Category: when you feel His call in your heart

Joy does your heart good


Some people in the church wonder where they can get the joy spoken of in the Bible. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you should have this joy already. The joy spoken of refers to your Savior and your salvation; if you are born-again, you were chosen to receive it. God chooses those who are called to be in His family through Jesus.

I know, I’m getting into “predestination”, but Jesus says that His sacrifice was ordained before the foundation of the world. God knew that mankind would need a Savior and that Jesus would be that Savior. No part of your day surprises God. History is part of His daily thoughts, from beginning to end. He knows what will happen and when, so there are no surprises for Him. Make sure of your eternal future by seeking Him today because the Church will be leaving someday soon and you don’t want to be left here when that happens, although many will be. I pray that all who read this will seek to know Jesus as their Savior.

Life hurts…


When you are young you don’t notice pain much unless it is a bee sting or a wasp sting. Falls and scrapes go unnoticed because you just bounce back from it and move on. When you get a few decades counted in your birthday roster, those falls and scrapes and other inconveniences hurt more. Not just because of your age but because your body doesn’t heal as easily as it did when you were young.

You will hear some people say “I don’t bounce like I used to”, and in a true sense, we don’t bounce at all. Most of us land pretty hard regardless of the surface we land on. So, why am I talking about this today? Because when you are young, you don’t think about getting older. It’s not a priority at the time. It is in the future and it hasn’t happened yet, so it isn’t important. 

God created us to have a relationship with Him but for a portion of our lives, we try to fill that “empty place” with all kinds of things and people who don’t belong in that spot. Only God belongs there. God made a way for us to know Him and to be with Him into eternity and that is by having a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Your belief in His redemptive work on the cross and His resurrection is the only way to have this relationship. You can’t work your way into it or buy your way into it. It is God’s gift to you through Jesus.

We can medicate our pains in this life and you can do lots of good things if you have the means to do so but your salvation only comes through belief in Jesus Christ.

Jesus took the punishment for our sins


Realize Who God is


“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).

Have you thought about what this verse means? The fear of the Lord is not the same as fearing for your life. It is humility in the face of God and respect for the Creator of all things. The One that you owe your very breath and your life to is the One that you should fear and respect. He holds your life and your eternal future in His hands and if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you are safe for all eternity.

Life is given to us as a gift from God. He formed each of us and knew us even before Jesus died for us. Yet, many people think they have control over their lives. While this is true for every person, God is in control whether you want to believe He is or not. Everything from the smallest atomic structure to the largest galaxy is maintained by God for His glory.

You can choose to believe in Him and Who He is or not, but your eternal home and destination is up to Him. Give your heart to Jesus and follow Him because one day the Trumpet is going to sound and the dead in Christ will rise and the church will be taken up and you should be counted in that group. If you are not, then you should give your heart to Him as soon as you can.

Praise the Lord… regardless


If you believe in Jesus as the Savior of the world, you should do this every day and not just at worship services. God began the salvation of mankind on the day that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. If you have read God’s Word, there are many instances in the Old Testament where He shows them how He expects them to live. He gives them the Ten Commandments and the Law to point them in the right direction but even as He leads them through the wilderness toward the land of promise they are griping and complaining.

We do it every day as well. We hear a sermon on Sunday and it has some really good points in it but we question some of them. It may be that we don’t like the way the preacher said it or the way he said it. Maybe we got offended at something in the sermon, as many people do, and decided that they’re not coming back to “that church”. Why? Just because of an offense to your pride? Being offended at something shouldn’t stand in the way of your eternity. Speak with the preacher and ask him to clarify the part of the sermon that you found offensive. Ask God to help you to understand how He wants you to serve Him and truly listen for His reply by praying even more and reading the Bible.

You can’t know God for just thirty minutes each week. You have to seek Him every day, a little bit at a time. Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship and we should treat it as such. Visiting with God once a week is a very limited way to begin a relationship because it should be a daily visit through prayer and reading His Word. Even if you only read one chapter every day. Pray about what you have read and then ask Him to help you to put it into practice in your life.

The lesson for us…


The people who make a difference in your life are not those with the most credentials, money, or awards. They simply are the ones who care.

Jesus came to take our punishment because He loved us. It wasn’t because He cared about us, although He did that too. His love for us was enough that He came to give His life for you and me, and for anyone who will believe in His sacrifice because He loved us.

Yes, He cared then and He still cares about what happens to each of us just as it says in the Bible, “God knows when a sparrow falls”. How much more does He care about each of us? People in our lives make a difference, especially when they care about us and actually make a difference.

Jesus can make a difference when you ask Him to be your Savior and Lord. I urge you to consider making Him your Savior because, if you’ve been watching the news, the time is drawing near. He is coming for His Bride, who have made Him their Savior. If you have, there is nothing to do but pray and study His Word. Seek Him out. Don’t turn away from His call on your heart. He loves you more than anyone on Earth.

How can I know God?


The first step in knowing God is to find out more about Him. Read Isaiah 53, then read the New Testament books of John and Romans. I know that is a lot of reading but if you really want to investigate and learn about God, those are the books you should begin with. After you have read them, go back to the book of Genesis and read through as much of the Bible as you can. Some books are a little hard to read with the rules of sacrifices and the genealogies that are part of many books.

The more you learn about God, the more you will come to know Him, and knowing Him will bring you to love Him and you will want to obey His commandments and live according to His ways. By doing this you will become a disciple of His and you will want to spread His message to those around you. Being in a relationship with God gives your life meaning and a purpose that you can’t get from anything else on Earth. Seek Him and come to know Him and your life will never be the same. It will be the best life you could ever have.

God changes your heart


God gave His Son for us!


Our Savior…


Jesus paid a huge price to save all of the souls that came to know Him as Savior and Lord. We will never understand the depth of the love that it took for Him to give us His grace and mercy by dying on the cross for us. God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son to pay the penalty for each of us so we could have eternity with Him. The cross is where He paid the price but the finishing touch was on Sunday morning when He walked out of the grave.

Jesus lived and fulfilled so many prophecies during His lifetime. He died on the cross just as God had planned so many years ago and then on the morning of the third day, Jesus came out of the tomb and completely finished His work.