Category: Accountability

Ups and downs


upsAndDownsWe all have them. One day you feel great and you can do anything. The next day…you feel as if you have fallen into one of the deepest pits that you could possibly find. Life is that way and it continues to be that way. Very likely it will keep on feeling that way or rather being that way for most of us until we are called home to Heaven with Jesus.

If you are NOT a Christian or your religion doesn’t believe in God or Jesus or any part of the Bible, then I can’t give you much encouragement about the way life is now or what is coming in the hereafter. Many Religions beyond Christianity don’t look at eternity the same way. Some look at death as a final chapter which ends the “book” and that is that.

Other Religions look at death as a doorway into eternity and it is your performance in this life which determines your reward or punishment in the next life. It isn’t your performance in this life which determines that even if it was a huge amount of money given or many good deeds done. The factor which has the determining and deciding vote is whether you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior or not in this life.

Yes, we all have ups and downs and sometimes they last much longer than we want them to but with your life in God’s hands and with Jesus as your Savior they can be managed and be far less stressful. Can they be managed without Him? Yes, you can manage them and get through them but those ups and downs and the stress that comes with them will be harder to bear on your own.

God didn’t intend for humanity to live in this condition of a fallen world with all of the problems and pitfalls that come with it, but we are in it and without Him to guide us and comfort us through it our lives will feel much worse than it should be. God is not a doting grandfather ready to dole out gifts and money at a whim nor is He a genie to call on when you want something. Thankfully many of the things which people ask for are not granted because He knows what is coming next week and the thing which you are asking for isn’t the right thing that you need.

Our time here is short compared to eternity and God, Who lives outside of time, can see next week or next year and He knows what is good for you and what will be the best for you in the long run. Your request for something like a Cadillac may not be granted because He can see that it wouldn’t be good for you and your family. A good Chevrolet with a few miles on it will be better in the long run and won’t cost nearly as much.

Be mature enough in Christ to thank God for the unanswered prayers which you didn’t get and thank Him for the answers which you did get which were so much better than what you had in mind!

Is your church part of the problem?


In many churches today, especially within a fifty-mile radius of my home, many visitors feel unwanted and unwelcome. Why is this? Mostly because our churches have become social meeting places rather than places to meet and worship God and Jesus. My church and yours should be places to fall in love with our Savior, but more often than not we talk more about politics and government issues and who should be added to our prayer list this week. Granted, many who are truly in need of prayer for healing and comfort NEED our prayers each and every day.

But the political issues in our government and how it is being run should be part of our prayer ministry, not a part of the commentary and debate in church or Bible study time.

Is the church part of the problem in America today? In some cases…yes it is. We are more concerned about the color of the carpet in the sanctuary and how it looks than we are about drawing more people into the church to hear about salvation through Jesus! So, what can we do about our relationship with Him? I mean, it is our relationship with Jesus which we are supposed to be giving away or at least showing people a Savior that they need to get to know!

Why are churches turning away from their “first love” and trying to be everything to everyone these days? It seems that some churches are trying to attract more people to church just for the numbers in attendance. Having a large number of people attending church is good, but if the message is more fluff than it is substance pertaining to salvation through Jesus, then the message is wrong!

Having 300 or more people attending church every Sunday is great but if you aren’t preaching the love of Jesus and the salvation which He died to provide for those who will believe, then you just have a full church. IF you aren’t following up with those who have attended your services to find out where their beliefs are or if they need prayer for specific problems in life, then you aren’t doing your job as a church. When I say this, I don’t mean that the preacher has to be the one following up with the people. It is the responsibility of those who are Christians in the church who should be doing this as well as the preacher!

Even a full-time preacher can’t reach out and touch every person who has visited your church or has asked for prayer. The only way that we, as a church, can take care of those in the congregation and those who have visited but haven’t decided to be a part of your church is for the deacons and the elders in the church to go to them and invite them back. If they are searching for Jesus, they will feel His presence in those who are inviting them back IF you are doing it in the power of Christ and with His love shining through.

Numbers and the amount which is given during the offering are not the way which measures a church and its commitment to following Jesus. Telling others about Him, mentoring those who are new to the faith, Bible study and helping others to grow in their walk with Jesus are the ways which the church continues to be the true church in the world today! Praying for each other’s burdens, listening to their concerns about being a Christian and living your walk with Him every day is the way to walk the walk so others might want to know Him too.

Many of these things are what our churches need to be doing but few actually are doing them and doing them effectively.

Time is ticking away…


IamtheWayWe are almost a whole month into the new year already! So what else is new you might ask? Well, our time on Earth is ticking away too. God has promised that His Son will return one day and since most of the signs which point toward that event have already happened, the only event keeping it from happening is God’s timing. He is possibly waiting for the last sinner to be saved, I don’t know which event God is waiting for.

I can guarantee that when the specific event happens, the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air and all who are alive on Earth will know when this happens! Soon after this, those of us who are alive will be changed and we will meet Him in the air to be taken to Heaven. There will be much confusion and likely many deaths because of pilots who are Christians will be gone. People driving their car or a bus or a semi-tractor rig or even a boat will all be taken up to meet Him in the air and there will not be a warning of this impending event.

Yes, time is slowly ticking away. For some of us, it is ticking quite fast, but your time and mine are moving toward this event. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, time is still moving in that direction. When He comes for those who know Him and have given their lives and their heart to Him, as the Scripture says “it will happen in the blink of an eye“. You may even be talking to a friend who is a Christian, and suddenly they are gone. Their clothes and shoes and their wedding band and watch are all on the ground or at the place where they were sitting…but they are gone!

Now what?

If you are a Christian, then you will be where they are..in Heaven. If you are not a Christian then you need to get busy seeking God, fast! Because soon things on this Earth will become very different from yesterday. If you have read the Bible-based fiction of the Left Behind series, you will know what is about to happen. If you have ever studied the book of Revelation you will know what is about to take place. Don’t discount prophecy in the Bible because God’s Word always comes true, regardless of how other “experts” interpret it.

eternityDon’t wait until that day to seek Jesus out! Will there be others who are seeking Him? Yes, but their numbers will be far fewer than you might believe. Many people who are going to seek Him out will be wondering why was I left behind? I went to church pretty regularly and I prayed and studied my Sunday school lessons at least sometimes. What went wrong?

Actually, nothing went wrong except your belief in Jesus and your acceptance of Him as your Savior. You knew about Him and you read enough to know about salvation and what was required BUT you didn’t actually believe it! You didn’t think that salvation was as easy as it was for the thief on the cross. Belief doesn’t require money or works or witnessing to others. It just takes a sincere belief in the Person of Jesus and what He did on the cross for you to be forgiven.

Think about it because another hour has gone by since I began writing and we can’t get it back. Seek Him out and know that He loves you and is waiting for you to believe in Him enough to ask Him into your heart. What more do you need to do?

Is your life in balance?


If you asked that question to a room full of people, whether you were at a church or a school, I would be right in saying that few, if any, would say “Yes”. We do try to keep our lives in balance but most of us don’t even know what we are balancing on or the actual part of our life that we are trying to balance.

Can we do this balancing act ourselves, without God’s help or presence in our lives? The answer is, absolutely NOT! Yes, I could balance my checkbook or maybe stand on one leg for a little while, but balance my life, that is something that only God could accomplish in my life and yours. Although it wouldn’t be instantaneous. Allowing God into your life and into your heart does begin the change, but it is a continuous change. It is something that people call a “work in progress” which doesn’t really become complete and finished in this life.

God’s finished work in each of us who accepts Jesus as our Lord comes when we enter into Heaven. The learning and the work for God’s Kingdom don’t end at that point, but we are more able to do the right and correct things in His will from that point on. Balancing your life is a goal which many people reach for, trying to attain it in this life under their own ability. But, until they come to the realization that it cannot be done without God in their life, that goal will be out of reach regardless of the amount of time or money spent to attain it.

Balance in life is about as unattainable as the fictional balancing of the Force in Star Wars. Because…without God in your life and without Jesus in your heart, it truly is something which you cannot achieve your own power and wisdom. Learning from God’s Word and learning how to apply it to your life is a process, much like learning history and philosophy in college. You don’t get it all at once, but you study and read and learn. Sometimes you may have to go over the material again in order to “get it” better.

The best part of learning from the Bible is that you are learning from God’s Word and wisdom and not from man. His wisdom is far beyond ours regardless of the number of degrees that you may have. Please, consider giving your heart and life to Him and learning from His Word. There is no better education than His and the Teacher is very good at what He does too. The Holy Spirit will teach you and guide you in all things through the Word, bringing to mind different lessons each time you read a passage.

Differences between truth and ?


Pilate asked Jesus, “What is Veritas?” The word means truth, but he had the Truth standing in front of him at the time. Our world today defines truth as whatever you decide is your truth. No one wants to acknowledge the possibility of a Truth which can’t be questioned. But, the reality of truth is that God’s love is also an absolute truth as well.

In fact, truth and love could be classed as the same in the economy of God’s eternity! So which life would you truly enjoy? One that is based on God’s love and truth of salvation or one that is defined by your idea of truth? A life where mankind is the defining element of love and truth and their place in the world is flawed.

We try to define our world today by our individual ideas and “truths” which are only relevant to us as individuals. So, how can our world survive when there are millions or billions of truths which are conflicting with and against each other? Actually, our society can’t survive on individual truths which can’t possibly align with one another. We also have many different cultures within cities, let alone the cultures in a nation. With so many perceived differences between us like skin color and cultures and religious too, how can we get along?

Why can’t we get along in this world where people are connected through cell towers and the Internet? The connections between people don’t work well through the distance in between us, especially relational connections such as friends and family and loved ones. Even when we have phones capable of letting us talk face to face there is still distance and the connection just doesn’t make up for that.

Even when the letters were written and sent to us or to our family, it still doesn’t feel quite right. The problem today is that we are so used to distant relationships and texting and messages until when we are together, face to face, we don’t know what to say. It is easier to text than it is to actually talk…and that is sad. We can type in a browser or a message box many words to say to each other but when we are in the same room…talking is awkward. It is almost like we have forgotten how to have a real conversation face to face.

Technology in our world has made the world much smaller compared to the speed of the old style of mail or reading the newspaper. Although technology has done this in the past twenty-five years or so the world is the same, the people are the same, but we don’t actually SEE each other the way our parents or grandparents did. We don’t sit down at the table to eat with the family, we may sit together in a restaurant but we each have a phone screen lit up in our face. But…do you see people talking TO each other in that scenario or is it just one or two talking and the rest are texting others or maybe each other?

The TRUTH is that we are not made to live this way. Apart even when we are together, separate but living in the same house, nervous in a room with family and friends, does any of this sound familiar? Even Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, said in many of his letters that he would rather be there in person. Personal contact between him and his children in the churches was more important to be spoken to face to face. Even he was apologetic about the way that he had to advise them.

Please, try to get to the truth of your relationships and be personal with your family and friends because life will be so much more enjoyable if you have relationships with them rather than the phone and the messages.

What kind of impact will you make?


We are starting a new year, not exactly an Earth-shaking event. But…will you have an impact in our world or your world this year? Sometimes we make resolutions for the year when it is brand new and fresh but after a couple of paychecks and possibly a trip to the doctor’s office…well those resolutions get placed in the closet until next year. So, can we have an impact on those we love or the workplace?

GodisNearActually, we can IF we will let God into our lives and let Him influence our living from day-to-day! I know that there are people who don’t like to hear about religion in general, regardless of whether Jesus is part of it! But, the fact is that everyone needs Him whether we realize it or accept it or not!

Could we have an impact on the world without allowing Jesus into our lives on a daily basis? Yes, but it wouldn’t have an eternal outcome if we did it all on our own. Teachers in high school and college have an impact on their student’s lives during the year, but how much do you remember of tenth-grade algebra class? I would guess that, like me, you don’t really remember much of it (unless you actually work in a field that you USE it every day)!

Being a Christian is very different from learning algebra or geometry because it is a decision which we are called to by God and the Holy Spirit. It is not a decision that you make on your own, although you do have to decide to accept the offer of salvation from Jesus. You can’t just decide that today I am going to become a Christian because it is a calling from God which prompts you to realize that you need Jesus in your life.

Being a Christian and living life as a Christian is not a hard thing to do, but it is a life that you have to learn to do. Studying the Bible and learning about the grace of God and His plan for your life is part of living your life for Jesus! Repenting or walking away from your sins is another part of being a true Christian. Sitting in church or Sunday school once or twice a month and not changing your lifestyle doesn’t make you a Christian. Although many people who go to church once or twice a year think that they are Christians, even though they haven’t been baptized or changed anything about their lives!

You can have an impact in this world and in eternity by living your life for Christ so that others will see its effect on you and want what you have.

Do you hear what I hear?


This is part of a wonderful song for Christmas which I have loved for years. These days, there isn’t much that you hear about Christ on a daily basis, sometimes even a weekly one. People don’t want to hear the Truth of God’s Word unless they are in need of God’s help. The problem with this is that God is not a genie! We are not supposed to treat our relationship with Jesus as one where we seek His help when we need it, but when things are going well we don’t want Him around!

God loves each one of us far more than we can even understand, and yet we don’t seem to give that love back to Him. Jesus came to Earth as a baby, born to a virgin long ago. He also came to pay the price for ALL of our sins and be our Savior if we will only believe in Him. So…what is the problem that many of us seem to have with Jesus? Is it that He was born Jewish? He preached long ago and we don’t think that His message is relevant today? Could it be that we don’t want to offend anyone with our faith so we don’t tell anyone about Him or our belief in Him?

The message and the lessons which Jesus taught have more to do with today than at any time before now! We are to love each other as we are loved! Why can’t we look past our perceived differences in skin color and culture and just see another person in need of Jesus? Why is it so hard to get past our genetic differences and just see the similarities?

I mean, we all have two arms and legs, most of us have hair (some more, some less), all of us have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth (even if that last one gets us into more trouble than it should)! That is why the Bible says that we should be quick to listen and slow to speak.

Quick2Listen

It doesn’t matter what you are speaking about or who you may be listening to, make sure to measure your words before you speak and listen to what is being said, carefully seeking the truth in what you are hearing. As one wise person said, “Taste your words before you spit them out”; in that way, you will know if they are good or not. People will think you are wise or smart depending on your speech. If your speech is full of big words but not much substance then you will seem to be smart but like a politician you aren’t saying much at all.

Consider your words and your speech because God hears every word, whether you are His or not.

Does God hear me?


I have wondered that in the past and I am sure that many others have as well. We pray asking for God to heal or help in some way in our lives, sometimes we ask for specific things and yet we rarely see the answer to this prayer. God does answer and He hears your prayers and mine, but He may not answer your prayer in the way that you expect Him to. Then again, your answer may come to you in the form of a friendship with someone and we aren’t sensitive enough to take notice of the offer.

To answer the question in my title: YES, God does hear you! Even if you aren’t a Christian, He hears your prayer. Especially if you are asking for His forgiveness and wanting Jesus to come in and straighten out your life! Does God hear the prayers of those who don’t believe in Jesus or refuse to believe? Yes, they are heard but until their heart is touched by the Holy Spirit to break it open enough to let Jesus inside, those prayers go unanswered. I mean, God is not a genie so He doesn’t give you millions of dollars or a jet or a really fancy car, especially if you aren’t a believer.

God loves each of us with such a deep love until we can’t understand it! Because we just can’t comprehend a love which is given and expressed so deeply even for those of us who are still on the fence in our belief in Him. Being “on the fence” in your decision to believe is a decision too because you are not a believer but you haven’t decided to give your life to Him either. That is a very dangerous place to be!

Consider it from this perspective: You are walking on the ridge of a hill and there is a fire raging on one side, completely out of control and heading your way. On the other side is a green valley with a river and trees that is very peaceful and cool. Which would you choose? Any sane person would choose the cool valley with the river in it, but in life, there are many more people who tend to walk on the ridge for years. Why? Because spiritually you can’t see the flames or the fire and that is the problem.

Both valleys look almost identical, except the one with the spiritual fire has thorns and cactus and snakes which you can’t see until you wander into it. This is how Satan fools people into thinking that his way is just as good until you get caught and feel like you can’t get away. If we all had eyes which could discern the spiritual dangers around us, then the world would be a much different place than what it is today.

The gift which God has given us is that we have access to eternity with Him IF we will believe in Jesus and His atonement for us! That’s it! Believe in Him and the work which He did on the cross so many years ago. Then, ask forgiveness for your sins and turn away from your old life and follow Him into eternity! Living in Heaven won’t be boring by any means, but it will be filled with awe at all of the wonders of God and His grace given to each of us!

Hell is eternal as well, so if you don’t make that choice of following Jesus and believing in Him for your salvation, then that is where your eternity will be. It will not be an eternal party as some have thought and expressed in front of friends and many others. Anyone who ends up there will find that God’s Presence doesn’t dwell with those in hell. There is no water, no grass, no real life at all. The only constant there is the pain, suffering of your immortal body which cannot die but it will feel the pain of separation and torment.

The choice for you is between the Life of Heaven or the separation and pain of hell…which will you choose?

Being a mouthpiece


Since I am a preacher, that is what I am seen as by most people…a mouthpiece for God’s Word. I read a few verses or maybe a chapter during the service on Sunday morning and then expound on what I have read and what the wisdom that God has given me tells me about this scripture. Moses was a mouthpiece and all of the prophets in the Bible were too. Jesus is a direct mouthpiece because He is the Living Word of God and His disciples were mouthpieces and teachers just as we are today.

Bridge2SalvationWhat is my point in this article today? Simply that God is awesome, Jesus is sitting at the right of His Father and the universe is under their control! Being the person who tells others about God and His Son, and thankfully I am not the only one doing this, is an awesome responsibility! But, I enjoy it!

God loves us and the story that is told in the Bible, from the beginning to the end, is the story of His love and compassion toward us all. While it is true that it starts out being a story about Creation and the Israelite nation, the wisdom contained within its pages is for all of us! Jesus came to tell that story more personally so that we could understand that God’s love doesn’t just mean something to one particular people, but it is expressed toward all of humanity through His death and resurrection!

God’s love and compassion for us are also expressed in His patience toward us because we are very stubborn in our sinful lives and we don’t want to follow His ways until we are ready. The problem with that is that we don’t have a clue about our the brevity of our lives! We are not guaranteed tomorrow or even tonight, so as the saying goes “today is the day of salvation”! Tomorrow isn’t here until it is and you may not have much time in the day or the week ahead to give your life to Jesus and repent of your sins.

None of us can know if we are going into the new year in a couple of weeks because it isn’t a certainty. A wreck or a heart attack or a stroke could take your life at any time between now and then and if you haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus and believe in His atonement for your sins, then you will cross from this life into judgment and hell.

God loves each of us and this is shown in His Word, so don’t wait until you find yourself in front of God and being judged for a life lived without Jesus or even believing in Him. Yes, each of us will be judged in one way or another. If you are a Christian and have Jesus as your Savior then you will be judged by what you did for God’s Kingdom.

If you are not a Christian, then every word and deed that you have ever done in your life will be brought before you to convict you of your sins and to prove that you deserve to be punished in hell. Not for the sins, but for refusing to give your heart to Jesus! That is the sin which condemns you to hell. Make sure of your salvation while you can in this life because when this one is over you can’t rewind and fix it.

Sermon for today


1 John

Learning about the Son of God and Who He really is.

The apostle, John, wrote this book and the three which follow it. He did this to show to the churches Who Jesus was and is and to bear witness of Him. John saw while learning from Jesus, that satisfaction in life only came from Him. The Author of Life was the One which John was speaking and telling the churches in Asia about and he tells us today that Jesus is the Only pathway to eternal life.

The life and essence of Who God is was manifested in the person of His Son, Jesus the Christ. The only way for you and I to get to know God is through learning of and getting to know Jesus. God revealed Himself in Creation but most of us take that for granted as “nature” and nothing more. God also revealed Himself in the Bible, His Holy Word, but many people pay very little attention to that today as well. God’s final and most complete revelation of Himself was through the person of Jesus His Son.

This is why John refers to Him as the Word of Life. Why is this important? Because in the beginning, God brought much of creation into being just with His Word.

John even says it in his gospel: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” John 1:1

In the same way we can learn of God’s character and everything that we need to know about Him by learning about and reading the words of Jesus in the gospels. Your words reveal your character to those around you and in the same way, the Bible reveals God’s character and the Living Word, Jesus, reveals even more about God’s character. To know Jesus is to know God!

Have you come to know Jesus as your Savior? He came for that express purpose, to set those free who were captive to sin and their own lusts in this world.

The apostle John walked and lived with Jesus during His ministry before His crucifixion. He saw the miracles and heard what Jesus said and did on a daily basis, he knew Him. Jesus can be just as real today for you and me, if we will get to know Him through the Bible and the gospels. A sermon on Sunday morning is not enough to truly get to know Jesus, yet that is what many people base their salvation on. Why is it so important that we know that we are born into God’s family? Because if you are just playing church, then you are what Jesus called the Pharisees…a child of the devil! You are like a counterfeit dollar, a counterfeit Christian, one who acts “saved” but has not been born again.

Just as a counterfeit bill will be exposed when it is tested or when it arrives at the bank, a “Christian” who is not born again will be exposed when he or she stands before their final judgement. They may have done many good things in life and seemed to be a genuine Christian, but they will hear Jesus say “Away with you,I never knew you”. If you aren’t sure about your salvation, read 1 John 5:9-15 carefully. Seek Jesus through prayer because He will not turn you away.

John wrote many things in these letters and he wrote them to make sure that those who called themselves a Christian could be sure of their salvation. Not wondering if they were saved but knowing it absolutely! Are you in that position? Do you know without a doubt that you belong to Jesus and that HE knows you?

Yes, it is possible to know without a doubt that you know Him and that He knows you too. Belief in Him is the first step toward this and then walking with Him daily. Reading the Bible is required to get to know Him and the Father, yet most people in America don’t. They read devotional readings which have a verse or two, sometimes a chapter here or there, but it is reading God’s Word daily which brings your spirit and His into fellowship close enough that you can almost feel His hand on your shoulder.

God loves you and belief in Jesus and His atonement for your sins is the answer, the secret to life itself. Not the life which the world would pat you on the back for, but eternal life! The Life that we are promised in Him after this life is over. That is what we should be striving for more and more as we get older, but it is also what young people need as well. Why? Because if they aren’t learning about Jesus and hearing from or reading His Word, then they may never learn about Him until it is too late.