Knowing but…

Many times we know what we should do but we do something else. Just like a small child, even when we are grown, we do the things that we know we shouldn’t do. Why is that?

Christians and non-believers both do it. Even when we know better, we still do things, that we’ve been told not to do or maybe our conscience is telling us that we shouldn’t do something. Because of our rebellious nature, I suppose. So, what can we do about it? The only thing that I know of is to read the Bible is meditate on its principles. Granted, it won’t fix the problem immediately but over time our minds will be filled with God’s ideas and not our own.

This is called “becoming mature in our faith”. Becoming a Christian is just the first step. Maturity comes from learning about God’s way of living and you can only do that by reading the Bible and thinking about it every day. Most of us find out about this much later and it is sad that it takes so long. The church should teach this to new Christians so they can mature in their faith rather than stumbling along trying to figure it out on their own.

I’ve read that schools should teach “life lessons” so young people will know how to do some things when they graduate. The study of God’s Word should be a class for new Christians so they will know how to apply His Wisdom to their new lives. This is not a fast and easy course but it is necessary. I pray that most who read this will seek out a teacher or a friend to help them in becoming more mature in their faith.

James 4:17: Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Where is your treasure?

Persecution and un-belief

So much hate and persecution. For the past four hundred years or more, our world has caused so many of our problems and even made many of our problems worse because we refused to see that we are far more alike than we are different. Can we do anything about this or will it continue? I don’t have an answer to that. The different cultures in our world and so adamant about their way of seeing things that most of them persecute each other because of those cultural ways.

Can we get past these cultural taboos and get on with our lives? In my opinion, the only way will be after Jesus comes to rule the world for one thousand years. Will there still be divisions? Very likely, but those divisions will be dealt with more decisively than what happens today. In today’s world, it is always the “system” or some group that is calling for change and they usually make up a tiny percentage of the population.

Have we experienced persecution in America? It is beginning. You can see it and hear it in the news because every day there is some person or group of people that put down Christians and believers. They don’t want to hear the gospel and we hear about them almost every day because many of them are part of our government. Before Jesus calls the church home, the persecution here will become worse than it is today and it may happen in the next few years. Can you understand what that means?

Life and living in this world are going to become harder and much worse than we are feeling today. This will happen even before Jesus calls the church home. Some of it may not be truly horrible but after the church is taken up, if you are still here then you will be seeking Jesus and the world around you will be ready to kill you if you have determined to follow Him. That kind of persecution is coming so make sure of your salvation today before it is too late. Because it is your choice to follow Jesus as your Savior and it is your choice that determines your eternity.

Revelation 20:12-13: 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.…

Are you broken?

All of us are in some way. A little bit and some of us are a bit more. The point is that the Lord calls broken people to work for His Kingdom. None of us are perfect in any real way but by following Jesus we can strive to be more like Him. Will we fall or fail? Yes, but He still picks us up and brushes the dust off, and gives us the ability to go on.

Every person that has been called by Him has a broken story in some way or they wouldn’t have been seeking Jesus in the first place. Does that mean that we are useful to Him? Yes! It does! But…you don’t have to be broken and you won’t stay that way because He fixes broken people and situations. Life itself is part of a broken sinful world and it doesn’t matter if it is your life or mine or even the rest of the world, everything is broken because when sin came into the world it broke the relationship that we were supposed to have with God.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “Creation groans for redemption“. It will continue to be in opposition with God and His statement that everything He created was good until Jesus comes back and restores the world to its rightful dignity. Some don’t believe that this will happen because the Bible is an old book written by men. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the Author of it is the Holy Spirit because He inspired the men to write the words contained in it. He inspires me to write the posts that I write here because I could never write so many pages/posts on the same subject for more than a decade if the words didn’t come from Him.

The world is broken, and we are a part of that broken, sinful world but when He comes back to rule for a thousand years…everything will be put back the way it was intended to be.

Wait for the Lord’s timing

Only with God’s love can you do this

Your youth matters to God

Do not keep your treasure on Earth.

God shows His love…

His only Son…

The friend of God, Abraham, went through this test at one time. God had promised him a son and he and his wife had one in their old age, far beyond the years for either of them. When Isaac was in his early teens God tested Abraham by asking for Isaac’s life as a sacrifice. He didn’t hesitate. He knew that God had promised him many things through Isaac and if God was Who He said He was then even in death He would fulfill those promises by bringing Isaac back.

God gave His Son too. He allowed Jesus to go through all of the torture and cruelty of death on the cross just to pay the penalties for all of humanity’s sins. God did this out of His love for us, all of us, but that doesn’t mean that He is okay with our sinful lives. That is what we are supposed to repent or turn away from when we give our hearts to Jesus and ask Him to come in a change us. But today, many people seem to believe that they don’t have to do that. They want to be Christian and still practice their sins and the lifestyle that goes with them.

You have to sacrifice your old life and its sins to be a Christian. That is what repentance means. If you attempt to live both a Christian life and a life in bars or strip clubs, then you are fighting against yourself and making your “new” life meaningless. You can’t live both ways. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Being born-again means that your Spirit and your heart are made new by the working of the Holy Spirit when you become a Christian. You are to be more like Jesus every day, that is your walk and your purpose when you give your life to Him. Seek Him to be your Lord and Savior because we are living in very dangerous times and we don’t know when He may come for the church. Be ready.