We are forgiven

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, the blood of Jesus has covered it with His righteousness. If you have felt His touch on your heart and in your life please don’t hesitate. The age of grace, the church age, is coming to an end. When? Nobody knows exactly, only God Himself. Jesus died and paid the price for our sins and it is a gift from God to each of us…if you accept it and Him as your Savior.

Read John 3 here:

You Must Be Born Again

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again^b he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^c 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^d must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you^f do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^g 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.^h

For God So Loved the World

16 “For God so loved the world,ⁱ that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”^j

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

In the path…

There are many people who are in the path of Hurricane Ida and all of us should be praying for their safety. We also need to pray for the workers who will be trying to rescue people afterward since New Orleans is getting hit hard by the amount of rain that they are getting. Pray for those who will be taking care of everyone as well.

This storm was not a surprise to us and it was not sent as punishment from God. It is simply a storm that we have to get through one day at a time and one more prayer at a time. God knows what is happening here and not one thing that is happening is a surprise to Him at all. He foretold all of the diseases and wars and everything that has happened in the past up until today. God loves us and we should love Him because if you are reading this, He has brought you here for a reason. God gives me the words to put here so that you can see them and know that He loves you and He wants the best for you.

All that you need to do is repent of your sins, believe that He paid the price for those sins and ask Him to be your Savior. Then live your life as if you are walking side by side with Him because in Truth, you are! God said that He would never leave us nor forsake us and Jesus told His disciples that He would not lose one person that the Father draws to Him. Remember that when you feel alone and afraid, God is closer than your next breath.

Our Savior and our God can do anything. All that we need to do is believe it and keep our eyes on Jesus for every good outcome that comes into our lives. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus when you have a bad day or some other problem crops up because He will be with you through those times as well. Don’t do like Peter did when he was walking on the water toward Jesus because he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the water and the waves driven by the wind and he began to sink. Then he cried, “Lord, save me!“.

That prayer of only three words is all that you need to come to Jesus. When you are overwhelmed and afraid and know that you need Jesus as your Savior…don’t forget to say them: Lord, save me.

Are you seeking Him?

Many people today seem to be seeking Him. They are asking questions about Him and the life that they would have with Jesus in their lives. But…are they seeking Him to be their Savior? Asking questions and reading books about Him from other authors and preachers who write about Him is a step in the right direction. But what are you getting from them? Second-hand information mostly. Possibly even their interpretation of Who He is. You aren’t getting the Truth or at least not all of it.

Reading the Bible, God’s Word, on the subject of His Word which is the Savior, Jesus Christ! I know…many people say that the information on Jesus is only found in the New Testament so why should I read the Old Testament? Because every book of God’s Word has a reference to or a type of Jesus Christ in it somewhere. From Genesis, He is referred to as the Seed of the woman and the Angel of the Lord to Exodus where the type is the “bread” from Heaven, manna, or the Rock which gave its living water to the Israelites in the wilderness. Those are just two or three references to the Christ Who is to come.

Moses was a “type” of Christ, Joseph was a “type” of Christ so there are many references that allude to a Savior in the very beginning of the Bible. Actually, every book of the Bible has some reference to Him in it somewhere.

When you seek Him, don’t just read or pray about Him or what your need might be. Seek Him earnestly in His Word, pray while you are reading it, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. When you feel Him touch your heart and you will know when it happens, you will want Him as your Savior because you will feel it in your heart. You will realize that you are a sinner who needs a Savior, otherwise, you will be going to hell.

God loves each of us but He is not pleased with our sinful lives unless we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. If we have done that then the sins that we have confessed and asked His forgiveness for are wiped away. When the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and Jesus takes your sin away, it is gone. I’m not saying that you won’t sin again, but the guilt from your previous sins is taken away. Although, Satan will bring them back to your memory later to taunt you with them. God has put them all behind Him as far away as the East is from the West.

Life with Jesus in your heart is not an easy road to travel, especially today, but He will give you the strength to get through the troubles and trials which will come. Give your life to Him because He has already given His life for yours.

Find your peace in Him

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/jhn.16.33.KJV

God gives us His strength

4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength: Isaiah 26:4 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.26.4.KJV

You are called!

If you have felt the touch of God in your heart then you have been called by God! This is one call that you don’t want to hang up on or ignore!

Why do I say this? Because no one is sure of waking up or having a tomorrow morning. God loves you and He knows what you can do because He is the One Who created you and placed your talent in you. Each person that God has called, He has always equipped them with the ability to do what they have been called for. Whether it is preaching, teaching or just washing dishes you can be useful to God’s Kingdom.

I know that sounds crazy but God can use crazy sometimes. I mean He even made a donkey talk once so He can surely give you the talent and the ability to fulfill His calling on your life. Don’t turn away from His call. He sent Jesus to save humanity from their sinful natures and from the punishment that disobedience brings. All that you or I or anyone else has to do is recognize His touch on your heart, admit that you are a sinner and that you need Jesus as your Savior. Then believe in Him as your Savior and change your life to follow His teachings from the gospels.

Be humble…

4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life. Proverbs 22:4 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.22.4.KJV

When you are afraid…

3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Psalm 56:3 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.56.3.KJV

All of us are afraid at some point in our lives. We may not admit it and we certainly won’t tell anyone that we are afraid…but deep down we are. It doesn’t matter if you are a police officer or a firefighter or in the Special Forces of the Military everyone feels fear. It is how we deal with it that defines our actions and our reactions in those situations. Courage is the control of our reaction to fear.

God is with us when we are afraid and if you are a Christian you have angels who are with you as your guard in front and behind you regardless of where you may be. So why are we afraid? Fear is one of the emotions that Satan uses to put doubts in our mind about God and His faithfulness. Fear can paralyze you and cause you to run when you should “be still and know that I am God“. Realize that whatever your circumstance and whatever may be causing you to fear something or someone…God is bigger than your fear and the cause of your fear!

God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for your sins and mine so that we could be welcomed into His family. God determined that this would be necessary all the way back in the Garden of Eden, long before any of us were known or thought of by anyone except Himself. He knew that we would need a Savior and that Savior would have to be one of the Trinity…His Son. Jesus came to the Patriarchs as the Angel of the Lord or the Commander of the Lord’s Army. He was also the Rock from which the water flowed in the wilderness and the Bread from heaven that sustained them. In Babylon Jesus saved the three Hebrews who were thrown into the furnace by being the One that was “like a son of the gods” in their trial with them.

God is always with us in our trials, whatever they may be so when you feel fear or you are afraid for some reason…pray a prayer for God’s Presence to be near you and to guard you and give you the strength to face it and move on.

Days…

There are days that I feel fine, then there are some days that I feel like not getting out of bed. Even Jesus had days that He dreaded but He knew that His mission and purpose was to fulfill the will and purpose of His Father. That is the what we, as Christians, should wake up to each day. Sure there are days that feel like a struggle from the moment you wake up, even before your feet hit the floor but God can give you the strength to get through this day and maybe tomorrow too.

He knows where your life ends and on what day that will be and He has planned for it. Have you?

Most of us live our lives as if we are going to live forever here on this Earth but that isn’t so. We prepare for retirement and many years into our future when we don’t even know what tomorrow holds. Only God knows what is going to happen even five minutes from now. We can’t see into the future even that far and that is enough to make me glad that He can see it and He has planned for it.

I was reading Jonathan Edward’s “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”, his sermon that sparked an awakening of religious fervor in colonial America. The words that he used and the length of his sermon would’ve angered many people today considering the fact that it was about four hours long or more at a time when air conditioning wasn’t a thing. He told of God being angry with us to the point of our lives being compared to hanging from a moldy rope over a boiling pot of flaming oil (his description of hell). Is God angry with us enough to threaten us with this kind of punishment? He is if we don’t choose to give our lives to Jesus and repent of our sinful ways. It is our sins that take us into that pit of hell. It is our decision to reject Jesus as our Savior that sends us to that place. God doesn’t want to send us there but when we reject Jesus we are placing our life and our future on the side of Satan.

Our days are numbered and only God knows how many we will have. Some of us may live a long life and some of us may not see tomorrow morning so make sure of your salvation before the night comes. You might wake up in His Presence and you will need Jesus as your advocate and Savior when you do.

You are chosen!

Each person who has given their lives to Jesus Christ was chosen to be saved by God. Have you ever felt His touch on your heart at a church service or while listening to a sermon on television? If you have felt that at any time in your life…that was when God let your heart know that you have been chosen. Why were you chosen? Because God has something for you to do and it is something that only you can do! There is someone that only you can reach for Him or maybe it is a ministry that He has given you and it is one that only you can accomplish.

God chooses the time of your calling and the way that you are called because He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows when your life will end but He also knows that you can do so many things for His Kingdom. There is some person, maybe a child or a grandchild, that only you can reach…only you can touch their life and cause them to seek out Jesus for their Savior. Why would they do this? Usually it is because of something that you do or say or maybe how you live your life. If God calls you to be a preacher or a teacher in the church then it could be something that you say to someone in your congregation or your class or even how you live your life. It is your testimony that can let people know Who your Savior is.

Each person who has given their lives to Jesus over the past two thousand years was chosen for a specific talent that each of them brought to God’s Kingdom. Some were chosen because of their influence on those around them. Some were chosen because of the message that they would be responsible for and where that message would go. But each of us was chosen because God loves each of us and He calls us to be His messengers to one another. Make sure of your place in His Kingdom while there is time to do so.