Category: Accepting Christ is your choice

Dull and lifeless


I have often wondered if that is how much of the world sees people in the church or even the church itself? We as Christians claim that we have something that others may want, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. The problem arises when those who are outside the church look at our lives or even the church itself and see a very dull and lifeless (read boring) experience!

Why would they want that? Even though it is true that most people, when they come to a place in life that they can’t handle themselves, seek out a Higher Power. Sometimes this brings them to God and sometimes they will encounter Satan or one of his followers who are disguising themselves as angels. At this point in their life many just latch onto whichever one will help them at the time and right now! Which causes many to go down a road or path, which is takes them in the wrong direction. They may not find out about this until it is too late to turn back and therein lies the problem.

In many ways, people are fooled not because Satan is such a good liar but because the church and its representation of God and salvation doesn’t look much different or appealing. This is something which must change! Because we are supposed to be taking God’s message of salvation to the WHOLE world! If our message and the gospel of Jesus doesn’t seem to be appealing to others, we should seek out the answer to this question: “Why do people seem to be put off or turned away from the church and God?”

It is not an easy answer to find actually. Yet, according to the Bible which is the inspired Word of God, evil is vanquished in the end. Death, sin, evil, lawlessness and all of the negative emotions and behaviors in this world will all go away, in God’s time and at the end of this world. The problem today is this: Most or at least many people don’t believe it. The Bible is just an old book with no bearing on life today. It is out-dated and old, quaint would be a good term for it, but it has no meaning for us in the 21st century.

I have a different opinion about that. The differences between all people in this world stem from just a few things which get completely blown out of proportion. First is our notion of “race”, we are all part of the human race! The only differences are our skin tone and our cultures, whether in a city environment or taken as a nationwide culture, these are really the most troublesome parts of being human. Second is our choice of religion and that gets pretty weird when you look at all of the different religions in the world, even though there are three main religions, there are thousands of creeds, beliefs, doctrines etc.

These two differences along with the other smaller or larger (depending upon your viewpoint) pieces and parts which are scattered all over the world, are the very reasons for all of the wars and riots and shootings that occur on a regular basis, day in and day out. The only unifying force will be the coming of Jesus to set up His Kingdom on Earth and there will be many more deaths around the world before that day gets here.

Differences should be celebrated in our world, not part of the problem. Your skin may be more brown than mine and I embrace that because God made you different in that way. Your culture or rather, the ways that you learned from your parents and grandparents, while growing up are different, I accept that as well. It is not something which should be looked down on, nor is it something to place on a pedestal and tell others that yours is best! We are all human, regardless of skin color or our cultural beliefs in God or some other deity. These differences should be embraced in a collective way, not a national or cultural way.

God created us all to be different because we can have a different place and a different part in His Kingdom. You can accomplish things which I cannot and I may be able to do some things which you cannot. It is the same with each of our bodies, the kidneys work to cleanse the blood of sugar and salts, to make this simple. Your liver cleanses the blood of other impurities, but a body which has neither of these organs cannot survive. God is our Creator and must be worshiped as such. He is also our Redeemer, if we will accept Him into that role in our lives. All of the other “gods” or non-religions have no real power and cannot grant you one day or the hair on your head. Seek out God in His Word and you will find that He is all that is really necessary for your life.

An ending and a new beginning


We come to the end of another year. One that has been fraught with so much pain and suffering on the part of police and race relations. Also, many have died for useless reasons which did not have to happen. I pray that the next year will be a bit more tolerable in relations with others, with our police and with other nations.

God knows what is happening and He is in charge, yet the forces of Satan are influencing much of what we see and hear on our planet that is so frustrating because of its cruelty. Yes, it is being done by humans, but those are being influenced by anti-Christian forces such as Satanic spiritual forces. These forces, spiritual in nature, are around us whether you believe in them or not. Frankly, I am glad that I can’t see them because the violence and hatred which they encourage in us toward other people is unpleasant enough.

Yes, we are coming to the end of one more year and the start of a “new” year, but the problems which we all face everyday don’t change. The problems which we had last week or yesterday will still be here after midnight tonight. They don’t magically go away just because the date changes.

That is why we need to rely on God and His strength to get us through the most challenging times. We can push through on our own, but things work out so much better when He is guiding your steps and giving you the wisdom to get through life’s challenges. God loves us and He does want the best for us, no matter what, if we will follow Him and seek out His way of cultivating a relationship.

The reason I put “His way” in that last sentence is because we tend to place our ideas of God in the way of our relationship with Him. We tend to see Him in our “mind’s eye” as being like us with our faults and problems and yet we imagine that vision or idea as God. What is wrong with that? Everything! Because God is SO MUCH MORE!

He is more compassionate and understanding than we can be. He is our Creator and, if you are a Christian He is our Savior! His ways are not our ways because He doesn’t have the prejudices which we have, nor does He bring baggage into the relationship with us. Why is this true? Because, He lives outside of our time and He put us together in the womb. He knows us better than we will ever know ourselves and He knows how we think and how we can be an asset in His Kingdom.

Give your heart and life to God and let Him show you how great your next year can be!

The nearness and presence of God


It is something which many Christians and non-Christians have considered and thought about over the years. How near to us is God really? Consider that He is everywhere, as David wrote in his Psalms, “if I make my bed in the depths of Sheol, you are there“, so in defense of Jonah “where could you go?”. When we seek God, He is near us, it is the act and action of seeking Him that brings us together.

God has always sought out a relationship with us, from the Garden all the way to the 21st century, and He is still seeking to have a relationship with each one of us. Although, many today don’t seem to be seeking Him as they did in years past, He is still near to you whether you know it or not. God’s Presence, His Spirit, is always near us and it is the one concept that many Christians can’t understand. It is the aspect of God which I never understood until recently.

Why should this be so hard to grasp?

Because, God is the Creator. He is the One Who stretched out the Heavens like sailcloth when He placed the galaxies and stars in their places! It was He Who hung the Sun in its place as well and all of the planets too, so why can’t an Omniscient and Omnipresent Creator be everywhere at all times? He is everywhere at all times and He is near to each of us, at all times.

When we feel that He isn’t near us, it is because that we aren’t near to Him in our spirit and in our own relationship with Him. God has not moved away from you, He is still right next to your heart. Waiting for your embrace so He can embrace you in return!

A relationship with your Creator is not a hard thing, but cultivating an intimate relationship with Him takes effort on your part. Many people want this kind of relationship with God, but few are willing to put the effort needed into truly cultivating it.

Christ the Lord!


This was part of the message that was given to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth and it is a great and wondrous thing to know! Why? Because, not only is He the Lord but He can be your Lord and Savior! Jesus loves you so much that He gave up His place in Heaven for a time in order to come to Earth and give His Life for you and me and every person living or who has ever lived!

He is our Creator and our Lord but He is also our Advocate with God in that He refutes Satan’s claim on your life or any of Satan’s accusations against you when you have given your heart to Him! You are never alone in anything that this world throws at you because of His love for you.

If you have never given your life to Him or asked Him into your heart, it is not a hard thing to ask. In fact it is as simple as, “Jesus, I can’t do this on my own anymore. Please come into my heart and fix what is broken and give me the strength to get through each day. Make me more like you, Jesus and in your name I ask for this. Amen.”

IF you mean every word in that prayer, then you are a child of God and you have Jesus in your heart and life from this point on. Now, you have to live it one day at a time, one step at a time. It is hard at times, but with His strength you can do it!

Are you under His influence?


We talk about being in love with someone when we are in a relationship with them and for most of us that is how it goes. But, have you ever considered that your life should be under His influence ALL of the time?

When we consider people who are “under the influence”, we usually think of someone who is drunk from alcohol of one type or another. Being under the influence of God and His Spirit is something totally outside the ideas and experience of many people because they just don’t know how to handle it or even if they can!

My inspiration was a comedy routine by a Christian comedian and it fits perfectly. When you give your heart and your life to Him, you are supposed to be under His influence spiritually from that point on. We are supposed to die to our own lusts and ways each day and walk with Him so that we are walking as He did! Doing the things that He did for those that He helped during His ministry!

That is the very definition of a Christian, to live and be more like Jesus the Christ! So, are you under the influence of His Spirit? If you are not, then you aren’t living your Christian life to the fullest that it can be! It can be so much more rewarding in many ways, for you and for others that you will touch with your witness for Christ!

His influence in your life will cause you to be more like Jesus in everything that you do. Whether it is being a father or a grandfather or a husband, His influence in your life changes a lot of things. Things which people see in your life can change their lives and the lives of many people around you, so give His influence more influence in your life with Him!

What Child is this?


To many in the church, regardless of the denomination, this Child is Jesus the Savior and our Messiah! But who is He to everyone else? Yes, Jesus has a name in many languages and in every book of the Bible but Who is He to you? See if I count His name in this list and if not, comment it for me…OK?

He is a Priest of the order of Melchizedek and before him. He is the Seed of the Woman and the Righteous Branch of Jesse. He is our Creator and the I AM. He is the Son of the Most High and the Son of Man. He is the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. He is the Captain of the Lord’s Army. He is the fourth Man in the furnace. He is the Rock which gives water in the desert. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

He is the Babe wrapped in cloths lying in a manger Who was born to die on a cross. He is the One Who vanquished Satan’s temptations in the wilderness. He is the One that is greater than all, yet He was humble enough to wash His disciple’s feet. He was the Suffering Servant and the Lord’s Christ! He was wounded for our transgressions and it is by His stripes that we are healed! He is God with us, Emmanuel and our Advocate with the Father.

I have tried to remember most of the names which are given to Him in God’s Word but the one name that we should remember Him by is our Savior. Yours and mine and anyone else’s who will believe that He came here to take the sins of the WHOLE world on His shoulders…and paid the price for them by dying on the cross and then rising to life eternal on the third day! We can have hope in Him because He said that He would be coming again and being God, then He cannot lie! He will return and set the world back to the way it was supposed to be.

God loved us so much until a part of Himself came down to take our sins and the punishment for them on Himself in order to be able to forgive each and every person who would receive His grace and mercy by faith. It can’t be done any other way and there is nothing that you can add to it in order to make it better or more complete. He accomplished it all in those few hours on the cross and what we should do is accept it by faith in Him and then tell others about Him!

God’s Gift to mankind!


Some may wonder why I placed an exclamation point at the end of the title and it’s because of the importance of that Gift. God gives each of us life and breath each day that we live, which is a good thing and a great gift to be sure, but His most wonderful Gift came in the form of His Son, Jesus.

In the beginning, according to Christian and Biblical Scripture, the Godhead was/is made up of three Persons of the Trinity. In Genesis, God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters. This was the Holy Spirit which was searching for a place for us. Then God the Father said, “Let there be light”, and all of Creation lit up with Light. The Living Word of God had begun Creation, and one day the Living Word would be known as Yeshua, the Son of God.

So, in the beginning there were the Three Persons of the Godhead. There are other places where they all show up, but that is the first one. The Gift which God gave to us, all of humanity that has lived or will live, is the Son of God Who gave up His place in Heaven to be placed in the form of a child which was born to a virgin in Bethlehem.

Many of you will know the story from Scripture or from watching Charlie Brown’s Christmas, but the point is this: IT HAD TO BE DONE!

Why? Because, human beings are sinful and we can’t keep God’s Law perfectly because our nature won’t allow it. But, Jesus did it because His very nature was God’s nature even though He was living among us as a human being! He walked with His Father throughout His life here, He spoke with Him every day about the things which were happening and His concerns about the state that humanity lived in.

Jesus came to us, not to show us that we are imperfect and can’t be like Him, but to give us a gift which would allow us to become more like Him one day. I don’t mean that we will become gods, but that we will have His righteousness to cover our sinful life’s failures! His blood is the only spotless sacrifice which could do this. Lambs and bulls and the blood from their sacrifice were able to give a temporary satisfaction of a sort in the Old covenant, but it was only temporary and had to be done daily or weekly or even yearly.

The blood which Jesus shed for us permanently covers our sins, all that we can do is accept it by believing that His atonement was for us! Each person on this planet had their sins covered, but each one of us has to accept it and turn away from that life and those sinful behaviors. Then we begin a new life of walking with and trusting in Him to give us the strength every day to do this for the rest of our lives! That is our gift to Him, to keep walking in His strength daily to show our lives to others as a reflection of His Life in us.

I have had people ask me, “Why should I do that?”, like they are supposed to get something out of this deal too?!  You do get something out of it! Eternal life with God and with all of your family who have learned this as well!

If you were offered one million dollars with no strings attached, except with one requirement, that you had to use it not only for your family but to bless others along the way in your life, would you accept it? Could you live by that requirement? With today’s technology, you could be monitored so that if you failed to fulfill that requirement you had to give up all that you had bought with the money which didn’t fulfill it. Now, could you do it?

Most of us could not do it completely and to the letter. That is what the Christian life is supposed to be like, except that we don’t have to give up or give back the salvation which we gain through belief in and acceptance of His Love and sacrifice for each of us. We are supposed to go through life-giving His Life and His message to every person that we meet, if they will accept it. Sometimes its hard to tell others about your Savior, because when they get upset when you tell them that they are sinners and they reject Him, it feels like they are turning on you, rejecting you. When they are actually rejecting Jesus’ message and His offer…His Gift to each of them.

Nativity-29

5 things which God wants you to know


5thingsgodwantsyou2knowTruly, not much more I could add to that except…Amen.

A little at time


This is exactly how I recommend for people to learn about and read God’s Word…a little at a time. Why? Because our Creator’s Word and His Wisdom is better suited to learning and understanding a little at a time. That being said, we should all try to read the entire Bible in a year’s time, but it only takes a chapter or two every day!

Like the old commercial said, “A little dab’ll do ya!”. I am showing my age. 🙂

In any way that you want to look at it, God’s Word is worth more than any education, any college course you could take today! It covers finance, life situations, business, religion and relationships so there is no need for any self-help course or book! God loves us and has loved each of us since before the world was formed, He doesn’t give you bad advice and He wouldn’t harm you in any way.

Satan, the serpent from the garden, God’s adversary and ours, will seek to destroy you and he will send all kinds of problems your way in order to steer you away from God and His blessings for your life! Make sure that you know which one is hurting you or trying to steer you in a direction which is counter to what you know God would do. If it isn’t good for you and it is causing problems in your life, then it is from Satan and his demons, so get rid of whatever it is and seek God’s strength and His provision to do so!

He never leaves our side, but He will only come to your aide if you ask Him to. God doesn’t jump into your life and take over, He is only waiting to make His blessings available to you when you ask Him to, although some of our blessings are given to us as life itself. Breathing, walking, talking, thinking, going about your everyday work and play, all of these are blessings which most of us take for granted. We don’t look at any of them as blessings, yet that is what they are.

God gives us those blessings a little at a time just as we should learn more about Him a little at a time. He is the Creator in the first part of Genesis, He is a friend in later chapters of it. As the Word evolves and we learn more about Him, His attributes become clearer and sharper to us, eventually making sense to a point. Why do I say it that way? Because, we will never understand God on this side of life and we may not fully understand Him even in eternity, although we will know Him better.

God loves you and me with a love which we can’t comprehend because there is no human analogue for it. We can’t know a love as deeply because He is God! So, we can’t truly understand His love for us in the light of His being our Creator! He knows us fully and knew us this way, even before our world was made or anything in our world was even formed. The atonement which was given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus is given to everyone, freely, all each of us needs to do is ask for His forgiveness (which we have already), because we can’t receive it unless we ask for it.

Please, seek out His Truth in the Bible. There is no other book on Earth which is like it because the words in it came from Spiritual inspiration by God!

Search for the path!!


15253466_1686135641696714_7517591362023224275_nJesus said that the path which leads to eternal life is narrow and hard to travel, but the way is wide and easy which leads to destruction in hell. Why would the right path be hard to find and hard to travel? Because, we don’t sacrifice our self or ourselves easily! We are supposed to “die to self in order to live for Christ” right? Here is one verse which says this in a different way:

Galatians 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

We are valuable to God because He loves us, but the life of a Christian is hard to do because He wants to know if He is important to you! It is hard to deny our desires or our preferred lifestyle in order to walk as a Christian and we have to do it DAILY, not just one day a week or once a month! This is what makes the way which leads to life a bit harder than just living.

God loves you more than we can understand. Think about it! He lives outside our universe, yet He came as Jesus the Son of God to Earth to live a perfect life and then die on the cross in order for each of us to have access to eternity! Coming to church is not a hard thing to do, yet people come up with excuses all of the time. Saturday night they may be at a bar or a dance or a party or during hunting season they will get up early in the morning to go hunt a deer or a duck. Isn’t your salvation, your eternal life more important than that!?

If you place more importance in a party or a hunting trip or a football game then I will just pray for you. If you finally come to church and seek out Jesus, then you will finally get on the right path hopefully. But, what if living life as a Christian interferes with your party or hunting?  Will you continue on that path or will you return to what you were doing before? If you return to your old life, then you didn’t change your life.