Category: Be useful to God

Jesus’ death began before the cross


Have you ever wondered about the night that Jesus was in the garden? Most of us know the story about Him going to the garden and asking the disciples to pray with Him. He was asking the Father if this cup could pass from Him and He was sweating drops of blood because of the stress and the fear that His humanity felt. He had very likely had an idea or vision of what was coming in relation to the crucifixion. But…even before His crucifixion, He was scourged.

The “cat of nine tails” was usually dipped in resin and then drug through broken glass or pottery and it had metal tips on the ends as well. This whip was about 2 ½ feet long and the Roman soldiers who wielded it did not like being in Judea nor did they like Jews. Most of Rome’s soldiers were well muscled as well so taking all of that into account, Jesus began dying from the loss of blood at least an hour before He was nailed to the cross.

By the time Simon the Cyrene began helping Him carry His cross, Jesus had lost enough blood that He was very close to losing consciousness. So, His death began much earlier than being nailed to the cross. He had felt the betrayal of one of His disciples. He had heard Peter deny knowing Him three times and even though He knew that it was going to happen, it still hurt Him emotionally. Just a few days prior to His “mock trial”, many people had hailed Him as their Savior, their Messiah, coming into Jerusalem. Yet, many of those same people had been paid to bring false accusations against Him during His “trial”.

All of these combined to bring His Spirit to a very low point, so it is not surprising that He cried “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” when He was on the cross. We think about all of the miracles that Jesus performed while He was teaching and preaching during His ministry and those are proof of Who He was as the Son of God. Most of us never consider that Jesus was born as a human baby to a human mother. His limitations and His emotions and fears and His doubts all were part of His humanity so He could identify with us in every way. He knows your depression and fear and heartache. He has felt bruised feet and hands while He was a carpenter with His human father.

He felt hunger and fatigue during His time of testing in the wilderness for forty days. He felt alone even among thousands of admirers because of His mission which was coming to an end. Jesus felt all of these things which we feel but many of us don’t consider this when we read the Bible or listen to a sermon. Because the Bible doesn’t give details about His emotions or His feelings most of the time. So why do I write this now? Because we should think about our Savior’s time as a human being. Every feeling and temptation which we feel or have felt, He experienced during His life on Earth. That is what makes Him so easy to relate to and easy to believe in simply because He lived as one of us until He went back to His throne in Heaven.

Make sure of your salvation and your belief in Him while there is still time because after the church is taken away, choosing to become a Christian will be much harder to do.

Everything that He went through on this day, He did because of His love for humanity.

Stay the course, keep watching…


Do you love Jesus? I don’t mean a little bit or as a friend, even if He really is your friend. I mean a deep, abiding love like you have for your spouse or your children!

2 Timothy 3

1 But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, 4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

This is a perfect description of our world today, even the world inside some churches. People who believe in Jesus or even think that they do are in the same boat as those who are described by Paul. In today’s society even those in the church, are lovers of self much more than they are of Jesus. But, we should all be His followers and lovers of Him just as He loved all of us enough to go to the cross and pay our debt for our sins.

So, why do we choose to say that we are followers and believer’s in Jesus and yet we have no respect for Him and no real love for Him either? We are just living in the last days before the time of the Tribulation, that’s all. Why are the church and those who make up the church acting this way? Mostly it is because of the society we live in and how we have learned about our Savior. Just as it says in the Bible, “Things continue on as they always have”, we have gotten very apathetic about Jesus’ coming again.

Most of us were brought up in a church, regardless of the denomination, and we’ve heard about Jesus and all of the stories in the Bible all of our lives. So, we believe that we are Christians mostly by osmosis.

Except it doesn’t work that way. Your heart has to be convicted of your need for Jesus. Not just because you want to join the church one Sunday but because there is truly a conviction inside that you are sinful and there is no other way to fix this sinful problem except by giving your heart to Jesus and asking Him for His forgiveness for your sinful ways. The problem with this in today’s church is that there are too many people who don’t believe nor do they think that they truly need Jesus as their Savior!

Many believe that they are good enough to get into heaven even without giving their heart to Jesus and repenting of the sinful things that they think about and do on a regular, sometimes daily basis. Many have made their own version of Jesus in their minds and he doesn’t mind their sins nor does he convict them when they do or say anything that the real Jesus would not allow. This is modern idolatry. There is no statue or figure representing the “god” that they believe in because their idea of “god” is in their mind.

During this time just before the Trumpet sounds (even though we don’t know when that will be), all of us who believe in the real Jesus and have accepted Him as our Savior need to be watching for the signs and reading the Bible. Why? Because we can discern the prophetic signs in the news better if we know what is foretold to happen. God is sending out signs all over the world but if you don’t know what has been foretold, you won’t notice them.

Provisions


Have you ever thought of the things which you have as provisions given to you by God? They truly are that and more! God has blessed each of us with life and health and hopefully a job so that we can support a family too. Everything that you have been blessed with came from God. Even if you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior, these gifts have been given to you from God Himself. Is it possible for your health and your prosperity to have been given to you from Him too? Of course, it is!

You will notice that I said, “provisions” not possessions. Why did I use a different word than the one that many people want to use today? Because God provides us with provisions which we need not possessions which we want! God doesn’t give us our wants, translate as luxuries, He gives us the needs in our lives. He gives you your life, your food, and your home and your family. What does that sound like? Blessings and provision.

God doesn’t hold back the good things of this world from us, whether we have given our lives to Jesus and are followers of Him or not. So how much more could you be doing for His Kingdom if you truly are His follower and a disciple of His? In our technological world today it doesn’t take a lot to be a witness for Jesus in many places other than where you live. Take me for instance. I am disabled and can’t work in a regular job, but I can witness for my Savior all over the world through the power of the Internet.

Granted, my witness here can’t reach those in places where the access to it isn’t there, but it can reach many places.

Your witness and mine are useful to God’s Kingdom in many more ways than just an article on the Internet. We can take our witness with us just as the disciples and the early church fathers did. Witness to others by your actions and your words. Even if you aren’t speaking to someone directly, they will see your actions and hear your words even if you don’t think anyone is listening.

When you have children they hear things that you don’t think they did and it is the same with people everywhere. God loves each of us and He wants you to come to salvation through Jesus. But, unless you hear about Jesus and the salvation available through Him, you won’t know about it until you hear, whether it is by reading something or by a sermon at a church. God provides salvation to those who are seeking it and many won’t seek it until they hear about Him and the hope that is available through Jesus.

Once or daily, which really works?


The doctrine of salvation says that we are saved because of our belief in Jesus and His atonement for our sins IF we accept that as the truth of our salvation. But, what about repentance? Is that a one-time thing or is it a continual practice which we should do each day? Well, the answer to that can be tricky. If you accepted Jesus as your Savior and you truly sought forgiveness and repented of the sins which brought you to the point of knowing that you need Him as your Savior, that is at least a step in the right direction. But…Satan and his forces don’t just walk away and leave when you become a Christian.

Why would they? Before you became a Christian you were part of their “family” in a way. You weren’t saved so you didn’t belong to Jesus and you were living your life in the way that you wanted to live it, so why should they concern themselves with you? You were in control of your life or at least you thought you were.

In reality we have to repent and ask forgiveness of something each and every day. Becoming a Christian and changing your ways to follow Jesus doesn’t create in each of us a heart and soul like Christ, one that is sinless from that point on. We are still human and Satan is going to ramp up his attacks on you in order to dirty your witness toward others in their walk. He doesn’t get tired and he doesn’t have to sleep so you will be hit with tempting thoughts when you least expect it from this point until your last breath on Earth.

Study God’s Word and fill your mind with gospel songs and messages from Him and you will be able to resist the temptations which Satan throws at you or me. This is the way that we should live our lives with Jesus every day, no matter what we are doing or where you are. God’s Word will strengthen you in your daily walk through life because it is the Living Word.

The model prayer and it’s impact


Luke 11:1

1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The prayer which Jesus gave His disciples was and is the model of prayer for all of us to use in our prayer life. So why do I say “in our prayer life”? Because we are encouraged to pray not just when we need something or want something but to live in a spirit of prayer all of the time. Some people may think this isn’t possible but it really is.

This spirit of prayer is not praying constantly but the act of being receptive to the leading of God to be prayerful in all things and at all times. Being ready to pray at any time and for anything which comes to mind or even on your phone today.

The model prayer begins with “Our Father which art in heaven…” because Jesus was trying to bring God’s love down to a more personal, intimate level. Almost as if He really is our Father and in fact He is. He is our Creator and it is His mind and His hands which knit your DNA and mine together. Remember, He has known us since before the Earth was formed so He knows exactly what your talents are and your characteristics will be long before you are born.

God, our Creator, cares for each life which is sent to be born. It is our responsibility to raise those children to know their Heavenly Father and we need to be much more intense in doing so. Because the world and its education system will teach them all sorts of information which has nothing to do with God or His Son. Your life and mine would be very different if we had not learned about Him and if we aren’t careful, the next generation may be the last generation that knows anything about God, even in what is called the Bible belt.

Is Scripture still useful?


2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Paul wrote this letter to his protege, Timothy, because he knew that he was being questioned about Scripture and its authenticity. He also used this letter to encourage Timothy because it wouldn’t be long before he, Paul, would be killed because of his faith. Thankfully we are not yet under such persecution but there are Christians in other parts of the world who are being threatened with death because of their faith in Jesus.

To answer the question, all Scripture is useful and profitable for instruction and training in God’s Truth. Whether those around you want to know it or accept it or not, but if you are a follower of Jesus then you need to know God’s Word so that you know His thoughts about different subjects which is very useful to defend your faith these days. We are called to defend our faith for the glory of Jesus and His Kingdom because we are living at the end of the church age.

What does that mean?

It means that we are very close to the prophecies of the book of Revelation. The taking away of the church and the appearance of a very charismatic leader who is the Antichrist, all of these things and more will happen the way that God has foretold it. Regardless of your lack of belief in Jesus or the veracity of Scripture, the prophecies of God’s Word is not fiction nor is it a myth. One day soon the whole world will find this out and many of them will not like it when they do.

I pray that many who read this blog and others will seek out their Savior while there is time because the only chance that you have to accept Him is while you are living and breathing on this Earth. Once you have died you will face God and you will have to tell Him why you chose not to ask Jesus into your life and believe in Him. That is a conversation that I hope that many of you can avoid having by changing your life and following Him while there is time.

Is Scripture useful for teaching and instruction? Yes, it is! Because it shows you where your life’s choices have gone wrong and it gives you a chance to change and follow Jesus. Scripture shows each of us, if we read it with an open mind and prayerfully, that God loves us and always has. He made a way for us to become His children through Jesus Christ because that is the only way! His Word tells us all of His Truth that we need to follow Jesus into eternity and all we need to do is believe in Him for our salvation so we can have that chance.

Grief is hard…


When a friend dies, it hurts. When a brother or sister dies, it hurts more and much deeper. When a parent dies, whether it is your mother or your father, the pain is deep and it stays with you for years. It is not something that you can “get over” or move on from. The pain gets a bit easier to think about over time but it does take time. Sometimes it takes a lot of time.

A person who is or has been a mentor and a friend is close enough to be family, that is who left us today. Why do I say this? Because this person worked with my grandfather and he is in heaven with Jesus today. They are remembering so many memories about their children and grandchildren. They are both worshipping Jesus and thanking Him for saving them from their mistakes and their own stupidity. Something that we all should do today.

I pray that those who read this will think about their families and their own salvation and if they aren’t saved through Jesus Christ then seek Him out while you have the chance. This life is the time for becoming a child of God through Jesus Christ so do it while you can. Don’t wait because not one of us is guaranteed tomorrow. I could die from a cardiac arrest tonight or you could die in a car accident tomorrow morning. Please don’t wait.


God’s sacrifice


God first asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son to prove his obedience to Him. Abraham went with his son, Isaac, to the mountain and built an altar and laid the wood on it and bound his son. He even drew the knife and was about to kill his son because God had asked him to. Then God said through an angel, “Abraham, do not harm your son!”. Why did God ask this of Abraham? To test him for sure and see if he would hold nothing back from God if God asked for it and he passed the test. So God gave a ram in place of his son, which was caught in the bushes, so that he and Isaac could worship God and then come home again. Abraham had told his servants when they set out toward the mountain that they would go and worship and then they would come again.

Abraham had faith that since God had promised that through Isaac his descendants would be inumerable, even if he sacrificed Isaac on the altar God would raise him again so that His promise would be fulfilled. In the same way, many thousands of years later, God gave His only Son up as a sacrifice for all of our sins and then raised Him up on the third day to be our Savior and Lord. I know you are probably thinking that since Jesus was God’s Son He couldn’t die anyway. But you’d be wrong. Jesus was born just as much a human being as you or I.

He got tired. He was tempted in every way like we are. He was afraid of the torture and the pain that He would experience during the crucifixion and the scourging which lead up to it. Just as any of us would be. He was so stressed about it until He was sweating drops of blood prior to His arrest. Doctors today have confirmed that it is possible to do this in highly stressful times.

Jesus came into the world for this purpose and yet He gave His life for you and me and many others just so we could be a part of His family! Isn’t that a wonderful gift? I know there are many who think that being a Christian takes all of the fun out of life but it doesn’t. You just have fun telling others about your Savior and what He has done for you. Should we forget all of our old stomping grounds and friends? No, but we should tell them about Jesus and His influence on our life. You can’t beat them over the head with a Bible but you can tell them how your life has changed after He came in and freed you from your slavery to sin.

I know that many of you will say, “I’m not a slave to sin!”. Well, how many times have you read the Bible lately? Can you tell me what all ten commandments are? Are you still drinking and smoking even after you’ve been redeemed by His blood? If you can’t answer any of these questions with the answer of “Yes!” or “No, I don’t drink and smoke anymore.” Then what kind of change really happened when you were “saved”? If you aren’t at least trying to change your life and your lifestyle so that you can walk with Jesus on a daily walk like His disciples did, then you may not be saved at all.

Seek Him out today and learn more about His offer of salvation by reading John’s gospel and then read Romans. Don’t stop searching for your Savior because He came here for you!

Are you listening?


God does speak to us today, but many people don’t know how to truly listen to Him. They ask, “How can I hear God speak to me?”. Well, if you would read the Bible, God’s Word, you would hear Him speaking in every verse of it. Sometimes He gives encouragement and sometimes He is rebuking you by His Word but He is speaking to you and to each of us. Sometimes we will search God’s Word until we find something that we like and we will say that God agrees with our position on whatever it is but that is not seeking His will for you that you trying to justify something that you know is wrong!

The funny thing is that God will let you get away with your justification until you realize that you truly made a mistake because it isn’t working out the way you hoped it would. Things are getting worse rather than getting better. You need to pick up God’s Word and seek His will for your life by prayerful meditation and reading with prayer so that you truly are hearing from Him and not your own “conscience” voice. You know your mind-voice can sound like your idea of God’s voice. You can convince yourself that you are hearing from God and all you are doing is talking to yourself. You can get pretty good at it too until one day when all of the “things” which your god told you to do come crashing down on your head and you realize, hopefully, that those were not God’s words of direction but your own.

How can you tell the difference? Because if you truly were hearing God’s voice and following His direction those “things” wouldn’t have crumbled to dust around you. If you truly were listening and following His directions like you thought you were…things would work out the way He intended for them to. It is a novel concept and it is shown in the Bible very clearly. When a prophet or king follows God and does the things which God tells him to do, the way He tells him to do it, everything works out wonderfully. But, when you try to inject your ideas or change things so that people will like you rather than following God’s directions there are consequences which follow and most of the time they aren’t fun at all.

Most of our lives are like that as well. When we are truly following God’s direction in our lives and not trying to do things our way all the time everything works out most of the time. I say most of the time because none of us follow His directions perfectly, but if we are listening to Him we try our best to follow Him. God expects us to follow Him and His directions when we are His and we have given our life to Him but if you don’t know Him or if you are being stubborn and ignoring His direction or His calling in your life then your ideas and your pathway will not be so easy nor will they work out the way you had hoped.

Seek His guidance and His direction by following Him and giving your life to Him because He paid for your sins on the cross. Is being a Christian easy? No, it is not because there are going to be temptations and situations where you want to do things your way or even go back to doing things like you did before you asked Jesus for His Presence in your life. I pray that anyone who feels His call on your life through reading this or even by a dream or hearing God’s Word preached will answer and ask Him to come into your life and change you into the person that He knows you can be.

God is AWESOME!!


God is our Creator and the Creator of everything that you can see. So…why is it so hard for people to understand that He wants the best for you? Is it because we can’t see Him like we can see a friend or our spouse? Possibly. But according to God’s Word, He has always been available to us through prayer and by reading of His Word. 

I think that the reason that so many people are hesitant or unwilling to follow God and the few rules which He put into place is that it is too simple. Salvation is so simple that a child can understand it and yet when we become “educated” adults we can’t believe that it is that simple. What we should understand is the same thing that the thief on the cross understood, it is our belief in Jesus which saves us. It is not the church or a preacher or a certain ritual which we have to do in order to be saved.

Just believe in Jesus and what He did for you. Do this in the faith which God has granted you and then walk in that faith so that you will be a reflection of Jesus in your life. Because you may be the only Jesus some people may ever see before the end of their life or yours. Your life has an expiration date and it is only known by God, thankfully. But during the time which we have even the small things which we do that people notice because they know that we profess to be Christians can have an impact.

You may not think that a “Thank you” or a blessing said at McDonald’s over your food could have an impact but it can. You may not know about it before you get to Heaven but someone will let you know that it was that word or deed or some small thing that prompted them to seek out what made you different.

God is understanding and loving toward all of His children even though there are many who are hurting and struggling and it doesn’t look like He even cares, but He does. God is awesome because He created all of this universe and we have been studying it for hundreds of years and we’ve only scratched the surface. We have explored our own planet for thousands of years and scientists are still finding creatures which are new to science. 

Why did God make this universe so complex? Because of His power and majesty but also because He wanted us to look at all of the beauty and the awesome size and diversity that is out there and wonder about Him. We would look at the intricate complexity of cells and bacteria and whales and humanity and even into the cosmos and realize that this couldn’t have come into being because of some accidental gathering of dirt and goo. There had to be a Supreme Intelligence behind every atom and molecule and His name is God.