 Good Shepherd – John 10:11 Governor – Matthew 2:6 Great Shepherd – Hebrews 13:20 Guide – Psalm 48:14 Head of the Church – Colossians 1:18 High Priest – Hebrews 3:1 Holy One of Israel – Isaiah 41:14 Horn of Salvation – Luke 1:69 I Am – Exodus 3:14 Jehovah – Psalm 83:18 Jesus – Matthew 1:21 King of Israel – Matthew 27:42 King of Kings – 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16 Lamb of God – John 1:29 Last Adam – 1 Corinthians 15:45 Life – John 11:25 Light of the World – John 8:12; John 9:5 Lion of the Tribe of Judah – Revelation 5:5 Lord of Lords – 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16 Master – Matthew 23:8 Mediator – 1 Timothy 2:5 Messiah – John 1:41 Mighty God – Isaiah 9:6 Morning Star – Revelation 22:16 Nazarene – Matthew 2:23 Omega – Revelation 1:8 Passover Lamb – 1 Corinthians 5:7 Physician – Matthew 9:12 Potentate – 1 Timothy 6:15 Priest – Hebrews 4:15 Prince of Peace – Isaiah 9:6 Prophet – Acts 3:22 Propitiation – I John 2:2 Purifier – Malachi 3:3 Rabbi – John 1:49 Ransom – 1 Timothy 2:6 Redeemer – Isaiah 41:14 Refiner – Malachi 3:2 Refuge – Isaiah 25:4 Resurrection – John 11:25 Righteousness – Jeremiah 23:6 Rock – Deuteronomy 32:4 Root of David – Revelation 22:16 Rose of Sharon – Song of Solomon 2:1 Ruler of God’s Creation – Revelation 3:14 Sacrifice – Ephesians 5:2 Savior – 2 Samuel 22:47; Luke 1:47 Second Adam – 1 Corinthians 15:47 Seed of Abraham – Galatians 3:16 Seed of David – 2 Timothy 2:8 Seed of the Woman – Genesis 3:15 Servant – Isaiah 42:1 Shepherd – 1 Peter 2:25 Shiloh – Genesis 49:10 Son of David – Matthew 15:22 Son of God – Luke 1:35 Son of Man – Matthew 18:11 Son of Mary – Mark 6:3 Son of the Most High – Luke 1:32 Stone – Isaiah 28:16 Sun of Righteousness – Malachi 4:2 Teacher – Matthew 26:18 Truth – John 14:6 Way – John 14:6 Wonderful Counselor – Isaiah 9:6 Word – John 1:1 Vine – John 15:1
Why is it so important to realize that God has many names in the Bible? Because He is everything. There is no life without Him. There is no peace without Him. There is no Earth or universe with its trillions of stars and planets and galaxies without Him. There would be no human race without Him. He is All Sufficient and All powerful so in fact He doesn’t need us but He wants a relationship with us, each one of us. But relationships, like love itself, cannot be forced, they have to grow over time which is why we have to choose to follow Him and love Him because He loved us first.
Don’t turn away from Him when you feel His Presence touching your heart and soul. His touch on your life and your heart is special because He deems you worthy of His love.
The names of God that I find the most endearing are El Elyon meaning the Lord Most High and Adonai meaning Lord and Master. Adonai is also plural encompassing the Holy Trinity as One.
In the Middle East, names denote your true self, your character so when you use God’s name it should be used in a reverent way with love. Because He is the embodiment of love.
So many claim to be Christians today but because of fear and misinformation very few are attending church services. So, what is coming next? In our time and in the next few weeks we will be voting for a President to continue his second term in office, if it is God’s will for that to happen. Many of us will get a flu shot or a COVID-19 shot and hope that it helps for a season. But…what about after that? What should we look for after all of this?
The news media and social media will tell everyone that our world is doomed whether our choice of candidate gets elected or not. Many people may even begin to go into survival mode and hoard more toilet paper and canned goods. Can we be certain of anything that we see or hear in media broadcasts today? If it is reported by a news organization or any media company I would have to say…NO! So what are we supposed to do about this uncertainty? Truthfully there is nothing that we, as individuals, can do except pray.
If you are a believer in Jesus and you have given your heart to Him then read His Word because most of the things which we are seeing and hearing on the TV or the Internet were foretold long before it started. The rise of knowledge and technology, which we have seen in the past century has happened. Israel became a Jewish nation again seventy-two years ago and now we are seeing so many people claiming that our history needs changing because it “hurts some people’s feelings”. How can we cope with all of this uncertainty? Read God’s Word! It will show you that God is not surprised by this. He knew thousands of years ago that this was coming.
Read the prophetic books like Isaiah and Daniel and Ezekiel. Then read in Matthew 24 and in the book of Revelation about how God will deal with the world that has been against Israel for so long. The best part is that the church, those who believe in Jesus for their salvation, is not punished during the Tribulation because we are not here! The world will be in a constant state of chaos and it will get worse as the months and years go by but only for seven years. Then Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives and He will end the Tribulation with the Word of God which will destroy the enemies of Israel. God loves Israel and those in the world who have believed in Jesus for their salvation.
God will not leave us and He hasn’t left us at any time. This trouble that we are going through now is just a way of testing the faith of the church. To see how much we are looking for Him and keeping our faith in His promises. I could be wrong but it seems that we, as the Church, are being tested. How long will this last? I don’t know but God does. Seek Him in all that you do and pray that He will convict you to become a Christian or to reaffirm and strengthen your faith during these troubled times. The test could be over in a few minutes or it may take a few years but by whatever time measurement you use, God is the only One who knows precisely when Christians (the church) will be taken home to be with Him.
I pray that all who claim to know Him are known by Him when this time comes. Amen
There will be millions rising to meet Him along with those who knew Him at the time of their death.
Most believers and the churches that they attend know or think they know “what they believe” and “how to tell others about their belief in Jesus”. In many ways, the pastors of those churches feel that they know these things as well. Some do know these fundamental beliefs of the church and they preach them from God’s Word. But do you know why you should study God’s Word? Do you know why you should tell others in your family and those who live nearby about your Savior?
Is there a reason why we should tell others about Jesus? Why do we come to church?
Telling others about our Savior throws a lifeline to them so that they can know their Savior and escape an eternity in hell. Why do we come to church? Because the Bible says, “forsake not the assembling of the brethren or believers”. We are strengthened in our Spirit when we worship Jesus together. We learn more about our Savior and how to be His disciples when we meet together and study the Bible about His work. We learn about who we are to take this good news, the gospel, to every tribe and nation and tongue, whether it is across the ocean or the street.
But…do we take this good news even to our own family? The “why” of the gospel is simple, maybe too simple, and it is love. God loved us and still loves us so deeply that He sent Jesus to live and die for our sins, no matter how big or small our sins may seem to be to us. The sins that we commit each day in our thoughts and in our speech and with our eyes tend to make a mockery of our claim of being a Christian. We don’t take our faith and our walk with Jesus by our side seriously. Sometimes we rarely think about Him at all outside of the church. It’s almost like when we were young and we would go to visit our grandmother or an aunt that we only see once or twice a year.
We would be told in very stern words to be on our best behavior while we are there. The problem with this kind of thinking and living as Christians is that unlike our grandmother or our aunt, God knows what we think and say even if we don’t say it in church. He knows about your sins regardless of their perceived size because to a holy God…every sin is the same. It is our rebellion against Him and His commandments. That is hard for us to understand because we categorize sins as big or little, white or black. To God, telling your Mom that you didn’t eat the cookie when you did is the same as killing your brother or someone in anger. They don’t seem to be the same to us, but to God, a sin is a sin…period.
Your life and mine are an open book to God. He can turn the days back and see the day you were born and He can look ahead to the day you will die or to the day that we will be taken up to heaven. He knows you and me far better and more completely than our family does. So answer this question in your mind: do you know why you are important to God? It is a simple answer but it is one that we rarely believe or understand because it is too simple.
The reason that we are important to God is LOVE.
Plain, simple, and boring…but from His perspective, it is the most important reason of all! Why is love so bland and boring to us? Because we have used the word for so many things which are not actually “love” until we have tarnished its meaning and weakened its importance. For some people, the expression of love can be done in ways that others would find obsessive or offensive. Then there are times when we say, “I love that show!” or “I love shrimp!”
We use the word “love” in ways and for the expression of feelings that really have no resemblance to love at all. At least not the type of love that God has for us and for all of His Creation. We have stretched it and turned it into a word with little meaning at all because we use it so much. But…God’s Love for us is overflowing with meaning and purpose and it’s alive just like His Word in the Bible. It inspires you and it burns within you and it compels you to do things that you wouldn’t normally do like get in front of a group of people and speak for almost thirty minutes!
Love is the reason for everything that God made. Especially when it comes to His feelings for you and me. God’s love came to Earth so that we could come to heaven. He came to pay for our mistakes so we wouldn’t have to pay the penalty ourselves.
Have you ever wondered about that? Do you realize Who it is that you are talking about? God is the Creator of everything! Your problems are nothing to Him if you will place your faith in Him to take care of them. Except many of us, in fact most of us won’t do that. When you read the book of Exodus in the Bible it tells you how He managed to get the Israelites out of slavery and out of Egypt by ten miraculous plagues. But before they crossed over the Red Sea (not some reed sea like some are trying to say today), His people were doubting God’s power already. Even after seeing the water turn to blood and the flies and the frogs and the darkness and all of the other things which scientists are trying to explain away today. The people of Israel still didn’t believe that He could deliver them to freedom. So let me clear this up right now!
God didn’t remove the Red Sea, He parted it. God didn’t bring rain, but He provided water from a Rock. God didn’t strike Goliath dead, but He aimed the rock that did. God doesn’t always remove your problems, but He will make a way for you to get through them. If you will depend on Him and believe.
God is not magic, He is our Creator. He is not some genie but He is our Heavenly Father. God sent Jesus to Earth to live as a human so He could know our troubles and our pain. He also came to be a spotless Lamb to give His life to pay for all of our sins in order for us to be able to come into the Father’s house forgiven and adopted as a child of the King! He came to give you eternal life if you will believe in Jesus for your salvation.
The Living Message of Christ 