Category: Accepting Christ is your choice

The Lord is my Healer and Savior!


Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/jer.17.14.KJV

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Timothy 4:2‭-‬4 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/2ti.4.2-4.KJV

Both of these have come to pass, even today the prophecy from 2 Timothy is coming to pass but many don’t see it that way. Some people seem to think that if a preacher is preaching from the Bible then his sermon is from God’s Word. That is usually true but not all of the time. Many sermons are put together by a program on a computer or even come from the preacher’s own “wisdom” with a verse or two of Scripture thrown in to make it sound like it should. These are the sermons which don’t tell us of our sins and weaknesses but they do tell us how good we are.

God doesn’t see us that way unless we are saved by the blood of Jesus the Christ! Our “goodness” isn’t part of the equation unless it is imparted to us through Jesus by our salvation through His blood. If you are not saved by your belief in Jesus and your acceptance of His sacrifice for your sins then your so-called “righteousness” is as filthy rags in the sight of God!

We cannot claim salvation on our own merit or the works which we may do!

You and I cannot just decide to get saved one day, it is God’s Spirit which touches us and brings us to the point of knowing that we need Him that causes us to seek Him out and confess our sins, asking that Jesus cleanse us and make us in His likeness. Although many people seem to think that they have that much control over their experience of salvation, it just isn’t true! It is God Who calls to your Spirit, your soul and brings you under conviction to know that you need Him. At that point each of us is given an amount of faith to truly believe that Jesus can save us, so we do and He does!

Some people tend to feel this touch in their lives, whether at a church or from a sermon on TV, and they do feel a need for Jesus in their life…but Satan whispers in their ear before they walk down and speak to the preacher. Then they will either grip the pew in front of them and refuse to accept Jesus or they may even walk out of the service altogether. They don’t want to give up on their comfortable, sinful life.

Even though prior to Christ changing our hearts and our minds we didn’t want to quit our sinful life either. Why? Because until Jesus and the Holy Spirit reveals your sins and what those sins will cost you in eternity, we don’t think that we need Him at all. Let’s face it, all of us who are Christians now were sinners at some point in time. I hear so much talk about “hypocrite churches” because there are people in there who used to do this or that!

We have ALL done this or that at one time or another!

Own your past life and leave it in the past so you can walk in the newness of Life with Christ into eternity!

Gifts of the Spirit


In Galatians 5:22 Paul writes this: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

If each of us who are living as Christians has these fruits which are evident in our speech and in our lives every day then others will see them and know that we belong to Christ. So, how can we show these fruits to others? Notice the very first one is love, without this in your heart which Jesus placed there because He loved you and me first none of the other fruits will grow in your life at all.

The second fruit is joy and it is expressed not by being happy all of the time but by knowing the joy of being loved by God! Knowing this there is nothing in this world which can get to you and get you down. Oh, there will be days and sometimes weeks when something or someone will get you down but if you will start your day with a prayer and thank God for another day to serve Him then He will lift you up!

God will not allow you to have a really bad day if you start it with Him first! Just as the Feast of Firstfruits blesses the rest of the harvest when we bring our “firstfruits” to God, beginning the day with Him does the very same thing. Thank Him for another day to serve when you wake up, or soon after, and the rest of the day will be blessed. Does this mean that nothing will go wrong if you do this daily? No, it is not a guarantee of a perfect day every day, but it is a step in the right direction.

Peace and patience come with the other gifts and fruits but never, ever pray for patience! You will learn the lesson but you will not enjoy it. The peace which we know through Christ is the peace which we have knowing that our future in eternity is sealed! Kindness is a fruit which goes along with love and patience and all of the other fruits which the Spirit gives to each of us when we are made into “new creations in Christ“. Of course, even as believers, we are still at war with our “old nature which has passed away“, even though it (our old nature) is conquered in Christ it still is used by Satan to try to make us stumble and fall and doubt our salvation.

All of the fruits of the spirit are available to us but every believer will not show all of them. Some will have one or two, some will show all of them as they mature in their salvation through prayer and learning from God’s Word. Just as God gives us gifts through His Spirit, He also gives us our fruits of His Spirit so that others can see that we belong to Him and want what we have. So, if you are a child of God, seek out your gifts and your fruit and give some away to others. Amen

Walking with Jesus


Each of us who answer His call has to learn how to do this. The Lord does give us an idea of how to do it, but it’s up to us to figure it out. It does take reading His Word and learning from it and this is a lifetime process. Some people think that going to church gives them the key to heaven or maybe reading the Bible gives them a special place in heaven. Those actions have no real bearing on your eternity although they do help you to be the person that you are supposed to be in Jesus Christ those actions do NOT save you!

Faith in Jesus and believing in His atonement for your life, your sins and all of the words and things which you have done or said in this life. The Holy Spirit comes to live in your heart and you become a new creation from that moment on. We become more like Him by turning away from our sinful lives and truly following Him daily. God called you to be His and it is His call on your life which allows you to be saved because He gives you the faith and the grace to become His child…but only if you answer that call by accepting it and moving toward Him and away from your old life.

But…what if I don’t want to give up my old life?

Then it is likely that you won’t accept Jesus’ call on your life! It is a sad position to be in from an eternal standpoint. If you have felt His touch in your heart and you know that you are a sinner and you need Jesus as your Savior, yet you love your sins and your “regular” life more than you feel the need of salvation…it is very possible that you will just walk away from Him. What would’ve happened to the church if the disciples had turn away from Jesus? There wouldn’t be a church today.

Could Jesus have found other disciples? Of course, He could have but it would’ve been very different from the ministry which He had with the original disciples. People are very different and shepherds or other disciples would have learned from Him in different ways from the 12 which He chose. Even His betrayer would’ve been different, but God knew which men would follow Him and the ones who did were the disciples which were needed.

God knows our hearts and our usefulness to Him, not because He forces us to be His disciples because gratitude and love cannot be forced in any way! We serve God because He loves us and because we love Him in return for everything that Jesus did for us. But, our life with Jesus brings with it a responsibility, and that responsibility is to grow in our faith and our spiritual strength as we go through this life with Him.

Reading the Bible and praying for the Spirit to teach us the meaning of it as we read is part of our life and our walk with Him. It is not really an option and it gives us the ability to resist the temptations and the “fiery darts” which are sent our way as we live in service to Him. If you don’t grow and learn from Him in your daily walk with Him and in reading His Word, then you will be overcome at some point when temptation or trials come your way.

Amen

Death…


This is one of the least prepared-for parts of our lives. Death is one thing which nobody can escape yet everyone seems intent on putting it off as long as possible. Even though it happens to be the doorway to eternity, nobody is willing to step through it nor are they ever truly ready for it. But in today’s culture, it seems that many people are fascinated by it except that they want to choose how they die. This is one of those choices that most of us really don’t have the will or the ability to choose how we die.

So, what should we do or is there even something which we can do about this? Can we live a life of purpose and meaning and then, when we come to the end of our life, have a “good death”? It is a question which is perplexing and troubling at the same time. How do you have a “good death”? It depends upon your life and the quality of it, I think. A Christian will look at death as a doorway to eternity, regardless of how the person dies. Others will look at it from their perspective of religion or belief or the lack of belief which the person had.

If it is an unexpected death we look back at the life of the one who died. If it is the death of a loved one who died of cancer, then hopefully it was not a lingering death and one which was mostly free of pain. Hopefully, it will be a death which the person who is dying will choose not to prolong the process nor to hasten it by the use of drugs or other means.

Life is given to us by our Lord and our God and we should cherish it but when the end of our life comes around, regardless of how that may happen, we should accept it and help those of our family to accept it as well. Those who are surviving us will grieve and they will feel the loss of our life but we should try to help them to do so if we can. Remember, death is a part of life it just happens to be at the end of it, hopefully.

So, why am I writing about this today? Because, at any given time in the world, there are many who are experiencing the death of a loved one. It happens much more than we realize because the media tries to hide this fact from most of us unless it happens to be someone famous and well known. All of us have to experience the loss of a spouse or a child or a parent at some time in our lives. Some of us don’t have to experience it until later in life and some experience it far too soon in our lives or in the life of the one who has died. Their death may come due to accident or disease and it could come too early in their life for them to truly have lived, which happens too often in our world today.

God is still there with them and beside you to comfort and to strengthen you in order to help you bear the loss and the pain. Some of us tend to blame Him for a loss which was too sudden or unexpected but He knew when their day was and how it would happen long before we find out about it. God loves us and He does care for each of us whether we die in our old age or if we die in the womb, of natural causes or for convenience. God loves you, so don’t look up and blame Him when a life comes to its end because He already knew the day and the hour. But many times He wasn’t the cause of their death unless it was His mercy toward them and you as well.

A successful life


Can you live a Christian life today and be a success? Yes, if you live according to the Word of God. We are to renounce our “old ways” of living and turn our eyes and our hearts toward Jesus and living His way. What does that mean exactly? Here is what God told Moses during the Exodus from Egypt beginning in Deuteronomy 10:12-13

12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Some of you might say to me “But that’s in the Old Testament, we don’t have to follow those rules now!” Why not? God hasn’t changed. It is only our perception of Him which has changed. We try to make Him into a “politically correct” god but He is God and He doesn’t change…not for you or for me or anyone else in the world!

In order for us to be forgiven and live a Christian life we are supposed to live according to His Word and follow Him every day of our lives until our death or until He calls us to Himself. It is not negotiable and He doesn’t conform to our ideas of Who He is! Until we realize that there will be many standing in that day saying “Lord, did we not prophesy in your Name?“

Make sure of your relationship with Jesus now while there is a chance because if you are one who is saying those words in His Presence and He says, “depart from Me, for I never knew you.”; it will be too late to change anything about your salvation or lack of it at that time.

Make sure of what you believe and in Whom you believe.

Life after life


If you have ever been to a church and heard a sermon or if you heard one on TV, then you have heard of the life to look forward to after this one. Have you given your heart to Jesus? Salvation is available for you if you will give your heart to Him. So, what will you do with your life here that will take you into eternity? Your own “righteousness” will not do the trick, just as Jesus told the Pharisees and as it was told in the Old Testament, “your righteousness is as filthy rags“.

God doesn’t want us all to go to hell, but there are those who will not accept Jesus as their Savior. God knows who will and who will not give their life and their heart to Jesus but it is not set in stone. When you feel the touch of His Spirit in your heart and you feel that you need Him in your life, don’t turn away from Him. Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross and we are able to be saved from the punishment which comes from refusing to accept the gift of salvation.

Granted, your punishment in hell is not just for refusing salvation but that is the main one which will send you there. Any sins in your life which aren’t covered by the blood of Jesus with your acceptance of His gift of salvation will be paid for in hell. But if you decide to give your heart to Him and confess your sins then your eternity is guaranteed in Heaven with your Savior.

Your salvation is available to you when God touches your Spirit and brings you to that place where you truly know that you need Him. You can’t just decide to be saved or ask Jesus into your life, He touches your soul and draws you to Himself. I pray that all who read this will seek Him in a church or in the Bible and come to the realization that you need Him in your life.

Make sure of Whom you believe


In 1 John 4 it says these words:

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

When you are committed to being and living as a Christian there is a part of God’s Spirit which comes to live inside you. He or She is the Holy Spirit. All of us who are His and belong to Him have a part of Him, as Jesus called Him-the Comforter and He is living in your heart (soul). God’s grace and mercy have been poured out in your life so that you can believe in the One Who has saved your soul, but it is God’s Spirit Who teaches you and helps you to understand His Word.

Without faith, we can do nothing in God’s Kingdom and without His Spirit, we would understand very little of God’s Word. We could read it every day but without His teaching and giving us the meaning of it for our lives the Bible would be just a book of stories and nothing more. For many years before I truly committed my life to Him I read chapters in the Bible and read along with the pastor at church but until I accepted the Holy Spirit into my life it really didn’t make sense.

Jesus’ sermon on the mount was just a bunch of blessings given to those who were looking for the Messiah until I looked at it from His point of view. God loves each of us and He wants the best for you and me. That doesn’t mean that He wants all of us to be rich and wealthy with no struggles, however. God’s best may be our eternal home with Him, not some fancy house with a mortgage here for us to struggle to pay. The same goes for all of the other “stuff” which the world around us sees as symbols of our success.

Seek God and His Son, Jesus, for your salvation because the time which each of us has is very short compared to eternity. Each of us has an eternal soul and you will spend eternity somewhere so make sure of your destination while you can.

The end of the Age


Learning about this from our Lord Jesus Christ is easy, just read Matthew 24 or the book of Revelation. But…how many will believe what they read? There are many who don’t think that the Bible is even trustworthy much less the actual Word of God. My point is that we are truly living at the end of the age. Look at the news and watch everything that is going on around us. Then, read Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 and at the beginning of the book of Revelation. See how much of it actually does sound like it came from the news today, then make your decision.

Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? If you haven’t then you need to seek Him for your very soul depends upon it! God cares for and loves each of us, even when we are sinners. He knows which ones of us will hear His call on their lives and those who will hear it and ignore it. But you need to be seeking Him to find Him and that is what this post is about.

Eternity is ahead of you regardless of your eternal destination although you do have a choice of where you will spend eternity. God doesn’t send you into hell, that is your decision because it is due to your rejection of Jesus as your Savior. Whenever you feel the call on your heart to give your life to Him, please don’t turn away from Him. Remember, He paid the price for your sins and mine but it is up to you to accept Him as your Savior.

The Way to Life


Have you found the path which carries you to Life itself? Some of us tend to get lost while trying to find it when it is right in front of us. Life with a capital “L” is the life which you will have in Jesus and the pathway carries us through this life until we get to the next one. So…what is the pathway? Following Jesus and not listening to Satan’s lies about your life and your ministry being useless and worthless!

Jesus gives our life, here and now, a meaning and a purpose. We are to live each day, each moment striving to be more like Jesus than trying to be like the world around us. Is this hard to do? Sometimes it is. Usually when we feel down and depressed life seems hopeless and you feel useless, like I did yesterday. But Jesus said that “we can live a life more abundantly“! By following His example of living for the Kingdom of God, even though you can’t see it yet.

God loves you and has provided a way for each of us to have a life of meaning and purpose through Jesus our Savior. He is the pathway to life everlasting and He is preparing a place for us to dwell with Him forever. Some people might want to know, “Why would I want to live in heaven forever?” Do you really and truly believe that you will have nowhere to go when you die?

God’s Word says that we all face His judgment when we die so what have you done in this life to give you an eternity in Heaven? None of us, not even one person on this Earth, can be perfectly sinless because we are sinners and we are that way from birth. Jesus came so that we can have a life with Him into eternity but apart from being saved through faith in Him not one of us will get there.

Your life here is like a puff of smoke compared to eternity so why waste it chasing after stuff which rusts and fades away or is given to someone else when you die? Money doesn’t last and neither does gold or any other type of wealth but it seems that in the world today these things are what defines us. Why not define your life by the example of Jesus and His teachings? Live your life as His disciple and tell others about Him and what living for Him means!

Why? Because God values your soul more than all of the wealth in the world! Each individual person that He calls to become an adopted child of God is worth more to Him than all of the wealth that exists in this world! Why is that? Because each of us has a specific purpose ordained by God and that purpose is to reach one other person that only we can reach.

If we tell thousands of people and they turn their lives over to Jesus that is wonderful, but there is one person that each of us can reach that nobody else can. That is the person which God has placed you here to touch and show the love of Jesus to them so that they can come to know Him. There are many people who need to know Jesus as their Savior but until their spiritual eyes are opened and they know that they need Him, they will never seek Him. Live your life in view of eternity because this one is going away but your life in Christ is eternal.

In My Father’s House are Many Rooms

1Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe in Me as well. 2In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”b

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”

6Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

9Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. 11Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.

Boundless love


That is the type of love which God has for each of us. It is not one that we can duplicate in any way because we are not the Creator. He expressed His love for us by all of the wonders and the variety of life and the mystery which abounds in our universe. Why are there stars which would engulf most of our solar system? Because God wanted us to ask that question. Why are there diamonds and gold found in the clouds of nebulae in the universe? Because God wanted it to be that way so we would ask questions and wonder about it.

It was God’s love for us which sent Jesus to Earth as a man who didn’t sin and could pay the price for all of mankind. It is God’s love which watches over each of us as we sleep or as we travel on the highways. We are never outside of His love or His gaze and His protection of us as we go through life but He doesn’t force us to give our heart to Him. It must be our choice. How can we understand His boundless love for us? We really can’t, unless you know the love of a parent toward their child. That is the only relationship which comes close to by only a degree to the depth of God’s love for each of us.

Why does He feel this way? Because we are His creation, His children and He cares for us in a way that we cannot understand or comprehend yet He does so without measure. Life is a part of Him, death is a part of Him and every part of our lives is contained in a part of Him as well. Don’t turn away from Him because you are only hurting yourself when you do. Does our rejection of His love hurt Him? I’m sure it does in some way, but how deeply it hurts I couldn’t imagine. Make sure that you learn to love Him before your life ends because once this life is over there are no second chances.