Category: All in or not

I’ve been reading…


Lately, I’ve been reading a couple of good books. One which was written by many different authors over thousands of years. God’s Word. The Bible. The other book is one by a brother in Christ by the name of Phil Robertson called “The Theft of America’s Soul“. I am putting the link here not because I get anything from it but because it is a good book and it is one that needs to be read by many Americans, whether they are Christian, Democrat, Republican, liberal or whatever they are calling themselves these days.

Both of these books point us toward our Savior, Jesus Christ, and He is the only answer to our world’s problems. You can agree with me or not, but our founding fathers knew it and most of America has either forgotten it or they just don’t want to hear it anymore. Life in the time which we are living in today is not hard like it was many years ago. For some, it may be, but for most in America, their lives would be considered luxurious compared to the living conditions in China or North Korea or in many places in Africa. There are many other places where life is tough in more ways than any of us know about but in reality, we have it good here.

Why is it that people are so much against our laws and the Bible on which most of those laws are based on? In the last decade, I’ve noticed that many who live here would rather turn America into a socialist country or a Communist country than to be proud of the Democratic Republic we are supposed to be!

The Christian principles which guided our country for so many years have been torn apart in the last three decades or so. America isn’t the same country now that my parents and grandparents grew up in. The principles which God placed in our hearts and in His Word are the only principles which will bring our world, not just America, back from the edge of destruction. I ask you to please pray that our country and many others that claim to be Christian will turn back to God and His principles before it is too late.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.“

 

In the Garden


And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

So the man’s days were filled with tending it and keeping it and with naming all of the beasts in the field. But there wasn’t a mate found for him. The Lord made a deep sleep to come over him and took a rib from him and closed up the flesh at the place. Then the Lord fashioned a woman from the rib of the man to be his helper.

Why would God give the man a helper?

Because God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone”. This was done not because Adam was really alone but because he didn’t have someone like himself to be with and to talk to. He walked with God at this time and talked with Him too but God was a Spirit. Surely Adam could see His feet or His back, but being able to speak face to face with another person would alleviate his loneliness which he surely must have felt.

God loved His Creation. Not just mankind but every part of it. He made everything in the universe and called it “good”, but the fall that happened later had an effect on all of creation too. Death began to be evident in creation because of the fall. Not just mankind would begin to die but stars and animals and trees and all other life would begin to die as well. Creation paid the price for man’s disobedience and is still paying the price until Jesus comes back to make things new again.

Jesus is the Savior of Creation. Not just of mankind but He will renew all of the relationships between man and the animals and when the end of days comes, everything will be made new again. See that you will be a part of His Kingdom when this happens because we will witness it and be a part of it from that point on into eternity. Amen

Revelation 21:5 says: Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

Common sense?


Have you ever wondered what happened to common sense in America? I have been thinking about it for a long time and it seems that the reason it has gone missing has a lot to do with our insistence that God is either dead or that He doesn’t care about us anymore. Of course, neither of those assumptions are true but with all of the crazy and mixed up things which are going on all over the world and in our own backyard, it does seem that we have lost it!

God loves us but I know He has a sense of humor. If He didn’t the Time of Tribulation would’ve already started by now. I implore you if you are searching for your Savior seek out Jesus in a Bible-teaching church. Read God’s Word and pray that God will reveal Himself to you so your soul will be saved from an eternity of punishment. You may think that there is no hell or even heaven but Jesus spoke of both and God’s Word speaks of an eternity of punishment for those who reject Jesus the Christ.

I am praying that there will be some people with common sense to seek out their Savior before the day which causes all of us to know Who He is and why we need Him. That day will be the day when every believer will be taken to meet Him in the clouds and those who have died prior to this day will be raised as well. When that day comes, the whole world will mourn and realize what they have missed. But…it will be too late for many on that day unless they give their heart to Him in truth before they die.

Amen

What are you?


Most of us who write these Christian blogs are or we consider ourselves to be…well, Christians. Most of us likely attend church on a fairly regular schedule and we study our Bibles but there is still a question that we need to be answered and that is: What are we? Are we really the church or do we just attend a service at church?

After Pentecost, the people who had been baptized and had believed Peter’s message had “all things in common” and no one was in need. If there was a need then it was met in whatever way was necessary. So why do most services feel like speeches about being a “good Christian” and there are needs in the community which go unmet? Is it because we don’t know how to be “the church” anymore or are we afraid of being the church?

I am not sure where we, as a group of believers, actually fall in the description of Jesus’ church. We are not perfect people. We are sinners saved by the Grace and Mercy of God through Jesus! Do we make mistakes or stumble in our lives? YES! But…we know it when we do and we confess it and ask our Father to forgive us for the fall or the stumble and then get up and keep going. Being the church is something which Jesus showed His disciples how to do and we have that example in the gospels. All we need to do is go out and live it in front of people every day, one day at a time.

Is it easy to do? I wouldn’t say it is easy, especially when you have just given your heart to Jesus. But, like everything else, it gets easier with practice and study of God’s Word and time. We don’t come up from our baptism knowing everything. We have to learn from God each step of the way, one verse at a time, then a chapter and then a book and then the rest of His Word. Then…read it again and pray about it and learn from it.

Being a Christian is a life-long process. The disciples only had three years or so with Him but they meditated on His teachings and God’s Word for the rest of their lives. So we should follow their example and do the very same thing. Be the church which Jesus wanted us to be, taking care of those in need of food and shelter but also helping them to find their Savior by showing Him to them with whatever our lives can show of our own “working out our salvation” because it is a daily process.

Boundless love


That is the type of love which God has for each of us. It is not one that we can duplicate in any way because we are not the Creator. He expressed His love for us by all of the wonders and the variety of life and the mystery which abounds in our universe. Why are there stars which would engulf most of our solar system? Because God wanted us to ask that question. Why are there diamonds and gold found in the clouds of nebulae in the universe? Because God wanted it to be that way so we would ask questions and wonder about it.

It was God’s love for us which sent Jesus to Earth as a man who didn’t sin and could pay the price for all of mankind. It is God’s love which watches over each of us as we sleep or as we travel on the highways. We are never outside of His love or His gaze and His protection of us as we go through life but He doesn’t force us to give our heart to Him. It must be our choice. How can we understand His boundless love for us? We really can’t, unless you know the love of a parent toward their child. That is the only relationship which comes close to by only a degree to the depth of God’s love for each of us.

Why does He feel this way? Because we are His creation, His children and He cares for us in a way that we cannot understand or comprehend yet He does so without measure. Life is a part of Him, death is a part of Him and every part of our lives is contained in a part of Him as well. Don’t turn away from Him because you are only hurting yourself when you do. Does our rejection of His love hurt Him? I’m sure it does in some way, but how deeply it hurts I couldn’t imagine. Make sure that you learn to love Him before your life ends because once this life is over there are no second chances.

The women in Jesus’ family line


Matthew 1:1 and following:

Berean Literal Bible
The Genealogy of Jesus
(Ruth 4:18-22; Luke 3:23-38)

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers.
3 And Judah begat Perez and Zerah out of Tamar, and Perez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram. 4 And Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon. 5 And Salmon begat Boaz out of Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed out of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, 6 and Jesse begat David the king.
Next:
David begat Solomon, out of the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon begat Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begat Abijah, and Abijah begat Asa. 8 And Asa begat Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Uzziah. 9 And Uzziah begat Jotham, and Jotham begat Ahaz, and Ahaz begat Hezekiah. 10 And Hezekiah begat Manasseh, and Manasseh begat Amos, and Amos begat Josiah, 11 and Josiah begat Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the carrying away to Babylon.
12 And after the carrying away to Babylon: Jechoniah begat Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor.
14 And Azor begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Achim, and Achim begat Eliud. 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob, 16 And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, the One being called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David until the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Of the different women in the lineage of Jesus, there was at least one who “played” at being a harlot and one which was a harlot and two Gentiles, Rahab and Ruth, and one pregnancy outside of wedlock (of the Holy Spirit). Why did God use these women in the lineage of David and Jesus? Mainly to show His compassion and His redemption of those who needed it and because it suited God to do so.

We cannot know the mind or the thoughts of God in His choosing of the women who would be in the bloodline of His Son, but He can use anyone to bring about His purposes. Even a small church in Coxburg, MS. A word or something which is done that people may associate with your faith in Jesus can make a big difference in someone’s life.

You may not see it while you live, but one day in heaven you will see someone who tells you that a word or a deed influenced them to seek out Jesus as their Savior. Even the life of your children or grandchildren may be touched by something that you do or say. God can use a murderer or an apostle or a child in His service just as well as He can use a preacher or a teacher. In God’s Kingdom, all of us are equal to the task which He gives us to do because He will give each of us the talents and abilities needed to do His will.

Whether we possess those qualities in this life or in the next one will be up to Him alone. But He will make us equal to the task which needs to be done regardless of its complexity or its ease. God can use any person or situation to extend His favor or His compassion toward those which we come in contact with each and every day that we live according to His purposes. This is why there are some unusual people in the lineage of Jesus, prostitutes, Gentiles, men who have not always followed God’s will or purpose in their lives but God used each of them for His purpose regardless of their shortcomings.

Even the men which Jesus called to be His disciples were ordinary men. They were not priests or of the “ruling class”. They were fishermen, mostly, and each of them was used in a specific way to take His message to those who needed to hear it. Each of the disciples had a gift or a way to teach which would bring the message of God to those who would listen and hear it with their spiritual ears and not just hear it and walk away as many do today. So, the women and men in the lineage of Jesus were all part of God’s plan and purpose for the world and for the message which He would bring to the world.

God loves us!


Many times we look around and see all of the things which happen to those who serve God and try to be His servants, some people think that it is not worth it for the trouble. Why does this trouble come upon us when we are trying to do the work of the Lord? Mainly it is because of the prophecies of Jesus, Who said: “you shall have trouble in this world, but take heart I have overcome the world“.

We do have trials and trouble in this world because of the ruler of this world. Satan doesn’t bother those who haven’t given their hearts to Jesus but those who are following Him, he brings trouble to them. Sometimes it is trouble for our hurt and at times it may be for testing us and our faith. See that you follow Jesus in life so that others might see your perseverance in Jesus and become saved through Him because of your witness.

Many Christians don’t desire to “witness” to those around them but I have to ask in this instance, “Are you truly saved?”!! If Jesus has not made a change in your life such that you would shout from the roof that He is your Savior, then you may need to check your heart by God’s Word and make sure of your salvation. I know that many people think that they can’t tell others about their salvation. If you don’t feel that your salvation is a gift worthy of telling others about it then what did you seek salvation for?

Jesus willingly gave His life and His blood for your sins and for everyone’s sins in the world and He was raised on the third day after this to be our Lamb of sacrifice and our payment for our sins. If the blood of the Son of God is not precious to you then you don’t belong to Him. God extends His love to all who believe in Jesus for salvation if we will give our life to Him daily in our service to God’s Kingdom.

John 16:

Persecution Foretold
(Acts 23:12-22)

1 I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit
(Joel 2:28-32; John 14:15-26; Acts 2:1-13; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7)

5 Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. 15 Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.

16 In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”

Grief to Joy

17 Then some of His disciples asked one another, “Why is He telling us, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “Why is He saying, ‘a little while’? We do not understand what He is saying.”

19 Aware that they wanted to question Him, Jesus said to them, “Are you asking one another why I said, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’? 20 Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

Ask and You will Receive

23 In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

25 I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.b 28 I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”

29 His disciples said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we understand that You know all things and that You have no need for anyone to question You. Because of this, we believe that You came from God.”

31 “Do you finally believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

Do you doubt?


Where does doubt come from?

This is a question which most people ask at some point in their lives. Christians ask it of themselves more often, than other people do. The answer will likely surprise you. Remember when Jesus asked Peter to come to Him on the water? Would you have stepped out in faith onto the surface of a turbulent ocean? I would guess that very few people would do it. But…it was Jesus asking him to do it and since Peter usually acted or said something before he thought about it, he stepped out of the boat and began walking.

What many people don’t read into the story is that Peter was a fisherman, he knew the water shouldn’t be able to hold him like solid ground. But it was Jesus that made the request of him. Peter had seen Him heal a blind man and feed five thousand men and their families from a child’s lunch basket. So, of course, he jumped out of the boat and landed on the water, not in the water. And, as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus and walking toward Him he was able to keep walking on top of the water. But…when he took his eyes off of Jesus then he began to sink into the water.

As Christians, we do this all the time! We feel His touch in our lives and we may even hear or get the feeling that there is something which He is calling us to do. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus and keep our faith focused on the task which He is asking us to do, then we will be fine. But in the world which we live in it isn’t so easy. Peter had the luxury of being able to see Jesus, so keeping his eyes focused on Him shouldn’t have been a problem. We don’t have that luxury and we can and do get side-tracked and distracted from the One Who called us in the first place.

The account of this miracle is found in this text:

Matthew 14: 25-33

25 Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

We doubt in our faith because we cannot see Jesus or the possibilities that are all around us. We look at the bills to be paid and the oil which needs changing or how much food we have left until our next paycheck. We live and move on the physical plane of the Earth and much of what we read about in the Bible happened on the spiritual plane which God lives in and inhabits. We can’t feel it with our hands or touch it physically but according to God’s Word, it is there.

And it is just as real or even more real than the world in which we live. Consider how Jesus could move and live after His resurrection. He could enter a locked room and speak with the disciples there and then just as easily vanish from their sight. Then at His ascension to Heaven He just rose from the ground and went up into the sky, no airplane or fiery chariot required or needed! Can you imagine having a body which will be able to do those things? When we are “caught up to be with Him in the air” we will be in bodies like His forever! No more aching and creaky knees and stiff joints. Praise God that is going to feel wonderful!

Our God is an AWESOME God!

Who is Jesus?


According to God’s Word, He is the Son of God! He came to Bethlehem as a baby born to a virgin named Mary and He lived His life as a human being until He was crucified and then resurrected after three days. He was also God in the flesh of a man. There are many ways to describe Him and Who He was and is today, but most importantly He is our Savior and Lord.

If you don’t know Him as your Savior and Lord then He is just a historical figure and a Jewish prophet from long ago.

Satan questioned Him as the Son of God and the demons that He cast out of people during His ministry knew Him as the Holy One of God but there are many today and in the past, who still reject Him as such but one day everyone will find out the truth. In the Bible, there are many references to the Son of God or a Son of God in the Old and the New Testament.

When the three Hebrews were thrown into the furnace, the king said that there was a fourth man who looked like a son of the gods in there with them. Here is the excerpt from Daniel chapter 3 beginning at verse 8:

8 At this time some astrologers b came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us c from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

This is just one example of the pre-incarnate Jesus showing up and protecting His people. There are many others in the Old Testament and of course, He came in the New Testament to bring His message to the world.

It is hard to understand why the whole world seems to be against His message of truth and salvation but the time in which we live is the exact time that God’s Word says there will be a great apostasy from the Truth. Many people around the world are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus and many have died because of it. They have gone to their reward. Killing them did not take anything from them except the life which they had here. They have eternity to live in and for now and their reward is the grace and love of Almighty God.

As Paul said, “to live is Christ but to die is gain“!

What if…


If you only had a week to live, what would you do? Would you travel for that small amount of time or would you enjoy your days with your family and friends?

If I only had a week to live…I would enjoy my family and friends and walk in the woods. I would make sure to tell my neighbors that they meant a lot to me by just being my friends. I would make dinner for each of them if they would allow it or I would try to show some small way that I had appreciated their friendship.

With only a week to live, there really isn’t much you can do that you should’ve been doing before, so why wait until you know that your life is ending? Tell your friends and family how much they mean to you today…NOW! Don’t wait until it is too late because you may not get to tell them at all.

Make sure that your life is a reflection of Jesus even if there aren’t many who see it in you. Those who do see Jesus in your speech or in your life and how you live will notice and God will touch their lives in some small way or maybe even a big way. He can use those seeds which are planted in people’s lives no matter how small they may be or how long they have been planted.

God can water them with His Living Water and His Love and make them sprout in their lives so that they can continue your ministry even after you are gone on to Heaven. All Christians should try to make sure that there are some seeds which are able to be grown by God which are left here by something that you did or something you said. God can use those to make a difference in someone’s life and your eternity will be blessed by it too.