Category: Abide in Him

God’s Promises


God has given us many things and many promises in His Word and yet many people who claim to be saved through their belief in Jesus ignore them or don’t believe that He will deliver on them. God is not like we are. He doesn’t lie because if He did He would not be God. This message is for those of us who have given our hearts and our life to God through Jesus His Son. If you have not done so, then these promises don’t apply to you until you do. 

The first promise that I’ll begin with is this:

Romans 5:6-11 

Christ’s Sacrifice for the Ungodly

(Genesis 22:1-10; John 3:16-21)

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Jesus came to Earth as a baby, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, of parents whose lineage could be traced back to King David of the tribe of Judah. All of these were foretold years before He came and He fulfilled all of these prophecies and more. The people who choose not to believe God’s Word or even any part of it have no claim on even this first promise. The promise that you, as a believer, are a child of God. You have been adopted into the family of God through your belief in Jesus as your Savior.

This is God’s promise and it doesn’t matter if you believe in man’s doctrine of once saved you are always saved or if you believe that you can lose your salvation. God’s promise stands regardless of your belief in man’s doctrine because it is His promise and that settles it. As long as you believe in Jesus as your Savior in your heart and you live your life in accordance with your belief, then you truly are His child.

This promise is from God’s Word and it applies to each of us who are His. During these troubled times in which we are living, we need to lean on our Lord for His strength and guidance because without it we are lost. Our faith in Him should bring hope to those around us and yet we see every day the despair and hopelessness in the world. Those who have no hope cling to what they know and most of that is fear and anger and revenge for anything that is happening to them. Even if it is a virus that mankind has not caused but it brings fear into their lives and then other men bring hatred and murder to people only because of the color of their skin. Fear stirs up hatred and hatred lights a fire that won’t be put out easily.

Can the church and the believers who make up the church have any influence in this troubled world? Yes but only by living our lives daily so others can see Jesus in what we are saying and doing. If we live our lives as if we aren’t the church and like those who don’t believe in Him then we shouldn’t claim to be His at all. Yes we were sinners and we still are sinners but as Christians, we are forgiven and we need to live like it. Don’t leave your “Christianity” at the church building on Sunday. Your life was supposed to change when Jesus came into your heart so live your life as a changed Christian who can be seen as a Christian and not labeled as a hypocrite.

When you accepted Jesus as your Savior you were adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit came to dwell within your heart to teach you about Jesus and about your life in Christ, so act like you received the most precious gift of all instead of a burden or something that you never wanted to begin with. The gift which each of us has been given through belief in Jesus for our salvation is worth more than all of the wealth in the whole world because we have a home with Him in eternity. This life doesn’t matter except for what we can give to others by our faith in Him. Any gift which has no beginning in Jesus Christ means nothing.

What is your foundation?


Do you have a real foundation? In our world today many people seem to be devoid of a foundation. They seem to have no concept of even needing a foundation to base their lives and their beliefs on. Yet, America was founded upon Christian principles. Granted many of those were twisted out of context to legalize all kinds of wrongs such as slavery and prostitution and murder and rape. When I said “legalize” I don’t mean that these wrongs were legal in the eyes of the law but they used principles found in God’s Word to either justify what they were doing or to make themselves feel better about something that they knew was wrong in God’s eyes.

The foundation of our principles is based on God’s Law but it is also based on our conscience which God gave to us by way of reading and hearing His Word preached. Whether it was done by a preacher in a church or by your parents or your grandparents it really doesn’t matter. As long as you have heard the Truth from God’s Word then your conscience will let you know when you are doing something which God does not approve of.

We are made in the image of God and have been since the beginning in the Garden of Eden. That has not changed. Man is the only part of God’s creation which is formed from the clay. To form something you have to put your hands in it and make it into a shape that you approve of. Every other creation on Earth was called forth by the Word of God.Mankind was formed from the clay by God’s hands. Can you understand what that means?

When a potter or a sculptor takes a lump of clay or a piece of stone and makes something beautiful out of it they call themselves forming their vision of what is already there. They can see in their mind the man or woman or some other shape and then they either remove the stone or wood from around their vision. A potter looks at the clay and sees what it can be when he lays his hands on it. A master violin player can take a dusty old violin and tune it and make it sound like it came from heaven. God looked at the clay and saw us and all of the good that we could be. Unfortunately He also saw the bad and evil that mankind would be as well.

The only way that we can be what God saw before or during His formation of man is by His grace bringing us to conviction so that we know that we need Jesus in order to be the people which God saw. We need Him and His righteousness in our hearts so that we will live and be more like Jesus than ourselves. Adam was created perfect and sinless and so was Eve until they allowed Satan to twist the words which God has said. They were duped into thinking that they could become more like God. Except in doing so they disobeyed God’s command and in doing so they became more like Satan himself.

Our foundation has to be laid on the rock of salvation through Jesus and our belief in Him as our Savior. If we don’t start our true life off on that foundation by being forgiven and sanctified by the blood of Jesus then we are fooling ourselves and we are wasting out lives. God knows each of us far better than we know ourselves and He knows how far we will go before He needs to bring us to the point where we recognize our Savior and Lord as Jesus the Christ. I pray that many of you who read this will take it to heart and use it so that someone may come to know Jesus as their Savior. If you do not know Him then please seek Him out as your Savior.


Colossians 1:23
if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Jesus is also the foundation of our faith.

Do you listen to God?


There are many people in church and outside of church who will tell you that “God doesn’t speak to us anymore!”. Really? Who do you think is speaking when you read the Bible? It isn’t the person who wrote the words down because it is God’s Holy Spirit which has inspired them to write and speak and pray and write some more. The words in the Bible come from God so how can you say that He doesn’t speak today? No, He doesn’t use His “God” voice because most people would fall down dead if He did! (maybe not dead, but it would scare a lot of people).

God speaks through the words which we read from the Bible but if you don’t read His Word how will you know what He sounds like? God loves us and He has loved us since the beginning of everything. He knew Adam would not be able to resist the Tree of Knowledge. That was not a surprise to God at all. Jesus, His Son, was the Second Person of the Trinity and He knew that He would have to go one day and pay for all of our sins and He willingly did it. His human body and mind didn’t want to but His will submitted to His Father and did it anyway.

Was it painful? Yes! He bled and died for our sins…but He rose to life on the third day and now He is waiting for His Father to tell Him to “Go and get your Bride”. God is giving each of us a chance to be saved but it is up to us and our decision whether we will accept His gift of grace. Salvation is a gift from God just as your life and your health is a gift from Him. Whether we actually accept it or not is our decision. Can God force it on us? He could but that would prove nothing. Forcing obedience from someone is slavery and God doesn’t want slaves, He wants followers and people who love Him because He loved us first!

Love cannot be forced it is given from both parties in the relationship. If it is not or if the love is only flowing one way then pretty soon the stream dries up. A loving relationship is a two way stream and if both parties are not contributing to the stream then pretty soon the relationship will become one sided and then it will die. God doesn’t begin relationships with us in order to let them die. He is the Creator and the Author of Life so a relationship with Him is a two way relationship. He gives and we give as well. We give Him our life just as He gave His Son’s life for us to be sanctified and holy. Did it cost God anything? Of course it did! He felt the nails. He felt the whip as it ripped into Jesus’ body. He knew the suffering that Jesus went through to bring salvation to all who would accept it.

But…not everyone will accept it.

I pray that you who read this will accept His love into your life and accept Jesus as your Savior because one day soon our period of grace will be over and the time of testing and tribulation will begin.

Small though you are…


But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2 KJV

The Lord of Hosts is His name and He will rule the Earth with a rod of iron. Our King is coming back and all who have rejected Him will know that He is the Lord and Savior of us all!

We are going through some trials now but they will pale in comparison to the time of the Tribulation. There will be many wars and famines and other disasters which the world has never experienced in the time that mankind has been on the Earth. Jesus came to Bethlehem to be born, to live His life as one of us in order to identify with our suffering and then He was crucified on the cross, was buried and then rose again on the third day to pay the penalty for mankind’s sins.

Even though there are many religions in the world, there is only one which has a Savior which has died and was raised to life again. He is coming back one day soon to take His believers home to be with Him. It will be a terrible time for those who are not chosen to be taken to Heaven on that day. Many have heard of this and may even profess to be Christian in their life but if their life doesn’t bear the fruit which comes from being a follower of Jesus, they are fooling themselves. Too many think and even believe in their hearts that they are saved because they have grown up in the church but that doesn’t save your soul. Going to church and Bible school doesn’t save you either, only the absolute belief in Jesus as your Savior when the Spirit calls you into conviction of your need for Him will truly save your soul.

Make sure which side you are on when that Trumpet sounds because pretenders will not enter into the Kingdom.

Are you a visitor or a Christian?


In churches you sometimes see little cards to quantify if you are a visitor to the church. When you fill out one of these you admit that you are “just visiting” but what about the members of the church? Are you just visiting? Why do I ask this question? Because some people who come to church on Sunday morning don’t even darken the door at any other time. Some come to Sunday school and church on Sunday morning but you don’t see or hear from them until the next Sunday and this covers many people in the church today. To explain what I mean when I say that you are “just visiting” even when you attend every Sunday morning I want to ask a question of you: Does anyone at your place of business or your workplace know that you are a Christian? I am not speaking of those who may know that you attend church on Sunday. I am asking you if they can see the influence of Jesus in your work and in your speech when you are at work?

Or do you sound like everyone else at work and in public? Do you act like those around you when you are away from your church or can they see Jesus in your everyday life?

See, visitors who attend church only get a little bit of what is available to each of us. When you are committed to Jesus and your walk with Him goes out of the church and into the world then you are NOT visiting…you are being the church which Jesus wants us to be. Because, how are your co-workers going to know about Him if you don’t show Him to them in your life and your words? In many parts of America only twenty percent of people even attend church so if you aren’t taking Jesus with you then how will the other eighty percent find out about Him?

Many of us don’t even invite other people to come to our church so how will they ever find out about their Savior unless you show them how He has changed your life? God sent Jesus to the entire world and everyone in it. While it is true that He came to the Israelites first His message was intended for everyone. So how will it get to everyone if the church (people who are committed to Jesus) doesn’t carry the message outside the church building?

The world and those living in it have eternity ahead of them and you have a message to give them about Jesus Who can bring salvation to their lives and give them an eternity worth dying for. Because each of us has an eternal soul and whether you decide to follow Jesus and know Him as your Savior or not has an impact on your destination to live out your eternity. If you aren’t sure about your salvation or where you will spend eternity I would suggest that you take care of that as soon as possible. Not one person is guaranteed to see tomorrow and if you die tonight your eternity begins at that point. The question still remains: where will you spend eternity?

There is a chapter in the New Testament which the Apostle Paul wrote which gives a clear description of your life and mine as believers in Christ. Read chapter 8 in Romans and you will see. We are responsible for our lives and what we say and do here on Earth. We cannot be sinless because we sin every day. There are no sinless people on Earth, Christian or not because we cannot be sinless. Our life is given to us every day by God Himself and if you are a Christian we should be telling others about our Savior especially if we aren’t sure about their salvation and especially if they aren’t sure of it either.

Don’t be a visitor in church, be a disciple who takes God’s Word and your Salvation in Christ out into the world around you so others can see it and hear about Him. Be doers of the Word not just hearers only.

Priorities during trouble


Do you wonder about our priorities or the priorities of someone you see at a store? I do. When tax time comes around or this “stimulus check” comes around, how many people take care of needs with that money? Then again how many do you see coming out of a store with big TV’s or brand new phones? Almost every year when a little so-called “extra money” comes into our hands we use it for things or stuff. What about giving God His tithe on the money that you get? Don’t you think that He deserves a portion of His money to keep His Kingdom priorities going? It is His money after all, He only gives us what we need because of our abilities which He gave to us.

Your abilities and talents were given to you by God before you were born. The job that you get and the salary that comes with it are from Him. Your raises and your promotions come from Him not from your own efforts. God is the provider of all good things but He also tests us when we need to be tested. The only necessity is Jesus.

Jesus is Life and our Creator and it is through Him alone that we move every day and have our life and our being. Eternity awaits but only if you believe in Him for your salvation.

I watched this and it caused me to think…


I think that many people who believe in Jesus truly need to stand up for their faith when it is questioned. Many believers don’t do this. Eight out of ten people who attend church seem to believe in Jesus but they don’t tell anyone else about it. The other two people do. They take their faith in Jesus and they told people about it. So twenty percent of of people who profess to know Him actually do because they show it to others. Take a look at this video and take it to heart. Then make sure that someone hears the message that you believe in your risen Savior because He died for your sins. He made way for you to be forgiven and changed so that you can take His message to everyone you meet.

Our God is able to give you the strength even when you think it is gone. Seek Him for your eternity and for your healing today.

Some people might think that what happened in this instance was just coincidence, but God is able to do anything even when there are people in the room who do not believe in Him. The foolish people of this world think that we are foolish because we believe God’s Word and they don’t. Even Satan and his demons know Who God is and they know that He is real! So if God’s adversaries know and believe in Him why do we who are created in His image tend to move in the opposite direction from belief?

Seek Jesus for your salvation so you can know for sure where your eternity is because this world is temporary but your salvation and your home is in Heaven. All you need to do is believe in Jesus to receive it and repent of your sinful ways. Ask Him to come into your heart and clean out all of the “old stuff” and place the Holy Spirit in there so that you will be a “new creation in Christ“.

God is good all of the time!


His goodness is always available to us because He loved us from before Time began. He will never forget you and He will always be near you regardless of how far you try to get from Him. When you are in need of anything and there is no way that you can provide it…He can.

Living Hope…


Why did the people of the early church believe so strongly in Jesus and the offer of forgiveness and eternity so deeply they were willing to be killed because of it? Because they had eye-witness accounts of His ministry and most of all their account of His resurrection from the grave! What He endured for our atonement was enough to kill any man within a few hours if not before He was nailed to the cross. He wasn’t finished yet so He stayed alive until it was finished and when it was, He said so, “It is finished!”, and He gave up His Spirit. No one took His life, no one killed Jesus, He died when He was finished and He gave it up willingly.

If someone today had the message which He brought so long ago and they were being filmed for TV and someone shot them three times in front of the country, killing them. Then before the autopsy could be finished, they got up and showed themselves to the doctors and nurses and the world…would you believe in them as the Messiah? This very scene will play out one day but it won’t be Jesus but a false savior when it does happen. If you haven’t given your heart to Jesus then you will possibly see this “false savior” who would claim to be the so-called “savior of the world”. This person is the anti-Christ, the false Messiah and he will deceive many who are alive on that day.

The resurrection of Jesus is such a powerful witness that many people would die for their faith in Him and His promise of eternity. Life was in Him, true eternal life not some promise made by “just a man”. If you have access to a copy of the Book of Martyrs I would encourage you to read it. It is not an easy read because some of the descriptions are very graphic. But the people that you read about beginning with Stephen and continuing on into our present day had their hope in Jesus and they believed in Jesus for their Savior so deeply that they were willing to go through being crucified or burned alive or trampled by animals or killed and eaten by wild animals. No one dies willingly for a lie. God loves each of us and we have a message to take to the world. That message is: He is risen and alive! His Word is true and He is coming back one day soon, Amen.

Have you heard His voice?


Like Mary at the tomb knew that it was her Lord and Savior when He spoke her name because no other person could express their love for her like Jesus. She felt it, she knew it was her Lord. Jesus calls us to become adopted into the family of God as His adopted brothers and sisters. God loves the world’s population regardless of country or ideology or skin color which is why Jesus came to pay the penalty for ALL of our sins and that penalty was not only His death but complete separation from His Father which He had never known before!

Jesus, our Savior, did this because of His love for humanity, for all of mankind, and yet He was rejected and still is in many countries. This begs the question, “Why is Jesus still rejected today?”. Is it because of the exclusive nature of His offer of salvation? My personal opinion is “Yes, that is the reason people of other faiths reject Him”.

Why? Because they don’t like being convicted of their sinful nature and their daily lives reflecting that. They live as if there is no tomorrow and mostly do whatever they feel like doing as long as they don’t hurt anyone. In some cultures, it doesn’t matter if they hurt someone because of their faith, especially if it is different or contrary to the dominant faith in that place. But, have you ever wondered how they would feel if they were the ones being ridiculed and spat upon because their faith was not the socially or politically acceptable faith?

God’s voice brought the cosmos into being at His command. Isn’t it a wonderful privilege and an honor to be able to study God’s Word in order to learn more about Him and His requirements for us? I do believe that having a written record of His statutes and laws and all of the poetry and wisdom that is contained in this Book is actually the best education that anyone can have. Reading it and studying it helps us to know His voice and how He sounds so that we will know for sure when He does speak to our spirit. We will know that it isn’t our ideas or our voice but His!

Coming to know Jesus as your Lord is one of the easiest and hardest decisions that a person can make. But it is also the best decision because it directly affects your eternity. Many people think that there are many rules and regulations to follow if you want to be a Christian but there is really only one requirement and that is to believe in Jesus for your salvation. Because unless you have been convicted of your need for a Savior, you won’t seek Him at all. But when you do feel that you need Him there are no hoops to jump through in order to be ready for it. Just believe that He died and rose again to pay for your sins and the penalty for them. Once you do that, your heart will change and you won’t be the same person that you were before.

You will do the same things which the apostles did or you will be able to do them and you will want to do them. Tell others how He changed your life and made you into a new creation with a heart that wants to do what He did and what Peter and John and Paul did. Tell others about this wonderful person that has saved you from the pit of hell and changed you so that you can say with confidence that “Jesus is my Lord and my Savior”. The thief which asked Him to remember him when He came into His Kingdom believed in his hour of need and he knew that he deserved the punishment that he got, but he asked Jesus for His forgiveness anyway…and he got it! Don’t turn away from the only Person who can save your soul.