God is in control

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. Luke 22:31-34

Job 1:8-12

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? 10 Hast, not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:1-6

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life.

I have placed these scriptures here because many people, it seems, do not believe that God is in control of our world today. It seems that there are quite a number of people who believe that if God created the Earth, He has left us alone in it and He has nothing to do with our lives today. The passages above prove that is NOT true. Satan wants to hurt and even destroy anyone who is a follower of God or a servant of Him, but God is in control of him even though Satan rebelled against God.

In these instances in the above paragraphs, Satan had to ask permission to afflict any sort of hurt or trouble on Peter and on Job. Jesus prayed for Peter to be able to withstand the temptation but He added; “when you are converted (restored, changed) strengthen thy brethren”. Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him and that it would break his heart. But, He also knew that after His resurrection Peter would be stronger in his faith than ever before!

Christians are watched over by God and Jesus even closer than any other people on Earth because of the temptations which Satan and his demons and principalities can inflict on us, especially young (new) Christians. Their faith in their conversion and in their Lord is not very strong because they haven’t studied His Word enough and learned how to stand in their faith on a daily basis!

Why do I mention that we have to stand in our faith on a daily basis? Because your faith grows and you become stronger in it as you learn more about God and His love for you. I will continue this post in a separate entry under the same name but continued.

Child-like faith

Jesus said to “suffer the little children to come unto Me for of such as these are those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven“. I know that I didn’t write His words verbatim, but you get the idea. We are to have the same trusting faith in Him that children have in their parents who love them. Child-like faith is the type of faith which hasn’t been dulled by the cares of life and even though adults usually do have many “cares” to handle we should still trust in our Lord and Savior like a child.

God loves us more deeply than we can ever imagine although there are many who will not give their lives to Him out of stubborn pride or anger for some wrong which they lay at God’s hands. It is not God Who brings challenges into our lives, whatever they may be. It is usually our own stubborn pride or Satan’s demons who are allowed to bring suffering into our lives. Many times this suffering is brought to our doorstep not because God is angry with us but because it may be the only way to get our attention!

We are the ones who turn away from Him. God is always near and available to us in prayer and in our troubles yet many people will not bow their head or bend their knees to ask Him for healing or help in situations where it is sorely needed. A child trusts their parents and grandparents because they know that no harm will come to them as long as they are loved. There are exceptions to this because some children live in a home where they are not wanted or they are seen as a burden more than a blessing from God.

Jesus_Loves_U These exceptions should not exist but they do in our fallen world. The entirety of Creation groans in anticipation of the return of Jesus and the restoration of order to its fallen state just as we do. He will return and restore our world and its order when His Kingdom reigns on this Earth one day, so keep your faith in Him until that event comes to fruition!

It is our faith in Him which Jesus was speaking of when He said that we must come in child-like faith to Him. Trusting in Him completely and knowing that He has always got our life in His hands and we are under His protection. Never doubt that He is completely in charge and in control of every good thing which happens in our lives. Seek Him like a child and in that complete faith, give your heart to Him because He gave His life for yours.

Jesus loves us because He gave His life for ours. All that we owe Him is that we should give our lives to Him in return and serve Him in all areas of our life until we go to Him one day.

Light of the World

This phrase is used many times in the gospels when Jesus is speaking about Himself and about the salvation which comes to those who believe in Him for their salvation. But…what does it mean? “Light of the World“; Jesus said that we, as His followers, are to be the light to a dark world. So why isn’t the church trying harder to be that light? Are we afraid of making people angry or of not being politically correct?

Jesus wasn’t politically correct in His day so why should we be in ours? The world around us needs to hear His message of love and compassion today…right now! Why? Because the other parts of the world and the other religions aren’t providing that light! As Christians, we are supposed to expose the darkness to His LIght and His Love and for the past fifty years or so much of Christendom has dropped that ball. We proclaim it to the crowds in concerts and congregations but what about those in places where darkness reigns today?

IamtheWay Do they hear about Jesus and His love for them? Have we made sure that the message is getting to those places or maybe we are just sitting in church praying that someone will tell them? Have we put feet to our faith or do we neglect to take the message outside the church because it’s too much trouble? What if Paul had said no and decided not to take the message of Christ to the Gentiles, like us, much of the world at the time would never have heard of the love of Jesus!

Jesus confronted Saul in such a way that he couldn’t deny Who had touched his heart and he could not have turned away from such a mission field because Jesus gave His blood and His life for us in order to save us from hell! The grace and love of God came down to us and wore human flesh for the time of His ministry. He went through all of the pain and suffering willingly in order to bring salvation to all who believe in Him for their salvation!

Since Jesus did this, why can’t we tell others about His love for them, especially if they don’t know about Him!? God loves each of us! Whether we suffer from a disease or from persecution or from poverty, He is still with us in our suffering. God may allow Satan to cause suffering, which he does very well, but God’s purpose and His love for you will never fail you, no matter what you are going through.

The love and grace of our Lord, Jesus the Christ, will always be near you and He will strengthen you in whatever you may be going through. His Spirit will be closer to you than anyone can be since He lives in your heart! There is no distance between you and God when you are a born-again Christian. He hears your prayers and He knows the pain that you have for your family in whatever situation they may be in. God loves you and even though you aren’t required to love Him in return, you will learn to love Him when you give your heart to Jesus!

Being a Christian and a follower of Jesus is a process. You can feel Him touching your heart and drawing you to Himself, convicting you of your sins but it is your decision to accept Him as your Savior. When you do, the process begins and it doesn’t end until you are in His Presence!

Jesus_Loves_U

God’s persuit of mankind

I read C.S. Lewis’ books off and on for the past few years and one entry that the man included in one was a reference to the fact that he was an atheist at first. I will let you be the judge of his writing:

C.S. Lewis said he remembered this, “…night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.”

God pursues those people which He knows can make a difference in the world and He does it even when they don’t believe in Him at the time. He knows the impact that each of us can have whether it is through writing books or blogs, the seeds of a relationship or the possibility of one can be planted and He will make sure those seeds grow into the relationship that He wants with that person.

GodsBlessing There is no place that you can go to get away from God so there is no reason to try to escape Him. If you have been denying His existence over your lifetime but He sees that you could have an influence in the lives of others for the good of their salvation, then He will cause something to bring you to Himself. Even if He has to do it through a dream or a vision or a book or even a blog! He knows each person in this world and He knows what they are capable of doing, whether it is for good and for His Kingdom or for evil and to their destruction one day.

God does NOT send you to hell for the least of your sins or even the worst of them. You sentence yourself to hell by refusing to give your heart and life to Jesus and believe in Him for your salvation. When God’s Spirit is seeking you, He will find you. Don’t push His love away from your life because your life and your soul is more precious to Him than all of the gold and silver in the entire world! Even if you were the only person that Jesus had to die for in order to bring salvation to you, He would’ve gone through it just for you!

Why would God want me?

For the same reason that He spent time with Adam in the garden of Eden, fellowship. God knows each of us intimately because He is our Creator. He knew us in the womb before the world even began not just before our birth! He knows what your talents and the gifts which He has given to you so He knows what you can do even better than you do. Your life will be more valuable to Him if you have given your life to Him through Jesus Christ.

IAMComingBack Why? Because unless you are working through the Spirit of God with His power and love in your life and heart, much of what you do in this world is only for your benefit and not for others. If you don’t believe me, ask someone why they do their job or anything that they do in this life. Google it even. You will see that much of the world is concerned with only me, myself and I. Occasionally you will hear of some good-hearted souls who do things for others but they are in the minority these days.

Why am I so cynical about “human nature”? Because those who have left the church or those who do not believe in God have caused me to be this way. Their lives don’t reflect Him or His Presence in them. Even Satan believes in God but he doesn’t serve Him, and that is where much of the world stands today.

Wisdom is found in God

Proverbs says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom“, but what does that mean? Fear in this instance is reverence, not fear as in being afraid of. God is holy and perfect so consider being in His presence, how do you think you would feel? Humble? In awe of Him? Unworthy of being in His presence?

You would likely feel all of these in such a way that you would worship Him on your face at the time. God is our Creator and He is the power which holds all of the cosmos in place. There is no “dark matter” or some other unseen force which is keeping the planets and galaxies from flying apart, it is God’s power which holds all things in check and in place!

God’s Word is our guide for our life and we should be studying it in order to live by it but there are many people who are ignoring it altogether in the world we live in today. His love for our lives is what is keeping His wrath in abeyance until the day when the church is taken from the Earth. When that happens, those who are still here will find out what a world without His influence really feels like. During those seven years, the punishment will get progressively worse and there is nothing that mankind can do to stop it.

This is foretold in the book of Revelation, yet many people don’t believe the prophecies of this book. Because it uses fantastic imagery to describe what is happening and how it is happening. The apostle John saw things which his mind had no way of interpreting so he had to use images which were known at the time. Animals and stones and fire which his readers, the churches of the day, could understand in some small way. Even today we can’t quite understand many of the meanings which these images portray but they are frightening.

Why are they so fearsome to us? Because we don’t understand the meaning of them and what they portend for the world itself. The time of Tribulation will not be a time of joy and happiness for those who reject God and His Son in particular. The Earth and the inhabitants here will experience the wrath of God and it will not be a “fairy tale” or a myth! Not believing in Him will not keep His punishment from falling on you and everyone around you.

I pray that any who do not believe in Jesus for salvation today will get on their knees and ask Him into their hearts because when this time does come on the Earth and you are here, it will be even harder, if not impossible to decide to ask Him into your heart. The system in the world will be telling everyone that if you don’t worship the “one in power” and take his mark, you will be killed. Also, if you don’t take his mark, you will not be able to buy food or water or electricity. Make this decision now while there is time to do so.

Abide in the Lord

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:7 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/jhn.15.7.KJV

The human condition

In our depravity and lack of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are totally lost in our sins. It is only by the grace of God and His mercy that we come to the knowledge of our need for salvation. When we are caught on the hook of God’s call toward us we will come to Jesus because we recognize our need of Him. If we were not caught like a fish by God’s love and mercy we would never come to the knowledge of our need for Him. That is what is wrong with our world today. People are more interested in following their own ideas and their paths toward what they “think” is salvation and a pathway to Heaven and they are deceived by their thinking and by the world around them.

WhoisTheChurch Many people today seem to be on a pathway which will take them to a place where they don’t want to go. They mostly think that they are good enough to go to Heaven yet they deny, at times, the existence of God and His grace toward them. Many of them know “about” God or have heard of Him and maybe His Son, but they have never felt convicted of their sins. Many of them don’t attend church services except on special occasions or holidays. Life for them is a trek from one problem to the next and many of them don’t think about God or their need of Him until something happens in their life which they can’t control or even their doctor doesn’t have control of either. That is when they turn to the One Who they have heard which can heal or help when nobody else can.

Turning to God when you truly feel the need for Him and His mercy and grace is a good thing but if you only turn to Him because of an illness or a financial need, that doesn’t do your salvation…the condition of your soul any good at all. Especially when your “need” is met or if your prayer for someone doesn’t turn out the way you were hoping for. Many times when a loved one dies that they have been praying for, that is when their heart turns bitter toward God for not answering their desperate plea for healing.

God hears your prayers and sometimes He will answer them even if you aren’t a Christian but sometimes you won’t like His answer. Healing can take the form of taking your sick partner or wife or child into Heaven if they have given their heart to Jesus. Which may not be the answer you were hoping for, but God doesn’t have to do things the way you want them to be done. Even Christian families don’t get their prayers answered in the way in which they want all of the time.

themissingpiece God is sovereign and He answers prayer in His way and in His time because He is God. It isn’t because He doesn’t want the best for His children, which we are, but since He is in control of all things He can see the outcome of the answer much better than we can. He can see what would happen if you won the lottery or the sweepstakes and it may not be the outcome that you think it would. Which is why He allows some things which seem bad on the outside to happen to good people. He also allows some people to actually get the good life that they want even when we don’t understand His way of doing things.

God is Holy and it is our sinful heart which keeps us from being in His Presence most of the time. Until you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit which draws those in the world to come to Jesus, you can’t just “decide” to become a Christian. His Spirit has to hook you into coming by allowing you to see just how messed up your life is in comparison to Jesus. When you do realize this, you will come to Him.

Prosperity or pampered

Why don’t we call Christians out for subscribing to a pampering gospel, one that makes them feel safe, and keeps them within the confines of their comfort zones? There are also teachers who are preaching a gospel which promotes the idea that anything that you feel a need for can be asked for in Jesus’ name and it is yours. God is not a genie and the name of Jesus is not a magic word to get anything and everything that you feel that you need.

During His ministry, Jesus didn’t even heal every person who was in the crowd or near Him. Could He have done that? Yes, He could but that wouldn’t have given the glory to God if He had. He could’ve just thought or spoken the words over those who were seeking a healing in the crowd but how would God have gotten the glory for that? He healed people specifically and He raised some people from the dead, again specifically.

At the tomb of Lazarus, if Jesus had not said his name, every person in the graves around his would’ve come forth! The miracles which He performed were very specific to those who were seeking them. As for prosperity, Jesus said that it was as hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of heaven as it was for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Whether that was an actual gate into Jerusalem, as I have heard before, or not I am not sure. The point is that it is very difficult for a wealthy person to give their life and their heart to believe in Jesus for salvation.

Just as the rich, young ruler, which prompted Jesus to say those things, came to Him asking how he could get into Heaven. Jesus asked him about his religious life and he told Jesus that he had kept all of the Law during his life, so Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor so he would have riches in Heaven, but since he was wealthy he went away saddened.

Jesus did not teach that we were all to live as paupers but He also taught that unless your heart was focused on the Kingdom of God rather than riches, then having wealth did you no good either. Regarding wealth Jesus said, 25 “For how would a man benefit to gain the whole world but destroy his soul or lose it?” Luke 9:25

By this Jesus meant that your soul individually is worth more than all of the wealth of the world! God loves you and cared enough for your salvation to send His Son to take your place on the cross in order to pay the price for your soul and mine and every person on the Earth. This is the gift of God to each of us which we can’t pay for and yet it is offered to us freely through belief in Jesus for our salvation.

Jesus also said that we are to take up our cross each day and follow Him. What does He mean by that? He means that for each of us there is something in our life, like the rich young ruler, that we need to nail to the cross and give it to Him each day then follow Him each day throughout our lives. Salvation is not a one day or one decision commitment, it is a daily commitment which we are to do in our lives. Does that mean that we have to work for our salvation?

No! Salvation is the gift of God through grace by belief in Jesus. We must move through life becoming more like Him and to do that we have to learn more about Him through the study of His Word in the Bible. Putting away the temptations of our old life by study and prayer. Being His is easy when we realize that we need Him, becoming more like Him is the so-called “work” which we do each day through prayer and study of the Bible.

Jesus only taught His disciples for three years while He was here, but they kept meditating on His teachings throughout their lives while they were teaching and preaching to the churches in the first century. They lived in prayer and meditation on His teachings every day and that is what we should be doing too.

How many must pay the price?

Why do we have to pay the price of being Christians in America? Why should we have to live in fear of expressing our faith in public, just to bless our food? What is going on in our world?

IleftALighton4you To find the answers to these questions you should read the Bible. Because we are living in the days prior to the Great Tribulation. It hasn’t begun yet, but it is very close. Read the news media of your choice, watch the news on the Internet or TV. All of the small things which are happening around us and many of the larger and more significant prophecies have already happened. Of course, few people are paying attention to these things. Everyone is more worried about illegal immigrants and their children than they are about our veterans or the economy.

I don’t want to get on a soapbox about any of these issues here. But, there are so many issues which are truly outside the reporting of the news today until many of these should be taken up by someone who wants to bring them to the people’s attention. So, back to my point and the title of this piece.

How many must pay the price? I know there are some who will wonder “Which of the “many” are you talking about?”! In truth. I am speaking of those who have put their faith and their lives in the belief in Jesus for salvation. There are many places in our world today, even in America, where being a Christian is dangerous. Christians are put in jail, stoned, killed, taken to court for their beliefs, and the list could go on…all because of their faith in Jesus.

Why?

If you don’t believe in Jesus, I am not going to try to kill you so why would you want to kill me because my faith is not the same as yours? I never have understood why atheists want to argue with Christians about their beliefs when the atheist doesn’t believe what they believe. What is the argument about? I am not going to change my belief in my Savior just because you don’t believe in Him. For many who are atheists, I don’t think my belief in Jesus could change their mind either so what is the point?

Then there are the other religions of the world and I am not going into a description of them because I don’t know enough about them other than they don’t believe the way I do. But, that doesn’t mean that I hate them. I have a love for people which is only explained by the Love of Christ in my heart. He loves you and deemed you worthy of His sacrifice to pay the debt for your sins, therefore I love you in Christ. I don’t know most of you who will read this, but that doesn’t change anything.

WhereAreYouGoing Jesus still loves you, God loves you so, in Christ I love you and I pray that you will find salvation in Jesus before the end of your life. Because the alternative is too horrible to imagine. An eternity of punishment in hell because you didn’t choose to believe in and follow Jesus. It doesn’t matter what sins you may have committed in this life, that is the one which will send you to hell! You may be punished for your other sins, but that decision is the one which condemns you to hell and no other.

What is your calling?

Have you considered what your calling in your walk with Jesus really is? Many people it seems have never thought about this in the least. Some don’t seem to have ever considered it a calling at all to be a Christian and therefore use their salvation in service to our King! Why I have often wondered, are they claiming to be Christians and yet never seek to be a servant of His?

John Newton, the writer of that great hymn “Amazing Grace”, said this just before his death: “it is a great thing to die; and when flesh and heart fail, to have God for the strength of our heart and our portion forever;….”

At another time prior to his death, he said these words: “Hereafter I hope, when I shut my eyes on the things of time, I shall open them in a better world. What a thing it is to live under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty! I am going the way of all flesh. If it were not so, how could I dare to stand before Him?”

I just finished reading Mr. Newton’s autobiography and he was a libertine as he put it during his younger years. But, he came to his senses during his marriage to his sweetheart. God used him in a special and powerful way to touch more lives after his life than during it because of the song which he wrote mostly about his early life and his salvation. Many of us can see our own lives within that song, in each verse, and in our own walk with the Lord or even by our attempts to run from HIm.

In the book of Jonah, you can see just how futile running away really is. In Genesis, Adam and Eve try to hide from the Presence of God but it is futile. God knows where each person is, He knows the number of hairs on our heads and He knows when a sparrow falls from the sky…so there is no possibility of getting away from Him.

So, think on this…God loves you in a more deep and entirely spiritual way than we can understand in this life. He has provided the Way for you to come to Him in forgiveness and stain-free from the sin which we all have in this life. That way is through Jesus and by belief in Him and the atonement which He paid for with His death and resurrection on the cross. There is no other pathway to eternity in Heaven except by Him, so make sure of your salvation before you draw your last breath.

Good shepherd