Category: Accepting Christ is your choice

Do you consider your blessings?


There are many who may not think that almost everything in your life is actually a blessing from God but each of them is exactly that. Consider the fact that each of us who live today was blessed with life through God’s grace in order to live through the night. Some of you may look at it like a teenager “I’m young I won’t die just by going to sleep tonight”, are you absolutely sure of that? Many of us look at life like it is guaranteed to us until we are old. Really? I have heard of teenagers who have had a stroke or a heart attack after practice for sports in the past couple of years. These children were sixteen or seventeen years old! The same age as my son at the time!

Gods Promise2We are blessed with having a family who loves us, if you are blessed with this you should truly count your blessings! Because there are so many who are in relationships where they are beaten or sexually abused or any number of bad situations! Do you realize that your days are only numbered by God Himself and only He knows how long you will live on this Earth? God loves you and He watches over you in this world, whether you have given your life to Him or not. He knows if you will become a Christian and when it will happen, but that doesn’t give you the permission to go out and do whatever you wish until God calls you!

Jesus said that we should believe in Him and we will be saved. Some people think it is too simple and that it can’t be that easy to be saved from our sins? Yes, it is that simple! Think of the thief on the cross. He didn’t have money or time or even the opportunity to be baptized, but Jesus didn’t care about that. He believed that Jesus was Who they said He was, the King of the Jews, the Messiah, and all he asked was for Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus told him that “today you will be with Me in Paradise”.

We are seeing things happening all over the world today which prove that Satan and his agents are working hard to point people away from God or even cause them to blame God for their suffering and we see it on the news every day. Why is all of this happening? Because he knows that his time is growing very short in this world, that is why! When the church, those who believe in Jesus, is taken up to Heaven he knows that his time will only be seven more years in this world.

We can’t live a Christian life alone because our strength is weak, especially our spiritual strength. Even pastors have trouble living a holy life, one which people might look up to him for and I never thought about why we can’t do it? It is very simple actually. We have to walk with Jesus every day, put our troubles on Him, depend upon Him for our strength in every matter of life. In America, we have always looked up to many “actors” who played the part of an independent cowboy or a strong military person, one who could accomplish almost any task that was before them. The problem with that is this: being a Christian is even harder than being an actor or a cowboy or a strong military person.

Our biggest problem is our “old nature”, that part of us which had all sorts of fun or at least thought we did because when we are saved by Jesus we have to walk in Him and read the Bible, which is something we likely wouldn’t have done prior to knowing Him. So, how can we walk in Christ? First of all LEAN ON HIM! Don’t act like you can do it alone because you can’t! The Holy Spirit gives you the knowledge and the power to live your life in Jesus the Christ. Don’t turn away from His call on your life!

The glorious gospel of Jesus!


The glorious gospel of Jesus the Christ is all that you need. Our world and the young people in it don’t need to be preached self-help courses masquerading as topical sermon series.

The church needs to be…the Church that Jesus and His disciples began in that first century. Reaching out to those who are lost, reaching out to those who don’t attend church for whatever reason it might be. Don’t try to make them or your congregation into people who fit into a doctrine or some mold that someone dreamed up when they met with others who wanted to give their brand of religion a code to live by!

That is NOT what Jesus taught! He taught that we are saved by faith alone in Him and through Him, we are justified and sanctified! No amount of communion services or crackers and wine/grape juice will ever save anyone, but their belief in Jesus and the sacrifice which He paid for us on that cross does save and sanctify each and every one who believes in Him!

It is true that this sort of a sermon may not be very popular, but it is the truth. People under forty don’t need to be pampered with coffee or told that they are the next generation to lead the church, they already know that! God needs them to carry on with the message, His message of love and compassion and salvation. It doesn’t take a light show or a bunch of slides to bring the message across, just preach from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will do the rest!

Will the church be flooded with people clamoring to get in and hear the message? NO, they won’t at least not at first, but they will come. Put your sermon on the Internet in written form and recordings if possible so more people can hear it or read it because it is needed in the world. Your ideas and your way of teaching may get people’s attention, but God’s Word and His Wisdom is what they truly need and no amount of flowering it up and putting more flamboyant shows which pass as a sermon team approach will make it any more appealing to young or old.

If the Truth of God’s Word is preached, even without the flash and bang of music and lights, the hearts of those in your audience who are longing for God and looking for Jesus will respond to His Word. God does love each of us far deeper and more intensely than we can stand or even imagine, and yet much of the world doesn’t want to hear it regardless of how you jazz it up or change it so that it is more like a pep talk.

If it is the Word being preached, even if you try to disguise it, it will still shine through and those who recognize it as God’s Word may not like what they hear. But…God will get the glory and He will draw those in the audience to Him whether they do it today or next week because He knows how long they have to live but they don’t.

None of us know whether tomorrow is going to bless our eyes when we wake up or if we open our eyes in the throne room of Glory! Make sure where your heart is before your day is through because that uneasy feeling may not let you sleep much tonight if you don’t.

What kind of love do you have?


God loves each of us with our faults and our imperfections, we can love our children without a reason other than they are our kids. I love my wife because she is a gift from God! Have you ever considered what kind of love do you have in your life?

I do realize that there are people who have not been loved very much in their lives and it is a very sad thing. Because, if they have never felt loved by their parents or grandparents or their spouse then how can they love themselves or others? Love is one emotion which multiplies when it is given to another, most of the time. If you give your love to someone and they don’t return it in kind, then it is like a water hose hitting a rock, it splashes a lot but it will take a long time to penetrate.

Life feels empty and hollow when there is a feeling of being unloved. Here is the only case study that I could find to show the effect of a lack of affection:

CASE STUDY

In the United States, 1944, an experiment was conducted on 40 newborn infants to determine whether individuals could thrive alone on basic physiological needs without affection. Twenty newborn infants were housed in a special facility where they had caregivers who would go in to feed them, bathe them and change their diapers, but they would do nothing else. The caregivers had been instructed not to look at or touch the babies more than what was necessary, never communicating with them. All their physical needs were attended to scrupulously and the environment was kept sterile, none of the babies becoming ill.

The experiment was halted after four months, by which time, at least half of the babies had died at that point. At least two more died even after being rescued and brought into a more natural familial environment. There was no physiological cause for the babies’ deaths; they were all physically very healthy. Before each baby died, there was a period where they would stop verbalizing and trying to engage with their caregivers, generally, stop moving, nor cry or even change expression; death would follow shortly. The babies who had “given up” before being rescued, died in the same manner, even though they had been removed from the experimental conditions.

The conclusion was that nurturing is actually a very vital need in humans. Whilst this was taking place, in a separate facility, the second group of twenty newborn infants were raised with all their basic physiological needs provided and the addition of affection from the caregivers. This time, however, the outcome was as expected, no deaths encountered.

Here is the link to this if you would like to check it for yourself. Truly, we need nurturing development regardless of our age. The same goes for your relationship with your spouse or with Jesus. Your spouse can withhold any or all of the affection that is needed in a relationship, but your relationship will suffer greatly because of it.

Jesus doesn’t keep His love from us because He showed His love to all of us by His death and resurrection! He did that even though most of us were still sinners. Why do I say this? Because the population of the world at the time was much smaller than it is today. Yet, He died for our sins whether we were actually living at the time or not! “But, that doesn’t make sense?” you might ask. It does when you consider that God can see ALL of history since He is outside of time. He can see and know every person that ever lived even though they may not be physically alive at this moment.

That is why He says to one of His prophets: “I knew you before you were“. God loves each of us because of what He knows about us even before we are born. Make sure that your life reflects His love toward anyone that you meet daily. Begin your day with a reading of His Word, maybe just a few verses to begin with. Working up to a chapter each day will wash your mind and heart with His Word before any other stuff happens in your walk with Him.

Seek Him through the Bible, learn His voice by reading His Word, pray and ask Him to give you an understanding of His Word and when the Holy Spirit draws you to Him…please don’t turn away from His call.

Who is driving?


Have you ever seen those bumper stickers which say something like this: Jesus is my co-pilot? Do you realize what that even means? In a Christian’s life, Jesus is not supposed to be the co-pilot, He is supposed to be THE Pilot! The problem is that we have a very hard time when it comes to giving God or Jesus control over every area of our life. Most of us walk around or drive around with a prayer on our minds or maybe a Bible verse on a sticky note on the console to remind us that we are supposed to be like Jesus.

WalkingwithJesusThe problem with that is that God is not and doesn’t want to be your second, He wants to be first in all that you are and in everything that you do, no matter how small you think it might be. Our lives are small compared to the majesty and glory of our sinless God, but He wants to be part of your daily life, not just someone that you call on in a time of crisis. God loves you deeply or He wouldn’t have given His Son’s life for you and every person on Earth! While it is true that Jesus didn’t stay dead, thankfully, the shedding of His blood was part of the sacrifice which had to be given in order to bring salvation to all who will believe in Him!

No, God doesn’t want to be your co-pilot, He wants to be the driver of your everyday life. Yet, many people stick Him in a place which only gives us a little taste of being a Christian. We visit Him in church on Sunday and Wednesday nights, but we leave Him in the church when we leave. We take a memory of Him with us on the way to work on Monday, but by Thursday we have forgotten that He is there anyway.

We should ride along with Him each day, no matter what may be going on in our lives. He came to the Garden and walked with Adam every day, Adam could probably see His feet in the grass or see His back as they walked along. Could we have that kind of relationship with God? I don’t think we will see any part of Him until we meet Him face to face in Heaven, but I am looking forward to it.

Why do I bring this type of walk with our Lord up now? Because I don’t think that this type of relationship is being taught in Sunday school. God does want a relationship with us that is much more than a once or twice a week visit. He wants to be a part of your life and mine every single day, from the time you wake up until you go to sleep at night. Some people may find this weird, but ever since I accepted the calling of being a preacher I have tried to live my life with Him in it every day. Some days I fail at it pretty badly and some days it goes along pretty smoothly.

The only person Who ever walked with Him perfectly was Jesus, so we are not expected to be perfect just strive toward that goal. Will you fall down or fail at this? Yes, it is very likely but He will help you up and then you can begin again. You don’t lose your salvation just because you trip and fall or give over to a temptation which comes your way. God is not going to kick you out just because you tripped up today or last week because He loves you!

Be not conformed to this world


Why not, you might ask?

All of the wonders of this world are ours to enjoy, so why should I just ignore them? Because, if you have given your life to Jesus then you are not part of this world. You belong to Him. But, Jesus did not say that we couldn’t enjoy the world with all of its wondrous beauty. He meant for us to stay away from the worldly pleasures of drinking and using drugs and the sin that those can lead you into.

LoveOfChristBe not conformed to this world is an admonishment against following the crowd and doing what everyone else seems to be doing. Walk your path through life with Jesus by your side and realize that once you have given your heart to Him, He is always near you regardless of where you go. Jesus is the potter and we are the clay and we are to allow Him to mold us and make us into an image which closely resembles Him in almost all respects.

Why should you follow Him this closely? Because He died to save your soul and if you truly are a Christian you will want to be near Him and take Him everywhere with you. He died in order that you might be set free from sin and its deception in this life and to give you access to an eternal life which we cannot imagine or comprehend from where we are now. There have been a few people who have been blessed with visions or even a spiritual trip to Heaven for a little while and when they come back to finish their life here…they can’t explain nor describe the colors or sounds that they heard and saw there!

I think the little boy, who died for a few minutes in the book Heaven is Real, saw the people in his family so that he could come back and tell us that our life up in Heaven will be unbelievable to people here unless we can make sense out of Heaven. He did make sense of it because Jesus wanted him to know and be able to give hope to people when he came back.

God loves you so deeply that He sent Jesus to die for your sins and everyone else’s sins too. He may not call every person on the planet to get to know Him, but He loves you just the same. If you diligently and earnestly seek Him in the Bible and by prayer, I don’t believe that God would refuse your prayer of repentance and request to allow Jesus into your heart and life.

Does God know which of us will ask Jesus into their heart? I am sure He does or He isn’t God! Does He know which of us will actually accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Yes, again if He doesn’t know that, then HE isn’t God! God doesn’t say that He will refuse you when you pray earnestly and mean every word of your prayer. But, if you pray in a manner which is just a mockery of God and essentially laughing in His face then He will not listen to that prayer.

The Bible does say, “be not deceived, God is not mocked” because whatsoever a man sows in his life, that is what he will reap. God is the Creator of ALL, and He is terrible when He is angry so I wouldn’t recommend that you try His patience or His anger. He loves us deeply, far more than we can imagine or comprehend, so please ask Him into your life before it is too late. After you die, there will be no second chances.

What is necessary today?


As Christians, we are told all kinds of laws and petitions and such that we should follow and adhere to in our walk with Jesus..but are they necessary? In the church, as it was beginning in the first century, the people were selling much or almost all of what they had and used it to support the church and its people. Those who were members of that early church who had much sold it and gave to those who had little so that all were blessed.

Concerning tithes, they were giving far above the ten percent which Abraham gave in the Old Testament. The reason for their generosity was based not on numbers but upon the grace which they, and us, have received from God through Jesus. There is no way that any of us could possibly pay back what the grace from God is worth and frankly, we shouldn’t try to. Not even the richest person in the world has enough to cover that debt.

Yet, Jesus paid for all of our sins in His death on the cross and His resurrection after three days. There is no accounting which could possibly figure the amount which all of humanity owes Him. The only way to even begin to pay it forward in a way is to give your life to Jesus and follow Him. Doing His work while you have the time and the ability in this life. Your lifetime of service won’t be enough to pay Him back but it is the least that you…no, it is the least that all of us who are Christians can do and should!

ARealDaddyIn America today, we have a man problem. There aren’t many of them around. Being born a male is something that you cannot choose or change, regardless of what the doctors tell you. Being a man…a father…or a daddy is something that you become, but you have to choose to BE one of them. Being a man is the same as being a Daddy to your kids, any male means that you can father many children if that is what you feel is the thing to do. But…being a man and a Daddy takes special care and preparation in your childhood and your teenage years. There is no manual for us to read, it is an on the job learning or apprenticeship which makes you a man and a Daddy.

The Bible is our instruction manual which gives us all of the wisdom and knowledge about being men and being a Daddy. You can’t get that knowledge from your mom or your grandmother, you can only learn it from your Dad or maybe your grandfather. I had a wonderful grandfather. His dad died when he was a young boy, so he did the best he could in raising my mother and he helped to raise me as well. I didn’t agree with his “old-fashioned” ideas when I was growing up, but I suppose I wouldn’t have agreed with my Dad either if he had been around.

So…what is necessary today in America and around the world? Men who will teach their children the right way to live, by God’s Word and by the wisdom contained in it. There are no self-help books out there that are better or more useful than the Bible and that’s a fact. If you have trouble understanding it, ask God to show you what the meaning of His Word. Be a Christian and give your heart and your life to Jesus so that you can be an example which bears even a slight resemblance to Jesus so that your children, boys or girls, can have something to aspire toward in their life.

Don’t give up on life just because you aren’t a millionaire if you are a child of God through the grace of Jesus Christ our Savior you are rich. It may not be the riches which the world recognizes, but it will give your life and the lives of your family a much stronger foundation on which to live your life until Jesus returns.

 

Face(Bible)time


In our culture today we have put the Bible down and we turn to social media such as Facetime from Apple and Facebook online in order to see what is going on with our friends and sometimes family in our community. We have abandoned God’s Word and many in the church don’t even believe that it is the inspired Word of God.

What happened?

Have we truly lost our way as far as God’s Word is concerned? Have we moved so far away from God until we will accept almost any religion or doctrine? I pray that we haven’t gone that far!

God has never left us alone or without His Presence and yet America seems to be moving away from belief in Him. Not only America but much of the world doesn’t give Him any credit for being our Creator anymore. It seems that there are more Christians in Korea and China and even India than there are in America today! What went wrong?

At one time America was sending out missionaries to many places all over the world. Now, there are missionaries coming to America to bring Christianity and other religions here. I had always thought that the church or the body of believers in America was larger than it is, but I suppose I was wrong. Just because a person claims to be a Christian doesn’t make them a Christian.

Much of America claims to be a Christian but lately, some statistics show that the real percentage is much lower than the seventy percent which is claimed. God has not given up on us, so why are we giving up on Him or the verity of His Word? As Christians, God’s Word is our lifeline and the standard by which every instance in life is supposed to be judged by. Thinking that the Bible is only true in certain situations is like saying that the Sun may come up tomorrow, but I am not sure of it.

Get into the Word of God so that your walk with Him will be more productive. If you are wondering why that will happen, then you haven’t read the Bible enough. You can’t be productive as a Christian without knowing what God’s voice is like and you can’t recognize Him unless you have read and studied His Word. Especially if you only read it during a sermon or on the weekends.

God loves you and He will never leave you in a situation that He can’t get you out of or at least give you the strength to get through it.

 

 

Why did Jesus come?


According to the Word of God, He came to Earth in order to die, and He did die for your sins and mine. But…He also came out of that tomb three days later and taught His disciples what they should do and where they should go after He had gone to Heaven. He told them to stay in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit and then they were to go into all the world teaching and preaching the gospel of God!

That mandate has not changed because we have been given a fantastic gift through belief in Jesus and that gift is eternal life with Him and through belief in Him. We can be saved from the penalty of our sins and our sinful life through belief in Jesus. Then we are to take that with us and tell others about Him and what He has done for us and for all people.

Why? Because God loves you and He wants every person to know that He loves them. Jesus came into the world for that purpose to pay the penalty for your sins and for mine, and for every person in the whole world! It is your choice whether you believe in Him or the atonement which is provided for you or not, but if you choose to go your merry way then you may not get another chance to give your life to Jesus!

We are not promised tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation because in hearing the good news of His love for you, then you are responsible for your decision. Once the message is heard and understood by you, if your heart is convicted of the sinful life that you have lived, then it is your choice which sends you either to Heaven or to Hell!

God doesn’t choose to send you to hell, that is your decision and your responsibility and accepting it and believing it is your responsibility because God doesn’t force you in any way. Your eternity is based on your decision to accept or reject Jesus and His atonement for your sins.

There is no amount of work or prayer or money which will do anything toward saving your soul from hell. Only belief in Jesus as your Savior can do that! It has to be a heartfelt belief in Jesus, not just knowing Who He is but accepting Him as your Savior and asking His forgiveness for your sins. Because without accepting Him as your Savior and repenting of your sins, changing your life from what you were before to being a follower of Jesus…then there is no salvation at all.

When you read about Jesus or hear about Him, knowing that you will be in Heaven after you die IF you accept Him as your Savior, then there shouldn’t be any hesitation on your part at all. He is what you have been searching for to fill that empty space in your life that you know has been there but you couldn’t find what fit in it until you hear about Jesus. He is the key to filling that empty space, the longing in your heart that wants to be full but you have searched all over and you have never found what could fill it.

Jesus is the answer to that question. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 )

What kind of Christian are you?


Do you practice your beliefs on a daily basis or do you just do so on Sunday at church? There are some people who actually practice “sometimes Christianity”, meaning that they are Christians sometimes such as when they attend church or functions at the church. But, they don’t practice being a Christian at work or away from the church. Are you a real believing Christian if you do this?

Was your life and your heart changed when you accepted Jesus as your Savior? If you believe that it was changed, did you change along with it? If your life didn’t change, then are you certain that your heart was changed?

I am not asking these questions to be accusing of anyone because I wondered these things myself after I accepted Jesus. The change in your life is not like getting a smack on your head with a bat, it is gradual but if you don’t follow the leading of the Holy Spirit you can upset the apple cart in a manner of speaking. How do I know this? Because I did exactly that at first. I upset the apple cart and after a while, I was back doing the same things as before.

It isn’t shameful but when you become a Christian you do need some coaching or mentoring for a while. Going it alone is not the recommended way of walking with Jesus daily.

You need to begin to study God’s Word, not just reading it. Prayerfully study it, get into the scripture with Jesus and actually ask Him to explain things that you don’t understand. If possible, get with your pastor or someone that you know is a Christian to help you understand God’s Word and His meaning. Why do I say this? Because it is too easy for Satan to whisper in your mind when you are new to faith in Jesus and he will make you believe things about what you read which aren’t the truth.

God does want you to learn from His Word but you need to be listening to Him talk and not your own thoughts and ideas. Pray about what you are reading, read His Word out loud if need be. Get a set of CD’s or mp3’s which have the entire Bible on them so you can listen to it being read to you, then pray about what you are hearing. God will reveal exactly what He wants you to know from His Word at the time that you need to hear it and understand it.

God will not lead you to a place where He doesn’t want you to be. Your life with Jesus is important because He wouldn’t have called you into His family unless He had something for you to do. God knows that you are the only person who can do what He has called you to do, and nobody else can accomplish it.

All of us who are Christians have a calling from God. It may be to teach a Sunday school class or be an usher at church, it might be for us to be a preacher or a missionary telling people in far-away places about Jesus. It might also be that you can help out at a shelter for the homeless or for Veterans. Whatever you do, even if you do it at your regular job, do it for the glory of God and let people know that you belong to Him!

Don’t be a “pew Christian”, one that is only a Christian in church and not very different from the rest of the world when you aren’t in church. That is being a false Christian or a Christian on the surface alone. Make sure of your beliefs and your position in Jesus because when your life ends here, anything that is just superficial won’t help you when you stand for your judgment.

What happened on Easter?


The story which is celebrated in much of the world has to do with pagan ritual. Eggs and rabbits and things like that. These have nothing to do with our risen Savior.

Jesus told His disciples that He would rise again on the third day. Many people disbelieve that story today, even in the church. I mean, how can you manage to get three days between Friday and Sunday? Going by Jewish calendars and tradition it is simple. A day begins at sunrise and ends at sunset, at least to us. But, to Jewish people who lived in Jesus’ day, the next day begins at sundown on the day before. So, when the soldiers arrested Jesus in the garden on early Friday morning, part of that day had already passed by.

The sunrise brought the priests and the High Priest before Pilate to accuse Jesus and He was flogged, but that wasn’t enough. They wanted a crucifixion and the Sabbath began at sundown. From about the third hour until the ninth hour Jesus was on the cross, that would be 9 am until 3 pm for us. Counting from sunrise to sunset is the timing that they used because the preparation for the Sabbath had to begin at sundown, counting as the next day.

empty_tomb11He laid in the tomb from just before sundown on Friday, all day on the Sabbath, and most of the day on the first day of the week on Sunday. So Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are three days!

So…what happened on Sunday morning at around sunrise? A miracle to those who witnessed it for sure! A bright light which was brighter than the Sun in its strength, which pierced even the cracks around the rock which covered the entrance to the tomb. The stone which had been rolled over the opening of the tomb and sealed with the Roman seal was rolled away.

We don’t know what the soldiers saw at that moment. They could’ve seen the risen Jesus in His glory or maybe an angel, possibly two angels who told the disciples and Mary that He has risen just as He had told them that He would. I want to believe that those soldiers who were guarding the tomb saw Him in His glory and likely believed that He was the Savior, the King of the Jews and their Messiah. But, until we get to Heaven we will not know for sure what they saw or what they believed.

Our Savior is alive and is at the right hand of Power on High! There is no other name by which we must be saved to be in His Presence! The only requirement is that we believe in Him and in what was written about Him in the Bible, ask Him for your forgiveness and repent of your old way of life and follow Him daily. That is our job, our responsibility as believers and as Christians! To tell others about our Savior Who died to give them the ability to become Christians and partake in His Kingdom too. No amount of money or work to do to be eligible for salvation, just believe in Him.