Why does God care about us?

This is a question that, it seems, crosses many people’s minds today. It is a question that many have wondered about for many centuries. If you have read the Bible, especially the New Testament, Jesus showed God’s love for mankind all during His ministry. It is easy to see God’s love for us because He has waited twenty centuries to allow as many people to come to faith in Jesus. Your life and my life also show how much God loves us because we are alive today. Yes, I have pain in my legs and my back but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love me. There are many people dealing with pain and suffering caused by cancer and arthritis and other diseases, but God provides the strength for them to weather them.

God loves us and cares about us because He stitched us together in the womb and for many of us, He does have a purpose. Some of us will not accept His gift of salvation and that’s their choice, but God knew their choice before they did. It is sad that people don’t like to hear that. Yes, God is like any Dad, He will let you make your mistakes and sometimes He lets you suffer because of your mistakes. The gift of grace and salvation is offered to all, but some will not accept His offer. God doesn’t force you to take His gift, it is your choice to accept it or not.

The Truth of Christianity

How do you know that Christianity is true?

Wow! I’ve been a Christian for many years and I’ve never actually thought about the truth of it. Not because I wonder about the truth of it, but because that question is silly. The word of God is what is recorded in the Bible and the story of Jesus begins in Genesis and comes to fulfillment at the end of Revelation. Since all of the Bible is made up of words that were given to people by God Himself, it cannot be untrue because God cannot lie.

God is the Creator and my belief in Him and all that He has done is bound up in the Bible and the words that are there. The Old Testament begins the journey toward Jesus Christ because God tells Adam and Eve that there will be one that will come in the future that will restore the relationship between mankind and God. He was speaking of Jesus. I may have embellished the words a bit about what it says in Genesis, but the idea is the same. Genesis 3:15 says: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is referred to as the first gospel, it is the first words of hope given to Adam and Eve. It shows that God had planned for Jesus to come in history and bring salvation to us.

God made this promise at the very beginning, before driving Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden. Jesus came at the right time to begin the salvation of mankind and a restoration of the relationship that we had with Him in the Garden. We cannot earn our way into God’s presence by our own works, it is a free gift of God by grace through faith in Jesus that we can be reconciled and forgiven of our sins. Any other “way” will not work.

What excites you about eternity?

Has anyone ever even asked you about your eternity? Many people have likely never been asked this question. But, have you thought about it? Eternity is a long, long time and since Jesus talked about it then it surely is your destination. Where will you spend it is the question that needs answering. Some people, even pastors, have questioned where we will be after our life here. If you have read the gospels or heard a sermon from them, you have heard about it. Jesus died for us to have a chance at being in Heaven with Him so there is a life after this one, the only question that needs to be answered is will you be with Jesus?

If you haven’t given your life to Him then your eternity looks very different. You will be outside the boundaries of Heaven and outside the presence of God. Have you ever thought how that would be? Life would not be here without God’s sustaining it, including each of us.

Your Jordan river…

All of us have a Jordan to cross or be baptized in or even to be cleansed in. Whatever your Jordan may be, don’t turn away from it because it looks dirty or muddy. Jesus stepped into the Jordan because He came to be our Savior. He didn’t need cleansing. He didn’t need forgiveness. He was being washed with the water because His ministry was just beginning. The Spirit sent Him into the wilderness to begin His testing. Not because He needed to be tested, but because His ministry needed to begin with the testing and His victory over the one testing Him.

Our Christian life is our testing ground after we come out of the baptismal water. Every day is a test that we have to pass by leaning on and depending on Jesus to get us through each day. One day at a time, one step at a time. Some of us try to do it on our own and God will let us try it that way but we are more likely to stumble and fall when we do it “our way”. Walk with Jesus every hour and every day, praying and being in a prayerful attitude each and every hour. Why? Because the devil doesn’t stop trying to trip you and me. Every step we take, he puts something in front of us or in our thoughts to cause us to trip and fall. But, we have been forgiven through the blood of Jesus. As long as we confess the stumble or the fall, asking for forgiveness we are forgiven fully and completely.

Life is a constant walk toward Heaven. God knows the date that you will arrive. He is in control and will give us the strength to finish that journey. Follow Jesus into the Jordan and out the other side and your life will have the meaning that God had always prepared for you.

He loves you

The Lord delivers you

In today’s climate, we should be depending on the Lord to deliver us from evil people and those who would bomb us into oblivion. Some might ask, “Why are we having all of these troubles?”. Jesus told His disciples that they would have troubles in this world but He also told them that He would not leave them nor forsake them. For believers, this is comforting in so many ways. So what can the rest of the world expect from Jesus?

His love and compassion in times of need, if you will seek Him out during those times and give your life to Him by believing in Him. Jesus died and rose again to pay the price for all of mankind’s sins but He waits for you to allow Him into your life every day. The only requirement for being His and obtaining true salvation is that you believe in Him and determine that with His help, you will live your new life as His disciple.

Yes, many people come to church and get baptized and they leave convinced they are saved. Some are but there are some that may never come back to church unless it is a holiday or some other event. Some people who have been “in the church” ever since they were born think they are saved just because of their presence in the church or because Mom or grandma was a Christian. Many of these are actually “cultural Christians”, they believe that their salvation is due to family or just getting baptized in the church or even being there every Sunday. But if you look at their lives, you can’t see a difference between what they did prior to accepting Jesus and their life after their baptism.

Jesus coming into your life is supposed to deliver you from your old life and habits and bring you into a new life with Him. All of the disciples’ lives changed after their time with Him, except for Judas. Their livelihood didn’t change, Peter and John were still fishermen but mostly they were “fishing” for men and women to come to belief in Jesus. Even Paul’s vocation as a tent maker didn’t change but he made the vocation that he followed hard was his preaching about Jesus’ crucifixion and his resurrection. This was his main focus until the end of his life.

I pray that all who read this will seek to know Jesus as your Savior.

God is there, wherever you are

This is a post which should give you peace. Regardless of the problems that we live in and through in our lives, God is there with you. God said it in the Old Testament and Jesus taught that worry is not good and said for us to “not worry about tomorrow”. There is nothing that you can do about what you think is coming, it may not come at all. Tomorrow is not here until after midnight and even then it is not tomorrow at that time. God was/is there before you and He can help you in every good or bad situation because He is there. For those who believe in God and His salvation through Jesus, there is not one day that you are alone.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior…then you do have a problem. Living life without Jesus as your Savior doesn’t work very well. It is like an unsharpened pencil because it is useless and it has no point! Your purpose is found in serving God and believing in Jesus as your Savior. There are people who live their lives with their “version” of God and say that they are Christians. You will hear them say things like: “My God would never send someone to hell”; “My God is forgiving to all people”. God didn’t let the Israelites get away with any transgression, so why do you think that you are so special? Having a “version” of God ISN’T the real God.

Seek Jesus Christ in the Bible. He appeared to Abraham. He appeared in the bush that didn’t burn when Moses was commanded to take of his sandals. He appeared to Joshua before the conquest of the promised land as the Commander of the Lord’s armies. Jesus came to protect the Jewish boys who would not bow to the statue in Babylon and they walked out of the furnace alive and without the smell of smoke.

Life goes much better for those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. It is not without problems, but Jesus is with you through those problems. Your life will not be perfect but you do have the peace of Jesus to comfort you in all of your troubles. Regardless of the trouble, He will give you the strength to get through those troubles. God loves you and He will be with you in all things, place your faith in Jesus for your salvation so that your eternity is secure in Him.