Category: Be useful to God

God is not done yet


We are useful to God in many ways and our life is a work in progress. He can use our talent in many ways if we will follow his ways. But, you have to work with Him. Learn from Him and from His Word because if you don’t, you won’t know His voice or His wisdom.

Not one of us is born into our life on Earth or our spiritual life with Jesus knowing how everything works. We have to grow and learn as children and when we accept Him as our Savior we have to grow in His Wisdom and through the knowledge which is given to us through His Word. It is a process just like going through grammar school and high school and college. We are not born knowing how to add or subtract and we won’t know how to handle the hardships of life as a new Christian if we don’t read and study the Bible.

It takes commitment and determination to learn about the wisdom found in the Bible. Most people who call themselves Christians today only read it when they are at church. There are very few people who read it daily. Even if they do they aren’t reading it in a prayerful, answer-seeking way. Some are just reading it because they are trying to read through it in a year so it’s more akin to a college assignment than a religious commitment.

God uses many ways to bring us to the point where He needs us to be spiritually. Sometimes, He uses illness or a setback in our business or our finances. Sometimes it may be a death in the family which brings us to Him so that we will seek His answers to life’s questions. You need to realize this: He is never really finished with your learning. You will be learning and growing for many years into eternity. Just because we are given a renewed and glorified body and mind when we get to Heaven, doesn’t mean that He dumps all of the knowledge that you will ever need into your brain.

We are never “done” with learning or with life, if you are a child of God and have accepted Jesus as your Savior. God doesn’t have favorites but He does want a relationship with each one of us if we will follow Him.

Amen

One more, Lord, just one more…


That was the prayer of a man during World War 2 who was helping wounded men on the field of battle. It should be our motto and our prayer today. Lord, help me to bring one more into your family, just one more. Then go out and do it again and again.

Sometimes we celebrate one more day sober or one more birthday or even one more day without accidents at work. Why not celebrate “One more day to serve You, Lord!”? Be thankful for all that you have because it is all given to you by your Father in Heaven. Your blessings, your trials, your family and friends…everything good and not so good comes through Him either allowing it in your life or by His blessing you with it. Be thankful for everything and everyone in your life because they are here today but we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, so tell someone that you love them now, while there is still time.

We have lots of time, we think, but that isn’t necessarily the truth. God never promised us that we would have a set number of years to live. Yes, it does say that we may live three score and ten and by our strength we might reach four score years (for all you young folks, a score is twenty years). As we get older we may ask the Lord for one more year to serve or maybe one more day to be with a sick family member. One more…just one more. Seek to be useful to God for one more day and then ask for another and another. He may grant you those days until they turn into months or years. From that point you will be living for Jesus just one more day…just one day at a time.

That really is all we can do. Live our lives for Jesus and His message to the world one day at a time.

God is present in your past and today!


Jesus sees us as clearly in our darkness as He does in our light. Our vision may be limited in times of darkness and fear, but His is not. God knows your hard times and your weakness in those time but He is present in them as well. He said that He would never forsake us and He never leaves your side, even if you don’t know Him as Savior yet.

In Genesis 22: 4-8, Abraham was doing what the Lord God had told him to do. He was taking his son, Isaac, to a mountain to worship God. But, God has also asked that he sacrifice his son on that mountain and he was obeying God. In verse 4-8 the Scripture says: “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again unto you“. Right there is the faith of Abraham. Because God had told him to sacrifice Isaac on that mountain but with his faith he told those young men that they would come again unto them.

Abraham wasn’t senile, he knew what God had asked of him but he also knew that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead if He allowed him to kill his only son. He didn’t know about the ram that would be there…yet. When Isaac asked about the sacrifice, Abraham again showed his faith in God by saying “the Lord will provide Himself a lamb for the burnt offering”. God did exactly that.

In our lives today, whether you are a Christian believer or maybe you are curious about salvation, God can supply you with the faith to believe and be saved from your sinful life. He has already paid the price for your soul through Jesus’ death and resurrection and all you have to do to receive it is to believe in Jesus as your Savior. There is no amount of money that you have to give, there is no amount of work that you can perform which will help Him in any way to complete your salvation because it is already complete in Jesus. God allowed His Son, Jesus, to be sacrificed for our sins even though we didn’t deserve the tremendous grace that would require and we don’t deserve His grace and love even now, but He loves us anyway.

God has prepared so many good things for us through the riches of Jesus and His love for us and yet many people think that believing in Him is just too simple. They believe that they have to help God save their souls. God created this entire universe with all of the stars and galaxies and planets ALL BY HIMSELF, He doesn’t need our pitiful strength or our tiny amount of money for anything. He does ask for our obedience and for our belief in Jesus as our Savior. It doesn’t cost us anything but the realization that we can’t do it all by ourselves…we NEED Jesus Christ!

Giving your heart to Jesus because you know you need Him to save your soul from hell is the easiest and best decision that you could ever make. Sometimes it is the hardest decision too, but consider the consequences of your eternity if you don’t. All of us have an eternity after this life is done, but your location depends upon your decision now, today. Jesus said that there are two paths to eternity, one is broad and many people find it and one is narrow and few people find it. The broad road leads to hell and the second death, the narrow pathway leads to heaven and an eternity with Jesus. Which road will you take?

Only God can forgive


Luke 5: 17-24

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.

18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

In this story, Jesus proved Who He was to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, but they didn’t want to believe. The fact that He knew what they were thinking should’ve given them a clue and the healing should’ve nailed it down too…but they were blind to Him and His fulfillment of their prophecies. So why wouldn’t they believe? It was likely that they were jealous and it became worse with His fame growing.

God sent His Son to His people so that they would believe and be saved from their sins. A few did believe but there were many who did not, even with the miracles that He performed. Even when He raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb, many who saw this miracle did believe but when the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were told of it, all they thought about was that Lazarus would have to die too.

Why did the religious leaders refuse to recognize Jesus for Who He was? Even the name Nazarene had been prophesied years before He came, but they refused to see it or were blinded by their jealousy and by Satan too. God is still using dreams and other means to get to those He is drawing to Himself, even in lands where Islam is the dominant religion.

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life”. Seek Him out today! He is waiting for you to call on Him for your salvation, so answer His call on your life!

No one is worthless in God’s sight. You were worth God’s Son going to the cross so you could have eternal life!

Text messaging for God


I know, the name of this post sounds a bit funny or weird but in the age that we live in it is not really that far fetched. Jesus told His disciples to go out and take His message, the gospel, to every person beginning in Jerusalem and then to the ends of the Earth. In today’s tech-savvy society blogging and text-messaging for God works just as well and through Twitter can reach a very large audience in a very short time. No travel required.

I am not saying that we should look at our work for the Lord on this platform or any other Internet platform as a way to avoid going on mission trips, but it does reach out much farther than most of us can afford today. Jesus said to take His message out to the world, He didn’t tell anyone how to do it. This is one of the ways that gets the job done.

God loves all of humanity, but there are places where mission trips are not allowed and are not safe. They aren’t safe for the people you are trying to reach and they aren’t safe for you either. I know, we have God protection on us and your faith in Him will be tested if you depend upon that protection alone. But there are so many places in the world and there is very little time to get the gospel out there.

Jesus came to bring the news that belief in His sacrifice would bring salvation to many and it does. With our help, through the platforms available to us, we can get His message to many people and I pray that there are many who are giving their lives to Jesus through hearing of His message. I pray that many of you who read my blog are doing the same thing so that even more people will come to know Jesus as their savior.

Jesus came to bring salvation to everyone, and we should tell as many people about Him as possible.

How far have you taken your faith?


In every place that you go, if you are a Christian, you take your faith and your beliefs with you. So make sure that you take Jesus with you every day and everywhere you go.

God loves each of us so much that He gave us this world to live in. Even though sometimes it is hard to live in, He loves you and He gives you the strength to make a difference. Take your faith with you no matter what someone says about your faith because Jesus knows your heart and He will give you the words that you need at the time.

He said that there is excitement and joy in Heaven when even one sinner comes to know Jesus as their Savior!

Everything that we have has been given to us by God. The air we breathe, the clothes we wear, our job, our family and our health are all gifts that we have because God deemed us worthy to have those gifts. We should go out into the world with our faith in Jesus and let others know about His love for them and to tell them that Jesus died for their sins so that they could have eternal life through belief in His sacrifice for them.

Are we worthy of God’s love?


It seems that this is a question which is not often asked or answered in church or any worship setting. But it should be.

According to the Bible, we are not worthy to claim God’s love for us. We aren’t worthy to be granted access to Heaven either. So why are there so many people who believe that there is another pathway or another avenue which will grant them access to Heaven? Being worthy of God’s love for us isn’t hard because He loves us and because we are His creation and His children. But being worthy of Heaven is a totally different story. God is Holy and entirely perfect as well as being the Creator of everything. Do you truly believe that you are good enough to stand in His Presence?

Even Moses, when he came to the burning bush, was told to take of his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. Why was it holy? Because the Presence of God was in the bush and the ground around the bush was holy due to His Presence there. There are many instances of a place being holy in Scripture and the majority of them are because of God’s Presence. So, do you think you are worthy to be able to stand in God’s Presence?

We are not worthy of being in His Presence, standing or on our knees or even face down out of respect. Our sins make us unworthy of Him and His love for us except when we accept Jesus as our Savior and our sins are made as white as snow. Living in this world is possible without Jesus but it is not as enjoyable because in Him we have salvation, in Him we have access to the Creator, in Him we have hope of eternity with Him and that is worth more than all of the money in the whole world!

It is only through Jesus, the Son of God, that we will be able to see God face to face one day. There is a pathway to Heaven and it is by belief in Jesus as our Savior and for our Savior and Jesus is the ONLY way! In the world today, many people seem to be pointing to or trying to find many pathways to eternity in Heaven. But there is only one path and that is through Jesus. God has never lied and the Truth of salvation is only by belief in Jesus as your Savior. The most unusual part about Jesus as your Savior is that He will not try to convince you unless you are truly lost and He has a job for you.

Jesus is hope and strength and courage and the Son of God and He gives us everything that we need to do our job, whatever it may be. Whether it is as a teacher or a preacher or a nurse or a gardener or a janitor or a fisherman, Jesus can use you in any one of these professions to reach at least one more person. You are the only person who can reach that woman or man or girl or boy and Heaven will shout for joy when they finally listen and turn to the One Who can save them.

Even if there was only ONE person to die for, He would’ve died for just one.

How much…


In a song back in the 70’s (ancient history, I know) there was a lady who wanted to buy the stairway to Heaven. In some ways it seems that there are people today who think that they can purchase their salvation or work their way up the ladder (stairway). It doesn’t work that way. Jesus came to Bethlehem as a baby and He lived His life as one of us, without sin, so that He could pay the price for ALL of mankind’s sins. If you believe in Him for your salvation then you will be in Heaven one day. If not…then you will be in hell with those who chose that pathway.

There is no gray area and no place where you can be saved and yet go back to your old life. If you are truly saved by Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes in and changes your heart, then you can’t go back to the “old way of life”. If you do, then you are likely not saved at all. You just thought you were. God knows the difference and you can tell it too, so make sure of your salvation while there is time, because when this life is over the chance to change is gone.

We must find our way to Jesus while we are yet alive here because when you cross the threshold of life and step into eternity there is no going back. Your eternity will be whatever you chose in this life. Whether it is to be in the Presence of God or to be punished in hell with those who didn’t make a choice (which is a choice) or who chose to follow their own “god”. Why we follow our own idea of “god” rather than believing the Word of God I’ll never understand. God made us in His image and yet we try to live our lives as if we made Him in our image. That is idolatry because you are making your own image of God and He cannot be God as you see fit to make Him.

God is our Creator. He is the Creator of all that is around us and in the universe. We cannot and should not try to place Him inside our little box which has limits on what “he can and cannot do”. God is limitless and unknowable except through the study and reading of His Word. He reveals as much of Himself as we can handle through it and when we get to a point where we can handle more of Him, then He will show us that much more of His character.

Make sure of your eternal home while you can so you will know what is in store after this life is over. Heaven with Jesus and friends or in hell with Satan and his “friends”. Either way it is your choice, so choose wisely. Eternity is a very long time.

Do you know Jesus?


God determined from the beginning that a Savior would be needed for mankind. He knew this even before mankind was on the Earth but He gave mankind a chance to choose so that we could choose to follow Him on our own. But…mankind chose to follow his own path and disobeyed God’s rule in the garden. God promised that the Seed of the woman would come one day to bring salvation to humanity and He did. But do you know Him?

Jesus is our Savior and He came to bear all of humanity’s sins and pay for them all so that even those who had gone to hades in the past might have a chance to decide to accept salvation through His sacrifice. This is what is meant by the Scripture, “He led captive captivity”. Jesus descended into Hades and led away those who were captive there and who would believe in Him for their salvation. God has never wanted mankind to be captive in Hades or Hell because that place was made for the punishment of Satan and his demons, not man. 

The problem arises when man chooses to follow another “god” or chooses to believe the lie that there is no God. When mankind, regardless of creed or color or nation, chooses to follow someone other than Jesus then they are under the same curse that Satan and his demons are. Unless their heart has not hardened to the point of no return they will be sent to the same place as Satan. Satan knows that this does not give God pleasure and that it hurts Him which is why he has become so good at fooling us into believing things and doing things which we wouldn’t do otherwise.

The most worrisome deception that people tend to follow is that many people know about Jesus and Who He is but they haven’t given their lives to Him. They haven’t repented of their sins and learned to follow Him. They have been to church and some may be leaders in the church but knowing about Jesus doesn’t bring salvation. Knowing Him and being known by Him does. Knowing that you need Him as your Savior is the first step but you have to learn to follow Him and trust Him for your salvation. This is another trick of Satan. You’ve been a member of the church for years. You may be a deacon or teach a class or even be the pastor, but do you really know and believe in Jesus for your salvation?

We are not invulnerable to the tricks of Satan because he has had thousands of years to perfect his lies. He knows exactly where our weaknesses are and how to probe and tickle us to the point of following our own ideas and lusts rather than listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only through belief in Jesus that we can attain entrance into Heaven but today the media and many other “outlets” tell us that there are many ways to get to God, Jesus is just one of many. That is a lie straight from Satan’s mouth! He knows it and his demons know it but they want to hurt God so much until they rebelled and were sent into outer darkness until their judgment day comes.

Belief in Jesus as our Savior and Messiah is the only pathway to Heaven. The thief knew it, His disciples knew it and every Christian since then has known it if they have heard the Truth of the gospel preached. Many times in the past two thousand years Christians have been punished and tortured and killed because of their belief in Him and it is still going on today in some parts of the world. I pray that anyone who reads this will seek out their Savior today and find Him in Jesus because one day soon the world will follow someone else and he will demand that you either worship him or you will die.

Please make sure of your salvation before it is too late. None of us is sure of waking up tomorrow so make sure today while there is time for you to do so.


John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in Him should have everlasting life.

Don’t put off your salvation decision, make it today.

What makes you happy?


Have you found it yet or are you still looking for that person or something which will give you complete contentment? I can tell you for sure that there is nothing in this world which will make you happy. No person or amount of money or things that you own can bring lasting joy and happiness into your life. Depending upon which one of those gives you the most satisfaction, you may feel content or even happy for a while if you do have the love of your life or an amount of money which allows you to cast all of your anxiety and worry to the wind…but it will only last for a while. The stuff that you own only gives you a sense of power because you have something which someone else doesn’t. None of these will bring true happiness for very long.

Many of us do equate happiness with less stress in whatever area of life you feel that in. Whether it is through a satisfying relationship or having enough in your bank account that makes bill paying day easy and fairly stress free. But, could you have or feel happiness and contentment if, like Job, all of it was taken away? How would you feel then? Would you blame God for your troubles? Would you blame yourself?

Feeling discontent and depressed because your life isn’t working out the way that you had hoped it would is kinda natural. Most of us do feel that way from time to time. But blaming God for your trouble or even blaming yourself won’t really help the situation and could make it worse. So, what can you do constructively about the problems in your life? Particularly if the problems were brought on by something that you did or didn’t do. The first step is to admit that you had a hand or even both feet in making your problems worse. If you get that far, then seek out help from someone other than the one who caused the problem. Preferably seek out your answer in God’s Word.

It doesn’t matter if your problem is related to a lack of money or if it is a relationship problem, there is Wisdom found in God’s Word which will give you the right advice to move in the direction of fixing the problem. You have to take the advice to heart and act on it though, God doesn’t reach down and fix things as soon as you ask. He wants you to act on His advice and seek His guidance in whatever area of your life that you need it in. Truthfully, we should be seeking Him in every area of our lives before a problem arises. Not seeking His advice and His wisdom is what gets us in trouble in the first place.