Category: All in or not

The Lord is my Rock and my Deliverer!


And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord , who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2 Samuel 22:2‭-‬4 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/2sa.22.2-4.KJV

Why should Christians be afraid of anything that man can do when we have a Deliverer Who is our Lord and Savior? While it is true that in today’s world there are evil men and we are experiencing evil times with diseases and wars and natural disasters happening all around us, God is still in control. He knows what is happening and He is allowing it to happen true enough, but His plan and the outcome of His plan will be glorious beyond our imagination. Consider living in squalor today but you have faith in God and in Jesus. What a wondrous joy it will be to walk the streets of purest gold one day!

Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us and that He would come again and take us with Him to be there in that place. We look at all of the “things” which we can have in this life and we usually think that “life couldn’t get any better than this”. But, eternity is going to be so much more than we can imagine now until it will likely be days before I can pick my jaw up from the floor! God would not have made those promises to us if He wasn’t going to fulfill them. So, we need to make sure that our life is in His hands and that we are ready when that day comes. Amen?

Are you searching?


I’ve noticed that many people do seem to be searching for the Reason for Life. Who is the Author of Life? Jesus Christ! He is the Creator and a part of the Triune Godhead along with the Holy Spirit and God the Father. How can I say that many people are searching for something or Someone? Because of the number of people who have visited my little website which God led me to write years ago. Also, because of a search for Bibles on Amazon or any other retail location on the web. Many editions, regardless of translation, are in short supply.

The Holy Spirit is moving in our world today drawing as many people as He can to come to know Jesus as their Savior. The only real way to do this is from reading God’s Word or by attending a Bible teaching church or website. Learn about Jesus and seek to know Him as your personal Savior because He will be that and more. Don’t turn away from Him, especially if you are at the end of your life and you feel God touching your heart. If it is because of age or by reason of some disease which is bringing you to this point, don’t let your life end without Jesus being your Savior. Asking Him to forgive you and make you a child of God is the easiest decision you can make and it is the one which will impact your life far more than you will know on this side of heaven.

We truly are living on the edge of Revelation and if you have ever read this book, the problems which are described in the first few chapters sound exactly like the news broadcasts today. Life is not going to get easier from this point forward, in fact its going to get worse. Because the intolerance of the rest of the world against Christians and their so-called “intolerant” religion is ramping up in intensity and approaching dangerous levels of persecution. In some countries Christians are being hunted down and killed just because of their beliefs and for no other reason. We are being targeted in America because of our “intolerance” but the same thing could be said of their opinion and intolerance too. We are preaching the truth of God from His Word but nobody wants to hear it.

I pray that anyone who reads this post, regardless of the country you live in, seek out a Christian if you can. Ask them about their Savior and pray that your heart will be changed by Him so that your eternity will be with Him in Heaven. The alternative for eternity is unthinkable. Because, whether you believe the Bible and its Word about Heaven and Hell or not. now is the time to make the decision which will impact your eternity and that is a lot longer than your life here.

God is GOOD!


Psalm 34

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

A Psalm Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Why worry?


Is there anything that you can do to fix whatever the problem is? If so, then fix it and move on. If you can’t fix it then find someone who can and give the problem to them. If the problem happens to be something which no person can fix, then give it to God and leave it in His hands. He can take care of all of your problems whether they are lost keys, a test at school tomorrow, an illness which can’t be cured by human efforts or just a soul that is hurting in some way that can’t be fixed by any human hand…but God can. Worry is something that we do when we can’t find a fix for something but we don’t trust God enough to let Him have it long enough to fix it His way.

God can always find a way to fix our problems because He knew the way to fix it before you ever asked Him to help you with it. Sometimes we don’t like the way He does it or maybe even the time that He takes to fix it, but His way is always the best way. So, give your problems, whatever they may be, to Him and move on to tomorrow and the next day. He’s got it handled no matter what it may be.

Matthew 6: 25-34 is where Jesus tells His disciples this:

Do Not Worry
(Luke 12:22-34)

25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?c

28 And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Are you afraid?


It seems that we, as Christians, live in fear. Fear of offending someone, fear of telling others about our faith because they might reject us or the message and report it to someone, fear of being apostles like we are supposed to be. Why? Well, in the society which has come into America in the past twenty or thirty years, there seems to be more hostility toward people who profess to have faith in Jesus. Most don’t care if you believe in God because “everyone believes in God”, but if you bring the name of Jesus into the conversation things get a bit tricky. Because they don’t want to hear what He said or believe in Him. Why?

Mostly, because He taught that the hatred of someone is equivalent to murder. He taught that the thought of adultery was the same thing as the sin of adultery. Just the consideration of a sin, whatever it may be but specifically those two, is the same as committing them. That is why, in my opinion, people are so polarized against Jesus and His message. God is okay because His laws begin with the Ten Commandments and nobody could keep those perfectly, right? While this statement is true, they are still commandments, especially the ones about how to treat your mother and father and those which tell us how to behave toward one another.

So, why are we afraid to speak about our faith? Is it because it is our faith which scares others or is it because of the reaction we may get because of our faith if we tell someone about Jesus? Truthfully we shouldn’t be afraid of those around us because we have God on our side. He is in control of the situation regardless of where we may be as long as we have faith in Him to “have our backs” as we walk through this world. Psalm 23 tells us that He is with us through the “valley of the shadow of Death“, so why should we be afraid or live in fear of others? They can hurt us physically but if they kill you, then it was your time to go and you will be in His Presence. Does this give me chills? If I were foolish enough to walk on the streets of a big city after dark, yes I would be afraid, but I would be praying so hard that people would think I was loony anyway so, who cares?

As Christians, born into the family of God, we have His Spirit with us at all times, so why be afraid of talking to someone? One of the Trinity is there with us every step of the way and He gives us the words to speak at the time that we need them. God loves each of us with a love that we cannot understand or imagine and it will be His Presence working through us, protecting us from those of Satan’s army who would try to hurt us wherever we go. So, don’t be afraid of things which go bump in the night because your God is your Protector and your Guide it is He Who will protect you and lead you to the places where there is cool water and rest for your soul.

Are you poor in spirit?


Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who are the “poor in spirit”? In some commentaries, it means “those who have lost hope”. They have lost their faith in themselves and in God too. They are depressed and weary of this world and its troubles but they can’t see any way out. Does that describe anyone you know? 

Actually, it seems that much of the world around us falls under that category of being “poor in spirit”. They have lost what little faith they had or they just can’t seem to find anything or anyone to place their faith in. Truthfully, there is nobody in this world that we can put our faith in who could bring us out of the “pit” so to speak. The only Person Who could do it…Who can do it is Jesus Christ.

He was telling His audience that day on the mountain that they would have the kingdom of heaven even if they were poor in spirit. How? Because from their point of view the only way to improve their life was to look to God for help, physically and spiritually. The poor in spirit are not those who are following Jesus, they are poor in spirit because of their lot in life, whatever it may be. He was not commanding His followers to become “poor in spirit” but telling those in the crowd that because they were in that condition already, their lives would change one day.

Being close to the kingdom of heaven is exactly where we are today. In this building studying the Bible and what He meant by His words, we are closer to the Kingdom of heaven than we will ever be until we do cross over that threshold from here. We have a responsibility to tell others about the Kingdom of heaven and how they might gain entrance into it one day. 

But…do we take even that responsibility serious today? Many in the church don’t take it seriously at all. They attend services sometimes and they read the Bible, occasionally, but they are not serious about being a follower of Jesus. Many people think that after they have said some words that a preacher told them to say and they got wet in a baptistry, they can go back to living the way they were before. Many do this and think that they are saved. 

But they aren’t. If you haven’t changed your lifestyle because you know that you are born again and that you should be “set apart” from the life that you led before then you aren’t really saved. You are no different than you were before. You may read the Bible on occasion and you may pray about something that you want to do like pass a test in school or get a ribbon in competition but that doesn’t mean anything in your heart, in your soul. Nothing really changed.

You are still “poor in spirit”. You need to seek out Jesus and pray that He will show you what you should do. Because our days are numbered and only God knows how many days each of us has. You may meet Him tonight or tomorrow. You or I could meet Him in a few minutes but the one thing which makes your eternity different or more urgent is that if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior then you will be spending eternity wishing that you had changed and truly given your heart to Him.

Psalm 1 tells us exactly how a godly, righteous person should act:

The Two Paths
(Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-23)
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditates day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Consider this before your days are up.

Do you know God?


This sounds like a loaded question doesn’t it? Even Satan knows God but he refused to serve Him and was kicked out of Heaven for his convincing lies which lured away a third of the angels. Most of us who have ever been in a church or listened to a sermon on TV know about God but do you know Him. Another very important question which is part of this is: does God know you?

Many of the generation who have come along in the past twenty-five years or so know more about Star Wars or the Marvel heroes or Poke’ Mon than they know about our Savior. But you asked did I know God? Well, Jesus is God the Son, then there is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit so He is your Savior if you believe in Him and the repentance that HE paid for on the cross for each of you. Knowing God is not some mystical meditation thing, because you can get to know Him by reading His Word and seeking Him as your Savior.

Doing “works” on this Earth and in this life doesn’t help you to get saved. Working for God is the fruit of a person who IS saved and is serving their Lord and Savior because He did all of the work needed to grant you salvation by His grace. We can add nothing to our salvation but we can show others our Savior by talking to them about Him or blogging about Him or teaching a class. These are the result of your salvation but they do not add to it or help God save you. As I said, Jesus did all of the work needed for your salvation, all you have to do is believe in Him and accept Him as your Savior.

It sounds too simple doesn’t it?

But if you read the book of John and the book of Romans in the New Testament you will see that your belief in Him and your surrendering to Him as your Savior is all that is required of you. It doesn’t take giving thousands of dollars to charity or mission fields or even going on a mission trip. It hinges on your reaction to His call on your life convicting you of your sins and then turning from them toward Him in repentance to walk as a new creation in His likeness! I pray that anyone reading this will seek Jesus out as their Savior and Lord because He is coming back soon. Make sure you will be a part of that first resurrection.

Disappointment


Have you felt disappointed when you attend church or after you leave? Let down by the lack of friendly people who noticed or didn’t notice that you were there? This is the way I would feel if I went to a BIG church, but if it happens at a church where there are fewer than fifty people it really hurts. This is the reason that many people attend once and then never return. Those in the church should welcome people who attend their services, especially those who are there for the first time. Don’t shake their hand like they have some disease that you are loathe to even be close to! Don’t look at their clothes and shoes and decide that they aren’t worth your time, God loves them or they wouldn’t be coming to your church for the first time!

Feeling disappointed and unwanted when you come to a service is the way that Satan wants you to feel so you won’t ever return. Listen to the message, if it is from the Word of God. If the sermon doesn’t come from the Bible with Scripture references throughout, leave when the service is over and don’t return. Make sure that you go to a Bible teaching church with believers who believe in the God of the Bible and in His Son. If the sermon is made up of “feel good” words which sound like they came from a book of self-help fluff, don’t listen to it! RUN from that church and never return!

God sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, into this world so that He could pay the debt by His blood shed on the cross and the whipping post but He overcame the death brought on by the crucifixion by His resurrection on the third day. This was planned and accomplished by the Lord long before we were born but God looked down through time and saw each of us struggling with sin and afflictions brought on by Satan and his demons. He knew that we couldn’t overcome these afflictions on our own and He made a way for us through belief in Jesus. Simple though this may sound, it is all that we need in our lives in order to be victorious all the way to our eternal home!

God loves you and He has made this way for you by His power and through the work of Jesus, the Son of God. If you have heard or felt His call on your heart and life, don’t turn away from it. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow so make sure of your salvation today because the work has been done for you. All that is needed is for you to believe in Him and ask His forgiveness of your sinful life. Ask Him to remove your pain and depression and all of your Earthly problems whatever they may be and in Jesus’ name, He will do it and give you the strength to tell others about your Risen Savior!

What do you hear?


When you go to church or any worship service in worshiping Jesus, what do you go to hear? A show with flashing lights and singing with a band and maybe a little five or ten minute sermon? Do you go to church to learn about your Savior and what He really did for you? Are you a member of a mega-church with so many people that you have to have a huge screen to see who is preaching?

Jesus warned us of the time that we are living in and it is found in the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. The church at Laodicea was a church which reminds us of the dangers of being comfortable with our worship service.

Here is the quote from the book of Revelation:

To the Church in Laodicea
(Colossians 2:1-5)

14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! 16 So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!

17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To the one who is victorious, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

We live in a time when pastors and churches water down the Word of God and they don’t teach His Truth from Scripture, just as this church was. They weren’t cold toward the message of salvation but they weren’t hot toward spreading the gospel either. They were trying but not too hard, lukewarm. Many churches and pastors today do the same thing. They compromise the Word of God by accepting sinful behavior as being normal in order to get more members on their roles. They don’t call sin what it is and teach that it is acceptable even when they know that God opinion of sin has not changed!

We cannot compromise the message of God’s Word and we shouldn’t be trying to make it more acceptable to those who are practicing sinful lifestyles which God does not approve of! Just because every other media outlet does this doesn’t mean that the church should be going along with sin even when we know that God and His Word don’t accept it nor condone it in any way. If we do this then we are no different from the world around us and we shouldn’t even be preaching from God’s Word at all. Pick out a self-help book and use it as a “bible” if you are going to be like the rest of the world.

I will preach and teach from God’s Word until He calls me home one day and if you don’t like that message then you don’t have to come to my church or read this blog anymore.

Does Jesus know you?


Knowing Jesus as your friend and your Savior is the most fulfilling relationship that you can have. So, why do we seek Him for salvation and then walk away from the relationship? Many people today do exactly that. They know they need Him and they know that they are sinful in their lives. They will seek Him out and feel His call and conviction in their lives and maybe even accept Him as their Savior but when things don’t work out the way they want them to, they walk away from Him.

Knowing Who He is and having Him as your Savior is the best relationship that you can have. But if you only want to know Him as a Savior and Lord and not as your Savior and Lord there is nothing gained for you except knowledge of Him. Knowledge doesn’t bring salvation. Satan and the demons know Who Jesus is but that doesn’t help them because they won’t serve Him. 

There are times that I think it is that word which turns people away. They don’t want to be a disciple or a Christian because they don’t want to serve Jesus. He gave His life and His blood for your soul to have a chance at salvation so I believe that we do owe Him our service and our life. God has given us all of the best, even though we don’t see it that way. He has provided us with a sun that isn’t too hot and a planet to live on that isn’t too hot or cold. He prepared it with lots of water and air to breathe and land that we could cultivate for our food and things that we need.

So many things that we have been blessed with, whether you live in America or anywhere else in the world because God loves us so deeply. I know there are diseases and wars going on and famines and earthquakes and hurricanes that happen from time to time, but God is still in control of it all. If He weren’t we wouldn’t be here. There are so many problems which we could have that He has prevented and then there are others which we have caused. Not “global warming”, but so many other problems in our societies just because we have refused to worship the One True God. 

Seek Him out while there is yet time to do so because there will be one day in the near future when He takes the church and all of those who have given their lives to Him to Heaven. When that happens, there will be hell on Earth until He says that it is enough. Think about it.