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.

Is anything too hard for God?

In Genesis chapter 18 and verse 14, God asks “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Why do we test Him with our “burdens” when He can take care of them with no effort? It seems that we don’t think God, in this Internet age and in the 21st century, is the same God Who split the Red Sea and brought the people through on dry land. We know from Sunday school and Bible school that God is the same yesterday, today and forever but most of us only know this intellectually. We know it in our head but we may not believe it fully in our heart.

God created the whole universe with a word! Genesis even says it this way, “and He created the stars also”. It sounds like an afterthought doesn’t it? But when you look at the pictures of the universe and everything that is out there…you know that God doesn’t do afterthoughts. He knows the name of every star out there, not just the ones that we can see in the constellations. Every star in every galaxy in the entire universe, trillions in number, God knows them all and it is His power which holds all of them together in their orbits and their courses.

The problem with humanity is that we read this in His Word but we can’t prove it. We can’t see it happening. Like the servant who thought that he and his master were about to be killed and his master prayed for God to open his eyes so he could see that “those who are on our side are greater than those against us”!

Nothing is too hard for God of course. But why do we question whether He will do what His Word says? Do we truly doubt God’s promises or His ability to do what is promised? In today’s world, Satan has caused humanity to doubt God’s existence and His abilities. Even though many don’t even believe that Satan exists either. Of course, that is his plan as well. That of course, brings into question the whole Bible itself and that is also his plan. If he can get us to question God’s existence or the veracity of His Word then belief in Him and His plan of salvation will also be questioned.

There is nothing too hard for God and everything that is happening in our world is allowed by Him because it is part of His plan to bring as many as possible to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Many people outside the United States are coming to know Jesus as their savior while there are many in the United States who are walking away from the church and their belief in God. Because our country has been pushing God out of many areas of education and family life for years. I pray that there will be an awakening and a revival of faith in our country but that is completely in God’s hands now.

God created all of these stars and planets. The size of them should inspire awe in us because He brought them into existence with His Word and nothing else.

Lifetime service

Do you think it takes a lifetime of service to get into Heaven? It doesn’t take any time at all really. Consider the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He asked the Lord to remember him when He came into His Kingdom and Jesus said “you shall be with Me in Paradise today“. He didn’t get a chance to be baptized or to witness to anyone personally, although he has witnessed to thousands or millions since then. No, being of service to Jesus doesn’t take years and it is not required or necessary to be granted passage into Heaven. All that you need is a repentant heart and a belief in Jesus as your Savior and you will be saved.

When that day comes for you, please don’t turn away from Him. You will feel His touch in your life and you may even know for sure that it is Jesus. Don’t turn away from His call for you to be adopted into God’s family. He loves you and He paid the price for your salvation and it is a gift waiting for you to accept it.

Your soul means so much to God until His Son died just to give you an eternity with Him. Our God is AWESOME!!

It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past, your future is secure in Jesus if you will ask Him to come into your heart and change you into the person that you can be. He knows how effective you will be in your ministry, He is just waiting for you to accept the job!

A Joy that you cannot lose!

In the world that we live in, it seems impossible to say those words but if you are a Christian and you know without a doubt that you are saved by the blood of Jesus…then you should feel that joy! Why? Because no matter what your circumstances are here on Earth, your future, your eternity is sealed in Jesus Christ. All of us who believe in Him for our salvation have that assurance in Him that our home is secure regardless of what happens here on Earth. If we are here when the Trumpet sounds we will meet Him in the air. If we are dead, we are already with Him but our body will be united with us at that time. Our home and our hope is in Him and His promises are sure and they always have been.

God does not lie so when you read about a life in Heaven with Him for eternity it is true! We will work for Him and with Him for all of that time because for us time won’t mean anything from that point on. Some people may think that it will be boring but the disciples weren’t bored during His ministry for three years and I don’t think we will be bored or unsatisfied while we are in His Presence. God loves each of us with a love that, right now, we can’t understand.

But, if you can imagine a river with living water flowing in it which quenches every thirst and every desire that you could have and just drinking from it does exactly that! Every desire, every want or need or every sorrow quenched and filled to overflowing just by drinking it or stepping into it…how unbelievably wonderful that would be!

The living water you experience when you read His Word. Maybe not as complete and unbelievable as the river in heaven but if you allow God’s Spirit to show you what His love is really like it could be. Most of us today tend to read a few verses or maybe a chapter or two and listen to a preacher tell us what has been laid upon his heart to say about these verses and then we close the Bible and go home. What a waste! God’s Word has so much to say until reading it every day for nearly a decade I’ve not scratched the surface yet. I always find something new or fresh when I read it.

If there was a fountain on Earth which had living water in it, there would be wars fought for its possession. That is why it is only available to those who go to Heaven. Jesus died to pay the debt of our sins so that we could have a chance to be in Heaven and have salvation through Him. Please don’t turn away from the call of the Spirit when you feel it because you may not get another chance.