How much are we alike?

In many, many ways actually. God created mankind in His Image. All of us, regardless of our location on Earth, have two legs, two arms, two eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth and of course the appendages that go along with arms and legs too. Granted there are many who have lost the use of or the presence of an arm or leg or both in war, but for the most part we come from His template. Even our blood is the same color.

So why do we focus on the color of our skin or even the color of our eyes much of the time? It has been said that “the eyes are the window to your soul” and for the most part it is true. You can look at someone’s eyes and see lots of different things. You can’t know their heart for sure in this manner or even their personality but you can get a “gut feeling” of the type of person that they are. Sometimes it is wrong but occasionally it is spot on.

We do not all look alike. Some of us are dark skinned and some are light on melanin which helps each of us depending on our location on Earth with respect to the Sun. So…why have we become so polarized in our relationships because of our skin color?

The reason seems to have started a few centuries ago and it was wrong then too. Explorers from Europe and England considered the “dark-skinned” inhabitants of Africa and Middle Asia (India) to be “less than human”. The same was thought of as the Aborigines of Australia and the South Pacific Islands. But why did they think this way? It could be that they thought of Chimpanzee and their skin color and equated them with the “darkies” as they labeled them that way.

This was a very European way of looking at other people from other cultures and areas of the world but it wasn’t the correct way at all. Jesus was a Jewish man born in what is Israel, He was dark skinned and not like any of the “white” Jesus paintings that artists painted of Him. There are many misrepresentations of Him and Adam and Eve and many other Biblical figures in museums around the world but thankfully the Word of God in the Bible is true.

Will racism ever be fixed? Not by reading books about it nor by any amount of violence or destruction of property but it will be taken care of when Jesus returns to rule over Earth for a thousand years. Consider this and seek to know Him before the end of the church age comes.

These kids only practice what they are taught.

Racism or ?

Racism-the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another.

I have said this before and I am emphasizing it again. God created the human race and we descended from a man and a woman that God created. We did not evolve from apes. God didn’t even use apes as the idea for us because He said, “Let us make mankind in our image”. We are created in His image and we still carry His image inside us.

So….what causes racism? It could be many things but the most likely culprit is in your own family. We see how our grandparents and our parents treat people who have darker skin than we do so the treatment or the thoughts toward those with darker skin are taught and handed down over the generations. It has become ingrained in our white culture just as other behaviors are in other cultures.

Is it hard for white people to talk about racism? Yes, it is. Particularly when some of us have worked with people of color, regardless of the color and yet those of us who are “white” are called crackers, and honky by some outside our friends at work. Why? What did I ever do to deserve such names? Have I been disrespectful to you or someone in your family? My family never owned any slaves. But to hear the “news” today you would think that every white person has been a part of the slave trade from 200 years ago.

The earliest ancestor of mine came over on a ship from England as a servant to someone who could afford a servant. So…what does that make me? I am a descendant of a slave or servant as well, even though my skin is white. God doesn’t agree with slavery or the idea of it but the Bible was used in a very evil way to justify slavery.

Jesus didn’t come to save you based on your skin color because He created all of the shades of color which adorns our human race. Each has its advantages and disadvantages but not in the way that the news media tries to spin it these days. God created us in the way that would be the most beneficial for us to be His disciples so that we could take His message of love to those that we are known by and to some who may not know us at all.

Each of us has a talent or ability which may make an impression on someone outside our comfort zone. Hopefully it will bring them to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I pray that our ideas of race and racism will be put behind us one day and one day in His Kingdom it will be. We just have to get there first. Lord, come quickly.

Children are not born racist, they learn this from others.

Does God care for us?

There is so much evidence for His love for mankind until I would imagine that it hurts His heart when someone asks this. He loved us enough that He created Earth for us. He placed it at the right distance from our Sun so that it isn’t too hot or too cold. He put the right mixture of gases in our atmosphere so that plants and animals of all kinds could grow along with us. Our planet has an abundance of water and the right nutrients in it for all of the life in the oceans and rivers.

God also sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin debt so that we could live into eternity with Him one day if we will place our faith in Jesus for our salvation. That is the one gift which we have that no other part of creation has or can understand…the gift of God’s love and His atonement for our sins through His Son, Jesus. This gift from God is by no amount of worth on our part. We cannot earn it nor can we purchase it in any way other than our deep belief in Jesus as our Savior. That is the easiest purchase that we can ever make because we don’t have to spend anything for it. Just believe in Jesus for your salvation and ask Him for your forgiveness of your sinful life before you knew that you needed Him.

God calls us to come to Him through His grace and He gives us enough faith to believe and repent in order to be saved. It has nothing to do with your idea of being saved or your decision of going to church to be saved. When His Holy Spirit convicts your heart of your need of Him, you will respond one way or the other. Choose the right way and trust in Jesus for your salvation. Time is growing short and when He comes for His church you do want to be in the number of those called home to Heaven.

God answers your prayers

In the world in which we live today, there are many people inside and outside the church who don’t believe in God’s ability to answer our prayers. Many times God answers our prayers almost before we pray them. Sometimes the answer is “no” or “not yet” but sometimes the answer is “Yes!”. We may not recognize His answer as if it came from God but I believe that many of our answers, if not all of them, do come from Him. Just like any parent or guardian, God says yes to some prayers which will give glory to Him and will help us in our journey. Then there are prayers, usually spoken in haste or anger, that God will answer “No!”.

Sometimes we can understand His reasons when we don’t get a positive answer but many times we act like a spoiled child and pitch a fit when we don’t get our way. It is the negative answers which teach us how to be truly patient and one day we will understand why He didn’t answer our request with a “yes”.

In 1 John 5:14-15 it says:

14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask† anything according to his will, he hears us.† 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask,† we know that we have what we have asked of him.†

Notice that John writes “If we ask anything according to His will…”, meaning that our request should be prayed about, and in asking Him to do one thing or another we must be in His will for Him to answer us with a “Yes!”. In other words, we should be walking with Him, studying His Word, and in a state of prayerful living so that we will know what is His will for our lives.

Unfortunately, there are many people in the church and in the pulpit, who are not walking with Jesus on a daily basis. We tend to visit Him on Sunday or on a holiday or when something goes wrong in our lives and He is the only recourse for us to turn to at the time. Other than that, we just go through our day without a thought about Him or His Word…until we really NEED Him to show up!

God does answer prayers and He hears the prayers of those who belong to Him in their hearts. The Holy Spirit speaks to Him even before we do especially when it is a request that is painful to ask for and it is during those times when God’s answer shows up before we even know that we need it. Sometimes it shows up in a way that we weren’t expecting but many times it will show up in an unexpected way and it will bring joy into our lives that we never knew we had.

Considering our prayers and our relationship with God, we need to remember that He is not a genie. God doesn’t answer at the same moment that we ask and He is not willing to give us the desires of our heart unless our desires and His are the same. Would He give us the desires of our heart? Yes, if it would bring Him glory and bring more people into His Kingdom.

We have to have a close relationship with Him in order for our requests to truly be in line with His will for our lives. Today there are many people in the church who really aren’t that close to God at all. Even though they may think they are. Some of those who think they are close to God are not and some of those are in the pulpit. Are they saved? Maybe or maybe they think they are, only God can answer that question.

That is the most important question of all. Are you truly saved like the thief on the cross? Believe in Jesus for your salvation because He is the only way. Or…will you leave the church with the idea that you’ll get around to it one day but not today. Are you sure that you will be here the next time we meet? Not one person knows that they have tomorrow as another day to make that decision. I don’t and none of you know without a doubt that you will live another day or another week. The only person who knew when He would die was Jesus and that only because He was God in the flesh.

God’s Character

Psalm 103 is a good example of David’s poetry which states that God’s character is always good. In the very first line he writes, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name”. David is not saying that he was going to bless the Lord. What he wrote and said was that he would bless the Lord with all of himself! Physically, spiritually and emotionally he would praise and worship the Lord with every fiber of his being.

God desires the praise and worship of His children but not because He can’t be satisfied with us because we are His children. He desires our praise and worship because of His mercy that He extends to each of us every day. If God did not bless us with our breath and our life each day then we would either be with Him or in hell, depending upon our belief in Jesus for our salvation. God has specific jobs for each of us as believers and we are to seek His wisdom in His Word to find those jobs. It isn’t listed on page 22 in the third paragraph but when you read His Word you can understand, with the Holy Spirit’s help, what God requires of each of us.

He requires obedience to His Word. Of course, the New Testament is our contract because most of the Old Testament is actually sent to the Jewish people. The promises found in the Old Testament are still relevant to us because of the prophecies which are still going to be fulfilled and the promises are partially contained within those prophecies. Each covenant in the Bible explains and confirms the other so you can’t just read the New Testament without the Old Testament. They both are necessary because the whole Bible is God’s inspired Word. He gave it to mankind so that we could learn from His wisdom if we will only read it and do what it says.

In verse 12 of Psalm 103, David writes something which many of us have heard but maybe never knew exactly where it came from. Verse 12 says: “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us”. When we pray for God’s forgiveness for something that we have done or something that we said, He puts that sin and its consequences away from us just as David says “as far as the east is from the west”. It is completely gone! God doesn’t place it in a box to be brought out later to torment us because when He sees that it is covered by Jesus’ blood it is forgotten and remembered no more.

That doesn’t mean that we forget it because our memories and our guilt are still present here and now and of course Satan will bring it up and beat us with it as well. So we can’t forget it easily but God has. God’s mercy is everlasting and He grants this to each of us who believe in Jesus for salvation. We don’t have to earn it or pay for it or anything like that. We just have to believe in Jesus and ask for forgiveness in His name. Then we need to walk away from that sin or behavior and never visit it again. That is the hard part for us because sometimes our sin involves something that we really like to do, but we should ask for His strength to stay away from it. One day at a time.

Life is not easy like most people think it is and especially for Christians who are trying to live and walk on the pathway leading to heaven. It is narrow and it has thorns and stones which we may trip on. We can look around from this path and see the things that were our problems before and Satan will make them look so tempting trying to get us to get off of the pathway. That is where prayer for each day comes in handy. Thank God each day that you wake up so that you can take His message to others, even if it is only one person that you tell. They may be the person that you are the only contact with for God that they will have and by saying something about God or your salvation God may use it to draw them to Himself.

Worry doesn’t help…

Do Not Worry

(Luke 12:22-34)

25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34Take, therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:25-34

Why do we worry about stuff today? We see so much violence and hatred on the news and it causes us to worry about our lives and our children. But…why should we worry? God has the world in His hands and He is in control. Our worry and being anxious doesn’t change anything and we can’t make a significant dent in any of the so-called “news” stories on our own. So, hand your cares over to God and lean on Him for your comfort.

God has told us through Jesus Christ during His ministry that worrying about tomorrow won’t change anything. We should handle what is going on in our day, today because tomorrow isn’t here yet. Your life and mine can only exist in today’s time. Yesterday is over with and tomorrow hasn’t come yet. I know we are all anxious because of this disease which suddenly came upon the world and the economic downturn which happened because of it. Now we have hate and bigotry in the streets which is being shown on the news daily and that has added to our anxiety.

We are living in the last days before the Tribulation begins. How soon that will come about no one knows except God Himself and we will find out when He says for the angels to come and get His bride. You can decide to believe His Word or not but since He doesn’t lie then I believe Him. The thing which we have to remember is that we can’t do anything to bring it on sooner or to influence the outcome in any meaningful way. God is in control and no matter what we do, He will accomplish what He has determined to do.

The only useful thing that any of us, as believers, can do is to study His Word and pray that everything goes according to His plan. Of course, it always works according to His plan because He is God! Thinking about some crazy terrorist or some “alien” encounter which might upset God’s plan is not productive because He knows about them and He will use them, regardless of who “them” is.

Be useful to God’s Kingdom so that He will find you working for Him when He comes. Then you may hear those words, “Well done my good and faithful servant, come into your inheritance and the joy of your Lord.”

That is my reward, I hope, and maybe yours too. Seek to please Him more than men because in eternity it is God’s favor that you should seek through the blood of Jesus.

Your strength comes by faith

In Isaiah 41:8-10 it is written: 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness

This promise was given to the people of Israel during a time when they were persecuted and today Christians are persecuted because our faith in Jesus is mocked and ordered to be silent. In truth, we should not be silent because Jesus would not be silent about the atrocities and the killing which is happening because of a group of people who are angry and upset. The reason for their anger is a righteous one true enough but the looting and killing and burning will not help the situation and it will likely make it worse in the long run.

Jesus did not like the Roman occupation of His country and the killing of His people during His day but God had placed them over Israel as a test and as a way to bring them to a point of wanting a Messiah. The problem at the time was that they were looking for a leader and a king like David and Jesus didn’t come into the world to overthrow a government that was put there by God’s hand.

Every President and Prime Minister are placed in power by God’s hand in order to bring about some part of God’s plan. We may not know which part, but the reason will be shown to us at some point one day.

Jesus came into the world in order to bring the good news of His gospel to all men. That is exactly what He did during the time with His disciples. When some of those who followed Him wanted to make Him the King, He removed Himself from them so that they couldn’t force that decision on Him. In Romans 13:1 it says: 1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

God places all rulers, whether they are Kings or Presidents, in their offices for a purpose that only He knows. Sometimes we agree with His choice and sometimes we don’t but we are to follow them and be subject to them while God has them in power. God gives each of us the strength to do the work that He has given each of us to do. We must rely on Him for this strength and wisdom to carry us through each day and every day. We can’t decide to follow Him on one day and then turn away from Him the very next day or until we feel we can’t handle whatever we are facing that day.

Following Jesus and God’s wisdom and listening to them every day is a practice that we have to get up and determine that we will do this today and then do it again tomorrow and the next day until it becomes as natural as breathing. God loves each of us and will not keep back any blessing for those who are following Him in this life but in order to “take up your cross”, you must decide to do it every day. It isn’t something that can be taught in Sunday school, it must be learned by doing it until it is something that you don’t think about you just do it. The strength to do this comes from Him through your faith in Him. It is not something that you get from a sermon but you do get it by reading and studying His Word daily.

He is with you!

In John 14:16 the apostle affirms this promise: 16 And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.

The Comforter which Jesus was speaking of is the Holy Spirit which all believers have living within them to teach them and guide them in their service to God. It is only by His strength that we can fulfill the position of a believer in His Kingdom. We can’t do it in our own strength but with the Spirit of Truth living within our hearts we can!

The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity which makes up God Himself so we have a small portion of God living within us when we become believers. Some of us don’t live as if we have Him living within us and it is to those who think they have something that they don’t have that this is being written. I am not trying to judge your heart because only God can do that but I am trying to spare you from a fate which will come upon many on the day of judgment.

Those of us who live in America have been blessed immeasurably by God just to be where we are. But our place of birth has also lead many to think that they are saved from hell just because of a family tradition or a prayer whispered when they were young and never considered again. We live in a culture that claims to believe in God and many do but so does the Devil himself! That is what is so damning for many of us. Culturally we believe that we are Christians because we have been brought up in the church. We have attended Sunday school and Bible school and may have attended church services on a regular basis.

But attendance doesn’t make you a Christian. Belief in God doesn’t make you a Christian. Knowing some scriptures and even attending revivals doesn’t make you a Christian. It is your heartbroken conviction that brings you to the cross and to the place where you know that you NEED Jesus as your Savior and you ask Him to come into your life and change your heart so that you can be a Christian.

Satan knows that Jesus is the Son of God and so do all of the demons in hell but they won’t serve Him. Knowledge of Him and attendance in church doesn’t make you a Christian. In the past one hundred years, our country has heard and seen many evangelists who brought the message of salvation to radio and television many times but superficial knowledge of God or Jesus doesn’t change your life. Even owning and occasionally reading a Bible at home doesn’t make you a Christian. It is the conviction of your heart that brings you to Jesus, asking to be made into a new creation, forever changed into a Christian

I pray that all who will read this will give their hearts to Jesus and ask Him to make them into His true disciples so that others may hear from your point of view how Jesus changed your life.

The pathway is narrow

The Narrow Gate

(Luke 13:22-30)

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Our pathway is very long and narrow but with Jesus as our guide we can make it. One day at a time, keeping prayer on our lips and our eyes on Jesus as we travel this road. Why is the pathway narrow? Because it is not an easy path to walk. There are trials and temptations and problems which come into every person’s life and it is by faith alone that we can endure until the end. Because when the end arrives and the Trumpet sounds we shall be taken home. Then the whole world will know that the Christians and the Jews were right to believe in their Holy Book and in the God Who inspired the writings in it.

Many who have heard sermons from God’s Word will know what is happening or what is about to happen but since the church, the body of true believers, has been taken away that is the only sign which will confirm it. There will be many who won’t believe it or possibly just brushed the revelation of it away as a fairy tale.

You would be wise to seek to know Jesus now, today. Because once the church is gone the riots and the collapse of governments will bring much chaos. Even more than is happening today. The pathway is narrow because it takes diligence and patience and faith to keep your feet on the path. The easy road has always been there and it has lured many people to believe that they are following the right way when in fact they are headed for hell.

Doing good works or being a good person is a wonderful accomplishment but those actions won’t save your soul. Only belief in Jesus as your Savior can do that. Some think that a socialist society and government would be better for our world today. But if everyone is getting paid by the government where does the money come from to pay each person a wage? Free healthcare and education are wonderful goals but again where does the money come from to pay for those?

Your life, your soul is worth more than the world to God and He loves you. I pray that anyone reading this will seek to find Jesus as your Savior. The church age is coming to a close. I don’t know when it will happen but it will because it is foretold in the Bible and God cannot lie. Seek Him as your Savior and tell others about Him while you can. I don’t believe there is much time left before this happens. Be watchful, read the books of Daniel and Ezekiel and Revelation and pray about what you are reading. Ask God to give you the wisdom to understand the prophecies contained within them. Listen to the Holy Spirit as He convicts you of your sins and repent and ask Jesus to cleanse your heart.

God’s Promises

In a relationship don’t you keep your promises? Particularly to your significant other?

God has always kept His promises to us because He loves us. He sent Jesus to pay the debt for our sins and not just American Christians but for all Christians in the world. Yet, somehow we think that we are special and that we deserve His favor. None of us deserve His favor or His grace or His love but God has given us those things because of His love for us not because of what we deserve!

Why would that be true? We have pushed Him out of nearly every government office and building. We have taken Him and His Word out of schools and there are many who are trying to get any reference to Him out of our country so they won’t have to hear about Him or His Son again.

In Matthew 6: 25, 31-34 God promises to meet our needs. Here is the text of those verses:

34Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Every promise that God made with anyone in the Bible, He has kept. Even if the promise hasn’t come to completion yet. All of the promises leading up to it have been. So why do so many people doubt the existence of God or His love for us? Why is it that one part of humanity considers themselves to be the apple of His eye and yet they don’t seem to follow Him any better than the rest of the world?

God’s promises are sure and yet we doubt Him and His Word all of the time. Do you believe His promises for His provision in your life? I do.

I have been pushing the lawnmower and I will ask Him for a cloud or a little breeze to give me some relief from the heat. Most of the time it is provided. I know that many people won’t ask God for such little things but they aren’t little to me at the time. I have laid before Him the fact that we needed to pay this bill or that one and somehow the money is available. It may be just enough to pay the bill but He provides.

While it is true that many of the promises that are in the Old Testament are not available to us today, the promises in the New Testament are available to each of us who has given their life and their heart to Jesus. I don’t mean walking down and getting wet. I mean real, honest, and completely giving your heart to Him. Changing your life and living each day with Him, reading the Bible and learning more about Him and actually leaning on Him for your day to day, getting by kind of things.

Will God answer the prayers of one of His children who is living day to day with Him? If it’s asking for a million dollars, probably not. But if you are talking to Him and listening to His responses then what you ask for is usually in line with what He wants to give you and He’s waiting for you to ask for it. Is living by His side easy to do? No, it isn’t. There are so many temptations around us and Satan knows exactly which buttons to push to cause you to step off of the pathway that you were on. But, the closer you are walking with God it makes it harder for you to listen to anything that Satan says.