What Child came to us?

The Child of Bethlehem was Jesus Christ. He came because God decreed it to be. In order for mankind to be forgiven for our sins, Jesus had to pay the price for all of mankind and He did. So why are there so many people who still insist that He didn’t come or rather that they don’t believe in Him at all? The reason for this is simple…humanity has been convinced over the years that the Bible is false and that it contains errors. Some even believe that the entire Bible is a lie.

So why do I believe that God’s Word is the Truth and that it is trustworthy? Well, consider the authorship of the Bible. It was written over thousands of years by over forty different authors when you include the New Testament writers too. Yet, the message of the Bible is pointing toward a Savior from Genesis to Micah, then from Matthew to the Revelation the New Testament shows the fulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament in Jesus Christ and His birth, His life, His teachings, His miracles and His death on the cross and His resurrection.

Forty authors could not put together a lie that would be convincing enough for people to die for their faith in Jesus. The disciples of Jesus wouldn’t have been so adamant about His miracles and His teachings if they hadn’t witnessed them firsthand. They all died by horrible torture except for the apostle John who died of old age.

The Child born in Bethlehem of a virgin, foretold hundreds of years before, laid in a manger, worshipped by the magi who came to give Him gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold to show their knowledge that He was a King. Frankincense to show that He was to be our Priest, and myrrh which would be one of the spices to be placed on Him at His burial. Our Lord and Savior fulfilled all of the prophecies which were written by the prophets many years before His birth.

So to answer the question in the title: the Child was God’s only Son. Given to redeem mankind from their sins and their sinful nature so that we could be adopted into God’s family. Read God’s Word with a prayerful heart and an open mind so that His Holy Spirit can touch your heart and Spirit and bring you into His family. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our God is gracious towards us

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.2.14.KJV

God has shown His favor towards us and yet we turn away from Him. We think that we can do all good things without Him. Seek the Lord while there’s time.

What do you want?

During this holiday time period we hear this a lot. From children and family members we try to determine what we should get them for Christmas. But what do we want from our Christian walk with Jesus? Are we looking for forgiveness or an “OK” to keep doing what we’ve been doing? Do we want a deep relationship with our Creator and our Savior and if we do how do we get to that point?

All of these are valid points and questions but where do we find the answers? Can we ask our pastor or do we need to find a Bible study that explores the questions that we want to be answered? One more question: do we really want the answers? In some of our lives, we do want these answers but we are afraid of seeking them because of what they might reveal about us. God loves each of us and He wants what is best for us in life and in our walk with Him.

So…how do we find the answers to those questions? Seek Him and the wisdom that praying through the Bible can bring. I know it sounds like it might take a long time doing it this way but truthfully it is the best way to find the answers that you are looking for. By praying about your problem, whether it is financial or physical or spiritual, God’s Word and His Spirit can and will provide the answer to you. But you must pray about your specific problem while you are reading the Bible. Ask Him for the answers you are seeking and you will find them. It may take reading through the whole Bible or you might find your answer in the chapter that you start on but the answer will come.

In our lives outside the church and away from “corporate worship” as we are during this pandemic, your Spirit is still longing for a close relationship with God. Sometimes this can be a good thing because you can seek Him and His wisdom during your personal Bible study time. Getting into the habit of seeking His Word and wisdom is not hard to do but it is a habit that you can glean the most positive wisdom from rather than reading other novels or other books.

Will God hear your request for learning more about Him? Yes, I believe He will. Even if you aren’t a Christian yet I think that He will hear your plea for His wisdom and give you the faith to seek it in His Word. Why do I say that we have to have faith to get wisdom from God’s Word? Because if you don’t then you are just reading a book like any other book from a store or from the library. Faith allows your Spirit to speak to you and to God and His Word will mean so much more when all of them are in sync with each other. The Bible, God’s Word, is not like any other book out there and it doesn’t really matter which translation you have, because when you prayerfully seek His answers in His Word the Spirit will allow you to understand it regardless of the words on the page.

The Word reads you through your Spirit and your answers can be found by prayerfully and humbly seeking the answer from God’s Word. Take the time to quiet your mind and ask God to open the Scriptures to you so that you can find the answers that are waiting to be found.

Rejoice!

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/1th.5.16-18.KJV

Do you believe?

There are many things in our lives that we believe without question. The sun will rise in the Eastern sky tomorrow morning and set in the West tomorrow evening and nobody disputes that. But do you believe God’s Word is true? I know that the physics of our planet and the solar system determine the rising and setting of stars and the moon and our Sun itself but God designed all of this Himself. He determined the size and shape of every planet and rock in our solar system. He also designed the universe itself to be exactly the way He wanted it to be.

We tend to believe many things that are just theories in science because they can’t be proven by repetition. Evolution can’t be repeated by our scientists to produce the same results, but nobody has ever found an actual fossil of an animal in the process of changing from one form to another. God designed each animal they way that they were supposed to be and He didn’t have to begin with an early version of it and mold it to be like its final form. He created them in their final form period.

God’s home in eternity is outside of time and physical limitations of our universe so He can see our world the way it will be in a thousand years or He can look back to the beginning and follow history along if He chose to do so. I saw something today that expressed an idea or a counter-idea saying that there will be no rapture. The word “rapture” is not in God’s Word but Jesus did tell His disciples that He would come back one day and take us to the homes that He has prepared for us in heaven. So you can look at some scripture and say that it doesn’t mean rapture but I don’t care what it means. If He said that He was coming to take us home to be with Him, so you can call it “the great disappearing act” for all I care. I will be happy and humbled to be included in the number of saints who are taken home to be with Jesus!

I pray that everyone who reads this blog will be part of the group that is taken to be with Him. If you aren’t sure about your salvation, read a couple of books in the Bible and then ask God to show you how to become saved, sanctified and free to be called a born again Christian. The books I am referring to are the book of John in the New Testament and the book of Romans. John has about 22 or 23 chapters in it and Romans has 16. They are not hard to read but they do explain a lot. Then read the book of Acts where Saul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus and his life is changed dramatically. I pray that yours will be too.

God has called to us…

The Lord calls us to be His people and our response should be to obey Him.

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord , and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:5‭-‬11 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.55.5-11.KJV

I pray that you will seek Him for your salvation because not one of us is guaranteed to be here tomorrow. Your life or mine may end before this day is over so make sure of your eternal home now while you can.

Today…tomorrow…the next day…

Which is the best day to pray? Every day that you wake up is a good day to pray and thank God for that day. If you are hurting or in pain thank God for the day and ask Him for relief of your pain. Sometimes the pain is there to focus us on our Provider and our Healer, God. Sometimes the pain is there to remind us that we are not the center of the universe and that our needs or wants are not a real priority to God. He has people all over the world who are looking for His help and His healing touch on some level. Whether it is for cancer or for an empty stomach or even someone who is in an ICU with COVID-19, God is still there with each and every one of them. He is present when we have a headache or a cold or the flu and He can give us the strength to get through each problem or disease in our lives no matter how big or small the problem is He is still interested in helping us and getting it taken care of.

We never know what tomorrow will bring with it. It could be a broken leg or a heart attack. It could be a wreck or even a fall that causes a sprain or a broken hip. Tomorrow is the day that we look forward to, at times, but we don’t know what it will bring with it. Tomorrow will bring its own troubles and pains with it but when it gets here it won’t be tomorrow…it will be today. Make sure that your prayers are sincere and are given to God with a humble heart because He may decide that He has something for you to do in Heaven. A job that only you can do which is why we are born into the world here, but God will also keep us busy into eternity as well.

Our small blue planet that God put us on may be tiny in the expanse of our galaxy but it has humanity living on it and we are made in the image of God. He loved us before we came to be and therefore we are special in His grand scheme of things. We are a part of His Kingdom as His adopted children. Something to think about at the end of this year that has been so bad for so many people. I pray that we will all have a better year next year. In Christ.

So much more…

In our daily lives we see the pain and suffering which is happening in our country because of this pandemic. But it isn’t just the pandemic that is hurting our country and the world around us. It is the attitude of our people and the culture that has become so prevalent in society today. It is true that culture takes a while to develop but it seems that this “cancel culture” has sprung up over the past year or so.

It did not show up by itself though. All of the movements and marching which has gone on in the decades before many of those who march today were even born have lent their seeds to the movements and the culture that we have today. Much of it began in the late ’50’s and early sixties when religion was seen as a bad influence on our children, at least by a few who didn’t believe and who thought that prayer and reading from God’s Word was a bad influence. This grew into the atheistic movement which spawned some of the organizations which file lawsuits all over our country even when the complaint comes from one person or family.

Yes, we have the freedom to believe or not to believe in whatever god or religion that is around or in the schools or that may be influencing our children. But…have you ever heard of a Muslim Imam or a Jewish Rabbi being taken to court for what they teach? The religion that is always targeted in lawsuits and insults on the Internet is Christianity. Would the atheists target a Mosque or a Jewish Temple for their boycott or smear campaign? No! Because their reason for doing these things does not reside within those buildings.

The Word of God, Jesus Christ, Who came to pay for our sins and lived with His disciples for three years teaching and healing in Israel is what everyone who is against Christianity objects to. They don’t care if you talk about God or Yahweh. They don’t care if you talk about Mohammed or Allah or any of the others scattered around the world. But when you bring up the One Who can do for you the very thing that is worth the whole world…He is the One that can give you eternal Life!

He came to pay the penalty for ALL of our sins, true believers and those who choose not to believe. Why would Jesus Christ pay the penalty for those who choose not to believe in Him for salvation? Because He loves them enough to offer them the choice even when He knows their heart won’t accept it. God raised up kings and kingdoms to honor Him and to use as a way to punish His people when they didn’t honor Him as their Lord and God. He knows your heart and mine and He knew from before time began exactly who will give their lives to Jesus and who will not. But we are never forced to choose one way or another.

Even the angels in Heaven had the choice of being obedient to and loving God the Father or not. Some chose to follow Lucifer and be the fallen angels spoken of in the Bible and yet even when they made their choice God was not taken by surprise. He knew their hearts and their choices before they did. Our lives seem to be long here but consider that some veterans from World War 2 have lived to be 100 or more. The advancements in science and war machines and airplanes and cars that they have seen are amazing but consider what they would see if their life extended to 800 or 900 years? What could they witness in the past or in our future? The kingdom that will come to Earth with Jesus as the King will allow those who come into it to live a life like that. Imagine what they will see!

Seek His Kingdom while there is time now because eternity is ahead of those who have given their lives to Him and it is also ahead of those who have not. The dwelling place of each will be drastically different depending upon their choice here and now.

Christ is all you need

From the time of World War 2 and every terrible thing that happened in the camps where so many Jewish people, men, women and children lost their lives and many family members. This statement by Corrie Ten Boom is so very true because when everything is taken from you like it was in those “camps”, Christ is all that you have to cling to and believe in. In those horrible places their humanity, and their dignity was taken from them. Their individuality and every decent bit of treatment was denied them because of the conditions that they were kept in. Their treatment was inhumane and horrible and many students today are not learning about what happened or even that it did happen.

Christ is our Savior, Christ is the Savior of the world if they will accept Him. I pray that every person who reads this blog will seek out Jesus Christ as their Savior while there is time. Don’t wait because some of you may not be here tomorrow night.

We are delivered!

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Colossians 1:13 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/col.1.13.KJV