For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. But now, O Lord , thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Isaiah 64:4-8 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.64.4-8.KJV
Category: Accepting Christ is your choice
Rejoice!
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/1th.5.16-18.KJV
Do you believe?
There are many things in our lives that we believe without question. The sun will rise in the Eastern sky tomorrow morning and set in the West tomorrow evening and nobody disputes that. But do you believe God’s Word is true? I know that the physics of our planet and the solar system determine the rising and setting of stars and the moon and our Sun itself but God designed all of this Himself. He determined the size and shape of every planet and rock in our solar system. He also designed the universe itself to be exactly the way He wanted it to be.
We tend to believe many things that are just theories in science because they can’t be proven by repetition. Evolution can’t be repeated by our scientists to produce the same results, but nobody has ever found an actual fossil of an animal in the process of changing from one form to another. God designed each animal they way that they were supposed to be and He didn’t have to begin with an early version of it and mold it to be like its final form. He created them in their final form period.
God’s home in eternity is outside of time and physical limitations of our universe so He can see our world the way it will be in a thousand years or He can look back to the beginning and follow history along if He chose to do so. I saw something today that expressed an idea or a counter-idea saying that there will be no rapture. The word “rapture” is not in God’s Word but Jesus did tell His disciples that He would come back one day and take us to the homes that He has prepared for us in heaven. So you can look at some scripture and say that it doesn’t mean rapture but I don’t care what it means. If He said that He was coming to take us home to be with Him, so you can call it “the great disappearing act” for all I care. I will be happy and humbled to be included in the number of saints who are taken home to be with Jesus!
I pray that everyone who reads this blog will be part of the group that is taken to be with Him. If you aren’t sure about your salvation, read a couple of books in the Bible and then ask God to show you how to become saved, sanctified and free to be called a born again Christian. The books I am referring to are the book of John in the New Testament and the book of Romans. John has about 22 or 23 chapters in it and Romans has 16. They are not hard to read but they do explain a lot. Then read the book of Acts where Saul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus and his life is changed dramatically. I pray that yours will be too.
God has called to us…
The Lord calls us to be His people and our response should be to obey Him.
Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord , and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:5-11 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.55.5-11.KJV
I pray that you will seek Him for your salvation because not one of us is guaranteed to be here tomorrow. Your life or mine may end before this day is over so make sure of your eternal home now while you can.
Let His light shine through you…
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.5.16.KJV
Today…tomorrow…the next day…
Which is the best day to pray? Every day that you wake up is a good day to pray and thank God for that day. If you are hurting or in pain thank God for the day and ask Him for relief of your pain. Sometimes the pain is there to focus us on our Provider and our Healer, God. Sometimes the pain is there to remind us that we are not the center of the universe and that our needs or wants are not a real priority to God. He has people all over the world who are looking for His help and His healing touch on some level. Whether it is for cancer or for an empty stomach or even someone who is in an ICU with COVID-19, God is still there with each and every one of them. He is present when we have a headache or a cold or the flu and He can give us the strength to get through each problem or disease in our lives no matter how big or small the problem is He is still interested in helping us and getting it taken care of.
We never know what tomorrow will bring with it. It could be a broken leg or a heart attack. It could be a wreck or even a fall that causes a sprain or a broken hip. Tomorrow is the day that we look forward to, at times, but we don’t know what it will bring with it. Tomorrow will bring its own troubles and pains with it but when it gets here it won’t be tomorrow…it will be today. Make sure that your prayers are sincere and are given to God with a humble heart because He may decide that He has something for you to do in Heaven. A job that only you can do which is why we are born into the world here, but God will also keep us busy into eternity as well.
Our small blue planet that God put us on may be tiny in the expanse of our galaxy but it has humanity living on it and we are made in the image of God. He loved us before we came to be and therefore we are special in His grand scheme of things. We are a part of His Kingdom as His adopted children. Something to think about at the end of this year that has been so bad for so many people. I pray that we will all have a better year next year. In Christ.
Gentiles are those who walked in darkness.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Isaiah 9:2 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.9.2.KJV
God provides
The Providence of God
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.
So much more…
In our daily lives we see the pain and suffering which is happening in our country because of this pandemic. But it isn’t just the pandemic that is hurting our country and the world around us. It is the attitude of our people and the culture that has become so prevalent in society today. It is true that culture takes a while to develop but it seems that this “cancel culture” has sprung up over the past year or so.
It did not show up by itself though. All of the movements and marching which has gone on in the decades before many of those who march today were even born have lent their seeds to the movements and the culture that we have today. Much of it began in the late ’50’s and early sixties when religion was seen as a bad influence on our children, at least by a few who didn’t believe and who thought that prayer and reading from God’s Word was a bad influence. This grew into the atheistic movement which spawned some of the organizations which file lawsuits all over our country even when the complaint comes from one person or family.
Yes, we have the freedom to believe or not to believe in whatever god or religion that is around or in the schools or that may be influencing our children. But…have you ever heard of a Muslim Imam or a Jewish Rabbi being taken to court for what they teach? The religion that is always targeted in lawsuits and insults on the Internet is Christianity. Would the atheists target a Mosque or a Jewish Temple for their boycott or smear campaign? No! Because their reason for doing these things does not reside within those buildings.
The Word of God, Jesus Christ, Who came to pay for our sins and lived with His disciples for three years teaching and healing in Israel is what everyone who is against Christianity objects to. They don’t care if you talk about God or Yahweh. They don’t care if you talk about Mohammed or Allah or any of the others scattered around the world. But when you bring up the One Who can do for you the very thing that is worth the whole world…He is the One that can give you eternal Life!
He came to pay the penalty for ALL of our sins, true believers and those who choose not to believe. Why would Jesus Christ pay the penalty for those who choose not to believe in Him for salvation? Because He loves them enough to offer them the choice even when He knows their heart won’t accept it. God raised up kings and kingdoms to honor Him and to use as a way to punish His people when they didn’t honor Him as their Lord and God. He knows your heart and mine and He knew from before time began exactly who will give their lives to Jesus and who will not. But we are never forced to choose one way or another.
Even the angels in Heaven had the choice of being obedient to and loving God the Father or not. Some chose to follow Lucifer and be the fallen angels spoken of in the Bible and yet even when they made their choice God was not taken by surprise. He knew their hearts and their choices before they did. Our lives seem to be long here but consider that some veterans from World War 2 have lived to be 100 or more. The advancements in science and war machines and airplanes and cars that they have seen are amazing but consider what they would see if their life extended to 800 or 900 years? What could they witness in the past or in our future? The kingdom that will come to Earth with Jesus as the King will allow those who come into it to live a life like that. Imagine what they will see!
Seek His Kingdom while there is time now because eternity is ahead of those who have given their lives to Him and it is also ahead of those who have not. The dwelling place of each will be drastically different depending upon their choice here and now.
Where is your Treasure?
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:21 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.6.21.KJV
Your attention follows your heart. So wherever your heart is and wherever your treasure is are the same place. If you value your money more than you value your life, then you have made money your god. What will it profit a man if he gains the wealth of the whole world and yet loses his soul? Jesus asked that question. The quote just says “if he gains the world”, but I looked it up in a few commentarys and the word means the entire wealth of the world.
That would be trillions of dollars today, but what would you do with it? For sure you could buy anything that you set your mind on, but God says that you would lose your soul. He values your soul as being worth more than the wealth of the world. Give your heart to Jesus and seek Him for your treasure.
The Living Message of Christ 